Company Analysis AGL Energys Risk Management with Reference to ISO 31000

8 Tips to Prepare for Your Comprehensive Examination

8 Tips to Prepare for Your Comprehensive Examination Virtually all master’s and doctoral programs require graduate students to take comprehensive exams. Such exams are exactly that: Comprehensive, intended to cover the entire field of study. It’s a big deal and your performance on your masters or doctoral comprehensive exam can make or break your graduate school career. Learning all there is to know about your field is daunting, but dont let it overwhelm you. Be systematic in your preparations and follow these tips to get your studying underway and prepare for your comprehensive exams. Locate old exams Students often do not take individualized exams. This is especially true for master’s comps. Comprehensive exams are often administered to groups of students. In these cases, departments usually have a stack of old exams. Take advantage of these exams. Sure you likely will not see the same questions, but the exams can provide info about the kinds of questions to expect and the base of literature to know. Sometimes, however, comprehensive exams are tailored to each student. This is particularly true for doctoral comps. In this case, the student and advisor or sometimes a comprehensive examination committee work together to identify the range of topics covered in the exam. Consult with experienced students. More experienced graduate students have a lot to offer.  Look to students who have successfully completed their comps. Ask questions like: How are comps structured? How did they prepare? What they would do differently, and how confident did they feel on exam day? Of course, also ask about the content of the test. Consult with professors. Usually, one or more faculty members will sit down with students and talk about the test and what to expect. Sometimes this is in a group setting. Otherwise, ask your mentor or a trusted faculty member. Be prepared with specific questions, such as how important is understanding and citing classic research as compared with current work? How is the exam organized? Ask for suggestions on how to prepare. Gather your study materials. Gather classic literature. Conduct literature searches to gather the newest most important pieces of research. Be careful because its easy to become consumed and overwhelmed with this part. You won’t be able to download and read everything. Make choices. Think about what you’re reading. It’s easy to get swept away with the task of reading, taking notes, and memorizing oodles of articles. Dont forget that you will be asked to reason about these readings, construct arguments, and discuss the material at a professional level. Stop and think about what youre reading. Identify themes in the literature, how particular lines of thinking evolved and shifted, and historical trends. Keep the big picture in mind and think about every article or chapter - what is its place in the field at large? Consider your situation. What are the challenges you face in preparing to take the comps? Locating and reading study materials, managing your time, keeping productive, and learning how to discuss the interrelations of theory and research are all part of studying for comps. Do you have a family? Roommate? Do you have the space to spread out? A quiet place to work? Think about all the challenges you face and then devise solutions. What specific action will you take to combat each challenge? Manage your time. Recognize that your time is limited. Many students, especially at the doctoral level, carve out time that they devote exclusively to studying - no working, no teaching, no coursework. Some take a month, others a summer or longer. You need to decide what to study and how much time to devote to each topic. Its likely that you have a better grasp of some topics than others, so distribute your study time accordingly. Devise a schedule and make a concerted effort to determine how you will fit in all of your studying.  Each week set goals. Each day should have a to-do list. Follow it. You will find that some topics take less time and other more time. Adjust your schedule and plans accordingly. Seek support. Remember that youre not alone in preparing for comps. Work with other students. Share resources and advice. Simply hang out and talk about how you’re approaching the task and help each other manage the stress. Consider creating a study group, set group goals, and then report your progress to your group. Even if no other students are preparing to take comps, spend time with other students. Reading and studying in isolation can lead to loneliness, which certainly isnt good for your morale and motivation.

Structures of politics and government in Lebanon Essay

Structures of politics and government in Lebanon - Essay Example Structures of politics and government in Lebanon Lebanon shares geographic boundaries with Syria and Israel, and has been locked in contrasting relationships with both, with Syria being a dominant influence in the politics and governance structures of Lebanon since the 1970’s at least, and with Israel being the focal point of strife for the country having been involved in sporadic conflicts with certain Israeli groups, culminating in a short war in 2006. Syria, on the other hand, had a long stay as a military occupier of Lebanon that stretched from 1976 all the way to 2005, with its grip on many of the forces that control Lebanese politics and government continuing even way after the cessation of the occupation. A long civil war stretching from 1975 to 1990 left deep political scars, with sectarian groups coming to dominate the lines of division among the different political groups and ensuring that political struggles are protracted, bitter and fraught with disunity and the lack of political goodwill among the competing pol itical sects. The end of the civil war in 1991, in particular, marked the beginning of another period of relative peace that would end with the war with Israel in 2005, confirming the observation of Lebanon’s pattern of 15 years of transition from peace to war to peace and war again, in timed intervals. By way of an overview, the Republic of Lebanon has its capital in Beirut and officially marks its day of independence as a state on November 22, 1943. The Lebanese Constitution was ratified on May 22, 1926, and has undergone three changes, with the last of the amendments coming in in 1990, relating to required changes from the 1989 Talif Accord. Three religious threads, Jewish, Christian and Muslim sway laws relating to social and personal relations, even as influences from the Old Ottoman legal system and French law also dominate the system of laws in the country. 21 years is the age when Lebanese men acquire the right to vote, and for women the same age applies, but with restrictions to vo ting being only allowed women who have primary education. The current head of state, Michel Sulayman, has been president since 2008. The entire cabinet of Najib Miqati, together with Prime Minister Miqati himself, relinquished their posts on March 22, 2013, leaving the government in the hands of a caretaker group headed by the President, until the country is able to replace the resigned Prime Minister. The country is divided into six administrative regions, with Beirut or Beyrouth being the most prominent as a political and economic center of the country. Under the Lebanese political system, the president holds office for six years, and chooses the prime minister in partnership with Lebanese Congress called the National Assembly, which acts in a consultative manner in matter relating to

Security on the Internet Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Security on the Internet - Research Paper Example Information technology and internet in the present scenario has become extremely important for every business organization. It has become the most appropriate means for carrying out long distance communication across global organizations. In addition, the continuous technological advancement is argued to inherent security risks. If the statistical reports are taken into consideration, multiple cases of online data theft and fraud can be brought up through which the safety and the integrity of internet can specifically be questioned (Koskosas et al., 2011). Moreover, by taking into consideration, the rising level of online attacks, it has become a challenge for the IT engineers to counter such unwarranted situations that might risk the integrity and survival of multiple organizations along with all the stakeholders associated with it. As a result, this report will focus towards evaluating the security issues identified within the IT structure of ‘XYZ Ltd.’ through which t he inappropriate loopholes that existed within the system can be identified. Adding to that, the report will also emphasize on the available solutions through which such security issues are being resolved (Koskosas et al., 2011). As already discussed above, security issues within IT organizations has become a common trend. Reason for this cause can be provided by taking consideration of the level of data being accessed within these companies on daily basis. Adding to that, majority of the IT companies appears to have taken appropriate steps regarding minimizing the percentage of confidential data loss. As a result, the procedure of centralizing the operational data is often opted. Nevertheless, the procedure of centralizing the operational data is perceived to increase the risk of data loss from the central servers. Moreover, in order to carry out the daily

Theory of the Firm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Theory of the Firm - Essay Example Although it is very difficult to suggest which, out of these two is a better structure, but one can clearly identify the merits of each structure. In the U-Form or Unitary form, organizations are broken up into separate departments for each process, for example, separate department for marketing, finance and production. The manager or head of each department reports to the chief executive of the organization, whose function is to co-ordinate the activities of each department, relaying the firm's overall strategy to them and being responsible for inter-departmental communication. Although, this structure is very efficient till the firm is of certain size, but it can lead to inefficiencies as the organization grows. These inefficiencies are: communication difficulties, coordination and control and it become difficult to manage the entire organization from the centre. Another structure which results in the firm being able to overcome these problems is called M-Form or multi-divisional form of internal structure. In this structure, the firm is divided a number of divisions. Each division could be responsible for particular group or group of products or a particular market. The day to day running and even certain long term decision of each division would be the responsibility of the divisional managers. Many people argue that M-Form is better than U-Form structure because it reduces the length of information flows. It also relieves the C.E.O of the coordination activities and he can focus on overall strategic planning. It also increases professional competition between the departments, which lead them to be more efficient. Each department runs as mini firm and try to utilize resources efficiently which increases the efficiency of the entire firm. (Lipsey and Chrystal, 2001) All these benefits that come-out as a result of M-Form structure lead many managers into believing that it is actually better than U-Form structure. But after careful and deep analysis one cannot say that it is good for firms of any size. If this structure is followed by an organization of small size than they would face various problems, such as, it can very bureaucratic with many forms of layers of managers. Managers might pursue goals that conflict with those of shareholders or head office. As a result, some companies in recent years have moved back from M-Form structure to much flatter U-Form structure. So, in the end we can conclude that M-Form is not better than U-Form structure. It is the situation and culture in the firm that is being followed determines which system is going to more useful for the organization and, one cannot say that M-Form is necessarily better than U- Form structure. In the end, we can safely conclude that M-Form or U-Form structure themselves are not the best, but it is the flexibility of the firm which makes any structure good or bad. Some times you need to have a flatter structure, whereas at the other times, decentralization works the best. I recommend that any firm that is governed with flatter and more responsive structure will do much better than the firm with big span of control, as it would make it easier to control the subordinates and keep check and balance on the firm's activities. ESSAY # 2 Structure conduct performance model is used to link various factors in the economic environment that affect the performance of the business. It also links the various

Impact of policy on practice

Impact of policy on practice In order to maintain confidentiality the names used in this piece of work have been anonymised. The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate the knowledge and understanding of the impact that policy and specifically Child Protection (CP) policy has made on professional practice. I will identify and analyse an incident associated with child protection in practice which will enable a discussion to debate appropriate local, national and international perspectives. I will also consider the impact of policy on other professionals involved in the event. Furthermore I will use PEST analysis as a framework to explore the impact of policy on practice. Pest analysis is described by Mindtools, 2009 as a simple, useful and widely-used tool that helps you understand the big picture of your Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural and Technological environment. It is used by business leaders worldwide to build their vision of the future and likewise can be used by practitioners to attain best practice to achieve positive outcomes for individuals. The practice placement that is the focus of this assignment is a mixed senior school of predominantly working class white students aged 11 18. The incident that occurred was discussed between a female pupil known as Beth Jones aged 12 years and a student social worker (SSW). While in a 1:1 mentoring session Beth disclosed that her mother Elaine Jones had pushed her down the stairs in her home that morning. Beth was traumatised and stated that she was fearful to return to her home that day. Recently, the views within the UK concerning the status of children have been wide-ranging and this has had some impact on policy and practice. At a socio-cultural level children are now viewed as having the capabilities to engage in building and constructing their own lives and opinions have swayed towards autonomy of women and in particular of children. In todays society, through the emergence of feminist writers especially on issues such as patriarchy and domestic violence, children are viewed as independents rather than being the property of men. This has been reinforced through changes in the political economy of welfare where societys perceptions of children have transformed towards children being independent service users whose wishes and preferences have been given greater importance. (Armstrong, et al 1991). The introduction of the Human Rights Act 1998 also ensures that children now have legal rights. (WHO, 1998). The term Gillick competent is used to describe a child under the age of 16 who is judged to be of a sufficient understanding and intelligence to be capable of making up his own mind on the matter requiring decision (Smith, 1996 p52) thus enabling young people like Beth to be heard. The practice implication for this is that when taking into consideration the opinions and wishes of the child, it must first be established what those wishes and views are and then whether those wishes and views are to be considered, or acted on, based on whether the child is deemed to have a full enough understanding of the implications of their decisions. Every child living in this country is entitled to protection from abuse regardless of his or her background. With the help of the Children Act 1989, and the recommendations made by Lord Laming, (Every Child Matters, 2004), child services within the UK have been given the power to act when they feel a child is being abused. Victoria Climbià © aged 8 died from 128 injuries at the hands of her carers in February 2000. The investigatory inquiry into her death conducted by Lord Laming discovered many instances where professionals including line managers had failed to fulfil their roles and numerous flaws where professional networks had failed to protect Victoria during the last months of her life. Laming criticised the lack of professionalism and cooperation between agencies (Laming, 2003 S.1.30) the Laming Enquiry, lay the foundations for the Every Child Matters Green Paper published in 2003. In the U.K. the Children Act 1989 aimed to introduce key changes for practice by focusing on principles such as paramountcy of the child, partnership and parental responsibility as well as child protection and family support and the rights of the family against the rights of the child. This has lead to increasing pressures on social workers who have to prove that they have been empowering, anti oppressive and supportive to those involved in their cases. Within the U.K. these policies afford children considerable rights as individuals and these are considered primarily before those of the parents in child protection cases. This has led to a predominantly rights-based legal approach where social workers hold considerable amounts of power. (Archard el al 2002). Farnfield (1998, p53) talks about children as consumers and the difficulty which many social workers have in balancing the rights of the parents with the rights of the child. Given the drive towards working in partnership with parents in childcare and inclusion of all relevant parties when working within a social care field, it may be difficult, when working with families, to remain focussed on the issue of whom the client is and whose interests are best being served by any particular course of action. Trevithick (2005, p229) discusses a particular case where she was having difficulty in establishing a good relationship with parents in a child protection case. The issue of having the agenda of protecting the children was identified as a stumbling block in the establishment of a rapport with the parents. Brayne and Martin (1999) however argue that, from a legal perspective, in child protection cases the primary client must always be the child. This is borne-out by the policy document Working Together to Safeguard Children which states that professionals should: work co-operatively with parents unless this is inconsistent with the need to ensure the childs safety. This is also compatible with the ethos of child centred practice in placing the child first. Article 19 of the UN convention on the rights of the child states governments should ensure that children are properly cared for and protect them from violence, abuse and neglect by their parents or anyone else who looks after them. The Human Rights Act 1998 is linked to the implementation of no-smacking policies and states that every child has the right not to suffer ill treatment or cruel, unusual punishment.'(Flynn, 2004. p.41). As Beth disclosed to the SSW that she has been physically abused, the SSW refers the disclosure to the Child Protection officer. In line with the Data Protection Act 1998 the information is kept confidential as it is not necessary that any other member of staff need to know about the case at that time. As a result of the deaths of Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells in 2004 the Bichard Report was published and made recommendations about how information is shared and stored.Child protection information on a pupil is filed in a separate area to the school file a nd can only be accessed by the child protection officer and shared with other professionals in a need to know basis a positive impact of policy to protect confidentiality of vulnerable children. Undoubtedly the most significant development in childcare policy in Britain over the past twenty-five years has been the preoccupation with child abuse (Alcock et al 1998). Also it can be suggested that this increase in concern can be seen in all major European countries and constitutes a major key issue in this area of social policy. This concern has not only been emphasised through the formal and legal frameworks of society but also by the general public. As stated above the rise in concern with child abuse has been evident from the late 60s and early 70s. It is from then that child abuse has become identified as a social problem (Alcock et al 1998) mainly through high-publicised cases of child abuse victims. The high profile case of Maria Colwell who died in 1973 after serious injuries were inflicted upon her at her home whilst under the supervision of social services demonstrates this point effectively. Even today 30 years on this case is still being analysed and discussed. When identifying the key issues within child protection it is important to consider the concept of balance. This is a main concern for all countries who find themselves victims of either jumping in too quickly with overzealous assumptions, or on the other hand holding off too long and in the end delaying intervention until in some cases it is too late. Any major piece of legislation develops in response to a variety of influences. (Hill, M. and Aldgate, J. 1996). In the U.K. for example, the Childrens Act 1989 was the result of a number of influential factors. One of the biggest influences, which have already been mentioned, is that of the wave of child abuse tragedies that occurred over the years. The public inquiries and the amount of media attention that arose because of these cases shed light upon the inadequacies of practice and previous policies. Cases such as Jasmine Beckford and Kimberley Carlisle and the Orkney and Cleveland inquiries impacted public perceptions and professional practice and shaped the responses of the U.K.s policies to the problem of child abuse. The social reaction prompted those in power to reassess their protection schemes and to readdress the issues of evidenced based practice within their policy changes. According to Alcock et al. these high publicised inquiries, led to the promulgation of extensive procedural guidance at central and local levels to social welfare and other agencies designed to avoid repetition of tragedy and scandal (Alcock et al 1998). Back to the scenario with Beth, after discussion with the child protection officer, a decision is made to make a referral to social services. Policy states that any disclosure of physical abuse results in steps that must be taken to protect the child. This may produce an emergency protection order as she is deemed to be at risk of harm if she returns to her mothers care. A social workers main aim in the U.K. is to guarantee young people like Beths right to protection from harm and if necessary will battle with parents and other agencies to fulfil this. In comparison, Europe and specifically France, children have not been accorded as many individual rights independently of their family. Their position is a result of the traditional state and family perspective. The French policies have adapted to this cultural opinion and have enforced that child protection work should be focused on the family and that children should be considered not as an individual but as part of the family. Traditionally the focus is that the parents are superior to the children giving them the rights of decisions, protection and care. This is the view of French society where their main concern is keeping the birth family together and taking risks is acceptable. It can be suggested that in France a humanistic model (Parton ,cited in Armstrong et al 1991) is followed to a certain degree. The countrys view that social factors are very likely to be involved in child abuse cases is evident in their policies, which apply preventative, counselling and therapeutic app roaches. Examples of this can include the forcing of families to co-operate at the intervention stage, which is unheard of in Britain. One of the main concerns of this system is the fact that in most cases the Childrens Judge does not hear the childs wishes and views, and if they are heard they are poorly represented. In the U.K. as stated the protective attitude of society is reflected in their policies that recognise the state as having direct responsibility for protecting children when the parents have failed. If Beth were in France she would not be given an independent voice and a right to immediate protection without a full family investigation. The protective U.K. system appears to have disadvantages, Cooper proves this point by highlighting that in France there has never been any highly publicised cases of abuse as in Britain; therefore there has never been a lack of confidence in social work. The positive aspect of French child protection policy is a constructive public perception which eases tensions within the social worker and family relationship and also encourages co-operation of the family. It was also found that French social workers have a, consistent, trusting professional relationship at the centre of their professional aims whereas in the U.K. social workers are mainly concerned with whether parents are guilty or innocent and with the task of collecting evidence this impacts on UK social workers as they are on the receiving end of accusations and abuse and stereotypical blame. (Cooper, A. 1994 p59-67). Effective communication is essential for organisations to be successful. It is the process by which information is exchanged between one group or person and another, by computer, telephone, letter, meetings, text, fax or face to face. The deaths of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman in August 2002 sparked the Bichard enquiry into child protection procedures in the Humberside Police and Cambridgeshire Constabulary in the light of the trial and conviction of Ian Huntley for the murder of the two young girls. He had previously been suspected of committing sexual assaults on at least eight occasions and at the age of 21 Ian Huntley had sexual relationships with at least three 15-year-old girls for whom social services were aware but failed to communicate this information to the police. If the police had been aware of this information, this may have shown up when vetting checks were being carried out on Huntley and may have stopped him from getting a job at the school that the girls had atte nded. In December 2003 the Humberside Police said the main reason for this was because of the Data Protection Act. Information about dealings with Ian Huntley had not been available to them during vetting checks. This inquiry also stated that the problem was due to the police not having been told about this legislation regarding information about the person being vetted. A report stated that police officers were nervous about breaching the legislation, partly at least because too little was done to educate and reassure them about its impact. Michael Bichard labelled it an inelegant and cumbersome piece of legislation and the judiciary stated that better guidance is needed on the collection, retention, deletion, use and sharing of information, so that police officers, social workers and other professionals can feel more confident in using information properly. This simply indicates the importance of effective communication. The information system may have been used to its full potent ial if the officers had been aware of the limits of the Data Protection Act. Ian Huntleys date of birth had been entered into the system incorrectly. If this information had been entered correctly then they would have been aware of his past behaviour. This would effectively stop him working in the school and the girls trusting him as a safe adult. The PNC (Police National Computer) only checked against the name Ian Nixon (an alias) and not Ian Huntley. An Information system can fail completely without accurate information from the end user, highlighting the systems reliance on good communication with its users. (Bichard Inquiry, 2004). The Children Act 2004 empowered the Secretary of State for Education to create a database (or databases) of everyone in England who is aged under 18. In July 2007, the regulations that will bring this first national database of children into being were passed by Parliament. The government has announced that the database will be called ContactPoint. It was originally known as the Information-Sharing Index, but re-branded in February 2007 because of negative publicity about information sharing. ContactPoint is effectively a file-front that serves the whole range of agencies that may be involved with a child. It is intended to provide a complete directory of all children from birth, together with a list of the agencies with which s/he is in contact. It will not hold any case records, but will enable practitioners to indicate their involvement with a family and contact each other in order to share information. It will also show whether an eCAF (an in-depth personal profile under the Comm on Assessment Framework) has been carried out and is available for sharing. A response from teachers in local schools have indicated that agencies are finding the procedure confusing with long waiting times for an initial reply for services. Another negative criticism of this policy as stated by Searing, 2007 the danger is that once social work has become more closely aligned with an inter-agency system of surveillance and monitoring of families most people will be less open and trusting towards social workers and this will make their job more difficult thus further negative impact on the social worker role. The Governments response to the Laming Enquiry was almost immediate with the production of the Green Paper Every Child Matters 2004. In conjunction with Every Child Matters (ECM) is The Children Act 2004, which is in addition to the original Act 1989. The Act encompasses several components based on recommendations from the Laming Report and is responsible for promoting a partnership between agencies working with children including health, education and social care in a more cohesive manner (Allen, 2008). According to Smith the Children Act 1989 (CA, 1989) simplified all pre-existing legislation in relation to children and families. It imposed new duties on local authorities relating to the identification and assessment of children in need, and gave all Local Authorities new responsibilities for looked after children. The introduction of the Act also provided the Court with Emergency Protection Orders to protect children at risk of harm which replaced the Place of Safety Orders. Smith (2001) argues that the Children Act was particularly relevant because for the first time it placed more emphasis upon the importance of inter-agency collaborative working as a means of responding to the needs of both children and their families. This policy provided immediate protection to Beth, initiated within the school environment and in collaboration with social services, a good example of interagency working. If Beth had not been listened to or taken seriously she would be at risk of further abuse and may not disclose further abuse due to lack of support. It is important that professionals and agencies co-operate and work together in child protection cases so that all the relevant and correct information is available, and accurate in order to help and support the child. In recent cases, specifically that of Victoria Climbie, this was not done and therefore Victoria was put at further harm, and subsequently died when she could have been saved if the agencies had worked effectively and shared information. This is why the Every Child Matters legislation came about, to try and prevent this in the future. Children at risk need coordinated help from health, education, social services and other agencies, including youth justice services. These professionals are required to work together in order to protect the children and keep them safe, and to help bring to justice the perpetrators of crimes against children. As a result of Every Child Matters, now children known to more than one agency will have a single named professional to lead their c ase. This has proved to be an effective tool in Beths scenario as guidance enables the professionals within the school to take action immediately to protect her as she was placed on an emergency protection order. Even though the policy is over five years old, when applied effectively stops a child falling through the net. Policy has shaped the care for this service user and had a significant impact on her outcome. References Allen, N. (2008) Making Sense of the Children Act 1989, 4th ed. West Sussex: John Wiley Sons. Alcock, P. Erskine, A. and May, M. (1998) The Students Companion to Social Policy Blackwell Publishers Armstrong, H. and Hollows, A. (1991) in Hill, M. (Ed) Social Work and the European Community: the Social Policy and Practice Contexts. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 142-161 Brayne, H. Martin, G (1999) Law for Social Workers (6ed). London: Blackstone Bichard, M. Sir. (2004 April 21), The Bichard Inquiry An Independent Inquiry arising from the Soham murders, (The Bichard Inquiry), Available: http://www.bichardinquiry.org.uk/, (Accessed: May 2009). Children Act 1989- Section 47. Children Act 1989 (c.41). www.hmso.gov.uk/acts/acts1989/Ukpga w19 March 2009. Cooper, A. (1994) In Care or En Famille? Child Protection, the Family and the state in France and England. Social Work in Europe. Volume1No.1. Davies, M. (2002 p107) Companion to Social Work. (2nd). London: Blackwell. (Data Protection Act 1984 and 1998). DfES (2006) What to do if youre worried a child is being abused. Summary. Crown Copyright. Department of Health, Home Office, Department for Education and Employment, 1999 Every Child Matters (2003) Every Child Matters (2005) Background to Every Child Matters (http://www.everychildmatters.co.uk/aims/background [Accessed online: 17/01/2009] Farnfield, S (1998) The rights and wrongs of social work with children and young people in Cheetham, J. and Kazi, M.A.F (eds.) The Working of Social Work. London: Jessica Kingsley Flynn, H. (2004) Protecting Children. Heinemann. Hill, M and Aldgate, J (1996) The Children Act 1989 and Recent Developments in Research in England and Wales, in Hill, M. and Aldgate, J. (Eds.) Child Welfare Services: Developments in Law, Policy, Practice and Research, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers Lord Laming.2003. The Victoria Climbie inquiry. Crown London http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_09.htm Searing, H (2008). The Crisis in Social Work: The Radical Solution. Available at http://www.radical.org.uk/barefoot/crisis.htm (Accessed May 2009) Smith P (1999) Support for Children and Families: Trevithick, P. (2005) Social Work Skills.2nd ed. Berkshire: Open University Press. World Health Organisation (WHO) Bibliography Burton S., (1997) When Theres a Will Theres a Way: Refocusing Child Care Practice A Guide for Team Managers London: National Childrens Bureau London Borough of Greenwich and Greenwich Health Authority (1987) The Kimberley Carlile Report Cleveland Report (1988) Report of the Inquiry into child abuse in Cleveland 1987 London: HMSO General Assembly of the United Nations (1989) The Convention on the Rights of the Child. Adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 20 November 1989. (UN Convention) http://www.unicef.org/crc/text.htm Parton, N. (1996) Social Work, Risk and the Blaming System in N. Parton (ed.) Social Theory, Social Change and Social Work, London: Routledge Kegan Paul. Trotter, C. (2004) Helping Abused Children And Their Families, London.

An Evaluation of My Writing :: Teaching Education Essays

An Evaluation of My Writing What Dana is; insightful. What Dana's writing hasn't been; insightful. So what does this mean? It means, that Dana has been missing from her own writings. She has been absent, and non-existent. Dana has a voice that goes unheard, and she possesses a style which has conformed instead of expanded. Her previous writing has epitomized nothingness. It resembles a cosmic soup, void of expression and individuality. There is no doubt that Dana needs to be found, and she should be pictured on the back of milk cartons with the word MISSING typed in bold letters if necessary, because her writing doesn't give any evidence that she even exists. But wait just a minute! There's been word that she's just wrapped up a quarter of expository writing, and she could be saved. This is something to be thankful for because the threat of colorless, lifeless, and uninteresting writing might be gone. We should all be rejoicing because one more writer has seen beyond the theme and converted to a style that exce eds that of the Official Style. Dana's earlier work was dry from start to finish. Her introductory paragraphs never grabbed the reader because they started out so slowly. The purpose of her own papers even seemed unclear to her, as if she wasn't completely aware of where she was headed with her thoughts and ideas. Perhaps this is so obvious because what she was writing, was written in such a way, that it didn't even remotely resemble her own communication style. Dana seemed content writing to accommodate the expectations of the person she was writing for, rather than writing to satisfy her own expectations. It was very noticeable, even in the first sentences of her introductory paragraphs, that she purposely tip-toed around issues she could have addressed including the issues in her theme papers. Dana is not the person, style, or voice, that she portrays in her papers. Dana seems to have been taught to believing that writing quality is measured by a word choice that is high caliber, eloquent, and sophisticated. I know this girl, and she doesn't use the big two dollar words in her everyday conversations, however, she uses them without discrimination in her writing. Someone, somewhere along the road of her bumpy academic career, has fed her, the very familiar, Official Style myth. It is obvious she gets sick of talking at her readers, attempting to sound like an expert, know-it-all politician. An Evaluation of My Writing :: Teaching Education Essays An Evaluation of My Writing What Dana is; insightful. What Dana's writing hasn't been; insightful. So what does this mean? It means, that Dana has been missing from her own writings. She has been absent, and non-existent. Dana has a voice that goes unheard, and she possesses a style which has conformed instead of expanded. Her previous writing has epitomized nothingness. It resembles a cosmic soup, void of expression and individuality. There is no doubt that Dana needs to be found, and she should be pictured on the back of milk cartons with the word MISSING typed in bold letters if necessary, because her writing doesn't give any evidence that she even exists. But wait just a minute! There's been word that she's just wrapped up a quarter of expository writing, and she could be saved. This is something to be thankful for because the threat of colorless, lifeless, and uninteresting writing might be gone. We should all be rejoicing because one more writer has seen beyond the theme and converted to a style that exce eds that of the Official Style. Dana's earlier work was dry from start to finish. Her introductory paragraphs never grabbed the reader because they started out so slowly. The purpose of her own papers even seemed unclear to her, as if she wasn't completely aware of where she was headed with her thoughts and ideas. Perhaps this is so obvious because what she was writing, was written in such a way, that it didn't even remotely resemble her own communication style. Dana seemed content writing to accommodate the expectations of the person she was writing for, rather than writing to satisfy her own expectations. It was very noticeable, even in the first sentences of her introductory paragraphs, that she purposely tip-toed around issues she could have addressed including the issues in her theme papers. Dana is not the person, style, or voice, that she portrays in her papers. Dana seems to have been taught to believing that writing quality is measured by a word choice that is high caliber, eloquent, and sophisticated. I know this girl, and she doesn't use the big two dollar words in her everyday conversations, however, she uses them without discrimination in her writing. Someone, somewhere along the road of her bumpy academic career, has fed her, the very familiar, Official Style myth. It is obvious she gets sick of talking at her readers, attempting to sound like an expert, know-it-all politician.

Different Approach of International Business

Different approach of International Business In truth, we have become part of a global village and have a global economy where no organization is insulted from the effects foreign markets and competition. Indeed, more and more firm are reshaping themselves for international competition and discovering new ways to exploit markets in every corner of the world. Failure to take a global perspective in one of the biggest mistakes managers can make. Thus we start laying the foundation for our discussion by introducing and describing the basic of international business. International Business: An international business is one that is based primarily in a single country but acquires some meaningful share of its resources or revenues (or both) from other countries. Sears fits this description. Most of its stores are in the United States. For example, and the retailer earns around 90 percent of its revenues from its U. S. operation with the remaining 10 percent coming sears stores in Canada. At the same time however, many of the products it sells, such as tools and clothing are made abroad from any perspective. Then it is clear that we live in a truly global economy. Virtually all business today must be concerned with the competitive situations they face in lands for from home and with how companies from distant lands are competing in their homelands. Difference approaches of international business are given below: †¢ Importing and Exporting †¢ Franchising †¢ Licensing †¢ Joint Venture †¢ Foreign Direct Investment †¢ Management contact Importing and Exporting: Imports: Imports† consist of transactions in goods and services (sales, barter, gifts or grants) from non-residents residents to residents. The exact definition of imports in national accounts includes and excludes specific â€Å"borderline† cases. A general delimitation of imports in national accounts is given below: †¢ An import of a good occurs when there is a change of ownership from a non-resident to a resident; this does not necessarily imply that the good in question physically crosses the frontier. However, in specific cases national accounts impute changes of ownership even though in legal terms no change of ownership takes place (e. g. ross border financial leasing, cross border deliveries between affiliates of the same enterprise, goods crossing the border for significant processing to order or repair). Also smuggled goods must be included in the import measurement. †¢ Imports of services consist of all services rendered by non-residents to residents. In national accounts any direct purchases by residents outside the economic territory of a country are recorded as imports of services; therefor e all expenditure by tourists in the economic territory of another country are considered as part of the imports of services. Also international flows of illegal services must be included. Basic trade statistics often differ in terms of definition and coverage from the requirements in the national accounts: †¢ Data on international trade in goods are mostly obtained through declarations to custom services. If a country applies the general trade system, all goods entering the country are recorded as imports. If the special trade system (e. g. extra-EU trade statistics) is applied goods which are received into customs warehouses are not recorded in external trade statistics unless they subsequently go into free circulation of the importing country. A special case is the intra-EU trade statistics. Since goods move freely between the member states of the EU without customs controls, statistics on trade in goods between the member states must be obtained through surveys. To reduce the statistical burden on the respondents small scale traders are excluded from the reporting obligation. †¢ Statistical re cording of trade in services is based on declarations by banks to their central banks or by surveys of the main operators. In a globalized economy where services can be rendered via electronic means (e. . internet) the related international flows of services are difficult to identify. †¢ Basic statistics on international trade normally do not record smuggled goods or international flows of illegal services. A small fraction of the smuggled goods and illegal services may nevertheless be included in official trade statistics through dummy shipments or dummy declarations that serve to conceal the illegal nature of the activities. Balance of trade Balance of trade represents a difference in value for import and export for a country. A country has demand for an import when domestic quantity demanded exceeds domestic quantity supplied, or when the price of the good (or service) on the world market is less than the price on the domestic market. The balance of trade, usually denoted NX, is the difference between the value of the goods (and services) a country exports and the value of the goods the country imports: NX = X ? I, or equivalently I = X ? NX A trade deficit occurs when imports are large relative to exports. Imports are impacted principally by a country's income and its productive resources. For example, the US imports oil from Canada even though the US has oil and Canada uses oil. However, consumers in the US are willing to pay more for the marginal barrel of oil than Canadian consumers are, because there is more oil demanded in the US than there is oil produced. In macroeconomic theory, the value of imports I can be modeled as a function of the domestic absorption A and the real exchange rate ?. These are the two largest factors of imports and they both affect imports positively: I = I(A,? ) Types of import There are two basic types of import: 1. Industrial and consumer goods 2. Intermediate goods and services Companies import goods and services to supply to the domestic market at a cheaper price and better quality than competing goods manufactured in the domestic market. Companies import products that are not available in the local market. There are three broad types of importers: 1. Looking for any product around the world to import and sell. 2. Looking for foreign sourcing to get their products at the cheapest price. 3. Using foreign sourcing as part of their global supply chain. Direct-import refers to a type of business importation involving a major retailer (e. g. Wal-Mart) and an overseas manufacturer. A retailer typically purchases products designed by local companies that can be manufactured overseas. In a direct-import program, the retailer bypasses the local supplier (colloquial middle-man) and buys the final product directly from the manufacturer, possibly saving in added costs. This type of business is fairly recent and follows the trends of the global economy. Role of the Internet Many online auction websites are now providing wholesalers through a wholesale list, generally, the lists that require a fee to view, may not be updated frequently, the data may be old, and the companies listed may no longer be in business. Another form of online middlemen are B2B trade companies. These cater mainly to big businesses who are importing large quantities of goods from foreign countries. They also have sister sites that serve smaller orders for small businesses. In addressing the concerns of listed companies' legitimacy and dependability, such B2B portals may inspect suppliers at their actual premises before they list suppliers. Alternatively, these companies may also branch out of cyberspace and organize their own sourcing fairs, where thousands of buyers and suppliers can meet face-to-face. Statistical data Data on the value of imports and their quantities often broken down by detailed lists of products are available in statistical collections on international trade published by the statistical services of intergovernmental organizations (e. g. UNSTAT, FAOSTAT, OECD), supranational statistical institutes (e. g. Eurostat) and national statistical institutes. Exports: The definition of â€Å"export† is when you trade something out of the country. In economics, an export is any good or commodity, transported from one country to another country in a legitimate fashion, typically for use in trade. In national accounts â€Å"exports† consist of transactions in goods and services (sales, barter, gifts or grants) from residents to non-residents. The exact definition of exports includes and excludes specific â€Å"borderline† cases. A general delimitation of exports in national accounts is given below: †¢ An export of a good occurs when there is a change of ownership from a resident to a non-resident; this does not necessarily imply that the good in question physically crosses the frontier. However, in specific cases national accounts impute changes of ownership even though in legal terms no change of ownership takes place (e. . cross border financial leasing, cross border deliveries between affiliates of the same enterprise, goods crossing the border for significant processing to order or repair). Also smuggled goods must be included in the export measurement. †¢ Export of services consist of all services rendered by residents to non-residents. In national accounts any direct purchases by non-residents in the economic territory of a country are recorded as exports of services; therefore all expenditure by foreign tourists in the economic territory of a country is considered as part of the exports of services of that country. Also international flows of illegal services must be included. Process Methods of export include a product or good or information being mailed, hand-delivered, shipped by air, shipped by boat, uploaded to an internet site, or downloaded from an internet site. Exports also include the distribution of information that can be sent in the form of an email, an email attachment, a fax or can be shared during a telephone conversation. Advantages of exporting Ownership advantages are the firm's specific assets, international experience, and the ability to develop either low-cost or differentiated products within the contacts of its value chain. The vocational advantages of a particular market are a combination of market potential and investment risk. Internationalization advantages are the benefits of retaining a core competence within the company and threading it though the value chain rather than obtain to license, outsource, or sell it. In relation to the Eclectic paradigm, companies that have low levels of ownership advantages either do not enter foreign markets. If the company and its products are equipped with ownership advantage and internalization advantage, they enter through low-risk modes such as exporting. Exporting requires significantly lower level of investment than other modes of international expansion, such as FDI. As you might expect, the lower risk of export typically results in a lower rate of return on sales than possible though other modes of international business. In other words, the usual return on export sales may not be tremendous, but neither is the risk. Exporting allows managers to exercise operation control but does not provide them the option to exercise as much marketing control. An exporter usually resides far from the end consumer and often enlists various intermediaries to manage marketing activities. Disadvantages of exporting For Small-and-Medium Enterprises (SME) with less than 250 employees, selling goods and services to foreign markets seems to be more difficult than serving the domestic market. The lack of knowledge for trade regulations, cultural differences, different languages and foreign-exchange situations as well as the strain of resources and staff interact like a block for exporting. Indeed there are some SME's which are exporting, but nearly two-third of them sell in only to one foreign market. The following assumption shows the main disadvantages: †¢ Financial management effort: To minimize the risk of exchange-rate fluctuation and transactions processes of export activity the financial management needs more capacity to cope the major effort †¢ Customer demand: International customers demand more services from their vendor like installation and startup of equipment, maintenance or more delivery services. Communication technologies improvement: The improvement of communication technologies in recent years enable the customer to interact with more suppliers while receiving more information and cheaper communications cost at the same time like 20 years ago. This leads to more transparency. The vendor is in duty to follow the real-time demand and to submit all transaction details. †¢ Management mistakes: The management might tap in some of the organi zational pitfalls, like poor selection of oversea agents or distributors or chaotic global organization. Ways of exporting The company can decide to export directly or indirectly to a foreign country. Direct selling in export strategy Direct selling involves sales representatives, distributors, or retailers who are located outside the exporter's home country. Direct exports are goods and services that are sold to an independent party outside of the exporter’s home country. Mainly the companies are pushed by core competencies and improving their performance of value chain. Direct selling through distributors It is considered to be the most popular option to companies, to develop their own international marketing capability. This is achieved by charging personnel from the company to give them greater control over their operations. Direct selling also give the company greater control over the marketing function and the opportunity to earn more profits. In other cases where network of sales representative, they company can transfer them exclusive rights to sell in a particular geographic region. A distributor in a foreign country is a merchant who purchases the product from the manufacturer and sells them at profit. Distributors usually carry stock inventory and service the product, and in most cases distributes deals with retailers rather than end users. Evaluating Distributors †¢ The size and capabilities of its sales force. †¢ Its sales record. †¢ An analysis of its territory. †¢ Its current product mix. †¢ Its facilities and equipment. †¢ Its marketing polices. †¢ Its customer profit. †¢ Its promotional strategy. Direct selling through foreign retailers and end users Exporters can also sell directly to foreign retailers. Usually, products are limited to consumer lines; it can also sell to direct end users. A good way to generate such sales is by printing catalogs or attending trade shows. Direct selling over the Internet Electronic commerce is an important mean to small and big companies all over the world, to trade internationally. We already can see how important E-commerce is for marketing growth among exporters companies in emerging economies, in order to overcome capital and infrastructure barriers. E-commerce eased engagements, provided faster and cheaper delivery of information, generates quick feedback on new products, improves customer service, accesses a global audience, levels the field of companies, and support electronics data interchange with suppliers and customers. Indirect selling Indirect exports, is simply selling goods to or through an independent domestic intermediary in their own home county. Then intermediaries export the products to customers foreign markets. Making the export decision Once a company determines it has exportable products, it must still consider other factors, such as the following: †¢ What does the company want to gain from exporting? †¢ Is exporting consistent with other company goals? †¢ What demands will export place on the company's key resources – management and personnel, production capacity, and finance – and how will these demands be met? Are the expected benefits worth the costs, or would company resources be better used for developing new domestic business? Challenges Exporting to foreign countries poses challenges not found in domestic sales. With domestic sales, manufacturers typically sell to wholesalers or direct to retailer or even direct to consumers. When exporting, manufacturers may have to sell to importers who then in turn sell to wholesalers. Extra layer(s) in the chain of distribution squeezes margins and manufacturers may need to offer lower prices to importers than to domestic wholesalers. Franchising Why choose franchising? Although many people dream about running their own business, few actually possess the experience or the capital needed to turn that dream into a reality. Franchising however, is a comfortable alternative to running a business entirely on your own. After purchasing a franchise license, you're ready to set up a business for yourself – but not by yourself. What is franchising? The term ‘franchising' can describe some very different business arrangements. It is important to understand exactly what you're being offered. Advantages Independence: You are your own boss, the business’ success depends on you and you will spend a big part of your life surrounded by learning children. †¢ [pic][pic]Minimized risk: A team of experienced business people with a vested interest in your success is waiting to guide you through the process: From writing a yearly Business Plan, through choosing the best marketing tactics to defining your commer cial goals. †¢ Brand recognition: Helen Doron Early English is an internationally acknowledged and respected brand, granting you a strong position in the market from day one. Thorough training: Our intensive training courses prepare you with the highest level of organizational, business, administrative and pedagogic know-how. †¢ On Going support: Even after the first few months, the business team is always there to offer advice and support. †¢ Educational excellence: Teaching English to children with the Helen Doron Early English method ensures that your students will be fluent speakers and thus have access to better education and professions Disadvantages †¢ Costs may be higher than you expect. As well as the initial costs of buying the franchise, you pay continuing management service fees and you may have to agree to buy products from the franchisor. †¢ †¢ The franchise agreement usually includes restrictions on how you run the business. You might not be able to make changes to suit your local market. †¢ †¢ The franchisor might go out of business. †¢ †¢ Other franchisees could give the brand a bad reputation. †¢ †¢ You may find it difficult to sell your franchise – you can only sell it to someone approved by the franchisor. †¢ †¢ All profits are shared with the franchisor Business format franchise This is the most common form of franchising. A true business format franchise occurs when the owner of a business (the franchisor) grants a licence to another person or business (the franchisee) to use their business idea – often in a specific geographical area. The franchisee sells the franchisor's product or services, trades under the franchisor's trade mark or trade name and benefits from the franchisor's help and support. In return, the franchisee usually pays an initial fee to the franchisor and then a percentage of the sales revenue. The franchisee owns the outlet they run. But the franchisor keeps control over how products are marketed and sold and how their business idea is used. Well-known businesses that offer franchises of this kind include Prontaprint, Dyno-Rod and McDonald's. Other types of arrangement Different types of sales relationships are also sometimes referred to as franchises. For example: †¢ Distributorship and dealership – you sell the product but don't usually trade under the franchise name. You have more freedom over how you run the business. †¢ Agency – you sell goods or services on behalf of the supplier. Licensee – you have a licence giving you the right to make and sell the licensor's product. There are usually no extra restrictions on how you run your business. Multi-level marketing Some businesses offer franchises that are really multi-level marketing. Self-employed distributors sell goods on a manufacturer's behalf. You get commission on any sales you make , and also on sales made by other distributors you recruit. Be aware that some multi-level marketing schemes may be dishonest or illegal Pizza hut †¢ Are your core business processes falling through the cracks in a flood of E-mail? Does your small or medium business have to coordinate with people in several other companies and with freelancers? †¢ Not sure where work is getting stuck in the pipeline? †¢ Ever forgotten to send or chase up an invoice? It’s a commonplace that business owners should work on their business, not in it. Businesses need architecting and structuring in the same way as software does, so that they can run without you; the best way to do that is through careful design and automation of the underlying processes. Becoming a member of the New Rich is not just about working smarter. It’s about building a system to replace yourself. – Tim Ferriss, â€Å"The 4-Hour Work Week† The discipline of Business Process Modeling has long been seen as the preserve of enterprises, who invest tens of thousands of dollars and many man-months in building complex installed systems designed to manage thousands of employees. But the same techniques, made much more affordable and simple, are just as important for small and medium businesses, particularly as these companies rely more and more on home workers and get distributed across multiple countries and time-zones. Process modeling and automation can be affordable and simple, with Rain flow, a cloud based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) process design and execution platform. Rain Flow allows you quickly build a set of processes that don’t stop at your company’s boundaries! Pretend that your business is going to serve as the model for 5,000 more just like it – Michael E. Gerber, â€Å"The E-myth Revisited† Process automation ensures that tasks don’t â€Å"fall through the cracks†: †¢ Import processes from our Pre-defined Process Library, covering a variety of common needs (invoicing, document approval, support etc. †¢ Import your contacts from G mail or Outlook and create your own Org-Chart †¢ Customize or create brand new processes using our online graphic Process Design Tool †¢ Automatically generate documentation for the processes, a great first step towards ISO 9001 compliance †¢ Low monthly fee – don’t get hammere d every time you add a collaborator Investors invest in good systems and people who can build good systems. Investors do not like to invest in businesses where the system, goes home at night. Robert Kiyosaki, â€Å"Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing† †¢ Tasks are automatically assigned to employees, freelancers and even workers in other companies †¢ Customizable E-mail alerts and reminders †¢ Web-based UI for all participants show their current tasks and processes, wherever they access from †¢ Managers get an overview of what processes are in operation, where they â€Å"get stuck† and how they can be improved Franchising Conclusion The franchising can give you a good start into the entry of the business for some people, sometimes entirely new running any business of their own. All you need to do is to follow the already existing formula with the training, advice and marketing. But, you are still investing some of your life savings. So it is best to do research before you invest and take the advice of experienced professionals. For the franchisors, to be this experienced advice is as least beneficial, for without it, they may have an unsuccessful franchise but they will also put their whole business in a bad position and place their livelihoods, lifesavings and all of their franchisees in danger. Licensing: An arrangement where by one company allows another company to use its brand name, trade-mark, technology, patent, copyright or other assets in exchange for a royally based on sales. A company may prefer to arrange for a foreign company to manufacture or market its products under a licensing agreement. Factor that may lead to this decision include excessive transportation costs, government regulations and home production costs. ? Licensed a legal document giving official permission to do something. ? Having been issued with a license by the required authority. License is Aya Ueto’s fourth Japanese solo studio album. ? Freedom to deviate deliberately from normally applicable rules or practice. Securing a patent license or an invention license is hard, frustration and the consuming. The all ration of licensing trade mark for business intention. Appears to be at an all time high mostly in the fashion area, where by customers are buying more licensed products and brand names than e ver before. For example: Coca-cola is licensing company. Coca-cola company’s details: Coca-cola Hellenic was a pioneer foreign investor in Belarus first licensing a local manufacture in 1994 and than setting up its own production facilities in 1997. Its original us $42 million investment was the first green field development in Belarus by a foreign investor. Today, after almost us $ 120 million of investment, Coca-cola Hellanic has four production lines in Belarus producing Coca-cola, Fanta, Sprite, Schweppes, local brand Frunktime. In the summer and over Christmas the lines run 24 hours a day and it employs 550 people in its manufacturing head quarters and across its nation wide sales, warehouse and distribution network. Because of its early entry to the market, Coca-cola Helenic now has approximately 25% of rapidly growing soft drinks market in Belarus. Coca-cola Hellenic also plays an active role in helping the government improve the business climate in Belarus through its founding member ship of the foreign investment advisory council. Coca-cola’s task environment: Competitor Pepsi – cola Seven up 8 Inca Kola Strategic Partner Wash vile Coca-cola system evolution Supplier’s Human right alert Covalence SA Coca-cola trading company Customers Coca-cola Global History of Bottling Regulations Government Licensing is leasing a legally protected property like trade marked or copy righted name, logo, likeness, character, phrase or design to another party in combination with a product service or promotion. It is a process which lays stress on consumer management, development of brand equity in the with international imagery, providing right shopping ambience and perhaps is less about manufacturing. Advantages of Licensing: 1. An invention incentive:- We believe that having a stake in a products actual commercial success unleashes the ultimate incentive for the inventor and results in the best design solutions. A â€Å"licensing agreement† accomplishes this by rewarding an inventor with a reasonable royalty for his or her. 2. A product head start:- The times and money that a company normally spends on the R & D phase can instead be invested in a products a creative resource and a business ally,. 3. Fair & balanced :- The royally can very with each product in order to consider such factors as the license’s to be ling, manufacturing and promotional expense. Product Exclusivity: A license can grant to a manufacture exclusive right to make and sell products relating to the license and any associated patents. 4. Licensing is often the best bet for an inventory. 5. Licensing is less risky for inventory because the license assume all business task 6. Less expensive and inventory to spend more time inventing. 7. Less money and offers freedom to live and work any where. Disadvantages: 1. Very few inventors can retire and their inventory royalties. 2. If license invention only receive a small percentage of sales. 3. Potential pay of for licensing an invention is much smaller that introduction. License is a process which lays stress on consumer management, development of brand equity in the international imagery, providing right shopping ambience and perhaps is less about manufacturing. Licensing is away of growing with an already established brand. It provides the brand recall benefit, which are not achievable is case one comes out with a brand new image. There are many types of licensing business like art & design, corporate brands, events, fashion brand, food & drinks. Strategic Alliances Elmuti and Kathawala (2001) and Wild et al. (2008) explain that a strategic alliance consists of companies who do business together to reach each company’s strategic goals. Wild et al. (2008) state that strategic alliances are similar to joint ventures since they can take place for a short period of time up to several months, depending on the strategic goals. Example 1: Motorola initially found it very difficult to gain access to the Japanese cellular telephone market in the mid 1980s as the firm complained loudly about formal and informal Japanese trade barriers. The turning point for Motorola came in 1987 when it allied itself with Toshiba to build microprocessor. As part of this deal, Toshiba provided Motorola with marketing help, including some of its best managers. This helped Motorola in the political game of securing government approval to enter Japanese market and getting radio frequencies assigned for its mobile communications systems (Hill, 2006). Example 2: In 2003, Microsoft and Toshiba established an alliance aimed at developing embedded microprocessors that can perform a variety of entertainment functions in an automobile. The processors will run a version of Microsoft’s Windows CE operating system. Microsoft brings its software engineering skills to the alliance and Toshiba its skills in developing microprocessors (Hill, 2006). Example 3: In 1999, Palm Computer, the leading maker of personal digital assistance entered into an alliance with Sony under which Sony agreed to license and use Palm’s operating system in Sony PDAs. The motivation for the alliance was in part to help establish Palm’s operating system as the industry standard for PDAs, as opposed to a rival Windows based operating system from Microsoft (Hill, 2006). Elmuti and Kathawala (2001) and Wild et al. (2008) also explain that a strategic alliance can give a company several advantages. Advantages of Strategic Alliances †¢ Reduction of costs †¢ Decreased financial and economic risks †¢ Getting a glimpse of the other’s competitive advantages such as technology †¢ Getting access to the other’s market and distribution channel Disadvantages of Strategic Alliances The primary disadvantage of strategic alliances is that it can create disagreements between the companies which can create a future competitor (Wild et al. 008). Joint Venture A joint venture is when two or more firms establish a new firm that is jointly owned, but sometimes one company has a majority share. The main reason to use a joint venture as entry mode is that the companies share the risk and costs amongst them. But there is also the benefit of entering a market with a company from the host country as they have experience of doing business in that specific country. The local alliance partner has a firsthand knowledge of the political and cultural system in the host country. In some countries, this is the only entry mode possible for companies due to political and legal policies that prohibit foreign ownership (Hill, 2006). Example 1: The Adidas Group and Vulcabras SA have agreed to form a joint venture company with Reebok International Ltd to distribute Reebok footwear, apparel and accessories in Brazil and Paraguay. Financial details were not disclosed, but under the terms of the agreement Pedro Grendene Bartelle will be president and chairman of the new joint venture company, which will be governed by a board of directors to be comprised of Reebok and Vulcabras executives. The joint venture agreement expires at the end of 2015 (Globe Business Publishing Ltd, 2008). Example 2: Toshiba Storage Device Division has introduced its new DVD ROM, which is the first drive to ship from the new Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology (TSST) joint venture. Headquartered in Japan, the TSST joint venture involves product and business planning, product development, procurement and sales for optical disk-drives, including CD-ROM, CD Recordable, DVD Recordable and DVD-ROM drives. The organization is 51 percent owned by Toshiba and 49 ercent owned by Samsung and has combined annual sales exceeding $1. 8 billion (eMedia Asia Ltd, 2008). Example 3: Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture between Ericsson and Sony. It offers mobile communications products for people who appreciate the possibilities of powerful technology. Established in 2001 by Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson and Sony Corporation, the joint venture continues to build on the success of its two innovative parent companies. Sony Ericsson creates value for its operator customers by bringing new ways of using multimedia communications while mobile. The company’s management is based in London, and has 4,000 employees across the globe working on research, development, design, sales, marketing, distribution and support Advantages of Joint Venture Wild et al. (2008) state that using a joint venture while entering a country decreases the risk since the exposure is reduced to the parts of the company they have contributed to the joint venture. Joint ventures can also provide an access to the other partner’s distribution channels. However, Wild et al. (2008) and Osland et al. 2001) further point out that joint ventures can create disagreements between the owners and a loss of control when one owner has knowledge or information that the other lacks. Disadvantages of Joint Venture There are several disadvantages with a joint venture. As in every partnership there is a possibility that friction will occur. It can easily be conflicts in a joint venture in questions of investments and corporate goals. There is also the possib ility of a power struggle in order to gain control. Joint venture also has some disadvantages similar to licensing as it can reduce the ability to achieve experience curve economies and location advantages. The risk of losing control of the company’s specific assets such as technological know-how may also occur (Hill, 2006). Foreign Direct Investment: Foreign direct investment occurs when a firm headquartered in one country builds or purchases operating facilities or subsidiaries in a foreign country. The foreign operations then become wholly owned subsidiaries of the firm. For example, Ford’s acquisition of Jaguar, Volvo and Kia. Dell Computer’s new factory in china is a direct investment. A major reason many firms make foreign direct investments is to capitalize on lower labor costs. In other words, the goal is often to transfer production to locations where labor is cheap. Japanese businesses have moved much of their production to Thailand because labor costs are much lower there than in Japan. There are two strategies used in foreign direct investment. 1. Brownfield 2. Greenfield Brownfield Investment: When a company or government entity purchases or leases existing production facilities to launch a new production activity. For example, BANGLALINK Banglalink: Banglalink is the second largest cellular service provider in Bangladesh after Grameenphone. In September 2004, Orascom Telecom holding purchase 100% of the share of Sheba Telecom (Pvt. ) Ltd. Sheba had a base of 59000 users, of whom 49000 were regular when it was sold. Afterward it was re-branded and launched its service under the Banglalink brand on February 10, 2005. The task environments of Banglalink are: Competitors:  · Grameen  · Aktel  · Warid  · Citycell  · Teletalk Customers:  · Individual consumers  · Institutional customers Suppliers:  · Siemens  · Wholesale parts processors  · Packaging manufacturers Strategic partners:  · BTRC  · Nokia-Siemens  · Network Regulators:  · BRTC  · Securities and Exchange commission  · Police department Greenfield Investment: A Greenfield investment is the investment in a manufacturing, office, or other physical company related structure or group of structures in an area where no previous facilities exist. Greenfield investing is usually offered as an alternative to another form of investment such as merger and acquisition, joint venture or licensing agreement. Greenfield investing is often mentioned in the context of Foreign Direct Investment. For example: Warid Telecom Warid Telecom: Warid Telecom International Ltd. is a GSM based cellular operator in Bangladesh. Warid was the sixth mobile phone carrier to enter the Bangladesh market and launched commercial operation on May 10, 2007. Warid telecom international LLC an Abu Dhabi based consortium, sold a majority 70% stake in the company to Indian’s Bharti Airtel Ltd. for US $300 million. The task environments of Warid are: Competitors:  · Grameen Aktel  · Citycell  · Teletalk  · Banglalink Customers:  · Individual consumers  · Institutional customers Suppliers:  · Samsung  · Wholesale parts processors  · Packaging manufacturers Strategic partners:  · BTRC  · Samsung  · Network Regulators:  · BRTC  · Securities and Exchange commission  · Police department Like the other approaches for increasing a firm’s level of internationalization, direct inves tment carries with it a number of advantages and disadvantages. They are discussed below: Advantages of foreign direct investment: Enhanced control: In foreign direct investment managerial control is more complete and profits do not have to be shared as they do in joint ventures. Existing infrastructure: Existing infrastructure is another advantages of foreign direct investment. Purchasing an existing organization provides additional benefits is that the human resources and organizational infrastructure are already in place. Consume the cost of introducing a new brand: Acquisition is also a way to purchase the brand name identification of a product. This could be particularly important if the cost of introducing a new brand is high. Disadvantages of foreign direct investment: Complexity: Complexity is one of the disadvantages of foreign direct investment. In decision making it creates great complexity. Greater economic and political risk: In this approach a firm starts business in foreign country in greater economic and political risk. Greater uncertainty: Foreign direct investments have some advantage but the firm work in greater uncertainty. Management Contract Wild et al. (2008) explain that a management indenture is when one business gives another managerial expertise. The authors further point out that management contracts are often used by the public sector moreover. This entry mode is not used on a one time basis but rather during an extended time period. There are several advantages to gain by using management contracts as an entry mode, for example international business opportunities can arise and there may be an increase of expertise of local workers. This entry mode reduces the exposure and risk of losing physical assets, however the employees may still be exposed to risks and management contracts can create a future competitor in the local market. Conclusion From the above discussion following conclusion can be drawn: †¢ In accordance with the view of (Hill, 2006) managers of international businesses need to remember that foreign assembly can improve their capabilities over time, and this can be of immense strategic benefit to the firm. Rather than viewing foreign assembly process as sweatshops where unskilled labor churns out low cost goods, manager need to view them as otential centers of excellence and to encourage and foster attempts by local managers to upgrade the capabilities of their factories and thereby, foreign assembly can serve as a source of competitive advantage. And the various case studies discussed in the easy supports this statement. †¢ In accordance with the view of (Lankford & Parsa, 1999), contrac t manufacturing can enable an organization to gain competitive advantage when products or services are produced more effectively and efficiently by outside suppliers. The advantages in contract manufacturing can be operational, strategic, or both. Operational advantages usually provide for short-term trouble avoidance, while strategic advantages offer long-term contributions in maximizing opportunities. However, suggestions of (Harland et al. 2005) cannot be under estimated who suggested that the failure to manage outsourcing relationships properly, perhaps through service level agreements, may reduce customer service, levels of control and contact with the international customers and suppliers. Finally it may be mentioned that it is appropriate to use contract manufacturing or foreign assembly within an international marketing strategy when risk factors are identified and dealt with precision and careful strategic analysis. Appropriateness of embedding contract manufacturing and foreign assembly within an international marketing strategy depends of how precisely an organization can manage multiple relationships in different environmental context and gain competitive advantage. The main goal of foreign manufacturing and foreign assembly process is to increase and sustain the organizational competency. As stated in the discussion that the rationale behind establishing a foreign manufacturing facility, the strategic role of foreign factories can evolve over time and success of such strategy depends on the organization’s ability to respond in the ever changing global environment.

FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION essays

FIGHTING DISCRIMINATION essays Discrimination is common in all of society. Weather it is intentional or not, people discriminates against each other. It is just a natural thing that humans do because that is the way we are. Discrimination begins in the mind and it is only when we intentionally base our decisions on these prejudices that are wrong. The fight against discrimination has been an ongoing process and in order for us to continue the battle against discrimination, we must understand the different types of discrimination that exists, what causes discrimination, and what can we do to stop it. Types of discrimination exist from your gender to ethnicity, from your status in a society to your preferences in dating. What all these types of discriminations have in common is that it segregates one group from another. You discriminate when you think of someone differently just because they are poorer than you, smarter than you, overweight, too short, looks gay, have different political beliefs. All these are forms of discrimination but the most widely publicized forms of discrimination are racial, ethnic, and gender. Racial discrimination has happened since that late 1800s with slavery. Issues of racial tension between blacks and whites are well known. Ethnic discrimination, for example, against Chinese and Native Americans, occurred there after when minorities immigrated to European lands. Mainly, the fight has always been against the dominant group which was whites. Gender discrimination also occurred when women wanted to be treated equal to men. In this case, the dominant g roup was mainly white men. Women wanted equal rights such that of being able to vote. Discrimination is associated with prejudice. Prejudices are caused when one group thinks they are better than another because they lack the qualities that are similar to a certain group. To feel prejudice and then to discriminate, that is wrong we would think that by now, in the 20th century, that...

Wellbeing And Autistic Spectrum Disorder Essays

Wellbeing And Autistic Spectrum Disorder Essays Wellbeing And Autistic Spectrum Disorder Essay Wellbeing And Autistic Spectrum Disorder Essay I work as the Health A ; Safeguarding Manager at a residential school for kids aged 5-19 with Learning Disabilities. Over 50 % of these have a diagnosing of Autistic Spectrum Disorder ( ASD ) . For the intent of this TMA I am traveling to concentrate on those of this group who have severe larning disablements and associated disputing behavior and are placed with us as a 38 hebdomad residential arrangement ; hence traveling place to household during school vacations. This amounts to 42 % ( 20 ) of the entire population I work with. ASD is defined as holding communicating jobs with address, facial looks, gestures, and organic structure linguistic communication ; jobs in societal interaction such as relationships, hapless societal accomplishments, deficiency of apprehension and empathy/insight, and inappropriate oculus contact ; and jobs with flexibleness of idea, being stiff and immune to alter, and showing obsessive and ritualistic behaviors. OASSIS describes ASD as compromises childhood, and has a ruinous consequence on mundane life.A It impairs effectual communicating with and understanding of others, societal ability and flexibleness, and sets apart those with ASD from their more normal equals ; it besides gives rise to high degrees of anxiousness ( World Wide Web. oasis.co.uk ) . How so to analyze the significance of wellbeing and show the publicity of this in a group of kids and immature people already at a disadvantage through how their diagnosing impacts on them daily. As wellness and well-being is an of import portion of my function I thought it peculiarly relevant to concentrate on this more complex group who can non pass on their demands and wants efficaciously. What is wellbeing? The Cambridge Dictionary Online defines wellbeing as the province of experiencing healthy and happy , which fits with my initial ideas on the significance of this. But, as discussed in Unit 5 of Block 2 the term is a wide one and based on a more holistic attack ( K346, Block 2, Unit 5, p.68 ) . Health plays a big portion in a individual s well-being, with wellness in itself being a wide topic. Health covers both physical and mental/psychological wellness. The BMA ( 2006 ) cited a scope of factors that can impact mental wellness, such as exercising, diet, speaking about feelings and larning new accomplishments, entree to originative activities, and the environment a individual lives in ( K346, Block 2, Unit 10, Activity 10.9, Child and Adolescent Mental Health: a Guide for Healthcare, p. 33 ) . This fits with the holistic accent of the term as it is based in the basic demands of mundane life. In my workplace we were, up until April 2011, inspected by OFSTED under the five results from Every Child Matters: Change for Children that the Department for Education and Skills ( 2003 ) stated were cardinal to wellness and well-being in childhood. These were, as listed in Unit 5 ( K346, Block 2, Unit 5, p.69 ) Bing healthy Staying safe Enjoying and accomplishing Making a positive part Achieving economic well-being Indeed, the personal attention files for our immature people were based on these results which placed wellbeing at the Centre of service bringing, and aimed to supply grounds that wellbeing was being monitored, addressed and promoted. We now know that ECM is defunct and it appears there will be more accent on safeguarding and cultural and diverseness demands from an inspectorate point of position. This is following the Munro Review into Child Protection ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.education.gov.uk/munroreview/ ) which is presently driving the policy in monitoring and farther developing societal attention services for kids and immature people. I feel this so demonstrates that the significance of wellbeing on paper in my workplace and company is led by the current policy driver and inspectorate outlooks. Indeed, attention staffs are being asked to get down looking at accommodating attention files to show grounds that the new cardinal results during review are covered within the certification available. This so appears to be policy led instead than led by the demands of the kids and immature people we care for. Bradshaw and Mayhew ( 2005 ) compartmentalise wellbeing into four groups. Physical wellbeing which includes diet, maltreatment, disregard, mortality, morbidity and accidents ; cognitive well-being related to education attainment ; behavioral well-being related to alcohol, drugs, baccy and offense ; and emotional well-being related to mental unwellness, self-esteem and felicity ( K346, Block 2, Unit 5, p.68 ) . I would reason this concept of wellbeing encompasses best the wide significance of such a subjective term, and though policy accent may alter, new constructs can be incorporated into at least one of the four groups. Before I look at the significance and publicity of wellbeing within my chosen group based on Bradshaw and Mayhew ( 2005 ) wellbeing groups, I besides need to see how well-being is measured for this group. Subjective tools such as a Quality of Life Tool as discussed in activity 5.6 and 5.7 ( K346, Block 2, Unit 5 ) rely to a great extent on kids and immature people holding the cognitive ability to be able to reply the simple inquiries. My chosen group map at a really low degree and utilize augmentative communicating AIDSs such as Picture Exchange Systems ( PECS ) merely to let them to hold a successful twenty-four hours without intensifying anxiousnesss. For this group of people their wellbeing depends on placing schemes to understate their anxiousness, this is a precedence. I would reason that a step of wellbeing for this group is based on the recording of what they have been able to entree and accomplish daily without presentations of disputing behavior. Though I concur with Action for Children s stance that kids s positions need to be listened to in estimating their positions on their ain well-being ( K346, Block 2, Unit 5, Activity 5.4 ) , the profound communicating troubles within this group make immense barriers to enable this. By interceding closely with the parents and other professionals involved in the attention of my identified group we are able to advance their personal well-being through the voices of those closest to them. This was felt to be of import in Annette Koshti-Richman s article Listening to parents and carers of kids with disablements which emphasised the demand for professionals to keep unfastened communicating channels with parents ( K346, Block 2, Unit 9, Activity 9.13 ) . My ain experience has shown me that parent s discovery, or are still happening coming to footings with their kid holding an ASD diagnosing really hard. As described in Unit 9 ( K346, Block 2, Unit 9, p.106 ) parents speak of a sense of loss-of the possible activities, accomplishments and escapades that the kid will non be able to hold .. By keeping communicating channels with parents, and recommending for the kids within the wellness services that can happen their ambitious behaviors hard to pull off ( a barrier to wellbeing ) , the well-being of both the kid and parent/s is promoted through family-centred attention. In unit 7 ( K346, Block 2, Unit 7 ) we looked at resiliency theory based on doing good despite inauspicious fortunes , which focuses on kids s strengths instead than exposures ( K346, Block 2, Unit 7, p.91 ) . Though the parents of my mark group do by and large hold high outlooks for them, the immature people s exposures are overpowering and bound development of resiliency. They have no penetration into how their behavior impacts on others, or if others behaviour is harmful to them. They have no job work outing or life- accomplishments and need motivating from a cardinal grownup at all clip to run into their basic day-to-day life demands. The accent is more around maintaining safe ; but in making so we are restricting their experiences based on their behavior presentation and unwittingly non advancing resiliency. For the parents resiliency is promoted. As this group pass the school-holidays at place the bulk of parents have support from paid carers which provides consistence and supports the parent s well-being. This provides modus operandi for the immature people so advancing their well-being. We can mensurate whether their degree of well-being is maintained through vacation periods by whether parents have to entree the exigency contact for support due to escalation in behavior, or return early to school on an exigency respite footing. To avoid this parents are encouraged to take portion in developing behaviour support programs which can go on over the vacation periods. Returning to Bradshaw and Mayhew ( 2005 ) wellbeing groups how is wellbeing promoted or challenged within my mark group? Physical well-being: in activity 6.11 we looked at the wellness of kids in attention ( K346, Block 2, Unit 6, Activity 6.11 ) . The article by Rodrigues ( 2003 ) indicated that kids in attention have higher physical and mental wellness demands and that local attention services do non run into these demands. Unmet needs encompassed alveolar consonant, GP, and optician. Through service degree understandings we guarantee wellness appraisals are completed six-monthly, our GP visits hebdomadally to help building-up a curative relationship with the immature people helping wellness monitoring and signposting to secondary attention services. Our tooth doctor is a specific larning disablements dentist pro-active in run intoing unwritten wellness demands. An optician visits yearly and is adept at function drama and accommodating trials to single tolerance degrees. I therefore feel we do non hold any unmet wellness demands in a group in attention with complex demands. Due to a profuseness of hazard appraisals and a civilization of continual dynamic hazard appraisals accidents are minor ; hurts tend to happen in staff due to aggressive behaviors. Diets are individualised and height and weight are closely monitored. Due to the stable and monitored environment the immature people are in, disregard and maltreatment is non in grounds. This may be more of a hazard during school vacations when parents have the force per unit areas of caring for the immature individual. Cognitive well-being: through being placed with us cognitive wellbeing has been identified as a concern and documented within statements of educational demands. Through statutory reappraisals this is monitored and governments are happy that they attend school daily. The educational attainment of my mark group is improbable to of all time be that above a three twelvemonth old. Through the Education Act 1996 ( www.legislation.gov.uk ) for those aged 5-16 instruction is mandatory. Due to the low degree of operation of this group it is difficult to show how their cognitive well-being is being addressed via schoolroom activities. The school does integrate a life-skills attack concentrating on bettering self-care accomplishments which will be more good to them in maturity, therefore bettering long-run well-being. Behavioral well-being: within my group entree to drugs, intoxicant and baccy is limited. The immature people are neer entirely within the residential environment or in the community. Their behaviour presentation when dying and therefore disputing creates barriers to overall well-being and may take onto the demand for drug therapy ; when inauspicious side-effects develops this so impacts on well-being. Emotional well-being: in Activity 5.6 ( K346, Block 2, Unit 5 ) we looked at what is of import in stripling s quality of life ; relationships with equals was found to be really of import. Due to my groups really hapless societal accomplishments their relationships tend to be merely with the grownups caring for them. I can happen no research that demonstrates deficiency of equal support for this group is damaging to them, possibly as they lack the penetration to seek it out in the first topographic point. In activity 10.3 ( K346, Block 2, Unit 10 ) we examined psychological emphasis and anxiousness in immature people and how this impacts on wellbeing. Inability to develop accomplishments in deciding jobs and stressors was found to be damaging. My group live in a ageless anxiousness province and can non get by with the slightest alteration. Their emotional well-being is continually undermined through their status. By supplying an environment that is unagitated and familiar and fixing them for alteration we try to equilibrate this facet of well-being, though it is a changeless challenge. In activity 10.6 the nature of kid and adolescent mental wellness jobs ( K346, Block 2, Unit 10 ) the article discussed that those with terrible larning disablements have a high incidence of mental wellness jobs every bit good as their upset. We monitor mental wellness through our service degree understanding with CAMHS. The complex demands of this group mean they receive regular reappraisals. In decision the significance of wellbeing in this group is difficult to specify due to their associated jobs through their diagnosing. Though their well-being is promoted through robust wellness monitoring and run intoing their daily life demands, we can non supply any longer than that as they can non pass on their demands more to the full. They are to the full safeguarded to such an extent that their every move is monitored ; and for this group of immature people I feel this is necessary as to make any other would direct them gyrating as they are unable to get by with the normal challenges of mundane life, and that in itself would be barbarous.

Please answer the four questions about marketing Research Paper

Please answer the four questions about marketing - Research Paper Example Thirdly, each of the exchanging parties has to exude confidence in the value of the items exchanged. For instance, when purchasing a vehicle, the customer has to have confidence that the vehicle would perform beyond their expectations and offer the required utility. Lastly, r both parties have to meet the high expectations as a way to build trust in the transaction, in addition to making the marketing activity successful. A recent marketing exchange that I participated recently was purchasing a mobile phone recently. In the transaction, I had to visit a local distributor dealing in some of the leading phone brands, which actualized the first requirement of a marketing exchange; two parties have to be involved in the exchange. Secondly, I was attracted to the mobile phone due to its enhanced functionality, which promised to be of much value. In this case, I was confident that the phone could satisfy my needs while the distributor would be satisfied by having a piece of his stocks sold at a profit. Thirdly, I was very confident that after reviewing the phone and listening to earlier users, the phone could deliver more value to exceed my satisfaction as I had been disappointed by some earlier models. Lastly, I had to bargain to get the best possible price for the best product, while we finally settled on the last price with each of us meeting and exceeding the expectations. As a result, we established a strong buyer-seller relationship that would be considered for another transaction in the future. Q.2 In strategic planning, an organization sets its mission, goals and a corporate strategy that guides in all its operations until establishment of a sound marketing plan to seal transactions. As such, Pride & Ferrell (2012) detailed the important components to be considered in strategic planning. The first step involves identification of the organization’s strengths,