Barclays Plc and Abn Amro Case Study

[pic] London School of Commerce MBA E BARCLAYS PLC AND ABN AMRO CASE STUDY ASSIGNMENT London UK As one of the world’s leading banks, with 135,000 employees in more than 50 countries, Barclays plays a significant role, from working with governments on major infrastructure projects to bringing banking to customers in emerging markets. Barclays is made up of two major businesses: Global Retail and Commercial Banking (GRCB) and Investment Banking and Investment Management (IBIM). There strategy is to achieve growth through time by diversifying their profit base making their growth relevant to their customers at all times. This case study will seek to examine the bid and intended acquisition of ABN AMRO, and the early acquisition of Banco Zaragozano by Barclays, the differences in performance of these two banks based upon the strategic a economic motives, focusing on the merger acquisition, and strategy implemented to effect improvements to reflect the results from 2002- 2006. 1. Evaluate Barclays strategy over the period of the case and prior to the ABN bid, paying particular attention to the global industry drivers and the group? s performance from 2002-2006. In order to understand the context that helps to formulate the strategic performance changes at Barclays PLC over and prior bid for ABN AMOR. Barclay? s’ origins can be found back in 1690 to John Freame and Thomas Gould. The named changed to its present form when James Barclay became a partner in 1736. Presently, Barclays is the third largest bank in the United Kingdom. The institution’s primary focus is in retail banking, investment banking as well as investment management. Barclays operates in 60 countries with major point of interest in Europe, the United States, Asia, and Africa. Barclays is one of the ten largest banks global when measured by market capitalization (Barclays PLC, 2004). The institution’s core business revolves around retail and investment banking, and it is the later that is being impacted by forces acting upon liberal market economies in varied European Union member states as a result of the aforementioned introduction of the Euro as well as globalization. As a result of the preceding, Barclays services the United Kingdom market as well as providing services to multinational companies located in differing market models. Barclays strategy. The bank’s strategy is to offer a full portfolio of services worldwide, providing a wide range of cross-selling opportunities, in order to achieve good growth through time by diversifying its business base and increasing its presence in markets and segments that are growing rapidly. This is driven by the Group’s ambition to become one of a handful of universal banks leading the global financial services industry, helping customers and clients throughout the world achieve their goals. Moreover, the strategy of the bank is based on the principles of earn, invest and grow. Aligning business drivers with strategic options. The strategic options examined by Barclays were further direct investment or outsourcing to a ‘partner’ bank and these were considered in the context of the bank’s key business drivers. These were:improving their operating model for trade processing; reducing the costs of their trade business in relation to people, infrastructure and services; improving their trade service capabilities and establishing a workable, non-competing, long-term ‘partnership’. After considering all of the options, including a Joint Venture partnership, Barclays decided to outsource the processing aspect of its trade services offering to ABN AMRO and to focus on delivering enhanced client service. Performance Nowadays, the proliferation of banking consolidation within the industry is and has created a new era of international banking conglomerates in the global industry. The preceding is causing European based banks to appear small in terms of relative comparison. Barclays? peration in a liberal market economy means it competes with equity financing for corporations and as such, this does not represent a strength concerning its overall performance base. According to group? s performance from 2002-2006 identifies that Barclays? performance underpinnings are represented by its strategy of acquiring other banking (such as ABN Amro and Banco Zaragozano) concerns to expand its retail as well as other banking services through representation in international marke ts as represented by the bank’s presence in 60 countries. This provides Barclays with the means to sell its highly profitable investment banking services as well as be positioned to service the cadre of multinational companies that utilize its diverse banking financial service packages. On the other hand, ABN AMRO bank has a presence in 76 countries and territories. Using its worldwide network the bank provides universal banking services consisting of commercial and investment banking products to corporate nationally and internationally operating clients as well as personal and private banking customers. In 2007, Barclays announced the proposed acquisition of ABN AMRO bank, in order to expanded their distribution base. The deal was valued at â‚ ¬67 billion. On October, the RFS consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland, bidding for control of ABN AMRO, formally declared victory after shareholders, representing 86 percent of the Dutch bank’s shares, accepted the RFS group’s â‚ ¬70bn offer. Barclays is known a consistent performer delivering steady profitability results, 20% increase in profit before taxes in 2003, and again in 2004, and one of the lowest cost to income ratios with regard to banks in the UK. The preceding indicates that Barclays is well managed. Barclays? focus on internal administrative consolidation as well as the acquisition of banking concerns represents its recognition in order to maintain growth in revenues, return on equity, dividends and profits in response to maintaining a high market capitalization that tends to make it a relatively unattractive takeover target as a result of the high premium required to acquire it Barclays? retail banking arm is clearly supported by the huge success of its Barclaycard division that has set industry standards in terms of innovations in customer utility. Barclays? resence in 60 countries further strengthens the utility of this card providing business and retail customers with access to their financial accounts globally (Barclays PLC, 2004). The aforementioned diversity in operations is a result of the economic strength of global industry market based economies that have fully recovered from the global recession events of 2002. B arclays? banking acquisition strategy is a direct outgrowth of the foregoing in keeping with the consolidation mania initiated by U. S. based banks. According to ABN AMRO bank performance, financial results in 2006 added to concerns about the bank's future. Operating expenses increased at a greater rate than operating revenue, and the efficiency ratio deteriorated further to 69. 9%. Non-performing loans increased considerably year on year by 192%. Net profits were only boosted by sustained asset sales. From 2002 to 2006, the further progress being made as a result of understanding the corrective measures that were and are needed to be taken. Barclays ? performance throughout this period has remained consistent and steady as the bank has not lost sight of the competencies that helped it achieve acceptable historical performance. . Compare and contrast the intended acquisition of ABN with that of the earlier acquisition of Banco Zaragozano, paying particular attention to the merger rationale and the motives in each case and the likely synergy gains resulting from the integration of ABN. According to the drivers of the bidding war that preceded the intended acquisition of ABN AMRO bank and the acquisition of Banco Zaragozano by Barclays in 2003, it is important to understand why merger and acquisition (M) take place and the potential gains of doing so. But first some definitions. Mergers and acquisitions. Mergers and acquisitions (M) are considered as consolidation strategies where a change of control takes place through a transfer of ownership. A merger is the combining of two or more companies into a single corporation. This is achieved when one company or business purchases the property or some other form of assets from another company. The result of this action is the formation of one corporate structure. This new corporate structure retains it is original identity. An acquisition is a little different from a merger n that it involves many problems being dissolved, and an entirely new company being formed. The main theory of merger and acquisition is synergy, that is, one and one makes three. Through synergy, managers create greater value with the integration of two companies, rather than that of their individual parts. Strategic and economic motives. The strategic of Barclays with the intended acquisition of ABN AMRO bank was to created a big opportunity with the purpose to deliver a new period of faster growth for shareholders in general. Moreover the intended investment would be implemented at a reasonable price slightly below the recent market trading price. The merger for Barclays was focused in a strong financial performance provides clear strategic advantages as well as stature on the world business state. The proposed merger with ABN AMRO, offered a unique opportunity to become a leading force in global retail and commercial banking with an stimate 47 millions customers, in order to increase financial returns to their owners beyond the rate of the stand-alone entities. And the fact that this merger, combining the strengths and values of both businesses, gives them confidence in delivery, both in terms of synergies, and determined in considerable detail by ABN AMRO bank and Barclays, in terms of a clearly defined and transparent management structure that we are putting in place. In terms of growth for shareholders, the combined entity would offers a diversified portfolio, both by geography and by business. Exposure to high-growth developing markets represents about a quarter of the enlarged pro forma profit base. Business segments such as investment banking and investment management, which have as we know strong growth opportunities driven by demographic trendS represent about half of profits For Global Retail and Commercial Banking, the merger would create the fourth largest retail and commercial bank worldwide by market share, and in a world where the needs and buying behaviours of retail and commercial customers are growing more similar, this will create economies of scale. Furthermore, the benefits generate by the merger between both banks would be: complementary networks, a strong presence in attractive European markets; significantly enhanced positions in high-growth developing markets; a much larger distribution network; and the opportunity to deliver considerable economies of scale. The main reason behind Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), has trumped Barclays? offer for ABN Amro. The for each ABN AMRO share, 79 per cent of which will be in cash, with the remainder in RBS shares. The cash element was higher than expected and the bid, valuing ABN at E71bn (? 8bn), beats Barclays? agreed all-share offer, worth E64. 5bn. The deal offers better value for ABN AMRO bank shareholders. And price is not the only factor, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) also combined cost savings would reach E4. 23bn by the end of 2010, easily beating Barclays? estimated savings of around E2. 8bn. In essence the driving force behind the success of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) bid over Barclays was in fact the higher share price expectations offering the perfect icing. That partly reflects the radically difierent strategic visions of the two banks. Barclays is looking to build a huge universal bank where cross-border synergies could be limited. But the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) consortium wants to generate a type of â€Å"in-market synergies†, by breaking-up ABN AMRO. On the other hand, in 2003, Barclays announces the completion of its acquisition of Banco Zaragozano, at a cost of ? 788 million which fit nicely into Barclays' strategy to grow its business in Europe. Barclays has been present in the Spanish market for 25 years and it the most profitable foreign-owned bank in the country. The acquisition of Banco Zaragozano to its arsenal makes Barclays the sixth largest private bank in Spain (much of the market is dominated by publicly-owned banks) and triples Barclays customer base and branch network. Barclays aimed to be one of the top five banks in the world and for that it would consider acquisition to achieve the goal. Further, Barclays believes that a physical retail and commercial banking presence is a significant enabler of investment banking growth. The acquisition of Banco Zaragozano, shows that strong retail presence generates ood new business opportunities for global businesses such as investment banking and credit cards. The success or failure of a deal also depends on the time horizon over which evaluation is done. Normally, in the short term, stock reactions to merger announcements tend to raise the target's stock price, while the stock of the acquirer stays about the same. This is normally attributable to the expectation that there will be a bid that is successful and involves a premium above the current market price of the stock. Acquirer prices stay the same, in general, as the market reacts conservatively, depending on the specifics of the deal. 3. Identify what you believe to the key success factors necessary to sustain competitive adavantage in the global financial services industry and briefly discuss the implications for the firm? s competencies, structure, and ehical/corporate governance. Critical success factors (CSFs) have been used significantly to present or identify a few key factors that organisations should focus on to be successful. As a definition, Critical success factors refer to â€Å"the limited number of areas in which satisfactory results will ensure successful competitive performance for the individual, department, or organisation† (Rockart and Bullen, 1981). Identifying CSFs is important as it allows firms to focus their efforts on building their capabilities to meet the CSFs, or even allow firms to decide if they have the capability to build the requirements necessary to meet Critical success factors (CSFs). The main keys success factors for Barclays in the case study are, with over three hundred years of history and expertise in banking Barclays has seen and has gained a reputation for being a trustworthy and a reliable institution to bank and invest with. This reputation has seen it grow into over 50 countries and become truly universal bank providing loans, investments and protecting the money of over 42 million customers and client worldwide. Another reason for the success of Barclays would be that it follows a simple strategic premise; ‘anticipates the needs of customers and clients and serve them by helping them achieve their goals. Part of Barclays recent success has been their ability to target and identify upcoming emerging markets for example: India, parts of Asia and Africa, namely South Africa, expanding its retail network and cash machine availability. Despite being a truly global corporation from a basic bank account to funding Governmental projects, Barclays focus ha s always been to meet the needs of the individual customer. Furthermore, competitive advantages are difficult to create. It is even more difficult to sustain. Community banks usually can not achieve a cost advantages, especially in head-to-head competition with larger, high-volume institutions. That leaves differentiation as their primary method for creating Competitive advantages. But that approach is also problematic. It is clear that technology is playing a bigger and bigger role in banking. But today most banks are using functionally identical systems to develop and deliver products and services. This uniformity of technology has resulted in commoditized banking – the antithesis of differentiation. So while emerging technology can create a temporary advantage, sustainable differentiation based solely on technology is virtually impossible. To make matters worse, technology has actually eliminated some of the historical advantages enjoyed by community banks. Thanks to CRM, personalized service – once the sole province of community banks – is now possible for even the largest institutions. Sustainable Competitive advantages is created by leveraging organization’s unique blend of attributes – brand equity, reputation, geographic footprint, specialized knowledge – and articulating it clearly and consistently to your market. Barclays is an excellent example of a bank that has achieved Competitive advantages through specialized knowledge. On the other hand, on the global financial services industry corporate governance is essential to the wellbeing of an individual company and its stakeholders, particularly its shareholders and creditors. But sound corporate governance is not just a vital factor at the level of the individual corporation. It is also a critical ingredient in maintaining a sound financial system and a robust economy. And that is why governments have taken such an interest in recent examples of corporate governance failures. It is also why banking supervisors are placing greater emphasis on the role that corporate governance can play in promoting financial stability. In the financial system, corporate governance is one of the key factors that determine the health of the system and its ability to survive economic shocks. The health of the financial system much depends on the underlying soundness of its individual components and the connections between them – such as the banks, the non-bank financial institutions and the payment systems. In turn, their soundness largely depends on their capacity to identify, measure, monitor and control their risks. Barclays have designed good corporate governance policies and practices in order to ensure that they are focused on their responsibilities to shareholders and on creating long term shareholder value, and ensuring that behaviour is ethical, legal and transparent. In firms, structure is basically the best way to organize it, in order to accomplish it is objectives. It acts as the medium that facilitates the accomplishments of the organizational goals. It also helps to identify the key activities of the organizational processes and how they are coordinated. Moreover, successful strategy implementation depends to a large extent on the firm’s primary organizational structure. A primary organizational structure comprises the firm’s major elements, components, or differentiated units. Other means of getting organized are through reward systems, coordination terms, planning procedures, alliances, information, and budgetary systems. Geographical structure It is common in firms that have grown by expanding the sale of their products of services to new geographical areas. In these areas, they frequently encounter differences that necessitate different approaches in producing, providing or selling services or products. The key strategic advantage of this structure is responsiveness to local market conditions, a clear example of that is the intended acquisition of ABN AMRO and the early acquisition of Banco Zaragozano. To conclude, after being satisfied with its progress in the United Kingdom, Barclays decided to make its name international by going abroad which was another great move. In the United Kingdom, Barclays had acquired many other small banks, such a Banco Zaragozano, gained large market and profits with each acquisition. As a result of this growth, this company had reached its maturity stage within UK itself; it has reached its peak of growth. Further, Barclays, performance throughout 2002-2006 has remained consistent and steady as the bank has not lost sight of the competencies that helped it achieve acceptable historical performance. Bibliography †¢ Barclays PLC. 2004. Annual Report. Barclays PLC, London, United Kingdom. †¢ Calmfors, Lars, Driffil, John. 1988. Centralisation of Wage Bargaining. Vol. 6. Economic Policy Dammann, N. 2008. The Bidder Competition for ABN AMRO: A Strategic Analysis and Implications †¦Bachelor tesis. †¢ Esping-Anderrsen, Gosta. 1990. Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, United States. †¢ Foster, S. Reed A. , & Nesvold P. 1999. The art of M & A: a merger, acquisition, buyout guide. Fourth edition. †¢ Friedman, Thomas. 1999. The Lexus and the Olive Tree. P 105. Anchor Books, New York, New York, United States †¢ Hall, Peter, Soskice, David. 2001. Varieties of Capitalism: The Insitutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage. Oxford University Press, Oxford, United Kingdom. Ireland, D. , Hoskisson, R. , & Hitt, M. 2008 Understanding Business Strategy: Concepts and Cases. Second edition †¢ Monks, R. , & Minow N. 2008. Corporate Governance. Fourth edition †¢ Rockart, J. & Bullen, C. , 1981. A primer on critical success factors. Center for Information Systems Research Working Paper No 69. Sloan School of Management, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts. †¢ Tibergien, M. & Pomering. 2005. R. Practice made perfect: the discipline of business management for financial. Bloomberg.

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Paul is an Artist of International Fame - Essay Example He will be with us in Houston, for two days. The conference venue is at Richmond.† On the conclusion of the first day of the seminar, at my insistence, Paul uncle gives a brief introduction about his art. â€Å"The sponsoring UNO agency has made all the arrangements for my boarding and lodging. I dislike the ambiance of staying in a 5 Star hotel. I eat simple home food. I live with my three children and we have an ancestral house in a two-acre plot in the suburbs of Port-au-Prince.† â€Å"My children are married, and we live as a joint family. My two sons are not interested in this vocation and the eldest one takes a limited interest in this art which is full of intricacies.† But in general, Paul gives lots of information on the copper-art and the present condition of art in Haiti. â€Å"Many traditional art-forms of Haiti are dying a slow death with no appreciation of genuine art and lack-luster approach of the Government authorities. Materialistic civilization has impacted life in all the segments of life. People have lost love for art. By pursuing this as art as a vocation, it is difficult to eke out a living†¦.my children are right perhaps to pursue alternative careers, where there is money. My second son has already migrated to Australia. † I visit him after 5 years. His house is on a hillock in the distant suburbs of Haiti. He has problems in recognizing me but with the mention of â€Å"Houston,† he embraces me. We speak a lot about Haiti art and his copper plates and pitchers in particular. He shows some of his centuries-old family collections of pitchers. When I tell him that â€Å"Traditional Art of Haiti† is one of the subjects that I teach at the college level, he is greatly fascinated.   

Social De-alignment in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Social De-alignment in UK - Essay Example It has become popular through the recent years to view the voting patterns in the UK as less dependent on social attitudes and positions, rather than dependent on political factors. However, it is still under argument, whether social issues still play major role in defining voters' behaviours, as the present-day society has become more polarized. The electorate may be described as well-educated and informed mass of people, and it is often that its rational choice is based on the party's position, leadership, strategy and policy, not taking into account to which class the exact part of electorate belongs. This is the basis of the so called 'supermarket' model of voting, when the rational choice is based on the perceptions, which party will improve the life of the society while in Government. Thus the theory becomes active, when the leadership and personality of the candidate become increasingly significant for voters, and the political issues leave for the background. However, such th eories don't take into account the influence, which the media may make on the personality of each leader, and this influence may be both positive and negative, thus causing the electorate to make wrong choice. This work is to be concentrated on the social theories in voters' behaviour which take into account age, gender and class to which the voters belong, and assuming that these factors dictate the way the voter makes his choice. De-alignment 'Class is undoubtedly a significant factor when considering voting behaviour; traditionally two thirds of all voters chose their 'natural' class party, the working class favoring Labour and the middle class Conservative. However, since the1970s class de-alignment has begun, and the proportions of classes voting for particular parties have become more even, caused by embourgeoisement and the consequent decrease of in size of the working class'. (Curtice, 2002) This theory may be easily linked to the suggestion, that the voter's choice is becoming more tied to the place of his residence (the theories of voters' behaviour and the influence of neighbourhood will be discussed in this work), however, it is easily explained by the fact that the working class mainly occupies the northern part of the country, while the southern part belongs to the middle class. Simultaneously, it is interesting to note, that during the election campaign of the year 2001 the Conservatives lost most of their southern votes, which says there are some other factors except for class, which influence voters' choice. Another important social factor in defining voting preferences is gender. However, the proofs, which support this theory, are very inaccurate, as they don't account the gender equilibrium in the workforce and the attempts of different parties to concentrate their campaigns on childcare and health issues. It may be surprising not to note the influential role of the social factors in electorate behaviour, as Britain cannot be described as less class aligned. People still reflect their class preferences in their voting, though less attention has been paid to these factors, while they are still important and should be taken into account. To realize the importance of the social re-alignment and de-alignment in relation to the voting behaviours, it is necessary to provide the reliable argument as for the increasing social polarization in the society. According to Dorling (2006), 'housing wealth per child rose 20 times more in the best-off tenth as compared to worse-off tenth of areas in Britain 1993-2003; the majority of extra higher education places

The toxicity of chemicals Essay Example for Free

The toxicity of chemicals Essay Remedy I would not endorse hazardous waste landfill, waste treatment plant, deep injection well, or incinerators near a residential community because of the hazardous threats brought by the chemicals. Even though they are built so that the trash of chemical plants and the residue from pest control, there are some instance where there is a leakage that can harm the community. Hazardous waste landfills are built so that the waste from chemical processes can be dumped in this area. They are designed to resist the power of the chemicals. A deep injection well is a special kind waste landfill where the chemical residues are injected on the soil so that not to penetrate more from the environment and to the atmosphere. While a waste treatment plant treats the chemicals that lessen the impact of hazards of the chemicals. They used methods and even chemicals to in order for the hazardous chemical power be minimized. While an incinerators burned chemicals in a combustion chambers. All these methods are almost perfect because they are designed by engineers to minimize the effects of hazardous chemicals. But somewhat they have drawbacks. If people who operate this kind of methods did not operate well and accurate, they are big chances that the community will be getting toxic. And this consumes more land that must be used by the people in the community. (Network, 2005) The most practical way to response to this problem is to locate a dumping site or a site that will be building up by the waste treatment plant, deep injection well, or incinerators that is far from a community. In this way, the toxicity of chemicals that can affect the health of people can be minimized. But the most remedy to this problem is to minimize the use of chemicals that harms the human health as well as the environment. We must seek on the natural ways in preventing pest in our farms. Reference: Network, S. W. A. (2005). Landfill. Retrieved February 20, 2007, from http://www. ccthita-swan. org/Tutorials/landfill. cfm

Tsarist system of government Essay Example for Free

Tsarist system of government Essay The Tsarist system of government underwent many changes throughout the years of 1881-1914. Both Alexander III and Nicholas II created several modifications, being both good and bad, to the government during these years. Alexander III created mostly negative changes, due to him being seen as a reactionary, whereas Nicholas II created mainly positive changes to the government as a result of the 1905 revolution. These changes can be categorised into political, economic and social modifications. Alexander III made a few political modifications to the Tsarist government. In 1851, he introduced Land Captains. These meant that people, sometimes locals, could be appointed to have more power over the people within their towns or cities, meaning power was seemingly being more wide spread. However, these lands captains were chosen by the Tsar himself, meaning he could manipulate who had extra power based on what he wanted. Therefore, some could argue that this was a negative modification made to the government. Alexander III also introduced the Manifesto of Unshakeable Autocracy in 1881. This showed the Tsars rejection of democracy and further reform, meaning he had further influence and power over everyone else. He also introduced the Statue of State Security in 1881, which allowed for the Okhrana to have more powers. For example, the Okhrana was now able to break into people’s houses without reason or their consent, meaning the government had further control over the population of Russia. Although Alexander III’s political reforms were mostly bad, the introduction of the Land Captains meant that his power was in fact becoming more widespread amongst the population of Russia, and not all of Russia’s power was given to one person. Therefore, the political reforms made by Alexander III showed a slight modification the government during his reign. Nicholas II also introduced several political reforms. These took place after the 1905 revolution. In 1905, Nicholas issued the October manifesto. This gave people a lot more freedom than they previously had. Freedom of speech, organisation and assembly was now made legal; allowing opposition groups to now be able to be more organised as they were allowed to meet in public. Nicholas also introduced the fundamental laws in 1906, which allowed for the government to become more democratic. Under the fundamental laws, Article 87 was introduced, giving the Tsar the complete right to exercise any policy that he wished, without having to gain permission from the Dumas beforehand. The first State Duma was also introduced under Nicholas II in April 1906, which allowed for the population of Russia to have more of a say in the governments decisions. It was believed that the Duma was a step forwards towards a democracy for Russia; however, the Tsar could change and manipulate the Dumas in whatever way he wished through the use of Article 87, mean they were only put in place to make Russia seem more democratic when in reality it was not. Nicholas II also introduced a pro-government terrorist group called the Black Hundreds in 1905, meaning the government had further control over Russia as they were willing to use violence to get what they wanted. All of these new policies introduced by Nicholas seemed like positive reforms, however Article 87 meant that the Tsar could still pass laws and policies without consulting the Dumas beforehand, so really the Tsar and his power still heavily remained in Russia. The modifications made by Nicholas II throughout the years of his reign drastically changed the Tsarist government, showing the fact that Nicholas’ modifications greatly impacted the Tsarist government. Both of the Tsars between the years 1881-1914 also introduced a range of economic reforms. Under Alexander III were Witte, Bunge and Vysknegradsky. Witte made several economic reforms, including the building of the Trans-Siberian railway in 1891, the increase of foreign loans, the gold standard and industrialisation. All of these meant that Russia was now becoming a much richer country, with more exports going to other countries. The production of coal, iron and oil was majorly increased, meaning the country had a lot more sources of income other than just agriculture. The building of the railway meant that trade was much easier, and therefore the countries income was increased as a result. Despite all of Witte’s efforts, Russia still lagged behind other great powers economically, and therefore the economic policies put in place did improve Russia but not as much as Witte intended. Also, Alexander III introduced the Peasants Land Bank in 1862, which meant that peasants would now find it easier to rent land. However, they still had a difficult time paying this back and not many peasants owned land after this was put in place, the majority of land was still owned by the major, richer landowners. As a result, this shows a major change to the government during Alexander’s reign as a wide range of economic policies were introduced by Witte which dramatically improved the countries overall income and as a result Russia was much better off as a country. Nicholas II also put various economic changes in place. These were under Stolypin, who changed a great deal for Russia and put a lot of policies in place. One economic policy which was put in place by Stolypin was the ending of redemption payments for peasants to pay to the Mir in 1907. This in turn meant that peasants had more money to put towards land and farms, meaning they could make more income and not lose any money due to having to make redemption payments. Stolypin also introduced loans for peasants which were easier for peasants to get hold of. This meant that they could own more land and were encouraged to own a farm, and therefore would have an increased income as a result of this. Also, the peasants easily would have been able to pay off these loans due to having an increased income, so as a result peasants were no longer as poor as before. This however can be counter-argued by saying that in 1906-14, only 25% of peasants owned lots of land/farms, showing that this policy did not fully do what was originally intended. Also, the richest 10% of landowners still owned majority of the land, meaning not much of it actually belonged to the peasants. Nicholas II therefore made several economic modifications to the government during his reign which attempted to benefit the peasants of Russia. However, although most of these changes were beneficial to Russia, some of them did not take the desired effect; for example Nicholas II tried to make peasants gain more land, but figures show that majority of the land was still owned by the richest land owners and not peasants. Finally, both Alexander and Nicholas introduced a range of social reforms. Alexander III introduced the policy of Russification in 1883. This meant that the official language of Russia was Russian, and all schools and documents had to be written in Russian; any other language was not allowed. This meant that other cultures and other languages were repressed, as someone could not speak the language of their home country within Russia. This then would have created a further breeding ground for more opposition to the Tsarist rule, so Russification had negative effects on Russia and on the Tsarist government. Alexander III also emancipated the serfs in 188. This was a major social reform for the serfs as it now meant that they had a lot more freedom and were no longer enslaved by serfdom. However, it can be argued that the serfs were no actually freed. The now ex-serfs were still tied to the land, meaning they still had to work on that land for the land owners and they therefore were not actually free. Also, ex-serfs had to pay redemption payments on the land they used to be tied to, so they are having to compensate the government. As a result of these modifications, the Tsarist government was modified in many ways based on Alexander’s social reforms, even if all of his reforms made were not as beneficial as originally thought. Nicholas II also introduced many social reforms. Under Stolypin, Nicholas introduced the policy of every head of each household inheriting some land. As a result, each family would then therefore have some land ownership within the family, meaning they had some source of income if no other sources of income are obtainable. This was a positive reform made by Nicholas II as not as many people faced poverty and poor living conditions and therefore they overall had a better life. Another reform made by Stolypin under Nicholas II was the demolition of the Mir. These meant that peasants had to live within a Mir and had a lot of restrictions based on where they could go and when they could leave. Stolypin got rid of Mir’s in 1908, which as a result gave peasants a lot more freedom than they previously had. The social reforms made by Nicholas II were overall positive as they greatly benefited the population of Russia; mainly the peasants. This then shows that the Tsarist government did face many modifications throughout the years 1881-1914 as Nicholas put in place many social reforms which greatly changed how Russian peasants lived. Overall, it is clearly evident that several modifications were made to the Tsarist government in the years 1881-1914, which were made by both Alexander III and Nicholas II. These took form in political, economic and social changes, and some had positive effects whereas others had negative effects. However, not all of the reforms put in place fully did what they were originally intended to do, and therefore the modifications were drastically made but not to the extent in which they were intended to do so.

Business analysis and overview of titan watches

Business analysis and overview of titan watches Titan is one of the largest watch producer in India and sixth largest in the world. Titan manufactures over 7 million watches per annum and have 65 million customer. In 1984 titan was established as a joint venture between the Tata Group and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation. Manufacturing in a state- of -the art at Hosur, Tamil Nadu the company brought the large change in Indian market, by offering quartz technology with international styling. By understanding the different segments in the market, the company launched its second brand Sonata watch, as value brand for those who like styled watches with affordable prices. In last two decade the company has build an very good impression in watch business to become Indias largest manufacturer and world largest sixth manufacturer of watches. This was mainly because good formidable distribution network. Being one of largest retail chain of exclusive retail showroom for watches called The world of Titan spread over 100 towns. Titan have branches over 30 countries, its also have multi brand outlets named Time Zone, service centres and dealer outlets. The company has watch plant at Dehradun (UP) and Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) and electronic circuit boards in Goa. The promoters held majority stake of the company, with Tidco having 28% of the shares and Tata Group companies owing 25% of the shares and the public sharing holding around 28% in the company. The rest stake is held by the foreign institution, non resident Indian, mutual fund and other institution. It also acquires a license for global brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Hugo Boss, while. It has also in its portfolio its first Swiss Made watch brand Xylys. In 1995 the company capitalize to brand Tanishq as diversified into jewellery in fragmented market operating no brand in urban city. Also in 2005 the company launched its second Jewellery brand, GoldPlus, as using its opportunity for capitalizing in small town and rural India. Its also diversified into fashion Eyewear by launching Fastrack Eye Gear sunglasses as well as prescription eyewear. Investigation and analysis Under the help of moderate implementation and control, it is evident that product development strategies fit for Titan and bring maximized profit to it. Core Competency Each purchases are delivered with Quality is Titans core competency and this for the lower segment watches like maxima and HMT. Whenever any people buy Titan watches they know its a piece of quality and is backed by a Tatas. Titans innovations in the area of style, uniqueness, technology and they have a market from steel to gold to diamonds. Titan Edge is an only creation in the world, owned by Titan. Situation Analysis: Environmental Analysis: Environmental analysis helps Titan to understand what is happening both inside and Outside the company and to increase the probability that the strategies will appropriately Reflects its organizational environment, PEST analysis for Titan consists of following Factors: Political: It has a stable Government Tinges of liberalization Foreign brands had started entering the Indian market with government permission. Economic: Current economic downturn The purchasing power of consumers has decreased due to credit crunch and recession and they may also spend less on luxury items. E-commerce is becoming prevalent Protected Economy Social: There is been a lot changes in lifestyle Indians Patronizing the Foreign brand. Increasing aspirations Grey Market Good Quality/foreign brands bought to India (http://www.scribd.com/doc/37204122/Swatch-Mkting-Plan) Technological: Having a better technological practices Quartz watches was the future Technological products were having better preference Watches were traditional mechanical (http://www.scribd.com/doc/37204122/Swatch-Mkting-Plan) Competitive Analysis: Competitive analysis is a vital part of a marketing plan. Its purpose is to determine the strength and weaknesses of the competitors within the market. Porters Five Forces analysis for Titan can be interpreted as follows: New Entrants: Strong brand recognition and customer loyalty, Titan is a popular brand among customers substitution. Many brands provide with range of similar styles Threat from counter felt products Buyer Power: Buyer power is high in this industry simply due to the presence of so many competitors selling the same products. It is only differentiated in price and consumer loyalty Overall Intensity of Rivalry: Intense competition within in a very crowded market (http://www.scribd.com/doc/37204122/Swatch-Mkting-Plan) SWOT ANALYSIS: Swot analysis is the overall evaluation of a companys strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats and is a way to monitoring the external and internal marketing environment (Kotler, 2009, p.89). Strengths: Strong brand and customer loyalty Repositioning into in the fashion market. A wide range of products with different designs across all price points Production and training facility is flexible enough to adapt new technologies. Industrial relations is good. Till date company did not encounter any kind of labour or industrial relations problem which can put company into jeopardy. Watch industry is growing industry which faster rate As the population is rising, the watch market is also expanding Customers are not very price sensitive as far as quality watch is concerned Weakness: There is not much advertising done by watch industry No innovation in products There are few number of exclusive showrooms that reduces the consumers accessibility to the product Low asset turnover ratio Weak employee productively No emphasis on RD and designs It lacks team spirits and awareness which can result in low utilization of human and machine capacities. Opportunities: There is more need of fashionable luxury watch and fine luxury watch brands that can be targeted in UK, as customers are more like trendsetter and fashionable. UK especially London is a metropolitan city which makes it more attractive for the new company. Youth are more brand conscious than their predecessors. That leads to the expansion of the market for branded watches. E-commerce offers trading opportunities The credit crunch can force customers to buy low priced items over luxury items Threats: There are many foreign players entering in the race Too many players will dilute the market and the profit margin. Mobile phones acting as substitutes of the watches. Counterfeit products Intense competition between different companies within a crowded market Current economic recession and policy of price fixing decrease the sales (http://www.scribd.com/doc/40142805/Marketing-Strategy-of-Titan-Watches1) The Indian watch industry began in the year 1961 with the commissioning of the watch division of Titan. The first watch model manufactured by HMT was the Janata model in the year 1962. HMT was the leader in the watch market till the Tatas formed Titan watches in association with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation in the year 1987. They took a major strategy decision, which later changed the face of the Indian watch market to manufacture only quartz watches. Liberalisation in 1992 and removal of quantitative restrictions due to WTO has opened the doors for many the Indian market viz. Tissot, Swatch, Omega, Rado, TAGHeuer. The import duties on watches are falling which makes the Indian market look attractive for the global majors like Casio, Swatch and Citizen. Recommendations: MARKETING OBJECTIVES: Titans wants to become the creative and innovative leading brand in global market and establish a strong brand image in the mind of consumers and its financial objectives includes its profit to increase by 10% annually, sales to increase by 21.7% over the next 2 years. Strategic Options and Strategic Choice: According to the SWOT analysis above, it is evident the Titan has a steady presence in the fashion market with strong brand image and customer loyalty. In order to maintain and take advantages of such strengths, Titan should adopt the market penetration strategy which means to sell existing products into existing markets with the objectives of securing the dominance of current market and increasing market share from current products. (kotler, 2009, p.85). Comparing with the cost- leadership strategy and the product development strategy, the former calls for price cutting when selling products It not only reduces companys sales profit, but also affects its brand image. The latter strategy requires company to develop a new product, which may cost so much money and time to do the market research and product test. Therefore, Market penetration strategy is considered as the core strategy for TITAN. According to my suggestions titan should use Ansoffs product/market matrix in order to be creative and innovative brand in global market. As Ansoff growth matrix is a tool which helps businesses to decide their product and market growth strategy. Ansoffs product/market growth gives an idea to businesses growing depends on whether it markets new or existing products in new or existing markets. http://tutor2u.net/business/images/Ansoff%20Matrix%20w500.gif Daigram2: http://tutor2u.net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm The above diagram illustrates the way ansoffs product/market matrix works. Once Titan knows where they should put the new product in the existing market they also need have a proper STP (Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning) at the time of launching a product. Segmentation and Targeting: As Kotler, Philip (2009, p.247) defined that segmentation is to divide a market in to distinct groups of buyers with different needs, characteristics of behaviour, who might require separate products. The profile for the Titans ideal customers consists of following factors: Demographic: Gender: Male and Female, in 2007, 11.1% of women bought watches for self, while 9.3% went to men, 5.3% of women bought watches for someone else, while 3.4% went to men. (http://www.scribd.com/doc/24305562/Titan-STP) Age: In terms of amount of people who purchased watches during 2007, 15-19 accounted for 23.4%, 20-24 accounted for 18.1% and 25 34 accounted to 16.9% Lifestyle: Consumers in UK are more inclined towards the trendy styles which represent their uniqueness and taste and personality. FasTrack, Raga, Sonata, Xylys, Nebula and Flip are sub-brands within Titan that are aimed at the youth, men, women and children Sonata is the value for money watch brand from Titan industries. It is targeted at consumers seeking durability and value with a clear positioning of No compromise watch. FasTrack was positioned as a youth brand. The young Indian racing driver Narain Karthikeyan was the brand ambassador. The company used focused distribution supplementing its watch outlets with youth focused outlets like music stores and internet cafà ©s for FasTrack. Titan targeted its Raga watches at women in the premium segment which gave them the feeling of intimacy. The company realized that more women were wearing watches for functions. It offered slimmed down and sleeker watches for women. The Raga range remained for more special reasons, like marriages or parties. Xylys comes from the House of Titan, is targeting a new generation of achievers who are looking for symbols to reflect their lifestyle, attitude, moods and beliefs. Nebula-precious jewellery watches from Titan. It is a collection of intricately carved designs for women inspired by floral patterns and these watches are engraved with beautiful patterns in gold and precious stones. This is for the premium segment. Titan Edge and Titan Steel are the mainstream Titan products which enhance the brands image of leadership, innovation and pride. Titan is considered to have one of the successful segmentation and targeting. Titan adopted a strategy of focus. Titan tries to achieve competitive advantage by optimizing its strategy in the different market segments. Once the firm has identified its market segment, it must decide which ones to target (Kotler, 2009, p.267). Titan will focus on working women among the 24 35 age group. Firstly, it is clear that female purchasing goods for themselves more than male and they take the lead in the whole market. Therefore, in order to be more self aware in the fashion sense and more likely to be in influenced by trends, as well as lifestyle, women willing to spend more on themselves. Secondly, more recently there is a downward tendency in the number of marriage in the UK. Two main drivers are behind it. One is single people increased from 3 million in 1997 million to 9.2 million in 2007. The other is the average age at which couples are getting married has risen to 32 for men and 29 for women. Therefore, the 24 35 age groups may be more established in independent finance and lifestyle. (http://www.scribd.com/doc/24305562/Titan-STP) Targeting: Titans watch TIME RAGA is an exclusive watch for women. The TIME RAGA collection is elegant, delicate and feminine with each piece being truly unique. It includes an exclusive collection of decorative motifs with studded bracelets. It is mainly inspired for working women class. It is crafted exclusively for sophisticated woman, who wears silver jewellery with elan, the TIME RAGA makes a perfect accessory that completes a womans wardrobe. (http://www.scribd.com/doc/24305562/Titan-STP) Positioning: In UK TIME RAGA is positioned as the slimmest watch in the universe. All good things are packaged small or can be packaged slimmest in the world. Brand positioning of TIME RAGA: Promise of purity and a unique experience: its design and retail innovation have been hallmark of Titans all these years. TIME RAGA guarantees the purity of its jewellery and certifies the quality of its diamonds and coloured gems in writing. Luxury: TIME RAGA will be positioned as a branded jewellery of luxury rather than commodity. It moves jewellery beyond investment to the fashion and adornment sector. It will be positioned as superior product. It will be positioned as a totally new perspective to jewellery buying especially when it comes to exquisite oriental jewellery. (http://www.scribd.com/doc/24305562/Titan-STP) To working women among the 24 to 35 age group, who have strong purchase power, Titan is the watchmaker that produces more unique watches than any other brands for its the most variety of designs. Their high quality but low price make customers move to multi ownership across a range of looks and price points. Titan has managed to get fair market in Middle East and Africa but its failure in Europe was a downturn for the Company as the return was not as good as investment made for the expansion. Titan has decided to revamp its flagship watch brand in Europe mainly in UK. Titan wants to reposition it more youthful and relevant to the changing times. Titan has entered the International markets in 1989 through the export of watch movements. Titans first global footprint was placed in the UAE the largest market in the Middle East then it moved towards Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia and few markets in Africa. Though it faced strong competition, it reached the sales of 100,000 watches within a year of its launch. It started to move globally and moves towards Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and Nepal. After its extensive survey, it concluded that it needs good reason to stock the brand. Titan needs to re-position its brand image in the UK market. And so Titan decided to against soft option of driving its globalization through private label exports. It would launch its product under its own brand with market positioning Therefore Titan found a massive advertising campaign to create brand awareness. It also participated in the fair which showcases the worlds biggest watch brand in the world. Marketing Mix: Price: As achieve our marketing objectives, we can so some change in the pricing. Price needs to have unique benefits which can offer a benefit to the customer in the competitive market. Its often assumed that higher prices are a luxurious product. Titan needs to select the pricing for its product which can be affected and decided by the cost of manufacture, latest plant, and high investment for the product. It can also open duty free shops in the airports such as Gatwick and Birmingham airport and in Eurostar station in London. Eurostar estimates to passenger number will increase from 8.3 million this year to 10 million by 2010 (Railnews, 2007). It can also put banner on the internet such as Face Book. Product: Titans main objectives was to make consumers buy more than one watch to increase market size by increasing it augment demand for watches. It can it product different range for different segments. It should introduce a jewellery watches to attract working women in UK. Product should be customizing to personalize the watch to fit customers taste and make it more unique. It can use specialize features that emphasize more special and limited edition for a youthful, innovative and exciting look. Place: It can create place from positioning. It can attract customers by having its own showroom which will help to increase it purchase in the competitive market. It can also have dedicated exclusive distributions which can exclusive showcase Titan products and its ranges. It can also make an investment in a showroom and also in line with the product positioning. It can rent stores in prime locations which has busy high street which can also help increase its sales. Promotion: Titan can achieve its marketing objectives by exploring its relationships with its suppliers, distributors and all channels which can help to increase its sales. It can come up with promotion tactics such as gift items, promotion themes and etc. It can focus more on its market research feedback which can improve its image in the local and international market. It should focus more on the after sale service which is very important in UK where brands with reputation is recognised. It can endorse its product with celebrity and use their image. Advertising such as print / broadcast ads, posters and leaflets or billboards, it can also use direct and indirect marketing such as E-mails, mobile messages and websites. Conclusion: To increase its visibility, Titan Company can sponsor events similar to fashion shows which all latest designs launched are displayed. This is important as it has a great effect on different segments of the customers in different ways. Titan should also have Tie up with radio channels and television to broadcast and telecast its advertisement about various sales promotions from time to time. Specially, RD needs more investment as customer expectations are changing rapidly. Titan can focus more on introducing more varieties and luxury items in the market at regular interval. Titan should introduce exclusive collection for working women in order to have more contemporary and complements for any fashion styles. Tie up with international watch brands to make the product stronger in the market. Titan should use internet to spread awareness among consumer about the brand. Finally, on the basis of all analyses, it is obvious that market penetration strategy fit for Titan. Titans main target should be working women who own a strong purchasing power and pursue a trendy lifestyle. Therefore, customized watches right aim at this target market. This innovation evolution will essentially not only strengthen its current customer loyalty, but also broaden its consumer base. Selecting the watch parts from a wide range of current watches could reduce the cost. However, due to the limited and unique features, these watches sell with high price. Hence the turnover would be increased thus Titan UK company would make the maximized benefit. http://www.tata.com/article.aspx?artid=8xXL3Vvjg+4= can some points from here..

Confucian Philosophy and Corporate Responsibility Essay -- essays rese

Freedom devoid of responsibility would result in the collapse of the social network. It would cause strife among individuals, between individuals and society, and essentially would lead to the sacrifice of the future in order to fulfill short-term desires. Coming under much scrutiny for allegedly doing just this is today’s dominant institution, a legal establishment with pervasive influence on contemporary life: the modern corporate enterprise. We live in a world plagued with human exploitation and severe environmental degradation. Many would claim that behind this unfair and unsustainable global situation lies the profit-hungry hand of corporate power. Accused and often found criminally guilty in court of having enormous and often hidden harms, one might ask exactly what a corporations ethical responsibilities are towards the world in which it functions. Attitudes toward the subject of responsibility are globally and historically diverse, however. Due to cultural differences certain traditions are heavily concerned with responsibility and societal harmony while others are far more preoccupied with free choice and individual rights. Looking to Confucianism, the philosophy of Confucius (or King fu-tzu), one can see a philosophy that places a great deal of emphasis on human responsibility. Confucius is, in fact, the most influential thinker in human history if influence were to be measured by the number of people who have lived in accordance with a philosopher’s vision. (Ames, 28) Turning to the scriptures outlining the teachings of this Chinese sage who lived over 2,500 years ago, it would be unproblematic to prove that the modern corporation has been and continues to be unethical by Confucian standards. That is not the purpose of this essay, however. This essay will explore concept of corporate institutions and their ethical accountability using Confucian philosophy a guide. For the purposes of this essay, focus will be given to the Confucian Analects and interpretations of it. This compilation of quotes, conversations and anecdotes is also referred to as The Lunyu and remains the primary source document of Confucian philosophy. Interestingly, despite being revered as Chinas first and greatest teacher, there is no coherent system of thought laid down by Confucius himself. Much like Socrates, Buddha and Jesus Christ, Confucius’ many disciples are entirely... ...gree with. Whether it is due to innate predispositions or learned characteristics, human beings, despite admittedly irrational behaviors, are also moral beings. We are characterized by our freedom of choice, consciousness of abstract thought and largely by a sense of responsibility. As a species we are not solely interested in the process of an action, but also its motives and its consequences. One could argue that attaining a manageable balance between action and responsibility has been a fundamental issue in all past and present traditions and philosophies. In a sense, whether a concrete proposal for universal Confucian ethic is successfully put in place is not of primary importance. The significance is found in the ethical attention of the modern day corporations and the consumerist world that supports them , shifting in a fundamental way from rights-based morality, to a more sustainable, responsibility-emphasized ethic. While perhaps a corporation itself has is devoid of moral obligations, those who function within it, along with the public supporters of it are not. In and contributing to the harmony of the universe, Confucian ethics will have an instrumental role to play.

socio-economic development and health Essay -- essays research papers

Question One There are a number of ways in which the increasing socio-economic development of a nation can help improve the health of the population. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is a correlation between mortality rates in the developing countries, especially amongst children, and the level of education of the parents of the children. For example, in Morocco, a mother who has completed 4-6 years of schooling, their child is 45% less likely to have died by the age of 2, compared with child’s mother who has had no school (Book 3, Page 54). Education improves the overall knowledge of looking after oneself and others, but also enables people to gain higher income levels, and thus, acquire purchasing power to buy the goods (if available), which will help them improve their quality of life. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Food provisions are a necessity to maintaining a healthy population. There are many facets to food, mainly the distribution and supply of food, and the quality and nutritional ingredients of food. Food needs to be of good, sustainable quality so that it provides people with the basic supply of vitamins and minerals to live, and has to be easily accessible so that everyone in the nation can benefit. Developed countries have pioneered the way of preserving food for longer (i.e. use of plastics), and developing countries have benefited from this, but the developed world has also introduced new fear factors regarding food such as contamination (BSE, Salmonella etc) and additives, and, the long term effects of such advancements is beginning to materialise (Book 3, Page 306-307). Developing nations need to maintain a balance of growth, by producing enough food for the nations own consumption, but also growing food for exportation, which will improve their GNP and thei r overall growth as a nation. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reducing the gap between the social classes will provide a better overall health and wealth of a nation. Those living in the lower social classes have a lower life expectancy than those in higher social classes (Book 3, Page 216). There are many tools and precautions that may be used to bridge the gap. Occupations within the social classes tend to be more manual and risk-based occupations such as mining or engineering. In recent times, Acts of Law have been passed by Governments to protect employees, and as such... ... in further research. The developed world cannot be complacent in its attitude towards communicable diseases. As more and more people are able and free to roam from country to country, so it becomes harder to ensure that adequate strategies can be enforced and that the appropriate vaccines have been administered. Therefore, there still has to be concerted efforts from the developed and the developing world that a multi-disciplinary strategy can be adopted and enforced, and only by such mechanisms can the long-term goal of eradicating communicable diseases be achieved. References Szreter,S (1998) ‘The importance of social intervention in Britain’s mortality decline c. 1850-1914: a re-interpretation of the role of public health.’ in Davey, B, Gray, A and Seale, C (eds) Health and Disease: A Reader, Open University Press, Buckingham. U205 Health and Disease Book 3 (2001) World Health and Disease, Gray,A, Open University Press, Buckingham. U205 Health and Disease Book 1 (2001) Medical Knowledge: Doubt and Certainty, Seale, C. Pattison, S. and Davey, B. (eds), Open University Press, Buckingham. VC 1265, Video 1, ‘South Africa: Health at the crossroads’ Open University.

Culture Through Generations :: essays papers

Culture Through Generations This essay will explain how I learned culture through generations of my family. The first thing I noticed when analyzing my chart is that there has been considerable migration through generations of my family. My family came from Europe to Central America , because they had made investments there which was their initial reason for leaving Spain. My parents generation left Central America for political reasons which lead them to financial disaster. Opportunity, can be said is the reason why generations of my families have lived in the Americas. Cultural values in my family are still rooted to those which exist in Spain. When they first came to the Americas , they moved to a very close nit European community. This is what set a precedent for cultural values and family through the passing down of European traditions from generation to generation. In the neighborhoods where my parents grew up it made a difference what your name was, so it was important to inter-marry between people of the same class and on the same cultural level. This also meant that your surnames created support networks which created a financial backbone for the family .This in turn is lead to not what I’d call a pre- arranged marriage but a suggestive marriage. That means your parents would suggest to you that a certain person from a certain family would be a suitable mate because of their family and background. This was common practice in my parents community. These kinds of marriages were accepted by previous generations because of a respect of your parents opinions, and because of the tight nit family structure. These traditions have been passed down form generation to generation, with exception to the American generation of my family. This also meant my family had expectations of each succeeding generation. Every generation was insisted upon having a college degree, it was completely unacceptable to not have a college education in my family. This particular culture and society was lived by two generations of my family. When communism came to power my parents needed to leave the country because all of their possessions were seized by the poor rebellious communists. Communism was also not parents political affiliation so they chose to come to America for opportunity and freedom.

Evidence Collection in Sex Related Crimes Essay

Crime scenes present many possibilities and evidence that may aid investigators in the apprehension and possibly conviction of a known or unknown offender. While this evidence are present at a scene of a crime, it requires specialized training on the part of law enforcement officials to effectively, efficiently and accurately, collect, record and preserve these evidence. Chain of command is especially vital at each stage of the evidence collection, as evidence can easily be lost and even tampered with. Sex crimes are especially sensitive, as trained professionals have to exercise empathy to what or who may be perceived as the main evidence; the victim. The victim may hold the key to a lot of information that will help investigators capture the perpetrator. Keyword: sex crimes, crime scene, evidence, collection, touch DNA The Importance of Evidence Collection in Sexually Related Crimes An investigation into any crime, takes place on the presumption that a crime has occurred. It is during the investigation that the actual determination of whether a crime did indeed occur is arrived at. Once it has been determined that an actual crime has occurred, then the investigation continues. The investigation of different crimes may take on a different approach, but the ultimate goal for every crime is to apprehend and prevent future crimes. The same can be said of sex crimes. Sex crimes include more than just rape. While investigating sexual assault crimes involve the careful approach of the first responder, other parties involved with the investigation of a sex crime, must have specialized training to handle crimes of this nature. Rape is one facet of a sexual assault, and while the act itself is usually an unwanted one on the part of the victim, it does not make less the other sexual assaults that can be imposed on an individual. Sex crime by definition is a crime involving sexual assault, or one that is sexually motivated. In order for sex to be considered a crime, the offender must knowingly cause the other person to engage in an unwanted sex act. It involves acts such as rape, prostitution, child pornography, sexual intercourse with a minor, and forcibly sodomy, sex crime also covers incest. Sex crimes are often times sensitive in nature at the onset of being called  to the scene of the crime. It would aid investigators tremendously if the victim as well as the offender are both present, however in some instances, this may not be the case. One of the most important evidence that can be collected at the scene of the crime is the statement or testimony of the victim themselves. References Enos, W. F., Conrath, T. B., & Byer, J. C. (1986). Forensic Evaluation of the Sexually Abuse Child. Pediatrics, 78(3), 385. Feldberg, G. (1997). Defining the Facts of Rape: The Uses of Medical Evidence in Sexual Assault Trials. Canadian Journal of Women & The Law, 9(1), 89-114 Garcia, S., & Henderson, M. (2010). Options for Reporting Sexual Violence Developments Over the Past Decade. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 79(5), 1-8. Marshall University Women’s Center. (n.d). Types of Sexual Assault. Retrieved from http://www.marshall.edu/wpmu/wcenter/sexual-assault/types-of-sexual-assault/ Shelton, D. E. (2010). Criminal adjudication: The challenges of forensic science evidence in the early 21st century. (Order No. 3415644, University of Nevada, Reno). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 267-n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/734315512?accountid=8289. (734315512).

Hip Hop Nationalism

Hip hop is a form of art that has been popular for the past twenty years. Although people in recent years often mistake rap music as vulgar and ill-mannered, the hip hop community continues to provide a great way to channel emotion and soul into their music. In his article, â€Å"The State of Rap: Time and Place† Jeffrey Louis Decker illustrates the black nationalism within the hip hop community by exploring how Black Nationalism can be accounted for within the hip hop music. Before hip hop was introduced into the American culture, the black community felt as if their place of origin was Africa. This was the time where the black community romanticized their own politics (Decker 2008, 54). Garveyism, introduced by Marcus Garvey, sparked the early Black Nationalist movements. During the Black Nationalist movement it promoted an array of black pride which later provided great inspiration for upcoming hip hop artists who â€Å"rapped† to their audience the struggles of the everyday black individual. The styles of artists later became more â€Å"Afrocentric† which meant that the music revolved around expressing self worth. Artist such as Afrika Bambaataa introduced his style of music to the world having his music known as the earliest form of hip hop. As for women, they were interested in promoting the idea that they were from â€Å"Mother Africa†. Women hip hop artist were fascinated by the idea of black women liberation, so most of them started to incorporate those ideas in their verses. There are rap songs that promote the militant â€Å"Nation of Islam† which later became known as the Black Panther Party. As more injustices occur to the black community, hip hop music became a pedestal to voice their opinions. For example, when Rodney King was brutally beat by the LAPD on March 3, 1991 (Decker 2008). The whole Rodney King incident consequently gave Ice Cube inspiration for his album Death Certificate. Hip hop artists are usually not involved in politics but are most strongly involved in the cultural politics which tie to the working and urban poor blacks. Eventually hip hop artists later regarded themselves by the name â€Å"hip hop nationalists†. In the sixties, self proclaimed hip hop nationalist rapper Paris debut his album, The Devil Made Me Do It, which sent a message on how he plans on building the black nation. From his tracks â€Å"Panther Power† to â€Å"The Hate That Hate Made†, Paris made sure that his audience knew he associated with the Black Panther Party. During 1988, hip hop marked a landmark on rap music history ever since MTV promoted their hip hop program called â€Å"Yo, MTV Raps! † and within the same year a hip hop group, Public Enemy, released their second album, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, which gave the black nationalist its first publicized expression for two decades. The multiple times the black community was socially mistreated, hip hop artists continued to voice their opinions. I believe hip hop is great to voice an opinion and promote self worth. Ordeals such as the Rodney King case sparked a huge outrage within the black community. Decker mentions in the article that during the Rodney King trial, the white officers from LAPD have been acquitted by an all-white jury charged for the brutality of Rodney King (Decker 2008, 55). Ice Cube was called in for an interview, yet he declined because of the ties he has made with the black community. Situations such as the Rodney King trail provided a lot of social tension between whites and blacks. Decker claims that many of nation-conscious rappers, like Ice Cube, try to sustain their ties to the black community which their music is a part of. Hip hop artists who rap about Black Nationalism are needed because it uncovers the truth about how whites often mistreat blacks. Rapping is a way to express one's opinion and also give perspective. Rappers such as Paris capture their perspective in their lyrics they have in his album, The Devil Made Me Do It. The music that is promoted by the rappers offer the black population self worth. At the time, the moral of the black population had been at an all time low considering that blacks were most of the time given the shorter end of the stick. Small aspects living became more tiresome to deal with. Being that many of the African descent were slaves, the white population often slandered blacks as if they were animals. However, as hip hop music was introduced, it allowed many black individuals become proud that they were from the â€Å"Nation of Islam†. Mainstream hip hop music often produces music that does not represent what the true intensions of rap music. The style of rap music has made it easy for one to voice their opinions. The art of rap has been around ever since the Black Panther Party decided to utilize black nationalism in their verses. I believe that it was important for the black community to promote hip hop music because it allows one to fully deliver their opinion while at the same time promote self worth. Particularly for the black community, I find it as a great way to inform the youth about the real world injustices their ancestors once lived in. By speaking up, they promoted social equality simply by having the guts to say what is on their mind. By understanding other's point of view, maybe we all can comprehend others in different ethnic groups.

Case Synopsis

The management at Atlantic Computer had the problem of formulating a pricing strategy for product bundling. This had to be a unique pricing strategy because they were breaking away from the industry practice which was to offer software tools for free.However in this case, the management had decided against this strategy as the use of the software tool would lead to considerable savings on the part of the customer. Therefore the management believed that if new product marketing and sales did their job right, customers could be persuaded to pay an additional percentage for the PESA software tool.Therefore the center of the problem was clearly to develop the right pricing strategy which would take into consideration the product’s benefits and the current competitive pressures in the market. This was the task given to Jason Jowers, the youngest product manager at Atlantic Computer. The strategy that Jason developed would be tested at the SME trade show. Depending on the test resul ts, the pricing structure could be put into practice.Company overviewAtlantic Computer has a long record of operating in the high-end performance servers market. It had been selling Radia to large enterprise consumer servers for the last thirty years. However the management had shifted the strategic focus to basic servers because of the popularity of the Internet technology.This was the reason that Atlantic Computer was introducing Tronn. The head of the server division believed that customers would no longer consider high performance servers and basic servers as substitutes. Therefore, the market had considerable growth potential in terms of basic servers. Atlantic Computer already had a considerable brand reputation in the market from selling high performance servers and the company would be able to capitalize upon this reputation by selling basic servers.The company also had a reputation for responsive post-sales assistance. This was based on customer relationship management and product differentiation. Therefore, the company had a substantial existing customer list which could be capitalized upon to enter the market for basic servers. In this respect the strategy of product differentiation was being implemented in the form of bundling hardware with software.Product overviewAtlantic Computer had been selling high performance servers for the last 30 years. Now it was entering a new market with basic servers the functionalities of which were expanded by bundling the hardware with the PESA software tool. The industry practice was that software tools were given away for free.However the management at Atlantic Computer had decided against this strategy because the customers would be able to reduce their operating expenses considerably by using the PESA software tool. Basic servers are used to perform simple, repeatable functions while software tools are used to monitor the health of a server or to enhance the performance of the server. Customers in the web-serve r and file sharing applications segment would benefit most from the suggested product bundling

Prejudice, Stereotyping and Discrimination on the Web Essay

People think that racism and discrimination doesn’t exist anymore, but surprisingly they do; both existed throughout human history. Discrimination may be defined as a negative, harmful behaviour toward people based on their group membership. Whereas prejudice which is an opinion rather than a fact; is a negative attitude toward members of a group, that is often very strongly held. Stereotypes are individuals’ beliefs that members of a group share particular attributes; someone might think that Arabs are terrorists, or doctors are intelligent and compassionate. Unlike prejudice and discrimination-terms that refer to negative attitudes or actions- stereotypes can be either positive or negative. The Palestinian-Israeli conflict will never end, and each individual has a different opinion about it. Ahmed Ramie is a Moroccan-Swedish writer and Holocaust denier, also the founder of the radio station Radio Islam which now operates as a website. Radio Islam is a website owned by a group of freedom fighters from different countries in support of Ahmed Ramie’s global struggle. Radio Islam is a website that is trying to promote better relations between the â€Å"West† and the Arab and Muslim World; it’s against racism of all kids and forms also against all kinds of discrimination of people based on their color of skin and faith. Meta-Stereotypes are a person’s belief about the stereotype that out-group members hold concerning his or her own group; for example Arabs would believe that Jews hold a negative stereotype of their group (terrorists). Meta-stereotype differs depending on each group; Arabs may hold negative stereotypes against Jews (Occupants). Each group may hold different opinions; Palestinians may consider that their victims of the chosen people (the Jews). Each group believes that they hold the right opinions about others and some of them would never change their opinion. Another hate site that depicts hate towards Jews is Kinsman Redeemer Ministrie, Pastor Mark Downe is strongly honest with his opinion towards Jews, and his title is why we hate Jews. Scapegoat theory is a theory proposing that prejudice occurs because members of dominant groups use discrimination against members of weak target groups to vent their frustration and disappointment. People become frustrated during difficult economic time and tend to take out their frustration on weak targets, for example Jews in Nazi Germany in the late 1930s when Hitler roused anger against Jews by claiming they had too much economic power and blaming them for the impact of the worldwide depression on Germany. Jews were an outcast that many Germans disliked, but when Hitler started his campaign of propaganda, some Germans followed his league. But there’s a difference between these two sites; Radio Islam is against Zionism not Judaism, where Kinsman Redeemer Ministries talks specifically about Jews and lists different reasons why people should hate them. One man started this propaganda and changed the whole world, now Hitler is gone but people still carry on with his campaign and spread the hate and racism among others. People should be more considerate about other peoples’ opinions and beliefs and not hurt them by hate websites or picking on them. Each person in this world is a unique individual who shouldn’t be judged based on his/her religion, color, sexuality or ethnicity. Prejudice against overweight women is common now a day, people who are overweight are the targets of widespread prejudice and discrimination, and they may find difficulties finding a job or travelling. Some groups hold hate towards other overweight people, they believe that the fat gene is not an excuse and obesity should not be common among us. If an obese saw a hate website about overweight groups they would feel ashamed and upset that they would eat more rather than fixing their problem. â€Å"Old-Fashioned† Prejudice is one of the forms of prejudice; the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is name of three distinct past and present right-wing organizations in the United States. After the American Civil War the KKK was created on December 24, 1865, this group represents the White Christian civilization they believe in many concepts and rights that should be essential to civilized and moral society. Some people might find them as ignorant and racist but they are certainly convinced about their beliefs and actions towards illegal immigrants and black people. On one of the hate websites KKK they mention white all the time that others might be offended and bothered, their mission is to live in a country with white people only. Again Frustration caused this group it started after the War before that people didn’t mind black people. Martin Luther King has become a human rights icon and he represented all African Americans; he fought for their rights since the 50’s. Throughout the history till the present African Americans still might feel discriminated and an outcast. Stereotypes is a huge effect on people and how they feel about others, a kid might not think of a Black man in the middle of the night as a killer or a thief but as this kid grows older and starts watching television and surfing the internet this persons’ thoughts will change and develop hate towards Black people and somehow fear. In all I would like to wrap up this assignment with saying that I’m totally against judging a book from its cover, some people might hate all Jews because some of them occupied Palestine or some Jews would hate all Germans because some of them slaughtered them. But I think that’s not only racist but it’s ignorant, all people should be treated the same and those hate websites can convince teenagers to turn into a hater and I’m surprised how they exist from the first place. Websites I visited: -http://radioislam. org/islam/english/index_zion1. htm -http://www. kinsmanredeemer. com/WhyWeHateJews. htm -http://ihatefatpeople. wordpress. com/ -http://www. kkk. bz/.