Principles based accounting as an accounting method which is used as a Essay

Principles based accounting as an accounting method which is used as a conceptual basis by accountants - Essay Example This system follows principles. The term â€Å"principles† can be used simply to refer to general rules, or also to suggest that these rules are implicitly higher in the implicit or explicit hierarchy of norms than more detailed rules: they express the fundamental obligations that all should observe (Black et al, 2007). Some of the rules set out are mandatory to follow but many other rules are used as a mere guidance and are not applicable to every situation. For instance, many countries have adopted the International Financial Reporting Standards governed by the IASB. According to Securities and Exchange Commission of US, â€Å"†¦the optimal principles-based accounting standard involves a concise statement of substantive accounting principle where the accounting objective has been incorporated as an integral part of the standard and where few, if any, exceptions or internal inconsistencies are included in the standard† (2002). Rule-based accounting is a set of det ailed rules which must be followed when financial statements are prepared. An example of such system is Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). In US, GAAP is used as a standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting. CPA firms and corporations in US prepare and present their business incomes and expenses, assets and liabilities in their financial statements following GAAP. ... The financial statements are prepared for the users who have reasonable knowledge of business, accounting and economic activities and a willingness to study the financial statements (IASB Framework, Para 25). The users of financial statements are of various types and their needs are different which are required to be catered efficiently because they have to make crucial economic decisions on the basis of financial statements. IFRS requires the financial statements to present a â€Å"true and fair view† of the financial state and economic activities of an entity. When a set of given rules is followed uniformly by all the entities in each financial year, comparability increases. A user may compare an entity’s financial standing with that of another entity or even with that of its own in the preceding years. In order to attain this uniformity, the rules are required to be followed but there are cases where following the rules becomes very difficult. For instance, the IFRS itself admits in the Framework that there is a trade-off between relevance and reliability. One must be forgone to avail the benefit of another. In a given case, preferring relevance over reliability might be useful for specific set of users but might not be useful for another set of users. The Framework has emphasized that the preparer or auditor of financial statements must exercise his professional judgment in such cases so that the information becomes more synchronized with the objectives of IFRS. One of the worst economic crises in history has been faced by the world recently. There are many studies and professional opinions that the fair value system is responsible for it. This system is more

Attendance and Discipline Referrals Research Paper

Attendance and Discipline Referrals - Research Paper Example Literature Review Johnson and Lampley (2010) undertook a research to examine LISTEN (Linking Individual Students to Educational Needs) which is the mentoring program used at schools for identification of students at risk. The study adopted examination of LISTEN to evaluate its performance objectives and outcomes. LISTEN being a school program was sponsored by the district of East Tennessee to provide mentoring services to the students who need it the most. Johnson and Lampley (2010) took hold of the academic data from 2003-2005 to determine the post implementation effects of LISTEN on the grade 6 to 8 students. The study in detail focused on the relationship of discipline referrals, GPAs and attendance records of the students at risk. The study found that there was a clear difference between the rates of attendance, discipline referrals and the GPAs in pre and post implementation of LISTEN. This means that the students who are at risk need a mentoring program that can help them resol ve the problem of absenteeism and discipline referrals which eventually leads to improved GPAs. Sowell (2012) undertook a study to evaluate the relationship of school uniforms with the school attendance, achievement and discipline. The study used a causal and comparative study research design to determine the relationship. It collected data from the two high schools in the South West Georgia. One of the school had school uniforms as a compulsory element of education whereas the other did not have such restrictions. The study found that the school with uniforms had better attendance rate as well as fewer infractions of behavior as compared to the school without uniform. These schools... The paper focused on the influence of absenteeism and discipline referrals on the academic achievement of special students to understand the factors that greatly attract them towards absenteeism. It found that the special and disabled students are not involved in discipline referrals however, they tend to show absenteeism and lead to low academic achievement. The special schools implement models that encourage the students to remain regular and full on attendance. Thus, the factors like encouragement activities and regular programs motivate the special students to remain regular and active in their classes. The study showed that the students perform better when they undertake creative and active participation. Furthermore, the study found that the use of uniforms also encourages the students to attend the class and achieve higher grades in their academic career.

Research and Review into Crisis Management: Mitigating Disaster

Research and Review into Crisis Management: Mitigating Disaster A crisis is a major occurrence with a potentially negative outcome. However, almost every crisis contains within itself the seeds of success as well as the roots of failure. At a conference in Japan on June 21, 2006, a Dell laptop suddenly exploded into flames, and lucky for its owner the fiery blast occurred while the PC was sitting on a table and not in his lap. An onlooker reported that the notebook continued to burn, producing several more explosions over the course of about five minutes. On August 15th, members of Dell Inc.s Global Corporate Communications/Investor Relations organization were part of a team facing an unprecedented challenge. The team had been working with regulatory agencies in various countries for an announcement of the largest recall in the history of consumer electronics, 4.2 million Dell branded lithium-ion batteries, with cells manufactured by Sony. The announcement was leaked to the press and Dell accelerated its plans by 12 hours, including launching the recall Web site early. The focus of the Corporate Communication/Investor Relations team and key business leaders remained clear: to effectively and efficiently inform customers, employees and shareholders about the recall. The recall, one of the largest in the history of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, couldnt have come at a worse time. According to a closely watched annual study by the University of Michigan, Dells efforts to improve service, which it only recently acknowledged publicly was inadequate, appear to be paying off. That progress is a key part of a long-awaited turnaround at the worlds largest PC maker, which is struggling with a host of problems, including sluggish sales growth in its core businesses. The news of the notebook computer recall hits just as Michigan released its American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) showing that Dells customer-satisfaction score jumped 5.4% from a year ago, to 78-a point above the industry average. That puts Dell in second place, behind Apple Computer, whose score rose 2.5%, to 83. Dells recent improvements follow many quarters of poorer service that became fodder for countless customer complaints, sometimes publicized on high-profile chat rooms and blogs. Consumers, which account for about 14% of Dells total revenue, have complained of hold times stretching for 30 minutes or more, numerous call transfers, dropped calls, and, perhaps most important, an inability of the call-center representatives to communicate clearly and answer their questions. Indeed, many consumers posting on blogs and chat sites continue to complain bitterly about Dell. Literature Review In contrast to the disciplines of emergency and risk management, which deal primarily with natural disasters, the field of crisis management deals mainly with man-made or human-caused crises, such as computer hacking, environmental contamination, executive kidnapping, fraud, product tampering, sexual harassment, and workplace violence. Unlike natural disasters, human-caused crises are not inevitable. They do not need to happen. For this reason, the public is extremely critical of those organizations that are responsible for their occurrence. Nonetheless, even with the best of frameworks and the best of preparations, it is unfortunately still the case that not all crises can be prevented. This even holds true for those crises that we know with almost complete certainty will occur. But the impacts of all crises can be lessened if one has a thorough understanding of the essential basics of crisis management. While not all crises can be foreseen, let alone prevented, all of them can be managed far more effectively if we understand and practice the best of what is humanly possible (Mitroff and Anagnos, 2001). Effective management of information is vital to the operations of most organizations. Some years ago Wells said Without adequate communication an organization will soon grind to a halt (Wells, 1978). More recently Bakewell has pointed out Communication is the hallmark of good management (Bakewell, 1997). Good communication goes hand in hand with effective management of information. Effective management of information at a time of crisis is even more vital, when damage to an organizations reputation or damage to established goodwill can result in severe damage to operations. An organizations reputation is as important as any other corporate asset, and many organizations have some kind of crisis plan intended to protect that reputation should something go wrong. This is when effective management of information (controlling communications) is so vital and always difficult. A few basic rules have clearly emerged from some recent crises. First of all the importance of telling the truth. Second, rather than let the media network speculate, use the media network as a opportunity to disseminate your information. Leave no room for speculation if you cant tell them something, tell them why you cant tell them (PR Journal, 1995). Perhaps another basic rule to be mentioned at this point is the need to apologize promptly when appropriate. Sir Jeremy Morse, banker and past chairman of the Institute of Bankers, maintains that it almost always pays to issue an early apology. Although this could lead to an organization being blamed for something which is not its fault, he comments: Nevertheless, there are two central reasons why this is usually the right course. First, externally, the public respect an apology freely given rather than one that comes after a considerable period of stonewalling. Secondly, internally, an early apology frees managers to sort out the problems far more effectively than if they are still maintaining an outward front that nothing is wrong (Haywood, 1994, p. 177). However, Black (1993) points out that if a lawyer is present there may be pressure not to express sympathy in case this is taken to imply liability: Lawyers must be told that the consequences to the company of not communicating and showing sympathy in practical terms are sure to be much worse than if an open policy of full information and generosity is adopted. It is vital to realize the speed of media coverage because of new technological developments. Not only can stories be relayed by mobile phones and faxed from cars, but they can also be sent from helicopters and bounced off satellites. Pictures too can be taken by digital computerized cameras and sent down telecommunications lines: When Greenpeace staged its high-profile stand against the sinking of the Brent Spar oil platform, it not only posted information on the Web, but was reported to have airlifted sophisticated filming equipment and a satellite down station on to the rig, so that they could provide their own VNRs direct to news outlets (Nicholas, 1996a). This means that it is unlikely that there will be a time delay between an incident or crisis erupting and the resulting media coverage. This emphasizes the need to react quickly at a time of crisis, and to let all parties know immediately about the action you have taken. Communicating effectively was now more often seen as of t he same importance as putting the problems right. (IPR Journal, 1995, p. 14). Furthermore, the media are in competition and hungry for the most newsworthy stories. Generally bad news is very newsworthy and more sensational (Ashcroft, 1994). If immediate information is not available, this leaves room for speculative stories. Methodology This paper reviews how Dell itself has responded to the challenges raised by bloggers, how it has enhanced its customer services and how it has itself undertaken social media initiatives. We use a proven customer loyalty metric the Net Promoters index to assess whether these initiatives have been successful. We conclude that Dell has made some limited progress in reducing negative consumer commentary about its customer services. Where Dell has been most successful is in creating a conversation about its own social media initiatives: Dell has absorbed in its own product planning and its communications the hard lessons of the Dell Hell experience, and opened a dialogue with its customers, which is directly benefitting its word-of-mouth approval rating. Findings A crisis can be divided into six stages. First, the detection of prodromes is a way for the company involved to predict any potential occurrence. For example, if an organization in the same line as yours is faced with a crisis, then you may start looking out. The second stage is prevention. It refers to how a company can prevent a crisis. That can be done by maintaining public relations programs, or by establishing a corporate culture, or even by including a crisis management plan in the strategic planning process. The third stage is containment. It is a process of limiting the amplitude of the crisis, the impact of the crisis and the spread of the crisis. Then, the next stage is recovery. It consists of two major aspects: getting the organization back to normal, and restoring stakeholder confidence in the organization. The following stage, learning, is a post crisis process consisting of examining the crisis, looking at what was lost and what was gained, and how the organization fun ctioned during the crisis. Finally, the last stage is the adjustment of the crisis management plan and crisis communication team. In view of what was achieved in the learning stage, the crisis management plan and the crisis communication team must be updated and any new risks uncovered by the crisis should be incorporated in them. Detection of prodromes It turned out that this occurrence was not an isolated case. In December last year, Dell launched a massive recall of about 35,000 notebook batteries contained in laptops that were deemed to pose a potential fire risk. The company said at the time it had received three reports of batteries overheating, and while no injuries were sustained, damage to a tabletop, a desktop and minor damage to personal effects had been recorded. The problem is not limited to Dell laptops. According to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, as many as 43 laptop fires have been reported in the US alone since 2001. It has been almost ten years now since we were first warned about the dangers of the lithium-ion accumulators/storage batteries, the only ones that include a flammable liquid in a pressurized container. In case of short-circuit, they can go up in flames and explode. This is therefore why this kind of battery is rarely used in do-it-yourself tools and hybrid cars. However, they are very popular in IT as they offer an energy density between two and four times superior to those of traditional batteries (nickel-cadmium, hybrid-metal or lead). Also being much lighter, they facilitate the manufacture of miniature devices able to hold a whole day with one single charge. Several cases of explosion have occurred in the past few years, but they were rarely given publicity in the media. At best, these explosive batteries were considered to be isolated incidents. At worst, they were seen as fabrications. In the summer of 2006, the context changed, after several explosions in Singapore in June, and in Utah in July. After an enquiry, we learnt that the problem had been diagnosed more than one year ago. Between 2004 and 2005, Dell analyzed a dozen batteries that had overheated. They detected a fault in the lithium-ion cells of its supplier Sony. Some small particles could infect the cells, provoke a short-circuit and overheat the battery. The fault would have been repaired in February 2006. Sony reviewed its manufacturing process as well as its quality control in order to limit the presence of these particles, and eventually everything was back to normal. But nothing had been done for the batteries already on the market. At the time, we had no serious confirmation of disaster, fire or explosion. There was therefore no reason to launch a substantial operation, added a member of the conception team for the Latitude laptops. We have to wonder: was Dell waiting for a drama to start before making a move? Today, Dell admits having known about these problems for more than a year, but declares that they had trouble in evaluating the seriousness of the situation. They also needed time to find the source of the problem, before launching a modest recall. However, its quite possible that Dell was simply trying to protect itself by sending some information to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which would have allowed them to negotiate in a better position in case of litigation. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission actually doesnt blame Dell for anything, indicating that the company did its job by acknowledging the problem. It is not the first time that Dell acted this way; it happened three times in five years. Already in 2001, 284  000 computers had been recalled for the same kind of symptoms, and 35  000 others in December 2005. However, during their press conference, the American giant renewed its confidence in Sony, which would keep its status of battery supplier for the laptops of the number one worldwide. Prevention During 2005 and 2006 Dell experienced a series of financial shocks. On November 10th 2005 Dell announced quarterly profits had dropped 28%. On May 9th 2006, and again just a few weeks later on 21st July 2006 Dell announced that its earnings would not meet previous guidance. These profit warnings arose from a combination of continued price pressure on margins in the PC business and also the fall-out from its attempts to strip costs out of the business by a) off-shoring customer support functions and b) ending unprofitable aspects of warranty repair. Dells actions created an outburst of anger from customers on the receiving end of this cost cutting. Jeff Jarviss blog was symptomatic of this criticism. Dell responded to their critics by making two major changes: They began by investing an additional $150m in their customer service operations. The result (according to Dell) is that the average waiting time for support calls has come down from nine minutes to three minutes. They launched an official Dell customer services blog (summer 2006) along with two further social media sites Dell Studio and IdeaStorm. Containment On July 31st, Engadget posted photos of a Dell notebook that had caught fire in Singapore. Its comment: Well keep posting these until we see a recall or a solution, so please, Dell, treat them right. By then, Dell was working closely with the government to figure out the scope of the problem. It turned out that the glitch was the same as it had been the previous year: metal particles inside the battery were causing the problems. Apples problems with overheating batteries had been cropping up in the online media during the spring and summer as well. The CPSCs Stern says Sony connected the dots and figured out which of its batteries and which of its customers were affected. After The Inquirer, a European site for computer hardware news, expressed serious concerns about the batteries, Dell and Sony proposed a second recall to the CPSC. On August 13th, writer Theo Valich reported on The Inquirer site that another recall was on the way. Magee said the leak came from a Dell insider, whom he refused to identify. I attribute being on top of the story to old-fashioned print journalism standards-cultivating, and, if youll excuse the pun, not burning such contacts, he says. The formal recall was announced a day later, on August 14th. Once Dell announced the recall, it, too, harnessed the Web to reach out to the disgruntled computing masses. On August 14th, the company set up a Web site (www.dellbatteryprogram.com) telling customers how to get a replacement battery. On its customer-service blog, (www.direct2dell.com), Dell also published some postings from executives and staffers about the recall (Appendix 1). These included blow-by-blow descriptions of Dells response from Alex Gruzen, senior vice-president of the companys Mobility Product Group, and a detailed explanation of how lithium-ion batteries work from Forrest Norrod, vice-president of engineering. The company also elicited dozens of comments from customers, some of whom were plenty irked. On August 15th, George Johnson demanded to know why Chairman Michael Dell hadnt responded to questions about the battery problems at a press conference the previous day in Sydney, Australia. When he was asked about the recent problems and if there were any developments, he did not volunteer the information that a new battery recall was in the works. If he was so concerned about customer safety, why was the announcement held over until after the press conference was over? asked Johnson.   But most people who commented praised Dell for its response. I commend Dell for looking out for the consumer on this issue, wrote Jim Jones. I have been fearful of leaving my system on while unattended. Its nice that I can leave my system on overnight and not have to worry about my house catching fire.   Dell credits the blogosphere for helping it get through the crisis. Information travels around quickly, says spokeswoman Gretchen Miller. Also, its another channel to get the message to our customers so they can be safe.   On August 15th, Dell received more than 50 million hits on https://www.dellbatteryprogram.com, responded to more than 135,000 phone calls and received more than 150,000 battery replacement orders. Dell shipped the first replacement units the day it announced the recall. Dells Corporate Communication/Investor Relations team played a critical role in the implementation of the recall by developing and executing a strategy based on a key central message: Dell had taken aggressive, proactive action to retrieve and replace all suspect batteries with a clear focus on customer safety. The team worked to help key the stakeholders message to customers that the safety of Dells customers was of utmost importance. This message was supported by articulating the benefits of the companys direct business model including: 1) Dells detailed information on units sold to customers, including the units configuration when it shipped to the customer. 2) Dells records of customer contact information, which enabled Dell team members to reach out to customers immediately. 3) Dells close relationship with its suppliers, such as Sony, which enabled the company to identify the problem, diagnose it and find a remedy. By working so closely with suppliers, Dell was able to respond in a way unlike any other company in the industry. Recovery and Turnaround In February 2007 Dell went further and launched IdeaStorm and StudioDell. IdeaStorm allows Dell users to feedback valuable insights about the company and its products and vote for those they find most relevant. StudioDell is a place where Dell users could share videos about Dell-related topics. IdeaStorm has already been the site of an extraordinary exercise in stakeholder democracy the reprieve of Microsofts Windows XP operating system. Have Dell turned the corner? To answer this question Market Sentinel analyzed stakeholders perceptions of Dell customer service. The analysis compares the sentiment of online commentary before and after Dells commercial slump and their new online customer initiatives. We believe that anyone wishing to track the financial prospects of Dell over the next few quarters could do worse than to watch the key metrics on word of mouth. Using the Net Promoters, we identified five key topics of commentary about Dell customer service and placed each post into one of these categories, according to the most central concern expressed (Appendix 2). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Speed (the length of time it takes to get through to someone at the call centre, to get through to the right person to address callers concerns, to get issue resolved, to get problem fixed, to get delivery of items etc.) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Off-shoring (customers feelings towards technical supports relocation from USA/UK to India and other countries, especially in relation to language problems) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Errors (inaccuracies in dealing with Dell customer service e.g. wrong items sent, orders lost, incorrect delivery details etc.) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Technical Competence (of Dell technical support staff) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ New Initiatives (Direct2Dell, Dell IdeaStorm, StudioDell, engaging directly with bloggers) The distribution of comments about Dell customer service between the categories remained roughly constant in the two years, with the largest share accounted for by general comments, followed by comments about the speed or promptness of service, and then comments about off-shoring. A significant change year-on-year was the number of comments, predominantly positive in tone, which were gathered in the second wave about Dells new customer initiatives. Although this was encouraging, the most immediate conclusion to be drawn from the Dell Net Promoters analysis is that negative commentary outweighs positive commentary across almost all categories. This is not at all unusual for a study of customer service attitudes, as people come to message boards or blogs in search of answers to problems they have failed to solve with the customer support services of the company in question. The tone is therefore somewhat negative. Have Dells actions had any noticeable effect upon online feeling on customer service? The good news for Dell is that opinion has improved overall, but there are still areas for concern. There is a slight improvement in customers feelings about Dells speed of service (up +4) and technical competence (up +1). This improvement is offset by increasing dissatisfaction with the policy of off-shoring technical support (down -12) and with the ongoing problem of order, service and delivery inaccuracies (down -8). However, there are two significant positive shifts in opinion about Dell. The first finding is the positive reception given to Dells new customer initiatives. However, the recent deterioration of Dells customer service had eroded much of the goodwill of the online community. Commentators are wary of show without substance. What will be definitely interesting to see is if Dell does anything with these comments or is this yet another example of a company putting all their efforts trying to make themselves look better instead of actually being better à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦as long as they follow through and put some of the ideas in action. If they dont do this, people will realize that they dont actually have the power to influence the company and Dell is just trying to give that illusion à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦if nothing comes out of this youll bring the wrath of khan down on your head The guarded welcome is spelled out clearly by B.L. Ochman on her whatsnextonline.com blog: I dont know if that will make Dells lousy service any better, but it shows they want to listen, and thats where recovery can begin. The second shift in opinion which we found in our analysis is the reduction in the negative comments about Dells customer service. Although the overall mood still appears quite gloomy across all comments, with a Net Promoters Index of -20, this is a considerable improvement on the position 12 months earlier when the Net Promoters Index stood at -38. Changes in the sentiment of commentary seem to lag service delivery. Many of the positive comments which were collected in the first wave of this study traded on the long term legacy of Dell as a provider of best-in-class customer service; the negative comments were more likely to be customers reports of unsatisfactory customer service experiences in the recent past. At the beginning of 2007 negative stories about customer service continued to circulate in message boards and in blogs, but these are now being counterbalanced by those who have more positive stories to tell having benefitted from the effects of Dells re-investment in customer service. It took many years for Dell to establish the reputation for exemplary customer service which it had built up in the years up to 2001, before technical support was off-shored to India and Dell cut back on engineer visits to customers homes. This reputation, as a long term legacy, is still present in some loyal customers minds. But the fallout from Dell Hell means that Dell now has a different and conflicting reputation to deal with poor service from a company which doesnt care about its customers. And it is this reputation which is freshest in the mind. Learning On August 14th, the Associated Press chronicled incidents stretching back to 1999, including, among others, a Lufthansa fire in Chicago, a UPS plane in flames in Philadelphia, and an emergency landing by a plane carrying the then-Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards, all apparently the result of computer batteries spontaneous combustion. It did not require great prescience to anticipate that air flight safety would dominate inevitable coverage of the burning batteries and their subsequent recall. The issue should indeed have been a main component of crisis war games at Dell. Once the recall was inevitable, Dell can reasonably have anticipated the necessity to talk loud and clear about air flight safety, and it should have been prepared to do so at the earliest possible moment. By delaying any announcement, Dell harmed its position on multiple fronts. It allowed the Consumer Product Safety Commission to define the story and cloak itself in the garb of public protector. Nor was the agency shy about describing the recall as the largest computer-related recall in history. The magnitude of the disaster became an integral part of the story reported in the first few paragraphs of both the Austin American-Statesman and Wall Street Journal Online on August 15th. Words like largest or first or worst become the story itself.   At the strategic level, theres a best practice called Bad News All At Once predicated on the time-tested wisdom that full and fast disclosure shortens the life of most stories. In fact, the art of both Investor and Consumer Relations supports this best practice almost every time. Investors want nothing more than closure, a sense that a crisis, no matter how multifaceted, will be resolved in the immediate future. Consumers, meanwhile, can be wooed back, but not so easily if the story drags on indefinitely, a new twist on each front page edition.   Bad News All at Once contains bad news in the exact meaning of the word contain. By stanching the flow of revelations, the story is separated from events that may still lie ahead. There are times when major news, like a terrorist plot or a hurricane, can indeed minimize attention to your story. Its a factor to weigh but not simply assume. In Dells case, the terrorist revelation magnified its crisis to an extent that must have been unimaginable when the company first decided to delay. Now theres the Securities and Exchange Commission account practices probe to further elongate the Dell litany. Unlike the terrorist story, this time bomb has been ticking since last year. There may be good practical and legal reasons why Dell did not reveal this material event. On the positive side, Dell seems to have done a better job working with Sony to coordinate a response to the crisis by avoiding the no-win scenario weve seen in the past when major brands blame each other in the national media. Customers do not care who is at fault. They only care that the problem gets fixed.   Even here, Dells performance was, unfortunately, less than perfect. In the opening paragraphs of those August 15th stories, we read that Dell blamed Sony for the problem. Only further down in the Austin story and nowhere in the Journal story does a Dell spokesperson express confidence in Sony. The fact that many other computer manufacturers may face the same product liability represents an opportunity for Dell to offer some sort of industry-wide support to safeguard products. Such an initiative would underscore Dells public safety leadership even as it reminds the world that it is not the only computer company with a problem. It is a company that is resolved to correct the problem and it deserves the recognition for doing so. Here are some basic lessons learned from the Dell laptop battery crisis:   Predict the future. Play war games. Had Dell done so, they might have anticipated that their exploding batteries were an airline disaster story waiting to happen, even without the terrorist plot that ultimately magnified the story. In determining when to disclose, watch for material events and early warning triggering mechanisms that compel public disclosure as soon as possible. Disclosing Bad News All At Once shortens the life of a negative story and contains it by preempting substantive links to other stories. An industry-wide public safety leadership role generalizes the problem beyond your own company. Adjustment of CMP/CCP Dell is reaching out into the world of blogs and user-generated media. Perhaps the most potent and valuable business lesson Dell has absorbed from its experiences lies in the way the company has taken into its business methods the idea of dialogue with its consumers. In the following blog post by Lionel Menchaca Dell digital commerce manager, he outlines in turn each of the advantages of opening a dialogue with customers online. It is worth reprinting the post in full and highlighting the lessons Lionel identifies: 1. Brands can quickly learn about and address, product bugs and issues; 2. Brands can open an additional communication channel for customer service; 3. Brands have to listen to their consumers and that means monitoring the web; 4. Brands can use blogs to help manage crisis communication; 5. Brands can enhance off-line conversations with consumers based on what they have learnt online; 6. Brands have to be honest and admit it when they get it wrong. Dell said: Our policy [towards blogs] in the past may have been look, dont touch. Today, its more like listen, and join the conversation the right way (Appendix 3). Conclusion The Dell Corporate Communications/Investor Relations teams focus was to engage key media, such as the New York Times, CNBC, and leading regional media, to ensure a wide distribution of the key messages. Within the first 12 hours of the recall, a Dell executive participated in interviews with the Today Show and Bloomberg TV and later in the process worked with global outlets such as BBC World News. Members of the Corporate Communications/Investor Relations team from around the world briefed industry analysts and responded to a number of inquiries from TV, radio, newspaper and wire services. The team faced challenges in responding to the volume of the media requests and with the expected quick turnaround of information. Team members across communications disciplines responded to help. The story shifted when Apple followed Dells recall 10 days later. At that time, none of the other PC manufacturers had made any statement that they could have been impacted by the same contaminated battery packs. Ultimately, Lenovo, Toshiba and Fujitsu also announced recalls, and eight weeks after the Dell announcement, Sony announced the recall of batteries used in its VAIO notebook line. Within 60 days after the recall launch, the story evolved from the initial but inaccurate perception that the battery issue was solely a Dell issue to the accurate story that the Sony battery cells were the sole cause of the issue. In the process, Dell became a model for Performance of Guggenheim Investments: An Analysis Performance of Guggenheim Investments: An Analysis Research Purpose This research aims to analyze and evaluate six different funds and their benchmarks and risk-free rates in order to compare the overall performance of the funds from Guggenheim Investments and the selected funds from three different asset managers. Research Design The research involved 60 monthly observations (from January 2012 to December 2016) to analyze the performance of the Guggenheim Investments and the selected different asset managers, Aberdeen, Wells Fargo, and Pimco, which were selected from the top 500 global asset manager (Towers Watson, 2016).   Three funds from Guggenheim Investments and three more funds from each asset manager, in total of six funds, were selected with similar investment strategies Small-Cap Blend, Mid-Cap Value and Large-Cap Blend for the consistency of the analysis.   The performance would be measured in term of return and risk based on statistical and financial theory.   The performance will be measured in term of return, risk and ratio. Findings All of the fund from Guggenheim Investments, from the results in this research, perform worse than the competitors funds in many ways. The ratios analysis shows lower level of risk rewarding from the poorer management of risk, the funds also generated lower level of return throughout the observation period. Furthermore, the regression analysis shows that all of the fund in this research utilize Fama French model effectively, but the competitors funds also utilized Carhart 4 Factors Model, incorporating the momentum factor which makes them perform better than the funds from Guggenheim Investments. Research Limitations Due to the small observation size, the daily and weekly volatility were ignored from this research.   In term of data quality, using OLS regression may not be efficient to analyze the data as the data consisted with unit-root, which was caused by the price drift. Research Implication The research should provide a good example of how could an investor conduct the statistical analysis of fund performance analysis using E-View 9 and Microsoft Excel.   The result of the research could support the investor, in term of analysis and decision making, to include funds as an asset class into their portfolio. Mutual fund has been around for many decades and is becoming more popular in both developed and emerging markets. As the mutual fund is managed by professional fund managers, it unlock many good features that non-professional investors desire such as well diversified portfolio, access to highly priced securities like bluechip stocks, infrastructure and real estates, or tracking any particular index which required a lot of money. Many mutual funds are provided by asset management companies, some are doing good, some are doing bad. The performance evaluation can be difficult for individual investors that are not specialized in this area of work. This research aim to provide basic knowledge and example of assessing the performance of mutual funds, both in terms of risk and return, to simplify this process for every investor in order for them to effectively and efficiently invest in mutual funds. Data Collection All of the numbers in this research including total return index of each fund and their benchmark, risk free rate are collected from Bloomberg Terminal. The funds fact sheets are directly downloaded from the asset managers website. The benchmarks that are used in this research are selected by using the same benchmark stated in the Guggenheim Investments fact sheets as the main benchmark. Three more supporting benchmark are selected by using the same category from MSCI, Russel, and SP. The Fama French and Momentum factor are collect from the data library of Tuck Business School at Dartmouth. Data Preparation After the data collection, they were processed via Excel Spreadsheet to apply the formulas in order to evaluate the performance of the funds, as well as several statistics.   In addition, the processed data from Excel would be exported to E-View 9 to estimate the regression model to apply CAPM, Fama French and Carhart Model. (Table 1 Funds Overview) According to the funds fact sheets, all the fund is passively managed as the funds objective is to seek long-term capital appreciation. The funds are also investing only in the United States of America. In this research, I additionally use Bloomberg category to match the characteristic of the funds in order to make a more distinctive and more consistent comparison of the similar funds. The main asset manager in this research is Guggenheim Investment and the comparable funds are from Aberdeen, Wells Fargo, and Pimco. The tables below show the statistical data of the funds in terms of simple calculated excess return and log calculated excess return. The returns can be calculated as the followings; The Average Logged Return   The monthly return of the fund and risk-free rate were calculated into logged return in order to calculate time-consistent return. The Arithmetic Mean Excess Return The Arithmetic Mean Excess Return can be calculated by deduct the country risk free rate, in this case US 3-month T-Bill Rate, from the return of the portfolio. (Table 2: Simple Return Statistic) (Table 3 Log Return Statistic) From the tables, we can observe that the funds from Guggenheim Investment generated lower return than the competitors and also have higher downside risk, which is semi-standard deviation. We will further observe the trend of each fund and its competitor and how it performs against the benchmark in these line graphs. (Figure 1 Performance Comparison: SSUAX) This line graph above and the following two graphs are calculated by setting the starting point as 100, and then increase exponentially with the excess return in that period. The illustration shows that both SSUAX and GSXAX effectively track the benchmark from the beginning of 2012 to the end of 2014. After that point, SSUAX started to underperform the benchmark and GSXAX started to outperform the benchmark. The trend tends to persist to the present. (Figure 2 Performance Comparison: SEVAX) The graph above show the strong underperforming trend of SEVAX, while CBMAX can effectively replicate the benchmark since the starting point of the observations. However, both funds still have the same pattern as the benchmark. This should due to difference in the weight of the assets allocation. (Figure 3 Performance Comparison: SECEX) This graph illustrate that PSPAX slightly outperform the benchmark for almost the whole period of the observation, while SECEX still able to replicate the pattern of the benchmark but slightly underperform the benchmark. Standard Deviation and Variance As the widely used mean dispersion or volatility measurement (Lhabitant, 2006), the variance and standard deviation capture the risk of an investment over time.   The larger the dispersion means the greater the value of both variance and standard deviation. With Microsoft Excel, the function STDEV.S() was used to calculate sample standard deviation from the logged return. Semi-Variance and Semi-Standard Deviation Focus only the downside, Semi-Variance and Semi-Standard Deviation present the downside risk of the distribution in term of dispersion to mean. Drawdown Risk Maximum Drawdown simply measures the largest percentage change between the peak price and low price during a specific period of an investment. Shortfall Risk Shortfall Risk measures the downside risk in term of probability that the downside will occur. Value at Risk The Value at Risk measures the maximum loss that a portfolio can be expected within an observation interval at a specified confidence level for example 95% or 99%.   Within this research, two type of method are introduced, the historical VaR and normal distribution VaR, where the confidence level was specified according to the historical distribution and normal distribution respectively. (Table 4 Risk Measurements) For small-cap and mid-cap funds, Guggenheim Investments tend to suffer from higher risk than its competitors as they have higher values in most of the risk measurements used in this research. On the other hand, the large-cap fund of Guggenheim Investments has better risk management than the competitor in all perspective. These risk measurements will affect the risk rewarding ratios in the next section. The ratios shown in this analysis can be calculated as the followings, Information Ratio    average excess return of the portfolio over the market benchmark return    standard deviation of The ratio is used to compare with the Sharpe Ratio of the asset as the Information Ratio is considered as the benchmarks Sharpe Ratio.   By comparing the asset Sharpe Ratio with Information Ratio, the higher Sharpe Ratio in compare to Information Ratio represent that the asset is outperforming the benchmark (Deborah, 2011). Sterling Ratio average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate average minimum drawdown over the observation period The ratio has similar meaning to reward-to-risk ratio.   It is used to measure the ability of the fund manager to control their risk to lower the portfolio drawdown. The Sterling Ratio as well as the following Burke Ratio are widely advertised by commodity trading advisors, who wish to highlight their perceived skill in letting profits run and cutting losses. Burke Ratio average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate sum square root of the minimum drawdown over the observation period The Burke Ratio assumes an investor to experience an increasing instead of a linear incremenal disutility as reaction to a one unit increase in drawdown. Sortino Ratio average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate semi standard deviation of This ratio considers the lower partial moment in the second moment, the semi-standard deviation, to measure the risk-premium of the asset in comparison to the downside volatility of that asset. Kappa 1 average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate semi-mean of excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate Kappa 3 average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate semi-skewness of excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate Treynor Ratio average excess return of the portfolio over the risk free rate sensitivity of the portfolio with the market The ratio considers the risk premium of the asset in compare to systematic component of an assets risk (Spaulding, n.d.). (Table 5 Risk Rewarding Ratios) From the table above, it is clearly shown that funds from Guggenheim Investment are highly inferior to its competitors in terms of risk rewarding return of every aspects, especially the information ratio, which measure how the fund outperform the benchmark. In this case, all Guggenheim Investment fund have highly negative information ratio, this shows that all the funds are underperformed the benchmark, which further confirmed the graph from previous section. We can conclude that the small-cap and mid-cap funds of the competitors can outperform the similar funds from Guggenheim Investment mainly because of the better risk management when the higher return further boost the ratios even higher. For the large-cap fund, although fund from Guggenheim Investments has a better risk management, it still suffer from lower return generated by itself, which make its risk rewarding ratios lower than its competitor. In this research, I run the regression based on the following models using EView, The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) The CAPM and the SML are included in the research to predict the expected relationship between the risk and return.   Using E-View, if the result from model (see appendix ) in term of ÃŽÂ ±_i or Jensen Alpha shows positive and significant, the asset is said to outperform the market benchmark and vice vesa. Fama French 3 Factors Model By applying some market anomalies to support the model, Fama-French Model included the empirical evidence that small stocks could outperform the large stocks and the high book value to market value stocks could also outperform the low ratio stocks. In this research, two factors that were included in addition to the CAPM model are the SMB (Small Minus Big) and HML (High Minus Low). Carhart 4 Factors Model   By applying more market anomalies to support the model, Carhart Model included the empirical evidence that the winner security will keep winning and the loser will keep losing, one factors that were included in addition to the Fama French model is the MOM (Momentum). (Table 6 CAPM Regressions) (Table 7 Fama French 3 Factors Regressions) (Table 8 Carhart 4 Factors Regressions) (Table 9 Correlation Matrix) From the regression tables above, we can see that most of the intercepts of the model are insignificant, indicate that the fund cannot outperform the benchmark. However, there are some intercepts that are statistically significant, but the value of those intercepts are very less likely to deviate from the benchmark, which make the decision whether the fund outperform or underperform the market becomes more difficult. We can further discuss more about this with the correlation tables, the tables show that the funds, both from Guggenheim Investment and from the competitors, have strong positive correlation (more than 0.95) with its own benchmark. From this point, we can imply that it is very difficult for these funds to outperform or underperform their benchmark due to the highly-correlated characteristic of them. In fact, we can say that these funds are doing well in tracking their benchmark. For Fama French model regression, the values are mostly significant when regress against its own factors, and not significant when regress with the other benchmarks. Furthermore, the regression results from this model confirm each fund objective and strategy. For SSUAX, the values for SMB are positively significant, which means that the small stocks are dominated in the portfolio, the values for HML are slightly positive and significant, meaning that the value stocks are also in the asset allocation of the funds. The Carhart 4 Factors Model regressions for this fund did not show any significant value for the MOM factor. As for GSXAX, the regression results are quite not clear, as we have both positively and negatively significant value of SMB and HML in the different regression. I therefore conclude that Fama French 3 Factors Model cannot effectively explain this fund. After using Carhart 4 Factors Model, the result shows the positively significant values for Market Risk Premium, SMB, HML, and MOM. This may conclude that the fund utilize the same strategies as SSUAX, but by following the momentum of the stocks makes this fund outperform SSUAX, which does not utilize the factor. SEVAX and CBMAX have the similar characteristic to SSUAX and GSXAX, this may due to the funds have closely related choice of investment for being mid-cap and small-cap funds respectively. The regression result still confirm that these two funds mainly invest in small, value stock as SMB and HML are positively significant. However, CBMAX has some evidence of incorporating momentum factor, as the MOM values are negatively significant, indicate that the fund is short selling the loser stocks. This may also help explain why CBMAX outperform SEVAX that does not effectively utilize momentum factor. SECEX and PSPAX can also be explained by Fama French 3 Factors Model, as the values for SMB and HML factors are all significant, but negatively. This as well confirm the investment strategies of these funds that mainly invest in big-cap stocks that lean toward growth style. We can also determine why PSPAX performs better than SECEX by looking into Carhart 4 Factors Model. PSPAX has positively significant MOM value indicated that it incorporated momentum factor in the strategy when SECEX does not. Noted that all model has very high level of adjusted r-squared, which means that the estimates are fitted and reliable. All of the fund from Guggenheim Investments cannot outperform the competitors funds. The funds show poorer risk measurement which result in worse risk rewarding ratio. The regression analysis indicate that the funds also have poorer choice of asset allocation compare with the competitors. The use of Carhart 4 Factors Model clearly shown strong evidence of higher return as seen in the competitors funds. In the funds selection, the investors should not only consider the return, but should also consider the level of risk that one is willing to take in order to match each individual risk profile and maximize ones the utility. Appendix 1: Fund Fact Sheets SSUAX http://fulfillment.marketpowerweb.com/showpdf-sku.cfg?clientcode=rdxsku=SGIFS-SCVA SEVAX http://fulfillment.marketpowerweb.com/showpdf-sku.cfg?clientcode=rdxsku=SGIFS-SMCV SECEX http://fulfillment.marketpowerweb.com/showpdf-sku.cfg?clientcode=rdxsku=GIFS-QTR-SLCC GSXAX http://www.aberdeen-asset.us/doc.nsf/Lit/FactsheetUSOpenSmallCap CBMAX https://www.wellsfargofunds.com/assets/edocs/fact-sheet/equity-fund/cb-mid-cap-value-retail.pdf PSPAX https://www.pimco.com/handlers/displaydocument.ashx?c=693390403wd=Fund%20Fact%20Sheetfn=StocksPLUS%20Fund%20Institutional.pdfid=JJRUIU9YBGygdBZkoxEM7%2b9RTHXIxyZIw0T%2bDne2n4UiurFgvuWSI8U3wKrDgiR8kjwOaIhElyjPQMcsZ%2bacURlLGpyqDSkrerDNZSiUec1YccO167PpDiuxswUDimVQPGA3zF19hjqoyfUcbclAy6QGDvzW7jER5g0rHppMRCXw703Hec%2bRG7KS%2fxoNdq5X%2bSjJwmdqQmUxuiAz3vlHMWzvm6AuGcBMvm21xM%2byPTeKc0imjl19hPI6kgDYi4pvkIWF4XaSXGC0Freoikh1YeOJlv6DRnEAICWDdyOS1bGFTMAt9JLXeE1YpNtVmWJlatcNbvkEsFiINtBzcupchii02oWEi0VYYMm6kkgLZr%2fAWYpymqhkFshcCdH5SgFvTOY9sv5cj6nt9YakDxDe6lTPMwDnUGIKX3H8b39X0JMtY6B3Y6f8HSGl5ylRsRIh Appendix 2: Assets Allocation Bodie, Z.; Kane, A. Marcus, A. (2014) Investments. 10th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Deborah Kidd, CFA (2011). The Sharpe Ratio and the Information Ratio. Online at https://www.cfainstitute.org/learning/products/publications/ipmn/Pages/ipmn.v2011.n1.7.aspx (accessed on 16-03-2016) William C. Spaulding (n.d.). Portfolio Performance. Online at   http://thismatter.com/money/investments/portfolio-performance.htm (accessed on 16-03-2016) Lhabitant, F.-S. . (2006) Handbook of Hedge Funds. Chichester: John Wiley Sons Chap 19 20

The Schlieffen Plan Essay -- First World War WWI

The Schlieffen Plan The Schlieffen Plan is commonly – though misleadingy – identified with the German western offensive at the start of the First World War in August 1914, which began as a campaign of rapid movement but ended in deadlock and trench warfare. The plan is generally seen as a desperate gamble almost certain to fail, and its recklessness is counted as part of Germany’s war guilt – the plan held out the false promise of a quick victory, and so it underpinned the â€Å"short war illusion† that led Germany into a long war of attrition, ending with her defeat and collapse in 1918. This analysis confuses two quite different moments in history. The Schlieffen Plan was not designed to meet the strategic challenge Germany faced in 1914, but rather to pre-empt it by winning a more limited and manageable war at the time it was written in 1906. The consensus is that the Schlieffen Plan epitomized the arrogance of German militarism in believing that swift and total victory could be gained in a war on two fronts against a numerically superior coalition. It is held that the Schlieffen Plan initially deployed most of the German army in the west, with a small force left in the east to conduct a holding operation against the Russians. After a lightning campaign leading to a decisive victory over France within six weeks, Germany could turn her full might against the Russians. The standard verdict is that France could not have been comprehensively defeated within such a short time, so the plan was quite inadequate to the strategic dilemma confronting Germany. Anyone who believes all this has simply not read the Schlieffen Plan. That document is solely concerned with a war in the west. It does not call for the deployment of any forces against Russia, and contains no reference at all to a six-week deadline for the defeat of France. The great historical misunderstanding has been to regard Schlieffen’s plan as a half-baked scheme for fighting a war on two fronts, when it was in fact a carefully reasoned scheme for fighting a war limited to the west, at a time when this seemed to be a distinct possibility. The German west-front war-plan in 1914 was devised by the younger Helmuth von Moltke, and while it bore some resemblance to Schlieffen’s proposal, it was extensively adapted to the changed circumstances, in particular to the necessity of now deploying against Ru... ... of a two-front war in which both enemies would immediately go onto the offensive. He could not deploy the whole of the German army in the west, even though he needed a quick decision there to release reinforcements for the eastern front. It was the Moltke Plan, not the Schlieffen Plan, which required a victory over France within six weeks. Nor could Moltke contemplate swinging a part of his right wing all the way around Paris, since that again needed more time and troops than could be spared in a war on two fronts. Moltke’s right wing, already much weaker than Schlieffen’s, was further depleted during the course of the operation when he pulled out two of its army corps and transferred them to the east. The German army that was forced back from the Marne in September 1914 was but a pale shadow of the one that is drawn up against France in the Schlieffen Plan. Moltke held to the basic idea of that plan, but under the time and manpower pressures of a two-front war he was unable to make the right-wing attack as powerful and sustained as Schlieffen had prescribed for a one-front war in 1906. It was a diluted version of the Schlieffen plan that failed in 1914, not the original concept.

Global Society Essay

The world we are in today has seen the end of bipolarity that has been brought about by wars that divided. Every day we see the world grow smaller and people are brought together by common issues and concerns. States become interdependent and connected through globalization. Global actors include along with the state, non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations. These global actors have diverse and divergent, often conflicting, interests that must be met. States, such as the developing countries, need a level playing field in the global arena. The non-governmental organizations are people oriented, and often seeking to improve their quality of life. Multinational businesses are profit and expansion driven. Multinational corporations play a big role in economic globalization. They fuel economies by the investment they bring in that create jobs and allow the exchange of technology through skills and knowledge. MNCs are also seen as having insatiable greed for wealth, which create and dictate markets, displace small enterprises and dislocate people. Corporate Social Responsibility is when business interests are met along with the other interests of society as a whole. CSR has four integral parts, which are: (1) profit generation, (2) observing human rights, payment of taxes, cooperation with the government, promoting health and safety, and supporting workers, (3) doing the right, fair and just thing, and (4) sharing resources and profits to improve lives especially in the areas of education, health and the arts. The UN Global Compact attempts to develop Corporate Social Responsibility globally. The Global Compact provides the mechanism that covers all directions of the social spectrum such as horizontal and vertical, formal and informal, state and non-state. The approach is from all dimensions, diverse, multi-level and a network structure. UN agencies like UNDP, UNHCR and UNESCO partner with many philanthropic foundations in many CSR activities showing that MNCs can both be profit-motivated and socially-responsible. References Fritsch, Stefan. (January 2008). The UN Global Compact and the Global Governance of Corporate Social Responsibility: Complex Multilateralism for a more Human Globalization. Global Society, Vol. 22, No. 1.

Can Multiculturalism Really Reduce Prejudice? Essay

The term â€Å"multiculturalism† has recently come into usage to describe a society characterized by a diversity of cultures. Religion, language, customs, traditions, and values are some of the components of a culture, but more importantly culture is the lens through which one perceives and interprets the world. In the past several years there has been a growing trend towards multiculturalism in many areas of our society. Most of these trends are found on college and university campuses. I think this is likely due to a belief that the traditional Christian American values and views are unable to deal with the growing numbers of various ethnic minorities in our society. Phew, that was a mouth full. Although this trend would seem able to change society for the better, I believe that it has been and will be largely ineffective. It does, however, have some possible advantage over society’s traditional view. The Contact Hypothesis states that â€Å"increasing contact between groups can in some circumstances decrease prejudice between them. † It is possible that education about various cultural groups alone, could reduce prejudice similarly to actual contact; by increasing recognition of similarities, providing information that goes against the stereotypical grain, and breaking down the illusion of out-group homogeneity. It would likely do so less than contact. â€Å"Multiculturalism might be able to reduce prejudice without building the resentment, which sometimes occurs in contact. It is also possible that it could help encourage re-categorization. For the most part, however, it seems that multiculturalism will do little or nothing to get rid of prejudice and discrimination. Even assuming that multicultural education is nearly as effective as contact, it would not have much effect on society. Contact itself is only successful under certain circumstances. â€Å"(D’Souza, D. 8) The weakness of multiculturalism is that it only deals with a few of the many aspects of prejudice. Prejudice seems extremely difficult if not impossible to overcome in our society. The stereotypes that are created by and reinforce prejudice are neither rational ideas nor emotional responses. Multiculturalism treats them as if they were. â€Å" Stereotypes are the result of cognitive processes that are, by their very nature, difficult to change. Information that is inconsistent with stereotypes is usually forgotten, ignored, disregarded or devalued. One could be aware that less than 20% of Americans arrested on drug charges are black, and could feel some sort of brothership with humankind, and still be afraid of being mugged by a crack addict in a black neighborhood. â€Å"(Steeh, C & Schuman, H. 344) For example, I do not consider myself to be a racist. I have a Chinese friend, five of my friends are black and the other is Laotian. I’m also friends with a Mexican, a Puerto Rican, Turkish, Jew, the list goes on. I hold no attitudes towards these people, which are influenced by stereotypes. Although, when walking down the street towards a black or Latino person, I’ll admit that I become slightly nervous; just a little more ready to throw or receive a punch. â€Å"Entering a classroom or bus people (white) will most likely sit near a white person more readily than a minority member. If one needed to ask the time or ask for a cigarette, one would probably ask a white over a minority. They may be aware of these things even as they happen. Even aware of their irrationality. Maybe even familiar (hopefully) with the cognitive processes that cause these small discriminations, but it seems that they are helpless to stop them. † (Baron, A. 180) I can not pinpoint the root of my or anyone else’s prejudice. I attend now a nearly all white high school, before which, an almost entirely white middle school. Before the middle school, however, I attended an elementary school consisting of a very healthy mix of different cultures. Maybe less than half the school was white. Neither of my parents is overtly racist. Outside of the media, I have observed more whites committing acts of violence than blacks. On TV however, I have seen blacks behave in mostly negative ways. Or at least I remember it that way. The prejudices, which I have, are based on many observable traits other than ethnicity, as I suspect are most other peoples. I will have a less favorable impression of a black man in â€Å"typical† urban, hip-hop style clothing than of the same man dressed differently. Give him dreadlocks, braids, or a tall floppy head of hair and I will view him even more favorably. This seems to be the result of something other than direct experience. My interactions with blacks have not been more positive or negative based on the person’s mode of dress. â€Å"It seems that most stereotypes are based mainly on media images†(Baird, R. M. & Rosenbaum, S. E. 12). I also hold many stereotypes about members of various subcultural or demographic groups; wealthy students, middle class students, po’ students, business men (note â€Å"men†, stereotypical business person is male), marijuana users, cocaine users, etc. Some are as strong as the racial stereotypes I hold, and some are stronger. For example, given a black pot smoker and white business major that are otherwise identical, I would react more favorably to the latter. When a person belonging to an â€Å"outgroup† becomes more than a stranger or casual acquaintance the stereotypes that I hold about that group are quickly removed from that individual. But I don’t think that I change the stereotypes that I have about his or her group. I have personally experienced very little open racial discrimination towards myself. As a heterosexual, white, male I don’t really have to justify who or what I am. Most racial discrimination that I have faced was from African(I’m assuming)-American boys, with whom I shared a neighborhood with as a small child. Although never confronted directly, I was aware of the occasional dirty look and the usual â€Å"cracker† reference. But this is far from common and has not had a real impact on me. More often I am discriminated against because of my appearance. I have been subjected to a few bogus suspensions from middle school, just because I â€Å"looked† suspicious. One time, I was called down to the office, and blamed for throwing seat-tape on the school bus. I denied it, and told them to check the video tapes on the bus, after all, there are video cameras on each bus. Turns out, not one of them had me throwing anything of the sort. I still was forced to serve the suspension, just because I’ve gotten in trouble a couple times that month. Although these instances have affected me, they seem to have not been strong enough stimuli for me. As for reducing prejudice, there seem to be no easy solutions. It seems that there is a limit on how far rational and emotional arguments can go in eliminating it. I would like to think that I am close to that limit, because short of getting to know everyone personally, I can’t imagine how to reduce my own prejudices. Perhaps multiculturalism could help some people to begin to reduce their prejudices. But can multiculturalism really succeed? Even if people of all colors, genders and religions, were to somehow magically get along together in one community, wouldn’t there still be prejudice? Some people may be looked down upon as invalid. People with mental problems and disorders would no doubt be prejudiced upon. The same goes for people with speech impediments. They would have to receive special help, and for someone to acknowledge that is in a way prejudice. I believe that cultural equality, multiculturalism, peace, whatever, is an impossible goal. People are always going to be different, and that’s not bad at all. Bibliography Page Baird, R. M. & Rosenbaum, S. E. (1992). Bigotry, prejudice and hatred: Definitions, causes & solutions. Buffalo: Prometheus Books. D’Souza, D. (1995). The End of Racism: Principles for a Multicultural Society. New York: The Free Press. Baron, A. (1992). Valuing ethnic diversity: A day-long workshop for university personnel. Journal of College Student Development, 179-181 Steeh, C. & Schuman, H. (1992). Young White adults: Did racial attitudes change in the 1980s? American Journal of Sociology, 340-367.

Weakness in the Articles of Confederation essays

Weakness in the Articles of Confederation essays The Articles of Confederation, active from March 1, 1781, to June 21, 1788 was the first constitution established in the New World. The articles were drafted by the British colonists in order to help unify the 13 colonies under a common government. This document expressed the form of government the early Americans used until June 21, 1788 when the present constitution was drafted. The articles came out of a need for the colonies to unite after being freed from British rule, and in this need, the articles were effective in putting into words the colonists desire to establish a centralized government. Unfortunately, through the colonists desires to establish a centralized government that was nothing like that of the government imposed on them in England by the King, a central government without sufficient power to govern effectively was created. Along with this major weakness, many other weaknesses followed. The governments lack of power rendered it unable to regulate trade and levy taxes to the colonies. Finally, a unanimous approval was required to pass laws, leaving the ability to change or to pass laws at the mercy of one state when all twelve other states agreed. First of all, the governments inability to regulate trade was a huge problem. The states, without any government regulation, were free to set their own taxes on goods. There was not a set tax on certain goods; taxes on the same goods were different in every state. This inflated state of taxes, fluctuating from state to state, made interstate commerce very expensive. Tariff wars resulted when one state would raise its taxes after getting mad at other states for having high taxes on goods. As a result, interstate commerce almost completely diminished as tax inflation became too high for trade to flourish. Interstate commerce was furthermore hampered by the existence of different currencies in every state. Trade became very tough an ...

Shakespeares Schooling and Early Years

Shakespeare's Schooling and Early Years What was William Shakespeares school life like? What school did he attend? Was he top of the class? Unfortunately, there is very little evidence remaining, so historians have pulled together multiple sources to give a sense of what his school life would have been like. Shakespeare's School Life Fast Facts William Shakespeare attended King Edward VI Grammar School in Stratford-upon-AvonHe started there when he was seven.Little is known about his young life at the school, but it is possible to ascertain what life would have been like for him by looking at what school life was like in those days. Grammar School Grammar schools were all over the country at that time and were attended by boys of similar backgrounds to Shakespeare’s. There was a national curriculum set out by the monarchy. Girls were not permitted to attend school, so we will never know the potential of Shakespeare’s sister Anne, for example. She would have stayed home and helped Mary, his mother, with the household chores. It is believed that William Shakespeare would have probably attended school with his younger brother Gilbert, who was two years his junior. But his younger brother Richard would have missed out on a grammar school education because the Shakespeares were experiencing financial problems at the time and they could not afford to send him. So the educational and future successes of Shakespeare depended on his parents affording to send him to get an education. Many others were not so fortunate. Shakespeare himself missed out on a full education as we shall later discover. Shakespeare’s school is still a grammar school today, and is attended by boys who have passed their 11 exams. They accept the very top percentage of boys who have done well in their exams. The School Day The school day was long and monotonous. Children attended school from Monday until Saturday from 6 or 7 oclock in the morning until 5 or 6 oclock at night with a two hour break for dinner. On his day off, Shakespeare would have been expected to attend church. It being a Sunday, there was very little free time, as the church service would go on for hours at a time! Holidays only took place on religious days, but these would not exceed one day. Curriculum Physical Education was not on the curriculum at all. Shakespeare would have been expected to learn long passages of Latin prose and poetry. Latin was the language used in most respected professions including the law, medicine and in the clergy. Latin was, therefore, the mainstay of the curriculum. Students would have been versed in grammar, rhetoric, logic, astronomy, and arithmetic. Music was also part of the curriculum. Students would have been regularly tested and physical punishments would have been given out to those who did not do well. Financial Troubles John Shakespeare was having financial problems by the time Shakespeare was a teenager and Shakespeare and his brother were forced to leave school as their father could no longer pay for it. Shakespeare was 14 at the time. The Spark for a Career At the end of the term, the school would put on classical plays in which the boys would perform. It is entirely possible that this is where Shakespeare honed his acting skills and knowledge of plays and classical stories. Many of his plays and poems are based on classical texts, including Troilus and Cressida and The Rape of Lucrece. In Elizabethan times, children were seen as miniature adults, and were trained to take on an adult’s place and occupation. Girls would have been put to work at home mending clothes, cleaning and cooking, boys would have been introduced to their father’s profession or worked as farm hands. Shakespeare may have been employed as such by the Hathaway’s, this may have been how he met Anne Hathaway.  We lose track of him after he leaves school at 14, and the next thing we know is that he is married to Anne Hathaway. Children were married off early. This is reflected in Romeo and Juliet. Juliet is 14 and Romeo is a similar age.

Assignment #2 355 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

#2 355 - Assignment Example Additionally, the family is constantly involved in wrangles and family conflicts, mainly associated with limited resource availability and distribution. One aspect worth noting with the family is the aspect of the gendered division of labor. Jay, who is the head of the family, struggles in order to provide for his big family, which comprises of his second wife, who also works though for limited pay, and, therefore only takes care of her two children, a stepson, an infant son, two adult children, their spouses, one couple of which comprises same sex individuals, and children. Jay and the two adult children all struggle with menial jobs to make ends meet in for the provision of the familys basic needs , while Jay’s second wife, despite also working, only takes care of her children while the other adult children’s spouses, work on the housekeeping duties. Considering how big the family is, with a house that is tiny, the house is rarely clean, with the large number of members as well as the struggle between the adult females in the house about the person to clean the house contributing to the house untidiness. The lead characters are individuals of 20 years and above, among whom conflict is constantly witnessed. There is no frail elderly individual in the family; however, Jay’s stepson is constantly on the wheelchair because of broken limbs from an earlier accident. From the TV show, work is presented favorably as a factor towards the contribution of provision of family’s basic needs. However, the family is presented negatively as despite the effort put by Jay and the adult children in their duties towards providing for the family, the family members is always in conflict, especially the Jay’s second wife and Jay’s other children. Modern family characters portray a critical aspect of what a modern family in America comprises. First, is an

International Supply Chain Management (Sourcing Strategies) Essay

International Supply Chain Management (Sourcing Strategies) - Essay Example As a result of near-shoring activities, enhancement of cultural affinity takes place which acts as a boon to the modern businesses with respect to their value chain activities. The cultural affinity being developed provides strong prospect for the long-term relationship development among the various entities of the supply chain. As a result of this, the supply functions of the companies enhance up to a considerable extent. Finally, it is worthy to mention that the new approach of near-shoring as a sourcing strategy offers cost advantages to the companies. The proximity of time zone allows the companies to reduce the extra amount of work required to match with the time of the entity in other ends of the supply chain. The cultural affinity leads to reduced amount of time spend upon the cycles required for reaching a consensus (Neoris Practical Visionaries, 2010). However, the activities within near-shoring strategy for sourcing are not without risk associated with it. Although it is be tter to go for near-shoring than off-shoring as according to the contemporary managers, near-shoring cannot lead the companies towards achievement of goal when applied alone. A combination of off-shoring, onsite and near-shoring would provide better result than being used alone. Thus, instead of determining the advantage of near-shoring over off-shoring, it would be beneficial for the contemporary mangers to identify the most effective combination through which goals can be achieved (Bell, 2005). On-Shoring Along with near-shoring, on-shoring has also been evolving as an innovative concept in the businesses where efficient supervision of supply... This essay stresses that the opportunity cost associated with outsourcing at times triggers the interest among the companies to remain preset to this process. This is because through outsourcing the production units can derive the advantage of lower production costs in the developing nations of the world which would not be possible with the process of in-sourcing. Another noticeable disadvantage of in-sourcing is that the focus of the company gets deviated from its core competencies because of in-sourcing. In-sourcing might bring about the necessity of concentrating upon certain activities like that of IT in which the company is not expert at. In such a situation, the time, the efforts and the resources that will be spend over activities other than the core activities would be considered as extra amount of cost This paper makes a conclusion that development of various combinations of the modern sourcing strategies would be essential. The companies can then adopt various means of assessing each of the combinations in a critical way. The combination that anticipates the most effective output for the companies should be selected. These actions of the companies in relation to the adoption of one best sourcing strategy are helpful for both the short-term as well as the long-term prospects of the companies. This is because effectiveness of the sourcing strategies leads towards enhanced competency of the supply functions of the companies which is a competitive aspect in the context of the modern businesses.

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 21

English - Essay Example The official name of this sport is association football. Americans developed a distinct type of football in the 19th century which has subsequently come to be known as American football. This game has basically grown out of two sports, soccer, or association football, and rugby football. Both these games remain as separate sports with each having its own specific set of rules. The international body governing soccer is FIFA, or Federation Internationale de Football Association. The immensely popular World Cup, held at four-year intervals is organized by FIFA, and it also governs all levels of soccer, including professional games on the international level, Olympic competitions and youth leagues. The FIFA World Cup is undoubtedly the sport’s premier event, pitting national teams from 32 countries against one another. American football’s National Football League or NFL is the most popular and major professional league in the world. However, over the years, several other leagues have been formed in North America and Europe. The comparable soccer league known as MLS or Major League Soccer has many teams which have fans worldwide and some of the most famous teams are A.C. Milan of Italy, Ajax Amsterdam of The Netherlands, Manchester United of England, Real Madrid of Spain, Boca Juniors of Argentina, SÃ £o Paulo of Brazil, and Colo Colo of Chile, among others. Both forms of the game, soccer or association football, and American football have some things in common, namely both are played between two teams, in which players try to score a goal by hitting the ball into the opponents’ goal, by using any part of their body except the hands. Players thus have to use remarkable skills of using feet and heads as they kick, dribble, or pass the ball toward the goal or to another player. Although this much remains common to both games, there are some important contrasts and

Result Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Result Exam - Essay Example The descriptive research design will involve a survey to identify certain characteristics of SMEs and further research to gather qualitative information. This paper considers how three different approaches in research methodology (quantitative, qualitative and mixed design) could be applied to the topic area ‘What is below the surface and underlying success factors for small and medium enterprises in Thailand?’ using examples from the literature. We will explain which approach is most suitable by analyzing the options, and then formulate a proposed design detailing what reliable and valid secondary data would be collected and how to address the research question. First, a brief introduction to SMEs in Thailand is given to introduce the subject area of the proposed study. This includes what they are, their role, and important statistical facts. This is followed by a preliminary overview of some support initiatives provided to SMEs mostly by the Thai government. The identification of possible success factors helps to better focus the proposed study. SMEs are defined by both number of employees and amount of fixed assets. These are fewer relative to larger enterprises. In terms of their function, they are an important foundation of business activity in most economies including the Thai economy. As of April 2009, the number of reported SMEs in Thailand is around 2.4 million, of which 400,00 are classified as genuine according to the Thai National Statistical Office (Pongvutitham, 2009). The Office of Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion (OSMEP, 2008) acknowledges that SMEs play an immensely important role in Thailand’s economy and represent over 99% of the country’s businesses. SMEs make an immense contribution to Thailand’s economic development â€Å"as they are the resources of job creation and revenue distribution for people in

Kia company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Kia company - Research Paper Example For KIA motors this would include highlighting the energy efficiency of the cars and focusing on low cost of maintenance. This strategy is effective at a time when the purchasing power of the consumers is low. The recent economic downturn has led to a severe dip in the disposable income levels of individuals. Moreover fuel efficiency is also a vital factor at a time when fuel prices are sky rocketing. The company can also promote and replicate its ‘KIA Approved’ strategy that would include providing extended warranties and other benefits and an effective after sales service to lure customers (KIA, 2010). Finally KIA motors can enter into a strategic alliance with a local company of high repute. The strategic alliance would involve collaboration between KIA and its partner in the area of marketing and promoting the product including sharing retail space etc. The alliance with an established local partner would help improve the attitude of the consumers towards the brand and would instill greater confidence among the customers and lead to development of positive attitude among the customers generating sustainable competitive

Gender Roles in Classical Cultures Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gender Roles in Classical Cultures - Term Paper Example Theogony by Hesiod (circa 700 B.C.E. or before current era) is a very long poem of about a thousand lines that details the genealogy of Greek gods. It was written in the style of a Homeric epic and goes all the way back to the mists of time, in fact, to the very beginning of the world similar to the Genesis in the Christian bible. It is a very massive collection of local Greek cultural traditions and stories that details how the gods came to be. In the story or poem there is the first hint of an attempt to establish a logical reality based on the observations seen in the universe or cosmos. This is a long narrative about ancient Greek mythology in which there is already discernible the underlying theme of gender roles even among gods. In Theogony, the male gods were often in conflict with their female god counterparts. As mentioned earlier elsewhere, this narrative was written by a male Greek bard and as such it had a decidedly male viewpoint. Female gods were portrayed as necessary to the world in the extent these females were to provide companionship to male gods and of course, for purposes of reproduction to bring forth offspring. Other than these requirements, there is a clear line of misogyny thinking throughout the whole poem. Women and girls were shown to be causing all the troubles of the male gods by their machinations, intrigues, and manipulations. There is a feeling that the world is a much better place if only these female gods had behaved. An overall impression a reader gets is that women are better relegated.

How the Web Destroys the Quality of Students Research Paper

How the Web Destroys the Quality of Students - Research Paper Example The paper describes the educational hazards of the world wide web. The researcher David says that with the advent of the internet has led to a depleted quality of the research papers. The author claims that most of the information on the web is actually older than what it claims. This claim of the author is not absolutely correct. The Internet is amongst the fastest means of communication that is present today and the internet does have older information, but it also has the most recent repository of papers and journals stored in electronic databases such as EBSCO. The author claims that the information on the web is mostly written by people whose credibility is difficult to asses. This claim is partially correct. A lot of researchers makes use of wikis the information in which is not form a completely trusted source. Still, if taken from appropriate sources such as electronic databases, e-newspapers or magazines such as economists, the information is from a completely credible sourc e. The author also says that the use of search engines for retrieval of information leads to useful information being missed out. The scenario has completely changed from the time when this article was written. Today websites such as Google use algorithms that make use of a combination of a crawler, an indexer and a query processor which return the most related and reliable information on the first page (Sherman and Price, 2001). The author says that most of the information on the web is a mere summary and research papers based on these internet pages are nothing but a collection of summaries.

Gender Roles in Classical Cultures Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Gender Roles in Classical Cultures - Term Paper Example Theogony by Hesiod (circa 700 B.C.E. or before current era) is a very long poem of about a thousand lines that details the genealogy of Greek gods. It was written in the style of a Homeric epic and goes all the way back to the mists of time, in fact, to the very beginning of the world similar to the Genesis in the Christian bible. It is a very massive collection of local Greek cultural traditions and stories that details how the gods came to be. In the story or poem there is the first hint of an attempt to establish a logical reality based on the observations seen in the universe or cosmos. This is a long narrative about ancient Greek mythology in which there is already discernible the underlying theme of gender roles even among gods. In Theogony, the male gods were often in conflict with their female god counterparts. As mentioned earlier elsewhere, this narrative was written by a male Greek bard and as such it had a decidedly male viewpoint. Female gods were portrayed as necessary to the world in the extent these females were to provide companionship to male gods and of course, for purposes of reproduction to bring forth offspring. Other than these requirements, there is a clear line of misogyny thinking throughout the whole poem. Women and girls were shown to be causing all the troubles of the male gods by their machinations, intrigues, and manipulations. There is a feeling that the world is a much better place if only these female gods had behaved. An overall impression a reader gets is that women are better relegated.

Despite Their Cultural Differences Essay Example for Free

Despite Their Cultural Differences Essay Despite Their Cultural Differences, Do Jeanette From Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit Celie From The Colour Purple Both Share The Same Struggle?  The cultural differences of the two characters are numerous and the implications far reaching. The austere but comfortable working class security of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, contrasts greatly with the urban squalor of The Colour Purple. Even though there is such a massive social divide the two women share many similar struggles. Both women are struggling against the imposition and enforcement of belief systems and intolerant judgements upon them. In Jeanettes life her mother mainly imposes her controlling and stifling religious views upon her. She feels press ganged to the extent that I had been brought in to join her in a tag match against the Rest of the World. The entirety of Jeanettes early life is a moulding process, where she is forced to endure the influence of enemies including The Devil (in his many forms), Next Door, Sex (in its many forms), and slugs. Celies initial struggle takes on a much more chilling and darker tone. Her perspective comes from her being made to accept the role of a victim. Her stepfather tears away her basic human rights as he abuses her, He start to choke me, saying you better shut up and git used to it. It is a constant challenge to achieve the recognition by others that she has nothing in her present, miserable existence.  Why dont you look decent? Put on something! But what Im sposed to put on? I dont have nothing. One challenge faced by Celie is how to access a decent education, and further her basic skills. As she is seen as little more than a servant, her family believes that there is little need for her to further herself and grow.  The first time I got big Pa, took me out of school, He never care that I love it. In the initial section of Colour Purple, the writing skills of Celie are very poor and reflect the poor education she has received. The entire opening diary entries are littered with colloquialisms and miss spellings, Left me to see after the others. He never have a kine word to say to me. This often leads to the impression that the words of Celie are coming from an intelligent mind that does not quite have the tools to express itself properly. Later on in the novel, influenced by reading her sisters letters and her own determination to succeed, she develops a much more fluid and sharper style, Even thought you had the trees with you, the whole Earth. The stars. But look at you. When Shug left, happiness desert. It is still not writing of an educated woman, but a woman who is beginning to analyse her situation. The struggle of Jeanettes education is never one that is based on literary or language deficiencies. From a young age she is encouraged to have a firm grasp of The Bible. Jeanettes initial keeping away from school limits her to her mother for a source of information. This leads to Jeanette having a bizarre view on the world from a young age.  My favourite was Number 16, the Buzule of Carpathian.  As Celie has been at the mercy of such extreme sexist views for the beginning of her life, and Jeanette at the mercy of religious ones, they both struggle not pass their misguided views on to others. When Celie is not successful in refraining from doing so, it has a profound impact upon Sofia. The insecurity and inadequacy of Celie forces her to offer advice to Harpo, which leads to domestic violence. Celie has become so use to ritualised violence that the promotion of it actually becomes a strange form of advice. Only the pathetic nature of her advice saves her friendship with Sofia. She stood their a long time, like what I said took the wind out of her sails. She mad before sad now.  Jeanette struggles not to pass on her misguided and often inappropriate religious views while at school. Her teachers are alarmed by religious maturity and obsessive views, Thats not the point you have been talking about Hell to young minds. Her unintentional preaching of her mothers dogma scares the children, and marks her out for abuse, And why, and this is perhaps more serious, do you terrorize, yes, terrorize the other children. This criticism eventually leads to the developing of awareness that she not teach her mothers dogma.

Environmentally Friendly Hospital Menu

Environmentally Friendly Hospital Menu MANASA PENTA As a Registered Dietitian at the Sandringham Public hospital the below briefing paper on a proposal to revise existing hospital menu and plan a greener menu by including 100% foods used from local food producers around Melbourne. This is submitted to the Broad of Directors of the hospital for their approval. Context: According to the IPCC (2007), the global climate and other life-supporting environmental systems are seriously perturbed and depleted. Climate change-related drought prone and long-term drying conditions emerging in some sub-tropical regions around the world, higher temperatures, raising sea levels, increasing frequency of flooding, and acidification of oceans are now contributing to reduced quantity, quality and affordability of food in many countries. Australia is also facing environmental challenges, with an expected increase in average surface temperature of 0.6-1.5c by 2030. (Fd systems En sustain Pg1) Consequently, public concern over climate change, information and opportunities for people to lower their â€Å"carbon foot print†, a measure of the total consumer responsibility for greenhouse emissions, have become increasingly available. It is imperative that human health is placed within the context of the health of the planet. (food miles pg 3058). In general much of the research around climate change has concluded that food, home energy, and transportation together form a large share of most consumers’ personal impact (food miles pg 3058). Food has a huge impact on the environment. Food production contributes up to 29% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions (http://www.foodalliance.org.au/article/healthy-sustainable-diets/). Every step of the food supply chain, from production, to transport, processing, packaging and distribution has potential environmental consequences. There is a bi-directional relationship between environmental degradation and food systems. This requires us to consider the impact of climate change on food production and the impact of food production on the ecology of the biosphere, both of which have significant implications on public health. Food production over the past fifty years in particular has had severe environmental impacts in Australia and around the world. To a significant extent, this is due to unsustainable methods being used all the way along the supply chain from agricultural practices through to distribution methods and consumer habits. Due to the increasing acknowledgment o f environmental degradation through the unsustainable nature of many agricultural methods used around the world, the concept of sustainable diets has become popular. (http://www.foodalliance.org.au/article/healthy-sustainable-diets/). According to FAO 2010, Sustainable Diets are those diets with low environmental impacts which contribute to food and nutrition security and to healthy life for present and future generations. Why us? While there isn’t a ‘silver-bullet’ that will solve all the environmental issues of our food system at once, there are a number of actions our community can take to drive change in specific areas. The tremendous purchasing power and public visibility of hospitals could be a key lever for building infrastructure and demand for local food. Hospital efforts may also bring attention to public health impacts of the food system, including air and water pollution, residues from pesticides and other toxins, and health inequities in agricultural communities. A stronger focus on food helps hospitals play a role in promoting environmental sustainability and in raising awareness of its links to human health. Plan of Action On analysis the following food sustainable issues within the organisation need to be addressed to contribute to the overall Food is transported great distances Purchasing food that’s grown out of season Resources (especially water, fertiliser, Energy ) are used unsustainably Food Wastage Packaged Food Biodiversity impacts of agriculture Impacts of livestock production on environment Land being swallowed by urban sprawl Above issues can be address by following below practices to achieve food sustainability that not only benefit the organisation but also have an impact on local, national and global food sustainability issues. In Australia, food in the average shopping basket has travelled over 70,000 kms—that’s nearly two times the distance around the Earth. In fact, four imported items alone can account for nearly 50,000 kms. Even if a product is labelled as Australian-made it can still have ingredients from all over the world, adding to its transport footprint. Transporting food long distances, either across Australia or from overseas, generally uses up more non-renewable resources than producing and eating food locally. Energy, fuel, gas and water are consumed during transportation and storage adding to foods’ environmental impact. Transportation from farm, to processing plant, to consumer, can account for up to 11 per cent of food’s total greenhouse gas emissions. We can reduce emissions by buying food produced locally. Perhaps the most significant element of any sustainable food strategy is the menu. Appetising food is more likely to be eaten, so it is important to develop a menu that on the one hand is appealing to patients and staff, while on the other hand being high in both nutritional and sustainable value. Menu planning drives the choice of ingredients required, so it is important to design a menu that reduces the use of ingredients that have high environmental and health impacts. (6) Currently our hospital menu offered to patients and cafeteria offers a wide range of food choices without much emphasis on food sustainability. The aim of this project is to revise the hospital menu that is served in the cafeteria and for in-patients and in a years’, plan a â€Å"Greener Menu† that incorporates environmentally sustainable foods which are procured within 100 kilometres of radius around Melbourne. This initiative helps patients, staff and visitors to make healthy food choices and in turn helps in reducing our hospital’s eco-footprint on climate and environmental changes. Short term goals: In 3 months’ time, a minimum of 5% of foods used in the hospital kitchen to come from locally produced foods. In 6 months to aim for a minimum of 25% foods used in the hospital kitchen to come from locally produced foods. In 9 months to aim from a minimum of 50% In a years’ time to achieve the actual goal of 100% foods used to be procured from locally produced foods Above aim can be achieved by following below objectives: (5) By aligning the hospital menu with seasonal production and harvesting cycles Sourcing food locally Adding vegetarian and dairy-free option to the menu Choosing sustainably farmed meat and dairy Including meat dishes that have low environmental impact such as chicken, pork and eggs What needs to be done and how? Overview of evidence: There are various studies conducted in the past that have proven that adapting a healthier and sustainable food choices into the organisation’s menu in turn increased intake of these foods A definition of healthy food procurement that has been used in a review of policies is â€Å"a process which encompasses not just how public bodies procure food, but also how they determine what food they want to buy and from whom; receive and store food; prepare and serve food; dispose of waste food; and monitor their costs† [26]. In Ireland, the impact of a structured catering initiative on food choices was evaluated in a hospital setting [60]. A cross-sectional comparison was made using a 24-hour dietary recall and questionnaire of participants aged 18–64 years in two hospitals; one implemented a catering initiative that promoted nutritious food and reduced sugar, fat, and salt, and the other was used as a control (Table 3) [60]. Overall, this study found that improving the dietary quality of menu items provided in hospitals can reduce the amount of unhealthy nutrients such as fat, sugar, and sodium in foods served to patients in a hospital setting by up to 30% [60] 480 homebound, low-income seniors receiving Meals on Wheels over 4 months in Seattle, WA (USA) Increased access to fresh fruit and vegetables via home delivery. Seniors receiving baskets consumed 1.04 more servings than those in the control group. The number of seniors consuming >five servings per day increased by 17% from baseline. (62) Comprehensive initiative for food public institutions such as schools, hospitals, and prisons in the United Kingdom developed and disseminated a report to encourage consumption of locally grown foods and availability of healthy foods and build momentum for progress. Awareness of the program increased by 24% in 2 years; 72% of local authorities and 69% of schools supported initiative; 54% of users find the guidelines very useful or extremely useful; constraints were identified.(64) How this goal can be achieved? Firstly the current menu needs to evaluated and analysed to see where improvements can be made in regards sustainable change can be adapted. A short survey in the form of questionnaire can be used to determine staff and patients view on moving towards a sustainable menu Educating the food service staff, chefs and hospital management staff about the importance of moving towards a sustainable menu with in the hospitals. This session will also highlight the benefits of sustainable menus for the organisation’s food consumers and to the community. Create a seasonal fruit and vegetable calendar depending on what’s available around Melbourne. This information can be obtained from websites, for example www.vicfarmersmarkets.org.au/content/whats-season www.woolworths.com.au Need to source the local farmers for different foods, for example fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry and also any suppliers for locally produced food items such as jams, relishes, ice creams etc. While choosing the contractors, food sustainability specifications such as including organic, seasonal produce, choosing sustainability farmed meat and dairy. Some of the organisations that can find sustainable food producers around Melbourne. www.sustainabletable.org.au, www.localharvest.org.au, www.foodalliance.org.au, www.vicfarmersmarkets.org.au www.aco..net.au (Australian Certified Organic) Once this information is gathered, depending on what’s in season and what foods are available locally, different seasonal menus have to planned and consolidated by liaising with the hospital chefs and the food service team. When creating the menus by adding the region in the dish name or in the description, patients and staff can know where their food came from which in turn acts as role model to purchase local and seasonal produce. Once these menus are consolidated a short survey in the form of questionnaire among the staff can be conducted to get any feedback and suggestions that can be used to make any alterations. Finally, a review of the menus need to conducted to access if the original aim of including 100 percent locally and sustainably produced foods are incorporated in the menu initiative has been achieved. Also analysing the staff and patients food choices before and after the implementation of the Greener menu helps to evaluate if there a change in the way they chose the food items. Who is likely to support and challenge this proposal? The Key supports of this proposal at the community could be from The Local council – considering the proposals is addressing few food sustainability issues which in turn would benefit the community at both local and indirectly at a national scale. Government organisations and NGOs Local farmers as this proposal would the demand for their produce and contribute to their sales. The hospital patients, staff and people who access the hospital’s cafeteria as by purchasing this food they indirectly contributing towards a sustainable environment Challenges Challenges related to instructional buy-in Beyond the foodservice department, hospital leadership is crucial to building institutional capacity and commitment to buy local food. If senior administrators in charge of budget, human resources, procurement, community benefits, and overall institutional strategic direction do not support local food efforts, they can be can be severely crippled. By educating the foodservice department and the hospital leadership about the benefits of the proposal can build help building trust and also gives an opportunity to address their concerns towards the proposal. Challenges related to supply: It is important to note that farm-to-hospital initiatives may be substantially challenged by supply-side issues. Local production of food does not mean that producers would prefer to sell locally, or to sell to institutions. Many farmers are part of existing markets and do not produce enough additional food to supply high-volume institutional buyers. Large farmers may be uninterested in the additional marketing and customer relations that might be required to sell their products locally. So some research needs to be done to understand local producers and their supply ability. Local food may not always mean it’s from sustainable sources It is important to note that ‘local food’ doesn’t always mean it’s produced in environmental friendly conditions. So before accepting any contracts, it’s important to note what sustainable agricultural procedures are used. Visiting the farm yards or the food production units is a good idea to ensure sustainable farming or food productions methods are used. Summary: Recent studies suggest that there is a growing attention towards climate change and opportunities for people to lower their â€Å"carbon foot print† towards the growing Greenhouse gas emissions. It is now imperative that human health is placed within the context of the health of the planet. Every step of the food supply chain, from production, to transport, processing, packaging and distribution has potential environmental consequences. Hospital efforts may also bring attention to public health impacts of the food system, including air and water pollution, residues from pesticides and other toxins, and health inequities in agricultural communities. A stronger focus on food helps hospitals play a role in promoting environmental sustainability and in raising awareness of its links to human health This proposal aims at creating a greener menu in place of the current hospital menu where by addressing few food-sustainability issues that can be modified within the organization. The aim is to procure locally produced food items thereby decreasing food miles, buying local and seasonal foods, choosing sustainably produced food and animal products. This also helps to provide better sustainable and healthy choices to the patients and staff within the hospital. References 5. We Need to Talk About Food – How We Can All Build A Better Food System, https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/Sustainability/WhatCanIDo/Pages/SustainableFood.asx 6. Sustainable Food: A Guide for Hospitals 7. Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States 8. Identifying Sustainable Foods: The Relationship between Environmental Impact, Nutritional Quality, and Prices of Foods Representative of the French Diet Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and DieteticsVolume 114, Issue 6, June 2014, Pages 862–869 26 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3986994/ [L’Abbà © M., Sunohara D., Wan J. Environmental Scan of Public Food proCurement Policies Related to Sodium. Public Health Agency of Canada; Ottawa, ON, Canada: 2011. pp. 1–93.] 28. 26 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3986994/ 60 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3986994/ The impact of a workplace catering initiative on dietary intakes of salt and other nutrients: a pilot study.Geaney F, Harrington J, Fitzgerald A, Perry IPublic Health Nutr. 2011 Aug; 14(8):1345-9. [PubMed] [Ref list] In Australia, food in the average shopping basket has travelled over 70,000 kms—that’s nearly two times the distance around the Earth. In fact, four imported items alone can account for nearly 50,000 kms. Even if a product is labelled as Australian-made it can still have ingredients from all over the world, adding to its transport footprint. Transporting food long distances, either across Australia or from overseas, generally uses up more non-renewable resources than producing and eating food locally. Energy, fuel, gas and water are consumed during transportation and storage adding to foods’ environmental impact. Transportation from farm, to processing plant, to consumer, can account for up to 11 per cent of food’s total greenhouse gas emissions. We can reduce emissions by buying food produced locally. Buying local produce also addresses some of the other food sustainability issues such as encouraging Promotes sustainable agriculture Gives fair and equal opportunities for local farmers Promotes healthy eating by choosing seasonal produces, Reducing the usage on fuel in terms of land / water and air travel for transporting food across the globe. Considering the multifactorial benefits that local food procurement has on the organisation’s food sustainability issues, it is identified as a key initiative that needs to be addressed in the organisation as a main priority. While there is no single solution to solve all the environmental issues of our food system at once, there are a number of actions our community can take to drive change in specific areas. Hospitals in the community act as role models 1