Thursday, October 31, 2019

Negotiation and Conflict Week 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Negotiation and Conflict Week 1 - Essay Example The rules and the regulations set by the authorities in the organization have not been accepted by the employees, as a result of which conflict has arisen. Thus, it is required for the teams that work in the organization to discuss with the director of the organization and have a justification of the newly assigned rules and regulations. The employees who worked in a team had disagreed to take the assignments from the manager which initiated the conflict. As the manager is selected by the director to work with the team, it is required for the team to obey the changes made by the manager. The team which worked under the jurisdiction of the organization from the beginning and was working under the manager of the organization had denied working with the manager because of his certain newly enacted strict regulations. The team felt that a few new regulations were unfair to them. However, it can be said that different managers have diverse ways of handling the teams and working for the be tterment of the organization. Thus, it is needed for the team who are working with the managers to know his role and provide their consents to those regulations and ways of his works. It is essential for the team to know the work process of the manager so that it becomes easier for the team to work with. Violating the boundary of the organization or not meeting with the expectations of the organization is also a concern that has arisen from the situation of conflict. The decision earlier taken by the team of not complying with the orders of the manager is needed to be reassessed (McCuddy, 2003). Moreover, it is also required for the team to have a discussion with the manager and communicate with him to know his ideas for obtaining results from the assigned works and to identify and discuss the right ways for reaching the goals. If the expectations are not met by the organization, it is needed to make an assessment of the expectations which are to be made to ensure the efficiency of the organization. If there is any deficiency in the rules and the regulations it should be amended or reallocated and explanation from the higher-level administrators is required to be provided for effective functioning of the organization. The conflict also has arisen due to changes brought in work process and rules. The previous manager had his own rules and schedules of work process which were ultimately changed by the new manger appointed to the organization and assigned to operate the team. The new manager set up his own rules and regulations without informing the team. As a result, the new rules which are set up have been majority of the times disobeyed by the team. The working hours of the organization i.e. the work schedule for the organization had also been changed which has also not been accepted by the teams of the organization. Due to the fact that the new manager is appointed by the organization, it is required for the team to have a discussion about the new work schedu le rather than directly not adhering to the changed work process, which would hamper the working procedure and schedule (Furlong, 2005). Thus, this is the major conflict situation which is required to be amended as it has been creating a significant detrimental effect on the employees’

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

SATS Air Cargo Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

SATS Air Cargo - Essay Example Correspondingly, the organizational operations of SATS have also seen changes over the years owing to the changing nature of its customers. With the increasing number of customers in the cargo sector of the airline market, SATS initiated the SIA Superhub 2 also known as the Airfreight Terminal 6 in the year 2001 with an investment of around $270 million. This approach of the company accompanied it with the ability to handle 800,000 tonnes of cargo per year, which was also accounted among the biggest capacities during that time. Furthermore, the customers in the cargo handling sector of the airline industry have also become more attracted towards online web based operations in course of time. Contextually, SATS introduced the web-based cargo tracking services in the year 2003 in order to meet the changing expectations of the customers (SATS 20111). Increased Competition With the augmented number of operations of various companies in the cargo sector of the airline industry, the compet ition has become more intense. ... This step of the company ensured the loyalty of the customers with the company for a longer period of time. Moreover, in similar regard, it has also introduced a new brand promise to the customers, which further states as â€Å"One with you† (SATS 20111). Furthermore, since there are various numbers of companies offering similar kind of products to the customers, only effective or innovative services would ensure enhanced operational services for any company including SATS. To comply with this aspect, the company has been continuously changing its service offering patterns to the customers so that their valuable association with the company continues for a longer period of time (SATS 20111). Part 2- SATS Air Cargo Competition SATS DHL Singapore Airlines Market Share .0019% 11.49% .0.02% Share Price as of Submission .31% (2013) Singapore Exchange 1.03 % (2013) (Singapore Exchange n.d.) .48% (2013) (Singapore Exchange n.d.) Stock Turnover 27.70 (2013) (Singapore Exchange n.d.) 2 3.56 (2013) (Singapore Exchange n.d.) 35.50 (2013) (Singapore Exchange n.d.) Revenue 2008- S$1,062,094 2009- S$ 1,538,906 2010- S$ 1,729,131 2011- S$ 1,685,413 2012- S$ 1,818,992 (SATS 20112) 2008- S$ 7,474,908,000 2009- S$ 6,175,362,000 2010- S$ 7,525,278,000 2011- S$ 8,223,343,128 2012- S$ 8,405,745,600 (Deutsche Post AG 2013) 2008- S$ 186,245 2009- S$ 181,752 2010- S$ 145,834 2011- S$ 159,980 2012- S$ 169,157 (Singapore Airlines 2012) Resources People: The chairman of the Edmund Cheng Wai Wing was appointed in the year 2012. Apart from him, there are also some other crucial members altogether forming the management team of the organization. Brand Position: With more than 60 years of operations in the airline industry, the company has acquired the reputation to be called as one of

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Overview Of Theory And Treatment Of Substance Abuse Philosophy Essay

Overview Of Theory And Treatment Of Substance Abuse Philosophy Essay This paper is an overview of the chemical use, assessment, history and treatment recommendations of Jay W. a college student dealing with failing grades and alcohol. Upon interviewing Jay, his parents, and researching various textbooks and video teachings on the theorys and treatments of substance abuse this paper will examine the spiritual, genetic, and psychosocial aspects of Jays behavior. The assessment will asses if Jay is in use, abuse, or addictive cycle, and will show if there are any co-occurring issues. This assessment of Jay W. makes a referral based on the determination of Jays current needs. This paper will give specific steps that our needed to be successful in the recovery process. CHEMICAL USE ASSESSMENT/HISTORY AND TREATMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Name: Jay W. DOB/Age: May 2, 1991 Dates of Interviews: April 20, 2011 Evaluator: Richard M. Doucett REASON FOR ASSESSMENT: Jays parents are concerned about his drinking and how it appears to be interfering with his aspirations of being a chemical engineer. Jay W. was referred for assessment after flunking out of his first year in college. SOURCES OF INFORMATION: Beths (mother) interview, Dons (father) interview, Jays interview, Doweiko, H.E. (2009). Concepts of Chemical Dependency (7th ed.) Belmont, Ca: Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning, May, G.G. (1991). Addiction Grace; Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. New York, NY: HarperCollins, Hawkins, R. (2009). Theology and Addiction www.libertyuniversity.edu, Clinton, T. (2009). Addiction and Recovery www.libertyuniversity.edu. BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Jay W. was born May 2, 1991 to Don and Beth W. The pregnancy was reportedly normal with no complications to the labor and delivery. Jay W. met all his developmental milestones early and was described as an advanced baby. Jay reportedly excelled in school with needing very little effort to maintain a straight A report card even in the gifted and talented program. Jays parents report that Jay began drinking at the age of 12. They described the drinking as experimental initially but they state they became excessively more concerned as he got older. Jay and his parents describe his early drinking years as typical of teenage behavior. They all three began attending AA together but Jay dropped out after 3 months. Don and Beth state they are both still active in AA and Al-Anon. Jay states he stopped going because, all they talk about is war stories. CURRENT STATUS: Jay appears reluctant to treatment but agreed to come because his parents state they will not continue financing his college if he does not get help. Jay states that currently he drinks a 12 pack or more on the weekends. He qualified this by stating his friends help him drink the beer. He also does admit that his weekends sometimes start on Thursdays and dont end until Mondays. He states that he does not believe his drinking is the issue with his grades in college. He states he just gets bored in classes and his professors dont really know as much as they think they do. He states sometimes he just doesnt feel like going to class because it is dumb. Jay does admit to blackouts, drinking more than he intends to, and does seem to recognize that many of his friends have similar drinking patterns as he. INDICATIOR OF USE/ABUSE/DEPENDENCY: Attitude and Behavior of Jay W.: Jay W. uses alcohol because it makes him feel good; and because it does feel good he wants to repeat this experience. Jay states he is willing to come to counseling but does not think he has a drinking problem but he would like to figure out how to win his girlfriend back. Dr. Clinton tells us that the tragedy of addiction is that is destroys, individuals, families, and friendships (Clinton, 2009) Jay W. does not feel like he needs counseling but wants his girlfriend back, his parents arent happy with him, and he is destroying his own life by failing the classes that he needs to succeed. The basic laws of behavioral psychology hold that if something increases the individuals sense of pleasure or decreases his discomfort, then he is likely to repeat that behavior. This process is called reward process. This consequence has a stronger impact on behavior than delayed consequences (Doweiko, 2009, p.10). Thats why, since Jay found the effects of alcohol to be pleasurable, he will be tempted to use it again and again. Another meaningful fact is individual expectations as a component of alcohol use. The individuals expectations for alcohol have been found to be a strong influence on how Jay interprets the effects of alcohol. These expectations evolve in early adolescence as a result of multiple factors, such as a peer group influences and Jays exposure to advertising (Doweiko, 2009, p.10). Social Functioning of Jay W.: Human beings are social animals. A given Jays decision to use or not use alcohol is made within the social group. Alcohol use can make mild social problems worse by causing people to be more irritable and likely to argue and by affecting judgment and control of behavior. Alcohol use can also be the topic of arguments. Jay W. qualified this by stating his friends help him drink the beer. He also does admit that his weekends sometime start on Thursdays and dont end until Mondays. He does seem to recognize that many of his friends have similar drinking patterns as he. He also reports a recent break up with his girlfriend of 2 years. He states he truly loves this girl but she broke up with him because she doesnt like his friends. One of the factors that influence recreational alcohol use is the social learning component of alcohol use. Individuals do not start life expecting to abuse alcohol. Rather, Jay W. must have been taught that alcohol is acceptable; he must have recognized the effects of the alcohol and interpreted it as desirable. All of these processes are accomplished through the process of social learning, which takes place through peer groups, mass media, family feedback etc (Doweiko, 2009, p.11). Occupational Functioning of Jay W.: Jay W. is a student in a college, where he lives and spends time with his friends. Although he used to be a great student in school with needing very little effort to maintain a straight A report card even in the gifted and talented program. Jay is trying to become a chemical engineer in college, but he has already failed his first year. It seems that he has gotten in a circle of social failure and escape from feeling a looser. Alcohol and his alcohol use disorder (AUD) help him to forget about social responsibilities and attain the success among his drinking friends in Jays artificial world. He can control everything in this alcoholic world: Jay decides when he wants to get into this world of pleasure (from Thursday till Monday or on weekends). Nevertheless when he goes out from these times of illusory euphoria, he gets into new troubles such as studying. To escape from these troubles, Jay buys a new pack of beer and starts the same circle of esca pe from responsibility. This is typical of a person starting on the road to addiction. Dr. Clinton tells us in our video presentation that the key components to addiction our: control problems, compulsiveness, narrowing focus, denial, tolerance and withdrawal (Clinton, 2009). We see many of these components in the occupational functioning of Jay. Financial Aspects of Jay W.: Abuse of alcohol may make current financial problems worse and cause new ones, including: having less money for necessary expenses like food and clothing; neglecting to pay bills; and creating additional expenses, such as extra medical costs, fines, or car repairs. Jay W. reports spending an average of $75.00 a week on beer and his money doesnt always last until the end of the month. He attributes that to his parents not giving him enough money. He states they only give him $1,000 a month. The adverse impact on the financial status of the family of the alcohol abuser is one of the harms related to alcohol. There is an increasing level of expenditure by the alcohol abuser to sustain his habit. Gradually, due to the restrictions that the family income imposes, the alcoholic abuser begins to borrow money, steal and/or sell household objects in order to sustain his habit (Doweko, 2009). Familial Relationships of Jay W.: The relationship between an alcohol abuser and his family is complex. Family members report experiencing guild, shame, anger, fear, grief and isolation due to the presence of an alcohol abuser in the family. They are often subjected to moderate to severe forms of harassment, conflict and tense atmosphere when they confront the drinking behavior of their alcohol-abusing family member (Doweiko, 2009, p.300). Spouses in families where there is chronic, excessive use of alcohol are frequently separated. Children of alcohol abusing persons report a higher incidence of emotional and school-related problems. Don W., Jays father, is a neurosurgeon and his mother, Beth is a research scientist. Don was described by Beth as a functional alcoholic displaying heavy drinking patterns and binge drinking when he was not on call. She states however, Don quit drinking 3 years ago when they realized Jay had a problem. Both Beth and Don have fathers that were alcoholics . Don states he quit drinking after the DUI incident because he wanted to support Jay in stopping. They all three began attending AA together but Jay dropped out after 3 months. Dan and Beth state they are both still active in AA and Al-Anon. Other complications in the family include long absences from home, destruction of household objects in rage, lack of communication between the alcohol abuser and the remaining family members, hostility and criticism that marginalize the alcohol abuser, and domestic accidents (Doweiko, 2009, p.300-305). Legal History of Jay W.: His parents state they first began worrying about Jays drinking when he totaled his first vehicle two weeks after his 16th birthday. Jay lost his drivers license at that time and was charged with a DUI. Jay seemed to suggest his parents are over reacting because he has had several friends that have lost their license. Jay is becoming like most people dealing with addiction in the fact that he is what Dr. Clinton says destined to misunderstand the story we find ourselves in because hell loves to confuse us (Clinton, 2009), Jay is confused and misunderstanding his story by thinking his parents are over reacting and lots of people have lost their license. Health History of Jay W.: Jay W. was born May 2, 1991 to Don and Beth W. The pregnancy was reportedly normal with no complications to the labor and delivery. Jay W. met all his developmental milestones early and was described as an advanced baby. Although at this time he doesnt have any special diseases, alcohol abuse may cause short-term and long-term problems. The short-term effects of alcohol on the body include: upset stomach; diarrhea; lack of coordination and judgment; headaches; and insomnia). Abuse of alcohol can cause many different long-term problems because the whole body is affected. Some of these problems can lead to death. The long-term effects of alcohol are: heart disease; cancer; liver problems; problems of the stomach, lungs kidney, skin, muscle, and bones; infections; mental disorders; insomnia; malnutrition; and impotence and infertility in men (Doweiko, 2009, p.75-85). Spiritual History of Jay W.: When Jay entered the college he found new stresses, responsibilities, and work. He may have felt lonely; his girlfriend left him so he tried to relieve his pain. He hates feeling guilty, empty and alone. He longs to have acceptance and love; alcohol use provides a remedy that helps to forget the pain, at least for awhile. Alcoholism draws sorrow. Alcohol also provides Jay with predictable moments he can count on, an illusion of control, and the addiction masters him. The effect is always self-destructive bondage. Jay is forced to choose between his alcohol abuse and those, who love him. Although he does not want to lose those he loves, he does not want to quit drinking, even if he drinks every day. DIAGNOSTIC IMPRESSION: Jay W. seems to have alcohol abuse problem on the level heavy social use/early problem alcohol use. Between social use and clear cut problem use. People whose chemicals use falls in this point in the continuum would use chemicals in such ways as to: be clearly above the norm of society, and/or begin to experience various combinations of legal, social, financial, occupational, and personal problems associated with chemical use (Doweiko, 2009). Jay can be classified as being at risk for a substance use disorder or of becoming a problem drinker. Thus, not everybody from this category would progress to an addictive disorder. Still, at this level, Jay attempts to hide or deny the problems that develop as a result of his alcohol abuse. RECOMMENDATIONS: Jay needs new goals to become a fully functioning human. Dr. Hawkins in the video presentation Theology and Addiction list six ways out of addiction to recovery and they are; have encounter with the Heavenly Father, allow for the power of the Holy Spirit, make a commitment to a new goal, submit to a new truth, have accountability to a new family, engage in a new process (Hawkins, 2009). Dr. Hawkins firmly believes that recovery is an inside out issue requiring the Holy Spirit (Hawkins, 2009). Jay should start visiting again AA-group with his parents to start with. Jay W. does not need any hospitalization, he needs his own will. In our reading of the text Addiction and Grace the author tells us for the power of addiction to be overcome, human will must act in concert with divine will. (May, 1991, p.178) Second he needs the support of others: his family and possibly his girlfriend to be with him, and support him. Third he needs to understand his own vulnerability, desi re and anger; our textbook also told us we cannot make this empowerment happen on our own, we can pray for it, seek it actively, open our hands for it and try our best to live it (May, 1991, p.178). If Jay wants to be a success, he has to open his eyes, his current illusion of power and control is only that an illusion. In Addiction and Grace we also learned that the alignment of our will with Gods must happen at a heart level (May, 1991, p.178). Studying hard and working hark is real life, sometimes it is lonely, but real life with real results can help you understand real love. ______________________________________ _____________ Signature Date

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Man in the Black Suit :: Personal Narrative Death Dying Essays

The Man in the Black Suit We gathered together in our plain, small-town church for the funeral of my friend, Eric. We had to wait in a hall outside the room where Eric was lying in his coffin for some time, waiting for the room to open. Almost the whole town stood in the hall. I saw my neighbor, Mr. Crandle, leaning up against the wall, taking his dusty cowboy hat off to swat some manure off of his boot. Mr. Jackson, the town mechanic and bartender at the High Mountain Tavern and Sport Shop, was talking in whispered tones to his short, plump wife. I began to wonder if Mr. Jackson owned any other clothes besides the stained, blue overalls that he wore all of the time. The mayor, Bob "The Bobber" Thompson, was the best dressed of them all in his faded, brown, pin-striped suit. I began to wonder why he was known to all as "The Bobber." As I probed deeper into this question, I was awakened from my thoughts by the scuffling of feet and saw everyone entering the room. I stood outside for a long time, not wanting to see Eric in his final resting place, wanting to remember him alive. As I entered the small, cramped room, some were trying to sing the hymn, "Father in Heaven, We Do Believe," while most wept, catching a final view of my friend before the oak coffin was closed and his earthly life was officially over. I was standing in the crowd, looking at Eric. He looked so peaceful, as if he was just sleeping and would wake up at any moment. The makeup on his face disturbed me. His skin was a bright peach color, his cheeks were pink, and his lips were full and red. He did not look like my friend, but like some sort of dead mime. His small, unmistakable smile eased my apprehensions, however, and the program went on. Suddenly, the crowd seemed to part in slow motion and I saw the man in the black suit standing before the coffin. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, and yet he seemed somehow to be much older. Perhaps it was his dark eyes that seemed to sink into his pale face or his thin frame that seemed so frail. His hair looked the same as the first day I met him, combed sideways as if his mother still did it for him. The Man in the Black Suit :: Personal Narrative Death Dying Essays The Man in the Black Suit We gathered together in our plain, small-town church for the funeral of my friend, Eric. We had to wait in a hall outside the room where Eric was lying in his coffin for some time, waiting for the room to open. Almost the whole town stood in the hall. I saw my neighbor, Mr. Crandle, leaning up against the wall, taking his dusty cowboy hat off to swat some manure off of his boot. Mr. Jackson, the town mechanic and bartender at the High Mountain Tavern and Sport Shop, was talking in whispered tones to his short, plump wife. I began to wonder if Mr. Jackson owned any other clothes besides the stained, blue overalls that he wore all of the time. The mayor, Bob "The Bobber" Thompson, was the best dressed of them all in his faded, brown, pin-striped suit. I began to wonder why he was known to all as "The Bobber." As I probed deeper into this question, I was awakened from my thoughts by the scuffling of feet and saw everyone entering the room. I stood outside for a long time, not wanting to see Eric in his final resting place, wanting to remember him alive. As I entered the small, cramped room, some were trying to sing the hymn, "Father in Heaven, We Do Believe," while most wept, catching a final view of my friend before the oak coffin was closed and his earthly life was officially over. I was standing in the crowd, looking at Eric. He looked so peaceful, as if he was just sleeping and would wake up at any moment. The makeup on his face disturbed me. His skin was a bright peach color, his cheeks were pink, and his lips were full and red. He did not look like my friend, but like some sort of dead mime. His small, unmistakable smile eased my apprehensions, however, and the program went on. Suddenly, the crowd seemed to part in slow motion and I saw the man in the black suit standing before the coffin. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, and yet he seemed somehow to be much older. Perhaps it was his dark eyes that seemed to sink into his pale face or his thin frame that seemed so frail. His hair looked the same as the first day I met him, combed sideways as if his mother still did it for him.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Brave New World Essay

In the book â€Å"Brave New World† the advancement of science that is concerned is not affected by the lead character, John the Savage. Instead it is the advancement of science itself. It is show to affects individuals and it is show to be used against humanity which frightens alienated guests that are in a control within the plot and their ideal environment. On one hand John is interested to find out the world where his roots come from. However what he sees he doesn’t understand because it is not how he imagined it would be. On the other hand the heroine of â€Å"Heroes and Villains†, Marianne, adapts to new primitive society quite well however her compressed emotions would not show her actual joy and delight to someone less intellectual. This gives her privilege in a barbarian society. This difference between the characters is important because it shows how individuals can change the environment around them regardless of their position and status in society. Angela Carter must have used this idea to make a female leader because of her personal beliefs; bearing a feminist attitude. She is interested in creating magic realism. However Huxley on the other hand presents an unsuccessful male individual who attempts to change the world. Unsuccessful in his pursuit, he demonstrates a character that may convey a resulted view that the writer obtained due to the time when novel was written. Huxley came from a highly educated family of scientist and had knowledge about future technological advances. After authors trip to America he was concerned about wastefulness of American society. He didn’t like how American people spent their spare time in worthless things and did not try to improve their intellect. Therefore his opinion developed to believing that â€Å"Nowhere, perhaps, is there so little conversation†¦ It is all movement and noise†¦ †. Experience in the United States made him pessimistic about the cultural future of Europe. He said: â€Å"The thing which is happening in America is a revaluation of values, a radical alteration of established standards. † Advancement of technology, science, and psychology can change humans into a kind of standardized beings, if control over their genes was possible, as it was described in â€Å"Brave New World†. If Government morals would reach certain level they would be capable of performing these changes now. World is getting closer to a position where these things can be achieved. It is important to understand this and prevent this from happening. Huxley intention seems to be to pass this message over to people and to make readers recognise what the minority can do. Also people might have had small hope for a happy future at the time of this crisis of upcoming war, so attitude must have been quite cynical. This is effectively presented in the novel by Huxley which is also not long before the government notices exotic infection of individualism which causes John the Savage to elimination imperfection from society. This seems to be the only option for controllers which insures civilisation continues to existence. After Bernard Marx discovers John, he uses him to improve his reputation in his society because he is so desperate to be popular and to fit with others. Because John is a loner in the reservation he is very excited about escaping. However John is very idealistic character that becomes a loner in both societies that lives in his own Shakespeare’s tale based world. ‘O brave new world! ‘ It was a challenge, a command†, this quote originally fromMiranda’s speech in Shakespeare’s â€Å"The Tempest†, Act V, Scene I. John’s understanding of everything is quite old fashioned but his character is sympathetic for the readers, because it must be quite hard for our society to change believes and adapt to rules like â€Å"Every one belongs to every one else†. The heroine in â€Å"Heroes and Villains† presented to the reader from her childhood when her characteristics started to develop. After series of unfortunate events in Marianne’s life her life seems to make no sense to her and she seeks for adventures and excitement. Marianne’s father comments to Marianne’s attitude that her escape from boring professor society may lead to danger, â€Å"opposite of boredom is chaos†. This is ironic because this quote predicts future events. But Marianne is a very brave and strong character. She is not afraid. Series of incidents like being bit by a snake or even being raped by an individual whose life she saved on many occasions doesn’t bring her to tears. Her bizarre morals and unique mind-set wouldn’t let her act in a normal way, because she wouldn’t be special any longer. In Huxley’s dystopia world, everyone in Brave new world use the drug that helps to keep people from experiencing stress and all other negative emotions. Also this is the way to prevent all the conflicts. Pain, stress, grief, humiliation and disappointment are very unique emotions but it does come up occasionally due to technological flaws that are caused by an accident. Lenina is another character that got isolated and withdrawn from her original society and moved unintentionally to the reservation. She soon experienced all the differences and difficulties in new environment. She had no access to the drug that she was dependent on. â€Å"A gramme is better than a damn. † Her immune system weakened and her organism was affected. She gained weight, plus abuse of alcohol probably affected her brain as well as other organs too. The books title, â€Å"Heroes and Villains†, portrays the role of labelled characters in creating the social perception of difference and conditioning children to hate the other. It comes from the name of the game that Professors’ children play. The Co plays imaginative character roles of heroic Soldiers who always win over evil Barbarians. It is ironic, that Marianne refuses to play the game, but also questions the rules of the game by denying permanent victory of professor’s soldiers as well as rejecting the idea of good and bad, when she says that she does not know â€Å"which is which any more, nor who is who†. While in brave new world there are five strict social classes with special characteristics created for specific reasons to perform different types of work as well as specific intelligence level and suitable colouring cloths to be easily identifiable by others. Children are conditioned to like what they are and to hate to be someone else from the other class using Pavlov’s technique of classical conditioning. Techniques like using electric shock to make children dislike roses that represent nature the powerful farce of imagination and ideas as well as book the source of knowledge, which must be limited for performance of specific semi skilled job.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Global Expansion Plan

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 22 November 2012 Datuk Steven Sim Chief executive officer and managing director Secret Recipe Cakes and Cafe Sdn Bhd Malaysia Dear Sir, FINAL REPORT SUBMISSION – EXPANSION PLAN TO VIETNAM MARKET Please find attached the reported requested by the Board. This report reveals an insight into the Vietnamese market and explains why this is a potential one to invest in. We hope that the information provided is useful in the decision-making with regard to further development of Secret Recipe in the future.If you need any farther clarification on the report, please do not hesitate to contact me, the team leader, at an email address: [email  protected] nottingham. edu. my Yours sincerely, Nguyen Huynh Bao Ngoc On behalf of the Global Strategy Team Table of Contents 1. Executive summary3 2. Introduction4 3. Methodology5 4. Findings and Discussion6 4. 1. Motives of internationalization6 4. 2. Justification of entering into Vietnam6 5. Conclusion13 6. Recommendation s:14 6. 1. Most appropriate strategy14 6. 2. Entry mode14 6. 3.Appropriate organization structure15 7. References16 1. Executive summary This report critically examines the possibility of Vietnam to be the next stop in Secret Recipe’s global expansion plan. Initially, the report highlights the current great achievements that Secret Recipe has been attaining from its very first internationalized activity. Employing the proper strategy and being favored by consumers all guarantee an auspicious future for the chain. Taking all of these merits, the company consecutively looks for new marketplaces with new resources.Simultaneously, findings have shown that Vietnam is an appealing market because of its potentials in a fast-growing economy and long-term profitability, as well as rich resources. Then, the country risk analysis and the country market and industry opportunities analysis were introduced to evaluate Vietnam’s benefits and drawbacks. The result is that there are ro oms for both of them. Therefore, so as to be successful, recommendations on appropriate entry mode, strategy and organization structure are specified.To be more detailed, the most suitable entry mode is master franchising via a joint venture because it brings about the positively high certainty in operating. As for strategy, it is an international one to ensure consistency in the menu and concept by taking control over the core competencies and leaving other decisions to foreign subsidiaries. Besides, the Worldwide Area Structure is vital in terms of managing the company’s global expansion as it enables local responsiveness and decentralized authority, which both matter for future growth.Finally, the main conclusion is that Vietnam is the right solution for the Board’s decision to expand overseas. Nonetheless, the management should cautiously take into account the recommendations so that Secret Recipe can win. 2. Introduction Secret Recipe has gained its popularity not only in Malaysia but also across the region. The great succeed stemmed from the ambience brought to customers and the high-quality food served at reasonable prices. The number of foreign outlets is now exceeding 40 and is expecting to increase.According to Welch and Luostarinen (1988), internationalization can be described as a process by which the level of involvement in overseas activities of a firm rises. Indeed, adding the number of overseas outlets up to 100 was part of the ambitious global expansion plan. Recently, the company has spent RM60 million to invest in 2 more new markets which are India and Cambodia (TheSundaily. com, 2011). Evangelista (1994) argues that the readiness to fund international activities proves that firms desires to move further.In the past 3 years, the company has witnessed an annual growth rate of 30% (Articlebase. com, 2011). Taking advantage of both the reputation and the growth pace, it is the right time to put one step further and seize the oppor tunities available in a new market to grow even larger. The Global Strategy Team, after doing research on several potential markets within the Asian area, strongly recommends Vietnam. In this report, the motives of internationalization of Secret Recipe will be disclosed, as well as the motives of choosing Vietnam as a new international market will also be revealed.And as for a smooth penetrating process, recommendations relating to the strategy to be implemented, to the entry mode to be executed, and to the organization structure to be formed will be offered. 3. Methodology The information and data given were collected from many government and organization websites, namely Datamonitor, Trading Economics, General Statistics Office of Vietnam, etc. Besides, a proportion of them were also taken from reliable online newspapers such as TheSundaily. com.In addition, knowledge from International Business books and journals was also introduced to help provide a better understanding. Neverth eless, due to the unavailability of official information about Secret Recipe performance, the analysis had to rely entirely on online newspapers and the CEO’s reported interviews. In addition, the focus of the report is mostly on the food sector, not the franchising one. It is due to the well-structured characteristic of the franchising that it promotes a simple way to interpret and analyze.By contrast, food is a subjective topic as it relates to personal opinion, thus there are limits on suggestions. 4. Findings and Discussion 4. 1. Motives of internationalization Secret Recipe is now among the fastest-growing restaurant chains both domestically and regionally. For the last 5 years, the growth rate has been an amazing double-digit figure (TheSundaily, 2011), accompanied by a rapid increase in the number of outlets. Currently, its outlets present in 8 Asian countries including China, Australia and Pakistan.In any market, there is always a positive reaction from the consumers. A proven fact is that Secret Recipe has been awarded with many titles such as â€Å"Best Cheesecake award†, â€Å"Malaysia’s best local restaurant chain†, â€Å"Indonesian's Best Restaurant Award†, â€Å"Singapore's Excellent Food Award†, â€Å"Best Restaurant Award – Philippines Talter†, etc. This is to say, Secret Recipe, after securing its stance in Malaysia, is continuously gaining customer awareness and fame throughout the region. As a result, Secret Recipe’s movement could be best explained using Eclectic paradigm (Dunning, 1980, 1981).Among the 3 advantage factors recognized by the Eclectic paradigm, the Ownership advantage appears to be most relevant to the context of Secret Recipe. As stated above, the company now possesses a valuable intangible asset which is good brand awareness. Besides, stated in the theory, one of the reasons behind the internationalization of a multinational firm is market seeking investment. In this particular case, Secret Recipe is to exploit new market (i. e. Vietnam) because of its prospects of market size and market growth (Dunning and Lundan, 2008) 4. 2. Justification of entering into Vietnam Vietnam risk analysis:Political risks Vietnam is famous for its political stability. This diminishes the insecurity and uncertainty of foreign investors deciding to invest in Vietnam. According to Worldwide Governance Indicators (2011), the Vietnamese political environment remains almost steady in the past 15 years. Figure 1 Source: Worldwide Governance Indicators (2011) Note: Percentile ranks indicate the percentage of countries worldwide that rank lower than the indicated country, so that higher values indicate better governance scores. The line graphs include margins of error shown as dashed lines, corresponding to 90% confidence intervals.Competitive risks Corruption level in Vietnam is reported to be one of the highest in the world. According to Transparency International, 2011’s score was 2. 9, which increased 0. 2 points compared to the year before. Indeed, in comparison to other countries in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia and Thailand, Vietnam’s freedom from corruption index remains low (refer to figure 2). However, the formation of the Vietnam Anti-Corruption Initiative Program 2011 (VACI) supported by World Bank somehow saves the situation. Figure 2. Vietnam’s freedom from Corruption in comparison with Malaysia, Thailand and the World AverageSource: Heritage (2012) Operational risks Suppliers play an important role in deciding the quality. In any market, suppliers are abundant but not all of them can provide what Secret Recipe desires for a good menu. Therefore, an insightful search should be carried out before entering the market. Economic risks The inflation rate of Vietnam fluctuates wildly (refer to figure 3). This issue somehow imposes a concern, as the less wealthy class will be more conscious with eat-out whenever the rate is high, which eventually will negatively impact the foodservice sales. Figure 3 Source: TradingEconomis. om | General Statistics Office of Vietnam Vietnam market and industry opportunities: Market: In the World Bank’s 2011 Annual Report, Vietnam is perceived to reach a middle-income level country soon enough. The Vietnamese foodservice industry grew at a CAGR of 6% from 2005 to 2009. It is estimated that the growth rate would be at a CAGR of 4. 5% from 2010 to 2014 (Datamonitor, 2011). In recent years, the country has also witnessed a steady urbanization, with a rate of 3. 1% in 2010 (ReportLinker, 2012) accompanied by a sharp rise in population, implying an increasing demand for food.The rationale behind this is that as people move to big cities to work, they will have little time to prepare their own meals. Thus, eating out becomes an optimal choice. Also, according to that report by ReportLinker, there has been a surge in the number of households in Vietnamese econo my. Two types of households that contribute the most the industry are single member households and working couples as it fits into their fast-paced lifestyle. Furthermore, Vietnamese population is huge (87. 84 million in 2011) and young. Specifically, in 2010, the group 15-29 (i. e. argeting customer of Secret Recipe) appeared to be significantly larger than others. It is predicted that the group will be expanding in the next ten years, indicating a long-term growth for Secret Recipe in Vietnam food industry. Figure 4. Vietnam population by age and sex in 2010 Figure 5. Vietnam population by age and sex in 2020 Resources: Labor: Secret Recipe can be beneficial from a low-cost and huge workforce. According to General Statistics Office of Vietnam, 57. 2% of Vietnam’s population participated to labor market and 32. 5% of them had undergone or completed a vocational/professional training.It somehow guarantees skilled labor force availability. Raw materials: Basic ingredients are available here in Vietnam. However, only qualified suppliers worth the contracts otherwise they may ruin Secret Recipe’s image. Nonetheless, some of the flavors can be costly as they are imported goods with high prices. An approach to this problem could be buying in bulk and storing them for further process. Location: A number of shopping malls and superior residential areas are being built as a developing plan (Food services in Vietnam, Market Analysis, 2012). Therefore, Secret Recipe can easily reach to its customers.Apparently, however, rental price should be considered consciously. Competition: Porter’s Five Forces model, which consists of five elements, is used to give an overall picture of the food industry in Vietnam. Intensity of rivalry: Medium Currently, in terms of cheese cake, which is a core product of Secret Recipe, there are no direct competitors as none of the existing players emphasize their menu on that. Nonetheless, as for other Vietnamese dishes tha t will be developed later on, Secret Recipe should be aware that they have been being offered by domestic independents for years (Food Service profile, 2012).Their primary advantage is the understanding of the market, customers and their taste, which will take times for Secret Recipe to gain. Threats of new entrants: Medium to High Setting up a food business generally does not require high capital in comparison to other businesses. However, the procedure to ask for permission to do business in Vietnam needs good relationship with the authorities. Undoubtedly, food is a recession-free industry; hence business entities can earn profit eventually setting foot into this industry. Bargaining power of suppliers: LowAs mentioned, in order not to ruin Secret Recipe’s name, only reliable and qualified suppliers selected. Therefore, once the contract is signed between the two parties, it will be a long-term one and thus the switching cost would be relatively high, causing the suppliers ’ bargaining power to be low. Bargaining power of customers: High Vietnamese food consumers are offered with many choices. Currently, there are several cake brands operating in Vietnam such as Paris Baguette, Chewy Junior (Singapore brand), Tour le Jour (Korean brand).Besides, street vendors’ food is plentiful with many different taste and prices to choose from. Consequently, together with a favor in low switching cost, customers can easily go to another restaurant if they want to. Threats of substitutes: High Cakes are not that essential in a person’s daily life. Moreover, food in general in Vietnam is diversified and can be found on any street with a relatively reasonable price, mostly serve local cuisines to their largely native customers especially in big cities like Ho Chi Minh City.Thus, when it comes to hunger, people can choose from a wide range of them. 5. Conclusion To put it in a nutshell, the motives of internationalization of Secret Recipe can be be st enlightened applying Eclectic paradigm, particularly the Ownership advantage. At the moment, the company’s strategy is trying to spread its brand name beyond borders by constantly looking for new international markets and by bravely spending budget on them. Accordingly, one with great potentials would be worth the investment.All the findings and data have proved that Vietnam comes in the first place in the list of promising marketplaces due to its strongly growing economy, low-cost labor, and dynamic food market. Although entering into the country poses obstacles (e. g. intense competition, good authorities relationship) and economic threats (e. g. unstable inflation rate, high corruption rate), choosing the right strategy, the right means of going into it and building a suitable organization structure would foster an effective and efficient managing job. 6. Recommendations: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 1.Most appropriate strategy The most suitable strategy to be executed when ent ering Vietnam market is international strategy. There are two reasons for this choice. Firstly, the Secret Recipe’s menu on cheese cakes was originally developed by Malaysian chefs. People come to the restaurant mostly to enjoy the unique fine taste and the ambience there. Therefore, the R;D function should be in the home country so that the uniqueness making the brand name will always be the same. This happens to be parallel with the top management’s viewpoint in which the menu stays unchanged in any market.Secondly, the pressure for local responsiveness is low, not zero. Also, the most crucial characteristic of any organization is the willingness to develop products for foreign markets (Rosson and Ford, 1982). In fact, the success of Secret Recipe in foreign markets has its root in the willingness to include the popular dishes of the local food culture. Furthermore, Vietnamese consumers favor their traditional dishes such as Pho, spring rolls, etc. Thus, being able t o fruitfully offer them in the menu will certainly be an advantage. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 1. 7. 2. Entry modeOviatt and McDougall (1994) advise that firms should use †alternative governance structures†, such as franchising, licensing. And together with the analyses about Vietnam risks and industry opportunities, the recommended entry mode for Secret Recipe is establishing a master franchise via a joint venture. The reasons are as follows. First of all, Secret Recipe is in the food industry where the best mean of doing business is franchising. Indeed, the company has achieved its regional prospect thanks to properly implementing that form. In other words, the management is experienced.Moreover, the franchising is now widely perceived and accepted by Vietnamese business entities and the government, making the process easier and less costly. Secondly, Secret Recipe is still on the progress of opening a foreign market, thus what matters the most to the management would be the development costs and risks. As a result, setting up a master franchise will somehow save the management from many problems as it is now the master franchisee’s job to select and train franchisees, select locations, etc. Also, the costs and risks will be shared with the local partner in a joint venture.Thirdly, there is always a need to reduce control challenges and to protect the brand name, as well as to benefit from a local partners’ knowledge of the host country’s competitive conditions, culture, language, political and business systems whenever expanding internationally. In this sense, a joint venture appears to be essential and practical. Besides, due to the complexity of Vietnamese market, a Vietnamese partner would be helpful in negotiating with the authorities, finding suppliers, recruiting personnel, etc. 7. 3. Appropriate organization structureIn terms of global expansion management, the recommendation structure goes to Worldwide Area Structure. The reason is that for farther development, Secret Recipe will obviously expand to other markets in different countries and territories around the world. Sooner or later, the management will have to deal with problems arising from dissimilarities in customers taste, operational issues, etc. Consequently, to save costs and efforts, it is necessary to have a decentralized bureaucracy, which can be built under a Worldwide Area structure.Plus, the structure facilitates local responsiveness, which is relatively crucial to a restaurant chain like Secret Recipe. On the other hand, the structure bears the threat of fragmentation of the organization. Hence, it needs close monitor and periodical review. [Words count: 2,254] 7. References A recipe for success (2011) [Online]. Available at http://top10malaysia. com/home/index. php/trail-blazing-companies/secret-recipe [Accessed 19th October 2012] B. M. Oviatt, P. P. McDougall (1994). ‘Toward a theory of international new ventures’.Jour nal of International Business Studies, 25 (1994), pp. 45–64 Corruption in Vietnam is serious, blatant, rampant (September 2012) [Online]. Available at http://tuoitrenews. vn/cmlink/tuoitrenews/politics/corruption-in-vietnam-is-serious-blatant-rampant-1. 85998 [Accessed 12th November 2012] Dunning, H. J. , ; Lundan, M. S. (2008). Multinational Enterprises and The Global Economy. (2nd Edition). UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Foodservice in Vietnam to 2014 (July 2011) [Online]. Available at http://www. marketresearch. com/Datamonitor-v72/Foodservice-Vietnam-6446347/ Accessed 28th October 2012] F. U. Evangelista (1994). Export performance and its determinants: some empirical evidence from Australian manufacturing firms ,in: S. T. Cavusgil, C. T. Axmin (Eds. ), Advances in international marketing, vol. 6JAI Press, Greenwich, CT (1994), pp. 207–229 General Statistics office of Viet Nam [Online]. Available at http://www. gso. gov. vn/default_en. aspx? tabid=515;idmid=5;ItemID=10 6550 [Accessed 5th November 2012] Hill, C. W. L. (2012), International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace, (9th ed. McGraw Hill, p434-439. L. S. Welch, R. K. Luostarinen (1988). ‘Internationalization: evolution of a concept’. Journal of General Management, 14 (2) (1988), pp. 34–55 P. J. Rosson, L. D. Ford (1982). ‘Manufacturer–overseas distributor relations and export performance’. Journal of International Business Studies, Fall (1982), pp. 57–72 Secret Recipe to invest RM60m on expansion (December 2011) [Online]. Available at http://www. thesundaily. my/news/243733 [Accessed 21st October 2012] Secret Recipe in Malaysia (July 2011) [Online]. Available at http://www. articlesbase. om/customer-service-articles/secret-recipe-in-malaysia-5066674. html [Accessed 22nd October 2012] Secret Recipe plans more foreign outlets (January 2008) [Online]. Available at http://biz. thestar. com. my/news/story. asp? file=%2F2008%2F1%2F24%2Fbus iness%2F20105989;sec=business [Accessed 22nd October 2012] Vietnam Anti-Corruption Initiative Program 2011 Awarded 34 Proposals to Minimize Corruption http://web. worldbank. org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/EASTASIAPACIFICEXT/VIETNAMEXTN/0,,contentMDK:22793085~pagePK:1497618~piPK:217854~theSitePK:387565,00. tml [Accessed 12th November 2012] Vietnamese foodservice: The future of food service in Viet Nam (October 2012) [Online]. Available at http://www. reportlinker. com/p01010818-summary/Vietnamese-Foodservice-The-Future-of-Foodservice-in-Vietnam-to. html [Accessed 5th November 2012] Vietnam Inflation rate http://www. tradingeconomics. com/vietnam/inflation-cpi [Accessed 11st November 2012] Vietnamese population pyramid for years [Online]. Available at http://www. nationmaster. com/country/vm-vietnam/Age_distribution [Accessed

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Huntington essays

Huntington essays Huntington's Disease is a devastating, degenerative brain disorder for which there is, at present, no effective treatment or cure. It slowly diminishes the affected individual's ability to walk, think, talk and reason. Eventually, the person with the disease becomes totally dependent upon others for his or her Unfortunately, the trait is dominant, and there is no such thing as a carrier. Either you have it, or you dont, though some people dont find out that they have the gene until they have children. The disorder affects males and females equally and crosses all ethnic and racial boundaries. Each child of a person with the abnormality has a 50/50 chance of inheriting the fatal gene. Everyone who carries the gene will develop the disease. In 1993, A genetic marker was discovered which localised the Huntington's disease gene to an area close to the tip of the short arm of chromosome four. The gene itself causes horrendous problems. At one end of the gene, a pattern of three DNA bases (CAG), repeats itself in all cases. In normal individuals, this triplet repetition occurs between 11 and 29 times. In people with Huntington's disease, the repeat occurs over and over again, from 40 times to more than 80. This abnormal number of repeated sequences prevent the gene from functioning properly. The gene repetitions lead to the repeated amino acid on the protein produced by the gene called huntingtin. The repeated amino acid (glutamine) changes the way the protein works with all of the other proteins. Huntingtin with the repeated glutamine sequences seizes and keeps hold of the important proteins in the brain and body. With all of this disorder going on throughout the body, all of the other proteins cant perform their regular role. This is a disease that can be very draining on families: emotionally, physically and economically. Though the disease is ...

Monday, October 21, 2019

David Sarnoff Mass Broadcasting essays

David Sarnoff Mass Broadcasting essays David Sarnoff was a pioneer of mass broadcasting. He was born at a pivotal time in history and grew up as new technologies were beginning to be invented. But David Sarnoff took the dreams of inventors and saw beyond them to a future that no one but he could have imagined. He is responsible for the development of radio and TV as we know it today. Sarnoff developed radio and TV networks and regarded black-and-white TV as merely a transition until color could be made available. Astonishingly, he even envisioned the concept of the VCR. This paper will cover Sarnoffs life and the vision he gave the world in the mass broadcasting industry. David Sarnoff will have a strong influence on my career. He began when there was no television, and he developed his skills in radio, and then he advanced and kept up with the new technology. Today the new technology is the Internet, so I plan to keep up with the new technology by developing my Internet skills. David Sarnoff had to support his family from an early age, so he quickly learned English. It is taking me a long time to learn good English, but it is also important for me. English is the language that is used all over the world, so it is important for communication in the mass media. Sarnoff did not go to college, but I have the great privilege and advantage of a college education. When I read about how Sarnoff developed his career form newspapers to radio to television, I am inspired. If he could make a success of his life, then I can make a success of my life, too. I cannot begin at the top, but I can advance to the top. Sarnoff educated himself by studying engineering, so he was not just a manager. This tells me that it is very important to have technical knowledge when you are working in the mass media. Therefore, I plan to learn as much as I can about computers and how they work, as well as how the Internet works. I believe that I can become an important leader...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Auditing and Assurance for Intermediate Accounting - MyAssignmenthelp

Auditors play an important role in ensuring that the Australian investors must be confident about their decisions for the investments. The high quality of the audit is being undertaken by the help of the quality audits that supports the quality of the financial reports and also enables the investors to investors. The construction of the work can be easily made by depicting the concerns which are contributed to the likelihood of the auditor (Horngren, 2014). Therefore the objectives can be easily outlined as per the Australian Auditing model and also the Auditing standards are also followed. The accountants and auditors are having a wide opportunity in the market as the companies have to prepare the financial report with the help of accountants and auditors. The Accounting rules and standards require that the companies have to appoint external auditors to determine and evaluate the fair value of the company. The stakeholders of the companies demand better tracking of the financial health of the company. The changes in the accounting rules, regulations and laws require help from the accountants and auditors by the companies (Weirich, Pearson, & Churyk, 2014). It has become very important for the organizations to present the financial report in an appropriate manner in front of the stakeholders. It has changed the accounting processes of many organizations, and they are depended on the accountants and auditors to prepare the financial statements. The opportunities can be easily explained in the form of the remaining auditing process which is being used for showing the unch anging of the decades that also enables them to have the appropriate test. This simply defines the categories of the auditing liaisons which is being used for the usage of the evolving technology. This simply undertakes the appropriate and actual verification of the payments that is being used for recording the information. The auditing profession in Australia operates under the co-regulatory regimes. The largest professional bodies: CPA Australia, the National Institute of Accountants and Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia have in place codes of ethics and rules that governs the professional conduct of their members. ASIC provides direction for the registration of the auditors. Thus, the auditors have the wide scope to enter into the auditing profession. Any individual who wants to become an auditor is required to make the application for the registration to ASIC (Stice, & Stice, 2014). The individual should satisfy the requirements for the registration as an auditor which includes experience and educational requirement as per the ASIC. The individual should be capable of carrying out his/her auditing duties. ASIC have powers to determine and evaluate breaches of the rules and regulations by the auditors. Membership of the professional accounting body is considered as the legal requirement for becoming an auditor. The subparagraph 1280 (2)(a)(i) of Corporations Act states that members of CPAA or ICAA should satisfy the educational qualification requirements in order to be registered as an auditor. Most of the auditors are the members of one of the bodies. The professional bodies provide wide opportunity to the auditors in order to carry their auditing practices in an appropriate manner (Bodnar, & Hopwood, 2013). The accounting standards changes their rules, laws and standards which need to be followed by the organizations. The organizations have to appoint the accountants and auditors in order to prepare their financial statements as per the accounting standards. The Auditing and Assurance Standards Boards publishes and develops the auditing standards that are similar in framework to the accounting standards that are issued by the AAASB. The CPAA and ICAA have developed the joint code of the professional conduct as the ethical code (Ricchiute, 2006). The audit firms have to carry out their accounting process in an ethical manner which means fair representation of the financial statements. The audit firms also provide wide opportunity to the auditors to continue their auditing profession.   The audit firms have also provided with opportunity under the Australian Auditing Model.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The overall explanation is seemed to be revolving around the opportunities, and the challenges that are faced by the Auditing profession are discussed in this case with the help of the Australian Auditing Model. The use of the artificial intelligence system is also explained in this case which is showing the appropriate applications in the field of accounting and auditing. The preparation of financial statements in an appropriate manner is very much important for the organizations.   Bodnar, G., & Hopwood, W. (2013).  Accounting information systems. Boston: Prentice Hall. Horngren, C. (2014).  Accounting. Toronto: Pearson Canada. Parker, L., Guthrie, J., & Milne, M. (2008).  Accounting, auditing & accountability journal. [Bradford, England]: Emerald. Ricchiute, D. (2006).  Auditing. Mason, Ohio: South-Western/Thomson Learning. Stice, J., & Stice, E. (2014).  Intermediate accounting. Mason: South-Western/Cengage Learning. Weirich, T., Pearson, T., & Churyk, N. (2014).  Accounting & auditing research. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Sustainable Value Portfolio Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Sustainable Value Portfolio - Research Paper Example The research paper "Sustainable Value Portfolio" overviews the sustainability concepts. Sustainability in business refers to the focus an organization puts on the impact of its activities on the environment, economy, and society and can take different concepts, for example, a balance in the operational concepts of a business. An examination of the sustainability value portfolio between Toyota and Hyundai reveals that Hyundai has the best portfolio in terms of sustainability value. To enhance sustainable management issues, Hyundai has put the effort in ensuring awareness among the executives and the staff members concerning sustainability, by ensuring an effective communication system. The company has created a wide sustainable management culture. To enhance sustainability, the company has put in place a global reporting initiative. It has also taken into consideration the social, environmental and economic factors necessary to ensure the performance of the business. Hyundai has also proved to have the best portfolio in terms of sustainability through their stakeholder participation. The company has made a classification of its stakeholders into staff members and stakeholders, subcontractors, customers, shareholders and investors, local communities, and government agencies. This, key issues concerning sustainability management have been assigned to each group. Examining Toyota’s portfolio towards sustainability, the company has focused on ensuring they always make better cars.... Hyundai has also proved to have the best portfolio in terms of sustainability through their stakeholder participation. The company has made a classification of its stakeholders into staff members and stakeholders, subcontractors, customers, shareholders and investors, local communities, and government agencies. Through this, key issues concerning sustainability management have been assigned to each group. However, examining Toyota’s portfolio towards sustainability, the company has focused on ensuring they always make better cars, and enriching the lives of different communities, hence the company is likely to ensure sustainability, however, in the long term range (Becker, 2008). Examining the sustainability value portfolio for Hyundai reveals that; the company has put emphasis on upgrading the core capabilities of the organization. The company has encouraged creative and innovative thinking among the employees, to boost performance in procurement, design and construction mana gement. To ensure global leadership, the company has put in place a vision towards sustainable management. An examination of their future projects, the company has put in place strategies, to accompany the action plans required to unsure sustainable growth of the company (Boudreau, Ramstad, 2005). An examination of the company’s sustainability value portfolio, in terms of the working environment, it is evident that; the company, which is under the construction industry, has undergone rapid transformations in the business environment because of the global environmental issues which include climate change. The business areas of the industry have also expanded and include the development of resources and infrastructure. To enhance sustainability, then company

Accounting and Reporting Principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Accounting and Reporting Principles - Essay Example In the same audit, the revenues should as well be traced so they can give opinions as to whether all cash received as taxes or government revenues are properly recorded and remitted to the town’s treasury. The journal entries below record the issuance by the town of a three-year note to purchase police vehicles. The journal entries recorded in the general journals of the General Fund differ from those recorded in the general journals for governmental activities at the government-wide level. The General Fund general journal reflects the creation of temporary accounts – namely, Other Financing Sources-Proceeds of Three-Year Note and Expenditures-Capital Outlay – upon the issuance of notes and the purchase of the vehicles. On the other hand, the government-wide level general journal reflects the recording of assets and liabilities, namely the Transportation Equipment and the Notes Payable. This is because the accounting books of the General Fund are mostly concerned only with the inflow and outflow of the current financial resources of the town. Meanwhile, the books for the government-wide entity should show all transactions affecting the net assets of the town; thus, the specific accounts such as Transportation Equipment, Notes Payable, then subsequently, the Depreciation Expense and Interest Expense are used. General Ledger Debit Credit General Fund: Cash 120,000 Other Financing Sources-Proceeds of Three-Year Note 120,000 To record the issuance of the 3-year note. Expenditures - Capital Outlay 120,000 Cash 120,000 To record the purchase of 4 police vehicles. Governmental Activities, Government-wide: Cash 120,000 Notes Payable 120,000 To record the issuance of the 3-year note. Transportation Equipment 120,000 Cash 120,000 To record the purchase of 4 police vehicles. Works Cited Accounting for Government and Nonprofit Entities (as

Should abortions be legal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Should abortions be legal - Essay Example Many people justify abortion on the basis of the fact that the choice of abortion lies in the hands of the mother but many ethical groups argue against this issue. They present with the fact that abortion is basically the killing of a living being and hence it is morally unjustified. Abortion is an important subject and it may be considered to be legally justified in cases where the life of the mother is at stake and in other extreme cases but abortion with no strong grounds should not be permitted legally. The rise in the population of the world has resulted in the utilization of different methods of contraception. The usage of these methods is to prevent unwanted pregnancies and childbirths. Abortion is also a technique utilized for the avoidance of an unwanted pregnancy. Abortion is defined as the ending of the pregnancy by choice which results in the death of the products of conception (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). The procedure of abortion is utilized for different reasons which include family planning, contraception as well as putting a control on the population. A more important purpose of abortion is for saving the pregnant woman from life threatening emergencies that may result if the pregnancy is continued. There are different techniques utilized for carrying out the procedure of abortion. These include the administration of drugs which result in the expulsion of the fetus. The second technique is the surgical intervention whereby abdominal surgery is performed to remove the fetus. The last method is the insertion of surgical instruments through the cervix for removal of the fetus (Willke, 1985). The procedure of abortion is legalized in the United States. Despite of this legalization, the procedure is losing its popularity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, there was a subsequent reduction of a percentage of 3.8 in the ratio of abortion between the years 1999 and 2000 (Elam-Evans et al 2003). Furthermor e, the younger generation has also shown its support for the anti-abortion laws and youths in the United States have expressed of the fact that the procedure of abortion should be legally unjustified until and unless the pregnancy becomes life threatening for the mother. Abortion has been viewed as a negative procedure which tends to lead to the death of a potential life and it is argued to be equivalent to a murder (Hayt, 2003). Thus, the subject of abortion has become an important subject and though it has been legalized, there have been many arguments to reconsider this decision owing to the fact that it yields no good to the society. References Top of Form Elam-Evans, L. D., Strauss, L. T., Herndon, J., Parker, W. Y., Bowens, S. V., Zane, S., Berg, C. J., ... Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (January 01, 2003). Abortion surveillance--United States, 2000.Mmwr. Surveillance Summaries : Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries / Cdc,  52,  12, 1- 32. Hayt, Elizabeth.(2003, March 30). Surprise, Mom: I'm Against Abortion. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/30/style/surprise-mom-i-m-against-abortion.html Bottom of Form Part II: Anti-Thesis Abortion is an issue that arose and became a subject central to debates in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century. The Supreme Court of the United States took a final stand on the issue and the procedure of abortion was legalized in the year 1973 following the legal case of Roe v Wade.

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Key aspects of Formation of a Persecuting Society and No god but God Term Paper

Key aspects of Formation of a Persecuting Society and No god but God - Term Paper Example The violence started after the death of Prophet Muhammad on various issues. The violence was not just on individual level, but it was the institutional, governmental and judicial too. It was between the groups of people of different race, religion and lifestyle. Same situation was there in Europe after the fall of Roman Empire. Around 1100 Europe had become a persecuting society. Persecution was the common phenomenon in the history of Islam and Christianity. It is one of the characteristics of barbarian society which has left all the signs of civilization behind. The stories of persecutions are famous in European as well as the history of Islam. The books such as â€Å"No God But God,† written by Reza Aslan or the book â€Å"The Formation of a Persecuting Society,† written by R.I. Moore, are among the finest elaborations of the persecution society in medieval Europe and Middle East countries. Key words: Persecution, Islam, Christianity State system connected to Islam an d Christianity: Muslim community was growing rapidly at the time of the death of Muhammad. But the community had become orphan and leaderless. Due to the extension of an unmanageable condition the community was likely to face anarchy. Thus Muslim community was undergoing a turbulent phase after Muhammad’s sad demise. ... It was a great threat to the political stability of Ummah. Hence the first and major task in such circumstances was to find someone who could replace Muhammad and maintain the stability and integrity of the community. Lots of discussions started arising. It was also suggested that the leadership should be dual, i.e. one is from Mecca and another is from Medina. But it was also unacceptable. After the discussion the person was selected to be the leader of the community and it was Abu Bakr. He was given the title of Caliph. A Caliph was regarded as the â€Å"Trusty† or â€Å"Agent† of God. Out of the religious need, the political system was established in Arabian Peninsula and the community chaos thus ended. The political system thus placed on the foundation of religion. Christianity was prevalent in Middle East before the rise of Islam. But in Muslim Spain some period was there in which intolerance towards Christianity became so strong that it resulted religious persecut ions. Islamic laws there, were not allowing Jews as well as Christians to promote their religious faith in public. But these prohibitions affected Christian as compared to Jews. That might be the reason according to Reza Aslan that Christianity disappeared from the Islamic region. On the other hand the least affected Jews became prosperous and their community increased. Islam and Christianity are the two religions connected with each other historically and traditionally. The two religions have their origin in the Middle East itself. Islam started spreading and expanding hastily in all over Middle East after the death of Prophet Muhammad. Christianity also spread in Europe after the fall of Roman Empire. Some have opined that the fall

Case Study Assignment (Zara Case) in Europe, Asia, North America and Essay

Case Study Assignment (Zara Case) in Europe, Asia, North America and Middle East - Essay Example Moreover, the wider scope in the fashion industry has provided the company with certain significant opportunities. On the other hand, it has been ascertained that value chain system of the company has been one crucial factor contributing towards its success and growth. Moreover, in the recent times, the company has also been impacted by few challenges of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which has forced the company to undertake a few vital changes in over strategic implementation. Thus, the paper emphasized on identifying the factors that have influenced the strategies of the company as well as this paper comprises vital suggestions for its strategic improvement. From the findings of the study, it has been ascertained that the company has determined to achieve significant milestones. In this course, it has made certain vital plans and has further formulated strategies to successfully accomplish the benefits. Contextually, the company has significantly involved in strengthening i ts brand image through its involvement in the CSR activities and other promotional activities. Finally, it was concluded that the company should take certain vital precautions while implementing strategies for accomplishing the potential opportunities. It was suggested that company should not implement its strategies at single point of time rather it should priorities them according to its needs and market demands for reaping the best possible benefits in the current and future context. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Zara is one of the leading apparel and fashion brands, which operates under the flagship of Inditiex Group of Spain. The company has its operations spread in Europe, Asia, North America and Middle East. Zara is known for offering quality apparels at affordable prices. Over the years, the company has attained significant growth. Its strategies have enabled the company to gain substantial competitive advantages over its competitors. Nonetheless, the company is sign ificantly influenced by few prominent external factors as well as few internal factors. Moreover, the wider scope in the fashion industry has provided the company with certain significant opportunities. On the other hand, it has been ascertained that value chain system of the company has been one crucial factor contributing towards its success and growth. Moreover, in the recent times, the company has also been impacted by few challenges of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which has forced the company to undertake a few vital changes in over strategic implementation. Thus, the paper emphasized on identifying the factors that have influenced the strategies of the company as well as this paper comprises vital suggestions for its strategic improvement. 2 Table of Contents 3 1. Introduction 5 2. External Environment 5 2.1 PESTEL Analysis 5 2.1.1 Political Factors 5 2.1.2 Economic Factors 6 2.1.3 Social Factors 6 2.1.4 Technological Factors 7 2.1.5 Environmental Factors 7 2.1.6 Lega l Factors 7 2.2 Five Forces Analysis 8 2.2.1 Threat of Substitutes 8 2.2.2 Threat of New Entry 8 2.2.3 Bargaining Power of Buyers 9 2.2.4 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 9 2.2.5 Competitive Rivalry 9 3. Internal Environment 9 3.1 SWOT Analysis 10 3.1.1 Strengths 10 3.1.2 Weaknesses 10 3.1.3 Opportunities 11 3.1.4 Threats 11 3.2 Resource Based View of the Company 11 3.3. Value Chain Analysis 12 3.3.1 Primary Activities 12 3.3.2 Secondary Activities 14 4. Corporate Social

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Should abortions be legal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Should abortions be legal - Essay Example Many people justify abortion on the basis of the fact that the choice of abortion lies in the hands of the mother but many ethical groups argue against this issue. They present with the fact that abortion is basically the killing of a living being and hence it is morally unjustified. Abortion is an important subject and it may be considered to be legally justified in cases where the life of the mother is at stake and in other extreme cases but abortion with no strong grounds should not be permitted legally. The rise in the population of the world has resulted in the utilization of different methods of contraception. The usage of these methods is to prevent unwanted pregnancies and childbirths. Abortion is also a technique utilized for the avoidance of an unwanted pregnancy. Abortion is defined as the ending of the pregnancy by choice which results in the death of the products of conception (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). The procedure of abortion is utilized for different reasons which include family planning, contraception as well as putting a control on the population. A more important purpose of abortion is for saving the pregnant woman from life threatening emergencies that may result if the pregnancy is continued. There are different techniques utilized for carrying out the procedure of abortion. These include the administration of drugs which result in the expulsion of the fetus. The second technique is the surgical intervention whereby abdominal surgery is performed to remove the fetus. The last method is the insertion of surgical instruments through the cervix for removal of the fetus (Willke, 1985). The procedure of abortion is legalized in the United States. Despite of this legalization, the procedure is losing its popularity. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, there was a subsequent reduction of a percentage of 3.8 in the ratio of abortion between the years 1999 and 2000 (Elam-Evans et al 2003). Furthermor e, the younger generation has also shown its support for the anti-abortion laws and youths in the United States have expressed of the fact that the procedure of abortion should be legally unjustified until and unless the pregnancy becomes life threatening for the mother. Abortion has been viewed as a negative procedure which tends to lead to the death of a potential life and it is argued to be equivalent to a murder (Hayt, 2003). Thus, the subject of abortion has become an important subject and though it has been legalized, there have been many arguments to reconsider this decision owing to the fact that it yields no good to the society. References Top of Form Elam-Evans, L. D., Strauss, L. T., Herndon, J., Parker, W. Y., Bowens, S. V., Zane, S., Berg, C. J., ... Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (January 01, 2003). Abortion surveillance--United States, 2000.Mmwr. Surveillance Summaries : Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Surveillance Summaries / Cdc,  52,  12, 1- 32. Hayt, Elizabeth.(2003, March 30). Surprise, Mom: I'm Against Abortion. The New York Times. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/30/style/surprise-mom-i-m-against-abortion.html Bottom of Form Part II: Anti-Thesis Abortion is an issue that arose and became a subject central to debates in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century. The Supreme Court of the United States took a final stand on the issue and the procedure of abortion was legalized in the year 1973 following the legal case of Roe v Wade.

Case Study Assignment (Zara Case) in Europe, Asia, North America and Essay

Case Study Assignment (Zara Case) in Europe, Asia, North America and Middle East - Essay Example Moreover, the wider scope in the fashion industry has provided the company with certain significant opportunities. On the other hand, it has been ascertained that value chain system of the company has been one crucial factor contributing towards its success and growth. Moreover, in the recent times, the company has also been impacted by few challenges of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which has forced the company to undertake a few vital changes in over strategic implementation. Thus, the paper emphasized on identifying the factors that have influenced the strategies of the company as well as this paper comprises vital suggestions for its strategic improvement. From the findings of the study, it has been ascertained that the company has determined to achieve significant milestones. In this course, it has made certain vital plans and has further formulated strategies to successfully accomplish the benefits. Contextually, the company has significantly involved in strengthening i ts brand image through its involvement in the CSR activities and other promotional activities. Finally, it was concluded that the company should take certain vital precautions while implementing strategies for accomplishing the potential opportunities. It was suggested that company should not implement its strategies at single point of time rather it should priorities them according to its needs and market demands for reaping the best possible benefits in the current and future context. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Zara is one of the leading apparel and fashion brands, which operates under the flagship of Inditiex Group of Spain. The company has its operations spread in Europe, Asia, North America and Middle East. Zara is known for offering quality apparels at affordable prices. Over the years, the company has attained significant growth. Its strategies have enabled the company to gain substantial competitive advantages over its competitors. Nonetheless, the company is sign ificantly influenced by few prominent external factors as well as few internal factors. Moreover, the wider scope in the fashion industry has provided the company with certain significant opportunities. On the other hand, it has been ascertained that value chain system of the company has been one crucial factor contributing towards its success and growth. Moreover, in the recent times, the company has also been impacted by few challenges of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which has forced the company to undertake a few vital changes in over strategic implementation. Thus, the paper emphasized on identifying the factors that have influenced the strategies of the company as well as this paper comprises vital suggestions for its strategic improvement. 2 Table of Contents 3 1. Introduction 5 2. External Environment 5 2.1 PESTEL Analysis 5 2.1.1 Political Factors 5 2.1.2 Economic Factors 6 2.1.3 Social Factors 6 2.1.4 Technological Factors 7 2.1.5 Environmental Factors 7 2.1.6 Lega l Factors 7 2.2 Five Forces Analysis 8 2.2.1 Threat of Substitutes 8 2.2.2 Threat of New Entry 8 2.2.3 Bargaining Power of Buyers 9 2.2.4 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 9 2.2.5 Competitive Rivalry 9 3. Internal Environment 9 3.1 SWOT Analysis 10 3.1.1 Strengths 10 3.1.2 Weaknesses 10 3.1.3 Opportunities 11 3.1.4 Threats 11 3.2 Resource Based View of the Company 11 3.3. Value Chain Analysis 12 3.3.1 Primary Activities 12 3.3.2 Secondary Activities 14 4. Corporate Social

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Infectious Diseases Essay Example for Free

Infectious Diseases Essay African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness as many call it is a parasitic disease that can be contracted by either human or animals. The disease is transmitted by the tsetse fly which can be found all over Africa but the ones contaminated with the disease are found in region of sub-Saharan Africa. The disease has been said to have been in Africa since way back in the 14th century and one of the first epidemics that was recorded happened in 1901 in which a devastating epidemic had erupted in Uganda, killing more than 250,000 people, about two-thirds of the population in the affected lake-shore areas (CDC). According to the World Health Organization the disease covers 36 countries and 60 million people. The majority of the affected population live in remote areas of sub-Saharan Africa with little access to health care clinics which is why in these rural area the disease often goes untreated and misdiagnosed. The distribution of African trypanosomiasis is related to where the Tsetse fly lives which happens to be many parts of Africa. Not all species of Tsetse flies transmit the disease and there is no explanation of why certain regions with populations of Tsetse flies do not have a trace of the sleeping sickness disease. According to the WHO The disease develops in areas ranging from a single village to an entire region. Within an infected area, the intensity of the disease can vary from one village to the next. Of the 60 million or so people in threat of obtaining the disease each year only few cases in relation to that number will be reported so many believe since the disease occurs in predominately remote areas many cases are going undiagnosed. There are two forms of human African trypanosomiasis depending on the parasite Trypanosoma brucei gambiense (T. b. g. ) is found in west and central Africa nd Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (T. b. r. ) is found in eastern and southern Africa (WHO). Of the two T. b. g. currently accounts for 95% of reported cases and the other form T. b. r. currently only accounts for 5% of reported cases. The main way the disease is contracted is from a bite of an infected tsetse fly but that is not the only way. The WHO lists that a pregnant mother can pass on the infectio n to a fetus, in some instances other blood sucking insects have transmitted the disease as well as accidental infections from pricks of contaminated needles. In the first stafe of infection, the haemolymphatic phase, the trypanosomes multiply which causes fever, headaches, joint pain and itching. In the second stage known as the neurological phase the parasites infect the central nervous system which causes changes of behavior, confusion, sensory disturbances and poor coordination and disturbance of the sleep cycle, which gives the disease its name (WHO). The two forms of the disease have different impacts on the infected individuals health and livelihood. The more common form of the parasite T. . g. causes a chronic infection. A person infected with this form of the disease can be infected for months or years without any major signs or symptoms and when the symptoms do emerge the patient is already in the second stage of the disease. The other form of the disease T. b. r. which is less common only causes an acute infection with the first symptoms showing in few months or weeks after the initial infection. Regardless of which form of the disease the infected individual has if gone untreated the disease can be fatal. The treatment for the disease depends on the stage of the infection, the sooner its found the easier it is to treat. If found in the first stage the drugs used of are low toxicity and easy to administer and consists of Pentamidine for T. b. g. and Suramin for T. b. r. For the second stage of infection there are four drugs that can be administered but are all toxic and complex to administer. Melarsoprol for both forms, Eflornithin for T. b. g and most recently the combination of nifuritimox and eflornithine have been used to treat severe cases. Thanks to the efforts of organizations like the World Health Organization the upward trend of new cases of the disease is no longer a trend. In fact According to the WHO in In 2009, after continued control efforts, the number of cases reported has dropped below 10,000 (9878) for first time in 50 years. In epidemic areas it is estimated that 20% of the population are infected by the disease which has a serious economic impact because of the damage it does to the workforce in these regions. Malaria is one of the oldest diseases in mankind and it is believed by many that most of todays malaria originated in West and Central Africa. According to Recent molecular studies have found evidence that human malaria parasites probably jumped onto humans from the great apes, probably through the bites of vector mosquitoes (Carter). As man evolved and spread throughout the world they carried diseases along with them and such how malaria came to appear all across the world. Cases of malaria have been dated back thousands of years to ancient civilizations: Sumerian and Egyptian texts dating from 3,500 to 4,000 years ago mention about fevers and splenomegaly suggestive of malaria. (The enlarged spleens of Egyptian mummies are believed to have been caused by malaria). It appears that P. falciparum had reached India by around 3,000 years ago. It is believed that malaria reached the shores of the Mediterranean Sea between 2,500 and 2,000 years ago and northern Europe probably mainly betw een 1,000 and 500 years ago. The waves of invasions that swept across the continents helped the cause of malaria parasite as well. By the Middle Ages, Kings and feudal lords had the best wetlands under their control, but in turn had to fear marshes as breeding grounds of plagues and incurable fevers (Rich) So basically the spread of Malaria was facilitated by the travel of man and of course the right environment for the mosquitoes to breed. Malaria is contracted only through bites of Anopheles mosquitoes, or infected mosquitoes and the severeness of the disease depends on the host, environment and the mosquito itself. There are about 20 different Anopheles species of mosquitoes and most of them bite at night and breed in shallow freshwater such as puddles, rice fields and hoof prints. The transmission of the disease is worse with an older or more developed mosquito because the parasite the causes the disease is more developed. It also depends on where the mosquito like to bite humans, for example the long lifespan and strong human-biting habit of the African vector species is the underlying reason why more than 85% of the worlds malaria deaths are in Africa (WHO). Contracting the disease is also a matter of immunity, which is developed after years of exposure in areas with a moderate to severe amount of cases. Finally the climate of region and rainfall patterns have a lot to do with the number of occurrences at a certain time. Once contracted the symptoms of malaria dont appear for seven or more days, usually ten to fifteen days. The first signs of the disease are fevers, headaches, chills and vomiting which may be hard to pin on malaria. Though if not treated in twenty-four hours malaria can become a serious illness which often leads to death, if not that brain damage. Infected individuals if not treated can die and most of the victims that do die are children and often times children receive brain damage from the severe fevers brought on by Malaria. The disease is very dangerous to pregnant women as well because the disease can be transferred to the unborn baby, â€Å"Non-immune pregnant women are at risk as malaria causes high rates of miscarriage and maternal death rates of 10–50%. Malaria can result in miscarriage and low birth weight, especially during the first and second pregnancies. An estimated 200,000 infants die annually as a result of malaria infection during pregnancy† (WHO). Other people at risk include people with HIV or AIDS as well as travelers to regions with malaria because they have no immunity. The cure or treatment for malaria includes artemisinin bases combination therapy or ACT. If treated and diagnosed early the chances of death and other injuries are greatly reduced as well the spread of the infection to others. There are many ways to prevent the disease as well for travelers chemoprophylaxis can be taken to prevent the malaria disease. As for those living in high infection areas the best form of prevention would be the control of the mosquito population. Many of the people who live in these areas sleep under nets treated with insecticide and spray some type insecticide in the home a few times a year. Since malaria is so easily spread and it affects millions of people a year it does have a significant economic impact, especially in areas of high rates of infection. According to the World Health Organization malaria â€Å"can decrease GDP by as much as 1. 3% in countries with high levels of transmission. Over the long term, these aggregated annual losses have resulted in substantial differences in GDP between countries with and without malaria, particularly in Africa†. Malaria takes a deep toll on areas with substantial amounts of poverty because the people themselves don’t have money for treatment and medicine and the local government have to pour in more than half of their budget to deal with the epidemic. Like malaria, West Nile virus is a disease spread by mosquitoes and the conditions of those infected can range from mild to severe. According to the National Center of Biotechnology information the virus was first found in 1937 in Uganda and first found in the United State in New York in 1999. Researchers believe the virus is spread when a mosquito bites an infected bird and then goes on to bite a person or an animal. The Center for Disease Control states that the virus has been found in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, west and central Asia, Oceania (subtype Kunjin), and most recently, North America. In the most extreme cases West Nile virus can cause a condition called encephalitis which causes swelling of the brain. Symptoms of the West Nile virus are said to be similar to the flu and include fever, headache, stiff back and neck, muscle and joint aches, rash, swollen glands and general tiredness. These symptoms can last several weeks and for serious cases, in which people can get tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, vision loss, numbness and paralysis, symptoms can be permanent. According to the CDC about 80 percent of people infected with the virus will not show any symptoms at all and only about one in 150 people will develop serious illnesses. West Nile virus can be spread in other ways than just a mosquito bite such blood transfusion, organ transplant, breastfeeding and during pregnancy from mother to child. Symptoms of the virus typically develop between three and fourteen days after the initial bite of the mosquito. The treatment of West Nile Virus depends on the severity of the symptoms and there is no specific treatment. Those who have only mild symptoms such as fever and aches dont require much medical attention for these symptoms will pass on their own. For more serious cases it is definitely necessary for the infected individual to go to a hospital or get some kind of medical help. Since the disease is a virus there are no antibiotics or medicines that will kill the disease instead if worst outcome happens which is encephalitis, antiviral medicine used for treatment of HIV have been known to been use. An individual with serious symptoms best chance is to get to a hospital to receive general treatment such as intravenous fluids and other things which reduce the chance of things getting worse. West Nile virus has great social and economic impacts, mainly because of the cost of treatment and lack of treatment for severe cases. According to the CDC the cost of West Nile virus related health care in 2002 was approximately $200 million. Since there are many recent outbreaks compared to other diseases a lot of money has been spent on prevention and control problems. In the United States the Center for Disease Control has invested a lot time in helping the nation deal with any future epidemics by working to develop vaccines, creating and distributing educational and informative material to the media and public, helping states with mosquito prevention and control programs, and by coordinating a nationwide database with information regarding the virus. Yellow fever is another disease spread through the bite of a mosquito and can be found in tropical and subtropical areas of South America and Africa. It is called yellow fever because some of the people who get infected will be affected by jaundice which makes them yellow. The first recorded appearance of the disease was in 1648 in Yucatan which is in South America. According to article titled Yellow Fever: A Disease that Has Yet to be Conquered Major outbreaks also occurred in Europe, e. g. in 1821 in Barcelona with several thousand victims. 1878, about 20,000 people died in an epidemic in the Mississippi River Valley and the last major outbreak in the US occurred in 1905 (Higgs). The number of yellow fever cases has increased over the past two decades because of declining population immunity to infection, deforestation, urbanization, population movements and climate change (WHO). The mosquito carries the yellow fever virus from host to host usually between monkeys and from monkeys to human and then to more humans. According to the World Health Organization there are three types of yellow fever sylvatic (jungle) yellow fever, intermediate yellow fever, and urban yellow fever. Jungle yellow fever occurs in tropical rainforest and with monkeys that get infected by the mosquitoes and then the mosquitoes bite humans who enter the forest. Intermediate yellow fever occurs in humid or semi-humid places parts of Africa, usually in somewhat rural villages and it is the most common type of outbreak in Africa. Urban yellow fever occurs in densely populated areas and causes large epidemics because of high number of non-immune people and large numbers of the infected mosquito. Once the disease is contracted the virus stays dormant for three to six days followed by a potential two phase infection. The first phase which is the acute phase causes fever, muscle pain, backache, headache, shivers, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. Most individuals in the acute phase get better and these symptoms are gone after three to four days. On the other hand: 15% of patients enter a second, more toxic phase within 24 hours of the initial remission. High fever returns and several body systems are affected. The patient rapidly develops jaundice and complains of abdominal pain with vomiting. Bleeding can occur from the mouth, nose, eyes or stomach. Once this happens, blood appears in the vomit and feces. Kidney function deteriorates. Half of the patients who enter the toxic phase die within 10 to 14 days, the rest recover without significant organ damage (WHO). It is hard to diagnose yellow fever because in the early stages of the infection it can be confused with malaria, dengue hemorrhagic fever, leptospirosis, viral hepatitis as well as poisoning. According to the CDC there an estimated 200,000 cases of yellow fever, causing 30,000 deaths worldwide each year and up to 50% of severely affected persons without treatment will die from yellow fever. Forty-five countries in Africa and Latin America with a combined population of over 900 million are at risk. There is no cure for yellow fever the treatment is aimed at reducing the symptoms for the comfort of the patient, although there is a highly effective and affordable vaccination. Those who contract the disease are advised to go to a hospital where they can get antibiotics for infections caused by the disease and supportive care for the severe symptoms. The best way to treat yellow fever is to prevent it with the vaccine which appears to provide protection for 30–35 years or more. The vaccine provides effective immunity within one week for 95% of persons vaccinated (WHO). Currently organizations like the WHO and UNICEF are highly involved in helping areas of the yellow fever epidemic in Africa where the disease is the most prominent. Through these agencies the vaccine is routinely administered to any individual in need that is at least nine months or older. All of the four diseases covered in this paper have qualities that make them something to be worried about. Out of the four the two most important diseases in my opinion would have to be malaria and yellow fever due to the fact that these two diseases affect more people in a broad area and cause more casualties than West Nile virus and African trypanosomiasis. Out of malaria and yellow fever I would have to say that malaria is a more important disease because it infects a large amount of people, in a larger global scope, causes the most death and has the greatest social and economic impact. Overall I believe that malaria is the most important disease but for certain categories some of the other three diseases have the greatest mpact and damage. In terms of geographical distribution the four diseases in order of smallest distribution to largest distribution would be African trypanosomiasis, yellow fever, West Nile virus, and malaria has the greatest distribution. African trypanosomiasis is only found in areas with infected tsetse flies which only includes countries predominately in Africa and most occurrences are in sub-Saharan Africa in very remote and rural areas. Yellow fever can be found in tropical areas of Africa and South America but still infects are large amount of people. West Nile virus has a pretty large distribution, in the past decade or so there has been large numbers of cases popping up all over the United States but has in the past been found in Africa, Asian, Europe as well as the Middle East. West Nile virus can happen wherever there are infected mosquitoes so the potential distribution is very large. Malaria also has a large distribution which can be found all over the world, wherever there are infected mosquitoes, but it mainly found in Africa and there is quite of lot of cases found in Asia. Of the four diseases they are all contracted by a bite from an infected insect, all of them except for African trypanosomiasis which is contracted by the tsetse fly are contracted from bites of infected mosquitoes. All of the diseases have many different symptoms that lead to death if not treated and yellow fever is the hardest to diagnose because it shares symptoms with many other infections. Even though West Nile virus can be dead over 80% of infected individuals will not show any symptoms and go on to be fine. African trypanosomiasis has many tell tale symptoms if caught early treatment is simply but if it caught in the second stage things are a lot harder and symptoms often lead to death. Malaria also has many symptoms and the first symptoms are very broad and are difficult to diagnose as malaria, if these symptoms are not treated within twenty-four hours death can occur. I believe yellow fever has the worst symptoms of all because 15% of the infected will not get better after the acute infection and become severely ill. Treatment must fast and concise which is hard because the early symptoms can be confused with malaria, hepatitis, poisoning and many other infections. These four diseases have severe health impacts on individuals who get infected and all can lead to death or serious permanent conditions. African trypanosomiasis which affect the infected persons central nervous system which if untreated leads to death, the disease can cause a chronic infection. Malaria is disease that some can build an immunity to but for those who dont have it catching it can be deadly. Malaria often causes high fevers which in turn causes brain damage in many individuals especially children. Children especially in Africa have high rates of contracting and dying from malaria and even if they survive there is a host of permanent condition it can cause. Conditions such as cognitive impairments from the brain damage, anemia, intracranial pressure and abnormal postures. Most people who get sick from West Nile virus are fine and get over the flu like symptoms within a week but those who dont get better sometimes develop encephalitis. Encephalitis is the swelling of the brain and is very painful and cause other conditions that lead to death. Yellow fever has many severe health impacts as well and is called yellow fever because of the jaundice it causes to some of the infected. Severe cases result in deterioration of the kidneys which why half the people with a serious case will die. The health impacts of malaria are the most important because they have a higher chance of happening compared to the other diseases. In 2008 there were 247 million cases of malaria and almost one million deaths most of which belonged to children in Africa. According to the World Health Organization 85% of the worlds malaria deaths are in Africa and accounts for 2. 23% of deaths worldwide. Next up yellow fever which has an estimate 200,000 cases per year with 30,000 casualties. In the areas of infection, Africa and South America, there roughly 900 million people at risk of contracting the disease, 90% of the infections occur in Africa. 009 was the first time in 50 years that cases of African trypanosomiasis fell below 10,000, the problem with putting numbers to this disease is that the majority of the infected individual live in very remote and rural area so there isnt proper surveillance on the epidemic. Since the most current outbreak of West Nile virus was in the US the number from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention lists only those statistics. In 2010 there were 1,021 cases with only 57 deaths caused by the virus which is a tad higher than 2009 but still an improvement over past years. Now for the treatment comparison, first African trypanosomiasis can treated with different medications depending on the stage of the disease but many of the medicine have some bad side effects. Early treatment of malaria greatly reduces the chances of death and is usually done by administering a combination therapy which consists of antibiotics. Over the last decade or so it has been noticed that malaria is developing a drug resistance because of patients discontinuing the use of the medicine prematurely. West Nile virus doesnt really have much treatment in the early stage people usually get through the flu like symptoms on their own but in severe cases hospitalization is necessary. If encephalitis occurs treatment consists of making the symptoms more tolerable for the patient. Yellow fever is similar to West Nile virus in the way that in the severe cases there really isnt much of a treatment. The best treatment for yellow fever would be the vaccine which is 95% effective and lasts anywhere from 30-35 years. West Nile virus and yellow fever do not have treatments like the other diseases because they are caused by virus and are not bacterial infection that can be treated with antibiotics. In regards for a need for a better treatment, West Nile virus and yellow fever are the two more important diseases. After researching all four diseases it was not difficult for me to conclude that malaria was the most important and harmful. Not only does it affect people all over the world it has the largest number of cases and deaths in the world. For a disease that is caused by a mosquito bite and is responsible for 2. 23% of deaths in the world is unbelievable and a bit horrifying. According to the World Health Organization a child in Africa dies every forty five seconds because of malaria. The disease has serious health impacts on an infected individuals health and if one doesnt die from the disease it still cause many permanent health conditions especially with developing children. With just saying all of that malaria seems bad but not much worse than diseases like yellow fever but then consider the economic impact of the disease. The World Health Organization has stated that Malaria causes significant economic losses, and can decrease gross domestic product (GDP) by as much as 1. 3% in countries with high levels of transmission. A disease like that makes poverty stricken countries stuck because more than half of their budget is going to battling the epidemic. There are also many social implication such as for all those children who get brain damage from the disease their lives will permanently be limited. Many of them will not be able to get a professional job which further hurts the economy of wherever they are from.