The Jamaican Early Childhood Curriculum Education Essay

The Jamaican Early Childhood Curriculum was late crafted. The course of study is built on the rule that kids learn best when content from assorted subjects along with accomplishments from the developmental spheres are integrated in line with the kids ‘s holistic position and experience of the universe. These rules are larning through drama, sequenced acquisition, single acquisition, the practicians ‘ multiple functions, inclusion of all scholars, integrated course of study and the spheres of development, the acquisition environment, appraisal in early childhood, affecting parents and community ( Davies, 2008 ) . While the course of study address assorted aims that need to be met in furthering Early Childhood acquisition and outlines the needed instructions, there are challenges to the execution of the course of study. Broadly talking, these factors are normally internal and external. These factors cut down the effectivity of the course of study and weaken the opportunity of effectual acquisition at the Early Childhood Level. The factors occur as challenges when there is a mismatch between the state of affairs that the course of study was designed to aim and the world. This difference causes the existent acquisition result to divert from the intended acquisition result. The course of study is usually assume that the pupil is runing at a peculiar degree, the pupils parent and environmental background offer a certain degree of support, and the instructor operates at a certain degree. The existent job occurs when the course of study does non provide for â€Å" the bulk instance † of pupil s. Internal factors normally include instructors, pupils, school substructure and resources. Teachers are the driving force of implementing the course of study efficaciously. A instructor ‘s creativeness, capablenesss and making enables him/her to reassign the content of the course of study in a meaningful manner that will link with the diverseness of scholars. Harmonizing to Jalongo and Isenberg ( 2012 ) a instructor ‘s cognition of the kids and the content of the course of study will enable him/her the ability to supply for the kids ‘s strengths and failing, their involvement and to develop the cognition, accomplishments, values, and temperaments they will necessitate to go productive members of the society. Hence the instructor ‘s function in developing the course of study is to determine what kids should larn and how they should larn it. In making so the instructor ‘s methodological analysis is indispensable in brining the course of study alive. Jalongo and Isenberg ( 2012 ) postulate that the instructor schemes and program for acquisition is the yarn that weaves the course of study. This they say is what of learning and the how of instruction. It ‘s hence, imperative that instructors plan for the pupils larning so as to provide for the diverse acquisition manners in their schoolroom. The methodological analysiss that the instructor employs should suit the pupil ‘s ability to derive cognition and develop the necessary accomplishments. Teachers should therefore choose content that are developmentally appropriate to accomplish required learning result. On the other manus a instructor should besides be competent and get acute penetrations on the capablenesss that kids posses in order to provide for holistic development. If this is non achieved so the execution of the course of study would hold fails to provide for the kids demands and development. The cardinal ingredient for any course of study is ever the scholar ( Jalongo and Isenberg, 2012 ) . They posit that a course of study should concentrate on what a kid know and can make and what a kid should cognize and can make. Hence the content of the course of study should take into history the demands, involvement, age and phase of development and the societal and cultural context if the kid. The kid as the scholar possesses the ultimate success of the course of study. This takes into history the abilities, accomplishments, background cognition and exposure /experience that the kid get before come ining the acquisition environment. Harmonizing to Puckett and Diffily ( 2004 ) being cognizant of the differences in kids ‘s development, strengths and challenges will let course of study contrivers and instructors to be after efficaciously in order to run into each kid ‘s developmental demands. Jalongo and Isenberg ( 2012 ) stated that a course of study should see the foll owers, Child development and acquisition, Child needs, abilities and involvement and Social and cultural context in which kids live. The considerations of these will enable the instructors to execute efficaciously within the instruction and acquisition environment. The school substructures and resources play a critical function in the bringing of the school ‘s course of study. External factors normally include parents, place and community. This is another driving force in the execution of the course of study. The importance of parental engagement is cardinal in the success of academic accomplishment. This sets the foundation of the learning attitude that kids carry to the acquisition environment. Support from parents increases the academic accomplishment in ulterior old ages. Burke ( 2010 ) concurred kids whose parents are actively involved in their instruction at an early age aids the nurturing of a kid ‘s instruction and overall development and is one of the nucleus indexs of ulterior accomplishment. It is through this engagement that kids understand and appreciate the importance of a solid instruction. The engagement of parents can interrupt or construct the execution of any course of study. Parents are incognizant of the powerful consequence that have on what and how the content of a course of study is designed and implemented. I strongly believe that parents are the first line of support for all kids. They are the primary beginning of socialisation and set the foundation for formal acquisition to take topographic point. The place is the initial environment for optimum nurturing and it ideally creates a sense of belonging. Admiting that meaningful parental engagement is need it ‘s non a â€Å" one-size fits all † . We have to take into consideration the socio economic position of these parents every bit good as their educational background. The background of these parents particularly in urban environments allows for restriction on the input they can offer to the execution of the course of study. Hence, few or no engagement occurs and the inability to keep instructors accountable for hapless course of study execution is hapless. Burke ( 2010 ) provinces that when parents are involved in the educational procedure of their kids and, as such, they will be able to include or add extra information a nd penetration from their ain personal experiences to instructors in order to back up their kid ‘s acquisition and development. The community is seen as the secondary beginning of socialisation.

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†¢Review and describe the most important criteria for selecting internetworking devices at the core, access, and distribution layer in a computer network †¢ †¢The most important criteria for selecting internetworking devices includes; processing speed, reputation and viability of the vendor, ease of configuration, number of ports, support for security standards such as WPA or 802. 1i, ability to tune the transmit power, support for QoS features, amount of memory†¦etc. †¢ †¢ Describe the key criteria involved in selecting WAN technologies and WAN providers. Discuss which criteria is the most important from your perspective and state why. The criteria used to evaluate and select a WAN provider will vary from company to company. While cost may be the most important factor for one company, reliability may be the deciding factor for another.Enterprises should choose a WAN provider based on the criteria that are most important to them include the extent of ser vices and technologies offered by the provider, the geographical area covered by the provider, best network access for each application flow, maximizing application performance, continuity and network usage, takes into account the end-to-end characteristics of each available network (quality and bandwidth) to decide in real time the best access for each application flow quality parameters like network delay, jitter and loss, as well as the available bandwidth.Evaluated in real-time, these criteria are weighted according to the type of application flow: voice will usually look for the fastest path while email may prefer the largest one.

Success, challenges and future prospects of IS outsourcing in the UK: A case study of an UK company outsourcing most of its IS activities.

Outsourcing has become increasingly attractive for many organizations. In such relationship, a company contracts with a vendor that rents its skills, knowledge, technology, service and manpower for an agreed-upon price and period to perform functions the client no longer wants to do. Much attention has focused recently on the outsourcing of IS/IT services to countries such as India and the Philippines. Indeed outsourcing any business activity creates potential risks as well as benefits.Companies can find themselves overly dependent on suppliers, and they can lose strength in strategically core competencies. Interestingly, given the importance of the outsourcing decision and the amount of academic and practitioner literature on it, there is surprisingly little consensus about the topic, probably because of the multiplicity and complexity of the factors involved. In this section, the authors identified six key factors that companies should consider when making outsourcing decisions. Th e framework, which helps assess the pros and cons of outsourcing, can be applied specifically to IS/IT functions.Changes in the broader business environment are affecting nearly every aspect of how companies manage their human resources, altering the balance of pros and cons for outsourcing IS/IT business process. First, conflicting pressures in the labor market have brought the role of human resources to the fore. On the one hand, the 1990s bought the so-called war for talent for IT professionals. On the other hand, intensifying competitive pressures have forces companies to be more aggressive in cutting costs, often by reducing head count.Human resources have had to manage such downsizing, while also trying to be innovative in attracting and retaining valuable employees. Second, IS/IT themselves have become the target for belt-tightening efforts, and they must now find ways to provide more value at lower cost. Many have argued that the key is to focus on activities that are essent ial and outsource the rest. Third, the growing complexity and increasing regulatory changes in the legal environment for human resource management, in particular in the areas of health care, stock-related compensation, overtime-pay calculations, pension reform, and eligibility for contingent workers.This has driven demand for outsourced IS/IT activities from vendors that are subject-matter experts. Globalization poses a comparable challenge, requiring IS/IT departments to address the needs of the business and moving between different countries and markets. Lastly, mergers and acquisition have become increasingly frequent, creating huge IS/IT integration challenges. Often, IS/IT is charged with the simultaneous tasks of integrating and managing the technologies and business processes in the face of continuous change. Problem StatementThe primary objectives of this dissertation will be to investigate the issues involved in factors affecting the success or failure of outsourcing IS/IT activities. Before doing this however there will have to be a thorough examination of the current state of global IT outsourcing services. The main task of the research is to find out what actually makes outsourcing work for Welsh Water. Challenges of having multiple suppliers and the steps Welsh Water undertakes to make outsourcing success. The following is a list of objectives which the author aspires to accomplish in the dissertation:– To analyse the objectives for outsourced services, selecting outsourcing suppliers, benchmarking. – To research contractual aspects of ‘multiple suppliers’ outsourcing, problems and risks associated with it. Assessment of contracts/SLAs: structures, similarities and differences between contracts/SLAs – What steps Welsh Waters undertakes to make outsourcing success (outsourcing program management, contract management, building outsourcing relationships, partnership, mutual benefits, communications, change control, h ow performance is measured, what constitutes for success/failure, etc)– To investigate if any proven/best practices have been adopted by Welsh Waters to mitigate the risks and manage the suppliers effectively. – To look at the ‘uneasy’ relations between the Welsh Waters IT management and some of the suppliers – To research relations between suppliers themselves (possible hostile behavior towards each other, rivalry, hidden conflicts, etc). The Overview of the Study The remainder of this study is as following statement: Chapter 2, Literature Review, will provide first a concise concept and explanation of IT outsourcing.We will examine the competitive landscape within the IT outsourcing industry. We will also define critical success factors and key trends for IT companies operating in this market. We also look different related literature on supplier management and sourcing decision framework for clients. Chapter 3, Methodology, will describe the rese arch design of this study. The research design of this study is empirical research method using secondary data for quantitative analysis. The researchers administered a case study framework to understand the factors affecting the IT sourcing decisions of clients.Chapter 4, Results, will demonstrate the results of this study. The authors will provide a brief description of the company under study, highlighting IT sourcing decision of the company. The research also will employ statistical data such as frequency distribution, mean and standard deviation on the different factors that affect the success and failure of IS/IT outsourcing. These data will be tabulated and analyzed to examine the effect of the various variables. The findings will then be generated from these analyses will be presented and interpreted.Chapter 5, Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations, the â€Å"Summary† section will first provide a comprehensive summary of the major findings of this study. The â€Å" Conclusion† section will highlight the implications of the research findings. Finally, â€Å"Recommendations† will be proposed to help companies improve IT implementation with partner suppliers and avoid pitfalls and traps. In next chapter, we will discuss the environmental analysis on Global outsourcing highlighting process management services, IT management, and data processing. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATUREThe literature review will first define nature of business process outsourcing. This section will offer a concise definition of IT outsourcing and its ability to thrive in a globalized economy. Then, the review will consist of three parts: (1) Environmental Analysis of the Outsourcing Industry and competitive landscape in the industry, (2) define the common IS/IT activities that are outsourced, (3) identify the key success factor of IT outsourcing and define the maturity stage of the company, and (4) the importance of customer-vendor relationship in providing innova tive solutions to the clients.Defining of Business Process Outsourcing Given the potential headaches of managing IT, it is tempting to hand the job over to someone else. Indeed, outsourcing once appeared to be a simple solution to management frustrations, and senior management teams at many companies negotiated contracts with large service providers to run their entire IT functions. At a minimum, these providers were often able to provide IT capabilities for a lower cost and with fewer hassles than the companies had been able to themselves.But many of these outsourcing arrangements resulted in dissatisfaction, particularly as a company's business needs changed. Service providers, with their standard offerings and detailed contracts, provided IT capabilities that were not flexible enough to meet changing requirements, and they often seemed slow to respond to problems. Furthermore, a relationship with a supplier often required substantial investments of money and time, which entrenche d that supplier in the company's strategic planning and business processes.The company then became particularly vulnerable if the supplier failed to meet its contractual obligations (Ross and Weill, 2002). Problems arose because senior managers, in choosing to outsource the IT function, were also outsourcing responsibility for one or more of the crucial decisions they should have been making themselves. Companies often hired outside providers because they were dissatisfied with the performance of their own IT departments—but that dissatisfaction was primarily the result of their own lack of involvement.In light of this track record, most larger companies, at least, are deciding to keep their main IT capabilities in-house. But many engage in selective outsourcing. Good candidates for this are commodity services, such as telecommunications, in which there are several competing suppliers and specifications are easy to set, and services involving technologies with which the compa ny lacks expertise. Unlike decisions to outsource the entire IT function, selective outsourcing decisions are usually best left to the IT unit, assuming that senior management has taken responsibility for overall strategy.Beaumont and Costa (2002) studied IT outsourcing in Australia. They found that almost 40% of Australian organizations outsource one or more IT applications. Large organizations tended to outsource more than small ones. The three most important reasons for outsourcing were access to skills, improved quality and focus on core business. Four factors contributed to successful outsourcing: a tight contract, a partnership, a change process, and the IT manager's role changing from managing projects and operations to acquiring and managing the internal and external resources required to do the organization's IT work.Successful IT outsourcing relationships enable participants to achieve organizational objectives and to build a competitive advantage that each organization co uld not easily attain by itself. Outsourcing success can be viewed as the level of fitness between the customer's requirements and the outsourcing outcomes. Outsourcing success can be measured in terms of both business and user perspectives. From a business perspective, outsourcing is motivated by the promise of strategic, economic, and technological benefits.The success of outsourcing, then, should be assessed in terms of attainment of these benefits. From a user perspective, outsourcing success is the quality level of services offered. A decision to outsource on the basis of saving costs without analysis of the quality of services frequently leads to higher costs and lower user satisfaction. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct a proper analysis of the service quality before building a relationship with a service provider for a successful outsourcing arrangement (Lee & Kim, 1999).In this paper, we define outsourcing as the process of turning over an organization's computer cente r operations, telecommunications networks, and/or applications development to external vendors is called outsourcing (Laudon & Laudon, 2005). Loh and Venkatraman (1992a) define IT outsourcing as the significant contribution by external vendors in the physical and/or human resources associated with the entire or specific components of the IT infrastructure in the user organization. Vendors may contribute computer assets for the user from outside the organization.Alternatively, the ownership of certain computer assets of the user may be transferred to the vendor. Similarly, vendors may utilize their personnel to provide the required services, or the vendor may employ existing staff of the user. In their research, they attempted to explain the degree of IT outsourcing by using cost structures and economic performance. They found that the degree of IT outsourcing is positively related to both business and IT cost structures, and negatively related to IT performance.IT outsourcing was fr amed as a make-versus-buy decision, where contractual modes differ in the domain of influence within the corporation (Loh & Venkatraman, 1992a, 1992b). Environmental Analysis of Outsourcing Market In the global front, the increasing trend towards outsourcing is evident from the high year-on-year growth of the global market for data processing and outsourcing, a sector, which consists of the provision of commercial electronic data processing and/or business process outsourcing services.Since 2001, the market has expanded by almost 50%. The global data processing and outsourced services market reached a value of $265. 5 billion in 2005, recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9. 7% in the 2001-2005 period. The rise in credit card use and Internet banking/payment has created new types of problems for operators in this area; firms in this market are engaged in developing and refining data protection techniques to fight against money laundering and fraud.

Airline Pricing Strategies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Airline Pricing Strategies - Research Paper Example The airline industry faces an unpredictable and often uncertain environment that is driven by trends in consumer behavior, internal demands placed on specific organizations, and a competitive environment that often dictates forward momentum. Revenue management systems, on average, function as a tool with which to remove certain business activities that are calculated to be inefficient or budget-restrictive. In this system, â€Å"comparative trials of complex pricing policies are employed according to an application schedule that has a periodic character with respect to the arrival date of quoting circumstances† (patents.com, 2008, p.1). In many businesses, these systems become automated in order to link inventory with actual usage time that can be calculated on a variety of electronic systems. Marriott Hotels took advantage of combining two different revenue management systems to link customer needs with internal operational components to ensure that productivity measured with demand (Thibodeau, 2005). Airline companies must develop methods to measure productivity with inventory strategy, labor, and other industry-specific activities. All of these are related to the financial goals or current economic position of the specific airway carrier. Whilst being driven to satisfy customers with different demands placed on marketing efforts, airline companies also manage expenditures balanced with the organization considered much like a system. The research identifies information associated with revenue production, advertising as part of marketing, internal functions and organizational constraints with the design of the airline carrier, and general business activities in the airline industry.  

Leadership and Symbolism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership and Symbolism - Assignment Example As it is common to most leaders, leadership involves persuading people to follow a common goal which is of importance to an organization, or a group. For this reason, leadership is mainly seen as a persuasion. For persuasion to take effect by a leader to the followers, there must be communication. Communication is, on the other hand, the transfer of symbols by the leadership so that the followers can perceive it well and bring understanding that is capable of enforcing leadership commands (Vickery, 2012). Symbolic framework provides space for inspirational leadership that is capable of turning around an organization, especially in terms of creating a culture of highly motivated employees after the employees have been demotivated through layoffs, terminations and going through issues of lack of trust. Starcorp as a company has undergone employee layoffs, terminations as well as issues of lack of trust on their leaders brought about by their previous leaders. At the same time, as Starc orp is now faced with the new NASA project that they need to take up, there is great need of making the employees work in harmony and in motivation as that is the only way to produce good results from their new project. It is easy for employees to lose trust on their leaders when they see them laying off other workers and terminating their contracts. When such have happened, there is need for leadership that can give assurance to the employees about their job security as well as better pay in order to make them motivated once again.

Tata Group Global Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Tata Group Global Business - Assignment Example Since Ratan Tata took leadership of the company, till his retirement in 2012 and the current president, Tata Group of companies has been headed by a common chairman to enable centralization. The Group Corporate Centre (GCC) and Group Executive Office (GEO) have been two crucial bodies involved in decision making of the Tata Group, to direct and define its business endeavours (Goldstein, 2007). It has a board that is chaired by the head of Tata group currently Mr Cyrus Mysty, who took over from Ratan Tata and consist of a CEO and a team of directors. That is just but the top executive of the conglomerate of companies. According to One World Trust, Tata group takes the form of an informal supra- organizational structure; such that it’s distinct high level corporate GEO and GCC has managing directors from Tata group companies, and allow various Tata companies to operate as separate legal entities with their own structures (n.d.).In its hierarchical structure, Tata group has diffe rent enterprises that operate in specific sectors and which also have their affiliate companies, either wholly acquired or merged with other local or foreign companies. For example, Tata Steel Company, Tata Motors, Tata Tele-Services and Tata Power among others.   Each of the companies has their own shareholders and managing director, and an independent board of directors with a chairperson that are held accountable to (tataaia.com, n.d.). Similarly, each of these companies organization structure may be modified with time., depending on the number of mergers and acquisitions. Some of Tata enterprises have very committed committees that address varying issues necessary for the company. For example, departments in an enterprise could depend on audit, remuneration, ethics, and compliance committees to support their function. In 2008, some of Tata enterprises like the TSC and Tata Steel unveiled new organization structure that enhanced company integration. Focusing on the Tata Steel G roup, which consist of Corus group limited and Tata steel, it has a strategy and integration committee headed by the Tata Group of companies chairman (initially Mr Ratan Tata), its hierarchical structure of management begins with the Board, managing director (M.D.), as well

International business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

International business - Essay Example China fits the needs of my criteria because it presents great opportunities and great challenges: China has something for everybody, but it is not always an easy place to do business and it is getting harder as a result of China’s harmonization of trade rules and tightening of loopholes. (Inch, 2008) The best location to have new branch outside of Qatar is China because it is an industrial country and encourages investment and businesses. It competes with well-developed country such as USA. Notably, China also offers a cheap labor at all times. Another encouragement for me is to learn and serve the entirely different cultural manifestations, thoughts, and natural geography. Collectivistic cultures have a great emphasize on groups and think more in terms of ‘we’. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups. China indicates that a society is a representation of collectivism rather than individuality. Collectivism was certainly present throughout the country – strangers are to be treated like friends, and although emotions of individuals are important, the group is also very important in decision-making. Most Importantly, Social relations are often expressed by the exchange of gifts. An important concept within Chinese social relations is the concept of face and many other Oriental cultures. Hence, people are perceived as being "near" or "far" rather than "in" or "out". (Oneness, 2010). Ascription involves elderly influence, relationships and his/her position in the community. Chinese do not focus on the achievements; however, the primary focus is on the elderly, having relationships or prestige in the community. So, there will be a little bewilderment to find the employees due to an ascription culture. Hence, the rules of recruiting should follow the same rules that the people of the country follow. They relate status to

Organization Behavior, For the Leaders and Leadership for specific Essay

Organization Behavior, For the Leaders and Leadership for specific organization(Nordstrom) - Essay Example In 2012, an internal study conducted by the company revealed that its employees believed that transformational leadership was the most important factor in its success. Blake Nordstrom, the current president and chief executive officer (CEO), has headed efforts to educate new and existing employees in the company’s leadership style. In lieu of this, the organization has a leadership orientation program in which employees are taught the importance of leading and, more specifically, the importance of transformational leadership (Humphrey, 2013). This is augmented by appraisal policies that enable supervisors to monitor employees’ leadership progress and revise existing strategies to adapt to evolutions in leadership styles. There is a very good relationship between Nordstrom’s leaders and their subordinates. There are several factors that have facilitated this relationship, including clear and effective communication, respect, and an excellent understanding of the organization’s culture. The communication at Nordstrom, which is lateral, has played a central role in creating and guaranteeing a good relationship between the retailer’s leaders and their followers. The leaders communicate the company’s culture to their followers and then give them time and room to assimilate it and reflect it in their duties (Humphrey, 2013). Through lateral communication, misunderstanding between leaders and their subordinates or between departments is significantly reduced. As a consequence, the organization is efficient and employees are productive. Since junior employees are allowed to work directly with each other and their supervisors in effecting top-level decisions, Nordstrom’s em ployees enjoy great success in the implementation of strategic decisions (Deal & Bolman, 2013). The company also encourages teamwork between its leaders and their followers. For example, if a

Criminal Evidence Law - Evidential and Legal Burden Essay

Criminal Evidence Law - Evidential and Legal Burden - Essay Example In this case, the prosecution has a duty to link the facts surrounding the two parties’ visit to the deceased’s house and to his eventual murder. The facts should prove on the balance of probabilities that actions of the accused may have caused the death. A fact-finder working with the prosecution would be tasked to collect the facts and link them to the crime. A jury would then have the final say on whether or not the murder case should proceed. The evidential burden in this case, which the jury will be tasked to determine is as follows: a) the accused visited Denzil’s house over an unsettled debt; b) William allegedly remained outside, possibly to scare people away within his imitation of a gun while Altin went in; c) Altin immediately attacked the victim; d) the victim died of the injuries sustained in the attack. In this case, there is no gap in the facts, which could have been prompted by a fall, for instance, on his way to the hospital1. Apart from the evidential burden, Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), providing for the right to the fair trial requires the prosecution to prove beyond the balance of probabilities that the actions of the two parties accused of Denzil’s murder have a legal basis. In this case, the prosecutor must prove that the alleged actions of Altin had a substantial cause on the Denzil’s death, but does not necessarily need to be the only or largely the cause of the death. This implies the two could be charged with the murder of Denzil if the prosecution established that his injury by the accused substantially contributed to his death whether or not he had underlying health conditions. A judge would be tasked to determine whether the legal burden can sustain trial. Altin would find it hard to prove that he was acting in self-defence because he intentionally went to Denzil’s place. In addition, the immediacy of the attack lends credence to a pre-planned murder whose time had come.  

Self Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Self Assessment - Essay Example I will try to justify that my goals, personality, and path are compatible with each other. I mentioned earlier that I want to specialize in business and finance. Hence, I think and feel that an MBA is the most logical choice. In general, I want to be rich while deepening my understanding of how money works. By the age of forty, I really desire to accumulate a net asset of at least $100,000,000 and a weekly cash flow of at least $1,000,000. I believe that knowledge of business systems and becoming a businessman will help me achieve this path to glory. Also, by having that amount of cash, I can invest large amount of money in blue-chip stocks, which I really want to do. Essentially, investing for me is like playing a computer game. An MBA, I think, will help me know the rules and determine for myself the optimal decisions to achieve such goals. Once I become successful, I hope of fulfilling my fantasy of being interviewed in CNBC and other financial networks. I concede that there are aspects of an INTJ that do not fit me, but I affirm that many do. For example, I am independent and ruthless. In dealing with people, I really push to have my way and final say on things. So, an INTJ is the closest description available for me. I also believe that an INTJ is well... - Useful. - Creativity. - Very single minded at times - this can be a weakness or a strength. - They can ignore the points of view and wishes of others. - Coherence is the master. - Cost effective. - Relationships which have psychological distance. - Often seem demanding and difficult to satisfy. - Independent. - Hypersensitive to signals of rejection. - Others receive a sense of haste. - Vulnerable in the emotional area and may make serious mistakes here. - When asked to put something together for the first time - a prototype - he is all the more happy, since he is doing that which is most worthwhile. - Abhors unsnarling messes. - Things have to make sense. - Avoids redundancy. - May have difficulty communicating the details of goals. - Prefers not to say anything twice and assumes understanding. - Serious. - NTs tend to be relatively uninterested in acquiring wealth. - NTs usually take family responsibilities seriously. - NTs tend not to "own" the behaviors or bodies of their mates. - NTs' own errors are those which are inexcusable and unforgivable. I concede that there are aspects of an INTJ that do not fit me, but I affirm that many do. For example, I am independent and ruthless. In dealing with people, I really push to have my way and final say on things. So, an INTJ is the closest description available for me. I also believe that an INTJ is well suited for a career in Business and Investments. An INTJ like me is serious. Business is serious. It has no room for people who will slack on things. An MBA, although by no means really represents all aspects of business in the classroom, is serious stuff. You cannot pass it without the necessary seriousness to study and finish all requirements, such as difficult and mind-blowing case

Health of Transgender Population Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Health of Transgender Population - Essay Example Transgender is referred as an umbrella term used to describe people of different groups which includes cross dressers, gender queer people, transsexual and others (De Sutter, 2001). In simple words, transgender is used to describe the individuals or groups who defying their gender based roles allocated by the society choose to alter, modify or change it in variety of ways. The term transgender is most commonly used, at present by the people who are uncomfortable with their assigned gender by birth, and deliberately change it. Trans is the short form of the term implying the same meaning and interpretation. However, the level of trans exists in a person may very while some being extreme and undertake medical surgeries to satisfy their needs, while other being at normal or average level who avoid undertaking medical surgeries. However, the identity of trans is not affected by the level, either trans undertake surgeries or not they shall always be recognized as trans but with no other t erms. Female to male (FTM) and male to female are the descriptors that are generally used to describe trans people. However, some people prefer the terms transgender woman or man (same as FTM or MTF), because the terms projects and confirm their chosen character. However, affirmed female and affirmed male are also the terms used synonymously with FTM or MTF. While comparing trans people with non-trans people (mostly for medical terms) natal/bio female and natal/bio male are used to describe normal or non-trans people. It is important for medical practitioners to explicitly define their identity without any hesitation so that assumptions... This paper stresses that the buttocks are much smaller in size as compared to the females. The buttocks are also considered as one sexually arousing part of the female body. In order to give the transgender man undergoing sexual reassignment surgical process, it is essential that they should under buttock augmentation as well. This is the enlargement process of the buttocks. If the patient has not past puberty, the first priority is the hormone therapy. However, in many cases, it might not work and the surgery is essential. The author talks that this surgery is the process in which a transgender individual undergoes a set of medical procedures, through which his or her gender is changed to the desired gender. There are some other common names present for the surgery as well, including the genital replacement surgery, sex affirmation surgery or the realignment if sexual orientation surgery. This report makes a conclusion that the transgender men and women are now not easily distinguishable once they undergo the surgery. With the prosthetic or surgically created vagina, penis and breasts, along with the secondary male and female characteristics, these individuals enjoy the sexual life as much as the individuals born with that particular sex do. While there have been a number of advances in the transsexual gender reassignment surgery, there is still the lacking of the surgical inclusion of the male or female reproductive system. The transgender population can now have their desired sexual orientation, but the reproduction is still a lacking they might feel. As the technology remains to improve, it is possible that this could also be accomplished in the near future.

Unwrapping Technology Essay Example for Free

Unwrapping Technology Essay Today’s educators have an endless pool of technological teaching aids at their fingertips. The Worldwide web has put teaching programs, learning apps, downloadable content, and all manner of communication at the availability of everyone. This information is readily and easily accessed. There are electronic whiteboards, video creating and editing programs, Ipads, learning games regarding all subjects, and an endless pool of help and ideas that can facilitate teaching, learning, and communication. Teachers can utilize them all to help students reach each of the standards implemented in NETS-S. The standards for this bracket include creating videos that record and document school or community functions, gather data, use digital tools and resources, use information gathering technologies, learning to identify and solve computer problems, explore curriculum from perspectives of other cultures, evaluate and determine credibility of resources, and among other things engaging in online collaborative learning projects. All standards work together to create an informed student who has the basic tools needed to become successful in a swiftly advancing technological world. Among the many standards and requirements expected to be learned by 6th-8th graders almost all of them are right on the mark and can easily be implemented in the classroom, especially number 2. Standard number 2 refers to creating animations or videos that document school or community events. This age group is constantly taking photos or videos for their own social outlets. Tapping into this type of media will be inspiring for the students and can encourage learning through a skill they enjoy and identify with. Learning through the use of technology can be a wonderful experience for students. There are many ways technology can be used to enhance lessons or engage the students, where more primitive manners of teaching such as straight lecture and note taking can be dry and quite frankly lose the interest of the students. One such tool is the electronic whiteboard. The electronic whiteboard allows the teacher to project images for their computer onto the board in the front of the class. A teacher can prepare a slide show, power point, or show movies or videos regarding the subject being taught. This can draw the attention both visual and auditory of the class. Watching a movie where a science experiment is done can be more intriguing than just listening to a speech about it. Ipads are another great tool that can be used to create an enjoyable learning experience. They can be used to play learning games or even as a manner for communication for certain handicapped students. All of the NETS-S standards and requirements are reasonable there are some that may not be implemented or may be difficult to support. For example: Creating â€Å"original animations or videos documenting school, community, or local events. (NETS-S, 2008) may be difficult if the school does not have video equipment or programs to support this type of activity. Each school will have its own set of standards and available tools that need to be taken into consideration when trying to follow standards. Teachers may have limited resources to work with but they can attempt to apply for grants from sites such as Grant Wrangler (http://grantwrangler. com/) and Teachers Count (h ttp://www. teacherscount. org/teacher/grants. shtml). The resources are out there but need to be sought out and found. The one expectation that I feel is missing from the standards are relatively fast typing skills. Typing skills can be quite a useful skill to teach and can aid students from this age group up as they begin to have more and more typed assignments given. The usage of programs such as â€Å"Word† and becoming familiar with it will also be helpful from this age all the way up to college. By giving them these two tools we are preparing them for their future. The NETS-S standards are put in place to help nurture students to evolve into capable and involved community members. The technological world we live in is changing more rapidly than ever and it is in the benefit of both student and teacher to learn and advance with the times so they can be knowledgeable and stay at the forefront of these changes. As educators it is part of our job to prepare students for their future, and much of our future lies in technology, NETS-S is helping us do that. Reference: NETS-S . Retrieved from http://www. iste. org/docs/pdfs/nets-s-2007-student-profiles-en. pdf? sfvrsn=4

What Is Meteorology And Its Uses Environmental Sciences Essay

What Is Meteorology And Its Uses Environmental Sciences Essay Every day, thousands and thousands of people tune into weather forecast on television, radio, even news papers for news about the weather and if any changes are going to take place in the upcoming days, like floods or droughts or temperature change. Meteorology is the study of all the changes in the atmosphere, whether they were changes in temperature, air pressure, moisture, or wind direction in the troposphere. The air around the earth is called the atmosphere, it is divided into layers. Weather happens in the troposphere, the bottom layer, directly above the ground. Mount Everest, the highest point on the Earth, reaches about half way up the troposphere. Meteorology is useful for weather processes and forecasting. What is meteorology? Meteorology is the science of the atmosphere. It comes from the Greek word meteoron, which means something that happens high in the sky. Weather was important to the ancient Greeks because it affected the farmers who raised their crops and their seamen who sailed the oceans. The ancient Greeks observed and tried to understand how the clouds, wind, and rain were connected to one another. Weather Weather is an endless cycle of events. The four things that cause weather are the Sun, the atmosphere, water vapor and the wind. They all work together, spreading the Suns heat all over the world and making clouds. And the changes that occur over a longer period of time are known as climate. Weather has always been a significant concern to humans, and our inability to control it has led us to try to measure it, compare it, and predict it for the past hundreds of years. Weather contributes greatly with the study of meteorology, the five major weather elements are: -Temperature -Wind -Humidity -Pressure -Rainfall The Sun The sun is the main source of energy for the earth. The light and heat given out by the sun make it possible for plants and animals to live on earth. Without the sun, oceans would freeze and life could not be supported on earth. The sun is the key to the earths weather. It moves the air all over the world causing winds which carry weather changes. Air temperature is measured by a thermometer. http://images.google.com/url?source=imgresct=tbnq=http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112188/sun_and_earth.gifusg=AFQjCNH7-leVbgPcZpt29YvgoD3Yoo8NqQ http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112188/sun_and_earth.gif Air Pressure Although air is light, there is so much of it that air can exert huge pressure on earth. Air pressure or atmospheric pressure is caused by the weight of all the air pressing down in all directions at the ground. Air pressure changes when the temperature changes, it varies from place to place and from time to time as the Suns heat varies. Areas of high pressure are formed where air is sinking down, so its pushing harder towards the earth. But when air rises it leaves behind an area of lower pressure, because upward moving air is not pushing down so hard on the surface this creates low pressure. Air pressure is measured in millibars ,mb, on a barometer. Barometers help us forecast weather because changes in air pressure are linked to changes in the weather. Air Moisture There are various forms of moisture. Moisture is present in the air either in the form of gas, liquid, or solid. Atmospheric moisture plays a significant role in weather when it changes from one state to the other. Warm air can hold more water than cold air can. A hygrometer can be used to measure humidity, which is the amount of water in the air. A hygrometer consists of a wet bulb and a dry bulb thermometer. One end of the wet bulb thermometer is covered with muslin, which is wet. When the air is dry, more water will evaporate and the wet bulb thermometer will show a low reading. Air Masses Air masses are huge masses of air which are warm, cold, moist, or dry depending on the land or sea they pass by. Air masses move all over the Earths surface, they help spread the Suns heat around the world. Air masses are classified according to the area or the source they came from. There are two types of air masses. Air masses that form over oceans and seas called maritime. We have Tropical maritime, which develops over warm seas, and Polar maritime, forms over the seas near the poles. Air masses that form overland are called continental; there is Tropical continental, air mass that develops over hot or dry land, and Polar continental, air mass that develops over land near the poles. Boundaries between air masses are called fronts. The weather can be very unsettled near the fronts; some cold fronts cause lines of violent storms. There are three types of fronts, warm, cold, and occluded. Wind Wind is moving air. It blows because some air masses become warmer than others, basically wind moves because of the difference in air pressure around the world. In warm air, the tiny particles of air spread out. A mass of warm air is lighter than a mass of cold air, because warm air is so light it rises. As warm air rises, cold air flows in to take place. Climate and weather are determined by the wind. Wind is also affected by the Coriolis Effect. The earth spins on its axis, in the northern hemisphere winds are swung to the right. And in the southern hemisphere winds are swung to the left, this is called the Coriolis Effect. A windsock is used to measure the wind speed and direction. A weather vane can also be used to determine the winds direction. Severe/Extreme weather conditions Violent storms can be very dangerous, but as we discover more about the weather it becomes easier to forecast violent storms to avoid disasters. Some severe weather conditions are thunderstorms, tornadoes, hurricanes, and avalanches. Some extreme weather conditions such as floods and droughts may also affect the weather in some areas. Thunderstorms occasionally happen when the air is humid and warm. Clouds form in the sky and blustery winds start to blow, thunderstorms usually include lightning followed by thunder. Lightning and thunder happen at the same time, but you see thunder first because light travels faster than sound. Tornadoes are long funnels of violently spiraling winds. They form on land when there is warm, moist air near the ground and cold, dry air above it. The Coriolis Effect helps the tornado spin faster, as well as jet streams when they pass over the top of the storm. Weather forecast Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location. The most straightforward way to predict the weather is to simply look out the window. However, for a more accurate weather forecast you need observational tools like radars, satellites and specially designed computers that will give you a clearer picture to the weather conditions. Some weather symbols that are used in television forecast and maps: http://images.google.com/url?source=imgresct=tbnq=http://s3.amazonaws.com/momentville/20889/photos/917979/917979_medium.jpgusg=AFQjCNHD4U47mTTE3a_bIXFBUrhjDKaQ http://s3.amazonaws.com/momentville/20889/photos/917979/917979_medium.jpg Weather gods Good harvests depends on good weather, early farmers who lived about 7,000 years ago thought gods ruled the weather. People today still pray for fine weather and good harvest. The Rainbow God, the Kabi people of Australia worship a god called Dhakhan who is half snake and half fish. He appears as a rainbow in the sky when he moves from one hole to the next. The Dragon Breath, the Chinese believed that dragons formed clouds with their breath and brought rain. The rain fell when the dragons walked over the clouds and storms raged when they fought. Dancing in the Rain, the Hopi Indians of North America perform special rain dances, and pray to the gods through these dances to send them rain. History The father or founder of meteorology is considered to be Aristotle. His book Meteorologica written around 340 B.C was the first study of the atmosphere. Some of Aristotles ideas were accurate, like ideas about rain and hailstorms, others were not. Like many thinkers of his time, he believed that reason and logic could lead to the truth and he didnt think it was necessary to observe the details of the natural world to understand it; thats why he got some of his ideas proven wrong in later years. As years went by, many centuries later natural philosophers realized that logic and speculation arguments alone couldnt produce real understandings of the natural world. For them to understand things in the world around them, it was necessary for them to measure, record, and analyze. But at that time, the only things that could be measured were wind direction and rainfall. And it continued like that for years to come. Later around A.D 1600 the thermometer was invented, following that the barometer, which measures atmospheric pressure, came a few years later. Devices and gadgets for measuring wind speed, humidity, and other important qualities of the atmosphere continued to develop over the next two- hundred years. Scientists used all of these newly-created instruments to record the long term trends of the weather which are known as climate. However, they still didnt understand the day to day or daily behavior of weather phenomenon like tornadoes, hurricanes, and thunderstorms. Years continued to pass, by the mid- 1800s, meteorologists began to realize clouds, wind, and rain at a particular place are produced by large weather systems that grow and change as they move. However this information was not very useful as long as weather information couldnt travel fast enough. The telegraph was later invented, allowing weather reports to be sent out instantly. Then they started to realize some of the weather patterns across the face of the earth. In the early 1900s, a group of Norwegian meteorologists began to study weather systems by applying basic laws of physics to the behavior of the atmosphere. There discovery or approach based on movements of huge warm and cold air masses and where they meet is the foundation of modern weather forecasting. In the 1940s, World War II brought great advances in the study of meteorology. Military land, sea, and air campaigns were highly dependent on weather over vast regions making its way from the North Pole to the South Pacifi c. Meteorology departments in universities grew rapidly as the military services sent cadets to be trained as weather officers. The military also supported scientific research on the weather and climate. During this period, technological developments such as the radar proved to be useful and valuable meteorological observing systems for both the military and studies dealing with meteorology. Meteorologists continued to develop many more new tools and techniques, since World War II, for observing and studying the atmosphere. They developed numerical model sets of equations that represent atmospheric processes and run them on supercomputers to analyze and predict the behavior of the atmosphere on every scale from the formation of raindrops to the circulation of the atmosphere over earth. Meteorologists today use satellites to observe hurricanes; they probe the violent cores of thunderstorms with radar and high performance aircrafts and many moreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Instruments and equipment used in meteorology (alphabetically ordered) -Anemometer, a device used for measuring wind speed -Barograph, an aneroid barometer that records the barometric pressure over time and produces either a foil or paper chart called a barogram. http://www.weatherinstruments.us/barograph-636.jpghttp://images.google.com/url?source=imgresct=tbnq=http://www.weatherinstruments.us/barograph-636.jpgusg=AFQjCNG0OGeiHhvp9o1n1AGw0Yh1cSeAvg -Barometer, an instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure using either water, mercury, or air -Ceiling balloon, used to measure the height of the base of clouds during daylight. -Ceiling projector, a device that is used to measure the height of the base of clouds. -Ceilometer, a device that uses a laser or other light source to measure the height of the base of clouds. -Dark adaptor goggles, clear red tinted plastic goggles used either for adapting the eyes to dark for night observation or to help identify clouds during bright sunshine or glare from snow. -Disdrometer, an instrument used to measure the drop size, distribution, and velocity of falling hydrometeors. -Field mill, an instrument used to measure the strength of electric fields I the atmosphere near thunderstorm clouds. -Hygrometer, an instrument used to measure humidity. -Ice Accretion Indicator, an L shaped piece of aluminum used to indicate the formation of ice, frost, or the presence of freezing rain. -LIDAR, (Light Detection And Ranging) used in atmospheric physics that measures the properties of scattered light to find information about a distant target. -Lightning detector, a device that detects lightning produced by thunderstorms. -Nephelometer, an instrument used to measure suspended particulates in a liquid or gas, they are used to provide information on atmospheric visibility. -Pyranometer, used to measure broadband solar irradiance. -Radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation -Radiosonde, an instrument used to measure various atmospheric parameters and transmits them into fixed receivers. -Rain gauge, an instrument that gathers and measures the amount of liquid precipitation over a set period of time. -Snow gauge, an instrument that gathers and measures the amount of solid precipitation over a set period of time. -SODAR, (Sonic Detection And Ranging)an instrument that measures the scattering of sound waves by atmospheric turbulence. -Solarimeter, a pyranometer used to measure combined direct and diffuse solar radiation. -Sounding rocket, an instrument designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments -Stevenson screen, it shields instruments from precipitation and direct heat radiation while still allowing air to circulate freely. Sunshine recorders, devices used to indicate the amount of sunshine at a given location.http://images.google.com/url?source=imgresct=tbnq=http://www.dreamstime.com/thermograph-hand-print-thumb7926563.jpgusg=AFQjCNGEaKUm4OVQx7d9cDtva90zoyGqOw -Thermograph, measures and records both temperature and humidityhttp://images.google.com/url?source=imgresct=tbnq=http://www.johnsherman.com/rh/thermograph.jpgusg=AFQjCNFZFUlyus7Uo5HE81MdF53cRidY1g http://www.johnsherman.com/rh/thermograph.jpg http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/thumb_359/1233070515hwQfRX.jpg -Thermometer, a device that measures temperature -Weather balloon, a high altitude balloon that carries instruments and uses a radiosonde to send back information on atmospheric pressure, temperature, and humidity Weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type and forecast its future position and intensity. Weather vane, a movable device attached to an elevated object that shows the direction of the wind Windsock, a textile tube used to determine wind direction and wind speed -Wind profiler, an equipment that uses SODAR or radar to detect wind direction and speed at different elevations. Conclusion More than 2,000 years ago, Greek philosophers looked at the sky and tried to understand what was happening there. Today, the ancient science of meteorology has grown and matured. It is at the cutting edge of research, seeking answers to basic questions about the world around us. Meteorologists today use satellites to observe hurricanes; they probe the violent cores of thunderstorms with radar and high performance aircrafts. They are working to further more develop applications that are crucially important to our lives and the lives of our children and the many more generations of grandchildren yet to come.

Facts About Burger King Holdings Marketing Essay

Facts About Burger King Holdings Marketing Essay Burger King (BK) is the second largest fast food hamburger restaurant (FFHR) in the world with operations in 74 different countries. Its major competitors are McDonalds, Subway and Yum! Brands. BK was ranked among Americas 1,000 largest corporations by Fortune Magazine in 2008. Further, Burger King is listed among one of the Top 100 Best Global Brands. History The history of the brand Burger King refers to 1959, when J, M and D.Edg purchased the firm from the original founders. Company was run as an independent entity for eight years, eventually expanding to over 250 locations in the United States, but in 1967 due to some reasons, baking giant Pillsbury repurchased Burger King. In 1978, when McDonalds executive Donald N. Smith came to renovate the company BKC was prominantly modificated in terms of its franchise agreements, strategy, menu, and restraunt look out. But Poor operating performance and ineffective leadership weight down the company during many years, even after Diageo, the global alcoholic beverages company baught Burger King in 1989. Eventually, Diageo damaged the company by neglecting the brand, and major franchises were driven out of business and its total value was significantly decreased. In 2002 Diageo divested itself of the money-losing business and sold Burger King to a group of investment firms lead by TPG Capital. Aft er this acquisition, many positive changes started to happen to Burger King. One of the major issues was first public offering in 2006, which was highly succefful. But there were some spots on Burger King reputation. The case of unsauccessful Buck Double campaign, which promoted $1 burgers, provoking the lawsuits from franchisees, unhappy with selling at a price lower than production costs. Those events somehow were reflected on the BKC stock behavior. By the time the ordinary stock of Burger King was selling at $16 per share, another interesting and totally unexpected thing shocked the global business community. On September 2, 2010, a Brazailian company 3G Capital Management LLC. Announced decision to acquire all the stocks of Burger King for $24.00 per share, or $3.26 billion in aggregate including Burger Kings outstanding debt. As the purpose of this report is to analyse the current state of the company and give recommendation upon this recent transaction, further in this paper we will answer whether it was good or bad acquisition. Key People of Burger King John Chidsey, Ex-CEO, currently is a Co-Chairman of the Board BK Inc. He joined Burger King Corporation as an Executive Vice President and the Chief Administrative and Financial Officer in March 2004. In fact, his effective leadership and strategic thought brought company to a quite successful level of performance. His wide range of responsibilities included monitoring franchise and company operations, finance, corporate strategic planning, and oversight of the annual budget, the information technology function, risk management, and corporate procurement, as well as the Franchise Financial Restructuring Program (FFRP). Mr. Chidsey obtained Doctor of Jurisprudence and MBA from Emory University. Therefore his academic background in law and business, overall professional skills and previous experience bring unprecedented value to the company. As from the recent news, John Chidsey is going to resign from the board and will be employed with BKC until the April 18, 2011. Ben Wells CFO and Treasurer of Burger King, who has more than 25 years of experience in financa. He repots directly to CEO and proves himself as a key member of the executive leadership team. Before joining BKC he held a position of vice president and corporate treasurer at Compaq Computer Corporation, when he successfully led the finance team in stabilizing finance and accounting operations.He also was employed by such famous corporation as British Petroleum and Hewlett Packard. Possessing degree in economics and business administration (University of Missouri, Texas AM University, Canisius College), he is capabable for building a world-class treasury organization and developing capital structure and risk management programs for the global organization. Alexander Behring Co-Chairman of the Board BK Inc. and Managing Partner of 3G Capital Management LLC. Experienced engineer and successful private equity manager, he is the one, who was behind the $4bn takeover of BKC. Becoming one of the inflluential investors of Brazil, he started and lead America Latina Logistica, the biggest railroad and logistics corporation in Latin America. Mr. Behring holds MBA from Harvard Business School and Bachelors Degree from Pontifà ­cia Universidade Catà ³lica do Rio de Janeiro. Bernardo Hees new CEO of Burger King Inc., since September 2010. Previously, he was Chief Executive Officer of America Latina Logistica (ALL), as a successor of Alexander Behring, since January 2005 and served on its Board of Directors. B. Hees is an experienced executive with an impressive track record of enhancing performance, managing a team that drove strong gains in both revenues and profitability. He obtained MBA from the University of Warwick and passed Owners-Presidents Management program at Harvard Business School. According to his sound resume and reputation, he can be fairly considered as an excellent steward of the Burger King brand, inspired by the intention to take company to the next level of competition in the U.S. and worldwide. Business Model of Burger King: A business model is a plan implemented by a company to generate revenues and make profits from the operations it performs. (Investopedia, n.d.). Burger King uses the franchise business model to generate profits. Under the franchise arrangement, the franchisees invest in the equipment, signage, seating, and decor of the restaurant, while the company owns or leases the land and building. The company generates revenues mainly from three sources: sales at the company restaurants, royalties and franchise fees, and property income from certain franchise restaurants that lease or sub-lease property from the company (Datamonitor, 2010). Resources of the Company Reagrding the resources available for sustainable comptitive advantage, those resources are classified into tanbgible and intangible. As Burger King is a well-establiched global corporation, it has formulated very strong basis for its worldwide operations. In fact, despite of performing in the fast paced indutsry and facing the risk of once to become unclaimed due to unhealthy food provision, as consumers may change their preferences, BKC definitely creates a unique line of products. For instance, famous Whopper sandwich, CroissanWich, flame-broiled hamburgers and etc. Burger King proves itself as genuinly global company by localization of products versions by adding ingredients such as teriyaki or beetroot and fried egg to the Whopper; beer in Germany, Italy and Spain; and halal or kosher products in the Middle East and Israel. They property counts for almost 12 000 restaurants worldwide, of which 60% is concentrated in US and Canada, and 40% is internationally spread. Regards the intangible assets, highly quilified and experienced executive management team is a great value to Burger King, promising effective operations and high and stable earnings growth. While globally recognised brand Burger King is another powerful asset to corporation, as well as reputation and products assocated with it. And last, but not the list is the Knowledge, which mainly brought the Burger King fame for its products. They definitely possess unique production technology, which is constantly updated and successfully implemented. Strategy Analysis Business Strategy Analysis From pdf Business Strategy Analysis helps us evaluate the sustainability of the firm. BK strives to implement the following elements into its business strategy in order to grow. Further drive sales growth: BK is attempting to increase sales growth by enhancing guest experience, expanding hours of operations and emphasizing on restaurant reimaging program. All this is expected to result in higher sales and traffic in these restaurants and yield strong cash on cash returns. Enhance restaurant profitability: BK endeavours to enhance restaurant profitability by leveraging their fixed cost structure by introducing higher margin products and creating efficiencies through improved speed of service and equipment. Further, BK utilizes market based pricing model to achieve optimal pricing in the highly competitive market environment, thus making it a market follower. Employ innovative marketing strategies and offer superior value and quality: BK employs innovative and creative marketing strategies to increase their restaurant traffic and comparable sales. BKs whooper has been one of the best known products in the fast food industry. In addition, BK has also launched AngryWooperTM sandwhich, BK Burger Shots and BK Breakfast ShotsTM in the U.S., the King DealsTM in Germany, the U.K. and Spain and the Come Como ReyTM (Eat Like a King) every day value menu in Mexico. Further, their advertisement campaigns have always created a buzz and improved their visibility in the market. Expand our large international platform: Presently, BK is concentrated in the US and Canadian markets only, therefore they have a significant growth potential in international arena. BK has realized this and has developed a detailed global development plan to accelerate growth over the next few years. However, entering into international markets is tough because McDonalds already has its presence in almost all countries of the world. Further, BK fails to mention the strategy with which they plan to enter international markets. This maybe because they do not want to divulge their strategy to their competitors, or because they do not have a strategy which can provide them a competitive advantage over McDonalds. Use proactive portfolio management to drive growth: BK intends to use proactive portfolio management to drive growth and optimize their Company restaurant portfolio and franchisee participation in new and existing markets, while maintaining our 90/10 franchise to Company restaurant ownership mix. Between April 2008 and May 2009, BK acquired 128 new restaurants in parts US and sold 39 Company restaurants to new and existing franchisee. In addition, they closed under-performing restaurants in UK and sold certain Company restaurants in Germany and Canada to their local franchisees. Thus, the business strategy focuses on driving sales in existing markets and striving for presence in international market. However, almost all quick service restaurants that strive for greater profitability follow a similar strategy. If BK wishes to have a greater market presence, then it has to keep coming up with new, innovative, and creative products and marketing campaigns as these are the only ways by which they can differentiate their brand. Further, we carried out the industry analysis (See Appendix X), and found that per se the industry has a good market potential. Moreover, as the global economic environment improves the industry would again be profitable as the consumers would again become price insensitive and companies coming up with new, innovative and affordable menus would have more power than the buyers and suppliers. In addition, the industry is forecast to increase by 19.2 % till 2014 and there is a growing demand of fast-food in the emerging markets like India, China, and Indonesia etc. Therefore, the industry has good future prospects if tapped in an appropriate manner. Based on the SWOT analysis (see Appendix X1), it can be discerned that the company understands that the only way to increase its profitability is through constant innovation and expansion into new international market; and given the brand reputation, the franchise mix and robust financial performance, we think the company has the capability to grow profitably in the future. 5. VALUATION The value of any security is determined by its quality and profit potential. The economic environment and industry in which firm operates also have inevitable impact. Hence, we valued of BKC by incorporating these factors into the analysis of BKCs stock value. It is well known that it is very subjective to valuate any company and its stock as the market is changing constantly and the market price heavily depends on peoples expectations and feelings. The good example might be Burger Kings market price that soared from $16.77 to $13.64 after the acquisition announcement http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Burger_King_Holdings_(BKC)/WikiChart (Appendix H). Most analysts use various valuation models to calculate whether a stock is overvalued or undervalued. Those models are just generally accepted ways of assessing a companys stock and make a recommendation. Thus, analysts should not rely on the results of these models only but also take into consideration performance of existing competitors. Using comparables, i.e. ratios of identical companies and their financial performance indicators, as an addition to the valuation analysis should give a better understanding of company health and what it stands for in the market. For that reason, we have imple mented several valuation models, including Dividend Discount Model (DDM), Market premium (MP) and Residual Earnings Model (RE), and compared BKCs performance to its major competitor McDonalds using financial ratios. It should be noted that for the sake of comparison, we have taken the financial data available at the end of fiscal years for BKC and McDonalds i.e. June 30th, 2010 and December 31st, 2010, respectively. Further, the spot stock prices are taken as of June 30th, 2010. 5.1 Performance [I THINK PERFORMANCE SHOULD GO IN HERE] 5.2 Dividend Discount Model Starting from year 2006, when Burger King was first listed on the New-York Stock Exchange, the company has paid the fixed dividend of $0.25  [1]  per share per year (Appendix A). Therefore, we do not expect any future dividend growth and assume zero growth for DDM valuation model. For simplicity, we use DDM-perpetuity and take required rate of return (k) as a discounting factor (r). Therefore, V = D/r à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (1) According to The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), required rate of return (k) is calculated as follows: k = rf + B(rm rf) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. (2) where, rf = risk-free rate, B = beta, (rm rf) = market risk premium We have used risk-free rate of 2.92% from company report (Burger King Holdings, 2010, p.87), company beta of 0.80 was taken from on-line source (ADVFN, 2011) and market risk premium 6.75% from Journal of Financial Economics, which is a bit outdated but we believe that this type of market is even riskier then it was 10 years ago (Fama, 1997, p.172). Substituting the values in equation 2, we get k = 2.92% + 0.80*6.75% = 8.32% As mentioned before, since r = k, substituting the value of r in equation 1, we get V= 0.25/0.0832 = $3.00 (The value of BKCs share) However, as of June 30th, 2010 market share price of BKC was $16.84/share (Wikinvest, 2011). Further, in order to assess our valuation, we valued the share price of McDonalds share and got a valuation of $36.28 (for calculations, see Appendix G). However, as of June 30th, 2010 the share price is $65.87. As, McDonalds is more popular brand than BK, and its stock price is twice as high as the valuation figure, whereas BK King is way behind McDonalds but its price is five times higher than the calculated value. To investigate the reliability of this result we calculate the market premium of the BKs share. 5.3 Market Premium Model The measure of stockholders equity on the balance sheet typically does not reflect the intrinsic value of what the equity is worth (Penman, 2003). There is a definition of intrinsic value which states that it is the actual value of a company or an asset based on an underlying perception of its true value including all aspects of the business, in terms of both tangible and intangible factors. This value may or may not be the same as the current market value (Investopedia, 2011). For that reason it is meaningful to see what extra price, or premium, the market pays for a particular security. In order to calculate market premium we use the formula (Penman, 2003): Market Premium = Market Value of Equity Book Value of Equityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. (3) Calculating the market value of BKC as of June 30, 2010, Market Value = Price per share*Shares Outstanding à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. (4) = $16.84*135.4m=$2,280.136m The Book Value of BKC = Total Shareholders Equity = $1,128.4m (Appendix C). Therefore, Market Premium = $1,151.736m. With Shares Outstanding = 135.4m, the Book Value per Share (BVPS) = $8.33 and Premium = $8.51. Indeed, the premium constitutes 102% over the book value. As compared to McDonalds, with 1,072m shares outstanding (Appendix D), McDonalds has a BVPS of $12.25 and the premium of $53.62, which is 438% higher than its book value. Thus, we may conclude that market is ready to pay quadruple premium for MCD, which indicates a great brand awareness and customer loyalty; however, they are still ready to pay twice for BKCs shares, which is a good sign for the stock evaluation. 5.4 Residual Earnings Model The residual earnings model relies on book value, which represents shareholders investments into the firm and measures value added to the investments. In other words, the book value of equity is taken and discounted back potential abnormal earnings are added to it. These earnings are returns to shareholders above their required rate of return. These earnings are important because otherwise the shareholders would have no objective to invest into the company if it break-evens at the minimum rate of return (Penman, 2003). Value = Book value + Premium à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. (5) or Value of common equity (VE0) = B0 + RE1/re à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (6) where, re = required rate of return, RE = Residual Earnings for Equity Now, Residual Earnings = Comprehensive Earnings (Required Return for Equity * Beginning-of-Period Book Value) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. (7) BK reported $165.8 million of comprehensive income on June 30, 2010 (Appendix B) on book value of $974.8 million. If BKs shareholders required a return of 8.32% in June, 2010; then its 2010 residual earnings were: Residual Earnings = $165.8 (8.32%*$974.8) = $84.70 million The very existence of the residual earnings gives us a sign that Burger King is a good investment to get extra return on invested funds. Further, substitutiting the values in equation 7, we get: Value of common equity (VE0) = $974.8 + $84.70/.0832 = $1,992.83 million VE0/share = $1,992.83/135.4 = $14.72 Assuming that RE remain unchanged (g=0%), then the calculated the intrinsic value of BKs share of $14.72 is close to market price of $16.84. Obviously, market was aware of the existing premium and recognized it by setting market price at that level. 5.5 Summary The three valuation models have revealed Burger Kings financial performance from different angles. For the reason that todays market is different from yesterdays, the DDM model is not really appropriate for security valuation, because contemporary market is mature and, as we have observed, dividends do not grow along with growing earnings as used to be in the past. However, this model was implemented just to see the consistency and get a better understanding of the value of the stock. The market premium model gave us a good sense of what market is ready to pay for the BKs share and McDonalds share. Further, the residual earnings model is said to be more reliable as compared to the other two models because it uses book value of the equity as well as market premium model. Overall, it can be seen that BK per se has performed well in the market; however it has been far behind its main competitor McDonalds. 6. RISKS Burger King is exposed to a variety of risks (3G Capital, 2011). The most prominent and important risks come from internal characteristics of the firm and market-determined factors. Internal characteristics of the firm include: Business risk: This risk might arise as a result of decreasing demand due to changes in consumer preferences, possible suppliers delays or adverse economic conditions. Also, the business model is based on franchising contracts, so franchisees financial strengths and ability to manage increasing costs is also subject of risk. Financial risk: BK has long-term and short-term debt outstanding, so it should have enough operating cash to meet these obligations. According to the notes to companys financial statements, BK uses derivative instruments, such as interest rate swaps and foreign currency forward contracts, which imply a higher risk exposure. Legal risk: As every food company, BK is in charge of risk related to food safety and toys as promotional instruments in their restaurants, as well as any legal judgments and pressures from competitors. Country risk / Exchange rate risk: BK is an international company, therefore fluctuations in foreign currencies and adverse government regulations create substantial risk exposure. Reputation risk: Customers in FFHR industry are very sensitive to the reputation and brand awareness of the company. Market-determined factors include: Systematic risk: This is an unmanageable risk, which can arise as a result of recessions and wars. Analyzing the risk associated with the functioning of the company, it can be discerned that BK acknowledges that there are some risks associated with the business. And therefore, has some measures such as following a market based pricing model, using trusted suppliers, etc. for overcoming these risks (Annual report, 2010). Further, BK is still vulnerable to the unknown risks such as exchange rate risks and systemic risks. However, these risks are faced by all companies. It is just a matter of the way in which they respond to these risks that determines how they fair in the market. As for BK, the impact of the systemic risk is has been high as compared to its competitor McDonalds (Datamonitor, 2010). However, they have realized this and have tried to overcome these setbacks by implementing promotional, other price discounting actions, and closing non-profitable company restaurants. (Annual report, 2010) 7. CONCLUSION Based on our analysis of companys background, strategy and people, as well as industry analysis and financial performance valuation we discern that the financial performance of BK was stable and improving during last five year, and the valuation revealed that the market believes that Burger Kings stock is worth investing. Therefore, we can conclude that the company is financially healthy and hence the acquirer, 3G Capital, made a good decision. However, because the new management does not have any experience in the food industry and adding to this the current economic situation, Burger King might be in a vulnerable position right now. Further, in the industry analysis, on one hand, there was a threat of customers switching to the healthier options, which might imply a risky acquisition decision by 3G Capital. And on the other hand, there was a positive outlook towards the quick service restaurant industry, which is expected to grow at a rate of 3% per year. Analyzing the annual repor t of BK, we realized that BK is aware of these issues and has been trying to improve them by introducing healthier meals and innovative marketing campaigns. Moreover, the strategy of the company is very ambiguous. The strategies and goals of BK are very generalist and unclear how the management is going to achieve these. However, the new management might set a new and a sound strategy and provide necessary resources for achieving it. In conclusion, in light of the business strategy and the comparison of the performance of the company with its competitiors , we think that the BKs acquisition was hugely overvalued. However, because of the stable financial performance and positive industry outlook it was a good acquisition and if the new management is able to tap the potential in the existing and new markets in a appropriate manner then the companys growth potential is huge. [PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD/AMEND SOMETHING IN CONCLUSION] APPENDIX A Consolidated Statement of Income Burger King Source: Burger King Holding, Inc. Form 10-K, 2010 APPENDIX B Consolidated Statement of Stockholders Equity Burger King Source: Burger King Holding, Inc. Form 10-K, 2010 APPENDIX C Consolidated Balance Sheet Burger King Source: Burger King Holding, Inc. Form 10-K, 2010 APPENDIX D Consolidated Statement of Income -McDonalds Source: McDonalds Corporation, Form 10-K, 2010 APPENDIX E Consolidated Statement of Stockholders Equity -McDonalds Source: McDonalds Corporation, Form 10-K, 2010 APPENDIX F Consolidated Balance Sheet -McDonalds Source: McDonalds Corporation, Form 10-K, 2010 APPENDIX G Dividend Discount Model McDonalds For valuation of McDonalds share, we have used the same risk-free rate of 2.92% and market risk premium of 6.75%, company beta of 0.49 was taken from the same on-line source (ADVFN, 2011). Substituting the values in equation 2, we get k = 2.92%+ 0.49*6.75% = 6.23%. The dividend per share was virtually stable; therefore we took the figure of $2.26 per share, as of 2010. As, r = k, substituting the value of r in equation 1, we get V = 2.26/0.0623 = $36.28 Therefore, as of June 30th, 2010 market share price of MCD was valued using the DDM model as $36.28, whereas the spot share price was $65.87 per share. It should be noted that for the valuations using the DDM model, we take the same risk-free rate and market risk premium, because companies are competing in the same industry, however beta is different because MCD is more stable than BKC which is why the risk of volatility is lower. McDonalds price history Source: Morningstar investment research, 2011 APPENDIX H Price History -Burger King Source: Wikinvest, 2011 Industry Analysis: Using the Porters Five Forces Model (Datamonitor, Industry analysis) Porters five forces model helps in analysing the profit potential of an industry which would eventually help in determining a firms chances of generating long-term profits. (book) Bargaining power of buyers: The economic recession has strengthened the buyer power as the industry players try to secure price sensitive consumers using competitive pricing strategies. However, due to the sheer convenience of having fast-food makes fast-food more important to the consumer than a simple source of food. Therefore, the buyer power is assessed to be moderate. Bargaining power of suppliers: For a fast food company to make profits, it is vital that the company has reliable suppliers that offer food of marketable quality and at a low margin. However, a large number of these suppliers serve other kinds of foodservice and cost service customers, thereby decreasing their dependence on fast food players. Therefore, the supplier power is considered to be moderate. Threat of new entrants: As large capital reserves are not required for setting up a single, independent fast food outlet, the entry into the global fast food market is easy. However, to build a global brand requires precise market knowledge, an excellent management team, and an admirable brand reputation, therefore the threat from new entrants is assessed to be moderate. Threat of substitute products: The substitutes for fast-food include other forms of profit foodservice and also food retail (ready meals or ingredients for home cooking). However, these are considered to be unhealthy and take time in preparing, whereas convenience and availability are considered to be the main drivers for choosing fast-food. Therefore, the threat of substitutes is assessed to be moderate. Rivalry among existing firms: Rivalry in the fast-food industry is considered to be intense as the fast food markets can be very concentrated. The burger segment is close to being a Burger-King/ McDonalds duopoly. Further, prices especially of value meals and brand power form the greatest sources of competition in the fast-food market. SWOT Analysis: The SWOT analysis helps us determine a companys strengths and weaknesses, and then helps us evaluate whether the company has the ability to effectively exploit its opportunities and overcome its threats. Adapted from (Datamonitor, 2010) Strong market position and brand equity BK enjoys a strong market position and possesses an established brand reputation. This has enabled it to gain economies of scale, increase its bargaining power, and enter international markets. (Datamonitor, 2010) High franchise mix The company has franchise stores and company restaurants in the ratio of 90-10. This restaurant ownership mix provides BK with a strategic advantage as the capital required to grow and maintain the BK system is funded primarily by franchisees, while the Company restaurants give it a sizeable base to demonstrate credibility. (pdf) Innovative marketing campaigns and advertising to provide greater visibility BK uses innovative marketing, advertising and sponsorships to drive sales and generate restaurant traffic. The main target market of BK is the 18-35 year old male with a love of fast food. (Datamotiner, BKcase study). Therefore, its advertisements are made to appeal to this segment. Further, BKs advertisements campaigns such as Whopper Sacrifice campaign and Cheat on beef campaign help the company gain better visibility which helps it to have an impact on the revenue generating capacity. Weaknesses Declining comparable sales growth BK saw a decline in its comparable sales growth in 2009. This was mainly because of continued adverse macroeconomic conditions, higher unemployment, more customers eating at home, and heavy discounting by other restaurant chains. This only means that the management has to focus on various product offerings that cater to the value conscious customers during times of poor economic conditions. Concentrated operations-in terms of geographic presence and dependence on selected distributors increases business risks Although BKC operates in 74 countries, its operations are heavily concentrated in the US. Approximately 61% of its restaurants are located in the US. US and Canada account for about 68.7% of the total revenues, whereas BKCs competitor McDonalds generates only 35% of its total revenues from US. Concentrated operations increase the business risk of the company and impact its results of operations and thus its financial condition. Opportunities Expansion in existing and new markets BKC should focus on expanding into existing and new markets and the company has taken steps to expand into international markets. 2009 saw a 28% rise in new restaurants in international markets. The company also entered two new in

Collapse of Civilizations Essay -- essays research papers

The factors that lead to the â€Å"collapse† of civilizations are almost directly related to those that created it. Archaeologists characterize collapse by a number of elements, some of which we have evidence for, others we do not. Most archaeologists are unsure of exactly what caused the decline of most civilizations in the ancient world, yet there are many clues to some of the events that could have contributed. The collapse of the ancient Roman Empire, the Mesoamerican Mayan, and the Egyptian cultures will be discussed in the following paragraphs, with a focus on the uniqueness of each.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Collapse† is in quotations because its definition when applied to civilizations is often debated. Merriam-Webster’s collegiate dictionary states: 1: to fall or shrink together abruptly and completely: fall into a jumbled or flattened mass through the force of external pressure 2: to break down 3: to cave or fall in or give way 4: to suddenly lose force, significance, effectiveness, or worth 5: to break down in vital energy, stamina, or self-control through exhaustion or disease; especially: to fall helpless or unconscious 6: to fold down into a more compact shape Although this definition can vaguely describe the overall fall of most civilizations, the actual details are more finite. One such event would be an environmental change. Archaeologists use this as a reason for the decline of civilizations often because it fits so well into any situation. A terrifying earthquake, a change in flow of a vital river, and a volcanic eruption are examples of what could have happened to abruptly end a civilization. Another reason might be over use of natural resources. As civilizations grew, the need for more resources increased. They could not grow enough food to support the growing population, and as a result trade networks fell apart, people began to starve, and large epidemics spread. Also many of these civilizations based everything on ideology. They believe that their rulers were gods on earth, so when these devastating things started happening, they lost faith in their ruler. Building temples, making statues of their kings, redistributing their good s, and the following of rulers all ceased. The accumulation of all these factors resulted in decline.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For a long period of time, the Mayan civilization was assumed to ha... ...n 1163 B.C., Egypt entered a period of slow decline (Scarre 1997:116). Pharaohs became less powerful, and their prestige dwindled. Hungry soldiers were terrorizing the community, while tomb robbers were raiding the pyramids for resources that were very much needed. They had buried their pharaohs with food, goods and jewelry, all of which were needed to keep the civilization in tact. They had built too many pyramids, and there were setbacks in Asia which corrupted trade. People did not understand why the pharaohs could not fix the problems that were going on. They viewed them as gods and lost trust and faith. Egypt fell apart as these things culminated with loss of belief in the pharaohs. These three civilizations all had a decline that can not be totally explained. Each unique yet similar in different ways. Both the Egyptian and Mayan civilization seemed to have declined because of agricultural and ideological reasons, and all three had to do with a loss of power and trust in rulers. There are many factors that create a civilization or empire and make it powerful. The corruption and loss of these same factors is what leads to the decline of an otherwise successful civilization.

abortion :: essays research papers

I'm late for my period. I've never had sex willingly. Oh God I hope it wasn't from that night. How can I live with myself or tell some one my secret. No one will believe me, it was my own boyfriend. It's my fault anyway, I should've wanted to have sex, he told me we were going to get married. Where is he now? He said he'll love me forever, I need him by my side. I think I'm going to take the test. I can't be pregnant! How can I explain to the child that I don't want it. I have major plans like college and meeting my Prince Charming. I don't want to have a kid, especially since it's face is going to remind me of the worst night of my life. I can't be pregnant I'm only 18 years old. I have college to go to next year, I'm not even with Bill anymore. "NO! STOP!!! PLEASE STOP!!!!" I cried as this "man" took me into his world, one in which I know I didn't belong. "ATLEAST PUT A CONDOM ON!! WHO ARE YOU? WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME? PLEASE STOP!!!!" I kept crying and he was in such rage and had such determination that I would succomb to his ways and enjoy the most horrible experience of my life. So, I'm going to take a pregnancy test. I pray I'm not pregnent. I can't imagine telling anyone. They know I don't believe in premarital sex. I still consider myself a virgin. I've never told anyone about that night, so if I just end up pregnant, who is going to believe me? I hope my mom stays by myside, I know she is going to be outraged. I hope Bill will put it his two cents in, should I even tell him? Abortions are legal in my state. It seems like a reasonable thing to do. I don't want to kill my baby or throw him away in the dumpster. I would put it up for adoption, but every morning and night for the next nine months I am going to relive that horrible night. Roe v. Wade was based on this case. In 1973, The state of Texas had outlawed abortions. The Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional, but refused to order an injuction againts the state. On January 22, 1973, The Supreme Court voted the right to privacy including abortions.

Geico Advertising Appeals Essay

Out of the many appeals that companies use to advertise their product or service, the need to achieve is one of the most commonly seen. In our highly competitive society, everybody is trying to get ahead. Everybody is looking for that little advantage that will push them forward. The appeal of achievement correlates with success and winning, ideas that represent the outcomes of hard work on which people like to pride themselves. In many of their ads, Geico likes to tap into our competitive nature by offering us incentives, such as saving time and money, which speak specifically to our consumer culture. Such a tactic proves to be effective because for the most part, consumers in our ambitious society like to be frugal and fiscally responsible. Nobody wants to spend an extra dime if they do not have to. Simultaneously, customers do not want to spend all day looking for the perfect insurance. Read more: The woman I admire the most essay They know that time is a finite resource and it must be spent wisely. In order to persuade customer’s into buying their insurance, Geico effectively utilizes the achievement appeal because it resonates with their goals of saving time and money. In most of Geico’s commercials, they are able to address their audiences need to achieve with a simple slogan: â€Å"15 minutes could save you 15 percent or more on your car insurance.† This message that sells their customer’s on their service, however, is not seen until the end of the commercial. For most of the commercial the time is spent entertaining the audience in a humorous way. Take for example the viral â€Å"Hump Day† commercial. Throughout the ad, a camel who can talk walks through an office building asking and bugging the workers about â€Å"What day is it?† Since he is a camel with a ‘humped’ or arched back, the advertisers suggest that that the camel is referring to ‘Hump Day’ or in other words, Wednesday. This is followed up by two men who are playing the guitar with each other. In an attempt to illustrate the point of the commercial, one of them asks the other â€Å"how happy are people who switch their car insurance to Geico?† which is then followed up by â€Å"happier than a camel on ‘Hump Day.† Although the appeal of humor is meant to grab the attention of the target audience, their main reason for choosing to use Geico’s service is the feeling of achievement that they derive. In Jib Fowles’ essay â€Å"Advertising’s Fifteen Basic Appeals† he cites ‘the need to achieve’ as one of the 15 strategies which enable advertisers to reach their audience. For most consumers, the market place is seen as a competitive territory where whomever comes out having spent the least amount of money is the victor. Thus, Geico effectively advertises its service by highlighting the opportunity to â€Å"save 15 percent or more on your car insurance† by switching to Geico. Not only do they illustrate the money that can be saved, but also the time. Along with the ’15 percent’ that can be saved, Geico also mentions that this can be done in ’15 minutes;’ a relatively short amount of time . As a consequence, Geico puts their consumers in a win-win situation because â€Å"the person who manages to buy something at fifty percent off is seizing an opportunity and coming out ahead of others† while they enable them to do it in an efficient manner (Fowles). Geico’s use of the ‘need to achieve’ appeal is characterized as the most reasonable way to solicit their service as it takes nothing away from their customer, while it gives them everything in return; they don’t have anything to lose. However, humor, which Fowles labels as a stylistic feature, is most prominent in order to incite the interest of car owners. This commercial, in particular, is known for its comedic success. The ridiculous camel has become a viral sensation as it is now considered amusing to yell out â€Å"Hump Day† on a Wednesday. In fact, the commercial has over 16 million views on Youtube. Ultimately, Geico does a great job of exposing its overall message about achievement sense the build up to their trademark slogan is so appealing in itself. If 16 million people know about a camel yelling â€Å"hump day,† then 16 million people know about the time and money that can be saved by using Geico’s insurance. Jibs’ appeal of achievement is one that correlates completely with our society. We constantly strive to compete and win while we admire those who reach the pentacle of their field or profession; even if it is about something as minimal as saving money . Geico, in particular, gives people the incentive to achieve by offering people them the opportunity to save their time and money, and they respond accordingly. However, it is not the promise of ‘getting ahead’ alone that attracts their target audience; humor, is a fundamental component that is used to grab and keep the customer’s attention. Apparently, Geico does this better than anyone. What better way is there of holding a car owner’s attention then by having an obnoxious, talking camel yell â€Å"Hump Day!†? That was a rhetorical question; there is not a better way. Geico is just the best.