Whistleblowing and the Sarbanes

Whistleblowing and the Sarbanes The Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act was enacted with the aim of improving accountability, transparency and outright disclosure of financial information in publicly-traded companies. Whistle blowers are also protected by the same Ac t in section 1107. This brief essay explores a recent whistle blowing incident at the department of Veteran Affairs (VA) and relates the occurrence with provisions of SOX.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Whistleblowing and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More One of the dominant characteristics of a whistleblower is that the individual is usually altruistically motivated. In other words, it is not possible to whistle blow against wrong doings in an organization without the element of motivation. In any case, whistleblowing is a risky undertaking owing to the underlying consequences. Second, utilitarianism is a common characteristic of most whistle blowers. This refers to a state whereby a person values normative ethics more than hiding the truth. Hence, such individuals are eager to optimize utility within their areas of influence or operation. Lack of suffering, economic wellbeing and pleasure are some of the key components of utility. Third, whistle blowers are not interested in changing their behaviors and that is why they act with an independent mind. They are self-driven. They also permit personal attitudes and beliefs to propel their actions. In most instances, whistle blowers are well-informed, educated and intelligent individuals who are well versed with knowledge from a particular discipline.  In June 2014, it was established that the Department of Veteran Affairs in the United States had been engaging in acts of sabotaging the views of staff members regarding its operations (Lichtblaujune, 2014). For example, falsified patient appointment program had been rife at the department for a long. Individuals who would attempt to raise their voices concerning malpractices in the department would be severely disciplined or even released from their jobs. Both former and current members of staff at the department recorded the same concerns. The fake scheduling books coupled with longer waiting times for patients were two major scandals affecting the reputation of V.A. as a result, several complaints regarding these improper practices have been forwarded to external whistle blower groups, lawmakers, unions and a number of federal watchdogs.Advertising Looking for research paper on business corporate law? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Due to the whistle blowing incidence, the Veterans Affairs chief was compelled to resign and investigations started immediately. The whistle blowers did not suffer any consequence. They only faced retaliation actions when they were still active in employment.  The whistle blowers were indeed justified in reporting the malpr actices at the Veterans Affairs department because the vice reflected wrong information on the operations of the department. It aggravated service delivery to clients and worsened workplace relationship of employees. Citing doctor shortage as the reason for long wait by patients was just an excuse to cover up the scandal.  Second, employees who ever reported the vice in the past were victimized. Tis implied that the action was not good at all. Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the whistle blowers could have been protected in a number of ways (Lenn, 2013). For instance, section 1107 of the Act prefers a criminal charge for any public officer who victimizes a whistle blower. Employees who have been threatened with either firing or demotion at VA would not have feared reporting the on-going scandal because any person charged with the offence of retaliating would face a criminal offence. The executive organ of the Veteran Affairs would have feared to face criminal charges leveled against them owing to retaliation attempts. In addition, the new piece of legislation would have compelled the management team of the VA to disclose all accounting information to the benefit of whistleblowers. Owing to such provisions in place, it would have been quite restrictive for the executive organ at VA to threaten, dismiss or even abuse the basic right of employees in the organization. References Lenn, L. E. (2013). Sarbanes- oxley act 2002 (SOX) 10 years later. Journal of Legal Issues and Cases in Business, 2 (1), 1-14. Lichtblaujune, E. (2014). V.A. Punished Critics on Staff, Doctors Assert. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/16/us/va-punished-critics-on-staff-doctors-assert.html?ref=topics

Ratatouille 2007 Animation Accent

Ratatouille 2007 Animation Accent Disney animated films attach different accents to different characters. It remains a wonder then whether the use of various accents represents different levels of characters in these films. The question remains as to whether there is a systematic way within which accents are used to come up with different character traits?Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ratatouille 2007: Animation Accent specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Given that Disney animated films is an American company, the most common accent that is likely to be used is GA or General American. This accent is likely to be attributed to good characters, on the other hand English with a foreign accent and/ or RP i.e. Received Pronunciation represents the accents that are likely to be attributed to less favorable characters. Other than looking at how accent has been used in Ratatouille to portray different stereotypical kinds of characters, this article will also look at how this compares with Rosina Lippi-Green’s work, â€Å"Teaching Children How to Discriminate†. The assumption that social pressures to conform with stipulated modes of behavior, lifestyle and prevailing culture has had its fare share of determining how Disney use accents in its animated films cannot be far from the truth. The issue of ethnicity is reflected by allocating an accent to a character inline with his or her perceived ethnic background. The setting of the movie also determines the accent to be allocated to characters. If the setting is in a place where use of GA is unlikely, then RP is used instead. Use of accents in animated films can help reveal societal norms by showing what accents are preferred to others. Through the use of accents as an artistic device, the movie audience can easily infer the various characters background, intelligence, social status, race or ethnicity among other traits. Thus, accents in movies reveal stereotypes attached to different people at any given one time. The use of accents in animated movies can be used as a way of promoting standard language ideology to children. This is easily achieved when there is a direct correlation between the character and the accent. Since animated movies are intended for children, stereotypical features are clearly defined and there is certainly no need of second guessing.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Ratatouille is an animated film for children despite the fact that it has so many story strands that are related to adults. The characters in the movie use strong French accent that is quite difficult for children to figure out what is being said. The title of the movie is derived from a French soup not to mention that it is ironical in how it sounds as the co starring in the movie is a rat named Remy who forges an alliance with Linguini the talentless c hef who is about to be fired. Linguini tells Remy†Let’s think this out, you know how to cook, and I know how to†¦. appear human†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Remy is guided by an apparition of Auguste Gusteau that helps him to intervene through Linguini when a soup that has been tampered with is about to be served in Gusteaus’s restaurant. Through Remy’s genius, the savor of the soup is improved and it attracts accolade that saves Linguini’s job who gets promoted instead of being fired. Ratatouille is set in Paris, France and the dominant accent is French which suits the setting, however, the protagonist speaks GA, for instance when asking Remy a question â€Å".Uh, whatto I do after the onions?† Therefore, a question arises as to whether the use of language is biased towards spreading a standard language ideology towards children. The question can be best answered by noting how all chefs are denoted to speak French-accented English. Lippi-Green noted t hat in all French films, the prototypical French who are truly French are the characters concerned with food preparation. This means that the setting of the movie is not the issue in allocation of French-accented English; rather, this accent is used stereotypically to represent characters that are truly French. The hero is depicted as a male and his aide a lady, chef Collette who speaks French-accented English. She is depicted as being kind and less sophisticated i.e. when she says â€Å"What is this? Keep†¦.your†¦ station clear! , I’ll make this easy to remember, Keep your station clear†¦. or I will kill you!† Anton Ego the villain who criticizes food made by Linguini speaks French-accented English and his looks are those of an evil person.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Ratatouille 2007: Animation Accent specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In this film, the three rats namely Remy, his br other and father and Linguini speaks GA while most of the characters speak English with French accent. The movie setting naturally makes as presume that the characters should all speak French accented English even if they are animals, also, Linguini a human should not speak GA as he is in France and his name which means pasta does not indicate that he is an American in any way in any case he is all French just like the rest of the characters. This bias shows that accent has been used as an artistic device to make Linguini stand out as the ideal hero. By selecting GA as the ideal accent for the protagonist, all that Disney is doing is try and conform to the expectations of the audience. This indicates people’s attitudes towards some accents. If the hero should speak some other accent other than the GA, the audience could deem that to be improper and they could easily react negatively since such a trend is simply not right. In Lipi Greens article â€Å"Teaching children how to discriminate†, she argues that characters in Disney films are used to teach children how to discriminate through the use of different accents. In her book, she notes that French accents are manipulated with the aim of portraying a positive stereotype but the outcome of results can be quite the opposite. She also observed how gender is used in Disney films. Sounding white was portrayed as the best way to be desirable. Children are made to believe that the ideal male characters that are on the lookout for female companionship are those that speak United States English (Lippi-Green, 1990, 87). In this book which looks at how Disney perpetuates stereotypes and discrimination towards gender, ethnicity, nationality etc, Lipi Green observes how French accent is manipulated to associate French characters with food and as being teasing. The name of the protagonist Linguini means pasta and name Collette means victory for the people.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Through such manipulations, children learn to associate the learned stereotypes with the French culture and nothing less. This means that despite Disney’s good intentions, the overall effect can be that of limiting children’s view of the actual nature of French people. Lipi Green cautions that Disney producers should not misuse accent to negatively stereotype people as most animated movies are watched by children. Lippi-Green, Rosina. Teaching Children How to Discriminate. Hampton: Hampton Bluebell, 1990. Print.

Give an account of the carbon cycle within the global ecosystem Essay

Give an account of the carbon cycle within the global ecosystem - Essay Example Enhancing the understanding of biological aspects of the world carbon cycle is significant in foretelling possible effects of climate change, estimating the viability of adaptation to change in climate, and strategies of mitigation as well as informing crucial policy choices. Extensive understanding is required into the function of bacterial organisms in various crucial activities of the carbon circulation. In various cases, such microbial facilitated processes are lowly reflected in the models of the carbon cycle that may hinder predictive ability and resolution scale, (Cowie, 2007, p.43). Reduction of black boxes will need creative approaches directed at connecting in operational and practical microbial community attributes with qualitative measurement of the process of the carbon cycle. Carbon is an extremely critical element, as it constitutes organic matter that is a crucial aspect on all forms of life. Carbon assumes a critical path on ecosystem - the carbon flow or cycle, (KondratÊ ¹ev, Krapivin and Varotsos, 2003, p.32). Therefore, through tracing the carbon cycle route, scientist can study flows of energy on the earth because some of the chemical life requirement is found in organic matter as bonds between atoms of carbon and other atoms. The carbon circulation mainly entails land carbon cycles and marine flow. The aquatic cycle entails the flow of carbon elements via marine environments while the terrestrial cycle involves the flow of carbon via terrestrial environments. Atmospheric CO2 originates from various sources such as natural and human activities. CO2 and other natural gases (greenhouse gases) in the air absorb earth’s radiation, taking up atmospheric heat and leading to earth atmospheric warming, (Archer, 2010, p.21). Even though, a greenhouse also functions by taking up sun energy, the physical processes involved are different. The cycle of carbon is anchored on CO2

The Theory of Continental Drift Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Theory of Continental Drift - Research Paper Example He also argued that continents emerged from a â€Å"super continent† referred as Pangaea. The glacial till deposits found at the southern hemisphere indicated glacier movement. This was seen with the continents closely fitted together with motion from southern Africa and Northern Australia. The presence of the glacier with the stationery continent’s, would have only meant that the continent would have been full of ice which was not the case. The only logical argument was that there was continental drift or the movement of the poles. Scientists also supported Alfred’s theory of continental drift by coming up with their own arguments to support the theory. Paleomagnetism, which occurs when magnetized minerals of the earth formed from the cooling of magma on the earth surface, aligns with the earth’s magnetic field. Rocks with different magnetization from that of the earth’s surface did not agree with their position on the earth’s surface. This resulted to movement of the magnetic poles. Paleomagnetic data was evident in North America and Europe. According to (Hess, 1960, p 7) â€Å"Not only were the continents moving, but the sea floor was also moving†. Hess argued that, the movement of the sea floor in a belt fashion explains how the young rocks were found at the mid ocean ridges. This rocks also had magnetic properties. The mantle convention is the movement of the sea floor. ... Evidence presented initially did not make any sense and seemed farfetched. "Wegener's hypothesis in general is of the footloose type, in that it takes considerable liberty with our globe, and is less bound by restrictions or tied down by awkward, ugly facts than most of its rival theories.† (McGeary 1999 p.5). The major problem being that Alfred could not provide them with convincing evidence to support his theory. Alfred’s argument that continents were in motion like icebreakers plowing through sheets of ice, and that centrifugal, tidal forces are the ones that caused them to move was opposed by scientists who calculated that, forces strong enough to move this continents would stop the earth from rotating in less than one year. Wegener’s incorrect predictions, stating that, North America and Europe were moving 250cm apart every year. Alexander Du Toit, a South African geologist, supported it for the close similarities of fossil and strata between Africa and South America. There was support awarded to Wegener but only after his death though most of the geologists still believed in static continents. Later most Plate tectonics were widely accepted by most geologists (1960). Wegener’s theory of the of the conventional drift was of the idea that, the mantle under the earth’s crust would experience thermal convention and the convention currents would move resulting to an upwelling under the earth’s crust, forcing it to cecede and move. The hypothesis asserting that the earth crust comprises of lighter rocks resting on heavier ones, resembles that of icebergs floating on water. Wegener argues that, positions of the continents are not rigidly fixed, but move slowly. According to the

Professional Juries Essay Example for Free

Professional Juries Essay Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Juries represent an essential element of criminal justice system. Professional juries are expected to sharpen the power of trial presentation. To implement professional juries, the criminal justice system will need to overcome several obstacles. Professional juries will bring objectivity and reason into criminal justice proceedings. Professional Juries   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Criminal justice faces numerous legal inconsistencies. Besides ethics and morality, trial representations frequently require legal professionalism of the juries. The implementation of professional juries into the U.S. criminal justice is viewed as an extremely positive phenomenon. Using professional, instead of lay juries will create several significant benefits on the overall system of criminal justice in the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Professional juries will take objective professional decisions. Non-professional lay jurors do not want to serve and find the trial to be an inconvenience (Mitchell, 2005). Professional jurors will pay more attention to the proceeding and to their own decisions. Professional juries will carry direct liability for their decisions. The greatest benefit to an admission of liability is the potential to gain an enormous amount of credibility with the jury (Decision Quest, 2008). Professional juries will ground their evaluations on professional legal knowledge. Professional jurors could become proficient at determining which evidence is critical or relevant and which is not (Bruno, 2006). Professionalism will eliminate bias in criminal justice, and professional juries will be available for the criminal justice proceedings whenever the system needs them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By implementing professional juries, the criminal justice system faces several serious challenges. Using professional peers requires additional financial resources. Professional juries require being paid for their services (Bruno, 2006). Persuasive professionalism may result in complacency and cynicism. Professional prominence can turn the criminal justice into a league of fame once professional juries become widely known (Bruno, 2006).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Juries must be professional. Legal professionalism of the juries is an effective instrument of eliminating bias in criminal justice. The state possesses sufficient financial resources to prepare and support professional jurors. A juror should be a thoughtful judge of each criminal case. Professional jurors will bring objectivity and reason into criminal court proceedings.                  References Bruno, N. (2006). Why trust justice to amateurs? The National Law Journal, January 30. Retrieved April 02, 2008 from http://www.sheppardmullin.com/assets/attachments/353.pdf Decision Quest. (2008). The pros and cons of admitting liability. Decision Points. Retrieved April 02, 2008 from http://www.decisionquest.com/litigation_library.php?NewsID=126 Mitchell, T. (2005). How the jury system should be reformed. The American Daily. Retrieved April 02, 2008 from http://www.americandaily.com/article/6558

Security in dorm halls Essay examples -- essays research papers

Security in dorm halls on universities across the nation is a huge problem that each campus must address, due to the amount of people living in such close quarters. Residence hall security should be an important factor in the college decision making process. Today’s college freshman arrives for the first day of his/her college career hampered with personal property of substantial value. Most students come to college equipped with an advanced computer system and can be the target of burglary. Many other items of value accompany the student. Sexual assaults are also a potential problem. The possibility of theft and sexual assaults make residence hall and individual room security a basic prevention strategy. To ensure a safe campus, it is imperitive to secure residence halls and escort all guests.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most college students do not think about the repercussions of being lazy about security in their respective residence halls. However if there is no attention paid to who comes in and out, many crimes can and usually do happen. For instance, at the University of Connecticut, a survey of 690 undergraduates found that more than half of dorm residents say they have propped open a secured door. Nine out of ten know someone else who have also done the same. Half of those students who had witnessed these doors left partly open, knew of incidents where strangers had come into the building unescorted. Of those strangers, one in five knew of a crime that resulted b...

International Communication

Declaration l, the undersigned, hereby declare that this is my own and personal work, except where the work(s) or publications of others have been acknowledged by means of reference techniques. I have read and understood Tutorial Letter CANALLED/301 regarding technical and presentation requirements, reference techniques and plagiarism. Table Of Contents Page Introduction Essay: Globalization & South Africa Conclusion Sources 2 5 6 The term ‘globalization' gives rise to a lot of different meanings and interpretations.Globalization has its own negative and positive effects on the world today. It has opened the free markets which enables trades between countries, and therefore increases the living standards in these particular countries. However, there are still some developing countries that have fallen behind and have not kept up with the pace of change of development. It has had many impacts both negative and positive on South Africa and its people. Globalization & South Africa Page | 2 As an emerging democracy, in the past South Africa had to contend with the demands of both national and international issues.This included rising unemployment, poverty and inequality. At the same time, South Africa had to become a contender in the globalizes world of capital, trade and changes in technology. The free market that has been created by globalization has allowed for less developed countries to learn from more developed countries, therefore allowing people to advance and succeed economically. Globalization affects South Africans lives in so many ways. Most times it seems we are a land that is stuck between our interesting yet difficult past while trying to move forward to embrace all that the future could old.Often poorer countries that are not connected to people globally, are unskilled due to the lack of knowledge and equipment. They are also unable to trade with the other countries which are richer and larger as they are unable to meet the demand. Enabling pe ople of one nation to communicate with those of other nations is the biggest achievement in terms of globalization. It has provided the production market with an improved access to a wide range of foreign products and as a result, globalization has increased and helped in the production of goods for import and export.By increasing production and lowering costs, South Africa is able to take advantage of access to these free markets and allow for more trading with international consumers. This will help the country to not only increase export profits but also employment. An important factor of globalization is that it is able to remove barriers and promote mobility. By opening borders it exposes people to opportunities for example – as established company like Macdonald is able to expand their countries like South Africa. Thus creating employment and strengthening the economy.This exposes young South African entrepreneurs to more advanced ways ND ‘know-how in running a bu siness. The globalization of the economy and the demands on the workforce that goes with it, requires an education that allows learners to think independently, to exercise Judgment and teamwork to make sense of new situations. Education teaches how to learn, problem-solve and incorporate the old with the new in our ever changing society. Foreign interest and investment will be directly linked to education and training.Due to increased competition from globalization, companies are more willing to aid their employees with courses or financially with studies. This enables them to be more efficient and effective within the organization. â€Å"Standard of living refers to the level of wealth, comfort, material goods and necessities available to a certain socioeconomic class in a certain geographic area. The standard of living includes factors such as income, quality and availability of employment. † (www. Wisped. Org) According to this definition of standard of living, globalizati on has a positive influence on a developing country such as South Africa. It increases the availability of goods, opportunities and potential of income for South Africa. Poverty stricken countries are instantly playing ‘catch-up' with the rest of the world in terms of technological advances. The standard of living is measured by the income per person which has increased in South Africa over time, thus proving that globalization has had a positive impact on the economy of South Africa.Page | 4 Due to globalization, South Africa has had the opportunity to ‘rub shoulders' with economic giants such as the United States, Japan, United Kingdom and China. This enables our country to learn from other countries and stabilize our economic infrastructure. South Africa has been able to learn better methods of communication, rainspout and distribution networks that make business activity possible. With globalization we can learn to constantly improve and develop our economic infrastr ucture from power house economies. Government regulation is when the legislative and executive branches set and enact laws that determine how a specific task, business, or industry is supposed to run. † (wry. Answers. Ask. Com) For a developing country such as South Africa to gain knowledge on regulation regarding laws, ideas or patterns of behavior from across the globe, it is important to have good relations with first world leaders. The different levels and branches in government are there to help deal with issues the country faces, but sometimes this inequality in power has devastating effects.State power and functions are sometimes abused and this has a direct impact on the citizens and development of the country. Information technology is a driving force of globalization and the advancement of video calling and teleconferencing making business that much more efficient, it increases the communication processes. Technology has something to do with change. Most of the innov ations from the technological advances have very important effects on the lives of peoples of the world, which has witnessed radical changes.The use and production of CIT plays an important role in the ability of nations to participate in global economic activities. Conclusion Page I All sectors including economic, political, technological, cultural and environmental are directly affected by, and fall under the ‘umbrella' of globalization. The term and definition of globalization shows us how we are all interconnected and interdependent in some way and how our lives have taken shape around the rapid and ongoing changes in the world.

Global Beer Market Trends Essay

At the turn of the century, the top 10 brewers accounted for just over one-third of global beer sales volumes. The past decade has seen a rapid consolidation, resulting in the top four brewers – Anheuser-Busch InBev, SABMiller, Heineken and Carlsberg – accounting for almost 50% of beer sales volumes and up to 75% of the global profit pool2. Consolidation has continued in the past 12 months with further transactions in Mexico and China. As the pace of consolidation slows in the future, organic volume growth is expected to come from developing markets along with value creation opportunities in developed markets. Alcohol trends Category trends show a dichotomy between developing and developed beer markets. With incomes rising in emerging markets, consumers have shifted from informal, often commoditised, unregulated forms of alcohol to aspirational, attractively branded and safer beer products. The period from 1999 to 2008 saw commercially produced beer increasing its share of total alcohol consumption in emerging markets by over 800 bps from 32. 8% in 1999 to 41. 2% in 2008 on a pure alcohol basis. The same period saw a moderate decline in developed markets to 35. 2% in 2008. The economic crisis caused an overall downturn in 2009 – one that was further exacerbated by government fiscal pressures leading to increases in beer excise and other taxation in order to raise funds. The consequent consumer price increases have constrained beer volume growth while favouring unregulated forms of alcohol. As the global economy improves, rising incomes continue to be a significant factor in developing beer markets as the category grows at the expense of illicit, high-alcohol spirits. In Africa, Latin America and Asia in particular, the rise in consumption is closely correlated to population and income growth3. Beer growth trends Over the past five years the beer category has maintained a compound average growth rate (CAGR) of 3. 5% globally. However, this reflects two very different pictures in emerging and developed markets with emerging markets growing at an average rate of 6. 8% while developed markets declined by 3. 4%. The largest contributors to this growth have been China (now the world’s largest beer market), Africa and Eastern Europe. Given the economic pressures, total global beer consumption grew by less than 1% in 2009. That said, strong growth trends continued in some key emerging markets. China recorded an increase of over 7%, despite being hampered by heavy snow and wet weather that affected consumer demand. Africa experienced robust growth of 4%, driven by Angola, DR Congo, Mozambique and Nigeria. In Eastern Europe, certain beer markets contracted in 2009 as rising unemployment and declining on-premise consumption halted growth. Regulatory challenges created further headwinds in markets such as Russia and the beer market there declined 6% as a result. Macroeconomic indicators improved in some markets in the last three months of 2009. However, the drivers of beer consumption such as falling unemployment and rising consumption expenditure are expected to lag behind the recoveries in GDP. North America, hit hard in 2009 by high unemployment, particularly among men of beer-drinking age, is expected to see only slight growth. Globally, the beer market is expected to grow by 1. 5% in 2010, led by a continuing strong performance in Asia, Africa and Latin America. China is expected to grow by 6. 5%, Africa by 3. 1% and Latin America by almost 3%. Western Europe is expected to continue the trend of declining beer volumes, driven by a shift in consumption to other beverages and the decline of on-premise consumption. Looking further ahead to 2014, the top 15 growth markets are forecast to deliver compounded annual growth of 3%. China is expected to account for more than 45% of this growth with the USA, Vietnam, Brazil, Ukraine, Russia, Mexico and Peru making up most of the balance. Beer segment trends Across consumer goods sectors in general, the trend towards premiumisation accelerated in the past decade but slowed in the last 18 months as economic conditions worsened and consumers reverted to mainstream and economy segments. As economies improve, the trend towards premium will resume as consumers become more willing to pay for authentic, more image-oriented brands that reflect their socio-economic and lifestyle aspirations. The premiumisation trend has not altered the fact that beer remains very much a local beverage in terms of both production and consumer brand preferences. International brands account for just over 6% of the world’s beer consumption and this proportion has changed little over the last 10 years. Rather, what has happened is that urbanisation and a growing middle class in emerging markets have led to the growth of local premium brands. These offer premium packaging, positioning and variety, but are sold at a price accessible to many more consumers than international imported products. The resulting scale and higher profit margins make this a very attractive industry segment. 1. All data sourced from Canadean unless otherwise noted. 2. BofAMerrilLynch report: Investing in Global Brewers 19 April 2010. Canadean, Internal analysis. Principal risks The principal risks facing the group, which have been considered by the board, are detailed below. The group’s well-developed risk management process is detailed in the corporate governance section of the Annual Report and our financial risks are discussed in the Chief Financial Officer’s review and in note 22 to the consolidated financial statements. Risk: Industry consolidation Context? The global brewing industry is expected to continue to consolidate, albeit more slowly, creating opportunities to enter attractive growth markets and realise synergy benefits from integration and to leverage global scale. Risk? Failure to participate in value-adding transactions; overpaying for a transaction; and failure to implement integration plans successfully after transactions are completed. Possible impact? Lower growth rate, profitability and financial returns. Mitigation 3. Potential transactions are subject to rigorous analysis. Only opportunities with potential to create value are pursued. 4. Proven integration processes, procedures and practices are applied to deliver expected returns. 5. Activities to deliver synergies and leverage scale are in place, monitored closely and continuously enhanced. Associated strategic priorities * Creating a balanced and attractive global spread of businesses. * Constantly raising the profitability of local businesses, sustainably Risk: Change in consumer preferences Context? Consumer tastes and behaviours are constantly evolving and competitor activity is increasing and becoming more sophisticated. Strong brand portfolios together with excellence in marketing and sales execution are required if we are to meet consumer, shopper and customer needs. Risk? Failure to ensure the attractiveness of our brands; failure to continuously improve our marketing and related sales capability to deliver consumer relevant propositions. Possible impact? Market positions come under pressure, lower volume growth rates and profitability. Mitigation 6. Ongoing focus on building our marketing and sales capabilities through continued roll-out and enhancement of the SABMiller Marketing Way. 7. Ensuring that our brand equities remain strong through relevant innovation and compelling marketing programmes. 8. Ongoing evaluation of our brand portfolios in every market to ensure that they target current and future opportunities for profitable growth. Associated strategic priorities * Developing strong, relevant brand portfolios that win in the local market. * Constantly raising the profitability of local businesses, sustainably. * Leveraging our skills and global scale. Risk: Management capability impairment Context? We believe that our people are our enduring advantage. It is essential therefore that we identify, develop and retain global management capability. Risk? Failure to develop and maintain a sufficient cadre of talented management. Possible impact? Potential lower long-term profitable growth. Mitigation 9. Effective and well-developed strategic people resourcing and talent management processes. 10. A strong culture of accountability, empowerment and personal development. 11. Standardisation of key processes and best practices across the group through the roll-out of the SABMiller Ways. Associated strategic priorities * Developing strong, relevant brand portfolios that win in the local market. * Constantly raising the profitability of local businesses, sustainably. * Leveraging our skills and global scale. Risk: Regulatory changes Context ? The alcohol industry is coming under increasing pressure from regulators, NGOs and tax authorities as the debate over alcohol consumption continues in many markets. Risk? Regulation places increasing restrictions on pricing (including tax), availability and marketing of beer and drives changes in consumption behaviour. Possible impact? Lower profitability growth and reduced contribution to local communities in some countries. Mitigation 12. Rigorous adherence to the principle of self-regulation backed by appropriate policies and management review. 13. Constructive engagement with government and all external stakeholders on alcohol-related issues. 14. Investment to improve the economic and social impact of our businesses in local communities and working in partnership with governments and NGOs. Associated strategic priorities * Creating a balanced and attractive global spread of businesses. * Developing strong, relevant brand portfolios that win in the local market. * Constantly raising the profitability of local businesses, sustainably. * Risk: Raw material volatility * Context ? Recent volatility in the supply and pricing in some of our key raw materials. * Risk? Failure to obtain an adequate supply of brewing and packaging raw materials at competitive prices. * Possible impact? Lower profitability and occasional supply disruption. Mitigation 15. Contractual agreements with suppliers covering multiple time horizons, combined with an active hedging programme. 16. Programmes to support development of local sourcing for certain key commodities, such as barley, in Africa, India and Latin America. Associated strategic priorities * Constantly raising the profitability of local businesses, sustainably. * Leveraging our skills and global scale. * Risk: Economic environment * Context ? Recent global recession with weak GDP growth projected in 2010. Uncertain economic growth and rising unemployment have resulted in weak consumer demand which has, in some cases, been compounded by currency weakness. * Risk? Our marketing, operating and financial responses may not be timely or adequate to respond to changing consumer demand. * Possible impact? Lower short-term growth rates and profitability. Mitigation 17. Actions to restructure operations in certain countries to reflect current or expected deterioration in local economic conditions. 18. Maintaining and extending our local industry leadership positions through appropriate investments in our brands, focus on local execution and development of commercial capability. 19. Increased emphasis on cash flow management. Associated strategic priorities * Creating a balanced and attractive global spread of businesses. * Developing strong, relevant brand portfolios that win in the local market. * Constantly raising the profitability of local businesses, sustainably. * Risk: Delivering transformation * Context ? The group has begun executing a major business capability programme that will simplify processes, reduce costs and allow local management teams to enhance focus on their markets. * Risk? Failure to execute and derive benefits from the projects currently under way. Mitigation 20. Senior leadership closely involved in monitoring progress and in making key decisions. 21. Rigorous programme management and governance processes with dedicated resources. Associated strategic priorities * Constantly raising the profitability of local businesses, sustainably. * Leveraging our skills and global scale. * * Possible impact? Increased project costs, business disruption and reduced competitive advantage in the medium term.

clarence laughlin essays

clarence laughlin essays Clarence John Laughlin was born in 1905 in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He lived on a plantation near New Iberia. He attended high school for one year in 1918 due to the death of his father. He then worked at many jobs from 1924 to 1935. Laughlins interests were with the writings of Baudelaire, Rimbaud, and the French Symbolists. They inspired him to write poems and stories. In 1934 he began to take photographs. His first one-man show was held, in 1936, at the Isaac Delgado Museum, New Orleans. Laughlin spent one year taking fashion photographs for Vogue magazine. He specialized in color photography during World War II. Since 1946, Laughlin worked as a freelance photographer of contemporary architecture. He published his photographs in a book called Ghosts Along the Mississippi in 1948. Following this, he lectured and had many publications and exhibitions displaying his work. From about 1970 on Laughlin concentrated on writing about his photographs and the world of fantasy. He died in 1985. Laughlin went through a great many style changes in his photographs. Only a few will be looked at and discussed. During his early career, he focused on taking pictures involving glass. He was fascinated with glass because it acts so variably and subtly with light: offers so many suggestions that so-called reality is not the simple thing we usually conceive it to be: that reality embodies many planes and many kinds of meanings. Laughlin believed that it gave off a magic quality. He also was drawn to taking pictures of the old, desolate and worn down buildings of New Orleans. Laughlin felt that these buildings, due to their appearance, were lost in time. He treated them as psychological and poetic documents and not as ordinary historical pieces of architecture. He brought them meaning. During his mid career he began to perform color experiments. Laughlin believed that t...

Conjugating the French Verb Penser (to Think)

Conjugating the French Verb Penser (to Think) The French verb  penser  is an important word to know because it means to think. You will use it quite often when you speak French, so its a good idea to study and memorize the verbs conjugations. This lesson will demonstrate how to do that and form the present, past, and future tenses of penser. The Basic Conjugations of  Penser Verb conjugations in French are the equivalent of adding an -ing  ending in English to forms words like thinking. We must first identify the verb stem- for  penser  that is  pens-  - then add the appropriate ending to match the subject pronoun and tense of the subject. French students will be happy to know that  penser  is a  regular -er verb. It follows the most common conjugation pattern found in French. If youve studied similar words like  passer  (to pass) or  demander  (to ask), then this lesson will be easier because it applies the same endings. In the simplest form, this is done in the indicative mood for the present, future, and imperfect past tenses. These are the forms of  penser  that you will use most often, so I am thinking is  je pense  and we will think is  nous penserons. To help you commit these to memory, try using the conjugation in simple sentences. If you need some ideas, there are plenty of common phrases that use  penser. Present Future Imperfect je pense penserai pensais tu penses penseras pensais il pense pensera pensait nous pensons penserons pensions vous pensez penserez pensiez ils pensent penseront pensaient The Present Participle of  Penser The present participle of penser is pensant. Notice how this was formed by simply adding -ant to the verb stem. Penser  in the Past Tense The past tense can of  penser  is expressed with either the imperfect or the  passà © composà ©. To form the latter, you will construct a short phrase using the  auxiliary verb  avoir  and the  past participle  pensà ©. For example, I thought is  jai pensà ©Ã‚  and we thought is  nous avons pensà ©. Look carefully and youll notice that the only conjugation needed was  avoir  in the present tense and that the past participle  pensà ©Ã‚  doesnt change. More Simple Conjugations of  Penser Consider the conjugations above to be your top priority when studying  penser. When youre comfortable with those, add these other simple conjugations to your vocabulary.   Each of these has a specific purpose. For example, the subjunctive expresses uncertainty in the action of thinking while the conditional says that something else must happen in order to think. The other two verb forms- the passà © simple and imperfect subjunctive- are used more often in formal French, but they are good to know. Subjunctive Conditional Pass Simple Imperfect Subjunctive je pense penserais pensai pensasse tu penses penserais pensas pensasses il pense penserait pensa penst nous pensions penserions pensmes pensassions vous pensiez penseriez penstes pensassiez ils pensent penseraient pensrent pensassent You will use the imperative form of  penser  when saying direct and very short commands such as Think! When doing so, theres no need to include the subject pronoun. Simply say Pense ! Imperative (tu) pense (nous) pensons (vous) pensez

SDLC methodologies Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SDLC methodologies - Assignment Example In recent scenario, it is applied within the organizations, as it facilitates time-efficient strategy. This paper intends to provide a brief explanation related to the advantages and disadvantages of these applications in the modern day scenario within a technological project. Advantages and Disadvantages of JAD Advantages JAD delivers optimum satisfaction to its customers by accelerating the design of the product. The application of JAD within any technological project ensures quality and fosters effective team work with the customers. Furthermore, JAD is implemented to create a new product design on the basis of customer’s perspective. This particular software facilitates reduction of developmental and the maintenance costs. Additionally, JAD assists the facilitator in collection of high quality information within a short tenure. Any inconsistency can be resolved easily with the help of the mechanism provided by JAD. Furthermore, JAD implementation assist in deriving multipl e opinion as it encompasses ‘Customers Decision Makers’ and IS staff, which enhances the quality of the particular technological project (Rosenblatt, 2013). Disadvantages The organization using the JAD process must have a clear knowledge of its usage. It can only ensure effective and useful results, when the concept is clear to the users of this program. This process requires ample amount of labor in planning and its application. For performing various activities related to this process, technically trained employees are required. In order to facilitate efficient usage of JAD, it is the responsibility of the organization to impart training to the required staff. Additionally, the stakeholders of the organizations must ensure sufficient time and labor towards the implementation of the process. In comparison to the traditional method, JAD is quite expensive and burdensome (Rosenblatt, 2013). It has been ascertained that if the team extends the size of the project, JAD app lication becomes complex in nature. In essence effective application of JAD software ensure qualitative product, which is to be acquired from the concerned technology project. Advantages and Disadvantages of RAD Advantages Application of RAD initiates accelerated speed during the process, which reduces the deliverable time. RAD increases the speed by incorporating ‘Computer Aided Software Engineering’ tools, which facilitate conversion of required material within a short period. Furthermore, implementation of RAD ensures qualitative deliverables. Additionally, RAD ensures quality deliverables by inculcating the users within the analytical context and the design stage. Moreover, RAD identifies lesser risks involved in the project due to the prototyping method Applied within (Core Partners, n.d). Disadvantages Although RAD being a very cost efficient project, it cannot be applied for the smaller projects as, cost determination in this particular application remains ambigu ous.. In this process both the customers and the developer’s participation is needed. If not done then the entire process would be unsuccessful. The major drawbacks of this process starts with the initiation of prototype and lasts till the application runs. Furthermore, to implement RAD, it involves a huge amount of resources and costs, which might not be possible to be afforded by the small and the medium-scaled organization (Core Partners,

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 20

Business - Essay Example There are various steps involved in developing and implementing organizational strategies. These steps are important part of strategic planning process. According to the requirements of a company, strategic planning process is developed. Based on that planning process a company is able to build strong and effective strategies. In this planning process an organization analyse its external and internal environment. If the strategy fits with the company’s criteria and expectations then as per the plan, strategy is implemented by the organization. In this case study the importance of strategic planning in developing organizational strategies has been critically evaluated. Many explanations are reasons are provided for showing the importance of strategic planning in forming strategies. There are some negative aspects of strategic planning for which this planning process is avoided by some companies. Strategic planning process mainly relies on figures, analysis, forecasts etc. If those data are not updated then the entire planning process and the strategy becomes wrong. Planning process of strategy consumes huge amount of time. As a result it is not always possible for companies to spend so much time in planning strategies. Sometimes strategic planning process increases confusion in developing strategies (Hooley, Piercy, and Nicoulaud, 2012). But if these factors are handled tactfully then strategic planning contributes a lot in developing effective strategies. Companies get a clear idea about its strengths and weakness by conducting strategic planning process. They can utilize its strengths effectively with the help of good strategic which is only possible through strategic plans. Top managers and Board of Directors of a company make strategic decisions. But before forming a strategy they do different types of analysis programs to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategy.