Multiple Regression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Multiple Regression - Essay Example They help in assessing the likely value of the regression coefficients in the population. Model Fit: It provides a statistical test of the models ability to predict the outcome variable and also the value of R, R2 and adjusted R2. Estimates: They give the estimated coefficients of the regression mode. The test statistics and their significances are also obtained for each regression. Here T-test is used to see whether each b differences significantly from zero. Durbin Watson: This test statistic tests the assumption of independent errors. If the value is different from value Z, then it is cause of concern. When this data is run on SPSS taking Satisfaction as dependent variable and functional, Epistemic, Social, Emotional, Conditional as independent variables, we get the following outputs. The first output is the Descriptive statistics. Descriptive Statistics Mean Std. Deviation N Satisfaction 5.1369 1.18900 389 Functional 5.4989 .91570 389 Epistemic 5.3492 .95148 389 Social 5.3209 1.27152 389 Emotional 5.4961 1.04150 389 Conditional 3.4679 1.01706 389 This table gives the mean and standard deviation of each of the variables. This is useful for summary of data. Correlations Satisfaction Functional Epistemic Social Emotional Conditional Conditional Pearson Correlation Satisfaction 1.000 .555 .618 .339 .565 .004 Functional .555 1.000 .509 .221 .520 .011 Epistemic .618 .509 1.000 .328 .531 .109 Social .339 .221 .328 1.000 .338 .148 Emotional .565 .520 .531 .338 1.000 .154 Conditional .004 .011 .109 .148 .154 1.000 Sig. (1-tailed) Satisfaction . .000 .000 .000 .000 .471 Functional .000 . .000 .000 .000 .415 Epistemic .000 .000 . .000 .000 .016... Once the dependent and independent variable are selected, the method for variables to enter can be selected or to be removed using any of the methods say stepwise, Remove, Backward or Forward. When clicked on the statistics, the estimate confidence intervals and model fit are selected and in the residuals Durbin-Watson is selected. The significance of each of these is as follows. Estimates: They give the estimated coefficients of the regression mode. The test statistics and their significances are also obtained for each regression. Here T-test is used to see whether each b differences significantly from zero. The correlation matrix gives the Pearson correlation coefficient between every pair of variables. It also gives the one significance of each correlation. Here we observe that the correlation is significant with p

The American School System Essay Example for Free

The American School System Essay Education is what keeps a society thriving; its what enables a society to thrive and create productive individuals who can keep the educational process on-going. The whole purpose of education is to enlighten us with truths, and create knowledgeable people. We must ask ourselves, what is the point of creating knowledgeable people? We answer this with a question in return; where would we be without knowledgeable people? In The Republic, Plato extensively analyzes these questions, and helps us come to the conclusion that without education, people would be as clueless as inanimate objects. We can come to the consensus that knowledgeable people are the ones who prosper in life, and overcome lifes harsh obstacles. How do they do it? They are able to do it because they have the ability to think and evaluate. We also asked ourselves where does one receive this knowledge? In todays world, one would receive it through â€Å"education. † And where does one receive the education? At school. Plato had a vision that the attaining of knowledge should be one full of thought, opposing ideas, and intricate study. With that said, I believe that Plato would not think too fondly of the current American public school system! â€Å"Unless a man is able to separate out the idea of the good from all other things and distinguish it in the argument, and, going through every test.. you will deny that such a man knows the good itself, or any other good? † Plato is saying that unless a person is able to distinguish right from wrong, he or she will not know good itself. This ties in with the role of education because education should help us achieve that according to Platos view. Education should assist us in distinguishing right from wrong, good from evil. American public schools arent doing this, and I know this because I go to one. In American schools, its all about memorizing facts, and more facts. Nowhere in between are we taught how to tell from good and evil; how to tell if were being taken advantage of. Its almost as though teachers are scared to teach us this; as though they are confined to teaching us what has been approved by others. Plato states that students and learners should be exposed to many opposing ideas. This is what creates intellectual thinkers. Because American public schools dont offer an environment where students can analyze opposing ideas to their own, Plato would not be satisfied with our educational system. Throughout his allegory, Plato talks about how dialectic is supposed to be introduced to learners in order to challenge them with opposing views and ideas. â€Å" the power of dialectic alone could reveal it to a man experienced in the things we have just went through † Plato is saying that education through the form of dialectic is the most prosperous and intellectual way to learn and teach. American public schools dont offer a lot of dialectic seminars, so Id have to say that Plato would show great disapprobation to the way American public schools are run. Hed think that American public schools are run in a very prosaic manner. Kids inputs are not really valued, resulting in students who are not very ardent towards school. This may be the explanation for why kids are dropping out of school at all-time highs. Plato would also find disappointment in American public schools due to the lack of conspiracy theories, or interfering ideas. Plato was extremely vernal about the teachings of opposing ideas, and conspiracy theories fall directly under that category. Plato would be shocked to see that students believe everything that is taught to them at schools. He would wonder if any of the students had the capacity to think for themselves, and be able to analyze data and determine according to their own accord whether it is truth of false. I know conspiracies are not being taught at American public schools for a fact because whenever I head up to a teacher to talk to them about the possibility of 9/11 being an inside job, they closed their mouths and dare not to say anything. Plato would be astonished that societys very own educators are scared to include conspiracies or other forms of opposing ideas in their teachings. Although there are quite a few reasons for why Plato might think poorly of the American public school system, theres also reason why he might praise it. â€Å"Well then, the study of calculation and geometry and all the preparatory education required for dialectic must be put before them as children.. † Plato is stating that mathematics, and other forms of calculation, are fundamental to education. In todays age, we do place a big emphasis on math. I believe that Plato would be impressed by this. I believe its safe to say that Plato would be quite disappointed with out current public school system. Hed be wondering why the system doesnt place a large enough emphasis on dialectic and the teaching of opposing ideas, or in other words conspiracy theories. I couldnt blame Plato. I agree with most of his points made. I strongly feel that schools should offer new ways of teaching, and new material to teach.

Essay on Obsession in Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Obsession in Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Webster defines obsession to be "Compulsive, often anxious preoccupation with a fixed idea or unwanted emotion." Or, "A compulsive, usually irrational idea or emotion." The strange thing about obsession is the absolute inability of the person, once obsessed, to understand their own actions in retrospect. Both Victor Frankenstien, of Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Henry Jekyll, of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde fit the criteria of one who is obsessed. With Victor Frankenstien, obsession came in the form of a lust for fame. Victor’s own word reflect his inability to understand or control his own actions. "a groan burst from his heaving breast. †¦ he spoke, in broken accents: Unhappy man! Do you share my madness? Have you drunk also of the intoxicating draught? Hear me; let me reveal my tale, and you will dash the cup from your lips!" Victor describes his actions as those of a man possessed by "madness," or one who is "intoxicated." In his refusal to take personal responsibility for his actions, he blames (four times ) destiny or fate. Victor’s actions are those of a man possessed by his own desires, turning a blind eye to the possible consequences of his actions until the completion of the event by which he was obsessed. Upon succeeding in reanimating a dead body, or more accurately the composition of parts from various dead bodies from both human and animal bodies, Victor recoils in horro r. "How can I describe my emotions at ... ...f for, are of no concern when compared to those of Victor and Henry. And yet, I think of them as being quite destructive in my own world. I suppose that by reading these novels, I can learn from their mistakes. Or, perhaps more honestly, I am obsessed with the vicarious thrill and terror that I experience through them. I hope, for my sake, that the former is true. Perhaps the reason I enjoyed these readings so much is that I identify with both Victor and Henry to a small extent. I know from experience that I am capable of being captured by an idea or desire. Perhaps the reason I so vehemently abhor the actions of these two characters is that I secretly fear that I would be susceptible to the same weaknesses that they were. Indeed, perhaps we all are.

Analysis of the Oil Industry Essay -- Oil Rockefeller Petroleum Busine

Analysis of the Oil Industry I. The Oil Industry The oil industry can not be discussed without mentioning the name John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller changed the business of oil distribution. In the 19th century Rockefeller began his humble beginnings with a small investment, along with two other partners, in the oil refining business. Eventually Rockefeller upset at the direction of the company bought out his partners. He was now buying into refining and developing kerosene and other petroleum-based products. He later named this company The Standard Oil Company which by 1872 nearly owned all the oil refineries in Cleveland. In 1882, Rockefeller took all his holdings and merged them into the Standard Oil Trust. Through smart business practices and some deception, Rockefeller was able to control three-fourths of the petroleum industry by the 1900’s. After his retirement the company faced problems. (Rockefeller archive) The U.S. government believed that the Standard Oil Trust was a monopoly and ordered its breakup much like the process that is taking place today with Microsoft. With the government eventually breaking up the trust into thirty-eight companies, the world of petroleum products was about to change. Few companies could survive. They lacked focus and sustainability, basically they needed a strategic plan. When first broken up the companies needed to sever from their Standard ties while remaining a brand name that people recognized. With so much competition one company had to find an edge over the other. They needed to be the low-cost leader in the industry. Out of this struggle is where three of the biggest oil companies emerged. They are Exxon, Mobil and Chevron. With the breakup of the Standard Oil Trust also ... ...y be left at the bottom as they are now. In conclusion, of the three, ExxonMobil is the dominant company but must look out for the growing company, Chevron. BIBLIOGRAPHY BP’s Corp., Official Home Page: www.bp.com. BP’s Corp. 1999 Annual Report, BP Corporation, 1999. Chevron’s Corp., Official Home Page: www.chevron.com. Chevron’s Corp. 1999 Annual Report, Chevron Corporation, 1999. ExxonMobil’s Corp., Official Home Page: www.exxon.mobil.com. ExxonMobil’s Corp. 1999 Annual Report, ExxonMobil Corporation, 1999. Haddadin, Haitham. â€Å" Stock Crash Reminds Pros of 1973-74 bear market† U.S. Market News, March 1, 2001. Park, Christopher. â€Å" S. Korea, Russia agree to strengthen oil, gas cooperation† U.S. Market News, Feb. 27,2001. Yahoo: www.rockefeller.edu/archive.ctr/jdrsrbro.html(3-1-01) Yahoo: www.leegallery.com/perjune.html (3-1-01)

Latino Race Ethnicity and Place in the USA Essay

– Race: people who share physical characteristics, such as skin color and facial features that are passed on through reproduction – social construction: a societal invention that labels people based on physical appearance. – Skin color, hair texture, and eye shape are examples of unequal treatment – Ethnic Group: a group of people who identify with a common national origin or cultural heritage that includes language, geographic roots, food, customs, traditions, and/or religion. – Puerto Ricans, Chinese, Serbs, Arabs, Swedes, Hungarians, Jews – Racial-Ethnic Group: people who have distinctive physical and cultural characteristics. Immigrants – Illegal immigrants do the jobs that most Americans don’t want like clean homes and offices, nannies and busboys, nurses’ aides, and pick fruit for low wage Dominant and Minority Groups: – Dominant Group: any physically or culturally distinctive group that has most economic and political power, the greatest privileges, and the highest social status. – Men are dominant group because they have more status, resources, and power than women. – Apartheid: a formal system of racial segregation – Minority: a group of people who may be subject to differential and unequal treatment because of their physical, cultural, and other characteristics such as sex, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or skin color. – American minorities have fewer choices than dominant group members in finding homes and apartments because they are less likely to get help from a bank to help with mortgage. – Patterns of Dominant-Minority Group Relations: – Genocide: the systematic effort to kill all members of a particular ethnic, religious, political, racial, or national group. – Holocaust in Germany – Segregation: the physical and social separation of dominant and minority groups. – De Facto: informal; may be voluntary as when members of racial or ethnic groups prefer to live among their own group. Due to discrimination -De Jure: Legal; replaced by de facto – Assimilation: the process of conforming to the culture of the dominant group, adopting its language and values, and intermarrying with that group. – Mexicans are less likely to assimilate in the US than immigrants from the Philippines, Vietnam or South Korea because they are more likely to have entered the country illegally which cuts them from getting a good job, most public assistance programs, and eventual citizenship – Pluralism: minority groups retain their culture but have equal social standing in a society. – The US is pluralistic because it is multicultural, multicolored, and multilingual. Also, the US has most racial and ethnic communities (â€Å"Little Italy†, â€Å"Greek Town†, â€Å"Little Korea†, â€Å"Spanish Harlem†) live peacefully side by side Some Sources of Racial-Ethnic Friction – Racism: a set of beliefs that one’s own racial group is naturally superior to other groups. – Prejudice: an attitude, positive or negative, toward people because of their membership. – Different from us in race, ethnicity, or religion. Asians are really hard workers; White people can’t be trusted – Stereotype: an oversimplified exaggerated generalization about a category of people. – Can be positive; All African Americans are athletic – Can be negative; All African Americans are lazy – Ethnocentrism: the belief that one’s own culture, society, or group is inherently superior to others. – Reject those outside of our groupÃ'Ž – Scapegoats: individuals or groups whom people blame for their own problems or shortcomings. – They didn’t hire me because the company wants blacks; I didn’t get into that college because Asian Americans are at the top of the list Minorities are scapegoating targets because they differ in physical appearance and too powerless to strike back. – Stereotypes, ethnocentrism, and scapegoating are attitudes, but lead to discrimination. – Discrimination: any act that treats people unequally or unfairly because of their group membership. – Range from social slights (not inviting a co worker to lunch) to rejection of job application and hate crimes. – Can be subtle (not sitting next to someone) or blatant (racial slurs) – Individual Discrimination: harmful action on a one-to-one basis by a member of a dominant group against a member of a minority group. – Discrimination while eating in restaurants, shopping, buying house, applying for job, etc. – Institutional Discrimination: unequal treatment and opportunities that members of minority groups experience as a result of the everyday operations of a society’s law, rules, policies, practices, and customs. – Heath services; minorities get lower quality care than white people even when treated by the same doctor. – Relationship between Prejudice and Discrimination: – Robert Merton described the relationship between prejudice and discrimination as 4 patterns; 1. Unprejudiced Nondiscriminators: â€Å"All-weather liberals† They aren’t prejudiced and don’t discriminate; they believe in the American creed of freedom 2. Prejudiced Discriminators: â€Å"Active Bigots† They are prejudiced and do discriminate. They are willing to break laws to express beliefs 3. Unprejudiced Discriminators: â€Å"Fair-weather liberals† ; They aren’t prejudiced but they discriminate because its in their own self interest to do so 4. Prejudiced Nondiscrimination: â€Å"Timid Bigots† They are prejudiced but don’t discriminate. Major Racial and Ethnic Groups in the US – European Americans: immigrants from southern and eastern Europe; they viewed newcomers as dirty, lazy, and uncivilized because they differ in language, religion and customs. – Latinos: many Latinos who were professionals in their native land only find low-income jobs in the US. They often have a hard time to both work and learn English well enough to pass exams to become doctors, lawyers, and accountants. Many are successful though. Earn better hourly wages because they are older, better educated, and more likely to be employed in construction than agriculture. – African Americans: They are successful. A third of all black households earn incomes of $50,000 or more. – Asian Americans: the most successful Asian Americans are those who speak English relatively well and have high education levels. Have higher educational levels than any other US racial-ethnic groups. Most likely to be concentrated in highly skilled occupations like information technology, science, engineering, and medicine. – American Indians: they are not immigrants, they have been in the US longer than any other group. They have made considerable economic progress by insisting on self- determination and the rights of tribes to run their own affairs. Most of them work in construction and repair, maintenance, and personal and laundry services. – Middle Eastern Americans: one of the most diverse and complex combinations of geographic, historical, religious, linguistic, and even racial places on Earth. Tend to be better educated and wealthier than other Americans. Well integrated into American life. Three of four speak only English at home or speak it well and more than half are homeowners. Sociological Explanations of Racial-Ethnic Inequality – Functionalism: (macro) Prejudice and Discrimination can be dysfunctional, but they provide benefits for dominant groups and stabilize society. – Conflict: (macro) Powerful groups maintain their advantages and perpetuate racial-ethnic inequality primarily through economic exploitation – Primary Labor Market: held primarily by white workers, provide better wages, health and pension benefits, and some measure of job securityÃ'Ž – Secondary Labor Market: (fast-food employees) are largely minorities and easily paid, their wages are low, there are a few benefits and working conditions are poor. – Feminist: (macro and micro) Minority women suffer from the combined effects of racism and sexism. – Gendered Racism: the overlapping and cumulative effects of inequality due to racism and sexism. – Symbolic Interactionism: (micro) Hostile attitudes toward minorities, which are learned, can be reduced through cooperative interracial and interethnic contacts. – Attitudes toward dominant and minority groups through labeling and selective perception can increase prejudice and discrimination. – Contact Hypothesis: the idea that more people get to know members of a minority group personally, the less likely they are to be prejudiced against that group Interracial and Interethnic Relationships: – Miscegenation: marriage or sexual relations between a man and a woman of different races. – The increase in intermarriage reflects many interrelated factors both macro and micro that include everyday contact and changing attitudesÃ'Ž

How May Disagreement Aid the Pursuit of Knowledge

How May Disagreement Aid the Pursuit of Knowledge How may disagreement aid the pursuit of knowledge? The development of this answer can come with different answers having different examples to support your evaluation. However, the first thing that this paper requires is to have a concise definition of disagreement. Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on How May Disagreement Aid the Pursuit of Knowledge? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More I define disagreement as a state of opposition or contrast between two persons, opinions, or interests. It created a contradicting opinion to what another person says while reinforcing personal beliefs and opinions regarding an issue (Sethi and Muhamet 57-95). However, many regards of disagreement focuses on it to be negative in relation to the experiences of our world because it may contribute to wars or political issues. The global population as a should perhaps think disagreement as a positive aspect because from the start of the human population, the world has incredibly modernized thanks to disagreement between people or ideas, which brought more concise thoughts that then led to more global knowledge. It means that people need to have some degree of disagreement for them to develop a capacity of reaching consensus on issues that are capable of contributing to positive worth. In fact, we can arrive to the conclusion that nothing would have improved in our world if humans agreed on everything since the start. Disagreement occurs when presenting two or more options. Having different ideas will then lead to choosing one of them, and to choose one of them we need to have a sort of conclusion that may be achieved by having a more detailed reasoning and also having a reasoning to explain why the other options are wrong. Disagreements only mean that there is another approach to an issue other than what the other party considers and that leaves room for negotiation to reach an agreement. However, it is never possible t o reach agreements on all occasions of disagreement but people can always make compromise if peace should prevail. I planned to have examples on women that would still be discriminated by men, Africans that would still be in chains, and the discovery of the continents like America or Australia. For the scientific part, instead, I wanted to talk in economy about new classical view and Keynesian view, and for sciences, I do not have any ideas the only thing that I wanted to take, as an example is something in physics.Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The rights of women have been an issue for a very long time. It has taken feminists a lot of activism to have the plight of women heard so that male chauvinists relieve them from that form of oppression. Of course, this is amidst of men who maintain a superior position above women and never have the heart of considering women as p eople of any worth. The disagreement about the rights of men and women is a very simple one but it keeps producing multiple instances of disagreements as evidenced in many cultures. For example, one universal positioning of women has been in the kitchen. Many cultures though that women were not qualified for any intellectual prowess and the best place for them was to be in the kitchen, to take care of babies and to keep the home (Wojcieszak 206-225). The most ridiculous part of this was the probability of the woman’s duty as being taking care of men. However, through feminist activism, such beliefs are no longer demeaning the capabilities of women, as it emerges that women have equal intellectual capabilities just as their male counterparts. That is positive disagreement and without disagreements, women would still belong to the kitchens instead of the taking up big intellectual and professional challenges like is the case currently. Other cases of disagreements are in the s lavery of Africans there were controversial decisions to make regarding slavery and freedom. Those against slavery had to disagree with those who encouraged slavery. The disagreement was on treatment of Africans fairly while those who enslaved them felt that they did not deserve such treatment. In fact, being that Africans provided cheap labor, letting go of them was not easy not mentioning treating them in equal scales as whites (Fernandez 439-452). The discovery of the continental plates faced several disagreements as well. There were disagreements regarding the development of continents. The controversies over the formations and tectonic movements are discussed in many geological studies. Such disagreements occur because of the continued movement and arrangement of the plates leading to formations of new subduction zones. Accretionary events also produced new features such as highlands and blocked seas making it necessary for the getting explanation of such developments. Evident ly, it takes a lot of study, data collection and presentation of evidence for the resolution of such disagreements regarding tectonic history. The technology field is the most challenging and it couples a number of disagreements, which have led to positive and negative impacts. It is worth recognizing the development of software as an area that produces disagreements on grounds of the ethical back up they may present as well as their practice. One possible aspect to consider is the development of viruses, which remains an aspect of controversy since its onset (Yang and Wang 608-612).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on How May Disagreement Aid the Pursuit of Knowledge? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There are also economics disagreements such as on the classical views of the Keynesian and the new classical views. These are examples in which economic problems viewed in either of the approaches seems to be the best form at for resolution. However, in the dropping of the old classical notions, the acceptance of the Keynesian concept brought an optimistic look into the practice and approach of economic implementation of strategic practices (Sethi and Muhamet 57-95). It was the onset of issues of transparency in sectors such as banks for the promotion of stability in markets and improvement in practice other than the former privacy, which promoted a series of lack of credibility in the economical fields. It is through fundamental disagreements on issues that economists find better ways of tackling issues of inflation in the global arena. Any feasibility constraints by the former regime must be legally tackled to create macroeconomic performance changes appropriate for the development of effective monetary policies for the reconciliation of any discords. Each side of a disagreement holds an argument they believe to be true and the other side always disagrees. Therefore, depending on a disagreement, s omething positive or negative can be the result (Woerkom and Karin 139-149). Disagreements led to discovering of continents like America or Australia and to many other discoveries holding the truths about the history of the world. There are also scientific discoveries, which resulted from initial disagreements on concepts and there it always the need for understanding the development of knowledge from disagreements. It is through disagreements that people take deeper insights onto issues. These insights form the basis of arguing points disagreed upon and developing of agreements. These maybe positive or negative, but have produced some reckonable historical, scientific and economic positives (Yang and Wang 608-612). Fernandez, A. (2012). Future(s) of American Legal History. University Of Toronto Law Journal, 62(3), 439-452. Academic Search Complete. Web.Advertising Looking for essay on philosophy? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Sethi, Rajiv, and Muhamet Yildiz. Public Disagreement. American Economic Journal: Microeconomics 4.3 (2012): 57-95. EconLit with Full Text. Web. Woerkom, Marianne, and Karin Sanders. The Romance Of Learning From Disagreement. The Effect Of Cohesiveness And Disagreement On Knowledge Sharing Behavior And Individual Performance Within Teams. Journal Of Business Psychology 25.1 (2010): 139-149. Business Source Complete. Web. Wojcieszak, Magdalena. Pulling Toward Or Pulling Away: Deliberation, Disagreement, And Opinion Extremity In Political Participation. Social Science Quarterly 92.1 (2011): 206-225. EconLit with Full Text. Web. Yang, Wang, and Wang Luqian. Software Industry Cluster Be Disagreement On Theory And Practice. Engineering 2.10 (2010): 608-612. Academic Search Complete. Web.

TMA1 Lodge bistro Essay

TMA1 Lodge bistro Essay TMA1 Lodge bistro Essay Lodge Bistro Chain To: Patricia Lodge From: iphonedave Date: 26/10/2013 TMA 1. Part A. Having reviewed the case study of Lodge Bistro Chain I have put together this informal report outlining problem areas within the business. A lack of consistency and structure across the chain, this can become extremely problematic, employees need rules and procedures to ensure everyone knows what they are doing and what’s expected of them by the company. A clear lack of continuity with the interior design of bistros - store managers whitewashing the wallpapered walls. An aging image and concept, based on competition setting up a much more up to date look on a French bistro. Lack of Regular communication, head office relaxed the frequency of audits from 8 page spot check reports being done at least once a month to infrequent scheduled manager meetings. If the manager knows you’re coming you will never see a true representation of the bistro. High Staff Turnover in the East Cheam Bistro added with poor financial performance means bad management Part B. I have decided to use the SWOT Analysis which is based on Capons work (Preston et al 2006) SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Now when thinking about threats we need to consider the potential damage these could cause to your organization’s performance within the marketplace or the external environment. The threat might come from an external factor like a competitor or an internal source such as bad management. We will go on to outline some opportunities I see moving forward to see if we can appeal to a wider market and of course your strengths, we need to touch on these so you know what you’re doing well so we can develop and grow them. Threats. Growing competition in the sector in the form of restaurants, cafes, multiple fast-food chains, coffee bars, independent and chain restaurants, cafes in supermarkets and book shops. Even the French bistro concept had been copied and the chain Cafe Rouge had opened over 100 outlets across the country, all new and catering much more to the ever evolving needs of the consumer. The Recession has caused your core demographic (older adult) who already spend less comparative to their younger counterparts to now spend even less. Bad management, because you lost structure and allowed managers to make up their own rules standards slipped, experienced staff left and new staff jumped ship as soon as they became productive. Strengths. Established chain of 25 branches, the experience of your long term staff employed for a number of years, as well as the enthusiasm of younger and new employees. Part 3. I want to offer some ideas and opportunities I feel will help your business moving forward. Take on board the opinions of both the new and existing staff, perhaps not fully bringing back the old strict approach, while retaining some of the modern relaxed approach will maintain high standards and keep staff happy. Offer staff a set training

Tear Gas - What to Do If You Are Exposed

Tear Gas - What to Do If You Are Exposed Tear gas (e.g., CS, CR, Mace, pepper spray) is used to control riots, disperse crowds, and subdue individuals. It is intended to cause pain, so exposure to it is not fun. However, the effects of the gas usually are temporary. You can expect relief from most of the symptoms within a couple of hours of exposure. This is a look at how to prepare for a potential encounter with tear gas, with tips on how to respond. Symptoms of Tear Gas Exposure stinging and burning of the eyes, nose, mouth, and skinexcessive tearingblurred visionrunny nosesalivation (drooling)exposed tissue may develop a rash and a chemical burncoughing and difficulty breathing, including a feeling of chokingdisorientation and confusion, which may lead to panicintense anger The disorientation and confusion may not be totally psychological. In some cases, the solvent used to prepare the tear gas may contribute to the reaction and may be more toxic than the lachrymatory agent. What to Do Tear gas usually is delivered in the form of a grenade, which is fitted onto the end of a gas gun and fired with a blank shotgun cartridge. Therefore, you may hear shots being fired when tear gas is used. Dont assume you are being shot at. Do not panic. Look up when you hear the shot and avoid being in the path of the grenade. Tear gas grenades often explode in the air, delivering a metal container which will spew gas. This container will be hot, so do not touch it. Do not pick up an unexploded tear gas canister, since it could explode and cause injury. The best defense against tear gas is a gas mask, but if you dont have a mask there are still steps you can take to minimize damage from tear gas. If you think you might encounter tear gas you can soak a bandana or paper towel in lemon juice or cider vinegar and store it in a plastic baggie. You can breathe through the acidified cloth for several minutes, which should give you sufficient time to get upwind or reach higher ground. Goggles are a great thing to have. You can use tight-fitting swim goggles if chemical safety goggles arent available. Dont wear contacts anywhere you might encounter tear gas. If you are wearing contact lenses, immediately remove them. Your contacts are a loss as is anything else you cant wash. You can wear your clothes again after you wash them  but wash them separately that first time. If you dont have goggles or any sort of mask, you can breathe the air inside your shirt, since there is less air circulation and therefore a lower concentration of the gas, but that is counterproductive once the fabric becomes saturated. First Aid First aid for eyes is to flush them with sterile saline or water until the stinging starts to abate. Exposed skin should be washed with soap and water. Breathing difficulties are treated by administering oxygen and in some cases using medication that are used to treat asthma. Medicated bandages can be used on burns.

Royal Bank of Scotland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Royal Bank of Scotland - Essay Example Majority of the bank’s success in the last decade has been accomplished by a combination of internal innovation, organic growth, and significant acquisitions (Aoki, 2000). The performance of the bank in 2005 demonstrated the capability of the company’s growth, with the growth of customers in all its divisions. The average customer loans and average customer deposits were up to 23 percent and 17 percent respectively during this period. However, the bank has had its pitfalls and failures leading to resignation of the CEO, Fred Godwin with hefty pension (Barba, 2005). This brings up the questions, what are the reasons behind the failures of Royal Bank of Scotland? To what extent were the corporate governance practices responsible for these failures? And how could Royal Bank of Scotland avoid these failures? In order to answer these questions, this paper will discuss the case of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s corporate governance. ... Royal Bank of Scotland functions as an international financial and banking service group offering a broad range of services and products to commercial, personal, and big institutional and corporate customers through its two major subsidiaries. Royal Bank of Scotland was behind the launch of the first successful UK offset account of mortgage with Virgin. This model has currently been translated to the US and Germany successfully. The primary aspect of the Royal Bank of Scotland strategy is to establish the strategic options and the constituent flexibility and diversity mean that growth is independent of one specific market development or economic scenario. This kind of approach and its associated benefits are reflected in the results of Royal Bank of Scotland (Citrin, and Smith, 2003). In 2005, the Royal Bank of Scotland’s total income rose by about 14% contributed to mainly by its organic growth. This accounted for 70% of the increase. The company’s income ratio and cri tical cost was up held at 41%. Continued growth in profits, income and earnings are seemingly certain due to the innovation teams who operate in both the insurance and retail banking areas of the business. The developments of the 2005’s internal innovation included the Royal Bank of Scotland being the very first main international bank to publicly declare that it went live with the FX spot streaming trading through the Bloomberg Professional Service (Clarke, 2004). This kind of development of model electronic commerce complemented the existing electronic trading capabilities of the Royal Bank of Scotland on Bloomberg enabling the clients to trade Fixed Income and Foreign Exchange online from a single platform. Nevertheless,

Software engineering questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Software engineering questions - Essay Example A software and architecture similarity comes into being, from the urge for both of them to be concentrated in meeting customers needs. It implies that the nature of the software will be in line with customer’s specifications, or the construction of a building will be done so putting into consideration customers specifications. The customer will have to be involved in the process of production. The two fields are guided by legal requirements that have strictly followed by those who will be practicing them. The Legal framework defines the specification to be developed and adhered to from the design to completion. Software and architecture are both areas that strive to make sure that their output is reliable and thus meeting the customer’s demands. The two fields should be in possession of beauty that is, in the case of software should be attractive to the eye when seen and hence making it easy to be used by the client. The same case with the building structure; the constructed building should be as well appealing before the customer, and this portray a comfortable surroundings to the customer. Software engineering generates static examples of a piece of software that can be extracted and often implemented in different environments in line with the customer preferences and interpretation. On the contrary, building design will also create a static blueprint that will be used to build a static structure. The structure has to control the movements in the building and loads bearing capacities. The static architecture structure does not frequently change like the design in software engineering. Design handles how various components of the software operate together and the system components that can be vied externally. Hence, the architecture is a branch of design. On the other hand, design is deals more with the generation and development of a framework of small components that will also have the rules and regulations that ought to be adhered and used.

3M Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

3M - Essay Example Contemporary academic settings have acknowledged the need to develop and recognize cultural intelligence as the ability to interpret and understand diverse cultural underpinnings. In this regard, not because the way things are done in Russia are different from what 3M is accustomed to, it should already mean that the organization should not do business there – most especially if there are vast opportunities in the Russian market that could be tapped and ventured on. 3M must simply understand which cultural practices must be respected and could not be changed in their entirety. As a multinational organization that operates in other parts of the world, it already has vast experience and understanding of cultural diversities and how they can adapt and adjust to the way of life to succeed in Russia. Honestly, I strongly believe that 3M could do business in Russia provided that they respect the cultural values and traditions of its people. Being an organization that promotes ethical behavior, I am sure that they have acknowledged which cultural beliefs need to be accepted and could not be meddled with. As such, by respecting the cultural norms and beliefs of the Russians, including business practices, 3M could be assured that they will proceed with smooth business interactions within the ethical standards and moral codes of discipline. The moral codes of conduct, as well as ethical standards in business are more or less universal in perspectives. 3M, as the investing organization in Russia, has the obligation to adhere to moral, ethical and social responsibilities as employer and therefore, could expect employees to conform to these obligations. In so doing, by the rules of being role models, 3M could improve the ethical climate in foreign countries where it does business with. It is one’s contention that a practical middle ground could be established by finding an effective and acceptable balance between American and Russian ways

The challenge of differentiation and integration Assignment

The challenge of differentiation and integration - Assignment Example It is a formidable challenge in most organizations. This paper looks at the challenge of differentiation with specific reference to Google. Founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998, Google has grown to become a big company with over 12,000 employees. Google operates an intricate network of activities in various locations globally. It has established offices in various locations including in states such as California, Illinois, New York, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Washington, DC, Oregon, Michigan and South Carolina. Google has also established various international offices in locations such as the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia. As such, differentiation and integration becomes an imperative challenge to Google. Differentiation refers to the process by which an organization separates itself into various key components (Lawrence, and Lorsch 3). It is a common phenomenon among large organizations. Consequently, as an organization grows larger and expands its activities further, the more differentiated it becomes. Be that as it may, as an organization becomes more differentiated, the various components become more independent as they are conferred with a great deal of autonomy. Therefore, the business culture of such an organization may significantly differ as you move from one component to another. Differentiation is usually done based on varied premises. For example, an organization may decide to differentiate basing on the tasks or on the product offering. In this regards, an organization may opt to divide into departments that produce a given product and establish finance and marketing department for each of the differentiated product. Google has been differentiated into different departments including Information Technology, Engineering, Support, People Operations, Knowledge, Advertising, Technical Infrastructure, Mobile and Digital

Country Risk Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Country Risk - Case Study Example Currently, the company fails to reach an agreement with the Hong Kong government to fund a much-needed 301 acres of expansion and started to give employees the sack. HKDLD has been losing profits that leads to the present state of being. All creative and design works are halted leaving a "shell" of 10 member team after the stripping off the "imaginers" (Business Week, 2009). Walt Disney Company (WDC) may just walk away from the negotiation from the government to focus on the upcoming Disney Shanghai. Yet Disneyland is significantly a landmark and tourist attraction, the HK government can find no comfort zone in abandoning it or funding the business. The strategy is only to keep on improving it as a competitive edge over Disney Shanghai scheduled to open in 2014. This implies the need of constant influx of taxpayers' fund for HKDLD expansion to keep the economy on the road to recovery, even though the present spending hurts the country's expenditure with HKDLD's profit book in the red expectedly (NPR, 2009). The nature of the existence of the risks of this Private-Public Partnership (PPP) project occurs due to the complexity and uncertainty of the interaction of factors that includes financing, taxation, technical details, market conditions and changes over the duration of the project (Yin Shen, Platten, 2009). Hence for the HKDLD project, the risks affecting the project expansion are identified with their preventive measures. To achieve the value for money in PPP projects, risk are allocated between this pair of private and public sectors in partnership. The risks should be allocated accordingly with respect to the type of risk and the ability of either sector to mitigate them. Based on this principle the risks are outlined alongside the preventive measures by means of allocations of identified risks. During the start of the expansion, site acquisition risk is present in land acquisition and or during retaining or demolishing existing buildings. The HK government is responsible for ens uring the acquisition of the HKDLD site and protecting the site from any intrusion and all land uses in surrounding areas. The operational private partner is responsible for the operational process of site protection or demolition of existing buildings or facilities. In all construction, the risk associate with adverse underground conditions is taken care of by the private partner since they are in charge of site survey particularly on the underground conditions that deals with the stability of foundation and supply of utilities. Polluted land and surroundings is a risk borne by both sides by the right legal disposal of construction waste and enforcement of good house keeping. Land reclamation runs the risk of delay of construction and is allocated to the private partner for adhering to the project deadline Volatility of market changes is always present with factors such as the

The challenge of differentiation and integration Assignment

The challenge of differentiation and integration - Assignment Example It is a formidable challenge in most organizations. This paper looks at the challenge of differentiation with specific reference to Google. Founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin in 1998, Google has grown to become a big company with over 12,000 employees. Google operates an intricate network of activities in various locations globally. It has established offices in various locations including in states such as California, Illinois, New York, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, Washington, DC, Oregon, Michigan and South Carolina. Google has also established various international offices in locations such as the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Asia. As such, differentiation and integration becomes an imperative challenge to Google. Differentiation refers to the process by which an organization separates itself into various key components (Lawrence, and Lorsch 3). It is a common phenomenon among large organizations. Consequently, as an organization grows larger and expands its activities further, the more differentiated it becomes. Be that as it may, as an organization becomes more differentiated, the various components become more independent as they are conferred with a great deal of autonomy. Therefore, the business culture of such an organization may significantly differ as you move from one component to another. Differentiation is usually done based on varied premises. For example, an organization may decide to differentiate basing on the tasks or on the product offering. In this regards, an organization may opt to divide into departments that produce a given product and establish finance and marketing department for each of the differentiated product. Google has been differentiated into different departments including Information Technology, Engineering, Support, People Operations, Knowledge, Advertising, Technical Infrastructure, Mobile and Digital

Instrument Improvements of the Nineteenth Century and the Effects on Essay

Instrument Improvements of the Nineteenth Century and the Effects on the Wind Band - Essay Example There have been many different versions of wind instruments as they too have slowly evolved and improved with the passage of time. It is the intention of this paper to demonstrate how the invention of modern day wind instruments helped to bring the wind band out of the realm of pure functionality, and into the realm of artistic expression. Through the additions and improvement of modern wind instruments, the wind band is becoming another respected art medium. It was through the work of European wind instrument makers that all of the wind instruments gained the ability to play chromatic notes, allowing them to play melodies, and gradually changing the role of the wind band from one of functionality to artistic expression. In this paper, it is argued, wind band while attaining this status by way of instrument improvements, facilitated better scope for individual performance within the band without sacrificing the element of harmony and this was what contributed to the growth of wind ba nds as an artistic medium. Background The proposition that â€Å"invention and development† led to wind bands entering â€Å"musical life† in a big way, is an acknowledged fact.2 The major developments in this realm have been, the invention of saxophone, use of pistons in brass instruments, use of pistons in wood wind instruments, improvements made to the clarionet â€Å"by bass and contrabass†, development of a new form of oboe by incorporating â€Å"contrafaggotto†, and the emergence of the new brass instruments â€Å"in the lower bass section.†3 These changes and improvements were either effected simply by enthusiastic innovators or were made on demand from the master composers in order to meet their creative requirements.4 Above four thousand patents for innovations were allocated in France alone in the nineteenth century and among them, piano and wind instruments were the majority.5 In general, it was to â€Å"bridge over the long gaps and in tervals between [†¦] [the] open notes that all systems of valves, slides and keys are intended.6 This enhanced the quality of the music being produced and provided wind band music with an added dimension of individualism. Theobald Boehm The earlier existing forms of wind instruments were so under-developed that the creation of harmony using them was a near impossibility.7 In the early nineteenth century, European instrument makers were hard at work trying to devise a way to improve the tuning of wind instruments. The keyed bugle was the invention in the series of improvements to wind instruments and the inventor was Joseph Halliday to whom the product was patented.8 Theobald Boehm (1794-1881) was born in Germany and was â€Å"a professional flautist who became dissatisfied with the tone quality and imperfect mechanism of the old-style conical bore flute.†9 He decided to redesign his own flute after hearing a concert given by Charles Nicholson in London.10 Boehm was impre ssed by Nicholson's powerful tone drawn from his large-holed flute. In 1832, Boehm emerged from his shop in Munich with a new large-holed conical bore flute that incorporated interlocking rings with which to cover the 14 newly placed tone holes.11 Boehm did not start making cylindrical flutes until 1847 after studying and applying the science of acoustics to his instrument making.12 It would be another

Creative Writing Essay Example for Free

Creative Writing Essay Brooke stood outside of his trench now, leaning against the outside wall and smoking a cigarette. He inhaled and breathed out slowly, his eyes brimmed with tears as he stared up at the black sky, which every so often lit up with white light from an explosion somewhere. He closed his eyes and he willed away the tears, but rather than disappearing as he had hoped, they rolled down his dirty, pale cheeks and stung his rough lips. He watched indifferently as men went back and forth carrying stretchers laden with moaning men with horrific injuries. Once they came by carrying a young boy who Brooke thought could not have been any older than eighteen, he was covered in blood and had taken a serious blow to the head as he was blown back by a shell landing nearby. He was still and unmoving as the stretcher-bearers hurried him back to the infirmary barracks. Finally, a sergeant named Truman tentatively approached him. Sir? Yes, what is it? , he replied wearily. Sir, Private Atkinson is hysterical sir, hes frightening the other men and Sergeant Williams cant control him. Williams says can you please come, Sir? Brooke sighed. A deep long sigh. Yes all right, tell him Im coming. When the two men entered the trench all the men in the first battalion looked up with faces as dark as storm clouds and expressions which could melt a heart of stone. Brooke nodded at them as he strode past but they had no effect on him anymore. He marched straight up to where Atkinson and Williams were and sat down beside Atkinson. The boy lay shaking and muttering, he was hugging himself and rocking back and forth with his eyes tightly shut. As Brooke sat down next to him his muttering became louder and louder until he was almost shouting it. Theres no place like home. Theres no place like home. Theres no place like home. Theres no place like home. He kept saying it over and over again. Tears streamed down his face and his movements became more and more rigid. Brooke looked at Williams and then around the trench. Twenty faces stared back at him, watching his every move. He shivered. Atkinson? Atkinson, do you hear me? Atkinson nodded and continued muttering. Brooke noticed a large red mark across the young boys right cheek. Did you do this? he snapped at Williams. Williams shook his head. Brookes sharp grey eyes bore into him; he nodded and looked away. Brooke glared at him then, slowly with all the gentleness of a mother caring for her child, reached out and lifted the shaking Atkinson up to lean against him. The boy buried his head in his commanding officers shoulder and grasped at his shirt, sobbing. Atkinson he said, then continuing in a kind but stern voice. David, control yourself. David, we are all scared, but we must not let our emotions overcome us. Do you hear me? Yes Sir. Now, when you go home to your mother, you will meet a nice young girl whom you love very dearly and you will go on to spend the rest of your life with her. However, to do that you must first get through this. Now, you will survive this, but you have to try. Will you do that for me? Will you do that for your mother? Yes, Sir.   As the train pulled into the country station a man, around twenty-three years old stepped casually off and onto the platform. He breathed in deeply and looked around him; everywhere he looked he saw smiling faces and happy families. Dark memories of war clouded his mind; he shook them away and started at a brisk walk towards the town. He sat in the cool church watching the young couple stood at the altar beaming at each other. He listened to the vicar as he droned on, Do you David Atkinson take Anna Phillips? You see Thomas old chap? Life goes on.. Brooke thought to himself. Victoria Holland 11BM English Coursework Mrs Dukes Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Miscellaneous section.

Review of literature

Review of literature REVIEW OF LITERATURE Porters (1980) segmentation analysis has plenty of value to describe competition amongst participants. This approach establishes how and by which means positions of dominance are achieved. Studies based on this methodology have been applied to banking to assess the competitive process. Finlay (2000) suggested that Market Penetration fits strategically for a firm when current markets are not saturated for the types of offer the firm is making and its present customers can be induced to buy more. And typically, when a company wants to attack the market share of the competitors, they will undertake market penetration as a way of increasing their own share in the market. Similarly, Oster (1994) contended that the size of the market share held by the firm as well as the size of the major firms in the market are important considerations. He suggests that firms with relatively small market shares can increase their market share many times over without adversely affecting the overall market share of a large market leader. A study by Philp Robert, Haynes Paula, Helms Marilyn (1992) stated that growth through a market penetration strategy, reaching and influencing customers already served, has proved to be a less profitable course of action than expected. This strategy failed to achieve the projected growth not because of the basic plan itself, but rather due to its improper implementation. Financial service providers have typically viewed their primary customer base as males between 30 and 50 years old (Bartos, 1982). These men are seen as the primary wage earners and decision makers for financial planning in their households. Hence, this segment has been considered golden geese of the financial market. While some growth was achieved through the introduction of new financial products and services, the financial services needs of women and of consumers over 50 years of age were blurred for the financial service providers (Javalgi et al., 1990). (Schiele, 1974) suggested that a â€Å"Net† approach should be used to catch the youth market as they drift downstream from adolescence to adulthood. The research findings indicated that this is a simplification of reality and that a number of interrelated streams exist before young people reach the pond of adulthood, at which they are likely to be locked into a financial service organisation. Hence, in the highly competitive retail financial marketplace, it is more critical than ever to narrowly define the markets financial service provider can serve. Differentiation through claims of excellent customer service fails to provide competitive distinctiveness, particularly to key segments of the existing customer base. Many banks, over the years, have relied on intermediaries like DSAs, DSTs to reach out to the customers. Jensen-Macklin (1976) or Diamond (1984) in their studies have tried to justify the existence and effects of intermediaries. For them agents exist to reduce moral hazard and asymmetric information. There are different means adopted by the organizations to increase the number of services availed by the customers. Cross-selling is the practice of promoting additional products and services to existing customers in addition to the ones a customer currently has (Butera, 2000). The interest in cross-selling is due to its advantages for firms. Specifically, the selling of additional services to existing customers could reduce the need to spend money on customer acquisition (e.g. advertising) and lead to a pricing advantage over competitors (Reichheld and Sasser, 1990). It is reasonable to expect that customers with strong repurchase intentions will also be likely to cross-buy from the same service provider. This is consistent with the view that it is easier to cross-sell new services to existing customers than to the new ones. Study conducted by (Day, 2000), suggested that although customers may want to engage in a relationship with a service provider, they may not want to have all th eir services provided by that single provider For some service categories, customers intrinsically develop a multi-brand loyalty (Jacoby and Chestnut, 1978). For example, in the banking industry most households use two or more financial providers. (Reichheld, 1996; Anderson and Mittal, 2000). Howley John, Savage Grahame (1980) in their paper titled, â€Å"Bank marketing in the Personal Sector† discuss about Cross-selling, whereby having opened a current account, customers are sold loans, travel facilities, insurance and other services for further banking penetration of each customer. At the same time, there is a word of caution as well saying that theres undoubtedly great potential here, but there are dangers of placing too much emphasis on peripheral activities to the overall corporate purpose of being a bank. Raj Arora (2008) focussed on yet another important strategy to increase sales to existing customers Price Bundling. The study points out that the intent of bundle pricing is to increase sales by offering a discount when a pre-specified bundle of items is purchased at the same time. Usually, the additional items in the bundle are those that are complementary to the main product. The assumption is that the bundle priced items offer more value and are therefore more attractive to the buyer. The seller makes the buyer aware that the buyer is getting a bargain in the bundle because if the items are purchased separately, the aggregate price far exceeds the bundle price (Yadav and Monroe, 2003). While price bundling is frequently used by marketers, its effectiveness needs more research especially when used with other marketing variables. Murphy Ruth, Bruce Margaret (2003) stated that internet can be used to sell more existing products into existing markets. This can be achieved by using internet for increasing awareness of the firm. Bloch et al. (1996) proposed that e-commerce offers cost advantages to firms via less expensive product promotions. They also advocate that e-commerce can enable a company to implement customer focus strategies through better customer relationships. If the internet segment continues to grow and the branch banking segment shrinks, more customers will be using Internet banks and fewer customers using Branch banks (Heffernan 1996). But evidence also suggests that many companies have engaged in e-commerce activity, whether it is on a business to business or business to consumer basis (B2C), without any consideration towards a return on investment (Damanpour and Madison, 2001). One of the reasons for this may be that many businesses fear that without an Internet presence, the firm will get lef t behind. Hence a number of companies have turned their focus towards e-commerce, often by emulating the business module of another firm, as â€Å"me too† entities. Stafford David, King Susan (1982) stated that Marketing strategies which have been important to recent bank development include branch rationalisation and refurbishment, and promotional activities, especially advertising. Price competition has not yet achieved major importance between the big four and so price structures do tend to be relatively stable and similar between banks. A similar view shared by Neven (1990) and Vives (1991) is that banks, especially retail banks, do not compete in price but in service quality. RESEARCH GAP GOOD WAY TO MAKE GAPS Thus, we observe a number of important gaps in the literature. First, our knowledge is deficient on which foreign market entry modes service firms apply, and similarly, on target market selection. Next, it is also important to investigate if there are systematic differences within service industries in foreign market entry mode selection. Finally, are the internationalization theories and models developed for manufacturing industries applicable to firms in service industries? Or, is the internationalization process of services so unique that there is a need to develop separate theory to explain the internationalization of service firms? OBJECTIVES 1. To measure the penetration of banking products in different demographic profiles. 2. To find the neglected niches in existing markets served by the banks. 3. To identify and compare the means that public private sector banks adopt to attract new customers in existing market. 4. To study the consumer preference regarding the means that banks adopt to attract new customers in existing market. 5. To investigate and compare the methods used by public private sector banks to increase number of services availed by the customers. 6. To study the consumer preference regarding the methods used by banks to increase number of services availed by the customers. 7. To determine ways to increase usage rate of services consumed by the customers. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Tentative The study will be based on Primary as well as secondary data both with their well known limitations. For collection of data from customers, Stratified Random Sampling will be used. Convenience Sampling will be used for collection of data from the employees as the data will be collected as per availability and convenience. / Structured Interviews The secondary data has and will be collected from various sources such as International Journal of Bank Marketing, Indian Bankers Association Journal, magazines, research papers, books, internet websites etc. Scope of the study: Two Public Sector Banks – Punjab Sind Bank and State Bank of India have been selected for the study. ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank will form part of Private Sector Banks selected for study. Study will be carried out in different areas of Punjab. Universe of the study: Bank employees as well as the customers visiting the bank will be the universe of the study. Sample: Only the employees of the bank working at â€Å"Manager† designation and above will form the sample of the study. For purpose of collection of data from customers, every third customer walking into the bank will form part of the study. Sample size: The respondent data will be collected from 200 customers out of which hundred customers will be taken from public sector banks and rest from private sector banks. Number of employees of banks to be contacted for information will be 40. Out of this, twenty employees will be from Public Sector Banks and rest twenty would be private sector bank employees. Hence, the number of employees from each bank will be ten. Collection of Data: For the purpose of collection of data, two set of questionnaires will be prepared. First questionnaire will help in knowing the strategies being adopted by the banks to increase Market Penetration and would be filled by the bankers. Second questionnaire, to be filled by the customers will be used to collect preferences of customers related to various strategies being adopted by banks to increase Market Penetration. Analysis and Interpretation: The analysis will be done on the basis of review of existing literature and information collected through questionnaires filled by the employees and customers of the Public and Private sector banks. Microsoft Excel and other appropriate statistical tools will be used for Data Analysis. TENTATIVE CHAPTER SCHEME Chapter I Introduction Chapter II Review of literature Chapter III Need, Objectives, Research Methodology Chapter IV Overview of Indian Banking System * Public Sector Banks * Private Sector Banks Chapter V Growth Strategies * Market Penetration * Product Development * Market Development * Diversification Chapter VI Market Penetration in Public Private Sector Banks Chapter VII Data Presentation Analysis Chapter VIII Findings Conclusion Recommendations Appendix Questionnaire Bibliography REFERENCES http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/market-penetration.html as on Jan 28, 2010. http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/india/article.cfm?articleid=4145, Jan11, 2007 as on Jan 31, 2010 Ansoff, I. (1965), Corporate Strategy, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY Title: Bank Marketing Strategies Author(s): Arthur Meidan Journal: International Journal of Bank Marketing Year: 1983 Volume: 1 Issue: 2 Page: 3 17 Banks to get sops for rural reach 3 Oct 2009, 0307 hrs IST, Anto Antony, ET Bureau http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/public-sector-banks-gain-market-share/383014/ David Stafford and Susan King, Bank Competition and Advertising by David C. Stafford, The Advertising Association, 1982 write references of foll. Articles in Emerald – A survey of critical factors in e-Banking Bank marketing Strategies P. Robert Philp, Paula J. Haynes and Marilyn M. Helms FINANCIAL SERVICE STRATEGIES: NEGLECTED NICHES International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 10 No. 2, 1992, pp. 25-28 Title: Bank Marketing in the Personal Sector Author(s): John C. Howley, Grahame P. Savage Journal: Managerial Finance Year: 1980 Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Page: 271 276 Ruth Murphy and Margaret Bruce, Strategy, accountability, e-commerce and the consumer, Managerial Auditing Journal, 18/3 (2003) pg 193-201 www.emeraldinsight.com/1061-0421.htm Price bundling and framing strategies for complementary products Raj Arora University of Missouri – Kansas City, Kansas City, Kansas, USA Journal of Product Brand Management 17/7 (2008) 475–484 Yadav, M.S. and Monroe, K.B. (2003), â€Å"How buyers perceive savings in a bundle price: an examination of a bundles transaction value†, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol. 30 No. 3, pp. 350-8 Butera, A. (2000), â€Å"Cross-selling: capitalizing on the opportunities†, Hoosier Bank, Vol. 87 No. 7, pp. 14-16. Reichheld, F.F. (1996), The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force behind Growth, Profits and Lasting Value, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. Reichheld, F.F. and Sasser, W.E. (1990), â€Å"Zero defections: quality comes to services†, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 68 No. 5, pp. 105-11. Anderson, E.W. and Mittal, V. (2000), â€Å"Strengthening the satisfaction-profit chain†, Journal of Service Research, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp. 107-20. Day, G.S. (2000), â€Å"Managing market relationships†, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 28 No. 1, pp. 24-30. Jacoby, J. and Chestnut, R.W. (1978), Brand Loyalty, John Wiley Sons, New York, NY. Schiele, G.W. (1974), How to Reach the Young Customer, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 52, March-April, pp. 77-86. http://www.answers.com/topic/market-penetration-2 as on Feb 28, 2010

Josephines Chicken and Dumplings Essay -- Recipe Grandma Descriptive

Josephine's Chicken and Dumplings Josephine Courville was a pioneer woman. She could scratch a living from the poorest farm, patch together a quilt from random scraps, and see the beauty in every child she ever held. She knew about self-sufficiency, hard work, and surviving in the face of hard times. She outlived three husbands, most of her contemporaries, and the way of life that she exemplified. A lot can be learned from a woman like Josephine, but biographers seldom chronicle the lives of simple folk. It's usually the flashy politician or the military man whose superficial thoughts get written down for posterity. I was fortunate enough, however, to have had the opportunity to learn many things from Josephine directly, since she was also "Grandma;" the matriarch of my family. I would love to pass along everything she taught me, but that could take a lifetime so instead I will share just one special lesson: Josephine's chicken and dumplings. The first step in attempting to make Josephine's chicken and dumplings is procuring the chicken. One of those antiseptic plastic-wrapped carcasses from the supermarket won't do. It has to be a real chicken: a real dog-chased, bug-eating, heavyweight chicken. It takes time, exercise, and weight to produce the right flavor, and a chicken can't get that sitting in a cage eating arsenic. It would be simpler to get one from the supermarket, but it just can't be done. This principal is referred to as"garbage in garbage out" in present day vernacular; the selection of the right hen is the critical input that determines the quality of the output. Grandma always raised a large flock of her own and would select an older "stewing hen", as she called them. They were the larger hens that had been... ...offee mingling with that of the simmering chicken gave the dish an extra panache. I have tried substituting fireplace smoke with some success, but have been unable to duplicate the smell of the boiling coffee using that method. A wood cookstove or parlor stove topped with an old- fashioned percolator is preferable if one can be obtained. The meal should be eaten in the kitchen where it was prepared and served on a table large enough for everyone to gather around. Conversation, laughter and reminiscing should be encouraged throughout the meal, and please, no television. This recipe is neither easy nor quick. Don't expect success the first try, or even the second. In fact, it may take a lifetime to master, but I assure any who try that the reward is well worth the effort. Josephine's chicken and dumplings will not only fill the stomach but enrich the soul as well.

HTML and Web Site Construction :: essays research papers

Chapter 1 Planning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When you plan your web page you start by writing everything down on paper. Write what you want your web page to say, show, and do. To make a map of the links you will be using, write a circle in the center of a new sheet of paper and write HOME in it. Then draw lines to other circles that say the names of your sub pages. Later you will learn how to link your home page to your sub pages. Chapter 2 Starting your front page   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First we want to have a simple text program to use. Go to START programs Accessories NOTEPAD. Notepad is the only program I found to work for html. After you are in notepad type the following. - this will start an html document   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   - starts the header   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - title that you see at top left corner on screen   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - ends title   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - ends header   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - starts the body ( the guts )   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - ends the body   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  - ends html document ( IMPORTANT )   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the 1st tag, type the name you want to appear in the upper left corner of your screen. This will put whatever you typed ( between the two title tags ) up in the upper left corner of your screen. Note: Make sure that you type in between the two title tags. If you don’t you won’t see the title on the screen.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  TIME TO SAVE! After you finish typing your title click on the file option menu at the top of the screen. Once there, click â€Å"save as†. Save the document to a new 3  ½Ã¢â‚¬  floppy as home.htm. You must save it .htm or your internet browser will not open. If you are done saving it go to â€Å"my computer† on the desktop and click on 3  ½ floppy ( A: ) Then click on home.htm. When the file opens up look at the upper left hand corner of your screen. There you should see your title. To edit the web page and add more stuff, click on view ( at top of screen ) then click source. Notepad should open up with the codes you typed earlier. After you are done editing go to file save. Then go back to your web page and click REFRESH. This should refresh the screen to what you just typed. Chapter 3 Text, centering, coloring, and font   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To enter text into your web page, all you need to do is type what you want any where in between the two tags.

Readers of Huck Finn

The ending of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is indeed puzzling. On the surface, the story looks a perfect happy end – more or less, everybody seems satisfied with the new order of things: Jim is now a free man, Tom is fully recovered, and Huck gets rid of his father and receives a chance to move West to start an independent life free of â€Å"civilizing† efforts of well-meaning adult women. This looks like a perfect American ‘happy end’ which so often ends Hollywood movies even if the previous course of events had seemed unlikely to bring about such a happy combination of circumstances. Perhaps the sympathetic treatment of the runaway slave on the part of Huck seemed idealized to many of Clemens’ contemporaries and later critics. At the same time, the ending contains one very important message that makes it less ideal than it may seem on the surface. This is the whole behaviour of Tom Sawyer who had known all the way that Jim was in fact a free man, yet had chosen to withhold this information from his friends simply to have a spectacular liberation. In doing so, he had subjected Huck and Tom to many trials and dangers that are surely exciting to read about, but overall so difficult that few of us would like to repeat it on their own. This callous and insensitive action on the part of Tom, although he tries to justify it with a lame excuse that he had meant to repay Jim with money for his troubles, vividly demonstrates that his treatment of Afro-Americans is less idealistic. In showing Tom’s lack of sensitivity for the feelings of another human being simply because this human being happens to be a black slave brings home to the readers of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn the real situation of the relationship between slave-owners and slaves. To a great degree, such attitude puts Huck’s heroic deeds in context and reveals that many people would probably choose to imitate Tom’s behaviour rather than Huck’s especially if this promised them an opportunity to have fun. True, the readers realize that Tom is not a typical white male as there is probably no such thing as a purely stereotypical person who simply follows all the norms of his class without showing any individuality. Tom does have a very bright and outstanding individuality, and he is notable for his love of a good prank. Thus, he is going to take liberties with the lives and need of other people, including those of his own class, as he had shown during his school jokes. However, would he be willing to make a white person from a respectable background undergo such hardship as Jim did? The question remains unanswered, and the readers can very well suspect that Tom can be doing many things to have fun with things that are life and death to other people, less empowered than himself. Therefore, the ending of the book does reveal the inhuman attitudes of white slave-owners toward their black slaves. The author does show that the life of a black person is no bed of roses even after the basic question of personal freedom is solved. This freed person finds oneself in the setting in which the white majority are taught to see their black fellow citizens as worthless individuals in contrast to themselves – as people whose human value is at least slightly less than that of their own. As to Huck’s kind treatment of the runaway slave, this does not seem so improbably even one considers the wide scale of the abolitionist movement in the nation. Huck is shown to experience pangs of conscience when he conceals a runaway slave, feeling affinity with his own class and race. Yet, like many people in theory born to be slave-owners, he oversteps the prejudice the society imposes upon him and manages to become a moral person by helping a human being. Summing it up, the ending of Huck Finn does not seem to contain any improbable elements that would confirm that Twain cheated. The closure of the book does show that white people often tended to see slaves as inferior, and that many were able to rise above prejudices to help slaves. Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 13 Jan. 06 .      

LVMH: Corporate Structure and Business Plan

GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE The Board of Directors is the strategy body of LVMH Moet Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SA. The competence, integrity and responsibility of its members, clear and fair decisions reached collectively, and effective and secure controls are the ethical principles that govern the Board. The key priorities pursued by LVMH’s Board of Directors are enterprise value creation and the defense of the Company’s interests. LVMH’s Board of Directors acts as guarantor of the rights of each of its shareholders and ensures that shareholders ful? ll all of their duties.The Company adheres to the Code of Corporate Governance for Listed Companies published by AFEP and MEDEF. The Board of Directors shall have a maximum of 18 members, a third of whom at least are appointed from among prominent independent persons with no interests in the Company The number of Directors or permanent representatives of legal entities from outside companies, shall be limited to four . Apart from the selection of the Company’s management structure and the appointment of the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Of? cer and Group ManagingDirector(s), the principal missions of the Board of Directors are to: – ensure that the Company’s interests and assets are protected; – de? ne the broad strategic orientations of the Company and the Group and ensure that their implementation is monitored; – approve the Company’s annual and half-yearly ? nancial statements; – review the essential characteristics of the internal control and risk management systems adopted and implemented by the Company; – ensure that major risks to which the Company is exposed are in keeping with its strategies and its objectives, and that they are taken into account in the management of the Company; verify the quality, reliability and fairness of the information provided to shareholders concerning the Company and the Group, in p articular to ensure that the management structure and the internal control and risk management systems are able to guarantee the quality and reliability of ? nancial information published by the Company and to give a true and fair view of the results and the ? nancial position of the Company and the Group; – set out the organization principles and procedures for the Performance Audit Committee; – disseminate the collective values that guide the Company nd its employees and that govern relationships with consumers and with partners and suppliers of the Company and the Group; – promote a policy of economic development consistent with a social and citizenship policy based on concepts that include respect for human beings and the preservation of the environment in which it operates. The Board of Directors shall hold at least four meetings a year Decisions by the Board of Directors shall be made by simple majority vote and are adopted as a board. If they deem appropr iate, independent Directors may meet without requiring the presence of the other members of theBoard of Directors. For special or important issues, the Board of Directors may establish one or more ad hoc committees. Each member of the Board of Directors shall act in the interests and on behalf of all shareholders. Once each year, the Board of Directors evaluates its procedures and informs shareholders as to its conclusions in a report presented to the Shareholders’ Meeting. In addition, at least once every three years, a fully documented review of the work of the Board, its organization and its procedures is conducted. The Shareholders’ Meeting shall set the total amount ofDirectors’ fees to be paid to the members of the Board of Directors. This amount shall be distributed among all members of the Board of Directors and the Advisors, if any, on the recommendation of the members of the Directors’ Nominations and Compensation Committee, taking into account their speci? c responsibilities on the Board A specialized committee responsible for auditing performance operates within the Board of Directors, acting under the responsibility of the Board of Directors. The Performance Audit Committee shall be made up of at least three Directors appointed by the Board of Directors.At least two thirds of the members shall be independent Directors. The majority of the Committee’s members must have held a position as a Managing Director or a position involving equivalent responsibilities or possess speci? c expertise in ? nancial and accounting matters. The Board of Directors shall appoint a Chairman of the Committee from among its members. The maximum term of the Chairman of the Committee is ? ve years. Neither the Chairman of the Board of Directors nor any Director performing the duties of Chief Executive Of? cer or Group Managing Director of LVMH may be a member of theCommittee. A Director may not be appointed as a member of the Committee i f he or she comes from a company for which an LVMH Director serves as a member of a committee comparable in function. The principal missions of the Committee are to: – monitor the process for preparing ? nancial information, particularly the individual company and consolidated ?nancial statements, and verify the quality of this information; – monitor the statutory audit of the individual company and consolidated ? nancial statements by the Statutory Auditors , whose conclusions and recommendations it examines; ensure the existence, pertinence, application and effectiveness of internal control and risk management systems, monitor the ongoing effectiveness of these systems, and make recommendations to the Chief Executive Of? cer concerning the priorities and general guidelines for the work of the Internal Audit team; – examine risks to the Statutory Auditors’ independence and, if necessary, identify safeguards to be put in place in order to minimize the pot ential of risks to compromise their independence, issue an opinion on the fees paid to the Statutory Auditors, as well as those paid to the network to hich they belong, by the Company and the companies it controls or is controlled by, whether in relation to their statutory audit responsibilities or other related assignments, oversee the procedure for the selection of the Company’s Statutory Auditors, and make a recommendation on the appointments to be submitted to the Shareholders’ Meeting in consideration of the results of this procedure; – analyze the exposure of the Company and the Group to risks, and in particular to those identi? ed by the internal control and risk management systems, as well as material off–balance sheet commitments of the Company and the Group; review major agreements entered into by Group companies and agreements entered into by any Group company with a third-party company in which a Director of the LVMH parent company is also a s enior executive or principal shareholder. Signi? cant operations within the scope of the provisions of Article L. 225-38 of the French Commercial Code require an opinion issued by an independent expert appointed upon the proposal of the Performance Audit Committee; – assess any instances of con? ict of interest that may affect a Director and recommend suitable measures to prevent or correct them. Compensation CommitteeThe Committee shall meet at least twice a year, without the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Of? cer and the Group Managing Director(s), before the Board of Directors’ meetings in which the agenda includes a review of the annual and half-yearly parent company and consolidated ?nancial statements. If necessary, the Committee may be required to hold special meetings, when an event occurs that may have a signi? cant effect on the parent company or consolidated ? nancial statements. Decisions of the Committee shall be made by simple maj ority vote and shall be deemed to have been reached as a board.The proceedings of each Committee meeting shall be recorded in minutes of the meeting. The Committee shall report on its work to the Board of Directors. It shall submit to the Board its ? ndings, recommendations and suggestions. The Committee may request any and all accounting, legal or ?nancial documents it deems necessary to carry out its responsibilities. The Committee may call upon the Company’s staff members responsible for preparing the ? nancial statements, carrying out internal control procedures, conducting internal audits, applying risk management or cash management procedures, nvestigating tax or legal matters, as well as the Statutory Auditors, to appear before it on any number of occasions to address issues in detail, without requiring the presence of the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Of? cer, or Group Managing Director(s) of LVMH. These meetings may also take place in the absence of thos e responsible for the accounting and ? nancial functions. After having duly noti? ed the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Committee may seek assistance from external experts if circumstances require. The Committee members and its Chairman may receive a pecial Director’s fee, the amount of which shall be determined by the Board of Directors and charged to the total ? nancial package allocated by the Shareholders’ Meeting. 1. Subject to the exceptions provided by law, the Board of Directors is composed of three to eighteen members, who may be individuals or legal entities appointed by the Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting. A legal entity must, at the time of its appointment, designate an individual, who will be its permanent representative on the Board of Directors. The term of of? ce of a permanent representative is the same as the legal entity that he represents. . Each member of the Board of Directors must during its term of of? ce own at least ? ve hundred (500) shares of the Company. If, at the time of its appointment, a member of the Board of Directors does not own the required number of shares or if, during its term of of? ce, it ceases to be the owner thereof, it shall dispose of a period of six months to purchase such number of shares, in default of which it shall be automatically deemed to have resigned. 3. Nobody being more than seventy years old shall be appointed Director if, as a result of his appointment, the umber of Directors who are more than seventy years old would exceed one-third of the members of the Board. Directors are appointed for a term of three years. The duties of a Director shall terminate at the close of the Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting convened to approve the accounts of the preceding ? scal year and held in the year during which the term of of? ce of said Director comes to an end. A salaried employee of the Company may be appointed as a Director provided that his employment contract antedates his appointment and corresponds to a position actually held.In such case, he shall not lose the bene? t of his employment contract. The number of Directors bound to the Company by an employment contract may not exceed one-third of the Directors in of? ce. The Board of Directors shall elect a Chairman, who must be an individual, from among its members. It shall determine his term of of? ce, which cannot exceed that of his of? ce as Director and may dismiss him at any time. The Board shall also determine the compensation to be paid to the Chairman. The Chairman of the Board of Directors cannot be more than seventy-? ve years old.The Board may always elect one or several Vice-Chairman(men). It shall determine their term of of? ce which cannot exceed that of their respective of? ce as Director. The of? cers of the meeting are the Chairman, the ViceChairman(men) and the Secretary. The Secretary may be chosen from outside the Directors or the shareholders. The Board determines its term of of ? ce. The Secretary may always be re-elected. The Board, convened by its Chairman, meets as often as required by the interests of the Company. The Board of Directors sets guidelines for the Company’s ctivities and shall ensure their implementation. Subject to the powers expressly granted to the Shareholders’ Meetings and within the limits of the corporate purpose, it addresses any issue relating to the Company’s proper operation and settles the affairs concerning it through its resolutions. In its relations with third parties, the Company is bound even by acts of the Board of Directors falling outside the scope of the corporate purpose, unless it demonstrates that the third party knew that the act exceeded such purpose or that it could not have ignored it given the circumstances, it being speci? d that mere publication of the Bylaws is not suf? cient proof thereof. The Board of Directors performs such monitoring and veri? cations as it deems appropriate. Each Di rector receives all necessary information for completing his assignment and may request any documents he deems useful. The Company shall be audited, as provided by law, by one or more Statutory Auditors legally entitled to be elected as such. When the conditions provided by law are met, the Company must appoint at least two Statutory Auditors. Each Statutory Auditor is appointed by the OrdinaryShareholders’ Meeting. One or more supplementary deputy Statutory Auditors, who may be called to replace the regular Statutory Auditors in the event of death, disability, resignation or refusal to perform their duties, are appointed by the Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting. Shareholders’ Meetings shall be convened and held as provided by law. A Shareholders’ Meeting is chaired by the Chairman of the Board of Directors or, in his absence, by the oldest ViceChairman of the Board of Directors or, in the absence of the latter, by a Member of the Board for that purpose.If n o chairman has been appointed, the Meeting elects its Chairman. The voting right attached to a share is proportional to the share of the capital it represents. When having the same nominal value, each share, either in capital or redeemed (â€Å"de jouissance†), gives right to one vote. However a voting right equal to twice the voting right attached to other shares, with respect to the portion of the share capital that they represent, is granted: – to all fully paid up registered shares for which evidence of registration under the name of the same shareholder during at least three years will be brought; to registered shares allocated to a shareholder in case of increase of the capital by capitalization of reserves, or of pro? ts carried forward or of issue premiums due to existing shares for which it was entitled to bene? t from this right. The Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting makes decisions which do not amend the Bylaws. It is convened at least once a year, withi n six months from the end of each ? scal year to vote on the accounts of that ? scal year. In order to pass valid resolutions, the Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting, convened upon ? rst notice, must consist of hareholders, present or represented, holding at least one-? fth of total voting shares. The deliberations of an Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting, convened upon second notice, shall be valid regardless of the number of shareholders present or represented. The resolutions of the Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting are approved by a majority of the votes of the shareholders present or represented. The copies or abstracts of the minutes of the Meetings shall be validly certi? ed by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Of? cer, or the Secretary of the Meeting. Ordinary and Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meetings shall xercise their respective powers as provided by law. The dividend payment terms are de? ned by the Shareholders’ Meeting o r, if the Meeting fails to do so, by the Board of Directors. However, dividends must be paid within a maximum period of nine months after the ? scal year-end, unless such period is extended by Court order. (The reference for the Company is the AFEP-MEDEF â€Å"Corporate Governance Code for Traded Companies†. ) Main SHAREHOLDERS Christian Dior, the luxury goods group, is the main holding company of LVMH, owning 42. 36% of its shares, and 59. 01% of its voting rights. 5] Bernard Arnault, majority shareholder of Dior, is Chairman of both companies and CEO of LVMH. the only declared major shareholder in LVMH was Groupe Arnault, the family holding company of Bernard Arnault. The group's control amounted to 47. 64% of LVMH's stock (with 42. 36% held through Christian Dior S. A. and 5. 28% held directly) and 63. 66% of its voting rights (59. 01% by Dior and 4. 65% directly). [5] A further 2. 43% of shares were declared as treasury stock, with the remainder being free float. ________ ___________________RICOMINCIA DA QUI_________________________________ STAKEHOLDERS COMPETITORS:LVMH competes in the luxury market with an array of small private and publicly held companies that make designer clothing, wine, watches, and other luxury goods. Unlike LVMH, most of these companies usually have only one brand in their portfolios. The most direct competitors to LVMH are Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR), a French luxury holdings company that includes such brands as Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci, and Compagnie Financiere Richemont, a Swiss luxury company that includes such brands as Cartier and Montblanc. ?PPR is a French retailer and luxury goods company. It is very similar to LVMH in both size and earnings.One distinct advantage LVMH holds over PPR is international diversification. Though a majority of PPR's brands are luxury, it also owns Puma, a sportswear line for men and women that is more affordable and as a broader consumer base, thereby increasing its market. The luxu ry brands that directly compete with LVMH fall under Gucci Group and are: Alexander McQueen, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, Gucci, Boucheron and Sergio Rossi. ?Compagnie Financiere Richemont is much smaller than LVMH in terms of revenue, but earned a similar operating margin on its revenue.Richemont is primarily focused on watches and jewelry. Therefore, in its main business Richemont does not face stiff competition from either company. The most competition comes from the fashion and leather goods divisions, namely Dunhill, Azzedine Alaia, Shanghai Tang, Chloe and the leather goods brand Lancel. All are luxury brands and compete directly with LVMH. [8] ? Valentino Fashion Group S. p. A is an international luxury goods conglomerate. It owns the prestigious brand Valentino as well as luxury brand Hugo Boss.It also has licenses for Marlboro Classics and M Missoni (a lower-priced line inspired by the designs of privately-owned Missoni). Valentino Fashi on Group also has its own brands: Lebole, Oxon and Portrait. In addition, Valentino Fashion Group owns 45% of the luxury American brand Proenza Schouler. Like LVMH, Valentino owns a number of other luxury brands including Valentino and Hugo Boss produce apparel, accessories and fragrances for both men and women. Both conglomerates sell their goods side-by-side in luxury department stores as well as freestanding boutiques. SUPPLIERS: Same behavior as LVMH + acting well towards natureTo ensure effective environmental control, the companies of the Group are conducting an awareness program with their suppliers and subcontractors. Designing packaging that prevents the waste of raw materials and generates smaller waste volumes is a principle of both good management and respect for the environment. This can only be done if we thoroughly understand the effects of the product on the biosphere, from manufacture to disposal. This is the role of Life Cycle Analysis, a method applied by the LVMH group since 1993, in its initial study on the path followed by a standard Hennessy product.The implementation of actions to reduce the products impacts throughout their life cycle implies to work closely with the suppliers and subcontractors. Programs to make lighter packaging are critical and are coordinated at Group level. We start studying a product's packaging from the product's design stage. The design/development, purchasing and marketing teams work with suppliers in multi-disciplinary groups and use a value analysis method to reconcile impeccable quality and aesthetics for the consumer with marketing requirements, optimized manufacturing processes, and our desire to use raw materials sparingly.Preserving biological diversity is a vital issue for the evolution of life on earth. LVMH group has built its businesses on a sustainable relationship with the natural environment, and consequently uses elements that are neutral or without impact on our ecosystems, either by growing pl ants or raising animals, or by using surplus elements. In this way, it complies in an exemplary manner with the regulations protecting rare species. The research work of LVMH's R&D laboratories in the village of Koro in Burkina Faso continues to bear fruit.In the spring of 2004, the Bikini line of Christian Dior acquired a new active ingredient: Anogelline. EMPLOYEES The group currently employs more than 83,000 people. [1] 30% of LVMH's staff work in France. LVMH operates over 2,400 stores worldwide. [10] LVMH actively supports the professional development of its employees. The decentralized organization of the LVMH group encourages individual initiative. Human Resources teams deploy a variety of concrete tools to develop talents, including training, geographic and functional mobility andrecruitement.The annual Organizational Management Review plays a pivotal role in identifying talents and succession planning. This dynamic process is central to recognizing the contributions and tal ents of the Group's people. It ensures motivating advancement within the Group by identifying key positions, internal resources and the human resources needed to drive continued growth at LVMH companies. LVMH also carries out regular performance appraisals to identify employees' strong points and opportunities for improvement, as well as their personal goals.These appraisals serve as the basis for concrete action to enable people to achieve fulfulling career objectives. Training is distributed between the Group, itsbusiness divisions and the brands themselves, always focused on enriching the skillsets of employees and sharpening their performance to help them flourish in the LVMH ecosystem. Training programs address needs that have been identified and discussed during annual performance appraisal interviews. Technical skills are the responsibility of brands, which sometimes pool training across business groups.LVMH actively encourages all employees to reach their potential as they p ursue fulfilling careers. The Group is committed to promoting diversity and energizing the wealth of human resources at all its companies and in all the host countries where it operates. INSURANCE: Of the most prestigious luxury houses, six post sales of over a billion euros annually. They include Gucci, Hermes, LVMH and L'Oreal, all of whom are clients of Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty France for their transport, property and liability insurance programs. AGCS France will market its transport insurance solution through a variety of intermediaries.These include key luxury industry brokers whose current clients, including subcontractors, may be interested; the Colbert Committee, an association of over 70 luxury companies; Colipa, the European cosmetics association; and the Confederation des Arts de la Table (CAT, the French tableware association). On the heels of this new transport insurance solution other new products will be developed, with the goal of offering a dedicated ra nge for all luxury goods companies. CUSTOMERS: LVMH made a fortune thanks to customer loyalty, and to keep these customers it’s opening shops both in the U. S. ut also in developing countries such as India and China In all, Louis Vuitton now has 96 stores open in the United States, which Slavinsky says is almost evenly divided between freestanding stores and leased in-store boutiques. The company's strength owes a lot to customer loyalty — especially to Louis Vuitton, which analysts estimate accounts for about 60 percent of LVMH's earnings. Demand for its products — from $100 coin purses to the new $5,500 Theda multi-buckled, gilt-trimmed handbags in colors such as turquoise and pink — is so strong that Vuitton's margin topped 45 percent last year; its U.S. sales alone grew 38 percent. To meet the demand, Vuitton is expanding. LOCAL COMMUNITIES The Group believes that our own development must integrate the search for a better quality of life for our custo mers, employees, shareholders, and the regions and various communities affected by our production and distribution operations throughout the world. The Group's commitment towards environmental protection materialized in 2001 by the the â€Å"Environmental Charter† was reinforced in 2003 by joining the United Nations' Global Compact.That initiative, which was launched by Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN, requires its signatories to apply and promote nine principles in the field of human rights, labor and the environment. Thus LVMH implements the concept of sustainable development. Aim for a high level of environmental performance In developing its businesses internationally, LVMH works to align its practices with those that offer the best level of environmental protection around the world. Foster a collective commitmentThe environment is the responsibility of every individual and LVMH believes that the awareness, education and training of its employees are top prioritie s. To ensure a continued high level of environmental performance, the Group believes it is vital for each company to set precise environmental objectives and implement a management system dedicated to this process. Control environmental hazards In addition to the most stringent compliance with environmental regulations, which is an absolute duty, the Group intends to focus on risk prevention. As a result, it allocates human and material resources to this goal.Design luxury products by integrating environmental innovation and creativity Guided by its overriding concern for high quality, LVMH is working to improve control and better anticipate the environmental aspects related to the life cycle of its products. LVMH encourages all processes that result in environmental innovations and accepts its duty to exercise prudence and take precautions to ensure total safety for the consumer. Make commitments outside the company LVMH intends to contribute to the protection of the environment ab ove and beyond just the aspects directly related to its own businesses.Because it considers that promoting respect for the environment is essential, LVMH is developing an active partnership with groups of businesses, local communities and the associations which contribute to this objective. INSTITUTIONAL GOALS The mission of the LVMH group is to represent the most refined qualities of Western â€Å"Art de Vivre† around the world. LVMH must continue to be synonymous with both elegance and creativity. Our products, and the cultural values they embody, blend tradition and innovation, and kindle dream and fantasy.In view of this mission, five priorities reflect the fundamental values shared by all Group stakeholders: -Bec reative and innovate – Aim for product excellence – Bolster the image of our brands with passionate determination – Act as entrepreneurs – Strive to be the best in all we do Be creative and innovate Group companies are determined to n urture and grow their creative resources. Their long-term success is rooted in a combination of artistic creativity and technological innovation: they have always been and always will be creators.Their ability to attract the best creative talents, to empower them to create leading-edge designs is the lifeblood of our Group. The same goes for technological innovation. The success of the companies' new products – particularly in cosmetics – rests squarely with research & development teams. This dual value – creativity/innovation – is a priority for all companies. It is the foundation of their continued success. Aim for product excellence Group companies pay the closest attention to every detail and ensure the utter perfection of their products. They symbolize the nobility and perfection of traditional craftsmanship.Each and every one of the objects their customers buy and use exemplifies our brands' tradition of impeccable quality. Never should Group compan ies disappoint, but rather continue to surprise their customers with the quality, endurance, and finish of their products. They never compromise when it comes to product quality. Their search for excellence go well beyond the simple quality of their products: it encompasses the layout and location of our stores, the display of the items they offer, their ability to make their customers feel welcome as soon as they enter our stores†¦All around them, their clients see nothing but quality. Bolster the image of our brands with passionate determination Group brands enjoy exceptional reputation. This would not amount to much, and could not be sustained, if was not backed by the creative superiority and extreme quality of their products. However, without this aura, this extra dimension that somewhat defies logic, this force of expression that transcends reality, the sublime that is the stuff of our dreams, Dior would not be Dior, Louis Vuitton would not be Louis Vuitton, Moet would no t be Moet†¦ The power of the companies' brands is part of LVMH's heritage.It took years and even decades to build their image. They are an asset that is both priceless and irreplaceable. Therefore, Group companies exercise stringent control over every minute detail of their brands' image. In each of the elements of their communications with the public (announcements, speeches, messages, etc. ), it is the brand that speaks. Each message must do right by the brand. In this area as well, there is absolutely no room for compromise. Act as entrepreneurs The Group's organizational structure is decentralized, which fosters efficiency, productivity, and creativity.This type of organization is highly motivating and dynamic. It encourages individual initiative and offers real responsibilities – sometimes early on in one's career. It requires highly entrepreneurial executive teams in each company. This entrepreneurial spirit requires a healthy dose of common sense from managers, as well as hard work, pragmatism, efficiency, and the ability to motivate people in the pursuit of ambitious goals. One needs to share and enjoy this entrepreneurial spirit to – one day – manage a subsidiary or company of the LVMH group.Strive to be the best in all we do Last but not least is our ambition to be the best. In each company, executive teams strive to constantly improve, never be complacent, always try to broaden our skills, improve the quality of our work, and come up with new ideas. The Group encourages this spirit, this thirst for progress, among all of its associates. Code of Conduct In 2010, to provide a set of simple principles and behaviours that should guide the Group and each of us in the everyday conduct of business, LVMH officially adopted a Code of Conduct.LVMH has a global dimension and the world in which we do business is changing at a rapid pace. In the context of this continually evolving business environment, this Code of Conduct constitutes a common benchmark to guide individual initiatives and ensure greater consistency in practices across the Group's companies and geographies. >Code of Conduct (PDF–1 419 Ko) Digital In 2010, the Group also adopted self regulatory on line marketing principles, aligned with the World Federation of Advertisers.