Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement Essay

Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement Assignment 3 Understanding the legal and good practice requirements in relation to assessments It is imperative for all assessors to have an in depth understanding of the legal and good practice requirements in relation to assessment. Furthermore, the Awarding Body have their own stipulations regarding assessment. These include; educational centres must ensure that they employ assessors that are suitably qualified and meet the occupational competency requirements of the sector assessment strategy and ensure that the assessment process is robust. Assessment carried out by an unqualified assessor must be countersigned by a qualified assessor who is occupationally competent. The assessment process should be informed by best practice and the latest NOS for Learning & Development. Centre assessors are responsible and accountable for: a) Â  managing the assessment system, assessment planning, making and recording assessment decisions b) Â  assessing evidence of learner competence against NOS and the requirements of the assessment criteria in the qualification c) Â  ensuring that learners’ evidence is valid, authentic and sufficient ) Â  maintaining accurate and verifiable learner assessment and achievement records. The assessment process should support learners towards the achievement of their qualification aim, whilst ensuring that the requirements of the NOS for assessment and the sector are met. Part of the role of the assessor is to raise the quality of assessment through: a) engaging learners at an early stage in t he assessment process b) Â  effective and efficient assessment of naturally occurring activity c) Â  holistic assessment to maximise assessment opportunities ) Â  using interim assessment to provide advice and support at an early opportunity e) Â  encouraging access through using the range of assessment methods f) Â  using technology to reduce the assessment and administrative burden Assessors should always be aware that assessment needs to be fair, consistent and transparent, with all students having the opportunity of attaining the assessment criteria. All learners should be treated as individuals to ensure that no learner is discriminated (directly or indirectly) against and to uphold a ‘fair playing field’ in respect that no learner has any advantage over another. In order to ensure this happens the assessor has a legal and moral obligation to share the same information to all learners, along with appropriate support and development of all learners in order for them to complete assessment tasks. Therefore, one additional aspect of assessment is an appeals procedure for candidates not happy with results. Assessment within NVQ is ongoing with the candidate fully participating in the assessment process, e. g. through assessment planning and reviews of performance. If this participation is taken seriously then it must be accepted that there will be times when the candidates and assessors perceptions, of whether agreed evidence (agreed during assessment planning/review stages) meets the standards, are going to be different. If this occurs, the candidate should have the right to appeal via an accessible and open system. The characteristics of our appeals structure related to NVQ will include: Access to fair and reliable assessment Clear and prompt response times Stages that provide all parties with the opportunity to put their case Clear outcomes Constructive feedback Be related to the Candidates assessment records A formal recording system Evaluation of appeals Response times to appeals will be measured in days rather than in months or years and not be so bureaucratic as effectively to nullify the purpose of having such a system. From a legal standpoint it is an Assessors remit to enforce strict guidelines with regards to the difference between guiding and supplying the learners with answers for assessment tasks. Legally, assessors cannot give assessment answers or condone learners copying each others learning and assessment material. As an NVQ Assessor I am aware of the duty of care encompassing the legislation and code of practice regarding the following: Health and Safety Act of 1974 Equal opportunities Act of 1974 Data protection act of 1998 Disability discrimination Risk Assessment Lone working The Health and Safety Act 1974 (HASAWA) places certain responsibilities on the employer, or in this case, the Assessor. The Assessor has to provide a safe working environment, provide information on health and safety, such as emergency exits and fire assembly points, and also undertake risk assessment of all hazards in the working/assessment environment. However, risk assessments are primarily the responsibility of the owner or manager of the facility. Moreover, all staff must be CRB checked in order to confirm that there is no risk whatsoever to the learner, in line with the Child Protection Act of 1984. Equal opportunity Act of 1974 also needs to be implemented, as was alluded to in the above paragraph, by adopting an inclusion policy and understanding that each learner will have specific and unique needs and that it is the job of the Assessor to differentiate tasks and lessons to meet these individual needs. For example, in my NVQ class I had a variety of needs from, learners with dyslexia, partial sighted and also with speech impediments. Therefore I made sure that I always used a variety of tools in which to teach and assess, such as, reading material in larger print, visual aids on the projector which explained what I was teaching and also electronic recording equipment (video and dictaphone) as another option for learners to utilise in learning and assessment. However, due care needs to be taken and strict adhesion to the Data Protection Act of 1998 in order for any material not to fall into the wrong hands. In terms of confidentiality regarding assessment all exams papers and any other marking material must not be shared with the learners before assessment in accordance with Award Body regulations. Assessment guidelines and assessment criteria can be shared as long as it is not providing answers that can be used by learners. This can be done by formulating individual action plans with learners, to highlight how learners can improve. Furthermore, all completed assessments must be located securely as to ensure no students can acquire papers or material and duplicate answers. In the case of my NVQ group all assessment material was locked away in head office and was only accessible to me and senior management. Senior management would have the final say if ever an event occurred in which a learners welfare was at risk and then safeguarding the learners welfare becomes the higher priority (Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act, 2006) The welfare of learners, whether that be my NVQ learners, school pupils or any other individuals in the community, is paramount and also a legal requirement. In the community that we serve there are many vulnerable individuals who’s safety can be at risk without any obvious signs, and also individuals with many kinds of underlying medical conditions which need to be considered by the assessor. During the first week of my NVQ class we had a ‘Protecting child welfare’ course in which we were taught how to identify warning signs of; abuse, depression and other mental health issues. Therefore, it is always of paramount importance that as an assessor you are vigilant and aware of all your learners behaviours at all times and if need be intervene and assess steps that may need to be taken. As far as the physical health related issues are concerned, we (NVQ class) used confidential pro-forma’s to identify any issues of individuals so that we could be prepared and have any relevant equipment close at hand and maybe also adapt sessions accordingly with respect to individual needs. Health questionnaires are in the award body regulations and can be found in the Health Related activity book. Technology can vastly improve the assessment process as it makes it a more dynamic process in which all learners have an opportunity to show their true understanding of the subject matter covered and their particular skill set. I also believe that it interlinks with fair assessment as no learner is at a disadvantage due to the fact they cant show their understanding in one medium. Therefore everybody has the same opportunity to display their knowledge. For example, a learner may have a great understanding of subject matter, yet may not be able to put their understanding down in words. Therefore, if they could be video recorded displaying their knowledge practically (with written consent from themselves or carers if pre 16 years of age) or audio recorded giving answers to questions they could be graded accurately and attain the optimum level of achievement. Another great advantage to the integration of technology is that it is relatively simple and easy to use, sometimes even more straight forward than traditional assessment, and brings a new exciting dimension to learning which in turn can inspire and motivate learners to achieve more. Some great wall displays have been produced and a good database full of information due to the integration of technology in class and assessment. Furthermore, greater feedback can be given as learners can see themselves in real time on video instead of trying to decipher pages of feedback. They can see exactly where they need to improve and develop in a very clear and concise manner. Another main area of concern regarding the principles and practices of assessment is equality and diversity (Equality Act, 2010). There are many issues which need to be taken into consideration regarding assessment with respect to equality and diversity. Individual needs, beliefs and cultures need to be respected and treated with the appropriate sensitivity. For example, in my NVQ class I had learner ‘O’. Learner O was of Muslim faith and was celebrating the festival of Eid, which requires followers to fast for a large part of the day for a month. During this month all learners were scheduled to perform their practical sessions and take part in other sessions. However, it would not have been ethical to expect learner O to take part in these sessions as he would be depleted of energy and could be at risk of negatively effecting his health. Therefore, special dispensation was afforded to learner O to take part in these sessions the following month. Furthermore, I was aware that concentration may decrease during this month. Other areas which need to be considered from equality and diversity prospective are; gender, race, sexual orientation and age (Disability and Equality Act, 2010). These factors give rise to a number of individual needs. Assessment needs to be age specific and be compared to relevant performance criteria, along with being written in age appropriate language as to not confuse or patronise learners. Moreover, topics covered need to ensure that no offense will be incurred by any party with regards to the above categories. For example I would not start a debate regarding the idea of male dominance in sport or peoples view of homosexuality. Another aspect of diversity in the assessment process may be a language barrier, especially in the case of my NVQ class who were predominantly from an ethnic background. There are ways to overcome such barriers. The use of an interpreter could be used for assessment (a dialogue being recorded and sent off) with the aid of assessment material converted into the required language. If one thing is abundantly clear in the nature of assessment, it is the need for individuals to constantly develop. Nobody has ever learned enough and there is always room for improvement. Therefore, this goes for the assessor themselves. It is imperative that assessors constantly monitor their own progress with self assessment, peer review, learner feedback and continued development of CPD’s. The act of reflective practice is the driving force that spearheads future development and evolves the assessment process by ascertaining what aspects work best, when, how and why. Furthermore, sharing this reflective practice with other assessors fosters an environment and situations which aid the effective use of assessment and help reach the goal of accurately and fairly assessing learner knowledge along with realising potential. Without reflective practice the assessor risks walking blindly down a ‘dark alley’ of assessment where they fail themselves, but more importantly fail the learner, which is wholly unacceptable. Effective planning also aids the reflective process, as you can see the amount of work covered and the result of certain class dynamics, i. e. group work, group size etc. This gives you a great visual format in which to adapt your future plans in order to maintain optimum, effective performance in sessions and assessment. Assessment will always carry some for of risk at some level. Perhaps one of the greatest risks posed in my NVQ group was the risk of injury and participant health & safety whilst taking part in a variety of sports. The best way to protect against the risks are to have effective planning in place with all relevant risk assessment completed, checking pitches for broken glass, making sure goals are anchored and equipment checks, along with alternative provisions incase your first plan of action cannot go ahead. Moreover, another challenge is not discriminating against any learners. This could involve taking all learning types into consideration to ensure that all learners understand what they have to carry out through agreement on the assessment action plan that the learner signs, so effective communication is extremely important, which means the assessor listening as giving input. Furthermore, clear guidelines on discipline are needed in order to prevent any hazards occurring and also to foster a safe, productive learning environment.

Awareness of health and safety trainings Essay

Without the correct level of training you are not allowed to carry out certain tasks relating to Health and Safety. Here are a few examples: †¢Moving and handling †¢Administering medication †¢Emergency first aid †¢Giving injections †¢Peg feeding †¢Colostomy †¢Fighting fire If you are unsure about what you can and cannot do, you must discuss this with your supervisor / manager. Where and from whom additional support and information relating to Health and Safety can be accessed? †¢The Health and Safety at Work Act requires employers to ensure workers are appropriately knowledgeable about Health and Safety and that they are properly trained in relevant areas. Your employer may have a health and safety representative who is responsible for health and safety issues at work. Ask your supervisor or manager about the Health and Safety policies and procedures in your work place. The main points of Health and Safety policies and procedures †¢To secure the health, safety and welfare of persons at work. †¢To protect other people from hazards arising from work. †¢To control the keeping and use of dangerous substances and materials, including explosives and highly flammable materials. †¢To control the emission of noxious substances from certain premises. †¢It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety and welfare at work of all his employees. Examples of the subjects that should have Health and Safety policies and procedures: †¢Moving and handling of people and objects †¢Personal hygiene †¢Infection control †¢Personal safety and lone working †¢Fire safety †¢Food safety and hygiene †¢What to do in the event of an emergency †¢Risk assessments †¢Smoking at work †¢Display Screen Equipment (DSE) for people working with computers †¢Use of chemicals and waste disposal †¢Security measures and visitors

An Operational Analysis of Subway Restaurants

Completed By: Olga Gomez, Nancy Guadron, Paula Clark, and Tyann Peres Completed By: Olga Gomez, Nancy Guadron, Paula Clark, and Tyann Peres An Operational Analysis of Subway Restaurants University of Houston-Downtown MGT 3332 Summer 1 Dr. Steven Coy An Operational Analysis of Subway Restaurants University of Houston-Downtown MGT 3332 Summer 1 Dr. Steven CoyTeam Aces came to an agreement and decided to conduct an operational analysis of various Subway Restaurants throughout the Houston and Katy area. Each team member was charged with the task of visiting a Subway location near their residence. This way each member was given the opportunity to observe the concrete steps required for Subway to complete a service from beginning to end. When you hear the words â€Å"fast food,† you imagine being offered a service in which you are quickly in and out with your order, and nothing else to it.In this instance that is not the case; Subway did not become one of the largest sandwich chains overnight. It has taken years of productiveness from the owners, top managers, employees and each customer of Subway. Throughout this paper we will analyze Subway’s operations by identifying the type of process used and the basic layout of their facilities. We will also provide a detailed service blueprint that will help to get a better understanding of the service process from the beginning, when the customer places an order, to the end, when that paying customer walks out the door with their subway sandwich.After visiting our Subway locations, we will also be able to explain the strengths and weaknesses that we observed from the interaction between employees and customers and the overall Subway experience. One of the locations visited and observed during hours of operations was the Subway restaurant located at 19214 Clay Road, Suite A, Katy TX 77449. This restaurant has been serving the Katy community for approximately ten years. This particular location was observed in or der to help create the service blueprint.The service blueprint lists all of the service functions that are performed and the average time expected to achieve the completion of each function. It begins with the customer’s action; the customer walks into the store and places an order, the employee then acknowledges the customer’s request. This is followed by the customer deciding on the size and type of sandwich they would like made. The Subway employee then begins to prepare the customer’s sandwich with their size and type specifications in mind.At this point, the employee asks the customer to decide on their type of meat and cheese, once the customer communicates this decision, the employee adds the requested meat and cheese. He/she gives the customer the choice of having their sandwich toasted or not. If the customer decides to toast the sandwich the employee then proceeds to put it in the toaster for a minute then moves on to adding the dressings and sauces. I f the customer does not want their sandwich toasted, the employee continues along with the process.The interaction continues with the choosing of any vegetables and final touches which may include adding oil and vinegar or salt and pepper at the customer’s request. Finally, as we approach the end of the service process, the employees wraps the sandwich and offers the customer the option of adding a cookie or the option of making their sandwich purchase as a meal, which would then include chips or a drink for a set additional price. Once the customer has chosen, the employee then collects payment to complete the transaction, and hands the order over to the customer, thus concluding the service process.This entire process happens in between the line of interaction. A line of visibility does exist in all Subway locations, on one side you have the components that are visible to the customer, which include the bread baking and all of the products and produce used to make a Subway sandwich. On the other side of the line of visibility, you have those items not visible to the customers’ eyes, which include the preparation of the bread before baking it, the extra vegetables, meat, and cheeses to be cut and prepped, the chips and drinks used to stock the storefront, as well as the storage of all the other products necessary to perations such as paper products, bags and any office supplies. All of this is required in order to ensure the success of the service process. Even though the customer does not realize what exactly occurs behind the line of visibility, it does not mean they don’t care. Every paying customer hopes and expects that their food is being handled and prepared in the safest and best way possible. This means that employees must be equipped to complete all tasks required in the minimal time possible, while maintaining the utmost standards of sanitary handling and preparation.Please refer to blue print 1 for a visual representation of h ow the actual process explained above works. After getting a closer look at how the service process works by completing the blue print you can see that the employees work diligently to complete the process in less than five minutes. From this you can learn that during peak hours which include lunch and dinner rush, employees work faster than normal to meet the 5 minute process standard. This way may cause a customer to feel rushed.For instance if the employee sees that the customer line has exceeded more than five it begins to rush the process; this causes the customer to make abrupt decisions on what they want in their sandwich. At the same time this can easily cause the employees to make mistakes during the process. For instance they can accidently add the wrong vegetables or sauces simple because they are trying to rush through the process in order to get the customer in and out. This urgency of completing the process faster than usual can turn a customer away.Many paying custome rs like to have the undivided attention of the employees since they do feel like they should get their money’s worth through the service. To help both the employees and customers during this circumstances the manager should ensure the employees that yes you might have to pick up the speed to meet the lunch rush demand; but they will have to be courteous without making the customer feel rushed. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Subway location 19214 Clay Road, Suite A, Katy TX 77449

YOU Be the Judge Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

YOU Be the Judge - Assignment Example He knew well that he was headed for the large pond in the Newark Country Club (Barks n.d). The children slid through a hole in the trail-fence country club, where there was a sign posted â€Å"no trespasser†. The arising argument is why the country club failed to stop these children from playing over there, and why the country club did not say there was a deep pond(Barks n.d). Many claim that the country club has a duty to safeguard its pond, while children are are known to play close by. According to a country club employee, David Cox, he has told the children repeatedly to leave from that place because trail fence and signs cannot keep them away. However, this pond has certain best features that make it an attraction for kids (Smith, and Lee, n.d). During their free time, kids play on the ice, especially skating, meaning that these children have enough experience to realize the dangers associated with the pond. Jeremiah’s mother had cautioned her kids severally to stay away. After the death of the child, the club said that Jeremiah death is accidental, but also denied responsibilities. His mother reported the incident to the court, claiming that it was careless for â€Å"failing to childproof the pond† during its expansion (Sith, and Lee, n.d). Jeremiah’s mother’s lawyer said to the court that the club was so attractive that children could not identify danger. She claimed that the death of her son was a result of the attractive setting of the golf course pond, and her son could never understand what was in there. The incident at Newark Country Club left many people arguing about why the country club owner did not put up signs that told the children where they were supposed to be playing. The country club employee, David Cox stated that he has been warning the children against playing near the pond, that there are a split-trail fence and the signs (Smith, and Lee, n.d). However, the two

Nutrition-Food Intake-1 Day Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nutrition-Food Intake-1 Day - Assignment Example To better understand how I arrived at this statement, it would be best to break down my DRI for each food group. The first group that I want to analyze is the vitamin and minerals group. My spreadsheet shows that I have a consumed a variety of fruits and vegetables that can be considered healthy such as banana, broccoli, asparagus, and Greek salad. This definitely enhanced the percentage for vitamins and minerals which was even boosted by consuming yogurt and shrimp. It could be said then that my food choice for this food group is healthy because the sources are quite varied. I did surpass the DRI for each Vitamin and Mineral very well. However, I should also be cautious of sodium intake which was twice the amount recommended. High-sodium intake especially on a daily basis is a precursor for certain diseases such as hypertension and kidney problems ( Sodium:How To Tame Your Diet Now, Mayo Clinic website ). Food that is processed or preserved (canned food) often contains high levels o f sodium. The next group to be analyzed is fat. I was not able to determine the target DRI for fat; instead, I only recorded my consumption of monounsaturated and poly unsaturated fat. Nevertheless, there was minimal consumption of food that contained trans-fatty acid. If my only basis was fat, it could be said that I consumed 92% less than what was required which is not bad. Regrettably, the cholesterol consumed is 1,287% which is an indicator of a poor diet. Cholesterol leads to atherosclerotic heart disease (Freeman and Junge, 2005) which is why a high cholesterol diet should be avoided as much as possible. Indeed, people should pay attention their dietary intake because their health is at risk. As for carbohydrates, I have consumed less than what was required; however, much sugar consumption was undetermined. Carbohydrate is necessary for supplying energy for the body; yet, the source must not come from simple sugars. This is another issue that must be emphasized because too muc h sugar consumption could also lead to diabetes. I also included fiber in the diet since I am aware of the health benefits of this food type. As for protein, I consumed twice as much as the DRI. When it came to drinking water, I only consumed 70% of DRI which is really not healthy. It can be observed that there are some food groups that are over represented such as vitamins and minerals. In the case of carbohydrates, I really do not prefer eating bread or pasta which explains the result. In a way, I was trying to go on a diet by just eating chicken, fruits and vegetables. I also observed that I did not hydrate myself well which can lead to constipation later. There are several reasons behind these results. The first limitation I had is the variety of food choice presented to me. The canteen does not present much variety and food at home is quite simple because everyone is too busy to prepare a full meal. However, this is not an excuse because I can choose to buy and prepare my own f ood. I should introduce more variety by adding more fruits and carbohydrate sources. A hearty whole wheat sandwich can be easily prepared for snack time. The lesson here is that individuals must put a conscious effort to achieve a healthy diet. This requires careful planning to achieve a balanced meal. There is also a need to discuss people close to me that I have decided to change my eating habits. My parents could support me in this endeavor and may even take part in preparing meals that contains all the food types in the food pyramid. In fact, having

Using Image And Video Can Affect Student Learning Outcomes Essay

Using Image And Video Can Affect Student Learning Outcomes - Essay Example With experimentation during learning, students have a feeling of ownership of their learning and enhance the motivation to learn even more since most students see experiments in science as being much enjoyable compared to classes without practical tests. A student can make logic out of a topic, the reason the methods of practice creating a real phenomenon in the learning environment. Through practicing and seeing problems, students are motivated to develop a critical attitude towards issues enabling them to come up with real-time solutions for them. Practical work can up a student’s ability to conceptualize scientific facts and theories especially if the actual experimentation can illustrate and ultimately affirm the theory. As students participate in practical work, they involve themselves. Experiments in science also play a great role in molding manual dexterity skills and comprehensively enhance a student’s higher-level skills such as observation, measurement of scie ntific units as well as being deductive, predictive and conclusive. Experiments also play greater roles in boosting the students’ critical attitude. This ability to positively criticize existing scientific facts is what always leads to new discoveries in science. Students are also likely to give a scientific process a deeper scrutiny and cleverly come up with better ways of tackling experimental procedures. The habit of seeing problems and seeking for their solutions is always installed on the students through scientific problems.

Muhammad Ali's Significance in the Civil Rights Movement Term Paper

Muhammad Ali's Significance in the Civil Rights Movement - Term Paper Example The civil rights movement was focused in on the Southern part of America where most of the African American population dwelt and racial discrimination in several aspects was very high. During the onset of the nineteenth century, the state and local governments had passed division laws known as Jim Crow laws (Foner and Garraty, para.2). Muhammad Ali’s career is shining bright during the peak period of the civil rights movement when he is discriminated back in his country after winning the Olympics. He throws away the Olympic gold medal and gradually becomes a member of the civil rights movement by joining Malcolm X’s nation of Islam. NOI as the organization was known a deep hatred towards white people. On his move to Islam, Muhammad Ali had no apologies and was ready to be discriminated basing on his colour and religion (Zirin, Para.29). Muhammad Ali’s success on the ring served as a source of inspiration in fighting against racial discrimination as suppressed African Americans felt they were equally successful as whites. They also felt that he gave them the zeal to push on with the struggle towards racial equality and equal privileges as U.S citizens. His success came at a time when a large share of financial resources was in the hands of whites. Since he was from a very humble family he knew he was destined to do low-class jobs but his prowess made him able to have an impact in the empowerment of black people. (Zirin, Paras. 17-30). By changing his promotional code from the white-dominated promoter Louisville sponsoring group (LSG) to a majority African American Main Bout Muhammad Ali, believed that the economic empowerment was essential for black freedom. Being a historic first black company to air the closed circuit television, Ali knew that only through economic progression and self-aggression could they ever be equal and free. His promoter main bout (Ezra, pp.97-98). Between the

Consumer law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Consumer law - Essay Example Thus, the court held; "it was possible that a business could deal as a consumer". On the surface it appears that the ruling in R & B Customs totally contradicts the basis of the statues themselves, But upon review, we see that the vehicle was in fact purchased for double use; partly for family use, and partly for business use. The family use of the vehicle, coupled with the fact that the purchaser was not in the car business influenced the courts decision to extend an exception to the statue. So in the case of Andy, he would now be in accord with R & B Customs, he would now be classified as a consumer availing him of protection under The applicable statues found in the UCTA and the SOGA. In that we have stratified him and established his privilege to coverage as a consumer, we can approach the remaining issues affecting the car and his likely remedy. The only acknowledged car fault was with the brakes, and the dealer acknowledged the fault by accepting a 400-pound reduction in his initial price. It was presumed by Andy that a repair of the brakes would render the vehicle totally road worthy, thus of satisfactory quality. And presumably place the sale in accord with the SGA. We find a similar case in Bartlett v. Sydney Marcus (1965) the claimant purchased a second hand car from the defendants and was advised that there was a minor problem with the clutch. Being offered the option of purchasing the car at a reduced price and effecting the repairs himself, or allowing the vendors to repair the car and paying full price, he chose to accept the reduction and get the work done himself. This was indicated on the sale documents.... Andy purchased a used car for multi-purpose usage; shopping, collecting the children from school and occasional business use. He paid for the car with a cheque drawn on his business account.The only acknowledged car fault was with the brakes, and the dealer acknowledged the fault by accepting a 400-pound reduction in his initial price. It was presumed by Andy that a repair of the brakes would render the vehicle totally road worthy, thus of satisfactory quality.In the Product Warranty Liability Act a description of Implied warranty is provided to describe the suppliers contractual responsibilities (or guarantees) regarding the quality or fitness of the goods. Implied warranties, which don’t depend simply on what the supplier says but based on the consumers’ reasonable expectations about the goods in all circumstances. The supplier may be responsible under the implied warranty even if the supplier says nothing at all about the goods. The purpose and nature of implied warr anties is to protect the reasonable expectations that a buyer would have about the goods considering all the circumstances of the sale. Because reasonable expectations do not simply depend on what the supplier says but on other circumstances as well, implied warranties apply even when the supplier says nothing at all. (PWLA) The issue is supported in law by Smith v. Land and House Property Corporation, 28 CHD 7 South Australia, where the court held; â€Å" a statement of opinion can be regarded as a statement of fact in certain situations.

Discuss global health systems, service delivery, factors influencing Assignment

Discuss global health systems, service delivery, factors influencing care, and policy decisions, health disparities, and evidence based care at local, state, national, and global levels - Assignment Example Since global health is a central concern for various reasons, health systems occupy an important position in terms of global health care. Health systems work as important institutions that â€Å"plan, fund, and regulate† health care (Skolnik 2012, 88). Hence, their work involves generation of finances, providence of health care services, providence of clinical services, and finally, providence of intellectual input. The World Health Organization (WHO) is constantly involved with global health initiatives in order to increase worldwide access to quality healthcare services (Brugha 2009, 1237). Many such health initiatives have led to enhancements in the effectiveness of health aid. Evidence based health care, based on sound scientific evidence, aids healthcare decision making thereby ensuring high quality delivery of health services. They may operate at all levels including local, state, national, and global levels though acquiring complexity at larger scales. Many healthcare initiatives and programs use evidence based approach to ensure good service

Does Dr Who tell us about science and technology or the Britain of its Essay

Does Dr Who tell us about science and technology or the Britain of its time Discuss - Essay Example Moreover, the era gave birth to television, which changed many aspects of the British society (Campbell). During these years of technological advancements many other elements were also becoming popular in Britain. People were fascinated with TV shows and greatly appreciated them. One of the most famous TV shows of all times is Doctor Who broadcasted on BBC, the first story of the series began on 23 November 1963 (Hyland). The caste of Doctor Who is fascinating and interesting, the science fiction elements in the series is its major attraction. the first episode of ‘Unearthly Child’, Doctor Who has been at the heart of its viewers (Britton). This paper aims to analyze whether Doctor Who tells us more about science and fiction or Britain of that time. Moreover, the paper will discuss some of the many technological elements from Doctor Who. Thesis Statement: Doctor Who is a science fiction show which was first presented in 1963. The show has presented many technological ele ments which are either inevitably possible or impossible. It has merged science fiction with science fantasy and has grasped what was going on in the British society of that particular time. Background The longest running British science fiction series, Doctor Who first began in 1963. The series is based on about 800 episodes that have been broadcasted periodically, and celebrates its 50 years anniversary. The theme of the series revolves around the science fiction and science fantasy, as some of the critics identify it as science fiction where as some believe it’s a science fiction. Doctor Who portrays some of the most amazing and fascinating adventures for humans. The series incorporates elements of science and technology, through illusions, imaginary narrative, through its unique representation of character and events, like Aliens, Cyber men, Sonic Screwdrivers etc. The entries story of the series focuses on the concept of time travel that allows the characters of the seri es to travel anywhere, even in the past and future. Doctor Who presents advanced science, technology and fiction in a very innovative manner, attracting several viewers around the world. Some believe that the ideas in the series are beyond human imagination, whereas some ideas seemed quite reasonable with the foreseeable science and are believed to be possible. Another chief element, which contributed towards the longevity of the show, is that it has effectively portrayed the fact of technological development and transformation of British society. Doctor Who certainly highlights science and fiction, which has tapped fear and curiosity among the viewers with the help of strong imaginary narratives and comments of the technological issues. The argument Doctor Who is undoubtedly a brilliant piece of science and fiction, but the need is to understand whether the show has actually tried to portray science fiction or science fantasy and whether it has reflected the Britain of that period. The science and technology that has been showed in Doctor Who is certainly beyond ones imagination (Campbell). Doctor Who is a science fiction series and viewers enjoy watching it as it is fun (Mckee). It gives the viewer an escape from their routine life and exhausted schedule so that they can fire up their imagination with some extra imaginary story. Some of the concepts in the serieshave become a part of reality whereas some are

Sunspots and Sun Storms Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Sunspots and Sun Storms - Essay Example Sunspots occur in groups and appear and disappear at certain times. The sun could have hundreds of them sometimes and at other times only have a few. A sunspot can last between one and a hundred days. When they appear as a group, the sunspots can last approximately 50 days. Compared to the average surface temperature of the sun 6000 º Celsius, the sunspots are about 1500 º Celsius and can last from a few hours to a few months. In diameter, the sunspots can be as large as 80,000 km and as they move across the sun’s surface, they expand and contract. They can be explained as regions on the sun with strong magnetic field strengths that appear often in pairs that are aligned in an east to west direction and are thousands of times stronger if compared to the magnetic field of Earth. This implies that the rising magnetic tubes flux that breaks past the sun’s surface form the sunspots. In a simulation of the initial condition shows that there is a horizontal uniform layer of the magnetic field, in a stably stratified fluid, that is subject to a small perturbation. One of the factors that cause sunspots is intense magnetic fields such that sunspots occur in pairs and the magnetic field comes from one and enters into another one. The magnetic fields that are inside the sunspots are 1000 times stronger compared to those surrounding the undisturbed areas. The magnetic layer is unstable due to its buoyant nature, so out of its layers, the magnetic flux can rise. The center of a sunspot, mainly the dark spot is called the umbra; the magnetic fields are highest in this area. The striated area around the umbra, which is less dark, is called the penumbra. As seen from earth, it takes the sunspots 27 days to make a complete rotation, since they rotate with the solar surface. Near the Suns, equator sunspots rotate at a faster rate than those near the solar poles.  Ã‚  

Down the River Essay Example for Free

Down the River Essay Edward Abbeys essay Down the River reveals his strong belief that the existence of life revolves around nature itself. Abbey conveys these views through syntax, imagery, and his choice of structure. Abbey’s varying detail and syntax in the first half of the passage conveys an amazement toward nature. He states while gazing at the lion that there was a â€Å"mutual curiosity: [he] felt more wonder than fear†. His unexpected reaction to the mountain lion when they shared â€Å"mutual curiosity† implies that man is not alone in this journey towards knowledge, and there is a deep connection between man and nature. He varies the syntax from short to complex sentences with distinct differences in clauses. He states that later on they â€Å"see no mountain lions,† and the following sentence in a series presents all of the other wildlife that has been observed in great detail instead of the lion. He describes these plants and animals with enthusiasm and also calls Aravaipa â€Å"full of life† and extremely â€Å"beautiful†. The impression is that even though the lion that drew the explorer in is nowhere to be seen, there is still a vast amount of beauty in the desert. The structure is meant to contrast the two types of nature, urban nature and nature in Aravaipa. We see an immediate switch in tone when Abby says, â€Å"We stumble homeward over the stones, and through the anklebone-chilling water. † Abbey displays a hint of bitterness towards his home that is so bad even the journey to get there is torturous. He discusses the stars and how they seem to fade when he leaving the desert, as if the world he is used to has no stars, no beauty, no life. Abby then states that the memories of the beautiful desert are enough to keep him satisfied for days to survive the â€Å"urban life†. Nature is so rich in details and relationships and so wonderful and mysterious that it is impossible to completely understand it. This incomprehensibility can provide an unlimited source of learning that will eventually redeem us from a lifeless urban existence.

Importance of ‘True and Fair View of Financial Statements

Importance of ‘True and Fair View of Financial Statements Introduction This essay focuses on the definition of the ‘true and fair view’ and how to use in accounting practically. In my opinion, ‘true and fair view’ is essential in the real world of accounting because the company has to provide reliable and relevant information to demonstrate its actual financial situation in financial report. However, from December 2013, the ‘true and fair view’ is not defined in Corporations Act s. 295(4)(d) and other regulations or legislations. This is because it has been a controversial debate towards whether the exact nature of ‘true and fair view’. Therefore, the following essay will explain the importance of the ‘true and fair view’ in terms of the appropriate disclosure of material matters in financial statement and the frustration in terms of the definition as well. What is True and Fair? The ‘true and fair view’ concept is one of two competing but not mutually exclusive legal standards for financial reporting quality that have been subject to debate on their meaning, use and importance. The other is ‘present fairly in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles’ (GAAP). The mainly prescriptive literature suggests that each regime that requires compliance with ‘true and fair view’ tends to address and interpret the concept according to specific historical, social, cultural, political and economic roots and environments (Deegan Michael 2012). The nature of truth, whether absolute or relative, it is the existence of a reality, an unquestionable thing, or as an abstract concept, either dependent or independent of believers. The interpretation equated with the truth and fairness to the relevance together with adequate disclosure in financial report. In accounting concept, ‘True and fair view’ indicates that the financial statement must not contain material misstatement and actually reflect the financial performance and position on the company(Deegan Michael 2012). To be specific, ‘True’ means the financial statement accord with the reality and formal reporting framework such as conceptual framework and free from any unreal information which could mislead the users. ‘Fair’ means the information in financial statement do not include any personal prejudice or bias thus it could reflect the economic substance or transaction. The Importance of True and Fair in Accounting The Corporations Act requires the accountants to provide true and fair information so that the accounts of the company can convey a true and fair view explicitly. Under s. 297, it is required that the financial statements and notes should to give a true and fair value of the entity’s financial position in the financial year. Moreover, s. 308 requires auditors to give a true and fair view in the annual financial statements and comply with accounting standards. Beside to the Corporations Act, Chastney (1975) suggests that fairness means that, in order to achieve a true and fair view financial reports should present information both impartially and in a manner that a reader can understand clearly. The concepts of truth and fairness are of great significance to ensure the accounting information to be reliable. The information reflected in the financial repot includes the measurements of assets and liabilities, the calculation of profit and capital, as well as the actual quantities involved in business activities (Ryan 1988). The information disclosed in financial statements should be fair to shareholders, public and other related stakeholders. Thus, directors and auditors in a company have an obligation to comply with the ‘true and fair value’ in all accounting activities. For example, four particular information should be disclosed in the financial statement. These information are required to be true and fair to reflect the financial performance and position of the company. The four information needs are:capital maintenance, stewardship. Liquidity and net realizable value. From the perspective of true and fair, these four information are required as follows: Capital maintenance need to satisfy the needs of shareholders for disclosing the annual profit legally available for dividend, retained profit and the amount and form of paid-up capital. Stewardship need to satisfy the needs for disclosing the results achieved by directors from the use of funds and whether the investment are following the objective of the company (Power 2010). Liquidity are quired to serve as an indication to the solvency. The information should clarify the abilities of companies to met liabilities in short term, the amount of bank overdraft and the amount of any securities to secured company’s debts (Chastney 1975). Net realizable value disclosure are needed to make sure shareholders do not sell their shares which are parts of net realizable value but was available to the company. Under these interpretations, the measurement of periodic profit based on detail monetary model, which elaborate the demand and actual application of how fairness reflected in the financial statement (Gaffikin, Dagwell Wines 2004). Moreover, all the measurements should be internally consistent and comply with the applying of the accounting System.The value of the true and fair view also reflect the compliance of the transactions with relevant regulations, statutory provision and other accounting standard. For example, the accounting policies applied in the organization should be appropriate to a accompany’s business, and the acquirements and recommendations in accounting standards can be practical in the use of achieving company’s actual financial objectives (Aisbitt Nobes 2001). Specially, AASB 1001 requires the accounting policies should to ensure the substance of the underlying transactions or other events , satisfying the concepts of relevance and reliability (AASB). This demands the actual economic nature and effect of the events to be reported. At last, the truth and fairness also make contributions to the company’s decision making. This is because the relevance and reliability has b een ensured and the managers can predict the future perspective according to the useful information reported in the financial statement (Ijiri Jaedicke 2004). How to define True and Fair? However, True and fair concept is not yet defined by authority, also some way to define that in view of its relationship to the various components of a true and fair. (Lee, 1982) There is also no legal concept prescribe the notion of true and fair. Sometimes the application of ‘true and fair valve’ go far beyond of technical rules of accounting (Aisbitt Nobes 2001). For example, stemming from the meaning of ‘compliance with the facts’, ‘truth’ refers to ‘empirical correspondence’ in accounting terminology. But in practical accounting, the value of truth is not limited to its literal definition. It also expand to deductive validity in audit process. Further more, the application of fair also involved in the appropriate general accounting model for measurement of periodic profit and capital. That is to say, there is no fixed standard to rule what is exactly the meaning of ‘true and fair value’ in practical accounting. On the other hand, although true and fair view is really essential in accounting framework, however, in real life sometimes it is quite hard for the accountant to make absolute right decision in terms of following absolute truth and fairness. For example, in the process of determining the depreciation, several methods are available such as declining balance method, maximum amount method, multi-level method and the basic method (Ryan 1988). In most cases, several options are accessible and reasonable, but different methods could lead to different calculation answers, affecting the estimation of company’s financial performance. When the accountant put the formula into the reality, they have to take into account the company’s position and financial performance target, then making the optimal decision (Lee 1982). In this situation, the concept of ‘true and fair view’ do not have fixed rules and the accountant may use the professional judgment to make the final decision. Conclusion To conclude, true and fair value are of great concern in accounting, especially in financial statements. The idea that true and fair value measurement is part of professional identification in terms of the releasability and relevance of the information disclosed in the financial report. However, in most cases, the technical standard setting of true and fair value are not obvious and uniform, which address impediment to real practicability of the interpretations. This is because the notions of relevance and reliability cannot be defined independently of the whole accounting system and are always subject to changes (Power 2010). Reference list Aisbitt, S Nobes, C 2001, ‘The true and fair view requirement in recent national implementations’, Accounting and Business Research, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 83-90 Australian Accounting Standard Board 2010, Complied AASB Standard AASB 117, Australian Government Australian Accounting Standards Board, Australia. Chastney, JG 1975, True and fair view: a study of the history and meaning of true and fair and a consideration of the impact of the fourth directive, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, London Deegan C., 2012 Australian Financial Accounting, 7th ed, McGraw-Hill, Nth Ryde Gaffikinà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’ Mà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’ Dagwellà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’ R Winesà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’ G 2004à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’ Corporate accounting in Australiaà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’ 3rd editionà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’ University of New South Wales Press Ltdà ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’ NSW Ijiri, Y Jaedicke, R 2004, ‘Reliability and objectivity of accounting measurements’, The Accounting Review, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 471–483. Lee, TA 1982, ‘The will-o-the-wisp of true and fair’, The Accountant, vol. 187, no. 5601, pp. 16-18. Power, M 2010, ‘Fair value accountin: financial economics and the transformation of reliability’, Accounting and Business Research, vol. 40, no. 3, pp. 197-210. Ryan, JB 1988, A True and Fair View: A Revised Accounting Interpretation, University of Wollongong, Wollongong

Wal Marts Entry Strategy Into China Management Essay

Wal Marts Entry Strategy Into China Management Essay With reference to Porters PEST theory, the paper aims to examine Wal-Mart entry strategy into China, and show whether or not pursuing a joint venture strategy was key to Wal-Marts external growth within the Far East. The paper is situated relative to previous academic research articles and sets out to contribute to the literature, aiming to expand on previous work while giving an insight into business decisions and intent that need to be considered when entering new markets. The paper will aim to answer two questions in relation to Wal-Mart business strategy as seen in the analytical theory section, offering an in depth understanding and critique in regards to Wal-Marts Far Eastern ventures: Did the Political, Economic, Social and Technological incentives favour Wal-Marts strategy into China, and; Based on the findings from the PEST analysis, was Wal-Marts decision to adopt a joint venture entry strategy feasible? Chapter 1 1.1 Introduction Wal-Mart Inc. is ranked on a global scale as one of the largest retail companies worldwide, with a market capitalisation of 192.38billion (www.uk.finance.yahoo.com) and sales in excess of $108 billion and earnings per share of 96 cents (Smith, 2009). This combined with its position within the Top 5 of the Fortune 500 Index and the impacts of the ongoing credit crunch make it a very engaging topic to investigate. In this paper I aim to build on the concepts within the topic of international business strategy, addressing Wal-Marts own strategy in their decision to enter the Chinese Market. Business strategy within many global organisations plays an essential role in attaining a desired level of strategic leadership (intent) and Wal-Mart is no exception. Wal-Mart like many firms is very specific in its business agenda, which Pereira (2002) summarily acknowledged, as establishing dominance in the home retail markets (US), global expansion/leadership and a constructive brand creation (Pereira et al, 2002). Based on Pereiras perception of Wal-Marts strategy, by undertaking Porters PEST analysis looking at Political, Economical, Social and Technological, the findings will be aligned with regards to Wal-Marts policy on joint ventures. It will build on previous academic research articles and theories, listed in the literature review with the aim of understanding the strategic decisions Wal-Mart has undertaken in regards to its global expansion. These decisions underpin the entry strategy Wal-Mart has adopted to enter into the Chinese market, Wal-Mart is exporting its retail savvy east to Asia with stores opening in China (Halverson, 1994, p1). The paper having outlined the general concept of PEST when considering market entry, will then conclude with an overview of the entry strategy taken by Wal-Mart in China based on this PEST analysis. 1.2 PEST Analysis PEST is a business tool that was developed by Michael Porter (1980s). It is used by firms to understand changes within the macro environment focusing on 4 main factors, Political, Economic, Social and Technological. Gathering information based on these four components PEST is used by firms to address their strategic positioning, planning and marketing decisions. The importance of a PEST analysis according to articles written by Glaister and Falshaw, is that PEST considers the integral components of the external appraisal of the company, leading to considered view of the opportunities and threats facing the firm (Glaister and Falshaw, 1999, p112). By contrast other types of analysis, for instance the TECOP model, bring into the commercial and organisational risk aspects into the analysis. (www. siteresources.worldbank.org, p25) However for the purpose of this report a PEST analysis is the most appropriate. The views on PEST, combined with Porters own theories on firm behaviour in relation to the environment, the pressure to change is more often environmental than internal (Porter, 1998, p52) exemplifies why aligning an entry strategy to a PEST analysis is, for many firms, crucial. Wal-Mart is a typical example of this, highlighting the importance of considering all four aspects before making a decision. Wal-Marts development and decisions based on its entry strategy are strongly aligned to the fundamentals of PEST. The template below illustrates this: Chapter 2 2.1 Literature Review There are many previous studies and literature, which use Porters PEST analysis as a tool to understanding entry decisions. This review will aim to expand on these and use the concepts to offer a diverse understanding of Wal-Marts global expansion strategy within China. From a global perspective, the retail sector is one of the biggest and most competitive markets, the amount and variety of forms of international retail operations have increased in recent decades (Dawson, 1994, p39). Having established in 1962, Wal-Mart has been no exception to this pattern, Wal-Mart is both the worlds largest retailer and corporation measured by its revenue (Dobson, 2004, P89). As Wal-Mart has strategically developed, the necessity to adapt and evolve a global strategy and align it to the external environment has been vital. Wal-Marts global expansion and positioning within new markets with the strategic intent of acquiring a competitive advantage against other retail giants such as Tesco and Carrefour in terms of market share, epitomizes this, since 1994, Wal-Mart, the biggest retailer in the world, has been one of a range of American `new format retailers causing havoc in foreign retail markets (Hallsworth and Evers, 2004, p1). The literature gives an insight into why firms exist where they do. PEST is a tool used to gain an understanding of market growth and decline (external to the firm) and as a result helps to determine the ideal strategic positioning for an organisation. As Langlois and Robertson stated, a company when dealing with any business strategy must establish the boundaries of control in relation to their organisations scale and scope (Langlois et al, 1995, p7). If this is not established upfront, any plan around firm positioning becomes problematic and as Lamont has stated in his work, and in particular with reference to Wal-Marts global-regional strategy, this has been the case in some areas. Wal-Mart, Lamont argues has made some mistakes in judging the importance of economic, cultural, and business risks within local countries (Lamont, 2002), which as a result has prevented them from positioning themselves in some countries as a successful retail firm. Many European cities like Germany for instance have stuck with the smaller retailers like Spar and Lidl as their needs and choice are not as diverse as the Chinese demands. Further literature expands on the problems of a lack of understanding of the external environment. For instance, Lamont, Kottoli and Schaefer critique Wal-Marts European entry strategy in relation to the fundamentals of PEST. Lamont picks up on the economic analysis and argues that higher prices and increased competition was a source of Wal-Marts failure in countries like Germany (Lamont, 2002). Kottoli also joins the debate and argues cultural insensitivities became the barrier to Wal-Marts success, which in turn backs up Schaefers theories relating to why Wal-Mart had the problems it did. Wal-Marts inability to adapt its home ideologies to its global goals due to management problems, language barriers (social), market knowledge and political regulation all added to its decision to re-structure and sell off its losses (Schaefer, 2006). This said carrying out a PEST analysis on Wal-Marts Chinese venture becomes an interesting exercise, because, while Kottoli, Schaefer and Lamonts arguments are all credible for Europe, others believe China offers a unique angle. A PEST analysis will give a more in depth understanding of why Wal-Mart chose a certain entry strategy for China. Goldstein in his writing showed how Wal Marts approach to China differed from previous entry strategies and that it has actually experienced an element of success (Goldstein, 2003). It is at least still present expanding and respected in China and Asia, which cannot be said for its development in some European countries like Germany. Kierney compounds this further when stating with regards to China, Wal-Mart is firmly entrenched (Kearney, 2006, p6) within China. Other literature agrees with such a viewpoint and Naughton for instance states that for Wal-Mart, China represents the biggest frontier since it conquered America (Naughton 2006). Having utilised PEST to understand the external environment Wal-Mart had to develop a suitable entry strategy for China. Previously Wal-Mart in Canada, as stated by Govindarajan and Gupta, used an acquisition strategy. The reasons behind such a development were that Wal-Mart faced relatively little need for new learning, and thus, entering through a strategic alliance was unnecessary (Govindarajan and Gupta, 1999). China on the other hand presents a very different emerging market, which at the time of the Wal-Mart venture had remained much untapped. Taking this into account, an alliance or joint venture is the best entry strategy to utilise, as a joint venture allows firms to assess the competitive landscape with more accuracy (Hamel and Prahalad, 1989). Realising this, Wal-Mart entered China on the basis of a joint venture, which capitalised on their previous acquisition experience. Chapter 3 3.1 Analytical Theory From a detailed PEST perspective this section will look at the individual P-E-S-T aspects. It questions whether the underlying concepts of a PEST analysis, the political, economic, social and technological concepts favour Wal-Mart in pursuing an entry strategy based on joint ventures. It will do this by considering two aspects of the entry strategy: 1) Did the Political, Economic, Social and Technological incentives favour Wal-Marts strategy into China, and; 2) Based on the findings from the PEST analysis, was Wal-Marts decision to adopt a joint venture entry strategy feasible? 3.2 Political When considering any business strategy it is important for an organisation to analyse the political environment in which decisions must be made. It should consider regulation, government positioning, trade agreements and policy. Politically, Hallsworth and Evers have examined the barriers that internationalisation of firms like Wal-Mart have frequently encountered, responses from indigenous rivals, the regulatory mechanisms of the governments of host or target nations have often hindered strategies for global development (Hallsworth and Evers, 2004, p1). In China, the political agenda exposed Wal-Mart to such potential barriers in the shape of highly regulated systems favouring domestic firms and preventing a so-called foreign takeover. However, timely changes in government policies meant that Wal-Mart was able to gain a foothold, as China was opened up to investment, and the government eased restrictions on foreign businesses, and encouraged Chinese entrepreneurs to enter joint vent ures with Westerners (Hornblower, 2004). Wal-marts entry strategy at the time clearly benefited from this. Wal-Mart undertook a joint venture with Citic Pacific Ltd (www.articles.latimes.com) with the sole purpose of gaining an established brand in the highly competitive Chinese domestic retail sector. As China continued to develop a more open commercial philosophy, economic growth opportunities started to emerge particularly as the economic climate (growth and investment) was right (the commercial side of the TECOP model not addressed by PEST). Wal-Mart was faced with greater prospects in terms of positioning itself in the market and enhancing its market share. Wal-Mart as a result adapted its strategy around such political incentives. Having established its brand, Wal-Marts strategy evolved to embrace acquisitions and pull out of its original joint venture. Political restructuring and incentives, which included greater leniency of jurisdiction in relation to competition enhanced t he Wal-Mart entry strategy. Wal-Mart expanded as a single entity, increasing its capacity to 89 stores in different cities, beginning to slowly erode the domestic retail sectors market share (www.wal-martchina.com). Chinas goal to achieve political stability and its opening up of policies also acted as an incentive for investment to take place (www.euromonitor.com). The political environment contributing to a new emerging Chinese market, allowed opportunistic businesses such as Wal-Mart to develop joint venture strategies, which gave them easier access and control over distribution channels and supply chains. 3.3 Economic In relation to any retailer considering global expansion, the strategy it bases its actions upon has to be aligned to market conditions. Based on market conditions certain strategy decisions will be developed and in Wal-Marts case, its development of a joint venture strategy in economic terms is understandable. Wal-Marts entry strategies were very much in line with Chinas 5-year plan of economic growth. (www.bw.china-embassy.org). The International Monetary fund (IMF) Statistics are proof of this. Wal-Mart by utilising the economic concept within PEST has strategically positioned itself in correlation to data seen in Table 1. China with a population greater than1,334,296 million and an increasing annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which highlights its economic performance, presented Wal-Mart with a massive opportunity for growth, customer base and profit maximisation (www.imf.org). By aligning its entry strategy to work with those already in the market, Wal-Mart was then able to bu ild foundations to expand its network. Table 1 Country Subject Descriptor Scale 2009 2010 2011 China GDP Billions 12,076,672 12,983,630 14,314,365 China Population Millions 1,334,296 1,354,310 1,374,625 (www.imf.org, Accessed 11th June2009) Economically the US-China Business Council also shows a pattern of growth, which explains why Wal-Mart wanted to expand into China, with political support back in the USA. In relation to retail sales (Table 2) these have increased dramatically over the last 10 years. For instance from 2003 to 2008 the percentage of growth in retail has been 12.5% (www.uschina.org). Such statistics would appeal to any foreign firm looking to strategically position itself within Asian Markets. At the same time the joining of China into the World Trade Organisation in 2001 (www.wto.org: 2001 Press Releases) also presents companies like Wal-Mart with an opportunity to enter a market that is categorically a Free Trade Zone, increasing export led growth (USCBC, 2009). Such economic incentives, established through the Political and Economic (part of PEST) analysis are the reason why the Wal-Mart scale and scope now extends into the Far East. Table 2 Main indicators 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Retail sales 5,251.6 5,950.1 6,717.7 7,641.0 8,921.0 10,848.8 % growth 9.1 13.3 12.9 13.7 16.8 21.6 (General Economic and Financial Indicators, 1999-2008, http://www.uschina.org/statistics/economy.html) By carrying out a joint venture entry strategy, Wal-Mart was able to utilise labour pools already present in the retail field without incurring start up costs. Similarly, the size of Chinas workforce meant that Wal-Mart was able to significantly reduce the cost of capital investment, Chinas abundant labour supply means that companies can choose to use manual processes instead of automated processes and still save money (Huffman 2009). Hornblower also expressed a fundamental aspect of the importance of understanding the economic environment. He stated that Wal-Mart entry strategy was timed to allow others to enter the market first. This allowed Wal-Mart to have a second mover advantage or fastest follower and in so doing minimise its fixed costs. This clearly worked as Wal-Mart was able to cash in on low-wage Chinese labour already present due to previous investors (Hornblower, 2004). 3.4 Social When using PEST to develop a strategy, the social dimension of a country is also very important. Cultural attitudes, country specific product development and language barriers are a few of the issues that have to be considered external to the firm. Wal-Mart, when entering China, has had to develop a strategy around understanding such issues and how to address them. It is therefore not surprising that joint-ventures seemed to be a logical entry strategy for Wal-Mart into China. Through adapting such a strategy Wal-Mart has prevented some of the problems it faced in Europe, namely that of language barriers (Schaefer argument). Through gaining an alliance with domestic firms, Wal-Mart has gained an understanding of the cultural demands of the Chinese people. Using the cultural experience gained from its initial entry, Wal-Mart has started to diversify its strategy to reach out into areas not supplied by the typical hypermarkets, Wal-Mart is now operating 3 convenient stores (Wei and Kwok, 2009). This along with Wal-Marts adaptation of their strategy based around going green and addressing environmental problems (Hennock, 2008), has enabled Wal-Mart to develop a strategy based around longevity and socio-cultural awareness. Such a strategy is considered for a USA firm exceeding rare, but in this particular case was built upon US-China trade agreemen ts. At the same time, Wal-Mart has tried to learn from the problems it experienced when entering Europe. Wal-Marts entry strategy into China takes into consideration the needs of the community. Kottolis argument of cultural insensitivities found in previous ventures, as mentioned within the literature review, have been addressed and Wal-Mart actively participates in community service and charity events and has donated funds and in kind support worth more than RMB 58millon (US$8million) (www.walmartstores.com/factsheets).Wal-Mart has capitalised on the positive effects of being seen within the community as a sympathetic and generous enterprise. In addition, Wal-Mart has developed a strategy, which focuses on upstream measures with the aim of meeting customer demands. Using a strategy of working in partnership with suppliers, Wal-Mart has managed to reduce prices of goods by an average of 20 percent, generating increased customer traffic and turnover (www.walmartstores.com/factsheets). 3.5 Technological Technological innovation is also a factor, which needs to be taken into consideration when developing an entry strategy into an unknown external environment. Wal-Mart on entering the Chinese market sought to gain a competitive advantage over other retailers by introducing innovative measures around marketing and implementing cost reduction methods. For instance taking control of the supply chain and outsourcing. Such a strategy is key to explaining Wal-Mart global expansion, as Technological innovations account for approximately 60% of Wal-Marts growth (Basker and Pham, 2008). At the same time Wal-Mart has also introduced advanced retail technology and experience to China and advanced Chinas retail industry standards and development (www.tradeinservices.com), which has helped it to produce cheaper products, offering innovation, controlling supply chains and meeting the requirements of consumers. An example of this is the Wal-Mart introduction of electronic stock taking and till to back office re-ordering which consequently led to other firms imitating such technological advances supplying the needs of the Chinese customer both efficiently and at the lowest cost possible. Through adapting both internal and external strategies Wal-Mart has been able to gain control over and add value to certain areas that focus on customer communications/awareness as its core competence within China. Chapter 4 4.1 Policy implications Having established the reasons why Wal-Mart chose to enter China through Porters PEST analysis it is important to look at the policy implications Wal-Mart has needed to address and understand. A joint venture strategy, for instance requires Wal-Mart to take into account the risk of exploitation, and bootlegging from other competing firms. At the same time Wal-Mart has to consider its internal policy implication for entering China and whether Chinas policy for foreign direct investment (FDI) supports Wal-Marts entry strategy choice. Policies based around exports and imports (Tax), foreign policy and anti dumping legislation encouraging fair competition must be considered. The Chinese government itself must impose anti dumping legislation making sure price competition is even-handed. Such policy implications are important as without understanding these, retail firms strategies incorporate unnecessary risk and the decisions to enter into certain markets becomes problematic. The theoretical findings within the paper highlight the importance of making sure the correct entry strategy is chosen. The paper shows that Wal-Mart has had to evolve its core competencies to incorporate Chinas demands. The labour force, varying tastes and changing demands exemplify why Wal-Mart entry included a joint venture strategy aligning itself to market requirement. Using a PEST analysis has illustrated how Wal-Mart has evolved its US strategy to meet the needs of Far Eastern Markets. If Wal-Mart had undertaken other entry strategy decisions such as franchising, or even an acquisition strategy, they may have been unable to adapt their home market policy to foreign market policy. As seen in some of Wal-Marts European ventures (i.e. Germany) this would have resulted in a lack understanding and consequently market failure. If one wanted to pursue this paper further, incorporating other tools to assess the theoretical reasoning of Wal-Mart entry into the Far East and in particular China, a SWOT analysis as a business tool could be used. This tool allows firms to understand the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, both internally and externally, allowing decisions to be based on whether or not certain entry strategies are supported by the policies that exist and whether there is a need for the development of new policies. Combining the use of a PEST analysis with other businesses tools like the SWOT into entry strategies will give a much more informed decision and remains fundamental to business development. Similarly other more in depth models could be used to analyse Wal-Mart entry strategy. For instance as mentioned the TECOP model would add another dimension from both a commercial and organisation aspect, perhaps addressing the marketing perception in greater detail. 4.2 Conclusion It is clear that from analysing and using the data from the World Trade Organisation and US Chinese councils that Porters PEST analysis is a useful tool in understanding Wal-Mart strategic motives for developments within China. Europe, on the other hand, in regards to PEST has pressures that were not suited to Wal-Mart entry strategies. Its ideology around discount low prices for instance did not appeal, and politically and economically the competition meant Wal-Mart was unable to gain any market control. Through making mistakes in Europe, Wal-Mart has gathered experience in entering markets significantly different from the American market and as a firm it has been able to establish clear boundaries of control within China. This, combined with a learning strategy based around joint ventures has also been beneficial to Wal-Mart entry strategy within China, particularly when dealing with an emerging market and the domestic competition that existed. At the same time with Wal-Mart acting as a second mover within the Chinese retail market, following a strategy of joint ventures has allowed it to establish itself within the market. Taking into account the policy implications for entry into China as part of its entry decision has allowed Wal-Mart to establish a brand that incorporates the Economic, Political, Social and Cultural factors that is was unable to do in Europe. Having said this however it is imprudent to focus on the external environment as the only factor facing Wal-Mart in decisions to enter new markets. Managerial decisions and core competencies along with other internal aspects also need to be aligned to suit Wal-Marts strategic intent. Keeping success going requires constant attention to the competitive environment. Continuous work on the supply chain, responsiveness to political decisions and influence over these decisions and, last but not least, continued customer and employee focus are all aspects Wal-Mart needs to continue to address.

Chivalry Essay -- essays research papers

Chivalry Chivalry, the order of knighthood, and especially, the code of knightly behavior, comes from many origins. In Middle English, the word "chevalrie" meant "mounted horseman". In Old french, the word "chevalrie" meant knightliness or "chevalier" meaning knight. (Microft, Encarta) Almost all origins of the word meant horseman. Warfare was not an option in the medieval period and the knight was the most crutial part. The knight's ability, and the military strength of the lord or king were nessesary for their survival. A knight was loyal to his king even though he was not always a member of his personal court. He was also loyal to his lord or landowner. Most of all, he was loyal to God, as all Christian knights were. A Christian knight had virtues of fidelity, piety, loyalty and devotion to God. However, some knights did not live this ideal lifestyle. (Duby) A young boy in training to be a knight spent the first few years of his life in care of the women in his family. At the age of 7 years old, a child of noble birth would be placed in the castle of a lord or govenor. This is where the training for knighthood began. As a page, the boy would be tutored in Latin and French, but he devoted most of his time to physical exersice, and duties. A page was educated in wrestling, tilting with spears, and military exercises that were done on horseback....

Amino Acid Supplements for Body-building and Exercise :: Science Chemistry Health Essays

Amino Acid Supplements for Body-building and Exercise Contents: This paper is divided into two sections. The first section contains information about research of amino acid supplements found on the Internet. The second section contains published research studies addressing questions of effectiveness and safety of the supplements. Section 1: Internet-based Research Involving Amino Acids General Overview of Section 1 The sports of bodybuilding and fitness are undergoing changes as supplemental products enhance the performance of athletes. With access to the Internet, these products are readily available, but the effectiveness is in question. Amino acids are one form of supplementation that is being used by many people today. Research on the Internet shows that amino acids are available in seemingly countless varieties with most of the information being presented by the companies who sell them. Each form claims to have some enhancing effect, such as better performance, increased strength, or just benefiting results for athletes. However, not all of the amino acid products on the market claim to help the visible physical aspects. Some affect internal or emotional processes. Support for many of these claims are from the users themselves, with little scientific support. Amino Acids and their Functions According to David Spindel, "amino acids are organic molecules that form the basic constituents of protein. " They are the "building blocks" of the body. They build and repair various body parts and aid certain body functions. There are twenty-two amino acids. Eight are essential and fourteen are non-essential. The body does not manufacture the essential acids and does manufacture the non-essential acids. The body contains a free amino acid pool that contains tissues and bodily fluids. Amino acids enter this pool by three ways. Amino acids enter during digestion of foods containing protein, when body protein decomposes, and when carbon sources and NH3 synthesize the non-essentials. When protein intake is insufficient, there are not enough amino acids entering the pool to compensate for the lost ones. This affects the muscle size and strength (4). Amino acids aid the body in many ways, and are definitely needed by the body to function properly. Supplements are needed only when the bod y does not get the required amounts. The purposes of amino acid supplements are to replenish the lacking acid supply and in most sports uses, to stimulate lean mass growth without sacrificing present muscle mass.

A Comparison of Gender-Roles in A Dolls House and A Streetcar named De

Gender-Roles in A Doll's House and A Streetcar named Desire   Ã‚   The roles of males and females in our society are subjects that entail great criticism, and have been under scrutiny for as long as a `society' has existed. In analyzing A Doll's House by Henrick Ibsen and A Streetcar named Desire by Tennessee Williams, the effects that gender-roles have on relationships is an evident aspect in both of the plays. The choice of words used by the authors strongly underscores the themes of supremacy, selfishness, inequality, and unmistakably, the roles of men and women in society.    In Act I of A Doll's House, there are many clues that hint at the kind of marriage Nora and Torvald have. It seems that Nora is a doll controlled solely by Torvald. She relies on him for everything, from movements to thoughts, much like a puppet that is dependent on its puppet master for all of its actions. The most obvious example of Torvald's physical control over Nora is his teaching her the tarantella. Nora pretends that she needs Torvald to teach her every move in order to relearn the dance. The reader knows this is an act, and it shows her submissiveness to Torvald. After he teaches her the dance, he proclaims "When I saw you turn and sway in the tarantella - my blood was pounding till I couldn't stand it"(Ibsen 1009), showing how he is more interested in Nora physically than emotionally. When Nora responds by saying "Go away, Torvald! Leave me alone. I don't want all this"(Ibsen 1009), Torvald asks "Aren't I your husband?"(Ibsen 1009). By saying this, he is implyin g that one of Nora's duties as his wife is to physically pleasure him at his command.    Torvald also does not trust Nora with money, which exemplifi... ...tely equal, and if neither men nor women used the power that society gives them based on their sex, then, and only then, could true equality exist in our world.    Works Consulted Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House (1879). Trans. Rolf Fjelde. Rpt. in Michael Meyer, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 5th edition. Boston & New York: Bedford/St. Martin's Press, 1999. 1564-1612. Lant, Kathleen Margaret. "A Streetcar Named Misogyny." pp. 225-238 Redmond, James (Editor). Violence in Drama. Cambridge University Press; 1991. Shaw, Bernard. "A Doll's House Again."   Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism.   Detroit: Gale Research Inc., 1979. Templeton, Joan. "The Doll House Backlash: Criticism, Feminism, and Ibsen." PMLA (January 1989): 28-40. Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. New York: Signet. Original copyright 1947.      

Agency Costs and Financial Decision-Making

Agency Costs and Financial Decision-Making The Concept An agency relationship is a contract under which one or more persons (the principal(s)) engage another person (the agent) to perform some service on their behalf which involves delegating some decision making authority to the agent. If both parties to the relationship are utility maximizers and they may have divergent goals and objectives, and there is good reason to believe that the agent will not always act in the best interests of the principal (Jensen, Michael C. , and William H.Meckling. â€Å"Theory of the Firm, Managerial Behavior, Agency Costs, and Ownership Structure. † Journal of Financial Economics 3 (October 1976), 305-360) The concept of agency cost recognizes there are fundamental differences in how shareholders, managers, and even bondholders interpret their respective relationships to an organization. While they may share some common goals and objectives, there is the potential for at least some objectives to emerge that are focused more on individual enrichment than on the well-being of the whole.For example, managers may be more focused on building a reputation for themselves, possibly creating their own power bases within the structure of the larger organizations. Shareholders may become more focused on earning dividends now and less on the future of the business. Bondholders may be concerned only with the project associated with the bond issue, and lose sight of how the overall stability of the company can have a negative impact on the return earned from that bond. ( http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/encyclopedia/A-Ar/Agency-Theory. tml#ixzz14WVaUW4g) Agency Costs is an economic concept which is defined as the cost incurred by an entity in relation to issues like varied goals and objectives of the management and shareholders and information asymmetry. Self-Interested Behavior Agency theory suggests that, in imperfect labor and capital markets, managers will seek to maximize th eir own utility at the expense of corporate shareholders. Agents have the ability to operate in their own self-interest rather than in the best interests of the firm because of asymmetric information (e. g. , managers know better than shareholders whether they are apable of meeting the shareholders' objectives) and uncertainty (e. g. , myriad factors contribute to final outcomes, and it may not be evident whether the agent directly caused a given outcome, positive or negative). Evidence of self-interested managerial behavior includes the consumption of some corporate resources in the form of perquisites and the avoidance of optimal risk positions, whereby risk-averse managers bypass profitable opportunities in which the firm's shareholders would prefer they invest. Outside investors recognize that the firm will make decisions contrary to their best interests.Accordingly, investors will discount the prices they are willing to pay for the firm's securities. (Bamberg, Giinter, and Klau s Spremann, eds. Agency Theory, Information, and Incentives. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1987). A potential agency conflict arises whenever the manager of a firm owns less than 100 percent of the firm's common stock. If a firm is a sole proprietorship managed by the owner, the owner-manager will undertake actions to maximize his or her own welfare. The owner-manager will probably measure utility by personal wealth, but may trade off other considerations, such as leisure and perquisites, against personal wealth.If the owner-manager forgoes a portion of his or her ownership by selling some of the firm's stock to outside investors, a potential conflict of interest, called an agency conflict, arises. For example, the owner-manager may prefer a more leisurely lifestyle and not work as vigorously to maximize shareholder wealth, because less of the wealth will now accrue to the owner-manager. In addition, the owner-manager may decide to consume more perquisites, because some of the cost of th e consumption of benefits will now be borne by the outside shareholders. Bamberg, Giinter, and Klaus Spremann, eds. Agency Theory, Information, and Incentives. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1987. ) In the majority of large publicly traded corporations, agency conflicts are potentially quite significant because the firm's managers generally own only a small percentage of the common stock. Therefore, shareholder wealth maximization could be subordinated to an assortment of other managerial goals. For instance, managers may have a fundamental objective of maximizing the size of the firm.By creating a large, rapidly growing firm, executives increase their own status, create more opportunities for lower- and middle-level managers and salaries, and enhance their job security because an unfriendly takeover is less likely. As a result, incumbent management may pursue diversification at the expense of the shareholders who can easily diversify their individual portfolios simply by buying shares in other companies. (http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/encyclopedia/A-Ar/Agency-Theory. html#ixzz14WVaUW4g) Managers can be encouraged to act in the stockholders' best interests through incentives, constraints, and punishments.These methods, however, are effective only if shareholders can observe all of the actions taken by managers. A moral hazard problem, whereby agents take unobserved actions in their own self-interests, originates because it is infeasible for shareholders to monitor all managerial actions. To reduce the moral hazard problem, stockholders must incur agency costs. Measuring Agency Costs The idea behind assessing agency cost is to attempt to identify what impact these differences in objectives and the flow of information between the agent or manager and the shareholders is having on the overall profitability of the organization.By correctly identifying and addressing issues of agency cost, it is possible to minimize the influence of those factors, at least enough to allow the organization to continue moving forward, rather than running the risk of failure. Determining the agency cost normally begins with looking closely at the potential costs or risks associated with including some type of agent or manager in the organizational structure. For example, one potential risk would be the possibility that the individual who is appointed as an officer in the company could seek to use company assets for his or her own personal gain, to the detriment of the company.At the same time, agency cost also looks at the expense involved in anticipating potential abuses of power and resources, and structuring the organization so that abuse is less likely to occur. This may include offering incentives to key employees that promote loyalty and lessen the chance of misappropriation of resources, or structuring the accounting process so that a series of checks and balances create a separation of control, effectively preventing any one individual from having too much power within the organization. http://www. wisegeek. com/what-is-an-agency-cost. htm) Agency costs are defined as those costs borne by shareholders to encourage managers to maximize shareholder wealth rather than behave in their own self-interests. The notion of agency costs is perhaps most associated with a seminal 1976 Journal of Finance paper by Michael Jensen and William Meckling, who suggested that corporate debt levels and management equity levels are both influenced by a wish to contain agency costs. There are three major types of agency costs: 1) Expenditures to monitor managerial activities, such as audit costs (2) Expenditures to structure the organization in a way that will limit undesirable managerial behavior, such as appointing outside members to the board of directors or restructuring the company's business units and management hierarchy (3) Opportunity costs which are incurred when shareholder-imposed restrictions, such as requirements for shareholder votes on s pecific issues, limit the ability of managers to take actions that advance shareholder wealth.In the absence of efforts by shareholders to alter managerial behavior, there will typically be some loss of shareholder wealth due to inappropriate managerial actions. On the other hand, agency costs would be excessive if shareholders attempted to ensure that every managerial action conformed with shareholder interests. Therefore, the optimal amount of agency costs to be borne by shareholders is determined in a cost-benefit context—agency costs should be increased as long as each incremental dollar spent results in at least a dollar increase in shareholder wealth. (http://www. referenceforbusiness. om/encyclopedia/A-Ar/Agency-Theory. html#ixzz14WVaUW4g) Financial decision making for dealing with agency costs There are two polar positions for dealing with shareholder-manager agency conflicts. At one extreme, the firm's managers are compensated entirely on the basis of stock price cha nges. In this case, agency costs will be low because managers have great incentives to maximize shareholder wealth. It would be extremely difficult, however, to hire talented managers under these contractual terms because the firm's earnings would be affected by economic events that are not under managerial control.At the other extreme, stockholders could monitor every managerial action, but this would be extremely costly and inefficient. The optimal solution lies between the extremes, where executive compensation is tied to performance, but some monitoring is also undertaken. In addition to monitoring, the following mechanisms encourage managers to act in shareholders' interests: (1) performance-based incentive plans (2) direct intervention by shareholders (3) the threat of firing (4) the threat of takeoverMost publicly traded firms now employ performance shares, which are shares of stock given to executives on the basis of performances as defined by financial measures such as earn ings per share, return on assets, return on equity, and stock price changes. If corporate performance is above the performance targets, the firm's managers earn more shares. If performance is below the target, however, they receive less than 100 percent of the shares. Incentive-based compensation plans, such as performance shares, are designed to satisfy two objectives.First, they offer executives incentives to take actions that will enhance shareholder wealth. Second, these plans help companies attract and retain managers who have the confidence to risk their financial future on their own abilities—which should lead to better performance. (http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/encyclopedia/A-Ar/Agency-Theory. html#ixzz14WVaUW4g) An increasing percentage of common stock in corporate America is owned by institutional investors such as insurance companies, pension funds, and mutual funds.The institutional money managers have the clout, if they choose, to exert considerable infl uence over a firm's operations. Institutional investors can influence a firm's managers in two primary ways. First, they can meet with a firm's management and offer suggestions regarding the firm's operations. Second, institutional shareholders can sponsor a proposal to be voted on at the annual stockholders' meeting, even if the proposal is opposed by management.Although such shareholder-sponsored proposals are nonbinding and involve issues outside day-to-day operations, the results of these votes clearly influence management opinion. (http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/encyclopedia/A-Ar/Agency-Theory. html#ixzz14WVaUW4g) In the past, the likelihood of a large company's management being ousted by its stockholders was so remote that it posed little threat. This was true because the ownership of most firms was so widely distributed, and

Custom Coffee Essay

I believe Custom coffee bean & Chocolate mission is to establish a small(a) caf where they and their guests could indulge their love of beloved coffee and fine chocolates. Bonnie and Stacy, new-fashioned college roommates, wanted a location that got a lot of foot traffic from shoppers and craftes. Their swear was to target a place scrawny the university because they knew and understood those customers well. The purpose of the cafe is to get along unique coffee blends and specialty chocolates, and the business plan implicated purchasing but fair trade coffee and chocolates make by a few local anaesthetic suppliers.SWOT ANALYSISStrengths Having a veracious location where public transportation is non a issue. The owners will be exchange products that are considered to be good quality, just about top of the line. Customers have the options of eating in or taking out their purchases. weakness The shop is pretty small, and can solitary(prenominal) hold a certain add of customers, and they will need more sustenance to expand.Opportunity The opportunities are unlimited, expanding the menu to include baked chocolates, desserts, tea and other beverages. If the businesses bear upon to grow, Bonnie & Stacy may be fitting to start a small franchise. Threats I dont detect every threats, unless a similar business moves in the same location.Bonnie & Stacy are doing all the right things to make their cafe affordable, and customer friendly. It is a nice place for friends and family to adopt and chat while having a shape of coffee or reading the newspaper. facilitate is always important to me, so I like the idea of them having comfortable seating. pose up a website and blog foliate might be helpful to customers and capableness customers, for information and feedback. I dont believe that delivery would be a good thing right now, by chance in another six months. bang-up job Bonnie & Stacy, you knew what you wanted and went for it. I wish you much suc cess.