Language and Communication Essay

Choosing a college is one of the most difficult choices you can make in regards to your career and there are many facets which need to be looked at when making that decision. Since we have a similar career path, I wanted to take the time to share with you the many different reasons why I chose Western Governors University as my college of choice. Credited certification courses, online access, flexible scheduling, expediting graduation date, and cost were all major factors I considered when I chose WGU. Information Technology certifications many times can still be a requirement that employers look for, even if you have a degree, as I know, it is also one of your major concerns. WGU offers industry certifications as a part of their course curriculum, which is one of the only colleges to do this. They include many of the different types of certifications depending on your learning track like Microsoft, CIW, CompTia, and Oracle. By incorporating them into the courses it enhances your resume, not only by the ability to declare your education but also that you have certifications that showcases your knowledge within the information technology industry, giving you an edge. Having an outstanding online program with easy access to the certification and course material was another advantage of choosing WGU, which is another concern you raised due to your current travel demands with your job. The online presence offered by WGU is the best that I have seen and having used it for the last year, and I know firsthand its quality and accessibility. Whether I am in the hotel, a rest stop, or having lunch at work I can access all my program information. Furthermore, they utilize Pearson, Task Stream, course mentorship, online communities, and workshops and have an extensive online library. The online dashboard outlines your entire degree program, course descriptions, emails, course contacts, degree tracking, and financial aid information. Overall the quality of the online functionality is the best, and will help ensure your experience is a great one. By having a well laid out online degree program not only assists you gaining, access but also actually helps you stay on track with flexible scheduling. With a busy work schedule, I am not bound by offsite classrooms, conference calls, or online live classes which can be mandatory for some schools; I pick the time to work on my education. Having this flexibility is key as I move forward in my current job meeting its demands, and meeting my education demands as well. Whether it is before work, lunchtime, after work, or weekends it is up to myself to find the time when it allows. Also, meeting the demands of an active family life can be very difficult to manage. With on-demand materials, when you want them, you can maintain a normal family lifestyle. To be empowered with flexibility of scheduling your classes online, along with a dynamic, robust education platform, make Western Governors a clear choice. Even though flexible scheduling is an import aspect of WGU when considering a college, the power to expedite your graduation date is just as important. When you sign up with WGU, you select your courses that match your degree program and can control what semesters you would like to take at that time. Once you have completed all your courses for a semester, you can still take additional courses within that semester. By utilizing the pre-assessments within the online dashboard, you can pre-qualify what you know about the course and move forward with the test, completing the whole course in days rather than months. This is great if the course is on something you have already established industry knowledge in the work place. Another great aspect is that if you already have certifications that you have earned, you can get credit for it, thus fulfilling a credit course. Being able to expedite your graduation is a huge value in saving your time, efforts and, most importantly, costs. College tuition has been on the rise over the years, and choosing a school that provides a top knowledge education, that is credited, sums up yet another reason for choosing WGU. They have a unique cost-cutting education system where you pay by the semester, not by each credit. So as you complete each course and then add more within that semester, you can actually reduce your overall cost for that degree. There are also savings found when you do not have to take additional certification classes and tests outside of your normal tuition, because it is all included. Another cost saving piece is that the school provides all the course materials for free, the books for each class is provided electronically. You save on commuting, as well as room and board which can also add to the bottom line of your education costs. The value of going to WGU for a top quality education is an undeniable benefit to you and your family, and should be a major factor in your decision. The decision to go to school or going back to complete your education can be a daunting task and one not to be taken lightly. But with your own research, you will find out what I have, that WGU is the best answer to your quest for success. With the certification built into the program, it just makes sense not to duplicate learning tracks. Online access gives you the resource to control your education and gives you a wider, flexible schedule to work with. Expediting your graduation date can only speed up and increase career opportunities. Finally, the cost comparison between a campus college verses an online education at WGU will give you the sense of value for the money spent well. Western Governors University is one of the fastest growing, premier online schools, providing a great education in a timely manner and results that will enhance your career.

Letter to Jane Austen

Dear Miss Austen: I have recently had the pleasure of reading your new novel Pride and Prejudice, and am moved to make a few comments, which I feel to be of moment. I would first like to congratulate you on a remarkable literary accomplishment, which I feel will endure the test of time. I can assure you that the novel is being read and discussed in the learned and genteel society of London with much interest. It is my opinion that it will continue to be read with as much avidity at the turn of the millennium, such is its lasting appeal. Why I feel so positive about your works I will try to explain as follows. I greatly enjoyed the dialogue that you employ in your novels. Such dialogue is a whiff of fresh air to the English novel. It is short, crisp and vibrant, such as the readership of the English novel have never experienced before. It delineates character accurately, and yet at the same time carries the plot forward at a vibrant pace. It is never dull, for it is always laced with irony, sarcasm and humor. The characters are drawn with a subtle pen, and yet always seem to have a strong and distinct presence. Somehow you make it seem as if the ordinary day-to-day life in a country parish is as exciting as the tales brought back by travelers of the wild seas. How this is so, it is hard to analyze. On this point, I assure you, I have entered into heated discussions with some companions of mine. It is a bone of contention as to what philosophy you represent. As you know, this is the age of new ideas. The revolution that has taken place in Paris and on the continent testifies that we are indeed entering a brave new world, one that promises freedom for all. The French writers and philosophers revive the virtues of the classical world, and in doing so they represent the philosophy of order and reason. On the other hand the poets of Germany, mistrusting reason, and rejecting its excesses, are glorifying passion instead. Goethe and Schiller are great writers who compose novels and plays in which inner man is far more important than intellectual outer self. They are classified as the Romanticists, and our own Isles boast the likes of Wordsworth, Southey and Coleridge, who are writing in this vein. Both these philosophies are worthy of respect, for they both promise freedom. The French philosophers of the Enlightenment promise freedom from the age old clutches of superstition. The Romanticists promise a world in which our passions have fulfillment. But so far we are not able to agree on your specific philosophy. I feel that in Sense and Sensibility you have brought these two philosophies to a head. Of the two Dashwood sisters that it may concern, Elinor Dashwood you make the preserve of sense, therefore of the classical virtues of order, restraint and reason. She proceeds with caution, and does not let herself be known easily. On the other hand her younger sister Marianne Dashwood is clearly the protagonist of sensibility, impulsive and careless. However, the outcome of both sisters is happy, for they are matched in the end. Both sisters suffer tribulations, of different sorts, through the novel. On the whole, we cannot judge that one path is better than the other, solely on the evidence given to us. Yet the message that I am able to read from the novel is that the middle road is the best. Those who judge Elinor and Marianne by categories of philosophy fail to take into account their development throughout the novel. In the end it is Elinor’s feeling, which overcomes her restraint, that helps her in her choice. On the other hand Marianne’s experiences teach her restraint, without which her match would have eluded her. The same kind of truth is inherent, I feel, in the opening to your novel Pride and Prejudice, which reads: â€Å"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife† (Austen 1). Whether it is your intention or not, such an opening speaks to me of a precious truth, and this is that universal truth can only be found in the mundane world. Beyond all the elevated ideas of Classicism and Romanticism there is the simple matter of life, of finding a suitable partner, of homemaking and the raising of children, so that the wheel of life may turn in its eternal way. In all your novels the utmost importance in put on the function of finding one’s ideal match. Many might construe your novels to be about scheming women, cynically extracting the greatest advantage from marriage. I, however, see it in a different light. In my opinion, your novels are celebrating mundane life. This is why they seem so fresh and exhilarating. The men of ideas have over-emphasized thinking. Yes, even Romanticism is a philosophy in the end. Because we live in an age of ideas, thinking tends to surfeit all fields, even such a popular art as novel writing. Authentic life is forgotten in the process. Put in another way, the world has become too over-burdened with the male perspective. The woman’s perspective is needed to bring the balance back. This is what you provide, and it indeed meets the call of the age. Many would compare your novels to those of the great epistolary novelist Samuel Richardson. Like yours, his heroines are concerned with finding matches above their station. But the similarities do not proceed much further than this. Pamela is a one dimensional morality tale. The full title bears this out better, for it bears the subtle â€Å"Virtue Rewarded†. In it the heroine Pamela is shown to resist all the evil advances of her master, Mr. B., which includes rape, imprisonment, and torture. The reward for protecting her virtue, in the end, is that her master consents to marry her, vowing to be a reformed man. The plot is crude, cynical and unrealistic. It is open to satire, and all know how Henry Fielding satirizes Pamela twice, first in Shamela, then in Joseph Andrews. But it is not so easy to satirize Elizabeth Bennett, or Elinor Dashwood. This is because such characters are drawn with subtle nuances, and thus are far closer to life. Many of your female protagonists are aiming to secure social status, prestige and privilege through marriage, just as is Pamela. But those who harbor only cynical motives are shown come to bad passes. The message we read from your novels is that such social aspirations are only normal. But the suitability of match is equally important. And indeed the affections of the courting couple must not be ignored. This is so because marriage is a defining moment of life. On the whole, we learn that marriage and family life are of overriding importance. These are some of my thoughts on reading your novels Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice. Yours truly, â€Å"Admirer† Works Cited Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. London: Pan Books, 1978.   

Caribbean Studies Essay

â€Å"The history of the Caribbean is the history of exploitation of labour.† Discuss with reference to Encomienda, Slavery and Indentureship. According to the Oxford Dictionary, exploitation is defined as being the action or condition of treating someone or a group of people unfairly in order to benefit from their work, also, labour refers to work that is done using bodily strength and effort. In a historical sense, the Caribbean can be defined as being a group of countries sharing the same background of forced labour through the institutions of colonization, indentureship and slavery in some form or another (Robottom and Clayton, 2001). Understanding this, the historical Caribbean would be inclusive of the Bahamas and Guyana as well as some Central American countries. As it speaks to colonization, there were three main Old World colonizers that set out for land to conquer and riches to claim; Spaniards, the British, and the French, each of whom utilized systems of exploitation in order to obtain what they had sought from the so called â€Å"New World†, which were mainly new lands for the Feudal Lords or Kings and/or Queens of their respective mother countries. In contemporary Caribbean society, the population is one of the most demographically diverse regions in the world, this is a result of the heavy colonization of the region that was initiated by Christopher Columbus’ first voyage to the Caribbean in search of a shorter route to India, thus the reason for calling the region the West Indies, which resulted in more European colonists coming to the Caribbean in search of the riches and produce of the region. The exploitation of labour has long been the very backbone or foundation on which the diasporic and historical Caribbean has been formed through the Old  World colonists importing slaves and indentured labourers from various parts of the world like West Africa, India and China. Firstly speaking with reference to the Spaniard Encomienda system which started formally in 1503; the term â€Å"Encomienda† was coined from the Spanish verb encomendar, which means to entrust. This therefore means that both parties had entrusted their resources to each other, as the main objectives of the Encomienda system that was seemingly to be to the benefit of the indigenous people was to spread the doctrines of the Christian faith, provide adequate housing facilities and food provision for the native people of the colonized islands (Yeager, 843). In exchange for these amenities, the natives would have to work for the Spaniards as slaves. The Encomienda system was considered to be the most damaging institutions that the Spanish colonist implemented in the New World. The Encomienda system was also developed as a means of obtaining adequate and cheap labour. However it may be said that in being able to obtain this labour, the Spaniard Encomenderos were rewarded with land as well as the natives that accommodated that same land due to their endeavours on successful conquests. This was as early as 1499, and this took four years to become a formal rewarding system for the Spaniard Conquistadores. The Queen of Spain, Queen Isabella, did not support the notion of enslaving humans to do work. Knowing this, the Spaniard Encomenderos did not let Queen Isabella know that they were forcing others to labour on their plantations, so they sent her tributes from the indians such as goods and metals. However, the abolition of the encomienda system was becoming imminent as of 1510 when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella had begun to regret allotting such power to Columbus, therefore they sent an agent to oversee the running of the system. Word had gotten to the King and Queen by means of this agent about the mistreatment of the natives of the region, thus leading to its abolition in 1542 and in effect its replacement by the crown governed Repartimiento system. This Encomienda system had impacted the Spanish speaking Caribbean countries  in both good and bad ways, whereas the demography of these islands are quite diverse due to the reception of the African slaves that mixed with the Amerindians, and later on the Spaniards that interbred with both African and Amerindian slaves which had slowly become deemed as the â€Å"Grey Area†; where whites and coloured people had copulated. Slavery had first begun in the British-colonized Caribbean during the period of the arrival of the first African that came to the Caribbean in 1517 by the Spaniards. This was in response to the decline of the tobacco industry in the Caribbean due to the the new focus on the crop in Virginia. Therefore, without a main crop that provided subsistence and export income, the British had turned to sugar cane, a plantation crop that required a stronger, more efficient work force that was overall more in numbers. The native Amerindians were dying out rapidly due to the unfamiliar notion of being overworked by their slave masters. They obtained their work force by means of stealing/tricking the African head tribesmen into trading his people for so called â€Å"riches†, which in fact were of no value to the Europeans, thus meaning that they robbed the tribesmen in what was seemingly a â€Å"fair trade†. These West-African slaves were brought to the Caribbean via ship across the Atlantic along a path known as the Middle Passage; a treacherous stretch of water where numerous West Africans lost their lives due to below standard living conditions, being killed by the Europeans and suicide by jumping overboard. Slavery’s impact on the Caribbean correlates with George Beckford’s analysis of the region as being a Plantation Society, a social system encompassing an entire lifestyle of the population inhabiting the region, inclusive of social, socio-economic and demographic factors. In the context of contemporary Caribbean society, as it relates to the Plantation System, social mobility in both contexts somewhat differ but yet share a common trait that coincides with the factor of the demography of the population. Social mobility is the ability of a person or a group of people to be able to advance within a social system of open stratification, meaning that it is a process by which one is able to advance in social class within their  population. In the era of slavery, the social system was one of closed stratification, therefore, a slave was not able to advance within the social strata or framework due to what Amartya Sen sees as an â€Å"unfreedom†; these unfreedoms are prejudices, inclusive of race and class, that cannot be changed and in effect, the slaves social standing could not either. However in the contemporary Caribbean society, a member of the society is able to move up in social class based on the wealth or property he acquires. Although this is dependent on the governmental framework, whether it be communist, in which case it would be closed stratification, or capitalist, social mobility is a key factor of the link between the era of slavery and the contemporary Caribbean, as it has evolved through the abolition of slavery in 1834 as well as the mixing of the demographic to create a third social strata apart from the black and whites, the mulattoes. The British and French slavery system has impacted the Caribbean society both in good and bad ways, as previously discussed, the evolution of social mobility may be deemed as good, while one of the shortcomings of the slavery system is that the slaves were being abused by their slave masters and were being treated as animals. This can be somewhat translated into contemporary Caribbean society as being a form of not only capital punishment in educational institutions, mostly primary, but also of abuse within the home. Although the numbers for these cases are not in the majority, the cases are still present in the Caribbean. The slavery system was abolished in 1834 finally fully abolished in 1838, by which time Indentureship had begun. Indentureship had begun from 1838 and was designed as a means of obtaining a work force to work on the plantations for low pay, especially since slavery was abolished. A strong and dependable workforce was in high demand at the point of it’s institution, as although some emancipated African slaves had stayed back, the number wasn’t enough to sustain the plantation. The first set of indentured labourers to have arrived to the Caribbean were the Chinese labourers. They had arrived in two main waves, where the first waves was intended to be the replacement work force to work on the sugar  cane plantations during the post Emancipation period. They mostly went to British Guiana, Trinidad and Cuba. The second wave, however, consisted of mostly relatives of the members of the first wave that went to British Guiana, Jamaica and Trinidad. The former slave owners had decided to use Chinese labourers due to them being â€Å"free civilized people†, thus that would set an example for the newly freed Africans in order to alleviate the chances of a rebellion against them. However, this venture was did not reap any substantial dividends as the mortality rate on the plantations were increasing as well as abandonment. The first wave of Chinese were not used to that level of physical labour and slowly died out, while the second wave of Chinese were free voluntary migrants that came due to the discontent of the labourers who had wanted to carry their families to the Caribbean with them. This therefore means that the most modern Caribbean Chinese are descendants of the second wave of Chinese immigrants. After the British had seen that the Chinese labourers were not as dependable and not as cheap, the sought a new workforce from India, so the British had sent agents to Calcutta to convince the Indians to come to the Caribbean and work on the sugar plantations. when the first Indian arrived in the Caribbean in 1838, they were forced to live under harsh conditions as the Europeans had the same mentality of slavery, so when the Indians tried to flee the plantation, they were chased, caught, brought back to the plantation and punished.By 1841, India had banned immigration to Guyana due to the news of the labourers being treated like slaves. However by 1845 the immigration of Indians would continue through Portugal, where the Portuguese workers who were coming to the Caribbean, knowing that they would be branded as slaves, had carried approximately 5000 Indians along with them. The Indentureship system had impacted the contemporary Caribbean lifestyle in the sense of the demographic factor, as well as business wise. Demographically speaking, both Indians and Chinese that came to the Caribbean have influenced the racial diversity of the region, where during the era of Indentureship, more Indians had gone to Guyana and Trinidad, in  contemporary Caribbean society, this same racial ratio is still present as approximately over 50% of Guyana’s population are of Indian descent. Along with the demographic factor comes cultural diversity, which encompasses a lifestyle unique to their homeland. In terms of style of business, this trait or practice was adopted from the Chinese indentured labourers who had left the plantation in order to establish shops and other income oriented businesses. In contemporary Caribbean society, Chinese citizens are usually thought to be in some sort of business management. The Caribbean does indeed have the history of the exploitation of labour as its own, and due to the Old World’s conquests of the New World’s land and riches, this provided a reason to find interest in the West Indies. The abundance of unclaimed land, availability of resources and an available workforce in the Amerindians was motivation enough to exploit not only the resources of the region, but also to exploit the labour of not only the Native people, but also the African slaves and East Indian indentured labourers. However, this history of exploitation is the very basis on which the contemporary Caribbean has been formed as with the slaves and indentured labourers that came, so did their cultures and practices. This therefore contributes to the diverse nature of the Caribbean society.

Service marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Service marketing - Essay Example Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 Case Encounter 1: Travel & Tourism Industry 4 Case Encounter 2: Telecommunications Ltd 7 Case Encounter 3: Movie Rental 9 Case Encounter 4: Online Book Ordering 11 Case Encounter 5: Airline Ticket Booking 12 Conclusion 14 Journal Template 15 Introduction Services are intangible products offered to customers and are usually a series of activities which take place as a result of interaction between the customers and the service provider. Execution of different strategies has been complied under thoughtful consideration, which is also called the gap model of service quality (Zeithaml, et. al., 2011).This type of marketing is also known as relationship marketing, which revolves around delivering customer expectations and transactional marketing (Rao, 2011). Services are difficult to describe and communicate and are evident when there is new service development and the management works upon these concepts to fulfil t he customer needs and expectations (Udayton, n.d.). The quality of the services delivered by the manufacturer to develop contact with customers personally is influenced by the generalized market standards. These generalized markets standards are basically prepared against the benchmark standards for evaluation of their effectiveness. These service standards do not signify the actual customer requirements, expectations, quality of services and customer perception but they define the quality expected from the manufacturer (Mills, 2002). The five service delivery encounter by me signifies the service performance gap of the different service providers and also the experience encountered by the customers. Recording of different service provider will help in distinguishing between resources employed by these providers and also their actual quality of services. Case Encounter 1: Travel & Tourism Industry Featherworks Limited is renowned travel and Tourism Company which offers travel and to urism services to customers who want to travel in Asian and South East Asian region. The company specializes in offering excusive travel packages as well as guidance that are willing to travel in the above mentioned locations. As a first time customer, I had researched about the company and its travel tours and packages facilities. I had decided to book a travel package for three members. Service Encounter I had decided to purchase the tickets through their city branch office located at Manchester. The staff at Manchester travel city office were not only courteous and well informed about their existing services and offers, but also develop an excellent rapport with the others customers. An adequately staffed organization not only ensured that the customers are not kept waiting but also feel the pleasant ambience. Thorough product knowledge enable me to not only thoughtfully consider an array of travel options at affordable prices, but also helped me in matching the travel packages w ith my allocated budget. The booking of tickets was done immediately and prior to the booking I was made to fill up personal and professional information as per the policy of the company. Breadth of Model Used: Service Quality The quality of the service decides the customer loyalty and the customer retention power of the company. Managing service quality will help the

Market Failure and Government Intervention Essay

Market Failure and Government Intervention - Essay Example Market failure is a situation that describes a situation where the effects of demand and supply do not allocate their resources appropriately. This will, therefore, lead to a situation that defines market failure as a marketplace where the unauthorized price system leads to an extremely high or low allocation of resources for specific economic activities. Market failure is always inherent to the market and consequently causes the market equilibrium allocation to be inadequate. In relation to the theorem of welfare economics, there is a possibility that under absolute conditions the allocation of resources in the long-run competitive equilibrium is efficient. Unfortunately, most of the markets always fail in the allocation of various economic and environmental resources thus making the overall allocation of resources inadequate. Adam Smith’s invisible hand is always a major principle in the allocation of resources. Various economists always refer these types of problems to approve the role for government intervention. A prominent economist once urged that existence of a free market always find it challenging to do away with the need for the government (Aldridge, 2005). In a situation where the positive externalities extremely exceed private benefits, the good produced or services provide become non-profitable in the market context, there will be always some benefits associated with goods or services that are allocated free. For example, one puts security lights in his or her compound to light the compound and neighbors use the light too to light their compounds free. The problem is that the market system cannot easily supply goods or services provided that are jointly consumed (Besanko, 2011). Consequently, for a market to work appropriately a two-party agreement is quite preferable. When non-paying parties cannot easily be excluded from the benefits of goods or services where the problem of the free rider arises. Good examples for such a situation include street lighting, roads, bridges, and drainage systems.

Conclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Conclusion - Essay Example It is quite apparent from the study that Primark has indeed created a niche for itself even in these challenging times. In fact, the strategy of competitors to label Primark as a 'cheap' brand while making efforts to label their own brands as premium ones' has not worked to their advantage. Instead Primark seems to have taken a lead in understanding the requirements of the common consumer and offering them value for money. Primark seems to believe in market penetration strategy, while passing on maximum benefits to the consumer and thus playing the volume game. Primark has opened up stores in UK and Ireland at vantage points, the places most frequented by the common consumer. Thus saving on the marketing communication costs to a great extent. Today marketing communication forms an integral cost component of any business proposition. If a company can save on this expenditure to some extent while making itself visible amongst the existing and prospective customers, then it helps in lev eraging the economies of scale. These costs can be passed on to the workforce, which motivates them for pooling their efforts in a better manner, thus coming out with quality products. In fact this chain of events has been quite ably used by Primark to the advantage of its own business prospects as well as to the advantage of its workforce. Motivational theories discussed during the study clearly suggest that if the needs of the fellow human beings are taken care of, they are bound to come out with their optimum performance. Effective management of the workforce lends credence to the notion that a company is being managed professionally. Primark, while charging less from its customers, has maintained good industrial relations. As the returned questionnaire indicates, the workforce is not too unhappy with the HR policies of the company, which appear to be employee friendly. As pointed out in the study, the kind of attention paid to employees' care, by the MNCs is an indication towards the level of competition and the innovative methods devised to sail ahead in these competitive times. The higher levels of turnover of the workforce, in Parimark, could be explained by the fact that in an intensely competitive world the rival companies are always on the lookout for experienced workforce. The workforce, particularly the yout h segment, also is on the lookout for making quick bucks, so they don't attach too much importance to the loyalty part and hop on to the company with better payment packages. The higher levels of employee turnover also results in some cost escalation to the company, as it has to incur fresh costs on recruitment and training of the workforce. The newer workforce also requires some time to adjust to the working environment and this could have some effect on the efficiency of the service being provided to the customer. On the other hand, it can also be stated that the young blood brings renewed enthusiasm and more energy to the working environment. As the questionnaire points out the younger lot is there to make some quick money during their free time or vacation period. Therefore it good that Primark does attach too much loyalty strings to the job profile. This, in a way helps in offsetting the disadvantage resulting from the extra efforts being put into recruiting and retaining the work force. It goes to the credit of

The impact of the Land Registration Act 2002 on the conveyancing Essay

The impact of the Land Registration Act 2002 on the conveyancing process in registered land - Essay Example It served well for nearly 80 years and was able to cope with the fundamental economic and social changes that took place over that time. Today, nearly all land is ‘registered land’ and the system underwent significant reform with the enactment of the Land Registration Act (LRA) 2002 that entered into force on 13 October 2003. The Land Registration Act 2002 has been received with much critical acclaim, and rightly so. It is a work of monumental importance and monumental effort. Law Commission Report No 271 was itself the last in a long series of Reports discussing, proposing, rejecting and recommending changes to the fundamentals of the land registration system established by the Land Registration Act 1925 . As is well known, the Act of 2002 is designed to revolutionize conveyancing in England and Wales and to bring the land registration system established by the 1925 Land Registration Act into the modern age. In fact LRA 2002 was primarily designed to facilitate e-convey ancing: that is the holding and transfer of estates and interests in land electronically. This goal of a virtually paper free conveyancing system has not yet been achieved because the e-conveyancing provisions of the LRA 2002 have not yet been triggered , but the structure of registered land under 2002 Act is designed to ensure that e-conveyancing will work when the remaining technological issues have been resolved.

Qatar sporting legacy Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 15000 words

Qatar sporting legacy - Dissertation Example Having won the bid for the 2022 FIFA World Cup made Qatar the highlight of sports news, as the nation continues to establish and consolidate its position as a prime sporting destination. In line with the economic potential of hosting local and international sports events, the present study aims to determine the social, political and economic factors as the foundation that helped build Qatar's sporting legacy. A qualitative approach has been utilized, wherein data collection was processed using interview responses as primary sources, whereas journals, and the like, have been used as secondary sources. The study focused on answering the questions, (1) Can Qatar be a viable venue for holding sports events (2) Does Qatar have the necessary sporting infrastructure, economic and political stability to sustain its sporting legacy on a long term basis, (3) Can other Asian countries sustain a sporting legacy, similar to what Qatar has done. The researcher was able to determine that Qatar has the resources and the capacity to become a prime venue for holding both international and local sports events, as well as sustain its sports legacy on a long term basis. This is due to the country’s stable economic and political state, as supported by the nation's passion towards sports. It has also been found that other Asian economies would only be able to emulate Qatar's sporting legacy, given that the factors necessitated in creating one would be present. Chapter 1 Introduction Sports stand to command a pivotal place in Qatar’s social and national life. One primary reason behind this phenomenon is the fact that people in the Middle East do have a special predilection for outdoor activities. The sports legacy of Qatar is a unique mix of the new developments as well as the age old traditions. This is why, since the last two decades, the government of Qatar has embarked on a unique policy to promote the local and international sports in Qatar (QSC, 2010). The primary thrust of this policy is to introduce and support new sports like golf, soccer and tennis, while at the same time encouraging traditional sports like camel racing and horse racing. There is no denying the fact that modern Qatar can proudly boast of some of the best, world class sports facilities. Qatar not only intends to promote sports within the country, but also aspires to evolve into a popular tourist destination. The hosting of international sports events and competitions by Qatar has stimulated and enhanced the interest of the local population in sports (QSC, 2010). The awarding of 2022 FIFA World Cup to Qatar came as a surprise to most of the Asians, Americans and Europeans. However, the fact is that this Gulf

Knowledge Management Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Knowledge Management Techniques - Essay Example Knowledge management solutions enable the company or organization implementing it to share relevant and useful information at all levels of the organization. Knowledge management reduces redundancy, creates efficiency and allows a company to utilize information for innovativeness. New recruits require minimal training and allow the company to utilize time effectively. Intellectual property can be retained after employees stop working. The two case studies are: Northbridge Model Train Shop and Food Festival. CASE STUDY I NORTHBRIDGE  MODEL  TRAIN  SHOP  (NMTR) 1. PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION 1a) Northbridge  Model  Train  Shop intends to continue utilizing the existing network and improve the organizations knowledge base. The activities within and outside Northbridge   Model   Train   Shop affects knowledge management preparaedness; hence there is need to conduct an audit. NMTR knowledge management structure requires retructuring and development to accomaodate increas ing tasks. Since the management already poses a knowledge system, the existing system can be effectively used to enhance and achive a competent managements system. A central place where all the knowledge can be accessed and controlled lacks in the oragnization. There is explicict information that can be used to further generate unambigous information for knowledge management as Bennett (1999) points out1. 1b) As a knowledge management expert, it is posible to identify knowledge management gaps that exist. NMTR has acquired knowledge over the knowledge and requires expertese to adequately use the knowledge for the correct person when required. It is necessary to intergrate tacid and explict knowledge in the organization to achive competency and adequately meet NMTR knowledge management needs. Tacid sources of the organizatoin assist in identifying the knowledge gaps that exist. Moreover, the customers needs will be considered when implimenting knowledge management system and ensure t hat NMTR obtains competitive advantage. 1c) Knowledge management needs in NMTR can be adressed with an aim of assisting the company realise its goals. NMTR strategy is dependent on strategy designed by the owner, Jim. For knowledge management to be sucessful, the knowledge Jim possess together with the organizational strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths will influence the outcome. Efficiency will be achived if NMTR stategy is propertly articulated in knowledge management. NMTR will use the existing knowledge to create competitiveness. As an expert, knowledge management mapping, the role of information technology and innovation can be considered as necessary. 1. KNOWLEDGE AUDIT 2a) Knowledge gaps and blockages identify what should be done to achieve knowledge management needs. NMTR has published materials on the train inventory system and wants to develop a new knowldge management that includes the train and slot car materials. There is need standardize the available ma terials and categorize them to allow their effective use in the new venture in train and slot car materials. Additionaly, a system where new information is documented in a procedural way can be identified to absorb information from the new area. There is need for ontology and creation of terms within the new area. Terms that are commonly used in the

The NGO Activism via Official Website, a Case Study of WWF, Save the Dissertation

The NGO Activism via Official Website, a Case Study of WWF, Save the Children, and Greenpeace - Dissertation Example Greenpeace†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.48 4.4. Use of Web Technology by WWF, Save the Children, and Greenpeace: A Comparative Study†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.51 4.5. Brief Overview on Other NGOs using the Internet Technology†¦...53 4.6. An Overall Analytical View†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..56 5. Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.60 6. References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.63 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I am thankful to all m y faculty members, colleagues and institution for giving me an opportunity to study the use of the web technology and the significance of the official websites of the three selected NGOs- WWF, Save the Children, and Greenpeace. I am also especially thankful to my supervisor, _______ ________ for the timely advice, feedbacks and tips which aided me in improving upon my work and remain punctual in the agreed scheduled deliveries of dissertation chapters. ABSTRACT The use of web technology has overcome serious difficulties in the modern business world and the manner in which organizations tend to market their products or services. The present study focuses on the use of the official websites by the non-governmental organizations in reaching out to common masses of people, marketing their activities and trying to get them involved in their activities. The focus is primarily on three NGOs- World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Save the Children, and Greenpeace. A detailed study and analysis on the contents of the official websites of these three NGOs have clearly revealed the importance of the web technology in the enhanced performances of the... The modern times can be called the age of the Internet. More and more uses of the internet can now be found to influence the activities of different organizations and their marketing processes in the business world. This includes the activities of the NGOs as well. In the present times, NGOs are involved in virtual activism, where the digital media of the NGO websites are given credentials for helping and training people. Moreover, any positive change which results in the betterment of society is embraced by the population of the world as a whole. The goal is reached only â€Å"Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection† (Tagore, 1996, p. 27). When this proactive approach is adopted via the website of any NGO; people of the society respond to it positively, and support the causes. The vital consideration is whether the NGOs are using the Internet facility with ingenuity to augment their success. The use of websites can be realized to be in use since a long time. However, the use has been made effective in the recent times when the users of the web technology have realized that with internet they could enhance their activities and gain more profits and success. Thus in the recent times, every business organization might be observed having their own website. This is primarily because the world has now become more competitive and every organization tends to focus on factors that might put them into a higher position among the population of the world.

Regionalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Regionalism - Essay Example In this sense regionalism is seen to provide a buffer against the run away train of globalisation, yet, as we shall see in many ways regionalism's aims quite often run parallel to those of globalism. Keohane and Nye (2000) define globalism as the "state of the world involving networks of interdependence at multicontinental distances."1 Regionalism, on the other hand, can be defined as the move by two or more states towards greater political, economic and social integration. Oman (1999) claims that it can be a "process, driven by the same microeconomic forces that drive globalisation or it can be a process, driven by political forces, which may in turn be motivated by security, economic, or other objectives."2 Both globalism and regionalism have the ability to stretch over the economic, social and political institutions of a country. The definition of regionalism has changed over the last twenty-five years. Dutta (1999) claims that since the end of the Cold War "regionalization has become more economic than political. The two international arrangements that dominated the political and economic dialogues over the past several decades have come to outlive their usefulness."3 The opening of the global economy and the intensity of change in technological areas since this time have resulted in an assortment of pressures upon states. States, in turn, are adapting to these pressures by taking part in regional trading blocs. For Habermas (2001) globalisation and its challenges must be offset by an expansion of political authority that reaches beyond the national but does not go to the extent of being global."4 In addition, Lupel adds, "If under conditions of globalisation the state has begun to lose its capacity to protect its people from the exigencies of the world economy, and if processes of globalisation have left i nfluential forces beyond the steering capacities of the democratic nation-state, then political change is clearly on the agenda. The integration of separate nation-states into new political and economic units is seen as one way to respond to this new conjuncture."5 Regional ties differ from global ties in that they bring together groups of nations who share linguistic, cultural or historic similarities. They present an 'us' and 'them' scenario with the rest of the world. While the global community has no "ethical political self-understanding of citizens" a regional one does and according to Habermas that is essential for developing a sense of identity and solidarity.6 These regions may also give smaller countries a platform to push issues of their own concern. Oman (1999) claims that because bargaining power in multilateral trade negotiations depends largely on domestic market size a regional grouping should have greater bargaining power than any of its members would have individually.7 In addition, Fernandez Jilberto and Mommen (1998) state, "Regional arrangements provide external credibility for their own programmes of trade and investment liberalization, as well as wider market access, particularly in the protection-prone industrialized capitalist world.8 For many developing and smaller countries regionalism would serve to re-emphasise collective autonomy in relation to US and the EU economic policies.9 Aside from forming

Why and to what extent have conservatives Essay Example for Free

Why and to what extent have conservatives Essay Why and to what extent, have conservatives supported One Nation principles? [45] One nation conservatism stems from the paternalistic branch of conservatives and thus has a bias towards principles such as social duty and moral obligation, specifically the obligation of the better-off in society to support or aid the less well-off, reflecting Disraelis desire to prevent the UK becoming two nations; the haves and the have nots. This essay will argue that there is support for One Nation principles throughout the many traditions within conservatism but that there is significant opposition to some One Nation principles also. One principle in which there is support for by some conservatives is pragmatism. The basis for pragmatism in One Nationism is reflected in a fear of revolution, stemming from ever widening social inequality. Disraeli feared that social inequality was the seed of revolution and thus aimed to improve the conditions of the less well-off in society so as to keep them content with their living standards. However it is important to note that these improvements are limited to the desire to ensure that the poor no longer pose a threat to established order. This pragmatic approach to politics and social policy is reflected in Burkes statement that a state without the means of some change is without the means of its conservatism. The conservative New Right have accepted pragmatism, evident in modern times where the Conservative party under Cameron has kept many social security and welfare programs running in the UK. By tradition, conservatives have had a tendency to be empirical in nature. Empiricism refers to the use of the knowledge derived from the past in remaining pragmatic in solving current political problems. The empirical nature of conservatives is evident in Burkes assertion that no generation should ever be so harsh as to consider itself superior to its predecessor. Thus, One Nation conservatism may been favourable to some conservatives since a paternalistic body with links to the past can uphold the workings of the past which have responded well for several hundred years. The paternalistic bodies of authority in One Nation conservatives will uphold the famous conservative phrase that if it aint broke, dont fix it, thus showing clear compatibilities with other forms of conservatism. One Nationism also supports the principle of hierarchy in society as they believe it to be both natural and inevitable. Their firm attachment to a society structured by an inevitable hierarch derives from the innate roles in the family, where the father is to be the head of the household and his family to whom which he will provide for are his subordinates. It follows that this view on hierarchy compliments authoritarianism which is evident throughout both traditional conservatism and neoconservatism. The former tradition also views hierarchy as natural and uses the image of the father as the head of the family, as the right to exercise power from above. The latter highlights the significance of a hierarchy as to the maintenance of security, such as that knowing where you stand in society, or in a social group. They believe that this security is provided by the father of the family via means of strong paternalistic curtailment of liberty. As this view of hierarchy leads itself to authoritarian views, Libertarians strongly disagree with the principle. They believe that government should have the least possible regulation on social life. Thus they view the positive curtailment of liberty to be a violation and believe that negative liberty has priority over all forms of authority, tradition and equality. From the view that the father is the provider in a family, One Nationism has constructed its approach to social policy. Disraeli was a supporter of noblesse oblige, that is, the price paid in return for operating authority as a government as the political obligations of the state to maintain a stable society and economy. The principled basis for One Nationism is that the rich have a moral obligation to help the poor, as the positions of both are largely based on the accident of birth which is supported by Rawls notion of brute luck. Duty is therefore the price of privilege and those who are privileged must shoulder the burden of those who are not. This view has been supported by Social conservatives who have kept to the Labour policies of for instance providing a wide range of choice in the provision of education and the NHS. However these views are not accepted by other forms of conservatism such as the liberal New Right, who see the social reforms and policies as creating a culture of dependency which may lead to the breakup of the nuclear family, as the father is no longer the provider. One Nation conservatives also support the idea of planned capitalism. This is a pragmatic rejection of the laissez faire approach to the economy mainly because of the crisis of the Depression of the 1920s. This middle-way economics aimed to keep some aspects of a free market but couple them with social and welfare policies funded by government. They believed that the state had an obligation to intervene in the economy to provide welfare services to prevent abject poverty. This is somewhat supported by Christian conservatives who aim to help the needy in society. There is also further support of compassionate conservativism since the 1980s and a shift away from market fundamentalism. However there is further disagreement with neoliberalism as they disagree in state intervention in social or economic policy and are not attuned to the view of the deserving poor. In conclusion, it is evident that there is agreement between conservatism and One Nation principles on matters such as hierarchy but the extent to which depends on how the view is portrayed. Different traditions view the principles in different lights and thus have different outcomes regarding the principle. It is also evident that One Nationism shares many similarities with the conservative New Right but finds itself largely at opposition with neoliberal viewpoints. Thus, One Nation conservatism has tended to find support due to its emphasis on empiricism, natural inequality, tradition and the organic society. The overall conservative support towards One Nation notions is to a large throughout traditional forms, and is limited when theories of neoliberalism develop.

A history of the telephone

A history of the telephone The Telephone In todays world we can reach into our pocket, grab our cell phone, and dial the person we wish to get in contact with and be conversing with them in seconds. In the present time, this seems like no big deal at all, but it all had to start somewhere. In the early 1800s this was not the case. In order to talk to someone, it had to be face to face, or through a letter. In researching the biographies of the inventors of the telephone, it became apparent that Alexander Graham Bell had the most influence and is credited the most with the invention of the telephone. The first telephone built by Bell along with Thomas Watson was constructed with a funnel, a dish of acid, a small amount of copper wire, all on a wooden stand. Its outstanding to witness the transformations of that time and compare it to the telephone technologies experienced in the present. As with most inventions, Bell did not have the intentions originally of creating a device that would be able to transmit speech with the use of electric current. Instead, Bell originally was only focused on transmitting multiple tones and signals over a single wire. In order to get to this point though, the history of transmitting only electricity over a wire, to sound, to the telegraph needs to be understood somewhat. Stephen Gray was one of the first known scientists to transmit electricity over a wire in 1729 (cite). After him came two men, Pieter van Musschenbroek and Ewald von Kleist, who developed what appears to be the first attempt at a battery known as the Leyden jar(cite), which would be used in experiments, lectures and demonstrations widely in the future. This sort of static electricity would stumble scientists for years doing experiments involving creating and storing the static electricity, but it would never be powerful enough to control anything. The first actual battery was invented by Alessandro Volta, but it still was not powerful enough to have any use with machines. Batteries would become chemically based as they still are, but it was not enough to get to the transmission of voice over wire. What was needed to be understood along with electricity to become closer to the invention of the phone was magnetism. Christian Oersted (cite) started the idea and around 1820 discovered electromagnetism. He founded that a magnetic field could be created by electricity, so the question was could the opposite be possible? One of the main factors that would eventually lead to the invention of the telephone was that of induction. Michael Faraday a year later is the person who reversed Oersteds findings and created, or induced, an electric current using an electric field. This major find in history meant that mechanical energy can produce electrical energy. This would eventually lead to hand cranking and winding, windmills, and watermills. This was the invention of the first generator. Up to this point in history, the transferring of electricity had been completed, but there had been no practical use. In 1830 that changed when Joseph Henry used an electric current for the first time to show communication was possible. In his classroom he created an experiment where he completely an electric circuit, and when the circuit was completely it made a steel bar swing and strike a bell. While Henry did not pursue his findings more, Samuel Morse created the first working telegraph. Samuel Morse is most famously known for coding system he developed in order to use the machine to transmit messages. Morse code uses the telegraph creating electric pulses and sending them from one station to another. At the receiving station the code is broken down into Morses system of dots and dashes. Tapping the telegraph creates a dot, while holding down creates a series of dashes. Morse code and telegraphy became increasing popular as it caused for the decline in the old methods of transporting messages such as the Pony Express. What this all is important for and leads up to is that now inventors and scientists were beginning to focus on the transmission of speech over an electric current, but has not quite happened yet. Charles Bourseul was one of the first to write about transmitting human speech over a wire, but never practiced his idea. It would be Johann Phillip (cite) in 1861 who would create the first telephone seeming device, that did not work.

What are the Benefits of Fair Trade?

What are the Benefits of Fair Trade? According to many authors, food is physiological basic needs of the human being (Blackwell et al, 2006). Nowadays, people are getting interested health, organic and wellbeing food but most people do not know where products come from and how they are made. Basically, fair trade aims is to improve the position of poor and disadvantaged food producers in the third World by helping them to become more advantageously involved in world trade (Jones et al, 2004). Also there are many fair trade retail products in many major supermarkets and independent shops most notably chocolates, fresh fruits, cottons, flowers, teas and coffees. Especially coffee is one of the representative fair trade products. Most coffee has been originated in Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia, Brazil and India but these centuries are economically poor. For example, if we buy 5pound coffee, coffee farmers get about 2%~5%. Even worse thing is that working condition of many coffee workers on these plantations brings their children to help them but these children and workers are not officially employed, therefore it is not subject to labour protections. Although our coffee consumption has been increasing day by day however the condition of the working environment of coffee farmer has been worse at the same time in the developing countries. The fact that Fair Trade coffee premiums only reach the farmers through cooperatives is an aspect that has not been explored yet, neither in study of co-operatives, nor in studies of Fair Trade (Anna, 2004) The primary intention of this study is to offer critical perspective on the real benefits of the fair trade coffee movement. This paper is to explore insight effective fair trade movement from different authors point of view. Thereafter, this paper will carry out discussions and disagreeing points address to author point of view. First, this study focuses on the impact on the fair trade products. Also, it finds out theories and analyses of the fair trade and fair trade coffee movement. Second, specific things could be divided from the question into four sections which are the social, culture, economic and environment affecting benefits. Moreover, there is fully understanding of what the observed evidence shows. Finally, conclusion with debate of benefits fair trade coffee movement will be discussed. Therefore, it provides the findings of this review of literature for future research and action. What is fair trade? Nicholls (2002) defined that the objective of fair trade is to maximize the return to the supplier rather than the margin of the buyer, within an agreed development structure. Similarly, Bird and Hughes, (2003) believed that fair trade is product specific and developmentally focused. From their point of view, fair trade related with ethical trade and consumption perhaps is the one that could consider as most benefits fair trade movement for food and beverage development. Past rational consumer defined that achieves a maximum of efficiency at a minimum of effort. These days, calling ethical consumption which is that consumers would focus on the satisfaction of products and information of the products is founded by themselves in a market is more important than the past when possession of products were spotlighted in accordance with low prices. This is another goal of achieving fair trade movement. If consumers understanding fair trade knows ethical consumption, it will influence on all food producers in third world as well as developing and achieving the Food and beverage industrys goals. The European Commission (1999) suggests that the objective of fair trade is to ensure that producers receive a price which reflects an adequate return on their input of skill, labour and resources, and a share of the total profit commensurate with their input. As well as all fair trade products are distributed by mainly NGO which is neither non-profit nor profit organization. Historically, fair trade origins in The Netherlands in the mid 1980s, involve the certification of products that are produced, according to what are deemed to be fair trade principles. But Price water house Coopers (2001) suggest that the free trade concept originated in the 1960s in Northern Europe, while Tallontire (2001) argues that fair trade emerged in the 1950s and 1960s. The driving force behind fair trade in the UK was the alternative trade/charity shop axis, perhaps best represented by Oxfam and a host of small, independent traders. (Alexander, 2002)[à ¬Ã‚ ¶Ã…“à ¬Ã‚ ²Ã‹Å"] [à ­Ã…  Ã‚ ¹Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ §Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ] à ­- ¥Ãƒ ªÃ‚ ¸Ã‚ °Ãƒ «Ã‚ ¡Ã…“à ¬Ã… ¡Ã‚ ´ à ­Ã‹Å" Ãƒ «Ã‚ ªÃ¢â‚¬ ¦, à ªÃ‚ ³Ã‚ µÃƒ ¬Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ «Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬- ­Ãƒ ¬Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¤Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ Ã‚ ¼_01 (à ­Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã…“à ªÃ‚ µÃ‚ ­Ãƒ ªÃ‚ ³Ã‚ µÃƒ ¬Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ãƒ «Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ´Ãƒ ¬- ­Ãƒ ¬- °Ãƒ ­Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚ ©) |à ¬Ã… ¾Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃƒ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ±Ãƒ ¬Ã… ¾Ã‚  ullimft The aim here is to provide access to traditional retail distribut ion chains in an attempt to facilitate greater consumer access to fair trade products. According to the fair-trade labeling organizations international (FLO) in 2008, fair trade certified products have been growing on an average of almost 40% per year in the last five years and sales amounted to approximately 2.9 billion euro worldwide (Reykia, 2009). From this result, we can find that fair trade movement has a positive impact to their organization system. A brief description of fair trade coffee. In most countries, coffee is accounts for the largest portion of fair trade items. This kind of coffee is sold in countries that are completely different from the origin where it was produced. A coffee bean is grown up in warm, tropical areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, Colombia, Brazil and India and the most of coffee is consumed in Europe and North America. This probably sounds like developing countries producing inexpensive raw materials that are manufactured and sold as finished goods in developed countries, and generally,  thats what happens with coffee. Large coffee companies buy coffee beans at a low price and produce cocoa and chocolate products to sell at a relatively high price. The price elasticity of demand is also low, with coffee demand dropping only when coffee prices increase significantly (Ponte 2001). This movement is thought to encourage consumers to pay close attention to not  only fair prices and quality of products but also the ethical purchase of bananas, chocolate, coffee, flowers, clothes, shoes, furniture, soccer balls, and so on. What is the motivation behind fair trade? It is suggested that the movement is aimed at deliberately paying a fair price to workers and farmers who produce the goods for both their work and time by means of paying a minimum price to producers regardless of the going price on the world be $1.21, in comparison to  the 70 cents per 500 gram it fetches on the world market. This would make it possible for marginalized producers and workers to move from a position of vulnerability to economic independence and self sufficiency. (FLO, 2002) A present study showed that todays coffee farmers receive around 6 per cent of the value of a pack of coffee sold in a store (Gresser and Tickel 2002). In response, groups of consumers in Europe and the United States developed fair trade organizations to guarantee that farmers of coffee, as well as cacao and tea, would receive fair and consistent prices for their crops. The benefits of fair trade coffee movement. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the international market for fair trade coffee. This has been driver buy a number of different benefits can be divide this into four section. The following discussion with obvious benefits, that accrues at the social influences, culture revival, economic and environmental conservation. Social influences According to Putnam (1995) social capital is a social organisation, such as trust, norms, and networks that improves the efficiency of society by facilitating co-ordinated action The results of fair trade movement are a better standard of living for some farmers and organic coffee made with organically produced coffee bean that consumers dont feel guilty about buying. This is the main benefit of social part. And although fair trade coffee is somewhat more expensive that other coffee and now makes up only 1 percent of coffee sold, the fair trade idea is spreading quickly. First, benefit to the individual producers. Most individual producers are small coffee famers. After started fair trade farms the famers make co-operated this is can get benefit for reduced market prices risk. Moreover the famers cooperative has a good internal financial management system. This mean is fair trade price that is directly goes to individual farmers. Also fair trade guaranteed minimum price and an additional premium. The additional premium is paid into a fund of bank for development project. Fair trade results in more stable incomes and is consequently one of the most important direct benefits that accrue to coffee producers (Raynolds, 2002; Murray et al, 2003) There is one interesting examples of individual famers benefits. Fair trade made to improving childrens education in Guatemala. Cooperative members are able to send their children in higher numbers and a number of associates have children studying at the University levelà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Lyon, 2002:30). Secondly, benefit to communities. One of most visible community benefit has the social premium. The Fair Trade social premium has financed the cooperatives technical and other organizational support of coffee producers activities (Douglas et al, 2003). This is related premium fund which is then invested in building schools, clinics, community centres, funding scholarships, paying medical bills and providing low-interest loans. Moreover farmers are learning from each other, with a spread of organic practices to neighbours food production (Jaffee, 2007). Also famers can help and share market knowledge and technical information this is access and get better prices in the conventional market. This benefit developed small farms and furthermore developed countries as well. Finally, fair trade has organizational benefits. Benefits to individuals can flow from being part of a recognised organisation and this recognition can accrue with international support from Fair trade attracting other international agencies (NGOs and donors) (Nelson, Tallontire and Collinson, 2002). For example, fair trade organizations benefit farmers by buying coffee beans or other products from them directly at higher-than-market prices and eliminating middle men such as exporters. Also fair trade organizations encourage farming techniques that are not harmful to the environment or to farm workers, for example, growing coffee bean without chemical pesticides or fertilizers in the shade of rain forest trees. Culture The growth of ethical consumerism over the last 30 years provides the main driver behind the development of a fair trade market in the UK (Burke and Berry, 1974; Strong, 1997). Today, many consumers getting consider themselves ethical consumption this is important goal of fair trade movement. Fletcher (1990) suggested that there has been a move away from the self-focused consumer of the 1970s and acquisitive consumer of the 1980s towards a new focus on values. I think fair trade movement has also moved into the consumer awareness and understanding of fair trade. The other benefit is closer link between consumers and producer. The fair trade movement give to empowers consumers. As consumers, fair trade accreditation gives us the peace of mind of knowing that the producers in question got a fair deal (The five key benefits of Fair trade, 2009). Raising awareness of the fair trade products here is our primary concern since some consumers dont even know what fair trade is all about Economic Economic benefit is most important of fair trade movement because it is directly related to their life. Giovannucci and Koekoek (2003) said the coffee commodity market is driven exclusively by economic factors and, like all commodity markets, does not recognize, much less internalize into its prices, the very real environmental and social costs of production. The main positive impact of economic is guaranteed minimum price this is I can say stable prices. All famers want to increasing incomes it is one of fair trades main objective. Fair trade is reducing intermediaries and get closer between the farmers and the end consumer, farmers earn a larger share of the export price (The five key benefits of Fair trade, 2009). However, fair trade cannot remove risk for small producer. Accordin to Jaffee (2007), while noting that Fair trade farmers are still affected by market fluctuations, also finds positive economic benefits accruing to participants from the guarantee that a fair price is available to them, enabling them to make longer-term investment decisions. Environment Recently, interest in protection of the environment is growing rapidly throughout the world. Fair trade has improved the natural environment. Aranda and Morales (2002) said fair trades organic emphasis has promoted for example improve soil conservation and water management practices as well as the increased consciousness about the importance of conservation in general. Also, fair trade technical team help to make organic coffee for example they supported organic coffee production program, supported in part by fair trade returns and helped reduce soil from erosion. (Perezgrovas and Cervantes, 2002: 19). Recently certain buyers, so-called ethical consumers, think about goods from a societal viewpoint such as human rights or the environment as being important standards for buying and consuming goods. They pay close attention to labor exploitation and environmental damage that occur as a result of producing the goods, and they regard their purchases as a kind of economic behavior conducive to an eco-friendly future society based on fairness and the justification of consumption. The term fair trade, which originated in Europe during the 1950s for the sole purpose of over-coming world poverty, is an organized social movement as a market-based model of international trade that promotes the payment of fair prices, as well as social and environmental standards. I suggest that if they want to keep protect natural environment then producer organize environmental protection management policy. They have to comply with national and international laws of protection (The five key benefits of Fair trade, 2009) Fair trade movement in Starbucks Starbuck is one of the good examples following the fair trade coffee campaign. Global coffee chain Starbucks is also helping to raise awareness of fair trade coffee products.  Starbucks has been selling fair trade coffee beans since 2003 but from January to April sales of the whole beans increased 86.5 percent on-year. In 2007, 9 million kg of fair trade coffee beans which are 16 % of the world trade amount have been bought by Starbucks. Also Starbucks have self- ethical purchase program called C.A.F.E. Practice which tries to guarantee coffee farmers who are not member of the fair trade organization to sell high quality coffee bean with higher prices in order to continue consistent transaction and return enough profits to the farmers (Starbucks, 2007). However, Starbucks was not the first main company of Fair Trade Coffee. One of examples is that Starbucks had used to pay 15 pence for 1 kg coffee and then sold it to consumers up to 130 pounds after a couple of processes so that Starbucks had harsh blame on getting excessive profits from consumers by not to pay enough to farmers. Since 2000, Starbucks has been increasing to buy fair trade coffee afterwards. Why are Kenya, Ethiopia, and Srirangka getting poorer as Starbucks is getting prosperous at the same time? One of the main reasons is that plenty of money have been poured to buy to import foods because it is failed to self- support of foods on the fertile land and they try to produce coffee on the land which is supposed to use for foods instead. Worse fact is that coffee farm makes land useless by consuming all fertility. Coffee consumption in developed countries makes the standardization of these farm product systems and it is a consequence which is made by multinational companies like Starbucks. Human being has started to consume huge amount of coffee without precedent in history, and this happening makes agriculture system standardization as well as Starbucks is a main organization making price of raw material going down. Therefore, Starbucks has to take more responsibility for 95 % of poor farmers than to be proud of purchase 5 % of Fair Trade Coffee. (Starbucks, 2007) It could be unfair to ask profit- making companies which try to maximize profit as much as they can to take responsibility of behaviour however, Starbucks has to at least purchase 50% of Fair Trade Coffee to get rid of the pasts act of barbarity and pay same contribution as its reputation they have to world. Of course, price of coffee sold by Starbuck could be being increased at the same if they would have bought coffee beans from the Fair Trade. Conclusion This paper has showed that the real benefits of fair trade movement. Actually, businessmen do not bring any profits in sales or benefits as they buy coffee beans from the Fair Trade. However, many countries have fair trade organizations and fair trade movement is getting issues. Then, why we need to buy fair trade product? Because it is an act of investing for the social goods noting that the more developed a nations coffee culture becomes, the more likely it is to import fair trade coffee. The main priority is to inform its citizens of what fair trade is and what is necessary to do in order to extend the quantity and improve the quality of products, so conscious consumers are more apt to search for buy fair-trade-based goods. Fair trade movement has numbers of benefits then, if we buy coffee as much as we can coffee famers get lots of profits and their countries are getting strong and rich? The answer is no. What things do consumers do? Drinking less coffee is the way. Why? It would be better to let people in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Sriranka produce rice, wheat, and other plants on the fertile land rather than coffee farm by people in developed centuries consuming less coffee. Could it be fair that if someone feels hungry and only produces coffee corps by myself who drink coffee, Cappuccino, and Caramel Macchiato daily? For these fair trade still comes many problems such as slow growth in the fair trade market. For example in Europe, the fair trade marketing campaigns have been underway for nearly a decade in many countries, fair trade coffee sales represent on average 1.2pervent of total coffee sales at the national level (EFTA, 2001). But fair trade movement try to growth of the market for coffee produced and big chain company trade like Starbucks buy more fair trade coffee beans so I guess this problem can figure out. On the other hand, fait trade is a difficult control system, especially to consumers willingness to support third world producers, and the transfers are therefore perhaps not comparable to government or NGO support (Anna, 2004). It may be that futher improvements to the global fair trade system. The fair trade movment has improved in a short time but the range of benefits is getting wider and higher. In a world where consumption is separated from production over incresingly treater space and time, modern consumers experience the processes shaping their livees with growing datachment (Anna, 2004). Also, modern consumers concern natural this mean is they focus about well bing and organic. I belive that this little change is make great result in the future. Fair trade movement is one of the difficult challenge but this is neccesary to economic success the third world. As Appadurai (1996) has persuafively argued, we live in a world characterized by rapid trascontinental trvel and the instaneous trasmission of images and informantion via terevision and the internet. Fair trade, along with a wide range of other global and local movements that have emerged in recent years, has the potential to stimulate this glical collective imagination. (Anna, 2004) Now it is the time when we should seriously question and consider the unknown truth behind the making of brand name goods. For example, where are the products produced? Who made the products? All the workers get paid fairly? Personally,  I make it a rule when buying goods to take few seconds. First to examine the producer, price, and consumer of the goods is one of the ways and Im going to buy what I will buy. Before buying a product, take a few second and ask yourself questions such as, Is this a fair price? Do I consider myself a bad or ethical buyer and consumer? bear in mind that by doing so you may be instrumental in helping the needy around the world climb out of poverty.

Oedipus The King :: Oedipus Rex, Sophocles

The play begins with a request to Oedipus by the townspeople to rid Thebes of the plague, since he had so heroically solved the riddle of the Sphinx in the past. He sends Creon, his brother-in-law and uncle, to the oracles at Delphi. Creon returns with the cause for the plague; the murderer of the former King Laius was never punished for his crime. So Oedipus pledges himself to seek the killer and punish him as the gods wish.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oedipus summons the people of Thebes and demands that the killer, or whoever had knowledge of the killer, reveal himself. He threatens them with the punishment of banishment. Some members of the group suggest consulting Tiresias, the blind prophet. When he comes, he proves to be useless with his intransigent silence. So Oedipus accuses Tiresias of being an accomplice to the murderer, forcing him to speak. Tiresias then charges Oedipus of the murder, which infuriates him, and also preludes to his “shameful intimacy.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oedipus then draws upon his solving of the riddle of the Sphinx to undermine the blind prophet, convinced that he, in alliance with Creon, was plotting against him. Creon’s modest rebuttal consisted only of a threat to himself- that if Oedipus’ claim against him were true, then let him not live out the rest of his days. Later, in a conversation with Oedipus, he justifies his denial of the charge that Oedipus had placed against him by illustrating the irrelevance of attempting to dethrone the king. When Jocasta enters, she sides with Creon and respects his oath to the gods. But later, when Oedipus says the claim against him is based on prophecy, she reasons with him since she does not believe in prophetic power. She explains how the prophecy of Laius’ son killing him never came true. Then Oedipus realizes that it was he that had slain Laius and that there was a chance Tiresias was right after all.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Oedipus pursues his search for his origin through several occasions. A Corinthian messenger is the first. He is the one that was given Oedipus with ankles pinned and in turn gave him to Polybus. The messenger plays an important role in revealing this as well as the fact that Polybus and Merope were not Oedipus’ real parents.

Relationship between the Individual and Nature in The Open Boat :: Open Boat Essays

Relationship between the Individual and Nature in "The Open Boat"  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   From the beginning, the four characters in the aftermath of a shipwreck do not know "the colour of the sky" but all of them know "the colours of the sea."   This opening strongly suggests the symbolic situations in which human beings are located in the universe.   The sky personifies the mysterious, inconceivable cause of reality , which humans cannot understand, and the sea symbolizes the earthy, mundane phenomenon, which humans are supposed to perceive.   The symbolic picture generated by the above conflict implies the overall relationship between the individual and nature.  Ã‚   In fact, the daily life of human beings is at the mercy of the uncontrollable waves of the sea; while, at the same time, the essential part of reality remains unknown to feeble, helpless humans. The human voyage into life is basically feeble, vulnerable, uncontrollable.   Since the crew on a dangerous sea without hope are depicted as "the babes of the sea", it can be inferred that we are likely to be ignorant strangers in the universe.   In addition to the danger we face, we have to also overcome the new challenges of the waves in the daily life.   These waves are "most wrongfully and barbarously abrupt and tall", requiring "a new leap, and a leap."   Therefore, the incessant troubles arising from human conditions often bring about unpredictable crises as "shipwrecks are apropos of nothing."   The tiny "open boat", which characters desperately cling to, signifies the weak, helpless, and vulnerable conditions of human life since it is deprived of other protection due to the shipwreck.   The "open boat" also accentuates the "open suggestion of hopelessness" amid the wild waves of life.   The crew of the boat perceive their precarious fate as "preposterous" and "a bsurd" so much so that they can feel the "tragic" aspect and "coldness of the water."  Ã‚   At this point, the question of why they are forced to be "dragged away" and to "nibble the sacred cheese of life" raises a meaningful issue over life itself.   This pessimistic view of life reflects the helpless human condition as well as the limitation of human life. In line with the feeble and vulnerable portrait of human beings, nature is described as dangerous and uncontrollable on the one hand; beautiful on the other.   The tone of the waves is "thunderous and mighty" and the gulls are looked upon as "uncanny and sinister.

Issues of Youth in Pakistan

ISSUES FACED BY YOUTH IN PAKISTAN Youth, in this era of modern technology, is facing problem all over the world. But especially in developing countries of the world like Pakistan our youth is helpless and are growing up without clear goals and ideals. Of the 15 largest countries in the world in terms of population size, Pakistan has the largest population of the youngest people. In one’s mind this question may arise whether such a large population be regarded as a burden or an asset for country. But in my view such a large population could prove itself an asset towards the country.This demographic situation provides our Pakistan’s youth with an extra ordinary opportunity that because of such a large young population our country could compete even with the developing countries of the world, then how could this population be designated as a burden. Particularly when we talk about the young people of Pakistan then we will get to know that our youth counter through number o f issues from their education period up till their settlement in life. Hardest of all the time is the duration of their career making. Unemployment is the major issue confronted by our youth. Today 12% of our youth is unemployed.Most of the educated students such as degree holders of Bachelors and Masters have no value in national or international market now. These unlucky guys are delivering pizzas and doing other door to door services. Some of them are so unlucky that they don’t even get such kinds of job too. Another prejudice being done every day to our youth is favoritism. It is processed in every organization of our country from lowest to highest level. Students who belong to any political parties or are far relatives of any high post officials they get job easily within few hours without any struggle.Although they are impotent for that job, and because of this brilliant students are deprived of their right. Another problem being faced by our youth is flawed education s ystem in our country. There is no unification in education system. 3 to 4 systems are running at a parallel level. Students of private educational institutions such as NUST and LUMS are being taught entirely in different way as students of government institution are taught. Most of the students are misfit in their positions. They are not satisfied with their careers and jobs. Those who wanted to become engineers they are in medical colleges and vice versa.The reason behind this is improper education counseling. They are not guided properly and many of them are enforced by their parents to join particular field. In developed countries students are being counseled after regular intervals for their better future but there is no such system in our country which could recognize the true talent of our own students. Our youth has lost its identity. Western and Indian culture has submerged gradually deep in our roots and are targeting our youth. They are easily targeted because they are far away from their own religion and culture and due to this they are lost in the blind end of street.Dilemma of our youth is that they are talented and are capable enough to compete with the students of other countries but they are getting no chance to show their inner talents. Their talent is not being utilized in proper way. Their energies are used by political parties for their own sake. Negative role of media is another factor which is exploiting our youth. Youngsters are running in a race to copy the latest fashion as soon as possible. For this youngster especially young girls waste several hours in watching channels such as STYLE 360 to keep an eye on latest fashion. To look cool they smoke, drink wine etc. nd all this they learn by media, imitating their favorite TV actors. Computers and mobile phones instead of using them in a positive way they are being used to boast off. Message packages and late night packages provided by different phone companies like TELENOR, UFONE, WARID , JAZZ etc. and our youth instead of concentrating on their studies they are involved in such activities talking and texting all night and sleeping at day time during the class which in the end affect their grades. All of these problems are leading towards the mother of all problems which is FRUSTRATION.Our youth is frustrated because of poverty, unemployment and injustice to them in society. Consequence of this is abundantly drug usage, suicide attempts, terrorism in some cases, rape and increase in crime rates. Depressed youngsters indulge themselves in unhealthy activities which not only harm the society but themselves too. They are either captured by corrupt company of gangsters or they themselves inhabit the company of bad boys who entangle these depressed one’s and spoil their whole life. And if he is the sole earner of family then we could imagine the destruction of lives of his whole family.In this whole scenario youth need health resources, awareness, time for relaxa tion and affordable healthy entertainment but we are lacking all these things. Our youth should be engaged in such activities which enhance their talent and also contribute towards the development of country. Ministry of youth affairs take such initiatives so that youth is benefited in some way or other. But if the government properly support youth as in developed countries then we will gradually see the progress in economy of our country which will ultimately lead us to prosperity. INSHALLAH.

Facts of the Case Essay

The moving-picture show of cheek number 82A04-8876-CV-285, whiten vs. Gibbs and OMalleys tavern, is a video where the defendant is going away out front opines seeking thickset supposition as a count of police in their favor. Debbie face cloth has sued Patrick Gibbs beneath the civil provisions of inchs Dram wander Act, atomic number 49 commandment 7.1-5-10-15.5. This subject field was brought in diversity before the United States District Court for the Federal District of Indiana collectable to the parties residing in two different states. The case give be decided under Indiana state justness. The purpose of this trial is to betoken the motion of heavyset conception. A summary judgment is a procedure utilise during civil litigation to quickly take apart a case without a trial. The judge grants summary judgment totally if in that location are no disputes as to the fabric f spiels of the case and the party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.The pl aintiff in this case is Mrs. White and attorneys Amanda Babot and Jackson Walsh represent her. The defendant in this case is Mr. Gibbs and OMalleys Tavern being represented by Attorneys benzoin Walton and Jordan Van verse.Mr. Walton is addressing the issue of unfeigned intimacy of visual intoxication as take under the Indiana Dram Shop Act. Mr. Walton argued that Mr. heavy(a) was non engaging in any activities that would digest adequately demonstrate intoxication. disfranchised was simply sitting at a bar in the comportment of lav Daniels, the barman. The only evidence of Mr. stag being lift up is that he was more than chatty than usual. According to the Indiana compulsive Court, if increased talkativeness is the only evidence, that is unaffixed as a matter of law to support any well-founded mo of actual companionship. (Delta ta Delta). Mr. Van Meter is addressing the issue of approximate author for the defense. Mr. rockys reprehensible act is a super cedin g intervening bm, which breaks the cause of connection between the negligence of the defendant and the injury. Also, because this was a criminal act, the injury that resulted was non a natural and probable consequence that was dry landably predictable in light of the circumstances.Mr. Walsh, the plaintiffs attorney, is presenting the issue of actual knowledge of intoxication. Mr. Walsh is arguing against summary judgment found on two reasons. First, Indiana Courts have held that when a reasonable conclusion of evidence and circumstances of a case could result in more than superstar conclusion, summary judgment is inappropriate. Second, the jury could infer that the bartender had actual knowledge of the microscopical intoxication of Mr. trying when he persist served him alcohol.Ms. Babot is arguing against summary judgment based on approximate cause due to three reasons. First, there are reasonable inferences that a jury could prevail in favor of the plaintiff. Second, th e injuries to Mrs. White were the reasonable and foreseeable consequences of serving an intoxicated help. Thirdly, a criminal can be the intervening act that does not break the chain of causation because the act is reasonably foreseeable. Ms. Babot listed four factors that a judge has to look at when considering approximate. What and how a good deal alcohol was consumed, what is the amount of time it was served in, the conditions of the friend before leaving the bar, and the condition of the patron immediately aft(prenominal) leaving.Facts There were prior incidents where Mr. big(p) and Mr. White had altercations. On nonpareil incident, Hard and Mr. White were in a physical altercation and had to be separated. During this incident, Mr. Hard was sober. This shows that there is a history of Mr. hart trying to physically hurt Mr. White. In this particular case, Mr. and Mrs. White went to OMalleys Tavern. Edward Hard, Mrs. Whites former lover, was in addition at the tavern that night.Mr. Hards bar tab shows that he purchased 13 alcohol boozes, in a 2 hour and 40 minute period. to begin with Mrs. White arrived at the Tavern, he had cinque drinks. In roughly a one-half hour, John Daniels, the bartender, served Edward Hart five conniptions of whisky and one beer. Mr. Daniels was the only bartender functional the night of July 28th so he served all the shots of liquor and other downpour beverages to Mr. Hard.When Mr. Hard finished his last shot of liquor, Hard tried to stand up from his barstool and tripped over a pool bring forth and sink. The bartender was not in the dwell when Hart fell. By the time John Daniels came back into the room, Edward Hard was already up and back on his bar stool. The bartender then served him another beer.When Mr. Hard dictum Mr. and Mrs. White leaving, he finished his drink and proceeded to pursue them. At 743 pm, he was served his last drink. Five proceeding later he paid and leaves. once outside, Mr. Hard raised hi s hand in an attempt to strike one of them, unless as he swung, he fell to the ground.Once the Whites were in their car and leaving. Mr. Hard started his car and sped out of the parking standoff recklessly hitting cars and other items on his way out. Mr. Hard was also yaw erratically while driving after Mr. and Mrs. White. The 911 call showed that Mr. Hard was on the ruin side of the road when Mrs. White do a left hand turn. Mrs. White also said that Mr. Hard was adjacent them. Before the collision, Mr. Hard did not heavy down as he brood straight into Mrs. White car. At 755 p.m., the police report is taken for the accident. Mr. Hard was disheveled, swaying, staggering, unable to speak coherently, and having lamentable hand-eye coordination.IssueThe effectual issue is whether the OMalleys Tavern is legally liable for the Mrs. Whites injuries and Mr. Whites death. If the bartender had actual visual knowledge of Mr. Hards intoxication, then the tavern can be held responsib le for the incident. What is the legal issue that this case hinges on? Possibly, whether or not the Dram law applies and if so how- you figure this one out from the video? State what the issue is. This is probably only 1 or 2 sentences.depth psychologyMr. Walton and Mr. Van Meter have the more conviencing argument in this trial. If the bartender was not in the room to witness Mr. Hard fall down while he was still drink, then there was no action to show the level of Mr. Hards intoxication. It would be difficult to grass how intoxicated Mr. Hard was based on him drinking. The first time that the bartender would have truly noticed that he was intoxicated was after Mr. Hard had finished drinking and fell down when he tried to hit Mr. White as he was leaving.Since there was a history of altercations between Mr. Hard and Mr. White, as well as the same night of the accident, it is safe to reason that Mr. Hard running into the Whites vehicle was meant to cause harm to Mr. White. This woul d make the action premeditated and thus a criminal offense, not negligence on the tavern behalf.

A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Profitability Analysis

ISSUES IN ACCOUNTING commandment Vol. 26, no. 1 2011 pp. 181200 Ameri tin lowlife history connecter DOI 10. 2308/iace. 2011. 26. 1. 181 A consequence mull over on Cost disco biscuitderness and masterfessional? tability compend at Continental Airlines Francisco J. Roman ABSTRACT This exercise exposes students to the application of retrogression analyses to be wasting diseased as a tool pursuant to spirit personify way and calculateing future damages victimization frequently obtainable selective information from Continental Airlines. Speci? cally, the sheath foc wasting diseases on the harsh ? nancial particular faced by Continental as a result of the novel ? ancial crisis and the challenges it faces to re chief(prenominal) professional personfessionalfessional personfessional? table. It so highlights the importance of trim overcome and controlling equal as a practicable strategy to impact pro? tability and how degeneration abridgment tail end assis t in this pursuit. Students atomic human beingsation 18 succeeding(a) presented with every quarter selective information for unhomogeneous categories of bells and some(prenominal) effectiveness apostrophize drivers, which they essential engagement to suffice turnabouts on operational(a)(a) be employ a variety of personify drivers. They essential hence use their regression results to prospect run be and discharge a pro? tability digest to project quarterly pro? ts for the upcoming ? scal social class.Finally, students must summarize the main results of their analytic regarding in a scroll turn to to Continentals focussing, providing recommendations to restore pro? ts. In particular, the concept of blend bell functions is reinforced, as is the collar of the travel required to perform regression digest in Excel, interpreting the regression proceeds, and the primal step assumptions in regression analytic thinking. The cocktail dress has been test ed and wholesome received in an intermediate be accounting system systeming course and it is suitable for both under alum and graduate students. Keywords apostrophize approximation pro? ability summary follow port regression analyses monetary value functions. selective information Availability All data atomic government issue 18 from public sources and be on tap(predicate) in hard duplicate inside the matter. entropy be alike useable in electronic form by the germ upon request. INTRODUCTION n 2008, the senior watchfulness team at Continental Airlines, commanded by Lawrence Kellner, the Chairman and top dog Exe fadedive Of? cer, convened a special meeting to cover the ? rms latest quarterly ? nancial results. A austere situation lay in front them. Continental had incurred an operational loss of $71 million dollarsits second resultant quarterly earnings de-I Francisco J. Roman is an Assistant prof at Texas Tech University. I thank Kent St. not bad(p) of Sou th Dakota editor , Michael Costa, and 2 anonymous keyees for their suggestions on preceding versions of the slip of paper. Editors n ace Accepted by Kent St. Pierre Published Online February 2011 181 182 Roman cline that year. Likewise, rider wad was signi? bay windowtly down, dropping by nearly 5 sh are from the preliminary years quarter. Continentals senior management take to act fleetly to reverse this trend and return to pro? tability. creation the fourth hulkingst airway in the U.S. and eighth astronomicalst in the world, Continental was perceived as one of the approximately ef? ciently run companies in the airline perseverance. Nonetheless, 2008 brought unprecedented challenges for Continental and the entire industry as the United States and practically of the world was heading into a severe stinting recession. Companies acute deeply into their budgets for phone line get going, the highest yielding circumstances of Continentals total revenue, unitedly w ith a similar downward trend from the leisure and day- later-day sector, combined to sharply dress total revenue.Con authorized with this revenue decline, the price of atomic weigh 19 burn down soared to record levels during 2008. 1 Thus, while revenue was decreasing, Continental was paying comfortably-nigh twice as much in sack represent. Interestingly, arouse be surpassed the ? rms salaries and compensation as the highest comprise in Continentals damage structure. This obviously had a negative impact on the bottom line, squeezing even throw out the already strained pro? t margins. The outlook for a quick recovery in the U. S. economy and, consequently, an upturn in the direct for air travel in the brusk term did not visualisem likely.Continentals upcountry omens indicated that a push decline in passenger volume should be anticipated through and throughout 2009, with a recovery in travel possibly occurring by the middle of 2010. To summarize, adverse economic al conditions in the U. S. , couple with the rise in give the sack make up, were dragging down Continentals pro? ts and relief was flimsy through the foreseeable future. THE DECISION TO REDUCE immobile CAPACITY AND THE IMPACT ON operate be Given the situation described above, management inviteed to act swiftly to restore pro? tability. some(prenominal) strategic options were evaluated.Since the U. S. and much of the world was facing a severe recession, the prospect for growing revenues by all raising air serves or passenger volume seemed futile. unlike to raising revenue, Continentals managers believed that raising fares could capablenessly erode future revenues beyond the present level. Discounting fares did not seem a plausible solution either, because addicted the severity of the economic situation a fare cut could fall short in impact special passenger demand and lead to fleshy revenues. Thus, because management anticipated that revenues would remain ? t for ap proximately of the year, the only viable short-term solution to restoring pro? ts was a substantial and swift decline in in operation(p) be. This could near effectively be over(p) in two ways. First, through a reduction in ? ying dexterity adjusted to match intercommunicate passenger demand. With this in mind, Continentals management agreed to reduce ? ying faculty by 11 percent on domestic and international routes. 2 As a result of this action, Continental would draw the least pro? table or unpro? table ? ights and, accordingly, would ground some(prenominal) planes in the ? eet.Management anticipated that this conclusion would reduce several(prenominal) of the ? rms operating be. away from this, Continental could extend to further reductions in speak to by implementing several cost-cutting initiatives and through operational ef? ciencies. For example, management pro- 1 2 To illustrate, viridity elicit is bind to the price of cover and, over the past year, oil pr ices surged from about $70 to $135 per barrel. Consequently, the price of jet fuel intensify magnitude markedly, from an average of $1. 77 per congius to $4. 20 by the mid-summer of 2008. Speci? cally, on June 13, 2008, Continental Airlines announced that it planned to reduce its ? ght capacity by 11 percent. By shrinking capacity, Continental expected to reduce the number of domestic and international ? ights from its three major(ip) hubs in Houston, Cleveland, and Newark Maynard 2008 . Issues in score education American accounting system crosstie heap 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case try out on Cost mind and Pro? tability digest at Continental Airlines 183 jected that it could get through reductions in rider go set downs by consolidating several tasks during passenger check-in and by reducing regimen and beverage waste served during ? ights. Additionally, the ? m could reduce versatile miscellaneous expenses through targeted cuts in discretionary spending. In sum, to close t he gap in pro? tability, Continentals strategy was geared toward slashing operating cost by cutting capacity and through aggressive identi? cation and implementation of cost-cutting initiatives. The neighboring step would be for management to know precisely how their decision to downsize capacity would impact the ? rms future operating cost, and similarly identify speci? c areas in which the ? rm could achieve additional cost reductions. Additionally, the cost analysis would help forecast the ? ms operating cost and communicate pro? ts or losings for the upcoming ? scal year. However, before we can proceed with much(prenominal) analysis, an examination of how the discordant categories of Continentals costs manage is in order. Before we begin, let us prepare with an overview of the airline industry and its competitive landscape, and an understanding of why cost air bears particular relevance in this causal agent. pro attributeal to new(prenominal) industries, airlines are a very dif? rage backup to manage. In particular, they are exposed to fearful risks brought by volatility inherent in their business model, as they deal with high ? ed costs, labor movement unions, instability in fuel prices, weather and infixed disasters, passenger safety, and security regulations. These aspects bring a large burden to airlines cost structures. Moreover, competition within the industry is ? erce the proliferation of discount carriers, such(prenominal) as Southwest Airlines and, most recently, Jet Blue, and the end of fare regulation in 1978, has hindered airlines pricing power and their ability to spur revenues. For these reasons, cost withdrawment is a critically important aspect of pro? tability in this industry.In order for Continental to restore pro? tability in this harsh environment of weak demand for air travel, it must be able to contain its operating costs, especially its massive ? xed costs, which are perceptible in several ways. For example, salari es for pilots, ? ight attendants, and mechanics, as well as aircraft leasing costs, are classifiablely ? xed, varying little with shifts in passenger volume. Because ? xed costs typically embody the centre of operating capacity of a ? rm, they are ordinarily referred as capacity costs. Since ? xed costs do not self-adjust to ? ctuations in passenger volume, the only way in which they can be decreased or increased is if management adjusts them in accordance to the level of operating capacity. In contrast, other costs, such as passenger renovations and reservation and distribution costs, behave as variable and would self-adjust with variations in volume or operating activity. Hence, to assess the impact of this strategic decision to ex throw Continentals cost structure, and identify the areas that could achieve the greatest reduction in costs, we must fragmentize how Continentals operating costs behave and what drives them.In what follows, we learn how to apply regression analys es to examine cost behavior and forecast future costs, and then use that association to assess how the reduction in ? ying capacity would affect Continentals operating costs and pro? tability in the near term. ESTIMATING greetS apply REGRESSION ANALYSES The previous discussion highlighted the importance of examining the behavior of Continentals operating costs to surface the way for a cost and pro? tability analysis using regression analysis. Regression analysis is a powerful statistical tool that is frequently use by ? ms to examine cost behavior and assure future costs. The idea behind regression analysis is straightforward historical data for costs, and the dissimilar activities that could potentially drive operating costs, are inserted into a mathematical calculation which yields the average amount of change in that particular cost that has occurred over time. clean values provided by regression calculations may then be applied to theme future change that will occur in th at cost tending(p) a one-unit change in one or Issues in method of accounting Education Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Association 184 Roman ore of the business activities which drive that cost. 3 More precisely, in a regression model, cost is a function of one or more business activities or factors primal a business operation. Simply put, the business activities are the drivers of operating costs. Therefore, since activities drive costs, our ? rst step in the attachment of a cost function is to identify the underlying activities or other potential factors that drive the cost in questionthe cost drivers. This requires extensive knowledge of the business operation. In the case of Continental Airlines, the potential drivers of operating costs vary greatly.For instance, as antecedently noted, the number of passengers that Continental ? ies may drive the costs related to rider Services. Likewise, Aircraft Maintenance and Repairs costs could be goaded by the number of ai rcraft in the ? eet and by the level of ? ying capacity clique by Continental i. e. , acquirable lowlife miles . In synthesis, to predict how Continentals operating costs would be change by the decision to reduce capacity, and to identify those areas in which additional room is available for cost cutting, we need to identify which costs in this ? rms cost structure behave as variable, ? ed, or mixed in which elements of both variable and ? xed are observable . Equally important, we should as well as identify the speci? c drivers if any of apiece cost. Your job is to assist management in their quest to restore pro? tability at Continental Airlines. Speci? cally, you must take aim regression analyses to examine cost behavior and then use this information to forecast operating costs and pro? tability for the upcoming year. As part of your cost analysis, you should investigate how the decision to cut ? ying capacity would impact the ? rms future operating costs and, equally impo rtant, identify those speci? expense categories or operating areas in which this ? rm could attain additional costs saving by implementing cost-cutting initiatives. Your conclusions should be outlined in a memorandum directed to Continentals Executive management team. You are provided neighboring with a description of Continentals operating costs and the potential drivers of costs so you can gestate regression analysis to hazard the corresponding cost functions. To help you in estimating the regressions, a comprehensive set of instructions for performing regression analysis using Microsoft Excel is provided in the Appendix.Immediately following the description of costs, a series of questions is provided that should help guide your analysis. Additionally, to help you estimate your regressions, Exhibit 1 presents past quarterly data for all of the above expenditures for the period of January 2000 through celestial latitude 2008, while Exhibit 2 provides quarterly operations data fo r the same period of time. CONTINENTALS operational COSTS AND POTENTIAL COST DRIVERS As shown in Exhibit 1, there are ten categories of operating costs.These include salaries and proceeds, aircraft fuel and related taxes, aircraft rentals, airdrome fees, aircraft maintenance and repairs, depreciation and amortization, distribution costs, passenger services, regional capacity purchases, and other expenses. Of these, some demonstrate a single expense item. For example, the cost of aircraft rentals and airport fees together comprise a single cost item. different costs represent cost pots comprising several cost items. Such is the case of passenger services and other expenses. The following provides a critical description of each cost, along with the potential cost drivers. 3 4 For ease in exposition, cost functions and regression analyses are discussed brie? y here. For further insight on cost functions and on the mechanics of regression analyses, I refer the reader to the Appen dix. A cost driver represents a particular business activity, which usually tends to have a cause-and-effect relationship with a given cost. For example, for airlines, a typical cost driver for landing fees is the number of workaday ? ights carried by the airline, as well as the number of passengers ? own. An increase decrease in the number of ? ights or passengers ? own would increase decrease landing fees.Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Continental Airlines 185 EXHIBIT 1 REVENUES AND OPERATING COSTS DATA Obs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Obs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 end 1Q-2000 2Q-2000 3Q-2000 4Q-2000 1Q-2001 2Q-2001 3Q-2001 4Q-2001 1Q-2002 2Q-2002 3Q-2002 4Q-2002 1Q-2003 2Q-2003 3Q-2003 4Q-2003 1Q-2004 2Q-2004 3Q-2004 4Q-2004 1Q-2005 2Q-2005 3Q-2005 4Q-2005 1Q-2006 2Q-2006 3Q-2006 4Q-2006 1Q-2007 2Q-2007 3Q -2007 4Q-2007 1Q-2008 2Q-2008 3Q-2008 Q-2008 Revenues dismiss Salaries and Wages Capacity Purchases Aircraft Rentals Landing Fees 2,277,000,000 334,000,000 672,000,000 206,000,000 2,571,000,000 313,000,000 719,000,000 210,000,000 2,622,000,000 354,000,000 748,000,000 215,000,000 2,429,000,000 392,000,000 736,000,000 213,000,000 2,451,000,000 345,000,000 758,000,000 214,000,000 2,556,000,000 349,000,000 800,000,000 223,000,000 2,223,000,000 322,000,000 779,000,000 230,000,000 1,739,000,000 213,000,000 684,000,000 236,000,000 1,993,000,000 208,000,000 732,000,000 228,000,000 2,192,000,000 254,000,000 746,000,000 231,000,000 2,178,000,000 76,000,000 743,000,000 227,000,000 2,039,000,000 285,000,000 738,000,000 216,000,000 2,042,000,000 347,000,000 778,000,000 223,000,000 2,216,000,000 302,000,000 762,000,000 224,000,000 2,365,000,000 316,000,000 778,000,000 225,000,000 2,247,000,000 290,000,000 738,000,000 158,000,000 224,000,000 2,307,000,000 333,000,000 688,000,000 31 7,000,000 220,000,000 2,553,000,000 387,000,000 711,000,000 328,000,000 222,000,000 2,602,000,000 414,000,000 703,000,000 347,000,000 224,000,000 2,437,000,000 453,000,000 717,000,000 359,000,000 225,000,000 2,505,000,000 470,000,000 715,000,000 353,000,000 227,000,000 2,857,000,000 75,000,000 649,000,000 382,000,000 229,000,000 3,001,000,000 684,000,000 646,000,000 406,000,000 234,000,000 2,845,000,000 714,000,000 639,000,000 431,000,000 238,000,000 2,947,000,000 672,000,000 661,000,000 415,000,000 245,000,000 3,507,000,000 744,000,000 791,000,000 454,000,000 248,000,000 3,518,000,000 858,000,000 743,000,000 475,000,000 249,000,000 3,156,000,000 760,000,000 680,000,000 447,000,000 248,000,000 3,179,000,000 684,000,000 726,000,000 430,000,000 248,000,000 3,710,000,000 842,000,000 821,000,000 444,000,000 248,000,000 3,820,000,000 895,000,000 836,000,000 446,000,000 249,000,000 3,523,000,000 33,000,000 744,000,000 473,000,000 249,000,000 3,570,000,000 1,048,000,000 729,000,000 506,000 ,000 247,000,000 4,044,000,000 1,363,000,000 704,000,000 589,000,000 246,000,000 4,072,000,000 1,501,000,000 765,000,000 553,000,000 244,000,000 3,471,000,000 993,000,000 760,000,000 425,000,000 240,000,000 129,000,000 138,000,000 133,000,000 132,000,000 141,000,000 153,000,000 139,000,000 148,000,000 161,000,000 160,000,000 163,000,000 149,000,000 152,000,000 152,000,000 165,000,000 151,000,000 160,000,000 163,000,000 171,000,000 160,000,000 171,000,000 181,000,000 182,000,000 174,000,000 185,000,000 198,000,000 195,000,000 86,000,000 193,000,000 190,000,000 209,000,000 198,000,000 207,000,000 210,000,000 225,000,000 210,000,000 degree Distribution cost Aircraft Maintenance Depreciation Passenger Services early(a) Expenses 1Q-2000 2Q-2000 3Q-2000 4Q-2000 1Q-2001 2Q-2001 248,000,000 261,000,000 255,000,000 217,000,000 243,000,000 230,000,000 159,000,000 171,000,000 167,000,000 149,000,000 160,000,000 162,000,000 95,000,000 98,000,000 102,000,000 107,000,000 105,000,000 111,000,000 85,000,000 91,000,000 97,000,000 89,000,000 91,000,000 96,000,000 286,000,000 284,000,000 288,000,000 277,000,000 318,000,000 295,000,000 (continued on next page)Issues in Accounting Education Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Association 186 Obs. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Obs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Roman Period Distribution Costs Aircraft Maintenance Depreciation Passenger Services Other Expenses 3Q-2001 4Q-2001 1Q-2002 2Q-2002 3Q-2002 4Q-2002 1Q-2003 2Q-2003 3Q-2003 4Q-2003 1Q-2004 2Q-2004 3Q-2004 4Q-2004 1Q-2005 2Q-2005 3Q-2005 4Q-2005 1Q-2006 2Q-2006 3Q-2006 4Q-2006 1Q-2007 2Q-2007 3Q-2007 4Q-2007 1Q-2008 2Q-2008 3Q-2008 4Q-2008 194,000,000 142,000,000 172,000,000 158,000,000 138,000,000 124,000,000 27,000,000 138,000,000 131,000,000 135,000,000 137,000,000 140,000,000 139,000,000 136,000,000 138,000,000 154,000,000 154,000,000 142,000,000 160,000,000 178,000,000 157,000,000 155,000,000 161,000,000 176,000,000 171,000,000 174,000,000 182,000,000 194,000,000 182,000,000 159,000,000 142,000,000 104,000,000 114,000,000 119,000,000 119,000,000 124,000,000 133,000,000 126,000,000 135,000,000 115,000,000 112,000,000 102,000,000 107,000,000 93,000,000 112,000,000 106,000,000 116,000,000 121,000,000 127,000,000 140,000,000 140,000,000 140,000,000 144,000,000 169,000,000 166,000,000 142,000,000 159,000,000 167,000,000 52,000,000 135,000,000 120,000,000 131,000,000 106,000,000 112,000,000 112,000,000 114,000,000 116,000,000 110,000,000 110,000,000 108,000,000 104,000,000 105,000,000 104,000,000 102,000,000 99,000,000 98,000,000 97,000,000 95,000,000 96,000,000 97,000,000 99,000,000 99,000,000 99,000,000 101,000,000 106,000,000 107,000,000 106,000,000 108,000,000 112,000,000 111,000,000 89,000,000 71,000,000 77,000,000 73,000,000 78,000,000 68,000,000 70,000,000 73,000,000 81,000,000 73,000,000 69,000,000 76,000,000 84,000,000 77,000,000 77,000,000 84,000,000 91,000,000 80,000,000 82,00 0,000 90,000,000 97,000,000 87,000,000 90,000,000 9,000,000 105,000,000 95,000,000 96,000,000 107,000,000 113,000,000 91,000,000 121,000,000 166,000,000 382,000,000 454,000,000 276,000,000 277,000,000 320,000,000 91,000,000 250,000,000 455,000,000 304,000,000 279,000,000 287,000,000 278,000,000 316,000,000 280,000,000 282,000,000 305,000,000 293,000,000 323,000,000 313,000,000 333,000,000 340,000,000 357,000,000 357,000,000 328,000,000 356,000,000 427,000,000 461,000,000 372,000,000 Period Total Aircraft 1Q-2000 2Q-2000 3Q-2000 4Q-2000 1Q-2001 2Q-2001 3Q-2001 4Q-2001 1Q-2002 2Q-2002 3Q-2002 4Q-2002 1Q-2003 2Q-2003 514 522 535 522 548 557 501 522 538 570 570 554 562 70 operations AND COST DRIVER DATA Leased Aircraft Flights Passengers in stock(predicate) hindquarters Miles 403 410 414 398 406 416 377 393 400 404 401 410 419 428 98,820 97,871 97,967 98,378 98,590 99,018 98,564 81,109 81,883 82,815 81,737 78,809 75,178 75,617 11,201,000 12,084,000 12,155,000 11,456,000 11,220,000 12, 256,000 11,254,000 9,508,000 12,062,000 13,099,000 13,006,000 12,874,000 11,518,000 13,044,000 20,951,000,000 21,384,000,000 22,356,000,000 21,409,000,000 21,459,000,000 22,813,000,000 21,994,000,000 18,219,000,000 20,375,000,000 22,286,000,000 22,626,000,000 21,054,000,000 20,843,000,000 21,241,000,000 Available SeatMiles Regional 1,767,000,000 2,073,000,000 (continued on next page) Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Continental Airlines Obs. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Obs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Period Total Aircraft 3Q-2003 4Q-2003 1Q-2004 2Q-2004 3Q-2004 4Q-2004 1Q-2005 2Q-2005 3Q-2005 4Q-2005 1Q-2006 2Q-2006 3Q-2006 4Q-2006 1Q-2007 2Q-2007 3Q-2007 4Q-2007 1Q-2008 2Q-2008 3Q-2008 4Q-2008 187 OPERATIONS AND COST DRIVER DATALeased Aircraft Flights Passengers Available Seat Miles 570 579 586 587 592 594 598 604 611 622 630 634 648 648 630 625 631 628 641 630 653 632 428 434 437 440 445 448 453 459 466 477 483 484 482 480 446 418 415 415 414 390 412 397 76,297 75,650 74,859 75,816 74,211 74,443 71,494 74,651 74,630 75,886 74,962 77,729 77,468 79,030 78,601 82,582 81,118 80,850 76,719 76,096 78,599 76,000 Available Seat Miles Regional 13,727,000 13,769,000 12,810,000 14,558,000 14,862,000 14,252,000 14,122,000 15,540,000 15,905,000 15,448,000 15,594,000 17,596,000 17,328,000 16,601,000 16,176,000 18,120,000 17,901,000 16,733,000 16,440,000 7,108,000 17,962,000 15,183,000 22,819,000,000 21,907,000,000 22,670,000,000 24,150,000,000 24,674,000,000 23,588,000,000 23,585,000,000 25,482,000,000 26,833,000,000 25,720,000,000 26,117,000,000 28,259,000,000 29,262,000,000 27,280,000,000 27,250,000,000 29,592,000,000 30,346,000,000 28,550,000,000 28,376,000,000 30,304,000,000 30,383,000,000 26,448,000,000 1,605,000,000 2,980,000,000 2,400,000,000 2,603,000,000 1,999,000,000 3,4 08,000,000 2,740,000,000 3,026,000,000 3,112,000,000 3,095,000,000 3,082,000,000 3,374,000,000 3,503,000,000 3,292,000,000 3,126,000,000 3,177,000,000 3,193,000,000 3,104,000,000 3,098,000,000 ,450,000,000 3,390,000,000 3,046,000,000 Period Passenger Miles Flown Employees Fuel outlay Fuel Consumed 1Q-2000 2Q-2000 3Q-2000 4Q-2000 1Q-2001 2Q-2001 3Q-2001 4Q-2001 1Q-2002 2Q-2002 3Q-2002 4Q-2002 1Q-2003 2Q-2003 3Q-2003 4Q-2003 1Q-2004 2Q-2004 3Q-2004 4Q-2004 1Q-2005 2Q-2005 15,005,000,000 16,491,000,000 17,325,000,000 15,340,000,000 15,114,000,000 17,053,000,000 16,206,000,000 12,767,000,000 14,867,000,000 16,489,000,000 16,960,000,000 17,252,000,000 14,352,000,000 16,129,000,000 18,041,000,000 16,412,000,000 16,255,000,000 18,735,000,000 19,922,000,000 18,239,000,000 18,112,000,000 20,292,000,000 45,000 45,500 46,000 5,944 38,396 39,000 39,500 39,461 40,229 41,011 41,809 40,244 38,960 39,000 39,500 39,000 38,240 37,496 36,766 38,255 41,831 45,742 $0. 829 $0. 797 $0. 865 $0. 885 $0. 85 6 $0. 815 $0. 824 $0. 826 $0. 644 $0. 723 $0. 760 $0. 740 $1. 029 $0. 881 $0. 857 $0. 872 $1. 041 $1. 787 $1. 199 $1. 190 $1. 453 $1. 670 377,000,000 386,000,000 398,000,000 372,000,000 369,000,000 391,000,000 373,000,000 369,000,000 308,000,000 332,000,000 340,000,000 316,000,000 305,000,000 308,000,000 330,000,000 314,000,000 320,000,000 347,000,000 345,000,000 321,000,000 324,000,000 344,000,000 (continued on next page) Issues in Accounting EducationVolume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Association 188 Roman Period 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Passenger Miles Flown Employees Fuel Price Fuel Consumed 3Q-2005 4Q-2005 1Q-2006 2Q-2006 3Q-2006 4Q-2006 1Q-2007 2Q-2007 3Q-2007 4Q-2007 1Q-2008 2Q-2008 3Q-2008 4Q-2008 Obs. 21,762,000,000 20,033,000,000 20,336,000,000 23,367,000,000 24,042,000,000 21,772,000,000 21,450,000,000 24,623,000,000 25,422,000,000 22,670,000,000 22,280,000,000 24,836,000,000 24,746,000,000 20,825,000,000 50,018 42,200 42,600 43,450 41,500 38,033 41,800 43,300 41,400 39,640 43,000 40,100 43,500 42,490 $1. 880 $1. 776 $1. 904 $2. 10 $2. 215 $2. 064 $1. 895 $2. 079 $2. 206 $2. 499 $2. 797 $3. 856 $3. 450 $2. 925 364,000,000 344,000,000 347,000,000 375,000,000 387,000,000 362,000,000 361,000,000 395,000,000 406,000,000 380,000,000 375,000,000 389,000,000 395,000,000 339,000,000 EXHIBIT 2 PROJECTIONS OF REVENUES AND OPERATING ACTIVITY FOR YEAR 2009 Variable Revenues Available seat miles Available regional seat miles numerate of passengers tally of planes Number lease planes Price of fuel per congius Gallons of fuel consumed Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 $2,962,000,000 26,323,000,000 2,971,000,000 14,408,000 634 398 $1. 82 403,000,000 2,767,000,000 28,007,000,000 3,044,000,000 16,348,000 617 394 $2. 07 430,000,000 $2,947,000,000 28,933,000,000 3,130,000,000 16,795,000 604 380 $1. 99 369,000,000 $2,462,000,000 26,291,000,000 3,002,000,000 15,258,000 601 379 $1. 98 479,000,000 All ? nancial and operational data repres ent quarterly data for the quarter line January 2000 Observation 1 through December 2008. Data have been compiled from Continentals 8-K and10-K reports, submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission. De? nitions of trading operations Variables Available seat miles the number of seats available multiplied by the number of miles ? wn Available regional seat miles available seat miles on regional routes Number of passengers number of paying passengers ? own Number of planes number of planes in the ? eet, including regional routes aircraft Number of leased planes number of leased planes Price of jet fuel average price per gallon of jet fuel in the respective quarter and Gallons of fuel consumed number of gallons of fuel consumed in the respective quarter. Salaries and Wages This account represents costs related to salaries and wages, as well as fringe bene? ts, of Continentals workers. These include salaries for pilots and wages for ? ght attendants and ground crew, as well as w ages for Continentals mechanics. Additionally, a signi? cant portion of this salary pool represents wages of reservation specialists, client service representatives at airports, and the salaries for administrative and support force-out e. g. , ? ight schedulers, engineering science Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Continental Airlines 189 personnel, accountants, and variability managers . A possible cost driver of salaries is the available seat miles. Aircraft Fuel and Related Taxes This represents the cost of jet fuel and related fuel taxes. Jet fuel cost tends to be impelled by the current price of jet fuel and gallons of jet fuel consumed. Aircraft Rentals These are expenses for capital leases of aircraft. The main driver is the number of leased planes in Continentals ? eet, including regional jets operated on behalf of Continental by four regional airlines under mixed capacity purchase agreements. airdrome Fees Represents landing fees and passenger security fees paid to the confused domestic and international airports where Continental ? ies.Landing fees are compulsive by the number of passengers. Aircraft Maintenance and Repairs These are expenses associated with the service and maintenance of planes. These include expenses related to scheduled maintenance, superfluous parts and materials, and airframe and engine overhauls. The main drivers of these costs are the number of planes in the ? eet and the number of miles ? own. Depreciation and amortisation This represents depreciation and amortization expenses of aircraft, ground equipment, buildings, and other property. It must be emphasized that the largest portion of depreciation expense relates to the depreciation of aircraft.Although depreciation expenses are driven by the acquisition cost of Continentals capital assets, depreciation is greatly in? uenced by both company policy and accounting principles, such as the depreciation method, that a ? rm adopts. Distribution Costs These expenses represent credit card discount fees, booking fees, and travel agency commissions, all of which are affected by passenger revenue. Therefore, the driver of these costs is total revenue. Passenger Services This is as well a cost pool that includes expenses related to processing and servicing passengers prior to take-off, during ? ight, and after arrival at their destination.A signi? cant portion of these costs is generated by Continentals Field Services Division, the main function of which is to provide service to planes prior to take-off. Some of these expenses relate to checking in passengers, handling luggage on and off planes, cleaning planes, stocking planes with beverage and food, and fuel the aircraft prior to take-off. The potential cost driver of these costs is the number of passengers. Regional Capacity Purchases These are costs related to the purchase of regional routes served by several regional airlines on behalf of Continental ExpressJet, Chautauqua, CommutAir, and Cogan .These costs are 5 Available seat miles is calculated as the number of seats available for passengers multiplied by the number of scheduled miles those seats are ? own. Issues in Accounting Education Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Association 190 Roman driven by the combined ? ying capacity of the four airlines available regional seat miles. Other Expenses This is a cost pool that comprises many ancillary and discretionary expenditures, including technology expenses, security and outside services, general supplies, and advertising and promotional expenses.Further, this cost pool contains various special charges for gains and losses from the sale of retired aircraft and costs of future leases. Given the large variety of miscellaneous items, there is no cloudless driver of these expenses however, a large portion of them, such as advertising and promotional exp enses, are driven by total revenue. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6 victimization the quarterly data for operating costs and the various cost drivers of costs provided by Exhibits 1 and 2, estimate regression for cost category of costs.Then, write the take into account cost function for each category of cost and then interpret your regression results. Based on your regression results, where do you see the largest reductions in costs if ? ying capacity is lowered by 11 percent? Also, in which areas do you see opportunities to achieve further cost reductions and why? Exhibit 2 provides a quarterly forecast of revenues, jet fuel prices,6 and the intercommunicate operating activity for 2009. Using the information from your regressions and the forecast information provided in Exhibit 2, estimate Continentals operating costs and expected pro? for the upcoming ? scal year. Based on the results of your pro? tability analysis, what can you say about the ? rms ? nancial outlook? Would Continental be earning an operating pro? t in 2009? If not, what should Continentals management do to restore pro? tability in 2009? Summarize your conclusions in a memorandum addressed to Continentals CEO. In the memo, you must clearly communicate your main ? ndings, accent speci? c areas in which you see the greatest potential to achieve further reductions in costs and, base on your pro? tability analysis, sum up the ? nancial outlook for 2009.You should note that Continental has entered into several future contracts to beat the exposed risks of rising fuel prices. The projected costs for jet fuel on exhibit re? ects the value of the various future contracts which guarantee Continental a ? xed price for jet fuel at various maturity dates in 2009, as well the estimated gallons of fuel that Continental plans to use during the year. Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at C ontinental Airlines 191 CASE LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCECost estimation is a fundamental aspect of managerial/cost accounting Datar et al. 2008 Eldenburg and Wolcott 2005 . For example, cost estimation is critical for evolution budgets, setting up cost standards, inventory valuation, merchandise costing, and many other applications. Ultimately, ? rms ability to accurately predict production and operating costs has a primal impact on decision-making. Additionally, given the frequency with which ? rms downsize or expand their operations in response to economic or market-wide conditions, knowing how this strategic decision of marking output impacts ? ms future operating costs, and which tools can facilitate this task, has become increasingly relevant for ? rms. Nonetheless, patronage its importance, cost estimation is a topic that merits further discussion in accounting textbooks. Although several managerial/cost accounting textbooks provide rich theory-based d iscussions of cost estimation, including cost behavior, cost functions, and, to some extent, regression analyses, the examples that are typically used to illustrate such an important concept often lack a sense of solidism. Either ? titious data are unremarkably used in cost estimation, or the examples cover fail to capture realistic situations faced by ? rms in a real world circumstance. Accordingly, this case aims to close this gap. The objective is to support students in erudition how to apply regression analyses to understand cost behavior and forecast future costs using real data from ? rms. The case focuses on the harsh ? nancial situation faced by Continental Airlines as a result of the recent ? nancial crisis and the challenges it faces to remain pro? table.It then highlights the importance of reducing and controlling costs as a viable strategy to restore pro? tability, and how regression analysis can assist in this pursuit. Students are next presented with quarterly data for various categories of costs and several potential cost drivers, which they must analyze and then perform regressions on operating costs using a variety of cost drivers. Based on these results, students have to examine how costs behave and then use the regression output to forecast the ? rms operating costs for year 2009. As part of the cost analysis, students must also identify speci? areas in which Continental could achieve the largest cost savings as a result of cutting capacity and implementing other cost-cutting measures. Apart from this, they must conduct a pro? tability analysis to project quarterly pro? ts for the upcoming ? scal year. The development objectives of the case are as follows 1. 2. 3. Students learn to conduct regression analysis in Excel and use this technique to reflect cost behavior and forecast future costs. Students also learn how to use actual ? rm-level data from public sources for estimating costs, and apply cost estimation in a real world context that involves a far-flung decision among ? ms downsizing capacity. Moreover, learning to use public ? nancial information in cost estimation could have implications that reach beyond accounting learning to access public ? nancial information exposes students to the possibilities of applying regression analysis for business analysis in general, including cost and pro? tability analyses. The case requires students to synthesize their ? ndings in a memorandum addressed to Continentals CEO thus, students are also exposed to re? ning their writing skills in a business setting. Implementation GuidanceThis case is in the main designed for use in an intermediate managerial/cost accounting undergraduate class however, it could also work well in a graduate-level managerial accounting course, at either the masters level or M. B. A. Issues in Accounting Education Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Association 192 Roman The realistic nature of the setting everyone can easily identify wi th the business model of airlines makes a particularly appealing environment for students to learn how regression analyses can be applied in cost estimation in a real-world context.The questions presented in the case include both practical and theoretical questions. As an augmentation of the principles contained in the application of this case, instructors could enhance the student recognize by devoting time to reviewing the concepts of cost functions and cost estimation, as well as discussing the fundamentals of regression analyses, so students can be exposed to these concepts prior to receiving the case. Alternatively, students can review these concepts on their own.The Appendix provides a detailed explanation of cost functions and regression analysis and describes the steps to perform regression analysis in Excel. Additionally, it provides students with handsome guidelines to write an effective memorandum. Student Feedback The case was administered to two sections of an upper-l evel intermediate undergraduate cost accounting class at a major U. S. university. cardinal students responded to an evaluation survey to assess whether they improved their understanding of the concepts illustrated in the case, as well as to whether the case illustrated a real world application in predicting operating costs.As shown in Table 1, students agreed that the case enhanced their understanding of the use of regression analyses in predicting future costs imply of 4. 17, based on a ? ve-point dental plate , the case encouraged them to think critically about the behavior of operating costs in a real world context mean of 4. 03, based on a ? ve-point scale plus, they found the case interesting and recommended it for use in teaching cost estimation via regression analyses mean of 4. 07, based on a ? ve-point scale see also Table 2 . Similar confirmatory responses are shown in Table 2. For example, Table 2 reports students knowledge on the use of regression