Against Abortion Essay Example for Free

Against Abortion Essay How would you feel if someone took away your ability to live? Imagine not having any say in whether or not you want to have a life. Well babies dont have a choice in their mother’s womb. If a woman decides to abort her baby, they cant do anything about their life being taken away from them. Their whole future is demolished. I believe abortion is wrong when committing it for a selfish reason. One reason why I dont support abortion is because it can harm the mother as well. You are highly risking the mothers life and affecting her. Not only does it have an effect on the USA but, it affects other countries as well like Spain. According to psychiatrist and member of the Right to Life Committee, Carmen Gomez-Lavin states that: Sixty five percent of women who abort suffer symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome after undergoing the procedure. Many women are regretting that choice. Abortion can also result into not being able to get pregnant in the future, many sickness and even death. Abortion affects both victims in dangerous and physical ways. Another reason is Abortion is Murder! And Ill bet if you asked an unborn baby if he wants to be murdered, it would tell you to at least wait until it was old enough to fight back. My last reason is a baby can feel pain. Even though it may not be fully formed, a baby in the second trimester is still able to feel pain. Why do you think a baby starts kicking its moms stomach whenever the father makes stupid noises at it? I agree with the reasons why they’d find it alright to abort the baby in some ways. The pro-choice believe this due to the fact of not harming the baby from your sickness but another option is adoption! You’ll still be able to let the baby live. For teen pregnancies, there are some religious beliefs as to where you shouldn’t have premarital sex. If you don’t want a child, you shouldn’t have sex at a young age because it’s not always safe. Also, abortions can result into a risk of getting ill, physical damage, stopping you from having a child again or even death. Not only will the baby die, but the mother will as well. One last reason for the side that agrees with abortion is that they believe outlawing it, would be discrimination. Women with a lower income can lead them to into joining in an illegal abortion or a ‘black-market’ abortion. Getting an abortion illegally can cause much more harm to the mother and baby than giving birth. I believe that it is not worth risking the lives of you and your child for a surgery I believe abortion is wrong when used for not good reasons. There are many other things you can do to prevent abortion. There are reasons why I dont support it. You can use adoption as a solution, it can harm the mother as well, and you are a taking an innocent life. Teenagers can rise awareness and either speak or show how strongly they believe about this topic. Abortion should not be legalized.

Analysis of Marks and Spencer Group PLC

Analysis of Marks and Spencer Group PLC The principal activities of the company are retailing clothing, food and home products. Marks Spencer operates in the secondary and tertiary sectors. It operates in the secondary sector as it manufactures finished goods and it is associated with textile production. It operates majorly in the tertiary sector as it provides goods and services to the population and to other businesses. A group of companies is one which consists of two or more companies between which there is a parent/subsidiary relationship and they are usually under the same ownership and maybe management. The group balance sheet will differ from that of the company since it includes the total of each individual company balance sheet of all the companies together us one compared to the company balance sheet which includes all the transactions of the company. i) total assets  £7258.1 millions total liabilities  £5157.5 millions net assets  £2100.6 millions ii) The difference between the total assets and the total liabilities is the net assets which can be also called as the groups capital. When you add the fixed assets with the current assets and then subtract the current liabilities from the Balance sheet, the total that you write down is called Net Assets. i) profit after tax (52 weeks ended 28 March 2009)  £506.8 millions (52 weeks ended 29 March 2008)  £821.0 millions Net profit margin 2009 5.6% 2008 9.1% ii) The net profit margin has significantly fell because of the exceptional costs incurred to the firm during the current accounting period due to the economic recession that affected considerably the markets MS operates in. The firm had to spend  £135.9 millions on exceptional costs, due to a change in its strategies, compared to 2008 when it had no exceptional costs. i) MS uses straight line method which is a method that allocates the amount to be depreciated evenly over the useful life of the asset. Some of MSs uses of depreciation are the following: Freehold land not depreciated Freehold and leasehold buildings with a remaining lease term over 50 years depreciated to their residual value over their estimated remaining economic lives Leasehold buildings with a remaining lease term of less than 50 years over the remaining period of the lease Fixtures, fittings and equipment 3 to 25 years according to the estimated life of the asset. ii) The straight-line method of depreciation is a method that allocates the amount to be depreciated evenly over the useful life of the asset. For example for something with a total cost of  £500 and an estimated useful life of 5 years, using the straight-line method, the annual depreciation charge will be  £100. On the other hand the reducing balance method is the method in which the depreciation is expressed as a fixed percentage on the reducing balance of an asset. In simpler words the amount of depreciation gets reduced every year. For an asset of a total cost of  £500, using the reducing balance method by 20%,it means that the value of the asset will decrease 20% of its value each year. After year 1, the net book value will be  £400 and then for the next year the value will drop to  £320 and so on. iii) Property, Plant and Equipment as at 29/3/2009  £4.834.0 millions (a)  £725.1 millions straight line depreciation (b)  £1450.2 millions reducing balance depreciation iv) By using the straight-line method of depreciation the reported profit of the group will be reduced by about  £400 million as depreciation is placed under the expenses category in the income statement and it will also be deducted from the assets current value in the balance sheet. On the other hand, by using the 30% reducing balance method, profit will decrease even more and the assets value on the balance sheet will be reduced even more. The more depreciation they charge the less net profit they get for the current period. i)  £285.2 millions ii)1371.9/365=3.76 millions/day 285.2/3.76à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‹â€ 76 days worth of sales. iii) The ratio of trade debtors and customers to sales is about 20%. This seems quite high but for such a large company like Marks and Spencer, which generates so much cash from operations (sales), is not much of a concern. However it would be better for the company to try and minimize this ratio in the next years. Stewardship accounting is the provision of information by managers to owners for the purpose of avoiding a potential conflict between managers and owners. Directors act as agents of the shareholders, or as stewards on their behalf. The stewardship function requires directors to act in the best interests of the company at all times. Where shareholders are remote from the management of their company there is potential for the directors to take action that benefits themselves rather than benefiting the shareholders. This is one of the potential problems of the stewardship relationship. If directors wish to manipulate financial information they are well placed to do so. Shareholders can be assured that the annual financial information they receive has not been distorted by requiring an audit by an independent auditor. Until recently all companies were required to have an audit of their annual financial statements. i) current Ratio= Current Assets/ Current Liabilities = 1389.8/2306.9= 0.60:1 Quick Ratio= (Current Assets- Stock and prepayments)/ Current liabilities = (1389.8-536.0)/2306.9=0.37:1 ii) The current ratio and the quick ratio are both liquidity ratios. They are commonly used to assess the liquidity of a business. As a general rule, a current ratio of 1.5 or greater can meet near-term operating needs sufficiently. A higher current ratio can suggest that a company is hoarding assets instead of using them to grow the business not the worst thing in the world, but its something that could affect long-term returns. The Quick Ratio is a much more exacting measure than the Current Ratio. By excluding inventories, it concentrates on the really liquid assets, with value that is fairly certain. An acid-test of 1:1 is considered satisfactory unless the majority of your quick assets are in accounts receivable, and the pattern of accounts receivable collection lags behind the schedule for paying current liabilities. i)There are many factors that determine the share prices but only some factors can directly influence them. One of these factors is demand and supply. The price is directly affected by the trend of stock market trading. When more people are buying a certain stock, the price increases and when more people are selling the stock, the price falls. Secondly news is a huge factor that influences the shares price. Positive news about a company can increase buying interest in the market while negative news can decrease it. It is the overall performance of the company that matters more than news. The earning per share is the profit that the company made on the last quarter and it is also a huge factor that can affect the share prices. Every public company needs to publish a quarterly report that states the earning per share. By this way they influence the buying tendency in the market resulting in the increase in the price of that particular share. So, one needs to watch on the quarterly reports of the companies and before buying any shares. ii) MarksSpencer Share prices My evaluation of Marks and Spencers performance thus far for this current accounting period is positive. First of all the company uses a long term plan and any short term decreases in revenues or profits is acceptable. The profit margin ratio has increased in 2009 from 13.43% to 23.45% so despite the recession MS managed to increase its profit margin. On the other hand the earning per share has decreased for 2009 from  £0.49 to  £0.32 per share. Though the profit margin has increased the earning per share has decreased and that is not positive for us investors. The firm might have a long term plan that is indeed promising but thus far this season we investors are concerned about the effect of the recession on the firm and more specifically on our earnings per share.

International Policy Analysis: Methodology

International Policy Analysis: Methodology 1. Introduction The last decade has witnessed many international developments that have profoundly affected the destinies of nations and humanity. The emergence of American unipolarism, the horrific attacks of September 11, and the rise of militant Islam, as well as the birth of the Euro and the business unification of affluent Europe are all important developments that have had far reaching effects on international affairs. However, these developments have been overshadowed by the rise of the phenomenon of globalisation, a process through which the developing world, riding on the strength of its low costs and ever expanding skill and knowledge base, has started integrating rapidly into the global economy. Most organisations operating in areas of government, business and not for profit need to work with the global community and operate in accordance with structured or informal international policies, which in turn define both their initiatives in the international arena as well as their responses to global developments. International organisations and international policy networks, in which many national bodies play a part, have significant roles in global governance. Considering that movements in goods and services are the causal factor behind the globalisation effort, multinational corporations and other organisations involved in overseas activity essentially need to have formalised international policies. Efficient and methodical analysis of international policy is an intriguing and specialised area of social research that involves deep understanding of social theory and international affairs, as well as sound familiarity with research tools. It is the objective of this manual to elaborate and describe the methodology that needs to be followed to analyse the international policies of different organisations in diverse environmental settings. 2. International Policy Analysis An assignment for analysis of international policy can arise either from an organisation responsible for framing the policy or from an external body wishing to analyse the policy of another organisation for specific purposes. Analysts could be part of in-house teams working on framing or implementing policies, or of external consultancies or think tanks engaged in the preparation of dispassionate appraisals. Researchers and analysts should also realise that many users of policy analyses have been disappointed with its results, despite the plethora of analytical studies and the increasing competence in the area. The proliferation of policy analysis has not, however, been matched by an examination of whether the annual production of hundreds of thousands of memos, briefings, articles, reports, books, and sundry policy prognosticationsinformed and otherwiseare actually useful to policymakers. What we do know is not encouraging: In public policy making, many suppliers and users of social science research are dissatisfied, the former because they are not listened to, the latter because they do not hear much they want to listen to (Lindblom (Hird, 2005) It thus becomes critically important for the analyst to understand the nature of the organisation desiring the analysis and its reasons for doing so. A thorough understanding of these reasons becomes invaluable in planning the assignment and in its subsequent conduct. Areas in international policy that need analysis are generally diverse and could encompass economic, political, security, environment or trade concerns. The framing of international policy primarily involves the evaluation and choice between different courses of action, programs and policies that are intended to address and resolve issues regarding social, economic and political issues in the global arena. It is the objective of this manual to guide policy advisors on the adoption of a systematic approach in the conduct of international policy analysis. It draws on the writing and theory of Carl Patton and other social researchers, all of whom find place in the bibliography. A policy analysis assignment involves certain steps in its execution and calls for the observance of certain principles to ensure the validity of its result. This manual commences with a discussion of the concept of policy, especially in relation to power and governance. It, thereafter, briefly takes up the practical principles that need consideration while planning and conducting the research, and then elaborates the sequential steps required for its proper execution. Policy A policy, very briefly, is a formulated plan used for the guidance of decisions and action and is used by groups, associations and organisations in the governmental and private sectors. An interesting and comprehensive definition refers to policies as â€Å"political, management, financial and administrative mechanisms arranged to reach explicit goals.† (Policy, 2006) >From universities and schools to public agencies and large corporations, policy is increasingly being codified, publicized and referred to by workers and managers as the guidelines that legitimate and even motivate their behaviour. To adapt a metaphor from Arthur Koestler (1967), policy is the ghost in the machine—the force which breathes life and purpose into the machinery of government and animates the otherwise dead hand of bureaucracy. (Shore Wright, 1997, p. 5) In a world that is becomingly increasingly complex, situations or problems are dynamic and incapable of proper definition. The process for policy formulation commences with the identification of issues and the development of various alternatives to deal with them. A rigorous and far-reaching assessment of the various alternatives leads to the selection of the final policy, which then needs proper implementation and monitoring. Very obviously, policies affect environments, societies and the lives of people, and while they can result in the greatest of good, they can lead to disastrous mistakes and to the commitment of the greatest crimes. The holocaust was a result of policy and so is the WHO’s global polio eradication programme. Policies have become a major institution of western and international governance and are distinguished into formal policy, embodying policy principles and objectives, and operational policy, which comprise of mechanisms for implementation and delivery. In the international policy of a trading organisation, the formal policy may, for example, require trade with East Asia with the clear definition of environmental and child labour constraints, whereas the operational policy would detail whether the operation would be controlled by the corporate headquarters in Europe or the regional hub in Singapore. Practical Principles of International Policy Analysis International policy can appear to be contradictory and difficult to understand. The analyst must try to understand and focus on the central and essential core of the policy, which in turn could involve cost, environmental, humanitarian or nuclear proliferation concerns. Policies frequently have several and opposing objectives, some of which suffer from poor definition. Analysts must thus try to focus on the core issues for analysis and not spend time on peripheral matters. Carl Patton and David Sawicki (1993) in their book â€Å"Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning† state that that the principles described below should help in planning and conducting an analytical assignment on international policy. Ideally, analysts should base their approach on using analytical tools appropriate to the issue at hand and refrain from thrusting their preferred method onto the assignment. The chosen method should be simple, transparent, logical, based upon common sense and tailored to the issue under scrutiny. In many cases, policies are uncertain about issues and there is a lack of clarity in approach. Researchers must thus be ready to take uncertainty in their stride and realise that despite their best efforts some areas will remain cloaked in uncertainty; this constraint should however not be allowed to retard the progress of the analysis or devour too much of the time allotted for the assignment. International policy involves factors that are frequently alien to domestic situations and requires an understanding of different cultures and political systems. An international aid organisation, for example, may have to provide succour to the citizens of a country known to have a notoriously corrupt government. In the absence of quantitative data, which is usually the norm in such cases, any analysis of international policy must necessarily depend upon subjective interpretation for projecting outcomes. While some factors of international policy are bound to be subjective and incapable of interpretation or analysis through numerical data, numbers do throw light on many issues and are useful for projecting outcomes. The use of quantitative techniques and numerical data thus becomes important, wherever appropriate. Simplicity in analysis and the use of figures are also often effective in driving home the distinguishing features of different alternatives, especially during client inter action. It is also very important for analysts to check their facts exhaustively, try to appreciate the viewpoints of people with radically different opinions and arrive at analyses, not opinionated decisions. Steps in Policy Analysis Effective analysis of international policy requires an understanding of world affairs, a firm grounding in the social sciences and familiarity with quantitative and qualitative research tools. Moreover as much of the data is subjective and needs informed interpretation, international policy analysis falls as much in the domain of art as that of science. Given the choice between too much of structure in charting of an analytical assignment and leaving everything to the judgement of the researcher, it is advisable to follow a few sequential steps in the conduct of the assignment. Policy analysts, as a rule follow a series of six easily distinguishable steps. While some experts advocate the breaking of these steps to make the process simpler, this manual stays with the practice of adopting six important steps. These steps start with the definition of the problem and are followed by establishment of criteria for evaluation and collection of evidence, identification of alternatives, evalu ation of alternatives, distinguishing among alternatives, and finally implementation and monitoring of policy. a. Definition of the Problem A policy analysis exercise must necessarily commence with the definition of the problem. This step is crucial and integral to the success of the project. It provides the reason for the exercise and gives direction for gathering of evidence. While a certain amount of experience helps in defining and detailing the issue, the process should be iterative and the â€Å"definition’ exercise repeated a few times. A meaningful effort at problem definition will enable the researcher to state the problem appropriately, determine its scale, eliminate extraneous matter, and question both the thinking and the definition of the issue. While defining the problem it is important to use quantitative data, study similar projects and locate relevant data. This will help in removing uncertainties, illuminating objectives, resolving divergences and focussing on the essence, i.e. the core issue. â€Å"Problem definition is a crucial step. However, because it is hard to get it right (the) same ste p (might be needed) again and again. Over the course of analytic work, empirical and conceptual understanding will evolve.† (Bardach, 2000, p. 7) b. Establish Evaluation Criteria The next step involves the establishment of criteria for evaluation and collection of evidence. This is essential to crystallize the modus of measurement of policy goals, bring about uniformity and establish similar criteria for assessing different alternatives and policy outcomes, desirable or otherwise. A number of factors, including costs, net gains, efficacy, fairness, organizational comfort, legal validity and suitability need consideration while establishing evaluation criteria. Most of the time spent on policy analysis happens because of the time required to gather data and time needed to think. While thinking is obviously by far the more important activity, data gathering is laborious and takes time. Data helps in three ways in the projection of realistic outcomes of policy and in the analysis of its implications. One purpose is to assess the nature and extent of the problem(s) you are trying to define. A second is to assess the particular features of the concrete policy situation you are engaged in studying. The third purpose is to assess policies that have been thought, by at least some people, to have worked effectively in situations apparently similar to your own, in other jurisdictions, perhaps, or at other times. (Bardach, 2000, p. 8) c. Identification of Alternatives Establishment of evaluation criteria leads to the next step, i.e. the identification of alternatives. The generation of alternatives requires imagination, knowledge and the ability to constructively brainstorm with other experts. The challenge of identifying alternatives, as good or possibly superior to the given policy, calls for combining ideas from different alternatives as well as from the one under study. It is important at this stage to assess the impact of any change in public policy that could have taken place in the interim or may well take place in the short and medium term. Public policy changes can occur due to a number of reasons, namely changes in the political establishment following elections, changes in budget, changes in the political structure of foreign countries or occurrences of disasters like the Tsunami or the Bird Flu epidemic. International policy, by its very nature is not prone to change at short notice and the assimilation of the possible effect of future changes into the generation of alternatives has proved to be very helpful in projecting policy outcomes. d. Assessment of Alternatives The identification of alternatives results in a need for their evaluation in terms of the benefits that each of them could provide vis-à  -vis established criteria. Data collection may again be required at this stage for the assessment of different alternatives and the projection of possible outcomes. This is a crucial phase of the process as new aspects of the problem could now surface, leading to reiteration of the various steps of the analysis. The evaluation of alternatives should actually focus on evaluating the outcomes of the different proposals as trade-offs between different alternatives cannot occur in the absence of projected outcomes. The criteria for evaluation should encompass different perspectives like costs, efficacy, fairness, equity and justice. Carl Patton (1993) states that evaluative criteria could also include issues like free markets, economic freedom, capitalism, freedom from government control, equality of opportunity, equality of result, free speech, relig ious freedom, privacy and safety. The analyst must bear in mind that the objective of the exercise is analysis for a specific user and not the handing down of a considered decision and should thus try to be as broad ranging as possible in the choice of evaluative criteria. e. Distinguish and Display Alternatives Evaluation of alternatives and outcomes makes it possible for the analyst to assess the extent of benefits met by individual alternatives, in the context of previously decided criteria, and in distinguishing between them. In case of conflict between alternatives that do not easily fit into the matrix of benefits, it is possibly advisable to go by the alternative that suits existing public policy. Issues of legality and political acceptability are also very important while distinguishing between alternatives and it would be patently unwise to consider alternatives, which while satisfying other criteria, skirt legal requirements or could end up as politically difficult to implement. While distinguishing and displaying alternatives, the analyst should focus on simplicity of presentation, use of tables and quantitative data and the highlighting of worst and best case scenarios for each alternative. The report must be clear, simple, tabulated properly and be easy to comprehend. f. Implement and Monitor Policy Once a policy alternative is accepted it is the role of the analyst to round off the exercise by planning for its implementation and creating a system to monitor policy outcomes. The monitoring and effective implementation of international policy is crucial as improper application and inadequate monitoring could result in undesirable outcomes and policy failure. International policies need to be very carefully monitored during implementation to ensure that unintentional changes do not occur and actual outcomes can be measured against those projected. 3. Conclusion The analysis of International Policy falls under the domain of applied social research and is a complex task that requires knowledge of social sciences, grounding in international affairs and familiarity with the tools of social research. A detailed and comprehensive understanding of the core issues involved in policy analysis assignment is a sine qua non and possibly the most crucial part of the analytical process. International policy analysis involves the use of quantitative and qualitative data, a variety of approaches to the subject and choice of appropriate methodology. Analysts must be ready to work â€Å"out of the box† at all times, especially in the identification of various alternatives. Policy analysis, while it uses scientific and statistical tools, is very interpretative in its approach and liable to bias. It is thus imperative that the exercise has a structured and phased approach and that all assumptions are identified clearly. Records should be kept accurately, information must be accessed from multiple sources and relevant professional and ethical considerations addressed appropriately to ensure the success of the exercise. Bibliography Bardach, E. 2000. A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis: The Eightfold Path to More Effective Problem Solving. New York: Chatham House Publishers. Feller, I. 1986 Universities and State Governments: A Study in Policy Analysis. New York: Praeger Publishers. Fischer, F. Forester, J. (Eds.). 1993. The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning. London: UCL Press. Gross, F. 1954, Foreign Policy Analysis. New York: Philosophical Library. Hird, J. A. 2005, Policy Analysis for What? the Effectiveness of Nonpartisan Policy Research Organizations. Policy Studies Journal, 33(1), 83+. Hogwood, B. W., Gunn, L. A. 1984. Policy Analysis for the Real World. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Patton, C and Sawicki, D, 1993, Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning, 2nd Ed., Prentice Hall, USA Policy, 2006, Wikipedia, Retrieved January1, 2006 from en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Policy Roe, E. 1994. Narrative Policy Analysis: Theory and Practice. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Rust, M. 2001, November 19. Who Bought off the Think Tanks? Corporations Eager to Do Business with China Have Cozied Up to Conservative Think Tanks, Raising Concerns about Their Influence Level on Foreign-Policy Analysis. Insight on the News, 17, 20+. Shore, C. Wright, S. (Eds.). 1997 Anthropology of Policy: Critical Perspectives on Governance and Power. London: Routledge. Thomas M. Meenaghan, Keith M. Kilty and John G. McNutt Social Policy Analysis and Practice. 2005. Journal of Sociology Social Welfare, 32(3), 208+. Wignaraja, G. (Ed.). 2002. Competitiveness Strategy in Developing Countries: A Manual for Policy Analysis. London: Routledge

Vampires :: essays research papers

Vampires Vampires have been seen and documented throughout history. The history of vampires goes further back in time than most people realize. The chaldeans, who lived near the Euphrates river in the southwestern part of Asia more than five hundred years before the time of Christ , feared vampire or creatures similar to vampires enough so that they created charms to protect themselves from being attacked by such creatures. The Assyrians and the Babylonians feared a creature similar to a vampire known as an Ekimmu. These creatures known as Ekimmus were believed by the Assyrians to roam the planet searching for food although it was not always a persons blood but rather a persons' vitality or that persons' energy force. It was believed that if such a creature would enter someone's house that person along with his or her family would slowly weaken, get sick and probably die. In the countries of Syria and Palestine references were made to such blood sucking monsters on ancient carved tablets. In Ireland the people believed in these creatures, which they affectionately came to call "red blood suckers" . Due to their belief in these mythical creatures they began the practice of placing stones on these vampires graves to kep them from escaping.This then became standard practice and is still used to this day in the form of a tombstone. Tombstones were used to control ghosts and other spirits instead of their original use in controlling vampires. Due to the fact that vampires seemed to be so commonplace around the globe, there was a large variety of vampires that differed in shape, behavior and method of becoming a vampire. All of these factors varied from region to region. In the country of Bulgaria a vampire had only one nostril. This Bulgarian vampire would rise out of it's grave nine days after death in the form of a shower of sparks and remained in this shape for a period of forty days. After the completion of these forty days the shower of sparks would regain it's human form. Once human-like the vampire goes from playing childish tricks, which it did in it's "spark" form , to more serious matters , such as the attacking of humans and drinking of their blood. Vampires are well known for their craving for blood but in many countries vampires were not limited to just that substance as part of their diet, but would also consume foods that humans ate such as eggs and rice. That, however, does not mean that their yearn for blood was any weaker than before. Most vampires would attack their victims and suck

Leonardo Da Vinci :: essays research papers fc

Leonardo Da Vinci was born on April 14, 1452 in the town of Vinci near Florence Italy. He kept the name of his town for his last name. He lived during the fifteenth century, a period when the people of Europe were becoming interested in art. This period of time was known as the Renaissance period. Leonardo Da Vinci was very talented. He was a great artist, but he became famous because he was able to do so many other things. He was an architect, a musician, inventor, sculptor, scientist, and mathematician. His artistic talent revealed its self early in his life. When he was about 15 years old Leonardo's father took him to Florence Italy, to train as a painter and sculptor in the studio of Andrea del Verroccho. He studied with this master until the age of twenty five. At this point, he set up his own business and was famous for being a painter and a man of science. As a scientist, he observed everything he could in nature. Leonardo used what he learned from nature and science to make h is paintings look real. He drew and took many notes of what he observed. His notes were written backwards, probably because he didn't want people to read about his discoveries and observations. In order to read Leonardo's notes, one has to hold them up to a mirror. In 1472 he entered a painters' guild. His earliest extensive works date back to this time. In 1482 Da Vinci worked for Duke Lodovico Sforza in Milan for 18 years. He fulfilled the position as court artist, but also worked as an engineer and architect. While in Milan Leonardo developed more theories about painting. Leonardo believed that knowledge should be based on observation. He believed that observation led to understanding, and artists had an obligation to record this understanding by painting accurate images. He made sketches of everything around him. This caused him to make a master plan, his plan was to record the structure of every building in the world. He believed that this would uncover laws of harmony and prop ortion. In the fall of 1499 Leonardo left France and headed to Florence. There he painted paintings such as, Battle of Anghiari a mural that was painted for the Council Chamber of Town Hall, the famous portrait named the Mona Lisa, and Leda and the Swan.

Quality and Reliability Essay

You Tube Enterprises are a marketing and distribution company that is engaged in providing exotic Caribbean products of high quality to persons in diaspora that currently reside in North America and Europe. Quality and reliability are two critical success factors. You Tube has been using its website as it principal point of contact for its customers. You Tube Enterprises were recently awarded a major contract to supply a major chain in Europe, Marks and Spencers. It is recognised that persons of Caribbean origin are a significant percentage of the population .This is in addition to the growing popularity of Caribbean food among other sectors of the population. In order to successfully fulfil this contract, higher levels of productivity by You Tube suppliers are required in order to meet the price and response time requirements. You, as Marketing Manager, are expected to work closely with the Human Resource Managers of the four main suppliers to develop a reward system that will enabl e greater reliability with respect to response time and assure quality and compliance with HACCAP1 requirements. 1. Outline the factors that You Tube Enterprises must consider in the design of such a reward system to ensure its success, i.e. to ensure that the programme is beneficial to both the employees and the supplier company and 2. Develop a draft proposal for consideration by the Board and Management of each company. In your proposal you should indicate: I. Whether and why the Plan should be group based or individual based II. The quantum of risk employees should be prepared to accept in their total package i.e. the quantum of incentive pay to total compensation III. Whether incentive pay should fully replace traditional pay and the reasons for this recommendation IV. The criteria by which performance will be judged and how will this be communicated and disseminated to staff and their supervisors V. The administration of the reward system, i.e. whether short or long term and whether the pay-outs should match the production cycle and the required delivery schedules

Hazel Case Essay

1.Hazel’s customers will most likely judge her quality based on how well their lawns are doing and by looking at the state of her other customers’ gardens as well. The customers will also weight the services she provides with the price she’s asking for. And the most important is her knowledge about gardening and how committed she is. Lawns should be taken care of regularly so she should manage her time precisely not to miss an appointment or neglect a certain garden. 2.a. Like any other business forecasting is a vital part of the operations. Forecasting is needed to manage inventory, time and cash expenditures. With forecasting Hazel will be able to predict demand thus will be able to book her two part timers for certain dates. With forecasts she will also be able to get enough quantities of the fertilizers and tools she needs for the job. A forecast will also tell her when there will be available time required for her machine’s maintenance. b. The inventory Hazel must have is fertilizers and seeds. One of the most important decision that Hazel must do on a regular basis is how much to order of each based on the shipping cost of each order and the available space she has for storage in order to minimize her cost (Economic Order Quantity). Hazel must also pay attention to the fertilizers and seeds’ expiry dates so that they don’t go unused. c. Hazel needs to schedule her appointment and her machines’ maintenance time. Once appointments are set for each employee she has to assign the time slots between herself and her workers. Weather conditions can drive her to reschedule as well as health conditions if she or one of her part time workers get sick and can’t go to the appointment and something personal of importance comes up suddenly. d. The quality of her work especially in the industry she chose is very important. Based on the quality of her work more customers will come asking for her services and she can then raise her prices. e. The maintenance that Hazel has to do is for the equipments she uses. She has to make sure all machines are in good conditions and that all the blades and scissors are sharp enough. 3.a. Working for a company brings a steady foreseen income but is subject to the risk of getting laid off like it happened to Hazel before or maybe salary cuts during economic downturns. On the other hand working privately has the risk of not getting any orders for a period of time. The private business thing requires full commitment even if she has to skip some of her personal obligations; on the other hand working for a company has defined working hours. b. Not expanding the business would limit Hazel’s revenues and profits and losing one customer would have a significant negative impact on her operations. In contrast, expanding the business might also have some drawbacks because it will require an initial capital injection from her side to buy more equipments needed, she will have to hire permanent employees to run the business, she will be required to pay close attention to the quality of service that her employees are performing. All of these extra expenses might outweigh the extra profit she will get from the expansion so forecasts will play an vital role in her decisions on whether to expand or not. c. Launching a website would help Hazel reach a clientele she can’t possibly reach via marketing between her neighbors. However, the website she launches might get her more orders than she can possibly fulfill with her current capacity. Another important factor is that the website will need someone to monitor it and tak e care of it and if not enough orders come from the website then it won’t be worth its extra cost. 4.If the ordinance is passed Hazel can offer a new service to her clients which is moving their clippings. The advantages of the new service would be that it will bring her extra profit and it will be considered a dependent line of business that she can offer not only to the clients she cuts the lawn for but for anyone interested. The disadvantages would be the cost of getting new vehicles and new employees for the new business line and the complexity of running two different business lines simultaneously. 5.I think Hazel should send him the check first because she had given them her work (even if it wasn’t documented) and second because this would encourage other workers to share their ideas and not fear that she won’t pay them given they are only part timers. Another important thing is that this worker can spread the word that she didn’t pay him which will create a bad image of her in the market. The cost she will be incurring is the monetary value of the check . 6.a. The business Hazel deals in is affected by many other factors other than her work such as weather conditions and plants reactions to fertilizers. This outside effect requires more attention from Hazel’s side to make sure her quality does not vary dramatically because if that happens she might lose her credibility. b. If weather conditions are favorable then demand would probably decrease but if the conditions are unfavorable then the lawns would require more care from her side. According to the demand her inventory levels have to be set. 7.Hazel can consider offering a one month package, or a 6 month package or an annual one where the clients sign a contract with her for the whole period. Hazel can also offer bundle services in which she offers two of her services at a discounted price. Such offers would help Hazel attract more customers, will help her predict demand and will eliminate the risk of getting no new orders for a period of time.