Recognition of the Teaching Profession Coursework

Recognition of the Teaching Profession - Coursework Example Certain jobs earn a lot of money even though they have greater value in society such as entertainment, athletes and many others. However, teaching jobs earn a mere fraction of that amount and yet they are the main contributors to high-quality education. Teachers are the key pillars of a sound and progressive society because they are the main source of knowledge and values to everyone pursuing a different career; hence, they should get higher pay.Teachers perform varied roles in their professional duties, thus teaching is one of the significant roles of a teacher in the learning environment. It includes planning, preparing lessons or courses, assessing students, recording, and reporting on the progression of students. A teacher is required to teach according to the education needs of their students including setting examinations and marking the work of students. Other activities include promoting the general well-being and progress of students in the class, offering guidance and couns eling to students on education or social matters, managing or coordinating, as well as, communicating effectively with the school authorities. Moreover, the value of teachers is based on the contributions that they make to learning or studies of their students. The teacher is a source of information, motivator, character builder and mentor; thus, he or she should act as a role model to the students. This is imperative because teaching is a profession that always demands additional value in order to meet the future demands of learners. Therefore, the value of teaching is that it molds the moral and ethical behaviors of students by preparing them towards a successful life in the future.

How Aztec Culture Survived Essay Example for Free

How Aztec Culture Survived Essay Aztec refers to Nahuatl speaking people from the central region of Mexico. There are other groups who are related to this community; they include the Acolhua and the Tepanic. This essay analyses the history of the Aztec people, their culture and how they survived the Spaniard conquest. The Aztecs were located in the south central region of Mexico. They lived in Mesoamerica highlands in the area of basins which are separated by dissected mountain ranges and eroded volcanic peaks. The Aztecs originated from the remote north at around the early 13th century. They were moving around the valley of Mexico in their struggle of survival. Their experiences went to the extent of Aztecs being enslaved by another tribe. They stopped their migratory pattern in 1325 when they settled on the south west of Lake Texaco. This was after they saw an eagle sitting on a pricking pear stem. To the community, this was an omen which announced the location where they should settle and make their city (Msdu. du, 2010, Par 1-4). In part of their culture, the Aztecs maintained their activities of fishing, hunting, garden techniques, and gathering. The rivers in the valley were rich in fish, shrimp, insects, tadpoles, and pasta. There were those who settled near the ocean and they ate crabs, fish, turtles, and fish. This means that water was the main source of their livelihoods. They hunted animals such a rabbits, armadillos, snakes, pumas, coyotes, and deer. In addition, they hunted the wild turkey. The community gathered crops such as cocoa, bananas, pumpkins, squash, beans, tobacco, chili, onions, green tomatoes, red tomatoes, sweet potatoes, maize, and vanilla. Later, they began warring with other tribes and they conquered them. The Aztecs allowed the tribes that they conquered to maintain their government and religion but the tribes were supposed to provide the Aztecs with textiles, food, pottery, and other items that they required (Native Web, 1995, Par 2-4). The Aztec people spoke Nahauatl Language but did not have a written language. They however had no written records. Instead, they used varieties of hieroglyphic paintings and the methods of direct representation as ways of keeping their records. The first contact of the Aztec empire with the Spanish conquest was during the reign of Ahuitzotl from 1486 to1502. The Spaniards and their allies became very dangerous to the people of Aztec. Hostilities developed, leading to the massacre of the Aztec main temple and the death of their leader, Montezuma II. On July 1, the Spaniards fled the town, leading to an episode which they referred to as The Sad Night. The Aztec society was helped by the native allies to fight the Spaniards and in August 13, the battle ended. They conquered but due to the poor leadership that prevailed, the falling of the empire was witnessed. Despite the empire’s declination, their culture still remained intact. This led to positive development of the Aztec culture because the Spaniard presence did not affect their way of life. Today, many traditional groups of Mexican Americans can trace their origin from the time of Aztec tradition. They are well known today for human sacrifices. During the special events, a slave was sacrificed to honor the gods and to regulate the human existence (Anguilar-Moreno 131). In conclusion, I found out that Nahuatl language which is the traditional language for the Aztec is being spoken by 1. 5 million people. In Mexico City, most of the buildings and streets have Nahuatl names. This means that the Aztec old days are still respected up to now.

Foreign Investment In Russia Business Essay

Foreign Investment In Russia Business Essay The case discusses about Schindler which is a company who established itself in 1874 in Switzerland and they manufactured escalators and elevators. For the first time it made a strong decision to develop a fully owned subsidiary in India with the help Mr. Silvio Napoli who will be leading it. He was a Harvard graduate, young, very analytical and had a strong strategic mindset. The case focuses on the problems faced by Mr. Napoli on starting and setting up operations and activities in India which was totally opposite to Switzerland from where he belonged. Mr. Napoli being an expatriate found it very different and difficult to adjust and acquaint him to an Indian culture. He struggled upon Indias protectionist tariff policies, considerations regarding cost and also the staff that was doubtful on his ways as Napoli wanted things carried on his way. All these were a big threaten to his entire career as he wasnt able to go in accordance with his business plan. Mr. Napoli wanted to develop a cost effective solution to make, develop and sell a completely core and standardized product in India. He was a victim to several issues, mainly cultural issues.  [1]  Mr. Napoli being of Swiss origin believes in low context  [2]  communication style where as in India it is mostly of high context and maybe its for the same reason Napoli is regarded as very talkative. Napoli believed in sticking to business plan because of his orderliness as per Swiss. But the Indian management was mostly willing to customize. Mr. Napoli wanted to mix up his orderliness and generate the task-oriented nature which is why he was often regarded as impatient, impulsive and mostly a hard driver while Indian management compared Mr. Singh as an easy going, patient and friendly person. Indians are not very good time keepers and as a result they keep most of the things towards the end and this was strictly not tolerated by Napoli. This was another reason to issues in Schindler India. Another issue that came up is that, Napoli followed the Swiss habit of total accurate precision delivery where as Indians could be represented as they promise more but actually under deliver it. Napoli failed to understand the business culture properly as he was totally shattered with the increased import duties on certain specific noncore goods including elevators. In India the term of outsourcing was new and couldnt be accepted easily, as a result many mangers in India happened to sign agreements against the strategies of the business plan. This can be better understood if we take a look with the help of Hofstedes comparison model.  [3]  The Italian and Indian culture are different from each other and it is such that Italians are much more focused on themselves as a team unlike Indian culture, when we look at the uncertainty avoidance Italians are usually a bit hesitant in coming to an unknown conclusion unlike the Indian culture. He should have more understanding of the Indian culture. Napoli has failed tremendously to execute the plan that he presented at the time of term of sales, but a plus point is that he was able to develop a high leadership team, he also added onto the companys business model certain buy-ins which was also a wise decision. So somewhere he still has a chance. Secondly, I would like to consider the family issues he was having, he didnt make a wise decision in relocating his family and had to fight several personal issues like his pregnant wife, managing her and her issues also his children injuring themselves. Its not appropriate to take in Napolis family problems into account as a reason for his poor performance, since he comes from a typical Corporate Switzerland background. Thus, the strategy should be such that, the inputs from the top level management of India has to be revised and also deep considerations regarding the cultural, technological, economical and governmental elements of India and the target market of India. When the strategy is revised the top level management of Indian subsidiary should be allowed to take and make decisions on their own on several key issues. Napoli should focus only on high end regional decision making. In order to make Schindler India profitable, it is best to properly assess Napolis team and continuously recheck the sales strategy and explore the Indian market and culture more deeply looking into the mindset of people and activities prevailing and then reinforce his ideas. It is such that standard products and service will make the business progressive and even looking at Indias very basic elevator market currently prevailing is the key aspects that will make India branch profitable. UNILEVERS BUTTER BEATER: INNOVATION FOR GLOBAL DIVERSITY CASE SUMMARY BY DEVI SUDHAKARAN This is a case that shows the problems and difficulties country managers were faced with while beginning to start central direction on Pan European/International sales, positioning and product development. It showcases the rollout of Krona which is a new spread alternative. Also showing how this was a failed strategy to maintain a cross country product viewpoints and perceptions also cultural differences and the various biases of the different country managers of Unilever. It is seen that in the case Unilever was focusing completely on a centralized management style and wanted to increase their manufacturing abilities and capabilities, developing new product, economies of scale and even the leveraging of fixed investments in the brands. Local responsiveness was their core strength even while following a centralized management model. In the new organization, the country managers were made to bother about the variety in the tastes and preferences of different countries and also their needs were considered for making a completely new product which was the total opposite to their previous culture. When we look at the strategic rationale that was undertaken for the development of European Margarine, we see that they followed a basis of cost reduction method, there was a potential in the yellow fats category but using different approaches on national basis increased the cost for the development of new products.  [4]  It was seen that the transnational image was made stronger by the development of global brands which concentrated and created EU single market. They also leveraged high global expenses on brand investments. It was extremely difficult to develop a Pan European band with the different cultural diversity across the countries. There were immense problems between the country managers as they we greatly irritated by the various international strategies that have to be coordinated between the countries and also the loss of their autonomy all this resulted in a huge barrier for communication for the county managers. The country managers had to focus on the consumption habits of consumers across Europe and it was not possible to create one single approach as the consumer preference and selection of food and its types varied widely. For instance if we take a German consumer they are bothered on natural products, the environmental considerations and even of the safety of food. But on the other hand French were deeply into the traditional style of taste and enjoyed its pleasure. They also had problems of coordinating themselves as they wasted tremendous amount of time and money as various ICs (Innovation Centers) were spending time working on the very same products. There was also intense competition between the independent local subsidiaries which had their own methods and agendas for development regarding products. Another main issue was that the top-down process of innovation much slower at producing product ideas. There wasnt any financial budgets made for international products and the local managers were given full risk. In the very much declining yellow fat category the local manager required the market share and profit. Also the local managers wanted independence as they were change resistant and had a competition among themselves The underlying result after Krona being developed was very much below the bar, Krona became a huge success in Germany where it was made and developed because it was made only on the local likes and interest, but it failed miserably in the rest of the Europe. Another result in the company was a huge conflict of cultural problems and they also had to face the comments of developing products not according to the preference of consumers interest. Thus, the strategic decision should be such that its made to cater and satisfy the local needs and tastes, doing and performing like that of Coca Cola and McDonalds in China by means of presenting and offering the same nice product and making the consumers enjoy it tremendously, also make the top managers at Unilever such that they process and transfer their vision to the middle management and take away the fear of failing strategies. It is understood that many successful organizations are not ready for changes as it natural that changes alter and hamper their normal routines. Before making any crucial decisions its a must to understand the fact that proper steps and innovations must be taken to meet the national difference of people. FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN RUSSIA CHALLENGING THE BEAR CASE SUMMARY BY DEVI SUDHAKARAN The executive team of MLC Corporation was examining if it should continue to expand and increase its production and distribution into Russia, in May 2008. There was an increase in the Russian economy and there were three reasons that contributed for the same. Firstly, the increase of natural gas exporting to Europe. Secondly, the increase in the energy price which led to the tremendous growth of the energy sector resulting in widening of the economy. Mark Olexi who was the CEO of MLC had basically three alternatives in front of him. The first being, to further expand the plant export and also to continue the exporting because of its success in the past many years. The second one being, to strengthen Russias competition position abroad by building a manufacturing and distributing center. The third option was to wait and take time for both decisions because of the prevailing uncertainties and risk factors in Russian economic and financial aspects. The worldwide recession and the massive internal economic and financial crises were getting worse and it was doubtful if the Russian economy could withstand it or avoid it. Russia is undergoing a number of problems like a change in leadership as Vladimir Putin couldnt run as President for another term; it was also a doubtful and concerning issue of how the foreign companies in Russia would be operating depending on the attitude of Prime Minister Putin and the next successor President Dmitry Medvedev. Another problem being the energy price shooting up. Along with these, Russia and the U.S relationships were being deteriorated by George W. Bushs administration. Finally, the issue with regard to British and U.S financial system following the mortgage crises in 2007. Mark Olexi had to decide which alternative to select to generate maximum results. He could decide on either of the following four decisions: First, export from US, sell in Russia  [5]   while doing this the company could incur huge costs with regard to transportation and hence its very expensive to do so, also the unclear and complicated regulations in Russia can make it difficult for the selling to take place hence the company might suffer losses, even the political situation in the country is not good enough. On a positive note, since the production process is already established MLC would benefit from 70% of income coming from Russia. Second strategy is to produce in Russia, sell in Russia-by doing this even though there is a high risk factor we could generate larger profits, while investing in Russia it is possible to concentrate on the excess demand for the moment or even try a partial investment in Russia to see the success and progress of it. MLC could also make tie ups wi th the government and enhance their relationships with the government and hence form a hybrid / joint venture. Since the oil prices would possibly rise as per the forecast in the case, the Russian government would definitely secure the currency value. The third strategy is to produce in Russia, sell elsewhere- by doing this the company would be certainly risking itself and spending time and immense money in first identifying the pros and cons of that third country to sell and studying the economic and political nature of the third country, also knowing the consumers well, even understanding the unforeseen causes or changes in the environment. The fourth strategy is to produce elsewhere (not US, Russia),sell to Russia- By doing this the company would invest in a country that is geographically close to Russia, here the company can think of investing in an emerging economy, and can save expenses to a limit as its geographically closer, even expect a somewhat same political and economic conditions as its close but will definitely mitigate the currency risk involved in investing in Russia also try to focus and then expand the client base and even keep Russia from being 80% of the revenue generator. It would be ideal for the company to produce and sell in Russia considering the points mentioned above. In the case it is seen that more than half of the revenue generated in the company is from a single client as it is definitely not a good way to continue a firm. The company could be always on the threat of losing that client. If that happens then the company would be under series losses. The company should find a way to generate revenue from more than one client and make it dispersed as possible.  [6]   Thus, from this case it teaches the various skills necessary to analyze the economic country data and even the political situation of country and use the various methods for assessing the prevailing risk factors in order to come up with a right decision. AIRASIA: FLYING LOW COST WITH HIGH HOPES CASE SUMMARY BY DEVI SUDHAKARAN This case talks about an airline company in Asia- AirAsia operating as an LCC (low cost carrier) how it came up in the market fighting between the increasing and rising flight operation costs and competition in the Asia-Pacific region . It is important to first understand what makes Asia an attractive market for LCC, its mainly because of rapidly urbanizing population who are being developed and are ready to travel and see various locations, fewer substitutes for air travel with regard to traveling long distances with low fares, low but rising incomes of the population, the deregulation taking place and even sometimes disruptive innovation  [7]   A disruptive innovation is an innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually goes on to disrupt an existing market and value network (over a few years or decades), displacing an earlier technology.  [8]   Tony Fernandez who was a private entrepreneur captured AirAsia airlines from the Malaysian government when it was debt ridden in the year, December 2001. After a month, Tony Fernandez re-launched AirAsia airlines as South-East Asias first LCC (Low Cost Carrier). He was able to generate huge success and increased the profitability tremendously and even expanded its routes. What he did was, he kept immense low cost structure comparing to the competitors and offered the customers extremely low airfare of 40% -60 % less than competitors. He developed the ticketless travel thus being environment friendly and consuming less paper. AirAsia developed also had free seating arrangements. Customers were even attracted as frequent draws were conducted on board and this surprised the passengers. He also developed a tag line Now Everyone Can Fly which attracted the customers and which they considered motivating. A multilingual website was also created; this attracted leisure travelers and purchased air tickets through it which had promotions and offer for specific traveling periods. AirAsia started off with the Easy To Book, Easy To Pay Easy To Fly message and developed the telephone booking centre, sales offices, travel agents and also created tie-ups with several local banks and post offices. Mr. Fernandez conquered and became the first in many new services in t he operation and started a plan which was considered risky by other services; he extended the airline services which included many long- haul routes. AirAsia was even first to stat the booking with the help of cell phones using a simple SMS. This showed how innovative he was and even went down to the corporate bone. AirAsia was ranked as the best LCC in the Asia region in the year 2007. It encouraged many other LCCs in the Asia Pacific area to come up with such ideas and on the other hand threatened MAS Malaysian Airlines a full service operator which was a major competition at home. MAS didnt let go the competition from AirAsia and took stronger steps than AirAsia and started a sudden price war by offering to customers a zero fare for domestic travel and also for short-haul flights. They even built up a campaign Everyday Low Fare which even grabbed the attention of the customers by even immense advertisement war  [9]  and impressing potential passengers. CHABROS INTERNATIONAL GROUP: A WORLD OF WOOD CASE SUMMARY BY DEVI SUDHAKARAN This case shows how Chabros International Group a Lebanese multinational wood company confronting a huge decrease of its largest subsidiary sales after the global economic crisis in 2008. Antoine Chami who was the owner and president of Chabros International Group when reviewed the companys financial statements for the end of year 2009 saw that there was a thirty percent drop in the sales from Dubai. There was a growing lumber sales demand and Antoine Chami had invested $ 11 million to acquire and expand one of the saw mills in Serbia to meet this demand. This happened in 2007 a year before the global economic crises took place. There was high capacity for the production of lumber but with regard to selling, had low profitability. To overcome this problem Chami could either shut certain parts of the Serbia mill or boost Chabros International Groups sales to use up all the capacity available of the sawmill. If that happens, should it continue to increase sales where it was already operating like that of UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Egypt or should it try to expand to a new places like Algeria, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Syria, Tunisia. He also would have doubts on Morocco, among other places, if it is the best country to expand for this activity? Also if it is the right time to start on such an expansion process FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN THE MIDDLE EAST: RIYADH AND DUBAI CASE SUMMARY BY DEVI SUDHAKARAN This is a case that deals with finding out the various key drivers of investing in the Middle East especially in Riyadh and Dubai of Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates respectively by foreign rich countries like The United states of America, Japan and several European multinational and financial services and service providers. A considerable sample of foreign companies is interviewed to find out the main aspects in their decision process and what made them select the mode of operation and details about their business model. The case is in three sections, the first is about laws, regulations and requirements have changed considerably and that it has become more adapting to foreign investment in past years, this is performed with the help of several business environmental characteristic index and changes over time. The second part studies the exchange arrangements and framework for capital and financial transactions. The third section studies the various experiences of many multinational companies that have invested in the financial services sector of the Middle East.

Illegal Immigration Essay -- American Government, Social Issues

Illegal Immigration and Health Care With the economy of the United States in shambles, illegal immigration and the effects it has on health care can no longer be ignored. America has a whole needs to be concerned and well informed of the issues rather than collecting information piecemeal by way of media or other biased groups. If illegal immigration stays its present course the American tax-payer will continue to fund the well being of individuals who have broken federal rules and regulations and are being supported by law abiding citizens. This argument is not about individual rights to live and prosper. It is not about race or discrimination of any sort. It is only about the effects on health care that I am addressing. California has been plagued by budget deficiencies in recent years. Layoffs have been rampant as well as public service spending. According the governor, â€Å"The state was unable to balance the budget because of money spent on illegal immigrants† (Jacobsen 71). If this is the case, why has their not been an immediate demand for reform concerning illegal immigration? Jacobsen continues, â€Å"Services such as providing dental care to poor women and the elderly, treatment for drug-addicted pregnant women, and prenatal care in general would need to be cut because of the costs associated with illegal immigration† (71). When immigrants come across the border illegally, they directly affect health care for American citizens. This should not be tolerated and reform should be implemented as quickly as possible. Reimers states that â€Å"curbing illegal immigration could save $280 over the course of a decade† (97). The amount of money being spent on illegal imm igrants is massive. Not only that but the conservative re... ...uires distinguishing the categories of persons we desire to admit and setting minimal criteria for their admission† (155). Minimal is the keyword. As it stands the process for citizenship is arduous to say the least. We must go back to an earlier era such as the where boatloads of immigrants would arrive in New York. They would stand in line for hours if not days to get documented and obtain legal status. Few were turned away. If we did the same for our southern neighbors everyone would be in the system and would contribute to our society by way of consumers, laborers and tax-payers. Americans would then recognize Mexican immigrants not as invaders, but as a fellow human beings, contributors, and citizens of the United States. Health Care would no longer be burdened and aid could be given without breaking the backs of both government and tax-payer alike.

Safety and Protection Services

In the process of creating a security agreement, the first essential task which we should be able to undertake is to differentiate what are those locations as well as specific conditions which the security would be addressed through public good — those that would be provided by the local government — as well as the security issues that would be addressed by private enterprise. Such a differentiation would allow for us to make specific boundaries and avoid security coverage overlaps between those which would be provided by the government and that was what shall be covered by the local agencies which the company would hire. The reason why we would like to avoid overlaps in outlining the report and specify which issues are addressed by one group and which ones are addressed by another is that it would not only avoid regulatory and conflict of interest overlaps but also the cost efficient as well. We must remember that especially for a public good provisions such as security of the company which the government would be providing for the firm, then they have a limited budget in order to do this. Also, the security of the company with respect to the private enterprise which shall be addressed by our firm should also be cost efficient. Recent literature reflecting the costs of private security reflected that they are consistently increasing over the years. We would not want to have overlapping costs that would further create an inefficiency condition for the company (Commission & Toulson, 2004). In the discussion of who would be concerned providing security, there are two units and agencies which we should address. These agencies, however, are only the first step in information dissemination and coordination of security for the firm. These two are the local government units that would be providing security, as well as the security agencies as well as the security staff of the company. They are the two essential units where large focus must be given in drafting a security agreement. However, there also has to be circulating information across both the staff of the company and the government units so that they too may be informed of the further security issues that have to be addressed. The reason for this is that especially in a sensitive matters such as private protection — especially if our company has high in assets, may they be tangible or intangible — there is the constant danger of misinformation and might lead to further problems in the future if those which are in full — even in the smallest sense — are misinformed. The basic primary service that we would like the safety and security services of the law enforcement department of the local government units to perform are those that involve security coverage from the immediate surroundings of the companies location . However what we must remember is that local government agencies in policing already have the responsibility of protecting the surroundings of such public locations. With the security draft must focus on, however, is the schedule time frames or in areas highly sensitive data that are stored within the perimeter of the company. This may be done through interaction with local government units involving security and policing with the respective security agencies and departments of our company. Relevant research reflects higher risk security frameworks especially in institutions that have data assets which would be essential for the success of competition. In discussing security concerns between the company and the policing agencies, the focus must not only be two immediate security and physical assets but also in data security as well this would be discussed later on and further reports (Stamp, 2005). Another probable help the local law enforcement agencies may give to the company is a fast response policy in the case that incidents are reported by the security departments of the firm. This is usually already done in major metropolitan areas although there are times when specific overlaps in misinformation cause for various security holes exist. What the draft and suggestion must identify are the standard operating procedures for local government security in the case that they are required — in an emergency or otherwise — by the security departments of the company. Although it may not be explicitly stated by the government, the agreement, and company, there also probable ways are there to be better security support for such local policing units by giving preferential protection and security response times — even dedicated response servers and direct lines — to the security departments of the company. What we as business analysts would like to compare it to is an indirect method of outsourcing security but only in specific locations in specific instances so that the costs of the hiring additional security in-house would be less than those from the outsourced perspective (Commission & Toulson, 2004). Of course, however, did not reply completely on the security that is provided by local policing agencies. Also, even given the fact that there is a ready and in-house security department at the company, having the ability to tap the resources from outside security units such as those that are provided by the government does not necessarily mean that local security could slack off and relax. In fact, outsourcing and removing in-house the total security method of the company should logically make the company's own security department more vigilant because of the scattered holes and overlaps that an outside security unit with prose. The primary safety and security services that would be performed in-house are those which first, covered a specific geographic insight location of the company. It would be a greater security risk if outside security units that are provided by the government are allowed to roam freely within the premises of the firm. Although it may in fact decrease costs with relation to the amount that are paid to in-house security services, it nevertheless significantly increases risk of outside infiltration of the firm because of the lack of checks, balances, and specific operational controls when making use of outside security in securing the inside of the structures. Therefore, in the draft, we should be able to indicate that outside security units which are provided by the government may only enter the premises upon request for additional assistance in-house security units. Also, because it is completely logical that it is the security department of the company which knows the sensitivity of assets within the firm, as well as the day-to-day security concerns of the company, it is they who have the responsibility of training and informing the outside security resources which would be provided by the government in understanding the way the company works to tighten and cover the various security holes that may be found. In the draft, it is recommended that more responsibilities are placed on in-house security units because of the expected approval of such agreement — the less costs that are crude by the government for security of the company, the more likely it is that the mayor would prove such an agreement. However, we must also make sure that the benefits that the company which received with respect to the efficiency would be experienced by the in-house security Department would be just equal to the benefits that would be taken by the local government units for security (Wyman, 1999). Lastly, the draft should include what are the specific responsibilities that would be done jointly by the local policing agency and the in-house security department of the company. In this respect, the responsibilities included should cover those involving the safety and security of local employees and keeping resources. Unlike tangible assets and data, human resources and employees of the company are allowed to move around. As a result, there is no specific covert locations that could be wisely allocated either to in-house security or to policing agencies. Therefore, it would eventually be the responsibility of the two units to cover the safety and security of employees. However, it is the local policing agency which is largely responsible for the outside safety of employees, while the responsibility of the in-house security of the company would be to make sure that only employees have access to the company's premises as well as the assets that are assigned to employee use. These are the conditions and important factors that should be included in the draft to be written that would be submitted to the mayor of the city. Although there are still other specific minor issues that have not been addressed, these, at least, are the general frameworks that must be followed in drawing an agreement between the two security units and departments.

Assingments 2012-2013

ASSINGMENTS 2012-2013 Marketing Studies (1 year, Diploma) 1 BUSINESS ENGLISH Assignment 1 a) Luis St. Jean is a famous design house in France with annual sales of $1. 2 billion in clothing, perfume, scarves, and other designer items. Each year it prepares more than 150 original designs for its seasonal collections. As head buyer for Cindy’s, an upscale women’s clothing store at the Mall of America in Minneapolis, you think you might like to start offering the LSJ’s line of perfume. You need to know more about pricing, types of perfume offered, minimum ordering quantities, and marketing assistance p rovided by LSJ.You would also like to know if you can have exclusive marketing rights to LSJ perfumes in the Minneapolis area and whether you would have to carry LSJ’s complete line (you don’t think the most expensive perfumes would be big sellers in your area). Write to Mr. Henri Vixier, License Supervisor, Luis St. Jean, 90513 Cergy, Pointoise Cedex, Fr ance, seeking answers to your questions. Your answer should be in a letter format requesting the necessary product information. You can make up all the necessary details. b) You are the marketing manager of a company selling electronic goods.You are having a meeting with the board directors for introducing some new products in the Cypriot market. You need to prepare an agenda for the meeting and send that agenda to the board of directors in the form of a memo. In your answer, include all the necessary details you think are essential. 2 Format: (a) Letter (b) Memo, approx. 2000 words (in total), produced on a laser printer Deadline: 14th December 2012 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 3 Assignment 2 You are an external consultant for an airline company.You have been hired to assess the current declining customer numbers and provide advice to the company. Develop a report to be handed to the CEO including new ways/techniques to promote the company in both local and inte rnational markets. In your answer you should include examples to support your arguments taking into account the current competitive market, where the flight destinations for Cyprus are increasing as new airlines enter the Cypriot market. Format: Essay Type, 2000 words, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 12th April 2013 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 4 BUSINESS ORGANISATIONAssignment 1 The group is to analyse a case study and prepare posters around identifying: three key OB issues in the case relevant OB theories for each of the OB issues recommendations for action to improve each of the three issues. The case study will be distributed during Week 5 of the module. Your seminar group will be asked to form syndicate groups of 5 people to develop answers to the case. Your poster group may use words, diagrams, drawings, images and cartoons on the posters to make your key points. The poster presentation will take place during Week 8 at a time and place notified by the tutors in week 8.There will be limited time for your group to work together in seminars and you may decide to meet outside of formal teaching times and communicate by phone, e-mail, conference calls and social networking sites. Each group member must complete a ‘Peer Review Sheet’. This is an assessment by each member of a group on every other group member. It requires objective skills to critically assess the contribution of other members in your group. Your ‘Peer Review Sheet’ must be given to your seminar group tutor during the poster presentation session.A example of the ‘Peer Review Sheet’ follows the Poster Presentations Marking Criteria. The poster presentation will be marked against the assessment criteria shown and individual marks adjusted taking into account the Peer Review. Work will be double marked and externally moderated in accordance with the University regulations. Assessment criterion 5 requires evidence in the form of agend as and minutes for meetings held by the group together with a one page analysis of 5 the group working process. This should be submitted to your seminar group tutor on the poster presentation day together with your ‘Peer Review Sheets’.Please note: All members of your group MUST be present and prepared to answer any question stimulated by your poster from both the tutors and fellow students. Any person who is absent will receive a mark of zero for this assessment and fail the module. Deadline: 14th December 2012 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 6 BUSINESS ORGANISATION Assignment 2 The final reflective report requires you to identify how you have applied OB theory, learned in the module, to develop your knowledge and skills in working with others.You are to identify three issues, or topics, from the OB module where you can identify relevant experience to which you can apply OB theory. The experiences may be from your studies, from work, or from social gro ups or clubs to which you belong. For each of your three topics you are to identify relevant experience and select and apply appropriate OB theory to those experiences. You should evaluate the theory in analysing what happened and in guiding future action. To help you plan your final report you are to submit a proposal that forms part of the Groups and Teams portfolio. The proposal should be no more than 150 words.Also a list of at least five academic references you intend to use, in Harvard format, should be provided. The final report should be a business report of 1500 words. Actual word count should be specified on the cover page of your report and outside +/ 10% will incur a penalty of 10%. References and any appendices should not be included in the word count. Deadline: 12th April 2013 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 7 COMMERCIAL LAW Assignment 1 a) P, a car salesman, is advertising one of his cars, made by Ferrari for sale at the price of 50000 Euro in the new spaper.N sees the advertisement and calls to P offering him 40000 Euro. P rejects N’s offer and tells N that he would be willing to discuss an offer for 45000 Euro. N agrees on the price but under the condition that P proves to her that the car is indeed a genuine Ferrari. P promises to disclose all necessary documents in the next 3 weeks. N agrees and waits. 2 weeks later N discovers that P has sold the car to C for 50000 Euro. Advise N. b) Why is Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co (1893) a very important case? Format: Essay, approx. 2000 words (in total), produced on a laser printer Deadline: 14th December 2012 No assignment will be accepted after this date) 8 COMMERCIAL LAW Assignment 2 ‘Corporate personality refers to the fact that as far as the law is concerned a company really exists. As a result of this a company can sue and be sued in its own name, hold property under its own name and most importantly be liable for its own debts. ’ Discuss Format: Essay Typ e, 2000 words, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 12th April 2013 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 9 ECONOMICS Assignment 1 Analyse the Production Possibilities Frontier (PPF) and explain how it illustrates the main economic concepts of scarcity and opportunity cost.Format: Essay Type, 2000 words, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 14th December 2012 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 10 ECONOMICS Assignment 2 Given the table below: a) Draw the demand and supply curves and show equilibrium. b) Demonstrate the shift due to the increase in quantity demanded on the same graph, illustrating clearly the new equilibrium. c) Analyse the factors that may cause a shift of the demand curve, both inwards and outwards. d) Analyse the factors that may lead to an inward or outward shift of the supply curve. ) Discuss the laws of demand and supply. f) Analyse the theory behind a movement along the 2 curves or a shift of the curves. Demand 1 Quantity Price 65 EUR 2. 60 78 EUR 2. 30 98 EUR 1. 95 124 EUR 1. 63 156 EUR 1. 30 Demand 2 Quantity Price 52 EUR 2. 60 65 EUR 2. 30 85 EUR 1. 95 111 EUR 1. 63 143 EUR 1. 30 Supply 1 Quantity Price 65 EUR 1. 56 78 EUR 1. 69 98 EUR 1. 95 124 EUR 2. 23 156 EUR 2. 80 Format: Applied Essay Type, approx. 2000 words, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 12th April 2013 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 11 MARKETING MANAGEMENTAssignment 1 The Body Shop – good luck or good marketing? The body Shop may have grown rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s, but its founder, the late Dame Anita Roddick publicly dismissed the role of marketing. Roddick ridiculed marketers for putting the interests of shareholders before the needs of society. She had a similarly low opinion of the financial community, which she referred to as ‘merchant wankers’. While things were going well, nobody seemed to mind. Maybe Roddick had found a new way of doing business, and if she had the results to prove it, who needed marketers?But how could even such an icon as Anita Roddick manage indefinitely without consulting the fundamental principles of marketing? By embracing ethical issues, was she way ahead of her rivals in understanding the public mood, long before the major retailers piled into Fairtrade and ‘green’ products? Or did the troubles that the Body Shop suffer in the late 1990s indicate that a company may publicly dismiss the value of marketing while the going is good, but sooner or later it will have to come back to earth with good old-fashioned marketing plans? Roddick had been the dynamo behind the Body Shop.From her first shop, which opened in Brighton in 1976, she inspired the growth of the chain of familiar green-fronted shops, which in 2006 comprised 2,100 stores in 55 countries around the world. She was the first to introduce socially and environmentally responsible business onto the High Street and was talking about fair trade long before it became a popular corporate buzzword. Her pioneering products included naturally based skin and hair preparations, such as Fuzzy Peach Bath and Shower Gel and Brazil Nut Conditioner. Her timing was impeccable, coming just at a time when increasingly affluent consumers were 12 ecoming concerned about animal testing and the use of chemicals in cosmetics. She had gone down the classic market route of understanding consumer trends and then developing the appropriate products with the right positioning. She simply had a passion for humanely produced cosmetics and was just luc ky with her timing – more consumers were coming round to her view just as she was launching her business. As for planning a promotion campaign, she did not really need to do very much at all. With her boundless energy, outspoken views, and unorthodox dress sense, she was continually being talked about in the media.Her flair for publicity won free editorial space for the Body Shop worth millions of pounds. Much of the companyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s success has been tied up with its campaigning approach to the pursuit of social and environmental issues; but while Roddick campaigned for everything from battered wives and Siberian tigers to the poverty-stricken mining communities of southern Appalachia, the company was facing major problems in its key markets. Yet until the late 1990s, she boasted that the Body Shop had never been used, or needed, marketing.By the late 1990s the Body Shop seemed to be running out of steam, with sales plateauing and the company’s share price falling – from 370p in 1992 to just 65p in 2003. What was previously unique about the Body Shop was now being copied by others, for example, the Boots company matched one of the Body Shop’s earliest claims that it did not test its products on animals. Even the very feel of a Body Shop store – including its decor, staff, and product displays – had been copied by competitors. How could the company stay ahead in terms o f maintaining its distinctive positioning?It causes seemed to be increasingly remote from the real concerns of shoppers. Whilst most UK shoppers may have been swayed by a company’s unique claim to protect animals, how many would be moved by its support for Appalachian miners? If there was a Boots or a Superdrug store next door, why should a buyer pay a premium price to buy from the Body Shop? The Body Shop may have pioneered a very clever retailing formula over 20 years earlier, but, just as the product range had been successfully copied by others, other companies had made enormous strides in terms of their social and environmental awareness.Part of the problem of the Body Shop was its failure fully to understand the dynamics of its marketplace. Positioning on the basis of good causes may have been enough to launch the company into the public’s mind in the 1970s, but how could this position be sustained? Many commentators blamed the Body Shop’s problems on the i nability of Roddick to delegate. She is reported to have spent much of her time globetrotting in support of her good causes, but had a problem in delegating marketing strategy and implementation. Numerous strong managers who had 13 een brought in to try to implement professional management practices apparently gave up in bewilderment at the lack of discretion that they had been given, and then left. The Body Shop’s experience in America had typified Roddick’s pioneering style which frequently ignored sound marketing analysis. She sought a new way of doing business in America, but in doing so dismissed the experience of older and more sophisticated retailers – such as Marks & Spencer and the Sock Shop, which came unstuck in what is a very difficult market.The Body Shop decided to enter the US markets not through a safe option such as a joint venture or a franchising agreement, but instead by setting up its own operation from scratch – fine, according to Ro ddick’s principle of changing the rulebook and cutting out the greedy American business community, but dangerously risky. Her store format was based on the British town-centre model, despite the fact that Americans spend most of their money in out-of-town malls. In 1996 the US operations lost ? 3. 4 million. Roddick’s critics claimed that she had a naive view of herself, her company, and business generally.She had consistently argued that profits and principles do not mix, despite the fact that many of her financially successful competitors have been involved in major social initiatives. Critics claimed that, had Roddick not dismissed the need for marketing for so long, the Body Shop could have avoided future problems; but by the early 2000s it was paying the price for not having devoted sufficient resources to new product development, to innovation, to refreshing its ranges, and to moving the business forward in a competitive market and fast-changing business environm ent.It seemed the heroes can change the rulebook when the tide is flowing with them; but adopting the disciplines of marketing allows companies to anticipate and react when the tide begins to turn against them. The year 2006 turned out to be a turning point for the Body Shop. In that year, the cosmetics giant L’Oreal acquired the company for ? 652 million. L’Oreal was part owned by Nestle, and both companies had suffered long disputes with ethical campaigners.L’Oreal had been the subject of boycotts because of its involvement in animal testing, and Nestle had been criticized for its treatment of third-world producers. Ethical Consumer magazine, which rates companies’ ethics on its ‘Ethiscore’, immediately down-rated the Body Shop from a rating of 11 to 2. 5 out of 20, following the takeover by L’Oreal. A contributor to the magazine commented about the Body Shop. I for one will certainly not be shopping there again and I urge other cons umers concerned about ethical issues to follow my example. There are plenty of other higher scoring ethical companies out there. 14Not be to outdone, Roddick dismissed claims that she was ‘selling out to the devil’ by arguing that she would be able to use her influence to change L’Ore al from inside the company. Suppliers who had formerly worked with the Body Shop would in future have contracts with L’Oreal, and through an agreement to work with the company for 25 days a year, Roddick would be able to have an input into its ethical sourcing decisions. It seemed that the Body Shop was destined to become a safe, predictable company, carrying out marketing in more of the textbook fashion that had allowed its new owners to grow steadily but surely over the years.Maybe the missionary zeal had long ago gone out of the Body Shop, so perhaps having new owners who placed less emphasis on ethics would not be too great a price to pay in return for bringing the huge w ealth of marketing experience of L’Oreal to the Body Shop. Part of the marketing experience of L’Oreal led it to believe Body Shop as an independent brand and to respect its trusted heritage. It was aware that ecological concerns were rapidly rising up mainstream consumers’ concerns, and having Roddick on board would not only be good for PR, it could also change mindsets with L’Oreal more generally.Roddick died soon after selling out to L’Oreal and her obituaries agreed that she had made a difference to the world. She certainly had put enormous energy into her mission and had been lucky with her timing. However, critics were more divided on whether she was a good marketer for the long haul; after all, its relatively easy to make money when the tide is going with you and your luck is in, but much more difficult to manage a changing a nd increasingly saturated marketing environment.Like many entrepreneurs who have been good at creating things, but no t so good at maintaining them, was it simply time for Roddick to hand over to classically trained marketers who could rise to this challenge? Case study review questions 1. Critically assess the extent to which you consider the Body Shop to be a truly marketing-oriented organization throughout its 30+ years’ history. (50%) 2. What are the basic lessons in marketing that the Body Shop might have taken on board in its early years in order to improve its chances of long-term success? (50%) 15Format: Essay Type, 2000 words, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 14th December 2012 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 16 MARKETING MANAGEMENT Assignment 2 To be handed out later Format: Essay Type, approx. 2000 words, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 12th April 2013 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 17 STATISTICS Assignment 1 The assignment is a development of the activities from Chapters 1 and 2 of the workbook. It consists of: (a) A short presentatio n made by groups of 2 or (maximum) 3 students based upon one of the research activities from chapter 1.This will take place during the tutorials in week 5 (week commencing 29th October) and will account for 25% of the marks for the assignment. (b) An individual report of around 1200 words submitted by each student. This will account for the remaining 75% of the marks for the assignment. The handing -in deadline for this is 19th November. Tasks: 1. After forming groups of 2 or maximum 3 students, firstly you need to agree with yo ur RBD tutor which topic you are going to research from section 1. 9 of the RBD workbook. Within a seminar group, each group of 2/3 students will research a different topic. . During your tutorial of week 5, you will present the basic facts that you have discovered to the rest of your tutorial group. This will involve an explanation of what you are researching, how you have chosen to answer the question (for some of the activities there are various ways of m easuring the results), and what your findings are. You should use visual aids e. g. slides, to help your presentation. The individual report involves a discussion of the findings in your own words plus some further research and thought: 18 3.Use the data you have collected to answer the research question chosen by your group i. e. report on what you have discovered. Basically you are repeating here, in your own words, the things that were mentioned in your group’s presentation. 4. By conducting some further research from published sources, try and give an explanation for the results i. e. answering the question ‘why? ’. For example, if you were asked to produce some figures on crime, you might try to explain the reasons why the figures have changed over the years, or why they are higher in certain places or amongst certain groups of people.By researching the relevant sources describe how the data were originally collected, including the sampling procedure where r elevant. For example, if the figures were derived from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, you would be expected to obtain some information about this survey. Discuss any potential sources of error in the figures, such as response errors and errors caused by non-response. 5. Learning Outcomes The following learning outcomes are being assessed: Collect data using primary and secondary sources. Describe the procedures involved when conducting a sample survey.Communicate findings using appropriate business formats. Allocation of marks: Presentation: 25 marks See the handout on Blackboard (filename Presentation assessment 2012 -13. docx) for an indication of what the assessors are looking for in the presentation. The content of the presentation carries a higher weighting than the style. Individual Report: Clarity of expression, use of English, grammar Answering the research question Further research into reasons behind the results, influential factors etc. Discussion of sampling procedur es and non-sampling errors. 10 marks 25 marks 20 marks 20 marksAdditional Information: Group sizes are 2 or 3. Four people = 2 groups i. e. 2 different topics. Failure to attend the presentation will result in a mark of zero out of 25. 19 An assessors’ report for this type of assignment is also available on Blackboard (filename RBD assessment feedback. docx). Deadline: 14th December 2012 (No assignment will be accepted after this date. 20 STATISTICS Assignment 2 QUESTION 1 CALCULATE: 8 P 3 8 P 4 7 P 6 6 P 1 8 C 3 7 C 5 6 C 2 5 C 0 5. 9 10. 4 5. 7 6. 2 10. 7 11. 7 6. 8 11. 5 13. 1 7. 1 11. 6 13. 6 7. 8 8. 2 8. 1 4. 4 QUESTION 2 12. 3 9. 9 9. 0 a. b. c. . e. f. 5. 8 10. 1 10. 0 8. 3 12. 9 8. 8 6. 7 9. 2 7. 9 9. 4 8. 4 Find the maximum Find the minimum Find the mode Calculate the arithmetic mean Calculate the geometric mean of: 5. 3 and 7. 8 and 10. 4 If the mean family size is 4. 75 what is the total population of a city of 25000 families? QUESTION 3 If the mean rate of arrival in a restaurant is 10 customers per hour, what is the probability of having 4 customers arriving in any hour? 21 QUESTION 4 Defects Workers 0-2 7 3-5 9 6-8 10 9-11 8 12-14 11 15-17 6 18-20 5 21-23 8 24-26 7 a. Calculate the arithmetic mean b. Calculate the median . Calculate the standard deviation QUESTION 5 Listed below are the commissions earned ($000) last year by the sales representatives at the Furniture Patch, Inc. $3. 9, $5. 7, $7. 3, $10. 6, $13. 0, $13. 6, $15. 1, $15. 8, $17. 1, $17. 4, $17. 6, $22. 3, $38. 6, $43. 2, $87. 7 a. Compute the Pearson’s skewness coefficients. b. What is your conclusion regarding the skewness of the data QUESTION 6 A box contains 20 balls of which 2 are red, 5 are black, 5 are blue and 8 are green. A ball is drawn at random from the box; the color is marked each time and then placed back in the box.The experiment repeated three times. Find the probability that: (i) All are red. (ii) Neither is black. (iii) One black, one is blue and one red. (iv) At least one red. 22 QUESTION 7 Find the correlation between the 2 stock prices for the period given. Draw a graph showing the correlation between the two stocks and briefly explain your answer. Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Stock A 12. 4 12. 5 12. 9 12. 1 11. 8 12. 3 11. 4 11. 0 10. 4 10. 4 10. 8 10. 1 10. 2 9. 4 Stock B 31. 0 31. 4 30. 4 30. 0 28. 7 28. 9 29. 2 27. 8 27. 0 27. 2 26. 9 26. 2 25. 0 25. 7QUESTION 8 A company wants to estimate the relationship between its country’s quarterly Growth Domestic Product (GDP) and quarterly net income margin ((Net Income/Sales)*100). Calculate the intercept and the slope and explain the relationship. Quarter GDP % 1 2. 4 2 2. 1 3 2. 0 4 1. 8 1 0. 9 2 1. 3 3 1. 9 4 1. 8 1 2. 3 2 2. 9 3 2. 1 4 2. 2 NI margin % 0. 32 0. 78 0. 67 0. 44 0. 91 1. 10 0. 80 0. 87 0. 78 1. 3 0. 83 0. 84 23 Format: Practical/Calculations, produced on a laser printer Deadline: 12th April 2013 (No assignment will be accepted after this date) 24