Analysis of Environmental Issues and Economic Performance

Analysis of environmental issues and economic performance and population density Executive summary The main goal with the report was to analyse the relationship from 16 different countries on how, if any, CO2 emission per capita is getting affected by population density and GDP per capita by using descriptive statistics and regression. The conclusion is that CO2 emission per capita is affected by changes in GDP per capita and that population density has no significant relation to CO2 emission per capita. Introduction Global warming is one of the biggest problems in the international societies today.The politician keeps discussing how they can find solutions together to decrease the CO2 emissions worldwide. In this report we will try to examine if well-established countries have a higher CO2 emissions and we will examine how population density are affecting emission in our society today. Aim The aim with this report is first to examine the relationship with GDP per capita and CO2 emis sion and population density and CO2 emission. Then we will examine if high GDP per capita leads to higher CO2 emission per capita and if countries with low population density are polluting more than countries with high population density.Hypothesis 1. 1 I believe that a country with high GDP are more likely to have a higher CO2 emission per capita since a country with high GDP are more likely to have higher productivity achieved through higher energy use. We will then start with measuring the linear association between these variables. H0: ? 0 1 GDP? 0 (Correlation) H1: ? 0=? 1 GDP=0 (No correlation) Hypothesis 1. 2 I believe that a country with high population density are more likely to have a lower CO2 emission per capita since the inhabitants need travel shorter and less often.We will therefor measure the linear association for CO2 emission per capita and population density. H0: ? 0 2 pop. density? 0 (Correlation) H1: ? 0=? 2 pop. density=0 (No correlation) Main hypothesis We wan t to find out how much linear association the two variables has on CO2 per capita. This can be done with this model: CO2per capita = ? 0+ ? 1 GDP+? 2 pop. density+ ? H0: ? 1 GDP? 0 H1: ? 1 GDP=0 H0: ? 2 pop. density? 0 H1: ? 2 pop. density=0 We can then see how strong the association these two variables are against the dependent variable CO2 emission per capita. Further on we want to test the significance of these variables.Data and descriptive statistics The data (GDP per capita, CO2 per capita and population density) in this report is a sample of 16 different countries and are downloaded from the International Monetary Fund, US department of Energy and OECD. All the data are ratio scale and are continuous. Some potential problems with the associated data is: * Some countries may have a high productivity achieved by the efficient labour force and not trough higher energy use. Both ways of high productivity leads to higher GDP per capita, its unlikely to achieve it by efficient labo ur force, but it can occur. Some countries (e. g. Australia) may have low population density although they mainly have big populated cities since they have a large amount of landmass that is not suitable for life. * The different data is not from the same years. CO2 emission per capita is from 2004, population density is from various years and GDP per capita is from 2010. To get an idea of how the dataset looks like we need to use descriptive analysis. Mean: x=xn Median: x=n+12th S. D: sx=x2-nx2n-1 Sample variance: s2=x2-nx2n-1 Range=xh-xlFor Co2 per capita the mean is 9,285 and the median is 9,49, this will suggest that the data is normally distributed and we can see in the graph in the appendix that there are 8 countries on each side of the mean. The skewness is 0,71, since the number is positive it will imply that Co2 emission per capita is slightly skewed to the right. The mean (26226) and median (27407) for GDP per capita show that this data is normally distributed as well. We can also here see that there are 8 countries on both side of the mean. The skewness for GDP per capita is close to zero (0,08) and therefor the distribution is close to symmetric.For population density we have 10 countries underneath the mean. This will imply that the data is not perfectly normally distributed. We can also see that mean (151) and the median (118) differs a bit too much too be normally distributed. Since the mean is higher than the media it suggest that the mean is affected by the high extreme values in the distribution like South Korea. The skewness for population density is 0,94, this show that the distribution is skewed to the right. It is important to remember that the data sample is less than 30 and therefor it makes it difficult to determine if the data is normally distributed or not.In all the 3 different data’s we see that the range is high, this is due extreme values on both sides of the mean (countries in totally different stages when it comes to wea lth, industry, population, size and general development). The high spread within the distribution will therefor lead to and high S. D, it’s also important to notice that the sample is relative small and will not give a totally correct picture. Correlation First we will start with to calculate the Pearson correlation coefficient to measure the linear association between the two variables in hypothesis 1. 1 and 1. 2.After that we will test the significant of the correlation coefficient. The reason we will use the Pearson correlation coefficient instead of Spearman correlation coefficient is that the data are continuous and in ratio scale. sx=x2-nx2n-1 sy=y2-ny2n-1 sxy=i=1n(xi-x)(yi-y)n-1 rxy= sxysxsy t=r1-r2n-2~tn-2 For the calculation see table 1 and 2 in the appendix. The table and the graph 1. 1 show that there is a strong relationship between Co2 emission per capita and GDP (0,7319). In graph 1,2 and the table we see that Co2 and population density have a weak negative corr elation (-0,3118).Further on we will need to use a t-test in order to determine the significant of the correlation coefficient and to find out if we are going to keep or reject our hypothesis 1. 1 and 1. 2. critical value of t: t(n-2,? 2)=t(14,0. 25)=Â ±2,145 (with 95% confidence interval) The t value in the table shows that there is a significant relationship between Co2 emission per capita and GDP since 2,145

Breeder’s Own Pet Foods, Inc. Essay

Breeder’s Own Pet Foods, Inc. sees a growth opportunity in the retail dog food market for its nutritionally balanced, high quality dog food brand Breeder’s Mix, which has been traditionally sold to the show dog kennel market. The dog food consists of 85% fresh meat and 15% high quality fortified cereal with no additives or preservatives (Kerin and Peterson, 2013). One of the challenges for Breeder’s Own is breaking into an already saturated market. However, based on recent interest from dog food owners in organic, all natural, preservative free dog foods, Breeder’s Own can capitalize on this market share with their product, Breeder’s Mix. Initially, Breeder’s Mix would be marketed in the Boston, Massachusetts’s area since this area is representative of national averages for pet ownership and expenditures for pet products. Breeder Mix would be distributed to supermarkets since 36% of all dog foods sales come from supermarkets (Kerin and Peterson, 2013). Problem IdentificationTraditionally, dog food is produced as dry, canned, or treats. Breeder’s Mix is a nutritionally balanced frozen dog food. Since the food must be located in the frozen section of supermarkets, one marketing strategy will be to educate dog owners to shop for dog food in a non-traditional location. A second challenge will be to convince the target audience that Breeder’s Mix is a better and healthier product for their pet than the traditional dry or canned food. Since Breeder’s Own Pet Foods is a relative unknown name in the retail dog food market, it does not have brand equity, meaning it is not recognizable or well known for having superior quality. Lack of brand equity presents an additional challenge of convincing a target audience to purchase a new product. Currently, the competition consists of five major companies who dominate the market and account for 75% of all dog foods sales. There are over 350 dog food brands in the United States p roduced by about 50 different manufacturers (Kerin and Peterson, 2013). With such a saturated market, Breeder’s Own will need to have an aggressive advertising campaign in order to establish brand recognition. Root Problem ComponentsThe primary root problem component is establishing brand recognition. Breeder’s own will need to accomplish this  through creating an identity the public can identify with, pricing strategies, and making the public aware of Breeder’s Mix high quality ingredients. Once a company had established positive brand equity, it becomes easier to introduce a new product since consumers will associate that product with a successful brand. Breeder’s Own needs to evaluate who their target audience is. The majority of consumers do not associate dog food with frozen food. Furthermore, frozen dog food may not appeal to the average consumer due to the preparation and thawing requirements. Another root problem component would be convincing the supermarkets to give up valuable freezer space to showcase Breeder’s Mix.SWOT MatrixStrengths: †¢ Nutritionally balanced, high quality dog food †¢ Consists of fresh meat 85% and high quality fortified cereal 15% – no additives or preservatives †¢ Breeder’s Mix has been used by show dogs in kennel market and has been recommended by dog show owners for years. †¢ Improvement in dog’s coat †¢ Uncooked to retain nutrition and frozen to maintain freshness. | Opportunities: †¢ Opportunity to be the first to tap into frozen dog food market. Would be the only dog food located in the freezer section, so if you can educate consumers to shop for dog food in the frozen food section, Breeder’s Own would have a competitive advantage. †¢ Opportunity to educate consumers on health benefits for pets by eating nutritionally balanced food. †¢ Opportunity to capitalize on grow ing popularity of premium, higher quality, higher priced dog food. †¢ Opportunity to lay groundwork for national rollout of Breeder’s Mix. |Weaknesses: †¢ Lack of availability in all stores †¢ Lack of appeal to consumers due to thawing time / freezer space (convenience) †¢ Lack of appeal to supermarkets due freezer location †¢ Lack of brand equity in retail market †¢ Premium price | Threats: †¢ Store Location – Consumer must be educated to find product in different area of store †¢ Saturated market – sales top 14 million in 2011. Dog food is also heavily advertised, so the challenge is to entice the consumer to buy Breeder’s Mix. †¢ Competition – 5 major brand name dog food companies dominate market with 75% of US dog food sales †¢ Challenge to get supermarkets to give up valuable freezer space for dog food |Evaluation of AlternativesBreeder’s Own Pet Foods product development strategy should be evaluated. Currently only 1 out of 10 dog owners regularly buy f rozen or refrigerated dog food and  ¾ of those surveyed expressed no interest in  purchasing frozen dog food (Kerin and Peterson, 2013). This indicates that there is a limited market for dog owners who would be interested in a product such as Breeder’s Mix. Research does suggest however that frozen dog food dollar volume is increasing annually indicating there is a strong opportunity for Breeder’s Own to be the first to tap into the frozen dog food market in the Boston area. Breeder’s Own Dog Foods needs a strong marketing campaign to convince consumers their brand is superior to traditional dry or canned dog foods. In order to attract customers, Breeder’s Own should emphasize the hallmark characteristics of its brand such as superior all natural quality ingredients and the ability to produce a luxurious fur coat on the pet. By emphasizing the superior quality, Breeder’s Own will be able to capitalize on the guilt concept of â€Å"shouldn’t your dog eat as well as you do†. Since consumers do not typically associate dog food with frozen food, consumers will need to be ed ucated to shop for dog food in a different location in the store. This will be a key component in the advertising strategy for both print and electronic media. Offering various coupon promotions would be a way to direct consumers to the freezer isle in order to get a discounted product. The lack of competition in the freezer section may also draw attention to the product.RecommendationBreeder’s Own should implement the higher advertising expenditure plan devised by Marketing Momentum Unlimited utilizing both print and television mediums with a few adjustments. Average advertising expenditures in the dog food industry is 2% of sales (Kerin and Peterson, 2013). In order for Breeder’s Own to gain brand equity, it may initially need to spend more in advertising dollars to increase awareness of their unique product. Target Market – The suggested target audience for Breeder’s Mix should be adjusted to affluent families, singles, and married couples between the age of 21-54. Due to the view that pets are members of the family, the target audience should be aimed primarily towards people who treat their dogs as they would one of their children. The target audience would also be those who spend a significant amount of money on their pets annually and believe the health and welfare of their dog is of highest importance and therefore is willing to spend more to get the best for their pet. Price Point – Breeder’s Mix should be priced competitively compared to other premium brands. Therefore, it is recommended that Breeder’s Own  charge a premium price for their product to reflect the high quality of the product that the consumer is purchasing. Typically, more affluent families who view their pets as part of the family will be willing to spend more to ensure their pet receives the best. However, the price point may be too high for the average consumer who buys dog food at the grocery store. Distribution – The one advantage to distributing Breeder’s Mix to grocery stores would be lack of competition for a frozen dog food product. The downside would be the lack of convenience and appeal to the average dog food consumer. The food takes time to prepare due to thawing time and it takes up valuable household freezer space. With the majority of dog owners preferring dry dog food, price and convenience may trump superior quality ingredients. Therefore, instead of distributing Breeder’s Mix to supermarkets, the distribution should be adjust ed to cater to pet specialty stores, pet superstores such as PetSmart and Petco, and veterinarian offices. The distribution could even be expanded to whole food stores who promote healthy lifestyles. The test market should also be expanded beyond Boston to other select cities in order to prepare for a national roll-out of Breeder’s Mix. Advertising – Advertising will be a key component to the successful introduction of Breeder’s Mix. Breeder’s Own should focus on the benefits of the Breeder’s Mix Dog Food in comparison to other brands. It is also critical that the advertisements clearly show that Breeder’s Mix is found in the freezer section. Initial strategies should include focusing on product and brand identification. The media plan should include advertising in local newspapers and magazines such as Dog Fancy along with coupon promotions. The television ads should be adjusted to reach the target audience. Rather than advertising during late night timeslots such as during the Late Show with David Letterman, television advertisements should run during family programming, evening news, and channels such as HGTV and Animal Planet to reach the target audience. Online advertising is also a vital medium for Breeder’s Own to consider. Internet campaigns have the potential to reach a wider market than television since many people change the channel during a commercial. The Internet and social media is a major source for people to get information.Conclusion By marketing to people who consider dogs as part of the family, Breeder’s Own can be successful in the retail dog food market.   More and more consumers are investing extensive time and money into their pets. Breeder’s Mix offers pet owners the healthy benefits they desire for their dogs as well as noticed improvement in the dog’s coat. With the right marketing mix of newspapers, magazines, online advertising, and television, Breeder’s Own should be able to reach their target audience. They have a unique product in Breeder’s Mix to offer to the discerning dog owner who wants the best for their pet. References Kerin, R. A., Peterson, R. A. (2013). Strategic marketing problems cases and comments (13th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall

Construction; Roof and Intermediate Floors Essay

Construction; Roof and Intermediate Floors - Essay Example The roof covering may be metal sheets, wooden shingles, tiles, slates or slab itself. In this type of roof, steel bars and concrete are used to form a roof. Before construction, the thickness of slab, beam and reinforcement needs to be determined based on the span and loading conditions. This type of roof best suits the construction of the intermediate floor. The balance and strength needed for the support of an entire floor is made easy with this flat roof. Since the roof in question has a wide span it cannot be constructed with rafters alone. The roof has to be constructed with a structure comprising of frames known as trusses. The following illustration shows the general structure of such a roof. Houses of now are a lot better insulated because they have doors, windows and roofs which fit tightly and keep the temperature controllable. The air inside the house is kept warm by means of various techniques of circulating the air. A distinction is made on the type of roof based on the temperature it can keep. When the air inside the house remains warm it is known as a hot roof and vice versa. A hot roof allows for the air cavities to freeze and refreeze the snow or ice and in the process taking on the heat. The circulation of air into and out of the building must be moderated by an appropriate structural design. To assure this the construction has been fitted with â€Å"Quilt roof insulation between the† Joists. The housing structure is equipped with 75x50 wall plate with 30x2.5x600c/c girth galvanized m/s wall anchors nailed to block walls @1000 c/c (between windows) with 150 deep strip of XPM filled over plate as plaster key. Heavy horizontal beams or steel lintels are pressed 225mm deep to support the structure and roof. To accommodate for adequate insulation 75 thick c/s screed topping is placed on a 12mm polystyrene slab. (Simon Ã…  ilih, Miroslav Premrov and Stojan Kravanja, Faculty of Civil

Jarena Lee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Jarena Lee - Essay Example s within the journal that neither of her parents had been particularly religious, and that their lack of Christian faith meant that they had not bothered to teach her about the gospel and Jesus Christ. It is interesting to note that Mrs Jarena Lee contends that parents did not bring her up as a Christian due to their lack of religious beliefs rather than their lack of formal education, or their lowly social and economic status.1 Instead it is the women that live on Mr Sharp’s estate who decided to partially teach the seven year old Jarena Lee about the Christian gospel. They did not however fully convert her to Christianity. She did feel enough guilt about being caught lying as a child that she promised to herself that she would never tell another lie. According to her own journal attempting not to lie at all was still enough to give her meaningful intellectual, educational, psychological and theological experiences or turn her life around. Between the ages of seven and twenty-one the young Jarena Lee did not according to own journal experience anything to profoundly her alter or enhance her intellectual, educational, psychological and theological experiences. The Journal of Jarena Lee records that her spiritual experiences altered after she attended a sermon carried out b a Presbyterian preacher at a nearby school building when she was twenty-one years old during the year 1804. The sermon that she heard that day convinced her that she needed to accept and live by the Christian gospel and in that way achieve life altering religious not to mention spiritual experiences. The sermon and the words of the Presbyterian preacher effectively convinced Jarena Lee that she could only truly achieve worthwhile spiritual experiences by fully embracing evangelical Christianity. The experience of the sermon at the schoolhouse persuaded Jarena Lee to regularly attend church meetings, services, and sermons, strengthening her Christian faith.2 For Mrs Jarena Lee her

Derivative and Integral Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Derivative and Integral - Essay Example Let a is a number in the domain of f and Lim/h->0 [f(a+h)-f(a)]/h exists, then f is said to be differentiable at a. This limit is called the derivative of f at a and is denoted by f’(a).For all x at which f(x) is differentiable ,f’(x) is a function called the derived function of f(x) .The domain of f’(x) is the subset of f(x).f’(x) is sometimes called as the derivative or the differential coefficient of f(x) at x.The process of obtaining the derivative of f is called Differentiation.f’(x) is sometimes denoted by dy/dx or Dy   or Df(x) or d/dx f(x).2. EXAMPLEIf f(x) is a continuous function of x and if x varies, f(x) also varies correspondingly. But the variation in the function may not be uniform sometimes slowly and sometimes rapidly. Geometrically, this problem is equivalent of that of finding a tangent line to the graph of the function.The function F(x) is called the anti derivative of the function f(x) on the interval (a,b) if at all points of this interval F’(x)=f(x)Definition:Indefinite Integral: If the function F(x) is an anti derivative of f(x), then F(x) +c is called the indefinite integral of the function f(x).It is denoted by ∠«f(x)dx. Since c is an arbitrary constant the integral is reasonably referred to as indefinite integral.Thus by definition ,∠«f(x)dx= F(x)+ C if F’(x)=f(x).f(x) is called the integrand and c is called the constant of integration. x is the variable of integration. The process of obtaining the integral is called as Integration.Definite Integral:... Let >0 |f(x) - (13)| < Substitute f(x) = 5x+3 |5x+3 - (13)| < |5x-10|2 (5x+3)=13 PART 2 1. DERIVATIVE Let a is a number in the domain of f and Lim/h->0 [f(a+h)-f(a)]/h exists, then f is said to be differentiable at a. This limit is called the derivative of f at a and is denoted by f'(a).For all x at which f(x) is differentiable ,f'(x) is a function called the derived function of f(x) .The domain of f'(x) is the subset of f(x). f'(x) is sometimes called as the derivative or the differential coefficient of f(x) at x.The process of obtaining the derivative of f is called Differentiation. f'(x) is sometimes denoted by dy/dx or Dy or Df(x) or d/dx f(x). 2. EXAMPLE If f(x) is a continuous function of x and if x varies, f(x) also varies correspondingly. But the variation in the function may not be uniform sometimes slowly and sometimes rapidly. Geometrically, this problem is equivalent of that of finding a tangent line to the graph of the function. For Example, velocity is derived from the position function and acceleration is derived from the velocity function. Each of velocity at a point, acceleration at a point etc., is an instantaneous rate of change ,but not the average rate of change, which relates to a finite interval of space or time .This is obtained by applying the limit concept to the problem of determining the instantaneous rate of change of a function. This is done by finding the

The Masterpiece in Public Enemys Hip Hop Track Essay

The Masterpiece in Public Enemys Hip Hop Track - Essay Example The essay "The Masterpiece in Public Enemy’s Hip Hop Track" discusses the Public Enemy’s Hip Hop Track â€Å"Fight the Power†, one of the greatest musical works in history. The track features a hard, intense sound – one that is clearly different from the other hip-hop songs produced earlier. Produced in June 1989 as a single, at the request of Spike Lee, the track was to be used as the theme song to the movie ‘Do The Right Thing’. The movie focused on the racial tension that was then being experienced in Brooklyn, New York and in the rest of the United States of America. Contrary to what the title of the song literally suggests, â€Å"Fight the Power† was not about fighting the authorities that reigned at the time but rather it had all to do with fighting the abuse of powers by them. The abuse of power by white authorities led to oppression and violation of human rights. This song came at a very significant point in the history of the black people in America. Because after the Civil War of the 1960s that were believed to have ended racism, the song revealed the situation on the ground. It was believed that racism did not exist in the 1980s - a notion that is very far from the truth as racism had only taken another form. During the 80s, racism hurt mor e because most of the black people knew their rights and still experienced its harsh effects. According to the song, being black made one an enemy of the public. If a crime was committed in the U.S. during the 80s, the first suspects were the African Americans. Accusations against people were simply based on their race. The blacks were effectively considered to be guilty until proven innocent in spite of the fact that the law stated that one is innocent until proven guilty. The song urged people to talk against racism and make use of their right to freedom of speech (Lyrics Depot par. 1). The song noted that it was time to do the right thing; talk against all forms of racism. The right to freedom of speech for the black community had long been a foreign concept. The song urged the blacks to fight for their constitutional right to be respected unto death. The lyrics of the song state that â€Å"Our freedom of speech is freedom or death† (Lyrics Depot par. 1). The song also vie wed everybody as equal regardless of race, age and neighbourhood. The song â€Å"Fight the Power† addresses the issue of Blacks’ history. For a long time, it had been assumed in the U.S. that Blacks did not have a history, this in spite of the fact that they had been in existence for a long time. The heroes that were being recognized in one way or another and their pictures featuring on the stamps are the very ones that the Blacks could not relate with. In the song, one example of such heroes is Elvis who was considered to be the king of rock and roll (Lyrics

A Thousand Years Of Good Prayers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A Thousand Years Of Good Prayers - Essay Example He has great concerns about the welfare of life of his daughter living in a distant land as a divorcee and feels that he can contribute something tangible to lighten her burden. His intentions are good, but not to the liking of his daughter! This retired man from Beijing travels all the way to visit her in Spokane, Washington. She is working there as a librarian. He plans to stay with her till such time, he thinks, she is able find peace through her trauma. The generation gap strikes! The daughter is not much enamored with the ideas of her father. Father is hurt with the negative approach shown by his daughter for his efforts to what he considers as the reconstruction of her life. In that town, he meets an old woman who has fled from Iran to USA, after the revolution. Both of them know not much of English but human emotions score over their own languages, and rare friendship develops between the two. They find a unique unexplainable horizon of hope in life, without knowing what exactly they want from each other, except striking the nearness through each other’s trials and tribulations. The daughter, influenced by the western culture has practical ideas. She wishes to remarry and gets ready for it with a Russian man. In the end, the old woman is sent to a retirement home and the father and the daughter come to terms. The relationship between the daughter and father is normally intimate. But this story reveals why it is different, due to the cultural gap between the two. The father arrives from the rigidly governed Communist China, and the social values are shaped accordingly as per the directions of the State. The position is entirely different in USA, where personal freedom is topmost in the agenda of governance. On the one side the people live with the damaged psyche, women silently bear the desperation of lost love relationships and on the other side new experiments in love-relationships continue to happen without any restrictions from the

Ulysses S. Grant Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ulysses S. Grant - Research Paper Example At the college, he established repute as a daring and proficient horseman (Rice 12). During the Mexican-American conflict, Grant served under Generals Taylor Zachary and Scott Winfield, participating in the battles ofPalo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterrey, and Veracruz. Grant was brevetted twice for gallantry: at Chapultepec and Molino Del Rey and. On 31st July, 1854, Grant quitted from the military (Crow 56). On 24th April, 1861, 10 days following the collapse of Fort-Sumter, Commander Grant landed in Springfield, Illinois, together with a syndicate of men Grant had nurtured (Rice 12). The governor sensed that a West-Point man might be positioned to worthier use and assigned him as the 21st Illinois-Infantry colonel (effective 17th June, 1861) (Lagueux 47). In 7THAugust, Grant was chosenas the brigadier-general-of-volunteers (Rice 12).Ulysses Grant presented the Union-Army its leading major conquest of the American-Civil-War throughapprehending Fort of Henry, Tennessee, in 6thFebr uary of1862, and afterward Fort of Donelson, in which Grant demanded the well-known expressions of "unconditional surrender" as well as apprehended a Confederate military (Crow 56). ... river fortress, Mississippi, during 1863 is deemed to be the extremely masterful within soldierly history; it divided the Coalition in 2, and it embodied the 2ndmajor Confederate military to yield to Grant (Rice 12).Grant Ulysses was the deliverer of Union-forces besieged at Chattanooga, Tennessee, firmly beating Bragg Braxton and opening away to Atlanta, and Confederacy’s core (Crow 56). His disposition to fight as well ascapacity to win fascinated President Lincoln, who selected him as lieutenant-general, a novel rank newlysanctioned by the AmericanAssembly with Grant on mind—in 2 March, 1864 (Bunting 101). On 12thMarch, Grant Ulysses became the general-in-chief of the entireUnited States’ army (Perret 34). In March of 1864, Grant positioned Major Genera Sherman v William in immediate control of all Western forces and relocated his head office to Virginia whereinGrant turned his mind to the long- hindered Union endeavor to terminate the Robert Lee’s army ; his secondary aim was to seize the Confederate’s capital, Richmond, Virginia (Eicher 219). Despite the substantial losses, Grant established a nine-month restriction of Lee's militarywithin the city(Bunting 101). Grant dispatched Sheridan Philip to the Valley of Shenandoah to beat the Jubal’s army early and terminate the farms furnishing Lee (Perret 34). Grant's persistent pressure decisively forced Robert Lee to abandon Richmond and yield at Appomattox Court-House on 9th April, 1865 (Crow 56). Grant presented generous terms, which did plentiful to lessen the tensions amid the forces and safeguard some Southern pride semblancethat would be required to resolve the opposing sides (Eicher 219). In a few months, the American Civil-War was commendably over, though minor engagements carried on until Smith

Finance SLP5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Finance SLP5 - Essay Example The average Japanese stock pays less than one percent in annual dividends per year (Norris, 1995). In Japan the overall sad state of the economy has gotten better during 2008. The country had endured a 15 year span of basically no economic growth and was stuck in a climate that felt like a constant recession. The stock market completely bottom out, but finally there is light at the end of the tunnel. The fourth quarter numbers for 2007 demonstrate an economy on the rise, if the benchmark of GDP was annualized it reflects a Japanese annual economic growth of 3.7% (Hutchinson, 2008). The economy is one of the most influential factors in the behavior of a country’s stock market behavior. Despite that fact last year was another bad year for Japanese stocks. The SPDR Russell / Nomura index which reflects the value of smaller companies dropped 30% altogether last year (Hutchinson, 2008). The stock market in Japan is extremely risky. If an econometric statistical analyst was perform I’m sure the Beta coefficient for the marketplace is extremely high. There is still lots of uncertaintly over the long term performance of the Japanese stock market. The yen during the last year has not done well and has lost purchasing power against the dollar which is bad sign for Japanese stocks. Investing in a marketplace with high level of risk has its advantages for sophisticated and smart investor that can find hidden gems within all the chaos. It is basic economic that with high risk come high rewards which means that in stock market such the Japanese stock market there are great short gains to be made in many stocks in the marketplace. I would personally invest in the Japanese stock market place. As stated earlier there are opportunities to find high yield stocks in such a market. The smart move is to diversify and include a portfolio of blue chip U.S. stocks when attempting to make money in high risk

Medicare Prescription Drug Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Medicare Prescription Drug - Essay Example There are many reasons why changes to Medicare were deemed necessary One of the main reasons is that there had been an increase in the number of Americans who were uninsured. Numbers show that those without health insurance had increased by 2.4 million between 2002 and 2003 and stood at 43.6 million in 2003. Costs of health care have been consistently increasing due to various reasons such as expensive new technologies, overusing of equipments and devices, etc. There has been a need for reform in medical liability. It must be possible for patients to seek punitive damages. Legal system was being misused by lawyers. There was a gap in information sharing between nurses and doctors it had to be addressed and also doctors had to be assured that the information they share would not be used to sue them or the hospital. Health care industry had progressed in all aspects but failed to make progress in information technology. The methods of information management were still old school and he nce this had to be changed to improve the services. Therefore modernization of information technology was essential (Bell & Friedman, 2005). Projections said that Medicare would be bankrupt because of the baby boom generation. That is, the number of seniors has increased and in turn the Medicare costs. Even though Medicare was doing a decent job, it lacked flexibility. It did not offer many choices to its participants. It was to address these and many more issues that changes were necessary to Medicare. Main Provisions of the New Legislation and Accomplishment of Desired Goals Prescription drug coverage which enabling seniors to take the drugs they needed rather than being dictated by the government (Office of Legislation, 2004). Choice of individual health care plans that would best suit the individual’s needs. Freedom to choose the place, hospital and doctor along with the kind of care and treatment needed (Office of Legislation, 2004). To fully cover disease preventive mea sures such as cancer and diabetes screenings. Protect seniors from high costs that would burn a hole in their savings. The desired goals have been accomplished to a certain extent. There have been improvements made and the information technology system has certainly improved. Parties Involved In Setting the Agenda for This Policy Change and Their Roles, Interests and Influences Following were the main agenda setters: The then President and his administration (President Bush), AARP, The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, The National Institutes of Health, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Each of these agenda-setters have had interests and played a role in the policy change. President Bush and his team ensured that issue would not die down and continuously brought issue to the limelight through their campaigns. AARP too pushed for a universal drug coverage plan rather than those that would only be targeted at the poor (Campbel & Morgan, 2005). Controversies Sur rounding the Legislation and Claims of Supports and Detractors The legislation was controversial for two main reasons. One was that it needed seniors with higher incomes to pay more for coverage and there were billions of dollars that was needed to stop elimination of existing coverage for the retirees by the corporations. Another reason was that private insurance companies were now given a vast role in health care. Supporters of the bill claimed that modernizing of the Medicare will lead to a better system and

Human Resources Management in Business Essay Example for Free

Human Resources Management in Business Essay Human resources department is a part of business that deals with its staff. The department is seen as part of strategic management, in the effort to achieve the goals of the business, and is crucial to the businesss success. Some of the human resources departments responsibilities include recruitment, retention, selection, job enlargement/enrichment, motivation and leadership, job role allocations, training, and payroll appraisals. The departments decisions are influenced by, however, internal issues for workforce planning. One of the issues could be the cost of its operations. The business would want to minimize cost, so any decisions made by Human resources should be cost-effective. Another issue could be the companys business strategy, for example when the company want to expand, the Human resources department would have to recruit more employees; if the company wants to cut costs and increase profit, the department would have to consider reducing the number of staff. It is also responsible for training current employees for any new equipments. There are also external factors that affect how workforce planning is carried out. These external factors include government actions that affect the business environment. For example, the government can impose new minimum wages that would increase the Human resources departments spending on wages payment. The education situation of the country can also affect Human resources, as education is the means that workers gain their skills; without proper education, Human resources wouldnt be able to recruit highly skilled workers without paying large salaries or recruit foreign nationals. An important external factor is the economic situation of the economy. If unemployment rates are high, Human resources would be able to recruit new employees much easier and cheaper than when the economy is in boom, which makes labour more expensive. The age ranges of the labour force can affect Human resources decisions, since they dont want to recruit too old of employees who are going to retire soon. The business often want more young employees who can potentially contribute to the company for a long period of time, and can also be more innovative. Another external factor is technology advancements, as this may result in the introduction of new equipments into the company. The Human resources department would then have to organise training for their current staff to enable them to work with the newly acquired machineries. There are many benefits to Human Resources planning. One of the most important purpose of the Human Resources department is to motivate staff. This can be done by means of promotions, training, and rewards. Another benefit is that Human Resources help import important skills into the business through the process of recruitment. Human Resources would compose a recruitment process that selects the right people for the business. Without a Human Resources department, a firm cannot efficiently recruit employees that they need. Also, the department helps the business plan the right number of workers. They make sure that there are no redundancy or shortages of labour in the company, and if there is any, Human Resources would fix this either by cutting or recruiting staff. Human Resources department also ensures smooth operations in regards to labour management. This means they make sure that employees arrive when they are needed, and are allocated to the right tasks, and that each workers know their role within the business. In addition, they resolve whatever arguments that may arise between the workers and company management, making sure that the employees are clear of company regulations, and that management are clear of their workers conditions. Finally, the Human Resources department ensures that no laws are broken in regards to labour employment. For example, the recruitment process must not violate discrimination laws. All necessary laws are briefed to staff to ensure no illegal activities are conducted within the company. Before selecting staff for any position, key skills needed for that particular job need to be identified, creating a list of criteria for candidate selection. British Sugar is one of the largest provider of sugar products in the UK. Their Human Resources department has been directed to recruit three new production managers, as part of the companys expansion project in China. The Human Resources department has identified the key skills for a potential production manager: Confidence: the manager needs to be confident in handling large responsibilities, whether it be meeting production deadlines, ensuring worker safety etc. They need confidence to be able to make decisive actions, taking the initiative without too much dependence on higher directives. As they direct the production process, confidence is also needed for negotiating with suppliers, making the best deals for the factory. Technical skills: a production manager has to be sufficiently knowledgeable about the production technology of their factory, to be able to understand and resolve technical problems should they arise. Technical knowledge of a manager does not have to be detailed, but must be sufficient to issue correct directives to the factorys engineer force. High technical skills is preferred, as the manager will be more likely to be innovative in improving production methods of the firm. Communication skills: a good production manager is able to communicate to all different divisions of the company. They are quick to absorb information from different levels of the company, whether it be top management or floor workers, and then provide quick and effective feedback. Communication skills are crucial in a manager, as it helps him ensure the coordination between different elements of the company. Problem-solving skills: the production manager should be able to independently deal with problems within their factory. They will be extremely resourceful in coordinating factory or company-level efforts to solve problems. This requires an intelligent person that can improvise upon their resources to damage-control and reverse the problem and put the factory back onto its original course. Motivating staff is an important part of company operation, as it ensure the employees do their best and be productive while working for the company. There is a variety of reasons why employees would want to work harder in their working environment. Such reasons could be money, bonuses, power, working with friends, social aspects of work, the need to provide for family, promotion, team work, and promotion. Frederick Taylor’s theory of motivation simply stated that all workers are worked by money. This means that in order to better motivate employees, the employer simply just has to raise their pay, and this would make them work harder. Taylor introduced the Theory of Scientific Management, which said that workers are naturally lazy and need close supervisions and control. The theory also says that managers should break down work to the simplest tasks to their employees. Workers also need adequate training and equipment to perform their simple tasks as efficiently as possible, then they would be paid according to the amount of products they had produced. The theory is often applied in mass production lines which involves repetitive tasks. Elton Mayo later introduced a new theory of motivation of his own. He believed that money is only part of the worker’s concern, and social needs are more important in motivating workers at their work place. Mayo published the Human Relation school of thought, which encourage managers to focus more on social interactions between workers. Mayo went further in his studies and conducted his own experiment at the Hawthorne factory in Chicago. From these series of experiments, he concluded that although physical conditions worsened, they do not affect the productivity of the Hawthorne workers. Instead, social factors such as better communication between workers and managers, better involvement in employees’ lives from their manager, and team work was what improved productivity levels. In the 1950s, Abraham Maslow introduced the Neo-Human Relation school of thought. This new theory focus on the employee’s psychological needs, which are structured into five different levels of needs. The theory says that once a lower level of needs is satisfied, would then the worker could be motivated by an upper level of needs. These levels of needs in lower to higher order are physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualisation respectively. Managers also need to realise that each worker moves up this ladder at a different pace, and therefore might need different sets of incentives from worker to worker. In financial-related type of motivations, the most common motivation is salaries and wages. Salaries are what permanent employees are paid monthly or annually. Wages, on the other hand, is what is paid to workers per hour they have worked. These can motivate the employees, for the harder they work, the more they would earn. A piece rate system is when an employee is paid a fixed rate for each unit of production; In other words, they are paid by results, which motivate them to achieve better results. Commission and fees are similarly dependent on the results of the workers. Commission is a percentage of the sale revenue, and fees are fixed amounts that are earned after sale. The more the employee sells, the more commission or fees they get, motivating them to sell more. Fringe benefits are any non-wage payment or benefit such as pension plans, profit-sharing programs, vacation pay, and company-paid life, health, and unemployment insurance. Having these extra benefit with their jobs can make the employees feel more secure and work harder. Performance-related pay or pay by performance is money paid relating to how well the employee works. This would motivate them by giving them knowledge that the better they perform in their field, the better their assessment would be and the more they would be paid. Profit sharing is another way of motivating staff, it consists of a plan that gives employees a share in the profit of the company. Each employee receives a percentage of those profit based on the companys earnings. This makes staff work harder, knowing the more their company earns, the more they would get in shared profit. Share ownership is when employees who have worked in the company for a long time are given part of the business as shares. These shares would give the employees power, and they get to take part deciding how the company is run. Other than financial motivations, there are non-financial ones that could boost motivation while costing minimal for the business. Job redesign involves restructuring the elements including tasks, duties and responsibilities of a specific job in order to make it more encouraging and inspiring for the employees. Job enlargement is basically increasing the employees work load, so that they feel more responsible and work harder. Job rotation is when employees are moved between two or more jobs in a planned manner. The purpose of this is to expose the employees to different experiences and wider variety of skills to enhance job satisfaction and to cross-train them. Job enrichment is a variation of job enlargement. Job enrichment adds new sources of job satisfaction by giving the employee additional authority, autonomy, and control over the way the job is accomplished. Team work is a Cooperative effort by the members of a group or team to achieve a common goal. Working in a team may motivate employees to do better to fulfill their part on the team. External link for employees motivating can be found here: http://www. forbes. com/sites/glennllopis/2012/06/04/top-9-things-that-ultimately-motivate-employees-to-achieve/ The fundamental method which British Sugar would use to motivate their staff is to make them feel safe. Feeling safe would clear the employees minds from external worries, helping them to focus more on their tasks and try harder to achieve. This method would include providing their employees with adequate facilities to work in. This means that British Sugars factories and offices would to the most basic safety regulations such as fire safety, electrical safety, and protection from hazardous conditions inside their factories. British Sugar would also make sure that their facilities have appropriate security measures to protect employees and their possessions safe. This method of motivation is one of the most basic levels of Maslows hierarchy of needs. Another method that British Sugar uses is providing extra employee benefits beside their regular salaries and wages. They would give company cars for manager and directors, along with free O2 mobile phones. British Sugar also looks after their employees by providing them with free healthcare in the form of free check-ups with company nurse, eyesight tests and glasses, and subsidised scheme with AXA. Families of employees can also enjoy company benefits with provided child vouchers and team meals for spouses. British Sugar’s factory workers are also provided with free safety work wear. There are numerous other benefits that employees can enjoy working for British Sugar, which includes sports clubs, gym facilities, free parking†¦etc. A popular method of motivation from Taylor’s school of thought is recognition. British Sugar would give out tokens of appreciation and to recognise employees/teams that have made a significant contribution over and above that reasonably expected. Company managers would award their employees with vouchers, meals, bouquet of flowers, or bottles of wine to boost their work morale. Long Service Awards are given to employees with significant length of service. Annual bonuses of ? 400, ? 600, ? 800, and ? 900 are given to employees who have served 20, 30, 40, or 45 years in the company respectively. British Sugar also use chances of promotion to encourage their employees. This is a process known as internal recruitment. When a position is open, employees are often promoted to fill the position instead of recruiting new people externally. This keeps the employees motivated to work harder, knowing there are chances of future promotion. Another method of motivation used by British Sugar is performance management. Performance management is a proactive and continuous process of communicating and clarifying role responsibilities, performance expectations and priorities in order to ensure mutual understanding between managers and employees. To ensure the proper functioning of the business, British Sugar would have to maintain a high level of cooperation and satisfaction in its employees. Making employees cooperate would increase productivity, reduce labour turnover, and make sure that they can maintain the quantity and quality of work they are capable of. One of the methods of doing this is by communication. This method involves staying in touch with the staff to make sure they are updated with company information. When staff have the information that they need for their job, they will be more likely to be oriented towards their tasks, and be able to do it correctly and more efficiently. Communication with employees can be done by many means. It includes emails, which are quick, efficient, and reliable. Face-to-face communication is an important form of communication, often in the form of meetings; however it has time and distance limitations , for example a manager might not have the time to see all of his employees to talk about new policies, while he could just send them all an email. There are other methods such as telephone calls, which can be made easily over long distance or face-time technology that allows employees to communicate despite the long distance. Another way of improving employees cooperation and commitment in the business is making them more involved in it. In British sugar, this is know as the â€Å"quality circle†. British Sugar would engage its employees group discussions, where groups of workers meet and discuss the good and bad side of the issues that they face. The employees would try to resolve their problems together, and discuss ways to improve how they work and how the company works. This method generates a feeling of involvement, employees would feel that they are a contributing part of a team, and therefore view their work more positively and become more inclined to cooperate with other employees as well as the company managers. Clear employment contracts also help boost staff cooperation and commitment. A clear contract would have to explicitly explain the details of the job, such as explaining the roles and duties that the employee is expected to carry out, along with the hours of work required. The business would also need clearly identified procedures such as disciplinary policies or grievance policies. A clear pay structure that explains basic time as well as overtime is essential. All of these will reduce arguments in the company, enabling more efficiency and cooperation within the business. Motivational methods are a way of getting more cooperation from staff. Motivated employees would perform better while feeling better about their prospects than demotivated ones, therefore cooperating more in their work. Similarly, training and charity links should also be used to boost the morale of workers. Training would increase the employees motivation and performance, as well as charitable activities such as helping out the local community. A well-motivated workforce with high morale is more likely to cooperate with the company and to each other. The culture of the business itself will also affect how its employees cooperate. If the company has a culture of cooperation and an atmosphere of teamwork, then the employees are more likely to have more cooperation in their work. Training in a large organisation such as British Sugar is carried out extensively. An example of British Sugars training operation is their Graduate scheme, a scheme in which British Sugar finds apprentice in universities. The company would offer university graduates a period of vocational training, with the assurance of a job at the end of their training, in addition to have year-long job placements for engineering students. British Sugar also organises over 1000 training courses every year involves all levels from senior managers to new apprentices and our seasonal workers. The company encourages its sites to play an active role in local communities through media visits, schools activities, agricultural and environmental events. British Sugar have regular dialogues with leading and local non-government organisations. They also organise sponsorships and charitable funds, allocated to their employee fundraising activities through a Supporting YOU to support others programme. Measuring the workforce can be done by a number of ways. This is generally looking at the key indicators in the business workforce such as labour productivity, health and safety, labour turnover and absenteeism. Labour productivity is how much the workers produce in terms of goods and services per hour worked. In the business, it can be measured by looking at the efficiency of individual or teams. However, this method should be used with cation, because there are factors that could affect labour productivity such as the age of machinery, type of sector that the business is in or whether production is automated or labour-intensive. If machineries are old, they wouldnt be able to produce as much, therefore being the cause of low labour productivity. A business in the secondary sector would be more productive than one in the tertiary sector since manufacturing makes more products than service. Similarly, a business that has automated production will be much more productive than one with labour-intensive production, since machines are able to mass produce more products than individual workers. A business can try to improve labour productivity by using motivational tools such as bonuses. Training can also be used to add productivity to workers, and business plans help staff work more efficiently. The business can also buy new equipments to improve productivity of their workers. Another measurement is health and safety. As it is one of the motivational factor, the quality of health and safety at the workplace can affect the staff. The better the health and safety standard, the better the staff will perform. The business must consider the possible causes of poor health and safety, such as poor equipment, dangerous environment and also the poor training in the matter. Labour turnover can also be used to measure a companys workforce. Labour turnover is the proportion of staff leaving the business over a period of time, usually each year. A company can lose their staff due to de-motivation, retirement, social factors, better opportunity elsewhere ,or that the employee wants to start their won business. Staff leaving can also be involuntarily as their positions become redundant or they are fired due to performance. A high labour turnover is generally not good because it spawns many problems such as the loss of productive capacity, the costs and the time taken to recruit new staff, and the extra training and induction programmes to new employees. However, new staff can bring benefits such as introduction of new ideas to the business, or more efficient workers. Absenteeism is another measurement to the companys workforce, as it tells managers how much their staff go on break from work. This can be a substantial problem for the business, because production output will suffer if employees are absent, projects will run into delays, and the quality of products affected due to the lack of staff. There are many other costs associated with absent staff, such as sick pay, and temporary staff pay, which is often expensive. Absenteeism also cause de-motivation in the business, as other employees will have to take the work load of the absent employees. To lower the level of absenteeism, the business can issue fines to absent staff, improve the safety of the work environment so staff would want to be at work, and improve their motivational methods. British Sugar uses a range of performance indicators to evaluate and improve their performance. SMART targets are a set of criteria that are based on the specific words: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-specific. These criteria are applied in the process of making goals and objectives, to maximise the business chances of obtaining them. Punctuality is the characteristic of being able to complete a required task or fulfill an obligation before or at a previously designated time. Attendance is the frequency with which a person is present. An appraisal system, or performance management, is a proactive and continuous process of communicating and clarifying role responsibilities, performance expectations and priorities in order to ensure mutual understanding between managers and employees. It is very useful as it is both a motivational strategy and a review system where mangers can assess their employees. The appraisal system would fulfill the employees social and recognition needs according Maslow theories, motivating to work harder to achieve more and be more recognised. The system is not without flaws, however. The appraisal system can be very costly, requiring a lot of administrative work, and is time-consuming. It is also exposed to favouritism. Managers can tend to trust and praise some employees more than others, causing distrust discontentment among team members.

Savannah State Parking Essay Example for Free

Savannah State Parking Essay It’s common for a commuter or resident student to be on campus at Savannah State and not find a parking space. Parking has been a huge issue on campus lately. Nobody appears happy with the rules and regulations for student drivers. â€Å"It’s just not enough parking spaces,† freshman Morgan Walden said. â€Å"They tell us to buy decals, but when we buy them it’s still nowhere to park on this campus. I don’t see the point to spend my money when I don’t get the benefit that it’s supposed to be used for. † There are four different types of parking categories on SSU’s campus; orange for resident, blue for commuter, brown for faculty, and black for reserved. Decals are sold to determine where he or she may park around campus. In between classes I don’t have a place to park my car, and I can’t wait for the bus transportation to pick me up on time,† SSU commuter student Kim Wilson said. She feels like it forces her to park in areas where she may receive a ticket. Many drivers fear the idea of getting their vehicle either ticketed or booted while on campus. More tickets are given in the start of the fall semester, Robert Lemons said. Lemons oversee the writing of tickets and issuing of tire boots on campus. He also stated most tickets are given when students park in a reserved space or on the yellow curb and he alone issues about 10-20 tickets a day himself. Lemons has 3 student officers that work under him. Other schools have different ways of dealing with parking problems, although they also give tickets and boots. â€Å"Early in the morning most of the parking spaces are taken,† Georgia Southern student Kirvin Roberts said. GSU has about five different areas they are allowed to park at on campus. Their parking passes cost $120. They face a limited number of parking spaces like Savannah States which causes students to park in places where they aren’t supposed to. That is how their tickets accumulate. All fines are $30 and if you receive over $100 in tickets their vehicle will be booted. Savannah State is not the only campus that could use more parking spaces. The most recent addition to the campus was adding a new parking lot located where the old tennis courts was positioned. If there were more parking spaces that students were able to park their car, it would reduce the number of tickets giving out on campus on a daily basis.

Corporate Environment: Bharti Airtel

Corporate Environment: Bharti Airtel The report looks at analyzing the corporate environment and the market forces that influence the functioning of Bharti Airtel in Indian telecomm industry. It has been observed that the political scenario of the country primarily affects the telecomm sector. Also, economic factors like the unemployment rate and foreign direct investments play a crucial role here. Though Airtel faces a cut-throat competition, it mains its competitive edge on its rivals by the adoption of better customer management, new technologies and focusing on its corporate social responsibilities. It has also been deduced from research that the power of supplier of Airtel is Moderate, whereas the buyers posses a stronger hold as compared to Airtel. Furthermore, it is observed that the company faces negligible threat of new entrants into the oligopolistic market as the entry barriers are significantly high. The threat of substitutes is also quite low since Airtel has adopted the latest technologies available and exhibits this trend thereby eliminating the risk of customer shifting their focus to other kinds of products. The report finally draws a conclusion based on the above mentioned factors. Introduction Background Bharti Airtel Limited, a leading global telecommunications company spans its operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa. It offers mobile voice data services, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH, turnkey telecomm solutions for enterprises and national international long distance services to carriers. Ranked as the sixth best performing Technology Company in the world, Bharti Airtel has 200 million customers across its operations. (www.businessweek.com) Since its establishment in 1985, Bharti Airtel has been an establishing force in the telecomm sector with many innovations to its credit, which range from being the first mobile service in Delhi, first private basic telephone service provider in the country, first Indian company to provide comprehensive telecomm services outside India in Seychelles and first private sector service provider to launch National Long Distance Services in India. Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited was integrated on July 7, 1995 for the purpose of promoting investments in telecommunications services. Its subsidiaries are operating telecomm services across India. Bharti Airtels operations are mainly handled by two companies: the Mobility group, handling the mobile services in 16 circles out of a total 22 circles across the country; and the Infotel group, handling the NLD,ILD, fixed line, broadband, data, and satellite-based services. In mobile service industry, Bhartis footprint ranges across 15 circles. The strat egic objective of Bharti Tele-Ventures is to capitalize on the growth opportunities which the company believes are available in the Indian telecommunications market and strengthen its position to be the foremost integrated telecomm services provider in the Indian key markets, with a prime focus on providing mobile services(www.airtel.in). Macro-Economic forces- PEST Analysis: Political and Legal Government of India exercises its control over the telecomm market through its authoritarian bodies one Called as TRAI (Telephone Regulatory Authority of India) founded in 1997, and DOT (Department of Telecommunications) founded in 1989. As on May 1994 NTP(New Telecomm Policy) announced its intention to open basic telecomm services to the private sector so they form these authorities and issue licenses for six circles for basic telecomm services.(Demand for telephone usage in India , Information Economics and Policy, Volume 11, Issue 2, July 1999, Pages 177-194 Pinaki Das, P. V. Srinivasan http://www.trai.gov.in/Default.asp). One of the main objectives of TRAI is to provide a fair and transparent policy environment which promotes a level playing field and facilitates fair competition. The directions, orders and regulations issued cover a wide range of subjects including tariff, interconnection and quality of service as well as governance of the Authority. (http://www.trai.gov.in/aboutus.asp) TRAI also plays a major role in the allocation and auctions of spectrum given to the service providers. (Spectrum auctions in India: lessons from experience, Telecommunications Policy, Volume 25, Issues 10-11, October-November2001, Pages 671-688 R. S. Jain). Although, spectrum is the most important resource for the company yet, it is important for the authorities to check and ensure the following targets ensuring efficient use of it and promoting competition in services (Falch Tadayoni, 2004) The Telecomm Commission and the Department of Telecommunications are responsible for policy formulation, licensing, wireless spectrum management, administrative monitoring of PSUs, research and development and standardization/validation of equipment etc. (http://www.dot.gov.in/profile.htm) Political scenario of country has a strong effect on company. Moreover, total Indian telecomm industry is based on the rules and regulations of authorities governed by political ministers. So in case of a political overturn, the aftermath would reflect in the companys stability and could work in favor or against it. . Economic Airtel -Boon to Indian economy India now has the third largest telecommunications network in the world (Telecomm Regulatory Authority of India, 2005b) Bharti Airtel spent more than INR122.9546 billion in acquiring the pan India license. The company is Indias largest network service provider. Earlier, the inflation rates of Airtel were very high but now in the present scenario Bharti Airtel registered a growth of 21% to Indian Economy. (Annual Report 2008, 09, 10) http://www.tradingeconomics.com Unemployment High unemployment rate (From 4.3% in 2000-02 it has jumped to 5% in 2004-06) leads to poorer consumer spending, due to which users are not able to spend on mobile services and that leads to low revenue for company. http://www.tradingeconomics.com Investment Opportunity Bharti Airtel provides the best investment opportunities to the investors. The company recorded the highest growth rate of 37.2% in urban and 62% in rural areas amongst operators in 2009-10. Bharti Airtel posted a growth of 4.25% in 2009-10 fiscal with revenues of INR418295 million (Annual Report, 2009). Airtel provides the BRAND in Relation within the market so it is a good decision to invest in Airtel. Airtel always comes up with new schemes ideas and launches new products in the market. http://www.tradingeconomics.com Foreign Direct Investment and Domestic Investment Investment from foreign companies increases the quality of infrastructure and services provided by the company and that affect the decision scenario of customers. Hence telecomm industry not only effected by domestic but also from foreign investment of FII (Foreign Institutional Investors). SingTel, Warburg Pincus is amongst the key investors of Bharti Airtel. In Basic, Cellular Mobile, Paging and Value Added Service, and Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite, Composite FDI permitted is 74% (49% under automatic route) subject to grant of license from Department of Telecommunications subject to security and license conditions. (para 5.38.1 to 5.38.4 of consolidate FDI Policy circular 1/2010 of DIPP http://www.dot.gov.in/osp/Brochure/Brochure.htm). Moreover, Company attracts equity investments from National Telecomm Projects of about US$ 460 million. This investment in company shows a strong confidence of Indian government http://www.tradingeconomics.com Foreign Exchange Reserves Bharti, Indias biggest mobile phone company had an agreement to buy the African assets of the Kuwait-based mobile-phone company Zain, will be signed within days, Zain said in a statement today. The purchase would be the largest overseas acquisition by an Indian company since 2007. (Businessweek, news, mar10) [http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-25/india-s-stocks-advance-bharti-airtel-gains-on-zain-agreement.html] http://www.tradingeconomics.com Social Environment Responsibilities Indias language, religions, and customs differ from place to place within the country, but nevertheless possess a commonality. The culture of India is an amalgamation of these diverse sub-cultures spread all over the Indian subcontinent and traditions that are several millennia old. Indian culture is defined by relatively strict social hierarchy. Airtel is extremely proud to support a range of local places in line with our commitment to our Corporate Social Responsibilities. Environment Airtel is committed in managing business in an environmentally responsible manner reducing our carbon footprint and protecting the natural environment are high on our CSR agenda. This is a relatively new area of social awareness. Community Airtel recognizes the importance of supporting and educating members of the community in order to help them to experience life to the fullest, and is committed to providing opportunities for learning and development. The company actively promotes initiatives which it believes to be of benefit to our society, and in the future, aims to continue to build upon these. Considering Local community in mind the company has introduced courses at GTA and Highlands universities.(www.airtel.in/annualreport ) Socio Responsibilities Company took some decent steps as a loyal citizen of India. For any country; its growth depends upon the education percentage of country and Indian literacy rate is a bit low. Considering this, Airtel is providing quality education to poor and underprivileged children. Moreover, it set a target to educate 100,000 children in due course of time. Currently, the company is educating 30,000 students with the help of its employees and 1,200 private teachers in 236 schools. (Annual Report, 2010) Technological Companys infrastructure is always equipped with latest telecomm technologies. It has been the trend of the company to be in top position among its competitors regarding technologies, as Indian market shows a rapid growth that can only be paired with latest technology. Based on the writers common knowledge, Airtel is the first company to launch roaming and value added services in country. Company is having the best E-commerce portal in industry. Moreover, except government firm (BSNL) length of its optical fiber network is the largest. Apart from all of the above mentioned technological benefits, the company is also involved in new generation fields like Broadband and long distance call services. It can be easily understood by analyzing the number of customers of company that in todays world the customer is more concerned about service and technology and Airtel is no.1 in terms of users. (as shown in below Graph) Airtel-Porter Five Forces According to Michael E. Porter in his article The Five Competitive Forces that Shape Strategy In essence, the job of the strategist is to understand and cope with competition. Often, however, managers define competition too narrowly, as if it occurred only among todays direct competitors. Yet competition for profits goes beyond established industry rivals to include four other competitive forces as well: customers, suppliers, potential entrants, and substitute products. The extended rivalry that results from all five forces defines an industrys structure and shapes the nature of competitive interaction within an industry. (Harvard Business Review, January, 2008, p.25.) 1. Threat of New Entrants Low While fact suggests companies normally find it hard to recognize the new emerging competitors in their market but that is not the case in the mobile operator industry. Since the mobile phone operators had to compete for spectrum licenses, and in India all spectrum licenses are provided by a government organization TRAI. So, Companies can easily identify their rivals in the individual markets. Moreover, it is very costly to enter the market for new players. The arrangement requisite to launch a network operator is complex in terms of resources and infrastructure .To start with, an network operator is required to have the sufficient Tools (in the form of different softwares), mobile base stations, switching centers and the most important license for bandwidth. A heavy amount of money needs to be spent on promotions advertising as well as on manpower, security and transportation. As Airtel is providing the best services in its market so any new competitor has to pay out a decent amount to compete with similar services and network quality. However, India still need to invest 12.5% of GDP till 2015 more in infrastructure to reach international level as of china.( World Bank, 2006 ) http://www.tradingeconomics.com The threat of new entrants bringing additional production capacity should be downplayed in this industry, because technology should assumed to be similar and thus new entrants do not necessarily bring additional production capacity, nor does their entry hold consumer cost down. The fixed-line operators and VOIP do however present a risk to mobile phone operators, because they will certainly provide extra production capacity and lower the consumer costs as a result of this competition. In spite of all the above stated problems, a risk of sharing your market space with a new rival is always there. India became a lucrative market in telecomm after global slowdown; many of the foreign companies are approaching here to setup their business in this industry. Also some mobile phone manufacturers (recently Videocon) expanding their business to become network operators. Also a new entry can cause price war between companies as reduction of price is only option to sustain on top because in India call duration and distance both are combined to produce a unit call.( Munoz, 1996 Demand for telephone usage in India Information Economics and Policy, Volume 11, Issue 2, July 1999, Pages 177-194 Pinaki Das, P. V. Srinivasan). 2. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Moderate As long as Airtel is considered it is a service based company. According to Indian Telecomm market conditions, requirement of input source is high but the number of suppliers is also high so considering current situation supplier power is not that lofty. Mobile phone manufacturers are the primary supplier to the company. There are number of mobile phone manufacturers like Nokia, Ericsson, Samsung, LG, HTC and Motorola in the market. Airtel has collaboration with some big manufacturing giants (Blackberry and Nokia) to reduce suppliers hold in the company. Moreover, some big firms like Reliance and Tata even have their own manufacturing units of mobile phones. That constitutes the low supplier power. However, network operators are not a major customers for the supplier group since the suppliers have direct approach to consumers and they work in far more international level markets than the mobile phone operators. Also, Mobile phone manufacturers could combine into the industry and may start their own services. Moreover, in India the mobile manufacturing brands are more valuable to customers than the network operators as mobile phone characterize their status. That constitutes High bargaining power of suppliers. The other major suppliers for company are NSN and Ericsson for mobile services and network equipment e.g. BTS, jumper cables and antennas again NSN, Cisco and Alcatel for Telemedia services. IT service is provided by IBM who also outsource in call centre services with Hinduja. As table-1 Shows Company is not relying on a single supplier and had multiple supplier firms for single task either it is hardware software equipments or out sourcing, that all conclude MODERATE supplier power. SERVICES Network Equipment Mobile Services Telemedia and long Distance Services Information Technology Call Centre Operations Equity Partner {Strategic} 3. Threat of Substitute Products Low Substitutes Products are basically divided into two categories namely: Old Communication Technologies New Communication Technologies In India telecomm sector provide various services with different technologies like fixed wire phone, Pagers, GSM phones, CDMA phones, dial up internet, broadband, Wimax, VSAT and VOIP. Out of which some are no longer in peoples choice these days as they are bulky and have less features in comparison to new ones and on other hand some may become in high interest due to latest technology and smart features. Airtel is providing almost every service in both old and new segments. However still some services are there which are not given by the company such as VOIP calls and VSAT but these substitute products price are not cheaper, and their quality and performance capabilities are approximately same compared to mobile phone products. Moreover, Switching costs are too high as for these services consumer has to buy special devices which cost extra so the advantage goes to the mobile phone service provider industry as there are less chances of switching to these services from mobile phones. There are no major substitutes in the market till a new better technology with cheap price is introduced. 4. Intensity of Rivalry among Competitors High Airtel is facing too many competitors in domestic as well as international market and many of them are almost equal in market share such as Vodafone, Idea BSNL in domestic market whereas O2, Three and Vodafone are competitors in international markets. Rivalry among competitors in telecomm depends upon several factors like: (a)Numerous or Equally Balanced Competitors High Many competitors in this industry are equally balanced in services and quality, and due to this balanced nature this industry has strong rivalries. Some of these companies have slight edge on each other e.g. Vodafone has a marginal advantage in 3g services on Airtel as Vodafone already has 3g services in other countries. (b) High Fixed Costs or High Storage Costs High Companies in this industry have high permanent costs, as they have to spend heavy amount on establishing wireless infrastructure (such as BTS, Towers and cables) and to obtain spectrum licensing which may be the costliest asset for the company as the cost of these license depend upon the space available in bandwidth of spectrum (Hills Yeh, 1999). Moreover the main aim of any company is to maximize its profit, due to which operator try to increase its capacity and productivity and that leads to intense rivalry. (c) Lack of Differentiation or Low Switching Costs High This fact actually depends upon the suppliers. Primary supplier for Airtel is mobile phone manufacturing industry; and rivalry within mobile phone industry is too high that affects service providers. For the reason that customers in the mobile phone industry believe that mobile phone service is a commodity. Also Switching cost for mobile phone user is also low, so by offering cheap price with decent service competitors can easily catch the attention of users. (d) High Strategic Stakes or Share High This strategy belongs to the geographic conditions as just about all operators in the industry consider India as their primary market, so competitive rivalry is extreme. India is a lucrative market for telecomm operators, so competitors want to maximize their market share as much as possible. (e) Rapid Industry Growth High As the telecomm Industry is rapidly growing in country, so there is extra pressure on company to take customers from rivals. (f) High Exit Barriers Low Already discussed company spends a lot on specialized assets such as spectrum licenses but they also have a high resale value. Predetermined costs of exit, tactical interrelationships, emotional obstacles, government regulations and social rules all constitute negligible impact. http://www.coai.com/statistics.php 5. Bargaining Power of Buyers High Airtel caters to mass market as its product can be used by any consumer who owns a mobile phone. A large variety of options are available to customers as there is very little differentiation in the service provided by mobile phone operators, and also the switching cost is too low. Moreover, the companies have to compete for better network quality, higher level of service and low tariff rates than their rivals, to account for the users profit. The complete segment of the network operators industry output is acquired by Mobile phone users. Annual revenue of the company depends upon the sales of mobile service. In this cut throat competition company cannot expect any loyalty from consumer as they can switch to other operator on slight profit. Concluding above facts states the High bargaining Power of Buyers. Conclusion After having analyzed all of the above environmental forces and also taking into consideration the PESTEL analysis, it can be concluded that Bharti Airtel has played an imperative role in the growth of the Indian Telecomm sector. The political scenario of the country plays a crucial role in the companys growth, which is also supplemented by the economic factors like the foreign direct investments and the unemployment rate of India. Though Airtel has been the market leader since the past ten years and has been a lucrative investment option for investors all throughout, it still faces some threat from its competitors and to counter that it has adopted several measures like better pricing strategy, latest technology and best quality service. The company has also indulged in co-branding with several subsidiaries to increase its market share and gain a competitive advantage over its rivals. Moreover, according to the Indian market condition, it is recommended that the best option for Airtel is to work on new technologies as it would enhance revenue as well as customer satisfaction and eventually help the company to retain its stature. Appendices Appendix 1 Explanation of Terms TRAI Telephone Regulatory Authority of India Government Authority for Telecomm Sector DOT Department of Telecomm Government Authority for Telecomm Sector COAI Cellular Operators Association of India Government Authority for Telecomm Sector IPTV Internet Protocol Television New Technology of TV DTH Direct to Home Television New Technology of TV GDP Gross Domestic Product VOIP Voice over Internet Protocol BTS Base Transreceiver system Instrument used for transmitting radio waves. NSN Nokia Siemens Networks GSM Global System for Mobile Communication Cellular Technology CDMA Code Division Multiple Excess Cellular Technology VSAT Very Small Aperture Terminal A Satellite Communication system BSNL Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. Government Authority for Telecomm Sector NTP New Telecomm Policy Rules Regulations for Telecomm industry

Interpersonal Communication Styles Examined in My Big Fat Greek Wedding

Throughout the semester, we have been introduced to many topics related to interpersonal communication. I have come to believe that these concepts have allowed me to better understand interactions that occur in our daily lives. My knowledge of these concepts was challenged when asked to relate these notions to a movie. During the time that I was watching the movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I realized myself grasping onto what was going on and being able to relate certain scenes and situations to topics I had previously learned about. Interactions in My Big Fat Greek Wedding display concepts of conflict and politeness theory, which can be pointed out in a few specific scenes. During the movie, I found that these concepts that were taught in class helped me better understand and relate to certain clips of the movie. Throughout the rest of the paper, I will be going into a bit more detail about exactly what these concepts are and mean, following that I will be giving examples from the movie that demonstrate the concepts of conflict and politeness theory. The movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding is about a 30-year old and single woman named Toula Portokalos who although has lived a very Greek life-style up to this point, decides to pursue a relationship with a non-Greek man. This, of course, is disturbing to her family since they are so proud about their culture, and do not really know anything different. Her whole life, Toula has been instilled with a very traditional Greek outlook on life. She has been expected to do three things: Marry a Greek boy, make Greek babies, and feed everyone until the day they die. Throughout the movie, Toula overcomes inner struggles to find her own identity, and she overcomes struggles with her family. The first topic that is found in the movie that was taught in class is conflict. Conflict is expressed disagreement over perceived incompatible goals. Although it may seem it, conflict is not always a negative thing. Conflict is needed and can help growth of relationships. Many conflicts are started because people have different conversational styles. In class, we learned that there are guidelines that one should follow in order to help prevent conflict or help solve it. The guidelines include clarifying goals, helping others save face, using constructive criticism skills, using empathic listening skills, monitoring nonverbal be... ...er try to think of a way to ask her father. They decide to make him think that he has come up with the idea. Toula?s mother could have flat out said that Toula wanted to work at the travel agency, but she instead decides to save his ?face?. She basically decides to ask him in an off-record way. It could be said that the mother manipulates the father in a very clever way, which was probably a good way to handle the situation. If she would have just asked him bald on record, or with some redress, about Toula working at the agency it may have started an argument. After completing this assignment, I am amazed on how much of a better understanding I have on these concepts. Not only am I able to connect them with situations in daily life, but even to the extent at which I can relate them to circumstances in a movie. The two topics that I chose to explore further and relate to the movie and each other were conflict and politeness theory. Not only did I realize my ability to connect such topics to fulfill this assignment, but I somehow feel that my future experiences watching movies or paying attention to others daily behaviors will be more analytical after completing this assignment.

whitsun wedding :: essays research papers

Frost's poem is melancholy and nostalgic in tone and soothing, almost hypnotic, in rhythm. Peaceful and serene in the natural scene it describes, it seems to sway between restful repose and death. Sleep and death, and a seeming longing for both, are evoked by the images of night, long travel, winter and isolation. The simple, formulaic phrasing and rhythm of the poem belie something hidden, beneath and in the past, which is more complex. Frost, differently from Hayden's free verse, uses the formal structure and rhythm of his verse in juxtaposition to the more troubling, less controllable, undercurrent of death. The nervous horse, keenly attune to its environment and master, is juxtaposed to the easy flow of the poem and the falsely assuring repetition of the last line. Similarly the juxtaposition of 'lovely' with 'dark and deep' woods (like a grave!) is unsettling. The tone of the poem starts off comical and almost light-hearted- a father dancing in a recklessly with his son, knocking over pots and pans. But the son clings onto his father like "death" while the mother is clearly discontented with the situation. "Whisky on your breath could make a small boy dizzy" connotes excess, a situation beyond acceptable limits - too much for the boy and too much for his mother. The verse jerks back and forth in tone and imagery; from movements of dance, to battered movements. 'Waltzing' and 'beating time' are juxtaposed to a tight hold on the wrist, battered knuckle and scraped ear. Lightness and humor change to satire and a critical edge. Like Frost, Roethke uses the rhythm of his verse to carry the reader along, like a waltz, but one that becomes increasingly dizzying as the reader realizes the confusion, even terror, the child feels. The child's reference to his father as 'you' helps the reader feel the emotions more immediately and drives home the physical closeness of father and child. It also enforces a tone that is almost accusatory. Hayden's poem moves from a description of the father, to the speaking "I" of his young son, to the matured recognition and remorse of the now grown poet. The shattering paradox of a laboring father who warms the house and polishes his son's good shoes but is greeted with indifference is not lost on the reader. Yet, the affection demonstrated by the father is through the provision of physical comforts (survival) and the son seems to yearn for something more, or at least is not able to see the affection demonstrated in his father's labors.

Goals in the Movies Center Stage and Miracle Essay -- Films Movies

Goals in the Movies Center Stage and Miracle Dreams and goals are one thing that everyone has in common. Everyone has a dream or goal that they strive for; whether it takes a couple days to accomplish, or a lifetime, everyone has at least one. The movies Center Stage and Miracle tell two different stories of triumph, using determination and the inner belief of oneself, to overcome the obstacles standing in the way of their dreams. In both of the movies they show that it takes a great deal of effort and time to reach ones goals, but everyone can accomplish them as long as their minds are set on them. In the movie Center Stage there are many characters that are trying to live their dreams. It is about a group of young kids that tried out and made it into the best ballet academy. It shows the pain, heartbreak, and tears that it took them to discover themselves and follow their dreams. Jody Sawyer is the main character in the movie. She makes it into the academy but nobody understands how she got in. They all say that she has â€Å"bad feet†(Center Stage) and does not have the â€Å"perfect body type† (Center Stage). Jody makes herself practice hard and watches what she eats to get the appreciation that she deserves from her fellow ballet dancers and the instructors of the academy. She succeeds in doing this; her determination and discipline paid off. At the Company’s final dance recital she gets a standing ovation from the whole crowd; everyone was left in awe. Jody accomplished her dream in becoming an amazing ballet dancer. The movie Miracle deals with the dreams and ambitions of the United States Olympic ice hockey team. It is a true story about courage, and ambition that lead them... ...llet dancer. In this wonderful world, dreams and goals can be achieved one way or another. There is so much opportunity in this country for everyone to succeed. The main thing that people need to remember is that it takes time and effort. Anybody can be anything they want to be; no matter what class they are in, how much money they have, or what their grandparents or parents do. It is up to the individual to set their minds to it. People just need to take advantage of all the great opportunities there are in this country. Not everyone has this many opportunities to succeed, so they need not let it pass by. With all the great universities and jobs out there, there is no reason that people should be just standing on the streets with no money to buy food or shelter. A goal just needs to be set and then the determination and discipline comes next.

Domestic Violence Essay

Domestic Violence is one of the many social issues that society is faced with. Research has it that the female group is the one that becomes victimized the most and there are several strategies that have been put into place to culminate this issue of violence at home, more especially against women. One of the strategies that have been introduced in fighting domestic violence in South Africa is the Domestic Violence Act of 1998. Although this Act is one of the good moves by the government, it has many shortcomings. This essay will therefore discuss critically domestic violence and how the Domestic Violence Act is not sufficient to protect women in South Africa from violence at the hands of their abusers To begin with, South African government refers domestic violence to any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexual ity; and in the (South Africa) constitution enacted is an Act which aims â€Å"to provide for the issuing of protection orders with regard to domestic violence; and for matters connected therewith† which is the Domestic Violence Act, 1998 (Act No. 116 of 1998). There are several good points about this Act, and primary to those is that people (especially women and children) to some extent are protected from the deliberate abuse at home. However, many are the shortcomings of this Act. For instance, the exact statistics concerning domestic violence are extremely difficult to obtain hence it becomes difficult to know how much the Act is working. Domestic violence is not a crime as such, and police statistics reflect only reported crimes, such as assault, rape or malicious damage to property, and so forth. In some instances, domestic violence is not reported by the victims because of several reasons. There are many actions that constitute domestic violence that are not defined as crimes, such as forced isolation, verbal abuse, stalking and economic abuse. Domestic violence is often not just a one-off event, but a series of events, or a continuous pattern of abuse. Domestic violence may also exist as a continuum with one serious violent incident at one end, to ongoing and multiple abuses at the other. This pattern of abuse is not recognized in South African criminal law, which tends to isolate individual incidents. In addition, as outlined by Bollen et.al (1999).most crimes of domestic  violence are not reported to the police for fear of intimation, shame, and fear of not being believed, self-blame, or fear of retaliation. Furthermore, it appears from studies and work by organizations offering support to victims that the incidence of domestic violence is very high in South Africa. Community based studies have revealed that in some areas almost a quarter of women report having being abused in their life times by a current or ex-partner, and that up to a half are affected by emotional or financial (Jewkes et.al, 1999). A survey of 269 women who had contacted helping agencies in three major cities found emotional or physical abuse to be the most prevalent form of domestic violence experienced by women, with 90 percent of the sample having experienced this abuse (Bollen et al, 1999). The Domestic Violence Act (Act 116) was introduced in 1998 with the aim of affording women protection from domestic violence by creating obligations on law enforcement bodies to protect women (victims) as far as is possible. The Act sets out a broad range of behaviours that constitute domestic violence; including physical, sexual, verbal, emotional and psychological abuse, stalking, intimidation, harassment, malicious damage to property, unauthorized access to the complainant’s property, as well as other forms of controlling behaviour which may cause harm to the safety, health or wellbeing of the complainant. The Act also extends the notion of ‘domestic relationship’, affording to protection to married couples; same-sex relationships; couples who are (or were) in a dating, engagement or customary relationship, including an actual or perceived relationship; any person in an intimate relationship; parents of a child; and people who do or have recently shared a residence. The Domestic Violence Act allows a complainant to apply to court for a protection order asking for relief or protection. An interim order may be granted, and after an enquiry, a final order may be granted against a respondent. The protection order may prohibit the respondent from committing any act of domestic violence; from entering a specified place; or from committing an act set out in the order. A warrant of arrest is issued simultaneously with the order, and brought into effect if the complainant reports that the respondent has breached any provision of the order. If he or she is found guilty of a contravention, then the court may convict the respondent and sentence him or her to a fine or a term of imprisonment. In terms of the Act, no prosecutor is permitted to refuse to  institute an action, or to withdraw a charge unless authorized by the Director of public prosecution (Dissel & Ngubeni, 2003). Another of the other very serious shortcoming of this Act is that, while the Act criminalizes the breach of an order, it does not create an offence of domestic violence (Dissel & Ngubeni). Where the offender commits an act that is recognized by the criminal law as a criminal offence, a woman can report the case to the police, and it may proceed to a criminal trial but if it is not recognized, then there is nothing to be done. In conclusion, the Act is an indication of the seriousness with which domestic violence is now viewed in South Africa. It offers one form of protection to women who are the victims of domestic violence, but it does not necessarily offer remedies to the problem. The essay has outlined that sometimes the reason why domestic violence is so prevalent is due to the fear of shame and not being believed. The recommendation therefore is that there should be trained personnel who understand clearly the domestic violence issue, persons who understand of such related issue s and that will enable the victims to talk freely so as to reveal everything. References Bollen, S., Artz, L., Vetten, L., Louw, A. (1999). Violence Against Women in Metropolitan South Africa: A study on impact and service delivery. Institute for Security StudiesMonograph Series No 41, September 1999. http://www.iss.co.za/Pubs/Monographs/No41/Contents.html. Retrieved 8 October 2013 Dissel, A & Ngubeni, K. (2003).Giving Women their voice: Domestic Violence and Restorative Justice in South Africa. CSR: Paper presented at the XIth International Symposium on Victimology, Stellenbosch, July 2003. Jewkes, R., Penn-Kekana, L., Levin, J., Ratsaka, M., Schreiber, M. (1999). â€Å"He must giveme money, he mustn’t beat me†: Violence against women in three South African provinces. Pretoria: CERSA (Women’s Health) Medical Research Council