Poverty Destroys Education in America Essay

Poor people do not have weaker work ethics or lower levels of motivation than wealthier people (Iversen & Farber, 1996; Wilson, 1997). Although poor people are often stereotyped as lazy, 83 percent of children from low-income families have at least one employed parent; close to 60 percent have at least one parent who works full-time and year-round (National Center for Children in Poverty, 2004). In fact, the severe shortage of living-wage jobs means that many poor adults must work two, three, or four jobs. According to the Economic Policy Institute (2002), poor working adults spend more hours working each week than their wealthier counterparts Low-income parents hold the same attitudes about education that wealthy parents do (Compton-Lilly, 2003; Lareau & Horvat, 1999; Leichter, 1978). Low-income parents are less likely to attend school functions or volunteer in their children’s classrooms (National Center for Education Statistics, 2005)—not because they care less about education, but because they have less access to school involvement than their wealthier peers. They are more likely to work multiple jobs, to work evenings, to have jobs without paid leave, and to be unable to afford child care and public transportation. It might be said more accurately that schools that fail to take these considerations into account do not value the involvement of poor families as much as they value the involvement of other families. one particular content area that’s of their interest, and everything that’s in it has to meet certain standards *These conditions are the result of a tremendous growth of social inequality, combined with a governmental assault on social programs in recent decades by politicians of both big-business parties. For society’s youngest members, this finds expression in the growth of poverty and hunger, attacks on education and welfare programs, and an increase in violence and abuse What the government failed to do was enact a basic income guarantee for all citizens. Free-market economist Milton Friedman had recommended a negative income tax in his 1962 book â€Å"Capitalism and Freedom,† and in 1967 a National Commission on Guaranteed Incomes confirmed the idea. In 1969, President Richard Nixon announced a Family Assistance Plan that would pay $1,800 a year to any family of four with no outside earnings. The program passed the House of Representatives with two-thirds of the vote but was rejected by the conservatives who controlled the Senate Today, poverty is becoming a national catastrophe even while the highest income brackets prosper. From 2002 through 2006 the economy was floated by the housing bubble, with many lower income people getting into homes of their own through the proliferation of subprime mortgages.

4P analysis of Phoenix Essay

The success of Phoenix Satellite Television starts with the accurate positioning. According to research, in 2011, the coverage of Phoenix Chinese Channel in southern China including Gudgeon and Axing province enjoyed a dominant position among all the areas In China. Meanwhile, administration and enterprise network have become the main channels for people to watch Phoenix TV. More than 65% of people have watched Phoenix Chinese Channel through administration cable network specifically. The number is still gradually increasing in recent years. As it is dated on the 201 2 Annual Report of Phoenix Satellite Television Station Holdings Limited, the dally viewing of Phoenix Chinese Channel among business executives rose 28% year-on-year, and maintained as the fourth most popular channel compared with CATV General, CATV News, Dragon TV and so forth. Phoenix Chinese Channel as well as Phoenix Infernos Channel also receives a high level of audience attention in offices and hotels where people who enjoy high income such as general manager, CEO and partner of an organization are easy to be spotted. Apart from equines world, Phoenix TV has also gained its popularity in political field. Ghana Goal’, the member of the Political Bureau of the CPA Central Committee, described Phoenix TV as his old friend, praising the contribution that Phoenix has made to promote cultural communication between China and western world. Therefore, having examined all the characteristics of TV population, it is not hard to find the clear market segmentation of Phoenix. Individuals who own high educational background, possess a high position with high income are carefully targeted, which earns the information and news content tot Phoenix TV have been made to satisfy the tastes and interests of this group of viewers. By doing so, Phoenix defines exactly who they want to reach, making itself stand out from many other TV channels in Greater China. Based on its well-positioned target market, Phoenix has built some solid strategies from different perspectives to reach its audiences effectively. First of all, it is the product that is the essential part of any company and the most direct link between customers and an organization. The most important products of Phoenix, apparently, are programmers. Phoenix TV, including 6 channels, contains a variety of programmers, ranging from political and financial news and current affairs through live broadcast and talk shows to films, music reviews as well as mini-series in both China and foreign regions. Programmers of Phoenix are quite comprehensive and insightful, especially In Phoenix Chinese Channel. Besides Its core products, Phoenix has made an effort in multi-media platform. Phoenix New Media Limited, one of the subleases of Phoenix, has formed a partnership with the British Broadcasting Corporation and the National Film Board of Canada successively to provide foreign regaining on Phoenix’s digital media platforms in China. At the same time, Phoenix Metropolis Holdings Limited engages in the outdoor media business In China by offering outdoor advertising services on giant-sized LED panels. Since the Internet tofu developing multi-media products indeed helps Phoenix to remain competitive in this new age. Another strategy that Phoenix employed to adapt to the new marketing environment is to think global, act local’. The launch of Phoenix CANE and Phoenix North America Chinese Channel could serve as a great example. Focusing on the overseas Chinese, tot two channels contain several well-known programmers such as Asian Journal and Good Morning China, as well as some in-house programmers including Europe Today and Experience America. Whilst those well-known programmers are responsible for the brand building of Phoenix and keeping overseas audience informed on the situation in China, in-house programmers meet the demands of understanding the local life of foreign countries. That is to say, local news and cultural information provide a practical help towards overseas Chinese. Due to the successful use of marketing strategy, Phoenix is now experiencing the ‘maturity eroded in its product life cycle after the process of introduction and growth. The story of Phoenix is about to reach its climax. The Phoenix’s strategy of pricing is not uncommon in media industry. As the Phoenix Satellite TV has grounded in Gudgeon Cable TV Network, each family only needs a set-top box and 25-RHOMB monthly fee to subscribe the Phoenix TV. As for the products via other media platforms, the price of Phoenix Weekly has been raised because of the growth of production cost, but the sales are not largely affected. Basically, watching Phoenix TV programmers online is free. If people would like to pay ARM monthly, they could enjoy all programmers in high-definition format without any advertisement. The third significant factor, place, or specifically distribution, could influence the sales of products greatly. Different products need different distribution strategies. In the case of Phoenix TV, as a satellite broadcaster, the primary distribution method is by Assist AS. However, unsurprisingly, there is another way in mainland China. As Ill Change mentioned in the interview with the Washington Post in 2005, ‘only hotels, universities and certain state employees were supposed to receive Phoenix, but students began installing satellite dishes illegally to pick it up. The censorship is still strict, but it would not dampen the enthusiasm of people to watch Phoenix. Although the specific approaches in mainland China, Hong Kong and other countries are slightly different, the main distribution strategies could be divided into two categories: direct distribution and indirect distribution. The traditional television and magazines allow people to obtain the news content and inform ation from broadcasters directly, whilst the Internet become the middleman during the process of distribution. TV programmers could be seen on the official website of Phoenix, and readers could find the magazine’s article in APS. With the advancement of Internet, indirect distribution may become the most common distribution strategy of media products. Among all the TV stations. In this sense, the most crucial strategy is to construct in- house celebrities covering hosts, reporters and commentators. Sally We, Chin Lulu and Tiger Huh, they are all superstars that have been made by Phoenix. Their strong personal style not only becomes the symbol of themselves, but makes their programmers as personal brands. In other words, the individual image and reputation have been related to the programmers closely. Therefore, it would be a situation either double-win or double-lose. Besides, the use of cultural celebrities has also become a wise choice for Phoenix to improve its reputation. Hosting the programmer Eight Minutes Reading, Liana Wended, for instance, successfully attracts more attention from his previous readers. Apart from this, social media has been considered as a useful platform for promotion. Like many other TV stations, Phoenix owns various accounts on different platform including, Webb and Weight.

How Competitors Affect Competitive Advantage of Pepsi Essay

Pepsi is one of the world’s top carbonated drink company established in 1893. Today it has grown into a multibillion company which produces some of the most popular soft drinks, cereals and franchise eateries (Our History 2011). But Pepsi, like most of the other companies is unable to escape competitors in their general task environment who directly affect their competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is the advantage a company or product has over other companies in terms better attributes such as cost advantage, differentiation advantage, network distribution, and customer support that will help the company gain better sales compared to other companies (Hao, Ma 1999). For decades, Pepsi’s main competitor has been The Cola-cola Company, which is the world largest beverage company, followed by companies such as Cadbury Scheweppes Plc, Kraft, Dr, Pepper Snapple Group, Cott Corporation and Nestle (Joys M, Wolburg 2003). All these competitors are coming up with more innovative ideas to gain sales. Pepsi’s competitor affects Pepsi’s competitive advantage in terms of cost structure and cost advantage. A general sales key is to avoid price war between competing companies in the same industry because the companies must reduce their prices below the production price. This would affect the cost structure of a company and put the company in competitive disadvantage because sales below price margin means the company is selling at a loss. An example of price war between Pepsi and the Coca-Cola Company would be in the 1970’s. Coca-Cola bought most of the packaging bottles in the market to ensure lower production price beating its other competitors. In response, Pepsi had to cut its advertising and drop its selling price, decreasing its cost advantage (Coke and Pepsi’s uncivil). The price war between Pepsi and its competitors has been continual for decades. This tremendously affected and cost advantage of Pepsi, thus reducing the company’s competitive advantage. The distribution network of its competitors also disrupts Pepsi’s competitive advantage. Pepsi must compete with its competitors to expand their distribution network in more countries to expand their sales because only one company can dominate the industry. Companies unable to dominate would lose competitive advantage and sales. For example, Coke controls 75 percent of the soft drink market in Israel and Pepsi is unable to penetrate the market due to Coke’s strong distribution (Hellman, Ziv 1991). Coca-Cola and Pepsi is also always competing to expand their vending activities in every district to increase sales (Pierce, Gala 2005). A research also shows that Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper Snapple are continually fighting for ‘calendar marketing contracts’ with supermarkets in United States, which allows an exclusive promotional shelf space of the product for a period of time. During months when other soft drinks brands are promoted in this promotional shelf space, there is a drop in sales of Pepsi. This shows that the presence of competitors trying to expand their distribution network, vending activity and shelf space activity will cause decreases Pepsi’s competitive advantage (Klein 2008). Main competitors also contribute negative impacts on the differentiation advantage and product offerings of Pepsi, decreasing its competitive advantage. For example, Pepsi’s competitors are always imitating Pepsi’s new products. The competitor’s impeccable speed in producing similar products in the market affects the sales that Pepsi should get for their investment in research and development. For example, when Pepsi launched its Pepsi Light, Coke came up with Diet Coke soon after. Soft drinks companies that are always imitating their competitors or are being imitated is causing competitive disadvantage whereby there is little product differentiation in the market (MacArthur 2006). However if the company does not imitate or come up with new innovative products they will also lose competitive advantage to their competitors who are always developing new products. When Cadbury Schweppes caught Pepsi off-guard by producing new beverages such as Hawaiian Punch, and Nantucket Nectar, Pepsi’s market share was heavily defeated (O’Connor, Brian 2002). Pepsi’s competitor also affects Pepsi’s competitive advantage through advertisement and promotions. Every time Pepsi advertises, Coca-Cola will immediately respond by doubling its advertisements, making Pepsi’s advertisement and sales target redundant (Rivalry on various fronts 2001). Coca-Cola is always competing with Pepsi to be the main sponsor in every Olympic game as this sponsorship significantly affects the consumers’ brand choice during the event period (Cho 2011). Competition by other competitors and their advantages directly affects Pepsi. Competitive advantages by other companies will affect  company’s sales, revenue, reputation and even customer support and loyalty. Mangers must also have a great understanding their company’s environmental opportunities and threats as well as internal strengths and weakness (Barney, Jay B 1995). This can be found by a planning technique called the S.W.O.T analysis. S.W.O.T analysis will allow managers at different corporate level will select business, corporate and functional level strategies to help gain competitive advantage (Waddell, Jones and George 2012, 148). Another model that managers should consider carrying out is the Michael Porters five-forces model. This model helps managers isolate particular forces in the external environment that are potential threats to the company (Waddell, Jones and George 2012, 148). In conclusion, managers must be aware of what their competition companies are doing and what their competitive advantages are and try to come up with a strategy to overcome their competitors’ competitive advantage. Reference Barney, Jay B. 1995. â€Å"Looking Inside for Competitive Advantage.†The Academy of Management Executive† 9 (4): 49-49. http://search.proquest.com/docview/210515505?accountid=10382. Cho, Sungho, Minyong Lee, Taeyeon Yoon, and Charles Rhodes. 2011. â€Å"An Analysis of the Olympic Sponsorship Effect on Consumer Brand Choice in the Carbonated Soft Drink Market using Household Scanner Data.† International Journal of Sport Finance 6 (4): 335-353. http://search.proquest.com/docview/912868591?accountid=10382 Coke and Pepsi’s Uncivil Cola Wars-Case Study Analysis. 2012. csinvesting. http://csinvesting.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/coke-and-pepsis-uncivil-cola-wars-case-study-analysis/ Hellman, Ziv. 1991. â€Å"Getting in Tempo with Pepsi Cola.† Jerusalem Post, Jul 05, 16-16. http://search.proquest.com/docview/321035209?accountid=10382. Klein, Benjamin and Kevin M. Murphy. 2008. â€Å"Exclusive Dealing Intensifies Competition for Distribution.† Antitrust Law Journal 75 (2): 433-466. http://search.proquest.com/docview/197278523?accountid=10382. Ma, Hao. 1999. â€Å"Creation and Preemption for Competitive Advantage.† Management Decision 37 (3): 259-266. http://search.proquest.com/docview/212092410?accountid=10382. MacArthur, Kate and Stephanie Thompson. 2006. â€Å"Pepsi, Coke: We Satisfy Your ‘Need States’.† Advertising Age 77 (48): 3-3,23. http://search.proquest.com/docview/208357645?accountid=10382. O’Connor, Brian. 2002. â€Å"How Giant Killer John is Winning Soft Drinks War ; the CITY Interview.† Daily Mail, Apr 11, 69-69. http://search.proquest.com/docview/321285141?accountid=10382. Our History. 2011. Pepsico. http://www.pepsico.com/company/our-history.html Pierce, Gala. 2005. â€Å"‘no Coke, Pepsi’ to be Replaced Under New Contract.† Daily Herald, Jul 11, 1-1. http://search.proquest.com/docview/313097832?accountid=10382. The Rivalry on Various Fronts. 2001. The Coke Pepsi Rivalry. http://www.icmrindia.org/casestudies/catalogue/Marketing/The%20Coke%20Pepsi%20Rivalry%20-%20Marketing%20Case.htm#II%20-Advertising Waddell, Dianne, Gareth R. Jones, and Jeniffer M. George. 2012. Contemporary Management. NSW, Australia: McGraw Hill. Wolburg, Joyce M. 2003. â€Å"Double-Cola and Antitrust Issues: Staying Alive in the Soft Drink Wars.† The Journal of Consumer Affairs 37 (2): 340-363. http://search.proquest.com/docview/195909317?accountid=10382

Administration and Stakeholders of Health Plans Essay

Administration and Stakeholders of Health Plans - Essay Example The impact of the Act will be felt once its dots and crosses are assessed and also the citizens of the United States begin in a large measure to adopt preventive measures to accelerate good health conditions. The stakeholders of the health plans comprise health insurers, medical product manufacturers, health care providers, consumers, most businesses, and organized labor. Health insurance companies offering wide range of health care plans the customers can choose from are hurriedly incorporating the new changes. One has to wait and see what changes the manufacturers might effect since development on the manufacturers’ side are implemented on the basis of new development in the science field more than in legislations. The target group of customers for the health insurance companies in the United States are those in the middle age groups and professionally independent. The present reforms calls for increased private share in the health related expenditure. Thus, the markets for the health insurance are expected to further open up. The ideal governing structure should have an efficient Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director (CEO and MD) at the top level. The CEO and MD are followed by executive directors for the marketing, finance, sales, risk management, human resources, legal and operations departments. The executive directors, in turn, will have regional managers based on geographical locations. The mission statement of the organization basically covers the long term goals of the organization. The mission statement primarily comprises the ways that will be instrumental in achieving the vision of the company. The mission of the health insurance company includes that of: In the modern world, the customer is the king. The success of the company lies in allowing the customers to have greater access to alternatives. This helps in empowerment of the customers and they find themselves to be the integral part of the organization. The company should have

Wal_mart Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Wal_mart - Assignment Example Wal-Mart’s centralized approach and the amount of sales it makes every year gives it the power to act as leader in its channel. The network that Wal-Mart has built up over the years is the rationale for its powerful channeling. The service strategy at Wal-Mart is satisfying its customers and building long-term relationship with them through offering lowest prices for their goods. Wal-Mart is famous for its everyday low prices and has positioned itself as a giant in giving best buys as compared to its competitors. The intensive pricing chopping at Wal-Mart demands a strong and fierce distribution network. The retailer translates its strategy by having a strong network of distributors from all over the world. While importing can be a hassle for an ordinary retailer, it is a fast option for bringing low cost product in the local market for Wal-Mart. In order to keep up with lowest product prices Wal-Mart has been known to be very strict with its suppliers. This retailer is blamed to force its suppliers and influence them into packaging on Wal-Mart’s terms and conditions. The company is also known as looking at the accounts of their suppliers and forces them to cut their profits and charge low prices to Wal-Mart. Thus in order to keep up with its name and image of everyday low prices Wal-Mart’s information search goes from priority packaging to searching through the accounts of their

The assignment should be presented as a Journal opinion article and Essay - 1

The assignment should be presented as a Journal opinion article and address an economic issue of current interest to Wall Street - Essay Example A recent report showed that around 155,000 jobs were added in December in order to handle the unemployment situation in U.S economy. However, the rate of unemployment remains unchanged and stood at 7.8%. Faster job creation is required that is around 300,000 or more in order to bring the rate of unemployment at desired level. Policy makers are enjoying sweet repose as annual inflation stays at satisfactory level. Over the past 12 months, only an increase of 1.8% has been seen in consumer prices. When it comes to Household Debt, it has been observed that credit card debt has declined to 16.5% and consumers remain cautious. It will enable Americans to spend a little, as economy gets better. Despite of it, certain types of debt are still rising such as student loans. Fresh graduates are not being able to find well-paying jobs. Prices of Homes continues to move up as market condition of real estate improves. As unemployment goes down, there is more chance of further improvement. As far a s Gas Prices are concerned, although they fell last year, they have again started to back up. Gas prices rely on cost of oil, which has increased to double after the recession has ended. As economic conditions get better, there would be an upsurge in demand of oil, which will ultimately increase the prices of gas. For Equity Markets, the combination of low inflation and slow growth is usually good for stocks. Forecasters seek adequate gains from blue chip companies. Certainly, it will lead investors to continue to invest in stocks. Critical Analysis In this article, the author has mentioned the impact of post-recession economic conditions on American families. Several areas have been highlighted in order to provide brief insight of how this area affects American families. In this article the author states that the economic condition in United States has been improving for the past 3 years yet, it does not stand at the point where it should be. I believe that this point is not valid because the economy of United States experienced worst recession in 2008. Usually after recession, the economy gets stabilize but in this case, it was referred to as Double-Dip Recession. It means that after the initial recession, there was very slowly recovery, which was followed by another recession. Analysts predicted that there is threat of United States getting bankrupt. If it happens then it will drown many another economies with itself. Therefore, after all such chaos, even if the economy is heading towards improvement then it must not be criticized. Despite of discussing all the integral components of an economy, the author showed least linkage of these factors with American families and their influence on them. Brief information was given on the concluding note that outlook is encouraging for people having stable housing, good credit and secure jobs. The author concluded that recovery will be weakening and there will be less help for those who are underemployed or unemploye d. It would not do well to them who have lost their homes. At the end, the author transits to building more ambitious budget reforms. Without such reforms, there is a threat that current slow growth will become entrenched in the form of economic stagnation. Thus, by the analysis of this article it can be concluded that as mentioned by the economic indicators, the economic cond

Explain the significance of legal personality Essay

Explain the significance of legal personality - Essay Example Additionally, mentally ill person and minors as well, cannot be allowed to enter into a contractual relationship. The same is applicable to children, who have less reasoning level in comparison with the adults. In the subsequent part of this paper, an explanation of certain aspects of natural and artificial legal personality and limitations on legal personality is included. The nature and extent of natural legal personality Legal personality has multiple dimensions. These dimensions are mostly determined by different social roles, such as employer-employee, voter-householder, and father-husband. However, each role has different legal rules attached with it. And, the legal rules are mostly determined by the law on the basis of sex, age, nationality, income, occupation or any other group characteristic that the law-makers consider as relevant. By this classification, the law allocates certain rights and obligations to each category. When life begins Basically, to determine the beginnin g of life is a complex process. An unborn foetus is not capable of being a legal person. In law, once born alive, a newly born child will own the label of natural legal personality with certain legal rights. When life ends Still, there is no legal term defining death in law. Historically, stopping of the heart beating has been recognised as a point of death. However, due to the recent advancement in the medicine, with the help of machines, heartbeat can be made functional like other parts of human body. However, in R v Malcherek and Steel [1981] 1 WLR 690; did provide a definition for death. Facts A man stabbed a woman. Her brain became dead but she was kept alive with a life-support machine. However, she died and the man blamed doctors turning off the machine rather than his actions killed her. Held In the Court of Appeal, Lord Chief Justice Lane remarked that the definition of death was the irreversible death of the brain stem, which directs the basic body functions such as breath ing. The occurrence of such situation validates the death of a body even if other body parts are made functional with the use of mechanical methods. Legal personality-after death Humans do not have unlimited form of legal personality. This limited legal personality is also applicable to after death. However, a person who wrote the will (the testator) is allowed to ensure that even after his or her death a legal will after death will be enforced according to the wishes of the testator. Such situations occur when the distribution of a property is going to take place. In case of a dispute, the court is authorised to ascertain the wishes of the testator. Additionally, prior death consent must be ensured from the deceased if the body parts are going to be removed from the dead body. Organisations The status of legal personality can be conferred to a company in United Kingdom (Teubner, 1988). Under this condition, the company is defined as having separate and distinct existence in compari son with its shareholders. As a result, the shareholders own their shares not the company (Davies, 2002). Although, the shareholders are owners of the company and they provide capital for it, yet they cannot be sued in case, the company becomes unable to pay for its own liabilities Case law: Salomon v Salomon & Co Ltd (1897) Facts: Salomon converted his business into a limited company. Mr Salomon was the managing director and majority

Police Officer Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Police Officer - Research Paper Example (source: Criminal Justice USA Website) Beyond these basic qualities there is scope also for officers to develop their skills in extra areas so that they can take up highly specialized roles, for example with expertise in particular types of crime such as drugs, or immigration, or even specialist tactical operations like riot control and undercover work. Once a person is accepted into the criminal justice system, there is a huge potential for further career paths to open up. The Lynn Police Department website has information on commendations that officers have received for good work, and this gives an insight into what kind of circumstances they have to deal with, such as resuscitation of a person who has collapsed, or disarming a violent person, or just doing a good steady job in an office for many years. There are many sources of information and advice on the job of a police officer. Barry Baker’s book suggests that police officers will have to possess compassion and a sense of adventure, and that they are entrusted with great power. This means also that they must be under scrutiny all the time, and so they have to be able to maintain the highest standards. This is true not only in the hours of work itself, but also at home: â€Å"You must be prepared to conduct your personal life with the same degree of discretion as your professional life.† (Baker, p. 2). This makes the job of police officer sound extremely challenging and provides a solemn starting point for an interview with a serving police officer. The police officer who agreed to the interview is a patrol officer who works both in the office and in a patrol car. He started in law enforcement after working in the housing sector. It was interesting to note that he did not pass the police examination the first time. He persisted until finally he did pass and then he was interviewed and appointed. It is obvious that he spends a lot of his time out on the job, answering calls and dealing with i ncidents that happen day by day. He spends more time in the despatch office, however, and for this he needs to have good office skills and he has to think fast and deal with complicated scenarios. Perhaps this is why he recommends that a person who wants to become a police officer should study for a degree. These writing and thinking skills are going to be very important in a job like this. It was important to him also to learn from other officers. So much of the job requires experience. People behave in unpredictable and dangerous ways sometimes, and it is always useful to hear how more experienced officers have coped with things in the past. The office was very sure that the police academy was essential when it comes to tactical skills, but he thought experience and listening to experiences of others was just as important as the technical skills that are taught in the academy. When asked what was difficult about the job, the officer mentioned the way that people get out of control . He said that police officers are not able to lose control, and that they have to be fair at all times, and be aware that they are being watched. This was a big pressure for him, because he had to deal with others being out of control, while maintaining professionalism and control of

Missoni Brand Architecture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Missoni Brand Architecture - Essay Example From this discussion it is clear that  Missoni has diversified as part of its brand extension, and ventured into other industries that are a continuation of the lifestyle that the company seeks to offer. In this case, it has ventured into the hotel industry and already established a number of high-end hotels in other locations being on the company’s overall plan. Currently, the company’s lines of operation include the signature Missoni line, which is the mother company with divestment into other famous Missoni lines. These lines include M Missoni, which is a less expensive line; Missoni Sports, which deals with sports apparel; Missoni perfumes; Missoni Home collection, which deals with furniture; and Hotel Missoni.This paper highlights that Missoni has taken a number of measures to ensure that it remains at a favourable position among its competitors. In the fashion industry, the key determinants of brand positioning are the pricing and the direction of the brand. In line with this, the direction of the brand is the target market that the company ventures in, with some companies focusing on conservative apparel while others focus on directional apparel. On the other hand, the pricing of the products that competitors in the industry offer determines the market offering cheap products for the lower class. For Missoni, the company primarily offers products that were conservative and luxurious in nature with these products being either in the fashion industry or in the hotel industry.  ... These products include the services offered in their hotels and the products popular in the fashion industry. As a luxury brand, Missoni competes with various brands for high-end markets in both the fashion and hotel industries (see Fig. 2). Figure 2: Brand Conceptual Map of Missoni Brand Positioning In order to position itself competitively in the luxurious fashion industry, Missoni has taken a number of measures to ensure that it remains at a favourable position among its competitors. In the fashion industry, the key determinants of brand positioning are the pricing and the direction of the brand (Manlow 156). In line with this, the direction of the brand is the target market that the company ventures in, with some companies focusing on conservative apparel while others focus on directional apparel (see Fig. 1). On the other hand, the pricing of the products that competitors in the industry offer determines the market offering cheap products for the lower class (Carroll). For Misso ni, the company primarily offers products that were conservative and luxurious in nature with these products being either in the fashion industry or in the hotel industry. However, to set itself apart, the company has carried out a number of measures that have ensured that the brand positioning was for unique and luxurious products in the competitive fashion industry. Brand Differentiation Missoni’s success has been a result of the differentiated products that it has continually offered to its clients. In this regard, brand differentiation focuses on creating products that cannot be easily counterfeited due to the unique nature of the products (Manlow 156). By creating a concept that is characteristic of

Problems of Teen Pregnancy Essay Example for Free

Problems of Teen Pregnancy Essay Teenage pregnancy is simply defined teenage girl who became pregnant at an early age. The term connotes that the girl has not reach the legal adulthood before conceiving. Like United States, our country, Philippines also facing this kind of problem. Our government discusses how to prevent and low down the rate of pregnancy especially in the teenagers. Most cases of teenage pregnancies are observed in the lower economic strata of society where there is a lack of knowledge, awareness and facility to address the problem of unintended pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy is often associated with an increase rate of delinquent behaviors including alcohol and substance abuse. An absentee parent can create insecurities in children, and depending on the parent’s role in the child’s life, can make some children more prone to crime and other emotional issues. Causes of teen pregnancy and tips to surpass it Family problem affects the thinking ability of a teenager. It makes them to create decisions that they think it’s good for them, they ask advices to their friends than their families. This is also the time that teens are starting to learn to drink alcohol and use prohibited drugs to satisfy their selves and to forget the problems between his/her family. One thing that the teens think can help them to get away from their family is to get pregnant. They act so reckless yet after getting pregnant they’ll come to their parents for the financial support for the baby. If the family problem doesn’t stop that early this will be the reason for the adolescent to pursue their plan in getting pregnant. Their mind is really sober and can’t think well, one of the family members should talk to their family member that is involved on the specific circumstances. Parents have the most important role in the life of a teenager. They are the ones that adolescents look up too whenever they have problems. They must be responsible for the safety and wellbeing of their children. Try to be more supportive than to criticize them. Try to discuss with them some certain issues to reach an outcome that you and your teenager can both accept. Make conversation with them over breakfast and dinner, having heart to heart talk with will help to enlighten their minds and they can think clearly. One factor that leads teen girls to become pregnant is peer pressure. Many teens sexualize themselves or engage in behavior for which they are not yet ready because they want to fit in or be popular. Peer pressure to engage in sexual activity is so common, a variety of terms refer to the behavior, such as hooking up, booty calls or referring to someone as a friend with benefits. If you’re a parent, consider the impact that peer pressure could have on her decisions, and the potential ramifications of this impact. Any teen succumb to pressure to have sex. All teens have sexual urges especially boys, they engage in sex before they are ready. Popular teens are also vulnerable. Some of the typical peer pressures that teenagers face are drugs, smoking, alcohol, sex and dangerous driving. If their friends value having sex, then they are likely to have sex, too. Many times these teens let their friends influence their decision to have sex even when they do not fully understand the consequences associated with the act. Still others find it easier to give in and have sex than to try to explain why not. Some teenagers get caught up in the romantic feelings and believe having sex is the best way they can prove their love. Most teenagers experience sudden and hitherto unknown emotions and feelings during their early puberty. They feel a natural sense of rebelling against the set norms as well. All this, coupled with a sudden sense of new-found freedom and sexuality, results in many of them giving vent to their feelings through sexual expressions and experiences. The only way they could probably achieve that would be by having a boyfriend or girlfriend or at least by dating and indulging in sexual acts often. This kind of rash behavior could lead to unintended pregnancies. When you feel threaten and pressure, you must stop and ignore them. These people will bring the worst out of you. Find a substitute and affirming friend, it’s good to have friends who can affirm you. Develop a sense of humor; crack a joke and everyone’s going to admire you. Be prepared, make a plan and be prepared for the times you’ll face peer pressure. Most teens do not want to become pregnant; they are still becoming so as a result of sexual activity. While actual force to have sex is rare, many teenage girls (especially those under the age of 15) feel pressured to have sex. Rape does happen and is one of the reasons that teen pregnancies occur. Rape by boyfriends, family members and even strangers can result in teen pregnancy. 50 60% of teens were molested prior to their first pregnancy, 50% of perpetrators were family members. To avoid rape, avoid walking alone as much as possible. Be mentally prepared. Always carry pepper spray and learn self defense. Ways of Preventing Teen Parenthood Teenage pregnancy is a rather frightening reality that can change your life in an instant. The good news is that teenage pregnancy is avoidable: By not having sex, you never risk getting pregnant. If you do decide to have sex, its best to stay informed about what you can do to avoid unwanted pregnancy. Abstinence is the only form of birth control that is 100% effective in preventing pregnancy. Abstinence also protects people form STDs. This way helps teenagers to refrain from getting pregnant. Also prevents pregnancy by keeping the sperm out of the vagina. For us, abstinence is the safest way of preventing pregnancy. It has many benefits, it has no medical and hormonal side effects and it is free. Teenagers can used this method to focus on school, career and family. Any woman or man can abstain from sex play. Many do so at various times in their lives. Teen girls are more likely to get pregnant if they have limited or no guidance from their parents. Many parents have busy lives that prevent them from providing the guidance and support that their young teenagers need to make good decisions on issues such as sex. If you’re a parent, talking to your children will have a big effect on them especially when you’re talking about intercourse. Communicating with your children about sex, love, and relationships is often more successful when you are clear in your own mind about these issues. Start the conversation, and make sure that it is honest, open, and respectful. Many inexpensive books and videos are available to help with any detailed information you might need, but don’t let your lack of technical information make you shy. If you’re a teenager, ask advices to the people you trust. Let them clarify issues about pregnancy and sex. Don’t be shy asking your parents about it. Being open to them will keep you away from the risk of getting pregnant. The effectiveness of birth control methods is critically important for reducing the risk of unintended pregnancy. Effectiveness can be measured during â€Å"perfect use,† when the method is used correctly and consistently as directed, or during â€Å"typical use,† which is how effective the method is during actual use (including inconsistent and incorrect use). Using contraceptives helps those to refrain to avoid pregnancy also some contraceptives are good for health. You can use injectable progestin; this method is extremely effective since all thats required of a woman is to return to her health care provider for a shot every three months. Males can use male condoms; these are thin tube made of latex. This is the best contraception to avoid having STDs. Psychological Effect of Teen Pregnancy Its common for pregnant teens to feel a range of emotions, such as fear, anger, guilt, confusion, and sadness. It may take a while to adjust to the fact that youre going to have a baby. Its a huge change, and its natural for pregnant teens to wonder whether theyre ready to handle the responsibilities that come with being a parent. A. Emotional Effect 1. Initial Excitement Some teenagers are excited to bear a child, especially when it is their first pregnancy. They are excited to see their baby. Others are excited to buy clothes and other things for the baby. They think of names for the baby. 2. Confuse Some are confused and at a loss on what to do. They are too young and many have no idea about bearing a child. 3. Afraid Some are scared. They think of questions like, â€Å"How should I tell my parents? † â€Å"How will I face my classmates? † or â€Å"What is the best thing to do to solve this problem? † They are afraid to answer these questions. They feel scared on what will be the reactions of their parents. 4. Frustrated Pregnant teenagers will realize that they are not yet ready to bear a child when it’s already late. 5. Hopelessness Low self-esteem increases vulnerability and decreases her ability to refuse to go along with risky sexual behaviors. 6. Denial – Some teenagers just neglect and abandoning her/his baby. 7. Worries about the future – Several uncertainties may arise. She may start worrying how would she dealing with the baby herself. 8. Mood Swings Its very common to have mood swings during pregnancy. Some girls may also experience depression during pregnancy or after delivery. B. Mental Effect of Early Pregnancy 1. Depression It is common among pregnant teenager who is desperate to solve their problems. Some teenagers try to solve their problem by abortion and suicide. Abortion, it is the removal of a fetus from the mother’s womb. Abortion is illegal. About 300,000 to 500,000 women undergo abortion every year. Article 256, 258 and 259 in the Revised Penal Code of the Philippine penalize women who undergo abortion and others who help her with imprisonment. Some teenager, however, think that abortion is a way to solve their problem. Medical Risk A woman of any age is pregnant and unaware of it is likely not to get the nutrition she needs to sustain both herself and her unborn child. Part of what boosts the rate of mortalities in teen births is that, worldwide, teens have a higher rate of premature birth and low birth-weight babies. Many researchers believe that this is due to a lack of adequate prenatal care, either because teen mothers are too scared or lack the financial resources to seek out medical help. Many wait until the third trimester to see a doctor, which raises levels of anemia and nutritional deficiencies in young mothers. Because of this lack of early care, children of teen mothers are more likely to suffer from health issues and to be hospitalized within their first year of life. Prematurity plays the greatest role in low birth weight, but intrauterine growth retardation (inadequate growth of the fetus during pregnancy) is also a factors. The younger a mother is below age 20, the greater the risk of her infant dying during the first year of life. It is very important for pregnant teens to have early and adequate prenatal care. Factors can be divided into maternal and fetal. Maternal factors include age (younger than age 15, older than age 35); weight (pre-pregnancy weight under 100 lb or obesity); height (under five feet); history of complications during previous pregnancies (including stillbirth, fetal loss, preterm labor and/or delivery, small-for-gestational age baby, large baby, pre-eclampsia or eclampsia); more than five previous pregnancies; bleeding during the third trimester; abnormalities of the reproductive tract; uterine fibroids; hypertension. Premature may have problems with his or her vision, digestion, and respiratory. Children born to teenage mothers are less likely to receive proper nutrition, health care, and cognitive and social stimulation. As a result, they are at risk for lower academic achievement. Teens are more at risk for certain problems during pregnancy, such as anemia, high blood pressure, and giving birth earlier than usual (called premature delivery). Clinic-focused programs provide easier access to information, counseling by health care providers, and contraceptive services. Many of these programs are offered through school-based clinics. See a doctor as soon as possible after you’ve found out that you are pregnant to begin prenatal care. Take vitamin supplements that are recommended by your doctor to support you and your baby’s health. Avoid the intakes of drugs and alcohol during pregnancy. Using illegal drugs such as cocaine or marijuana during pregnancy can cause miscarriage, prematurity, and other medical problems. Babies can also be born addicted to certain drugs. Socioeconomic Problems Throughout the developed world, teenage pregnancy is more common among young people who have been disadvantaged in childhood and have low expectations of education or the job market. Socio-economic circumstances seem to play a major role in rates of teen pregnancy. There may be a growing â€Å"lost generation† of young people who see no reason not to get pregnant. Teens coming from poor economic status and single parents are more likely to participate in risky sexual behaviors. For some disadvantaged youth, particularly for girls whose self esteem tends to drop as they mature, sexuality may be all they have to value. Children of teenage parents are more likely to have problems and to eventually become teenage parents themselves, thus perpetuating the cycle of poverty begun by a teenage birth. It is widely acknowledged that health and social status are intimately related such that individuals in higher social classes are healthier and live longer than those in lower classes. This is true regardless of whether income, education or another socioeconomic indicator is used and regardless of the health outcome used. Teen mothers are less likely to complete the education necessary to qualify for a well-paying job —only 38 percent of mothers who have children before age 18 obtain a high school diploma. This disparity in education, not surprisingly, tends to affect income level. Teenage mothers and fathers tend to have less education and are more likely to live in poverty than their peers who are not teen parents. Babies born to teen mothers are more likely to have health problems at birth, do poorly in school, do time in jail and also become teen parents. Teen pregnancy is the leading cause of females dropping out of high school. Furthermore, less than 2 percent of teen mothers attain a college degree by age 30. Because of their lower education status, teen mothers on average earn lower incomes than their peers, and are thus more likely to be in poverty. Unmarried mothers of all ages reported most dissatisfaction with educational achievement. With the little income of both parents, it’s very difficult to provide with the required nutrition and care. It’s very difficult for teenage mother and father to support themselves and their baby. As their education is cut short, it’s very difficult for teenage parents to find decent job. Some parents just abandoned their child to escape the poverty. Teen Fathers The adolescent father faces immediate developmental crises, which include completing the developmental task of adolescence making a transition to parenthood, and sometimes adopting to marriage. These transitions can be stressful. The decision to include the young father in all aspects of the care is based on assessment in the following four areas: (1) the couple’s relationship; (2) levels of stress, concern, and coping; (3) educational and vocational goals; and (4) the level of health education knowledge. Adolescent fathers need support to discuss their emotional responses to the pregnancy. The father’s feelings of guilt, powerlessness, or bravado should be recognize because of their negative consequences for the parents and the child. Counseling the adolescent fathers needs to be reality oriented. Topics such as finances, child care, parenting skills, and the father’s role in the birth experience must be discussed. Teenage fathers also need to know about reproductive physiology and birth control options as well as safer sex practices. The adolescent father may continue to be involved in an ongoing relationship with the young mother and his baby. In many instances, he also plays an important role in the decisions about child care and raising the child. He is encouraged to use coping mechanisms that are not detrimental to his own, his parent’s, or his child’s well-being. Fathers can experience postpartum depression. There is a lot of advice out there for girls who find them facing an unwanted or unexpected pregnancy but there is very little information out there for guys. It takes two to make a baby but all too often when the pregnancy is announced the guy gets lost in the confusion. But teen fatherhood is not something to be taken lightly and along with responsibilities to the mother and the child you have rights that you need to know about. Teen fathers are more likely to get involved with criminal behavior, including alcohol and drug abuse, and drug dealing. Depending on their age, teen fathers can also face charges of statutory rape. Teen fathers earn less over time than men who have children at an older age. Over time, teen fathers earn 10 to 15 percent less annually than male teens that wait to have children. A young fathers financial insecurity or confusion about child care was most likely to lead to a stated disinterest, and that disinterest predicted uninvolvement. .To be a good teen father you can do the following: Choosing to stand by your baby is a big deal and shows that you definitely have the potential for the job. If you are still in a relationship with the mother of the child then that’s great, you can work together to be good parents and raise a happy child. Be sure to support the mother through the pregnancy, it is a very difficult time for her and her body is changing in a big way. Try and have some sort of balance, if you are working constantly you will never get to see your child. Teenage fathers should be a role model to their baby. They are the one shaping the characteristic of their children. Teen Mothers The very young adolescent mother is inexperienced and unprepared to recognize the early sign of illness, potential danger, or household hazards. She may inadvertently neglect her child. The higher mortality rates among the infants of adolescent mother are attributed to the inexperience, lack of knowledge, and immaturity of the mothers, causing them to unable to recognize a problem and obtain the necessary resources to rectify the situation. Nevertheless, in most instances, with adequate and developmentally appropriate teaching, Adolescents can learn effective parenting skills. The transition to parenthood may be difficult to adolescent parents. Coping with the developmental task of parenthood is often complicated by the unmet developmental needs and tasks of adolescents. Some young parents may experience difficulty accepting a changing self image and adjusting to new roles related to the responsibilities of infant care. Other adolescent parents, however, may have higher self concepts than their non-parenting peers. As adolescent parents move through the transition to parenthood, they may feel different from their peers, excluded from fun activities, and prematurely forced to enter an adult social role. The conflict between their own desires and the infant’s demands, in addition to the low tolerance for frustration that is typical of adolescents, further contribute to the normal psychosocial stress of child birth. Maintaining a relationship with the baby’s father is beneficial for the teen mother and her infant the involvement of the baby’s father is related to appropriate maternal behaviors and positive mother-infant relationship. Adolescent mothers provide warm and attentive physical care; however, they use less verbal interaction than do older parents, and adolescents tend to be less responsive to interact less positively with their infants than do older mothers. In comparison with adult mothers, teenage mothers have a limited knowledge of child development. They tend to expect too much of their children too soon and often characterize their infants as being fussy. This limited knowledge may cause teenagers to respond to their infants inappropriately. Sex Education Comprehensive sex education can for the most part be considered to people as having no effect on teens to avoid sex, but others can see it has a way to decrease teen pregnancies in America. According to Advocates for Youth (2009), comprehensive sex education programs helped youth â€Å"delay onset of sexual activity, reduce the frequency of sexual activity, reduce number of sexual partners, and increase condom and contraceptive use. † An important component of an ongoing sex is effective communication with parents. When peers are the primary source of sexual information, it is transmitted and exchanged in secret conversation and contains a large amount of misinformation. Adolescent need precise and concrete information that we allow then to answer questions such as â€Å"What if I start my period in the middle of class? † or â€Å"How can I keep people from telling I have an erection? † it is important to tell them what they want to know and what they can expect to happen as they became mature sexually.

Chupacabra Animal Blood

Chupacabra Animal Blood Chupacabra The horror it has created this unidentify creature Chupacabra is a cryptid rumored to lived in parts of the Americas or the world. It is associated more recently with sightings of an allegedly unknow animal in Puerto Rico (where these sightings were first reported), Mexico, and the United States, especially in the latters Latin America towns farms and communities. The name comes from the animals reported habit of attacking and drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats. Physicals descriptions of the creature vary. Eyewitness sightings have been claimed as early as 1990 in Puerto Rico. It is supposedly as a big creature. Most biologists and wild management officials view the Chupacabra as an urban legend. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra) â€Å"There are come theories one of them is that some authorities have ventured that chupacabras may actually be a large vampire bat. The worlds three species of blood-sucking bats live predominantly in the warm climates of Latin America where most of the attacks have occurred. But vampire bats do not directly kill their victims; they stealthily creep up on their sleeping prey, make painless incisions, and lap up the dripping blood. Another theory is that the Chupacabra is the result of secret government experiments in genetics. There is another one called the â€Å"Alien Theory†: Disinformation and debunking campaigns appeared organised through UFO groups stating Chupacabras belong to a voracious reptilian race of creatures, alien in origin, who have started devouring the populace.† (http://cryptozoo.monstrous.com/theories_chupacabra.htm) Since 1990 farmers have found corpses of sheep, goats, cows, turkeys, cats, chickens, with specific penetrating injuries, around their necks and bodies totally, without blood. Some farmers say that the aggressor is an animal half dog, half wolf and, with a row of spines reaching from the neck to the base 0of the tail . The same versions assure that the animal is capable to be stopped being supported in its hind legs and to swim quickly -like ducks-.The animal jumps as kangaroo, measures 1,2 mts of high, has a great snout with eyeteeth and so scarce and fine fur, that it could be told that lacks hair. One thing that it suppose to be true is that the Chupacabra doesnt need to drink blood every nigth, they say that one night each month he got all the necessary to survive the whole month. But in only one night he could eat an incredible numbers of goats or chikens or turkeys or rabbit, etc. (www.chupacabra.com) â€Å"The goatsucker or chupacabra has affected Latin America by sucking blood or eating internal organs of animals like goats, cows, chikens, ducks, cats, dogs, turkeys, rabbits and other small animals in farms, and living less domestic animals. The goatsucker or chupacabra affected the most in Puerto Rico. There have being many cases of dead animals by the characteristic of a goatsucker eating. Since 1975.  ¨Their first known attacks were in March of 1975 in Puerto Rico. Eight sheep were discovered dead, each completely drained of blood. Investigators found three strange puncture wounds in the chests of the animals.† (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra) â€Å"In July 2004, a rancher near San Antonio, Texas, killed a hairless, dog-like creature named JoAnne, which was attacking his livestock. This creature is now known as the Elmendorf Creature. It was later determined to be an unknown canine of some sort, similar to a coyote with demodectic mange. In October 2004, two animals which closely resemble the Elmendorf Creature were observed in the same area. The first was dead, and a local zoologist who was called to identify the animal noticed the second while she was traveling to the location where the first was found. Specimens of the dead animal were studied by biologists in Texas, who found that the creatures were some sort of canines of an undetermined species.† (http://www.chupacabrasonline.com/link.two.htm , Raggie Lagow) â€Å" In April of 2006, MosNews reported that the chupacabra was spotted in Russia for the first time. Reports from Central Russia beginning in March 2005 tell of a beast that kills animals and sucks out their blood. Thirty-two turkeys were killed and drained overnight. Reports later came from neighboring villages when 30 sheep were killed and had their blood drained. Finally eyewitnesses were able to describe the chupacabra. In May of 2006, experts were determined to track the animal down. In mid-August 2006 Michelle ODonnell, described an evil looking rodent-like creature with fangs that had been found dead alongside a road. The mystery beast was apparently struck by a car, and was otherwise unidentifiable. Photographs were taken and several witness reports seem to be in relative agreement that the creature was canine in appearance, but unlike any dog or wolf in the area.† (http://www.chupacabrasonline.com/link.two.htm, Michelle ODonnell) â€Å"In December 2006, a local farmer in Peru claimed to have seen a creature resembling a Chupacabra attacking a wild boar on his farm. The man, who referred to the creature as Zahir, later told the authorities that he feared for his life when he saw the creature devour the boar within minutes. The creature then ran faster than any animal the farmer had ever seen. Shocked at the sight of the creature, the farmer stated that he is haunted by the evil in the Zahirs eyes. The most recent, undocumented sighting of the Chupacabra was in Hawaii on the island of Maui. Witnesses who apparently saw the beast outside of the Kuia Leia Airport described the creature as half dog half human. (February 16, 2007) One week after Chiles Armed Forces released photos and videos of UFO activity around the country, Chiles mainstream media has once again gone extraterrestrial with various Chupacabra sightings reported throughout the country. Chupacabra literally translated as goat sucker is the name f or a mythical creature known for sucking the blood out of farm animals throughout Latin America and the southern United States. Many enthusiasts speculate that Chupacabras are aliens or escaped alien pets as evidence of the creature is frequently reported in tandem with nearby UFO sightings. While UFO activity is typically reserved for Chiles tabloid press, Chupacabra sightings make big news in Chile, and the countries principle newspaper, El Mercurio, reported Wednesday that Chupacabras are once again causing a stir in the southern cone country. According to the daily, a Chupacabra attacked a henhouse in San Antonio Tuesday evening, leaving every chicken dead, without blood, and with a mysterious orifice on their spines. Flor Và ¡squez, 73, told police that she could not believe what she saw when she entered her henhouse. â€Å"All the chickens were dead and were sucked completely dry of blood,† she said. â€Å"But the animal that did it did not eat a single on of my bir ds.† (El Mercurio, www.chupacabrasonlina.com ) My conclusion is that the chupacabra exist, you can say that this is a case like the one of the loch ness monster but is different because in this case we have evidence like photos, remains, victims, etc. The Chupacabra or goatsucker has beencalled by a lot of names one of them is phenomenoum it can be because it seem to dont be an animal, but another chance is that it can be a creation on a laboratory of some scientifics and it scaped but im not sure about this because it seem to dont be only one. This is another question i couldnt answer, how does it reproduct? Is not only one. How many could they be, but how?. I guees it still a mystery but not any more a legend. Bibliography http://www.chupacabrasonline.com/link.two.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra http://cryptozoo.monstrous.com/theories_chupacabra.htm http://tinwiki.org/wiki/El_Chupacabra

Social networking in a multinational corporation investment

Social networking in a multinational corporation investment In recent years Social Networking is very popular in eyes of youngsters and teenagers but is also grabbing attention at workplace. Social Networking Sites have given a rise to new communication vehicle which facilitates an innovative way of sharing information, interacting and collaborating different users. Today, there are more than 100 social sites available in the world, but out of all the most popular once are Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace and Blogs. Within the illumination of the global recession, organisations are using every possible means of equipment to survive the economic downturn; companies are implementing cost saving methods. These, in turn, have increased the workload on the employees affecting employees satisfaction, productivity and efficiency while increasing stress levels. Therefore in order to reduce their stress, employees are declining towards social networking sites as a stress-buster tool. Implementation of social networking at workplace will provide both formal and informal interaction to help foster knowledge and enhancement communication. This will give a greater shift in culture of Knowledge congregation to Knowledge contribution. The dynamic changing natures of the business environment have contributed to knock down the barriers obstructing communicational flows (Cross, Nohria, Parker, 2002). Social networking is spreading at a lightning pace having a multiplier effect with the help of word of mouth, where one colleague encourages and invites other colleagues to join the modern ways of keeping-in-touch technique at the workplace. This has both positive and negative effect on productivity of the employees raising concerns for the organisation. Since there is no geographical restriction on sharing information, there are growing concerns for organisation for leakage, breach in security and privacy of the information. This rings the bell in everyones mind whether it is appropriate to integrate social networking at workplace. This argument will be revisited in literature review section (section 3) of this report. The researchs major source of information will be through primary data collection such as conducting interviews, survey and questionnaires. Secondary source will also be used and the list is mentioned in section 4.1. Many general views have been given by different researchers on impact of social networking at workplace but very few research have been conduct in sectors such as technological. This research will be based on Multinational Corporation (MNC) which is an investment banking sector where no prior research has been conducted. The report consists of 7 sections. The next section will discuss research objective, questions and boundaries in order to evade the uncertainty. This is followed by literature review in section 3 where previous research will be analysed. Research methodology and research limitation will be discussed in section 4 and 5 respectively, followed by the research time lines in section 6. The final section contains of conclusion. 2. Research Objective, Questions and Scope 2.1. Research Objective The main purpose of this research is to critically examine the impact of social networking in a multinational corporation (MNC) investment bank. This research will aid to analysis the effect of social networking sites on the productive, data security and trust between employers employee relationship. The outcome of the research will prove beneficial to the organisation in understanding the role of social networking and assist the organisation to make a decision whether to continue with the current policy to allow the access to social sites or will have to amend the policy. 2.2. Research Questions The research will provide answer to the following particular questions: Will the use of social networking sites at workplace enhance the productivity? What are the other advantages and disadvantages of using social networking sites at workplace? 2.3 Research Scope Due to time constrain it is necessary to restrict research only to one multinational company and therefore the research will be an action based research. The company is the worlds largest investment bank which has its presence in 74 countries but the research will be based on the companys head office situated in London city, United Kingdom. The name of the company will not be disclosed due to confidential reasons and will be referred as Company X throughout the research. The research will be based on three departments which are: Human Resources Finance Information Technology Each of the above mentioned departments will be analysed to identify the impact of social networking on flow of information in the departments and security levels desired for each of the departments. 3. Literature Review 3.1. General Many researchers have correctly said that the growing technology has twisted the traditional features of the workplace (Bennett, Owers, Pitt, Tucker, 2010). It has also been argued that the growing importance of networking and socialising in modern days is becoming more flexible and dynamic day-by-day (Cross, Parker, Prusak, Borgatti, 2001). This is due to integration of social sites and social media in the working environment which has broadened the view of the employees in the organisation. This has facilitated organisation to build up new networks and help employees to connect to each other in the diverse geographical location having different time zones which helps to reduce the cost and time taken for information to be transmitted. Social Networking Site can be defined as web-based service that allows individuals to (Boyd Ellison, 2008): (1) Construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) Articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection and (3) View and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system. At workplace the social networking can be referred in two ways: external and internal social networking. External social networking refers the use of external social networking sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace and so on at the workplace, which are not within the control of the organisation. On the other hand, there are some organisations that have developed internal social networking tools such as Beehive at IBM, Watercooler at HP which provides social networking within and controlled by the organisation. Company X uses Reuters and Microsoft Office Communicator 2007 as the internal social networking tool and Facebook and LinkedIn as the external social networking at the workplace. This research will only focus on impact of external social networking. 3.2. Effect of Social Networking From past 5 years, social networking has sneaked into the business organisations due to the increased popularity and availability of social networking amongst office workers. (Shirky, 2008); (Tapscott Williams, 2006). This has lead to informal connection in the organisation and has transformed the ways of the knowledge sharing making it easier and more flexible within the companies. The research done in 2008 by Skeels and Grudin has shown that around 37% of employees were using Facebook occasionally and about 17% were using it daily at workplace. Also around 50% of employees had their account on LinkedIn but only 4% were using it daily (Skeels Grudin, 2009). According to the ClearSwift publications in January 2011, the exposure to social networking invites many threats to the companies. The research highlights that 42% of U.K. office workers admitted discussing work-related issues via social networking applications and 83% of the office workers were using office resources to access social networking websites (ClearSwift, 2011). Some researchers have also said that employees spend 6 hours a week on Facebook at work time (Shepherd, 2011). The research conducted in companies such as Microsoft and IBM by different researchers has highlighted some of the benefits of using these social networking sites at workplace which are listed below (Skeels Grudin, 2009); (DiMicco Millen DR, 2007): LinkedIn, being a professional social networking site, helps to maintain professional network. Employers often refer social networking sites such as LinkedIn and Facebook for recruiting employees by reviewing their profile, pictures, personal details, wall posts and comments either put by them or by others on their profile. Facebook was helpful for building and strengthening knot between colleagues and also maintain contacts with the ex-colleagues. On the flip side, the research has also shown some concern and worries about using these social sites at workplace which are listed below (Skeels Grudin, 2009); (DiMicco Millen DR, 2007): Staff indulging in social networking and wasting time during working hours. A cause of security concern for the organisation. Risk of disclosing confidential data in public. Integration of professional and personal life and conflicts arising from them. Some senior managers felt that employees were crossing boundaries of the organisation. Most of the company in UK have opposed the use of social networking at workplace and have banned these sites. However, ZDNets writer Alan Calder have argued that blocking or restricting access to social networking site at workplace will demoralise the employees and make them less effective and productive (Calder, 2010). Some research have shown that social networking sites have reduced productivity and have cost companies lose of about  £1.38 billion annually (Manpower UK, 2010). Therefore, some companies are looking forward to strengthen the controls in the organisation. But companies need to be very careful in placing the controls seeing that social networking has become an important part of every ones life and has been growingly encouraged by different smart-phones such as Blackberry, I-Phones and many more. If the social networking sites are completely banned at the workplace, employees tend to use their smart-phones to access social networking sites which will consume more time and ultimately end up in devoting less time to work eventually affecting their productivity and incurring losses for the organisation. Therefore, employers need to weigh these strengths and opportunities with weaknesses and threats to make a meaningful decision. Similar, views have been shared by (Fried Hansson, 2010) that the organisation will not be able to achieve anything by limiting or banning the social network sites at workplace because the time which they are devoting to the social networking sites will not get convert to productive work but and employees will find some alternative sources to spend this time. The Trade Union Congress (TUC) claims that handling carefully and allowing internet access for staff during break hours can be valuable for employees and can help them maintain relationships (TUC, 2007). According to the researchers observation while previously working in Company X it was seen that there was a blend of employees from lower level to top management using social networking websites such as Facebook and LinkedIn at various intervals during their work shift. The research will throw lights on the benefits and concerns affecting productivity by using of social networking sites in banking sector during working hours. Apart from deteriorating and/or enhancing the productivity, social networking sites are playing a major role for recruiting employees. Employers use various sites to check the background of the candidate by making a judgment on their post and photos uploaded on the sites. According to study conducted by Deloitte in 2009, 23% of companies were using social networking sites for hiring employees (Allen, Deloitte LLP 2009 Ethics Workplace Survey results Social networking and reputational risk in the workplace, 2009). Now-a-days, LinkedIn is popularly used for recommending friends or co-workers for jobs and recruiting staff. In near future, it may emerge to be incorporated as an official site for recruiting in the organisation but till date no evidence can be found to trace the reliability of LinkedIn as a source for hiring people. On the other hand there has been evidence that people are laid-off due to unethical behaviour demonstrated while using social networking site (Vadlamani, 2009); (Remala, 2010). The other major concern of social networking at workplace is that it has placed trust on stake. The survey conducted in Deloitte in 2010, highlights that only 34% of employees agree and 49% of employees disagree that social networking helps to build up the trust at workplace (Allen, Deloitte LLP 2010 Ethics Workplace Survey Trust in the workplace, 2010 ). One of the major problems of the organisation due to social networking is the security of the private and confidential data. Employees tend to merge their personal and professional life while networking and intentionally or unintentionally tend to sometimes leak out the company secured data which otherwise needs to be protected within the realm of the organisation. On 14th July, 2010 Infosys figured out that some of the employees were discussing important details about their project on Twitter and Facebook and so company had to sack their employees. So in order to control this activity they have incorporated the social media policy in which employees are strongly advised not to breach the policy (Remala, 2010). The data collection and literature review will help to critically analysis and gain a greater insight of effect of social networking sites in investment banking sector. 4. Research Methodology The research will follow the deductive approach as described by in (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2009). The research will explore a new dimension of using social networking in a Multinational Company for their business development in short term and long term and develop a good analysis based on the data collection as discussed below. 4.1. Data collection In order to achieve the research objective and question (mentioned in section 2) the subsequent data collection methods will be followed: Secondary Data Collection The secondary data will be collected from press release and academic literature such as journals, white paper and publication from internet sources and news channels. The data collection will be qualitative data. The research conducted by other researcher in Microsoft and IBM, technological companies will act as a base for this research. Primary Data Collection The forms of primary data which will be collect are as below: Face-to-face Interviews: Ten non-standardised face to face interview will be conducted split between Vice President (VP) and managers of three departments in company X. This will help to analysis the role of social networking in the organisation for different departments giving different viewpoints and a better insight of the matter. The interviews will also help to generate qualitative data which will be transcribed but will not be recoded due to ethics of the company. The time line for conducting interview is specified in research timelines section (section 6). Online Survey: Online survey will be conducted with the help of the website named Survey Monkey which will help to give a holistic view of the organisation as the survey will be filled in by VP, managers and subordinates. The layout of the questionnaires which will be formed for online survey will fulfil all the main attributes of questionnaires as recommended by Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill (2009). This will provide quantitative data for analysis. The permission to gain access to the organisation has been agreed. In order to improve the response rate of online survey, questionnaires and face-to-face interviews the recommendation from Bryman and Bell (2003) will be followed. 4.2. Analysis of Data The quantitative data which will be collected through online survey will be analysed by using computer based software named Minitab 15. The quantitative data will be divided in to two separate groups: categorical data and numerical data (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2009). The survey and interview results will help to produce a comparison between three departments within the MNC under the research study. 5. Potential Problem and Pitfall While undertaking the research following are the limitation and potential problem which are anticipated: Poor response to interview: Face to face interview or telephonic interview will be conducted, which will not be recorded due to confidentiality. The respondents might be bias answering in socially desirable way. Poor response to online questioner: Respond rate might be lower as online questioner because they are perceived to be spam. It would be difficult to determine whether respondents have understood the question correctly and have replied honestly. Inadequate Sample: Since only one organisation will be examined and so there will be limited sample to be examined. However, the research will be useful because practical evidence will be provided. 6. Research Time lines The research will commence from 6th June 2011 and will continue till 12th September 2011. It will be conducted for 15 weeks as shown in Table 1 below: Table 1: Research time lines 7. Findings Social networking is tremendously growing its presence at the workplace. As discussed in the literature review, it highlights that social networking site has a greater influence on productivity of the employees and have also increased the concern about the companys reputation and data security for the organisation. It can also conclude that social networking at workplace does not only have the negative effect but if handled correctly it can be used in a beneficial way. The research question and objective can be fulfilled by following the research methodology and plan as mentioned in section 4 and 6 respectively. The data collected will be analysed by using Minitab 15 and the actual finding will give a deeper insight and can also help the organisation to revise their policy.

The NASW Position Statement on Gays and Lesbians and the Students Persp

There are many issues that interfere with the health and happiness of those within the Gay and Lesbian community. The National Association Position Statement on Gays and Lesbians is as attempt to abolish such issues within the social work practice. One place that individuals of any sexual orientation practice should feel safe is with those who have chosen the field of social work as a means to helping the oppressed. Social workers must be aware of their own personal beliefs and values when it comes to the fear of and the misrepresentation of working with this divers group. The consequences of not dealing with such issues and may have a latent manifest in dealing with the Gay and Lesbian population, and if not addressed prior to working in this field, maybe devastating to a client. After reviewing the NASW’s Position Statement of Gays and Lesbians, I found that â€Å"NASW supports laws and rights as it pertains to the rights of gays, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender or the LGBT (NASW, 2004).† Moreover, the position statement identifies that homosexuals should be seen as equals and be given the right to such issues as same-sex marriages, adoptions, joint tax returns, shared health insurance, parenting, and bereavement leaves. As social workers we should not try to change a person’s beliefs about their sexual orientation in anyway, but seek to gain education concerning human sexuality, human sexual development, and a high degree of comfort and communication skills when responding to such issues (Haldman, 1994). Before I penetrate any further into this paper, I would like to point out that it is important for people (especially social workers), to know what the meaning of heterosexism is to truly understand the concept of the NASW... ...eflects my own views and experiences concerning LGBT group as it relates to the NASW position on Gays and Lesbian. It is because I am a social work student that I celebrate and support this statement. Works Cited Hacker. 2011. in Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved May 8, 2011, from http://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/hacker National Association of Social Workers. (1999). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Washington, DC: Author. National Association of Social Workers. (2003). Lesbian, gay, and bisexual issues. Social work speaks: National Association of Social Workers policy statements, 2003–2006 (6th ed., pp. 224–235). Washington, DC: NASW Press. Walter R. Schumm 2010: The Other Story about Same Sex Parenting, www. schumm@ksu.edu, Retrieved March 4, 2012 www.eReference.com/reference/dictionary/entry/heterosexism

True Lust Essay -- Essays Papers

True Lust Romantic love is both an inward and an outward admiration and investment in another person. When a person loves another person, he or she displays admiration and respect for that person’s body, personality, emotions, and desires. On the other hand, when a person’s only admiration for another person is for their body, such desire cannot be defined as love. For example, a rich, middle-aged man may truly admire and enjoy his prostitute’s body, but his investment in her aesthetic beauty does not equate to love for her as a person. His fixation is purely visual and tangible, yet his regard for the prostitute’s personality and emotions is, most likely, almost non-existent. Final diagnosis: the rich man does not love his prostitute, but lusts for her. Vladimir Nabokov’s novel, Lolita, portrays this distinction between love and lust through a morally complicated and controversial story. The story consists of many layered themes, which a reader must first sort through in order to make sense of the question of love. The subject most explicitly present in Lolita is pedophilia. Because we live in world of pre-conceived and ingrained societal norms regarding what is â€Å"morally acceptable† and â€Å"kosher,† and because pedophilia is generally considered one of the most heinous and immoral of crimes, many readers cringe at the very mention of such a topic and, therefore, fail to recognize the underlying and essential question of love verses lust present in the novel. In order to achieve a true understanding of Lolita, a reader must set aside such societal norms and pre-conceived notions. Gaining a true understanding of Nabokov’s novel requires an open and unbiased mind. Through objective eyes, then, pedophilia is nothin... ...sely acquainted with Dolores Haze by the end of the novel, despite the lengthy descriptions offered about her. Humbert never offers the reader a true portrayal of Dolly as a person with life and feelings, but only a distorted physical portrait of the nymphet, Lolita. Aside from the controversial pedophilia issue, Lolita still remains a lust story. Nothing proves this point more effectively than Humbert’s own statement: â€Å"You see, I loved her. It was love at first sight, at last sight, at ever and ever sight† (Nabokov 270). Works Consulted - Nabokov, Vladimir. Lolita. New York: Random House, 1997. - Ostermiller, Marcus. â€Å"Love: a disguise for Lust.† 2005. - Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1996. - Warner, Jennifer. â€Å"Is there a ‘Gay Gene’?† WebMD Medical News. ONLINE. http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/100/105486.htm.

RSA Guideline

â€Å"Establishment of Operational Road Safety Engineering Units in the Road Authorities (Pads) of 2 Southern – States of India† Slash Chancre Triad, International Road Safety Specialist It is recognized that the in order to improve road safety it is vital for institutional strengthening, capacity building and reform to urgently take place in the road sector.The Tasks of Technical Assistance Services under two assignments as already addressed in Kraal-India (the World-Bank financed EST. I Project for PAD) ND are currently being addressed in Karakas-India (DAB financed PRAM Project for PAD) are: Road safety tools and techniques vital for roads to be safe and sustainable; Institutional strengthening and reform by providing adequate on and off training; and introducing well-proven and appropriate proactive and reactive engineering approaches / measures and educational aspects to improve road safety.The author will briefly address regarding various activities performed and topics addressed. Such as Safe Road Management System, 5 Pillars, Crash Data Collection, Database, Analysis and Reports for dissemination; Road Safety Engineering; Economics; Low Cost Counter – Measures and Program; Vulnerable Road Users; History of Road Safety Audit with Stages, Checklists and Report; Road Safety Review and Inspection; Operations Processes, Procedures, Manuals and Guidelines; Strategies and Policies; Road Safety Co-ordination and Action Plan; International Practices; Road Safety Engineering related Awareness Campaigns; InstitutionalStrengthening and Capacity Building: Organizational structure, Training Need Assessment, Job-descriptions; On and Off – the Job-Training and Standards; Monitoring and Evaluations; Innovations and developments In Traffic Control Devices (signs and marking materials); RAP; Procurement of road safety tools (such as book, code, software and equipment); Crash Barriers; School Zone Treatments; Case studies. Also discussions on th e most up-to-date concepts, principles and practices for Institutional reform In the road safety.

Steadiness behavior style

The steadiness behavior style is a pattern of behavior where the person in question prefers a slower paced decision making process, he or she is focused on relationships in the working and social environment, and avoids pushy or aggressive people. Individuals who exhibit this style of behavior are active listeners and develop relationships easily with others who exhibit the same personality traits. This type of behavior style is mostly found in people who choose professions that help others such as a doctor, teacher, nurse or financial advisor.The personal weakness in people who choose the steadiness style of behavior lies in the ability to react quickly by making a spur of the moment decision as it might entail more of a risk than others. These individuals do not express their feelings openly, as they might appear weak in the eyes of others. To avoid conflict, stress or apparent weakness he or she will often tell others exactly what they want to hear; therefore discouraging close re lationships in the end. To communicate with people who exhibit this particular behavior style it is important to keep many things in mind before you approach.These individuals are steady and somewhat cautious; therefore, it is important to earn his or her trust and to be supportive of their feelings as well as sincere about your interest in them. As these individuals avoid risky situations and are resistant to change naturally, forcing him or her into a quick decision will ultimately break open communication. A general nonthreatening and sincere approach will create a positive relationship. In the professional setting it is possible to develop a close working relationship and help the person who exhibits the steadiness behavior style.As these individuals are very routine, helping them realize that there is more than one approach to any situation will often open their mind to new ideas, breaking habitual behavior and open the passageway to new ideas. Encouraging behaviors that are ou tside of the norm and helping these individuals adjust to alternate solutions consistently will allow a feeling of acceptance; therefore he or she will openly express ideas, which could lead to a stronger working relationship and new innovative thoughts.

FC Arsenal – A brief history

West Ham Wembley As of the 2012-13 season, there are fourteen professional football teams in London, six play in the Premier League and eight in the Football League. Wembley is also shown. Football is the most popular sport, both in terms of participants and spectators, in London. [l] London has several of England's leading football clubs, and the city is home to fourteen professional teams and more than 80 amateur leagues regulated by the London Football Association. [2] Most London clubs are named after the district in which they play or used to play.Fulham is London's oldest club still playing professionally, having been founded in 1879. Royal Arsenal were London's first team to turn professional in 1891. Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are London's most successful teams in domestic and European competitions. Between them, they've won a total of 84 titles and trophies. Wembley Stadium, England's national stadium is in London. It is the home venue of the England national foo tball team and has traditionally hosted the FA Cup Final since 1923. On 19 May 2012, Chelsea became the first London club to become European champions after winning the 2011-12 UEFA Champions League.History The playing of team ball games (almost certainly including football) was first recorded n London by William FitzStephen around 1174-1183. He described the activities of London youths during the annual festival of Shrove Tuesday. The playing of some form of football in London has been well documented since its creation in 1314. Regular references to the game occurred throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, including the first reference to word â€Å"football† in English when it was outlawed by King Henry IV of England in 1409. Early games were probably disorganised and violent.In the sixteenth century, the headmaster of St Paul's School Richard Mulcaster is credited with taking mob football and transforming it into rganised and refereed team football. In 1581 he described in English his game of football, which included smaller teams, referees, set positions and even a coach. Royal Engineers A. F. C. , 1872 The modern game of football was first codified in 1863 in London and subsequently spread worldwide. Key to the establishment of the modern game was Londoner Ebenezer Cobb Morley who was a founding member of the Football Association, the oldest football organisation in the world.Morley wrote to Bell's Life newspaper proposing a governing body for football which led directly to the first meeting at the Freemasons' Tavern in central London of the FA. He wrote the first set of rules of true modern football at his house in Barnes. The modern passing game was invented in London in the early 1870s by the Royal Engineers Prior to the first meeting of the Football Association in the Freemasons' Tavern in Great Queen Street, London on 26 October 1863, there were no universally accepted rules for the playing of the game of football.

Veterans

Also, currently not enough care is given to veterans. Veterans have devoted their lives to this country and have made many sacrifices. There are approximately 21. illion veterans In the U. S. as of 2012. Of those veterans over 32,000 soldiers were wounded in Iraq. Also 4,787 U. S. troops died in Iraq serving their country. This service is not as appreciated as you would think, and I believe more effort should be put into taking care for all our veterans. The New Affordable Care Act makes it very difficult for veterans to receive reliable medical benefits and some even do more for our country. Many veterans still contribute to the nation's work force, even after returning home from war. Over half of the veterans In the U. S. are still able to work after returning rom war.Many veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and are not given the proper attention and care to get back on their feet and find a job. 1 OF2 stu01es snow tnat 4 cases 0T PISD were present arter tne Vletnam war, ana 1 million lifetime cases as a result of the same war. A third of the veterans in the U. S. are out of a Job due to the symptoms of PTSD. The VA needs to take it upon themselves to help veterans cope with life after the war, so that they can get their life back on track. After returning home from war veterans find it very difficult to get a Job and provide or themselves.Especially the individuals who were wounded, while defending their country. A majority of these people are wounded mentally as well as physically, and they cannot provide for themselves anymore. Many people believe that veterans are more of a pain than anything else. Since their tax dollars are being used to fund programs like the VA. These organizations are making it very difficult for veterans to receive any health benefits. The new rule is that veterans must be active duty for 24 continuous months in order to be eligible for any kind of medical coverage.Veterans hat have put their lives on the line to defend their country should not have to worry about how they are going to provide for themselves. It is my firm belief that the VA should extend their support for all veterans for everything they have done for our country. This service should be provided to veterans forever. Veterans have done more than enough to deserve this care, and they can still contribute to the labor force. Finally, not enough care is given to our veterans. Between 130,000 and 200,000 veterans are homeless in America. This represents between one fourth and one fifth of all of the homeless people in the country.

Investigative Procedures Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Investigative Procedures - Assignment Example The allegations against the accused must be verified independently to ascertain reasonable grounds for further investigations. Once this is done, the CEO and CFO must be informed. Using a suitable team for instance the manufacturing plants' accounts department, documents should reviewed for any evidence. Investigations should then proceed to neutral persons then to third parties to corroborate evidence. Care should be taken not to violate suspect’s rights or break the law in seeking evidence and the truth. Introduction Internal fraud is becoming a common problem in organizations today because the employees have knowledge of the internal mechanisms and procedures for the organization. Some are in charge of divisions and so influence decisions and can manipulate by abusing their positions to commit internal fraud and thefts and still be able to cover their tracks. The employees may also leak information to outsiders who then use that information to commit frauds and the employee gets a payoff for their services. Employee fraud incidences have been on a steep incline especially during and immediately after the global financial crisis. The US for instance reported employee fraud that cost firms a total of $ 994 billion. The UK CIFAS data show that staff fraud increased by 40% since 2008 and the trends are interesting because it is the younger employees who are reportedly committing more crimes (Cohen, 2011). The same report also showed a 63% increase in staff fraud in 2011, compared to 2008 with fraud statistics in 2010 showing that staff fraudsters were mostly youngsters with 29% being under the age of 21 years while those aged between 41 – 50 years making up just 30% while no instance of internal fraud was reported for those above age 50 (Cohen, 2011). This paper will answer various questions and thereafter make a conclusion 1. Given the situation, discuss some of the options the company has for handling this situation.   This is obviously a preca rious situation since the plant manager gets a lot of respect from the CEO and CFO and their families are very close. However being close to the CEO and CFO should not stop investigations from taking place since this would amount to complicity and cover-ups by the top management. The investigator should be a senior manager for instance the Human Resources manager or the Legal advisor; since the crime is just alleged at this point. Certain facts should be ascertained to meet a specific threshold before in depth investigations can be carried out with the plant operator being interviewed and maybe being forced to go on leave pending investigations. To avoid upsetting the existing relations and causing too much friction, the signs and evidence of internal fraud must be established. These include accounting anomalies, weaknesses in internal controls, analytical symptoms, lifestyle symptoms, behavioral systems and employee tips and complaints. From the given scenario, Mr. Reynolds should consider the case serious and warranting an investigation since he has already received a tip from an employee in that plant, that the plant operator is exhibiting an erratic personal behavior while his lifestyle has changed beyond his normal means. Care must be taken to protect the identity of the informer (Goldman, 2007). Mr. Reynolds should then obtain prior evidence from the relevant person’s incognito and write a report, and request a report from the informer. An auditor or accounts