Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Assignment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Assignment - Case Study Example already established is growing as the rate of competition goes high with the example of Mini-mills taking over and setting a price war in the industry. There is also an increase of foreign companies taking the market shares. The third force is the bargaining power that suppliers have. The suppliers are decreasing due to bankruptcy thus; the number of suppliers is low. Few suppliers makes the services that the industry offers to be the same and not unique in any way (Steel Industry Profile, 2013). The fourth force is the buyer’s bargaining power and the number of customers is high. When the number of customers is high then the supply price becomes sensitive. The costs that customers have to go through to switch to a differential product are relatively low. The fifth force is a threat to the substitutes where the prices of switching to substitutes is high and thus the companies must adjust their prices so that they are able to compete with plastics, composites, and aluminum which are

Monday, October 28, 2019

Launching Strategy Essay Example for Free

Launching Strategy Essay Purpose: Alpen Bank is facing potential growth opportunities in terms of launching a credit card to the Romanian market. The overall goal is to increase annual profit by â‚ ¬5 million within two years of launch. Selection of the right target audience, while applying the appropriate launching strategy is the direction of our focus. Our goal is to extend the Alpen Bank premium service to customers via a new product market. Predictions of economic growth in Romania, proves that the market is growing increasingly ripe for credit cards. Therefore, the issue is not whether or not Alpine Bank should launch a credit card in Romania. The concern of Alpine Bank should be when to launch said services in Romania. Current models, statistics, and research are conclusive; the time to invest in Romania is now. Position Statement: The recommendation standing and supported by enclosed financial statements are as follows: Launching a credit card in the Romanian market would meet the stated purpose by targeting the affluent and most affluent audience (Exhibit 1). The marketing approach will consist of direct sales in conjunction with branch cross selling (Exhibit 2). Also the use of magazine and television advertising strategies will enhance our position. This approach will add support for the recommendation of taking advantage of a primarily non-penetrated market. Reason: The opportunity to invest in the Romanian credit card market yields potential revenue growth, along with increasing the life time value of each customer, new and existing. With Romania entering the European Union, Alpen Bank has been prompted to re-visit its previous credit card approach in the emerging economy. Additionally, there has been an increase in luxury products and purchases, displaying increased consumer purchasing power, a potential indicator of an increased interest in credit card. Furthermore, Romania is in a transition period, with cards gaining favorability over cash payments. Alpen Bank hopes to build upon prior methods explored in Romania by competing banks in penetrating the credit card market. Decision Options (Exhibit 6): 1.Launch a credit card in Romania. 2.Do not launch a credit card in Romania. Decision Option 1 a.Add a new market: Alpen Bank can continue its successful venture in Romania by adding a credit card to its portfolio. This will foster a continuing growth in an increasingly affluent Romanian upper class. As purchasing power is determined by income level and accumulated wealth, the affluent class is more able than the middle class to make purchases on credit. b.Increase revenue: Current models and predictions indicate a strong opportunity to significantly increase the yearly revenue by investing in the credit card market. Calculations display how the venture will increase the life time value of each customer, ensuring future growth. (Exhibit 1) Decision Option 2 a.Focus on existing markets: Venturing into the credit card market could draw resources away from core Alpen Banking services already in effect for the Romanian market. b.Assure no potential risk: All investments come with inherent risks. By investing substantially into an exploratory market, Alpen Bank is running the risk of not meeting the expected outcome. The potential monetary risk could run into the millions of dollars, along with an incalculable risk to reputation. How to measure Decision Option 1 a.Establish a customer base with the affluent and most affluent: By building upon the currently excising clientele, along with attracting untapped segments of the prosperous Romanian upper class. By comparing the actual number of clients utilizing the Alpen Bank credit card with the models and predictions made pre-credit card launch. (Exhibit 4) b.Increasing revenue from the credit card launch: Expected revenue from the credit card enterprise is projected to be â‚ ¬6,698,391 within two years (Exhibit 2). By updating current calculation models with on-going information as the enterprise proceeds allows for ongoing monitoring of predicted return on investment. The lifetime value of customers will also be assessed on a yearly basis, predicting the value of loyal, long term users of credit cards. How to measure Decision Option 2 a.Projecting further growth without credit card. Venturing into the Romanian credit card market taps resources away from current banking business. Investments could also be put to use in other areas, such as higher frequency of branches opening or improving services currently offered. b.Customer awareness of the bank’s premium brand: By investing in already offered business services. Alpine Bank is committed to improving our superior line of service currently offered to the Romanian clientele. Critique of Decision Options 1 Per limitations of senior management, the investment into the Romanian credit card market must prove itself profitable within two years, yielding at least five million euro. Investing in developing a profitable line of credit cards comes with several risk factors. Predictions of profit could be erroneous, leading to a less than expected return on investments. This in turn could lead to revocable and irrevocable damage to reputation, potentially resulting in a net loss of customer over short and long term. Projections of the positive effects of Romania’s’ recent acceptance into the European Union could also be incorrect. By investing time and energy into a new business venture, current banking services could suffer from subconscious neglect by employees involved in both enterprises. Critique of Decision Option 2 A decision not to invest in the Romanian credit card market will be a hinder of growth. Currently, competing banks are investing and have invested in the growing credit card market. By delaying a venture, Alpen Bank is permitting competitors to gain establishment and credit market branding. Alpen Bank currently holds the potential necessary for a successful venture into the credit card market. By failing to employ said resources, Alpine Bank is neglecting talent and opportunity, which could lead to failure in expected profitability. Being accepted into European Union brings increasing prospect of higher return on investments in the credit card market. By choosing to stay out of the market, Alpine Bank is also forcing excising customers to other banks for credit card services. As experienced in other emerging markets in developing countries, credit card customers are less likely to switch from one credit card to another. Therefore, failing to introduce a line of credit cards now will make it increasingly difficult to attract customers when Alpen Bank eventually starts its credit card venture. Action plan: Goals: †¢Launch a credit card †¢Reach the affluent and most affluent †¢Launch marketing and adverting that appeals to our audience Action Steps: Short term †¢Marketing Plan: Release a Premium Marketing Plan that is focused, achievable, compelling, and simple. As evident by exhibit 1, the chosen target group is the affluent and most affluent segments of the Romanian population. By ensuring a proper understanding of the dynamic characterizing the targeted demographic, we are able to construct the appropriate marketing plan. This will instill the programs, tactics, incentives, and budgets necessary for a strong image and a consistent message reaching the targeted customers. †¢Marketing: Investing in direct sales and branch cross-selling holds the highest effective rate of potential customers reached. These two methods also have the lowest cost per customer. Combined they ensure the most effective tactic in recruiting customers to Alpen Bank’s credit card. (Exhibit 2) †¢Advertising: Magazine and television advertisements. Our advertising goal is to capture the attention of perspective applicants as well as converting prospects involved with other credit card venues. Establishing a clear message for the audience is essential in launching advertising Alpen Bank’s advertising campaign. â€Å"A premium clientele deserves a premium banking experience.† The launch of the campaign considers the sophisticated, vernacular culture of our Romanian clientele. The goal is to assure the same quality experience in our established bank while adding an innovative credit card product to allocate more options for our clientele. -Magazine advertisements could feature admired Romanian model Diana Dondoe, to highlight Alpen Bank’s image of being an upscale and exclusive provider of banking services. -Television advertisements could consist of 30 second runs of a Romanian couple being picked up by their driver and dropped off at the premier launch of the credit card. These are some alternatives in order to illustrate how the product could be marketed. †¢Launch of promotional events by the Alpen Bank’s public relations department. Evening events could be held at elegant local venues for charitable fundraising purposes. Long term †¢Continuing growth in the Romanian market, with special focus on the credit card market. †¢Attracting customers to Alpen Bank by focusing on its premium image and superior services. †¢Expansion in the credit card market, to have established a customer base of 200,000 customers five years following initial launch. †¢As the Romanian economy is growing, the percentage of population with a disposable income is increasing. Alpen Bank will focus on attracting new members of the affluent segment of the population. †¢Increase the lifetime value of each customer, by further expansion of the financial services offered. †¢Increase credit card utilization by informing clientele of benefits associated with credit card purchases, along with temporary potential incentives offered in order to change consumer habits. Risk and Countermeasures †¢The chosen target demographic of affluent and most affluent Romanians could prove itself too limited for effective penetration. However, as the Romanian economy is growing, the targeted demographic is also expected to expand in size. Therefore, even if the current market niche is too limited, it is expected to grow substantially over the next two to three years. †¢The expected profit of five million could not be achieved within the timeframe of two years. As limitations set by senior management calls for a substantial profit to be made within a relatively short amount of time, there is a risk of the time restraints not being met. Yet these restrictions add a clear vision, enabling a structured approach in order to meet the expected outcome within the set timeframe. Final recommendation and conclusion By venturing into the Romanian credit card market, Alpen Bank is capitalizing on a ripe product opportunity. Current predictions and models consistently indicate that by pursuing the recommended strategy, Alpen Bank will see profits grow by a minimum of â‚ ¬6.6 million over two years. Romania’s recent acceptance into the European Union, accompanied with an increase in purchasing power among the affluent fragment of the population will ensure a substantial return on investment. (Exhibit 4, 5)

Saturday, October 26, 2019

August Wilsons Rose: Surviving the Love and Deception Essay -- Litera

Alan Nadel in May All Your Fences Have Gates: Essays on the Drama of August Wilson states â€Å"August Wilson’s female characters are represented as nurturers† (6-7).This is exactly how August Wilson presents Rose to his readers. A key element is that Wilson names her after a flower just as his own mother; whose name was Daisy. It is apparent that through Rose, August Wilson wants us to see his mother. He intentionally portrays her as the caring, ideal woman, and one who stands by her man no matter how difficult this may be. Nadel also mentions: â€Å"What differentiates them is how they interpret the concept of nurturing, and what sacrifices they have to make in the process, for Wolfson’s world is always necessarily one of scarcity and limitation† (6-7). Evidently, Rose is submissive, powerful, caring and very nurturing. This is how women were anticipated to be in this era. Although Rose is submissive at the beginning of the play, she becomes a powerful woman at the end. Rose proves this when she decides to raise Raynell and by becoming involved in the church. Rose first marries Troy because she knew he would provide for her and the children they would have someday. Rose is determined to make her marriage work, even if it means giving up a little bit of herself in the process. She was certain she would be able to make Troy happy. The fact that Troy is older and confident is an important factor. Troy provides the stability that she needs. Rose was willing to be submissive as long as Troy remained faithful. Her kind-heartedness was profound. Rose took care of Troy for many years. Her nurturing ways were what made her who she was, the always caring wife, mother, and friend. Everyone who knew Rose knew s... ...right for her family. Rose rarely thought of herself. Her dream of a happy marriage would no longer be. Could she somehow relate to this poem? What happens to dream deferred? By Langston Hughes Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun? Or fester like a sore ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬--- And then run? Does it stink like rotten meat? Or crust and sugar over--- Like syrupy sweet? Maybe it just sags like a heavy load. Or does it explode? Fortunately for Rose, she did not explode. At the end of the play she still has her pride. Works Cited Hughes, Langston. What happens to a dream deferred? Poem, 1951. Nadel, Alan. May All Your Fences Have Gates: Essays on the Drama of August Wilson. Iowa City: U. of Iowa Press, 1994. Print. Wilson, August. Fences. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2007. Print.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Life of Pi Animals Essay

Acting and speaking before THINKING, this goes back to a humans’ primitive stage. We are all animals, in the sense that we are mammals. Manifested through our psyche or personality, each animal has a different representation. From personality traits, behavior or even symbolism, animals have the ability to portray these features in humans. In Yann Martel’s Life of Pi, four distinct animals are manifested in the main character’s (Pi Patel)spirit. These four animals a zebra, which symbolizes the struggle to survive and docility, the orangutan – a nurturing mother personality, the hyena for desperation and evil, then lastly the tiger, Richard Parker which represents perseverance and companionship. When one visits the zoo, the most submissive creature there to see is the zebra. Marked with bold black and white stripes to show endurance, the zebra is still indecisive and unassertive. Relating back to Pi Patel, even from the beginning of the novel he cannot make up his mind about which religion to follow. This shows when his indetermination leads him from being a Muslim, to Hinduism, to Christianity. Also, as the hyena attacks the zebra for food, the animal strives to defend himself by thrashing about the boat. Severely wounded and painfully struggling to fight the battle, zebras determination to stay alive and survive the attack from the hyena. This is also a small wake up call to Pi who is also growing weak day in and day out while a hungry Bengal tiger sleeps only a few feet away. However the need to survive and the life of force is a character trait that the zebra and Pi Patel have in common, not to mention uncertainty.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

After Twenty Years Essay

â€Å"After Twenty Years† by O. Henry, is a great story. It is about two men who are great friends; they schedule a meeting so they can meet after twenty years, hence the title of the story. This story illustrates that people change but that does not necessarily mean in a good way! I had many friends when i changed schools and none of the friends i had changed in a good way, they now smoke and dress inappropriately. â€Å"After Twenty Years† really grabs the reader’s attention and O. Henry made a surprise ending that caused the story to end with a BANG! it truly was an amazing story. Bob and Jimmy were great friends and scheduled an appointment to meet after twenty years in front of an old restaurant. BY the time the day comes, the restaurant is now a shop. Bob was waiting in front of the locked doors that night when a cop approaches him and right away, Bob explains why he is there to assure the cop its okay for him to be there. To me, it seems a little suspicious to explain right away. The cop listens and planned to stay. Then he lights a cigar and the cop got glimpse of his face. After hearing the story he walks away. Twenty minutes later, JImmy shows up. They go walking and talk about how Bob is wealthy and that he lives out West. Jimmy listens for a bout ten minutes then Bob notices his nose. â€Å"Twenty years is a long time but not long enough to change a Roman into a Pug.† He explains concerned. Then the under cover cop explains and hands him a note. The note said, Bob, I was at the appointed place on time. when you lit the cigar i saw the face of a man wanted in Chicago, i knew i couldn’t arrest you myself so i sent and under cover officer, Jimmy. The ending really surprised me and it was a good story. My friends may have never robbed anything from the West but they were bad. Do you have anyone who changed? Perhaps yourself?

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Child Labor in Ghana Essays

Child Labor in Ghana Essays Child Labor in Ghana Essay Child Labor in Ghana Essay Project Description and Learning Outcome: According to the statistics of International Labor Organization, there are 250 million children aged 5 to 14 (Todaro Smith, 2009, p. 379) are working in developing countries, and many of them were enslaved or bonded laborers. Of these 250 million child labors, 126. 3 million are doing jobs that are classified as difficult, dangerous and suitable. (Child Labour in Africa, 2006) Africa has the highest rate of child labor in the world, which is 41%. (Todaro Smith, 2009, p. 79) While child labor has been declining in Asia and Latin America, economic decline, war, famine and HIV/AIDS have combined to prevent this in Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa has 49. 3 million children are working and have the greatest incidence of economically active children: 26. 4 percent of children ages 5 to 14 in the region are at work. Also in Africa, an estimated 50,000 children are in prostitution and pornography. Some 120,000 children under the age of 18 are thought to have been coerced into taking up arms as child soldiers, or military porters, messengers, cooks or sex slaves in Africa. Child Labour in Africa, 2006) Children works at earlier age in Ghana and farm labor predominates. According to Bhalotra in a report published by the OECD, â€Å"work on the household farm engages 41% of boys and 44% of girls aged 10-14, while household enterprise work involves 2. 5% of boys and 3. 6% of girls. † (Bhalotra, 2003) This research will discuss the causes of child labor in Ghana and the effect it will have on the child, the family and the economy. The International Labor Organization (ILO) is in forefront in combating child labor worldwide. It has several poverty reduction programs in Africa. This project will be done in 4 phases as follows: Phase1: Introduction We will briefly discuss the general theory of child labor, what are the causes of child labor and general situation of child labor in Ghana and its effects, as well as our objective in this research project. Phase 2: Description of project, and project results In this phase, we will tackle the main issues involving child labor in Ghana, as well as researching the ways on how the government of Ghana is handling the situation, as well as the support coming from international organizations such as ILO. We use extensively research database of the Centennial library, as well as Toronto Public Library. We also researched on books that are available in the library and online reports published by reputable organizations such as the World Bank, ILO, OECD and several academic journals. Phase 3: Analysis We will analyze the problem and causes of child labor in Ghana, as well as the effect it will have on the child, the family and the economy based on the research materials on hand, and arrive at possible solutions on how to help eradicate child labor in Ghana and how these can contribute to the work of ILO. Phase 4: Conclusion We will then have our conclusion based on the possible solutions for child labor in Ghana. Reference Bhalotra, S. (2003). Child Labour in Africa. OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers, No. 4. OECD Publishing. doi: 10. 1787/582055427126 Child Labour in Africa. (2006). Retrieved November 14, 2010, from International Labour Organization: ilo. org/declaration/info/factsheets/langen/docNameWCMS_DECL_FS_38_EN/index. htm Todaro, M. P. , Smith, S. C. (2009). Economic Development (10th ed. ). Boston: Pearson Addison-Wesley.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Folks versus People

Folks versus People Folks versus People Folks versus People By Maeve Maddox Recently I was amused to hear Jon Stewart express bewilderment at George Bushs continued use of the word folks in inappropriate contexts. This is one of many of the Presidents peculiarities of speech that has bothered me for some time. Stewart was referring to this remark in the Presidents July 4 speech: Many of the spectacular car bombings and killings you see are as a result of al Qaeda the very same folks that attacked us on September the 11th. Folks is notat least it hasnt been since Chaucers timean exact synonym for people. Whereas people is a standard word that may be used in any context, folks is a colloquialism with definite connotations. Folks generally suggests a certain warmth and down home flavor. Just as kids is not the most appropriate word to use when talking about young people who have robbed a store and beaten its owner, folks is probably not the best word to use when referring to people who go around blowing up shoppers at the local market or mourners at a funeral. The word folk can refer to a group of people related in some way, either by blood or by occupation. For example, one can speak of farmer folk as well as the German folk. When used to refer to members of a nation, folk usually carries the connotation of the common people. Folklore is the study or body of stories and beliefs of the common people. Likewise folk music is less sophisticated than classical or pop. The adjective folksy implies the relaxed, informal behavior and speech associated with rural people. President Bush, for example, wins many of his supporters by projecting a folksy Texas image that belies his expensive education at an Andover prep school and at Yale and Harvard universities. The word people can mean something other than human beings in general. In expressions like the motto the People rule, people has the sense of the public, all of the people as a political entity. The phrase you people is sometimes used to lump people for criticism, as in You people dont know what youre talking about! or even simply You people! Small mythical humanoid creatures, like leprechauns, may be called either the Little People or the Little Folk. In addition to being the most usual noun for human beings considered collectively, people can also be used as a verb meaning to populate or give birth to more human beings: According to the Hebrew Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve peopled the earth with their descendants. Unlike my folks which means my family members, the expression my people seems to mean people who work for me or people who look out for my interests. Only time will tell what finally happens with folks. Heard frequently enough, nonstandard usage comes to sound right. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Use â€Å"That,† â€Å"Which,† and â€Å"Who†The Four Sounds of the Spelling OUHow to Write a Proposal

Sunday, October 20, 2019

ICYMI, in Case You Missed It

ICYMI, in Case You Missed It ICYMI, in Case You Missed It ICYMI, in Case You Missed It By Mark Nichol Apparently, I missed it: Ten years ago, the initialism ICYMI entered the social media lexicon by way of Twitter. Like BTW, IMO, IIRC, and others, it’s employed as an entrà ©e to a discussion; ICYMI signals to you that the writer is going to provide context by referring to something you may not have read or heard about before. But I wasn’t aware of the initialism itself until I recently stumbled across it in an online article. I’ve somehow managed to get by without using it and most other examples of online shorthand, including two of the earliest specimens of the form: LOL and ROTFL (and the latter’s more effusive variation, ROTFLMAO). That’s because I’m not a twit- er, not a Twitter user- and I don’t use LOL-speak in text or email messages. But many people do lean heavily on such usage, though some of these condensed expressions, like ICYMI, are less prevalent than others. That means IAS: It’s a shibboleth. ICYDK, a shibboleth (in its original sense) is a word whose pronunciation by someone marks that person as an insider or an outsider; by extension, one’s very use of the word identifies one’s place within or outside of a social group. BTW, the meaning has also loosened up to refer to any behavior or custom that may, intentionally or otherwise, serve this function. (IIRC, the use of this odd-looking, odd-sounding word, which refers to the part of a plant from which grain grows, stems from a biblical tale of how one Hebrew tribe distinguished members of another tribe by how members of the latter group pronounced it differently than the members of the first tribe.) Our culture is replete with shibboleths, from slang and jargon to modes of dress and other visual cues about one’s self-identification (and one’s desire to belong). Initialisms that serve as abbreviations for standard phrases are part of the game: If you use them, you assume that the recipients of your written communication know what they mean. Anyone who doesn’t is L7 and either doesn’t belong on your blog or had better step up their game if they want to hang with the cool kids. That’s the danger of using language that is obtusely insular: Do you really want to exclude readers who may need a little hand-holding? If you’re a publisher, whether of a quirky little blog or of a book publishing company of international scope, that’s a choice you make- a choice that will affect the future of your enterprise. So, when you write, or commission others to write for you, consciously make a choice about how inclusive or exclusive the writing style is. I readily admit that I had to look up ICYMI (â€Å"in case you missed it,† in case you missed it). And though I was already familiar with many such initialisms, it’s not the only one I was unacquainted with before I checked out an online glossary of terms of this type. So, in a hand-holding spirit, here are translations of the other initialisms I have used in this post: BTW: by the way ICYDK: in case you didn’t know IIRC: if I recall/remember correctly IMO: in my opinion (IMHO- â€Å"in my humble opinion†- is a variation) LOL: laugh out loud ROTFL(MAO): roll on the floor laughing (my ass off) L7, BTW, predates the Internet: It represents the thumb and forefinger of each hand extended at a 90-degree angle (as if to simulate a gun) and held fingertip to fingertip with one hand reversed to form a rough square. An L7 is, therefore, a square, or a conventional or uncool person. This post by a fellow DailyWritingTips.com contributor lists some of the many other Internet initialisms. (An initialism, FWIW, is an abbreviation that, unlike an acronym, is pronounced as a series of letters, not as a word.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Based in" and "based out of"50 Latin Phrases You Should Know10 Functions of the Comma

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Jaffa Cakes Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Jaffa Cakes - Assignment Example Jaffa cake has been in production for the last 60 years and one thing which has helped it survive in the market is the fact that, the brand keeps on reinventing itself and that keeps the customers expecting more and more and largely this explains the reason why Jaffa cake is to date still the leading cake the UK. Another strategy which helped propel the market performance of the Jaffa cakes was the repackaging of the products to reposition it as a lunch box as opposed to entirely being a snack. This meant that, the Jaffa cake could now attracts a new crop of consumers, lunch diners. The subsequent 'tube-like' repackaging in 1999 was a new strategy yet aimed at appealing to the growing class of young consumers. Jaffa cake continues to be a leading company in terms of community involvement considers the fact that, the company has on several occasions sponsored several community initiatives. The most recent and significant sponsorship which double as a marketing and advertising campaign was the sponsoring of Manchester united football club in the year 2000. This largely boosted the popularity of the snack as a favourite low calorie snack rich in carbohydrates. Continually, Jaffa cakes depend on creativity and innovatiness especially considering their technologically favorable environment. The company constantly invests in research in order to come up with customer focused products. With a customer loyalty accounting for about 88% of the households in the UK and unrivalled customer base in France, Netherlands and Belgium United Biscuits (UB) continues to feature as a world leader. McVitie's biscuits are purchased by 85% of UK households. In terms of technological advancement, Jaffa cakes will continue to lead considering the adoption the adoption of technology especially when it comes to outsourcing of labor, market intelligence as well as the adoption of e-purchasing systems. Industry attractiveness refers to the prevailing situation in the core business of an organization which favors the specific organization. For example in monotheistic business environment, a business is more likely to be favored in terms of business performance since it can manipulate market forces to its advantage. Jaffa cake faces great competition from competitors and has only succeeded in that; it has continually applied strategic measures in all its important decisions. Jaffa cake's performance has been termed as sterling by many business analysts. The chain of businesses has recorded an after taxes profit of above 1 million pounds. By applying concepts like vendor managed inventories as well as just-in-time concept, Jaffa cakes has continued to maintain leadership in the snacks and foods market in the UK endeavors to remain a low-cost retailer, and by that it has been very effective in maintaining market attractiveness. By all means, Jaffa cakes has achieved low cost retail prices something which has contributed to client faithfulness. This is core in terms of ensuring that, by utilizing this strategy, Jaffa cakes is able to save extra costs associated with poor planning. By keeping products and services as low as practically possible, can Jaffa cakes afford to lower prices since there are less expenditures. In long term this contributes to industry attractive

Marketing Term Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Marketing Term - Research Paper Example Through engaging the consumer in a dialogue that promotes community and goodwill, there was no advertising campaigns until 2004, the company depending on word of mouth to promote its interests and gain a following. That following measures more than 4 million members, worldwide (Bloomberg). The marketing that has been engaged since 2004 has seen some turmoil with the perceived competitor, Weight Watchers, being directly confronted in a campaign, but the adversary fought back with a court injunction which ended that campaign. However, it might be concluded that Curves gained better publicity as being put in a position as a threat to Weight Watchers, so much so that they were directly confronted through legal action to shut down their advertising. This is a wise strategy, however, the company may soon face the same problems that Weight Watchers faces, which is as their targeted demographic ages out and the rising younger set sees them as a dinosaur of their mother’s age, combatin g a dated image will create an issue. Weight Watchers has confronted their problems through advertising that mimics the Jenny Craig advertising, using celebrities to promote their success through publicly visible weight loss on their programs. However, where Jenny Craig has used a middle aged set of celebrities, Weight Watchers used Jennifer Hudson to kick off their campaign, a decidedly younger star. This leaves curves facing the same problems as Weight Watchers in that through promoting a socialized setting, the age group becomes relevant to the attraction to the program. The following assessment will discuss the current and past methods of marketing that have been introduced for Curves. The background of the company will be given an overview in order to provide context in understanding the nature of the current standing of the company. An analysis of the marketing strategies and their results will be assessed for the successes and failures that have been experienced. A SWOT analy sis will then be conducted in order to provide an overview of the nature of the company in regard to how it will impact a marketing plan. The SWOT analysis will be addressed for the ways in which it can be utilized to address the future of the company. Finally, a summary of the marketing direction of Curves will be made with recommendations for addressing weaknesses and threats through exploiting the strengths and opportunities that are present. Background Curves International Fitness for Women has franchises in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Australia and Asia. The company has well over 6000 stores, with the rate of their expansion earning them a title in the Guinness Book of World Records (Heavin and Colman 2). The first store was opened in Harlingen, Texas, with the first franchise opening Paris, Texas in 1995 with all stores now being a franchised venue (Curves International Fitness for Women). The company was opened in 1992, and by 2003 had expanded to the 6000 stor e mark, placing them in the record book. Hoovers lists more than 10,000 company stores are in existence to date. Gary and Diane Heavin opened the stores with a specific demographic in mind. Gary Heavin had ten years of experience in the fitness industry before designing this model with a specific target demographic (Funding Universe). The intention was to address the needs of women through nutrition and efficient exercise that kept the sessions short, thus providing an easy

Friday, October 18, 2019

Property Law (Equity & Trusts) Max word limit 2250 Case Study

Property Law (Equity & Trusts) Max word limit 2250 - Case Study Example There is no such statutory provision for cohabitants; they are subject to the equitable rules of resulting and/or constructive trusts and/or promissory estoppel and may have no redress despite having made substantial contributions to the maintenance of the property and/or indirect contributions to the payment of the mortgage. This is aggravated by the lack of certainty in the law with regard to measuring acquisition and quantification of beneficial interests. The 'justice' received turns on the initial pleading of the claimant and the manner in which the household budget was allocated4. Typically a claimant who seeks an estoppel will have a broader range of remedies available from the court than someone who seeks to establish a constructive trust based on indirect contributions. This has led to inconsistency in judgments, which undermines the certainty of the law, with a subsequent increase in litigation and costs5. The Law Commission speculated on introducing a 'statutory trust' where registered beneficiaries would earn a pro rata proprietary interest rather than a personal right to be repaid the value of their relevant contribution(s), subject to evidence of gifts or loans6. Unfortunately it was felt that the scheme would not reduce the evidential burden and that it did not offer enough remedies. In particular the scheme did not fully address the lost economic opportunities following the breakdown of a relationship where the contributions were non-direct7. Other commonwealth jurisdictions have different approaches but the same issues of uncertainty and obscurity.8 It is submitted that the focus on the 'family' home is too narrow given the statistics on cohabitation and the many diverse forms which have evolved. A broader approach to shared rights in accommodation is called for. As demonstrated in the Law Commission's review of other jurisdictions waiting for the courts to develop greater flexibility will necessarily be slow, strapped as they are by an Executive still focusing on the 'family' - hence displaying a lack of understanding of the social issues - on one hand and judicial precedent on the other. Advisors also will be limited by decided cases and the increasing difficulty of obtaining legal aid to bring novel situations before the court. Further, the law is based on outmoded ideas of shared accommodation and the idea of common intention. The emphasis on status - with marriage being the ideal - seems to be holding back the development of the law in this area. It is submitted that the 'evil' to be overcome is not one's marital status, or whether or not children are brought up in a marriage, but inadequate financial provision for persons who have a legitimate expectation to be provided for. This should be the norm regardless of 'status'. One absurdity of the 'status' approach is the impact on the descendants of married versus non-married couples, where 'legitimate' children can expect to be provided for whilst 'illegitimate' children are reliant on a judge's largesse. The Civil Partnership Act 2004 ss65-68 are a step in the right direction, but only covers couples of the same gender who have undergone a prescribed ceremony. Whilst non-financial contributions are recognised, this is limited by the requirement of a contribution of a 'substantial

Comparison Pratt's Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Comparison Pratt's - Essay Example Therefore, presentation of conflict and tranquility at individual, local, social and international levels form the major components of contact zones. In that vein, media, time periods, traditions and faculties form major points of reference while exploring a film. Consequently, zones describe and identify origins of conflict; explanations on how occurrences of conflicts reach others and to strive to understand ways that ordinary statesmen can work for peace (Grossman, 2013). Mary concept of contact zones encompasses colonialism, slavery, and results as is witnessed in various parts of the world. Mary eventually uses the word to reconsider most models of communities that many people use to teach and theorize conflicts in the world today. It is important to note that, Guaman Poma huge letter to Philip III exemplifies some social complexities that culminate to conquests and empires. The letter was written in two languages, Spanish and Quechua and in two parts. Nueva is the name of the first part that was constituted of the main official discourses. New chronicles by Guaman Poma’s gives an instance that mary proposes to call an autoethnographic text. A text that individuals undertake to describe themselves in ways that other people talk of them in presentations they make (Grossman, 2013). Unlike ethnographic texts used by people in European metropolitan subjects to represent themselves, autoethnography represent texts that the so-defined others develop in response to other texts. Important to note, autoethnogrsphics are not equivalent to autochthonous way of expression or self-representation that many fondly mistake. Rather, it involves choosing collaborations that can are appropriated with idioms of the conqueror (Grossman, 2013). The texts are merged and blended in at different degrees with idioms to form a self-representation that strives to get involved in metropolitan

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Price elacity and discremination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Price elacity and discremination - Essay Example In a market where travelers faces a highly inelastic demand, it implies for business, travelers are willing part with higher airfare price. Airline firm who can set elevated prices for these travelers can definitely increase their profits and revenue. However, other passengers will be highly sensitive to prices as they may face elastic demand. Therefore, this sort of passages will respond to special price discounts and offers. The airline firms can benefit if they can separate these different sorts of consumers and therefore decrease their consumer surplus. Price discrimination is common to most industries and that the price difference can never be explained by the products` cost differences. It is a common knowledge that the airline industry has ever practiced price discrimination for several years. We all realize that on every flight the passengers do pay different prices, and also that in certain cases we observe that the maximum price is at times five times the lowest price. How do airline businesses practice price discrimination? Still remains unknown to many. The airline market can easily allow price discrimination to prevail. Barriers to entry emerging from scale economies, sunk costs as well as hub-and-spoke systems offer carriers the necessary market power even on fairly competitive routes. Airlines distinguish among themselves through occupying various slots in flight schedules, and also by offering various route networks. For instance, a carrier with a broad number of connections to the West Coast distinguishes itself from another carrier flying only along the East Coast, despite both of them selling tickets for Boston-Miami route. A market of that kind is therefore monopolistically competitive. Moreover, airline passages differ since they have unstable price elasticities of demand. Even though it`s possible to do a resale of airline tickets, it entails high search costs and also it does not get rid of restrictions, for example blackout days or even time-of-day constraints. So as to price discriminate, airline firms require being able to take apart consumer groups having different demand elasticities. The airline firm can do it by attaching different restrictions to cheaper tickets, therefore making them less attractive to airline passages with high valuation of time or even convenience as well as low price elasticity. As a loophole to exercising price discrimination, the time of buying air ticket functions best. There is no fast and hard rule, but if one buys an air ticket many months in advance it appear to be cheaper. For example, for business travelers, the Virgin Blue demands a full charge of $249 one way. For the next- day travel during the peak, it`s possible to get a restricted discount of about $149 and its present advertised best fare is about $59. This forces the question of how far out does one need to book it? And the answer is at least two months. However, if price matters, then Jetstar is definitely the leading c hoice available to consumer as one can travel to Sydney from Avalon next-day flight for just $79 one-way though on restricted discount. A month earlier, one can find a $69 fare, however, you need to book at least six weeks up to two months earlier so as to get $59 special offer. If the demand for a particular flight is far above normal, then the airline firms starts raising the price of that particular flight. It implies that

Essay/story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

/story - Essay Example She was already in Turkey, where she was now waiting for her mother Rose and her step-father Mustapha (Shafak 2007). She had the entire plan in her mind, coded and programmed, where she knew exactly how to target the enemies. One by one, she would take down each and everyone after which her Armenian blood would be satiated. Only after seeking revenge would she be able to return to America, and start a new life with little regrets and massive satisfaction. After having confirmed that Asya was indeed Zeliha`s daughter via a DNA test she had conducted before, she now had a leverage over Zeliha. She dug deeper to find out who the father of Asya was since she had her apprehensions when she sensed the discomfort in Zeliha`s eyes over the subject. She found rather odd that a bold audacious woman like Zeliha would abstain from accepting Asya as her own daughter, and more so as to keep Asya in the dark over who her father was. To dig deeper, Armanoush went ahead to investigate about all the past affairs Zeliha was having by the time she had conceived Asya. She had to find out who Asya`s father was, to further aggrandize the leverage over the situation which she had planned on exploiting later. Also, she was well aware of Mustsapha`s hesitation over visitng Turkey. In all these years, how come Mustapha never even thought of visiting his family, the Kazancis (Shafak 2007). She knew something was wrong, and she was determined to find out. Her instincts were telling her to plot a confrontation between Mustapha and aunt Zeliha, and she was sure something would pop, since Zeliha felt so uncomfortable with the idea of Mustapha visiting. Thus, that night, while her parents would arrive, she had planned out an episode to ensure a direct confrontation between Zeliha and Mustapha. Armanoush and Asya, along with Aunt Banu were leaving the doorway while aunty Zeliha came after them, perplexed and anguished at the same time. ‘Asya, come back here you.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Price elacity and discremination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Price elacity and discremination - Essay Example In a market where travelers faces a highly inelastic demand, it implies for business, travelers are willing part with higher airfare price. Airline firm who can set elevated prices for these travelers can definitely increase their profits and revenue. However, other passengers will be highly sensitive to prices as they may face elastic demand. Therefore, this sort of passages will respond to special price discounts and offers. The airline firms can benefit if they can separate these different sorts of consumers and therefore decrease their consumer surplus. Price discrimination is common to most industries and that the price difference can never be explained by the products` cost differences. It is a common knowledge that the airline industry has ever practiced price discrimination for several years. We all realize that on every flight the passengers do pay different prices, and also that in certain cases we observe that the maximum price is at times five times the lowest price. How do airline businesses practice price discrimination? Still remains unknown to many. The airline market can easily allow price discrimination to prevail. Barriers to entry emerging from scale economies, sunk costs as well as hub-and-spoke systems offer carriers the necessary market power even on fairly competitive routes. Airlines distinguish among themselves through occupying various slots in flight schedules, and also by offering various route networks. For instance, a carrier with a broad number of connections to the West Coast distinguishes itself from another carrier flying only along the East Coast, despite both of them selling tickets for Boston-Miami route. A market of that kind is therefore monopolistically competitive. Moreover, airline passages differ since they have unstable price elasticities of demand. Even though it`s possible to do a resale of airline tickets, it entails high search costs and also it does not get rid of restrictions, for example blackout days or even time-of-day constraints. So as to price discriminate, airline firms require being able to take apart consumer groups having different demand elasticities. The airline firm can do it by attaching different restrictions to cheaper tickets, therefore making them less attractive to airline passages with high valuation of time or even convenience as well as low price elasticity. As a loophole to exercising price discrimination, the time of buying air ticket functions best. There is no fast and hard rule, but if one buys an air ticket many months in advance it appear to be cheaper. For example, for business travelers, the Virgin Blue demands a full charge of $249 one way. For the next- day travel during the peak, it`s possible to get a restricted discount of about $149 and its present advertised best fare is about $59. This forces the question of how far out does one need to book it? And the answer is at least two months. However, if price matters, then Jetstar is definitely the leading c hoice available to consumer as one can travel to Sydney from Avalon next-day flight for just $79 one-way though on restricted discount. A month earlier, one can find a $69 fare, however, you need to book at least six weeks up to two months earlier so as to get $59 special offer. If the demand for a particular flight is far above normal, then the airline firms starts raising the price of that particular flight. It implies that

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

You Have read about HITECH Act,HIPAA,ARRA,and electronic Essay

You Have read about HITECH Act,HIPAA,ARRA,and electronic signatures.Summarize the intentof one of these laws and its impact on your practice - Essay Example Such HIT includes electronic health records and secure and private exchange of electronic health information (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2015). McGonigle and Mastrian (2015) outlines that, in subtitle D, the HITECH Act addresses and states the security and privacy concerns linked with the electronic transmission or diffusion of health information. In part, the Act has numerous provisions that reinforce the criminal and civil enforcement of the HIPAA rules. These provisions have a great impact on health provision and general healthcare. As a records nurse practitioner and officer, I am greatly influenced with the HITECH Act. I am involved in numerous exchanges of health care records and information. My work must be discrete and private to ensure security of healthcare information and patients’ health records. Through the Act, I now exercise more caution and care to ensure that the electronic health information and files do not land in wrong hands. In its section, there are penalties for violation of the Act. The regulations and penalties ensure that practitioners, particularly in health records, cautiously carry out their work diligently to ensure and enhance the safety and security of health information and patients’ health records (McGonigle & Mastrian,

Monday, October 14, 2019

Externality Definition Essay Example for Free

Externality Definition Essay 1. An externality is defined as a benefit or cost that is imposed on a third party, such as society, other than the producer or consumer of a good or service, or, more simply, an economic side effect. The more of a product that is consumed or produced, the more of an externality that results. When discussing externalities in general terms, positive externalities refer to the benefits and negative externalities refer to the costs associated with the production or consumption of a good or service. Public goods are one of the more common examples of positive externalities. Public goods are goods which are difficult to exclude people from benefiting from or from getting a free ride. Public goods, such as national defence, clean water, clean air, law enforcement, etc., are generally good for most, if not all of society. Negative externalities exist in many situations. One of the most common examples is that of pollution. In these situations, the producer and consumer finance the goods produced but society must bear the cost of pollution that is introduced into the environment as a by-product and is thus a negative externality. Using the above mentioned example of negative externality, pollution, a steel producing firm might pump pollutants into the air. While the firm has to pay for electricity, materials, etc., the individuals living around the factory will pay for the pollution since it will cause them to have higher medical expenses, poorer quality of life, reduced aesthetic appeal of the air, etc. Thus the production of steel by the firm has a negative cost to the people surrounding the factory-a cost that the steel firm doesnt have to pay. 2. Negative externalities are a property rights problem. Who owns the air that the steel mill pollutes? Ronald Coase put forth the solution which is known as the Coase Theorem: Under perfect competition, once government has assigned clearly defined property rights in contested resources and as long as transactions costs are negligible, private parties that generate or are affected by externalities will negotiate voluntary agreements that lead to the socially optimal resource allocation and output mix regardless of how the property rights are assigned (Ronald H. Coase, The Problem of Social Cost, The Journal of Law and Economics, October 1960). In other words, if there are negligible transactions costs, as long as someone owns the rights to the air around the steel mill, the efficient outcome will prevail. For example, if the steel mill owns the rights, then the individuals that live around the mill will be willing to pay the steel mill not to produceup to the cost that they are incurring from health care, reduced aesthetic appeal of the air, etc. This amount that they are willing to pay becomes an opportunity cost for the steel mill if they produce. Thus they will cut production to the optimal level. On the other hand, if the people own the air, then the steel mill would have to pay them that same amount for the right to produce. Thus the negative externality is directly added to the steel mills marginal cost. 3. Based on experience, this theorem would not apply to the steel industry case discussed above. For example, with a steel factory that trespasses on the lungs of a large number of individuals with pollution, it is difficult if not impossible for any one person to negotiate with the producer, and there are large transaction costs. Hence the most common approach may be to regulate the firm (by imposing limits on the amount of pollution considered acceptable) while paying for the regulation and enforcement with taxes. This adds to the producers marginal cost and will cause them to reduce output.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Media Violence and School Shootings Essays -- Mass Shootings, School Sh

Another school shooting goes down and is preyed upon by the media for a gripping new story. Jonesboro, Arkansas, West Paducah, Kentucky, and Littleton, Colorado all have one thing in common. All these places are sites where school shootings have occurred. Why do school shootings happen and who is to blame when they do happen?. These are two questions that are still trying to be answered. Some people say that school shootings are due to the excess marketing of violence in movies, television, video games, and music. "'There is a difference between what one has the right to do and what is socially responsible', he says. It appears that they have targeted a mass audience for this material, and then they're 'horrified' when it's discovered what they've done. They're being duplictous-in the end, they're lying" says Andrew Schwartzman, president of public interest law firm the Media Access Group(Holland). I tend to agree with this point but I believe that there is a bigger an d more substantial factor when looking at school shootings. I believe that parents have to take most of the blame for school shootings. Why should parents have to take blame for something that their child has done wrong. Well, it is pretty simple. Parents are the only people who can control what kind of music their kid or kids listen to, what movies they see, what video games they play, and what kind of programs they watch on TV. The parents should be held accountable because it is not possible for the school to control what the kids do out of the classroom. Since the Littleton, Colorado shooting, school shootings have attracted attention to laws that make parents criminally liable for their children's actions. Since then, twelve states including, Alabama, Arkansas, California and Ohio, have come up with parental responsibility statues. Under these laws, parents can be prosecuted based on the failure to supervise their children("Parents"). Tom Lynch also believes that he is responsible for the violence that his kids are exposed to saying, "because as a parent, I can do something about the entertai nment viewing habits of my children. As far as I know, my wife and I are still in charge on the home front, and we plan to keep it that way as long as we're still paying for the Nikes"(Lynch).  ... ... morals, like going to church. I myself, believe that God can be the biggest or least influence in a kids life. Violence in the media and gun control are two of the biggest factors when it comes down to school shootings. But after it is all said and done it is the parents responsibility to control and bring their kids up right. That's what everything comes down to. It all starts in the beginning. Parents have to start from when the kid is wearing diapers. The parents have to decide on what the kids will watch on TV, listen to in their headphones, play on their computer, and watch at the movie theater. After all, the school can not supervise kids after school hours. This evidence found following the Colorado massacre seemed to indicate a parental failure to detect and deal with troubled behavior by teens suspected of the killings(Chi). Kids have way to much freedom in today's world. They don't know what its like to be told "no". From letting the youngster get whatever toys he wants, to letting the sixteen year old pick out his own car. Lets face it, kids today are spoiled by thei r parents and the people around them. And in the end: It kills!

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Welfare Reform - Welfare Recipients MUST take Personal Responsibility E

Welfare Reform - Welfare Recipients MUST take Personal Responsibility   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Public Welfare is an important support system of the United States government. Welfare has its benefits, but the system has pitfalls. Instead of abolishing welfare as critics of the system suggest, reforms can be made to correct the problems while government, either on the state or federal level, can continue to assist the impoverished.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The term welfare is used to describe a variety of programs that provide income support and create a safety net for poor individuals and families. Such benefits include Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, food stamps, housing allowances, and Aid to Families with Dependent Children. Aid To Families With Dependent Children (AFDC) enables states to provide cash payments to children that are deprived of the care or support of a parent. In terms of welfare reform, this is the program most often discussed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The media has created many myths regarding welfare and the reasons the system should be done away with. Stating that the majority of new welfare recipients are poor, single mothers, claims have been made that poor women have more children because of the incentives of welfare benefits. It has been proven that is no correlation between women's choice to have children and welfare benefit levels. Furthermore, for each additional child, a mother can expect an additional $90 of AFDC benefits, far too low to serve as any type of incentive. In addition, those states that provide higher benefits do not necessarily show higher birth rates among their welfare recipients. Families receiving AFDC benefits have 1.9 children, just about the same as the national average. (ACLU 1)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another myth created by the media concerns the amount of money spent and the results. It has been said that after spending billions of dollars since the mid-1960's on anti-poverty programs, there have been little or no results. To begin with, spending on AFDC between 1964 and 1994 was only $500 billion, less than 1.5% of federal spending for that period. Further, there have been results. Between 1964 and 1973, the poverty rate fell from 19% to 11%. It is true that since 1973, poverty has increased. This is due to economic forces such as declining real wages, rather than a failure of the system itself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A third myth regarding welfare concer... ...People must be held responsible for their actions: economic and moral failures are not society's fault. As Speaker of the House Gingrich said, "We are re-establishing work as an American tradition." (US News & World Report 12)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The welfare system is an important aspect of American society. It assists the impoverished individuals and families of our nation. It helps support the unemployed during their time of need. The welfare system must remain to help people get back on their feet, as it was designed. However, it must be reformed so that dependence on government aid is avoided. Works Cited American Civil Liberties Union: The Civil Liberties Issues of Welfare Reform.  New York: The American Civil Liberties Union, 1995. â€Å"Five Media Myths About Welfare.† Extra 1-3. Hoehn, Richard. Blueprint for Social Justice: Let's Get Real About Welfare.  New Orleans: Twornery Center for Peace Through Justice, 1995. Kaus, Mickey. â€Å"The Revival of Liberalism.† New York Times. 9 August 1996: A27 â€Å"Say You Want A Revolution.† US News and World Report. 9 Oct 1995: 11-14 Schiller, Bradley, â€Å"Why Welfare is Still So Hard To Reform.† Challenge November-December 1995: 16-19

Friday, October 11, 2019

Rationing During World War Ii

Rationing During World War II 30 March, 2012 Rationing During World War II Rationing is defined as a fixed allowance of provisions of food, especially for soldiers or sailors or for civilians during a shortage (dictionary. com). In 1942 a rationing system began to guarantee minimum amounts of things people needed. During World War II, people couldn’t just walk into a store and buy whatever they wanted. Ration books are books that contained coupons where shopkeepers could cut out the coupon for the person to use.War ration books and tokens were issued to each American family, controlling how much gas, tires, sugar, meat, silk, shoes, nylon and other items any person could buy (Rationing on the US Homefront). The Office of Price Administration (OPA) issued each person in a household to get a ration book, even children and babies. Ration books were organized by color: buff-colored books were mostly for adults, green ration books were for pregnant women, nursing mothers and childr en under the age of five, and blue ration books were for children from ages six to sixteen (Rationing on the US Homefront).On National Registration day, 29 September, 1939, every person in a household had to fill out a form explaining with details about who lived in their house. Ration stamps were only valid for a certain period of time so it would prevent hoarding of the stamps. The government issued ration books because they were worried that when items became scarce that the prices would go up, and poor people couldn’t buy the things they needed (Barrow, 2010). Rationing made sure that people got an equal amount of food every week. The government tried their hardest to make it fair for everyone.Still, some people thought that rationing was unfair (Barrow, 2010). People were encouraged to provide their own food in their homes thus starting the ‘Dig for Victory! ’ campaign. The ‘Dig for Victory! ’ campaign was where men and women made their yards an d flower-beds into gardens to grow vegetables (Dig For Victory! , 2004). A typical ration for one adult per week was: butter 50g (2oz), sugar 225g (8oz), cheese 50g (2oz), jam 450g (1lb) every two months, bacon and ham 100g, meat to the value of 1s. 2d (1 shilling and sixpence e er week, eggs 1 fresh egg a week, dried eggs 1 packet every four weeks, margarine 100g (4oz), milk 3 pints (1800 ml), tea 50g (2oz), sweets 350g (12oz) every four weeks (Barrow, 2010). With the above list of rationed items, each person was allowed sixteen points to use on whatever rationed item they wanted. Pregnant women, mothers who are nursing their children or children under the age of five were allowed to pick their choice of fruit, daily pint of milk and double eggs first (Barrow, 2010). Clothes rationing began two years after food rationing started.During World War II, there was a shortage in material for clothing. The shortage made people to â€Å"make due and mend† so that way factory workers could make uniforms, and parachutes for the war (Giullian, 2010). The government gave each person a ration book for clothes. Just like food rationing, when people wanted to buy new clothes, all they had to do was bring their ration book to the store and then buy they clothes they wanted, then you hand over your ration book to the storekeeper and they mark off what the person got in their ration books.The coupon system allowed people to get a new set of clothing each year. Coupons were a different color so they wouldn’t use all their coupons at once. The government told the people when they could use their other coupons. At first, each person was given 60 coupons to last them the whole year. Later on the coupon amount dropped to 48. Children were assigned an extra 10 ration coupons for their clothing in case they grow during the year. What would you buy with 60 coupons to last you the whole year?Fourteen years of rationed food and it finally came to an end because meat and ba con restrictions were lifted. Rationing of food ended nine years after the war ended. Rationing ended on 4 July, 1954 (Barrow, 2010). Fourteen years of rationing, people could finally enjoy buying the necessities they needed for their daily life. Men, women, and children went back to a normal lifestyle they were used to. References Barrow, M.. (2010, Month. Day). In  Rationing During WWWII.Retrieved Mar. 26, 2012, from http://www. woodlands-junior. kent. sch. uk/Homework/war/rationing. htm (2004, Mar. 1 ). In  Dig for Victory!. Retrieved Mar. 26, 2012, from http://h2g2. com/dna/h2g2/A2263529 Giullian, M.. (2010, May. 10). In  Rationing. Retrieved Mar. 25, 2012, from http://ussslcca25. com/rationing. htm In  Rationing on the US Homefront during WWII. Retrieved Mar. 25, 2012, from http://www. ameshistoricalsociety. org/exhibits/events/rationing. htm

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Participatory Workplace

The organization to which I am affiliated employs about five employees. The owner of the workplace is our boss. Typically, the organization is receptionist; that is, it is produces service-oriented products. The organization produces only hair products since it has limited resources to diversify product sale. Compared with other business establishments, the organization is small. In my 25 years of work, the organization grew little probably because its capital base was insufficient for expanding capital outlay. The organization though continues to provide the public quality hair products. Its supply chain of hair products is relatively open and diverse. The organization can procure hair products from different manufacturers. This makes transactions more competitive (because of the existence of many manufacturers). The organization is typically controlled by the principles of human resource management. Independent contractors are used for the procurement of supplies. Hiring of employees involves several stages. First is the identification of positions vacant. Second is finding potential recruits to fill these vacancies. Third is training the recruits to ensure that they will become high performing employees. The selected recruits will be hired. They will be given employment packages and benefits (corollary to their type of work). Terms of employment and regulations of the firm will be discussed in scheduled sessions. This is done to make the employees aware of the firm’s policies and current economic standing. Regulations will serve as limits to employee behavior in the workplace. Most of the time, regulations are systematically arranged in manuals which are given to employees. In the case of my organization, selection of potential employees is easy and not as restrictive as that of large business establishments. Usually, selection of potential employees and the training period are limited to 2 or 3 weeks. Orientation of the organization’s policies and regulations usually take a day (this is so since the organization is small). In sociology, centralization is defined as the process by which activities of an organization, especially those about decision-making are concentrated within particular positions or areas. Centralization can be vertical or horizontal. Vertical centralization is the typical relationship between departments and the board of directors. The board of directors usually provides the general framework of a given policy. The managers of the departments implement the provisions of a policy. Hence, the managers execute the specifics of a given policy. Horizontal centralization is the typical relationship between departments. In organizational theory, some departments are generally important than other departments. For example, the sales department is usually more important than the legal department of a firm precisely because the former holds the future of the firm. The sales department determines the financial status of a firm. Hence, relatively, the actions of the sales department may determine the actions of the other departments. Under centralization, open communication is only possible between managers of several departments and the general manager of the firm, and between the board of directors and the general manager. Open communication between ordinary employees and the management is done through division supervisors (although the information becomes blur as it passes from one level to another). Open information is only possible for high level managers and of course, the board of directors. Standardization is the process of agreeing upon a given set of guidelines for interoperability. Standardization is tantamount to enacting rules to maintain the operability of an organization. Hence, an organization creates standardized procedures in order to provide the employees an efficient and effective means of rendering work to the firm. For example, standardized guidelines for hiring employees allow a given company to select the best and efficient people to occupy vacant positions in the company. In addition, standardization generally prevents work discrimination in a company. This is so since the behavior of all workers in a company is limited by standardized work procedures. Role specialization in industrial sociology is defined as the diversification of job positions in the workplace. As one may note, jobs in most companies are highly diversified. Diversification ensures efficiency and effectiveness of a company. Diversifying job positions saves time and amount for a company. In addition, diversification provides the avenue for increased cooperation and interdependence among workers. For example, rather than employing two script writers, it is efficient for a film production group to employ one script writer and one film reviewer. This saves time for the firm. Autonomy is a condition in which employees are given some freehand over the nature and discourse of their jobs. This is typical of research firms where employees are given deadlines. The employees are free to do anything so long as the prescribed work is finished on or before the given deadline. By giving some autonomy to the employees, alienation is prevented. The employees are able to exercise their work values (professionalism) and skills without institutional limits. The distribution of power in a firm should be made more uniform to allow workers more voice. Resting power to one person or group of persons prevents workers from airing their grievances. Thus, in making the distribution of power more uniform, the firm creates institutions or channels that can absorb all the grievances and needs of the workers. Once the grievances are well documented, negotiation is the only plausible option. In the negotiation process, the management and the workers should have equal powers in terms of negotiation. The options that management will take should be compensated by the actions that the workers will enforce. Technology should be made more human-resource oriented; that is, technology should put under the discretion of both the management and the workers. If the management solely controls the direction of a firm’s technology, the workers loses value. If the control and direction of a firm’s technology solely belongs to the workers (e.g. in communist countries), the firm loses potential earnings. Therefore, there is a need to strike a middle position between the management and the workers. A middle position will enable the two parties to cooperate effectively with regard to the use of technology in the company. In addition, this will make work more participatory (employees and the management). In terms of skill, no substantial changes are necessary except that related skills should be realigned. This will allow more cooperation between employees, and consequently, making work more participatory (since every job in the firm is viewed essential to the continuity of a firm’s operations). Here are then the necessary changes that the management should undertake to make work more participatory: 1) Realigning related jobs – increased cooperation among related jobs increases employee participation and motivation of employees; 2)Putting some technologies of the company under the control of the employees – the employees will determine the production process (work in general), making their perception of the workplace more positive. This will generally increase participation among employees; 3)And, institutionalizing open channels of communication (grievances included) – the needs and grievances of the employees will be taken into account by management. If these needs and grievances are addressed, the management will expect an increased worker propensity to participate in company activities. Reference Hall, Richard and Pamela S. Tolbert. (2004). Organizations: Structures, Processes, and O

Conservative Party From 1951 To 1964 Essay

1) Labour failed to modernise its policies to a move affluent Britain and the party was constantly divided 2) The parliamentary party was split between the Left and Right: left-wing Bevan’s wanted an expansion of the public sector & hostile to Gaitskell, who did not 3) Gaitskell became leader after Wilson and agreed on a social democracy rather than a socialist one, but failed to remove Clause IV in 1961 Labour weakness enabled the Conservatives to avoid the electoral consequences of their mistakes, partially 1) Suez 1956 2) Resignation of Eden Conclusion The Labour party was dominating in votes up to 1950, however that year the difference between Labour and Conservative parties was very neglectful. There are several factors that might have contributed to Labours loss of power in 1951. The Labour government was associated with the period of austerity when people had to overcome rationing and devaluation. Additionally, many key members of the Cabinet were exhausted or unwell. Moreover, they were split internally and the event with Gaitskell that led to Bevan’s resignation in 1951, undermined the cohesion of the government. In comparison to them, the conservative party seemed to be more convincing at that period. The reign of Conservatives began in 1951 and lasted for 13 years, when Winston Churchill ran his campaign for election, and eventually, won. Here were several reasons that guaranteed his success: he agreed to maintain the post-war consensus that kept full employment under Keynesian policy and allowed to enlarge the system of social services. Moreover, Churchill’s second election victory was partially due to the gratitude of British public for being a good wartime leader. Another point is that, Conservatives reorganised the system of internal work and its campaign that was oriented toward gaining of additional votes. Also, they brought young and bright members into the government that made them stand out against old Labour government. The policy proposed by Churchill’s government was Keynesian and it guaranteed full employment due to the increased financing of projects by government and decreased taxation that led to increase of import. Additionally, growing industry, build of housing and development of welfare services guaranteed growing employment and high consumer demand; women found it easy to find a job that gave families at least 2 incomes. One of the important factors was that Conservatives finalised the austerity: rationing and licensing came to an end. However, there were some difficulties, too. Development of industry and services required more people, which resulted in immigration of low-cost workforce from colonies of GB. Consequently, up to 1962 the number of immigrants from India and African countries was about 200 000, that led to Commonwealth Immigration Act. Moreover, depressed areas continued to have the level of  unemployment above average that suggested costly measures to create intensives for workers, such as low interest loans, tax breaks and housing for key workers. But those measures could not guarantee safe functioning during difficult periods, for instance, firms closed as soon as recessi ons started. Winston Churchill was a prime-minister during 1951- 1955, even though he was very old and due to health issues was no longer dynamic. And this period is considered to be successful despite the fact that recovery of British economy was moving at a slow pace than one of Europe or USA. In 1955 the parliament was under direction of Anthony Eden, who worked close to Churchill and coordinated the work of government during his absence. He inherited good economic and political conditions, and it was hard to imagine that in 2 years he would resign in disgrace because of foreign affair matter, the very field area of government where his talent was praised for. His fiasco was caused by the Suez Canal seizure made by Gamal Abdel Nasser that was a strategically important point controlled by Britain since 1875. An attempt to intervene in Egypt with military force in secrete coalition with France and Israel was not supported by US government and would cause heavy pressure and withdrawal of its financial help from British economy. That event was humiliating failure of British foreign policy; and the secret collusion with France and Israel created a bad image for Eden. Harold Macmillan was a prime- minister from 1957 to 1964 and he followed the strategies of his fellow members. He implemented the Butler’s theory to operate a mixed economy and the policy of Keynesianism. The aims of these policies were to avoid extreme inflation and deflation by a series of government adjustments. If inflation rose too quickly, the government introduced measures to slow it down. These measures included, raising interest rates to prevent borrowing and increasing import controls to limit purchases from abroad, with the intent of reducing the trade gap. Alternatively, if demand was low, the Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time would introduce ‘a giveaway’ budget whereby taxes and interest rates were lowered. The Conservatives maintained these economic policies from 1957 right up until 1964. The ‘give away’ budgets were criticised however, as they were said to be attempts to ‘buy votes’. Macmillan also introduced the policy of stop-go, which resulted in stagflation due to Britain’s lack of economic strategy. That indicated the failure of governments to develop  policies that encouraged a constantly performing economy. The policy of stop-go was about intervening of government when consumption rose too quickly. Despite any criticisms, Macmillan (also named as Supermac) created an image of full confidence in this policy and that reflected in increase of his popularity and general public approval. As the result, quality of life improved and people were able to buy luxuries. Macmillan had many qualities that gained him respect: he was decisive, portrayed his confidence through media and delivered on promises. He pulled out of the Suez affair as he knew Britain was not going the way Eden wanted to see. He promised to build 300,000 houses per year: in 1953 the number of new houses achieved 327,000 and in 1954 – 354,000. Finally, Macmillan got rid of the British Empire which saved enormous amounts of money. Though Britain was criticised for doing this, as they were said to be abandoning their empire, ultimately it was the right thing to do as too many extreme promises were made and Macmillan knew t hese could not be kept without risking the welfare of Britain themselves. Also, the empire wanted freedom and therefore it was impossible for Britain to ‘abandon’ them; they were just providing their colonies with the freedom they craved. In 1964 the last prime-minister to hold office while being the member of House of Lords. After becoming a lord he was criticized by Labour Party as an aristocrat, who cannot understand the needs and problems of ordinary families; and he had an image of rather stiffly person by contrast with the Labour leader, Harold Wilson. In conclusion, one might say that the period of 1951-64 was a great success for British economy when it came revived and more industrialized after the 2nd World War. It gave a start for new vision and policy that improved the face of the country with time.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

The Theme Of Fame In Ex-Basketball Player By John Updike Essay

The Theme Of Fame In Ex-Basketball Player By John Updike - Essay Example Pearl Avenue in the poem symbolically represents the road to success, which is, according to the author, a hard one to follow. It has many â€Å"bends† and it â€Å"stops† and â€Å"cuts off† in many places, thus making it a difficult path to traverse. Nature does endow human beings with many talents. However, all the people who are gifted with such talents do not become famous and it transpires that achieving fame is not an easy task. Thus, by using the symbol of Pearl Avenue, to represent the road to fame, the author contends that humans cannot attain fame easily. This is the reason why, despite being a gifted player, Flick is not able to attain real fame. This is one of the main ideas that Updike wants to convey the theme of fame in this poem.In an interview, the author admits that most of his stories derive from his â€Å"interest in the phenomenon of an athlete outliving his time†. In the instant case, Flick does not remain totally committed to his ca ll. Though he is shown as a highly gifted player, whose â€Å"hands were like wild birds† and whom â€Å"the ball loved,† he fails to maintain the cutting edge of performance, and, therefore, his fame vanishes. Thus, the author implies that simply by being talented, an athlete cannot sustain the fame. On the other hand, he or she needs to remain dedicated to the game and continuously improve his or her performance. This is the second idea about fame that the author wants to communicate to his audience through this poem.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Quality & Safety Education for Nurses Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Quality & Safety Education for Nurses - Essay Example The second competency is that of teamwork and collaboration and its relevance is in the effective functioning within inter-professional teams and nursing, open communication fostering, shared decision making and mutual respect to achieve quality care for patients. The third competency is that of evidence based practice (EBP) which aims at integrating best current evidence with patient/family preferences and values and clinical expertise for delivery of best health care. The fourth competency involves quality improvement (QI) which mostly uses data in monitoring the outcomes of care processes and using improvement methods in designing and testing changes to help in continuous improvement of the quality and safety of the health care systems. The fifth competency is safety and involves minimization of risk of harm to providers and patients through both individual performance and system effectiveness. The sixth and last competency is informatics and deals with information and technology use in communicating, managing knowledge mitigating error and supporting decision making. Students should be able to explain why technology and information skills are important for patient care that is

Sunday, October 6, 2019

The Media and its Impact on the Range of Understanding Identity in Essay

The Media and its Impact on the Range of Understanding Identity in Adolescents - Essay Example One should consider the gratuitous nature with which sex and sexual relations are discussed within the media. It is nearly impossible to turn on primetime television or read a magazine that does not seek to cheaply engage the reader with a type of frivolous and non-consequential understanding of human sexuality. A series of negative implications are glossed over to include the ever-increasing risk of STDs, pregnancy, emotional/psychological trauma, and the inability to form lasting and meaningful physical relationships due to a high premium being placed upon sex (Samson et al 283). Such common interpretations are no doubt one of the reasons that HPV is represented in one out of every 4 women between the ages of 14-30 within the United States. Likewise, it does not take a specialist to note that there is an ever-increasing incidence of violence in all forms of media. This cannot only be understood as a function of entertainment but also as a function of news programming which takes particular interest in some of the more gruesome elements of violence that exist within society. The representation of violence within the media in all its forms serves to relate an unrealistic view of the world model as it currently exists and no doubt has a profound effect on the way that adolescents view their surroundings. One study put forward that the average child will have viewed around 8,000 murders on television prior to finishing elementary school (Nelson 1). This fact in and of itself gives the reader pause when realizing the sheer size of the problem and demands a response to such an issue.

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Essey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Essey - Essay Example Management is the dynamic, life-giving element in every business. Without it the resources of production remain resources and never become production." (Sharma, 2004 11) This definition emphasizes that the managers achieve organizational objectives getting things done through the employees. Human resource Management is very essential for successful running of an enterprise. It ensures proper use of physical and human resources by deriving the best results. It leads to efficient performance and higher productivity. Human Resource Management is very essential for every organization to make productive use of human physical and financial resources or the achievement of the organizational goals. It helps in determination of objectives. No organization can succeed in tits mission unless its objectives an identified and well denied. Management helps in achieving these objectives by the efficient use of resources. The entry of multinationals has also brought in fundamental changes in the work culture, work ethics and remunerating patterns in many countries, all of which have a clear bearing on the career growth path of individuals. Added to this are the rapid changes taking place on the technological front, flattening hierarchies and making people come together more than ever before. Amidst all this change, the high ethical standards of an individual, be it a workman on the shop floor or the Chief Executive Officer, matter more now than ever. The dual ethical standards often maintained by people front-often the exact opposite when it comes of the way they conduct business are counterproductive in the long run. The new authority is emerging and organizations are member led, officer driven, customer focused; a team environment where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts; a flat management structure where employees and managers are learning rather than blame; a clear since of direction and purpose. A firm commitment to delivering high quality public services through a combination of direct-provision and effective partnerships. 2. ROLE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Human Resource Management plays a very important role in managing the mode in business organizations, which are complex and complicated. The role of management is summarized below. 1. Role in success. Human Resource Management plays a very important role the success of an organization. It helps in achieving group goals. Human Resource Management assembles and organizes the available recourses for the accomplishment of the goals of enterprise. It adds effectiveness to the efforts of group persons organized to achieve the given objectives. 2. Role in efficiency. Human Resource Management utilizes the available physical and human resources productively. It eliminates all types of wastage and leads to efficiency in all business operations. Thus it results in effective running of business activities. To secure efficiency of operations, management is concerned with reducing the cost of production and increasing the output. Through better planning, organizing and control, and the use of various cost-reduction techniques, efficient management leads to reduced costs and increased output. (Sharma, 2004 13) 3. Role in soundness of organization. Human Resource Management lays down a pattern of authority- responsibility relationship. The structure so formed

Friday, October 4, 2019

Research paper on unemployment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research paper on unemployment - Essay Example According to BLS, those who are qualified for employment are those civilians aged 16 years and above. The employed are those aged 16+ and were working for pay during the survey period or those who did at least 15 hours unpaid work in family owned enterprises. The unemployed on the other hand, refer to those who did not have a job but had been actively looking for work four weeks prior to survey and are currently available to work. The labor force comprises all those employed and unemployed and these amounted to 155 million people out of U.S population of approximately 315 million people in 2013 (BLS, nap). Those not looking for a job such as the retired or schooling are not part of the labor force since they are neither employed nor unemployed. For those who are involuntarily unemployed, they receive government benefits in the form of unemployment insurance (UI) to compensate for lost income (Bakke 734). However, the voluntarily unemployed comprising of those dismissed for gross misc onduct, those who leave work without a good cause, and those who refuse to work do not qualify for UI. The UI eligibility rules also exclude independent contractors, self-employed and agricultural laborers. The basic duration of regular state benefits in U.S is 26 weeks (737). The problem with these definitions is that they ignore those who have given up looking for work but are willing to work and also those in part-time employment and would like to engage in full-time employment as they are counted as employed. Furthermore, the BLS telephone surveys which are carried out every month do not consider those who do not have telephones especially the poor hence they may not be representative of the population. However, over time the results reflect what is happening in the economy and now the big question is; what causes unemployment? One of the major factors that cause unemployment is the

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Cases on Contract Essay Example for Free

Cases on Contract Essay The defendant made the highest bid for the plaintiffs goods at an auction sale, but he withdrew his bid before the fall of the auctioneers hammer. It was held that the defendant was not bound to purchase the goods. His bid amounted to an offer which he was entitled to withdraw at any time before the auctioneer signified acceptance by knocking down the hammer. Note: The common law rule laid down in this case has now been codified in s57(2) Sale of Goods Act 1979. Fisher v Bell (1960) A shopkeeper displayed a flick knife with a price tag in the window. The Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 made it an offence to offer for sale a flick knife. The shopkeeper was prosecuted in the magistrates court but the Justices declined to convict on the basis that the knife had not, in law, been offered for sale. This decision was upheld by the Queens Bench Divisional Court. Lord Parker CJ stated: It is perfectly clear that according to the ordinary law of contract the display of an article with a price on it in a shop window is merely an invitation to treat. It is in no sense an offer for sale the acceptance of which constitutes a contract. PSGB v Boots (1953) The defendants shop was adapted to the self-service system. The question for the Court of Appeal was whether the sales of certain drugs were effected by or under the supervision of a registered pharmacist. The question was answered in the affirmative. Somervell LJ stated that in the case of an ordinary shop, although goods are displayed and it is intended that customers should go and choose what they want, the contract is not completed until, the customer having indicated the articles which he needs, the shopkeeper, or someone on his behalf, accepts that offer. Then the contract is completed. Partridge v Crittenden (1968) It was an offence to offer for sale certain wild birds. The defendant had advertised in a periodical Quality Bramblefinch cocks, Bramblefinch hens, 25s each. His conviction was quashed by the High Court. Lord Parker CJ stated that when one is dealing with advertisements and circulars, unless they indeed come from manufacturers, there is business sense in their being construed as invitations to treat and not offers for sale. In a very different context Lord Herschell in Grainger v Gough (Surveyor of Taxes) [1896] AC 325, said this in dealing with a price list: The transmission of such a price list does not amount to an offer to supply an unlimited quantity of the wine described at the price named, so that as soon as an order is given there is a binding contract to supply that quantity. If it were so, the merchant might find himself involved in any number of contractual obligations to supply wine of a particular description which he would be quite unable to carry out, his stock of wine of that description being necessarily limited. Carlill v Carbolic Smoke Ball Co (1893) An advert was placed for smoke balls to prevent influenza. The advert offered to pay  £100 if anyone contracted influenza after using the ball. The company deposited  £1,000 with the Alliance Bank to show their sincerity in the matter. The plaintiff bought one of the balls but contracted influenza. It was held that she was entitled to recover the  £100. The Court of Appeal held that: (a) the deposit of money showed an intention to be bound, therefore the advert was an offer; (b) it was possible to make an offer to the world at large, which is accepted by anyone who buys a smokeball; (c) the offer of protection would cover the period of use; and (d) the buying and using of the smokeball amounted to acceptance. Harvey v Facey (1893) The plaintiffs sent a telegram to the defendant, Will you sell Bumper Hall Pen? Telegraph lowest cash price. The defendants reply was Lowest price  £900. The plaintiffs telegraphed We agree to buy †¦ for  £900 asked by you. It was held by the Privy Council that the defendants telegram was not an offer but simply an indication of the minimum price the defendants would want, if they decided to sell. The plaintiffs second telegram could not be an acceptance. Gibson v MCC (1979) The council sent to tenants details of a scheme for the sale of council houses. The plaintiff immediately replied, paying the  £3 administration fee. The council replied: The corporation may be prepared to sell the house to you at the purchase price of  £2,725 less 20 per cent.  £2,180 (freehold). The letter gave details about a mortgage and went on This letter should not be regarded as a firm offer of a mortgage. If you would like to make a formal application to buy your council house, please complete the enclosed application form and return it to me as soon as possible. G filled in and returned the form. Labour took control of the council from the Conservatives and instructed their officers not to sell council houses unless they were legally bound to do so. The council declined to sell to G. In the House of Lords, Lord Diplock stated that words italicised seem to make it quite impossible to construe this letter as a contractual offer capable of being converted into a legally enforceable open contract for the sale of land by Gs written acceptance of it. It was a letter setting out the financial terms on which it may be the council would be prepared to consider a sale and purchase in due course. Harvela v Royal Trust (1985) Royal Trust invited offers by sealed tender for shares in a company and undertook to accept the highest offer. Harvela bid $2,175,000 and Sir Leonard Outerbridge bid $2,100,000 or $100,000 in excess of any other offer. Royal Trust accepted Sir Leonards offer. The trial judge gave judgment for Harvela. In the House of Lords, Lord Templeman stated: To constitute a fixed bidding sale all that was necessary was that the vendors should invite confidential offers and should undertake to accept the highest offer. Such was the form of the invitation. It follows that the invitation upon its true construction created a fixed bidding sale and that Sir Leonard was not entitled to submit and the vendors were not entitled to accept a referential bid. Blackpool Aero Club v Blackpool Borough Council (1990) BBC invited tenders to operate an airport, to be submitted by noon on a fixed date. The plaintiffs tender was delivered by hand and put in the Town Hall letter box at 11am. However, the tender was recorded as having been received late and was not considered. The club sued for breach of an alleged warranty that a tender received by the deadline would be considered. The judge awarded damages for breach of contract and negligence. The councils appeal was dismissed by the Court of Appeal. ACCEPTANCE Brogden v MRC (1877) B supplied coal to MRC for many years without an agreement. MRC sent a draft agreement to B who filled in the name of an arbitrator, signed it and returned it to MRCs agent who put it in his desk. Coal was ordered and supplied in accordance with the agreement but after a dispute arose B said there was no binding agreement. It was held that Bs returning of the amended document was not an acceptance but a counter-offer which could be regarded as accepted either when MRC ordered coal or when B actually supplied. By their conduct the parties had indicated their approval of the agreement.