Corporate Strategy and Competition Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Corporate Strategy and Competition Law - Essay Example This analysis shall also include an assessment of whether there are any competition law or antitrust issues which will need to be addressed in the application of this strategy in corporations. Information technology is one of the fastest technologies currently available to man. It is pervasive and it is also a diverse technology and is currently accessible to almost all individuals. The internet, cellular phones, and other digital media have all made the world a much smaller place. What used to be oceans or hours of plane ride away is now just a mouse click away through one’s computer. Transactions can now be carried out without parties having to meet personally with each other. Corporations who take advantage of information technology are likely to save on cost and are likely to reach a wider consumer base. Information technology now resolves the issues of advertising and marketing which used to limit corporations in terms of coverage and impact. With the advent of social networking, information technology is now in a higher level of coverage – its possibilities are limitless and for corporations, it also means that their reach and potential for profit and c ompetitive advantage can be limitless.

Existentialism of Samuel Beckett Essay Example for Free

Existentialism of Samuel Beckett Essay Samuel Beckett was a very astound Existentialist. Beckett’s work was essentially existentialist and consciously or unconsciously, his works were infused with the idea that things have no inherent meaning and that our fallacy is to perceive meaning in everything. Existential philosophy became prevalent in the twentieth century as a symbol of the destruction of culture and tradition following World War II, asserting the hopelessness of humanity and focusing on life in a more honest but pessimistic manner than other socialistic philosophies. The philosophy recognizes the fact that humankind is capable of great evil and has limitless possibilities. Existentialism is a philosophy that emphasizes the uniqueness and isolation of the individual experience in a hostile or indifferent universe, regards human existence as unexplainable, and stresses freedom of choice and responsibility for the consequences of ones acts. It emphasizes the difference between human existence and that of inanimate objects. Existentialism was a term adopted by Jean-Paul Sartre. Existentialism was identified with a cultural movement that flourished in Europe in the 1940s and 1950s. Heideggers 1927 Being and Time, an inquiry into the â€Å"being that we ourselves are† (which he termed â€Å"Dasein,† a German word for existence), introduced most of the motifs that would characterize later existentialist thinking(Edward). One existentialist view is absolute individuality and absolute freedom. The Existentialist conceptions of freedom and value come from their view of an individual. Since we are all ultimately alone, isolated islands of subjectivity in an objective world, we have absolute freedom over our internal nature, and the source of our value can only be internal. I feel Beckett expressed this view in the expelled when the main character got thrown out of his apartment. He had no one he could turn to for help. He just started wondering the city not caring where he was going. He knew getting thrown out wasn’t the end for him because he controlled his own destiny. Another existentialist view is the view of human nature. Existentialism is defined by the slogan Existence precedes Essence. Meaning we have no predetermined nature or essence that controls what we are, what we do, or what is valuable for us. Human beings have no essential self; they are no more than what they appear. A person is basically born with a blank slate; humans have no uniform, predetermined principles or ethics common to all of mankind. Since there is no preformed essence or definition that exists for what it means to be human, a person must form conception of existence by asserting control of and responsibility for their actions and choices. Consequently, a human being gains essence through individual choices and actions. It is solely through the process of living that one defines ones self(Existence Precedes Essence). I feel Beckett expressed this point heavily in â€Å"Krapp’s Last Tape†. The character was an older man listening to a tape of when he was younger. He could listen to the way he use to think, act and be as a younger man. He was also able to see how his past had affected his life in the present but he still had no idea what laid ahead of him. That is way he made this tape’s so he could remind in self in the future what he thought lay ahead of him in the past. He knew to always go back and listen to the tapes to ponder on what he had made for himself and no had predetermined it. Existentialist encourage us to consider, in a personal way, the meaning of living authentically and inauthentically(Oaklander). Man is the only known being, according to the philosophers, that defines itself merely through the act of living. First you exist, and then the individual emerges as he makes life decisions. Freedom of choice, through which each human being creates their own nature, is one of the basic themes. Because individuals are free to choose their own way, Existentialist have argued that they must accept the risk they choose to take and responsibility of their actions. Those people that follow this believe they are in a world that does not always make sense, a world that is filled with uncertainty where well-intended actions can become obscure and chaotic. In basic existentialist beliefs, man is the only animal defining itself through life. Without life, there is no meaning. Existentialist believe in life and fighting for it. While fighting for life, each person must face important and difficult decisions with only limited knowledge and time in which to make these decisions. Human life is seen as a series of decisions that must be made without knowing what the correct choice is. They must decide what standards to except and which ones to reject. Individuals must make their own choices without help from external standards. Humans are free and completely responsible for their choices. Their freedom and responsibility is thrust upon them and they are â€Å"condemned to be free†. Existentialist belief people are responsible for their actions, decisions and beliefs which caused them anxiety. They try to escape by ignoring or denying their responsibility. To have a meaningful life one must become fully aware of his true self and his situation and bravely accept it. Yet other existentialist thought dictates every person spends a lifetime changing his or her essence. Without life there can be no meaning, the search for meaning in existentialism is the search for self. In other words, we define ourselves by living, killing yourself would indicate you have chosen to have no meaning. Existentialist believe in living, in fact fighting for life. In Molloy I feel Beckett expressed this believe many times. First, at the beginning when his mother was dying and dead. He stated â€Å"I have her room. I sleep in her bed. I piss and shit in her pot. † this says to me that even though she had died he had to continue living his life. Also in Expelled Becket had traces of this theme. At the end when he left the cabdrivers carriage in the morning. I felt he was portraying that he used the cabdriver. He just needed a place to stay the night. The next morning he got up and left without saying anything. He got what he needed to survive the night then continued on his life. Samuel Beckett always used the Quote â€Å"a step from the cradle to the grave†. I feel this Quote means that you are only a split second away from dying. Even when you’re a new born one thing could go wrong and you’re died. Beckett used this saying in many of his writings. One time he used this saying was in the Expelled. He said â€Å"In what had just happened to me there was nothing in the least memorable. It was neither the cradle nor the game of anything whatever. Or rather it resembled so many other cradles, so many other graves, that I’m lost. † the character could not remember anything in life. He could not till if he was at the cradle of his life or the grave because they are so close together in life. Existentialism was a very big part of way Samuel Beckett was such a great writer. His works were infused with the idea that things have no inherent meaning and that our fallacy is to perceive meaning in everything which is way his stories where so great. He was also one of the last people to write in that form. After researching this subject I plan on studying Existentialism more in depth. Works cited 1. Barsoum Diane. Existentialism and the Philosophical Tradition 2. Edward N. Zalta, Standford encyclopedia of philosophy 3. Existence Precedes Essence: Jean-Paul Sartres Existentialism and Human Emotions Online at:http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/186425/existence_precedes_essence_jeanpaul. html? cat=38 4. Grene, Marjorie. Introduction To Existentialism. 5. Oaklander, L. Nathan, Existentialist Philosophy an Introduction.

Hemophilia Essay -- essays research papers

Hemophilia is a sex-linked hereditary bleeding disorder in which it takes a long time for the blood to clot and abnormal bleeding occurs. It is a hereditary blood coagulation disorder caused by a deficient activity of plasma protein factor thirteen and nine, which affects the clotting property of blood. A coagulation disorder is a disorder associated with platelets- blood cells essential for blood clotting. The platelets don't function properly in the body of hemophiliacs. There are two types of hemophilia: hemophilia A and hemophilia B. This disease affects mostly males.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hemophilia A is the most common. Other names for it are classical hemophilia, and factor thirteen deficiency hemophilia. The bleeding disorder is caused by an inherited sex-linked recessive trait with the defective gene located on the X chromosome. The X chromosome refers to sex-linked. The recessive inheritance refers to the fact that the trait, hemophilia, is expressed only when the defective form of the gene alone is present. Females have two X chromosomes for their sex chromosomes. They must carry the defective gene on both to have hemophilia. They must have it on one to carry it, and are then able to pass it on to their offspring. Males have X and Y chromosomes for their sex chromosomes. They only have one X chromosome, therefore only require a single dose of the defective gene to express the deficiency. Fifty percent of the male offspring of female carriers have the dise...

The Pigman

The plot of The Pigman, by Paul Zindel is the key element in understanding and clarifying the situations that this book’s characters go through. The setting of The Pigman is a neighborhood in New York City and more specifically Franklin High School. The protagonists of this story are John Conlan and Lorraine Jensen. The story does not have a specific person or character that is the antagonist, but is several different challenges that John and Lorraine are faced with throughout the story.The title of the book comes from the nickname that John and Lorraine gave to their new friend, Angelo Pignati, partly because of his name but also because of the collection of pigs that belonged to his late wife. The author of the book, Paul Zindel, is from Staten Island, New York. The Pigman was Zindel’s first novel and he won many awards for this novel including â€Å"Children’s Book of the Year† in 1968.The three reasons I selected plot as the most important literary ele ment of this novel is: 1) John and Lorraine become friends with an older man who has no wife and no children of his own, 2) John and Lorraine face many conflict and complications that teenagers still face today, and 3) John and Lorraine have to deal with death which is unexpected. John and Lorraine meet and become friends with Mr. Angelo Pignati after prank calling him and getting him to agree to donate money to their fake charity. The kids feel guilty about taking Mr.Pignati’s money and so they take him to the zoo to see his friend, Bobo, a baboon. The friendship continues to grow from that point on because John and Lorraine enjoy spending time with the Pigman because they do not get to spend time like this with their own parents. John and Lorraine realize how lonely the Pigman is and decide to try to make his life more fun by visiting him every day after school and on the weekends. They did many activities with the PIgman that they had never got to experience at home with t heir own parents.John and Lorraine face many conflicts and complications that teenagers face today. John is portrayed at the beginning of the book as a teenager giving in to the temptations of alcohol and tobacco. So, peer pressure is a big factor in The Pigman. The beginning of the book tells about John and Lorraine being pressured into prank calling the phone number that ends up being Mr. Pignati’s. They are then pressured into collecting the money that Mr. Pignati donated to their fake charity. After the kids have befriended the Pigman, a schoolmate, Norton tries to get John to let him steal from thePigman. John and Lorraine give into peer pressure when they have a party at Mr. Pignati’s house while he is in the hospital. Norton shows up at the party and destroys Mr. Pignati’s pig collection. John and Lorraine ultimately regret the pressures that they have given into and try to fix the damage that has been done. Unfortunately, it’s too late. John and L orraine have to deal with death, which is unexpected. Mr. Pignati has a heart attack but recovers and returns to his home, only to find that his baboon friend at the zoo had died.This breaks Mr. Pignati’s heart and ultimately he dies from a supposed broken heart. John and Lorraine feel tremendous guilt and responsibility over the Pigman’s death. They learn that even though they were seeking forgiveness from Mr. Pignati for the mistakes they had made, John and Lorraine realize some things can never be forgiven. John and Lorraine are left with a deep sense of regret and sadness because of the Pigman’s death. The consequences they have to live with will be with them for the rest of their lives.The key element in understanding and clarifying the situations in Paul Zindel’s The Pigman, is the plot of the book. The various conflicts, complications and relationships that John and Lorraine deal with throughout the book reveal valuable lessons about friendship and betrayal that can never be forgiven. Mr. Pignati’s death forces John and Lorraine to deal with their fault in this final outcome. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it based on the fact that there are so many issues that me and other teenagers can relate to today.

Bottlenecks: Theory of Constraints Essay

â€Å"A chain is only as strong as its weakest link† (Goldratt, 1984). Goldratt’s theory means organizations and processes are vulnerable because the weakest part or person can damage, break, or constrain them while affecting the outcome. In operations management, the solution is to pull materials through the system rather than push them into the system. By using the drum-buffer-rope methodology, components in a system can be identified helping to identify constraints and eventually break the constraint or find a solution. Bottlenecks: Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints helps identify bottlenecks in the process of fixing a flashlight and how to fix or break the constraints. Drum-Buffer-Rope Named for its three components, drum-buffer-rope is a manufacturing mythology execution. The physical constraint of the plant is the drum. The drum could be a machine or work center and limits the whole system to produce more. The drums are protected by buffers which always keep work flowing to it. Buffers are measured in units of time rather than the quantity produced. Buffers are usually placed at the constraint, shipping, and synchronization points. The work release mechanism for the plant is represented by rope. Orders are released before they are due at a certain buffer time. If the buffer is one week, the order is released one week before it is due at the constraint. The drum-buffer-rope mythology will be very useful to solve the problems in process of manufacturing and selling a flashlight. Constraints and Solutions According to â€Å"Theory of Constraints† (2013), â€Å"TOC is systemic and strives to identify constraints to system success and to effect the changes necessary to remove them† (Theory of Constraints). The drum would be the equipment used to manufacture the flashlights or even the employees that are putting them together. Continuously providing work to the system, the buffer could be a computer helping the employee keep track of what they are doing and helping to process their work. The rope represents the time flashlights are placed in stores ahead of time to help offset the time lost by the constraint. If an employee is at their limit of production, an additional employee could be hired to increase production. A machine could even be implemented into the process at the bottleneck to assist the employee or the employee could help the machine if it was the constraint. If the buffer is causing a bottleneck, its rate should be decreased. Placing orders in stores before they are to be put on the shelves could help offset the time it takes for merchandising and stocking the items. Conclusion Bottlenecks are inevitable in processes and organizations. A company needs to locate the bottlenecks in their process and break the constraint before it breaks or shuts the system down. Companies are only as strong as their weakest links and should solve the issues right away. Using Goldratt’s Theory of Constraints helps to identify and come up with a solution for the constraint. The drum-buffer-rope methodology also helps to identify constraints and is a useful execution to making a process more efficient.

Big Lion Small Cage essays

Big Lion Small Cage essays South African Breweries dominates its home market, because the firm is capable of meeting the markets abnormal demand. Several foreign companies have tried to enter the market, but failed because of SABs low-price strategy. It has increased productivity by cutting 7.000 jobs in the past ten years and by hard negotiations with the inflexible trade unions. Despite rough roads and bad electricity supply, SABs distribution net is highly developed and refrigerators and/or generators are put at its distributors disposal. Most of the beer in South Africa is sold via unlicensed pubs, called shebeens. Although they are illegal, SAB supplies them with alcohol through wholesalers. To compete successfully with SAB, foreign investors would have to build big breweries and to set up competitive distribution channels. But the market is growing too slowly to be worth the money. As scope for expansion is limited in South Africa, the brewery has started to acquire competitiors in the rest of Africa, Central and Eastern Europe and in China. Although it is the worlds fith-largest brewery by volume, it hasnt yet succeed in turning into a global player with global brands. SAB tried to enter the first-world-beer-market by acquiring a British brewing group but failed at the price. Because buying a brewery involves many bidders, brands, already established in the market, can offer a higher price, for the chance to swallow a competitor. One opportunity to enter the global market is sill left over: to be a takeover target itself. ...

new imperialism essays

new imperialism essays The extension of sovereignty and control was dormant in the west during most of the Middle Ages. It flourished during the age of exploration and discovery, particularly in America and parts of Asia. In the age of Metternich, with governments concentrating primarily on internal problems, a general decline in imperialism occurred. The new imperialism, revival of imperialism, took place during 1870-1914. Heavy demands for raw materials and a large surplus of European capital was brought about by the industrial revolution, which created economic depression in Europe and America. Major European countries required investment abroad due to the accumulation of capital. Nationalism was a huge factor in colonization; the concept survival of the fittest of the social Darwinism, the obligations of the white mans burden, and the political prestige in having colonies contributed to the spirit of nationalism. Military is another reason for the new imperialism. In each major country military organiz ation wielded great political power and emphasized the need of controlling strategic areas and establishing key military bases. The new imperialism differed from the classic imperialism; public opinion was considered important and people should be persuaded. Expansion (territorial ambition) and the public opinion were solid factors in advocating and giving birth to new imperialism; as a result, Europe and the United States faced unexpected mischief, wars, and further economic drain. To support the development of the industrial revolution, colonial possession was an essential. The goods produced were made hard to consume due to the economic depression in the major European countries and the United States of America. Imports from other nations were taxed to avoid more stress on the economic circumstances and to favor the national market. Foreign industries were enclosed and the exports dropped making the market available exclu...

10 Points About Possessives

10 Points About Possessives 10 Points About Possessives 10 Points About Possessives By Mark Nichol Writers are often challenged by the details of producing singular and possessive forms, but dealing with less common possessive variations can be downright vexing. Here are guidelines about additional possessive constructions. 1. Absolute Possessives His, hers, its, theirs, ours, mine, and yours, which are termed absolute possessives because, unlike their simple possessive versions (for example, their and my), they require no subsequent noun, should never be followed by an apostrophe. (Note that his and its, which can precede a noun or noun phrase or can stand alone, do not change form depending on whether they are simple or absolute possessives.) 2. Compound Possessives The possessive form in compound nouns and in noun phrases is generally expressed only in the final element for example, â€Å"The student teachers’ experiences varied†; â€Å"Her brothers-in-law’s attitudes differed dramatically.† (It might be better to relax the syntax: â€Å"The experiences of the student teachers varied†; â€Å"The attitudes of her brothers-in-law differed dramatically.†) 3. Genitive Possessives The genitive form, also known as the possessive form although most phrases formed this way refer to relationship, not to possession is most often problematic when the apostrophe implies of, as in â€Å"a hundred dollars’ worth† or â€Å"three months’ time.† (See this post for a discussion of the various types of genitive.) 4. Phrasal Possessives The spontaneity of speech often results in statements such as â€Å"The family down the street’s RV was hit by a car,† but because writing enables more thoughtful composition, writers should avoid such awkward constructions; instead, write, â€Å"The RV belonging to the family down the street was hit by a car.† 5. Possessives Attached to Italicized Terms An apostrophe and an s following an italicized term should not be italicized for example, â€Å"Did you read the Washington Post’s editorial today?† If the style calls for quotation marks instead of italics, avoid constructions like â€Å"Did you read the ‘Washington Post’’s editorial today?† Instead, revise the sentence, for example, to â€Å"Did you read the editorial in today’s ‘Washington Post’?† 6. Possessive with Gerund In a sentence in which a gerund (a verb functioning as a noun), not the proper noun or the pronoun preceding it, is understood to be the subject of the sentence as in â€Å"Jane’s yelling had put us all in a bad mood† the proper noun or pronoun (a modifying part of speech known as a determiner) should be in the possessive form. The sentence is expressing that the yelling caused the bad moods, and the genitive form Jane’s identifies the yeller. In â€Å"Jane yelling had put us all in a bad mood,† by contrast, Jane is the subject and yelling is a verb; the implied subject is â€Å"The act of Jane.† This construction, however, is awkward; either use the construction with the gerund, or relax the sentence to something like, â€Å"When Jane yelled, it put us all in a bad mood.† 7. Possessive Forms vs. Attributive Forms Organizations, businesses, and government agencies often refer to themselves attributively, meaning that one noun modifies another for example, respectively, note the names of the California Teachers Association, the Diners Club, and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The key noun in each name takes the plural s but not the genitive apostrophe, because the entities are intended for the referenced groups rather than established by them. However, similarly constructed generic terms such as â€Å"farmers’ market† and â€Å"girls’ soccer team† are genitive phrases and should feature an apostrophe after the plural s. Similarly, a name used as an adjective is attributive, not possessive: Write â€Å"the Jones Mansion,† not â€Å"the Jones’s Mansion,† as, for example, a designation for a historical landmark (though â€Å"the Jones’s mansion† is correct for a simple description of, for example, a neighbor’s house), or â€Å"the Vikings game† (but â€Å"the Vikings’ win-loss record†). 8. Possessive of Inanimate Objects Generally, constructions such as â€Å"The jar’s lid is cracked† is more efficient than, for example, â€Å"The lid of the jar is cracked,† but avoid rendering such set phrases as â€Å"the head of the class† unidiomatic. (â€Å"Go to the class’s head† fumbles the idiom.) 9. Possessive Preceded by Of When a phrase describing a relationship includes the preposition of, as in â€Å"a neighbor of Dad’s† or â€Å"that statement of Smith’s,† note that the presence of the preposition does not preclude the need for the genitive apostrophe. (A construction omitting the apostrophe doesn’t necessarily look wrong, but consider the example â€Å"the book of John†; this phrase suggests a book about John, not one belong to or written by John.) However, consider simplifying the phrase to, for example, â€Å"Dad’s neighbor† or â€Å"Smith’s statement† when doing so does not change the meaning. (â€Å"A neighbor of Dad’s,† for example, implies one of two or more neighbors more strongly than â€Å"Dad’s neighbor† does, and â€Å"that statement of Smith’s,† for example, more clearly specifies a particular statement than â€Å"Smith’s statement† does.) 10. Shared and Separate Possession When two closely related nouns refer to as a single entity, as in a statement about a comedy team’s best-known routine (â€Å"She’s never heard Abbott and Costello’s ‘Who’s on First’ bit†), only the second item is assigned a possessive form. But when the component entities are discussed as separate things, both items should have the possessive form, as in â€Å"Abbott’s and Costello’s off-screen personalities were consistent with their on-screen personas.† 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 Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:36 Adjectives Describing Light25 Russian Words Used in English (and 25 More That Should Be)Drama vs. Melodrama

Autobiography(first love) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Autobiography(first love) - Essay Example On the morning of May 27th, I finally got my chance to do something about the way I felt. It was announced that my school would be starting later than usual that morning, which would give me a chance to go over to her school instead. I thought about what I was going to do for the rest of the day, even during my night-time tutoring session at the Educational Institution, where I was learning English. I saw someone selling flowers, which gave me a tremendous idea. I bought sixteen roses, one for every year of her life, and hid them in my garden so that my parents wouldn’t see them. When I got home, I called a couple of my friends to see if any of them would go with me – I didn’t want to be alone. The next morning didn’t go quite the way I’d planned. I was anxiously waiting at the bus stop for the two friends that said they would go with me and they managed to get there just before the bus to her school. I still regret my choice of clothing for this meeting. I was going to have to go straight from her school to mine, so I was wearing our horrible brown school uniform. We looked like janitors, which was sure to work against me. My planning skills were found to be poor again when we arrived at her school and I realized I had no idea where her classroom was. While we searched from classroom to classroom, we ran into one of the teachers, who recognized that we didn’t belong at that school. He thought we were there to make trouble, so he hit us and banned us from the grounds. One of my friends didn’t want to risk getting in trouble for a girl that wasn’t even for him, so he waited outside while my other friend and I tried to get back through the gates. Although there hadn’t been a guard there before, there was one now and he stopped us to ask why we were trying to get inside. The roses probably should have made it possible for him to guess, but my friend lied and said we wanted to make one of the teachers feel better. He

Enclosed in description Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Enclosed in description - Assignment Example Forms are abstract and do not change over time. Shields commenting on this states that â€Å"Forms are objects of knowledge, and since knowledge requires stable, unchanging objects, Forms must have these attributes† (Shields 87). 2. The fact that Socrates does not follow Crito’s advice regarding escape from jail and execution is an indication of the man’s strong conviction regarding justice. He sees escape as morally unjust. It is another matter whether Socrates is guilty or not. According to him it is not right to go against the law. Doing a wrong to correct a wrong is not right. It is equal to the concept of ‘an eye for an eye’ and escaping will result in a great man going against justice. It is not correct to provide such an image (of moral injustice) to the public. Escaping will result in such an image. Crito fears shame because unless Socrates escapes, the public will think that friends (of Socrates) had done nothing to save the philosopher’s life. 3. According to Socrates, an expert is a person who should deliver his goods or advice without contradicting oneself. Morality should also be an essential element. The many cannot really do anything good or bad. The problem with going along with the many is that it can corrupt the morals and sense of justice within a person. The many in this context is the large number of people who want Socrates to escape. But the moral expert would not advice such an act since it would be against justice. This is precisely what Socrates wants Crito to understand. 4. It is not the size of the state that matter, but the strength of the reason for which it was created. The people should work towards upholding that reason and should obey each and every direction given by the state. They may even have to die for it. No individual can survive alone and can do so only under a state’s rule. The state has the power to make individual

The various activities within a company should be coordinated by the Essay

The various activities within a company should be coordinated by the preparation of plans of actions for future periods. Thes - Essay Example This paper compares three basic terms that are planning, control and budgeting and describes the process involved in preparing a master budget and behavioral issues that a firm may face while preparing the budget. Planning, Control and Budgeting A successful organization prepares both short and long term planning. Weygandt, Kimmel and Kieso, 2009, p. 388) pointed that planning is the process of establishing enterprise wide objectives because plans not only set forth the objectives of the company but also the proposed ways of accomplishing them. As Davies and Pain (2002, p. 410) described, planning refers to the establishment of objectives and the formulation, evaluation and selection of the policies, strategies and tactics that are required for achieving the established objectives. Planning includes long term planning or commonly termed as strategic planning and short term planning. ... 410). Long term planning involves strategic planning over two or more years and the identification of the basic strategy that the firm may follow and the gaps between future needs and present capabilities of the firm (Drury, 2006, p. 426). As long-term plans include looking in to future for two or several years, the plans may become uncertain, imprecise and subject to change. Long term planning or strategic planning expresses certain steps required to achieve an organization’s goals because it considers intermediate and distant future. Long-range plans give detail about major capital investments required for maintaining present facilities, increasing capacity, diversifying products or procurement and developing markets. Long-range plans may aim at cost control or increasing market share for duration of three or more years (Hilton, Maher and Selto, 2005, p. 597). Budgeting involves the coordination of both financial and non-financial planning with a view to satisfy organisation al goals and objectives. It involves planning for future profitability because maintaining long-term profitability is very critical to organizational objectives. Kimmel, Weygandt and Kieso (2008, p. 1010) emphasized that budgeting and long-term planning are not the same. The main difference between them is the time period involved. Maximum length of a budget is one year and therefore budget is a kind of short-term plan. Other major differences between the long-term planning and budgeting are the emphasis and the amounts of details presented. Budgeting is meant for achieving certain short-term goals like meeting annual profit goals whereas long-term planning is meant to identify long-range goals, find and select effective strategies and develop policies and plans to implement the

Are Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter Etc) Sites Effective Means of Literature review

Are Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter Etc) Sites Effective Means of Recruitment - Literature review Example The users of the social networking sites are able to engage in real time communication through text based or cam based or even voice based interaction irrespective of their location. The social networking sites are internet based applications that allow the users to engage into useful communication through the virtual platform that could be accessed with the use of electronic devices like computer terminals, notebooks, mobiles, etc (Zhang, Johnson and Seltzer, 2010, p.81). The social networking have brought about changes in the outlook of the society as they have inclined towards the online mode of communication due to the benefits in terms of time , cost, energy, etc. The young people of the society have shown the greatest interest towards the use of social networking sites (Henderson and Bowley, 2010, p.248). The social networking sites like the Facebook, Twitter, etc. not only form a part of their personal and private lives but also emerged as tools for fulfilling career aspiratio n. The people have started to increase their online presence in order to pursue the career that they desire (Backstrom, Huttenlocher and Kleinberg, 2006, p.42). Needless to say, the social networking sites have proved to be useful in the process of recruitment of the employers and, therefore, increase the chances of users in getting a job. The social networking sites offer the employers a wide range of information on the candidates who could be eligible for the process of recruitment according to the pre-set criteria. The availability of huge number of profiles which are easily accessible to the employers allows them to filter the apposite candidates to be called for the interview and further stages of recruitment. The social networking sites are also useful to the candidates as it provides wide range of information on the companies through the use of online media applications of Facebook, Twitter, etc (Diani, 2000, p.392). The applicants also get the opportunity to interact with th e existing employees who are available on the social networking platforms. The effectiveness of the social networking sites in the process of recruitment, its advantages and disadvantages could be clearly understood with the help of literature review. E-Recruitment The advent of the internet based applications in the form social networking sites have reinvented the ways of communication in which one engages with another and also in the way in which interaction takes place between the individuals and the organizations in the workplace. In order to keep themselves updated with the modern trend, the employers have also been required to embrace the modern communication practices and use the same in the process of recruitment. The growth e-recruitment or the use of virtual platforms in the social networking sites have taken place in order to keep up with the changing trend of communication (Pfeffer, 2008, p.67). Thus the e-recruitment methods have been adopted by the companies in order t o aid the traditional process of

Media theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Media theory - Essay Example Psychologist and Sociologists come up with a variety of theories as to why we watch TV. They have said that å… ¸he Mass Media Have a Direct, Immediate and Influential Effect Upon Audiences by é  ¸njectingInformation Into the Consciousness of the Masses(Wikibooks,2011) The fact of the matter is human beings have needed to be entertained since the beginning of time. We need to enjoy our leisure and before TV or even radio, in fact, the natives in the jungles of Africa invented their dances and rituals for their entertainment or self gratification if you want to make it sinister. What interests us is driven by our basic needs and background, our experiences and education. Rather than being controlled, we control the mediaPeople Bend the Media To Their Needs More Readily Than The Media Overpowering Them(Wikibooks,2011 ). We do not have studies theorizing why a person prefers a pair of blue jeans over black and quite frankly who cares. Their reasons are the same as why the watch a pa rticular movie or documentary or sporting event. There is no University degree needed here and there are no psychological or sociological problems, it is simply about a human being their need for leisure and enrtainment.. Television has not changed in the last 20 years only the technology involved in producing the entertainment. Television has become part of our lives for a variety of reasons and we do not need theories and conjectures to manipulate the reasons. Television stations produce on a supply and demand basis and we watch for enjoyment, plain and simple. That is how it was 20 years ago and that is how it will be twenty years from now. The Semiotic Media Theory interprets signs, communicative or culturally that point to the significance of a popularly appreciated phenomena. The cultural and communicative signs to the popularization of Super Bowl are pronounced and far reaching in American History. The human being needs excitement and is

Contemporary Business Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Concept of Money and Its Creation - Essay Example This paper illustrates that for many centuries since the invention of money as an alternative medium of exchange from the old system that used barter trade, the medium has revolutionalized financial systems. Without the invention of money, one would wonder whether we would have the current financial institutions. The use of money eased the process of making payment and purchasing of items. The process of creating money is often a misunderstood phenomenon. Although many studies show that there are two main institutions tasked with the process of money creation, the process involved in creating money without the manual paper consideration is elusive. The two main institutions involved in the creation of money are the financial banks and the government.It is estimated that about 97% of the money created originates from the banks while only 3% comes from the governments. Using the United States as a case study in describing and assessing the effects and effectiveness of qualitative easin g would provide a platform on how to stabilize economic growth. The narrow form of money is the most common medium of exchange. It is the form of money in circulation within any economy. It consists of coins and notes as well as sight deposit. The site deposits belong to accounts whose owners can make withdrawals without attracting penalties. The narrow form of money is corroborative indicators for the spending regimes. In fact, the form of money used in carrying out most of the day-to-day transactions of services and goods are the narrow form of money. Therefore, narrow money is the main form of exchange involving the monetary value. The zero maturity money is the sum of coins and notes on hold by the private sectors (the non-bakers). For instance, employers pay their employees either by cash or cheque. Besides, these companies used the same form of money to pay and offset their expenditures. Unlike the broad form of money, the narrow form of money gives a clear outlook on the asse ts employed as the medium of exchange.

Media theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Media theory - Essay Example Psychologist and Sociologists come up with a variety of theories as to why we watch TV. They have said that å… ¸he Mass Media Have a Direct, Immediate and Influential Effect Upon Audiences by é  ¸njectingInformation Into the Consciousness of the Masses(Wikibooks,2011) The fact of the matter is human beings have needed to be entertained since the beginning of time. We need to enjoy our leisure and before TV or even radio, in fact, the natives in the jungles of Africa invented their dances and rituals for their entertainment or self gratification if you want to make it sinister. What interests us is driven by our basic needs and background, our experiences and education. Rather than being controlled, we control the mediaPeople Bend the Media To Their Needs More Readily Than The Media Overpowering Them(Wikibooks,2011 ). We do not have studies theorizing why a person prefers a pair of blue jeans over black and quite frankly who cares. Their reasons are the same as why the watch a pa rticular movie or documentary or sporting event. There is no University degree needed here and there are no psychological or sociological problems, it is simply about a human being their need for leisure and enrtainment.. Television has not changed in the last 20 years only the technology involved in producing the entertainment. Television has become part of our lives for a variety of reasons and we do not need theories and conjectures to manipulate the reasons. Television stations produce on a supply and demand basis and we watch for enjoyment, plain and simple. That is how it was 20 years ago and that is how it will be twenty years from now. The Semiotic Media Theory interprets signs, communicative or culturally that point to the significance of a popularly appreciated phenomena. The cultural and communicative signs to the popularization of Super Bowl are pronounced and far reaching in American History. The human being needs excitement and is

Marketing Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Plan - Essay Example 450). John Lewis departmental store describes its customers in terms of demographics and psychographics. According to Attwood (2007), John Lewis departmental store serves the affluent and middle classes whose income may not be reduced so much by high bills. This is shown by the high priced goods sold in stores. John Lewis customers are also trendy and value fashion. This organization can increase its market share by coming up with new products, which can best serve the low income earners. John Lewis will come up with low-priced differentiated products. United Kingdom’s retail market is dominated by six huge retailers who account for 60 percent of all goods sold in the region (Board Bia, 2012, p. 3). As a result, this market is extremely competitive. This market is fast moving and at the vanguard of initiatives. Because of the continuous changes in the market, John Lewis has developed exceptional points of difference to attract new patrons and entice the existing customers to s pend more (Capon and Hulbert, 2007, p. 345). Any departmental store or a supermarket is considered John Lewis’s competitor. ... Mark and Spencer is also a chief retailer in United Kingdom with more than seven hundred stores across United Kingdom and more than three hundred in other nations. Its products are luxury food items and clothing. It is the biggest retailer and controls 24 percent of the market (Board Bia, 2012, p. 5-7). Because of the intense competition John Lewis has developed exceptional points of difference to attract new patrons and entice the existing customers to spend more. The Buying Process of the Targeted Customers The buying process involves numerous activities by both customers and the company personnel. John Lewis has majored in customer service, which has made its profits grow over the past few months (John Lewis, 2012). Therefore, this process starts from the point where the customer recognizes his or her need or becomes aware of his or her problem (Lamb et al, 2009, p. 224). This may be the need for a new cloth, new phone, new car insurance or body cream. After identification of the need, the customer sets his or her quest for information on the products that can adequately satisfy his or her needs (Lamb et al, 2012, p. 256). This is adequately assisted by the internet which provides a wide range of information of the products available that can satisfy the need. John Lewis has stand-by personnel on the internet ready to assist consumers seeking information on a product or a service (John Lewis, 2012). John Lewis deals with numerous products. Therefore, the customer is provided with all the information on the available products in the market. The company personnel are expected to entice the customers into buying the product (John Lewis, 2012). As according to Brassington and Pettit (2006, p. 346-50), after the customer acquires all the

American TV comedy Essay Example for Free

American TV comedy Essay Sit-coms in television history have been one of the most important genres for expressing the values of the middle and lower classes in our society, not in order to make fun of them but to express the best of them in a softer way. For the general public today, the sit-com is like the pantomime was for the Victorians. British comedy still has a Victorian taste, but it is one that is only recognized and truly appreciated by the British, which makes the British sitcoms less universal, and it does also express a more localised British culture. In reality, the appeal of American sit-coms in relation to the British is clear. In the UK, the use of social class stereotypes is more intense; they rely on a more complex social background than the US. Although it is generally felt that UK culture is gradually becoming less defined by the stereotypes of social class, it is notable that in the last five years of television, many sit-coms in UK television continue to approach mainly social class issues, which have more to do with the working class than ever before. For example, in the last year there were two productions that clearly illustrate this point: Shameless and Little Britain, recent productions by Channel 4 and the BBC, used the stereotype of the English working class. In one way it is not a universal appeal, the cultural facts make these productions localised for the UK audience. Shameless was about a family living on benefits in a council flat in Manchester. The main theme was their struggle to survive every day life. The central characters are seven children who where abandoned by their mother and are now looked after largely by their older sister because the father is an irresponsible, but arguably charming, alcoholic living on benefits. Little Britain centred around two actors who created a series of sketches; different situations which portrayed many peculiar stereotypes in English society, from a shoplifting seventeen year old girl living in east London, to a disabled man in Birmingham on benefits who shamelessly uses his generous best friend to help him with the basic daily tasks, despite the fact that he is perfectly capable of doing these tasks himself. These cultural issues make British sit-coms funny to those who recognise the social types, but if it is to be shown to an American audience the essential part of the funny elements are lost, principally because it is not related to Americans in the same way it relates to the English. In American sit-coms the appeal is more universal; there are more general jokes and the use of class is less than in the UK. Sit-coms like Friends and Will and Grace have a more general approach and the dramatisation of social issues is almost nonexistent. The jokes are directly related to the actors. When Will from Will and Grace wants to make a joke he makes one, it is not his background and his social status which is the joke but what he says. In Friends, the audience can observe the same phenomenon. Joes jokes have more to do with himself, or other members of the cast, than about his new girlfriend or the fact that she is from a working class family. Situation comedy in Britain evolved from radio comedy which in turn had its roots in music hall and variety. American sit-com developed from radio soap opera, weekly drama series which were devised to attract audiences in order to sell products. The domestic setting predominated in both variations of the form. Many early American sit-coms were transferred from radio to television. 1 Radio comedy assumed a sit-com format to attract a broader audience and to encourage listeners to listen to the shows on a regular basis. Stopping to listen to a sit-com radio show at a certain time of the week became a habitual form of entertainment for many families. For the television industry, the formula was already developed by the radio and, like everything else which is successful, copying this form was inevitable. Most sit-coms fit into our reality principally because they try to use real people in realistic situations. The programmes only last half an hour and for a fixed number of episodes. In the basic sit-com, the location is the same and every episode is self-contained; it has an end (most of the time happy) in the thirty minute slot, which allows the narrative to flow at a different pace in different weeks. The stereotypical fashion of the characters and their social types provide the humour and the ideology of the sit-com. Sit-com cannot function without stereotypes. In a space as brief as a thirty-minute sit-com, immediacy is imperative, and for a character to be immediately funny that character must be a recognisable type; a representation or embodiment of a set of ideas or a manifestation of a clichi. 2 For the American sit-com, the stereotype has to have a more universal appeal, where in Britain these stereotypes are more easily recognized in our local society, and the male and female stereotype interacts with the surroundings, making it part of the actors character. However, audiences can notice a change in American sit-coms in the last five years. They are using a more straight-forward form in sit-coms like Will and Grace. In this show, there is a new use of gay stereotypes being very open but with a universal appeal. Will is a camp butch gay guy whereas his best friend is camp and feminine, perhaps the funniest of the two of them. In Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, there is the camp gay guy who interacts with an ugly and fat flatmate. But the jokes and situations in which they are involved do not have a universal appeal because their jokes exploit additional stereotypes in English society that make the programme incomprehensible for anyone other than the British. The use of such stereotypes promotes the illusion of community which can be recognized by an audience. Making fun of any strange behaviour which is not acceptable in society, one way or another, is part of the sit-com format. Situation comedy is seen as light entertainment. According to TV producers, its function is to attract funding and to catch the audience early in the evening, offering a laugh which temporarily gives them an escape from reality. In the early days of television they were seen more as a kind of family programme. Nowadays, this light form of entertainment appeals more to a middle class part of society where after a hard day of work individuals want to watch TV without stress. It is more a form of general entertainment than anything else. Such entertainments were deliberately escapist, in that they allowed audiences to briefly recapture the sense of community destroyed by industrialisation and urban expansion. 3 There are three possible locations in which a situation comedy takes place. The first is the home and it is generally based around a family situation. The second is the workplace and the situation that occurs as a result of interaction between characters in the work environment. The third area is less clearly defined but involves a group somehow connected in a situation outside that of the workplace. 4 Shameless uses the characters neighbourhood to plot the situations, where Friends uses a flat and a local cafi , in which the characters usually meet. The use of similar locations guarantees a more realistic experience for the viewer. For Shameless viewers, the association is automatically recognised by an English audience. However, for the American audience the association would not be clear. The English audience is used to the number of council areas around many of its cities where Americans are not. In Friends, the locations appeal to both nationalities; friends meeting in a coffee shop and living together can be recognized in either country in the same way. The connection with reality engages the public more and makes Friends a more universal and commercial program than Shameless, where the scenery can only be recognized by an English audience. Despite the fact that most English sit-coms use local stereotypes, some English sit-coms have been successfully translated to American television. The show Absolutely Fabulous was originally a successful show in the UK and became one of the rare examples of a show which was screened in America and achieved the same success as it did in Britain. The only problem was that before the series could go on view, the producers decided to change many of the jokes which, for the American audience, were considered to be too rude. Plans to show the series in the USA met with problems because it was regarded as too vulgar and too pro-drug, as were the scripts for an American remake submitted to ABC TV after Roseanne Barr acquired the rights. In the end, the first British series was screened in the USA in 1994 and met with success, winning two Emmys (televisions equivalent of the Oscar). It achieved a cult status in the USA, as it did in Australia. 5 What the American producer judged as too vulgar was only a representation of British society during the Thatcher era. Absolutely Fabulous is no more than a production which explores the 70s and 80s in the present context. In one way or another, it is a portrait of English feminism and a society where post-industrial Britain had strong capitalist roots. The past and the Thatcherite present are, at times, played off against each other to produce comedy and social comment while at other points they meld together in hilarious confusion. 6 The main characters spend most of their time shopping and drinking, where Edinas daughter is more linked to nature and late twentieth century values (the post-feminism era). She only drinks natural drinks and dresses with a feminist attitude. It is the clash of both present and past which makes the comedy. The exchange of values in the way that the mothers role, which is to look after her daughter, is inverted, and the confusion with the past by Edina and Patsy which transforms Absolutely Fabulous into an international sit-com. In conclusion, there is one answer for the question Why is the English sit-com not that universal? British TV productions have had some success exporting their productions. However, the answer rests with the cultural aspects of the programmes themselves. The English audience is more open to American productions due to the fact that they are more universal; the jokes, the plots, and the sceneries can be incorporated into any culture with no need of any adjustment. The British sit-coms usually explore a more local stereotype and surroundings which make the export of these productions almost impossible. The amount of cultural ideology, which makes them funny, cannot be translated in many cases. Productions like Friends and Will and Grace explore more the actors personalities and lives than their surroundings. The cultural aspects in many cases are nonexistent. When the shoplifter from Little Britain appears, the joke is often not what she says but her accent and the way she dresses. It is a clear association with somebody who lives in the east end of London the stereotype which makes it funny, the association of the audience with reality. For a Londoner, this association comes automatically because each viewer probably knows someone like that, or would have seen somebody or even heard such an accent before. This kind of aspect cannot be translated, and in the British sit-com these references play an integral part. American productions are more appealing to an international audience because they do not focus excessively on local cultural aspects. Bibliography: Coner, J.; Harvey. S. (1996) Television Times: A Reader. Arnold Geraghty, C.; Lusted, D. (1998) Television Studies Book. Arnold Goodwin, A.; Whannel, G. (1990) Understanding Television. Routledge Marris, P.; Thornham S. (1996) Media Studies A reader. Edinburgh University Press. Neale, S; Krutnik, F. (1990) Popular film and Television Comedy. Routledge Palmer, J. (1987) The Logic of the Absurd: On film and Television. BFI Books. Strinati, D.; Wagg, S. (1992) Come on Down? Popular Media Culture in Post -War Britain. Routledge 1 Goodwin, A.; Whannel, G. (1990) Understanding Television. Routledge P130 2 Corner, J.; Harvey, S. (1996) Television Times: A Reader. Arnold P111 3 Corner, J.; Harvey, S. (1996) Television Times: A Reader. Arnold P112 4 Goodwin, A.; Whannel, G. (1990) Understanding Television. Routledge P132 5 Geraghty, C.; Lusted, D. (1998) Television Studies Book. Arnold. P289 6 Geraghty, C.; Lusted, D. (1998) Television Studies Book. Arnold. P289

The Role of Financial Intermediation in Banking

The Role of Financial Intermediation in Banking Financial intermediaries exist to solve or reduce market imperfections such as differences in preferences of lenders and borrowers, transaction cost, shocks in consumers consumption and asymmetric information. Theories developed to explain how financial intermediaries reduce market imperfection: Asset transformation Transaction cost reduction Liquidity insurance Informational economies of scale and delegated monitoring Asset Transformation Asset transformation is a process performed by financial intermediaries to transform particular types of assets into to others. This is to satisfy the need of borrowers for long term capital and the need of lender for high degree of liquidity in their asset. Financial intermediaries transform the primary securities issued by firms into indirect securities by lenders. They issue liabilities (deposit claims) which are short term, low risk and high liquidity, and use parts of these funds to acquire larger, high risk and illiquid claims. 3 Main Transformations Maturity Transformation As the liabilities of financial intermediaries mature faster than their assets, financial intermediaries mismatch the maturity of the assets will maturity of the liabilities by making long-term loans and fund them by issuing short-term deposit. Size Transformation The amount required by borrowers are much more than the amount made available by lenders. Financial intermediaries will then collect and combine the funders from lenders as required by the borrowers. Liquidity Transformation Financial intermediaries provide financial or secondary claims or loans. Deposits which are held under liabilities of banks balance are low risk and high liquidity, while loans which are held under the assets of banks balance are riskier and illiquid. To hold liabilities and assets of different degree of liquidity, financial intermediaries will diversify their portfolios. More diversification will lower the default probability. Risk Transformation Financial intermediaries must be seen by the lenders as a safe place to make deposits. However, the loans made by the intermediaries to the borrower bear some default risk. Therefore, financial intermediaries have to transform risk to reconcile the preferences of borrowers and lenders. Firstly, banks use credit scoring to select good borrowers with good repaying loans history to minimize the risk of loss of each loan. Second is to diversify risk by lending to different types of borrowers. Banks try to avoid heavy concentration on an economic activity or on a particular area. They also limit the amount that can be loan out. Example: From 1985-1989, 400 Texan banks failed which are resulted from heavy concentration on their loan portfolio in real estate dependent on the oil businesses. Third is by pooling risks. Variability of losses can be reduced by making loans to many borrowers. Although by making out many loans does not reduce the loss in the portfolio of loans overall, but it increase the bank accuracy of prediction and limits maximum loss for which the intermediaries has to allow. How financial intermediaries reduce transaction costs? Financial intermediaries reduce transaction costs by internalizing them. They make network and information system available to lenders and borrowers. As such, lenders and borrowers do not have to find a suitable counterpart each time they want to make a transaction with the other party. Financial intermediaries also provide standardized products which help to reduce the information cost related with scrutinizing individual financial instruments. They also use tested procedures and routines. Theory of transaction costs Economies of scale refer to the transaction costs per dollar of output is reduced as the number of financial transactions increase. Example: When using loan contract for many loans, the unit cost of a contract per loan is lower than a loan contract drawn up individually when undertaking direct lending. Economies of cost refer to the cost of producing at least 2 products together is lower that producing them individually. It is concerned with deposit and payment services, because deposits are legal financial claims which allow banks to collect funds to sustain their lending activities and satisfy the request of making payments. Expertise They developed expertise to lower transaction cost. Financial intermediaries such as banks and mutual funds develop in information technology such as ATM to provide liquidity service. Asymmetric Information Adverse Selection It arises when borrowers who are likely to produce undesirable results are the one who are actively seeking loans, because they know that they are unlikely to pay it back. Adverse selection increases the probability that the loan might become a bad credit risk. Hence, lenders may decide not to loan out, even when there is good credit risk. Moral Hazard It is the risk that occurs after the transaction has been made. It is the risk that the borrower may engage in activities which is undesirable from the lenders point of view because there a likelihood that the loan will not be repaid. Therefore, lenders may decide not to make loan. How adverse selection influence financial structure? Equity Market When borrower wanted to make investment and yet is unable to distinguish between good and bad firms, he is only willing to pay the price the price that reflects the average quality of firms. However, the firms have more information than the investors and will know the quality of the projects. Good firms will not be willing to sell the securities because they know that their securities are undervalued. Only bad firms are willing to sell their securities at the average price because the price is higher than the value of bad firms securities. However, investors may not want to buy securities from bad firms and end up decides not to buy any. Bond Market A potential investor will only be willing to buy a bond if the interest rate is high enough to compensate him the average default risk between the good and bad firms. Good firms will not want to borrow funds because they know that they are less risk adverse and should not pay an interest that is higher than what they originally should pay for. Only bad firms are willing to pay for such interest rate. However, investor does not wish to buy bond from bad firms. Subsequently, there will be fewer bonds sold in the markets. Tool used which helps to reduce or solve adverse selection problems Private production and sales of information Government regulation to increase information Financial intermediaries Private companies such as Standard and Poors, Moodys and Value Line gather firms financial position and investment activities, and sell them to potential investor. Such information will help investors in making more accurate investment decisions. However, this does not completely solve the asymmetric problem because of the free-rider problem. The free-rider problem occurs when individual who do not pay for the information take advantage of the information of which others has paid for. An investor who has paid for the information knows which the are good firms. He decides to buy securities of good firms that are undervalued. The free-riding investors observe which securities is the investor who paid for information is buying, will buy the same securities. This leads to increase in demand of the securities and soon the price of that security will increase to reflect the true value. As a result, because of these free-riders, the investors who bought the information will not benefit. As such, he will realize that he should not buy the information in the first place. If other investors also realize this, private companies may not be able to make enough profit from producing the information, and less information is produced in the market and so adverse selection will interfere with the efficient function of securities markets. Government regulation to increase information Government could regulate financial markets to ensure that firms disclose all information so that investors could distinguish between good firms and bad firms. In United States, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is the government agency that requires firm selling securities to be certified in adhering to standard accounting principles and disclose honest information about their sales, assets and earnings. But, government intervention on disclosing information does not solve adverse selection completely because accounting principles can be manipulated. Also bad firms can slant information which is required to transmit public to make them look like good firms. By doing so, they can get higher price for their securities. Thus, investors will have problem again to identify which firms are the good ones. Financial intermediaries Financial intermediaries such as banks have developed expertise in the production of information so that they can evaluate the quality of firms better. Banks produce information through the transactions on the borrowers bank accounts. From the transactions, banks will be able to determine the suitability of credit and ability to repay the loan. Banks then acquire funds from depositors and lend them to good firms. By lending the money to good firms, banks will be able to earn a higher return than they pay to depositors. Banks will then earn profit and can continue in producing information. Also, banks can make profit because it can avoid free-rider problem. They make private loans which are not traded in open markets. As such, other investors cannot follow what the bank did and bid the price of loan where the bank does not get any gain for the information it produces. Fact: Banks are important to developing countries. When banks produce information, the problem on asymmetric problem is less severe, and it will be easier for firms to issue securities. Information in developing countries is difficult to get as compared to developed countries. Therefore, banks have to play the role in producing information. Collateral Collateral which is property that promised to the lender if the lender default, reduces the adverse selection problem because it reduces the lender losses if the borrower goes into default. How moral hazard influences financial markets Moral hazard occurs after the transaction takes place. It is the risk that the borrower may engage in risky activities which is undesirable from the lenders point of view, because the loan may be unpaid. Because of the presence of moral hazard problems, firms find it easier to raise fund with debt instruments rather than with equity contracts. Moral hazard in equity contracts Equity contracts subject to a type of moral hazard known as principal-agent problem. In a firm, there are managers and stockholders. Usually, managers and stockholders are different people. Managers are the ones who have more information than the stockholders while the stockholders own most of the firms equity. The separation of ownership and control and with the presence of asymmetric information, managers may act in their own interest rather than the interest of the stockholder because managers have fewer incentives to maximize the profit that the stockholder do. Tools to help reduce/solve moral hazard in equity markets Production of information: monitoring To reduce moral hazard problem, stockholders can engage in the monitoring of the firm activities by auditing the firm frequently and checking on what the management is doing. However, monitoring can be very costly. (Monitoring is a costly state verification). This also explains in parts why equity is not an important element in the financial structure. However, this could also cause free-rider problem. Free-rider problem reduces the moral hazard problem. Because, when stockholder knows that other stockholders are paying for the monitoring activities, he can free ride on their activities. If all stockholders share the same mentality, no stockholders will be willing to pay for the monitoring activities. Government regulation to increase information Governments enforce laws to ensure that firms are adhering to accounting standards which can verify the profit easier, and impose penalties on people who committed fraud in hiding or stealing the profit. However, this measure is not very effective because managers have the incentive to make fraud difficult to be proven. Financial intermediaries active in the equity market An example of financial intermediaries is the venture capital firm which cans helps to reduce moral hazard arising from the principal-agent problem. They use fund of their partners to help entrepreneurs in setting up new businesses. In exchange for the use of funds provided by venture capital firm, venture capital firm get an equity shares in the new business. Because verifying profit is important in eliminating moral hazard, venture capital firms usually insist on having several of their own people to participate in the management of the firm. Also, the equity in the firm cannot be sold to anyone but to the venture capital firm. Therefore, other investors are unable to free-ride on the venture capital firms activities on verifying profit. Debt Contracts Debt contract is a contractual agreement by which the borrower promised to pay lender fixed amount at regular intervals. The amount of profit made by firm will not affect how much will the lender be receiving. Therefore, whether did the managers have been hiding or stealing profit or engaging in activities which do not increase the level of profit earned, it is of no concern to the lenders, so long as the firm is able to make payment. Only when the firm is unable to make payment as promised, then will the lenders have to know how much profit is the firm getting. As such, less monitoring is required for debt contracts and therefore, lowering the cost of state verification. This also explains why debt contracts are used more often than equity contracts to raise funds. The concept of moral hazard explains why stocks are not the most important source of financing for businesses. How moral hazard influences financial structure in debt markets Although debt contracts has lower moral hazard as compared to equity contracts, but debt contracts are still subjected to moral hazard. Because debt contracts only require firms to pay a fixed amount and allow them to keep profit above this amount, firms have an incentive to take on risky investment projects Tools to help reduce/solve moral hazard in debt markets Making debt contract incentive-compatible High net worth makes the debt contract incentive-compatible; it aligns the incentive of the borrower with that of the lender. Firms with higher net worth are more likely to act in the way that are desirable form the lenders point of view, and thus reducing moral hazard problem, and it will be easier for firms to borrow. Monitoring and enforcement of restrictive covenants By introducing restrictive covenants into debt contracts, moral hazard problems are be reduced, as restrictive covenants is a provision which restricts firms activities by either ruling out undesirable behavior or encouraging desirable behavior. There are mainly four types of covenants/ Covenants to discourage undesirable behaviors Such covenants restrict firms to use the debt contracts to finance on fixed assets or inventories. Others may restrict firms to engage in risky activities such as acquiring other businesses. Covenants may also disallow firm to issue new debt or dispose it asset, and may also restrict dividend payments if ratios such as leverage ratio, ratio of debt to equity has up to a certain level. Covenants that encourage desirable behavior Such covenants require the borrower to have a life insurance that pays off the loan upon the death of the borrower. Such covenants may also encourage firms to keep it net worth high because firms with high net worth reduce the moral hazard problem. Hence, it minimizes the chance that the lenders may be making losses. These covenants require firms to maintain minimum holding of asset relative to the size of the firm. Covenant to keep collateral valuable Such covenants encourage borrower to keep the collateral in good condition and it must be in the possession of the borrower. Covenants to provide information Such covenants provide information about its activities periodically in the form of quarterly accounting and income reports. Such covenants may also allow the lender to audit the firms anytime. This explains why debt contracts are complicated legal documents with restrictions on borrowers behavior. Covenants reduce moral hazard but do not eliminate them, as it not difficult to rule out every risky activity. Also, to ensure that firms are complying with the covenants, monitoring must be enforced. However, monitoring is very costly. Investors may free-ride on the monitoring activities undertaken by other investors. Financial intermediaries, particularly banks are able to avoid the free-riders problems

Prenatal Screening :: essays research papers

Prenatal screening Screening for Down syndrome is available to about 53.5% of mothers on a maternal age basis, and the remaining 46.5% of health boards provide serum screening for all ages. There are several methods used in prenatal screening, these are usually used separately, and a number of factors are taken into account to determine which method should be used. Amniocentesis has been around for 20 years and is probably the most well known screening method. It involves testing a sample of the amniotic fluid surrounding the foetus, ultrasound is used to guide a needle through the abdomen, into the womb and a small amount of amniotic fluid (20ml) is removed. The procedure is usually carried out at 14-16 weeks. Amniocentesis tests for chromosome disorders, and is 99.8% reliable for chromosome number, there is however a risk of miscarriage (usually 1/250 or less) after the procedure. This is one of the reasons why amniocentesis has only been offered to over 35's (since they have a much higher risk of having a Down syndrome child)(Webb 1990). Previous studies on amniocentesis concentrated on problems that might arise during pregnancy or immediately after, these studies found that children whose mothers had amniocentesis are more likely to have breathing problems in the first few days after birth. A study performed by Jo-Anne Finegan in Toronto followed 88 women who had, had amniocentesis, there was an increased incidence of ear infection in this group. Finegan tested the stiffness of the eardrum and found children in the amniocentesis group were more than three times as likely to have abnormal readings. It is thought that there is a disruption of the delicate balance of pressure across the eardrum when the amniotic fluid is removed, which could cause the problems(Webb 1990). Chorionic villus sampling is another form of sampling, it involves taking a small piece of placenta and genetic testing is carried out on it, there is a slightly higher chance of foetal loss with this procedure (Dick 1996). A more recent form of prenatal testing involves serum markers. Blood is taken from the pregnant women and the maternal blood is tested for three hormones, this test is called the 'triple screen' test. The three hormones tested are alpha foeto-protein (AFP), human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) and oestradiol (E3). AFP is based on the fact that Down syndrome foetuses tend to be smaller on average, have smaller placentas and thus secrete less AFP.

Brand Positioning of Maruti Suzuki

MARUTI SUZUKI – BRAND POSITIONING By: Shweta Amin [ Market Research Analyst ] on  February 13, 2011 1 Comment What comes to your mind first when u come across the term ‘MARUTI SUZUKI’, it always absolutely has to be Maruti 800, best known as ‘The Middle class car of India’. BRAND IMAGE:- MARUTI from as a brand itself is seldom looked at, as a luxury brand. Maruti as a brand is more linked with the SEC B rather than A. And over past many years Maruti Has maintained and up till certain extent restricted its Target Market to same SEC’s.VARIOUS MODELS OF MARUTI SUZUKI IN MARKET:- Hatchback: – Maruti 800, Wragon R, Alto, Swift, Estilo, Ritz, A-star Sedan: – SX4 & Dzire. SUV:- Grand Vitara, Maruti Gypsy, EECO This is quite evident that Maruti Suzuki is leading in its variety of ‘Hatchback’ cars. These for all this while were targeting the group of people who are middle incomed, but Maruti Suzuki has slowly entered and is steadily growing into the category of ‘Sedan’ Vehicles. REMARKABLE GROWTH:-If we observe Maruti as a brand over the years we can note a remarkable phenomena or strategy from their growth in past years. * It first became popular n still is with its launch of Maruti 800 many years back. They targeted middle income groups, who were first time car buyers, looking for low ownership cost with basic need of a family vehicle and the price was approx 2lacs. * After this they never looked back. Then came the other various hatchback models of Maruti like Zen, Wragon, and Alto etc.These Cars again targeted the middle income groups, but this time the positioning was not as the basic need, it was comfort at comparatively lower price, of 4 – 5 lacs. * Then putting Yet another Step forward, they came into Sedan’s with a price of 8-9 lacs these Sedans targeted SEC A as well as B(up till a certain extent) MARUTI KIZASHI The most recent development from Maruti Suzuki is the Launch of ‘Maruti Kizashi’. It has been positioned as the sports sedan; it is fairly high on cost with a Price of approx 17 to 19 Lacs.This Sedan is targeted towards the SEC A with a luxury touch to it. By this way, Maruti Suzuki is now able to target and provide a solution to various types of car buyers, who basically are the different targeted groups according to its Database. Maruti Suzuki seems to have efficiently planned and structured to connect its brand to masses as not only an ‘Economic Brand’ but also a ‘Luxury Brand’ turning it into an all-rounder. It will be interesting to see the consumers’ reaction to this change in the Brand Image of their one of most trusted brands

Introduction to Computer Theory

CHAPTER 1 BACKGROUND The twentieth century has been filled with the most incredible shocks and surprises: the theory of relativity, Communist revolutions, psychoanalysis, nuclear war, television, moon walks, genetic engineering, and so on. As astounding as any of these is the advent of the computer and its development from a mere calculating device into what seems like a â€Å"thinking machine. † The birth of the computer was not wholly independent of the other events of this century.The history of the computer is a fascinating story; however, it is not the subject of this course. We are concerned with the Theory of Computers, which means that we form several abstract mathematical models that will describe with varying degrees of accuracy parts of computers and types of computers and similar machines. Our models will not be used to discuss the practical engineering details of the hardware of computers, but the more abstract questions of the frontiers of capability of these mec hanical devices.There are separate courses that deal with circuits and switching theory (computer logic) and with instruction sets and register arrangements (computer ar-chitecture) and with data structures and algorithms and operating systems and compiler design and artificial intelligence and so forth. All of these courses have a theoretical component, but they differ from our study in two basic ways. First, they deal only with computers that already exist; our models, on 3 4 AUTOMATA THEORY the other hand, will encompass all computers that do exist, will exist, and that can ever be dreamed of.Second, they are interested in how best to do things; we shall not be interested in optimality at all, but rather we shall be concerned with the question of possibility-what can and what cannot be done. We shall look at this from the perspective of what language structures the machines we describe can and cannot accept as input, and what possible meaning their output may have. This descripti on of our intent is extremely general and perhaps a little misleading, but the mathematically precise definition of our study can be understood only by those who already know the concepts introduced in this course.This is often a characteristic of scholarship—after years of study one can just begin to define the subject. We are now embarking on a typical example of such a journey. In our last chapter (Chapter 31) we shall finally be able to define a computer. The history of Computer Theory is also interesting. It was formed by fortunate coincidences, involving several seemingly unrelated branches of intellectual endeavor. A small series of contemporaneous discoveries, by very dissimilar people, separately motivated, flowed together to become our subject.Until we have established more of a foundation, we can only describe in general terms the different schools of thought that have melded into this field. The most obvious component of Computer Theory is the theory of mathematic al logic. As the twentieth century started, mathematics was facing a dilemma. Georg Cantor (1845-1918) had recently invented the Theory of Sets (unions, intersections, inclusion, cardinality, etc. ). But at the same time he had discovered some very uncomfortable paradoxes-he created things that looked like contradictions in what seemed to be rigorously proven mathematical theorems.Some of his unusual findings could be tolerated (such as that infinity comes in different sizes), but some could not (such as that some set is bigger than the universal set). This left a cloud over mathematics that needed to be resolved. David Hilbert (1862-1943) wanted all of mathematics put on the same sound footing as Euclidean Geometry, which is characterized by precise definitions, explicit axioms, and rigorous proofs. The format of a Euclidean proof is precisely specified. Every line is either an axiom, a previously proven theorem, or follows from the lines above it by one of a few simple rules of in ference.The mathematics that developed in the centuries since Euclid did not follow this standard of precision. Hilbert believed that if mathematics X'ere put back on the Euclidean standard the Cantor paradoxes would go away. He was actually concerned with two ambitious projects: first, to demonstrate that the new system was free of paradoxes; second, to find methods that would guarantee to enable humans to construct proofs of all the true statements in mathematics. Hilbert wanted something formulaic-a precise routine for producing results, like the directions in a cookbook.First draw all these lines, then write all these equations, then solve for all these points, and so on and so on and the proof is done-some approach that is certain and sure-fire without any reliance BACKGROUND 5 on unpredictable and undependable brilliant mathematical insight. We simply follow the rules and the answer must come. This type of complete, guaranteed, easy-to-follow set of instructions is called an a lgorithm. He hoped that algorithms or procedures could be developed to solve whole classes of mathematical problems.The collection of techniques called linear algebra provides just such an algorithm for solving all systems of linear equations. Hilbert wanted to develop algorithms for solving other mathematical problems, perhaps even an algorithm that could solve all mathematical problems of any kind in some finite number of steps. Before starting to look for such an algorithm, an exact notion of what is and what is not a mathematical statement had to be developed. After that, there was the problem of defining exactly what can and what cannot be a step in an algorithm.The words we have used: â€Å"procedure,† â€Å"formula,† â€Å"cookbook method,† â€Å"complete instructions,† are not part of mathematics and are no more meaningful than the word â€Å"algorithm† itself. Mathematical logicians, while trying to follow the suggestions of Hilbert and st raighten out the predicament left by Cantor, found that they were able to prove mathematically that some of the desired algorithms cannot exist-not only at this time, but they can never exist in the future, either. Their main I result was even more fantastic than that.Kurt Godel (1906-1978) not only showed that there was no algorithm that could guarantee to provide proofs for all the true statements in mathematics, but he proved that not all the true statements even have a proof to be found. G6del's Incompleteness Theorem implies that in a specific mathematical system either there are some true statements without any possible proof or else there are some false statements that can be â€Å"proven. † This earth-shaking result made the mess in the philosophy of mathematics even worse, but very exciting.If not every true statement has a proof, can we at least fulfill Hilbert's program by finding a proof-generating algorithm to provide proofs whenever they do exist? Logicians bega n to ask the question: Of what fundamental parts are all algorithms composed? The first general definition of an algorithm was proposed by Alonzo Church. Using his definition he and Stephen Cole Kleene and, independently, Emil Post were able to prove that there were problems that no algorithm could solve. While also solving this problem independently, Alan Mathison Turing (1912-1954) developed the concept of a theoretical â€Å"universal-algorithm machine. Studying what was possible and what was not possible for such a machine to do, he discovered that some tasks that we might have expected this abstract omnipotent machine to be able to perform are impossible, even for it. Turing's model for a universal-algorithm machine is directly connected to the invention of the computer. In fact, for completely different reasons (wartime code-breaking) Turing himself had an important part in the construction of the first computer, which he based on his work in abstract logic.On a wildly differ ent front, two researchers in neurophysiology, Warren 6 AUTOMATA THEORY Sturgis McCulloch and Walter Pitts (1923-1969), constructed a mathematical model for the way in which sensory receptor organs in animals behave. The model they constructed for a â€Å"neural net† was a theoretical machine of the same nature as the one Turing invented, but with certain limitations. Mathematical models of real and abstract machines took on more and more importance.Along with mathematical models for biological processes, models were introduced to study psychological, economic, and social situations. Again, entirely independent of these considerations, the invention of the vacuum tube and the subsequent developments in electronics enabled engineers to build fully automatic electronic calculators. These developments fulfilled the age-old dream of Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz (1646-1716), and Charles Babbage (1792-1871), all of whom built mechanical calculating devic es as powerful as their respective technologies would allow.In the 1940s, gifted engineers began building the first generation of computers: the computer Colossus at Bletchley, England (Turing's decoder), the ABC machine built by John Atanosoff in Iowa, the Harvard Mark I built by Howard Aiken, and ENIAC built by John Presper Eckert, Jr. and John William Mauchly (1907-1980) at the University of Pennsylvania. Shortly after the invention of the vacuum tube, the incredible mathematician John von Neumann (1903-1957) developed the idea of a stored-program computer.The idea of storing the program inside the computer and allowing the computer to operate on (and modify) the program as well as the data was a tremendous advance. It may have been conceived decades earlier by Babbage and his co-worker Ada Augusta, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1853), but their technology was not adequate to explore this possibility. The ramifications of this idea, as pursued by von Neumann and Turing were quite pr ofound. The early calculators could perform only one predetermined set of tasks at a time.To make changes in their procedures, the calculators had to be physically rebuilt either by rewiring, resetting, or reconnecting various parts. Von Neumann permanently wired certain operations into the machine and then designed a central control section that, after reading input data, could select which operation to perform based on a program or algorithm encoded in the input and stored in the computer along with the raw data to be processed. In this way, the inputs determined which operations were to be performed on themselves.Interestingly, current technology has progressed to the point where the ability to manufacture dedicated chips cheaply and easily has made the prospect of rebuilding a computer for each program feasible again. However, by the last chapters of this book we will appreciate the significance of the difference between these two approaches. Von Neumann's goal was to convert th e electronic calculator into a reallife model of one of the logicians' ideal universal-algorithm machines, such as those Turing had described.Thus we have an unusual situation where the advanced theoretical work on the potential of the machine preceded the demonstration that the machine could really exist. The people who first discussed BACKGROUND 7 these machines only dreamed they might ever be built. Many were very surprised to find them actually working in their own lifetimes. Along with the concept of programming a computer came the question: What is the â€Å"best† language in which to write programs?Many languages were invented, owing their distinction to the differences in the specific machines they were to be used on and to the differences in the types of problems for which they were designed. However, as more languages emerged, it became clear that they had many elements in common. They seemed to share the same possibilities and limitations. This observation was at f irst only intuitive, although Turing had already worked on much the same problem but from a different angle. At the time that a general theory of computer languages was being developed, another surprise occurred.Modem linguists, some influenced by the prevalent trends in mathematical logic and some by the emerging theories of developmental psychology, had been investigating a very similar subject: What is language in general? How could primitive humans have developed language? How do people understand it? How do they learn it as children? What ideas can be expressed, and in what ways? How do people construct sentences from the ideas in their minds? Noam Chomsky created the subject of mathematical models for the description of languages to answer these questions.His theory grew to the point where it began to shed light on the study of computer languages. The languages humans invented to communicate with one another and the languages necessary for humans to communicate with machines s hared many basic properties. Although we do not know exactly how humans understand language, we do know how machines digest what they are told. Thus, the formulations of mathematical logic became useful to linguistics, a previously nonmathematical subject. Metaphorically, we could say that the computer then took on linguistic abilities.It became a word processor, a translator, and an interpreter of simple grammar, as well as a compiler of computer languages. The software invented to interpret programming languages was applied to human languages as well. One point that will be made clear in our studies is why computer languages are easy for a computer to understand whereas human languages are very difficult. Because of the many influences on its development the subject of this book goes by various names. It includes three major fundamental areas: the Theory of Automata, the Theory of Formal Languages, and the Theory of Turing Machines.This book is divided into three parts correspondi ng to these topics. Our subject is sometimes called Computation Theory rather than Computer Theory, since the items that are central to it are the types of tasks (algorithms or programs) that can be performed, not the mechanical nature of the physical computer itself. However, the name â€Å"computation† is also misleading, since it popularly connotes arithmetical operations that are only a fraction of what computers can do. The term â€Å"computation† is inaccurate when describing word AUTOMATA THEORY processing, sorting and searching and awkward in discussions of program verification. Just as the term â€Å"Number Theory† is not limited to a description of calligraphic displays of number systems but focuses on the question of which equations can be solved in integers, and the term â€Å"Graph Theory† does not include bar graphs, pie charts, and histograms, so too â€Å"Computer Theory† need not be limited to a description of physical machines but can focus on the question of which tasks are possible for which machines.We shall study different types of theoretical machines that are mathematical models for actual physical processes. By considering the possible inputs on which these machines can work, we can analyze their various strengths and weaknesses. We then arrive at what we may believe to be the most powerful machine possible. When we do, we shall be surprised to find tasks that even it cannot perform. This will be-our ultimate result, that no matter what machine we build, there will always be questions that are simple to state that it cannot answer.Along the way, we shall begin to understand the concept of computability, which is the foundation of further research in this field. This is our goal. Computer Theory extends further to such topics as complexity and verification, but these are beyond our intended scope. Even for the topics we do cover-Automata, Languages, Turing Machines-much more is known than we present he re. As intriguing and engaging as the field has proven so far, with any luck the most fascinating theorems are yet to be discovered.

Moral philosophy

In the film entitled ‘Liar Liar’ scripted by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur, there several charaters who feature. These include such people as Fletcher Reede’s acting as Jimmy Carey, Justin cooper acting as Max, Maura Tierney as Reed’s estranged wife, and Jenniffer Tilly among others (www.totalfilm.com ). The movie is about smooth-talking attorney and habitual liar, manipulating his way to the helm of his job a local law company through winning great challenging cases. In the course of the film we find his son celebrating his fifth birthday. The son is seen at one time trying to encourage his father to lies.  Ã‚   This is because it is portrayed that this main character has lived and earned his career through lies. It is not clear whether that he will be able to win a case involving a character by the name Samantha Cole whose cases is on infidelity. The main character is also faced with the challenge of stopping his ex-wife taking his son to live with her in Boston. Through the application of lies Carrey survives in his career without the web of lies on which his career depends. In the movie Liar Liar, though clouded in comic laughter, there are several incidences whereby some acts are portrayed as immoral. The main character in this film in his endeavors to push his career up, he did some things which proved to be immoral. He pursued his cases based on a web of lies which worked wonders for. Though to him this was a success the acts were in themselves immoral. Based on Kant’s moral philosophy which states that an action is immoral not by virtue of its consequences but by the actual intentions of the actions. Kant further argued that moral requirements are based on a standard of rationality which he describes as â€Å"Categorical Imperative† (CI). In this case immorality will entail a violation of the categorical imperative and is therefore not rational (http://www.uchile.cl/bioetica/doc/honesty.htm). To be straight to the point, it is clear that we are commanded to exercise our wills in a particular manner and not to do some actions or others. It is therefore categorical in the course of applying to us unreservedly, or merely because we possesses rational wills. This is true because without indication to any ends that we might or might not have (http://www.uchile.cl/bioetica/doc/honesty.htm). Like his predecessors, Kant argues that moral requirements are based on standards of rationality which are either desire-based instrumental principles of rationality or based on pother rational intuitions. According to the film the main character acts against his duty of being honest to his clients and the public. This is against his duty to which he is called to. According to Kant, this is the only moral motive. In order to act morally people should to what is right guided by a sense of duty (www.answerbag.co.uk/q_view/398707). To conclude the movie gives us a picture of how people behave during their day to day life. During such times they go about doing things which to them are perceived as moral yet in actual sense do not constitute morality. The philosopher in this case i.e. Kant gives the true picture of what is moral and not moral. Works cited Truth and true professional, available at:   http://www.uchile.cl/bioetica/doc/honesty.htm, assessed on April 6, 2008 Kant: the moral order, available at: http://www.uchile.cl/bioetica/doc/honesty.htm, assessed on April 6, 2008 What is the basis of your moral philosophy?, available at: www.answerbag.co.uk/q_view/398707 – 65k – assessed on April 6, 2008 Liar Liar – film review, available at: www.totalfilm.com, assessed on April 6, 2008 Moral Philosophy I think that moral philosophy of Jeremy Bentham is the best suited for business and decision-making. Bentham’s philosophy is based on three principles of the greatest happiness, universal egoism and artificial identification of one’s interests. His philosophy is also referred to as utilitarianism. For example, Bentham argues: â€Å"By the principle of utility is meant that principle which approves or disapproves of every action whatsoever, according to the tendency which it appears to have to augment or diminish the happiness of the party whose interest is in question: or, what is the same thing in other words, to promote or to oppose that happiness†. I think that in our tough and often hostile business environment it is better to be universal egoism because in such a way you remain strong and steadfast defending your positions at the market place. The principle of greatest happiness can be interpreted in the way that company’s success makes leadership happy. Actually, Bentham philosophy is rational and logical, therefore, it is the best suited for our rational world. Bentham emphasizes the usefulness of things and actions meaning that everything should have its own place and purpose because it will lead to general happiness. Bentham approach is naturalistic as he promotes universal hedonism. He assumes that the primary motivators are pleasure and pain. The same is in business – when pain is felt, leadership and team do their best to cure the pain. Bentham also argues that humans are always seeking for the greatest happiness because their interests are interrelated with interests of other humans. Bentham’s moral philosophy held the advantage as the principle of utility is very popular. Compared to other principles, the principle of utility is very velar and enables decisions to be made where there is a need to solve the conflict of legitimate interests. Bentham’s philosophy is a fundamental commitment to human equality. Bentham’s principle of utility suggests that â€Å"one man is worth just the same as another man†. References Jeremy Bentham. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved November 19, 2007, from http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/b/bentham.htm#H4                      Moral Philosophy In my opinion, David Hume’s moral philosophy is the best suited for business and decision-making process because it proclaims the principles justice, charity, benevolence, and patience. Moreover, Hume argues that ethics should play important role in decision-making process as it gives thinkers an opportunity to make such a decision won’t oppose anybody’s suggestions or preferences. He says that moral agent is motivated by character traits which nature is either virtuous or vicious. If a person is willing to donate money or things for charity, his actions are motivated by virtuous traits. In business decision-making, he notes, such traits should be natural and instinctive, and only in such person will make really ethical decisions. Hume’s moral philosophy is distinct and exact. (Fieser 2006) For example, Hume clearly divides qualities into virtuous and vice. The natural virtues are meekness, generosity, charity and benevolence, whereas artificial or vice virtues are chastity, greediness, dishonesty, and keeping promises. It seems that Hume places qualities needed for a well-ordered states as artificial. I think that in such a way he wants to show that business and decision-making should natural and instinctive. Agents are provided with psychological roles, though in certain situation a person may refer to more than entrusted role. (Fieser 2006) David Hume concludes that there are four categories of qualities necessary for moral business running and decision-making: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Qualities useful for others: charity, fidelity, meekness, and benevolence; 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Qualities useful for oneself: patience and perseverance; 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Qualities agreeable to others: cleanliness, eloquence, and wit; 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Qualities agreeable to oneself: pride, humor, and self-esteem. Actually, David Hume discusses all the qualities which are considered the core of adequate business running. It is necessary to mention that to make really ethical decision means to use trained sensitivity to ethical issues. (Fieser 2006) References Fieser, Jame. (2006). Hume’s Moral Theory. Retrieved November 14, 2007, from http://www.iep.utm.edu/h/humemora.htm