J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter is NOT Sexually Biased Essay -- J.K. Rowli

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter is NOT Sexually Biased J.K. Rowling’s blockbuster Harry Potter series contains mystery, suspense, compelling language and colorful imagery, magical feats, and real life concerns. These books have managed to get children of all ages reading in a society dominated by computers, television, and videos. However, there have been several critics that claim these books are sexually biased. From the beginning of the first Potter book, it is boys and men, wizards and sorcerers, who dominate the scenes and determine the action. This alone does not make these books sexually biased. Christine Schoefer, a freelance writer and concerned parent of three female Harry Potter fans, dissected the books in a brief piece for Salon on January 12, 2000. She claimed that the books are a â€Å"fictional realm of magic and wizardry that perfectly mirrors the conventional assumption that men do and should run the world† (Schoefer). J.K. Rowling did not attempt to portray the world as dominated by men. It is true that the Potter books contain more males. So what? Gi...

Case Study: Limits on Credit Checks Essay

The use of credit checks and their true measure on a person’s ability to perform a job is debatable. With more and more companies requesting pre-employment credit checks, fewer and fewer applicants are able to secure positions. The lack of securing work is leading to more applicants having poor credit scores and these poor credit scores then affect the jobs they can acquire. There is a vicious cycle starting that could lead to even more economic problems. Credit score can be very situational and deceiving when all the facts are not present. There are many reasons someone could have poor credit history such as; unforeseen medical bills, their credit card was stolen, or there could be a mistake by the credit-reporting agency. These could all change the company’s view on your credit. On the other hand, companies generally do not consider just the credit standings in hiring. The company may also use background tests and drug testing. Now that so many companies are using cre dit as a selection method, states have started to step in and consider prohibiting the use of an applicants credit in respect to hiring. There are four states that do not allow the use of credit and eighteen more looking at banning it. States see this as â€Å"discrimination based on credit history†, or as a civil rights issue since minorities generally have lower credit scores. Keep in mind that the company has to have signed permission to get one credit score, so the applicant does not have to give permission. When one does go forward with the credit check, it is important for them to know that the company does not get their full report or even the scoring. There are many factors for why a company may want to use credit. With so many companies having to deal with fraud and theft, it is easy to see why they are taking a proactive stance. Companies use the general thought that people with bad credit are more likely to steal from them than those that do not. Unfortunately, there are no studies to support this reasoning, thus leading to misconceptions of what could be a highly qualified applicant. 1. How well do you think credit checks meet the effectiveness criteria of (a) reliability; (b) validity; (c) ability to generalize results; (d) high utility; and (e) legality? a. Reliability is something that can in some ways be determined in a credit check. Can and does this person pay their bills on time shows how reliable they are for payment. It does not, on the other hand, show one’s reliability in the work  place. A credit check will not tell an employer if a person will be reliable to show up to work on time every day. The employer should understand that unreliable credit could be a result of an unknown situation, thus not relying to heavily on one aspect of one’s history. b. A credit check has little to no validity on someone’s willingness or ability to perform a job or task. It would be nearly impossible to determine if a person can do a job based on whether or not one pays monthly bills in a timely manner. A credit check doesn’t determine I.Q., knowledge of sales techniques, or body strength, thus demonstrating there is no validity in measuring one’s credit score to establish the ability to perform any job or task. An employer would be ill advised to use a credit check in consideration of the skill(s) need to perform in the work place. c. Credit checks are very generalizable when looking at hiring an individual for jobs dealing with money. Can a person who cannot be responsible for their own money management, be responsible for a company’s money? A company can generalize that an individual with a history of money problem could be more likely to steal and or commit fraud. Generalizing can also create a false impression of a good and responsible person. Credit checks do not explain the reasoning for their bad credit, such as identity theft or medical bills. While it is easy to accept generalizations as a way to measure ones susceptibility to theft, understanding the reasoning for the lack of responsible payment may provide a more adequate insight into one’s character. d. The utility or the cost of the credit check verses the benefit of the information gain in the credit check differ s in the job position. If the company were hiring for a low-level mail clerk it would not be cost effective to pay for the credit history, but if one is hiring for a Chief Financial Officer than the utility would be high and would make economic sense. The company must consider the financial burden and weigh it against the validity of the information gained when using the credit checks as a hiring recourse. e. The legality of using a credit check for a tool for hiring has become very controversial, thus leading to the practice being banned in many states. There are currently 4 states, Hawaii, Illinois, Oregon, and Washington that ban the use of credit checks for pre-employment usage. There are 14 others states that have or are considering banning the use as well. There are other considerations of legality such does it cause discrimination or breaking the  equal opportunity employment laws. Companies should look at every job independently and make sure the job justifies the need for a credit check and that they meet all legal obligations in doing so. 2. For what kind of jobs might a credit check be a useful selection method? For what kind of jobs would it be unhelpful, inappropriate, or unethical? A credit check might be helpful method of selection when hiring for a position that require managing money for a company such as an accountant. Companies may also find it helpful when hiring a position that deals with the allocation of money, the assessment of risk with the company’s money or budgeting of company funds. A credit check might be telling of the candidate’s reliability with money and or their willingness to risk financial ruin. Checking of an applicants credit could be unhelpful, inappropriate, or unethical when hiring for jobs that have nothing to do with handling accounts or company money, such as a construction worker. It could unhelpful when prompting an employee that has been with the company for a substantial amount of time, this could make the employee feel untrusted and lead to lack of loyalty to the c ompany. It would be inappropriate to have a credit check run on a minor employee. He or she most likely has no credit history and may not understand what they are allowing the company to check. The practice could be considered unethical if the company is using this as a tool to discriminate against a minority or someone who is disabled. 3. Imagine you are an HR manager at a company operating in a state where credit checks of job applicants have been banned. What other selection methods could you use to pick honest and responsible employees? An HR manager could use selections methods such as honesty test, background checks, and drug testing. One would also want to check references from past employers and educational institutes. It is also a good tool to have enough time with the applicant to get a sense of whom they are and conducting a working interview can help the interviewer to get a feel for the applicants. A situational interview could be helpful in determining how one might react in di fferent circumstances. How Would a Manager from the Information in this Case? The information in this case could help managers weigh the need for credit checks in their personnel selections. They can reference the pros and cons to the reliability, validity and utility of the credit checks as a device in hiring. Managers could also see that the generalizations that come with credit checks may cause them to lose a very viable candidate. Managers will see from this case that credit history can be deceiving when all the information is not available to them. For example if the manager does not know that an applicant’s identity was stolen and that is why their credit appears to be poor than the manger could misjudge the person and lose out on a potentially great employee. The manager could also learn that doing credit checks could lead to prospective legal problems if not handled with care. There are many acts taken against companies for using credit checks as a selection method. Making sure that laws are followed correctly and that the company does not discriminate against anyone can be tricky in the use of credit checks. Many feel that credit checks are discriminating because minorities tend to have lower scores than non-minority groups. No company wants that kind of allegation against them, thus the decision to use credit checks must be considered carefully. A manager could learn that while credit checks are one way to decide on whom to hire it is not the only way and probably not the most just way. References Arnoldy B. (2007). The spread of the credit check as civil rights issues. The Christian Science Monitor. Received from http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0118/p01s03-ussc.html Johnston S. (2011). Can bad credit ruin your job search? Received from http://www.bankrate.com/finance/personal-finance/can-bad-credit-ruin-your-jobsearch.aspx Noe R., Hollenbeck J., Gerhart B.& Wright P. (2011). Fundamentals of Human Resource Management. (4th Ed.) New York. McGraw-Hill Irwin. Rosen L. (2011, April 5) 18 U.S. states consider legislation to limit credit checks for employment screening background checks. [Blog]. Retrieved from http://hr.toolbox.com/blogs/background-checks/18-us-states-consider-legislation-to-limitcredit-checks-for-employment-screening-background-checks-45600

Premium Beer Market in Thailand Essay

There were various kinds of determinants influencing the enlargement of the beer market; especially the cause from gas price has risen up high like never before. Deriving the consumer products price had to be adjusted to avoid suffering from higher cost of production and transportation. On the other end, consumer’s purchasing power had become lower due to the higher cost of living; driving them to adapt to the economic situation they were facing. From the observation in the beer market, we could notice there were obvious changes in consumer’s behavior; consumers or drinkers tended to shift from having large size of beer 640ml. to the smaller size 330ml. in the form of small bottle or can. Moreover, there was a slightly drop in the frequency of buying beer also. (Source: B&A CO. ,LTD/Daily Manager Newspaper: May 1st 2005) In addition, government sectors also had plan in process to leverage IRS tax on alcohol beverage as the European Union had implemented it before in order to improve the social overall status and also eliminate beer industry pitfalls. Year 2006 In this year, there were many interesting movements occurring in the premium beer market. Beer manufacturers in the premium segment had planned an expansion in their production base to penetrate in other potential segments which were most likely to be the offering in light beer; providing more choices for consumers, containing less amount of alcohol or to be exact, lower than 5%. From the total amount of alcohol contained, although light beers were obviously positioned separately from the premium segment, still, they had become the new face of drinking premium beer which targeting on consumer who loves to drink healthier responded to the healthy concerning issues and rend in nowadays. Most importantly was light beers were actually sold in the cheaper price than premium beers. Plus with the facts that light beer market was still in the introduction stage, holding only 35 million liters in total production quantity or only 2% of the market shares in beer industry; therefore, showed that the light beers market still had more potential growth along the way (Source: Thai Beverage Marketing CO. LTD/Prachachat Newspaper: March 13th 2006) For the entrepreneur in light beers segment, San Miguel, the first brand penetrated into this market, was using the ‘Push Strategy’ in the early stage, implementing the intensive distribution to cover all convenience stores and on-premise market like pubs, bars, and restaurant in order to take advantages of being the first offering in the market. After the intensive distribution was taken place to cover all potential areas in the market, San Miguel immediately continued with the follow-up plan by using the ‘Pull Strategy’ in order to create more brand awareness through mass media; TV commercials, radio spots, and also held promotional events at particular on-premise restaurants, pubs. Moreover, San Miguel had collaborated with 104. 5FM FAT RADIO holding â€Å"San Miguel Music Fest Volume 2† which counted as the latest marketing activities of San Miguel. On the other hand, Chang Beer, who had been testing the light beer market since year 2005, decided to officially commercialize Chang Light into the premium market in March 2006; at a price of 45 baht per bottle which contains 4. 2% of alcohol volume; also implementing ‘sport marketing’ or ‘event sponsorship’ through golf and related activities. By March 2006, Singha Light was introduced to the premium market in Thailand. Although Singha was planning to focus on exporting their light beers to penetrate in Europe and America continents, but because of the high volume of alcohol up to 6% containing Singha Beer, it caused them to face with higher tax than the competitors. Plus, most drinkers in those markets preferred drinking beers with low degree of alcohol. Apart from that, Singha Light also put more focuses on driving the local market. Singha spent its marketing budget up to 150 million baht to present â€Å"Singha Light: The North Pole Challenge† in order to seek for 4 Thai persons getting once in a life time chance to travel up to the North Pole. Moreover, in this year, the government sectors had pushed through the new legislative law to be the mandatory for all alcoholic beverages. The law basically consisted of the regulations on selling and having to specific age of buyers, time and place of distribution. In addition, The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or ORYOR) had come up with the restriction of having any kind of advertisements relating to alcoholic beverages except print advertorial section in non-Thai magazines and other media. These regulations were officially brought to used on December 3, 2006 and immediately caused all the billboards, logos, brand related signs to be taken down and prohibited. Pubs, bars, restaurants, and also convenience stores were forced not to put any signs or logos of alcoholic beverage which could be seen clearly from outside the facilities. However, there were some exceptions were allowed in the case of social responsibility or tourism related activities. For example, the regulation stated that the facilities providing alcoholic beverages must also provide other non-alcoholic beverages like drinking water or sparkling/soda water etc. The company name must not be the same or rhyme with the name of the alcoholic drinks brand; and marketing strategy like ‘corporate brand image’ was prohibited like naming the company ‘Beer Thai’. For other marketing promotional tools like using pretty girls, the regulation still allowed them to dress in color to indicate the brand but the logos of the brand on the clothes including umbrella were prohibited; and for the issue of specialties or free giveaways that contained any logos indicating brand was postponed to be reconsider for the appropriateness. Year 2007 With the continuation of rapidly gas price rising situation, it was bad influencing the consumers to construct the negative perspective towards the stability spending and earning in the upcoming future and also directly affected the consumer’s behavior. As observed from the quantity of total beers sold in the early April, which usually the most profitable season of the beer industry; 143. 5 million liters comparing to the average sales from other months 140. 6 million liters or 2. 1%. These numbers obviously reflected the stagnant sales reached as low as 2-3%; dropped from 4-5%; mostly because of the pressure on the purchasing power of consumer due to the government regulation trying to decrease the alcoholic drinks consumption. On the tax regulation issue on beers, The Excise Department had organized into 3 groups and assigned different tax fees depending on each segment. The premium beer will be paying tax at 37 baht/liter; 36 baht/liter for standard market and 28 baht/liter for the economy segment respectively. For the controversial advertising issue since last year was finally settled down in this year with the revised regulations allowing the product image to be on print media but without persuasive messages or any presenter. Also print media was required to put 25% caution message of the total area of the advertisement. And for the mass media especially on television, they had divided into 2 phrases. First phrase, the TV commercials during the 10pm were allowed to put up any logo of the brand to be shown for approximately 5 seconds, and for the second phrase, 30 seconds mark shots were allowed. These changes made had tremendous positive effects to the beer market. However, those regulations were not major obstruction for the beer market. Marketers tried to adjust and improve their strategies and tactics to come up with new way of advertising. Event Marketing was one of their strategies which effectively doubled up the frequency of use. In this year, the expansion of the total beer industry had constructed the 6% growth of both quantity and value. But if we carefully looked through the segments, we would found that the premium beer market had surprisingly decreased by 8%. These were caused by the psychological factors driven consumers’ behavior to decline; plus with the government regulation had made impacts on many brands to seeking for new ways to market their products since back in August 2006 which eventually projected the decline in many firms’ total sales volume. Year 2008 Nowadays, the beer market in Thailand is still holding the attractive market for the imported brands. From the current market condition, we can notice there are many international brands which are trying to penetrate into Thailand’s beer industry to capture their potential market shares; starts off with re-entering of Carlsberg S/A Company, Denmark with the brand ‘Carlsberg’ into Thai beer market; after they had left the Thai market for the last 4-5 years. This comeback of Carlsberg is driven by the their main company in the foreign country; by starting from having the San Miguel’s breweries factory in Pathumthani as their production site. In the meantime, their marketing team has already been put in place and been planning to start their first comeback marketing event in March; and follow with the officially introduction in June. Carlsberg is mainly focusing all their efforts in distribution channel and strategies more than any other aspects. Carlsberg will initiate into the hypermarket and position itself in the same level as Heineken. Apart from that, in March, Thai Beverage Marketing CO. ,LTD. lso has plan preparing the expansion the beer portfolio to cover all the potential markets. From having only Chang Beer and Archa Beer in the economy segment; Chang Light and Chang Draught in standard segment, therefore they have plan in launching Federbrau to penetrate in premium market. Asahi Asahi Super Dry was first introduce to beer market in Thailand in September 2002 by B&A Distribution Company Limited, one of the brands under Boon Rawd Brewery CO. ,LTD. Asahi was and still is the leader brand in Japan by having the most market shares in the beer market in Japan; by implementing the intensive distribution as their strategy, available to be purchased everywhere setting the price in the average range. Moreover, there has been improvement in the production procedure and logistics process in order to maintain the freshness and quality of the products and has tried to adjust the taste to be more preferable by Thai drinkers. They started out by focusing mainly on Japanese restaurants in order to construct the new customer base. By the year 2003, they have expanded more of their products into the common market including modern types of distribution channels like supermarkets, hypermarkets, and convenience stores etc. After some recession from the marketing strategies they had been implementing since the end of the year 2003; focusing on the taste of drought beer and plus with the innovative and futuristic of the products under the concept ‘Platinum Beer’ which derived from the sparkle silver-colored wrapped around the bottles and cans. But the selling point is somehow overestimated the perception of Thai drinkers. Therefore, in the year 2004, Asahi had decided to turn the other way around, back to its own origin which was Japan as the selling point along with the message of the bestselling beer in Japan by hoping the J Trend would eventually improve the Asahi Super Dry’s image. The result was quite successful; Asahi had captured the wider market share. By using J Trend, Asahi had effectively reached into the office workers which were employed in the Japanese firm or the group of people who have passionate in Japanese style including college students. Although there was not that large group of buyers, but most of them were likely to be identify as the middle class people, educated and have enough purchasing power. Year 2005 Asahi had decided to renovate the whole marketing strategy by turning to focus mainly on the concept â€Å"Think Difference† with â€Å"Color Marketing Strategy : Universally Communication†. They tried to emphasize on the silver strip on their products to create brand awareness, recognition and recall; distinguished from other brands in premium market. Source : B&A Distribution CO. ,LTD. /Prachachat : July 17, 2005) Later on, Asahi had captured more market shares especially the increasing in rural markets; 40% from the eastern and northern part and the rest 60% from Bangkok and Metropolitan. During the second semiannual, Asahi had set the marketing budget up to 120 million baht from the total 180 million baht in order to emphasize on below-the-line 70% and above-the-line 30%. Year 2006 Organizational management structure was rearranged; the management team from Boon Rawd Brewery had come in and totally taken places in all positions in Asahi by deviding the works into two major departments under 4 CEOs; 2 from Japan and 2 from Boon Rawd. Sales department was under the Boon Rawd management team and B&A would be taking care all of the marketing activities. Although there was major change in the management team, still they had not changed the positioning of Asahi and maintained its brand as international brand. San Miguel San Miguel first initiated into the beer industry by sponsoring in many golf competition; holding beer booths in many golf courses started from the middle of November and so on. Moreover, San Miguel had distributed their beers through many channels possible. However, San Miguel had the advantages over other competitors in terms of strong financial capability; therefore, San Miguel could use the turnkey operation; letting the 3rd party management team, which specialized in the particular kind of managing, to come in and run the business for them. Year 2005 San Miguel had decided to spend large amount of budget up to 375 million baht to settle down the contract with Pat-Kol Co. ,Ltd. in order to construct 95 rai of ‘Multi-Beverage Production Site’, which could be utilized to manufacture many kinds of beverage like fruit juice, drinking water, ready-to-drink tea/bottled tea, and also soft drinks in Amata City Industrial Park, Rayong. And debut its first brand of beer â€Å"Kirin† 2nd market leader from Japan. Year 2007 San Miguel had specified the marketing policies into major brands like San Miguel’s Low Calories Beer, San Mig Light as followed mandatory from the main headquarter. On the local market, San Miguel offered Blue Ice Beer as a standard brand and Red Horse Beer as an economy brand. These brands were already introduced to the Thai beer market for 2 years but they were intended just to test the market, and will be taken out of the market eventually. In this year, San Miguel had planned to emphasize more in below-the-line marketing; increasing from 60% to 70-80% mainly through pubs, bars, and restaurants in order to directly reach the right group of target; and decreased the above-the-line from 40% down to 20-30%. Moreover, they had planned to join with ‘Sugar Beet Restaurant’ in order to boost sales and build more brand awareness. Federbrau Thai Beverage Public Company Limited has just decided to introduce Federbrau into the premium beer market in order to fill up their beer portfolio. They have started off by distributing through on-premise channel like night clubs, pubs, bars since March by offering three sizes of products which are 630ml large bottle, 330ml small bottle, and 330ml can. These products will be further on distributing into another channel like supermarkets and hypermarkets. Feberbrau Beer is the imported brand from Germany; containing 4. 7% of alcohol volume which is the lightest taste provided nowadays like the word ‘Federbrau’ itself means ‘feather’. It is the first brand in Thailand which keeps practicing ‘Reinheitsgebot’, the law legislated in Germany allowing only 4 ingredients in brewing beer; water, malts, barley hops, and yeasts. Although the law has not passed the qualification of the EU, many breweries has still produced beer following this law in order to project higher standard than other manufacturer. Feberbrau Beer is being brewed by COSMOS Brewery (Thailand) Co. Ltd. , Wangnoi, Phra Nakhon Sri Ayutthaya. Federbrau has planned to position its product as the genuine German beer; offering new choices for consumers though Thai drinkers might not know the story behind their recipe; therefore, it is focusing on sending messages indicating the German-style and creating the adventurous sensation by using blu e color. They are mainly targeting the ages between the ranges of 22-35 who have self confidence, freedom lovers, and have their own lifestyles. For the regulation issues, there are many strict regulations on alcoholic beverages to be complied. But since Federbrau has clearly stated its position, it would not create any conflicts between the brands like Chang Light under Thai Beverage itself unlike the previous conflict between Chang and Archa. The marketing plan of Federbrau for the first 9 months will be mostly focusing on emphasizing on above-the-line rather than below-the-line; all kinds of media including billboard will be used to promote the brand awareness and brand recall by started off in the Bangkok area and then move on to nationwide through TV, radio, newspaper, shop decoration and also holding event to cover all potential market opportunities.

Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated in Glucose Transport

Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated in Glucose Transport A role for ataxia telangiectasia mutated in insulin-independent stimulation of glucose transport Abstract Literature reports suggest that ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) can activate the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a protein that can stimulate glucose transport in skeletal muscle. We hypothesized that 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleotide (AICAR), an AMPK activator, would increase glucose transport in mouse extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles in an ATM-dependent manner. AICAR-stimulated glucose transport was prevented by the ATM inhibitor KU-55933 and in ATM-deficient (ATM-/-) muscle despite normal stimulation of AMPK phosphorylation. S231 of TBC1D1 matches the sequence motif of ATM substrates, and phosphorylation of this site is known to inhibit TBC1D1 and lead to increased glucose transport. Accordingly, we assessed TBC1D1 phosphorylation and found that AICAR-stimulated phosphorylation of TBC1D1 at S231did not occurin ATM-/- muscle. However, activation of ATM without activation of AMPK was insufficient to increase TBC1D1 phosphorylation.The data suggest that ATM plays a role in AICAR stimulated glucose transport downstream of AMPK. Keywords: AMP-activated protein kinase; ataxia telangiectasia mutated; TBC1D1; AICAR; glucose transport; skeletal muscle Introduction The serine-threonine kinase ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) appears to play a role in glucose homeostasis. For example, recent genome-wide association studies have found that genetic variations near the ATM gene are related to glycemic responses to metformin [1, 2], a commonly-prescribed drug for blood glucose control. While the mechanism for metformin’s effect on blood glucose levels is under debate [3-6], it is known that metformin acutely stimulates glucose transport into skeletal muscle concomitant with activation of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) [7]. Activation of AMPK is sufficient to stimulate insulin-independent glucose transport into skeletal muscle [8, 9]. Intriguingly, ATM dependence has been reported for activation of AMPK in response to DNA damage or insulin-like growth factor 1 in HeLa cells and fibroblasts, exposure of lung cancer cells to ionizing radiation,exposure of lymphoblaststo H 2 O 2 , or treatment of HeLa cells and mouse embryonic fibroblasts with the adenosine analog AICAR [10-14]. Despite these suggestive data on the role of ATM upstream of AMPK, the potential role of ATM in AMPK-dependent stimulation of glucose transport has not previously been investigated in skeletal muscle, the predominant whole-body storage depot for glucose. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that glucose uptake stimulated by the AMPK activator AICAR would be dependent on ATM in skeletal muscle. Methods Materials Antibodies against TBC1D1, AMPK, phosphorylated AMPKÃŽ ± T172 (P-AMPK), and phosphorylated ATM S1981 (P-ATM) were purchased from Cell Signaling Technology (Beverly, MA, USA). Antibodies aga inst phosphorylated TBC1D1 (P-TBC1D1) S237 (S231 in mouse) were purchased from EMD Millipore Corporation (Billerica, MA, USA). Antibodies against tubulin and ATM were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich Corporation (St. Louis, MO, USA). Horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies were obtained from Pierce Biotechnology (Rockford, IL, USA). The ATM inhibitor KU-55933 was a generous gift from Dr. Graeme Smith (KuDOSPhramaceuticals, Cambridge, UK). The AMPK inhibitor Compound C was provided by Merck & Co., Inc. (Rahway, NJ, USA). Doxorubicin was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich Corporation. Radiolabeled 2-deoxyglucose and mannitol were purchased from American Radiolabeled Chemicals, Inc. (St. Louis, MO, USA).

Preliminary Investigation of the Company Assignment

Preliminary Investigation of the Company - Assignment Example The company's target markets include local clients as well as clients from foreign countries. Several concerns and opportunities were mentioned. The first is to establish the company as a household name when it comes to land management software. The company also hopes to establish itself as a big brand name in providing consultancy services, training, and customization in the said field. In order to establish itself as a market leader in the local scene, one should have a lot of customers. To rake in more sales, the company should be visible to potential clients locally as well as abroad. With this end in mind, the company is keen on putting up their own website. This will serve not only as an information center to current and potential clients but will bring in more sales what with the ease of availing products online and within the comforts of one's home. The company, being global in scale has recently felt that the market is too large to maintain strong relationships with all potential buyers. The company has been used to utilizing direct mail to attract new clients. However, this method does not ensure that the brochures and advertisement material are reaching the decision makers of the target companies. The current advertisement setup uses mail-outs to special groups which have been selected based on predefined criteria. These are sent out every 2-3 months. Instead of doing this, focus on the key persons for such companies, send them emails and find out how they will be able to use the software, and if possible, set up presentation meetings over lunch or dinner. This way, with a clear void to fill, the goal is more focused and a strategy to present the product in the best way possible to the potential customer can be formulated. Also, contingency plans can be set up in case the client rejects the first approach. Moreover, if the correspondences would prove that the prospect is a dead end, it should send the signal that it's time to move on to other prospects, thus saving time.     

Case Study Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Case Study Project - Essay Example Essentially, the sovereign country should have inbuilt mechanisms of fighting crimes, however, it may seek international assistance where the threat is significant and worries the state security. The implication is that, each state has to build a strong and reliable coordination with other countries, whose help becomes essential during war. Therefore, one can argue strongly that sovereignty should not bar the state from forging strong relationship with the other countries. In addition, inappropriate use of sovereignty would mean protecting the self-interest at the expense of the citizens. Therefore, this report is a critical evaluation and description of issues relating to sovereignty, as contained in The UN Secretary-General Report â€Å"Implementing the Responsibility to Protect† (2009). Key Catalysts Some of the key catalysts to sovereignty include the political will, need for international integration and ethnic co-existence. Fundamentally, the leadership will and peaceful co-existence ensures that the sovereign state remains peaceful and coherent. In addition, it would enable the state to build a proper relationship with other states, thereby, being in a position of getting international assistance during emergency. Furthermore, this would enhance international integration among different countries. ... In the contemporary society, Jackson acknowledges that there are State powers that do not use their sovereignty for the good of the people (Jackson 21). For example, some developing states literally misuse sovereignty to achieve personal or ethnic gains, with disregards to the public. Indeed, the theory of balance of power explains the misuse of state sovereignty resulting from the differences in power factions within the country (Brown 9). The theory suggests that those differences cause civil unrest, when the leaders test their power and dominance. In the UN report, some states, especially with dictatorial regimes, inflict violence on the people with impunity due to the powers that the Head of State has on the subjects. Often, there are silent state machineries that such countries use to fulfill the mission, such as, illegitimately organized gang supported by the state security organs (Krasner 673). In such cases, the state does not use its sovereignty in protecting the people as t he international law requires. Therefore, the United Nations may be forced to intervene and restore peace in the country. Notably, most countries, despite their fight for sovereignty, have failed to protect their citizens against war crimes. For example, the mass killings of the ordinary citizens in Rwanda, Cambodia, Srebrenica and Darfur show that, the states have failed in their protective responsibility, thus, their sovereignty is questionable. Sometimes, the crimes are committed when the Security Council and the UN peacekeepers are watching, as was the case in Rwanda and Srebrenica (UN report 4). As a preventative measure to the occurrence of such crimes, the UN should take the leading role in cautioning the states on negligence, not regarding the states’ sovereignty as a

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of starting a business from Essay - 1

Explain the advantages and disadvantages of starting a business from scratch, franchises, and existing businesses - Essay Example s include the freedom to implement one’s ideas to a large extent, aligning the investment and resource mobilization with market conditions rather than committing to rigid plans, and ease of entry and exit with minimum dependence on outsiders (Longenecker et al, 2011, pp.104-133). Disadvantages include high risk of venture failure due to lack of previous experience, making a wrong choice of product/service, and longer time needed to achieve physical and financial goals. Outright purchasing of an existing business denotes a medium risk and gives assured customer base and revenues from the start. This advantage is diluted if the unit has poor reputation for quality or ethical practices. While the experienced staff is an advantage, if there are unresolved industrial relations problems, the new owner has to solve them, which is not always easy. Also, it may not always be possible to identify hidden liabilities representing additional risks, which accrue to the new owner (ibid.). Taking out a franchise is a minimum risk option for new entrepreneurs since it provides the advantages of a new unit as well as a running business model. On the minus side, one has to depend on the parent company for all major decisions besides committing to pay initial fees and royalties. Profitability is reduced as a result of these limitations. One of IFA’s best features is the listing of several franchise options, complete with the preliminary information for analysis, negotiations and decision making. I have considered the option of Expedia ®CruiseShip Sales Center Franchise from IFA’s website for analysis (Franchise opportunities, IFA, 2012). This is an established company with a strong brand image and 150 franchises. With an initial investment of $9500 and total investment of up to $20,000, this business is within my reach (ExpediaFranchise, 2012). The business is related to travel and vacation for which the demand has always been good. Further, a franchisee can start operations