Monday, December 30, 2019

Can Trees Be Precursors For Earthquake Prediction - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 480 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/08/08 Category Science Essay Level High school Tags: Earthquake Essay Did you like this example? This project investigates trees, earthquakes, atmosphere and ionosphere as a coupled system to see if trees can be used as precursor for short term earthquake prediction alongside other long, intermediate and short term precursors. History has shown animals can and have predicted earthquakes (Cao et al., 2018, Tong 1988), but the general tone of this topic has been negative (Geller 1997). Plants have been used to indicate natural disasters (Ha KM 2018) and warn each other of predictors (Babikova et al., 2013). Tree rings have been used as evidence for past earthquakes (Jacobyet al., 1988) and trees have been used to monitor climate change (Aubin et al., 2018). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Can Trees Be Precursors For Earthquake Prediction?" essay for you Create order However research into using trees to predict earthquakes is fragmented. Trees communicate with each other by using an underground network of fungi. Fungi provide tree roots with nutrients and help the tree root to uptake water via mycellia and trees provide the fungi food as carbohydrates and sugars.(Nature 2018 ,Fleming 2014,Wohlleben 2016) I believe if this communication between fungi and tree is disturbed by some perpetuation (such as ground shacking pre or during earthquakes) the tree becomes deprived of these vital nutrients and water for its growth. The tree in response to this deprivation of nutrients tries harder to get and transport water and nutrient to other parts of the tree. As the nutrient resource decreases the tree tries harder and transports gas bubbles with the depleted nutrients. These gas bubbles restrict the flow of nutrients around the tree and cause the tree stress just like when trees are deprived of water during droughts (Nature 2018). The tree then gives of signals such as low frequency ultrasonic waves, sent poisonous gas (Nature 2018) and possibly gas/water emitted from leaves to atmosphere as the tree tries to remove the restricting gas from within. This may cause some kind of ionisation reaction in the form of flashing light phenomena in the atmosphere above the tree. This may add to the str ange phenomena earthquake lights seen before/during/after earthquakes (Janski et al., 2018). These flashes of lights above the tree may also help indicate a warning sign for an earthquake. However, this requires further research. So in summary, below the ground tree roots detect the ground shaking and send signals to other parts of the tree above the ground. Above the ground stressed trees emit warning signs in the form of low frequency ultrasonic waves due to transporting gas around the tree. Above the tree the leaves release the gas to the atmosphere to cause some kind of ionisation reaction in form of possible flashing lights This coupled system of lithosphere-atmosphere-ionosphere requires further research. More research is required into how trees communicate warning signals to life and the surrounding environment to see if they can be used as short term precursors for mitigating future earthquake alongside other precursors to help transform precise data into practical earthquake prediction, to save life and prevent infrastructure loss.

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Reliving the Nightmare Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Essay

Reliving the Nightmare: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder After the terrorist attacks on September 11th, horrific images of the towers collapsing, survivors fleeing, and the rescue and recovery efforts inundated television viewers. In the weeks following the attacks, numerous news accounts reported increasing general anxiety among Americans, with many individuals reporting sleep difficulties and trouble concentrating. Additionally, much attention focused on the effects on those who directly witnessed and/or were injured the attacks, and whether they would suffer from post traumatic stress disorder, also known as PTSD (4). I will give a brief overview of the definition of PTSD, the neurobiology behind it, and what environmental factors†¦show more content†¦These symptoms must last for more than a month to be diagnosed as PTSD. Certain environmental cues that are reminiscent of the traumatic event may trigger symptoms, and anniversaries of the trauma are often difficult (1). The biological roots of post-traumatic stress disorder also partly lie in serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter involved in such functions as hunger, aggression, sleep, and fear response. The neurons that produce serotonin have raphe nuclei in the brain stem and extend to other parts of the central nervous system, including the amygdala, a small, almond-shaped portion of the brain that controls fear response. Anxiety results in lower levels of serotonin (5), and these lower serotonin levels may act on the amygdala in some way to help produce the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. The National Institute of Mental Health and the Anxiety Disorders Association of America co-sponsored a recent conference at which researchers declared that circuits involving the central nucleus of the amygdala appear to process conditioned fear responses to specific stimuli, while circuits involving a closely related area, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, handle non-cue-specific, non- conditioned anxiety. Both circuits, in turn, connect to the hypothalamus , brainstem, and other brain areas mediating specific signs of fear and anxiety. However, further research on the amygdalas specific roleShow MoreRelatedPost Traumatic Stress Disorder1149 Words   |  5 PagesPTSD was first taken seriously when the Vietnam veterans returned from the war. Combat experience is the most commonly linked to this disorder. However, studies have shown that there are many different causes. These studies were applied to a wide variety of traumas that people have experienced in various horrific events. According to The National Institute of Mental Health, â€Å"about 4% of American adults ages 18-54 suffers from PTSD in a given year. These people have served in wars, have been rapedRead MorePost Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd ) Essay1401 Words   |  6 PagesAccording to the Mayo-Clinic Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, commonly known as PTSD is defined as â€Å"Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that s triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event† (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2014). Post Traumatic Stress disorder can prevent one from living a normal, healthy life. In 2014, Chris Kyle playedRead MorePost-Traumatic Stress Disorder1552 Words   |  7 PagesPost-Traumatic Stress Disorder â€Å"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is a psychological illness in which people repeatedly remember relive, or dream about a terrible experience† (â€Å"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder† 710). Explanations of PTSD mainly focus on the way the mind is affected by traumatic experiences. The mind is unable to process information and emotions properly when one is faced with overwhelming trauma (Cohen Web). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder changes the body’s response to stressRead MoreHolden Caulfield : Post Traumatic Stress Disorder1362 Words   |  6 Pageshears the phrase, post traumatic stress disorder, most of the time they imagine soldiers returning from war to their families. However, people are not always aware that this disorder occurs in seemingly normal people. In the novel, Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield seems to deal with this disorder. Looking at the surface of the novel, this is unclear. Therefore, this is an inferred trait in the novel. The reader must figure out for themselves that the protagonist retains the disorder. Holden CaulfieldRead MorePost Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd ) Essay1682 Words   |  7 Pagesdisastrous, and traumatizing events are often susceptible to developing a mental illness known as post-traumatic stress disorder or â€Å"PTSD†. People who are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder often experience mind-numbing symptoms of traumatic flashbacks, emotional distress, and uncontrollable thoughts that can make living life a realistic nightmare. It is very important that this disorder is treated by using correct public health interventions to help individuals once again regain controlRead MorePost Traumatic Stress Syndrome Essay1722 Words   |  7 Pages There are numerous different mental disorders that people are diagnosed with on an everyday basis. Some mental disorders are genetic, but yet other disorders come from the things that people encounter in life. One mental disord er that is being diagnosed more often every day is called Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. This is a disorder that does not discriminate based on genetics, race, age, or even sex. This mental disorder occurs due to events in a person’s life. As everyone knows it is naturalRead MoreSymptoms Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder843 Words   |  4 PagesThe client is showing symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD. Under the DSM-V the diagnostic code follows 309.81 (F43.10) and finds the criteria by clinically significant distress or impairment in social and/or occupational dysfunction for a period of at least one month and symptoms are not due to medical condition, medication or drugs and alcohol. PTSD symptoms include nightmares, flashbacks, sleep disturbance, mood disorders, suicidal ideation, avoidance, and hyper-arousal in responseRead MoreThe Effects Of Extreme Stress On Billy Pilgrim s Slaughterhouse- Five By Kurt Vonnegut1272 Words   |  6 PagesBilly was a prison er of war and witnessed the bombing of Dresden. After what he had witnessed, Billy shows signs of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder throughout the novel. He had trouble sleeping, he had nightmares, and he was constantly looking back at time and reliving the trauma he faced. According to the article Who Develops Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, â€Å"the effects of extreme stress has a long history, primarily focused on the effects of war† (Ozer and Weiss 1). One can assume that Billy developedRead MorePost Traumatic Stress Disorder ( Ptsd )990 Words   |  4 PagesPost-Traumatic Stress Disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder is a common anxiety disorder characterized by chronic physical arousal, recurrent unwanted thoughts and images of the traumatic event, and avoidance of things that can call the traumatic event into mind (Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner, Nock, 2014). About 7 percent of Americans suffer from PTSD. Family members of victims can also develop PTSD and it can occur in people of any age. The diagnosis for PTSD requires one or more symptoms to beRead MoreWhat Is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder?977 Words   |  4 PagesWHAT IS POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER? What is post-traumatic stress disorder? Dr. Shira Maguen defines it as an anxiety disorder that may develop after an individual is exposed to one or more traumatic events.(Maguen 2008). In war situations military service members are exposed to many potential traumatic events. They could be put in life threatening danger or could be seriously injured. Witnessing a traumatic event such as a comrade being killed can also affect a service member. To be diagnosed

Saturday, December 14, 2019

The Growth Stage Free Essays

The growth stage brings many challenges to blended value businesses, and one of the most significant concerning mission preservation involves changes in leadership during scaling, especially to the role of the founder. It is common in early-stage businesses for the founder to guide all aspects of the organization. When companies begin to grow, however, things start to change. We will write a custom essay sample on The Growth Stage or any similar topic only for you Order Now From this moment onward, the involvement of the founder with the company must evolve as much as the firm itself does. At this point, formal governance systems and processes must be created to take the place of the informal ones employed during the start-up phase. The transfer of responsibility from the charismatic individual, the founder, to the governing board is one hallmark of a more substantial shift toward a more systemized, collaborative approach that needs to take place in all businesses as they grow (Clark, Emerson Thornley, 2014). For social entrepreneurships, it can signal a dangerous moment for the social mission. Often the founder’s leadership—his or her passion and vision—is what establishes the clear connection between the business and mission in the first place. As the leadership shifts from founder to governing board, new ways need to be found to embed mission in the systems that will provide direction for the business from this point on. Shifting leadership from founder to board can be a challenge for many types of organizations, but it may present a particular obstacle for social entrepreneurships. The figure of the founder looms large in the social impact world encouraged by a high number of prizes and programs aimed at individual entrepreneurs. Partly as a result of such well-meaning support efforts, some founders have risen to personal prominence alongside their blended value companies, becoming public faces for their businesses, ambassadors for their brand with high media, and field level visibility. At the growth stage, such over-emphasis on founders can create the conditions under which so-called founder’s syndrome can arise. How to cite The Growth Stage, Papers

Friday, December 6, 2019

Fight Club Essay Example For Students

Fight Club Essay In today’s society, more and more, you see people trying to find themselves, in pursuit of happiness. The movie, â€Å"Fight Club† deals with this inner search of happiness, which has dangerous reactions. Edward Norton stars as a bored office worker named jack. An insomniac who lives by himself in an apartment filled bursting with consumer furniture and appliances, he starts to spend evenings going to self help groups for everything from testicular cancer to tuberculosis because he finds becoming a person other than himself each night adds comfort to his life. As he attends them more and more, he discovers that someone else has been doing the same thing as him. Her name is Marla Singer. He confronts her about this, and they decide to split the help groups up amongst each other. Now enters Tyler Durden. Tyler is a soap salesmen who Jack meets on a flight back home. They become friends after Jack’s apartment blows up in some kind of freak explosion. He moves in with Tyler, and they start something called fight club. In this club they basically beat the snot out of each other, in response to the dissatisfaction of their pathetic, working class lives. The club surprisingly grows larger and larger with each night, and eventually develops into some sort of urban terrorist group. Then one day Tyler was gone. Jack begins to worry where he went, and at the same time begins to realize all that was going on, and how it has all gotten out of hand. He begins a search for Tyler, but in reality it is a search of self actualization. In this search he realizes that Tyler is just an alter ego of himself. He had created Tyler, a man that was everything that he wanted to be, and it began to take a major role in his life. He begins to realize that everything that Tyler had done, was in reality him. The movie shows the gradual breakdown of a person, who had felt lost, and nothing around him seemed to fulfill his life. With this alter-ego he created, it turned his life around, making everything more enjoyable. This also however took a bad downward spiral, when Tyler, his imaginary presence, began doing extreme things that were harmful to other people. At this point Jack realized the insanity that he had created in his head, and how it effected his body, and actions. He attempted to resolve the problems that he created, but they were to large to fix. His fight club that he had created, was so large, that wherever he went, there were members. The only way he knew how to end the madness was to physically destroy his alter ego. He figures out that by placing a gun to his head, he was also placing a gun to Tyler’s head. So he basically shoots himself in the head, thus symbolizing the destruction of his alter ego, and the end to the madness. Fight Club was an excellent representation of what can go on in the head. They demonstrated clearly the effects of an alter ego which can create temporary happiness but in the long run, do more damage then good. Although somewhat unrealistic and confusing at points, Fight club was a great psychological thriller, worth seeing.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Using Italian Suffixes

Using Italian Suffixes Italian nouns (including proper names) and adjectives can take on various shades of meaning by adding different suffixes. Even though it’s likely  you haven’t thought about it, you’re familiar with many  common Italian suffixes. Here are a few you might have heard: Parolaccia - Bad word ( -accia is the suffix.)Benone - Really good ( -one is the suffix.)Ragazzino - Little boy ( -ino is the suffix.) Besides being fun to use, they also help you avoid using words like â€Å"molto - very† or â€Å"tanto - a lot† all the time. In this lesson, I’ll help you expand your vocabulary and creatively describe nouns and adjectives all with learning just six suffixes. 6 Suffixes in Italian To indicate smallness or express affection or endearment, add common suffixes such as 1) -ino/a/i/e Povero (poor guy) → Poverino (little, poor guy)Paese (town) → Paesino (tiny town) E.g. Sono cresciuto in un paesino si chiama Montestigliano. - I grew up in a tiny town called Montestigliano. Attimo (moment) → Attimino (small moment) E.g. Dammi un attimino. - Give me just a small moment. Topo (mouse) → Topolino (little mouse)Pensiero (thought) → Pensierino (little thought) 2) -etto/a/i/e Case (houses) → casette (little houses)Muro (wall) → Muretto (little wall)Borsa (purse) → Borsetta (little purse)Pezzo (piece) → Pezzetto (little piece) E.g. Prendo un pezzetto di margherita. - I’ll take a little piece of the margherita pizza. (To learn how to order pizza in Italian, click here.) 3) -ello/a/i/e Albero (tree) → alberello (small tree)Povero (poor person) → poverello (poor little poor man)Gioco (toy) → giocherello (poor little toy)Bambino (child) → bambinello (poor little child) TIP: Bambinello is also used to represent baby Jesus in nativity scenes. 4) -uccio, -uccia, -ucci, -ucce Maria (Mary) Mariuccia (little Mary)Regalo (gift) → regaluccio (little poor quality gift)Scarpe (shoes) → scarpucce (little poor shoes)Affari (business/affair) → affarucci (small lousy business) To Denote Largeness 5) -one/-ona (singular) and -oni/-one (plural) Libro (book) librone (big book)Lettera (letter) letterona (long letter)Bacio (kiss) → Bacione (big kiss) TIP: You could add â€Å"Un bacione† to the end of emails or say it at the end of phone conversations with friends. Here are some other ways to end messages. Porta (door) → Portone (big door)Ciccio (chubby person) → Ciccione (big, chubby person)Furbo (clever person) → Furbone (very clever person) Convey the Idea of a Bad or Ugly Quality 6)  -accio, -accia, -acci, and -acce Giorno (day) → Giornataccia (bad day)Ragazzo (Boy) → ragazzaccio (bad boy)Figura (impression) → figuraccia (bad impression) E.g. Ho avuto proprio una giornataccia. - I’ve had a really bad day! Tips: When a suffix is added, the final vowel of the word is dropped.Many feminine nouns become masculine when the suffix -one is added: la palla (ball) becomes il pallone (soccer ball), and la porta (door) becomes il portone (street door).

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The dream act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The dream act - Essay Example migrants completed at least two years of military service at a higher learning institution, they would earn a six year temporary residence, within which they could qualify for permanent residency only if; one, they achieved a degree from a higher education institution in the U.S, too, they served in the military for two years, and three, to have completed two years while pursuing a higher or bachelor’s degree within the country (â€Å"DREAM Act Summary† n.p.). Come November 2013, most (14) states introduced customized versions of the Dream Act that controls the financial aid and tuition charges for state-level universities. The mentioned act resulted in both embracement and rebellions as well. The proposers supported the bill, saying it would create economic and social positives in that it would not support an amnesty program. Opposers on their part criticized the bill as one that would feed and promote illegal immigration, in addition to crippling deportations. The following text will discuss the Dream Act, focusing from an anthropological point on biopolitics and hegemony as social forms of governmentality. An overall definition of the term hegemony refers to it as a success of equalizing status quos between dominant classes and subordinate classes by presenting and exercising a common customized definition of reality as per a general worldview, and enforcing it on the different classes such that they accept it as common sense in achieving similar grounds. It is a rather effective mode of eliminating mean dominance in it eliminates exercising indirect dictatorship on other classes which establish status quos that only benefit members of their own while discriminating on the others. This is the â€Å"cultural hegemony† theory as explained by one Italian Marxist Gramsci. Concisely, the dominating class, by use of consensus pushes other classes into accepting their perspectives of the world as the only ones, therefore marginalizes them. Gramsci however, explains

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Describing the Formal Elements of Line, Light, Form, and Space Before Essay

Describing the Formal Elements of Line, Light, Form, and Space Before you begin - Essay Example Hasegawa Tohaku dominantly used lines in his painting particularly vertical, contour and diagonal lines. Although lines are dominant in this painting, the artist produced a three-dimensional illusion in his painting. The lines are more of the romantic or expressive than analytic because the lines are not precisely straight but are soft and more of an impression. The use of vertical lines in the painting can visibly be seen as tree trunks and the expressive nature of the lines used helped in giving an impression of the texture and form of the trunk of pine trees which are not actually precise straight lines. The diagonal lines in the painting are perceptible in some of the tree trunks and the branches of the trees. These lines give an impression of movement among the branches and helps in providing a spatial illusion between the trees and the branches. In producing the three-dimensional effect in Hasegawa Tohaku’s painting, aside from lines the artist also employed the element of light. Since the medium used on the painting Pine Trees is ink, the artist skilfully produced a feeling of space, distance and the scene that depicts the trees as though under the moonlight or probably at dawn because of the impression of fog among the trees.

Monday, November 18, 2019

Securitization, Regulation and Factors Contributing to Financial Essay

Securitization, Regulation and Factors Contributing to Financial Crisis - Essay Example This paper reviews the current financial crisis with focus on securitization, causes of the crisis, current regulatory framework and the scope of Basel Committee and proposes possible measures regulating the financial sector. The process of securitization and its significance Securitization refers to the transfer of assets from an entity, the originator, to another entity that is set for such purchases with the aim of increasing the generator’s liquidity level. The generator, a financial institution, sells its debt assets to the third party who in turn, provides agreed amount of cash in exchange. The process of securitization incorporates a number of stakeholders. It begins with the financial institution that wishes to securitize its assets. The originator offers its assets to an issuer that must be an established entity for such a purpose and the issuer obtains rights over the assets. The issuer is further a native organization and acquires rights of the assets. Fundamental t o the securitization process is the special purpose vehicle concept that transfers possession of the subject properties from the originator to the issuer and safeguards the issuer’s right over the property should the originator be declared bankrupt. The process also involves the concept of â€Å"credit enhancement† where a ‘non-privity’ party guarantees quality of the involved credit that is then rated before securities are offered. Issue of notes that are structured before they can be offered in the market (Choudhry, 331, 332) accompanies the security offers. The process of securitization identifies diversified benefits to both originators and investors. The process facilitates the originator’s liquidity level by through funding that is derived from owned assets. It therefore allows the financial institutions

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Strategic Marketing Plan For The French Fashion House Marketing Essay

Strategic Marketing Plan For The French Fashion House Marketing Essay In the ninetys the brand took a new direction: diversification and internationalization. From now, the company offered a wide range of product so women can dress from head to foot in Caroll. Also, the French company aimed bigger: shops, affiliations, and franchises locations in department stores appeared worldwide. Thanks to its strong two figures growth for the past few years, China became the favorite new destination for companies. Shalendra Sharma, associate professor of political science, University of San Francisco says that with an estimated 300 million Chinese consumers with much disposable income, it is an opportunity that should not be missed  [2]  , even if the current economic environment requires caution. According to the CCI and Cotton Incorporated Global Lifestyle Monitorà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ Survey, apparel tops the list of items Chinese consumers prefer to shop for (31%), Notice that women are largely more interested than men (39% versus 22%). Figure 1: Lifestyle Monitorà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ SurveyDefinitely, China represents a great opportunity for clothes retailer. The country made its name and growth by assuring the role of world supplier, especially for clothes. Since the economy became better, Chinese want to enjoy more western lifestyle. That is why Caroll developed a growing interest for Chinese market. However, Chinese are specific needs, expectations and behavior that Caroll must understands and faces. The aim of the following analysis is to try to define how Caroll could tackle into the middle market in China, using internal and external analysis, outlining issues and opportunities for the brand. Situation Analysis An academic report written by several professors, Heiko Gebauer, Thomas Fischer and Elgar Fleisch, name Entering the Chinese mid-market segment: key to long-term success? pointed out major mistakes when entering the Chinese market: Misunderstood of the Chinese consumers, their needs and expectations. Companies overestimate their image value. Managers miss opportunities in focus on few cities only such as Beijing or Shanghai In order to handle those issues for Caroll, I will design a strategic marketing plan consisting in an analysis to match market opportunities to the resources and capabilities of the company. In this case, I will follow different steps to establish a SMP for Caroll: Environmental Analysis (PESTEL) Identifying Customers Competitor The company in its environment (Porters Five Forces and SWOT analysis) The company Marketing Mix: The 4 Ps and 3 Vs Value Creation (Value Chain, Boston Box and Ansoff matrices) The analysis is based on information found on Internet and on my personal experiences as women clothes consumer and Asian person and knowledge since I studied how to do business in China during five month at the SEM Tongji University in Shanghai in 2011. PESTEL analysis focuses in following area; political system and stability, economic stability, socio-cultural practices, technological advancements, environmental efforts and legal and judicial systems. It gives a global view, the big picture, of the environment in which the brand is interested to. It provides a strong framework of opportunities and risks.   P for Political Political advantages Political disadvantages Not Relevant Government stability Labor law Political stability Regulation/Deregulation Social/Employment Legislation Tariffs Tax Policy Trade Restrictions Bureaucracy Corruption Freedom of the press Environmental law Government type China is based on communism political system with on unique party, the Chinese Communist Party. Because of the unique party China is not seen as a real democratic country by foreigners. However the country enjoys political and government stability thanks to strong control and obedience. Indeed, no substantial political opposition groups exist (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012). So, even if some issues exist like ethnic unrest in Tibet, they do not represent threats to its political stability. Since Mao Zedong, former president of China, the country uses capitalist economy in order to make China the first economic power. The path is still followed and the government decisions are design to ensure continuous economic growth. The country shows goodwill, regulations, tariff and tax policies are favorable to business and especially for foreign companies; reduction in taxation to foreign companies, creating designated free trade zones such as Shanghai and Shenzhen, investing in public amenities and facilities to attract foreign investors, and continuously liberalizing their trade regulations to create attractive and impactful investment centre. Nevertheless, corruption is strongly embedded in China government. It is called the East Asian paradox: countries displaying exceptional growth records despite having thriving corruption cultures (China economic review, 2012). E for Economic Economic advantages Economic disadvantages Not relevant Consumers Disposable Income Economic Growth GDP/GNP growth Globalization Labor cost and supply Exchange rate Interest rates Inflation rate Business Cycle Stage Likely Economic Change Unemployment Rate As I said earlier, China adopted for open market concept. Chinas continuous and gradual reforms started with phasing out agriculture activity; followed by liberalization of prices, fiscal decentralization, open banking and financial system, creation of share market, large amount of private sector investment, and large foreign direct investment (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012). Thanks to its efforts, in 2010, China became the number two world economy in term of size. China benefits from a solid two figures growth even with the crisis. However, the country faces inflation and increasing local government debt which could represent a threat regarding government gifts for company and reduce the buying power of consumers. One of the main China economic challenges is to encourage local demand that is why the governments 12th Five-Year Plan, adopted in March 2011, focuses on the need to increase domestic consumption in order to make the economy less dependent on exports in the future (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012). S for Socio-Cultural Social advantages Social disadvantages Not relevant Age distribution Career attitude Educational structure Attitude to work Social mobility Cultural taboos Health Consciousness Population Growth Rate Perception of safety Employment patterns China has 1,344,130,000 people and reached a 7.298 trillion USD GDP in 2011 (World Bank, 2011). In 2012 73,5% of the people is aged from 15 to 64 years old, 51,4% male and 48,6% female and the median age is about 36 years old (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012). In 2010, 47% of the population lives in urban areas and China tends to become more and more urban. Indeed, people move to cities looking for job and life improvement. Official language is mandarin; however, there are more than 100 dialects in China. Students and executive employees are encouraged to learn English. When I was in China, I notice that the language was really important for Chinese. For example, you will get a different price when negotiating if you speak English, Chinese or the local language. The Chinese culture is influenced by Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. I think the most famous Chinese word is Guan Xi, meaning relationship; business practices in China focuses on building relationship. Also, as for many Asian cultures, the image is very important in China. They have a strong sense of shame and pride. Related to the importance of the image, Chinese, especially the upper and middle class society, have developed a sense of materialism where owning (luxury) goods and designer items give them status in the society. Deng Xiaoping, one of the important figures in the opening of the market  said  «Ã‚  to get rich is glorious  Ã‚ ». Contrary to western people, Chinese freely discuss about money, how much they earn, what they have à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ T for Technology Technology advantages Technology disadvantages Not relevant Impact of Internet (reduce communication costs) Rate of technological changes RD activities Technology incentives Technology transfer Degree of automation Emerging technologies To be honest, technological advancement is lower than in developed country. However, China does not ignore the importance of technology and has invested and still invests a lot in engineering, telecommunications, and manufacturing and information systems. China took advantage that many high end technology companies as Apple or Huawai are established in China to acquire new technologies. Indeed, when a company wants to settle in China, the law requires that half of the managers must be Chinese and part of employees too. Moreover, the government is trying to attract brains in China in order to not only copy others technologies but to develop their own. As for many areas, China wants to be the first and the best. E for Environmental Environmental advantages Environmental disadvantages Not relevant Environmental consciousness Weather Climate changes There is more than one documentary on pollution in China; the country suffers from its rapid growth and the activities linked. Even if the Chinese government thinks that environment is a serious issue that must be handling. However corruption and wish of development made environmental control difficult. It could either be on opportunity (cost) and a threat (image). L for Legal. Legal advantages Legal disadvantages Not relevant Employment law Antitrust law Consumer law General framework Health and Safety laws Discrimination law Chinas legislature is mainly derived from the soviet and continental civil code of principles. China has set up international trade and economic arbitration in order to attract foreign company and develop international business. However, Chinese prefers the use of arbitrator; it represents a saving time (Central Intelligence Agency, 2012). According to me, the legal point represents the biggest threat for doing business in China. When I study in Shanghai, I had the chance to have a class about Chinese laws and I can affirm that the law and its application are designed to advantage Chinese part, always. For example, only a Chinese lawyer that is to say a lawyer who was graduated in a Chinese Law School is competent. Also, several cases show that it is usual that foreign court decisions are not enforce by Chinese courts. The PESTEL analysis of China point out that it represents a great opportunity for Caroll to tap into the Chinese market; huge potential, increasing buying power and middle class, sense of materialism, development of infrastructures, goodwill of the government Several other fashion clothes brands already entered the Chinese market and has registered high sales and profitability. Nevertheless, threats are as big as opportunities. As I just said, it is not good to have issues in China. I remember a story that my Chinese friend told me; in China, cars have the priority over pedestrians. He told me to be careful, because in the case a car hit me, even if the driver past the red light, as I am a foreigner I am wrong and all Chinese will defend the driver (strong collectivism value). I think that this point totally highlights that the Chinese culture is way different from the French culture and this represents the second threat: Caroll does not know the market and consumers. Exhibit 2: Growing mid-market households in China in millions. Boston Consulting Group The exhibit above shows that middle class are emerging, the study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (2010) estimates that in 2020 about 69 million people will be considered as middle class, more than the French population! Furthermore, it has been forecasted that by 2025, this segment will increase to 590 million with a whopping US$ 1.3 trillion spending power. Helen Wang, author of The Chinese Dream: The Rise of the Worlds Largest Middle Class and What It Means to You said that to be middle-class in China the person would earn between $10,000 and $60,000 a year. Considering the cost of Chinese life and living standards, much lower than in western countries, a middle class can afford pretty huge apartment, longer and better education and spends in entertainments and apparels. These citizens are mostly urban, engaged in services and have a modern world view; this new middle class represents China as a consumer society. As we saw earlier, the image is an important value for Chinese that is why they spend in good quality products or non-essential consumption in order to show their success (status). Families tend to buy more discretionary and small luxury items and the share of the household budget that goes food, clothes and other necessities shrinks (The McKinsey Quarterly, 2006). Mostly, middle class consumers are looking for famous product which showed they are part of the community and meanwhile tailored product; they need to keep their personality. With increasing product knowledge and surging purchasing power, mainland consumers in China are developing higher demands for quality and comfort in clothing. They usually prefer apparel made of natural fabrics (International Trade Centre, p.50, 2011). According to the China Textile Development Report in 2010, Chinese consumers ranked comfort at the top priority. Even if they are able to afford more expansive product, middle class consumers still but cheap product. They consider cheap and expansive products strongly different and pay attention to details (distribution channel, store, servicesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦). It will be a huge mistake to think that they are not price consciousness. J. Roy says  [3]  , Most people only buy clothes online when they are looking for something cheap, not when they are looking for style. It would be a mistake for an American retailer like J. Crew or Gap to emphasize e-commerce over their in-store shopping experience, customer experience is highly appreciate by Asian consumers. According to the Global Monitor, web sites are used to read customer reviews and compare prices (59%) and browse the latest styles (58%), followed by buy clothes (55%). Also, customers tend to be more loyal to a brand. It is important for Caroll to create a good relation with consumers even if the maximal potential is not reached yet, Guan Xi. Chinese consumers develop a strong environment conscience, an important factor to consider if Caroll want to create a long term relationship. Understanding and adaptation are key words, for example Levis had launch a specific line designed specifically for Asian physiques and tastes, with different cuts and tighter fits. It common knowledge than Asian people are smaller but it another thing to redesign clothes to fit to their size. I think that is difficult to understand the Chinese middle class needs and expectation only based on studies. I had the chance to study with Chinese student in marketing that help me to better answer to this part but the analysis is not enough deep. Y. Chen  [4]  says that given the competitiveness of the market, it is only advisable (for retailers) to enter China if they are serious about it and also put required investments behind it. The domestic clothing market in China is dominated by brands of European origin and other imported products, such as Giorgio Armani, Cerruti 1881, Hugo Boss, Dunhill, Chanel, Dior, Ermenegildo Zegna and Salvatore Ferragamo. The middle and low end of the market has a product mix of foreign and domestic brands, with most of the goods being manufactured in China and least developed countries (Bangladesh, Egypt, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, and Viet Nam) such as Nike, Adidas, Tommy Hilfiger, Zara, CA and HM. However, we can notice a growing competition from Chinese brand as Bosideng, White Collar, Kaiser, Lily, Girdear, JNBY, Peacebird, Sierli and Gloria (International Trade Centre, p.35, 2011). In 2001, the China accessed to the World Trade Organization and after a short period, foreign brands started to target Chine; 2007 for HM, 2008 for Zara and Marks and Spencer, 2009 for Tommy Hilfiger à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Competitors to Caroll are already established in the Chinese market and so get a great advantage since Chinese consumers are more loyal and focus on long term relationship. Figure 3: Main foreign Apparel brands in the Chinese market (source ITC, 2011) Figure 4: Main domestic Apparel brands in the Chinese market (source ITC, 2011) SWOT Matrix Strengths Weaknesses International experience, in particular in Japan, first contact with Asian culture Trendy clothes Works with world famous fashion clothes designers Comfortable products Good quality product Prices policy, price of Caroll clothes are a little bit too high for middle class but far too low to be consider as luxury clothes Many unhappy opinion on the quality of service (customer reception, information ) Fails to create a sense of belonging to a community despite different attempts Opportunities Threats Increase of the middle class, the target Increase of purchasing power Low labor and estate cost Growing interest for clothes shopping Open market, government policies to attract foreigner (taxation, tariff à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Strong established competition Open market = upcoming competition Legal system and corruption Inflation = raise of cost Unknown in China I will not spend more time on opportunities and threats since we already spend times on it with the environment and competitors analysis; I will only repeat that opportunities are as great as threats are big. The SWOT analysis tends to demonstrate that Caroll has several strengths in order to fit with the Chinese demand. However, the company has to work hard on consumer experience and price that represent key drivers for change. Once again, adaptation is a key solution. In another field, we can take the example of Best Buy, an electronic retailer pretty successful who failed to tap into the Chinese market. Indeed, bargaining is a strong value of Chinese culture and the company didnt give the possibility to bargain in Best Buy Store. Within two years, the brand closed all its stores in China since it was unable to satisfy Chinese consumers. Porters five forces model Threat of new entrants High threat Low entry barriers with encouraging government policies, economy of scale and other costs advantages and really attractive market. Switching cost almost inexistent. In balance, significant capital requirement and well established huge players. Sustainable industry growth rate. Supplier bargaining power Moderate High supplier concentration (in 2008, China represented half of textile and clothes supplier). Low suppliers differentiation. Low switching cost. In balance, notable threat of buyers integration (growing Chinese competition). Low dependence with buyers. Industry Rivalry Highly competitive market Highly concentrated market with numerous and diversified competitors including some huge in size (like Zara or Mango). High fixed cost (physical store). Almost no switching cost. In balance, high industry growth rate in a product differentiation model with significant customer loyalty. Low exit barriers Customers bargaining power Moderate Consumers highly sensitive to consumers experiences and differentiation. Demanding market. Low switching cost. In balance, significant customer loyalty. Low buyers volume. High number of buyers relative to sellers. Threat of substitutes Low / Moderate threat Enormous choice of substitute at lower price and quality. Switching cost almost inexistent. In balance, substitutes are considered in a total different way with a total different consumers behavior and habits. The Porters Five Forces analysis totally complies with the environment, competitors, market and consumers analyses. The biggest threats are represented by the highly competitive market with existing and future competitors. Concerning customers and suppliers buying power, I will say that one word, Guan Xi. Everything is based on relationship; understanding and answering. Chinese are more willing to show loyalty than Western people, so the threat can be handle by creating good relationship. And last, the substitute threat is not really significant as customers are able to make a clear distinction between products. The marketing mix Product Price Variety product: several line casual working clothes evening clothes Quality: high quality product with noble and still comfortable fabrics Design: use of famous worldwide clothes designer = design + value for customers Brand name: Caroll is a well-established French company in Europe and can offer a certain image (elegance, wealthy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) to the customer. Service: attempt to reach the most complete and valuable consumers experience. Price: right match with the quality of the product and service and the image. Currently, I think that for the Chinese market, the price of Caroll is not justified. Promotion Place Advertising: China is a giant advertising place. Marketing and advertising are everywhere. This is an opportunity for Caroll to build solid brand awareness by using diversify communication event billposting commercial Internet Public relation: be present, involved is really important. Public relation is a key factor for success. Distribution channel: as we saw in order to tap into the middle market, Caroll must open physical store better than only online selling. Location: when I was in Shanghai, I was impressed by the number of mall, there are malls everywhere. Availability and good location will be an help to develop the brand into the Chinese market. The target is the middle Chinese class. The intended position is to represent a high valued brand representing the elegance, offering high quality product at reasonable price. Strategic Segments Align 3 Vs Valued Customers middle class working women living in urban area Value Proposition high valued and high quality fashioned clothes and accessories Value Network physical store enjoying satisfying customers experience. Value Value The Value Chain Firm infrastructure 400 stores, 274 in France, 123 worldwide Support activities Human resource management About 1200 employees Technology development Design Procurement Elegant and noble fabrics Operations Specific line product Outbound logistics Warehousing Services Customer support Online store Marketing and sales Advertising and promotion like fashion shows. Inbound logistics Inventory control Storing Chinese and least develop country for supply Primary activities Service The Boston Box matrix The following Boston Box matrix is based on personal perception of the market since no information was found. Evening clothes (dress for party for example) Casual clothes Working clothes Accessories shoes Ansoff matrix Market Development Diversification Chinese middle class represent a new market for Caroll, new customers needs and expectations so new business model and strategy. Target different geographical markets at home or abroad. There is no need to diversify more the brand. Caroll is already offering a wide range of products (clothes and accessories). Market Penetration Product Development Going to the Chinese market is one thing but stay strong in the European market is another. Even if the Chinese market offers great opportunities, this is a major issue to reinforce our position in existing market. Caroll has to work harder on: Introduce a loyalty scheme = community Increase and improved sales force activities. It is important to design specific line to fit with Chinese demand Design specific line for Chinese (taste, size à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Improve customer service or quality.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

ABC Electric Company :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

ABC Electric Company Introduction ABC Electric has been in business since 1970. The company makes hand-held arc welders its primary customers are construction firms, shipbuilders, auto-repair shops, and â€Å"self-help† amateurs. The company has 30% of the current market share along with four other competitors it has an annual sales of $800 million. The company has a satisfied customer-base. Although, their products are priced above the competitors, customers prefer ABC’s welders due to their superior finish, reliability, and durability. Recently, demand for hand-held welders in the U.S. was steadily growing at a rate of 7% rate annually but has currently drop. However, demands are growing in the West European market, which is currently value at $1 billion. Recently, ABC Electric found its market share and profitability decreasing. Due to the fact that the company has made some gain in its customer base by improving product quality and service while maintaining price. Moreover, a component supplier of ABC has raised its price by almost 10%. In addition, industry wide competition has generated excessive price reduction, which help in the fluctuation of the company profitability. Strategic Issues Facing ABC Electric ABC Electric is facing several issues that needs to be address in order to stabilize their competitors growth as well as increasing their market share and profitability. These issues are closely related to their external competitive strategy, which seems to be non-existence on a whole. Base on my brief discussion above, I believe that ABC Electric has in-voluntarily allows, one of its competitors to make advancement by improving its quality and service of their product without increasing price. Due to the fact that, ABC perceived its customers to be immune to price thereby remaining loyal to its product because of the quality and reliability that comes with the product image. As a result, this perceived brand loyalty created a threat to the company. The second issue facing the company is, a supplier of whom ABC purchases its electric motors from for its welder has raised the price by almost 10%. In looking at this, the bargaining power of the supplier is very strong bec ause the switching cost might be very high. Moreover, it will become damaging to the company based on the current reduction in price within the industry if the problem is not solved.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Kevin Stevenson retires as AASB Chair Essay

This article is concerned with the accomplishments and achievements of Kevin Stevenson upon his retirement as the Chairman of the Australian Accounting Standards Board on 30th June 2014. During his tenure, Kevin Stevenson ensured that the long traditions of financial reporting were upheld both internationally and domestically and also provided counsel on issues concerning the FRC. Mr. Stevenson was an example of pioneer standard setters for generations down the line as he was among the founding members of the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum of the International Accounting Standards Board. Through his leadership, the AASB’s Research Centre was established as Stevenson served the Asian-Oceanian Standard Setters Group’s chair. His main focus was to work in the interest of the public, as stated by Lynn Wood, the FRC’s chair and trustee of the IFRS Foundation. In concurrence is Ian Mackintosh, the former Chair of the PSASB of Australia and Deputy Chair of IASB. Ac cording to Mackintosh, Stevenson largely contributed in the moves by Asia countries like Nepal and Korea to the IFRS. From the onset of the 1970s, Mr. Stevenson’ attention was driven towards setting ‘principal based’ standards and developing a Conceptual Framework to be used in financial reporting. He advocated for accounting regulations as evidenced by his association with the Accounting Research Foundation and later on watched over the growth of the AARF upon being appointed its Director. He was at the forefront of setting the international pace in the development of common accounting standards for both the public and the private sectors. Stevenson largely contributed to the formation of the Public Sector Accounting and also played a significant role in the establishment of the stable platform of International Financial Reporting Standards in 2005 for adoption in Australia and the entire Europe. Concepts, ideas and facts                      Teamwork and leadership are two important components that must be in alignment so as to provide effective high quality and efficient accounting services. A strategic human resource management model provides guidance to accounting teams and leaders to deliver high-quality services in a timely manner. Accounting operates within a performance measurement that tolerates no errors. Therefore, a state-of-the-art investigation requires scientific leadership working with major stakeholders as a team to provide the best accounting services to a fraud investigation. The new techniques of accounting are significant steps in the right direction and they require leaders with skills and business tools to apply concepts such as efficiency, cost benefit analysis, economies of scale and cost-effectiveness analysis that will measure continuous improvement on a regular basis. Effective leadership is needed to develop, design and implement a solution that would resolve the core competency of an organization. Strategic leadership in accounting provides quality and timely accounting services to a company. Such leadership like that o Stevenson brings together a fragmented system consisting of thousands of accountants working within a fragmented system of organizations. Effective teamwork and leadership in accounting shows the way through the development of new innovative fraud investigations for the future. Leaders in positions like that of Stevenson are encouraged to consider both the social and moral implications of their decisions with regard to how their decisions will affect the clients and shareholders of the company. It is the ethical responsibility of every employee to ensure their company does not illegally evade income taxes or allow questionable deductions. They should ensure that the company finds are allocated to the appropriate activities based on their importance and determine the important elements of the business. The accounting issue                      One major way of improving the confidence in financial reporting and accounting is to ensure that there is improvement in ethical standards, reporting mechanisms, strengthening of governance and adequacy of financial management. It is ethical to maintain the right to the truth while practicing accounting and financial reporting. Those who use financial statements have the right to accurate and truthful information when engaging in investment strategies. Clients have a legal right to receive competent and professional services from accountants who have a legal obligation to perform their responsibilities within the constraints of their skills. It is often argued that most accountants lack ethical ability to recognize and solve ethical dilemmas. This has necessitated the need to include ethics education as a major component of the accounting profession. The development of professional ethics and values should be initiated early in the accounting profe ssion and be emphasized throughout the career. Major issue of the article                      Stevenson clearly shows that it is the responsibility of management to serve the best interests of the company that they are providing auditing and accounting services for, investors and society as a whole. This can be done by providing truthful and accurate financial records. Ethical guidelines require that management should be honest, concise, accurate and complete while recording financial data to ensure ethics are held to the highest degree. It is also the duty of every employee to make wise, informed decisions about the future of a company. These accounting standards are useful in financial reporting and accounting as they are processes that are currently under a great deal of scrutiny. The two are important functions that organizations should take care of and ensure that they exhibit a high code of ethics. This is because clients and shareholders use accounting and financial reports in their decision making process. Legal and ethical issues ar e important elements of financial reporting and accounting as has been demonstrated by the positions assumed by Mr. Stevenson. These issues prompted Stevenson to establish financial reporting and accounting departments to set up specific sets of rules that govern the functioning of any organization. Relevant topics and theories                      The long traditions of financial reporting applied Positive Accounting theory by focusing on various aspects that are of major interest to accounting techniques and the issues that provided an informative background and the gives in depth details of the functionality of accounting in financial reporting. Positive Accounting gives a holistic description of what is currently unknown and proposes future considerations. Financial reporting and accounting apply to any economic entity relating to the company’s future business. The major ethical elements involved are objectivity, competence, independence and integrity. These ethical elements require that accountants and financial reporters are independent of the clients to whom they provide financial and accounting services. Ethical obligations help to determine the effectiveness of accounting and financial report and redress any imbalance that may alter information symmetry. The move by Nepal and K orea followed the ethical guidelines of financial reporting and never let the desire for a better living and acquiring more possession get in the way of their financial obligations. It is ethical for any employee of the accounting or financial department working in the public or private sector to remain loyal and impartial to ethical obligations when reviewing both individual and financial reports. It is usual for one to encounter various ethical issues and it is therefore important for one to remain vigilant to resist temptations to manipulate financial records that could violate ethical guidelines. Transparency and integrity are important ethical elements of normative accounting theory. Some companies may receive pressure from management to maintain a certain public image. This is because some public companies have the burden of succeeding at high levels and it becomes an ethical issue for them to maintain true reports of the company assets, profits and liabilities without succumb ing to the pressure from management. It is unethical for management to alter the financial records of its company and manipulate the numbers to create a false image of the success of the company. This only leads to prosperity in the short term since such fraud cases are discovered by the Securities and Exchange Commission ultimately spelling the downfall of the company. For these reasons, accounting theories assert that companies must remain ethically vigilant to avoid breaching the code of conduct. High standards of ethical behavior are expected for those people engaging in accounting and financial reporting. These standards provide rules and guidance to employees in the performance of their professional obligations. Poor decision making by management based on faulty or manipulated financial records aimed at deceiving the public about a company’s financial health has negative consequences on the business. It is therefore unethical for management to overlook such behavior. Gi ven how tempting it is for companies to manipulate their financial records in order to portray an image of economic health, management should provide the last defense possible to prevent accounting fraud. In comment letter 1, the Financial Reporting Committee of the IMA wrote to express its views on financial accounting standards on simplification of the income statement presentation through the elimination of the concept of extraordinary items. The FRC is in charge of several accounting books of different companies this in essence means that they are charged with the responsibility of making timely responses to statements, pronouncements, research legislations, proposals and pending legislations. Their main concern in this letter is the complex nature of financial statements in FASB comment letters. They support the simplication initiative adopted by the board as regards to making the financial statements easier to understand by the common folk CITATION Sch l 1033 (Schroder, 2014). Their support is on the elimination of elimination of extra ordinary items as in most times this criterion is not always met. Their proposal thus rids of the tedious work in the preparation of financial documents and whether this requirement is met by auditors in the process of doing their work. Their support is based on the fact that it reduces to a great extending the complex nature of the time for the allocation of the provision of income tax by reducing the occurrence of other income items occurring. They thus advocate for a thorough examination of the details of this suggested proposal CITATION Sch l 1033 (Schroder, 2014). In comment letter number 2, Marcum Accountants and Advisors write to the FASB regarding the proposed accounting standards through the simplification of the income statement by elimination of the concept of extraordinary items. Their letter is generally a response to several questions regarding the process of simplification of the income statement. They support the concept of elimination of extra ordinary items from the General Accounting principles. Their contention is based on the difficulty of application the extra ordinary items in accounting practice CITATION Giu14 l 1033 (Giugliano, 2014). They thus support the application for extra ordinary items in previous accounting periods. A sudden change of the rules would otherwise lead to confusion in the accounting practice. The ease of application of the proposed update makes it easy to make these recommended changes quite easy to adopt. They thus suggest the immediate adoption of the proposed update. They are in agreement with the decision by the board to stick to the principle of separate disclosure of infrequent transactions. Items must thus meet the definition of occurring infrequently in recurrent expenditure. They list the following examples as those that should not be classified as unusual or infrequently occurring: occupancy related expense, routine tax audit returns and losses and gains from reimbursements from insurance CITATION Giu14 l 1033 (Giugliano, 2014). They thus suggest the importance of offering guidance on the determination of unusual items. Proper definitions should thus be provided of the unusually occurring items. In comment letter 3, Ford Motor Company also writes in support of the simplication initiative by FASB. Their agreement is based on the objective of evaluation, identification and improvement of the generally accepted accounting principles CITATION Cal14 l 1033 (Callahan, 2014). This thus means that the reduction of the cost of complexity is possible with the simplification of the income statement. They are also in agreement with the board that such an update would not lead to data loss. The overall benefit would be to the end users of such financial statements. References Callahan, S. (2014). Ford Company. Giugliano, G. (2014). Marcum Accountants. Schroder, N. (2014). Institute of Management Accounting. Source document

Friday, November 8, 2019

The College Entrance Essay What Not to Do

The College Entrance Essay What Not to Do SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips What’s the point of the essay? Put yourself in the admissions officers’ shoes. They’ve got hundreds, maybe thousands of data sets to review, one for each potential student. Imagine the big conference table where these folders are spread out under the fluorescent lights. You’re just one folder in a pile, and the essay is their one window into who you are. What about the rest of my application? Sure, grades show you can study and that you care about academic success; test scores show something of critical thinking skills; extracurriculars and volunteer work show you’re â€Å"well-rounded.† But everyone knows that these things, for most college-bound students, are standard. People have been telling you they’re â€Å"important for college† since you were in 8th grade, and admissions officers know that. So there’s a limited amount even a 4.0 GPA and a perfect score on the SAT can say about your readiness for many aspects of college. College isn’t high school 2.0 See, college isn’t just classes and parties; it’s a transition between childhood and adulthood. Plenty of kids with high GPAs and great test scores can have a hard time in college due to the lack of supervision and the less defined reward structure. In other words, high schoolers with determined parents can be coaxed or bribed into hundreds of hours of AP studying, varsity sports practice and all kinds of SAT prep. Those kids might build great applications that get them the acceptance letters they want. But none of that stuff will help them once they’re on campus. In addition to possessing academic prowess, students who get the most out of college know what they want and are willing to work for it. They are mature, self-motivated, curious, and able to think outside the box. In short, they’re (mostly) ready to be responsible adults. Why do different schools have different prompts? Different schools are looking for different variations on this ready-for-adulthood theme; Juilliard wants students who apply this maturity and determination to their art. Tiny liberal arts schools want students who will bring their passions to enriching the community on campus. Ivies want students who are clearly head and shoulders above their peers. But all colleges want students who, as alumni, will enhance their alma mater’s reputation, whatever it may be. And the admissions essay is unique in its ability to convey much of the information that could convince a school you’ll be able to handle the job of succeeding, not just in school, but in life. To that end, here are our top 3 tips on what not to write in your college admissions essay. 1. Don’t write about the easiest thing High schoolers have a bad reputation for being shallow. Adults tend to think of them as Facebook-obsessed, smartphone-dependent text-monsters who do whatever (and only) what their friends do. Along with these charming characteristics, teenagers are also seen as closed minded and self-obsessed. The essay is a chance to prove definitively that you are not one of these teenage whiners who thinks only of themselves, and one way to do that is to really put some thought into your topic. In other words, don’t write about the first thing you think of, or the thing you think you could most easily tailor to the prompt. Let’s look at an example: one of the 2014-2015 Common Application essay promptsis, â€Å"Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?† If you ask the average high schooler this question, some of the most common answers will be not making the team, not getting a desired grade, or losing the student government election. These are easy kinds of failure to talk about; they are the most obvious. But you want to show that you understand all the things failure can mean: disappointing someone you love, doing something you know is wrong, giving up when you could’ve persevered. Some kinds of failure are painful to think about, but hiding from painful feelings is exactly what teenagers are expected to do. Be unexpected. Think about the prompt from multiple perspectives and try to make it your own. 2. Don’t write about something lots of kids have done This one might seem obvious, but let’s examine it using another prompt from the current Common App: â€Å"Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.† Again, do not write about the most obvious things: graduating to Eagle Scouts, your Bar Mitzvah or your first job (unless you have an amazing twist on those old tales). Even events that may seem less common than the ones above aren’t: thousands of kids each year write essays about their mission trips, their parents’ divorces, and moving to new towns or schools. Maybe it seems like nobody at your school has done it, but that doesn’t mean kids at other schools all over the country aren’t doing it right now. Do a little research, give it some thought, and reach for an essay that will make the admissions counselors think, â€Å"oh, right, that’s the kid who was in the circus for a year.† 3. Don’t write about something that happened to you, write about something you did This one is less about your topic and more about the way you frame it. Let’s examine it using another Common App prompt: â€Å"Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?† This might seem like an impossible prompt to answer with something you do, and that’s why I chose it. When most people think of the word ‘content,’ they think of relaxing or lounging in a private space. But content actually means â€Å"in a state of peaceful happiness,† or â€Å"satisfied with a certain level of achievement, good fortune, etc., and not wishing for more.† Peaceful, here, doesn’t mean restful: it means untroubled, complete. This state can easily be attained through doing. See, they don’t really care about the place or environment you’re describing. They care about how your answer reflects your personality, maturity, and ability to think and write creatively. Note the question â€Å"What do you do or experience there?† So while a ton of students will answer this prompt with â€Å"my bedroom,† or â€Å"the hammock in the garden,† they’re losing ground by not considering the other varieties of contentment: a strong tennis player practicing forehands, a musician picking out strings for his guitar, a volunteer working with infants in the hospital nursery. Don’t worry about seeming weird or being wrong; the point isn’t to â€Å"do it right,† as it is in so many high school courses. The point is to communicate something unique and deep about yourself. 4. Consider the Bigger Picture The essay is only one part of the college application. Other parts include your GPA, extracurricular activities, and SAT / ACT score. If you're late in junior year or already in senior year though, you don't have too much leverage to increase your GPA and activities those have already been set by your high school career. The only two things you can affect at this point would be the essay, which you should write well, and your SAT / ACT score. Be sure to ensure your SAT score is good enough or ACT score is good enough. If not, seriously consider retaking it, as even a couple of weeks of study can boost your admissions chances a lot. For more information on admissions essays, see these resources: Essay Hell New York Times lesson plan for Common Application essay prep Essay Tips from the Admissions Office at Lewis Clark We at PrepScholar Online SAT Prep aren’t just SAT experts, we’re also admissions experts. If you liked what you read above, subscribe to our blog to the right to keep updated on the information we’re sharing not just with our customers, but with the whole world. Like what you read? Get our free Ebook to SAT prep!

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Canadas Dark Hour essays

Canada's Dark Hour essays During World War II, Canada was at war with Germany and Italy. Canada was fighting to protect the lifestyle that its citizens had become accustomed to. The soldiers in WW II gave their lives for the good of their great nation. Canada was also facing a major threat in the Pacific. The threat was the powerful nation of Japan. To that point in time Japan was the strongest military force that the world had ever seen. The Japanese government was strongly influenced by military leaders who were in favor of an expansion of Japanese power in the Pacific through military means. Japan had been sweeping through such strong military forces as China, Australia and Britain (Hong Kong). Japan was a major threat in World War Two to a lot of countries. Then when japan bombed Pearl Harbor in a surprise attack against the Americans. The Canadian government had to move quickly to protect its borders. The Canadian government decided that it was best that the Japanese be moved inland away from the coast. This was done for two main reasons, one to prevent spying and sabotage and secondly to protect the Japanese from anti-Asian violence. This decision was not only for the good of the country but also for the good of the Japanese people. The government made the right decision for the matter at hand. It is true that the Canadian Government noted that "no Japanese in Canada has been suspected of or linked to, an act of sabotage or espionage". Also in a RCMP investigation, the Japanese in Canada were not considered a real threat but the assessment was conducted before the country of Japan was officially in World War Two. These reports would have been outdated as the ideas and beliefs of the Japanese could have changed once Japan was at war with the world. People changed their views during times of change. As Japan officially entered W.W.II many passions of the people may have changed. The Canadian Government was faced with the treat of this poss...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Fieldstone Private Capital Group Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Fieldstone Private Capital Group - Essay Example ally offers advisory services to the corporation about leveraged buyouts, private capital raises and mergers and acquisitions in infrastructure and energy industries globally. The company takes pride in being an independent employee owned venture and that allows them to offer unbiased, objective and independent ideas that are specifically designed and developed for the purpose of fulfilling the client’s long term needs (FPCG, 2013a). The company caters to a diversified client base. It ranges from small and medium sector enterprises to some of the world’s largest corporations. In addition to private sector companies, Fieldstone also offers advisory services to the government firms especially in the area of infrastructure and energy. Apart from the financial services, Fieldstone is also active in the field of CDO and high yield markets through its Fieldstone Capital Group, which is a division of Fieldstone Services Corp (Forbes, 2009). b) Location of Fieldstone Fieldstone is a company which has been able to generate a sense of trust among the consumers around the world. This is due to the company’s presence in the market for over 2 decades. During this epoch, there are hardly any negative statements came into light which was against the company or that hampered the image of the company (Keillor, 2007). Fieldstone operates in a number of places around the world. The places in which the company has presence are Berlin, Johannesburg, Hyderabad, Kuala Lumpur, London and New York (Bloomberg, 2013). The service offered by the company is almost similar in every country. However in case of South Africa, where the company operate through its Johannesburg office, offer some additional services to the customers. In the context of German market, the company is considered as an... Fieldstone is a company which has been able to generate a sense of trust among the consumers around the world. This is due to the company’s presence in the market for over 2 decades. During this epoch, there are hardly any negative statements came into light which was against the company or that hampered the image of the company. Fieldstone operates in a number of places around the world. The places in which the company has presence are Berlin, Johannesburg, Hyderabad, Kuala Lumpur, London and New York. The service offered by the company is almost similar in every country. However in case of South Africa, where the company operate through its Johannesburg office, offer some additional services to the customers. In the context of German market, the company is considered as an important player in the financial advisory services industry. For example, it has played the role of a financial advisor for a number of vital projects within the country. In the recent past, Fieldstone ac ted as exclusive debt advisor for Mainova AG in structuring, developing and facilitating the execution of the transactions.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Human Right Law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human Right Law - Coursework Example Nonetheless, it is illegal for a public authority to function against the Article 10 of ECHR. A court in UK will be regarded as a public authority for this purpose. Thus, judges in UK are under obligation to develop the common law in accordance with Convention rights as regards to right to the freedom of expression1. The issue is whether the Home Secretary of UK , can use her power under UK criminal- justice legislation to shut down UKPFs website before the videos can be published, and this can be considered as an abusive of Norman’s right of freedom of expression granted both under HRA ,1998 and under ECHR ,1950? Nonetheless, the UK government has an obligation to safeguard people from terrorists’ menace and in such cases, freedom of expression can be confined to safeguard national security and public order. The right to freedom of speech or expression is granted under Article 10 of ECHR, which is subject to some restrictions such as it can be restrained in the interest of a country’s national security or to maintain public safety or to safeguard territorial integrity. A UK court cannot grant an interim order prohibiting publication of a material under section 12 of the HRA unless it is fully pleased that the claimant is probable to demonstrate at full trial that such publication should not be permitted as held in Cream Holdings Ltd v. Banerjee, 2 and it should have specific attention to the significance of the right to the freedom of expression, the magnitude to which such publication is in the public interest and any particular privacy codes. Due to this fact, it has become arduous to get interim injunctions against the media3. However, UK courts can use their power to protect any religious feelings as held in Wingrove v UK4 where a ban on short film â€Å"Visions of Ecstasy† was sought under blasphemous. It was alleged that the short film was intended to portray the visions of St. Teresa of Avila, in a sexually explicit manner. The

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Counterfeit Merchandise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Counterfeit Merchandise - Essay Example The global market for counterfeit goods has been increasing rapidly. Counterfeited goods accounted for 3-4% of the global trade in the past while according to recent estimates of the International Chamber of Commerce it has increased to 7% and is worth around US$350million (Vagg & Harris, 2000, p.108). The problem is extensive in proportions with the US and EU confiscating around US$94million worth goods and 85million counterfeit products respectively in the years 2002-2003(Hilton, Choi & Chen, 2004, p.345). Counterfeiting is prevalent in many sectors such as software, video, music, toys, aircraft spare parts, medicines, perfumes and fashion merchandise such as handbags, watches, textiles (Vithlani, 1998, p.8). Counterfeiting in the software, music and motion picture industry has been on the increase over the years due to technological innovations, reduced costs of counterfeiting and the ease with which the products can be counterfeited (Vithlani, 1997, p.10). Counterfeit spare parts in the aviation industry and fake medicines have serious and far reaching consequences on the health and safety of the people (Vithlani, 1998, p.15). The fashion industry has been plagued by the problem of counterfeit products for many years now. Replicating designs and trademark infringements have become a routine occurrence in the industry causing substantial losses in profits and loss of reputation for the original manufacturers. Fashion counterfeiting is especially rampant in UK and Italy. Counterfeits in perfumes are also common and perfume manufacturers spend around 1-2% of their annual revenues to combat counterfeiting. Many reasons can be cited for the prevalence of counterfeits in the fashion industry. One of the main reasons is that in many countries the trademarks are protected against counterfeiting however, the designs are not protected and don’t come

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

George Washington Biography Essay Example for Free

George Washington Biography Essay George Washington (1732 1799), the First President of the United States, is a prominent individual of the American history. He was commander in chief of the victorious Continental army of the American Revolution and won many important battles that helped the Americans defeat the British. During his presidential terms, he set many important precedents for the following Presidents, such as having Presidential Cabinet Members. He was nicknamed for his accomplishments as the Father of His Country. George Washington was born on Feb. 22, 1732 in Westmoreland County, Virginia on an estate along the Potomac River. He was the oldest son of Augustine Washington and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington. When Washington was eleven, his father died and left only himself, his mother and his five other brothers and sisters. After the his fathers death, Washington could not go to school because he needed to help at the family farm to acquire enough money for his family to live. In his free time he practiced land surveying for fun with his fathers tools. Later, Washington started his occupation as a surveyor. When Washington turned 16, he surveyed lands of the Shenandoah for Thomas, Lord Fairfax. After his half-brother, Lawrence, had died, Washington inherited the farm and large amount of land at Mount Vernon, Virginia. Also, Lawrence was adjutant of the colony so Washington took over this responsibility. As district adjutant, he was referred to as Major Washington and was had trained the militia in the quarter he was assigned to. He first gained public awareness by being adjutant of Virginia and was sent off to warn the French to stop additional intrusion on the land of the northern colonies. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1754 to carry out this task and he departed to the North. Washington found out that the French already had a set up a fort and had a large number of soldiers camped, so he quickly built Fort Necessity. However, the French surrounded and attacked Fort Necessity. The French captured Washington in this attack. Luckily, Washington was released based on the earlier agreements of the British and French. These first several battles fought were the beginnings of the French and Indian War. The next  year, Washington volunteered to be the aide of General Edward Braddock because he was discouraged and angered by the defeat. At that time, Washington tried to convince Braddock to use the style of fighting of the Native Americans, but Braddock disagreed and used the regular fighting technique. Braddock was mortally wounded in this battle and Washington was nearly injured because of four bullets that ripped his coat and two horses that were shot from under him. After the French and Indian War, Washington was 26 years old and fell in love with Martha Dandridge Custis. She was a wealthy widow with her two children, Martha Patsy and John Parke. They married and moved to Mount Vernon where Lawrence once lived. Washington was very successful in farming there. While they lived in Mount Vernon, Washington was a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses from 1759 to 1774 and he strongly against the British Stamp Act and the Townsend Act which set taxes on many products. Washington like many others did not buy these taxed products and boycotted them. In the middle of 1774, Washington thought that the many British laws were striving to stop self-government within the colonies and were attempting to have tyrannical rule over the colonies as the King had over England. Washington was one of the few that proposed of a continental congress to be held to govern the colonies. He was elected to be a delegate of Virginia for the First Continental Congress. The Congress created a new government devoted to overthrow unfair rule of Britain. The Second Continental Congress joined together on May 10, 1775, after the fighting of Lexington and Concord had took place. Surrounded by almost 14,000 of Massachusettss soldiers, the British army was trapped in Boston. The British government announced that Massachusetts had committed treason after this rebellion, and were trying to take over MA. Washington appeared at the Second Congress in full uniform conveying the message that he was in support of Massachusetts. Congress created the Continental Army for this reason to fight the British. Washington was unanimously elected as general and commander in chief of the army. As commander of the Continental Army, Washingtons actions were left to him because the Congress could not provide laws to help. Washington was given  full power to do anything with authority to improve the service. As General, Washington lost many battles such as the Battle of Long Island but Washington learned from his many experiences and he began to have many successes such as the Battle of Saratoga which was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. The colonies in this war had a great number of help from other countries, such as France, and Washington became good friends with Marquis de Lafayette. This war was won by the help of the French and Washingtons expertise. After the war, Washington left the power of general and returned back to Mount Vernon to be with his wife. Washington became President on April 30, 1789. Washington did not have any examples to follow of previous Presidents since he was the first. One of the first precedents that Washington set was to have only two terms in office. This precedent was followed until 1940. Another was to have the Cabinet contain two leaders of different ideas to balance the Cabinet. Washington appointed John Jay as the Chief Justice because Washington felt he was most suitable. In the Whiskey Rebellion, Washington sent many soldiers to stop the farmers from revolting and the farmers instantly stopped. Washington also pardoned the farmers for their actions because the governments strength was already shown. This event is very similar to Shays Rebellion, but the swift ending of the Whiskey Rebellion showed that the Constitution worked well and strong. In the Spirit of Cincinnatus, Washington left his power after being the General of the Continental Army, and after the Presidency to go back to his farm at Mount Vernon. Each morning he rode his large farm on horseback. Sometimes he rode fifteen miles north of Mount Vernon to watch the building of a new city. The city would be the capital of the United States, named after him, as Washington D.C. Washington died at Mount Vernon of a throat infection in December 14, 1799, after he made his last tour of his property on horseback in the winter weather. It has been said that George Washington was, First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Why Renault entered into joint venture with Mahindra

Why Renault entered into joint venture with Mahindra Internal Benefits: Joint ventures are formed in quest of managing companys resources in efficient manner. This includes techniques to reducing cost and risk that the firm faces, obtaining scarce resources, obtaining cheap factors of production (land, labour and capital), to include new information and increase the managerial know how so that productivity can be increased and to retain innovative employees of the firm. There are many capital intensive techniques followed by companies in oil and gas exploration, metals processing and mineral extraction. Internal benefit include building companys core strengths  Ã‚   Helps in to develop economies of scale by gaining access to other financial resources Joint venture help company to acquire new technologies and customers and gives access to knowledge, skills and better management Competitive Benefits: Joint venture helps companies to restructure their organisational structure. Competitive advantage is achieved by vertical integration or consolidation of the firms. This also helps the firms to have an influence on industry structure and competitors. Responding to the new globalisation trend this approach may help in creation of more effective competitors. Some other benefits are: Joint ventures are helpful in building competitive barriers against the new entrants. They act as a defensive strategy in response to the converging markets Helps in creation of small and competitive units of the firm in various geographical locations It also helps in reducing the time cycle to the market they are involved in Strategic Benefits: Joint ventures help in companies to implement change in their strategic position. This helps in better creation and exploitation of synergies among the two companies. Joint venture facilitate in the transfer of technology and diversification of the firm. Technology transfer helps in building knowledge to expand into key markets It also helps to develop new products and improve productivity by shared expertise and lower costs because indulging in research activities to develop new products can be time-consuming and costly. Small businesses also gain lead-time In the total number of joint venture formed, many were international joint ventures. Many of them were due to the cost involved in the operations. Companies in some industry depend on the technology to reduce costs. Joint ventures are favourable for them because they help them in accumulating money and people to work in short time, with not much time wasted in training and later to develop specialisation in a specific activity. This all leads to reduced exploration and production costs and thereby increase in the profit margins. Joint ventures are not as easy to manage as we are talking about. Sometimes companies are forced to follow a joint venture strategy because of the host countrys business regulations. For example China does not allow outside company to own a majority of domestic business. Mexico requires the companies for any foreign company which is operating in the country to have a joint venture with a domestic company. In addition to government regulations, other reasons f or multinational joint ventures as mentioned above are cutting the costs of doing business, sharing risks with acquiring technological information and management expertise from other companies. Kogut (1988) gave 3 different reasons for the existence of joint ventures. They were: Transaction cost approach: The cost aspect of a transaction in joint ventures helps in explaining joint ventures in terms of market failure for intermediate inputs in the production, various asset specificity, and high uncertainty over specifying and monitoring performance. As inspired by Penroses (1959) work, it is specified and shown in recent development in management research that to one should analyze and develop a firms strategy by focusing on its resources instead of the external environment. Two key behavioural assumptions of TC theory are opportunism and bounded rationality (Williamson 1991a). The transaction theory suggests that if firms with complementary resources try to produce individually then they will have to fight for the scarce resources and acquire them at greater cost. Another major motive behind joint venturing is the possibility of creating Ricardian rents. A Ricardian rent means the presence of scarce resources which generate higher profits than other resource s of the same type. Strategic behaviour approach: A joint venture addresses the difficulties faced by the organisation by providing a superior alignment of incentives through the mutual dedication of resources and by sharing the residual value of the venture. Joint venture is established in a spirit of mutual trust and commitment to its long-term success, the potential threats posed by opportunism and a small-numbers condition can be reduced. Organisational learning approach: Joint Ventures help in organisation learning Williamson (1991b) extends his analysis to strategic alliances, which is said to have the hybrid mode of governance, which are considered to occupy positions between the two ends of the market-hierarchy continuum. These hybrids in joint ventures are said to have stronger incentives and adaptive capabilities than hierarchies, which helps in providing more administrative control than markets. In global industries with globalisation there is higher need for organisational learning. This asks the firm manager to look for global efficiency, which later plays an important role in resource based theory. In a joint-venture setting, there is interaction and communication between the members of different firms. This information flow increases the boundary permeability with respect to the partners resources. This helps in offering an opportunity for learning. A popular example of this is ToyotaGM joint venture, in wh ich both partners had clear learning objectives (Adler and Cole 1993). Another use of joint ventures is to get rid of a business unit, that is, disposal of resources. Nanda and Williamson (1995) have argued that converting the business unit into a joint venture between the parent and buyer helps in selling of the unit. The joint venture operates for several years during which buyer learn about the operations of the unit is going to acquire and slowly resources will be integrated with those of the buyer. By initially running the business as a joint venture, the buyer in benefit of obtaining hands-on management experience and an insiders s view of its operation. Seller also has interest to teach the skill and tricks to buyer of business, since the price that the buyer is willing to pay when buying out the business depends on the joint ventures performance. Firms often go for the local partners in the domestic market in which they want to mark a presence, these are because of the following reasons: Items readily capitalised Human resource needs Government regulations and incentives Market access needs and speed of entry Knowledge needs and learning of new marketing methods A joint venture is formed only when all the organizations involved individually arrive at a positive net benefit calculation. For example, one partner considers the joint venture as an opportunity for learning a new technology while the other uses the venture to further exploit the technology. When two firms have had a great deal of experience of working together, they get to know more about one anothers culture and management style, and adjust their own accordingly thus the two firms are in a better position to explore collaborative opportunities compared to other firms which dont form any alliance with other firms. This all leads to identify ways of complementing joint venture their resources effectively for creating rents. This involves the proper analysis of costs involved in different companies. For example If there exist two oil companies which want to set up a new drilling platform in ocean areas, and neither one has capability to finance the project on its own, so the simple solution to them is to look for joint venture. That way, they share the costs of setup of drilling platform and other projects which later helps them in reducing their individual risk should they find no oil. That is a decided advantage to many business people. A complete study of operation, management and finance has to be done to successfully implement the joint venture. Joint ventures are quite helpful to some companies in gaining access to foreign markets. Sometimes both the firms forget the primary objective of their operation and just form joint venture to come into foreign market. These products bring in the foreign domestic investments in the host country through the firm with which joint venture is formed. So many governments give incentives for joint ventures. Joint ventures are a sometimes used to boost up the creeping sale. This can be the first step in acquisition of a business. It can also be used to act as catalyst for change, which is by bringing in a partner one, can stimulate more entrepreneurial activity in a particular area of a firms business. Joint venture also helps in expansion of customer base by expanding the scope and utilising other firms strength in different geographic market, using its distribution or sales network International joint ventures have also been pushed by international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization, who have given incentives by forming policies to eliminate trade barriers and deregulate foreign ownership restrictions and the international flow of capital. This helped in creating a climate in which international investment and partnerships have become increasingly attractive. In new scenario joint ventures have become means by which companies seek to expand profit margins and market share. In addition, regional trade areas such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the European Union (EU), and the Association of South and East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have worked to establish favourable conditions for joint ventures within specific, relatively localized regions. Why Renault entered into joint venture with Mahindra Mahindra? As told by the CEO of Renault Mr. Carlos Ghosn this joint venture was seen to be useful to mark a new step in Renaults global expansion strategy. The joint venture has started the Renault operation in the Indian market which is highly emerging market with respect to automotive sector. As Renault had no experience with the needs of Indian customer joint venture with MM was seen to help to create the first right hand drive version of Logan created to meet the needs of our Indian customers. Renault was also eyeing to mark its presence in Indian market in short period of time, Mahindra and Mahindra gave them that adequate platform. In the beginning of 2005 Renault designers visualized a low-cost car that was to retail for under Euro 5000. The car had quite good features however it looked robust and trustworthy compared to the sleek beauties manufactured by the Japanese and the Koreans. The car became a big hit and enjoyed pampering from buyers in most parts of Europe. Europeans liked the cars no-frill appeal. Renault thought of entering into Indian market, when it analysed the companies it sought upon Mahindra and Mahindra which was the main force behind the Tata Group. Mahindra and Mahindra helped Tata Motors for over ten years helping them build the modern day passenger vehicle. Mahindra also in seeing the future prospects of snatching the opportunity and mark its presence in Indian market started working in unison with Renault and started building and selling the Logan in India. Both Mahindra and Renault shared the profit of gaining knowledge and expertise. MM would get all important expertise needed to build monocoque or unitary construction. Renault, on the other hand, would gain direct knowledge of the cost-effective supplier base that Mahindra enjoyed in India. A labour-intensive car plant was established as against a fully automated one to analyze the quality and cost-effective work force available in India. The two groups concluded a framework agreement for setting up a joint venture in India with Mahindra retaining a 51 per cent share and Renault 49 per cent. The JV will be called Mahindra Renault Ltd. The estimated project amount was 125 million Euros. With other European automotive counterparties like Fiat and Skoda had little presence this venture was also seen a major competition to them. Mahindra did a customer research in Logan segment and found strong response for this C-segment car. Renault was looking for major global expansion; along with India it was also starting its operations in Romania, Russia, Morocco, Colombia and Iran. Renault was looking for a long term relationship with Mahindra and Mahindra and was looking for greater prospects in coming years of 2010 to 2012. Renault chose Mahindra and Mahindra because of the following reasons: Mahindra Group a US $ 2.5 billion company is the market leader in multi-utility vehicles and tractors in India. Mahindra and Mahindra had 55 years of manufacturing experience MM had built its high network of distributors and suppliers in India efficiently Mahindra group had built a strong base in technology, engineering, marketing and finance (Mahindra intertrade and MM financial services Ltd.). It also has a significant presence in key sectors of the Indian economy High presence in automotive components, information technology telecom (Mahindra British Telecom), and infrastructure development (Mahindra GESCO, Mahindra Holidays Resorts India Ltd.) Mahindra had a reputation of providing TATA Motors the platform to harness the automotive growth in India MM had not much presence in Sedan segment i.e. C-segment so Renault had no fears of having conflicts of interest Mahindra as a brand was a trusted brand in India. With the leverage of Mahindra as a brand Renault was also leveraging its own brand in Logan, as the joint venture was called Mahindra-Renault The transfer of knowledge and technology was mutually beneficial for Renault and Mahindra, it was good symbiotic relationship