Microlending free essay sample

Micro Lending For many years microloans have helped people out of poverty throughout the world. Unlike handouts, microloans must be paid back. These loans are very often paid back. There are pros and cons to the economy by having to pay the money back. Also, there are impacts on the environment. Microloans are very small loans given to borrowers. Typically, these loans are given to the poor with the intention for them to find work and support themselves. Not only were microloans designed to reduce poverty, additionally it has given power to women.Microloans were developed to be set apart from original loans. Microcredit offers small loans with high interest rates that are needed to return the money. Communities are benefitted as well from micro lending. Instead off collecting taxes from everyone and giving a handout to the poor, these loans are required to be paid back and the tax money can be spared for other important issues. We will write a custom essay sample on Microlending or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Benefits from microloans help the poor, women, starting business, and education and health. Without the access to the financial services such as loans, savings accounts, fun transfers, and insurance, the obstacles to overcoming poverty can be nearly impossible.Most countries offer a microloan of 100$. This is all it takes to start a business and support a family. The key reason of how microloans are successful, is the requirement to repay the loan, and the size of the loan. The repayment rate of these microloans is above 97%. Handouts are often taken advantage of; spent on wants, instead of necessities. With knowing that the loan must be paid back, people spend the money on important things that will help them later on. If microloans are specifically given to the poor and meet cultural, economic, and legal environments, the poor can repay the loans.Some banks are specifically giving these types of loans to women. The benefit of targeting women for these loans promotes equal rights. Most of these women run the house, and need money to raise children, especially when in poverty. Negative effects from microloans are significant. Some say microcredit has put the poor into a mountain of debt. For example, if the person in debt uses the microloan to spend on education, but runs out of money and doesn’t have a job. That person is essentially out of luck with a lot of debt. Others argue that the men take microloans from the women, and the women are left with a pile of debt.Microloans may not be the solution to every situation that creates poverty, and cannot be the solution when land is being taken from the poor, and leaving them in poverty. Microcredit can also create problems by forcing people to work to get the money back. Farmer suicides in India have increased because of trying to get enough money to pay back microcredit. By borrowing this money over and over, people may grow dependent on borrowing money and may lead to a debt trap. Access and biodiversity are rights to the person. Rights cannot be replaced by credit.Having the right to water is different than using microcredit to buy water. After all of these rights have been taken care of, then credit can come after those rights are given to the people. There are systems beyond capital; those are maintaining the ecological parts of the planet. Countering the logic of capitalism will counter the atmosphere that is being degraded and climate change. Microloans can do a variety of good and bad things. The benefits include reducing poverty, improving communities/countries, starting a business, and empowering women.Negative effects include leaving people with a debt trap, husbands taking the credit from women, forcing people to work until they die (suicides), mistaking credit for rights, and dependence on borrowing. Finally, negative economic effects of micro lending are making people focus on they’re own debt, instead of degrading the planets environment. References: * Adams, Dale, Doug Graham and J. D. Von Pischke (eds. ). Undermining Rural Development with Cheap Credit. Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, 1984. * Drake, Deborah, and Elizabeth Rhyne (eds. ). The Commercialization of Microfinance: Balancing Business and Development.

Review of The Skin of our Teeth essays

Review of The Skin of our Teeth essays The Skin of Our Teeth was a thought provoking and entertaining production. First the Ice Age, been there done that, learned nothing. The great flood, been there done that, learned nothing. A world of war and fighting, been there done that, learned nothing. These are the points Thornton Wilder worked so hard to get across. The human race as portrayed by the Antrobus family has been there and done that, yet have learned nothing and keep repeating the errors of the past over and over again and ends with the idea that we don't know what is to come. From Sabina, the flirty maid to the comical pet dinosaur and mammoth, who are kept as family animals, the play is a great production for all audiences. The costumes were perfect for the play, they were time appropriate as each act progressed and added to helping with setting the time and place of the play. During the final scene when the family comes back together after the war, the clothing is burnt and very dirty looking, it was very appropriate for that portion of the play. Lighting and sound was great. The props could have been a bit more realistic during Act II and III, the plywood furniture wasn't exactly correct for the time. The destruction of the furniture and books during Act III were appropriate and fit well. At the opening of the play when Sabina first enters onto the stage and it appears as if someone is missing their cue, it was very believable. I was beginning to wonder what was happening, and then the voice over says tells her to stall and she did a great job of portraying that an actor/actress was missing. The actors/actresses all spoke very clearly and lines were all clearly understandable. My favorite performer was Sabina; she was very realistic and stayed in character throughout the entire play. She played the role of flirtatious maid, pageant winner and back to classical maid without skipping a beat, all t...

Armellini Italian Ice Cream and Coffee Chain Business Issues Essay - 9

Armellini Italian Ice Cream and Coffee Chain Business Issues - Essay Example There are several important strategic tools such as Porter’s five forces model, SWOT analysis etc. that are heavily used in the industry. Furthermore, there are various ways, developed in the past few decades, which could be used in developing business. Franchise rout of growing business is one the most widely used method of developing business. This paper is all about an ice cream and coffee chain company named Armellini Ice Cream and Coffee Chain and its strategic decision. The paper includes an in-depth analysis of the competitive forces that would have a significant influence on the process of strategic decision making. The paper also includes the implications for the management of quality for the company in adopting the franchise route of growth. Armellini Ice Cream and Coffee Chain was founded by an Italian lady named Maria Armellini during the period when the Second World War just ended. Initially, it was located in a coastal town that was near to Venice in Italy. In the first cafà © products like traditional Italian ice cream as well as espresso coffee along with cooked pies, light snacks, sandwiches, and beverages were sold. After the death of Maria, the company was taken over by Alessio, Maria’s eldest son. Under his leadership, the business grew as the chain of restaurant and cafà © outlets in all over Western Europe. In the entire process, Alessio was assisted by his siblings. Alessio used to give significant importance to various things like maintenance of the quality and cleanliness and proper record keeping. Alessio or any of the family members used to visit each of the cafà ©s at least once a month in order to see how things were going on. It was a business audit most of the time which was carried by Ales sio himself. He used to visit the outlets without any prior notice with the objective of seeing the real picture of the outlets. Furthermore, there was a monthly financial report regarding used food items, wages, labor hours etc.   

OSHA Laws Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

OSHA Laws - Essay Example Authorities, later, proposed a fee of $12,000. They began an investigation following a grievance that an employee had been brutally beaten and jeopardized by a customer at the centre on September 28th, 2011. The employee filed a police report at the Racine County Department. The investigation exposed that workers at the centre had been assaulted a couple of times. In regard to OSHA, the health centre is to blame for a severe breach of the bureau’s "general duty clause" for failing to offer a workplace free from hazards, prone to cause severe harms or death (OH and S 1). The OSHA bureau also stated that these violations could have been avoided if the hospital maintained a complete record of the state/government standards. If the health centre had kept these standards, then the violence scenarios would have been avoided. The laws clearly states that workers should not be mishandled within their working centres. The case would have also been avoided if the hospital’s management followed up on the previous fighting cases. This would have used the previous cases to come up with ways of preventing future occurrences. In conclusion, managements could also log in to the OSHA website to download materials, handbooks, articles, and supplies that will assist them to avoid violations of the OSHA laws. OH and S. Worker Beaten by Patient at Health Center, OSHA Issues $12K Fine. NP, 2011. Web.

Food and culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Food and culture - Essay Example When people eat, they spend time together and tell stories about life and they plan together for the future. It is a big part of people’s lives. It gives families time to share together and build relationships between family members. Eating food allows passing on customs and traditions that are being forgotten. Food also affects culture in other ways. Human societies are groups of people who interact with each other. But some of the things that make people act the way they do are the food cultures that people grow and share all over the world. Most of the plants and animals people eat grow in a farm. Although many of the food people eat have been there for thousands of years, the ways of growing and raising the food have changed. As ways to farm changed, so did the way land was developed. Understanding food and the environment, people see how the connections of plants and animals had an influence on nature. People then search for ways that agricultural methods can be similar to natural ways. More than 10,000 years ago, humans began the change from hunting and gathering to designing and managing the landscape to serve their needs. People began to control characteristics and develop technology to grow crops and raise animals to fit their tastes. In Guanxi Province in China, for instance, farmers built slopes into step-like terraces (Alba 15). By changing the environment of their surroundings, people can grow food in places that otherwise would not support crops. Preserving food makes it less perishable and easier to transport. Similarly, the obento, a Japanese child’s school lunch, gives cultural messages to a person who is not Japanese. The specific foods and how they are prepared symbolize a connection between home and school. The obento thus plays an important part in identifying a culture (Anderson 103). Early food agriculture helped society grow into cities and states. Anywhere one looks in the world, food affects culture. So

Pro Choice View On Abortion Philosophy Essay

Pro Choice View On Abortion Philosophy Essay Abortion is one of the most disputable issues discussed all over the world today. Several decades ago abortion was considered only a social issue, but now situation has changed and it has also a political and ethical context. The issue of abortion does not become an important ethical issue as long as modern medicine has not provided its relative safety, and only now, in recent decades, the issue has inflamed a sharp public controversy. Thus, the main aim of this paper is to discuss pro-choice view on abortion. First of all it is necessary to answer the question what an abortion is? Abortion  is the termination of a  pregnancy  by the removal or expulsion from the  uterus  of a  fetus  or  embryo, resulting in or caused by its death. Observing this topic we can see that there are many different points of views around this question and there are, apparently, three main positions on the issue of abortion. At one extreme we see the supporters of preserving life (people who have pro-life position) who would ban abortions in all circumstances: they believe that the government may not encourage the destruction of the embryo or fetus, legalizing abortion. At the other extreme are advocates of free choice (pro-choice position): they believe that the law should not restrict the freedom of choice for the mother, because all pregnant women should have the opportunity to request an abortion. Intermediate position is occupied by those who believe abortion is permissible only in certain c ases (for example, when the pregnancy is dangerous for the mothers life or was the result of rape or incest), as well as those who believe that it should not be the main method of birth control. In this part we are going to concern our attention on pro-choice abortion and according to Colker, we see that Pro-choice abortion is the belief that women have the right to choose to abort a baby from their body. The pro-choice view is that a baby does not have human rights within the mothers womb. The people of the United States never voted on or supported this pro-choice position. Actually, it was the U.S. Supreme Court that legalized abortion as a result of Roe vs. Wade on January 22, 1973. (Colker, 1992). Analyzing contemporary situation it becomes obvious that movement for the legalization of abortion in recent years has also become a well-organized and politically active force: it is supported by a series of specially created organizations nationwide, and tens of major religious groups. Opponents of the ban on abortion put forward four main ethical arguments: 1. No person shall be entitled to compel a woman to preserve the pregnancy against her will. 2. We should not give birth to unwanted children. 3. Abortion was never subjected to the ban, if the legislators were not men. (Or, as one aphorism says, if men could get pregnant, abortion rights would be considered sacred.) 4. If a woman has no right to freely dispose of own body, including control of reproductive function, then there is no real freedom at all. Advocates of abortion rights typically originate from the fact that the government should not intervene in the privacy of women deciding for them the fate of a pregnancy. They believe that every woman should have a choice to abort or not, at the same time, they stress that such choice does not force anyone to a particular decision. In addition, it is noted that no one should be required by law to risk own health, and yet at the complete prohibition of abortion, many pregnant women are exposed to the dangers of childbearing and childbirth, as well as unsafe criminal abortions. What supporters of pro-choice position have to say about how to deal with the right to self-actualization of the fetus, with its right to life, with its right to the pursuit of happiness? Pro-choice supporters proceed from the concept of social development of personality. Since the fetus has no idea about own future, about own personality, then it can not be self-consciousness. Once there is no consciousness, then the concept of consent to it is not applicable. (Jelen Wilcox, 2003). Are these arguments are more persuasive than the arguments against abortion? Nobody can definitely say yes or no, because there is no one single view on this issue in contemporary society. Thinking about different points of view on pro-life and pro-choice abortion Levitt Dubner stated that pro-choice position allows to control criminal situation in the country. They explained that decades of research indicate that children from disadvantaged backgrounds are much more likely to become criminals than others. (Levitt Dubner, 2005). Thus, abortions allow to control criminal situation in the country due to their distance effect, because years later, these unborn children are not replenished the ranks of criminals and crime stopped. Debating this topic and looking at the problem from ethical and psychological side we should remember about the situation that the woman, who decided to make abortion, found herself in psychological crisis, and sometimes she is also found herself in a great despair, but we can contradict to above mentioned women other pregnant woman who wait for their babies and are full of happiness and excitement that in the nearest future they will become mothers and will see their little babies. There are many different people, and different situations, but there is one variable childs lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It is necessary to think deeply about how it can happen that a child for one woman is a great grief and they are willing to pay money for childs death, but for others childs birth is so good that they go to any expenses to have a baby. It is a description of dual character of one situation around childs lifeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Thus, according to Staggenborg, despite all the support for abortion, one of the important pro-choice facts is that those who raise pro choice issues to strengthen their cause are not pro abortion. They take the right to as a womans freedom to her body and life. However, we must remember that abortion should not cloud the sanctity of life. It is important to bear in mind the  pros and cons of abortions  before taking any decisions regarding ones pregnancy. (Staggenborg, 1994). Taking into consideration all the above stated it is possible to conclude that in discussing the moral aspects of abortion we usually used many arguments in favor of one or another position. Whatever our personal view, it is important to be able to recognize the ways of argumentation in ethical reasoning, which in reality is not as logical as it might seem at first glance. It is necessary to remember that every human child should be wanted, nurtured, loved and cherished. In such a way birth control and abortion are the part of necessary policy in this direction. Choices in this case should belong to the pregnant woman, and only her wish to save or not to save a child should be the main argument in pro-choice position.

Capital Punishment Essay - Justice in Retribution -- Argumentative Per

Capital Punishment: Justice in Retribution       The American government operates in the fashion of an indirect democracy. Citizens live under a social contract whereby individuals agree to forfeit certain rights for the good of the whole. Punishments for crimes against the state are carried out via due process, guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment. The use of capital punishment is decided by the state, which is legal in thirty-seven states. It is a moral imperative to protect the states' rights to decide their own position on the use of capital punishment.    Capital punishment is a method of retributive punishment as old as civilization itself. Both the Greeks and the Romans invoked the death penalty for a wide variety of offenses. Socrates and Jesus were perhaps the most famous people ever condemned for a capital crime in the ancient period. Hammurabi's Code, a code of laws developed by the king of one of the first empires, dates back from the third or second millennium before Christ. This code claims that retribution, an eye for an eye and a life for a life, is justice. In Anglo-American law the death penalty has been a customary response to certain kinds of offenses. The movement in America to have the death penalty declared unconstitutional received paramount attention during the landmark case of 'Furman v. Georgia,' rendered on June 29, 1972, which declared the death penalty cruel and unusual punishment. No executions took place between 1967 and 1977 (Bedau, 1992). However, after a supreme court decision in 1975 'Gregg v. Georgia', which stated capital punishment did not violate the Eighth Amendment, executions commenced again under state supervision. Should capital punishment be continued? Retribution is a ju... ...nal awaits the sentence to be carried out. This lesson may be said not to benefit society since it is too late for the criminal. It is also too late for the victim who was murdered in cold blood. To look at this as "bloodthirsty revenge" would be saying that capital punishment is itself the injustice. Is it not an injustice to let a cold-blooded killer escape the consequences of a crime? A society that tolerates injustice can by no means be called just.    Works Cited Bedau, Hugo Adam. In Spite of Innocence. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1992. Block, Eugene B.. When Men Play God: The Fallacy of Capital Punishment. San Francisco: Cragmont Publications, 1983. Locke, John. Second Treatise of Civil Government. Ch 2, Sec 6. Meltser, Michael. Cruel and Unusual: The Supreme Court and Capital Punishment. New York: Random House, 1973.   

Letter to President Pierce Essay

This article talks about the contrast between the white man and the red man not understanding one another. Indians as described in this are connected to the earth; people who are one with nature, while the white man is described as people who destroy the earth, or consumers of the earth. As one of the points Seattle has pointed out is how the two men see land. The red man views the land as sacred, of which has to be protected, while the white man see land as an object, a thing, which could be taken whenever they want it. Another comparison by Seattle is the red man being peaceful; in solitude while the white man loves chaos and destruction. Both men cannot understand the other. The red man wonders why the white man steals their horses, slaughters the buffalo that they use for food, and take the land away. Later in the article the red man, or the indian concludes that whether it may be a ‘red man’ or a ‘white man’, both are human beings, and both are connecte d to one another, and what happens to one human, happens to all. Native americans, also known as the ‘red man’ were the first people before the white men came into America, so the article tells the truth. White men intruded the red men by hunting buffalo; the Indians’ main food source so that they would move out or starve to death. White men also took the Indians’ lands, forcing them to live somewhere else, when the Indians are used to roaming the earth; the land, hunting game, free with no boundaries. The red men were forced to adapt to the life of the white man, and lived in the cities, where it is chaotic, loud and confined. In conclusion, the article tells that all men are equal, and what happens to one happens to another, which is also what other people believe. To name a few : â€Å"Do not do unto others what you want others to do unto you.† (Confucius) and also the bible states, â€Å"Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.† (Romans 12:19 KJV) All men believe that there will be redemption to people who take advantage of other people for self-gain.

Msc. Management (FT) Essays

Msc. Management (FT) Essays Msc. Management (FT) Essay Msc. Management (FT) Essay Q1. Based on your own experience of traditional bookselling and your exploration of online bookselling, compare willingness-to-pay for books supplied by these two business models. In the US, the traditional bookselling had a market of about 26 million dollars in the year 1996 and had grown to about 33 million dollars in the year 2001.   It is growing at the rate of about 4.8 % per annum.   An average American citizen buys about 10 books a year in 1996.   Book buying usually increases during the weekends and during the fourth quarter of the year.   Usually individuals between the ages of 35 to 75, buy books. In the US, more than 50, 000 new titles are published every year.   However, people read both old and new releases.   When considering traditional bookstalls, it is important to take into consideration the publishers, wholesalers and the retailers.   One of the most popular publishers in the US is Simon Schuster (which hold a 11 % share of the market).   In recent years, many of the small publishers have been taken over by the larger ones as they were facing loses and it was increasingly becoming difficult to maintain relationships with writers and retailers.   In the traditional system of book vending, the publishers for bulk purchasers offer huge amounts of discounts to retailers and wholesalers.   Retailers are offered a discount of about 55 %, whereas wholesalers are offered a margin slightly above that.   However, there has been a lot of controversy in this regard, due to apparent favoritism.   Hence, many of tee publishers are now made to sign agreements with t he retailers and the wholesalers, regarding the amount of discounts that could be offered.   In the traditional system, the retailers and the wholesalers can return books to the publisher and they would get a full refund of the money.   However, it may be difficult to return the soft copies such as CD’s to get a credit on the amount.   The practice of returning the books to the publisher has developed as early as the depression period, in which retailers were guaranteed return of the unsold copies so that only the popular books could be kept on the shelves.   The number of return of books is rising gradually, as people want to read the new books and the best sellers.   In the year 1986, returns of the books were in the range of 15 to 25 % and in 1996 it rose to 30 %.   These books have to be recycled or sold through alternative ways with discounts. Baker and Taylor were one of the major wholesalers in the US and Ingram Books was another major wholesaler.   These wholesalers provided the retailers with discounts and volume-based purchases.   They acted as middlemen between the publisher and the retailer.   Although, the costs of services were slightly higher, they performed many functions for the convenience of the retailer and the publisher including speedy delivery, after sales services, free-services, cutting the gaps between the manufacturer and retailer, accepting feedback, etc. Retailers on the other hand have increasingly beginning to gain an important share in the market since the 1970’s.   The two largest chain stores in the US included Dalton and Waldenbooks.   There were several developments at the retail end of the book stores which really improved production of books and several other aspects including author profiles, wholesales, etc.   Supermarkets, malls and libraries began to be developed so that retailing could pick up.   One of the largest book chains stores in the US has been Barnes and Noble.   It employees about 20, 000 staff and had made sales of about 2.45 million dollars in the year 1996.   Barnes and Nobles remained as two separate store chains and were actually combined by Leonard Riggio in the year 1971.   The company has several stores in New York, Manhattan and Boston.   Barnes and Noble acquired Dalton chain of stores in 1985 for about 300 million dollars.   Barnes and Noble have also started with other busi nesses in the field of books.   They also have mail order book services and book clubs.   Barnes and Noble also set up shop in Canada, but it has major operations in the US.   The procurement of books for the malls and superstores of Barnes and Nobles has been centralized. Jeff Bezos had founded Amazon.com in the year 1995 and it reached sales of about 16 million dollars in the year 1996.   About 7600 employees were present in the organization in that year.   Amazon.com can reach much more people compared to Barnes and Noble, but it can sell only online, unlike Barnes and Noble.   Online booking selling seems to have one disadvantage over store book selling.   The customers in the stores are able to feel the book and read excerpts of the book.   In such a circumstance, they would be more interested in buying the book and would find the book its money’s worth.   With time, the internet is beginning to change, and many of the manufacturers are beginning to show case the product and actually permit the customer to sample it using the internet.   With the bookshelf model, it does seem that it would be costly to get the investment to setup the place, build shelves and get the logistics.   In comparison, an online store does not requir e much of investment and infrastructure.   The customer can access the online bookstore from almost any part of the world and can select the book.   The user would need only a computer, an Internet connection, and a membership username and within a short period of time the product would be delivered to the house. Willingness to pay is the maximum money the customer would be willing to pay for a product and it would demonstrate that the customer is concerned about the quality of the product; costs spend on the production and the good name of the product.   This characteristic varies from one individual to another and from one company to another.   Several characteristics play a major role including the quality, brand name, reputation, equity, etc.   Studies have shown that when the price of a product was lowered, below the willingness to pay, the customer is more likely to obtain the product.   The customer would obtain the product satisfactorily, if the price equals the willingness to pay.   The customer would not be happy if the price of the product is higher than the willingness to pay.   Barnes and Noble has a good reputation and has it stores located in various parts of the US.   The customers have a high willingness to pay for their products.   On the other hand, the will ingness to pay is lower for Amazon.com as the reputation and quality anticipated is not as high compared to Barnes and Noble.   Although people are paying more money for Barnes and Noble products, they feel they are obtaining more value for their money compared to Amazon.com.   Barnes and Noble is an older product and has a better reputation than Amazon.com.   People are more likely to trust Barnes and Noble.   In the US, Barnes and noble is a household name with several local stores.   On the other hand, Amazon.com is an online store. Q2. Assess Barnes Nobles response to the substitution threat from Amazon. How did Amazon respond and to what effect? When Amazon was launched in the year 1995, it was termed as the ‘Earths biggest river-Earths biggest bookstore’.   In the year 1995, the company ran it sales up to 0.5 million dollars, 16 million dollars in 1997 and 82 million dollars in the year 1997.   Amazon.com was eating into the sustainability of Barnes and Noble.   Substitution threat is a situation in which one player would be using an opportunity created by the vacuum left by the shortcomings or the deficiency of the other player.   The extent to which the opportunity exists depends on the characteristics of either player.   Amazon was using the deficiencies of Barnes and Noble to a great extent.   They were exploiting the limitations to store shopping and using the benefits of online business.   They were many ways in which Amazon were using the substitution threat such recombining, straddling, fighting, harvesting, etc.   However, Barnes and Noble began to attack Amazon’s online strategy in January 1997.   The company went online and offered the customers huge discounts for online hardcover and paperback versions (up to 30 %).   At the same time it also filed a litigation against Amazon.com for having the slogan â€Å"Earth’s biggest bookstore’, when it was actually not.   It wanted to launch an all-round offensive against Amazon.   Barnes and Noble felt that Amazon was not a bookseller but a book broker.   Using the substitution threat again, Barnes and Noble wanted to dominate the online book market.   Barnes and Noble wanted to become the leader in online bookselling by displacing Amazon within a period of two years.   They felt that online business offered much greater opportunities, as people could not find a bookstore with a variety. People from even other countries could do online shopping and improve the sales of the company.   The investment over infrastructure and setting up a shop was much higher compared to a bookstore compared to online shopping.   People, who did not have the time to search for a bookstore, could now do it setting in the comfort of their homes.   This seemed to be one of the greatest advantages of online shopping.   Through online shopping, the books could be advertised and marketed and this could really boost sales.   Barnes and Noble operated a sorting facility in Jamesburg, and slowly this facility began to expand.   They developed a very efficient strategy in comparison to Amazon, and claimed to bring the book to the customer much faster than what Amazon actually did.   However, the operations of both, Barnes and Noble and Amazon were similar.   Barnes and Noble also created better web features compared to Amazon.   They also separated out the online operations from the bookstore in order to evade tax.   At the back end of the operations, Barnes and Noble also tried to establish relations with the publishers and the wholesalers.   One advantage the company had observed was that the operations were much lesser compared to a standard bookstore as infrastructure costs were saved.   Barnes and Noble soon began to offer to the online customers, books at the wholesale or warehouse rates.   The company also offered several services.   Many people felt that the services offered by Barnes and Noble were much similar to that offered by Amazon.   The software tool of Barnes and Noble was much superior to that of Amazon.   The company permitted the customers to store personal data and also buy the books very easily.   They also signed up with several Internet organizations such as AOL and the New York Times to provide extra services.   AOL provided software and news services. Once Barnes and Noble actually entered into the online market, Amazon began to feel the heat and suggested breakthrough measures for the customers in order to increase their sales.   They offered higher discounts to the customers (up to 40 %) and added more than a million titles to the online book collections.   They also offered personalized services so that the customer could use the software and select books according to their personal preferences.   They also developed ties with several software giants such as Yahoo, Excite and AOL.com.   The company developed a very strong advisement and publicity strategy so that the public could select its products compared to that of Barnes and Noble. The services provided by Barnes and Noble were much similar to that of Amazon but some of these services were different in nature.   Barnes and Noble were also trying to imitate the business of Amazon by using a successful business model.   By collaborating with some of the website with which Barnes and Noble also had combined.   As Barnes and Noble offered personalized services, it could be combined to the Harvesting model of substitution. Barnes and Noble also tried develop a website much richer than that of Amazon.   Barnes and Noble also began to involve the operations of the book supply system so as to improve the online strategy.   The software technology utilized by Barnes and Noble was also much superior to that of Amazon.   During the initial period Barnes and Noble failed to draw in huge customers. I do feel that the marketing strategy played by Barnes and Noble to launch its product was not very effective.   It was able to achieve its objectives only to some extent.   Amazon had its name already established in the online book market.   They were seeking to make relationships with the customers and improve their business further.  Ã‚   Although Amazon had already established itself in the market, Barnes and Noble were eating up its share. Q3. Considering both Barnes Nobel and Amazon, how sustainable will their respective business models be in the future? Who will be the online leader? Give reasons. Sustainability of a business is threatened by imitation, substitution, holdup and slack.   The added value of the business is threatened by imitation and substitution.   The added values cannot be used to obtain the benefits if holdup and slack threats are present.   In fact holdup may divert the benefits to the suppliers and the customers.   Several factors are present in the market, which would help to determine the ability to attract.   These five factors that may be present include: threat from several new comers, rivalry between the competitors, ability of the buyers to bargain or demand more, strength of the suppliers in the market, and the substitution threat (such as changes in technology).   Porter, an American Aeronautical engineer to determine the competitive strength of a business and to evaluate its market position, framed these factors or forces.   The Porters five-force analysis is frequently utilized with other management tools such as SWOT analysis and PEST analysis to determine the strategy a company should be following.   Companies can also develop business decisions and plan investment according to the Porters analysis (Chapman, 2005). The new entrant in the field on online bookselling was Amazon.com.   It began to be functional in the year 1996.   It had sales of about 150 million dollars in the year 1997.   It had also developed huge amount of losses in the year 1996 and 1997.   Bezos had actually developed Amazon.com keeping in mind the potential of the Internet.   Jeff Bezos was also found of the bookselling business, and seeking the huge potential of the Internet.   He founded the Amazon.com Inc, and had a stake of about 41 %.   He was much fascinated with online trading in other fields and soon began to employ it for book selling.   He developed the slogan Earths biggest river-Earths biggest bookstore to describe his bookstore.   Amazon developed a virtual storehouse, which was catering to its online operations.   This was located in Seattle. The company on purpose did not offer huge amount of graphics to the users on its website as it felt that the speed of downloading would be reduced. The competitors of Amazon.com in the field of online bookselling were Barnes and Noble.   This was basically following the slogan â€Å"Earths biggest bookstore, which it strongly opposed and brought about a lawsuit.   The first thing that Barnes and noble did was to have litigation against Amazon.com for using this slogan.   Barnes and Noble claimed that Amazon was a mere agent that was passing on the books to the public.   The company began to offer huge amounts of discounts that bought books from them online.   About 20 % discount was offered for the paperback versions and 30 % for the hardbound versions.   The company initially planned to become the top online bookseller within a period of two years.   Barnes and Noble developed its own sorting out facility for Internet orders at Jamesburg.   They started to compete with Amazon.com in beating them out in promptly serving the customers with the orders.   They were able to delivery the orders faster to the custom ers, but their charges were similar to that of Amazon.com.   The graphics of the website that belonged to Barnes and Noble was much more esthetically pleasing compared to Amazon.com.   The site began to provide with personalized services.   The company claimed that it did not have to pay much for initiating online operations.   Barnes and Noble worked in collaboration with AOL.com.   This company was providing several online services to its customers.   It had provided great software support to Barnes and Noble.   It also collaborated with The New York Times in providing a book review. The buyers are the people who actually purchase the books from the booksellers. They would be looking at several benefits they would be having from the company which include the costs of the books, marketing, advertisement, brand name, services provided, reputation, delivery time, discounts provided, range of after sales services, etc.   The education level, nationality and intelligence of the buyers play a major role in determining the book company they would be selecting.   Even Bill Gates was one of Amazon’s customers, and it felt that the website offered a huge collection within a very short period of time.   The online services offered by Amazon were very user friendly.   The company also provided several online services to the buyers such as information of the books, interview with the writers, etc.   Barnes and Noble went to provide a discount for the buyers.   The felt that the customers ha a huge benefit over Internet shopping.   They could save time and also access the Internet as per their time of convenience.   Even international customers were benefited through the online business model.   Amazon was able to offer greater amount of discounts to the customer and also seemed to have a larger online collection compared to Barnes and Noble. The fourth factor is the suppliers that provide the books to the online booksellers.   Ingram and Doubleday supply Amazon and Barnes and Noble has its own warehouse for supplies.   The booksellers should be able to obtain the logistics within a very short period and should be able to supply the customer immediately.   In an online shopping model, it is very important to answer to the demands of the customer immediately. The fifth factor is the substitution threat.   According to this threat one player would be filling up the deficiency created by another.   In this case, Amazon had left a very small gap, and Barnes and Noble were effective in filling this gap.   It provided the customers with discounts, and faster delivery times.   Besides, it was able to provide the customers with a more appealing website and personalized services. With relation to the online leader, I do feel that Amazon.com is more likely to be an online leader in book sales.   Amazon.com was the first to start with the concept of online book selling.   It was able to setup global or international customers much earlier than Barnes and Noble.   Although, they cannot be termed has having a bookstore, they are turning out to be good agents, providing highly specialized services to the customers.   The online collection and options that Amazon.com is providing is much larger as that compared to Barnes and Noble.   It is also providing greater amount of discounts compared to Barnes and Noble.   Amazon.com is exclusively an online vendor but Barnes and Noble is a bookstore vendor, which has recently extended its services online.   As Amazon provides its customers with other online services (shopping of other products), it could provide several other benefits to its customers.   The customers could also buy other products from its w ebsite.   Hence, on the whole, Amazon.com is more likely to provide a greater range of services compared to Barnes and Noble.   As Amazon does not have any offline trading, it is more flexible to incorporate changes than Barnes and Noble.   Hence, they are more likely to adapt to changes in the market.   Amazon would also be spending less money on infrastructure and hence is in a better position to offer discounts to the customers and at the same time make profits.

Pope Urban II Odo of Lagny

Pope Urban II Odo of Lagny Pope Urban II was known for beginning the Crusade Movement, instigating with his call to arms at the Council of Clermont. Urban also continued and expanded on the reforms of Gregory VII, and helped the papacy become a stronger political unit. Urban studied at Soissons and then at Reims, where he became archdeacon, before becoming a monk and retiring to Cluny. There he became prior, and after only a few years was sent to Rome to assist Pope Gregory VII in his attempts at reform. He proved invaluable to the pope, and was made a Cardinal and served as a papal legate. Upon Gregorys death in 1085 he served his successor, Victor II ​until Victor died. He was then elected pope in March 1088, and influenced affairs throughout France, Italy, Europe, and the Holy Land. Also known as:  Odo of Chà ¢tillon-sur-Marne, Odon of Chà ¢tillon-sur-Marne, Eudes of Chà ¢tillon-sur-Marne, Odo of Lagery, Otho of Lagery, Odo of Lagny Important Dates Born: c. 1035Elected Pope: March 12, 1088Speech at Council of Clermont: Nov. 27, 1095Died: July 29, 1099 The Pontificate of Urban II As pope, Urban had to deal with the antipope Clement III and the ongoing Investiture Controversy. He was successful in asserting his legitimacy as pope, but his reform policies did not take thorough hold throughout Europe. He did, however, establish a softer stance on the Investiture Controversy that would later make a resolution possible. Long aware of the difficulties pilgrims had been having in the Holy Land, Urban used Emperor Alexius Comnenos call for help as the basis for calling Christian knights to arms in the First Crusade. Urban also called together several important church councils, including those at Piacenza, Clermont, Bari, and Rome, passing notable reform legislation. Sources Butler, Richard U.  Pope Bl. Urban II.  The Catholic Encyclopedia.  Vol. 15.  New York: Robert Appleton Company,  1912. Halsall, Paul. â€Å"Medieval Sourcebook: Urban II (1088-1099): Speech at Council of Clermont, 1095, Five Versions of the Speech.†Ã‚  Internet History Sourcebooks Project, Fordham University, Dec. 1997.

Writing Skills are learned, not inherited Research Paper

Writing Skills are learned, not inherited - Research Paper Example The organization through the relevant departments must therefore find out the ways of integrating this seamless workforce as this is a formidable and very important assignment. If such diversity is managed well and through proper strategies, the company is likely to soar higher and higher in terms of productivity and even growth. This is because the management of the resources of the company will be efficiently conducted and the efficiency in terms of operations will also go high. Competition on the global scale will also be enhanced as a result of proper management of such workforce (Graff & Birkenstein, 2006). Such management is much more than just the pay slip, it spills over to the general welfare management of such varied groups of people. It all depends on how the management bestowed with such a responsibility is able to bring together such a workforce in a manner that they are so much able to work together. First, the values of the differences must be well understood as this has the impact of improving innovation and creativity as opposed to sameness which does not provide an avenue for critical thinking. An avenue must be created where the varied groups of people are in the position of seeing different perspectives of doing the normal business of the company (Marzano & Paynter, 2004). The company must always ensure that its workforce is up-to-date with the current technology through constant training. These can be conducted by involving the employees in awareness sessions encouraging them to spend time reading and learning about diversity. These should be done in relation to how it would be helpful to the organization. Thirdly, the culture of the organization is particularly important as it has the ability of defining the direction of the company’s action plans (Graff & Birkenstein, 2006). The employees must always be made to think like the organization from the onset. Culture is meant to help success in a given environment. It is through

Criminal Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Criminal Law - Essay Example Finally, there is the possibility that the actions of the doctor in giving the wrong blood transfusion and taking Alan off of life support would break the chain of causation so that Derek would not be liable for homicide after all. Therefore there a number of possible offenses and a number of possible defenses here for Derek and the Doctor. What homicidal offences might Derek have committed? What are the potential difficulties with regards to mens rea and actus reas? First, did Derek cause death or great bodily harm to Alan? The answer to this is yes, so the actus reus for homicide has been established. Second, can we establish that Derek aimed to cause death or great bodily harm to Alan? If so, then the mens rea for homicide has been established.1 While, in this case, it would be a stretch to state that Derek aimed to kill Alan, it may be shown that he, in fact, did intend great bodily harm to Alan when he set fire to Alan’s flat. What is not known is whether Derek was aware that Alan was inside the flat or not. If Derek had thought that Alan was not in his flat, then it could conceivably be said that Derek did not form the proper mens rea for homicide, because, in that case, Derek would have only had the mens rea for arson and not homicide. On the other hand, if it could be shown that Derek was affirmatively aware that Alan was asleep in the flat, then it could be said that Derek did, indeed, intend to cause great bodily harm to Alan, and the mens rea would be established. At any rate, even if Derek is not responsible for homicide, he would probably be responsible for manslaughter, as one only has to prove, as the actus reus for manslaughter that a person intended an unlawful act to another person for manslaughter to be established. As Derek intended arson on Alan’s home, this could be said that Derek intended an unlawful act on Alan, so he would be guilty of manslaughter even if there is no mens rea for homicide.2 Moreover, the mens rea might b e negated by Derek’s intoxication.3 The test here is whether Derek was so intoxicated that he could not form the mens rea that is necessary to commit the homicide. The facts stated that Derek had quickly downed four vodkas. This would certainly make a person drunk, however, the actual crime occurred four hours after Derek drank these vodkas, so Derek was probably not still so intoxicated by vodkas that he could not form the mens rea for the act. That said, the facts also said that Derek was suffering blackouts before the incident, although it is unclear what is causing these blackouts. Therefore, this might be a case of diminished responsibility. The rule on that is there must be present an abnormality of the mind that substantially impairs his mental responsibility.4 This is a possibility – perhaps Derek is suffering from an abnormality that would cause him to perform criminal acts of which he was somehow unaware. If this is the case, then he would have a defence unde r this. What defences might Derek have to homicide? The first defence will be that of provocation. The elements of provocation are as follows 1) the loss of self-control must coincide with the killing;5 2) a reasonable person would react in the same manner.6 We also have to look at the reasonable person in