Swot South Beauty Essay Example for Free

Swot South Beauty Essay A SWOT Analysis is a tool that identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of an organization. This basic, straightforward model assesses what an organization can and cannot do as well as its potential opportunities and threats. The method of the SWOT analysis is to take the information from an environmental analysis and separate it into internal (strengths and weaknesses) and external issues (opportunities and threats). Once it is completed, SWOT analysis determines what may assist the firm in accomplishing its objectives, and what obstacles must be overcome or minimized to achieve the desired results. Strengths * Brand Strategy and positioning. The Group’s branding strategy focuses on brand differentiation to cater a wide range of customers. The newest brand of the group, SUBU focuses on innovative healthy food for younger and more fashionable office workers, the LAN Club is the luxury brand that targets the upper-class dining segment of successful businesspeople aged over 45 years, and South Beauty, the Group’s flagship brand that targets upper-middle class segment of businesspeople aged from 30 to 45 years. No competitor in the Chinese restaurant market has such brand format. Almost all of them operate their single brands without clear brand positioning so their brand image is quite inferior to the Group’s. * Consistent brand identities. The company has built consistent brand identities by launching some outdoor and print advertisement. The company also explore cooperation with certain international airlines, including Air France and KLM Royal Dutch airlines, to provide business travelers flying between China and Europe with South Beauty-branded Chinese dishes. * Innovation. The company is regarded as an innovative company, with 55 percent annual growth. The South Beauty restaurant also introduced several innovations and improvements with regard to traditional Sichuan food, not only in terms of new raw materials, but also the process of preparing the dishes and the customer experience. The Group developed a range of innovations with regard to Sichuan cuisine but also added certain Cantonese cuisine and other flavors to its menu. One of the group’s biggest and most ambitious innovations is the combination of Chinese and Western cuisine that breaks with tradition and creates original new flavors. It is the first Chinese restaurant to offer Chinese food in a western style, and the first to mix food presentation with artistic views. * Differentiation in cuisine. Some of the factors that make the Group’s cuisine different from others are the strict requirements placed on raw ingredients, the innovation on traditional cuisine, the exacting criteria placed on a dish’s nutritional value, and the strong emphasis on the visual appeal of each dish. * Location and Pricing. The Group’s restaurants are located in top-notch office buildings in key cities. Meals are also expensively priced to cover costs, but because of the brand’s reputation and image, consumers are willing to pay the high prices. This combination of high-end location and high pricing were helpful in developing the upper-middle class brand image. * Interior decoration and ambience. Each South Beauty restaurant had a different decor, designed by well-known artists in the field. It is Zhang Lan’s belief that people should come to the restaurant not only for the food but also for the ambience. * IT applications. Advanced IT applications enhanced the image of the restaurant and improve efficiency. For example, the Group built its own CRM system to record customer information and use that information to provide tailor-made services and make promotional communications. These IT applications give the Group an edge because they are quite innovative for the traditional Chinese catering industry as most restaurants remain committed to their old ways of operating their businesses. * People management. Zhang Lang was a firm believer that a dedicated workforce could overcome challenges pertaining to financial capital and market potential, so the Group strove to apply performance management techniques with regard to the management team. It also worked with a consulting firm to design a new people management system to motivate the staff. The group also initiated a large-scale training program for the staff. * Synergies. The use of the company’s central management to achieve synergies has caused the South Beauty Group to develop functional management expertise at its head office with a view to coordinating the management of its restaurants, all of this helps brainstorm ways to differentiate the Group from its competitors to capture market share. * Expansion. South Beauty Group is not only looking to expand further in China ut is also looking for an international presence. * Right target group. Because of the booming economy in China, the business meals had more potential than the other segments because they could absorb higher prices. These business-people were not satisfied with simple eating and drinking- they required more in terms of the restaurant’s environment or ambiance. These businesspeople are the target consumers of the South Beauty Group. * Leader in the niche market of high-end Chinese dinner: South Beauty’s share was more than 7%  Weaknesses * Ranking in the high-end Chinese dinner segment. Among the top 100 restaurant companies in China in 2007, 10 were in this segment, with the leader being Shanghai Jingiang (ranked 4) and Beijing Shunfeng (Ranked 18). South Beauty’s ranking was 72. * Poor diversity on types of cuisine. The high-ranked competitors focused on various Chinese cuisines, but South Beauty only focused on Sichuan cuisine, so it could not compete with these restaurants in terms of cuisine. * Fake Restaurants and inability to protect its brand. The most crucial issue for South Beauty was that of restaurants claiming to be South Beauty franchisees. In 2005, there were at least 16 â€Å"fake† restaurants in cities South Beauty has not penetrated. The imposters used the same Chinese name as South Beauty with one or two additional Chinese characters to attract innocent customers and provided them with poor service and atmosphere. The unhappy customers however, complained to the â€Å"real† South Beauty. This hurts the brand image and reputation of the Group. * Authenticity of Sichuan food. In cities with higher incomes (where South Beauty’s target customers are mainly located), consumers had more choices of restaurants and made selections based on word of mouth. 63 percent of consumers obtained restaurant information from word-of-mouth publicity, so while a restaurant review web site state that South Beauty promoted â€Å"Refined or Improved Sichuan Food†, in other places, such as Chengdu, the birth place of Sichuan food, customers were of the opinion that the Sichuan food offered by South Beauty was not as spicy as the original cuisine. Other did not view South Beauty as a genuine Sichuan food restaurant. If consumers were looking for authentic Sichuan food, after hearing these opinions on the street, they were more likely to pick another restaurant. * Inability to do things in a standardized way to cut down costs and improve efficiency. The management team did not halt their efforts to improve the Group’s operational efficiency through standardization, which was also the foundation for scaling up. * Minimal market share in the Chinese Restaurant Market. The market share in South Beauty in the total industry was less than 0. 1 percent. Opportunities * Expansion. The Group is seeking to expand its operations from the existing 20 restaurants in China to a total of 100 worldwide (35 in China and 65 in the international market) over the next three years. * Standardization. The standardization of the process of preparing the dishes is a big opportunity to increase efficiency and quality. * Entry into new businesses. The Group wants to diversify into business of partially cooked frozen foods for retail outlets and airline catering. The Group’s market share in the Chinese dinner category was an estimated 2 percent in 2006. There is great to room to increase this market share. * Ability to invest heavily in various elements, interior decorating being one of them. No competitor is able to invest so heavily. * Cuisine diversity. South Beauty only offers Sichuan cuisine. While a typical Chinese restaurant offers one or two cuisines, expa nding into more than 2 different cuisines could give the Group a source of differentiation. * Becoming an international brand. According to Zhang Lan â€Å" (†¦) Now is the time to expand. We have met success in China, and now we wish to build an international brand, which will have a presence in New York, Paris, London, Milan, Geneva, Tokyo and other important international cities of the world. † it is projected that the Group will have 30 restaurants in short term and 100 outlets in the next three years, of which 35 restaurants would be located in China and 65 in the international market in cooperation with strategic partners in Tokyo, New York, and other cities. Threats * Some competitors of South Beauty have been able to overcome the obstacle of production and prepare Chinese dishes in a standardized way faster than South Beauty, so they are able to cut down costs and realize bigger profits. * Belief among certain consumers that the Sichuan food that South Beauty serves is not authentic because this can cause consumers to search for more â€Å"authentic† options in competitors. * â€Å"Fake† South Beauty restaurants. They make the brand look bad and downsize the brand’s reputation and positioning. * With such large ideas for expansion, if the capital needed is not raised, this could pose a threat not only for future expansion but also for future growth in China. * Operational efficiency that needs to improve: the management team did not halt their efforts to improve the Group’s operational efficiency through standardization, which was also the foundation for scaling up. Each South Beauty restaurant carried 380 items on the main menu. Raw materials depended on local suppliers, and the quality of each dish relied on the experience of the chef. Although there was a team with three main chefs at the head office to develop new dishes and control the quality, the process of standardization is still in its beginning phase. If standardization is not achieved soon, the Group may lose some of its market share to competitors that do achieve it soon because they will be able to cut down costs that will translate into cheaper prices.

Case Analysis On Merloni Elettrodomestici Spa Economics Essay

Case Analysis On Merloni Elettrodomestici Spa Economics Essay Merloni Elettrodomestici SpA is an Italian company based in Fabriano and is one of Europes biggest makers of home appliances. In February 2005, Merloni Elettrodomestici was renamed Indesit Company, Indesit being the best known of the Groups brands outside Italy. The Company was also operating under its historic brand, Ariston, and the regional brands Hotpoint, Scholtes and Stinol. During the perio from 1984 to 1986, Merloni undertook a number of initiatives to improve efficiency in inventory control and logistics. One such initiative was the transit point experiment where in the Milano region, regional distribution centre was eliminated in favour of tranit points which held zero inventory. The following is an analysis of the Transit Point Experiment conducted by Merloni: Cost saving in terms of infrastructure cost of regional warehouses and their maintenance. The company would require lesser amounts of overall inventory to be maintained. As regional warehouses would be closed there would be lesser labor requirements. Transit Point methodology works similar to JIT where-in the required amount of goods are shipped at the required time. Since it works more on the Pull from the customer and due to elimination of regional warehouses, the effect of bullwhip should be lower. Because the regional warehouses will be eliminated, the capacity storage of the central warehouses should be expanded to meet the requirements of the extra Cycle inventory. This would come as an additional cost to the company. Intensive planning of daily shipment should be done. It is not only required to calculate the exact amount of goods to be shipped but also the arrangement of the goods (to eliminate time in loading/unloading activities). Because of this intensive planning more skilled administration staff would be required. If the customer does not order wihin 3pm, the delivery of the product would happen only after the second day. This can lower customer satisfaction. Since no inventory is maintained in near-by locations (as all goods come from central warehouse) if there is any excess demand or out of stock condition (for retailers), the goods will have to be fetched from central warehouse which would take a lot of time. This can lead to loss of goodwill with retailers especially those serving the rural markets. Demand variability is not easily supported by employing Transit Point methodology. If there is an urgent demand for goods in excess of truckload capacity then it can lead to huge additional cost. Another important point which is not mentioned in the case is the importance of the transportation medium. If any of the vehicles breaks-down it could lead to huge delays and pile up of demand. Merloni needs to keep some extra vehicle for a backup. It also needs to maintain the vehicles in good condition. The cost of this has not been accounted for. Since the experiment was carried out only in Milano a relatively smaller numbers of trucks (1 Trailer truck and 3 Small trucks) were required. If the Transit Point methodology is applied through-out Italy, Merloni will need to build up infrastructure and teams to coordinate the the movement of trucks and their transactions. In Merloni, it is the responsibility of the warehouse manager to manage and develop the customer relationship. If the warehouses are eliminated Merloni would still need additional office space for the warehouse managers who also act as Customer Relationship Managers. Another important question is where would Merloni keep the spare parts required for its service personnel. If these too are kept at the central warehouse it could lead to delay thus have a negative impact on the quality of service. The Merloni experiment was conducted when the weather was good. If the weather is bad near the central warehouse but alright in other areas where there is demand, then it can lead to delays. The cost of such delays would be large as Merloni would have to use extra vehicles to ensure the earliest delivery of all the goods once the weather becomes good. Quantitative Analysis: Now we shall look at a quantitative analysis of cost incurred by the company before and after using Transit Point methodology. The case is for region of Roma (information as per exhibit 10). (Ax) would represent cost incurred by using Pre-Transit Point methodology and (Bx) would denote cost incurred by using Transit Point methodology. Calculate the Average Volume/Month at the Regional Distribution Centre (RDC) in Roma. Assuming 20 working days in a month. Average daily demand served from regional warehouse = 154.8 pieces Average Volume/Month = Average daily demand x No of working days = 154.8 x 20 = 3096 pieces. Operating Cost at RDC From exhibit 10 of the case it can be seen that the operating cost at Roma is 3605 Lire/Piece/Month Average inventory levels at RDC = 1200 pieces (from Exhibit 8a) Total Operating Cost/Month at Roma RDC = Operating Cost/Piece/Month x Avg Inventory = 3605 x 1200 = 4326000 Lire Therefore, Operating Cost per piece sold = Total operating cost / No of pieces sold = 4326000 / 3096 = 1397.28 Lire (A1) As per the case, by using Transit Point methodology the Operating Cost has reduced to 20%. Therefore, New Operating Cost per piece sold = 20 % of original Total Operating Cost = 0.20 x 1397.28 = 279.45 Lire -(B1) Inventory Cost at RDC From exhibit 10 of the case it can be seen that the inventory cost at Roma is 1035 Lire/Piece/Month. Total Inventory Cost / Month = Invetory Cost/Piece/Month x Avg Inventory = 1035 x 1200 = 1242000 Lire Inventory cost per piece sold = Total inventory cost / No of pieces sold = 1242000 / 3096 = 401.16 Lire. (A2) Using the Transit Point methodology, zero inventory is maintained. Therefore, Inventory cost per piece sold = 0 Lire (B2) Short Haul Transportation Cost The short haul transportation cost is the cost of transporting goods from regional warehouse or transit point to retailers. This cost would be common for both pre and during Transit Point methodoly usage period Short Haul Transportation cost = 4300 Lire/Piece (A3),(B3) Long Haul Transportation Cost is the cost of transporting goods from the central warehouse to the regional warehouse or transit point. During the pre Transit Point period goods were transported from the central warehouse to the regional warehouses using trailer trucks. Total number of pieces to be shipped per month = 3096 pieces Capacity of one trailer truck = 120 pieces Therefore, Number of trailer trucks required = Total quantity / Capacity of trailer truck = 3096 / 120 = 25.8 trucks Distance between Roma and Fabriano = 165 Km approx. (source: http://www.distance-calculator.co.uk/distance-from-fabriano-to-rome.htm) From Exhibit 11, Cost of using a trailer truck for transport upto 165 Km = 0.36 Million Lire Therefore, Total transporation cost = Cost/Truck x No of trailer trucks = 360000 x 25.8 = 9288000 Lire Transportation cost per piece sold = Total transportation cost / No of pieces sold = 9288000 / 3096 = 3000 Lire (A4) In Transit Point methodology both trailer truck and smaller trucks can be used depending upon the lot size. Since the average daily demand is 154.8 pieces, a minimum of one trailer truck will have to be used every day. i.e. Total volume of goods carried by trailer trucks/month = No of trailer truck in a month x Volume carried by 1 trailer truck = 20 x 120 = 2400 pieces The remaining amount would be carried by smaller trucks. Volume to be carried by smaller trucks = 3096 -2400 = 696 pieces. Therefore, No of smaller trucks required per month = Volume carried by smaller trucks / Capacity of smaller truck = 696 / 45 = 16 trucks This means that in addition to trailer truck a smaller truck also needs to be done for 4 days in every week. From Exhibit 11, Cost of using a smaller truck for transport upto 165 Km = 0.2 Million Lire Total transportation cost = (Cost / Trailer truck x No of trailer trucks) + (Cost / Small truck x No of smaller trucks) = (360000 x 20) + (200000 x 16) = 10400000 Lire Transportation cost per piece sold = Total transportation cost / No of pieces sold = 10400000 / 3096 = 3359.17 Lire -(B4) Inventory cost at central warehouse Because the regional warehouses are going to be removed, some amounts of inventory will be moved to the central warehouse. Total inventory level at all 17 regional warehouses = 14330 pieces Assuming 50% of this is Cycle Stock and the remaining Safety Stock, the Cycle Stock (= 7165) will be moved to the central warehouse. Average Safety stock = 7165 / 17 = 421 pieces. Safety stock required at central warehouse as per Risk Pooling = 421 x à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã… ¡17 = 1735 pieces. Therefore, additional stock required at central warehouse = Safety stock + Cycle stock = 1735 + 7165 = 8900 pieces. Assuming inventory cost as those prevailing in Roma, the extra inventory cost at central warehouse = 8900 x 1035 = 9211500 Lire Additional inventory cost/month/piece sold = 9211500/(20*3096) = 148.76 Lire -(B5) Therefore, Total Cost incurred by the company before deploying Transit Point methodology = (A1) + (A2) + (A3) + (A4) = 1397.28 + 401.16 + 4300 + 3000 = 9098.44 Lire Total Cost incurred by the company by deploying Transit Point methodology = (B1) + (B2) + (B3) + (B4) + (B5) = 279.45 + 0 + 4300 + 3359.17 + 148.76 = 8087.38 Lire Therefore by using Transit Point methodology, Merloni has saved 1011.06 Lire. Now taking this Transit point experiment to India, we can make the following observations Geography The geography of India is different from Italy. India is equally wide in North- South and East West directions. The approximate width is ~3500Kms. This is very high compared to Italy. The towns and cities are farther apart compared to Italy. For a product like home appliances (refrigerator , washing machine , dish washer etc) the market is still in towns and cities in India. The road conditions are also not that good. This means the transportation time between cities will be more compared to Italy. Another point to consider is the demand in a town; this may not be enough to meet a truck load of products. Company will have to find a way to store the excess products which is not being supplied. See exhibit1 for details. Infrastructure Another option we can consider is to have a transit point method for big cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bangalore etc. We can have a transit point set up in outskirts of city and we can have small trucks to distribute units to retailers. This will help to free up or reduce the storage space in ware house in each city. But this again will depend on where you have the center ware house located and will be applicable only if ware house is in a days drive from the city. Also we can try this in states like Kerala where the towns are closer by. But even though this frees up inventory storage space, company may still have to have a small space to store items which dont get distributed or collected the same day. As given in Merloni case we will not be able to leave products in alley or plan to keep in sales office as space is a big constraint. As in Merloni case we may not be able to reuse the storage space for an exhibition house in the case of India, as the storage location is located in outskirts of city in most places. The market segment for home appliances is the people who stay in the city limits and will be reluctant to travel so much for buying a home appliance. Transportation The fuel price costs and spare parts costs will contribute to the transportation cost and will drive it higher. This in turn will result in a higher transportation cost per unit and will eat into the margins. This will be significant in case of a transit point experiment since the delivery is made per day. Another concern is the quality of service timely delivery and state of goods delivered. The time of delivery is very critical in the case of a transit point plan. The delivery to the hub should reach on time to ensure the timely delivery of goods to retailers. With the poor condition of roads and lack of service/repair support along the way, there is a significant risk associated with timely delivery. If a truck breaks down, it is definitely going to add half a day delay to the delivery. Inventory As explained in Infrastructure section, the transit point plan will help to reduce inventory held in big cities and move the same to central ware house location. This again may help company to close down its own Storage location in cities and use private/public warehouse option for the storage of minimal inventory in cities. Customer Service With the transit point plan, the timely delivery of goods in big cities will improve. This will make the retailers in this area happy. But if we try to implement this pan India, it will result in poor delivery times and dissatisfaction. The reasons for this are given above. Labor Cost There may not be any significant reduction in labor expenses, as company may have to get new systems in place to support the transit point plan for big cities. This will kind of compensate for the reduction in storage space cost we are getting in cities. Again we will also need people to take care of the transit point plan execution in big cities. Recommendation Based on the above analysis, below given are the recommendations to implement a transit point plan in India. Implement this plan only in big cities like Bangalore, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai ,Kolkata, Kerala etc. We can try out this experiment first in a big city like Mumbai and get learnings from there to improve the system and then fan it out to other cities. Another option to make this work is to have multiple large ware houses spread across the country so that every major city is located at a distance of 300-400Kms from the ware house. From this point we can try to run trucks to cities and do a delivery of products to retailers in the city and nearby areas in a 12Hr time frame. For e.g. We can collect distribution data from Tier II big cities like Ahmadabad , Bhopal , Allahabad ,etc. over a period of time and see if it any of the cities have enough demand to meet a truck load. We can also include the close by towns for this calculation. Based on this we can run a transit point distribution around those cities. See exhibit 2. The transit point plan will work well for a manufacturing line where the demand is more fixed than a home appliance store. This will work well as the factory have a well defined schedule on what products will be running in which Assy lines and for how long. In the case of a home appliance store the demand is driven high by a number of local factors like local holidays, local festivals, bonus pay out etc. For a diverse country like India these factors vary widely. A local festival is more limited to a local city or a town and may not be even applicable for the entire state. This makes it more difficult to forecast and plan. On a big picture the transit point plan in this format cannot be implemented pan India as it will result in delayed deliveries and low satisfaction levels. The poor infrastructure, widely spread cities, diverse culture and quality of transportation service all act as variables and makes forecast difficult and can cause a failure in the plan. Exhibit 1 Let us consider a case where the central ware house is located in Bhopal. The approximate distance to close by cities like is as given below. 1. Bhopal Ahmadabad 500Kms 2. Bhopal Allehabad 500kms 3. Bhopal New Delhi 700kms 4. Bhopal Patna 700kms In Indian road conditions we cannot expect a truck to cover more than 400Kms during night and to add to it there will be delays in check posts , for having dinner , traffic blocks etc. More issues will be there in rainy season winter. Hence it is clear that with a central ware house in Bhopal we will not be able to make a delivery to these cities on time. Exhibit 2 We can have ware house in Ahmadabad and use it to meet the demands of close by cities like Vadodara, Surat, and Gandhi Nagar etc. 1. Ahmadabad to Vadodara 100Kms 2. Ahmadabad to Surat 300kms 3. Ahmadabad to Gandhi Nagar 70kms 4. Ahmadabad to Udaipur 250kms. But before implementing this we need to do an ROI calculation to see whether this is viable or not.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde :: Picture Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde Essays

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde â€Å"Like the painting of a sorrow, A face without a heart.† - Hamlet When I went to the movies, I didn’t expect to be so intrigued by the characters that I would want to read about them individually. â€Å"The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen† had many interesting characters: Mena the vampire, Alan Quartermain the hunter, Skinner the invisible man, Nemo the pirate, Dr. Jekyll the scientist, Tom Sawyer of the CIA, and Dorian Gray the immortal. Out of all the characters, Dorian Gray seemed to have the most interesting story to tell. I didn’t know anything about the book, but when I went to the book store, I asked for anything about Dorian Gray that they might have. I was both embarrassed and surprised when the lady picked out several books and asked which one I wanted. The Picture of Dorian Gray was the story of a man who starts out as an innocent, loving boy, but then he made the â€Å"Devil’s Bargain-- the exchange of one’s external soul for extreme but, alas, temporary gratification.† His sins, pa in, and suffering go into a painting of himself made by his friend, Basil Hallward. Lord Henry Wotton was the older man who began corrupting Dorian and made him more vain and cynical. A big part of the story was the relationship between Dorian and his cursed painting, and I believe the painting has more than one meaning in this book. The first thing the painting reminded one of was a drug addict and his drug. After Dorian brought the painting home and realized that it was aging and he wasn’t, he hid it under a screen. Eventually, he hid it away in a locked room because his servants were curious as to why he had kept it covered. Yet, even though he was ashamed of it, he kept going into the room to study the portrait, such as an addict going back for more supplies.

The Important Role of Transcendentalism in American History Essay

The Important Role of Transcendentalism in American History In 1830, a movement known as Transcendentalism began to gain popularity in America. Representing an idealistic system of thought, "strength, courage, self-confidence, and independence of mind"1 were some basic values admired by the followers of the Transcendental movement. Transcendentalists opposed many aspects of their government, where they felt "many unjust laws existed."2 Therefore, they became the leaders of many modern reform movements. Transcendentalists also had a major affect on their society. Transcendentalism became a "powerful force for democracy."3 Originating in the area in and around Concord, Massachusettes, Transcendentalism was recognized as having an "underlying relationship to the Romantic movement as a whole."4 Three of the most obvious or well known sources or origin of Transcendentalism are neo-platonism, German idealistic philosophy, and certain Eastern mystical writings which were introduced into the Boston area in the early nineteenth century."5 Transcendental beliefs focused on "the importance of spirit over matter."6 Ralph Waldo Emerson, a well known Transcendentalist, felt that "all men aspire to the highest, and most of them spend their lives seeking money and power only because they see nothing higher."7 Followers also believed in a spiritual hunger, or the need to find themselves one with the world. In addition, they believed in "an ascending hierarchy of spiritual values rising to absolute good, truth, and beauty."8 Transcendentalists also believed in a supreme being, the Oversoul, and felt that "if the Oversoul is all powerful and at the same time good, then evil does not exist."9... ...reconciled few of them."19 It was never united by a set program. Transcendentalism was comprised of the various interests and labors of many different personal concepts. Therefore, there were many conflicting values which made it an unsteady system to follow. At the time of the Transcendentalism movement, "it preached, practiced, an idealism that was greatly needed in a rapidly expanding economy."20 However, soon people began to find other, more comprehensible means of dealing within society. Therefore, they began to turn away from Transcendentalism. However, even though Transcendentalism is non-existent as a whole today, many of its ideas, values, and morals are still present in many of the religions and beliefs of today's society. In conclusion, Transcendentalism will always be present in the world, it just will not have as obvious a presence.

Death Penalty Essay -- essays research papers

Capital Punishment Capital Punishment: a.k.a. the death penalty. To kill or not to kill. This is an extremely controversial question in today’s society. The number of people who are for it still believe in the saying, â€Å" an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.† These are the people who feel if you intentionally take the life of someone else, then yours should be taken as well. But then there are the other number of people who feel the death penalty should be banned because of its cruel and unjust way of punishment. Should we keep it or not? And if it is kept, how do we determine who should be sentenced to death? An easy way to answer these questions is to totally nullify capital punishment completely. One reason why the death penalty is so controversial is because many feel its cruel ways of punishment are unnecessary, even if the crime is murder, whether it be premeditated or unintentional. They believe there are other ways of condemnation besides execution. In the case of an unintentional death feelings are that the perpetrators should have the right to live, but have to face each day with the fact that they killed someone weighing on their conscience. On the other hand, such as with a voluntary murder, the ideas are somewhat similar. They believe the murderer doesn’t deserve the death penalty. Chances are if a person is insane enough to kill another human being in the first place, they aren’t going to care what happens to them. They 2 realize that their execution, in most cases, is going to be short and painless. This isn’t a just punishment for someone who has inflicted severe pain upon another life. Our court system, after initiating a life sentence without parole, should not offer these killers the comforts they have in jail. They should be treated more or less like animals. In short, let the ones who institute a crime unwillingly live, but do not let the punishment be as severe as it would for a voluntary criminal. There are a vast number of people who believe that increasing the use of the death penalty will abate the crime rate. Not true. While a criminal is in the process of committing a crime, chances are that he is not contemplating what his punishment will be for his actions. More than likely his thoughts are upon getting what he wants, whether it be something tangible, such as money, or something as ... ... use of capital punishment will not affect the crime rate of an area in any such way. The third and possibly the most important reason why capital punishment should be eliminated is because what is stated in the Bible. The sixth commandment specifically says â€Å"Thou shalt not kill.† If someone is executed, our court system is deliberately defying our Lord’s laws. John 8:7 says, â€Å"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.† This supports the idea that only a man who is not a sinner has the right to eliminate someone from this Earth. Many feel the only person or being who is without sin is God. They also believe that He is the only existence who has the right to take someone’s life, or â€Å"cast the first stone.† Which in turn means we as humans are not entitled to that privilege. 3 The use of capital punishment in today’s society is an incredibly controversial issue which will require a great deal of contemplation to answer the questions: to kill or not to kill? Many feel that the annihilation of this practice will solve a large number of the problems and questions about the death penalty that haunt our society today. How did you find cheater.com? : friend

Business: International Trade and B. Technology

BUS100 Sample Exam 1 Student: 1. Which of the following organizations is an example of the goods-producing sector of the economy? A. Ford Motor Company B. Florida State University C. Children's Hospital D. H ; R Block Tax Consulting 2. Which of the statements about demography is most accurate? Demographic studies: A. focus on factors that have great political relevance, but little relevance to business firms. B. suggest that the number of two-income families will decline in the future. C. rovide business and individuals with insights into business and career opportunities of the future. D. are an important source of information about changes in weather and climate. 3. Public schools, charities and government agencies are not classified as businesses because they: A. have not been incorporated. B. do not seek to earn a profit. C. provide services rather than goods. D. do not have any stockholders. 4. In order to make an intelligent investment decision, entrepreneurs should: A. limit their options to those business investments that are backed by the U. S. government. B. nvest in businesses that have generated a stable rate of profit for at least the past ten years. C. invest only in business opportunities where it is possible to take an active role in management. D. compare the risks of potential investments to their expected profits and find the right balance between profit and risk. 5. Which of the following entails the greatest amount of risk? A. Working for the government. B. Working for a large business. C. Working for a small business. D. Starting a business. 6. Which of the following policies would tend to foster entrepreneurship? A. establishing a currency that is tradable on world markets. B. establishing more regulations to protect the environment. C. developing policies to reduce corruption between individuals. D. allowing public ownership of businesses.7. When businesses sell to other businesses over the Internet, these transactions are known as: A. B2C transactions. B. e-wholesale transactions. C. B2B transactions. D. intermediate e-commerce transactions.8. Which of the following is an advantage of utilizing technology? A. Technology increases the cost of production. B. Technology reduces the need for a marketing plan. C. Productivity increases. D. Management becomes isolated from the demands of stakeholders.9. All around the world, countries are trying to create more wealth by: A. raising taxes. B. selling government-owned businesses to private individuals. C. restricting trade with other countries in order to protect local busine sses. D. attempting to attain more gold through foreign trade.10. ___________ means producing items with the least amount of resources. A. Efficiency B. Technology C. E-production D. Productivity11. In the nation of Equalia, many businesses are privately owned, but the government owns some of the basic businesses and has developed many social programs designed to promote social equality. The economy of Equalia would be considered an example of: A. pure capitalism. B. socialism. C. mercantilism. D. communism.12. __________ unemployment refers to those people who have quite work because they didn't like the job, the boss, or the working conditions and who haven't yet found a new job. A. Frictional B. Structural C. Cyclical D. Seasonal13. One benefit of the rights and freedoms of capitalism is that: A. people feel safe and don't take any risks in business. B. people are willing to take more risks than they would otherwise. C. eople don't have to choose where they will work. D. the pric es of needed products are always very low.14. __________ unemployment refers to unemployment caused by the restructuring of firms or by a mismatch between the skills of job seekers and the requirements of available jobs. A. Frictional B. Structural C. Cyclical D. Seasonal15. Which of the following statements provides the most accurate comparison of socialism and communism? A. Under socialism the government owns most businesses, while under communism the church owns most businesses. B. Both socialism and communism want to achieve a more equal distribution of income and wealth, but under communism the government takes more control over people's lives. C. Socialism strives for an equal distribution of income but communism wants income to go primarily to those who own and operate private businesses. D. Communism believes that the government should always strive to balance its budget, while socialism accepts deficit spending as the price of achieving true equality.16. A collapse in the n ational banking system of Lasia has resulted in a condition where prices are actually declining. This condition is known as: A. disinflation. B. deflation. C. contra inflation. D. overproduction.17. One of the most significant problems faced by communist economies is: A. a great inequality in the distribution of wealth and income. B. severe inflationary pressures due to rapid economic growth. C. too little government regulation of economic activity. D. persistent shortages of basic goods such as food and clothing.18. Thomas Malthus was pessimistic about the ability of societies to achieve high standards of living for most of their citizens because he believed that: A. the government had a natural tendency to run deficits that would eventually bankrupt the country. B. population growth would result in shortages of food and resources. C. owners of businesses would deliberately exploit their employees in an attempt to earn greater profits, and this would ultimately lead to a worker's r evolt. D. high tax rates would eventually undermine people's incentives to work hard and create wealth.19. Which of the following statements about the Federal Reserve System (the Fed) is most accurate? A. The Fed is an agency of the U. S. Treasury Department that has the responsibility of collecting tax receipts for the IRS. B. The Fed manages the U. S. money supply and interest rates. C. The Fed is the primary government agency involved in carrying out our nation's fiscal policies. D. The Fed is the agency of the government that ensures the U. S. maintains enough gold reserves to pay any foreign debts that result from international trade.20. The nation of Nadiria is in the midst of a terrible economic downturn. The nation's GDP has been declining steadily for over five years and is now at its lowest level in over fifty years. Nadiria's unemployment rate is at an all time high and the nation's CPI is falling. Nadiria is experiencing a: A. period of stagflation. B. balance of trade d eficit. C. depression. D. retraction.21. Mortavia is a small nation that has followed protectionist policies for many years. Which of the following would be an example of a nontariff barrier established by Mortavia? A. Establishment of a tax levied on imported goods so that foreign products are more expensive than competing domestic goods. B. Establishment of a tax levied on imported goods designed primarily to raise money for the government. C. Establishment of restrictive quality standards requiring foreign firms to make expensive modifications in their products before they can be sold in Mortavia. D. Participation in the Uruguay Round of GATT negotiations.22. The two basic types of tariffs are: A. goods and services. B. general and limited. C. comparative and absolute. D. revenue and protective.23. __________ is an arrangement whereby someone with a good idea for a business sells the rights to use the business name and sell a product or service to others in a given territory in a specified manner. A. Franchising B. Contract manufacturing C. Import trading D. Export trading24. The difference between money coming into a country (from exports) and money leaving the country (for imports) plus money flows from other factors such as tourism, foreign aid, and military expenditures is referred to as the: A. balance of payments. B. balance of trade. C. balance of money flows. D. exchange rate.25. The largest importer in the global market today is: A. Japan. B. Russia. C. Germany. D. the United States.26. The emerging nation of Lancerland has enacted a tariff on imported petroleum in order to raise money for their new government. This trade restriction is an example of a(n) ________ tariff. A. revenue B. rotective C. percentage D. fixed27. A Mexican firm has agreed to trade petroleum to an American importer in return for U. S. made computers. This arrangement is an example of: A. a letter of credit arrangement. B. a nontariff trade. C. arbitrage. D. barter.28. The â €Å"second wave† of offshore outsourcing refers to: A. moving jobs to South America in addition to China. B. moving skilled service jobs such as those in accounting offshore. C. moving jobs to India in addition to China. D. moving manufacturing jobs offshore.29. One advantage of free trade is: A. jobs are shifted to low-wage global markets. B. service jobs are moved overseas. C. advanced production operations are built in low-wage countries. D. innovation for new products occurs and keeps firms competitively challenged.30. Casey is typical of many U. S. businesspeople. Casey feels the U. S. culture should be the model for the rest of the world, and that the â€Å"American way† of doing things is the best. Casey is guilty of: A. ethnic plagiarism. B. ethnocentricity. C. culture shock. D. counter culture.31. After developing a code of ethics, it should be communicated to: A. everyone with whom the business has dealings. B. the Attorney General in jurisdictions where the business has operations. C. all levels of management. D. stockholders.32. Management and employees at Boyer Enterprises are given time off each year to work in local charities. This firm clearly practices: A. corporate philanthropy. B. social irresponsibility. C. community mediation services. D. participative funding.33. A friend offers to share with you a term paper she prepared for her Introduction to Business class last semester. When you tell her that it wouldn't be fair, she reminds you of your habit of reading an entire Harry Potter book at the local bookstore without paying for the book. Which ethics-based question would be the most helpful in evaluating these situations? A. Is it legal? B. Am I acting fairly? C. Who wins and who loses? D. Will I get caught?34. Environmental quality is considered to be a public good. This means that: A. ultimately it is the public that pays for environmental clean up. B. businesses have a responsibility to minimize their environmental polluti on. C. everyone enjoys a cleaner environment regardless of who pays for it. D. society places a higher value on private goods and services.35. The first step when facing an ethical dilemma is to ask: A. â€Å"Is it legal? † B. Is it balanced? † C. â€Å"How will it make me feel about myself? † D. â€Å"Is it ethical? â€Å"36. When working with international firms, U. S. businesses: A. tend to ignore the ethics of their international partners. B. expect socially responsible behavior from their business partners. C. feel that their responsibility is limited to the United States. D. try to avoid judging our international business partners by U. S. standards.37. Which of the following is the most important step to help improve America's business ethics? A. middle management support B. training C. enforcement D. identification of the organizational ethics officer38. The danger in writing new laws to correct behavior is that: A. people may begin to think that any be havior that is within the law is acceptable. B. people will see the difference between ethics and legality. C. legal behavior will reflect the totality of people's proper relations with one another. D. there will not be enough jails to house those who break the law.39. Critics of corporate social responsibility view spending money on CSR as: A. a necessary evil. B. stealing from investors. C. important for America. D. moving toward capitalism.40. Obeying the law is ________ ethical behavior. A. essentially the same as B. the first step towards C. the opposite of D. unlikely to lead to41. One of the newest items on the Cajun Cookin' menu is a spicy Cajun-burger. Sondra was quite surprised to learn that how she made this burger was regulated by the: A. Federal Trade Commission. B. Food and Drug Administration. C. Federal Nutritional Association. D. State Board of Food Examiners.42. One of the reasons you bought your mom a name-brand mixer for Mother's Day was that it came with a full warranty. This means that: A. the mixer is guaranteed to last for 10 years with normal use. B. the mixer will make wonderful baked goods as well as pasta. C. the mixer will be repaired or replaced at no charge if it is defective. D. only the motor is covered by the mixer manufacturer.43. One result of deregulation in the airline industry has been: A. less intense competition. B. increase aviation related fatalities. C. higher prices for consumers. D. lower prices for consumers.44. You agree to sell your car to your neighbor for $5,000. You and your neighbor have provided each other: A. duress. B. consideration. C. an endorsement. D. an expressed warranty.45. Which of the following do school districts utilize to generate needed funding? A. sin tax B. sales tax C. property tax D. income tax46. The remedy for a tort is: A. imprisonment. B. a breach of contract. C. bankruptcy. D. monetary compensation.47. Which of the following protects the original work of authors and artists (i. e. , their books, photos, or cartoons)? A. a trademark B. a copyright C. the Uniform Commercial Code D. a patent48. The Griggs v. Duke Power Company (1971) case established a precedent on the need to use job-related tests in employment practices. Similar court cases have been decided based on this decision. This is an example of: A. common law. B. statutory law. C. administrative law. D. criminal law.49. Which of the following is a requirement for commercial paper to be considered a negotiable instrument? It must: A. be signed in approval by a third party. B. contain a conditional promise to pay. C. be a promise to pay a specified amount of money. D. be an oral agreement between two or more parties.50. In which of the following does the creditor start legal procedures? A. debtor initiatives B. voluntary bankruptcy C. involuntary bankruptcy D. creditor restructuringBUS100 Sample Exam 1 Key 1. (p. 20)A 2. (p. 16)C 3. (p. 7)B 4. (p. 4-5)D 5. (p. 8)D 6. (p. 12)A 7. (p. 14)C 8. (p. 13)C 9. p. 12)B 10. (p. 13)A 11. (p. 41)B 12. (p. 47, figure 2. 6)A 13. (p. 36)B 14. (p. 47, figure 2. 6)B 15. (p. 42)B 16. (p. 47)B 17. (p. 42)D 18. (p. 31)B 19. (p. 51)B 20. (p. 49)C 21. (p. 76)C 22. (p. 75-76)D 23. (p. 67)A 24. (p. 64)A 25. (p. 60)D 26. (p. 76)A 27. (p. 74)D 28. (p. 81)B 29. (p. 62; figure 3. 2)D 30. (p. 71)B 31. (p. 97)A 32. (p. 99-100)A 33. (p. 92)B 34. (p. 106)C 35. (p. 92)A 36. (p. 108)B 37. (p. 97)C 38. (p. 90)A 39. (p. 99)B 40. (p. 90)B 41. (p. 585, figure A. 4)B 42. (p. 579)C 43. (p. 588)D 44. (p. 580)B 45. (p. 584)C 46. (p. 576)D 47. (p. 578)B 48. (p. 574)A 49. (p. 580)C 50. (p. 586)C

The Separation of Religion from School

Probably no single movement so greatly affected colonial America than the protestant reformation. Most of the eurpeans who came to America were protestants, but there were many denominations. Lutherans from Germany settled in the middle collonies along with Puritans and Presbyterians. The reormation placed great emphasis on the written word. Sectarian schools were needed to promte the growth of each religious sect. Luther's doctrines made it necessary for boys and girls to learn to read the scriptures. While the schools that the colonies established in the 17th century in New England, southern and middle colonies differed from one another, reflecting a concept of schooling that had been left behind in Europe. Most poor children learned through apprenticeship and had no formal schooling at all. Where public school systems existed in European countries such as france and gemany, they were dual systems. When a child of the lower and middle class finished his elementary schooling he could go on to a vocational school. The upper class child was tutored for nine years and then went to a secondary latin school. The purpose of the latin school was to prepare for a university, from which he could emerge as a potential leader for his country. With the American education system there was chance to climb the social ladder. Those who did go to elementary school were taught reading,writing, math and religion. Learning consisted of memorizing stimulated by whipping. The first textbook the New England Primer was America's own contribution to education. Used from 1609 until the beginning of the 19th century, its purpose was to teach both religion and reading. the child learning the letter A for example also learned that † In Adams fall, We sinned all. † As in Europe schools were strongly influenced by religion. This was also true of schools in the New England area settled by Puritans. Like the Protestants of the Reformation who established vernacular elementary schools in germany in the 16th century the Puritans sought to make education universal. They took the first steps toward government supported education in the colonies. The â€Å"Old Deluder Satan Act† passed in 1647 by puritans in Massachusetts requirded every child be taught to read. Puritan or not all of the colonial schools had clear cut moral purposes. Skills and knowledge were considered important to the degree that they served religious ends and trained the mind. Early schools supplied the students with moral lessons not just reading writing and math. Obviously the founders saw it necessary to apply these techniques so that students learned particular values. The Industrial revolution began in europe and spread to America a few decades later. One effect of the change from an agricultural to industrial economy was the demand for schools to train students for the workforce. Vocational and industrial education better supplied students with the knowledge to enter a career rather than religious studies. The vocational value of shop work was considered part of general education. The need for skilled workers and the demand for high school education for those not bound for college caused manual training to gain speed. Educaton was coalled upon to meet the needs of employers. Practical content was in competition with religious concerns. Vocational education was more significant in the middle colonies beacuse the land wasn't very fertile. people had to look for work other than farming. The academy that Franklin founded in 1751 brought education closer to the needs of everyday life. Subjects were more practical seeing how business and industry was driving the economy. Religious classes could not pay the bills or make a living.