Wolfgang wazart Essay Example For Students

Wolfgang wazart Essay Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was conceived in Salzburg in Austria, the child ofLeopold, Kapellmeister to the Prince-Archbishop ofSalzburg. By the age of three he could play the piano, and he wascomposing when he was five; minuets from this periodshow noteworthy comprehension of structure. Mozarts senior sister Maria Anna(best known as Nannerl) was likewise a skilled keyboardplayer, and in 1762 their dad took the two wonders on a shortperforming visit, of the courts at Vienna and Munich. Energized by their gathering, they set out the following year on a longertour, including fourteen days at Versailles, where thechildren charmed Louis XV. In 1764 they showed up in London. HereMozart composed his initial three orchestras, under theinfluence of Johann Christian Bach, most youthful child of Johann Sebastian, wholived in the city. After their arrival to Salzburg therefollowed three excursions to Italy somewhere in the range of 1769 and 1773. In Rome Mozartheard a presentation of Allegris Misere; the score ofthis work was firmly protected, yet Mozart figured out how to translate the musicalmost consummately from memory. On Mozarts firstvisit to Milan, his show Mitridate, r di Ponto was effectively produced,followed on a resulting visit by Lucia Silla. Thelatter gave indications of the rich, full arrangement that portrays his laterA excursion to Vienna in 1773 neglected to deliver the court arrangement that bothMozart and his dad wanted for him, yet didintroduce Mozart to the impact of Haydn, whose Sturm und Drang stringquartets (Opus 20) had as of late been distributed. We will compose a custom exposition on Wolfgang wazart explicitly for you for just $16.38 $13.9/page Request now The impact is clear in Mozarts six string groups of four, K168-173, and in hisSymphony in G minor, K183. Another outing in searchof support finished less joyfully. Joined by his mom, Mozart leftSalzburg in 1777, going through Mannheim toParis. Be that as it may, in July 1778 his mom kicked the bucket. Nor was the outing a professionalsuccess: not, at this point ready to go for a wonder, Mozartsreception there was quieted and any expectations of an occupation came nothing. Back in Salzburg Mozart labored for a long time as a congregation organist for thenew diocese supervisor. His manager was less kindlydisposed to the Mozart family than his ancestor had been, however thecomposer regardless created a portion of his earliestmasterpieces. The well known Sinfonia concertante for violin, violo andorchestra was written in 1780, and the accompanying yearMozarts first extraordinary stage work, the show Idomeneo, was created inMunich, where Mozart additionally composed his Serenade for 13wind instruments, K361. On his arrival from Munich, notwithstanding, the hostilitybrewing among him and the diocese supervisor came to ahead, and Mozart surrendered. On conveying his abdication he was verballyabused and in the end, genuinely launched out from thearchbishops living arrangement. Without support, Mozart had to go up against the dangers of a freelanceexistence. At first his endeavors met with some achievement. He relocated to Vienna and in 1782 his show Die Entfhrung ausdem Serail (The surrender from the Seraglio) wasproduced in the city and cheerfully got. That year in Viennas StStephens Cathedral Mozart wedded ConstanzeWeber. Before long a while later he started a progression of membership shows atwhich he played out his piano concertos andimprovised at the console. The greater part of Mozarts extraordinary piano concertos werewritten for these shows, incorporating those in C,K467, A, K488 and C minor, K491. In these concertos Mozart brought tothe classification a solidarity and decent variety it had not hadbefore, consolidating intense musical wealth with sections of subtleIn 1758 Mozart devoted to Haydn the six string groups of four that now bearHaydns name. Remembering for this gathering are the quartetsknown as the Hunt, which utilize chasing calls, and the Dissonance,which opens with a scary progression of dissonantchords. Overpowered by their quality, Haydn admitted to LeopoldMozar t, Before God and as a genuine man I let you know thatyour child is the best author known to me either face to face or byname. The pieces are coordinated in greatness in Mozartschamber music yield just by his String Quintets, exceptional among whichare those in C, K515, G minor, K516 and D,Also in 178

Quantization process

Quantization process Quantization is a procedure of mapping an unending arrangement of scalar or vector amounts by a limited arrangement of scalar or vector amounts. Quantization has applications in the regions of sign handling, discourse preparing and Image preparing. In discourse coding, quantization is required to decrease the quantity of bits utilized for speaking to an example of discourse signal there by the bit-rate, unpredictability and memory necessity can be diminished. Quantization brings about the misfortune in the nature of a discourse signal, which is bothersome. So a trade off must be made between the decrease in bit-rate and the nature of discourse signal. Two kinds of quantization methods exist they are: scalar quantization and vector quantization. Scalar quantization manages the quantization of tests on an example by test premise, while vector quantization manages quantizing the examples in bunches called vectors. Vector quantization expands the optimality of a quantizer at the expense of expanded computational multifaceted nature and memory prerequisites. Shannon hypothesis expresses that quantizing a vector will be more powerful than quantizing singular scalar qualities as far as unearthly mutilation. As per Shannon the component of a vector picked extraordinarily influences the exhibition of quantization. Vectors of bigger measurement produce better quality when contrasted with vectors of littler measurement and in vectors of littler measurement the straightforwardness in the quantization isn't acceptable at a specific piece rate picked [8]. This is on the grounds that in vectors of littler measurement the connection that exists between the examples will be lost and the scalar quantization itself obliterates the relationship that exists between progressive examples so the nature of the quantized discourse sign will be lost. In this way, quantizing associated information requires procedures that save the relationship between's the examples, such a strategy is the vector quantization method (VQ). Vector quantization is the disentangle ment of scalar quantization. Vectors of bigger measurement produce straightforwardness in quantization at a specific piece rate picked. In Vector quantization the information is quantized as coterminous squares called vectors as opposed to singular examples. In any case, later with the improvement of better coding procedures, it is made conceivable that straightforwardness in quantization can likewise be accomplished in any event, for vectors of littler measurement. In this proposition quantization is performed on vectors of full length and on vectors of littler measurements for a given piece rate [4, 50]. A case of 2-dimensional vector quantizer is appeared in Fig 4.1. The 2-dimensional district appeared in Fig 4.1 is called as the voronoi locale, which thus contains a few quantities of little hexagonal areas. The hexagonal areas characterized by the blue outskirts are called as the encoding districts. The green spots speak to the vectors to be quantized which fall in various hexagonal districts and the red dabs speak to the codewords (centroids). The vectors (green specks) falling in a specific hexagonal locale can be best spoken to by the codeword (red dab) falling in that hexagonal area [51-54]. Vector quantization procedure has become an incredible apparatus with the advancement of non variational structure calculations like the Linde, Buzo, Gray (LBG) calculation. Then again other than unearthly contortion the vector quantizer is having its own restrictions like the computational intricacy and memory prerequisites required for the looking and putting away of the codebooks. For applications requiring higher piece rates the computational intricacy and memory necessities increments exponentially. The square graph of a vector quantizer is appeared in Fig 4.2. Let be a N dimensional vector with genuine esteemed examples in the range. The superscript T in the vector means the transpose of the vector. In vector quantization, a genuine esteemed N dimensional info vector is coordinated with the genuine esteemed N dimensional codewords of the codebook Ci , the codeword that best matches the information vector with most minimal twisting is taken and the info vector is supplanted by it. The codebook comprises of a limited arrangement of codewords C=Ci,, where , where C is the codebook, L is the length of the codebook and Ci indicate the ith codeword in a codebook. In LPC coding the high piece rate input vectors are supplanted by the low piece rate codewords of the codebook. The parameters utilized for quantization are the line ghostly frequencies (LSF). The parameters utilized in the examination and union of the discourse signals are the LPC coefficients. In discourse coding the quantization isn't performed straightforwardly on the LPC coefficients, the quantization is performed by changing the LPC coefficients to different structures which guarantee channel dependability after quantization. Another explanation behind not utilizing LPC coefficients is that, LPC coefficients have a wide unique range thus the LPC channel effectively gets shaky after quantization. So LPC coefficients are not utilized for quantization. The option to LPC coefficients is the utilization of line ghastly recurrence (LSF) parameters which guarantee channel steadiness after quantization. The channel soundness can be checked effectively just by watching the request for the LSF tests in a LSF vector after quantization. In the event that the LSF tests in a vector are in the climbing or slipping request the channel security can be guaranteed in any case the chann el strength can't be guaranteed [54-58]. The rakish places of the underlying foundations of and gives us the line otherworldly frequencies and happens in complex conjugate sets. The line unearthly frequencies go from. The line otherworldly frequencies have the accompanying properties: Ø All the underlying foundations of and must lie on the unit circle which is the necessary condition for dependability. Ø The foundations of and are masterminded in a substitute way on the unit circle i.e., The foundations of condition (4.6) can be acquired utilizing the genuine root technique [31] and is The coefficients of conditions (4.6) and (4.7) are balanced thus the request p of conditions (4.6) and (4.7) get decreases to p/2. Vector quantization of discourse signals requires the age of codebooks. The codebooks are structured utilizing an iterative calculation called Linde, Buzo and Gray (LBG) calculation. The contribution to the LBG calculation is a preparation grouping. The preparation arrangement is the connection of a set LSF vectors got from individuals of various gatherings and of various ages. The discourse signals used to get preparing grouping must be liberated from foundation commotion. The discourse signals utilized for this reason can be recorded in sound evidence corners, PC rooms and open situations. In this work the discourse signals are recorded in PC rooms. By and by discourse information bases like TIMIT database, YAHOO information base are accessible for use in discourse coding and discourse acknowledgment. The codebook age utilizing LBG calculation requires the age of an underlying codebook, which is the centroid or mean acquired from the preparation succession. The centroid, so acquired is then splitted into two centroids or codewords utilizing the parting strategy. The iterative LBG calculation parts these two codewords into four, four into eight and the procedure will be proceeded till the necessary quantities of codewords in the codebook are gotten [59-61]. The stream outline of LBG calculation is appeared in Fig 4.3. The LBG calculation is appropriately actualized by a recursive strategy given beneath: 1. At first the codebook age requires a preparation arrangement of LSF parameters which will be the contribution to LBG calculation. The preparation succession is acquired from a lot of discourse tests recorded from various gatherings of individuals in a PC room. 2. Leave R alone the area of the preparation succession. 3. Acquire an underlying codebook from the preparation grouping, which is the centroid or mean of the preparation succession and let the underlying codebook be C. 4. Split the underlying codebook C into a lot of codewords and where is the base mistake to be gotten among old and new codewords. 5. Figure the contrast between the preparation succession and each of the codewords and let the distinction be D. 6. Split the preparation arrangement into two locales R1 and R2 relying upon the distinction D between the preparation succession and the codewords and. The preparation vectors closer to falls in the district R1 and the preparation vectors closer to falls in the locale R2. 7. Let the preparation vectors falling in the area R1 be TV1 and the preparation arrangement vectors falling in the district R2 be TV2. 8. Acquire the new centroid or mean for TV1 and TV2. Leave the new centroids alone CR1 and CR2. 9. Supplant the old centroids and by the new centroids CR1 and CR2. 10. Register the distinction between the preparation grouping and the new centroids CR1 and CR2 and Let the distinction be . 11. Rehash stages 5 to 10 until . 12. Rehash stages 4 to 11 till the necessary number of codewords in the codebook are gotten. Where N=2b speaks to the quantity of codewords in the codebook and b speaks to the quantity of bits utilized for codebook age. speaks to the distinction between the preparation arrangement and the old codewords, speaks to the contrast between the preparation succession and the new codewords. The nature of the discourse signal is a significant parameter in discourse coders and is estimated as far as ghastly bending estimated in decibels (dB). The phantom twisting is estimated between the LPC power spectra of the quantized and unquantized discourse signals. The phantom contortion is estimated outline astute and the normal or mean of the unearthly twisting determined over all casings will be taken as the last estimation of the otherworldly mutilation. For a quantizer to be straightforward the mean of the ghostly twisting must be under 1 dB with no discernible bending in the recreated discourse. In any case, the mean of the ghostly contortion is certifiably not an adequate measure to discover the presentation of a quantizer, this is on the grounds that the human ear is touchy to enormous quantization blunders that happen event

How Better Web Design Helps Increase Conversion Rates

How Better Web Design Helps Increase Conversion Rates Web Design is a term that is used to refer to the overall process of designing and developing a website by making use of several steps, procedures and tools. Web design is not just the visual design that we see on websites but is the entire structure, architecture, user interface and website layout of the site which is done with the help of using colors, contrast, images, as well as typefaces. The design of a website not only represents a company but also has a major influence on the success of the company sales generated via this website. Depending on the web design principles and other creative techniques applied while creating a website higher or lower conversion rates can be achieved through the website. © Shutterstock.com | Rawpixel.comThis article is hence focusing on the topic of how web design influences conversion rates and explores 1) the importance of web design, 2) how to increase conversion rates with better web design, and 3) web design mistakes killing conversion rates.IMPORTANCE OF WEB DESIGNWebsite creation has become a highly important way to promote your business and to bring it infront of the eye of consumers. A website has become the first means of communication between you and your potential customers and hence one cannot overestimate the importance of a good web design. It is the medium using that a consumer understands who you are, what you do and how they can purchase your products / services. You may sometimes ask yourself why it is important to create a website from scratch or update it. Well, not working on your website or web design could land your potential customers into the domain of your competitor’s business and may reduce your sales. A well-built web site can generate high customer traffic, and a good user interface can result in better conversions. It is only through a website that one can reach a wider audience and deal with the competition in the industry. Without a good web design, it is impossible to display information effectively and attract consumers to your products and services.There are two types of web designs which you can choose from, and they are static design and dynamic design. Static web design is a kind of a web design which uses basic HTML code whereas dynamic web design is the one which uses refined and advanced technologies. Web designers make use of several techniques and principles like usage of white space, layout, colors, contrast, hierarchy, programming languages as well as a quick response rate to create a website and all these factors encompass an effective and rich web design.HOW TO INCREASE CONVERSION RATES WITH BETTER WEB DESIGNDid you know that the website navigation, its colors, usability, contr ast, layouts, images and graphics, etc. have a strong impact on the number of visitors you are converting into buyers? This is the reason why a website must be created with a lot of precision, consideration and by paying personal attention to its development and designing. A successful website is one which offers the best experience for the visitors and follows some technical and aesthetic rules. Besides the factors that bring together the visual appeal and look, it is highly crucial to pay attention to the rules that make the website function properly as well. After all, no one wants to browse through a website that responds slow, is difficult to read and does not provide the information the visitor is looking for.In order to make your website instrumental in increasing the conversion rate, it is important to follow some steps that can help you tick the boxes of a good web design. Here are the steps to improve conversions through web design:Step 1. Pay attention to the usabilityThe first thing that you will need to take care of to ensure that visitors can be converted into buyers is to create a web design that is highly usable and accessible. To ensure that your website has a high usability factor, you will need to ask yourself and some of your customers whether it is user-friendly and intuitive or not. A user forms an opinion about the usability of the site within the first few seconds he/she spends on it. The following are some factors that may help you improve the usability of your web design:High speed The responsiveness of the web design must be quick. If your webpages take a long time to load or if your drop down menus are hard to open, then this could turn away the visitors within seconds.Hierarchical order Make sure you offer things in such an order that your customers can move from one block of information to another without having to think. The hierarchy of your website should be very obvious and intuitive so that every visitors would spend least amount of time to get to his/her target.Readability Another factor that contributes to the overall usability is the readability of the content. Make sure it is legible, easy to understand and highly informative.Step 2. Pay attention to web design aestheticsThe next step that you need to follow in order to increase conversion rate is to pay sufficient attention to the aesthetics of your web design. You must remember that your site is the communication channel between you and your consumers. The welcome, the stay and the departure of the visitors on the website must be pleasant in order to make them come back again. Some factors that can help you create an aesthetically pleasing website include the colors used, the contrast offered, the images placed and the use of white space, etc. The following tips will help you work on the aesthetic design with ease:Using directional cues. Directional cues are the intuitive hints and subtle things that lead visitors from one point or block of inf ormation to another, in the most obvious and natural way. First time website visitors may often be clueless about where to click, what to do next and which information to read first. As a designer or website owner, it is your responsibility to lead them in the right direction. Hierarchical structure plays an important part here which means that you can use hierarchical of size and content to create a natural flow of user experience. This means that the most important information can be of the maximum size, followed by the less important one in the second largest size and so on. Some directional cues that you can use include arrows and pointers.Using encapsulation. Encapsulation is a method through which you can capture the eye of the visitor and make it move into the direction of what you want it to see. Simply put, encapsulation creates a tunnel vision effect that makes you look at what is inside the tunnel rather than on its boundaries or outside. This helps to prevent the eye of the visitors on your website from getting distracted and makes users focus on what is most important. But while following this method, one must be subtle and not aggressive. Using dynamic shapes or borders around the information that you want consumers to view is a subtle tip to use this effect to your benefit. For example, if there are certain blocks of information on your webpage but you wish to divert the attention of the visitors to a certain block, then you can put it inside a well-defined box.Using contrast and color. Colors can have an immediate emotional connect with your visitors and play a highly important role in improving conversions. For example, the color orange is considered as one of the colors which generate feelings of positivity and can work well on a web page. Some other colors that belong to this category are greens and blues. But the main trick lies in using different colors in the correct contrast to one another. It is very important that the background color and the color of the text are selected in such a way that the text is readable. In order to come up with the correct contrast, you will have to experiment and try different colors in combination with one another. While some colors that may not look good together otherwise could work brilliantly on your website.Using whitespace. Another very important aspect of an aesthetic web design is the correct usage of whitespace. A lot of web designers fail to understand its importance and may be afraid to let any blank space be visible. But white space can prove useful to uplift the aesthetic design and look of the website since it can be used to create a distinction between the various blocks of data or information. Correct use of white space can focus the attention of visitors to what is important and can help important information stand out properly. But at the same time it is important to understand that uncontrolled use of blank space can be a web design killer. One must balance the text as well as the imagery in the right way to help visitors spot what they are looking for. It can improve readability, create a balanced view and provide for an excellent customer experience.Using placement and copy design. You can also make the use copy design as well as correct placement of CTA to improve the overall conversion rate. A call-to-action statement or CTA is one of the most important parts of any website or web design, and it must be placed on the page in such a way that visitors can easily spot it and click on it. Its right placement and layout can help create a much more powerful as well as descriptive key. Call-To-Action statement must fulfill two main concepts: 1) the statement must be short and brief and 2) it must describe clearly what is going to happen when someone clicks on it. The best way to place and design it is by breaking up the copy into two parts-primary and secondary. The secondary copy must support the primary, and both must be highly effective.Step 3 . Pay attention to SEOAnother thing that can help you raise your conversion rates, traffic and profits is paying attention to the SEO. Of course, creating compelling and informative content is very important for all websites but what puts your site high up on the search engine rankings is the SEO that you incorporate or use. Spend enough time getting to know the principles of SEO and how you can use certain keywords, etc. to result in better traffic to your website. If SEO is improved, the number of people visiting your website will shoot up, and that leads to a chance of better sales as well. Whether you are a small business or a large one, the kind of content and information you provide on the webpages is highly instrumental in making an impression on potential customers.Step 4. Make way for better communicationAnother very important aspect or factor that can contribute to improving the overall conversions is how interactive the website or webpage functions. Having a conversation- centric design can directly impact and influence the conversions, and when such a design is incorporated, you give a chance to the consumers to give their opinion and take actions. It is important to remember that you will have to nudge customers or visitors yourself so that they can click on buttons that matter. Some ways to make way for better communication on your website are given as follows:Use large font sizes and font types for the main headings so that the user attention can be diverted to them. Make them bold and focused.Maintain and use a hierarchy of font sizes and appearance so as to divert the attention of the users first to what is important and then to the second most important thing and so on.Avoid making the page too cluttered and provide users the option to ‘buy’, ‘search’, and ‘click’ often to maintain the conversations.Make use of buttons like social links, sign-up forms, navigation buttons etc. and place them in such a way that the visitors can easil y click on them and make use of them to contact you or communicate with you.WEB DESIGN MISTAKES KILLING CONVERSATION RATESBesides following the above-given steps or tips, it is also important to avoid making some common web design mistakes that could totally be killing your conversion rates. It hardly takes visitors a few seconds to get turned off by a website and press the cross button. Thus, it is important to keep certain things in mind and avoid making mistakes that could prove too costly. The following are the main web design mistakes that could be hampering your profits:Not testing The biggest mistake you could but should not be making is not testing your website on a regular basis. Regular testing makes way for improvements, removing bugs and maintaining the top quality design. So make sure you get the web design tested and checked every few weeks to avoid some major problems with speed and efficiency.Too many distractions Make sure there aren’t too many distractions on t he website and the eye of the visitors doesn’t wander away from what is important. Create a simple and clutter-free design which doesn’t make the user get confused about which direction to go in. Remove unnecessary links, pointless information and inappropriate images from your website to eliminate the distractions as much as possible.Putting call-to-action where visitors can’t spot it As mentioned above, the call-to-action statement is one of the most important statements and it is important to place it where it would be easy to spot. Make it bold but use it subtly so that it doesn’t seem forced or over highlighted. Not doing so and merging it with the other content is also a big web design mistake that people tend to make.Making text and content mistakes No matter how small-scaled your business is and how little information you have to offer to your visitors, it is important that each and every word you say is readable, correct, and effective. Making text and content mis takes like grammatical errors, punctuation errors, using inappropriate words, etc. can put off visitors and may harm your conversion rates greatly.Trying to be too cool While it is fair that you speak well about your products, brand or services offered, flowing a little too much could seem slightly off-place. Avoid sounding too cool and breezy and keep the language and tone formal. Be friendly, but not over-familiar and make sure you don’t make the mistake of sounding obnoxious. The last thing visitors want to experience on your website is an overconfident supplier.

Martin Luther King’S Vision For Beloved Community Stands

Martin Luther King’s vision for Beloved community stands out as the most captivating desire for human harmony, transcending the lines of racial, ethnic, cultural, gender, and social stratification. It aims to acknowledge and respect the imago Dei, rather than objectify the human individual. It shouts for the display of justice at, both, the local and global landscapes. The call for justice i.e., social justice, dominates conversational points throughout the media, town-hall meetings, demonstrations, and Sunday sermons. There remains, however, an affiliated point of justice rarely considered. Throughout the contents of this essay, I look at the grounding of justice as it relates to God and human relations. I submit that justice – according†¦show more content†¦The world of the ancient Near East believed in a creator deity as member within a plethora of deities; that is, there was no supreme being. Within this plethora, each deity held a specific responsibility, representing such matters as order, justice, love, and truth, to name but a few. Among ANE inhabitants, according to Philip J. Nel, â€Å"a normative principle of justice was maintained as part and parcel of the created universe. The human life-world and the order of nature were seen as inextricable entwined.† It is not surprising, therefore, how ancient civilizations understood justice to be a concomitant attribute of a deity within a pantheon of deities; a pantheon where members had origins and, in most instances, were familial in nature. According to their understanding of creation, ancient civilizations held views on social and economic justice as a means that would â€Å"facilitate the service of the community to the divine world.† Nel observes that, â€Å"The principle of justice was . . . not so much regarded as a system of moral order, but rather the assumption of an existing/created autonomous design/order which should be upheld and adhered to in all sector s of society.† The Sumerians, and the Egyptians, serve as examples. As one of the oldest knownShow MoreRelatedThe Montgomery Bus Boycott5270 Words   |  22 Pages1950s starting with the successful bus boycott in Montgomery Alabama. The civil rights movement was lead by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who preached nonviolence and love for your enemy. Love your enemies, we do not mean to love them as a friend or intimate. We mean what the Greeks called agape-a disinterested love for all mankind. This love is our regulating ideal and beloved community our ultimate goal. As we struggle here in Montgomery, we are cognizant that we have cosmic companionship andRead MoreJohn Dallek s An Unfinished Life3220 Words   |  13 Pagespresidents, evaluating their entire lives, personal and political. With his work comprising of many presidential biographies, Dallek has payed tribute to one man who consistently tops the charts of America’s Favorite President on frequent; the dearly beloved President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Serving from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963, Kennedy had a large impact on a multitude of people around the world, making numerous bold changes in the United States’ domestic living whilstRead MoreSAT Top 30 Essay Evidence18536 Words   |  75 Pagesexamples. When picking your evidence, go for variety. For example, pick one sports star, one adventurer, and one historical event. Studying a variety of evidence will give you more options to deal with unexpected prompts, and will make your essay stand out when the grader takes a look at it. No matter how you use this special report, you’ve made the right decision, and I’m proud of you for preparing ahead of time for the SAT essay. It’s something that a lot of students forget to do. Good luck

Changes to Knighthood throughout the Years - 942 Words

Throughout the years knighthood has changed depending on what the people need and expect during that time period. They also vary on their manners, duties, ages, and skills. Kids start training since the age of seven, especially if they want to be in the arms profession. Start out by serving their fathers, around the age of 12, they then move onto serving the house receiving more advanced instructions in military subjects and morals. The original medieval nights were originally servants who kept their lords lands after they served in their lords armies. With time christian values were added to knighthood â€Å"involving respect for the church, protection of the poor and the weak, loyalty to one’s feudal or military superiors, and preservation of personal honour† (Knight 3). These became known as the knights orders they followed to achieve greatness. The first recognized group of knights evolved during the Crusades. There was several different groups of them including the Hospitallers of St John of Jerusalem, the Order of the Temple of Solomon, and the Order of St. Lazarus. While they were all considered knights each group had a different task and set of goals to accomplish. Not all of them fought in battles and saved princesses and kingdoms. For example, the Order of St. Lazarus had the unique duty of protecting the leper hospitals. Knights served more like the police officers and army of today combined under one category. The closest they became to the idealShow MoreRelatedThe Middle Ages : Sir Gawain And The Green Knight1742 Words   |  7 Pagesof the Page started at the age of 7. As a Page, future knights learned all their basic skills through sports. Learning the basic skills of riding horses, swimming, climbing, and wrestling was present during this time. The next stage of knighthood began at 14 years old in w hich the young man was called a Squire. During this stage, the young men would learn the concept of what chivalry is. The Squire practiced the use of weapons and learned how to strengthen their social skills. Along with practicingRead More Arthur Birling at the Beginning of Act One in An Inspector Calls1215 Words   |  5 Pagesthere would be no war, world war 1 started two years later and world war 2 ended in mid 1945; there were sturdy comparisons and discrimination between the upper and lower classes in the 1912 era but the class distinctions had significantly reduced in 1945 as a result of two world wars; the ruling classes saw no necessities in changing the status quo but in the time in which ‘An Inspector Calls’ was written, there was a great passion for social change in the classes and immediately after worldRead MoreSir Gawain And The Green Knight1514 Words   |  7 Pagesthe mid to late fourteenth century by an unknown author. 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His biggest fear when the Inspector has left is that he won’t get his Knighthood and that there will beRead Morejlok]1986 Words   |  8 Pagesland granted to the vassal. homage --A ceremony which bound the vassals physical protection for the lord of the manor. investiture-- The vassal gives his allegiance and is given his rights to control the land but not have ownership of it. knighthood --Able-bodied men who are hired by the vassal for the protection of the lord. standing army --A group of soldiers ready to do battle. subinfeudation --Breaking down an already-smaller portion of land in exchange for services and protection.Read MoreThe Hundred Years War And Feudal Society1636 Words   |  7 PagesThe Hundred Years’ War and Feudal Society Why did the feudal order of Medieval society fall apart? The feudal order of the Middle Ages was a system of local rule, where powerful lords gave land and protection in exchange for loyalty and military service from lesser lords. Tradition dictated that this exchange would be held in place by the feudal contract, consisting of multiple pledges. This resulted in small communities consisting of one powerful lord, peasants, and serfs who worked for the lordRead MoreEssay on Gender Bias for Men in the Field of Nursing690 Words   |  3 Pagesnurses. These admiral women provided for the casualties during Civil War in 1861. Historical figures like Clara Barton and Dorthea Dix served respectively as supervisor and superintendent throughout the Civil War, and are known for their phenomenal works. While the names of such prominent female figures echo throughout the history of nursing, men also play a very significant role in contributing to battlefield nursing, however they are not as pop ular. Don Sadler’s article, â€Å"As the numbers grow, willRead More Medieval Chivalry Essay2847 Words   |  12 Pages Western Civilization Medieval Chivalry and Knighthood During medieval times knighthood was a class culture, cherished and jealousy guarded by the knightly caste. Knight had the honor of defending the king as well as their country. On the bloody fields of battle a code of chivalry evolved that tempered anger and fury with mercy. It created ways of turning the grim business of fighting into something tolerable, perhaps even acceptable. Chivalry was not only looked upon as a code for war; it wasRead More Imagination in Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes Essays932 Words   |  4 Pagesknight errant he runs into her and tells her that he will serve under her. He gives her the name Princess Dulcinea and is willing to do anything she desires. Throughout much of the story she thinks that he is mocking her because she is just a mere peasant, but when she realizes that his imagination has taken over his mind her feelings change. He sees her as a princess in his own mind because he sees through social status and looks at people for who they are. Don Quixote is one of the first peopleRead MoreCantos Themes Of Chivalry In The Green Knight905 Words   |  4 Pagesa challenge to test the knights chivalry. The challenge is simple, someone can cut the Green Knights head off as long as he is able to do it to them one year from now. Gawain takes the Green Knight’s challenge and cuts his head off with an axe, but to everyones surprise the Green Knight lives. Gawain now has to challenge the knight in a year and is worried about the encounter. Gawain shows chivalry when he accepts the knights challenge and doesnt try to get out of it after he founds out the outcome

Creative Writing Monologue †How did I end up like this Free Essays

How did I end up like this? Slashed up and left to die in a part of Bristol that Tourist Information is in denial as to its existence. Why would I even consider agreeing to such ludicrous terms? How many times has my mother said one of those embarrassing Irish sayings that no-one says or told you: â€Å"Don’t talk to stranger,† or â€Å"Don’t let your father be your role model or you’ll end up dead just like him.† Well I bet my Mum never envisaged me sharing my father’s grave before her. We will write a custom essay sample on Creative Writing Monologue – How did I end up like this? or any similar topic only for you Order Now It’s looking more bloody likely with every minute that goes by. â€Å"Pause† I’m eighteen! I should be with friends on the town, drinking and trying cigarettes, not slowly bleeding to death. In its time this is the kind of road that would be full of tourists who can’t afford to go abroad and want a cheap seaside holiday; well Bristol seems to have fallen to bits, now it’s nothing more than a grimy alleyway. I’m not even sure if I brought this situation upon myself; just another one of those innocent victims of inner city youth gangs. I can already picture my mother on GMTV, asking pointless question which were unlikely to be answered, but when they are they draw an inevitable dead-end. â€Å"Pause, Splutters† When you’re approached by twelve or so older boys you keep your head down, make no eye contact and walk on by. Except on this occasion they closed in on me. I felt trapped like a helpless animal, my legs disacknowledged my brain which was urging them to run. They said they wanted me to perform some sort of task. As the group distributed my duty I remained silent and still, although my brain had commenced a battle I didn’t argue. But somehow, without being told, I knew there was extensive danger with the task in hand. They spat threats at me though I had not even considered disobeying my assignment for one moment. â€Å"Pause, Chokes† I gathered I was to be a courier and deliver goods and not under any circumstances was I to be prevented from completing my task, regardless of what crossed my path: be it another gang or the police. I asked no questions as I expected to hear no answers (or if there were any – only deceitful ones). They all implied that the consequence for getting caught would most likely be death. At that I began to panic, taking deeper and deeper breathes, having this premonition of being brutally killed. I should have known at that very moment that this situation that I’m in now was unavoidable. â€Å"Pause, Chokes again† I just wish life was like one of those lame TV shows where the hero is on the brink of death but summons up the strength to save him as well as the good looking girl that invariably accompanies them. I want just a few more minutes with my mother to make up for all that I have done. When I was young, my father gave me an option; he said â€Å"Wayne, are you going to be a Mummy’s boy or a Dad’s boy?† From that very moment I made a decision that would be my burden for the rest of my life. I was always a Dad’s boy and followed a similar youth to that of my older brother Ashley; I would look up to Ashley – he was who I wanted to be. Dad was always showing off his first born, until he walked out at the age of 15 that is. â€Å"Pause, Single Tear† Shortly after his departure my dad committed suicide. My life went downhill and every day seem to be a new low. I blamed my mum for my father’s death and taunted and accused her of pushing before he jumped. Although it was not true it gave me great satisfaction hearing my mother’s muffled tear and sobs from her room. My mother always loved and cared for me and was very compassionate towards me, both before and after my father’s death which is more than I can say for my father. My dad would often abuse me and as I cried he would tell me to man up and do him proud and it was my mother only who questioned the large bruises scattered all over my body. Yet my mum was always there to feed me and put a roof over my head. But my eyes were only for my father so my world seemed to crumble as he made his long ominous decent to the pits of hell. â€Å"Unsteady Raspy Breathing † So as these boys told me my task in hand, ringing in my ears was the sound of my Dad saying, â€Å"so Wayne are you going to be a Mummy’s boy or a Daddy’s boy. â€Å"So not only did I accept that I had no choice, I agreed, I saw it as a gifted opportunity to do my beloved Dad proud and make up for the fact I could never live up to Ashley. I had my goal in mind and it never occurred to me the magnitude of the danger and I never assumed I would get caught. So I was dismayed to walk into a group of men the gleam in their eyes told me they knew everything. â€Å"Pause† They were smug, the kind of people when dad was alive he was obsessed with surrounding himself with. Those crocked smiles and worn bashed up faces told me they had fought many wars before. But what shocked me the most was the lack of fear and concern in their eyes. They did what they this not because they were forced to like myself, but because they found it them adrenaline and they enjoyed it! As they redrew there knives from their pockets and slashed me I didn’t resist or cry; I couldn’t stand hearing my dad’s voice again, â€Å"Man up Wayne, man up.† I had had enough. â€Å"Pause, Voice fades as he is dying† But as this happened I couldn’t help but smile to myself. I had seen who was stabbing me, I smiled at him and he smirked back, mocking me. Ashley, who I had looked up to as a child, had come back; maybe not the way I had hoped, but none the less for the past eight years since he left all I have ever wanted was for him to return. I don’t hate him for doing it; he was living my father’s dream and had done him proud more than I had ever done. â€Å"Pause† If I shift my weight I could probably see the name of this god forsaken alley. â€Å"Terminal Lane,† it probably refers to the nearly airport but I think it fits. The end of my journey, a short journey, but never the less an eventful one. â€Å"Terminal Lane†. Chuckles â€Å"Closes Eyes, Dies†. How to cite Creative Writing Monologue – How did I end up like this?, Papers

Management With Travel and Tourism

Question 1: 1.1) What is the difference between a manager and a leader? 1.2) What is Leadership (Define)? 1.3) Discuss the following theory of Leadership? Answer 1: The differences between managers and leaders are: Managers have workers. Leaders win supporters. Managers respond to change. Leaders make modification. Managers have standards. Leaders apply them. Managers unite. Leaders influence. Managers brief classes. Leaders make orders. Managers endeavour to be characters. Leaders make characters of everyone around them. Managers accept affirmation. Leaders take hazard. Managers are focused. Leaders make appropriated focusing. Managers exercise imperativeness over individuals. Leaders make essentialness with individuals. What is Leadership (Define)? Leadership has been delineated as an approach of social impact in which an individual can ask for the help and support of others in the accomplishment of a typical system. For example, some appreciate a trailblazer essentially as somebody whom individuals take after, or as somebody who books or books others, while others centre Leadership as masterminding an individual to achieve a normal target. Examinations of Leadership have made thoughts including traits, situational affiliations, limit, behaviour, force, perspective and measures, advance, and perception, among others (M., 1997). Leadership is a fundamental part in any association. It joins interpreting the course of a get-together and interfacing it to individuals, engaging, inducing and strengthening them to propel accomplishing definitive accomplishment. Leadership needs being deliberately centred around and realising behavioural systems to manufacture dedication and procure the best perform from your kin. The parts of profitable Leadership are entrapped and are consistently decided to rely on upon the specific Leadership situation, considering the issues of endeavours, the level of a pioneer's vitality and the adulthood and limits of agents. Leadership limits regularly oblige some speculation to learn, because they are multi-faceted, behavioural and perspective ward. Transforming into a capable pioneer is tangled an over-abundance of new Managers, however offers the benefits of successfully orientating individuals perform to be most gainful and quality in social affair authority. An understanding of the thoughts of immaculate considering, course making, messages and motivation gives a springboard to making limits and a successful organisation style to match your character and Leadership circumstances. Theories of Leadership Kurt Lewins studies at the University of Iowa With partners L. Lippitt and R. White, Lewin performed research about the results of three different Leadership anticipates finishes of youngsters' movement orders in Iowa (1939). Three different arrangements were sorted as law based, absolutist, and free venture. It was found that in the gathering with an absolutist trailblazer, there was more disappointment and exercises became either more centred or uninterested. In the gathering with a ubiquity based pioneer, there was more co-operation and preoccupation, while those in the free undertaking drove gathering revealed no particular disappointment, nonetheless they were not particularly fruitful either. Basically, when the specific control were requested to adjust their arrangements, the conclusions for each initiative diagram stayed indistinct. Lewin centred to exhibit that the simply arrange showed signs of improvement conclusions. The shot of open and open impacts undermines his finding at some level, yet the investigation before long recommended the purposes of enthusiasm of a simply arrange in a United States perspective. They moreover revealed that it is plausible for control and chairmen to modify their diagrams, and to be qualified to redesign their initiative and take in the wake of fitting control plans for their circumstance and perspective (STEPHEN P. ROBBINS, 2007). Ohio state studies The Ohio State Leadership Studies started in the Forties and concentrated on how organisation could fulfil common gathering needs. The results demonstrated that the two most basic estimations in Leadership included: beginning structure, and thought. These quirks could be either unfathomable or low and were divided of one another. The examination was depending upon diagrams to organisation and specialists. These studies are known as the Supervisor Behaviour Description Questionnaire (SBDQ) and the Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) (Khurana, 2010). University of Michigan Studies A common plan of examination on Leadership were done in Michigan University, starting in the nineteen fifties. They found three critical contrivances of viable organisation. Effective boss dismembered did not do in like manner kind execute as their labourers. Their endeavours were different, and included organising and arranging perform, dealing with exercises and offering vital sources. They moreover stayed managing delegates in making methodology ends of the line that were both tangled and possible. Convincing executives focused on the technique, and additionally on their relationship with their specialists. They were more sharp, profitable and helpful of agents, for instance, supporting them with their calling and individual issues. They recognised try with comprehended and furthermore outside modify, saying in view of people for attempt. All things considered, the profitable endorsed an ordinary and uninvolved appearance of course instead of close control. They set objectives and offered proposals, yet then offered their delegates a considerable measure of flexibility with reference to how the targets would be gotten. Convincing organisation use a participative style, dealing with at the gathering level furthermore openly, for example using get together to look at considerations and consolidate the gathering in cooperative choices and discriminating considering. By their exercises, such organisation plan incredible gathering orchestrated behaviour. The bit of the official is more facilitative than rule, controlling the examination and supporting to manage assortments. The director, nevertheless, is in charge of results and is not excused of commitment. In this way, they may settle on last choices that consider suggestions from the gathering. The effect of participative authority is to produce a trademark bunch which chips in rather than a set of individuals (Likert, 1961). Question 2: 2.1) What is an organisation? (Give example of different types of organisations in the Travel and Tourism industry). 2.2) Discuss the three approaches (Functional, Roles, Skills and Competencies) that can be used to describe what do Managers do? Answer 2: 2.1 Organization: A social place of people that is dealt with to fulfil a need or to partake in united targets. All associations have a control framework that picks relationship between the unique exercises and the parts, and subdivides and relegates positions, duties, and energy to bring out various endeavours. Organizations are open structures they influence and are encountering their atmosphere (BTEC National Diploma Level 3 Travel and Tourism, 2011). The different types of organisations operating in the travel and tourism business environment are: Public Sector (National, Regional, and Local) Private Sector (National, Regional, Local, International, and Global) 2.2 Functional management : is the most generally recognised sort of authentic company. The association is constructed by regions of top quality inside unique effective areas (Menz, 2012). One by and large examined program to company concept is the managerial roles approach, developed by McGill Universitys Henry Mintzberg. His technique is to watch what professionals truly do and from such recognitions achieve results regarding what managing activities viewpoint. Though various experts have examined the authentic perform of chairmen from Business owners to line chiefs Mintzberg has given this program higher noticeable top quality (Tailal, 2008). Competencies and skills are methods that blend the learning, capabilities, and features required for effective performance. Despite understanding and inclination, the major features of an individual, for example, features, affinities, propositions, social areas, and psychological self-viewpoint, furthermore characteristics around them, interact with an individual to successfully pass on unmatched performance in a given perform, part, or condition (LaRocca, 2004). References BTEC National Diploma Level 3 Travel and Tourism, 2011. Know the diff erent types of organisations operating in the travel and tourism business environment. 1st ed. s.l.:BTEC National Diploma Level 3 Travel and Tourism. Khurana, R., 2010. From Higher Aims to Hired Hands: The Social Transformation of American Business Schools and the Unfulfilled Promise of Management as a Profession, l.: Princeton University Press. LaRocca, M., 2004. Career and Competency Pathing: The Competency Modeling Approach, USA: Hewlett-Packard Compan. Likert, R., 1961. New patterns of management. NY: McGraw-Hill. C., 1997. An integrative theory of leadership, s.l.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Menz, M. 2., 2012. Functional Top Management Team Members: A Review, Synthesis, and Research Agenda. Journal of Management, 38(1), pp. 45-80. STEPHEN P. ROBBINS, M. C., 2007. 9th ed. USA: Prentice Hall, Inc.. Tailal, 2008. The Managerial Roles Approach.

Ptolemy Essays - Ancient Greek Mathematicians, Claudii,

Ptolemy Introduction In ancient times there were many great ideas which began to shape the way man perceived his environment. However, there were few minds who were able to put all of these ideas together. One of these minds belonged to Claudius Ptolemy, or just Ptolemy as he is commonly referred to. We know almost nothing of the chronology of Ptolemy's life, and we don't even know his birth or death dates. We do know, though, about his ideas in several fields, which include geography, astronomy, optics, astrology, music, and other topics. His most profound and lasting contributions came in the fields of geography and astronomy, where his two written works Geography and Almagest dominated the thinking on these subjects throughout ancient times and for many centuries to follow. To geographers, Geography represented a breakthrough in the spatial tradition of geography through Ptolemy's principles on cartography and the maps that were created from this. This will be reviewed as well as other aspects of Ptolemy's work that made him such a respected figure in the history of geography. Astronomy and Almagest It is important to mention the impact that Ptolemy had in the field of astronomy, as it allows us to understand the ideas that he was able to bring to geography. Ptolemy did his astronomical observations in Alexandria, Egypt, and it has been estimated by scholars that his findings were made in 150 AD After recording his observations and analyzing them, he incorporated them into a work that would be called the Almagest, which is a combined Greek and Latin term meaning "the greatest". Almagest is revered as one of the top astronomical works of all time, as it was a thirteen book mathematical treatment of the phenomena of astronomy. It contains a myriad of information ranging from earth conceptions to sun, moon, and star movement as well as eclipses and a breakdown on the length of months. Among his astronomical observations were the idea that the earth did not move, but rather it was the motionless center of the universe with the sun, moon, planets, and stars revolving around it. Another of Ptolemy's ideas was that the planets were closer to the earth than the stars, but farther away than the moon (which is true). These and other ideas were accepted as scientific fact for several centuries following the writing of Almagest. In fact, these ideas weren't changed or corrected until the findings of Copernicus in 1543. Geography Although we don't know if Geography was written before or after Almagest, it remains a trivial side note compared to geographical concepts presented in it that draw the interest of geographers. The introduction to Geography states what Ptolemy wants to accomplish, which includes an explanation of the principles of cartography such as giving coordinates to places around the world and geographic features as well as recommendations for making world and regional maps. He then starts his coverage of the world with Europe in Books 2 and 3. He goes on to cover Africa in Book 4 and covers Asia and summarizes his findings in Books 5-8. Geography included 26 colorized regional maps as well as one map of the "known world". Ptolemy stayed away from orthogonal (or cylindrical) world mapping in favor of three other projection types. He returns to orthogonal projection on some regional maps with dimensions based on mean latitude. The farthest point north on his map was Thule at 63 degrees north, while the farthest point south was the Agysimba and Prasum promontory east of Africa at 16 degrees, 25 minutes south. He measured the north-south length of the known world to be about 7392 kilometers or 4580 miles, while his east-west measurement was about 13,306 kilometers or 8250 miles. Geography held the same respect in the field of geography that Almagest had in astronomy. Geography was regarded as a complete and inerrant document on the subject of geography, and it dominated geographical theory until the Renaissance. The Almagest is now regarded as a better document than Geography scientifically. This is because the application of the concepts presented in Geography was substantially limited, although advances in geography theory were made. Actions After Geography Ptolemy's work has been discovered and used through the ages by several noted people around the world. Arabic writer al-Mas'udi, while writing around 956, mentioned a colored map of the Geography which had 4530 cities and over 200 mountains. Byzantine monk Maximus Planudes found a copy of the Geography in 1295, and since there were no maps in his copy, he

Free Essays on Bopolar Disorder

Definition Bipolar, or manic-depressive disorder, is a mood disorder that causes radical emotional changes and mood swings, from manic highs to depressive lows. The majority of bipolar individuals experience alternating episodes of mania and depression. Description In the United States alone, bipolar disorder afflicts almost two million people at an annual cost of over $45 billion, according to a 1991 report by the National Institutes of Mental Health. The average age of onset of bipolar disorder is from adolescence through the early twenties. However, because of the complexity of the disorder, a correct diagnosis can be delayed for several years or more. In a survey of bipolar patients conducted by the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association (MDMDA), one-half of respondents reported visiting three or more professionals before receiving a correct diagnosis, and over one-third reported a wait of ten years or more before they were correctly diagnosed. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), the diagnostic standard for mental health professionals in the United States, defines four separate categories of bipolar disorder: bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymia, and bipolar not-otherwise-specified (NOS). Bipolar I disorder is characterized by manic episodes, the "high" of the manic-depressive cycle. A bipolar patient experiencing mania often has feelings of self-importance, elation, talkativeness, increased sociability, and a desire to embark on goal-oriented activities, coupled with the characteristics of irritability, impatience, impulsiveness, hyperactivity, and a decreased need for sleep. Usually this manic period is followed by a period of depression, although a few bipolar I individuals may not experience a major depressive episode. Mixed states, where both manic or hypomanic symptoms and depressive symptoms occur at the same time, also occur frequently with bipolar... Free Essays on Bopolar Disorder Free Essays on Bopolar Disorder Definition Bipolar, or manic-depressive disorder, is a mood disorder that causes radical emotional changes and mood swings, from manic highs to depressive lows. The majority of bipolar individuals experience alternating episodes of mania and depression. Description In the United States alone, bipolar disorder afflicts almost two million people at an annual cost of over $45 billion, according to a 1991 report by the National Institutes of Mental Health. The average age of onset of bipolar disorder is from adolescence through the early twenties. However, because of the complexity of the disorder, a correct diagnosis can be delayed for several years or more. In a survey of bipolar patients conducted by the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association (MDMDA), one-half of respondents reported visiting three or more professionals before receiving a correct diagnosis, and over one-third reported a wait of ten years or more before they were correctly diagnosed. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV), the diagnostic standard for mental health professionals in the United States, defines four separate categories of bipolar disorder: bipolar I, bipolar II, cyclothymia, and bipolar not-otherwise-specified (NOS). Bipolar I disorder is characterized by manic episodes, the "high" of the manic-depressive cycle. A bipolar patient experiencing mania often has feelings of self-importance, elation, talkativeness, increased sociability, and a desire to embark on goal-oriented activities, coupled with the characteristics of irritability, impatience, impulsiveness, hyperactivity, and a decreased need for sleep. Usually this manic period is followed by a period of depression, although a few bipolar I individuals may not experience a major depressive episode. Mixed states, where both manic or hypomanic symptoms and depressive symptoms occur at the same time, also occur frequently with bipolar...

Approach to Shared Decision-Making in Nursing Literature review

Approach to Shared Decision-Making in Nursing - Literature review Example The title is a very important component of a research article. It should be capable of capturing the articles’ major variables concepts and the methods involved (Kaplan 2012). A careful look at the research article under focus, the authors have captured diverse aspects of the study in the title. Firstly, the program under consideration is very clearly defined, IP-SDM. Secondly, it goes further to specify on the particular area under investigation, which happens to be the intentions of the healthcare providers as they engage in the program. These two aspects make the title accurate and specific on the issue being discussed in the article. It is also clear the type of participants that are involved in the study from the title, those health workers in home care programs. However, the authors take a global perspective in the methodology used. The title mentions in broad terms that the research uses mixed methods without a clear definition of what are those ‘mixed methodsâ₠¬â„¢. The length of the title is desirable; this is because it carries diverse aspects under investigation that cannot be assumed. It is descriptive and informative, just from a first look it is likely that one is capable of capturing the parameters under investigations and the variable involved. Largely the title is the best impression that gives a view of what to expect in the main body of the article, and sure enough, Legare et al. successfully captures most of the aspects. (Università © Laval 2013).... Subjects The research has clearly identified the subjects in the study. Sample selection A large sample size was considered to take care of the mixed methodology approach that was taken in the research. The sample was selected from various health centres and featured 126 heath care providers. Data collection Data collected collection was efficiently done through a survey, filling in of questionnaires and use of focus groups. The instruments used are reliable and valid as stated in the research paper. Ethical considerations There was involvement of ethical considerations by the researchers. Firstly, data collection using the various tools was based on willingness of individuals. Secondly, the participants understood what the research entailed before engaging with it. In addition, their confidentiality and anonymity was assured. The research has not declared whether it had approval from the ethical committee. Results The results have been tabulated clearly. They have demonstrated consi stency with other previous works. From the results it is possible to project the conclusions. Data analysis Data has been well analysed especially because it was qualitative. The analysis is sufficient to demonstrate the relationship between the test variables. Discussion The research paper has clearly defined the relationship between the results and the test variables. They have attempted to balance between the aspects that are supported by the findings as well as those that do not. They have also gone a step ahead to provide the implications of the findings to the health sector. The discussion is deficient of the weaknesses of the study that may have made the results unreliable. Conclusions The conclusions are very

Theories of Exchange Rate Determination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Theories of Exchange Rate Determination - Essay Example Infact before exploring various exchange rate models it is worth looking at how a wrong assessment of the exchange rate can cause difficulties where as in the past various corporations have dealt with and suffered the burnt of foreign currency transaction risk. Millman(1990,1995) gives some interesting examples in his research work. One example he gives is of Lufthansa,the German airline which when contracted with Boeing to purchase aircrafts in the 1980's ,the value of the dollar was rising. The price of the aircrafts were set in dollars. Lufthansa feared that the dollar would strengthen and the cost in . Deutsche marks would increase the cost of the planes. Therefore it entered into forward contracts for the dollars required to pay for the planes.Contray to expectations the dollar weakened. Due to its wrong speculation forward contracts cost Lufthansa $140 to $160 million more for the aircrafts that they would have if they had bought the dollars on the spot market(Millman 1990). Although then there is no reliable way to counter forex risk in foreign markets it now worth looking at the various exchange rate models and how they have shaped forex and macroeconomic policies to avoid unexpected risks especially in financially volatile markets much affected by political repercussions and unpredictable events. Introduction to forex theory and its determination There are various theories of exchange rates which tend to produce various estimates of the exchange rate .This is not mainly due to the application of different theories however as varying econometric methods may also cause this variation and this has also caused doubt as to their efficacy and credibility as reliable estimates of a country's forex reserves. In this vein my paper will explore three of the existing theories pertaining to forecasting the exchange rate movements in the light of their empirical and micro foundations. This will be discussed according to their preconditions, implications and advantages and disadvantages. PPP approach Firstly we have the purchasing power parity approach to the exchange rate which has empirically found a lot of support and has influenced a lot of economic thought. The crux of this approach lies

How Organization Wide Change Is Best Carried Out Management Essay

How Organization Wide Change Is Best Carried Out Management Essay Both change and continuity may be desirable for the triumphant accomplishment of change. Picture upon the results of an global investigation the article suggests: 1. Company are deteriorating to fully consider the consequences and implications of change. 2. Many changes individual introduced as a result of contemporary management carry out have negative impacts. 3. The hypothesis of steady linear progress is not always justified. 4. Continuity and change are important complements, and more attention needs to be devoted to the continuity of valued relationships. 5. People should be given the liberty to decide the level and nature of modify required in relation to their exacting activities. 6. More holistic, thoughtful and people centered approaches to management are needed. To really appreciate organizational change and begin guide thriving change efforts, the change agent should have at least a broad understanding of the circumstance of the change effort. This includes considerate the basic systems and structure in organizations, as well as their typical terms and roles. This obligation applies to the understanding of leadership and management of the organizations, as well. That is why divide up courses in business often initially include a course or some discussion on organizational theory. This topic includes several links to help you gain this broad accepting. The following relations broadly reviewed in the following order might be helpful to establish some sense about organizations, and their leadership and management. Overview of Change Management There are several phrase regarding organizational change and development that look and sound a lot similar, but have diverse meanings. As a result of the importance of the topic, there seem to be increasingly different interpretation of some of this phrase, while others are used interchangeably. Without at least some sense of the difference between these phrases, connections about organizational change and development can be more and more vague, confusing and frustrating. Methodology of the study: What is Organizational Change: Typically, the concept of organizational transform is in stare to organization-wide change, as opposed to smaller changes such as addition a new person, modify a program, etc. Examples of organization-wide change might contain a change in mission, reformation operations, new technologies, mergers, major collaborations, rightsizing, new program such as total quality management, re-engineering, etc. Some experts refer to organizational alteration. Often this term designates a basic and radical reorientation in the way the organization operates. What is Provokes Organizational Change: Modify should not be done for the sake of change its a policy to accomplish some in general goal. Usually organizational change is aggravated by some major outside heavy force, substantial cuts in funding, address major new markets/clients, need for dramatic increase in efficiency/services, etc. Typically, organizations must commence organization-wide change to evolve to a similar level in their life cycle, going from a highly instant, capitalist organization to more steady and planned development. Change to a new chief executive can incite organization-wide change when his or her new and unique personality pervades the entire organization. Why is Organization-Wide Change Difficult to Accomplish: Typically there are tough resistances to modify. People are afraid of the unknown. Many people think things are by now just fine and dont appreciate the need for change. Many are inherently cynical about change, particularly from reading about the idea of change as if its a mantra. Many hesitations there are effective means to accomplish major organizational change. Often there are conflicting goals in the organization, to increase resources to accomplish the change yet concurrently cut costs to remain viable. Organization-wide change often goes against the very values detained dear by members in the organization, that is, the change may go alongside how members believe things should be done. Thats why much of organizational-change text discusses wanted changes in the development of the organization, including changes in members values and beliefs and in the way they ratify these values and beliefs. How Organization-Wide Change Is Best Carried Out: Winning change must engage top management, as well as the board and chief executive. Typically theres a champion who originally instigate the change by being creative, persuasive and consistent. A change agent role is usually responsible to translate the vision to a sensible plan and carry out the plan. Change is frequently best carried out as a team-wide attempt. Communications about the change should be common and with all organization members. To maintain change, the structure of the institute itself should be customized, including strategic plans, policies and procedures. This change in the structures of the organization typically involves an unfreezing, change and re-freezing procedure. The best approach to address resistances is from side to side increased and continued communications and education. For example, the leader should meet with all managers and employees to explain reason for the change, how it usually will be carried out and where others can go for supplementary information. A plan should be developed and communicate. Plans do change. Thats fine, but communicate that the preparation has tainted and why. forum should be held for organization members to state their ideas for the plan. They should be able to state their concerns and aggravation as fit. Some General Guidelines to Organization-Wide Change: In adding to the general strategy listed above, there are a few other basic guidelines to keep in mind. 1. Consider using a counselor. Ensure the consultant is highly knowledgeable in organization-wide change. Ask to see reference and check the references. 2. Widely communicate the possible need for change. Communicate what youre doing about it. Communicate what was done and how it work out. 3. Get as much advice as sensible from employees, including what they think are the problems and what should be done to determine them. If possible, work with a team of employees to manage the change. 4. Dont get wrap up in doing change for the sake of change. Know why youre making the change. What goal do you hope to achieve? 5. Plan the change. How do you plan to get to the goals, what will you need to reach the goals, how extended might it take and how will you know when youve reach your goals or not? Focus on the coordination of the departments/programs in your organization, not on each part by itself. Have someone in charge of the plan. 6. End up having every employee in the end exposure to one person, if possible, and they should know who that being is. Job images are often complained about, but they are useful in specifying who reports to whom. 7. Delegate decision to workers as much as possible. This includes yielding them the power and responsibility to get the job done. As much as possible, let them decide how to do the project. 8. The process wont be an it will take longer than you think. 9. Keep perspective. Keep listening carefully on meeting the needs of your consumer or clients. 10. Take care of yourself first. Organization-wide change can be extremely stressful. 11. Dont look for to control change, but rather to expect it, appreciate it and manage it. 12. Include conclusion in the plan. Recognize and celebrate your accomplishments. 13. Read some resources about organizational change, as well as new forms and structures. Finds of the study: Harley-Davidson copes against Suzuki to survive and take over in the market by the following way: Level 1- shaping and anticipating the future : At this level, Harley-Davidson start out with few assumptions about the business itself, what it is good at, and what the future will be like. Management generates alternate scenarios of the future, defines opportunities based on these possible futures, assesses its strengths and weaknesses in these scenarios changes its mission, measurement system etc Level 2 Harley-Davidson defining what business to be in and their Core Competencies: Many attempts at strategic planning start at this level, either assuming that: 1) The future will be like the past or at least expected 2) The future is personified in the CEOs of Harley-Davidson vision for the future 3) Management doesnt know where besides to start 4) Management is too scared to start at leve because of the changes needed to really meet future necessities 5) The only permission they have is to refine what job already exists. After a mission has been defined and SWOT strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis is finished, an organization can then define its actions, goals, strategies. More information on this is in the next article, moving from the Future to your Strategy. Level 3 Reengineering (Structurally Changing) Your Processes: Either as a result or result of level one or two work Harley-Davidson independent action, level three work focuses on basically changing how work is consummate. Rather than focus on modest improvement, reengineering focuses on making major structural changes to everyday with the goal of considerably improving productivity, efficiency, quality or customer satisfaction. Level 4 Incrementally Changing your Processes: Harley-Davidsons changes are focus in making many small changes to obtainable work processes. Oftentimes organizations put in substantial effort into getting every employee focused on creation these small changes, often with substantial effect. Unfortunately, making improvement on how a buggy whip for horse-drawn carriages is made will hardly ever come up with the idea that buggy whips are no longer necessary because cars have been invented. To read more about organizational changes and how it compare to level , We trained an internal facilitator, helped them deliver teaching in a just-in-time fashion, and had them focus on specific technical problems. The team management shaped reduced early quality defects by 48%. The disadvantage of such an incremental move toward includes avoid structural, system-wide problems, and assume existing processes need modest development. In addition, using incremental approaches can be frustrating to employees and management if does not catch on in the organization. As a result of these disadvantages, many organizations experience a high risk of failure in the long run. Harley-Davidson also takes positive decisions in the following ways: These levels have much of the similar goal increasing customer fulfillment, doing things right the first time, greater employee efficiency, etc. in spite of these similarities, they differ considerably in the methods they use to achieve these goals. In Harley-Davidsons skill, companies that use this method tend to have a elevated need for change, risk-tolerant management, comparatively few constraint and have considerable agreement among its management on what to do. Types of industries include those whose environment requires rapid revision to fast-moving events, electronics, information systems and telecommunication industries. Companies using mostly incremental tools have management that perceives only a unassuming require for change, is relatively risk-avoidant, has many constraint on its events and only has a modest consensus among themselves on what to do. Harley-Davidson using level three methods. If they are considering changes in business lines, re-organizing by customer instead of by purpose, or making key changes in how the everyday employee is being paid, they are using method. regrettably, all of this argument hinges in managements belief about how much change is necessary. This belief often hinges on their often unaided beliefs of: 1) How well the organization performs compare to other organizations a not have of benchmarking. 2) What the future will be. As a result, my suggestion is that organizations conduct scenario/strategic planning movements anyway, even if they have by now decided that incremental method will be sufficient to solve their problems. This way organization can be aware of the limits of the lower-level methods they are using and understand when it is best to throw away these lower-level methods for something more substantive. Based on this exercise, comparison of existing inner processes with world-class examples benchmarking and market study, management may come to realize how much change is necessary. Goals Based on no matter what level work you are doing, the chance that are found need to be evaluate to determine which of them best suit the obtainable and future capability of the organization and offer the most bang for the buck in terms of development in your measures of success. In calculation, goals need to have the resources. Harley Davidson uses the slogan We will expand into the polystyrene market within the next five years and achieve 20% market share. Strategies Harley-Davidson focuses on what, strategies focus on how. Some examples include: We will re-engineer our research and development process We will evaluate and improve our sales and marketing department We will conduct a SWOT analysis and then define our core competencies Supplementary examples of strategy are included in the affecting from the future to your strategy. Wait a second. Arent goal and strategy really the same. They are in one sagacity as they both need to be SMART. As what you force guess, the goals of a level are achieve by create strategies at the minor levels. History of Harley Davidson: William S. Harley and Arthur Davidson make available to the public the first production Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The bike was built to be a racer, with a 3-1/8 inch bore and 3-1/2 inch stroke. The factory in which they worked was a 10 x 15-foot wooden shed with the words Harley-Davidson Motor Company crudely scrawled on the door. Arthurs brother Walter later joins their efforts. Harley-Davidson Motor Company is incorporated on September 17th. The stock is split four ways between the four founders, and staff size has more than doubled from the previous year to eighteen employees. Factory size is doubled as well. Dealer recruitment begins, targeting the New England region. In 1908, Walter Davidson himself scored a perfect 1000 at the annual Federation of American Motorcyclists (FAM) Endurance and Reliability Contest. Three days later, he set an FAM economy record at 188.234 mpg. Also in 1908, the first motorcycle sold for police duty was delivered to the Detroit police force. By 1909 Harley-Davidson was bustling, and the partners introduced the very first Harley-Davidson V-twin engine, a design that continues to thrive to this day. From that base, they built twin-cam V-twins, overhead-cam V-twins and 4-valve V-twinsall before 1920. The company exported its first bike, to Japan, in 1912. In 1916, the company began publishing a magazineThe Enthusiastfor its customers. Still available today, it stands as the longest continuously published motorcycle periodical in the world. During the war, the famous Wrecking Crew, Harleys team of factory riders, was nearly unbeatable in racing, and in 1921, the Crew won every race during the season. Although prime competitor Indian was two years older than Harley-Davidson, Harley was already becoming dominant, both in sales and racing. To further spur buyers, Harley introduced bike financing in 1923. Despite the fact that the country was in the throes of the Great Depression, in 1938 Harley-Davidson introduced the overhead-valve V-twin engine that would come to be known as the Knucklehead, as well as the sophisticated new bike that went around it. That engine and its refinements stuck around for 12 years. The same year, Harley licensed the manufacture of and supplied tooling for a Japanese version of the Harley, called Rikuo, for which the Japanese company Sankyo never paid any royalties. In 1937, Harleys factories were unionized. Mission of Harley Davidson Heritage Harley-Davidson fulfills dreams by providing all riders and customers with a friendly, comfortable and knowledgeable Harley-Davidson environment. We will consistently treat everyone with fairness and integrity and be genuinely interested in their satisfaction and in maintaining a long term relationship. Vision of Harley Davidson Our vision is to provide an unsurpassed experience for all motorcycle enthusiasts while providing fulfilling, worthwhile work and growth opportunities for our team of trained professionals. We strive for continuous improvement in everything we do. Our Work Values Integrity; Loyalty; Fairness; Competence; Sharing knowledge; Accomplishment. We ride with our customers and apply this deep connection in every market we serve to create superior value for all of our stakeholders. Harley-Davidsons values are These are our values. They are the heart of how we run our business. They guide our actions and serve as the framework for the decisions and contributions our employees make at every level of the Company. Tell the Truth. Be Fair. Keep Your Promises. Respect the Individual. Encourage Intellectual Curiosity. Harley-Davidsons financial reports: In Millions of USD (except for per share items) 3 months ending 2009-12-31 9 months ending 2009-09-27 3 months ending 2009-06-28 3 months ending 2009-03-29 3 months ending 2008-12-31 Revenue 893.65 3,888.26 1,277.61 1,395.32 1,342.92 Other Revenue, Total Total Revenue 893.65 3,888.26 1,277.61 1,395.32 1,342.92 Cost of Revenue, Total 743.86 2,738.14 953.45 907.33 959.56 Gross Profit 149.79 1,150.12 324.16 487.99 383.36 Selling/General/Admin. Expenses, Total 256.39 594.78 209.89 221.08 246.05 Research Development Depreciation/Amortization Interest Expense(Income) Net Operating Unusual Expense (Income) 122.34 130.33 43.52 34.86 0.00 Other Operating Expenses, Total Total Operating Expense 1,122.58 3,463.24 1,206.86 1,163.27 1,205.61 Operating Income -228.93 425.01 70.75 232.05 137.31 Interest Income(Expense), Net Non-Operating Gain (Loss) on Sale of Assets Other, Net Income Before Tax -238.10 416.76 69.53 223.74 138.04 Income After Tax -147.17 217.81 19.75 117.35 91.94 Minority Interest Equity In Affiliates Net Income Before Extra. Items -147.17 217.81 19.75 117.35 91.94 Accounting Change Discontinued Operations Extraordinary Item Net Income -218.70 163.58 19.75 117.35 77.81 Preferred Dividends Income Available to Common Excl. Extra Items -147.17 217.81 19.75 117.35 91.94 Income Available to Common Incl. Extra Items -218.70 163.58 19.75 117.35 77.81 Basic Weighted Average Shares Basic EPS Excluding Extraordinary Items Basic EPS Including Extraordinary Items Dilution Adjustment 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Diluted Weighted Average Shares 232.72 234.43 233.52 232.65 232.04 Diluted EPS Excluding Extraordinary Items -0.63 0.93 0.08 0.50 0.40 Diluted EPS Including Extraordinary Items Dividends per Share Common Stock Primary Issue 0.10 0.30 0.10 0.10 0.33 Gross Dividends Common Stock Net Income after Stock Based Comp. Expense Basic EPS after Stock Based Comp. Expense Diluted EPS after Stock Based Comp. Expense Depreciation, Supplemental Total Special Items Normalized Income Before Taxes Effect of Special Items on Income Taxes Income Taxes Ex. Impact of Special Items Normalized Income After Taxes Normalized Income Avail to Common Basic Normalized EPS Diluted Normalized EPS -0.29 1.22 0.21 0.58 0.40 Findings of the study: There are no typical activities that always effectively address certain types of issues in organizations. Many times, the achievement of a project lies not with having chosen the perfect choice of actions, but rather with how honest and participative people were during the project, how much they learned and how open they were to altering their plans for change. However, there are some basic consideration that most people make when select from among the many choices for organizational expansion, or capacity building, actions. Considerations include: First, does the change-management method propose what organizational growth activities to use now, for example, the method of strategic management might propose that a SWOT analysis be done, strategic goals be recognized along with action tactics for each goal, and then achievement of the action plans be closely monitor. Frequent Monitoring the Dealers: Continuous monitoring system is very important to observe the market. Therefore Marketing Executives visit to the distributors should be more frequent like other competitor companies To Increase good relationship: Distributors are the main sources for the sales of motor cycle products. So my recommendation is that, the company should extend and increase good relationship with all dealers and salesmen. Price Stability: Presently because of Under rate process the distributors are facing different problems. As Under rateof product price creates a great problem in smooth selling, therefore price stability of all product is very much necessary. Availability of marketing executives: In present competitive market situation most of the competitive companies are engaging a big marketing executives to capture the market. In compare with that marketing executives are not sufficient to cover all of the distributors. So marketing executives availability should be ensured. Low price of products: At present the price of Harley-Davidsons products is relatively high in comparing to other competitor companies product. But to capture the market and reach their product to all kind of customers, my recommendation is that, Walton should reduce somewhat their product price. Recommendation of the study: 1. Standard Advertisement Advertisement plays a vital role to run any business well. But in my survey, I have found hat the advertisement of Harley-Davidsons is not satisfactory at all. So the company should pay more attention to advertising. 2. Quality of the products: From my survey I came to know that the of some products of Harley-Davidsons is very low. Some products create disturb even two or three months after selling. If Walton wants to exist in the market for long time and face the competition, it must concentrate on better quality products. Continuous customer contact and monitoring is essential. 4 Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) must be used. 5. Customer attraction and retention policy should be modified. 6. To identify new area where the product is not available. At last I want to say that the company should practice Total quality management (TQM) properly. Conclusion: merely put, strategic planning determine where an organization is going over the next year or more, Harley Davidson how its going to get there and how itll know if it got there or not. The focus of a planned plan is usually on the whole organization, while the focus of a business plan is typically on a particular product, service or program. There are a variety of perspective, model and approaches used in strategic planning. The way that a strategic plan is residential depends on the nature of the organization leadership, culture of the organization, complexity of the organizations environment, size of the organization, expertise of planners, etc. For example, there are a variety of strategic planning models, as well as goals-based, issues-based, organic, scenario some would state that circumstances planning are more a method than model. goals-based planning is most likely the most common and starts with focus on the organizations mission and vision, values, goals to work toward the mission, strategies to achieve the goals, and act setting up who will do what and by when. Issues-based strategic planning often starts by examining issues facing in the Harley Davidson organization, strategies to address those issues, and action plans. Organic strategic planning might start by articulating the organizations vision and values and then action plans to achieve the vision while adhering to those values. Some planners prefer a particular approach to planning, eg, appreciative inquiry. Some plans are scoped to one year, many to three years, and some to five to ten years into the future. Some plans comprise only top-level in order and no action plans. Some plans are five to eight pages long, even as others can be significantly longer.

Ethics and Compliance Paper Essay

Starting in Seattle with one store, Starbucks has grown across the country and has become a household name delivering one of the best tasting coffees in existence. The first Starbucks opened in 1971, serving fresh roasted coffees. â€Å"Today, more than 15,000 stores in 50 countries, Starbucks are the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world† (Starbucks, para. 7, 2010). The organization has been successful because of excellent managerial skills and implementing sound business decisions. Starbucks mission statement reads as follows: â€Å"to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time† (Starbucks, 2010, p. 1). The company values its relationships with communities, its stores, business partners, shareholders, and employees. Responsible ethical character and compliance helps the Starbucks brand protect its reputation. This paper will explain the role of ethics, procedures, Securities and Exchange Com mission (SEC) compliance, and evaluate the financial performance of the Starbucks organization. Ethics and Compliance Policies A successful organization builds its reputation on honesty and trust displayed to customers and business partners. Starbucks conducts business in an ethical manner that protects reputation and supports its culture by unceasingly striving to do what is right. Starbucks has a commitment to company values that successfully employs a Business Conduct Helpline and a Business Conduct Web-line for questions and guidance. Starbucks has incorporated an Anti-Retaliation Policy and does not tolerate retaliation against anyone reporting misconduct. The organization is an equal opportunity employer and use best practices in the hiring process. Business practices include and are not limited to accurate and truthful business transactions and comply with laws and regulations in any country the company operates in, and encourage partners to understand and adhere to the rules. Starbucks has an outside agent who facilitates and ensures an honest and ethical relationship with government officials throughout the international arena. Partners associated with the Starbucks brand must practice ethical conduct in sales, services, and promote fair competition. Matters dealing with conflicts of interest, gifts and entertainment, and securities are also addressed and implemented by the company. The company closely monitors proprietary information such as new ideas, company records including financial and audit details. Starbucks explains the Ethical Decision-Making Framework to identify ethical issues, give any possible solutions, pursue ideas from others, and take the best approach to resolve unethical matters and follow-up on results. The aforementioned framework empowers each Starbucks associate and affiliate to take responsibility to help maintain Starbucks ethical and honest reputation. â€Å"Ethical behavior is doing the right thing, and ethical dilemmas are everywhere in finance† (Keown, Martin, Petty & Scott, para. 1, 2005). Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulations According to Ethisphere.com, (2010), Starbucks is one of the most ethical companies in the world for 2010. One of the key points to being an ethical business is to file reports for investors, government bodies, and the public to view. Starbucks complies in one way with the ethics policies set in place by the directors and organization by providing accurate data. The financial records of Starbucks are available to the investors, public and government in a timely manner via the website. The requirement set by the Securities Exchange Committee for a public business is to provide accurate reports in a timely manner. Starbucks publishes an annual report to the Starbucks website for anyone to find via the Internet. The annual report contains cash flow statements of income and expenses. The reports show that Starbucks is performing well even during a tough economic time. The annual report also contains a statement of Starbucks critical accounting policies. Starbucks believes that critical accounting practices are important. Starbucks considers its policies an asset impairment, stock-based compensation, operating leases, self insurance reserves and income taxes to be the most critical in understanding the judgments which are involved in preparing the consolidated financial statements, as stated in the annual report on Starbucks website, (2010). Financial Ratios for the Past Two Years Starbuck’s financial records allow investors, the government, and the public to have a firsthand look into the financial stability of the company. The financial records are available for several years; this allows the long-term financial success of the company to be easily accessible and available anyone wanting to know about the company. As an investor with interest in expanding into Starbucks there are several things the investor should look for. The current ratio allows investors the ability to measure how well a company can pay back short-term debt (Keown, Martin, Petty, & Scott, 2005). Starbucks ability to pay back debt in 2009, increased over 2008. In 2008 Starbucks closed several unprofitable locations (Starbucks Investor Relations- Financial Release, 2009) resulting in the decrease of overhead costs for those locations; allowing for additional funds and increasing the ability for Starbucks to pay back short-term debt. This increases the stability of Starbucks. The availability of extra funds allows Starbucks the opportunity to invest those funds in profitable time value investments. The funds could be invested in the company for improvements or costs for innovate new products. The extra funds could also pay necessary expenses outright. This allows the company to have lower amounts of outstanding credit or loans. The lower the amount of outstanding loans and credit allows for lower credit fees and lower costs. *Current Ratio 2009 2008 Current AssetsCurrent Liabilities 599.81581.0 269.82189.7 37.93% 12.32% Investors can also look at the Debt Ratio of Starbucks. The debt ratio shows the amount of debt a company carries in relation to their assets (Keown, Martin, Petty, & Scott, 2005). Companies must carry some debt to do business effectively. However, the company does not want to carry too much debt. Starbucks has expenses that must be paid for; some of these can be paid using credit. However, the company should ensure they are not charging unnecessarily. Starbucks must also show they are paying off their debt. Starbucks debt ratio decreased from 56.08% in 2008 to 45.38% in 2009 (Starbucks Investor Relations- Financial Release, 2009). Tends in the Ratios This shows a positive financial trend. The company had larger debt in 2008 and was able to repay a good portion of the debt without increasing debt somewhere else in the company, ultimately lower the overall debt of the company. This positive trend will increase the credit status of Starbucks. This will allow the company to have credit available if needed in the future. *Debt Ratio 2009 2008 Total DebtTotal Assets 2531.15576.8 3181.75672.6 45.38% 56.08% Investors can also look at the Return on Equity Ratio. The Return on Equity Ratio measure the amount of net income returned as a percentage of shareholder equity (Keown, Martin, Petty, & Scott, 2005). The main reason investors invest into companies is to make money!! If the investor does not make a sizable return on their investment, they may take their money and decide to invest elsewhere!! The investor wants to have confidence the company is going to make solid decisions that will increase the profitability of the shareholders. Starbucks has seen a decrease in Return on Equity. In 2008 Starbucks Return on equity was 21.10% and in 2009 it fell to 19.64% (Starbucks Investor Relations- Financial Release, 2009). This is a negative trend for Starbucks. Investors do not want to lose money! The decrease was minimal, yet it was a decrease. Overall the company has solid financials. This one negative issue can become a major problem if Starbucks continues to make decisions that allow shareholders equity to decrease. *Return on Equity 2009 2008 Net Income Common Equity 598.23045.7 525.82490.9 19.64% 21.10% *All numbers are in millions Conclusion In conclusion, Starbucks has proven itself to be a good investment for any investor. The organization has been in the business for 30 years and has showed substantial growth throughout. The organization started out with one location and has grown to over 15,000, which are located throughout the globe. The organization as a whole strives to uphold ethical behavior, not only set by the SEC but as well as for them. Not only does the organization uphold a high ethical behavior for them but as well only does business with those who have the same mentality. This was proven by being ranked one of the most ethical places to work and this was according to Ethisphere.com. Even though there was a small decrease in the return on equity from 2008 to 2009, which consequently could be because of the recession that most businesses have been affected by, Starbucks has still proven strong that the organization is still a good investment. The organization has shown an increase in profit and a decrease in debt. All and all, Starbucks is a good investment for anyone who is interested in getting into the business, which the organization has shown through good business decisions and ethical behaviors. Reference Keown, A. J., Martin, J. D., Petty, W. J., & Scott, D. F. (2005). Financial Management: Principles and Applications. Pearson Prentice Hall. Retrieved online on November 22, 2010 located at https://portal.phoenix.edu/classroom/coursematerials/fin_370/20101109/. Starbucks Investor Relations- Financial Release. (2009, 11 4). Retrieved November 20, 2010, from Starbucks: http://investor.starbucks.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=99518&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1492291&highlight= SEC. Gov, (2010). The Investor’s Advocate: How the SEC Protects Investors, Maintains Market Integrity, and Facilitates Capital Formation. Retrieved on November 22, 2010 online located at http://www.sec.gov/about/laws/sea34.pdf Starbucks. (2010). About Us. Retrieved online on November 22, 2010 from http://www.Starbucks.com Starbucks website, (2010). Investor relations. Retrieved on November 22, 2010 from Starbucks website http://www.starbucks.com Starbucks website, (2010). Annual Report. Retrieved from Starbucks website on November 20, 2010: http://www.starbucks.com