The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 36

Damon was the first to move, which didn't surprise Elena. His leather jacket scorched, long burns running across his face and arms, he staggered past the others through the fire and threw open the garage door. Outside, thunder rumbled overhead and a heavy rain was fal ing. Despite the rain, the garage was burning ferociously, flames licking their way up the sides of the smal building and across the roof. As they al stumbled outside, Meredith, coughing, turned her face up to the rain. Matt and Alaric supported Mrs. Flowers and placed her in the driver's seat of her car. Elena held her hands out, letting the driving rain wash away the soot and soothe her burns. The rest of her friends mil ed around not far from the burning garage, stil stunned. â€Å"Oh, Damon,† said Bonnie. She paused to cough and wheeze for a few seconds, then leaned careful y toward Damon, avoiding his injuries, and kissed him on the cheek. â€Å"I'm so happy you came back.† â€Å"Thank you, redbird,† Damon said, patting her on the back. â€Å"Excuse me for a second; I need to take care of something.† He stepped away and caught Elena by the hand. In the distance came the wail of sirens, signaling the advance of fire trucks and police cars drawn by the fire. Damon pul ed Elena toward the dark shadows under a tree near the house. â€Å"Come on,† he said. â€Å"You need blood now.† He felt his throat with charred fingers, then drew a fingernail against one of his veins. His leather jacket was practical y destroyed, just rags and ashes hanging from him, and the long burns on his face and body were stil red and raw-looking, but already better than they had been a few minutes before. â€Å"I could do that,† said Stefan, approaching them and leaning against the wal of the house. He looked tired and bedraggled, but his injuries, too, were already healing. â€Å"Elena's always welcome to my blood.† â€Å"You can definitely pitch in. But that's a bad injury she's got,† said Damon matter-of-factly, â€Å"and you don't have the Power to heal it right now.† Elena had been trying not to look at her right hand. Although she couldn't real y move it, it didn't hurt much anymore. Which was probably a bad sign, actual y. Did that mean the nerve endings were dead? A quick, anxious glance down at her hand made her stomach churn. Even that tiny glimpse showed her horribly blackened and reddened flesh and peeling skin and – God – she thought she'd seen a glimpse of bone beneath the flesh. She let out a low, involuntary whimper. â€Å"Drink,† said Damon impatiently. â€Å"Let me fix it before they come and drag you off to the burn unit.† Elena stil hesitated, and Damon sighed and turned to Stefan again. â€Å"Look,† he said, his voice softening, â€Å"it's not always about Power. Sometimes the blood is just about taking care of someone.† â€Å"I know that,† Stefan replied, blinking tiredly at him. â€Å"I just wasn't sure that you did.† Damon's mouth twisted in a wry smile. â€Å"I'm an old man, little brother,† he said. â€Å"I know a lot of things.† He turned back to Elena. â€Å"Drink now,† he insisted, and Stefan smiled reassuringly at her. Elena nodded at Stefan before pushing her mouth tightly against Damon's neck. The second she tasted his blood, Elena became wrapped in warmth and the pain in her hand stopped. She no longer felt the unpleasant cold drumming of the rain on her head and shoulders, the icy trickle of water down her body. She was cozy and safe and loved, and time had stopped just long enough for her to catch her breath. Damon? she thought, and reached out to his mind with hers. He answered her without words, but with a wave of affection and care, of undemanding love. Through the haze, Elena realized there was something new here†¦ When she and Damon had al owed their minds to touch in the past, she had often sensed that Damon had been holding back a part of himself. Or, on the rare occasions when she got past the inner barriers he'd thrown up against intruders, she'd found hurt and rage, a lost child chained to a rock. Now Elena sensed only love and peace as she and Damon melted into each other. When she pul ed back from him at last, it took her a moment to return to the real world. Stefan was no longer next to them. It was raining stil , cold water running through her hair, over her shoulders, down her neck and arms and body. Her hand ached and was stil badly burned, but it had healed to the point of needing ointment and a bandage rather than surgery. A couple of fire trucks and police cars pul ed into the drive, lights blazing, sirens screaming. Closer to the garage, she saw Meredith abruptly drop Stefan's arm, and Elena realized Meredith had been drinking from his wrist. She realized vaguely that she would have been shocked by this only a few hours ago – she would have assumed Meredith would shy away from touching the blood of any vampire, and Stefan had always reserved his blood for Elena as part of the connection only they shared – but she couldn't work up any real emotion about it now. It felt like al the barriers between their group had broken down. Whether this new state of things lasted or not, they were al one for now. They'd seen the worst of one another. They'd told the truth and come out the other side. And now, if Meredith needed to be healed, of course Stefan would give her his blood. It would be the same for any of them. The firemen jumped from their truck and unrol ed the hoses. As they turned their a ttention to putting out the fire, a couple of uniformed police officers and a man who must be the fire marshal walked purposeful y toward Mrs. Flowers, Matt, Alaric, Celia, and Bonnie, al of whom were now huddled in the car. Meredith and Stefan headed toward them, too. â€Å"Why didn't they help her into the house?† Elena wondered aloud suddenly, and Damon turned a blank gaze of surprise on her. â€Å"I have no idea,† he said slowly. â€Å"It never even occurred to me that we could go inside. I guess everyone felt like they should be out here to watch it burn. Make sure the phantom doesn't come out.† â€Å"It's like we were at the end of the world,† she said softly, thinking aloud. â€Å"Even the boardinghouse seemed so far away that it just wasn't part of the picture. Now that other people are here, the world is starting to turn again.† Damon hmmmed noncommittal y. â€Å"We'd better get over there,† he said. â€Å"I think they could use some help.† Mrs. Flowers's voice was raised indignantly, although Elena couldn't make out the words. As she trailed after Damon she smiled to herself: Since when had Damon cared whether anyone, except Elena herself, could use some help? As they got closer, Elena could see that Mrs. Flowers had gotten out of the car and assumed her best expression of dottiness and eccentricity, blue eyes wide, arms akimbo, as Alaric held an umbrel a over her head. â€Å"Young man!† she snapped at the fire marshal. â€Å"What are you trying to imply by asking why my car wasn't parked in the garage? Surely I have every right to distribute my possessions anywhere I like on my own property! What sort of world do we live in where I am penalized, where I am judged for not fol owing conventions? Do you dare to suggest that I might have had some advance knowledge of this fire?† â€Å"Wel , ma'am, it's been known to happen. I'm not suggesting anything, but the matter has to be investigated,† said the fire marshal stolidly. â€Å"What're al these kids doing here?† one of the police officers asked, shooting a glance around. His eyes lingered on Damon's burned leather jacket and the raw skinless patch on Stefan's cheek. â€Å"We're going to need to talk to al of you,† he said. â€Å"Let's start by getting your names and addresses.† Stefan stepped forward and held the officer's eyes with his. â€Å"I'm sure that won't be necessary,† he said softly, compel ingly. Elena could feel him using his Power. â€Å"The garage burned because it was struck by lightning in the storm. No one was here except the old lady in the house and a few of her guests. Everything's so straightforward and simple, there's no need to question anyone.† The officer looked puzzled and then nodded, his face clearing. â€Å"These storms can cause a lot of property damage,† he replied. The fire marshal snorted. â€Å"What are you talking about? Lightning didn't strike anywhere near here.† Stefan shifted his gaze to the fire marshal. â€Å"There's nothing to bother investigating†¦Ã¢â‚¬  But the spel was broken, and now al three men were looking at him with suspicion. Stefan's Power wasn't going to be strong enough to use on al three, Elena realized, and he wouldn't be able to convince even one of them if the men were al together, awakening one another's doubts. Stefan's face was drawn and tired. He had fought a long battle – more than one, actual y. And Stefan was never strong in Power, not when he didn't drink human blood. If he'd been worrying over her and preparing to fight the phantom, it had probably been days since he had had even more than a few swal ows of animal blood. Damon stepped forward. â€Å"Sir?† he said politely. The fire marshal looked at him. â€Å"If I could speak to you privately for a moment, I'm sure we can clear this up.† The marshal frowned but fol owed him to the back porch of the boardinghouse, the second police officer tagging along. Under the porch light, they faced Damon, at first suspicious. Gradual y, as he spoke to them, their shoulders relaxed and they began to nod and smile. Stefan spoke softly to the other officer again. He'd be able to handle influencing one person alone, Elena knew, even in his current state. Meredith and Bonnie had gotten into the backseat of Mrs. Flowers's ancient automobile – so old that Elena suspected it might predate Mrs. Flowers herself – and were deep in conversation, while Alaric and Celia continued to support Mrs. Flowers under the umbrel a as she listened to Stefan's conversation with the police officer, Matt hovering nearby. Elena walked quietly past them and slipped into the back of the car with Bonnie and Meredith. The door shut with a satisfyingly heavy clunk, and the black leather bench seat creaked and groaned under her. Bonnie's red curls were soaked straight, wet tendrils hanging down over her shoulders and sticking to her forehead. Her face was smudged with ash and her eyes were red, but she gave Elena a genuinely happy smile. â€Å"We won,† she said. â€Å"It's gone for good, isn't it? We did it.† Meredith was solemn yet exultant, her gray eyes shining. There was stil a smear of Stefan's blood on her lips, and Elena stifled the urge to wipe it away for her. â€Å"We did win,† Meredith affirmed. â€Å"You both did so amazingly. Bonnie, it was real y smart of you to start casting off jealousies as fast as you could. It kept the phantom off balance. And Elena†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She swal owed. â€Å"Plunging into the fire was so brave of you. How's your hand?† Elena held out her hand and flexed the fingers in front of them. â€Å"The incredible powers of vampire blood,† Elena said lightly. â€Å"Very useful for the aftermath of a battle, right, Meredith?† Meredith flushed at Elena's teasing, then smiled a little. â€Å"I don't know,† she said. â€Å"It seemed sil y not to use al our†¦ advantages. I feel better already.† â€Å"You were terrific, too, Meredith,† Bonnie said. â€Å"You fought like you were dancing. Graceful and strong and beautiful and so supertough, the way you used your stave.† Elena agreed. â€Å"I never could have gotten the rose if you hadn't cut the phantom.† â€Å"I guess we're al terrific,† said Meredith. â€Å"The first meeting of the Robert E. Lee High School Alumni Mutual Admiration Society is now cal ed to order.† â€Å"We'l have to get Matt in and tel him how wonderful he is,† Bonnie said. â€Å"And I guess Stefan also counts as an alum, right? I think now that the world's changed, he might have graduated with us.† She yawned, showing a smal pink tongue like a cat's. â€Å"I'm just worn out.† Elena realized she was, too. It had been a very long day. A very long year since the Salvatore brothers had come to Fel ‘s Church and life had changed forever. She slumped down in the seat and rested her head on Meredith's shoulder. â€Å"Thank you for saving the town again, both of you,† she said sleepily. It seemed important to say it. â€Å"Maybe tomorrow we can start working on normal again.† Meredith laughed a little and hugged them both. â€Å"Nothing can defeat our sisterhood,† she said. â€Å"We're too good for normal.† Her breath hitched. â€Å"When you were both taken by the phantom,† she said quietly, â€Å"I was afraid I had lost you forever. You're my sisters, real y, not just my friends, and I need you. I want you to know that.† â€Å"Absolutely,† Bonnie said, nodding feverishly. Elena reached out for both of them. The three friends squeezed one another tightly in a laughing, slightly tearful group hug. Tomorrow would come, and maybe normal – whatever that was at this point – would come, too. For now, Elena had her true friends. That was a lot. Whatever happened, that would be enough.

Competence in Counseling Essay

Counseling is the professional guidance in resolving personal conflicts and emotional problems. It is advice, opinion, or instruction given in direction the judgment or conduct of another. Knowing how to posses personal qualities such as maturity, empathy, warmth, understanding, and knowledge. From a legal stand point ethics, morality, and law must be strongly conformed. It is accurate decision-making, knowing appropriate words to use, and knowledge of the governing standards that is required. Also knowing accurate information about culture and ethnicity of the present society. Aspects of Counseling Counseling has been misrepresented over the past years for different types of endorsements of products. In todays time the profession as far as counseling goes is now corresponded within its practice. The focus is on growth and wellness as well as clarification of mental disorders. In order to relate to the counseling field an understanding of guidance and psychotherapy must be understood along with having history of the profession. Guidance is leadership, instruction, or direction by helping others make important choices that affect their future in maintaining a productive and healthy lifestyle. An individual being taught guidance must learn to choose what values them the most in order to produce change within their life. This will give that particular individual a sense of direction by following instructions to becoming a leader. The goal in guidance is to promote resourceful and happy lives of individuals by helping them adjust to social actualities. Psychotherapy is a process focused on helping heal and learn more beneficial ays to deal with problems or issues within an individuals life. It is also a supportive process when going through a difficult time period or either under increased stress. It traditionally focused on serious problems associated with internal issues, personal issues, and conflicts. Normally psychotherapy is recommended when a person is struggling with a life, relationship, work issue, or a specific health concern causing the individual a great deal of pain or upset for longer than a few days. Counselors hold an important position that affect many lives throughout the course of a career. A counselor serves as an advice-giving role in a wide number of areas. There are many types of counselors, including school guidance counselors, psychological counselors, counselors for victims, youth camp counselors and more. Aspects of Counseling The vast majority of counselors are extremely caring people who are dedicated to their work and enjoy helping to make others’ lives better. There is a wide range of ideal personality traits that are associated with being a top counselor. One of the most important personality traits, if not the most important, is a keen ability to listen. In order to help people and find solutions to problems, the counselor must be a keen listener in order to best help the person seeking counsel. Counselors should also have an understanding of human psychology and possess a strong sense of sensitivity. Another ideal character trait for a counselor is having a strong sense of direction in order to find the best path to success for the people whom they counsel. Having a strong sense of direction usually solves problems more quickly and efficiently. Ideal counselor personality traits are a commitment to the profession, humanity and the client. The ideal counselor serves the assistance of the clients. The counselor will develop meaningful and trusting relationships with their clients and insure that this trust is not shaken or broken. An ideal counselor’s personality has a consumer first attitude and should represent a supporter and guidance role with nurturing characteristics to assist in the creation of a reliable bond between the client and the counselor. Other quality traits include their knowledge of the profession and its standards of practice, along with some background in psychology. A good organizational personality trait of a counselor is their willingness to promote efficient case management techniques. Aspects of Counseling As an effective counselor one of the main qualities needed is patience. Go to the next step of explanation only when the patient has clearly understood the content of the information you have provided. Therefore the counselor needs to have enough sufficient time for the patient, and should also be a good listener. Let the patient express everything he/she has to say, and give your inputs once when the patient has finished talking. A counselor should be very observant and able to interpret non-verbal communication for example if the patient looks angry, and then find out the cause of his/her anger first. An effective counselor should provide non-possessive warmth in a counseling environment. Smile and show concern and acceptance by showing comfort, empathy, and understanding to the patient. Counselors should have good knowledge on the topic /problem like compliance to medication. Some people do not take medication for the same reasons, while others demand medication. Understanding the factors why people may not do certain activities at specific time will help you to assist them better. Try to understand the feelings the patient is having in the counseling process. In other words put yourself in his/her position. Give the patient the opportunity to make his/her own decision from your message. Lastly be sure to make it aware to the patient that you as their counselor maintain confidentiality on what the patient tells you. This means that counseling must be done individually and privately. Letting the patient know that you maintain a high degree of personal reliability, trustworthiness and mutual trust as an effective counselor. Aspects of Counseling As there are three different levels of counseling relationships to be aware of nonprofessional, paraprofessional, and professional. Nonprofessionals would be considered as family, friends, colleagues, untrained volunteers, or supervisors who try in assisting those who are in need. Secondly, paraprofessionals are individuals who have received some sort of training in human relations. Lastly professionals are those who are educated with the nowledge to provide assistance on a protective and corrective level. While being the ideal, effective, and professional counselor you must also keep in mind that you must follow the ethical and legal aspects of counseling also. Ethics is defined as a philosophical discipline that is concerned with human conduct and moral decision-making. You should also familiarize yourself with morality, which involves judgment or evaluation of action, and another major definition to know is law, which is the precise organization of governing standards that are established to ensure legal and moral justice. The law does not dictate what is considered to be ethical but what is considered to be legal. Ethical codes are there to protect the profession from government. They allow the professions to control itself and functions independently instead of being controlled by legislation. In making ethical decisions counselors familiarize themselves with casebooks, professional colleagues, and principles. It is very crucial that counselors become well knowledgeable with ethics for the sake of their own well-being and of their patients as well. Multicultural psychology focuses on the cultural differences in thought processes and acceptable vs. nacceptable behaviors. It relates to normal lives – such as home, education, work and relationships – but also to what is considered ‘abnormal’ or ‘normal’. Aspects of Counseling Knowing your patient plays a huge factor in counseling sessions as well. To know the cultural background of your patient can help you better relate to them as an individual. Many cultural ethnic groups live in the United States. A culture is behaviors, thoughts, perceptions, values, goals, and cognitive processes. An issue in multicultural counseling is the dominance of theories based on cultural values. A second issue is sensitivity to cultures in general, believes that are essential to counselors is knowledge of culturally different patients. Knowing that everyone is their own unique person, and have their own views on different things in today’s society. The counselor must also have the skills to work with patients of different cultures. Counselors must work in order to know their patients and their problems. European Americans when taken into consideration is a larger diverse population they are very common to the people of the United States. When counseling African Americans a counselor must understand the history, and coping mechanisms. Hispanics/Latinos a very diverse group as well, and regardless to their background they are very bicultural. Asian and Pacific Islanders are considered as hard working, successful, and not prone to mental or emotional distress. When dealing with many diverse groups like this a common theme is that counselors who work with a variety of culturally different patients must be knowledgeable about them collectively.

Zakat and the taxation system in Saudi Arabia Research Proposal

Zakat and the taxation system in Saudi Arabia - Research Proposal Example These taxes are; income tax, Zakat, Natural Gas Investment tax, withholding tax, capital gains tax, and indirect taxes. Under income tax, the government of Saudi Arabia targets the taxable income of joint stock companies, Saudi legal organizations, partnership businesses, contractors, foreign companies, and independent professionals (Janjua, 39). Zakat is a religious wealth tax, the government levies on the citizens of Saudi-Arabia, and other nationals of the GCC. This tax is levied from the profits they obtain in the various companies that these nationals operate in Saudi Arabia (Hefner, 39). The rate of calculating this tax is 2.5% of the capital employed. The Natural Gas Investment Tax is charged on any person involved in the business of natural gas, and other businesses related to the production and sale of natural gas. Withholding tax is a deducted from any payment made to an individual who is a non-resident of Saudi Arabia (Otto, 28). The people targeted do not have any legal registration that allows them to engage in economic activities in Saudi Arabia. Capital gain taxes are levied on the gains made by the sale of business assets, or an individual’s fixed assets (Janjua, 42). Despite the recognition of these taxes by the Ministerial Resolution 278, this research proposal concentrates on the tax system referred to Zakat. To understand the nature of this research, this proposal will explain this concept of Zakat, and how it relates to Sharia law. Sharia law is one of the laws that govern the administration of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is an Islamic State. This has made the country to develop a system whereby everybody residing within the Saudi Arabia has to live in accordance to the principles and teachings of Islam. Paying alms to the poor is one of the teachings of Islam. Zakat Taxation system is developed from this teaching of paying alms to the poor (Hefner, 36). This research proposal analyzes the aims and

Follow PDF insturtion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Follow PDF insturtion - Essay Example Genetic adaptations to the local conditions differentiate these species. Ecosystem Diversity This speaks about the variety of habitats in a region. Example is San Francisco Bay-Delta ecosystem constituted of wetlands, estuaries, grasslands, fresh and salt water, rivers". Methods to Measure Biodiversity and Relative Strengths and Weaknesses Ecologists measure diversity in three different scales. Alpha diversity is measured by counting the number of species within the ecosystem. Beta diversity measures diversity between two ecosystems – comparing species that are unique for each ecosystem. Gamma diversity measures overall diversity for several ecosystems within a specific region. Various methods have been created to measure biodiversity empirically. Whittaker (1972) specified three metrics to measure biodiversity that encompasses species richness. Species Richness It is simply a count of species; however, it does not take into account its abundance and their relative distributio ns. Against this, species diversity will count on species richness and its evenness. Simpson Index This is a good statistical method used quantify the biodiversity of a specie. It measures number of species and abundance of each species. It also measures total numbers in each species. Species diversity is derived from the mathematical formulae that give highest values to ecosystems. It requires huge number of workers, skill and resources. Shannon-Wiener Index This method quantifies the uncertainty associated with the prediction. The index gives how the species is distributed in an ecosystem. This is the most widely used index as far as community ecology is concerned. The average uncertainty goes up as the number of species increases and the distribution becomes even. Answer 2. Insects have their body structure made of head, thorax and abdomen. The head part consists of eyes, that could be simple or compound, and antennae to provide smell sense. The thorax is made of fused segments w ith a pair of legs. The two other fused segments have a pair of wings with variations as per the groups. The abdomen part contains digestion, production and excretion organs. The primary adaptation to life on land was possible through the development of internal tubes for breathing. The internal tubes are connected to the trachea delivering air to the tissues. The tubes get open to the outer area through spiracles to allow air to enter through the trachea and tracheoles. The ends of tracheoles penetrate cells to provide oxygen and eschew carbon dioxide. Each of the three thoracic parts in all insects consists of a pair of legs and the hind legs possess a pair of wings. That is how six legs and four wings are found in most of the insects. Paleoptera is defined as most primitive winged insects. That means all paleopterans will have a specific physical characteristics or wings as a common feature. This does not mean that it includes all winged insects; it just includes primitive ones. Paleoptera and Neoptera differ to each other in their wing articulation. The subclass Pterygota has two further divisions called the Exopterygota and the Endopterygota. Exopterygota insects have life cycles that pass through three stages – egg, nymph and adult. A larger number of insects such as Roaches and Mantids; Dragonflies and Damselflies; Crickets, Grasshoppers and Locusts; True Bugs are part of Exopterygota division. In contrast, Endopterygota have life cycles

Nursing barriers to effective pain management Essay

Nursing barriers to effective pain management - Essay Example A brief overview of the barriers to effective pain management Failure of nurses to proiritise pain relief Some nurses are ignorant to the priority of pain relief as an ethical and moral requirement of the medical profession in relation to denying patients therapeutic support while citing the lack of remedies. Cassell argues that modern medicine has failed to adequately address patient suffering, which should be a core value in an efficient system of medicine (Pasero and McCaffery 2011, pp. 25). The curative model adopted in major healthcare institutions denies chronically and terminally ill patients a chance of good healthcare. This is in support of what Henke, Frogge and Goodman (2005, p. 649) termed as the fear of medical professionals including nurses to be subjected into regulatory scrutiny by governmental agencies. Another nursing barrier towards effective pain management entails the curative model. This model tends to prioritise scientific objectivity undermining the patientâ⠂¬â„¢s own experiences, which could sometimes be more relevant. The clinician is alienated from the patient’s experience of illness, pain, anxiety and emotional distress which are inherent to illness, and with such a chasm existing, the clinician cannot identify with patients suffering (Cox, 2009, pp. 46). This should forms better part of communication between the patient and the nurse. Surgeon Sherwin Nuland best exemplifies the curative model in his description of attempts to treat an elderly, terminally ill patient, Hazel Welch, acknowledging that in pursuit of the cause of illness the patient’s best interests may not be served. In this case, pain alleviation was the priority (Rich, 2006, pp. 56). In essence, the curative model vilifies death as a phenomenon that ought to be fought until all treatment proves futile. This is best exemplified by the negligible number of terminally ill patients under hospice care (Pasero and McCaffery, 2011 pp. 32). The patient is perc eived as a vessel for the disease, and the clinician is mandated to administer the right diagnosis and an accurate prognosis; any need for palliative care is lost in the search for a cure. Curative method does not perceive a condition worse than death while pursuing a cure, for example, a prolonged existence in the vegetative state or extreme pain while pursuing therapeutic interventions. It fails to realise that care is equally important to curing (Moore, 2012, pp. 19). Lack of sufficient knowledge among practitioners The nursing fraternity has continually experienced the lack of adequate training, especially in pain management. Most medical institutions have not been able to offer pain management in their curriculum making it difficult for the nurses to handle patients when they start working at a hospital. However, it is apparent that some of the incidences of lack of sufficient knowledge in the pain management are attributed to ignorance by the nurses themselves. It is up to nur ses to have full information on how they can manage patient’s pain (Thomas 2011, pp. 8). Nevertheless, there is a need for learning institutions to make it mandatory that all nurses undertake a course in pain management. In addition, practicing nurses should be subjected to performance scrutiny by a governmental agency in order to ascertain

Tort Coursework Resit Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tort Coursework Resit - Case Study Example Derek dismissed them. The Court of Appeal the decisions and reasons for the same were upheld. The court did not disturb the findings of fact as the same were admitted. The importance of the decision lies in the court's statement of principle may be stated as the coastguards were under no enforceable private law duty of care to respond to an emergency call and under no duty of care. Although the issue is expressed in this general way, the specific right in question in these appeals, is whether an action for breach of legal duty to take care while performing duties by coastguard can be brought against the Secretary who is responsible for Coastguard. law as to what is the duty to take care. Professor Sir Percy Winfield (1933) (1) defined a tort as 'the breach of a duty primarily fixed by the law, where the duty is one towards persons generally and its breach is redressible by an action for damages.' This necessarily implies that to succeed in an action the plaintiff must prove that In the absence of such legal duty negligence has no legal consequence. In Brett M.R. in Heaven v. Pender (2) it was established that under certain circumstances, one man may owe a duty to another, even though there is no privity of contract between them. Dicta of Brett M.R. in Heaven v. Pender as considered in 1932 by Lord Atkins J. in Donoghue v. Stevenson (3) laid down a very important principle of determining a duty. He held that "The liability for negligence, whet... Dicta of Brett M.R. in Heaven v. Pender as considered in 1932 by Lord Atkins J. in Donoghue v. Stevenson (3) laid down a very important principle of determining a duty. He held that "The liability for negligence, whether you style it such or treat it as in other systems as a species of "culpa," is no doubt based upon a general public sentiment of moral wrongdoing for which the offender must pay. But acts or omissions which any moral code would censure cannot in a practical world be treated so as to give a right to every person injured by them to demand relief. In this way rules of law arise which limit the range of complainants and the extent of their remedy. The rule that you are to love your neighbour becomes in law, you must not injure your neighbour; and the lawyer's question, Who is my neighbour receives a restricted reply. You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour. Who, then, in law is my neighbour The answer seems 1. Winfield on Tort, 8th Ed. (1967) 2. (1883) 11 Q.B.D. 509; see also, Thomas v. Quartermaine, (1887) Q.B.D.685, Le Leiver v. Gould (1893) 1 Q.B. 491; Mogul Steamship Co. v. Mcgregor, Gow and Co.Ltd. (1889) 28 ABD 598; Mcrone v. Riding (1938) 1 E.R. 157; Heley v. London Electricity Board (1965) A.C. 778; Phillips v. William Whitely (1938) 1 A.E.R. 566 3. [1932] A.C. 562 to be - persons who are so closely and directly affected by my act that I ought reasonably to have them in contemplation as being so affected when I am directing my mind to the acts or omissions which are called in question. This appears to me to be the doctrine of Heaven v. Pender (11

Business plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Business plan - Assignment Example Halifax is an ideal location to open this venture, given the vibrant nature of the summer months. The long term vision for SW&D is to expand as an outlet chain across Canada and the Municipality of Halifax will offer the ideal expansion grounds initially. c. Norva Scotia region where Halifax is located is one of the most promising of Canadian tourism attractions with over 2 million visitors in recent years. Halifax tourism and own population are growing steadily (398,000 in year 2009), providing an expanding customer base. Ice-cream industry in Canada has experienced slow yet steady growth, despite its non operational nature during winter months. The Canadian production of ice cream is 400 million liters of hard and approximately 20 million liters of soft ice creams (Sector Profile, 2006) Other items as sundaes and shakes account for 175 million liters. Out of this production Canada also exports around 15 thousand tones over the previous year, mainly to USA and Arab countries (Consumption of Dairy Products, 2010). Total ice cream sales in Canada reached almost $2.1 billion in sales value. The industry is not fragmented and two giants, Nestle and Unilever holds over 60% of the market share (Euromonitor, 2006). Rest of the market is fragmented with regional chains, vendor franchises and chart sales. Direct competition for SW&D will come from the other ice cream parlors in the region such as Dairy Queen, Black Bear Ice Cream Parlor, Cows Homemade Ice Cream, Kendales Ice, Cows Halifax, Cold Stone Creamery to name a few. In addition to these well known outlets, there is a host of other outlets which capitalize on the growth of impulse purchases (Dairy market.com, 2008). Indirect competition to ice creams comes from other deserts and confectionaries that will compete for customers’ share of spend on impulse indulgent foods. However, in this business scenario, SW&D is planning to counter this by incorporating a wide desert

Buyer behaviour Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Buyer behaviour - Assignment Example In marketing the Galaxy Note 4 cell phone, the marketing team has to identify the specific customers, the location, specific time and the client’s requirements. â€Å"M† for measurable. In this section, the objectives are examined whether they are assessable in terms of their cost, quality, quantity, deadlines and frequency (Wayne, 2014). In addition, it is the extent that a product can be examined against an absolute standard. For instance, marketing the Galaxy Note 4 requires the accurate details about the cell phone, the cost and performance. â€Å"A† for achievable. The product marketer can answer questions such as how the objectives can be met by a person. That depends on the personnel’s experience, knowledge and skills. The sellers should possess the skills and knowledge to convince the customer to buy. â€Å"R† for Relevant. The goals can be realistic or high to achieve. The marketer should decide how high the goals should be (Wayne, 2014). For instance, when marketing Galaxy Note 4, the marketer should have a certain range of targets that is relevant. That should also answer what will be the impact of the implementation. â€Å"T† for time-oriented. This answers a question of when the strategies will be implemented and up to when (Wayne, 2014). Some products may end at a given date. For instance, marketing the Galaxy Note 4 during the Christmas

Sexual Assault and Child Molestation Research Paper - 1

Sexual Assault and Child Molestation - Research Paper Example Of all the reported rape cases in 2009, 93% were rapes of force (URC). Rape by fraud is a form of rape or sexual assault wherein the woman is made to believe that it is her husband whom she has sex with. Rape, as mentioned, is a woman’s the carnal knowledge in the absence of her consent and is obtained by threats, fraud, force, etc. The fraud here should be consist of certain strategies by which the woman is made to believe that the offender is her spouse (Lee v. State, 1902). Marital rape also referred to as intimate partner sexual assault, is one that is done or committed by the current or the past partner, whether boyfriend or spouse. It happens when there is forced intercourse within the marriage or the partnership. However, there are still many countries that do not consider marital rape as a crime. In the United States, for instance, rape is defined as sexual conduct forced on an individual other than a wife since the wife sexual consent is presumed. In acquaintance rape, the offender is usually somebody who the victim knows casually or by sights, such as a colleague or a neighbour. In date rape, the offender is somebody who the victim knows and who the victim has consented to spend time with. Somebody who commits acquaintance rape or date rape can make use of various tactics, such as seeing to it that she is isolated, locking the door, making promises of taking her home from an event or party but taking her someplace else instead; he may threaten the victim with public humiliation, telling her that he will tell their friends that they sexually romantic regardless of what might actually take place; he may pressure her emotionally, saying that if she doesn’t agree, he will leave her; or he may use economic pressure, saying that he deserves sexual intimacy because he paid for their dinner (Huff, 2009). According to Holmes (1991), sex offenders and rapists are likely to be young men below the age of 30 during the time of the assault.     

Drug abuse program Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Drug abuse program - Assignment Example In the past two decades, many measures have been taken by the government in order to improve the delivery of health care services particularly with reference to the drug abuse treatment and psychological health improvement in the Los Angeles County. People addicted to substance abuse that also suffer from mental problems are said to have dual diagnosis. Measures have been taken to increase the access of dually diagnosed people to medical care and coordinate the required services for such individuals. To make the system more efficient, it was imperative that the current status of the delivery of service was thoroughly researched. In order to achieve that, a study was conducted in which the administrators and the treatment staff of the programs based on substance abuse and mental health, who served the dually diagnosed patients were involved. A total of 15 administrators and 99 staff members considered the accessibility of the dually diagnosed patients to health care services and the c oordination of health care services much lower in comparison to 10 mental health administrators and 136 staff members, who gave a higher rating on each of the two factors (Grella, Gil-Rivas, and Cooper, 2004). In order to improve the coordination in the delivery of mental health services in substance abuse treatment and mental health improvement programs, the divergence in the concepts of the administrators needs to be lessened first because efficient working of the system requires them to work in close collaboration with one another.

Roller coaster accidents Essay Example for Free

Roller coaster accidents Essay Abstract Now that summer vacationers are filling up amusement parks on a daily basis how safe are you on the towering roller coasters? Am I the only one who wonders what if something happens? What if something goes wrong will I have enough time to react? With the recent death at Six Flags over Texas, these things cross my mind. Who checks these roller coasters for safety and how often are they checked? Though it seems like there are very few fatalities on rollers coasters it seems to me one is one to many. These questions always enter my mind as I wait for an hour or so in line to ride on one of these metal giants. According to Steph Solis (2013) from USA TODAY, â€Å"out of the 300 million amusement park visitors 37,154 people were injured and 35,977 were release and only 1,177 were admitted to the hospital or died†. So where is the exact number of deaths and why are they not recorded separately? Does anyone care just how many die at amusement park roller coasters or do we as consumers not want to know? According to Harris (2007) the odds of getting seriously injured from being in the amusement park is one in 25 million which odds in your favor are. Harris (2007) goes on to compare this to the odds of getting seriously injured in a car accident which is 15 in 10,000 which is much higher. According to the article, (What are the odd of dying on a roller coaster, 2013) â€Å"The odds of dying on a roller coaster are one in 300 million†. Ok so that makes me feel slightly safer but it doesn’t answer my question on the number of deaths alone that occur in amusement parks. So far the first two of my resources seem to try to make light of the odds of getting injured by comparing them to something more dangerous. In my mind more people own and drive automobiles so this is like comparing apples to oranges. I am still searching for my answer but so far all I am getting is the surrounding questions that try to make me forget about the deaths so I feel safer at the amusement park. My third source of information concentrates on the G-forces of the roller coasters and how this causes head injuries that could possibly lead to death but according to researchers at the U. of Pennsylvania that there isn’t enough G-forces to cause bleeding or swelling of the brain that would result in death (Puskar, 2002). I realize that there are signs in the park that you must be in good health to ride the roller coasters but there isn’t a doctor standing at the end of the line before you get on to give you a check-up so unless you know you have a health risk those signs are meaningless. Are going to be required to have a note from our doctor to ride roller coasters? Is this what it’s coming to? So this source concentrates on one type of injury and there is some concern that the roller coasters should be limited to how much G-force they are allowed but my question still goes unanswered so on to the next source. According to Dessauer (2008), â€Å"That with even years of research and safety precautions these rides can still be very dangerous and even deadly†. He goes on to give tidbits on the history of the roller coaster, but he has his own doubts about how safe are roller coasters really. So I’m not alone out there wondering where we draw the line. How safe should roller coasters be and what is a realistic number of deaths a year that we would consider allowable? To me one death is one to many and I think that all could have been avoidable. Weisenberger (2012), talks about the ASTM F-24 committee and how they develop the minimum safety standards for everything that goes into building and operating a roller coaster. Do they know how many deaths occur every year on roller coasters? If anyone would know I sure they do, but I haven’t been able to find anything by researching that committee. So even though I was unable to find the answer to my question I feel as if I am not alone as to wanting the real number of deaths that occur at our amusement parks on these giant coasters and why aren’t they being prevented. These questions will probably enter my mind every time I enter an amusement park. References â€Å"A Short History of Roller Coasters†. (1996) Themed Attraction. com. Retrieved on 7/22/2013 from http://www. themedattraction. com/coaster. htm Dessauer, Brain. (2008). Roller Coaster Deaths and Dismemberments. Purple Slinky. Retrieved on 7/22/13 from http://purpleslinky. com/offbeat/roller-coaster-deaths-and-dismemberments/ Harris, Tom. (2007). How Roller Coasters Work. HowStuffWorks. com. Retrieved on 7/22/13 from http://science. howstuffworks. com/engineering/structural/roller-coaster9. htm Puskar, Gene J. (2002). ROLLER COASTERS’ SAFETY SUPPORTED BY UNIVERSITY STUDY RESEARCHERS SAY RIDES DON’T RAISE RISK OF BRAIN INJURIES. The Free Library. Retrieved on 7/22/13 from http://www. thefreelibrary. com/ROLLER+COASTERS+SAFETY+SUPPORTED+BY+UNIVERSITY+STUDY+RESEARCHERS+SAY -a092986518 â€Å"Six Flags roller coaster death: Safety bar worried victim, witnesses say†. (2013). MercuryNews. com. Retrieved on 7/22/13 from http://www. mercurynews. com/nation-world/ci_23707295/six-flags-roller-coaster-death-safety-bar-worried Solis, Steph. (2013). How safe is a roller coaster? USA TODAY. Retrieved on 7/22/13 from http://www. usatoday. com/story/news/nation/2013/07/22/roller-coaster-death/2574425/ â€Å"What are the odds of dying on a roller coaster†? (2013). Retrieved on 7/22/13 from http://www. asktheodds. com/death/roller-coaster-odds/ Weisenberger, Nick. (2012). Coasters 101: An Engineer’s Guide to Roller Coaster Design. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Pg. 34.

Factors Affecting Capital Budgeting of ICT Sector Firms

Factors Affecting Capital Budgeting of ICT Sector Firms This research proposal has been written to compare the factors affecting capital budgeting of firms in Information and Communication Technology sector in Thai. The survey factors of decision making in capital budgeting. The many decisions that top management must make in firms. This method is one duty of a financial manager to choose investments with satisfactory cash flows and rates of return. The factors affecting to make decision in capital budgeting, which is the allocation of funds among alternative investment opportunities, is crucial to corporate success. The explicitly considers how well-managed companies and the competition to hook up in segment market of in information and communication technology sector. Overview of Information and Communications firms in Thailand The most economies in the world people consume by spending money to buy goods and services. The ultimate aim of business is to maximize the market value of the firms common stock. Whereby, this means the wealth of its shareholders (Sharpiro 2005). The purpose focus on shareholder value begins with the simple economic understanding. Therefore, the roles of current business can growth through affecting quality competition. This research proposal has the interest in the sense of decision making style in ICT sector. Competitions exist to give the opportunity to enter the best competitions to be found in this kind of business in Thailand. A more captivating reason for focusing on creating shareholder wealth is the difference between the values of the company. Moreover, Companies in ICT sector are highly competitive market in Thailand. That the reason why the significant decision making of capital budgeting to invest by critical thinking. Verma et al (2009) observed for achieve the firms a re focusing even more on effective financial management practices and are greatly concerned about core financial issues like capital structure, cost of capital, working capital management and capital budgeting. The objective of capital budgeting In the recent years, managers have become more sophisticated in allocating capital resources and more concerned about return on investment. Sharpiro (2005) shows the important discussion is that the primary objective of financial management is to maximize the shareholder wealth. In other to, we need to know what affects wealth to benefit shareholders. Consequently, one way that people acquire more wealth is to defer invest and consumption in a company. Those who are relatively risk averse become bondholder, lending money to the company and repayment of the loan.In reality, any firm has limited capital resources that should be allocated among the best investment alternatives. The argument that capital is a limited resource is true of any form of capital. Management should carefully decide whether a particular project is economically acceptable. In the case of more than one project management must identify the projects that will contribute most to profits and to the value or wealth of the firm which is the basis of capital budgeting. Stout (2008) expresses the process of evaluating the desirability of investment is referred to a capital budgeting with real options. Furthermore, illustrate how to price a capital investment project containing real options. To explain these concepts to a wide audience in accounting In addition, this research proposal represent evaluate business strategies on the basis of prospective in capital budgeting by opinion managers who controls the capital resources is managerial decision from sample companies in ICT sector, which is good for every one, not just shareholders. It is well for politicians and other commentators to reflect on the facts in issue. Critical review of Literature This research generalized how company make financial decisions that started by explaining what these decisions are and what they are seeking an achievement. The secret of success in financial management of a corporation depends on how well in system of corporate governance to increase value. In other wards, maximizing value is like advising an investor in the stock market. To carry on business, a corporation needs a limitation to describe investment decision. The investment decision also involves purchase of assets that are often referred to as capital budgeting. The most corporations focus on capital budgeting listing the major project approved for investment. Investment proposal come into view from many different parts of the organisation that may have concluded the simple choice of which projects to accept or reject. Hence corporations need processes to ensure that every project is assessed consistently. The future investment outlays in most companies depend on the investment proc edure starts with the preparation of annual capital budgeting that is a list of projects planned for investment decision. The investment decisions let project proposals from companies for review by planning staff who controls the disposition of corporate resources is making financial decision (Brealey et al., 2011). Furthermore, Burns and Walker (2009) represented the capital budgeting process has been described in terms of four stages: Firstly, Identification is idea generation that include how project proposals are initiated. This stage composes of the overall procedure of project including sources origination and reasons for idea creation. Besides, process of origination and submission procedures are interested in an incentive system for rewarding good ideas. Moreover, this stage focuses on time pattern of creation and what level projects are generated that is a formal process for accepting ideas. Stanley and Block (1984) surveyed there has never been an in-depth survey in this stage. The responding companies in capital budgeting proposals originated bottom up over 80 percent versus top down. Secondly, Development also focuses on the details of how the data is estimated that which firms use cash flow versus accounting data. This involves the level of review, the role of project size, organizational structure and the initial screening process which rely upon primarily early screening criteria and cash flow estimation. Pruitt and Gitman (1987) identified the origination of biases in process for a deeper understanding of capital budgeting forecast and cash flow estimation. In addition, they considered financial, marketing, production and economic factors for quantitative forecast. Gordon and Pinches (1984) suggested the role in forecast accuracy and emphasis on the importance of information systems processes that were the key to improvement of capital budgeting. Thirdly, Selection includes personnel involved and the techniques used for the detailed project analysis that results in acceptance or rejection of the experimental project for funding. This stage separate to subsections follows as: 1. Personnel study on determining person who controls the disposition of corporate resources in company is making final decision and analyses capital expenditures. However, this includes amount of people are involved in project. Brealey et al. (2011) suggested the problem of biased forecasts that originated from strategic planners may have a mistaken view of forecast because cannot identify all worthwhile projects. For instance, the managers of project A and B cannot be expected to see the potential economies of closing their projects and merging production at new project C. 2. Reason for selection Techniques includes determining some techniques are preferred. According to Verma et al. (2009) demonstrated Companies invest in long term assets that expected a flow of benefit over the lifetime of the capital asset in project and a certain amount of resources in exchange for the future return that involves risk. Moreover the many capital budgeting methods or techniques are available for these investments or projects evaluation. A comparative study of affecting capital budgeting by evaluate the impact of different factors or variables on the selection of an individual capital budgeting. In addition, this research covers capital budgeting principles and techniques. Shapiro (2005) represented the companies can use to evaluate prospective investments. To accomplish this object by translate the basic principles of capital budgeting into evaluation techniques capable of applying these principles. The several different methods evaluate potential projects that manag ers use to analyse investments. The alternative methods include: Firstly, three discounted cash flow techniques net present value, profitability index and internal rate of return. The techniques are defined as follows: Net present value (NPV) is the present value of the projects future cash flows that discount at appropriate cost of capital and minus the initial net cash outlay in cost of the project. The value placed on a prospective investment project that focus on cash and only cash, account for the time value of money and account for risk. Thus, projects have a positive NPV that should be accepted. On the other hands, a negative NPV should be rejected. Moreover, Comparison in many projects that the one with higher NPV should be accepted. This NPV method focuses on all cash flows and the time value money when takes into account. Profitability index (PI) is defined as a project equals the present value of future cash flows divided by the initial cash investment as known as the benefit cost ratio. The project should be accepted if the ratio exce eds 1.00. NPV and this ratio always yield the same accept-reject decision. Sometimes, PI can provide superior decision in investment. Internal rate return (IRR) is defined as the sets of present value in project of future cash flows equal to the initial investment outlay that is a discount rate. In other words, this ratio equates the project when NPV is zero that determines the maximum interest rate. The rationale in project yielding more than its cost of capital should have a positive NPV and should be accepted. Otherwise, the project should be rejected. Secondly, two non discounted cash flow techniques payback period and accounting rate of return. The techniques are defined as follows: Payback period is defined as length of time necessary to recover it takes before the accumulative cash flow equals the initial investment from net cash flows. The payback rule states that project should be accepted if payback period less than some specified cut-off period or less period than others project. Payback period was a most commonly to use when choosing among alternative projects. Although widely to use this method, it has serious weakness because this method ignores the cash flows beyond the period and the time value of money that is very sensitive in investment decision. Accounting rate of return also called as the average return on book value or the average rate of return. This technique is the ratio that defined average profit after taxation to average book investment this is an average return on investment (ROI). A return in investment yielding grater than in comparison project and standard should be accepted. Whereas the result is below should be rejected. In addition, Verma et al. (2009) represented the comparisons capital budgeting techniques used in practice. A non-discounted cash flow in capital budgeting techniques was increasing in 1960s especially the payback period method. On the other hands, a discounted cash flow in capital budgeting techniques were interesting 1970s especially use of internal rate of return method in. A trend towards incorporation focused on risk that was also indicated by many studied. Furthermore, the most preferred method for evaluation of investment risk that depended on sensitivity conservative and analysis forecasts and the payback period method and followed by internal rate of return method were most popular in 1980s. Authors found that evaluators used multiple evaluation methods that internal rate of return and followed by the net present Value method were the most preferred choice in 1990s. The adjustment of discount rate methods were the most widely accepted discount rate that was the weighted aver age cost of capital (WACC) that Authors found 78 percent. In the 2000s, Peat and Partington (2007) demonstrated the most popular project evaluation techniques were net present value, internal rate of return and payback period that the most of companies observed these techniques. 3. WACC is defined a usually estimated cost of capital that average rate of return demanded by investors include companies use this rate to make project selections. Bruner et al. (1998) represented the research that companies computed the cost of capital by using WACC. 4. Risk Analysis is actually defined in a capital budgeting context. The risk analysis methods focus on recognised, reflected and assessed. Shapiro (2005) represented the real options and project analysis, risk and incorporating risk in a capital budgeting analysis, corporate strategy and the capital budgeting decision. The improvements could be made in obtaining.The important input from management for improving existing risk models. Ken and Cherukuri (1991) represented the case of large U.S. companies that concluded sensitivity analysis was found popular for handling risk that measuring risk is 80 percent. Dhanker (1995) demonstrated companies incorporated risk by adjusting 45 percent used Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). Shao and Shao (1996) found that firms were using risk-adjusted discount rates less often than risk-adjusted cash flows.In addition, Graham and Harveys (2002) surveyed large companies are preferred to use risk-adjusted discount rate while small companies more lik ely used Monte Carlo simulation for risk adjustment. 5. Capital Rationing include the decisions are made by the financial environment. The specific reasons in capital rationing indicate the correct project proposal biases. The reaction capital rationing is not simply to real problem in managers face that main reason was irresolution to issue external financing. Moreover, accepting projects are avoided highly risk averse by using capital rationing to make decision in company that correct for management optimistic forecast biases. In addition, Gitman and Vandenberg (2000) considered the maintain a target price to earning ratio or earning per share among 23 percent of the respondents using of capital rationing and 60 percent was a debt limit imposed by management. Thus, this improvement has been made on the characteristic of capital rationing. 6. Project Approval as defined the autonomy of divisional managers and the role of divisional manager in each of capital investment project and operating accept-reject decisions. Fourthly, Control involves how the evaluation of project performance. This stage considers by comparison the different in expected result and actual results that indicate the performance measurement. Gordon and Myers (1991) expressed the respondents had performed post-audits 76 percent. However, the post-auditing was not effective according to criteria that involved the use of risk adjusted discount rate cash flow methods, the documented policies and procedures. Unfortunately, the post-audit is unpopular decisions in a standard part of the capital budgeting process. Furthermore, Myers, Gordon and Hamer (1991) found companies by using discounted cash flow based audit procedures by using the data form the same study that result increased their performance in companies. In addition, Pruitt and Gitman (1987) reviewed an upward bias that management suspects that focus on the post-audit process. The optimistic forecasts were sometimes depended on psychological factors. The way to eliminate the psychological biases on future capital budgeting proposals that means the post-audit should provide objective information to remove psychological to effective capital budgeting. The important in control stage has resulted in the deeper understanding in both control purposes and continuous improvement for future decisions. The important contributions have been made in the omitted stages of the capital budgeting process. A set of well-defined capital investment opportunities suggested by several authors its impact on all four stages that the decision support system. Opportunities include focusing on a particular stage by using best practices perspective in the area of real options and project analysis to monitor the outcomes. Brealey et al. (2011) demonstrated the final capital budget must also reflect the strategic planning of corporation. Strategic planning attempts to identify business where the corporation has a competitive advantage that takes a top -down view of company. Research aims and objectives of research proposal The objectives of the study are to examine the capital budgeting practices being adopted by companies in Thailand. Specifically this study aims a comparative study of the factors affecting of different firms in capital budgeting in Information Communication Technology sector. The overall research focuses on objective as following: This objective examines the corporate practices regarding the techniques of capital budgeting used for evaluating an investment proposal. To analyse and compare the difference objectives of capital budgeting by using acquired data. This objective evaluates the impact of different variables or factors affecting capital budgeting on the selection of a method of capital budgeting technique. This objective analyses the corporate practices regarding risk techniques of capital budgeting used for adjusting risk in investment proposals. This objective includes the affecting factors in each project and corporate strategy that relate to the capital-budgeting decision. To evaluate processes and techniques of capital budgeting to improve decision-making and the quality of decisions. Research questions and / or hypotheses H0-What are the purposes and objectives of investment capital budgets in each firm? H0- The identification, development, selection and control stage does affect the making decision of capital budgeting to accept the project. H0-The level of capital budget project does affect the selection of investment. H0-What are a capital budgeting principles and techniques make strategic decisions preferred by companies? H0-What is the most popular capital budgeting technique affect to make decision? H0-Does the company use of multiple capital budgeting techniques? H0- what important factors of decision making are the consideration non financial factors for deciding capital budgeting investment by selected companies? H0- what are risk factors to use in Adjustments? Research Design Methodology for the research This section is essentially about justifying the terms of methodology. It addresses the particular appropriate data collection and analysis. By 150 the questionnaires have distributed go to still ICTs companies in Thailand. The Social Science Version 16 (SPSS software) was advantage from this questionnaire. Thus, imply incidence and percentage are the importance in the lead presents the conclusion spits the questionnaire, way statistics explanation is the importance of using analysis the data. Data Collection Data collected in standardised format from lot of observations based on specific variables and identify patterns between variables. Hence, Data will be collected via structured by questionnaire (see in appendix) a personnel in companies in information communication technology sector in Thailand. The population of interest is planning staffs that involve the project within different department in each company. According to the mention above objective a comprehensive primary survey is conducted of 30 planning staffs who controls the disposition of corporate resources is managerial decision involved of projects companies. The planned sample is 10 projects from different projects in company the amount of staff are surveyed depend on the level of project. Data Analysis Wrenn et al. (2007) represented the SPSS is used the way random simplify by applicability. This technique use to test general in the population that known information of being selected as part of the sample. This research has applied the explanation will of the statistics that Zikmund (2000) demonstrated the explanation and summarize about the people by average calculation that the mean and percent values are majority form in summary data. The acquired data will be analysed by using qualitative methods and data will be compared the actual factors in capital budgeting. The limitation of method used According to Saunders et al. (2007) demonstrated the way of questionnaire process depends on the technique of limitation use in the research that is taking time to collects the data. Moreover, they may take time in making completed profoundly might cause something delay in during procedure. The convenience of limitation is easy to filtration that personal researcher are appropriate more than the filtration from the people. Conclusion Nowadays, the Thailand business environment has become highly sensitive competition in Information Communication Technology sector. The capital budgeting decision necessary for a number of changes have taken place in the business and economic environment in domestic market. For achieving this, the keyword to success in financial management depends on only the professionally and competitive managed companies. The companies are focusing even more on effective financial management practices and company can thrive in such an unstable environment. In addition, the companies are greatly concerned about core financial issues. That the reasons why focus on the affecting factors for making decision in capital budgeting that companies should be improved financial management. Reference Brealey, R.A., Mayers, S.C. and Allen, F. (2011) Principles of Corporate Finance Global Edition. 10th Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Bruner, R.F., Eades, K.M., Harris, R.S. and Higgins, R.C. (1998) Best Practices in Estimating the Cost of Capital: Survey and Synthesis, Financial Practice and Educational. Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 13-28. Burns, R.M. and Walker, J. (2009) Capital Budgeting Surveys: The Future is now. Journal of Applied Finance. No.1 2, pp. 78-90. Dhanker, Raj S. (1995) An Appraisal of Capital Budgeting Decision Mechanism in Indian Corporates, Management Review. (July-December), pp. 22-34. Garbutt, D. (1992) Making Budgets work. 1st edition, London: Chartered Institute of Management Accountant. Gordon, L.A. and Pinches, G.E. (1984) Improving Capital Budgeting: A Decision Support System Approach. 1st Edition. Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company. Graham, J.R. and Harvey, C. R. (2002) How Do CFOs Make Capital Budgeting and Capital Structure Decisions? The Journal of Applied Corporate Finance. Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 8-23. Ken, L.R. and Cherukuri, U.R. (1991) Current Practices in Capital Budgeting: Cost of Capital and Risk Adjustment, ASCI Journal of Management, Vol. 21, No.1, pp. 26-44. Myers, M.D, Gordon, L.A. and Hamer, M.M. (1991) Post-Auditing Capital Assets and Firm Performance: An Empirical Investigation, Managerial and Decision Economics. Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 317-327. Pruitt, S.W. and Gitman, L.J. (1987) Capital Budgeting Forecast Biases: Evidence from the Fortune 500, Financial Management. Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 46-51. Saunders, M., Lewis, P. Thornhill, A. (2007), Research methods for business students. 4thedition, Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Shao, L.R and Shao, A.T. (1996) Risk Analysis and Capital Budgeting Techniques of US Multinational Enterprises, Managerial Finance. Vol. 22, No. 1, pp. 41-57. Shapiro, A.C. (2005) Capital Budgeting and Investment Analysis. 1st edition, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Stanley, M.T. and S.B. Block (1984), A Survey of Multinational Capital Budgeting, The Financial Review. Vol. 19, No.1, pp. 36-54. Stout, D.E., Alice, Y. And Qi, H. (2008) Improving Capital Budgeting Decision with Real Options Management Accounting Quarterly Vol.9, No. 4, p. 1-10. Troung, G., Peat,M. and Partington, G. (2007) Cost of Capital Estimation and Capital Budgeting Practice in Australia Australian Journal of Management, Vol. 33, No. 1, pp. 95-122. Verma, S., Gupta, S. and Batra, R. (2009) A Survey of Capital Budgeting Practices in Corporate India The Journal of Business Perspective Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 1-17. Zikmund, W.G. (2000), Business Research Methods 6th Edition, Fort Worth: The Dryden Press.

Modern Techniques And Changes In Supply Chain Management Business Essay

Modern Techniques And Changes In Supply Chain Management Business Essay Supply chain Management is about the management involved in the network of interconnected business model in the supply chain of products and services required by the end consumers (Customers). SCM has its span of control from purchasing the raw materials, WIP inventory (Semi-Finished) and till the final goods (i.e.) from the initial point to final consumption by the end users. Nowadays in a global scenario the companies recognize the research value of SCM. And tends to analyze the various ways to meet the unimaginable rise in the demand from the customers side with a minimum operation cost involved in it. Earlier the manufacturers are the states of drivers who manage the product manufacturing and the pace of distribution but now a day the customer plays the prominent drivers of supply chain were as the manufacturers are trying to meet the demand. SCM has became the common melting point which influence various aspects in the channel such as procurement , inventory , transportation , manufacturing , distribution , IT management and marketing to enhance the supply chain strategy for obtaining the cost effective performance. Literature Review: As mentioned in the above statement the new perspective of looking the supply chain management has been emerging and lots of topics has been reviewed on it. According to (Xiaoqiang Chai and Jian chai, 2013) that basically the producers produces the products and distributes through the 3PL third party logistics (i.e.) the producers sells it wholesalers and from wholesalers to the distributers and then they sells the final product to the end customers. The lifecycle of the product (quantity and quality) may be deteriorating during the transportation process. Thus the incentive scheme has been highlighted to co-ordinate the supply chain. The scheme had two contracts that is wholesale market clearance (WMC) contract between the manufacturer and distributor and (WDS) Whole sale Price discount sharing between the manufacturer and the 3PL providers. This contract can eliminate the double marginalization between the 3tier supply chain and helps the three parties to work in the better co-ordi nate way. In this (Guillen Gosalbez and Grossman , 2009 2010) has addressed the design and planning of forward supply chain operations considering the uncertainty in the life cycle inventory of the supply chain operations (i.e.) the forward supply chain management will intend towards the overall supply chain process from the identifying suppliers, procurement , warehousing , Manufacturing and until selling to the end users. The proper designing in the above defined process will enhances the overall output efficiency of the supply chain. On the other hand, supply chain structure ( Fleischmann , 2011) studied on the reverse supply chain which can achieved through the reverse process such as repairing , remanufacturing and recycling the used finished goods from users. The Reverse logistics studies has been analyzed and arrived at a conclusion that the focus only on the certain aspects and no holistic analysis on the complete reverse logistics have been performed. The integrated supply chain which fuses the Forward SCM and Reverse SCM is known as the closed loop supply chain (Jayaraman , 1999) developed a model to identify and analyze the optimal number of operation facilities to be started for the effective reverse logistics. In the Supply chain risk management (Tang) has modeled the framework which can be sub-classified as four approaches in supply risk management: Demand management, Supply management, Product management and Information management. In this the nature and the quantitative impact of the risk has to be analyzed. The company can opt for multi-suppliers and it can maximize the inventory in order to prepare for disruptions. The extensive work for identifying the optimal inventory level for manufacturers is spearheaded to reduce the risk level involved. Modern  Techniques and Changes in Supply Chain Management: In the recent years the emerging growth and perspective view towards the Supply chain management is modernizing. In particular the environmental concern towards the recovery of products is accounted in the manufacturers (Producer) responsibility which has lead to the contributing combination of authentic supply chain networks with activities such as reverse logistics. In general the functional model of the forward supply chain initiates from the Tier 2 suppliers who ensures the supply of raw materials to the Tier 1 suppliers where as the Tier 1 suppliers produce semi finished parts from the raw materials. The manufacturer assembles the semi finished parts from Tier 1 suppliers and ensures it into final finished product and then it will be transported to the distributors. The distributor distributes the finished products to the retailers where as the retailers sells the product to the consumers. In the Reverse logistics the function model service is extended from the above model as of collecting back the used finished products, assembling the products into parts and feeding the parts back into the supply chain process (Repair Remanufacture Recycle). And this can be achieved by opening the optimal number of facilities for the reverse logistics functions. However in the supply chain management which handles both the Forward and Reverse supply chain activities are denoted as closed loop supply chain. In this closed loop supply chain the functional activities of both the forward supply chain and reverse supply chain are co-ordially combined as a whole functional process in the supply chain. In this era due to globalization and competition in SCM the automation came to the existence with the focus on the IT management. CSIM is an integrated tool used in the Constructional supply chain management. This above objective is supported by the BIM (Building Information Modeling) and GIS (Global Information System) which enables the process of tracking and provide warning signals in the system to ensure the delivery of materials.

Harriet Martineau Essay -- Essays Papers

Harriet Martineau Although we think of sexism as a situation that has been dealt with, we still have much to learn. A key turning point in discrimination against women was the courageous actions of Harriet Martineau. Harriet was born in 1802, daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Martineau. She grew up in a home without any encouragement for her education. Instead she was trained, as all other women in her life, to be a homemaker. However this did not stop her efforts to pursue her dream. Even though she risked exile from her family, friends, and society at whole, Harriet continued her studies of women’s lesser role in the social aspects of life. Harriet described her childhood as a â€Å"burdensome experience† (Household Education, 1849). Her mother held a strong sense of tyranny in their home due to her upbringing, believing in a more traditional way of child rearing. Men went to college and women stayed at home, her mother believed. Harriet felt she was trapped in this matriarchal way of life, until her father Thomas died sometime during the 1820’s. For her this was a chance to escape from her mother and an unfulfilling life. Because of the financial difficulties in their family now, she could finally be free from that middle class prison and was able to move out on her own. Now with the burden of her family difficulties lifted from her shoulders she was able to learn more about herself and follow her dream of being a writer. â€Å"I have determined that my chief subordinate object in life shall henceforth be the cultivation of my intellectual powers, with a view to the instruction of others by my writings (http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/martineau.html),† she said. With an aspiring attitude she started writing. Initially, her writings were more religious in nature because of her belief in Unitarianism. Later however, she adapted Necessarianism, which allowed her to use a more social scientific viewpoint. This lead to even greater success in her writing. Her first work was published anonymously in 1823 in the Unitarian Journal called Monthly Repository. This had a huge impact among readers and was a profound start to her career. Later when her brother James Martineau found out that she was the author he said, â€Å"now dear, leave it to the other women to make skirts and darn stockings, and you devote yoursel... ...lete invalid worsening her health even more. By 1870s she had to slow down her activity in her studies of sociology. And finally in 1876 Harriet died of bronchitis. Twenty years before that she had already written her obituary. People said it was in her usual fashion to be so prepared. She saw the human race, as she believed, advancing under the law of progress; she enjoyed her share of the experience, and had no ambition for a larger endowment, or reluctance or anxiety about leaving the enjoyment of such as she had (Pichanick, 239). Works Cited Hill, Michael R. Women In Sociology "Harriet Martineau" p. 289-297 Chapman, Maria Westman ed. Harriet Martineau's Autobiography Boston, James Osgood, 1877. Pichanick, Valerie K. Harriet Martineau, The Woman and Her Work, 1802-76: University of Michigan Press, 1980. Kellor, Frances. â€Å"Harriet Martineau.† Women’s Intellectual Contributions to the Study Of Mind and Society. http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/martineau.html http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/martineau.html Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, Inc.15th edition. Chicago/ Auckland/Geneva/London/Madrid/Manila/Paris/Rome/Seoul/Sydney/Tokyo/Tor-onto, 1974-89.

The Potato And Its Societal Effects Essay -- Essays Papers

The Potato And Its Societal Effects The potato had a great effect in Europe during the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. The potato was a part of the Agricultural Revolution that took place during this time. The Agricultural Revolution not only had a great impact on agriculture, but society as well. This revolution caused an increase in population. J.G. Hawkes, author of The Potato: Evolution, Biodiversity, and Genetic Resources, notes that the "potato [was] brought to Spain about 1570 by Spanish explorers who discovered it in South America. The potato was grown in the country of Chile. Hawkes also asserts that the potato was most likely brought to England around 1590. However, Redcliffe Salaman, author of The History and Social Influence of the Potato, explains that "the potato was a luxury food in England until the middle of the seventeenth century" (445). The potato helped to revolutionize society. During the eighteenth century the working class of England could not afford bread. Bread prices rose dramatically, but workers wages remained low. This caused a great deal of disease and malnutrition within the working class in England. Salaman notes that "the potato was mainly responsible for remedying this condition amongst the working classes of the country" (435). The potato was used as a substitute for bread because there was a shortage of wheat. The potato helped England to survive a shortage of wheat and bread. The Western Heritage Brief Edition textbook explains that with the potato, "a single acre of land could produce enough potatoes to feed a peasant family for an entire year" (381-82). Salaman offered the evidence of esteemed economist Adam Smith who said, "one acre land under potatoes would yield... ... it was and could not afford food. Potatoes had been the primary source of food for seventy percent of the Irish people. This Famine changed Ireland socially and culturally in many ways. Works Cited - Food and Drink in History: Selections from the Annales. Vol. 5. Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 1979. 5 vols. - Hawkes, J.G. The Potato: Evolution, Biodiversity, and Genetic Resources. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institute Press, 1990.. - Salaman, Redcliffe. The History and Social Influence of the Potato. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985. - Szabo, Liz. "Interpreting the Irish Famine, 1846-1850." Liz Szabo’s Home Page. http://avery.med.virginia.edu/~eas5e/Irish/Famine.html (25 March 1998). - The Western Heritage Brief Edition. Vol. 2. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1996. 2 vols.

The Aborted Contract :: essays research papers

<a href="http://www.geocities.com/vaksam/">Sam Vaknin's Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs Web Sites The issue of abortion is emotionally loaded and this often makes for poor, not thoroughly thought out arguments. The questions: "Is abortion immoral" and "Is abortion a murder" are often confused. The pregnancy (and the resulting foetus) are discussed in terms normally reserved to natural catastrophes (force majeure, in legal lingo). At times, the embryo is compared to cancer: after all, they are both growths, clusters of cells. The difference, of course, is that no one contracts cancer willingly (except, to some extent, smokers --but, then they gamble, not contract). When a woman engages in voluntary sex, does not use contraceptives and gets pregnant - one can say that she signed a contract with her foetus. A contract entails the demonstrated existence of a reasonably (and reasonable) free will. If the fulfilment of the obligations in a contract could be life-threatening - it is fair and safe to assume that no rational free will was involved. No reasonable person would sign or enter such a contract. Judith Jarvis Thomson argued convincingly ("A Defence of Abortion") that pregnancies that are the result of forced sex (rape being a special case) or which are life threatening should or could, morally, be terminated. Using the transactional language : the contract was not entered to willingly or reasonably and, therefore, is null and void. Any actions which are intended to terminate it and to annul its consequences should be legally and morally permissible. The same goes for a contract which was entered into against the express will of one of the parties and despite all the reasonable measures that the unwilling party adopted to prevent its crystallization. If a mother uses contraceptives in a manner intended to prevent pregnancy, it is as good as saying: I do not want to sign this contract, I am doing my reasonable best not to sign it, if it is signed - it is contrary to my express will. There is little legal (or moral) doubt that such a contract should be voided. Much more serious problems arise when we study the other party to these implicit agreements: the embryo. To start with, it lacks consciousness (in the sense that is needed for signing an enforceable and valid contract). Can a contract be validated even if one of the "signatories" lacked this sine qua non trait? In the absence of consciousness, there is little point in talking about free will.

Employment at Will Doc Essay

During the nineteenth century a legal rule was developed giving employer’s unfettered power to â€Å"dismiss their employees at will for good cause, for no cause or for cause morally wrong, without being thereby guilty of a legal wrong. † (Halbert, 2012, p. 49). This legal rule is commonly known as Employment-At-Will and ultimately the employer has the rights to sever the employer-employee relationship at any given time for any given reason and whether or not the employee thinks wrongful separation. It is a topic that is debated for many years and in today’s current economy and unemployment rate steadily increasing â€Å"Employment-at-will† is a doctrine that is being used more frequently as employers experience their present day lows. Employers however have to keep in mind the other that in 1960, federal civil rights laws created remedies against employers who fire workers because of their race, national origin, color, religion, sex, age, or disability (Halbert, 2012, p. 9). Later, in 1970s and 1980s, federal and state statutes include protection from retaliation for employees who report violations of environmental or workplace safety laws and those individuals are commonly known as â€Å"whistleblowers†. In essence, whistle blowers are typically long term, highly loyal employees who feel strongly that their company should do the right thing, because in the wave of scandal with major firms such as Enron and World. Com; Congress enacted corporate fraud reform legislation which provides provisions to protect those who report financial misconduct in publicly traded companies. This law is known as Sarbanes-Oxey, or SOX (Halbert, 2012, p. 50). In this assignment the scenario begins as a manager and supervisor of an accounting department, discuss the following issues related to the employment-at-will doctrine and liability of an employer based on actions and responses to the employee’s behavior and actions. Jennifer, a recent graduate, has recently been hired by your accounting firm out of college. Upon being hired, she engages in a number of different behaviors that need your attention. Describe what steps you would take to address the following scenario involving skills, competence, and abilities: †¢The employee seems to be unable to learn the computer applications that are basic to her job responsibilities, but, consistently â€Å"tells† her boss that she is â€Å"a good worker and a genius† and that he does not â€Å"appreciate her†. Even after a few months of training and support, she is unable to use the computer tools to be productive and efficient in completing the required tasks. Employers must first determine was this employee given adequate training, support and feedback while employed. However, feedback can include a performance management plan (PMP) where it measures an employee’s strengths, weaknesses, to the goals and expectations of the company and expectations of the position. If the action plan of re-training, possibly one on one coaching/mentoring are options for this employee and the employee is still not able to grasp the scope of her job duties; it may be a situation where in this scenario the employer can practice employment at will especially after exhausting all methods to help this employee gain as much knowledge that was assumed she was bringing to the company, the employer now may relinquish the employer-employee relationship for good, bad or for no cause at all. Further, the employer does not hold any legal liability as long as no contract was signed upon employment, however if an employee is unable to perform her job duties, the employer does not have much choice than to end employment. Describe what steps you would take to address the following scenario involving management, behavior, and performance: †¢In this scenario, an employee tends to burst into a rage when criticized and is frequently late to work as noticed by her boss and other staff members. When her boss attempts to address her behavioral issues and the company late policy, the employee’s response is that she â€Å"knows her rights and what to do† if she is wrongfully discharged. She also says she took a business law class in undergrad that taught her â€Å"everything she needs to know about exceptions to the employment-at-will doctrine and wrongful discharge in violation of public policy†. Clearly, if this employee has a tendency to have outbursts of rage when criticized this should always have a second party as a witness, along with proper documentation of all verbal reprimands, written warnings reprimands regarding the company’s late policy. We all know that when an employee is considering termination, you need to follow a defined process for best results (Kermit, 2012). There may be a valid reason for her tardiness, however, if the said employee stated she took business law classes in her undergraduate studies she should know full well employment at will outweighs wrongful termination if she was constantly late, violating company policy and warned her job could be in jeopardy, the employer can still choose to terminate employment. Maybe instead of the employee having outbursts, have her to explain the specific reasons for being late and these emotional outbursts because workplace hostility is not tolerated. Maybe the employer can offer her the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which is a support services program to help balance work and life, maybe she has child care issues or lives in a household with only one vehicle, possibly advising her to seek employment within the company with a more flexible schedule. At any rate, this employee has been warned, given support and the problem still remains, the employer must then choose to use Employment At Will doctrine to separate the employee from employment but just as an employer can separate the employee from employment, so can an employee separate themselves from the employer as well; as the definition remains the same â€Å"employment at will†. Describe what steps you would take to address the following scenario involving labor and laws: †¢The employee takes a day off from work, without management consent, for her religious holiday observance that falls on a day that is during â€Å"tax season†. The day off occurred during an incredibly busy period for the company during which the employer had notified all employees they were not allowed to take off without prior management approval. Also, there is no labor union for accountants. However, she begins talking to her co-workers during lunch breaks and sometimes during regular work hours, encouraging them to organize and form a union to â€Å"protect ourselves†. Based upon the federal civil rights laws enacted in the 1960s, there are legal liabilities for dismissal of an employee based on race, national origin, color, religion, sex, age or disability (Halbert, 2012, p. 9). However, an employee cannot take it upon themselves to grant any day off, whether or not they have acquired leave to use for the day out of work. This could be a policy violation and considered a no call any show for work because you decided to take an authorized day off. Management has already expressed â€Å"all hands on deck† for their busiest season and discouraged employees from taking any days off during this time. However, if prior notification had been communicated to the employer of her religious holiday observance, her day off may have been approved. However, she clearly not just violated a policy but disturbed the flow of production and this can cause separation from employment as well but this employee should have sought other alternatives than to authorize her own day off. Also, the employer would need to be very careful before considering termination, due to her attempts to form unions; as early adjustments to the employment –at-will doctrine was made as workers fought for the right to organize and form unions. The U. S. Supreme Court declared that an employer could not use Employment –At – Will to intimidate or coerce its employee with respect to their self -organization; which means an employee cannot be terminated as punishment for attempting to organize a union (Halbert, 2012, p. 49). This employee may have a chance to remain employed in this scenario due to the â€Å"religious holiday observance† issue, however should be reprimanded for no call no show, written up and added to her employee file so there is proper documentation if she decides to authorize her next day off as discipline action to termination can occur. Also, if the employer can also practice â€Å"The Good Faith† covenant, which can be interpreted in different ways meaning that termination must be for cause to meaning that termination cannot be made in bad faith or with malice intended (Muhl, 2001) Describe what steps you would take to address the following scenario involving policies and procedure. †¢The employee’s supervisor consistently asks her out on dates; the employee initially refuses to go out on a date with her supervisor. The employee later discusses the issue with her girlfriend who encourages her to accept his offers. During her new employee orientation, the employee was informed of the company policy which prevented employees from dating their supervisor and was given an employee handbook with the written policy. The employee and her supervisor later begin having a consensual relationship. Often times, employers have to make their employees constantly aware of certain policies and procedures within the workplace. They will have prepared documents as reminders of these internal policies involving securities, workplace violence, and sexual harassment just to name a few. These documents are required to be read and sign as acknowledgement that you fully understand and will be incompliance. In many companies fraternizing is not allowed within the workplace this information should have been advised by written policy in the company’s handbook and or during employee orientation but it is very important this type of relationship be deterred as it could result in sexual harassment case and lawsuits can be formulated. Workplace relationships are risky as they can cause unnecessary conflict and affect not only the work environment but jeopardize one’s areer. At any rate, ethics plays an important role in this scenario and must be considered before entering into any type of workplace relationship.

Exploring Online Consumer Behaviors Essay

The overall objective of this research was to document people’s reactions, attitudes, motivations, and behaviors that have affected online purchasing behaviors. The World Wide Web has been accessible to the public now for over twenty years. It came upon the world and exploded in popularity like few things have done in the history of the world. The purpose of this research is to understand how individual behaviors affect online consumerism. According to Hawkins and Mothersbaugh (2010) online consumer behavior can be defined as â€Å"the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the process they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideals to satisfy needs† and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society†. There are many variables to consider when outlining behaviors of internet consumerism. Three main factors are affected by behaviors of online consumers, â€Å"attitudes towards online shopping, motivations, such as price, convenience and hedonic motivations, and online information search† (Vazquez & Xu, 2009). If a person has a positive experience of shopping on the internet, then their attitude will affect the outcome of purchasing online. Online consumers feel more in control when they can search with relative ease of low prices and special offers. A great motivation of online shopping is the comparison of prices, more information is available online concerning the products, which allows the consumer to make better decisions. The problem of online consumers is important and requires further research, because online shopping could become the way of shopping for most of the world. In contrast to this scenario, is the fact that we are losing our ability to maintain a high level of customer service on- site. The employees many shoppers encounter seem more to be filling a spot than actively engaging in helping consumers with purchases or becoming knowledgeable about what they sell. Online consumerism is not however without its apprehensions. Research conducted by Janda, stated in her article that there were, â€Å"four consumer online concerns identified, privacy, security, credibility, and virtual experience† all having negative effects on consumer purchasing (2008, p. 339). Online consumers are worried about their personal information being collected when purchasing on the internet. The transference of information makes some consumers nervous and they do not want to take the risk. Shipping and return policies is also a major concern along with the credibility of the online retailers when looking into the merchandise descriptions. Consumers that had more experience with navigating the internet felt safer and comfortable while using the internet at their residence or on the job, rather than using community computers (Koyuncu & Lien, 2003, p. 721). Another negative behavioral pattern documented is that of compulsive buying tendencies. These tendencies to over buy can have detrimental effects on the consumer, notably affecting monies, feelings, and relationships. According to â€Å"The Relationships Between Consumers’ Tendencies to Buy Compulsively and Their Motivation to Shop and Buy on the Internet,† Somewhere between five and nine percent of America’s population could be identified as people who have a propensity to compulsively buy (Kukar-Kinney, Ridgeway, & Monroe, 2009). Motivators of this type of behavior include the very key ingredients of online shopping. These motivations are the following items that may be purchased at any time, shopping can be done frequently, a broader variety ex ist, and also purchases may be brought in private. According to this research the following results show that, â€Å"search costs were the most important motivation, followed by product assortment/price, brand equity, transaction costs, customer orientation, and perceived quality. The least important motivation associated with online auction behaviors was social interaction. (Jeon, Crustsinger, & Kim, 2008, p. 36). To determine which factors and variables are associated with online consumer behaviors, several questionnaires will be emailed to a random chosen amount of email participants. The questionnaire will explore which factors and variables have an impact on online behaviors. 1. What factors and variables identify the behaviors of online consumers? 2. What strategies can be formulated to control online behaviors and purchasing? References Hawkins, D., & Mothersbaugh, D. (2010). Consumer behavior and marketing Strategy. In Consumer Behavior: Building Marketing Strategy (11thED.) Columbus, Ohio: McGraw- Hill. Janda, S. (2008). Does gender moderate the effect of online concerns on purchase likelihood? Journal of Internet Commerce, 7(3), 339-358. doi: 10.1080/15332860802250401 Jeon, S., Crustsinger, C., & Kim, H. (2008). Exploring online auction behaviors and motivations. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 100(2), 31-40. doi: 1082-1651 Koyuncu, C., & Lien, D. (2003). E-commerce and consumer’s purchasing behavior. Journal of Applied Economics, 35(6), 721. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA102272684&v=2.1&u=vic_liberty&it=r&p=AONE&sw=w Kukar-Kinney, M., Ridgway, N., & Monroe, K. (2009). The relationship between consumers’ tendencies to buy compulsively and their motivations to shop and buy on the internet: Consumer Behavior and Retailing. Journal of Retailing, 85(3), 298-307. doi: 10.1016/j.jretai.2009.05.002 Vazquez, D., & Xu, X. (2009). Investigating linkages between online purchase behaviour variables. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, 37(5), 408. doi: http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/10.1108/09590550910954900 References Janda, S. (2008). Does gender moderate the effect of online concerns on purchase? likelihood? Journal of Internet Commerce, 7(3), 339-358. Jeon, S., Crustsinger, C., & Kim, H. (2008). Exploring online auction behaviors and motivations. Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences, 100(2), 31-40. Koyuncu, C., & Lien, D. (2003). E-commerce and consumer’s purchasing behavior. Journal of Applied Economics, 35(6), 721. Kukar-Kinney, M., Ridgway, N., & Monroe, K. (2009). The relationship between consumers’ tendencies to buy compulsively and their motivations to