The Stages Of Team Development Essay - 1609 Words

1)TEAM DEVELOPMENT There are five stages of team development, which are Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. In the Forming stage, the team members are mostly positive and polite as they are getting to know one another, this stage may take more time than others because this is the very beginning stage. Storming is the stage where many teams would failed as it always start with the conflicts due to the different working styles and it can occur anytime in the design process, a team have to overcome it in order to reach their goals. For the Norming stage, most of the conflicts are solved and team members trust, respect and appreciate one another, they commitment to team and goals. In the Performing stage, teamwork and cooperation are visible that they could do work without stress. Besides, strengths of each team members is recognized and utilized. The very last stage of team development is Adjourning, in this stage, team mostly completed their goals so the team would finally be disbanded and some people may be difficult to move on because of the close relationship and comfort. (cited from the class powerpoint slides) For our team, I think we had been through some of the stages which are Forming, Norming, Performing and we are now currently in the adjourning stage because we have successfully completed our Xetna tower competition. We spent much time on the Forming stage as our group was quite quiet especially the team manager, which was me, barely talked andShow MoreRelatedTeam Development Stages891 Words   |  4 Pages1.(a) The definition of team development stages are special challenges to a group of people to work together successfully by using each development stage. The team and the organization take action to develop each stage to support the team to be a success and accomplish the mission. (b) The example of each team development stage is Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing and Adjourning stages. The forming stage develops when the team members meet each other at the first meeting and share informationRead MoreThe Stages Of Team Development1915 Words   |  8 PagesEngineering 104 – Midterm 1. Team Development Chris Anderson The five stages of team development are forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning. The beginning phase of team development is forming. This is when you meet your group members and begin getting to know one another. This is a good time to find similarities between members, which can help members relate to one another. The next phase is called storming. This is where members begin working on things together. People may push eachRead MoreThe Stages Of Team Development2153 Words   |  9 PagesDiscuss the stages of team development. Address the process, problems, and level of productivity of each. †¢ Forming, storming, norming, and performing are the stages in team development. Forming is basically when the team gets to know each other, there is not much direction at this stage, and little work is accomplished. Storming is the second stage, the project objective and scope is clearer now. Team members start doing their assigned tasks. Conflict and tensions can happen at this stage, and aRead MoreThe Five Stages Of Team Development800 Words   |  4 Pagesdefinition Why is teamwork essential? Five Stages of Team Development In 1965, a professor of psychology at the Ohio State University, Bruce Tuckman propose the five stages of group development (Andersen Bolt, 2011, p. 161). Tuckman strongly suggest the norm order for team to grow as one coordinated group. Teamwork plays a fundamental role in providing a high quality service and achieving accomplishments. Most teams usually go through five stages of development in order for them to successfully meetRead MoreThe Team Development Stages Of The Elected Team Leader844 Words   |  4 Pages In the case 7, the elected team leader, Christine, was worried that her group will not be able to do on the assigned project, since one member of the group did not fully complete the work (Schermerhorn, Osborn, Uhl-Bien, Hunt, 2012). In my opinion, Christine did not understand the team development stages very well, thus she lost the control over her group. According to Shermerhorn et al. (2012), there are 5 team development stages that each newly created team goes through: forming, storming normingRead MoreThe Team s Four Stages Of Team Development969 Words   |  4 Pagesthe good team would be around 4-6 people and with different roles, members could outperform their potential to the maximum point (Mu llins Christy, 2010). By being the last coordinator, I could see the overview roles of particular person in the team clearly and by this it could enhance my knowledge and my future career as well. In the following essay, the essay will divide four parts which starts from informing of the group experience within the module, description of the team’s four stages of teamRead MoreTuckman s Stages Of Group Development Model1287 Words   |  6 PagesA Study on Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development Model 1. Introduction Over the past two decades, it seems that teamwork has become increasingly important and more companies have formed different teams and groups for various purposes (Samson Daft, 2012). It is proved that good teams can be highly productive, however, not every team is successful (Samson Daft, 2012). Forming a team can be time consuming and there are many problems related to teamwork, for example, social loafing might reduce theRead MoreMgmt 591999 Words   |  4 PagesPART I – Group Development First, here is a summary of the development stages of a team. In the forming stage, team members come togetherand form initial impressions. They socialize in order to get to know each other and bond with other team members. In the storming stage, team members experience hostility and infighting over tasks and how the team works. In the norming stage, team members start to come together and realize what needs to be accomplished. In the performing stage, team members areRead MoreAnalysis Of Noclue Consultants1548 Words   |  7 PagesAnalysis of NOCLUE Consultants Making a transition from a hierarchical organization to a self-directed team is not an easy task. NOCLUE has been operating with teams for 2 years and the structure has not been simple, nor easy. Proper planning preparation and education is vital to make motivated, self-directed work teams be successful. Identifying the problems, developing solutions and making recommendations are crucial the organization to perform at the highest level. NOCLUE held a meeting to discussRead MoreTeams Are Essential To Success In Both Business And Many1660 Words   |  7 PagesTeams are essential to success in both business and many varied aspects of our personal and professional life. Proper team development is critical to ensuring that high performance teams, and understanding the process surrounding team development is critical for managers and leaders. In this essay, I will discuss the team development process by examining the five stages of team development, and provide personal examples of ea ch of the stages with advantages and disadvantages in my personal experiences

Tourism Marketing Analysis at Wrest Park Gardens Free Essays

Introduction Wrest Park is one of the most important Gardens in England. The natural landscape and statues was built during the late 18th century. Wrest Park’s formal gardens provide a fascinating history of gardening styles of 150 years old and inspired by the great gardens of Versailles in England. We will write a custom essay sample on Tourism Marketing Analysis at Wrest Park Gardens or any similar topic only for you Order Now The gardens are overlooked by a stylish French-style 18th century mansion and contain amazing garden buildings. Visitors looking for an unusual day out will find Wrest Park a wonderful place to explore in the company of our audio tour. The main Theme in this Wrest part is should be implements are market segmentation, targeting and positioning and marketing communications including their Internet presence to capture park atmosphere to the people and improve the continuous visitor to the park for a day. Wrest park has following the different strategy to adopt the visitor Like Event program, Demonstration about the park and all so the beauty wrest park Tourism marketing communication In the Wrest Park the important aspect is the marketing mix is a traditional way to understand marketing garden in general. The marketing practitioners consider the Mix as the toolkit of operation of marketing segmentation, target and positioning and marketing communication for the operational planning in the park. The exact role for the Wrest Park to contribute the Mix to the success of commercial organizations is very limited; the several studies confirm that the 4Ps Mix is indeed the trusted conceptual platform of practitioners dealing with tactical/operational marketing issues. The marketing mix has been defined as a mixture of controllable marketing variables that the firm uses in order to pursue the marketing mix have been adapted by many scholars and marketing professional, also within the tourism industry, in a number of forms. Firms marketing strategies use marketing mix variables in order to plan an operational marketing plan are used in the wrest park in different aspects are segmenting the group of peoples and positioning the park according to their age group, Gender. The wrest park has the competitive environment with other parks that bring the Targeting in the Tourism Market. And the tourism marketing has the customer demands and competitors? strategies to capture the segmentation, Positioning and targeting the people for the park and changing The Traditional marketing P’s as product, place, and promotion. In the wrest park has the multisensory tourism marketing communication has use the term inter medial marketing to the people to understand the tourism market to have the interactive with the peoples in the around areas. The Wrest Park that provides the marketing to visitors is only part of the job. And the park service marketing must also incorporate internal marketing, Segment marketing and Target marketing. The resources should be allocated to communicating the park mission and values to all members of staff to ensure they share the philosophy of service excellence and visitor satisfaction. The national is the more successful regional parks, in particular, developing longer-term relationships between the key focus for marketing. Segment marketing programmers are increasingly being used by park to diversify from their traditional audiences. They are employing audience development and product diversification, building unpaid assistant and supporters to offering loyalty incentives and demonstrating their relevance to their communities through wider cultural, social and economic initiatives. Segmentation and targeting marketing relationship often overlap the park, particularly in the public sector form collaborative partnerships or to contract out some of their ancillary services. The park’s perspective this integrated and holistic marketing strategy approach should ensure that the park brand maintains its qualities, image and reputation; the park is best placed to achieve its mission, and above all, visitors receive a quality experience. Multiple senses in marketing through Segmentation, positioning and also target the tourism Marketing In the wrest park, are using to communicate with the public by the Marketing communication that also defined by the new media techniques as the Tourism Marketing for its procedures. With the help of tourism market communication the park association has providing the customers services and the consumer behavioral culture. The wrest park should have to fulfill the public perception of service quality and future behavioral, so the next time the peoples will have the intention to visit the park again, this bring the positioning for the tourism marketing. The wrest park have the different process of senses to depends on age, gender, cultural background and their Behavioral experience about the nature, that the peoples expect from the wrest park to provide to visitor to the wrest park, the that shows the Targeting the visitor in the tourism segment for the Wrest Park. In the Wrest Park Market segmentation are correctly using to understanding the needs of customers expectation, and Park authorities will decide between one offer and another. Between the customers who have shared their experience with the other peoples will be similar with their criteria. The Park should able to determine the groups of customers have been comfortable with their service should fully satisfy their need and wants of the customer. The primary objective of the park segmentation should have proper procedures and they should have the analytical aim to satisfy the customers. In the Wrest Park they should creates and maintains a product mix that specifically that fits the needs and preferences of the parks activities. The Wrest Park should have the proper marketing procedures that can be divided into segments that relate the contemporary and traditional. The Park should choose to target the entire customer expectation service and pricing strategy that should accepted by all the customers and also the Tourism visitor to the park. And the Park should have the target market segment for providing the service to the tourism peoples that gives the entire market popularity between the efficient tools for the park should have the promotion between the income and gaining the benefits to the wrest park authorities. The wrest park haves the greater market share between locals peoples and tourism peoples from other countries that gives the segmentation that the Wrest park has carefully directing the marketing plan that reaches to the right people and the right opportunities that park has to capture park visitor. The Park authorities should have the well planned resources that they can concentrated on their service and package that are offers the customers to visit again and again to the park. In the Wrest park there are marking the restoration of new facilities for the visitor in the formal gardens. The gardens have been completely lost or simplified to make them easier to maintain for the workers and also capturing t he marketing between the tourist visitors. And the park has Targeting the tourist visitor by providing the facilities like a new cafe, new shop and plant centre and a new play area for both young and older children. There will also be space to hold events and a new events programme is created there to targeting the different segment of Gender, Age and Size of the family and looking the Geography factor to attract the visitor for the park. In the park they are marketing the facilities to the new visitor for the Wrest park by showing the rooms will open and the house with new exhibitions telling the story of the de Grey family who lived at Wrest Park and how they created the gardens. Historical images are showing to Visitor and the rooms are well furnished and creating good atmosphere for the visitor that bring the Marketing about their product, quality and service to the tourism visitor. The Wrest Park has also opening the Countess’s Sitting Room and this will be the only furnished room in the mansion. Visitors will be able to enjoy the view through to the conservatory and the walled garden just as the Henrietta, Countess de Grey did. Outside, the garden buildings will also have interpretation and a new guidebook, family trail and audio guides are being created. There will also be a selection of activity backpacks for children to borrow with all sorts of games and activities to help them explore and learn about Wrest Park. Conclusion Thus the Wrest Park has the appropriate and effective segmentation, Targeting and positioning the marketing activities are likely to be mediocre at best. The tourism sector has traditionally lagged behind the Park in utilizing the concept of segmentation in marketing decision making, there is evidence to suggest that increasingly better market selection in the Wrest Park on the basis of resource allocations decisions are made for developing the Park strategic level according to current trends. The Wrest Park has too many destinations, attractions and tourism organizations, that they are using well, but outdated and unsophisticated segmentation bases to define their markets. The Park has clearly have an improvement on the traditional, simplistic segmentation bases and can provide more refined visitor profiles in the fact they were initially designed for servicing the visitor, that means they are doing their yield with multi-dimensional benefits of the tourism and Leisure values . Ultimately are decisions are taken in the park to segmenting the visitor market and they have eligible to employ will be dependent upon the scope of the destination’s market planning needs and resources and expertise. The Wrest Park should remember about the tourism to understanding and they should have the distinct and homogenous needs of different visitor that they based on their motivations and attitudes that will allow the destination or attraction to the visitor in the Wrest parks. The Wrest Park has most successful tourist destinations have undertaken a detailed segmentation, Targeting and positioning the analysis about the tourism marketing. The Park have the targeted those segments that closely matched their strengths before designing a value-added composite visitor experience the all aspects have been extended with marketing mix are integrated with the needs of the selected target segments of the Park visitors. REFERENCE 1. Armstrong, G. Kotler, P. (1999). Marketing and Introduction.Prentice Hall. 2. Baker, J., Grewal, D. and Parasuraman, A. (1994). The Influence of Store Environment on Quality Inferences and Store Image. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 3.Bitner, M. J. (1992), Services capes: The Impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and Employees, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 56, p. 57-71. 4. Bosmans, A. (2006). Scents and sensibility: When do (in) congruent ambient scents influence product evaluationsJournal of Marketing, Vol. 70(3): 32-43. 5. Coviello. N.E. et al. (2000). Investigation of marketing practice by firm size, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol. 15: 523-545 6. Davies, B. Ward, P. 2002. Managing Retail Consumption. Wiley : London EURO Rscg –tutkimus (2004). Viestinnan ilmiot Gronroos, C. (1994). 7. Shift in Marketing†, Management Decision 32/2, MCB University Press Gronroos, C. (2000). 8. Hirsch, A.R. (1995). Effects of Ambient Odors on Slot Machine Usage in a Las Vegas Casino, Psychology and Marketing, Vol. 12 (7): 585-94. 9. Hoffman, K.D. and Turley, L.W. (2002). Atmospherics, service encounters and consumer decisions making. Vol. 10, Nr. 3, p. 33-46. 10. Kauppalehti. (2007) Matkamyynti menee nettiin, 14th May, 2007.Keillor, B.D., Hule, G., Tomas, M. and Kandemir, D. (2003). A study of the Service Encounter in Eight Countries, Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 12, Nr. 1: 9-35. 11. Kennedy, M. (2008). Brand Strategy. London: Jun 9, 2008:34 Kotler, P. (1984). Marketing Management: Investigation, Planning, and organize, Prentice-Hall 12. Kuutti, H. (2006). Uusi mediasanasto. Jyvaskyla: Atena kustannus Oy. 13. Lindstrom, M. Kotler, P. (2005). Brand senses build powerful brands through touch, Taste, smell, sight, and sound. New York: 14. Lindstrom, M. 2005. Brand Sense, Build Powerful Brands through Touch, Taste, Smell, Sight and Sound. Free Press. 15. Lindstrom, M. 2009. Buyology: Truth and Lies about Why We Buy. Arrow Books Ltd. How to cite Tourism Marketing Analysis at Wrest Park Gardens, Essay examples

The New Fraud Triangle Model free essay sample

Fraud in corporations is a topic that receives significant and growing attention from regulators, auditors, and the public. Increasingly external auditors are being asked to play an important role in helping organizations prevent and detect fraud. Detecting fraud is not an easy task and requires thorough knowledge about the nature of fraud, how it can be committed and concealed. This paper aims at broadening external auditors’ knowledge about fraud and why it occurs. It explains Cressey’s fraud theory and shows its significance, presents the other fraud models and relates them to Cressey’s model, and proposes a new fraud triangle model that external auditors could consider when assessing the risk of fraud. __________________________________________________________________________________________ Keywords: fraud, fraud triangle, cressey’s fraud theory, fraud models, fraud detection _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________ INTRODUCTION â€Å"Trust violators when they conceive of themselves as Corporate fraud is a topic that has received having a financial problem which is non-shareable, significant and growing attention from regulators, have knowledge or awareness that this problem can auditors, and the public. External auditors are be secretly resolved by violation of the position of increasingly being asked to play an important role in financial trust, and are able to apply to their own helping organizations prevent and detect fraud. conduct in that situation verbalisations which enable Detecting fraud is not an easy task and requires them to adjust their conceptions of themselves as thorough knowledge about the nature of fraud, why it trusted persons with their conceptions of themselves is committed, and how it can be committed and as users of the entrusted funds or property† (page concealed. Cressey’s fraud theory explained why 742). The three factors were non-shareable financial trust violators commit fraud and was widely used by problem, opportunity to commit the trust violation, regulators, professionals, and academics. This work and rationalisation by the trust violator. When it has been conceptualised as â€Å"the fraud triangle†. comes to non-shareable financial problem, Cressey However, critics of the fraud triangle argued that it stated â€Å"[p]ersons become trust violators when they cannot help alone in explaining fraud because two conceive of themselves as having incurred financial factors cannot be observed (rationalisation and obligations which are considered as non-sociallypressure), and other important factors, like sanctionable and which, consequently, must be capabilities of the fraudsters, are ignored. satisfied by a private or secret means† (page 741). Hence, in the current paper, Cressey’s fraud theory is explained and its significance is highlighted. The paper also assesses the fraud triangle in light of other fraud models, and proposes a new fraud triangle model that should be considered by external auditors in assessing fraud risk. He also mentioned that perceived opportunity arises when the fraudster sees a way to use their position of trust to solve the financial problem, knowing they are unlikely to be caught. As for rationalisation, Cressey believed that most fraudsters are first-time offenders with no criminal record. They see themselves as ordinary, honest people who are caught in a bad situation. This enables them justify the crime to themselves in a way that makes it acceptable or justifiable. LITERATURE REVIEW Why people commit fraud was first examined by Donald Cressey, a criminologist, in 1950. His research was about what drives people to violate trust. He interviewed 250 criminals over a period of 5 months whose behaviour met two criteria: (1) the person must have accepted a position of trust in good faith, and (2) he must have violated the trust. He found that three factors must be present for a person to violate trust and was able to conclude that: Cressey found that: â€Å"In the interviews, many trust violators expressed the idea that they knew the behaviour to be illegal and wrong at all times and that they merely kidded themselves into thinking that it was not illegal† (page 741). 191 Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences (JETEMS) 3(3):191-195 (ISSN:2141-7024) Over the years, Cressey’s hypothesis has become well known as â€Å"the fraud triangle† as shown in Figure 1 below. The first side of the fraud triangle represents a pressure or motive to commit the fraudulent act, the second side represents a perceived opportunity, and the third side stands for rationalisation (Wells 2011). Pressure Opportunity Rationalization Figure 1: Fraud Triangle Source: Wells, J. T. , 2005. Principles of fraud examination. Hoboken, New York: John Wiley and Sons In 1953, Cressey published his research in a book called â€Å"Other People’s Money†. He divided the non-sharable financial problems into six categories: difficulty in paying back debts, problems resulting from personal failure, business reversals (uncontrollable business failures such as inflation or recession), physical isolation (trust violator is isolated from people who can help him), status gaining (living beyond one’s means, and employer-employee relations (employer’s unfair treatment). Researchers in the audit literature defined differently the components of the fraud triangle and gave different examples for each. For instance, Lister (2007, p. 63) defined the pressure/motive to commit fraud as â€Å"the source of heat for the fire† but he believed the presence of these pressures in someone’s life does not mean he or she will commit fraud. He also added there are three types of motivation or pressure: Personal pressure to pay for lifestyle, employment pressure from continuous compensation structures, or management’s financial interest, and external pressure such as threats to the business financial stability, financier covenants, and market expectations. Lister saw opportunity, which is the second side of the fraud triangle, as â€Å"the fuel that keeps the fire going† and he believed even if a person has a motive, he or she cannot perpetrate a fraud without being given an opportunity. He also gave some examples of opportunities that can lead to fraud like high turnover of management in key roles, lack of segregation of duties, and complex transactions or organizational structures. As for the third component of the fraud triangle, rationalization, Lister defined it as â€Å"the oxygen that keeps the fire burning†. He mentioned that although auditors may not be able to assess the personal value systems of each individual in the organization, they can assess the corporate culture. pressures or corporate pressures on the individual. The motive to commit fraud may be driven by the pressures influencing the individual, by rationalization, or by sheer opportunity. He believed a person’s position in the organisation contribute to the opportunity to commit fraud. He also believed there is a direct correlation between opportunity to commit fraud and the ability to conceal the fraud. Thus, understanding the opportunity for fraud to occur allows auditors to identify, which fraud schemes an individual can commit, and how fraud risks occur when the controls do not operate as intended by management. Albrecht et al. (2008, 2010), however, mentioned pressure/motive can be financial or non-financial and they gave examples of perceived financial pressures that can motivate fraud like; personal financial losses, falling sales, inability to compete with other companies, greed, living beyond one’s means, personal debt, poor credit, the need to meet shortterm credit crises, inability to meet financial forecasts, and unexpected financial needs. They also gave examples of non-financial pressure, such as; the need to report results better than actual performance, frustration with work, or even a challenge to beat the system. They believed that even with very strong perceived pressures, executives who believe they will be caught and punished rarely commit fraud. They also mentioned some examples of rationalizations that executives can use to commit fraud, like; â€Å"we need to keep the stock price high†, all companies use aggressive accounting practices, or it is for the good of the company. As for perceived opportunities to commit fraud examples include; a weak board of directors, a lack of or circumvention of controls that prevent/detect fraudulent behavior, failure to discipline fraud perpetrators, lack of access to information, and the lack of an audit trail. Murdock (2008) also argued that pressure can be a financial pressure, non financial, or political and social pressure. Non-financial pressure can be derived from a lack of personal discipline or other weaknesses such as gambling habit, drug addiction. While, political and social pressure occurs when people feel they cannot appear to fail due to their status or reputation. However, Rae and Subramaniam (2008), saw pressure relates to employees motivation to commit fraud as a result of greed or personal financial pressure, and opportunity refers to a weakness in the system where the employee has the power or ability to exploit, making fraud possible, while rationalisation as a justification of fraudulent behavior as a result of an employee’s lack of personal integrity, or other moral reasoning. It can be concluded from the above definitions of motives/pressures that motives were classified differently. Some researchers classified them as On the other hand, Vona (2008) believed the motive to commit fraud is often associated with personal 192 Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences (JETEMS) 3(3):191-195 (ISSN:2141-7024) personal, employment, or external pressure, while others classified them as financial and non-financial pressures. However, it can be noticed that both classifications are some-how related. For instance, personal pressure can come from both financial and non-financial pressure. A personal financial pressure in this case could be gambling addiction or a sudden financial need, while a personal non-financial pressure can be lack of personal discipline or greed. By the same token, employment pressure and external pressure can come from either financial or non-financial pressure. This link can be illustrated as shown in Figure 2 below. Figure 2: Classifications of Pressure/Motive Cressey’s fraud theory, normally known as the fraud triangle theory, was widely supported and used by audit professionals and standards’ setters as a tool for detecting fraud. For instance, in 1987, the Commission of the Treadway Committee reviewed both alleged and proven instances of fraudulent financial reporting and issued a report that supports Cressey’s findings. Results revealed that: â€Å"Fraudulent financial reporting usually occurs as the result of certain environmental, institutional, or individual forces and opportunities. These forces and opportunities add pressures and incentives that encourage individuals and companies to engage in fraudulent financial reporting and are present to some degree in all companies. If the right, combustible mixture of forces and opportunities is present, financial reporting may occur† (1987, p. 23). In 2002, SAS No. 99 supported the use of Cressey’s fraud triangle by mentioning that: â€Å"Three conditions generally are present when fraud occurs. First, management or other employees have an incentive or are under pressure, which provides a reason to commit fraud. Second, circumstances exist—for example, the absence of controls, ineffective controls, or the ability of management to override controls—that provide an opportunity for a fraud to be perpetrated. Third, those involved are able to rationalize committing a fraudulent act. Some individuals possess an attitude, character, or set of ethical values that allow them to knowingly and intentionally commit a dishonest act. However, even otherwise honest individuals can commit fraud in an environment that imposes sufficient pressure on them. The greater the incentive or pressure, the more likely an individual will be able to rationalize the acceptability of committing fraud† (AU316. 06, Paragraph . 07). The standard required the audit team members to discuss the susceptibility of the entity’s financial statements to material misstatement due to fraud, and urged them to consider both internal and external factors affecting the entity that might create pressures for management and others to commit fraud, provide the opportunity for fraud to be committed, and indicate an environment that enables management to rationalize committing fraud (AU316. 13, Paragraph 15). In addition, in 2009, the International Auditing Standards Board issued a revised version of International Standard on Auditing 240 (ISA 240): The Auditor’s Responsibilities Relating to Fraud in an Audit of Financial Statements which stated that â€Å"Fraud, whether fraudulent financial reporting or misappropriation of assets, involves incentive or pressure to commit fraud, a perceived opportunity to do so and some rationalization of the act† (Ref: Para. 3). The standard also provided examples for the three fraud risk factors. For example, Incentive or pressure to commit fraudulent financial reporting may exist when management is under pressure, from sources outside or inside the entity, to achieve an expected (and perhaps unrealistic) earnings target or financial outcome. A perceived opportunity to commit fraud may exist when the trust violator is in a position of trust or has knowledge of specific deficiencies in internal control. The standard also mentioned that individuals may be able to rationalise committing a fraudulent act. ISA 240 also required audit team members to discuss the susceptibility of the entity to fraud and urged them to consider external and internal factors affecting the entity that may create an incentive or pressure for management or others to commit fraud, provide the opportunity for fraud to be perpetrated, and indicate a culture or environment that enables management or others to rationalize committing fraud (A11). Although Cressey’s fraud triangle was supported by audit regulators, critics (Albrecht et al. 1984, Wolfe and Hermanson 2004, Kranacher, et al. in 2010, Dorminey et al. 2010) argued that the model alone is an inadequate tool for deterring, preventing, and detecting fraud. Albrecht et al (1984) introduced the â€Å"Fraud Scale Model† as an alternative for the 193 Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences (JETEMS) 3(3):191-195 (ISSN:2141-7024) fraud triangle model. The fraud scale includes personal integrity instead of rationalisation and it is particularly applicable to financial reporting fraud where sources of pressure (e. g. analysts’ forecasts, managements’ earnings guidance, a history of sales and earnings growth) are more observable. They defined personal integrity as â€Å"the personal code of ethical behaviour each person adopts† (page 18). Personal integrity can be an observable through observing both a person’s decisions as well as the decision making process. That person’s commitment to ethical decision making can be observed and this can help in assessing integrity and thus the likelihood of an individual committing fraud. Their research was conducted by performing an analysis of 212 frauds in the early 1980s to determine the motivations of the perpetrators of occupational frauds and abuses. They also collected demographics and background information on the frauds through questionnaires that were distributed to 212 internal auditors of companies that had experienced frauds and classified motivations to commit financial reporting fraud into nine different types which are similar to those of Cressey’s non-sharable financial problems: living beyond their means, an overwhelming desire for personal gain, high personal debt, a close association with customers, feeling pay was not commensurate with responsibility, a wheeler-dealer attitude, strong challenge to beat the system, excessive gambling habits, and undue family or peer’s pressure. They also examined comprehensive data sources to assemble a complete list of pressure, opportunity, and integrity variables, resulting in a collection of 82 possible red flags of occupational fraud and abuse. out of it easily, and (4) capability to deal with the stress created within an otherwise good person when she commits bad acts. Another model called â€Å"MICE† was suggested by Kranacher, et al. in 2010 (as cited in Dorminey et al. , 2010). In this model they suggested that motivation of fraud perpetrators, which is one of the sides in the fraud triangle, may be more appropriately expanded and identified with the acronym: MICE that stands for: Money, ideology, coercion, and ego. Ideological motivators justify the means where they can steal money or participate in a fraud act to achieve some perceived greater good that is consistent with their beliefs (ideology). Coercion occurs when individuals may be unwillingly pulled into a fraud scheme, but those individuals can turn into whistleblowers. Ego can also be a motive for fraud, where sometimes people don’t like to lose their reputation or position of power in front of their society or families. This social pressure can be a motive to commit fraudulent act just to keep their ego. In addition, Dorminey, et al. (2010) argued that the model cannot solve the fraud problem alone because two sides of the fraud triangle, pressure and rationalization, cannot be easily observed. In fact, it is important for auditors to consider all fraud models to better understand why fraud is committed. Hence, the above models should all be regarded as an extension to Cressey’s fraud triangle model and should be integrated in one model that includes motivation, opportunity, integrity, and fraudster’s capabilities as shown in figure 4 below. In 2004, Wolfe and Hermanson introduced the â€Å"Fraud Diamond Model† as shown in figure 3 below, where they presented another side that extends the fraud triangle which is â€Å"the fraudster’s capabilities†. Incentive Rationalization Opportunity Capability Figure 3: The Fraud Diamond Figure 4: The New Fraud Triangle Model Source: Wolfe, D. T. and Hermanson, D. R. (2004). â€Å"The fraud diamond: Considering the four elements of fraud†, The CPA Journal, December, p. 4 CONCLUSION The current paper aims at broadening external auditors’ knowledge about fraud and why it occurs. It explains Cressey’s fraud triangle model and shows its significance, presents the other fraud models and relates it to Cressey’s model, and proposes a new fraud triangle model that external auditors should consider when assessing the risk of fraud. A thorough literature review was undertaken to achieve the paper’s aim. The secondary data used in this paper was obtained from different databases like Ebscohost, Business Search Premier, Academic Search Premier, Emerlad, Sciencedirect, and Jstor. Wolfe and Hermanson believed many frauds would not have occurred without the right person with the right capabilities implementing the details of the fraud. They also suggested four observable traits for committing fraud; (1) Authoritative position or function within the organization, (2) capacity to understand and exploit accounting systems and internal control weaknesses, (3) confidence that she/he will not be detected or if caught she/he will get 194 Journal of Emerging Trends in Economics and Management Sciences (JETEMS) 3(3):191-195 (ISSN:2141-7024) Reviewing the literature showed that researchers classified the motive side of the fraud triangle differently. Some researchers classified them as personal, employment, or external pressure, while others classified them as financial and non-financial pressures. However, it can be noticed that both classifications are some-how related. For instance, personal pressure can come from both financial and non-financial pressure. A personal financial pressure in this case could be gambling addiction or a sudden financial need, while a personal non-financial pressure can be lack of personal discipline or greed. By the same token, employment pressure and external pressure can come from either financial or non-financial pressure. Thus, external auditors have to keep in mind that pressure/motive to commit fraud can be either a personal pressure, employment pressure, or external pressure, and each of these types of pressures can also happen because of a financial pressure or a non financial pressure. They also need to understand the opportunity for fraud to help them in identifying which fraud schemes an individual can commit and how fraud risks occur when there is an ineffective or missing internal control. Albrecht, W. S. , Albrecht, C. , and Albrecht, C. C. (2008). â€Å"Current trends in fraud and its detection†, Information Security Journal: A global perspective, Vol. 17, pp. 1-32 Retrieved from www. ebscohost. com Albrecht, C. , Turnbull, C. , Zhang, Y. and Skousen, C. J. (2010). â€Å"The relationship between South Korean chaebols and fraud†. Managerial Auditing Journal, 33(3), pp. 1-25. Retrieved from www. emerald. com Auditing Standards Board. (2002). Statement on Auditing Standards No. 99: Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit. Cressey, D. R. (1950). â€Å"The criminal violation of financial trust†. American Sociological Review, 15 (6), pp. 738-743, December, pp. 1-15. Retrieved from www. JSTOR. org Cressey, D. R. (1953). Other People’s Money. Montclair, NJ: Patterson Smith, pp. 1-300 Dorminey, J. , Fleming, S. , Kranacher, M. , and Riley, R. (2011). â€Å"The evolution of fraud theory†. American Accounting Association Annual Meeting, Denver, August, pp. 1-58. Although Cressey’s fraud triangle was supported and used by audit regulators (ASB and IAASB), critics argued that the model alone is an inadequate tool for deterring, preventing, and detecting fraud. This is because two sides of the fraud triangle (pressure and rationalization) cannot be observed, and some important factors, like fraudsters’ capabilities are ignored. Thus, some researchers suggested the rationalization side should be replaced by personal integrity because it can be more observable, others suggested the motive side needs to be expanded to include non-financial factors like ego and coercion, while others suggested a fourth side to be added to the fraud triangle which is â€Å"fraudster’s personal capabilities†. The current paper believes it is important for external auditors to consider all the fraud models to better understand why fraud occurs. The paper also suggests that all other fraud models should be regarded as an extension to Cressey’s fraud triangle model and should be integrated in one model that includes motivation, opportunity, integrity, and fraudster’s capabilities. This model should be called â€Å"the New Fraud Triangle Model†. Hence, with the new fraud triangle model, external auditors will consider all the necessary factors contributing to the occurrence of fraud. This should help them in effectively assessing fraud risk. International Auditing Standards Board. (2009). International Standard on Auditing No. 240: the Auditor’s responsibilities relating to fraud in an audit of financial statements. Lister, L. M. (2007). â€Å"A practical approach to fraud risk†, Internal Auditor, December, pp. 1-30 Murdock, H. (2008). â€Å"The three dimensions of fraud†. Internal Auditor, pp. 1-14, August. Rae, K. and Subramaniam, N. (2008). Quality of internal control procedures: Antecedents and moderating effect on organizational justice and employee fraud. Managerial Auditing Journal. 23 (2), pp. 1-43. Retrieved from: www. emerald. com Vona, L. W. (2008). Fraud risk assessment: Building a fraud audit program. Hoboken New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, pp. 1-250 Wells, J. T. (2011). Corporate Fraud Handbook: Prevention and Detection. 3rd edition, Hoboken, New Jersey, John Wiley Sons, Inc. , pp. 1-400 Wolfe, D. T. and Hermanson, D. R. (2004). â€Å"The fraud diamond: Considering the four elements of fraud†. The CPA Journal, December, pp. 1-5

McCarthyism Essays - Salem Witch Trials, The Crucible, John Proctor

McCarthyism In The Crucible In The Crucible, written by Arthur Miller, the madness of the Salem witch trials is explored in great detail. There is more to the play than the witch trials, though. The Crucible was composed during a time when a similar hysteria was sweeping through America. A virtually unkown senator by the name of Joseph McCarthy was propelled into infamy when while at a speaking engagement at thee Republican Women's Club of Wheeling, West Virginia he charged 205 persons in the U.S. State Department of being members of the Communist Party (Martine 8). Fear caused the American people to succumb to the preposterous charges brought forth by McCarthy displaying resemblance's to that of the Salem community in 1692 (Carey 51). In Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, there is evidence of parallels between the Salem of 1692 and America of the 1950's, the American Government of the 1950's and its misuse of power, and the high court depicted in the play, using its power to impose a misguided justice. The Crucible takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in the spring of 1692 in a village shrouded with chaos. The people of Salem were in uncertain times. Just a year earlier a witch in the nearby town of Beverly was executed and now the witch hysteria had spread to their village. Confused, the people didn't know who to blame whether it be the girls, the negro slave, or even the Devil himself. The insanity that came about was an indication of the fear of "individual freedom" (Miller 6). In The Crucible, hysteria and hidden agendas break down the social structure and then everyone must protect themselves from the people that they thought were their friends. The church, the legal system, and the togetherness of the community died so that the girls and their families social status might be protected. The fact that Salem was a Puritan community did not help matters either. Puritans were a strict religous group that tolerated no devious behavior. Being isolated from any other group of people with different beliefs created a church led Puritan society that was not able to accept a lot of change. Anyone who was not in good standing with the church was not even allowed in the community (Carey 42). They believed God elected those who were to go to Heaven by the same token though they believed the Devil could choose his disciples also (Carey 43). Puritans deemed anything pleasurable was motivated by and came directly from the Devil. When The Crucible was written, the American society was threatened by communism much like Salem was threatened by witchcraft (Bly 32). On September 23, 1949, President Truman reported that the Soviet Union had developed an atomic bomb striking fear into the American nation (Martine 8). Miller even acknowledged this fear when he said, " America had just finished fighting World War II with the help of the Soviet Union against the Germans and now they felt threatened by them, knowing not wether they were still allies or if another war was inevitable. The war made people wary of communism. What Hitler had done was ugly. Americans feared this ugliness. "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live" (Exodus 22:18). The puritans of Salem definitely believed in witches and gaurded against them just as the Bible told them so, executing them. Once a person was accused as a witch the only way to live was to turn back to God by repenting and revealing names of other witches so that they might repent or be vanquished (Bly 88). Judge Danforth was devoted to the prosecution of witches. When he arrives in the town of Salem, Danforth sets in motion acts that "bring about an evil destructive state of chaos" (Carey 15). He believed he inherited his authority directly from God, and therefore carried on the witchhunt mercilessly (Bly 33). He did not give up easily; once he decided someone was a witch he would not rest until a confession was made as is evident in the following quote: "Will you confesss yourself befouled with Hell, or do you keep that black allegiance yet?" (Miller 111). Danforth may have had too much power also; being the Deputy Governor of Massachusetts, Danforth had the power to try, convict, and execute anyone he decide was a witch" (Bly 27). When writting The Crucible, Arthur Miller chose to speak through John Proctor on of the Salem witch trials victims. Miller uses Proctor as his character that defies the authority of the judges and their corrupt power

Writing an Essay

Writing an Essay Writing an Essay Writing an Essay Ability to take analytical approach in non-standard situations is one of the core competencies a recent graduate has to possess. For this reason, a lot of attention is paid to the organization of independent creative work of students, to the development of analytical thinking skills, supported by credible evidence and expert opinion. The quality of any essay, such as term paper, depends on three components: The quality of the source materials (the notes of the collected material, lectures, recordings of the discussions, student's ideas and experience on this issue); The quality of the processed material (the material systematization, its organization, reasoning and arguments); Reasoning (ability to analyze, discuss, and relate theoretical information to examples). It is impossible to write college essay without referencing primary and secondary information. Typically, prior to giving an assignment to the students to write an essay, the teacher encourages them to read several different primary sources on the topic. These sources contain contradictory information or complementary ideas. These sources are chapters from textbooks, books, articles and various publications. It is important that among the different sources students can select by themselves or with the help of the tutor choose 2-3 key articles or chapters of the book that provide a conceptual framework and theoretical reasoning. Essay Writing Essay writing is evaluated using the following criteria: The ability to respond to a question; The ability to focus on the main question, and not to be distracted by related topics; The ability to use argumentation (evidence); The ability to use data and analysis while writing description of the problem; The ability to present different points of view and to express his/she own views. Writing an Essay Tips Essay genre gives an opportunity to a subjective description of the problem in a form of free composition. Its boundaries, in general, are blurred. Essays are defined as a note, draft, and thoughts. It is usually small by volume and it freely expresses individual impressions and author's thoughts concerning the article, book, picture, film, etc. The goal of essay writing is to disclose the proposed topic by bringing arguments. Essay can not contain many ideas. While writing essay, you should reflect on one or several ideas and develop them. Writing essay outline helps you create a good and logical essay. Writing an essay try to respond clearly to the posed question, and don't go away from the topic. .com Our site is devoted to providing high school and college students with custom essay writing assistance. Writing an essay is a challenge for you, while it is our pleasure to be able to help. Every client receives free plagiarism report and free bibliography list.

Washington Naval Disarmament Treaty

Washington Naval Disarmament Treaty The Washington Naval Conference Following the end of World War I, the United States, Great Britain, and Japan all commenced large-scale programs of capital ship construction. In the United States, this took the form of five new battleships and four battlecruisers, while across the Atlantic the Royal Navy was preparing to build its series of G3 Battlecruisers and N3 Battleships. For the Japanese, the postwar naval construction began with a program calling for eight new battleships and eight new battlecruisers. This building spree led to concern that a new naval arms race, similar to the pre-war Anglo-German competition, was about to begin. Seeking to prevent this, President Warren G. Harding called the Washington Naval Conference in late 1921, with the goal of establishing limits on warship construction and tonnage. Convening on November 12, 1921, under the auspices of the League of Nations, the delegates met at Memorial Continental Hall in Washington DC. Attended by nine countries with concerns in the Pacific, the principal players included the United States, Great Britain, Japan, France, and Italy. Leading the American delegation was Secretary of State Charles Evan Hughes who sought to limit Japanese expansionism in the Pacific. For the British, the conference offered an opportunity to avoid an arms race with the US as well as an opportunity to achieve stability in the Pacific which would provide protection to Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. Arriving in Washington, the Japanese possessed a clear agenda that included a naval treaty and recognition of their interests in Manchuria and Mongolia. Both nations were concerned about the power of American shipyards to out-produce them if an arms race were to occur. As the negotiations commenced, Hughes was aided by intelligence provided by Herbert Yardleys Black Chamber. Operated cooperatively by the State Department and US Army, Yardleys office was tasked with intercepting and decrypting communications between the delegations and their home governments. Particular progress was made breaking Japanese codes and reading their traffic. The intelligence received from this source permitted Hughes to negotiate the most favorable deal possible with the Japanese. After several weeks of meetings, the worlds first disarmament treaty was signed on February 6, 1922. The Washington Naval Treaty The Washington Naval Treaty set specific tonnage limits on the signees as well as restricted armament size and expansion of naval facilities. The core of the treaty established a tonnage ratio that permitted the following: United States: Capital Ships - 525,000 tons, Aircraft Carriers - 135,000 tonsGreat Britain: Capital Ships - 525,000 tons, Aircraft Carriers - 135,000 tonsJapan: Capital Ships - 315,000 tons, Aircraft Carriers - 81,000 tonsFrance: Capital Ships - 175,000 tons, Aircraft Carriers - 60,000 tonsItaly: Capital Ships - 175,000 tons, Aircraft Carriers - 60,000 tons As part of these restrictions, no single ship was to exceed 35,000 tons or mount larger than 16-inch guns. Aircraft carrier size was capped at 27,000 tons, though two per nation could be as large as 33,000 tons. In regard to onshore facilities, it was agreed that the status quo at the time of the treatys signing would be maintained. This prohibited the further expansion or fortification of naval bases in small island territories and possessions. Expansion on the mainland or large islands (such as Hawaii) was permitted. Since some commissioned warships  exceeded the treaty terms, some exceptions were made for existing tonnage. Under the treaty, older warships could be replaced, however, the new vessels were required to meet the restrictions and all signatories were to be informed of their construction. The 5:5:3:1:1 ratio imposed by the treaty led to friction during negotiations. France, with coasts on the Atlantic and Mediterranean, felt that it should be permitted a larger fleet than Italy. They were finally convinced to agree to the ratio by promises of British support in the Atlantic. Among the main naval powers, the 5:5:3 ratio was badly received by the Japanese who felt they were being slighted by the Western Powers. As the Imperial Japanese Navy was essentially a one-ocean navy, the ratio still gave them a superiority over the US and Royal Navy which had multi-ocean responsibilities. With the treatys implementation, the British were forced to cancel the G3 and N3 programs and the US Navy was required to scrap some of its existing tonnages to meet the tonnage restriction. Two battlecruisers then under construction were converted into the aircraft carriers USS Lexington and USS Saratoga. The treaty effectively stopped battleship construction for several years as the signatories attempted to design ships that were powerful, but yet still met the agreements terms. Also, efforts were made to build large light cruisers that were effectively heavy cruisers or that could be up-converted with bigger guns in wartime. In 1930, the treaty was altered by the London Naval Treaty. This, in turn, was followed by the Second London Naval Treaty in 1936. This last treaty was not signed by Japanese as they had decided to withdraw from the agreement in 1934. The series of treaties begun with the Washington Naval Treaty effectively ceased on September 1, 1939, with the beginning of World War II. While in place, the treaty did somewhat limit capital ship construction, however, the per vessel tonnage limitations were frequently flouted with most signatories either using creative accounting in computing displacement or outright lying about a vessels size. Selected Sources Washington Naval Treaty: TextUS State Department: Washington Naval Conference

Bacterial Culture Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bacterial Culture Techniques - Essay Example Bacteria have been often termed as being the primitive beings and are said to help with the nitrogen cycle. In a wider view if looked at bacteria are all those unicellular organisms that belong to the category of Schizomycetes they may have a difference in their requirements for oxygen and nutrients and have difference in morphology as well as have varying motility and be free-living. Bacteria are also known as prokaryotes in general and these are known to be grouped together as they all do not have nuclear membranes. The growing of cells in a synthetic environment is known as cell culture. That could very well refer to either types of cells be those prokaryotic or eukaryotic cells. Culture can also be called the in vitro growing of cells of either plants or animals in a nutrient artificial medium. In the process of cell culture the cells used are no longer in an organized tissue form rather they are separate and grown in a simulated environment. The materials that are necessary for culturing bacteria cells are (a) culture tubes that are made of glass and that have their own labels and metal covers. (b) Media room or customized growth medium for simulation. (c) Para Film is also needed and (d) Pipette tubes that are also made of glass. Other necessary equipment includes Bunsen burners, motorized pipettes and micropipettes along with sterile tips. The first step in culturing bacteria cells is to streak an Agar plate and then incubate that until there begins a growth in colonies. Some bacteria have a temperature sensitive mutation rate and there fore would require the incubators to be set at 30C however in the case of E.coli the desired temperature for incubation is 37C. In order to be certain that the beginning of this culture has been from a single population of cells streaking of the plate is necessary. It is not necessary that you use an Agar plate as they are only

Cause and Effect Essay of diabetes Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cause and Effect of diabetes - Essay Example ts in insulin secretion, insulin action or both, which translates to long term damage and dysfunction of various organs of the body (Nayak and Roberts). Within the pancreas, the Islets of Langerhans are responsible for secretion of insulin, which acts to regulate of blood glucose levels. In persons with diabetes, normal insulin function is impaired where it can be produced in insufficient quantities or is produced defectively. This further classifies diabetes mellitus into Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes accounts for about 3-5% of all diabetes in the world and is more common in children and young adults but can occur at any age (International Diabetes Federation 6). Type 1 diabetes presents as an autoimmune disease where insulin producing cells within the pancreas are destroyed, and the patients are always dependent on insulin injections for survival. The destruction of Islets of Langerhans within the pancreas impair the ability to produce insulin adequately thus affecting the process of glucose regulation negatively. Such destruction may be facilitated by the presence of external factors such as viral infections, which may alter the orientation of the host immune system. On the hand, Type 2 diabetes accounts for about 90% of all diabetes cases globally, occurring among the middle-aged and older people. In this condition, the body either does not make enough insulin or does not respond well as it ought to the insulin produced and can be controlled by keeping blood glucose levels within the range through diet and exercises. In this regard, Type 2 diabetes is caused by insulin resistance, which implies that the body cannot effectively utilize the insulin produced no matter its quantity. As a result, glucose cannot be transported from the blood to the cells, which encourages excess blood glucose, which makes it difficult for the body to maintain normal glucose levels in the blood. Obesity, which is associated with insulin resistance, has been described

Democracy Essay Example for Free

Democracy Essay In its simplest term, democracy literally means the rule of the people. It came from the Greek word â€Å"demos† which means people and â€Å"kratos† which means rule. (â€Å"Democracy†) The term democracy was first coined in Ancient Greece. Democracy in Greece was understood to mean the selection of ordinary citizens to government office and courts and the assembly of all the citizens. Through the years, however, democracy as a form of government has evolved into a complex form of government. Despite the changes the concept has undergone, it still espouses the principles of popular sovereignty, political equality, popular consultation and the majority rule. (Austin Ranney, 1995) This essay is concerned with presidential democracy as a form of government. I aim to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the presidential system. In the concluding part, I will take a stand on this issue. The Advantages of Presidential System It is the essence of every presidential democracy that the three main powers of government are constitutionally divided into thee different departments. Read more: How does big states vs small states guard against tyranny essay The three departments are: a) the legislative branch; b) executive branch; and c) judicial branch. The legislative branch has the power to propose, enact, amend and repeal the law. The executive branch has the power to execute the law. The judiciary has the power to interpret the law. The doctrine of concentration of powers is intended to prevent a concentration of authority in one person or group of persons that might lead to an error or abuse to the prejudice of the whole state. It is believed that any concentration of powers in a single branch is tyrannical and only true separation of powers will protect the liberties of the people against the aggressions of government. (Austin Ranney, p. 240) Moreover, the essence of presidential democracy does not only lie in the constitutional separation of powers but it also lies in the system of checks and balances. The separation of powers in the three branches of government is not synonymous to isolation. In the words of Justice Frankfurter in the case of Connally v. Scudder (160 N.  E. 655), he states that while it is desirable that thee be a certain degree of independence among the several constitutional agencies, it is not in the public interest for them to deal with each other at arm’s length or with a hostile jealousy of their respective rights as this might result in frustration of the common objectives of the government. This means that in reality, these three departments actually share their powers for the purpose of establishing a system by which one department could resist encroachment made by another department. Although there is a separation of powers in a democracy, one department is given the prerogative to check whether another department is exceeding its power and prerogative. For example: the Executive department has the constitutional prerogative to check the power of the Legislative branch to make laws by exercising its veto power. This means that the president of a country has the power not to sign into law or veto a particular bill passed by the legislative branch if the president, thinks that the law is not proper e. g. f the law is not timely. The same is true for the legislative branch of government which has the constitutional prerogative to check on the powers of the president by means of the procedure known as impeachment. The same is true with the President who has the constitutional prerogative to check on the functions of the Judiciary. For example, the president has the power to grant amnesty and pardon to those already convicted and have undergone the process in the judiciary. Another essence of democracy lies in the Rule of Majority. This is best manifested in the process known as election by which the people, in accordance with the principle of popular sovereignty, have the power to choose which among the candidates will govern them for a limited period of time. Disadvantage of Presidential System Though the presidential system may have its advantages, one main objection to this system is the delays caused by too much political conflict and gridlock between the President, Senate and the House of Representatives. Several times in the past that needed legislations have been delayed and blocked because of the political bickering that is always inherent in a Presidential system. It must be stressed that laws are passed to address the concerns of the people. If the passage of laws will be delayed because of the disagreements between the executive and the legislative then the people are the ones who will suffer. Conclusion The democracy is adopted by many countries including the United States. I think presidential democracy is better than the other forms of government. Though it has also its weakness, it is only in a democracy where there is a better balance between the powers of the government and the right of the people. It is this balance that ensures that those in the government will not abuse their powers that the constitution has granted to them. It is also this balance that ensures that the people will not abuse their sovereignty. The fusion of the two essential powers of government such as the power to execute laws and to make and amend laws in the hands of a single person will expose the whole state and the citizenry to the possibility that those in power will abuse their position.

Korean Dramadance :: essays papers

Korean Dramadance China, Korea, and Japan have been historically close for centuries, thus accounting for their numerous common artistic traditions. From pre-Christian times until the 8th and 9th century AD, the great trade routes crossed from the Middle East through Central Asia into China. Hinduism, Buddhism, some knowledge of ancient Greek, and much knowledge of Indian arts entered into China, and thence in time into Korea and Japan. Perhaps before Christ, the Central Asian art of manipulating hand puppets was carried to China. For more than 700 years, until 668, in the kingdom of Koguryo, embracing northern Korea and Manchuria, court music and dances from Central Asia, from Han China, from Manchuria, and from Korea, called chiso and kajiso, were performed. Many of the dances were masked; all were stately as befit serious court art. They were taken to the Japanese court in Nara about the 7th century. Called bugaku in Japan, they have been preserved for 12 centuries and can still be seen performed at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, though they have long since died out in China and Korea. In Koguryo's neighbouring kingdom of Paekche, a form of Buddhist masked dance play was performed at court, and, in the 7th century, it too was taken to the Japanese court at Nara by a Korean performer, Mimaji, who had learned the dances while staying at the southern Chinese court of Wu-hou. Called kiak in Korea and gigaku in Japan, the Aryan features of some of its masks clearly indicate Indian (or Central Asian) influence. Su ch complicated genealogies are common in East Asian performing arts. Korean drama has its origins in prehistoric religious rites, while music and dance play an integral role in all traditional theatrical performances. A good example of this classical theatrical form is the masked dance called sandaenori or talchum, a combination of dance, song and narrative punctuated with satire and humor. Slightly varying from one region to another in terms of style, dialogue and costume, it enjoyed remarkable popularity among rural people until the early 20th century. Pansori, the lengthy narrative songs based on popular tales, and Kkokdugaksinoreum or puppet plays, performed by vagrant artists, also drew large audiences. The shamanistic rituals known as gut were another form of religious theater that appealed to the general public. All these performances are seldom presented today. There are a few institutions that offer various performing arts in one place, an example of this being Jeong-dong Theater in central Seoul, that presents a traditional performing arts series, drama and music.

Filipino colony in Borneo Essay

1. The North Borneo Project The Borneo project was a proposition of establishing a Filipino colony in Borneo under the British power. It would have been a great project but, like unfortunate plans, there were hindrances that led to the well-planned project to be left-out and dropped. One of the reasons would be the response of Governor General Eulogio Despujol. It is known that Dr. Jose Rizal sent letters to the Governor General for the approval of the said project. His first letter was not answered therefore Rizal wrote to him again. The letter was well composed in flawless discussion, but even in the respective tone he had noted the Governor’s failure to respond, indicated that the practise of illegal deportation was biased, and that whoever ordered them, bore the load of liability on his conscience. It will be presumed that with those in mind, Rizal would not have a positive response from the Governor. In addition to this, if the Governor approved of the plan, it would reveal to the world that people had been forced to self-exile in order to realize and obtain liberation. Furthermore, it would be an evident offense to renounce Spanish nationality, and a chain of diplomatic events would result from Despujol’s agreement with a foreign power. It would also be taken consideration that this site of the colony, being near to the Philippines, may be used as a base of operation for a revolution. Rizal after days or weeks’ time was informed of the Governor’s response. He thought that it was anti-patriotic and that he strongly rejected the project. He added that it would be best for Rizal to come home, but gave a vague security about guarantees that could be given for his citizenship. Another reason is his negotiations with the British North Borneo. Dr. Jose Rizal, in the absence of the governor, who was on leave, made transactions with the manager, Mr. W.B. Pryer, and the Secretary of the Government, Mister Cook. Both, especially Pryer, showed interest and favour to the said project, offering him good compromises and negotiations. While transacting with Pryer, Dr. Jose Rizal received an outstanding proposition. â€Å"During a period of eight months he had the option to buy 1,000 acres from the company and 5,000 during the next three years, at the price of $6 per acre, payable on terms, and a lease good for 950 years! All these, of course, were subject to the laws of B.N.B.(British North Borneo). The company offered to undertake the construction of buildings and planting of orchards, all payable in three years.† Then, when it came to Mr. Cook, the proposition changed. Cook offered Rizal 5,000 acres of land which came without payment for three years. After a few days, the governor finally received him to hear about his project. Conversely, Rizal learned that that the governor had not confirmed the offer of Cook, but the price would be P3 per acre. He was further disappointed when after two days Pryer wrote that the terms of negotiation has been sent to London for examination. It was not further explained but, in my opinion, Borneo being only a British protectorate, the examination would take a very long process and it is probable that it will not be approved. 2. Establishment of a College in Hong Kong Rizal planned to establish a college in Hong Kong to teach languages, science, and the arts, in the style of the Jesuit colleges. He had even drafted the regulations of the proposed school. The one who was supposed to fund it if ever it pushed through was Mariano Kunanan, a wealthy Pampango capitalist who promised 40,000 pesos to start the school. Having known the opposition of the propaganda to go back to the Philippines, he then with others in Madrid thought of the said project. This way, they still could educate the Filipinos without going back to motherland. In my opinion, their focus in establishing this in Hong Kong is the grounds that this is where most of the exiled Filipinos are sent. In addition, many Filipinos visit Hong Kong in various reasons, especially those who belong to families that are well-to-do, knowing that it is near to the Philippines. Another thing is that he may have thought of going against the wrong ways of teaching and administering of some of the Dominican priests that results them to choose the way of education of the Jesuits.

Conagra Foods Essay

ConAgra Foods Inc. is one of the largest food companies in the United States operating in such segments as Consumer Foods (66%) and Commercial Foods (34%) which are divided into three significant business operations segments – agricultural products, packaged foods and refrigerated foods (Table 1). Table 1. Net sales (in millions USD) 20102009%increase/decrease Consumer Foods 8,002 7,979-%. Commercial Foods 4,077 4,447(8)% Total12,07912,426(3)% Source: Annual Report 2010 Consumer Foods The Consumer Foods segment includes branded, private label and customized food products, which are sold in various retail and foodservice channels. The products include a variety of categories, such as meals, entrees, condiments, sides, snacks, and desserts across frozen, refrigerated and shelf-stable temperature classes. The Company’s major brands include Alexia, ACT II, Banquet, Blue Bonnet, Chef Boyardee, DAVID, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice, Hebrew National, Hunt’s, Marie Callender’s, Orville Redenbacher’s, PAM, Peter Pan, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, Snack Pack, Swiss Miss, Van Camp’s and Wesson. As of July 22, 2010, it had 39 domestic manufacturing facilities in Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Wisconsin. As of July 22, 2010, it also had four international manufacturing facilities in Canada and Mexico (one 50% owned) and one in Arroyo Dulce, Argentina. Commercial Foods The Commercial Foods segment supplies frozen potato, sweet potato and other vegetable, spice and grain products to a variety of restaurants, foodservice operators and commercial customers. The products are sold under brands, such as ConAgra Mills, Lamb Weston, and Spicetec Flavors & Seasoning. As of July 22, 2010, it had 41 domestic production facilities in Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah and Washington; one international production facility in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and Qingdao, China; one manufacturing facility in Taber, Canada; one 50% owned manufacturing facility in each of Colorado, Minnesota, Washington and the United Kingdom; one 67% owned manufacturing facility in Puerto Rico, and three 50% owned manufacturing facilities in the Netherlands. Company is mainly engaged in operations in the United States which count for more than 90% of total income (Table 2). ConAgra Foods Inc. owns approximately 50 brands (Table 3). Table 2. Pre-tax income from continuing operations (in millions USD) 201020092008 United States1,040. 3872. 1631. 9 Foreign 66. 6 64. 3 69. 6 Total1,106. 9936. 4701. 5 Source: Annual Report 2010 Vision and mission The vision of the company set by current CEO Gary Rodkin is: â€Å"One company. One goal. Making the food you love. † It reflects the overall company’s strategy to make â€Å"food people want in their lives every day†. The mission is reflected in company’s profile: â€Å"Preparing great food, being a strong partner to our customers and thinking about all of the people who enjoy our food and the difference it makes in their lives fuels our passion: making the food you love. † Goals Like every public-held company listed on NYSE (ConAgra Foods Inc. has ticker CAG) ConAgra Foods Inc. aims to increase earnings per share. The goal of the company is to achieve long-term growth through supply chain productivity, operational efficiency, innovation, selling, marketing and sustainability of great brands . Increase in supply chain productivity and operational efficiency lets the company to reduce its manufacturing, finance, administrative, transportation costs. Innovation and marketing orientation enhances the business processes and expands profit margins. Figure 1. Formula for growth Source: Annual Report 2010 ConAgra Foods Inc.operates under three principles while achieving its strategic goal: simplicity, collaboration and accountability. Using their resources rationally, nourishing employees and creating positive image within the community are the objectives which lead the company to be â€Å"good for you, good for the community, good for the people† . Strategic priorities The company focuses on the following business product groups. In each strategic group ConAgra Foods Inc. possesses significant manufacturing and innovation capabilities. Figure 2. Strategic priorities. Source: Annual Report 2010 Strategy â€Å"ConAgra Foods is focused on growing sales, expanding profit margins, and improving returns on capital over time. To that end, the company has significantly changed its portfolio of businesses over a number of years, focusing on branded, value-added opportunities, while divesting commodity-based and lower-margin businesses. † Acquisitions Company was founded in 1919 as Nebraska Consolidated Mills and in 2000 changed its name to ConAgra Foods Inc. Acquisitions are the major part of ConAgra’s strategy. The company implemented horizontal and vertical integration strategy after sustaining solid background in flour-milling operations and feed and poultry segment. The time and the trends in the food industry were crucial to the strategic acquisitions of the company. In 1970-1980s when home and industrial refrigerators became available for the consumers and packing techniques developed , which meant that now meat and vegetables will not spoil, ConAgra entered the frozen foods market with the acquisition of Banquet Foods in 1980 and other companies in the meat and poultry segment (Armour Foods, Beatrice Foods, Hebrew National Foods, etc.). In 1980-1990s when the welfare of American citizens began to improve and people began to value time the food that was easy to cook (which means basically just heat and serve) was highly demanded and ConAgra’s strategic move was highly appreciated by the investors in the stock market. The stock price of CAG tripled from 10$ in 1990 to 30$ in 1998. The total amount of acquired brands approximated 30 by the year 2000 (Hunt’s, La Choy, Wesson, ACT II, Chef Boyardee, etc. ) and company changed its name to ConAgra Foods Inc.to reflect its growing role as a food products manufacturer rather than just the food ingredients supplier. In the beginning of the twenty first century and nowadays when the society became more concerned about their health ConAgra Foods Inc. implemented several strategic acquisitions of such companies as Alexia Foods Inc. (natural and organic foods company) in 2007, Elan Nutrition in 2010 and others. The purchases that company makes â€Å"†¦reflect [our] acquisition strategy—find businesses that are great fits and enable [us] to grow by filling a need within [our] portfolio or giving [us] an adjacent category expansion†¦. † Figure 3. The acquisitions strategy helped ConAgra Foods Inc. to: ConAgra Foods Inc. divests the businesses which are either too complex to integrate with the core businesses or did not achieve a profit margin greater than the benchmark margin rate. In 2009 the company sold Pemmican (beef jerky business), in 2008 it sold â€Å"Knott’s Berry Farm† operations and others. Mostly, the divestitures are low-margin (commodity-based) businesses. Marketing and distribution Almost every American household has a number of ConAgra Foods brand-named products in their refrigerators. The ability to acquire well-known and customer-loved brands had secured for ConAgra beneficial position. Some of the acquired brands such as Peter Pan and Chef Boyardee had longer history than ConAgra and were so much identifiable in the consumer market that it makes no sense to advance the brand of ConAgra. Even though the company has so many brands in their â€Å"arsenal† many people don’t know what ConAgra does. And many consumers don’t identify ConAgra as the owner of the brand-named products that they buy. ConAgra is aimed to the better understanding needs of their customers. The health-conscious consumers (whose number is growing) chose nutritious and low-fat food. For increasing nutrition in its products company launched the program on sodium reduction and positions itself as a â€Å"safe food manufacturer† . In 2008 the company launched the program online startmakingchoices. com for people who are concerned with the healthy way of life. The website has several tests and tips on how to keep your life healthier. Also company designs packaging with the full information to help consumers improve their diet. â€Å"Taste, health, nutrition, convenience, sustainability and, of course, value are just some of the issues American shoppers are now faced with every time they go to a supermarket – and they’re demanding to know more. † For the purpose of better serving its customers and help consumers with their choice ConAgra Foods Inc. launched â€Å"Food News Today† with Phil Lempert, a â€Å"leading consumer trend analyst and Supermarket Guru†. ConAgra Foods Inc. aimed to develop and improve their private labeling strategy. One of the most successful brands that company has, Healthy Choice, has retail sales of about 1 billion dollars. This label is licensed to other companies for use on their products. Company announced the Gold Store initiative in 2006, which focuses on driving growth by optimizing in-store conditions in three fundamental areas: distribution, shelving, and placement next to the companion products. As part of a plan ConAgra’s sales efforts are shifting from a strategy that relied heavily on short-term price discounts and couponing in order to push out sales volume to consumers to a strategy that relies more on ways to draw in consumers. The new strategy hopes to provide a more balanced mix of trade spending, consumer advertising, and product innovation than the company had in the past. Even though ConAgra Foods Inc. owns distribution and transportation businesses like J. M. Swank, most of company’s transportation equipment, distribution centers and storage facilities are being run by third parties. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and its affiliates, accounted for approximately 18% of consolidated net sales for fiscal 2010 . ConAgra combines hard data from retailers with its own qualitative research. â€Å"Gary Rodkin is on a quest to find what he calls â€Å"the big, singular insight that will drive behavior change. â€Å"†¦. He is using theories about buying habits–backed by $399 million a year in advertising, marketing and in-store promotions–to convince grocery stores to provide ample shelves for its 45 consumer brands†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  Leadership. Charles M. Harper The â€Å"wizard† Charles M. Harper who led the company from 1974 to 1993 is well-known for launching acquisitions strategy and founding Healthy Choice brand. During his tenure at ConAgra, the company expanded its business operations from flour-milling business to frozen foods, poultry, prepared seafood, fertilizers and the sales rose from $636 million in 1974 to $9 billion in 1987. The main reason for making decisions on acquisitions strategy were cyclical profits that company faced in agricultural segment. Mike Harper decided to diversify the company from basic products to packaged goods. His main priority was to acquire companies while they were in their down cycle and he restructured the companies and refocused their marketing strategies. He reintroduced the brands which were highly recognizable by consumers and refocused the product lines. In 1988 Harper boasted that ConAgra was probably the only food products company to â€Å"participate across the entire food chain. † In the early 1990s ConAgra expanded at a rate of about 3-5 acquisitions and joint ventures a year, becoming the leader in the frozen goods industry . During his tenure the P/E ratio of the company was at all times high which means: the price of stock was rising faster than the earnings per share or in other words, the investors were overoptimistic about the future of the company. (Figure 4) Figure 4. P/E ratio of ConAgra Foods Inc. Bruce Rhode In 1998 Bruce Rhode was named a CEO of ConAgra and his first steps were to reduce costs by large amount. He instituted â€Å"Operation Overdrive† restructuring program, closing several production plants and storage facilities and cutting the workforce by seven thousand employees. The estimated savings from â€Å"Operation Overdrive† were approximately $600 million a year . The other problem that Bruce Rhode faced was strong decentralization of the company. Some of the food-processing and meat-packing companies, which operated under one brand name of ConAgra, purchased the products from the competitors rather than other ConAgra’s branches. The same uncoordinated actions were in marketing when â€Å"representatives from several ConAgra divisions, all selling similar products, visited the same restaurants and groceries†. Bruce Rhode emphasized team-approach to solve these problems. At the beginning of 2000s many retail grocery stores would like to promote their own brands in foods processing and packaging segment and that was another problem for Bruce Rhode to solve. He concentrated on product development and marketing, working closely with grocery stores to create displays of ConAgra products. Bruce Rhode continued acquisitions strategy of his predecessors acquiring more brand names in packaged food segment (International Home Foods in 2000) to increase gross sales of the company and he divided company into ten principal operating units: ConAgra Foodservice Company; ConAgra Grocery Products Companies; ConAgra Frozen Prepared Foods; ConAgra Dairy Case Companies; ConAgra Refrigerated Prepared Foods; ConAgra Meat Companies; ConAgra Poultry Company; ConAgra Food Ingredients; United Agri Products Companies; ConAgra Trade Group. The early years of his tenure coincided with the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997-1998 when the investors were cautious about the US domestic markets and the stock price fell significantly (Figure 4). Figure 4. Daily stock prices for ConAgra Foods, Inc. (CAG) since 1978 to 2010. Source: google. com/finance Gary Rodkin Gary Rodkin, the former CEO of PepsiCo Beverages and Foods of North America division, replaced Bruce Rhode as CEO of ConAgra Foods Inc. in 2005 and began reorganization trying to create one centralized consolidated company that consists of more than 500 subdivisions. As a result of refocusing its portfolio of businesses ConAgra Foods Inc. divested Butterball, Armour, Eckrich and others. Gary Rodkin, while continuing acquisitions strategy, transformed the company into a â€Å"more unified operating company† . With the changes of the new CEO many analysts were concerned that he would try to create ConAgra brand instead of coordinating many different brands. However, during his interview to SmartMoney (Wall Street Journal) in 2010 he said: â€Å"†¦. There is no product named ConAgra. So instead, we say, consumers make the brands relevant. We do need investors to better understand this company. But on the consumer side, we really don’t think the juice is worth the squeeze. † Performance Internal organization ConAgra Foods Inc. operates in a low-margin industry thus effectively managing its costs is the priority in achieving strategic competitiveness (Figure 6). Focusing on cost reduction the company could save 1. 1 billion USD through supply chain rationalization initiatives, the relocation of a divisional headquarters from Irvine, California to Naperville, Illinois, the centralization of shared services, salaried headcount reductions and other cost-reduction initiatives . Figure 6. Here’s how the $4. 19 you pay for a frozen dinner like one from Healthy Choice breaks down. ConAgra makes 55 cents. Source: Forbes. com . Shopping Cart Psychology by Helen Coster. 08. 19. 09 For the fiscal 2010 year ConAgra Foods Inc. announced net sales of 12,079 million USD with the operating profit of 1,652 USD (Table 4). Table 4. Financial Highlights for the fiscal 2010 year Source: Annual Report 2010 â€Å"†¦.. Heightened competition, weak demand and inflation hampered food processor ConAgra’s fiscal first quarter, leading it to cut its outlook, though the maker of Healthy Choice and Orville Redenbacher’s brand foods increased its dividend†¦.. † . The company also decreased its earnings per share outlook from 8-10% growth to 5-7%. External environment ConAgra Foods Inc. is focused on value-added brand companies and private labeling in the food industry where it competes with such giants as Kraft Foods, Heinz, Nestle, etc. â€Å"†¦.. We experience intense competition for sales of our principal products in our major markets. Our products compete with widely advertised, well-known, branded products, as well as private label and customized products. Some of our competitors are larger and have greater resources than we have. We compete primarily on the basis of quality, value, customer service, brand recognition, and brand loyalty†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. † From the next figure it can be inferred that even though ConAgra Foods, Inc. operates better than overall US industries, it still underperforms the leading companies in food sector. Figure 5. 10-year comparison of ConAgra Foods Inc. , S&P 500, S&P 500 Packaged Foods Index. Source: Annual Report 2010 In the Processed and Packaged Goods industry companies operate under very narrow margins (Figure 6) and for that reason severe price competition after the financial crisis influences heavily the profits of ConAgra Foods Inc. Also, the retailers implement backward integration strategy and take away profits from famous brand companies since the consumers are losing interest in the brand-named products. Even though the there are some good news about the industry that the consumers are very conscious about the money and they eat-out less than before the crisis the competition in the industry makes it difficult for analysts to predict bright future for the food companies. In the Figure we can see that the general projections for the industry are either â€Å"buy† or â€Å"hold† rather than â€Å"strong buy†. Figure 7. Analysts recommendation about the industry and ConAgra Foods Inc. Source: wikinvest. com Zacks Investment Research, November 24, 2010. Bibliographies 1. Amanda Quick, â€Å"Company profiles for students†, (Thomson Gale, 1999) 2. bigcharts. com 3. ConAgra Foods Inc. Annual Report 2010 4. ConAgra Foods Inc. Corporate Responsibility Report 2010 5. conagrafoods. com 6. forbes. com 7. google. com/finance 8. http://www. hbs. edu 9. referenceforbusiness. com 10. wikinvest. com 11. wsj. com.

The Royal Bank of Scotland

The Royal Bank of Scotland The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is the top performer in the international banking industry and is one of the biggest world’s banking institutions. This multinational corporation currently employs over 150,000 of workers all over the world and operates in more than 40 countries (RBS, 2015).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Royal Bank of Scotland specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It maintains its reputation as a top player at the global financial service market with the world class services provided to its customers. RBS is remarkable for the excellent leadership practices and governing strategy enabling the corporation to handle the changes and challenges that take place in the industry. This paper aims at the evaluation of the RBS organization sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Since 1727, RBS has been a top performer in the provision of financial services in Europe. Today, this inter national banking corporation with the headquarters in Edinburg, Scotland has become a leader in the industry all over the world. Through the major subsidiaries Royal Bank, Ulster Bank, Coutts, and Nar West, RBS successfully works in the number of the largest financial markets including Europe, Asia, and America (Kemal, 2011). As a leading financial service provider, RBS does not only ensure the achievement of higher revenue for its offered services, but above everything, profitability. In 2014, RBS operational profit was at the rate of  £3,503 million (RBS sustainability, 2014). At that, the leverage ratio was 4.2% and the net interest margin was 2.23%. All these variables considerably exceeded the results of the previous year demonstrating the success of the company operational decisions. RBS financial priorities are (1) strengthening the capital position, (2) bringing the cost base in line with the smaller banks being acquired; and (3) restructuring away from the olden â€Å"Gr oup† business model (RBS sustainability, 2014). With the recent economic recession, RBS implemented new policies to its business with an objective to manage uncertainty at the market. The bank has developed new elemental management approaches and leadership innovations to ensure adaptability to the change (RBS, 2015). Understanding that the major organizations providing financial services have to initiate change addressing the problems connected with uncertainty at the market, and not doing so would only lead to their disadvantage in the future, RBS has gone through a row of organizational changes within the recent period (Rose Hudgins, 2010).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More To maintain the level of profitability, RBS (1) differentiated offerings through diversified customer segments; (2) ensured prompt adoption to external changes; (3) created corresponding management roles and organizational structures to increase the level of coping with change; and (4) facilitated the strong support of the human resources.RBS competitive advantage is the ability to restructure its business to adapt to the current business situation with the help of the timely and well-weighted decision-making (Huisman, 2011). RBS is thus well known for its ability to create management roles and organization structures. It is also remarkable in its acquisition strategy. Since the end of the eighteenth century, RBS has been renowned as â€Å"a leading banking partner to major corporations and financial institutions around the world, providing an extensive range of debt financing, risk management and investment services to its customers† (RBS, 2015). Next, to promote organization sustainability, RBS continues to invest resources into staff training and expertise building (Kemal, 2011). HR management and policies are important approaches the company is actively implementing with refinements based on the current market needs. Some of these include major adjustments such as being quick to adopt major changes. At present, RBS is quick to employ strengthening of its employee relations by making sure the right reward goes to the right person (RBS, 2015). This strategy creates a form of motivation that does not only promote quality, but the substantial form of quantity at the same time (Worthington Welch, 2011). RBS has been good at raising the engagement level of its employees, as there has been found an increasing productivity because the level of engagement has been rising. The company is also putting a lot of effort into the team building through celebrating diversity and welcoming the open thought exchange (RBS, 2015). Further, RBS has the ability to make use of the adoption of existing opportunities from its external environment. In 2013, RBS was quick to adopt new technology for the hope of delivering high customer value and increase pro fitability (RBS sustainability, 2014).). In 2015, RBS continued to boost its image as a global leader of innovation by means of integration into Ripple (RBS, 2015). This decision enables RBS to decrease operational costs and provide its customers and partners with the new cross-border payment services (RBS, 2015). The company pays constant attention to the continual review of the cyber security control to ensure on-line customer safety despite the growing number of cyber fraud cases (RBS, 2015). In mind with eliminating the cyber safety and security problem the company experienced in 2011 and 2012, RBS is looking for the partnerships with the teams developing advanced technologies for a more resilient on-line banking (RBS sustainability, 2014). Currently, the organization reports considerable progress in the field of on-line banking security (RBS, 2015).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Royal Bank of Scotland specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/pa ge Learn More Regarding CSR, RBS focuses on customer trust because the company leadership believes it to be inextricably connected with sustainability (RBS sustainability, 2014). To gain customer loyalty and win customer trust, RBS has developed the market segmentation strategy enabling it to focus on customer interests in various fields. The company market segmentation strategy is made possible through segmenting customers into retail, commercial and corporate. The good thing about this strategy is making sure of maximizing opportunity for RBS by providing to various needs of its target customers to end up with sustainable operation. As a result, RBS has finally succeeded today in providing personal, private, business and corporate banking experience for diverse customer segments particularly in the UK, leading to a programme of raising capital around  £22 billion in 2013 (RBS, 2015). The company does not stop at this point and has further ambitious goals in the a rea of CSR as follows from its annual report, â€Å"RBS has a clear ambition to be number one for customer service, trust and advocacy in each of our chosen business areas by 202† (RBS sustainability, 2014, p. 11). As for the RBS social, economic and environmental impact, the company is working hard to organize its organizational strategy around the major goal of putting the customer first (RBS, 2015). In line with the objective to prioritize customer interests, the company leadership builds the business according to the interests of its employees (RBS, 2015). The company CEO, Mr. Ross McEwan, described RBS vision in this area with the following words: â€Å"we won’t engage our customers if we don’t engage our staff, and so we are looking very closely at how we improve leadership at RBS, and how we make this a rewarding place to workâ€Å" (RBS sustainability, 2014, p. 3). The company pursues its ultimate social role as being an assistant for a common person i n realizing one’s dreams and ambitions. How this role is being realized is best seen in the following comment by Mr. Ross McEwan: First and foremost I define our relationship with society through how well we are serving our customers. If we are supporting their ambitions to buy a home, start a business or grow their company – and doing that responsibly then I think that has a very positive influence on society (RBS sustainability, 2014, p. 3). While serving the customers’ basic needs, RBS does not forget about the global environmental concerns. The company engages in the wide range of measures aiming at improving the environment including the initiative to shift to a low carbon economy, introduce energy efficiency technology at every big building around the world, eliminate wastes to the landfill, decrease the paper usage in business, and promote unnecessary water usage reduction (RBS, 2015).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In conclusion, evaluating RBS organization sustainability from the perspective of the materials learnt in class, the company developed an effective approach not only to ensure profitability, but to guarantee competitive advantage in its industry (Thompson Martin, 2010; Wheelen et al., 2015). Its ability to create major innovations and substantial changes promotes its potential to stay on top in the financial service industry, ensuring its sustainable operation while taking the opportunity to provide high value for customers and generate profit (Managing for Competitive Advantage, 2012). Moreover, RBS demonstrates peculiar achievements in raising the engagement level of its employees and increasing productivity because of the high level of engagement (Heizer Render, 2011). References Heizer, J., Render, B. (2011) Operations management, 10th edition. London: Pearson. Huisman, W. (2011). Corporate crime and crisis: causation scenarios. In M. Deflem (ed.) Economic crisis and crime (s ociology of crime law and deviance (pp.107-125). London: Sage. Kemal, M. U. (2011). Post-merger profitability: a case of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). International Journal of Business and Social Science, 2 (5), 157-162. Managing for competitive advantage (2012). Harlow: Pearson Custom Publishing. RBS sustainability report 2014. (2014). Web. RBS: Here for you. (2015). Retrieved from https://personal.rbs.co.uk/personal.html Rose, P., Hudgins, S. (2010). Bank management financial services. New York: McGraw-Hill Publ.Comp. Thompson, J., Martin, F. (2010). Strategic management awareness change, 6th Edition. London: Cengage Learning. Wheelen, T.L., Hunger, J.D., Hoffman, A.N., Bamford, C.E. (2015). Strategic management and business policy (global edition), 14th Edition. London: Pearson Education. Worthington, S. Welch, P. (2011). Banking without the banks. International Journal of Bank Marketing, 29 (2), 190 – 201.