Pricing Strategy and Channel Distribution Essay Example for Free

Pricing Strategy and Channel Distribution Essay Pricing Strategy and Channel Distribution Senior Concierge Services Kelly Spino Strayer University Dr. Robert Badowski Abstract Determine and discuss a pricing strategy (penetration or skimming). Determine and discuss pricing tactics (product line pricing, value pricing, differential pricing, or competing against private brands) to be used for your product. Identify any legal and ethical issues related to the pricing tactics. Prepare a marketing distribution channel analysis identifying the wholesaler, distributor, and retailer relationships. Discuss how the distribution strategy fits the product/service, target market, and overall marketing objectives for the company. As a service business, Senior Concierge Service will offer non medical care and maintenance for senior citizens and their families. This type of service business does not have many competitors, and pricing is consistent among the senior care industry. The pricing strategy for Senior Concierge Service will be to stay within the normal range for its services. Consumers will choose Senior Concierge Service over the competition not by cost, but by the quality of services offered. Price skimming is a pricing strategy in which a marketer sets a relatively high price for a product or service at first, and then the price is lowered over time. This is a version of price discrimination. Price skimming allows a business to recover its resources quickly before a competitor moves in and lowers their prices, lowering the market price. The objective of a price skimming strategy is to capture the consumer surplus. There are several potential problems with this strategy. It is effective only when a business is facing an inelastic demand curve (demand that is not very sensitive to a change in price). Skimming encourages the entry of competitors. Penetration pricing is a more suitable strategy in this case. This strategy is a pricing technique of setting a relatively low initial entry price, often lower than the market price, to attract new customers. This strategy works on the probability that customers will switch to the new business because of the lower price. Penetration pricing is most commonly associated with a marketing objective of increasing market hare or sales volume, rather than to make profit in the short term. This can take the competition by surprise, not giving them time to react. It can also create goodwill among the early customer segment. This can create more trade through word of mouth. Ethical thinking is responding to situations that deal with principles concerning human behavior in respect to the appropriateness and inappropriate ness of certain communication and to the decency and indecency of the intention and results of such actions (distinctions between right and wrong). Marketers are ethically responsible for what is marketed and the image that a product portrays. Marketers need to understand what good ethics are and how to incorporate good ethics in various marketing campaigns to better reach a targeted audience and to gain trust from customers. (Wikipedia. com) Unethical or controversial marketing strategies include: bait and switch, pyramid scheme, planned obsolescence, lock-in/ loyalty schemes, viral marketing, and, monopolies/oligopolies. In retail sales, a bait and switch is a form of fraud in which the party putting forth the fraud lures in customers by advertising a product or service at an unprofitably low price, and then reveals to potential customers that the advertised good is not available but that a substitute is. A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, without any product or service being delivered. Pyramid schemes are a form of fraud. The scheme collapses when no more people are willing to join the pyramid Planned obsolescence is the process of a product becoming obsolete or non-functional after a certain period or amount of use in a way that is planned or designed by the manufacturer. The purpose of planned obsolescence is to hide the real cost per use from the consumer, and charge a higher price than they would otherwise be willing to pay, or would be unwilling to spend all at once. For industries, planned obsolescence stimulates demand by encouraging purchasers to buy sooner if they still want a functioning product. In business, vendor lock-in or customer lock-in, makes a customer dependent on a vendor for products and services, unable to use another vendor without substantial switching costs. Lock-in costs which create barriers to market entry may result in antitrust action against a monopoly. Loyalty programs include frequent flier miles or points systems associated with credit card offers that can be used only with the original company, creating a perceived loss or cost when switching to a competitor. Most programs are able to get consumers to spend more money just to get to free or bonus item. Viral marketing and viral advertising refer to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness. It can be word-of-mouth delivered or enhanced by the network effects of the Internet. Monopolies and oligopolies often use anti-competitive practices, which can have a negative impact on the economy. This is why company mergers are often examined closely by government regulators to avoid reducing competition in an industry. Since this business caters to seniors and their families, it is especially important for Senior Concierge Services to represent quality, value and confidence in its services and staff. The success of this company depends on compassionate, trustworthy, conscientious, and ethical care givers providing non-medical in-home care. A different take on the loyalty program would allow customers to receive a discount after x amount of service visits or when prepaying for multiple services. A marketing distribution channel analysis is a means used to transfer merchandise from the manufacturer to the end user. An intermediary in the channel is called a middleman. Channels normally range from two-level channels without intermediaries to five-level channels with three intermediaries. Intermediaries in the channel of distribution are used to facilitate the delivery of the merchandise as well as to transfer title, payments, and information about the merchandise. Distribution describes all the logistics involved in delivering a companys products or services to the right place, at the right time, for the lowest cost. For many products and services, their manufacturers or providers use multiple channels of distribution. Well-chosen channels constitute a significant competitive advantage, while poorly conceived or chosen channels can doom even a superior product or service to failure in the market. Distribution channels may not be restricted to physical products alone. They may be just as important for moving a service from producer to consumer in certain sectors, since both direct and indirect channels may be used. There have also been some innovations in the distribution of services, such as an increase in franchising and in rental services. There has also been some indication hat service integration can benefit many providers. Senior Concierge Services will look to link with other service providers to create a mutually beneficial arrangement. Medical providers, beauticians, landscapers and general contractors would all be a good fit with the services offered. A distribution strategy defines how a business is going to create and satisfy demand for its products; how a business is going to move produ cts from point of creation to points of consumption, in a cost-effective manner; as well as defining how a business is going to manage its brand. Todays customers shop and buy very differently than ever before. Access to high-quality information, via the internet, combined with their heightened price sensitivity, has created customers that are more sophisticated, better informed and often times, more demanding than customers of the past. A distribution strategy must be in sync with how the customers of Senior Concierge Service want to shop for services. Franchising is an option worth considering. For a fee, a small business owner can take advantage of the marketing research completed at the corporate level.

Expatriation, expenses, advantages and disadvantages

Expatriation, expenses, advantages and disadvantages Expatriation, the practice of sending home country managers to other country locations, is a popular, albeit expensive practice among multinational corporations. Expatriates are charged with facilitating the bidirectional flow of knowledge and resources between company headquarters and overseas subsidiaries. Typically, the company expects its expatriate managers to infuse company philosophy into the local subsidiary, as well as to impose policies and procedures consistent with headquarter operations. They are often responsible for the movement of financial resources, whether this be physical capital or the ability to tap local debt and equity markets. They bring with them managerial as well as technical expertise, functional capabilities, or the training necessary to develop these among the local personnel, and structural and control systems. Among these are appraisal systems and motivational tools and incentives. Either while on assignment or upon repatriation, the expatriate should be able to share information with the parent company regarding local infrastructure, such as roads, housing conditions, and transportation systems. In addition, knowledge regarding the political climate, negotiating techniques, host government concerns, and consumer preferences is passed on to the parent. Finally, expatriates should learn a great deal about business practices specific to the regions where they have been assigned, including holidays and observances, accepted business attire, and the appropriate ways to communicate and socialize with co-workers and locals in general. Background: Given the rapid rise in the internationalization of markets, competition, and technology, expatriates—and in particular long-term expatriates—can provide much of the value-creation opportunities global firms are seeking. But as the numbers of assignments increases, along with their annual cost by some estimates, two-to-four times the individuals base salary, there is need to assure such assignments are being effectively utilized in achieving Companys strategic goals. Only 57 percent of the global firms responding to a 2005 survey by GMAC Relocation Services perceived their return on investment (ROI) in expatriates to be â€Å"good† or â€Å"excellent,† with only 43 percent indicating they had specific programs in place to improve it. Other surveys show that up to 85 percent of managers do not even attempt to demonstrate the ROI of long-term international assignments, nor do they measure it. Thus, expatriate ROI appears to be, not only rarely calculated among global firms but also not widely used as a tool to reduce expatriate costs, despite a growing economic environment of global uncertainty, cost cutting, and risk. Introduction: This report is designed to investigate effectiveness of expatriate remuneration in a multinational organization. For this purpose I have chosen ICI, as this company is operating in many European as well as Asian countries and still in continuation of expanding its operations. Goals for the expatriates in ICI, with the study carried to analyse the effectiveness in achieving those targets are featured in this small study. This study will examine how the expats are remunerated and what bases are used in doing so, furthermore basis opted for rewards system. Others matters considered alongside are considerations for the costs of family residency, insurances, childrens education, properties, and other expenses; including incentives. Gains and nuisances of the expats are issued for the consideration from expats points of view. Moreover explanation of the research methodology coupled with justification for the research is complied in. Due to the nature of the topic, secondary sources of information are used as the primary sources were difficult and time consuming. ICI has many expatriates around the world in various countries of different continents, which includes Asia, Europe- as required by its diverse operations. Sending expatriates on long term assignments is complicated as it triggers diverse needs (i.e. social needs, ethical issues, religions, family commitments and backgrounds, etc). Therefore on one side selecting, enticing, and retaining expatriate staff for long duration of their foreign assignment and on the other designing rewards system for such complex and diverse roles adds difficulties for the organization. Aim and Objectives: This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of expatriate remuneration at ICI. In order to achieve this aim, the following objectives have been set: * Develop a model for measuring expatriate remuneration. * To assess the current expatriate remuneration for ICI. * To conduct fieldwork and collect data on the effectiveness, ethics, etc. * Analyse the results of the fieldwork and present the results of the investigation. Model for measuring Expatriates Remuneration A large studies conducted by the researchers concluded that only 51 out of many global firms participating in the study desired to obtain an acceptable ROI from their expatriates. ROI determinations should also include nonfinancial costs and benefits in order to capture the long-term, post assignment benefits— such as skills transfer, global leadership capabilities, succession readiness, and other talent management objectives. McNulty and Tharenou have defined expatriate ROI as â€Å"a calculation in which the financial and nonfinancial benefits to the firm are compared with the financial and nonfinancial costs of the international assignment, as appropriate to the assignments purpose.†This definition implies two important conditions: * Managers must know the intent for using expatriates—how the purpose of an international assignment is linked to a firms overall global strategy—in order to then track the benefits and costs. * Managers must include both tangibles and intangibles when calculating and comparing costs and benefits. Accurate rates of return are then more likely to be determined when the benefits are compared with the costs, even if a cost is financial (e.g., the cost of cross-cultural training) and the corresponding benefit is nonfinancial (e.g., the benefit of improved performance). In turn, these conditions imply a robust system for creating, approving, documenting, tracking, and evaluating international assignments. Assessment the current expatriate remuneration for ICI During the course of my study I focused my study plan on remuneration of 10 Individuals designated as expatriates with a responsibility of transferring ICI system IT-based skills to other subsidiaries/ offices located across the regions. The individuals selected were salaried Approx. around  £ 4,000 per month during course of their normal office routine work. When and as employee designated as expat, a separate remuneration model was designed for each keeping in view the following * Working hours * Job specifications * Number of travels/locations to different sites * Period for which the expat assigned for the special assignment The model devised without considering as exception circumstances is illustrated below * If the expat tenure for the special assignment is for a period covering more than 2 years, the expat is allowed to take is family (wife and children) along, at his discretion. The salary package of the said expat will be 180% of his gross salary during this tenure. * If the expat tenure for the special assignment is for a period less than 2 years, the expat is not allowed to take is family at COs expense. However he will be allowed to claim return air tickets thrice a year with 20 days paid leaves and will be remunerated at 140% of his original gross salary. * All the medical and other facilities entitled to the employees during routine office duty shall retain and other expenditure related to the business such as travelling, out of pocket expenses shall be reimbursed to the employees. Problems faced by expatriate while implementing head office system/ rules * Expatriates were charged with either learning the host language or communicating through gestures or other non-verbal methods, or they may invoke the services of translators or interpreters * Psychological types of strains, including the negative psychological reactions of anxiety, anger, and frustration when not been able to deliver or transfer knowledge due to national/ regional differences. * Relationship between sociability and cross-cultural adjustment makes them feel alienated. * Understanding of the values and norms of the local nationals was hard to follow and observe.  · Patience was required to build the relationships and the trust. Fieldwork and Ethics Issues Meeting the Senior Manager Finance Manager during their valuable busy working hours and requesting them to give some guideline by providing knowledge about the Expats and the remuneration model designed for the assignments. Moreover during discussion session with the managers, I insisted on asking more details and insights that were not available documented, for which the senior manager was hesitant of doing so, as in their opinion certain information was very sensitive and arise tax sensitive issues. The analysis also involved use of companys IT resources like internet, desktop and other ancillary equipments. Moreover in gathering information about my research/field work I had to make certain quality compromises, as the information was not readily available and the management was hesitant over concerns regarding its secrecy. Following is the data gathered and analysed of the employees during their services as expats. Name of the Employee/Expat ID # Gross Salary Special Assignment Allotment Salary for m/o Dec ‘09 Medical Travel plus Misc Total John Desusa 345 3,500 140% 4,900 100 450 5,450 Ali Kirmani 6576 3,000 140% 4,200 1,110 367 5,677 Patric Mandela 356 4,000 140% 5,600 521 1,200 7,321 Keith Ronaldo 6787 5,000 140% 7,000 124 290 7,414 John Ferry 754 4,000 180% 7,200 413 300 7,913 Harban Bhaveja 7564 4,500 180% 8,100 20 394 8,514 Research Methodology: Data are analysed through primary and secondary data research. This is where financial value i.e. quantitative data or the brand image i.e. qualitative data for ICI will be inspected in those countries where expats are doing the work. This will be done by individual countries examination of customer base and/or business base; depending on what expats have been sent for and what is meant to be achieved there. Knowledge of all countries is brought together for expats as well as all costs incurred; are part of this study. It has complete similarities and differences within this duration of expatriation. These include currency evaluations differences in other countries and the amount that has been spent in those countries is worth the effort. However, this should mean that the expats are giving identical efficiency level as they would have while being in the UK in the away country depending on the targets being given. In most cases, ICI gives a smaller pay due to the economy being down. However, still pays well even after slump where GBP is strong. Data Collection Methods: Due to the nature of the topic, both primary and secondary sources equally provided appropriate and valuable information. Although using the former source was difficult and time consuming. Primary Source An interview was held with Mr. Zawan Navade Senior Finance Manager ICI. The primary purpose of this interview was to assess the potential benefits expats providing to the Organisation with the cost being incurred. Moreover, a meeting was arranged with the Human Resource Manager to gain information regarding the design of the remuneration packages related to the potential benefits to the entity. Secondary Sources These consisted of the following * Payroll Sheets * Documented Reward system * Special assignment contracts Limitations: Financial data by itself may not be sufficient for the purpose of my research work, therefore expert input from Companys senior executives was required but most of the information in my research report is secondary as I was not able to directly approach the companies executive all the time and have limited use of their valuable time due to their tight official schedules and their reservations.

Effective leadership styles in problem solving

Effective leadership styles in problem solving This assignment shall critically analyze the extent to which effective management and leadership styles can be used to address and solve problems in social care and health environments. Introduction The service field of social and health care environments has made great progress in recognizing its values for the future periods and things which require changing to achieve considerable and noticeable improvements across a variety of services. Management and Leadership styles need to be used effectively to bring out noticeable changes and for achieving specific actions to make significant improvements a reality in the social and healthcare environment. Effective and efficient implementation of change and improvement is a dynamic and comprehensive process which takes its due time to come into action and specific management and leadership programmes are usually unique to every organization. Every organization depends upon change and programmes for improvement for different reasons. Leadership plays a very vital role in the success of organisational improvement in social and healthcare service sectors. Effective leaders can enable improvements to take place and they have the capability to foretell the direction in which an organisation must be headed in terms of service delivery such as greater service user involvements and also guide their organisation in this direction. It is very important to have a predetermined purpose or ideology involving employees to bring about improvements in the system. The management must set the scope of these improvements and it is leaderships responsibility to aide in bringing and implementing changes for betterment of the services. Overview of Health and Social Care Sector Healthcare sector refers mainly to all those services which are offered by hospitals, clinics, general practitioners to prevent, diagnose and treating illness. This is a main and primary activity United Kingdom and consumes important parts of Gross Domestic Product and accounts of employing over ten million people across the country. This is a very complex sector comprising of not just healthcare service providers but also private and public funders and patients (consumers). Furthermore, significant economic sectors are associated actively with this sector, particularly pharmaceuticals and suppliers of medical equipments. In this assignment we shall concentrate on service provision of healthcare and how management and leadership styles can bring about improvement and address the problems of this sector. Social services is a multifaceted concept having different meanings and could include, provision of welfare payments and pensions. This assignment the term social services will be confined to work which is rendered by a person or organisation for furtherance of welfare of citizens. It includes, but is not restricted to, services for: Children and their families Disabled individuals of all age groups Elderly individual particularly those suffering from mental health problems Individuals misusing drugs and alcohol Services related to HIV/AIDS The typical providers of social services are public authorities and voluntary organisations however; private sector also plays an important role, to illustrate, provision of long-term care facilities. Healthcare and Social services were treated differently traditionally, due to their origins but also because of the fact that interest groups maintained their boundaries. This entire situation is undergoing changes throughout the western world due to different factors which include increase in elderly population, increase in awareness of preventing diseases instead of cure and an increased demand from customers (citizens) integrated services to meet needs specific in nature. This resulted in increasing stress on care including healthcare in the community, with higher collaboration between both sectors healthcare and social service providers. United Kingdom offers a National Health Service (NHS) free of cost at the point of delivery; this expenditure is funded primarily through general t axation. Several issues that affect healthcare also affect social services, especially ageing society. However, the functioning of hospitals and community-based care has transformed differently. UK is now exploring ways of coordinating both sets of services more efficiently, for e.g. shifting towards a home-based and community care grouped with correct use of expensive hospital services. This can be achieved and development in informatics and associated disciplines are anticipated to offer it. (OST, 2001, p. 8) Current Trends and Driving Forces of Social and Healthcare Sector Healthcare and Social care service sector is currently undergoing different changes and thus it is essential to evaluate what are the current trends and forces responsible for these changes. This assignment shall look at the most significant trends and drivers affecting health and social services sector, they are: Changes in Demography and society: The citizens of UK are currently living in ageing societies. However, the major concern is workforce and elder ageing, i.e. increase in number of persons above 80. This phenomenon is known as triple ageing. The resultant effects of triple ageing on health and social services are well known. Increasing consumerism and expectations. The term consumer patient is reflective on the assumption that more and more number of people are expecting to receive health care services they need at affordable prices. Latest medical technologies The need to reduce health costs, extend life expectancy and improve quality of life is often cited as drivers for technological developments in health and social sector. Many people believe that these latest technologies can totally transform and revolutionise the healthcare sector, despite concerns of increasing costs. Leadership in Healthcare and Social Services Leadership and management are two important factors which will help bring about the needed changes in the Healthcare and Social Services sector. Clarity and effective communication is very important for leaders depending on improvement initiatives. In the same line, frontline employees require to be provided with opportunities to embrace the latest ideology and purpose and customize it so that they can alter services accordingly. Leadership in healthcare and social services will be successful when the management decides the purpose of the organization and underlies requirements for improvement, analyzes what changes required to be made to achieve these objectives and examine how the necessary improvements can be achieved. To make a success of the implementing changes in service, leaders must make sure there is effective communication amongst the staff which is two-way and useful. Management in social and healthcare sector Management of the organization should entrust employees to carry forward improvements and enhancements in their daily service delivery. It is always possible for employees to be involved in what of the change, however there is a wide scope for involving how. Management must try to involve employees in the stages of planning, this will encourage staff to acknowledge and support the improvement process while feeling sense of ownership over the improvements. The main management style here is democratic in nature which means employees are heard to and their opinions and ideas are considered, including those employees who might not easily welcome changes. Employees must be given the tasks of carrying forward improvements in their daily routine work. Encourage them to participate in making decisions independently. Workers must be allowed to participate in discussions, questions and design activities of improvement. Another important aspect of democratic management style is feedback from em ployees which is a result of consulting on exercises and decisions taken based on inputs. Encouraging teamwork, both inter and intra-departmental, comprising of diverse members. Employees must be exposed to development of activities which they had been a part of while designing. Provide the staff with ample time for involvement, developmental activities and participation. If staff is finding it difficult to balance present commitments with time for improving services, then work along with the management and find answers. Management and Leadership Styles Management is a universal concept and is very popularly used terminology in the business world. Every type of organization be it business, political, cultural or social involves management since it is management which assists and directs the different efforts of people towards a predetermined goal or objective. According to Harold Koontz, Management is an art of getting things done through and with the people in formally organized groups. It is an art of creating an environment in which people can perform and individuals and can co-operate towards attainment of group goals On the other hand, Leadership is a process through which an executive could direct, guide and influence behaviour and work of other individuals in the direction of achieving particular goals in an existing situation. Leadership refers to the potential of influencing the behaviour of others in the organization. It can in specific terms be referred to as the capacity to influence a group towards goals realization. It is the capability of a manager to motivate his subordinates to work together with confidence and enthusiasm. There are three main categories of management and leadership styles which are as given below: Autocratic managers are decision makers and closely control and supervise employees. Managers generally have less levels of trust and just give orders which are expected to be obeyed. Paternalistic managers tend to give more attention to the social needs and views of their employees. Managers are keen on making the employees feel happy and generally act as a father figure. They tend to consult employees about different issues and listen to their feedbacks and opinions. However, managers are actual decision makers but do take interests of workers into consideration since they believe staff actually needs direction. Democratic Managers are those who entrust their employees and encourage them to make important decisions. They would delegate work to them along with authority to do and also listen to their advice. There is a clear bi-directional communication which often includes democratic groups, offering useful tips and ideas. Managers should be willing to encourage skills of leadership among subordinates. Conclusion and Recommendations Health and Social Care services are in the midst of transformation at national, local and international level. The core of these changes lies in the desire to offer customers with increased levels of involvement in their caring, promotion greater choices and interdependence amongst users and more efficiently support from the entire community, everything while staying within the parameters of standards of quality and budgets. Some programmes are usually unique to particular organisations, beyond general regions targeted for improvements. Sometimes, organisations might undergo changes due to increasing pressures from their funding institutions or government, while others may be responding to changes due to poor standards and lastly organisations that are aligning their management to cope up with the new changes in the sector. Main recommendations for adopting management and leadership styles in health and social care services are: Effective leadership in the organisation which motivates employees in the organisation to willing participate in changes and also respond to it. Involving employees and their participation in decision making to cope up with the changes in the sector. Identify skills and help in development of those skills of employees. Employees must be constantly given chances to improve their existing skills and develop new skills according to the changing environment. Management of organisations in social and healthcare sectors must have a more democratic approach which will encourage employees to participate and also motivate them to work to their full potential.

Georgia :: essays research papers

The state of Georgia has a total area of 152,750 sq km (58,977 sq mi), including 2618 sq km (1011 sq mi) of inland water and 122 sq km (47 sq mi) of coastal waters over which the state has jurisdiction. The state is the 24th largest in the country and has the largest land area of any state east of the Mississippi River. Georgia has a top range north to south of 515 km (320 mi) and east to west of 441 km (274 mi). The mean elevation is about 180 m (about 600 ft). Georgia occupies parts of six natural regions, or physiographic provinces. They are the Atlantic Coastal Plain, the Gulf Coastal Plain, the Piedmont, the Blue Ridge province, the Ridge and Valley province, and the Appalachian Plateaus. Almost the whole area of Georgia was forested in early colonial times, and about three-fifths of the land is still covered by forests and woodlands. Mixed forests of deciduous and coniferous trees cover most of the Blue Ridge and Appalachian mountain areas. Normal trees in these areas include species of ash, beech, birch, hemlock, hickory, poplar, sweetgum, sycamore, red oak, white oak, and Virginia, shortleaf, and loblolly pines. Pines which dominate on the Piedmont are loblolly and shortleaf pine trees. On the coastal plains, slash, loblolly, and longleaf pines are found. The live oak, the state tree, thrives in the southern part of the coastal plains. Palmettos are found in areas of sandy soil, and bald cypresses and tupelo gums are commonly found in swampy and badly drained areas. Spanish moss festoons many of the cypresses in Okefenokee Swamp. Other trees that are found in the state include the red maple, sweet bay, black cherry, butternut, sassafras, southern magnolia, cottonwood, locust, and elm. Flowering plants grow in great abundance in Georgia. Those natural to the state include the trillium, galax, bellwort, hepatica, mayapple, bloodroot, violet, columbine, lady slipper, and Cherokee rose, which is the stte of Georgia’s state flower. Among the many shrubs and tiny flowering trees common in Georgia are species of laurel, mimosa, redbud, flowering dogwood, rhododendron, and flame azalea. White-tailed deer are the most common of the larger mammals found in the state. There are black bears in the northern mountains and in Okefenokee Swamp, and bobcats roam many of the rural areas. Red foxes, gray foxes, muskrats, raccoons, opossums, flying squirrels, foxes and gray squirrels are abundant in the forested areas, and otter and beaver are met in many swamps and rivers. In the mid-1990s there was about 43,000 farms in Georgia. Only about two-fifths had annual sales of $10,000 or more. Many of the rest of the farms were hobbies for operators who held different

Essay --

1.0 Analysis on Ford Motor Company Financial Condition Based on question 1, the table in appendix 1 indicates the financial statement of Ford Motor Company from the year 2008 to 2012. According to the table, the balance sheet has shown that, there were a positive figure in Ford’s operating income from the year 2012 to 2012. Meanwhile, there were slight decrement in the balance sheet from the year 2008 to 2009, whereby has designates negative value in the operating income. A convergence in factors produced in December 2007 to June 2009, was Great Recession due to bad bank loans, improper credit ratings, lax regulatory policies and misguided government incentives that encouraged reckless borrowing and lending (Lutterell et al., 2011). Besides that, this crisis also had drastic effects towards oil price because in 2008, the oil price has increases up to 18 % from 13% per year because of the crunch. It has resulted loss of trust towards U.S government and its capitalist economic system. According to Fraser Institute Index of Economic freedom has indicated that, from the second rank of global ranking, U.S has drop to 18th in 2012 (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, 2012) The increasing of economic challenges and crunch in 2008 has impacted badly on the annual reports of companies, in both terms of cash flow and operating losses. In the earlier year it is predictable weak, up to 15% drop in annual operational cash flows. Following the declines in automobile sales throughout 2008 has affected the other car maker in U.S, such as, General Motors (GM) and Ford Motor Company. In this case, the automobiles industry has requested for emergency loans in order to encounter upcoming cash shortages (Brent and Glass, 2009). Finally, with the resolv... ...7 compare to Ford which is 1.01 and GM 0.985 and as the average of the year the quick ratio is in positive form which is 0.981. In the past 5 years the total average of quick ratio which is been stated in the financial statement for Toyota is 0.9726 and Ford is 0.86 where else, GM has a low average 0.821 compare to Ford and Toyota. Finally, Ford and GM managed to step away from the low quick ratio issues and went up steadily due to their dedication in maintaining their current liabilities and inventories which Toyota failed to balance which resulted the decreased growth in the year 2012. To be concluded that Ford is the leading force in the automotive industry because of the expert staff, quality products and services. This company is the perfect investment opportunity; paying close attention to the risks and regulations and protecting their investors’ interests.

Philip Larkin’s Poem Church Going Essay -- Philip Larkin Church Going

Philip Larkin’s Poem "Church Going" When it comes to religion, we can choose either to believe or not to believe. Some have faith in a supreme being, and week after week, devoutly cram into the church of their choice and recite their prayers. In contrast, there are nonbelievers. They see religion as an escape from reality-- a false hope that after living a long and difficult life, an omniscient, unconditionally loving deity will welcome them into an eternal existence. In Philip Larkin’s poem, "Church Going," the speaker is also a nonbeliever. But whether his lack of faith is in a supreme being is not evident. Rather, his agnosticism is more the result of his displeasure with declining religion. As he walks through the church, unhappy with his surroundings, a tone of disappointment and disbelief becomes apparent. The first stanza introduces us to the speaker as someone who is in church more out of curiosity than religious fervor. He enters only when he is "sure there’s nothing going on," which immediately distinguishes him from other people who go to church. He isn’t a loyal parishioner eager to attend mass. Instead, he wants to enter alone, when he is positive that he will not encounter a priest or believer. We are not sure what real reason the speaker has for entering the church, especially since he does so when services are not in progress. But we do get the impression that being there does not make him happy. He seems bored to be in just "another church," as shown by the dull description he gives of his environment. The "matting, seats, and stone" most people might find beautiful, are reduced to an unexciting list. His reference to the furnishings upon the altar as "brass and stuff at the holy end" clearly shows t... ... that, at one time, the sacraments of life were all connected to this one place. He acknowledges the church as "a serious house" that will never lose its real purpose because someone like him will always come to it. His remote, indifferent attitude as a spectator vanishes here, and turns into a deeper way of thinking which is more universal and philosophical. His original boredom and disappointment no longer fits his personality because he has discovered what attracts him to church. The disappointed, unenthusiastic tone is prevalent through most of the poem. The church simply does not live up to the speaker’s expectations, and he feels uncomfortable in the silence. And although he occasionally has fleeting feelings of "awkward reverence," it is not until the end of the poem that he realizes not only the purpose of the church, but his own reason for being there.

Difference Between Fasb and Iasb Essay

Major similarities between FASB and IASB: Same organizational structure FASB and IASB are each belongs to an organization that has four main bodies. Also, the internal structure and responsibility assignment of these organizations are basically the same. FASB and IASB are the standard setting board of the organizations. Other three parts of the organizations are there to support the standard setting process, such as selecting board members and deal with emergency issues (Kieso, et al. , p7-9). In addition, both boards have members from varies industries including accounting, finance, business and academia (Virginia Law & Business Review, fall 2008, p283). Private entities Both boards are private entities that have been assigned the role and responsibility of developing and deploying Accounting Standards (Virginia Law & Business Review, fall 2008, p284). By private, it means the standard setting process is not affected by politics. However, since the governments are also relying on standard set by these private institutions, both FASB and IASB are sensitive to politics to varies degree. Similar procedure of making rules Despite any internal and external influences, the procedure of drafting and publishing Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are similar. Generally, the process is as follows: discuss whether to add new project to agenda mostly based on recommendations from investors; plan for the project; draft the standard; vote and publish the standard once it is approved(FASB: Financial Accounting Standards Board, n. d). However, since each board has different members and they are setting rules based on its own investor’s concern, also by other external influences, they produce distinct rules. Differentiations between FASB and IASB: Scope of operations The jurisdiction of the IASB could be the whole world of commerce and industry, include EU nations and states, the latter is confined mainly to the United States and its trade partners (Virginia Law & Business Review, fall 2008, p303). Because of this, the citizenship of the trustees has become a problem. The IASC Foundation has huge pressure of balancing the culture background of the board member; nevertheless, European members are still the majority of the board with a proportion of nearly 50% (Virginia Law & Business Review, fall 2008, p307-308). This problem shows that the IASB standard setting has more outside interference. Political settings Different political settings for FASB and IASB authorized them different degree of independence. In the US, the standards set by FASB are implemented unless the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) interferes and prevents it for being accepted. However, in the case of IASB, standards set by the IASB do not gain value and authority unless these are passed by the European Commission (EC) (Virginia Law & Business Review, fall 2008, p291). Funding The FASB is now financed through an obligatory contribution system, and therefore sheltered against financial influence. The IASB is financially depending on noncompulsory contribution from financial institutions, thus there is relatively huge financial pressure on IASB. Recently IASB has taken significant steps to widen the source of funding but the degree of mprovement varies from countries (Virginia Law & Business Review, fall 2008, p292-298). Which approach to support? I would like to say the FASB standard setting approach is more appropriate considering your accounting background. Since many of your clients are Fortune 300 companies who would find FASB more in harmony with their preparation and presentation of periodic accounting statements and records. FASB is also in line with most widely accepted accounting norms and practices in the US. With less external influence, more freedom in standard setting and sufficient funds, I believe the FASB standard setting process is more trustworthy.