Athenian audience Essay

Athenian audience with the references made to Athenian hypocrisy and the challenges and questions he raised on some of the moral issues of the time and the questions that he asked in his plays were sometimes ill received such as the role of women etc. Despite this, Euripides did win the tragedy prize with ‘Hippolytus’ and is revered as a great playwright in present day drama. From some of the female characters that Euripides develops in his plays, one could assume that Euripides was a misogynist. However, it is wrong to say that all of his female characters are wicked and evil; Euripides has created some wonderful and interesting female characters as well as the wicked ones. Perhaps ‘The Assembly Women’ actually had wrong motive for their revolt! In ‘Alcestis’, the title character, the wife of Admetus (the King of Pherae) sacrifices herself for her husband’s life. A most noble act and Euripides portrays her character, as the model of what a Greek wife should be: completely and utterly devoted to their husband to the extent of dieing for the man that supports them. The Greek audience and modern alike will like Alcestis, as she is a sweet natured and noble woman. She most certainly would have won the hearts of the Greek audience. As she is such a noble character and the measure of her kindness toward her husband is so great, Euripides had to bring her back. So the heroic Heracles wends his way to Hades’ kingdom and brings her back. In ‘Electra’, again the title role, at the beginning of the play, comes across as a very sorrowful young woman. She has cut her hair out of mourning for her murdered father, Agamemnon. He was murdered by her mother, Clytemnestra, as he had to sacrifice their daughter and then brought home a concubine (Cassandra). When Agamemnon did get home, Clytemnestra had fallen in love with Aegisthus. Therefore, so far in the play, Electra comes across as a woman very much devoted to her father and hates her mother for murdering him. So far so justified. However, when she happens to meet her brother, Orestes, she convinces him to kill their mother. At this point she comes across as a very wicked conniving young lady. It seems as though she had been waiting for Orestes return to make him do this. When Orestes has doubts over killing Clytemnestra, she bullies him into doing it. She knew the result she wanted to get and she got it. Clytemnestra, if you haven’t read or seen Aeschylus’ ‘Agamemnon’, comes across as a less conniving woman than her daughter. She comes across as a very powerful and domineering woman. She arrives in the play in a chariot and commands the slaves to help her down. She is very aware of her class and position and will not back down from her decision to murder Agamemnon and regards it as the right thing to do. In this sense we must respect her for sticking by her decision and understand that Agamemnon did kill their daughter and come back with a concubine. In a very slight way, she is justified. Therefore, Euripides has created in Electra a very complicated character. We as the audience or readers assume that she had been planning her revenge on her mother for some time and was just waiting for Orestes return to enact it. Before this point however, we can sympathise with her loss of a father and the pain that she must be going thorough to have the knowledge that it was her mother who murdered him. Clytemnestra, from this play, comes across a woman who sticks by her decision and who in speech ha the capacity to justify and handle herself well. Euripides has created two complicated female characters and in his portrayal of them has shown no signs of his rumoured misogyny. Euripides creates one of the greatest roles for any actress to play in ‘Hecabe’. The title role is not the aforementioned feet of extraordinary characterisation. However, Hecabe as a character is very interesting. The audience comes away not knowing what to think of her. She begins the play as a woman who has endured such a lot of pain as the former Queen of the now sacked citadel of Troy. She has reached the limit of endurance and collapses in sorrow. She has lost her entire family to a war over one woman, the infamous Helen. At the end of the play, however, she literally snaps from a grief stricken widow to a raving savage. She has Polymestor blinded and enjoys the gruesome description of the event and the sounds. According to legend, Hecabe turns into a dog due to her extreme torment that results into madness. This is what Polymestor tells her at the end of the play when his blind by her decision. The character this section opened with by praising is Polyxena. She is Hecabe’s daughter and Euripides develops her character beautifully. Odysseus informs Hecabe that her daughter must be sacrificed to the deceased Achilles. Without shedding a tear, Polyxena, heroically goes with Odysseus to accept her fate. As she is taken to the tomb of Peleus (Achilles father), Greek soldiers hold her and Achilles’ son gets ready with his sword to kill or to sacrifice her. She asks not to be held and the soldiers are taken away. She then tears her clothes off to the wait and bravely speaks and awaits the sword to be thrust into her chest. Euripides in this play has created two memorable female characters. The brave and heroic Polyxena and the complicated Hecabe. Again, no sign of any misogyny on Euripides part here, in fact the opposite in Polyxena’s case. Creating a heroic woman is no mean feet in Ancient Greece and her character must have been received well as she is incredibly strong of character and of heart. Another great female character in Euripidean literature is Heracles wife Megara in the play ‘Heracles’. The play tells of how Hera (Queen of the gods, married to Zeus, who’s father to Heracles) turned Heracles mad and in his madness killed his three sons and his wife Megara. This then lead him to go to the Delphic Oracle that told him to be a slave to Eurytheus thus leading to his infamous twelve labours. Anyhow, Megara, at the beginning of the play, thinks that she is a widow and is a vulnerable woman who has to be strong for her three young sons. However, Heracles actually is not dead and comes home to them in Thebes. He is then turned mad by Hera and shoots two of his sons with arrows in his madness. Megara takes the last son and locks herself in room but Heracles breaks in and shoots them both with one arrow.

A Poem for Black Hearts by Amiri Baraka Essay

The poem A Poem for Black Hearts by Amiri Baraka is written in free verse and is consisting of 27 lines which, in a way construct and epitomize an image of Malcolm X. The poem commemorates him and his stature as the â€Å"black god of our time† while subsequently persuading African American men to continue the fight for civil rights. Malcolm’s essence is made fragmented by the speaker for each part of his body is given high significance so as to create an image of a fallen leader who became an icon for all black men. At the same time as the poem is not only for those who have black hearts, as it is also intended to be for Malcolm’s eyes which have the capability to break the â€Å"face of some dumb white man† by challenging his authority. The speaker emphasizes that the poem is also for Malcolm’s words, which were described and symbolically renamed ‘fire darts’ to emulate that his flaming words including the rhetoric of war and were carefully aimed at the enemy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The speaker feels that Malcolm was assassinated, believing that Malcolm was murdered for voicing out his outrage against racism and encouraging the people to conduct political action when it is deemed necessary. In addition, the poem is for Malcolm’s heart, for his love for his fellow black men and his pleas for the African American dignity, life, and education. Finally, the poem is intended to be for all of those people like him [Malcolm] who are dead and all of him remembered which clings to African American political and cultural rhetoric.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The speaker incites that he intended his readers particularly the black men to quit â€Å"stuttering and shuffling†, â€Å"whining and stooping† and to â€Å"look up†. Instead of accepting their defeat, black men should raise their heads with dignity and see Malcolm as their greatest example of African American pride, masculinity, and political activism. In the closing lines, the speaker, challenges the black men to â€Å"let nothing in [them] rest† until Malcolm’s death has taken vengeance. He furthers his promise of retribution by showing his word of honor as that â€Å"if we fail to avenge Malcolm’s death, let us never breathes a pure breath.† At this point, the speaker wanted the black men to look deeper into Malcolm’s eyes, words, heart, and dignity as well as his desire to change the world so that the voices of black men can continue to speak and act within the space Malcolm helped create.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, Michael S. Harper’s public elegy entitled Dear John, Dear Coltrane serves as an elegy to a jazz musician and the legacy which he was able to share through his music. The poem mimics the form of Coltrane’s jazz novelty through depicting his image of bodily death. The elegy focuses on the man’s death and the progress of his music from immediate and alive to reproduced and commodified from the time of his permanent absence. The poem undermines the communication that venerates John Coltrane’s music by making it a big issue whether or not there is a possibility that music of a dead person will serve as an aesthetic to the black’s culture. The poem uses bodily and at the same time cultural images of reproduction calls and attention which later leads to the creation and reproduction of jazz.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The poem focuses on the physical image to bring Coltrane’s jazz to another venue while still squarely within the body. In the line â€Å"Sex fingers toes,† the speaker uses the word sex which may be connoted to have a double meaning. This should be read as both the act and the genitalia to bring into line the body with the sexuality embodied by jazz music. Sex as genitalia can be connected later on through out the poem: â€Å"There is no substitute for pain/genitals gone or going,/seed burned out.† The speaker here shows how genitals failed to connect with the music, with the pain that could have produce both movement and desire. The bodily pain which speaks of slavery can also be seen: â€Å"turn back, and move/ by river through swamps.† The pain of having been slaves, which eventually led to their attempt of escaping through the swamps of the south, is comparable to the pain from which the blues stems. Thus, the poem connects the blues with all of its ties to slavery and a specific African American aesthetic. The end of the poem shows the end of Coltrane’s life and tells the bodily experience of dying which later proved to be too great for Coltrane to produce jazz.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the poem, the movement of the music with the help of the radio clearly shows the people’s movement to being slaves towards their freedom. This represents the new route to the people’s ultimate freedom however, that route will always go back to the musician and his music. As it created links between jazz as a mode for liberation, it elegizes the death of a man who created jazz. The poem builds a relationship between Coltrane’s reproductive organs and his creation of jazz. The poem eulogizes the musician himself, not only â€Å"Dear Coltrane† (the music) but also â€Å"Dear John† (the man). Without the man, the figure of the body, even jazz as revolutionary as Coltrane’s remains an empty aesthetic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   More so, Wilfred Owen’s Anthem for Doomed Youth, which is connoted to be a modern elegy, maintains the aspects of ancient an elegy which is composed of both personification and lamentation. The author also uses the conventional form of a pastoral elegy rather than adapting the epic form in writing his poem. Owen also describes that the prayers and church bells as â€Å"mockeries† and directly imply that no matter how grand, immortalizing or well attended a funeral ceremony is this will not be able, in any way, to bring back the dead. This opposes the former known form of elegy which is called the pastoral elegy, which attempts to immortalize the dead, either through words or through divine imagery. The audience cannot be consoled with merely the hope of immortalization and bringing back the dead on some distant plane of human thought. Rather than to personify the nature of mourn the deceased, Owen uses the sound of falling shells to create an image of sorrow. These shells are causing death, so it is strange that they should mourn for the dead as well. Owen personifies machines in the course of the poem instead, and these machines cannot alleviate grief since they are the ones which caused it. The speaker in the poem implies no difference between weapon and life because neither among the mentioned can mourn the dead for us. The words used in the course of the poem is different from the other elegies in different types since it uses more of the most known and colloquial forms to better emulate the feeling of sorrow and lamentation. With this, a new meaning in showing grief was reshaped and was alleviated from the former connotation of such. Gendered elegy American History written by Michael Harper is a short yet dramatic kind of elegy that speaks about the fate of four black little girls who died in a church in Alabama. Through them, the author is reminded of the fate of a hundred more others who are keeping their selves away from the real world in the fear of being caught dead without giving their untimely death any justification. Most of them, according to the author, are in strict hiding and is always operating in groups. This situation was enlivened even if there are only nine lines composing the entire poem; the meaning that the author would want to speak about is clearly spoken. With only that number of lines, the author was not deprived of the freedom to express his thoughts and his genuine intention in writing the said piece. This poem would also want to mimic the situation of the blacks then in the United States where it is vocal on the oppression and inhumane treatment being accorded to them because of their color and race. It does not show much lamentation and sorrow due to the lost of the four black girls but the more visible meaning of it is the fear of other black people to be caught in the same incident as that of the little girls. Meanwhile, modern elegy transforms grief in a new way of interpreting it. It has reshaped personification that is free form writing style, the awareness of the inability to immortalize any person who has been dead and blatant refusal to mourn shows how difficult coping with sorrow over the loss of a loved one can be. This illuminates the intention being shed away by the traditional form of elegy which mimics the scream of anger and denial towards grief over a loss of a person and that acceptance of the said irreversible loss. This kind of elegy is something that transforms the vision of the audience from being sorrowful to somehow a better feeling and acceptance over the lost of someone whom they love the most. This is because of the choice of words that was used in order to come up with the entire poem. Work Cited O’CLAIR;, JAHAN. The Norton Anthology of Modern and Contemporary Poetry. New York: W.W. Norton, 2003.   

Management and Public Administration

POSDCoRB is a mnemonic term developed by Luther Gulick in 1937 to represent the functions of the executive. â€Å"These essential functions-Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting, and Budgeting-provide a sort of administrative prescription which should be followed by any competent administrator. † (Blumberg, p. 247)These functions compose a single aspect of the author’s Notes on the Theory of Organization, which discusses the elements necessary for an organization to perform its activities efficiently. After focusing on the Division and Coordination of Work, Gulick reflects on how the organization should be Organized. In order to organize the role of the executive, Gulick asks â€Å"What is the work of the executive. What does he do? † He then presents us with a list of activities-POSDCORB: â€Å"Planning, that is working out in broad outline the things that need to be done and the methods for doing them to accomplish the purpose set for the enterprise; * Organizing, that is the establishment of the formal authority through which work subdivisions are arranged, defined, and co-ordinated for the defined objective; * Staffing, that is the whole personnel function of bringing in and training the staff and maintaining favorable conditions of work; *Directing, that is the continuous task of making decisions and embodying them in specific and general orders and instructions and serving as the leader of the enterprise; * Co-ordinating, that is the all important duty of interrelating the various parts of the work; * Reporting, that is keeping those to whom the executive is responsible informed as to what is going on, which thus includes keeping himself and his subordinates informed through records, research and inspection; * Budgeting, with all that goes with budgeting in the form of fiscal planning, accounting and control. † (Gulick, p. 13) These defined functions were inspired by Henri Fayol’s earlier wor k in the study of management theory, wherein he describes 5 functions: Planning, Organizing, Coordinating, Commanding, and Controlling. POSDCORB became an important tool in the scientific management movement both in business and the public administration.Though it helped to establish a foundation for the creation of principles by which management should operate, it has met with some opposition in the field of organization studies. Criticism Prior to the release of Notes on the Theory of Organization, Dr. Lewis Meriam, wrote: â€Å"The most important thing that has been omitted from that fascinating word ‘POSDCORB' is knowledge of a subject matter. You have to plan something, you have to organize something, you have to direct something†¦ Intimate knowledge of the subject matter with which an administrative agency is primarily concerned is indispensable to the effective, intelligent administration of that agency. † (Meriam, p. 2-3).In the book, Organizations, Herbert Simon and James March suggested that POSDCORB contributes to the creation of a â€Å"machine model† in administration. Their claim was that â€Å"the scientific managers have regarded man as a machine rather than as a human being. † Pfiffner writes that social scientists, like Simon and March, â€Å"decry the gods of efficiency and condemn the goals of productivity as ends in themselves. † (Pfiffner, p. 110) Recalling a conversation with Dr. Gulick, Stephen Blumberg writes: â€Å"It is because of the absence in POSDCORB of things such as values and ethics and cooperation that he says that we need to bring to our focus of attention some new guidelines.He feels ‘that we’ve got to think of our economic problems in terms of human values’ and that because ‘we are going to recognize that public administration deals with human beings,’ we will have to incorporate much more of behavioral thinking into public administration. † (Bl umberg, p. 247) help on how to format text About  · Blog  · Pricing  · Privacy  · Terms  · Support  · Upgrade Contributions to http://papedia. wikispaces. com are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2. 5 License. Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2. 5 License Portions not contributed by visitors are Copyright 2010 Tangient LLC. Home > †¦ Loading†¦ Home Turn Off â€Å"Getting Started† Loading†¦

Holding On as an Act of Resistance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Holding On as an Act of Resistance - Essay Example I think this reaction on Alfred's part is justifiable by the fact that he had developed a sense of love for their language and their culture. And this only confirms that holding on to one's beliefs and practices builds a certain barrier around a person that would make him reject the unfamiliar. However, his grandmother corrected this behavior, stating that to cling to your culture does not necessarily mean you have to envelope yourself so as not to absorb others' way of life. Sometimes, one only needs to learn to appreciate every new learning, while maintaining a keener and a deeper loyalty to his own ethnicity. But is it possible to surpass the tendency of being eaten whole by the new standards brought about by the new cultureAlfred expressed his opinion on the issue regarding whether to fight back or not to fight back the bullying menaces of the white society. He states that fighting back brings on conflict; but to not fight back brings on a different type of tension within oneself (Alfred, 2004). I think what he means by the bullies are the whole of the Settler Society and that, according to him, fighting back and staying still are two equally courageous things. However, resistance still proves to gather more audacity and, in the end, establishes a stronger stand. This does not only give the people more sense of dignity, but more freedom in enjoying the culture they were brought up in. If, however, economic progress goes with staying still, would these people still choose to exhibit valor The Different Warrior Older people tend to have more attachment and tighter bonds with tradition and cultural practices. Their passion and loyalty to their culture have been developed throughout their lives and this drives them to want to extend and pass on their tradition to the following generations. And as Alfred's grandmother left him the urges to fight and insist on gaining honor and respect, he takes on the challenge of being a different, or THE different warrior, and stand up for the forgotten values. I believe this warrior, in the end, will prove to be the most audacious of all since his mission is not one that only involves physical combat. His is a mission which seeks to save a dying culture, and restore values that are vital to the survival of their future generations. But the question of whether his battle for this mission will serve worthy in the end still hangs. An Independent Culture Long existent has been the debate over whether to break free from tradition in order to survive global evolution or risk facing the manifestations of greedy colonization by remaining isolated and intact. Alfred argued that the Onkwehonwe have been too dependent on and influenced by the white culture that they have already lost their freedom and integrity. Their continuous submission to the colonizers' rules and way of life is slowly wiping away their identity. The whites have imposed political and social power over the people that they deem their own lands, inaccessible. These people should, however, understand that the white society's governance is tainted with their vested interest and this interest usually includes expanding colonization and more damage in the Onkwehonwe culture. Now, what's left for these people to do is to decide. Should they embrace the settlers' imposing powers on them and over them Or should they strive for self-sufficiency and freedom by overcoming the oppre ssors and revive the culture they have lost or are losing A Continuing Challenge The issue of breaking free from oppressors is not something new to the world. As Alfred explains, materialism is continuously

Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Taxation - Essay Example Taxes are generally enforced on the profits or income of the companies and individuals. There are many types of taxes, the common ones being the income tax (levied on income) and the sales tax (levied on sales). Another type of tax is the Capital Gains Tax which would be discussed throughout the paper. According to Burman (1999), a Capital Gains tax is the one that is levied on the Capital Gains of a company or any individual.1 Capital Gains refer to the profit that is earned due to the sale of a non-inventory asset which was bought at a fairly low price. These Gains may be earned due to the sale of assets like the stocks, the bonds and property etc. For example, if a person Mr. Edward Cullen buys some shares worth  £2,500 n sells them for  £12,500 then he makes capital gains worth  £10,000. (12,500-2,500) Campbell (1977) argues that Capital Gains have a lot of strategic importance2. This is because according to him, the business income alone does not prove to be sufficient for the motivation of investors. His study (1977) also shows that the investment in the US and other countries like France, Britain, and Germany has improved over the years due to the increase in the enthusiasm towards the Capital Gains3. However, the introduction of the Capital Gains tax is something that discourages companies and individuals. This is because the incidence of the tax means that the companies no longer enjoy the relatively newer and higher profits that they previously had. As a consequence, they may get discouraged by the tax and may try to sell the asset for a price that is lower than the price that is chargeable. Ultimately the Capital Gains earned by the companies and individuals may decrease and so will the eagerness towards investment through the sale of the non inventory assets. But all of th is depends on the respective criterion of the government policies for the charging of the person and the

Economics class video response paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economics class video response paper - Assignment Example Many young people are usually preoccupied with other things, therefore finding time to maintain a wardrobe inventory might not be easy Another important lesson from the video is the idea of quality when purchasing clothing. It is important to invest in clothing that can be used for a long time. This is especially important for young people who might not have a stable source of income. Investing in quality clothing can prove to be economical in the long run. This requires one to look at the labels on the clothing in order to understand where they are made from and the material used. However, considering the spontaneous purchasing behavior of many youths, it is likely that many of them will not be able to look for these labels. The influence of advertising in shaping shopping choices is great, and this appears to be one of the significant forces influencing clothing choices among the youths. It can be argued that for as long as advertisements with phrases such as ‘Free’ continue to appear, they will influence shopping choices. In conclusion, the ideas presented in the video can be applied not only when s hopping for clothes but also other items. In this video, Moyers discusses the issue of capitalism and how it has affected the American economy. Richard Wolff, an economist, argues that capitalism has failed to delivered the ‘goods’ but instead ended delivering the ‘bads’, and this has led to the inequality witnessed in American today. Although president Obama has preached the idea of equal opportunity, this is not the case in America. Politicians are blamed for not having taken the plight of workers seriously, and this has greatly contributed to the inequality problem. I however believe that the blame is on everyone. When people get what they don’t deserve, they should not be absolved as Wolff does in this video. The problem here cannot be the system but the participants in it.

What Did Robert Adam Learn From the Grand Tour Essay

What Did Robert Adam Learn From the Grand Tour - Essay Example This essay stresses that many people seemed to like and appreciate these new designs, the idea of making fittings and other movable elements in houses prompted a great demand for their house designs as well as conference structures. Robert Did not fully create the designs that he had learnt on Rome and France, instead he decided to inculcate his own creativity into the final designs, something that brought about totally new methods of building houses and different structures. One of the motivations in their deign was to create houses to the simplest element that one may want to have in his house. To this effect, it can be said that the success that Adam brothers enjoyed was arose from their decision to create architectural designs down to the smallest detail. This creativity received great demand by many people in Britain and other places because it was said to create a sense of unity in their house design. This paper makes a conclusion that the great tour that was undertaken by Robert Adams is said to have had a great impact not only to the architectural designs of that time, but also to the modern time approaches in architecture. The Adams family pioneered most of the classical architectural designs used in modern practices in this industry, the desire to establish unique designs that would be used by many generations prompted Robert to take a tour and learn from different people.

European Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

European Law - Assignment Example The paper tells that the directives are outcome based, which means that the member states may implement the directive in the manner in which they choose, but they must implement regulations and laws which achieve the objectives of the directive. Directives are principle based because every nation has sovereignty, therefore they need to be free to implement their own laws, yet there must also be harmony in the international system. Therefore, by issuing principles to the member states in the EU, not rules to implement, directives accomplish the needed goal of harmonizing Union law while acknowledging the freedom that member states enjoy in implementing their own laws. In this case, there is a conflict between the directive set forth and the municipal law that the UK adopted to implement the directive. Specifically, the UK law is more draconian than the directive. A case which would helpful to Blokkia in this regard is that of Luciano Arcaro Case C-168/95. In this case, Luciano Arcaro was accused of discharging dangerous chemicals into water. In this case, the municipal law stated that there was a distinction between new plants and existing plants, and when the plant was existing, there was not a requirement for authorization for the discharges. The directive upon which this law was based did not make such a distinction. Therefore, if the directive is the law which governed this particular case, Arcaro, who was operating an existing plant, would be liable, as he did not get authorization to discharge these harmful chemicals. On the other hand, if the municipal law is the one which governed this case, Arcaro would not be liable and could not be prosecuted, as he was within the purview of the municipal law. The court in this case found that the municipal law would be the one which controlled. Their reasoning was that the directive imposed an obligation which hadn't been incorporated into existing municipal law, and it had the effect of aggravating the liability in criminal law for persons who act in contravention of this law. In this case, Blokkia might argue that the inverse of Arcaro would be true. This is that there is a contradiction between the directive and the municipal law. Specifically, the municipal law imposes criminal penalties for situations which the directive does not address. The directive does not state that mobile phones may not be sold to children under the age of 10, and that doing so would constitute a criminal offence. It does state that there must be warnings on these products and details about the risks printed on these packages. As in Arcaro, the directive and the municipal law are inconsistent, and the municipal law has the effect of aggravating the directive law. Blokkia is within the purview of the directive law, assuming that they did label the product and included the information that the directive requires, so it may state that, since the municipal law aggravates the directive, that the directive is the law whic h should govern, by using the logic of the Arcaro court. In the case of Federal Republic of Germany v. European Parliament and Council of the European Union Cas C-380/03, there is further instruction upon which Blokkia might rely. Specifically, this case concerned a directive which prohibited the advertising and sponsorship of tobacco products by the printed media and radio broadcasts. This case stated that there were disparities which existed between the individual Member States' national laws, and that these disparities were such that the free movement of goods and the freedom to provide services were implicated. This court notes that if there are disparities between the member states in implementing this directive's principles, such that it has a direct effect on the

Research on the composer Handel Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

On the composer Handel - Research Paper Example Not only the uniqueness of his music but peoples attitude and his popularity made him an important figure of the Baroque period. In fact, this period left a significant imprint on his life as well as career, and it can be traced both in his biography and works. First of all, it is Handels biography that shows he is a representative of a period in which he was living. During the Baroque period, there were two main factors that influenced composers and their music: location and money, with the latter being, perhaps, the most important one. In order to be able to compose music and be heard, composers needed patrons who could support and put them forward as well as sponsor them. In life and work of Handel, such sponsors performed a very important role. The first person who influenced Handels future was the Duke of Saxe-Weisenfels. Despite the fact that he did not support the future composer materially, it was he who recognized the fact that music was Handels true mission even though Handels father felt like his son becoming a lawyer. The Duke once said to the composers father, â€Å"for his own part, he could not but consider it is a sort of a crime against the public to rob the world of such a Genius!† (Kivy 40). It was after Handels v isit to the court of Saxe-Weisenfels that he started taking lessons in playing the organ at Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow (Kivy 40-41). Handel traveled a lot and during his traveling he met quite a significant number of influential people, many of whom were charmed by the composers talent. He spent about four years in Italy (1706-1710) as he was invited there by Prince Ferdinando de Medici of Florence. In Italy, Handel enjoyed great attention of music-loving prelates, such as Cardinal Pamphili and Cardinal Ottoboni. Not only they but other representatives of both aristocracy and clergy were eager to invite Handel to perform music at their palaces for they recognized his talent. Among such people were the Hanoverian Prince Ernst

Supernaturalist View Found in Civilizations Essay

Supernaturalist View Found in Civilizations - Essay Example Believers of supernaturalism argue that any event that goes beyond scientific understanding does actually exist just as the same way as natural occurrences do. This view can be supported by the fact that natural phenomena such as rainbows, lightning and floods were interpreted in ancient times as having some kind of unearthly causes behind them. Another school of thought believes that each so-called supernatural phenomenon is explicable through the knowledge of science. Now the root of controversy surrounding these two conflicting beliefs lies in the fact that there is no universally accepted definition of 'natural'. We may say that any event that takes place in accordance with natural and scientific laws is natural. In other words, any natural event can be seen or perceived, and can be affirmed by a set of proved principles. Having said that, we cannot really set a parameter by which we can verify, for instance, the existence of God. Hence, the controversy remains when it comes to d raw a borderline between the supernatural and the natural. The Code of Hamurabi, laid down in the eighteenth century B. C., is a source of much historical as well as divine interpretation especially the way it is addressed to the Babylonian Gods. Elements of supernaturalism can also be traced in the Judeo-Christian tradition where the Ten Commandments enlist moral and religious duties to be followed to show obedience to the Almighty. This revered set of imperatives has been in use in many civilizations including the Roman and in the Middle-East. Egypt, the country of myths and mysteries, has innumerable supernatural elements to be explored. The Pyramid of Khufu, also known as the Great Pyramid, is a source of wonder for historians, scientists and archeologists alike. Many folklores and legends are associated with this gigantic and awe-inspiring construction. The preternaturalism is vividly depicted in the treatise of Herodotus: "[he] brought the country into all sorts of misery. He closed all the temple, then, not content with excluding his subjects from the practice of their religion, compelled them without exception to labor as slaves for his own advantage". (Tour Egypt, 1996) Evidences of supernaturalism are widespread in prehistoric cave paintings that have been found in many parts of Europe. Based on the timeline, these paintings are classified to three main epochs - Palaeolithic, Neolithic and Mesolithic. The literary significance of such art forms is of immense worth, considering how they have been preserving the essence of proto-European culture. The marvels of prehistoric sculpture are to be explored in the North European megaliths. Carved with symbolisms that substantiate physical and ideological beliefs surrounding the areas dwelt by the first Northern farmers, researches on the construction of megaliths have thrown light on the contemporary cultural and ritualistic landscape of the northern parts of Europe. The 'Emergence Myth' and the 'Creation Myth' carried by the Anasazi Symbolism are two of the most prominent religious structures from the New Mexico region. The 'Emergence Myth' tells about the sacred Spirits or the Kachinas, whereas the 'Creation Myth' is about the origin of the earth. (Granite School District Teacher Quality Center, 2004) The power of magic, divination and demonology was literally

Human Resource Planning and Forecasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Resource Planning and Forecasting - Essay Example *Granny Toy Company must also make sure that the strategy of the business is linked with the performance of its employees. The Company may also allow employees to design the objectives for the Company because it is then that they will be able to develop a better understanding of the goal and will work accordingly to accomplish it. This will also result in improved performance of the employees. * Granny Toy Company must try to work hard to retain the talented workforce of the Company, as the employees are considered to be an important asset of the company. For this purpose the Company must design an effective compensation and benefit plan for its employees. *The flexible environment provided by the Company to the employees also affects the staffing process. The environment of the Company must be easily adaptable i.e. it should be flexible enough that new employees can easily adjust in it. *When new employees are being hired by the Company for their expansion and additional products it is important that the Granny Toy Company gives them enough time to develop their skills and adjust in the organizational environment. They must train them with the skills essential for the position they are about to cover. Sometimes time can be an essence for Granny Toy Company. In such a case it will be effective that the company selects employees with the required skills within the organization i.e. the internal supply of employees, as it will save a lot of time and will reduce the HR cost. *The external environment forecasting (Event based forecasting) may also impose certain impact on staffing needs of the competitors existing in the industry. *Some legal factors such as certain laws related to the labor and some socio economic factors such as the number of women working in the respective industry etc. may also affect the staffing process of Granny Toy Company; therefore the company must foster

Introduction to Marketing Essay Example for Free

Introduction to Marketing Essay You have been employed as a marketing intern with one of the UK’s largest marketing agencies and have been set various assignments to complete during your one-year internship. You will be required to demonstrate your research skills on various projects related to marketing, research and planning, marketing mix and online marketing. Task 1 P1 Describe how marketing techniques are used to market products in two organisations Due date: Refer to front sheet for date  M1 Compare marketing techniques used in marketing products in two organisations You are helping the marketing manager organise a ‘Marketing in Business’ conference. Your manager wants you to find out how other organisations use marketing techniques and has asked you to prepare a 10 minute presentation that you will deliver at the conference. You have been  asked to produce a leaflet to support the presentation, comparing the organisation. You have also been asked to produce speaker notes, which will be handed out at the conference. What to include in your presentation: Introduce your two organisations, their business and marketing objectives Describe what marketing is and why organisations use various techniques Describe clearly the marketing techniques they use to market a particular product/service or product range What to include in the leaflet: Compare the similarities and differences between the use of marketing techniques in your two organisations Growth Strategies (Ansoff’s Matrix) Survival Strategies Branding and Brand positioning Relationship marketing Due date: Refer to front sheet for date Task 2 Following your presentation about marketing techniques, you discovered that marketing activity is regulated and monitored by various bodies, codes of practice and laws. Using the 2 scenarios below, investigate and respond by letter to both: P2 Describe the limitation and constraints of marketing on the business. Suggested letter content: Introduce yourself and the department you work for.  Describe why abiding by marketing rules and regulations is necessary Identify the legal rules that apply to the case  Identify the voluntary factors that would apply to the case.  Stress the consequences of failing to comply with the legal and voluntary constraints. Due date: Refer to front sheet for date Scenario 1 A business organisation named â€Å"Fantasy† has recently spent 10 million pounds launching a new perfume. Fantasy has advertised on television as well as on YouTube. The advertisement is proving to be an international success and has raised a lot of interest from the young audience it is hoping to attract. Most importantly sales of the perfume have doubled over the last few months.  However, there have been a number of complaints regarding the content of the advertisement. For instance there are concerns with regards to nudity, language and the suitability of the advertisement for a younger audience. Of particular concern are the number of complaints that Fantasy use extreme methods when testing their products on animals. A number of pressure groups have campaigned for the ban of this advertisement from TV screens. Your task You have been asked to write a formal letter to Fantasy Head Office, Customer Complaints Division, identifying the limitations and constraints of marketing activities especially those that are relevant to the above scenario. Scenario 2 You have recently purchased a new mobile phone on arriving home you realise that the phone is unable to carry out the functions that you were promised. The phone was considerably expensive and you saved up for months in order to be able to buy it. However, when visiting the store you were offered the opportunity to purchase the product on credit. The store has also advised you it would be more efficient if you went on to their website and brought the product online and they have offered you a further discount for doing so. Two weeks later you are still waiting for your mobile phone to arrive. To make matters worse once you signed up for this product you have been bombarded with cold calls from other mobile phone companies, you fear that your personal details have been given out to other organisations without your consent. Your task How are you protected as a consumer? You must write a formal letter to the Office of Fair Trading expressing your concerns. You must identify the relevant Acts and regulations that protect you as a consumer. Due date: Refer to front sheet for date Task 3 P3 Describe how a selected organisation uses marketing research to contribute to the development of its marketing plans P4 Use marketing research for marketing planning  You have been approached by a new company that is interested in finding out  whether they should invest heavily in market research. Your first task is to produce a poster presentation on marketing research and planning, that you will deliver to the Board of Directors. Your suggested presentation content: Choose an organisation and agree choice with your teacher (www.thetimes100.co.uk case studies is a useful resource to use) Describe marketing research and marketing planning.  Describe the marketing research that is used by your organisation Describe how the marketing research collected is used by the organisation in their marketing planning Now you need to carry out marketing planning using marketing research Select an existing product/service or potential product/service for your organisation. Conduct primary and secondary research into customer perceptions and market analysis for the product/service and make proposals on how the organisation’s marketing planning can be developed. This should include a PESTLE/SWOT analysis, which shows the research you have conducted into your product. Your marketing plan should include the following: 1. Set clear SMART objectives regarding what you want your product or service to achieve 2. Conduct primary and secondary research on your product or service. 3. Conduct a SWOT analysis highlighting the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of your product or service. 4. Conduct a PESTLE analysis, analysing the external environment and the impact this may have on your product or service. 5. Write a brief summary with regards to your findings. Due date: Refer to front sheet for date M2 Explain the limitations of marketing research used to contribute to the development of a selected organisation’s marketing plans D2 Make justified recommendations for improving the validity of the marketing research used to contribute to the development of a selected organisation’s marketing plans. Considering limitations of market research Your task is to identify and explain the limitations of the market research methods used by your organisation. You will need to submit a formal report  of the limitations that you have spoken about, for the directors. You have been asked to write a formal report to the Head of Market Research at Hammersmith and Fulham. You have to make recommendations on how they can improve the validity of marketing research used for marketing planning. Introduce yourself, your role and who you work for Explain why you are writing to the organisation. Make at least 3 recommendations for improving the validity of market research used by your organisation Provide a justification for each recommendation you make. End your report with an offer to help if they require more information. Due date: Refer to front sheet for date Task 4 P5 Explain how and why groups of customers are targeted for selected products You have been asked to develop a visual poster to explain how and why groups of customers are targeted for products. You should: Explain what is meant by market segmentation and DMU’s Explain the difference between customers, consumers and buyers Select 6 different target groups (this should include both B2C and B2B) and give examples of products that are aimed at them and why). Due date: Refer to front sheet for date Task 5 A dynamic new company have approached your marketing agency and want you to help come up with an exciting new marketing campaign. You will produce a 10 minute presentation on the marketing mix. Propose a marketing mix based on your research to a clearly defined group of potential customers. P6 Develop a coherent marketing mix for a new product or service M3 Develop a coherent marketing mix that is targeted at a defined group of potential customers. Using the research from your previous task you will now give a presentation of the new marketing mix you propose. Suggested presentation content: You will need to think about how you are going to present the marketing mix for the company (Product, Price, Promotion and Place). The product or service  that you choose does not have to be entirely new, it could be an established product or service introduced to a new market The marketing mix must be clearly targeted to a defined group of potential customers and needs to be detailed and clear so that all the 4P’s meet the exact needs and aspirations of the target group of customers. Due date: Refer to front sheet for date

Note On Development Of Waqf Land Economics Essay

Note On Development Of Waqf Land Economics Essay Introduction 1. There is no doubt that the existence of waqf since the time of the prophet s.a.w is meant for the humans to do good deeds for the society and should benefit the Muslims. Waqf or endowment has been embodied in Islam as one of the good deeds in which the spiritual deed rewarded by Allah with 70 times returns.  [1]  In another verse, the act of philanthropy by disposing out property as an act of charity is encouraged in Islam.  [2]  From economic point of view, waqf is a powerful mechanism in developing the nation in form of charitable instruments which is very unique and beneficial for poverty alleviation programmes. 2. In Islamic tradition waqf is very important. Its potential in future development should not be underestimated. The average rate of return on investments made in developing waqf properties came to a minimum of 20-25% (Rashid, 2012)  [3]  . Besides religious purposes, waqf land has also been used for infrastructure development, education sector, healthcare and public amenities. For example, among the prominent education institutions that were founded and maintained using waqf lands are the Al-Azhar University in Egypt, University of Cordova in Spain, Universitas Islam Indonesia in Jogjakarta, Indonesia  [4]  and AlBukhary International University in Malaysia. While in the healthcare sector, the hospital (Al Noori Hospital) in Damascus and clinics (Klinik Nur) in Malaysia.  [5]   Review of Development in Waqf 3. Recently, there is an increasing interest in reviving the waqf institutions. Several international conferences on waqf have been held in recent years (i.e. Harvard, 2006, 2008; South Africa, 2007; Singapore, 2008; Kuwait, 2008; Iran, 2008, Malaysia, 2010).  [6]  These conferences and seminars have discussed how waqf institutions have been revived by means of interviewing relevant authorities and conducting surveys on waqf land rules and regulations in many parts of the Muslim world. Box 1 provides the example development of waqf lands and properties in Malaysia and Singapore. However, despite various efforts by the governments to enhance the benefits, the utilization of waqf lands is still not being optimized and in fact there are a lot undeveloped waqf lands which have potential to be invested through various instruments. 4. From the perspective of research, the literatures discussed the different usage of Islamic modes of investment for waqf institutions (Kahf, 1998; Hasan and Abdullah, 2008). There are also a few literatures dedicated to the topics of waqf land development. Most of these have discussed the historic development of these lands and their legal aspects (Perai, 2005; Hasan and Abdullah, 2008). There are writings that have classified waqf lands according to how they have been used, for example agriculture, construction, mosques, cemeteries, etc. (MAIS, 2008). There is, limited literature that has categorized waqf lands according to their strategic locations and uses let alone matching them with Islamic investment modes (Noor and Mohamed, 2009). 5. There is no recent news of any worth-mentioning waqf development project except in Malaysia during the last two years (20 major and 70 minor waqf projects have been completed, worth over US$100 million)  [7]  . On the other hand, the number of properties sponsored by the Awqf Properties Investment Fund of IDB (APIF) was not up to the mark. During 2002-03 only 8 projects were developed, while 7 projects in 2009 and 5 projects in 2010. The distribution of dividend from the funds was relatively low at only 2.5% compared to Harta Tanah PNB Trust in Malaysia at 6-7% of income distribution annually  [8]  . In addition, World Waqf Foundation has been very inactive as there is no publication from the foundation since 2004. Box 1. Development of Waqf Lands in Malaysia and Singapore The development of waqf in Malaysia and Singapore especially land is fundamentally aimed at generating more income to waqf institution that could be benefited by the beneficiaries. In the context of Malaysia, there are over 35,727 hectares of registered waqf lands in which may be invested to benefit the Muslims society.[1] One of the recent large scale investments of waqf land in Malaysia was initiated by the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council together with Tabung Haji, TH Technologies Sdn. Bhd. and Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad involving a project for the construction of a 34-storey building at a cost of RM151 million. Regardless of this development, it is observed however that the utilization of waqf lands is still not being optimized and in fact there are a lot undeveloped waqf lands which have potential to be invested through various instruments. There are various model of investments of waqf land could be adopted by the waqf authority either they are depending on funding from the federal or state government or statutory bodies or financial institutions. The utmost important is that the ability of the waqf institution to choose the most appropriate and suitable methods of financial schemes for any of its investment project. In Malaysia, the instruments of investment of waqf land namely debt-based instrument, equity-based instruments, self-finance instrument and Islamic securities instruments. However, the existing waqf lands have not been strategically categorized and the modes of Islamic investments have been used arbitrarily. In the case Singapore, although many waqf were still managed by the private trustees, all awqaf created are vested in Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS) and required to be registered in MUIS. The effective and efficient management of waqf assets and properties by MUIS had enabled waqf revenue to increase exponentially. MUIS also adopted joint venture and partnering approach to develop waqf properties (i.e a S$28 million development of the 20 units of massionette and selling for 99 years lease). This approach and method proved to be an effective way to develop waqf properties, particularly with property prices spiraling upwards and land scarce Singapore. There are many creative solutions in the development of waqf properties. In current properties investment, Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) instrument is a popular route to owning properties as the structure highly appeals to the investors. MUIS has creatively made an internal REITs for its waqf properties (i.e the purchase of a 6-storey office building with a pool of waqf properties). As at 2006, MUIS manages waqf properties and assets worth about S$341 million.[2] As far as financial resources are concerned, cash waqf scheme and modern financial mode of Sukuk Musharaka bond have been introduced to fund waqf development activities. [1] According to a survey conducted by Jabatan Agama Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) in 2000. [2] WAREES PTE LTD (2007). Source: MUIS (2006), Hassan and Abdullah (2008). Binding Constraints to Development of Waqf Land 6. In practice, a wide range of applications of the waqf idea have emerged over time and space, including for purposes of markets, guilds and other civic endowments, usually under the administration of a mutawali, as well as for mosques, schools, cemeteries, housing for the poor and general welfare. In this respect, waqf occupies the ambivalent zone of many charities and philanthropists along with other institutions. However, significant issues facing waqf institutions need to overcome when it comes to process of developing the waqf lands. For instance, the waqf administration is accused of giving less than impartial and just decisions and complaints of bribery against the waqf officials are not uncommon.  [9]  There are also many examples of disputed waqf lands that now in the process of court hearing around the Muslim world. 7. The binding constraints faced by the development of waqf land, among others are: i) unregistered waqf lands without land titles registered in the name of the waqf authority, the land cannot be developed and they remain undeveloped; ii) unexplore option of Istibdal on non-prime land or sale Istibdal or substitution would be a suitable alternative to non prime land being exchanged for prime or more suitable lands for identified development initiatives or refurbishment; iii) waqf on leasehold land and properties classified as national heritage waqf authority may encounter obstacles developing waqf land that are leasehold (till lease expires) or classify under the category of national heritage under the auspices of respective local authority; iv) legal framework to understand different legal frameworks of waqf administration and waqf matters; and v) security for financing route for project financing, the concept of waqf may not allow exceeding to the requirement for land becoming collateral which is a basis for financing. 8. In term of waqf institutions, it is undoubtedly unsatisfactory. In many areas, there has been a devastating evidences of awqaf. The awqaf institutions are not given proper attention and therefore, vast awqaf properties are ill-managed. The inevitable consequence is much dilapidation and disrepair. Even the best wqaf buildings, with tremendous commercial potential, are not getting basic repairs and maintenance (Ahmad and Khan, 1998). Indeed there is a general feeling that waqf properties of the highest quality, is now some sort of cheap commodity, available in the commercial market. On top of which the virtual collapse of institution of awqaf has resulted in a vacuum which, in most Muslim countries have failed to fill in the gap. The reasons for this include: i) poor legislative framework; ii) administrative lapses; iii) lack of political will; iv) indifferent attitude of the management committee of the awqaf; v) lack of funding; and vi) lack of honesty and integrity. Proposed Framework for Waqf Land Development 9. There are vast un-managed assets of awqaf in the world where Muslims also represent a huge amount of social wealth. In the development process, these can be combined to produce necessary facility of social services especially for the poor people (Bellhachmi, 2004). The institution of awqaf could play a better role in the process of social and economic development. In order to achieve this stage, there is a need to give special attention to the development of the vast under-used awqaf properties to reactivate its functions and ability to provide those important services they used to carry out in the past. One of the major problems in relation to reviving awqaf is a lack of funds for regenerating the productivity of the waqf land/properties as well as other moveable and immovable assets. 10. The intended development of waqf lands/properties may be either for the purposes of revivification or advanced in the sense of investment. There are several mode of financing can be employed for development of awqaf lands such as issuing output share, partnership share, leasing etc. Sabit (2006) has divided the development of waqf assets into three (3) main methods: i) credit based finance; ii) joint venture or equity and income sharing; and iii) self-financing. The combination of these three methods of financing or two of them may also necessary based on the requirements of the waqf assets. 11. Based on the recent studies and practices, this study proposes for establishment of waqf assets as an offer of alternative investment through the issuance of sukuk, complemented by cash waqf fund. In order to develop awqaf projects, creating cash waqf fund (i.e Malaysia and Singapore) and sukuk mode of finance (Singapore) will build up trust between investors, depositors and the awqaf institutions for enhancing the financial benefit. It is expected that these two sources of Islamic investment funds will allow the Muslim ummah to invoke waqf contributors motives by financing into the awqaf projects so as to fulfill the objectivities of the awqaf. The details of these two sources of funding for the development of awqaf institutions are discussed below: Before undertaking the development of waqf lands, IDB needs to fulfil three basic requirements: i) develop a co-ordination mechanism between IDB and waqf authority for the purpose of compiling waqf lands information; ii) identify and profile strategic waqf lands for the purpose of commercial activities (i.e hospitals, educational and training institutions, real estate); and iii) form a potential partnership in the form of SPV- IDB as a partner (sharik) with the potential waqf authority to undertake specific waqf projects/investments. Many wqaf institutions simply do not have the funds to develop new capacity while keeping their existing work going on. Waqf assets, through the issuance of sukuk (Islamic bond), offer an alternative investment. Most important point is that sukuk as a product is linked the returns and cash flows of the financing to the assets purchased, or the returns generated from an asset purchased. Therefore, sukuk can be used as a tool to finance for development of the waqf properties. The main objective is to provide long-term support with a focus on building capabilities and showing results. There are several types of sukuk but two, ijara sukuk and musharakah sukuk, are most popular in the real estate financing and for creating funds for construction of new complexes. The development of waqf assets through the issuance of sukuk may be most suitable by using the musharakah financing principle, due to three elements: i) it represents new source of funds on basis of profit and loss-sharing; ii) it is vital to developing awqaf lands; and iii) there is a great deal of surplus cash sitting in Islamic financial institutions. Figure 1. Illustration for Waqf Land Development Source: authors illustration Figure 1 summarizes the cycle for waqf land development via sukuk. The waqf management board creates a musharakah venture. Waqf management board also will also appoint a Waqf Asset Manager as an agent to develop the land. In order to mobilise the fund through musharakah sukuk the following mechanics can be employed  [10]  : i) the waqf asset manager and special purpose vehicle (SPV) enter into a musharakah venture to develop waqf land for a period with pre-determine profit sharing; ii) the waqf asset manager enters into a two-year forward lease agreement with construction company; iii) on behalf of the waqf management board, waqf asset manager contributes land to the musharakah venture; and iv) the SPV contributes cash as capital to build commercial building on the waqf land. The musharakah sukuk can be complemented by cash waqf fund. Cash waqf has become increasingly popular among Muslim, particularly because of its flexibility, which allows distribution of the waqfs potential benefit to be benefited by the poor. Cash waqf fund may be opened for soliciting cash waqf with the intention to support services to mankind in the name of God. The donors (waqifs) of this fund will give their cash money for the purpose of financing the development of awqaf land/building/properties. The waqf mutawalli will manage this fund and the fund will be utilized for providing revolving loans for development of awqaf properties. This loans that are payable to the fund, to be utilized again for financing other awqaf properties. Conclusion 12. This note examines briefly the nature of waqf land development, review recent literature and practices on waqf land development and propose a solution to undertake waqf land development for ISFD. The development of waqf lands is an important milestone for ISFD given the fact that there are large amount of undeveloped and ill-managed waqf lands in the Muslim world. By providing the expertise on enhancing the awqf institutions and develop waqf land in member countries, it is expected from this undertaking that the institution of awqaf could play a better role in the process of social and economic development but also generate additional source of income for ISFD to combat poverty in member countries. This note proposes ISFD to consider undertaking waqf land development through the issuance of sukuk and developing cash waqf fund together with member countries.

Chylothorax and Superior Vena Cava Syndrome Case Study

Chylothorax and Superior Vena Cava Syndrome Case Study Title: Chylothorax and Superior Vena Cava Syndrome as the Initial Presentation of Non small Cell Lung Cancer, which was Successfully Resolved by Systemic Chemotherapy We define a case report of 35 year old male presented with shortness of breath, dyspnea, heaviness of left chest wall, engorgement of vein in left side chest wall and upper left neck, swelling in left side of the neck, chest pain and cough. At the time of admission, an abnormal round opacity presented in left upper lung lobe and histology shows non-small cell carcinoma with superior vena cava syndrome was diagnosed. MSCT scan report heterogeneous enhancing large soft tissue density mass lesion of size approximately 96 100 mm seen in left upper lobe extending in to whole mediastinum encasing all major vessel including arch of aorta, descending aorta, trachea, esophagus, pulmonary trunk,M PA and all major neck vessels origin. Lesion causing significant luminal narrowing of left main bronchus. Lesion causing obliteration of left brachio-cephalic.Left moderate pleural effusion seen. Heterogeneous attenuated right lung field is seen due to mosaic perfusion. Left sided thoracocentesis done milky white fluid drained from pleural cavity. Ultrasonography guided FNAC left lung done is suggestive of non-small cell carcinoma. Superior vena cava syndrome associated with lung carcinoma with massive chylothorax. Patient received cisplatin and gemcitabine chemotherapy. After chemotherapy taken chylothorax resolution almost completely. Key words: Lung cancer; squamous cell carcinoma; chylothorax; superior vena cava syndrome INTRODUCTION Lung cancer in India commonly accounts 80-85% of non-small cell carcinoma. In Acharya tulsi regional cancer treatment and research institute Bikaner hospital squamous cell carcinoma interpretation for 15% of all cases of NSCLC according to registry. In advanced lung cancer chemotherapy play main role in quality of life and survival. Chylothorax initial symptom of NSCLC is rare but pleural effusion is commonly seen. Chylothorax is mostly seen after complication of lung surgery. But in this case chylothorax is initial presentation with NSCLC with SVC. Incidence of chylothorax is .3-2.4%.[3-5]. Few report of this disorder in current year[2]. We report this case of NSCLC with initial appearance with SVC and chylothorax which resolved almost entirely with chemotherapy CASE REPORT A case report of 35 year old male presented with shortness of breath, dyspnea, heaviness of left chest wall, engorgement of vein in left side chest wall and upper left neck, swelling in left side of the neck, chest pain and cough. He is heavy smoker for 13 year and also chronic alcohol drinker. Patient vital signs at the time of admission pulse rate is 88 per minute, respiratory rate is 26 per minute, BP is 128/84 and temperature in normal limit. On auscultation breathe sound decreased in left side of chest. At the time of admission, an abnormal round opacity presented in left upper lung lobe and histology shows non-small cell carcinoma with superior vena cava syndrome was diagnosed. MSCT scan report heterogeneous enhancing large soft tissue density mass lesion of size approximately 96 100 mm seen in left upper lobe extending in to whole mediastinum encasing all major vessel including arch of aorta,descending aorta, trachea, esophagus, pulmonary trunk,M PA and all major neck vessels origin. Lesion causing significant luminal narrowing of left main bronchus. Lesion causing obliteration of left brachio-cephalic. Left moderate pleural effusion seen.Heterogeneous attenuated right lung field is seen due to mosaic perfusion. Multiple para-esophageal,perigastric, supra-clavicular,superior mediastinum, pre, paratracheal, subcarinal AP window lymphadenopathy are seen,larger measuring approx. 18 mm size. Left sided thoracocentesis done milky white fluid drained from pleural cavity. Ultrasonography guided FNAC left lung done is suggestive of non-small cell carcinoma. Superior vena cava syndrome associated with lung carcinoma with massive chylothorax. Patient received cisplatin and paclitaxil chemotherapy. cisplatin given D1 and D2 schedule. After two cycle chemotherapy taken chylothorax resolve almost completely.Laboratory investigation shows serum creatinine e 1.1 mg /dl, albumin 3.2 mg/dl, total cholesterol 193 mg/dl, serum; triglyceride, 93 mg/dl, LDH is 425 IU/l. thoracocentesis done and 2000 ml milky white coloured fluid drained. Milky fluid biochemistry done and shows triglyceride, 867 mg/dl; l actate dehydrogenase, 332 IU/l; and carcinoembryonic antigen, 6.16 ng/ml.The cytological analysis of fluid revealed no malignant cells. Intercostal tube inserted and fluid is drained and symptom is improved. The clinical stage was T3N2aM0 stage IIIb. Therefore, SCC of the lung complicated by chylothorax and SVCS was diagnosed. . Chemotherapy with paclitaxel (175 mg/m2) and cisplatin (75 mg/m2) was administered on days 1, and cisplatin give in two days in divided dose respectively of six cycle repeat 21-day. The dyspnea and shortness of breath improved after two cycle of chemotherapy and amount of milky fluid drained is gradually tapered in intercostal tube after chemotherapy given. After five cycles chemotherapy patient symptoms improved and neck swelling is disappear and intercostal drained is 230 ml/day so intercostal tube come out and remaining one cycles is given. After 6 cycle complete again CECT chest revealed tumor size significantly decreases and also pleural fluid almost di sappear but superior vena cava symptoms is minimally improved . Then subsequently, the patient put another chemotherapy with gemcitabine and carboplatin, and radiotherapy is given to chest wall 30 gy 300cGy per fraction total 10 fraction in 2 weeks, but the tumor eventually progressed. Discussion The relationship between lung cancer and chylothorax may occur after compression of tumor to thoracic duct so increase pressure to duct and ruptured [6]. Secondly in obstruction in superior vena cava so venous pressure is increased significantly so leakage of chyle from thoracic duct to pleural cavity [7-9]. Another Couse of chylothorax is side effect of radiotherapy because after radiotherapy fibrosis is there and diminishing of lymph circulation [10-13]. This complication of radiation treatment is also observed in many disease like Hodgkin lymphoma (mantle field technique), squamous cell carcinoma in esophagus, breast carcinoma and also lung carcinoma[ 10,11, 12, 13, ]. With out lung surgery chylothorax is rare but this case present chylothorax without surgery. In current year 3 case reported with non small cell carcinoma[2,10,14-16].table 1 shows patient have chylothorax with clinical manifestation and resolve after management. In this table include our case report. The three case report series have 2 male and one female and median age af all three case was 47 yrs. All case non small cell carcinoma sub group is squamous cell carcinoma. Dahlbalk et al.[17] shows squamous cell carcinoma of lung cancer present with thorasic duct fluid in pleural cavity and nodular depositation. All case presented with right side lung carcinoma. Pleural fluid cytology present wih malignant cell. Main dominant feature in case is chylothorax and its present in mainly right pleural space. Treatment of chylothorax is mainly frequently repeated aspiration of pleural fluid, low fatty diet, intercostal tube drainage, and pleurodesis with chemical substance. [6,18] surgical management of chylothorax is thorasic duct ligation and pieuroperitonial shunt are mainly used in when milky coulred fluid is more than 550 ml or more then continues 14 days. In Dahlbalk et al study mainly two case successfully treated with chemical pleurodesis. One patient any intervention not done because general condition is very poor give only paliiative treatment. If chylothorax associated with cloot in brachiocephalic vein or subclavian and jugular vein is treated with anticoagulant therapy. Beghetti et al[8]. studied resistant case of chylothorax associated with superior vena cava syndrome manage with chemotherapy. Our case usual taken four cycle chemotherapy and mostly resoved chylothorax . Thrombus in superior vena cava are correct with treatment of underlying couse. Symptoms of superior vena cava syndrome is extremlly improved with two cycle chemotherapy. It is revealing of a promising response to chemotherapy Table 1 three patients of non-small cell lung cancer presented with Chylothorax Abbreviations: SCC=squamous cell carcinoma; ; RML=right middle lung; RT= radiotherapy; C/T=chemotherapy; NA=not available

Genetic Engineering and Developing Countries Essays -- Biotechnology S

The genetic engineering of foods has been the subject of much controversy since its first appearance in the mid 1980’s. As scientists began to learn more about genetically engineered foods and the benefits of such foods, their potential also began to be realized. Developing countries, because of poor nutrition, would benefit the most from modified foods. Millions of people in developing countries die each year form lack of nutrition and hundreds of thousands go blind. Overpopulation is another problem facing developing countries and without food and nutrients survival will be tough. Alternately, there exist genetically modified foods, which can supply these poor nations with the proper nutrients and agricultural knowledge to prevent any nutritional and overpopulation problems from occurring. Many benefits can come from genetically engineered foods on top of aiding developing countries. Humans need to get over the fear f genetically engineered foods and start to utilize biot echnology in everyday life. One suggested use of genetically engineered foods would be to aid developing countries that are struggling because of a lack of proper nutrients in their diets and overpopulation. A shocking statistic is that over 13% of the worlds population does not receive enough nutrients to prevent malnutrition and vitamin A deficiencies. Another horrifying statistic is that by the year 2020 the world population will exceed 7.5 billion people with 98% of the increase coming from less developed countries (Mary Arends-Kuenning and Flora Makundi â€Å"Agricultural biotechnology†). Supplying enough food to not only feed the growing number of people but to also provide tem with enough nutrients might seem impossible, but with the use of genetic en... ...esistant genes, scientists can enable farmers to flourish on land considered to be not farmable. Humans need to embrace biotechnology in order to secure their future. By implementing this policy an effort will be made to ensure that all future food and nutrition needs will be met. Also, healthier, faster growing foods will benefit, not only less developed countries, but also the developed world. This technology has not yet been introduced to most crops but hundreds of millions of people need this technology now and can no longer wait for regulations and speculations. As Neal C. Stewart et. al. state, â€Å"the key is to determine the importance of the risks as weighed against the benefits†(836). Undeniably, the benefits certainly outweigh the risks. Humans must not fear genetics and must also embrace this technology, which is the future of all food production.

Marijuana Use: An Ethical Examination Essay -- legalization of marijuan

Works Cited Missing Instead of addressing the tiresome argument about whether or not marijuana should be legalized in the United States, I would like to examine a much more fundamental question: whether or not it is right to use the drug. This problem is strictly an ethical one. If we are to examine only the moral implications of the action then we must discard governmental laws from the equation, for this decision could be made anywhere, at any time, under any sort of governmental regime, under any set of laws, which after all are only that particular government’s best guess at morality and who’s to say their judgment is any better than yours? Knowing that this decision is a rather daunting one, I’ve enlisted the help of three friends, Aristotle, Immanuel Kant, and John Stuart Mill, to aid in the decision making process. It just so happens that they are experts in the field of ethics. Aristotle is an ancient Greek philosopher, really the first philosopher to use the word â€Å"ethics†. His major book on ethics is titled Nicomachean Ethics (Bostock 1). In order to understand Nicomachean Ethics and apply it, we must first understand how Aristotle viewed the world. Aristotle sees the world in terms of ends, purposes, and functions. In nature, the end of the acorn is to become an oak tree. In human affairs, the end of architecture is to produce buildings; of shipbuilding, to produce ships; of medicine, to promote health. Humans too have a function, an ultimate end; this Aristotle calls eudaimonia. The traditional translation is happiness, but this translation is misleading. To put it most aptly eudaimonia â€Å"connotes overall success and prosperity and achievement, though it also connotes something that we may call... ... the world would most likely be made up of people enjoying pleasure, something that can not really be considered bad. Many would argue that the world would be full of drug addicts, but this is not the world that we have set up. According to our perceived duty, all must use marijuana in moderation, and to use it to excess would be just as offensive to the duty as would be not using it at all. We have now heard from three very distinguished Moral philosophers, and all have said that moderate use of marijuana is not a bad thing, one even calling it our duty. The most common type of actual moral reasoning is a loose combination or confusion of methods (Sweet 4). So, if we combine all that we have heard, the only conclusion that can be drawn is that the use of marijuana, as a bodily pleasure, is morally justifiable, probably more so than not using the drug.

The Trolley Dodgers

In 1890, the Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers professionals’ baseball team joined the National League. Over the following years, the Dodgers would have considerable difficulty competing with the other baseball themes in the New York City area. Those teams, principal among them the New York Yankees, were much better financed and generally stocked with players of higher caliber. In 1958, after nearly seven decades of mostly frustration on and off the baseball field, the Dodgers shocked the sports world by moving to Los Angeles. Walter O’Malley, the flamboyant owner of the Dodgers, saw an opportunity to introduce professional baseball to the rapidly growing population of the West Coast. More important, O’Malley saw an opportunity to make his team more profitable. As an in document to the Dodgers, Los Angeles Country purchased a goat farm located in Chavez Ravine, an area two miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles, and gave the property to O’Malley for the site of his new baseball stadium. Since moving to Los Angeles, the Dodgers have been the envy of the baseball world: â€Å"In everything from profit to stadium maintenance†¦the Dodgers are the prototype of how a franchise should be run. †? During the 1980s and 1990s, the Dodgers reigned as the most profitable franchise in baseball with a pretax profit margin approaching 25 percent in many years. In late 1997, Peter O’Malley, Walter O’Malley’s son and the Dodgers principal owner, sold the franchise for $350 million to media mogul Rupert Murdoch. A spokesman for Murdoch complimented the O’Malley family for the longstanding success of the Dodgers organization. â€Å"The O’Malley’s have set a gold standard for franchise ownership†. ? During an interview before he sold the Dodgers, was seemingly a perfect example of one of those experts he had retained in all functional areas: â€Å"I don’t have to be an expert on taxes, split-fingered fastballs, or labor relations with our ushers. That talent is available. †? Edward Campos, a longtime accountant for the Dodgers, was seemingly a perfect example of one of those experts in the organization. Campos accepted an entry-level position with the Dodgers as a young man. By 1986, after almost two decades with the club, he had worked his way up the employment hierarchy to become the operations payroll chief. After taking charge of the Dodgers’ payroll department, Campos designed and implemented a new payroll system, a system that reportedly only he fully understood. In fact, Campos controlled the system so completely that he personally filled out the weekly payroll cards for each of the four hundred employees of the Dodgers. Campos was known not only for his work ethic but also for his loyalty to the club and its owners: â€Å"The Dodgers trusted him, and when he was on vacation, he even came back and did the payroll. †? Unfortunately, the Dodgers’ trust in Campos was misplaced. Over a period of several years, Campos embezzled several hundred thousand dollars from his employer. According to court records, Campos padded the Dodgers’ payroll by adding fictitious employees to various departments in the organizations. In addition, Campos routinely inflated the number of hours worked by several employees and then split the resulting overpayments fifty-fifty with those individuals. The fraudulent scheme came unraveled when appendicitis struck down Campos, forcing the Dodgers’ controller to temporarily assume his responsibilities. While completing the payroll one week, the controller noticed that several employees, including ushers, security guards, and ticket salespeople, were being paid unusually large amounts. In some cases, employees earning $7 an hour received weekly paychecks approaching $2,000. Following a criminal investigation and the filing of charges against Campos and his cohorts, all the individuals involved in the payroll fraud confessed. A stale court sentenced Campos to eight years in prison and required him to make restitution of approximately $132,000 to the Dodgers. Another of the conspirators also received a prison sentence. The remaining individuals involved in the payroll scheme made restitution and were placed on probation. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 1. Identify the key audit objectives for a client’s payroll function. Comment on both objectives related to tests of controls and those related to substantive audit procedures. Ans: The key audit objectives for a client’s payroll function are occurrence, completeness, accuracy, pasting and summarization, classification and timing. On the occurrence objective the related test of control could be examining the time cards, personnel files, reviewing organization chart to see if the payroll payments are for exiting work and for existing employee and the substantive test for the occurrence objective is to see if the right amount of payroll is paid to the right employee and were recorded properly. On the completeness objective the test of control could be to see if the existing payroll were recorded and the substantive test is to compare the book and the payroll bank statement and look for the unmatched amount. For the accuracy objective, the test of control is to examine if the right hours and rate are recorded, tax withholding is correct while the substantive test is to test for exact amount by recalculating gross pay and net pay, comparing pay rate with the industry also. For posting and summarization objective, the test of control could be comparing the master files total with general ledgers total and while the substantive test is by footing the payroll journal and tracing postings to the journal ledger and the payroll master file. The test of control for the classification objective is to review charts of accounts while the substantive test is to review the time cards and job ticket. Lastly, for the timing objective, the test of control is to examine procedures and observe if recording is taking place while the substantive test is to compare date on checks. . What internal control weaknesses were evident in the Dodgers’ payroll system? Ans: The internal control weaknesses in the Dodger’s payroll system is that Campos, who is happen to be the operations payroll chief, is the one who designed and also implemented a new payroll system that only him that could fully understand. Also other weaknesses is that there is no independent check a nd performance, there is also no separation of duties, and Dodgers work environment would be a weakness because Campos and others have low work ethic. 3. Identify audit procedures that might have led to the discovery of the fraudulent scheme masterminded by Campos. Ans: Audit procedures that might discover the fraud is by understanding Dodger’s payroll chart because auditors would see if there are no independent check and performance and no separation of duties. Another thing is that to interview employees in the payroll department. Test for nonexistent employee, reconciling the total hours paid in payroll records with that in an independent record of the hours worked and observing employee time in.

Term Paper on Social Judgement Theory

TRAITS OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOR| A Term Paper on the traits of Consumer Behavior| BY SUSHIL TAMANG | Submitted to: Mr. Rupesh K. Shrestha Facilitator, Consumer Behavior Submitted to: Mr. Rupesh K. Shrestha Facilitator, Consumer Behavior Social judgment theory (SJT) is a persuasion theory proposed by  Muzafer Sherif  and  Carl Hoyland (hoyland & Sherif, 1980). According to Sherif, Social Judgment Theory is the perception and evaluation of an idea by comparing it with current attitudes.We do this by weighing every new idea by comparing it with our present point of view (hoyland & Sherif, 1980). SJT is a theory that focuses on the internal processes of an individual's judgment with relation to a communicated message. SJT was intended to be an explanatory method designed to detail when  persuasive messages  are most likely to succeed. Attitude change  is the fundamental objective of persuasive communication. SJT seeks to specify the conditions under which this change takes place and predict the direction and extent of the attitude change.SJT attempts to explain how likely a person might be to change their opinion, the probable direction of that change, their tolerance toward the opinion of others, and their level of commitment to their position (Mallard, 2010). Social judgment  is how we perceive people, how we form impressions about them and how we think about social things. Social psychology is concerned with how we make these judgments, how accurate they are, and what are the consequences of these judgments. How we form first impressions and respond to people depends on how we judge them.Sometimes we judge people incorrectly. Misjudgments are the basis of prejudice and discrimination. In light if these, information we will try to find out the effects of social judgment on different professionals and their decision style. We try to find out where the social judgment really brings change in the deciders mind. We will see then effects of social judgment o n the mind of the these professional whose decision create a lots of impact on other people. Now before we see how the SJT effects decision of the professional, we must first know what the decision is making process.Judgment is concerned with the discrimination and categorization of stimuli, it attempts to explain how attitudes are expressed, judged, and modified. (Darity, 2008) A judgment occurs when a person compares at least two  stimuli  and makes a choice about them. With regard to social stimuli specifically, judgment processes incorporate both past experiences and present circumstances. (Sherif C. , 1963). As a judgment process, categorization and attitude formation is a product of recurring instances so that past experiences influence decisions regarding aspects of the current situation.Therefore, attitudes are acquired. (Sherif, Sherif, ; Nebergaill, 1965). As we see that our judgment is based on the attitude that we have towards a certain object. And we chose our decis ion on basis of our judgment. But knowing this much only isn’t enough we must also know what are the types of decision we make on basis of our judgment, do we accept object on basis of our judgment or we reject it or we don’t take our bias judgment under consideration. SJT illustrates how people compare their personal positions on issues to other people’s positions.Individuals hold both a personal position on an issue and latitudes of what they think is acceptable or unacceptable in general for other people. (Sherif, Sherif, ; Nebergaill, 1965)  Social attitudes are not cumulative, especially regarding issues where the attitude is extreme. (Mallard, 2010) This means a person may not agree with less extreme stands relative to his/her position, even though they may be in the same direction. Plus people with same attitude may have different opinion on the same matter this is due to their past experience and knowledge.On basis of our judgment we have 3 range of la titude where we accept, reject or non-commit to the object. There is the latitude of acceptance which is the range of ideas that a person sees as a reasonable or worthy of consideration, the latitude of rejection, which is the range of ideas that a person sees as unreasonable or objectionable, and finally the Latitude of non-commitment which is the range of ideas that a person sees as neither acceptable nor questionable. Griffin, 2011) Now, with this information imprinted in our minds, we will try analyze the effect of SJT on the professional whose decision affects other person. We will discuss on two researches that were don’t on professionals with regards to social judgment theory. The first study tries to identify the informational cues that driver-assessor-trained occupational therapist (DATOTs) consider when making driver licensing recommendations for older and functionally impaired clients. (Unsworth, 2007).The research focuses on the cues that clinicians believe that a re most important when making licensing decision. It was found that there were 8 major cues out of which 4 most important were driving instructors intervention, drivers behavior, cognitive and perceptual skill, vehicle handling and 4 lesser cues were road law knowledge, physical skill, sensory function and medical prognosis. (Unsworth, 2007) Although the ranks were seen that way the variation for the lesser important cues were very low meaning they were main consideration by clinicians.So, then putting that prospect and adding it to the older and functionally impaired client, it is clear to say that they will be in disadvantage. The social judgment of clinician will focus more on the lesser cues while judging these clients. The second research focus on the positive aspect of the social judgment. Judgment analysis, the methodology of social judgment theory, has significant potential for overcoming the limitations of a pure information-processing approach. It has been successfully use d in a wide variety of fields, Such as medicine, finance and weather forecasting.It has also been successfully used to analyze the relationship between individuals' decision making in multidisciplinary rehabilitation teams that included occupational therapists. (Harries & Harries, 2001) This research studied prioritization policies in community mental health work; it aimed to find out how SJT helps to make proper, accurate and right decision of mental health referrals. In this research the participants social judgment influenced their decision making even though the protocol said otherwise.This was very important because sometime the client who doesn’t match the basis criteria may need mental care the most. That can only be seen by the insight of participants. There biasness may save a person life. So, we see that two researches above proved one point first, that social judgment theory does effect the decision of professional that's what the term paper aimed to do. We clearly see that attitude, perception, past experience of these professionals effect the decision they make which might not be by the books.The term paper fulfilled its primary purpose but in the process it also shows that having social judgment is negative, it has it pros and cons. Sometimes having social judgment saves peoples live and sometimes it deprive people of their right. SJT helps it make better decision where the protocols aren’t very specific and are sketchy, in those scenarios our insight helps us a lot to differentiate what's right and what's wrong. In conclusion, we can say that whether the SJT has positive or negative impact, its existence is undeniable.Bibliography Darity, W. (2008). Social Judgment Theory: Detroit. Detroit: Macmillian Reference USA. Griffin, E. (2011). A first look at communication Theory. New York: McGraw Hill. Harries, P. A. , ; Harries, C. (2001). Studying clinical reasoning, Part 2: Applying social judgement Theory. British Journal of occupatio nal therapist, 64-69. hoyland, c. I. , ; Sherif, M. (1980). Social Judgment:Assimilation and contrast effect in communication and attitude change. Greenwood. Mallard, J. (2010). Communication Teacher.Sherif, C. (1963). Social categorization as a function of latitude of acceptance and series range. Journal of abnormal and social psychology, 148-156. Sherif, C. , Sherif, M. , ; Nebergaill, R. (1965). Attitude and attitude change. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company. Unsworth, C. A. (2007). Using Social Judgment Theory to study occupational therapists' use information when making driver licensing recomendation for older and funcitionally impaired adults. The American journal of occupatonal Therapy, 493-502.

Four year strategic plan for Erie Capsim Company Essay

The four year strategic plan will focus on key drivers of the industry, factors determining future of the company, industry attractiveness, and its competitive environment. Each section contains detailed subsections which clearly defines the strategic plan. The plan uses 2009 data and our four year plan runs up to 2013. 1.1   Driving Forces In this industry there are many driving forces. Our top management uses the concept of driving forces to reach consensus on what strategic area represents the industries current driving force. 1.1.1 Research and Development: Our company will be introducing a new High End product every year. In addition we will reposition our performance and size segment products into our initial targeted sections. This will enable a stream or products lined up along the High End, traditional, and Low end sections. In addition we will allow present traditional section products to become a Low End section product so as to create room for segment drift. The company will later introduce a new product to the High End and will finally have four products each in the Low, Traditional, and High end sections during those four years. This way the company will present to clients products in line with their perfect procedure for age, reliability, and positioning. Also the company endeavors to sustain its existing product line, ensure presence in each section, and strive to sustain its products in the next four years in spite high levels of automation. 1.1.2 Marketing: Marketing is another main driving force. At first our company will attempt to keep pace with the accessibility and awareness of immediate competitor’s products.   Ideally we will be revisiting our status every year for the next four years to determine whether promotion and sales budgets should be sized or if the company will continue matching that of competitors. Generally our company will offer products at reduced prices. Also for these four years our company is planning to spend aggressively in sales and promotion in targeted sections; Low, Traditional, and High sections. In this light every client will have known our superb designs for the next four years. Basically, we are planning simplify logistics involved in identifying products by customers. After defining the company’s cost leadership position, we will reconsider the company’s situation to explore alternatives to enhance accessibility and awareness. 1.1.3    Production: Significantly our company will significantly increase automation levels on all products in the next four years. Since automation limits the company’s ability to reposition its products in line with R&D, we will edge our automation process in the Low and Traditional sections in the next two years and then High end section during the last two years. Our company will ensure capacity building to meet the generated demand. In the first half we will reposition our brands. However, in the last half we will evaluate ways of increasing in automation levels to enhance margins as well as repositioning products and sustaining sections as they traverse the perceptual map. 1.1.4 Finance The nature of our industry allows it to draw funds from a wide source. During the first half the company will finance its investments mainly through bond issues supplementing with stock offers following an as needed basis. For last half, the company will develop a divided policy and start to retire stock. The company is not adverse to leverage and expectation is that we will sustain debt/equity ratio at 2.0-3.0. 1.2   Future key success factors Factors for success in our company include; 1.2.1 Concentration: Our company will concentrate on Low, Traditional, and High end sections. This will keep production costs, raw material costs, and R&D costs to a minimum. Also company product lifecycle concentration will enable us to reap sales for the next four years on each of the four new products to be introduced into High end section. 1.2.2 Brand recognition and awareness The company will maintain presence in every section. We will endeavor to ensure a competitive edge by differentiating our products. This will be done through excellent design, easy accessibility, and high awareness during first half. In the other half, the company will initiate a competent R&D that ensures fresh and exciting designs. Products will be in line with the market needs, presenting enhanced performance and size. 1.3   Attractiveness of industry and competitive environment 1.3.1       Factors making the industry attractive Several factors make our company to be attractive.   These are factors that will determine how far our company can remain still. These include;  ·    Reliable products: will ensure products which are reliable to mainstream clients and brands that offer value.  · Premium products: our company offers good products and brands that will stand the test of time.  ·    Low price: the company offers products at reduced prices. Its brands offer solid value.  ·    Easy technology: our products are reliable even to low technology customers 1.3.2 factors making the industry unattractive  · Funding: the market is unpredictable and there getting enough financial support is a problem  · Extensive research: product sustainability requires an extensive research. This adds to cost by way of experts and professionals. 1.3.3 special industry issues/problems  · Product presence: our company plans to maintain a competitive advantage by ensuring presence in every section.  · Unrelenting focus: concentration ensures brand recognition which leads to unique opportunity over competitors.  · Substitutes: the company is likely to suffer incase substitutes flood market, particularly during last half.  · New entrants: during the first two years the company will enjoy monopoly but in last two years entrants are likely to enter the market. 1.3.4 Profit outlook The company currently is enjoying a profit margin of 20%. This strategic plan aims to grow the profit by additional 10% for first two years and another 15% in the last two years.