Home Depot Analysis

Home Depot – 2010 Financial Report For fiscal year ended January  30, 2011 (â€Å"fiscal 2010†), Home Depot reported Net Earnings of $3. 3  billion and Diluted Earnings per Share of $2. 01 compared to Net Earnings of $2. 7  billion and Diluted Earnings per Share of $1. 57 for fiscal year ended January  31, 2010 (â€Å"fiscal 2009†). The results for fiscal 2010 included a $51 million pretax charge related to the extension of our guarantee of a senior secured loan of HD Supply, Inc. (the â€Å"HD Supply Guarantee Extension†). The results for fiscal 2009 reflected the impact of several strategic actions initiated in fiscal 2008. These strategic actions resulted in store rationalization charges related to the closing of 15 underperforming U. S. stores and the removal of approximately 50 stores from their new store pipeline, business rationalization charges related to the exit of our EXPO, THD Design Center, Yard birds and HD Bath businesses (the â€Å"Exited Businesses†) and charges related to the restructuring of support functions (collectively, the â€Å"Rationalization Charges†). These actions resulted in pretax Rationalization Charges of $146 million for fiscal 2009. The results for fiscal 2009 also included a pretax charge of $163 million to write-down our investment in HD Supply, Inc. Additionally, fiscal 2009 included earnings of $41 million from discontinued operations, net of tax, for the settlement of working capital matters arising from the sale of HD Supply. Home Depot reported Earnings from Continuing Operations of $3. 3  billion and Diluted Earnings per Share from Continuing Operations of $2. 01 for fiscal 2010 compared to Earnings from Continuing Operations of $2. 6  billion and Diluted Earnings per Share from Continuing Operations of $1. 5 for fiscal 2009. Excluding the HD Supply Guarantee Extension charge from their fiscal 2010 results, and the Rationalization Charges and the write-down of their investment in HD Supply from their fiscal 2009 results, Earnings from Continuing Operations were $3. 4 billion and Diluted Earnings per Share from Continuing Operations were $2. 03 for fiscal 2010 compared to Earnings from Continuing Oper ations of $2. 8 billion and Diluted Earnings per Share from Continuing Operations of $1. 66 for fiscal 2009. Net Sales increased 2. 8% to $68. 0  billion for fiscal 2010 from $66.   billion for fiscal 2009. Home Depot’s comparable store sales increased 2. 9% in fiscal 2010, driven by a 2. 4% increase in their comparable store customer transactions and a 0. 5% increase in their comparable store average ticket to $51. 93. Comparable store sales for their U. S. stores increased 2. 5% in fiscal 2010. In fiscal 2010, Home Depot focused on the following four key initiatives: Customer Service: Home Depot’s focus on customer service is anchored on the principles of taking care of their associates, putting customers first and simplifying the business. The roll out of their Customers FIRST training to all store associates and support staff in fiscal 2009 has brought simplification and focus across the business, and they repeated and refreshed the Customers FIRST training during fiscal 2010. The Customers FIRST program is part of their ongoing commitment to improve customer service levels in their stores, and they continued to see the benefit of this training in improved customer service ratings for fiscal 2010 compared to fiscal 2009. Also in fiscal 2010, Home Depot completed the deployment of their FIRST Phone, a new hand held device that provides multiple functions such as inventory management, product location and mobile checkout. The core purpose of this new device is to reduce tasking time for their store associates to allow them more time to focus on customer service. Home Depot ended fiscal 2010 with more than half of their store payroll allocated to customer facing activities rather than tasking activities. They have a customer facing store payroll target of 60%, and they believe they will achieve that by 2013. Product Authority: Our focus on product authority is facilitated by our merchandising transformation and portfolio strategy, including innovation, assortment and value. In fiscal 2010, we made significant progress on our merchandising tools in the U. S. that helped us manage markdown and clearance activity and better control inventory. Our inventory turnover ratio was 4. 13 times at the end of fiscal 2010 compared to 4. 06 times at the end of fiscal 2009. Additionally, we continued to form strategic alliances and relationships with selected suppliers to bring a number of proprietary and xclusive brands across a wide range of departments. Productivity and Efficiency: Home Depot’s approach to driving productivity and efficiency starts with disciplined capital allocation focused on building best-in-class competitive advantages in information technology and supply chain, as well as building shareholder value through higher returns on invested capital and total value returned to sh areholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases. At the end of fiscal 2010, they completed the roll out of their Rapid Deployment Centers (â€Å"RDCs†) and now have 19 RDCs that serve 100% of their U. S. stores. Also during fiscal 2010, they repurchased 80. 9  million shares for $2. 6 billion, and on February  22, 2011 Home depot announced a six percent increase in their quarterly cash dividend to 25 cents per share. Interconnected Retail: Home Depot’s focus on interconnected retail is based on the view that providing a seamless shopping experience across multiple channels will be a critical enabler for future success. Their multiple channel focus is allowing them to greatly expand their assortment of merchandise, and they are making the investment to build these capabilities, including the roll out of â€Å"buy on-line, pick-up in store† next year. Home depot is committed to having a best-in-class website, and during fiscal 2010 their site was named as a Most Improved Website for customer satisfaction by Foresee, a leading customer satisfaction analytics firm. Home Depot opened eight new stores in fiscal 2010, including one relocation, and closed three stores, bringing our total store count at the end of fiscal 2010 to 2,248. As of the end of fiscal 2010, a total of 272 of these stores, or 12. 1%, were located in Canada, Mexico and China compared to 268 stores, or 11. 9%, at the end of fiscal 2009. Home Depot generated approximately $4.   billion of cash flow from operations in fiscal 2010. They used this cash flow along with cash on hand to fund $2. 6 billion of share repurchases, pay $1. 6  billion of dividends and fund $1. 1 billion in capital expenditures. At the end of fiscal 2010, Home Depot’s long-term debt-to-equity ratio was 46. 1% compared to 44. 7% at the end of fiscal 2009. Their return on invested capita l for continuing operations (computed on net operating profit after tax for the trailing twelve months and the average of beginning and ending long-term debt and equity) was 12. 8% for fiscal 2010 compared to 10. % for fiscal 2009. This increase reflects the impact of the Rationalization Charges which they included in their operating profit for fiscal 2009. Excluding the Rationalization Charges, their return on invested capital for continuing operations was 12. 7% for fiscal 2010 compared to 11. 1% for fiscal 2009. Week 2 Activity Ratios of Home Depot vs. Lowe’s One key to profitability is how well a company manages and utilizes its assets. Some ratios are design to evaluate a company’s effectectiveness in managing assets. Of particular interest is the activity, or turnover ratios, of certain assets. The greater the number of times an asset turns over, the higher the ratio the fewer assets are required to maintain a given level of activity (revenue). Given that a company incurs costs to finance its assets with debt (paying interest) or equity (paying dividends), high turnovers are usually attractive. |Receivable Turnover | |Year |2009 |2010 |2011 | |Home Depot |68. |63. 9 |53. 9 | |Lowe’s |0. 0 |0. 0 |0. 0 | Receivable Turnover ratio is calculated by dividing a period’s net credit sales by the average net accounts receivables. The receivables turnover ratio provides an indication of a company’s efficiency in collecting receivables. The ratio shows the number of times during a period that the averages accounts receivable balance is collected. The higher the ratio, the shorter the average time between credit sales and cash collection. As we can see above, Lowe’s has zero receivables, which can be translated to no credit sales. |Inventory Turnover | |Year |2009 |2010 |2011 | |Home Depot |4. 21 |4.. 19 |4. 34 | |Lowe’s |4. 0 |3. 72 |3. 63 | Inventory Turnover is an important measure for a merchandising company. The ratio shows the number of times the average inventory balance is sold during reporting period. It indicates how quickly inventory is sold. The more frequently a business is able to sell, or turn over, its inventory, the lower its investment in inventory must be for a given level of sales. The ratio is computed by dividing the period’s costs of goods sold by the average inventory balance. The denominator, average inventory, is determined by adding beginning and ending inventory and dividing by two. A relatively high ratio, as in the case of Home Depot compare to Lowe’s, usually is desirable. A high ratio indicates comparative strength, perhaps caused by a company’s superior sales force or maybe a successful advertising campaign. However, it might also be caused by a relatively low inventory level, which could mean either very efficient inventory measurement or stock outs or lost sales in the future. Comparing the two industries, we can conclude than Home Depot turns over their inventory a bit faster than Lowe’s. Asset Turnover | |Year |2009 |2010 |2011 | |Home Depot |1. 73 |1. 62 |1. 73 | |Lowe’s |1. 48 |1. 43 |1. 41 | Asset Turnover is a broad measure of asset efficiency. The ratio is computed by dividing a company’s net sales or revenue by the average total assets available for use during a period. The denominator, average assets, is determined by adding beginning and ending total assets and dividing by two. The asset turnover ratio provides an indication of how efficiency a company utilizes all of its assets to generate revenue. Also, it shows how many sales dollars are generated for every dollar invested in the company’s assets. Lowe’s had relatively lower asset turnover than Home Depot because their recent investment in PP&E has not yet reached their potentials. Home Depot is a financially sound company and performs well when compared to its competitors. Based on current business conditions and the potential growth opportunity facing Home Depot, we feel that the bottom line will continue to grow at a healthy rate above the competition in the near future. We believe that the relatively low levels of debt, slightly wider margins, and lower costs make Home Depot an attractive investment for the long run. Shares of Home Depot are currently trading at $33. 92 to what we believe is gaining momentum in the market. This increase is possibly derived from the market’s belief that better than predicted growth will be seen from expansion into foreign markets, specifically China. Week 4 Home Depot – Accounting Policies The retail industry, in general, presents a very competitive market with high price competition and low product differentiation. Although almost any retailer, from supermarkets to superstores, can offer home improvement items at a competitive price, the home improvement industry currently provides a great opportunity for differentiation in regards to the types of services home improvement retailers offer. To successfully maximize sales and increase revenues in the home improvement industry, retailers such as Home Depot must successfully combine product variety, quality and price and specialized services. As discussed earlier, Home Depot has adopted a business strategy based on these key factors. Consequently, as we look at Home Depot’s overall financial results, it is necessary to focus on key accounting policies adopted by the company to measure critical factors and risks. In the â€Å"Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition† of The Home Depot, Inc 2011 Annual Report (www. omedepot. com), management identified three major areas as areas of critical accounting policy and discussed the adoption of four different accounting pronouncements. In addition to the four recently adopted accounting pronouncements identified in the management’s discussion, The Home Depot identified four other major accounting policy change s in it’s â€Å"Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements†. Specifically, The Home Depot adopted four different accounting pronouncements in regards to service revenue recognition, vendor allowances, goodwill amortization and stock based compensation. The three critical accounting policies, as identified by The Home Depot management refer to the treatment of merchandise inventories, self insurance and revenue recognition. Merchandise Inventory policy is specifically addressed by The Home Depot management in â€Å"Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial Condition† and is assessed in two different ways. Approximately 93% of total inventory is valued at the lower of cost or market utilizing FIFO under the retail inventory method with the other 7% valued under the cost method. The Notes section of the Financial Statements accounts for the two different methods. According to the Notes, the 7% of inventory valued under the cost method was due to inventory policy of certain subsidiaries and distribution centers. In addition, The Home Depot, Inc. takes a physical inventory count on a regular basis at each store to verify that inventory amounts in the merchandise inventory section of the Consolidated Financial Statements are accurate. Lastly, in regards to merchandise inventory, the company does account for possible inventory shrinkage or swell based on historical results and industry trends. Self Insurance accounting policy for Home Depot addresses it’s treatment of â€Å"losses related to general liability, product liability, workers’ compensation and medical claims†. The total liability is estimated on the total cost incurred as of the specific balance sheet date and is not discounted. The estimate is based on â€Å"historical data and actuarial estimates†. The company also explains in it’s Management Discussion that they ensure estimates of liability are as accurate as possible by having both management and third-party actuaries review the estimates on a quarterly basis. Revenue Recognition is the third critical accounting policy identified by The Home Depot management. Revenue recognition at the Home Depot follows the industry norm of recognizing revenue when the customer takes possession of the merchandise or, if a customer makes payment prior to take ownership of the merchandise, Home Depot records the sale as Deferred Revenue on the balance sheet until the sale is finalized when the customer takes possession of the paid merchandise. Additionally, because The Home Depot also provides a variety of services through their installation and home maintenance programs, they also recognize service revenue at the time when the service is completed and also record any customer pre-paid service revenue as Deferred Revenue on the balance sheet. Week 5 Internet The internet has completely changed the way companies communicate and market to their prospects. Home improvement businesses in the U. S report that the ways they have traditionally generated leads (i. . yellows pages, direct mail, print media, tv and radio) aren’t working like they use to. In fact, 85% of all products and service inquiries now start online and 97% of U. S internet users gather shopping information online and of those more than half characterize their behavior as ‘Shop Online, Purchase Offline. ’ The convenience of online shopping and the ability to make price comparisons on the internet has completely changed retail trends in the p ast decades. Even though most people tend to shop for building materials by visiting physical locations, still Home Depot cannot ignore e-commerce because people increasing buy items of nearly any kind online. Home depot being the largest home improvement retailer is expanding in the online channel aggressively and targeting it as a major growth opportunity. Home depot made it’s biggest e-commerce investment over the last two years since it started internet sales in 2001. According to research, 45% 0f the 9. million consumers who visited Home Depot’s website on average in any given week said their next step was a trip to a Home Depot store, which translates to about 225 customers a day per location. However, e-commerce for the home improvement industry is an underleveraged opportunity. A lot of people think of home Depot as a place you go on a Saturday, or when you do window treatment or carpeting. As such, they can do a better job online for things like branded power tools and repl enishable items and also offer delivering services for those items. Home Depot’s operating cost will decrease if customers interacted through the use of the internet due to the folllowing: †¢ Online customers are used to doing their own shopping without any salesperson assistance; therefore the cost of the salesperson would be eliminated as such. †¢ The range of products that can be offered through the website can be far greater than what one could find at Home Depot’s location, thereby giving customers a clear reason to prefer the internet. These are all advantages that Home Depot can benefit from as a result of the internet. As with the advantages, there are also disadvantages (issues) that Home Depot needs to put into consideration and work diligently to address them. The foremost of these issues are lack of site maintenance and lack of integration between the e-commerce site and the corporate back-office systems. As such, Home Depot must work through these issues in detail in order to arrive at the true cost-benefit for an e-commerce.

Juvenile Crime Paper Essay

In the juvenile justice system believes in giving a juvenile a second chance, and protects their privacy. They also want to make sure they receive treatment and support services rather than just punishment. The juvenile system focuses more on their needs, and those goals are met with treatment and rehabilitation so they won’t become repeat offenders. After a juvenile completes their program their records can be sealed or destroyed once they reach 18. The juvenile system status in question is to determine delinquency, whether an act of was violated or not. The system also wants to make sure the best interest of the child is taken into consideration, regardless if they are guilty or innocent. For the most part when a child is in custody and pending the hearing, they may be released into the custody of a parent or guardian. Juveniles have closed hearings instead of a trial. The right to a jury does not exist. A juvenile is not arrested; they are taken into custody from an order b y the judge or complaint. Usually juveniles are only incarcerated with other youth offenders and in juvenile facilities. In the adult court system the status question for adults is to determine guilt or innocence. The goal for adult proceedings is to determine offender’s guilt or innocence. Pending a trial, an adult can be released through bail, or on their own recognizance. Adult trials are open to the public, and they also have a right to a jury trial. The trial could last months, and the trial determines guilty or innocence. Adults are housed with other adult offenders in jail or prison facilities. Adults also have rights to appeal their sentence. Delinquency is the broadest usage, juvenile actions or conduct in violation of criminal law, juvenile status offenses, and other juvenile misbehavior. When my son was a juvenile and got into trouble his crimes made us appear in front of a judge who decided he was a delinquent, and he would remain in their custody until he completed  some of the programs that were assigned to him. At the time I did not understand much about the juvenile court system. That is why this class and course is so important to me. If only I knew then what I know now about the justice system it would have changed the way I handled certain situations that had to do with my son. Status offense is an act or conduct that is declared by statue to be an offense, but only when committed by or engaged in by a juvenile, ad that can be adjudicated only by a juvenile court. Oklahoma County Juvenile Justice Center in Oklahoma County has developed a Community Outreach Prevention Program to assist the community and schools on the topics of Bullies and Weapons. The program want to bring awareness to the community and schools about the effects of Bullies and Weapons. The staff consists of employees from the Juvenile Bureau who work with youth in the Detention Center and in Probation Services. The presentations are age, and audience appropriate. The Mission of the Juvenile Bureau is â€Å"To Work with the community to Prevent and Control Juvenile Delinquency.† The Juvenile Court Era was a time when children’s needs were recognized, and it led to legislation requiring juveniles to have separate hearings than adults. Later it was also thought juveniles should not have contact with adult offenders. Soon this became the model for juvenile court status throughout other states. A juvenile court was created and they applied the word delinquent instead of using criminal to juvenile offenders. The judges were expected to serve as advocates for juveniles while guiding their development. In 1938, the federal government passed the Juvenile Court Act, which embodied many of the features of the Illinois statue. By 1945, every state had enacted special legislation focusing on the handling of juveniles, and the juvenile court movement became well established. There were five philosophical principles that were summarized. (Schmalleger, 2011). 1. The state is the parent of the children. 2. The children are worth saving without harsh treatment. 3. Children should be nurtured 4. Their goal plan should be individualized just for them. 5. Noncriminal procedure are necessary to give primary consideration to the needs of the child. There are several categories of Children in the Juvenile Justice System. Theses categories are still used today in most  jurisdictions to describe the variety of children subject to juvenile court jurisdiction. 1. Delinquent children are those who have broken the criminal law. 2. Undisciplined children would be when the child is out of control. 3. Dependent children usually have no one to care for them like a parent. 4. Neglected children are those who do not receive proper care from their parents. 5. Abused children are those that suffer abuse from the very person that is suppose to be taking care of them. 6. Status offender embraces children who violate laws written only for them. I want to talk about the Homicide rate among juveniles. According to the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Report: 1980-2010, and it provides access to more than twenty years of national and state data on h omicide victims and known homicide offenders. Until I completed some research on juvenile crime I had not realized how much crimes were committed by our youth. This has been going on for a very long time, and I don’t think people realize the impact of crime on youth today. These statistics were really heart breaking. I am really glad I chose to get a degree in this field, because in some way I would love to make a difference. With statistics like this It makes me wonder why we have so many juvenile offenders that continue to commit crimes after they have reached adulthood. I do not believe that juveniles should be housed with adult offenders. I believe our youth still have a chance at life, and they should not be blinded by a corrupt repeat offender adult. I think if given the chance adults would try to take advantage of a child to the point of rape, bribery, joining gangs, committing more crimes, and become career criminals. I would say our children are our future, and not giving up on them is the key to success. When a juvenile gets into trouble some people are so quick to just write them off. Having juveniles incarcerated with adults is like throwing them to the wolves whatever could happen usually does happen. Adults that have been incarcerated for some time prey on new young fish. They are looking for someone to keep them satisfied by any means necessary. In order for our youth to become productive individuals in society we have to provide the education and the tools that are needed. When a juvenile commit a crime we should first look at why the crime was committed, was it due to neglect, abuse, or something like that. Then when we figure out what the problem is rehabilitation can be created to reform the juvenile offender, and provide the necessary skills to help them in the future. When juveniles are given a sentence, and they have to be incarcerated for an extended period of time they lose contact with family members and friends. Some parents try to be there for their children however they leave them in there to do for themselves. Some parents feel that will teach the juvenile a lesson about getting into trouble. References Oklahoma county Juvenile Justice Center. (2004). C.O.P Program. Retrieved from http://www.oklahomacounty.org Puzzanchera, C. C., & Kang, W. G. (2012). Easy Access to the FBI’s Supplementary Homicide Reports: 1980-2010. Retrieved from http://www.ojjdp.gov/ojstatbb/ezashr Schmalleger, F. (2011). Criminal Justice Today: An Introductory Text for the 21st Century (11th ed.). Unknown: Prentice Hall. U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs. (2009). Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.ojjdp

Current Trend In Sustainable Manufacturing System Environmental Sciences Essay

Material and energy resources direction includes the proper choice, installing and managerial of it in fabricating will give impact on the production procedure, energy ingestion and even cut down the pollution. Manufacturer nonsubjective towards sustainable fabrication is maximise the production while minimise the use of stuff and energy resources because the monetary value of the stuff and energy had increased due to consuming of stuffs and non-renewable resources ( Leahu S. , 2012 ) . The demand for merchandise that non environmental friendly should besides be minimize. Stakeholders plays of import function as going external forces for the manufacturer or maker towards bring forthing or utilizing merchandise or stuff which require less energy to bring forth ( Leahu S. , 2012 ) . Factors contribute the consciousness of stakeholders to pull off the fabrication efficiency is the pollution particularly, the planetary heating and besides the addition monetary value of the resources ( Bu nse K. , Sachs J. , and Vodicka M. , 2010 ; Ramani K. et Al, 2010 ) . Resources are defined as natural stuffs, energy resources and all operating supplies. Three methods to better the decrease of stuff and energy resources is discussed which are the resource efficiency direction, merchandise design and the value concatenation optimisation. Ida – Along – Atirah – Energy is a cardinal factor in economic development and in supplying critical services that improve quality of life where required for run intoing all of the basic demands such as nutrient and wellness, agribusiness, instruction, information, and other substructure services ( Kamaruzzaman et. Al, 2011 ) . Therefore, there have possible menaces of energy deficits, planetary heating, and clime alterations pose to society explicate why energy policies worldwide progressively concentrate on developing renewable energy ( Shun-Chung and Li-Hsing, 2011 ) . Besides, utilizing the renewable energy resources can cut down the struggles among states sing energy militias, cut down the pollution and cut down energy related to illness and deceases ( Richa et al. , 2010 ) . There have assorted types of energy resources such as biomass energy, biodiesel energy, hydropower, solar energy, weave energy and etc. These energy resources are considered as renewable and hence, sustainable over comparatively long term. Each of the renewable energy resources is briefly explain in the undermentioned subdivision.INTEGRATED PRODUCT-PROCESS-MACHINE FabricationXxxxREDUCE THE USE OF MATERIAL AND ENERGY RESOURCESManufacturers are responsible on the sum of resources consumed for production of merchandise. The duty non merely on the maker, the authorities besides play of import function by utilizing the economic instruments. The policy wedges under economic instruments is controlled by the authoritiess. Economic instruments operate by bear downing monetary value for the usage of environmental resources likewise to environmental revenue enhancement. This activity improves is decrease of resource usage to merchandise end product promote consumer to exchange from resource inducement merchandises to less resource inducements merchandises. However, maker played more of import function by bettering the resource efficiency is one method to cut down the resource ingestion.Resource Efficiency Manufacturin gEfficiency in fabrication is measured via the sum of energy ingestion ; the benefits and cost nest eggs ( Bunse K. , Sachs J. , and Vodicka M. , 2010 ) . Resources efficiency is the decrease of natural stuffs, energy and all operating supplies because these factors are interrelated and strongly interlinked. Manufacturing procedure and efficiency, merchandise design and value concatenation optimisation are three standards that give impact on fabrication efficiency.Manufacturing Process and EfficiencyThe efficiency can be improved in many countries in organisation because each section plays of import functions and affected the procedure in organisation. Thin fabrication is one construct that can better efficiency status where the organisation organizes every individual subdivision in the production by extinguishing the waste in order to bring forth merchandise good. The wastes are from human, infinite, tools or equipment, engineering, and technology clip in developing new merchandise s ( Deros et al, 2011 ) . Two big leagues ‘ countries are focus to better the resource efficiency which is the public-service corporation optimisation and value technology and stuffs be aftering methodological analysis ( Sheng T. L. , Shiuh T. J. , and Ling L.C, n.d. ) . Under public-service corporation optimisation, command the H2O evaporated and H2O discharge in chilling tower is one manner of energy and waste optimisation. Upgrading the warming, air outing and chilling systems can well take down the public-service corporation cost such as planetary energy direction multi-variable nonlinear system theoretical account ( Lv H. , Duan P. , Yao Q. , Li H. , and Yang X. , 2012 ) . Electrical system efficiency direction needs to be considered to obtain planetary electrical energy ingestion decrease. The first phase design of electric motors must dwell of a few standards which achieve the criterion and besides in good public presentation in footings of environmental sustainability. The standards must be standard to forestall inefficiency during production. Example, the EROD ( Energy decrease oriented design ) platform, which composed of several interrelated systems and tools. The EROD platform can pull off different functionalities in the procedure design which eventually to the full use the electric motors and aid cut down the energy use ( Favi C. , Germani M. , Marconi M. , and Mengoni M. , 2012 ) . Third on the H2O preservation by put ining new water-reduction equipment such as installed the closed-loop systems that enable H2O to be recycled ( Jasinowski J. J. , n.d. ; Sheng T. L. , Shiuh T. J. , and Ling L.C, n.d. ) . The value technology and stuff planning methodological analysis besides aid in bettering the fabrication efficiency. Materials System Applications and Products ( MSAP ) works by place the spreads between the stuff planning algorithm and existent stuff use. Then, model the relationship of machine use and waste coevals. This theoretical accoun t will demo the decrease of waste coevals and betterment in methodological analysis from the first planning. The theoretical account able to propose the optimum processing and transporting paths and at the same clip meets the criterion of sustainable design ( Lv H. , Duan P. , Yao Q. , Li H. , and Yang X. , 2012 ) .Merchandise DesignSustainability and merchandise design correlated as the early design determination give impact on the sustainability. Early design determination besides consequence the full merchandise ‘s life rhythm including the supply concatenation ( transit and logistic ) . Design for environment and Eco-design tools are discussed as parts of invention in the whole value concatenation merchandise ( Ramani K. et Al, 2010 ) . Design for environment. Example of design and sustainability is design for environment ( DFE ) and life rhythm appraisal ( LCA ) . Design for environment considered the consequence of the design procedure processs towards environment and th e design constituent is design towards sustainability ( Ramani K. et Al, 2010 ; Rosen M.A. and Kishawy H.A. , 2012 ) . The procedure must keep the merchandise quality, the monetary value offer and the public presentation of the procedure and besides the merchandise. Design applied scientist is hired to plan a merchandise and procedure which eco-design. Eco-design is an attack of planing a merchandise or procedure with particular consideration on the consequence to the environment during the full life rhythm. Therefore, we need eco-design tools to guarantee that our design run into the specification that the procedure is environmental friendly or can cut down the pollution. One of the eco-design tools called life rhythm appraisal ( LCA ) . LCA is used to analyse the all stages of merchandise life to see the environmental public presentation of procedures and systems. LCA consist of for stairss get downing with the end and range definition, analysis of the stock list appraisal on the impact and informations reading. LCA measured the energy and resources ingestion. ISO 14040:2006 explained about the LCA ; the rules and the model. Figure Thirty shows the stairss for placing environmental impact in LCA. Figure Thirty: Measure for Identifying Environmental Impact ( Ramani K. et Al, 2010 )Value Chain OptimizationValue concatenation procedure is the complicated path in fabrication or organisation for resource efficiency. However, good planned concatenation direction will honor a batch to the environment and economic nest eggs. The value concatenation optimisation is examined the primary energy needed of the pre-production resources, the nursery gas emanation as CO2 equivalent, the direction of the material resources and besides all the energetic resources. This encourage the overall procedure efficiency and sustainability. The model of value-based public presentation covered the investing, operation and fiscal.Better THE ENERGY-EFFICIENCY BY ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMGlobal heating, lifting energy monetary values, and clients ‘ increasing ecological consciousness have pushed energy efficient fabrication to the top of the docket among authoritiess and fabrication companies. Governme nts and companies are both endeavoring to place the most effectual steps to increase energy efficiency in fabrication procedures. Katharina et Al. ( 2010 ) stated that, the fabrication industry, with its 31 % of primary energy usage and 36 % of C dioxide ( CO2 ) emanations, is one of the chief consumers of energy every bit good as one of the largest emitters of CO2.The European Commission ( EC ) estimates that an energy salvaging possible for the fabrication sector of 25 % could be realized by steps such as implementing energy efficient motors, fans and lightings ( EC, 2006b ) . Katharina et Al. ( 2010 ) once more explained that from the fabricating companies ‘ point of position, there are three of import drivers to present energy efficiency betterments. The first manner is by raising the energy monetary values. Rising monetary value for oil and gas monetary values every bit good as other fossil fuels like coal due to scarceness of the specific resources leads to the minimisation of energy ingestion and more of import for fabricating companies. ) . Resource monetary values can be expected to lift continuously in coming old ages ( Berger, 2009 ) due to lifting energy monetary values and the associated rise production costs for steel, chemicals, etc. , doing an addition in other buying costs every bit good. Other than that, energy efficiency betterment can be introduced by new environmental ordinances with their associated costs for CO2 emanations. As the fabrication sector is responsible for about one tierce of planetary CO2 emanations, different policy enterprises and market-oriented ordinances like revenue enhancements, subsidies, tradable emanation licenses, and green certifications were introduced in several states. Companies that improve their energy efficiency and accordingly their C footmark can better their place to face challenges and costs ensuing from current and future CO2 ordinances. Apart from that, altering buying behaviour among the clients with respect to ‘green ‘ and energy efficient merchandises and services besides can be an alternate in presenting the energy efficiency betterment. Companies and end users regard energy efficiency in the usage stage of a merchandise as an of import standard for their buying determinations. Though consumers might non yet pay attending to energy efficiency in the production stage, energy efficient fabrication can be a major factor to cut down the entire environmental impact of a merchandise. As energy efficient fabrication can hold a important impact on the environment al public presentation of a merchandise, it can go a important driver for fight. The above mentioned drivers make energy efficiency an of import pillar lending to all three facets ( ternary underside line ) that are considered in sustainable fabrication models ( see Fig. # ) . Examples in the literature and in the universe of pattern show that although the fabrication sector has made uninterrupted betterment in energy efficiency, economically good energy efficiency potency is non yet exploited. Few documents identified the grounds why the executions of energy efficiency betterment steps are really low among the companies and they are: Decisions based on payback periods alternatively of involvement rate computations Low capital, a low precedence given to energy efficiency by the direction deficiency of information or â€Å" difficult-to-measure constituents † of energy investings ( such as dealing or monitoring costs ) Fig. # . Contribution of energy efficiency to the three chief facets of sustainable fabrication ( ) . Several surveies have besides identified a low position of energy direction as a barrier to energy efficiency. Energy direction can be good for industrial companies for economic, environmental or social grounds. The criterions ISO 50001 and EN 16001 specify some of import demands for direction systems such as the scene of marks and aims and the measuring of energy ingestion. The Implementation of an energy direction can be an alternate to cut down energy ingestion and the related CO2 emanations. Within the model of energy direction the integrating of energy efficiency into production direction is one of import lever to heighten production systems towards energy efficiency as it may be the footing for successfully implementing energy efficiency betterment steps. The term ‘management ‘ can be defined as â€Å" the maps of planning, forming, and commanding the transmutation procedure and its public-service corporation in supplying a good or service to clients † . Some research workers define ‘energy direction ‘ as using â€Å" to resources every bit good as to the supply, transition and use of energy. Basically it involves monitoring, mensurating, entering, analysing, critically analyzing, commanding and airting energy and stuff flows through systems so that least power is expended to accomplish worthwhile purposes † . In Katharina et Al. ( 2010 ) paper, they defined ‘energy direction in production ‘ as including control, monitoring, and betterment activities for energy efficiency. Energy efficiency public presentation has to be considered at the same time with other of import public presentation countries of industrial companies, such as cost, flexibleness, bringing clip, and quality. The first measure for measuring and implementing betterment steps is mensurating and commanding the energy efficiency in production procedures. The determinations can be made with relevant information on impacts of energy public presentation ensuing from production planning and concern determinations, by set uping production information systems towards energy efficiency. The mensurating system can be done by utilizing Key Performance Indicators ( KPI ) . The development and application of energy efficiency indexs depend on the intent for which they will be applied. Other than that, is to utilize the benchmarking system to mensurate the energy efficiency during the production procedure. However, benchmarking for energy efficiency indexs may be implemented for specific industry sectors and on state degrees, but for works and procedure degree merely few indexs for benchmarking exist. Energy efficiency monitoring, benchmarks, and audits are of import for energy direction, as they enable determination shapers to place betterment chances and to maintain path of the effects of their determinations on energy usage. Monitoring and analysis of the energy ingestion of machines and support and fabrication procedures is a measure towards increasing energy efficiency. Insufficient monitoring may ensue in companies non being cognizant of their possible for profitable energy investings. Furthermore, direction system criterions taking at increasing the environmental public presentation and the energy efficiency of a company by bettering the organisation processes exist. This standardisation increases the transparence of companies ‘ procedures and stakeholders can more easy measure the committedness of a company for bettering its environmental public presentation. Apart from that, this criterion besides provides a model for energy-saving activities and counsel for practical actions for energy director can be found.REUSING AND RECOVERING ENERGY IMPLEMENTED IN PRODUCTION SYSTEMThirtyExploitation RENEWABLE RESOURCESBiomass EnergyBiomass energy refers to the energy of biological system such as wood and waste that shops sunlight in the signifier of chemical energy ( Sunday, 2012 ) . The chief usage of this biomass energy in developing states including Malaysia is every bit firewood for cookery and warming. Because of Malaysia is a tropical state that has first-class conditions so that it can guarantee the good in turning status of high biomass energy resources. Therefore, in Malaysia, the Nation Energy Policy has established the importance of Renewable Energy beginnings and highlighted the focal point on the renewable and environmental preservation. Nowadays, states more interested in the turning in biomass energy that will lend to the decrease of poorness in developing states, increase the sustainable energy supply and cut down the emanation of C dioxide. ( Ying et al. , 2011 ) Biomass is one of the oldest and simplest manner to utilizing the energy by burning procedure to bring forth the electricity and heat ( Amine, 2011 ) . Therefore, biomass is considered to be one of the chief renewable energy resources of the hereafter due to its big potency for economic viability and assorted societal and environmental benefits.Solar EnergySolar energy is the most promising of the renewable energy beginnings in position of its evident illimitable potenc y. The Sun radiates its energy at the rate of about 3.8 A-1023 kilowatts per second. Most of this energy is transmitted radially as electromagnetic radiation which comes to about 1.5kW/m2 at the boundary of the ambiance. After tracking the ambiance, a square meter of the Earth ‘s surface can have every bit much as 1 kilowatt of solar power, averaging to about 0.5 over all hours of daytime ( Sunday, 2012 ) . In malice of high potency, solar energy engineerings are non now widely used, except for flat-plate solar aggregators for domestic hot H2O production in the coastal parts. ( Kamil, 2002 ) . In Malaysia, the most solar power are used for domestic degree merely such as hot H2O system, H2O pumping and drying of agricultural green goods ( Tick et al. , 2010 ) .Wind energyWind power is the transition of air current energy into more utile signifiers, normally electricity utilizing air current turbines. Harmonizing to Betz ‘s jurisprudence, wind turbine can take advantage of up to 60 % of the power of the air current. Nevertheless, in pattern, their efficiency is about 40 % for rather high air current velocities. The remainder of the energy denseness of the air current non gettable is exergy loss. This exergy loss appears chiefly as heat ( Arif, 2008 ) .The use of this energy is still in the early phase because of the deficiency of fiscal option. However, in Malaysia, air current energy transition is a serious consideration that the potency of this energy is depends on the handiness of air current resource that varies with location. Therefore to develop the undertaking of air current energy, the natural air current at the site shall understand clearly ( Tick et al. , 2010 ) . The air current sector showed impressive growing rates in the twelvemonth 2009 possibly due to an addition in consciousness of the importance of air current energy and its economic, societal and environmental benefits ( Kamaruzzaman et al. , 2011 ) .Hydro powerHydropower is the lo ne renewable energy engineering that is commercially feasible on a big graduated table in Malaysia. Furthermore, hydropower dikes can and hold made of import and important parts to human development which is a renewable energy beginning and produces negligible sums of nursery gases. In long term, it shops big sums of electricity at low cost and it can be adjusted to run into consumer demand. Furthermore, hydro dikes are multipurpose and are built chiefly for social-economic development like irrigation, H2O supply, inundation control, electric power and betterment of pilotage ( Ong et al. , 2011 ) . Hydroelectricity contributes about 2.8 % ( 2000 MW ) of Malaysia ‘s entire electricity demands and supplying 6 % of universe energy supply. Tenaga Nasional Berhad operates three hydroelectric strategies in Peninsular which are Sungai Perak, Terengganu and Cameron Highland with an installed generating capacity of 1911 MW ( Tick et al. , 2010 ) . Presently, the biggest hydropower unde rtaking in Malaysia and largest dike in South-east is the on-going Bakun hydropower undertaking holding a capacity of 2400 MW, located at Sarawak and it is emission free which has no impact on planetary heating. This Bakun hydropower will function the electricity to the peninsular of Malaysia through the undersea cables that will be ready on 2015 for first stage overseas telegrams and 2017 for the 2nd stage ( Shafie et al. 2011 ) .DecisionIba – Ema – Ida – Along – Atirah –Recognitionsthirty

Biologics PRODUCTION AND MARKET Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Biologics PRODUCTION AND MARKET - Essay Example epresent a significant proportion of the pharmaceutical market according to Aagaard, Purdy, and Philpott (2010) who cite that in 2007 American consumers reportedly spent approximately $40 billion on biologics constituting about 13.9 percent of the overall money spent on prescription drugs. The statistics further show an increase in the use and prescription of biologics in the coming years. Visiongain, an international company, predicted that the market share of the biologics would immensely increase over these years. According to the statistical data, these biologics will reach an estimated 178.4 billion by 2017. It was also found that biologics formed 15% of the pharmaceutical market in the year 2012 (Visiongain, 2013). Another report put forward by Allied Market Research also found out that the market of biologics would increase drastically over the years to come. According to Allied Market Research, it is estimated that the share would increase from a total of $1.3 billion in 2013 to $35 billion by the year 2020. This clearly shows that the demand for biologics will keep on increasing as time is passing by (Market Watch, 2015). According to the forecasts, this has increased from $46 billion to $169 billion in the year of 2012 and is further expected to increase to $221 billion by 2017. Following is the graphical data which shows the forecast of biologics between th e years of 2004 till 2017. However despite the success of biologics in the field of healthcare, there has been much debate regarding the approval of and patenting of the relevant technology. Biologics go through a fast track approval process which greatly speeds the process. Much of the criticism pertaining to fast track approval procedure for biologics focuses on safety concerns which are ignored during the fast process. According to the FDA (2011), the fast track procedure is to allow for speedy approval of biologics for treatment of life-threatening diseases and hence is required due to necessity.

Labor Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Labor Economy - Essay Example The economic meltdown experienced in the US affected the labor market significantly leading to a notable change (Conrad, 2005). Therefore, economist should find ways to recover the affected labor market in their endeavors. Labor market in the US had somehow a balanced equilibrium in terms of employment before the crisis. Analysts in America noted a relatively low rate of unemployment at 3.9 percent in January 2001. Nevertheless, due to crisis and financial issues, unemployment lost dynamism and increased. The rate of layoff spiked with crisis while the rate of hiring fell down considerably. In March 2005, the official rate of unemployment in the US reached 5.2 percent. It represented 13.6 million people in America who were unemployed, part-time workers out of economic necessity, or had lost courage to look for jobs. This resulted due to recession and crisis surrounding September 11, 2001 (Conrad, 2005). The rate of labor force participation in United States exhibited a funny trend before and after the crisis. Before the crisis, the rate of labor force participation increased due to continuous entry of women into the labor market. After crisis, they contributed to 66 percent of labor force in 2005 while rate of labor force participation in men declined to 73 percent. Scholars argue that, rate of labor force participation increased due to high entry of women who had accurately planned their future and were able to venture and compete in the labor market (Jacobsen, 2004). Before the crisis, United States minimum wage remained constant at $ 5.35 per hour but this varied from one county to another. The Congress gave counties power to set minimum wage above federal level. As a result, the counties set an hourly minimum wage. During and after crisis, pursuant of fair labor standards broke the record when they set a constant minimum wage of $5.15 per hour (McDonald, 2007). Living standards in United States are high with high per capita income but less

Role of Leadership in Managing Quality Research Paper

Role of Leadership in Managing Quality - Research Paper Example Moreover leaders establish a particular direction for their followers which allow them in managing the internal environment of the organization, business, school, institute, nation etc. Once the adherents follow guidance provided by their leader efficiently they can ultimately achieve their targeted goals, aims and objectives in an organized manner. Hence it is clearly evident that quality can easily be maintained with good leadership on any stage or medium as it is the excellence of leaders who are able to set objectives efficiently and assist their followers in implementing those objectives within specified time limits (tribehr.com, 2012). In Big Organization Considering the role of leaders in big organization it is found that leaders are proactive and lead their employees through providing example. The employees follow such instances after being inspired by the charismatic leadership of their leader rather than having a sense of dictatorship. A good leader is one who leads in a ma nner which is depicted through implementation and then leading through actions as opposed to simply dictating their rules and actions without exemplifying any real instances. Leaders recognize and act in response to the variation of the external environment and completely understand the ups and downs of the changing external environment. They are then able to communicate the right direction to their followers for attaining quality in work. The role of leadership in a big organization is to comprehend the requirements of every stakeholder such as clients, owners, suppliers, working staff, general public and any other concerned associate of the business. Every stakeholder formulates the significant part of the quality management process hence they all combine to have an effect on organization’s success. It is the quality of good leadership to induce ethical values throughout their organization which can be achieved through organization’s mission statement or they can the mselves become role models for inspiring their employees for becoming a strategic part of quality management initiative (lennoxhill.co.uk, 2011). True leadership has the ability to equip their employees with the essential resources and struggle to fulfil their duty with sincerity and accountability. The entire organization can be motivated by true leaders for fulfilling their duties and get everyone involved in the process of quality management. It is essential at this stage that leaders must inspire and recognize the contributions and efforts made by employees at all levels which will further instigate a sense of accountability amongst employees and will inspire them in attaining more results and they will voluntarily involve more in quality management procedures. This entire process is dependent on the inputs from both sides whether it is the leader or it is the company’s workforce (Ovretveit, 2005). In Educational Institution The educational field has also changed consider ably in a manner that education administration is now treated more towards the scope of educational management which is now further improvised and transformed into educational leadership. This example is clearly evident from the ceremony held in 2000 having the inauguration of the National College for School Leadership in England. The expression ‘instructional leadership’ is basically derived from North America and it has been superseded in England and all around the world by the concept of ‘learning centred leadership’. It has become a requirement for educational leaders and managers to focus all their efforts more towards the quality management of their educational institution for competing with the other leading

Case Study of Pepsico-2009 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Of Pepsico-2009 - Case Study Example The two key threats facing Pepsico may be seen as the considerable level of competition from key players in the market such as Coca-Cola and Kraft who both have large resources and capabilities to compete. In addition, the continuing economic downturn may be seen as a key threat to the company. Pepsico’s key weakness may be seen as one related to the company’s cost management system. While the company is financially strong, it has struggled to maintain costs proportionate to sales growth. Market Focus – In the first instance Pepsico should continue and accelerate a policy of expanding its core product range into new markets were there is considerable potential for sales growth. Such markets include China, the Middle East and Africa. Product Portfolio Analysis – It has become clear that there has been a large change in demand on the behalf of consumers in the US and Europe with declining sales in traditional carbonated drinks and rise in demand for healthier options. As such, in these geographic areas Pepsico should focus energies into developing and marketing a range of alternatives to the tradito9nal carbonated drink and develop a clear healthy brand. Cost Reductions – While the company is considerably profitable and has a strong balance sheet, costs have been rising disproportionately to sales growth. As such, Pepsico should embark on planed cost efficiency drive to help being expenses back into line with sales growth and maintain profit margins. The rational for undertaking the recommended action plan is based upon the consideration of a number of key factors. Changes to the product mix in the US and Europe are designed to take account of changes in consumer demands for healthier products. On the other hand, key opportunities exist for large scale expansion in markets such as China where there is

The closing of the Muslim mind Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The closing of the Muslim mind - Essay Example In Reilly's view, the success of this school over others in the ninth and tenth centuries lead to the decline of reason and therefore the closing of the Muslim mind. The consequences are drastic, but Reilly believes that, now that the problem has been diagnosed, it is possible to make fundamental changes in the Middle East by promoting different interpretations of Islam, embracing reason both in life and in theology, and essentially embarking on Aquinas' mission to unite reason and faith (197-207). Reilly refers frequently to the â€Å"dehellenization† of Sunni Islam in specific and Islam in general (11-40; 119-127). Initially, as Islam expanded, it was largely tribal, warlike and violent. This was due to the character of the region prior to Mohammed, of course: In many fundamental ways, Mohammed was a progressive reformer. Nonetheless, as a non-status quo power expanding outwards, Islam felt little need to absorb other cultures, until it started to find cultures and groups cl early superior in technological and military might. â€Å"Islam encountered Greek thought in its new Byzantine and Sassanid possessions. Exactly how these early Hellenic influences reached into Islam is a matter of some conjecture. What is clear is that huge areas of what had been the Byzantine Empire were largely Christian, and in them Greek philosophical notions had long been employed in Christian apologetics. There were also centers of Hellenistic learning in Alexandria (which moved to Antioch, Syria, around A.D. 718) and Gondeshakpur, northeast of Basra, Iraq† (23-27). As Muslims expanded, they encountered resistance, both theological and physical. As an outcome of the physical resistance, they got Greek books and knowledge; as an outcome of the theological resistance, Muslim scholars became versed in Christian ideology, Greek and Latin as languages, and became far more erudite (27-35). The consequence of this Hellenization was the emergence of the Mu'ztalite interpretati on of Sunni Islam (41-58). Greek thought in its classical form emphasized the role of reason over the passions, the rigorous use of logic, questioning authority, engaging in experimental analysis of the world, and using dialectical modes of reasoning and questioning to arrive at the truth from multiple perspectives. The synthesis of Greek and Muslim thought produced a period that Reilly waxes poetic over in Chapter Two, a period of learning during which Islam was the cradle of civilization alongside the Byzantines pitted against a horribly backward and ignorant Christian Europe. The Mu'ztalites viewed Man as free: The Koran (40:40) says, â€Å"Whosoever does an evil deed shall be recompensed only with the like of it, but whosoever does a righteous deed, be it male or female, believing shall enter Paradise, therein provided without reckoning†, alongside many other verses which establish that men are to think for themselves, which Mu'ztalites used to argue indicated that men we re supposed to be freely determine for themselves right and wrong, to create and inquire (35-40). But it was not to last. Political struggles determined the fate of Mu'ztalite interp

Change and continuity in contemporary business Essay

Change and continuity in contemporary business - Essay Example While the individuals working for the company in different locations are likely to come from different cultures, and ethical, just and fair culture of the company itself can only be established with good HR policies and effective HR management (Hollinshead and Leat, 1995). In the simplest terms and as reported by Baldwin (2007) individuals around the world as well as those in industrialised nations are seeking justice for all concerned parties. On the other hand, the business objective for globalisation and the use of techniques such as outsourcing of production or development work is intrinsically linked to the practice of getting maximum value from human assets which are distributed across the world working under the umbrella of a single company (Ozbilgin, 2005). Historically, the differences between those who seek justice for workers and those who are used to exploiting cheaper labour across the world will sooner or later face a clash (Faulkner, D. 2002). This clash can be called a culture clash between corporate needs and the humanistic approach taken by those who support the idea of international development. The cultural differences were largely ignored and it was thought that the culture of the country where business was being done would prevail while the culture of the country where the parent company was located would not matter as much (Kamoche, 1996). However, recent evaluations have shown that culture conflicts might need to be actively countered and could even be used to motivate workers around the world rather than put them in conflict (Bartlett & Ghoshal, 1998). The primary basis for this cultural clash, which is important for managers to understand, is the difference in the standard of living to which people in developed as well as developing nations may be used to (Block, 1999). Workers in Britain as well as many other western countries tend to place great value on their leisure time and have enjoyed a relatively high

Ratio Analysis- discuss comparative risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ratio Analysis- discuss comparative risk - Essay Example It remains around 30 for all these years (except 2009) which is a good sign for the company. As far as interest risk ratio for 1-year gap is concerned, it is also stable (except 2009) around 32. It means that the company will not fear from its interest rate risk as it is not increasing consistently. The capital adequacy risk appears to be fair enough to cover unforeseen losses and obligations of the bank towards the investors. For the five years, the ratio is almost constant (except for 2010) which means that the risk for being unable to discharge its obligations is not increasing showing a positive sign for the company (Exhibit 4). Comparing the ratios of PNC limited with its peer group, it seems quite clear that the company’s performance is better than the peer group with respect to credit risk ratio, interest risk ratio (both 1-year and 3-year gap) and capital adequacy ratio. However, PNC requires working with its liquidity ratio to have an advantage over its peer group. PNC needs to improve its liquidity ratio to have complete advantage over its peer. For this purpose PNC will have to adopt some measures to recollect the amounts lent to those who appear to be bad debts. Further, the company needs to take steps to collect cash amounts in lieu of interest on loan expanded by it to customers. The company should also withdraw some of its less earning investments. Further, PNC should revise its policy for its current regular interest paying customers to urge them pay as soon as possible. All these steps will enable the company to increase its liquidity and hence will be able to avoid any liquidity risk arising in the near future

The Influence of Society Essay Example for Free

The Influence of Society Essay Without society we don’t have some form of structure to keep us from overcoming selfishness. In the novel Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley and Macbeth by William Shakespeare, the obsession for power and knowledge is well brought forth in the characters of the text. In the beginning Macbeth and Victor Frankenstein are well respected. Then, the two characters remove themselves from society causing their great obsessions to over-power them, in which they lose control. Macbeth and Frankenstein lose their original reputations when they remove themselves from society and their own identities become consumed by an obsession for power. Both Macbeth and Frankenstein are originally well-respected members of their community. Macbeth is a loyal friend to the king and was known for his bravery in fighting. â€Å"Conduct me to mine host. We love him highly/ and shall continue our graces towards him. †(I. V. 30-31). Duncan is saying how he thinks very highly of Macbeth and favors him, proving Macbeth’s honorable reputation. Victor Frankenstein is a well-known man for his knowledge and understanding in the sciences. Curiosity, earnest research to learn the hidden laws of nature, gladness akin to rapture, as they were unfolded to me, are among the earliest sensations I can remember. (Shelley 31). Frankenstein’s reputation was based on his fascination for science and his commitment to it. Macbeth and Victor Frankenstein were both well known in their communities and highly thought of. Soon both Macbeth and Victor lose the connection they have to society by removing themselves from it so they can focus on their individual goals. Macbeth unconsciously slowly starts to remove himself from society when his desire for ultimate power takes over as he decides he will stop at nothing to be in control and become king. â€Å"The prince of Cumberland! That is a step/on which I must fall down, or else oerleap,/for in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;/let not light see my black and deep desires. /The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be/Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see. †(I. IV. 50-55). Macbeth is at the point where he starts to remove himself from society and is becoming consumed with his obsession of being king and having power. Frankenstein’s love for science turns into an obsession when he gets to the point where he attempts to play god. After days and nights of incredible labour and fatigue, I succeeded in discovering the cause of generation and life; nay, more, I became myself capable of bestowing animation upon lifeless matter. (Shelley 30). Frankenstein has cut himself out from the world and is consumed in his obsession to give life. Macbeth and Frankenstein seclude themselves from society because of Macbeth’s obsession for power and to have control, and Frankenstein’s obsession to be god and create life to prove his knowledge. Both Macbeth and Frankenstein ev entually lose their identities in society when they give in to their obsessions for power. Macbeth loses his identity after giving into his obsession of being king and killing Duncan and Banquo. â€Å"Prithee, see there! Behold! Look! Lo! How say you? /Why, what care I? If thou canst nod, speak too. /if charnel houses and our graves must send/those that we bury back, our monuments/shall be the maws of kites. †(III. iv. 72-76). Macbeth has officially lost his identity when he sees Banquo’s ghost and starts acting crazy infront of his guests and they are starting to question if Macbeth is guilty for Duncan’s death. Victor Frankenstein has a loss of identity when he becomes a mad scientist and digs up graves for corpse, sew pieces together, and then brought the results to life. )We can see how a person who lives within a society, interacting on a regular basis with others, tends to follow and respect the standards, morals and cultural traditions of their society. When a person removes themselves from society because they have become obsessed with singular or private pursuit, and that obsession is greater than everything and everyone else in their life, they can become very selfish, self-cent ered, self-serving, and in the case of Frankenstein and Macbeth, evil. In the case of Frankenstein, he came from a loving family, who supported him and was a good man until he became obsessed with creating a monster and isolated himself from his family and others as he built his monster. In the end Frankenstein realizes that he has disrupted the balance of nature and confesses to it: â€Å"How dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to be greater than his nature will allow. †(Shelley, 87). In the case of Macbeth, he had a pretty good life. He had a good marriage and was good friends with the king, until he became obsessed with being king and ruined his marriage and his life. Macbeth and Frankenstein obsession for power results in the removal from society, which makes them lose their original reputation. The two characters go from having a good reputation in society to being consumed by their obsessions for power of control and power of giving and creating life. This caused Macbeth and Frankenstein to lose their identities.

Encryptions Essay Example for Free

Encryptions Essay In this report I have discussed that the encryption technology is necessary for citizens to protect their privacy and security when using computer networks. Otherwise, medical records, credit card numbers, trade secrets, as well as personal communications relayed over computer networks are not safe from prying eyes. Also I have presented an arguments in favor of encryption that it offers a method of denying access to adversaries, improves security by protecting against spoofing, offers a device for recovering costs plus imposing fees and protects private DGPS providers from government competition. Furthermore I have also explained some arguments against encryption that to put into practice it would potentially weaken U. S. leadership in GPS by encouraging international augmentations that lacked encryption, need a multifaceted key management infrastructure, need a major redesign and development endeavor, causing delays and escalating costs to the government, make innovative safety risks if the key management system failed, mainly in an emergency. Thus the transaction costs imposed by encryption would have to be balanced against the benefits expected. Introduction Encryption software enciphers data sent over computer networks, in order that merely people with special information for instance a secret key can read the plaintext of the message. The key is a string of numbers. The longer the string, the harder it is to break. In January 2000 the Department of Commerce announced new encryption export policy. Under the new system, U. S. companies may export any encryption product around the world to private-sector end users or commercial firms after a one-time technical review. Encryption products that the Bureau of Export Administration (BXA) determines fall into the category of â€Å"retail encryption commodities and software† can be exported to anyone. In determining which products fit the meaning, the BXA will think about the products function, sales volume, plus distribution methods. Publicly available source code may be exported with no technical review. The relaxation of export controls on products planned for e-commerce merchants, financial institutions, and others is a step in the right direction. However problems remain. First, the â€Å"publicly available† or â€Å"sales volume† tests doom U. S. companies to lag behind foreign cryptographers in offering innovative encryption products. No pioneer product is so far â€Å"publicly available† or has a large sales volume. The revised encryption rules therefore still permit foreign cryptographers to take the lead in developing new crypto products. Second, any encryption products have to be submitted for a technical review before release. This means that encryption will not be built into most mass-market products. For instance, it would make sense to construct an encryption option into a standard e-mail program. However, building encryption into an e-mail program would mean that the e-mail program could not be exported without a long, uncertain technical review. To stay away from the technical review, companies are probable to leave out the encryption function. Network security will carry on to suffer for the reason that encryption will not be built into mass-market products like e-mail or word processing programs. Third, the condition that encryption products be submitted for review before release violates the First Amendment. In April 2000 the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals established that encryption source code is speech protected by the First Amendment. The obligation that encryption products be reviewed prior to release is a â€Å"prior restraint† on speech. Those problems with encryption export controls are extensively recognized. The alternatives to the controls, though, have barely been examined, with the exception of â€Å"key escrow,† or â€Å"key recovery. † Mainly, it is wrong to bar anyone from using nonescrow encryption to communicate when he has done nothing wrong. Demands for obligatory key escrow constitute an unparalleled power grab on the part of law enforcement officials. The police have always had the right, restricted by the Fourth Amendment, to intercept private communications and read them, if they could. The police have never had the right to demand that people change the language in which they communicate to make themselves easier to understand. There are further alternatives to encryption regulations for law enforcement. They comprise increased use of informants and other surveillance technologies for instance the planting of physical bugs or devices such as Tempest, which allows law enforcement to read the screen of a computer through walls or doors. Encryption export controls must be lifted without qualification. GPS-related cryptographic A GPS-related cryptographic system can be used for two reasons: denial of the signal to unauthorized users, as well as protection of the message itself to, prevent alterations or the creation of a substitute message. The former makes a vital portion of the message unavailable to non-authorized users. In military schemes preservation of a one-sided advantage may be of interest; in a commercial setting the capability to eliminate nonpaying users is essential to collect revenue. Authenticating the message through use of an encrypted signature block that may both authenticate the sender of the message and confirm the contents is consistent with application in the civil government sector, where making sure integrity of the message is significant. In a DGPS context, encryption might be inserted at one of several points in the transmission of the signal to the user. Encryption may defend the uplink in a satellite relay, the original messages to the satellite, also the command functions on the satellite. Or encryption might protect the signature region of a message that points out its authenticity and the integrity of the main message payload. A third option might be to encrypt the complete message. Other variants comprise encrypting merely selective portions of the message. Throughout the hearing, there was disagreement over how multifaceted the key management infrastructure needed to be. The underlying policy question was how protected and dependable the encryption must be. As Dr. Denning put it, in any encryption, something must remain secret. (Bruce Schnier, 1994). For some proprietary algorithms, no keys need to be distributed, and this is generally adequate for commercial systems for instance cable TV and the DGPS providers. If an open algorithm is used, keys and a related key management system are required to gain international acceptance. The desired future of electronic, over-the-air rekeying is not yet here. In the case of military systems, both keys as well as classified algorithms are used. There are a number of technical approaches that might be taken to encrypting the signals for local- and wide-area DGPS applications using private-key and Public-key encryption schemes. A few schemes involve over-the-air rekeying devices to enable/disable the capability of specific units to receive messages. Other schemes involve comparatively simple authentication mechanisms that would not have to be tied to individual units and would depend on the capability to avert alteration or forging of a message. As one would think, trying to deny signals to end-users is an involved process from the point of view of managing keys and of keeping track of which unit belongs to which person or group. Nonetheless, if the goal is to permit control of the use of a signal rather than, say, prevention of reception of the signal by cutting of transmissions in a given area, then one is forced to these more elaborate schemes. (Simon Garfinkel, 1995) The objective of encryption must be decided before selecting a particular approach. If the main goal is authenticating the message and preventing false messages, there is no need to go to the expense and intricacy of a system that refutes the fundamental message by encrypting the entire message stream. If encrypting the stream in the future is desired, it may be appropriate to use a more complicated scheme as long as the possible future benefits are expected to offset related costs and possible opposition. The intricacy of denial-focused approaches plus the apparition of selectively controlling the signal will make incentives for alternative standards and systems outside of U. S. control.

The Marketing Communication Plan Marketing Essay

The Marketing Communication Plan Marketing Essay With the background information I have been given in this assignment, I have created a key objective for the health and fitness centre where I will gather a report that reviews and analyses the marketing communications activities also outlines recommendations for future communications activities. My aim at first place is to increase the number of members, I will also propose to use more personal selling to develop new accounts, this will increase the amount of trials and encourage other members to join a fitness club and be made aware of other promotions. Like many fitness clubs devote themselves to schedule a marketing plan, research shows that promoting for health club is managed by using telephone (telemarketing) Radio (radio advertising) Biz (business membership programs) Mail (direct mail and email marketing), TV (cable advertising) News (newspaper advertising), etc (Source: fitness360). These tools have been tested and proven that promotion is custom designed in particular relation with demographics region, time of the season, current members, male-female ratio and other information gathered from clubs profile before starting of the promotion. When analyzing them all together by designing multiple exposures marketing programs to achieve the campaign, Ill suggest to employ a pull up strategy, with most prospects aged between 10- 25 mostly targeting primary school, and college to offer them services that encourage students. This group has most free leisure time and most disposable income to spend on visiting a fitness club ever si nce most schools and colleges do not have the health and fitness service in their premises. This will also reinforce current members beliefs and help create loyalty which could aspire them to use a fitness club at some point in the future. Ill also suggest targeting the affordable sector of the market with a competitive pricing, including off-peak membership and low joining fees. Ill make the use of the PEST analysis to analyse external impacts on the health and fitness club that requires examining political, economic, social and technological environments. Political In the UK and worldwide government policy has potential influence to the market, specific initiatives could benefit the industry but theres also a broader push on the part of the government to try and promote healthy eating and exercise, possibly resulting in more people seeking gym membership. Early this year the government encouraged people to get fit ahead of the Olympic to come. Economic The economic factors such as utilities prices and wage rates will affect numerous aspects of any fitness club in the UK, the fitness costs will rise and members may need to prioritise their spending as cuts are made on their disposable income, especially in the prospect group. Not a lot of people are willing to spend much in the fitness club when they could on their own practice physical exercise at home, however price will be reviewed in order to well compete in the market and encourage subscribers to join a fitness club. Social Lifestyle factors such as growth in convenience foods and home entertainment have resulted in more muddy lifestyles; consumption levels of alcohol are rising which will effect gym participation and subscription. In todays celebrity cultures theres lots of pressure to looking better in the social life and have better appearance; this has influenced the levels of people who want to improve themselves such as some men that are influence to build six pact bodies to attract more females and such are also the desire of some women encourage their men not to be obese. Technological Its important that the health and fitness club have up to date machines to compete with others and satisfy the needs of the members. However I will also use technology to target the public in an effective way, text messages with special offers and online free trial vouchers and also create a page on the socials network.(source: 2.warwick) Task2. Marketing communications mix The first element of my strategy is the vision for health and fitness club, which is to ensure the quality of the fitness club, in which the communities get its service, where my goal is to maximize earnings. My mission is to create a winning strategy that is unique. Every fitness and health club plans is designed base on the personal exercise and nutrition history, past and presents events. In order to accomplish the marketing communications mix I will outline my strategy in more details and then bring forth my marketing communication mix to emphasis more on my ambition. The strategy section will be divided into discussions around objectives, message, and media. Objectives: The strategic objective will aim to provide the fitness club consumers, access to sport and exercise opportunities to the top range facilities by adopting a healthy lifestyle. A physical activity and exercise will be integrated into the curriculum wherever possible, The fitness club will work with its local partners in education and people to share information, knowledge, skills and expertise, for example with schools, Higher Education and local employers through the arrangement of work placements for students and will share good practice at national competitive sporting events. The fitness will give services to support pupils progressing from school to college a unique opportunity to consolidate good experiences or to re-engage those who have had a less positive experience. Allowing students to actively engage in recreation and extracurricular activities, including sport, when activities are discovered and adult habits are formed they will still be on the go to be familiar with the fitness centre, with a given benefit to ensure that all students have access to develop healthy and physically active. With the local customers of the fitness club, promotion will be given, such as free weekly passes to the members, allowing them to bring friends and close relatives, which could attract some new subscriber, with a discount packages to the current member that manage to bring friends, promote a fitness fair, by having an open house for the public to give free passes. Set up drop-boxes in a few public places advertising a chance to win a free 3 months membership, this will allow people to obtain contact names and numbers. Give people a call and put forward them a free 7-day pass, and have a drawing for the grand prize. Message: My message should sound making bold statements to draw the attention of people in belief of my commercial messages: organizing a public speaking and fitness group will means getting people together to motivate each other by allowing people to be aware of what we are attend to do and reminding them of our existence. However getting out and spreading words concerning the fitness club, is one way to promote fitness and organizing a fitness group is to explain in more details the importance of physical activity, therefore public speaking may be one way to get the word out to the public and sedentary friends and co-workers. To achieve this, Ill suggest the use of current staff and get them trained and have sufficient knowledge to encouraging people to subscribe, by telling their own experiences regarding the good effect since they joined the fitness club and how you got to be physically fit, they should also mention how fitness has changed their lives. Go over the benefits of phy sical fitness such as weight loss, improved self-esteem, and renewed energy. All of these could be done by demonstrating the good facilities that are there to encourage people, by joining the health centre, and why choosing to join us whiles other health centres are still there? In so doing, people will understand my overall message, where the key point is to promote exercise, consistency and offer support and encouragement, and then for sure people might now develop the need to join the health and fitness centre.( source: sales-and-marketing-for-you) Media: when hoping to bring a new product or in my case to promote a new service that will be ruining in fitness club, you need to carefully consider possible ways to promote your product. Being excited about the new services is fine but having to get the public excited about it will be the most important aspect, if the aims are to make money. However, using different mediums such as Radio, Bus, TV, public speaking, and social network are welcome (source: ehow). The key point illustrating on marketing communication mix is to create strategies and tactics goals around each stages of the sales process. As the growth of customer improve from side to side of the stages from unaware to aware, interested, evaluation and purchase, the message and communication tools, uses on every single stage needs to link into where the customers are in the journey and what sort of information will help them progress to the next stage. Specifically focusing on internet and face to face marketing in order to increase brand awareness. The adverts will show the benefits of healthy lifestyles, giving the consumer the idea about getting in shape. However: Population trends by socio economic group are an important influence on ability and prosperity to spend on fitness club membership. Consumers from the socio economic groups are the most likely to use health and fitness clubs regularly, most are light TV viewers so this medium is not an effective target, Radio is like ly to be more effective. (Source: sales-and-marketing-for-you).The use of social media has exploded in recent years as a way to raise awareness and generate free traffic. This is a very broad term which includes sites and services such as Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and many others. The main advantages of tapping into the power of social media are that it is free and that your message has the potential to go viral and reach a huge amount of people without additional effort. The negative effect in social media is how to avoid being considered a spammer. The key to successfully promote services in social media is to provide content that is worth enough, that people really want to follow and take your advice when you recommend services that they are looking the most to get, for instance a page address will be create and give some brief explanation of what we do, who we are and what are the benefits of joining us, there shall be a drop up mail for people to leave note and comme nts, consistency survey will be on the site for people to tell us what they think, where improvement could be done to still attract subscribers.( source: clickbank) Task3. Marketing communication plan The section shields the strategic day to day aspects of setting up my plan into action, where the use of my judgment and discretion on deciding how to schedule and plan activities, calculating costs and measuring progress will be outlined. The cost of the marketing will certainly play a big part in what I am intend to do. Bad sales and marketing is as a general announcement focused on no one in particular. In order to maximize a huge return profit, it is always good to approach the marketing plan with consideration and not devote a lot of money on a single marketing channel or campaign. I will instead try to shape up a range of successful publicity approaches over a time, I will also outline its cost, and how much money will I have to spend on advertising campaign? How long and how much each communication method will be balanced against the marketing communication budget. I will at first place, be concerned about the break-even point before developing any sales and marketing program, including advertising cost. I will also find out how much is each new customer and exiting customer worth to the fitness club? When observing the lifetime value of the health and fitness club subscriber, I will use approximation such as fi guring out, how long each customer stays with the fitness club, where the contract will be given for 1-3 years for the new subscribers. Once I know the number and frequency of sales I derived from the average customer, I can then use profit margin to estimate how much each customer worths to the fitness club and how many customers is needed to obtain the specific marketing campaign, in order to consider it as a success: However, focusing on 4 different medium as a starter, to promote my new services, I found that the cost for ITV 1 channel per day in Yorkshire is of  £411, the cost of Local Radio Station is of  £40 per week with 8 short spot adverts of 15 seconds per day and the cost of transport advertising is of  £159 per week ( Source: Blackboard). My message needs to reach customers, therefore the out home advertising buses will be these that are seen on high street shops and go to different places of the city, where middle and junior management of the social class are liv ing. Based on my research, I will therefore recommend 4 weeks of advertising on radio which worths  £160 a whole month , 4 week buses advertising with the cost of  £636 the month and 4 Sundays advertising on ITV 1 as most weekends, especially on Sunday people stay home and get prepare for the coming week, where they will be target on the daytime services of 11am to be aware of the services from the fitness club at the cost of  £1644, the total average budget for the advertising will be estimated at the price of  £2440 for a whole month . Personal selling: This is the most frighten as well as the most costly methods in the marketing communication process. Nevertheless, as small business we are, it also can be the most rewarding aspects of my marketing process. Just as with usual marketing, good selling practice begins and ends with the customer. My whole objective is to remind the local area about the existence of the club, inform them about the new services that will be taking place in the health centre: However, due to the huge volumes of fitness club, Well differentiate ourselves from other fitness and health centre, by determining their needs and create the best solution for customers and then persuade them to subscribe with us. Report Executive Account Statement To: Brand Spanking Agency 29/10/2012 I Daniel Kevin AMATCHA, I am please to submit my report describing on how I intend to promote the fitness and health club. The purpose of this report was to gather sufficient information to render professional opinion about advertising your health and fitness club. This assessment includes research and figures concerning the cost of the whole month budget when using the mass media to promote the fitness club: however. I have also included the PEST analysis, which is an effective way to analyse external impacts on the health and fitness club, and planned the strategic action that will be of good use for the marketing communications mix as I separated into discussions around objectives, message, and media. I have also introduced a marketing communication plan on how to work side with the marketing mix, which I have designed along with its schedule and plan activities including the cost of the advertising. You may also find underneath of my report the weekly statement budget and the chosen mediums to promote your health and fitness club for a month period. Statement of weekly budget: Weeks week 1 week 2 week 3 week 4 Total Communications Tools Radio  £40.00  £40.00  £40.00  £40.00  £160.00 ITV 1  £411.00  £411.00  £411.00  £411.00  £1,644.00 Bus  £159.00  £159.00  £159.00  £159.00  £636.00 Other costs Total  £610.00  £610.00  £610.00  £610.00  £2,440.00 If you should have any question please contact me on: [emailprotected] ID Num: 33287677 Sincerely Daniel Kevin AMATCHA Account Executive Bibliographies: Source: fitness360//>>campaign types//>> services/>> sales and promotions//>> © 2012 fitness marketing systems //>> http://www.fitness360online.com/fitness-marketing-services/on-site-membership-promotions viewed on the 24/10/12 Source: 2.warwick//>>fitnessfirst//>>pdf//>>context analysis and promotional//>>http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/alumni/services/eportfolios/bsqjfb/fitnessfirst.pdf viewed on the 17/10/12 Source: sales-and-marketing-for-you//>>marketing communication plan//>>Copyright  © 2012//>>http://www.sales-and-marketing-for-you.com/marketing-communication-plan.html viewed on the 17/10/12 Source: ehow//>>ways-promote-new-product//>>http://img.ehowcdn.com/author-avatar/studio-image/ver1.0/Content/images/store/0/5/10f337f6-807a-4881-a57c-27efbd75408f.Small.jpg by Larry Amon//>>http://www.ehow.com/way_5162681_ways-promote-new-product.html viewed on the 17/10/12 Larry Amon Larry Amon has been working in the computer field for more than 10 years and has experience writing scripts, instructional articles and political commentary. He has been published online, as well as in NRB Magazine and Delmarva Youth Family. He started a nonprofit media organization in 2000. Source clickbank//>>common ways to promote products//>>http://www.clickbank.com/help/affiliate-help/affiliate-guides/common-ways-to-promote-products/ Source: Blackboard//>>x-stream.leedsmet.ac.uk//>>http://x-stream.leedsmet.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_33250_1%26url%3D Viewed on the22/10/12 Source: myadbase//>> guide//>>advertising radio station//>>http://myadbase.com/guide_final.php?page=advertising_radio_station viewed on the 20/10/12 Source: ukbusiness//>> UK Business forums//>> Business forums//>> General business forum//>>http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=49219 viewed on the 26/10/12 Source: outdooradvertisingltd//>>Bus stop advertising//>> http://www.outdooradvertisingltd.co.uk/pages/bus-stop-advertising.php viewed on the 26/10/12 Source: sunriseradio//>> advertising//>> http://www.sunriseradio.fm/innerpage.php?rank=2 viewed on the 24/10/12

Minorities in Congress Essay -- Congress Racism Politics Essays

Minorities in Congress In forming a government for the people, by the people, and of the people, our Founding Fathers developed the idea a bi-cameral legislature. This Congress, composed of the House of Representatives and Senate, thus became known as the people’s branch of government. American children are taught in schools that anyone can be elected to Congress, so long as they meet the qualifications of the Constitution. So long as you meet the age and residency requirements you are indeed qualified to be a candidate for Congress.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If we take a more in-depth look at the composition of Congress we see a body disproportionate with its Nation. Congress has maintained a fairly homogenous make-up since its founding even into the year 2001. This conclusion raises no eye brows as both the executive and judicial branches of government have also maintained a very white, male, Protestant resemblance. However, Congress was formed for a distinct purpose: to represent the people of the United States of America. The melting pot of America’s huddled masses has been slow in placing leaders that truly represent its demographics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are a number of simple and complex reasons as to why this under-representation of minorities has occurred. Who is the real minority in Congress? This is not a simple partisan question, though it seems partisanship is a factor. An examination of the composition of the current, 107th Congress will lend greater light on where Congress stands as a representative body. A quick laundry list of the minorities in the United States being under-represented might read as such: African-Americans, Women, Black Women, Hispanics, Gays and Lesbians, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, Indians (Native Americans). All of the above groups have a unique history in struggling for greater representation. We now examine some of those histories in trying to answer why America’s Congress does not look like America’s people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While Voting Rights legislation had a great impact on changing the composition of Congress, other factors exist as barriers to minority representation in Congress. One of these is the use of single-member districts. Of great debate as to whether it is helping or hindering minority candidates is the establishment of minority districting and the use of racial gerrymandering. The question of constitutionality and these dist... ...tion has focused attention on the problems of our current system of voting. With the disproportionate amount of minorities being represented in Congress today, a change in the voting system is inevitable unless the two parties make a concerted effort to draw larger minority support and offer up minority candidates.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Political reforms other than proportional representation may prove to favor minority candidates. Those looking to narrow the gap in Congress have looked at term limits and campaign finance reform. The idea that term limits would aid minorities comes from the fact that incumbents are so much more successful in elections. While there is always a call by reformers of government to implement term limits, the probability of this occurring seems quite slim. However, campaign finance reform is making headway this year in Congress. Supporters of reform argue that it would open access to greater candidates seeking election and not just those supported by the â€Å"big money† interests or soft money backing of parties. This augmentation of viability for a candidate would enhance the chances of minorities becoming candidates, thus enabling their representation in Congress.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚