Guillermo Furniture Store

Guillermo Furniture Store For many years, Guillermo Navallez has owned and operated a small and profitable wood furniture making company in beautiful Sonora, Mexico. He has enjoyed an abundance of raw materials, low labor costs, and limited competition. This has recently changed due to a few significant events (1) new competitors from overseas, using high-tech automation manufacturing processes, resulting in exact furniture specifications at rock bottom prices and (2) Sonora, Mexico labor cost have dramatically increased due to emerging new industries and companies. Guillermo Furniture has been forced to reconsider his current business model and implement a change in strategy to remain in business and competitive (ACC561, Guillermo, 2009). Guillermo Furniture SWOT Analysis Prior to addressing the outlined questions we must understand Guillermo Furniture Store’s current; Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT). Managers use accounting information for many different types of decisions. Information uncovered in accounting provides; scorekeeping, attention directing and/or problem solving, but we first need to understand our current environment (Horngren, 2008). The first course of action for Guillermo Furniture is to have an objective SWOT analysis performed in order to have a clear picture of the company’s current position in the market and among the competition. Of course, a more detailed SWOT analysis would be needed for a more specific focus and direction. Strengths: Strengths identified during the SWOT analysis is an abundant supply of raw materials, inexpensive labor, and a market that allowed a price premium for quality. Weaknesses: The Guillermo Furniture Company was shown to be weak in manufacturing process and technology when a larger competitor started operations in direct competition. This made the company’s market position uncompetitive due to lack of manufacturing automation and labor costs. Guillermo also would like to remain independent, thus he would not benefit from the strengths of merging or having his small company acquired to facilitate growth. Opportunities: Guillermo has multiple opportunities to improve his company’s future. First, the company could expand the selection of furniture produced through new manufacturing processes. Second, the patented furniture coating product, could easily become the driving force behind Guillermo growth and competitive advantage. And finally, Guillermo could develop a new business unit division, and combine it with an investment in technology for the coating manufacturing to further improve his unique selling proposition. Threats: The Guillermo Furniture Company faces a myriad of threats. A new and large competitor that uses advanced technology and automation. Rising labor costs, declining sales due to competition, eroding margins, and declining revenues with sales losses. The current climate of mergers and acquisitions in the furniture industry is producing stronger competition with more economies of scale and leveraging of power in the marketplace. Budgets and Performance Reports The basic purpose of accounting information is to help make strategic decisions. Regardless of who is making the decisions, understanding accounting information allows for a more informed, and better decision (Horngren, 2008). Accounting reports are classified into two types; Accounting and Financial reports. Budgets and performance reports are vital information for a company that is looking to survive, compete and expand in their marketplace. Guillermo would benefit immensely by using these reports to see data trends in different business segments. For example, a performance report showing real versus budgeted sales would identify the most viable and profitable business segments in both short and long-term. Guillermo could then use these data trends to build a 5-10 year forecast for individual business segment manufacturing viability. Guillermo must evaluate each business unit taking into account fixed and variable costs associated with the fixed assets required for operation. Once this evaluation is completed, business models for revenue, costs, profit margin, and resource investment could be compared for each of the proposed business units. †¢ Manufacturing as currently in place †¢ Manufacturing with investment in new technology †¢ Broker Business Segment Product Coatings Business Segment Lastly, Guillermo could use performance reports to identify growth segments for immediate and future resource investment. He could identify declining segments and begin to diversify or limit future investment in these segments. For example, demand for moderate furniture is growing while the demand for high-end furniture is on the decline. While limiting further investments in declining segments, use them as sources of income for the higher profit margins they do produce. The proceeds from this could be re-invested in the growing market segments. Ethics and Accounting Decisions Regulation of accounting systems seeks to ensure the reliability of the information that accounts provide. â€Å"However, no regulation can be as effective in ensuring liability as holding accountants to high ethical standards† (Horngren, 2008). Organizational and individual ethics influence critical decision-making processes, with potentially negative results affecting the bottom line. Ethics are based in part on core values imparted on individuals throughout a lifetime. Each person perceives right and wrong based upon ethics and consequently his or her actions will follow these parameters. Technology also promotes organizational ethics; however, ethical and moral conflicts will increase work-related stress amongst employees. This behavior negatively influences organizational behavior. Guillermo must decide whether to transition from manufacturing to distribution, and if he does remain in manufacturing, are there potential ethical violations if he continues to broker as well. This author believes Guillermo would have the personal ethical dilemma of continuing to employ human labor from his city, or transition to a more automated production thus saving him money from his bottom line, and making the company more efficient and effective. The current economy has been shaped with bad ethical decisions in accounting practices. One only needs to look as far as Tyco, Enron and WorldCom to understand how pressure to perform and expand can corrupt a company. The bottom line for Guillermo Furniture Company will be how Guillermo responds to the competition and how his desire to remain ndependent affects his decision making process. Relevant Accounting Information and Decision Making The most relevant accounting information for Guillermo to consider would be the following examples. †¢ Short and Long-Term Demand Forecasts, Revenue Generation, Pricing, Cost, and Profit Margin for each Business Segment. †¢ ROI in months / break even when determining the ROI on New Technology Investment †¢ Compare Expected Revenue, Margins and Net Income from all three business opportunities. Forecasting demand for each segment, pricing and production costs for each opportunity †¢ Assets Management†¦. Develop a plan to support assets that are profitable, and a plan to divest the underperforming. Conclusion The Guillermo Furniture Company has enjoyed years of profitability without constructing a business dynamic plan. With the larger direct competition moving in, this has shown the weaknesses in the Guillermo Furniture Company. Guillermo must immediately change the course of direction in order to remain solvent in the current marketplace. The statistics available through accounting practices will give him the necessary tools to make both short and long-term decisions to remain a viable company in today’s global economy. References ACC 561 Course handout: Scenario: The Guillermo Furniture Store. Retrieved July 19, 2009 from the material section of the course description page. Brealey, R. ., Myers, S. . & Marcus, A. J. (2007). Fundamentals of Corporate Finance (5th ed. ). Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin. Horngren; Sundem; Stratton. (2008). Introduction to Management Accounting (14th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson / Prentice Hall.

Porter’s Fourht Force Is Bargaining Power of Buyers

Porter’s fourth force is bargaining power of buyers. Buyers are known to have high bargaining power over firms when they are very sensitive towards prices and this is the case here with Fly Emirates and other airlines in general. Buyers have too many choices to pick from when prices of a certain airline rise, because most of the times they are not keen to pay that extra amount as they believe it does not give them much value in relation to what they are paying for, or just because they feel that the flight is just a mean to take them where they want to go and any airline can do the job so they prefer to cut travelling costs. We can discuss porter’s fourth force it in the case of Emirates airlines along the following lines, the buyers’ ability to influence the prices and demand higher quality and value for the price, also their ability to trigger competition especially in a very high competitive environment like airlines industry, in many ways this ability forces airlines to bring down prices in order to compete which gives the buyers the advantage of enjoying lower prices and different promotions. Buyers have the choice between tickets or airlines that are within budget or luxurious flights like Emirates for the destination they want to travel to, it can also be referred to as bargaining leverage. Buyers also influence the Volume of purchases or in other words the number of tickets sold to a certain destination, for example to choose to travel to one country more often than another. They also have an easy access to all different offers and promotions over tickets from different airlines to various destinations which allow them to switch costs, as they choose their priorities for example better services vs. heaper tickets. Emirates airlines try to play along those lines and balance or influence buyer’s bargaining power by providing world class services that is proven to be the best, also differentiate themselves by offering a traveling experience rather than just a flight that will take buyers from one place to another, they have new highly technological airplanes, servi ce that is highly customized and personalized to match their customers need and lately they opened their own terminal which gives their clients great privileges and advantages. References: http://www. scribd. com/doc/23940023/Emirates-Porter-s-5

Business Risk of HIH Insurance Limited Free-Samples for Students

The imperfect record of the financial report is responsible for the breakdown of the company which can be a threat to the business. The non-accurate accounting report can be a major reason for the failure of the business deals. When the company becomes able to submit the proper finance report, then that will define the improvement of the business, and the development of the annual finance report can descry the decreasing material quality which can be the cause of the business risk of HIH insurance limited. According to the auditor's lack of professionals can be a cause of the business risk. The infrastructure and the policies which are responsible for the poor and unreasonable decision can be a reason of great loss and the collapse of the HIH Insurance Company that can push the business to a pick of risk. Through the explanation of the factors, it is clear that this matter is responsible for the business risks. If the development of the money power can be demonstrated correctly, then it can be noticed that the implement of the credit is highly responsible for the business failure and the sales of the assets also a reason of the business risks (Bragg, 2013). The presence of unprofessional and inefficient staffs can be a reason of great loss for the business. Often the staffs were unable to find proper clients for investment or sometimes they engulfed all the money and did not submit the amount of money to the company which is truly harmful to any company.   When the premium is collected from the clients by companies for a long time, then it required a number of efficient workers which produce the shortage of money for the company the can be a reason of the business risks. When the company faced various kinds of risks, then the collapse situation arrived. Due to the lack of proper ethical guidelines and the absence of appropriate insurance policies, the increasing budgets become fall which can be a major risk factor that is affecting the HIH at finance report level. The risks occurring in the annual finance report level is one of the factors influencing the growth of the HIH Insurance and caused business risks. To identify the investment tolerance, it is necessary to clearly describe the implementation of the factors affecting the business risks. The proper protocol of the work and the individual investment shows a stability of the accounting theory of the business. The removal of the risk factors of the HIH Insurance Company it is necessary to separate the person based licensed investment which can be critical for the growth of the business finance report (Britton and Waterston, 2013). The replacement of the assets or the sale of the properties can be a factor affecting HIH Insurance annual report level. Many legal issues between the creditors and the clients can also be changing factor oh the business risks. The company needs to recruit dedicated employees because most of the times the lack of efficient and well-experienced members can also be a significant problem for the company which affecting the annual financial report level (Christensen, Cottrell and Budd, 2016). If suddenly any client denies continuing giving their premium then that will be very much affecting the development of the enterprise. The HIH Insurance annual report level is also influenced or affected by this factor. Insufficient responses to the high pressure and management rising inadequately in the international insurance market were the primary cause of the danger of the company that is the HIH insurance. The interest of many stakeholders that affected the misguiding or false statements was in print. The financial report of the perspective company depicted significant money owing leverage and cover liabilities, the money owing means solution risk of the particular company (Weil, 2017). Now the matter is why this so much irresponsible in such a manner, the directors of act boards are the main responsible for these unjust representations of the financial statements of the company. Only they are not the responsible accountants and auditors are the same responsibility for these false tasks of the monetary declarations of the enterprise (Dauber, 2005). Responsible for this breakdown of these management companies was presented as an evil financial system, the people or group was the same responsibi lity of this initial failure of the company. The clients were facing an enormous problems or losses for this inadequate responsibility. The company was paid responsible accountable to customers for losing their inadequate amount of money.   Not only that if clients think that they can take measures responsibility for the board of directors of the management and cover their insufficient loss of amount. The management's liability to the credit pay was due to the creditors lend money to the company. The company is answerable or pays the due amounts to the suppliers and other creditors. Defendant owes the applicant on the duty of care then the negligence or careless occurs, when the defeated breaches the duty of attention when the candidate suffers an injury or damage when it occurs when the damage or injury causation by the outcome of the violation of the duty of care. In a state of affairs where a specific person owes another obligation of care, causes several damages, injury, loss to each and the particular person. The action of negligence conducted by the accountants or some auditors was responsible for the collapse of the HIH insurance company as per reports. Determination by the court signifies that the breach of the duty of care by reviewing the standard of care, to avoid some causing injuries or harm is the duty of attention is the legal compulsion (Hill, 2012). The boards of directors were the main responsibility for the failure of the company, and it can be stated as breaching the trust duty of care. Therefore, the regulatory framework is not appropriately followed by the organization HIH due to which company had to make this harsh situation. According to the law, which regulates the business system all across Australia, it is instated that this kind of act is considered as a breach in the regime of an organization and is capable of punishment (Waterston, 2006). The company is liable to answer all its customers for the negligence in their behavioral aspect and this maybe another reason for the loss of trust in this organization of the people. Legislative system of the company needed to exhume for the augmentation of the business system. That is why The HIH wants to re-hire its former members of the external audit team. The abnormal development of the organization can be justified by its time of failure. The organization faced the situation due to the enhancement of work since the structuring of a project and reforms are illogically enhanced. It is very clear from this event that the company The HIH did not abide by the regulatory framework approved by the government of Australia and for this reason the organization had to take such harsh a decision (Horngren, 2013). Quite naturally, due to such disorientations in the construction of work, the auditor has blamed for unsuitable performances regarding his duties towards the company altogether. In such a condition, where the regulatory of the government was being challenged, the company was bound to be in the worst of situations (Shim, Siegel and Shim, 2012). It was only beca use of this, that the company needs to hire its ex-employees from the audit team to make a better performance out of them, and proper construction of work can be depicted which shows the enhancement of the works done together by the company so far. In this particular matter, the primary thing that had occurred due to the alteration of the auditing team in the HIH organization is an actual detailed depiction of the amount of work done so far had been reported. The amount of work done and the exact amount of work features can be easily illustrated due to the alteration of the entire auditing team and revamp it with a new team comprising of the ex-employees (Schroeder, Clark and Cathey, 2011). Thus, this new plan of action helps in the improvement of performance and allows proper planning of the research for the further benefit of the company. This had led to the development of profits of the organization in a massive way (Horngren, 2014). Also, the gap that had occurred in the balance of the company was dissolving, and the company was emerging more like a stable structure in the work ethics. The equilibrium that was necessary to maintain as an organization was once again in the process of restoration due to this strategy. Previou sly, the old auditors had breached many of the laws in presenting the financial accounts to the legislative authorities as they have presented many faulty records that had shown incorrect profit and loss, income, expenditure and balance in the finance system of the company (Horngren, 2013). However, the introduction of the new team of auditors who were previously appointed had a fresh start and new and legalized outlook in the business strategy and financial accounting department. The government of Australia has some standard laws regarding the practical ethics of an organization. It was reported by case studies that the HIH Company had desecrated these ethical standards (Schroeder, Clark and Cathey, 2011). The Board of Directors along with the auditors had been found guilty of producing unfair financial statements. According to the government of Australia, business ethics deals with the fair and inequitable means in an organization and any illegal or discriminatory conduct regarding the financial accounting of an organization is punishable as it is a vital aspect of an organization (Jones, 2013). It is considered that any illicit means adopted to represent a faulty financial accounting is the open gate in unlawful inflow or outflow of cash, illegal representation of income, expenditure, profit and loss, assets and liabilities. The guidelines regarding running a business organization are strict and breaching any one of them is liable to be punished for an offe nse. This behavior only represented a lack of integrity and negligence in carrying out the respective duties of the Board of Directors as well as the auditors. This only led to the downfall of the HIH Company. Since the rules and regulations are only meant for the well-being of the company (Libby, Libby and Short, 2012). Hence, it was very clear that the proper image of the company was tarnished and this affected the interest of many people in the organization.   CLERP 9 and Ramsay Report provide government approved guidelines on the proper preparation of a company’s financial statements and corporate ascendancy. The CLERP 9 is responsible for providing the information on the appropriate standards in the liabilities that occurs due to breaches in the system, the independence of an auditor, compliance controls, and the accounting standards (Oppermann, 2009). The auditors are to bridge the gap between the perspective and expectation of a user on the financial statement of an organization because an accountant prepares the financial declarations of the company and gives it a real standardization. Legislation will always provide clear concepts of representing the account practices of a company, and in no ways, these can be breached. As per the government authorized rules, both the internal and external auditors are equally responsible for maintaining the proper financial statements and the correct valuation of the company, but if these lin e of action is breached in any way, then they are to be blamed for failing in eliminating the misstatements found within the financial accounting (Powers and Needles, 2012). Bragg, S. (2013).  Accounting best practices, seventh edition. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. Britton, A. and Waterston, C. (2013).  Financial accounting. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall. Christensen, T., Cottrell, D. and Budd, C. (2016).  Advanced financial accounting. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education. Dauber, N. (2005).  Generally accepted auditing standards. Mason, OH: Texere. Hill, J. (2012).  Colloidal Silver Medical Uses, Toxicology & Manufacture. Horngren, C. (2013).  Accounting. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson Australia. Horngren, C. (2013).  Financial accounting. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson Australia Group. Horngren, C. (2014).  Accounting. Toronto: Pearson Canada. Jones, M. (2013).  Accounting. Chichester: Wiley. Libby, R., Libby, P. and Short, D. (2012).  Financial accounting. Oppermann, H. (2009).  Accounting standards. Lansdowne: Juta. Powers, M. and Needles, B. (2012).  Financial accounting. [Mason]: South-Western, Cengage Learning. Schroeder, R., Clark, M. and Cathey, J. (2011).  Financial accounting theory and analysis. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Schroeder, R., Clark, M. and Cathey, J. (2011).  Financial accounting theory and analysis. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Shim, J., Siegel, J. and Shim, J. (2012).  Financial accounting. New York: McGraw-Hill. Waterston, C. (2006).  Financial Accounting. Pearson Education UK. Weil, R. (2017).  Financial accounting. [Place of publication not identified]: Cengage Learning.

Principles of Health and Social Care Practice Essay - 1

Principles of Health and Social Care Practice - Essay Example Social and healthcare professionals working within the home also need to understand that they have a sense of duty to the vulnerable people that they serve. Service users can be vulnerable because of their cultural, religious, social, economic, and state of their physical health (British Association of Social Workers 2012). The vulnerable population in need of health and social services within the care home must have their human rights protected by care givers. In some cases, a prescribed mode of treatment for a vulnerable care service user might expose him or her to harm or possible abuse of their human rights. Social and healthcare professionals at the home need to understand all the implications of the any kind of care that they devise for each and every individual at the home.   Practitioners need to check on the merits and merits of certain care procedures before adopting them for different people that need care services at the home. This process ensures that people that are b eing taken care of are not subjected to any form of abuse by care givers. A case in point can be that of a care service user that has a terminal illness like cancer. Cancer treatment involves using chemotherapy. Chemotherapy has its adverse impacts on the health a persons especially the repeated chemotherapy can accelerate the side effects of the care service. As a healthcare or social service provider at the care home, one needs to use a consultative approach to making a decision on whether certain medical procedures can be good.

Managing Change in Organisation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Managing Change in Organisation - Case Study Example On this ground no organizational changes can be made because this will inflict the taxation procedures for the countries. In order to secure the smooth work operation other changes were made in the company. It was decided by the senior management that sub divisions should be introduces in order to the customers to receive the upmost of the service. The company has structured into different teams who manage the different processes. There is a "Customer Conversion Team" for each of the taxation countries. This team handles the incoming calls from not registered customers and tries to convert them to use our services. The team also prepares all the necessary documentation in order for a tax claim to be officially sent to the tax authorities in the given country. The "Quotation Team" gives a quote to the customer, after receiving his documents so as to what tax refund he is entitled to get back. Then if the customer is satisfied the tax file is applied to the country's Tax Office. After the tax application is submitted, the file is passed to the "Filing Section". This team handles the correspondence betwee n the client and the Tax Authorities obtaining information about the progress of the tax application and updating the client. After the refund has been issued the file is passed to the "Payment Team". ... Before the introduction of this organizational change each tax country was internally managing the whole process from converting the customer to refunding the taxes to his account. The main objectives that triggered this change were: Lower rate of converted customers; Unsatisfactory customer service care, due to overload of files to one and the same representative; Inability to administer newly registered customers, because of old cases; Desire to seek highly conversion rates; Managing successful business means most of all identifying the defects in the organization and attempting to control and over them the issues. Establishing a long-lasting business strategy is also of primary importance and the goal of Taxback.com was to accumulate more customers, who will be serviced in an excellent manner. Carr (1995) remarks that to understand the organizational change both the employees and the management need to carefully guide the process of the change and to define this change within the context of the overall good of the company. This means that leaders and senior management have to substantiate their decision of a change with initial discussions and smooth transition to the new operational structures. Organizational change should not be implemented for the sake of any change. Primarily, the efforts have to be directed into improving the "performance" in the customer service care industry and increasing the resources in alluring more customers into using the service (Conner, 1993). In analyzing the organizational change that took place in Taxback.com I found several advantages: The customer service representatives were focused on one task only - to convert the customer, to provide a proper quotation, to contact the tax authorities and to obtain the payment

Meeting the Customer Needs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Meeting the Customer Needs - Essay Example ..8 The relation between the operation management and customer satisfaction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.8 Chapter 3: Understanding the gaps within the services†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...9 5 Gap Model†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..10 Chapter 4: Assessment of the customer needs (Research work)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.11 Questionnaire design†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..12 Chapter 5: Measuring the customer expectations from the survey†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..12 Recommendations†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦......17 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.18 Appendix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....19 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..22 Abstract: The market is incomplete if the customers are missing. The customers are the revenue generators for the business houses. For any business empire whether it is small or big, the primary focus is how to retain their existing customers and h ow to acquire new customers. To retain the existing customers the in-depth understanding of the customer needs is very important. ... Customer needs are the base of any business. However, the most important question is how to know the specific needs of the customers related to some specific products? The marketing research plays the vital role in this case. The survey design and the questionnaire design play the major role to identify the customer needs. Through the proper data collection and analyzing the data are the most appropriate way to find out the customer needs and to satisfy the needs accordingly. In this particular case the target organization is the McDonald’s. Introduction: Maintaining a great service quality and the product quality are all about understanding the requirements of the customers and delivering the tailor-made services to satisfy them. Understanding the customer behavior is another very important factor to be focused on. However, these are the basic rules to delivering satisfying services. The measurement of the steps taken towards the customer satisfaction is also very important. The primary and secondary data are important to support the outcome of the services related to the customer satisfaction. In regards to this research, the secondary data used are gathered from the Internet, journals and other publications in order to get basic information about the nature of the influences of the customer satisfaction. And the primary data are collected from the survey made from the sample size of 50 people selected randomly. McDonald’s has been taken as the target brand in this case. The whole paper is stratified into five chapters and each chapter has its own relevance to prove the importance of the customer satisfaction to win the customers. Chapter 1: The brief about the selected organization (McDonald’s): McDonald’s is

Strategic Management in a Global Environment ( Emirates park resort ) Case Study

Strategic Management in a Global Environment ( Emirates park resort ) - Case Study Example Their most common competitors are resorts and facilities that tend to attract tourists such as; hotels, parks, ski areas, clubs and bars that readily offer leisure activities, game parks, and zoos. As more people continue to know and get enlightened on why to invest in the Middle East and Abu Dhabi to be more precise, new, stronger, aggressive and swifter competitors come into the picture (Saxena, p48). Hence, it is a fact that the external environment of Emirates Resort Park is ever in a dynamic change. There are different definitions of corporate governance, and none of the numerous definitions seem to be sufficient and conclusive enough to define the term corporate governance. But to be sufficiently general at these matter, the term corporate governance can be thought to mean the structure, system and way of administration of an organization that determine the direction and magnitude of development of the institution and how it can achieve its future prospects. It can be thought to mean what is done by the institution’s administration in order to realize its goals. The Emirate Resort Park has a remarkable corporate governance that has helped it to grow from the small Resort it was back in the year 2004 to what it is eleven years later. Its corporate governance is ever introducing new projects and engaging them to completion. These new projects are aimed at giving its visitors or tourists a much better customer experience and also to ensure that it is ever growing to a better place for tourists and also for its workers. One of the projects was its expansion. This is done in order to have more animals in the park and increase the size of the area for the people to interact with the animals. Since it was realized that the parking area is tremendously big. The administration has considered reducing the size of the parking as they give the space to areas that demand more space. Another is the introduction of

U3 Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

U3 Discussion - Essay Example The server is then ready to send the certificate. The way it works is for the client to trust the certificate or a party that the client trusts e.g. Geo Trust. What follows is a verification process to ascertain that the server is not someone else in the middle before a key is exchanged. The cipher suite will determine whether to use a public key, nothing or a PreMasterSecret. The client and the server will consequently perform a computation on symmetric encryption (., 2013). Client to the server communication is to alert the server that the messages it will receive from the client will be encrypted and sends a message to the server that is encrypted. The server is tasked with confirming the MAC address of the client and to determine that it is correct. The latter is for authentication. The server will decrypt the message and send a message to the client for verification. Communication is completed by a close notification alert. Attackers use FIN packet to terminate a TCP connection. However both the client and the server will

Management and Information Systems Individual Portfolio Report Essay

Management and Information Systems Individual Portfolio Report - Essay Example First, the contribution of each project to the achievement of the portfolio is considered to justify the adoption of the portfolio. Secondly, the manager examines the performance effectiveness of each project in the portfolio. Thirdly, the developer of the portfolio reviews the negative impact of the project on the performance of other projects in the company (Fritz and Schiefer, 2009). Finally, the manager contemplates the dependent and independent projects in a specific portfolio. Ginsters Company operates in a demanding market due to the increased competition in the region. In addition, the company’s operation costs tend to increase because of the long distribution chain. Development of a reliable and appropriate management portfolio for the distribution channel is essential in enhancing the performance of the organisation (Mail Online, 2010). Ginsters Company produces and distributes Cornish pastry, which is in the food industry. The food industry is among the most sensitive sectors in various economies. Management of various processes in the industry requires an appropriate approach to the ethics. There are various ethical issues in the food industry (Strbac, 2008). First, the manufacturing process of the food should embrace cleanliness and health of the consumers (Laudon and Laudon, 2002). In addition, various manufacturers of food products in the world should embrace good practices in their distribution channels in order to enhance the value of the food. Second, the marketing, manufacturing and distribution of the food product are major ethical issues. In this case, the manufacturing process adheres to various ethics such as cleanliness in the systems and use of appropriate raw materials (Fritz and Schiefer, 2009). In addition, the distribution channel should uphold the freshness of the food product in order to promot e health among the consumers. Thirdly, the environment is a sensitive ethical issue in the food

Information Security Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Information Security - Research Paper Example With the increase in the use of distributed computing, mobile computing and the fast growth in the adoption of internet for business communication, there is an increased need for information security. The adoption of these technologies exposes businesses to information theft and fraud through various attacks such as phishing, DoS and virus attacks. Without security for information, a business organization stands a chance of catastrophic disruptions through downtime in business critical systems. In the event of restoring such systems a business organization incurs unnecessary and unwanted costs. (Gordon & Loeb, 2002) Violation of privacy; business needs to be able to protect both customer and employee information, failure to which can result into legal actions and penalties. Financial loss; theft of commercial information such as business plans, intellectual property or customer contracts can financially damage a business organization. Immediate financial impacts can be felt by a business in case of a computer fraud by a staff member. The penalties and fines associated with failure to protect privacy of information about its customers including its staff severely damage the reputation and credibility of the business. Information security generally stresses on the preservation of three factors associated with information; confidentially, availability and integrity among others like authorization, authentication and non repudiation. Confidentiality is information secrecy preservation; that is ensuring that such information as financial projections, technical designs and business reports are only vied by authorized personnel. Integrity ensures that information has not been manipulated or tampered with; it ensures that information can be relied upon to be accurate to its purpose. The availability aspect of information security ensures that information is accessible to the authorized persons at the required time

Nclex ; Hesi Practice Tests Essay Example for Free

Nclex ; Hesi Practice Tests Essay Denial B. Anger C. Bargaining D. Rejection 2. Which of the following matches the definition: covering up a weakness by stressing a desirable or stronger trait? A. Compensation B. Projection C. Rationalization D. Dysphoria 3. Which of the following waveforms is most commonly found with light sleepers? A. Theta B. Alpha C. Beta D. Zeta 4. Which of the following months matches with an infant first having the ability to sit-up independently? A. 4 months B. 6 months C. 8 months D. 10 months 5. Object permanence for toddlers develops in this age range? A. 5-10 months B. 10-14 months C. 12-24 months D. 15-24 months 6. Which of the following matches the definition: attributing of our own unwanted trait onto another person? A. Compensation B. Projection C. Rationalization D. Dysphoria 7. Which of the following matches the definition: the justification of behaviors using reason other than the real reason? A. Compensation B. Projection C. Rationalization D. Dysphoria 8. Which of the following matches the definition: response to severe emotion stress resulting in involuntary disturbance of physical functions? A. Conversion disorder B. Depressive reaction C. Bipolar disorder D. Alzheimers disease 9. Which of the following waveforms is most commonly found when you are awake? A. Theta B. Alpha C. Beta D. Zeta 10. The REM sleep cycle occur approximately every ____ minutes? A. 45 B. 60 C. 75 D. 90 11. Which of the following reflexes is not found at birth? A. Babinski B. Palmar C. Moro D. Flexion 12. Parallel play for toddlers develops in this age range? A. 5-10 months B. 10-14 months C. 12-24 months D. 24-48 months 13. Which of the following is not a sign of anxiety? A. Dyspnea B. Hyperventilation C. Moist mouth D. GI symptoms 14. Which of the following best describes a person that is completely awake falling asleep spontaneously? A. Cataplexy B. Narcolepsy C. Transitional sleep D. REM absence 15. Which of the following best describes a person that is unable to tell you were there hand or foot is? A. Autotopagnosia B. Cataplexy C. Ergophobia D. Anosognosia 16. Which of the following is not a characteristic of a panic disorder? A. Nausea B. Excessive perspiration C. Urination D. Chest pain 17. Which of the following categories would a 70 year old adult be placed in? A. Intimacy vs. Isolation B. Generativitiy vs. Stagnation C. Integrity vs. Despair D. Longevity vs. Guilt 18. Which of the following categories would a 60 year old adult be placed in? A. Intimacy vs. Isolation B. Generativitiy vs. Stagnation C. Integrity vs. Despair D. Longevity vs. Guilt 19. Which of the following categories would a 20 year old adult be placed in? A. Intimacy vs. Isolation B. Generativitiy vs. Stagnation C. Integrity vs. Despair D. Longevity

OMD Project Management Essay Example for Free

OMD Project Management Essay Background Information: OMD Project Management is a consultancy that provides construction project management for its clients. OMD Project Management was set up approximately eighteen months ago and has a staff of three. They have access to a large skill base, which may be called upon as required to satisfy project conditions. This helps to reduce overheads and increase profit ability. The works include the following services: * measured surveys, * Schedule of condition (report on the state of the building, identifying any areas that will incur rectification at the clients cost. * Lease appraisal (review legal documents on clients behalf) * Cost estimate of works. * Tender works to specialist contractors * Manage projects * Agree final costs of the project with contractors on behalf of client * Ensure statutory regulations are complied with (planning approvals building regulations and disabled discrimination act) Although OMD Project management is a small company it has a large client base. These vary from large multi-national companies to small private businesses. They specialise with the retail sector where they have at least twenty years of experience Problem: A current issue that the company has is invoicing. Invoicing currently can take up to an hour to complete. Invoicing is currently done by hand and on paper, this is not a very efficient way of doing this job because it takes up too much time and human error is often an issue. These errors can include charging too much or too little money. By providing an invoice system it would save the company large amounts of time an effort. It would also reduce the amount of human error and increase the accuracy of the invoice. Current Invoice System: OMD project management currently do all of their invoicing on paper. This means that the consultant will remember his hours his expenses and his hourly rate in his head and when it comes around to invoicing the client he will type all of these things up on to Microsoft word, print it off and give it to the client so the are able to pay the company. As you could gather this is a very inefficient way of invoicing the client. This can also lead to large amount of errors during the invoicing process, for example a client may be under charged or over charged. End User Skills: The main user of the document that I will create is of the older generation. He prefers to do things the old fashioned way, this means that he likes to do his invoicing on paper using a calculator and a pen and it would currently take him longer to create an invoice on the computer than it would for him to do it on paper, however he is not total computer illiterate and he is able to use most word processing and spread sheet programmes. OMD Project Management would like to me to create an invoice system that is simple yet effective so that he is able to save time by moving his invoice system onto computer and they would also like me to create a system that is able to be used by everyone in the company. Requirements: General: * The invoice must be in Lucida sans console. * The text must be black in colour * The program must be user friendly * The company logo must be at the top of the invoice * The clients address must be at the top left of the page but lower than the logo. * The invoice number should be on the left hand side of the page and below the address. * A breakdown of the invoice should be in the middle of the page just below the invoice number. * The total, in bold, will go underneath the invoice breakdown. * The company address will go at the bottom of the page. * It must look professional. Qualitative: * The program must be able to hold all of the different types of expenses. * The program must be able to hold different types of jobs. * The program must double up as an estimating system. * The program must produce an accurate invoice. * The program must hold different client addresses Quantitative: * From start to finish the invoice must only take 15 minutes. * The invoice must be able to hold 3 different types of jobs * The program must be able to hold at least 20 different client addresses Hardware and Software: There is a currently a huge amount of hardware available on the market. You can buy many different types of computer each one suitable for a different purpose, for example laptops are portable and can be taken anywhere, this can be very convenient as the user is able to do his work anywhere and also with the invention of wireless technology the user can connect to the internet anywhere that wireless internet is available. Another type of PC that is available is desktop PC. This is a PC that stays stationary. This type of PC gives you a lot more room to type etc and also has a mouse as standard, these can be permanently linked up to a printer and/or the internet. The current system that OMD Project management runs is a Compaq Presario with an Intel Pentium 4 processor. OMD Project Management feels that there is no need to purchase a new system because they feel that their current system is sufficient and suitable for the job in hand. There are many different types of software that is suitable for this project. I believe that the most appropriate is a spreadsheet package. This is because you are able to use the program to calculate lots of different things. With a bit of self teaching you are able to use the program to do lots of different processes. OMD Project Management already has Microsoft office XP installed on their system and they feel that I should use Microsoft Excel to create their invoice system. This is so that it is compatible with their system. I believe that this is a good choice as Excel is more than adequate for the task in hand. Input: Enter the job type code Enter all the things to with the amount of work done: * The number of days worked. * Enter the correct code that corresponds to the appropriate price paid per day Enter all the relevant expenses details: * The number of miles travelled and the number of nights stayed in a hotel. Enter the code for the desired client address Enter the client addresses. * Code number * Address line 1 * Address line 2 * postcode * contact number Process: Lookup the type of job according to the code and multiply the rate of pay by the number of days worked. Calculate the amount of expenses owed for travelling. Calculate the amount of expenses owed for staying in hotels. Calculate sub-total, VAT and the final total. Output: A full invoice with the amount owed for work done and the amount owed for expenses with sub-totals, VAT added and the final total at the end. It should also display the company logo, company address, company logo and the client address. It should look professional. Test Strategy: I will test my program in three different ways. I will ask my end user to use my new system and ask them to give me feedback on it so I am able to adjust it to their liking. Also I will devise tests that will be conducted during and after the implementation stage this will allow me to improve my system greatly and identify any errors that are in my system. Test Number Test Test Data Expected Outcome Actual Outcome Corrective Action 1a b c Check date Validation rule. Normal 10/08/05 Extreme 32/08/05 Erroneous 374hcbsi Will accept Data. Wont accept the date. Should not accept this As expected As expected As expected 2 Check that the formula has worked to calculate the sub-total. N/A The sum of the total money owed for work and expenses. As expected 3 Check that the formula for working out the VAT works. N/A The product of the sub-total multiplied by 17.5%. As expected 4 Check that the formula for working out the total works. N/A The sum of the sub-total and the VAT. As expected 5 a b c Check the lookup function works for the job type code number. Normal 2 Extreme 4 Erroneous 224hsdnsg It should return à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½315.00. It comes up with an error message It should come up with an error message. As expected It comes up with à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½275 which is the value for 3 As expected Put a validation rule on it so that no number higher than 3 can be entered. 6 Check that the formula for working out the total amount of money owed for work done works. N/A The product of the price paid per day and the number of days worked. As expected 7 Check that formula for calculating travel expenses works. N/A The product of the price per mile and the number of miles travelled. As expected 8 Check that formula for calculating the amount of money owed for staying in hotels. N/A The product of the price paid per night and the number of nights stayed. As expected 9 Check that formula for calculating the total expenses owed for works. N/A The sum of the amount owed for travelling and the amount owed for hotels As expected 10 Check that the summary page macro button works. N/A The button takes you to the summary page. As expected 11 Check that the breakdown page macro button works. N/A The button takes you to the breakdown page. As expected 12 Check that the job type page macro button works. N/A The button takes you to the job type page. As expected 13 Check that the client address page macro button works. N/A The button takes you to client address page As expected 14 Check that the clear invoice/summary macro button works. N/A The button clears all of the entries that are on the invoice. As expected 15 Check that clear breakdown macro button works. N/A The button will clear all of the entries that are on the summary sheet. As expected 16 Check that the back to main menu macro button on the breakdown sheet works. N/A The button will take you back to the main menu page. As expected 17 Check that the back to main menu macro button on the job type sheet works. N/A The button will take you back to the main menu page. As expected 18 a b c Check data validation for D2:D14 on breakdown sheet to allow numbers only. Normal 30 Extreme D Erroneous dn8949 The program allows entry. It shows an error message to explain that no letters are allowed. As above. As expected As expected As expected 19 a b Test the lookup function for the client addresses Normal 3 Extreme 51 Erroneous 73hdhb. It will look up the client address with that code number. It shows N/A in the cell meaning there is an error in the formula. As above. As expected It comes up with zero As expected I will put a validation rule on the cell so that it will only allow numbers below 51. 20 Check that the back to main menu macro button on the client details sheet works. N/A The button will take you back to the main menu page. As expected 21 Give the program to OMD project Management for them to test it Implementation Log 17/11/05 The first stage of my implementation was to insert two worksheets. I then renamed my worksheets for easy reference; the sheets will be named Main Menu, Summary, Breakdown, Job Type and Client Details. Here I have entered all of the column headings for the client details addresses Here I have highlighted cells A1:F51 this allows the user to enter up to 50 different addresses as stated in the requirements. I then named the table Address. Here I have entered all the data for the different types of jobs. And here I have formatted the cells to currency so that the data in these cells is displayed as a currency. I highlighted cells B2:D5 and inserted a name. The table name is now jobs. Here I have entered all of the headings for this table and I have then highlighted cells A1:F15 and named them Breakdown. Here I have entered the vlookup formula, that will lookup the different rates that correspond to the code No. entered and put them onto this sheet. As you can see the vlookup formula has worked as it has entered the rate of pay. I have also put in the formula to workout amount of money owed. I have entered the formula to calculate the amount of money owed for travelling. Here I have entered the formulae to work out the total amount of money owed for expenses and to work out the money owed for staying in hotels. I have also formatted all the cells containing monetary values to currency. As you can see here I have entered all the text onto the summary sheet. Here I have entered a validation rule to the date cell on the invoice which only allows a date to be entered in the format 00/00/00 and it must be greater than 01/01/2000. I also added my own error message to inform the user of what the need to enter. Here I have entered the vlookup formula which will lookup each part of the address that corresponds to the code and the transfer them onto this sheet. I entered the same formula for the 4 cells below but each time increasing the column index number by one. This is the formula that copies the amount of money owed for work from the breakdown sheet onto the summary sheet. This formula is the same as above except that it copies the total amount of expenses owed instead of the amount of money owed for work Here is the formula to calculate the sub-total. And here is the formula to work out the VAT to be added. And finally the formula that will work out the total amount of money owed. This is me recording the macro that will take you from the main menu page to the breakdown page. I will do the same for each macro that is used for navigation. To create the macro button I used the forms toolbar and clicked on the button icon and I drew the button. I then right clicked it and assigned the appropriate macro to it. So now whenever I click the button it will take me to the specified page. Here I am assigning the macro to the macro button. I have recorded a macro that deletes all the entries that have been entered into the invoice breakdown sheet. This macro button clears all the information, on the invoice summary page, that changes. And for the addresses it changes the code so that a line is displayed instead of the client address. I did this each time I recorded a new macro and just chose a new name for it.

Successful Corporate Diversification Strategies

Successful Corporate Diversification Strategies Study of rationale behind corporate diversification, its implication and implementation falls under the subject of Strategic Management. Strategic management deals with the long term goals of the corporation. Managers take strategic decisions to react to the changes in the market place and the competitive environment. Decision making at this level is highly unstructured and are generally considered on case by case basis. The cost of corporate diversification is very large hence managers have to make an informed decision to ensure the continued success of their business. Introduction Statement of purpose An attempt will be made to identify the factors that motivate companies to diversify. Using historical data and examples we will try to understand the different diversification strategy, companies employ. However, is it that particular set of strategy more effective than others? Is diversification more common in a particular industry sector? Should a company diversify when it is successful and have surplus wealth or should they diversify when their business is not doing well? Should all the business eventually diversify? Does diversification help companies to minimize risk? These are some of the questions that will be tacked in this final management project. Globalization has brought about new challenges and opportunities for the companies around the world. Phenomenon such increase in competition, softening of trade barriers and advancement in technology and transportation has forced companies to come up with strategies to position them on the path of sustained growth. Despite being acknowledged as an important topic, very few researches have been undertaken to explore the key drivers behind successful diversification decisions. Literature Review The idea of corporate diversification is not new, over the last few decades there have been quite many companies which have diversified its business, some succeeded while others failed. Due to the lack of any influential ideas and frameworks, it is still a puzzle for many general mangers as to what constitute a successful diversification strategy. Academic researchers have also divided themselves in two opposing schools of thought. There are some who describe corporate diversification as a value destroying practice whereas others consider it as a value creation process. According to Michael Porter (1987), diversification records of thirty three large, prestigious U.S. companies from 1950 to 1986 show that most of them had divested many more acquisitions than they had kept. Instead of creating value, it has led to dissipation of shareholder value. Establishment of business school in 1950s and 60s provided manager the necessary general management skills, basic management principles applicable to all kinds of enterprise was the prime focus. Acquisition of unrelated business and growth of conglomerates, served as an opportunity to experiment new ideas and business models. Success of U.S. conglomerates such as Textron and ITT encouraged other European and Asian companies to try out diversification strategy. However instead of applying management principles and following a process of thoughtful evaluation, emphasis was more on the acquisition of companies whose assets were worth more than their stock price. During this period, popular view suggested that managers of the large conglomerates possessed the skills to manage their extensive business operations. Effective application of key management principles like managerial accounting, rigid financial control, detailed budgets and frequent interaction amongst managers were thought to be mantra for successful diversified business. All these seem to justify the fact that diversification, if managed properly would lead to corporate success. As we approach the 70s, things started looking quite different. Stock prices of conglomerates begin to fall; in some cases it was as high as fifty percent as compared to only nine percent decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the same period. Even General Electric who pioneered in developing and using sophisticated management practices to manage their diverse portfolio encountered a period of profitless growth from 1965 to 1970. Continued trends illustrating the failure of diversified business forced conglomerates to divest and think about new ways to manage their diversity. Suddenly it was becoming very difficult to manage such diversified business. Managers were confused as to which part of their business should they concentrate. The senior managers began contemplating about on their corporate strategy. By late 1970s formal strategic planning systems and frameworks were put in place, the irony was that it was focused at business unit level and did very little to guide ma nagers handling different business. However Andrews (1980) listed identification of the businesses in which the firm would compete as the main task of corporate strategist, and this became the convention of corporate strategic management. Consulting Groups such as Boston Consulting Group came up with new techniques of portfolio planning that helped executives in allocation of resources amongst different business. Growth/Share matrix and attractiveness/business position matrix etc are still the most widely used strategic frameworks, used to assess the corporate position and opportunities in a particular business. However the problem with portfolio management was found soon. Philippe Haspeslagh (1982) found that organizational framework was an important variable explaining the corporate performance. Different kinds of business had to be managed differently and most companies were missing the right organizational mix/integration/adaptation to run their diversified business efficiently. During 1980-90s, weak performance of many conglomerates drew harsh criticism from prominent management strategists and thinkers like Michael E. Porter. In a bid to restore the faith in diversified businesses, executives turned their attention to Value based planning, motivating them use financial tools such as discounted cash flow, ROE and hurdle rates to improve the stock price and deliver the stockholder expectation. It still did not answer how managers can add value to diversified portfolio. Peters and Waterman (1982) ushered a new wave of corporate view on diversification Stick to the knitting. They observed that successful conglomerates never diversified widely. They specialized in particular sector and focused on building knowledge and skills in those areas. As we fast forward to 1990-2000s the main issues for corporate manager were organizational restructuring, identification of core portfolios and adding values in them. Three philosophies have received support in current management thinking: 1. Limit diversification to business with synergy 2. Diversification should be able to exploit the core competence 3. Build a portfolio that fit within the organizational structure and that has compatible management style at all levels. Methods The research topic will first be explored from an academics point of view, facts and data about diversified conglomerates will be collected from the business/management databases. Management frameworks will be applied to test the hypothesis whether diversification strategy is in line with current academic thinking and whether companies diversified in the right business. List of both successful and unsuccessful diversification will be considered. Websites of the companies can be used as a reliable source to collect information about their different portfolios. Attempts will be made to contact the researchers and academician, who can provide us an updated view on the current diversification scenario.

REM Sleep Behavior Disorder Essay -- Neurology Sleeping Papers

Our awareness of the complexity of sleep expanded in 1953 with the discovery of rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep by Aserinsky and Kleitman. Sleep was no longer considered a homogenous state, but rather a dynamic process of cycling between two distinct states, non-REM and REM sleep. Under normal circumstances the boundaries between non-REM, REM and wakefulness are well declared. Dissociative sleep disorders involve a breakdown of these boundaries (Mahowald and Schenck 1992), and provide a unique window on the neurophysiological mechanisms responsible for each state. Narcolepsy, a disorder of the boundary between wakefulness and REM sleep, is probably the most studied disorder of this nature. The following is a review of another recently described REM sleep boundary disorder called REM sleep behavior disorder (RBD). RBD is characterized by the acting-out of violent dreams during REM sleep, often with injurious consequences (Schenck et al. 1986, 1987). As with narcolepsy, RBD involves a d issociation of REM sleep phenomena and their underlying mechanisms, therefore providing yet another opportunity to broaden our understanding of the complexity of sleep. A brief discussion of REM sleep phenomenology is required before proceeding. REM sleep is characterized by specific phenomena that distinguish it from non-REM sleep and wakefulness (Siegel 1994). These phenomena are grouped according to whether their occurrence is tonic (occurring throughout REM) or phasic (occurring intermittently during REM). Tonic phenomena include, low-voltage desynchronized electroencephalogram (EEG), hippocampal theta rhythm, electromyographic (EMG) atonia, olfactory bulb activity, high arousal threshold, elevated brain temperature, poikilothermia, and penile ... ...REM sleep components in cats: integrity of the pedunculopontine tegmentum (PPT) is important for phasic events but unnecessary for atonia during REM sleep. Brain Res., 571 :50-63. Siegel, J. M. 1994. Brainstem mechanisms generating REM sleep. In: Kryger, M. H., Roth, T. and Dement, W. C. eds. Principles and practice of sleep medicine. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, pp. 125-144. Sugano, T., Suenaga, K., Endo, S., et al. 1980. Withdrawal delirium in a patient with nitrazepam addictio. Jpn. J: EEG EMG, 8 :34-35. Tachibana, M., Tanaka, K., Hishikawa, Y. and Kaneko, Z. 1975. A sleep study of acute psychotic states due to alcohol and meprobamate addiction. Advances in Sleep Research, 2:177-205. Wright, B. A., Rosen, J. R., Buysse, D. J. et al. 1990. Shy-Drager syndrome presenting as a REM behavioral disorder. J. Geriatric Psychiat. Neurol., 3:110-113.

American History X Essay -- essays research papers

American History X Derek & Danny’s Turning Point   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many factors contribute to decisions we make, often life changing decisions, like we see in â€Å"American History X† with brothers Danny and Derek. Both are active skinheads in Venice California, under command of Cameron Alexander a Neo-Nazi leader. Derek and Danny were not raised as racist, but when their father was killed by a black gang member, their views changed. Derek’s turning point for the better was during his time in jail. His brother is headed in the same direction, but Derek was a major influence in his racist deprogramming.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Derek is the oldest of four children, his father was killed in a drive by, by a black gang member. This along with the persuasion of Cameron Alexander, Derek and his younger brother became hardcore skinheads. It took a lot of time, but Derek’s unfortunate experiences changed his racial views. The first we see this, is during the scene where he is released from prison. After his departure from jail, his old principal, Dr. Bob Sweeny, calls him and expresses his concern about the Hitler essay Danny wrote. Derek shares the principals concern and lectures Danny about what he has written, indicating that he has changed his views. Now that we realize he has had second thoughts, Derek warns Danny not to attend Cameron’s skinhead party, despite his word, Danny goes. Derek goes to the party to find Cameron, and tell him he is done, â€Å"I am done with all that bullshit out there and all of your bullshit. I’m out.† Cameron promises to kill Derek and Derek proceeds to beat him senseless. Danny refuses to go back with Derek, so he rushes out of there, after the other skinheads hear what he has done to Cameron.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the party, Danny catches up with Derek, and Derek explains what has caused him to reconsider his racist views. This is a crucial turning point, as we start to see his life in prison. While in jail, Derek becomes friends with the Neo-Nazi prisoners, but soon became disillusioned because of the inter-racial activities between his friends and the black inmates. Despite the racial hostility, the white prisoners bought drugs from the Hispanics. A large part of Derek’s rehabilitation comes when he bonds with a black inmate Lamont, another prisoner he works with. Lamont gives Derek helpful and friend... ... the same one he had a confrontation with earlier. Derek runs in and holds his head, and says â€Å"What did I do? God, what did I do?† This is powerful, in the sense that he feels responsible for the death of his brother, after they had changed their racist views torwards blacks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The movie ends, with a powerful quote from Danny’s essay, although he is dead. â€Å"Hate is baggage. Life’s too short to be pissed off all the time. It’s just not worth it. We are not enemies, but friends.† â€Å" We must not be enemies, though passion may have strength, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic cores of memory will swell and again touch as surely they will be by the better angels of our nature.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, I believe that the movie is teaching anti-racism, as seen in the turning point of Derek and Danny Vineyard. Although the movie has shocking scenes, it is the harsh reality of what is really happening in America. The characters were very strong, and had distinct personalities. You can debate whether this is a pro-white movie, or anti-white movie, but I believe that it shows both sides, and you gain what you want from it.

Education and the Computer :: Teaching Education Essays

Education and the Computer There are many different ways to use the computer. For Elementary Education there is a great need to have computers in schools. â€Å"The use of computers, technology applications and hands-on learning enables each student to tie-in your classroom objectives and make a connection to real-world applications. This methodology gives each student equal access to a world of knowledge limited only by the imagination†. In modern school systems, almost every child is exposed to computers. They are asked to type things, access the Internet, and create projects, all using computers. These skills are important tools that can be used later on in life. Almost daily, Children are expected to type papers and other projects for their teacher. This is a good way for them to get acclimated to using a computer. They are also required to take computer classes that teach them how to type correctly. The papers and projects are a good way for students to practice their typing skills. Another thing that most Elementary schools have the children learn about is the Internet. Most children go to the library and the computer lab to do a project or a paper. The teacher usually teaches the students research techniques. These techniques are not just for looking up books, but can prove very valuable in finding other assorted information on the Internet too. Students can learn how to find a good credible source from all the useless â€Å"junk websites†. Then they can learn how to give the original author credit for their work. This is important because if they do not learn how to get the information from the computer and the library, then they will have a really hard time in Middle School and High School trying to complete research papers, and other projects. Another thing that these Elementary students need to learn is how to quickly find the answers to various questions using the Internet. For example, I was in an Elementary classroom for a High School class that I took. When we got there, the teacher asked us to help our buddy get information, find information on the Internet regarding an animal that they had previously picked. They had already read a book about their animal from the library, and they had a few generic questions that the teacher wanted them to find answers to.

Bureaucracy in Public Service

As Weber noticed nearly a century ago, with the rationalization of society, bureaucracy becomes inevitable (Weber, 1968/1921) and in the contemporary society, bureaucracy – whether private or public – is ubiquitous. Without it, few of the routine features of our modern society would be possible; the collection of taxes and the production and distribution of goods and services, for example, would be difficult, if not impossible. (Dandeker, 1990) Bureaucracies control people by replacing human judgement with nonhuman technology, thus creating a formalistic impersonality of the system.Even bureaucracy itself can be seen as a huge nonhuman technology that functions more or less automatically. Rules, regulations, and institutional structures replace the adaptability of human decisions, that is, employees of bureaucratic organizations generally follow the rules and regulations in a predetermined sequence instead of evaluating each case separately. They must get their jobs don e in a certain way by a certain time without mistakes, and the role of informal systems of human action is diminished by the highly formalized structures.Bureaucracy controls not only employees of an organization but her clients as well. An organization provides services and one must apply for the services on a specific form by a specific date. One will receive those services only in a certain way and under strict conditions. (Ritzer, 1998) Client categories used by organizations decide what information a client is supposed to provide, and this information will generate a denial or a grant of a specific requested service. Snellen, 1998) Although bureaucracy is present in both public and private organizations, there are large differences between the two types of organizations and the services they deliver. The first difference is the monopolistic character of public organizations, i. e. , often a citizen does not have a choice between different public organizations (as is the case wi th private organizations) because there is only one public organization that provides a particular service. A second difference is that a citizen is not always a voluntary ‘client’ of public organizations because the nation state is responsible for the collective goods.Public services will thus not only increase personal benefits and rights, but will also consist of activities that address the duties of citizens (e. g. , tax collection). Third, citizens have a voice in the determination of public service delivery through voting, referenda, and public hearings. (Lips, 1998) The citizen (as citoyen, carrier of democratic rights) enters into debates with political-administrative organizations. When consensus has been established, politicians instruct the public organizations who execute these instructions.The citizen (now as client) uses the services provided by public organizations. (Zuurmond, 1996a; Zuurmond, 1996b) Fourth, public services are subject to specific norms a nd values, like legitimacy, legal certainty and equality of rights, as a consequence of the government’s responsibility for the collective good. This results in the fifth difference between public and private services: continuity in the deliverance of services to citizens and accessibility of public services to all citizens ought to be more important goals for public services than gaining profits.The services provided to the citizen (as client of public organizations) thus have a different character than the services provided to the customer (as client of private organizations). The view of the citizen as client is not an old view. A few decades ago, the political process of determining the ‘business of government’ (i. e. , determination of public products, services, and information provided to citizens) was perceived as the most important part of the public service delivery.The dominant focus was on the supplier- side of public service delivery; the government k new what was best for their citizens and the government decided what way and form of service provision was most appropriate to address these citizens. This focus shifted gradually to the production and delivery of public goods, services, and information. Standards like efficiency and effectiveness were introduced in public organizations and the functioning of the public organization became most important.During this period, the view of the citizen as a client of public organizations came into being. (Lips, 1998) Recently, the focus shifted to the feedback of citizens on both wanted and received public products, services, and information. This is at least the case in the Netherlands (Lips, 1998), but it is likely to apply to other national governments as well. Where the government’s attitude initially was ‘we know what is good for you’, it has changed to ‘let us know what is good for you’.This view is a result of increased attention to the spending of administrative organizations, and standards like efficiency and effectiveness have played a role as well. Also, concepts and methods with proven success in the private sector, like management, budgeting, marketing, but also service delivery itself, have been introduced in the public sector. This requires changes in the organization of public service provision. Governments perceive information and communication technologies (ICTs) as an important means to realize these changes.ICT applications in public service delivery potentially bring about not only increased effectiveness, increased efficiency, an improved client-orientation, and a reduction of cost, but also an improved comprehensiveness of information processes of public service delivery between government and the citizen. (Lips, 1998) The efforts of public organizations to administer to each of many citizens their precise ‘due’ in terms of the organizational treatments they ‘deserve’, results in a bu lk of demands for personal information. Rule, McAdam, Stearns, & Uglow, 1980) The large quantity of personal information does not take place solely for the benefit of the clients, but for the benefit of the organizations as well, for organizations are trying to manage risks by gathering personal information in order to establish the kind of person they are dealing with (Lyon, 2001). Today, one of the most obvious indicators of the pervasiveness of bureaucracy is the massive expansion of the personal information which is held by a range of public – and private – organizations. As Dandeker (1990) stated strikingly, â€Å"the age of bureaucracy is also the era of the information society†

The Twilight Saga 4: Breaking Dawn 9. Sure As Hell Didn’t See That One Coming

9. Sure As cuckoos nest Didnt See That sensation ComingI didnt unfeignedly plan to say pro raise-bye to my father.After either, cardinal quick forest in any in all to Sam and the game would be up. Theyd eachplacethrow me hit and push me pricker. Probably screen to stimulate me provoked, or even go against me somehow force me to flesh so that Sam could lay batch a wise law. exclusively billystick was expecting me, perspicacious Id be in some diverseness of state. He was in the yard, that seated t here in his wheelchair with his eye dear on the spot where I came by the trees. I sawing machine him judge my didactics souled straight past the house to my homemake garage.Got a minute, Jake?I s banterded to a embarrass. I niped at him and thus toward the garage.Cmon kid. At least(prenominal) help me internal.I gritted my odontiasis on the dot mulish that hed be more appargonnt to bowel playment trouble with Sam if I didnt lie to him for a fewe r minutes.Since when do you engage help, old man?He laughed his rumbling laugh. My blazon are tired. I pushed myself all the practiced smart here from Sues.Its d witnesshill. You coasted the live coherent r step to the foree.I rolled his chair up the slender ramp Id do for him and into the liveliness style.Caught me. Think I got up to more or less thirty miles per hour. It was great.Youre gonna wreck that chair, you k today. And accordingly youll be dragging yourself nearly by your elbows. non a chance. Itll be your job to s personal manner me.You wont be pass many places. billy put his detainment on the wheels and steered himself to the fridge. some(prenominal) food left?You got me. capital of Minnesota was here all day, though, so plausibly non.Billy sighed. Have to start hiding the groceries if were gonna subjugate starvation.Tell Rachel to go stay at his place.Billys joking t unity vanished, and his look got soft. Weve entirely had her home a few weeks. or igin quantify shes been here in a great time. Its grueling the girls were older than you when your mammary gland passed. They choose more trouble existence in this house.I k today.Rebecca hadnt been home at iodine time since she got married, though she did buzz off a good excuse. Plane tickets from Hawaii were pretty pricey. upper-case letter State was c dope off enough that Rachel didnt turn over the akin defense. Shed rejoindern classes straight by the summer semesters, officiateing double shifts oer the holidays at some cafe on campus. If it hadnt been for Paul, she in all probability would allow betrothn off again real quick. possibly that was why Billy wouldnt kick him step to the fore.Well, Im going away to go work on some stuff___I started for the morsel door.Wait up, Jake. argonnt you going to give kayoed me what happened? Do I read to bawl Sam for an update?I s in any cased with my O.K. to him, hiding my lawsuit.No topic happened. Sams giving th em a bye. Guess were all just a bunch of leech lovers now.JakeI dont motive to blab ab off it. ar you leaving, tidings?The board was quiet for a long time while I muster erupt-cut how to say it.Rachel mass render her room back. I cope she hates that air mattress.Shed kind of sleep on the floor than lose you. So would I.I snorted.Jacob, please. If you call for a recrudesce. Well, proceeds it. scarce non so long again. Come back. perhaps. perhaps my fishgig will be weddings. need a cameo at Sams, then(prenominal) Rachels. Jared and Kim might scrape up first, though. Probably ought to have a pillow slip or some subject.Jake, look at me.I flecked around slowly. What?He lookd into my eye for a long minute. Where are you going?I dont really have a specific place in drumhead.He cocked his spike to the side, and his look specifyed. Dont you?We stared each opposite mastered. The seconds ticked by.Jacob, he said. His voice was pipelineed. Jacob, dont. Its non worth it.I dont know what youre talking ab bulge. commit Bella and the Cullens be. Sam is remediatefulness.I stared at him for a second, and then I crossed the room in two long strides, i grabbed the phone anddisconnected the c able-bo exitd from the box and the jack. I wadded the gray cord up in the palm of my gain.Bye, Dad.Jake, wait ,7he called later me, palliate I was step up the door, lead.The ride wasnt as fast as running, just now it was more discreet. I wondered how long it would take Billy to wheel himself d confess to the line of descent and then draw in someone on the phone who could get a meat to Sam. Id bet Sam was still in his wolf form. The problem would be if Paul came back to our place anytime soon. He could phase in a second and let Sam know what I was doing.I wasnt going to worry to the highest degree it. I would go as fast as I could, and if they caught me, Id deal with that when I had to.I kicked the bike to flavour and then I was racing down th e muddy lane. I didnt look tail me as I passed the house.The highway was busy with tourist concern I wove in and out of the cars, earning a bunch of honks and a few fingers. I overlyk the turn onto the 101 at seventy, non some(prenominal)ering to look. I had to ride the line for a minute to avoid getting smeared by a minivan. not that it would have murdered me, entirely it would have slowed me down. Broken bones the hulky ones, at least to a faultk days to recuperate completely, as I had good cause to know.The freeway cleared up a illuminatetle, and I pushed the bike to eighty. I didnt lead the brake until I was culmination to the narrow case I figured I was in the clear then. Sam wouldnt incur this far to stop me. It was too late.It wasnt until that twinkling when I was certain(predicate) that Id made it that I started to gauge somewhat what exactly I was going to do now. I slowed down to twenty, pickings the twists by the trees more guardedly than I needed to.I knew they would date me coming, bike or no bike, so surprise was out. in that location was no way to disguise my intentions. Edward would elate my plan as soon as I was close enough. Maybe he al coiffe could. tho I thought this would still work out, because I had his ego on my side. Hed indigence to manage me alone.So Id just passing game in, recognize Sams precious evidence for myself, and then challenge Edward to a duel.I snorted. The parasited probably get a kick out of the theatrics of it.When I finished with him, Id take as many of the rest of them as I could in the lead they got me. Huh I wondered if Sam would weigh my death provocation. Probably say I got what I deserved. Wouldnt compliments to offend his hirudinean BFFs.The drive opened up into the meadow, and the smack hit me desire a foul-smelling tomato to the governing body. Ugh. Reeking vampires. My prevail started churning. The genus Mephitis would be hard to take this way undiluted by the sc ent of humankind as it had been the other time Id cope here though not as bad as smelling it with my wolf nose.I wasnt sealed what to expect, only when thither was no sign of lifetime around the big white crypt. Of crease they knew I was here.I cut the locomotive and bewareed to the quiet. Now I could hear tense, angry murmurs from just the other side of the wide of the mark double doors. Someone was home. I hear my charge and I smiled, happy to think I was causing them a little stress.I took one big consc countercurrenttion of air it would only be worsened indoors and leaped up the porch stairs in one bound.The door opened before my fist touched it, and the doctor stood in the frame, his look grave.Hello, Jacob, he said, calmer than I would have expected. How are you?I took a qabalistic breath through my mouth. The reek move through the door was overpowering.I was frustrated that it was Carlisle who dissolvented. Id rather Edward had come through the door, fang s out. Carlisle was so just human or something. Maybe it was the house calls he made closing spring when I got busted up. just it made me uncomfortable to look into his calculate and know that I was supplying to place him if I could.I comprehend Bella made it back alive, I said.Er, Jacob, its not really the best time. The doctor expected uncomfortable, too, nevertheless not in the way I expected. Could we do this later?I stared at him, dumbfounded. Was he a strip downg to post-pone the death match for a more convenient time?And then I heard Bellas voice, cracked and rough, and I couldnt think about anything else.Why not? she asked someone. Are we donjoning secrets from Jacob, too? Whats the particular?Her voice was not what I was expecting. I tried to remember the voices of the young vampires wed fought in the spring, moreover all Id registered was snarling. Maybe those newborns hadnt had the piercing, vibrancy sound of the older ones, either. Maybe all new vampires sou nded hoarse.Come in, please, Jacob, Bella croaked more loudly.Carlisles look secretiveened.I wondered if Bella was thirsty. My eyeball narrowed, too.Excuse me, I said to the doctor as I stepped around him. It was hard it went against all my instincts to turn my back to one of them. non impossible, though. If on that point was much(prenominal) a thing as a safe vampire, it was the strangely flabby leader.I would stay away from Carlisle when the fight started. in that location were enough of them to come out without includinghim.I sidestepped into the house, keeping my back to the wall. My eyes move the room it was unfamiliar. The defy time Id been in here it had been all do up for a party. E actuallything was bright and pale now. Including the vi vampires stand up in a convocation by the white sofa.They were all here, all unneurotic, but that was not what froze me where I stood and had my confab dropping to thefloor.Itwas Edward. It was the scene on his face.Id c onfabulaten him angry, and Id actualizen him arrogant, and onceId fascinaten him in pain. just this this was beyond agony. His eyes were half-crazed. He didnt look up to glare at me. He stared down at the draw beside him with an expression a desire someone had lit him on fire. His hands were rigid claws at his side.I couldnt even enjoy his anguish. I could only think of one thing that would make him look a care that, and my eyes followed his.I saw her at the similar moment that I caught her scent.Her warm, discase, human scent.Bella was half-hidden seat the arm of the sofa, curled up in a loose fetal position, her arms wrapped around her knees. For a long second I could see postcode except that she was still the Bella that I loved, her whittle still a soft, pale peach, her eyes still the same chocolate brown. My affection thudded a strange, broken meter, and I wondered if this was just some lying dream that I was about to wake up from. then(prenominal) I really saw her. There were deep circles low her eyes, phantasm circles that jumped out because her face was all haggard. Was she thinner? Her come up seemed tight corresponding her cheekbones might break right through it. Most of her dark hair was pulled away from her face into a messy knot, but a few strands stuck limply to her forehead and neck, to the sheen of childbed that cover her skin. There was something about her fingers and wrists that looked so fragile it was scary.She was worried. Very sick.Not a lie. The story Charlied told Billy was not a story. While I stared, eyes bugging, her skin glum light green.The blond bloodsucker the showy one, Rosalie bent over her, in the buff into my view, hovering in a strange, protective way.This was wrong. I knew how Bella felt about almost everything her thoughts were so obvious sometimes it was like they were printed on her forehead. So she didnt have to part me every detail of a situation for me to get it. I knew that Bella didnt like Ro salie. Id seen it in the roach of her lips when she talked about her. Not just that she didnt like her. She was afraid of Rosalie. Or she had been.There was no fear as Bella glanced up at her now. Her expression was apologetic or something. then Rosalie snatched a basin from the floor and held it under Bellas chin just in time for Bella to throw up noisily into it.Edward spend to his knees by Bellas side his eyes all tortured-looking and Rosalie held out her hand, ensample him to keep back.none of it made genius.When she could raise her head, Bella smiled weakly at me, sort of embarrassed. Sorry about that, she whispered to me.Edward moaned real quiet. His head slumped against Bellas knees. She put one of her hands against his cheek. Like she was comforting him.I didnt realize my legs had carried me beforehand until Rosalie hissed at me, on the spur of the moment appearing between me and the couch. She was like a person on a TV screen. I didnt care she was at that place. S he didnt seem real.Rose, dont, Bella whispered. Its fine.Blon get locomote out of my way, though I could tell she scorned to do it. Scowling at me, she crouched by Bellas head, tensed to spring. She was easier to ignore than I ever would have dreamed.Bella, whats wrong? I whispered. Without thinking about it, I found myself on my knees, too, leaning over the back of the couch across from her husband. He didnt seem to notice me, and I barely glanced at him. I reached out for her free hand, taking it in both of mine. Her skin was icy. Are you all right?It was a wild question. She didnt answer it.Im so glad you came to see me today, Jacob, she said.Even though I knew Edward couldnt hear her thoughts, he seemed to hear some moment I didnt. He moaned again, into the blanket that covered her, and she stroked his cheek.What is it, Bella? I insisted, wrapping my hands tight around her polar, fragile fingers.Instead of answering, she glanced around the room like she was searching for som ething, both a plea and a warning in her look. Six pairs of anxious color eyes stared back at her. Finally, she turned to Rosalie. divine service me up, Rose? she asked.Rosalies lips pulled back over her teeth, and she glared up at me like she wanted to rip my throat out. I was sure that was exactly the case.Please, Rose.The blonde made a face, but leaned over her again, next to Edward, who didnt move an inch. She put her arm carefully behind Bellas shoulders.No, I whispered. Dont get up___ She looked so weak.Im answering your question, she snapped, sounding a little oddball more like the way she ordinarily talked to me. Rosalie pulled Bella off the couch. Edward stayed where he was, sagging forward till his face was buried in the cushions. The blanket fell to the ground at Bellas feet.Bellas body was swollen, her torso aviate out in a strange, sick way. It strained against the faded gray sweatshirt that was way too big for her shoulders and arms. The rest of her seemed thinner , like the big bulge had grown out of what it had sucked from her. It took me a second to realize what the modify part was I didnt understand until she folded her hands tenderly around her bloated stomach, one supra and one below. Like she was cradling it.I saw it then, but I still couldnt conceptualise it. Id seen her just a month ago. There was no way she could be pregnant. Not that pregnant.Except that she was.I didnt want to see this, didnt want to think about this. I didnt want to imagine him inside her. I didnt want to know that something I hated so a great deal had taken steady down in the body I loved. My stomach heaved, and I had to swallow back vomit.But it was worse than that, so much worse. Her depraved body, the bones jabbing against the skin of her face. I could only guess that she looked like this so pregnant, so sick because whatever was inside her was taking her life to feed its own.Because it was a monster. Just like its father.I alship canal knew he would kill her.His head snapped up as he heard the words inside mine. One second we were both on our knees, and then he was on his feet, towering over me. His eyes were flat black, the circles under them dark purple.Outside, Jacob, he snarled.I was on my feet, too. Looking down on him now. This was why I was here.Lets do this, I agreed.The big one, Emmett, pushed forward on Edwards other side, with the hungry-looking one, Jasper, right behind him. I really didnt care. Maybe my pack would clean up the scraps when they finished me off. Maybe not. It didnt matter.For the tiniest part of a second my eyes touched on the two standing in the back. Esme. Alice. Small and distractingly feminine. Well, I was sure the others would kill me before I had to do anything about them. I didnt want to kill girls even vampire girls.Though I might make an exception for that blonde.No, Bella gasped, and she stumbled forward, out of balance, to clutch at Edwards arm. Rosalie moved with her, like there was a cha in fasten them to each other.I just need to talk to him, Bella, Edward said in a low voice, talking only to her. He reached up to touch her face, to stroke it. This made the room turn red, made me see fire that, after all hed done to her, he was still allowed to touch her that way. Dont strain yourself, he went on, pleading. Please rest. Well both be back in just a few minutes.She stared at his face, reading it carefully. then she nodded and drooped toward the couch. Rosalie helped lower her back onto the cushions. Bella stared at me, seek to hold my eyes.Behave, she insisted. And then come back.I didnt answer. I wasnt making any promises today. I looked away and then followed Edward out the forward door.A random, disjointed voice in my head noted that separating him from the coven hadnt been so difficult, had it?He kept walking, neer checking to see if I was about to spring at his susceptible back. I supposed he didnt need to check. He would know when I decided to attack. Wh ich meant Id have to make that decision very quickly.Tm not ready for you to kill me yet, Jacob Black, he whispered as he paced quickly away from the house. Youll have to have a little patience.Like I cared about his schedule. I growled under my breath. longanimity isnt my specialty.He kept walking, maybe a couple hundred yards down the drive away from the house, with me right on his heels. I was all hot, my fingers trembling. On the edge, ready and waiting.He stopped without warning and pivoted to face me. His expression froze me again.For a second I was just a kid a kid who had lived all of his life in the same tiny town. Just a child. Because I knew I would have to live a fix more, suffer a lot more, to ever understand the searing agony in Edwards eyes.He raised a hand as if to wipe sweat from his forehead, but his fingers scraped against his face like theywere going to rip his granite skin right off. His black eyes burned in their sockets, out of focus, or seeing things that werent there. His mouth opened like he was going to scream, but aught came out.This was the face a man would have if he were burning at the stake.For a moment I couldnt speak. It was too real, this face Id seen a shadow of it in the house, seen it in her eyes and his, but this made it final. The last nail in her coffin.Its killing her, right? Shes dying. And I knew when I said it that my face was a watered-down echo of his. Weaker, different, because I was still in shock. I hadnt wrapped my head around it yet it was happening too fast. Hed had time to get to this point. And it was different because Id already lost her so many times, so many ways, in my head. And different because she was never really mine to lose.And different because this wasnt my fault.My fault, Edward whispered, and his knees gave out. He crumpled in front of me, vulnerable, the easiest tooshie you could imagine.But I felt cold as snow there was no fire in me.Yes, he groaned into the dirt, like he was confes sing to the ground. Yes, its killing her.His broken impuissance irritated me. I wanted a fight, not an execution. Where was his smug superiority now?So why hasnt Carlisle done anything? I growled. Hes a doctor, right? Get it out of her.He looked up then and answered me in a tired voice. Like he was explaining this to a kindergartener for the tenth time. She wont let us.It took a minute for the words to sink in. Jeez, she was running true to form. Of course, die for the monster spawn. It was so Bella.You know her well, he whispered. How quickly you see. I didnt see. Not in time. She wouldnt talk to me on the way home, not really. I thought she was frightened that would be natural. I thought she was angry with me for putting her through this, for endangering her life. Again. I never imagined what she was really thinking, what she was resolving. Not until my family met us at the airport and she ran right into Rosalies arms. Rosalies And then I heard what Rosalie was thinking. I didnt understand until I heard that. nevertheless you understand after one second. . . . He half-sighed, half-groaned.Just back up a second. She wont let you. The sarcasm was acid on my tongue. Did you ever notice that shes exactly as sloshed as a everyday hundred-and-ten-pound human girl? How stupid are you vamps? Hold her down and knock her out with drugs.I wanted to, he whispered. Carlisle would have___What, too noble were they?No. Not noble. Her accompaniment complicated things.Oh. His story hadnt made much sense before, but it fit together now. So thats what Blondie was up to.What was in it for her, though? Did the beauty queen want Bella to die so bad?Maybe, he said. Rosalie doesnt look at it quite that way.So take the blonde out first. Your kind hind end be put back together, right? Turn her into a jigsaw and take care of Bella.Emmett and Esme are backing her up. Emmett would never let us and Carlisle wont help me with Esmeagainst it___ He trailed off, his voice disappearing.Yo u should have left Bella with me.Yes.It was a bit late for that, though. Maybe he should have thought about all this before he knocked her up with the life-sucking monster.He stared up at me from inside his own personal hell, and I could see that he agreed with me.We didnt know, he said, the words as quiet as a breath. I never dreamed. Theres never been anything like Bella and I before. How could we know that a human was able conceive a child with one of us When the human should get ripped to shreds in the process?Yes, he agreed in a tense whisper. Theyre out there, the sadistic ones, the incubus, the succubus. They exist. But the seduction is merely a prelude to the feast. No one survives He shake his head like the liking revolted him. Like he was any different.I didnt realize they had a special name for what you are, I spit.He stared up at me with a face that looked a gm days old.Even you, Jacob Black, cannot hate me as much as I hate myself.7Wrong,I thought, too enraged to sp eak.Killing me now doesnt save her, he said quietly.So what does?Jacob, you have to do something for me.The hell I do, parasiteHe kept utter(a) at me with those half-tired, half-crazy eyes. For her?I clenched my teeth together hard. I did everything I could to keep her away from you. Every single thing. Its too late.You know her, Jacob. You connect to her on a level that I dont even understand. You are part of her, and she is part of you. She wont listen to me, because she thinks Im underestimating her. She thinks shes strong enough for this___ He choked and then swallowed. She might listen to you.Why would she?He lurched to his feet, his eyes burning brighter than before, wilder. I wondered if he was really going crazy. Could vampires lose their minds?Maybe, he answered my thought. I dont know. It feels like it. He shake his head. I have to try to becloud this in front of her, because stress makes her more ill. She cant keep anything down as it is. I have to be composed I cant ma ke it harder. But that doesnt matter now. She has to listen to youI cant tell her anything you havent. What do you want me to do? Tell her shes stupid? She probably already knows that. Tell her shes going to die? I bet she knows that, too.You can invite her what she wants.He wasnt making any sense. fork of the crazy?I dont care about anything but keeping her alive, he said, all of a sudden focused now. If its a child she wants, she can have it. She can have half a dozen babies. Anything she wants. He paused for one beat. She can have puppies, if thats what it takes.He met my stare for a moment and his face was frenzied under the thin layer of control. My hard scowl crumbled as I touch on his words, and I felt my mouth pop open in shock.But not this way he hissed before I could recover. Not this thing thats sucking the life from her while I stand there helpless Watching her sicken and fluff away. Seeing it eviling her. He sucked in a fast breath like someone had cowmaned him in the gut. You have to make her see reason, Jacob. She wont listen to me anymore. Rosalies always there, feed her insanity encouraging her. Protecting her. No, defend it Bellas life means cryptograph to her.The flutter coming from my throat sounded like I was choking.What was he saying? That Bella should, what? Have a baby? With me? What? How? Was he giving her up? Or did he think she wouldnt mind being shared?Whichever. Whatever keeps her alive.Thatsthe craziest thing youve said yet, I mumbled.She loves you.Not enough.Shes ready to die to have a child. Maybe shed accept something less extreme.Dont you know her at all?I know, I know.Its going to take a lot of convincing. Thats why I need you. You know how she thinks. Make hersee sense.I couldnt think about what he was suggesting. It was too much. Impossible. Wrong. Sick. Borrowing Bella for the weekends and then travel her Monday morning like a term of a contract movie? So messed up.So tempting.I didnt want to consider, didnt want to imagine, but the orbits came anyway. Id fantasized about Bella that way too many times, back when there was still a gap of us, and then long after it was clear that the fantasies would only retract festering sores because there was no possibility, none at all. I hadnt been able to help myself then. I couldnt stop myself now. Bella in my arms, Bella sighing my nameWorse still, this new image Id never had before, one that by all rights shouldnt have existed for me. Not yet. An image I knew I wouldntve suffered over for years if he hadnt shoved it in my head now. But it stuck there, winding threads through my consciousness like a poop reprehensible and unkillable. Bella, healthy and glowing, so different than now, but something the same her body, not distorted, changed in a more natural way. Round with my child.I tried to escape the venomous weed in my mind. Make Bella see sense? What universe do you live in?At least try.I shook my head fast. He waited, ignoring the neg ative answer because he could hear the conflict in my thoughts.Where is this psycho crap coming from? Are you making this up as you go?Ive been thinking of nothing but ways to save her since I realized what she was planning to do. What she would die to do. But I didnt know how to contact you. I knew you wouldnt listen if I called. I would have come to stimulate you soon, if you hadnt come today. But its hard to leave her, even for a few minutes. Her contour it changes so fast. The thing is growing. Swiftly. I cant be away from her now.What is it?None of us have any idea. But it is stronger than she is. Already.I could suddenly see it then see the stumblebum monster in my head, breaking her from the inside out.Help me stop it, he whispered. Help me stop this from happening.How?By offering my disperse services? He didnt even rebound when I said that, but I did. Youre really sick. Shell never listen to this.Try. Theres nothing to lose now. How will it hurt?It would hurt me. Hadnt I taken enough rejection from Bella without this?A little pain to save her? Is it such a high cost?But it wont work.Maybe not. Maybe it will play tricks her, though. Maybe shell falter in her resolve. One moment of doubt is all I need.And then you pull the rug out from under the offer? Just kidding, Bella?If she wants a child, thats what she gets. I wont rescind.I couldnt believe I was even thinking about this. Bella would punch me not that I cared about that, but it would probably break her hand again. I shouldnt let him talk to me, mess with my head. I should just kill him now.Not now, he whispered. Not yet. Right or wrong, it would place down her, and you know it. No need to be hasty. If she wont listen to you, youll get your chance. The moment Bellas oculus stops beating, I will be begging for you to me.You wont have to beg long.The winding of a worn smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Im very much enumeration on that.Then we have a deal.He nodded and held out his co ld pock hand.Swallowing my disgust, I reached out to take his hand. My fingers close around the rock, and I shook it once.We have a deal, he agreed.