Barclay Card

The use of Credit cards started during the first half of the 20th century. The cards were initially used to make the process of identification less complex and for confirmation of costumers when authorization was required by tellers for account purchases in retail stores. The process developed, and in the 1940’s, some banks in the united states allowed customers to buy goods and services, and have these charged to against their monthly bank charge account, rather than to a store account Development of competition Early contenders to Barclaycard emerged from their closest competitors.In 1966, prompted by the success of the bank americard network, members of the competing franchises formed the interbank card association (ICA), which was later to become known as MasterCard international. The ICA differed from bank americard in being an organization controlled by member banks which took responsibility for promoting the MasterCard brand and for setting standards for security, autho rization, clearing and settlement systems between members. ICA went international in 1968 with an association with banamex.Barclaycards strategy in the market has been associated with three continuing elements. The fist was the continued growth of the credit card market shown in exhibit 4. over the period 1989-9 the volume of credit card transaction grew at 7. 5 per cent, while debit cards grew at 40 percent. The number of credit cards in use increased by 5 percent by annum and the value of a transaction by 5. 5 percent p. a. The second factor was the relative success of visa, whose UK franchise was exclusively, enjoyed Barclaycard in the early years.Over the years, visa secured a position as the world’s most wildly used card, by 1998 accounting for $ 1. 4 trillion dollars of purchase or 55 percent of the global market. Although the competition between visa and MasterCard was less clear cut in the UK Barclaycard’s visa had international acceptability with 16million mer chants worldwide. Exhibit 5 suggests that although Barclaycard lost market share somewhat faster than the other major banks, the strength of visa’s international position to some extent offset Barclay’s premium pricing.Profitability of Barclaycard Even though Barclaycard was the first and for a considerable amount of time, the only issuer of credit cards in the UK, Barclaycard made some losses during the first decade of its operations, as the company built up its card and merchant volumes. In 1995, Barclaycard acquired 90,000 gold customers, and that launch increased Barclaycard’s market share of newly issued credit cards to more than 30 percent. Processing of Barclaycard transactions Transaction from paper to electronics introduced large economies of scale in processing.This innovation however was characterized by relatively high level, one off investments. Alternative strategic directions open to Barclaycard in its future development Barclaycard should team up more with other companies. For example, the co-operation with Sainsbury, gasoline marketer BP, and department store chain Debenhams in launching new loyalty programs. With every Barclaycard purchase, shoppers should be able to collect points that can be exchanged for gifts like restaurant meals, consumer goods, grocery shopping, flights, and cinema tickets.Barclaycard should also capitalize on the company’s strong customer base by relationship marketing alliances, with leading organizations in other service industries like celnet, BT and Marks and Spencer. Evaluation of alternatives Suitability: On the basis of suitability, the best alternatives available to Barclaycard are to ensure the continued ATM usage of Barclaycard, and to ensure automation through a fully computerized transaction system. This is because cash withdrawal through ATMs is a major customer use of credit cards.The company should also endeavor to eliminate most of the paper work in order speed up the author ization process, and provide narrative statements for card holders. Acceptability: Barclaycard’s ability to monitor and measure credit risk is very crucial to its acceptability. In 2000, the volume of Barclaycard transactions rose by 12 percent, while charges for doubtful and bad debts increased by 34 percent. Financial performance thus suggested that the company’s managers have the responsibility to find customers who were in need of rollover credit, and who were less likely to default on payments.Feasibility: Barclaycard once proposed to charge non-customers heavily for using its machines, a proposal that had to be withdrawn at that time due to heavy persecution from the press. This is not a very good strategy, and should be avoided. Recommended alternatives Barclaycard strategy in the credit card industry has been associated with the continuous growth of the credit card market, its ability to avoid price competition by branding, and also, the relative success of Vis a.Barclaycard should strive to avoid price competition by branding and by using technological developments within the card networks. This is because the intensity of the competition in the credit card business tends to lead to the best credit worthy customers gaining access to credit far more cheaply. Thus it is quite difficult for credit card transaction volumes to increase quickly without inflicting bad and doubtful debts to credit card users.

Legalism, Taoism and Confucianism Essay

All three most influential philosophical schools of thought i.e. legalism, Taoism and Confucianism originate from the same tenet of peace and accord in the Chinese society in particular and in world in general. But their methodologies and philosophical routes to achieve this objective are different. Legalism suggest a strong and central political body as remedy for all the maladies of contemporary Chinese society whereas Taoism and Confucianism do not favor a strong political entity   and reinforce the ideas of individual freedom and social cohesion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The doctrine of legalism believes that strict laws and punitive measures are preconditions for a strong central government that can bring peace and prosperity in the society. This doctrine is based on the assumption that human nature is irredeemably malicious and is prone to produce conflicts. These conflicts harm the social cohesion and generate panic and disorder in the community. That is the reason that strong laws and punishments can make them (people) in alignment with needs of the political entity.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In total contrast to Legalism, Taoism and Confucianism are of the view that human nature is constituted of moral virtues. Taoism was directly opposed to the tenets of Legalism and believed in a close association between man and nature. They further reinforce that nature is virtuous in essence and intend at achieving greater unity and universal organization. They view man-made laws as artificial and transient that has limited life. So Taoist are against Legalism and believed that these were fabricated to serve the vested interest of the rulers and they have nothing to do with the common good of the people. This basic difference between the philosophical principles leads the Taoist to rebel against the established social patterns as they considered it a tool to perpetuate the regime of the despotic rulers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Confucianism is considered a rationalization of these two extremes i.e. legalism and Taoism. Confucianism neither believed in the idea of harsh punishments, impersonal laws and inhuman rules toward the mass nor it gave approval to absolute individual freedom of thought and action as it would lead to utter anarchy. Confucianism adopted an equidistant approach between the two extremes and propagated a philosophy based on the beautiful combination of individual needs and social needs. Confucianism served as a balance between the extreme centralization of power and subjugation of masses as embodied in Legalism and the utter chaos created by the absolute individualistic approach of Taoism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Legalism was an advanced political system whereas Taoism was inclined toward primitivism. Taoism reinforced the idea of a personal and individual reaction to the mundane and complex social problems. According to its basic precept of Tao (way), human nature can find its own way out of many. So it negated the formulated laws and established social patterns. Subjective judgments were made according to the needs of the occasions. Mostly these judgments were based on the ancient teachings and traditional principles with outsized personal discretion. In complete contrast to Taoism, Legalism established a complete code of laws and they (Legalists) were strictly adhered to these laws. Instead of personal discretion or subjective interpretation, judgments were made according to written laws. This characteristic of Legalism made it the most advanced philosophy of ancient China as compared with Taoism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In contrast to abovementioned ways, Confucianism suggested another way i.e. to get social harmony through social cohesion of individuals with the society itself. It took care of individuals’ needs as well as the socio-political needs. To Confucius, society was not a mere collection of individual but is has other internal and external dimensions. Internally, it is the substantial device that moulds our beliefs and attitudes while on the external horizon, it exerts and maintains pressures from the society to facilitate conformity to the above-mentioned collective beliefs and attitudes. Confucius perceived society as a separate and distinguished unit. It is an entity independent of individuals. This argument clearly manifests that social facts i.e. norms, values and institutions, have their independent existence and are not sustained by individual actions but individuals react to them. Confucius also suggests that individual desires are cravings are unlimited and individual hankers after more and more. This natural insatiability produces individual propensities in humans. In order to control these propensities society works as a regulative force. Frederick Cheung has comprehensively summed up the differences and similarities in the doctrines of these major philosophies of Chinese history in this way; If we compare and contrast the three schools of thoughts on â€Å"individual freedom and control;† we would find that Taoism was extremely free, while Legalism was extremely strict (a kind of totalitarian control) with Confucianism in the middle (the golden means or moderation).   On political theory and concepts of progress, Legalism was the most advanced and directing to the future; while Taoism was reactionary and returning to the primitive nature; with again Confucianism in the middle.   Indeed, moderation and balance were perhaps the major reasons for the eventual triumph of Confucianism in traditional Chinese history.   (p.3) References Cheung, Frederick. (2006). The Legacy of Ancient China: The Intellectual Foundations — Legalism, Taoism, and Confucianism. The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Website:

Enterprise Risk Management

Enterprise / Operational Risk Management IT Audit Manager City National Bank California State Polytechnic University, Pomona Enterprise risk management (ERM) is a relatively new discipline that focuses on identifying, analyzing, monitoring, and controlling all major risk classes (e. g. , credit, market, liquidity, operational risk classes). Operational risk management (ORM) is a subset of ERM that focuses on identifying, analyzing, monitoring, and controlling operational risk. The purpose of this paper is to explain what enterprise risk management is and how operational risk management fits into the ERM framework. In our conclusion, we discuss what is likely to happen in the ERM / ORM environment over the next 5 years. Introduction As the Internet has come of age, companies have been rethinking their business models, core strategies, and target customer bases. â€Å"Getting wired,† provides businesses with new opportunities, but brings new risks and uncertainty into the equation. Mismanagement of risk can carry an enormous cost. In recent years, business has experienced numerous, related risk reversals that have resulted in considerable financial loss, decrease in shareholder value, damage to company reputations, dismissals of senior management, and, in some cases, the very dissolution of the business. This increasingly risky environment, in which risk mismanagement can have dire consequences, mandates that management adopt a new more proactive perspective on risk management. What is Enterprise / Operational Risk Management? Clearly, there is a correlation between effective risk management and a well-managed business. Over time, a business that cannot manage risk effectively will not prosper and, perhaps fail. A disastrous product recall could be the company’s last. Rogue traders lacking oversight and adequate controls have destroyed old well-established institutions in a very short time. But, historically, risk management in even the most successful businesses has tended to be in â€Å"silos†Ã¢â‚¬â€the insurance risk, the technology risk, the financial risk, the environmental risk, all managed independently in separate compartments. Coordination of risk management has usually been non-existent, and identification of emerging risks has been sluggish. This paper espouses a recent concept—enterprise-wide risk management—in which the management of risks is integrated and coordinated across the entire organization. A culture of risk awareness is created. Companies across a wide crosssection of industries are beginning to implement this effective new methodology. 1 Enterprise / Operational Risk Management At first glimpse, there is much similarity between operational risk management and other classes of risk (e. . , credit, market, liquidity risk, etc. ) and the tools and techniques applied to them. In fact, the principles applied are nearly identical. Both ORM and ERM must identify, measure, mitigate and monitor risk. However, at a more detailed level, there are numerous differences, ranging from the risk classes themselves to the skills needed to work with operational risk. Operational risk management is just beginning to define the next phase of evolution of corporate risk management. Should firms be able to develop successful ORM programs, the next step will be for these firms to integrate ORM with all other classes of risks into truly enterprise-wide risk management frameworks. See Exhibit 1 for an example of an ERM / ORM organizational structure representative of the banking industry: ERM Organization Chart CEO Group Risk Director (ERM) Economic Capital (Planning) & Risk Transfer Group Risk Executive Committee Change Program Credit Risk * Market Risk* Operational Risk (ORM)* Corporate Compliance IT Security and Business Continuity Corporate Risk Evaluation (Audit) †¢ Note – the major categories of risk to which financial services firms expose themselves are credit risk, market risk and operational risk. Not surprisingly, financial services firms’ largest risk concentrations—credit risk and market risk are most effectively managed. Exhibit 1 2 Why Enterprise / Operational Risk Management? There are many reasons ERM / ORM functions are being established within corporations. following are a few of the reasons these functions are being established. Organizational Oversight Two groups have recently emphasized the importance of risk management at the organization’s highest levels. In October 1999, the National Association of Corporate Directors released its Report of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Audit Committees, which recommends that audit committees â€Å"define and use timely, focused information that is responsive to important performance measures and to the key risks they oversee. † The report states that the chair of the audit committee should develop an agenda that includes â€Å"a periodic review of risk by each significant business unit. In January 2000, the Financial Executives Institute released the results of a survey on audit committee effectiveness. Respondents, primarily chief financial officers and corporate controllers, ranked â€Å"key areas of business and financial risk† as most important for audit committee oversight. In light of events surrounding recent corporate scandals (e. g. , Enr on, etc. ), and the increasing executive and regulatory focus on risk management, the percentage of companies with formal ERM methods is increasing and audit committees are becoming more involved in corporate oversight. The UK and Canada have set forth specific legal requirements for audit committee oversight of risk evaluation, mitigation, and management which are widely accepted as best practices in the U. S. Magnitude of Problem The magnitude of loss and impact of operational risk and losses to date is difficult to ignore. Based on years of industry loss record-keeping from public sources, large operational risk-related financial services losses have averaged well in excess of $15 billion annually for the past 20 years, but this only reflects the large public and visible losses. Research has yielded nearly 100 individual relevant losses greater than $500 million each, and over 300 individual losses greater than $100 million each. 1 Exhibit 2 is a listing of major operational losses. Interestingly enough, the majority of these losses have occurred in financial services, which explains the industry’s leading focus on operational risk management especially in the area of asset-liability modeling and treasury management models to manage risks in the highly volatile capital markets activity of derivative trading and speculation. The 1 Hoffman, Douglas G. , Managing Operational Risk (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2002), p. xvi. 3 Top Operational Risk Losses Company Numerous Financial Institutions and Others BCCI Sumitomo Corporation Tokyo Shinkin Bank Banca Nazionale del Lavoro Daiwa Bank Barings Non-Financial Institutions: LTCM Texaco, Inc. Cendant Corporation Dow Corning St. Francis Assisi Foundation Mettlgesellschaft Owens Corning Fiber Glass Orange Count y Atlantic Richfield Kashima Oil Showa Shell Prudential Securities Drexel Burnham Lambert General Motors Phar Mor Loss Amount $20 million. Initial Estimates $17 billion $2. 9 billion $2. 3 billion $1. 8 billion $1. 1 billion $1 billion $4 billion $3 billion $2. 9 billion $2 billion $2 billion $1. billion $1. 7 billion $1. 6 billion $1. 5 billion $1. 5 billion $1. 5 billion $1. 4 billion $1. 3 billion $1. 2 billion $1. 1 billion Date 2001 1991 1996 19901991 1992 19831995 1995 1998 1984 19851998 1994 1999 19911993 1980s1990s 1994 19861990 1994 19891993 1994 19981993 1996 1992 Description Terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners and crashed them into the World Trade Center. Over 2000 lives lost. Countless businesses impacted. Regulators seized about 75 percent of The Bank of Credit and Commerce International’s $17 billion in assets in a major fraud. Sumitomo Corporation incurred huge losses through excessive trading of copper. The manager of the Imasato branch forged 19 deposit certificates, which were used to raise money for stock deals. Former employees plead guilty to conspiring to arrange $5 billion in unauthorized loans to Iraq. Loss due to unauthorized trading by an employee. This catastrophic loss has become a benchmark for operational risk. Losses due to lack of dual control and checks and balances. Huge market losses due to inadequate model management and inadequate controls at Long Term Capital Management. Pennzoil sued Texaco alleging that Texaco â€Å"wrongfully interfered† in its merger deal with Getty. Largest and longest-running accounting fraud in history. Former executives conspired to inflate earnings. The company agreed to pay settlements to 18 women who indicated breast implants made them ill. Insurance fraud case in which Martin Frankel allegedly stole as much as $2 billion from this foundation. Loss due to liquidation of oil supply contracts. Settlement of asbestos-related claims. Largest people risk class case in financial history. Largest investment loss ever registered by a municipality. Settlement of North Slope oil royalties dispute with Alaska. Disguised losses on FX forward contracts. Major oil refiner in Japan faced losses from forward currency contracts. Settled charges of securities fraud with state and federal regulators. Former employees filed a class action suit charging the company with fraud, breach of duty and negligence. Heavy losses suffered due to 3 strikes. A former president of the firm defrauded in an embezzlement scheme. Exhibit 2 Source: Hoffman; Managing Operational Risk 4 Increasing Business Risks With the increasing speed of change for all companies in this new era, senior management must deal with many complex risks that have substantial consequences for the organization. A few forces currently creating uncertainty are: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Technology and the Internet Increased worldwide competition Free trade and investment worldwide Complex financial instruments Deregulation of key industries Changes in organizational structures from downsizing, reengineering, and mergers Increasing customer expectations for products and services More and larger mergers Collectively, these forces are stimulating considerable change and creating an increasing risk in the business environment. Regulatory The international regulators clearly intend to encourage banks to develop their own proprietary risk measurement models to assess regulatory, as well as economic, capital. The advantage for banks should be a substantial reduction in regulatory capital, and a more accurate allocation of capital vis-a-vis the actual risk confronted. In December 2001, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision submitted a paper â€Å"Sound Practices for the Management and Supervision of Operational Risk† for comment by the banking industry. In developing these sound practices the Committee recommended that banks have risk management systems in place to identify, measure, monitor and control operational risks. While the guidance in this paper is intended to apply to internationally active banks, plans are to eventually apply this guidance to those banks deemed significant on the basis of size, complexity, or systemic importance and to smaller, less complex banks. Regulators will eventually conduct regular independent evaluations of a bank’s strategies, policies, procedures and practices addressing operational risks. The paper indicates an independent evaluation of operational risk will incorporate a review of the following six bank areas:2 †¢ †¢ Process for assessing overall capital adequacy for operational risk in relation to its risk profile and its internal capital targets; Risk management process and overall control environment effectiveness with respect to operational risk exposures; 2 Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, Sound Practices for the Management and Supervision of Operational Risk, (Basel, Switzerland: Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, 2001), p. 1. 5 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Systems for monitoring and reporting operational risk exposures and other data quality considerations; Procedures for timely and effective resolution of operational risk exposures and events; Process of internal controls, reviews and audit to ensure integrity of the overall risk management process; and Effectiveness of operational risk mitigation efforts. Market Factors Market factor s also play an important role in motivating organizations to consider ERM / ORM. Comprehensive shareholder value management and ERM / ORM are very much linked. Today’s financial markets place substantial premiums for consistently meeting earnings expectations. Not meeting expectations can result in severe and rapid decline in shareholder value. Research conducted by Tillinghast-Towers Perrin found that with all else being equal, organizations that achieved more consistent earnings than their peers were rewarded with materially higher market valuations. 3 Therefore, for corporate executives, managing key risks to earnings is an important element of shareholder value management. The traditional view of risk management has often focused on property and iability related issues or internal controls. However, â€Å"traditional† risk events such as lawsuits and natural disasters may have little or no impact on destroying shareholder value compared to other strategic and operational exposures—such as customer demand shortfall, competitive pressures, and cost overruns. One explanation for this is that traditional risk hazards ar e relatively well understood and managed today—not that they don’t matter. Managers now have the opportunity to apply tools and techniques for traditional risks to all risks that affect the strategic and financial objectives of the organization. For non-publicly traded organizations, ERM / ORM is valuable for many of the same reasons. Rather than from the perspective of shareholder value, ERM / ORM would provide managers with a comprehensive overview of other important items such as cash flow risks or stakeholder risks. Regardless of the organizational form, ERM / ORM can be an important management tool. Corporate Governance Defense against operational risk and losses flows from the highest level of the organization—the board of directors and executive management. The board, the management team that they hire, and the policies that they develop, all set the tone for a company. As guardians of shareholder value, boards of directors must be acutely attuned to market reaction to negative news. In fact, they can find themselves castigated by the public if the reaction is severe enough. As representatives of the shareholders, boards of directors are responsible for policy 3 Tillinghast-Towers Perrin, Enterprise Risk Management: Trends and Emerging Practices. (The Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation, 2001), p. xxvi. 6 matters relative to corporate governance, including but not limited to setting the stage for the framework and foundation for enterprise risk management. Right now, operational risk management is a â€Å"hot topic† of discussion for regulators and in boardrooms across the US. In the wake of the 2001 releases from the Basel Risk Management Committee, banks now have further insight as to the regulatory position on the need for regulatory capital for operational risk. Meanwhile, shareholders are aware that there are means to identify, measure, manage, and mitigate operational risk that add up to billions of dollars every year and include frequent, low-level losses and also infrequent but catastrophic losses that have actually wiped out firms, such as Barings, and others. Regulators and shareholders have already signaled that they will hold directors and executives accountable for managing operational risk. Best-Practice Senior managers need to encourage the development of integrated systems that aggregate various market, credit, liquidity, operational and other risks generated by business units in a consistent framework across the institution. Consistency may become a necessary condition to regulatory approval of internal risk management models. An environment where each business unit calculates their risk separately with different rules will not provide a meaningful oversight of firm-wide risk. The increasing complexity of products, linkages between markets, and potential benefits offered by overall portfolio effects are pushing organizations toward standardizing and integrating risk management. Conclusion It seems clear that ERM / ORM is more than another management fad or academic theory. We believe that ERM / ORM will become part of the management process for organizations in the future. Had ERM / ORM processes been in place during the past two decades, a number of the operational risk debacles that took place may not have occurred or would have been of lesser magnitude. Companies are beginning to see the benefit of protecting themselves from all types of potential risk exposures. By identifying and mapping risk exposures throughout the organization, a company can concentrate on mitigating those exposures that can do the most damage. With an understanding of risks, their severity, and their frequency, a company can turn to solutions; be it retaining, transferring, sharing, or avoiding a particular risk. Our thoughts on what will happen in the ERM / ORM environment in the next 5 years are: In the next 5 years, it is likely that companies will no longer view risk management as a specialized and isolated activity: the management of insurance or foreign exchange risks, for instance. The new approach will 7 keep managers and employees at all levels sensitized to and concerned about risk management. Risk management will be coordinated with senior management oversight and everyone in the organization will view risk management as part of his or her job. The risk management process will be continuous and broadly focused. All business risks and opportunities will be covered. In the next 5 years, the use of bottom-up risk assessments will be a standard process used to identify risks throughout the organization. The self-assessment process will involve everyone in the company and require individual units to focus and report on the threats to their individual business objectives. Through the selfassessment process, the organization will be able to understand loss potential and risk control by business, by profit center and by product. The individual line manager will begin to understand the loss potential in his or her own processing system. In the next 5 years, the use of top-down scenario analysis will be another standard method used to identify risks throughout the organization. Top down scenario analysis will determine the risk potential for the entire firm, the entire business, organization, or portfolio of business. By its very nature, it is a high-level representation and cannot get into the bottom-up transaction-by-transaction risk analysis. For example, because Microsoft has a campus of more than 50 buildings in the Seattle area, earthquakes are a risk. 4 In the past, Microsoft looked at silos of risk. For example, they would have looked at property insurance when they considered the risks of an earthquake and thought about protecting equipment and buildings. However, using scenario analysis they are now taking a more holistic perspective in considering the risk of an earthquake. The Microsoft risk management group has analyzed this disaster scenario with its advisors and has attempted to quantify its real cost, taking into account how risks are correlated. In the process, the group identified risks in addition to property damage, such as the following: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 4 Director and officer liability if some people think management was not properly prepared. Key personnel risk Capital market risk because of the firm’s inability to trade. Worker compensation or employee benefit risk. Supplier risk for those in the area of the earthquake. Risk related to loss of market share because the business is interrupted. Michel Crouhy, Dan Galai, and Robert Mark, Making Enterprise Risk Management Payoff (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001), pp 132-133. 8 †¢ †¢ Research and development risks because those activities are interrupted and product delays occur. Product support risks because the company cannot respond to customer inquiries. By using scenario analysis, management has identified a number of risks that it might not have otherwise and Microsoft is now in a better position to manage these risks. The future ERM / ORM tools such as risk assessment and scenario analysis will assist companies in identifying and mitigating the majority of these risks. In the next 5 years, companies will be using internal and external loss databases to capture occurrences that may cause losses to the company and the actual losses themselves. This data will be used in quantitative models that will project the potential losses from the various risk exposures. This data will be used to manage the amount of risk a company may be willing to take. In the next 5 years, companies will allocate capital to individual business units based on operational risk. By linking operational risk capital charges to the sources of that risk, individuals with risk optimizing behavior will be rewarded and those without proper risk practices will be penalized. In the next 5 years, internal audit will become even more focused on how risks are managed and controlled throughout the company on a continuous basis. Internal audit will be responsible for reporting on integrity, accuracy, and reasonableness of the company's entire risk management process. In addition, Internal Audit will be involved in ensuring the appropriateness of the company's capital assessment and allocation processes. Furthermore, audit will influence continual improvement of risk management and controls through the sharing of best practices. In the next 5 years, management will be looking for individuals who are skilled in risk management. Professional designations such as the Bank Administration Institute's Certified Risk Professional (CRP) and the Information and Audit and Control Association's Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) will demonstrate proficiency in the risk management area and will be in demand. In the next 5 years, external auditors will be required to report on the efficiency and effectiveness of a company’s risk management program. These companies will be required to disclose the scope and nature of risk reporting and/or measurement systems in their annual reports. Overall, companies will be better positioned in the next 5 years to deal with the broad scope of enterprise-wide risks. By implementing the ERM / ORM process now, companies will begin to maximize their overall risk profile for competitive advantage. 9 Bibliography Barton, Thomas L. ; Shenkir, William G. ; Walker, Paul L. Making Enterprise Risk Management Pay Off. New Jersey: Financial Times / Prentice Hall, 2002. Basel II Mandates a Nest http://web2. infotrac. galegroup. co Egg for Banks† US Banker. (July 1, 2002) 48. July 2002. BITS. BITS Technology Risk Transfer Gap Analysis Tool. Washington, D. C. : BITS, 2002. Bock, Jerome T. , The Strategic Role of â€Å"Economic Capital† in Bank Management, Wimbledon, London: MidasKapiti International, 2000. Business Banking Board. RAROC and Operating Risk. Washington, D. C. : Corporate Executive B oard, 2001. Business Banking Board. Risk Management Structure. Washington, D. C. : Corporate Executive Board, 2001. Consultative Document Operational Risk. 2001. Bank for International Settlements and Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. July 2002. http://www. bis. org/publ/bcbsa07. pdf Crouhy, Michel; Galai, Dan; Mark, Robert, Risk Management. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001. â€Å"Elements of a Successful IT Risk Management Program†. Gartner. (May 2002. ) 9. July 2002. http://www. gartner. com/gc/webletter/bindview/issue1/ggarticle1. html Ernst & Young, Integrated Risk Management Practices. Unpublished PowerPoint slides, Ernst & Young: 2000. Hively, Kevin; Merkley, Brian W. ; Miccolis, Jerry A. Enterprise Risk Management: Trends and Emerging Practices. Florida: The Institute of Internal Auditors Foundation, 2001. Hoffman, Douglas G. Managing Operational Risk. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , 2002. â€Å"In Brief: Ferguson Urges Investing in Risk Control†. American Banker. (March 5, 2002) 1. July 2002. http://0proquest. umi. com. opac. library. csupomona. edu James, Christopher, RAROC Based Capital Budgeting and Performance Evaluation: A Case Study of Bank Capital Allocation. Pennsylvania: The Wharton School, 1996. Jameson, Rob; Walsh, John, â€Å"The Leading Contenders,† Risk Magazine, (November 2000). 6. July 2002. http://www. financewise. om/public/edit/riskm/oprisk/opr-soft00. htm Insurance Industry – Participating companies: Allianz, AXA, Chubb, Mitsui Sumitomo, Munich Re, Swiss Re, Tokio Marine and Fire, Xl, Yasuda Fire and Marine and Zurich. Insurance of Operational Risk Under the New Basel Accord. Insurance Industry, 2001. Lam, James, â€Å"Top Ten Requirements for Operational Risk Management† Risk Management (November 2001) July 2002. http://0-proquest. umi. com. opac. library. csupomona. edu Marks, Norman, â€Å"The New Age of Internal Auditing† The Internal Auditor (December 2001) 5. July 2002. http://0-proquest. mi. com. opac. library. csupomona. ed McNamee, David; Selim, George M. Risk Management: Changing the Internal Auditor’s Paradigm. Florida: The Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation, 1998. National Association of Financial Services Auditors. â€Å"Enterprise Risk Management,† National Association of Financial Services Auditors. Spring 2002. 12-13. netForensics is a Web site that discusses those regulations that govern information security in financial services, healthcare and government. http://www. netforensics. com/verticals. html 10 Ong, Michael; â€Å"Why bother? Risk Magazine, (November 2000). 6. July 2002. http://www. financewise. com/public/edit/riskm/oprisk/oprcommentary00. htm Practice Advisory 2100-3: Internal Audità ¢â‚¬â„¢s Role in the Risk Management Process. March 2001. The Institute of Internal Auditors. July 2002. http://www. theiia. org/ecm/guide-frame. cfm? doc_id=73 Santomero, Anthony M. , Commercial Bank Risk Management: an Analysis of the Process. Wharton School, 1997. Pennsylvania: The Sound Practices for the Management and Supervision of Operational Risk. 2002. Bank for International Settlements and Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. July 2002. http://www. bis. org/publ/bcbs86. htm The Financial Services Roundtable, Guiding Principles in Risk Management for U. S. Commercial Banks. Washington D. C. : The Financial Services Roundtable, 1999. Verschoor, Curtis C. Audit Committee Briefing – 2001: Facilitating New Audit Committee Responsibilities. Florida: The Institute of Internal Auditors, 2001. Working Paper on the Regulatory Treatment of Operational Risk. 2001. Bank for International Settlements and Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. July 2002. http://www. bis. org/publ/bcbs_wp8. pdf 11

Any Nursing Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Any Nursing - Research Proposal Example Some health care workers have died of occupationally acquired human immunodeficiency virus infection and drug-resistant tuberculosis (Radford, 2004). Extensive illness results from many other occupationally acquired infections (Philips, 2004). Rather than receiving displays of public sympathy, however, health care workers with occupationally acquired diseases may be ignored or ostracized, their health care benefits imperiled (Greenberg, 2005). This study would help assess the student nurses who are engaged with their related learning experiences at the clinical areas. This study certainly promote health by practicing the preventive measures that are learned in school. Furthermore, the study would promote awareness on the detrimental effects that may precipitate when their compliance to the universal precautions fall short. Consequently, this study would provide health awareness to the

Maritime transportation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Maritime transportation - Essay Example It was forecasted to rise between 6.5-7% per annum over the next ten years (MPA, 2012). The reason behind Singapore’s maritime industry’s vibrant success is its strategic location and constant competition evolved into a strategic center for maritime business. Situated in the center of a complex global web of trade routes and connected to over 600 ports in over 120 countries, Singapore is nothing less than a global hub. A ‘hub’ can be defined as a well-connected node in a network, and throughout history, successful hubs have been the ones that offer focal points of opportunities, growth and innovation. Singapore has been identified as not only one of the 40 mega regions, which signify large markets with significant economic potential, but it is also one of the world’s most important maritime countries as per the UN Conference on Trade and Development. Singapore, apart from being a premier global hub port, is also the busiest port in the world considering shipping tonnage alone, which amounts to more than 120,000 vessel calls annually. In 2004, only the total vessel arrivals at the port exceeded one billion gross tons for the first time in Singapore’s maritime history. Moreover Singapore offers around 20 million tons of bunkers supplied each year to ships globally. Additionally, Singapore offers reliable and efficient cargo handling, the Global Competitiveness Report 2006-7 ranks Singapore as having the best Quality for Port Infrastructure. Singapore holds 70% of the global jack-up rig-building market and more than 65% of the world’s floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) conversion market. Its technological adeptness is observable through the wide range of maritime services available, including pilot age, towage, fresh water supply, crew changes, ship supply and repair as well as expert building facilitie s (Tan, 2005). Singapore is also a fast developing Petrochemical

Explain what is meant by the 'Biopsychosocial' perspective. Show how Essay

Explain what is meant by the 'Biopsychosocial' perspective. Show how this perspective is important in our understanding of psychological disorders - Essay Example The main aim is to define what is meant by BPS and how it is applied in the treatment of psychological disorders. To achieve this, I will be analyzing a disorder through the lens of BPS. The aim is not so much in determining the treatment of the disorder but to make the reader appreciate the use of BPS. The biopsychosocial (BPS) model in healthcare stresses the need for approaching illnesses and disorders holistically. Usually, medical professionals would usually limit themselves to understanding illnesses thru the lens of science especially that of biology. The model considers the health and disorders of human beings as the result not only of biological failure or invasion but also of psychological and social environment by which he is immersed. In treating disorders, beliefs, thoughts and emotions must also be taken into account. We can think of the human physiological systems including our genes to be rather open and flexible systems which respond to the demands place upon them as opposed to the encapsulated system view that is so pervasive in our society. BPS relies on the assumption that biological disorders could lead to psychological disorders. This is further amplified by social factors such as inappropriate environment and undesirable social interactions. The overall result is a dysfunctional and painful state of mind (Kirkpatrick, 1990). A biopsychosocial perspective in the treatment of alcoholism in wom... The wealth of literature of the topic helps us further to provide a more revealing discussion on the use of BPS. In the following passages, the reader will find that there are unique circumstances and challenges women alcoholics must deal with when compared to their biological counterpart. 2.3 Biological Factors There are certain biological realities that make women alcoholics at a worse position than men. To start with, women tend to be more affected physiologically by the consumption of alcohol. They may be drinking a little amount but that is already equivalent to a drinking spree by their male peers. In the study undertaken by Wilsnack, Wilsnack, and Miller-Strumhofel (1994) and Deal & Galaver (1994), it was found out that the biological makeup of women of having more fatty tissue causes this difference in physiological response. Since women have more fatty tissue and that alcohol does not dissolve well in this environment, the same amount of alcohol consumed by a man and woman will lead to higher blood pressure for the later. Deal and Galaver (1994, p. 190) was also able to show that women have lower levels of dehydrogenase - a very important enzyme in breaking down alcohol. This together with the fatty tissue differentials result to a higher blood alcohol concentration for women which also translates to higher risks for developing the liver illness called cirrhosis. There are many studies indicating that women are indeed more prone to cirrhosis than men and this includes that of Krasner, Davis, Portmann, & Williams (1977) and Peres, Gavallero, Brugera, Torres, & Robes (1986). Nixon (1994) was able to establish that in populations with alcoholic hepatitis, the women's condition were likely to deteriorate to

Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Analysis - Essay Example this control system through the employment of two theoretical perspectives, thus demonstrating the differences between the outcomes arising from the two. For starters, Collier has identified the role of the entrepreneur as regards the social control he exercises over the employees, as a crucial factor in the control system that influences the overall operations of TNA. The success and credibility of this exercise of control on the entrepreneur’s part depends largely on the recognition of the importance of a set of beliefs and boundary systems that will decide what elements the control system will consist of as a package. A management control system essentially consists of various elements including the management accounting practices employed by a particular organization. In this regard, it is imperative to state that the control systems employed by the management are a result of evolution of various systems and beliefs over a period of many years. This is what formalizes and assists in the quantification of various information – financial and other. In doing so, the management identifies various elements of the control system that have to do with the external information relating to markets, consumers, competitors and their decision making mechanisms. This helps the management take decisions of its own. According to Collier, the organization’s control mix and the strategic choices arising out of the implementation of this mix to real time operations in the organizations are the basis of the various frameworks under which the organization’s management control system operates. While there are various frameworks for studying this management control system, Collier uses his paper to describe the 10 year old longitudinal field study of TNA through the frameworks laid down by Simons (1995) and Ferreira and Otley (2005), where both deal with formal systems based approaches as opposed to the informal, social or cultural forms of control. To begin with the

Research this questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research this questions - Assignment Example A report of a research project in a specialist journal will mostly be longer complete with extensive citations to additional research. A report in Financial Times, on the other hand, will be shorter with few citations and may not cite additional research (Grinnell & Unrau 2011, p.149). A report presented in Financial Times will mostly be written by a reporter, journalist- almost anyone. On the contrary, a report of a research project in a specialist journal will mainly be written by either professionals in the field or scholars (experts). Similarly, a report of research project in Financial Times will mostly be written using non technical language. There is the use of an entertaining language to arouse general interest and little documentation (bibliographies) (Kawa-Jump 2003, p.50). The language may also be partially complete with eye catching illustrations to elicit an emotional response. A report in a specialist journal, on the other hand, follows an in-depth research and is written using technical language. In addition, a report in a specialist journal will feature original research studies, bibliographies and references with a language that is objective (Kawa-Jump 2003, p.51). Every research undertaking has philosophical and theoretical ancestry and the foundation and encompasses ontological assumptions and epistemological assumptions (Bryman & Bell 2007, p. 16). A research philosophy refers to the principle on how the data dwelling a certain phenomenal is to be collected, analyzed and used. The key philosophical paradigms that distinguish key components within a research undertaking include positivist derived from natural sciences and characterized by the testing of hypothesis constructed from existing theories (Colwell 2006, p.188). Constructivist, on the other hand, holds that researchers understand situations based on their individual experiences, memories,

One Dark Night Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

One Dark Night - Essay Example ught about this many a time, but he always gently explained to be that he was only this way because he cared so much about me, and wanted to make everything perfect for me. Somehow, he always managed to convince me, either by sweet-talking me or by some sort of romantic gesture. And I always fell for it. Back at the time, I believe I knew in the back of my mind I was unhappy, but I wasnt willing to admit it even to myself. My appearance and behaviour did not give me away- I was always perceived as the perfect wife who mastered everything from cooking to doing the house chores and everything else (my husband also told me I was "not too shabby" between the sheets). I was constantly being flattered about the house, the food I prepared for our friends and often to my husbands business partners, and it was not uncommon for other men to stare at me and compliment me on my looks, sometimes in inappropriate ways I sort of enjoyed. Of course, my husbands reaction would always come shortly thereafter. He would always make sure that everyone knew that Im his wife, and always did it aggressively, telling the man who flattered me to back off because I am his. This was sometimes followed by a push or a shove. This seemed very bizarre to me, since my husband was anything but violence. I dismissed it by saying to myself that he loves me so much, that he would do anything to protect me, even if Im not in danger. And I also rationalized it by saying that his manly ego wont stand it if another man came on to his wife. In that way, I thought to myself, men arent any different than they were when mankind began. The male is always the dominant one, and doesnt let other men get to close to his wife. Thats why he "marks" her as his territory and guards her well. If only I knew beforehand how right I was†¦ But my husbands behaviour did not stop there. As a part of his wanting to make everything perfect (or in other words- exactly as he wants it), he would always criticize me about

The Circumstances of Life and the Way People Live Largely Determine Essay

The Circumstances of Life and the Way People Live Largely Determine Their Health - Essay Example It is these types of circumstance which can lead to significant health problems, and it is these that the wider public health workforce needs to identify and address to improve public health. There are also much more secretive factors that are involved in health outcomes, such as marital status, income and the area in which you live (Blas et al, 2010). These types of areas also need to be involved in any significant discussion of the topic, as a good understanding of these factors could lead to an improvement in public health provisions as well as a reduction in hospitalizations and bad health for the general population. Taking this into account, it should be noted that the purpose of this essay is to cover the circumstances which affect public health outcomes, and how these are tackled by the literature. It will use this information to analyze and evaluate ways in which public health workers can build upon the knowledge provided to help prevent these problems and improve general pub lic health, with further references to relevant literature in the field. By doing this, it will become evident that there are areas in which public health workers can operate to tackle adverse life circumstances to improve the general health outcomes of the public. It has long been known that there are lifestyle factors that either decrease or increase the personal risk of disease and mortality. These have been an object of some interest by the public health community, as this type of epidemiology is, in theory, preventable and could bring several different benefits to the population, not least economically (Shaw, 1999). Research in this area is important because a focus on preventable health outcomes is one major way in which the wider public health force can identify and address adverse life circumstances to improve health.

Reminders About the Acceptable Use of Email and Text Messaging Essay - 3

Reminders About the Acceptable Use of Email and Text Messaging - Essay Example Use of email and text messaging by the employees of People Support Aegis Company is allowed, given support, and strongly agreed since this is very useful and is an important business tool of the company. However, People Support Aegis has policy regarding the use of email and texts messaging since these are company property and for the facilitation of the business of the company. Every employee must make sure to: do not use email and text messaging for the making and giving out of any extremely unpleasant, or messages that cause problems, which includes messages that have offensive comments about private and personal matters, age, gender, race, sexual beliefs, origin, physical and mental condition and political and religious beliefs. Using of monitoring software has been reserved in order to ensure that employees are obeying all the policy given. Therefore, the company has the authority to monitor and access all messages on the email and text messaging system.Assuming of privacy in anything the employee created, received, sent or stored on the company’s email system are not allowed because all their messages maybe seen without any prior notice. Accepting personal emails can be made but the messages should be saved in a separate folder. Breaching and failing to comply with the policy have sanctions to be applied on the employee. If an employee is found and proven to have breached the po licy, they will face the company’s disciplinary penalty ranging from a verbal to dismissal.  

Modern Scientific Theories Essay Example for Free

Modern Scientific Theories Essay For years evolutionists and creationists have been arguing about the way the world was created and whether it has been designed or has evolved over thousands of millions of years. William Paley was a creationist and believed that the universe must have a designer, as it is so complex with many complex organisms. To him it was observable that the universe is designed and if this is true then there must be a designer, which he believed to be God. Many scientists disagree with this theory and say that there is another way the universe could be how it is today. Scientists believe in the theory of the big bang. Unlike the creationists who take each word of the bible literally and believe that God created the universe in 6 days about 6000 years ago scientists believe the universe was created by the big bang about 15000 million years ago. The big bang theory states that the universe was created by a big explosion that threw out materials that now have created the universe of galaxies and stars and planets. It can be proven that the universe is expanding by the red shift of light and the movement of galaxies away from us. As with all explosions the big bang also let out beams of radiation which can still be seen today as the explosion was so large. Some people believe that this theory of the big bang is too much to believe, it is too amazing that all this could have happened without something to cause it. The energy of the big bang was perfect for creating the universe. If it had been less the explosion would not have created galaxies but just dust and if it had been too much life could never exist. The gravity of the universe must also have been perfect for life to exist in the universe, and many people believe the only way this could all be perfect is by something to design it with the right amount of energy, a source of energy to always exist and the right of gravity. People believe this to be God and think of the scientific theory of the big bang to also be as true as God. Creationists look at the bible of scientific truths and therefore do not accept the scientific truths of the big bang theory. However, the bible teaches us religious truths and so is another description of the same creation story. There are three types of people, the creationists who  believe every word of the bible, the scientists who do not believe in God or follow the bible and the people that agree with both theories and do not believe they are in opposition. Those scientists who do not believe in God say that if the big bang was the start of everything, including time, then God cannot exist before the big bang as there was no before as time did not exist. This to them proves that there is no designer involved in the process of creation. Evolutionists such as Richard Dawkins believe Darwins theory of evolution proves creationists wrong. As Hume said, if we were not always the way we are now then how could we be designed, the fact humans did not always exist, for example in the time of the dinosaurs, and we exist now then we must have somehow evolved. Creationists have an argument against the fact that we didnt exist when dinosaurs did. In a town called Glen Rose in Texas Fossilised dinosaur footprints were found alongside large Human footprints. Creationists and the people of Glen Rose believe that this disproves the Darwinian Theory as it proves that dinosaurs and humans co-existed. The evolutionists are trying to prove that these are not human footprints as it attacks their theory strongly. As can be seen Creationists and Evolutionists are continuously attacking each other, as creationism keeps re-appearing. Some creationists feel so strongly about their beliefs that they will not allow evolution to be taught in schools. This happens in Glen Rose and in many other places. Creationists are people that take the creation story in the bible very literally and believe that the universe was created in six days. Evolutionists say that this is impossible because they have proof that the universe evolved over thousands of years and is still not complete. They believe that evolution has no target and is a blind automatic process to which there is no end target or goal. They follow Darwins theory of evolution and natural selection. Paley, who believes the universe is designed, uses the example of the eye as one that proves that the earth is designed; he says that many organisms have very complex eye systems, such as a moth that has a very complex eye. If this eye was not designed then how  did it become as complex as it is? Evolution and science says that the eye can build up through cumulative processes of random selection and mutation. Unlike Paley they do not believe the eye was formed in one single step but believe it was a multitude of steps of evolution and is not pure chance. Their proof for this is that all the stages of evolution of an eye can be seen in different organism. Some organisms have very simple eyes and others more complex. They have not only proved this for the eye but for many other organs. The heart of a human is very complex and has a double circulation system; this is more advanced than the heart of a mouse, which proves that creation takes place in steps. Evolution is a process propelled by survival of the fittest where an insect that looks 15% like a leaf will survive longer than an insect, which only looks 4% like a leaf. The insect that looks most lie a leaf will survive to reproduce and pass on the gene that makes it look like a leaf to its offspring and after generations that particular insect will look more and more like a leaf. This process takes place with all organisms and wrongly causes people to think that the universe is designed by God and created in 6 days. From a scientific point the design argument is wrong as it creates a distinction between humans and other species, which does not exist. According to genetic information species are not as different from each other as people like Paley make out they are. Although science has tried very hard to disprove the design argument many people believe that both could be true and they are just different forms of saying the truth. They believe that the scientific theory of creation is just a more complex and detailed way of telling the same story that Genesis suggests and that the design argument is simply a simpler version of the same thing. There are a few ways that religious people or people who believe in a designer can relate Darwins theory to the idea of God. A theistic interventionist approach states that God created the souls of organisms but that the bodies could be developed through evolution. The body of Adam may have evolved through natural selection but his soul was created and  designed directly by God. Another way that science and the design argument link is that evolution and God dont have to be mutually exclusive and evolution could be the way that God operates. This is the idea of Karl Rahner. The philosopher Henri Bergson argued in his book Creative Evolution that there was something that made evolution take place, and that evolution is part of Gods design. AS of yet no answer has been found that is universally believed for the creation of the universe and all we have are persuasive arguments. Bibliography *The Question is (video) *The Blind Watchmaker (video) *The Question Of God Michael Palmer *Religion and Science Mel Thompson *Looking For God Robert Kirkwood

Czech Republic EU

Czech Republic EU Czech Republic is strategically located at the center of Europe. After the fall of Soviet Union and the end of communism in Czech republic after the velvet revolution there was a considerable growth in the field of economic and industrial area. When the Czech Republic joined into EU and CEC it attracted a lot of investments form the foreign investors. The Czech economic GPD has increased gradually from 3.5 in 2004 to 4.1 in 2005.Along with the countrys strategic location in central of Europe, its low-cost structure and skilled work force have also attracted strong inflows of foreign direct investment. This investment is rapidly modernizing its industrial base and increasing productivity. Before the liberalization of the Czech economy, majority of the companies were mostly run by the state government and had little investments from the outside world. The production level of Czech also reduced and compared with its neighbors. The Czech Republic boasts a flourishing consumer production sector. In the early 1990s most state-owned industries were privatized through a voucher privatization system. Every citizen was given the opportunity to buy, for a moderate price, a book of vouchers that he or she could exchange for shares in state-owned companies. State ownership of businesses was estimated to be about 97% under communism. The non-private sector is less than 20% today. With the liberation of economy and the nod form the government to FDI the Czech economy and its trade balance gradually increased to 3 billion Euros. The GDP and per capita increased staidly. In order to increase the FDI investments the government offered investment incentives in order to enhance the Czech Republics natural advantages, thereby attracting foreign partners and stimulating the economy. Shifting emphasis from the East to the West has necessitated adjustment of commercial laws and accounting practices to fit Western standards. Formerly state-owned banks have all been privatized into the hands of west European banks and oversight by the central bank has improved. The telecommunications infrastructure has been upgraded. The Czech Republic has made significant progress toward creating a stable and attractive climate for investment, although continuing reports of corruption are troubling to investors.(Czech Republic 2003) As Czech Republic has joined the EU in may 2004, most of the foreign investors and leading multinational companies invested huge amount of money into it. The companies like SAB Millers, Volkswagen, and Tesco acquired the companies of Czech Republic and were able to invest more amounts of money and technology into them. With higher competition among the local and foreign companies, the local companies were able to improve its qualities and have an opportunity to compete with them in the global market. When SAB miller acquired the local leading Czech brewing company Plzensky Prazdroj it brought along with it technology which helped it to generate more amount of quantity. As Czech Republic in centrally placed in Europe and it is a member of EU gave SAB miller a foothold in the European market. This also brought good revenues for the local producers and suppliers. There was a steady demand for the local products. Likewise when Czech automaker Skoda was acquired by the German automobile giant Volkswagen, it not only entered a new market but it also helped Skoda to invest more funds into its new technological researchs.The result was that the profits of Skoda gradually jumped from 209 Million dollars to 6.65 billion dollars in a span of time. The operational strategies are made on the day to day basic of the companies at local functional levels. Effective organizational strategies success will only occur depending on the performance of the company. Resources and workforce play a major role at the success of operational strategy. Even though Volkswagen completely owns Skoda it does not make the interference in the management style. With the help of Volkswagen Skoda was able to become a major brand, Skoda were able to position them selves to compete with major car brands. With the help of Volkswagen Skoda was able to use new technologies for better communication with its suppliers and distributors. As Volkswagen being a parent organization of Skoda it does has a major say in its marketing and operational strategies, in designs in order to keep the competitive advantage over its competitors. In the case of SAB millers which is the parent company of Plzensky Prazdroj the production and managerial strategies are held by the ch ild company where as the marketing and decision making strategies are done by the parent company. All the decisions about the production and buying of raw materials are held with Plzensky in order to continue with its old tradition and local heritage. As Kim and Mauborgne (2005) said the creation of a strategy is about providing value its buyers along with reducing the costs will help them have a competitive advantage over its competitors. With help of just in time strategy Skoda was able to have economic scale gains. Skoda was able to create a new market space in Czech and Europe through its cost efficient methods. As in the case of ZVVZ as which had a tough competition with Enven in its local market, they acquired it and were able to reduce the competition. ZVVZ was able to successfully able to create a market for its own in the environmental products. As it has no competitors they ensured that they give high perceived value to its customers at a lower prices, to make do this they reduced the cost by outsourcing the logistics. Kim and Maubroge (2005) point out that to have a competitive advantage over its competitors a firm has to successfully align with cost, utility and price potions. Pilsners rural locations enable them to brew and procure raw materials at a very cheap price. And in order to minimize the costs pilsners also utilized the water from theits local stream. Thus they are focused on customer satisfaction they have more customer base. By using proper value innovation companies try to have a competitive advantage over its competitors , Pilsner a brewing company did not use any value innovation in its strategies. Even in the case of Skoda until Volkswagen acquired them they had no proper value innovation. In case of ZVVZ it created new markets and new products lines by effectively utilizing value innovation technique. This ensured that ZVVZ has major competitive advantage over its competitors and ensured them to be a market leader. As the competition among the major companies is increasing, there has been a major impact on the organizational cultures with comparisons to local companies and its parents companies. The positive impacts can been seen at Skoda where the distance between employees and management is high and always ensured for the better performance of the company. Independent decisions are taken at managerial level to have positive results. How ever in some cases the employees were not comfortable this power distance, which lead them to have high risk and uncertainty and due to this there are more misunderstandings among the management and employees. In this case employees were not able to make decisions which lead to having confusion also led to the failures of the companies. In conclusion Czech economy had been able to transfer itself from being a centralized economy to a free economy. The foreign direct investment ensured that Czech economy jumped from a small to very big economy with the help of FDI the local companies were able to invest heavy money into its research departments, which resulted in huge gains for the company. Czech strategic location which is at the center of Europe ensured that major investments are poured into it. References David A. Grvin (1992) Operation strategy . Prentice Hall international England. Kim, C.W., and Mauborgne, R. (2004) Blue Ocean Strategy, Harvard Business Review [online]. pp 76-84, [cited on 30th April 2008]. Accessed via Ebscohost. Krajewski L, Ritzman L(1998) Operation managements 5th edition , Addison Wesley , England. Slack N, Chambers S, Johnston R (1995) , operations management 5th edition , Prentice hall, England.

Classification of Wastewater

Classification of Wastewater Wastewaters are numerous in kind and defy easy definition. It is difficult to evolve a universal classification for waste. However, roughly there are three basic classification methods, which are combined to form a waste classification system (Hagerty., 1973). They are physical classification, chemical classification and thermal classification. The last one is directly related to thermal processing requirements and focuses on the information needed to select, design, and operate a thermal processing system. 5.1 Physical Classification This classification identifies the physical state of waste. It is needed for the selection and design of waste handling systems and the choice of processing equipment. Based on physical characteristics, typical waste materials are classified as gaseous, liquid, slurry, sludge, solid and containerized waste. In the present context, solid and liquid wastes will be discussed in this section. Solid waste is wastes those which arise from human and animal activities that are normally solid and are usually discarded as useless or unwanted. The term as used in this context is all inclusive, and it encompasses the heterogeneous mass of throw aways from the urban community as well as the more homogeneous accumulations of agricultural, industrial and mineral wastes (Tchobanoglous, 1977). In discussing solid waste, generally and traditionally certain categories of wastes are well recognized as they are very common. For example, solid wastes include domestic, commercial, industrial, (due to construction and demolition) agricultural, institutional and miscellaneous. Many times domestic and commercial wastes cannot be differentiated and are considered together as urban wastes. Included in this category are the garbage materials which result from food preparation both in the homes and restaurants, and also the rubbish which is produced in residences and commercial establishments. Gen erally, the garbage consists of rapidly decomposable materials while the rubbish is either slowly decomposable or non-degradable. A second major category of waste is industrial, the refuse produced by industrial processes. Generally the character of the refuse produced in any manufacturing or processing operation will depend very much on the type, amount, or the character of wastes produced by the industry. Obviously, the wastes produced by steel manufacturers will differ considerably from those produced in the chemical industry. Usually the wastes produced by any food processing operation, the paper and plastics industries are almost similar to the paper and plastic packaging materials found in domestic rubbish. On the other hand, the metal processing industry will obviously generate metallic wastes, but in addition will also produce large quantities of slags, processing chemicals, and other residues, many of which are used in air pollution control and water pollution control activ ities. The wastes produced by chemical industries or other more specialized industries will in general depend upon the specific nature of the end product of the manufacturing process (Waste Classification Guidelines Part 1: Classifying Waste , 2009). 5.2 Chemical Classification It is the key to selection of proper process design parameters, selection of materials of construction, choice of concentration equipment, design of incinerator hardware, the possibility of bye-product recovery, and the requirement of fuel gas and discharge water treatment systems. Based on this classification, the waste materials are broadly classified as clean waste and hazardous waste. 5.2.1 Clean Waste This group covers hydrocarbons which contain only carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The oxidation products are considered clean and can be discharged into the environment. 5.2.2 Hazardous Waste The problem with hazardous wastes is that there is still no internationally accepted definition of a hazardous waste. However, technical criteria such as toxicity, flammability, corrosivity, ignitability and reactivity have been proposed and used to some extent to identify and designate the waste as hazardous. Though the hazardous wastes account for only a small proportion of all wastes generated by the industries, their impact can be disastrous as they not only affect the physical environment but also the biotic components. The United States alone generates about 60 million tons of hazardous waste every year, and the European Economic Community about half of that quantity. Roughly 10 to 20 per cent of the total waste produced can be considered as potentially hazardous. In general, there are industries like metallurgical, iron and steel, fertilizers, thermal power production, etc. generating large quantities of solid and liquid wastes containing low concentration that is at the trace level of hazardous constituents. On the other hand, there is another group of industries such as chlor alkali, pesticides, dyestuffs, electroplating, photographic chemicals, fine chemicals, etc. which generate comparatively small quantity of wastes, but they are highly toxic and hazardous. Approximately one million tons of solid waste is generated annually by the 131 industrial units surveyed. Nearly 22% of wastes from these industries are hazardous. It has been estimated that about 94% of these wastes are generated by process oriented (generating during the processing of raw materials to get the finished products) industries and 6% of it is pollution control oriented (generated from the treatment of gaseous and liquid effluents) industries. Maximum amount of hazardous waste is generates by chlor-alkali, dyes and pigment, organic chemicals, pesticide and plating industrial sectors. The inorganic chemical sector on the other hand, generated low volume-high toxic wastes. The syntheti c drug manufacturing units in drugs and pharma sector generate maximum quantity of hazardous wastes. Thus, hazardous waste may be further classified into waste generating gaseous contaminants, waste containing alkali and alkaline earth metals and waste containing heavy metals. 5.3 Thermal Classification This is used in the determination of energy requirements for processing and in the selection of system configuration. Based on the thermal properties, typical waste materials are classified as follows, where combustible wastes are a group that includes wastes which will sustain oxidation reaction without additional energy requirements, noncombustible wastes are groups that represent low-Btu value wastes, which will not sustain oxidation reaction without additional energy supply. These wastes may be further classified into following two categories which are the noncombustible wastes with no low the volatiles (the organics in the wastes contain no low volatiles which, when heated, will evaporate) and the noncombustible waste with low volatiles (the organics in the waste are heat sensitive and readily vaporized when heated). These two categories provide important information for the designing of evaporation and steam stripping systems. They are also important factors in the selection of pre-concentration equipment of wastes. For the successful application of thermal processing systems accurate and reliable information about the composition and characteristics of any waste to be processed is essential. Such data are necessary to understand the process and for the selection of process equipment. Classification of a wastewater by toxicity or hazard is important for safety and also to comply with legislation (Mumford, 1973). In practice, it is better to use the characterization ‘hazardous’ and ‘non-hazardous’ having regard to both toxicity and the environmental implications of the waste on disposal. Therefore the Control of Pollution Act distinguishes waste as poisonous, noxious or polluting and whose presence on land is likely to give rise to an environmental hazard. It also encompasses highly flammable or explosive materials which may have little toxicological significance (Agency, n.d.). Classification may be further expanded taking into consideration individual chemicals. Chemical analysis will usually give the proportion of each chemical present, except that of organics which may be characterized by one or more physical properties as listed in Table 2. Table 2: Physical properties of liquid wastes. Alternatively the description may be limited to synthetic organic materials, natural organic materials, and inorganic materials and this characteristic corresponds to classification by origin. Finally, wastewater is usually wastes because it consists of unusable and often unpleasant mixture of chemicals. Bibliography Agency, T.E.P. About Hazardous Non-Hazardous Waste by The Environmental Protection Agency, [Online], Available: http://www.lonestar.edu/16715.htm [19 February 2014]. Hagerty., D.J.P.J.L.a.H.J.E. (1973) Solid Waste Management, New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. Mumford, C.J. (1973) Industrial Pollution Control, Bussiness Books. Tchobanoglous, G.T.H.a.E.R. (1977) Solid Wastes: Engineering Principles and Management issues, New York: McGraw Hill.

Scarlet Letter :: essays research papers

Symbolism is traditionally a sign or token of something. In the matter of literature, the definition of the literary device, symbolism, is more complicated. Symbols of literature are usually metaphysical. The main symbol of The Scarlet Letter is the red "A" that Hester Prynne was sentenced to wear on her chest. Nathaniel Hawthorne's intention was to make the meaning of the crimson token worn on the bosom of Hester Prynne is highly ambiguous. In this he was successful. Although the "A" means "adulteress" to the people of Boston, to reader the "A" may have other meanings such as "American" or "able". To the townspeople, author, and reader clearly the original intention of the "A" was to stand for "adulteress". When Hester Prynne became pregnant during the absence of her husband she was accused and convicted of adultery. Her sentence was to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her bosom to let everyone know that she was an adulteress, forevermore. Because of her unique sentence everyone knew that she was, in fact, an adulteress and people treated her that way. Society condemned her for her sin, without knowing anything else. Hester was forced to live alone on the outskirts of the city. She was a seamstress, but got very little business. When she used her skills to decorate the "A", things only got worse. People felt that she was trying to show off the fact that she was an adulteress, or that she was proud to be. Hester's daughter, Pearl, was constantly ridiculed by other children for being an "evil", "devil" child. Clearly it was the first intention of the symbol to reve! al that Hester Prynne was an adulteress. Although the first intention of the "A" was to mark Hester Prynne as an adulteress, it also has other, more abstract meanings. The letter has a relation to the word, "American". Hester Prynne's "A" reflects an "American" meaning in various ways. For one, America is a melting pot of many peoples and ideas, as was Hester's "A". She earned that "A" under certain situations. She was in a loveless marriage. She had been separated from her husband for 2 years. She thought he might be at the bottom of the sea. She was in love with another man. She was perceived and punished under a strict Puritan eye. Like the development of America, the were many conditions that led to the developed of Hester's "A". Another way that Hester Prynne's "A" symbolizes America, is that they were both shaped by past actions. No matter how Hester had changed, since her act of adultery, at any point

Symbolism in The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald Essay

Symbolism in The Great Gatsby, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald The Great Gatsby is a classic American novel, written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1927 about corruption, murder and life in the 1920’s. The true purpose for a writer to compose any piece of literature is to entertain the reader, and this writer does this to the best of his ability. In this well-crafted tale, Fitzgerald presents a fast moving, exciting story, and to any typical reader it can be enjoyed; however, if the reader takes the time to analyze his words and truly understand his symbolism used, it can transform this account into a completely different entity. In The Great Gatsby, it is apparent that Fitzgerald uses these symbols to provide representations of what life was like during that time, and to help advance the thematic interests in his novel. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, symbolism is defined as â€Å"The practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationship s,† and the author uses all varieties of symbol’s in the text to coax the reader into the true lives and personalities of the characters. Symbolism often allows the reader to better understand the theme and mood that the author is trying to portray. Fitzgerald uses this to show details that cannot be revealed by words alone. Through symbolism, he allows the reader to refer to other, more tangible aspects of life. Throughout this novel, the types of symbolism vary from object to object, but some of the most notable examples of symbolism include the color green, the overall setting, and the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. The use of symbolism throughout this novel not only helps to give the reader insight into the true identities of the characters, but also further accentuates the themes portrayed throughout the novel. One of the more obvious examples of symbolism in this novel is the color green. This is evident from the beginning of the novel, when there is a small, flickering green light across the Manhasset Bay, separating the Manhasset Neck, also known as the East Egg, from the Great Neck, also known as the West Egg. One assumption can be made that the green hue of the light represents the envy that Gatsby has of Tom for being married to Daisy. Gatsby wishes that he was still with Daisy, and this light represents his hopes for... ...ovel, The Great Gatsby. By using specific examples of symbolism, he is enabled to give insight into the characters involved in the events which take place in the story, as well as the events that were taking place during that time period. Fitzgerald made references in this novel that will cause people in years to come to remember the 1920’s for what they truly were, and regardless of if this was his purpose in writing the tale, he will be remembered for this. The novel is awash with symbolism which enhance the themes portrayed in the novel, but a few specific symbols are the color green, the entire setting of the story, and the eyes of Doctor T.J. Eckleburg. All of these symbols help the reader to draw conclusions about the time period, as well as further understand the personalities and attitudes of the characters. By causing the characters to have multi-faceted characteristics and dispositions, Fitzgerald causes the reader to feel like they are involved in the book, whic h leads the reader to become involved in the novel and actually feel like he is one of the characters. Symbolism enhances any piece of literature, but this piece in particular utilized symbolism to flawlessness.

Teen Pregnancy and Ways to Prevent It

Teen pregnancy is an important issue all over the country. This is an ongoing problem that must be dealt with. Teenage pregnancy can ruin a teen’s life and also the life of an infant. In this paper I will discuss the many aspects of teenage pregnancy and how it affects the life of a teenager. Each year in the US almost 1 million teens become pregnant. While the facts are clear, the issues of teenage pregnancy are complicated. Talk of sex is everywhere in our society and young girls are portrayed as sex objects. Sex is used to sell everything from clothing to news and yet people are shocked at the rising number of teenagers who are sexually active. The concern about the welfare of infants and adolescents is so much that we must move beyond the denial and distinguish effective solutions that require us to come to a solution. Nowadays it is becoming more familiar to a teenager to be engaged in sexual activities. They have unprotected sex and have multiple partners. Today’s society is more open about the subject of sex than ever before. It is all over the television, the internet, and even on the radio and in music videos. It is all over the media and therefore teens believe it is ok to be promiscuous and do not think about the consequences they could face with an unexpected pregnancy and how much it will change their lives forever. Even though the best way to prevent a pregnancy is to be abstinent, there are many teens under a lot of pressure to have sex and engage in it quite frequently. Many seek the love and affection that they normally do not get at home and they usually find it in the form of sex with whomever they can get the attention from. They usually have a poor home life or low self esteem and may just be looking for love and acceptance in the form of sex to feel loved. Teenagers need encouragement to abstain from sex all together and they need to be given more information on the prevention of pregnancy if they are to become sexually active. Teens need to constantly hear strong messages about being responsible if they decide to engage in sexual activity. Parents should be the primary givers of these messages to guide them in the right direction. If teens are given positive life options then they are given hope for their futures as well as the motivation to avoid early pregnancies. Teen pregnancy has been an issue for many years. Even with all of the education on the subject it is still an issue that continues to be on the rise. There are lots of parents that don’t sit down and talk openly with their kids about sex and all of the consequences of their actions if faced with a pregnancy. Some teens don’t have the parental guidance they need to make the right choices, either because of single parent households that the parent works so much and does not have the time or can pay as much attention to them as the teen may like or parents that just plain don’t care what their kids are doing. Some of these kids go looking for love in all the wrong places and just want to fit in anywhere they can. They don’t think of the consequences if they are making bad choices. The best way to prevent teen pregnancies is to not only teach them about abstinence but also to inform them about the risks they could face if they chose to have unprotected sex or any kind of sex at all. They should be taught all of their options about being safe if they chose to make the decision to have sex. Some of these teachings should include what protected sex is and how it not only prevents them from an unwanted pregnancy but also from STD’s. Teen pregnancy rates in the United States have jumped for the first time in more than a decade and a campaign mandated by the government to reduce the issue is faltering (Stein, 2010). There are lots of political debates on teen pregnancy and the biggest debate is whether or not the federally funded programs on teaching teens abstinence are working or not and several experts blame the increase in teen pregnancies on sex education programs that focus on encouraging abstinence (Stein, 2010), instead of also teaching the use of contraceptives. Critics also argued that the disturbing data of the rise in teen pregnancies were just the latest in a long series of indications that the focus on abstinence programs was a dismal failure (Stein). Abstinence –only programs received more than $100 million in federal funding annually and $50 million in federal funding was given to states that utilized such programs (Medical News Today). James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth thinks that abstinence-only programs deny young people life-saving information about condoms and other forms of prevention. They should be taught all of their options about being safe from an unwanted pregnancy and STD’s, because by teaching abstinence only obviously is not working. Teens don’t realize that having a baby is a lot of responsibility financially as well as physically and mentally and they are not fully prepared to take on those responsibilities. So then it either falls in the hands of the teen’s parents or in the taxpayers in the form of welfare. Many teens that get pregnant not only suffer in school or drop out but they also could face other problems such as social or mental problems. Socially teen mothers have very limited social contact or friendships because their friends have moved on in school and with their social lives. The teen mother has little or no time for a social life because all of their time is focused on their child. Another problem they face is because of the lack of social interactions it could lead to depression or some sort of mental anxiety. Teens do have many options if they are faced with an unexpected pregnancy. Many unfortunately have abortions. There is also the option of giving the baby up for adoption; this would be the best option as it gives another family the chance at raising a child that they otherwise could not have of their own. That child may grow up very healthy and happy as opposed to growing up unwanted and possibly in poverty. According to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists adolescent mothers are significantly less likely to receive a high school diploma than teens that wait to have sex. They are also more likely to live in poverty, receive public assistance, and have long periods of welfare dependency. (The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists). Teen Childbearing in the US costs federal, state, and local taxpayers at least $9. billion annually (Hoffman). Other issues of teen pregnancy is that it can be physically difficult for a teen girl to go through a pregnancy because she is still growing herself and her body may not be able to take the physical demand of being pregnant. They are less likely to seek medical attention such as prenatal care because many are afraid to tell their parents and it could prolong the much needed early prenatal care and if there are problems in the pregnancy, they could have been avoided with early care. Other problems could be that the teen may have been smoking or drinking or doing drugs at the time of conception and those things could be harmful to the baby. In turn if the baby is harmed there will more likely be added medical expenses before during and even after delivery. Some of the most obvious consequences of a teenage pregnancy is that the baby will not receive the adequate support it needs either financially or emotionally because the mother or father has not fully matured and usually has dropped out of school to take a meaningless job that pay minimum wage. Often times the baby will suffer from emotional problems ecause the parent or parents also have emotional problems from not being mature enough to raise a child. Some teenagers feel burdened by the child because they never had the chance to live out their teenage years and many times the child of these parents could feel this resentment. Another negative aspect could be that the children of teenage parents could suffer from neglect because the parent hasn’t matured enough to recognize the need for proper nutrition, or medical care or the child is usually left in the care of others while they go out, regardless of whether that person is trustworthy or not. Children of teenage mothers have significantly higher odds of placement in certain special education classes and significantly higher occurrence of milder education problems, but when maternal education, marital status, poverty level, and race are controlled, the detrimental effects disappear and even some protective effects are observed (Sams). In conclusion a teenager is not fully equipped to care for a child and there could be devastating consequences for that child to be raised by a teenager whether it is because of financial burdens or emotional problems. Teenagers need to be made aware of all of these consequences and what could happen to them if they make the wrong choice of having sex before they are ready. References http://www.articlealley.com/article_479589_17.html

Red Bull Marketing Essay

From 1987, Red Bull was launched in Austria with the tag line â€Å"Red Bull verleiht Fluuugel† (Red Bull Gives You Wiiings). It wasn’t until 1992 that Red Bull began to roll out in other European countries. â€Å"Part of the growth strategy was to enter new markets slowly and methodically in order to maximise buzz and build anticipation† Keller, K. L (2008 *A) By 1997, Red Bull was available in 25 markets globally, including Western and Eastern Europe, New Zealand and South Africa. Over the decade since its inception Red Bulls sales by 200%, from 1. million units to over 200 million units, and by 2004 the company had worldwide annual sales of nearly 2 billion cans in 120 countries. The Marketing Strategy used by Red Bull was not to pound the market with their presence but to be seen as an exclusivity, and to be perceived as the drink for all occasions when needed. In this way, marketers left empty cans in nightclubs, placed samples and dispensers in universities and allowed the value of Red Bull to spread via word of mouth. Red Bull marketed the following properties: * Improves Physical Endurance Stimulates Metabolism and Eliminates Waste Substances * Improves Overall Feeling of Well-being * Improves Reaction Speed and Concentration * Increases Mental Alertness These characteristics of the Red Bull product opened itself up to a whole range of potential consumers and marketing situations. Because of its properties, Red Bull used the slogan â€Å"Revitalizes Mind and Body†, and positioned the drink using a premium pricing strategy, marking the price up by at least 10% on the most expensive competitors product. Norbert Krailhamer explains: We are much more expensive that [cola]. This is OK because ours is an efficiency product, so we can charge this price premium, which is the secret of its success†¦ Due to the respect for a price premium brand†¦ we can charge what is fair for the benefit† Keller, K. L (2008 *A) A large portion of Red Bull’s success has to do with the use of the distinctive Red Bulls and Rising Sun logo and slender 250mL can as seen on their sponsorship sign writing and general advertising. It is debatable whether or not Red Bull would be as popular and successful without this insignia. Evidence of this can be traced to the introduction of Red Bull in Germany , where the demand was so great that they sold out of canned stock and had to switch to glass bottles to keep up with the demand. As soon as the bottles were introduced the demand dropped. The success of Red Bulls marketing strategy can be highlighted with the bungled entry of Red Bull into the United Kingdom in 1995. The marketers believed that the United Kingdom was too different from the Austrian market, so altered the marketing plan. The changes occurred in three distinct ways: â€Å"Extract: 1) the company marketed Red Bull as a sports drink, not a stimulation drink; 2) it did not pursue a word-of-mouth strategy, choosing instead to sell via the largest beverage channels; and 3) it created new advertising and focused on billboards rather than electronic media. As a result, Red Bull was considered a failure in the United Kingdomafter losing more than $10 million during the first 18 months in that market. † Keller, K. L (2008 *A) 1. Introduction: Red Bull GmbH, the Austrian based energy drink manufacturer is a remarkable brand that has grown to surpass some of the worlds most established brands. After founder Dietrich Mateschitz returned from Asia with the rights to patent Red Bull and alter it to suit the Western market, he had a defined idea in his mind as to what he wanted to achieve with the energy drink. After trialing more than 200 designs and finally cementing the right combination of caffeine, taurine, carbonation and flavoring the â€Å"original† Red Bull flavor was established. What follows is the amazing story of how Red Bull was marketed in Austria and then from 1992 onwards into the rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and the United Kingdom. Some of the key stones in the Red Bull brand marketing triumph has been the simplicity of their marketing approach through application, the positioning of the product and the clever ways in which they have side stepped traditional channels when bringing the product to the market and building the buzz and anticipation of Red Bull rather than just solely relying on the decision making derived from traditional advertising methods. The diversity of the Red Bull brand has allowed itself to move with the market and remain the worlds most popular energy drink. Looking at the brands tangible flexibility can even be posed at the move in the market to sugar free beverages and the quick and succinct way that Red Bull acted in order to uphold its position and remain creditable at the same time. As of the 2009 financial year, Red Bull GmbH had net sales report of 3. 3billion dollars and now has 3900 employees worldwide. Source: BNET – Resources 2. Brand Positioning and Values From the day of inception, Dietrich Mateschitz had a clear plan for how he wanted to establish Red Bull. The current positioning has left Red Bull in a very strong position among the market place and the values that it represents are continually being lived up to through its corporate presence in our daily lives. The position of Red Bull is: â€Å"Revitalizes Mind and Body† this tangible benefit, direct from Red Bull endorses the product to satisfy consumer needs before they have even made a purchase. Red Bull has also positioned themselves as the â€Å"Premium Energy Drink† above all other energy drinks in the market. The key word in this phrase being ‘premium’ as Red Bull has an exclusive appeal and a higher market price than its competitors; factors that have been thought through very thoroughly by the Red Bull marketing team. The â€Å"Premium Pricing Strategy† that Red Bull has incorporated, dictates that Red Bull will be priced at a rate 10% higher than the most expensive competitors price to ensure the class standard of the Red Bull name and set the standard for all of the rest of the competitors. In addition to the Premium Pricing Strategy, Red Bull introduced the Seeding Program, whereby initially Red Bull would only be stocked in the best and most classy establishments, whether this be exclusive clubs, nightclubs, bars, sporting events and related events to build the necessary hype or buzz about Red Bull, and to enable the word of mouth from the social elite to filter down into the working class. Once the market place was saturated with Red Bull buzz, the general market received the product too. In addition to the Word of Mouth strategy, Red Bull would supplement this with event sponsorship, athlete endorsements, sampling, point of purchase marketing and select electronic advertising. This allowed Red Bull to cover the necessary avenues which potential consumers were likely to come into contact with the brand and go on to purchase the drink. The values of the Red Bull brand are derived from the benefits of the drink itself: * Improves Physical Endurance * Stimulates Metabolism and Eliminates Waste Substances. Improves Overall Feeling of Well-being Improves Reaction Speed and Concentration * Increases Mental Alertness The Red Bull brand encourages the consumer to go to their potential and offers an aid in doing so. But offering these benefits in their product, Red Bull values the extension of horizons and energetic approaches to life. This can be summed up through their corporate sponsorship of Extreme Sporting events, individual athletes, the creation of events or the sponsorship of teams. The reasoning behind this is that these events are fast paced, high energy, thrilling and require exactly what Red Bull has to offer. By encouraging these types of events and endorsing the elimination of comfort zones, Red Bull is positioning itself as a goal, a motivation and a stimulant that can be harnessed to achieve any goal. Red Bulls success can be likened to the single-minded approach they have used n order to connect with their target market; 14 – 19yr olds and then the next highest penetration 20 – 29yr olds. Red Bull is an active product in today’s trendy lifestyle habits and is being reflected through their values and displays encouragement of abnormal sporting activities. . The Red Bull Air Races† in Perth Australia; and sponsorship of Mark Webber and Formula One. From a nationality point of view, Red Bull chooses the idols of sport and eye catching events to promote itself as well as support the people in question. This is seen all around the world and has been a strong driver in the popularity of Red Bull in certain areas of the world. Because Red Bull is a stimulant drink, it makes sense to market to the whole variety of consumers in the market place. In its 23 years of operations, the initial people who would have used Red Bull for â€Å"party energy† at nightclubs and parties will now be moving through to the quieter portion of their lives, however this does not mean they will no longer need Red Bull. Working long or irregular hours, studying and going the added distance is still important; therefore Red Bull has applied its benefit across several generations and the cycle continues. 3. Brand Characteristics Red Bull is now a very distinctive product in the market place and can be recognized based on some key points. Two Red Bulls and Rising Sun Logo * Slender Silver 250mL can (with silver and blue pattern) The name Red Bull * Endorsed Events or Persons i. e. Mark Webber As opposed to other energy drinks on the market it is the most represented and advertised product on supermarket shelving in Australia, (per unit) and is represented by an 80:20 spread of cans to bottles in the standard 250mL variety(1). Dominant characteristics of Red Bull include its involvement in Extreme Sports, high-energy events and the encouragement of athletes and the involvement within comfort breaking activities. It is important to note that the Red Bull marketing strategy encourages the promotion of the brand through non-traditional channels and is not seen in the same context as traditional carbonated drinks, or energy drinks. This fact makes adds to the characteristics of the brand. People recognize Red Bull based on its involvement and support in events and occasions. Rather than times, controversies or lengthy advertising campaigns which try to deliver a message over a long period of time. The marketing message for Red Bull has remained consistent throughout the 23-year reign it has had in the marketplace; adding to the resilience of Red Bulls brand characteristics. The Red Bull Australia website promotes Red Bull as: â€Å"Red Bull  ® Energy Drink has always been and always will be more than just a hot secret for the night owl and the non-stop party-animal. It is appreciated by a wide range of people, such as the overworked taxi driver, the stressed manager, the exam-anxious student and the pressured journalist†¦. It is used by surfers in the summer and snowboarders in the winter. For day or night, for job or fun. People who need more energy learn to value Red Bull ® Energy Drink. And the number of people who do is increasing all the time. † Red Bull Australia 2010 The Red Bull Australia website explains, through a marketing set spiel the characteristics of the brand and the direct benefiters. The exert highlights very clearly the intentions of the brand and the way in which it is appreciated. 4. Product Benefits and Consumer Satisfaction Red Bull markets itself on the two phrases â€Å"Gives You Wings† and â€Å"Revitalizes Mind and Body†. This can be demonstrated through its ingredients: Caffeine, Taurine, Sucrose Glucuronolactone, Glucose and B-Group Vitamins. These six ingredients all combine to give Red Bull the kick that consumers need. * Improves Physical Endurance * Stimulates Metabolism and Eliminates Waste Substances * Improves Overall Feeling of Well-being * Improves Reaction Speed and Concentration * Increases Mental Alertness As stated earlier the benefits listed by Red Bull allow themselves to be focused on a wide variety of people, whether they be office workers, truck drivers, athletes, students or partying. The given benefits of Red Bull provide the reasoning to buy and continue re-buying. Consumer satisfaction based on the product benefits is evident through the sales figures that Red Bull has been generating, with positive growth of 10% or more per annum. Performance the American Market shows the Market share of Red Bull compared to its competitors: Based on its 42. 6% share of the energy drink market sales in 2006, it is evident that Red Bull is a satisfying and enticing product. A large portion of Red Bulls ability to satisfy both physically and mentally comes from the consumption of the drink and seeing the performance of those around the consumer who are either consuming Red Bull or endorsed by Red Bull. This positive reinforcement from the elements encourages the consumer to drink more and to be brand loyal to Red Bull. 5. Brand Communities Red Bull’s mass sponsorship and consumer loyalty would work considerably well with a network of dedicated Red Bull Communities, rather than just the Red Bull sponsored, run and presented events. The basic criteria for the Red Bull Brand Community have already been met with the purchase of a Red Bull Product, as they have features and needs that are common to the other consumers who had purchased Red Bull previously. Ways that Red Bull could maximize on this could be through loyalty reward schemes, groups, emailing lists, gatherings, committees or clubs. While the idea of a Red Bull Brand community is appealing the practical application of one of these communities would be an expensive and difficult task to manage. The on paper, and metaphorical idea of a Brand community is a safer, more cost effective and ultimately simple Utopia when thought through. The Brand Community idea is one that should have been conceived during the introduction to the market or while the market was considerably smaller and more manageable. Red Bull uses the basic premise of Brand Communities already with their Red Bull Events and Sponsorships, in which it is then upon the individual to become a consumer and subscribe to these communities. The stress between the brand, the individual and the culture in which both exist is not under any amount of tension in the current marketplace and does not need to be altered at any point in the near future. The Brand Community, which Red Bull could potentially highlight, contains around 1 Billion people globally and would require large amounts of money to communicate to all of these people, let alone bring attention to it and get consumers to act upon it. 6. Brand Equities Red Bull has at its disposal a large set of Brand Equity that it uses to distinguish itself from other energy drinks and its competitors. These include its logo, its amber coloring, its taste, advertising, packaging, pricing and its reputation as a reliable and beneficial product for onsumers. In comparison to its competitors, Red Bull prides itself on being an al rounder energy drink that can be consumed anytime, in the right conditions, at the right place and the right time. Which has worked well for Red Bull as they have positioned the brand specifically to suit any occasion and to answer â€Å"Yes† to any of the Three Right questions. The development of these brand equities has been a continuous run through the development of Red Bull as a brand and its establishment in all the countries it now occupies space in. The Red Bull logo is a key device in the success of Red Bull and is possibly the strongest asset that they have in terms of Brand Equity. Many comparisons of competitor energy drinks such as Rockstar, Monster and Sobe No Fear yielded results that consumers could not differentiate between the Red Bull and its competitors while using unmarked cups and blindfold tests according to Helium Comparison Tests. In a real market perspective this fact is worrying that competitors are fabricating similar tasting products and that they are indistinguishable from one another. However this instance is found across all products in any category when basing comparisons without brand equities such as packaging, logos and distinctive colorings. Red Bulls marketing strategy has ensured that the strength on the product based on its merits receives the credit it deserves. The initial slow entry into markets, creating buzz and desired anticipation of the products has proven valuable for Red Bulls long term existence and has given merit to them too, in that they did ot let down the people who had tried the product based on hype and anticipation, creating return buyers and brand loyalties. Red Bull’s price premium is considered a winner with the market place as people believe that paying for benefit is better than paying for volume, as can be seen with competitors such as Rockstar who sell only the 500mL cans of energy drink and who deliver solely on their marketability rather than on product benefit such as Red Bull has done. The pricing premium has ensured that Red Bull be taken on its quality rather than on a commodity measurement ike quantity. This perceived value given to it and received by consumers tightens the consumer’s loyalty to the brand. Red Bull has seen a long run of marketing in sporting events and endorsing athletes to create awareness to potential consumers of its benefits in sporting activities, on and off the field. This spending on endorsements and events is evidence to the wider community that Red Bull is not just about profiteering, but supports the sporting world and provides entertainment and encouragement to those people who would like to strive to this level. However know where does Red Bull market itself to state that it will put you in this position. The clever marketing strategies which Red Bull have used remain honest and aim solely to promote Red Bull in a positive light whilst involving the consumers it is reaching out to. The Brand Equity that Red Bull keeps is a well-earned set of criteria that has been nursed from the beginning of the brand back in 1987 in Austria. The expansion of Red Bull into more than 120 countries is a sign of strength and highlights the diverse regions of differing brand equities among varying cultures. The underlying success of Red Bull remains in the marketing strategy that put it ahead of the competition in the first place. Without this, the basics of brand equities would not exist and Red Bull would follow the same course of one of its competitors. Because of this I believe that Red Bulls greatest brand equity is the brand itself and its history among the market over the past 23 years. Combining all of the elements discussed previously and essential make up of campaigns, strategies, advertising, targeted markets, successes and failures. This long history will benefit Red Bull in the long term, as it will become even more cemented into the grain of society and stay as the go to energy drink, rather than the fad competition products which have entered into the market in order to unseat the firmly held Red Bull. As for the continuing growth of Red Bulls Brand equity listings that is to be foreseen in the future, but there is little doubt that it will continue to build positively as the Red Bull product range changes to suit the coming changes to the current market. When it does I have no doubt that Red Bull GmbH will be ready for it. . Conclusion The Red Bull Branding Story follows a long timeline of success and obstacles that Red Bull GmbH has turned into triumphs. Red Bull have managed to turn a small Austrian drinks company into a global giant as one of the fastest growing brands and now staying true to one of the most popular of the 21st Century. Over the course of the 23 years that Red Bull has been manufactured, we can see a growing trend and the synthetic need created by Red Bull for energy stimulation drinks; and now the popularity of them to a point where we could no longer exist without them. Red Bull has become part of pop culture and every day slang and jargon, which intensifies its impact on the market and its sustainability in the consumers mind. As far as brands go, Red Bull has remained faithful to its consumers and to its own marketing goals, with little to no changes to the marketing strategy, the product packaging and flavoring, besides of course the Sugar Free Red Bull. This steadfast approach to marketing has clearly worked and a comparison of Red Bull and other Energy drinks shows that these brands lack the same commitment that Red Bull has.