Analysis of a Start

Investigation of a Start Presentation Technological advancements have impacted the way wherein individuals work from streets to their workplaces. The fast development of innovation appears to impact even the car and transport industry (Akhilesh 2013).Advertising We will compose a custom exploration paper test on Analysis of a Start-up Lyft explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More Whereas a few organizations and imaginative endeavors are rising every day in the advanced world, uniqueness and eliteness are turning into a significant factor in the development and improvement of present day organizations (Osterwalder Pigneur 2013). Trailblazers routinely concoct new thoughts, yet their advancements infrequently catch the market and buyers, and consequently, they gradually plunge, since they neglect to get the normal selection. With the changing patterns in buyer inclinations, capable organizations are developing with enticing plans of action and items, and along these lines new advancements have th ought that it was uncomfortable to enter the as of now investigated markets (Louise 2013). A beginning innovation addresses numerous difficulties and fears among lenders over the developing mechanical organizations, as they are typically uncertain of its future initiation. Central to such thoughts, this exploration gives an expert examination of a beginning up tech adventure known as Lyft. Depiction of the Venture Lyft is a cutting edge and exclusive tech adventure that developed through advancements in the taxi transportation organization, and it is at present increasing broad help and notoriety over the American streets (Lyft 2014). Started throughout the late spring of 2012, two pioneers John Zimmer and Logan Green started the vehicle business and named it Zimride to offer travelers distributed ride sharing encounters (Lyft 2014).Advertising Looking for research paper on business financial matters? How about we check whether we can support you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF L earn More Zimmer and Green built up the Lyft transport framework with a fantasy about empowering travelers set aside cash, keep away from blocked city traffic, and unite networks through rideshare transport program (Lyft 2014). The taxis structure an arrangement of transport coordinate with the organization bearing to associate and match drivers with travelers, who have mentioned for a taxi ride through the Lyft Android and iPhone portable applications. Lyft advances the endeavor by urging travelers to impact their companion to join and prize them with $25 on the ensuing ride. Utilizing Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and individual verifications, Lyft screens drivers to evaluate their believability and driving record norms in a stricter way than the conventional cabs (Lyft 2014). Lyft taxis are novel since they get deliberate gifts from travelers, dissimilar to customary cabs that depend on money installments. Stored week after week into their financial balances, these network d rivers get roughly 80% of the complete gifts that travelers willfully produce (Lyft 2014). Autonomous people group drivers must have individual vehicles in great working condition and should have Android telephones or iPhone associated with travelers by means of the versatile applications. Plan of action Canvas for the Venture In embraced the expert examination of Lyft as another endeavor in America, this exploration paper utilizes the plan of action canvas to do the business investigation process.Advertising We will compose a custom examination paper test on Analysis of a Start-up Lyft explicitly for you for just $16.05 $11/page Learn More Business model canvas is a cutting edge type of the vital enterprising and the board apparatus that permits businesspersons to challenge, structure, portray, or even detail and bolster their organizations (Manzano 2012). Business canvas model has a few components that help businesspersons to portray and break down a business framework. It envelop s an evaluation of colleagues, key exercises, distinct advantages, offers, client connections, business channels, income streams, client portions, and the cost structure. Key Partners The key accomplices of Lyft business advancement are the center individuals, including the organizer, John Zimmer, who manages in general tasks and progress, Amy Fox, who is accountable for association improvement, business instructor, Beth Stevens (Lyft 2014). Corey Owens is answerable for keeping up open approach, Bill Vainisi is the VP, and appointee general insight, Kedar Deshpande, is liable for key activities, while Marzia Zafaris is the chief of arranging and strategy (Lyft 2014). The people group drivers, Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), protection offices and organizations, and the travelers are additionally significant accomplices of Lyft. Key Activities Lyft embraces various exercises to guarantee the rideshare program gets successful. The fundamental movement is to give productive and mo dest vehicle of travelers and building a powerful rideshare network (Lyft 2014). Lyft interfaces drivers and travelers mechanically utilizing Android and iPhone applications. The organization works together with insurance agencies and the Department of Motor Vehicles to upgrade transportation wellbeing (Lyft 2014).Advertising Searching for research paper on business financial aspects? We should check whether we can support you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Find out More Lyft guarantees that they investigate drivers through individual verifications and examining driving record gauges, utilizes innovative application input to dissect driver rating by travelers, and guarantees a functioning the $1,000,000 overabundance protection program. Secret weapons For the rideshare program to be successful, Lyft has been depending on various significant resources and HR. HR that are esteemed the most are the gifted drivers. The most significant resources in the business are vehicles for taking travelers around assigned areas (Lyft 2014). Lyft Transportation Company requires the Smartphones, particularly Android telephones, tablets, and iPhones that can bolster versatile applications, which associate drivers with travelers (Lyft 2014). Cell phones must have the autonomous Lyft applications introduced as one of the most significant recourses that the travelers use to welcome companions, colleagues, and family members. Offers The aim of Lyft is huge and special in n ature. Lyft targets utilizing travelers to utilize magnanimous free lifts empower them to stay away from platform dividers that open them to carbon inward breath, lastly bring solidarity among networks (Lyft 2014). Lyft business program targets giving moderate, helpful rideshares, and improving the street security through appropriate screening of believability of drivers utilizing criminal and individual verifications (Lyft 2014). Consequently, Lyft targets diminishing expense and danger of movement, while upgrading believability of drivers and improving travel accommodation for the travelers. Client Relationships Lyft has a special client business relationship that pivots upon trust as one of the most significant excellencies between the two entertainers, and it is valuable for the rising friend economy (Lyft 2014). Clients don't pay legitimately during administration conveyance, however willing contributors send their commitments to the organization subsequent to getting free ride s (Lyft 2014). Clients anticipate that the cab drivers should stay certified during the contribution of rides, as the Lyft standards require them, yet not make any money installments during the free rides. Business Channels The cell phone innovation in Lyft is a significant development as it constructs the focal business channel (Lyft 2014). Clients stay associated through the Lyft portable applications that go about as the stage for social association. The Smartphones associate clients and drivers, and in this way give a methods for empowering Lyft to survey the believability of network drivers through a rating of 1 out of five rides scale (Lyft 2014). Travelers fit for carrying companions to free ride get $25 free acknowledgment for the following ride. Income Streams Revenue streams include methods for producing salary inside the business. The Lyft free rideshare program has guaranteed fulfillment among clients and since the installment is intentional gift, the travelers are of va rious financial class and equipped for giving higher sums than from direct assistance charges (Lyft 2014). The deliberate network commitment surpasses what standard cabs create through direct help charges, as travelers give dependent on their eagerness and money related capacities (Lyft 2014). Client Segments Each business, as per financial experts, has its own client fragment (Osterwalder Pigneur 2013). Lyft has a business client section that centers around the specialty business stage, as it targets explicitly the travelers. In the specialty advertise, business connections among buyers and administration or merchandise suppliers depend exclusively on the particular necessities of the situated market (Osterwalder Pigneur 2013). Lyft centers around building up the traveler network and furnishing them with moderate and solid taxi transport framework. The Cost Structure Cost structure in plan of action canvas is the expense brought about in maintaining the plan of action. Lyft plan of action looks to dispense with the idea of pay administration in the taxi transport organize, as its most significant obligation is to make city rides financially savvy to travelers (Lyft 2014). The cost structure of the plan of action is along these lines variable, as the administration. The arrangement doesn't depend on fixed installments, however depends on the willful network gifts preceding free shared rideshare administration. The gifts differ contingent upon singular givers. Table 1: The Business Model Canvas Key Partners Founder John Zimmer, Logan Green, Corey Owens, others Community Lyft drivers DMV and insurance agencies Key Activities Free rides Driver screening Partnering with protections Value recommendation altruistic free lifts safe driving reasonable driving securing travelers structure

Ecotourism in Kenya Essay

Kenya is a landlocked nation in the mainland of South Africa. It is encircled by five nations. Kenya is a famous goal for sightseers venturing out to Africa as it offers travelers camel safaris, trekking, game angling, wilderness boating, swelling, plunging, wind surfing and jackass safaris. The significant ecotourist fascination in Africa is one of the 40 national stops in Kenya that offer a knowledge into the lives of creatures and their natural surroundings. Shockingly, 70% of national stops and game stores are on peaceful terrains, especially Masai land. Ecotourism is a significant supporter of Kenya’s economy. There are 55 000 individuals utilized in the natural life industry alone. Furthermore, the natural life advertise produces half of the country’s outside trade income. In this way, the natural life showcase is the greatest supporter of Kenya’s outside economy. Ecotourism has had both constructive and adverse effects on the natural life condition, individuals and economy of Kenya. The economy, the vocation of the individuals, and the upkeep of the biological system have impactsly affected Kenya. Kenya’s outside trade income are from the travel industry and 80% of the visitor advertise is drawn from natural life. Likewise, the Masai herders who occupy hedge land north of Mt Kenya have distributed 8 765 hectares of their territory, (which overflows with elephants, zebras, giraffes, wild felines) for untamed life preservations. The income from visitor hold up visits at that point return to the network which is utilized for kids grants, upkeep, advancement and general pay. Consequently, the above have sustainably affected the travel industry. Ecotourism likewise advances maintainability of the untamed life. In Kenya, a living elephant is worth around $14 375 for each time of its life while the ivory from an elephant is worth about $1000. Every elephant crowd gains as much as $610 000 every year. This advances the support of the elephants, limits poaching and guarantees security of untamed life just as vocation for the individuals. Another territory, the Serengeti Plains, is acclaimed for the movement of natural life. The national park draws in huge quantities of visitors, who are pulled in to the huge movement of more out of control monsters, felines and zebras. This experience urges travel to the territory and features an appreciationâ for the biological system. In every one of these experiences, instruction is a trait of the different visits. There have likewise been some negative effects that have influenced the earth, the indigenous populace and travelers. A portion of these incorporate contamination, environment decimation, littering and outfitted banditry. A case of this is the indigenous individuals of Masai Mara. The Masai Mara clan have lived in amicability with the creatures for more than four centuries. Be that as it may, when the game parks were made they had to move without remuneration. Income from this park have not streamed proportionality to the clans. These negative impacts have made a great deal of contention for the Masai Mara clan. As reported above, ecotourism is crucial for the economy, way of life and on going support of natural life in Kenya. What is required is a reasonable way to deal with maintainability of ecotourism. Ecotourism in Kenya and in any area of the world ought to have least effect on the indigenous culture, a consistent pay stream and decrease ashore debasement and untamed life decimation. The income of the travel industry should bolster the lives of the grass root individuals and empower them to have reasonable ways of life. This will urge their responsibilities to programs as they will see the advantages of their co-activity. The particular activities that ought to be taken a gander at remember an expansion for visit costs during top season as it will produce an even progression of sightseers every year. Non-mechanized vehicles, for example, microlight flights and sight-seeing balloons ought to be utilized for travelers to investigate the untamed life as they make no contamination. Likewise, the administration of parks should be thought about by advancing efforts and bringing issues to light to all travelers about the impacts of littering and contamination of the delicate biological system. Kenya needs feasible ecotourism for its endurance on the economy. Kenya needs to create techniques that will effectsly affect social, social and the natural condition. In the event that the activities above are followed, it will guarantee that the group of people yet to come of the world will at present have the option to appreciate one of the last undisturbed indigenous habitats.

Hamlet Revenge Delay Essays - Characters In Hamlet, Prince Hamlet

Hamlet Revenge Delay The topic of why Hamlet delays in taking vengeance on Claudius for such a long time has baffled perusers and crowd individuals the same. I might want to demonstrate that Shakespeare didn't have a deferral in executing Claudius only for having a more drawn out play. I accept that he had a more profound importance within it. I am going to show various explanations behind Hamlet's deferral, and my most presumably one. Quickly following Hamlet's discussion with the Ghost, he appears to be resolved to satisfy the Ghost's desires and swears his allies to mystery about what has happened. The following appearance of Hamlet in the play uncovers that he has not however vindicated his dad's homicide. In scene two, Act 2, Hamlet gives a potential purpose behind his wavering. The soul that I have seen, May be a fallen angel, also, the demon hath power, T' expect a satisfying shape (2.2.594-596). With this uncertainty blurring his brain, Hamlet appears to be totally incapable to act. This uncertainty is fairly settled as the play. Hamlet thinks of the possibility of the play that is like the occasions retold by the apparition about his murder to demonstrate Claudius as liable or honest. Because of the lord's response to the play, Hamlet starts to accept that the Ghost was coming clean the night of the nebulous vision. In Hamlets mind, it is presently his obligation to retaliate for his father's homicide. This is the place the genuine issue of inaction enters the play. Soon thereafter, Hamlet has an ideal chance to murder Claudius, when he runs over the ruler bowing in petition. He thinks about whether this is an ideal opportunity to slaughter him and get it over with, yet chooses not to. He guarantees that he doesn't need Claudius to go to paradise, so he would prefer to execute him when he is submitting a sin. If so, at that point the inquiry is the reason doesn't he just hold up till Claudius has finished his petition, blame him for the homicide and murder him in his sin of refusal. That answer is past me. Rather, Hamlet goes to the office of his mom and leaves behind his best open door at vengeance. The contention can be made, in any case, that it's anything but a dread of slaughtering that causes this inaction. He doesn't show a failure to take somebody's life when executing Polonius. He neither delays nor surrenders in sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their executions. Why at that point would the sovereign of Denmark delay to execute the one man he most fairly could? Numerous artistic accept that his inaction is the outcome of a vicarious oedipus complex. The individuals who agree with this hypothesis state that Hamlet, in his psyche mind, wants to do precisely what his uncle has done; that is, dispose of the lord so he can have Gertrude for himself. On the off chance that this is valid, Hamlet can't act since he is battling against his psyche self. As indicated by this understanding, Claudius turns into an epitome of himself, and along these lines he can't murder, it could be said, his other self. Despite the fact that the oedipus hypothesis is substantial, I might want to introduce another other option. In my conclusion, Hamlet is deadened by a relational fight coming about because of over assessment of his circumstance. Each time he has a chance to act, he balances with an uncertainty or explanation behind inaction. For instance, he needs his retribution on Claudius to happen just when he can be certain he will take a hike also, not paradise. Moreover, he invests an excessive amount of energy arranging and insufficient time doing. He designs the play inside a play, yet looks for no prompt goals upon its finishing. Rather he turns out to be progressively cautious around Claudius after the play since it uncovered his blame to the lord. After the play inside the play, Hamlet doesn't act until everyone is biting the dust, including himself. Just in this last sad second does he understand that he ought not have stood by so long. Yet when he results in these present circumstances acknowledgment, it is past the point of no return. His dad is killed, his mom lays biting the dust, he is mortally injured and everything he can do is finish the disastrous killings. With the entirety of his repressed fury he delivers his retribution on Claudius.

Training Muscles - 825 Words

Training Muscles (Term Paper Sample) Content: Training musclesStudents NameInstitutional AffiliationTraining musclesMuscles play an important part in mobility of all animals. Muscles in the field of sports govern the performance of an athlete. Training respiratory muscles, thus are influential in determining the performance of the athlete. The article under review evaluates the effectiveness of respiratory muscle training and the performance of swimmers. The swimmers covered in the article are elite female swimmers. A total of twenty four swimmers were selected for the study. The swimmers were divided into the control and experimental group. The control group conducted their training without chest wall restriction and the experimental group used chest wall restrictions. The two participated in a swimming program every month, three times a week for four weeks. T-20 and modified Blake test were used to measure time to exhaustion. The results from the experiment showed that the use of chest restriction, improved the manner in which the respiratory muscles adapted to stress. The stress on the chest muscles resulted in increased performance due to adaptation. Training the muscles will enable them to adapt to strain by building the muscles and strengthening their build (Azizimasouleh et al, 2012). Muscle fatigue is among the physiological effects witnessed in many exercised done by athletes. Respiratory muscle fatigue affects athletes that undertake intensive cardiac exercises during sports competition. This has led to increasing emphasis on respiratory muscle training as one of the methods to increase athletics performance. The skeletal muscles respond to strength and endurance exercises done by the athletes thus improving the performance of the muscles.The respiratory muscles are useful in breathing process that enables the body to break down glucose to release energy. Respiratory muscle training increases the oxygen intake and storage in the lungs. Increased lung capacity means that the body h as adequate energy to convert body sugars into energy used during the exercise. Increase in energy conversion in the skeletal muscles results in increased performance. Practicing these muscles enables the muscles to build thus also contribute to the overall performance of the athletes. Respiratory muscle training has shown that an athlete is able to regain his energy levels after ailments. Athletes have also shown improved level of endurance by using training equipment. The equipment used restricts respiratory functions at 80% for healthy athletes. The experiment aims at improving aerobic power among the athletes that undergoes respiratory training. Chest wall restrictions add an additional load to the chest forcing the athletes to use extra energy for swimming. Repetition of the training session within a long time result in improved endurance and performance by the athlete. Increasing the aerobic power has been emphasized by many sports so as to increase the endurance time and per formance by the athletes. Chest wall restrictions have been used in swimming to improve performance and endurance among elite swimmers. Swimmers use the respiratory muscles in the sport thus the effective use of chest wall restrictions to improve performance (Azizimasouleh et al, 2012).Some studies conducted when evaluating respiratory muscle training show credible results in some athletes while others do not show any changes in performance. Some of the sports that have not shown any effect after respiratory muscle training include sprinters. Most of the sports utilizing the upper body muscles like swimming and rowing have shown a significant improvement of performance after the training. Respiratory muscle training decreases dyspnea by restricting the flow of blood. Respiratory muscle training reduces the pressure on the respiratory muscles. The training also improves the endurance levels of the athletes. It is evident that the respiratory muscles are used during endurance exercise s and the strength of the respiratory muscles. Improving the strength of the respiratory muscles will enable the athletes to increase personal performance. Respiratory training improves muscle strength, but the change evaluated in the study is not significant. The training method of training and time consumed in the training influence the change in...

How to Write an Online College Admissions Essay

Since most online colleges do not require face-to-face interviews, the admissions essay is the primary way administrators get to know applicants. You won’t be able to charm an interviewer with your witty banter or your knowledge of school history. Instead, you’ll need to make sure your personality shines through in your writing. How to Write YourAdmissions Essay that Wows Your Audience Analyze the question. Admissions officers are looking for something; you need to figure out what it is. Think of the admissions essay question as a puzzle waiting to be solved. Don’t take it for its face value – think a little deeper. A question such as â€Å"Who is your hero?† is probably a way for admissions officers to find out what the applicant values. If you say your hero is style icon Paris Hilton, you’d better be applying to a fashion school.Follow the instructions. Once you’ve figured out what the admissions officers are looking for, it’s time to write. Follow the instructions with exacting accuracy, even if that means stifling your creativity a bit. Many schools use the admissions essay to make sure students can understand and follow basic directions. If you’re asked to keep your essay under a certain word count, do it. An unfortunate number of applicants have been shocked to learn that admissions officers received only the f irst 500 words of their 1000-word essays. The applicants didn’t follow the instructions, and the admissions officers didn’t get the opportunity to read their brilliant concluding paragraphs.Let your personality shine through. One of the most common admissions office complaints is that college applications seem a little too staged. Admissions officials want to make sure that your application essay wasn’t written by your guidance counselor or a hired essay-writing service. Break away from the generic and share your lovable quirks. At the same time, remember that you don’t have to reveal everything. If a bit of your history casts you in a bad light, it’s better not to mention it.Emphasize your strengths. The application essay is the perfect opportunity for you to demonstrate your strengths and explain any blemishes on your record. Many colleges ask students to write a separate essay that explains what sets them apart from the crowd. If you have an ass ignment like that, don’t be shy. Describe your many talents in a confident, non-boastful manner. If you have blemishes on your academic record such as poor grades or an expulsion, now is the time to own up to these issues. Explain any extenuating circumstances (such as dropping out due to a family tragedy). If there is no good excuse, explain what you’ve learned from your mistakes and why you’ll never make them again. Even if you are not assigned an essay about your strengths, you can demonstrate your talents in just about any assignment. â€Å"Show† the reader what your strengths are by setting up a scene. For example: In an essay about a defining moment in your life, you may want to â€Å"show† the reader how you’ve demonstrated leadership under stress. Don’t brag about it; just set the scene.Edit your work. Once you’ve completed the application essay, let it set for a few days. Then, go back and edit your work. Taking a brea k will help you look at it with fresh eyes. Ask yourself: â€Å"Is there is anything I can change to make the essay more powerful?† Be sure to run spell check and analyze every sentence for grammatical mistakes. If your online school does not prohibit second party help, ask a former teacher or essay editing service for additional assistance. Writing a stellar college admissions essay takes time. By following these basic steps, you’ll be able to craft a piece to be proud of.

Essay on Are Video Games Really A Major Issue for This...

There are various problems facing the world such as health care, gun control, and concerns of how the growing advances in technology will influence the generation. An issue that many people would not think of is video games. Most people are one sided, either seeing the medias portray as fun and playful or a danger to your kids and the cause of our generations laziness. What most people dont realize is how the smaller factors of our everyday lives, leisurely activities such as video games, is a massive part to these even greater issues that make up the world today. News about video games today are not the most positive. They are plastered with words that depict video games as violent, addictive, negative, and of course, cause†¦show more content†¦Justice System, advertising of products and their effect on the masses, and lack educational resources. Because of the unfair image of video games, the public does not understand how this weapon can actually be a incredible resource and solution to the many troubles of society. In a University of Iowa study, a group of individuals 50 and older played a specially designed video game and it improved their speed and mental processing abilities by slowing their natural mental decline -- in some cases, up to seven years. By using technology in this way, students can improve literary rate and mental skills, the elderly can slow the aging process, and can serve as an effective relieve to depression and stress. People from all walks of life access video games on a day to day basis. From the Call of Duty shooter to the Candy Crushers to the online Sudoku masters, the influence to the masses and the capabilities of video games has been diluted since the 1980s. Video games are one of the most important issues in todays world because of how theyve rapidly influenced so many aspects of our daily lives, despite being completely undermined as an issue at all. With further research, more can be understood about the psycholo gy of this technology through its advances from pixels to CGI images as the world advances with it. If more attention is put to the debate of video games, good or bad, at least some focusShow MoreRelatedTime to Play with Education1500 Words   |  6 PagesTime to Play with Education The exponentially evolving video game technology has impacted the lives of the most recent generations. Play is an effective way for young children to acquire knowledge on their own. With games becoming more and more mobile and easy to access, it is safe to say that most, if not all, have learned a thing or two from playing video games. There are many assumptions that these stimulating games bring nothing but a negative influence to students’ academic performance. ItRead MoreVideo Games Are Not Responsible For Creating Social And Emotional Problems1711 Words   |  7 Pagessubjects is video games. Video games have been an issue for a long time now. Do they or do they not create social and/or emotional problems? Personally, I think that video games are a really big issue. Video games create social and emotional problems, leading to a significant rise in violence among children and adults. Others argue that video games are not responsible for creating social or emotional problems and can instead help children and benefit them. After observing the opposing side of this argumentRead MoreViolent Video Games : Do They Cause Violent Behavior And Actions?1747 Words   |  7 PagesViolent Video Games: Do they cause violent behavior and actions? Ah yes video games are huge icons of culture and identity for the people of the newest generations but games aren t usually digital rainbows and love but some revolve around violence in their our ways, so as you would expect these games deeds don’t get away without criticism and opposition to some degree. Are violent video games a major cause of violent and aggressive behavior in those who play them? Are they contendersRead MoreThe Effects Of Screen Time On Childhood And Young Adult Development1324 Words   |  6 Pagesin technology have had an effect on those of the younger generation seeming to create a sort of dependency on these technologie. The way children behave and operate today are totally different than what is was just a few years ago because of these advancements in technology, while some are great and helping the world if used to much it can really affect not only the social development but also the behavioral issues of young children. In this ess ay, I will first explain what television and smartphoneRead More Video Games do Not Increase Teen Violence Essay1449 Words   |  6 Pages In this day and age it seems as if Americas youth is becoming more violent. Concern for those aspects in our society which influence violent acts has become an issue since the tragedy at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Many feel one aspect of todays society affecting our nations youth in a negative manner is video games. Is this form of entertainment really a factor in teen violence? I think not. Video games are not to blame for increased teen violence. According to the articleRead More The Production of Video Games Taught At School1436 Words   |  6 Pagesimages on the screen is known as video games (WorldBookStudent). Video games are the basis to why some students do not do well to school. This is because these students would get the â€Å"video game addiction† in which the games â€Å"would take over the lives of a kid.† Is this a psychological disorder like the others stated within the DSM-IV? The answer for this is no (CRCHealthGroup). This addiction however is not a mental disorder, but instead many students may use video games as a stress reducer by releasingRead MoreThe Effects Of Video Games On Children1034 Words   |  5 Pagesenjoy video games in their leisure time and even prefer them to studying that, in its turn, can contribute to their poor performance in the class. These days, video games have become an issue that has brought concern to many people from parents to scholars about their potential effect on the future of children through influencing their conduct. They feel that the violent behavior or any other negative consequence can occur as an undesirable result of letting their children utilize these games to spendRead MoreDo Violent Video Games Affect Real World Aggression And Violence?1727 Words   |  7 PagesDo violent video games influence real world aggression and violence, among other harmful behaviors, within children and young teens? Yes, they do, without a doubt. Children and teens that extensively play violent games tend to be less stressed, but are also more prone to stealing, over-eating, and acting out in minor rages when playing violent video games for long extensions of time. Though most of the side effects do not damage a young child or teen physically, the effects can result in social problemsRead More Promotional Strategies Essay1528 Words   |  7 Pages â€Å"How do I get my product/service out there?† This is a question that many people wh o plan to begin their own businesses, or even larger companies who have already established a name for themselves, frequently ask. Your product or service may be the latest and greatest on the market today, but that doesnt help you if no one knows it exists. You need to find someway to make yourself and your product known. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;That is where promotion comes into play. But what exactly isRead MoreVideo Games Helps Improve Education Essay1361 Words   |  6 Pages Video games has had a long history of being seen as a negative thing. It seems to be out of the question to use them in classrooms and as a teaching tool. This is the wrong way to look at them however. Video games may be one of the best tools for classrooms and helping students learn not only school topics, but even help them with different skills in the classroom and to help them reduce one of student’s biggest issues; stress. All of these things can be done with the use of video games in the

Newspaper Cutting free essay sample

The Kwu Tung development concern group was against the government’s policy, since it was difficult and challenging for them to rebuild a community after relocating the residents. The chairman also complained that the government has made no attempt to consult residents about the redevelopment plan. Kwu Tung is a place which is full of characteristic; factories there offer a wide range of products from steel and plastic to wholesale timber. You can also find the strong scent of fermenting soya beans wafting from hundred of sauce wafting from hundreds of sauce vats. However, all these will no longer exist and become part of Kwu Tung history. Comments: In today’s Hong Kong society, housing is a major concern of a large majority of people. However, the housing policy of the government has unreasonably tilted in favour of the wealthy. From the news, we can notice that the government forced the Kwu Tung residents to move away from their living environment, relocating them to another public housing estate. We will write a custom essay sample on Newspaper Cutting or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Although Kwu Tung’s residents are not officially regarded as indigenous villagers, I think they deserve the rights to voice out their opinions.I feel sorry for the residents in Kwu Tung, since they are not able to prevent their village from demolition, replacing their house into luxury housing complex. When talking about macro-scale of new facilities, Hong Kong clearly wins its neighborhood. But when it comes to cultural heritage protection, Hong Kong government has never got its job done. Refer to this case, the government failed to protect the Kwu Tung heritage the soy sauce.It is difficult to maintain the product quality when moving the factory away from Kwu Tung, since the production of sauce really depends on environmental factors. In order to avoid this similar incident happens again, the government should consult local villagers before conducting any redevelopment project. Also, it is important to figure out how to preserve historical facilities and buildings. Are you prepared to see Hong Kong become a city of no history? If not, it is time we cried our wants and asked the government to stop conducting large-scale redevelopment project.

The Relationship between the Economic Growth and Environment

Economic Growth and Access to Safe Drinking Water/ Access to Sanitation The access to safe drinking water and sanitation is the indicator to discuss the economic situation in the country. The correlation between the economic growth, population, and environmental impact is rather obvious.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Relationship between the Economic Growth and Environment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The link between factors can be examined with references to the United Kingdom as the developed country and Rwanda as the developing country. This report uses data provided by the World Bank Database and Eurostat Database. The unequal distribution of safe drinking water access depends on availability of water resources and on investment into the associated sector of the country’s economy. The population of the United Kingdom is 63.23 million (2012) (Eurostat 2013). Referring to the data on rural pop ulation, 100% of people (2011) has the access to safe drinking water (The World Bank 2013). On the contrary, the population of Rwanda is only 11.46 million (2012), but 66% of rural population (81% of the whole population in 2011) has the access to safe drinking water (The World Bank 2013). It is possible to state that 3.2 million of the Rwandan population has no access to safe drinking water. Lack of investment and poor governance cause the deficiency of safe water for millions of people in Rwanda, and this factor causes the decline in social aspects such as the people’s health status. While evaluating the problem critically, it is possible to note that economies can suffer from the decline in access to water supplies. Nevertheless, the level of the country’s economic development influences the population’s access to safe drinking water directly, and the improvement of the situation can contribute to the economic growth because of improving the sanitation, popul ation’s health status, quality of life, and productivity.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More From this point, the economic growth and access to safe drinking water are affected by the same socio-economic factors, and the improved governments’ policies can contribute to the access to safe drinking water as well as to the countries’ economic growth. Economic Growth and the Environment: Does the Relationship Depend on the Stages of Development and the Particular Environmental Indicator? The intense use of natural resources, the extreme development of industries associated with the significant accumulation of waste, and the increased numbers of different types of pollutants as environmental indicators influence the biosphere’s carrying capacity and cause changes in ecosystems as well as in the countries’ economies. The conclusions about the correl ation between the economic growth and changes in the environment are rather opposite. From this point, it is necessary to refer to the definite approach in order to analyse the aspects of the relationship. In this case, it is relevant to choose the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and the IPAT identity to discuss the problem and to refer to the cases of the United Kingdom and Spain in order to conclude about the relations between the stages of development determined according to the EKC principles and such particular environmental indicators as air pollutants and deforestation. Although the relevance of the EKC and the focus on the stages of development as the important factors to speak about the relationship between the economic growth and environment are highly debatable issues, it is necessary to state with references to the cases of the United Kingdom and Spain that the relationship between the economic growth and environment depends on the stages of development and environment al indicators such as air pollutants and deforestation significantly because developed economies contribute to the progress of the environment friendly industries. The Aspects of the IPAT Identity and the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) The IPAT Identity is the specific equation which is used to discuss the correlation between the impact of people, economy, and technology on the environment. The elements of the equation include the impact which consists of population’s impact influenced by affluence and influenced by technology. Thus, the equation can be viewed as Impact = Population x Affluence x Technology (Perman et al. 2003).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Relationship between the Economic Growth and Environment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, referring to the role of air pollutants such as CO2 influencing the environment of the United Kingdom, it is necessary to state that the c oncrete environmental impact of the CO2 emissions results from the population influenced by the aspect of affluence where the income per capita is the significant indicator and influenced by the level of the technological development in the country in relation to the changes in the population’s income, economic growth, and the level of the CO2 emissions (Mitchell Dorling 2003). However, the IPAT identity can be used more efficiently to support the analysis of the relationship between the economic growth and environment when examined along with analysing the EKC. Despite the fact that many researchers state that the further economic progress leads to the environmental decline, the other researchers are inclined to associate the economic growth with the positive changes in the environmental development with references to the stages of the economic development (Grossman Krueger 1995). Such correlation is known as the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) which can be discussed as the inverted-U relationship between the environmental pollution and between the economic growth which is determined according to such stages of development as the pre-industrial economy, industrial economy, and post-industrial economy (Grossman Krueger 1995). During the pre-industrial stage, the negative impact of the economic development on the environment begins to increase while oriented to the intensive industrial progress. The extreme negative effect on the environment is typical for the period when economy becomes industrial (Stern 2005). According to Dasgupta, in the first stage of industrialisation, â€Å"pollution in the environmental Kuznets curve world grows rapidly because people are more interested in jobs and income than clean air and water, communities are too poor to pay for abatement, and environmental regulation is correspondingly weak† (Dasgupta et al. 2002, p. 147). However, there is the turning point when industries become more technologically developed, and â€Å"the balance shifts as income rises. Leading industrial sectors become cleaner, people value the environment more highly, and regulatory institutions become more effective† (Dasgupta et al. 2002, p. 147).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition, Beckerman states that the only effective way to improve the environment is to contribute to the economic growth and to become richer (Beckerman 1992, p. 481). Thus, the increase in incomes leads information-based industries and to the improved production based on technologies which are less dangerous for the environment. The tendency explained with the EKC is characteristic for many economies, including the economies of the United Kingdom and Spain. From this point, referring to the data on the changes in CO2 and SO2 emissions during different periods of the economies’ development, it is possible to state that the progress of post-industrial economies of the United Kingdom and Spain influence positively only the level of SO2 emissions in the air when the level of CO2 is closely correlated with the trends in consumption and cannot be influenced by the progress in industries and economies directly (Alcantara Roca 1995; Giovanis 2012). As a result, referring to the cases of the United Kingdom and Spain, it is possible to note that the EKC serves to explain the role of the stages of development in the relations between the economic growth and environment partially, and it is important to pay attention not only to the general idea of the economic growth but also to many separate aspects such as the renewable technologies and aspects of consumption. The Data Analysis on Air Pollutants and Deforestation in the United Kingdom and Spain The data analysis on air pollutants and deforestation as the particular environmental indicators associated with the economies of the United Kingdom and Spain is necessary to conclude about the relationship of the economic growth and environment with references to the EKC. Examining the role of the air pollutants in the relationship between the economic growth and environmental degradation, it is necessary to refer to the data presented in the World Bank Database. According to the fixed data, the level of the CO2 em issions in the air of the United Kingdom in 2005 was 9.0 metric tons per capita, and in 2010, the level was decreased to 7.9 metric tons per capita. In the case of Spain, the level of the CO2 emissions in the air was 8.1 in 2005, and in 2010, this level was 5.9 metric tons per capita (The World Bank 2013). From this point, the significant decreases in the amount of the CO2 emissions in the air of two European countries are observed with references to the period in five years. As a result, it is possible to speak about the role of the EKC for analysing the data and providing the supported conclusions. In 2008-2010, the United Kingdom and Spain paid much attention to the development of their economies in order to gain more profits from improving the post-industrial economies. This processes caused the positive changes in the environment because of investing more into innovative technologies oriented to cease the air pollution. That is why, the direct interdependence between the econom ic growth and the environment is observed. Referring to the role of deforestation in affecting the relationship, it is necessary to state that in 2009, the percent of forests in relation to the land territories in the United Kingdom was 11.9, and in 2011, this number did not change. Focusing on the case of Spain, it is necessary to note that the percent of forests in 2009 was 36.1, and in 2011, this number increased to 36.8 (The World Bank 2013). These data also support the idea that the intensive economic growth can contribute positively to the environmental situation because relying on the developed economies, governments receive the opportunity to improve the environment. Thus, having analysed the factual and numerical data on the aspects of air pollutants and deforestation for the cases of the United Kingdom and Spain, it is necessary to state that the relationship between the economic growth and environment is direct and positive, as it is examined with references to the EKC pr inciples. The Analysis of Findings of Empirical Studies on Air Pollutants To conclude about the role of the particular environmental indicator to influence the relationship between the economic growth and environment, it is necessary to examine the findings of empirical studies on changes in the levels of air pollutants in the United Kingdom and Spain and to compare them with the data on the factor of deforestation. According to Giovanis, the changes in the level of air pollutants in the air of the United Kingdom can be examined with references to low income households and middle income households, thus, low income households influence the air pollution negatively when middle income households can contribute to the positive changes in the situation (Giovanis 2012). However, analysing the effectiveness of the EKC, the author states that â€Å"there might be a cubic relationship, rather a linear or quadratic† (Giovanis 2012, p. 402). From this point, the relationship between th e changes in the economies and air pollution is not obvious. Mitchell and Dorling state that changes in the levels of such air pollutants as SO2 and CO2 can be examined with references to the effectiveness of the abatement technology used in the industries in the United Kingdom. The use of the innovative abatement technologies leads to the significant decrease in the SO2 and CO2 emissions (Mitchell Dorling 2003). From this point, the relationship between the economic growth and environment is observed with references to the case of the United Kingdom. Following the findings by Webber and Allen, it is possible to state that air pollutants influence the environment negatively, but this impact can be decreased with references to increased income levels which contribute to decreasing the negative emissions in 68% (Webber Allen 2010). However, such an economic factor as the increase in consumption can decrease the positive effect of the general economic growth because of influencing th e level of air pollutants indirectly. That is why, the focus on the environment friendly consumption can also contribute to reducing the level of air pollutants in the United Kingdom in 39% (Mitchell Dorling 2003; Perman et al. 2003). Referring to the case of Spain, it is important to note that during the period of 1990-1994, CO2 emissions increased, and SO2 emissions decreased as a result of the economy’s progress. That is why, the EKC principle cannot be supported completely (Alcantara Roca 1995). Comparing the results on the levels of air pollution in the United Kingdom and Spain with the data on such an environmental indicator as deforestation, it is important to note that forestation does not depend on the economic growth directly because it is more influenced by the other factors (Webber Allen 2010, p. 204). The obvious correlation between the levels of the economic growth and deforestation cannot be determined with the help of the EKC. Conclusion Although the credib ility of the EKC principle is the controversial question, and it is not supported with references to many empirical studies while referring to the examination of the air pollutants and deforestation aspects, there are also many data to support the relevance of the approach because many researchers provide findings to state that the relationship between the stages of the economic development and environmental degradation exists. From this point, the relationship between the economic growth and environment depends on the stages of the economic development and such environmental indicators as the air pollutants and deforestation directly, but this principle does not work in all the cases because of the role of such multiple factors as the trends in consumption and improving industrial technologies. Nevertheless, referring to the analysis of the data on air pollutants and deforestation in the United Kingdom and Spain for 2010-2011 years, it is important to state that in many cases, the relationship depends on the idea of the EKC. Reference List Alcantara, V Roca, J 1995, ‘Energy and CO2 emissions in Spain’, Energy Economics, vol. 17. no. 1, pp. 221-230. Beckerman, W 1992, ‘Economic growth and the environment: Whose growth? Whose environment?’ World Development, vol. 20. no. 4, pp. 481-496. Dasgupta, S, Laplante, B, Wang, H, Wheeler, D 2002, ‘Confronting the environmental Kuznets curve’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, vol. 16. no. 1, pp. 147-168. Eurostat 2013, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/main/home. Giovanis, E 2012, ‘Environmental Kuznets curve and air pollution in City of London: evidence from new panel smoothing transition regressions’, International Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics, vol. 79. no. 3, pp. 393-404. Grossman, G Krueger, A 1995, ‘Economic growth and the environment’, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 110. no. 2, pp. 353-377. Mitchell, G Dorling, D 2003, Ã¢â‚¬Ë œAn environmental justice analysis of British air quality’, Environment and Planning A, vol. 35. no. 1, pp. 909-929. Perman, R, Ma, Y, Common, M, Maddison, D, Mcgilvray, J 2003, Natural resource and environmental economics, Pearson Education, USA. Stern, D 2005, ‘Beyond the environmental Kuznets curve: Diffusion of sulfur-emissions-abating technology’, Journal of Environment and Development, vol.14. no. 1, pp. 101-124. The World Bank: Economic/Social indicators (WDI) 2013, https://datacatalog.worldbank.org/dataset/world-development-indicators. Webber, D Allen, D 2010, ‘Environmental Kuznets curves: Mess or meaning’, IJSDWE, vol.17. no. 3, pp. 198-207. This essay on The Relationship between the Economic Growth and Environment was written and submitted by user Eliseo Mcgowan to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Conventioanl vs Islamic Insurance Essays

Conventioanl vs Islamic Insurance Essays Conventioanl vs Islamic Insurance Essay Conventioanl vs Islamic Insurance Essay ISLAMIC LIFE INSURANCE (TAKAFUL), ITS EVOLUTION, COMPARISON WITH CONVENTIONAL LIFE INSURANCE, AND ROLE OF DAWOO TAKAFUL ( AN INSURANCE COMPANY OFFERING LIFE INSURANC IN PAKISTAN ) FOR TAKAFUL INDUSTRY IN PAKISTAN Table of Contents 1. 0 LIFE INSURANCE/CONVENTIONAL LIFE INSURANCE 2 2. 0 ISLAMIC LIFE INSURANCE2 3. 0 WHY LIFE INSURANCE NECESSARY2 4. 0 COMPARISON BETWEEN COVENTIONAL LIFE INSURANNCE AND ISLAMIC LIFE INSURANCE 2 4. 1 HOW CONVETIONAL INSURANCE WORKS3 4. 2 DIFFERENTATION OF TAKAFUL FROM CONVENTIONAL INSURANCE 3 4. 3 PRONS AND CONS OF ISLAMIC INSURANCE3 4. 43 4. 4. 1 PRONS OF ISLAMIC INSURANC3 . 4. 2 CONS OF ISLAMIC INSURANCE 4 5. 0 LIFE INSURANCE IN PAKISTAN 4 5. 1 Takaful in Pakistan 4 6. 1 INSIGHT LOOK- A TAKAFUL COMPANY IN PAKISTAN-DAWOOD FAMILY TAKAFUL5 6. 2 OBJECTIVE OF DAWOOD FAMILY TAKAFUL5 6. 2 SHARIAH SUPERVISORY BOARD 5 6. 3 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF DAWOOD FAMILY TAKAFUL5 7. 0 CONCLUSION5 8. 0 REFERNCES5 1. 0 LIFE INSURANCE/CONVENTIONAL LIFE INS URANCE Life insurance is an undertake between the policy holder and the underwriter, where the insurance firm commitments to pay a selected beneficiary a quantity of money (the benefits) upon the death of the individual person. Looking on the contract, other effects such as period ill health or critical wellness may also trigger payment. In return, the policy bearer agrees to pay a specified amount (the premium) at every day intervals or in lump sums. In many countries, death outgoes such as observances are enclosed in the premium; even so, in the United States the predominated form only defines a lump sum to be paid off the insurer’s death (1). The valuable for the policy owner is the peace of mind in sapient to that the modification of the various persons will not issue in non financial adversity. Life insurance policy are lawful contract bridge and the price of the contract exposit the limits of the someone consequences. Specific exceptions are often written into the contract to end the financial obligation of the insurance firm; common examples are claims connecting putting to death, fake, state of war, rioting and civil commotion. In this era of modern finance too many financial products and services are offered by the banks, building societies and financial corporate and one of them is life insurance. New scenarios are developing with modern techniques of offerings for the potential customers. 2. 0ISLAMIC LIFE INSURANCE Takaful (Arabic: Al-Takaful) is an Islamic insurance concept which is grounded in Islamic muamalat (Islamic banking), observing the rules and regulations of Islamic law. This concept has been practised in various forms for over 1400 years. (2) A premier goal of Takaful system and its goods is to strike the right play with Muslim customers who may find formal products unacceptable and get them reluctantly. The takaful system of rules and product may be attractive to them. Ibn Abidin (1784-1836) was the basic learner in the Muslim world to talk about the message and lawful fictional character of insurance policy Islamicity of insurance has been below give-and-take since then. Popular opinion regarding lawfulness, approval, and adaptability of insurance are numerous. Newly, even so, a consensus was emergent for conforming insurance in the name of takaful and commonality. As a issue, several Islamic takaful and commonality companies have been accepted since 1979 The Islamic Insurance concept as known as Takaful (an Arabic word meaning â€Å"guaranteeing each otherâ€Å") is a shariah compliance mutual risk transfer arrangement which involves participants and operators. Shariah is based on the Qur’an and Assunah. Takaful as a concept that some extent is similar to conventional mutual risk sharing such as Mutual Insurance and Protection and Indemnity. It is a mutual sharing of risk based on the concept of Taawun (Mutual Protection). Takaful do not allow what is called Gharar (uncertainty or speculation) and Maisir (i. e gambling). In investment or fund management Riba (i. e usury) is also not allowed. These three Gharar, Maisir and Riba are the areas that must be totally avoided by the Takaful operation, and where it differs with the conventional insurance In order to avoid Gharar, there must be a complete clarity or full disclosuer of any Takaful contract. Full disclosure is aplicable on both sides, i. e on both the subject matter and terms of the contract (scope of cover, etc). Its not allowable in to enter into a takaful contract if there is any unknown element on the subject matter and/or unknown exposure to the extent of the contract itself. As this ideal situation is hardly exist, the Takaful contract then need to be made in a way that there is no exchange of Gharar from one party to another. Maisir (gambling) is regarded as the excessive side of the Gharar. Whilst the participants (insured) may have an insurable interest in the subject matter, if the risk transfer (risk sharing in Takaful) contains any speculative element, the it is prohibited under the Takaful. Riba (usury) is totally prohibited under the shariah law and under a Takaful arrangement. In order to avoid the Riba, Takaful treats participants’ contribution to the risk sharing scheme not as a premium in the way conventional insurance does. In Takaful terms it is treated as being a contribution (Mushahamah) in the from of donation with a condition of compensation (Tabarru). Furthermore, the pool of funds secured from those participants’ contributions or donations, must be managed and invested in accordance with the Shariah. In the same way that Gharar and Maisir represent a continous challenge for Takaful operators to ensure that pure Takaful arrangements are free of them, Riba free investment and fund management is also becoming a specialist discipline which requires more in depth elobaration. Whilst risk are nature of human life, it is impossible to eliminate this nature from human life. What is not allowed in Islam is not the risk or uncertainty itself (so it need to be eliminated)- but selling or exchange of risk or risk transfer to the third party using sales/exchange contract that is not allowable. On the other hand helping each other in any situation including in the event misfortune is highly encouraged in Islamic teaching as Allah mentioned in the Qur’an (Holy book of Muslims). 3. 0 WHY LIFE INSURANCE NECESSARY Life insurance is a kind of policy that look for to kind financial provisions to beneficiaries upon the death of a only provider. Even so, some people seek life insurance for a multiplicity of reasons. Most people will want to die with the notion that their family will be well taken care of economically. (3). It could be used for the settlement of debts and other bills, for the academic provisions of your children. Whatever the reason, the ultimate purpose is financial security upon death. 4. 0 COMPARISON BETWEEN COVENTIONAL LIFE INSURANNCE AND ISLAMIC LIFE INSURANCE The term life insurance is the almost basic of insurance policies. It is nothing more than an insurance policy that gives covering for accidental expiry and potentially debilitating harms for a specific period of time. If beneficiaries do not shuffle any claims during the term of much a policy, the policy will atypically expire no-account. Generally, term life insurance is low-budget to buy during the sooner years of life, when the danger of death is comparatively low. Prices rise in accordance of rights with increasing risks and progressive age (4). Comprehensive life insurance falls below a broader concept of policies sometimes have in mind to as cash-value, or permanent, insurance policy. These sorts of insurance policies combine death performances with a savings part or cash amount that is reinvested and levy shelved. The fund portion is collected throughout the living of the policy and can one time be cashed in at many future factor. Because these insurance policy are permanent, any advance ending of the bridge by the policy holder is open to penalties. During the early levels of life, a big part of the premium paid to this policy is path to the savings section. During the later levels of life, when the value of insurance is high, less of the premium is dedicated to the cash part and many to the purchase of policy. 4. 1 HOW CONVETIONAL INSURANCE WORKS For instance, if a 20-year-old adult purchases period insurance, his or her economic value might be $20 per month. With a world-wide policy, the same 20 year old strength pay $100 a month, with $20 of that going toward expiry insurance and the left over $80 going to the savings factor. When the person ranges age 45, term insurance strength cost $50 per period; even so, with universal insurance, the person intent still pay $100 a month, although a take down part of this would go into the savings element (5). 4. 2 DIFFERENTATION OF TAKAFUL FROM CONVENTIONAL INSURANCE There are five elements that must co-exist to establish a proper framework for a Takaful system as compared to conventional life insurance. 1. Sincerety of Intention - for knowingly following the guidance of, and adhering to the rule and purpose of, Takaful - co-operative risk sharing and mutual assistance. 2. Integration of Sharia principles - in particular, risk sharing under Ta’awuni principles, coincidence of ownership, participation in management by policyholders, avoidance of riba (an agreement in which the policyholder expects to receive a predetermined/ fixed amount that is greater than that invested), gambling (referred to as ‘qimar’ or ‘maisir’ in Arabic, which means any activity that involves an arrangement between two or more parties, each of whom undertakes the risk of a loss where a loss for one means a gain for the other), and al Gharar (activities that have elements of uncertainty, ambiguity or deception. In a commercial transaction, it refers to either the uncertainty of the goods or price of goods, or deceiving the buyer on the price of goods), and inclusion of the al Mudharabah (profitsharing arrangements) and/or al Wakalah (agents) principles for management practices (6). 3. Presence of moral value and ethics - whereby business is conducted openly in accordance with utmost good faith, honesty, full disclosure, truthfulness and fairness in all dealing. 4. No unlawful element - that contravenes Sharia and strict adherence to Islamic rules for commercial contract, namely: Parties have legal capacity and are mentally fit n Insurable interest n Principle of indemnity prevails Payment of premium is consideration (offer and acceptance) Mutual consent, which includes voluntary purifi cation Specific time period of policy and underlying agreement. 5. Appointment of a Sharia Advisory Council or Committee - to oversee the development and Islamic auditing of the Takaful operation and to make sure the investments are made in eligible areas that are allowed and approved by the Sharia board (7). . 3 PRONS AND CONS OF ISLAMIC INSURANCE A very common question which bear in mind of the people/potential customers is why Islamic Insurance is benefited as compared to the conventional insurance and what are the main prons and cons of the Islamic insurance as compared to the conventional insurance so lets have a very little crux of this differention:- 4. 4 4. 4. 1 PRONS OF ISLAMIC INSURANC It has become apparent that   Sharia compliant alternatives in the areas of banking and insurance are indeed attractive to consumers, end users, and financial intermediaries. The Middle East played key roles in the development of these services. The principles of Takaful are as follows: Policyholders co-operate among themselves for their common good. Every policyholder pays his subscription to help those that need assistance. Losses are divided and liabilities spread according to the community pooling system. Uncertainty is eliminated in respect of subscription and compensation. It does not derive advantage at the cost of others. Theoretically, Takaful is perceived as cooperative insurance, where members contribute a certain sum of money to a common pool. The purpose of this system is not profits but to uphold the principle of bear ye one another’s burden. Commercial insurance is strictly not allowed for Muslim as agreed upon by most contemporary scholars because it contains the following elements: i) Al-Gharar (Uncertainty) ii) Al-Maisir (Gambling) iii) Riba (Interest) 4. 4. 2 CONS OF ISLAMIC INSURANCE Even though the Takaful ( Islamic Insurance ) has been described as allowed (halal) for Muslims still Muslim finance scholars are not agreed to one convulsion due to the following reasons:- A . Risk Protection (insurance) is against Tawakkul total dependence upon Allah (swt)    No human actions change the Will of Allah (swt) for our destiny. Whether a person has insurance/Takaful or not has no effect on future events. However, we are instructed to take precautions and then fully trust and depend upon Almighty Allah (swt): in Hadith narrated by Anas bin Malik when an Arab Bedouin asked Prophet Muhmmad (PBUH), Shall I leave my camel untied and seek Allahs protection on it, or should I tie it? The Holy Prophet replied, Tie your camel and then depend upon Allah (swt). {as quoted by Sunan Al Tarmizi, 1981,} (8). B. All Risk Protection (insurance) is Haram-prohibited Fiqh Council of World Muslim League (1398/1978) resolution and Fiqh Council of Organization of Islamic Conference (1405/1985) in Jeddah resolved that, .. conventional insurance as presently practiced is Haram. And that, .. cooperative insurance (Takaful) is permissible and fully consistent with Shariah principles. Hence, conventional insurance is prohibited for Muslims because it contains elements of Riba, Al Maisir, and Al Gharar. By contrast, Takaful provides risk protection in accordance with Sharia using principles of Taawun (mutual assistance), brotherhood, piety and ethical operations (9). C. All Insurance is a form of Gambling of Wagering, which is forbidden in Islam   Risk or uncertainty can be divided into: Pure Risk and Speculative Risk. Pure Risk involves the possibility of Loss or No Loss. For example, damage to property due to fire. Pure Risks are the subject of insurance risk protection and Takaful. On the other hand, Speculative Risks involves the possibility of Loss, No Loss or Gain. For example, venturing into a new business, or gambling on horse race. Speculative Risks that include a potential gain or profit cannot be insured. Takaful schemes use the principle of indemnification to compensate for the loss that occurs to a Takaful Participant. Takaful insures only Pure Risks and claims pay in the event of Loss to cover repairs, damage, replacement of property, or an agreed fixed sum. In Takaful Taawuni (assurance), the compensation equals each participants accumulated savings plus investment profit added to a sum covered taken from the Takaful general pool. D. All Insurance seeks to maximize profits which takes benefits away from policyholders    Most conventional insurance companies are stock companies that seek to maximize profits. Since the interests of shareholders conflicts with policyholders, by raising prices, denying claims, etc. these insurers can boost profits for shareholders. Takaful operators, by contrast, are mutual or cooperative entities. The goal of Takaful is community well-being and self-sustaining operations not high profits. Under the Takaful Mudarabah Model, surplus (or profits) is shared fairly between shareholders and policyholders. Under the Takaful Wakalah Model, surplus is owned by the policyholders and may be reduced by a performance fee incentive for the operator before distribution to the policyholders. 5. 0 LIFE INSURANCE IN PAKISTAN Pakistan is in the operation of remould its economy to meet the inquires of a international sales outlet. The government has inserted a range of efforts designed to support and consolidate Pakistan’s point as an emergent market in the region. The modifications have issued in a deregulated and modified financial sector sales outlet. Pakistans life insurance body, nationalised in 1972, operated under the aegis of the State Life Insurance Corp. and Communicating Life Insurance until 1992, when the governing opened it to private sector involvement. International companies are no individual barred from the life policy business, but they are classified to minority relation. Private companies purpose in nonlife insurance regions, but the governing insurance business is contained by the International Insurance Corp. One of the states first track was to standardise and bring down insurance premium rates and to encourage insurance coverage among a wider section of the population. In 2001, there was US$$168 million of life insurance in writing Pakistan. Although storage of rates is no someone required, there are, even so, separate environment in the Ordinance on Marketplace Behavior Intermediaries which lay behind the works/responsibilities of Direct Insurance policy Companies and of Negotiant. The changes in the regulative environment in Pakistan are in form with those in the International classes. Compliance with regulations is becoming exceedingly important. 5. 1 Takaful in Pakistan The takaful market is silent in a formative level and market projections figuring growing rates between 15% and 20% all over the next 10 years, reaching US$7. 4 billion in economic value by 2015. With demands around customer divine service and productiveness, technology can modify this growing industry through its shaping level. Pakistan is among the best 10 most populous states in the world. This kinds t a very conceptive marketplace for Takaful, one with few interesting inquires. Takaful is the modish â€Å"movement† in business security. Pakistan saw its basic Takaful function, in the Generic part, start in 2006. India, a much larger neighbour, has an insurance penetration of 4. 8%, against Pakistan’s 0. 8%, and its policy density is US$38. 40, against Pakistan’s US$5. 90. These values sort it very clear that there exists a significant space in Pakistan for business securit y tools. As we know, achieving hopefuls is not as simple as formulating them. As a sample Islamic Insuranc Company, Dawood Takaful Family has been chosen for analysis. 6. 1 INSIGHT LOOK- A TAKAFUL COMPANY IN PAKISTAN-DAWOOD FAMILY TAKAFUL Dawood Family Takaful Limited is a member company of the renowned First Dawood Group (FDG) of Companies, Pakistan. FDG belongs to the famous Dawood Family of Bantwa, Gujrat, India, which has remained instrumental in the economic development of Pakistan ever since its independence. Dawood Family Takaful Limited is amongst the pioneers in the field of Family Takaful business in Pakistan. Family Takaful (or Islamic Life Insurance) is a relatively new phenomenon in Pakistan which is regulated by Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. The Company has a vision to be the preferred provider of Islamic financial protection services in Pakistan. 6. 2 OBJECTIVE OF DAWOOD FAMILY TAKAFUL The Dawood Family Takaful is playing a vital role in Islamic Insurance in Pakistan. They describes their objectives as:- â€Å"We aim to provide these services based on Islamic values. We strive to help our valued customers/partners by establishing savings and protection funds with a view to provide comfort for their loved ones. The pro-active measures ensure them security and certainty as it provides monetary relief in the event of misfortune, and creates the habit of saving amongst our customers/partners. This, we believe, underlines the importance of our mission. † As a member of First Dawood Group of Companies, Dawood Family Takaful Limited is strongly capitalized with paid-up capital of PKR 750 million to ensure our ability to meet the promises to our customers timely, and to offer assurance of reliability to our business partners. Under the leadership of a highly respectable competent and experienced management team, the Company is set to pursue its mission vigorously, both domestically and in the international Islamic market as opportunities arise. â€Å"In view to remain competitive, we will continue to introduce innovative and market based customer-centric Family Takaful products that would feature distinctly from other protection plans available in the market. We aim to be the leader in setting new service standards notably in the area of claims management, as well as building long-term customer/ partner loyalty. â€Å" 6. 2 SHARIAH SUPERVISORY BOARD This is the most integral department of any Takaful Company as it is responsible for giving approval for the launch of any new product, scheme or structuring/participating in any transaction in terms of it being in the scope and parameters of Islamic Principles. The Shariah Advisors consist of eminent Islamic economic and financial scholars. The Shariah Advisors will advise the management company on matters relating to Shariah Compliance and recommend general investment guidelines, consistent with the Shariah. Any verdict issued by the Shariah Advisors in relation to any Shariah related matter would be final and acceptable by the Trustee, the management company and other parties related with the matter. 6. 3 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF DAWOOD FAMILY TAKAFUL Annual Report 2010 Fund Performance Reports April 30, March 31, and February 2011 are attached as are attached as Appendices. The Dawood Family Takafuls accounts shows its performance abourt groth individial Takaful 4 times increase (Rs 197,035,755 for the year 2010 and Rs 44,416,618 for the year 2009) as annulized contribution and growth in Group Takaful 3 times ( Rs 34,568,663 for the year 2010 and Rs 31,488,391 for the year 2009). The ocmpany earned Gross Income of Rs 232 million in the year 2010 which was 3 times higher than regular earned in 2009, which was Rs 6 million which expresses the contribution of Dawood Takaful Family for selling and marketing of Islamic insurance secor of Pakistan. The compay has weighted average of no of shares 57,000,000. The Profit and Loss Statement for the ended year 31stDec, 2010 shwos that the company is in loss after tax with the amount of Rs 65,561,188. Even though the company is playing vital role with its utmost maximum contribution to support islamic insurance as a financial product in Pakistan. The detailed reports are attached as Appendices 7. 0 CONCLUSION From the above discussion and analysis it is evident that Islamic Insurance ( Takaful ) is playig its prominent role at par with the conventional life insurance. From its name it is apparent that it is deemed to be for non muslims but in fact it is only a talilored fincncial product for the targeted segment of muslim customers whereas facts are there that non muslims are also practically buying this product due to its financial coparison with the conventional life insurance. Criticism is still three in Muslim world where muslims are reluctant to accept it as a perfectly Halal ( non-prohibited ) product but if the muslims have already accepted the conventioanl banking so it is not a big issue infact. The one thing is encouraging that its develpment pace is very slow but with the laps of time it is getting in popularity all over the world and UK where Principle Insurance Company was regulated by the Financial Services Authority in 2008. 8. 0 REFERNCES 1ME Waari, (1965), uncertain life time, life insurance , and the theory of the consumer,JSTOR (P39-40). 2LA Crosby, (1987), effects of relationship marketing on satisfation, retention, and pricies in the life insurance (P231). 3HU gerber, (1997) life insurance mathematics 3rd , Springer verlag(P52). REJDA George E, ( 2002), priciple of riskmanagement and insurance 8th edition(P79). 5Black, Kenneth, (200), life and health insurance(P89) 6 M Kabir Hassan and Muvyn K lewis, (2007), hanc book of islamic banking Edward Elgary publishing limited UK(P218). 7Simon archer, Rifaat Ahmad Adbel Karim,(2009) takaful islamic insurance : Concepts and regulatory issues W H Smith(P39) 8ALY Khorshid, (2004), islamic insurance :a mordern approch to isl amic banking W H Smith(P147). 9Mahmound A,(2006) islamic finnance : law economic and parctice Cambridge university press(P89).

Surveillance in the Workplace A Violation of Human Rights Essay

Surveillance in the Workplace A Violation of Human Rights - Essay Example The first type used by companies is computer monitoring. â€Å"Computer-based monitoring is the use of computerized systems to automatically collect information about how an employee is performing his or her job" (George 459). For employees doing data entry, some corporations monitor their performance by installing a computer software which can check the keystroke speed and accuracy. Some software can monitor how much time an employee surfs the net and what sites they visit. There are companies which even monitor the emails of their employees without their knowledge. Another type of employee monitoring system is the video surveillance. Turk explains that this type of surveillance is â€Å"used by employers for detecting employee misconduct (particularly theft), monitoring job performance and efficiency, and assuring conformance with safety procedures† (qtd. inMorgan , par 13). Most organizations today install closed -circuit television (CCTV) cameras in various parts of their offices. Outside the office, employees are monitored through the global positioning system (GPS).

Intercultural comm of Japanese Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Intercultural comm of Japanese - Essay Example However, despite the oddity in his questions, I understood most of them because we belonged to the same class. The aura around the interview room was casual since he is my longtime friend, the interview was therefore not formal and we could not make any more organized than it already was. Additionally, the friendship made it possible for me to ask any type of question without appearing patronizing. Kanemoto is friendly and highly likable, this explains our long friendship and my freedom to ask him any type of question. He is also funny and tries to make everyone around him feel comfortable and relaxed. Throughout the interview, he kept distracting me without some of his hilarious outburst. On more occasions, he could sing in his native Japanese language, which sounded funny enough. He translated the wording of his songs and I could not help laughing since they sounded funny but meant much to him. Besides the interview with my friend, I have also taken part in a number of other Japane se’s cultural activities such as the dance with my other Japanese friend Soran Bushi. Despite the fact that they had practiced for more than a month, I played a role in the dance thereby earning myself relative exposure on the culture. From the interactions with the Japanese, I learned a lot about their culture that differs with other cultures as elaborated in the discussion below. Introduction Culture refers to the way of life of a particular society or group of people. Culture therefore encompasses such pertinent issues as the way, in which people eat, dress and worship among other important social practices. For a long-time, global regions were secluded which therefore resulted in the development of definitive cultural practices. It was therefore easy to distinguish a group from their cultural practices, which would differ greatly with those of others. However, through such concepts as urbanization and globalization, the world successfully became a global village one in wh ich people easily interact with others. This resulted in faster communication and exchange of ideas through the modern telecommunication technologies such as the internet and mobile phones (Bradley, 2003). Currently the intense interaction among people has eliminated a number of cultural practices making people behave similarly. However, it is possible to differentiate people in terms of their cultural practices as each community even in the modern society still treasures a number of their indigenous cultural practices. One such community is the Japanese. Through an interview with a Japanese living in the United States of America, it became evident that the Japanese just as any other foreigner in the country exhibits unique cultural behaviors some as primary as the difference in their languages to other more essential personality differences arising from their unique culture. Such validate the claim that culture is an important aspect of life since through culture people determine t heir spiritual belief a key component of humanity from where people learn social values. Additionally, culture determines the food for a society (Berns, 2013). Different societies eat different types of food, which they handle differently in accordance to the dictates of their cultures. Japanese differ greatly with American, even those living in the country exhibit different behavior patterns from the Native Americans and other people from other parts of

Personality psychology Essay Example for Free

Personality psychology Essay â€Å"We are born at a given moment, in a given place and, like vintage years of wine, we have the qualities of the year and of the season of which we are born. Astrology does not lay claim to anything more† (Carl Gustav Jung). Ever since humans looked toward the sky for some kind of meaning to life and answers to the big questions, astrology has been a part of many people’s lives. It is also known to hold knowledge on one’s personality and character. After reading my Pisces personality profile, I realized that there are similarities and differences between my personality and the profile provided. Aside from the similarities, the profile also consists of traits which are different from my own. I feel that I am a long term planners and I am very decisive about my life goals as opposed to the profile which says that Pisces â€Å"[go] where the wind blows†. I feel that I am a very determined person and example of this is that in grade 8, I had thought about each and every single major step stone in my life. I had decided that I would go into McMasters to study Health Sciences, then go into UFT medical school, complete 3 years of specialization in neurology and after completing my residency, become a neurosurgeon. Saying that I go where the wind blows is an invalid statement. In addition, I do not feel that I have a strong connection with music which again disobeys the profile personality. It says that Pisces â€Å"[are] often channeled into creative outlets,† and have a strong connection in â€Å"music and film†. I feel it very hard to connect to music personally because I feel I have no relations with the topics a singer sings about. Even though certain music can be inspirational and represent an important topic, most of today’s music just seems to be about money, fame and girls. Just yesterday I felt depressed due though personal circumstances and thought music might aid but I personally had no relief. Moreover, I also disagree with the fact that I have â€Å"a feminine nature†. I consider myself being more masculine and bold. In particular, during my summer job when my employer asked me to do something I felt was unsafe, I gallantly spoke out whereas if I had a feminine nature I might have said nothing. As a result I feel that certain elements of this personality profile do not match with mine. In conclusion, there are similarities and differences between my personality and the profile personality provided. Even though it consisted of several traits which I felt resembled me, it also contained traits which I could not relate to. Scientists have always dismissed astrology as a load of old bunk. Now, a British astronomer has said that there might be something in it after all. Could the planets really control our fates? Bibliography Yoga, Lexi. 101 Astrology Quotes. October 2009. Web. 11 September 2010 .

Budgeting Essay -- Finances Accounting Budgets Essays

Budgeting Budgeting is the systematic method of allocating financial, physical, and human resources to achieve an organization’s strategic goals. Budgets are utilized by for-profit and non-profit organizations to monitor the progress towards the goals, assist in the control of spending, and help predict cash flow for the organization. The central challenge that budget developers encounter is predicting what the future holds for the internal business and external factors. Reading the future is something that can never be done with perfect precision. The fast pace of technological change, the complexities of global competition and world events make developing effective budgets both more difficult and more important. Important benefits of improving the budgeting process include better companywide understanding of strategic goals, more coordinated support for those goals, and an improved ability to respond quickly to competition. (Gruner & Jahr, 2003 Inc Magazine). Anyone familiar with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and practices will find most accounting for nonprofit activity to be very familiar. There are, however, some significant differences, which include:  « Accounting for Contributions  « Capitalizing and Depreciating Assets  « Use of Cash- and Modified Cash-Basis Accounting  « Functional Expense Classification The act of budgeting resources to meet or beat the goals of an organization is an art form in any type of business. â€Å"All business should prepare budgets,† (Hansen and Mowen, p. 282). The advantage to budgeting is that: 1. It forces to plan. 2. It provides information that can be used to improve decision making. 3. It provides a standard for performance evaluation. 4. It improves communication and coordination. If good budgeting is important for every successful business or organization, can we expect to have industry standard and general practices that are followed in every type of organization? Probable not, but certain standard can be expected, which is the direction of this term paper. Are there a difference or should there be a difference in the way a for-profit and a not-for-profit conduct their budgeting procedures. In both cases, they have income and expenses, employees and goals and objectives of the organization. The hypothesis is that there is no difference in the bu... ..., a wide variety of popular accounting software systems are available that have been designed to satisfy these needs. If the nonprofit organization uses an adequate accounting system, sets up its categories and classifications in line with the IRS reporting requirements, and assiduously labels all revenue and expenses appropriately, then completing the IRS annual report is a relatively painless matter. References Bangs Jr, David H and Pellecchia, Michael, August 15, 2000, Action Plan: Forecasting and Cash-Flow Budgeting retrieved from web site http://www.muridae.com/ nporegulation/accounting.html on February 27, 2003. Critical Issues in Financial Accounting Regulation for Nonprofit Organizations, Online Compendium of Federal and State Regulations for U.S. Nonprofit Organizations, retrieved from web site http://www.muridae.com/nporegulation/main.html on February 28, 2003 Gruner + Jahr, January 12, 2000, Best Practices: Developing Budgets, Inc Magazine, USA Publishing. Inc.com, retrieved from web site http://www.inc.com/articles/ finance/fin_manage/budget/16379.html on February 27th, 2003 Hansen & Mowen, Management Accounting, 6th edition, 2003, South Western

Classic Pen Company Case

A VOTRE SANTE: PRODUCT COSTING AND DECISION ANALYSIS IN THE WINE INDUSTRY Priscilla S. Wisner Department of Accounting and Information Management College of Business University of Tennessee 638 Stokely Management Center Knoxville, TN 37996 Phone: 865. 974. 1714 Email: [email  protected] edu Case: A Votre Sante Page 1 of 17 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=1659912 BACKGROUND A Votre Sante (AVS) is a small, independent winery owned by Kay Aproveche. Kay has a relationship with a grower who grows two types of wine grapes, a Chardonnay and a generic white grape.AVS buys the grapes at the point that they have ripened on the vine. AVS is responsible for harvesting the grapes and all further processing of the grapes into wine. In 2010, AVS earned an operating margin of almost $100,000 on sales of $848,000, for an 11. 6% margin (see Exhibit 1). The process of winemaking is fairly simple, yet requires much attention to process details. After the grapes are harvested, they are brought to the winery for washing and crushing. The crushing process separates the juice from the pulp, skin and stems.The juice is used to make the wine; the pulp, skin and stems are recycled back onto the fields whenever possible or otherwise disposed of. The amount of wine generated from the grapes is dependent each year on a number of climatic and growing factors such as temperature, length of growing season, rootstock and fertilizers used. Once the juice is extracted, it moves into the fermenting process. The Chardonnay wine grape is fermented using oak barrels; the oak in the barrels gives flavor to the Chardonnay wine.The barrels are expensive ($500 each), but are sold after four years for $200 apiece to another smaller winery. The juice fermenting in each barrel results in the production of 40 cases of wine. The generic white grape juices are fermented in a holding tank; a full tank would result in the production of 1,500 cases of wine. The fermenting process takes place in a temperaturecontrolled environment; however, each fermenting method results in some wine loss through evaporation. Kay Aproveche estimates that theChardonnay will lose approximately 10 percent of its volume through the fermentation process, while the generic white will lose approximately 5 percent of its volume. Harvest takes place in the late summer and early fall months; typically, the time elapsed from harvest to final sale is about 11 months. Case: A Votre Sante Page 2 of 17 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=1659912 PRODUCT INFORMATION AVS bottles three wines: a Chardonnay-Estate, a regular Chardonnay and a Blanc de Blanc.Data related to the three wines is as follows: Chardonnay-Estate contains only Chardonnay grapes that are grown for AVS; the expected sales price is $22/bottle. The market demand for Chardonnay-Estate wine is estimated to be 24,000 bottles for 2010. Regular Chardonnay is blended by combining the Chardonnay wine left over after bo ttling the Chardonnay-Estate with the fermented generic wine; the blend mixture is two parts Chardonnay grapes and one part generic grapes. The expected sales price is $16/bottle.Blanc de Blanc wine is made from all remaining generic white grapes; the expected sales price is $11/bottle. All three wines are bottled at AVS using one bottling line. In a typical year, AVS bottles enough Chardonnay-Estate to meet the predicted market demand, then bottles the regular Chardonnay after blending all remaining Chardonnay wine with the necessary amount of generic grapes. The Blanc de Blanc is the last wine to be bottled, using all remaining generic white grapes. Kay again expects the wines from this harvest year to sell out.ADDITIONAL OPERATIONAL AND COST DATA Chardonnay Grapes 2009 harvest – 100,000 pounds purchase price of $85,500 expected loss in volume through fermentation and bottling – 10% Case: A Votre Sante Page 3 of 17 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstr act=1659912 Generic White Grapes 2009 harvest – 60,000 pounds purchase price of $38,500 expected loss in volume through fermentation and bottling – 5% Wine-making Chardonnay grapes are fermented in oak barrels; each barrel results in the production of 40 cases of wine Barrels cost $500 apiece, and can be used for our years and sold for $200 each at the end of four years; assume that you have to purchase all new barrels for the 2009 harvest Generic white grapes are fermented in the holding tank; the tank can hold up to the equivalent of 1,500 cases of wine Bottling Requires 36 pounds of grapes (post-fermenting) for one case (12 bottles) of wine In the bottling process, the wine is put into bottles, with both corks and labels added during this process. The materials cost associated with the bottles, corks and labels are estimated to be $2. 50/bottle. Direct Labor Harvest labor is paid an average of $7. 5 / hour. It is estimated that 80 pounds of grapes can be harvested e ach hour. Crush labor is paid an average of $8. 00/hour. It is estimated that it will take 300 hours to crush the grape harvest. Overhead Expenses Administrative rent and office expenses – Estimated to be $20,000 / year. Depreciation is charged based on the following equipment schedule: Case: A Votre Sante Page 4 of 17 Equipment Tractors Crushers Holding Tank Bottle Lines Cost $15,000 $6,000 $40,000 $10,000 Est. Life 10 years 10 years 20 years 10 years 5 years Other Production Equipment $15,000Indirect Materials – Part of the wine-making process involves introducing yeasts and other additives into the wine to help the fermentation process and to help balance the flavors in the wine. Indirect production materials average $1. 55 per case of wine. Lab expenses – Lab expenses of $8,000 are incurred for lab supplies and equipment. The lab is used by the production supervisor and the wine master to test the grapes and wine at various stages of production. Liquor taxes – AVS is required to pay a liquor excise tax of $3/bottle on every bottle of wine sold.Production office – AVS pays a part-time person to help administer the production function. This person orders supplies, reviews and approves production invoices, and performs other administrative functions. The production office budget is estimated to be a flat rate of $12,000. Sales and related – Kay’s sister, Bebe Cadadia, is paid $30,000/year on a contract basis to sell AVS wines. She works through distributors, who are paid $2/bottle for each bottle sold. Supervision – Kay’s brother, Kan Pai, supervises the production of wine from the harvest through the bottling processes. His salary and benefits total $55,000 annually.Case: A Votre Sante Page 5 of 17 Utilities – Utilities costs are incurred primarily to maintain a constant temperature in the fermenting process. These are expected to be $5,500. Waste treatment – After crushing, the pul p, skins and stems that are left over must be disposed of. One-half of the waste can be recycled back onto the fields as a compost material; the other one-half must be disposed of at a landfill dumping cost of $2,000. A winemaster is employed to help formulate and test the wines. This is done on a contract basis; AVS pays the winemaster $5,000 for each type of wine that is formulated.Kay’s role is to manage the AVS business. Her annual salary and benefits total $75,000. CASE QUESTIONS 1. Create a single company-wide contribution margin income statement for AVS that includes each expense category. Also calculate the average revenue and net income for one bottle of wine. (Note: Do not break out the variable or the fixed costs by type of wine. ) 2. Another grower has available 20,000 pounds of Chardonnay grapes from the 2009 harvest. AVS has the opportunity to buy the juice from these grapes (they have already been harvested and crushed).If AVS could blend these grapes with the generic white grapes (using the 2:1 blend formula) to produce a new Chardonnay wine to be priced at $14/bottle, and required a 15% return on sales for this wine, what is the maximum amount that AVS would pay for a pound of grapes? 3. Other than the cost of the grapes, what factors would you consider to support your purchase of the grapes, and what factors would cause you to reject buying the grapes? 4. Kay Aproveche recently read an article about Activity Based Costing (ABC) and is intrigued by the costing methodology.She would like to be able to better assign costs to each of AVS’s products, and has collected the following information about AVS activities. Use this Case: A Votre Sante Page 6 of 17 information, along with the information given in the case, to construct a product cost analysis using ABC. Assume that AVS did not buy the grapes referred to in Question 2. Harvesting activity – The Chardonnay grapes can be harvested at the average rate of 71. 5 pounds/hour, while the generic white grapes are harvested at the rate of 100 pounds/hour.Includes costs related to tractors and harvest labor. Crush activity – Relates to the pounds of grapes crushed. Includes costs of crusher equipment and crush labor. Fermenting Activities – Barrel costs relate to the Chardonnay wines by the percentage of wine used in each wine type. Holding tanks relate to the Blanc de Blanc and the Chardonnay regular wines by the percentage of wine used in each wine type. Lab and Supervision Activities – Kan Pai estimates that these activities are split 60% Chardonnay-Estate, 25% Chardonnay regular and 15% Blanc de Blanc.Other production activities and costs not directly associated with a specific wine – allocate according to the number of bottles produced of each wine. Administrative activities – Allocate according to sales revenues. 5. Write a brief memo to Kay Aproveche that explains what ABC is, and that discusses both the benefits and costs of doing an ABC analysis. What would you recommend to Kay Aproveche regarding the ABC analysis? Case: A Votre Sante Page 7 of 17 Exhibit 1 A Votre Sante Income Statement – 2010Sales Chardonnay – Estate Chardonnay (non-Estate) Blanc de Blanc Total Revenues Product Costs Grapes Bottle, labels, corks Harvest labor Crush Labor Indirect Materials Depreciation Lab expenses Production office Utilities Waste treatment Wine Master Supervisor Barrels Total Product Costs Gross Margin Administrative & Sales Costs Administrative rent & office Liquor taxes Sales commissions Sales manager Administrative salary Total Fixed Costs Operating Margin price $ 22 $ 16 $ 11 # bottles 24,000 $ 9,000 16,000 49,000 $ $ 528,000 144,000 176,000 848,000 124,000 122,500 14,500 2,400 6,329 8,100 8,000 12,000 5,500 2,000 15,000 55,000 4,725 380,054 467,946 $ $ 44. 8% 55. 2% $ $ $ 20,000 147,000 98,000 30,000 75,000 370,000 97,946 11. 6% Case: A Votre Sante Page 8 of 17 TEACHING NOTE: A VOTRE SA NTEThe A Votre Sante (AVS) case is multi-faceted in that it requires students to incorporate operational measures into product costing results, and also to understand cost accounting from a variety of perspectives, such as: Product versus period costs Variable versus fixed costs Activity based costing Relevant costs and opportunity costs Additionally, the case questions require both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the business issues faced by AVS. AVS has been used in a graduate-level managerial accounting class for MBAs, and would be most appropriate for an advanced undergraduate or a graduatelevel accounting or MBA course. The detail in the case is rich enough to support a variety of analyses.Alternative uses could be to have the student construct a cost of goods manufactured statement or a traditional financial statement, both of which reinforce the differences between product and period costs. Students must know the difference between product and period costs to success fully complete the ABC analysis, but they could be made more explicit by requiring the statements. Additionally, alternative decision analysis questions could be developed using the variable and fixed cost structures described in the case. Case question number two is only one example of a potential decision analysis question. The following discussion contains the answers to the questions listed in the case, and does not detail the solutions to alternative questions. Case: A Votre Sante Page 9 of 17Question 1: Contribution Margin Income Statement To develop the contribution margin income statement, you first have to calculate the number of bottles of wine produced by AVS. This number is dependent upon the yield from the grapes. The relevant calculations are as follows: Chardonnay Grapes 100,000 10,000 10% 90,000 Generic Grapes 60,000 3,000 57,000 Yield: Pounds harvested Loss in processing Yield Bottles of wine produced: 5% Chardonnay Estate Regular pounds of grapes: Chardonnay grapes Generic grapes Total pounds of grapes Bottles (3 lb. / bottle) 72,000 72,000 24,000 18,000 9,000 27,000 9,000 Blanc de Blanc 48,000 48,000 16,000 Total 90,000 57,000 49,000The contribution margin income statement (Teaching Note Exhibit 1) is fairly straightforward, with the following concepts / calculations causing the most difficulty: The inclusion of liquor taxes and sales commissions in variable costs: These are both period expenses, but are clearly based upon the number of bottles sold, and therefore are included in the variable costs. Where to include the wine master expense: Since the wine master is paid according to number of blends, not number of bottles, this expense is listed as a fixed cost. Arguably, it could be listed as a variable cost, given that the cost will be based on the number of wines produced.As part of the discussion we will examine the rationale behind listing wine master as a fixed or a variable expense. Barrel expense: The case states that the barrels pro duce the equivalent of 40 cases of wine. A case of wine is post-fermentation/bottling and therefore after the 10% loss has occurred. The Case: A Votre Sante Page 10 of 17 barrels contain the wine at the start of the process. Therefore, there have to be enough barrels to hold all the wine at the beginning of the process, not at the end. This factor results in 63 (62. 5) barrels being required for the harvest1. Question 2: Additional Purchase Opportunity, Quantitative Analysis Case Question 2 asks what is the maximum amount that AVS would pay to buy an additional pound of Chardonnay grapes.There are three parts to calculating this answer: the benefit from the additional Chardonnay wine to be sold, the relevant costs related to producing this wine and the opportunity cost of not producing as much Blanc de Blanc wine. Teaching Note Exhibit 2 displays the calculations relevant to this decision. Chardonnay regular wine requires a 2 to 1 mixture of Chardonnay and Blanc de Blanc wine. There fore, the 18,000 pounds of Chardonnay grapes will be combined with 9,000 pounds of generic grapes. The 27,000 pounds of grapes will result in an additional 9,000 bottles of Chardonnay regular wine being produced. However, it will also result in a 3,000-bottle decrease in the amount of Blanc de Blanc wine produced, since some generic grapes will now be used for the Chardonnayregular wine.Question 3: Additional Purchase Opportunity, Qualitative Analysis The following factors would support AVS’s decision to purchase the additional grapes: Potential increase in market share Diversification of suppliers Ability to leverage fixed costs over more production If quality of purchased grape is perceived to be better To block a competitor from buying the grapes 1 Each case of wine requires 36 pounds of grapes (post-fermenting). A barrel holds the equivalent of 40 cases of wine (post-fermenting), or 1,440 pounds of grapes (40 x 36). To convert the post-fermenting grapes to prefermenting g rapes, they must be divided by . 9, or 1,440 / . 9 equals 1,600 pounds of grapes. The harvest of 100,000 pounds of grapes therefore requires 62. 5 barrels for storage (100,000 / 1,600). Case: A Votre Sante Page 11 of 17Ability to focus time and effort on wine making (rather than harvesting and crushing) Creates an incentive for the current grower to control costs The following factors would support AVS’s decision to reject the grape purchase: Poor quality of the grapes An additional AVS Chardonnay wine creates confusion in the marketplace Lack of control over the harvest and crush process Lack of confidence in the additional sales forecast Inability of the current capacity (e. g. bottling line, space) to support additional production Inability to use the additional barrels purchased in future years Cannibalization of the current Chardonnay, Chardonnay-Estate or Blanc de Blanc sales Reliability concerns with the new supplier Other hidden costsQuestion 4: ABC Quantitative Analy sis Teaching Note Exhibit 3 contains the ABC product costing analysis, and shows both the per product line and per unit costs. The ABC outcome demonstrates that the Chardonnay-Estate is the most profitable wine for AVS, the Chardonnay-Regular is marginally profitable, and the Blanc de Blanc is not profitable. While Blanc de Blanc is not profitable, a product-line contribution analysis would need to be completed to determine if Blanc de Blanc has a positive contribution margin, and therefore contributes to covering fixed costs of AVS. Case: A Votre Sante Page 12 of 17 Question 5: ABC Qualitative Analysis The first part of this question asks for an explanation of ABC, and a discussion of the benefits and costs of an ABC analysis.Relevant points are that ABC is a method of assigning costs that first assigns costs to the activities identified in the business, and these costs are assigned to the cost objects (in this case, the three wines) in a manner which reflects each cost object†™s use of the activity. Using ABC to assign costs is especially beneficial where there exists either variation in processes or variations in cost object requirements. It is also useful as a tool to calculate activity or process costs, which can act as a benchmark against which to judge future improvements. A well-defined ABC cost allocation will provide more accurate costing information than a less-sophisticated cost allocation system. The costs of ABC are that it is a time-consuming process and it requires a comprehensive knowledge of the entire operation to successfully complete.For a small company such as AVS, software costs would be minimal; the ABC system could easily be constructed using a spreadsheet program. After looking at the results of the ABC analysis, it is clear that the Chardonnay-Estate wine is driving the profitability of AVS. The Blanc de Blanc is the poorest performer; recommendations to Kay Aproveche would be to explore both pricing and cost control opportunit ies for the Blanc de Blanc wine. One â€Å"rule of thumb† used in the wine industry is that the price of a bottle of wine is approximately related to the cost of a ton of grapes by a factor of 100 to 1. If you multiply the $11 price per bottle by 100, the result is $1,100.AVS pays $1,283 for a ton of generic grapes, which suggests that AVS is not receiving enough value for Blanc de Blanc wine relative to the price of the grapes. Perhaps AVS is paying too much for this grape, or they are underpricing the wine. The answer to this cannot be fathomed by data in the case, and is subject to many other variables (such as strength of the harvest and strength of the wine market); however, it is mentioned here as performance measure that is used in the industry. Although some students will suggest that AVS discontinue producing Blanc de Blanc, because it has a Case: A Votre Sante Page 13 of 17 positive contribution margin it would not be to AVS’s benefit to discontinue this wine without having a better substitue.Looking at the line item costs, students should note that the costs for bottles, labels and corks are the same for each of the wines, which may not be correct or appropriate. Students should question whether this makes sense, and note that AVS might decrease costs in the Blanc de Blanc line by buying lower-priced bottles, labels and corks. Another interesting piece of information from the cost analysis is the Wine Master cost and how large it is on a per-unit basis when the number of bottles is low. This helps demonstrate to the students how volume creates economies of scale, and often leads into a discussion about how to expand product lines without incurring additional fixed costs, especially when initial volume is expected to be low.Summary The AVS case is based upon actual wine industry data, although the data has been simplified to reinforce the teaching points and concepts. It is also true to the wine making process, with the exception of AVS ’s process of making the Chardonnay regular wine from the fermented Chardonnay and Blanc de Blanc wines. This can be done, but most commonly the juice from the wine grapes is combined at the start of the fermenting process, so that they can ferment together. Because of the different yield rates in the fermenting process, the case had the wines ferment separately and blend at the end. The case can be taught in a 75-minute class, or by omitting the decision analysis question 50 minutes would be sufficient.I have also used it to teach the differences between the financial income statement reporting (product and period costs) and the contribution margin income statement reporting (variable and fixed costs), and then assigned decision analysis and/or the ABC costing as an additional assignment. Case: A Votre Sante Page 14 of 17 Teaching Note Exhibit 1: Contribution Margin Income Statement Sales Chardonnay Chardonnay – Estate Blanc de Blanc Total Revenues Variable costs Grap es Bottle, labels, corks Harvest labor Crush Labor Indirect Materials Liquor taxes Sales Barrels Total Variable Costs Contribution Margin Fixed Costs Administrative rent & office Depreciation Lab expenses Production office Sales Supervisor Utilities Waste treatment Wine Master Administrative salary Total Fixed Costs Operating Margin price $ 22 $ 16 $ 11 # bottles 24,000 $ 9,000 16,000 49,000 $ 528,000 144,000 176,000 848,000 avg. revenue per bottle: $ 17. 1 $ 124,000 122,500 14,500 2,400 6,329 147,000 98,000 4,725 519,454 328,546 61. 3% 38. 7% $85,500 + 38,500 # bottles x $2. 50 2,000 hours x $7. 25/hour 300 hours x $8/hour # bottles x 1. 55/12 $3/bottle $2/bottle 63 barrels x $300/4 years $ $ $ 20,000 8,100 8,000 12,000 30,000 55,000 5,500 2,000 15,000 75,000 230,600 97,946 11. 6% $ 2. 00 per bottle $ $ Case: A Votre Sante Page 15 of 17 Teaching Note Exhibit 2: Decision Analysis, Additional Grape Purchase Yield Chardonnay grapes 20,000 2,000 18,000 9,000 pounds loss (10%) yield 2 p ounds of Chardonnay grapes per bottle (along with 1 pound of generic grapes) 9000 bottles @ $14 / bottle bottlesAdditional Chardonnay Product Line Revenue: $ 126,000 Costs: generic grapes $ 6,079 bottles, labels, corks 22,500 indirect material 1,163 liquor taxes 27,000 sales distribution 18,000 barrels 975 wine master 5,000 Total costs: $ 80,716 Gain from new Chardonnay $ 45,284 Lost Sales of Blanc de Blanc Wine Revenue: $ 33,000 Costs: generic grapes $ 6,079 bottles, labels, corks 7,500 indirect material 388 liquor taxes 9,000 sales distribution 6,000 Total costs: $ 28,966 Lost Contribution Margin $ 4,034 Net Impact Required Return Total Net Benefit Pounds of Grapes Maximum Price $ $ 41,250 $ 18,900 $ 22,350 20,000 1. 12 9000 pounds x. 6754 / pound $2. 50 / bottle $1. 55 / case $3 / bottle $2 / bottle 20,000 pounds / 1, 600 each blend 3000 bottles @ $11 / bottle 9000 pounds x. 6754 / pound $2. 50 / bottle $1. 55 / case $3 / bottle $2 / bottle 15% per poundCase: A Votre Sante Page 1 6 of 17 Teaching Note Exhibit 3: Activity Based Costing Income Statement C – Estate Sales Revenue Driver Grapes pounds of grapes Bottle, labels, corks # bottles Harvest labor harvest labor hours 1 Tractor Depreciation harvest labor hours 1 Crush Labor pounds of grape crushed2 Crush Equip. Depr. pounds of grape crushed2 Indirect Materials # bottles Lab and Supervision # bottles Liquor taxes # bottles Sales # bottles Wine Master # blends Barrels percentage of wine3 Holding Tank percentage of wine4 Other Production Expenses Depreciation # bottles Prod. Office # bottles Utilities # bottles Waste treatment # bottles Administrative Expenses Admin.Salary % of sales revenue Admin rent & office % of sales revenue Sales % of sales revenue # bottles rev. /bottle 24,000 22 $ 528,000 68,400 60,000 8,117 840 1,200 300 3,100 37,800 72,000 48,000 5,000 3,780 308,537 1,959 5,878 2,694 980 11,510 46,698 12,453 18,679 77,830 Total Expenses Operating Margin 397,877 $ 130,123 24. 6% $ $ product l ine data C – Reg. B de B 9,000 16 144,000 23,180 22,500 2,717 281 442 111 1,163 15,750 27,000 18,000 5,000 945 316 117,403 735 2,204 1,010 367 4,316 12,736 3,396 5,094 21,226 142,946 1,054 0. 7% $ $ 16,000 11 176,000 32,421 40,000 3,666 379 758 189 2,067 9,450 48,000 32,000 5,000 1,684 175,614 1,306 3,918 1,796 653 7,673 15,566 4,151 6,226 25,943 209,231 (33,231) -18. % $ Total 49,000 $ 848,000 124,000 122,500 14,500 1,500 2,400 600 6,329 63,000 147,000 98,000 15,000 4,725 2,000 601,554 4,000 12,000 5,500 2,000 23,500 75,000 20,000 30,000 125,000 750,054 97,946 11. 6% $ $ 22. 00 $ 16. 00 $ 11. 00 2. 85 2. 50 0. 34 0. 03 0. 05 0. 01 0. 13 1. 58 3. 00 2. 00 0. 21 0. 16 0. 00 12. 86 0. 08 0. 24 0. 11 0. 04 0. 48 1. 95 0. 52 0. 78 3. 24 16. 58 5. 42 $ 24. 6% 2. 58 2. 50 0. 30 0. 03 0. 05 0. 01 0. 13 1. 75 3. 00 2. 00 0. 56 0. 11 0. 04 13. 04 0. 08 0. 24 0. 11 0. 04 0. 48 1. 42 0. 38 0. 57 2. 36 15. 88 0. 12 $ 0. 7% 2. 03 2. 50 0. 23 0. 02 0. 05 0. 01 0. 13 0. 59 3. 00 2. 00 0. 31 0. 00 0. 11 10. 98 0. 08 0. 24 0. 11 0. 04 0. 48 0. 97 0. 26 0. 39 1. 62 13. 08 (2. 08) -18. 9% per-unit data C – Estate C – Reg. B de B Case: A Votre Sante Page 17 of 17