Supply Chain Management of Marks and Spencer Essay

Supply Chain Management of Marks and Spencer - Essay Example The essay "Supply Chain Management of Marks and Spencer" examines supply chain strategies of one of the most famous retailers in the UK, Marks and Spencer (M&S). The paper will also discuss supply chain structure that the company has been designed to implement its supply chain strategy. At the time of its initiation, M&S did not face much competition as the number of market players was very small. However, over the years the number of retail firms has increased in the UK as well as throughout the world with increasing popularity if retail culture. With the increase in the level of competition, M&S felt it necessary to devise some effective strategies to deal with increased market competition. In order to sustain in an intensely competitive market, it is very much necessary to retain existing customer base and expand it over time. M&S has rightly recognized this need and accordingly have placed focus on delivering goods in the best possible manner to its customers. This strategy is very helpful in improving the profitability of the firm and fostering a huge competitive advantage in the industry. M&S have now emphasized on delivering high-quality up-to-date garments at fair prices to its customers. M&S has also realized that purchasing from overseas suppliers is the most effective way of saving costs. As one of its competitive strategies, the company emphasizes on redesigning its stores in such a way that they provide more comfort, more space, and more convenience to the customers at the time of their shopping and browsing.... M&S has rightly recognized this need and accordingly have placed focus on delivering goods in the best possible manner to its customers. This strategy is very helpful in improving profitability of the firm and fostering a huge competitive advantage in the industry. M&S have now emphasized on delivering high-quality up-to-date garments at fair prices to its customers. (Neef,. 2004; Hensher, 2001) To survive under extremely competitive environment, it is necessary to improve its operational activities, suppliers, logistic, designing of stores and so on. The old stocks should be cleared from the warehouses to give way for new stocks that are up-to-dated. Apart from this, it is also necessary to provide due consideration on packaging of the products. M&S has identified all these needs for improving its competitive strength in the market and has designed competitive strategies accordingly to meet these needs. (Neef,. 2004; Hensher, 2001) M&S has also realized that purchasing from overseas suppliers is the most effective way of saving costs as well as of providing the products to the customers at lower prices. Hence, it has abandoned its policy of confining to UK suppliers only. (Neef,. 2004; Hensher, 2001) As one of its competitive strategy, the company is emphasizing on redesigning its stores in such a way that they provide more comfort, more space and more convenience to the customers at the time of their shopping and browsing. (Neef,. 2004; Hensher, 2001) Supply chain strategy: For a large scale of business enterprises, Marks and Spencer, one of the famous retailer in Britain, had set a very big example. For a very long time, Marks and Spencer has been a leader in the industry where there is a team of local suppliers working

Shays Rebellion Essay Example for Free

Shays Rebellion Essay Johnsons dictionary was published in 1755. Nathan Bailey first published his in 1736. These would have been the most commonly used dictionaries In the 1780s. Doolittle, Amos. The Looking Glass of 1787. 1781. Photograph. N. p. This Connecticut cartoon appeared in 1787 at the height of the ratification debates over the proposed Federal Constitution. In Connecticut, as elsewhere, those favoring ratification were called Federalists; their opponents were referred toas Antifederalists. The artist of this cartoon, who Is possibly Amos Doolittle, favored ratification. Connecticut Is 1 OF2 paper money as the two faction pull the wagon in opposite directions. The man in the agon states Gentlemen this Machine is deep in the mire and you are divided as to its releaf. To the left, under a sunny sky, are the five Federalist councilors. On the right, under a stormy sky issuing lightning bolts, are six of the seven Antifederalist councilors, one of whom says Success to Shays. The seventh Antifederalist councilor is below and identified as Agricola which was the pseudonym William Williams used. He is saying, l fear dread the Ides of MAY. May 15 was Election Day for the Connecticut upper house. The character identified as S? H? P is Williams enemy, Samuel Holden Parsons. Parsons was the president of the Connecticut Society of the Cincinnati, a hereditary military order open only to officers of the Continental Army and their male desecndents. The smaller cartoon within the cartoon at the lower left has the caption Tweedles Studdy as I sit plodding by my taper, reference to a satirical poem in the New-Haven Gazette. A copy of this poem, titled, Poem in the New Haven Gazette, appears on this site. a

Shirley Temple Essay examples -- Biography

America's little darling, everyone knows her but where did she come from? George Francis Temple was her father (Shirley Temple). He was born in 1888 and eventually became a banker (Shirley Temple). Her mother's name was Gertrude Amelia Krieger, she was born in 1893(Shirley Temple). They had two sons whose names were: Jack Temple and George Jr. Temple (Shirley Temple). While expecting their first daughter Gertrude played the phonograph and attended dance recitals (Shirley Temple). Finally on April 23, 1929 a beautiful baby girl was born (Shirley Temple). Shirley was a baby who would bring smiles to everyone’s face during the great depression (Hall). They named her Shirley Jane Temple. Shirley was born at 9:00 p.m. She once said " Too late for dinner, and so i started life one meal behind. Ever since then I have tried to make up for that loss"(The Official Shirley Temple Website). Shirley began dancing extremely early (Shirley Temple). Even as early as eight months old, as she swayed back and forth in her baby crib (Shirley Temple). Her love for dancing continued. As Shirley got older she took dance lessons at Ethel Meglin Dance Studio, which was only ten miles from Hollywood (Bankston 6-7). It was the day before Thanksgiving and the family had travel plans arranged, so Shirley took dance class early that week (Bankston 7). While in a hurry her mother did not have time to curl her hair and Shirley had on very casual clothes, not knowing that this would be the day her fame would begin (Bankston 7). This is the day in 1931 that producers Jack Hays and Charles Lamont discovered Shirley (The Official Shirley Temple Website). Shirley's family became very protective of their little girl (Shirley Temple). She attende... ...he received many awards even after her acting career had ended. In September of 2005 the Screen Actors Gold proclaimed that Shirley," who captivated the world as no other child star has done before or since, then served her country as an eminent diplomat over more than three decades"(U-S-history). She received a Life Achievement Award for her many accomplishments (U-S-history). Also, in 2005 Premiere Magazine put her at number thirty-three on the Greatest Movie Stars of all-time list (Shirley Temple). She was voted the thirty-eighth greatest movie star of all time by Entertainment Weekly (Shirley Temple). At one point, Shirley's fan club in England had 650,000 members (Lindeman). Located at 1500 Vine Street is her Hollywood Walk of Fame star (Shirley Temple). All in all, Shirley Jane Temple had a very full life and accomplished so much.

Basic knowledge of Commercial Bank

There is no guarantee in any credit market that lenders will be willing and able to accommodate every borrower. 3) The Length of Time for Which Funds are Needed Some funds sources may be difficult to access immediately such as commercial paper and long-term debt capital. 4) The Size of the Institution that Requires More Funds A denomination often exceeds the borrowing requirements of the smallest financial institutions. 5) Regulations Limiting the Use of Alternative Funding Sources Federal and state regulations may limit the amount, frequency, and use of borrowed funds.Basel I represent a â€Å"one size fits all† approach to capital regulation. It failed to recognize that no two banks are alike in term of their risk profiles. Basel II sets up a yester in which capital requirements are more sensitive to risk and protect against more types of risk than has been true under Basel l. Basel II attempts to ensure that, consistently, low-risk assets require less capital than high-risk assets, whereas the reverse was often the case with Basel l.There are four new elements of Basel II: 1) Internal Risk Assessment 2) Operational Risk 3) Credit Risk Models 4) A Dual Set of Rules. 1) Character The loan officer must be convinced the customer has a well-defined purpose for requesting credit and a serious intention to repay. ) Capacity The loan officer must be sure the customer has the authority to request a loan and the legal standing to sign a binding loan agreement. 3) Cash The loan application centers should assess borrowing customers' ability to generate enough cash to repay the loan. ) Collateral In assessing the collateral aspect of a loan request, the loan officer must ask whether the borrower possess adequate net worth or own enough quality assets to provide adequate support for the loan. 5) Conditions The loan officer and credit analyst must be aware of recent trend in the borrower's nine of work or industry and how changing economic conditions might affect th e loan. 6) Control The control element centers on such questions as whether changes in law and regulation could adversely affect the borrower and whether the loan request meets the lender's and the regulatory authorities' standards for loan quality.The CAMELS is a system used by federal bank examiners for evaluating the overall condition of a bank based upon the adequacy of its capital, the quality of its asset portfolio, its management quality, the adequacy of its earnings, its liquidity and its sensitivity to market risk. Depository institutions whose overall CAMELS rating is toward the low, riskier end of the numerical scale-?an overall rating of 4 or 5-?tend to be examined more frequently than the highest-rated institutions, those with ratings of 1,2,or 3. ) Unusual or unexplained delays in receiving promised financial reports and payments or in communicating with bank personnel. 2) For business loans, any sudden change in methods used by the borrowing firm to account for deprec iation, make pension plan contributions, value inventories, account for taxes, or recognize income. 3) For business loans, restructuring, outstanding debt or eliminating vividness, or experiencing a change in the customer's credit rating. 4) Adverse changes in the price of a borrowing customer's stock. ) Losses in one or more years, especially as measured by returns on the borrower's assets (ROAR), or equity capital (ROE), or earnings before interest and taxes (BIT). 6) Adverse changes in the borrower's capital structure (equity/debt ratio), liquidity (current ratio), or activity levels (e. G. , the ratio of sales to inventory). 7) Deviations of actual sales, cash flows, or income from those projected when the loan was requested. 8) Unexpected or unexplained changes in customer deposit balances. Basic knowledge of Commercial Bank There is no guarantee in any credit market that lenders will be willing and able to accommodate every borrower. 3) The Length of Time for Which Funds are Needed Some funds sources may be difficult to access immediately such as commercial paper and long-term debt capital. 4) The Size of the Institution that Requires More Funds A denomination often exceeds the borrowing requirements of the smallest financial institutions. 5) Regulations Limiting the Use of Alternative Funding Sources Federal and state regulations may limit the amount, frequency, and use of borrowed funds.Basel I represent a â€Å"one size fits all† approach to capital regulation. It failed to recognize that no two banks are alike in term of their risk profiles. Basel II sets up a yester in which capital requirements are more sensitive to risk and protect against more types of risk than has been true under Basel l. Basel II attempts to ensure that, consistently, low-risk assets require less capital than high-risk assets, whereas the reverse was often the case with Basel l.There are four new elements of Basel II: 1) Internal Risk Assessment 2) Operational Risk 3) Credit Risk Models 4) A Dual Set of Rules. 1) Character The loan officer must be convinced the customer has a well-defined purpose for requesting credit and a serious intention to repay. ) Capacity The loan officer must be sure the customer has the authority to request a loan and the legal standing to sign a binding loan agreement. 3) Cash The loan application centers should assess borrowing customers' ability to generate enough cash to repay the loan. ) Collateral In assessing the collateral aspect of a loan request, the loan officer must ask whether the borrower possess adequate net worth or own enough quality assets to provide adequate support for the loan. 5) Conditions The loan officer and credit analyst must be aware of recent trend in the borrower's nine of work or industry and how changing economic conditions might affect th e loan. 6) Control The control element centers on such questions as whether changes in law and regulation could adversely affect the borrower and whether the loan request meets the lender's and the regulatory authorities' standards for loan quality.The CAMELS is a system used by federal bank examiners for evaluating the overall condition of a bank based upon the adequacy of its capital, the quality of its asset portfolio, its management quality, the adequacy of its earnings, its liquidity and its sensitivity to market risk. Depository institutions whose overall CAMELS rating is toward the low, riskier end of the numerical scale-?an overall rating of 4 or 5-?tend to be examined more frequently than the highest-rated institutions, those with ratings of 1,2,or 3. ) Unusual or unexplained delays in receiving promised financial reports and payments or in communicating with bank personnel. 2) For business loans, any sudden change in methods used by the borrowing firm to account for deprec iation, make pension plan contributions, value inventories, account for taxes, or recognize income. 3) For business loans, restructuring, outstanding debt or eliminating vividness, or experiencing a change in the customer's credit rating. 4) Adverse changes in the price of a borrowing customer's stock. ) Losses in one or more years, especially as measured by returns on the borrower's assets (ROAR), or equity capital (ROE), or earnings before interest and taxes (BIT). 6) Adverse changes in the borrower's capital structure (equity/debt ratio), liquidity (current ratio), or activity levels (e. G. , the ratio of sales to inventory). 7) Deviations of actual sales, cash flows, or income from those projected when the loan was requested. 8) Unexpected or unexplained changes in customer deposit balances.

An Assignment on Web Design

I have been given the task to design a web based personal portfolio of myself aimed at potential employers. The website functions as an online resume for employers to view at their leisure. It will have number of pages containing data that would be sought after by employers. The weapon must be designed in a way that would appeal to employers in the field I wish to be hired in. I have chosen to advertise myself as a student studying to be a software engineer.Goals The planned website must be at least five pages in length, must be designed to accommodate my target audience being possible employers, must have a consistent and appropriate structure and should have an appropriate and pleasing visual design. Implementation is not necessary for this project. In order to best suit the planned website to the target audience I plan to make two persona of possible employers and from them four scenarios, the task only requires one persona and two scenarios but I believe that one is not enough to cover all potential employers.In order to make possible implementation successful the content of the website must be outlined, organized, categorizes and properly structured. Along with the organized content a series of wire frames will be made displaying the physical layout of the website as well as the location of the content within the pages. Accompanying the wire frames a series of screen mock ups will be supplied displaying a potential style to be used.These will come with a style guide detailing features in the mock ups. Audience: Analyzing my target audience is the most important element in creating a successful weapon. A proper analysis can result in features of the weapon that will successfully entice my target audience, being potential employers, to properly browse the weapon. A good way to analyses a target audience is through the creation of persona.A persona is the profile of an imaginary person that displays thee characteristics common to a target audience. Below are two persona with two scenarios each. Persona 1: Mark – Founder of a new software company â€Å"l am looking to build up my software company' Mark Hayward is a young entrepreneur looking to build his software company â€Å"Seasons†, a company started by Mark and a few of his friends from University. He is looking to hire some more people to expand his company.Name: Mark Hayward Type: Intelligent and Ambitious Role: Founder of his Software Company Male * Age 26 * Full Time * Upper – Middle class * Intelligent * Interested in software * Organized * Motivated * Ambitious * young Goals: * Expand his company * Create innovative products * Become a major player in IT Motivations: * A fierce interest in software * A need for accomplishment Scenario: 1 . Mark is looking for a few University students studying IT to hire as armature software engineers in order to expand his software company. Upon a quick web search he sees a link to my online portfolio.Upon browsing the w eapon he sends me an e-mail offering me an interview. 2. I hear Marks Software Company is hiring armature software engineers, I find his e-mail address and send him an e-mail with a link to my online portfolio. He sees my e-mail and follows the link. After browsing the weapon he sends me an email offering me an interview. Persona 2: Shame – Employment manager at Code Valley â€Å"l manage employment for the software company Code Valley' Shame Mason is the employment manager at Code Valley. He searches for potential employees for the company and puts them through the interview process.Name: Shame Mason Type: Office worker, middle aged Role: Employment manager Key Characteristics: * Age 45 * Upper-Middle class Steady life * Dedicated to his Job * Has a steady life * Work hard and climb the corporate ladder * Improve his standard of living * Do a good Job * Climbing the ladder * Making money * Doing a good Job 1 . Shame is looking for possible employees in the future by offerin g internships to university students. He searches for potential employees on the internet and finds a link to my personal portfolio. After browsing the weapon he sends me an e-mail offering me an interview 2.I meet Shame at a careers expo, I write down the URL of my online personal portfolio and give it to him. A few weeks later he visits my arsenal portfolio and after browsing it sends me an e-mail offering me an interview. Content Outline & Structure: Content outline: Home Page: The home page will be fairly basic containing a picture of myself and a few lines of text welcoming the potential employer to the site. It will be of the same design as all other pages with links along the top linking to the other pages. About page: The about page will be more complex than the home page.It will contain a picture of myself alongside three areas of text. The first area of text will be a quote relating to the profession I hope to enter, being software engineering. The two other areas of text will be of a smaller size and relate to my professional experiences and personal life. This page's purpose is to educate the potential employer on what kind of person I am as well as what work related experiences I have had that would make me a strong client for a position in their company. Contact page: The contact page's purpose is to give the potential employer an easy and quick way to send me messages or Job offers on the weapon.I believe it's very important to offer an almost effortless way of contacting me so as to remove the possibility of being removed as a potential employee due to being difficult to contact. The page itself is fairly bare, it consists of three text areas for user input and headings labeling them. The first text area is for the name of the person contacting me, the second is for their email so I can reply to their messages and the third is for the actual message. The button below the last text area when clicked will sent the inputted data to me as an email. Qualifications: The qualifications page is a purely informative page.It contains details of any certificates or other official credentials I possess in drop down menu's. When in compact form all that is displayed is the title of the certification, when expanded a worth description is supplied along with a PDF download link of the official document. References: The references page Contains a series of tiles containing details of references I have received. Each tile contains a title of where I gained the reference as well as a brief description of the reference and a PDF download of the letter of than my own. Site Map: Below is the site map for my planned website.It displays all the pages planned as well as what pages link to each other. Being such a small website all pages link to each other to allow potential employers to browse easily. Wire Frames: Wireless for every planned page are displayed below. All wireless are made using Adobe Fireworks CSS. Home Page: Below is the planned layout of the Home page. About Page: Below is the planned layout of the About page. Contact page: Below is the planned layout of the Contact page. Qualifications Page: Below is the planned layout of the Qualifications page. Employment Page: Below is the planned layout of the Employment page.Visual Design Style Guide: Below is the basic style guide of my planned website. Elements like font styles and sizes as well as some hexadecimal color codes for a few parts of the page. None of Hess designs are definite as the limitations of HTML and CSS have not been fully taken into account. Background: Image file repeated Background: Image file repeated Heading(h2o): size – opt, Font – Bauhaus 93 Heading (Hal): size – opt, Font – Bauhaus 93 Content background: #EDDIED repeated Borders: #OFF, solid Text(p): size – opt, Font – Bauhaus 93 Image Screen Mock-ups: Below are my screen mock ups for every page planned.They were all created using Adobe Firework s CSS. Home Page: Below is the screen mock-up of the Home page. Below is the screen mock-up of the About page. Contact Page: Below is the screen mock-up of the Contact page. Below is the screen mock-up of the Qualifications page. Below is the screen mock-up of the Employment page. Inspirational pages: Below are two pages I took inspiration from in creating my own page. Jason Julienne: http://Association. Com/about/ Jeff Finley: http://www. ]Finley. Rag/about/ Design Rationale The task I was given was to design a web based personal portfolio of myself aimed at potential employers, its purpose being to function as a resume. I believe that the weapon I have designed would fulfill the requirements of this assignment as well as the requirements of any potential employer that may view it if it is implemented. An important part in designing this weapon was to consider what kind of profession I would be interested in entering, this idea changed the entire way the website was arranged and wh at content was included .For example if I had chosen graphic design I would have had to include a number of works I had been involved in as well as samples of those works. The profession I chose to focus on was software engineering; this meant that previous works were not included as they were not as important as qualifications and previous Jobs to potential employers. This change can be seen in he layout of the website having a page for qualifications and a page for references instead of pushing qualifications and references into one page and including previous works.The layout of this weapon was made to be simple. I believe that in a weapon focusing on advertising only one person complexity is pretentious and unnecessary. This is why I have made every page accessible by any single page. The layout is made so that every page is split into two obvious areas, navigation and content. Throughout designed to be simple because a potential employer merely skims resume's, he or she never s pends hours getting in depth with Just one. Why would a potential employer treat an online resume any different?An element of this weapon that I didn't look into in depth was the visual design, the design used is made to be nothing but aesthetically pleasing. If the weapon was to be implemented I may revisit this element and choose a visual design more themed around technology. This may appeal to people hiring in IT professions more than the one that is currently displayed. The web page designed in the above pages is simple but I believe it achieves exactly what it was designed to do, function as an online resume aimed at potential employers.

ancient and medieval times essays

ancient and medieval times essays 2 million years ago, life on Earth for mankind was very different. Back then, technology as we know it did not even exist. Over the years, mankinds increased scientific knowledge has allowed him to increase the amount of personal luxuries, but not The first human beings may have appeared 2 million years ago, but they did not even discover fire until 1.5 million BC. From a purely technological standpoint, todays world far surpasses that of the old. All the comforts of modern technology are at our fingertips, and living outdoors is no longer a necessity, but a leisure activity. For most of us, entertainment is not a problem. Electronic video and computer games are readily available, as is 24-hour TV for a price. Foraging for food is reduced to a short trip to the supermarket, except for those who provide the said food. Of course, nothing comes for free, and the time which might have been spent hunting for food is spent working in offices and such. In a world of such plentiful knowledge, only incredibly advanced specialization, and an increased population, has allowed mankind to progress. With so many people, mankind has been forced to spread outwards in a desperate need to colonize new lands. With new technology, nothing is impossible, and even the barren wastes of the scorching desert or freezing artic are not unlivable. Even further outwards, the vast reaches of space beckon. All this colonization however, would be impossible without the help of technology for communication and transportation. With the invention of airplanes, flying halfway around the world in 10 hours is made possible. In stark contrast to all these wonders, prehistoric life before the invention of farming or herding was a constant struggle for survival. Hunting and foraging for food were daily activities which occupied most of the free time. Also, before all the advances in medical knowledge, d ...

Malcolm Baldrige and the Evolution of Total Quality Management Essay Essays

Malcolm Baldrige and the Evolution of Total Quality Management Essay Essays Malcolm Baldrige and the Evolution of Total Quality Management Essay Essay Malcolm Baldrige and the Evolution of Total Quality Management Essay Essay Quality and productiveness can be considered reciprocally inclusive. An organisation that aims for quality will finally consequences to better productiveness in the construct of services. goods being produced. forces and human resources development. non to advert capital addition. addition in fight. and increase in investing chances. Though it may be a good construct. a regulating organic structure should be present to find the necessary standards and set for unequivocal criterions to follow. In the United States. the two regulating organic structure in choice standard award are the Ron Brown Award and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Malcolm Baldrige. a U. S. Secretary of Commerce during the epoch of the Reagan Administration. is the 1 responsible for forming a conference on productiveness in the White House. Apparently. he initiated the construct and design in 1987 of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award: which focuses on quality. The award. through the National Quality Improvement Act of 1987 ( Public Law 100-107 ) . gives accent on quality services being given by different sectors such as instruction. wellness attention. concern. and non-profit organisations ( Marion p. 1 ) . These quality services are based on the patterns of the Total Quality Management System ( TQM ) rules and incorporate seven standards to find the awardees: Leadership. Strategic Planning. Market and Customer Focus ; Measurement. Analysis and Knowledge Management. Focus on Workforce. Process Management. and Results. These standards are considered important to U. S. fight in footings of bettering the capablenesss. patterns. and consequences of an organisation ; sharing and easing the most first-class pattern among the different sectors ; and to function as a working tool usher for planning and managing. Most of these standards are taken from the rules and techniques in quality direction developed by Philip Crosby. W. Demings. Armand Feigenbaum. and Joseph Juran. Furthermore. the award aims to advance important degree of quality consciousness ; to be able to separate the accomplishments of U. S. companies in the context of quality ; and to do available to the populace the thriving schemes on quality. The procedure of choosing the victor involves an appraisal of the written scrutiny submitted by the applier. a site visit on the company ( provided that the company achieved a high mark ) . and a concluding rating. Since the Malcolm Award is based on the rule of Entire Quality Management. the system have evolved or developed in footings of the factors in public presentation measuring that includes the followers: operating or in service steps. employee relationship. satisfaction of clients. and public presentation on fiscal facets. For case. based on the information of the 12 Companies that submitted their several pertinent informations for rating. on an one-year footing merchandise dependability increased by around 11. 3 % ; the clip of treating the order is reduced yearly by 12 % on the six companies ; merchandise mistakes and defects decreased by 10. 3 % on the seven companies ; and around five companies have reduced cost by 9 % . This created a nest eggs of around $ 1 Million to $ 115 Million. Aside from the betterment on the factors on public presentation measuring. indexs of employee relationship besides improved. Employee satisfaction improved by 1. 4 % . employee turnover ( voluntary petition for separation ) decreased by around 6 % . wellness and safety steps improved by 1. 8 % . and the accrued total-quality suggestions made by the employees increased by 16. 6 % . The entire client satisfaction besides increased by 2. 5 % with ailments coming from the client being reduced by 11. 6 % and keeping of clients besides improved by 1 % . Market portion is increased by 13. 7 % and the return of assets by 1. 3 % ( Shetty p. 4-6 ) . Therefore. Entire Quality Management had finally improved in footings of quality. client satisfaction. and decrease in cost. Furthermore. the Entire Quality Management System had an affirmatory impact on all of the important countries of concerns: betterment in merchandise dependability. increased in client satisfaction and reactivity. and decrease in cost. Apparently related to these are the addition in occupation satisfaction. betterment of wellness and safety steps. and decrease in employee turnover. This betterment and decrease on specific countries will finally give to increase in the market portion. profitableness. and quality. The consequence of such will besides bring forth a certain grade of competitory advantage. which is finally acquired as a consequence of perpetrating to quality. A steadfast competitory place will give the company a alone topographic point in the market wherein the consumers are willing to pay for the merchandise. and the established quality will go hard to overcome by the viing companies. Another factor to see in accomplishing a competitory advantage is through the decrease of cost by bettering quality. Reducing cost is synonymous to decrease of the in-process work stock list. handling of stuffs. capitals on equipment and care. therefore cut downing claims on liability. The decreased costs will in-turn lead to a higher net income border. addition in the gross revenues. and lower monetary values of the merchandise. Therefore. cost and quality are the most of import factors to accomplish a competitory advantage and these can be realized through the execution of Entire Quality Management System. The execution of the Total Quality Management depends on the demand and the nature of the concern. Companies that adopted a TQM. and later succeeded on all countries described above still have to go on on developing the system. It is considered a uninterrupted procedure and development. Different sectors of the industry such as in the wellness attention. fabrication. services. and little concerns are going more cognizant of the positive impact of following TQM. and the aspiration of being recognized as one of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awardees set forth the scene to a strong committedness towards excellence in direction quality and company public presentation. The Award started at 1988 and after 20 old ages. around 79 companies are recognized. The impact of following the standards of Malcolm Baldrige through the execution of TQM had significantly produced quality and productiveness to several companies such as: The ADAC Laboratories. Custom Research Inc. . Dana Commercial Credit Corp. . and Trident Position Manufacturing Inc. ( Malcolm Baldrige receivers of 1996 ) . Of these four. Trident and Custom Research belongs to the little concern class. ADAC in the fabrication sector. and Dana Commercial on services. The ADAC Laboratories. founded in 1970. have its merchandise line in the design. fabrication. selling. and support intended for clients belonging in the wellness attention sector such as in radiation therapy. information system in wellness attention. and atomic medical specialties. These services and merchandises are sold to universities. infirmaries. and clinics worldwide. The impact of following the standards of Malcolm Baldrige has significantly improved the company’s market portion ( 12 % in 1990 to 50 % in 1996 ) . and client satisfaction ( no. 1 ranking ) . Before. the company was merely focused on short-run fiscal ends. and non wholly oriented towards achieving a quality house for investors and customer’s satisfaction. and employee development. Determined to over-turn the current state of affairs. the company adopted the standards of Malcolm Baldrige. In 1994. ADAC applied for the Malcolm Baldrige acquiring up to the 2nd degree ( site visit ) . The site visit accordingly gave the company a feedback appraisal with around 148 countries of concerns that needs betterment. The company so utilized the feedback study as an external resource to extinguish the spreads. The direction squad attended the Center for Quality of Management. a pool of experts in the field of Entire Quality Management. The intensive two-day preparation made all employees understands the four relevant ideas: shared acquisition. entire engagement. focal point on client. and uninterrupted development. Consequently. the turn-around of the company to concentrate on client satisfaction had lead to a strong rate of keeping with 94 % as compared to the old 50 % ; market portion increased by 50 % as compared to 12 % six old ages ago ; and the gross per worker increased by around 75 % ( Marion P. 1 ) . The consequences by following the standards verified the sort of quality direction the company had developed with accent on quality and excellence. Dana Commercial Credit Corporation. a subordinate of Dana Corp. . provides funding and renting services to a broad scope of concerns and specific markets. Located at different offices such as in Canada. United Kingdom. and Ohio ; the company have activities that includes direction of assets services. combined-venture renting pool. and leasing of equipment for makers and traders. The company decided to use for the Malcolm Baldrige Award for two compelling grounds: after having the Dana Quality Leadership award. the company intended to benchmark it alongside the Malcolm Baldrige ; and the challenge of prosecuting the Baldrige award will supply a important â€Å"push† towards a fast betterment in quality for the company. Making through the procedure of the Baldrige standards finally created a strong civilization with accent on service quality and client satisfaction. In return. the morale of the employees is high every bit good as the net income. Custom Research Inc. is one of the little houses that received the Baldrige Award that clearly shows that no affair what the size of the company. better quality direction can besides be achieved merely like those of transnational companies. Established in 1974 by Jeff Pope and Corson. CRI caters large companies in planing and carry oning undertakings that can supply relevant information to do effectual determinations in concern. The chief office is located at Minneapolis with several offices in Ridgewood and San Francisco. and New Jersey. In 1998. the company had reduced its client from 138 to 67. chiefly to supply better service every bit good as set up partnership with their biggest clients. From 1992 to 1994. the company had applied for an appraisal to Baldrige and reached the site visit degree three times. After having the Minnesota Award for Quality in 1995. CRI decided to re-apply once more for the Baldrige since the award was patterned to it. Wining the province award had helped the company accomplishing its end to be awarded by Baldrige in 1996. Since the employees are less. all took portion during the application and assessment procedure wherein each employee knows the whole procedure. the standard. and how it is should be implemented in their several field of work. Therefore. the Baldrige Award had greatly influenced all employees towards accomplishing quality and productiveness making a positive ambiance to the company. In return. the employees are all motivated that consequences to better concern chances and consequences. Trident Precision Manufacturing Inc. is a private company that manufactures assorted constituents of sheet metal ( preciseness ) . customized merchandises. and assemblies ( electromechanical ) . With its lone fabrication works in New York. the Company developed procedures and tooling to industry and assemble constituents intended for the different sectors of the industry such as in equipment used in office. Bankss. wellness attention. and even defence. Trident began to work the standards of Baldrige in their pursuit for quality in 1989. The standards had served as an unfastened window to cognize the countries of failings and strength of the company. April Lusk. Trident’s decision maker for quality. emphasized that the biggest important plus of the Baldrige Quality Award procedure was the feedback study. which stands for an indifferent appraisal of a company’s strength and failings. Trident so utilized those feedback studies to contract the spreads and finally achieved better consequences: due to a strong focal point in client satisfaction. the company has been able to keep its place as the chief provider to head clients even though it reduced their provider per centum to 65 % ; the focal point on employee engagement besides played a major function accomplishing a 100 % employee engagement on departmental business squad. around 95 % of the betterment on procedures have been established. the acknowledgments and wagess for the employees increased. employee turnover decreased. and the company have invested 4. 6 % of the paysheet towards instruction and preparation ( Marion p. 1 ) . The uninterrupted betterment of the employee. their committedness to the internal and external patronage. and the eventual â€Å"control† of their procedures have made Trident to stand out and set up a dedication towards excellence and quality. More so. Trident’s strong avowal towards an environment that is household oriented. uninterrupted attempt for betterment. and teamwork are the chief factors the Baldrige Award considered. Duties are shared. suggestions considered and implemented so as to make an environment where the employees are satisfied and their morale is high. ensuing to a stronger and a healthier concern. The background discussed on the four companies clearly illustrated the impact of implementing the rules of Entire Quality Management System through the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Awards. These companies aspired to accomplish the Baldrige Award and the consequences improved the company’s overall quality and productiveness plan. every bit good as their concern position and fight. By analysing the narratives behind each success of a company towards accomplishing the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Awards. several cardinal arrows should be stress such as the followers: Leadership besides plays an of import function towards achieving quality. Top direction should exercise attempt in footings of leading and support since the attachment to quality normally accompanies alterations in the company’s runing systems or doctrine. Clear ends should be determined every bit good as a positive ambiance or civilization to promote the employees to achieve such ends. The presence of a extremely motivated staff or employees besides has important parts towards achieving quality. Quality depends on the employee’s efficiency. and later to the employees work motive. It besides encompasses all the facet of human resources such as employee preparation and recruitment plan. occupation descriptions. and honoring every bit good as authorising employees. Employee engagement are considered an of import facet. and besides the encouragement of a corporate vision towards quality-related betterment activities and plans may necessitate several major accommodations or alterations the manner the employees are being managed ( Shetty p. 6 ) Another factor that is important is the purpose for a entire client satisfaction. Recognizing this vision will make an attempt towards bettering quality. Exceptional external and internal systems are necessary to oversee client satisfaction through the usage of studies. rating of services and merchandises. and probe of ailments ( Reiman p. 11 ) Analysis of information is besides critical since this will function as a footing on doing corporate determinations and accommodations. Efficient and complete informations garnering serves as a powerful tool for the company since these will reflect the strengths. failings. ends. quality. and service criterions. to call a few. Suppliers besides have a important function in the chase of quality. Normally. successful companies develop durable relationships with providers holding a vision for quality. The company comparatively engages the providers to go an built-in portion of the firm’s TQM. Consultations. preparations. and go oning contracts are some of the ways the company engages the providers on its TQM plan. Therefore. the providers become a spouse in administrating quality attempts. which in bend have major effects on how the providers are conventionally managed. The committedness to quality is a unbounded procedure ; hence. a uninterrupted plan for betterment and development should be implemented. The consequences on the companies that implemented the Total Quality Management System in chase of accomplishing the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards proved to be a success. The end-results created better clients satisfaction. high morale of employees. reduced cost. decreased on employee turn-over. good competitory advantage. improved wellness and safety steps. better production processes. increased in market portion and net incomes. quality and productiveness. The Malcolm Baldrige Award provides a huge scope of quality concerns. The feedbacks made by the Award commission can be use by the company to contract the relevant spreads. which are based on the findings. The award served as an effectual usher with regard on streamlining the concern and direction patterns. The standard set Forth by Baldrige. based on the rules of Entire Quality Management. provided the important criterions of excellence to accomplish quality and productiveness. The award served as an effectual accelerator to beef up and better the company’s fight. Plants Cited Shetty. Y. K. â€Å"The Quest for Quality Excellence: Lessons from the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award† . Sam Advanced Management Journal. 22 March 1993: 1-14 Harmon. Marion. World Wide Web. qualitydigest. com. Jan. 1997. Retrieved April 23. 2009. hypertext transfer protocol: //www. qualitydigest. com/jan97/baldrige. html Reiman. Curt W. â€Å"Winning Schemes for the Malcolm Baldrige Award. † Journal of Quality Management. July 1990. pp. 9-25.

Understanding Present and Past Participles

Understanding Present and Past Participles In  traditional English grammar, a participle is a  verbal that typically  ends in -ing (the present participle)  or -ed (the past participle).  Adjective:  participial. By itself, a  participle can function as an  adjective  (as in the sleeping baby or the damaged pump). In combination with one or more  auxiliary verbs,  a participle can indicate tense, aspect, or  voice.  Ã‚   Present participles end in -ing (for example,  carrying, sharing, tapping). Past participles of regular verbs end in -ed (carried, shared, tapped). Past participles of irregular verbs have various endings, most often -n or -t (broken, spent). As linguists have long observed, both of these terms- present and  past- are misleading.  [B]oth [present and past]  participles are used in the formation of a variety of complex constructions (tenses) and can . . .  refer to  past, present, or future time (e.g., What had they been doing? This must be drunk soon).  Preferred terms are -ing form (which also includes gerund) and -ed form/-en form (Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar, 2014). EtymologyFrom the Latin, share, partake, participate Examples of Present Participles Ahead of Perenelle, a crowd gathered around a young man with a  dancing bear. (Stephen Leigh, Immortal Muse. DAW, 2014)Newport harbor lay stretched out in the distance, with  the rising moon  casting a long, wavering track of silver upon it. (Harriet Beecher Stowe,  Uncle Toms Cabin, 1852)Drawing on my fine command of the English language, I said nothing. (Robert Benchley)The ducks come on swift, silent wings, gliding through the treetops as if guided by radar, twisting, turning, never touching a twig in that thick growth of trees that surrounded the lake.(Jack Denton Scott, The Wondrous Wood Duck. Sports Afield, 1976) Examples of Past Participles During the thunderstorm, the frightened cat hid under the bed.[T]he clock, its face supported by plump cupids of painted china, ticked with a small busy sound. (Robert Penn Warren, Christmas Gift. The Virginia Quarterly Review, 1938)The new home stood beside the macadamized new road and was high and boxlike, painted yellow with a roof of glittering tin. (Elizabeth Bishop, The Farmers Children Harpers Bazaar, 1949)One January day, thirty years ago, the little town of Hanover, anchored on a windy Nebraska tableland, was trying not to be blown away. (Willa Cather, O Pioneers! 1913)The Bibles Jezebel came to an ugly end. Thrown from a balcony, trampled by horses, and devoured by dogs, the middle-aged queen has had few good days since. (Review of Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible’s Harlot Queen by Lesley Hazleton. The Week, November  29, 2007)I believe in broken, fractured, complicated narratives, but I believe in narratives as a vehicle for truth, not simply as a form of en tertainment. (Stephen Greenblatt, Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare. W.W.  Norton, 2004) Source of the Terms Present and Past [There is] an apparent contradiction  in  our selection of terminology for  the present and past  participles. We have described the participles as non-tensed, and yet we have used the terms present and past to distinguish them. These  terms, in fact, derive from  the most characteristic uses of the participles, in constructions such as: Sue has made a sponge cake Sue is making a sponge  cake In (1) the making of the cake is located in past time and in (2) it is located in present time. Note, however, that it is not the participles themselves that suggest this difference, but rather the total contructions. Consider: Sue was making a sponge cake Here the making of the cake is certainly not located in the present but rather, as was indicates, in the past.  We thus wish to retain the  traditional terms on the grounds that they relate to the characteristic uses of the two forms, but at the same time insist that the forms are  tenseless: there is no  tense contrast between them. -(Peter Collins and Carmella Hollo, English Grammar: An Introduction, 2nd ed. Palgrace Macmillan,  2010) Examples of Present and Past Participial Phrases Leaking from restaurant walls, beamed into airports as they landed and automobiles as they crashed, chiming from steeples, thundering from parade grounds, tingling through apartment walls, carried through the streets in small boxes, violating even the peace of desert and the forest, where drive-ins featured blue musical comedies, music at first overwhelmed, then delighted, then disgusted, and finally bored them (John Updike, The Chaste Planet. Hugging the Shore: Essays and Criticism. Knopf, 1983)   Participles as Quasi-Adjectives As modifiers of  nouns, present and past participles of verbs function very much like adjectives. Indeed, they are sometimes regarded as adjectives when they modify nouns. A present participle attributes a quality of action to the noun, which is viewed as undertaking the action, as retreating of legs in [109]. A past participle views the noun as having undergone the action expressed by the participle, as prefabricated of buildings in [110]. [109] . . . the cripples envy at his straight, retreating legs[110] various prefabricated buildings Thus, the present is an active participle and the past is a passive participle.(Howard Jackson, Grammar and Meaning. Longman, 1990)Participles as Verbs and Adjectives Participles occupy an  intermediate position between verbs and adjectives. Like verbs of a clause, participles may function as predicates and take complements and adjuncts, in fact they refer to situations.  Since they are atemporal, they can, like adjectives, also function as modifiers of nouns.(Gà ¼nter Radden and Renà © Dirven, Cognitive English Grammar. John Benjamins, 2007) Participles as Sentence Openers When the  participle is a single word- the verb with no complements or modifiersit usually occupies the adjective slot in preheadword position: Our snoring visitor kept the household awake.The barking dog next door drives us crazy. . . . While the single-word participle generally fills the preheadword adjective slot, it too can sometimes open the sentence- and with considerable drama: Exasperated, she made the decision to leave immediately.Outraged, the entire committee resigned. Youll notice that both of these openers are past participles, rather than the -ing present participle form; they are, in fact, the passive voice. -(Martha Kolln, Rhetorical Grammar. Pearson, 2007) Pronunciation: PAR-ti-sip-ul

International Current Issues Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Current Issues - Essay Example self-defence in international law Contemporary attitudes on the issue of pre-emptive self-defence appear to fall into four distinct schools of thought. The strict-constructionist school starts with the proposition that Article 2 (4) of the UN Charter details broader prohibition on the utilization of force. The utilization of force, as opposed to â€Å"war,† mirror a desire to ban transnational armed conflicts, not merely conflicts emanating from formal state of war. Strict constructionists’ highlights that Article 2 (4) ban any trans-boundary utilization of military force, inclusive of force justified by reference to the diverse doctrines established in the pre-Charter era of reprisal, forcible self-help, humanitarian intervention, and protection of nationals. Strict constructionist outlines that states may utilize force in self-defence as dictated by Article 51 of the UN charter. Proponents of the â€Å"imminent threat† school embrace the language of Article 51 speaks of self-defence in retaliation to an armed attack. However, proponents of this school of thought employ three lines of argument to progress a norm favouring a right of anticipatory self-defence, rather than pre-emptive self-defence. The proponents of this school of thought acknowledge that the UN Charter provides an intrinsic right to defend against an imminent threat. The provision â€Å"if an armed attack occurs† fails to impose conditions on the exercise of the intrinsic right; moreover, the broad meaning of the term â€Å"armed attack† accommodates the perception of â€Å"armed attack† as encompassing an attack that is imminent and inevitable. Nevertheless, proponents of this school of thought are unwilling to broaden the meaning of Article 51 beyond the notion of addressing imminent armed attack.2 This... This paper approves that the customary international law has a huge bearing on issues relating to self-defence. However, controversy still reigns since there is minimal scholarly consensus on the meaning of â€Å"imminence† within the context of contemporary threats. Furthermore, there is minimal consensus on who may be targeted in the sphere of non-state actors of those threatening, planning, perpetrating, and availing material support critical to organizing an armed attack. The labelling of an armed attack as â€Å"imminent† can be shaped by the relevant circumstances inclusive of the immediacy and nature of the threat; the possibility of an attack; whether the foreseen attack is part of a concerted pattern of persistent armed activity; the probability scale of the attack and the injury scale, or damage possible to emanate in the absence of mitigating action, and, the the probability that other opportunities to effect effective action in self-defence, which may yield to severe collateral injury, damage, or loss. This report makes a conclusion that opinions regarding the legality of self-defence under international law remain divided; one school of thought demands that an armed attack ought to occur prior to a state lawfully acting in self-defence. The resort to armed force remains outlawed as per the international law, except in cases where the UN Security Council awards permission. Military action ought to be employed as a last resort and must be essential to utilize force to deal with the precise threat at hand.

Financial and Management Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Financial and Management Accounting - Essay Example The franchised hotels performed amazingly in the recent year. The occupancy levels are found to be 72% for the whole previous year and the occupancy levels in the second half of the previous year the rate was 79% (DeFond and Hung, 2003). There was a lower occupancy on Sundays. The average of ADR was observed to be  £34 in the financial year and it further increased in the second half of the year to  £36. Intercontinental (IHG) group is a global hotel company whose objective is to create excellent hotels that guests find irresistible. The group is found to hold a strong market position with increasing market share and growth. Total gross revenue of IHGs has increased to 6% and is observed to be $23 billion. The group’s revenue has decreased to 2% that is $1858 million (Nissim and Penman, 2001). The operating profit of the group has decreased by 3% and is observed to be $651 million. There has been 10% increase in dividend of the group as compared to previous year. The key performance indicators (KPI) examine the group’s success in achieving growth strategy. KPI’s such as the net room supply has increased to 710,295, growth in fee revenues has increased by 6.7% and the total gross revenue from hotels under IHG group has increased to $22 billion. The system contribution to revenue has also elevated by 71% in the current year (Carslaw and Mills, 2006). Easy Hotels owned hotel rooms have mounted in the past three years and the revenue also has gradually increased. The hotel group has implemented key marketing initiatives with digital and customer service focus and is successfully competing with other hotels (Lewellen, 2004). In spite of such performance, the company is facing the threat of increasing competition and oversupply of identical accommodation types within a city. The hotel is also facing operating risks such as increase in operating costs due to inflation (Feng and Wang, 2000). The hotel employed the opportunities to create extended term

Statement of Purpose Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Statement of Purpose - Essay Example Serving the people of Boston and the whole of America along with the students from other nations for more than one hundred and ten years now, Northeastern University has been a global name and one of the most vibrant and exciting place to learn and live. The university has a wide mix of various educational programs like students’ research, global learning and service learning that as a whole comprises the cooperative education program. The various educational programs of this university of repute provide the learners with the much required confidence and the connections that help them to transform their lives. In order to avail the best of the education and knowledge to enhance my skills of accounting and finance, it would be my pleasure to get an opportunity to join Northeastern University. I possess wide industry experience in the field of accounting of more than sixteen years. I have the experience of serving various verticals of the accounting division at various levels of the companies. The post held by me from time to time includes that of ‘accounting supervisor’, ‘staff accountant’ ‘senior accountant / controller’ and even that of ‘chief financial officer’. It was in the year 1993, when fresh with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Accounting from the Ashford University of Iowa, I joined Edmire New York Lather Company. The job profile with which I was bestowed upon by my first employer was very enriching as I got the opportunity to learn all of the aspects of industrial accounting with Edmire New York Lather Company. As an accounting supervisor, I was designated to manage all of the accounting functions that encapsulated the domestic distributors of lather. I was responsible for preparation of monthly statements and implementations of financial procedures. Other works included maintaining fixed assets and depreciation schedules, completing financial audit,

12 angry men Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

12 angry men - Essay Example It is only juror no. 8, who offers a dissenting opinion and queries all the prosecutor’s evidences against the defendant. He goes to an extent of purchasing a knife that is akin to the one presented as murder evidence in a bid to convince fellow jurors that the prosecutor’s claim of â€Å"unique† was misplaced. The dissenting juror finally manages to influence the opinion of the entire jury and drag them into the world of â€Å"reasonable doubt†. However, his reasons seem quite ludicrous. By making his queer judgments about the witnesses and pronouncing outrageous claims to disown them, juror number 8 appears quite bizarre. The juror goes ahead to disown another key witness who heard the crime taking place by asserting the claim that the old man probably made up his story to boost his ego. It is funny how the dissenting juror finally manages to get the other 11 jurors, who were initially convinced that the accused is guilty of murder, into his ship where reasonable doubt dictates all the evidence against the accused. The ruling of the jury is similarly interesting. The jurors unanimously make certain witness and evidence assumptions and conclude that the defendant is not guilty of murder. It is apparent that the other jurors arrive at this conclusion as an escape from looming argume nt with juror number 8. In my opinion, the jury made a big mistake. The defendant should have been held guilty for the offense. Since when has a juror become an investigator in a case over which he presides? When operating in accordance with the law, jurors are barred from performing their own investigations in cases. As such, Juror number 8 should have been substituted with another juror if the other eleven members of the jury had reported him trying to conduct his own investigation. By failing to abide by the requirement of the law, the entire jury appears to have seriously

A judgmental international classification of financial reporting Essay

A judgmental international classification of financial reporting Practices - Essay Example Without conceptual framework there have been many issues and problems that have emerged with the passage of time and different people have different opinions on solving the problem (Hines, 1988). Therefore there has been a need for some guiding principles or some kind of structure on the basis of which different decisions can be taken and reporting of financial statements could become reliable and consistent (Zeff, 1972). With regard to this, conceptual framework is helpful because it provides a guideline and a foundation of anything and it can be referred to by people (Nobes, 2006). Conceptual framework issued by FASB The following image gives an overview of the conceptual framework issued by FASB. In an ideal world accounting reports that are developed using the suggested conceptual framework would be more useful than other accounting reports which are prepared without using of conceptual framework. ... Considering its importance, there are several objectives of accounting department and these objectives are described below: Preparing Reliable and Consistent Financial Statements Accounting has a major role to play in any organisation (Amaratunga , & Baldry, 2003) because accountants prepare financial statements and records the financial transactions of the company (McCarthy, 1982). These reports and financial statements reflect the proper financial information which is helpful for the stakeholders of the company including investors, employees, shareholders, suppliers, government agencies, customers and potential customers as well as competitors (Ball, & Brown, 1968). The main objective of accounting is to provide information which is useful for the users of financial statements like investors, creditors, and other stakeholders (Chua, 1986). Therefore it is integral that the information provided by the organisation is useful, accurate, authentic, consistent and reliable. Inaccurate i nformation can mislead the users of the financial statements and it could also distort the decisions taken by the management on the basis of financial statements therefore it is important for the organisation to prepare financial statements that follow the principles accepted by others as well (Hogarth, 1993). Thus, a conceptual framework would be required which the accountant can use as a guideline while preparing financial statements to make the financial information consistent and reliable. Keeping Records of all the transactions in a systematic way The other major objective of accounting is to keep records of all the transactions that occur in day to day routine processes in a systematic way (Abdel-Khalik, & Ajinka, 1983)

12 angry men Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

12 angry men - Essay Example It is only juror no. 8, who offers a dissenting opinion and queries all the prosecutor’s evidences against the defendant. He goes to an extent of purchasing a knife that is akin to the one presented as murder evidence in a bid to convince fellow jurors that the prosecutor’s claim of â€Å"unique† was misplaced. The dissenting juror finally manages to influence the opinion of the entire jury and drag them into the world of â€Å"reasonable doubt†. However, his reasons seem quite ludicrous. By making his queer judgments about the witnesses and pronouncing outrageous claims to disown them, juror number 8 appears quite bizarre. The juror goes ahead to disown another key witness who heard the crime taking place by asserting the claim that the old man probably made up his story to boost his ego. It is funny how the dissenting juror finally manages to get the other 11 jurors, who were initially convinced that the accused is guilty of murder, into his ship where reasonable doubt dictates all the evidence against the accused. The ruling of the jury is similarly interesting. The jurors unanimously make certain witness and evidence assumptions and conclude that the defendant is not guilty of murder. It is apparent that the other jurors arrive at this conclusion as an escape from looming argume nt with juror number 8. In my opinion, the jury made a big mistake. The defendant should have been held guilty for the offense. Since when has a juror become an investigator in a case over which he presides? When operating in accordance with the law, jurors are barred from performing their own investigations in cases. As such, Juror number 8 should have been substituted with another juror if the other eleven members of the jury had reported him trying to conduct his own investigation. By failing to abide by the requirement of the law, the entire jury appears to have seriously

The quartering of british soldiers during the american revolution Essay

The quartering of british soldiers during the american revolution - Essay Example However as time passed by the revolution felt strong wind in its favor and that no doubt came from the common mass, without whom no revolution at any part of the world can experience a long lasting success. The erratic rules that were frequently imposed on the Americans by the British government, led by King George the third; combined with high level of taxes that were totally biased towards the Americans, initiated a slow burning furnace of hatred amidst the heart of many Americans. As referred by Ward â€Å"The quartering of troops on private property was one of the objectionable measures that contributed to the coming of the American Revolution.†1 The quartering act acted as a positive catalyst to hasten the outburst of the hatred of the American people that finally transformed into The Great American Revolution. The East Coast of America was the first to fall prey to the British Colonialism. In 1700s the mentioned place was colonized by the British and the period might wel l be marked as the initiation of an oppressive rule that was often erratic and clueless while governing those people whom it had colonized. The need of formation, implementation and monitoring of the law was indeed needed but with much more rationality that the British Government had shown. To maintain the domination on a foreign land and to look after the basic securities so that it should not fall in hand of the enemies; maintaining of troops is needed on that land. Maintaining a large troop will definitely seek the three basic needs of any human being, namely food cloth and shelter and all these involves a cost that has to be maintained from the government revenue. To solve this problem and to find a single solution to this double trouble the quartering act was thought of and implemented by the British Government. In brief the act required the people living in American Land to provide barracks, bedding, utensils, certain specific staple provisions as well as a daily quota of cide r and beer to the British troops implemented on American soil and all that at free of cost. Such an act must come with a prelude that acts as a veil on the eye of the commons and the Britons were masters in such act. During the French and the Indian war posting British troops in American land was indeed needed. Again it was obvious while those soldiers were looking after the safety of the colonists they should also provide shelter and food from their own account. This was a war time emergency and many Americans realized that. There was almost no resistance while quartering for British troops on American soil was passed for the first time during the Indian and French war. But it was expected as soon as these wars would be over the temporary law would also be abandoned. In sheer contrast the coming time witnessed the legalization of Quartering law for the first time in 17652. Again, quartering stressed the already tiring financial status of the colonial legislatures under further fina ncial burden3. However, the initial quartering act that was enacted in the month of

Juice Concentrate Industry Essay Example for Free

Juice Concentrate Industry Essay Juice is a liquid that is naturally contained in fruit and vegetables. It is commonly consumed as a beverage or used as an ingredient or flavouring in foods. Juice is prepared by mechanically squeezing or macerating fruit or vegetable flesh without the application of heat or solvents. For example, orange juice is the liquid extract of the fruit of the orange tree, and tomato juice is the liquid that results from pressing the fruit of the tomato plant. Common methods for preservation and processing of fruit juices include canning,pasteurization, concentrating[1], freezing, evaporation and spray drying. A concentrate is a form of substance which has had the majority of its base component (in the case of a liquid: the solvent) removed. Typically this will be the removal of water from a solution or suspension such as the removal of water from fruit juice. One benefit of producing a concentrate is that of a reduction in weight and volume for transportation as the concentrate can be re-constituted at the time of usage by the addition of the solvent. Process Description The following processes concerns mainly with the fruit to juice concentrate production. Thorough process outline will be presented in the final paper. Harvesting/collection Oranges are harvested from large groves. When the mature fruit is ready to pick, a crew of pickers is sent in to pull the fruit off the trees. For higher picking rate companies on the other hand, use mechanical pickers instead of crew of pickers. The collected fruit is sent to plants for juice processing. The oranges are generally shipped via truck to juice extraction facilities, where they are unloaded by a gravity feed onto a conveyor belt that transports the fruit to a storage bin. Washing As the fruits are unloaded from the trucks, they are washed and loaded to belt conveyors proceeding inside the extraction plant. This process removes debris and dirt and reduces the number of microbes. Selection and Sizing Before extraction process, the fruits are manually selected and grouped based on size and color. Extraction Proper juice extraction is important to optimize the efficiency of the juice production process as well as the quality of the finished drink. The latter is true because oranges have thick peels, which contain bitter resins that must be carefully separated to avoid tainting the sweeter juice. There are two automated extraction methods commonly used by the industry. The first places the fruit between two metal cups with sharpened metal tubes at their base. The upper cup descends and the fingers on each cup mesh to express the juice as the tubes cut holes in the top and bottom of the fruit. The fruit solids are compressed into the bottom tube between the two plugs of peel while the juice is forced out through perforations in the tube wall. At the same time, a water spray washes away the oil from the peel. This oil is reclaimed for later use. The second type of extraction has the oranges cut in half before the juice is removed. The fruits are sliced as they pass by a stationary knife and the halves are then picked up by rubber suction cups and moved against plastic serrated reamers. The rotating reamers express the juice as the orange halves travel around the conveyor line. For massive industrial production, the most effective is the former method. The peels and pulps are collected to be used later for further steps in the production. Pasteurization Pasteurization is still required to further retard spoilage. Pasteurization also inactivates certain enzymes which cause the pulp to separate from the juice, resulting in an aesthetically undesirably beverage. This enzyme related clarification is one of the reasons why fresh squeezed juice has a shelf life of only a few hours. Flash pasteurization minimizes flavour changes from heat treatment and is recommended for premium quality products. Several pasteurization methods are commercially used. One common method passes juice through a tube next to a plate heat exchanger, so the juice is heated without direct contact with the heating surface. Another method uses hot, pasteurized juice to preheat incoming unpasteurized juice. The preheated juice is further heated with steam or hot water to the pasteurization temperature. Typically, reaching a temperature of 185-201.2Â ° F (85-94Â ° C) for about 30 seconds is adequate to reduce the microbe count and prepare the juice for filling.

Models of Celebrity Endorsement Strategy

Models of Celebrity Endorsement Strategy The selection of celebrity endorsers is not an easy task; many scholars have tried to create models in order to help for the right selecting of celebrity endorsers. Hovland et al (1953) conceptually contributed one of the earliest models, which is Source Credibility Model. Afterwords, the Source Attractiveness Model (McGuire, 1985), the Product Match-Up Hypothesis (Forkan, 1980; Kamins, 1989, 1990), and the Meaning Transfer Model (McCracken, 1989) was presented through empirically researchers in turn. The Source Credibility Model and Source Attractiveness Model are categorized under the generic name of Source Models since these two models basically show and reflect research of the Social Influence Theory/Source Effect Theory, which argues that various characteristics of a perceived communication source may have a beneficial effect on message receptivity (Kelman, 1961; Meenaghan, 1995). The source credibility model is based on research in social psychology (Hovland and Weiss, 1951-1952; Hovland, Jani, and Kelley, 1953). The Hovland version of model present that a message depends for its effectiveness on the expertness and trustworthiness of the source (Hovland et al., 1953, p.20; Dholakia and Sternthal, 1977; Sternthal, Dholakia, and Leavitt, 1978), which means that information from a credible source (e.g.celebrity) can influence beliefs, opinions, attitudes, and/or behavior via a process called internalization, which occurs when receivers accept a source influence in terms of their personal attitude and value structures (Erdogan, 1999). Expertness is defined as the extent to which a communicator is perceived to be a source of valid assertions and refers to the knowledge, experience or skills possessed by an endorser. Hovland et al (1953) and Ohanian (1991) believed that it does not really matter whether an endorser is an expert, but all that matters is how the target audience perceives the endorser. However, Aaker and Myers (1987) advocated a source/celebrity that is more expert to be more persuasive and to generate more intentions to buy the brand (Ohanian, 1991). Hence, expert sources influence perceptions of the products quality (Erdogan, 1999). Meanwhile; Speck et al (1988) found that expert celebrities produced higher recall of product information than non-expert celebrities, even though the difference was not statistically significant. Moreover, celebrities professional accomplishments and expertise may serve as a logical connection with the products, and consequently make the endorsement more believable to co nsumers (Till and Brusler, 2000). Trustworthiness refers to the honesty, integrity and believability of an endorser depending on target audience perceptions (Erdogan, 1999). Advertisers capitalize on the value of trustworthiness by selecting endorsers, who are widely regarded as honest, believable, and dependable (Shimp, 1997). Smith (1973) argues that consumers view untrustworthy celebrity endorsers as questionable message sources regardless of their qualities. Friedman, et al (1978) addressed that trustworthiness is the major determinant of source credibility and then tried to discover that likability was the most important attribute of trust. Thus, they recommended advertisers to select personalities who are well liked when a trustworthy celebrity is desired to endorse brands. However, Ohanian (1991) found that trustworthiness of a celebrity was not significant related to customers intentions to buy an endorsed ethnic status could affect endorser trustworthiness and brand attitudes, because people trust endorsers who are similar to them. Their findings implied that when targeting particular ethnic groups such as Africans and Asians, ethnic background should be carefully evaluated. Measuring source credibility in selecting celebrity It is quite reasonable to make sense that a sources credibility is totally subjective, but research shows that in spite of individual preferences, a high degree of agreement exists among individuals (Berscheid et al, 1971). Patzer (1983) developed the Truth-of-Consensus method to assess a sources credibility and attractiveness. The method is based on the foundation that individuals judgments of attractiveness and credibility are naturally subjective, but these judgments are shaped through Gestalt principles of person perception rather than single characteristics. Notably, on the basis of extensive literature review and statistical tests, Ohanian (1990) constructed a tri- component celebrity endorser credibility scale, (see figure) which assumes that credibility and effectiveness of celebrity endorsers is associated with given characteristic dimensions, even though McCracken (1989) argued that the celebrity world consists of much more just attractive and credible individuals. Table 2: Source Credibility Scale Attractiveness Trustworthiness Expertise Attractive-Unattractive Trustworthy-Untrustworthy Expert-Not Expert Classy-Not Classy Dependable-Undependable Experience-Inexperienced Beautiful-Ugly Honest-Dishonest Knowledgeable-Unknowledgeable Elegant-Plain Reliable-Unreliable Qualified-Unqualified Sexy-Not Sexy Sincere-Insincere Skilled-Unskilled Source: Ohanian, R (1990) Construction and validation of a scale to measure celebrity endorsers perceived expertise, trustworthiness and attractiveness, Journal of Advertising, p39-52 The Source Attractiveness Model Advertisers have chosen celebrity on the basis of their attractiveness to gain from dual effects of celebrity status and physical appeal (Singer, 1983). Meanwhile, research showed that physically attractive endorsers are more successful at changing beliefs (Baker and Chrurchill, 1977; Chaiken, 1979; Debevec and Kernan, 1984) and generating purchase intentions (Friedman et al, 1976; Petroshius and Schuman, 1989; Petty and Cacioppo, 1980) than those unattractive individuals. Hence, McGuire (1985) conducted an empirical research to contend that the effectiveness of a message depends on similarity, familiarity and liking for an endorser. The McGuire (1985) model holds that sources that are known to, liked by, and/or similar to the consumer are attractive and, persuasive. The source attractiveness model also rests on social psychological research (McCracken, 1989). Meanwhile, Cohen and Golden (1972) suggested that physical attractiveness of an endorser determines the effectiveness of persuasive communication through a process called identification, which is assumed to occur when information from an attractive source is accepted as a result of desire to identify with such endorsers. Petty and Cacioppo (1980) conducted attractiveness of endorsers in terms of a shampoo advertisement to comprehend effectiveness of advertising message types. In 1983, Petty et al replicated the earlier study in 1980. Their findings emphasize the interaction between involvement level and endorser type. Under low-involvement conditions, the endorser type had a significant impact on attitudes towards the product even though no impact was found on behavioral intentions. With respect to recall and recognition measures, findings indicated that exposure to celebrity endorsers increased recall of the product category only under low-involvement conditions. Besides, the endorser type manipulation revealed that celebrities had marginally significant impact on brand name recall over typical citizens. Patzer (1985: p30) stated that physical attractiveness is an information cue; involves effects that are subtle, pervasive, and inescapable; produces a definite pattern of verifiable differences; and transcends culture in its effects. Patzer argues that people usually inflate their own attractiveness so that attractive endorsers should be more effective than average looking endorsers. Kahle and Homer (1985) operated celebrity physical attractiveness and likability and measured attitude and purchase intentions on the same product: Edge razors. Findings indicated that participants exposed to an attractive celebrity liked the product more than participants exposed to an unattractive celebrity. Recall for the brand was greater both in attractive and likeable celebrity conditions. However, unlikeable celebrities unexpectedly performed better on recognition measures than likeable and attractive celebrities. Meanwhile, findings proved that an attractive celebrity created more purchase intentions than unattractive celebrity, but conversely an unlikeable celebrity produced more intentions to buy the product than a likeable celebrity. Quite significantly, studies by Cabalero (1989) and Till and Brusler (1998) demonstrate that positive feelings towards advertising and products do not necessarily translate into actual behavior or purchase intentions. A possible reason for the lack of celebrity endorsers effect on intentions to purchase is that celebrity endorsement seems to work on the cognitive and affective components of attitudes rather than the behavioral components (Baker and Churchill, 1977; Fireworker and Friedman, 1977). In terms of gender impact between endorsers and target audience, Debevec and Kernan (1984) found that attractive female model generated more enhanced attitudes than attractive male models across both genders and particularly among males. Conversely, Cabalero et al (1989) found that males showed greater intentions to buy from male endorsers and females hold greater intentions to purchase from female endorsers. Furthermore, Baker and Churchill (1977) found a rather unexpected interaction among female models, product type and intentions to purchase products among male subjects. For instance, when the endorsed product was coffee, an unattractive female model created more intentions to buy the product than her attractive counterpart among males, whereas when it was perfume or aftershave, male reacted more positively to an attractive female model. However, Petroshius and Schulman (1989) found that endorsement gender had no impact on attitudes towards advertisements and no major impact on i ntentions to buy products. Consequently, based on above disparate and controversial arguments, there is no consistent and coherent direction in terms of gender interactions between endorsers and target audiences to aid practitioners. In brief, it is apparent that attractive celebrity endorsers enhance attitudes and recall towards advertising and brands than unattractive celebrity endorsers, however there is no consistent agreement in relation to creating purchase intentions, even though a few studies found that celebrities can create purchase intentions. Multiple celebrity endorsement Millions of dollars are spent per annum on celebrity endorsement contracts on the basis that source effects play an important part in convincing communications. Although traditional advertising knowledge suggests the meaning of an elite product contract with the celebrity, uniqueness comes with a high price label. As a result, it is becoming familiar for companies to share stars (Elliott, 1991; Sloan and Freeman, 1988). For example, former Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan has endorsed products for 14 companies (Lipman and Hinge, 1991), and golfer Lee Trevino has had endorsement contracts with Cadillac, Motorola Cellular Phone, Spalding Top-Flight, and La Victoria Salsa (Shatel, 1991). Multiple product endorsements set up new questions relating to our understanding of how consumers react to celebrity endorsements. If as McCracken (1989, p.311) suggests, the celebrity endorser takes on meanings that carry from ad to ad, does endorsing multiple products affect those assigned meanings such that the consumer perceives the celebrity to be less credible and less likable (Kaikati, 1987)? Do consumers have less positive approaches toward ads and brands if multiple product endorsements are involved? What consequence do multiple product endorsements have on consumers buying aims? Does the number of products endorsed restrain the effect of frequent publicity to the celebrity endorser (Tripp, 1994)? Practical proof concerning how consumers react to multiple product endorsement is restricted, leaving unanswered issues in an important research ground. It is known the act of multiple product endorsements guides to certain impressions about celebrity. Early studies (i.e. Mowen and Brown 1981; Mowen, Brown, and Schulman 1979) suggest that simply knowing that a celebrity endorses multiple products is satisfactory to decay consumers insights of endorser honesty, as well as a brand and ad evaluations. Given a limited knowledge of how the endorsement process works (McCracken, 1989), these are clearly issues with theoretical value. The current study independently manipulated the number of exposures to a celebrity in a way different from previous studies in order to investigate the effects of continual exposure to the multiple product endorsers on consumer responses. The apply of actual stimulus is important since exposure to multiple product endorsers (vs. knowledge only) may result in effects different from multiple product endorsement effects. For example, attribution theory (Kelley, 1973) suggests that assumptions may result in consumers evaluating multiple product endorsers less favorable than single product endorsers. According to Kelley, observers identify an actors action to be characteristic when it happens in the presence of a unit and does not occur to its absence. In the case of endorsements, single product endorsements (even if viewed multiple times) compose characteristic actions since spokesperson endorses one brand and not other brands or products. In contrast, multiple product endorsements compose non distinctive actions because the endorsements take a broad view across products with the celebrity constant. Limited of the number of exposures to the endorser, this non distinctiveness may result in consumers concluding that the nature of the spokesperson was the reason for the endorsement, not the nature of product. Although multiple product endorsements (i.e. non distinctive actions) influence perceptions of the spokespersons credibility (i.e, internal attributions), the spotlight of external attributions for single product endorsements (i.e.. distinctive actions) is not obvious. Witnesses of a spokesperson who endorses only a single product may or may not trait the endorsement to the product itself (e.g. product quality). The product repr esents only one cause for the endorsement. Other potential causes for the endorsement exist (e.g., popularity of the endorser; endorsers ties to the product, company, or advertising agency; money paid to the endorser) (Tripp, 1994). In this respect, multiple product endorsements may lead to attribute suggestions about nature of the spokesperson (e.g. traits such as greediness) and, in turn, pressure such manifestations of affect as credibility and likability (Weiner, 1985). Moreover, affect may lead to comparative preferences or be short of of preferences toward associated stimulus (Bara and Ray, 1985) such as the ad or brand. Attribution theory may be used to make clear consumers assumptions about the reasons for a product endorsers support (Folkes, 1988). Commonly, when exposed to a single endorsement, consumers attribute the support to an external cause (e.g. a financial reason). However, the frequency of an action and the actions with which it co varies form the basis of many attributions (Folkes, 1988). Since a multiple product endorser is seen repeatedly and in different contexts, examination of the relationship between the number of exposures to the celebrity, endorser likability, and credibility is a critical consideration. Berlynes (1970) two-factor paradigm suggests that increased exposure to a stimulus results in a more favorable response initially due to a learning factor. At some higher number of exposures, however, a negative response (possibly due to tedium) begins to predominate. Taken together, these two theoretical ideas suggests that the number of products endorsed and the number of expo sures to the endorser may interact such that the number of products endorsed moderates the effect of number of exposures. Thus, inclusion of actual exposure allows for the first tests of any multiple product endorsement effects on both dimensions of credibility and likability beyond that due to repeated exposure to the endorser (Tripp, 1994). The product Match-Up hypothesis Forkan (1980) and Kamins (1990) conducted empirical experiment to test the Product Match-up Hypothesis, which contends that messages conveyed by celebrity image and the product message should be congruent for effective advertising. The determinant pf the match between celebrity and brand depends on the degree of perceived fit between brand such as brand name and attributes and celebrity image (Misra, 1990). Advertising a product via a celebrity who has a relatively high product congruent image leads to greater advertiser and celebrity believability (Levy, 1959; Kamins and Gupta, 1994; Kotler, 1997). Importance of proper match-up between celebrities and products has been emphasized. From practitioners perspective, a senior vice president of a leading beverage company states that celebrities are an unnecessary risk unless they are very logically related to products (Watkins, 1989). Another practitioner quoted by Bertrand and Todd (1992) argued that if there is a combination of an appropriate tie-in between the companys product and the celebritys persona, reputation or the line of work that the celebrity is in, advertisers can get both the fame and the tie-in working for them. Meanwhile, many studies report that consumers also expect congruity between celebrity endorsers perceived images and their endorsed products (Callcoat and Phillips, 1996; Ohanian, 1991; OMahony and Meenaghan, 1997). Otherwise, Evans (1988) argued that if celebrities do not have a distinct and specific relationship to the product they endorse, the use of celebrities could produce the Vampire effect which happens when the audience remembers the celebrity, but not the product or service. Meanwhile, the absence of connection between celebrity endorsers and products endorsed may lead consumers to the belief that the celebrity has been bought to endorse the product/service (Erdogan, 1999). Significantly, the proper match-up between a celebrity and a product has been based on celebrity physical attractiveness, and the match-up hypothesis predicts that attractive celebrities are more effective when endorsing products used to enhance ones attractiveness (Kahle and Homer, 1985; Kamins, 1990). Research also identifies that characteristics of a celebrity interact positively with the nature of the product endorsed (Friedman and Friedman, 1979; Kamins, 1990; Lynch and Schuler, 1994). Choi and Nora (2005), who used a cognitive approach that focuses on consumers attributions of celebrity endorsement motives, emphasized that the level of celebrity and product congruence will influence celebrity endorsement effectiveness through the process of consumer attributions of the celebritys motive for associating him or herself with the particular product and the subsequent effect of these attributions on the consumer evaluations of the endorser, the advertising, and the brand involved in the endorsement. Surprisingly, Kamins and Gupta (1994) found that the match-up between a celebrity endorser and the endorsed brand also enhances the celebrity endorsers believability and favorable attitudes (Till et al, 2006). Friedman and Friedman (1978) found that celebrity endorsers are more appropriate where product purchases involve high social and psychological risk. Meanwhile, Kamins (1989) and Kamins, et al (1989) found that celebrity endorsers were able to generate desired effects on high financial and performance risk products/services such as management consultation and computers. Conversely, Callcoat and Phillips (1996) reported that consumers are generally influenced by endorsers if products are inexpensive, low-involving and few differences are perceived among available brands. As a result, these contradictory arguments lead to the conclusion that advertising is a powerful mechanism of meaning transfer that virtually any product can be made to take any meaning (McCrackens 1987; OMahony and Meenaghan, 1997). The almost studies in terms of evaluating celebrities endorser and endorsed products/brands are using consumer samples. Only one study by Miciak and Shanklin (1994) investigation considered advertising practitioners when choosing celebrity endorsers based on a small sample including 21 agencies and 22 company practitioner. Remarkably, more recently, Erdogan et al (2001) investigated a larger sample that is the 300 largest British advertising agencies (Campaigh, 1997) to consider important celebrity characteristics from the practitioners perspective when selecting an endorser by conducting exploratory interviews and a mail survey. Their findings provide implications for both theory and practice. At the theoretical level, the research firstly shows that managers do not see celebrities as undimensional individuals such as attractive and credible when selecting celebrity endorsers, because celebrities are different unknown endorsers as they represent a variety of meanings that are drawn from the roles they assume in television, film, politics, and so on (McCracken, 1989). Secondly, managers have implicitly incorporated the findings of product match-up hypothesis research in their decision-making. On the other hand, for practitioners, as none of the advertising agencies had any written documentation regarding celebrity endorsement strategy, Erdogan et al (2001) set the criteria through providing a possible check list of factors in Table 3 below, when practitioners select celebrity endorsers. However, DeSarbo and Harshman (1985) argue that neither the source credibility and attractiveness nor the match-up research is adequate in providing a heuristic for appropriate celebrity endorser selection, although the Match-Up Hypothesis extends beyond attractiveness and credibility towards a consideration and matching of the entire image of the celebrity with the endorsed brand and the target audience. The Meaning Transfer Model McCracken (1989) organized an empirical research evaluating effectiveness of the endorser depends upon the meaning the person brings to the endorsement process in part. McCracken (1989) and Brierley (1995) pointed out that the number and variety of the meanings contained in celebrities are very large, which includes status, class, gender, and age and personality and lifestyles types, more importantly, the cultural meanings existing in a celebrity go beyond the person and are passed on to the products. Fortini-Campbell (1992) argues that products just like people have personalities, and claims that people consume brands with personality characteristics like their own or ones they aspire to possess in celebrities. Similarly, according to Fowles (1996), advertisers rationale for hiring celebrities to endorse products is that people consume images of celebrities, and advertisers hope that people will also consume products associated with celebrities. Celebrity endorsement actually is a special instance of a more general process of meaning transfer (McCracken, 1989). This process is a conventional path for the movement of cultural meaning in consumer societies through formation of celebrity image, transfer of meaning from celebrity to product, and from product to consumers. McCracken (1988) defined that meaning begins as something resident in the culturally constituted world, in the physical and social world constituted by the categories and principles of the prevailing culture. Furthe rmore, McCracken (1989) found that several instruments facilitate this transfer. Firstly, the movement of meanings from the culturally constituted world to consumer goods is accomplished by advertising and the fashion system. Then, the movement of meanings from consumer goods to the individual consumer is accomplished through the efforts of the consumers. Hence, meaning circulates in the consumer society. Besides, McCracken (1986) argued that advertising is one of the instruments to move meanings from culture, to consumers, to goods; this movement is accomplished by the efforts of promotional agencies. Similarly, Domzal and Kerman (1992) claimed that advertising is an integral part of social systems, whose function is to communicate the culturally constructed meaning of products to consumers. As the figure 1 shows, the meaning that begins in the dramatic role of the celebrity resides in the celebrity themselves in stage 1. In stage 2, this meaning is transferred when the celebrity enters into an advertisement with a product, and some of the meanings of the celebrity are now the meanings of the product. In the final stage, the meaning moves from the product to the consumer. Notably, celebrity endorsement makes a very particular contribution to each of these three stages in meaning transfer process. In sum, as McCracken (1989) suggested, the meaning transfer model presented is intended to demonstrate that the secret of the celebrity endorsement is largely cultural in nature, and that the study of the celebrity endorsement is improved by a cultural perspective. Consequently, advertisers should assess the culture that encompasses a celebrity to determine whether these meanings are feasible for brands/products in order to achieve effectiveness of the endorser. Definition of celebrities Celebrities are people who enjoy public recognition by a big share of a certain group of people. Whereas characteristic like attractiveness, amazing lifestyle or special skills are just examples and specific common characteristics cannot be observed, it can be said that within a analogous social group celebrities generally vary from the social standard and enjoy a high degree of public awareness. This is factual for classic forms of celebrities, like actors (e.g. Meg Ryan, Pierce Brosnan), models (e.g. Naomi Campbell, Gisele Buendchen), sports athletes (e.g. Anna Kournikova, Michael Schumacher), entertainers (e.g. Oprah Winfrey, Conan OBrien) and pop stars (e.g. Madonna, David Bowie) but also for less obvious groups like businessmen (e.g. Donald Trump, Bill Gates) or politicians (e.g. Rudy Giuliani, Lee Kuan Yew). Celebrities appear in public in different ways. First, they appear in public when satisfying their profession, e.g. Pete Sampras, who plays tennis in front of an audience in Wimbledon. Furthermore, celebrities appear in public by attending special celebrity events, e.g. the Academy Awards, or world premieres of movies. In addition, they are present in news, fashion magazines, and tabloids, which offer second source information on events and the private life of celebrities through mass-media channels (e.g. Fox 5 news covering Winona Ryders trial on shoplifting, InStyle). Last but not least, celebrities work as spokespersons in advertising to endorse products and services (Kambitsis et al. 2002, Tom et al. 1992). Advantages and disadvantages of celebrity endorsement strategy Potential Advantages Potential Disadvantages Preventive Tactics Assisting product  marketing and  increased attention Overshadow the brand Pre-testing and careful planning Image polishing Public controversy Buying insurance and putting  provision clauses in contracts Brand introduction Image change and  overexposure Explaining what is their role and  putting clause to restrict  endorsements for other brands Brand repositioning Image change and loss of  public recognition Examining what life-cycle stage  the celebrity is in and how long  this stage is likely to continue Underpin global  campaigns Expensive Selecting celebrity who are  appropriate for global target  audience, not because they are  hot in all market audience Source: Erdogan, B.Z (1999) Celebrity endorsement: A literature review, Journal of Marketing Management, Vol 15, p295 Mathur et al (1997) state a variety of reasons that firms use celebrity endorsers including that firms may feel that the life experiences of endorsers fit the advertising message, that the endorser has high appeal with the firms target consumer group, or that the endorsers universal appeal makes the advertising universal. Celebrity endorsement can bring out several positive effects. They are that advertisements become believable (Kamins et al, 1989), message recall is enhanced (Friedman and Friedman, 1979), recognition and perception of brand names is improved and attitudes about products with low purchase involvement are affected (Petty et al, 1983; Till et al, 2006), positive attitudes about brands results (Kamins et al, 1989), and distinct personalities and appeals for products and brands are created (McCracken, 1989; Dickenson, 1996). Moreover, celebrity endorsements are believed to generate a greater likelihood of customers choosing the endorsed brand (Heath et al, 1994; Kahle a nd Homer, 1985; Ohanian, 1991). As a result the use of celebrity endorsement is an advertising strategy that should enhance the marginal value of advertisement expenditures and create brand equity by means of the secondary association of a celebrity with a brand (Keller, 1993). Meanwhile, research indicates that celebrity endorsements can result in more favorable advertisement ratings and product evaluations (Dean and Biswas, 2001). Some of the most difficult aspects of global marketing to gasp are host countries cultural roadblocks such as time, space, language, relationships, power, risk, masculinity and femininity (Mooij, 1994; Hosfsted, 1984). Under this situation, celebrity endorsements are a powerful device by which to enter foreign markets; and celebrities with world-wide popularity can help companies break through many such roadblocks (Erdogan, 1999). On the other hand, there are also many potential disadvantages and hazards in utilizing celebrities as endorsers as a part of marketing communication strategy. Firstly, benefits of using celebrities can reverse markedly if they for example, suddenly change image, fall popularity, get into a situation of moral turpitude, lose credibility by over-endorsing or overshadow endorsed products (Cooper, 1984; Kaikati, 1987). Secondly, negative information about a celebrity endorser not only influences consumers perception of the celebrity, but also the endorsed product (Klebba and Unger, 1982; Till and Shimp, 1995). Thirdly, another common concern is that consumers will focus their attention on the celebrity and fail to notice the brand being promoted (Rossiter and Percy, 1987). Fourthly, celebrities who are blamed for negative events such as accidents can have detrimental influence on the products they endorse (Louie and Obermiller, 2002). Besides, Mowen and Brown (1981) argue that if a celebritys image ties in with many brands/ products, impact and indentify with each product may reduce since the relationship between the celebrity and a particular brand is not distinctive. This can not only compromise the value of the celebrity in the eyes of stars fans (Graham, 1989), but also can make consumers to think the real nature of endorsement that has less to do with the brand/product attributes, and more to do with generous compensation for the celebrity, leading consumers to overt doubt about their motives, so as to cause the negative influences on consumer attitudes and purchase intentions among the multiple products endorsed by celebrities (Cooper, 1984; Tripp et al, 1994). The f