African American History. Heritage Essay

Heritage makes up a large portion of our History. Combine that heritage with race and you have a foundation for establishing different beginnings of races that can trace their early origins back to the beginning of the United States. A giant melting pot as it has been described due to all of the immigration that occurred in the early nineteenth century. African Americans have established an enormous role in the beginnings and the history of the America. Their continuous fight for equality and rights as American people have spanned many years. The actions against African Americans immediately following the conclusion of the civil war were not fair. This initial unfair treatment sparked numerous debates that all can be followed back to their initial start of fair treatment after many years of mistreatment. The Black Codes were established to restrict and control the lives of ex-slaves. (Bowles 2011) That is not a way to be granted freedom if your life is still controlled. Freedom isn’t freedom if you are still treated unfairly amongst other races. The thirteenth amendment established to abolish slavery in the United States. This was a major step to equality among African Americans. The industrial boom in the north sparked the interest of many looking for work. The promise of a job and being able to provide for your family drew the attention of millions of African Americans. These jobs caused a mass movement of African Americans from the south to the north. This move was the Great Migration. The entry into World War Two brought some unique opportunities for African Americans. Key components to the war were the Tuskegee Airmen. Moving on in their fight for equal rights and treatments, Rosa Parks made a stand and refused to give up her seat on a bus. Seeing the need for more action by the government, Martin Luther king assembled a massive million man march into the Nation’s capital. The struggle for African Americans has been a long and at times dangerous struggle. Former slave owners and many others in the south did not wish to abandon their way of life and what they saw as fair and equal treatment for African Americans. With the determination, the will to make a difference, and legislative actions. African Americans have changed the laws and made remarkable steps towards the fair and equal treatment they were always entitled to as any American should be. Their nonstop pursuit of change has had an everlasting effect on history. The hopes and dreams of freedom for African Americans were destroyed immediately following the end of the civil war, because of black codes and the intimidation with terror and violence from veteran confederates that formed the terrorist group called the Ku Klux Klan. As newly freed slaves, blacks found out very soon that freedom was not how they dreamed. â€Å"In 1865, southerners created black code that controlled all aspects of black’s lives and stopped new found African Americans from the freedom that they had won from the civil war. † (The Black Codes of the South 1966) Almost every part of free slaves life was regulated by black codes even the freedom to migrate. Blacks could not enter certain towns without permission so hopes of finding family that were sold during slavery proved to be a challenge. There was also vagrancy laws that stated all freedman were vagrant if they did not have a job or they were homeless. Black codes made segregation in public facilities, carrying any kind of weapons, and to testify in court against white men illegal. If a black person disobeyed these codes and imprisonment would occur most of the time. This was a backwards step towards equality and freedom. Black codes did offer a few certain rights to blacks. They were given the right to marry, and the right to own some land. Although being a free black slave during this time period was a monumental step towards a unified country, blacks would face bigger challenges throughout the next century. The Thirteenth Amendment was one of the most influential amendments to have ever been passed in our country. The Thirteenth Amendment states, â€Å"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction† (US Constitution, Amendment 13, Section 1) The intent of the Thirteenth amendment was to abolish slavery and begin the long process of just and equal rights for all American citizens. The passing of this amendment put an end to slavery and caused disruption to the former slave owners in the South. The Southern States that seceded from the union were forced to free their slaves and pass the amendment to be allowed back into the union. The south was then forced to find a new means of supporting themselves and working their cash crops. With this amendment passed, the African Americans were finally free and the vast majority of slaves the worked on plantations were gone because they were free. Although racism and segregation still played a major role in their lives, they were no longer forced to work as slaves. Slavery was not only a form of forced labor. Many slaves also faced humiliation, punishment, and harsh lives. They were some slaves that were treated as they were lower than they animals they were forced to care for. The origins of slavery and the continuation of slaves well into after the civil war were tarnish on America. The thirteen amendment abolished slavery, it did not offer much regulation onto gender equality. This was certainly true for former black female slaves. They were not afforded the same equal rights and opportunities as free former black male slaves. â€Å"Female slaves suffered unique hardships, being exploited for both labor and reproduction. † (Tsesis, A.2012). With the initial passing of the thirteenth amendment, the future road was being paved for equality amongst black both male and female. This amendment would go on to be ratified until eventually equality was achieved for both genders. The great migration covers the movement of millions of African Americans from the south to the north due to industrial expansion. Though this is not the first great migration, being there was a large migration of African Americans shortly after the civil war, this migration had a much larger effect. Populations of African Americans drastically changed because of it. Population diversity was established. During the 20th century, African- Americans participated in one of the most significant demographic events in U. S. history, â€Å"The Great Migration. † The Great Migration was a massive movement of African Americans from the South to the North spanning from 1863 to 1960. The largest movement in the migration occurred from 1910 to 1920. (Bowles 2011) The Great Migration was caused by different reasons that pushed African Americans out of the South, and other chances of opportunity were pulling them to the North. The spring on 1916, Six million African-Americans moved to the North and the West part of the United States of America. After the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, less than 8 percent of the African- Americans population lived in the Northeastern or Midwestern part of the United States. The U. S. Senate had ordered an investigation into it. In 1900, about 90 percent of blacks still lived in Southern states. They also moved to Canada in order to maintain safe haven from anti-abolitionists. When it was time for the blacks to move the only transportation for them were trains, boats, buses, but sometimes cars were used for their transportation. The promise of good employment, food, money, and a place to take care of your family drew the attention of many African Americans. The Great Migration created the first large urban black communities in the North. Along with massive amounts of blacks relocating to these cities also come problems. Many blacks were crammed into housing. At times, the occupancy of the housing that they lived in exceeded the limits they were designed for. Imagine an apartment that can accommodate five people comfortably being push over the limits by having twelve people reside in it instead. These were perfect conditions for disease, unsanitary conditions, and in some extreme cases, death. These dwellings became to be known as ghettos. All good things must come to an end and many blacks realized that due to the mass amount of laborers that migrated to the North, many of the jobs were taken. The south offered the work of the past, but this time they would be paid for it and not forced to do the work. â€Å"After the Great Migration, blacks continued to move in search of opportunity as some returned to the South, while others moved to suburbs or better neighborhoods within the North. †(Stewart E. Tolnay 2003) An important military milestone is African American history were the Tuskegee Airmen. These brave airmen were the first step towards race equality within the aviation sector of the military. Although African Americans had regularly fought in wars, they were not allowed to participate in actual aerial combat. The airmen were an import key in closing the race inequalities within the military. The Tuskegee airmen have become to be known as the most influential air squadron during world war two. Racism was still a major ongoing issue well into world war two. Many whites did not like the idea of African Americans being allowed to fly airplanes and fight in aerial combat. The Tuskegee Airmen did more than just that. They became the first black Army Air Corps pilots. Their beginnings started when President Roosevelt had arranged a meeting with three African American leaders of the Army and Navy. They argued that equality needed to be stable throughout the military, administration needed to be fair in regards to the ongoing draft, and African Americans should be allowed to fly. (Percy 2003) Shortly after the meeting had concluded, the War Department issued a policy directive stating that black men would be admitted into the military in numbers equal to civilian black population. In December of 1940, the Army Air Corps had submitted a plan that would establish experiments with a fighter squadron that consisted of all black pilots. Initially, thirteen black men were selected as pilot trainees for the program. The training occurred at Tuskegee Alabama, hence the name given, The Tuskegee Airmen. Majority of the instructors assigned to train the men were white. There were high hopes the failure would occur and this would prove to the War Department that African Americans were not suitable for flying. â€Å"The man probably most responsible for the success of the Tuskegee Airmen, the man whom the cadets looked to most often, was Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (Percy 2003) Captain Davis helped keep the fight alive in all of the cadets which allowed them to ignore the Jim Crow laws that were still in place and they were able to focus their attention on becoming pilots. After the success of the Tuskegee Airmen, they became a vital part of the war effort. The Tuskegee Airmen were assigned combat missions, participating in aerial combat, and helping to win the war. The Tuskegee Airmen program was a giant step towards equality within the military and an important historical milestone in our history. A famous name associated with the Civil Rights movements is Rosa Parks. She was the average everyday woman. She rode the bus to and from work every day like any other ordinary person. She had acquired a job as a seamstress at a local department store in Montgomery Alabama. On the night of December 1, 1955, Rosa took the bus home as normal. The public bus was split into two different sections. There was a white section and a black section. If the white section filled up, people in the black section were required to give up their seat for the whites and they would have to stand. This was an unjust law in Montgomery that many blacks disagreed with. This did not seem like the equality that they deserved. Couple this law with all of the segregated services in Alabama; one would think that the hatred for free African Americans ran high. â€Å"Rosa refused to give up her seat despite the threats given to her by the bus driver. † (Wiltenburg, M 2001) She was arrested and forced to pay a fine of $14, which she never did end up paying. Word of her arrest spread fast and immediately following the next day, flyers emerged all around Alabama black schools and businesses pleading that those who rode the bus should seek alternate means of travel. The bus company was owned by whites even though majority of the passengers were black. The actions were to show that the law was not fair to blacks and hopefully the bus company would see this through their loss of profit due to their unfair rule. The boycott lasted well over a year. Finally the United States Supreme Court ruled that it was unlawful and illegal to treat people differently on the bus because of their skin color. (Wiltenburg, M 2001) The actions taken by Rosa Parks to generate a Civil Rights Movement were brave for her to conduct during the racist times of Montgomery. Her actions set off the initial movement that would pave the way for many more to come and challenge the racist laws that restricted the lives of black people. The Million Man March was another major event of the Civil Rights Movement. What better way to peacefully protest the unfair treatment of African Americans than to assemble in the Nation’s Capital and fight for equality among all races. Some Civil Rights Leaders were opposed to the march. Mary Frances Berry, Chair of the U. S. Civil Rights Commission, thought the actions of the march were â€Å"bad due to the black community being in deep trouble already. † (Winter, 1995-1996) Despite her disapproval, the march went on. While the actual number of participants can’t be pin pointed to an exact number, it is estimated that it was between 1. 5 and 2 million participants. This large showing of force allowed for peaceful protest and representation for the black community. They sought to gain the attention of the Federal Government so they could overcome the harsh reality that racism was still an ongoing issue and blacks were still being treated unequally by whites. Majority of the attendees were black males. The march was also attended by origins of race that were not primarily black. They saw an opportunity to take part in the possible change of equality and rights as well. Many famous black speakers were in attendance at the march, from Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and many black religious leaders. Although the peaceful protest eventually ended, it still remains one of the most talked about and biggest contributions to the Civil Rights Movements. History has shown that African Americans have faced a lot of challenges. Through unfair treatment in the early beginnings of America, African Americans were used as slaves and the country saw this as a normal and legal way of life. The actions taken by President Lincoln helped shed light on the tarnished actions of the American people and he is credited with having helped free the slaves. The black codes were a way that hateful southerners could still control the lives of black people. The southerners were upset because their way of life and what they saw as normal was being changed. The passing of the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. This was a step in the right direction and it sparked the creation of many amendments to follow in suite. The great migration offered new hopes and promises of work in the North. Millions of African Americans began showing up in cities eager to get a piece of the American workforce. They were met with many housing, health, and physical challenges. Some blacks realized that the work in the North was not for them and they returned to the South to continue farming of their own free will and not under the control of slavery. World War Two brought light to African Americans with the chance of becoming pilots. The Tuskegee Airmen showed courage in the face of racism and overcame the discriminations brought onto them through the military. They became a vital part of the war effort and actively participated in aerial combat and bombing raids. Rosa Parks set the stepping stones for the Civil Rights movement. Her actions that night on the bus spread quickly and blacks refused to ride the buses in Montgomery Alabama. The efforts lasted well over a year and Congress finally determined that the law was unlawful. The million man march is one of the biggest actions in the Civil Rights movement. Blacks showed in large numbers to promote equality and diminish racism on the federal level. Many key speakers participated in this march, even though leaders of the Civil Rights Committee did not agree with the march. These actions taken by African Americans represent a small portion of the triumphs that they have overcome since slavery ended. There are many events and sacrifices that have been made by African Americans through the years. Their nonstop pursuit to end racism, have equality, and bring change to America will have an everlasting change on history. References Bowles, M. (2011). A history of the United States since 1865. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Jim Crow and Uncle Sam: The Tuskegee Flying Units and the U. S. Army Air Forces in Europe during World War II William Alexander Percy The Journal of Military History , Vol. 67, No. 3 (Jul. , 2003), pp. 773-810 Published by: Society for Military History Article Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org/stable/3397326 Tuskegee: A Retrospect and Prospect Booker T. Washington The North American Review , Vol. 182, No. 593 (Apr. , 1906), pp. 513-523 Published by: University of Northern Iowa Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor. org/stable/25105549 Wiltenburg, M. (2001, Feb 20). The story behind the rosa parks story. The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/405670133? accountid=32521 The Black Codes of the South by Theodore B. Wilson Review by: Irwin Unger The Florida Historical Quarterly , Vol. 45, No. 2 (Oct. , 1966), pp. 183-185 Published by: Florida Historical Society Article Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org/stable/30147751 Tsesis, A. (2012). GENDER DISCRIMINATION AND THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT. Columbia Law Review, 112(7), 1641-1695. Maloney, T. N. (2002). African American Migration to the North: New Evidence for the 1910s. Economic Inquiry, 40(1), 1-11. Annual Review of Sociology , Vol. 29, (2003), pp. 209-232 Published by: Annual Reviews Article Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org/stable/30036966 Marable, M. (1995). After the march. New Statesman & Society, 8(376), 14. How Black Academics Viewed the Million Man March The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education , No. 10 (Winter, 1995-1996), pp. 59-63 Published by: The JBHE Foundation, Inc Article Stable URL: http://www. jstor. org/stable/2962767.

AP Essay: Maria W. Stewart Essay

The Great Missippi In the passage â€Å"Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927† the author John M. Barry describes elaborately the functions and complexity of the Mississippi River. The author wants to inform the reader about the fascinating characteristic the Mississippi River offers, through a descriptive and informative passage. The author’s fascination of the river is incredible due to the simple, solid facts that are stated. Throughout the passage the author uses many rhetorical devices to amplify his message such as diction, vivid imagery, and simile. The author uses a series of rhetorical devices in the passage such as asyndeton to help communicate his fascination of rivers to the reader. An example of this is â€Å"It generates its own internal forces through its size, its sediment load, its depth, variations in its bottom, its ability to cave in the riverbank and slide sideways for miles, and even tidal influences†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (20-23). This example is very useful to our understanding of rivers because it’s very detailed and rich in in facts. Another rhetorical device the author uses in the passage is the usage of similes. A clear example of this is â€Å"Rather, it moves south in layers and whorls, like an uncoiling rope made up of a multitude of discrete fibers†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (36-38). This is a very interesting example of a simile, simply because it compares two things with very descriptive words and because it gives the reader a more concrete understanding of the rivers strength. It also makes the reader become more engaged and interested to the passage. The last rhetorical device in the passage is the use of vivid imagery. The author uses this powerful device in the passage to amplify and captivate the reader. An example of this is â€Å"Humphreys observed an eddy, running upstream at seven miles an hour and extending half across the river, whirling and foaming†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (47-49). This example helps the reader emphasize the rivers complexity and.

Leadership Profile Essay

In the entertainment industry, football is America’s choice of sport. Not only does it drive fans crazy just watching it, but a game that brings really serious injuries to players but yet, generates billions of dollars during the season. Football consists of a team of talented, skilled individuals that display strength, power and speed to play the game. Without these traits, a player will certainly be a failure to the game and the team. It is a very rough form of entertainment that we all love to watch with our families and friends. It is rather ironic that although we do not promote players to hurt each other; in the game of football, we seem to send the opposite message that it’s alright to get hurt, nonetheless, a sport where players understand that in order to stand out amongst other players, the harder they exert effort into the game also increases their risk of sustaining unpredictable injuries. Hiring prospective players is not an easy task. It involves copious amount of time tracking, observing and careful scouting of candidates for consideration. National Football League (NFL) teams make decisions on drafting players from various colleges and consider questions like whether a candidate is willing to spend a number of years physically beat up and willingly put up with the severity of the game. Can they endure enough punishment for the love of the game? Recent hiring history has shown that hiring management has been an 82% failure due to poor interviewing tactics (Gallup’s Why Great Managers Are So Rare). Gallup considers great managers who motivate each employee who has a mission and a vision, an assertive character that drive outcomes and an ability to overcome resistance and adversity. They are very accountable and build relationships that have full transparency, open dialogue and trust. Lastly, their decisions are based not on politics but productivity. For a NFL team to be successful in the entertainment world, the team must have Core Values and Purpose. A prospective candidate for the team must be interviewed and asked if they agree with the company’s Core Purpose or Mission. This strategy will certainly tell if the candidate is a good fit for the team’s  culture. If they don’t (Core Purpose/Mission or Core Values), then they don’t possess a good long term fit for the team. According to the 3 Dimensions of Purpose by Brian Sooy, a Purpose declares intent. It provides perspectives and is strategic. The chart below, popularized by John Welsh from GE has created a method of evaluation for their employees seeking to have â€Å"A† players at GE. ( See chart below) This matrix, also referred to as a talent review can and may be a good tool for NFL managers to use in determining the best candidates for the team. Another form of selecting the best candidates is through the use of a system referred to as â€Å"Topgrading†, a system that reduces time reviewing candidates. This system not only increases professionalism, but sets up a website where applicants can answer questions and get the information about the candidate. References Harter, R. B. (2014, March 25). Why Great Managers Are So Rare. Retrieved July 5, 2014, from http://businessjournal. gallup.com/content/167975/why-great-managers-rare.aspx. Sooy, B. (2014, May 2). 3 Dimensions of Purpose. Retrieved July 5, 2014, from http;//smartblogs.com/leadership/2014/05/02/3-dimensions-of-purpose. (Wick, 2014) Wick, D. (2014, May 8). NFL Draft-Hiring the Right People-One Question. Retrieved July 5, 2014, from http://strategicdiscipline.positioningsystems.com/blog-0/bid/103386?NFL-Draft-Hiring-the-Right-People.

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

Nursing - Research Paper Example research facility that nurses can use in terms of looking at the on-going researches, understanding the research and implementing it into practice in the workplace. The research facility will also enable nurses to actively participate in the research process, for instance as sample participants for an on-going research. The results from such a research will benefit the nurses who participated and the others at the organization in implementing the findings of the research at the workplace. Therefore, Burns and Grove (2011) ideas on evidence-based research are important and can be successfully implemented in my workplace (Burns, N. & Grove, 2011). A source of nursing research is an aspect that requires proper understanding to help in improving nursing practice (Polit & Beck, 2004). This means that there are many sources of nursing research. Because issues or aspects that require proper understanding to help in improving nursing practice are many. They could range from science, personal derived understanding and experience. There are critical issues within the society that influence or act as a source of nursing research. These flow from individual to population based health issues which could include individual’s behavior, work and life, biological factors such as genetic disposition to health issues and social factors such as discrimination in the access of health care. A potential research study example from this source could be, â€Å"What is the contribution of nurses in caring for women who face domestic

Framing Construction Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Framing Construction Techniques - Essay Example The frames are also reinforced by the use of diagonal braces as well as with the use of rigid panels. Framing construction allows the builders to cover up large areas at minimal expense while also achieving a number of different architectural styles. The construction industry has employed a number of standards in order to ensure that materials, dimensions and construction techniques are standardised. 2. Concrete Frame Construction 2.1. Typical Design and Construction Process Concrete frames are also known better as reinforced concrete frames and are composed of vertical elements known as columns and horizontal elements known as beams. These elements are connected together using rigid joints. The structures are often cast using monolithic methods which ensure that the structure acts in unison. These frames are known to be resistant to both gravitational loading as well as lateral loading such as through bending within both beams and columns. Reinforced concrete frames are constructed in a number of different ways. The major ones are: Non-ductile reinforced concrete frames with or without infill walls; Non-ductile reinforced concrete frames with reinforced infill walls; Ductile reinforced concrete frames with or without infill walls. 2.2. Material Properties Concrete displays a high compressive strength but relatively lower tensile strength. In order to augment concrete’s tensile strength it is reinforced with other materials such as steel bars because such materials have better tensile properties. Moreover concrete displays nearly constant elasticity at low levels of stress while the elasticity tends to decrease as stress levels are increased as matrix cracking begins to form. The coefficient of thermal expansion of concrete is also low and concrete tends to shrink as it ages. The phenomenon of shrinkage and tension ensure that nearly all concrete structures develop cracks to some extent. Creep is also observable in concrete that is subjected to continuou s long term loading. (Kosmatka & Panarese, 1988) 2.3. Advantages and Disadvantages Concrete frames provide an easy method of creating high rise structures that are able to respond to both gravitational and lateral loading with ease. Moreover concrete frames are rigid enough to resist earthquakes and other similar calamities with ease. The recent rise in the costs of reinforcement and steel prices has driven the costs of concrete frames up but on comparison to steel frames, the price of concrete frames and steel frames is close enough. Concrete frames cost marginally lower than steel frame construction for high rise buildings that need to bear massive loads. However the cost of timber frames is lower but timber frames cannot accommodate such massive loading. The foundation costs for concrete frames is significant but the use of post tensioned slabs helps to reduce these costs as these slabs are lighter. Moreover cladding costs represent a large area for spending so cladding area has to be minimised. The least height between

Analysis of Leadership Theories for Their Applicability Inside an Research Paper - 4

Analysis of Leadership Theories for Their Applicability Inside an Organisations Leadership Model - Research Paper Example Situational and contingency theories will be highlighted in detail, in assessing the most appropriate theory to rely on in setting up an organizational model of leadership. Leadership insights are apparently inevitable in the management roles that an organization’s executive have in steering the organization towards the realization of its objectives. From these two approaches, the theorists assist in understanding the relevant connection to be made between leadership and management, under the inspiration of the organizations’ mission and vision focuses. On one hand, situational theory, Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard contributions to the effect that styles of leadership styles are not fundamentally important than or superior to the leadership’s response to the varying situation is examined. On the other hand, Fiedler’s contingency theory has been visited in conjunction with the situational theory to illustrate the importance of leadership in the formulation of organizational leadership practices (Kreitner, 2006, p452). In this discourse, I will attempt to find solutions to the question of whether an organization can adopt several leadership perspectives to sustainably tackle all of its challenges. A position held up to the generation of the question is that the organization faces pretty too many leadership challenges such that it cannot be possible to be reliant on a single approach. The choice of these theoretical approaches of leadership was deliberately done to demonstrate the need for the model of organization to depart from retrogressive leadership designs that rigidly fixates the organization to conservative systems inhibiting initiatives. Under the opposing theories of leadership, it is difficult for organizations to respond to the rapidly changing market but reacting to the market only leaves the organization in a poorer condition.  

Fundementals of communication term papaer Essay

Fundementals of communication term papaer - Essay Example My visits to Qatar however realign my communication approach. Group discussions, video-calling, online chatting, and email writing are some of the communication rituals that I engage in and their rules vary across cultural factors such as norms, values, and history. I, in this paper, explore the scope of cross-cultural communication along the rituals and rules. The communication rituals across cultures Group discussions Discussions in school and at work are some of the involved activities in cross-cultural communication and are significant to both interpersonal relations and in achieving discussions’ objectives. Discussions in school are mostly academic and aim at completing assignments and expanding individuals’ knowledge base on a subject. Culture however forms a barrier to this communication when discussions involve students from different cultures. Significant obstacles emerge between students from the western culture, especially natives in the United States, and st udents from Asian countries because these two groups have conflicting cultures regarding communication. Communication in the western culture is for example simple and direct while people from the East prefer an explorative approach to communication in which meanings are explained for sufficient understanding. Americans are also direct in their communication while some of the cultures from Asia prefer a developed interpersonal relationship before engaging in a communication’s subject matter. Other applicable barriers to cross cultural communication are culture-based ascent and respect for authority. People from the western culture offer an informal approach to communication and do not regard authority while individuals from most Asian cultures hold high regard for authority in their communication. These differences emerge to hinder discursive communications in both academic and work environments (Zhu and Zhu n.d.; Crossman and Kite, 2007). Culture is therefore the basis of com munication challenges in diversified set up and cultural awareness and cultural intelligence offer a solution. Cultural awareness defines knowledge of other people’s cultures and allows communicating parties to understand their partners in communication and be patient and tolerant, a factors that bridges developed barriers in cross cultural communication. Cultural intelligence however defines sensitivity to other cultures that allows a person to predict behavior of people from other cultures and to respond appropriately towards underscoring possible effects of cultural differences. This means that encountered cultural differences to discursive communications can be managed to ensure successful communication (Zhu and Zhu n.d.; Crossman and Kite, 2007). Video calling The obstacles in face-to-face cross-cultural communication are encountered in video calling that is another form of direct communication. This therefore means that video calling is subject to culture-based differen ces with respect to factors such as respect for authority, approach to communication, and cultural awareness and sensitivity among communicating parties are essential solutions. â€Å"Effects of local context and relations† are also significant to intercultural video calling (Lauring, 2011, p. 248). A person’s locality may suffer from technical and technological inefficiencies such as unavailability of the internet and a video camera or availability in poor quality, factors that hinder video calling (Crossman and

US History and Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

US History and Government - Essay Example In 1990, American women would only vote in four Western States (Merchant, Gratton, and Gutmann 703). However, at the end of the century women could vote in all the States in U.S. with many of them intensifying their involvement in politics. Correspondingly, Merchant and his colleagues record that only six percent women were in the paid labor force in the United States (705). At the culmination of the twentieth century, approximately sixty-four percent of women were in the paid labor force. Further, in 1900, women accounted for one percent of lawyers and six percent of doctors, percentages that rose substantially to twenty-nine percent and twenty-six percent respectively. For women who strived for independence, this was a remarkable step in their quest for political and social freedom. During the twentieth century, household income of marginalized groups such as the African Americans improved (Steele 756). As recorded by Steele the gap in earnings between the marginalized Black Americans and Whites decreased (757). In the middle and on the start of twentieth century, blacks hardly earned forty percent of white’s incomes while, at the end of the century, they received eighty percent of what Whites earned. As these elements of discrimination prevailed, the youth from both divides of discrimination suffered as the political authorities disregarded their participation in the political arena and the job market. Most importantly, as Trujillo notes, the youths from the racial minority groups faced intensified opposition in the earth 1999s as compared to the White children (81). The factors that contributed to the revolution of the social and political status of marginalized groups in the twentieth century were majorly legislative in nature. The nineteenth amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920, guaranteed women’s rights to vote. Trujillo recognizes political change as a critical milestone in the

The Marketing Function Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Marketing Function - Essay Example Its marketing campaign and service excellence is acknowledged all over the world in the brand of "Singapore Girl". 2. (a) According to Philip Kotler (1980), "effective marketing is based on the right balance of marketing elements, and processes depending on the nature of the product, service or idea being marketed." (Cartwright, 2002) This marketing mix consists of the seven Ps. These are: product, price, promotion, place, people, process, and physical evidence. The marketing mix of SIA has been handled very well as we shall see now. 2. (b) The mission statement for SIA is " We are a global company dedicated to providing air transportation services of the highest quality and to earning good returns for shareholders." (Johnston and Wirtz, 2006) The core values of SIA are: Pursuit of Excellence, Safety, Customer first, Concern for staff, Integrity, Teamwork. The marketing department is responsible for providing the highest quality of service, and find ways to improve revenues of the company. 3. (a) The first step of marketing is to understand the external environment and relate it to the internal environment of the organisation. This involves identifying the core sector in which the organisation falls, e.g. in the case of SIA, it is the aviation sector, but it is involved in operations in other sectors as well such as tourism sector, and transport sector. 3(b) Marketing department next analyses the internal and external environment in which the organisation operates. There are three methods of analysis: BACK (Baggage, Aspirations, Culture, and Knowledge) analysis; PESTLE/SPECTACLES analysis; and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. These analyses are unique to each organisation and an important part of the role that a marketing department plays in an organisation. 3(d) BACK analysis involves analysing the internal environment of the organisation. Analysis of external environment is constituted in SPECTACLES analysis. This acronym stands for Social, Political, Economic, Customers, Technological, Aesthetic, Cultural, Legal, Environmental and Sectoral factors. (Cartwright) 3(f) A SWOT analysis for the organisation brings into focus the Strengths, and Weaknesses of the organisation, and identifies the threats to the organisation and the opportunities open to it. An example of SWOT analysis for SIA is shown below. Strengths 1. Service Innovation 2. Uniform and Branding 3. KrisFlyer programme 4. Cabins 5. Destinations 6. Large fleet Weaknesses 1. High expectations from customers 2. Dealing with 40 governments Opportunities 1. Expansion into new markets 2. Opening of more economies 3. Increase in global tourism 4. Web availability 5. Corporate sales Threats 1. Other Airlines imitating services 2. Other Airlines alliances 3. Overcapacity in Asia Pacific market 4. Understanding the Market 4(a) The next step for the marketing department is to identify the markets it caters to. This involves market segmentation. "The more segments of a market an organisation can service, the less dependent it becomes on the success or

Assignment Internal Audit Essay Example for Free

Assignment Internal Audit Essay Q.1 Critically evaluate the qualities of an Auditor in the wake of recent scams Ans:- What should be the qualities of Internal Audit Personnel? There is no universal answer to this question. We can only generalize about the qualities of internal Audit Personnel. It has been observed that internal auditors and independent auditors often belong to the same professional organization and are subject to the same professional regulations. Hence apart from professional qualification and experiences, the qualities of audit personnel should be same. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has issued â€Å"SA-220-Quality Control for Audit Work† with an objective to establish standards on quality control as to the policies and procedures regarding of an audit firm for audit work generally, and procedures regarding the work delegated to assistants on an individual audit. The standard is equally applicable to an internal audit department also. The head of internal audit department should regularly review the quality of audit work based on the standard mentioned below. Important extract of SA 220 are given below. Important terms a) â€Å"The Auditor† means the person with final responsibility for the audit. b) â€Å"Audit Firm† mean either the partners of a firm providing audit services or sole practitioner providing audit services. c) â€Å"Personnel† means all partners and professionals staff engaged in the audit practice of the firm. d) â€Å"Assistant† means personnel involved in an individual audit other than the auditor. Audit firm 1. The audit firm should implement quality control policies and procedures designed to ensure that all audits are conducted in accordance with the standards on auditing. 2. The objectives of the quality control policies to be adopted by an audit firm will ordinarily incorporate the following: a) Professional requirements: Personnel in the firm are to adhere to the  principles of independence, integrity, objectivity, confidentiality and professional behavior. b) Skills and competence: The firm is to be staffed by personnel who have attained and maintain the technical standards and professional competence required to enable them to fulfill their responsibilities with due care. c) Assignment: Audit work is to be assigned to personnel who have the degree of technical training and proficiency required in the circumstances. d) Delegation: There is to be sufficient direction, supervision and review of work at all levels to provide reasonable assurance that the work performed meets appropriate standards of quality. e) Consultation: Whenever necessary, consultation within or outside the firm is to occur with those who have appropriate expertise. f) Monitoring: The continued adequacy and operational effectiveness of quality control policies and procedures is to be monitored. 3. The firm’s general quality control policies and procedures should be communicated to its personnel in a manner that provides reasonable assurance that the policies and procedures are understood and implemented. Individual audits 4. The auditor should implement those quality control procedures which are, in the context of the policies and procedures of the firm, appropriate to the individual audit. 5. The auditor, and assistants with supervisory responsibilities, will consider the professional competence of assistants performing work delegated to them when deciding the extent of direction, supervision and review, appropriate for each assistant. 6. Any delegation of work to assistants would be in a manner that provides reasonable assurance that such work will be performed with due care by persons having the degree of professional competence required in the circumstances. Direction 7. Assistants to whom work is delegated need appropriate direction. Direction involves informing assistants of their responsibilities and the objectives of the procedures they are to perform. It also involves informing of matters, such as the nature of the entity’s business and possible accounting or auditing problems that may affect the nature, timing and extent of audit procedures with which they are involved. 8. Audit programme is an important tool for the communications of audit directions. Time budgets and the  overall audit plans also helpful in communicating audit directions. Supervision 9. Supervision is closely related to both direction and reviews and may involve elements of both. 10. Personnel carrying out supervisory responsibilities perform the following functions during the audit: a) Monitor the progress of the audit to consider whether: i) Assistants have the necessary skills and competence to carry out their assigned tasks; ii) Assistants understand the audit directions; and   iii) The work being carried out in accordance with the overall audit plan and the audit programme. b) Become informed of and address significant accounting and auditing questions raised during the audit, by assessing their significance and modifying the overall audit plan and the audit programme as appropriate; and c) Resolve any differences of professional judgment between personnel and consider the level of consultation that is appropriate. Review 11. The work performed by each assistant needs to be reviewed by personnel of at least equal competence to consider whether: a) The work has been performed in accordance with the audit programme; b) The work performed and the results obtained have been adequately documented; c) All significant audit matters have been resolved or are reflected in audit conclusions; d) The objectives of the audit procedures have been achieved; e) The conclusions expressed are consistent with the results of the work performed and support the audit opinion. 12. The following need to be reviewed on a timely basis: a) Overall audit plan and the audit programme; b) Assessment of inherent and control risks including the results of tests of control and the modifications, if any, made to the overall audit plan and the audit programme as a result of tests of control; c) Documentation of the audit evidence obtained from substantive procedures and the conclusion drawn there from, including the results of consultations; and d) Financial statements, proposed adjustments in financial statements arising out of the  auditor’s examination, and the auditors’ proposed observations/report. Conclusion The personnel qualities required of the internal audit personnel can be summarized as follows: 1. They should possess required qualifications, training, experience and competence. 2. They should have a continuing awareness of development in the field of accounting and auditing especially internal auditing. 3. They should perform their duties with due professional care, paying due attention to the role assigned to them by the management. 4. They should maintain their professional independence. 5. They should be completely impartial and unbiased in their reporting. 6. They should possess highest quality of ethics and integrity. Q.2 What is social audit? Is social audit taken seriously by the corporate world? Give examples of corporates undertaking social audit. Ans:- The social audit is also called social responsibility audit. A business organization exists in society. Hence, it owes certain responsibilities toward society at large. As Lord Denning has observed: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ the directors of a great company should owe a duty to those who are employed by the company to see that their conditions of service are proper. They should owe a duty to the customers, to the people to whom the goods are supplied, a public duty perhaps, not to expect excessive prices. They should owe a duty also to the community in which they live, not to make the place of production hideous or a nuisance to thos MF0013 [Internal Audit and Control] Set1 Q2 Q.2 What is social audit? Is social audit taken seriously by the corporate world? Give examples of corporate undertaking social audit. Ans: Social Audit:- The social audit is also called social responsibility audit. A business organization exists in society. Hence, it owes certain responsibilities toward society at large. As Lord Denning has observed: The directors of a great company should owe a duty to those who are employed by the company to see that their conditions of service are proper. They should owe a duty to the customers, to the people to whom the goods are supplied, a public duty perhaps, not to expect excessive prices. They should owe a duty also to the community in which they live, not to make the place of production hideous or a nuisance to those who live around.† Social audit is mainly concerned with social accounting. It may be noted that social accounting is still in early stage and so social audit also. Social audit also called Social Responsibility Audit is mainly concerned with social accounting. A continuous audit is basically a perpetual audit, where auditors and his staff constantly engaged in checking the accounts throughout the year. Annual audit is done at the end of the financial year when finalization of accounts has been completed and books of accounts closed. A Balance Sheet audit is mainly concerned with the verifications of items appearing in the Balance Sheet such as share capital, reserve and surplus, current liabilities, fixed assets, current assets, investments etc in detail. Importance of the Social Policy: The phenomenal growth of Socially Responsible Funds (now 20% of funds invested in the US), the growing difficulty to attract qualified employees, and the rise of non-governmental organizations able to sue or boycott unethical businesses, demonstrate the vital importance for any business of a well designed Social Policy. The Ethics Policies will attract long-term investors, increase market shares for the ethical product, strengthen partnerships, and make the employees proud. The Labor Policies will attract and keep a qualified workforce, and increase productivity, while opening new markets (ethnic minority customers are sensitive to the anti-discrimination policies in the work place). The Environmental Policies will attract customers interested in the protection of the environment, and investors who fear the risks linked to bad environmental practices, while sometimes reducing the costs with cost-effective modifications of production processes. As for most other components of the Social Policy, serious Environmental Policies will attract Socially Responsible Funds and a qualified workforce (nobody likes polluters!). The Human Rights Policies, also, will attract Socially Responsible Funds and a qualified workforce. Its most important role, however, is defensive: to prevent boycotts or campaigns of protest that could seriously tarnish the reputation of the company accused of practicing (or being an accomplice of) human rights abuses, and the resulting falling stock prices, loss of market shares, and low-moral work force. The Community Policies will not only create roots in a local base for the company, it will also increase the productivity of the work force involved in the projects (by developing their leadership and customerservice skills, building pride and loyalty with the feeling of being useful). The Society (or Extra-Community) Policies boost not only the products linked with the policy but also the image of the company. Cause Related Marketing is extremely appreciated by customers because it makes them feel good (allowing them to support charities without spending their time or money), as long as the charities are well chosen and the percentage is not too small (or the ceiling too low). The Compliance Policies are part of the Social Policy for two reasons. First, by complying with the law, the co. demonstrates it is socially responsible. More importantly, Compliances Policies often go beyond the legal requirements, in order to show concerns for social matters (health, labor, environment, etc.). In many cases, companies build their social image by doing only slightly more than what is required by the law. Creation of a Social Policy: Most companies (if not all) already have elements of Social Policy. Often, these are independent pieces of regulation and practices. Most of the time, they are not part of a unique strategy, they are not managed by powerful senior executives, they are not reviewed before any business decisions are made, and they are not used in ways that would produce their full benefits. The first step is to have an Independent Social Audit, either Defensive (to prevent lawsuits and boycotts), or Productive (to increase productivity, market shares and long term investment). The audit will identify the stakeholders; clarify the components of a Social Policy that would address the concerns of these stakeholders at either the Defensive or Productive level, or make recommendations on the necessary measures to build the Social Policy. The company must be totally involved in the Audit. The Independent Social Audit is neither an inspection (for which the company would dissimulate important pieces) nor is it a situation where the Auditor brings his one size fits all solutions. The Auditor is only the coach of a team, composed of senior executives of the company who are working at gathering the information and finding solutions. The Auditor provides the directions, merges the information to create a whole picture of the social situation, and gives advice on the method used by the company to build its Social Policy and on its different aspects. Ultimately, it is the leadership of a company who builds its Social Policy, and then decides on the best way to run the policy (for instance, nomination of a person or creation of a department dedicated to Social Policy issues). Scope of a Social Audit The identification of the stakeholders is generally the first task of an audit. However, a Social Auditor does not study each group of stakeholders separately. Stakeholders have to be considered as a whole, because their concerns are not limited to the defense of their immediate interest. As a result, the Social Auditor will work on the components of a companys Social Policy (Ethics, Labor, Environmental, Community, Human Rights, etc.), and  for each subject, the Social Auditor will analyze the expectations of all stakeholders. The scope of the audit generally includes the following policies: Ethics: values the company vows to respect. Policies include the pledge not to participate in (nor engage in business with people involved in) a series of activities that are deemed offensive. This list of unacceptable activities often includes exploitation of children, unethical treatment of animals, damage to the environment, and dealings with undemocratic regimes or with bad guy industries (fur, tobacco,guns, etc.). Labor: creation of a working environment allowing all employees to develop their potential. Policies include training, career planning, remunerations and advantages, rewards linked to merit, balance between work and family life, as well as mechanisms that ensure non-discrimination and non-harassment. Environment: monitoring and reduction of the damage caused to the environment. For instance, policies of reduction of emissions and waste. Human Rights: making sure the company does not violate human rights nor appears as supporting human rights violators. Community: investment in its local community. Policies include partnerships with voluntary local organizations, with financial donations, donations in kind (computers for education, food and clothes for the poor), and employees involvement. The company may initiate or participate to a major project such as the regeneration of a poor neighborhood plagued with unemployment, poverty, low education and racial tensions. Society: investment or partnership beyond the community. For instance, Cause Related Marketing (partnership with a charity to market a product while giving a small percentage of the sales to the charity). Compliance: Identification of all legal obligations and of the means to comply. Policies must deal with changing rules related to its work force (Labor), its products (Health, Environment, Intellectual property, specific regulations), its administration (Business, Tax), its dealings (supplier and customer liability, Criminal actions). MF0013 [Internal Audit and Control] Set1 Q3 Q. 3 Explain the Code of Ethics for Internal Auditor. Explain them in context with blacklisting Price Waterhouse Coopers in Satyam Scam. Ans: Code of Ethics for Internal Auditor In his book â€Å"Practical Guide for Internal Audit† R.S. Adukia has scholarly explained about the code of ethics for internal auditor which is as follows: â€Å"This code of ethics sets the minimum requirements for the performance and conduct of internal auditors. This code applies to all internal auditors but does not supersede or replace the requirement on individual to comply with ethical codes issued by professional institutes of which they are members or student members and any organizational codes of ethics or conduct.† There are four main principles: 1. Integrity: The internal auditor should demonstrate integrity in all aspects of their work. Their integrity establishes an environment of trust, which provides the basis for reliance on all activities carried out by the internal auditors. 2. Objectivity: Objectivity is a state of mind that has regard to all considerations relevant to the activity or process being examined without being unduly influenced by personal interest or the views of others. Internal auditors should display professional objectivity when providing opinions, assessments and recommendations. 3. Confidentiality: Internal auditors must safeguard the information they receive in carrying out their duties. There must not be any unauthorized disclosure of information unless there is a legal or professional requirement to do so. 4. Competency: The internal auditor should make use of his/her knowledge, skills and practical experience necessary for auditor’s activity performance. They should not accept or perform work that they are not competent to undertake, unless they have received adequate training and support to carry out the work to an appropriate standard. Achieving compliance with code of ethics i) Security integrity: The internal auditor should: a) Perform his/her job honestly, diligently and with responsibility. b) Perform his/her profession in harmony with the acts and other generally binding regulations. c) Avoid any illegal activity and performing any activity discrediting the internal auditor’s profession. d) Respect the legal and ethical objectives of the organizations. e) Take care that his/her integrity should not be compromised. ii) Objectivity: The internal auditor should: a) Avoid taking part in activities or relations which may damage, or might be understood as damaging his/her unbiased assessment including activities or relations which may be in conflict with public interests. b) Avoid accepting anything that may damage or might be understood as damaging his/her objective professional assessment. c) Protect his/her objectivity against political influence. d) Disclose all substantial facts known to him/her that being undisclosed might misrepresent the conclusions on activities or events assessed. iii) Observing Confidentiality: The internal auditor should: a) Be careful when using and protecting information he/she gathered when auditing. b) Avoid disclosing and making use of the information obtained during the auditor’s activities performance in order to damage the interests of other person or organization. c) Avoid making use of the information obtained during the auditor’s activities for personal enrichment or in a way which would be in conflict with the law or which would damage legitimate and ethical interests of the organization. iv) Demonstrating Competence: a) It is a pre-requisite that all internal audit staff is aware of and understand: 1. The organization’s aims objectives, risks and governance arrangements. 2. The purpose, risks and issues affecting the service area to be audited. 3. The terms of reference for the audit assignment so that there is a proper appreciation of the parameters within which the review be conducted. 4. The relevant legislation and other regulatory arrangement that relate to the service area to be audited. b) The internal auditor should keep educating himself constantly in order to have a good command of internal audit techniques and auditor standards necessary for obtaining, examining and evaluating the information. v) Maintaining Audit Independence: Internal auditors should be independent of the activities they audit. Internal auditors are considered independent when they can carry out their work freely and objectively. Independence permits internal auditors to render the impartial and unbiased judgments essential to the proper conduct of audits. This is achieved through organizational status and objectivity. Independence stands for an internal auditor being able to take a stand and report on materiality issues, uninfluenced by any favors coercion or undue influence. Satyam’s auditors:- So what were the auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers, doing? There was no cash within the companys banks and yet the auditors went ahead and signed on the balance sheets saying that the money was there. Not just the cash, even they even signed off on the non-existent interest that accrued on the non-existent bank balance! Auditors do bank reconciliation to check whether the money has indeed come or not. They check bank statements and certificates. So was this a total lapse in supervision or were the bank statements forged? No one knows yet. The cops have already raided the PwC office in Hyderabad, but details of what they have found are yet to emerge. The company officials said they relied on data from the reputed auditors. But PricewaterhouseCoopers, stung by this insinuation hit back at Satyam. In a statement to the media, the firm said: The audits were conducted by Price Waterhouse in accordance with applicable auditing standards and were supported by appropriate audit evidence. Given our obligations for client confidentiality, it is not possible for us to comment upon the alleged irregularities. Price Waterhouse will fully meet its obligations to cooperate with the regulators and others. (Extracted from Rediffmail.com). MF0013 [Internal Audit and Control] Set1 Q4 Q.4 As a senior audit assistant of M/s. Asutosh Associates, you are in charge of internal audit team of M/s Rajesh Technologies involved in the manufacture of plastic tubes. From the information you obtained you find the company is facing liquidity problem for the last two years. You are required to prepare working paper indicating the internal audit problems you would expect to face and how you plan to overcome them. Ans: There have been many accounting scandals over the years which resulted in more traders showing interest in learning how to analyze a companys financial statements. When companies do declare bankruptcy, it is usually because they cannot pay their debts. So let’s take a look at the importance of corporate debt and go over how an investor can analyze a company’s liquidity. Economic theory says that the mix of debt and equity in a company’s capital structure is irrelevant, that the value of a firm should be independent of its debt ratio. In the real world, companies and investors have to worry about things like taxes and the risk of default, so a companys capital structure can be relevant to its long-term survival. Long -term creditors can also put restrictions on the company such as preventing it from taking on additional debt or paying higher  dividends. Most public companies have at least some debt, and the biggest reason to take on debt is to leverage the equity (much like buying stock on margin). Return on equity is very important to investors. But the greater the proportion of debt to equity on the balance sheet, the higher the business risk. Since a lot of corporate debt tends to be short-term, there can be a real risk to the company if investors lose confidence in it. It is not unlike a run on a bank, where liabilities (loans) have a longer duration than their assets (deposits). If everyone suddenly wants their money now, the bank will not be able to meet the demand and be forced to close. That is why it is important to look at a company’s debt and liquidity. Liquidity in the option markets refers to the volume of contracts changing hands in a day. There is lots of liquidity in the options of companies such as IBM and Microsoft, since there are many buyers and sellers. However, liquidity means something very different at the company level. Here we are referring to whether or not the company has, or can generate, enough cash to keep operating if they had to pay off short-term debt quickly. Banks use liquidity analysis to assess the risk of a company not being able to repay them in the short term. Agencies rate a company’s debt according to the perceived threat of default. Still, crises periodically seem to emerge from almost nowhere to cause the sudden collapse of companies that seemed solid only weeks before. Once investors lose confidence, as companies such as Enron, Qwest and WorldCom learned, liquidity can mean the difference between survival and death. That is why investors should always take a little time to check debt and liquidity ratios before entering any trading position. Most investors are familiar with the corporate bond market. When a ratings agency such as Moody’s or Standard and Poor’s downgrades a company’s debt, this certainly causes the company’s bond holders some distress, as the value of the bonds will drop. Still, since corporate bonds are primarily long-term debt, this is not usually the source of liquidity problems (unless a large  amount just happens to be nearing expiration). No, it is usually a company’s short-term debt that gets them in trouble. When a company runs into financial problems, their debt rating is usually quickly downgraded. Investors demand a higher premium to lend to the company. If they lose confidence altogether they will simply refuse to lend at any price. If the company does not have liquid assets available, even temporary cash flow problems can quickly become life threatening. Of course, the banks most companies up in the short term. Before investors will buy commercial paper, they usually require a commercial paper back-up facility with a bank. This gives them a bit more security that they will be paid. However, this facility is not meant to be used, and drawing on it is an admission the company is having severe liquidity problems. This is what happened to Qwest about two years ago. When Qwest had trouble borrowing in the commercial paper markets, they had to draw down their $4 billion credit line with banks. It was a stop-gap measure that put off a financial reckoning for a few months, but credit agencies responded by cutting the rating on its outstanding bonds to near junk status. $4 billion is a lot of money to come up with in short time. By comparison, their market capitalization was $16.4 billion at the time, they had annual revenue of about $20 billion, and a loss of $4 billion the previous year. So one of the first ratios an investor should look at is the company’s debt to its total capital. Total capital is all their debt plus equity. This ratio should be compared with what is normal in their industry and not simply against all other businesses. The next thing to look at is a companys ability to meet its debt payments. This is measured by a ratio called â€Å"times interest earned†. Times interest earned is a company’s earnings divided by their total interest cost. For the earnings number you could choose to use EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes), or the more aggressive EBITDA (which adds back the  non-cash costs of depreciation and amortization).

Components Of A Good Password Computer Science Essay

Components Of A Good Password Computer Science Essay Computer manufacturer and OS developers often build and deliver systems in default modes to secure the system from external attacks. From developers view this is the most efficient mode of product delivery. As per the organisation or a user, they require more protected and secured system before it is placed into service. Security baselines are standards which defines a minimum set of security controls for organisations. Security baselines typically address both technical issues such as software configuration and operational issues such as keeping applications up to date with vendor patches. In the security baselines, if hardware, OS, network and application followed the recommended minimum set of security settings then it will significantly decrease its vulnerability to security threats. The process of securing and preparing the system against the internal and external threats and system vulnerabilities is called hardening. Reduce the main reasons of attack that includes the removal of unnecessary services, software and unnecessary usernames or logins. It makes the system more secure, reliable, efficient and gives optimised performance. 12.2 Password Selection Password selection is one of the critical activities that often get neglected as part of a good security baseline. Currently most systems are protected by a user ID and password. If an attacker discovers the correct user ID and password by guessing or by using freely available password cracker tools, then they can gain access to the system. By following basic guidelines and principles in choosing passwords, the passwords used on the system will protect the assets. 12.2.1 Selecting a Password Users should consider a few basic requirements while choosing the password. Set a minimum number of characters and never accept shorter password. Do not use dictionary words and mix of lowercase and uppercase letters with usually one or two numbers. Randomly created passwords are strong passwords and they are difficult to guess and will defeat most password-cracking utilities. However, randomly generated passwords are difficult to remember and users often write down these passwords usually in a location close to the machine. Thus it defeats the purpose of the password. 12.2.2 Components of a Good Password User should create their own easy to remember passwords. Password is meant to protect access and resources from hackers. It should not be easy for them to guess or crack through password cracking tools. Common guidelines to make the password more difficult to guess or obtain are as follows: It should be at least eight characters long. It should include uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, special characters or punctuation marks. It should not contain dictionary words. It should not contain the users personal information such as their name, family members name, birth date, pet name, phone number or any other detail that can easily be identified. It should not be the same as the users login name. It should not be the default passwords as supplied by the system vendor such as password, guest, admin and so on. 12.2.3 Password Aging Password aging is technique used by system administrators and it forces the user to change their passwords after specified period of time. If it is not changed within a specific period of time, it expires and must be reset. Password aging can also force a user to keep a password for a certain number of weeks before changing it. Changing passwords periodically will protect against brute-force attacks because when password is changed the attacker must restart the attack from the beginning. If password is changed periodically, an attacker will never be able to cycle through all the possible combinations before the password is changed again. Most operating systems have options that allow system administrators to apply password aging and prevent password reuse. Common guidelines are as follows: User must change their passwords in every 60 to 90 days. A very secured service requires to change passwords every 30 to 45 days. System must remember each users last five to ten passwords and should not allow the user to reuse those passwords. 12.3 Hardening Most computers provide network security features to control outside access to the system. All nonessential softwares such as spyware blockers and antivirus programs prevent malicious software to run on the system. Even with all these security measures, systems are still vulnerable to outside access. System hardening is a step by step process of securely configuring a system to protect it against unauthorised access. It also helps to minimise the security vulnerabilities. The three basic areas of hardening are as follows: Operating system-based hardening It includes information about securing and hardening various operating system. It also includes methods to secure file systems. Network-based hardening It examines the methods and procedures of hardening network devices, services and protocols. Application-based hardening It includes security of client-side user applications and services such as Domain Name Service (DNS), Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and Web servers. 12.3.1 Operating System-Based Hardening Operating system hardening is the first step towards safeguarding systems from intrusion. Systems received from the vendors have preinstalled development tools and utilities which are beneficial to the new user as well as it also provide back-door access to an organisations systems. Operating system hardening includes the removal of all non essential tools, utilities and other systems administration options through which hackers can easily access the system. Hardening process will ensure that all security features are activated and configured correctly. This process makes the system secure, efficient, reliable and gives optimised performance. Some of the security tips to harden the OS include the following: Disable all unnecessary protocols. Disable all unnecessary services. Disable all unnecessary programs and processes. Verify and then install all vendor patches. Install all product updates. Use vulnerability scanner to identify potential security weaknesses. Configure file system security according to the least privilege rule. Note: Least privilege rule states that, allow access to those individuals who require it and allow only as much access required to complete the task. File System Controlling access to the resources is an important factor in maintaining system security. The most secure environment follows the rule of least privilege. The network administrator receives more complaints from users after following this rule as they are unable to access resources. However, receiving complaints from unauthorised users is more beneficial than suffering access violations that damage the organisations capability to conduct business. The least privileged environment can use the user groups to assign the same access to the resources instead of assigning individual access controls. However, in some cases individual users need more or less access than other group members. To maintain security, network administrator provides greater control over what each user can and cannot access. Updates OS updates are provided by the manufacturer of the specific component. Updates contain improvements to the OS and hence, will make the product more secure, efficient and stable to the users. For example, Microsoft updates are labelled with security updates. These updates address security concerns recognised by Microsoft and install them if required. In addition, updates enhance the capability of a specific function that was underdeveloped at the time the system or application was released. Updates should be thoroughly tested in non-production environments before implementation. Since this new and improved function has more security breaches than the original components, it requires complete testing. Hotfixes, security packs and patches are product updates to resolve a known issue. Hotfixes Hotfixes are components that are designed to fix a particular critical system fault. Hotfixes are created by the vendor when a number of client systems indicate that there is compatibility or functional problem with a manufacturers products used on a particular platform. These are fixes for reported or known problems. Hence, hotfixes should only be installed to correct a specific problem. Service Packs Service packs are collection of updates or hotfixes. It correct known issues and provide drivers, updates and system administration tools that extends product functionality that include enhancements developed after the product is released. Service packs are tested on different hardware and applications to ensure compatibility of existing patches and updates. Service packs must be thoroughly tested and verified in non-production environment before it installed on working systems. Patches Patches are used to prevent hackers from invading the system with virus and other malware that exploits the operating systems vulnerabilities. This improves the usability and performance of the system. OS patches are available on the vendor Website that supplies the product. Since patches are issued at unpredictable intervals, it is important to configure the system to automatically connect with the latest security patch updates. When the new update is released, the OS will prompt to install. While preparing clean installation it is advisable to download and install all known patches before introducing the system to the network. 12.3.2 Network-Based Hardening The tremendous growth of the Internet allows to openly access any system on a network. Hence, proper control over network access must be established on systems by controlling the services that are running and the ports that are opened for network access. In addition to the systems, network devices such as hub, routers, switches and modems must be examined for any security vulnerability. Any flaws in the coding of the OS can be exploited to gain access to the network components. These components should be configured with very strict parameters to maintain network security. The softwares of these components require to be updated regularly. By taking necessary steps, network administrator should limit or reduce attacks, accidental damage through their networks. In addition, network hardening also recommend the correct configuration of network devices and the requirement to enable and disable the services and protocols within a network. Firmware Updates Updating the firmware of the hardware device is provided by the manufacturers. These updates fix incompatibility problems or device operation problems. These updates should be applied if the update includes fixes for an existing condition or if it will make the device more secure and more functional or extends its operational life. It is recommended to install and test the firmware updates in a non-production environment to verify if the update contains the necessary fixes and benefits that are required. Device Configuration Network devices such as routers and switches configured with default installation settings. These default settings leave a system extremely vulnerable as it is set for convenience and not for security. Choosing a good password and limiting access to any open ports is very important in maintaining security of the devices. Good passwords are one of the most effective security tools because a good password can be resistant to several forms of attack. Determining the minimum set of services that the devices are running and good passwords is important for maintaining security of those devices. Apply patches and updates that are released by the product vendor in a regular interval. Enabling and Disabling Services and Protocols It is important to measure the current requirements and conditions of the network and infrastructure and then disable the unnecessary services and protocols. This leads to network infrastructure that is less vulnerable to attack. Access Control Lists Configure access list at the network devices to control access to a network. Access list can prevent certain traffic from entering and exiting a network. Access control lists are controlled by an administrator. 12.3.3 Application-Based Hardening Application hardening is the process to prevent exploitation of various types of vulnerabilities in software application by implementing the latest updates. Applications such as browsers, office suites, e-mail client and services provided through servers such as Web servers, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), DNS servers and DHCP servers on a network require regular updates to provide protection against newly developed threats. Web Servers At present most of the organisations have a Web presence on the Internet for numerous business advantages. Due to Internet popularity, Web servers have become extremely popular targets for attackers. Original content on the Websites are replaced with hackers data. E-commerce sites are attacked and users personal account information is stolen. Microsofts Internet Information Server (IIS) or Apache server are most popular Web servers applications in use today. To secure Web servers from hackers, administrator must apply updates and patches, remove unnecessary protocols and services and properly configured all native controls. It is also recommended to place the Web server behind a firewall or a reverse proxy. Microsoft has developed URLScan and IIS Lockdown tools which are designed to secure IIS servers from attacks and exploits. URLScan is a monitoring utility that examines all incoming URLs and rejects any requests for files, directories or services outside the intended scope of the Website. The IIS Lockdown tool turns off unnecessary functions which reduces the attack surface available to an attacker. E-mail Servers E-mail servers and clients are vulnerable to different attacks such as Denial of Service (DoS) attacks, virus attacks, relay and spoofing attacks. There are numerous deficiencies in the different versions of e-mail server software such as Sendmail for Linux and UNIX and the Exchange or Outlook for Microsoft. E-mail servers are constant potential sources of virus attacks and therefore must have the strongest possible protection for scanning incoming and outgoing messages. E-mail servers should not have non-essential services and applications installed. Administrative and system access should also be securely controlled to block installation or execution of unauthorised programs and trojans. The following attack points should be considered while hardening an e-mail server: Open mail relay allows unauthorised users to send e-mail through an e-mail server. Storage limitation, to limit DoS attacks based on message size. Spamming includes identical messages sent to numerous clients by e-mail. Virus propagation, ensure the anti-virus programs and applications are performing correctly. FTP Servers FTP allows number of users to access and download remotely stored data. It distributes application updates, device drivers and free software to users. Users access this data anonymously. This anonymous access to FTP servers becomes a problem as administrator does not provide anonymous access or does not properly secure the FTP service. This involves setting the appropriate permissions, not allowing the FTP process to be run by an unprivileged user and not allowing users to upload or modify files. Some FTP servers allow upload and download service for authorised users and hence, in that case anonymous access should be completely removed. To overcome buffer overflow problem ensure that FTP server software is up to date and patched. DNS Servers DNS server converts systems host names into IP addresses so that the communication can be correctly routed through the network. Client systems use DNS to locate Web servers, e-mail servers, FTP servers and number of other servers and network services. DNS can be major target for an attacker. The DNS server can be exploited by the following ways: Stealing zone transfers DNS servers are configured to provide information such as list of hosts and routers with IP addresses to other secondary DNS servers. This secondary DNS server is used to maintain a backup copy of the DNS database and to provide name resolution services for client systems. An attacker can receive a zone transfer and use it to track victims network and search for potential targets. Zone update spoofing An attacker can spoof the address of the primary DNS server and send a bogus update to a secondary DNS server. Client systems receive incorrect information and network communication from this bogus server and redirects users to a location controlled by the attacker. DNS cache poisoning Some DNS servers allow attackers to insert bogus information into a DNS cache. To secure and harden the DNS server from various types of exploits, actions to be taken are as follows: Do not place any information on publicly accessible DNS server to avoid snooping around the DNS server. Do not provide additional host information in Host Information (HINFO) records of DNS. HINFO record contains descriptive information about the OS and features of particular system and attacker could use this information to gain access. Configure the DNS servers to only allow zone transfers to specific secondary servers. Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND) allows zone transfer to be signed. Zone transfer signing allows secondary servers to verify the credentials of the primary server before accepting data. Ensure that DNS software is patched and up to date to avoid DNS cache poisoning. NNTP Servers Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) servers allow news clients to connect to news servers to share information privately or to post articles to a public NNTP server. NNTP servers are vulnerable to DoS attacks, buffer overflows. To exploit server, attackers connect to a private NNTP server to gain any information to compromise network. Sometimes users post accurate diagrams of their network to ask a technical question and attacker can use this information to find ways to exploit a network. They can even offer bogus advice to create a hole in the networks defences. To protect the organisation from NNTP server exploits, block the NNTP port at the firewall to make NNTP server inaccessible to external users. To protect posted private information, authenticate user to prevent anonymous logins to the NNTP server. Also encrypt communications using SSL/TLS to prevent packet sniffing of confidential data. Do not allow users to post confidential information to the public which will compromise their network. File and Print Servers Files and print servers in a network are used to share resources but it is a common way in which hackers can gain information and unauthorised access. When sharing is enabled to share the resources with a trusted internal network over a NIC, the system is also sharing those resources with the entire untrusted external network over the external interface connection. Attackers attempt to make unauthenticated connections to shared resources on the network. If sharing permissions are configured incorrectly for an easily exploited user account, attackers can gain access to resources and alter them. To secure the file and printer shares block access to shares and related information at the firewall. Use the rule of least privilege to secure shares from external attacker. Virtual Private Network (VPN) is also used to encrypt communications between clients and servers to secure data transmission. Data Repositories Data repositories are locations that hold information about networks, applications and users. Attackers can use the information stored in data repositories to formulate attacks against organisation. Hence, ensure that this information is limited and restricted for external users. As well as authentication and encryption of the data is necessary to protect them from external attacks. Directory Services A directory service is used to store, organise and provide access to information in a directory. The information in a directory services can include system accounts, user accounts, mail accounts, service locations and shared resource information. The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is a common directory service that organises data in a hierarchical manner. The top entry in a LDAP directory information tree is called root and this LDAP root server creates the hierarchy. The directory service hierarchy and the information it stores provide a good map of network infrastructure. This is convenient for authorised users in a network as well as for attacker. Attacker can use numerous ways to compromise LDAP servers such as attacker can use network resources information stored at directory service to examine network structure, resources and potential targets. Attacker can gain victims network information that is transferred over LDAP through eavesdropping. Some of the ways to protect LDAP hierarchy are as follows: Protect LDAP hierarchy by configuring the strongest authentication to the different versions of LDAP. Both LADP v2 and LDAP v3 support anonymous and simple authentication which are not very secure. Anonymous authentication does not require password and simple authentication uses a password in unencrypted format which attacker can easily hack. Strong authentication over LDAP v2 and LDAP v3 is provided through Kerberos version 4 authentication and Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL) communications respectively. Use Secure LDAP (LDAPS) that allows encrypting communications using SSL/TLS. Block access to LDAP ports from the Internet so that attackers cannot make connections using these ports. Databases Database servers are used to store data. Both the data and the database server can be target for an attacker. An attacker can steal the data or take over the database server to exploit it. Some of the ways that the database servers can be exploited are as follows: Unexpected data queries or commands Numerous database servers use Structured Query Language (SQL) which allows for the querying and posting of data. An attacker can use SQL commands to do unexpected things is called SQL injection. Unauthenticated access If unauthenticated access to database server is allowed then the attackers can easily connect and exploit the database server. To secure database servers consider the following points: Test the database by running irrelevant queries and attempt to access unauthorised information. Do not allow unauthenticated connections to the database server. While transferring confidential data to and from database server, use SSL/TLS or VPN connection to protect data. To avoid database server to be queried by external users, block access to it at the firewall. 12.4 Chapter Review Questions 1. How an individual should secure a password? (A) Selecting a password with at least eight characters, at least one change in case and at least one number or special character (C) Storing the password in wallet or purse (B) Using the same password on every system (D) Changing passwords at least once a year Ans: A 2. Which of the following steps is part of the hardening process for OS? (A) Remove unnecessary programs and processes (C) Setting appropriate permissions on files (B) Disable unnecessary services (D) All of these Ans: D 3. Which amongst the following is the correct step to overcome buffer overflow problems? (A) Select strong passwords (C) Install the latest patches (B) Remove sample files (D) Set appropriate permissions on files Ans: C 4. Which of the following requires software up to date and patched? (A) Operating systems (C) Applications (B) Network devices (D) All of these Ans: D 5. Rule of least privilege states that ____. (A) allow access to users who requires it (C) allow limited access (B) allow access to everyone (D) allow full access Ans: A and C 6. Which of the following is designed to fix a particular critical system fault? (A) Hotfixes (C) Patches (B) Service packs (D) None of these Ans: A 7. Which of the following extends product functionality after the release of product? (A) Hotfixes (C) Patches (B) Service packs (D) None of these Ans: B 8. Which of the following fixes incompatibility problems or device operation problems? (A) Hotfixes (C) Firmware update (B) Service packs (D) None of these Ans: C 9. Which of the following steps are used to secure Web servers? (A) Apply patches and updates (C) Place the web server behind a firewall (B) Remove unnecessary protocols and services (D) All of these Ans: D 10. BIND stands for _______. (A) Berkeley Internet Network Domain (C) Berkeley Intranet Name Domain (B) Berkeley Internet Name Domain (D) Business Internet Network Domain Ans: B 12.4.1 Answers 1. A 2. D 3. C 4. D 5. A and C 6. A 7. B 8. C 9. D 10. B Summary In the chapter, Security Baselines, you learnt about: Components of a good password and password aging. Different ways to harden the OS. Different ways to harden the network and its devices. Different ways to harden applications such as browsers, office suites, e-mail client and services provided through servers such as Web servers, E-mail servers, FTP servers, DNS servers, NNTP servers, file and print servers, directory services and databases.

How does star bucks create brand equity?

How does star bucks create brand equity? Question 1 How does Starbucks create brand equity? According to Kotler 2009, brand equity is reflected in how customers, think, feel and act with respect to the brand, prices, market share, and profitability that the brand commands for the firm. The green and white Starbuck logo is widely recognized. Starbuck create brand equity by turning an everyday beverage into a premium product. Starbuck coffee defined not only a product, but also attitude and personality together. In addition, Starbuck also launched various flavours that reflect the different moods and taste. Starbuck create brand equity by provides a superior level of customer service collecting the suggestion or the ideas from consumer. Therefore, Starbuck build a high degree of customer loyalty successfully. Apart from this, Starbuck also sell best quality of the coffee and related products like beverage mug. Starbuck become fastest growing brands. (Business Weeks, 2002) This is because it is about the experience, the atmosphere and the place that let most people gets away f rom everyday stresses. Starbuck also created an affinity with customers. Beside this, Starbuck also do commitment to the community to increase the brand equity. Question 2 Why enter the Asian market? Why enter Singapore? Starbucks enter Asian market because its company felt that Asian offered more potential market than Europe. According to one executive of Starbuck, Asian is a region which full of emerging markets since the consumer disposable income increase as country economics growth. Apart from this, people in Asia are open to Western lifestyle. Starbuck enter Asian because of the highly â€Å"Westernized† ideas and lifestyle. Finally, coffee consumption growth rates in Southeast Asia are estimated to increase 20 % to 30 % yearly. Economic for Singapore has an annual growth rate of 11% (1998 in real terms).   Apart from this, Singapore countrys per capital income is the third highest in Asia after Japan and Brunei. Singapore has one of the best living conditions in Asia. Singaporeans are able to indulge luxury goods and they also like to indulge themselves with food. Singaporeans feel quality and price that eating has become a national obsession. Starbuck coffee is a premium beverage product and this brand product can defined as attitude of a person. Starbuck is not just a drink but personality together. Beside this, Starbuck choose to invest in Singapore because Singapore entertainment is influenced by Western culture. Singaporean highly â€Å"Westernized† ideas adopted. Starbuck identify as American icon except McDonalds. Starbuck create an American coffee culture. Starbuck should focus on Singapore because of the market has tremendous growth potential. According to Bruce Rolph, he thinks that peopl e should increasingly focus on Singapore not as a mature market with low earnings and growth potential. Finally, the Singaporean market still has no clear leader in the specialty coffee industry. Starbuck may get high demand of product in Singapore. Question 3 Who is the target market? Starbuck target people who are open to Western culture and lifestyle. In addition, Starbuck also target people who are with high disposable income. Those people are able and willing to spend money for purchasing costly gourmet coffee.   Target market for Starbuck is mainly adult-focused. The aims are for connecting with their client, communities. (Starbuck Campaign Market Analysis) Starbuck target consumer are from urban-areas because individuals who are willing to purchase costly gourmet coffee. Apart from this, college student who are undergraduate or post-graduate living in urban areas are target market for Starbuck too. (Starbuck Campaign Market Analysis) In addition, Starbuck also target consumer who are stressful. Starbuck provide a relax environment which is about the experience, the atmosphere and the place that let most people gets away from everyday stresses. Starbuck also created an affinity with customers. Question 4 Is Starbucks facing cannibalization? Yes, Starbuck is facing cannibalization. Even through, sales of Starbucks and growing rapidly but the rate of growth is slow. Rate of growth is slowing at existing stores and the annual sales growth at stores from 19% in 1993 to 7% in 1996 because of store cannibalization. Stores cannibalization has been known as open stores within one block of each other led to market saturation. Stores cannibalization cause competition among close Starbucks stores and damage the company culture within the workforce. Store cannibalization also cause decrease in employees performance. Question 5 Who are some of Starbucks joint venture partners? Starbuck joint venture partners are Capitol Records, Sazaby Inc. in Japan, Dreyers Grand Ice Cream, Pepsi-Cola, Intel Corporation and Mack Johnsons Johnson Development Corporation. In 1995, Starbuck released Blue Note Blend Coffee and CD with Capitol Records. An agreement signed at October 1995 with Sazaby Inc. to develop Starbuck retail stores in Japan. Starbuck form joint-venture with Dreyers Grand Ice Cream to form premium line of coffee ice cream market. North American Coffee Partnership formed between Pepsi-Cola and Starbucks at 1996. The partnership announced its plan to market a bottled version of Starbucks Frappuccino beverage. Apart from this, Starbucks also push it market toward cybercafes by formed joint venture with Intel Corporation. In addition, Starbucks formed joint-venture with Mack Johnsons Johnson Development Corporation to develop Starbucks locations in underserved, inner-city urban neighbourhoods. Question 6 Is Starbucks a socially responsible company? Starbucks is a socially responsible company. Starbucks sell only finest whole- bean coffee and coffee beverages. Roast coffee bean that do not meet the company requirement or the coffee bean is remaining in the bins for more than one week will be donated to charity. In addition, Starbuck also contributed in CARE which is a non-profit charity organization since 1991 for the needy in coffee-growing countries. Starbucks has helped establish health and literacy programs in Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, and Ethiopia as North Americas leading corporate sponsor. This long-term charity program has helped improve living conditions in the coffee-producing countries. Starbucks established a Code of Conduct policy, which is the first step in a long-term commitment to improving social conditions in the worlds coffee-growing nations in 1996. Starbucks joined an organization, TransFair, which is works for the rights of farmers. The efforts of the organization are driven towards ensuring that coffee farmers get a significant part of the amount ($1.26 a pound) paid by coffee roasters for coffee beans. Also, in 2002, the company purchased 150,000 pounds of coffee beans from a fair-trade Consortium of Coffee Cooperatives of Guanacaste and Montes de Oro in Costa Rica (COOCAFE). Starbucks also formed an alliance with eight companies to enable the gift of over 320,000 new books for children. Starbucks also doing recycle with controls waste removal (2,344 out of 3,192 stores), recycled at least one or more items, including cardboard, plastic, paper and organic wastes. Question 7 How does Starbucks market themselves? Starbucks market themselves as selling premium beverage to the consumer. Starbuck try to positioning their product as the attitude and personality of an individual but not only a product. Starbucks serves the product as a beverage that can relax consumer with the store environment and create experience and place that is refuge for individual to get away from everyday stress. Therefore, Starbuck come out with various flavours that can reflect the different moods as well as taste. Starbuck also market themselves as the American icon. This is because Starbucks target individual that are highly â€Å"Westernized† ideas and lifestyle it had adopted. Apart from this, Starbucks market themselves as a luxury beverage. This is because Starbucks stores are provide air-conditional facilities. Besides, Starbucks also use high quality coffee bean to provide the premium beverage. Starbucks coffee is a coffee that let individuals taste the greatest taste of the coffee and enjoy themselves. Question 8 What are some substitutes? Starbucks competitors are Spinelli, Suntec Dome Holdings, Coffee Club, Coffee Connection, and Burkes Coffee. Spinelli Coffee Company is a company licensed by Equinox. Equinox is a joint-venture between Golden Harvest, Singapore Technologies Industrial Corp. and Singapore Conglomerate. In addition, Spinelli also involve in setting up roasting factories to supply Asian market. Spinelli brings to Asia years of experience in sourcing, producing and selling premium coffee drinks and whole bean coffee. Dome Cafà © is on European lines. It was discovered by a Singaporean. Dome Cafà © is well-known for its distinctive sidewalk and atrium cafes. Dome Cafà © also serve light snack and full meals served all day. Suntec Dome Holding was formed in 1996. Ronald Lee and Sebastian Ong, the founders of Dome imported European-style Dome concept from Australia. There are roasting factories in Singapore and Australia. The strategy is to expand in several Asian countries in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and China. Coffee Club established coffee trading company Hiang Kie. The bestselling product in Coffee Club is Iced Mocha Vanilla. In addition, Coffee Club serves light meals of cakes, salad, sandwiches and home-made ice cream. Coffee Connection started in the 1980s by Sarika Coffee. It is the mother ship of coffee bars, with sixty-nine different drinks ranging from cool coffee jelly to Blue Mountain Chaser. The bestselling product is Cappuccino Italia no. They also serve ice cream, pasta, pizza and focaccia sandwiches. The origin of Burkes Coffee are started from four Singaporean students who are studies in Seattle. Burkes Coffee is a Seattle-styled cafà ©. Burke has made a name as a friendly and inviting place in Singapore. The store has established a loyal customer base of young professionals who visit the store frequently. Burkes serve sandwiches, soups, and desserts. There are seven basic coffee drinks, plus twelve Italian syrups that can add on request. The best attraction of the coffeehouses is the Mocha Freeze and Hazelnut Latte. Question 9 How did they come up with the name Starbucks? Starbucks began in 1971 with three academics white collar. There are English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel and a writer Gordon Bowker. There three partners shared a love of fine coffees and exotics teas. The name comes from Herman Melvilles Moby Dick, a classic American novel about the 19th century whaling industry. The seafaring name seems appropriate for a store that imports the worlds finest coffees to the cold, thirsty people of Seattle. Baldwin, Siegel, and Bowker chose the name Starbucks in honour of Starbuck, the coffee-loving first mate in Herman MelvillesMoby Dick, and because they thought the name evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders. The new companys logo, designed by an artist friend, was a two-tailed mermaid encircled by the stores name. Question 10 Why did Starbucks choose to enter a predominantly tea consuming market like China? Starbucks choose to enter a predominantly tea consuming market like China because it is probably easier to accelerate the sale of ones products in a market where demand already exists if compare with a market that has a large number of potential consumers and an emerging economy but low demand for the product. As China that fits the above description down to it being predominantly tea-consuming and one of the smallest coffee markets in the world. Apart from this, China has large geographic area with large population. Starbucks enter China because its company felt that China offered most potential market in Asia. According to one executive of Starbuck, Asian is a region which full of emerging markets since the consumer disposable income increase as country economics growth. China has the most population in Asia and China economic growth rapidly. Apart from this, people in China are open to Western lifestyle. Finally, coffee consumption growth rates in Southeast Asia are estimated to increase 20 % to 30 % yearly. Question 11 Why did Starbucks places its outlets in China in mainly commercial areas? Starbucks places its outlets in China in mainly commercial areas because individual living in urban areas are Western lifestyle adapted. Starbucks as American icon coffeehouses are highly recognize by individual living in commercial areas. Starbucks are identifying themselves a premium beverage seller with best quality of coffee bean. Thus, Starbucks couldnt sell their product with low price. The individual with higher disposable income are living in mainly in commercial areas. Individual in commercial area have higher purchase ability to do expense. Furthermore, Starbucks depend less domestic advertising but more promotion through discount coupon and visits, which draw first-time consumers.