Understanding management accounting and financial management Assignment

Understanding management accounting and financial management - Assignment Example For this expansion setting up new plant is essential for Flight high ventures plc to increase the capacity. The inception of new plant will require initial outlay of ?4m. Along with this, research and development department is taking another project of product development with two options A and B. In this report these two options are evaluated using different techniques. Two projects A and B both are mutually exclusive need to decide which project is more suitable for the Flight high ventures plc. Both the projects have initial capital investment which is shown in annexure as negative. Project B has initial investment of ?1210000 and project A has lower initial investment of ?968000. Lower initial investment does not signify that it is better to accept or reject because there is difference in economy of scale in those projects. Hence the effect is reflected in profit earning and in cash flows per year. These two projects are evaluated using four different techniques like payback meth od, accounting rate of return method (ARR), net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) (Collier, 2003, 185-193). Payback for the project A is 2.5 years and for project B is 3.5 years. Hence project ‘A’ needs 4.5 years to get repaid by its cash flow and project ‘B’ needs 3.5 years. This pay back period depends on the amount of investment and size of cash inflow. If the project has higher cash inflow at the initial time of the tenure of the project then it will effect on the payback time to be lessened. This concept is an advantage to pay back process as the risk of payment through early payment is reduced in this process. Another few advantages are like easy to calculate, simple concept and consideration of cash not profit only. But this procedure of evaluation has major flaw of non consideration of time value of money. Payback concept does not consider the cash inflow out of the stipulated time which may be for infinite for some projects. Hen ce the project size and the time are not under consideration of this method. (Kay, 2011, p.108) Accounting rate of return of any project is based on the average accounting profit and average capital investment. Here profit is considered in the calculation instead of the cash flow. Profit is counted after excluding depreciation from the cash flow. This ARR calculation has similarity with other calculation for return on investment (ROI) and return on equity (ROE). Only dissimilarity is in denominator. In ARR the main benefit than payback is the consideration of the project life span. Simple in calculation of ARR is another advantage. The result of ARR can help to compare more than one project and also with other financial ratios. But main advantage is similar to payback is, not of considering the time value. Other disadvantages are like not considering the scale of the project and timing (Atrill and McLaney, 2006, p.329- 332). (Damodaran, 2002) In those above two methods risk is consi dered in the calculation but inflation and interest foregone factor is not considered. In the NPV and IRR method time value of money is applied in the calculation. In NPV calculation the absolute size of the project is accounted and also in the discounting factor consideration of calculation of the discounting rate is important (McGrath, 1998). Usually cost of capital is considered in this calculation but this is the main advantage of NPV method, because of the hardness in calculation of cost of capital (Brigham, Enrhardt, 2010, 383). IRR is positive for the projects with unknown discount rate but known cash flows. Like NPV, IRR also considers risk and time value of money. But IRR ignores the change in discount rate and also the gives multiple result for the cash flow with combination of inflow and out flow.

Mr. Jayanti Purohit Essay Example for Free

Mr. Jayanti Purohit Essay Q 1. When Shanaya Malkan boarded her Air India flight to London in Mumbai, she was seated in the middle of an unkempt person who apparently had not bathed recently on one side and a baby crying on the other. The person in front of her immediately reclined his seat. Shanaya knew she would not be comfortable in making the seven hour long trip under these circumstances. What can Shanaya do to make the trip more comfortable? Q 2. Ms. Anjali Chaturvedi is the head of the sales division in Fedington Technologies. Whenever she asks for feedback during the departmental meetings, she blasts anyone offering criticism which causes her sub-ordinates to agree to everything she says and not voice their true opinion on the way they manage their functioning. You want to talk to her about it , but what should you say ? List some of the points that you would like to make with when you would discuss this issue with her.

La Cosa Nostra Essay -- essays research papers fc

La Cosa Nostra Perhaps one of the most poignant moments in American cinema is the closing scene in the film â€Å"The Godfather† when Don Vito Corleone’s son Michael takes over his father’s position... and one of the most unforgettable moments, a severed horses’s head lies bloody in a man’s bed. It is this tradition and brutality that characterizes the Mafia, a secret Sicilian society that lives and functions just as much today on American soil as it did and does still in Italy. To understand this organized crime, one must begin to understand how it came to be organized in the first place. During the medieval times in Sicily, Arabs invaded the land and native Sicilians fled and took refuge in the hills. Some of these refugees formed a secret society that gave protection to the people in exchange for money. This group took their name, â€Å"Mafia† based on the Arabic word for refuge. In America today, one can hear it also be called â€Å"La C osa Nostra†, or â€Å"This Thing of Ours.† In the 1700s,Wealthy people would receive a card with a black hand drawn on and if they did not pay the money, they could expect murder, theft, and violence. During the time Mussolini was ruling Italy, this secret society was under heavy persecution and many fled to the United States. â€Å"Don (term for the boss or head of a Mafia family) Vito Cascio Ferro fled to the United States in 1901 to escape arrest. He is known as the Father of American Mafia.† (La Cosa Nostra) Many Italian immigrants came to the United States through Ellis Island in New York, which is today the most important center of organized Mafia crime in the United States. The new American Mafia came to power during the Prohibition by organizing the sale of outlawed alcohol, but after Prohibition was revoked, the Mafia needed a new â€Å"racket.† During the war, the Mafia got government issued ration stamps and sold them on the black market. These days the Mafia is involved in running prostitution, unions, construction, and gambling. New York, also called the â€Å"City that never sleeps,† houses the Five Families of New York. These Families are highly influential and powerful crime families and each holds claim to certain â€Å"rackets.† The Five Families are: Gambino, Bonano, Lucchese, Colombo, and Genovese. While all people in the Mafia are required to maintain certain silence about the workings of the Family, a code of silence called â€Å"Omerta,† d... ...si in America as it was in Sicily. â€Å"Say what you will about me, but don’t think it applies to my family.† (Godfather II) The Mafia, a group of stylized criminals, exists as a hidden power in our world today and shall remain to do so into the new millenium by controlling underground markets and making this world an offer they can’t refuse. Bibliography The Godfather. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan. Paramount, 1972. The Godfather, Part II. Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Perf. Al Pacino, Robert Duvall. Paramount, 1974 â€Å"La Cosa Nostra.† Online. World Wide Web. 4 June 1999. Available http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/9880/index.html La Vien, Douglas and Papa, Juliet . (1993) The Mafia Handbook. Penguin Books. Machi, Mario. â€Å"Mario’s Mafia Page.† Online. World Wide Web. 4 June 1999. Available http://www.naxs.com/people/mmachi/mafia Malta, J. Geoff. â€Å"The Godfather Trilogy.† Online. World Wide Web. 1 June 1999. Available http://www.jgeoff.com/godfather.html Wiseguy & Company, Inc. â€Å"Unofficial Homepage of the New York Mafia.† Online. World Wide Web. 4 June 1999. Available http://www.users.aol.com/whizkid01/index.html Word Count: 1132

Competition Vs. Monopoly Essay -- essays research papers

1. Analyze the fast food industry from the point of view of perfect competition. Include the concepts of elasticity, utility, costs, and market structure to explain the prices charged by fast food retailers. Firms within the fast food industry fall under the market structure of perfect competition. Market structure is a classification system for the key traits of a market. The characteristics of perfect competition include: large number of buyers and sellers, easy entry to and exit from the market, homogeneous products, and the firm is the price taker. Many fast food franchises fit all or most of these characteristics. Competition within the industry as well as market supply and demand conditions set the price of products sold. For example, when Wendy’s introduced its $.99 value menu, several other companies implemented the same type of changes to their menu. The demand for items on Wendy’s value menu was so high because they were offering the same products as always, but at a discounted price. This change in market demand basically forced Wendy’s competition to lower prices of items on their menu, in order to maintain their share of the market. The previous example illustrates the elasticity of the fast food industry. Supply and demand set the equilibrium price for goods offered by franchises within the industry. Competitors of Wendy’s must accept the prices established by the consumer demand for the value menu. If consumers didn’t respond so positively to Wendy...

Indonesian Traditional Music with Modern Music Essay

My name is Heru Sulaksono , I’m standing here today because I want to tell you all about Indonesian Traditional music call â€Å" Keroncong† . The history of Keroncong music itself was started when the Portugese invaded Indonesia in the 16th century, this music was first introduced by the sailors and the slaves on the portugese ship as known as â€Å"Fadu†. But weakening Influence of the portugese in the 17th century did not make â€Å"Keroncong† disappear from Indonesia. This music just continued to grow in Indonesia. In the early 19th century some Indonesian traditional instruments were introduced and influenced this music like the Seruling and Gamelan. The Golden age of â€Å"Keroncong† Music ended in 1960 due to introduction of rock music to Indonesia . Even with this music beginning to disappear, Keroncong music is still played and listened to but most of the listeners are old people in Indonesia. But in the 21st century the young generation of Indonesia ,is making many new breakthroughs to save Indonesia’s traditional music and make it known to the world, for example Bondan Prakoso Ft Fade2Black made a song titled â€Å"Keroncong Protol†, this song combines â€Å"Keroncong† With â€Å"Rap† and â€Å"Rock† the result of this combination is good music that everybody can listen to. This type of breakthrough can preserve Indonesian traditional music like the â€Å"Keroncong†. So the moral message that I want to tell you about is how the young generation of any country should be working to preserve their country’s traditional music. Every nation has its own traditional music, just like Indonesia, and everywhere in the world traditional music is disappearing. every young generation I think likes modern music better than traditional music. They think it’s not cool to sing traditional music or to like traditional music. Hey! It’s not that bad. f we want to preserve our traditional music it means that our next generation can hear that music. Even if you really like modern music it’s doesn’t mean you can’t preserve your nation’s traditional music, because there are so many innovations that can be used to preserve traditional music, like combining traditional music with modern music. This is just one of the innovations, that lets us save our traditional music! , so that is the message that I want to `tell to all of you, thank you for your attention,wassalamualaikum wr wb good morning.

Marketing Plan of Private Country Club

Marketing Plan of Private Country Club Introduction The purpose of this report is to prepare a marketing plan for the Private Country Club in Saudi Arabia and this club has different facilities including gym, pool, spa, ballrooms, sport center, food courts, and so on.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Marketing Plan of Private Country Club specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Marketing Plan SWOT Analysis of the Private Country Club Figure 1: SWOT analysis of the Private Country Club Source: Self generated Strengths This club would have a number of strong points, such as – Wide range of products and services would help the club to attract target customers within very short period; It will recruit well-trained and efficient employees; The environment of this club would be outstanding; The management of this club would try to provide services at reasonable price; Innovative ideas, location of this club, strong supply chain management, efficient human r esources, business structure, and integrity of the management would also be potential strengths of this club. Weaknesses This club would face some internal problems – It would be difficult to start business in KSA due to high operating cost for rent of the shop, remuneration of employees, taxes, legal costs, and so on; Lack of experience of some employees and top management; High price of the products and services would reduce customer base; Technological problems, and lack of budget for promotional activities are other weakness for this club; Opportunity This club would experience enormous opportunities Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The marketers of this club would consider different marketing strategy for different services to gain competitive advantages by drawing attention of both local and foreign customers; This club has the opportunity to open new outlet in new area to expand its business; This private club would include a small sports zone and food courts, then many parents would be interested to come here for refreshment; Threats This club has also many external threats besides potential scopes – It would be difficult for this club to develop strong brand image and loyal customer base because a number of competitors offer similar products and services in this market; The purchasing power of the customers has decreased due to global financial crisis; as a result, it would be difficult for the entrepreneurs to carry on business in such economic condition. Marketing Mix Product The country club business will mainly offer services though it will also include different products; however, the key services will include facilities like gym, pool, spa, cigar lounge, business areas, ballrooms, food courts, and sport activities. Price The country club business will set the prices of the products and services by keeping the idea about the quality and production costs of its offerings in mind; however, it will also consider the income levels of its target customers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, that is, their purchasing power parity. Place At first, the placement of this club will be made at a busy city center in the capital of Saudi Arabia, that is, Riyadh; however, the owners have plan that after it turns into a profitable business, they would expand the business all over the country by placing new club buildings in different places. Promotion The business will promote itself through different media, for instance, it has plans to offer promotional packages depending on Eids, new year festivals, Christmas Eve, mothers day, fathers day, etc. for attracting more and more customers. PESTEL analysis Figure 2: PESTEL Analysis of private country clubAdvertising We will write a custom report sample on Marketing Plan of Private Country Club specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Source: Self-generated Political Factor The current political condition of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is quite stable and ideal for setting up a new business; in addition, the taxation policy of the government of Saudi Arabia is quite liberal for the corporate world. However, it is important to bear in mind that the political factors of the country are greatly related to religious and other ethical issues; as a result, it is important for this private country club business not only to comply with the rules and regulations of the country, but also to comply with its political customs and conventions. Economic Factors The economic factors of Saudi Arabia is encouraging for the new private country club as the people of this area are wealthy enough to spend money for their fitness, and for other services like gym, pool, spa, cigar lounge, business areas, ball rooms, food courts, and sport activities. The Saudi economy has based on highly expensive oil resources and so Saudi people experienced huge economic growth in recent times (for example, the people of KSA benefited from the highest oil price of $47 per barrel even during the recession); therefore, most customers have strong purchasing power; additionally, other indicators like the national GDP are impressive as well Social Factors It is important to note that Saudi Arabia is a highly conservative country that follows strict Muslim rules and regulations in the social life; however, this means that although the country club business will try to obey the Islamic traditions, it is doubtful to what extent the people of this country will take its facilities like pool, spa, ballrooms, etc. positively. Technological Factors It is notable that Saudi Arabia has improved greatly in terms of technological advancements as the success of the club highly depends on the integration of modern technologies, the entrepreneurs of this business will use advance technologies to execute promotional and other m arketing strategies; moreover, introduction of IT will develop its supply-chain, quality of services, and customer-relationship management.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Environmental Factors The club will focus on environmentally friendly services and its owners will highly comply with their corporate social responsibilities to ensure environmental sustainability; at the same time, the club will efficiently dispose waste materials, and control draining and carbon emission. Legal Factors The legal system of Saudi Arabia has developed in accordance with the Islamic law and all citizens and businesses are bound to follow the rules; at the same time, the entrepreneurs of the club also need to follow the law strictly to form the business and carry out the function in accordance with it. BCG matrix of The Private Country Club: The following figure shows the position of the Private Country Club in BCG matrix- Figure 3: BCG matrix of The Private Country Club Source Self generated Stars: Many competitors in Riyadh occupy this segment due to high growth rate and high-relative market share; Question marks: The above figure demonstrates that Private Countr y Club occupies this segment as a new business; however, the management of this club would try to change its position to stars; Cash cows: this position has not matched with the position of this club; Dogs: According to the figure 2, the position of Dog indicates that it experiences both low market share and market growth; so, it should require huge investment to recover market position Porter five forces of Private Country Club The competitive position of the Private Country Club in accordance with Porter’s five forces has presented below Figure 4: Porter’s five forces for The Private Country Club Source: Self generated Bargaining power of buyer This power is high for the Private Country Club as customers can select different companies for different services, for instance, there are some food courts and sports zone in KSA, so, the demand of this club depends on so many external factors like brand image, quality, rapid services, product price, and so on. Threats of new entrants The threats from new entrants are moderate in the industry because setting up requires a large amount of fund, while newcomers lack sufficient knowledge and expertise; however, the government is business friendly, which means the newcomers get some benefits overall. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers of the company play vital role to establish and develop a business because operating costs and service quality mostly rely on this issue; however, the supplier’s power is moderate because supplying of the product particularly machinery and other necessary equipment for gym, spa, sport activities, and food courts are available all over the world. Rivalry among competitors This power is too high for this club; Threats of substitute product This power is moderate for this club because there are many clubs in KSA, but most of the clubs provide gym and sport facilities while this Private Country Club would offer more services to attract customers like food courts, b usiness areas and ballrooms would serve multi purposes.

Précis Definition and Examples

Prà ©cis Definition and Examples A prà ©cis is a  brief summary of a book, article, speech, or other text. The basic characteristics of an effective prà ©cis are conciseness, clarity, completeness, unity, and coherence. According to  Barun K. Mitra, PhD, in Effective Technical Communication: A Guide for Scientists and Engineers, The most important task is to ensure that the original sequence of events and the flow of ideas remain unchanged. Pronunciation: PRAY-see Also known as: abstract, summary, executive summary, synopsis Plural: prà ©cis Alternate spelling: precis Etymology: From the Old French, condensed Examples and Observations I would say that the ability to write a prà ©cis is the central language skill. For a start, it is a craft essential in all professions and businesses; indeed, anyone whose work includes dealing with documents at some time (and that accounts for most people) will need prà ©cis skills as a matter of course... Such vocational considerations, though important, are not in my view the most telling, however. The fundamental value of prà ©cis is that it tests and exercises every aspect of linguistic competence,  says Richard Palmer in Write in Style: A Guide to Good English.[O]rganization of ideas, logical sequencing of points, clear and meaningful expression, [and the] use of language suitable to the situation are essential for writing prà ©cis effectively. The writer of prà ©cis must be able to identify the essential ideas in a given passage and separate them from nonessential ideas. But at the same time a prà ©cis is not a [type of] creative writing, inasmuch as it is merely a co ndensed restatement of the original writers ideas, points, etc., says Aruna Koneru in Professional Communication. Sample Prà ©cis Original passage from Aristotles Rhetoric (199 words):It is evident that those in the prime of life will be between the young and the old in character, subtracting the excess of either, and neither exceedingly conï ¬ dent (rashness is such) nor too fearful but having the right amount of both, neither trusting nor distrusting everybody but rather making realistic judgments and not directing their lives only to what is ï ¬ ne or what is advantageous but to both and neither to frugality nor to extravagance but to what is ï ¬ tting. Similarly in regard to impulse and desire. And they combine prudence with courage and courage with prudence, while among the young and the old these things are separated; for the young are brave and lack self-restraint, the older prudent and cowardly. To speak in general terms, whatever advantages youth and old age have separately, [those in their prime] combine, and whatever the former have to excess or in deï ¬ ciency, the latter have in due measure and in a ï ¬ tting way. The body is in its prime from the age of thirty to thirty-ï ¬ ve, the mind about age forty-nine. Let this much be said about the kinds of character of youth and old age and the prime of life. Prà ©cis from A Synoptic History of Classical Rhetoric (68 words):The character of those in the prime of life lies midway between that of youth and of age. Neither rash nor timid, neither skeptical nor overtrusting, they usually make choices on a true basis. They are not given to excess in desire, nor to lack of feeling or parsimony. They live respecting both honor and expediency. In short, the most useful traits of youth and age are theirs. Methods and Purpose A prà ©cis is not an outline, but a summary or digest. It is useful as an exercise in grasping the essential ideas of an already completed composition and in stating these ideas in concentrated form. The prà ©cis shears away all elaborations of the thought and gives only what is left, in such a way as to make the summary a complete composition. It does not, therefore, skeletonize the original composition so much as it reduces its scale. Many of the articles in The Readers Digest are only prà ©cis, so skillfully done that the average reader does not know that he is reading a summary. Since the prà ©cis says a great deal within a brief space, it is of great service in taking notes on library assignments and general reading, says Donald Davidson in American Composition and Rhetoric. Sources Mitra, Barun K., PhD. Effective Technical Communication: A Guide for Scientists and Engineers, 2006. Palmer, Richard. Write in Style: A Guide to Good English. 2nd ed., Routledge, 2002. Koneru, Aruna. Professional Communication, Tata McGraw-Hill, 2008. Aristotle. Rhetoric, book 2, chapter 14. Translated by George A. Kennedy, Aristotle, On Rhetoric: A Theory of Civic Discourse. Oxford University Press, 1991. Murphy, James J. and Richard A. Katula. A Synoptic History of Classical Rhetoric. 3rd ed., Hermagoras Press, 2003. Davidson, Donald. American Composition and Rhetoric. Scribners, 1968.

The Roles of Queens, Drones and Worker Honey Bees

The Roles of Queens, Drones and Worker Honey Bees Honey bees are social creatures that enlist a caste system to accomplish the tasks that ensure the survival of the colony. Thousands of worker bees, all sterile females, assume responsibility for feeding, cleaning, nursing, and defending the group. Male drones live to mate with the queen, who is the only fertile female in the colony.   The Queen The queen bee is the dominant,  adult female bee that is the mother of most, if not all the bees in the hive. A future queen bees larva is selected by worker bees to be nourished with a protein-rich secretion known as royal  jelly so that it can sexually mature.   A newly hatched queen begins her life in a duel to the death with any other queens present in the colony and must destroy potential rivals that have not yet hatched. Once she accomplishes this, she takes her virgin mating flight. Throughout her life, she lays eggs and secretes a pheromone that keeps all other females in the colony sterile. Drones A drone is a male bee that is the product of an unfertilized egg. Drones have bigger eyes and lack stingers. They cannot help defend the hive and they  do not have the body parts to collect pollen or nectar, so they cannot contribute to feeding the community. The drones only job is to mate with the queen. Mating occurs in flight, which accounts for the need of the drones for better vision, which is provided by their large eyes. Should a drone succeed in mating, he soon dies because the penis and associated abdominal tissues are ripped from the drones body after sexual intercourse. In the fall in areas with colder winters, worker bees mind the food stores and prevent drones from entering the hive since they are no longer needed, effectively starving them to death. Workers Worker bees are female. They accomplish every chore unrelated to reproduction, which is left up to the queen bee. In their first days, workers tend to the queen. For the remainder of their short lives (just a single month), workers keep busy. Newly hatched worker bees are larvae, unable to feed themselves. Worker bees feed their larvae a liquid called worker jelly, and they eat as many as 800 times a day to build up fat stores. After eight or nine days, larval worker bees spin cocoons and enter the pupal stage. Three weeks later, fully-formed worker bees chew through their cocoons; just a few hours later theyre ready to go to work. There are many jobs for workers to do, such as preserving  honey, feeding drones, building the honeycomb, storing pollen, removing the dead, foraging for food and nectar, carrying in water, fanning the hive to maintain the proper temperature, and guarding the hive against invaders such as wasps. Worker bees also make the decision, when necessary, to relocate the colony in a swarm  and then rebuild the new nest. Maintaining proper temperature for the hive is crucial for the survival of the eggs and larvae. The brood chamber for the bees young must remain at a steady temperature to incubate the eggs. If it is too hot, the workers collect water and deposit it around the hive, then fan the air with their wings causing cooling by evaporation. If it is too cold, the worker bees cluster to generate body heat.

Ethical filter worksheet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethical filter worksheet - Essay Example It is not easy to live with what is meager and sometimes having to think of a surplus liability. What could be a life in comfort will be earning surplus income saving every 10% from every income without difficulty. Confidence is very important, but often, research proved to be helpful in making personal or organizational decisions. However, in instances where immediate decisions must be made, there is nothing better that a manager who have more than enough courage to show self-esteem. 1. Sometimes we face choices when we have little time, and possibly no preparation. What are the advantages to role-playing those situations in advance What is your action plan to avoid falling into ethical traps MacAdams (1998) stated that R. H. Morrison recognized determination and firmness of purpose as the optimal ingredient to every victory. I am an advocate to the same concept, and this is how I avoid falling into ethical traps.

Cessna 421 Cockpit Modernisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Cessna 421 Cockpit Modernisation - Essay Example It uses geared Continental GTSIO-520-D engines. The gearing is such that the drive shaft drives through a set of reducing gears instead of being directly connected to the propeller. The 421 series was first produced in May 1967 followed by the 421A in 1968 which was redesigned in 1970 and sold as the 421B. The 421C came into service in 1975 replacing the earlier versions 421A and the 421B. The aircraft had wet wings, the absence of wing tip fuel tanks and landing gear which was changed from straight leg to a trailing-link design which was produced from 1981 onwards. Its production came to halt in 1985 after 1901 aircrafts had been delivered. The 421C is a light passenger transport aircraft which was approved on October 28, 1975. The aircraft is powered by two Continental GTSIO-520-Ls or Continental GTSIO-520-Ns which are turbocharged, fuel injected and geared six-cylinder horizontally opposed air-cooled piston engine that produce 375hp each. Some general characteristics of this aircr aft include a crew of one or two, a capacity of six passengers, and length of 11.09, wingspan of 12.53m, wing area of 19.97m2, empty weight of 4501 lb, height of 3.49m and a maximum takeoff weight of 3379kg. It has a maximum speed of 256 knots with a cruise speed of 240 knots and a range of 2755km. the service ceiling is 9,205 m and a rate of climb of 1940 ft/min. (Cessna 421 Golden Eagle: Cessna model 421C information manual. 1979) Aim The main objective here is to upgrade the existing avionics panel of the Cessna 421C to the Garmin G600 display in order to reap the benefits of this modern design. Some of these include improved situational awareness, pilot safety and workload reduction. The other objective is to introduce modern avionics to the display panel for the venerable Eagle to make it more modern and efficient. To achieve this, we will employ the G600 together with some other retrofits to come up with a cockpit that is not only modern but also perfect in operation. Addition ally, further improvement of the passenger In Flight Entertainment System is also conducted to bring it to modern levels of service. The upgraded panel offers much more capability and comfort to the pilot. With the space so created from the reduced clutter, the interior design is refurbished. It is fitted with new light gray lather seats, writing tables, refreshment center and a belted potty. Discussion Cessna 421C Cockpit Diagrams are shown here bellow. Before retrofitting Fig 1: Cessna 421 Cockpit before upgrade Source: http://sarasotaavionics.com/panel-gallery/cessna-421/ After retrofitting Source: http://sarasotaavionics.com/panel-gallery/cessna-421/ The cockpit of the Cessna 421 in figure 1 above has several instruments cluttered across the main display panel making it rather tedious to the pilot to work. Most instruments here are mechanical and thus time consuming to read and interpret. Some of these instruments include: a Comm. Dual King KTR 905, Nav Dual King KNR 630, MFD Av idyne EX500, King KLN- 90B Approach GPS, ADF Dual King KDM-805, and Transponder Dual King KXP-755. It also includes autopilot King KFC 250 with Flight Director and yaw. Other important features are the dampener, the HIS Dual Cessna 1000 and a fuel management system. For instance, the altimeter which measures the aircrafts barometric settings, the attitude indicator, the horizontal situation indicator, the gyroscopes, all engine and emergency equipment are all mounted in the basic T fashion. It is therefore my desire to retrofit this window to a modern digital panel by using the Garmin G600 display. With this upgrade, we expect a safer, easy to operate

Public and private Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Public and private - Essay Example Women tend to suffer more economic and emotional Regression than a man. The reasons are manifold. Firstly, many of them were providing for their kids singlehandedly, with a little or no help from their former husbands. Secondly, gender bias also affects the availability of opportunities in job market. As a result most of them remained Underpaid and over burdened with increasing budget deficit. However, a small number of these women that Arendell called â€Å"a unique sub group† did not show similar desperation as majority of the others did. According to Rendell most of them had a substantial support system from either their parents or legal settlement of property or their marriage experience was so unbearably painful that even a sense of Liberation could make them sufficiently optimistic. (Arendell, 1986) Thus, the study discussed in the present article Shows that a divorced woman in America is largely a victim of socioeconomic deprivation and is surrounded by a strange fear o f unpredictable future. This together with the psychological pressure, Complexes and Dilemmas rob them off all capacities to see a ray of light at the end of the tunnel. Increasingly common phenomenon i.e. â€Å"divorce†. The women interviewed were all passing through a Phase where they experience painful surprises on every day basis. A situation where just cost cutting Does not help let alone maintaining the pre divorced standard of living. Another very significant Concept discussed was the plight of single parenting which has both financial and emotional Repercussions. The article also touched upon the gender inequality in work opportunities and the Amount of social downturn a woman experience as opposed to man, as Peterson discussed in his book â€Å"Women, Work and Divorce† and I quote ,† Divorced women, like other women continue to be at a disadvantage in labor market. The level of occupational

Lesson Plan - Freedom of Expression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lesson Plan - Freedom of Expression - Essay Example Further, their teacher needs to know that his or her students are able to read, write, and comprehend the English very well. In addition to that, he or she needs to know about the level of their familiarity with the target culture as well as the culture of their peers. The teacher should also be familiar with the classroom teaching or learning style the students are familiar with. The teachers can gain the necessary knowledge from the person who appointed him or her for teaching the class (Ferris & Hedgcock, 2014). He or she can also talk with the previous teacher who taught the same class. He or she can get comprehensive information about the students during the introduction session by checking the screening or placement tests during the class. The teacher can also get the necessary information regarding various cultures from the members of the student’s native language or ethnic group. The resultant information enables the teacher to understand the proficiency level of the s tudent as well as their background so he or she can incorporate suitable elements in the lesson plan. The incorporation of these elements enables him or her to teach any topic so that the students can understand it easily. For example, this lesson plan is for the grade 12 students, whose age 17 or 18. Their background differs according to the place in cities, they may be from white American, black, Asian, Hispanic community or East or West European background. The social level also differs with the areas.

Humanities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Humanities - Essay Example e, sceptics continuously claim that the flood of Noah in the book of Genesis is a rewritten version of the original myth called the Epic of Gilgamesh written and produced by the Sumerians in a form of a poem. It is imperative to note that, the flood of the epic of Gilgamesh is enclosed on the Tablet XI, which is one of the 212 tablets dated to 650B.C (The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament, 9). The tablets might not perceptibly be the originals, because the remains of the Gilgamesh flood story have been established on tablets dated to earlier dates such as 2000.B.C. On the other hand, the Genesis story about the flood is not dated, however, the liberal researchers have dated it between 1500-500B.C. some of the similarities that have made liberal scholars believe that the Genesis flood story is founded in the Gilgamesh story include The significance of the names of the heroes does not exhibit any common similarity or linkage. For instance, Noah meant â€Å"rest†, while Utnapishtim meant finder of life. However, both of them were considered righteous and faultless as compared with the rest. On the composition of those who entered the boat, Utnapishtim took a pilot, artisans and his family (The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Old Testament, 10). Equally, it is fascinating to find out that both floods trace to the same place; the Middle East, nonetheless the tow mountains, Ararat and Nisir are 300 miles apart. In addition, the gift or blessing the heroes received after the floods was different. For instance, Noah received the blessing of multiplying and filling the earth and taking charge of all animals, while Utnapishtim was offered eternal life. The account that in both floods a boat existed is an obvious expectation for any danger, there must be a means of escape and the boats served this purpose in both cases. Equally, the construction of the boats was attributed to the knowledge of the coming of danger, which originated from somebody thus the existence of both God

Lesson Plan - Freedom of Expression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Lesson Plan - Freedom of Expression - Essay Example Further, their teacher needs to know that his or her students are able to read, write, and comprehend the English very well. In addition to that, he or she needs to know about the level of their familiarity with the target culture as well as the culture of their peers. The teacher should also be familiar with the classroom teaching or learning style the students are familiar with. The teachers can gain the necessary knowledge from the person who appointed him or her for teaching the class (Ferris & Hedgcock, 2014). He or she can also talk with the previous teacher who taught the same class. He or she can get comprehensive information about the students during the introduction session by checking the screening or placement tests during the class. The teacher can also get the necessary information regarding various cultures from the members of the student’s native language or ethnic group. The resultant information enables the teacher to understand the proficiency level of the s tudent as well as their background so he or she can incorporate suitable elements in the lesson plan. The incorporation of these elements enables him or her to teach any topic so that the students can understand it easily. For example, this lesson plan is for the grade 12 students, whose age 17 or 18. Their background differs according to the place in cities, they may be from white American, black, Asian, Hispanic community or East or West European background. The social level also differs with the areas.

Assignment 1 Reflective Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Assignment 1 Reflective Report - Essay Example One approach that employees use to fight for their rights is the formation of unions that advocate for the rights of the people within a specific industry. In this regard, the contemporary society has witnessed the formation of powerful trade unions that advocate for the rights of the people that they represent in order to obtain better working conditions and remuneration. The empowerment of employees, by these trade unions and other measures such as legislations that protect them from their employers, has been partly due to the current systems of governance that underlines the need of rebelling against ruling bodies that commit offences. Therefore, these power-related organisations are a way of the employees asserting their authority. Through the activities of trade unions, in organisations, employees assert their power by maintaining checks on their employer’s activities and ensure that the employer did not infringe on their rights. For example, most organisational policy on improvement of the working conditions and remuneration are not consistent with the law. ... Ward (2010) identifies Locke’s central idea of freedom based on the ability of individuals to intellectualize phenomena based on ideas. In this case, organisations and people in the contemporary society identify power as contestable. Consequently, this has been the reason why employees in organisations have the ability to contest decisions made by their bosses following down the laid down procedures by using courts or other legal avenues. On the other hand, various stakeholders contest for power in the contemporary societies especially in instances whereby they felt that the organisation was not being managed in the right away. Therefore, these power-related struggles between various stakeholders in an organisation are a result of the view that power can be contested with the rebellion replicating Locke’s view that people who are in authority may be deposed if they offended the natural law. In effect, this makes Locke’s theory of power the most relevant to explai n power-related phenomena in the modern world. Question 2 In the contemporary society, it is evident that the ruled rely on their rulers to make decisions that affect their daily lives. In this regard, the subjects identify the ruling class as the people who are responsible for provision of important resources in their lives. In fact, this supports Weber’s contention that the ruling elite make decisions that affect the people, which is against the premise that power is exercised by the people (â€Å"Elite Theories† 2013). It is a common occurrence for the ruling class to ask for power from the people they ruled while making promises on what they are going to accomplish to these people. In this case, the ruling elite

African Literature Essay Example for Free

African Literature Essay Despite the ignorance of most so called literati to the domain of African literature, African literature in fact is one of the main currents of world literature, stretching continuously and directly back to ancient history. Achebe did not invent African Literature, because he himself was inundated with it as an African. He simply made more people aware of it. The Beginnings of African Literature The first African literature is circa 2300-2100, when ancient Egyptians begin using burial texts to accompany their dead. These include the first written accounts of creation the Memphite Declaration of Deities. Not only that, but papyrus, from which we originate our word for paper, was invented by the Egyptians, and writing flourished. In contrast, Sub-Saharan Africa feature a vibrant and varied oral culture. To take into account written literary culture without considering literary culture is definitely a mistake, because they two interplay heavily with each other. African oral arts are arts for lifes sake (Mukere) not European arts for arts sake, and so may be considered foreign and strange by European readers. However, they provide useful knowledge, historical knowledge, ethical wisdom, and creative stimuli in a direct fashion. Oral culture takes many forms: proverbs and riddles, epic narratives, oration and personal testimony, praise poetry and songs, chants and rituals, stories, legends and folk tales. This is present in the many proverbs told in Things Fall Apart, and the rich cultural emphasis of that book also is typically African. The earliest written Sub-Saharan Literature (1520) is heavily influenced by Islamic literature. The earliest example of this is the anonymous history of the city-state of Kilwa Kisiwani. The first African history, History of the Sudan, is written by Abd al-Rahman al-Sadi in Arabic style. Traveling performers, called griots, kept the oral tradition alive, especially the legends of the Empire of Mali. In 1728 the earliest written Swahili work,Utendi wa Tambuka borrows heavily from Muslim tradition. However, there are little to no Islamic presence in Things Fall Apart. The Period of Colonization With the period of Colonization, African oral traditions and written works came under a serious outside threat. Europeans, justifying themselves with the Christian ethics, tried to destroy the pagan and primitive culture of the Africans, to make them more pliable slaves. However, African Literature survived this concerted attack. In 1789, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustava Vassa was the first slave narrative to be published. Kidnapped from Nigeria, this Ibo man wrote his autobiography in Great Britain in English, and like Achebe used his narrative as a platform to attack the injustices of slavery and cultural destruction. Back in Africa, Swahili poetry threw off the dominating influence of Islam and reverted back to native Bantu forms. One exemplar of this was Utendi wa Inkishafi (Souls Awakening), a poem detailing the vanity of earthly life. The Europeans, by bringing journalism and government schools to Africa, helped further the development of literature. Local newspapers abounded, and often they featured sections of local African poetry and short stories. While originally these fell close to the European form, slowly they broke away and became more and more African in nature. One of these writers was Oliver Schreiner, whose novel Story of an African Farm (1883) is considered the first African classic analysis of racial and sexual issues. Other notable writers, such as Samuel Mqhayi and Thomas Mofolo begin portraying Africans as complex and human characters. Achebe was highly influenced by these writers in their human portrayal of both sides of colonization. Emerging from Paris in the 1920s and 1930s, the negritude movement established itself as one of the premiere literary movements of its time. It was a French-speaking African search for identity, which ofcourse took them back to their roots in Africa. Africa was made into a metaphorical antipode to Europe, a golden age utopia, and was often represented allegorically as a woman. In a 1967 interview, Cesaire explained: We lived in an atmosphere of rejection, and we developed an inferiority complex. The desire to establish an identity begins with a concrete consciousness of what we are†¦that we are black . . . and have a history. . . [that] there have been beautiful and important black civilizations†¦that its values were values that could still make an important contribution to the world. Leopold Sedar Senghor, one of the prime thinkers of this movement, eventually became president of the country of Senegal, creating a tradition of African writers becoming active political figures. Achebe was doubtless familiar with the negritude movement, although he preferred to less surrealistic and more realistic writing. In 1948, African literature came to the forefront of the world stage with Alan Patons publishing of Cry the Beloved Country. However, this book was a somewhat paternalistic and sentimental portrayal of Africa. Another African writer, Fraz Fanon, also a psychiatrist, becomes famous in 1967 through a powerful analysis of racism from the African viewpoint Black Skin, White Masks. Camara Laye explored the deep psychological ramification of being African in his masterpiece, The Dark Child (1953), and African satire is popularized by Mongo Beti and Ferdinand Oyono. Respected African literary critic Kofi Awoonor systematically collects and translates into English much of African oral culture and art forms, preserving native African culture. Chinua Achebe then presents this native African culture in his stunning work, Things Fall Apart. This is probably the most read work of African Literature ever written, and provides a level of deep cultural detail rarely found in European literature. Achebes psychological insight combined with his stark realism make his novel a classic. Post-Achebe African Literature Achebe simply opened the door for many other African literati to attain international recognition. East Africans produce important autobiographical works, such as Kenyans Josiah Kariuki’s Mau Mau Detainee (1963), and R. Mugo Gatheru’s Child of Two Worlds (1964). African women begin to let their voice be heard. Writers such as Flora Nwapa give the feminine African perspective on colonization and other African issues. Wole Soyinka writes her satire of the conflict between modern Nigeria and its traditional culture in her book The Interpreters (1965). A prolific writer, she later produces famous plays such as Death and The Kings Horseman. Later, in 1986, she is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. African Literature gains more and more momentum, and Professor James Ngugi even calls for the abolition of the English Department in the University of Nairobi, to be replaced by a Department of African Literature and Languages. African writers J. M. Coetzee, in his Life and Times of Michael K. written in both Afrikaans and English for his South African audience, confronts in literature the oppressive regime of apartheid. Chinua Achebe helps reunite African Literature as a whole by publishing in 1985 African Short Stories, a collection of African short stories from all over the continent. Another African writer, Naguib Mahfouz, wins the Nobel Prize in literature in 1988. In 1990 African poetry experiences a vital comeback through the work I is a Long-Memoried Woman by Frances Anne Soloman. African Literature is only gaining momentum as time marches onwards.

Inward Cheque Clearing Process

Inward Cheque Clearing Process The paperless environment has evolved and booming now. Nowadays, financial institutions constantly enhance the choice of the products and services to win the customer. Furthermore, this is the era where banks strive to become excellent service provider by exceeding customers expectation. With electronic documents allow a company to save time, increasing efficiency and providing excellent customer service. Hence, imaging technologies gives the required platform that needed to achieve this competitive edge. Check clearing process in Malaysia has evolved from paper pushing to paperless. Day by day, customer deposit and issue out checks. Despite many payment methods available in Malaysia such as Internet banking, mobile banking, Interbank GIRO, Rentas (Real Time Fund Transfer System) and others, check instrument remains an important payment method used in Malaysia. According to the statistic from Bank Negara Malaysia (Malaysian Central Bank), it is evident that check payment is the most preferred payment method now and in times to come. Although there is sign of decline from year 2007 onwards which is due to an emergence of electronic banking, but cheque will remain high as the funds movement exceeded trillion. As such, BNM has implemented Cheque Truncation and Cheque Conversion (CTCS) process on 16th June 2008 where all espick participants duly implemented and in operation since then. Manual Processing Image-based cheque clearing process, replaces the physical cheque flow with electronic data and image flow throughout the clearing cycle. The process eliminates the movement of the physical cheque from various intermediary levels in the clearing process and hence, reduces the delays in the clearing process. Ideally, the movement of the physical cheque should stop at the bank/branch of first deposit (The collecting bank branch). This, in return, increases operational efficiency through expedient payment and receipt of funds, reduces the operational cost through the reduction or redeployment of redundant resources used for handling cash and cheques, and expedites the clearing process in the industry. Due to CTCS introduction, the physical cheques will be kept by the collecting bank after their images and MICR ( Magnetic Ink Character Recognition(MICR) code line data have been captured and the readability verified. To ensure the quality of images that have captured, cheques will be required to adhere to image friendly design standards and specifications. Electronic imaging places new requirement on the overall design of cheques so that they are readily legible when viewing their images, rather than the physical cheque itself. The design standard has to ensure that all essential information, including hand-written data and machine-printed date, will be captured by the imaging process. The captured images will be usable and legible, and that the file sizes of images will be small enough so that they can be stored and moved in a cost justified manner. Furthermore, check truncation has been implemented in many countries like US, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. Due to banking secrecy, the name of the bank that will be used in this report is Kaybank Berhad. This is an international bank with 11 branches in Malaysia which is mostly in urban and semi urban area. Hence, this bank has huge customer base including consumer and corporate business. There are 4 types of processes for cheque clearing Inward Cheque Clearing Kaybank cheques Outward Returned Cheque Clearing Kaybank cheques that need to be returned due technical error, stop payment or insufficient funds Outward Cheque Clearing Other banks cheques deposited at Kaybank Inward Returned Other banks returned check due to technical error, stop payment or insufficient funds The author will discuss about the Inward Clearing process in this report as it is an important process and high in volume. There is cut off time to complete the process within BNM clearing window (1.00pm) daily. And resources required to perform this task is high. Attached is the process of Cheque Clearing for the industry. Process Flow of Cheque Clearing Source : www.myclear.org.my To elaborate further on this process, if a customer deposited a Kaybank Cheque of RM 20,000.00 into his/her account at Citibank, the image and the data of the check will be transmitted to Myclear (Subsidiary of Bank Negara Malaysia) via a gateaway system (NWI). Base on the MICR data, the said account will be debited of RM 20,000.00 and the funds will be credited to customers account with Kaybank. In this case, the collecting bank will be Citibank and the paying bank will be Kaybank. The turnaround time for the availability of funds is 2 days. Process Map for Inward Clearing process at Kaybank Image Verify Approve Data transfer to Check verification System Download of Inward file from Myclear Upload of espick data to Kaybank system Reject the image Yes No Second level checking Yes No Reversal of customers account Upload Returned file to Myclear Performance Objectives Kaybanks key strategy is to grow their Consumer business and Corporate business. The consumer business division continuously invests in new products and service innovations to increase its presence in Malaysia and to expand its private banking segment. However, its Corporate business has a core group of customers to which Kaybank leverages global presence to provide excellent quality financial products and services. However, both businesses have continues to improve the customer experience. It has also improves operational efficiency by constant reengineering programs. The main objective of Cheque Clearing Unit is to support both businesses by delivering excellence service to the customers by managing their Current Accounts with error free and to manage operational cost effectively. By shifting to CTCS process, Kaybank has improved the performance objectives of operation in clearing process as follows; Dependability Banks are losing million of money due to fraud cheque. With CTCS process, banks reduced the losses tremendously as the liability to pay in the event of fraud check has been shifted to collecting bank. The collecting bank has to check under the Ultra Violet and the security features on the check and tag the item if it is fraud to preempt the paying bank. System is controlled by Myclear and quarterly testing been conducted to ensure no vulnerability of the system. Continuity of business plan has been established in the event there is a crisis due to network issues or others. Automation where cheques been automatically debited by the system instead of manual posting. Straight through processing been achieved where no manual invention is required. Reduced customers complaint on missing cheques when mailing out as it could be lost in transit. Now, with image base returned item, customer cant use back the same cheque for representment. Data file will be encrypted before sending files to respective branches or clearing house. High security features established and files sent or received would not be compromised. Better reconciliation and fraud prevention Speed Customers are happy as float days of cheque was reduced from 8 days to 2days. And house check payment is given an immediate credit. Under the manual environment staff needs to perform 500 physical cheques verification for 5 hours but with CTCS each staff can perform 750 checks in 4 hours. Customers complaints will be resolved within a day as under the manual environment it takes 3 days. Staff productivity increased and performing multi tasking. Cost Staff overtime has been reduced tremendously and having quality time with their family. Manual process requires 12 working hours for each staff compare to just 8 hours now. Calculation of saving are as follows: Cost saving on Overtime = 30 Staff x 4 hours = 120 hours a days x 23 days = 1760 x 22.50 per hour = RM 39,600.00 per month Hence, for month the bank has saved an approximately RM 39,600.00 in overtime due to CTCS process. Cost of purchasing the system is only one time and maintenance and licensing rental is lower compare to physical cheques management. Staff transport claims and meal allowances were reduced to none as theay are not required to work long hours anymore. No shipment of cheques to Clearing House is required now due to transmission of data. There are 30 staff been employed previously to manage inward clearing volume of 40, 000 daily but now only required 18 staff. The other 12 staffs were redeployed. Retention period of cheque is only a year under CTCS as compare to 7 years previously. Daily a total of 40,000 cheques processed daily and requires 10 boxes to place the cheques. The saving calculation is as follows; = 10 boxes x 23 working days = 230 boxes x 2.50 monthly storage per box = RM 575.00 x 12 (months) x 6 (Years) = RM 41,400.00 Hence, for month the bank has saved an approximately RM 41,400.00 due to CTCS process. Flexibility Maintain Audit Log where it monitors the user details and accessibility Prepares or generate MIS report for volume tracking and for departmental budget planning. It is also a core banking system online approach to upload or download data or batches. Interfaces with internal and external system like signature verification system, Cheque deposit Machines and clearing house. It has provided centralized cheques clearing processing and supporting branches from Penang and Johor Bahru where previously under difference clearing zone. Quality Customers are happy with the service as their cheques are now safe from fraudsters. Inward Clearing process is simple and the staff can perform multi function and deliver good quality of work as they are not required to work long hours. Each transaction under CTCS is controlled by Unique Identifier Code (UIC) which is a unique reference number printed on the back of the cheque by the collecting bank and it will make the retrieval for investigation ad presenting of unpaid items are easier. Better controls established due to simplified process and enhancement and will not lead to financial losses or customer issues. Cheque Verification System Kaybank has invested in a E-flow system for check verification. This system is supported by in house Technology team. Once Inward Clearing data downloaded from the Gateaway system, it will be downloaded to the E-flow system for verification. Each workstation will have a single Central Processing Unit (CPU) and 2 monitors. One to view the image and the other monitor is to display the signature. There are 7 types of cheques processed and each will have a different process and approach. Hence, images and MICR data downloaded to E-flow system and will get sorted and channel to the respective station. For control purpose, the main function for this system is display the image for verification purpose and reconciliation. Kaybank has also emphasized on second level verification for certain threshold to avoid any mistake done by the first level verifiers. However, there are some flaws in this system as follows; The system has limited products. As of now, the system was designed to cater 7 products and if there is an additional product in the market and Kaybank wanted to implement it, there will be an issue. It may mix up with other products. If a particular product it to be ceased, then the station will be remain there. For example, Credit Card cheque has been stopped by Kaybank due fraud vulnerability since Septemeber 2010. The station is there and it cant be removed as it would involve cost. Any changes or addition into this system involve cost and it is expensive. Tagging of checks as altered by the collecting bank is subject to readability of the person who verify the said cheque. Hence, the CTCS ruling astablised by myclear is unclear. As it is subjected to apparent alteration sight by the processor. In the event, the cheque has been washed and altered and the alteration on the check is not apparent, then the collecting bank is not liable for the losses. In turn, it will be shifted to the paying bank to pay the losses. This rule in unclear and it is not good for the industry. Inward Clearing Volumes from January 2010 till October 2010 Source : Internal MIS for Inward Clearing Transactions Emerging Technologies On the other hand, cheque fraud costs Malaysia millions of losses a year and presents severe challenges to the industry. Hence, a better system needs to be deployed for the effectiveness of the current process. Payee Match Positive Pay Application technology has already started in U.S as it was developed by Parascript, LLC, Niwot, Colorado, U.S. The main objective of this system is to combat cheque fraud. The system is designed to read a cheques payee line information and cross validate the data provided to the bank by the customer via Cheque Issue File. This system assures accuracy and significant reduction of check fraud. Furthermore, with if this system should be implemented, funds can be made available in T + 1 (One day Clearing). If the adoption of this technology is feasible, then they will be no impact to the process as it works the same and the only difference is the system. Referring to the projected volume, for product like Paylink, Manager Check, Payment Order and to some extent corporate customers the verification can be automated. Since companies update Kaybank with their list of the cheques issued out the beneficiary, this system can perform auto match and approved the transaction without manual intervention. The system could be expensive but in long them, there will be no fraud cheque . Genichi Taguchi (Nigel Slack, Operation Management), has highlighted to test the robustness of a design to ensure it withstands any change. However, in this case the changes only affect the system as all verifiers need to verify some number of cheques daily. The terminal is stationed at their respective workstation. Hence, there is no impact on the job design, layout and flow or operations. Although, the volume will decrease to some extent as with current capacity, staff may need to verify cheque lesser. On the other hand, with the implementation of new system, staff has to be trained and they could be error prone as this will be totally a new system. Recommendation With regards to the system enhancement, Myclear as a regulator should take the lead and supervise clearing process. Internally, Kaybank may able to deploy a good system but Positive Pay system is very new and extremely expensive where a single bank will hesitate to buy the system. However, with the involvement of Myclear and all member banks, all should share the cost to bring the system to Malaysia to develop together. With this, the cost will be cheaper and can be affordable and all the intermediaries will have a common platform to work with. Conclusion Although, the current system deployed by Kaybank is reliable, there will be no assurance when the fraudster will strike the banking industry with their sophisticated technologies. Hence, BNM, Myclear, ABN (Association of Banks) and member banks must pursue other alternative to prevent fraud attempt by the fraudsters sooner. The Police too have to amend laws to draft severe punishment to nab the fraudster.

The Brownfield Problem Essay -- essays research papers fc

The Brownfield Problem Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and commercial sites where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real, or perceived environmental contamination that can add cost, time, and uncertainty to the redevelopment process. Throughout the country there are an estimated 450,000 brownfields. These vacant properties exist mostly in cities, serving no practical purpose, and act as both eyesores and environmental as well as economic pitfalls. The inner cities, where most brownfields exist, were once the only choice developers had in deciding where to build industry. However, since the birth of environmental laws and regulation, the redevelopment of these properties has become a complicated and often very costly procedure. This procedure causes many businesses and corporations to look outside of the inner cities and urban areas for locations to grow and develop. This trend not only leaves the inner cities vacant and economically useless, but also leads to urba n sprawl, a phenomenon that leads to the development of greenfields, or the pristine, undeveloped land outside the confines of massive urban areas. Many sites across the country that were once used for industrial, and/or, commercial use have been abandoned by the companies who used them. Some of these sites are contaminated; however, some of them are merely perceived as being contaminated. In those cases, the sites have been linked to big industry, or nearby sites. In the past, any such site has been avoided or ignored as a possibility for redevelopment. This situation is caused largely by federal and state environmental laws and court decisions that impose or imply potentially serious liability. The circumstances surrounding this uncertain liability has encouraged businesses to build in previously undeveloped and non-urban areas, that are referred to as greenfields, where they are confident that no previous industry has been active. A report from the General Accounting Office finds that: "As states and localities attempt to redevelop their abandoned industrial sites, they have faced a number of obstacles, including th e possibility of contamination and the associated liability for cleanup." This situation has lead to a number of far-reaching problems including social, economic, and enviro... ...ization to determine the extent of environmental contamination and the cost of removal or remediation. Then, funds should be set aside either from the Superfund Trust Fund or general revenues to provide resources to local governments to develop brownfield site inventories, site assessments, and brownfield redevelopment strategies, the main goal of which would be to attract private investment. EPA should expand their Brownfields Initiative to include funds for preparation and implementation of brownfield redevelopment strategies. Federal funds should be made available for the creation and capitalization of local revolving loan funds for local governments or the private sector to perform activities such as removal, remediation, and small business development at brownfield sites. HUD should provide resources to accelerate actual development, through leveraging private sector investment and other means, to move beyond cleanup and remediation. All agencies need to find ways to assist by providing resources that will aid in the redevelopment of brownfield sites. Bibliography: EPA Homepage Brownfields Inc. Homepage Chicago Tribune; 3,1:2, May 30, 1996. Urban Land; Vol. 55, #6, pg 43.

Essay --

Connie is the prime illustration of a "fancy girl on the boulevard flagging down all of the flashy cars. She is beautiful as she fixes her nail cuticles; her lipstick is suitable to make one fiend for more. However, she soon realizes that she'll never escape the allure of a pervert yelling at her door. In the short story â€Å"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been†? By Joyce Carol Oats, the main character Connie possesses the features of a woman, but is only fifteen. Surprisingly, she is searching for freedom from her dysfunctional and unsupportive family. The absence of a father figure and the ongoing conflict with her mother and sister can be regarded as the cause of Connie's emptiness that directed her search for independence. The relationship that Connie has with her mother is one that involves verbal assault. Connie’s mother never speaks well of Connie and is unkind to her. In comparison, Connie is disrespectful towards her mother and doesn’t view her as a noble mother. The primary cause for this contentious relationship is because her mother is envious that "her looks were gone and that was why she was always after Connie† (25). The relationship with her Sister June is also spiteful because their mother praises June much more than Connie. June contributes to the household while Connie does not and only cares about her daydreams, music, and appearance. June represents everything Connie despises such as responsibility, professionalism, and dullness. June serves as the opposing character to which Connie is continuously compared to. Nonetheless, their sibling rivalry causes a great deal of hostility. On top of the quarrelsome relationships, the household lacks a father figure since he wo rks during the day, arrives home late each e... ...d the narrow circle of her consciousness and allows the story to transition into a general allegorical level. Using the narrative point of view establishes credibility in what we read and allows the reader to come up with their own perception of the story Family plays a pivotal role in everybody's life. However, a vast majority of adolescents do not realize the importance of family until they are adults and reach a level of maturity. Unfortunately for Connie it was too late, and she never cherished things of little value until her life or family's was on the line. Although she didn't have the ideal family and had constant conflicts with them, she truly loved them as she sacrificed her life for theirs. One can only ask the question of how the outcome would have turned out if Connie’s family would have shown her the love that she was in the wrong places searching for.

Robespierre’s Justification for State Terror

Robespierre’s Justification for State Terror Maximilien Robespierre states, â€Å"What is the goal toward which we are heading? The peaceful enjoyment of liberty and equality. † (Bienvenu, p. 1, para. 1) The laws that have been passed by the royalty that are meant to bring long lasting righteousness, are laws that are recognized; these laws are not written any where but in the essence of all individuals. Robespierre was elected as the representative of the National Convention and joined a political club called the radical Jacobin party.Being apart of the Convention and the Jacobins, Robespierre took over the administrative power of the Republic. Because the Jacobins believed that France was in need of change and restructuring, and Robespierre was now the head of the Convention, he can develop such change. By doing so he argues that in the land, the use of ethics must be replaced with the use of pride, proposition for traditions, self-regard for arrogance, magnificence f or narcissism, prestige for money, and immorality of the sovereign for virtues and the phenomenon.He believed in democracy and the Republic of virtue. He felt that in order to set the basis of democracy within the people, the merge of both ending the war of independence and oppression must take place in order to put an end to the revolt. The essences of the Republic are virtue and equality. He explains how it is the development of virtue and the maintenance of equality that creates the Republic. Therefore, it is embraced or founded by an individual.He believed that the quality of being an admired government would be an advantage in gaining the trust of the citizens in order to create a strict and rigorous government, â€Å"†¦be trustful towards the people and severe towards itself. † (Bienvenu, p. 2, para. 2) Robespierre states the strengths and weaknesses of this theory: the strength being the triumph of truth rather than dishonesty, and the rights of the community†™s interests than the private. The purpose of both virtue and terror was that without terror it can be deadly, and if it is deadly, virtue is strong.If one did not hated crime, they were presumed to detest virtue. Social protection is for the passive citizens, and the ones who are violent are the ones who are the ones who to be apart of England and Austria. Towards the end, Robespierre mentions an idea of Aristocracy, in which he creates secret illicit laws instead of vigorously supporting his own country. He ends by saying that a cruel government can kill, being free is not for everyone, and if anyone disagreed with his ideas, they would be considered an enemy or traitor.Robespierre structures his argument by introducing the points he wants to make step by step. He starts off by informing the audience of what he thinks the land should contain, and how it should run. He gives examples of ideas, and substitutes them with what he thinks it should be instead. For instance, he would s ay, â€Å"good people in place of good society,† meaning he would replace a good society, and choose to have good citizens instead. (Bienvenu, p. 1, para. 2) Robespierre defines democracy in his own way, then goes on to describe how â€Å"the soul of the Republic is virtue [and] equality† (Bienvenu, p. , para. 6) is in his eyes. He mentions social protection, which is only for citizens who are passive. As this speech ends, Robespierre uses questions to bring the audience to a realization of the point[s] he was trying to bring out throughout the speech. He uses Aristocracy to back up his ideas. Towards the end, he leaves the audience with a riddle they must figure out in order to understand what he meant. Maximilien Robespierre violates all 17 articles of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen of 1789.He did not give the citizens to participate in the making of the law or the government. They were not given the freedom to speak, write or print, and not everyone had equal rights. The ones that followed his ideas received special treatment, whereas, the ones who disagreed, were considered conspirators. They were sometimes imprisoned and other times killed. He did the opposite of of Article 5, and acts in a way that it hurt society. He killed 40,000 people and locked up 3,000. He did not allow society to use of public agents when required.Laws were created even though the people, and society did not agree. This is why, in 1794, Robespierre was sentence to death with the use of the guillotine, something he like to use for his executions. During the French Revolution, no one has caused as much dilemma as Maximilien Robespierre did. He believed in equality and virtue, however, he contradicted himself and was not aware that he was, in fact, biased. If he thought, heard or was even told that someone descended, they would have fell into the category of an enemy or traitor.He is represents the later Adolf Hitler, who was a dictator, in seve ral different ways. Two being that he tried to promote his beliefs to the people of his land, by infusing fear into the people of the land, and killing or injuring who ever would disagree with him. However, he did not discriminate as viciously as Hitler did. If Robespierre was to do what he did in the present society, he may have been sentenced to life in prison or capital punishment for attempting to corrupt the minds of others, and for killing as many people as he did.

ESPN

Company Culture and Environment When employees arrive to work at their Bristol, Connecticut Headquarters, they are greeted only by a small, unassuming sign that says, â€Å"Welcome to ESPN. † In a calculated and understated way, this sign is representative of the culture that pervades throughout the organization. Simply stated, ESPN, the company is about the fans and the sports, not ESPN. This statement offers a preview of sorts to a culture at ESPN that truly goes the extra mile in emphasizing customer satisfaction by offering its programming thru state-of the art program offerings thru multiple channels.A brand promise sums up the essence and meaning of a brand and how the brand connects to its consumers. ESPN’s promise of delivering â€Å"Sports, with Authority and Personality,† clearly outlines what they do, how they do it and what differentiates them from their competition. With respect to Sports, ESPN connects to its fans through many platforms, including m ultiple television and radio programs, internet applications including television online, restaurants, and numerous mobile applications.In doing so ESPN strives to consistently deliver unmatched quality that is strengthened by leadership and innovation. As an Authority in sports programming, ESPN emphasizes integrity, authenticity and expertise that is unparalleled in the industry. Regarding Personality, ESPN emphasizes throughout its organization, the effective use of humor, passion and community by expressing their affinity for its fans regardless of origin.While the brand promise of ESPN is certainly evident throughout all of its programming through all of its delivery channels, it is its hiring practices that appear to give the most obvious credence to the company living up to this promise. From its inception ESPN maintained a policy of hiring employees that were/are first and foremost sports fanatics. ESPN saw sees this as a critical factor in having its employees display the l evel of enthusiasm and knowledge that it wanted to promote and display its brand promise.They also see this as an equalizer of sorts whereby everyone who views ESPN, regardless of race, color education could relate with one another. Anthony Smith, a management consultant who has worked with ESPN for over 20 years and author of ESPN; The Company, sums up the environment and culture at ESPN best when he wrote; â€Å"I can think of few other companies that do as good a job of creating an atmosphere of fun and excitement for its people and its customers – maybe Southwest Airlines in the airline industry, Starbucks in the consumer goods space, or Apple and Google in high-tech.But it’s hard to surpass ESPN. † (Smith, P. xxiii, ESPN; The Company. ) This information, combined with information gathered through direct conversations with ESPN Marketing employees would strongly indicate that ESPN has done an outstanding job of entrenching its brand promise both internally a mongst its work-force and externally through its broadly scoped programming. From an internal branding perspective ESPN appears to have achieved what all companies strive for; to entrench its vision and culture that pervades throughout everything it does. Espn COMPANY Case ESPN: The Evolution of an Entertainment Brand In the 2004 movie Anchorman character Ron Burgundy ( Will Ferrell) auditions for a position on SportsCenter with the very new and lit-tle known network, ESPN ( Entertainment and Sports Programming Network). The year was 1979. After pronouncing the name of the network â€Å" Espen,† he then is shocked to find out that ESPN is a round- the- clock sports network. Through his laughter, he asserts that the concept is as ridiculous as a 24- hour cooking network or an all- music channel. â€Å" Seriously,† he shouts. This thing is going to be a financial and cultural disaster. SportsCenter . . . that’s just dumb! † While this comical sketch is fictitious, when a young college graduate named George Bodenheimer took a job in the mailroom at ESPN it 1981, it was for real. Today, Mr. Bodenheimer is president of the network that has become one of the biggest franchises in sports, not to mention one of the most successful and envied brands in the entertainment world. As a cable network, ESPN commands $ 2. 91 from cable operators for each subscriber every month. Compare that to $ 1. 7 for Fox Sports, 89 cents for TNT, and only 40 cents for CNN. The core ESPN channel alone is currently in more than 96 million homes. With that kind of premium power, it’s no wonder that ESPN shocked the world in 2006 by becoming the first cable network to land the coveted TV contract for Monday Night Football, which went on to become the highest rated cable series ever. But even with its three sibling channels ( ESPN2, ESPNEWS, and ESPN Classic), the ESPN cable network is only one piece of a bigger brand puzzle that has become Bodenheimer’s $ 6 billion sports empire.Through very savvy strategic planning, Bodenheimer is realizing his vision of taking quality sports content across the widest possible collection of media assets to reach sports fans wherever they may be. Employing a hands- off manage ment style, Bodenheimer has cultivated a brand that is brash, tech savvy, cre-ative, and innovative. He tells employees that ESPN belongs to all of them. He gives them the freedom to come up with their own ideas and push them forward. His only rule is that every new ideaand push them forward.His only rule is that every new idea must focus on fulfilling ESPN’s mission of reaching sports fans and making them happy. In the process, ESPN has become as recog-nized and revered by its customers as other megabrands such as Tide, Nike, and Coca- Cola are to theirs. Bodenheimer’s career- spanning dedication has grown ESPN to well over 50 businesses. The all- sports network has become a truly multiplatform brand, a rarity for any TV network. This growth has given ESPN tremendous reach. ESPN. com alone reaches 22. 4 million viewers a week.But even more stunning is the fact that during any seven- day period, 120 million people ages 12 to 64 interact with some ESPN medium. Here†™s a rundown of ESPN’s portfolio of brands: Television: ESPN has sprawled into six cable channels and other TV divisions that give it both a local ( ESPN Regional Television) and global ( ESPN International and ESPN Deportes) presence. It was one of the first networks to break new ground in HDTV with simulcast service for ESPN and ESPN2 and it still maintains the most HD programming content and highest level of HD viewership in sports.Cable operators and viewers alike consistently rank ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic above all other channels with respect to perceived value and programming quality. But perhaps one of the most innovative moves in all of tel-evision sports occurred in 2003, when ESPN content was inte-grated into its sibling network ABC. ESPN on ABC is now the home for the NBA Finals, NASCAR, NCAA football, NCAA bas-ketball, World Cup Soccer, British Open, and the IndyCar Series. Although ESPN has numerous cable channel brands, one program stands out as a brand in its own right. SportsCenter was ESPN’s first program.And with as many as 93 million view-ers each month, it remains the network’s flagship studio show. SportsCenter is the only nightly, full- hour sports news program. And whereas, in the past, ESPN has rebroadcast taped episodes of SportsCenter during the day, a new schedule incorporating nine straight hours of live SportsCenter everyday from 6 a. m. to 3 p. m. will begin in the fall of 2008. Outside the United States, ESPN airs 14 local versions of SportsCenter broadcast in eight languages. Radio: Whereas many radio formats are suffering, sports radio is thriving.And ESPN Radio is the nation’s largest sports radio network with 750 U. S. affiliates and more than 335 full- time stations. In addition to college and major league sports events, the network broadcasts syndicated sports talk shows, providing more than 9,000 hours of content annually. Publishing: ESPN The Magazine launched in 1998 and immedi-ately beg an carving out market share with its bold look, bright col-ors, and unconventional type, a combination consistent with its content. With the dominance of Sports Illustrated, many didn’t give ESPN’s magazine enture much of a chance. Within its first year, ESPN The Magazine was circulating 800,000 copies. Today, that number has ballooned two- and- a- half times to 2 million, whereas Sports Illustrated has remained at a stagnant 3. 3 million. At the same time, ESPN is making headway into one of the oldest of all media: books. Although ESPN Books is still waiting for a megaseller, because of the cross- marketing opportunities with the other arms of ESPN, this small division has consider-able marketing clout in a struggling industry. If they didn’t have the TV stuff and everything else, they’d be as hard-pressed as other publishers to make these books into major events,† said Rick Wolff, executive editor at Warner Books. Internet: ESPN. com is the leadin g sports Web site, and ESPNRadio. com is the most listened to online sports destination, boasting live streaming and 32 original podcasts each week. But the rising star in ESPN’s online portfolio is ESPN360. com, a subscription- based broadband offering that delivers high-quality, customized, on- demand video content.Not only can fans access content carried on ESPN’s other networks, but they also get exclusive content and sports video games. For the true sports fan, there’s nothing like it— it allows viewers to watch up to six different events at the same time choosing from live events for all major professional and college sports. Since ESPN360. com began service in 2006, this broadband effort has doubled its distribution and now reaches 20 million homes. Beyond working through its own Web sites, ESPN is exploring the limits of the Internet through an open distribu-tion venture with AOL.By providing ESPN content via a branded ESPN video player in AOLâ₠¬â„¢s portal, viewers have more access to ESPN’s content. But advertisers also benefit from a larger online audience than ever before. Mobile: In 2005, ESPN ventured in to one of its trickiest and riskiest brand extensions to date. Mobile ESPN was designed as ESPN’s own cell phone network, putting content into sports fans’ pockets 24/ 7. But after a year, the venture was far from breaking even and ESPN shut it down. However, even though Mobile ESPN is down, it’s not out.ESPN has capitalized on the lessons learned and started over with a different strategy. Today, ESPN provides real- time scores, stats, news, highlights, and even programming through every major U. S. carrier, with premium content available through Verizon Wireless and Qualcomm. Mobile ESPN also reaches an international audience of mobile customers through more than 35 international carriers. ESPN’s mission with its mobile venture is to â€Å" serve the sports fan any time, anywhere , and from any device. In fall 2007, it reached a major milestone in that goal when more people sought NFL content from its mobile- phone Web site than from its PC Web site. â€Å" We’re having extraordinary growth on ESPN. com’s NFL pages, but we’re also seeing extraordinary usage with mobile devices as well,† said Ed Erhardt, president of ESPN Sports customer marketing and sales. Mr. Erhardt sees great potential in mobile, saying that it is â€Å" a big part of the future as it relates to how fans are going to consume sports. Bodehnheimer and his team see no limit to how far they can take the ESPN brand. In addition to the above ventures, ESPN extends its reach through event management ( X Games, Winter X Games, ESPN Outdoors & Bass), consumer products ( CDs, DVDs, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Golf Schools), and even a chain of ESPN Zone restaurants and SportsCenter Studio stores. ESPN content is now reaching viewers through agencies that place it in airport s and on planes, in health clubs, and even in gas stations. â€Å" Now you’re not going to be bored when you fill up your tank.It gives new meaning to pulling into a full- service station,† says Bodenheimer. â€Å" I’ve been on flights where people are watching our content and don’t want to get off the flight. † A powerful media brand results not only in direct revenues from selling products but also in advertising revenues. Advertising accounts for about 40 percent of ESPN’s overall revenues. With so many ways to reach the customer, ESPN offers very creative and flexible package deals for any marketer trying to reach the cov-eted and illusive 18– 34 year old male demographic. Nobody attracts more men than we do,† asserts Bodenheimer. â€Å" We’ve got a product and we know how to cater to advertisers’ needs. The merchandising opportunities we provide, whether it’s work-ing with Home Depot, Wal- Mart, or Dic k’s Sporting Goods, we want to partner if you want young men. † As amazing as the ESPN brand portfolio is, it is even more amazing when you consider that it is part of the mammoth ABC portfolio, which in turn is a part of The Walt Disney Company portfolio.However, it is no small piece of the Disney pie. ESPN revenues alone accounted for about 18 percent of Disney’s total in 2007. Since obtaining ESPN as part of the 1995 ABC acquisi-tion, because ESPN has delivered on the numbers, Disney has allowed ESPN to do pretty much whatever it wants to do. Just a few years after the acquisition, Disney’s then- CEO Michael Eisner told investors, â€Å" We bought ABC media network and ESPN for $ 19 billion in 1995. ESPN is worth substantially more than we paid for the entire acquisition. And Disney leverages that value every way that it can, from Mouse House advertising package deals to conditionally attaching its cable channels to the ESPN networks through cable oper ators. Questions for Discussion 1. In a succinct manner, describe what the ESPN brand means to consumers. 2. What is ESPN selling? Discuss this in terms of the core bene-fit, actual product, and augmented product levels of ESPN. 3. Does ESPN have strong brand equity? How does its brand equity relate to its brand value? . Cite as many examples as you can of co- branding efforts involving the ESPN brand. For each of these cases, what are the benefits and possible risks to ESPN? 5. Analyze EPSN according to the brand development strategies from the text. What have they done in the past? What would you recommend to ESPN for future brand development? Sources: Alice Cuneo, â€Å" More Football Fans Hit ESPN’s Mobile Site Than Its PC Pages,† Advertising Age, January 7, 2008, p. 7; Mike Shields, â€Å" ESPN, AOL Strike Web Video Deal,† Brandweek, April 8, 2008, accessed online at www. brandweek. com; Andrew Hampp, â€Å" ESPN Makes Jump to Major League,† Advertis ing Age, May 14, 2007, p. 32; Ronald Grover, â€Å" Comcast’s C- TV: Channeling Disney,† BusinessWeek. com, December 1, 2006; Jeffrey Trachtenberg, â€Å" ESPN’s Next Hurdle: Selling Its Audience on Books,† Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2007; Jason Brown, â€Å" Out- of- Home TV Ads Finally Coming of Age,† Television Week, January 28, 2008, p. 12; also see www. espnmediazone. com. Espn COMPANY Case ESPN: The Evolution of an Entertainment Brand In the 2004 movie Anchorman character Ron Burgundy ( Will Ferrell) auditions for a position on SportsCenter with the very new and lit-tle known network, ESPN ( Entertainment and Sports Programming Network). The year was 1979. After pronouncing the name of the network â€Å" Espen,† he then is shocked to find out that ESPN is a round- the- clock sports network. Through his laughter, he asserts that the concept is as ridiculous as a 24- hour cooking network or an all- music channel. â€Å" Seriously,† he shouts. This thing is going to be a financial and cultural disaster. SportsCenter . . . that’s just dumb! † While this comical sketch is fictitious, when a young college graduate named George Bodenheimer took a job in the mailroom at ESPN it 1981, it was for real. Today, Mr. Bodenheimer is president of the network that has become one of the biggest franchises in sports, not to mention one of the most successful and envied brands in the entertainment world. As a cable network, ESPN commands $ 2. 91 from cable operators for each subscriber every month. Compare that to $ 1. 7 for Fox Sports, 89 cents for TNT, and only 40 cents for CNN. The core ESPN channel alone is currently in more than 96 million homes. With that kind of premium power, it’s no wonder that ESPN shocked the world in 2006 by becoming the first cable network to land the coveted TV contract for Monday Night Football, which went on to become the highest rated cable series ever. But even with its three sibling channels ( ESPN2, ESPNEWS, and ESPN Classic), the ESPN cable network is only one piece of a bigger brand puzzle that has become Bodenheimer’s $ 6 billion sports empire.Through very savvy strategic planning, Bodenheimer is realizing his vision of taking quality sports content across the widest possible collection of media assets to reach sports fans wherever they may be. Employing a hands- off manage ment style, Bodenheimer has cultivated a brand that is brash, tech savvy, cre-ative, and innovative. He tells employees that ESPN belongs to all of them. He gives them the freedom to come up with their own ideas and push them forward. His only rule is that every new ideaand push them forward.His only rule is that every new idea must focus on fulfilling ESPN’s mission of reaching sports fans and making them happy. In the process, ESPN has become as recog-nized and revered by its customers as other megabrands such as Tide, Nike, and Coca- Cola are to theirs. Bodenheimer’s career- spanning dedication has grown ESPN to well over 50 businesses. The all- sports network has become a truly multiplatform brand, a rarity for any TV network. This growth has given ESPN tremendous reach. ESPN. com alone reaches 22. 4 million viewers a week.But even more stunning is the fact that during any seven- day period, 120 million people ages 12 to 64 interact with some ESPN medium. Here†™s a rundown of ESPN’s portfolio of brands: Television: ESPN has sprawled into six cable channels and other TV divisions that give it both a local ( ESPN Regional Television) and global ( ESPN International and ESPN Deportes) presence. It was one of the first networks to break new ground in HDTV with simulcast service for ESPN and ESPN2 and it still maintains the most HD programming content and highest level of HD viewership in sports.Cable operators and viewers alike consistently rank ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN Classic above all other channels with respect to perceived value and programming quality. But perhaps one of the most innovative moves in all of tel-evision sports occurred in 2003, when ESPN content was inte-grated into its sibling network ABC. ESPN on ABC is now the home for the NBA Finals, NASCAR, NCAA football, NCAA bas-ketball, World Cup Soccer, British Open, and the IndyCar Series. Although ESPN has numerous cable channel brands, one program stands out as a brand in its own right. SportsCenter was ESPN’s first program.And with as many as 93 million view-ers each month, it remains the network’s flagship studio show. SportsCenter is the only nightly, full- hour sports news program. And whereas, in the past, ESPN has rebroadcast taped episodes of SportsCenter during the day, a new schedule incorporating nine straight hours of live SportsCenter everyday from 6 a. m. to 3 p. m. will begin in the fall of 2008. Outside the United States, ESPN airs 14 local versions of SportsCenter broadcast in eight languages. Radio: Whereas many radio formats are suffering, sports radio is thriving.And ESPN Radio is the nation’s largest sports radio network with 750 U. S. affiliates and more than 335 full- time stations. In addition to college and major league sports events, the network broadcasts syndicated sports talk shows, providing more than 9,000 hours of content annually. Publishing: ESPN The Magazine launched in 1998 and immedi-ately beg an carving out market share with its bold look, bright col-ors, and unconventional type, a combination consistent with its content. With the dominance of Sports Illustrated, many didn’t give ESPN’s magazine enture much of a chance. Within its first year, ESPN The Magazine was circulating 800,000 copies. Today, that number has ballooned two- and- a- half times to 2 million, whereas Sports Illustrated has remained at a stagnant 3. 3 million. At the same time, ESPN is making headway into one of the oldest of all media: books. Although ESPN Books is still waiting for a megaseller, because of the cross- marketing opportunities with the other arms of ESPN, this small division has consider-able marketing clout in a struggling industry. If they didn’t have the TV stuff and everything else, they’d be as hard-pressed as other publishers to make these books into major events,† said Rick Wolff, executive editor at Warner Books. Internet: ESPN. com is the leadin g sports Web site, and ESPNRadio. com is the most listened to online sports destination, boasting live streaming and 32 original podcasts each week. But the rising star in ESPN’s online portfolio is ESPN360. com, a subscription- based broadband offering that delivers high-quality, customized, on- demand video content.Not only can fans access content carried on ESPN’s other networks, but they also get exclusive content and sports video games. For the true sports fan, there’s nothing like it— it allows viewers to watch up to six different events at the same time choosing from live events for all major professional and college sports. Since ESPN360. com began service in 2006, this broadband effort has doubled its distribution and now reaches 20 million homes. Beyond working through its own Web sites, ESPN is exploring the limits of the Internet through an open distribu-tion venture with AOL.By providing ESPN content via a branded ESPN video player in AOLâ₠¬â„¢s portal, viewers have more access to ESPN’s content. But advertisers also benefit from a larger online audience than ever before. Mobile: In 2005, ESPN ventured in to one of its trickiest and riskiest brand extensions to date. Mobile ESPN was designed as ESPN’s own cell phone network, putting content into sports fans’ pockets 24/ 7. But after a year, the venture was far from breaking even and ESPN shut it down. However, even though Mobile ESPN is down, it’s not out.ESPN has capitalized on the lessons learned and started over with a different strategy. Today, ESPN provides real- time scores, stats, news, highlights, and even programming through every major U. S. carrier, with premium content available through Verizon Wireless and Qualcomm. Mobile ESPN also reaches an international audience of mobile customers through more than 35 international carriers. ESPN’s mission with its mobile venture is to â€Å" serve the sports fan any time, anywhere , and from any device. In fall 2007, it reached a major milestone in that goal when more people sought NFL content from its mobile- phone Web site than from its PC Web site. â€Å" We’re having extraordinary growth on ESPN. com’s NFL pages, but we’re also seeing extraordinary usage with mobile devices as well,† said Ed Erhardt, president of ESPN Sports customer marketing and sales. Mr. Erhardt sees great potential in mobile, saying that it is â€Å" a big part of the future as it relates to how fans are going to consume sports. Bodehnheimer and his team see no limit to how far they can take the ESPN brand. In addition to the above ventures, ESPN extends its reach through event management ( X Games, Winter X Games, ESPN Outdoors & Bass), consumer products ( CDs, DVDs, ESPN Video Games, ESPN Golf Schools), and even a chain of ESPN Zone restaurants and SportsCenter Studio stores. ESPN content is now reaching viewers through agencies that place it in airport s and on planes, in health clubs, and even in gas stations. â€Å" Now you’re not going to be bored when you fill up your tank.It gives new meaning to pulling into a full- service station,† says Bodenheimer. â€Å" I’ve been on flights where people are watching our content and don’t want to get off the flight. † A powerful media brand results not only in direct revenues from selling products but also in advertising revenues. Advertising accounts for about 40 percent of ESPN’s overall revenues. With so many ways to reach the customer, ESPN offers very creative and flexible package deals for any marketer trying to reach the cov-eted and illusive 18– 34 year old male demographic. Nobody attracts more men than we do,† asserts Bodenheimer. â€Å" We’ve got a product and we know how to cater to advertisers’ needs. The merchandising opportunities we provide, whether it’s work-ing with Home Depot, Wal- Mart, or Dic k’s Sporting Goods, we want to partner if you want young men. † As amazing as the ESPN brand portfolio is, it is even more amazing when you consider that it is part of the mammoth ABC portfolio, which in turn is a part of The Walt Disney Company portfolio.However, it is no small piece of the Disney pie. ESPN revenues alone accounted for about 18 percent of Disney’s total in 2007. Since obtaining ESPN as part of the 1995 ABC acquisi-tion, because ESPN has delivered on the numbers, Disney has allowed ESPN to do pretty much whatever it wants to do. Just a few years after the acquisition, Disney’s then- CEO Michael Eisner told investors, â€Å" We bought ABC media network and ESPN for $ 19 billion in 1995. ESPN is worth substantially more than we paid for the entire acquisition. And Disney leverages that value every way that it can, from Mouse House advertising package deals to conditionally attaching its cable channels to the ESPN networks through cable oper ators. Questions for Discussion 1. In a succinct manner, describe what the ESPN brand means to consumers. 2. What is ESPN selling? Discuss this in terms of the core bene-fit, actual product, and augmented product levels of ESPN. 3. Does ESPN have strong brand equity? How does its brand equity relate to its brand value? . Cite as many examples as you can of co- branding efforts involving the ESPN brand. For each of these cases, what are the benefits and possible risks to ESPN? 5. Analyze EPSN according to the brand development strategies from the text. What have they done in the past? What would you recommend to ESPN for future brand development? Sources: Alice Cuneo, â€Å" More Football Fans Hit ESPN’s Mobile Site Than Its PC Pages,† Advertising Age, January 7, 2008, p. 7; Mike Shields, â€Å" ESPN, AOL Strike Web Video Deal,† Brandweek, April 8, 2008, accessed online at www. brandweek. com; Andrew Hampp, â€Å" ESPN Makes Jump to Major League,† Advertis ing Age, May 14, 2007, p. 32; Ronald Grover, â€Å" Comcast’s C- TV: Channeling Disney,† BusinessWeek. com, December 1, 2006; Jeffrey Trachtenberg, â€Å" ESPN’s Next Hurdle: Selling Its Audience on Books,† Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2007; Jason Brown, â€Å" Out- of- Home TV Ads Finally Coming of Age,† Television Week, January 28, 2008, p. 12; also see www. espnmediazone. com.