Essays --

This research proposal will be dealing with the growing problem of attention deficit hyperactive disorder, or also known ordinarily as ADHD, in the United States. ADHD has grown from the 1% of the childhood population in the 1970s to its current rate of 5% of the school get along population according to National Survey of Childrens Health. That is a 400% increase over 40 years. With this type of increase, so has the increase of medication children be prescribed to help them cope with the disorder. This study will be looking at what kind of effect these medications are having on young children and, if any, the affects of the medication on the child meeting milestones in their education. H- Dietary eliminations from a child diagnosed with ADHA can have a nonable positive effect. H1- Dietary eliminations from a child diagnosed with ADHA does not have a notable positive effect. Chapter 1 Introduction to research proposal. ADHD is defined by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that is more frequently displayed and is more severe than is typically observed in individuals at comparable level of development (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). There are some(prenominal) characteristics that are present in ADHA that include hyperactive-impulsive or inattentive symptoms that must have been present in a childs life ahead they reach seven years of age. Some impairment from the symptoms of ADHD must be present in at least two settings. A gear up must observe clear evidence of interference with developmentally appropriate social, academic or occupational functioning and the disturbance does not occur besides during the course of a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, or other Psychotic Disorders and... ...t even harder to study and find the true results of the effect they have on children. whiz that has been studied is known simply as Yellow Number 5 has been studied alone. The results are that they could not find a direct link to it and hyperactivity but it is the second most used dye in the United State. Yello Number 5 is called tartrazine and is commonly found in all of the following Nabisco Cheese Nips quaternary Cheese Frito-Lay Sun Chips Harvest Cheddar and other Frito-Lay products some Hunts Snack Pack Pudding products Lucky Charms Eggo waffles and other waffle products some Pop-Tarts products various kraft macaroni and cheese products Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper and other products some Oscar Mayer Lunchables products Hot Pockets Ham & Cheese some Hostess cup cakes some Betty Crocker frostings some M&Ms and skittle products some Gatorade products.

Legalization of Marijuana Essay -- social issues

Legalization of MarijuanaTake A Closer Look Those who oppose legalizing marijuana tell us that legalizing it would be seriously detrimental. Are they smell at the facts? Or do they just believe the same myths that our parents created when they were trying to stop us from becoming drug addicts? Let&rsquos take a close look at the facts. Violence surrounding drug dealing would be lessened by legalizing marijuana because small time drug dealers would essentially be forced out of business. Larger companies who could produce high quality marijuana at lower cost would prevail. Most people would buy from these companies because they would know the harvest was free of adulterants and would contain no poisons. Wars between dealers of marijuana would end, and the sale of marijuana could be monitored by government the same way as essentially whatsoever other legitimate business. Sellers would be made accountable and a culture of responsibility would be formed. Desperate acts of theft and vi olence associated with its distri exactlyion would disappear as the black market disappears. Additionally, marijuana abusers who are currently being forced to live a life of shame and secrecy could openly seek help. atrocious drugs such as crack cocaine and LSD are consistently placed in the same category as marijuana. These drugs are admittedly dangerous, but research has never been able to identify a link between crime and marijuana. Countless Americans maintain been branded as criminals and thrown into prison for just now possessing or smoking marijuana. Truly violent criminals are often paroled early for sheer lack of prison space because users of marijuana occupy the space. Why not leave the rapists and murderers in prison and let marijuana users engage in a relatively mild form of personal stimulation? Marijuana is synthetic rubber and effective for medical use. Studies have proven that it is effective in reducing nausea and vomiting and that it can stimulate the appetite. This could help cancer and AIDS patients who search emaciation. Marijuana reduces tremors, restores balance, stops muscle spasms, restores bladder control, and restores speech and eyesight for multiple sclerosis patients. It can even prevent epileptic seizures. It can also palliate pain and sometimes stop the progression of glaucoma because it reduces intraocular pressure. Marijuana is relatively harmless. Re... ... the time of purchase (as well as any retailers in between). The companies making the cigarettes would also have to pay income taxes. As marijuana has many medical uses and is fairly expensive ($160 to $400 per ounce), pharmaceutical companies also stand to make a profit. medicine paraphernalia could be openly sold and profits could be made there as well. The court system would profit as well. Courts would not be burdened by all of the marijuana cases that come before it. The cost of imprisoning marijuana users is enormous. If they were not convicted to begin with, w e wouldn&rsquot need a place to put them. The weightlift on drugs is accomplishing as much by chasing marijuana users as a fire fighter would by trying to put out a timbre fire with one fire truck. If it is fought back in one place, it pops up in another. Drug enforcement officials are wasting their time and money trying to fight marijuana use. If marijuana were legalized, the money could be better concentrated on keeping minors off drugs. Achievable objectives could be set for law enforcement. irrational patterns of law enforcement could end and a more responsible approach to controlling marijuana could be developed.

English Only Laws Essay -- Essays Papers

slope Only LawsTo start with, we may not live in England, but the language we express is supposed to be English. So, one would think that a person would have no problem speaking this language at the workplace unless the job calls for a different language, This is not so. Countless people have challenged this policy of several different companies and this is what I will be discussing, in English. First, most of the workers speak English, maybe not as a primary language, but speak it to the best of their ability. This policy, to speak only English at the workplace, was all and totally law-abiding since all the employees spoke English. Now, the employer did not say they could not speak Spanish during their break times. Only that while they were working, they were to speak English. This problem happens a lot in the Army because Hispanics make up a considerable part of our Army. This problem should not come up though, because it is the United States Army. The US speaks English as its primary language. In the Army however, we hind end make a correction because if it is not directly related to the job, it should not be happening. It still does however, because it has go commonplace. Second, many employees speak Spanish and English, so these employees are bilingual.They could be saying one thing in English and switch to Spanish in the essence of a sentence. This can get very aggravating, for example, two employees are giving a demonstration to an important client, who only speaks English. The two employees get confused or so something in the demonstration and automatically revert to the language they are most comfortable with, Spanish. The client meanwhile is getting very frustrated. While the two employees speak Spa... ...d give the briefing for that day and then turn around and start talking about the work clump. I seriously doubt the work crew would like that. The work crew would probably try to sue the employer under Title VII somehow.In clo sing , the business ultimately belongs to the owner, and he can keep almost any policy he wants, within reason. He employee should be thankful for the job. The employer should put this policy in writing in the industry process. All of this just goes to show what some people will do to make people for something that the other person thinks they did wrong to them. All in all, I think the justice system works to the best of its capability, but there are always going to be those individuals that try to take advantage of the system. In the end, all a person can do is try to raise their children so they learn the right way to treat people.

An Inspector Calls - Examining the Role of Sheila After the Inspector h

An Inspector Calls - Examining the Role of Sheila After the Inspector has LeftExamining the Role of Sheila After the Inspector has LeftAn Inspector Calls is a play that was written by J.B. Priestley in1945 and is set in 1912, focusing on a respectable upper class familythe Birlings. Inspector Goole interrupts a joyful appointmentcelebration party between Sheila Birling and Gerald Croft, and theInspector announces the horrifying news that,Two hours ago a young woman died in the Infirmary. Shed been taken at that place because shed swallowed a lot of strong disinfectant.The characters react in extremely different ways to this informationand Sheila emerges a very strong and conscientious character. We beginto find oneself the hidden depths behind each characters outer appearanceas the play continues. We start to find out each family membersinvolvement with Eva Smiths horrendous suicide as the Inspectorinterrogates them, trying to make them feel guilty and responsible forher tragic en ding. During the play, some characters show feelings ofguilt and remorse but others simply dismiss the death completely.The play conveys a very strong message that we have the power tochange other peoples lives and we should all care and look out foreach other. end-to-end this essay I am going to be examining the roleof Sheila, subsequent to the Inspectors departure.Sheila and Eric, the younger generation, have opinions that totallycontrast their mother and fathers and they particularly get a chanceto show their feelings following the Inspectors visit. Mr Birlinggets very irate and angry and is exceptionally quick to blame his son,Eric, for the whole incident and disruption. He complains,Yo... ...summarises their behaviour passim the play.Sheilas mature attitude was shown throughout the play, and her guiltand willingness to learn from her mistakes were also displayed. Sheilacame through as a caring and thoughtful character and also anintelligent and virtual(prenominal) girl. Eri c generally followed his sister,who was a powerful character with moral thoughts, but their viewscontrasted them of the older generation. Mr and Mrs Birling and Geraldall acted irresponsibly, behaved immaturely and acted insensibly.Sheila did put forward her feelings, but her parents wouldnt listento them or simply dismissed of them. Sheila knew what was the rightthing to do, but rooflessly her parents wouldnt listen to her. Ifthe whole family had acted similarly to Sheila, the outcome would havemost probably been contrary of the unfortunate ending in the play.

Community and Survival in Sula :: Sula Essays

Community and Survival in Sula   Sula by Toni Morrison is a very(prenominal) complex novel with many underlying themes. Some of the themes that exist are good and evil, friendship and love, survival and union, and death. In Marie Nigros article, In Search of Self thwarting and Denial in Toni Morrisons Sula Nigro deals with the themes of survival and community. match to Nigro, Sula celebrates many lives It is the story of the friendship of two African-American women it is the story of growing up saturnine and female but most of all, it is the story of a community (1). Sula contains so many important themes that it is hard to say which one is the most important. I agree with Marie Nigro when she says that Sula is a story about community. I believe that community and how the community of Bottom survives is an important theme of the story. But I do not believe that it is a central theme of the story. When I think back on the novel Sula in twenty years, I depart re member the relationship and friendship between Nel and Sula. I will not remember the dynamics of the community.   One of Nigros main points of her article is how Morrison shows how important work is to the community of Bottom in order to survive. Nigro believes that work is important in Sula because it helps define or not define such as in Sulas case, who the characters are. Nigro argues that the hoi polloi of Bottom take survival serious because they live in a white male, world. The residents of Bottom do their best by working odd jobs and scrimping and fortune each other when in need (2). But they know that they will always have to remain within the boundaries of the hostile white world (2). According to Nigro, survival is also very important for Eva and Hannah. They know they do not have much opportunity being black and female, so they prepare for the pass by canning food in the summer (2). Eva definitely knows how serious survival is because she goes to the ext reme of cutting off her own leg (2). Jude is another character, Nigro points out, that needs work.

Community and Survival in Sula :: Sula Essays

Community and Survival in Sula   Sula by Toni Morrison is a very complex novel with many underlying depicted objects. more or less of the themes that exist are good and evil, friendship and love, survival and community, and death. In Marie Nigros article, In Search of Self Frustration and Denial in Toni Morrisons Sula Nigro deals with the themes of survival and community. accord to Nigro, Sula celebrates many resilients It is the story of the friendship of two African-American women it is the story of growing up black and female but most of all, it is the story of a community (1). Sula contains so many weighty themes that it is hard to say which one is the most important. I agree with Marie Nigro when she says that Sula is a story some community. I believe that community and how the community of Bottom survives is an important theme of the story. alone I do not believe that it is a central theme of the story. When I think back on the novel Sula in twenty years , I will remember the relationship and friendship between Nel and Sula. I will not remember the dynamics of the community.   One of Nigros main points of her article is how Morrison shows how important work is to the community of Bottom in order to survive. Nigro believes that work is important in Sula because it helps define or not define such as in Sulas case, who the characters are. Nigro argues that the people of Bottom take survival serious because they live in a white male, world. The residents of Bottom do their best by working odd jobs and scrimping and helping each other when in need (2). But they make do that they will always have to remain within the boundaries of the hostile white world (2). According to Nigro, survival is also very important for Eva and Hannah. They know they do not have much opportunity being black and female, so they prepare for the winter by canning food in the summer (2). Eva by all odds knows how serious survival is because she go es to the extreme of cutting off her own leg (2). Jude is another character, Nigro points out, that needs work.

Alcohol And Brine Shrimps

Abstract Alcohol catches the interest of many scientists because of its polar effects on human, especially during pregnancy. These effects can also be seen in lower forms of organisms, such(prenominal) as that of the crustacean brine prawn. By studying these, the scientists can get a better understanding on the mechanisms profound the inebriants effects. When other conditions argon held constant, a very high amount of alcohol should sub receivable the growth or hatching of these brine fish bombards.By growing brine pewee eggs exposed to different concentrations of alcohol and observing the larvae afterwards, the effects of alcohol on these organisms can be revealed in a quantified manner. To do so, volumes of 0. 0 mL. 0. 1 mL, 0. 25 mL and 0. 5 mL of a 100% alcohol were placed in different Petri dishes containing 10 mL of brine resultant role each. Brine shrimp eggs were then placed and left for a week before the eggs and larvae were obtained and counted. Results show that there atomic number 18 more eggs hatched on the system with no alcohol in it.Though the plate with higher alcohol content showed a relatively erect number of hatched eggs, it has a higher amount of dead larvae compared to the dishes having lower alcohol content. This shows that alcohol works in two ways, preventing the hatching of brine shrimp eggs and causing deaths to the larvae. I. Introduction Brine shrimps (Artemia) are small crustaceans, and not closely related to the common shrimp. They are usually termed as sea-monkeys and sold in pet stores as fish food.They are very resistant in adverse conditions, and their eggs are able to stay dormant until the right environment induces their birth. Many of these are seen in large bodies of water, for they serve as food for the larger fish and other organisms present in the ecosystem. One interesting fact of these crustaceans is the ability of their eggs to undergo cryptobiosis, a characteristic where they exhibit a hidden life by m aintaining a metabolically inactive state. This happens during adverse conditions that inhibit the growth of the organism.In this case, brine shrimp eggs stay dormant as long as there are large fluctuations in the environment ca employ by factors such as temperature, oxygen content, and acidity. Because of this, brine shrimps are excellent to be test subjects for this experiment regarding the effects of alcohol on early development. Brine shrimp eggs can also hatch at a short span of time, and grow into larvae capable of swimming by themselves in just a matter of days. Furthermore, there are no known ethical issues regarding the use of these organisms. In fact, a number of studies using this genus have been performed throughout history.One of these is the research of Antonio Marquezs conference, where they tested the effects of bacteria on Artemia franciscana. They cultivated the organism in 10 different strains of bacteria together with some major feeds. The treatment resulted to the Artemis survivors having a longer length. The bacteria added played an of the essence(p) role in providing direct feed for the Artemia. They provided essential proteins, vitamins, amino acids, and inorganic nutrients (Marques, 2005). These results can be taken into consideration when designing this experiment.Since the experiment aims to determine the effects of alcohol only, the medium on which the brine shrimp are to be grown must be free of other substances, especially bacteria that might contribute additional nutrients for the organism to grow. The experiment by Marquez also shows the versatility of these brine shrimps in data conclave experiments done on the lab. They are easy to cultivate and grow. Another research, which can complement the purpose of this experiment, is the one tackling about the toxicity of the chemical diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) when exposed to Aremtia salina The group of S.Sanchez-Fortun and M. V. Barahona found out that on high concentratio ns of DFP, a longer development time is evident on Artemia larvae. A more concentrated solution even showed death on some of the larvae. Several treatments were tested, including addition of the compounds atropine, physostigmine pyridostignime. But only the compound 2-pyridine aldoxime methoiodide (2-PAM) proved to be effective in preventing intoxication due to DFP (Sanchez-Fortum, 2007). These results show the lethal effects of some chemicals to the larvae of some organisms.Aside from DFP, alcohol is another substance that is believed to have bad effects on organisms during their pre-birth stage. In higher animals, such as humans, alcohol is usually blamed for miscarriages, prematurity, and many other defects on birth. This alarming substance caught the attention of many, and efforts have been made to make the public alive(predicate) of the dangers posed by alcohol. Such effects of alcohol are made notice by Brimacombre and his team. Sometime before the year 2007 ended, they condu cted a study to asses the familiarity of health professionals regarding fetal alcohol spectrum disorders or FASD.They conducted several presentations, lectures and demos to health professionals across New Jersey over a four-month period. The groups were then asked to answer a serial publication of 20 questions to determine the depth of their understanding regarding FASD. The results showed that though they are well versed with the basics of FASD, these health group professionals reveal weaknesses in some important areas. One of these is the lack of knowledge on some core diagnosis and treatment of FASD. It was then concluded that more efforts must be done to march on increase the awareness of the public to the facts of alcoholism (Brimacombe, 2008).If alcohol has a severe effect on humans, then it is safe to assume that it would also have a devastating impact on lower creatures such as the brine shrimps. This experiment is designed to illustrate the possible threats of varying con centration of alcohol to Artemia. The alcohols effects will be determined by adding varying amounts of it to the culture of unhatched brine shrimp eggs. The eggs and possible young hatchlings from the different treatments will then be manually counted and compared with each other.Taking into consideration prior knowledge and previous studies made, high alcohol content would not be optimum for the brine shrimps to live. The treatment containing the most alcohol would then probably have less or no brine shrimp larvae present compared to those cultures with little or no alcohol in it. II. Methodology Prior to the experiment, the solutions and equipments to be used were prepared. Four Petri dishes, brine solution, 100% alcohol, some toothpicks and a brine shrimp egg solution were placed close by for easy access.The Petri dishes were then marked with numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. A volume of 10 mL of brine solution was then added to each Petri dish. In the Petri dish labeled 1, 0. 1 mL of alcoh ol was added and mixed. In the same manner, 0. 25 mL of alcohol was added to Petri dish 2 and 0. 5 mL of it to Petri dish 3. No alcohol was added to Petri dish 4, as this is be used as the control system. A clean toothpick was then taken, wetting it by dipping it in a brine solution first, and then in the container with brine shrimp eggs.The eggs were then transferred to Petri dish 1 by slowly stirring the toothpick in the brine solution contained in the Petri dish until all eggs are dislodged from the toothpick. A new toothpick is then used to transfer eggs in the same manner to Petri dishes 2, 3 and 4, using a clean toothpick for each Petri dish. The eggs were allowed to sit for a week and then they were observed. The eggs and larvae were counted using a toothpick and viewed with a microscope. The data were then recorded and compared.

Civic Participation and Voter Turnout Essay

Interaction in companionable networks has a strong, influence on whether or not individuals participate in voting and other political activism. Social interaction creates unique opportunities for individuals to learn about political relation. It allows them to learn about various and differing views on political issues thus sustenance the political activity of many people. It is my supposition that participation is dependent on the amount of political discussion that occurs within various social networks. Analyzing these interactions can depart a window into social networks and active political participation.It also shows that such interactions play a crucial role in explaining the role of other that name participation, such as group membership, high school civic participation and individual resources. First, when and how do social networks make people politically active? Second, is the clashing of informal interaction in those networks distinct from that of formal social organi zations? Finally, how much does a social network model of involvement add to our theoretical and all-important(a) understanding of how people become involved in politics?There really are two social network trends. The first is formal social interaction which is formal groups such as churches, social clubs and other formal organizations. These formal interactions spud many of our civic skills and disclose people to more large political opinions. The second in informal social interaction such as barbecues, parties and other interactions that are not in formal groups. These informal conversations expose people to political cultivation from their surrounding social network.The implication is that social interaction can make people more active in politics when it exposes them to politically-relevant information. Social discussion exposes people to a wide range of information that may influence decisions to participate, such as information about how desirable it is to participate. ( McClurg, 2003). Discussions with friends who are interested or active in politics can help people learn about the reasons for participating while reinforcing the idea that such port is desirable among ones peers.People also may be exposed to information about the how politics works and how a person participates. selective information about which candidate to support, why to support that candidate, when the candidate is holding a rally, or even how to just get involved are all types of information that can be effectively exchanged by these varying social interactions. Social interaction exposes people to a different set of politically-relevant information and stimuli than they possess individually. (McClurg, 2003).Individual understanding, information, resources, and ability are limited because at that place is just oneself to process information. Social interaction with other people gives one another opportunity to develop thoughts and resources that lower the barriers to politi cal participation. Consequently, social resource supplement (rather than supplant) the person resources and abilities that make participation likely. (McClurg, 2003). Over the past 50 years in the United States, there has been a decline in many important facets of civic participation.Particularly troubling has been the steady decrease in the percentage of adults voting in topical anaesthetic and national elections, a trend that has been extensively documented. In 1996, there were 13 million voters registered to vote however, only 49% of those people turned out for the global election which was the lowest turnout since 1924. (Voting Patterns). Again in 2000 only 50% of the voters turned out for the general election. The following is the presidential voter turnout place from 1948 to 2008.

The Burke-Litwin Casual model

hit-Litwin Casual stupefy is a moulding holdd by organizations to monitor organizational operations in terms of change and performance levels. The founders of the model were Litwin and some other people. In the 1980s Burke made the model to a greater extent refined than they did (Burke & Litwin, 1992). Burke added some variables that make the model different from other models that had been in use. Burke-Litwin casual model is the latest model, more useful to organizations. The model has defined various variables that organizations should use for assessing their performances and changes. AT & T Structure.According to Burke-Litwin model, firms should have sound infrastructure systems such as duties and responsibilities, reports and authorities, communication and socialization that are geared towards merging the organizations goals, strategies and missions. AT & T Corporation is a company that was established in the 1885. The company mission is to provide telecommunication service locally and internationally. Their business system is to be efficient, affordable and competitive in the telecommunication sector as they maximize customer satisfaction. (Horton & Dorman, 2005).The company has been a provider of fiber and passing authoritative communication services for centuries. AT & T is well known for its wide range internet and multimedia services to both consumers and businesses worldwide. AT & T has more than two million customers in both private and governmental organizations, and in the domestic and international markets. AT&T applies sections and mechanistic style of management. The company is highly reputable in long distance communication services for both businesses and consumers all over the world. The structure of AT&T fits well with the Burke-Litwin model. (Horton & Dorman, 2005). Tasks and SkillsAccording to Burke & Litwin model, on that point are specific qualities and capabilities required for a person to fit in a given position (Burke & Lit win, 1992). An organization in business should therefore pock on that when recruiting members. AT & T emphasizes on high skilled staff to provide quality services to the customer. The company has highly invested on technology, innovations, high skills and give customer care. These are the core competence factors. Dedicated customer care has attracted an increased number of customers and integrated network as a technology use has made AT & T to improve on communication services (Horton & Dorman).These factors makes AT & T fit the Burke & Litwin model Management practices According to Burke & Litwin (1992), organizations should assess how the managers deal with the other workers. For a success the employees should be given a chance to participate fully in developing an organization. In AT &T employees are allowed to take part in the production processes depending on which area they are specialized in. The organization calls for a teamwork and dedication. The management has always be lieved on partnerships to make them achieve their goals (Horton & Dorman, 2005).For instance they partnered with CBS hence a participatory management. This fits with the Burke & Litwin model. Systems and Policies Systems are the policies and mechanisms used in an organization as standards to facilitate quality improvements. These whitethorn include communication, sales and marketing, production methods (Burke & Litwin, 2005). According to Horton & Dorman (2005), AT & T believes on quality productions to satisfy the customers, hence the need for employing high skilled people. Sales and marketing is done by the sales and marketing team to sell the products.AT & T has specific charges for the customer services and also offer customized or personalized services to earn revenue. This is according to the Burke & Litwin model. Work unit climate This is the impression given by the members of an organization towards the organizational performance. This ordain in return ferment their inter relationship (Burke & Litwin, 2005). AT & T Company has no specific social structures. AT & T has always considered employing domestic workers in large numbers as compared to the international.The company always outsourced rather than train the workers for such services (Horton & Dorman, 2005). This will make the employees feel a sense of belonging and be committed to their work. This doesnt fit with the Burke & Litwin model. Motivation According to Burke & Litwin (2005), this is an inward driving force that makes one take the recommended actions to achieve a required goal. Howard (1994), employees satisfaction will directly affect customer satisfaction. AT & T has no plans in place to ensure the employees are well catered for. The employees are not recognized to be rewarded for good performances.This may make some of them loss focus on their responsibilities (Horton & Dorman, 2005). This doesnt fit with the Burke & Litwin model. Conclusion. AT & T has a functional or product depart mentation structure. This is because the company has its departments arranged according to the functions they offer like sales and marketing. The departments are also arranged depending products they produce for instance consumer products in consumer services department or segment (Horton & Dorman, 2005). AT & T has a subtlety for their operations to meet customer satisfaction and always work in partnership for quality.Through quality products, AT & T improved on the revenue (Denison, 1990). Reference Burke, W. W. & Litwin, G. H. (1992), A causal model of organizational performance and change. Journal of Management, 18 (3), pp. 523-545. Denison, D. R. (1990), Corporate culture and organizational effectiveness. New York, NY John Wiley & Sons. Horton, W. T. and Dorman, D. W. (2005), AT & T Corporation. Securities and Exchange Commission Washington, DC 20549. From 10-K/A. Howard, A. (Ed. ) (1994), Diagnosis for organizational change Methods and models. New York, NY The Guilford Press.

British Airways Marketing Report Essay

Current shargon price is 225 with a range of between 224 and 289. marketing is the management process amenable for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably. BA used to operate in an oligopoly food market however throughout the last century this has changed. Previously it was only large field of study companies that had enough money to provide flights however nowadays the market operates in perfect competition with high barriers to entry. BA can use marketing to elevate their harvest, drive market share, anticipate customer requirements, satisfy customer needs and ultimately make a profit.The Marketing Mix The marketing mix is a combination of 4 Ps ( produce, price, place and promotion) that should be used in conjunction with each other to crack a competitive progress over other companies. The marketing mix is designed to produce mutually satisfying exchanges with a target market. intersection BAs ware in essence relates to the flights offere d. However, the product can be drilled d bear into specific areas ranging from the airport lounges around the world, the extras that you can subvert on board such(prenominal) as model BA aeroplanes or even package holidays.Each of these has been specifically tailored to meet customer expectations (which are highlighted in the section of the traverse titled target market). This part of the marketing mix focuses on how BAs products are managed and in the Guardian case study obligate titled BA, Iberia and American Airlines tie-up heralds unfermented era of transatlantic activate dated 06/10/2010 it shows how BA have made an executive finish to link up their websites with other companies to have the possibility to offer a high number of routes (products) to their potential customers.Price Price is simply the amount of money customers must endure to obtain a product. BAs price is generally high than their competitors although this is because they believe they are offering high quality. However, in recent generation BA appear to be losing the price war against low cost budget competitors such as Ryanair and Easyjet. followers this, BA have undergone marketing strategies to quash their price and carry out sale discounted periods. BA demand immediate payment for their products, do not give credit terms or allowances. promotionIn the early days when BA was a nationalised company and the market was an oligopoly, they didnt have to promote as some(prenominal), as competition was minimal. However, with the growth of rising players in the market BA have resulted to advertising in the following areas tube stations (especially the Jubilee Line going towards Canary Wharf to target higher(prenominal)(prenominal) earners), newspapers (such as the Financial Times and Sunday broadsheets), airports (mainly in Heathrow and Gatwick their primary hubs) and adverts between TV programmes, starting from September 2009 such as the News, Politics programmes and factual documentaries.BA also use personal advertising techniques with their advert Come together its Christmas. This uses emotional targeting to encourage plurality to buy their product to visit love ones during this period. See Appendix 2. Place Currently BA do not operate from London Stanstead however a marketing decision could be taken to include this to their portfolio. This would give them a higher percentage of UK airport utilisation however a cost benefit analysis could prove this move to be not so advantageous.BA have recently taken on Easyjet and are now offering a Gatwick-Marrakech route at discount prices. This gives customers higher choice and allows BA to remain competitive and attempt at satisfying the needs of those who want to pay less. Once BA have exhausted the 4 Ps, a S. W. O. T. Analysis will be completed to determine and examine internal strengths and weaknesses and, external opportunities and threats. S. W. O. T. Analysis Strengths The case study website oblige on This is Money dated 24/01/2011 undoubtedly highlights one of the major strengths carrying BA at present.The merger between BA and Iberia has strengthened its financial position and is a step closer to creating a multinational multi-brand airlines group. BA take pride in their strong brand, high quality service and offer honored first class airport lounges to ensure that their customers are taken care of to the standard they expect for the prices they are paying. This is what has allowed BA to charge higher fares and gives them the image that higher class passengers are willing to pay for.By linking themselves to fellow competitors (American Airlines) and strengthening their position by joining the One World syndicate, BA have promote higher revenues from this tactical decision. Following the strong decline throughout the world(prenominal) recession, BAs strength is bouncing back according to the BBC News word British Airways in first profit for two years. Although the rise in inco mes and ultimately rise in profits was linked to higher loading fares, BA were able to successfully cut costs and meet their carbon emissions targets also.Weaknesses Despite the above, BA has been renowned for strong continual losses as highlighted in the other BBC News Article British Airways names ? 164m loss. The losses were mainly caused by the volcanic ash cloud and staff strikes both resulting in the cancellation of thousands of flights. Its reported that just 15 days strikes had cost the airline ? 142m. The strikes had also had a negative impact on their declining reputation making some people not wanting to fly with them anymore. BAs reputation was also hit when they were sued ? 10K by competitor Virgin for accessing their private files and consequently trying to track down business. If this wasnt bad enough, in 2009 BA were fined a massive ? 110m for price fixing known as a cartel and this is illegal. Although passengers accept that flight travel can be dangerous, BA ad ds to its weakness with its own incidents. These range from a mid-air collision in 1976, a pilot being sucked out of the aircraft when a windshield exploded and in 2008 a BA plane at Heathrow missed the runway and crash-landed.More recently, BA has been investigating prices of flights to some destinations that were being charged at 10 eras the normal price owing to a system error online. This is going to make people think twice when booking with the company. Opportunities magic spell the above 2 sections focus internally, opportunities and threats highlight those factors that can influence BA externally. The lifting of the recession in recent months has allowed passengers to review their spending habits and hopefully create higher disposable income in households and allow the loosening of the belt for those corporate company credit cards.BA need to carefully position their marketing strategies at the pay time in order to capture these people with that bit of extra money to spend and the report will focus on this issue in the following few pages. BA sold its Gatwick hub airport for ? 1. 5bn, although this was reportedly at a loss (as BA originally paid ? 10. 1bn for it 3 years prior), it gave BA the opportunity to invest its interests elsewhere and concentrate on a smaller number of airports. BA also sold its interest in the London essence now sponsored by EDF, to focus on other projects. ThreatsBA has been hit by threats in recent years ranging from terrorism, bad weather, volcanoes and more recently the scourge earthquake and tsunami in Japan and the civil unrest in Libya. Numerous flights have been cancelled to the Libyan capital Tripoli costing BA millions of pounds. Following this, BA has been forced to cancel their entire summer 2011 season of flight programmes. The events in Japan have also affected BAs programmes with flights to capital of Japan disrupted. The case studies provided highlight how BA went into meltdown following the heavy snow suffe red in the UK during December 2010.The conditions caused hundreds of flights to be cancelled for both cargo and passengers and the title of the article British Airways says bad weather could cost it ? 50m sums up the situation perfectly. The terrorist events in the USA in 2001 still continue to make passengers nervous of flying, especially Trans-Atlantic and this is forever and a day going to be a sensitive subject that BA would arrive hard to market against. By doing so, they would not want to seem like they are publicising terrorism but at the same time have concentrated their marketing strategies on the highest standard of comfort and relaxability.A final threat is shown in an article by the Telegraph where BA is attacked by a social media Facebook campaign where Gatwick workers have criticised BAs Terminal 5 at Heathrow label it shambolic and the page was even designed with videos showing the CEO of BA wrestling with baggage and trolleys. This damages BAs reputation and makes a fraudulence of their brand. All of the factors mentioned above in the marketing mix and S. W. O. T. Analysis are important for BA to consider however if the company does not have a target market to aim their products at, the company would not be able to survive.British Airways Target Market and Positioning Strategy In order to ensure BAs products are directed at the correct audience to maximise revenues and profits, careful market research needs to be invested in to find a target market. The basis of target marketing is market segmentation which splits the market into groups of potential customers that have the same characteristics. From the 3 marketing strategies, its believed that BA use a differentiated strategy as they focus on several specific areas of the market to target. The characteristics below offer ome possibilities that link all of BAs customers together. Watch the News on television Celebrities Speak a 2nd language Middle/Upper Class Holiday in non-European destina tions sound out non-fiction In full time employment or retired Have higher disposable incomes By segmenting the customer base to determine a target market BA split the market depending on the following variables * Demographic age, gender * Geographic where the target is based * Geo-demographic size of households, number of cars etc.. depending on location * Psychographic lifestyle, attitudes behavioral the relationship between the target market and the product As the points show in the circle above, BA focus their marketing strategies on those that have higher income and appear in the middle/upper classes of the population, this is evident from the prices of their products and the quality of the service offered. Both genders are targeted equally with the age range (generally) being between 35 to 65.The BA advertising strategies are positioned to target those situations that their customers can relate to and dream about i. . luxury holidays, comfortable flights and a reliable service. This concentrates on the behavioural variable. Geographically, as BA is a British company, the target market is centralised in the UK however following partnerships with fellow companies such as American Airlines for example, a wider global base is reached. BA have positioned their product away from their low cost budget competitors acknowledging that they offer a more luxurious alternative to cheap travel. Their place strategy can lso be seen in the product class membership which again, separates BAs service away from the Easyjets and Ryanairs. By doing this, BA have created their own competitive advantage and have taken an alternative route to satisfy other customers needs that are not centered around saving money. Marketing Recommendations In order for BA to evaluate how successful their target market strategies and their positioning tactics are, the report recommends that the company should see how many levels of Maslows hierarchy of Needs are being satisfied from a purchase of a BA flight. This can be seen in Appendix 3.Psychological needs SATISIFIED tribute from the cold, provision of food and oxygen * Safety needs SATISIFIED provision of a safe environment and reassuring customers * Belongingness and love needs N/A * rate needs N/A * Self-actualization needs Possibly relevant to those who are over-coming their fear of flying. Secondly, BA could conduct marketing research to determine why customers buy their products in the first place. This could be conducted as a quick questionnaire either in-flight when the customers are all in one place at the same time or as a mandatory set of questions when booking flights.This will help BA to see what criteria are satisfied during the stage of the buyer decision process. There are 3 possibilities however the report recommends that BA would come across the most popular varible below * Routine Response behavior Customers who are frequent flyers, possibly members of the Executive Club, they are aware o f the low cost competition however have a loyalty towards BA and prefer their service. Appendix 4 shows where the report deems BAs product to currently be in the market.By carrying out the market research above and with the new strong group behind the company, the brand could move backwards in the graph and back and return to the growth stage. This can also be express of Appendix 5, by moving BA from a question mark in the Boston Matrix and positioning it in the star category. The report recommends BA to only extend their marketing strategy to concentrate on holidays and not just flights. This links closely with an interview carried out by Marketing workweek and BAs Head of Marketing, Richard Tams. We are devoting more and more of our reativity in any given campaign to talking about holidays. BA should extend this further and working with tourist boards of exotic countries to promote cheaper package holidays with the support of the Government in those further to reach luxurious locations. Tams states we are looking to move BA. com to much more into the space of a travel website rather than a flights website. The report strongly agrees with this marketing strategy and would fully support BAs proposals. This widens their product mix and allows a larger more diverse target market to be captured. ConclusionThe report has analysed the company British Airways firstly concentrating on the product mix and a S. W. O. T analysis. The report has described the companys target audience and commented on the current positioning strategy of British Airways. The report has concluded with marketing recommendations that could be put in place to ensure the long time success of the company. Future events that British Airways will have to be aware of include the UK Government adjusting passenger air tax and carbon emission regulations. 2,682 words. Bibliography All referenced throughout. Books Jobber, D. 2001 4th edition Principals and Practices of Marketing, McGraw Hill Intern ational, P 810 * Kotler, P. 2010 9th edition Principals of Marketing, Pearson * Lamb, C. 2009 6th edition Essentials of Marketing, Neil Marquardt * The Chartered Institute of Marketing, LSBU lecture notes Websites All accessed between 24/03/2011 and 30/04/2011 * www. bbc. co. uk/news * www. dailymail. co. uk/travel/article-1369100/Libya-action-hits-British-Airways-flights. hypertext mark-up language * www. guardian. co. uk * www. google. co. uk/finance? q=PINK%3ABAIRY * www. iagshares. com www. letsstartthinking. org/quickreference/maslow-need-hierarchy. asp * www. marketingweek. co. uk/sectors/travel-and-leisure/airlines/qa-with-ba-marketing-head-richard-tams/3019560. article * www. news. airwise. com/story/view/1300492770. hypertext mark-up language * www. news. cheapflights. co. uk/ /ba-takes-on-easyjet-on-gatwick-marrakech-route * http//phx. corporate-ir. net/External. File? item=UGFyZW50SUQ9ODMyOTJ8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM=&t=1 * www. telegraph. co. uk/travel/3366187/Britis h-Airways-staff-attack-passengers-on-Facebook. html * www. thisislondon. co. k/standard/article-23431527-london-eye-looks-for-new-sponsor-as-ba-pulls-out. do * www. thisismoney. co. uk * http//uk. reuters. com/article/2009/10/21/uk-baa-idUKTRE59K1D820091021 * www. utalkmarketing. com/UTMImages/2/BA_terminal5_2. jpg Appendices 1. ) Group structure of IAG 2. ) BA advert 3. ) Maslows Hierarchy of Needs 4. ) Product Life Cycle 5. ) Boston Matrix 1 . www. iagshares. com 2 . http//www. google. co. uk/finance? q=PINK%3ABAIRY 3 . Lamb, C, 2009 Essentials of Marketing 6th edition. Neil Marquardt,

Cloud Operating System Architecture

Cloud Computing Architecture Tall Tanager developer. emailprotected Com Abstract? A bright vision of the future sparks up with the new technologies of buy computing. A new perspective towards how files, pictures, documents are shared, accessed and limited over the World Wide Web. In this we take a look at the architecture of misdirect computers, identify and explain the different points from client to host. It also discusses how we will be able to design, implement, develop and innovate in the future with cheaper costs, better efficiency by the use of powerful systems on the cloud almost any clipping and anywhere around the globe.A world with incredible virtual systems being made returnable for e very(prenominal)one. Looking fore the next decade, cloud computing promises to collaborate everywhere through mobile devices. Introduction Cloud computing can be seen as a very promising future of computing with cheaper costs, application efficiency and a door opening for millions of pe ople around the globe not being able to afford powerful systems for education, work and development.Given the ability that it will allow people to conduct geophysical modeling experiments, render high-end graphics almost anywhere and anytime in he world will lead to innovation by many with ideas being capable of implementing them for an affordable cost. It can store immense amount of data, improve accessibility, set data by making it available to authorized users besides and deploy web scripts for PH, Perl, ASP. NET and several others on the go as it includes a weapons platform for an Apache and MYSELF TM Database Server.Most importantly sharing videos, music and documents across the internet would be far more efficient as files would no longer be require to uploaded instead would require access-permission. From modeling AD graphs to integrate photos, maps with a handful of web assistances, loud computing would highly benefit large business corporations. Keywords? collaborate, affordable costs, efficiency, integrate The Layers An Outer Look Here is a representation of architecture of a common cloud computer.The first mold being the client layer is a web browser on a mobile or tablet device. An application has three layers, graphical interface layer (user interaction), application layer (the coding-level) and the database layer (for storing data). go through 1-1 (Graphical Representation of the different layers) Next we have cloud services, the service required for applications to run I. Apache services, database servers etcetera This layer cannot be directly modified by the client. Alongside these is the cloud runtime for storage and table services.These could be various applications such as an anti-virus tool, a service for file transfer, POP connection services. finally we have the Infrastructure and storage. This has to do with the hardware, the physical design of the system to ensure maximum durability, prevent incidents such as short circuits, ensure cooling etc. Deployment and User Experience User Intent & Interface To be able to customize your computer and have a flexible environment to work in sakes an important factor in the overall architectural design of the system.End-users look kayoed more for the design the speed and accessing their programs with ease rather than worry close the infrastructure or web services. Over here the target needs to be aiming for fast application deployment, services should be updated automatically, and responsiveness should be fast. pattern On Established Trends Cloud computers are deployed on established trends to reduce cost out of the delivery of services as it increases the speed and power at which services are deployed. Cloud computing offers on-demand deployment in less time with reduced cost and maximum efficiency.From one perspective, it seems to be nothing new as it approaches concepts already built and established however from other perspective, cloud computing is something complete new as it develops ideas on how we deploy, update, scale, invent and maintain our applications over a huge network. Over the last fewer years, virtual machines have become the standard deployment object. We have seen how people connect to remote computers using built-in applications. As we can see, it further improves the flexibility as the system is total pendent on the host.For instance, a person can rent a computer for a few hours being provided the authentication by host. This way, many people can have access to powerful systems for less cost without needing to upgrade hardware to enhance their systems. Figure 1-2 shows a typical remote desktop connection. This shows how cloud computing has revolutionized over the years and been made better. Cloud computing promises us in the future to be able to access computers through web browsers with reliability and an affordable cost. Keywords? on demand deployment, flexibility, fertilization, hypothesisFigure 1-2 (a typical remo te-desktop connection) Infrastructure Programmable Infrastructure In the past, developers would identify how the various segment of application would be managed, secured, modified, interconnected, and deployed. Now a developer would be able to use a Cloud Providers API to manipulate the application on the go and not only that but to manage tremendous work load changes. Consider this analogy A Java developer creates and deletes thread to do multiple activities at the same time however now developers can do the same but modify the application dynamically giving them power to accommodate accordingly.To make the best out of cloud computing, a developer must be an architect being able to create a self-logging and self-expanding application for best user experience. Infrastructure as a Service (alas) alas is one of the fundamental service models of cloud computing. It provides computing resource in a brutalized environment, the cloud, usually through a semipublic network like the Intern et. It includes attributes such as virtual server space, network bandwidth, IP etc. A hypothesis such as Java elan vital creates virtual machines and/or allows you to connect to one over the internet.Platform as a Service (Pas) Pas is another fundamental service model of cloud computing. In these models, the provider delivers services such as an operating system, an executable environment (programming environment), database server etc. Application developers can run and develop their programs on this platform service without the cost of buying additional hardware. This is extremely useful to the ones whom cannot afford the luxury of powerful systems and complexity of managing hardware. Software as a Service (AAAS) AAAS is Just another fundamental service model of cloud computing.

Functionalist Views on Religion Essay

The functionalist reckon of righteousness stems from Durkheim who said that society is want the human body. He argued that that holiness reinforces incarnate conscience that leads to a unity within society as a whole and that each member of the society is joined in solidarity, whence it acts as glue. It does so by reinforcing affable norms and values that bring the community together. It allows people to accept that society is about more than just the psyche. However this can be questioned as western societies such(prenominal) as Britain are becoming increasingly secular.This means that they dont believe in devotion as much, and hence how can faith act as a collective conscience. People are turning to science as a way of life, theories which head atomic reactor the evolutionary approach. It suggests that the theory is out of date. Malinowski looked at the psychological function of devotion. This looked at when things such as funerals and divorce occur. Religion acts as a n act of hope which allows individuals to obtain at ease when they are increasingly stressed out.They are brought together like a community within things like a funeral because it allows the individual to grieve further collectively with active members of the family and church/synagogue/mosque etc. At clock of uncertainty and stress, religion helps people to gain control of themselves again, and community acts like funerals progress that. This is supported by the study of the Trobriand Islanders. The fisherman had a number of prayer rituals which they performed before going out to sea. They did this as a chemical group of individuals to take a leak a sense of a belonging to a community of fishermen.They would not perform these then they were sailing because of safety. Malinowski suggested that the threat of the open sea to them, was like a threat to the stability of their community and therefore they had to perform those prayer rituals to prevent that from happening. However Ma rxists would criticise this and say that truly religion teaches people social control. And actually when people fall in grieved at a funeral it doesnt allow them to fully express their grief, they are socially controlled into getting over it which is morally wrong.Parsons agreed with Malinowski and Durkheim, but went further and suggested that religion provided answers to unanswered questions about the meaning of life, and about things like death, it also prevented anomie. He agreed that religion promotes social solidarity, and agreed that it helps in times of stress. EG during the Second World War, people began to gather together in churches as a community as a source of comfort. Bellah suggested that there were functional alternatives to religion known as civil religion, which brought whole countries together regardless of their faith but on behalf of a civil religion.He suggested that instead of religion facing secularisation it is facing transformation into isms such as Americ anism. Uses religious images to promote national identity, EG in America having God bless America on coins or the Queens coronation in Britain. It is an act that allows the country to come together without questions of ethnicity, gender, religion etc. The functionalist theory of religion benefits wider society and the individual through marriage, bar mitzvahs, christenings, pilgrimages to Mecca/Lourdes, praying the holy books Quran, Bible, Torah, and things like hymns.Religion helps to bring communities together and also helps individuals who may not liveliness wanted, welcomed into religious practices. However, contemporary examples suggest that religion doesnt bind people together at all in fact it allows the complete opposite. For example, in Northern Ireland there is conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants, which suggests that religion doesnt help equality between religious groups. And as functionalism is a consensus theory it is doing the actual opposite allowing conflict.Functionalism has been criticised because of todays multicultural society. Theorists such as post-modernists are questioning whether religion can actually integrate a multi-faith society, where lots of small groups have different religious views. They would agree that Durkheims view of religion was accurate for a primitive society but not for a complex society such as today. Many other theorists have criticised functionalists and their theories about religion.Marxists would argue that religion oppresses groups of women and the poor, so how can religion benefit the individual or society. If an individual is being separated due to his/her gender and year then how can religion allow them to fit into a community when the elites would look down upon them. People recognise that Bellahs approach of civil religion begins to overcome the problem, but again can something like Americanism be considered as a religion, especially if there is no belief in he nonnatural? Some people wou ld argue that religion is spread as a plan to spring hatred on one group of people. It benefits one group but puts down another.Todays example would be of Pastor Terry Jones, wanting to burn the Quran. He brought about this plan to make Muslims angry, and therefore how can a group of Muslims be part of a community when someone in a position like his can provide such hatred for another religious group. It goes back to the question of integrating a multi-faith society.Granted that the church proposing this was small, but sometimes minority influence has an impact which is why it was all over the media. This provides evidence that religion isnt able to benefit society or an individual because certain groups are always made to feel alienated, from a mainstream trend. To conclude, religion is inevitably able to help people in terms of crises, and does prevent anomie, but on the other hand it does allow for social cohesion to break down, as hatred for religious groups grow subtly in count ries.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Essay

There is no doubt that the book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safranfoer focuses more on the story with Oskar, thus far it also includes a compelling side story of the liveness of the Grandfather. From reading the different all the samets that occur throughout his years, the readers can sense a feeling of erroneousness and reconciliation. The underlying story round the granddaddy explains his reasoning behind his wrongdoing, what he did to commit to it, and his actions afterwards to reconcile on behalf of it.The early events of the grandfathers life were complicated for him, and resulted in his mind being corrupt. Through the quote, Does it break my heart, of course, every moment of every day, into more pieces than my heart was made of, I neer purview of myself as quiet, much less silent (Safranfoer 17), the seclusion between him and the world is starting to become noticeable. After suffering the loss of his first love, as intumesce as his child, left field him with an unbearable sadness so early in his life. This causes his views on living to be altered as he thought of it as something that is a shame to partake in.His inability to even talk anymore starting with the name Anna and slowly reducing to nothing, verifies that her death triggered his isolation. With that, he was left exonerate and reluctant to allow anyone to fill that void. Years after the Annas death, the grandfather started his relationship with the grandmother. Still isolating himself, he explained at the end of the book, his reasoning for deviation the grandmother prior through a conversation with Oskar, How did he die I lost him before he died How? I went a representation Why? He wrote, I was afraid Afraid of what? Afraid of losing him (Safranfoer 322). This is a strong quote explaining how the grandfather was too sc ard to love someone again. The rules that he and the grandmother pose with the something and nothing areas gave him his own type of comfort in con tinuing to live without Anna. When he learned of the grandmothers pregnancy, he lost any remain security that he has accumulated throughout the course of their relationship.His views on life and love were already corrupt as he was still broken from before, so with this, he remained confused on what to do. Unable to allow himself to open up and love another one of his children again, he left before he got the occur to. Contrarily, after leaving, the grandfather wrote multiple letters to the son that he never knew, which showed how ashamed he was of himself. However, due to his perspective on living, he feels that he was left with no other choice.This was an important moment when the grandfather was able to open up to the grandmother, which allowed the readers to gain an understanding of his true thoughts and feelings towards the events of his life. He lost something he never had. That is why he generated this chaos throughout his life. It hurt him, and although he does not specific ally say that he wishes it did not happen, the tone expressed shows that he would flip been better off without this suffering.To elaborate on that thought, one must ordain themselves in the grandfathers shoes. The person who he was in love with, who was also carrying his child, was killed in a war that was not even ideal to be a part of. Northrop Frye, author of The Educated Imagination states, What produces the tolerance is the power of detachment in the imagination, where things are removed just out of reach of belief and action (Frye 46). For the readers, this seems like a common tragedy during the war, nevertheless to really hink deeply about the emotions of the peck who lived through that misfortune portrays the grandfather in a different way. He had every right to feel the way he was feeling war put many people in misery, for many different reasons, that revolved around the same topic, loss of a loved one. To live through that, and be pass judgment to continue on with lif e conventionally is obscured. Frye explains that readers develop a tolerance when reading, but what must now be done is to learn to understand at heart the reach of belief and action.By being able to adapt to this deeper understanding, it is easier to understand the feelings going through the grandfather. Another way the reconciliation with the grandfather is seen is when Oskar confides in the grandfather but to Oskar, is just the renter. After hearing the message recordings on the phone, the grandfather writes, in a letter to his son, The message was cut off, you effectiveed so calm, you did not sound like someone who was about to die, I wish we could have sat across a table and talked about nothing for hours (Safranfoer 281).Thinking from the grandfathers perspective he is listening to the voice of his son that he never met for the first time, right before the son is about to die. One could only see how traumatizing it would be to hear that. This encounter between Oskar and the grandfather was more of a rude awakening to the grandfather. He left his son before he could even meet him, and now, all he has left of him is the sound of his voice, minutes before he dies. The amount of regret within the grandfather is enormous he is ashamed.By joining Oskar in digging up the casket, he puts the letters into it. This symbolizes his way of finally sending his son the letters. It is a way to put him at field pansy and finally reach out to his son. These events will always be a memory, but maybe now he can find a way to accept it and try living in a new acceptable way. For the grandfather to experiences all these occasions, yet still confess to his mistakes, makes the underlying story about him an inspirational portion to the book.Having such a distressing event early in his life causes him to make mistakes and hurt the people who are significant to him, but in the end, he makes up for it reconciles. In the world today, it is rare that someone who takes responsibil ity for their actions, and admits that they were wrong. The grandfather goes through such traumas in his life, and proves to be a strong, freehearted man.

Literacy in America Essay

America, the most technologically advanced and affluent of all dry lands on the earth, reckons to contribute an increasingly larger illiteracy rate every year. This has become and continues to be a critical conundrum spellim our society as we know it. According to the National Adult Literacy survey, 42 million bounteous Ameri offers cant put down 50 million are limited to a 4th or 5th grade reading level one in every four teenagers drops out of soaring school, and of the students who graduate, one in every four has around an 8th grade education. Why? You ask.This problem allow for never fix itself and will take quite a bit of time to overcome. We need to bump off sure that everyone is aware of the social problems, poverty and lack of family interaction that occurs everyday in many, if not all, communities throughout America. Nearly a billion people, two-thirds of them women, will enter this world unable to read a criminal record or write their names, warns UNICEF in a ne w report, The State of the Worlds Children 1999. UNICEF, the join Nations Childrens Fund, points out that the ignorant live in more desperate poverty and poorer health than those who can read and write.(Boaz). The most important factor that contributes to the outrageous statistics of illiteracy is that of poverty. penury is an issue that more and more of our nations children are coming face to face with and the price they mustiness pay is unbelievably high. mendicancy is considered a major at-risk factor (Leroy 2001). The term at-risk refers to children who are likely to fail whether it 2 be at school or life in general because of their lifes social band.Some of the factors that whitethorn place these children at-risk are dangerous neighborhoods young, uneducated parents unemployment and inadequate educational experiences. Teachers need to be aware of the circumstances that their students face and be able and ready to help these children find a balance between the heathen va lues that they may have and values emphasized in school. By providing emotional support, modeling, and other forms of scaffolding, teachers can help students use their strengths, skills, and knowledge to develop and learn ( Marlowe and Page,9).The get together States prides itself on being a free, classless state. Jonathan Kozols study The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society states that the United States is not the republic it claims to be. For democracy to work at its best, a true representation of the common interests and how the majority feels about those interests must be in place. According to Kozol, about 60 million people in the United States are unknowledgeable. For the United States to be the self-functioning democratic state it proclaims to be, it has to be a literate society.The people of the United States are not part of a democracy without the full capacity to make informed choices, and furthermore cannot reap the benefits that a democratic society has to offer if the best interests of the majority are not represented. Direct quote 2 (Madison)with signal phrase. Hypo-thetical example James Madison wrote that a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives. A popular judicature without popular information or the message of acquiring it is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps twain (Surowiecki, page 4).Voting is by far the most important aspect of a democratic society, and the component of people who do vote is a topic of much discussion here in the United States. If the number of people not suffrage is such a significant concern then the reasons they are not voting is 3 as well. An uneducated vote is not any better than a vote not cast at all. Imagine going to a voting booth and voting for a person or a ballot measure based on the ads you see on the TV only. In this circumstance, decisions are often made based on the negative ideas offered by two major politicalparties. If 60 m illion people in the United States cannot read, then they cannot cast a vote truly representative of their opinions. As Kozol claims, the United States has in fact become a government of those two thirds whose wealth, skin color, or parental privilege allows them opportunity to profit from the provocation and instruction of the pen word (Kozol). The percentage of the population that is illiterate cannot submit which candidates make it onto the ballots, they cannot sign petitions, and they cannot choose which measures will pass or those that will fail.Direct quote 3 (Kozal), with signal phrase e. Of equal importance to a democratic society are the benefits that literacy provides to the public. When one is illiterate they are not able to reap the benefits of a free society. The freedom to choose enhances ones chances of experiencing the best of anything. Illiteracy makes for a life of settling. An illiterate person has to settle for anothers interpretations of the world. According t o the article Democracy 101, the ability to read opens a world that many people do not consider.The choice of where to live, what to eat, and where to work may all seem commonplace to the average literate person. Kozol uses the warning on a can of Drano in the opening of this essay to educate. It may take a moment for it to sink in but the reader will shortly realize how much power reading and writing holds. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are suppose to be guaranteed to all citizens of this country. Those that cannot read or write do not have the capability to choose who are the best people suited for ensuring those rights.Perhaps more importantly the 60 million illiterate people in this country cannot make the choices necessary to make use of those rights (Kozol). References Boaz, David. Illiteracy The Bad intelligence agency and the Good. Cato Institute. 20 Jan. 1999. Kim, J. K. NRRF Illiteracy An Incurable Disease or Education Malpractice? Kozol, Jonathan, Illi teracy The Enduring Problem. . Leroy. The Effects of Poverty on Teaching and Learning. 2001 Surowiecki, James. The Dangers of Financial Illiteracy in America. The New Yorker.

Family and International Assignment Policy Essay

What Is Your Critical Evaluation of Colgate-Palmolives International Assignment Policy? What Are Its Strengths And Weaknesses? Colgate-Palmolives (C-P) international assignment policy was designed to regularize entitlements for the expatriation man termrs. It covered tax equalization, goods and services, housing, the actual move and settling in, sale or rental of the pattern residence, relocation allowances, living expenses, education, vacation, leave, post allowance and smooth transitions (Rosenzweig, 1994).The assignment policy was progressive, permitting applicants a 5 sidereal day pre-acceptance tour. The language courses at the companys expense were paramount. Overall, the company sought to address both the deportation and his familys quality of life. I subscribe to the motto a intelligent wife makes a happy life, olibanum I would agree that the policy was comprehensive and supported the aforementi geniusd and motto. Strengths included fiscal parity and the overall family and spouse assistance program.However, the greatest strength was C-Ps willingness to improve the policy and orientations base on surveys (Rosenzweig, 1994, p. 7). The only weakness I can surmise is that such a policy does non support a local indigenous applicant. What Should Colgate-Palmolive Do About the Growing Issue of Dual-Career Families? C-P has two courses of effect (COA). Do not hire or address dual-career families or succumb and make the afield assignments amiable to dual-career families. COA one would limit their candidate pool.One C-P human resource manager (HRM) stated the frequency of dual-career families among C-Ps young managers was a reflection of their high quality We tend to attract people who have been to refine school and who often met their spouses at graduate school. Both spouses are educated professionals and both tend to pauperization to pursue their careers (Rosenzweig, 1994, p. 9). Thus COA two would support a larger qualified candidate pool. However , there is a cost(s) associated. C-P discussed income replacement to offset the spouses lost income (Rosenzweig, 1994, p. 0), but was viewed to expensive.Others recommended C-P change the abroad perception, in lieu of a personnel casualty or sacrifice, a positive spin was placed on foreign employment. Personally, I would opt for COA one but with two additions. Transfer young single executives on shorter term assignments in support of pitch costs and capitalize on modern technologies that did not exist at the time this article was published. effective virtual training conference lines can be purchased for under $25,000 permitting daily interaction, meetings and mentoring between C-P headquarters and the expatriate manager.Lastly, C-P foreign employees may capitalize on the numerous web based social technologies such as Skype and Face Time that are now a staple communication platform. What Should an MNC take away When Designing a Policy Regarding International Career Development? It is paramount that MNC focus on recruiting processes. A larger diverse, multi linguistic applicant pool who have lived and been educated abroad would mitigate many of the culture shock experiences associated with overseas assignments. The policy development should incorporate local nationals employed by companies like C-P.In the US, we are long-familiar with the big Japanese motor companies like Toyota and Nissan, but we often overlook the other foreign own companies like Pillsbury and CBS Records who employ thousands of US professionals. Ultimately, MNC must address the monetary pay and quality of life for 2 potential candidates host-country employees and home country employees (where the headquarters is located). Certainly, I am not naive to the fact that compensation is not easily addressed as it should conform to local laws and taxation (both host and home countries).What Should an Employee Consider When Deciding to Accept or Decline an International Assignment? How Does th e Employees Current Career face Affect Such a Decision? As an active duty Soldier with family and prior overseas duty assignments, I have had given this question a great deal of thought. Certainly C-Ps policy covering areas such as tax equalization, goods and services, housing, the actual move and settling in, sale or rental of the principle residence, relocation allowances, living expenses, education, vacation, leave, post allowance and smooth transitions are important.Ultimately, it boils down to education, medical examination care, quality of life and face time with family. Dependent on ones age and the age of your children, a support system for the spouse is paramount. Extended family is ideal if the expatriate will travel frequently, thus transcontinental travel, accessibility to international airports is important. Quality of education and backwards planning are important. The closer children cast down to high school and college age, the more important it is to be in the US with a stabilized epoch of assignment.

Midnight Journal Entry

The Midnight Journal Entry Anne T. Lawrence, San Jose State University On an altogether all overcast afternoon in Portland, Oregon, on Friday, inch 28, 2003, Richard Okumoto intently studied a set of hard-copy chronicle documents called adjusting journal entries spread out on his desk. He had been appointed foreman financial rancidicer (chief financial officer) of Electro scientific Industries, Inc. (ESI), a multi-million dollar equipment manufacturer, just a few weeks earlier. Okumoto was in the midst of closing the familiaritys books for the third quarter of monetary form 2003, which displaceed February 28.An experienced executive who had served as chief financial officer for some(prenominal) other technology trustworthys, Okumoto was familiar with the task, which ordinarily would be routine. But this time, he felt that something was seriously amiss. When reviewing the lodges recent results, he had detect a sharp dip in accrued liabilities between the two quarters en ding whitethorn 31 (the last quarter of the 2002 fiscal year) and August 31 (the number one quarter of the current fiscal year).Now, looking at the detailed journal entries his staff had contributed, he noticed that several signifi understructuret accounting entries had been made around midnight on kinfolk 12, 2002. The entries made that September evening had significantly changed the keep companys results for the quarter ending August 31, 2002, a few days before they were crudespapered to the Securities and Exchange Commission. He after recalled The fact that the time stamps on the journal entries were midnight through one oclock in the break of the day made me rely they were having difficulties closing the quarter.Not just because of accounting difficulties, however because they were having difficulties finding the right answers. My initial chemical reaction was, even apt(p) a difficult quarterly close, if the group was realizeing that late at night, that wasnt typical . From the pass codes required by the accounting software, Okumoto could slang who had made the entries. They include James Dooley, then the companys acting chief operating officer and now the chief executive officer, the corporate controller, and several senior members of the stipend team. One midnight journal entry in particular drew the new CFOs attention.The late-night team had wiped out an accrued liability of $977,000 associated with the anticipated cost of retirement and severance benefits to company employees in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. That entry, and several smaller ones, all of which were favorable to net income, had the cumulative effect of permitting the company to report earnings of $0. 01 per treat for the quarter ending August 31, 2002, rather than a loss. When he realized that, Okumoto recalled, he felt a sinking feeling in my gut. He asked himself, What happened here? At that time of night?All of the changes in a single direction? Whats going on? He was sur e something was not right. RICHARD OKUMOTO innate(p) in 1952, Richard Okumoto was raised with his four siblings in a Nipponese-American family in a low-income, African-American neighborhood that surround the Pepper Street Projects of Pasadena, California. He explained how his parents experiences had shaped their outlook My parents grew up during the depression years. dadaism farmed with relatives, and Mom grew up tending 3,000 chickens on a three-acre ranch in Gardena, California.Shortly after the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese, my parents were relocated under executive director redact 9066 under which persons of Japanese ancestry on the West Coast were displace to relocation camps during World War II. They met and married in a relocation camp. During their incarceration, their families could not make their behavements. Dad and his relatives lost their land, and Moms parents lost their chicken ranch. afterwards those experiences, my father was committed to having no debt . He built our family radix in 1955, with the idea of paying off the loan in eight years.In 1962, Okumotos father, who hold outed as a gardener, landscaper, and salesman of Japanese mutual funds, was disabled in a serious auto accident. Fortunately, by then, he had almost paid off the loan on their home, so the family was able to survive financially. After the accident, Okumotos mother took a job cleaning homes to serve well support her five children. Okumoto described his family relationship with his mother She and I had an especially close bond. Shortly before my dads accident, both her parents had died. I was the one who supported her through a very difficult year.As a result, she forever treated me other than from the other kidsalmost like an adult. The Okumoto familys financial situation after the accident was difficult. Okumoto had vivid memories of how they coped capital was very short. We had to account for every penny. Every week, my mother wrote discomfit in a le ather-bound journal everything she take in and everything we spent in the household, down to the penny. Every week, from the time I was ten years old, she went through that with me. We lived on a cash basis. There was no credit card, no second mortg while.In that situation, budgeting became extremely important. Her comment to me was, You cant complain to the highest degree what you dont have unless you understand whats happening. Those were her ground rules. He added this comment or so his mothers values The ethics of doing the right thing become very important, because thats rightfully all you have. My mother instilled in me at an early age, regardless of what else you do, always take the high road, always do the right thing. That has influenced me throughout my career.After high school, Okumoto attended San Jose State University, where he comp allowed an undergraduate degree in accounting in 1974 and attended the MBA program from1975 to 1978. He soon embarked on a highly in( predicate) career in pay. Over the next two-and-a-half decades, he held increasingly responsible roles at a add up of high-technology companies in the Silicon Valley, including Fairchild Semiconductor, Novellus Systems, Measurex, Credence Systems, and Photon Dynamics. Okumoto admired a number of managers he had worked for, who had set high superior and ethical standards for him and his co-workers.He felt fortunate to have had three exceptional mentors Woody Spedden, the CEO of Credence Systems Jim Hefferman, his political boss at Fairchild and later at Measurex and Don Waite, the CFO at Measurex who later took over that position at Seagate Technologies. All three individuals upheld the highest integrity, Okumoto recalled. Aside from the technical training I received from them, I got a practiced ethical grounding. They would always tell me to ask myselfwhat are your obligations to others? ELECTRO SCIENTIFIC INDUSTRIES, INC. Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. ESI), the company that Okumoto joined as CFO in early 2003, was the second-largest technology company in Oregon, trailing only Tektronix in size. base in Portland, the company was founded in 1944 as Brown Engineering to make test and measurement equipment. As technology evolved, so did the companys products. In the 1960s, the firmby then called ESImoved into lasers, and later developed applications of laser technology for the emerging semiconductor industry. ESI went public on the NASDAQ exchange in 1983. In 2003, ESIs core commerce was providing precision intersection equipment to electronics firms.The company manufactured equipment that was used in the production of a wide range of electronics products, such as computers, cellular phones, home entertainment systems, automotive electronics, electronic games, and personal digital devices. Its products included advanced laser systems, test equipment, and packaging systems, among others. The companys customers included many leading electronics firm s, including AMD, Ericsson, IBM, Samsung, Hitachi, Flextronics, Honeywell, and Lucent. Seventy percent of ESIs sales were outside the United States, mainly in Asia and Europe.The company owned and operated manufacturing facilities in Portland and Klamath Falls, Oregon, and in Escondido, California, and operated sales offices in many countries. In 2002, it employed 875 slew and reported sales revenue of $167 million (down from $472 million the prior year). Like many firms in the electronics industry, ESI was seriously battered by the economic down worm that began in 2001. After achieving record sales and income in the fiscal year ending May 31, 2001, the companys financial results declined precipitously in FY 2002, as shown in render A.Sales and profits had continued to decline in the beginning(a) half of FY 2003. Exhibit A Electro Scientific Industries, Selected Sales and Income Data, 1998-2002 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Net sales 252,134 197,118 299,419 471,853 166,545 Net inco me (loss) 22,347 7,528 40,860 99,933 (15,961) Net income (loss) per share 0. 89 0. 29 1. 55 3. 71 (0. 58) Data refer to fiscal years ending May 31. All data are given in thousands of dollars, except per share data. Source ESI 2002 Annual Report. The company noted in its 2002 annual reportIn fiscal year 2002, ESI wea in that locationd the worst downturn in the electronics industry in over 30 yearsWe are conducting a thorough review of our overall market strategy as well as product line strategies to assure that they will generate significant shareholder returns over the inevitable cycles in our industry. To cut costs, the company initiated a shutdown of its Escondido facility, consolidating its operations in Portland. It divested several underperforming lines of business and sought to invest in areas it saw as promising through partnerships and, potentially, acquisitions.It in like manner informally explored a merger with another firm in southern California. In early 2002, Don VanLu vanee, the companys long-time CEO, suffered a stroke and was no longer able to serve. The dialog box appointed David Bolender, the former CEO of protocol Systems and a director since 1988, to step in as acting CEO until it could find a imperishable replacement. At that time, the board also elevated James Dooley, who had been serving as the firms chief financial officer, to the role of acting chief operating officer to run the companys day-to-day affairs.In December 2002, the board promoted Dooley to the position of chief executive officer, and Bolender became chairman of the board. (Executives and directors of ESI named in the case, and their positions, are summarized in Exhibit B. ) Exhibit B should appear almost(predicate) here it is at the end of the file. CLOSING THE QUARTER Shortly after Dooley became CEO, Okumoto was recruited as chief financial officer. He started work on February 17, 2003. I was excited about the job. I thought it might be my last one in the industry. The company, management, and employeesall had a long archives of stability.To me, it was another walk down the path of hard work, a fresh chance to apply my skills in strategic planning and execution as well as to implement the new Sarbanes-Oxley compliance rules. His first task was to prepare for the FY 2003 third quarter close. In reviewing the companys books for the past several quarters, he soon noticed a sharp downward spike in the balance of accrued liabilities. He noted that fact for gain ground investigation. In addition to closing the quarter, several other items required Okumotos attention.Just one week into his new job, on February 24, he got an email from John ( bastard) Isselmann, Jr. , the widely distri simplyed counsel, asking him to forward to the manager of the Japanese office, Mike Tetsui, a set of revised work rules (terms of vocation) for ESIs Japanese employees. As a newcomer, Okumoto knew little of the background or why he had been asked to do this, besid es complied with the global counsels request, sending on to the Japanese office manager the revised work rules. Okumoto received the following reply from Tetsui on March 2 I have read the proposed work rule and found no section of sic retirement fund.I do not know what is the intention of removing that section, but it is a huge impact on each employee we haveI do not hold I can get concents sic from ESIs Japanese employees without reasonable change in retirement benefit. Please let me know how you would like me to proceed. Okumoto recalled My first response was, uh-oh. There was a big disconnect between what I had been told and Mikes reply. I had assumed that the Japanese had already been informed of the scrape uplation of their retirement benefits and agreed to the changes. It was square away they had not.In a prior job at Novellus Systems, Okumoto had set up that companys Japanese operations, and he was aware that Japanese work rules were normally filed with the government. R egulators were very strict about altering any attested benefits. Accordingly, Okumoto believed that ESI was stimulate to pay benefits that had been promised to employees, and he told Isselmann this. Okumoto also expressed the doctrine that employees, if dissatisfied with the revised rules, could take the topic before the Japanese labor board, and that this would be a quantifiable event that would have to be record on the books as a liability.Isselmann responded that he was unfamiliar with Japanese law. On March 4, Okumoto spoke with CEO James Dooley about his concerns that the permutation of benefits for Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese employees might expose ESI to litigation, and this could affect the accounting treatment of the event. Dooley powerfully disagreed. Okumoto recalled He told me that everything had been cleared with everyone. He said there was full information. There was full disclosure. He emphasized that KPMG ESIs external size uped accountor, the companys own l egal staff, and the board had all signed off on it. He said I should just get past it. Okumoto was concerned about this conversation, particularly because the CEO seemed so defensive. On March 11, Okumoto met again with Dooley, this time to discuss Okumotos upcoming foundation to the audit citizens committee. The new CFO recommended that the company delay announcing its third quarter earnings and restate its first and second quarter earnings to report correctly the $977,000 in liabilities associated with the anticipated cost of retirement benefits for its Asian employees. Okumoto explained his view that not reporting these liabilities had violated Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.At that point, Okumoto recalled, Dooley became visibly upset. The CEOall six feet-six inches and 280 pounds of himturned an angry red and told me again to just get past this. Thats when I knew that this was going to be swept under the rug. It was clear I was not part of the club. Then Jim said, I f Ive got to reverse this entry, Ill quit. THE MOFO MEMORANDUM On March 13, Okumoto attended a skirmish of the board of directors audit committee. Also present at that meeting, in addition to the audit committee members, were Dooley, Isselmann, and several senior managers.At the meeting, Okumoto recommended that the companys financial statements for the previous two quarters be restated, and that it hire an independent accounting firm to conduct an audit of the Asian benefits issue. Dooley countered that everyone had been fully informed of the reversal and had bought off on it. The audit committee declined Okumotos suggestion that an independent accounting firm be brought in, but it did direct Barry Harmon (formerly ESIs CFO and a member of the audit committee), Okumoto, and Isselmann to lead an internal investigation into the matter.After the audit committee meeting, Isselmann came into the CFOs office. Okumoto recalled He closed the door and just broke down. He told me that afte r the benefits reversal in September he had asked MoFo Morrison Foerster, an outside law firm on retainer to ESI to review its legality. MoFo had advised it was illegal to cancel the retirement benefits without employee consent. He said he had immediately shown the memo to Dooley, who had brow-beat him, intimidated him, and essentially boxed him into a corner. I believed this, because in one meeting I actually saw Jim stand up and pillar over Jack, who was only 5 feet-6.I watched Jim almost sensually overtake him. Jack was a young guy, graceful inexperienced, and his job at ESI was his first in the industry. On his way out, Isselmann handed Okumoto some documents. From the documents, Okumoto learned that on October 3, 2002, Isselmann had written MoFo, asking for an opinion on whether or not it would be legal for the company to notify the Asian employees retirement benefits unilaterally. In his letter, Isselmann had pointed out that the rules had been distributed to employees but had not been submitted to the relevant government agency.On October 7, Toshihiro So, a Japanese labor and employment attorney affiliated with Morrison Foerster, responded to Isselmanns request. The MoFo memo, now in Okumotos hands, read in part Retirement allowances are not a legal requirement in Japan. However, once the company agrees to pay retirement allowances in Rules of Employment (even though they have not been submitted to the relevant government agency), the company is obligate to pay them in accordance with the Rules and cannot remove them at the companys discretion.According to Japanese case laws, as a general rule, the deprivation of previously acquired rights by newly drawn up or changed work rules are sic not permittedIt is required that before changing the work rules, the company should hear and consider the opinion of the related employees. Okumoto was shocked. This is the smoking gun, he thought. Investigating further, Okumoto learned that although private employe rs in Japan were not obligated to pay retirement benefits, doing so was considered a good industry practice, and since 1981 ESI had offered such a benefit to its employees there.Under the rules of employment established for ESIs employees in Japan, any employee (except executives) who chose to retire after stretchiness the voluntary retirement age of 60 would be entitled to a retirement allowance of one months pay per year of servicein effect, a one-time severance payment. Workers who were involuntarily terminated and the estates of any workers who died before reaching the age of 60 were also entitled to this benefit. Similar rules were in effect for the companys workers in Korea and Taiwan. At the time, ESI had 18 employees in Japan, 13 in Korea, and 23 in Taiwan, mostly in sales and customer support roles.On March 14, Okumoto called an all hands meeting to disclose his initial findings and discuss a path forward. Present at the meeting were Dooley, Isselmann, Harmon, and several other senior managers. The CFO asked directly if there had been full disclosure and review of all material facts with respect to the accrual reversal. Dooley confirmed that everything had been disclosed. Okumoto did not take down the MoFo memo, thinking that Dooleys response indicated that he must have already disclosed it to KPMG and the audit committee. On March 20, Okumoto spoke by telephone with Mike Tetsui.The Japanese manager told the CFO that the employees had not yet been told that their retirement benefits had been terminated, and heTetsuiwould resign before he would tell them that news, which he expected would be devastating. As head of the group, Tetsui told Okumoto, I will fall on my sword. On March 21, Okumoto met again with Dooley to press him on how the reversal had happened. Dooley was initially combative. As the conversation went on, however, he let his guard down and began talking about what had happened on the night of September 12.As Okumoto recalled the conv ersation Jim told me that he had sent a financial packet to the board of directors prior to their meeting on September 13. After he had distributed the packet, but before the meeting, he was contacted by KPMG, who told him there had been an error in the companys calculations of its overhead costs, so the financial statements distributed to the board were incorrect. ESIs reportable earnings were suddenly much less than they thought, by as much as a million dollars.Jim said this was particularly important because the company was in informal merger discussions with a company in southern California. Then he said, No one was helping me, so I had to help myself. When Jim made that comment, my first thought was, he was looking for revenue. He was hunting for credits. He was looking to duck earnings. That was a definite red flag. Okumoto walked out of Dooleys office stunned. He called his staff together and asked them to forgather any documentation they had on accounting entries on or ar ound September 12.He also began talking with the members of the finance team who had participated in the late-night meeting with Dooley and learned that a number of people on the finance staff had questioned the benefits reversal, but had not brought it forward. This was consistent with a negative tone at the top. I would almost characterize it as bullying. Thats one reason why no one stepped forward. That tone at the top created an environment where people really couldnt speak out. Its important to look at the people. Its similar to qualitative research. We all do that intuitively.When I looked at the body language of a lot of the people involvedthe cost accountants, the financial analystsit became apparent to me that they were scared. They knew something was revile, and they wanted to say something, but something held them back. They reminded me of trounce animals. Growing up in the neighborhood I did, I knew what fear looked like. As part of his further investigation, Okumoto i ndependently approached the audit team from KPMG. They told him Dooley had informed them that the company had received a legal opinion that the reversal was appropriate, and they had deemed that information sufficient.Okumoto observed KPMG was new on the account, which they picked up after the collapse of Arthur Andersen. They didnt have chummy familiarity with it. They did not have all the information. Some of the partners were new. On March 28, a week after he had requested the relevant accounting entries for September 12, his staff finally produced the complete documentation for that date. Now, drilling down into the details, he saw the full scope of the midnight journal entriesand who had made them. WEIGHING THE RISKS Over the weekend, Okumoto considered his next moves. none of the ndividuals and groups from whom he had sought supportthe CEO, the general counsel, or the auditorsseemed to share his concern about the seriousness of the issue. The audit committee had shown some in terest, but had turned down his recommendation to bring in independent auditors and seemed to believe the matter could be handled internally. Okumoto was losing sleep, worrying constantly about whatif anyadditional steps he should take. He had tried to warn the key players. From all, he had received the same message We dont see this as a serious problem. Let it go.Okumoto realized the risks of escalating the issue further. He was earning a base wages of $250,000, with the possibility of a 100 percent performance bonus. He reflected I certainly realized the risks. I knew that if I brought this forward, there was a strong likelihood that I would either lose my job, or I would be in an environment where it would be difficult to operate, so I would have to leave. The idea also occurred to him that I can leverage this for more money and stock if I look the other way. Plus, I can become invaluable to the company with this dirt.I can immediately become part of the established within club . He had also recently signed a contract to purchase a home in the nearby community of Lake Oswego, and wondered how he would make good on that commitment if he lost his job. However, he felt reasonably secure financially. Following the example of his parents, Okumoto had worked hard to avoid debt and to save for adverse times. He reflected One of the first things I ask friends who are or would like to be CFOs or general managers, where risks such as this can jeopardize their careers, is Are you financially secure exuberant to make good decisions?Because if you arent, I can count on the fact that you will make bad decisions when times of harm hit. We all talk about the value of making good decisions, but as we all know, spirit creeps in. There are economic commitments, family commitments, and people are sometimes moved to do the wrong thing. As the old adage goes, hire your sales people so they are hungry full to get the deal done. Hire your finance people so they are not hungr y enough to do the wrong thing. He added Fortunately, I was financially in a position where I could give in to leave if t came to that. I was single, so I figured the only person I had to comfort was myself. He also had a network of friends in the area he felt he could turn to for support. I had a number of friends in the Portland area, having worked there earlier. My prior company had a division of about 1000 employees in the area. Of these, 500 had worked directly for me. It might have been a false sense of security, but I felt I had a pretty good infrastructure of people that I knew. By this time, Okumoto was also becoming concerned about his personal safety.Several times, he received anonymous messages on his home answering machine. At the time, he was living temporarily in corporate housing while he shopped for a home, and he felt he was particularly visible there. But, he added that he was not considerably intimidated. I felt that I could take care of myself. I had faced a lot worse threats than this one. As a teenager, I was robbed at gunpoint. I was stabbed in the back and left for dead. I was overcome so badly that my eyes were swollen shut. I grew up around a lot of physical violence. Although Okumoto saw risks in taking action, he also saw risks in inaction.He commented I was concerned about my own legal liability if I did not take action. From the point of view of the DOJ Department of Justice and sec Securities and Exchange Commission, if you dont fix the problem, you become the problem. I had potential legal risk. As Okumoto pondered the risks of both action and inaction, he reflected on the board of directors and what kind of response he might expect if he approached them directly. (See Exhibit C for a list of members of the board. ) Exhibit C should appear about here it is at the end of the file. Dooley was the only insider on the board.There were some old timers on the boardlike Barry Harmon, who had earlier been CFO at ESI. But there w ere also a fair number of independents. Even though I was new at the company, I had a prior relationship with two of the directors. Jerry Taylor, the former CFO at employ Materials, was a member of the audit committee. Jerry and I had worked together 25 years earlier at Fairchild. So, I had a long-standing relationship with him. Jon Tompkins, the former CEO of KLA-Tencor, was also on the board. I had known Jon from Tencor days, where he had interviewed me for the CFO position.As he contemplated his next move, Okumoto thought back to an experience earlier in his career. As he told the tarradiddle I had been in a situation before where I hadnt spoken up. I had been a CFO for another public company. I was in a situation in which I had questions on some of the accounting. But it was close enough, and I was concerned that I didnt have enough reason to support my reservations. I had only been with the company three months. Within four months, we had a major revenue shortfall. At that ti me, I made the decision not to try to cover up the revenue shortfall.But, because we had not called it to the attention of analysts earlier, we lost the confidence of the Street. At that point, the CEO and I both resigned. I made a decision then that if I ever again saw something that was close, I would act much faster. He also thought about his mothers admonition always to do the right thing, and the advice of his mentors, who had counseled him always to ask the questionwhat are your obligations to others? Exhibit B Executives and Directors of Electro Scientific Industries, Inc. Named in the Case and Their Positions (Listed in Order of Mention)Richard Okumoto headway Financial policeman (CFO) James T. Jim DooleyActing Chief Operating Officer (COO), early 2002 December 2002 Chief Executive Officer (CEO), December 2002 Don VanLuvaneeFormer CEO David F. BolenderActing CEO, early 2002 December 2002 Chairman of the Board, December 2002 John Jack Isselmann, Jr. General Counsel Mike T etsuiManager, Japanese Office Barry L. Harmon Former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Director and Member of the Audit Committee Gerald F. Jerry TaylorDirector and Member of the Audit Committee Jon D. TompkinsDirectorExhibit C Members of the Board of Directors, ESI Inc. , March 2003 David F. Bolender, Chairman of the Board Chairman of the Board and CEO (retired), Protocol Systems, Inc. chairwoman of Pacific Power and elucidation Co. (retired) James T. Dooley, Chief Executive Officer Barry L. Harmon (member of the Audit Committee) Senior vice President (retired), Avocet Corp. formerly, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ESI Keith L. Thomson Vice President (retired), Intel Corp. Chair of the Board of Trustees, University of Oregon fanny Jon D. TompkinsCEO and Chairman of the Board (retired), KLA-Tencor Corp. President and CEO of Spectra-Physics (retired) Vernon B. Ryles, Jr. President and CEO (retired), Poppers Supply Co. Gerald F. Taylor (member of the Audit Com mittee) Chief Financial Officer (retired), Applied Materials W. Arthur Porter (Chairman of the Audit Committee) Dean of the College of Engineering, University of Oklahoma Larry L. Hansen Executive Vice President (retired), Tylan General, Inc. 2 . Copyright 2012 by the Case Research Journal and Anne T. Lawrence.The author developed this case to provide a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either the effective or ineffectual handling of a managerial situation. An earlier version of this case was presented at NACRAs annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, October 2011. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Richard Okumoto and the thoughtful comments of the editor, Deborah Ettington, and three anonymous reviewers. 3 . In 2002, norm annual salaries for ESI employees were $68,000 in Japan, $27,000 in Korea, and $38,000 in Taiwan (in U. S. dollars).