Beauty Pageants and Our Children Essay

Alost 3 million children, most of them girls, from the ages of 6 months and 17 years compete in beauty pageants annually in America. Competition can be local and national and they compete in categories such as swimwear, talent, costume of your choice, and eveningwear. This is an industry where mothers give her daughter energy drinks for a boost before pageants, 3-year-olds don fake fingernails, and parents regularly spend five thousand dollars on a child’s pageant outfit (O’Neill 1). Beauty pageants have negative consequences on America’s youth contestants through the pressure to be â€Å"perfect,† media influences, and child sexualization, which results in exhaustion, eating disorders, and body image issues in their future. In recent years, the child beauty pageant industry has exponentially grown in size and popularity. This growth is mainly due to television shows, such as Toddlers & Tiaras and Here Comes Honey Boo Boo that may be entertaining but exploit little girls in the process. These reality shows expose the behind-the-scenes horrors of beauty pageants that most people were oblivious too before. These shows have also revealed the use of energy supplements to improve the contestants performance, age-inappropriate costumes, intense and painful beauty regimens. Alana Thompson, featured on TLC’s Toddlers & Tiaras, is a seven-year-old beauty queen, nicknamed Honey Boo Boo, whose mother frequently gives her the infamous â€Å"Go-Go Juice†, a mix of Red Bull and Mountain Dew, before pageants. It is common knowledge that energy drinks are bad for one’s health, but every nutritionist in the world would agree that Red Bull for a seven-year-old is tremendously dangerous. Alana now has her own reality television show Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. Parents are not only harming their children’s health but also their moral. On one Toddlers & Tiaras episode, Paisley, merely 3-years-old, sported a costume based on the prostitute in Pretty Woman. In a 2011 episode, Madiysyn â€Å"Mady† Verst‘s mother filled out the then-4-year-old’s chest with fake breasts and an impossibly round behind for a Dolly Parton routine. Experts in child development argue the difference between playing dress-up and making a profession out of it. â€Å"Little girls are supposed to play with dolls, not be dolls,† says Mark Sichel, a New York-based licensed clinical social worker, who calls the extreme grooming common at pageants â€Å"a form of child abuse.† Playing dress-up â€Å"is normal and healthy, but when it’s demanded, it leaves the child not knowing what they want,† he says. Accentuating their appearance with such accoutrements as fake hair, teeth, spray tans and breast padding â€Å"causes the children tremendous confusion, wondering why they are not okay without those things† (Triggs 1). All of this confusion and body image problems is instilled in child beauty pageant contestants at a very young age. Ultimately, this leads to eating disorders, psychological issues, and relationship problems in the contestants’ later years. A study conducted at the University of Minnesota by Anna Wonderlich, Diann Ackard, and Judith Henderson showed the correlation between childhood beauty pageants and adult disordered eating, body dissatisfaction, depression, and self-esteem (Wonderlich 1). The results of this scientific experiment proved that for all the tests that assessed characteristics of anorexia and bulimia nervosa scores for those who had participated in beauty pageants were higher than scores for those who had not participated (Wonderlich 5). These results indicate a significant association between childhood beauty pageant participation and increased body dissatisfaction, difficulty trusting interpersonal relationships, and greater impulsive behaviors, and indicate a trend toward increased feelings of ineffectiveness (Wonderlich 6). Another example of the destructive effects of childhood beauty pageant is Brooke Breedwell, now nineteen, who was a child pageant contestant and a star of the television documentary, â€Å"Painted Babies.† â€Å"As a girl, [Breedwell] suffered from stress and anxiety while striving for an unrealistic standard of perfection. [In various interviews], she explains that her mother’s ambition, coupled with her own obsessive drive to win, resulted in severe social and psychological consequences† (Ahrens 86). Another negative consequence of childhood beauty pageants is the disturbing sexualization of young girls that steals away their treasured innocence–as if eating disorders and body image problems were not enough. Former child beauty queen Nicole Hunter confirms this theory by explaining that â€Å"dressing and acting like a woman at a young age compelled her to prematurely confront her sexuality, which in turn lowered her self-esteem† (Liberman 741). The child pageant circuit concentrates on the ideals of perfection and beauty, with an accompanying focus on sexuality. Innocent girls dressed in skimpy costumes parade and dance, remove pieces of their outfits and wink at judges. Basically, young beauty queens are taught to flirt and manipulate their early sexuality in order to win. Though frequently condemned for such eccentric and damaging practices, the child pageant industry has been gaining success and extensive popularity (Liberman 745). Additionally, reporter Richard Goldstein investigated the JonBenet Ramsey, a child beauty queen, murder case and brought to the surface both our horror at how effectively a child can be constructed as a sexual being and our guilt at the please we take in such a sight (Giroux 50). Her dynamic role in pageants was vastly examined by media after the murder. After JonBenet’s highly publicized murder, the problems of child beauty pageants, especially the degradation of young girls, are first brought to society’s attention. Although many pageant parents argue that the press unfairly focused on the connection of beauty pageants to Jon Benet’s murder, these defenders rarely address the concerns of robbing a child of her virtue by depicting young girls as â€Å"sexualized nymphets.† They have little to say about what adolescents actually gain in pageants. Those in favor of the pageants overlook how a child might see herself and her ability to form relationships with society when her feelings of self-worth is defined solely through a belief that beauty is one-dimensional and patronizing (Giroux 54-55). No five-year-old child enjoys getting her hair ripped out and teased, spending hours each day practicing exhausting dance routines, or devoting every weekend traveling to pageants rather than playing with friends. It is the beauty pageant contestant’s mother who forces them to endure these strenuous and sometimes painful rituals in order to achieve their own satisfaction. When feminist writer-performer, StaceyAnn Chin first saw Toddlers & Tiaras she was â€Å"flabbergasted by the parents who were so invested in these contests they got angry if their girls showed any signs of flagging.† In regards to the infamous pageant moms, Chin states that, † the pageant reminded me a little of dog shows–tiny, powerless competitors trained to do as they are told, with trainers who exploit their charges to gain fame and fortune and live out some archaic dream they once had for themselves† (Chin 1). The vast majority of pageant moms deny the harmful effects beauty pageants have own their child. Pageant mothers often â€Å"neutralize† their deviant behavior of enrolling their daughter in pageants by claiming pageants help their daughter rather than hurt. Also, mothers deny their own responsibility as the accountable parent by claiming that her daughter chooses to participate in beauty pageants (Pannell 68). Every single pageant mom asked in a study about childhood beauty pageants talked about competitors winning prize money, crowns, trophies and gifts in child beauty pageants (Mosel-Talavera 81). Some mothers deceptively sign their children up for pageants to exploit their daughters financially. One pageant mother says that there is a very infamous pageant child that always wins a large sum of money, ‘There is one little girl down South – she’s the daughter of one of the biggest known photographers. In six weeks’ time she went from pageant to pageant and won like $40,000.’ In the summer of 2005, there was another child, whose mother also owns a pageant business, who won three cars at pageants (Levey 204-205). These examples clearly reveal the evils of parents exploiting their children in pageants for their own selfish rewards. In childhood beauty pageants, the pressure from parents, influence from the media, and the desire to win all lead to disastrous consequences for the participants, which will stay with them for the rest of their life. Eating disorders, body image issues, and an early loss of innocence are just a few of the consequences these precious girls will have to deal with in their lifetime. No child should have to struggle with these problems at such a young age. Although little girls dressed up in frilly dresses and tiaras may be cute, there is a fine line between a fun beauty pageant and ruining a young girls life.

I run, every now and then when things in life get tough

It was a cool November night and there I was running through the smoky populous city of Chelmsford, rows upon rows of cars sped along the narrow concrete roads. Noise from the movement of cars and the odd occasional sound of a horn were to be heard. Among all this chaos and confusion there I was running, running as far away from my troubles as possible. My heart was pounding vigorously against my chest demanding more and more oxygen. Pain was accumulating in the lower part of my legs causing much agony. The only way that I could stop the pain was to stop running but I kept on running. I run, every now and then when things in life get tough. Every stride I take releases more stress and anger in my body. I was now panting, sweat gathered round my chest making my white cotton tee-shirt wet. I could now feel the force of the cool November air as I was making my way down hill. Maybe I shouldn't have lost my temper with my mum. I could remember the scene at home just fifteen minutes ago which made me very angry. † You've got three English essays to do and you are sitting here watching television!† I recall my mum saying. She just came home from a twelve hour shift from the hospital; physically and emotionally she was very exhausted – it's a stressful job being a doctor. Then she found me in the living room watching television – usually she doesn't say anything about that, but when I have three pieces of coursework due, she gets angry. † You have got to take some responsibility of your own,† I recall her uttering. I can still remember her brown weary eyes looking at me and the expression on her face represented someone who was tired and disappointed. Disappointed to find her only child watching television at a time when he really should be catching up with work – to be honest I don't blame her for getting angry. â€Å"Just trust me,† I remember my self pleading, † You know I will do it.† † When will u do it!†, I think my mum said, † I know when you'll do it, you'll do it at the very last minute, you'll stay up till about two o clock in the morning doing it and this will affect the quality of your essays!.† It was getting colder – maybe I should have worn something more instead of my plain white tee-shirt and my rugby shorts. I turned the bend smoothly and now was going through the final two mile stretch. This is usually the hardest part of the race. It depends on the amount of will power I have. This is the stage where the pain intensifies to such an extent that I could hardly feel my shoulders and legs. The only thing that keeps me going is my raw determination, my anger, my will power. â€Å"Mum, God damn it leave me alone!† I remember shouting when she told me to do my work. â€Å"Just go and mind your own business.† I regretted the fact that I shouted. The expression on her face turned to one of utter surprise and disbelief. Her face reddened with anger, â€Å"Why do you think I work so hard?† I remember her saying. â€Å"It's so that you get a chance in life to get educated and make something of your self!† She explained. â€Å"You don't know how hard life is, it's a harsh world out there, if you do not get educated you will probably end up doing a low- paid unskilled labour work, do u want that? This is when I got angry. I hate it when she says that she works just for me! This is when I got upstairs, changed into my training gear and went running! Sweat was dripping from my nose; my breathing was gradually getting heavier, as I ran on the cemented pavement. I was tired, my vision was getting more and more blurry, and all I could see was the headlights of cars as they drove opposite me. There are two different characters in me when I run, one says: â€Å"Come on you fool, what do you want to be a mediocre or the best?, Run, run, and never stop.† I have no trainer to give me encouragement during the hardest part of the race; therefore I have to provide encouragement myself. The other character says: â€Å"Why are your running fool! Why are you going through so much hardship when you could be sitting at home watching television?† There is a constant battle between my two characters when I run. Sometimes my negative character wins and I stop running but in most cases my positive character wins and I finish my race. Just three hundred yards left; this is the part in the race when I increase my speed to such an extent that I loose all my senses in my legs – they go completely numb. The only thing which could keep me going is my determination, my will to succeed and not be a failure. Another two hundred yards; â€Å"Keep running!† I shouted to myself, â€Å"No pain! No pain!† I kept instructing my self – in fact the only thing I could feel was pain. One hundred more yards left: â€Å"You've done it! Come on!† Finally I finished my run -I was outside my house and I was heavily breathing and sweating. Throughout the whole race all I suffered was pain and anguish- there was times when I thought I was going to stop. However I endeavoured to accomplish the goal I had set for myself. Now all I could feel was complete satisfaction. Maybe, if I set the same attitude towards school work and if I finish tasks in time I would be feeling the same level of satisfaction as I am feeling now. I looked up and saw my mother standing in front of me. â€Å"Released all your anger have you?† she asked with a smile on her face. â€Å"Yes, I'm calm now!† I replied. â€Å"Come on then, I'll make you a cup of tea and then you can get started on your essays!† It's bizarre how the whole atmosphere changes after a four mile run.

Parenting Skills Essay

Review Questions 1. What are the differences between being a biological parent, an adoptive parent, and a foster parent? A biological parent are your real blood parents, an adoptive parent is your parent till you’re 18, and a foster home basically is somewhere to stay and home family till you get adopted not really a permanent situation. 2. What financial needs are parents obligated to provide and which are optional? Up to the age of 18 (unless they move out before) Then clothes, school, food, place to live ,utility bills etc, some kids have activities which would be provided by giving pocket money, educational toys and books, toiletries. Christmas presents are optional but cover fun toys etc after 18 I would hope she will have a job and can contribute towards bills etc. 3. What other needs might a child have that a parent is expected to provide? Toys for them to play with, love, support, food and a safe place to grow up in. 4. What are the qualities of a nurturing parent? A nurturing parent w ould never give up on their child and go throw everything with them. Would do anything for them even in the worst situation. Critical Thinking Questions 1. What qualities make a person a good parent? A bad parent? A good parent would be there for their child and do whats best for them. A bad parent wouldn’t show any love or care. 2. Which parental responsibilities do you think would be the most challenging? Why? I think letting go over your child and letting them go off on their own, because you will think they’re not safe or okay without you. 3. Which parental responsibilities do you think would be the most interesting to you? Why? I guess getting them their first pet. I love animals and when I do have kids one day I would love to teach them how to take care of the pet. 4. What are some things that people can do to prepare for parenthood? Nothing, because you wont know what to expect until it happens.

CRJS300 U1IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

CRJS300 U1IP - Research Paper Example Boston Legal, on the other hand, shows judges and courts to be susceptible entities that can be manipulated and whose opinions can be changed in the favor of those accused. Castle and Dexter are shows highlighting operations and effectiveness of police department in solving crimes. There are limited instances where Policemen and detectives are shown as villainous characters. Mostly, they are law abiding professionals, following procedures and paying less attention to their human side which can introduce bias in their overall practice. It is important to note that Castle considers bad policemen to be an exception and a source of bad name for the whole department. On the other hand, Dexter’s leading character is a serial killer who assists Police department in forensic examination and only kills those who managed to escape from law. The overall approach portrays villainous nature of Dexter to have a just cause in murdering others. However, there are other detectives in the same show that support drug dealers like various real-life detectives (Edwards, 2013). Prison Break and American History X have shown correctional agencies especially prisons as hubs of ultimate corruption where punishment is more emphasized than rehabilitation and also as a centre of inmates politics. Furthermore, it is an institution run by corrupt officials like Bellick in prison break. There are also several real life examples of police corruption that support the theme of these shows about police corruption e.g. more than ten corrupt police officers in Atlanta charged with protecting drug dealers (Milligan, Paluska, & Starzyk, 2013, Edwards, 2013). A critical analysis of these shows would illustrate that a perception of a given authority in the show depends on its overall theme. Some of the shows have depicted criminal justice professionals as well as authorities to be righteous, law abiding individuals as well as

Strategic Management in Singapore Airlines Research Paper

Strategic Management in Singapore Airlines - Research Paper Example This research report introduces airline industry in general and Singapore Airline in specific. It includes a brief history of the company. However, the focus is on the mission and vision of the company and on the profile of Board of Directors, which run the strategic management of the company. Current marketing strategy of the company is also under discussion. Introduction Air travel is an essential requirement of today’s global world. It provides its users with an easy, fast, and comfortable mode of travel. However, with the economic and social development of the world resulting in almost every developed country launching its international airline, air travel has become an option with considerably large number of choices. Every airline is competing with other airlines to enlarge their customer base on bases of airfare, comfort, services, and travel route. In this competitive environment, the name of â€Å"Singapore Airline† holds a lot of worth. The airline from its la unch until today has grasped a huge share of international air travelers due to its excellent and expert services. The airline with its slogan â€Å"a great way to travel† works hard to provide its customers with the promised experience of excellence. The company describes itself as â€Å"Singapore Airlines has evolved into one of the most respected travel brands around the world. We have one of the world's youngest fleet in the air, a network spanning five continents, and the Singapore Girl is our symbol of quality customer care and service. Customers, investors, partners, and staff — everyone expect excellence of us† (Singapore Airline, 2012). History On 28 January 1972, the Singapore government founded Singapore airline (SIA). It was incorporated as a limited liability public company, completely owned by the Singapore government (Singapore Investor Association, 2006). â€Å"The history of the company dates back to 1947 with the initiation of a scheduled serv ice of Malayan Airways Ltd between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur† (Singapore Airlines, 2012). With the addition of international services and formation of â€Å"Federation of Malaysia in 1963,† the airline acquired the new name of â€Å"Malaysian Airways Ltd† (Singapore Airlines, 2012). Government of Malaysia and Singapore in 1966 acquired joint control of the airline and renamed it to â€Å"Malaysia- Singapore Airline Ltd† (Securities Investor Association, 2006). However, MSA in 1971 was restructured in to two entities: Malaysia Airline System Bhd and SIA (Singapore Airlines, 2012). Mission Singapore airlines describe its mission through its mission statement. The mission statement clearly identifies the main objectives of the company. The statement is as follows: â€Å"Singapore Airlines is a global company dedicated to providing air transportation services of the highest quality and to maximizing returns for the benefits of its shareholders and employeesà ¢â‚¬  (Singapore Airline, 2012) Vision The company considers itself a citizen of the world and aims to excel not only as an excellent company but also as an excellent and responsible citizen of the world. It aims to fulfill this mission, which it believes to be actually its responsibility by enhancing the lives of the people they come in contact with. This is the reason that the company has made numerous commitments to the art, education, communities and health and welfare of their countries’ citizens and of those countries it flies to. It also feels a strong sense of responsibility towards the environment, and so holds a strong commitment towards environment preservation for the future generation (Singapore Invest

The Innovative Entrepreneur Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Innovative Entrepreneur - Coursework Example An example of disruptive innovation was the iPod. I admired the product because it changed how people listen and buy music (Kahney, 2011). I decided that this was an innovation because it created a new platform to get access to music which did not exist before. Starbuck recent market development strategy of â€Å"Skinny Lattes† and low fat/calorie syrup was innovative. I admired the innovation because it was able to address the increasing change in consumption behavior as more people become concerned about their health. This was innovative because it was able to create a product that fits human health through reducing the level of calories. I decided that the idea was innovative because it was able to address an existing problem of obesity (Starbucks Corporation, 2014). However, the current innovative idea might affect the consumption of other foods. This might affect the company’s performance in the market. The change of PayPal business model from a cryptography company to an online money transfer company was innovative. Currently, PayPal enables people to transfer money online from one part of the world to another within a short time. I admire this innovative idea because it was able to identify a gap that existed in the market, an aspect that led to creation of one of the most successful company in the world (Cohan, 2013). However, the disadvantage of the move is that it affected the original idea that led to establishment of the company. Kahney,  L. (2011, October 22). An Illustrated History of the iPod And Its Massive Impact [iPod 10th Anniversary] | Cult of Mac. Retrieved  May  27, 2014, from

Environment Pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Environment Pollution - Essay Example The Environment Protection Agency promotes the construction of green buildings through which we can understand that this stream of engineering offers a great advantage to environment. A research paper on Capacity planning for waste management systems tells us about the application of engineering concepts to solid waste management. By studying different research papers we can understand the application of engineering principles to these areas of responsibilities in order to regulate them and make the environment pollution free. In recent times the climate has undergone drastic changes. Every time we mishandle the natural resources or create imbalance without thinking about tomorrow and use them without a proper protocol or procedure we modify the most important natural phenomena by affecting the climate. Each and every non environmental friendly procedure or product has a direct or indirect impact on the climate which results in drastic changes in timing of seasons. Of these the rocketing emissions of green house gases are considered to be the main culprit. The green house gases in the earth's atmosphere capture the heat increase in green house gases cause to rise in earth's temperature which ultimately results in rise in sea level and change in weather patterns. Welsh Assembly Government has taken numerous steps in order to stabilize the emissions of green house gases and work together with the UK government to develop various proposals to the climate change bill. WAG responds to the internal changes and proposes long term plans to solve the problem. It aims to cut down carbon dioxide emissions to 60% by 2050, maintain reliable energy supplies, to promote competitive market and to ensure that each and every home is adequately heated. It has also been proven that the measures that were set for climate change program in 2006 have been successfully implemented by the UK government. A study on all the potential impacts of climate change on different sectors in Wales is been conducted which shows the areas of action. Developed strong evidences against the impact of climate change in different sectors in Wales and develop tools and skills which would ultimately result in lessening the impact. Construction of houses and administrative buildings using sophisticated technologies so that there would be less usage of heating systems and electricity is very much relevant to my engineering discipline. Ex: Green buildings increase the energy efficiency by using modern technologies. The UK climate change Bill, UK Government's F-Gasesand Ozone Depleting Substances consultation papers, Carbon Reduction Commitment announced in the UK Energy White Paper 2007, European Union (EU) Emission Trading Scheme and the powers passed to Welsh ministers make the assembly government to offer their extended support to public authorities on climate change policies and their adaption and it also provides them with the authority to taking necessary action if a public body fails to do so. Our engineering disci

What a women looks like Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

What a women looks like - Assignment Example The main essence lies in the exploring of how the country persistently follows the formula of tracing and evaluating an individuals’ characters according to their looks and attires. â€Å"In a highly mobile society, where first impressions are important and where selling oneself is the most highly cultivated â€Å"skill,† the construction of appearances becomes more and more imperative.† (Ewen, 1988: 85). Throughout the past and in the present as well, America’s view for women and men based on their appearance and dress remains unchanged. This can be best established through Douglas Bradley Smith’s question in his Quarterly Journal of Speech which asks: (1977: 215) Why has no communication scholar bothered to decode the specific meanings of the American wardrobe? While total absorption in such details might reduce us to public relations consultants, to ignore such details is to deny the global nature of human interaction. Clothing persuades. According to Susan S. Gilpin, an Assistant Professor at Marshall University, the matter has still not been explored in a deeper level by communication scholars (Gilpin, 2009). Her remark, â€Å"The workplace inequalities legitimated by contemporary dress for success rhetoric still requires scholarly investigation and critique†, (Gilpin, 2009) lucidly confirms the America still judges individuals as per their looks and attire. Despite the prevailing trend of judging men and women on the basis of their appearance and dress, a different school of thoughts still claims that America’s views in this regard has changed considerably. According to these opinions the country now perceives an individual by his or her potentials and qualities rather than the artificial facades. The best examples for them are Michale Jackson, who has rocked the world despite being not white and Barrack Obama, a black president

Three Brief Topics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Three Brief Topics - Essay Example Eliade's The Sacred and the Profane are enlightens three categories. The Sacred which is a transcendent referent such as God or Nirvana, hierophany which is the advancement of the sacred into human experience where he discusses the revelation of the sacred in a person's life and the third category is idea of homo religiosus where Eliade considers the appreciation and devotion of one to such a breakthrough of supreme power. He describes numinous experience as an appropriate experience of the Sacred by religious human beings or homo religiosus. When a person can experience the amazing, mysterium tremendum and fascinans, both are awesomely fearful and the enthrallingly captivating aspects of the Holy or the wholly other. In expanding and expounding the phenomenological dimensions of the Sacred, Eliade describes the sacred experience in human being as a crucial point of orientation and at the same time it also reveals the ontological reality which is its source of homo religiosus experie nce. For an instance the space is characterized as the boundary between sacred and profane and thus locates the axis mundi as centre. Thus temples and tepees, homes and hearths become sacralized for homo religiosus. ... According to Gerardus even the most ordinary events such as the customary associations with one's neighbors or similarly one's long familiar tasks prove to be replete with mystic interconnections if one examines them more closely. One can completely ignore his own scheme of explanation in terms of single causes and can misconceive life as a broad current of mighty powers. If, for instance, one of the Toradja tribes in Celebes is preparing for an expedition and an earthen pot is broken, then they remain at home, saying that it is measa. This may be translated as a sign, indicating some future misfortune, but that the current of life has been interrupted: If then one thing has been broken, why not more Similarly, when a Ewe tribesman finds refuge from his enemies on a white ant hill he ascribes his escape to the power residing there. Thus the place, the action, the person in which the power reveals itself receives a specific character. Bearers of mana, for example, are sharply distingu ished from the rest of the world: they are self-sufficient.2 References: - The Nature of Religion. The Sacred and The Profane Pages 8-18 by Eliade Mircea Religion in Essence and Manifestation, volume 1 Chapter 4 Potency. Awe. Tabu. by Gerardus Van Der Leeuw, (1967) Pages 43-51 The nature and elements of myth Q2. Discuss the nature and elements of myth and explore a particular myth using the frameworks in the following texts: Chapter 2- Myth and Religion. In Myths: God, Heroes, and Saviors by Billias Leonard J (1986). Chapter 3 'Five monolithic theories'. The Nature of Greek Myths by Kirk G S (1974). Answer: - Myths are the stories from the remote past as in another world or an earlier stage of this

China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation Essay Example for Free

China Petroleum and Chemical Corporation Essay The net profit figure of RMB 19,011 reported under PRC GAAP was increased to RMB 21,593 under IFRS. The increase of RMB 2,582 under IFRS was due to the following reasons: Dep. and disposal of oil and gas properties RMB3,044 Acquisition of subsidiaries 443 Capitalization of general borrowing costs 389 Gain from issuance of shares by subsidiary 136 Gain from debt restructuring 82 Revaluation of land use rights 18 4,112 Unrecognized losses of subsidiaries (182) Pre-operating expenditures (169) Effect on taxation (1,179)(1,530) 2,582 The net profit figure of RMB 21,593 reported under IFRS was increased to RMB 25,577 under U. S. GAAP. The increase of RMB 3,984 under U.S. GAAP was due to the following reasons: Dep. of revalued PPE RMB 3,998 Disposal of PPE 1,316 Capitalized interest on invest.in associates 141 Reversal of deficits on revaluation of PPE 86 Foreign exchange gains and losses76 Reversal of impairment of long-lived assets 47 Exchange of assets23 Capitalization of PPE12 5,699 Deferred tax effect of U.S. GAAP adjustments (1,715) 3,984 2.The differences for CPCC between PRC GAAP and IFRS, and between IFRS and U.S. GAAP are given in the case. As mentioned in the case, treatments of the following items under PRC GAAP and IFRS are different: Depreciation and disposal of oil and gas properties Capitalization of general borrowing costs Acquisition of subsidiaries Gains from issuance of shares by a subsidiary Gains from debt restructuring Revaluation of land use rights Unrecognized losses of subsidiaries Pre-operating expenditures Impairment loses on long-lived assets Government grants (Refer pp.5-72 5-75 in the textbook) Treatments of depreciation and disposal of oil and gas properties seem to have a significant impact on reported profit. As mentioned in the case, treatments of the following items under IFRS and U.S. GAAP are different: Foreign exchange gains and losses Capitalization and revaluation of property, plant and equipment Exchange of assets Impairment of long-lived assets Capitalization of interest on investment in associates Goodwill amortization Companies included in consolidation Related party transactions (Refer pp.5-77 – 5-82) Treatments of depreciation of revalued property, plant and equipment, and disposal of property, plant and equipmentseem to have a significant impact on reported profit 3.U.K. readers of the financial statements may not find them very useful, as the information is not reconciled to the U.K. GAAP. There are differences between U.K. GAAP and IFRS, and between U.K. GAAP and U.S. GAAP. With the adoption of IFRS in the EU, this may not be a major problem anymore. However, UK companies use IFRS as adopted by the EU which in some cases differs from the IFRS issued by the IASB. 4.U.S. readers should find the information useful. However, it would be better for them if the information was reconciled directly from PRC GAAP to U.S. GAAP. 5.When a company is listed on a foreign stock exchange, it is always useful to explain the differences, if any, between accounting standards used in  preparing financial statements, and those that are stipulated by the listing requirements. The need for such explanation is reduced if the two sets of standards are comparable. However, differences can still exist due to different interpretations of the requirements. Therefore, the approach taken by CPCC can be recommended to other companies.

PESTEL analysis of the Chinese and German flooring industries

PESTEL analysis of the Chinese and German flooring industries Since 1979, China adopted an export-manufacturing strategy successfully following with Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. The Golden Bridge Co., Ltd is one of the beneficiaries. It was founded in 2007 with flooring as its main products. The product is of high quality by utilizing advanced technology and equipments imported from Germany and Italy. The glue and lacquer materials for production are also imported. In current stage, Golden Bridge has a total capital of 800 million RMB and exported to 35 foreign markets including the U.S., Canada, Japan and Germany. In order to help it to expand the business, our consultancy company attempt to analyze the China business environment and seek a foreign market to relocate the manufacturing of this company with proper entering and competing strategies. This essay first illustrates the business environment of flooring industry in China and German with PESTEL analysis. Then it evaluates the threats in Germany market by following Porters five-force mode l. Later a recommendation would be given on how to properly enter into the targeted country. PESTEL analysis of china market: The PESTEL analysis is used to assess the macro environment and identify the challenges Golden Bridge faced with in china market in order to make an appropriate suggestion. Political: The Chinese political system characterized as one-party communist dictatorship makes a great contribution to national stability, enabling the economy keep dynamic and sustainable. Nevertheless, when the economic system was deregulated from the command economy to market economy since 1978, the power of economic management was increasingly decentralized, raising the issue of uncoordinated development of regional economy. Currently, though the central government has made effort to alleviate the gap among different areas in terms of developing standards, provinces tend to give a priority to local profits rather than considering the integrated advancement of the whole country. Local protectionism exerts detrimental influences upon market expansion of Golden Bridge Company in nationwide and deters the establishment of a comprehensive distribution channel. Economical: China is valued as one of the most vibrant countries in terms of economic development among the world. The reform opening up in 1978 accelerated Chinas GDP growth from 362.4 billion RMB to 30 trillion RMB within a 30-year period. Moreover, in 2010, China has been the second largest economy instead of Japan whilst the value of export accounted for 10% of world. Based on these statistics, judgment can be made that manufactures in China including flooring industry may keep an optimistic attitude to their future prospects in some extent. Nonetheless, Chinese economy may suffer unpredictable circumstance in the future. Labor resource is one double-edge sword. Once being an advantage of China, abundant labor resource and economical labor price make a great contribution to progress of those labor-intensive manufacturing industries. This is also the primary reason that China flooring industry is quite profitable though China is a net importer of timber. However, as cited by AME info (2005) there is a growth in the minimum wage standard, labor may not be regard as a perpetual advantage of China if this trend continues. In Addition, appreciation of CNY since 2005 against USD may imperil the export of Golden Bridge Company (Goldstein, M. and Lardy, N., 2006). Social: It is claimed by Su and Littlefied (2001) that China is an extremely high-context country where people prefer to receive implied messages. For establishing a business in China, strong private-relationships with different stakeholders is the key to success. However, this is extremely time-consuming while the maintenance is also expensive. Potential conflicts in interest may easily erode it. Besides the relationship, corruption is another issue in China. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, China was positioned 72nd among all 179 countries in 2008. However, damages caused by corruption may be far more hazardous than anticipated, particularly to the economic development. Corruption has been treated as a vital barrier for operating in Chinese market due to enormous back-stage expenditures as well as resulted injustice. For Golden Bridge to gain more import quotas and pay less tariff, costs may be made up of not only normal ingredients such as transporting, but also implied expense for smoothing the network. Technological: China wood flooring industry is experiencing a relatively laggard technological standard in its initial stage of development. According to Cheng and Song (2006), the level of timber utilization was 61% in 2004 with a considerable disparity with developed countries (nearly 90%). Additionally, imbalanced technological support aggravates the long-term conflicts between wood supply and demand in Chinese domestic market. In 2004, though the total domestic timber supply is 273.6 million cubic meters and exceeded the total consumption of 241.5 million cubic meters, scarcity of raw material still existed in some parts of timber manufacturing industry. Environment Legal: Chinese government proposed the Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP) nationwide in 1998 to limit exploitation of natural forest resources. The legislation made the supply of domestic natural timber restricted. Between 1997 and 2003, natural timbers supply decreased from 32.05 million cubic meters to 12.145 million cubic meters (Cheng and Song, 2005), which was extremely insufficient to satisfy demands of the highly prosperous timber industry in China. Timer manufacturing companies in China have to depend on importing. Statistics shows that in 1997 the quantity of imported timber only occupied 23.56% of total wood consumption, while the number soared to 53.78% in 2004. The expenditure of imported timber was $33.96 higher per cubic meter compared with the price in 2007, which increased the material coast of Golden Bridge Company. PESTEL analysis of German market: Since this essay has analyzed the macro environment of the china flooring market, further looking at the political, economic, social and technological factors of the German can help advance and strength the logic of the whole assessment. Political factors: Germany is a home of secure, legal and rewarding investment. The World Economic Forum has rewarded its legal system as the most efficient and this fact has also gained international recognition. Flooring coverings are categorized according to German and EU laws and building products should be subject to the EU construction products directive and the German construction products law. The directive and law are mainly focused on environmental, health-related, material and usability sectors and most people agree that by considering the environmental restrictions, the EU can be the strictest market. Moreover, with the transnational economic environment, it is predicted by experts that the approval criteria for flooring is likely to decrease and there seems to be a limited permission of eco-labels for flooring products. Further, comprehensive incentives  are provided to both home and oversea investors by German government, individual federal states and the EU. Economic factors Germany is the largest economy in Europe and in general German is export-oriented. Since 2003, German has been the largest exporter machinery, vehicles, chemicals and household equipment, with an annual export increase of 8%. However, factors that may prevent Golden Bridge from entering into and developing itself in Germany also exist. They can be excessive dependence on euro currency, tight credit markets and an increasing rate of unemployment. Stimulus and stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela MERKELs second term will increase Germanys record budget deficit, which is expected to exceed 5% of GDP in 2010. The EU required Germany to get its consolidated budget deficit below 3% of GDP until 2013. A new constitutional amendment likewise limits the federal government to structural deficits of no more than 0.35% of GDP per annum as of 2016. Technology factors: Germany is claimed to be the leading nation in high-tech development and receives high turnover accordingly. In 2007, the high-tech products exported by Germany accounted to a value of RUR 114 billion, ranked first in Europe and third worldwide. More than 27% turnover of German manufacturing factory is generated from high-tech products, compared to a European average of 19%. Social factors: Social factors also need consideration. Hofstedes analysis of Germany shows the emphasis on individualism, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. Power distance and long-term orientation are both ranked considerably lower than the others. Germany believes in equality and equal opportunity, as well as its ability to change and adapt rapidly. Another arising issue is the social awareness of pollution, which leads Germany to use more environmental-friendly materials. Abstract for the use of five-force model: After analyzing the macro-environment of both countries, it is reasonable and necessary to apply Michel Porters five-force model in order to provide a thoroughly understanding of the German flooring market before the Golden Bridge company entering into it. According to this model, the competitiveness of an industry is influenced by such five forces and their collective strength and thus determines the ultimate profit potential of this targeting industry. These five forces covered in the analysis are competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, the threat of substitution and the threat of potential new entry. However, the five-forces framework is not a set of principals per se, instead is a tool for systematically use these principals to assess the current status and likely evolution of an industry. Competitive Rivalry: The internal competitive rivalry in German flooring market seems high. There are three main reasons. First, the switching cost is low because flooring products are homogenous with little product differentiation. Another reason is that the German flooring market is saturated with a relatively low growth rate. The flooring production in 2008 suffered a 15.1% decline while the total consumption slumped for about 12.19% (FEP, 2008). Also the number of competitive companies in German flooring market and the intensity of rivalry also determine the high threats of rivalry. There are a large number of companies competing in the German flooring market and these companies are divided into three categories, they are Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Domestic Leading Manufacturers (DLMs) and Niche Market Brands (NMBs). First of all, SMEs has the largest number in the German flooring market (Roadmap, 2010). These SMEs are often manufacturers provide low-grade flooring with low price. Their marketing strategy is just reverse to Golden Bridges. Thus Golden Bridge is suggested to treat them in an abstemious way. However, there are also a few numbers of large flooring manufacturers who operating on European and/or global base. It is suggested by German Timber (2007) that few DLMs account for the majority of the total market share. These companies usually possess strong competencies, highly recognized reputation and well-established brand image. One main rivalry is the Krono Group, who is one of the world leading producers of high-quality flooring. Founded in 1897, it has accumulated years of experience and extensive knowledge know-how. It delivers products to 80 countries worldwide while has its own production-base in 18 countries. In 2004, its production capability of flooring reached 310 million à £Ã … ½Ã‚ ¡, took up about 1/3 of the world market share with total sales revenue of 24 billion RMB. It also has an annual RD investment of 15billion RMB with over 200 scientists doing research in Krono International Laboratory. In addition, there are Niche Market Brands (NMBs) with several well-known brands like Espirt and Kaindl, holding part of the flooring market (FEP, 2007). These companies merely provide certain kinds of flooring to meet the special needs of a group of customers. Furthermore, in order to gaining competitive strength, the NMBs together with some foreign brands such as Balterio from Belgian and Vito from Austria have formed a conglomerate named Beamy International, a commercial platform allowing them to compete on both domestic and global markets (FEP, 2008). As the competition is fierce in German flooring market, Golden Bridge is suggested to adopt a niche strategy and doing effective promotion after entering the market. To explain, the original German wood flooring manufacturers already gains economy of scales and undeniably enjoy a cost advantage. Advanced distribution channel comparing with those new entrants also allows them first mover advantages. Cost disadvantage and lacking reliable cooperators are main barriers for Golden Bridge to survive in German market. Insufficient in capital determines that an aggressive expansion strategy is also irrational. However, one advantage Golden Bridge occupies is that it has been doing export business within German importers for couple of years and its products did have certain reputation in this highly competitive market. By offering additional value, Golden Bridge can efficiently differentiate itself among the rivals with a brand image of reliability, valuable, and symbol of statuses. This may help obtain sustainable brand loyalty among German customers. Threat of Substitutes: The threat of substitution refers to the extent to which different products used in place of a companys products or offered by other industrials. Flooring is not restricted on only wood but other materials such as textile and stone/ceramics are also widely used. For instance, in German market in 2008, textile took the largest raw material market share (i.e. about 37.4%) for making flooring. This is followed by stone/ceramics of 28.6%. Comparably, the laminate only had a market share of 13.9%, ranked in the third place. In terms of switching cost, the result can be distinct regarding to different objects of study. To individual consumers, there is almost no switching cost exists because choose one kind of material instead of another is just a matter of personal taste. However, this can be criticized in depth for the reasons that wood-made flooring has its own characteristics and functions that other materials may not have. To some extent and to specific customer groups, for instance, those who have fixed-decoration style, the switching cost can be relatively high. However, to large wholesalers (e.g. Beamy International) who previously dedicated in wood-made flooring, the switching cost would be extremely high, as they may lose the stable distribution channels with their current wholesalers or retailers, and also the price advantage provided by the long-term cooperative producers. This means the substitution threat is less considerable because their past investment in developing stable distribution channels with retailers and producers offers them an advantage in current market and this may make them unwilling to undertake risks of operating and competing in a new and highly competitive market. Summing up the above, it is the end-user customers that Golden Bridge should pay close attention to. First of all, it is advised that a regular customer survey to be conducted to make a comprehension of customers preferences and what they really appreciate. The company should also emphasize the exclusiveness and unique utilities of their products, making it cost more for the customers to switching to other substitutes. In the meantime, though as mentioned the future trend seems favor wood flooring industry, Golden Bridge should cause enough value that the technology development is always indeterminate. Thus in order to avoid sudden shock of new technologies that brings in comparable substitutes, Golden Bridge should invest continuously in Research and Development to keep pace with the times. Threat of New Entrants: Threat of new entrants is moderate. As put by European Commission (2001), the main barriers to enter German market include certification approval and the quality standards and label, while the incentive to enter German market depends mainly on its impeccable infrastructure system. The extensive unified intensification, which has been mentioned before in PEST Analysis of German, increase the starting investment of new entry, accordingly has negative effect on new entrants to the market. There are totally fourteen member countries of European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP). Under the Single European Market policy, twelve of them have reached an agreement on moving goods, service and capital freely internally, giving companies in these markets strong mobility. To put it simpler, a flooring company located in Germany for example, can either choose to develop domestically or entre into either of the other 11 member countries of EFP, in support of the unified system. Once entering into the consolidated FEP, the new members deserve this privilege with little hindrance, however, the legal entry requirement, especially for flooring companies compliance with environmental protection, is said to be quite strict in European Market, which is especially true in Ge rmany. Thus it can be expected that in order to harmonize to European standards, a large quality of funds will be needed to invest in order to fulfilling the standards ranging from environmental protection to individual healthcare. What is more, the sophisticated infrastructures that Germany possesses nationwide make the market considerably attractive to those adventurous entrepreneurs. As known to all, Germany lays in the center of the Western Europe, with large-scale transportation centers such as International airport in Frankfurt and seaport in Hamburg (ELA, 2010). Centering in a fast and efficient logistic network covering almost all the main markets in Europe, flooring companies in Germany can procure raw materials namely timber on a global scale, and reach the external markets with relatively lower transportation costs. Therefore the threats of new entrants would be moderate in German flooring market. For Golden Bridge, the corporate should create a marketing and brand image and keep customers loyalty, tie up to both suppliers and distributors. More important, it should sign a patent to protect the intellectual property of their high-tech products. Buyer Power: Buyer power, which is determined by the individual customers ability in negotiating purchase prices with suppliers, is at an intermediate level in German market basing on four crucial reasons. Firstly, according to the previous analysis, competition in the wood flooring manufacturing is largely intensified by a large amount of incumbents. Hence, purchasers are more unrestricted in choosing their suppliers with considering competitive advantages of products, and price may be a decisive factor for some customers. However, it is important to note that Wholesalers have more bargaining power than individuals. Being the large-volume buyers, they are not only main customers where companies earn profits from, but also controllers of dominant distribution channels. By stark contrast, individual customers with smaller purchase volume may be positioned less vitally in suppliers minds. Secondly, the buyer power is attenuated by the availability of substitutes of wood flooring in German market. E xcept for this category of flooring, more choices are supplied on the market. Despite competition reinforces customers bargaining power, the phenomena of demand surplus in German wood flooring alleviates this circumstance. According to the research of European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP), the consumption of German wood flooring is about 17.88 million square meters, while the production of German wood flooring is only about 11.04 million square meters (Slides Stats 2008). In additionally, German culture also plays a significant role in lessening customers bargaining power. The spirit of the nation, such prudence and fixation lead to a fairly strict standardization in both work and life. Germans are used to calculating a precise price based on all dimensions. Hence, they dislike dealing with situations out of their planning, enabling bargaining become very difficult. Ten percentage cut in price is the biggest range they will agree in they dealing with foreign buyers. (LeMont Schmidt, 2001). Supplier Power: Supplier Power refers the power of suppliers to drive up the prices of raw materials, supplies, equipment or inputs. Your company purchases the glue, paint and equipment, and employs labors from Germany and imports the wood from Russia. There are some crucial factors performing low supplier power of your company. Firstly, German is not used to bargaining, which is mentioned in Buyer power. Hence, it is meaningless for German suppliers to drive up the price of material and equipment. Negotiating power is weak in Russia as well. Although the nation is one of the largest wood producers, there are a large number of wood suppliers ¼Ã…’which provide a strongly competitive circumstance in Russia. Admittedly wood is a kind of nature product so that customers are sensitive to the price of wood. Because of high standard of transparency, the switching cost is low in Russia. On the other hand, many substitutes with lower expenditures are becoming increasingly prevalent such as marble, carpet, plastic flooring. High standard of substitutes threat can restrict the suppliers to drive up the price and reduce the power of suppliers. However, high labor cost strengthens the supplier power. The German labor cost is one of the highest in world. According to Common Protocol of Salary, Labor wage need be determined by the negotiation between wood flooring industry and backwards industry (Fact about Germany, 1996). Therefore, the security of labor force is quite completed. Unions are powerful to argue with unfair wage or welfare. For example, Michael Sommer, the head of the trade union federation(DGB) , claimed that is necessary to increase labors wage with the upturn of economy in 2010( Guardian ¼Ã…’2010). Supplier power and buyer power, which exert a moderate threat on Golden Bridges development in German, can be alleviated through several ways. From one aspect, to limit bargaining power of large-volume wholesalers, the company should give priority to building up a distribution network itself by developing new franchisers rather than depending on the primary channels of wholesalers. In terms of individual customers as well as challenges from substitutes, enhancing the products benefits would be the most efficient way to reduce their bargaining desire as most of affluent people value quality more important than price. From the other aspects, labor relationship, the most considerable barrier in lessening German supplier power, should be harmonized through affording sufficient welfare to employees, as well as building a relative democratic organizational culture by the company. Moreover, it is supposed that importing a few skilled workers from China would benefit the company not only by more economical labor cost, but also reducing the significant dependence on the German labor market. Limitation of the 5-forces: Porters five-force model is not perfect but based on the assumption that from the view of any one firm, all the other firms no matter whether they are supplier, competitor or buyer are threats to the profitability. However, according to Brandenberger and Nalebuffs value net theory, interactions among firms can sometimes enhance profits. Thus critics raised and attentions on cooperation are much more paid. The cooperation between the Golden Bridge Company and other foreign flooring companies will be analyzed and evaluated in the later recommendation part. Recommendation By illustrating the German macroeconomic environment and its circumstance of flooring industry, it is thought that the most recommended strategy for Golden Bridge is to build a joint venture with one or several German covering floor manufacturing enterprises, whilst maintaining the manufacturing section and primary market system in China. Joint venture can be explained as a collaborative formation among companies that each party invests parts capabilities to constitute a new enterprise, thereafter determining the distribution of ownership according to corresponding contributions. Nevertheless, two preconditions should be taken into consideration before making an alliance with German incumbents. Firstly, as a dominant barrier in Chinese market, capital insufficiency would also limit the investment ability of Golden Bridge in German to a large extent. Consequently, small-to-medium incumbents are more desirable as cooperators rather than large-scale companies in terms of ensuring a rela tively high proportion of ownership of Golden Bridge in the new joint venture. Moreover, it is imperative to illustrate compatibility of potential partners based on a number of philosophic criteria, including similar experience, common principles and agreed future target as well (Kanter, 1994). Where extremely intensive competition takes place, German market would tend to pose more threats than opportunities on the Golden Bridge if the company attempts to entirely entry the market alone. In comparison, cooperating and aligning with local companies would be a much safer and efficient measure from two aspects. First, by giving joint ventures preferential treatment, the Golden Bridge gains a good opportunity to penetrate the German market in a relatively short period with minimum risks as the company is unnecessary to expose abundant long-term investments to gain market shares in German wood flooring industry. Instead, it can utilize those important strategic assets of local cooperators such as complete distribution channels, customer relationships and brand loyalty. Moreover, Golden Bridge is still deficient at technology and management comparing with the local German companies. Through setting up a joint venture, advanced technology and managerial know-how can be more easily accessible by Golden Bridge, which is beneficial to its development in China market as well. Nevertheless, possible issues relating to joint venture cannot be neglected by the Golden Bridge. First, operational dissimilarities caused by political and economic divergence between China and German may be a vital problem for Golden Bridge. For instance, blind spots in law or financial systems will damage the corporate profits at initial stage. Additionally, cultural and managerial difference may be difficult to consolidate as different authority, reporting and decision-making patterns (Kanter, 1994), therefore leading to possible mistrust and misunderstanding between Golden Bridge and its partners. It has been widely recognized that German managers are prudent and rigid in dealing with regulations and rarely consider the influences of the network relationship, which is fairly distinct from Chinese managers conceptions. Conclusion: In conclusion, according to the PESTEL analysis, there are a number of challenges in China. These challenges can be the unbalanced market condition in china because of local protectionism and insufficient infrastructures, under-developed technology and managerial skill led to the low efficiency of timber industry in China, Natural Forest Protection Program limits the domestic nature timbers supply as well as the increasing labor cost in flooring industry due to Chinas economy prosperous. The complexity of interrelationship of different parties involved in the business environment also cannot be neglected. The PESTEL analysis of German market was further conducted to make the assessment more comprehensive. Later the consultants use five-force model to assess threat of entering the German flooring market. For instance, the competitive rivalry and threat of entry in German flooring market is extremely high. In terms of threat of substitution, it is much more complex. The supplier power and buyer power are both at an intermediate level. However, Porters model is criticized for lacking of corporation with other market players. Thus, a recommendation is made by our consultancy company for Golden Bridge to organize a joint venture and thus with other reliable and competitive companies for instance, the Beamy International. Facts about Germany. (1996). Frankfurt am Main: Società ¤ts Verlag. LeMont Schmidt, P. (2001). Die amerikanische und die deutsche Wirtschaftskultur im Vergleich: Ein Praxisbuch fà ¼r Manager. Gà ¶ttingen: Hainholz Verlag. Guardian (2010) German steel workers demand 6% wage increase http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/14/germany-angela-merkel http://www.roadmap2010.eu/wisd/pdfs/68-81.pdf http://ecotec-energiesparhaus.de/Daten/Holztechnik-Forest-and-wood-industries-in%20Germany%20at-a-glance.pdf http://www.tarkett.com/group/en/company/Tarkett-at-a-glance http://www.homeinstitute.com/types-of-flooring.htm http://news.frbiz.com/parquet_floor_once_again_leading-440481.html http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004D0275:EN:NOT

Technological Advancement: Effect on Intelligence

Technological Advancement: Effect on Intelligence The invention of Gutenbergs press was met with claims that the printing press, if not controlled, would lead to chaos and the dismemberment of European intellectual life (Shirky 1). Some people become anxious with new changes that throw out the restrictions that once was the norm. This, however, happens again and again throughout our history. Every increase in freedom to create or consume media, brings forecast of impending chaos and intellectual collapse. Our modern technology is changing the way our brains work. We no longer need to remember anything our tech does that for us. There seems to be a form of amnesia affecting us; the internet has changed the way we function. The way our brains have changed, from the use of the Web, is debated over and has yielded very different outcomes. Gary Small, a neuroscientist, professor, and author studied the effect that Internet searching had on the brain. Twenty-four participants were studied with half having no Internet search experience, the brains of the other half that regularly used the Internet showed an elevation in stimulation of the regions associated with complex reasoning and decision-making (qtd in Munro 4). The participants who were Internet novices had similar results in their frontal lobes after five days. Using technologies has influenced our brains, Small argues, the brain shifts towards and is energized by, new technological skills. This sounds good, however, as we rely more and more on our tech we become intellectually lazy (Munro, 2). Shirky states that the Net, in fact, restores reading and writing as central activities in our culture (3). The Net has greatly assisted people with their rese arch, having search results appear instantly instead of days of going through the library. Subsequently, not reading as we used to has had a price. Carr shares his struggle, Now my concentration often starts to drift . . . I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do (1). The concentration we once had has changed, our brains forever altered. The Internet propels users from one place to another, making it difficult to concentrate on the task of simply reading. Carr admits, I cant read War and Peace anymore . . . even a blog post of more than three or four paragraphs is too much to absorb. I skim it (2). There is a new form of reading that has become more prominent in users of the Web, this skimming activity shows how our brains have been changed. A study was carried out by scientists at the University College London to see how our minds have changed when it comes to reading and thinking. During the five years of study two sites collected data on users behavior during visits to their sites, this produced results showing users bounced around the Net rarely re-visiting pages they previously had been to. It is thought that this style of reading promoted by the Net . . . may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading . . . (Wolf qtd in Carr 2) that once was customary. The neural circuitry of our brains has been stu died when it comes to those readers that have an alphabet compared to those with ideograms as their written language, it revealed the brain of the ideogram learner was vastly different. The sections that govern cognitive functions as memory and the interpretation of visual and auditory stimuli (Carr 3) had the circuitry interlaced differently. Our concentration is now a struggle, what will the Internet propel us toward next? We were propelled into an age of technologies. These were supposed to save us time and labor. Munros opinion is that modern marvels are less labour-savers than brain-savers (1). The early technologies were meant to help us with the mundane daily task, automatic washing machines, dishwashers, drive-through car washes, but with these, it granted an excess of free time, the time we squandered with frivolous mind numbing activities. Todays advancements in technology have introduced us into an endless source of instant gratification. Take our cell phones, for example, they are now responsible for holding all our important information (i.e. numbers, addresses, meaningful dates) we no longer need to remember anything for ourselves. The connection is constant, Google can connect us to a source-any source-within a fraction of a second and with that why do we need to remember anything? Those things that were once etched into our brains, like our phone numbers, is now outsourced to our technolo gy. Robert Fitzgerald, associate dean at the University of Canberra says, There is indeed a dumb side to technology (qtd in Munro 2). He ponders if the searches his children complete yield something positive or if its a hit-and-miss. Is Google making us stupid? asked Carr (2). The answer is not so simple, but if not making us stupid, as such, Google seems to be making us intellectually lazy. Perhaps, our technologies will bring forth great positive changes or maybe leave us with digital amnesia (Harris 1). The Google Effect takes hold of so many of us, reaching our brains, inflicting its digital amnesia upon us (Harris 1). In 2011, an experiment conducted at Columbia and Harvard Universities brought theories that technology is reshaping the way we think and learn. Within our daily lives, some of us have come to heavily depend on Google to provide us with aid. From spell check to auto fill the decision we have made to use these electronic aids has [affected] our capacity to learn and execute daily tasks. No longer do we need to use our own memory, Google does it quicker and better, we get the answers faster and finish sooner. The information is recent but our comprehension of that information is lost. The abilities we traditionally [gained] through repetition and rote memorization are now impaired. This brain dump that occurs makes it difficult for an answer to be given, we must get back to someone because who needs to remember that? This dependency on Google is potentially harmful, all owing the tech to take over our minds, our work, making us inept to handle problems without it. The inflictions that The Google Effect has had on us needs to be turned around, a middle ground found, to ensure the future of technology and our analytical ability and intellectual capacity (2) remains intact Our tech will continue to grow and prosper, and continue to alter our minds, the way our brains think and learn. In the future, we will look back and find this tech to be distorted and the new tech will be more intuitive, more integrated, more intelligent (Munro 4). We can only wait and see if our intelligence ultimately might reveal itself in the smarts of those same technologies, (5). If we no longer dive deeper than the surface of information what will we be missing out on? What will we pass over and never come to know of? Carr describes a scene from Stanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey in his article Is Google Making Us Stupid? where the artificial intelligence is being disconnected, pleading for his life, feeling his memory slipping away, the human Dave continues to disconnect his memory circuits without a second thought (1). Showing a cold artificial side that technology could be inflicting on us, turning the tables and switching our roles. This new evolutionary journey will be full of struggle for we still have so far to go. This tech revolution has just begun and I can only hope we come out of it with our minds capable of our human emotion and not unfeeling as though we are an artificial intelligence. The world around us changes and so must we but lets hold on to our humanity, use our God-given abilities to expand our minds and lets not take the easier way, use our brains allowing it to grow and produce great works of art, literature, and advancements in all fields of study. Dont let the technology do it all by itself. Works Cited Nicholas Carr. Is Google Making Us Stupid? What the Internet is doing to our brains Harris, LTC Corey W. The Google paradox: is technology making us smarter? The Free Library. 2016 American Society of Military Comptrollers 03 Mar. 2017 https://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+%22Google%22+paradox%3a+is+technology+making+us+smarter%3f-a0457561687 Munro, Peter. Is technology eating our brains? Sunday Age, The (Melbourne), 10341021, Feb 08, 2009 Shirky, Clay. Does the Internet Make You Smarter?. Wall Street Journal Eastern Edition. 6/5/2010, Vol. 255 Issue 130, pW1-W2. 2p.

Merchant of Venice Essay: The Character of Portia -- Merchant of Venic

The Character of Portia in Merchant of Venice  Ã‚      In his Merchant of Venice, Shakespeare wants the reader to admire Portia, arguably the most powerful character in the play. However, it is easy to mistake the word ‘admiration’ to mean simply a liking of someone’s positive virtues. Rather, we should like Portia because of those things that make her a multi-faceted character. Though she can appear to be an â€Å"unlessoned girl,† she is also conniving, manipulative, and powerful. Three examples that effectively show her prowess and as a result win our admiration of her occur during the casket, the trial, and the ring scenes. One reason why Shakespeare wants us to appreciate Portia is because of the respect that radiates from her during the casket scene. Respect is clearly shown when she follows the prescription of her father’s will, which stipulates that she is to be wed to whoever can successfully figure out the riddle of the caskets and pick the one that has her likeness in it: I may neither choose who I would nor refuse who I dislike, so is the will of a living daughter curbed by the will of a dead father. (I.2.22-24) Portia realizes that she has little to say in the matter, and nowhere does she hint at not following her father’s wishes and marrying whomever she wants. Portia’s faith to her father is steadfast as she goes through the ritual of entertaining potential suitor over and over again. However, that is not to say that Portia is fond of her predicament, because clearly she is not. When Morocco fails to pick the correct casket and leaves in a distraught manner, she is relieved and exclaims: â€Å"A gentle riddance† (II.7.78). Portia must also be admired for her unwavering love and support of her Bassanio. Whi... ...tely frees Antonio (and perhaps even Bassanio) and at the same time obliterates Shylock. Therefore, Portia is a character whom Shakespeare means to be highly admired. She possesses qualities that make her the adoration of some and the envy of others. She is highly skilled at whatever task she undertakes; yet she retains an aura of compassion and a strong sense of commitment. She puts herself on the line for the sake of her Bassanio. On the other hand, when she is crossed - or better yet when something she is endeared to is threatened - she is prepared to unleash a havoc to make things better again.    Works Cited Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. 1967. Ed. W. Moelwyn Merchant. The New Penguin Shakespeare. London: Penguin Books, 1996. - - -. Othello. 1968. Ed. Kenneth Muir. The New Penguin Shakespeare. London: Penguin Books, 1996.   

Gossip Girl Book #1 :: essays research papers

In this first novel, life is beautiful for our teens from the Upper East Side of Manhattan. They're rich, they're beautiful, and they know it. Blair Waldorf is the ringleader of the crew, which includes her handsome but weak-hearted boyfriend, Nate. This femme fatale in training relishes her role and is confident that she and Nate will be together forever. Then the teen every girl loves to hate, Serena Van der Woodson, returns from her Connecticut boarding school, and the young women start fuming. Serena is beautiful and charming, and could unknowingly steal the hearts of brothers and boyfriends -- and she and Nate have a secret history. Of course, ridiculous rumors are abuzz that Serena was expelled for everything from sleeping with half the student body to sacrificing live chickens, but no one knows the real deal because it would be totally unhip to appear too interested in her. She doesn't have time to offer explanations anyway, since she's busy trying to fit in with her old cliq ue, who don't seem to want her around. It may be time for Serena make new friends, but with whom? Gossip Girl reports on Serena's struggle with the group and more -- their dates, their parties, their crushes, and their secrets -- and she tells it all with such knowledge that you, too, will wonder as you close this page-turner, "Who is she?" (Michele D. Thomas) In Gossip Girl, when the beautiful Serena van der Woodsen returns to private school after mysteriously getting kicked out of boarding school, the whole school is talking. All Blair Waldorf knows is that there's no freaking way Serena's going to just waltz back in with her Jimmy Choo mules and Kate Spade bag and steal everyone's heart again. But Serena's got other things on her mind, like college pressure and living up to everyone else's extreme expectations. Plus there's that Ryan Phillippe-looking guy who stands across the street and stares at her all the time. Set in a rich all-girls school full of bulimic, rich, and snotty girls, you'll see into the thoughts of Blair Waldrof, her boyfriend Nate, and her used-to-be best friend Serena van der Woodsen. Blair badly wants to have sex with her boyfriend Nate, and when the moment comes, Nate spills about having slept with her former best friend Serena. Blair turns everybody against Serena when she comes back from her vacation.

Case Study: Active Data Warehousing

1. Describe â€Å"active† data warehousing as it is applied at Continental Airlines. Does Continental apply active or real-time warehousing differently than this concept is normally described? An active data warehousing, or ADW, is a data warehouse implementation that supports near-time or near-real-time decision making. It is featured by event-driven actions that are triggered by a continuous stream of queries that are generated by people or applications regarding an organization or company against a broad, deep granular set of enterprise data.Continental uses active data warehousing to keep track of their company’s daily progress and performance. Continental’s management team holds an operations meeting every morning to discuss how their company is performing in regards to the data collected by their active data warehousing program. The management team believes, â€Å"you can’t manage what you can’t measure,† so they use active data warehou sing to keep track of their customers experience while using Continental Airlines.The information that the management team uses to analyze their company in regards to customer relationship is on-time arrival, on-time departures, baggage handling, and other key performance indicators. Continental also uses active data warehousing for revenue management, revenue accounting, flight operations, fraud detection and airline security. Continental restructured their goals to try to become customers â€Å"favorite† airline to use. They use their active data warehousing to gain as much information about the company’s performance as well as the customers experience.They use this real-time warehousing program to interpret information that is provided and make changes that will better improve their customers experience and help Continental better suit their business in regards to their customers’ needs. 2. In what ways does real-time data warehousing fit with the Continental strategy and plans? Continental Airlines decided to shift their strategy once they went from â€Å"worst to first. † The new goal that they wanted to achieve was making the move from â€Å"first to favorite. Continentals’ new strategy and plan of becoming their customers’ favorite airline could only be achieved by using real-time data warehousing. Continental made plans to become the â€Å"favorite† airline and their strategy involved making business decisions based on information they receive from real-time data warehousing such as: on-time arrival, on-time departures, baggage handling, and other key performance indicators. This information gives the Continental management team the necessary information needed to make corrections or changes in order to better their customers’ experience while using Continental Airlines.Continental’s strategy and plans to become the â€Å"favorite† airline would be much harder to accomplish without real-time data warehousing. They need this information in order to realize what parts of their company need to be tweaked to keep the customer happy. Without real-time data warehousing Continental wouldn’t be able to achieve their goal of moving from â€Å"first to favorite. † 3. Describe the benefits of real-time data warehousing at Continental. Real-time data warehousing has allowed Continental to make significant changes to its business in a variety of ways.According to Continental’s president and COO Larry Kellner, â€Å"Real-time BI is critical to the accomplishment of our business strategy and has created significant business benefits. † There is a wide-range of benefits that Continental has gained from real-time or â€Å"active† data warehouse in the categories of marketing, corporate security, IT, and revenue management. One key benefit in the marketing field is the average increase of travel amongst Continental’s most valuable custo mers, approximately $800 per customer (35,000 customers).A central benefit in is that all employees have the ability to access important facts and information about its customers and the business in its entirety. This in turn allowed Continental to check passenger reservations and flight manifests by cross-referencing with the FBI’s â€Å"watch† list only hours about the 9/11 attacks, deciding if it was safe to fly. Above all, Continental has recognized over $500 million of cost saving and revenue generation (tracking and forecasting, fare designs and analysis, and full reservation analysis) due to the advantages of the business intelligence. . What elements of the data warehousing environment at Continental are necessary to support the extensive end-user business intelligence application development that occurs? There are numerous elements of the data warehousing environment at Continental that are necessary in the support of the extensive end-user BI application deve lopment that takes place. Two important elements that are necessary to discuss are the systems scalability and data security. Since the real-time data warehousing warehouse never gets rid of information, the amount of data increases exponentially over time.Additionally, with the development of BI application, the number of uses will also increase. To deal with the amount of usage and data, the data warehouse at Continental should have scalability which allows the data warehouse to expand the accessible disc space and throughput. The Continental design team took this into account when going through the architecture design of the warehouse. The other element that is important to take care of is data security. Data security is extremely important when a company handles customer information and personal data.Continentals’ warehouse stores all of the customer’s information that can be accessed by other users in order to gain the data that they need. The customers can rest a ssured knowing that their personal information (i. e. social security numbers and credit card numbers) are protected from being opened by any users that are not authorized to view this sensitive information. 5. What special issues about data warehouse management (e. g. , data capture and loading for the data warehouse (ETL processes) and query workload balancing) does this case suggest occur for real-time data warehousing? How has Continental addressed these issues?Real-time data warehousing creates some special issues that need to be solved by data warehouse management. These can create issues because of the extensive technicality that is involved for not only planning the system, but also managing problems as they arise. Two aspects of the BI system that need to be organized in order to elude any technical problems are: the architecture design and query workload balancing. Architecture design is important because when a company is progressively receiving business and different asp ects of the customers’ usage of the company changes the warehouse needs to frequently be updated.Continental planned for the company to use real-time data warehousing so they structured the design to accommodate for the demand of real-time information. The information then became easier to update the warehouse in a timely manner. Query workload balancing is another important aspect of the warehouse that needed to be addressed in order to fulfill Continentals’ need to use the warehouse for tactical and strategic purposes. Continental would run into issues of backed up query processing in their warehouse if query workload balancing wasn’t introduced.The queries would be processed in a â€Å"first in first out† system and would essentially cause backups. Continental resolved this issue by making the warehouse process queries according to the query type. They set up the warehouse to process the specific queries that access single records first and marked them with high priority. Then they prioritized other queries to either be marked with medium priority or low priority depending on what information they are asking for and for what reason it’s needed.Continental’s utilization of using prioritized groupings of queries has led them to be able to process information in a timely manner that is most convenient for the person trying to access this information. (Information regarding the case as well: not sure which one you wanted so I included both) There are two issues that the case study suggests in terms of data management. The first is to recognize that some data cannot and should not be real-time, for three reasons. The first is that Continental knows that real-time data feed are hard to administer because the constant flow of transaction data must always be supervised.The second reason is the need for extra hardware. The last reason Continental is extremely cautious with the movement of additional data is because real-time data feed is extremely costly to bring about. The second issue Continental deals with when it comes to data warehouse management is having the right people in the right positions. Anny individual who handles any aspect of a real-time warehouse must be highly qualified and knowledgeable in both technology and business.According to the case study, â€Å"At Continental, data warehouse staff members in the more technical positions (e. g. , design of ETL processes) have degrees in computer science. Some of them previously built and maintained reservation systems before they joined the warehouse team. Consequently, they have experience with transaction oriented, real-time systems, which serves them well for real-time BI and data warehousing. The warehouse team members who work closely with the business units have previous work experience in the business areas they now support. †

Budgeting in Cooperatives

BUDGETING IN CO OPERATIVES A budget is a statement about the allocation of money (income and expenditure) according to a set of priorities or a plan over a period of time. The advantages of having a budget and budgeting system are as follows: Â ¦ It ensures the plans and ultimately the objectives of the co-operative are realized; Â ¦ It provides a means to control expenditure and ensure corrective measures are in place if over-expenditure has occurred or is happening; Â ¦ It assists in communicating financial information to all in the co-operative – everyone will know how money coming in will be spent; It assists with plan implementation; Â ¦ It helps to measure performance of the co-operative; Â ¦ It is also a motivational tool because it gives direction. If a co-operative does not budget the following disadvantages will occur: Â ¦ There will be no sense of direction; Â ¦ Overspending will happen and financial control will breakdown; Â ¦ Decisions will be made in an a d hoc or unplanned way; Â ¦ There will be unrealiable financial information. There are two main ways of budgeting: (1) Incremental: incremental budgeting works with last year’s figures.It means adjusting to some degree the budget to fit the current year. This is a very problematic way to budget. It assumes the objectives or priorities for the co-operative are the same every year. It might even repeat some of the problems of last year’s budget. (2) Zero Based: zero-based budgeting is based on analyzing the costs afresh for the year. It allows the budget to be aligned to new objectives for the coming period. All expenditures have to be justified and in line with the objectives of the co-operative.There are many things that should and should not be done when drawing up a budget. The Do’s: Â ¦ Be hard nosed and realistic; Â ¦ Take last year’s budget expenditure and the actual results into account – assess where there were variances; Â ¦ Know what t he fixed and variable costs of the co-operative are; Â ¦ Develop budget headings that fit in with the operations of the co-operative as a whole; Â ¦ Collect information thoroughly; Â ¦ Decide to go for incremental or zero-based budgeting. The Don’ts: Â ¦ Neglect to involve members and other stakeholders; Leave too little time to prepare the budget; Â ¦ Make over-optimistic assumptions about income, in particular. The drawing up of a budget should take at least a full month of research, participatory input and drafting. It should come after the board has had an opportunity to plan for the forthcoming year. How should a budget be drawn up? Step 1: Identify the key plans and objectives/priorities for the co-operative. Step 2: Cost these objectives or priorities using last year’s budget and the actual results.Know what is coming in and out by breaking costs under different headings such as wages, rent, telephone, etc. Think through the fixed and variable costs such as permanent staff costs and the cost of raw material. Ask important questions about the income and outgoings. Are there likely to be any changes? Step 3: Build in budget control parameters such as monthly or weekly tracking income and expenditure against the budget. The C E O should give reports to the board on changes or variances and recommend corrective action.Step 4: A draft budget must be presented to the all worker-owners for input. It must then be tabled at the board and General Body for approval. Step 5: Once AGM’s approval is given, the budget must be communicated to everyone in the co-operative and must be freely available. Step 6: Consistent and ongoing monitoring by the C E O and the finance subcommitteemust occur. Regular reports must be given to the board and where there are variances between income or expenditure and budgets, this must be reported to the board and corrective action put into place.

Slimaxes or anticlimaxes in Enduring Love Essay

Another climax begins at the end of chapter 21 with a phone call between Jed and Joe â€Å"I’m putting her on, OK? Are you there? Joe? Are you there?† Here McEwan uses juxtaposition of beginning an event within the formal closure of a chapter. The effect of this adds suspense to the novel as a whole as it wills the reader to follow the chain of events. Also, the panicked dialogue of â€Å"Are you there? Joe? Are you there?† heightens the climax by leaving it unresolved. McEwan continually references â€Å"sweat† in chapter 22 showing the physical exertion in each of the characters â€Å"sweat was beading on his forehead† illustrates the tension between Jed, Joe and Clarissa. Each reference to sweat made by McEwan reveals a subtle increase in the volume, beginning with â€Å"beading† ending with â€Å"rolling off Parry†. This is reflective of the tension of the climax as it builds up.Clarissa is given a voice in this chapter which shows how frightened she is but also reveals more about Joe’s character. The novel is told through the narrative perspective of Joe Rose, therefore Clarissa’s dialogue is under his control meaning that Joe is in full control of her voice and is able to dictate how the reader perceives her. Her small voice reveals that Joe sees her in as vulnerable. This portrays to the reader, Clarissa as a victim of both the situation and the narrative, creating sympathy for her within the climax. This is significant becauseit adds an alternate perspective to the novel. The sympathy created here is later emphasised in chapter 23 in which Clarissa finally gets an undistorted voice.McEwan continually uses sense in chapter22 which makes the scene more dramatic adding to the climax and is implies a rush of adrenaline which heightens the senses. The description â€Å"she was still, but ripples of muscle and tendon at the base of her neck suggested that she was coiled† â€Å"I could hear my heart under my shirt† adds to the tension of the chapter which makes this particular climax significant as it creates a vivid image for the reader. Most of McEwan’s description revolves around tension, of the situation, of muscles; this subsequently builds tension within the reader, adding to the anticipation of the climax. As the novel draws to a close,McEwan finally clears the mystery of Jed Parry’s nature. This is significant to the climax as it dramatically changes the reader’sperspective on Jed, and perhaps the entirety of the novel. In Chapter 22, Jed is revealed to be a harmless soul, not at all a treat. All Jed wants is forgiveness from  Joe â€Å"please forgive me, Joe, for what I did yesterday† which in a way acts as an anticlimax as the novel builds Jed up to be a harmful man with a ve ndetta,yet in actuality, all he wants is forgiveness. Joe is insistent on playing the hero, but is portrayed as being petrified of using a gun. Clarissa doesn’t seem to be pleased that Joe wanted to play the hero, nor does she see him as a hero which dulls the poignancy of the climax. Also Joe  seems to be playing the anti-hero and Jed, the anti-terrorist. This is significant to the novel as it is juxtaposed to the stereotypical thriller/romancewhich the novel  partially aims towards.

Review the Issues Involved in Strategic Planning Essay

Every year at about this time or a little earlier, we start the process of ‘strategic’ planning. The annual planning process, for all its focus on analysis, or template completion, can easily fall into the apparently comfortable tactic of merely updating the activity from last year’s plans. Often, however, what is really needed is a fresh approach which can pay dividends. Approaches to planning differ, depending upon the attitude and culture of the company involved, which in turn affect the relative importance given to different elements of the process and the output. Some companies are heavily financially oriented, making the desired output more focused on numbers than the thinking behind those numbers. Other organisations focus heavily on the resource implications of the tactical plan, and particularly sales force allocation and efficiency. Not all companies perform truly strategic (long -term) market-centred planning, but all companies generally aim to produce a set of financial forecasts. The major differences are in the way they get there and as a consequence the basis on which those forecasts are derived. First and foremost, the organisation needs to be clear about what issues can get in the way of developing a sound strategic plan before deciding on an appropriate approach. Clearly all planning is driven to an extent by profit and financial forecasts but there is a need to be clear what else the plan has to deliver for the organisation, the individual, and the brand – the planning ‘need’ – otherwise the process used may be sub-optimal. Why does the organisation need a plan? What is it meant to deliver over and above the financial projections? Many companies are often unaware of the issues and constraints that will affect the planning process and output , for example the local operating company situation. Are the right resources, the right experience and the right information available at a local level to develop and complete the plan? Can the local markets get the right quality of information they need to drive good quality thinking? If not, then how can this be provided to ensure the right level of thinking is achieved? It could also be that the chosen approach is too sophisticated or inappropriate to deliver the required answers. For example, the process may have all the ‘standard’ elements of analysis but there is no thought given to what each element is telling them. All companies do have a structured process but if the process does not drive the necessary thinking then the resulting plans can be limited. If the process does not challenge the planners to consider different ways of doing things but is merely a set of agreed templates and a time line for deliverables, the resultant forecast simply becomes a straight line projection from historical sales data, and activity remains the same as last year no matter whether or not things are changing in the market. This is the apparently ‘safe’ option but it rarely maximises return on investment and is often not safe at all. Above all the process needs to raise the right questions, stimulate debate both internally and with external stakeholders, and force conclusions to be drawn from the analysis and interpretation of information that can then form the basis for strategy development. And finally, senior management by their actions and questions often demonstrate that all they are really interested in are the numbers, with no challenge or credence given to the thinking behind those numbers. Even though a thorough process is used to arrive at a market -based forecast, senior management just focus on the revenue with/without profit Sometimes the budget or forecast even comes before the planning/thinking in time, and at other times it is ‘imposed’ so the plan reflects how to achieve it, not whether it is at all achievable. There are three very different approaches to strategic planning in our experience: The data-driven approach is based on hard data collected from a variety of sources, both primary panels and syndicated data, from which a market model is then built by brand from the bottom up. Issues are then identified but there seems to be no real focus on what drives success in local markets, or on what competitors will do and the impact of their actions. This approach can simply lead to ‘more of the same’, making a projection based on the previous year and no real change in approach, with the whole focus being on next year’s revenue. While many companies may not use such an apparently numbers-focused approach they still act in the same way, with the forecast being the key, rather than the rationale behind it. To overcome the inevitable local variances in both resource and/or experience and to ensure a consistent base for review, many companies utilise a template-led approach . This consists of a pre-defined plan with key headings that can be amplified or contracted, but with certain key elements which must be completed. This option works well as it provides a structured process for analysis, with check questions at each stage. However in some cases we have seen that such an approach can still be very financially focused. Sometimes it does not analyse the brand and company strengths and weaknesses in a meaningful market-centred manner, to enable a market -led SWOT analysis and often there is still not enough competitive focus. The next level is often seen in the ‘marketing excellence’ approach, where the organisation provides an integrated planning tool comprising standard marketing planning software. In a sophisticated example this allows local working but is linked into a central supporting database, with aspects that can be adapted and others that are fixed. The beauty of such a process is that it is transparent, allowing a clear overview of who is performing well, and enabling experience and successes to be shared. However when this is a relatively new process people tend to take time to get to grips with the process resulting in ‘doing the process’ rather than really thinking about what each step is telling them. Moreover for this approach to be used effectively, senior management must understand the process very well so that they can interrogate the people who are developing the plan. Efforts to plan correctly often fail due to poor alignment between personal and corporate goals – people are often rewarded for achieving short-term deliverables with secure outcomes rather than longer term brand building and innovation or driving change. In summary the key issues in strategic planning are: Not being clear about the planning ‘need’ Not being aware of the issues and constraints that will affect the planning process and output Approach too sophisticated or not appropriate to deliver the required answers The financial forecast is all that matters, with the thinking behind those forecasts being ignored or not challenged/considered Process not challenging people to think or act differently Insufficient external focus: environment and/or competitors Lack of real focus on (new) opportunities for growth Poor expertise at local level More tactical/operational than strategic focus So what works well in overcoming some of these inherent problems? Ensure a complete and effective structured process to develop the analysis base. Output should focus on alternative scenarios and ‘what ifs’ working from a base plan. Thereby, focusing on incremental growth and type of incremental drivers that need to be addressed. Build market -based forecasts by brand at country level. This requires country plans and budgets built from bottom up by brand and forecasts linked to hard data and clear market maps. Allow enough time for countries to make amendments based on sound strategic thinking and then finalise forecasts ? do not just use Excel formulas. Balance the need for a ‘quick’ solution with a complete process (analysis and review). Value the process, including through management attitude, and align management with the strategy. Key imperatives are to ensure a complete and effective structured process to develop the analysis base, with structured external and internal analysis, and check questions at each stage. The process should be transparent, reviewed by management so that the output is seen by senior management during budget process. Multi-functional teams should build plans with all key stakeholders involved, but led by marketing. Recent surveys show that where companies use a good formal process, satisfaction with strategic planning is higher. Companies are looking more and more at processes that drive to different strategies and/or activities. However, there is a demand for a stronger link in pharma between action and reaction, i. e. if we do X then â‚ ¬Y will result. Strategic planning should prepare executives to face the strategic uncertainties ahead, and serve as the focal point for creative thinking about the company or the brand’s vision and direction. It should also be about making choices between competing priorities, focusing on strategic as well as operational issues. This will ensure that progress against the strategic plan is monitored. There are a number of ‘tricks of the trade’ that help in strategic planning. Among the best practice companies, executives who carry out strategy also make it, and plans reflect goals and challenges. It is important to use any plan to identify growth opportunities, both within and outside the core business. Monitoring progress against the strategic plan is critical and a key area for improvement. It is important also that planning meetings are true ‘conversations’. Simple ‘tricks’, such as having only a small number of the right people in the meeting, can pay dividends. The process also takes time, so more than one meeting is required. It is also important to avoid combining strategy reviews with discussions of budgets and financial targets because when the two are considered together, short-term financial issues tend to dominate at the expense of long-term strategic ones. The ideal process leads to strategic decisions that allow the company to meet goals and challenges. It assesses risks as well as benefits, but is based on fact, focusing on strategic issues, and is therefore not merely tactical. The ideal process ensures that those who will carry out strategy are involved in developing it, builds shared understanding of market dynamics, and emphasises discussion of issues not process. Planning should build ‘prepared minds’ through dialogue to make sure that all decision makers involved have a solid understanding of the business, its strategy, and the assumptions behind that strategy. Then it will be possible for them to respond swiftly to challenges and opportunities as they occur during the year. No strategy process can guarantee great flashes of creative insight, but much can be done to increase the odds that they will occur. The process can be used to challenge assumptions and open people up to new thinking.