Examining the Saytam scandal

1.1 JustificationI chose this dirt because it was a recent and a really large one. It is besides really international as it is an outsourcing house, the effects of the dirt affected many other states. Many people lost their investings and India has lost the other states ‘ trust deeply. It is really suited to explicate with assorted ethical elements.1.2 What is the Scandal about, who are the histrions in it?On 7 January 2009 by the confess of B. Ramalinga Raju, who is the laminitis and besides the president of the Satyam Computer, the universe has learnt and shocked about the fradulent fiscal activities that the Satyam interfered. Ramalinga Raju founded Satyam in 1987 with merely 20 employees which was India ‘s 4th largest outsourcing company with $ 1 billion one-year grosss Satyam Computer Services Ltd was incorporated in 1989 and it went public in 1992. With each go throughing twelvemonth, Satyam strengthened its place and extended its operations to assorted locations. . However when it is discovered the cheatings of Satyam, inquiries arose about how Satyam came to this place. For replying these inquiries we must travel back to the ninetiess. The 2nd half of the 1990s was the liberalisation period in which the importance of the corporations increased extremely in India. Increased competition forced corporations to seek unethical ways to drive their concerns. As coming into being subsequently, Ramalinga Raju besides engaged in such actions to demo its company ‘s public presentation better off. In 2008, although the board of managers hesitated, Satyam acquired Maytas Infrastructure and Maytas Properties that were founded by the laminitis Ramalinga Raju ‘s household for $ 1.6 billion. These both companies belonged to Raju ‘s boies and in the terminal the authorities had to reexamine the trade and the frailty president of India criticized it. When the authorities and the clients of the Satyam became leery about this behavior of Satyam and the investors panically and all of a sudden sold a immense sum of the stocks, Satyam called of its determination. Satyam investors lost 3,400 Indian Rupee in the related terror merchandising. The acquisition created a incredulity in New York Stock Exchange and the Satyam portions fell 55 % . Because of that, the board of managers had to vacate at the terminal of the twelvemonth Then on 29th December, 3 members of board of managers quit their occupations, it is the twenty-four hours when board of managers announced that they will purchase back for deriving the trust of their investors once more. However the things kept traveling worse off. On December 23, The World Bank announced that it banned the Satyam from making concern with it due to data larceny and graft. Market guesss about that the Satyam making fraud counterfeit and breach of contract increased tremendously. It is when the value of the booster interest of Satyam decreased to 5 % , which is an index that the Satyam was stranded, On 7 January 2009, company Chairman Ramalinga Raju resigned after advising board members and the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( SEBI ) that Satyam ‘s histories had been falsified ( Arakali,2009 ) .Raju confessed that Satyam ‘s balance sheet of 30 September 2008 contained: hyperbolic figures for hard currency and bank balances, an accumulated involvemen t of Rs. 376 crore which was non-existent, an unostentatious liability of Rs. 1,230 crore and an exaggerated debitors ‘ place of Rs. 490 crore ( as against Rs. 2,651 crore in the books ) .After probes are deepened, it was found that he had picked the lesser of two offenses when he decided to squeal the offense and he siphoned off financess by blow uping employee Numberss, made many â€Å" benami † land trades, opened â€Å" benami † bank histories, through relations and friends and used them to merchandise in Satyam ‘s portions ( Aneja,2009 ) . Benami history means that when you purchase something in the name of person else by using your ain financess, you use that individual as a name-lender and this is called a ‘ benami dealing ‘ and this is illegal, it can be made legal by reassigning the land in your name but this will affect stomp responsibility and enrollment charges. As a consequence, merely a little use in the company ‘s balance sheet consequence in difference of INR 71,36 one million millions between the existent operating net income As Mr. Raju besides stated in his missive, this difference continued to turn in many old ages and there had been taken many actions to make full this spread and the attemp to purchase Maytas was the last attemp to cover the fictitous assets with existent 1s. He besides claimed that neither he nor the pull offing managers benefited financially from the hyperbolic grosss and none of the board members had any cognition of the state of affairs in which the company was placed. It is really hard to change over everything back to an ethical and right manner after a point and Satyam had already passed this point which means it was inevitable for Satyam to be revelation. After the confession, the board of managers was banned from working and 10 nominal managers are appointed. Ramalinga Raju had arrested on charges of breach of trust, disproof of records, cheating, counterfeit and go againsting insider trading norm. A figure of employees including a top executive and CFO who laid the basis for the fraud and involved in the distorting the bank statements. The CFO of Satyam besides arrested. PWC as being the audit house of Satyam had lost assurance by its clients and 2 of its top functionaries were arrested. This dirt called by the media as Indian ‘s Enron and it has brought into inquiry the degrees of corporate administration in the state after this dirt. Satyam ‘s portions decreased by % 75 and it caused the Indian ‘s stock market to fall by % 7.[ 1 ] Rajiv Gupta, one of the investors of Satyam, told in an interview with BBC that he found the state of affairss occurred after the dirt really distressing and the clip is the worst possible clip to go on while the markets were merely started to look like they were retrieving.[ 2 ] However, it is non the market merely affected from this dirt ; investors, employees, providers, clients all injured from the incorrect making. It is obvious that there are some people who violated some moral issues and act unethically. Now I will seek to integrate moralss into existent life instance and evaluate in the visible radiations of different ethical rules to be able to do judgement whether it is in conformity with or in misdemeanor of moral criterions.1.3 Who has the moral duty? Who are to fault?The term moral duty sometimes means to fault a individual for something. A individual is morally responsible for the hurts or a incorrect if: caused or helped to do it, or failed to forestall it when he could hold and should hold, did so cognizing what he was making did so of his ain free will. In modern corporations duty is distributed among a figure of collaborating parties. The parties produce the corporate act together. The system arises a inquiry about who is responsible for jointly produced act. The traditional position is who is wittingly and freely lend the corporate act is responsible for the incorrect. In Satyam instance fraud and misrepresentation at Satyam Computer Services in India consist of several i mmoral Acts of the Apostless. Double accounting books, 1000s of bad bills, 1000s of unneeded employees and tonss of bogus bank statements, harmonizing to tribunal records ( Diaz,2009 ) . So a figure of fraud Acts of the Apostless was seen. Harmonizing to corporate duty theory who is responsible for? Whole company employees, employees, directors, board of managers, stockholders even hearers? In immoral Acts of the Apostless an person merely be responsible for an fraud if the individual is wittingly and freely do the unlawful act or non to take part the act but cognizant of it so non the brand an action to Under these conditions, we have to see both Mr. Raju, the audit house PricewaterhouseCoopers and board of managers and happen out if they were morally responsible for the fraud or non. Mr. Raju ; we can evidently see that he caused the fraud, since he wrote a confession missive to the imperativeness and told all the fraud. Furthermore we know that Mr. Raju acted of his ain free will by moving intentionally and purposefully and his actions were non the consequence of some unmanageable mental urge or external force. PwC ; the audit house claimed that they did non cognize about the fraud and the company gave them the incorrect fiscal statements, so they did non acknowledge the fraud. Hearers are responsible to analyze the fiscal statements of the company. Satyam committed an erroneous entering assets which did no exist. PwC is the audit company and should hold recognized the fraud so PwC failed to forestall it when it could hold prevented due to their profession ( Pettet,2009 ) . Through their profession, the audit house is in a place to observe any incompatibility or fraud in the statements. The house could hold raised inquiries about the immense non-existing money. They should hold paid necessary professional attending to their work ( Sekhar,2009 ) This demand is an duty for the hearers. In Satyam the hearers who are S. Gopala Krishnan and Srinivas Talluri, who have been suspended from PricewaterhouseCoopers instances the hearers are besides confronting charges ( Diaz,2009 ) Board of Directors ; when we think about the responsibilities of the board such as regulating the organisation, O.K.ing one-year budgets and oversee the activities of the company, it is clearly seen that the board did non make its responsibilities. They likely did non analyze the operations of the company carefully and did non cognize what was go oning in the company. Therefore, we can state that the board failed to forestall it when it could hold and should hold prevented it.In Satyam instances harmonizing to Ram Mynampati he and other board of directos had no cognition of the fiscal fraud. So they are non responsible for the immoral act because they have no cognition so ignorance of the act ( Vaswani,2009 ) One can state that PwC and the Board are nescient about the issue, nevertheless, they might be intentionally nescient, and if they recognize that something was traveling incorrect and did non state anything. For illustration Mr. Raju wanted to purchase the Maytas Infrastructure Company ‘s portions and the board knows that their concern has no relationship with substructure but they did non seek about the grounds why Mr.Raju wants to purchase the portions. The other exclusion of ignorance is being negligent. Both PwC and the Board failed to take necessary actions and they may pretermit the discernible hints of the fraud, it is non an alibi but it may cut down their duty.Section 2 Philosophers oppugning the Scandal combined with ethical rules in Business2.1 Kohlberg ‘s Moral DevelopmentRamalinga Raju can be the victim of his ego involvements. He may believe that its effects would be profitable and positive to his ego involvements. He may gain more money if he did non squeal the fraud and resign. Even if inflating figures and demoing a non-existent accumulated involvement are non ethical, but these actions would ensue in net income to him, hence, he sacrifice from being ethical. So, we can state that Mr. Raju is at the first degree â€Å" preconventional phases † and at â€Å" Instrumental and Relative Orientation Stage † .[ 3 ]2.2 Ethical Principles In Business2.2.1 Utilitarianism:Harmonizing to Utilitarian attack, it is indispensable to see both the immediate and foreseeable hereafter costs and benefits that each option will bring forth for each and every person. The costs of the dirt are terrible. For illustration, 6 million guiltless stockholders some of them have lost their full life nest eggs because Satyam lost its value by 78 % ( Vaswani, 2009 ) . Employees suffered from the falsified histories and lose their occupation in long term. He besides diverted big amounts of money belong to stockholders by feigning to do salary payments to non-existent employee s mean that lessening the grosss of stockholders. Harmonizing to utilitarians, there is nil unethical to distort the informations in the records. Utilitarians think that the actions which produce the greatest benefit and the lowest cost for the society. Before the revelation of the fraud, the investors were puting their money into Satyam and so the company could go on to run. If the company had showed the existent state of affairs to the society, no investors would take Satyam that the company would likely hold had to be near down. In short all of its 53000 employees would go out of employ which is a large cost to the society. So there is a benefit of protecting to occupations of employees and moreover Mr. Raju and some other managers besides might be benefited from the fraud and there were no one acquiring hurting before the revelation. So harmonizing to useful attack, it is right to rip off on study in this state of affairs. However there are jobs with rights and justness, because this behavior is n't a right moral regulation, it is non right to rip off on report.The legal system of India, petmits disproof of informations which means Mr. Raju and other people played function in fraud do non hold a legal right to make that. However is it besides incorrect harmonizing to moral rights? Moral rights are correlated with responsibilities. When a individual ha ve a moral right, the other have a responsibility non to interfere him or to supply him his right. Here in the instance, investors have right to cognize the existent place of the company which they are puting. However by rip offing on records is violated their rights. Satyam dirt has damaged the remainder of the Indian tech services industry because foreign companies were discouraged for outsourcing owing to the dirt. It is obvious that many U.S. and European clients including General Electric, General Motor, Nestle, and besides United States Government will rethink their trust on non merely the company but besides Indian outsourcing and the credibleness in western clients will endure in the long tally ( Gorkey, 2009 ) . As a effect of the instance, the full corporate administration system in India has been unfaithful for most companies. On the other manus, dirt created an chance for India ‘s challengers in the outsourcing game and smaller IT companies in foreign states can get down concern with Satyam ‘s clients. However some clients are encouraged to maintain occupations at place state in order to avoid any hazards of fraud. It can fresh place market of the clients who may prefer to make concern in their ain sector which will derive more net income itself. There are some Raju ‘s parts to society that can be calculated on benefits side like constructing an exigency health care supplier called EMRI and puting up an exigency medical service ( EMS ) . At the terminal of cost-benefit analysis, net public-service corporation that produced by the dirt is negative intending more costs over benefits so it is non a right action.2.2.2 Kantian RightsRamalinga Raju in his missive noted that, Satyam had really made 3 % border, nevertheless many economic experts and bookmans find it laughably low in IT industry ( Shirsat, 2009 ) .This claim supports the claim that Raju pick the lesser of two offenses when he decided to squeal the offense. Besides he inflated the head count of employees to syphon off financess from company ( Vaswani, 2009 ) .Therefore we can reason that more money was coming into company but it was being siphoned out. He used his aged female parent ‘s name to do about 400 â€Å" benami † land trades, invest in other concerns such as existent estate with the many. First of wholly, he diverted big amounts of money belong to stockholders by feigning to do salary payments to non-existent employees. The state of affairs can non go through both the universalizability and reversibility standards of Kantian rights. ( Velasquez,2006 ) He besides violated the 2nd preparation of Kant because he used these non-existent employees and his aged female parent as a agency for his ain will and profaned human self-respect norm. Besides misdemeanor of the belongings rights of stockholders by utilizing belongings belongs to company without permission can be seen as an unethical pattern. Corporate jurisprudence practicians said Raju violated officers ‘ right to cognize by abetting them to perpetrate fiscal fraud. Another issue is Raju is known for his philanthropic gift and committedness to assisting India ‘s rural hapless. He reportedly donated more than $ 50 million of his ain money to make the plan. With the wealth generated by money of others doing such a committedness to society is unethical. This violates the stockholders ‘ right to take because they have a right to take how to utilize their ain money for assisting hapless or non. Furthermore harmonizing to Kant ‘s first preparation, â€Å" the individual ‘s grounds for moving must be grounds that he or she would be willing to hold all others use, even as a footing o how they treat him or her. † Mr. Raju likely would n't desire to put in a company that looks being in a good state of affairs but is really in a bad state of affairs. So besides harmonizing to Kant ‘s Categorical Imperative it is non right. Satyam dirt involves inquiries of justness and equity. From the â€Å" Distributive Justice † point of position which is the justness class based on the thought that benefits and loads should be distributed every bit, instance involves many unfair patterns. Here Ramalinga Raju and his household diverted money from Satyam to their ain will. Besides with the transportation of portions to the household members, they gave immense loss to the little investors. All benefits went to the Ramalinga Raju and his household. Employees, investors and creditors who had nil to make with the fraud all suffer awful effects and bear all loads. Besides IT industry in India has spent 20 old ages constructing up credibleness with Western clients, but this dirt is foreseen to do many U.S. and European clients rethink their trust on Indian outsourcing. From the retaliatory justness position, Mr. , Raju can be blamed and punished for making incorrect wittingly and in his ain free will. What is upseting is that for over seven old ages the man of affairs who consistently committed fraud was supported by politicians in power in the Andhra Pradesh Government. His association with the top leaders meant that Raju got immense balls of premier land at throw-away monetary values for Technology Park and other intents and many other installations which enabled Satyam to spread out and turn quickly ( Balachandran, 2009 ) . Banks and fiscal establishments allowed Raju to open 1000s of histories without oppugning. They provided statements about the company ‘s finance as Raju requested. Raju was allowed inside cognition of authorities policies, development programs and undertakings even before the blue-prints were prepared. This enabled him and his pool, Maytas Infra, to offer for undertakings on favourable footings. The whole authorities system was harnessed to stand in function Raju ‘s involvements. Harmonizing to Rawls ‘ just equality of chance rule, everyone should be given an equal chance to measure up for the more privileged places. It can be seen that Raju had greater chances than other people and got discriminatory intervention by Bankss, establishments and authorities. The dirt ends with heavy load on society and causes inefficiency in the system so is deemed to go against the difference rule which is the claim that a productive society will integrate inequalities. The difference rule implies that it is incorrect to victimize stockholders and investors because action creates inefficiency.2.2.3 Virtue Ethical motives:Raju has an MBA Ohio University and is an alumna of Harvard Business School, in other words he is a knowing individual. Harmonizing to the Corruption Perception Index 20 04 ( CPI ) which ranks the states in their order of corruptness, out of the 146 states listed, India where he grew ranks a hapless 91. In Satyam instance, Raju ‘s incorrect act might be related to the undermentioned three state of affairss: foremost, it might be related to his single sense of values, so wholly he has done come from his personal moral values. Second, it might come from is the value cherished by society where he turn. Harmonizing to the thought, Raju might be affected by the Indian society and civilization. Finally, the system of administration might hold an influence on Raju ‘s behaviours. I would personally hold with this point, each civilization and state has different tolerances and different ways to carry through concern. In India it might hold been easier to make it, than in any other state or the life conditions and society values may promote him to make such a thing.2.3 The Persons in The Organization2.3.1 Conflict of InterestThe policies and processs under codification of struggle of involvement requires that the managers and associates of the company shall avoid any activity or association that creates or appears to make a struggle between the personal involvements of the managers and associates and the company ‘s concern involvements. In the instance of Satyam, the hearers of Satyam might hold faced with struggles of involvement while attesting the fiscal record of Satyam. They have softened their criterion while scrutinizing the company fiscal statement. It is clear that the trueness or duty to the client, here it is Satyam, is divided or in struggle with opportunism of Hearers and the involvement of Satyam ‘s direction. In add-on, the company corporate administration does non demo any struggle of involvement between direction and proprietors, the job was caused by the struggle of involvement between the dominant stockholders ( boosters ) and the minority stockholders. The boosters that involve Mr. Raju, together with their friends and relations were the dominant stockholders. The company proposed to put $ 1.6 billion to purchase existent estate and substructure houses, Maytas Properties and Maytas Infrastructure, run by the boies of its founder-chairman Raju. Investors and analysts questioned the move by the Hyderabad-based package exporters to pay such a immense amount to get companies linked to Raju and raised concerns about corporate administration at Satyam and its credibleness in the eyes of planetary clients and stockholders. Ramalinga Raju, nevertheless, justified the determination, stating it was portion of a â€Å" good variegation scheme † . Representatives of investors such as Templeton and Motilal Oswal complained that Satyam had no concern purchasing existent estate or substructure companies and that their investing in Satyam was because it was engaged in supplying package services ( www.tahindian.com ) . There is an existent s truggle of involvement under this investing determination and besides supported the claim that â€Å" all money invested in Maytas belongs to Satyam † . Then Raju stated that the aborted Maytas trade was really last effort to make full the fabricated assets with existent 1s. Though the fiscal establishments owned bulk of interest, but historically they used to play a inactive function in the company. This was leting the boosters, Mr. Raju and his relations to play the corruptness game. The boosters were seeking to re-structure the concern and were besides deviating assets between group companies. So, this shows the struggle of involvement between these parties.2.3.2 Insider TradingSatyam boosters and top functionaries may hold charged in insider trading. Research workers are coming across grounds of insider trading by the boosters even before the dirt broke. The probe is besides concentrating on the allegations of insider trading in the period before the failed December 16. T here are adequate arrows to insider trading by the Satyam boosters and the companies floated by them and their relations. The insider trading in Satyam is formed by the top direction of Satyam – the managers and senior functionaries – with selling portions in front with that books have been overstated, taking to an hyperbolic stock monetary value that helped the top direction do money. The top direction offloaded the company ‘s 6.01 lakh portions this fiscal twelvemonth merely before the confessions of Raju. It reminded the possibility that there may be people who must be cognizant of things to come and might hold offloaded their retention merely earlier fiasco ( Agarwal, 2009 ) . Srinivas Vadlamani, the main fiscal officer of Satyam Computer Service, has been the most active in offloading the portions. Srinivas offloaded 92,358 portions in two episodes in September. Ram Mynampati, president of Satyam and a member of the board, besides offloaded 80,000 portions in three installments in May and June. Interestingly, during the past nine months, none of the top direction squad of Satyam has purchased its portions. The heavy merchandising of portions by the Satyam big-wigs in September was ab initio attributed to the developing uncertainness in the economic scenario. However, put in the larger strategy of things, the sale could be a instance of insider trading. The tendency has asserted in December when 28,500 portions of the company were sold by its senior functionaries. The most recent sellout was done by AS Murthy, main information officer, who sold 21,000 portions between December 12 and 15 ( Agarwal, 2009 ) .Mr. Raju inflated the history for increasing the mo netary value of portions so that he and his confederates get maximal net incomes, in which he succeeded besides. The twenty-four hours this intelligence broke, the Satyam ‘s portion was surging. Here, the SEBI and Ministry of Company Affairs excessively have failed in their assigned occupations. SEBI is the highest regulator and keeps eagle oculus on the activities of the capital markets. When the net incomes of this company were registering unnatural growing, thereby the monetary values of the portions were surging, they do non hold any effort, there has been a batch of chromaticity and call with regard to insider trading ; a ululation SEBI failed to listen to and it inflicted to a great extent on Satyam. Although insider trading per se is non illegal but it is unethical, furthermore when Company ‘s high functionary who were on portion selling fling must had the thought of what was traveling in the company. Raju had besides opened multiple benami ( silent person ) accounts through relations and friends and used them to merchandise in Satyam ‘s portions, go againsting the insider trading norm. He used the company ‘s proprietary information to reassign securities to his brother Suryanarayana Raju and to his female parent Appalanarsama Raju. Crime Investigation Department ( CID ) of the Andhra Pradesh constabularies and Central bureaus has confirmed that the boosters indulged in insider trading of the company ‘s portions. ( NDTV Correspondent,2009 )2.4 RationalizationIt may look easy to apologize this at first. Managers ever trust in themselves and in their accomplishments a batch, and believe that their company is basically sound. They believe that they will do it up in the hereafter without anybody detecting it when there is a job and. They do everything to apologize their moves, their determinations in order to look guiltless. When the company faces the spread and unab le to do it up, a larger deformation is needed to cover up, as Raju added in his missive. He bet that neither him nor the pull offing manager has benefitted in the fiscal footings on history of the hyperbolic consequences, even 1 rupee/dollar. Put otherwise, he claims that he did distort histories in order to maintain operating traveling at Satyam and to be able to supply prompt payments of salary. He besides gave an account to Maytas acquisition and rationalized it by claiming that he merely tried to make full the fabricated assets of Satyam with existent 1s. What is more, he said ‘Significant dividend payments, acquisitions and capital outgos to supply for growing did non assist affairs. ‘ He asserted these claims to happen an alibi for his fraud.2.5 Stakeholder AnalysisHarmonizing to new stakeholder theory, direction bears no extra fiducial relationships to 3rd parties but have morally important nonfudiciary duties to 3rd parties. It means direction may ne'er hold promised clients, employees a â€Å" return on investing † but obliged to take earnestly its extra-legal duties non to wound, lie to or rip off these stakeholders ( Goodpaster, 1991 ) . Until the fraud, the secret of Raju ‘s outstanding success is thought to lie in his simple, yet extended direction theoretical account that creates value, promotes entrepreneurship, focuses unrelentingly on the client and purposes at changeless chase of excellence for all stakeholders. The fraud showed that he is far off from this first-class image. He failed to exert his duties which are non to wound, lie or rip off the stakeholders. All stakeholders are lied and cheated with the falsified Numberss and studies for many old ages. In May, Satyam has merely over 40,000 employees, about each of them on the ‘bench ‘ are in danger of losing employment at Satyam. Equally good as, clients of Satyam including Nestle, Nissan, in a large scraping because they do n't desire to work with Satyam any longer but passage is besides hard for them. Furthermore IT industry participants, rivals and providers were lied, cheated and injured by SatyamSection 3 The Ironies in the Scandal & A ; The Awards of the Ceo3.1 SarcasmsThis dirt includes many sarcasms in it, from the name of the company to present the house and the Ceo received: Satyam means â€Å" truth † in Sanskrit, Satyam earned a United Kingdom Trade and Investment India Business Award for Corporate Social Responsibility, Satyam got Global Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance for 2008, In 2007 Ramalinga Raju was chosen as the best enterpriser of the twelvemonth by Ernst & A ; Young, Satyam was selected for the formal IT patron of the World Cup 2010-2014 by FIFA.3.2 Corporate AdministrationGolden Peacock award was given to Satyam for its corporate administration criterions. This is the sarcasm of the state of affairs that a company which was considered the best in IT industry has such low corporate administration criterions. On top it the Board of Directors was non even apprised of even anything. Corporate Administration as defined is â€Å" Corporate administration refers to the legal and factual model of the direction and monitoring of companies. Corporate administration ordinances are geared towards transparence and therefore beef up the trust in direction and control concentrating on value creative activity † . There are few importance elements of corporate administration viz. Auditing, Independent Directors, Regulators and Finally the Board including CEO itself. If we examine these components one by one, it would be crystal clear that all the components either failed or did non move as was required. The function of Price Waterhouse Coopers, the Auditing house of Satyam has been dealt. So, the Satyam fraud is unfolding and so are the built-in failings of Corporate Governance in India. The fraud has brought to illume the fact that in India the differentiation between proprietors and direction is still non really clear. Where the proprietors are besides the directors, such frauds are ever a possibility.Section 4 Conclusion and Suggestions4.1 What should hold been done, where did Raju make incorrectly?Satyam Computer company is a global company. The company has many clients all around the universe and the foreign investors come to India to put in the company. As being a large company, it requires a good corporate administration system and correlativity among parties of company. All of the parties should follow their responsibilities harmonizing to the contract with the company. So that the company will last, spread out its market portion and function their clients in a confidential mode. The Chief executive officer of the Satyam Computers and other people involved in the procedure was blamed for the immoral Acts of the Apostless which was blow uping hard currency and bank balances, accruing involvement that are non-existing, exaggerating debitors ‘ place in the books, graft, insider trading and etc. A company director is responsible to transport the company in the chase of net income and while seeking ways to increase net income the company should obey the legal issues and Torahs. Mr. Raju did non follow these rules that the company lost it ‘s clients, repute and damaged economically both in the place and foreign market. Mr. Raju used his authorization and power in an inappropriate ways. In this study, Satyam dirt and related ethical quandary ar e evaluated in the visible radiations of different ethical rules. The major purpose was to integrate moralss into this existent life to be able to do judgement whether it is in conformity with or in misdemeanor of moral criterions. Moral duty and incrimination analysis showed that Mr. Raju is morally responsible for the incorrect with no extenuating factor even he tried to apologize his incorrect making in his missive. PwC and board of managers stay negligent about the issue by neglecting to take necessary actions, their carelessness may decrease their duty but can non wholly take. At the terminal of cost-benefit analysis, net public-service corporation that produced by the dirt is found to be negative significance more costs over benefits so it is non a right action. Harmonizing to rights and justness. Raju ‘s actions are unfair and contradict to Rawl ‘s rules and besides violate Kant ‘s first and 2nd preparation and rights of others. As a president of the company, Raju failed to populate up the responsibility to prosecute the ends of the house by moving on a â€Å" struggle of involvement † and merchandising company ‘s stock on the footing of â€Å" inside † information. Besides new stakeholder analysis proved that Satyam direction failed to exert their duties toward the stakeholders which are non to wound, lie to or rip off the stakeholders. Raju ‘s actions are immoral and he sacrificed being ethical purposefully for his ego involvement which lead us to set him into the â€Å" Instrumental egoism † phase of Kohlberg ‘s moral development phases.4.2 Introduction of a Company Ethics ProgramAlthough Raju has an MBA Ohio University and is an alumna of Harvard Business School, he made the fraud, it shows the importance of holding common sense, the instruction does non count all the clip. â€Å" Company Ethics Program † should be formulated and each and every person should perpetrate this, Exercise of this plan should be followed and monitored persistently and systematically. Peoples should be trained, retrained until the rules are internalized, It besides showed us the importance of whistle blowing, The harm would be less if person blew the whistling earlier. Audited account houses should be more careful while analyzing the fiscal statements of the companies. In the terminal they besides have a large portion in this game and they are to fault Whistle blowing: Whistleblower is a individual who raises a concern about wrongdoing happening in an organisation or organic structure of people. Normally this individual would be from that same organisation. This misconduct can be classified in many ways such as a misdemeanor of a jurisprudence, regulation, ordinance and/or a direct menace to public involvement, such as fraud, health/safety misdemeanors, and corruptness. Whistle blowers may do their allegations internally ( for illustration, to other people within the accused organisation ) or externally ( to regulators, jurisprudence enforcement bureaus, to the media or to groups concerned with the issues ) .[ 4 ]

Importance of Sex Education Essay

As younger generations mature into teens, they will be exposed to all sorts of materials in their daily lives. Sex education is of great importance when it comes to teenagers. This is because as individuals grow into teenagers, they observe changes to their bodies particularly in their sex organs and also their hormones. With the raging hormones present in their bodies and unnecessary exposure to materials from the TV and now the internet, teenagers will be curious and would definitely want to experiment on the new things that they discover. This is why sexual education is important. Most teens are immature and curious individuals who lack self-control. This explains the high number of teenage pregnancies. When it comes to teen pregnancy, most teenagers are not ready to have a child. In many cases, teenage girls who decide to raise the baby end up being single mothers as their partners are not committed enough to raise the child as both of them are too young and not equipped well enough to raise a child. Thanks to the introduction of sex education in the recent years, the numbers of teen pregnancies have been decreasing gradually. Another importance of sex education is to lower the rate of abortion. Pregnant teens are one of the main causes of abortion. This happens when teens get pregnant and they do not want to conceive their babies. There are many factors that contribute to this final decision to abort the pregnancy. Usually, the main factor that causes abortion in teen parents is the fact that they are not ready to make the big commitment to have a baby. Aside to that, another factor that contributes to abortion is teenagers getting raped. Furthermore, by educating teens on sex, rape cases can be prevented. There are certain male individuals that are aroused by how an individual of the opposite sex dresses. With the psychological aspects of sex education, teenagers can be taught to manage their sexual stimulation and control their raging hormones when they are faced with situations like this. In sex education, teens will be educated on how to suppress their hormones by doing physical activities like exercising. In females, this inhibits the production of sex steroid hormones like estrogen. As for males, testosterone levels are reduced. Hence, the urge to satisfy one’s sexual needs is greatly reduced. Besides that, sex education is also important to encourage and educate teens on the use of contraceptive methods to further prevent any unwanted pregnancies. For example, using a condom during sexual intercourse not only prevents unwanted pregnancy, it can also prevent sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV. Another good contraceptive method that can be exposed to teens during sex education is the birth control pill. This pill, which has to be taken regularly, contains two female hormones which prevents ovulation.

Accounting for Managers

Managers frequently use CVP Analysis and Budgeting to screen business plans by evaluating a firm’s cost structure and sales volume needed to generate profit. Mountain Views Hotel is planning to open a â€Å"Boutique Hotel† accommodation in the Blue Mountains area that runs a Food and Beverage operation serving breakfast as part of the guest experience. Your team is expected to develop a successful business plan including making recommendations for improvement in future years. The Report will be written as if it were being presented to potential investors in the business. Use the Balanced Score Card approach to present key assumptions and justify them by research and analysis undertaken.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Discuss critically key results that would impact on your future decision-making including a fully supported explanation of how you could improve this business by making any changes.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Make recommendations to the proposed investors including ideas for the next steps to progress the business concept. Prepare your analysis as an authentic business report.   The Australian tourism and hotel industry have significant contribution on GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of Australian. As per Price Water cooper house Report of 2009 it is estimated there are 6807 hotels employing almost 188000 people in Australia. The market outlook indicates that the hotel industry has matured because the numbers of hotels have declined over the years and also the income growth of the industry has been minimal.   But the situations are seen improving as the 2015 data suggests that both domestic and international visitors have increased. There has been 8.2% growth in international visitors and 7% growth in domestic visitors (Hall, 1991). In this report a business plan is developed for Mountain View Hotel analyzing the business opportunity of Boutique Hotel in Blue Mountains (Hardiman & Burgin, 2011).   For this purpose the hotel industry of Australia, tourism opportunity in Blue Mountains and the projected financial data of the proposed Boutique hotel are analyzed to develop an effective business plan and also to evaluate the investment decision. The objectives of the â€Å"Mount Boutique Hotel† for first few years are: The mission of Mount Boutique Hotel is to become the preferred choice of customers in Blue Mountain area. Mountain View is a well known hotel chain that is currently running a restaurant in Blue Mountain. It is planning to open a boutique hotel in Blue Mountain. The international and domestic visitors are expected to surge giving a positive outlook for the overall hotel industry. As per the economic forecasts data it is expected that international visitors will grow by 5.3% per annum for next three years. This growth in tourism numbers will have a positive impact on the Australian Hotel Industry. The demands for hotels are expected to grow by 3% per annum in next three years. There is an increasing demand supply disparity in hotel industry as a result it is expected that room rate will grow by 2.9% by 2018 (Anderson, 2006). It can be concluded that Hotel Industry of Australia is looking good and it is the opportune moment to make investment in this sector.   The Blue Mountains is just two hours away from Sydney and it is a perfect holiday destination for anyone looking for a break from hectic life style. The blue Mountain offers spectacular scenic beauties like Three Sisters at Echo point, dinning, shopping, spa, bush walking and other natural attraction (Hudson & Lang, 2002).   It is an ever growing tourist destination with tremendous growth potential. From an hotelier point of view the current market scenario offers an excellent investment opportunity in Blue Mountain. There is a growing optimism in hotel industry because of positive macro economic developments. Being in tune with the overall market sentiment Mount View hotel has decided to start a Boutique Hotel in Blue Mountain. Boutique hotels are much smaller in size but they are stylish and unique further it tries to provide separate experience than that of corporate run hotels (Presbury et. al., 2005). The advantages of a boutique hotel are: The above analysis shows that Mount View hotels decision to open a boutique hotel in Mount View is justified. The aim is to become the best in class boutique hotel in Blue Mountains (Bruner, 1998). It is estimated to have total eighty rooms out of which 30 rooms will be high end deluxe rooms and there will be 50 standard rooms.   The deluxe rooms will include king sized bed, a desk, a mirror and a color television. Further the bathroom of the deluxe room will be of four to five meters with a sink, toilet and shower. The total estimated cost for starting the Boutique hotel is $754800.00. The details are given in the table below. To fund the project a mortgage loan of Rs. 500,000.00 is to be obtained at 8% per annum.   The remaining fund of 254,800.00 is to be provided by Mountain Views hotel. The viability of any business plan is determined by analyzing its projected financial performance.   The business plans are often screened for determining their financial viability by using cost volume profit analysis (Scapens, 1985).   The CVP (Cost Volume Profit) analysis helps in determining the effect that costs and volume has on profit. The Cost Volume Profit (CVP) analysis are often performed to determine the future activity and to provide valuable insight on: There are certain assumptions that are made while performing CVP (Cost Volume Profit) analysis (Drury, 1992), they are: The cost function is a process of dividing the total costs into fixed costs and Variable Costs (Binswanger, 1974). The total cost can only be ascertained after the estimated financial statement is prepared. The projected financial statements are prepared on the basis of certain assumptions and they are: The first step of performing the Cost Volume Profit Analysis is to estimate the cost functions. On the basis of the projected financial statement each cost is determined as either fixed or variable costs.   In the projected financial statement of Mount Boutique Hotel the estimated variable costs is $ 2234605.00 which is $96.49 per unit and the estimated fixed cost is $3153904.00.   The estimated fixed costs include Direct Labor costs of $803,040.00; overhead costs of $1696084.00; selling expenses of $259850.00 and administrative expenses of $394950.00. The estimated variable costs include direct material of $88.49 per unit and over head of $8.00 per unit.   The contribution is calculated by deducting Variable costs from sales. So the contribution margin ratio is that part of the sales that exceeds variable costs (Garrison et. al., 2003). It can be used to pay fixed costs. The contribution margin ratio measures operational efficiency, a higher ratio suggests higher efficiency. In the projected financial statement of Boutique hotel estimated sales is $6995325.00 and estimated variable costs is $2234605.00. The contribution margin comes to $4,460,720.00 that is 66.60% which is very high. It suggests that only 33.40% of total sales cover the variable costs and the remaining 66.6% is used to meet the fixed costs and earn profit. It can be reasonably concluded that any sudden increase in cost will not affect the profitability of the hotel because it has high contribution margin ratio which is a very healthy sign for any business.   The break even sale represents that level of sales where the profit is zero. At this level total sales revenue is equals to total variable costs and the contribution margin is equal to fixed costs (Blocher et. al., 2008). The break even sale is an important level because sales below this level will result in losses and sales above this level will lead to profits. In the projected financial statements of Mount Boutique hotel total fixed costs are $3153904.00 and the variable cost per unit is 192.60 so the break even sale comes to $4733857.83. The total estimated sale is $6695325.00 and the 70.70% of it is Break even sales. This means that business needs to achieve at least 70% of the estimated sales to attain no profit no loss situation otherwise it will make losses. This is a very high percentage and implies that there is a very heavy burden of fixed costs on the business.   It is suggested that business should re estimate its fixed costs structure and try to reduce the Break even sales to 50%.   The hotel should cut down fixed costs by $4399091.00 to attain the targeted break even sales.   The margin of safety is that part of the total sales that is above Breakeven Sales. It is calculated by deducting breakeven sales from total sales. The Margin of safety is a valuable indicator of profitability of an organization (Shih, 1979). It also indicates to the management how reduction of revenue will affect the break even of the organization. The higher the Margin of safety the better it is for the business. Because a low Margin of safety suggests increase in fixed costs, extra discounts or increase in prices by suppliers. So it is important to monitor margin of safety ratios. In the projected financial data of Mount Boutique hotel the total expected sales is $6695325.00 and the break even sales is $4733857.38 so the margin of safety is $1961467.62. The margin of safety ratio comes to 29.30% of total sales. It is suggested that Margin of safety ratio should be improved. It can be done by improving sales or reducing breakeven point.  Ã‚   The Operating Leverage is the analysis of relationship between fixed costs and variable costs. It is calculated by dividing contribution margin by income from operations. The operating leverages are high for companies that have large fixed costs in their total operation costs. A higher operating leverage suggests that every increase in sales will multiply profits when the breakeven point is reached (Lev, 1974). But if breakeven sales are not reached then higher operating leverage will intensify losses. So with high operating leverage a high level of risk is involved. In the estimated financial statement of Mount Boutique hotel the contribution margin is $4460720.00 and Income from operations are $1306816.00 so the operating leverage comes to 3.4 times.   This means that Contribution is 3.4 times more than income from operation so it can be derived that fixed costs are 2.4 times of income from operation which is very high. So it is suggested to take necessary measures to reduce fixe d costs.   The overall projected financial statement of Mount Boutique hotel indicates that it is a high return low risk business opportunity for any investor. The high breakeven sales and low Margin of safety is due to higher fixed costs (Alexander, 2001). The burden of higher fixed costs is due to the amortization of start up costs in initial years as it gets completely amortized then fixed costs will certainly come down thus improving the margin of safety and break even sales figure. The market analysis has shown that it is an opportune moment for any investor to enter into tourism sector. The expected growth figures are very attractive and it is also estimated there will be a shortage of supply as the increase in demand is much higher than that of supply (Jennings, 2001). If the overall macroeconomic views are considered then globally major economies are improving so it is expected that international visitors will surge in coming years. The Mount Boutique hotel will be one of its kinds in Blue Mountains. It will offer a unique experience to its visitors because of its prominent location and customized services. Further the staffs and managements are also experienced and every one of them has a valuable insight in the Hotel industry. In the light of the above analysis it can be concluded with certainty that investment in Mount Boutique will be profitable.   Alexander, C. (2001).  Market models: A guide to financial data analysis. John Wiley & Sons. Anderson, B. A. (2006). Crisis management in the Australian tourism industry: Preparedness, personnel and postscript.  Tourism Management,27(6), 1290-1297. Binswanger, H. P. (1974). A cost function approach to the measurement of elasticities of factor demand and elasticities of substitution.  American Journal of Agricultural Economics,  56(2), 377-386. Blocher, E., Chen, K. H., & Lin, T. W. (2008).  Cost management: A strategic emphasis. McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Bruner, R. F., Eades, K. M., Harris, R. S., & Higgins, R. C. (1998). Best practices in estimating the cost of capital: survey and synthesis.  Financial Practice and Education,  8, 13-28. Drury, C. (1992). Cost-volume-profit analysis. In  Management and Cost Accounting  (pp. 205-235). Springer US. Garrison, R. H., Noreen, E. W., & Brewer, P. C. (2003).  Managerial accounting. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Hall, C. M. (1991).  Introduction to tourism in Australia: impacts, planning and development. Longman Cheshire. Hardiman, N., & Burgin, S. (2011). Canyoning adventure recreation in the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area (Australia): The canyoners and canyoning trends over the last decade.  Tourism Management,  32(6), 1324-1331. Hudson, S., & Lang, N. (2002). A destination case study of marketing tourism online: Banff, Canada.  Journal of vacation Marketing,  8(2), 155-165. Jennings, G. (2001).  Tourism research. John Wiley and sons Australia, Ltd. Lev, B. (1974). On the association between operating leverage and risk.Journal of financial and quantitative analysis,  9(04), 627-641. Presbury, R., Fitzgerald, A., & Chapman, R. (2005). Impediments to improvements in service quality in luxury hotels.  Managing Service Quality: An International Journal,  15(4), 357-373. Scapens, R. W. (1985). Cost—Volume—Profit Analysis. In  Management Accounting  (pp. 59-74). Macmillan Education UK. Shih, W. (1979). A general decision model for cost-volume-profit analysis under uncertainty.  Accounting Review, 687-706. Accounting for Managers Gola and Costa set for establishing a business of selling fruit juices. The location of the shop is inside Shopping Arcade and nearby a supermarket. Their plan is to provide fresh juices to their customers, earn a significant amount of profits and sell off the same in the future course of time.   They will follow just in time for inventory management. Gola is under the impression that they will be successful in earning profits by controlling their cost as he believes that for running a successful business, only profitability is the foremost criteria. Posta believes that their business will be successful due to their choice of location and due to the eating habits of the people. Since there has been a significant shift in the eating habits, people have become more conscious for their healthy well-being and this was one of the reasons why both the entrepreneurs had propagated such kind of idea of business. As an Aspiring MBA graduate studying accounting for managers and being there friend, I can make them understand and analyse many other aspects apart from profitability and location of business. Since I am specializing in the field of Management and Finance I can help them in some statistical analysis which they are significantly missing on their part. Before setting of the business, it is very important to discuss the kind of industry in which they are supposed to enter a detailed analysis is required to be done right from the point of financial investment to related cost both fixed and fluctuating , expected return in fair terms. It is also relevant that they search for their competitors and analyse their business as for how they are creating an impact in the business environment. The location of the business, which they have decided is quite favourable. However, to achieve the same, both of them have to make a significant investment in terms of leasing. It refers to borrowing the property against paying for its value for a significant period of time. For this, they have to enter into an agreement with the lessor of Shopping Arcade. It is equally important that they understand the terms and conditions of leasing properly and should have a lease term of 5 years so that they can cover all their cost during this period of time (BusinessDictionary.com, 2016). For the purpose of investment, they need to have availability of funds. It is required that they approach a bank who can arrange for their finance. They need to convince the bank regarding their potential profitability of business. For this, they should have the significant backup plan on paper which is able to prove with reasonable estimates and assumptions that their prospective business is a successful plan for the future. It is also important that they should be aware of the cost of capital which will be required in their leasing terms. After arranging the significant amount of loan and arranging the same for the lease the next part is to analyse various types of cost associated with their business. Cost can be divided into fixed and variable component. For example, fixed cost will be the lease amount which is to be spread for the period of 5 years cost. Blending machines, refrigerators, furniture, benches washing up sinks, falls into fixed cost.   Variable cost will be the cost of raw materials like all those fruits which will be purchased on a daily basis. Fixed costs remain the same irrespective of the level of output while variable cost changes as per the level of output. Variable cost can increase or decrease as per the level of production but fixed cost remains the same throughout the level of production (Boundless, 2016).   After analysing all the significant cost, the next component is the break-even analysis. Break even analysis refers to the function where it is required to determine what is required to sell on a monthly or annual basis in order to cover the cost of doing the business. Like, if fixed cost is $2, 00,000 and expected contribution will be $4, break even will be $50,000. This means they will earn profits after covering $50,000(Cleverism, 2016). Setting up of standards and its importance: It is also required to set a standard for sales. This will act as a benchmark for their business as how much is required to earn in order to cross the level of breakeven point and earn a significant share of profit. By setting up standard it can be later compared with the actual sales figure. Like, for first quarter sales expected is $15,000 but actual sales was $18,000. Thus, it is a favourable condition for them as actual has exceeded its standards. With the actual figure and standards, variances can be computed for the future relevance (AllBusiness.com, 2016). The reason behind the setting up of a standard is equivalent to setting up of short term goal which will be quite helpful in achieving a long-term goal for the business. For cost, monthly expected expenditure is $10,000 but actual came to $12,000. Reason for extra $2,000 will be analysed and corrective action to be adopted for the same. Budgeting helps us to identify unnecessary expenditures and in making us adaptable towards the frequent changing financial position of the business. Budgeting ensures that we will have sufficient amount of money in order to meet the requirement of the business. It will be advisable to Gola and Costa that they should understand the essence of budgeting and implement the same for the success of their business. The concept of budgeting will help Gola and Costa immensely. It is an important tool which will control the flow of money in their business. It will also ensure that their business will turn out to be very effective and efficient in the long run ( Mymoneycoach.ca, 2016). One of the main reasons behind the term of the lease is to cover all kind of fixed cost during that period. Since it is the plan of Gola and Costa to sell off their business in future, it is required that their business should run in scientific and profitable manner. For this, they need to understand the relevance of documentation in terms of recording finance, lease papers terms of bank loans etc. The prospective buyer will analyse the business in his own way. Unless and until he finds it’s economically viable, he will not take over the business. Now, economic viability can be analysed by way of proper maintenance of records, lease papers, bank loan’s terms, and conditions etc. He will analyse that whether the said business was profitable or not. Whether the bank loan taken has been paid off and all other statutory dues or complied with or not. Lease papers will also be verified. This needs to be understood by Gola and Costa since the beginning of their business. It is very important that they should keep in mind since the beginning regarding selling off their business in the future course of time. This will drive them more proactively to achieve their short term plan which is in the form of standards. By achieving the short-term standard, they will be able to achieve their ultimate aim, i.e. profitability. Unless and until the business is not profitable, it won't remain attractive for the prospective buyer to take over the same in future.   It is also important that the business gains popularity amongst the consumers. This will help in creating the brand image for Gola and Costa and will it yield in terms of goodwill while selling off the business. Both the buyer and seller will be in a profitable position if a business has developed a brand image of its own in the market. The whole process is beyond the concept of capital investment decisions. It involves the role of management accounting as in terms of setting targets and achieving the same, producing raw materials i.e. inventory management, handling the customers and creating a favourable image in front of them etc. So, apart from having the knowledge of finance, it is equally important that Gola and Costa should be aware regarding management accounting and other important aspects. With the help of the above-stated concept, it will help Gola and Costa to have the efficient and effective setup of business. To conclude, it is required that Gola and Costa should not only rely on the concept of profitability or location of business. They should be quite aware regarding the concept of break-even analysis, an estimate of sales and setting up of targets, different types of cost involved and their implications, importance of budgeting in their business, arrangement of investment with the help of a loan from bank and requirements for selling off their business in future. By following these above concepts of finance and management accounting, they will surely succeed in their attempt for a successful venture (Debitoor.com, 2016). AllBusiness.com. (2016). Creating a Budget and Sales Forecast | AllBusiness.com. [online] Available at: https://www.allbusiness.com/creating-a-budget-and-sales-forecast-977-1.html [Accessed 11 Dec. 2016]. Boundless. (2016). Types of Costs. [online] Available at: https://www.boundless.com/economics/textbooks/boundless-economics-textbook/production-9/production-cost-64/types-of-costs-240-12338/ [Accessed 11 Dec. 2016]. BusinessDictionary.com. (2016). What is a lease? definition and meaning. [online] Available at: https://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/lease.html [Accessed 11 Dec. 2016]. Cleverism. (2016). Break-Even Analysis: What, Why, and How. [online] Available at: https://www.cleverism.com/break-even-analysis/ [Accessed 11 Dec. 2016]. Debitoor.com. (2016). Management accounting - What is management accounting? | Debitoor. [online] Available at: https://debitoor.com/dictionary/management-accounting [Accessed 11 Dec. 2016]. Mymoneycoach.ca. (2016). What is Budgeting and Why is it Important? | My Money Coach. [online] Available at: https://www.mymoneycoach.ca/budgeting/what-is-a-budget-planning-forecasting [Accessed 11 Dec. 2016]. End your doubt 'should I pay someone to do my dissertation by availing dissertation writing services from

City of Ruins Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

City of Ruins - Essay Example The photograph displays the unemployment rate in the city as well as the crime rate. According to Hedges (17), the streets of Camden are filled with the unemployed. Owing this a number of youth turn to a life of crime as a means of getting by. The thesis statement in the article is: ‘Camden, New Jersey, stands as a warning of what huge pockets of America could turn into.’ The thesis statement is valid. It focuses on the causes of the crime and poverty levels in the society. According to Hedges (15), the Camden is a creation of the city due to its inability to create a balance between employment and The educational attainment in Camden is low compared to the rest of the state and the county. It is a key issue that establishes a basis for the challenges in the city. The population of the city consists of 70% high school drop outs. Only 13% of the students in the city manage to pass the state proficiency exams in mathematics. Trends for student scores reflect on the poor standing of the Camden City public students. The article ‘City of Ruins’ present the trends in the county and state. The high rate of unemployment has left the people in the county in a destitute state. The inability to meet personal basic needs has resulted in a high crime rate. The youth turn to crime as a means of earning money for their families. The ability of a state to sustain itself in the wake of inflation includes managing the unemployment levels in order to establish an economic means for the growing population. Incidentally, the crime ad violent escapades has led to the failure of the education system, policing and municipal budgeting in the community. Additionally, homelessness is rampant as families experience difficulty in paying house rent in the area. According to Hedges (17), Camden is the poster child of postindustrial decay. It presents a warning of the effects of establishing a permanent underclass of the

The Role of the Faith in social change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Role of the Faith in social change - Essay Example These problems are then addressed by faith. They believe that the problems in a society can be addressed by the implementation of religious values. They were of the view that the government is responsible for all the problems in the society and if these matters are addressed by a religious will the all the health issues, poverty issues, wealth distribution issues and welfare issues can be resolved by the religious teachings. Thus, it depicts that the faith can bring change in the society but the potential outcomes of involving faith in daily resolution of problems would be waging a war against the secular community in the society. The church cannot be utilized as a place where activities on social issues are carried out daily. Church is an important part of the society which promotes equality, justice, peace, hope and love among the people. A Church brings people on common grounds, through which they can work for the betterment of the society, keeping in mind that religious teachings can solve the problems (Stalling, 2010). The observers of the religious change believe that it is an ongoing process which is continually evolving along with globalization. The institutions of faith are developing themselves again so that the religious values do not clash with the secular values of the modern society. The national public religion in the society is often connected with the micro and macro level processes. This process helps in developing spirituality among the individuals, who seek religious guidance for the solution of their problems. The Americans are more focused towards the religion and concentrate primarily on the supernatural forces which can help in changing the course of problems which bring about social changes. They believe that deviating from the religious instructions is the main cause of the issues which they are facing in their daily lives (Stalling, 2010). Religion in Unites

Circuits with Feedback and Sine Wave Oscillators Coursework - 1

Circuits with Feedback and Sine Wave Oscillators - Coursework Example These are positive or regenerative feedback and negative or degenerative feedback (Ellinger, 2008). The different between the two types of feedback entails whether the feedback signal is out of phase or in phase with an input signal. Positive or Regenerative feedback is said to occur whenever the feedback signal happens to be in phase with an input signal (Maas 53). The block diagram below shows an amplifier having a positive feedback. It can be deduced from the diagram that the input signal and the feedback signal are in phase implying that the feedback signal regenerates or adds the input signal. Following this, there occurs somewhat larger amplitude in the output signal that it could occur without there being the feedback. Considering a positive feedback in the transistor amplifier, it is noted that it is somewhat simple providing a positive feedback in the common-base transistor amplifier. Given that the output and the input signals are both in phase, what one requires to do is to couple a section of the input signal back to an input. The block diagram below shows these phenomena. Basing on this diagram, it is clear that the feedback network is constituted by C2 and R2, with the value of C2 being larger in order for the capacitive reactance labelled XC to become low and to enable the capacitor to be able to couple the signal quite easily. Moreover, the value of the resistive R2 must be larger in order for it to limit the amount of feedback signal, as well as in ensuring that the majority of an output signal is connects to the next stage via C3. As widely cited, the common-emitter configuration is one of the most common configurations for the transistor amplifiers (Maas 34). However, a positive feedback seems to be somehow more difficult with the common emitter configuration since in most cases, the output and input signals are often 180Â º out of phase (Maas 46). Negative feedback, on the other hand, is often achieved through adding part of

A Report on the Foraging Behavior among the Chameleon Species Research Paper

A Report on the Foraging Behavior among the Chameleon Species - Research Paper Example Chameleons are predominantly omnivorous though some species exhibit more preference for carnivorous diet while others are more herbivorous. Some smaller species are preyed upon by some predators like birds and snake making them. Chameleons have a unique feeding strategy due to the wide variety of diets and foraging habit. Aerts Herrel, Meyers and Nishikawa observed that the retraction of the chameleon tongue pad creates suction on the prey and enhances adhesion of the tongue (3262). This report focuses on the foraging behavior of the chameleon. Objectives of the Report The specific objectives of this report are to; I. Provide an in-depth understanding of foraging mode exhibited by different chameleon species II. Examine the prey capturing mechanism in chameleons and how it is associated with the chameleon foraging mode III. Establish whether chameleons exhibit a unique prey capturing mechanism and foraging mode Characteristic Features of the Foraging Mode in Chameleons Foraging mode is one of the most crucial aspects in animal life. Foraging mode is used to describe the manner in which animals obtain food within its ecological habitat. Foraging is usually associated with other natural and behavioral traits like locomotive ability, energy utilization and reproduction among others. More importantly, foraging mode plays a critical role in determining prey-predator interactions among animal species. The chameleon’s feeding behavior is often defined in terms of foraging mode which has been mainly classified as either active or ambush (sit-and-wait) type (Hagey, Harmon and Losos 1). With regards to behavior, there are observable differences between active and ambush foragers. Active foragers exhibit a high frequency of movement, tend to prey on sedentary prey, use more energy and possess small clutch size (Butler 797). As a result of their highly motile behavior, active foraging chameleon species are likely to obtain their prey through encounter. On the other hand, the sit-and-wait foraging chameleons exhibit less movements, tend to remain still for longer periods and often run to the prey as they spot it. Active and ambush foraging is largely determined by other factors including morphological and behavioral characteristics, the type of prey and habitat use among others. It has been found that variations exist among active and ambush foragers in terms of activity levels, body temperatures and intake of calories. Most active foragers have higher levels of activity, high caloric intakes and higher body temperatures than their ambush counterparts (Hagey, Harmon and Losos 1-2). This phenomenon is true for chameleons as such differences have been observed among different chameleon species. Chameleons have unique morphological and behavioral characteristics which influences their foraging behavior. In a study aimed at investigating chameleon foraging mode in the dwarf chameleon (Bradypodium pumilum), Butler suggested that in addition to the u sual active versus ambush foraging strategy in chameleons, some species have adapted an alternative cruise mode

Gothic Style Architecture Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gothic Style Architecture - Research Paper Example (White, 1993) The style is considered to be classical to some extent because it is prominent before the renaissance period came in. At the same time, it originated and had several modifications that were derived from the Romanesque Architecture. (Athena Publications, 1996) This style flourished during the Middle Ages, also known as Dark Ages. The most prominent and influential powers are the Church and the King. Feudal System flourished as well. In most cases, religion has a strong say about what happens in the society back then. However, Gothic period is also reflective of the low status of art during those times. (Thomas, 2000) Most of the Tribes of Goths, Vandals and the like had an intention of eliminating the Greco-Roman culture. (Thomas, 2000) Gothic Architecture was preceded by the Romanesque Architectural which also had arches and several huge domes. To some perspective, the Romanesque style influenced the way Gothic architecture presented itself in history. Mostly, the Roman esque Architecture had its traditions and conventions derived from the Greco-Roman Architectural style. (Athena Publications, 1996) Given that case, we cannot fully consider Gothic art and architecture as something that is highly valued. It’s dark stigma and stereotype manifests the dark period where it is confined and existed. However, despite of its depreciation from the people during that period, specifically the tribes, this downfall period is reflective of the exchange of light and dark art periods: Classical to Renaissance then to Baroque. (Thomas, 2000) Classical is more of dark, emotional themes and style in contrast to Renaissance which is more humanist and scientific. The Baroque which also values shadow and emotions are somehow related to the dark style the perpetrated the Classical or Gothic art and architecture period. What ultimately constitutes the conventions and technical aspects of the Gothic Architectural design? The Gothic Architecture is commonly known to have â€Å"specific structural elements, such as ribbed vaults, pointed arches, and the flying buttress.† (Kidson, 2011) Ribbed Vaults showed the ceiling structure that is somehow seen like a dome on the inside with intricate designs that are supported by the columns. (Athena Publications, 1996) These vaults provided a spacious ceiling that made the Gothic buildings spacious and huge not just outside but also inside. The pointed arches, on the other hand, are viewed on the external of these buildings. On the bare minimum, these arches contributed to the spacious appearance that is working in unison with the vaulted arches on the inside. At the same the arches also reflected the extravagance of the Gothic architecture. The flying buttresses have provided a different role in the existence of the Gothic Architecture. They are actually supporting the other structures of the Gothic Church, mainly the vault. (Athena Publications, 1996) They are usually attached to walls and act as a support to the vaults of the Gothic buildings. To some extent, they provide more spacious ceiling appearance. Even if Gothic Architecture has a certain specific style, several styles of it emanated depending on a specific geographical domain. All of them are relatively the same, however, the French, Italian and English Gothic Architectural design asserted their own identity. France is considered to be the birthplace of this architectural movement. At the same time, there was a strong

High Flight Airlines Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

High Flight Airlines - Essay Example The underlying idea of HFA is to provide its employees with an atmosphere for excellence and growth (Singapore Airlines, "Singapore Airlines - About us"). The primary objective of HFA is to fill a niche in the emerging air-travel and cargo markets linking destinations all over the world in order to achieve soaring and profitable load factors by identifying and serving key routes that are currently unexplored, un-served or inadequately served. Their idea is to reach out to places where considerable unmet demand exists. HFA plans to set a new benchmark for air service and professionalism both in the target market and beyond. The underlying strategy of HFA is to utilize the latest technologies related to aviation in order to design efficient and effective systems and to build quality control from the onset in order to ensure the highest level of operations, safety and services, which are all based around the comfort, convenience, needs and wants of the passenger and the cargo clients. P ESTLE Analysis The company is planning to expand in the South-East Asian region. The regional headquarter as decided by the board members will be set up in Thailand, given the consistent economic and financial performance of the country over the last few years. In addition to that, another aspect that influenced the board members to choose Thailand as the destination for setting the regional headquarters is because of its position relative to other South-East Asian countries and its connection with them. The following section is an in-depth PESTLE analysis of Thailand which will help the company to assess the degree of favorability as far as setting up a regional headquarter in the country is concerned. Political Analysis Thailand has implemented a parliamentary, democratic structure of government, with the King as Head of State under the Constitution, exercising the sovereign power in the administration as Thailand is a sovereign state which is free to perform her internal and exte rnal affairs without pressure, control, or intervention from other countries. The government, also known as the administration, along with the legislature and the judiciary, is the national authority whose primary responsibility is to govern the country and formulate strategies that ensure national development from different aspects. Economic Analysis Thailand, demonstrating a strong fiscal and financial stability over the past few years, has also established a suitable structure and foundation that supports economic development. The country has always accepted the free trade mechanism and has been at the forefront promoting international trade and development. As an export oriented country, its stability depends on the world economy. The government emphasizes a lot on developing the country's infrastructure and stimulating all aspects of the economy in a variety of ways. Year 2012 2011 2010 2009 Thailand's GDP per capita (World bank, "GDP per capita (current US$") $5,480 $5,192 $4, 803 $3,979 Currency Baht Currency Code THB Fiscal Year October 1 - September 30 1 USD 31.9849 THB (Oanda, "Currency converter") Socio Cultural Analysis Thailand's population is diverse in terms of ethnicity and race. Citizens of Thailand are from Thai, Mon, Chinese, Khmer, Lao and Indian descent. In addition to that

Alwaleed Bin Talal’s Leadership Essay Example for Free

Alwaleed Bin Talal’s Leadership Essay Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is one of the world’s wealthiest investor and businessman. He has been able to gain connection in politics through entrepreneurship and international investments as an entrepreneur. He is a citizen of Lebanon and a member of the royal family, House of Saudi, in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Though not a member of the executive charged with ruling, he usually gets involved in politics of Lebanon for instance in the case of President Emile Lahoud against claims assassinating Lebanese billionaire Rafik Hariri and usually criticizes both local and international political issues in the media. He has so far been unsuccessful in his efforts to lead the Lebanese Sunni community. During Alwaleed’s early ages, his Father Prince Talal Abd al-Aziz, a known activist and modernizer, actively engaged in matters concerning the political issues that existed in the traditional governing system in Saudi Arabia in the early 1960s. He opposed Modern pan-Arabism that was led by the then leader of the United Arab Repulic, Jamal Gamal Abdel Nasser, which resulted to the suspension of his passport. He was forced to seek exile in Egypt. During this period, Alwaleed lived with his mother, Princess Muna al-Sulh who was the daughter of Riyadh al- Sulh, the first Prime Minister of the Independent Lebanon. In his early education, he attended elementary and middle schools in Beirut and returned to Lebanon in 1973 to attend King Abdul Aziz Military Academy to gain more discipline skills. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business administration from Menlo College California in 1979 and later enrolled for a masters Degree in Political Science from Syracuse University (Khan 2005). He rose to international fame in the early 1990s by purchasing a substantial amount of Citicorp shares when then firm was undergoing financial difficulties. He is an established investor and owns a chain of investments worldwide in the major industries such as banking, building and construction companies, telecommunications, broadcasting and media, entertainment, hospitality and involvement in charitable activities across many regions of the world. He also owns a lot of luxurious assets (Khan 2005). According to Machiavelli (2005) leadership qualities must be practical and not ideological in their application. In chapter 15 of The Prince, that leadership quality should be determined through consideration of personality traits, character and how a person conducts himself. A successful ruler must know when, where and in what way an upright person will act when confronted with different situations. Alwaleed has been able to demonstrate all these leadership qualities which are evident in the different criteria’s he employed in his investment activities throughout his life. He invested in shares of America’s Citicorp at the time when every investor was pulling out their capital from the firm and at a time when it neared its collapse due to bankruptcy, a decision that elicited mixed reactions across the world. Machiavelli talks of qualities that a leader must posses on those things which politicians or Princes must do that might either be praised or blamed in the end. He clearly differentiates the two categories in which a leader must apply specific ideologies. Machiavelli identifies the world that we live in as a kind of world of forms and which contains imperfect alternatives that are required in the world of ideas. Alwaleed seemed to recognize the world of ideas and did things that other people in the world of forms thought that they were impossible to happen. Upon his return after completion of his Master’s degree, he invested in the banking sector by purchasing shares in the United Saudi Commercial Bank. This move enabled the bank to gain enormous returns in terms of market value and also enabled the Bank to merge with Saudi Cairo Bank. His fortunes increased immensely through these risky but strategic business ventures. These elicited admirations from financial strategists across Asia and other parts of the world. Economic observers in the Saudi Kingdom and from other parts of the globe recognized his efforts and Alwaleed was thus chosen by the King as an advisor on economic matters. This enabled him improve on his unique strategic approaches to expansion of his business empire (Khan 2005). Â  Alwaleed’s character has been influenced through his grand father King Abd al-Aziz and the first prime minister of independent Lebanon who were all honest, upright and generous in their actions. They got a lot of respect and loyalty from the entire kingdom. All these characters can be displayed through his successful ventures and the ways in which he related to the people. His sudden amassment of wealth in a short period of time has led certain institutions to question the source of his wealth. According to the Economist online, Alwaleed is suspected to be a front man of other investors in the Saudi Arabian kingdom. All his sources of income are questioned and an account of his possible worth is calculated and the conclusion is that the source of his wealth is unquestionable because his business could not be in a position to accumulate such volume of wealth in a short period of time. Machiavelli’s leadership principle requires that a leader must engage in activities that may seem inappropriate, eliciting malicious interests and those that will require him to commit unethical ethics so long as it leads him to obtain success and power. What matters is the end result, the means doesn’t apply. Alwaleed was able to achieve success and power irrespective of the means he employed to achieve his success. His experience from the risky venture has enabled him to acquire riches and build business empires in addition to gaining international respect and recognition through investing in long-term projects (Machiavelli 17). Machiavelli on chapter 13 and 14 in the Online Literature Library the character of a Prince on matters concerning mercenaries and armies is discussed. They should be loyal to the ruler in fighting for the battle. In chapter 14, Machiavelli advises the prince to focus on the war and avoid other issues that pertains military matters. He should gain knowledge to enable him to maintain power stronghold throughout the battle. Prince Alwaleed was prepared in military matters after having attended King Abdul Aziz Military Academy and was prepared to lead incase he found his chance to the throne. He was therefore armed to be safe lest he is threatened by opposing forces to his power. This enabled him to gain trust from the King and thus he found a position in the cabinet and became the Kings Economic advisor. Bridging the East and Western Worlds Alwaleed fame is recognized internationally through his involvement in bridging the Arab world and the Western worlds. He has been involved in Islamic studies programs across Universities in the United States and other parts of the Globe. According to Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Islamic Studies Program at Harvard University, prince Alwaleed is committed to the fostering the importance of peace and tolerance. They assert that the best way to achieve this is through the bridging of the understanding between the East and the West. He is also committed in making the world a better place. He is the champion representative of UNESCO and also supports charities for children. Â  He engages in cultural activities aimed at promoting mutual understanding. The prince also has funded an educational centre at Georgetown University that aims at improving understanding between Islamic and Christian religions. Other initiatives include cross cultural educational institutions in Europe, Africa and the Middle-East. This shows a connection with the qualities of a leader cited by Machiavelli. On generosity and miserliness, a leader is supposed to spend excess amounts of his fortune on things that will improve or heighten his publicity but by doing so keep in mind the consequences that might befall him in the event that his fortune dwindles (Machiavelli 14). Chapter 18 tells the things that a politician must do which concerns his faith. Alwaleed has been able to extend his religion to the western world through funding foundations that touch on his Islamic religion. In this chapter Machiavelli asserts that private morality should prevail over public life and in order to be successful, praise must come from other human beings even if it means doing things are wrong in different perspectives. Rulers must therefore be generous in utilizing their wealth and appear tough on running their businesses even if it means using cruelty. He has stood strong on his word of Bridging the east and west and has stood strong in his faith.

Analysis of South Africas Retail Industry

Analysis of South Africas Retail Industry Executive summary South Africa is a player in the local and international retail industry. Retail like all business operates and is affected by external forces as well as internal forces. The external forces are commonly referred to as macro and micro environmental factors have a direct or an indirect impact on the retail industry. Retailers do not have much control over environmental forces unlike marketing variables. It is therefore crucial that every retail business identifies these forces and monitors them effectively to reduce negative impact on growth and profit margins. Retail is primarily about buying decisions and behaviours. Economics play a large part in influencing both individuals and organisations with regard to their buying decisions and behaviours. South Africa like any global player has as a top priority the aim to grow in terms of economic activity. The effect that the retail sector has on the SA economy and also on international impact of our retail sector on imports and exports are evaluated. The more business is conducted the more tax is available to the government to provide appropriate services and establish its various development programmes. Facts that are critical to success of South Africa retail industry are looked in relation to Market size and scope of growth of the retail industry in South Africa? Growth prospects and issues related to the industry? Size of segment of the organized market what are its growth prospects? Major players in South African retail industry, their strategies for growth, and their position in the market? Emerging trends in the South African retail industry? Opportunities challenges before the retailers in South Africa? Key findings are summarised, presenting the valid information relating to the contribution of the retail industry in the economic growth of the country. In the final stage of the analysis, a conclusion signifying which segment of Retail is most attractive is made, detailing the reasons for such conclusion, from beginning to end showing importance of the factors contributing to its attractiveness. Retail overview Retailing encompasses all activities involved in selling gods or services directly to final consumers for their personal non business use. Although most retailing is done in retail stores, in recent years non-store retailing has been growing much faster than has store retailing. Non-store retailing includes selling to the final consumers through direct mail, catalogs, telephone, the internet, TV home shopping shows, home and office parties, door to door contact, vending machines and other direct selling approaches. (Kotler, 2005) For purposes of this assignment only formal retail will be discussed. There are different type of retailers classified in terms of several characteristics including the amount of service they offer, the breadth and depth of their product lines and the relative prices charged and how they are organised. Major Store Retail types include Speciality Stores, Department Stores, Supermarkets, convenience stores, Discount Stores, Off-Price Retailers and Superstores. (Kotler, 2005 pg368) The sector encompassing wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants is an important contributor to GDP and employment for South Africa. It is evident that the preparations toward hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup have likely influenced a large increase in investment in the sector as hospitality services, for example, gear up for this major event. That said, the sector has been hard hit by the recent global economic slowdown, evident in the contraction in growth of the sector itself, as well as decreases in employment. The latter is of serious concern considering that the sector is South Africas third largest and also employs 22% of the labour force, with a large proportion being women from the informal sector. (Climate Risk Opportunity A15 Retail and Tourism, 2009) Key Players in the South African Retail Market : Pick n Pay; Metcash Ltd; Massmart Holdings Ltd; Woolworths Holdings Ltd; Spar Group Ltd; Edgars Stores Ltd. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, the South African economy is expected to have contracted by 1.8% in 2009 in the wake of the sharp downturn in global demand and commodity prices, tougher financing conditions, weak household spending and low business confidence. Growth will bounce back in 2010 to 2.8% spurred by the hosting of the World Cup. However, the struggling sectors, mainly manufacturing and retail, will remain in doldrums. There is a risk that electricity shortages, will re-emerge in 2010-11, constraining energy-intensive sectors, such as mining, as new base-load power station are not expected to come on stream until 2012. (rru.worldbank, 2010) The overall Ease of Doing Business ranking slipped this year mainly due to a 22 spot drop in the Starting a Business Indicator. South Africa still ranks in the top 100 in eight indicators. The lowest ranking is in the Trading Across Borders indicator. (rru.worldbank, 2010) Macro environment analysis According (Neiman and Bannet (2002), p. 32), Macro Environment takes in consideration of all the external influences that restrain a bearing in the business, but is not compact beneath its direct subject of influence. The importance falls on the renovation that unmanageable micro-variables bring about, and their implications for the business, yet enduring alongside, each other of changes in the environment, in charge to be able to forecast the changes in the environment which can turn to be a difficult mission. The universe of sociological elements that affect a companys ability to serve its customers or sell its goods and services. There are six major macro environment forces: cultural, demographic, economic, natural, political, and technological. The cultural environment includes institutions and other forces that affect the basic values, behaviors, and preferences of the society-all of which have an effect on consumer marketing decisions. The demographic environment includes the study of human populations in terms of size, density, location, age, sex, race, occupation, and other statistical information. The economic environment consists of all factors-such as salary levels, credit trends, and pricing patterns- that affect consumer spending habits and purchasing power. The natural environment involves all the natural resources, such as raw materials or energy sources, needed by or affected by marketers and marketing activities. The political environment includes all laws, government agenc ies, and lobbying groups that influence or restrict individuals or organizations in the society. The technological environment consists of those forces that affect the technology and which can create new products, new markets, and new marketing opportunities. (Dictionary of Marketing Terms) Regulatory and Political Environment: Regulatory and political environment denotes local, state, national, and global laws and regulation which concern businesses. Many business decisions are motivated by the legal and regulatory controls (Solomon, Marshall Stuart. 2006, p. 52). Retail Merchants like other industries are subjected to a number of local and international regulations. Political and legal factors contribute to the environment in which managerial decisions must be made. (Daniels)[1] They are an integral part of the retail operating environment. There are regulations governing the conduct of business in various sectors of the South African Economy. Regulatory bodies and processes the South African Retail Council (SARC (Consumer Goods Council)[2] A unified retail body that will strengthen retailers position and voice in the industry. The objective of SARC is to deal with issues pertaining to retailers interests, the pressing challenges facing the retail industry as a whole including: a fragmented retail representation to key stakeholders; and duplication of efforts and costs. As a collective voice for the industry SARC will shape the environment in which retail business takes place in South Africa. Fundamentally, SARC will focus on two particular areas as impacting on the retail industry: Economic legislative Affairs; and Labour Relations. As a unit within the CGCSA, SARC enjoys the benefit of sharing the existing infrastructure and well established resources currently enjoyed by CGCSA. SARC is mandated to engage in debates and discussions of legislation drafting which will impact on retailers; to give direct input into the South Africas regulatory frameworks. SARCs mandate with regards to labour relations would be to work w ith the government on labour issues especially regarding transformation and equity compliance. Members also have an opportunity to network through seminars, workshops and conferences thus getting an opportunity to learn and build relationships; Information and Resources: regular updates on industry position statements, policy papers or briefings and government submissions. Consumer Goods Council of South Africa[3] The Consumer Goods Council of South Africa is a Section 21 company representing over 11,000 member companies in the retail, wholesale and manufacturing of consumer goods. Its vision is to be a formidable and respected industry voice in South Africa. Its mission is to promote partnership amongst stakeholders across the consumer goods industry in resolving shared non-competitive matters in the most efficient manner to the ultimate benefit of the consumer. (CGCSA) Competition Commission In meeting the objectives to the Competition Acts, the commission is focused on restricting anti-competitive practices, eliminating abuse of dominant positions and strengthening merger control. Three institutions are created in terms of the Act to achieve the above objectives: The Competition Commission, which is independent but whose decisions may be appealed to the Competition Tribunal and the Competition Appeal Court; The Competition Tribunal, which has jurisdiction throughout South Africa and is independent from the competition institutions; and The Competition Appeal Court, which has status similar to that of a High Court and jurisdiction throughout South Africa. (Department of Trade and Industry South Africa) Sources: Government Communication and Information System, Waksmans Attorneys: Business Guide to South Africa, DTI Office of Consumer Protection[4] The Office of the Consumer Protection (OCP) functions as part of the consumer and Corporate Regulation Division of the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti). The OCP administers the Consumer Affairs (Unfair Business Practises) Act 71 of 1988. The office also enforces other legislation administered by the dti that contains consumer protection provisions. The Office of Consumer Protection is committed to protecting consumers against unfair business practices through complaints resolution, investigations, prosecutions, education and voluntary compliance programmes. It does this by: Promoting the spirit of fair trade between consumers and service providers; Educating consumers about their rights and duties; Providing quick and fast resolution of complaints through negotiated settlements; Investigating and resolving matters relating to unfair business practices; Prosecuting Offenders ITAC ITAC was established through an Act of Parliament, the International Trade Administration Act 71 of 2002, which came into force on 1 June 2003. The aim of ITAC, as stated in the Act, is to foster economic growth and development in order to raise incomes and promote investment and employment in South Africa and within the Common Customs Union Area by establishing an efficient and effective system for the administration of international trade subject to this Act and the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Agreement. The core functions are: customs tariff investigations; trade remedies; and import and export control. Legal Environment In the context of Macro Environment analysis a legal system is the mechanism for creating, interpreting and enforcing the laws in a specified jurisdiction. The South African Retail environment is a regulated one exhibiting elements of constitutional law, criminal, civil and commercial laws. According to (International Business Environments and Operations 12th Edition, Daniels, Radebaugh, Sullivan; Pg 158) The constitution of a country is designed to guarantee an open and just political order, the criminal law is designed to safeguard the social order, the civil and commercial laws ensure fairness and efficiency of business transactions. Aspects of all three components bear on the decisions made by managers and investors. This accurately describes the legal environment in which the South African Retail market operates. The legislation applicable in the country is a method used by the government to regulate retail business practices, defining acceptable practices for conducting business transactions, to specific the rights and obligations of parties engaged in the business transactions and to afford legal redress when needed.(Int. bus Environ Operations) The South African legal climate is that of a democratic mixed legal system, engaging, common law, civil laws codified in various legislation, regulations and customary law. South Africa offers a balanced legal and political system safeguarding the interest of consumers as well as corporations, small medium enterprises. The political climate as well as the social environment is stable. The legal environment is derived partly from the political climate in a country and has three distinct dimensions to it: The domestic laws of home country; the domestic laws of foreign markets; International law in general. (http://www.exporthelp.co.za) Domestic laws govern marketing within a country, e.g. the physical attributes of a product will be influenced by laws (designed to protect consumers) relating to the purity, safety or performance of the product. Domestic laws might also constrain marketers in the areas of product packaging, marking and labeling, and contracts with agents. (http://www.exporthelp.co.za) South Africas commercial legal system has been influenced by English law. English courts create and follow precedents just as South African courts do. (http://www.exporthelp.co.za) Central to all commercial activities is the contract. The purpose of a contract is to specify the respective rights and obligations of the parties to an agreement and outline specific procedures or actions that must take place. Buyers and sellers are at times also subject to international law, which may be defined as that body of rules which regulates relationships between countries or other international legal persons. There is neither an international parliament empowered to create international law; nor an international police force to enforce it. The principal sources of international law are treaties and conventions. Other sources of international law are custom (i.e. international practice that is accepted as law) and the general principles of law recognised by civilized nations or natural law (the basis of human co-existence). The Incoterms (2000), as published by the International Chamber of Commerce, are not, strictly speaking, part of international law. Another area in which international law plays an important role is in controlling the use of the sea and the environment outside the territorial waters of countries. The control of international air travel by organisations such as IATA (International Airline Transport Association), or structures such as The Hague-Visby Rules in relation to ocean freight, may also be regarded as part of international law. (http://www.exporthelp.co.za) Legislation affecting the Retail Market in South Africa:- Labour Laws in South Africa (Department of Labour South Africa)[5] (Employing Workers) Workers in the retail sector are protected by a plethora of legislation (listed below). Notably the protection afforded by legislation and regulations deals with: wages,, hours of work, leave, prohibition of child labor and termination of employment. Amended Labour Relations Act; Basic Conditions of Employment (Amendment) Act, 2002 ; Basic Conditions of Employment Act, 1997; Basic Conditions of Employment Act Labour Relations Act ; Labour Relations amendment Act 2002; Employment Equity ; Employment Equity Act ; Skills Development Act ; Unemployment Insurance Fund; Rules for the conduct of proceedings before the CCMA; Skills Development Act; Sectoral Determination: 9: Wholesale and retail sector; No. 85 of 1993: Occupational Health and Safety Act as amended by Occupational Health and Safety Amendment Act, No. 181 Of 1993 Labour Regulations There is a plethora of regulations impacting the SA Retail labor and some of these are:-Driven machinery, Electrical Machinery, Construction ,Asbestos ,Lift escalator and passenger conveyer, Electrical Installation, Environmental regulation for workplaces, Facilities, Certificate of competency. South African Paint Manufacturers Association: Guide to Health Safety in the workplace Employment Equity: Code of good practice: Employment Equity, EEA 2: Employment Equity report, EEA 4: Income differential statement, EEA 10: Occupational categories, Technical Assistance Guidelines on the employment of people with disabilities) Land and Building Laws (Dealing with Licenses, Registering Property) Construction Industry Development Board Act, 2000; National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act (Act 103 of 1977); Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act Tax Laws (Paying Taxes) Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 1999; Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2004; Value-Added Tax Act, 1991 See discussion on Tax below. Constitution of South Africa Commercial and Company Laws (Starting a Business, Protecting Investors, Closing a Business) Companies Amendment Act, 2004; Companies Act, 1973; Competition Act, 1998 Civil Procedure Codes (Enforcing Contracts, Closing a Business, Protecting Investors) Magistrates Courts Rules of Court Banking and Credit Laws (Getting Credit, Protecting Investors) Banks Act, 1990; Insolvency Act Unfair Business Practices Act no 71 of 1988 EXCHANGE CONTROLS (SOUTH AFRICAN RESERVE BANK) Financial Regulations (Financial Services Board) Consumer Protection Act no 68 of 2008 (Data to follow) Consumer Affairs (Unfair Business Practises) Act 71 of 1988 The act deals with unfair business practise which is defined as any businesses practice which directly or indirectly has, or is likely to have, the effect of harming relations between business and consumers, unreasonably prejudicing any consumer, deceiving any consumer or unfairly affecting any consumer. Competition Amendment Bill, 2008[6] In 2006 DT reviewed the current competition regulatory framework. The review of the existing competition law regime was informed by a need to respond to the industrial policy objectives such as promotion of competitiveness; Observations on the challenges of the competition authorities in dealing with uncompetitive outcomes resulting in artificially high prices to the detriment of consumers; e.g. competition problems resulting from complex monopolies or multi-firm conduct; To strengthen efforts on cartel enforcement by introducing personal liability on directors who cause their firms to engage in cartel activities. (Department of Trade and Industry South Africa) To address these, the dti proposes to introduce Competition Amendment Bill, 2008 (Bill). The Bill is not intended to overhaul the current competition regime but is focused on key areas aimed at Strengthening the existing provisions of the Competition Act; Providing the competition authorities with extra powers to deal robustly with uncompetitive practices; and Enabling the Competition Commission to play a more proactive role in investigating markets and take measures to ensure market transparency. Competition Commission Act[7] 1998 (Werksmans Publications) The Competition Act affects every business operating in South Africa, and the serious consequences of contravention necessitate a sound understanding of its basic principles. An overarching law, the Competition Act, prohibits anti-competitive behavior such as price-fixing and collusion between competitors, and the abuse of dominance. The Act also provides for a merger control regime in terms of which the prior approval of the competition authorities must be obtained for certain mergers and acquisitions. South African competition law differs from foreign models in that the focus is not purely on competition issues, but also on certain public interest and social goals such as the promotion of small businesses, the interests of employees and black economic empowerment. South Africa has a well-developed and regulated competition regime based on best international practice. South Africas economic system is predominantly based on free market principles. However, as in most developed economies, competition is controlled. The Act fundamentally reformed the countrys competition legislation, substantially strengthening the powers of the competition authorities along the lines of the European Union, US and Canadian models. The Act provides for various prohibitions on anti-competitive conduct, restrictive practices (such as price fixing, predatory pricing and collusive tendering) and abuses by dominant firms (firms with a market share of 35% or more). South African authorities embarked on a major overhaul of competition policy, which led to the formulation of a new policy, the Competition Act, No. 89 of 1998, which seeks to achieve the following objectives: To promote the efficiency, adaptability and development of the economy; To provide consumers with competitive prices and product choices; To promote employment and advance the social and economic welfare of South Africans; To expand opportunities for South African participation in world markets and recognise the role of foreign competition in the Republic; To ensure that small and medium-sized enterprises have an equitable opportunity to participate in the economy; and To promote a greater spread of ownership, in particular to increase the ownership stakes of historically disadvantaged persons (HDIs). Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act No 53 of 2003[8] Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) is a specific government policy to advance economic transformation and enhance the economic participation of black people in the South African economy. The Department of Trade and Industrys (the dtis) growth strategy includes a focus on broadening participation, equity and access to redress for all economic citizens, particularly those previously marginalised. The Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) Act, No. 53 of 2003, facilitates the dtis work in this area by establishing a legislative framework for the promotion of BEE; empowering the Minister to issue Codes of Good Practice and publishing Transformation Charters; establishing the BEE Advisory Council; and making provision for matters connected therewith. (Department of Trade and Industry South Africa) International Trade Administration Act 71 of 2002, The object of the Act is to foster economic growth and development in order to raise incomes and promote investment and employment in the Republic and within the Common Customs Area by establishing an efficient and effective system for the administration of international trade subject to this Act and the SACU agreement. (Department of Trade and Industry South Africa) Intellectual Property Rights[9] South Africa has a developed system of intellectual property law covering patents, industrial designs, copyright and trademarks. It is also a signatory to most of the international conventions in this field. Environmental Regulation In terms of Section 24 of the Constitution and the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) is to take care that a sound balance is maintained between environmental and socio-economic aspects in all policies, plans, programmes and decisions, including the encouragement of investment, granting of incentives and all other interventions. the dti encourages existing industries to implement Cleaner Production (CP) as an internationally adopted tool that incurs savings, increases competitiveness and elevates companies to higher levels of resource and energy efficiency. the dti at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development established the National Cleaner Production Centre (NCPC), which implements CP in priority sectors, focusing on textiles, agro-processing and chemicals. NCPC sector projects are conducted in terms of Trade and Investment South Africa (TISA) Customised Sector Programmes (CSP). POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT (http://www.exporthelp.co.za) The political environment has an impact on the attractiveness of economic prospects of a particular country or region, also a companys international activities. The decision on whether or on to transact will be influenced by various factors including financial penalties on a company or if unanticipated events in the political arena lead to the loss of income-generating assets. (http://www.exporthelp.co.za) The greater the level of involvement in a foreign markets, the greater the need to monitor the political climate of the countries business is conducted. Changes in government often result in changes in policy and attitudes towards foreign business. Bearing in mind that a foreign company operates in a host country at the discretion of the government concerned, the government can either encourage foreign activities by offering attractive opportunities for investment and trade, or discourage its activities by imposing restrictions such as import quotas, etc. (http://www.exporthelp.co.za).Companies should therefore continually adjust their policies accordingly. Nearly all governments today play active roles in their countries economies. Although evident to a greater or lesser extent in most countries, government ownership of economic activities is still prevalent in the former centrally planned economies, as well as in certain developing countries which lack a sufficiently well developed private sector to support a free market system. (http://www.exporthelp.co.za) Reflected in a governments attitudes and policies towards business are its ideas about how best to promote national interest in the light of the countrys economic and political resources and objectives. Foreign products and investment seen to be vital to the growth and development of the economy often receive favourable treatment from the government in the form of reduced tax, exemption from quotas, etc. On the other hand, products considered by a government to be non-essential, undesirable, or a threat to local industry are frequently subjected to a variety of import restrictions such as quotas and tariffs. It is also important to be aware of the nature of the relationship between South Africa and the foreign target market. This was a major consideration during South Africas political isolation. Fortunately, South Africas international relations have normalised and today South Africa is viewed very favourably, from a political perspective, by the rest of the world. The political environment is connected to the international business environment through the concept of political risk. Political risk is determined differently for different companies, as not all of them will be equally affected by political changes. Political risk is of a macro nature when politically inspired environmental changes affect all foreign investment. It is of a micro nature when the environmental changes are intended to affect only selected fields of business activity or foreign firms with specific characteristics, (possibly by expropriation). When business is conducted in developing countries, the risks of greatest concern are civil disorder, war and expropriation. When business is conducted in industrialised countries, labour disruptions and price controls are generally seen to pose the greatest threats to a companys profitability. (http://www.exporthelp.co.za) Government Policies As in any other industry, the retail trader has to follow and honour laws and regulations of the host country and central regulations. At some level of the state, the retailer has to pay licence fees, and comply with community health and fire, safety standards, as well as zoning and building codes. At the point of the government and central controls can have a variety from pricing to employee hiring to the insurance of credit (Stewart Abbott. 1993, P. 115). South Africa operates an open market economy often retailers have challenges with compliance with the technical standards, regulatory and conformity assessment regimes are substantial, even when they are transparent. (Koch)(Technical Barriers to trade Barriers Faced by South African SMMES Michael A Peet Steven F Koch) Government regulation comes in many forms, such as tax regulation, labour regulation and regulations concerning the import and export of goods. These regulations have both costs and benefits, which government must balance. Regulation is a broad area that impacts on companies in many different ways. A study conducted and using data gathered from a number of South African Company surveys to investigate how government regulations impact on firms showed the following findings:- Funding, grants and initiatives Sources of funding for Companies or individuals doing business in South Africa are mainly from Commercial Banks. Funding from Bank Loans affords tax efficient benefits where the funds are used for the purpose of trade and in the production of income. The interest paid on the loan is tax deductible, subject to the transfer pricing and thin capitalization provisions. (DTI, 2009) Local borrowing virtually includes all forms of borrowing and financing facilities, e.g. bank loans, overdrafts, facilities and finance leases, credit extended to local suppliers of goods and services, borrowing limits are set on pre-set formula. Types of loans (DTI, 2009) include:- Mortgage Loans: each commercial bank applies its own policies; Unsecured loans: to finance working capital through overdrafts, depending on good standing of the company. Alternatively the banks can require security in the form of personal guarantees by the directors, physical security such as bond over unbounded property, or a cession of the book debts of the company. Discounting and factoring: discounting of e.g. foreign bills, trade bills, bankers acceptances or promissory notes. Corporate Finance: for medium sized companies, tailor made solutions for larger or more complex needs.; Export Finance and Guarantees State Assistance: The state owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) finances the private sector to facilitate commercially sustainable industrial development and innovation to the benefit of South Africa and Southern Africa. Finance is in the form of equity, quasi equity and medium tern loan finance. Interest rates are competitive and risk related and based on the prime bank overdraft rate. T