The Nursing Shortage

Melisa A. Smith Dr. Kathryn Skulley Eng 122-500 22 November 2011 Crisis in America Back in the late 1930’s, American men were drafted to go off and fight in World War II while women at home had to learn a new way of life to support their families and support the soldiers. A woman named Florence Nightingale who was recognized as one of the first nurses to care for the wounded soldiers during the Crimean war helped to influence other women to learn how to become nurses and care for the sick and wounded.After the war ended in the mid 1940’s, thousands of soldiers returned home to begin the next chapter in their lives by starting a family while women returned to homemaking. In fact, due to the major population shift after the war, thousands and thousands of babies were born in which it would be named the Baby-Boomer generation. Now fast forward to the year 2010, several decades later, the baby-boomer generation is aging and approaching there sixties and beyond at a time whe n healthcare is beginning to be used more frequently by many others.Now that America is beginning a new era of healthcare with the creation of healthcare reform that soon will create access for the uninsured and underinsured to gain access to healthcare treatments. On March 23, 2010, â€Å"The Affordable Care Act† was signed into law by President Obama that would create healthcare access for millions of Americans. This is turn would create a huge strain on the American healthcare system at a time when concerns are rising due to the increased need of services for the baby-boomer generation and the current nursing population to care for them. You can read also Coronary Artery Disease Nursing Care PlanIf Americans already planned on facing a nursing shortage with the baby-boomer generation, then how would the shortage affect everyone else when healthcare reform becomes active in the year two-thousand-fourteen? This paper will discuss some individual points more in detail and evaluate the nursing shortage situation from the beginning of nursing history to present day that could affect all healthcare workers now and in the future. The nursing shortage topic in America has always been a debatable question where it will be analyzed further in detail starting with some statistical data.Looking at the national level for current nursing employment, the U. S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics stated that, â€Å"2,655,020 registered nurses were currently employed as of May two-thousand and ten† (U. S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics: Occupation section). The information presented here did not account for self-employed nurses or one’s that currently work multiple jobs. Now on a smaller scale looking at the State of Colorado’s population and registered â€Å"nurses per 1000 rate is 7. 98 as compared with a national average of 8. 6 with an additional need of 1,780 nurses to meet the national average† (The Demographic Challenges Facing Colorado's Health Care Workforce 15). The information noted here did not account for rural areas and small towns where the population is considerably lower. Next, the discussion will continue on about nursing school factors affecting the nursing shortage. Additionally when someone is attracted by the potential for a nursing career and advancement, they must look at all avenues first before deciding and making a commitment to nursing school.However, when someone has made the decision to enroll they must take several prerequisite classes and take a nursing entrance exam before being accepted into a nursing program. Furthermore, after students have taken the re quired prerequisites, they may not easily be accepted into a nursing program because of limited number of slots available and teaching constraints. In fact, it has been well observed by many schools that the major factor in the nursing shortage is due to the lack of qualified nursing instructors.In the United States, â€Å"nursing schools turned away 67,583 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate programs in 2010 due to insufficient number of faculty, clinical sites, classroom space, clinical preceptors and budget constraints† (2010-2011 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing 2). Another factor that contributes to the nursing shortage is that nursing faculty members and educators are being lured away from colleges by higher compensation, which in turn reduces the number of potential educators to meet the demands needed.Consequently, most educators are generally older with a limited number of years of teaching left before reti rement which in turn could also leave more potential nurses waiting on a list that could reduce the national shortage. Furthermore, the United States started facing some major healthcare challenges with the baby-boomer generation beginning to impact the healthcare system in two-thousand ten. Now that this generation is in their sixties many of them will be facing increased health problems due to aging thus putting a greater demand on the healthcare system for treatment and prevention.Consequently, this generation will begin turning sixty-five at a rate of approximately ten thousand baby-boomers per day for the next nineteen years starting in the year two-thousand eleven. This in turn will create a huge stressor to the already problematic nursing shortage. In addition to the baby-boomer generation, America will soon be forced to provide healthcare to millions of individuals who previously did not have insurance starting in two-thousand fourteen when the Affordable Care Act goes into full force.Furthermore, â€Å"healthcare reform will soon provide subsidies for thirty-two million citizens to more fully utilize the healthcare system† (Joint Statement from the Tri-Council for Nursing on Recent Registered Nurse Supply and Demand Projections 2). This in turn will create a huge stress on the medical profession especially the nursing sector, as the healthcare system is grappling in the shortage of nurses to care for the baby-boomers. Emergency rooms and physicians’ offices will soon be faced with a massive influx of patients to provide care for, which would cause an increased demand for more medical staff including nurses and physicians.Patients then would be going to local hospitals for elective surgeries and diagnostic testing which would cause a surge and a need for more hospital beds to accommodate the needs of patients. When the demand exceeds the amount of resources available people could be facing other challenges such as emergencies or disasters of magnitude. With the introduction of the healthcare reform and the baby-boomer generation, the healthcare system could also be facing emergency preparedness scenarios that have not been attempted before with the combination of emergency disaster plans currently available.Some may remember the hundreds killed and injured from the two-thousand eleven tornado outbreak or the terrorist attacks on the twin towers that caused mass casualties and injured numerous people on September 11, 2001. This is just to name a few disasters that America was impacted by with the need for emergent healthcare services. Additionally in the United States, â€Å"there is little flexibility for unanticipated fluctuations in patient acuity and demand on a daily basis, and an absence of standby capacity for large-scale emergencies† (McHugh 442).Consequently, if the United States doesn’t come up with a large scale disaster plan that has been attempted before, then many will be faced with total destruction and demise. Nurses have gone through the grueling process to begin and succeed in their careers from the dedication of going to school to meet entry level standards, as well as taking the national licensure examination prior to practicing. Some nurses graduate with the expectation that the wages and demands of the job will be satisfying to keep them in their current role.But some people may know very little about the profession until they are faced with the reality of the job demands versus the salary. A new graduate nurse just beginning his/her career maybe making less than the more experienced nurses, but still held to the standard of providing the same type of care to all patients. According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the national median wage for registered nurses as of May two-thousand ten was â€Å"$67,720 annually† (U. S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wages).However this statistic did not report the level of ed ucation held other than the title of registered nurse. Furthermore, nurses are held to a high standard to uphold to their duties and continue to give accurate, compassionate and safe care to all patients. Nevertheless, nurses play many roles other than a care-taker or pill pusher, they are expected to know about possible medication interactions that could harm a patient since they are the last line of protection for patient. Nurses have also been trained to think critically in times of crisis and to intervene with life-saving interventions without the supervision of a physician.Many of the â€Å"hazards on the job, include blood and body fluid exposure as well as musculoskeletal injuries related to ergonomic hazard from lifting and repetitive tasks† (Stone et al. 1984). During times of busy patient demands, nurses may also run the risk of harm to themselves, especially during the administration of an injection that could cause a needle puncture that may potentially be from an infected needle, or come in contact with the splashing of body fluids on exposed skin.However, many hospitals have currently up-graded equipment to help prevent unwanted needle stick exposures through the use of needle free systems, but there is still work to be done to keep nurses and patients safe. Furthermore, nurses may also be exposed to occupational injuries while lifting a patient in bed, or when a patient falls on a staff member and injures them in the same turn as well. Obviously some hospitals have improved the safety for staff, and patients with the use of lifts or ssistive devices, but time maybe of essence. With this in mind, the physical and mental demands of the nursing profession may take a toll on a person’s body, or it may potentially provoke thoughts of a career change from the risks involved. However, since nurses are also held accountable for mistakes made even when times are proven difficult, in hind sight turn this could potentially create a stressful environment full of expectations without satisfaction.Furthermore, â€Å"nurses’ working conditions have been associated with medication errors and falls, increased deaths, and spread of infection, but nurses report making more errors when working shifts greater than twelve hours, working overtime, or working more than forty hours per week† (Stone et al. 1984). In some hospitals nurses are given an assigned number of patients to care for, but patients are coming into the hospitals’ sicker than in previous years which can create a dilemma when assigning patient care.Some hospitals’ have been designated as a Magnet hospital where the maximum ratio is one nurse to five patients which could help ease some demands to be able to provide better care to patients, but this trend is still new to some healthcare systems. On a typical working shift nurses are responsible for medication administration, physical assessments and general care of the patient, but during t imes of staffing shortage nurses may have to provide all the care for all assigned patients.Generally speaking, nurses care for four to eight patients per shift while â€Å"an additional patient within this range was associated with a seven percent increase in the odds of dying within thirty days of admission and a seven percent increase in the odds of death following complications such as shock or pneumonia† (Keenen 1). In addition patients have a greater risk of infection due to lack of adequate infection control from proper hand washing by healthcare staff when staffing shortages occur.When nurses are held accountable for a certain number of patients, and one person falls out of bed down the hall while they were getting another patient up to the bathroom can create an unsafe and unsatisfactory environment for all involved parties that in turn can cause higher morbidity in patients. With a stressful environment and combined fear of making a mistake which would result in pun itive action against them, â€Å"the U. S. healthcare system contains a safety climate which blames individuals for errors instead of the system or organizational failures that may really be at fault† (Fox and Abrahamson 235).With that said, more nurses feel pressured to not make any mistakes instead of being human. However, when hospitals’ are dealing with staffing issues and nurses are not able to give proper attention to their patients this in turn could create a dangerous situation for patients that have an increased mortality risk due to complications or co morbidities. Studies have shown that staffing insufficiencies increase the mortality risk in patients due to the inability to adequately care and educate patients on complications such as pneumonia or bloods clots which can be proven fatal.Nurses are also expected to perform many tasks that include life saving techniques in critical situations, but in order to keep these individuals with these skills employed b y a specific facility it takes a clever approach to nursing retention. However, â€Å"research shows that nurses contribute heavily to the quality of patient care, reimbursement based upon performance outcomes would likely increase the economic value of nurses, thus improving wages, work environment and recruitment and retention† (Fox and Abrahamson 235).In the past, when hospitals were dealing with nursing shortages some would offer a sign-on bonus or a contract to pay for a portion of education expenses as an incentive to attract employees for difficult to recruit positions such as night shifts. Due to cost constraints some facilities were beginning to do away with sign-on bonuses and offer other assistance after a specific time period of employment. On the contrary, most facilities do not recognize nurses with compensation based on performance other than an increase in cost of living wages, but could benefit further through increased recognition programs.Since World War II the nursing profession had always been a female dominant profession until now, with the addition and encouragement of male nurses in the profession. Most patients saw nursing as a female dominant profession due the delicate nature of caring for sick patients and the need for gentle interactions and nurturing. Furthermore, working conditions were often poorer in nursing with a predominately female occupation.During times of economic recession more nurses were choosing to work, or continue employment to help meet the financial expectations of their households especially in times when other family members are facing a layoff or furlough. Although when the economy improves the shift of nurses actively working may change and create an even bigger nursing shortage while some may change careers or retire all together. Furthermore, with the introduction of men in nursing things have begun to change and more and more men were joining the nursing profession for career stability and advanceme nt opportunities in an already female dominant profession.A man named James Derham â€Å"in 1783 who was a slave earned money to buy his freedom by working as a nurse† making him the first male nurse (Bonair and Philipsen 19). Nursing schools began offering scholarships to male nursing students as a way to attract more people to the nursing profession. With men in a female dominant profession they were making up â€Å"five to ten percent of the workforce in the UK, USA and Canada† while in the nursing profession they were more likely to be promoted into leadership roles (Brown 120).Male nurses generally started a nursing career at a younger age compared to their female counter parts. As working nurses were getting older many of them were planning for retirement at a time when a majority of people were retiring with the baby-boomer generation. More and more people began to choose a nursing career later in life, so consequently most nurses ended up retiring earlier due t o the strains of the job or age factors. Consequently, the average age of nursing students graduating was thirty-one, while the average age of the working nurse is forty-six years old.Due to the popularity of nursing for some it is becoming a second career for individuals after many years of employment in other fields such as business, or computer industries that have had many changes and layoffs that contributed to the employment shift. With this new employment shift new nurses that began a nursing career as older adults are not working in the field as long and retiring sooner. Furthermore with the short periods of nursing employment, this again creates problems with fixing the nursing shortage across the country.Now that the factors of the nursing shortage have been described in detail, the next discussion will be about ways to fix the nursing shortage problem in America from the faculty shortage to loan forgiveness programs. If America is going to get out of the nursing shortage crisis the first step is to address the shortage of educators, and nursing faculty that teach and train the future nursing students. In order to create an interest in teaching there needs to be some changes with regards to income levels, and more education assistance to give nurses the ability to increase their knowledge. Some hospitals ffer opportunities to take a leave of absence from their jobs to pursue further education options without the fear of job loss. However, this in turn would not only be an asset to the individual but the facility as well that encouraged their employees to seek more education. Another factor in the nursing shortage is the number of clinical sites needed to give adequate clinical experiences for nurses to learn in. In hospitals today nursing schools generally have clinical experiences five days a week instead of an additional two days on the weekend to meet more needs of clinical experience time.By offering the additional two days per week, nursing stud ents would meet their clinical expectations ahead of schedule therefore they could graduate earlier and begin nursing practice sooner. This in turn would help to ease the shortage of trained nurses sooner and decrease the waitlist time for entrance into nursing school. In order to attract more nurses to continue advancing their education there needs to be more monetary compensation to pay for the cost of education in order to encourage more nurses to advance into teaching.Furthermore in order for the healthcare system and colleges to meet the recruitment demands and the shortage requirements there needs to be some collaboration between facilities for education and tuition assistance. Consequently to address the aging of the nursing faculty, more people need to be encouraged to continue their education without any lapse of time after graduation. Nevertheless, since most nurses cannot afford to pay for the higher expenses of college and continue to work then only a selected few would advance their education.However, some nurses may choose not to continue their education due to conflicts with work schedules and family, unless there was some loan assistance or forgiveness program widely used. The United States currently has loan forgiveness programs that pay the entire amount of the loan after requirements are met. Furthermore, after a nurse has completed two years of service in a hospital then they can apply for the loan forgiveness program that may take up to six months before a decision is made, and only a limited number of individuals are selected.In addition, if the United States invested in more healthcare facilities and offered more loan assistance and scholarships then people would be more attracted to the nursing profession and possibly reduce the nursing shortage. In conclusion, after discussing the many challenges that the nursing profession faces, it is still considered a highly respected field by many but may not be the choice for everyone. However, u ntil the United States aggressively pursues a solution to the nursing shortage, better wages, and working conditions, then healthcare reform will define the critical needs of nurses that may end up costing more lives than money.In the end, if the nursing shortage continues, it could be catastrophic to American society at a time when healthcare has made so many advances to increase the life expectancy rate. Works Cited â€Å"2010-2011 Enrollment and Graduations in Baccalaureate and Graduate Programs in Nursing. † Fact Sheet-Nursing Shortage (2011). . Bonair, Jennifer, and Nayna Philipsen. â€Å"Men in Nursing: Addressing the Nursing Workforce Shortage and Our History. † Maryland Nurse.CINAHL Plus with Full Text. EBSCO, 10. 3 (May-July 2009): 19. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. Brown, Brian. â€Å"Men in nursing: Re-evaluating masculinities, re-evaluation gender. † Contemporary Nurse: A Journal for the Australian Nursing Profession. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. EBSCO, 33. 2 (20 09): 129. Web. 29 Oct. 2011 Fox, Rebekah L. , and Kathleen Abrahamson. â€Å"A Critical Examination of the U. S. Nursing Shortage: Contributing Factors, Public Policy Implications. † Nursing Forum. CINAHL Plus with Full Text. EBSCO, 44. 4 (Oct-Dec. 2009): 244. Web. Sept. 2011.Joint Statement from the Tri-Council for Nursing on Recent Registered Nurse Supply and Demand Projections. AACC, n. d. Web. 4 Sept. 2011. . Keenen, Patricia. â€Å"The Nursing Workforce Shortage: Causes, Consequences, Proposed Solutions. † Issue Brief. CINHL Plus with Full Text. EBSCO, (2003): 6. Web. 31 Oct. 2011. McHugh, Matthew D. â€Å"Hospital Nurse Staffing and Public Health Emergency Preparedness: Implications for Policy. † Public Health Nursing. 27. 5 (Sept/Oct 2010): 449.CINAHL Plus with Full Text. EBSCO. Web. 29 Oct. 2011. Stone, Patricia w. , et al. â€Å"Nurses' Working Conditions: Implications for Infectious Disease. † Emerging Infectious Diseases 10. 11 (2004): 1989. We b. 28 Sept. 2011. . The Demographic Challenges Facing Colorado's Health Care Workforce. Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence, n. d. Web. 4 Sept. 2011. . U. S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Occupation: Registered Nurses. http://data. bls. gov, May 2010. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.

Pelabur’s Pizza Mini Case †Capital Structure Decision

a) Repurchase of stock=RM15x100000shares=RM1500000 Equity after repurchase of stock=repurchase of stock-amount borrowed Scenario |Amount borrowed(RM) |Equity after repurchase of stock(RM) | |1 |0 |1500000-0=1500000 | |2 |187500 |1500000-187500=1312500 | |3 |375000 |1125000 | |4 |562500 |937500 | |5 |750000 |750000 | |6 |937500 |562500 | |7 |1125000 |375000 | b) Weight of equity=(equity after repurchase of stock/repurchase of stock) x100% Weight of debt + weight of equity=100% |Scenario |Weight of debt(%) |Weight of equity(%) | |1 |100-100=0 |1500000/1500000 x100%=100. | |2 |100-87. 5=12. 5 |1312500/1500000 x100%=87. 5 | |3 |25. 0 |75. 0 | |4 |37. 5 |62. 5 | |5 |50. 0 |50. 0 | |6 |62. 5 |37. 5 | |7 |75. 0 |25. | c) After-tax cost of debt=pre-tax cost of debt x (1-T) =(prime rate + risk premium)x(1-T) |Scenario |Prime rate(%) |Risk premium(%) |Tax(%) |After-tax cost of debt(%) | |1 |5 |2. 0 |40 |(5%+2%)x(1-0. 4)=4. 2 | |2 |5 |2. 0 |40 |(5%+2%)x(1-0. 4)=4. 2 | |3 |5 |2. 5 |40 |4. | |4 |5 |3. 5 |40 |5. 1 | |5 |5 |5. 0 |40 |6. 0 | |6 |5 |7. 0 |40 |7. 2 | |7 |5 |10. 0 |40 |9. 0 | d) CAPM=Krf+(RPm)? , Krf=4% , RPm=8% |Scenario |Subjective beta, ? CAPM(%) | |1 |2. 0 |4%+8%(2. 0)=20. 0 | |2 |2. 1 |4%+8%(2. 1)=20. 8 | |3 |2. 3 |22. 4 | |4 |2. 5 |24. 0 | |5 |2. 9 |27. 2 | |6 |3. 3 |30. 4 | |7 |3. 7 |33. | e) WACC=WdKd+WsKs |Scenario |Wd(%) |Ws(%) |Kd(%) |Ks(%) |WACC(%) | |1 |0 |100. 0 |4. 2 |20. 0 |0(0. 042)+1(0. 2)=20. 00 | |2 |12. 5 |87. 5 |4. 2 |20. 8 |0. 125(0. 042)+0. 875(0. 208)=18. 73 | |3 |25. 0 |75. 0 |4. 5 |22. 4 |17. 93 | |4 |37. 5 |62. 5 |5. 1 |24. |16. 91 | |5 |50. 0 |50. 0 |6. 0 |27. 2 |16. 60 | |6 |62. 5 |37. 5 |7. 2 |30. 4 |15. 90 | |7 |75. 0 |25. 0 |9. 0 |33. 6 |15. 15 | f) Shares repurchased=amount borrowed/repurchased stock price per share Remaining shares outstanding=shares outstanding (old)-shares repurchased Scenario |Shares outstanding |Shares repurchased |Remaining shares outstanding | |1 |100000 |RM0/RM15=0 |100000-0=100000 | |2 |100000 |RM187500/RM15=12500 |100000-12500=87500 | |3 |100000 |25000 |75000 | |4 |100000 |37500 |62500 | |5 |100000 |50000 |50000 | |6 |100000 |62500 |37500 | |7 |100000 |75000 |25000 | g) Total asset=Earning(net income)/WACC otal equity=total assets-total liabilities Interest expense=amount borrowed x interest rate(prime rate + risk premium) |Scenario |1 | |1 |300000/100000=3. 00 | |2 |292125/87500=3. 34 | |3 |3. 78 | |4 |4. 34 | |5 |5. 0 | |6 |6. 20 | |7 |7. 95 | h) There are two main types of financing for a business which are debt or equity financing. Debt financing is describe as the type of financing we receive from a traditional bank loan and equity financing is describes as the financing we receive from venture capital into our business from outside investors.Therefore, the benefit of debt financing is refer to it’s limited in amount and we will pay down the debt over time to a zero sum balance without any further obligation to the lender and the down stroke to debt fin ancing is to define that traditional lenders will take a hard look at our business including how long it has been in existence, income from operation, expenses and it will require hard assets for collateral for the loan. Moreover, those lenders will most certainly want us to personally guarantee for the repayments of the loan. Another disadvantage of debt financing is that our organization will be burdened with some other type of regular payment which is usually a monthly payment which depending on the terms and conditions of the financing and this can absorbs critical cash flow, especially those individual or partners with small business.Besides that, the benefit of equity financing or venture capital is that we will be also receiving money in exchange for equity in our business in the form of stock or some other form of equity like percentage of income or gross net sales. A fundamental benefit of this type of the equity financing is to define there is no monthly payment requiremen t to investors. Instead, we are giving up ownership interest, most often, permanently. Furthermore, the traditional lenders, banks for example, will look at our business much slightly different than venture capitalist. Bankers want a zero-risk or near-zero risk position when they provide financing and will rely almost completely on the operating economics of the business with little regard for potential future growth.Thus, they want to see strong cash flow backed up by hard assets before they do a deal with the ingredients that most small business lack or they wouldn’t be seeking for financing. Eventually, the venture capitalist is on the other hand which they tend to consider the management team and the potential future growth of the business more heavily than actual operating numbers, especially for those with small business with large potential but few sales and little or no operating history. Although these two types of lender is vary in their approaching to analyzing a b usiness for funding, we can also be sure that careful examination of our business will be conducted.

Adaptation Mcdonalds

More recently, it also offers salads, fruit and carrot sticks. The business began in 1940, with a restaurant opened by Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California. Their introduction of the â€Å"Speedee Service System† in 1948 established the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. The present corporation dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Illinois on April 15, 1955, the ninth McDonald’s restaurant overall. Kroc later purchased the McDonald brothers’ equity in the company and led its worldwide expansion. 3 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ What are the advantages and disadvantages of adaptation strategy used by McDonald’s? 4 1. Advantages and Disadvantages of adaptation strategy Advantages: †¢ Different cultures have different consumer needs and tastes †¢ Political and legal environment of the international market that they plan to enter †¢ Differences among nations in terms of cultures, religious believes, political and legal systems, customer values and lifestyles, and stages of economic and market development †¢ Differences in the advancement of technology †¢ Competition plays a major role in determining if a company will adopt a product adaptation scheme 1. Advantages and Disadvantages of adaptation strategy Disadvantages: †¢ The costs associated with adaptation can also play a major role in determining whether or not a firm chooses to standardize their product 6 1. Advantages and Disadvantages of adaptation strategy †¢ †¢ †¢ Cross any boarder and you will find multiple variations from price to product, starting with the presentation. Misconception that McDon alds is the same everywhere. Country teams have considerable autonomy to develop and market new product lines. Menu differences: Netherlands and Austria– Beer Germany – Chinese Week Canada – Mc Pizza India – Goat and lamb burgers half of menu vegetarian Japan – ingredients such as cabbage and Teriyaki USA – Barbecue bacon Burgers, sausage breakfast burritos 7 Are there examples of truly global brands that never customized? 8 Are there examples of truly global brands that never customized? Truly global Brands : †¢ In general we can say that straight extension (=standardization) has been implemented and already been successful with cameras, consumer electronics, and many machine tools. Stihl ( machinery and chainsaw producer) Nikon Olympus, Canon ( camera producers) Kitchen Aid (consumer electronics ) Caterpillar (trucks, bulldozers) †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 9 What have been the key factors that have led to McDonald’s global success? 10 2. What have been the key factors that have led McDonalds to global success? †¢ †¢ †¢ Fast service enabled by a limited menu, focus on cleanliness, family friendly facilities, good value for money Emergence of cash-rich, time-poor lifestyle Societal acceptance of a more casual approach to eating on the run underscored the emergence of McDonalds Innovations in food preparation technology and service delivery providing a fast- service format that customers appreciate as well as a cost base that competitors found hard to match Waiter labor cost savings passed on directly to the consumers through lower prices McDonalds was the leader to introduce franchising in the global marketplace, augmenting the organic restaurant growth by harnessing the management, cultural and entrepreneurial capabilities and capital of local businesspeople around the world. Expanding across the globe Increasing restaurant penetration in already existing markets †¢ †¢ †¢ 11 2. What have been the key factors that have led McDonalds to global success? Key Faktors: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Economies of scale in production and distribution Power and scope Brand image was country suited Ability to leverage ideas quickly and efficiently Uniformity of marketing practices Pervasiveness of McDonalds brand 12 2. What have been the key factors that have led McDonalds to global success? †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ McDonald’s is seen as the number one representative of the all American lifestyle, which at the time when the expansion began was very popular. In some countries it is still a status symbol to go and have a meal at McDonald’s. Generally the cooperation is at pains to offer a selection of standardized core products ( Big Mac, Soft drinks, French Fries) in addition to locally accepted alternatives. Giving the multinational cooperation a local Face (thinking of Salzburg’s restaurant) In order to use synergies on the one hand and reduce national competences on the other a supranational administrative department had been set up in Europe. McDonald’s. has always been supported by US foreign policy Sources : http://de. wikipedia. org/wiki/McDonald’s; Kotler/Keller Marketing Management 13 What are the risks and benefits of choosing the franchising system for franchisor? 14 3. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Benefits for franchisor: The franchisor profits from the strongly motivated franchisee as a self-dependent entrepreneur †¢ The franchising as a way to overcome the resource scarcity through the direct market access †¢ The ability to overcome the high costs of arranging the new distribution network through using the well tailored network of franchisor †¢ Low capital investments for the product placement and region marketing through the franchisee †¢ The benefits from using a recognized brand name and trade marks through the reputation of the franchisor †¢ Extended expansion possibility through franchising 15 3. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Risks for franchisor: †¢ The existence of multiple, geographically dispersed owner-managers makes the control difficult †¢ Possible high costs of training development, promotional and support activities of franchisee †¢ Service delivery may be inconsistent because of geographically dispersed franchisees 16 What are the key issues by setting up a McDonald’s Franchisee? 17 4. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Benefits for the franchisee: †¢ Your business is based on a proven idea. You can check how successful other franchises are before committing yourself. †¢ You can use a recognized brand name and trade marks. You benefit from any advertising or promotion by the owner of the franchise – the â€Å"franchisor†. †¢ The franchisor gives you support – usually including training, help setting up the business, a manual telling you how to run the business and ongoing advice. †¢ Financing the business may be easier. Banks are sometimes more likely to lend money to buy a franchise with a good reputation. †¢ Risk is reduced and is shared by the franchisor. †¢ If you have an existing customer base you will not have to invest time looking to set one up. Relationships with suppliers have already been established. †¢ The ability to overcome the resource constrains. 18 4. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Risks for franchisee: †¢ Costs may be higher than you expect. As well as the initial costs of buying the franc hise, you pay continuing royalties and you may have to agree to buy products from the franchisor. †¢ The franchise agreement usually includes restrictions on how you run the business. You might not be able to make changes to suit your local market. †¢ The franchisor might go out of business, or change the way they do things. †¢ Other franchisees could give the brand a bad reputation. You may find it difficult to sell your franchise – you can only sell it to someone approved by the franchisor. 19 4. Costs and Restrictions Costs: Financial Requirements/Down Payment : Initial down payment for opening (40% of the total cost) or an existing restaurant (25% of the total cost) about 200. 000 $ nonborrowed resources Financing: McDonald’s does not offer financing; McDonald’s Owner/Operators enjoy the benefits of our established relationships with many national lending institutions 20 4. Costs and Restrictions Restrictions: During the term of the franchise, you pay McDonald’s the following fees: †¢ Service fee: a monthly fee based upon the restaurant’s sales performance (currently a service fee of 4. 0% of monthly sales). Rent: a monthly based rent or percentage rent that is a percentage of monthly sales. †¢ Application: Personal, non-borrowed resources to be invested in a McDonald’s restaurant business. †¢ Business experience in the market where they are seeking a franchise 21 What strategy would you adopt to ensure a great exposure for McDonald’s to a growing trend towards healthier eating? 22 5. Healthier eating at McDonald’s Currently: †¢ †¢ Low fat products in UK outlet Canadian light choices of Menu with a Soya bean McVeggie Burger, salads with a fat free dressing and a granola topped fruit yoghurt On packaging calorie and fat content information for the first time as it tries to counter the obesity lobby †¢ 23 5. Healthier eating at McDonald’s Future perspectives: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Using biologically grown resources Fat reduced meals Healthier ways of processing the food (eg. : don’t fry chips but bake them, less white bread burgers, regular vegetarian dishes,) Healthy, freshly squeezed Mc Shakes etc. Healthier Drinks not only Sodas To ensure high-quality, fresh ingredients, farms are set up in order to supply restaurants 24 Sources: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ www. McDonalds. com www. freeforessays. com/show_essay/55461. html D. Jobber â€Å"Principles and Practice of Marketing† Sources : http://de. wikipedia. org/wiki/McDonald’s Kotler/Keller Marketing Management 25 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION 26 Adaptation Mcdonalds More recently, it also offers salads, fruit and carrot sticks. The business began in 1940, with a restaurant opened by Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California. Their introduction of the â€Å"Speedee Service System† in 1948 established the principles of the modern fast-food restaurant. The present corporation dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Illinois on April 15, 1955, the ninth McDonald’s restaurant overall. Kroc later purchased the McDonald brothers’ equity in the company and led its worldwide expansion. 3 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ What are the advantages and disadvantages of adaptation strategy used by McDonald’s? 4 1. Advantages and Disadvantages of adaptation strategy Advantages: †¢ Different cultures have different consumer needs and tastes †¢ Political and legal environment of the international market that they plan to enter †¢ Differences among nations in terms of cultures, religious believes, political and legal systems, customer values and lifestyles, and stages of economic and market development †¢ Differences in the advancement of technology †¢ Competition plays a major role in determining if a company will adopt a product adaptation scheme 1. Advantages and Disadvantages of adaptation strategy Disadvantages: †¢ The costs associated with adaptation can also play a major role in determining whether or not a firm chooses to standardize their product 6 1. Advantages and Disadvantages of adaptation strategy †¢ †¢ †¢ Cross any boarder and you will find multiple variations from price to product, starting with the presentation. Misconception that McDon alds is the same everywhere. Country teams have considerable autonomy to develop and market new product lines. Menu differences: Netherlands and Austria– Beer Germany – Chinese Week Canada – Mc Pizza India – Goat and lamb burgers half of menu vegetarian Japan – ingredients such as cabbage and Teriyaki USA – Barbecue bacon Burgers, sausage breakfast burritos 7 Are there examples of truly global brands that never customized? 8 Are there examples of truly global brands that never customized? Truly global Brands : †¢ In general we can say that straight extension (=standardization) has been implemented and already been successful with cameras, consumer electronics, and many machine tools. Stihl ( machinery and chainsaw producer) Nikon Olympus, Canon ( camera producers) Kitchen Aid (consumer electronics ) Caterpillar (trucks, bulldozers) †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ 9 What have been the key factors that have led to McDonald’s global success? 10 2. What have been the key factors that have led McDonalds to global success? †¢ †¢ †¢ Fast service enabled by a limited menu, focus on cleanliness, family friendly facilities, good value for money Emergence of cash-rich, time-poor lifestyle Societal acceptance of a more casual approach to eating on the run underscored the emergence of McDonalds Innovations in food preparation technology and service delivery providing a fast- service format that customers appreciate as well as a cost base that competitors found hard to match Waiter labor cost savings passed on directly to the consumers through lower prices McDonalds was the leader to introduce franchising in the global marketplace, augmenting the organic restaurant growth by harnessing the management, cultural and entrepreneurial capabilities and capital of local businesspeople around the world. Expanding across the globe Increasing restaurant penetration in already existing markets †¢ †¢ †¢ 11 2. What have been the key factors that have led McDonalds to global success? Key Faktors: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Economies of scale in production and distribution Power and scope Brand image was country suited Ability to leverage ideas quickly and efficiently Uniformity of marketing practices Pervasiveness of McDonalds brand 12 2. What have been the key factors that have led McDonalds to global success? †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ McDonald’s is seen as the number one representative of the all American lifestyle, which at the time when the expansion began was very popular. In some countries it is still a status symbol to go and have a meal at McDonald’s. Generally the cooperation is at pains to offer a selection of standardized core products ( Big Mac, Soft drinks, French Fries) in addition to locally accepted alternatives. Giving the multinational cooperation a local Face (thinking of Salzburg’s restaurant) In order to use synergies on the one hand and reduce national competences on the other a supranational administrative department had been set up in Europe. McDonald’s. has always been supported by US foreign policy Sources : http://de. wikipedia. org/wiki/McDonald’s; Kotler/Keller Marketing Management 13 What are the risks and benefits of choosing the franchising system for franchisor? 14 3. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Benefits for franchisor: The franchisor profits from the strongly motivated franchisee as a self-dependent entrepreneur †¢ The franchising as a way to overcome the resource scarcity through the direct market access †¢ The ability to overcome the high costs of arranging the new distribution network through using the well tailored network of franchisor †¢ Low capital investments for the product placement and region marketing through the franchisee †¢ The benefits from using a recognized brand name and trade marks through the reputation of the franchisor †¢ Extended expansion possibility through franchising 15 3. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Risks for franchisor: †¢ The existence of multiple, geographically dispersed owner-managers makes the control difficult †¢ Possible high costs of training development, promotional and support activities of franchisee †¢ Service delivery may be inconsistent because of geographically dispersed franchisees 16 What are the key issues by setting up a McDonald’s Franchisee? 17 4. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Benefits for the franchisee: †¢ Your business is based on a proven idea. You can check how successful other franchises are before committing yourself. †¢ You can use a recognized brand name and trade marks. You benefit from any advertising or promotion by the owner of the franchise – the â€Å"franchisor†. †¢ The franchisor gives you support – usually including training, help setting up the business, a manual telling you how to run the business and ongoing advice. †¢ Financing the business may be easier. Banks are sometimes more likely to lend money to buy a franchise with a good reputation. †¢ Risk is reduced and is shared by the franchisor. †¢ If you have an existing customer base you will not have to invest time looking to set one up. Relationships with suppliers have already been established. †¢ The ability to overcome the resource constrains. 18 4. Risks and Benefits of franchise system Risks for franchisee: †¢ Costs may be higher than you expect. As well as the initial costs of buying the franc hise, you pay continuing royalties and you may have to agree to buy products from the franchisor. †¢ The franchise agreement usually includes restrictions on how you run the business. You might not be able to make changes to suit your local market. †¢ The franchisor might go out of business, or change the way they do things. †¢ Other franchisees could give the brand a bad reputation. You may find it difficult to sell your franchise – you can only sell it to someone approved by the franchisor. 19 4. Costs and Restrictions Costs: Financial Requirements/Down Payment : Initial down payment for opening (40% of the total cost) or an existing restaurant (25% of the total cost) about 200. 000 $ nonborrowed resources Financing: McDonald’s does not offer financing; McDonald’s Owner/Operators enjoy the benefits of our established relationships with many national lending institutions 20 4. Costs and Restrictions Restrictions: During the term of the franchise, you pay McDonald’s the following fees: †¢ Service fee: a monthly fee based upon the restaurant’s sales performance (currently a service fee of 4. 0% of monthly sales). Rent: a monthly based rent or percentage rent that is a percentage of monthly sales. †¢ Application: Personal, non-borrowed resources to be invested in a McDonald’s restaurant business. †¢ Business experience in the market where they are seeking a franchise 21 What strategy would you adopt to ensure a great exposure for McDonald’s to a growing trend towards healthier eating? 22 5. Healthier eating at McDonald’s Currently: †¢ †¢ Low fat products in UK outlet Canadian light choices of Menu with a Soya bean McVeggie Burger, salads with a fat free dressing and a granola topped fruit yoghurt On packaging calorie and fat content information for the first time as it tries to counter the obesity lobby †¢ 23 5. Healthier eating at McDonald’s Future perspectives: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Using biologically grown resources Fat reduced meals Healthier ways of processing the food (eg. : don’t fry chips but bake them, less white bread burgers, regular vegetarian dishes,) Healthy, freshly squeezed Mc Shakes etc. Healthier Drinks not only Sodas To ensure high-quality, fresh ingredients, farms are set up in order to supply restaurants 24 Sources: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ www. McDonalds. com www. freeforessays. com/show_essay/55461. html D. Jobber â€Å"Principles and Practice of Marketing† Sources : http://de. wikipedia. org/wiki/McDonald’s Kotler/Keller Marketing Management 25 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION 26

Reason for decline of trust empathy and civic engagement to us Essay

Reason for decline of trust empathy and civic engagement to us government, influence to democracy and solution - Essay Example In other words, trust and understanding between the government and its people are essential for a country’s government to work well. Moreover, civic engagement is also an essential condition for a country’s healthy political environment. The term civic engagement refers to community’s joining together to be a collective source of change, and which can be political and non-political in their nature and objective (Wikipedia). The positivity of attending community activities can be a way of viewing citizens’ positivity of caring about their country’s politics. However, in recent years, trust, empathy as well as civic engagement have gradually declined between the federal government and US citizens. There are growing negative reasons for the declining for today’s America, and the major reasons can be attributed to citizens’ lack of political knowledge and enthusiasm. When politicians lack efficiency and do not keep good communication with their people, they tend to lose public trust and empathy; and this will affect both the country and the government in the long run. Moreover, media plays a major role in revealing the ugly facet of politics, which makes Americans skeptical about their government. Evidently, both US citizens and the US government officials should be responsible for the declining of trust, empathy and civic engagement prevailing in the country. As for the citizens, Volgy claims that US citizens neither have political knowledge nor they try to understand it. Also, they may not even know about the personal lives of their own political representatives. As Volgy writes,â€Å"Yet few if any citizens have much inkling about the daily lives of those who represent us in the government† (37). Politics is often made much more complex with what we read and watch over media. However, most people have no patience at all to comprehend the situations and support the government in crucial times. People may have many

External and Internal Environments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

External and Internal Environments - Essay Example There are social, economic, political, legal etc factors that can effect a business environment. It can be analyzed that the two main segments that effect the business environment of Nike are the economic and social segments. Nike is a company based on U.S. which is the most technologically commanding nation in the world with a high level of GDP per capita of about $49800. As the level of income of people in U.S. high they have a good share of spendable income that they use in purchase of consumer goods like shoes. Nike is considered to have the largest market share of sports footwear business in U.S as estimated in 2012. The social environment of U.S. supports the business of sports shoes manufactured by Nike. United States has high rate of urbanization (82%) and an estimated growth of urbanization of about 1.2% from 2010 to 2015 (CIA, 2013). Most of the people in U.S. wear western dresses as casuals. Thus sports and lifestyle shoes of Nike are most commonly used by the people in U. S. 2. Considering the five (5) forces of competition, choose the two (2) that you estimate are the most significant for the corporation you chose. Evaluate how well the company has addressed these two (2) forces in the recent past. A company gets affected by various types of forces like threat of a new entrant, substitutes, existing rivalry in the industry, bargaining powers of buyers and suppliers. Among all, the most two important forces of competition that are likely to affect Nike are bargaining power of buyers and existing rivalry within the industry. The buyers of Nike shoes always demand for better quality of product but at lower prices. The bargaining power of the buyers of shoe industry in U.S is very high because there are various companies that produce shoes in U.S.(Iqbal, 2013). The company has to give various offers to attract more buyers for their products. Nike shoes are athletic shoes and various types of sports companies purchase bulk of their products. The company has to offer negotiable prices to these sports companies. It is observed that Nike shoes are rich fashionable shoes that exhibit the characteristics of luxurious products thus the degree of responsiveness of the buyers to change in prices are very high. The company has various rivals in the market. Companies like Reebok, Puma, and Adidas etc also produce lifestyle and sports shoes so if the prices of Nike shoes are increased to a very high level then it can drastically reduce the quantity demanded for Nike shoes. This signifies that the industry is highly competitive. Nike constantly upgrades their customized designs for lifestyle shoes so that they can pitch buyers on grounds of design and quality. In 2010 the company has introduced a new division known as Nike Digital Sports that has invented a special technology that can track the performance of a user in any type of sports. To lead in the progressing industry Nike has adopted low cost strategies like selling products online. 3. With the same two (2) forces in mind, predict what the company might do to improve its ability to address these forces in the near future. Nike as a firm can attract more potential consumers by making their shoes better in quality and fashion than the other companies. Nike may diversify the range of their lifestyle shoes so that apart from the people who participate in sports, Nike shoes are also

New Standards for Revenue Recognition Research Paper

New Standards for Revenue Recognition - Research Paper Example The IFRS stipulates minimum requirements on matters of revenue recognition. All in all the IAS 18 Revenue and IAS Construction Contracts are the main fields that it addresses. However, IAS 18 offers little explanation on issues that relate to multiple-element arrangements. The existing guidelines for revenue recognition as per the U.S. GAAP are so many. In the real sense, they cannot address the exact transactions or the target industries. With the mushrooming of new trends in transactions, the Board is facing challenges in addressing the issue. The first proposal was made on December 19, 2008 by both the IASB and the FASB. Bearing in mind that GAAP had a different approach from that of IFRS; the objectives made in the proposal were to make an improvement on the already existing guidelines. This gave birth to the concept of developing one model that can be utilized in addressing revenue recognition. In application, a company will be only able to recognize its revenue when the obligat ion is satisfactory. In this case, all services and transactions must satisfy their customer’s needs as per the contract (www.fasb.org, March 2014). On June 24, 2010, the Boards made a proposal to have the new joint standard for revenue recognition in place. In their view, adopting this proposal would bring the single revenue recognition standard in place. This will make it easy for IFRS and GAAP to address issues across all capital markets and industries with little differences (http://www.ifrs.org March, 2014).

Personal Leadership Evaluation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Personal Leadership Evaluation - Research Paper Example It seems clear that to some extent individuals can take a broad overview of their leadership qualities, and work to develop responses to the various strengths and weaknesses that are identified. This essay functions to evaluate my current leadership effectiveness. Specifically, the essay includes a review of who I as a leader need to be, what I as a leader need to know, and what I as a leader need to do. In examining who I as a leader need to be, I recognize that there are a variety of elements that must be considered. While I have not entirely decided on my career path, I recognize that I would like to pursue a path related to businesses and organizations. Even as these categorical distinctions involve a wide variety of elements, it’s clear there are a number of universal principles that underline all aspects of leadership. One of the important texts in articulating essential aspects of leadership is Maxwell (2007)’s The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. In this text Maxwell articulates a number of notions of effective leadership, as well as means of developing these qualities so the reader can attain more effective leadership qualities. In terms of my own leadership, I recognize there are a number of areas of leadership I would like to be as a means of achieving more effectiveness in my chosen career path. One of the important notions of leadership that Maxwell establishes is the understanding that the leader does not simply lead the ship, but the leader charts the course. The text gives an example of a historic trip to the Arctic. The trip was made by two separate groups – one headed by Robert Falcon Scott and one headed by Roald Amundsen. While Scott haphazardly planned for the excursion, Amundsen took great pains to research the terrain and the various environmental conditions. As one might expect, Scott’s trip was a failure and Amundsen’s trip was a success. The underlining principles in this is that successful leaders will not simply follow a set path and expect individuals to simply follow their lead, but will instead by the individuals that foreground that path that will be traversed. When considering the type of leader that I want to be, I am greatly influenced by the notion of charting a course rather than simply leading. In these regards, I would like to lead through example in a leadership model that does not simply follow the structural constraints of an organization, but readily defines these constraints through innovation, creativity, and development. When I consider contemporary examples of the type of leadership that I hope to achieve I consider individuals such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. While traditional notions of leadership present a charismatic figure such as John F. Kennedy or Barack Obama who are able to garner followers and support through rhetoric and charm, I increasingly find myself embracing a different incarnation of leadership. I believe that while charismatic leadersh ip is effective, leaders can also be effective through the demonstration of creativity and innovation. For instance, Steve Jobs has garnered incredible support and esteem through his management of Apple, Inc. By most objective standards Jobs does not exhibit the charismatic elements, but is able to retain respect and influence through his strong and innovative corporate approach. Steve Jobs has soundly demonstrated that effective leaders navigate rather than simply lead. In terms of my own leadership, I hope to be able to

A strategy for managing change process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

A strategy for managing change process - Essay Example This study looks into organizational culture as the experience which the hotel is supposed to bring to its customers. However, this is largely reflected through the behaviour of the associates of the hotel towards them. Therefore it is important that the present must try to build a strong culture along with insuring its core values such that it serves to contribute towards the continuous growth of the organization and accounts for the satisfaction of employees too. The first step towards a strong culture would be to establish core values of the organization. The hotel must seem to build core values which aims to provide the best services to customers, associates and the community at large. The basic culture is to provide the company associates with the maximum opportunities as well as providing superior quality of services towards customers. The next step towards initiating the change would be to attain the participation and involvement of company executives in the change process. Ex ecutives and employees in the organization must show their active participation in the change process and just in words. For example, in this case since a continuous change in behaviour towards customers is called for. Thus leaders must actually show their behavioural change in order to act as examples for remaining employees on their conduct with customers of the hotel. The management must practice effective communication. It is important that all employees in the organization are informed about the specific changes in order to make the process successful. This would necessarily ensure their commitment and success. Every employee must be told what exactly is expected of them. The organizational structure might also require changes. This would include changing the job description, roles and responsibilities for each employee and redesigning the same in order to bring about changes in their performance levels. Performance targets could be reset for each employee to bring about suffic ient changes in the overall productivity and performance level of the organization. This must also be coupled with the reviewing and redesigning of approaches towards rewards structures and recognition. It is very crucial to change the

Success of Product Repositioning Strategy for Class B Office Essay

Success of Product Repositioning Strategy for Class B Office Development in Moscow - Essay Example My company hired by a real estate investments fund, an owner of this property, received commercial contract to arrange marketing campaign and to sell these buildings as residential property. The reasoning behind this strategy is quite simple. On one hand, relatively small investors receive opportunity to invest into lucrative office property market in Moscow, which has 10-12% rate of return on investment compared to 5-6% that of residential property market. On the other hand, property developers receive so much desired cash significantly decreasing the whole property development cycle and improve their own rate of return on investment. The classical scheme (when office buildings are kept by developers to receive lease income or sold to strategic investors interested in regular income stream provided by lease payments) is modified with a new buy option for typical clients (lease holders) and completely a new option for residential property investors. Despite recent severe turbulence o n the equity markets and overall pessimistic attitude towards any long term investments our group managed to achieve remarkable results. The success of the strategy is proven by retail sale of a number of office buildings in Moscow. The purpose of this essay is to illustrate how theoretical strategic tools can be used in a real business situation to identify new business innovations and to assess how close the theory is to reality. The strategy theory undoubtedly provides useful tools for assessing current situation and identifying new opportunities. Elements of Five forces, basic supply – demand analyses, Value creation model, ERRC (Eliminate, Raise, Reduce, and Create) grid, reluctant customers and non-customers issues are theory tools used in the analysis. The analysis consists of macro and micro examination of the current commercial property industry situation in Moscow, and formulation of new opportunities in the office property sector of the industry based on the above analysis. The description of the real estate investment market in Russia In the situation of global market economic crisis, investors are becoming more risk averse and switching investment portfolios in favor of core assets like gold and real estate. Investments in property market in Russia in 2011 demonstrated 46% year on year growth with the highest volumes of 7 bn USD (See Exhibit 1 Investment volume dynamics), of which the commercial real estate sector accounts for about 95% (See Exhibit 1 Investment by sector). 2011 in Russia was remarkable by the rising number of foreign capital investments, which comprise around 45% of the total investment volume (See Exhibit Investment by investor origin). The reason for this is potentially high demand almost on all sorts of commercial property. Retail and office segments usually dominate the sector investments having 40% of total investment volume each (See Exhibit 1 Investment by sector). Moreover, the deal size increased in 2011: the numb er of deals exceeding 100 mn USD increased to 33% of total number of deals compared to 23% 2010. The market sector prime yields in Moscow stabilized at 9% in office and 11% in warehouse sectors in 2011 from the recent highs of 11.5% and 14.5% in 2009 (See 1 Exhibit Prime yield dynamics in Moscow) reaching pre crisis levels achieved by the market in 2007-2008. Historically, the office sector in Moscow has been the most attractive for

The Contributions of Immigrants to Singapore Essay Example for Free

The Contributions of Immigrants to Singapore Essay Singapore began to open itself up as a centre for entrepot trade. It began to import and export goods for different areas to different parts of the world. These immigrants also provided important support services such as workers in the dockyards, plantations, factories and some even provided daily necessities for traders all over the world. All these contributions of the immigrants helped to maintain Singapore as an attractive trading centre and kept it competitive. Without them, Singapore would not have grown so fast from a backwater island to a bustling island of trade and other commercial activities. Hence, the impact of the coming of the immigrants leading Singapore to a well-grown trading centre was the most important. However, besides the impact of growth of Singapore as a trading centre, there were other social impacts such as acts of philanthropy by rich businessmen. These businessmen from different ethnic groups saw the need to contribute to the well-being of the society and started kind acts such as building schools, hospitals and places of worship for their fellow countrymen. An example would be Tan Tock Seng. Such acts were important as they made lives of the immigrants more bearable and ensured that these immigrants were well taken care off so that they could continue to contribute to Singapore growth. All in all, the most important impact of the coming of the immigrants was the growth of Singapore as a trading centre as it is due to their hard work that Singapore could continue to grow and this would benefit everyone. As for the acts of the philanthropists, some of these acts were given to specific ethnic groups only, hence the impact is not as great as the first.

Impact Of Quantitative Easing On The Uk Economy Economics Essay

Impact Of Quantitative Easing On The Uk Economy Economics Essay This research proposal focuses on the concept and practice of Quantitative easing in context of UKs economy. The literature consists of elaboration of the need of using Quantitative easing to save Britain economy from recent global economic crises. It further explains the impact as well and covers all major areas which can have its effect. Economic downturn leads to apply the Quantitative easing which can be done through asset purchasing, lowering the interest rate and most importantly injecting cash directly into the economy. Recently world has suffered global economic recession which forced almost every country to take appropriate measures such as supplying more money into the economy. The recession badly effected UKs economy among all. Monetary Policy Committee adopted Quantitative easing measures under the authority of Bank of England in order to stabilize the economy and save UKs economy from the economic crisis. It is the role of Bank of England to maintain the stability of UK financial system and its economy. In the recent economic recession the new banking act has increased the powers of Bank of England which have authority to bank financial services and the market to actually deal with this stress situation. Monetary Policy Committee decreases the bank rate to 0.5%. In January 2008 the bank rate was 5.50% which continue to fluctuate and finally in 2009 it started with 1.50% and ended up as a reduction to 0.5%. (Source: www.bankofengland.co.uk). They are also focusing to have a low and stable inflation in order to do that a target has been set to keep inflation at 2% by the UK Government. Lowering the bank rate will take time to keep inflation in control. So there is a need to look ahead and decide an appropriate monetary policy. This leads Bank of England to decide purchasing of assets such as Government and corporate bonds so that the money supply will increase or they will purchase assets from private sector such as insurance companies or non-financial companies by crediting their account. Money can be in two forms either cash or bank deposits so in other words the focus in this policy will be to increase reserves of banks and the spending which ultimately lead to more flow of money in wider economy. According to Monetary Policy Committee the asset purchase will decrease the issues about liquidity and it will give companies sort of confidence so that they can borrow directly from the capital market. The Committee also defined a measured criteria related to supply of money so that it cannot increase beyond a certain limit and if the inflation target set by the Government will rise then monetary policy will use strict measures such as increasing bank rate or selling back the assets purchased to the market. (Source: Monetary Policy: www.bankofengland.co.uk) Rational of the Research topic: The research on this proposed topic is selected because of my own personal interest in the financial and economic systems especially of UK. The recent recession has affected everyone directly or indirectly the people suffered because of unemployment and low incomes. This actually directed my interest to know about the crises and the measures taken by authorities. It also provoked me to explore and gain comprehensive understanding about Quantitative easing. My previous research proposal during study was related to economic system of Pakistan and the role of State Bank of Pakistan this also initiate my interest in topic . After coming to UK the crises of economy was selling like hot cakes so it forced me to read articles and journals about the crises. This actually gave me an insight about the measures taken by Bank of England. Research Questions: Most importantly this research proposes the examination of a basic question: how successful Quantitative easing is in the stability of UK economy? Apart from this question it actually raises other questions as well such as: How the decrease in bank rate will reduce inflation in UK? What will be the criteria to control supply of money if it increases more than desired target? How will we know if the asset purchases are working? Will the performance of the banks increase? Will it be easy for companies to borrow direct from the market? Research Objectives: The basic objective of this research is to critically evaluate the Quantitative easing and its impact on UK economy. By analyzing of this process the research will intend to gain broad knowledge and insight about different monetary policies implied by Bank of England. How Quantitative easing increase the spending for companies and the flow of money which ultimately leads to a stable economy. Literature Review: The literature provided here is not conclusive because there is more to observe and discover in order to collect and review the literature. The nature of the topic is contemporary and current therefore more literature can be achieved by the passage of time. Norma Cohen (2009) stated that although Monetary Policy Committee has confidence in their Quantitative easing strategy to boost nominal demand but total lending to businesses further decreases. The consumer credit continued to shrink and uncollectable consumer loans increased. The Bank of England reported that the growth of money is on its slowest rate since December 2004. The borrowing also showing seasonal decline the size of this decline is more than expected. So Monetary Policy Committee should put more focus on measuring and increasing growth of money. (Source: www.bankofengland.co.uk) Daniel Pimlott (2009) expressed a view in his article in Financial Times that household disposable income has increased 1.2% in end of December and it has pushed saving ratio to 8.6%. He provides the reason in this rise that Bank of England decided to avoid rise in value added tax which ultimately enable people to save more without affecting the power of spending. He presented a view that such quick rise in saving suggests that UK economy may be closer to stabilize. There are clear signs that economy is improving in Britain due the measures of quantitative easing. The labor market is performing well comparing to the previous quarter and industrial production is rising considering the growth in both manufacturing and services industry because the Bank of England Policy of creating flow of spending and increasing the banks borrowing. (The Economist, November 12th, 2009) Mervyn King (2009) the Governor of Bank of England said in a press conference in November while presenting quarterly inflation report that UK economy facing delays in balance sheet adjustment. In order to rebalance UK economy needs to get away from private and public sector towards exports. The reduction in exchange rates is helping to smooth this process and the substantial reduction in fiscal deficit is quite clear. The Quantitative easing strategy of purchasing assets is proved handy but it is much smaller. Andrew Oxlade (2009) a well-known financial analyst wrote an article Recession Watch. He analyzed the impact of quantitative easing on UK economy and said that although the policy of Spending and Borrowing by the committee is core to get out of the recession but the investment fell and unemployment increases. Inflation is getting a bit high due the increase in oil price. Dr. Ros Altmann (2009) suggested that buying the gilts is not a proper way to ease the recession. Bank of England should emphasis on buying corporate bonds. So operating quantitative easing through buying gilts is not working efficiently. She further presented a view that buying gilts will increase the leak of money into overseas bond markets. But if they put more emphasize on buying corporate bonds then they can get money directly to the companies. Edward Hadas (2009) in his article on Telegraph analyzed that although the loan losses are increased but the aid provided by the Bank of England is massive which include minimal interest rate and sufficient supply of money. This is actually helping the economy to get a way out of recession. The liquidity push has given confidence to the investors in the form of cash to put in the market. Although the GDP was falling but now it has fallen less in few recent months. Economy is declining in a moderate way that suggests that the growth is coming back slowly. This is all due to the measures taken by the authorities such as Bank of England. Richard Taylor (2009) argued that there has been a major increase in business accounts in the banks. The new businesses are being started very quickly and it has exceeded the figures in last year. Richard Blackden (2009) analyzed the Delloitte Warns review and said that figures shows that the economy shrinks than the previous quarter and fears that the economy could go back to the recession. Methodology: The analysis of Quantitative easing and its impact on UK economy is based on further research only through this we can analyze the impact and its nature. There is a need to look through the process in order to evaluate the affect. Thats why the nature of this research proposed exploratory rather explanatory. The theory actually examines the continuity of the process and measures the trends in the market and the economic system of UK. There is also important to adopt qualitative research approach in order to include some focus groups like general population and banks to know the progress and relief. Observation method can be done in order to know the content and statistics about the topic. In order to know the effects of quantitative easing in the economy causal research is also handy so that the effects of different policies implied by Bank of England can be analyzed. A combination of in-depth interviews by financial experts and analysts and method of observation can also be used in order to address the research proposal. Interviews of experts can have structured interview based on specific questions and should include predetermined questions. There is a need to have a clear idea about the topic and should analyze facts and figures published by different financial institutions of UK. Data Collection Methods: While collecting the data through observation method the researcher needs to address the right source for that. The researcher will need to consider and monitor the continuity of the process of quantitative easing and could gather data by different articles and newspapers. The researcher also has to look through the facts and figures on different short periods of times. This can be done by obtaining data from bank of England quarterly report which includes all the figures related to topic. The focus should be on banks performance and overall economy considering the unemployment and inflation and household income. In order to know that quantitative easing is really working there is a need to consider previous quarterly reports as well and then do a comparison. This will help to simply and precise the data collection and the data collected by this will be valid as well. Moreover in-depth interviews can be done through telephones or meeting directly to financial experts to gather their opinions. Telephones interviews should be recorded on tape and while conducting direct interviews the important points should be noted down on paper. In such data collection method, interviewee is given the opportunity to talk freely about the topic. The interviews duration should not be more than half an hour for utilizing time a set of questions should be prepared prior to the interviews. Analysis of Data: The research consists of in-depth interviews as well as considering the observations and obtaining the facts and figure in the analysis. That is why the research purposes both quantitative and qualitative methods of data analysis. Obtaining the facts and figures through observation will require managing the data and then statistical analysis. This can be done through using the Microsoft Excel spread sheet which can show graphical presentation of the data as well. In-depth interviews of experts will include qualitative approach based on the theory purposed by Miles and Huberman (1994) consists of components, procedures and outcomes. Components will include gathering data then its reduction and verification procedures include the coding, categorization, comparison and interpretation and outcomes gives explanation and description of the results. Resource Requirement: The most of the literature review will be obtained from newspaper articles and television news and press conferences. The fieldwork will include extensive use of internet facilities and also telephone. The interviews will include telephonic and direct meeting depending on interviewee convenience and preference. The topic of research is actually contemporary issue thats why newspaper reading is essential on regular basis. As there is need to conduct the interviews of financial experts so the researcher need to organize visit to some large banks such as Lloyds and Barclays. The visit can be to the head offices of these banks or to the main branches where the researcher can interview any senior correspondent of the bank. There is a need to get appointment prior to the visit. Gantt chart: (Week Commencing 18 January, 2010) Activity Jan-10 Feb-10 Mar-10 Apr-10 May-10 w/k commencing 18 25 1 8 15 22 8 15 22 29 5 12 19 26 3 10 17 24 Read literature ÃÆ'- ÃÆ'- Objective ÃÆ'- ÃÆ'- Proposal ÃÆ'- ÃÆ'- Strategy Method ÃÆ'- ÃÆ'- Collection of Articles ÃÆ'- ÃÆ'- ÃÆ'- ÃÆ'- ÃÆ'- ÃÆ'- ÃÆ'- Develop Questions for interview ÃÆ'- Taking appointment ÃÆ'- Interview to Lloyds, Barclays financial Analysts ÃÆ'- Comparison ÃÆ'- Gather data ÃÆ'- Analyze data ÃÆ'- Update literature ÃÆ'- ÃÆ'- Finalize data ÃÆ'- Draft to supervisor ÃÆ'- Revise draft ÃÆ'- Print Bind ÃÆ'- Submission ÃÆ'-

Baseball History :: essays research papers

Baseball is North America's oldest and most storied professional team sport. Certainly, there have been numerous moments which are still remembered by baseball fans of all ages many years after they happened. We all remember moments like "The Catch" in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series and Bill Mazeroski's World Series winning home run in 1960. There are also the players who transcend the ages like Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Jackie Robinson. These players continue live on in the hearts and minds of the nation long after their playing days are over. The great players, teams and memorable moments of the 20th century are well remembered, but somewhat less known are those of the 19th century that helped to shape the game and provide a foundation for the great national pasttime that would develop in the current century. For the great Yankee teams of the 20's, 30's 40's and 50's, there are the St. Louis Browns of the American Association and Chicago White Stockings and Boston Red Stockings of the National League. The Ty Cobbs and Walter Johnsons of the game had their match in Cap Anson, Dan Brouthers and Amos Rusie. Colourful characters like Casey Stengel and Reggie Jackson had their equals in Arlie Latham and Mike "King" Kelly. It has been said that the more things change, the more they stay the same. This is certainly the case in baseball. The franchise shifts, player movements and salary issues of today are certainly not new, although the first half of the 20th century would give that impression. Since the National League began in 1876, at least one major league franchise either moved to a new city, moved to a new league, or has folded every year until 1893. Player movement of the early major leagues occurred quite frequently. Constant player movment and contract jumpers - players who left their old team for a better offer, often in the middle of the season - prompted Boston owner Arthur Soden to devise the reserve clause in 1879.

Greek Cypriot Leaders :: History

Greek Cypriot Leaders What is the Cyprus question? Let us hear the answer from the Greek Cypriot and Greek leaders themselves: "I have struggled for the union of Cyprus with Greece, and Enosis will always be my deep national aspiration as it is the aspiration of all Greek Cypriots. My national creed has never changed and my career as a national leader has shown no inconsistency or contradiction. I have accepted independence instead of Enosis because certain external conditions and factors have not allowed a free choice." (Makarios told Le Point on 19 February 1973) How did they intend to achieve it? "Unless this Turkish community forming part of the Turkish race which has been the terrible enemy of Hellenism is expelled, the duty of the heroes of EOKA can never be considered as terminated" (Makarios declared on 4 September 1963) - The present Greek Cypriot leader, Glafkos Clerides in his memoirs entitled "Cyprus: My Deposition" described the Cyprus question as a conflict between "the Greek Cypriot preoccupation... that Cyprus should be a Greek Cypriot stale with protected Turkish Cypriot minority" and "the Turkish preoccupation ... to defeat any such effort and maintain the partnership concept ". - "Just as the Greek Cypriot preoccupation was that Cyprus should be a Creek Cypriot state, with a protected Turkish Cypriot minority, the Turkish preoccupation was !o defeat any such effort and to maintain the partnership concept, which in their opinion the Zurich Agreement created between the two communities. The conflict, therefore, was a conflict of principle and for that principle both sides were prepared to go on arguing and even, if need be, to fight, rather . The same principle is still in conflict, even today, though a federal solution has been accepted - and though a federation is nothing more than a constitutional partnership of the component states, provinces or cantons which make up the federation." (From Mr Glafkos Clerides's memoirs "My Deposition" Vol. 3, page 105.) How the UN, the US and other Related Counties' Officials See Cyprus Question: - The UN secretary-general, in his report to the Security Council dated 8 March 1990 (S/21183), described Cyprus as "the common home of the Greek Cypriot community and of the Turkish Cypriot community. Their relationship is not one of majority and minority, but one of two communities in the State of Cyprus. " This description was also reflected in the UN Set of Ideas endorsed by the Security Council.

what i do when i write Essay -- Expository Process Essays

what i do when i write       What I do when I write depends entirely on what I'm writing, who I'm writing for, and how soon it needs to be done. I have somewhat of a different approach to writing when the piece is for an assignment versus a work of original fiction. I prepare, pre-write, and proofread differently. However, some things remain the same. I still try to get the same amount of feedback from my peers, still put forth the same effort. Whether the work is for pleasure or for a grade, I still follow relatively the same process. Oftentimes, I write outside of school. Frequently, those writings are in the form of poetry, fiction, or an online journal. My poems are expressions of emotions or personal thoughts that I usually have no other outlet for. I write both original fiction and fan fiction, a genre in which stories are written using existing characters from television, movies, or books.    My journal is a means of communication with family and friends that I don't see very often. Here, I often recount funny stories from the day, conve...

Cold War Winner Essay

From 1945-1960, the Soviet Union was more successful in achieving its goal of spreading communism than the United states was at achieving its goal of containing it. Russia directly spread communism to China, the northern half of Korea, and all of Eastern Europe. In addition, it forced heavy expenses on the U. S. through the Berlin blockade, beat the U. S. in achieving orbital flight, embarrassed president Eisenhower with the U-2 incident, and caused wide-spread panic in the U. S. government itself. The U. S. eanwhile secured democracy in countries in which it was relatively easy to do so, and was unable to properly defend Korea or China. Russia’s sponsorship of the communist rebellion in China led to the easy and complete victory over one of the largest countries in the world. This was a complete victory, with Chiang Kai-Shek, the opposition leader, completely pushed out of China and into Taiwan. The U. S. did not manage to contain communism whatsoever, and its assistance to Chiang Kai-Shek did not help his victory. The Korean war is yet another example of the U. S. being unable to contain communism, even with its own troops. Although the U. S. pushed the border all the up to China, Chinese troops were able to push them down until the armistice settled upon the 38th parallel as the division between North and South Korea. Finally, the Soviet Union gained communist leaders in nearly all of Eastern Europe, as well as gaining control of East Germany. This clearly shows that the goal of the Soviet Union – spreading communism – was achieved. The U. S. was only able to contain Communism in Western Europe. Western Europe had been the origin of Democratic government, and U. S. involvement in the election of Democratic leaders was small. Money was pumped into the countries via the Truman and Marshall plans, and that merely ensured victories which were probably going to turn Democratic even without intervention. Other than the literal spread of Communism, the Soviet Union also achieved propaganda victories by launching Sputnik and in the U-2 incident. The launch of SPutnik was a complete surprise to the U. S. , and greatly surpassed the current technical abilities of the U. S. at the time. Its beeping was a constant and easily found reminder to not just the American people, but people all over the world, that Communism could succeed in creating great nd successful projects. During the U-2 incident, the Soviet Union managed to embarrass President Eisenhower by making him look like a liar. He had signed an agreement that there were to be no more U. S. surveillance planes over Russia, but the one that he left was shot down by the Russians. The survival of the pilot caused even more embarrassment for EIsenhower by forcing him to get Gary Powers back. This painted Eisenhower to the world as a liar, and as untrustworthy. These two events were huge propaganda victories for the Soviet Union. In addition, the weakness of the U. S. overnment was exposed through the Red Scare. H. U. A. C. blew past the constitution making it practically worthless, and therefore showcased the fragile balance of power that a Democratic government must maintain in order to function properly. In conclusion, the Soviet Union’s victories in China, Korea and Eastern Europe combined with the propaganda successes that were the launch of Sputnik, the U-2 incident and the Red Scare, show that the Soviet Union clearly achieved their goals. This achievement therefore demonstrate the clear winner in this successful country in this section of the Cold War.

The Historical Value of Speeches in Thucydides

The historical value of speeches in Thucydides In writing his history as a whole, it is fair to say that Thucydides has always been praised for his relative historical accuracy, be that due to his actual presence at events, his use of eyewitness testimony or his noted checking of facts. In style Thucydides kept his narrative sections rather impersonal thereby allowing the story to unfold itself. However, to then lay bare what stood behind the narrative, the moral possibilities, the mistakes, the fears and the motives, the device he used was the speech, a mechanism he employed with supreme mastery. Perhaps the best way to begin to answer the question in hand, we should examine the definition Thucydides himself gives us in his statement of methodology for his speeches that appears in 1. 22. 1. of his History of the Peloponnesian War. ‘In this history I have made use of set speeches some of which were delivered just before and others during the war. I have found it difficult to remember the precise words used in the speeches which I listened to myself and my various informants have experienced the same difficulty; so my method has been while keeping as closely as possible to the general sense of the words that were actually used, to make the speakers say what, in my opinion, was called for by each situation’’ It is not unreasonable to construe that at face value this statement is not at all a ringing endorsement for historical accuracy. This idea is taken up by Plant who correctly states that there is a lack of correlation between the first and second parts of the statement. He continues that it has long been debated whether the historian claimed and/or attempted to present verbatim accounts of the arguments put forward by the speakers on each occasion as best he could, or whether he felt free to modify or to invent particular arguments or even whole speeches. And the controversy has been fuelled by what has been widely regarded as the ambiguity of the second of the two parts of Thucydides' famous statement of aims and methods in 1. 2. 1. The accepted ambiguity of 1. 22. 1, moreover, has provided such scholars with what they consider to be primary evidence with which they might successfully call into question the â€Å"objectivity† of Thucydides as a â€Å"scientific historian,† and with which they might thereby persuasively promote the view of him as either an impassioned (outraged) moralist or a tend entious manipulator of his reader's sympathies. * It is clear therefore, that in the speeches what we encounter is in some sense Thucydides’ own voice. In terms of ultimate historical value, however, the thorny question has always been is it Thucydides’ view of what the speakers really meant, or his judgment of what they should have meant? To return to his initial statement for a moment, it is interesting to note that Thucydides seems to be making a virtue of the fact that he is not reporting verbatim. We must remember that in the times in which Thucydides was writing rhetoric was an everyday part of the society in which he lived and long speeches in literary works were commonplace. The contemporary readers of Thucydides were men habituated to a civic life in which public speech played an all important part. To a Greek of that age a written history of political events would have seemed strangely insipid if speech ‘in the first person’ had been absent from it especially if it did not offer some mirror of those debates which were inseparably associated with the central interests and the decisive moments of political life. On a further point of contemporary style and verbal accuracy, Cole argues that the complexity, compression, and frankness of the arguments in the speeches in Thucydides mean that they cannot have been made in the form he gives us on the occasions when he claims they were made. * Whether or not we accept Cole's thesis, or a modification thereof, we must still accept the strong influence of contemporary rhetoric on Thucydides. In any event, Thucydides’ Thomas F. Garrity’s article on ‘Thucydides 1. 22. 1: Content and Form in the Speeches, (autumn 1998), The American Journal of Philology *T. Cole, The Origins of Rhetoric in Ancient Greece (Baltimore, 1991) speeches are vital highpoints in his work and not only for the structure and form of the arguments they explore. They appear at great moments of decision and turning points and their dramatic impact is useful to Thucydides as an instrument of style. We therefore may have to accept that they are more great rhetorical set pieces rather than paragons of historical accuracy However, although the exact accuracy of the words spoken in the speeches produced by Thucydides in these works cannot be verified thereby inevitably devaluing their historical value, it can be said that the style and method of the speeches and debates that Thucydides includes in his work do provide us with an almost unwitting testimony of other facts which do have great significance and value for the historian. For example the Mytilenian debate between Cleon and Diodotus shows us how decisions were made, the grounds on which they were made, and the psychology used by the persuaders. In addition, it provides us with an insight into the considerations about the behavior of an imperial power at war, its relationship with the democrats among the allies and its attention to long-term finance. So by dramatizing a conflict between two orators, Thucydides records for us the interplay of various contemporary problems concerning the exercise of power and the conduct of war. The conclusion is that the speeches are not what we should call historical reporting in the same sense as the narrative. However there is no doubt that the impact of their presence in the work is very powerful. The reader is quite carried away in the midst of these marvelous orations to a point where, not only does he feel that he has seen the Peloponnesian War from the inside, but he is certain that he knows exactly what the issues were and why things happened as they did. The overall conclusion, therefore, must be that we cannot quantify the exact historical value of the speeches in Thucydides’ work as we can never be sure of their complete verbal accuracy. However, there is no denying that the speeches may be taken as a paradigm for a better understanding of his historiographical project in general and that there is a lasting satisfaction to be obtained from reading Thucydides’ speeches for their own sake as a direct and vivid aesthetic experience. Bibliography Connor W. Robert, Thucydides (1984) pages 146-158, http://www. umanitiesebook. org Garrity Thomas F. , Thucydides 1. 22. 1:Content and Form in the Speeches’ The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 119, No. 3 (Autumn 1998), pp. 361-384. JSTOR: http://www. jstor. org/stable/156676 Plant Ian M. ‘The Influence of Forensic Otatory on Thucydides’ Principles of Method’ Theh Classic Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 49, No. 1 (1999), pp. 62-73. JSTOR: http://jstor. o rg/stable/639489 Thucydides, History of The Peloponnesian War (1954), Trans. Rex Warner, Penguin Classics (London)

Media Formulation

Medium formulation is an essential stage in the design of fermentation process. Most fermentation media require liquid media, although some solid-substrate fermentations are also operated. Fermentation media must satisfy all the nutritional requirements of the microorganisms and fulfill the technical objectives of the process. There are several stages where media are required in a fermentation process; inoculum (starter culture), propagation steps, pilot-scale fermentations and the main production fermentations.According to Cruger W and Cruger A (1990); on a large scale, the sources of nutrients should be selected to create a medium which should meet as many as many possible of the following criteria: i. It should produce the maximum yield of product or biomass per gm of substrate used. ii. It should produce maximum concentration of product or biomass. iii. It should permit the maximum rate of product formation. iv. There should be the minimum yield of undesired products. v. It shoul d be of a consistent quality and be readily available throughout the year. vi.It should cause minimal problems during media preparation and sterilization. vii. It should cause minimal problems in other aspects of the production process particularly aeration and agitation, extraction, purification and waste treatment. The initial step in media for media formulation is the examination of the overall process on the stoichiometery for growth and product formation. The optimization of a medium should be carried out such that it meets as many as possible of the seven criteria. Different combinations and sequences of process conditions have to be investigated to determine growth conditions (Stanbury P.F and Whitaker A; 1995). Medium optimization can be carried by the classical method, in which one independent variable is changed while keeping all others at a certain level. An aerobic fermentation process may be represented as: Carbon and energy source + Nitrogen source + O2 + other require ments Biomass + products + CO2 + H2O + heat This primarily involves consideration of the input of the carbon and nitrogen sources, minerals and oxygen and their conversion to cell biomass, metabolic products.Based on this information, it should be possible to calculate the minimum quantities of each element required to produce a certain quantity of biomass and metabolite According to Prasanthi V et al (2008); Chlorella vulgaris is a green, spherical, single celled fresh water microalga belongs to the phylum Chlorophyta. As per the study conducted so far it is found that green algae are the highest source of chlorophyll in the plant world and particularly, Chlorella one of the members of green algae is the richest source of chlorophyll which is widely used as a health food and feed supplement.The aim of this work is to design different medium types to evaluate optimization combinations for maximum growth, morphology and pigment content of C. vulgaris. Effect of glucose Three differen t volumes of glucose from apple juice while other variables are kept constant. The volumes that were used are 5g/l, 15g/l and 30g/l. The highest chlorophyll production (12%) was obtained with a glucose concentration of 15g/l. Glucose is used as a carbon source which is required for all biosynthesis leading to reproduction, product formation and cell maintenance. It also serves as the energy source.Carbon requirements may be determined from the biomass yield coefficient (Y), an index of the efficiency of conversion of a substrate into the cellular material: Ycarbon (g/g) = biomass produced (g) __________________ Glucose substrate utilized (g) An increase in glucose concentration of 30g/l resulted in the production of chlorophyll being at a constant this is because all the active sites of the microorganism are occupied and active carrying out biochemical reactions. At low glucose concentration of 5g/l very little biomass (chlorophyll) is obtained and also there is low growth rate.Thus , glucose concentration significantly influences chlorophyll production and microbial growth of the microorganism. Constraints that can be generated include the fact that apple juice not only contains one type of sugar, glucose but also contains other sugars (fructose and sucrose) which the microorganism can either utilise for growth resulting in us not obtaining accurate optimization results and also the other sugars can inhibit the growth of the microorganism. Apple juice also contains soluble pectin these can be difficult to digest hence a reduction in biomass.Effect of nitrogen from defatted soya Nitrogen being important constituent of the cell protein was needed for algal growth, either in combined or in molecular form. It is also a component of proteins nucleic acids some co-enzymes. Industrially important microorganisms can utilize both inorganic and organic nitrogen sources. Inorganic nitrogen may be supplied as ammonium salts, often ammonium sulphate and diammonium hydrogen phosphate, or ammonia; these can be used in place of defatted soya. Ammonia can also be used to adjust the pH of the fermentation.As nitrogen deficiency develops the amount of chlorophyll in the cells decreases faster than the nitrogen content in C. vulgaris. Nitrogen is a limiting factor if continually increased it can inhibit the production of chlorophyll. Varying concentrations of nitrogen were used i. e 0. 3g/l, 0,6g/l and 2. 0g/l. At 0. 3g/l little chlorophyll is obtained this is due to the fact that nitrogen being a macronutrient it is required in high concentration. At 0. 6g/l high yields of chlorophyll are obtained and at 2. 0g/l nitrogen turns to be a limiting factor and can lead to culture toxicity.Constraints can be generated when using Ammonia as a substitute for defatted soya this is due to the fact that ammonia leads to high pH which results in a precipitate formation in the medium but lower pH of the medium prevent the precipitation. Foaming in a microbiological proc ess is due to media proteins that become attached to the air-broth interface where they denature to form stable foam. Non-treatment of foam may block air filters, resulting in loss of aseptic conditions. The foam production can be controlled by addition of chemical antifoam. Natural antifoams include plant oils (e. g.Soya, sunflower and rapeseed), hence defatted soya is used as a nitrogen source rather than ammonia. Also high concentrations of ammonium ions can be toxic to cells of the microbe. Effect of Mg2+ MgSO4 can be used as the source of magnesium. It promotes the maximum growth of the present alga and it is also incorporated as an enzyme co-factor component of chlorophyll. Three salt concentrations were used 0. 1g/l; 0. 5g/l and 1g/l. At low salt concentration of 0. 1g/l it results in a magnesium deficiency which interrupted cell division in Chlorella which results in abnormally large cell formation. Increase in salt concentration of 0. g/l and 1g/l of magnesium alone in the medium resulted in higher cell number, although increase in nitrogen alone did not make much difference that means cells need magnesium to synthesize chlorophyll. The process of multiplication requires a larger concentration of magnesium in the medium than does the production of cell material. Iron uptake is strictly required to optimize the process. References 1). Crueger W and Crueger A. 1990. A Textbook of Industrial Microbiology. Oxford. Panima Publishing Corporation. 2). Stansbury P. F and Whitaker A . 1995. Principles of fermentation technology. New York. Pergamon Press. 3).Prasanthi V, Yugandhar M. N, Vuddaraju S. P, Nalla K. K, Raju C. A. I and Donthireddy S. R. R. Optimization of the fermentation media using statistical approach and artificial neural networks for the production of chlorophyll by Chlorella vulgaris. International Journal of Natural and Engineering Sciences. 2008. 2 (3): 51-56 CHINHOYI UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY NAME: Ngara Tanyaradzwa R REG NUMBER: C1110934J C OURSE: Process Optimization and Production COURSE CODE: CUBT 208 PROGRAM: BSBIO Level 2:2 Assignment: 1 Lecturer Dr Zvidzai