Practical Demonkeeping Chapter 36-37

36 JENNY, ROBERT, RIVERA, AMANDA, TRAVIS, HOWARD, AND THE SPIDER Rivera drove Robert and Jennifer to their house. They sat in the back, holding each other the whole way, not saying a word until they thanked him when he dropped them off. On the drive back to the station Rivera tried to formulate a story that would save his career. Any version of the true story seemed like a sure ticket to a psychological disability retirement. In the end he decided to tell the story as far as the point where The Breeze disappeared. A month later Rivera was pumping Slush-Puppies at the Seven-Eleven, working undercover for the robbery division. However, with the arrest of a team of robbers that had terrorized convenience stores in the county for six months, he was promoted to lieutenant. Amanda and Travis rode with Howard. At Amanda's request, Gian Hen Gian saw that Effrom's body was turned to stone and placed inside the cave. When Howard stopped in front of Amanda's house, she invited Travis to come inside. He refused at first, wanting to leave her alone with her grief. â€Å"Have you completely missed the significance of all this, Travis?† she asked. â€Å"I guess so,† he said. â€Å"Did it occur to you that the presence of Catch and Gian Hen Gian proves that Effrom is not gone completely? I will miss him, but he goes on. And I don't want to be alone right now. I helped you when you needed it,† she said, and she waited. Travis went in. Howard went home to work on a new menu for his restaurant. Chief Technical Sergeant Nailsworth never found out what happened to Roxanne or who she really was, and he was heartbroken. Because of his grief he was unable to eat, lost a hundred and fifty pounds, met a girl at a computer user's meeting, and married her. He never had computer sex again outside the privacy of his home. 37 GOOD GUYS Augustus Brine declined offers for a ride home. He wanted to walk. He needed to think. Gian Hen Gian walked at his side. â€Å"I can repair your truck, make it fly if you wish,† the Djinn said. â€Å"I don't want it,† Brine said. â€Å"I'm not even sure I want to go home.† â€Å"You may do as you wish, Augustus Brine.† â€Å"I don't want to go back to the store either. I think I'll give the business to Robert and Jenny.† â€Å"Is it wise to put the drunkard in the wine barrel?† â€Å"He won't drink anymore. I want them to have the house, too. I'll start the paperwork in the morning.† â€Å"It is done.† â€Å"Just like that?† â€Å"You doubt the word of the King of the Djinn?† They walked in silence for a while before Brine spoke again. â€Å"It seems wrong that Travis has lived so long without having a life, without love.† â€Å"Like yourself, you mean?† â€Å"No, not like myself. I've had a good life.† â€Å"Would you have me make him young again?† Brine thought for a moment before he answered. â€Å"Could you make him age in reverse? For each year that passes he is a year younger?† â€Å"It can be done.† â€Å"And her, too?† â€Å"Her?† â€Å"Amanda. Could you make them grow young together?† â€Å"It can be done, if you command it.† â€Å"I do.† â€Å"It is done. Will you tell them?† â€Å"No, not right away. It will be a nice surprise.† â€Å"And what of yourself, Augustus Brine? What is it you wish?† â€Å"I don't know. I always thought I'd make a good madam.† Before the Djinn could say anything else, Rachel's van sputtered up beside them and stopped. She rolled down the window and said, â€Å"Do you need a ride, Gus?† â€Å"He is trying to think,† the Djinn snapped. â€Å"Don't be rude,† Brine said to the Djinn. â€Å"Which way are you going?† â€Å"I don't know for sure. I don't feel like going home – maybe ever.† Brine walked around the front of the van and slid open the cargo door. â€Å"Get in, Gian Hen Gian.† The Djinn got into the van. Brine slammed the cargo door and climbed into the passenger seat next to Rachel. â€Å"Well?† she said. â€Å"East,† Brine said. â€Å"Nevada.† It was called King's Lake. When it appeared in the desert, it simultaneously appeared on every map of Nevada that had ever been printed. People who had passed through that part of the state swore that they had never seen it before, yet there it was on the map. Above the tree-lined banks of King's Lake stood a palace with a hundred rooms. Atop the palace a massive electric sign read, BRINE'S BAIT, TACKLE, AND FINE WOMEN. Anyone who visited the palace was greeted by a beautiful, dark-haired woman, who took their money and led them to a room. On their way out a tiny brown man in a rumpled suit returned their money and wished them well. Upon returning home the visitors told of a white-haired man who sat all day in the lotus position at the end of a pier in front of the palace, fishing and smoking a pipe. They said that when evening approached, the dark-haired woman would join the man and together they would watch the sun go down. The visitors were never quite clear as to what had happened to them while they were at the palace. It didn't seem to matter. But after a visit they found that they appreciated the simple pleasures that life presented to them and they were happy. And although they recommended Brine's to their friends, they never returned themselves. What went on in the rooms is another story altogether.

My Journey Through Life Essay

When I started college back in 1994 I thought that this will be the last time that I would start my education at a new school, but life did not happen the way that I thought that it would. In this paper I will describe my past life experiences, and analyze my experiences that have made me the person that I am today using the adult development theories from this class. During this paper I will also state how I will look forward to accomplishing my future goals. I grew up in a small town in Massachusetts. As I child I grew up around my family owned garage. During this period of my life I saw my families get divided by the power of money. My father and uncle inherited the business when my grandfather passed away. Before when my  grandfather was alive everything was great in life, but ever since he passed everything changed. I saw how my uncle who was the eldest take control of the money, and how he treated my father differently than before. During this time of my life it me that money can change any person no matter who they are even if they are related. As a child growing up I played sports all year long. I played football, basketball, and baseball. Since I was the youngest one in my family I followed my older brother around and his friends. My brother is three years older than myself. I would always play sports with his friends, and it made me a better athlete competing against older kids. All I wanted to do since I was a child was to go out and play sports. Growing up my family took many vacations. My fondest times were when we would go camping all around the United States. During these times I got to see all different parts of the country and it helped us bond as a family. Each time we went on vacation my mother and father would never fight. These vacations were my fondest ones just for that reason that we seemed like the perfect family. Then once we got home my parents seemed to be the exact opposite then when we were on vacation. My dad had problems with his brother at the garage and took out his frustration on my mother. This was like night and day from the family that we were on vacation. Growing up my mother was my most influential person in my life. I remember her playing catch with me when my dad was not around. My mother would always attend my sporting events even though she did not understand any of the games that I played. My mother always told me to never let any person tell you that you cannot do anything in life that it is up to yourself what you choose to accomplish. Growing up I played sports all year long. During the course of the year I had my same coaches for many years and they became like father figures to me. They taught me that playing sports was a privilege that had to be earned. They taught that it did not matter how good you were at sports that if you did not have good grades that you were not allowed to play. Playing sports also instilled in me that you have to trust and respect others, because you cannot do everything yourself. As a student in high school I had many different teachers. I had one teacher Mr. Rice who would be very hard on me when I would make a mistake on my assignments. He would always call me out on my mistakes in front of everyone in class to let me know when I was wrong. Once I completed his  class he pulled me aside and told me that I was one of his best students since I learned from my mistakes and never quit. Growing up my parents made me get a job once I turned sixteen. Even though I played sports all year around my parents told me that not everything in life is giving to you. One of my first jobs was a stock boy at our local grocery store. During this time I had to schedule my work, sports, and school work around my work so I would not fall behind. This was a very important lesson in my life that taught me time management along with responsibilities that come along with growing up as a young adult. Once I left college after two years to become an adult I found a job at my brothers company being a micro-electronics technician. This job helped me move out of my parents’ house and become an adult. I learned some of my most valuable lessons in life. This job taught me that I was responsible for every daily activity. I had to provide my own food all the way down to paying each bill to keep a roof over my head. This was a very important lesson in my life that helped prepare myself for next job. After five years of being a micro-electronics technician I moved to Florida and found a job in the quality assurance field. This was one of my most important jobs that would affect my life. As I have grown into an adult and have integrated what I have learned. The â€Å"universal ethical principles state that ideas about right and wrong come from within after a long period of thinking, reasoning, and integrating what we have learned about life† (Witt & Mossler, 2010, CH 3, â€Å"Moral Development†). This job made me realize what I wanted to do in life, and helped me think about what is right and wron g. Before this job the only thing that I cared about was the money. This job gave me satisfaction of what I do on a daily basis. This job did bring me to Florida. I lived in Massachusetts for 26 years until I took my job in the quality field. It was a total culture shook when I moved here. Before this move I was accustomed to my environment in Massachusetts. I realized that things up north move at a faster pace than things in the south. This move was a big culture change for me. This moved helped me grow in many ways than I could have never imagined. I had to learn on how to adapt to different cultures and beliefs that I was not used to. One of the greatest achievements that I have made was moving to Florida and meeting my wife. At the time when I meet her I was unemployed and was running out of money. She brought back hope in my  life and me realize that I have a lot more to offer than just walking around with my head down. Since her belief in me when we got married, I have bought a brand new house, a new truck, and I have more money in my bank account than I have ever before. Meting my wife was one of the best achievements in my life. A few months after getting married to my wife we welcomed our daughter into this world. With her arrival she has taught me many life lessons that I did not have before. She taught me the importance of putting others first. Before her I never thought really about how I could improve upon my life. Since her birth I started to think about finishing my education so I can provide her and my wife with a better life. Going back to school is a very big achievement for me. I would have never thought about going back to school at age thirty eight. But since my daughter was born many of my past thoughts have changed. I realized that I need to set a good example for my daughter. I do not want her growing up thinking why daddy did not finish his degree. By continuing my education this will â€Å"result in employment and wage gains and has a positive influence on continuing education.† (National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, B. A. (2002). As a result of continuing my education my employment opportunities will open up as well as my daughter’s thoughts that you can continue education no matter how old you are. In Conclusion, I have discussed some of my life experiences that have made me the person that I am today. I have broken down some of my key experiences using adult development theories from this class. Finally I have presented my future goals and how I plan on achieving them. The experience and knowledge that I have learned throughout this course will help me as I continue in my journey throughout life. Reference National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, B. A. (2002). The First Five Years: National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy, 1996-2001. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Witt, G. A., & Mossler, R. A. (2010). Adult development and life assessment. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Truth is objective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Truth is objective - Essay Example Let us see what is the established meaning of "Truth" and "Objective" -the objective truth of these two terms, essentially soul mates. Britannica says about truth "In philosophy, the property of statements, thoughts, or propositions that are said, in ordinary discourse, to agree with the facts or to state what is the case. It is a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true. It is the body of true statements and propositions" Webster's dictionary defines the term objective like this: of, relating to, or being an object, phenomenon, or condition in the realm of sensible experience independent of individual thought and perceptible by all observers: having reality independent of the mind; expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, or interpretations. The opposite of objective is subjective. Objective history does not change. It cannot change. Subjective history is unique to the individual and cannot always be correct. Truth and objectivity go together like a being and its shadow, it will be there when there is the light of enlightenment and it will disappear when there is darkness of ignorance. Truth and subjectivity together will destroy each other, they are intensely opposite to each other. . In the Allegory of the Ca

Tutorial Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tutorial Paper - Essay Example In addition to the direct economic costs associated with terrorism and the threat of further terrorism, 9/11 also had important international ramifications. Seeking to strengthen its ties with allies in the Middle East region following the attacks the United States sought to immediately solidify its relationships with its major allies in the region. (Orr, Bram & Rappaport, 2002) Accordingly, support for dictatorships in the Middle East emphatically demonstrates that cold, hard geopolitical factors influence American state behavior and supersede any concern the United States may have for other factors such as Middle Eastern democracy or the promotion of human rights. Human rights abuses are routinely ignored in Egypt, where President Hosni Mubarak has resisted calls for democratic reform and remains President of the Egyptian Republic since the assassination of his predecessor Anwar Sadat in 1981. Saudi Arabia is a notorious oppressor of human rights and commits rights violations against women and religious and sexual minorities on a near daily basis. Since Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s largest producers of crude oil, the United States has turned a blind eye to human rights violations and has helped propped up the theocratic Saudi monarchy since the days of Ibn Saud. Both countries, either overtly or tacitly, supported the US invasion of Iraq (Mor ag, 2006). The US invasion of Iraq of 2003, codenamed â€Å"Operation Iraqi Freedom† curiously was not undertaken following Saddam Hussein’s genocide of the Kurdish minority in Halabja in 1988, nor after the violent suppression of a Shi’a insurgency following the First Gulf War. Instead US interests lie in securing the availability and continued flow of oil from one of the world’s most important producers of this important natural resource. Although cloaked in rhetoric concerning the freedom of the Iraqi people, the

Supply Chain Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Supply Chain Assignment - Essay Example These include a lean supply chain, an agile supply chain and lastly a hybrid supply chain. This study will seek to discuss the growing supply chain relationship in today’s supply chain management while analysing the various established relationship management models and exploring both the strategic and operational considerations that are extremely essential for enabling a relationship posture that is appropriate within the supplier (Christopher 2004). Additionally, the study explores the various emerging concepts of lean supply management while discussing the importance of both the efficiency and effectiveness brought about by a lean approach and consequently proposing a general approach an organization can initiate, develop and sustain. The growing importance of the supply chain relationship in today’s supply chain management Numerous studies have observed a highly interesting trend amongst the leading companies in the world. The companies are discovering a somehow ver y powerful new source of competitive advantage in the market (Christopher 2004). This is what is increasingly gaining popularity as the supply-chain management. Supply chain comprises of all the integrated activities responsible and that can be traced to the final product in the market and which determines customer satisfaction. Supply chain management by the nature of its existence heavily depends on relationships and connections. In the context of supply chain management, the term relationship implies a lot. This may include strategic relationship, internal relationship, and transactional relationship amongst many more others. What has made supply chain necessary is the benefit that is derived from supplier relationships, most notably the increasing value and supply chain cost minimization. Additionally, the need by most companies to gain competitive advantage has made maintaining supply chain relationship very serious (Robert, Ernest 2002). The programs related to supply chain ma nagement integrates topics from all the departments of the organization which include the manufacturing operations of the company, purchasing of the company’s products, and transportation of the sales, in addition to, physical distribution into a unified program (Robert, Ernest 1989). For supply chain management to be considered successful, it must coordinate and ensure there is integration of all the above stated activities into a process that is seamless (Robert, Ernest 2002). The supply management team should further, in addition to, embracing link all the partners in the chain. Consequently, in addition to, the various departments within the organization, the other partners include vendors, carriers, information system providers and third party companies. The most fundamental objective of the supply chain management has always been to add value. Supply Chain Management has been transformed into a tool that is essential for accomplishing corporate strategic objectives (Fin ancial Executive 2002). Amongst these would include reducing working capital, accelerating cash-cash cycles, taking assets off the balance sheet and increasing inventory turns amongst and most importantly monitoring average annual sales (Carlisle & Parker 1989). Supply chain management has in the recent past become top managements new main focus area. In light

James Joyce Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

James Joyce - Research Paper Example This paper will discuss this author by giving a brief autobiography of him, as well as a brief description of his works. Ulysses Unbound: A Reader's Companion to James Joyce's Ulysses (pp. 3-4) Autobiography Joyce was born on 2nd February, 1882, in Dublin, Ireland, into a middle class household, where he succeeded as a scholar at the Jesuit schools Belvedere and Clongowes, then at the University College of Dublin. During his early 20’s, Joyce moved permanently to Europe, living in Zurich, Trieste and Paris (Fennell 8). Though he spent a majority of his adult life abroad, Joyce's fictional world does not go far away from Dublin, and is occupied mainly by individuals who strongly look like his family members, friends and enemies from his time in the city (Fennell 8). Ulysses, particularly, is set with accuracy in the alleyways and streets of the city. Soon after the mass publication of Ulysses, Joyce explained this concern rather stating that for himself, he always writes about Dublin, since, if he can get to the spirit of Dublin, then he can get to the spirit of all other cities of the world (Fennell 8). This means that, according to Joyce, Dublin contained the universe. A Little Circle of Kindred Minds: Joyce in Paris (p. 8) Joyce’s family was rather big. He was the firstborn son in a family of 10 (Doherty 5). His father, while Joyce used to sing as a child, said that Joyce had one of the finest tenor vocals in Ireland. However, he drunk a lot, and therefore, all his funds were channeled to alcohol, which meant that Joyce did not have any funds to support his signing talent (Doherty 5). From his childhood days, Joyce showed not just exceeding skills, but also an endowment for writing, as well as a passion for literature. He trained himself how to read, write and talk in Norwegian so that he could interpret Henrik Ibsen’s plays in Norwegian. He also used a majority of his time going through Dante’s Aquinas’ and Aristotleâ€℠¢s writings (Doherty 6). Owing to his knowledge, his family persuaded him to study, and from his attendance of university is where he earned a degree in modern languages, Bachelor of Arts. Joyce's affiliation with his home country was a multifaceted one and soon after completing his university education, he left Dublin for a fresh life in France where he wished to study medicine (Doherty 7). However, he returned to Dublin soon after being informed that his mother had become seriously sick. She ended up dying in 1903. Joyce lived in Ireland for a short period, where he met Nora Barnacle, a lodge chambermaid who was from Galway and soon became his spouse. Joyce later died on 13th January, 1941 (Doherty7). Pathologies of Desire: The Vicissitudes of the Self in James Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (pp. 5-7) Works Some of the leading works of this author include Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Exiles and Poetry, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. Dubliners D ubliners, first published in 1914, refer to a set of 15 short narratives by James Joyce (Bulson 53). They shape a naturalistic description of Irish middle class living in, as well as around Dublin, in the in the late and premature years of the 19th and 20th century, respectively. The stories were developed when Irish patriotism was at its climax and a look for a national recognition

Football in America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Football in America - Essay Example This means that soccer is in fifth place in popularity according to the American sports fans preferences. There could be a nationalistic reason behind this negative perception of soccer in the United States. 3.- Americans don't like games that can end up in draws and this is a cultural factor. The big 3 major team sports (basketball, baseball and American football) suffered different rules changes in the twentieth century to make them more popular. 4.- Sports fans from the United States would like to see a change of rules in soccer, but this could be controversial for the rest of the world. It wouldn't be soccer if only the Americans make a change of the rules; it would be a different game for the rest of the world. 1.- The most obvious marketing factor is the barriers to entry into the market. The four top team sports cover most of the space, and the space is limited. There cannot be too many sports in the consumer's minds. Too many options are not good from the marketing point of view. 2.- But the barriers to entry can also be explained as another kind of limit. It has to do with the motivation about watching soccer. It is about enjoying the game itself. It is about satisfying the needs of watching an easy game with easy rules. But basketball fills these needs already for the American sports fans as basketball and soccer are similar in several relevant ways as Mandelbaum pointed out in his article. 3.- Another reason related to this similarity is that basketball is a strong substitute. It has deep roots in the American sports fans. Its roots are very difficult to change through marketing efforts. It would cost a lot of money to advertise soccer in new ways to make it more appealing to the American audience. 4.- A change of the rules is needed in order to make soccer popular in the United States but this solution is very controversial even from the marketing point of view. We think that both reasons get combined together to make soccer a loser in the American market. Both cultural (or nationalistic) and marketing reasons play their role in making Americans indifferent towards the most popular game in the world. Mandelbaum states the following about the similarities between basketball and soccer: "Spectators see the same thing in the two games: episodes of spontaneous coordination, with players devising and implementing schemes for scoring. They see, that is, acts of creation. If architecture is, as is sometimes said, music set in concrete, then football and basketball may be said to be creativity embodied in team sports. () Football and basketball are therefore the team sports that most vividly evoke a common human fantasy: to leave the ground and fly through the air. () Their marked similarities, however, also mean that the two sports duplicate each other. They provide the same satisfactions. For spectators they are, in a sense, alternatives. North Americans don't need football because they already get what it has to offer from basketball."

BUS599 - Integrative Project, Mod 4 SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

BUS599 - Integrative Project, Mod 4 SLP - Essay Example The formulation of the strategies that are implemented by Clipboard on the basis of CVP (Cost, Volume, Profit) analysis will also be discussed. In order to determine the revised strategy to be used in regards to the pricing of these three tablets, R & D allocations, and any product discontinuations for the different ranges of tablets in the company, a CVP analysis must be done. A CVP analysis is regarded as a tool that is chiefly used for planning purposes, in addition to making valuable decisions, and furthermore is considered to be a powerful instrument in devising future plans for the company as well as increasing the sale of the products of the company itself. One major advantage of this tool is that it enables the company to make the appropriate decisions as well as planning for developing the three products in the business market at the beginning of the initial year, in this case 2012 (The McGraw-Hill Companies, 2011). The strategy of CVP analysis is generally used for calculat ing the break-even point, as well as determining the prices for attaining substantial profits by increasing the sale of the products themselves (Cambridge Business Publishers, 2005). As such, with the assistance of CVP analysis, the company is required to formulate certain strategies and generate plans that will allow for the profitability and productivity to exceed in comparison to their competitors. Product X5 The X5 has been on the market for five years at the time of this projection and analysis; it is said to have reached its stage of maturity. It is for these reasons that once the product hit 77% market saturation, it was determined to discontinue the product itself, as the only sales that would be generated would be for those who were buying replacement products; each year leading up to discontinuation showed a lowering in price in order to increase sales of the product itself. The results of this and the price points used are shown in a graph below. Year 2012 2013 2014 2015 Price 285 280 260 Discontinued Year 2012 2013 2014 2015 Installed Base 1,917,729 3,395,970 5,430,339 7,035,000 Remaining Customers 5,117,271 3,639,030 1,604,661 0 Market Saturation 27% 48% 77% 100% First Time Customers 1,478,241 2,034,369 1,604,661 0 Repeat sales 169,352 297,701 473,236 0 Total Sales 1,647,592 2,332,070 2,077,898 0 Product X6 The X6 has been on the market for a period of five years, and the decision to discontinue it for 2016 was made due to market saturation. In each year leading up to this, the price point was decreased in order to increase sales. At the end of the simulation, it was seen that customers pay about the same price for these products as they are for similar competing products, showing that prices and projections are well within adequate ranges. Year 2012 2013 2014 2015 Price 430 425 405 395 (X6) Year 2012 2013 2014 2015 Installed Base 1,066,018 2,238,333 4,209,188 6,550,000 Remaining Customers 5,483,982 4,311,667 2,340,812 0 Market Saturati

Should abortion be allowed or not Research Paper

Should abortion be allowed or not - Research Paper Example Abortions are medical processes that actually improve the lives of the women who request for them; due to the brutal nature of this process, it is easy to understand that women who are not in desperate straits will not seek to procure an abortion. The reality is that, for a long time, women were seen as possessions of the men they were related to. The men had the right to do with their women as they wished; and this included denying them medical procedures for flippant reasons (Joachim 21). This standard still remains in many Middle Eastern nations. Refusing to legalize abortion basically amounts to preserving the outdated cultural practice of controlling the bodies of women on a massive scale. It is a fact that the majority of women who seek abortions are those with no financial security. Their partners, if involved in their lives in more ways than one, refuse to use birth control methods such as condoms but still demand sexual intimacy. The women may even be subjected to physical violence if they refuse to cooperate with their partners. For women in such circumstances, having an abortion is the only way they can prevent them from further sinking into poverty due to an extra mouth to feed. There are numerous cases that have been documented in media channels where expectant mothers died because hospitals either refused completely refused to terminate their pregnancies to save their lives or their spouses refused to give permission for the lives of their girlfriends and wives to be saved at the expense of the pregnancy (Flavin 18). The reality is that legalizing abortion is something that will consign such occurrences to the past; as the expectant mother is given the sole right to determine whether or not she wishes to keep the baby growing within her. Abortion, in many cases, actually saves the lives of the women who have it done in more ways than one. It saves them from having to contend with extreme financial

Delivering Learning Environment for Visual and Physical Impair Child Essay

Delivering Learning Environment for Visual and Physical Impair Child through Touch - Essay Example My main aim was to enable him to develop his tactile skills to stimulate his interest and ability to experience the world around him and motivate him to move outward in the first place. Through the assignment, I developed my own knowledge and understanding about the movement displayed by the pupil in respect of his visual and physical impairment. I also gained a greater insight into the relationship between his cognitive and physical abilities. I was able to highlight the reason why the pupil lacked the motivation to learn. Overall, I feel more able to incorporate the immediate environment and activities to overcome difficulties in accessing stimuli more effectively for the visual and physically impaired pupils. Pupil Z observation in class The sensory story began with an adult verbally indicating ‘it is time to go to the Chocolate factory’ and playing ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ introductory song on the plasma screen. Pupil Z was in his normal activ ity time positions, in his wheelchair with a table in front of him to access objects and equipment. Pupil Z worked one-to-one with an adult sitting on the side of his wheelchair. It was evident that Pupil Z was making head movements toward the source of sound and making arm movements at the sides of his chair. Next an adult leading the activity asked ‘who wants a golden ticket to go to factory?’ and the shiny golden tickets were passed around to each pupil to take one. It was evident that the smooth texture of the golden ticket was not very motivating for Pupil Z to explore co-actively with the adult support when the song ‘Golden ticket’ was played on the plasma screen. Instead Pupil Z was thoroughly enjoying listening to the song by smiling, laughing and making lots of intentional head movements rather than co-actively exploring the ticket. When the music stopped the adult leading the activity indicated ‘the train has arrived, all aboard’ and pupils were encouraged to give their tickets to an adult. The adult working with Pupil Z lifted his left arm and placed the golden ticket in his hand without any verbal indication. This lasted a few seconds before the adult released his left arm and took away the golden ticket. Pupil Z naturally seemed to have a very steamy look on his face. The sound track of the train raiding playing in the background seemed to have a very calming effect on him after experiencing this unexpected movement. When the pupils arrived at the chocolate room the adult leading the activity indicated ‘we are in the chocolate room’ and further added ‘what can you smell? what can you smell?’ All adults repeated ‘chocolate, chocolate, mmm mmm mmm!’ The two types of coco butter were passed around to be smelt. When Pupil Z was presented with the choice of two butters to smell he made a sound and after a brief period of time began lifting his arms. He used the tactile search to localise one of creams put on his table. Unfortunately, this cue was missed by an adult who passed this cream to another pupil to explore. When all the pupils had experienced the smell of the two coco butters it was time to explore ‘Chocolate River’. The plastic bowl with milkshake was passed around. Pupil Z was encouraged to co-actively hold the wooden spoon and stir the milkshake. It was evident that Pupil Z was not very motivated to hold the plastic bowl and make co-active stirring actions with the wooden spoon. Instead he was trying to dip his fingers in

Gothic Cathedrals Essay Example for Free

Gothic Cathedrals Essay Gothic architecture flourished during the Medieval times or Middle Ages. It evolves from the Romanesque style of architecture. The best example of Gothic architecture are the Gothic Cathedrals, specifically the La Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral in France and the Salisbury Cathedral in England. This paper will discuss the main and identifiable features of Gothic Cathedrals and explore the changes and evolution in floor plans and sculptural program of the exterior of the church from a stylistic and conceptual point of view. It will also explain how Christian religion’s needs and preoccupations changed overtime by using the buildings of La Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral. II. Identifiable features: pointed arch, flying buttresses and ribbed vaulting The three most noticeable characteristic of Gothic Cathedrals are its height (tall), spaciousness and good ventilation (light). This is made possible by the development of new style technology, the pointed arch, flying buttresses and the ribbed vaulting. Prior to the use of pointed arch, the roofs of churches in the olden times were supported with a rounded arch. However, architects discovered that with a pointed arch, they can build taller buildings. With a higher building came a new type of buttress that takes care of the weight of the roof by supporting the walls from the outside by leaning arches called â€Å"flying buttresses† which are usually placed one above the other. As a result walls could be made taller and less massive, enabling a wide expanse of wall space for stained-glass windows. Meanwhile, the idea of ribbed vaulting also becomes popular. Instead of the groin vault of the Romanesque period, the Gothic architects discovered that ribs (diagonal arches) could be built that would support the entire weight of the roof. The space between the ribs could then be filled in with lighter material (Dudley Faricy, 1973, p. 291-295; Perry, 1988, p. 189). With the adoption of these three technological styles, the Gothic cathedrals as compared to the somber, dark churches that preceded it are much higher, lighter and more spacious making it more inviting for the Christians. On the other hand, the concept of allowing more light inside the church is derived from the concept that God is Light. As much as possible partitions in the floor plans were removed so that a dazzling light will emanate from the choir toward the congregation. Moreover, the concept of building tall churches with tall towers and spires conveys the idea of the supremacy and importance of Christian religion in a person’s life especially that it towers above all other buildings surrounding it. Such are the qualities and impression that La Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral and Salisbury Cathedral projects. Both two cathedrals still uses the cross floor plans, the Salisbury cathedral, however, though it contained two transepts, is much simpler than the La Sainte-Chapelle which was built upon the order of the fashionable French monarch, Louise IX. La Sainte-Chapelle is elaborately decorated, the elaborate ornamentation conveying the idea of the wealth of the church and hence the prosperity of the Kingdom (Scott, 2003, p. 21-23; Vauchez, 2000, p. 1228). II. Reflection of Christian needs and Preoccupation of the Middle Ages The Gothic cathedrals, although took many years (even centuries) to build, first began to be created during the Middle ages, a time characterized by feudal wars ,famine and epidemics. In spite of these unfavorable conditions, the Christians took the effort to make a big church, as an expression of their Christian devotion. One notable feature of Gothic stained glass windows, as seen in the two cathedrals, are the paintings of Biblical characters. The primary purpose why they paint them all over the walls is so that the illiterate could picture out what was written in the Bible (Perry, 1988, 189). Le Sainte-Chapelle, howvere, housed important Christian relics collected by Louise IX signifying the preoccupations of the rich Christian monarchs with anything regarding Christianity. The facade of Gothic cathedrals are also elaborately decorated using sculptured human figures ( saints ,kings and peasant life) as the main features, illustrating their growing interest in humanism ideas ( human life and accomplishments) as it replace the usual carvings of animals, fruits and other figures. The story of Christ, specifically his incarnation, decorate the entrance of the church, urging whoever will pay homage or pilgrimage to the church not to admire its gold or cost but to focus their attention to Christ ( Dudley, 1974, p. 291; Scott, 2003, pp. 47-48) . II. Conclusion Gothic Cathedrals, like the Salisbury Cathedral and La Sainte-Chapelle, are the best representative of Gothic art. The knowledge of new style of architectural technology by using a pointed arch, flying buttresses and ribbed vaulting paved the way for a taller , more spacious and well-lighted or ventilated churches. It erased therefore the somber, gloomy aura of the Romanesque churches, and the new concept of God as Light and Supreme was successfully incorporated into the church structure. In spite of the presence of wars, famines and epidemics, this ambitious project was embarked on, signifying the Christian devotion of the people of the Medieval era. Works Cited Dudley, Louise and Austin Faricy. The Humanities, 5th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill Company, 1973. Perry, Marvin. A History of the World. New York: Houghton-Mifflin, Inc, 1988. Scott, Robert A. The Gothic Enterprise: A Guide to Understanding the Medieval Cathedral. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003. Vauchez, Andre, and et al. Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages. New York: Routledge, 2000.

Resource Planning and Accounting Informations

Resource Planning and Accounting Informations ERP has become one of the most popularity systems for a company that planning to implement a full ERP system to increase the productivity and efficiency on current business process flow. This report objective will discuss on the definition and function of ERP system, advantages and disadvantages that will bring to an organization after the implementation. Which and what major element and factor that needs to be well taking care for a successful implementation. The major implication of AIS will also further discuss in this report and how AIS will be affected with the implementation of the software. Introduction An Information system (IS) is any combination of Information technology and peoples activities using that technology to support operations, management, and decision making.(Miranda, E., 2010). ERP which is Enterprise Resource Planning is business software systems in different type of industries and companies. (Vala, P., 2010). ERP system is a process of integration of different data and sources from different department of one organization under one single unit system. ERP software that will make sure this integration to be work accurately and effectively. While AIS which stands for Accounting Information system is a computerized system that gather all the data, stores and then processes it into information used by managers, investor and creditors. This information generated from AIS can eventually help the company decision maker to operate organizations more smoothly. Main Body 3.1 Role and Purpose of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems With the growth of technology, everything have found in rapidly changing especially for business environment. Most of the organizations have choosing to implement the ERP software as the best solution which ERP is the only system that designed and developed to integrate and linked all the information among the internal department system. Major role of ERP is to streamline the business operation and workflow. All functional departments that are involved in operations or production can be integrated by using one system, while the elimination of the unnecessary manual work has simplified the business process. Production planning team can directly check for the goods produce process through the latest status updated by production operator. According to Sheldon D.H (2005), ERP maintain the inventory accuracy that enhance the process of tracking on supplier purchased and planning team are able to predict the demand of the market based on input from various department, the system can even schedule a plan when the product shall start produce and when to buy in extra raw material. In finance module, ERP allows a company to maintain their financial information, assist a company save a sum of money for long term while efficiency, performance and productivity will be improved as well. A company is also able to study their processes, earnings, and performance by combining the operation information with the financial information. With this information, a company can become more competitive and productive and so it can gain more customer satisfaction. Perceived benefits and drawbacks for companies of implementing ERPs There are many different type of ERP that serve businesses varying procedure types. With the ERP solution there are numerous benefits after an organization implementing the ERP system example in department of Sales, Human Resource, Finance, Procurement and Production. The ERP system will integrate all the data from other system so that the information will not have to be entered into several systems which will save a real time and manpower for the manual work. Every department information are linked and the sales person no longer need to take time to check with production or warehouse for the goods delivery status, checking with finance on the term on payment This knowledge indirectly can increase the sales performance and improve customer satisfaction. HRM system developed in the payroll module, recruitment module and HR Management module to ease the human resource department in operating their daily workflow and help to increase the efficiency and deliver the best service to their employees. They no longer need to manually count for the thousands of employees salary, overtime, incentive and other allowance. Besides saving up a lot of time, this may also reduce the risk of human error and mistake in calculating. The employees attendances are now even easier with the punch in/out system. By implement the E-pay statement its help the organization to reduce costs and work load of HRD as well, employees can access to corporate intranet to view, to save or to print the pay slip. (Edward, J., 2008) In Production department, most of the organization has using the Baan, BPCS, ERPLN, and ERPLX. It has developed solutions for the company that covers the bar-coding of transactions, such as receiving, put away, cycle counting, production order completions, and shipping. This has increased the productivity and cost reducing. From the warehouse to the shop floor, material and manpower processes become easier, complements and extends the existing ERP applications, empowers users in the production department speed up transactions, and ultimately eliminates the root causes of data inaccuracy. For purchasing department with Purchase Order System, the employees are able to go for electronic market place to order the stationary/ tools and consumable. By clicking a submit button, in about 3 minutes supplier can actually receive the order from the company. This has enhances the information sharing among one company and the supplier. Manager are easily to check which employee are creating the PO and which preferred supplier is selected on the order that its actually ease and shorten the lead time for the process, as lead time is shorten, production operation are able to meet the schedule and on time delivery for orders. Disadvantages of implementing ERP system: The most common disadvantages of implementing an ERP system are the high cost. (OLeary, D. E., 2010). According to Escalle et al, 1999, the cost might be a two o three percent from the revenues for the startup and on-going maintenance fees. Some hidden implementation costs like buying software, hardware, expert consultation fees, staff training cost that will incur to smoothen the project as the implementation process will need the expert consultation and IT administrator in developing this kind of system. (Mabert, V. 2002). The licensing fees can be one of the huge costs that need to be paid annually which depending on the size of the software established. That is why the expensive cost and long times consuming to implement may not be acceptable to each company specially for those small-medium size business. Besides, there is limitation on ERP software customization. ERP system can be a complex and difficult to use software, the organization daily activities will be impacted and usually will involve business process reengineering to fit the current standard process after the ERP implementation. (Benjamin, B. and Paul, A., 2004) There is a risk of failure on the implementation process if an organization did not having a proper planning. Inadequate resources, training, inexperience staff and invest not within budget will bring the company down to winding up too. Role and purpose of Accounting Information Systems (AIS) A primary role of AIS is to fasten the financial transaction recording, accountants that input the financial transaction into the AIS that will create information and financial reporting for review. Besides, AIS also important in support management to get timely information in decision making. AIS are usually web or server based which provide a centralized place where financial data stored, allowing managers have quicker access to review the financial information for that organization. Accountants play roles of tremendous significance in the economy. Without information expertise of accountants, business will be unable to evaluate their cost and profit position, gauge product or business unit performance, or to plan future financial success (Martin, B., 1996). Well-organized AIS will make everyday business a lot easier and more effective (Hall, 2001). How AISs may be affected by the implementation of a full ERP system. Before ERP implementation, finance department employee are still using the pen-paper basis in recording finance transaction, legacy system that only able to focus on one function and cannot be replaced. After the implementation of a full ERP system with SAP, AIS seems to have bigger changes in all the function. SAP that will integrates all the business transaction that entered from different area of operation. Thus, employee from different branches or division can automatically access to review the information at whatever place and however often it is necessary while in a discussion or meeting with the accurate and timely information. Thus, it really saves a great deal of time. AIS will make the accounting activities quicker and accurate as the transaction and records are prepared with the system and this has indirectly reduced human error and mistakes. It is also increased flexibility in information generation and improved quality of reports and financial statements. (Spathis and Constantinides 2003) AIS help to maintain financial control and accountability. (Joel, D. Wisner et al, 2009). Financial information are reliable and up to date all the time in order to prevent the management had use the old and out-dated information for decision making as with the uses of irrelevant data may seriously affect the decision in reducing cost, raise profit, increase sales and purchase new assets and etc. The merged of ERP and AIS has also improving the auditor task while auditing task while performing auditing in the company. Each transaction record can link to other related transaction record or softcopy attachment with just a click. (Anon, 2010) For negative effect, the integration process will be very complex and consume a long period to complete, thus it will incurred a very high cost for an organization. Data security not guarantee safe because info are shared and linked among the module within the ERP system, some of the important financial or business strategic information might easily spread out to the market or competitor that will affect the business strategic. Major Implication of AIS There are several components to the AIS such as transaction processing system, general ledger or financial reporting system and the management reporting system. (Hall, J.A., 2004). Major implications of AIS are to analyzed and determine whether the information should captured by the AIS and its speed up the bookkeeping process which bookkeeping mean to keep track the day to day activities of one organizations income and expenses, to collect necessary financial information for reporting and tax purpose, thereby improving the company profitability. (Anderson, C., 2010) After the bookkeeping process, system will automatically generate those data into information to generate a reporting that will use by both internal and external parties and reporting format may vary from different users for different purpose. (Anderson, C., 2010) Conclusion The implementation of ERP has a big impact for an organization business performance especially in accounting module that help to make the accounting transaction become easier and manageable, thus many of the other small-medium size organization can actually take consideration for implementation of ERP system in order to improve the productivity and efficiency and most importantly to maintain competitive. ERP system that will have drawbacks if the implementation process did not manage correctly, if an organization that required a successful implementation, top management should have a plan ahead that consist of the time consuming, the implementation cost, enough expert consultation on the process and special training provided to their staff.

Strategic Management Of Mcdonalds Fast Food Company Uk Marketing Essay

Strategic Management Of Mcdonalds Fast Food Company Uk Marketing Essay McDonald Corporation is among the largest chain of fast food restaurants in the United Kingdom. It primarily sells French fires, chicken, hamburgers, soft drinks and breakfast. This paper draws on the view that McDonalds fast food continue to remain competitive in the fast food market niche by virtue of strategic management which sees it improving the taste of sandwiches as well as introducing a menu lost that is new for its customers. To understand the success of McDonald over the years, it is important to note the strategic management of the fast food corporation in the UK. Part of the strategic drive of McDonalds to increase its competitive edge has been to overhaul the system of food preparation and as evidenced in its recent food preparation system dubbed Made For You, McDonald developed a mutual relationship with its customers since fresher as well as hotter food are delivered to customers; an aspect that leads to more consumption of McDonalds food (Stuart et al, 2007). The ove rall point in the strategic thinking and management of McDonalds rests on the enhanced flexibility on its customer service, business model, reaching and analyzing the strategic edge in light of competitive advantage and business level strategies. This paper seeks to analyze the wider environment in which McDonalds operates competition within the fast food industry, strategic focus, and how to address challenges that occur within the industry. Introduction McDonalds Fast Food Company is among the largest food service retail corporation. Known for its hot and fresh fries, hamburgers, burgers and soft drinks, McDonalds operates about 30,000 restaurants in over 199 countries. In the UK, a majority of the McDonalds operates on the franchise basis. The strategic focus and organizational management has positioned McDonalds to compete effectively in an already competitive industry and thus edge a competitive base in the industrial environment and enjoy a market niche for its business. Customers visit its outlet on the daily basis because of the ability of McDonalds to create a companys image that enhances people to get accustomed to the culture of fats food (McDonalds Corporation, 2010). As such, there is an apt customer base which McDonalds uses as a market entry strategy. Together with advertising companies that leaves the brand image in the consumers mind, McDonalds continue not only to penetrate the market but also expand their market siz e. As a result, there are a number of strategies that McDonald builds on to remain competitive in the industry and achieve t business and organizational objective. McDonalds Company Overview As one of the largest fast food corporation in the UK that concentrates on burgers, French fries, soft foods and breakfast, McDonalds has in the most recent introduced salads, snack wraps, fruits and carrot sticks. McDonald is a business that dates back in 1940. It was an idea that grew and became operational as the two brothers Mac McDonald and Dick opened a restaurant in the United States (Walsh, 2009) .The first McDonalds operated on the principle of modern fast food restaurant which later spread across Europe. The present McDonald is as a result of the successful expansion of the McDonald into a host of fast food markets. The company has become the symbol of globalization and it prominence in the UK is based on the concept of consumer responsibility as well as corporate ethics (McDonalds Corporation, 2010). Essentially, McDonald serves approximately one million customers every day. Business Environment and Analysis of McDonalds The environment in which McDonalds operates is very competitive that managers have been forced to adopt a strategic framework upon which they exercise their ability to identify, cultivate as well as exploit the core competencies that ensures that there is business and market growth. Thompson (2005) asserts that in order to arrive at this strategic threshold, McDonalds as a corporation has been the focus of the strategic policy formulation. In addition, Brown (2002) points out that there is no way in which the organization can exist in the vacuum. In this sense, McDonalds operate within a competitive environment and the foundation of its strategic management rests on its ability to analyze its competitor in the fast food industry. As a result, this not only enables McDonalds to realize its strengths and weakness but also help it to formulate a position on which it identifies the opportunities that are present for the organizations well as the threats it can face from its wider industr ial environment. This strategic analysis best positions McDonalds in its market niche and is thus a strategy that reflects the best march for McDonalds strategic management. The competencies exhibited by McDonalds form yet another aspect of its overall strategic management. Parsa (2002) contends that as one of the largest food chain companies in the UK, it defines its success from its strengths and opportunities. This is the distinctive competitive strategy that enhances the corporations competitive advantage in the market. A case in point is the financial opportunities, market leadership, image of the company to the market as well as the relationship between the company and its customer forms the strengths as well as opportunities than McDonald has achieved on its wider strategic management plan. To achieve an enhanced and more profitable market niche, McDonalds creates a successful image in the customers minds and draws from it mission and vision statement to introduce to widespread customers a culture of fast food. This is evidenced by the fundamental concept that it serves over one million customers in UK per day and continues to add on its menu a new list of fast food items prepared. Furthermore, customer care relations, delivery speed as well as high hygienic conditions make the basic strengths on which McDonalds expands on. Cole (2003) articulates that McDonald has created a corporate symbol that is reinforced by the advertisement campaigns in the UK. Accordingly, it builds on this pedestal to foundationally establish a brand image that has remained in the minds of millions of people living in the UK. As such, the brand image positions McDonalds an edge higher than its major competitor in the food chain industries and its marketing strategies successfully addresses impo rtant business operations factors such as internal resources and the core competencies in relation to the external environment in which it operates (Kendrick, 2008). Moreover, business analysts have maintained that the product value of McDonalds has contributed to the strategic focus of its operations. With regard to this, customers are aware of what to expect from the McDonalds restaurants whenever they visit the McDonalds. This gives emphasis on the fact that human resource draws their satisfaction from satisfying their customers and keeps the employees ready to adopt the innovative strategy of the company where they introduce newer products in the market in a bid to remain on edge with the newer tastes and trends of its customers and market size. The diversity of McDonalds into other related business forms the framework on which economists regard the McDonalds as the successful corporate group within the fast food industry (Enz, 2009). Competitive Environment within the Operations of McDonalds Every fast food restaurant operating whether as an organization or individual business is aimed at creating a new wave in the performance; all aimed towards implementing and sustaining the brand quality and the innovation of the business plan. Many fast food restaurants in the UK continue to analyze the external as well as internal business opportunities and therefore develop marketing plans that see them with a major market shares. These make food chain industry a very competitive industry in the UK. According to Hetrick et al (2006), McDonalds appreciates that competition for market place is stiff and has tasked its management to constantly communicate, compare their services with those of other fast food restaurants and finally improve on their service delivery and incorporate the developments of technology such as the internet to basically motivate their clients and improve on the overall center performance. In addition, many fast food organizations undoubtedly enhance their food production which makes it futile to use the product quality alone as the marketing strategy. As this may create a scenario where you are rated average, McDonalds has gone a notch higher in edging its competitive advantage by modifying every marketing and business strategy to suit its vision statement. As such, Heath and Palacher (2008) argues that bearing in mind the already available resources is one point towards success but making use of all the primary competencies has enabled McDonalds to sustain its place in the competitive market. Accordingly, as the chief executive officer of McDonalds said, the world has extensively changed and so have the customers. This calls for a dire need for any business organization to change in light with the customers change (Walsh, 2009). McDonalds Competitive Position within the Food Chain Industry McDonalds has achieved the title of the leading and largest fast food restaurant in the UK from its overall strategic management concept of sustainable competitive market. With emphasis, this strategic policy has been behind the McDonalds ability to make it difficult for other food chain industries to penetrate its stronghold marketplace. Hill and Jones (2007) explain that McDonalds competitive position is attributed to its dynamic customer care relations, brand imaging, cost structure as well as its patent. With regard to this, the organizational as well as the managerial process has centered on sharing coordination and integration to formulate policies that drives the McDonalds on the pedestal of success. Believing in the customer and product value, McDonalds has created a situation where every employee strives to work for the common goal. Similarly, McDonald, through its strategic management has demonstrated its strength in being able to learn and execute changes according to the needs of the markets. From this conceptualization, it has commanded a competitive position by being flexible to change within the milieu of technological developments and customer trends (Stuart et al, 2007). As such, Kendrick (2008) further postulates that a case in point for McDonalds success and market position falls on the paradigm of its long time organizational culture of concentrating on its advantage such as organizational behaviors as well as expertise to achieve success in every aspect of its objective. In the past, McDonald paid little attention on the concept of competitive advantage and thus even though it opened many outlets across Britain, its revenue did not change to the better. The structural, technological and financial assets are the excellent market position of McDonalds. It therefore follows that McDonalds not only identifies but also implements these assets in the right direction in a bid to improve the services of the company in the market. Bordering the advantage on the vision which guides the company, McDonalds draws its strengths to achieve the competitive position by being committed to the sustainability of its vision. For example, bearing in mind that a brand or product revolves around the companys vision, McDonalds works in lieu with this concept and thus attributes its competitive advantage on its faithfulness to the mission, vision and goals as well as objectives of the organization (Thompson, 2005).In light of this, McDonalds operates on the guideline of serving those people who have little or no time to cook an therefore provides a solution of a proper restaurant. In this case, the vision provides not only quality products but also quick ser vice and desirable satisfaction among its customers. The sustainable competitive advantage has undoubtedly meant well for the McDonalds and implementing these strategies is based on incorporating the best value strategies which make McDonalds unique and hard to be emulated by its competitors. It is evident that competitive advantages has helped and continue to help McDonalds to realize a great investment through an integrated, intelligent and dynamic human resources as well as strategic management (brown, 2003). As a result, McDonald caters for the situation where risk attitudes change and entirely vary the environmental uncertainty and volatility. This based on the product, price, promotion and place has provided a good starting point for the competitive position of McDonalds. Towards implementing the marketing function, the management of McDonalds constantly employs elements of marketing mix to appropriate plan on how to achieve the popularity in the market place (Enz, 2009). McDonalds Marketing Strategy McDonalds is known for its market entry on which it introduces people to the culture of fast food through the employment of emotive and highly persuasive advertisement campaigns. As Hetrick et al (2006) point out, McDonalds uses well structured advertisement campaigns to create a corporate system that penetrates the market as well as expands it. With regard to this, Parsa (2002) notes that McDonalds have put in place strategies that deal with the growing number of fast food customers in the UK. Towards achieving this, McDonalds emphasizes on customer care, speed in the delivery and high hygienic conditions around the McDonald premises. Connected with the concept of market entry strategy, McDonalds equally builds on its brand image; a factor that identifies it as an independent company. Accordingly, the company has taken into account business environment to achieve a competitive edge based on the service delivery, product and price. In addition, McDonalds have used the diversity strategy in its operations. Hill and Jones (2007) contends that McDonalds uses this strategy to venture into other business; a factor that has helped the company to keep in touch with the market trends a mid the rising completion in the food chain industry. Towards this, McDonalds emphasis on health food, introduction of new items such as salads on the menu, changed the overall appearance of the stores among adopting newer strategies. In light of this, McDonalds is able to achieve a competitive position in the marketing environment that is getting more competitive by day s a result of entry of new players in the industry. Heath and Palacher (2008) further assert that a lot of innovations where McDonalds produces new products demonstrate another strategy in use for the McDonalds to catch up with the latest market development. As a result, it is able to respond to the ever changing tastes and concerns of customers. For instance, McDonalds continues to develop new recipes as part of it strategic formulation to cater for the health issues and concerns of the customers in UK. McDonalds continue with the franchising model and employs over 60000 employees in approximately 1200 restaurants. The success behind all theses is typical of the effective marketing strategies that lead to the creation of high demand for fast food (Cole, 2003). The aim of successful marketing rests on making superfluous sales. Understanding the customer as well as the product that fits them has definitely formed the foundation of McDonalds marketing strategy. As opposed to other fast food restaurant whose entry in the market somehow takes the customer for granted and ends at providing quick service, McDonalds exploits the underlying concept of marketing which draws on the notion that customer satisfaction is the primary business priority. Comparatively, many fast food restaurants in the UK are motivated in making profit and although they provide quality services, they miss out on putting their customers satisfaction on the fist priority. McDonalds has created business strategies that aim at fulfilling the creation of customer satisfaction. Fundamentally, McDonalds has invested in understanding the needs of a group or groups of customers in what is called market segmentation (Brown, 2002).As such, McDonalds defines these band of customers in terms of demography such as their age, region and gender such that each band of customers have a successfully and specifically tailored products as well as a marketing mix. Future Developments in the Fast Industry It is important to note that following the market trends of fats food industry, outsourcing of employees may not be effective. It is clear that everything in the present business community outsources but McDonalds should be ready to take care when outsourcing because in future, outsourcing is going to cease in its value following the whole sale idea of outsourcing competencies of the fast food chain store (Hetrick et al, 2006). Towards cushioning the effect of this, McDonald can outsource other business operations but not its core competencies. As such, it will keep abreast with the fact that the benefits of outsourcing which includes knowledge of market offshore, supplier relations and expansion of business operation. In so doing McDonalds will have put in place an order facility to cushion itself against competition, business failure and reduced profit margin. In addition, the question of increased competition will be a future development due to the extensive entry in the fast food industry. As such, McDonalds will have to face an array of market risks as well as other business setbacks. However, what will make it strong and continue to enjoy the status of a leading fast food company is the constant formulation and implementation of strategic policies based on its knowledge of the customer needs. In other words, the taste, preferences and satisfactions of the customer should be their constant priority to face this challenging scenario (Parsa, 2002).With the future market function taking a consumer oriented approach, the marketing decisions are care going to be affected by the careful identification of the needs of the customers. As such McDonalds will need to devise marketing strategies that meet the customers needs as well as a business distribution system that bring the brands closer to the needs of the customer. Recommendation for McDonalds Future Strategy McDonalds should in future design a business plan that addresses the social changes spearheaded by the government and consumer groups which border encouraging a balanced diet and thus prepare types of foods that on the nutrition of the customer as well as their healthy lifestyles. Essentially, it can also develop a joint venture with other organizations such as the supermarkets in that some of its food is sold in the supermarkets. This comes with the marketing database which will help it to more accurately reach out to specific target groups of consumers. The customer identification could be on the basis of modeling and shoppers profiles; a factor which will enhance the prevention of band switching. In addition, McDonalds should focus on the corporate social responsibility and edge closer to those organizations with a value impact on the society (Enz, 2009). Similarly, McDonalds should realize that promotion of its products is not merely an advertising function. It should come up with both advertising campaigns and promotional strategy that is defined by the nature of the market, the size of the market and the tastes as well as preferences of the customers. In so doing, McDonalds should design on the promotional mix that address the element of price, product and market in the way the customer will feel obliged to consume the product. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is evident that the strategic management plan of McDonalds has positioned it as the largest fast food corporation in the UK. This means that its business model is evidently different form other fast food chains. . Part of the strategic drive of McDonalds to increase its competitive edge has been to overhaul the system of food preparation and as evidenced in its recent food preparation system dubbed Made For You McDonalds developed a mutual relationship with its customers since fresher as well as hotter food was delivered to customers; an aspect that led to more consumption of McDonalds food. The overall point in the strategic thinking and management of McDonalds rests on the enhanced flexibility on its customer service, business model and analyzing the strategic edge in light of competitive advantage, business level strategies among others.

Dont Talk To Cops :: essays research papers

Don't Talk to Cops "GOOD MORNING! My name is investigator Holmes. Do you mind answering a few simple questions?" If you open your door one day and are greeted with those words, STOP AND THINK! Whether it is the local police or the FBI at your door, you have certain legal rights of which you ought to be aware before you proceed any further. In the first place, when law enforcement authorities come to see you, there are no "simple questions". Unless they are investigating a traffic accident, you can be sure that they want information about somebody. And that somebody may be you! Rule number one to remember when confronted by the authorities is that there is no law requiring you to talk with the police, the FBI, or the representative of any other investigative agency. Even the simplest questions may be loaded and the seemingly harmless bits of information which you volunteer may later become vital links in a chain of circumstantial evidence against you or a friend. DO NOT INVITE THE INVESTIGATOR INTO YOUR HOME! Such an invitation not only gives him the opportunity to look around for clues to your lifestyle, friends, reading material, etc., but also tends to prolong the conversation. The longer the conversation, the more chance there is for a skill investigator to find out what he wants to know. Many times a police officer will ask you to accompany him to the police station to answer a few questions. In that case, simply thank him for the invitation and indicate that you are not disposed to accept it at this time. Often the authorities simply want to photograph a person for identification purposes, a procedure which is easily accomplished by placing him in a private room with a two-way mirror at the station, asking him a few innocent questions, and then releasing him. If the investigator becomes angry at your failure to cooperate and threatens you with arrest, stand firm. He cannot legally place you under arrest or enter your home without a warrent signed by a judge. If he indicates that he has such a warrent, ask to see it. A person under arrest, or located on premises to be searched, generally must be shown a warrent if he requests it and must be given to chance to read it. Without a warrent, an officer depends solely upon your helpfulness to obtain the information he wants. So, unless you are quite sure of yourself, don't be helpful. Probably the wisest approach to take to a persistant investigator is

A Career in Medicine Essay -- Medicine College Admissions Essays

A Career in Medicine    My experiences at home have helped prepare me for a career in medicine I grew up in an economically depressed area in San Francisco where my mother was a single parent. Growing up without a father, I developed self-confidence and a sense of independence at an early age. In order to help my mother financially, I unloaded produce trucks during my years in high school. As a result, I was unable to enjoy many of the activities most youngsters enjoy. However, I am thankful for the determination and inner-strength I developed while overcoming the hardships I faced.    After graduating from Lowell High School, I entered the University of California, Berkeley. The topic of nutrition interested me. Therefore, I embarked upon a rigorous course of study as a nutrition and food science major. My first year at Berkeley was very demanding academically. However, the toughest obstacle proved to be the separation from my family. Fortunately, I received great support from my loved ones during this p... ...s and to the understanding of the aging process.    My exposure to the clinical and research aspects of medicine have shown me that a career in medicine involves an extraordinary amount of sacrifice. I am willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve my goal to become a physician and practice medicine in my community. The trials I have faced and the lessons I have learned growing up in my community will allow make a special contribution to the medical profession and to the patients I serve.   

Animals In Our Society Essay -- Marketing Animals

â€Å"Much as we might want to understand animals at a level deeper than pop culture, we can only understand them in terms of our own experiences, language and emotions, and interpreted within our social, historical and cultural contexts. The only way we have of understanding animals is to recognize that ‘when we gaze at animals we hold up a mirror to ourselves’ (Corbett, 176). Animal messages are brought to us by the pop culture industry, whose job it is to create, disseminate, and sell meaning. In most cases, they aren’t selling you a moose, but what a moose means to you for example – the characteristics and qualities that you and most people associate with the species. Based on common meanings presented to us from an early age, animals are the perfect shorthand communication symbol. We use animals as devices, metaphors and symbols for a great deal of our expressions and ideas† (Corbett, 179). For years, animals have been at the center of our world; â€Å"the lives of animals and humans have been inextricably intertwined† (Corbett, 178). Thus, based on the close relationship between animals and humans throughout history, in my opinion animals have been used in all cultures to reflect the nature of humanity, symbolizing societal and individual characteristics. The traits of animals are very simple to observe and recognize, whereas human behavior is more intricate and difficult to describe. Animals are familiar creatures to us, which mutely encourage projection of people’s emotions and attitudes onto them. Animals can be used and as we have learned most recently, they are used to convey deep dimensions of human feelings and ideas. When I think of animals, their representation and their symbolism in our society, I immediately think of ani... ...in this piece, would be to dive into researching the answer to this: the fact that there I think there is something very clever to be said about a corporation that uses an animal to talk to its prospects, but are we really sure what that is? Are we sure what to say about a society that listens, and responds to spokescreatures? Perhaps we find them more credible than spokespersons. Do we? Works Cited Corbett, Julia B. Communicating Nature: How We Create and Understand Environmental Messages. Washington, DC: Island, 2006. Print. 2. "Seven Top Animal Symbols Used By Company Name Generators." EzineArticles Submission - Submit Your Best Quality Original Articles For Massive Exposure, Ezine Publishers Get 25 Free Article Reprints. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. .

Is Therese Raquin a Naturalist Novel?

Is Therese Raquin a Naturalist novel? Emile  Zola is often considered the chief literary theorist of the Naturalist movement and so one would assume that his creative offspring, including the novel Therese Raquin, would display the traits of the genre. Zola may be responsible for many of the conventions that one would associate with Naturalism and so naturally you could extend this logic to argue that his work defines the genre.To the modern reader, Therese Raquin appears anything but naturalistic with a dramatic, fast moving plot that boasts murder, adultery and revenge that almost becomes synthetic in places. However, for the sake of this essay, I must decide upon a firm definition for Naturalism, in its correct historical context, in order to debate and speculate as to whether Therese Raquin can be read or interpreted as a Naturalist novel.Naturalism may be defined as a scientifically accurate extension of realism characterized by a magnified perspective through which the author displays the primitive nature of humans (using characters with strong animal drives who are â€Å"victims both of glandular secretions within and of sociological pressures†) and adopts an objective and emotionally detached approach to the characters in order to demonstrate the weaknesses and tragedies of 19th Century society, particularly amongst the lower classes.Zola’s prefaces to his novels at as essays on Naturalism and much of the deterministic and scientific philosophy behind the movement may be found, for example in the preface to Therese Raquin, Zola writes that he sees himself as a â€Å"mere analyst, who may have turned his attention to human corruption, but in the same way as a doctor becomes absorbed in an operating theatre† and comments that â€Å"the return to nature, the naturalistic evolution which marks the century, drives little by little all the manifestation of human intelligence to the same path†.Firstly I will explore the common con ventions of Naturalism that are present in Therese Raquin. For example is the typical Naturalistic characterisation through the use of the four temperaments (stemming from Galen’s four humours) that the author regards in higher importance than the actual characterisation as he states that he proposed to â€Å"study temperaments and not characters†. Zola assigns certain temperaments to his characters to establish inter-character relations in the plot and demonstrate the animalistic nature of humans.Laurent may be associated with sanguine (â€Å"handsome, full blooded†), Therese with melancholy and Camille with phlegmatic qualities. By using this device, Zola adds a certain amount of reality and human nature to the pot which is, of course, an essential aspect to the genre of Naturalism. Also by using these temperaments to define the psychology of his characters, Zola incorporates scientific elements, as if he is conducting a sociological study of background in rel ation to the  milieu and subsequently the psychological study of individual characters in particular circumstances.Naturalism, as a movement, is in debt to the scientific enlightenment with scientists, such as Darwin, who popularised new ways of thinking that evolved around the concept of biological determinism and the author adopted these views in response, stating that Naturalists are â€Å"men of science†. Biological determinism may be thought of as a melting pot of biology and philosophy, suggesting that humans merely respond to the surrounding  environmental forces  and  internal drives,  none of which they can control or understand, in essence we are little more than a â€Å"human brute†.In essence we are driven by the very primitive urges and instincts of hunger, sex and fear. Within Therese Raquin we see these attributes materialise throughout the book and become particularly prevalent in the sexual undertones of Therese’s affair with Laurent, something that disgusted many of Zola’s critics. However it is more obvious to the modern reader that Zola, through his dramatic plot, is demonstrating a level of determinism in the sense that life makes its conclusions, and the Naturalistic novelist's task is to represent those conclusions, rather than contribute his own.Controversy may be viewed as another defining characteristic of the Naturalistic genre and if we are to consider Therese Raquin in its correct historical context (1867), it is not difficult to understand why it caused much scandal due to Zola’s honest and uncompromising exploration of the darkest aspects of human existence. One critic, Louis Ulbach, wrote in Le Figaro  in January 1868 that the novel was â€Å"a pool of mud and blood† and was a perfect example of â€Å"the utter filth that is contemporary literature†.It is the disposition of the Naturalist writer that assumes an amoral attitude to the plot and acts somewhat as a voyeur rather than a judge. Personally I view Francois, the same cat over which many critics and scholars speculate as to whether it is the cat in Manet’s portrait Olympia, as somewhat of a metaphor for the Naturalist author. Francois is present in many of the most climatic and socking scenes, most notably the passionate scene of Camille’s murder, and remains detached but also demands some sort of presence so much so that Laurent becomes frightened and wants to â€Å"kill the beast† as he remarks how â€Å"human† it looks.The fact that Laurent almost personifies the cat may suggest that animal and man are alike in the very basic sense of instinct. I think that the Naturalist author assumes a similar stance to this cat as he remains a quiet and unbiased third party, recording the events without judgment, acting as a journalistic voyeur, which is relevant to this novel as Zola discloses that he is â€Å"simply an observer, who states the facts†.On its publi shing, Therese Raquin was accused of immortality and if the critics were not accusing Zola of an â€Å"alleged perversion of public morality† then it would be for the novel’s â€Å"unsound philosophic and aesthetic assumptions†. Despite these accusations of immorality, Zola defends himself saying that it was, in fact, immoral to refrain from including such behaviour as the lack of obvious moral material was corrupting and that â€Å"the process of honest examination purifies everything, just as fire does. Another aspect of this novel that argues in favour of Therese Raquin being a Naturalist novel is the sense of pessimism that one feels when reading it. This negative atmosphere is created by deliberately making the novel feel claustrophobic with the author using a number of devices such as an omniscient third person narrative, a limited number of characters and settings as well as a prevalent theme of imprisonment.For example, Zola’s displays Laurentâ⠂¬â„¢s captivity within his own guilt through describing his â€Å"hallucinations† of paranoia which reinforces the theme of claustrophobia and imprisonment. There is also much imagery that could be associated with hell with reference to vaults and holes, for example Therese admits she feels like she is â€Å"going down into the clammy earth of a pit† and that she is buried â€Å"in a vault†. The presentation of Laurent and Therese in relation to such pessimism and claustrophobia demonstrates their remorse and shows great burden of murder.Zola uses the setting to suggest that any world beyond the working class community provides a sense of claustrophobia and stresses the difficulties of escaping this life, thus creating a social trap. The relevance of such pessimism in relation to a Naturalist novel is found in the absence of ideology; life is not ideal and so to create an accurate portrait humanity, the author must make the plot realistic which means that negat ivity is sometimes exaggerated.Charles Child Walcutt states that Zola seizes reality through his use of the characters’ temperaments and â€Å"transforms that temperament into a work of art†. Indeed the aspect of art is important in arguing that Therese Raquin is not in fact a Naturalist novel as however fiercely the author claimed to be scientific and methodical in his approach to the composition process, he never believed that the naturalist author was solely functioning on a mechanical level any more than he considered that artists, such as Manet, were replicating reality.It is no secret that Zola was heavily influenced by such artists who were straying from the previous Romantic Movement into a more Naturalistic style and consequently there is an innate correlation between the Movement in particularly French art and literature. In both cases the author or artist strives to symbolize the truth of nature, avoiding purely mimicking nature itself in order to obtain a c ertain amount of artistic individuality and a sense of poeticism to the work.In conclusion, I believe that one must approach analysing Therese Raquin outside of its historical context with caution as it can distort a modern day reader’s opinion as to whether this is a true Naturalist work due to the fact that a modern reader has been exposed to far more scandalous materials that may strike us a more gritty than Zola’s novel.However, from the extensive criticism and scandal that Therese Raquin stirred when it was first published, we can imagine that it was the one of most openly human and frank portrayals of life that the Victorians had been exposed to and so if we are to make a judgment in relation to its context, I believe it is a Naturalist novel. It also feels slightly awkward to debate the genre of Therese Raquin because its author was one of the most prolific and pioneering writers in Naturalism.Therefore I think it is valid to suggest that Therese Raquin may be t hought of as a defining work for the genre of Naturalism and we should, instead, speculate over other supposed Naturalist materials in relation to Zola’s novels. Rather that comparing Zola’s writing to a set of Naturalist criteria to the reinforce this novel’s validity as a member of the Naturalist genre, I am able to see the scaffolding that Zola created, allowing many Naturalist successors to build on to add more substance in order to write the more edgy literature we are familiar with today.Therese Raquin is a Naturalist novel that is not an imitation of reality but a scientific study of humanity. The author successfully presents the primitive and uncontrolled nature of humans in relation to their setting or circumstance with uncompromising and bold attention to detail. The novel displays the simple â€Å"application of the experimental method to the study of nature and of man†, which in itself is a definition of Naturalism. Select Bibliography 1.Emile Zola, Therese Raquin (1868) 2. Ferragus. La litterature putride , (Le Figaro. 23 January 1868) 3. Clarence R. Decker The Aesthetic Revolt against Naturalism in Victorian Criticism, p 845, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Sep. , 1938) 4. Charles Child Walcutt, American literary naturalism: a divided stream ( Minnesota, 1956) ——————————————– [ 2 ]. , M. H Abrams, A Glossary of Literary Terms, 5th Edition (published ,San Francisco, 1988) [ 3 ].Emile Zola, Therese Raquin Preface de la deuxieme edition (1868) [ 4 ]. Emile Zola, Therese Raquin Preface de la deuxieme edition (1868). The author calls both Therese and Laurent â€Å"human brutes, [ 5 ]. Ferragus. La litterature putride , (Le Figaro. 23 January 1868) [ 6 ]. Clarence R. Decker The Aesthetic Revolt against Naturalism in Victorian Criticism, p 845, Vol. 53, No. 3 (Sep. , 1938) [ 7 ]. Charles Child Walcutt, American literary naturalism: a div ided stream ( Minnesota, 1956)

Root Causes of Financial Crisis in the 1990s

Introduction The objective of this paper is to discuss the root causes of financial crisis in the 1990s. In this light, the paper has identified financial liberalisations that occurred in the late 1980s as a principal cause of crisis in the 1990s. The paper begins by presenting a discussion of financial liberalisation in section 2 below and then focuses on how it resulted in financial crisis in the 1990s. The paper employs the East Asian Financial Crisis as a case study and provides a discussion of how financial liberalisation contributed to the crisis 1997/1998 in section 2; while section 3 provides general conclusions and recommendations of the paper. Financial Liberalisation and the East Asian Financial Crisis One of the main causes of financial crisis in the 1990s was financial liberalisation which facilitated the flow of capital across borders. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, most developed and developing economies liberalised their financial systems and removed a number of regulations regarding the movement of funds. In particular many countries eliminated restrictions on foreign exchange movement thus increasing the flow of cross-border capital. One major crisis that occurred during the 1990s was the Asian Financial Crisis. This crisis has been linked directly to an increase in cross-border capital flows which resulted to currency crisis across the East Asian Countries that were involved in the crisis. Most of the countries involved in the crisis witnessed depreciation in their currencies which in turn led to major crisis across all the countries involved. Thailand was facing competition for its exports which led to a decline in its export sales. One of the reasons for Thailand†™s export declines was as a result of the devaluation of the Chinese Yuan in 1994 (Pathan et al., 2008). Rising export competition Thailand forced many businesses to shift from manufacturing to the real estate. Banks began providing loans to home buyers to facilitate real estate investments. A banking facility – The Bangkok International Banking Facility (BIBF) offered funds to both local and foreign borrowers thus facilitating their real estate investments (Pathan et al., 2008; Bisgnano, 1999). In the early 1990s, the East Asian countries were witnessing significant economic growth. As a result, these economies maintained huge current account deficits (Bird and Rajan, 2000). As a result, large inflows of capital and a depreciation of international reserves were required to reduce finance the deficits (Bird and Rajan, 2000). During This period, many East Asian economies also made significant efforts to liberalise their domestic financial systems as well as the capital account balance of payments. The establishment of the BIBF in Bankgok is a typical example of how domestic liberalisation facilitated the attraction of foreign capital. It enabled domestic banks to accept foreign-currency-denominated loans and deposits from foreign investors. These loans were later used to offer loans to the domestic market. This process led many local firms to increase their leverage thus increasing their financial risk. Net capital inflows for all countries in the region were positive and most often than not exceeded the current account deposit. In addition, international reserves were significantly high (The World Bank, 2000). Capital inflows were significantly high in Malaysia and Thailand. These countries were classified among the top ten emerging market economies to received net private capital flows during the period under study (Lopez-Mejia, 1999). A significant portion of the loans were made in foreign currency. This strategy increased the gearing of many foreign and local borrowers. The huge influx of capital combined with high current account and trade deficits in the first half of the 1990s resulted in the massive decline in the value of the currencies of the region, which eventually transformed into the financial and economic crisis of 1997 and 1998. Moreover, most of the countries involved in the crisis were operating a semi-pegged exchange rate regime, which also contributed to the currency crisis. Significant movements in the Thai Bhat meant that the currency could no longer sustain its value. the currency was forced to crash in 1997. On the 2nd of July 1997, the Thai Bhat was allowed to float freely and its value fell tremendously against other currencies (Joosten, 2004; Pathan et al., 2008). Despite the introduction of foreign exchange controls as well as large spot and forward interventions by the government and Central bank, the magnitude of the disaster on the currency was so high that these measures could not stop it. As a result, the devaluation of the Thai Bhat on the 2nd of July 1997 marked the onset of the East Asian Financial Crisis (Joosten, 2004; Li and Kwok, 2008). The currency crisis in Thailand was transmitted to five other East Asian economies. As explained earlier, the main cause of the crisis was the liberalization of the financial system which led to large cross border movements in foreign currency. The large movement in the East Asian currencies led to the ir depreciation which eventually led to the crisis. Singapore has often tried to compare itself to London as a major financial Centre. Consequently, U.S financial institutions often used it as a safe haven for depositing toxic assets. Given the liberalised nature of global financial markets, Singapore attracted a lot of toxic assets from the U.S which also helped in fuelling the crisis in Singapore (Lim and Maru, 2010). In Indonesia, the channel taken by the crisis was somewhat different from those of other countries like Korea and Thailand (Joosten, 2004). The Central Bank (Bank of Indonesia) increasing became concerned about an economy that was operating above full employment and decided to take measures that would slow down the economy to ensure that it return to full employment. The Central bank however, lacked the tools required to reduce aggregate demand. This is because it became concerned that if interest rates were increased, more foreign capital would flow into the economy a situation that would result to a currency crisis. Lack of an appropriate monetary policy tool meant that the Central Bank was unable to prevent an imminent crisis. Like Indonesia, Malaysia’s economy was operating beyond full employment. During the year 1995, the country witnessed an increase in public investment. The money was spent mainly on large infrastructure projects (Joosten, 2004). By the end of 1996, the count, Malaysia witnessed a decline in its current account deficit and the concerns over capacity overutilization were reduced. However, given increasing concerns over the ability of other East Asian countries as good investment environments, investors began to perceive Malaysia as a safe haven. Consequently, the country witnessed a huge influx of foreign capital which resulted in an increase in bank lending that in turn fuelled an asset boom. The influx in capital led to an increase in the country’s current account deficit over the period 1992-1995 as wel as declining exports. Huge current account deficits combined with trade deficits, the local currency could no longer sustain its value. This means that Malaysia could n ot escape the crisis either. The Philipines also had a sound economy when compared to other East Asian economies. The country operated at low levels of foreign debt and showed no immediate risk of a crisis. However, an influx in foreign capital soon fuelled a rapid lending boom that was mainly used in the financing of risky investments and as such the country began facing difficulties (Joosten, 2004). Table 1: Current Account (% of GDP). YearIndonesiaMalaysiaPhilippinesRepublic of KoreaThailand 1992-2.0-3.7-1.6-1.3-5.5 1993-1.3-4.6-5.50.3-4.9 1994-1.6-7.6-4.6-1.0-5.4 1995-3.2-9.8-4.4-1.7-7.9 1996-3.4-4.4-4.8-4.4-7.9 Source: (Joosten, 2004). Table 1 above illustrates the current account as a percentage of GDP for the East Asian Economies that were involved in the crisis over the period 1992 to 1995. It can be observed that all five countries exhibited a negative current account indicating that they operated current account deficits throughout the five year period leading up to the crisis. Korea however had a positive figure of 0.3% in the year 1993. Thailand showed the worst economic performance as evidenced by its largest current account deficit which kept widening with time. Conclusions and Recommendations The objective of this paper was to identify the root causes of financial crisis in the 1990s. Using the East Asian Financial Crisis as a case study, the paper concludes that one of the major causes of financial crisis in the 1990s was financial liberalization. Financial liberalization facilitated the movement of capital across borders. The East Asian Economies liberalized their financial systems thereby allowing a huge influx of foreign capital. Given that most of these countries suffered trade deficits, the capital was spent mainly on infrastructural development which means that enough returns could not be realized to cover the current account deficits. As such the current account deficits had to be financed with international reserves. This resulted in a currency crisis across the region which eventually led to the financial crisis in 1997 and 1998. One of the main lessens that can be learnt from this crisis is that countries with huge current account deficits should not attract fo reign capital if they are also operating trade deficits. This is because most of the foreign capital is used to finance unprofitable projects that cannot generate enough cash flows to offset the current account deficit. This increases the financial risks of both the private and public sector, which eventually result in a financial crisis. References Bird, G. and Rajan, R. S. (2000) â€Å"BANKS, FINANCIAL LIBERALISATION AND FINANCIAL CRISES IN EMERGING MARKETS†, available online at: http://www.freewebs.com/rrajan01/liberalfull.pdf , accessed: [8th January, 2012]. Bisgnano J. (1999). Precarious Credit Equilibria: Reflections On The Asian Financial Crisis. BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS Monetary and Economic Department Basle, Switzerland Working Papers. Joosten W. (2004). The Asian Financial Crisis in Retrospect. What HappenedWhat Can we concludeCPB Memorandum. CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis. Li, K., Kwok m. (2008). Output volatility of five crisis-affected East Asia economies Japan and the World Economy, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 24 April 2008. Lopez-Mejia, A. (1999), â€Å"Large Capital Flows: A Survey of the Causes, Consequences, and Policy Responses†, Working Paper 99/17, IMF. Mahui, M. N., Maru, J. (2010), â€Å"Financial Liberalisation and the Impact of the Financial Crisis on Singapore†, Third World Network 131 Jalan Macalister, 10400 Penang, Malaysia. Pathan, S., Skully, M. & Wickramanayake, J. (2008) Reforms in Thai bank governance: the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis, International Review of Financial Analysis, 17 (2), 345-362. World Bank (2000), East Asia: Recovery and Beyond, New York: Oxford University Press.