Discovering the Relationship Between the Law and Your School Essay

For this Benchmark I had to research the law and how it is applied to special education issues that were covered in this class.. I looked at my state departments of educations website to view the laws of my state of Oklahoma and Texas and Arkansas to see how they cover special education issues. I had also had to interview a lawyer who is well-versed in school law. I interviewed Ms. Andrea Kunkel, she was a wealth of information. She is well-versed in Special Education law, she was an attorney at Rosenstein, Fist and Ringold, where she represented Oklahoma Public Schools. She handled many Due Process Cases, she advised school staff on their legal responsibilities under the Section 504, Title II of the ADA and IDEA. She also was the legal advisor of the Oklahoma Directors of Special Services and is now the staff attorney of CCOSA (Cooperative Council of Oklahoma School, where she is currently training school administrators on special education law and issues and is the liaison to ODSS group. The first topic we discussed was how has the legal system evolved, as it applies to special education, over the past 20 years, and how has that affected the legal framework for special education today? Ms. Kunkel said that in the 2004 Reauthorization of the IDEA, Congress  added a requirement that, when a parent files a due process hearing complaint, the district and parent must promptly participate in a resolution session, unless they agree in writing to waive the resolution session. The purpose of the resolution session is to provide a forum at which the parent  explains the complaint and what s/he is seeking through the process so that the district has an opportunity to resolve the complaint. Parties who resolve some or all of the complaint issues through a resolution session must spell out the terms of their agreement in writing, and that writing is enforceable in court. Ms. Kunkel injected that the resolution session alone is of questionable value in resolving cases. Those same cases would likely be resolved in an IEP team meeting held after the complaint was filed. However, in Oklahoma, the entity that runs our dispute resolution and hearing processes – the Special Education Resolution Center at OSU – makes available without charge, with the parties’ agreement, trained resolution session facilitators, who assist the parties in attempting to resolve the complaint issues. Resolution sessions that include facilitators are effective in resolving due process hearing complaints in Oklahoma. She pointed out that although the IDEA does not require parents and districts to participate in mediation, it encourages alternative dispute resolution processes. SERC offers mediation services without charge to resolve disputes between parents and districts that agree to participate. Mediation is available whether or not the dispute has resulted in a due process hearing complaint. Ms. Kunkel said that most recently, SERC has started to offer facilitation services at IEP meetings. Again, this service is free to parents and schools that agree to participate. SERC cannot make facilitation broadly available, due to limited resources, but it is likely to be available in situations in which parents and schools cannot make it through IEP meetings due to mental health issues or other major obstacles. She went on to point out that the availability of alternative dispute resolution options has improved the legal framework for special education in Oklahoma. Although Oklahoma has never been a state with large numbers of  due process hearing complaints, the timing of SERC’s taking on the state’s due process hearing and alternative dispute resolution systems coincides with the filing of fewer due process hearing complaints. At a time when OSEP is emphasizing avoiding disputes and resolving disputes at the lowest possible level, Oklahoma is already a leader in those areas. Greater access to alternative dispute resolution processes seems to indicate that even fewer cases will result in administrative hearings, appeals and requests for judicial review. That indicates greater collaboration between parents and schools and improved services for students. How does the legal framework differ for special needs students and regular students in private and public schools was the next question that I asked her. She said that the IDEA applies to local education agencies (LEAs) like public schools, but not to private schools. Students with disabilities may be placed by their parents unilaterally in private schools or IEP teams in LEAs/public schools may place students with disabilities in private schools to receive FAPE. For unilaterally placed students, the private school may or may not provide the child with special education or related services and may or may not write an IEP or similar document. That is up to the private school. The parent has no access to due process procedures against a private school to challenge educational services provided or not provided to a private school student. She went on to say that for private schools that accept placements of students on IEPs to receive FAPE, then the placing LEA/public school has the legal obligation to provide the student with FAPE, to ensure that procedural safeguards are followed and that an appropriate IEP is developed and implemented. The private school does not become subject to the IDEA by accepting the student. The parent’s due process rights are against the LEA/public school, not the private school. Public schools have child find responsibilities as to students attending private schools, even unilaterally  placed students. At most, the private school has a moral obligation, not a legal one, to refer parents to LEAs/public schools for IDEA evaluations when private school personnel suspect a disability. Parents who believe that the LEA/public school has failed in its child find obligation or obligation to evaluate or reevaluate a student have access to IDEA due process procedures. I posed the question, â€Å"Who monitors the implementation and evaluation of IEPs in private and public schools?† Ms. Kunkel stated that private schools that voluntarily develop IEPs for their students with disabilities who are unilaterally placed by their parents monitor their own IEPs. There is no state or federal oversight. IEP development and implementation by LEAs/public schools is monitored by the Oklahoma State Department of Education, which  reports the results to the U.S. Department of Education/OSEP. LEAs/public schools face various consequences for IDEA violations. The last question that I asked her was â€Å"In the legal expert’s opinion, are there any elements of special education law that need refinement?† Ms. Kunkle said that, â€Å" As to the legal system, I would prefer mandatory mediation when a due process hearing complaint is filed.† I researched how mediation works in my schools district website. The website stated that a trained mediator works with both of the parties involved. The Special Education Resolution Center (SERC) is the one who appoints a mediator when needed, these mediators are neutral. The mediator is neutral facilitator to help the family, students and the school staff to reach an agreement. The mediator is in control of the session they parties involved makes all of the decisions regarding the case. The mediator permits both parties to voice their points and tries to help both parties to come to a mutual understanding and find the best solution to the problem that best suits the problem and best services that student. Parents and the school system also have a role in the mediation, their role is to be active during the session and help to develop an agreement along with the mediator. Both  parties can bring an attorney, but they are responsible for all fees. Mediation is free and not mandatory for any party to participate in. Mediation can be asked for at any time and if an agreement is made both parties get a copy of the agreement. If the agreement is not followed the case can go to court. (http://ok.gov/sde/faqs/special-education-mediation ) My state has policies that ensure that the funds that the state gets from IDEA (section 608 (a) ) There is a policy by the Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) establishes that secondary transition services be started at the start of the students ninth grade year or when they turn 16. There is a policy that makes sure that classroom sides are not big. Initial eligibility determination must be completed within 45 school days of receipt. In Oklahoma Due Process is managed by The Special Education Resolution Center (SERC) SERC has expanded with programs to help assist families and school districts to resolve disputes at the earliest possible time. This service is done for free to families and the district. The mediators are well trained. Mediation in Oklahoma is totally voluntary. If a parents wants to have mediation, they have to fill out a form, sign and return it to the SERC and the SERC will inform the other party involved in the dispute. After both parties agree to attend the mediation, a mediator will be assigned, there is a mediation manual on the states website. . In Oklahoma a Due Process hearing proceeds mediation when the disputes cannot be worked out during mediation. There are special rules for the conduction of the hearing. There is a hearing officer that proceeds over the hearing. Both parties have thirty days to try to settle once again on a resolution. A hearing will go ahead at this point. These options for parents and districts are funded by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. As a paraprofessional I have luckily never had to go through a Due Process Hearing, but I have worked with a few parents that I was  wondering if we were going to have to. I have worked with some wonderful families who truly worked with the school in making sure their child go the best education possible. In conclusion, through this course I have learned a lot about Special Education and law. The law is made to help people but I find that sometimes that is not case, through this class I have learned more about law and how it might help my special needs students. It is important as a teacher to be up on law. I might be the only one who can help my students and families. I want to be source of help and safety for my students and their families. As a special education teacher I will try to stay up on laws and stay educated myself. Resource Page http://ok.gov/sde/faqs/special-education-mediation (N.D) retrieved on August 5, 2014 http://ok.gov/sde/sites/ok.gov.sde/files/OSDE%20SES%20Policies.pdf (N.D.) retrieved on August 5, 2014 Personal Interview with Ms. Andrea Kunkel on August 3, 2014

Bend It Like Beckham

Field Experience A feedback on the movie â€Å"Bend it like Beckham† ——-From the perspective of Cross-cultural communication : : :201120327 :2011? 10? 11? A feedback on the movie â€Å"Bend it like Beckham† ——-From the perspective of Cross-cultural communication Abstract: Based on the English movie â€Å"Bend It like Beckham†, this paper is going to reveal the cultural phenomenon hidden in this story. Divided into three parts, this paper mainly makes an analysis on two aspects, one is religion, and another is family culture.Finally, the author points out: it is very important for people of different cultures to understand and respect each other. Thus, a peaceful and harmonious world would be around us! 1. Introduction and analysis of the movie: Before the 1980s, African culture and Asian culture got terrible restriction in UK, however, after the 1980s; a large number of movies that describe immigrants’ life have emerged in f ilm industry in England. Bend It like Beckham† is such a movie, which borrows cultural and racial difference between England and India, reflects how the two cultures co-exist and accept each other in a hard procedure As the immigrant of the second generation, Jess, a girl with talent to be a football player, shows her great admiration to Beckham,hoping, one day, she can play for England with Beckham shoulder by shoulder, while her mother believes that Jess has two great duties in life: to learn to prepare a complete Indian meal, and to marry a nice Indian boy.However, Jess never wants to be a housewife who can only cook. Jess’ love of soccer crosses over into a love of life. She runs onto the field as if simply at play, in her eyes’, football is not one part of aboard culture,but a natural thing in her living environment,however, it was not included in her clan and family culture,therefore, what she has to confront is the strait of the cultural conflicts caused b y two co-existing culture. In fact, â€Å"Bend It like Beckham† is a product of cultural clash.One day, Jess was playing soccer with boys in the park; Of course, an Indian girl should not play soccer at all, since in her mother's mind the game consists of â€Å"displaying your bare legs to complete strangers. † Jess is seen in the park by Juliette, who plays for the Hounslow Harriers, a woman's team, and is recruited to join them. The coach is a young Irishman named Joe. Although she deceives her parents about her join into the football team, she loves them and understands their point of view.The cultural conflict is still upgrading when Jess falls in love with her coach,, which is undoubtedly an earthquake for Indian family, but, at the end of this movie, we can feel hope, the two family members shake their hands together, and Jess’s boyfriend begin to play cricket together. It seems that, English people are being accepted by Indian family. And the old Indian p eople get out from the dark shadow in their heart. Historically speaking, India was the colony of England for a long time, English people usually were gentlemen, but they look down upon Indian people.Jess’s father was a excellent cricket player, owing to cultural diffusion,he lost the chance to play cricket , fortunately, Jess got her family’s support and realized her father’s dream. Then, in the following part, I will give a detailed analysis about cultural differences under the influence of two different tradition and religion, 2. Cultural analysis 2. 1. Culture and family Although, a culture’s core values and world view derive primarily from its predominant religious view and cultural history, the family is the primary caretaker of these views and values and transmits them to new members of the culture.In this story, there are two families, the representatives of the two cultures, one is the ordinary England family, observed from the surface, and it is an open, modern, and fashioned family. However, In this story, Juliette’s mother misreads Jess and Juliette’s friendship as lesbian, so painful that she cried secretly, according to her attitude toward lesbian, we will realize English people is conservative in soul. The other one is an emigrate family from India, Indian parents are strict and traditional, they have strong religious belief. Which indicate what kind of Jess’s family is.As expected, it is incredible and unsupportable for a girl playing football. Family gives children knowledge about their historical background, information regarding the permanent nature of their culture, and specific behaviors, customs, traditions, and language associated with their ethnic or cultural group. In short, the family tells us, and others, who we are and what groups we are part of. ( K. A. Ocampo, 1993, 106). So next, I will render the different interaction pattern in English family and Indian family from two aspects: g ender role and individualism- collectivism 2. . 1. gender role In India, males are usually considered the superior sex, as Samovar points out, men make most of the important decisions, inheriantance is through the male line, and a woman lives in her husband’s village after she marries. (Samovar, 2000,). Therefore, in India, boys give much freedom of expression than the girls, and girls are asked to help with the chores that keep the family functioning. However, in British, women usually have the equal right as man does in family life, even in social activity. 2. 1. 2. ndividualism and collectivism Individualism and collectivism are learned through the family, which teaches children whom they must obey and who the dominant figures are in their life. In this movie, the Juliette from English nuclear family is much more self-reliant and self-responsible than Jess who from Indian Family, because, India is a typical country of extended family, people in India, share property, all m aterial possession, food, work and love, perform religious rituals together, and often live under the same roof.There is a scene in this movie: when her sister’s would-be parents-in-law discovered her intimate behavior with Juliette whom was mistaken for a English boy,. Just because of Jess’s so-called â€Å"shameful behavior†, they break off her son’s engagement with Jess’s family according this story, it’s not difficult to get conclusion that India family is a typical collectivism; one people’s thing is the thing of the whole family. 2. 2. Culture and Religion: In this movie, you will find lots of religious elements in the story, to some extent, cross-religious communication is the cross-cultural communication. When religion jumps to life it displays a startling quality. It takes over. All else, while not silenced, becomes subdued and thrown into a supporting role†¦It calls the soul to the highest adventure it can undertake, a proposed journey across the jungles, peaks, and deserts of the human spirit (H. Smith, 1991, P9). So, from different religions, we can understand different people’s spiritual and psychological needs or their behavior and habits, here, taking the Sikhism as example, we will have a better understanding of Jess’s family, Sikhs, followers of the Sikh religion, centered in Punjab State, in northwestern India.Sikhism is an ethical monotheism fusing elements of Hinduism and Islam. It was founded around 1950s, In Jess’s family's living room is a large portrait of a Sikh spiritual leader, called Nanak, but above Jess's bed is her own inspiration–the British soccer superstar David Beckham, and there is a distinctive contrast between Indian traditional belief and modern British cultural shock.According this story, it’s not difficult to get conclusion that it is incredible for Indian people to get married with a pagan or people without same belief, but, in Bri tish, Christianity is the dominant world view. In this land, it is not a easy job to infuse with the native Indian Sikh religion, and vice versa. Conclusion England is the birthplace of modern football game, English people’s enthusiasm to football caused football culture’s coming into being, which exactly stands for the national culture. While India is a country of dances and songs.The scene of Indian jolly wedding with dance and song in this movie is just the epitome of Indian culture. Young people always can accept new things easily, in this movie; it is the two girls who play the role of fusion of two cultures. There indeed are some cultural shocks during people’s communication around the world, no matter which aspect it is, religion, ethnic, family or something else. Now that we live in the same earth, it is very important for people of different cultures to understand and respect each other.Thus, a peaceful and harmonious world would be around us! Reference s [1]. K. A. Ocampo, M. Bernal, G. P. Knight, (1993) â€Å"Gender, Race, and Ethnicity: The Sequencing of Social Constrancies,† New York: New York Press. [2]. Samovar, A. l. , Porter, R. E. ,& Stefani, A. L. (2000) Communication Between Cultures(Third Edition). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press [3]. H. Smith, (1991)The World’s Religions. New York: HarperCollins. Bend It Like Beckham Field Experience A feedback on the movie â€Å"Bend it like Beckham† ——-From the perspective of Cross-cultural communication : : :201120327 :2011? 10? 11? A feedback on the movie â€Å"Bend it like Beckham† ——-From the perspective of Cross-cultural communication Abstract: Based on the English movie â€Å"Bend It like Beckham†, this paper is going to reveal the cultural phenomenon hidden in this story. Divided into three parts, this paper mainly makes an analysis on two aspects, one is religion, and another is family culture.Finally, the author points out: it is very important for people of different cultures to understand and respect each other. Thus, a peaceful and harmonious world would be around us! 1. Introduction and analysis of the movie: Before the 1980s, African culture and Asian culture got terrible restriction in UK, however, after the 1980s; a large number of movies that describe immigrants’ life have emerged in f ilm industry in England. Bend It like Beckham† is such a movie, which borrows cultural and racial difference between England and India, reflects how the two cultures co-exist and accept each other in a hard procedure As the immigrant of the second generation, Jess, a girl with talent to be a football player, shows her great admiration to Beckham,hoping, one day, she can play for England with Beckham shoulder by shoulder, while her mother believes that Jess has two great duties in life: to learn to prepare a complete Indian meal, and to marry a nice Indian boy.However, Jess never wants to be a housewife who can only cook. Jess’ love of soccer crosses over into a love of life. She runs onto the field as if simply at play, in her eyes’, football is not one part of aboard culture,but a natural thing in her living environment,however, it was not included in her clan and family culture,therefore, what she has to confront is the strait of the cultural conflicts caused b y two co-existing culture. In fact, â€Å"Bend It like Beckham† is a product of cultural clash.One day, Jess was playing soccer with boys in the park; Of course, an Indian girl should not play soccer at all, since in her mother's mind the game consists of â€Å"displaying your bare legs to complete strangers. † Jess is seen in the park by Juliette, who plays for the Hounslow Harriers, a woman's team, and is recruited to join them. The coach is a young Irishman named Joe. Although she deceives her parents about her join into the football team, she loves them and understands their point of view.The cultural conflict is still upgrading when Jess falls in love with her coach,, which is undoubtedly an earthquake for Indian family, but, at the end of this movie, we can feel hope, the two family members shake their hands together, and Jess’s boyfriend begin to play cricket together. It seems that, English people are being accepted by Indian family. And the old Indian p eople get out from the dark shadow in their heart. Historically speaking, India was the colony of England for a long time, English people usually were gentlemen, but they look down upon Indian people.Jess’s father was a excellent cricket player, owing to cultural diffusion,he lost the chance to play cricket , fortunately, Jess got her family’s support and realized her father’s dream. Then, in the following part, I will give a detailed analysis about cultural differences under the influence of two different tradition and religion, 2. Cultural analysis 2. 1. Culture and family Although, a culture’s core values and world view derive primarily from its predominant religious view and cultural history, the family is the primary caretaker of these views and values and transmits them to new members of the culture.In this story, there are two families, the representatives of the two cultures, one is the ordinary England family, observed from the surface, and it is an open, modern, and fashioned family. However, In this story, Juliette’s mother misreads Jess and Juliette’s friendship as lesbian, so painful that she cried secretly, according to her attitude toward lesbian, we will realize English people is conservative in soul. The other one is an emigrate family from India, Indian parents are strict and traditional, they have strong religious belief. Which indicate what kind of Jess’s family is.As expected, it is incredible and unsupportable for a girl playing football. Family gives children knowledge about their historical background, information regarding the permanent nature of their culture, and specific behaviors, customs, traditions, and language associated with their ethnic or cultural group. In short, the family tells us, and others, who we are and what groups we are part of. ( K. A. Ocampo, 1993, 106). So next, I will render the different interaction pattern in English family and Indian family from two aspects: g ender role and individualism- collectivism 2. . 1. gender role In India, males are usually considered the superior sex, as Samovar points out, men make most of the important decisions, inheriantance is through the male line, and a woman lives in her husband’s village after she marries. (Samovar, 2000,). Therefore, in India, boys give much freedom of expression than the girls, and girls are asked to help with the chores that keep the family functioning. However, in British, women usually have the equal right as man does in family life, even in social activity. 2. 1. 2. ndividualism and collectivism Individualism and collectivism are learned through the family, which teaches children whom they must obey and who the dominant figures are in their life. In this movie, the Juliette from English nuclear family is much more self-reliant and self-responsible than Jess who from Indian Family, because, India is a typical country of extended family, people in India, share property, all m aterial possession, food, work and love, perform religious rituals together, and often live under the same roof.There is a scene in this movie: when her sister’s would-be parents-in-law discovered her intimate behavior with Juliette whom was mistaken for a English boy,. Just because of Jess’s so-called â€Å"shameful behavior†, they break off her son’s engagement with Jess’s family according this story, it’s not difficult to get conclusion that India family is a typical collectivism; one people’s thing is the thing of the whole family. 2. 2. Culture and Religion: In this movie, you will find lots of religious elements in the story, to some extent, cross-religious communication is the cross-cultural communication. When religion jumps to life it displays a startling quality. It takes over. All else, while not silenced, becomes subdued and thrown into a supporting role†¦It calls the soul to the highest adventure it can undertake, a proposed journey across the jungles, peaks, and deserts of the human spirit (H. Smith, 1991, P9). So, from different religions, we can understand different people’s spiritual and psychological needs or their behavior and habits, here, taking the Sikhism as example, we will have a better understanding of Jess’s family, Sikhs, followers of the Sikh religion, centered in Punjab State, in northwestern India.Sikhism is an ethical monotheism fusing elements of Hinduism and Islam. It was founded around 1950s, In Jess’s family's living room is a large portrait of a Sikh spiritual leader, called Nanak, but above Jess's bed is her own inspiration–the British soccer superstar David Beckham, and there is a distinctive contrast between Indian traditional belief and modern British cultural shock.According this story, it’s not difficult to get conclusion that it is incredible for Indian people to get married with a pagan or people without same belief, but, in Bri tish, Christianity is the dominant world view. In this land, it is not a easy job to infuse with the native Indian Sikh religion, and vice versa. Conclusion England is the birthplace of modern football game, English people’s enthusiasm to football caused football culture’s coming into being, which exactly stands for the national culture. While India is a country of dances and songs.The scene of Indian jolly wedding with dance and song in this movie is just the epitome of Indian culture. Young people always can accept new things easily, in this movie; it is the two girls who play the role of fusion of two cultures. There indeed are some cultural shocks during people’s communication around the world, no matter which aspect it is, religion, ethnic, family or something else. Now that we live in the same earth, it is very important for people of different cultures to understand and respect each other.Thus, a peaceful and harmonious world would be around us! Reference s [1]. K. A. Ocampo, M. Bernal, G. P. Knight, (1993) â€Å"Gender, Race, and Ethnicity: The Sequencing of Social Constrancies,† New York: New York Press. [2]. Samovar, A. l. , Porter, R. E. ,& Stefani, A. L. (2000) Communication Between Cultures(Third Edition). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press [3]. H. Smith, (1991)The World’s Religions. New York: HarperCollins. Bend It Like Beckham Field Experience A feedback on the movie â€Å"Bend it like Beckham† ——-From the perspective of Cross-cultural communication : : :201120327 :2011? 10? 11? A feedback on the movie â€Å"Bend it like Beckham† ——-From the perspective of Cross-cultural communication Abstract: Based on the English movie â€Å"Bend It like Beckham†, this paper is going to reveal the cultural phenomenon hidden in this story. Divided into three parts, this paper mainly makes an analysis on two aspects, one is religion, and another is family culture.Finally, the author points out: it is very important for people of different cultures to understand and respect each other. Thus, a peaceful and harmonious world would be around us! 1. Introduction and analysis of the movie: Before the 1980s, African culture and Asian culture got terrible restriction in UK, however, after the 1980s; a large number of movies that describe immigrants’ life have emerged in f ilm industry in England. Bend It like Beckham† is such a movie, which borrows cultural and racial difference between England and India, reflects how the two cultures co-exist and accept each other in a hard procedure As the immigrant of the second generation, Jess, a girl with talent to be a football player, shows her great admiration to Beckham,hoping, one day, she can play for England with Beckham shoulder by shoulder, while her mother believes that Jess has two great duties in life: to learn to prepare a complete Indian meal, and to marry a nice Indian boy.However, Jess never wants to be a housewife who can only cook. Jess’ love of soccer crosses over into a love of life. She runs onto the field as if simply at play, in her eyes’, football is not one part of aboard culture,but a natural thing in her living environment,however, it was not included in her clan and family culture,therefore, what she has to confront is the strait of the cultural conflicts caused b y two co-existing culture. In fact, â€Å"Bend It like Beckham† is a product of cultural clash.One day, Jess was playing soccer with boys in the park; Of course, an Indian girl should not play soccer at all, since in her mother's mind the game consists of â€Å"displaying your bare legs to complete strangers. † Jess is seen in the park by Juliette, who plays for the Hounslow Harriers, a woman's team, and is recruited to join them. The coach is a young Irishman named Joe. Although she deceives her parents about her join into the football team, she loves them and understands their point of view.The cultural conflict is still upgrading when Jess falls in love with her coach,, which is undoubtedly an earthquake for Indian family, but, at the end of this movie, we can feel hope, the two family members shake their hands together, and Jess’s boyfriend begin to play cricket together. It seems that, English people are being accepted by Indian family. And the old Indian p eople get out from the dark shadow in their heart. Historically speaking, India was the colony of England for a long time, English people usually were gentlemen, but they look down upon Indian people.Jess’s father was a excellent cricket player, owing to cultural diffusion,he lost the chance to play cricket , fortunately, Jess got her family’s support and realized her father’s dream. Then, in the following part, I will give a detailed analysis about cultural differences under the influence of two different tradition and religion, 2. Cultural analysis 2. 1. Culture and family Although, a culture’s core values and world view derive primarily from its predominant religious view and cultural history, the family is the primary caretaker of these views and values and transmits them to new members of the culture.In this story, there are two families, the representatives of the two cultures, one is the ordinary England family, observed from the surface, and it is an open, modern, and fashioned family. However, In this story, Juliette’s mother misreads Jess and Juliette’s friendship as lesbian, so painful that she cried secretly, according to her attitude toward lesbian, we will realize English people is conservative in soul. The other one is an emigrate family from India, Indian parents are strict and traditional, they have strong religious belief. Which indicate what kind of Jess’s family is.As expected, it is incredible and unsupportable for a girl playing football. Family gives children knowledge about their historical background, information regarding the permanent nature of their culture, and specific behaviors, customs, traditions, and language associated with their ethnic or cultural group. In short, the family tells us, and others, who we are and what groups we are part of. ( K. A. Ocampo, 1993, 106). So next, I will render the different interaction pattern in English family and Indian family from two aspects: g ender role and individualism- collectivism 2. . 1. gender role In India, males are usually considered the superior sex, as Samovar points out, men make most of the important decisions, inheriantance is through the male line, and a woman lives in her husband’s village after she marries. (Samovar, 2000,). Therefore, in India, boys give much freedom of expression than the girls, and girls are asked to help with the chores that keep the family functioning. However, in British, women usually have the equal right as man does in family life, even in social activity. 2. 1. 2. ndividualism and collectivism Individualism and collectivism are learned through the family, which teaches children whom they must obey and who the dominant figures are in their life. In this movie, the Juliette from English nuclear family is much more self-reliant and self-responsible than Jess who from Indian Family, because, India is a typical country of extended family, people in India, share property, all m aterial possession, food, work and love, perform religious rituals together, and often live under the same roof.There is a scene in this movie: when her sister’s would-be parents-in-law discovered her intimate behavior with Juliette whom was mistaken for a English boy,. Just because of Jess’s so-called â€Å"shameful behavior†, they break off her son’s engagement with Jess’s family according this story, it’s not difficult to get conclusion that India family is a typical collectivism; one people’s thing is the thing of the whole family. 2. 2. Culture and Religion: In this movie, you will find lots of religious elements in the story, to some extent, cross-religious communication is the cross-cultural communication. When religion jumps to life it displays a startling quality. It takes over. All else, while not silenced, becomes subdued and thrown into a supporting role†¦It calls the soul to the highest adventure it can undertake, a proposed journey across the jungles, peaks, and deserts of the human spirit (H. Smith, 1991, P9). So, from different religions, we can understand different people’s spiritual and psychological needs or their behavior and habits, here, taking the Sikhism as example, we will have a better understanding of Jess’s family, Sikhs, followers of the Sikh religion, centered in Punjab State, in northwestern India.Sikhism is an ethical monotheism fusing elements of Hinduism and Islam. It was founded around 1950s, In Jess’s family's living room is a large portrait of a Sikh spiritual leader, called Nanak, but above Jess's bed is her own inspiration–the British soccer superstar David Beckham, and there is a distinctive contrast between Indian traditional belief and modern British cultural shock.According this story, it’s not difficult to get conclusion that it is incredible for Indian people to get married with a pagan or people without same belief, but, in Bri tish, Christianity is the dominant world view. In this land, it is not a easy job to infuse with the native Indian Sikh religion, and vice versa. Conclusion England is the birthplace of modern football game, English people’s enthusiasm to football caused football culture’s coming into being, which exactly stands for the national culture. While India is a country of dances and songs.The scene of Indian jolly wedding with dance and song in this movie is just the epitome of Indian culture. Young people always can accept new things easily, in this movie; it is the two girls who play the role of fusion of two cultures. There indeed are some cultural shocks during people’s communication around the world, no matter which aspect it is, religion, ethnic, family or something else. Now that we live in the same earth, it is very important for people of different cultures to understand and respect each other.Thus, a peaceful and harmonious world would be around us! Reference s [1]. K. A. Ocampo, M. Bernal, G. P. Knight, (1993) â€Å"Gender, Race, and Ethnicity: The Sequencing of Social Constrancies,† New York: New York Press. [2]. Samovar, A. l. , Porter, R. E. ,& Stefani, A. L. (2000) Communication Between Cultures(Third Edition). Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press [3]. H. Smith, (1991)The World’s Religions. New York: HarperCollins.

“Hiroshima” by John Hersey Essay

The human mind cannot comprehend the split-second deaths of 100 000 people when the atomic bomb hit the people of Japan in August, 1945. However this event, which has changed the world forever, can be relived through the lives of six survivors in John Hersey’s Hiroshima. Expository texts such as the aforementioned often present powerful social issues which challenge not only the reader from the contemporary Western culture but also the reader from the 1946 American society. Hersey employs various techniques, including point of view, tone, emotive and descriptive language to position readers to respond to changing priorities, Japan’s reaction to the crisis and moral and ethical issues. Up until Hersey’s account of the Hiroshima bombing, texts that were presented to readers were fabricated propaganda and contained the preconception that dropping the bomb was not ethically wrong. This influenced readers in that context to feel as if the Americans had taken the right action to end the war. However, Hersey writes Hiroshima in the point-of-view of six †hibakusha’s†, focussing entirely on their stories of endurance and hope throughout the atomic blast. As he writes in such a journalistic style and detaches any feelings or opinions he may have about the event, he forces readers to draw their own conclusions from the facts and question the morality of the Americans and their president. Quoted from Rhodes, the making of the Atomic Bomb from a scientist who took part in assembling the bomb, â€Å"†¦I still remember the feeling of unease, even nausea, when I saw many of my friends rushing to celebrate. Of course we were exalted by the success o f our work, but it seemed rather ghoulish to celebrate the sudden death of a hundred thousand people, even if they were â€Å"enemies†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ. Hersey portrays the six characters not as enemies, but as normal people, with real values and attitudes which elicits resentment towards the Americans and encourages readers to sympathise with the Japanese characters. To reconstruct the effect of the blast and its dismal consequences on Japan’s population, Hersey selects a variety of characters such as a widow, a priest and a surgeon to resemble the microcosm of Japanese society. Not once does Hersey question or agree with the decision to drop the bomb nor does he sympathise with the Japanese victims but by emphasising the survival instead of the suffering he prevents his book from becoming anti-American, therefore  broadening his target audience. The only way â€Å"Hiroshima† would be read by the â€Å"New York Time’s† loyal readers was for Hersey to write in this unemotional tone, for example â€Å"†¦they had not had the strength to move; they must have drowned.† This is a style which is se en today as a clever way to escape extreme controversy. Of course it is inhumane to kill thousands of innocent people without warning and â€Å"The eyebrows of some were burned off and skin hung from their faces and hands. Often, because of pain, they held their hands up as if carrying something in both hands.† The descriptive language throughout the novel proves the abovementioned point to the reader. Still, you have to consider the context before making judgement on the decision to drop the bomb. Truman may have been concerned for his countries welfare but there were many other alternatives. Surely readers can see that now, but Hersey’s use of language techniques in his recount of Hiroshima was taking the American readers one step closer to realising the truth; that Truman’s resolution to drop the bomb â€Å"†¦in order to shorten the agony of war [and] in order to save the lives of thousands of young Americans† [Public Papers of the President, Truman, 1945] not only ended the war but inflicted suffering and death to thousands of innocent people. Very few of Hersey’s characters have close family ties, further emphasising the way Japan comes together as a community in the time of this crisis. Unscathed are aiding the wounded on the riverbank, providing water, food, and comfort as though they were family. Readers are positioned to accept the character’s attempts to help the people that are only strangers to them. However even though these six characters help one another to try to rebuild their lives, each suffers on their own. â€Å"The hurt ones were quiet, no one wept, much less screamed in pain, no one complained†¦not even the children cried.† After the explosion the lack of dialogue creates an eerie, almost silent atmosphere to portray the peaceful and humble characteristics of the Japanese people. The characters have an admirable patience and endurance shown in the face of adversity. When father Kleinsorge offers water to the wounded, â€Å"almost blotted out by flash burns, they [take] their share and bowed to him in thanks.† No one shouts out in rage or promises revenge towards their opposing country. The techniques Hersey has employed in this text positions the reader to accept the Japanese culture and realise that  even though thousands of lives were lost, the attack on Hiroshima brought the community together and shaped it into the country it is today. On the morning of the attack, the citizens of Japan were living like ordinary people, with priorities and values which would be similar to those we have in our contemporary Western society. However they were completely unaware that their priorities would change dramatically when the bomb was dropped, destroying their lives and tearing apart their families. The detail selected encourages readers to experience the severe shock that is instilled into the characters as they come to terms with their new situation. â€Å"Things don’t matter anymore. Yesterday my shoes were my most important possessions. Today I don’t care. One pair is enough.† This symbolises the preciousness of life and the insignificance of material possessions. The suffering of thousands of people and their wounds and burns are described repeatedly and the injured and dying are so numerous that the doctors no longer help the badly injured because they are not going to survive. Dr Sasaki is faced with the decision to leave the severely wounded and readers are positioned to sympathise for him as making this decision in the devastating circumstances would be almost impossible. He feels that they will â€Å"die feeling cheated† if he tells the victims he will return to help, only leaving them to die. Combined with the point of view of each character, readers are encouraged to respond to the bombing with feelings of anger and empathy towards the six survivors and the way it has affected their priorities and their future. Hersey’s bleak yet graphic account of the Hiroshima bombing is a novel which can be read for generations and still capture the horror of war and the endurance of the Japanese people. Hiroshima encourages readers of today’s western society as well as the readers in 1946 to respond to the text with feelings of sympathy, anger and remorse. Hersey employs techniques such as selection of detail, language, tone and point of view to encourage readers to be challenged by the powerful social values; changing priorities, Japan’s reaction to the crisis and moral and ethical issues which are embedded in the text. Overall Hersey exposes the true side of war to the readers; the side which is not glorified but elicits extreme loss of life and untold suffering.

The current financial crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The current financial crisis - Essay Example The banks had a liquidity issue in their hands making the given and receiving of loans very difficult as the fallout from the subprime lending bubble burst. (Magdoff and Bellamy). This paper discusses the subprime crisis of America in 2007 and the Asian financial crisis of 1997 - 1998, and explaining the possible causes of the crises. The subprime crisis happened in America in the year 2007 and involved a national banking emergency which resulted in the famous economic US economic recession of 2008 (Raymond). The American business community had involved itself extensively with mortgage-backed securities (MBS) and collateralized debt obligations (CDO) due to the high returns from the high interest rates on mortgages. When lower credit quality was onset, however, there was a massive default with the disruptions in the flow of credit to both the businesses and the consumers. The result was a marked severe global recession. Several reasons were put up to explain the cause of the crisis but the fallout is generally considered to be from the sudden rise in the rates of subprime lending. According to Pierre (233), the rates of mortgages were originally low, about 8%. However, when the rates suddenly hiked to about 20% in the year 2006, it became apparently very high for the institutions offering these mortgage services. This hiked lending lead to a lowered standard of lending and a rise in higher-risk products from mortgages. Consequently, the US households became highly indebted with a sharp rise in the ratio of the amount that each of these households would dispose to the amount of debt in mortgages (Robert, 126). As was observed in mid-2006, it became very difficult for borrowers in the US to refinance their loans following a deep decline in the US home prices (James, 198). Mortgage felony was observed to rise following a reset of adjustable-mortgage rates to higher

Success with Agile Project Management in General Dynamics Case Study

Success with Agile Project Management in General Dynamics - Case Study Example As Stapleton (2003) notes, the reason why DSDM agile framework was adopted is not only because of their reputation for high quality delivery projects, but also because of the sensitivity of the project. In addition, DSDM have been proved for their MoSCoW approach, which has been applied and yielded success in past projects. In addition, DSDM is known for their iterative and incremental approaches that are a great determinant of success in agile projects (Stapleton, 2003). The Ministry also chose this agile framework because of its earlier project management experiences where there was budget overrun, time constraints and lesser successes (General Dynamics, 2010). In addition, the ministry needed a technically complex project, and this could definitely not have been achieved by employing the traditional project management approaches. The other reason that saw DSDM being contracted for the project was due to its ability to stick to its principles that guide its success, and the ability of this agile framework to bridge the gap between prime contractors and customers to a successful integrated project. The main problems that the project team tried to solve were schedule deadlines, costs and technical applications of the project. The ministry of Defense saw the dire need for up-to-date technological applications that would help reduce cases of mistaken identity in the heat of the battle, and this would be achieved through the Combat Identifications Server (CIdS) Technology Project (TDP) (General Dynamics, 2010). These problems could not be adequately addressed through the traditional model. To address the problems, the agile framework adopted some of its most basic and well known techniques. DSDM is known for applying eight basic principles that are guidelines that lay the foundation for the success of the framework (Layton, 2012). These techniques are a focus on what the business needs, timely delivery, collaboration, and un-compromised

Diversity Issue in the Movie Crash Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Diversity Issue in the Crash - Movie Review Example Perhaps, the man had learned from his culture that he had to defend himself against others, especially now that he was feeling oppressed and perceiving everyone as a â€Å"cheat†. Aggression is a vice that can rip the society apart. Aggression and violence have profound impacts on the society. A society that is characterized by high level of violence and aggression cannot enjoy peace and harmony. As such, individuals will always be up against one another because of the inherent feeling of hurting each other. There is likely to be no tolerance between different races and even between people of the same race. As it goes, violence begets violence. Children are most likely to grow up knowing that violence is the order of the day. Consequently, they will grow up with unruly behaviors having been brought up in a culture of aggression and violence. This negatively affects the development of the society and water down societal core values like love and affection for each other. Aggression destroys the unity of the society.

The Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Ford Motors Company Essay

The Challenges and Opportunities Facing the Ford Motors Company - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that Ford Motors is a U.S. automaker and is among the leading automakers in the world. Ford was incorporated on June 16, 1903, by its founder Henry Ford. The company’s headquarters is based in Dearborn, Michigan. Ford has emerged as one of the automaker giants in the world. For instance, the company ranks fourth largest automobile company globally and second largest in America according to annual sales volume. Ford sells in a variety of brand names such as Ford, Mercury, and Lincoln. The company has also been the manufacturer of Land Rover and Jaguar, which were sold off to Tata, an Indian automaker. In the U.S. market, the company currently ranks second after General Motors, which is the world’s leading automaker. PESTEL analysis implies political, economic, social, technological, environmental analysis that helps in understanding the macro-environmental factors that affect the operation of Ford. These factors are discussed h ereunder: Politics of a country is very important as far as far as car manufacturing is concerned. The U.S. politics influence the legislation and laws by which car manufacturing companies like Ford operates. For instance, Ford’s operation has hugely been affected by the political pressure from the government of the United States regarding the global warming caused by greenhouse gaseous emissions. In this regard, the government has imposed certain measures aimed at limiting the level of gaseous emissions that a particular vehicle has to emit to the environment. This has threatened the operation of Ford because complying with some of these laws is not easy, as they require a total change of the manufacturing process. Ford is also required to comply with the tax policies imposed by the government. The changes in tax policies by the U.S. government particularly by increasing taxes on the automobile industry has affected the operation of the company in recent times where it servi ce high taxes in order to be able to operate. For instance, the idea to introduce a road tax proportional to the number of gaseous emissions is affecting the company’s operations.

'Petroglyph Park' by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and 'The large Blue Term Paper

'Petroglyph Park' by Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and 'The large Blue Horses' byFranz Marc - Term Paper Example Franz, was a very sensitive painter who was well known for expressing his feelings and emotions through his pieces of art. He loved painting animals, especially horses because he felt that animals are innocent creatures and are much closer to God than human beings. Both artists, Juane and Franz had their own unique and peculiar style of painting but yet shared some commonality between them – such as abstract figures and the use of rich colors. Juane’s paintings are well known as â€Å"inhabited landscapes† while she makes use of modernist color and unique techniques created from her vocabulary of art work which includes oil painting as well as works on paper. The Petroglyph Park was started by Juane about five years later when she completed her MA in art in 1980, from the University of New Mexico and it is this series of paintings that established her artistic voice in the lineage of landscape painting in America. In her modern abstraction of the Petroglyph Park, she makes use of a unique compositional style with brilliant colors and gestural layers of paint. ‘The Large Blue Horses’ by Franz Marc is an expression of his feelings towards animals in general. His type of painting belongs to the category of ‘Expressionists’ as it depicts the sensitive feelings and emotions of the artist.

Informal report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Informal report - Assignment Example As a point of departure, the procedures for the survey process were agreed between the company management team and the union, which represents the workers. For instance, the issue of testing employees at mid-contract was ruled out since it undermined the workers’ rights in terms of initial appointment regulations. However, the 63% of the production and 82% of the white-collar workers agreed to have workers tested during hiring time. On the other hand, the 62% of the production and 72% of the white-collar workers agreed the workers to be tested when they appear to be under the influence of drugs. This is an indication that, the policy drafting should be flexible to accommodate the wishes of the majority workers in order to avoid the crash with the worker’s union. The survey was done using questionnaires that were distributed between the two categories of workers because they were perceived to offer lucid and reliable information (Employee Drug Testing, 26). The data coll ected was then analyzed and percentages calculated. Some of the primary areas investigated include the production and transport sections. These areas serve a fundamental role in the company in its bid to achieve the corporate citizenship. Some of the instances investigated and considered in the drafting of this policy include non-violent and physical approach to workers in convincing them to take up the drug testing exercise. In case a worker refuses to undergo a drug test, he/she should not be forced to avoid the risk of civil and criminal complaints that involves assault. Procedural consultative avenues were considered to greater extent in removing the excesses that may come along with this process of drug testing (Cresce, 23). Another factor considered during this survey is the circumstances, in which the testing should take place. In case of Random and cause, they should be clearly spelled out in the policy such that the employees can be able to know when they can be called for such

Complete In The Lab 1 Creating Objects for the ECO Clothesline Essay

Complete In The Lab 1 Creating Objects for the ECO Clothesline Database on page AC 66 AC 67 at the end of Access Chapter 1. Perform all steps. Submit the entire database file for grading - Essay Example A string supports a number of characters, mostly letters and symbols (Raghu & Gehrke, 2003). The following field is the first name of the sales rep, which is also a string. After the first name, the next field represents the street where the rep resides. This field is also a string and it supports the entry of numbers and characters. The other field after the street is the city field. This is followed by the state field which is a string, as well. The states’ representation is in the short form. After the states entry the field that follows is the postal code. This code is in an integer field. The other records are the base pay and commission fields. The representation is in decimals. The entries of the values of the commission are dependent on a calculation that is a percentage of all the sales made by that

Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Islam - Essay Example Before the Prophet Mohammad was sent by Allah as the last messenger, the 7th century in Mecca comprised of tribal nomadic Arab people who lived in deserts, in tents or in mud/sand houses. They were socially related to each tribe as in blood relations and they were divided in small families called clans. Politically, the Arabs in the 7th century has no proper written laws, they just use to choose a Sheikh through consensus and then they used to accept all the decisions their Sheikh made for them and they strictly had to follow the customs and traditions of their tribes1. Their religion during those days was Polo theism as they were somewhere in their minds aware of the existence of Allah but they had deviated from the right path and were creating deities with Allah. Quran refers to them as â€Å"Jahilyah Arab†2. The concept of Polo theism during the 7th century was that the Arab nomads thought that the deities they had created had some kind of a link between them and the Allah they had lost. The deities they had created were substances like rain, fire, trees and so on. These Arabs thought that rain and trees brought about farming and agricultural surplus for them; they were their Gods as these substances had very strong/powerful benefits for them3. At this time, the Prophet Mohammad (P.B.U.H) was also in Mecca and he was greatly worried about the social moral order of the Arabs and he used to meditate and contemplate in the Cave Hira about the social and political issues. He also worked for the restoration of justice in the society. During this time, that is, the 610 A.D. the Prophet (P.B.U.H) had just turned 40 years old and Allah sent him the first revelation through Angel Gabriel, which asked the Prophet to read in the Name of Allah. Then the Second revelation was received, Surah Al-Ikhlas, which brought guidance towards social reforms in Arabia. It stated that the social moral order should be based on Allah’s laws and not

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay Example for Free

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay Those who think Transcendentalism is just a literary movement that took place in the early 1800s are only half correct. Transcendentalism is indeed a literary movement; however, it is much more than that. It is meant to challenge people to think for themselves and cause change. Authors such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee taught the importance of non-conformity and civil disobedience through short stories such as â€Å"Self Reliance† and â€Å"On the Duty of Civil Disobedience†, and the play, The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail. Transcendentalism is based on the belief that knowledge is derived from experience and personal reflection as opposed to reason. Transcendentalism promotes self-revelation because it encourages people to form their own opinions and then voice them in a way that will promote change in society. Transcendentalists ground their philosophy with the idea that every persons inner self is where knowledge is gained. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s â€Å"Self Reliance†, he says, What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think†¦It is easy in the world to live after the worlds opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. Emerson realizes that it is easy to conform to society, but there is value in forming one’s own opinion. What makes a person great is if he or she can stand out in a crowd of people. While in a crowd, one can see the overall ideas of the group but never the individual thoughts that made up these ideas. Emerson is saying that to be great, one must be able to be with the crowd physically, but mentally remain one’s own person with their own ideas. Because Transcendentalism values individual opinions, it is also important to people such as Henry David Thoreau that everyone, especially the government, is open to other peoples’ opinions. In â€Å"On the Duty of Civil Disobedience† Thoreau says, â€Å"There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power†¦ and treats him accordingly. † Thoreau understands that citizens should be able to influence the government and cause change. To do this, the government needs to treat its citizens with respect. Politicians and other government workers need to do away with their pride and listen to what is really important- the citizens. When people can form their own opinions, respect others’ opinions, and voice their opinions, there will be harmony. In Transcendentalism, people are encouraged not only to form their own opinions, but to voice them as well. Thoreau tells everyone to â€Å"make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it† (Thoreau). He supports transcendentalism by encouraging people to stand up and talk about their opinions. Thoreau understands that change, especially in government can only occur when individuals make their opinions heard. During his life, Thoreau challenged the idea of slavery, government corruption, payment of taxes, and the Mexican-American War. In The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, Thoreau is talking to his old professor about how he should voice his discontent with the Mexican-American War. When Thoreau’s professor asks when he should voice his opinion Thoreau yells, â€Å"‘NOW! A year ago was too late! I’ll get you an audience. This afternoon. At Concord Square! †Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Lawrence and Lee 89). In the play, Thoreau expresses that opinions are no good if they are not proclaimed to the world. If opinions are not voiced they cannot be heard. Transcendentalism values individual opinions and acknowledges that voicing them is crucial if they are going to spearhead change in their society. Transcendentalists agree that self-revelation is wasted if it is not voiced and then heard and thereby causing change. During The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail, Thoreau spends a small amount of time as a schoolteacher. While Thoreau is a schoolteacher, he gets into trouble with the schoolmaster because he lets his kids â€Å"Huckleberry† in order to come to a conclusion in a class discussion. After he gets in trouble Thoreau sarcastically tells his students, ‘â€Å"You must not listen to a cricket or smell a flower that has not been approved by the School Committee. You’d better close both ears and hold your nose- though you may have to grow an extra hand to do it†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Lawrence and Lee 20). In this instance, Thoreau is trying to speak out against the strict policy of the school committee. He sees that the policy is unfair and that students should be able to learn in a way that is effective for them. By speaking out against the school committee, Thoreau is opening up the possibility for a reform in the education system. Thoreau sees that there is an opportunity to promote change so he takes it and speaks his opinion. According to Thoreau and other transcendentalists, the government needs to be ameliorated. Thoreau says, â€Å"The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it† (Thoreau). Transcendentalists agree that the government usually does not work for the people it is protecting. However, they do realize that it is necessary for the survival of the United States. Thoreau is encouraging people to take a stand against the current government, which he hopes will lead to a reform that will empower people to demand more influence in politics. Transcendentalism emphasizes that individuals need to voice their opinions if change is going to occur. According to Transcendentalists, promoting change in society occurs through self-revelation. There must be free thinking people in the world who are willing to make their voice heard if change is ever going to occur. Today many people think that the American school system is something that needs to be reformed. There is a problem if most students are no longer engaged and excited to go to school. Transcendentalists would say that students should be learning things that are interesting to them and cause them to think beyond what is being taught. Students should be encouraged to investigate and debate ideas in order to come up with their own. If America were still in the Transcendentalism time period, people would be insisting on these types of changes. They know that if they do not speak out, nothing will happen.

The Financing Structure Of Unilever Plc Finance Essay

The Financing Structure Of Unilever Plc Finance Essay Unilever Plc (Unilever) operates as a single business entity. It was formerly known as Lever Brothers Limited. Unilever NV and Unilever Plc are the two parent companies of the Unilever Group having separate legal identities and separate stock exchange listings for their shares. Unilever Plc (Unilever) is a leading food and personal care product offering company in the world. The company is engaged in the manufacturing and distributing foods, home care and personal care products. The company along with a strong and well differentiated portfolio of 400 global and regional brands operating across 14 categories operates in 150 countries with around 174,000 employees. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION Unilever operates in four business segments namely, Personal Care; Home Care; Savoury, Dressings Spreads; and Ice Cream Beverages. The company also offers solutions for professional chefs and caterers. It has around 270 manufacturing facilities worldwide. The Personal Care segment includes business in the mass skin care, daily hair care and deodorants product areas. These products are sold under Dove, Lux, Rexona, Sunsilk, Axe and Ponds, Suave, Clear, Lifebuoy, Vaseline, Signal and Close Up. Its Home Care segment includes laundry products such as tablets, powders and liquids for washing of clothes by hand or machine. It also offers soap bars. In this segment, the principal brands are Omo, Surf, Comfort, Radiant, Skip and Snuggle. The household care products include surface cleaners and bleach that are marketed under the Cif, Domestos and Sun/Sunlight brands. The companys new products include Dove pro-age range of products, Dove Summer Glow self-tanning and body lotions, Clear antidandruff shampoo and Small Mighty concentrated liquid laundry detergents. The Savoury, Dressings and Spreads segment includes sauces, soups, salad dressings, bouillons, snacks, mayonnaise, spreads, olive oil, margarines and cooking products like liquid margarines, and frozen foods. These products are sold worldwide under Calve, Knorr, Hellmanns, Becel, Flora, Wish- Bone, Rama, Blue Band, Amora, Ragu and Bertolli brands. The Ice cream and Beverages division includes ice cream, tea-based beverages, weight management products, and nutritionally enhanced products. These products are marketed worldwide under various brand names such as Magnum, Cornetto, Carte dOr and Solero, Walls, Kibon, Ola and Algida, Ben Jerrys, Breyers, Klondike and Popsicle. The tea-based beverages are sold under Lipton, Brooke Bond and PG Tips brands. The weight management products are sold under Slim-Fast, and nutritionally enhanced products are marketed under Annapurna and AdeS/Adez brands. In the the Home Care division, it holds the global number two position in laundry, with a number one position in man developing and emerging markets. The company holds global number one position in mass skin care and deodorants, and the number two position in hair care where as in oral care and household care the companys strategy is focused on strong regional and local leadership positions in selected markets in Europe, Asia and Latin America. In the Foods division, it holds number one position in savory and dressings, spreads, tea-based beverages and ice cream. Unilever is the category leader in margarine and spreads in most European countries and North America. The companys UKs foods division is the number one producer of savory and dressings business. Products and Brands Unilever owns more than 400 brands as a result of acquisitions, however, the company focuses on what are called the billion-dollar brands, 13 brands, each of which achieve annual sales in excess of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1 billion. Unilevers top 25 brands account for more than 70% of sales. The brands fall almost entirely into two categories: Food and Beverages, and Home and Personal Care. Unilevers billion$ brands are Axe/Lynx Lipton Blue Band[14] Lux (soap) Dove Omo/Surf (detergent) Flora/Becel Rexona/Sure Heartbrand Sunsilk Hellmans TIGI (haircare) Knorr Products of the company are distributed through distribution centers, group-operated facilities, satellite warehouses, and public storage depots, wholesalers, independent grocery stores, co-operatives, and various food service providers. Unilever invests around EUR 1 billion in research and development activities through five laboratories to develop new products and technologies. Geographic Presence Unilever has geographically diversified operations. It is engaged in manufacturing and distributing foods, home care and personal care products. Its products are sold in more than 150 countries which include Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa. During the fiscal year 2008, the company generated 32% revenue from Western Europe, 32% from the Americas and 36% from the Asia, Africa and Central Eastern Europe. It is the category leader in margarine and spreads in most European countries and North America. The companys UKs foods division is the number one producer of savory and dressings business. Thus, wide geographic presence decreases the business risk of the company. This also acts as an easy way for the expansion plans of the company, as wider reach in terms of geography would mean reaping more benefits eventually improving the profit margins, attaining economies of scale and recognition on a worldwide basis. following are the name of some of the countries with Unilevers presences. Ireland Sudan Italy Sweden Japan Switzerland Pakistan Thailand Singapore Tunisia Spain United States Sri lanka United Kingdom Industry Comparison Revenue Growth Rate The companys compounded annual growth rate for revenue was 1.39% during 2005-2009. This was below the SP 500 companies average* of 9.67%. A lower than sector average* revenue CAGR may indicate that the company has underperformed the average sector growth and lost market share over the last years. The companys underperformance could be attributed to a weak competitive position or inferior products and services offering or lack of innovative products and services. Return on Equity The companys return on equity (ROE) was 30.62% for fiscal year 2009. This was above the SP 500 companies average* of 18.69%. A higher than sector average ROE indicate that the company is efficiently using the shareholders money and that it is generating high returns for its shareholders compared to other companies in the sector. Operating Profit Margin The companys operating margin was 12.91% for the fiscal year 2009. This was below the SP 500 companies average* of 18.74%. A lower than sector average* operating margin may indicate inefficient cost management or a weak pricing strategy by the company. Financial Analysis Instead of 2 year analysis of the financial position of the company analysis is performed on a five year data as this will provided with better coverage of the companies performance. Current ratio Current ratio of the company has been on the rising trend since 2005. Current ratio of the company has increased from 0.75 time in 2005 to 0.93 times in 2009. This trend shows that the company is moving toward a stable liquidity position. Whereas, in comparison to the averages of the industry trend and S P 500 companies Unilever is not able to maintain sound current ratio. Currently industry averages at around 1.53 times whereas; SP 500 companies averages around 1.91 times. This is almost as double to where Unilever currently stands. Quick ratio Quick ratio of the company has shown similar rising trend as that of current ratio. Quick ratio of the company has moved to 0.5 times in 2009, which is a rise of approximately 35% during the five year period (2005: 0.37 times). This ratio of the company is quite close to the industry averages (i.e., 0.78 times), whereas, SP 500 companies quick ratio averages to around 1.36 times. Considering the rising trend of the company, it appears that its liquidity position will improve in the near future to meet the industry averages. Gross Profit margin Gross Profit margin of the company has shown a mix trend over the years. During the period from 2005-2009 gross profit margin of the company stood at 48.32%, fall of just 2%. This shows that the company is in a stable position as it is able to stay consistent in maintaining its Gross Profit Margin. On the other hand, Industry average stands at 44.72%. Being on the higher side of the industry shows that the company is able to effectively manage its cost and pricing policies. Net Profit Margin Similar to the Gross profit margin, net profit margin of the company has shown a mix trend. On average the net profit margin of the company has increased by 4% during the 5 year period to 8.46% in 2009. This is higher then what the industry average is (Industry average: 7.25%). On the other hand SP 500 companies average net profit margin to approximately 12.59%, showing that the company is not meeting the SP 500 companies standards. Return on Assets Return on assets of the company has shown an increasing trend during the 5 year period. During the said period, ROA increased to approximately 10% in 2009 from 8.74% in 2005, this is a rise of 14%. In comparison, the industry averages the return on assets at around 7.71% and SP 500 averages assets at around 7.91%. This shows that the company is able to used the employed assets efficiently and effectively then what the normal industry trend depicts. FINANCING STRUCTURE Unilever PLC is a highly un-geared company. Its total debt to total equity ratio stood at only 0.82 in 2009, which is a decline of around 46% during the 5 year period (2005: 1.51). Similar fall in the total debt to total capital ratio was observed, which fell by approximately 25% to 0.45 in 2009. On the other hand a slight increase of just 9% was observed in the Long term debt to total capital of the company during the same five year period. In contrast to the leverage ratios, a significant fall in the payout ratio was observed. Payout ratio of the company fell from 61.37% in 2005 to just 38.54% in 2009. This shows that currently the company is in the phase of financing its activities from its retained earnings instead of taking long or short term financing. In comparison to a competitor Reckitt Benckiser Group, the leverage of this company is similar to the leverage of Unilever PLC. During the year 2009, Total Debt to Total Equity ratio Reckitt Benckiser Group is only 0.82. Payout ratio of the Reckitt Benckiser is 50.28% in 2009, which is higher than that of Unilever PLC, representing the fact that Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc is utilizing higher portion of its retained earnings as compared to Unilever Plc In comparison with the industry trends, average total debt to equity is approximately 1.16 times whereas, as per SP 500 it is around 0.73. In view of these average industry and sector trends, company is performing quite well. On the other hand, companys payout ratio is on the higher side when compared to the industry and SP 500 averages. Average industrys payout is almost is 42% whereas, average payout as per SP 500 is 28.82%. This shows that company is not availing its short term financing options. Taking up these short term financing will release some pressure from the retained earning and can be paid out to the shareholders of the company because as the low payout trend of the industry indicates that the shareholders are prone to short term gains in comparison to long term capital gains. 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Unilever PLC Total Debt/Equity 0.82 1.1 0.77 0.78 1.51 Long Term Debt/Total Capital 0.35 0.3 0.25 0.22 0.32 Total Debt/Total Capital 0.45 0.52 0.44 0.44 0.6 Payout Ratio 38.54% 43.04% 56.62% 83.71% 61.37% Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc Total Debt/Equity 0.03 0.48 0.21 0.53 0.09 Long Term Debt/Total Capital (?) 0 0 0 0 0.04 Total Debt/Total Capital (?) 0.03 0.32 0.17 0.35 0.08 Payout Ratio (?) 50.28% 50.76% 41.93% 48.65% 42.39% WEIGHTED AVERAGE COST OF CAPITAL As discussed in the above section, Unilever PLC has a very low (nominal) gearing of 0.35%. Virtually the company is debt free; hence cost of equity of the company will be its weighted average cost of capital. In order to calculate Cost of Equity of Unilever PLC Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) has been used. Beta for the company has been taken from the Dow Jones Report, which is 0.76 whereas; many technical issues were presents when indentifying risk free rate (Rf) and risk premium (Rm-Rf). Hence, the risk free rate and the market rate (Rm) are assumed to be 8% and 12% respectively for the purpose of this calculation. Cost of Equity = Rf + (Rm-Rf)b Cost of Equity = 8% + (12% 8%) 0.76 Cost of Equity = 11.04% Here, Cost of Equity = = WACC Hence, WACC = 11.04% NEW PROJECT Project Description Company has recently conducted a market survey for deodorant target only toward a young generation. Evaluation of the investment proposal to manufacture product XARI was performed. The product has performed well in test marketing trials conducted recently by the research and marketing department of the company. Key Elements of Project Initial investment cost Evidences for the initial investment cost can be found from various sources, research reports related to the particular industry, information from the companies which have recently invested in the respective sectors can prove quite useful, internal budget preparation etc. Annual revenues / operating costs Evidences of independent annual revenues and operating cost can be also be found from various sources, demand and supply of the particular products and projected by various research houses such as Business Monitor, by analyzing past trends of the company and peer analysis of the companies already operating in the industry/segments Rates of inflation Information related to the past and future rates related to inflation can be found in abundance. In addition to the government bodies, numerous independent research houses provided forecasted/projected inflation rates of different countries. These rates are calculated after critically analyzing and assessing various factors that affect the inflation rates. Report from Economic Intelligence Unit is one of the research houses which provides rates of inflation, both past trends as well as forecasted for different countries. Rates of taxation, and tax reliefs and allowances Best sources for finding information related rates of taxation and tax reliefs and allowance is to go through government regulated bodies. Legal regulations related to tax and updates in the upcoming changes can be found on government operated website and accurate and up to date information related to any legal issue is available there. Risk and Uncertainty After a through research I came to the conclusion that identification of risks is best done by a sequential manner. Firstly brainstorming exercise was done with some colleague of mine in order to evaluate what factors ,both beneficial and adverse, can be faced by the new project that the company was going to undertake. This exercise was purely for the identification of the risk that the project might face during the tenor of its operations. After my initial task of risk identification I assessed the likelihood of the occurrence of that risk and categorized them on the scale of high, medium and low. Then I assessed the consequences of each of risk if they occurred and whether, there occurrence will have a major impact on the operation of the company or its future prospect or not. Risks with low chances of occurrence and low negative impact were ignored and emphasis was placed on the risks that have high chances of occurrence or which could have measurable impact on the companys performance. This risk was than further classified into quantifiable and non-quantifiable risk (uncertainty). The impact of the quantifiable risk, such as rate of inflation, increase in the cost of raw material, fall in demand of the product etc, were incorporated when calculating the Net Present Value of the Project. Uncertainties such as war, political instability, change in government regulation etc, were a bit hard to incorporate. In order to overcome these problems sensitivity analysis was used. Via Sensitivity Analysis result of the project are categorized into three possible outcomes Best Case Scenario, Moderate Case Scenario and Worst Case Scenario. These 3 cases will show the performance of the company in the two most extremes situations that the company might operate. Result should then be interpreted keeping in mind of all the expected scenarios. Net Present Value After the successful test, following information has been prepared by me in order to assess the viability of the project. The research team has prepared the following forecasted demand of the product along with that various other variables such as selling prices and inflation rate are also estimated. These forecasts reflect, along with others, the expected life of the products, change in the economic conditions in the long run etc. Weighted average cost of capital has been calculated as above at 11.04%. The product has no terminal value at the end of four year. NPV of the project with respect to the following data is almost about 348,578 pounds Forecasted Information for Product XARI Initial Investment 2 million Pounds Selling Price (Current Price) 20 pound/unit Expected Inflation in Selling Price 3% per year Variable operating cost 8 pound/unit Fixed Operating Cost 170,000 per yar Tax Rate 30% Year 1 2 3 4 Demand (units) 60,000 70,000 120,000 45,000 Quarterly Report It appears that the company has performed reasonable well when compared to the forecast that the management prepared. Minor variances were witnessed by the company in most aspect of the project. Initial investment of the company exceed by just 100,000 pound. Company just sold 100 less units in first quarter as compared to the forecasted data. The reason for this relate to the factor that market awareness was not created by the company as it incurred less operating cost as anticipated. Company managed to sell units at a selling price 15% more the forecasted price. On the other 13% more cost was incurred on each unit than was projected. The reason for such a change could relate to the fact that the company underestimated the price of it project, and once market started to accept the product its selling price increased

Analysis of Nestles Position in India

Analysis of Nestles Position in India Nestle is one of the largest companies in the world. It produces different types of products and was based in different parts of the world. It was started in 1868 by Henri Nestle, who set up a sales office in London. The company went under the new ownership when Henri Nestle retired in 1875.Nestle opened its first factory in 1901 in UK and got merged with the Anglo-Swiss milk company which was founded by Charles and George page. It has acquired its own brand image over the years by innovating new products and attracting people all over the world with its quality products. Nestle became one of the leading companies in the world when it started producing chocolates. The chocolate production began at Hayes in 1913 and the famous white chocolate Milky Bar was released into the market in 1937. The other products of Nestle are coffee, milk, chocolates etc. The company has its branches in 86 countries like India, Pakistan, US, South Africa, brazil, Sri Lanka, France , Middle east countries etc all over the world and nearly employs 283,000 people. It has over 250,000 shareholders, while most of them are from Swiss. Nestle products are well known in the whole word for their wide range of products which include coffee , infant nutrition, baby products ,chocolates , milk products etc. Nestle products are cheaper when compared to other milk products and chocolates and the reputation in the market is good which makes the company to release wide range of products in the market across the whole world. Nestle is the world leader in the categories of coffee, infant nutrition, chocolates etc. The company respects the opinions of its customers and makes sure that the products are manufactured according to their interests. FIVE COMPONENTS OF ARMSTRONGS MODEL: BASIS: the environmental factors that are to be taken into account as the essential background for the organisations HR strategies. These factors can be analysed by using SWOT or PESTLE analysis. CONTENT: the details of the proposed HR strategies of an organisation must be included RATIONALE: the business case for the strategy. IMPLEMENTATION: finding the ways and plans to implement the proposed HR strategies. COST AND BENEFIT ANALYSIS: analysing the benefits and costs of implementing a strategy and acting according to the outcomes that may occur. NESTLE follows the strategies like commitment strategy, developing trust, culture management etc. By following and implementing these type of strategies, NESTLE has innovated and developed itself throughout the years. Let us evaluate the HR strategy of NESTLE organisation using Michael Armstrongs model for the strategys design. BASIS: the environmental factors of the NESTLE organisation are evaluated using the SWOT analysis. STRENGTHS: The company has a great support from its parent company which has a great influence all over the world. It has huge brand strength all over the world. The brands like NESCAFE, MAGGI and CERELAC which are generic to their product categories are very strong in the Indian market. Around 67% of the population use Nescafe, Maggi and Cerelac for their daily uses. Another main Strength of the company is, it continuously introduces new products in to the market with innovative thoughts and attracts people towards it. It makes sure that its products are manufactured with quality. There are nearly 3500 scientists in the companys RD department to innovate new thoughts and ideas. It is a truly global company which is operated in 77 countries. The competition from other organisations doesnt affect Nestle because of the low cost and high quality it maintains. It has a very strong work force unlike the other organisations. WEAKNESS: Because of the uneven nature of the Indian market, the things get more complicated. It is very much important to maintain good hygiene standards, talented personnel in the food industries like Nescafe. It is very difficult to maintain these standards in the big countries like India which has a complex supply chain management. OPPURTUNITIES: There are lots of opportunities to the company in the huge country like India. There are lots of towns in India where the products of Nescafe are not available. It can extend to those towns and villages and can increase its market. The company can extend its product folio by introducing new products into the market. As India is a huge country with lots of resources and manpower, it can be made as the export hub to achieve better results. Everyone is becoming a health freak now days, including the United States. So, health based products are having great opportunities in the global market. THREATS: The main threat for any organisation is its competitor. There is a huge competition among the organisations. Nestle faces huge competition from the organised and unorganised sectors. Moreover, the Indian government has decreased the import duty of food products, making the things worst. The organisation does not have any threats from the small scale industries but it will have threats from the organisations which are established with large investments and big brand value. The performance of FMCG sector is very less in the past 2-3 years, even though there is a decent pace of growth in the economy of the organisation. Some of the markets in which the company is about to enter, are already mature regarding these products. CONTENT: The main principle of HR strategies of the NESTLE organisation is its products growth through innovation and renovation. The other important strategies are Attracting dynamic employees and giving training to them Developing the management Respecting other cultures and traditions Providing training to the new comers Some other principles of proposed HR strategies are maintaining diversity in the manufacturing of products, despite of introducing several products in to the organisation. RATIONALE: Let us have a look on the business case of proposed HR strategies of NESTLE organisation. NESTLE has its Kit Kat manufacturing plant in York England. Ian Jobson is the manger of that plant. For manufacturing a ton of Kit Kat chocolate, it used to take like 38 man hours. It is a waste of time and man power and even it costs a lot of money to the organisation. To overcome this problem, they have implemented new strategies in the manufacturing of the chocolate. They have innovated and renovated their strategies and came up with a new strategy. They have decreased the human labour and introduced robotics to make the work easier. They used robotics, automated packaging, and production line improvements and they have reduced the manufacturing time to 23 hours. IMPLEMENTATION: NESTLE makes sure that the proposed strategies are implemented without any failure. It provides the necessary resources and necessary funds to the HR department to implement their strategies. It follows different strategies and concepts to reach the better heights and to sustain in this competitive world. It has a research development department, who works on innovation of the new products and renovating the available products of the company. It opens new branches every year to attain a greater grip on the market. It commits to a strong work to achieve better results NESTLE makes sure that it follows all the local laws and legislations, as reputation of the company affects the sales of the organisation It gives rights to the employees to question their superiors about an unfair evaluation It motivates its employees, train them in maintaining teamwork, cooperate and integrate with the organisations strategies. COST AND BENEFIT ANALYSIS: NESTLE tries to decrease the extreme utilization of natural resources. By doing this, it benefits in increasing the human resources, expands contact to the financial resources. The managers and the individual employees are very benefited by the HR strategies of NESTLE. The company believes in the individual achievement of the employees plays a major role in the development of an organisation. To encourage its employees, the HR department has designed a pay structure to its employees. The company even introduced practices like job enlargement to encourage their employees and to break the limitations of their work. Let us evaluate the pay structure of the NESTLE organisation: NESTLE suggests reasonable remunerations to the employees. The level of remuneration is maintained above the average in the industry. The unpredictable part of salary is relatively big in rewarding an individual performance. The variable part of salary for higher management is based on the performances and achievements of the individuals and their team. BENEFITS: The employees can apply up to particular number leaves either personal or medical. They can have the assistance scheme for their childrens education. The organisation offers provident fund to their employees. The other benefits for the employees include retirement gratuity scheme, conveyance repayments, insurance for accidents etc. The other concepts that can be included are providing recruitment services, talent management and international HR etc. The recruitment services of NESTLE are very much recognised all over the world for their methods of recruitment. They dont just try to fill the jobs but makes sure that the right person is selected for the right job. They select the people who are dynamic, hard working, flexible and honest. Those candidates are selected whose values are similar to the companys culture. The HR officials are the one who takes the final decision in selecting a person. The company even maintains a Rewards and Employee relations team, which provides guide lines to the employees in necessary situations. They provide guidance to the line managers, HR managers, research and development department etc. It provides a health environment to its employees. In a multi-national company like NESTLE, the employee turnover is less than 5%. EMPLOYEE RELATIONS: Nestle gives importance to the personal life of their employees. So, it makes sure that the work life and personal life of their employees is balanced. It maintains a separate policy in which work/life balance is given importance. REWARDS AND INCENTIVES: Nestle encourages its employees by giving rewards and incentives. By doing this, the employees who are eager to win awards will work hard for the development of the organisation. Competitiveness among the employees will result in the growth of the organisation. So, the organisation even offers a competitive reward package to its employees. The company awards NESTLE idea award every quarter to the employees who come up with innovative ideas. These are the different concepts and theories of NESTLE. CONCLUSION: Michael Armstrong gave a brief explanation on the components that are to be included in the Human Resource strategies of an organisation. He covered all the important aspects which play a major role in the development of an organisation. By evaluating the HR strategy of NESTLE using Michael Armstrongs strategy model, we can understand that NESTLE is very keen and careful regarding the strategies it had implemented and it is going to implement in the future. NESTLE concentrated on its strengths, its weaknesses, the opportunities it has and the threats it has to face and planned strategies to face these problems. By the Michael Armstrong five components model the HR strategies are evaluated. In the first component basis for the organisation, HR strategies are estimated using SWOT analysis and the strengths and weaknesses are evaluated and future opportunities and threats are analysed. In the second component content the innovation and renovation of the Nestle organisation are discussed where the strategies state the need for development in the management and opportunities for the skilled employees. In the third component, Rationale shows the reduced man power to increase productivity by using robotics as a strategy which gave good results by decreasing man power to 23 hours from 38 hours. In the fourth component implementation stated that the need for urgency for the development of organisation by increasing the branches of nestle every year. In the fifth component cost and benefit analysis states the remuneration of the employees it depends on the individual performance which reflects the NESTLE organisations growth.

Analyse the relationship between the product life cycle and cash flow :: Economics

Analyse the relationship between the product life cycle and cash flow The 'product life cycle' is split into 5 stages: * Research and development * Introduction * Growth * Maturity/Saturation * Decline The product life cycle is the model that represents a sales pattern for a product over a period of time. It shows the revenue by a product from is introduction to its eventual decline. There are four stages to the product life cycle: Introduction, growth, maturity and decline. Research and development is the first stage of the product life cycle. This is where a firm has a research team look in to possible new ideas and products for a business. This can be very expensive for the firm. No income is made at this stage as there is no revenue coming in to the firm but capital being paid out on resources. The cash flow at this stage is very low. Introduction: This is the point when the product life cycle begins. This is when the actual product is launched and does not include testing or research and development. Manufacturers at this stage spend a lot of money in order to create awareness. The cash flow at this stage would not be very positive. A lot of money has been spent at the introduction to get the public to notice the product and to make them aware. The firm would not expect to make any profit at this stage as the product has just been launched. Growth: If the product succeeds, sales will grow. Prices could still be high but with increased competition prices will drop. The producer still advertises at a high level to fight off competition. Product starts to move into profitability. The cash flow starts to gain more revenue. Maturity: Sales growth begins to slow as market saturation is approached. Sales are kept going by those who are late to adopt new products. This stage will last longer than the earlier stages. This is where the most revenue is taken in for the longest period of time. This is where the cash flow reaches its peak but also at the point of saturation starts to decrease. To stop the revenue and the product going down at the point of saturation maybe the firm could give the product a new identity and maybe a new advertising campaign. Decline: Eventually the product will become less interesting for purchasers, and the decline of the product will commence.