Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Environmental Issues In Real Estate Essay Example for Free

Environmental Issues In Real Estate Essay Real estate transactions involve the purchase of land properties and generally, environmental issues are frequently considered before a sale is completed. Environmental issues are usually taken into account, be it a residential real estate property, or a huge industrial piece of land. Should environmental risks be associated in a particular real estate property, these are frequently manageable, but the more critical issue regarding environmental issues is the efficient identification and reaction to these environmental issues (Goeters, 1996). Most problems arise after a real estate property sale because the environmental issues were not detected as early as possible. The most common environmental issue that is associated with real estate is land contamination. Such environmental issues generally come from the activities of the present or past owners, or better categorized as on-site contamination. Another source of land contamination could be off-site, which involves the physical location of the real property to outside sources of contamination. It is important that the source of the contamination of the land be identified so that the amount of risk may be determined. In addition, knowledge of the contamination source allows sanctions for property responsibility. Issues are considered severe when the water reservoir and its connecting waterways for drinking water are already affected or positioned near the real estate property. Another environmental issue that is considered as a major concern in real estate is mold contamination. The spread of pathogenic fungi and its spores frequently originate from buildings that are erected using low-quality standards and currently have poor ventilation. Such fungi often generate spores that are usually air-borne and may be transmitted through wind and any air circulating system. These spores may also stick to the walls of an existing building that is situated on the real estate property. Not only do fungal spores cause future deterioration to a building, these spores may even cause upper respiratory tract infections, allergies and immune reactions in the individuals that frequent the area involved. Several lawsuits have accumulated in connection to personal injuries or diseases causes by exposure to these pathogenic fungi. In addition, the insurance industry has lately been involved in cases that involve exposure to building-related real estate properties. Furthermore, fungal contamination involves all types of real estate properties, including residential, commercial and industrial buildings, and the effect of such contamination is doubly felt because the building’s structure itself will continuously deteriorate unless treated, and the residents of the home or the employees of a commercial or industrial company make succumb to fungi-caused illnesses. It has been strongly suggested that owners of real estate properties be cautious of the insurance coverage they procure for their employees should such untoward incident occurs in their company or industry. Asbestos is also an environmental issue that should be carefully considered in real estate. Asbestos is generally a component of pipes and boiler rooms, as well as in flooring materials and in roofs. Asbestos exposure cases are often higher in number in commercial and industrial companies, yet these cases may also occur in residential real estate properties. The amount of money require to solve any presence of asbestos in a building is usually huge, hence it should always be kept in mind that any possible cause for asbestos exposure be pointed out as early as possible, before any exposure is determined to be chronic, which is turn results in more severe health problems among individuals associated with the real estate property. Individuals practicing in the real estate business should be sincere enough to advise the client about any information that may be associated with asbestos presence or exposure within a real estate property he is showing and selling. Another element that has been identified as an environmental issue in real estate is radon. Radon gas shows no color or odor, and is very diffusible through water and air. This gas has been frequently reported in residential real estate properties, hence it is important that the water and air of a real estate property be tested for radon gas before any further step is taken towards the purchase or sale of a real estate property. Unfortunately, the safe or tolerable level of radon gas has not been established to date, hence any tests for the presence of radon gas in the water or in the air is just to satisfy the need to know where radon gas is indeed present in a real estate property. Real estate properties such as buildings and houses are often presented to potential buyers as painted structures that are ready for occupancy. Hence, the environmental concern for lead in the paint used to coat the walls of the rooms of the real estate property is also an issue. Individuals most affected by the presence of lead in the paint used to coat the walls are the young children who often play on the floor of the rooms of a residential establishment. Young toddlers often crawl around the house and unfortunately, ingest any little thing they find interesting in front of them. These little things may be lead paint chips that fall off from the wall and ceiling and land on the carpet, floor, or even the soil in the backyard. Other families enjoy gardening and planting their own vegetables, hence the presence of lead in the soil may pose a bioaccumulation of lead in the people living in this contaminated real estate property. It is therefore important that pre-erected real estate structures be evaluated for the presence of lead before any further step in done towards the purchase of the real estate property. Should lead be detected in a real estate property, an abatement procedure may be performed before any family or individuals move into the real estate property. Currently, there are several assays that may be employed in the identification and management of environmental issues associated with real estate properties (Spada, 1997). Hence, it is imperative that these environmental factors be tested before any purchase is done on a real estate property, because it these factors go undetected, the consequences on the personal health of the individuals that will live or frequently spend time within the real estate property will be affected. Such undisclosed environmental issues often end up in lawsuits, as well as tarnished reputations in the real estate business. Hence, for those in the real estate business, it is of prime importance that reliable and specific information be obtained about the real estate property they are advertising and selling. Such caution regarding the collection of information will serve as a good method is preserving the real estate business of a company. Certain real estate companies have established their own customized procedure in reviewing properties before they release these properties to the public and announce that this property is for sale. These customized procedures should be foolproof, robust and efficient in identifying environmental issues in a real estate property. Should this be kept in mind, there would probably be lesser cases of lawsuits and health illnesses in the future.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Media Advertising - Colgate Advertising Strategies Over the Years Essay

A Look at Colgate Advertising Strategies Over the Years "To be, or not to be?" This is the question that plagues companies every year. The business is one of survival- survival of the fittest. Companies around the world are constantly scattering about, developing new weapons in nuclear advertisement. Having looked back at old strategies, it is interesting to see the strategies that worked have lasted over time. Since the April 5, 1937 edition of LIFE magazine, Colgate's advertisements have evolved to appeal to different audiences as seen in another ad in the January 1985 edition of LIFE. Though targeting different audiences over the past fifty years, Colgate has kept many of their original advertising strategies, but has changed their approach by introducing children as subject matter, leading parents to respond to the ad with their children in mind. A sort of sex appeal is visible in the 1950's commercial, mainly focusing on the fun that a man and a women can have if they both were to have nice breath. The Colgate advertisement in the fifties is focused towards an adult audience who are single and looking for ways of attracting the opposite sex. All the characters are portrayed as clean, single people. Ray, the man in the ad, seems to be a business man, though not the type to be swimming in money. Colgate wanted every man to be able to identify with Ray, and so placed him in what would probably have been the largest economic group. Not only would this allow the men in the audience to identify with the situation, but it would also attract the middle class and make it easier for them to relate and become involved with the ad as well. In the Colgate advertisement of the eighties, a question could be raised in contrast to... ...e the viewer is an average American, the ad forces the reader into a group- such as you are a mom, or one of those that love the taste- which gives reason for the viewer to by the product. Ultimately, Colgate has always tried to make their advertisements in a way that stops the reader from flipping the page by capturing his interest. Strategies used by Colgate in the fifties can be seen in the ad of the eighties, though the subject matter has changed and some of the strategies have become extinct. This subject matter, which includes the children from the eighties, became a very important factor in appealing to the audience. Likewise, the subject matter from the fifties, including the sex appeal, was probably very effective in that day. Because times have changed, neither of the ads would have fit in the others time, and would likewise probably not work in 1997.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Olympic rent-a-car company Essay

SUMMARY Olympic is a US rent-a-car company facing some changes in the market it operates. A competitor company (Enterprise) is changing its loyalty program. Olympic managers have to evaluate the impact of those changes and to take actions in order to respond correctly to those changes without losing market share and if possible taking advantage of the situation. The aim of this study is to evaluate those changes and to propose a recommendation to respond to these market changes. MARKET SUMMARY The car renting industry in US is a $24 billion industry dominated by 4 big players, Enterprise, Hertz, AVIS and Olympic with the following market revenue shares: Enterprise is the dominant player with 50% share ($12 billion) followed by Hertz with 24%, AVIS with 14%, Olympic with 7% and the other 5% are shared by smaller players. This business is heavily dependent of the overall state of the economy and since the global crisis of 2008 were there was a 6,5% break in total revenues, the revenues are recovering since 2009 growing between 2 and 3% every year. This revenue growth is due to the growth of prices rather to the growth in the number of clients. There are 2 big markets for the rent-a-car business, the Airport rentals and the Local rentals. The airport rentals contribute with 50% of the total revenue ($12 billion) and are divided into leisure and business clients. Costs are higher due to fees paid to the airports that consist in 10% of the revenue plus the fixed fees for counters. The local renting contributes with the other 50% ($12 billion) and the main clients are insurance companies. The counters are located at car dealerships and repair shops. Enterprise and Hertz are the main players in this market and Enterprise has more than 50% share. This industry is heavily influenced by the adaptation of the car fleet to demand and between 2008 and 2012 in response to the global crisis the total number of rent-a-car cars was diminished by 0,5%. CUSTOMER ANALYSIS In 2012, 27% of US adults (proximately 59.400.000 people) rented a car and the main renters were the business travelers. In 2012 airport market, 20% of the travelers were business travelers and gave origin to 80% of the revenue and the other 80% of travelers were leisure travelers and represent 20% of the revenues. Usually business travellers pay more than leisure travellers. This is mainly because leisure travelers pay smaller per day charges as they travel in lower revenue days, do preplanned trips and to loyalty program redemptions. Business travelers tend to earn points in business travelling and to spend those points in leisure travelling. Across this industry, Rent-A-Car companies tend to use loyalty programs to develop relationship between costumers. Each company has it’s own program but they are all very similar. The customer earns points depending of the number of days they rent the car and they also receive free upgrades. The earned points can be claimed and exchanged for rental days. In 2013 Enterprise changed the way their customers gain the loyalty program points. Customers that received points based in the number of days of usage now receive points based on the money they spend. This means that they earn more points faster. Usually clients don’t have any kind of restriction to participate in loyalty programs. Anyone that rents a car can be a member depending on the number of days they rent, as consequence people are members of several loyalty programs as they rent in different companies. The rental loyalty programs are not really differentiating rental companies they are a perk for customers. In 2012 10% of Olympic customers were members of Olympic medalist program and these customers provided 21% of the revenues. They paid for 3.996.000 days and claimed 375.000 free days. This means $323.400.000 of revenue come from members of Olympic medalist program, to this revenue we have to subtract the fixed costs, the free days cost and the program advertising costs ($28.000.000). The fixed cost is 20% of $21 ($4,2) multiplied by the total rental days and equal $1.575.000 and the free days cost is equal to $7.629.552. This gives an economic value of $233 per Olympic medalist program customer. The regular customers represent 79% of revenues that translate into $1.216.600.000. The total rental days for these customers are 24.681.000 and these days represent a cost of $103.660.200 (24.681.000 x $4,2). There are also the advertising costs of ($108.000.000 – $28.000.000 = $80.000.000). Subtracting to $1.216.600.000 the variable costs and the advertising costs we end with $1.032.939.800. Dividing this value by the total number of regular customers (11.052.000) the economic value of the regular customer is obtained and equals to $93. The conclusion is that loyalty program clients  still have a big economic influence in the revenue structure. COMPANY ANALYSIS Olympic is one of the four biggest rent-a-car companies in the US with a share of 7% of revenues witch is the smallest share of this group. The company as chosen to be a follower and has always priced lower than Hertz. It has 464 rental locations and a fleet of 108000 cars that remain in the company for 8 to 18 months. The income per car is slightly below de industry average and the reason for this maybe the dominance of airport counters that bring more costs to the company than a local counter. Olympic has seen an improvement on its revenues for the last 4 years and in table 1 we can see an increase of the net profit from a loss of $15 million in 2008 to a profit of $32 million in 2012. The main reason for these results is the company flexibility to adapt its car fleet to demand (table 2) as well as the adaptation of the number of counters the company has (table 3). RECOMMENDATION The recommendation is that Olympic rent-a-car doesn’t follow the Enterprise strategy. About 1,45% of the total rental days of 2012 involved free days and a free day reward costs about $21 to cover the fixed costs and the payment to the franchisee. Of the 108000 cars fleet each car was rented about 232 days per year. With this data we can calculate the total rental days. Total rental days are equal to 108.000 x 232; this means 25.056.000 rental days per year.  The 1,45% of the total rental days give us the total free days per year in 2012 this percentage represents 363.312 free days that multiplied by the cost of a free day ($21) will give us the cost of all the free days in 2012. The total cost for the free days is equal to $7.629.552. If Olympic decides to match the Enterprise offer, the number of free days will increase to a value between 1,65% and 1,95% of total rental days this means a number of free days between 413424 and 488592 and an increase of free days per year between 50.112 and 125.280 days, this means an increase in cost of the programs free days of $1.052.352 to $2.630.880 (1 million to 2,5 millions increase of free days cost per year). Considering that the demand will not increase a lot this means a net decrease of 3 to 8% of total profits. This decrease is significant for a company that has a small operating margin of 15,8%. The way Olympic responds to the enterprise initiative will be decisive in the profitability of the company. Matching the enterprise offer will lead to an increase in the costs and no increase in market share is guaranteed. Since no great increase in demand is predicted, following the Enterprise strategy would simply represent a 3 to 8% reduction in profits, Olympic cannot afford this reduction due to the narrow operating margin. Beside this, the fleet of Olympic rent-a-car is very well adapted to de demand and implementing no blackout days would probably let some Olympic medalist clients unsatisfied. Enterprise has a huge fleet and available cars this means that it can afford not having blackout days. The increasing usage of the Internet to compare prices and to book services will diminish the loyalty programs importance and effectiveness. Third party consolidators the online price comparisons and bookings bring a greater relevance to prices the rent-a-car companies practice. This will affect the companies’ loyalty programs effectiveness. By focusing on price, customers will chose a rent-a-car company by the price of the service taking to a second plan the loyalty programs benefits. This means that Olympic should focus on global cost reduction in order to keep lowering the prices and therefore gain advantage over the competitors. In the future the company  that has the lower prices will dominate the market. One other market tendency is the reduction of business travelling and the growth of internet based communications. This means that in future rent-a-car companies will have less business travellers, at this moment these clients are the heavy users of loyalty programs, and the leisure clients will gain weight on the revenue share. Olympic should maintain their loyalty program essentially due to the economic value of the loyalty programs customers ($233) much greater them the regular clients ($93) and improve the program by offering other kind of benefits that could improve the market penetration of the program. Some of these benefits could be faster pick up and drop off time for the program customers. Along the way the company could evaluate their loyalty program customers economic value and adapt to the expected decrease of loyalty program importance by reducing free rental days and using the savings of this reduction on rental price reduction. Since loyalty programs don’t benefit business companies Olympic offer the chance to this kind of customer to choose between the loyalty program benefits or a decrease in price. This should attract more large companies business maintaining the small and individual share. To reduce the cost structure Olympic should also try to gain market in the local business dominated by Enterprise and Hertz, this would help to avoid the large costs associated to the operation in airports. This way Olympic could gain market share of a market dominated by 2 companies, maintain their business market share threatened by the teleconferencing trends (shift to insurance) and to improve the global cost structure by taking advantage of the lower costs associated to this kind of counters.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Family business throughout generation Innovation - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2113 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Business Essay Type Analytical essay Level High school Did you like this example? Discuss the extent to which innovation has enabled some family businesses to survive through many generations Before starting, it would be helpful to provide some definitions in order to clarify the arguments and examples used in this essay. Chambers-Harrap gives us two definitions of the word à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"innovationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“1 something new which is introduced, eg a new idea or methodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“2 an act of innovating.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ [1] This helps us, as it shows that innovation need not necessarily apply as we might initially think only to new ideas in a material sense, like inventions (also innovations in their own right) but also to methods; to the application of new or fresh ideas or techniques. Secondly, and importantly, we should define exactly and thoroughly what is meant by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"family businessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ before proceeding any further. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Family business throughout generation: Innovation" essay for you Create order The GEEF, the European Group of Owner Managed and Family Enterprises, gives four criteria that may define a family business; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A firm, of any size, is a family enterprise, if: 1. The majority of votes is in possession of the natural person(s) who established the firm, or in possession of the natural person(s) who has/have acquired the share capital of the firm, or in the possession of their spouses, parents, child or childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s direct heirs. 2. The majority of votes may be indirect or direct. 3. At least one representative of the family or kin is involved in the management or administration of the firm. 4. Listed companies meet the definition of family enterprise if the person who established or acquired the firm (share capital) or their families or descendants possess 25 per cent of the right to vote mandated by their share capital.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  [2] This definition, technical as it sounds, is a very useful one, for it will help us to apprec iate the true range of businesses, both in past and present, which may correctly be defined as family firms. It would be easy to think, at face value, that a à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"family businessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ only means one which is run by a whole string of high-profile family members, handed down from generation to generation. Or, we may even visualise only the huge, powerful family-run empires which have existed throughout the ages, such as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"dynastiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ David Landes visualises in the introduction to Dynasties; Fortune and Misfortune in the Worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Great Family Businesses; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦many images come to mind, exotic and dramatic, from the silken lineages of Chinese Emperors to the soap-opera magnates of the 1980s television of the same name.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (p.ix)[3] In fact, as Landes himself points out, family businesses are all around us, and their existence is far more common than we may realise, especial ly if we are only thinking of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"family businessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ in the kind of context shown above; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦statistics show us that the great majority of the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s enterprises today are family firms. In the European Union, family firms make up 60-90 per cent of businesses, depending on the country, and they account for two thirds of GNP and jobs. In the United States in the mid-1990s, more than 90 per cent of firms were family units, accounting for more than half the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s goods and services; further, one third of the Fortune 500 (the countryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s five hundred largest firms) were said to be family controlled or to have founding families involved in managementà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . (p.xi)[4] Now we have laid down some definitions, we can look at one of the most innovative and successful businesses of modern times; Virgin, founded by Richard Branson. John Arlidge of the Sunday Times, in an arti cle about Bransonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s plans for multi-billion dollar world expansion of the Virgin business, describes an organisation that is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“still very much a family business in ownership structure and public imageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ .[5] Bransonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Virgin brand has come a long way since 1970, when it was founded as a record shop. The vast, global empire Virgin now comprises is too great to list here in full à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" but it includes mobile phone network provision, cable and broadband services (all now branded Virgin Media), a chain of health clubs, an annual music festival, a brand of cola, a cruise holiday agent, a UK railway operator, and an international airline. Adaptability is key to ensuring the survival and development of any business, and Branson has, over the decades, shown exceptional acumen in moving with the times. Virgin Media, by embracing mobile and internet technology, has managed to corner large segments of this still-grow ing market, being one of the first providers to offer a high-speed broadband package, as well as an integrated service bundling internet provision, a mobile phone contract, and cable television all in one. Virgin Trains are a prime example of the embracing of innovative technology ahead of the competition. Tilting trains are not a new idea; in fact, British Rail developed and tested several prototypes of a tilting train in the late seventies and early eighties; it was named the APT, and there were several prototypes.[6] The tilting trains, able to handle corners at greater speeds, broke journey time records, and showed significant promise in the improvement and modernisation of Britainà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s rail networks. However, an unfortunate combination of mishaps during testing, bad press, and disorganisation and lack of will on the part of senior management caused the project to be shelved. Only in 2002 was this revolutionary technology finally brought into live service on Britainà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s railways, when Virgin introduced its fleet of Italian-built Class 390 Pendolino tilting trains to the network. The high-speed lines now run from London to Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Glasgow, and journey times have been slashed. Bransonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s vision, it seems, even goes beyond the skies, and reaches to the stars; in addition to what is now considered a first-class Atlantic airline, Branson is already selling advance tickets for journeys into space on his new à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"spacelineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, Virgin Galactic.[7] Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton, according to the Evening Standard, was one of Virgin Galacticà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s first customers, reportedly paying  £625,000 for five seats on one of Virginà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s space cruises. Virgin today, almost four decades since its creation, is thriving more than ever, and continues to grow in size, scope and ambition. The ability to recognise, and make the most of change and innovation can ensure the failure or success of a business. Were it not for the unnatural business ability and ruthless tactics employed by the first true entrepreneur of the Rockefeller family, John D Rockefeller, the failure to embrace innovation could at once point have done the business significant harm, and the fortune he passed onto his children in his later years may not have been nearly so great. Generally speaking, John D Rockefeller adapted very well to circumstances, managing to stay ahead of the competition by any means he could (often undercutting them, and eventually neutralising them entirely by buying them out). When building his rock oil business, he was quick to realise the usefulness of railways, and he quickly went from transporting his product on wooden pallets by rail to using fully enclosed tanks. He embraced and used science to his advantage when it suited him. Shortly after the potential use of rock oil (hitherto thought useless) as an illuminant was identified by George Bissell, John D had some good fortune. An industrial chemist named Samuel Andrews, who had worked out how to purify oil using sulphuric acid, happened to attend the same Cleveland Baptist church as John D. Rockefeller and Maurice Clark, his business partner. The two entrepreneurs had a meeting with Andrews, and a vision for a new partnership in oil refining was conceived. The refining of oil heralded the next major development in the Rockefeller business. However, Rockefeller failed to appreciate the significance and potential of pipelines for transportation of oil over a distance; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“In a lifetime of successes, his one significant error was a failure to appreciate the potential contribution of pipeline oil transport.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (p.223)[8] Instead, he continued to transport his oil by rail, in spite of the pipelines now being rapidly developed by other corporations. To stay ahead of the game, he resorted to using his w ealth and connections to thwart these new developments by his rivals wherever possible, at one point even buying a stretch of land solely in order to block the progress of a pipeline being laid by a company named Tidewater (p.224)[9]. Landes points to Rockefellerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s stubbornness in refusing to embrace this particular innovation, which could have been so beneficial to his business; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“This was once instance in which John Dà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s normally impeccable instinct deserted him. When his associates urged him to begin his own network of pipelines, he dismissed them.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (p.224)[10] A lesser businessman may have been finished by such an error of judgement à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" but Rockefeller soon realised his oversight, and after initially failing to buy out Tidewater, began to construct his own pipelines. Eventually he bought a controlling stake in Tidewater, thus giving him control of all major pipelines. One enduring family busi ness, indeed a name which has earned itself the title of dynasty, is that of the Rothschilds, made famous and extremely wealthy by ventures in banking and finance. Between 1813 and 1815, Nathan Mayer Rothschild played a key role in financing the Duke of Wellingtonà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s army, via shipments of bullion to Spain and Portugal. Nathan Mayer and his brothers soon built up an entire intercontinental network of gold transportation. Nathan Mayer established a financing company in London, issuing bonds for government loans. The empire spread, until the Rothschild name became synonymous with international banking and vast wealth. There is no doubt whatsoever that such success would not have been possible had men such as Nathan Mayer Rothschild been extraordinarily astute and quick to create and make the most of bold new opportunities, and employ innovative and audacious, hitherto unheard-of approaches to place their competitors firmly in the shade. If anything, what these examp les show us, even in an essay of this limited size, is that innovation, and adapting to change, are key factors in the success of business à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" and surely not just in family businesses, but in all types of business. Certainly, many businesses become family enterprises purely as a result of their survival through the generations, so it is correct to say that these qualities are important to family businesses in particular. Yet there are those who would argue that family businesses are ill-equipped to deal with fast-paced change. As Landes points out; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦todayà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s prevalent economic thinking has chosen to ignore the family firm as a subject of serious study and has all but written it off as obsolete and inconsequentialà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The world changes with the increase of knowledge. New discoveries prompt new ways of doing business that call for new personnel.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (pp.xi-xii)[11] As technological advance has cha nged the nature of business throughout history, it is true that some family businesses throughout history have dissolved entirely; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“The new chemical firms thrivedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Mostly the firms began as family enterprises, but the complexity and cost of the work called for heavy investment and early on led to mergers that took the form of joint-stock, limited-liability managerial corporationsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ an industry that was once well-suited to family enterprise became the perfect candidate for managerial capitalism.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  (p.xiii)[12] However, the case studies selected for this essay demonstrate that innovation, at least for several of the worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s biggest players in business, has been instrumental à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" and also that failure to properly embrace innovation and change can spell trouble for an organisation. Finally, if we refer back to the statistics quoted from Landes at the beginning of this essay, we can see that the sh eer proportion of enterprises around the world today which are family businesses proves that they endure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" and to last as long as many of them have would not have been possible had they not moved with the times, which many would argue are changing more quickly than ever before. Bibliography Branson, Richard; Losing My Virginity: The Autobiography. Virgin Books; New edition 2005 Landes, David; Dynasties; Fortune and Misfortune in the Worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Great Family Businesses. Penguin 2006 Ward, John L; Perpetuating The Family Business: 50 Lessons Learned from Long Lasting, Successful Families in Business. Palgrave Macmillan 2004 Online sources https://www.chambersharrap.co.uk https://www.virgingalactic.com https://www.thetimes.co.uk https://www.geef.org [1] https://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?query=innovationtitle=21st [2] https://www.geef.org/definition.php [3] Dynasties; Fortune and Misfortune in the Worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Great Family Businesses [4] Ibid [5] https://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article3998893.ece [6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advanced_Passenger_Train [7] https://www.virgingalactic.com/htmlsite/index.php?language=english [8] Dynasties; Fortune and Misfortune in the Worldà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Great Family Businesses [9] Ibid [10] Ibid [11] Ibid [12] Ibid

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Should Single Parents be allowed to Adopt - 845 Words

The lifestyle and some health issues of this century have led to a steady, sizable increase in the number of single-parent adoptions. Why would a successful, independent single man or woman want to give up his or her freedom and assume the responsibilities of raising a child? The trend is mainly due to the fact that the desire to nurture and share life as a family has become to be a strong need that is felt by a large number of people, and one that is not exclusively to married people or couples. The purpose of adoption is to provide children a loving and caring parent. Single parents should be allowed to adopt because more single parents provide a solid environment for the child, there is a shortage of adoptive parents for older and†¦show more content†¦It is a shame to watch older, disabled, or children of other ethnicities left behind when they could have the secure environment and sole-love of a single parent. In addition to the shortage of adoptive parents, single parents adopt for the same reasons as married couples. Single parents have the urge to nurture and raise a child. They seek to have a family unit and share their life with another, just as married couples do. The main reason single parents adopt is the fact thatShow MoreRelatedGay Parenting Essay939 Words   |  4 Pageseach passing moment. Although homosexual marriage is not allowed in some states, the anatomy of the person, whether male or female, hardly allows them to reproduce without sperm or ovaries. Since gays are not capable of reproducing, then adoption is their next option or sperm donors. The big controversy is whether or not homosexuals should be allowed to adopt children or whether the â€Å"step-parent,† which is actually the co-partner, can adopt the birth mother’s child. Adoption is another route for theRead MoreArgumentative Essay About Gay Adoption1295 Words   |  6 PagesCorri Fairfull Discursive Essay-Gay Adoption Gay adoption is a subject which is widely debated. However over recent years gay adoption has allowed for most gay couples who want to adopt young children and give them a good quality of life, which they would have if they lived with their biological parents or a heterosexual couple, to do so. One positive view of gay adoption is that it gives the gay couple the chance to start their own family and give a child in care a new start to life in a lovingRead MoreShould Homosexuals Be Allowed? Adopt?1512 Words   |  7 Pages18 November 2014 Should Homosexuals be allowed to Adopt Did you know that Florida absolutely bans homosexuals to adopt children? Over a million people in the United States disagree on same sex marriage. If they disagree with same sex marriage what about when homosexuals want to adopt children. In my opinion it is great that homosexuals want to adopt children, because it is not about who they are being raised by. It is all about if the children are being raised with two parents that love and careRead MoreAdoption by Gay Couples Should Be Legal in All 50 States Essay example1161 Words   |  5 Pagesfamilies and feeling a desire to adopt. However, only 15 states allow gay couples to adopt. Persons of the same sex are just as capable of nurturing, loving and supporting adopted children as a straight couple. Over the last year, researchers in Australia found that having gay or lesbian parents does not affect a child’s education, social development or emotional health. Evidence shows that gay men and lesbians make just as good parents †¦Ã¢â‚¬  The fact that the parents love someone who is of the sameRead MoreReasons For Adopting Children From Foster Homes1392 Words   |  6 PagesHector Ms. Scott English 12 31st Mar. 2017 LGBs People Should Be Allowed to Adopt In today world there’s a huge population of children in foster homes. Why not give LGBT people the chance to adopt. They probably want to raise a child or even children of there own today or someday. The LGBs community overpowers the foster care community. Therefore, LGBs people should be able to adopt children from foster care. LGBs community should be allowed to adopt because they nurture the neediest, they foster toleranceRead MoreThe Debate Over Homosexual Couples941 Words   |  4 Pagesalso their right to have children. Because of the nature of their relationship, they cannot biologically have children together so their only option is to adopt. The debate over homosexual couples being able to adopt children is very controversial and is becoming a big issue in today’s society. Some believe that by allowing these couples to adopt, they intentionally deprive the children from either a male or female role models; the children will have more challenges in school comp ared to those raisedRead MoreGay Adoption Should Be Legal1203 Words   |  5 Pagesallowing gay couples to adopt. There are so many children in the foster care system that need loving and stable homes so why not let gay couples give that to them? There is a lot of evidence to show that gay couples can be just as good at parenting as a straight couple. Maybe even better due to them being committed and better motivated because they chose to be parents. No child should be denied parents that will give them a loving and stable home just as no couple should be denied a child due toRead MoreHomosexuality Is Genetic Or Merely A Learning Process?1697 Words   |  7 Pagessame time look at the perspective of adopting, parenting, and the outcome of children with homosexual parents. We are also going to look at polls in which the people have a say of what is â€Å"right and wrong† with a homosexual couple, and the debate wither homosexuality couples have the right too parent children and even adopt children, and is the government braking there rights to adopt and parent a children? However my perspective of a partnership is man and woman are part of a succession of generationsRead MoreShould Same Sex Couples Be Allowed to Adopt?954 Words   |  4 Pages2/8/13 Should Same-Sex Couples Be Allowed To Adopt? As time progresses societies view on certain subjects has become more lenient. One thing that still can cause an uproar seems to be what women decide to do with their children once they become pregnant, whether it be abortion or adoption. Even more controversial on the latter subject seems to be who can and cannot adopt children who are being put up for adoption. This leads to the topic of the argument, should same sex couples be allowed to adoptRead MoreAnnotated Bibliography Essay1443 Words   |  6 PagesPre AP English II Annotated Bibliography Stone, A.. Both sides on gay adoption cite concern for children. Usa today. Gannett Co. Inc., 2006. Web. 18 Apr 2012 The article is about a couple who is gay having to move in order for both gay parents to get custody of the adopted child. It talks about the statistics of foster care and the number of kids being adopted right now. The numbers are very low and even for gays, its extremely low. It also states that gays are some good candidates for

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Creation of Microsoft Access Database

Question: Describe about the Creation of Microsoft Access Database? Answer: Entity-Relationship Diagram Figure1: Entity-Relationship Diagram (Source: Created by author) Bibliography Alam, M., Shakil, K. A. (2013). Cloud Database Management System Architecture. UACEE International Journal of Computer Science and its Applications, 3(1), 27-31. Bakalash, R., Shaked, G., Caspi, J. (2013). U.S. Patent No. 8,463,736. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Bakalash, R., Shaked, G., Caspi, J. (2013). U.S. Patent No. 8,473,450. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Byrne, B., Shahzad Qureshi, Y. (2013). UML Class Diagram or Entity Relationship Diagram: An Object Relational Impedance Mismatch. In Procs of 6th Int Conf of Education, Research, and Innovation. International Association of Technology, Education and Development (IATED). Chatr-Aryamontri, A., Breitkreutz, B. J., Oughtred, R., Boucher, L., Heinicke, S., Chen, D., ... Reguly, T. (2015). The BioGRID interaction database: 2015 update. Nucleic acids research, 43(D1), D470-D478. Clifford, P., Bhandari, R., Rogers, T. (2015). U.S. Patent No. 20,150,356,130. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Cordray, C., Link, D., Chart, R., Ginter, K. (2015). U.S. Patent No. 9,077,611. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. DeBrabant, J., Pavlo, A., Tu, S., Stonebraker, M., Zdonik, S. (2013). Anti-caching: A new approach to database management system architecture. Proceedings of the VLDB Endowment, 6(14), 1942-1953. Dedhia, R., Jain, A., Deulkar, K. (2015). Techniques to automatically generate Entity Relationship Diagram. Grefen, P., Pernici, B., Snchez, G. (Eds.). (2012). Database support for workflow management: the WIDE project (Vol. 491). Springer Science Business Media. Krishnamurthy, S., Thombre, N., Conway, N., Li, W. H., Hoyer, M. (2014). U.S. Patent No. 8,745,070. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Lien, F. L. (2015). The Application of Database Management System to Air Pollution Control for Construction in Kaohsiung City. Muoz, C. R. (2013). U.S. Patent No. 8,433,684. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Reddy, T. B. K., Thomas, A. D., Stamatis, D., Bertsch, J., Isbandi, M., Jansson, J., ... Kyrpides, N. C. (2014). The Genomes OnLine Database (GOLD) v. 5: a metadata management system based on a four level (meta) genome project classification. Nucleic acids research, gku950. Shin, T. C., Chang, C. H., Pu, H. C., Lin, H. W., Leu, P. L. (2013). The Geophysical Database Management System in Taiwan. Terr. Atmos. Ocean. Starkey, J. A. (2013). U.S. Patent No. 8,504,523. Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

The Tragedy of Jungle Juice free essay sample

â€Å"What’s this sticky red juice on the walls?† my mother asked me this, confused, as she suspiciously examined our home. My mom and her fiance, Chris, had just returned from a heartbreaking trip to Florida where they said their final goodbyes to his mother who was dying of lung cancer. My mom joined Chris’s family and tried to empathize with the devastating emotions his entire family was experiencing. She strived to attend to anything these people needed, comfort, friendship, a shoulder to cry on, anything. If there is anything my mother does well it is catering to others. Although my family was dealing with this tragedy I was some twelve hundred miles away unaware of the shame, guilt, and sadness I would soon be faced with. The story begins on a Friday night at Salem State University. My two best friends and I putting on makeup, doing our hair, and trying on clothes to prepare for the night ahead. We will write a custom essay sample on The Tragedy of Jungle Juice or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Our friend Sean’s birthday was that week and he had â€Å"never had a birthday party† so of course we were going to throw him one! Right? Once we were done getting ready, we gathered our things for the weekend and headed to my house in Westford, Massachusetts. Once we arrived, I texted my mom telling her that Jessie, Alysha and I had all arrived safely. Of course my parents were concerned letting me stay at the house while they were not home, but we simply told them Jessie and her boyfriend had broken up and we wanted to have a â€Å"girls night† to comfort her. Chris was especially suspicious of this, but he decided that I was mature enough to handle being in the house without parents for one night. Within the hour we had a giant punch bowl filled with alcohol and hawaiian punch. Groups of people were rushing through the door, the music was loud, ping-pong balls were landing in red solo cups, and the sheets were hung over the windows. The night was about to unfold into one of the dumbest mistakes of my life. As the night continued, my house was soon to be the complete opposite of the quaint, homely, and family-oriented household my mother had strived so hard to fashion. All in all the guests puked or spilled red Hawaiian Punch mixed drinks all over my parents walls, carpets, and home. This night was a series of careless decisions that drove my mom into a state of devastation that would end up crushing my heart with guilt. When my parents returned from their trip a number of warning signs made them suspect I had thrown a party. I had no idea how much the devastation, disgrace, and disrespect my parents would feel do to my actions would affect me as a person. Watching my parents absorb the fact that I had disrespected them so much was shocking and led them to the belief that I was mentally unstable. They had no idea how to deal with the decisions I had made, none of us did. Over the course of the following months I did not live in my home. I was welcomed as a guest when both my parents were home for the next eight weeks. I lived with my friends parents, worked thirty plus hours a week, and attended family and individual counseling sessions several times a week. The decision’s I made not only affected me but also the lives of my immediate family, extended family, and other friends and loved ones. Overcoming the feelings we were faced with was difficult for everyone involved. My parents were devastated and my extended family was concerned for my mental health as well. Everyone was faced with confusion and unsolved questions.â€Å"How could she do this to the people she loves and the people that have helped her through so much hardship?† was a question my loved ones asked themselves. Throughout my high school career my Mom had the patience to drop everything in order to help me through multiple suspensions from school and pending court cases. The party ultimately led my mom to believe I had no control over my actions and no respect for the love she had for me. Even though the actions I had displayed to my mom revealed disrespect, dishonesty and disgrace, she still yet again put her mental health and job on the line to make sure I would receive the help I needed to understand the shame I had forced upon my family and myself. Throughout a stressful period of mixed emotion s, my family was able to overcome a difficult time that would ultimately strengthen our bond. Although these choices were no one else’s but my own. By then end of the eight weeks I had accomplished so many things and learned many lessons. First I learned that I am responsible for my own actions and there are consequences to all actions for better or worse. I learned this by empathizing with the feelings that the people I cared about were experiencing do to my actions. Another lesson I learned is that family, friends, and loved ones deserve respect and the best aspects of myself that I can offer. My family has always had my back through thick and thin and they deserve the utmost respect I can offer them. Living out of my home and working full time taught me that the success we achieve in life is through hard work and dedication. In order to mend bonds with my family I had to be dedicated to work, family, and counseling. Although in the beginning I did not see counseling going anywhere, I learned that dedication to anything creates success. The saying, â€Å"Practice m akes perfect† can not only apply to sports but in all area’s in life. If you practice a sport you will become better. This applied to me because I dedicated time to things that were important to me and achieved great success. All in all this experience taught me lessons that ultimately made me a more honorable, selfless, and respectful individual. The best part of this tragedy is that my family is now stronger than ever and I have finally realized the respect they deserve. I am now able to show my family the love and appreciation I feel so deeply for them. After reflecting upon my experience, I explored the internet to find studies relating to irresponsible drinking and partying. The article, The Student Perspective On College Drinking, by Peggy Eastman studies a â€Å" discussion group of 11 students, three from high schools and the rest from colleges and universities. The students represent both genders and a wide diversity of institutions in terms of type and size. The purpose of the discussion group was to learn more about alcohol use and abuse from the student perspective, and to hear how students themselves would propose to solve some of the alcohol-related problems that plague many college campuses.† The article helps to reveal the dangers of underage drinking while showing why so many high school and college age students are drawn to drinking and partying. The article revealed to me the perception of alcohol and partying among underage drinkers. The article acknowledged that high school and college students are peer pre ssured to drink do to the social institutions they are placed in. An anonymous student from the panel explained how his peers are â€Å"either studying or drinking† and then went on to state, â€Å"It’s a very academic environment where it’s very competitive, very cut-throat competition, but students will study like four to six nights a week and then go out that one night, but they’ll make that one night count,† This reveals the peer pressure students feel by being surrounded by others who praise underage drinking. Another student from the panel said, â€Å" Basically, it’s free alcohol once you get in. There’s no charge to get in.† I related to this quote because as a female I don’t find myself spending any money on alcohol. Lots of the time in party atmospheres people will give out alcohol to females. This can cause disasters such as date rape or alcohol poisoning. â€Å" Some students also described the practice of à ¢â‚¬Å"pre-partying† or â€Å"pre-gaming†Ã¢â‚¬â€drinking before going out.† This is a huge aspect of college and high school parties. â€Å"Pre-partying is where you drink before you go out, so that I guess you’re all ready to go.† This quote reveals the disturbing mentality among high school and college students. Most of these students do feel obligated to â€Å"pre-game† before parties. This mentality leads to these underage drinkers being intoxicated before they even arrive at their destination. This can be dangerous because these students are now at a higher risk for physical harm. Over all this article shows how many of the underage students feel out of place if they don’t participate in drinking or partying and focuses on finding an approach to fix this problem. My personal narrative and Peggy Eastman’s article ultimately show the dangers and consequences of underage drinking. The Student Perspective On College Drinking reveals, â€Å"What we need to focus on is decision-making skills and maturity and responsibility in behavior when dealing with alcohol.† Please make responsible choices. Citation Eastman, Peggy. The Student Perspective On College Drinking. The Student Perspective On College Drinking. College Drinking Changing the Culture, Apr. 2002. Web. 08 Mar. 2016. .