Employee Benefits Required By Law Essays - Social Security, Economy

Employee Benefits Required by Law Employee Benefits Required by Law The legally required employee benefits constitute nearly a quarter of the benefits package that employers provide. These benefits include employer contributions to Social Security, unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation insurance. Altogether such benefits represent about twenty-one and half percent of payroll costs. Social Security Social Security is the federally administered insurance system. Under current federal laws, both employer and employee must pay into the system, and a certain percentage of the employee's salary is paid up to a maximum limit. Social Security is mandatory for employees and employers. The most noteworthy exceptions are state and local government employees. The Social Security Act was passed in 1935. It provides an insurance plan designed to indemnify covered individuals against loss of earnings resulting from various causes. This loss of earnings may result from retirement, unemployment, disability, or the case of dependents, the death of the person supporting them. Social Security does not pay off except in the case where a loss of income through loss of employment actually is incurred. In order to be eligible for old age and survivors insurance (OASI) as well as disability and unemployment insurance under the Social Security Act, an individual must have been engaged in employment covered by the Act. Most employment in private enterprise, most types of self-employment, active military service after 1956 and employment in certain nonprofit organizations and governmental agencies are subject to coverage under the Act. Railroad workers and United States civil service employees who are covered by their own systems and some occupational groups, under certain conditions, are exempted form the Act. The Social Security Program is supported by means of a tax levied against an employee's earnings which must be matched buy the employer. Self-employed persons are required to pay a tax on their earnings at a rate, which is higher than that paid by employees but less than the combined rates paid by employees and their employers. In order to receive old age insurance benefits, a person must have reached retirement age and be fully insured. A full-insured person is one who must have earned at least $50 in a quarter for a period of 40 quarters. It is possible for an individual who dies or becomes totally disabled at an early age to be classified as fully insured with less than 40 quarters. To receive old age insurance benefits, covered individuals must also meet the test of retirement. To meet this test, persons under 70 cannot be earning more than an established amount through gainful employment. This limitation of earnings does not include income from sources other than gainful employment such as investments or pensions. Social security retirement benefits consist of those benefits which individuals are entitled to receive in their own behalf, called the primary insurance amount, plus supplemental benefits for eligible dependents. These benefits can be determined from a prepared table. There are also both minimum and maximum limits to the amount that individuals and their dependents can receive. The Social Security program provides benefit payments to workers who are too severely disabled to engage in gainful employment. In order to be eligible for such benefits, an individual's disability must have existed for at least 6 month and must be expected to continue for at least 12 months. Those eligible for disability benefits must have worked under Social Security for a t least 5 out of the 10 years before becoming disabled. Disability benefits, which include auxiliary benefits for dependents, are computed on the same basis as retirement benefits and are converted to retirement benefits when the individual reaches the age of 65. The survivors' insurance benefits represent the form of life insurance that is paid to members of a deceased person's family who meet the requirements for eligibility. As in the case of life insurance, the benefits that the survivors of a covered individual's receive may be far in excess of their cost to this individual. Survivors of individuals, who were currently insured, as well as those who were fully insured at the time of death, are eligible to receive certain benefits, provided that the survivors meet other eligibility requirements. A currently insured person is one who has been covered during at least six out of the thirteen quarters prior death. Many people think of Social Security as a retirement program. But, retirement benefits are just one part of the Social Security program. Some of the Social Security taxes person pays go toward survivors insurance. In fact, the value of the survivors insurance he/she has under Social Security is probably more than the value of his/her individual life insurance. When someone

WHITE-COLLAR CRIME essay

WHITE-COLLAR CRIME essay WHITE-COLLAR CRIME essay WHITE-COLLAR CRIME essay  The term white-collar crime was first used by criminologist Edwin Sutherland back in 1939 for the various nonviolent crimes usually committed in commercial areas for financial gain (McNISH,  2010). There is a common misconception that the white-collar crimes do not have victims, and thus they are not that dangerous. Indeed, these crimes are committed without the use of weapons or threats of physical violence, but it does not mean that they are really harmless. According to the FBI, in the United States white collar crimes steal more than $ 300 billion a year (Gottschalk,  2011).All kinds of white collar crime are taking place in our community nowadays. The most wide spread crimes are fraud, fraud with bankruptcies, bribery, computer fraud, credit card fraud, counterfeiting and securities, corporate appropriation of funds, identity theft (using other peoples financial documents), securities transactions which use insider information, insurance fraud, mo ney laundering, obstruction of justice, perjury, tax evasion, economic espionage, artificial price bubble, etc (Williams,  R. (2013).With the rapid development of Internet technologies, there is a rapid development of Internet fraud schemes. For example, online investment scheme is one of the recent ones. Commission on Securities and Exchange Commission on Law Enforcement, and criminal trials indicate that criminals use two basic methods to manipulate securities markets for personal gain. First, in so-called pump-and-dump projects, they usually disseminate false or misleading information in order to cause a sharp rise in stock prices which are not in demand, or shares of companies not having substantial assets and leading operations. Immediately after that they sell their shares of such companies to get substantial profits before the stock price falls back to its normal low level. All other buyers of the stock, unaware of the falsity of the information, become victims of the schem e as soon as the price falls.For example, in one federal prosecution in Los Angeles, the defendants purchased shares in a bankrupt company NEI Webworld, Inc. for the sum of 130,000 dollars, directly or through an intermediary. Assets of NEI Webworld, Inc. had been liquidated several months before. Then the defendants sent e-mail messages to hundreds of Internet bulletin boards, falsely stating that wireless telecommunications company planned buyout of NEI Webworld. At the time defendants purchased shares of NEI Webworld, share price ranged from 9 to 13 cents apiece. However, one day share price of NEI Webworld rose in 45 minutes from $8 per share to $15.5-16, and half an hour later it fell to 25 cents per share. The defendants made ​​a profit of 362,625 US dollars (Benjamin,  2011).In another federal case in Los Angeles, a man who worked for California company PairGain Technologies, created a fake website Bloomberg news, which had fake news about the impending PairGa in Technologies acquisition by an Israeli company. He sent fraudulent e-mail messages with links to fake Bloomberg news site to financial news bulletins. On that day PairGain Technologies shares rose by about 30% before the company issued its own refuting press release (Wanless,  2010).At the moment in San Diego, there is a federal prosecution of massive fraud using the Internet and telemarketing to attract potential investors in the so-called general partnerships involving investments in high technology, such as Internet shopping mall and Internet access providers. The scheme defrauded more than 3,000 victims nationwide for nearly $ 50 million (Miller,  2013).Corruption, as one of the types of economic crimes, is very common in our society and it slows the development of the country. In the anti-corruption fight it is recommended to implement legislative reform, which would bring not harsher penalties for corruption, but simplification and reduction of state control (reducing t he frequency of inspections, tax cuts) in order to reduce the very possibility of abuse official position.However, legislative actions of the State can not make a decisive breakthrough in the fight against corruption (at least because of the fact that the fight against corruption sometimes is headed by corrupt officials). Decisive success is only possible by increasing the dependence of the state of citizens. This requires such long-term institutional reform as reducing the number and size of authorities, creation of special or even independent of the State institutes authorized to investigate allegations of corruption (for example, Sweden and some other countries have institution of Ombudsman), introduction of ethical standards for authorities, etc. Finally, the fight against corruption is impossible without the help of whistleblowers. In the US, the informant receives from 15% to 30% of identified material damage and he is protected from persecution of violators (Kim, 2012).Econom ists say that successful fight against corruption provides immediate benefits that are many times higher than the related expenses. According to some estimates, $1 spent for the fight with corruption brings an average of 23 dollars in the fight against corruption at the level of state and about 250 dollars in the fight at the international level (Brody,  2010).General recommendations to fight white collar crime in the community include the following actions by the state:ensuring political and economic stability in the societycreating legal framework necessary for effective fight against economic crimesimproving the system of government agencies dealing with economic crimesincreasing control of the public authorities for the activities of enterprises, which commit most economic crimes, including the activities of their officers and materially responsible personsstrengthening preventive, precautionary actions of authorities fighting with economic crimes (in particular, explore condi tions that contributed to the commission of crimes and take measures to prevent further similar crimes).Fighting white-collar crime is one of the main problems of modern society. This struggle must be carried out in all possible ways. Since the damage from such crimes is huge, the end justifies any means. According to the FBI, between 2007 and 2009, white-collar crimes amounted 3.8% of all crimes committed in the United States. Despite their relatively small number, annual average white-collar crime costs victims much more than ordinary theft or robbery. For example, average property crime costs a victim $1.8 thousand, while the average white-collar property crime costs $9.2 thousand. White-collar crimes today account 42% of all crimes committed by using a computer (Akopyan,  2010). Many experts expect the growth of this number. According to National Fraud Center, the number of arrests for white-collar crime, especially fraud and misappropriation of corporate funds, has increased dramatically over the past few years, while the number of arrests for crimes related to violence against the person declines.White-collar crime is very dangerous. It causes great damage to society and country as a whole and, ultimately, each of us. Today, fight with this type of crime is of utmost importance. State and federal laws, and the US Constitution give the federal government the authority to curb white-collar crimes. A number of federal agencies, including FBI, Tax and the US Secret Service, US Customs Service, Agency for Environmental Protection, deal with white-collar crimes. In addition, most states use their agencies to fight white-collar crime. Penalties for white collar crime are very strict, much more severe than for other crimes (Waldie,  2010).

Is Charisma a Personal Quality or a Trait Essay

Is Charisma a Personal Quality or a Trait - Essay Example The essay "Is Charisma a Personal Quality or a Trait?" examines the concepts of charisma as a trait and a personal quality. Charisma has been studied and theorized in various ways by different sociologists, psychologists, and management specialists. The concept of charisma as a trait has been elaborately explained in Weber’s work related to leadership in the civil society. Originally, Weber referred to charisma as an inherent quality of an individual, which makes that individual very different from the ordinary men and gets treated as someone specially awarded with paranormal, heroic and exceptional qualities. Later, he narrowed this definition to include specific personal qualities that distinguish the individual from other people. Based on Weber’s generalization and pontification of charisma, Shils defined charisma as, â€Å"the quality which is imputed to persons, actions, roles, institutions, symbols and material objects because of their presumed connection with ‘ultimate,’ fundamental,’ ‘vital,’ order-determining powers†. Weber refers to charisma as one of three bases of legitimate authority in the institutional setup. While Weber’s original concept of charisma emphasizes on charisma as a personal quality. Weber’s philosophy bases the evolution of all social organizations on charismatic qualities of few individuals. Klein and House define charisma as â€Å"a fire that ignites followers’ energy and commitment, producing results above and beyond the call of duty†.

Adolf Hitler-World War I and II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Adolf Hitler-World War I and II - Essay Example He was part of the Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment 16, where he was involved in major combats. Hitler is also presented as being responsible for the Second World War (Haugen 7). Adolf Hitler is said to have influenced society, economy, politics, and ideas that are there for the people living today. Hitler’s love for the army majorly influenced how he ruled Germany at the time he was a dictator. He used military styles to rule the country. During WW1, Hitler won many awards for being an exemplary soldier who depicted cold-blooded boldness and courage (Haugen 53). Hitler also influenced major economic activities like agriculture in the sense that he idealized rural life, and saw that cities had a corrupting effect to the people’s minds. He supported the preservation of the peasant class. He also influenced the aviation industry through the creation of the Air Ministry. Previously, aviation was only seen in the United States (Nicholls 16). As Hitler rose to power, he preached murder, violence, and hate. When he was the absolute German leader between the 1930s and 1940s, millions and millions of people died because of his wishes. He lied and encouraged prejudice, ironically winning the support of those who believed him (Roberts 6). Politically, WW2 is said to have been caused by Hitler as a result of his 1930s influence on German politics. Hitler has affected the world and ideas of people today through many things such as the massive loss of life. From an economic perspective, the United States is said to have been led out of depression and into the post war era boom. This has enabled it to remain a superpower ever since (Haugen 7). Socially, Hitler has influenced technological advancements, both to civilians and the military. These include atomic energy, jet engines, and synthetic nylon fibers among others. Hitler’s legacy also led to the realignment of many of the states in the Eastern Bloc. From another

Direct marketing. An advertising campaign Essay

Direct marketing. An advertising campaign - Essay Example Direct marketing is perceived by many customers as an undesirable way of marketing products. Direct marketing includes techniques such as telephone sales and unsolicited emails. When companies rely on these techniques their credibility as a firm is downgraded. There are other forms of legit direct marketing techniques that have been used by marketers for years to generate revenues. Some of these good direct marketing techniques include catalogs, leaflets, brochures, and coupons. A company that has been very successful globally using a direct marketing approach to sell its products is Amway. Interactive marketing involves having contact with the customer in order to obtain a reaction and feedback from them. The tool that is utilized the most in the 21st century in the application of interactive marketing is the internet. Social websites such as Facebook provide great interactive mechanisms that can be used by marketers to communicate with the customers. A website that revolutionized t he way people watch programming is Hulu.com. Hulu offers television programs in its website free of charge. The programming has very short commercial breaks. During these commercials many advertisers used interactive marketing by providing short one question questionnaires. 7. Samir - participation I like your response but you failed to mention a direct marketing method that is often by companies which is direct telephone sales calls. This method of marketing is very outdated and his perceived in a negative connotation by the customers of today. Nobody likes being pressure into buying a consumer product they don’t want or need. I think that the government should regulate telemarketers to avoid the invasion of privacy these sales phone calls represent. Most of these companies are obtaining their sales leads number using unethical practices. I think that interactive marketing has a lot of potential for companies doing business the US marketplace as well as abroad. 8. Kelly â₠¬â€œ participation Convenience is one of the attributes customers look for the most in their shopping experience. A company that has revolutionized the supermarket industries is Sainsbury’s. This UK firm has a service that allows shoppers to purchase their groceries through the website. The online order is subsequently delivered to the person’s home. This service saves shoppers a lot of time and it saves them money in commuting expenses. At $4 a gallon customers have to save gasoline any way they can. Other companies such as Walgreens are achieving interactive marketing by offering special offers that can only be redeemed online. For example when the customer completes an online survey at the corporate website they are eligible for coupon savings. DQ1 An advertising campaign that was very successful due to its ingenuity, creativity, and ability to captivate the minds of the viewers was the Geico ads. Geico has been running a series of ads using the Gecko character in o rder to transmit a Geico’s slogan, â€Å"15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance.† The ads are very funny due to the Gecko character. The Gecko has become such a sensation that Geico created an autobiography online video story of the Gecko on its corporate website. This is all great stuff. I believe that this character is the reason Geico has become such a successful auto insurance company. Prior to the start of the Gecko series of commercials Geico was not a household name in the minds of American consumers. An ad campaign that lacks a marketing message due to its simplicity is Corona’s beer advertisements. These commercials consist of a man and woman in the beach in lawn chair, the actors done move while stuff occurs around them at the admiration of the Corona beer. The commercial are poor because they do not send a clear marketing message and they are not emphasizing any of the attributes of the product such as quality, flavor, and price. The c ommercial seem like a low budget project in comparison with the spectacular commercials its competitor

Is Journalism Storytelling?

Is Journalism Storytelling? Using relevant theoretical perspectives considered during the semester and two examples of journalism, is journalism storytelling? Why? Introduction Many journalists entered the profession for a simple reason a love of storytelling. Journalism as storytelling has been found in many ways of the humanities. Storytelling is a valid way to share facts, ideas and to convince. The storytelling closely link to journalism where journalists want to reach their audience, to convince the reader that deep emotional level with their followers. Journalists have researched multiple ways that storytelling can utilize to reach to their audience in order to get audience’s attention.Moreover, McQuail (1992, Media Performance p291) states that ‘news’ is not impartial or objective. Things happen, but this does not mean that they become news – Not all the of events can be reported because of the sheer number. McQuail also argues that news is the product of socially manufactured production, because its the end result is a selective process. Gatekeepers, such as editors and journalists, and sometimes owners, to choose and jud ge what events are important enough to pay and how to cover them. News story can be used in journalism but at a price. Many journalists create stories may missing the fact in order to fill their space with personal opinions or emotion.This makes many viewers overlook these articles for audience they think more of the facts based. Narrative journalism However, with the idea of storytelling in journalism is has leaded to narrative journalism and long-form journalism. This type of journalism unlike directly news story, which provide the basic who, what, where, when and why of the story, instead, narrative news stories are longer and allow the writer to employ more elements of prose writing.Stories that are considered narrative journalism often appear in magazines and allow a reporter to approach a subject in different ways. Generations ago, narrative journalism was the rule of reporting, rather then the exception.Story (and sometimes subjectively and considerable by todays standards) in the magazine and newspaper readers through a fascinating story to tell completely from the authors views and experience.But, time have absolutely changed. Nowadays, narrative journalism is not commonly used by most mainstream media outlets. In fact, many journalists adhere to very basic formula or the use of inverted pyramid report style, to keep the ir writing style simple and easy to edit.Some may even not familiar with the technique, had never learned it as beat journalists in their career. however there is still a lot of room for narrative journalism in todays world marketplace where the Internet is available all day and all night, and authors or journalists avid to test their competence using a new technique may truly enjoy writing a news â€Å"report that reads much more like a story than a series of objectively written paragraphs†(Angelique Caffrey ,2012)In the JoBenet Ramsey case, for instance,the media and news has obsessed for nearly two decade. â€Å"The Ramsey murder a decade ago, along with the O.J. Simpson case in 1994, as one journalist noted, â€Å"helped redefine mainstream journalism as a form of soap operatic storytelling,† i.e., were benchmarks in its degradation to its current wretched state.† (David Walsh,2006,p2)Jonbenet Ramseys death is a tragedy and its surroundings keep an ominous, but this is a cold case from 18 years ago.The continued interest in every detail of her murder case seems to imply that the past 18 years havent seen any other murder of innocent and pure children, until now, her novelty cases continue to control the public interest.the question is over so many years, why the case still has attracted the attention of journalism and the general public, indeed, â€Å"The newest headlines on JonBenet Ramsey are detrimental because they take the place of more valuable news stories.†(Carina Kolodny,2013,p16). Journalism as storytelling, in the narrative way make the news novelty and catch public’s attention. New-journalism storytelling Primitively, journalism storytelling emerged on the newspapers in western countries, among which, Australia is a typical representative.Today, the highest wave of journalism storytelling presents in the press circle in America(Dubrovin 1995,p37).In the mid-19th century, majorities of the developed countries in Europe and America realized industrial revolutions.During that period, the economy conditions in these countries were dramatically improved, the urbanization was accelerated, and the presses publishing newspapers on liberalism were established.The political parties reduced forces on the press and numerous cheap newspapers without independent political and economic restrictions were published(Connery 1992,p14).On September 3, 1833,The Sunwas established, officially symbolizing the emergence of cheap newspapers.Subsequently in America, the most developed country, cheap newspapers represented byThe SunandThe Heraldemerged in succession(Chance 2001).With the purpose of making profi ts, varieties of social news were issued on these newspapers to meet the demands of low-educated and poorly off citizens and to avoid offending the political parties and the government that could affect the development of the newspapers(Cassady 1990).These pieces of news written by vulgar words and sentences were mainly about interesting and exciting stories collected from the publics social life.The appearance of such popular newspapers is viewed as the origin of journalism storytelling. During 1960 to 1970, a new genre of journalism, the New-journalism, emerged in western countries. â€Å"It emphasized to obtain opinions on internal events by perceiving and interviewing, instead of approaches of regular information collection and stereotypical questionnaire surveys†(Cassady 1991).Techniques of expression of writing novels were also adopted.It laid stress on the writing methods and description styles. â€Å"New-journalism theoretically put forward the composing direction fo r news storytelling, making a space for the literary journalism†(Eason 1981).It was particularly popular in that period and was significantly recorded on the history of Australian journalism.Except for that it meet the demand of the times, New-journalism has some characteristics which include the following: Firstly,new-journalism broke the traditional news model of stating the facts impersonally.Coming to the front stage from the backstage(Eason 1981,), the journalists directly expressed their moods, feelings, and opinions or suggestions when editing the news stories.In newswriting, the journalists subject consciousnesses and emotions were presented and strengthened(Eason 1981).Secondly,new-journalism enriched expression skills for news reports.It adopted methods of novel writing, combined news with literature, and satisfied the publics needs of listening stories.Various literary expression skills, such as multi-scenes combination, the third person narration, the first person narration, details description, compound characters, and composition ways of making flashback, repetition, indication, and suspense(Farrell 1991).It changed the stereotypical inverted pyramid writing model and showed audiences a lively world that the journalists perceive, expanding selections for the public and mee ting the publics demand for diverse cultures(Ducey 1997).New-journalism in western countries gradually fade with a short brilliant history.However, the journalism storytelling became attractive to the public. Journalism and news as social construction It is hard for journalism, in any form, to be a true construction or reflection of society, on account of the factor included in the production of news. Human interest, human fault and the fallacy of the management, and other factors interweave together, blurred the boundaries between fact and fiction. Potter(1998; p15) demonstrated that â€Å"news is not something that happens; instead, news is what gets presented. We almost never see news events as they happen. Instead, we are shown the media’s manufactured construction of the events.† Yet journalism can be defined very simply as storytelling or news information of any form. However, not all of the current events or stories can be presented in the media, and like this, only news are considered as â€Å"news value† or â€Å"newsworthy is able to bring it into the media for spread to the audience and general public. According to Galtung and Ruge(1970), â€Å"the earliest form of systematic classification for ne wsworthiness†(Tony Harcup Deirdre ONeill p261-280), there are eleven news values, the meeting will make the event is more likely in news to be reported. The news values are frequency, clarity, consonance, continuity, actions of the elite, negativity,threshold, cultural proximity,unexpectedness, composition and personification. In the above-mentioned system, the story to satisfy the more points or value, the greater the chance that it will be published in the news. News report channels use the relaxing and interesting way of storytelling to convey information to the mass.Journalism storytelling is popular with the audiences, however, with its rapid development, some shortages are increasingly exposed. Journalism storytelling has erroneous tendency to negative events.Generally, in order to catch the audiences eyes, the news contents are easily focus on happenings from the dark side of the society.Taking an example of how the news value are applied in selection of a story, the 9-11 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Cen tre towers in NYC, the news has a large number of news values, the magnitude of this plane attacks made them relate all over the world and that kind of news about crime and violence are often reported, even events on disaster or damage are mainly propagated.There are positive reports to revive the whole process and details of the events; however details description on murder, eroticism, and other stodgy and low-class events are over presented(Breneman 1983).On the whole, journalism storytelling is lack of true and impersonal perspectives and the publics supervision function on its news contents is weakened.Frequently, bloody events that are not related to the common peoples daily life are played on the life channels.The stimulating and abnormal scenes, ironic tittles and topics are often highlighted to attract the audiences attention and to make the news stories widely spread.Such effects turn out to be over-commercialized, which are of unhealthy impacts on the publics life. Reference list Denis McQuail, 1992, Media Performance:Mass Communication and the Public Interest, London/California,P291 Angelique Caffrey,2012,Journalism and Narrative Journalism,p2 David Walsh,2006, US media disgraces itself once again: Rush to judgment in the JonBenet Ramsey case,p2 Carina Kolodny,2013,Why Do We Care About JonBenet Ramsey?p16 Vivian Dubrovin (1995),Create Your Own Storytelling Stories,p37 Connery, Thomas B, 1992, Discovering a Literary Form.† A Sourcebook of American Literary journalism:Representative Writers in an Emerging Genre. New York: Greenwood,p14 W.James Potter, 1998, Theory of Media Literacy:A Cognitive Approach USA,p15 Tony Harcup Deirdre O’Neill, 2010,What is News?:Galtung and Ruge revisited; p261-280 Should Cannabis Be Legalised In Australia? Should Cannabis Be Legalised In Australia? Cannabis is a plant that is grown using organic fertiliser, other names includes marijuana, marihuana, hashish, hemp and ganja which is made from dried leaves and small green flowers from the cannabis plant itself, it contains narcotics and tough fibres that are used to make ropes, medicine, furniture and many others. Cannabis is known as a soft illicit drug that is commonly used. It is usually smoked but can also be eaten to get the immediate intoxicated effect but each person experiences different effects reasons being how strong the drug is, if they are an experienced user, the mood of the user and many other reasons within the individual. Earls and Robert studied marihuana and came with while opium kills ambition and deadens initiatives, marihuana incites to immorality and crime (Earls and Robert Rowell, 2003). Short-term effects may include; brain slowing, intoxicated which is also known as stoned or high and happy and relaxed feelings. Others may experience negative effects such as being paranoid, feeling anxious and panic attack. Some physical effects include short-term memory, heart rate increase, bloodshot eyes, coordination which can cause unsafe driving and increase in appetite often known as the munchies. Long-term effects may include; increase risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease due to the raise in heart rate, lung disease, ability to learn because of short-term memory, sperm count for males decreases and females experience irregular period patterns. Cannabis is illegal in Australia and most other first world countries and by law it is not to be grown, sell or possessed, it is a crime to do so and penalties will be given according to The Australian Drug Misuse Trafficking Act (1985). Cannabis is illegal due to many reasons such as; addiction, where people are hooked on to the drug and which will eventually ruin their lives through excessive usage, this is the same as alcohol which is a totally legal drug. The government claims that cannabis is more and highly addictive compared to alcohol which is why it is not legalised. Users would become aggressive and have a psychotic effect when taking the drug which leads to criminal activities. Cannabis is not accepted for medical use, even though it helps pain relief and benefits others in medical use but still caused a lot of diseases which the government is trying to help decrease, such as lung cancer, and cancer itself. Other reasons include that cannabis was linked to narcotics together with other illicit drugs, heroin, morphine and cocaine in 1914; these drugs are highly illegal and has brought cannabis along the line with them. Cannabis is now used by people all over the world illegally and legally and now it is not seen as an ethnic drug. The American governments started to look into Cannabis and came up with ideas on making it illegal, hemp was common and is used in making ropes, cloth and paper was considered dangerous and was a treat to people, people were being violence after smoking cannabis and led them to commit crime. Cannabis was announced illegal by (The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937). Cannabis should be legalised in Australia because it will benefit the government and country in many ways, some advantages on legalising cannabis include; government making money on tax, which will be better for the economy as cannabis is a billion dollar industry. Cannabis is grown with organic fertilizer and is an organic plant unlike other illicit drugs such as heroin and cocaine when many other chemicals are used to make the drug. Tobacco is considered more dangerous compared to cannabis as tobacco uses 4000 different chemicals such as nicotine, tar, rat poison and many others which are harmful to the users as cannabis is an organic grown plant. This will benefit people with healt issues as it does not contain many other chemical like tobacco. Cannabis is a valued plant and is expensive since growing the plant takes time and organic fertilizer must be used. Pricing around the illegal market on cannabis is $200 to $300 and ounce (28grams). Through research foundings on cannabis users increases dramatically every year, in the US it is estimated that 2million people will try the illicit drug every yeah and 1 percentage of the population estimated to try cannabis every year and become addicted. Cannabis was a legalised drug back in the 1920s early 1930s, but since the US government came up with ideas to ban the drug due to their reasons of the drug threatens and is dangerous. Cannabis is now the most illicit drug used all over the world illegally and legally, in certain parts of Canada cannabis is legal where they have marijuana pubs and bars where people can come in for a smoke with friends and to relax. If cannabis was legalised in Australia it will stop people smoking illegally, being paranoid and decrease in illegal activities such as smuggling cannabis from other countries or states, drug trafficking and trades. This highlights that society accepted the fact that view on marijuana is to be socially accepted. Legalising cannabis will allow the nation to gain instant and long term benefits also give benefit in medical use, where it could be used to assist in pain relief and cure other diseases that prescription drugs might now be able to do. Victims suffering from diseases such as glaucoma and the people who needs treatment for antinausea will be able to find the drug easily This will benefit chemists and can help with increasing the market share and income. Ideas that the government may look into is that proper education should be involved in training users on the drug itself, how to use the drug and the recommended amount of usage each time to prevent from overdose. Cannabis should be a prescription drug if it was to be legalised and doctors only allow certain amount each time for the patient or user. Disadvantages on legalising cannabis include; people not claiming tax as they can grow the plants from home, which will become an illegal activity since they are hiding from the government to turn away from tax. Financial issues since education for cannabis users which will cost a lot of money and time for the government if they decided to legalised the illicit drug. Crime rates may arise as the drug may have different effects on the individual, it may cause aggressiveness, psychotic and criminal activities. This will have a huge impact on safety for the society as it may affect users on unsafe driving and lose of memory in short-term use. Legalising cannabis will also have an impact on creating more diseases such as lung cancer, heart disease, and learning abilities as users experience short -term memory. Advantages on criminalisation if cannabis was legalised include; a decrease on criminal offences such as smuggling drugs into the country, trading and selling the drug to people. It will allow the government to fight other drug related crimes that are more important and a risk to the society such as heroin and cocaine dealers, fraud and murderers. If cannabis was legalised users would stop being paranoid about using or buying the drug as they would become more relaxed and free. The war on drug isnt accomplishing much as people are still out there illegally smuggling, trading and selling drugs so this can be decreased if cannabis was to be legalised as it will reduce the government on spending large amount of money on enforcements every year which will help in increasing the countrys revenue. It is prohibited but people are still out there making money and doing illegal business, there was an increase tax on alcohol so if cannabis was to be legalised it should have a higher tax on it as well. It is impossible to stop drug dealers as they always got an way to deliver their goods, they are always one step ahead and if one criminal is caught there is others out there doing the same, it just continues and it is something the government cannot stop. In 1987, 10 billion dollars were spent alone just on enforcing drug laws. Drugs accounted for about 40 percent of all felony indictments in the New York City courts in 1989. This figure quadrupled since 1985. Forty percent of the people in federal prison are drug law violators (Long 114). As it raises every year that money could be spent on other things that will benefit the economy such as schools, roads and homeless. The black market would vanish and illegal traders and dealers would be out of business since productions would bec ome licensed only. Disadvantages if cannabis was to be legalised include; people would still do illegal business to make money, since they want to keep away from tax. Legalising cannabis will eventually make the good people become bad, as they will be addicted to the legalised drug and it will affect their daily lives due to the effects on the drugs such as short-term memory, it allows people to be violent and aggressive, become psychotics and will put the society at risk, crime rates will rise and the roads will be more dangerous than it is now as to drink drivers. Cannabis effects peoples coordination so unsafe driving is a major risk, leaving it risky to others on the roads. The government will have to spend more money on stoping drug users from committing crimes or death rates will increase as is allows people to experience being aggressive, and psychotic behaviours with the use to the drug if it is legalised. In conclusion cannabis should be legalised as it will benefit people with medical use, help in decreasing crime rate, reduce and die out the black market, improve the countrys revenue and allows the government to make money on tax just like the high tax they gain from alcohol. At the same time it may disadvantage the country in a few ways such as crime rates due to the drug giving side effects of aggressiveness and psychotic, where that is easier to prevent unlike the black market.

Leonardo da vinci :: essays research papers

Leonardo da Vinci was born April 15, 1452.Leonardo da Vinci was educated in his father's house receiving the usual elementary education of reading, writing and arithmetic. In 1467 he became an apprentice learning painting, sculpture and acquiring technical and mechanical skills. He was accepted into the painters' guild in Florence in 1472 but he continued to work as an apprentice until 1477. From that time he worked for himself in Florence as a painter. Already during this time he sketched pumps, military weapons and other machines.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Between 1482 and 1499 Leonardo worked for the of the Duke of Milan. He was described in a list of the Duke's staff as a painter and engineer of the duke. As well as completing six paintings during his time in the Duke's service he also advised on architecture, fortifications and military matters. He was also considered as a hydraulic and mechanical engineer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During his long stay time in Milan, Leonardo became interested in geometry. He read Leon Battista Alberti's books on architecture and Piero della Francesca's On Perspective in Painting. Leonardo da Vinci illustrated Pacioli's Divina proportione and he continued to work with Pacioli and is reported to have neglected his painting because he became so engrossed in geometry.Leonardo studied Euclid and Pacioli's Suma and began his own geometry research. He sometimes gave mechanical solutions. He gave several methods of squaring the circle, again using mechanical methods. He wrote a book, around this time, on the elementary theory of mechanics which appeared in Milan around 1498. Leonardo certainly realised the possibility of constructing a telescope and in Codex Atlanticus written in 1490 he talks of making glasses to see the Moon enlarged. In 1499 the French armies entered Milan and the Duke was defeated. Some months later Leonardo left Milan together with Pacioli. He travelled to Mantua, Venice and finally reached Florence. Although he was under constant pressure to paint, mathematical studies kept him away from his painting activity much of the time. He was for a time employed by Cesare Borgia as a senior military architect and general engineer. By 1503 he was in Florence advising on the project to divert the River Arno behind Pisa to help with the siege of the city which the Florentines were engaged in. He then produced plans for a canal to allow Florence access to the sea. The canal was never built nor was the River Arno diverted.

Comparison of Newspaper Headlines

Newspaper headline creates a powerful meaning and interpretation of the whole article. This collection of words sums up the entire story and represents in totality the equally significant lead. A headline intrigues and awakens or grabs a reader's interest.   At the same time, it reinforces the intellectual aspect of the reading public through the rational and logical contentment gained when a reader successfully understands a newspaper headline. A story headline strengthens one's sense of belonging to his or her community in two ways: first, through the references to one's own society and nation; and second, through stereotyped representations of other countries and citizens. News organizations on the internet generally aim to post headlines on the website that will attract and leave an impact to search engine crawlers and internet visitors as much as the regular printed news readers. For this purpose, two negatively-toned or presented news headlines of the same story can have different interpretations and effects on the readers. Such examples are that of the news about the comment of President Bush on the alleged establishment and expansion of U.S. bases in Africa. These are the news from the MSNBC website under the headline: â€Å"Bush: U.S. wont build new Africa bases† and the other news article from the Aljazeera website carrying the headline: â€Å"Bush denies Africa expansion plan† (MSNBC, 2008 ; Aljazeera, 2008). The MSNBC and Aljazeera news headlines were both stated in a negative manner. The former headline (from MSNBC) was presented as an obvious direct quote, apparently coming straight from the U.S. President. The second headline, on the other hand, appears to have been delivered by a second source, not by President Bush himself. The headline by the Aljazeera news implies that denial is the usual and standard official statement from the White House and not a strong affirmation that the U.S. will definitely not build bases and expand their military power in Africa. Although the said two headlines are somewhat pessimistic in tone, the MSNBC â€Å"direct quote† headline appears to be more effective than the Aljazeera â€Å"denial† headline. This is because the headline was written in a straight-forward defense of President Bush that U.S. will not (by using the term â€Å"won't†) build new Africa bases. Readers of today are always in a rush while accessing vast amount of information from thousands of websites. Thus, the MSNBC headline addresses the basic goal of internet news organizations of catching the attention and immediate comprehension of online news readers. The MSNBC headline is even beefed up by what is called the subhead (with the phrases â€Å"President dismisses talk†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). This subhead supports and reinforces the main headline which imparts a definite statement that the U.S. is unquestionably not building new U.S. bases in the African continent. References Aljazeera. (2008, February 20). Bush denies Africa expansion plan. Retrieved February 21,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2008, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23252017/ MSNBC. (2008, February 20). Bush: U.S. won't build new Africa bases. President dismisses   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   talk of more military bases on continent as ‘baloney'. Retrieved February 21, 2008,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   from http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1D97988F-6FFB-4BD0-8C43-  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   C3F8420F79B1.htm. ; ; ; ; ;

Louis Vuitton in Japan

Louis Vuitton in Japan Abstract Japan is a lucrative market for global luxury brands. Many companies have realized this fact and have concentrated most of their operations in this country. Louis Vuitton is no exception. It succeeded in this market. This paper shows that the unique demographics of the Asian country and the company’s aggressive marketing campaigns have contributed to its Japanese success.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Louis Vuitton in Japan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Evidences from this paper also show that poor economic conditions and changing customer preferences, in Japan, threaten the French-based company’s profitability. Nonetheless, there are many opportunities for increasing its sales growth. This paper suggests that the company should open new stores in mid-sized towns to increase its brand presence in the market. Similarly, it suggests the need to improve the popularity of Louis Vuitton brands by undertaking more local marketing campaigns. Overall, this paper shows that although Japan accounts for most of Louis Vuitton’s profits, the company could increase its dominance in this market by adopting new marketing strategies. Introduction Louis Vuitton is a global luxury brand that has operated in the Japanese market for more than four decades (Ivey, 2008). As a case study, this paper explores how the French-based company started its operations in the Asian nation and why it has achieved tremendous success in this market. Since Louis Vuitton is a successful global entity, this paper also investigates whether global economic conditions affect its operations. Similarly, it highlights how the company can overcome some of these challenges and exploit the demographics of the Japanese market to improve its market success. These analyses give a comprehensive understanding of Louis Vuitton’s operations in Japan. Why Louis Vuitton Succeeded in the Japanese Market Japan i s an important market for Louis Vuitton because it accounts for almost 50% of the company’s profits (Ivey, 2008). Aggressive marketing campaigns have boosted the brand’s profile in the country’s fashion industry. The success of the Omotesando marketing campaign, in Japan, attests to this fact (Ivey, 2008). Such campaigns have provided a platform for introducing extravagant stores in several parts of the Asian country (including successful outlets in Ginza and Roppongi) (Ivey, 2008). Besides its aggressive advertising strategy, Louis Vuitton’s success, in Japan, also stems from the company’s pricing strategy.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In the past, the company adopted a premium pricing strategy for its branded products, but uncertain economic conditions have made it untenable for the company to continue doing so. Since then, i t has changed its strategy and now adopts a flexible pricing plan that portrays the Louis Vuitton brand as affordable. This strategy largely boosted the brand’s sales. Opportunities and Challenges for Louis Vuitton in Japan Challenges: Poor economic conditions and changing customer preferences present the most notable challenges for Louis Vuitton’s operations in the Japanese market. These challenges affect the company’s sales and make it difficult for the brand to understand the nature of future fashion trends. Opportunities: Undoubtedly, there is a notable market presence of the Louis Vuitton brand in Japan. However, there is a lot of potential for the company to expand its operations in mid-sized cities and other locations where the brand does not have a notable market presence. This move would popularize the brand (further) and increase its revenue streams. Specifics of the Japanese Fashion Luxury Market The Japanese fashion market has accepted Louis Vuitton because of its unique social and economic dynamics that differentiate it from western markets. For example, besides being fashion-conscious people, the Japanese society buys luxury brands as a status symbol. Moreover, a demographic analysis of the market shows a large middle-income population that affords luxury brands, such as Louis Vuitton. Furthermore, there is a huge population of middle-aged women who prefer to update their fashion, often (Ivey, 2008). Lastly, the Japanese culture requires people to dress according to their social status. People who have a high income prefer to have fashionable products like Louis Vuitton. This is why many global luxury brands depend on Japan to support their global operations (Ivey, 2008). Original Entry Strategy of Louis Vuitton in Japan and the Strategies it adopted to strengthen its Market Presence Louis Vuitton’s entry into the Japanese market started in 1977 through a direct market entry strategy. Albeit controversial, this strateg y allowed the company to acquire two stores. The stores were departmental and stocked a few brands. They accounted for more than $10 million (in annual profits) after selling directly exported fashion products from France (Ivey, 2008). The success of the stores paved the way for expanding the company’s network of outlets. Statistics, from 2007, show that Louis Vuitton owns more than 54 stores in Japan (Ivey, 2008). However, as a group, the company manages about 250 stores in the same market (Ivey, 2008). In the last decade, the brand has changed its operational strategy by operating some stores as franchises. Most of them are in Nagoya, Osaka, and Tokyo.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Louis Vuitton in Japan specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Will the Global Financial Crisis Affect Louis Vuitton and how will the Company Overcome it? Louis Vuitton is vulnerable to the intrigues of the global economy. Its vulnera bility stems from its reliance on tourist markets and disposable income fluctuations. Therefore, when the global economy suffers from terrorism threats and poor economic outcomes, the company suffers declined sales. Louis Vuitton learned this lesson in Japan after the 2001 terrorist attack in the US and the 2007/2008 economic crisis. It suffered decreased sales from low tourist numbers and a growing hesitation by shoppers to spend their money on expensive luxury items. To overcome such challenges, the company needs to localize its marketing strategy and grow its domestic markets (Melicher Norton, 2014). This strategy would make most of its global stores independent. For example, instead of relying on tourist markets to support the Japanese stores, the company should popularize its products to the Japanese people and make its stores independent. Therefore, when, an economic crisis happens in one part of the world, other stores (that do not operate in the affected regions) are not af fected (Pearce Robinson, 2013). Conclusion Louis Vuitton’s Japanese success mirrors the success of other global luxury brands in the same market. This paper shows that the unique demographics of the Asian country largely contribute to a growing demand for Louis Vuitton products in Japan. Poor economic conditions and changing customer preferences emerge as the main challenges of the French-based company. However, there are many opportunities for increasing its sales numbers. Consequently, this paper suggests that the company should open new stores in mid-sized towns to increase its brand presence in Japan. Focusing on improving Louis Vuitton’s popularity in the country would also reduce the company’s reliance on overseas markets. Overall, although Japan accounts for most of Louis Vuitton’s profit, the company could benefit from adopting new strategies to improve its dominance in this market. References Ivey, R. (2008). Louis Vuitton in Japan. Retrieved fr om https://www.asiapacific.ca/Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Melicher, R. W., Norton, E. A. (2014). Introduction to Finance: Markets, Investments,  and Financial Management. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley. Pearce, J., Robinson, R. (2013). Strategic Management: Planning for Domestic   Global Competition. Boston, MA: McGraw Hill.

George C Marshall essays

George C Marshall essays Starting at a very young age George Catlett showed the attributes of a general and leader. Growing up in Uniontown Pennsylvania under the strict rule of his father, George Catlett Marshall Sr. and his mother, The Marshall plan encouraged European nations to work together to achieve economic recovery after World War II. In June 1947, the United States agreed to give aid to Europe if the countries would meet to decide what they needed. The official name of the plan was the European Recovery Program. It was called the Marshall Plan because George Marshall, the Secretary of State at the time first suggested it. The Plan first took action in April 1948; when Congress established the (ECA) Economic Cooperation Administration to administer foreign aid. Seventeen nations formed the (OEEC) Organization for European Economic Cooperation to assist the ECA and develop cooperation among its members. The United States sent about $13 billion in food, machinery, and other products to Europe. Marshall was dedicated to building a strong defense, but he also labored to find peaceful solutions to world conflicts. In December 1953, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in recognition of his contributions to the economic rehabilitation of Europe. He was the first soldier to win that honor. Through the words of Winston Churchill "During my long and close association with successive American administrations, there are few men whose qualities of mind and character have impressed me so deeply as those of General Marshall. He is a great American, but he is far more than that. In war he was as wise and understanding in counsel as he was resolute in action. In peace he was the architect who planned the restoration of our battered European economy and, at the same time, labored tirelessly to establish a system of Western defense. He has always fought victoriously against defeatism, discouragement, and disillusion. Succeeding generations must ...

Writing a Critique to the Brad DeHaven's Aticle The Design of an Ideal Essay

Writing a Critique to the Brad DeHaven's Aticle The Design of an Ideal Business - Essay Example While the author has included all categories of people, he presupposes that everyone is computer literate and have access to internet. He also assumes that everyone possesses entrepreneurial qualities. ‘Offer items on high demand’ and ‘offer items that have repeat purchase’ seems to be a repetition because the items mentioned under high demand are repeat purchases. In fact consumables itself indicate repeat purchase hence they could fall under the same category. It is also not clear what requirements he refers to about the baby boomers? Is it in terms of real estate or consumables? Overall, the text is quite confusing especially when he is targeting the moms at home who have no prior business experience. The author’s points about a mentor is impressive and educative for a beginner and he has cited his own evidence in its support. While he has highlighted how technology has advanced and can help people live better lives he has not cautioned the readers about the pitfalls of internet based business. ‘Systems run the business and the people run the systems’ sounds very promising and interesting but the writer should have cited details of how network marketing functions. The last three points are highly motivating and can influence the reader but a closer scrutiny leaves a lot of questions unanswered. It does give an impression that internet can change lives but no success stories have been cited as reference. His idea of having a mentor is a good suggestion but he presumes that all people are unhappy with their work.

Wells Fargo & Company Financial Ratios Analysis Research Paper

Wells Fargo & Company Financial Ratios Analysis - Research Paper Example The bank has positioned itself with a niche in specialized lending activities. It is the nation’s largest consumer lending bank with profits as high as $4 billion for the third quarter of 2011. Since 2008, Wells Fargo & Company has enjoyed increased revenue year by year until 2010. The three quarters for 2011 have however, experienced an increase in its earnings. The highest rise in its net income was attained from 2008 to 2009 of 362% increase i.e. from $ 2,655, 000 to $12,275,000. This has since then stabilized at the $12million range. Financial ratios analysis Profitability ratios Return on assets The ratio was 0.96% in 2008 and has risen to 5% in 2010. The return on assets has been increasing steadily from 2009 to date. It rose sharply in 2008/2009. Investment in bonds and notes, preferred and common stocks and other securities in its diversified portfolio of assets have seen a tremendous rise in its assets for the last three years. The ratio indicates that the returns from use of assets in the company are effectively invested in to generate high earnings for the bank. A comparison with the peer shows a big difference. The peer has ROA of 2.2% currently and the trend for the 4 years is an increase from 0.8%. Return on equity The ratio rose sharply in 2008 – 2009 then has stabilized for the following years. The ratio was at 4.84 in 2008 then rose to 10.42. Currently, the range is 10 – 11. That of its peers rags behind with 2008 having a negative of 3.86, and in 2010 a ROE of 5.10. Wells Fargo and Company has doubled its ROE in comparison to its peer group. The ma nagement team of Wells Fargo & Company has done a tremendous job in investing the shareholders equity and generating a high return therefrom. The return on equity is very high compared to its industry. The management has achieved this high mark through the investment strategies it has adopted. The company retained earnings are as high as $61 million this year compared to $48.9 million in September, 2010. These have been used as internal equity for reinvestment. The company investments are seen as a high diversified portfolio in the different sectors of the economy. The 4 year analysis of Wells Fargo financials indicate that both preferred and common equity is in surplus. The company is not highly geared, but it uses its earnings for investment purposes. The year 2008 experienced a huge increase in its equity when the company added its share capital. Efficiency ratios: Net Interest Margin – This is a measure of the difference between the cost of funds and the income generated by those funds. This stands at highs of 20.66%. The increase is owed to the reduction in provisions for credit losses. Net Noninterest Margin - Measures fees and service charges relative to noninterest expenses. It stands at 9.62%. This has resulted from the decrease in operating expenses that are not directly related to credit taking. Net Operating Margin The figure stands at an increase of 30.28% in 2011. This is owed to both reduced noninterest expense and the provision for credit losses in the year. Earnings per Share This stands at 0.72 in 2011 and has increased for the 7 consecutive quarters. This indicates that the company’s efficiency is high although its revenues have decreased. Earnings Spread This stood at 6% in 2010 compared to the third quarter of 2011 of 22%. Its peers have however, managed highs