Results Of World War I Essays - Treaty Of Versailles,

Results of World War I World War I became known as the Great War because it was the biggest war ever in the history of the world. It was supposed to be the war to end all wars. But it wasn't, 20 years later Germany rebuilt its army, and tried again to take over Europe. The peace treaties were partially responsible for World War II. (A) The end of World War I came after 4 years of harsh fighting. When the Americans joined the war effort in April of 1917, the Allies were given unlimited industrial and manpower resources. The US were decisive in winning the war, by sending about 10,000 soldiers per day, over to Europe. Revolution in Germany finally brought an end to the war. In October, 1918, the people of Germany couldn't tolerate the slaughter no more. An armistice, based on Wilson's 14 points, was signed on November 11, 1918. Germany had to evacuate all territory west of the Rhine immediately. (B) The Treaty of Versailles, named for the French palace where it was unveiled, was put together by 70 delegates; representing 27 victorious allied nations at, what was called, the Paris Peace Conference. Germany nor Russia were allowed to attend the conference because Russia, who broke away from the war, because of conflicts at home, signed a separate peace treaty with Germany. The leaders of the Big Four, consisting of Woodrow Wilson from the US, Georges Clemenceau from France, David Lloyd George from England, and Vittorio Orlando from Italy, made most of the important decisions at the Conference. Clemenceau was a tough, determined, and skillful politician. He was also a vengeful, old man. He was determined that Germany should not only suffer for what they had done, but that the peace terms should make it impossible for Germany to wage war ever again. Lloyd George was also a skillful politician. He wanted Germany's war leaders to be punished. And he was determined that none of Wilson's 14 points should be allowed to interfere with England, its traditional policies, or its commitments to others. Orlando, the least important of the Big Four, was determined that Italy was to receive huge territorial rewards that had been promised to them in 1915 to lure Italy to fight the war for the Allies. After three and half months of argument the delegates finally finished the treaty, and it was ready to be presented to Germany. The treaty had called for a number of changes to Germany and the world. The League of Nations was adopted, the only aspect of the 14 Points that was accepted. The treaty called for a world disarmament. The Allies were to occupy Rhineland for at least 15 or more years. The German provinces of Posen and West Prussia were given to Poland. Germany's colonies were given to the League of Nations. England and France divided up Germany's African colonies, and Japan took islands in the South Pacific. Germany had to accept sole responsibility for the war. The former emperor and war leaders were to be tried as war criminals, but that part of the treaty never came about. Germany's army was limited to 100,000 soldiers and they couldn't have any heavy artillery. The general staff was abolished, and the navy was reduced. No air force was allowed, and the production of plan es was forbidden. The worst part of the treaty, for the Germans, was that they had to pay the large sum of reparations. The French felt that the terms of the treaty were too merciful and voted out George Clemenceau. During the second debate at Versailles, the leader of the German delegation, Brockdorff-Rantzau, did not sign the treaty. He felt that the economic fulfillments were impossible. The German Chancellor Philipp Scheidemann also did not sign the treaty. When it became obvious that the treaty had to be signed, Brockdorff-Rantzau and Scheidemann resigned on June 21. The treaty was finally signed by new Chancellor Gustav and a new delegation on June 28. In the US, despite Wilson's efforts, the Senate did not ratify the treaty. Instead they made their own separate treaties with Germany, Austria, and Hungary. (C) Other treaties were made for the other central countries in the war. Austria signed the Treaty if Saint-Germain. It said that the

The Smart Family Case Study Social Work Essay Essay Example

The Smart Family Case Study Social Work Essay Essay Example The Smart Family Case Study Social Work Essay Essay The Smart Family Case Study Social Work Essay Essay We know far more about how to forestall the primary happening of ill-treatment than how to react efficaciously one time ill-treatment has occurred ( Munro, 2010, p. 22 ) Preventing injury is good, hence, to societal work with the Smart household, kids Zac, Karly and Tierney ; their Mum, Sam ; Paul, male parent of the misss ; and Mike, male parent of Zac. Focus on injury bar, nevertheless, can make defensive pattern, sing merely safeguarding public assistance and non its publicity ( Tunstill et al. , 2010 ) . Critical geographic expedition of both safeguarding and advancing of these childrens public assistance, hence, forms the footing of this essay, sing the application of child in demand and significant injury to the complexness of lives depicted. Critical rating of accomplishments and methods required in measuring rights and demands of these kids, will so be explored, followed by stairss which could be taken to safeguard and advance their public assistance. Relevant research informing my thought provides an grounds base for confirming statements made. Decisions drawn, nevertheless, are done so in acknowledgment that existent pattern would profit from battle with this household in measuring, planning and intervening. The Children Act ( 1989 ) [ CA ] places a responsibility on the local authorization to advance the public assistance of kids, supply services to those in demand and safeguard childrens public assistance by look intoing, and taking action, in state of affairss refering important injury, which I consider to be relevant as a societal worker in a instance affecting concerns sing the public assistance of three kids. Furthermore, as a figure of professionals are involved in working with the Smart household, the importance of multi-agency co-operation in safeguarding and advancing their public assistance, emphasised in Working Together ( DCSF, 2010 ) beneficial to engagement with this household, as is the policies item sing the execution of Children Act rules. Significant factors impacting the work undertaken with this household, nevertheless, are besides determined, in my position, by local authorization policy and bureaucratic procedure, construing how statute law and national policies are implemented with single households. Differential rates of tribunal order applications, for illustration have been found in demographically similar local governments ( Dickens et al. , 2007 ) , proposing work with this household to be impacted non merely through jurisprudence and policy creative activity but besides their execution at a local degree ( Marinetto, 2011 ) . Analyzing constructs of kid in demand and important injury relation to this instance, nevertheless, besides require consideration of critically using a researched grounds base to information gathered about the household. Nutritional lacks, for illustration, ensuing from sporadic repast proviso, a concern Sam s wellness visitant raised, can be damaging to all countries of kid wellness and development ( Kursmark and Weitzman, 2009 ) , proposing the Smart kids may non accomplish a sensible criterion of wellness and development ( s.17, CA ) . The relentless failure to supply equal nutrient constitutes neglect ( DCSF, 2010 ) proposing the presence of important injury, associating to wellness and developmental damages ( s.31, CA ) . Significant injury, nevertheless, must be attributable to the attention given by parents non being what it is sensible for them to give ( ibid. ) . Sing nutrient proviso therefore, I would reason, contexts of poorness require consideration, impacting 27 % of ki ds presently populating in the UK ( Adams et al. , 2012 ) . Sam and Paul s fiscal state of affairs, hence, might order how possible it is for them provide regular repasts, doing the kids to necessitate services which promote their public assistance ( s.17, CA ) . Without this context, nevertheless, the kids may be enduring important injury, through their parents unreasonably denying them regular repasts ( s.31, CA ) . Food insecurity has besides been associated with projecting behaviors ( Belsky, et al. , 2010 ) , highlighted in Zac s aggression at school. Furthermore, regular repasts have been linked with educational accomplishment ( Roustit et al. , 2010 ) , proposing Zac s current cognitive troubles, reading 4 old ages below his existent age, may be attributable to a deficiency of nutrient. Whilst Zac s educational development suggests his being a kid in demand, relevancy of important injury is less clear, in that without measuring causes of cognitive hold, the part of nutrient proviso to such troubles can non be ascertained and, as such, the extent to which parental attention is deficient. Zac s current hold may besides be associated with hapless attending at primary school, which is linked with hapless attainment ( Sheppard, 2009 ) and behavioral troubles ( Carroll, 2011 ) . Furtermore, Karly s attending at primary school is besides hapless, which if non addressed may take to similar developm ental damages, associating to constructs of kid in demand. Inconsistent nutrient proviso may besides be impacting Tierney s development, who at 18 months is non walking and appears to hold delayed address, developmental concerns consistent with constructs of kid in demand. Whilst specialist appraisals may bespeak medical parts, nutritionary lack impacts physiological and cognitive development, required in linguistic communication development ( Rosales et al. , 2009 ) and larning to walk ( Hanson et al. , 2011 ) . Parental disregard has besides been linked to linguistic communication hold ( Vernon-Feagans et al. , 2012 ) and deficiency of modus operandi and hapless life conditions, both identified as debatable for the Smart household, are prevailing in instances of disregard ( Long et al. , 2012 ) . As such, Tierney s place environment may be lending to her linguistic communication hold. At 18 months, nevertheless, address development is varied and what appears to be delay, may non be declarative of debatable linguistic communication developm ent ( Graham, 2011 ) , proposing, in my position, that the extent of current concerns, in isolation are deficient to represent significant injury. Lack of modus operandi and boundaries, might besides be related to Zac being found by the constabulary, unsupervised in the metropolis Centre, at 10pm, proposing inattentive parenting, through a deficiency of equal supervising ( DCSF, 2010 ) , or parental control ( s. 31, CA ) . Sleep want has been linked to hapless attending and impulsivity ( Beebe, 2011 ) , noted as concerns for Zac, as such current modus operandis, or deficiency thereof, restricting the security of sufficient slumber, may be impacting his ability to keep a sensible criterion of development ( s.17, CA ) . Establishing the presence of everyday, or grade of supervising, is non possible on the footing of a remarkable event and as such the relevancy of significance injury in relation to these factors is hard to determine with extra information, doing it a cardinal consideration within appraisal. Lack of household modus operandi and predictability could besides be lending to Zac s behavior at school ( Deater- Deckard et al. , 2009 ) , and farther exacerbated if concerns sing domestic force between Paul and Sam are found to be accurate ( Moylan et al. , 2010 ) . Populating in contexts of force additions hazard to kids of physical and emotional maltreatment ( Montgomery, 2009 ) and can impact unafraid fond regard development ( Levendosky et al. , 2011 ) , which I consider notable as Tierney is at a cardinal age for this, necessitating sensitive and antiphonal attention givers ( Beijersbergen, et al. , 2012 ) and Zac s early fond regard relationships are likely to hold been disrupted by frequent Foster attention arrangements ( Leve et al. , 2012 ) . In visible radiation of this, should domestic force be apparent, important injury may be relevant and irrespective of its presence, current struggles and instability in the household place, are likely to be impacting the childrens e motional development, proposing their being kids in demand ( Cummings and Schatz, 2012 ) . Significant injury frequently consequences from the long-standing impact of an accretion of factors, instead than necessitating a remarkable traumatic event ( DCSF, 2010 ) . Assessment, hence, requires skilled critical contemplation upon the inter-relatedness and cumulative consequence of factors, both damaging and protective ( Rose and Barnes, 2008 ) . In isolation, for illustration, there may be no grounds that Sam is presently misapplying any substances. Associations exist, nevertheless, between substance abuse and domestic force ( Gilbert et al. , 2012 ) and with helter-skelter life styles ( Straussner, 2011 ) , both possible concerns for Sam. Sing their cumulative consequence, hence, the likeliness of substance usage still being debatable could increase, later rising, in visible radiation of its impact on kid public assistance, hazard of important injury ( Traube, 2012 ) . Ecological attacks, hence, which consider the relationships between assorted parts of a system, can make a context for pull offing the complex interconnection of relationships, assisting to avoid minimization happening when jobs are viewed in isolation ( MacKenzie et al. , 2011 ) . The complex interplay of factors impacting the Smart kids, I would propose, requires a thorough cognition of the household s instance file, including events which antecedently escalated hazard of injury or promoted the childrens public assistance, supplying penetration into current fortunes. Chronologies and genograms can supply ocular AIDSs in analyzing such events and relationships and their impact upon one-another. Genograms can besides beneficially be constructed in coaction with households, foregrounding unknown relationships and researching conflictual 1s. Good readying can besides back up the ability to organize swearing relationships rapidly, in pass oning attention for, and competency working with, households, which I would propose, is cardinal in making relationally-interactive appraisals, founded on rules of empathy, regard and transparence ( Healy and Darlington, 2009 ) . Making contexts where collaborative geographic expedition of appraisal can happen, in my position should besides be valued, roll uping everyone s positions, kids, parents and professionals, on jobs and strengths within the household and affecting them in determining the intent and way of appraisal ( Gallagher et al. , 2011 ) . Collaboration, nevertheless, is a bipartisan procedure and should besides affect being clear about concerns and on a regular basis discoursing how the childrens public assistance is presently being safeguarded and promoted ( OLeary et al. , 2012 ) . Families may be intelligibly loath to prosecute in such relationships, nevertheless, comprehending appraisal to affect experts specifying parenting competence and judging them as adequate or non ( Buckley et al. , 2010 ) . Researching the presence of domestic force with Sam, for illustration, may differ if she views my function as join forcesing with her to implement programs which make things better for her household, than if she views my function as measuring hazard to the kids and her insufficiency in protecting them from injury. Effective communicating, a warm, empathic attack and continuity may hence be required, in disputing this perceptual experience and undertaking appraisal in a manner which seeks echt coaction, instead than tokenism ( Platt, 2012 ) . Pauls incompatibility within the household place and the absence of information sing Mike s current engagement in Zac s life, may take me to give less significance to their battle in the appraisal procedure, puting outlooks to supply good plenty parenting, entirely upon Sam ( Brown et al. , 2009 ) . Irrespective of Paul and Mike s legal parental duty, nevertheless, determined by their names being on birth certifications ( s.2, CA ) , they play an of import function in the lives of their kids, impacting public assistance and development through presence and absence ( Coakley, 2013 ) . As such I consider it of import to measure the function that these male parents presently play in household life, the engagement they would wish to hold and hazards and strengths associated with such engagement ( Maxwell et al. , 2012 ) . Observations, in my position, are besides a cardinal component of appraisal, both of relational interactions and of life environment ( Urwin and Sternberg, 2012 ) . They have the potency, nevertheless, to be intrusive, unrepresentative of existent attention and undermining of coaction with parents. Clear apprehension, hence, by all involved, of their nature and intent should be facilitated ( Welbourne, 2012 ) . Whilst multiple observations may make a more holistic image of household life, cut downing the impact of perceiver effects ( Gambrill, 2012 ) , in world, measure may be determined by clip graduated tables. This creates chance, nevertheless, in my position, for collaborative appraisal, discoursing with Paul and Sam how interactions may hold occurred otherwise, had I non been at that place, bespeaking penetration into, and valuing their expertness in, good plenty parenting. Childs have a right to hold their positions heard and taken earnestly ( UNCRC, 1989 ) and as such, I would reason, should be actively involved in the whole appraisal procedure, doing versions, in visible radiation of their developmental capablenesss, to enable battle. Clear and simple linguistic communication is required in explicating the intent of appraisal, as is deriving feedback corroborating understanding and researching their positions on the best ways to set about them ( Petrie, 2011 ) . Practical activities, in visible radiation of Zac s educational troubles, could better enable his battle, such as snaping of import things in his life, opening up treatments around strengths, concerns, wants and feelings ( Pimlott-Wilson, 2012 ) . Karly, being younger, could prosecute through drama activities, utilizing playthings and fanciful drama to show feelings about current state of affairss, without holding to speak straight about them ( Landreth, 2012 ) . Tierney, I would propose, is harder to prosecute straight in appraisal due to her communicative abilities. Behavioural communicating, nevertheless, I would propose can uncover a great trade and I would propose that skilled consciousness of this would be relevant to all three kids ( Handley and Doyle, 2012 ) . Consideration should non merely be given sing how to integrate their positions in programs made, but how, when made, such programs are communicated sensitively, clearly and candidly to all three kids, giving consideration to their developmental capablenesss ( Polkki et al. , 2012 ) . Assessment is an ongoing procedure and should non, in my position, be seen merely as a predecessor to intercession ( Brandon et al. , 2009 ) . In visible radiation of this, it is possible to get down sing stairss which can be taken to safeguard and advance the public assistance of these kids, whilst recognizing the uncertainness which accompanies the uninterrupted alterations prevalent within household life and therefore the demand for dynamic programs which can accommodate to suit these ( Welbourne, 2012 ) . Supplying it is safe to make so, kids should be supported to turn up within their ain household ( CA, 1989 ) . Steps taken, hence, to safeguard and advance the public assistance of Zac, Karly and Tierney should seek to continue this right. Consideration, nevertheless, must besides be given to their wellness and development and whether staying within the household is likely to, or ensuing in, important injury ( s.31, ibid. ) . Even where legal stairss are being considered, nevertheless, I would reason that the continuance of collaborative relationships with parents should still be sought, as greater battle is likely to be seen if programs are constructed in partnership with parents ( Gallagher et al. , 2011 ) . It may be that the public assistance of all three kids can be safeguarded and promoted by Zac temporarily populating off from the household place, leting Sam to concentrate on the attention of Karly and Tierney, as she has demonstrated capacity, in the yesteryear, to rear younger kids given sufficient support. In visible radiation of this, nevertheless, it is of import that such stairss are non taken because Zac is seen to be a job but because it would be more good for him than keeping the position quo. Greater paternal contact, may be one such benefit achieved, by researching the possibility of Zac populating with his Dad under a abode order ( s.8, CA ) . With the information presently provided, nevertheless, the suitableness of such a arrangement needs careful consideration, including Mike s capacity to parent, giving peculiar respect to his old substance abuse and its impact on his attention of Zac. If this is non possible, it may be that Zac has strong positive relationships with Paul s drawn-out household, whom he could populate with, as affinity attention has been found to hold positive impacts on individuality formation, stableness of arrangement and behavioral and mental wellness results ( OBrien, 2012 ) . Suiting Zac outside of the household place, nevertheless, does non intend his public assistance will needfully be holistically promoted. His emotional and behavioral development may be declarative of attachment troubles ( Fearon et al. , 2010 ) and a mentoring strategy, which have been found to back up positive emotional development in male childs exposing aggressive behaviors ( Younger and Warrington, 2009 ) , may be of benefit to Zac. Educational concerns have besides been highlighted for Zac and although a more stable, place environment may back up his educational development ( Turley et al. , 2010 ) , sufficient damage may hold already occurred to justify specialized support. Whilst Zac s school may be better positioned to ease this, I would propose it to be a cardinal portion of programs for advancing his public assistance. Sam s capacity to parent, even two kids, may besides be significantly impacted by domestic force ( Levendosky et al. , 2011 ) . If undermentioned appraisal, it is found to be present, the hazard of injury to kids populating in contexts of force ( Stanley, 2011 ) , could make the demand for attention order applications ( s.31, CA ) or voluntary Foster attention ( s.20, ibid. ) , in regard of Karly and Tierney. If Sam is willing to prosecute with support, nevertheless, she could be supported to populate independently, with her two kids. Significant hazard of force continues, nevertheless, when domestically violent relationships end, necessitating extra stairss to protect Sam and her kids, from continued hazard of force ( Stanley et al. , 2012 ) . Enabling safe and productive contact, between Paul and his kids, would besides necessitate consideration, including the misss wants and feelings sing this ( Featherstone and Fraser, 2012 ) . If both Paul and Sam, nevertheless, admit to the for ce, engage with support and commit to taking it from their relationship, it may be that they can stay living as one household unit, although careful consideration is required as to how such committednesss can be monitored and what domestic force support is available for the whole household ( Stanley, 2011 ) . Irrespective of the presence of force, nevertheless, Paul s inconsistent life agreements, combined with regular statements, create struggle and instability which could impact emotionally upon the misss ( Davies et al. , 2012 ) and hence stairss are required to safeguard and advance their emotional public assistance, researching options of permanence for Paul and curative household work being undertaken, happening less confrontational declarations to dissensions ( Cummings and Schatz, 2012 ) . Lack of modus operandi, in my position, is impacting multiple countries of the childrens public assistance, including school attending and meal proviso. Colorful charts puting out day-to-day modus operandis, such as repasts, school, drama, bathing and bedtimes, created in coaction with the household, could reenforce the childrens basic demands, act as a ocular reminder for keeping modus operandi, make undertakings seem more manageable and create reassurance for the misss around their demands being met ( Rees, 2011 ) . Such a tool can back up mensurable results, with place visits happening at cardinal times, to supervise advancement and supply support where it is needed. For such intercessions to be effectual, nevertheless, the continued development of collaborative, swearing and supportive relationships is required, whilst being clear about the necessity of the childrens demands being met ( Darlington et al. , 2010 ) . Tierney s public assistance, in peculiar, could be promoted through utilizing a local childrens Centre, back uping linguistic communication development, mobility, attachment relationships and supplying rearing support ( Sheppard, 2012 ) . Whilst attending can non be mandatory, Sam has engaged with support in the yesteryear and, I would propose, collaborative planning will increase the opportunities of her engaging once more ( Gladstone et al. , 2012 ) . Social workers, nevertheless, have supported this household over many old ages and although battle is non described, impairment in the childrens development has continued. Assuming that my intercessions, hence, will needfully hold a greater impact is noncritical and as such I would reason the importance of lucidity, openness and honestness sing outlooks upon Sam and Paul and that if they are unable to safeguard and advance their childrens public assistance, with support, attention order options will be pursued, which could ensue in the kids being adopted. Reasoning this instance survey, I would propose is a complex undertaking, peculiarly as appraisal and public assistance planning are portion of a uninterrupted procedure and hence natural decisions do non needfully happen. Both constructs of important injury and kid in demand, I would reason, to some extent have been shown to be relevant to the Smart kids and that intercessions to advance wellness and development are required. Whilst a scope of appraisal accomplishments and methods have been explored, implementing these in pattern is more complex than conveying them within an statement and, I would propose, is mostly dependent upon the quality of working relationships with household members ( Platt, 2012 ) . Analyzing this instance survey has demonstrated to me the uncertainness which pervades safeguarding and advancing public assistance within societal work ( Ferguson, 2010 ) , the demand to do purposeful infinite for measuring strengths and protective factors ( Roose et al. , 2012 ) and the complexness of endeavoring for holistic analysis of inter-related presenting factors, whilst recognizing that uncertainness will stay in the ever-changing world of lives ( Saltiel, 2013 ) . Despite this, nevertheless, societal work requires a grade of decision, in coaction with household and treatment with directors, as safeguarding and advancing the public assistance of these kids necessitates competent and effectual appraisal, planning and intercession ( Munro, 2010 ) .

Red Badg of Courage Essay essays

Red Badg of Courage Essay essays Henry Fleming was just a child when he entered the army. Even though his journey into manhood took a while, he finally got where he was headed . This journey included many people and things, that help Henry along the way. At first Henrys mother gave him some advice. She told him that there are many men in the army who are bad and that he should stay away from them. She also told him that he should remember his father. He never drunk a drop of licker in his life, and seldom swore a cross oath. This was said in the beginning of the book. It may have not sunk in at first, but he would remember bits and pieces of what she said to help him along the way. Wilson, the loud soldier, helped Henry also. One way that he helped him was by showing him that he was trusted. When Wilson gave Henry the yellow envelope, it showed Henry that he was trusted enough and was thought highly enough of for Wilson to trust Henry with something he valued. Together, they mourn a little for their lost comrade, Jim Conklin. Jim, too, helped Henry along on his journey into manhood. When Jim suffered in his long, agonizing death, it brought a lot of courage into the Young soldiers eyes. Did Henry really want to fight in a battle? Was Henry really brave enough to fight in a battle? The most important influence on Henrys journey into manhood was himself. All of the things that were said to him though out the book would not have sunk into Henrys brain if he wasnt trying to think. The way he argued with himself, during the course of the book, was the main way that he grew into a man. He began to question everything he had believed in. In a way, Henry did most of the work to help himself along his journey into manhood. ...

The war on typos - Emphasis

The war on typos The war on typos Blimey! Great to see such a fantastic response to our proofreading challenge. Thank you to everyone who entered. Best of all, its proof positive that theres a ready platoon of gung-ho proofreaders out there who love the smell of Tipp-Ex in the morning. At ease, soldiers. Be sure to come back on Monday, though: well be announcing the winners.

Book reaction of the book Human Cargo by Caroline Moorehead Essay

Book reaction of the book Human Cargo by Caroline Moorehead - Essay Example This is a hard-hitting book which tries to illuminate these problems from the point of view of refugees, rather than from the comfortable position of the observer who is fortunate enough to have a homeland and to be settled and secure in that place. In reading this book, I was prepared to hear moving stories about individuals who had been caught up in wars, famines and disasters of all kinds. This expectation was more than met in descriptions ranging from cases of rape in Sierra Leone and Liberia, to shipwrecks on the way to Sicily. The grim and horrifying violence and lawlessness in some developing countries is clearly the cause of most large scale refugee movements and the book confirmed my view that these problems are increasing in the world, and that arrangements to care for refugees are not adequate for the volume of need that is there. What I did not expect to read about was the suffering that refugees had to endure on their journey away from horrific situations, and in camps a nd detention centers once they had arrived in places where they had hoped to find relief and a place to stay. This dimension of the book was truly shocking. Apart from highlighting the suffering of refugees, Moorhead has a secondary aim in her book, and that is to bring public attention to the way that affluent governments make the situation of refugees even worse than it already is. The book shows how throughout the twentieth century, systems and processes were invented to keep refugees out of certain countries, such as Australia, for example, and to make sure that they were locked up and kept under very close observation, as in the United Kingdom. The international laws that are designed to protect refugees seem to be very ineffective in doing exactly this. In addition to these political factors, which are no doubt driven by economic forces, since few countries want to take on the financial burden of finding homes, jobs and healthcare provision for the many hundreds of thousands o f refugees, there are also cultural factors. Thinking back over recent decades, there has been a tendency for Western Europe and North America to react to particular waves of refugees, such as the so-called Vietnamese Boat people, for example, with one-off and temporary measures. Newspapers latch on to the drama of these situations, but once the story becomes old news, the funding dries up and the problem remains. Some groups of refugees are demonized by the media, as for example in the case of the Romani people, and also Serbs, Kosovans and other Eastern European groups who were displaced in the fall of communism as small states gained independence and began to implement rules based on ethnic origin. Sadly, these trends seem to be repeated all over the world. My own reflections on this book were first a feeling of shock, since I had not realized that things were so very bad for refugees, and then some thoughts about the current situation in the United States where politicians are a rguing about what to do with the thousands of illegal immigrants who arrive from Mexico and beyond. I think the situation is more complex than it appears on the surface. Many of the people at the center of current debates in America are economic migrants, which means they are seeking better opportunities for themselves and their children. Negative attitudes against this kind of migrant spill over into negative attitudes towards refugees, who truly have no choice in the matter and are moving

Rawls A theory of Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rawls A theory of Justice - Essay Example He questions, is there any system to arrange society, which can keep these issues within tolerable limits And can a social system be organized on just and fair standard that it becomes acceptable to the bulk of population. According to Rawls, we all agree to have a just social contract with our free will without knowing (ignorance) the ultimate consequences of our decision, which he names as "original position". According to the original position, "no-one knows his place in society, his class position or social status, nor does anyone know his fortune in the distribution of natural assets and abilities, his intelligence, strength and the like" (Rawls, p 12). Thus behind this "veil of ignorance" different groups will hound their own benefits. Rawl's explains that all the factions in this hypothetical society will adopt two basic principals: the principal of rights and duties, and the fair distribution of social and economic compensation in a society. The first principal is absolute "each person is to have an equal right to the most extensive basic liberty compatible with a similar liberty for others (Rawls, p 60), which provides basic rights, such as freedom of speech and expression, and the right to owe property. The first principle is more or less absolute, and may not be violated, however it can be traded for obtaining other rights. Accord According to the second principal "social and economic inequalities are to be arranged so that they are both: a) to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged, and (b) attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair equality of opportunity (Rawls, 1971, pg. 303). Rawls' principal 2(a) is different from the normal form of justice, however he substantiates on the ground of improving the fate of dis-advantaged people. As he explains that equality should not be enacted to deteriorate the condition of a person already in a worse situation. The 2(b) confers the distribution of offices and positions on merit basis, but all aspiring candidates should have the skills on which they will be assessed. Critics have come up with several arguments against Theory of Justice, such as Rawl's idealism is meant to fulfill ethical ideals rather than real social dilemmas. Rawl mentioned that individuals cannot give up their basic liberties for economic or social benefit, however the ordering of the principles can still create greater inequalities, challenging the basic principals of justice and liberty. Many question the belief on equal opportunity, if those who have the required IQ and skills grab prized positions, the Individuals with severe mental or physical disabilities will eternally lag behind and will have no place in the such society. These individual with lower skills cannot compete with these intelligent individuals, applying the concept of equal opportunity on such individuals who do not meet the requirements of a competitive society is again a discrimination against the people with lower abilities. Liberalism has appeared countless times in history. According to the liberalism theory, state should not interfere in individual's life and a person is free to choose the final good for his/her life as long as these aspirations do not conflict with state law. In plain words, the liberalism theory asks state to remain neutral in the citizen's way of life and should treat citizens equal regardless

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Experimental design on how to investigate the innate behaviour of woodlice Introduction - Essay Example On the other hand, taxis behaviour is a behaviour in which an animal orients itself in an absolute direction in response to environment stimulus.2 Woodlice belong to the crustacean class. Most of these animals are terrestrial species and aquatic. It is believed that they exhibit an innate behaviour in that they tend to stay in wet and dark environment because they lack the characteristic waxy skeleton on their ex-skeleton like does most of the arthropods, thus tend to lose water easily when in dry conditions ()3. Woodlice are also good examples of organisms that orient themselves to humidity through kinesis. Woodlice also exhibit negative phototaxis. They have ocelli (light receptors). As a result, they do make directed movement away from illumination into the dark areas. They increase their locomotory activity in dry areas. However, this activity is decreased in humid conditions and for this reason they tend to accumulate in areas of high humidity.4 As indicated earlier, woodlice prefer wet and dark environment. Consequently, they increase their locomotory activities in dry areas and reduce their movement in humid areas. For this reason it would be expected that the number of woodlice will be greater int the more humid and dark areas. Then, the tray will be covered to exclude natural light and retain the humid moisture. The tray will be placed in a sheltered location free from direct sunlight. The lighting will be achieved through the use of a stand lamp placed at the same position and distance from the trays throughout the experiment. The distance will be reasonable to prevent transferring heat to the trays. Repeat the above procedures, but this time covering the tray with a perforated aluminium foil in order to create a dark environment, remove the stand lamp and then record the results after 30 minutes Table

Current Remote Sensing Techniques Research Paper

Current Remote Sensing Techniques - Research Paper Example There are two major forms of remote sensing. They are: Passive remote sensing. Active remote sensing. Passive remote sensing involves detection of natural radiation that is reflected or emitted by the surrounding areas or the object. Passive remote sensors’ examples are radiometers and film photography. Active remote sensing on the other hand, involves a process of emitting energy that is to be used in scanning objects where a sensor detects and takes the measure of the radiation reflected from the target the examples of this active sensor collection are LiDAR and RADAR. Geography refers to the science that learns more about land, features, inhabitants and generally the phenomena of the globe. Remote sensing in geography therefore, refers to the process of gathering information about a place including the features in it, without necessarily visiting the place in person. This collection technique is done from a distance. In this equipment that is used for gathering information are mainly the cameras which can be based on aircrafts, satellites or on the ground. In the modern society, information obtained is stored up and manipulated in computers. Computers work with software therefore, the software used in remote sensing is ESRI, ERMapper, MapInfo and ERDAS Imagine. Remote sensing is a procedure which must follow certain steps. The steps involved in this process are: A supply of electromagnetic rays. Conduction of energy from the resource to the earth’s surface through the atmosphere Contact of EMR with the surface of the earth. Conduction of power from surface to Remote Sensor build up on a display place, through the atmosphere. Detection of power by the sensor. Conduction of sensor information to ground location Processing and scrutiny of the sensor information Final information output for a range of applications Remote sensing in geography started way back in the year 1858 where photographs were taken aerially from a hot air balloon. This was ini tiated by Tournachon Gaspard-Felix where he took photographs of Paris. Since then, remote sensing has developed and an example where it was performed after the initiation was in the United States of America. It was undertaken during the civil war where kites, unmanned balloons and messenger pigeons containing cameras were flown over areas where the enemies dwelled. This essay will specifically discuss about remote sensing in geography. This means that information contained therein will be on processes used to gather information on phenomenon and various features of the earth. In the modern society, remote sensing has become part of daily activities as it is highly used to gather information on geographical trends. Most of the organizations in the contemporary society take the initiative to learn more about geographical trends and get to know more about the environment generally. For these organizations to make effective research and gather enough information on phenomena, they have to use lots of cash on this field. This is one among many fields that is considered to be important in current years. The reasons as to why this field is considered important include: 1. Many individuals especially, students, researchers and other common citizens have developed interest in learning more about the environment. In this case, talking about the environ

Week 5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Week 5 - Essay Example In some cases however, there have been reported cases where terrorists form political parties, which makes it easy for them to manipulate people behind democratic symbols. Terrorists desired outcomes require them to use force in order to induce fear to anyone who does not agree with them. For instance, ISIL executed two American journalists, in order to warn the American Government about its activities in the Middle East (Steinsson, 2014). In other cases, the Alshabaab from Somalia have become a common threat to the Kenyan Government. In April, they attacked a university college in Garrisa town and murdered 148 students, with the aim of threatening the Kenyan government to withdraw its military forces in Somalia. Between 1960 and 1980, the Tupamaros used violence as a strategy to turn things around in Uruguay. In their strategy laid down by a Latin American Revolutionary Carlos Marighela, the terrorist organization used bombing and widespread killings to turn the government against its citizens. The government quickly reacted by infringing civil liberties, as a tactic to combat the attack and further threats (Kydd & Walter, 2006). However, the public ended up perceiving the government as an enemy and not the terrorist organization. Currently, the same strategy is being used in Peru by Shining Path and Ulster’s PIRA, though on low scale. In most cases, use of violence in achieving their goals looks like the most viable method used by terrorist organizations. It does not matter whether they are aligned to a political party or a religious cult. Their motives come out clear through executions, kidnapping, inhuman acts, piracy, and propaganda. However, whoever accepts their demands suffers further losses because they take control when their rival submits to their terms. Steinsson Sverrir. (2014, Jun 22). Is Terrorism an Effective Way to Attain Political Goals? Retrieved Jun 7,

Dominos Pizza Essay Example for Free

Dominos Pizza Essay Domino’s Pizza experienced a decrease in revenue of 16. 3% from year-end 2005 through the year-end 2009. It is true that the economic recession was partly at blame. However, the enterprise suffered from a negative reputation in the marketplace. Domino’s Pizza delivered pizzas that did not quite meet the demands of consumer taste. Their costumers would use social media to protest the ill delivery of pizzas and terrible taste. In addition, consumers were now more educated about their eating habits and had a growing concern with diets that led to obesity. Moreover, these facts combined with competition including companies such as Pizza Hut and Papa John’s, posed a hostile environment for Domino’s Pizza. In order to overcome these pitfalls, Domino’s pizza not only introduced a new recipe but also launched one of the riskiest advertising campaigns to this day. The recipe was a reinvention of their pizza with new ingredients that improved flavor. The advertising campaign oh yes we did guaranteed customer satisfaction otherwise they would return their money and deliver another pizza free. Another aspect of this marvelous campaign was the use of real life costumers who participated in the making of the pizza in televised commercials. Here is a comparison between pre-2009 strategies with its new approach. And, some qualities that were engaged to implement the revised strategies. Pre-2009 ?Dominos was focused on producing pizza for as cheap as possible. ?Cost leader ?8. 35% of pizzas sold in U. S ?Second behind Pizza Hut 13. 7% ?Bad rep for poor quality pizza ?Worst tasting pizza in its industry ?Market share fell 2% from 2005-2009 Post 2009 ?â€Å"Oh Ye We Did Campaign†? Dominos renewed focus on â€Å" Better ingredients, Better Pizza† and a broader menu. ?Focused on improving taste of its pizza ?Added garlic and butter to crust ?Added new side dishes and desserts ?Match competitors taste ?Expanded overall product choices Leadership ?David Brandon – C. E. O ?Innovate products ?Expand brand scope ?Everything on the menu is heavily tested and demanded by our customer ?All menu items are integrated ?â€Å"Get the door, Its Dominos† – Industry leader in efficiency ?Gathered feedback from employees ?â€Å"whats up dominos? † ?â€Å"Lunch with Dave†? Brandon would learned a lot from his employees ?Unique leadership style ?Always looking to improve even when successful Domino’s sales distribution is both domestic and internationally. The company gets 53 percent of its sales domestically and 47 percent internationally. In 2010, domestic sales were $3. 3 billion and internationally it was $2. 95 billion. Not only did fiscal year 2010 revenues show a healthy return, but cost of sales decreased by 3. 25 percent between fiscal year 2008 and 2010. Domino’s showed a very big decrease in its sales because the consumers were concerned about the quality of the pizza that dominos offered compare to the other companies in the industry. 2005 was the peak of the company where it made the most net income, since then revenues have been declining. Revenue declines aside, due to interest, repurchasing of stock, and other financial implications, after a 65 percent fall from 2006 to 2007, net income increased over the last four years. Domino’s current strategy is working well in the sense of income and revenue wise. The Net income increase was $37. 9 million in 2007, $54. 0 million in 2008, $79. 8 million in 2009, and $87. 9 million in 2010, which is annual increases of 42. 5 percent, 47. 7 percent, and 10. 25 percent respectively. The result of the revenue increase also helped eliminate debt from 2007 to 2010 from when they took a big decrease in sales and popularity from 2006 to 2007. By 2010, Domino’s became the leading pizza company in the industry; it had higher revenue and a higher net income than the leading Papa Johns. On the other hand, Dominos is only leading in revenue because it has more locations than the other pizza stores do. Compared to Papa Johns in 2010, Dominos has 9300 stores worldwide, while Papa John’s has only half of that with 3,600 worldwide. Dominos generates $170,000 per store and Papa John’s generates $313,000 per store. Dominos needs to focus on creating more revenue per store so they can provide better value to their shareholders. Taking on a better strategic approach by introducing new items to the menu and increasing the quality of the pizza did help the company get back on track from when it took the fall in 2007. The most recent year 2014, revenues almost doubled than it did in 2013 with a revenue of 589 million in 2014 and 295 million in 2013. Dominos have increased over the last six years in revenues, net income, and Earnings Per Share. Based on these numbers, the company has executed a good strategic plan. We one of most important thing any food establishment should do listen to what their consumers want. They have look into what feedback their consumers are giving them and then have a quick response to consumer’s feedback. A food chain can have all the technology in the world but if they don’t know what their consumers want they will never grow.

Micro Environment Of HSBC

Micro Environment Of HSBC The whole world is now getting so much competitive and diversified. So the business organization doing business globally must have to make their strategy in different way that will give them competitive advantage in the competitive global market. So the aim of this assignment is to show how an organization is making its global strategy and what the competitive advantages are they getting from this business strategy. As required, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC) is selected and analyzed in this assignment. The HSBC Group has a history, which is unique. Many of its principal companies opened for business over a century ago and they have a history rich in variety and achievement. The inspiration behind the founding of the bank was Thomas Sutherland, a Scot who was then working as the Hong Kong Superintendent of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. Realizing the considerable demand for local banking facilities both in Hong Kong and along the China coast and he helped to establish the bank in March 1865. Then, as now, the banks headquarters were at 1 Queens Road Central in Hong Kong and a branch was opened one month later in Shanghai. Throughout the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, the bank established a network of agencies and branches based mainly in China and South East Asia but also with representation in the Indian sub-continent, Japan, Europe and North America. In many of its branches the bank was the pioneer of modern banking practices (Company overview) This assignment includes analysis of the business environment of this organisation by analysis of the micro and macro environments and using different analysis techniques. Such as: SWOT Analysis, PEST Analysis etc. This also covers the analysis of the industry of the organization, the impact of globalization on the organization, and the international market where it operates its business. 1.1 Micro Environment of HSBC Group Stakeholders: Stakeholders of HSBC are always getting the preference. There are different stakeholders of HSBC. Such as: Shareholders Media Publics Government Citizen-action publics Local publics General publics Internal publics Suppliers: suppliers form an important link in the companys overall customer value delivery system. HSBC maintains a strong relationship with all the suppliers of this bank around the world. So they always cooperates the bank in any type of needed. Customers: The bank tries to target mainly five types of customer markets. These are as: Consumers, business clients, reseller market, Government, and international customers. HSBC mainly maintains strong relationship with international customers for long term profitability. Competitors: Competitors are the people to make the business environment dynamic and lead them to identify different new ideas of doing business. They always make a good competitive environment and maintain a formal and cooperative situation of business. Market intermediaries: Marketing intermediaries are composed of all the individuals or companies who help in the promotion, selling, and distribution of the companys products or services. They play an important role to make sure the growth of the organization. 1.2 Macro Environment of HSBC Group External climate: A key part of the Groups business strategy, announced in 1998, is the creation of a global brand featuring the HSBC name and hexagon symbol. The symbol is now a familiar sight around the world. The Group has embarked on the next phase making the HSBC brand universally synonymous with its core values of integrity, trust and excellent customer service. Economic: Through the process of listening to individuals needs and then acting in partnership to deliver the right solutions, HSBC is committed to help the clients make the most of their financial assets. This states the most favorable economic situation. Political and legal environment: HSBC operate on a global basis, but also work on a local level to ensure the cross-border differences are identified and any related benefits exploited. HSBC teams of specialists ensure that whether you need solutions across the world, regionally, or locally, and they have the skills, expertise, and resources to deliver them. They automate as many functions as possible, even as ensuring retains control. So they have to cope up with the political and legal environment of the whole world. Cultural environment: HSBC claims that they are the people to talk to if anyone wants the following: Global cash flow co-ordination Enhanced risk management Improved security and audit controls Minimized costs and reduced operating expenses Maximized liquidity, returns and interest benefits This culture makes the organization popular to the customer and the customer can be satisfied by the service of the bank. Resources (capital, people and natural): The Hexagon logo of HSBC derives from HSBCs traditionally flag, a white rectangle divided diagonally. The design of the flag was based on the cross of ST. Andrew, The Patron Saint of Scotland. HSBC brand corporate identity represents what HSBC wants its brand to mean to its customer. It is derived from the group. Without these resources it has also a large amount of capital resources and a large group of expert and trained employees. Technology: HSBCs basic drives are Higher Productivity, Team Orientation, and Creative Organization, Customer Orientation. The essence of HSBC brand is integrity, trust, and excellent customer service. It gives confidence to customers, value to investors, comfort to colleagues. HSBC is a prudent, cost conscious, ethically grounded, conservative, trustworthy international builder of long-term customer relationships. 1.3 SWOT Analysis of HSBC SWOT analysis is a process of situational analysis. Evaluating a firms strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats through a SWOT analysis is an easy process that provides valuable insights relating to critical issues affecting an organization. SWOT analysis: The internal and external situations can provide valuable information which can come in handy at times. The SWOT analysis categorizes the internal organizational factors as strengths and weaknesses and the external situational aspects as opportunities or threats. The strengths can be used for building a competitive advantage, whereas weakness may hinder the process. The purpose of SWOT analysis is to identify crucial factors for realizing the goals. The internal factors of an organization can be considered as strengths or weaknesses depending upon their impact on the organization. These may include all 4Ps, personnel, manufacturing capabilities, finance, etc, whereas external factors are technological changes, macroeconomic factors, socio-cultural changes and legislation, as well as changes occurring in the marketplace. SWOT analyses of HSBC are as follow: Strengths HSBCs strengths are its resources that lie in: Cost advantages from proprietary know how is very favorable. It has a great value of Patents and trademark HSBC has Influential brand names It also has access to natural resources Accessible distribution network Weakness The weakness can be lack of certain strengths that include: Lack of patent protection Deprived of access to main distribution channels Weak brand name High cost structure Inaccessible natural resources Opportunities The assessment of external environment may bring forth certain new opportunities for HSBC, which are as follows: Technologies innovations Elimination of international trade barriers An untapped market need Threats Unfavorable changes in external environment may pose threat to the organization. Some of them are as follows: Consumers shift to different brand Arrival of substitutes Strict regulations Growing trade barriers 1.4 PEST Analysis of HSBC 1. Political Factors This exercise dissects the political, governmental, and legal aspects of a particular business. Both local and global environments are studied because federal, state, local, and foreign governments are major regulators, deregulators, subsidizers, employers. 2. Economic Factors Economic analysis, a comprehensive study of national, regional, and global economic performance and trends, represents a highly important phase of strategy development for planned, start-up, and growing businesses 3. Social Factors The social component of strategic analysis relates to assessing the social, cultural, demographic, and environmental profiles of addressable markets. 4. Technological Factors Technology is a business enabler that has revolutionary impact on the actual conduct of business. It contributes to achieving desired business productivity and efficiency. Technology is one of the key drivers of modern business firm. As an international organization HSBC try to adopt modern technology always. So this will give preference to the firm. 2.1 History of Bank Industry The history of banking begins with the first prototype banks of merchants of the ancient world, which made grain loans to farmers and traders who carried goods between cities. This began around 2000 BC in Assyria and Babylonia. Later, in ancient Greece and during the Roman Empire, lenders based in temples made loans and added two important innovations: they accepted deposits and changed money. Archaeology from this period in ancient China and India also shows evidence of money lending activity(Peter Garber, 2001). Banking, in the modern sense of the word, can be traced to medieval and early Renaissance Italy, to the rich cities in the north such as Florence, Venice and Genoa. Perhaps the most famous Italian bank was the Medici bank, established by Giovanni Medici in 1397. The development of banking spread from northern Italy through Europe and a number of important innovations took place in Amsterdam during the Dutch Republic in the 16th century and in London in the 17th century. The financial crisis of 2007-2008 caused many bank failures, including some of the worlds largest banks, and provoked much debate about bank regulation. In the Late-2000s financial crisis caused significant stress on banks around the world. The failure of a large number of major banks resulted in government bail-outs. The collapse and fire sale of Bear Stearns to JP Morgan Chase in March 2008 and the collapse of Lehman Brothers in September that same year led to a credit crunch and global banking crises (Jean-Charles Rochet, 2008). In response governments around the world bailed-out, nationalized or arranged fire sales for a large number of major banks. These events spawned the term too big to fail and resulted in a lot of discussion about the moral hazard of these actions. 2.2 The Extent of Globalization and Current Internal Issues According to Modelski, globalization is a historical process which is characterized by a growing engagement between peoples on all corners of the globe (Modelski, 2003, pp.55-59). However, as Heywood points out, it can refer to various things such as processes, policies, strategies, an occurrence or an ideology. He suggests, its elusive meaning lays in the fact that it is not so much and it as a team (2007, p.143). The reason for the elusiveness of the term is that, as Heywood pints out, it involves many different facets which many different academics proclaim as its defining features. This provides the best summary of what globalization is and what it involves; however, different perspectives on globalization view these processes in different ways and provide competing explanations of their significance. The first of these to be outlined is the hyper globalist perspective (Held, D. and McGrew, A. (2003). Each perspective differs however on how the globalization process impacts on politics. The hyper globalists argue that globalization is leading the world into a period which will see the end of the nation state and the emergence of a global governance system. The transformation lists on the other hand reject this idea, and instead claim that the nation state is still relevant in a globalised world, but needs to adapt to the challenges that the increasing flows of capital and culture impose. On the issue of cultural flows there is again divergence amongst the perspectives. For hyper globalists, the path towards a homogenous world culture is inevitable as globalization develops. For transformation lists, the process of globalization is creating a world community of diverse cultures whilst for the skeptics, cultural interaction and integration is nothing new. On the question on the extent the world is actually globalised, there is also agreement and disagreement (Peter Garber, 2001). For both the hyper globalists and the transformation lists, the contemporary world is more globalised than ever before, with economics, politics and culture never more connected than in this age of mass media, internet and rapid communication. Globalization, they argue, has touched every corner of the globe, and will continue on that trajectory into the future. For the skeptics however, the world is not actually globalised but is instead regionalized. To back up this claim, they point to the massive inequalities between countries in the western world, and those in the developing world. 2.3 The International Markets In Which It Operates HSBCs International Network The HSBC Groups international network comprises of some 7,000 offices in 80 countries. A brief list is presented below: Fig 2: HSBCs International Networks Country Classifications To ensure that the key resources (management time, capital, human resources and information technology) are correctly allocated and that the exchange of best practice is accelerated between entities, the group has classified the countries where it operates into 3 categories: the large, the major and the international. These classifications are a function of sustainable, attributable earnings, the number of retail clients, balance sheet and size of operation. A brief presentation of this classification is shown below: Figure 3: Map of HSBCs Country Classifications Large: United Kingdom, USA and Hong Kong SAR/Mainland China. Definition More than one million personal clients Sustainable earnings greater than US$ 200 million Business Focus Concentrated group resources on wealth management Be a top 10 player in any market or region served Develop cross selling, loyalty programs and value added products. Major: Argentina, Canada, Malaysia, India, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Singapore and United Arab Emirates. Definition Sustainable earnings between US$ 100 200 million Business Focus Universal banks (personal, corporate, and investment banking with domestic business) Platforms for international group business Next generation of large companies Stable self funding entities Onshore HQ International: The rest of the world Definition Æ’ËÅ" Earnings below US$ 100 million Business Focus Platforms for international group business Limited domestic presence Nursery for developing management Tomorrows major businesses Supported by offshore HQ Banks under the HSBC Group Many of the members have changed their name into HSBC, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited to introduce the whole group under one brand name. Midland Bank HSBC Holdings acquired Midland Bank one of the principal UK clearing banks in 1992. Headquartered in London, the bank has a personal customer base of five and a half million, business customers of over half a million, and a network of almost 1,700 branches in the United Kingdom. Midland has offices in 28 countries and territories, principally in continental Europe, with a number of offices in Latin America. Hang Seng Bank Hang Seng Bank, in which Hongkong Bank has a 62.1% equity interest, maintains a network of 146 branches in the Hong Kong SAR, where it is the second largest locally incorporated bank after Hongkong Bank. Hang Seng Bank also has a branch in Singapore and two branches and two representative offices in China. Marine Midland Bank Marine Midland Bank headquartered in Buffalo, New York, has 380 banking locations statewide. The bank serves over two million personal customers and 120,000 commercial and institutional customers in New York State and, in selected businesses, throughout the United States. Hongkong Bank of Canada Hongkong Bank of Canada is the largest foreign-owned bank in Canada and the countrys seventh-largest bank. With headquarters in Vancouver, it has 116 branches across Canada and two branches in the western United States. Banco HSBC Bamerindus Banco HSBC Bamerindus was established in Brazil in 1997. The bank has network of some 1,900 branches and sub-branches, the second largest in Brazil. Hongkong Bank Malaysia Hongkong Bank Malaysia is the largest foreign-owned bank in Malaysia and the countrys fifth-largest bank, with 36 branches. The British Bank of the Middle East (British Bank) The British Bank of the Middle East (British Bank) is the largest and most widely represented international bank in the Middle East, with 31 branches throughout the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, Lebanon and the Palestinian Autonomous Area, including an offshore banking unit in Bahrain. The bank also has branches in Mumbai and Trivandrum, India, and Baku, Azerbaijan, as well as private banking operations in London and Geneva. HSBC Banco Roberts HSBC Banco Roberts was acquired in 1997. Based in Buenos Aires, it is one of Argentinas largest privately owned banks, with 60 branches throughout the country. Hongkong Bank of Australia Hongkong Bank of Australia has 16 branches across Australia. It is the flagship of the HSBC Groups businesses there, operating under the name HSBC Australia, and providing a complete range of financial services. The Saudi British Bank The Saudi British Bank, a 40%-owned member of the HSBC Group, has 63 branches throughout Saudi Arabia and a branch in London. Figure 1: Banks under the HSBC Group Other associated Group banks are British Arab Commercial Bank, The Cyprus Popular Bank and Egyptian British Bank. Customer Segments of HSBC Group Personal Financial Services HSBC provides a full range of personal financial services, including current and savings account, mortgages, insurance, credit cards, loans, pensions and investments. In 2000, residential mortgages across the Group excluding Household grew by 15%, while non-mortgage personal lending increased by over 20%. Credit cards in issue grew by 20% worldwide. Sales of repayment protection insurance and deposit growth reached record levels. Current account balances in the UK exceeded  £ 10 billion for the first time at year-end 2000. The number of customers registered for e-banking services via the internet and telephone more than trebled in 2000. The internet generated sales of over 2.3 million products and 87 million transactions. Consumer Finance Through Household International, Inc., HSBC is now a major provider of consumer finance and a top 10 issuer of credit cards in the USA. Household provides consumer loans, credit cards, vehicle finance, mortgage financing and credit insurance to middle America. During 2004, Household achieved good organic loan growth, which it supplemented with portfolio acquisitions. The strongest growth was in the real estate portfolio and the mortgage services business, and also in branch-based consumer lending. Synergy benefits with HSBC included store cards and point-of-sale financing. Commercial Banking The provision of services to small and medium-sized enterprises around the world is core strength of HSBC. During 2000, HSBC increased its leading position in the UK business start-up market to 21% and attracted record levels of business current and deposit account balances. Business internet banking was offered in 20 countries and territories, and the number of registered users more than doubled to 600,000. Money transmission revenues, trade finance fees, wealth, savings and insurance products all showing growth during 2000. Corporate, Investment Banking and Markets This customer group comprises four main business lines Corporate and Institutional Banking, Global Investment Banking, Global Markets and Global Transaction Banking which focus on long-term relationships with major international corporations and institutions. Record results were achieved in 2000. The Global Markets business excelled, particularly in international debt issuance, risk management and structured products, and foreign exchange. Global Investment Banking was entrusted with a number of landmark deals in capital restructuring, corporate reorganization and strategic advice. Private Banking This customer group provides world-class financial services to high net worth individuals and their families. In 2000, Private Banking posted improved financial results in all regions, led by Asia, which had a record year. New business initiatives and a general improvement in investment markets led to increased client activity across a range of products. An increase in discretionary mandates, together with a strong demand for client-tailored structured products, contributed to higher fee revenues and dealing income. Funds under management grew by 18%, reflecting both net inflows of client assets and improving market conditions. 2.4 The Impact of Globalization on HSBC Corporate banking is the most profitable segment of HSBC, since it has globally recognized brand name and it has competitive advantage in international trade and finance. But the nature of competition in financial service is changing dramatically. Most competitive advantages are not creating long-term benefits and at best are temporarily improving yesterdays business. From the study it seemed to me that personal financial products of HSBC are mainly basic since it is less focused. Using the brand name and widening the personal financial product range, HSBC bank has the potential to become the leader in consumer banking market of the country. So, the concerned department should formulate strategy and policies to compete better with the challenging opportunities of the future. 3.1 Moral and ethical questions As an international organization HSBC sometimes faces some problems in different geographical location. This problem is the moral and ethical question. The bank operates in different conservative countries. The sociological limitations of these countries make some ethical dilemma for the bank. The bank always tries to involve with different corporate social affairs. So their different strategies sometimes have a little conflict with the existing ethical framework of those countries. 3.2 Conflicts When the bank started the journey in Africa in had to face a lot of problems in operation. Because the people of Africa have different social values and culture. So the bank had to gradually cope up with the existing culture. The climate change of Africa also made some problems. The general business policy had to change due to the conflict of the existing sociological forces. Though the bank is still changing their policy but still now there have some ethical and moral conflict. The anti-globalism policy of some countries makes the conflict with the globalized policy of the bank. 3.3 Legislation Corporate social responsibility is the one of the key marketing policy of HSBC. The banks main focus is to involve with more international corporate affairs by means of CSR. This planning has the impact on global marketing. But the corporate social responsibility issue is not always smooth in all in the countries. Different countries and region have some legislation and bindings in regulations relating to corporate social responsibility. In Asia the business policy sometimes faces some legislative obstacles and the bank have to face some problems in operations. Conclusion During the Second World War the bank was forced to close many branches and its head office was temporarily moved to London. However, after the war the bank played a key role in the reconstruction of the Hong Kong economy and began to further diversify the geographical spread of the bank. The post-war political and economic changes in the world forced the bank to analyze its strategy for continued growth in the 1950s. The bank diversified both its business and its geographical spread through acquisitions and alliances. This strategy culminated in 1992 with one of the largest bank acquisitions in history when HSBC Holdings acquired the UKs Midland Bank plc (now called HSBC Bank plc). However, it remained committed to its historical markets and played an important part in the reconstruction of Hong Kong where its branch network continued to expand. HSBC understands that there are many challenges facing todays youth as they prepare to engage in the increasingly changing and complex aspects of the real world. Recognizing the importance of educating, inspiring and equipping youth of all backgrounds to succeed in a global economy, we began a partnership with Junior Achievement USA (Junior Achievement) in 1942. We expanded this partnership to launch a global initiative in 2006 and began working with JA Worldwide.

Bertolt Brechts Caucasian Chalk Circle - Role of Minor Characters Essa

The minor characters of a play are integral in conveying the major thematic concerns of the playwright. Such a theory can be blatantly exemplified throughout Bertolt Brecht’s acclaimed play the Caucasian Chalk Circle in which the minor characters have been constructed to help the reader understand the thematic issues expressed. Published in 1944, the Caucasian Chalk Circle is a clever appraisal of class based societies and has been carefully written to depict the disparity that exists between the upper classes and the proletariat. The minor characters of the play create a highly class based context for the narrative to occur within and ultimately through the resolution of the play the audience is positioned to interrogate the rigid social structure that is dominated by characters such as the Elder and Younger ladies and condemn those who aspire to be accepted by such a society, Lavrenti and his wife. This text, through the character of Michael, instead promotes equality in soc iety, a social conscience that suggests we should consider the prosperity and happiness of all, not a privileged few. Throughout the play, Brecht utilizes Epic theatre’s primary innovation, the Verfremdungseffekt (or distancing effect) to encourage the audience to view the performance intellectually rather than emotionally. This persuades the audience to side with the characters on an objective level and to view the story in a â€Å"universal† sense in which the moral of the story is more important than the actual events. To help convey his concerns Brecht avoids constructing characters that will invite an emotional response from the audience, rather, he creates minor characters in the text as archetypes or representations of certain classes within Feudal socie... ...rcle in an attempt to encourage viewers to reassess the capitalist society we live in. The diverse class system inherent in such a society is negatively represented in the play through minor characters such as Natella Abashvill. Through the minor characters Brecht is able to encourage the audience to promote a form of equality between different classes. Brecht, as a Marxist, believed there should not be different levels of well being depending on what class you belonged to. In an effort to highlight this idea Brecht uses characters such as the Elder and Younger ladies to clearly outline the how individuals were treated by the upper classes according to where they fitted in the class divide. Ultimately, through Brecht’s careful construction he is able to proffer a fierce indictment of the capitalist way and encourage the audience to consider his own Marxist opinions. Bertolt Brecht's Caucasian Chalk Circle - Role of Minor Characters Essa The minor characters of a play are integral in conveying the major thematic concerns of the playwright. Such a theory can be blatantly exemplified throughout Bertolt Brecht’s acclaimed play the Caucasian Chalk Circle in which the minor characters have been constructed to help the reader understand the thematic issues expressed. Published in 1944, the Caucasian Chalk Circle is a clever appraisal of class based societies and has been carefully written to depict the disparity that exists between the upper classes and the proletariat. The minor characters of the play create a highly class based context for the narrative to occur within and ultimately through the resolution of the play the audience is positioned to interrogate the rigid social structure that is dominated by characters such as the Elder and Younger ladies and condemn those who aspire to be accepted by such a society, Lavrenti and his wife. This text, through the character of Michael, instead promotes equality in soc iety, a social conscience that suggests we should consider the prosperity and happiness of all, not a privileged few. Throughout the play, Brecht utilizes Epic theatre’s primary innovation, the Verfremdungseffekt (or distancing effect) to encourage the audience to view the performance intellectually rather than emotionally. This persuades the audience to side with the characters on an objective level and to view the story in a â€Å"universal† sense in which the moral of the story is more important than the actual events. To help convey his concerns Brecht avoids constructing characters that will invite an emotional response from the audience, rather, he creates minor characters in the text as archetypes or representations of certain classes within Feudal socie... ...rcle in an attempt to encourage viewers to reassess the capitalist society we live in. The diverse class system inherent in such a society is negatively represented in the play through minor characters such as Natella Abashvill. Through the minor characters Brecht is able to encourage the audience to promote a form of equality between different classes. Brecht, as a Marxist, believed there should not be different levels of well being depending on what class you belonged to. In an effort to highlight this idea Brecht uses characters such as the Elder and Younger ladies to clearly outline the how individuals were treated by the upper classes according to where they fitted in the class divide. Ultimately, through Brecht’s careful construction he is able to proffer a fierce indictment of the capitalist way and encourage the audience to consider his own Marxist opinions.

Persuasive Essay: The Holocaust :: Persuasive Writing

My reaction to the Holocaust was devastating. It is one example of bad things happening to good people. The mass murdering of so many Jews is just disgusting and also because it was done for basically no reason. As this was a true event many sources or witnesses are available to express their views, feelings and emotions of themselves and those who survived this terrible tragedy. I will demonstrate examples of Jews who have survived what they have been through and what they think about God. It is really hard to go through all of this and still believe that God exists. The holocaust should not change our theology on God. It is said to be that the Holocaust was a temporary "Eclipse of God".[1] This is supposed to be when God is away from earth beyond any reason or explanation. People trying to respond to this problem of believing that there is a God after witnessing the terrible event have either succeeded or failed. I will introduce three people who have survived the Holocaust and have tried responding to this problem. The three people included are Primo Levi, Richard Rubenstein and Emil Fackenheim. I think a big impact on the life of Jews would be their belief in God because many of them have tried responding to this problem and have changed the ways in which they think about him, their views on how good or powerful he is, how they express him and why they still believe in him. I will introduce the problem of evil to the Jews that have survived the Holocaust and their problems of belief. I will also say which of the three Jews the most are convincing to me. The holocaust presents a problem for the Jews and changes their belief in God because now some Jews think "God is Dead" [2] Their reason to thinking this is because God is supposed to be omnipotent and almighty he could not have let something like this to happen. If there was a God, surely this event would not have taken place.

Freedom of Contract in English Law

In earlier days, agreement was built on a very classic and simple basis: it is concluded at the moment that the acceptance of an offer takes place and that is all. In consequence, equal parties were non-existent and stronger parties had the possibility to impose unfair and domineering conditions upon those who were weak and vulnerable. It is in this context that both legislations and courts agreed that State action was indispensable to ensure fairness among individual parties, in an era where the exercise of law of freedom were extremely restricted.In today’s English law, freedom of contract is one the foundation of contract law. The existence of freedom of contract requires three main considerations: the freedom to contract or not to contract, the freedom to choose with whom to contract, and the freedom to decide the terms of the contract. Thus parties are totally free to engage or not to engage in agreements. However, freedom of contract can fail to have the desired or expec ted effect in contracts where power relations are not equal. The stronger party can impose its â€Å"will† to the weaker party.In order to deal with any potential conflict that can arise from this matter, English legal systems has set up rules ensuring the effective and fair exercise of freedom of contract. This essay will discuss and examine those rules in question, established by the English law in order to effectively balance freedom of contract and fairness between the contracting parties as well as fair contractual terms. And also on the other hand limits of freedom of contract will be exposed. Freedom of contract, as its appellation suggests, has a strong relationship with contract.In order to identify this relationship, it is important to understand what is meant by â€Å"contract† and the rules governing it. In English law, a contract is a legally binding agreement reached on a set of promises (or obligations) and specific terms. The validity of any contract re quires 4 main features: an offer, acceptance, consideration and intention to create legal relations. Thus, when one party (the offeror) makes an offer which the other (offeree) accepts, then agreement is concluded.However, the mere fact of an agreement is insufficient for a contract to be completely valid. This implies that a party must promise to give or do something for the other. This idea of exchanging promises is known as â€Å"consideration† and is an essential requisite of any valid contract. In Currie v Misa(1875) it (consideration) was held to constitute a benefit to one party or a detriment to the other. For instance, when a bottle of wine is bought from a shop, the benefit received is the bottle of wine, and the detriment is the money paid to the shop.Yet it is important to take into concern the rules governing consideration. First of all, consideration must not be in the past(as mentioned in the a. This rule suggests that if one party willingly performs an act, an d the other party then makes a promise the consideration said to be in the past. Therefore past consideration is regarded as no consideration at all. For instance, a pregnant woman named Julie, knowing that her neighbour, Lucy, is concerned about her health, offers to do the housework for her.This takes Lucy tremendous amount of time to do, and Julie is so content with the result that she promises to pay Lucy ? 30 for her effort. If Julie fails to pay, Lucy will not have the possibility to sue for breach of contract as Julie's promise to pay was after the completion of the work. The fact of this case is supported by the case of Re McArdle(1951,CA) in which it was held that no valid contract existed since the home improvements were past consideration; they had been carried out before any promise to pay had been made.Another rule is that consideration must move from the promisee which is very similar to the concept of law of privity. So for instance if A makes a promises to B, the pro mise will only be enforceable if B can equally show that he has provided consideration for A’s promise. This rule clearly demonstrates the fairness (among parties) of the doctrine of consideration. Finally, consideration must be sufficient but need not to be adequate. This rule stipulates that a good consideration must be of some value but there is not necessity for a bargain to be of adequate value.For example, if someone is willing to sell his Ferrari for ? 1, the contract will not be in vain due to lack of consideration and therefore will be sufficient. In this case, Courts will not measure the adequacy of the consideration (the fact that a Ferrari is offered to be sold at only ? 1) as it is up to one party to decide whether or not he agrees with the other party promises. The contract in English law enhances principle of freedom of contract.Indeed, the terms of the contract is freely determined and agreed by the parties. However, there are various circumstances in which ad ditional terms may be implied into the agreement. The aim of implied terms is often to provide a supplement to a contractual agreement in the interest of making bargain more effective, to achieve fairness between the parties and to alleviate hardship. Term may be implied by custom. Here it is suggested that a contract must always be examined in the light of its surrounding commercial context.So the parties automatically assume that sometimes their contract will be subject to the customs of a particular locality or trade and therefore do not deal specifically with the matter in their contract. One of the cases illustrating this is Hutton v Warren(1836). A term may equally be implied into a contract y Act of Parliament in the form of statutes. Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, ss 12-15 for instance, a seller automatically assumes certain obligations to the buyer as a result of terms which are automatically implied in every contract regulated by the Act.The seller is required by statut e to promise that he has lawful authority to transfer ownership of the goods(s12)(the seller would for example break this term if it turns out that the goods were stolen);that the goods being sold will match the description he provided the buyer(s13)(for instance a shirt described as 100 per cent cotton should not contain man-made fibres); that the quality of the goods being sold will satisfy the buyer(s14(2)); that the good will be suitable for any purpose specified by the buyer(s 14(3)); and that the goods being sold will match any sample shown to the buyer prior to the contract being made(s 15).Breach of any of these terms will put the buyer in a strong position and be given the option to be discharged from the contract or alternatively carry on with the contract and claim damages for the breach. This will lead us to the concept of remedies mentioned in the following part. In English contract law, a crucial aspect of the contractual relationship is the enforcement of the contract , as the obligation that pact must be kept firmly by parties is considered as the backbone of any contractual relationship.However, a problem can occur if a contract is not adequately performed and one of the parties renounces to perform its obligations. This is where the concept of non-performance and the remedies available to the injured party become applicable. Breach of contract arises from the non-respect of the pact (or terms) agreed between parties. The aggrieved party is then given the common law right to claim for a remedy resulting from any quantifiable loss or harm suffered. Damage (financial compensation) is the most basic remedy available to the innocent party.In today business environment, it is not rare for the parties to agree in advance the damages that will be payable in the occurrence of a breach of contract. These damages are referred to as liquidated damages. An illustration of liquidated damages is the charges imposed for cancelling a flight or the booking of a hotel room. But sometimes, there is a temptation for a party with stronger trading power to try imposing a penalty clause (punitive payment for the non-performance of a term or condition) as demonstrated in Wilson v. Love (1896) case.Other remedies such as quantum damages and injunction may be granted at the discretion of the court as part of its equitable jurisdiction. So, as mentioned above, remedies is all about compensating the aggrieved party for causing him loss or harm. This can be avoided by the consideration of the prevailing rules of freedom of contract. In other words, Freedom of contract allowing individual parties to freely contract or not to, and no one being forced to do it , whoever therefore who gives a contractual promise must then keep it.Or on the contrary case, as described in earlier parts can be constrained by legal authorities to honour its commitment or compensate the other party. However, performance of a contract becomes sometimes impossible due to the ci rcumstances beyond the control of either of the parties and not due to their fault. The legal term referring to this situation is frustration. An example of this unforeseen event is illustrated in the case of Taylor v Caldwell (1863) in which it was held that contract was impossible to perform due to an external and unforeseen event.Consequences are that the contract is killed and parties discharged from further liability. This limits the exercise of freedom of contract in a sense that the agreement formed by the parties is nullified, regardless individual parties will. Another limitation of freedom of contract is that the choice of other contracting party is not always free. For example, an employer is not totally free to hire the person of his choice. The fact that insurance contracts are sometimes made obligatory by parties equally render the exercise of freedom of contract limited, as concerned parties did not freely choose to contract with an insurance company.So far, this pap er has been about the relationship between the exercise of freedom of contract and law of contract. However not only is freedom of contract concerned with contract law but also with another component of the English private law, which is tort law. A tort is a civil wrong. In other words, it refers to the liability of a person who causes harm to another with the obligation to repair the damages suffered by the victim. An example of tort is damage to commercial interests, e. g. inducement of breach of contract.Also known as tortious interference, inducement of breach of contract arise where the wrongdoer convinces a party to breach the contract against the claimant, or where the wrongdoer prevents one party from performing his obligations(agreed with the other party), thus stopping the claimant from receiving the performance promised. Furthermore, after mentioning the existence of a duty of care, which is an element required making negligence claim (concerned with a wrongdoer’s careless conduct which cause damage or loss to the defendant), the claimant (the injured party) can prove that this duty has been broken by the defendant (the other party).Hence the close relationship between duty of care and the requisites of freedom of contract in the sense that if parties freely agree to contract (including the terms of it), then, it is suggested, that they owe a duty of care to each other because the careless conduct (which can affect the contract) of one party can prevent the other one from receiving the performance promised, regardless to the external factor that caused the misconduct of the blamed party. This fact is supported by the case of Garret v.Taylor (1620) in which the court upheld a judgment for the claimant. To conclude, the purpose of this essay has been to describe and make a connection between law of contract as well as law of torts and freedom of contract. Thus, English legal systems have established multiple rules of conduct from different part ies to a contract in order to ensure fairness between them. Henceforth, contracting parties are given freedom to contract with whoever they want, including the terms of the contracts.Also, thanks to rules such as of duty of care, or of doctrine of remedies, an injured party is now given the possibility to claim for compensation of loss or harm caused by the blamed party, who will be then obliged by legal authorities to repair the damages caused to the aggrieved party due to non-respect of the rules established. In the end, it must be acknowledge that English Law has stroke an appropriate balance between freedom of contract and fairness. References:Currie v Misa (1875) LR 10 Ex 153; (1875-76) LR 1 App Cas 554:Definition of consideration Garret v. Taylor, 79 Eng. Rep. 485 (K. B. 1620): Tortious interference Hutton v Warren (1836) 1 M;W 460:Implied terms Re McArdle(1951,CA ):Past consideration being unacceptable Sale of Goods Act 1979, ss 12-15 : Statutory implied terms Taylor v Caldwe ll (1863) 3 B ; S 826; 122 ER 309; [1863] EWHC QB J1: impossibility of performance of contract Wilson v. Love (1896) : Liquidated damages

A brief history of cosmetics Essay

Through the ages, cosmetics have been in used to transform appearances. It started with the Ancient Egyptians, Romans and Greeks (Avoncosmeticsnug 2007). In Ancient Egypt, exterior appearance is closely attached to spirituality (Mellor 2008). Looking good is not for vanity but for the gods. During those times, Ancient Egyptians used black kohl to color their eyes. It is a concoction made up of burnt almonds, oxidized copper, a couple of different-colored copper ores, lead, ash, and ochre. Kohl is applied using a stick and Ancient Egyptians applied it in an almond shape onto their eyes (Mellor 2008). For the lips and cheeks, a blend of red clay and water were applied, while henna was used on the fingernails (Narada 2008). This tradition behind cosmetics started to fade when the Greeks arrived and used cosmetics for aesthetic purposes (Mellor 2008). The use of cosmetics was widely accepted and it was a thriving commerce around the Mediterranean at that time (Narada 2008). Later on during the time of the Romans, perfumes were widely used in baths, fountains and also weapons (Boyd 2008). Romans also apply kohl just as Egyptians did (Narada 2008). As the nineteenth century ushered in, whitening mixture was applied on the face to be able to achieve a fairer complexion. During those times, whiter skin meant a good social status since darker skin is associated with the working class (Mellor 2008). This cosmetic was composed of carbonate, hydroxide, and lead oxide. But due to lead poisoning that caused muscle paralysis or death, lead oxide was replaced by zinc oxide which is still being used until today (Boyd 2008). Eventually by the 20th century, safer cosmetics were made available as doctors started to work with cosmetics companies to avoid problems like lead poisoning (Modes in Makeup 2008). The industry got a boost when cinema became popular and the masses tried to imitate actresses on the big screen. Helena Rubinstein and Max Factor both made their mark during this time as they developed an assortment of cosmetic products like mascara, colored powder, and pancake make-up (Boyd 2008). The new century also brought in a new trend – the tan complexion. Tan was now the symbol of affluent individuals who did not need to work but instead simply went outside and engaged in recreation. The bronze look was the look to go for (Modes in Makeup 2008). The industry continued to grow during the 50’s and the 60’s. Cosmetics companies advertise a great deal in televisions where the focus was on the lips and eyes. Natural products as well have grown in popularity. These are products with botanical components. By the 70’s, the concern for the environment was widespread and harmful ingredients were then banned for manufacturing (Boyd 2008). Many players now are part of this booming business. The industry will continue to grow as cosmetics continue to be an integral part especially of women lives. 2. 3 Branding Kotler (2003) defines a brand as any mark or label that is attached to a product that means something for people or something that people can be associated with. For example, coffee is a product and Starbucks is a brand that means high quality coffee and is usually associated with yuppies. In other words, a brand produces a certain image, feeling, emotion, personality, or even a set of values in a person’s mind by just hearing or seeing the brand’s name. For example, Coca-Cola connotes enjoying the moment of having a cool drink with friends or family, FedEx implies fast and safe delivery service, Porsche is expensive but luxurious cars, New York City is the city that never sleeps, and The Body Shop promotes the beauty of each individual while protecting the planet (Kotler 2003). Kotler (2003) further explains that building a brand involves an intricate and interdependent system of devices such as advertisements, public and media networking, financial support for events or issues, and many more. But the most important device is the customer service provided by the brand’s employees. Friendly and helpful shop employees may determine whether clients will come back or not. Everything about the company, its plans, processes, services, and final merchandise must revolve around the brand it is promoting. This is how valuable a brand should be for a company. On the other hand, to be able to say that a company truly has an effective brand depends on the level of loyalty and influence the brand has on consumers in general and on its clientele in particular (Kotler 2003). Specifically, branding is a marketing strategy of a business to make its product stand out among competitors. It uses tools like distinctive product names, symbols, slogans and other images (Principles of Marketing 2008). It not only helps in distinguishing a product but also safeguards the consumer from other products that seem to be the same (Hislop 2001). An example of a product with good branding is Nike’s sports apparels and shoes. The brand is strongly associated with sports and the checkmark sign and the slogan just do it sets it apart from other sports brands. Aside from familiarity branding also invokes emotional responses – Lexus with the feeling of luxury – or cultural responses – Pepsi with the youth (Hislop 2001). It was about 15 years ago when the concept of branding entered the business world. However, until now, the word is still being confused with marketing and advertising. The process of branding should be the first step followed by advertising under the big umbrella of marketing. Research shows that companies that do not establish a brand identity first before advertising only see themselves lose money (Klein 2008). Branding is not all about raising awareness to the product. It is about getting the consumers perceive the product as the sole answer to their troubles or needs (Lake 2003). The logo or slogan is not the brand of the company instead it is the character of the company. The brand is what the company symbolizes in the customer’s mind (Klein 2008). It is a summation of all the opinions and encounters of the customer with the product or service (Lake 2003). It is imperative for a company to establish a lasting brand if it intends to survive in the very competitive world of business.