DefinitionofHate

A good example of this is when students say they hate school. Not only is school academic, but it is also social. School is where friends associate, and most students enjoy this. Most students have a favorite class, so they certainly don't hate that time. So what part of school do they actually â€Å"hate? † Then when asked if they would want to quit school they say â€Å"Of course! † But when one thinks about it, school is what builds up the rest of our lives to success.One cannot possibly hate something that asses happiness in a well educated life. Other examples include saying â€Å"l hate her,† which causes questions like why and who, and statements like â€Å"l hate my parents† cause judgment, in that bystanders will stereotype one as a rebel. If one said â€Å"l hate her because she betrayed me,† it would be more accurate and powerful; however, society is to lazy to add detail, just as they are too lazy to say â€Å"dislike?' instead of â₠¬Å"hate. † Hate is a powerful word used against a specific person or object. Hate, when used frivolously in common conversation, can be extremely hurtful.Hate is carelessly used to describe people one dislikes. If the disliked person overhears, finds out, or takes the usage in an offensive manner, they can be extremely hurt by the statement This often causes unwanted drama and conflict. If one had avoiding using such harsh language in the first place, that person wouldn't have had to deal with this drama. Hate is used towards friends as a joke, but if the word was being used correctly, there would be no friends. â€Å"Hate† isolates friendships and starts fights that should've never been started.If used in this frivolous, airless, way, the word hate can be extremely offensive in situations where it was not meant to be. One can never be sure how the person he or she is talking to takes the use Of the word â€Å"hate,† so to be safe, it should only be reserved for extreme situations. Hate is an emotion reserved for people that have the right to use it. Only people who have had traumatic or horrible life experiences have the right to hate certain people or items. Hating your parents because they don't let you go out is pathetic, unlike hating your parents because they abandoned you, which is understandable and tragic.Students hating school because of a bad grade is very different from students hating school because they are bullied. What about kids hating cars because they aren't old enough to drive versus hating cars because of a serious accident? There is never black and white in these situations, it all depends on circumstances. Hate can only be used in truly loathly situations. Hate is an intense word that should only be used in the most extreme of situations, and should not be used frivolously. Hate is used too broadly on everyday subjects, and is a very offensive word that destroys relationships when used incorrectly.

Analysis of banks’ performance

Generally considered as the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, the Global Financial Crisis (SGF) was followed by the European sovereign debt crisis, which heavily affected most European nations in early 2010. This report will analyses the impact of the crisis on the performance and risk exposure of two major banks: Alpha Bank (ABA) and Deutsche Bank (DB).. Alpha Bank, the second largest Greece bank, locates in one of the five Euro-zone nations which suffered the most following the global crisis.At the same time, Deutsche Bank (DB) is a German bank which operates in both investment and commercial banking sectors. In particular, this report will study the asset and liability structure, the performance as well as the market and off-balance sheet risk. Also, the annual performance of 2008 to 2010 will be analyses in order to fully capture the impact of the financial crisis on these selected banks. 1. 1 Asset, Liability Structure and Risk Exposures 1. 1. Analysis of Lloy d Banking Group (LAG) Table 1: Capital Raising Activities (Liability Structure) Figure 1 Figure 2 The bank operates in both commercial and investment sections which contents in detail, wholesale, insurance and investment as its main business activities. Deposit is the main source of funding, given that the proportional ways remains above 50%during these 6 years. Generally speaking, Deposits are more reliable compare to other capital raising activities.Noticing that even during 2008 to 2010, the Deposits were lightly effect by SGF, which means retail deposits are less volatile and less sensitive to shocks. In addition, the bank was voted by Reader's Digest the most trusted bank of Britain in the 2008. LAG as a function of commercial bank, a large and versified customer base kept the bank safe during the SGF and European debt crisis. Wholesale is the second major part of their business. Figure 2 has shown that, Debt securities take around 20% during 2007 to 2012, which implies that, L AG raises not enough funds from deposits.However, wholesale is sensitive to changes in the market. As the wholesale depositors are able to transfer the fund if others bank provides better offer to them. LAG have to undertake higher withdraw risk. LAG introduced new pricing management of saving products from 2011 in order to minimize withdraw risk. The benefit for this new plan is increasing deposit balances and reducing the proportion of wholesale. Furthermore, because of LB is a diversified bank in British, insurance division is the third mainly activity for the bank to raise fund.However, insurance may exposures liquidity risk, if policyholder who is seeking to cash in their financial claims immediately or some unexceptional accident occurs, the bank has to get huge fund to pay for them. According to Lag's annual report, the liabilities of insurance remains around 13% from 2007 to 2012, which took up higher proportion of total liabilities. However, since the flood happened in late 2007 and therefore the bank had to pay the claims, the bank had a highest percentage of insurance liability compare to other 5 years.Besides, due to SGF and European debt crisis during 2009 to 2012, higher unemployment rates shrink the Auk's economy, the proportion of liability of insurance policy also affected. Finally, basing on the Figure 2 we can find that, derivative financial insurance only has small proportion in this structure, due to LAG is able to raise enough fund from deposit, wholesale and insurance sections. Table 2: Portfolio Asset Allocation (Asset Structure) Figure 3 As a largest commercial bank in K, the main source of investment of LAG is Loans, which take up over half proportion of its total asset.This type of assets was allocated to households, firms and public sectors. According the annual report of the bank, personal mortgages play an important role in loan. However, these assets are exposed to credit risk and default risk. Therefore, LB engages reverse repur chase agreements for collateralized loans in order to reduce risks. The second main source of investment of LAG is Trading and other financial Asset at fair value through profit or loss.Comparing to loans, debt securities are more sensitive and exposed to the credit risk. However, government and corporate securities are taking larger proportion in total Trading and other financial Asset at fair value through profit or loss. As these types of securities are more stable and reliable, this credit risk is mostly mitigated. 1. 1. 2 Analysts of BIN Paris (BIN) Table 3: Capital Raising Activities (Liability Structure) Figure 4 BIN Paris is a universal bank which participates in retail and investment sectors.According to the chart shown above, the main source of Buns capital raised by raiding derivative instruments in financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss from 2007 and took a Jumped up approximately 25% in 2008 due to Global Financial Crisis(SGF). Generally speaking, de rivatives trading are carrying higher risks than other class of liabilities, such as credit risk, market risk, currency risk and interest rate risk. Because they are sensitive to the market changes and lenders are less loyal to the bank, but respectively this source of funds can generate high returns to make the bank become profitable.However, the liability structure of BIN was not constantly unchanged. In the following next two years 2009 and 2010, the main component shifted to deposits due to SGF which brought an unfavorable economy recession all over the world. This strategy of the bank intended to reduce the risk exposures via decreasing trading of risky financial instruments and more relying on deposits to raise capital in order keep the bank in a safer base during the worse recession time.The capital raising structure changed back again from 2011, noticing that unlike 2007 and 2008, the proportions of deposits and financial liabilities at fair value through profit or loss beca me approximately close amounts. However, derivatives trading are still playing an important role in Buns capital raising activities. Another considerable segment of liability structure is debt securities, which mainly content in government bonds, given that the amounts of issued had been increased from Ð ²?157,mom to Ð ²?211 ,mom from 2008 to 2009.Due to the bank changed the major capital raising activity to deposits in 2009 and 2010, meanwhile it had increased issue in debt securities in order to raise more efficient funds. This behavior can be explained that the bank was worrying about only relied on deposits as not enough and trying to diversified risks via shifting liquidity risk (from deposits) to default and credit risk. Table 4: Portfolio Asset Allocation (Asset Structure) Figure 5 The main source of investment of BIN is financial assets at fair value through profit or loss, which accounted more than 50% of total assets through 2007 to 2008.Again, this type of assets mainly consists in trading of derivative instruments, repurchase agreements afterwards and other securities transactions. In practice, derivatives trading can generate higher returns but will carry more risks because they should eave to meet what the customers' needs and generally they are sensitive to the change of market. Therefore, the risk exposures not only content credit risk, but also put the bank faces interest rate risk and currency risk. L The second considerable segment of investment is loans which mainly comprised of loans to customers.Noticing that the amounts started increasing from 2009, which accounted up to 40% of total assets (compared to 2008 was only 25%), the portions are getting close to the main component, trading of financial assets. Throwing back to SGF and debt crisis, increased in loans and decreased in trading risky assets might be considered as a strategy for BIN to diversify its several risks as we mentioned previously but this time default risk would also be raised. However, derivatives trading are still playing an important role over these six years.In addition, available-for-sale financial assets have been significantly increased in 2009, the following year after SGF. It major contents bonds particularly in government bonds. The main reason could be government bonds are the safest investment way, however, default risk may be considered in this case. . 1. 3 Differences in asset, liability structure and risk exposure Comparing the asset and liability structure between LAG and BIN, the significant difference is the main source of the capital raising activities and asset allocations between these two banks are different.LAG is much more relying on customers' deposits, a safer way to raise funds which allows LAG has a reliable capital base and confident level to go through the SGF in 2008 also the European debt crisis in 2010. In contrast, BIN changed its capital raising structure twice from changing the portions between derivatives raidi ng to raise funds on deposits in response to the impacts of SGF and debt crisis. Additionally, the core functions of these two banks are different.LAG is focusing on customers' deposits and making loans to them. However, BIN is much more concentrating on derivatives trading in both asset and liability parts (even though it shifted the main component of capital raising activity from financial liabilities to deposits between 2009 and 2010 but derivatives transactions still played an important role during those two years. ) Overall, BIN is much more sensitive to the economy and surely it carries more risks than LAG. . 1. Impacts of SGF and Debt Crisis on Asset and Liability Structure Lloyd Banking Group (LAG) For the asset structure, due to the financial hardships that many households and businesses are experiencing, as a result of the recent economic decline in the UK. LAG committed to help customers in these challenging times, which reflective of our relationship-based approach. In R etail segment, we maintained strong level of mortgage lending to new lending, and helped thousands of customers to buy new homes. As shown in the diagram above, we can see that the total asset has increased room IEEE,mom to El ,027,mom in two years' time.An increasing of 57. 55% reflects that with a 61. 25% increase in loans and advances to customers. There are strong levels of customer lending growth in commercial banks, corporate markets and mortgages. For the Liability side, the percentage of total liability has greater changed in 2009, which given that increased up to 56. 64%. After the SGF, the total liabilities still stand at a higher level in the following years as long as the European debt crisis occurred in 2010. Deposit, debt securities in issue and the liabilities of insurance are he three main components be affected.As LAG is the largest bank in I-J, it provides more confident for their customers. Even The bank experienced SGF and European debt crisis, deposit still brin g positive effect for the group. Compare 2008 to sass's deposits can be found that, there is 51. 46% shapely increasing during 2008-2009, due to more customers lose confident for others investment companies, also getting less people put the money for investment during such weaken economic period. That is the reason explains that why does deposit continuously grow during this period as en of the good reputation banks in British.Table 5 Besides, according to the table shown above, the issue of debt securities have greater increased due to the medium term notes issues changed, which implies that even LAG has sufficient fund to overcome the challenge during SGF, but they still restrained funds through issuing medium term notes in order to provide more fund to help their customers, Furthermore, the higher unemployment rate in UK due to SGF and European debt crisis, more people were getting to claim their insurance compensations, therefore the liability of insurance policy had also been a ffected.According to the balance sheet has shown, the liability of insurance policy has 60. 8% increased from 2008 to 2009. Also from 2009 to 2012, the liability of insurance still maintain in higher level. Overall, as LAG is reliable and stable bank in I-J, the main structure of asset and liability did not changed by the Crisis. BIN Paris (BIN) In regards of Buns capital raising structure had been changed twice during 2007 to 2012. The first change was in the year after 2008 SGF, the bank shifted its major capital raising activity from trading on derivatives (financial liabilities at fair value wrought profit or loss) to deposits.Considering the increased in trading financial instruments, which was the core activity to raise both total liabilities and total assets to history high respectively Ð ²?2,016,mom and Ð ²?2,075,mom in 2008. It leaded the bank with higher risk exposures as well as the leverage level had been increased due to derivatives trading is sensitive to the market and risky. Therefore the bank changed the major component of liability structure to deposits in 2009 in order to reduce risking tried to keep the bank in a safer base during the worse recession time.At the meantime, the bank increased issue in debt securities that attempted to raise more efficient funds in case of relying on deposits was not enough. In 2011 after the European debt crisis, the bank changed its core capital raising activity back to trading on financial instruments again. As an investment bank is a function of BIN Paris, the second changed of its capital structure indicated that the bank already passed the hard time and everything went back on the right track. The major component of the asset structure was financial assets at fair value through profit or loss from 2007 to 2012.In 2009 it had been decreased from 60% to 40%,but the bank increased the portions loaned to Global Financial Crisis,and this class of asset kept stable in the next following 3 years. However, tra ding on derivatives is still playing an important role overall. In addition, according to the increase in issue of debt securities especially in bonds had been increased in its liability structure, therefore, the available-for-sale financial assets had a greater Jumped up during the same year and gradually went down later on. Overall, the impacts of SGF on BIN were far worse than the European debt crisis. 2 PERFORMANCE Analysts 1. 2. 1 Return on Equity (ROE) Definition: See footnoted Figure 6 According to the chart, the ROE of LAG deceased seriously from 2007. In 2010 to 2012, it appeared a little recovering signal but still showing a declining pattern over these six years. During 2007 to 2008 both of the net income and total equity were decreased slightly, therefore, ROE decreased. However, even though the net income only had a little increased in 2009, but due to the total equity greatly Jumped up, the ROE decreased further. After 2010, ROE already deceased to history low given at 5. 4%, because of the negative net income as well as the total equity still stayed at higher level. The falling net income was primary to fewer increased in total operating income but greater increased in the impairment cost. The main reason could be the bank need to increase impairment cost to recover credit risk during SGF and European debt crisis. On the other hand, the size of total equity getting larger, this fact implied that, LAG was seeking more capital fund its financial activities in order to go through the poor economic period.Therefore, the ratio shown the bank experienced unfavorable profitability during those two recession periods Regarding to BIN Paris, the Return on Equity ratio dramatically decreased from 19. 6% to 6. 6% in 2008. It gradually recovered back in the next following years after SGF but it slightly dropped gain after the 2010 European debt crisis. Due to the banks main source of finance is making money via trading derivatives, this pattern of changing e xactly responds to the market conditions due to financial and debt crisis, also explains that the bank is very sensitive to the market.However, compare to the regenerates drop off in SGF, the impact of debt crisis was not significant through looking at the chart. Compare these two patterns of ROE; LAG is showing a declining figure which indicates that the bank had a deeper impact by the financial and the debt crisis. On the other hand, the effect on BIN was significant only shown at the SGF period, therefore, BIN seems to has a better performance overall. 1. 2. RETURN ON ASSET (ROAR) Definition: see footnoted Figure 7 In term of Lab's performance can be shown that, the greater decline in ROAR consists in declining of net income and total assets. The central bank cut the interest rate again and again in this recession period that encouraged more people to borrow money from bank to fund their mortgages or businesses. According to the balance sheet, the total assets sharply increased f rom IEEE,mom to El ,027,mom in 2008 to 2009, and then kept staying at a higher level in the following years.However, as we have analyses in the ROE part, net income decreased dramatically to negative percentages, due to total operating income did not change as lower interest rate, but the impairment cost has greater increasing in order to recover the credit risk. As a result, the net income becomes negative. Similarly, ROAR was deceasing dramatically during 2009-2011. According to the ROAR ratios of BIN, it has shown a similar pattern of trend as ROE. The ROAR sharply dropped 0. 32% in 2008 and recovered back in the next two years but slightly went down after the debt crisis.Considering that the net income of BIN in 2008 was incredibly dropped down over 60% from Ð ²?8,311 millions to Ð ²?3,millions. No matter how the total assets had a greater increased in the same year, the fluctuation of net income was the most important reason determinate the hanged in ROAR. Again, due to the b ank is sensitive to the change of market parameters, we can clearly see that the worse market condition due to SGF brought a negative impact to the bank and it was far more worse than the time during the European debt crisis.In conclusion, both of two banks were decreasing in ROAR during the weak economic period in 2008. The main reason was both of them had greater increased in total asset but the net income stayed at a relatively lower level. In the following years, BIN started to recover back and maintained in a stable level, UT LAG was continuously decreasing to negative due to total asset was maintain in higher level in debt crisis period. 1. 2. PROFIT MARGIN (PM) Definition: see footnoted Figure 8 According to the graph above, LAG had strong profitability in 2007 but it declined to 22. 43% due to SGF then slightly recovered in 2009. However, as the European debt crisis developed in late 2009, the PM continuing dropped out to the lowest, shown at -59. 62% in 2011. The reason is during this weaken economic period, interest and similar income decreasing as lower interest rate, and impairment increasing. This unfavorable decreasing during debt crisis period implies that LAG undertake loss.While the PM drives the ROAR to decline in this period. The European debt crisis shrink the bank much more than during the SGF. Comparing to LAG, BIN Paris keeps its ability steady to pay expenses and generates stable net income from 2007 – 2012. According to the main capital raising activity of BIN is trading on derivatives and other financial instruments, even though the amounts of financial liabilities and assets at fair value through profit or loss were Jumped up during the year of SGF 2008.However, the net income and total operating income were historically low through 2007 to 2012, the main reason was due to both the net gains on trading financial instruments and on available-for-sale financial assets had been dramatically decreased, respectively from Ð ²?7,mom to Ð ²?2,mom and Ð ²?2,mom to Ð ²?mom, which means, even though the trading went up, but net gains were limited by the worst market condition during Global Financial Crisis. Overall, BIN is good at controlling on its expenses and net income generation compare to the performance of LAG. . 2. 4 ASSET UTILIZATION (AU) Definition: see footnoted Figure 9 The AU ratio of LAG fluctuated seriously from 2007 to 2012. Due to given the negative impact of SGF, the AU dropped continuously to 0. 71% in 2009. As we mentioned previously, the central bank cut the interest rate to encourage people to take loan from the bank. Therefore, the total asset stayed at a higher level from 2009 to 2012. However, according to low interest rate and also some of customers were default to pay back, the total operating income did not change much.From 2009 to 2010, AU starts to recover to higher level. Unfortunately, the AU decreased sharply again from . 17% to 0. 47% due to the European debt crisis. The AU sti ll maintained at lower level during 2010 to 2012, because the pound was depreciated in this weak economic period, LAG faced loss in their oversea investment property and securities, consequently, the total operating income decreased to about E,mom during the debt crisis. LAG provided a declining pattern over 2007 to 2012, but again, the impact of debt crisis to the bank was greater than the impact of SGF.In term of Buns AU, it had been dropped down to 0. 46% in regards to the history low total operating income, given only Ð ²?3,mom in 2008. It recovered quickly afterwards and went back to 0. 63% in 2010. The AU ratio fluctuated by the European debt crisis again in later 2011 and 2012, however, as we mentioned above in the PM part, the Global Financial Crisis affected the bank much more than the effect on debt crisis. Comparing LAG and Buns All's, both of them had greater effects by SGF but the impact of debt crisis was not significant on BIN. . 2. 5 EQUITY MULTIPLIER (ME) Definitio n: see footnoted Figure 10 In term of Lag's ME, The figure increased nearly half of ME from 28. 4 to 44. 96 in 2008. The higher ME indicated that LAG used more debt to finance its assets which in turn increased the leverage level and risk exposure during SGF 2008. In order to reduce its leverage level, ME quickly dropped down to 23. 29 in 2009 even lower than in 2007 and gradually went down in the following years, noticed that the ME only shown at 20. 69 in 2012.As LAG is one of the reliable and stable banks in British, even though they experienced SGF and European debt crisis, they are able to recover quickly. Regarding to the ME of BIN, it had been increased to 35. In 2008 but had a greater decreased of 10 in the following year and still gradually went down in continuous years. Considering BIN changed its liability structure twice respectively in 2009 and 2011, in which shifted the major capital raising activity between derivatives trading and deposits.BIN attempted the first chan ge in order to minimize the risks and reduce the leverage level due to the high ME in the previous year. In 2011, after the European debt crisis, the bank again changed its major capital raising activity back to trading on financial instruments instead of relying on posits. This change had been reduced its ME ratio continuously which given that only around 20 in 2012 (the lowest from 2007 to 2012) It explains that BIN is good at controlling its leverage level and managing risks very well via adjusting the Banks structure. In conclusion, LAG and BIN have similar performance from 2007 to 2012.The ME of these two banks both had a greater Jump up in 2008 and respectively increased their risk exposures and the leverage ratios. However, the EMUS dropped quickly in later years due to both banks managed the risk via reduce their debt to enhance its assets or maintaining capital structure in order to reduce risks and leverage level. 1. 2. 6 Market Indicators Share Prices LAG Regarding LAG, t he share price stays at EYE per share in 2007 to late 2008. However, due to the SGF happen at the end of 2008, the share price decreasing dramatically to around E per shares.Furthermore, the European debt crisis also happen flow the SGF, the share price decreasing further around E per share. Base on the data shows that, over these six years, the share price of LAG is decreasing around 89. 1 BIN The highest share price of BIN Paris was up to Ð ²?94. 7 per share during mid-2007, it collapsed in later 2008 and down to history low Ð ²?21. 39 per share in early 2009. However, the share price went back on track quickly in the same year, given that volatile at the range around Ð ²?50 per share until mid-2011.According to the share price pattern of BIN, the impact of SGF on the share price was dramatically huge, but the bank effectively reacted on the massive change of market, it adjusted its capital structure in 2009, such as reduced the risk exposure via decreasing the risky derivative s trading and relying more on deposits, meanwhile increased the issue of bet securities particularly in bonds, which indicated to generate more efficient cash flows in case of the deposits was not enough to rely on. Project 2 2. 2 Market Risk 2. . 1 Introduction of market risk Market risk is defined as a risk for those investors to experience economic losses of value from the affected market performances, whether it's treatable or not. It is the risk that cannot be diversified. Some of risk factors could be observed, such as interest rates, exchange rates; there are also some factors may not be observed such as correlations which are based on statistical analysis. It includes interest rate risks, currency risks, and equity risks, see footnotes.

Luxury Brand Economy Effect Essay

Monaco is a small country, but well known all over the world. All over the world it is known as a place of luxury. Every year a lot of tourists visit Monaco to have a good vacation visiting casinos, luxury restaurants and off course to do a shopping in a most known, luxury brands. In Monaco you can find a lot of different luxury boutiques for every taste; you can find everything from luxury cars to a luxury clothes and accessories. During the course of Luxury audit services we study a lot about the services in luxury stores. So our goal was to divide into groups and to do an audit of few stores. Our group was a big enough for such a mission, so we were thinking how to do it in a better way. And once we got a good idea. According to the information we received during the seminar with Guillaume Rose, in Monaco there are a lot of Russian millionaires, and they are always â€Å"invited guests† in different places. So we decided to split our group on two smaller groups and to compare the experience received in Gucci store and in Celine which are situated in the heart of Monaco, near the Casino and Hotel de Paris. I will share with you the Russian experience. I asked my friend, she is from Russia, for some help in this mission. Our story was that we family couple came from Russia for my friend’s wedding and as we already bought a new skirt for my wife we need to buy a new bag, which must be one of the last collections. And the second part of our group was native French with two different scenarios in two stores. As we will see next we received a little bit different experiences. Gucci store audit Firstly we decided to audit one of the most famous brands in the world, Gucci. At 12. 00 we entered the store. Before entering the store, we noticed that the showcase was clean, with good lighting, but there were no goods exposed. Entering the store, I noticed that the main glass door was all in hand prints and it was just 12. 00. Going to the store and pretending a married couple, we were arguing about the fact that my wife has already a bunch of bags and for what reason she is looking for one new. Staff in the store noticed us at once and ran to the side waving their heads as a greeting. Only the guard who was near the enter greeted us in a very polite form. We were walking through the shop for 3 minutes and a half and it gives us a good opportunity to study the store. We noticed that the reception area was clean as it is required, but there were not enough light, it gives to the store a much groomed look. And also no music and even no fresh flowers in the store. After 3 minutes and a half we meat a sales person who greeted us and introduced himself as a David. He asked us a few open questions in order to know what we are looking for. After he listened our story he was interesting in our previous experience with Gucci brand. We pretend that we don’t know anything about Gucci. He told us some information about the brand about its uniqueness and heritage. After that David proposed a few bags, he explained the value of that model and brought all the colors for that model. Also he guaranteed that the model will be in a trend for the next few years. What was not really very good it’s a careless handling of the bag and he put them on one big heap. And what impressed me very much is that he even don’t show the inner part of the bag, on my opinion it is very important to know how it is inside the bah which you are going to buy for a big amount of money. As I was pretending a husband who is not really happy to buy a new bag, I asked about the discount, and I get an answer in very polite form that there is no discount at all in Gucci store in Monaco. My pretending wife was asking me to buy the bag she liked and I was strong on my opinion. So a after that dialogue with my wife he proposed to book the bag till the evening for the case if I will change my mind. This was very polite from his side. But he doesn’t accompany us to the door and didn’t offer to giva us a business card and to right down us into the customers database. Totally we spend in the store 26 minutes. So in conclusion I can say that the experience I have received together with my pretending wife was far different from the French experience of my group mates. Celine store audit. The second we decided to audit was the Celine also situated in the heart of Monaco. Our story was the same, we were looking for a bag which will be good to my â€Å"wife’s† new skirt which we have bought for a wedding we are invited here in Monaco. The showcase was very clean with good exposition of some goods. When we entered the store we noticed staff talking together near the cash machine, although all of them greeted us in their store. The area of the class was very clean , there were enough light, giving a good look to the goods represented in the store. After a minute and 20-30 seconds of waiting we meat a vendor, she was Russian so we were able to speak on our native language. It impressed me very much, so I was ready to buy everything in that store. She was asking a lot of open questions, to get more information about our needs and it was great, because after that she proposed a few models which were facing all our needs. She was very listening, so it helps her to understand our needs. She explained everything about the product, how to clean it and how to use it to leave it in a new condition. Of course she valued the model and showed a few others and different colors. She knows the material and the price for that bag without looking anywhere. But what upset me she didn’t spoke about the brand, because we don’t know anything about that brand, except that it is a luxury and expensive brand. As the bag we liked the most she proposed to book it till the next day midday, so that we can think about purchasing it. She remains courtesy even in the case of not buying that bag. She put our names in database and proposed her help for any other matters. She accompanies us to the door and wish a good day for us. We spend in that store 23 minutes and the felling was like we spend there almost an hour, the experience we received in the Celine store was great dispute of some moments. Conclusion As our group was divided for two smaller groups in order to compare different experiences. As Russian group visiting the Gucci store we received almost a great experience. Points to improve, I would recommend to put some products on a showcases, it is needed to clean the entry glass door and if there is such a need to clean it every hour. They need to put more lights in the store, because it was too dark. Some fresh flowers will do only a good role and some soft music will be very great. And of course some training course for the staff. Celine experience was really great and there is nothing to speak about. I wish them to continue in that way. The experience we received during these audits was one of the greatest. We were participating in the process not just as a customer’s but almost as professionals who can notice almost everything in the store. Thanks to Ozzy Monaco for a great course.

The Netflix Financial Statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Netflix Financial Statement - Essay Example Netflix needs to develop some new business strategies in order to survive in this rapidly changing movie industry. The firm can emerge as a reputable provider of DVDs by maintaining its brand identity and differentiating itself from its competitors present in the market. Meanwhile, the streaming service of Netflix can be considered as a complementary service to the firm’s DVDs rental business in the coming years. Although the movie watching market or the video market is mature the streaming market has not yet fully emerged. This means that Netflix cannot just rely on its strategies of the past but must try developing a hybrid strategy that will help in addressing the future market demands and customer’s expectations. An emerging market offers new companies an easy entry pass. Therefore Netflix must make sure that all of its strategies should be focused on the new and emerging market practices. The differentiation strategy is where the company concentrates all of its efforts in developing a single product and then incorporating unique and different attributes for meeting the needs and addressing the demands of its customers. When a firm adds value and uniqueness to their products for attracting customer, it is likely that the customer will be willing to pay the much higher price for such products and services. Same is the case with Netflix. The firm entered the online business and targeted the online renting of DVDs. This strategy can be achieved by Netflix by using the recently developed or the upcoming marketing technologies which have not been yet incorporated by other companies in their business. Netflix introduced an integrated search engine in its newly launched website enabling the customers to search and access the products of their choice. The management of Netflix must reflect ingenuity and talent while marketing their products by employing the already establishe d and available supply chain technology and infrastructure.

Henry V Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Henry V - Essay Example l as an understanding not only of the history of Henry V and how Englishmen generally felt about him but also of the period during which Shakespeare wrote this play reveals that he was entirely sincere in his attempts to honor the man who figures so prominently in the title and the play. The play chronicles the short reign of King Henry V, particularly as it pertains to his campaign in France and victory in Agincourt. This campaign is introduced as a means of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Ely to distract their young king from passing a new bill that would strip the church, and therefore themselves, of a great deal of the riches and lands they’ve been given by noblemen with no sons left to inherit. Henry himself is presented as having completely reformed himself from earlier plays when he used to hang out in low-class bars and is now presented as a towering Christian hero prince. â€Å"Hear him but reason in divinity, / And, all-admiring, with an inward wish, / You would desire the king were made a prelate; / Hear him debate of commonwealth affairs, / You would say it hath been all in his study; / List his discourse of war, and you shall hear / A fearful battle rend’red you in music† (38-44). The bulk of the play takes place as t he King marches his way through France and wins Agincourt as well as his future bride, Catherine of France. One of the claims that Shakespeare was making a parody of King Henry has been based on such speeches as can be found in Act 4, Scene 7 when Fluellen attempts to make a comparison between the King and Alexander the Great, based primarily upon the facts that they were both born in towns that start with the letter M and are both towns that have a river going through it. However, the care that Shakespeare took in writing the play illustrates the importance of the topic to him. â€Å"[Shakespeare] took its serious portions seriously and went beyond the existing theatrical versions of Henry’s career for his

Movie Theater General Manager Assessment Assignment

Movie Theater General Manager Assessment - Assignment Example Staffing and customer service are key components that the movie general manager will be required to undertake as appropriate. Accountability is key in ensuring that the manager delivers on the job. The position of a theatre manager is critical to the success of the organization to the extent that if the individual employed for the job is not up to the task then the objectives and goals cannot be met as appropriate. To this end, a careful assessment of the various tasks is scrutinized and matched with the relevant qualifications. While recruiting, it is important that the individual understands the tasks and the relevant procedures and processes needed to ensure success. The theatre manager will require attending a training session that will last for a period of 31 days. At the end of the training session, the management will conduct a training assessment test to determine the effectiveness of the process. Compensation will be determined based on the level of competence and the inherent job factors directly related to the job offered. Performance assessment is the testing mode that is to be employed in determining if the individual recruited can perform the tasks as appropriate. The tests will be conducted by the directors and members of the executive. Key areas of testing will include skills, knowledge and level of commitment to the job offered. Some of the questions to be asked include The questions will determine if the individuals recruited are the right ones for the job. The test questions will be analyzed and evaluated by the executives and the concerned people recruiting for the job. The selection process will begin immediately after the applications. The idea is to expedite the process by looking at every application and determining if they correspond with the needed requirements. The selection process being done immediately after application will give the organization time to

No topic Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

No topic - Case Study Example Thus, its main aim was to observe the financial and accounting standards in government owned companies, through this the liability of manager to subordinates will be increased. Therefore, the rampant crisis of trust in American capitalism that was aroused from scandals in WorldCom, Enron and other companies will calm down (SOX, 2002). However, Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) has also created major negative effects in the United States corporate. First of all, majority of companies have decided to stay held privately since being public makes them to accountable to the SOX act. Additionally, other public companies that had their names in the stock list have removed themselves. Therefore economists say that this is a big concern since it could lower the economist’s entrepreneur spirit (Zhang, 2007). Secondly, senior managers nowadays instead of putting more attention on strategizing the growth of their firms, they have been seen to be more concerned on the ethical statuses of their organizations. Furthermore, they are hesitative to make brave business decisions and have become hesitant in their plans to expand. Thus, the SOX has become somehow too much of a regulation for the corporate America (Rao,

Ethical Dilema Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethical Dilema - Assignment Example In the case that the child does not agree on the verdict being declared by the court, then it is the responsibility of the court to reassess their verdict and reevaluate the certain dilemma for a possible solution to the problem. In a rule-based approach, the court needs to reassess the laws in relation to the current case. According to the Kermani and Weis (1995), biological parents are entitled the power and warrant to raise their own kids; thus, considering one of the government principle which is â€Å"the right of the parents† (p. 261). Nevertheless, some parents are guilty of parental negligence towards their children, and then government agencies have the power to overrule such rights, through court, and take their children away from their custody. However, parents can regain their rights when proven that they have change for the better and best for their children, similar to the case, the biological parent undergo rehabilitation and have the confidence to take back their daughter. Thus, it is every parents right and dream to have an intact and structure family, and it is the responsibility of the government to help them reestablish to what has been broken (Kermani & Weis, 1995; Talbot, 2007). However, in the care-based approach, the court needs to reassess its verdict by considering themselves within the shoes of the child and focusing more to be empathetic rather than being more to the legal based thus considering â€Å"the interest of the child.† In this case, the child has developed an emotional and psychological attachment towards her foster parents and has a hard time detaching from them. It is important for the court to consider the union made between the child and her foster parents rather than breaking the link with each other. Thus, if the court decides to follow the mandated law, then it is also their obligation to help the child adjust with her current situation by not totally breaking the rights of the

Individual Experiencing Health & Social Care Essay - 1

Individual Experiencing Health & Social Care - Essay Example This protected mealtime initiative â€Å"encourages the suspension of all non-urgent clinical activity on wards during mealtimes. During this time patients can eat their meals without interruptions and nursing staff are available to offer help to those who need it. In the Chief Medical Officer’s Annual Report, it was recognized that the initiative had been successful and should be introduced in all hospitals.† (Nutritional Care Group Report 2008) This policy can only be effective, though, if the patients are able to eat most, if not all of the food that is meant for them. A good diet will go a long way in improving a patients chance to recover fully, and overcome malnutrition and the risk of inspection. Protecting mealtimes helps in tackling poor nutrition and can also reduce the long term costs of healthcare. Also, some Patients might have special dentition needs and may have difficulties eating hard food may need softer meals. Protected, regular meals taken in a calm, unhurried and social atmosphere will promote the eating of such soft meals. Thus, there can be marked improvement in the nutritional intake of these patients, especially those who can be moved from their bedrooms to a suitable dining area during the protected mealtimes. Protecting mealtimes also creates a social atmosphere of communal dining, which can support increased food consumption on the part of the patients due to encouragement and the interaction of the staff and patients. Communal Dining environments are often more â€Å"home-like† or usual experiences for patients than eating off an over bed tray, either in or beside a bed, which in turn supports optimal intake. According to Simon Williams, â€Å"Making sure that our patients get the opportunity to eat and enjoy appetizing and nutritious food is one of the most important aspects of nursing care. Research shows that over forty per cent of people who come

The most Dangerous Game The hunter becomes the Hunted Research Paper

The most Dangerous Game The hunter becomes the Hunted - Research Paper Example For instance, the story revolves under learning and experience. Moreover, it talks of the how the hunter ends up hunted. The story elaborates how moralities are tested and how an individual eventually learns the hard way. Richard Connell uses irony in the short story to portray his message of learning and experience. The main irony portrayed in the story is the fact that Rainsford who is the hunter, becomes hunted. Rainsford believes in the world of hunting where he regards hunting as the best sport that ever existed in the world (Connell Richard, 8). In the beginning of the story, Rainsford views the world as a place with only two classes that include the hunters and the hunted. As a hunter he travels with his colleges on sport hunting where on their way, they are met by misfortune and fall off their yacht and Rainsford swims to an assumed safety on Ship-Trap Island (Connell Richard, Connell Richard, 11). Indeed it is depicted as trap Island since whoever finds himself/herself in the Island, never comes out of the Island alive. At the Island, he meets General Zaroff who turns merciful and treats him with the utmost respect (Connell Richard, 16). Zaroff later discloses his personality to Rainsford. It is ironical for Rainsford who is the hunter eventually becomes the next target to be hunted. As a hunter, Rainsford treats his prey with no mercy yet as the prey, he is treated with the utmost respect. It is ironical for Rainsford to fall in the trap and become the prey yet he believes himself as the hunter. The second irony portrayed in the short story is the Rainsford’s view of how the prey feels when being hunted. According to Rainsford, the prey understands not even a little bit, of what is happening. Therefore, it is of no importance to care about the feelings of the prey. His friend Whitney tells him that the prey is ever subjected to fear as it meets its death. Ironically, Rainsford only laughs at the comment but

Please read the material and create it Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of Pericles Speech - Essay Example He holds the idea that for the country to achieve democracy, the orators are obliged with the work of pushing for democracy in loyalty to those who died fighting for it. Another element of Pericles speech is the omission of the mention of the great martial achievements of the Athens past. While he feels that the praise of the martial war is an important aspect of the war, he feels that this is covered sufficiently and opts to talk about the road that they have used to reach the current position. Pericles states that â€Å"that part of our history that tells of the military achievements which gave us our several possessions†¦area theme too familiar†¦. and I shall, therefore, pass it by† (Pericles 4). A good part of his speech focuses on the path that the country has used to reach its freedom. The idea of Pericles is that the pursuit of democracy is a journey that the people should understand to be able to know where to start. Therefore, the speech appreciates the achievements of those who died in the war and informs the public on the need to join in the journey. The third element of the speech of Pericles is the praise of the greatness of the Athens. In his speech, Pericles focused on the key features of democracy in Athens and the way these have given the country its greatness. He states, â€Å"†¦advancement in public life falls to reputations for capacity, class considerations not being allowed to interfere with merit†¦at Athens, we live exactly as we please†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Pericles 5). The idea of Athens is that the maintenance of openness and liberty pave way for greatness, but do not inhibit development. Pointing out to the values of democracy, Pericles gives out the message that the people must uphold these values if the country has to maintain liberalism, which is crucial for modern democracy. Lincolns and Pericles speech are similar in their reference to the idea of democracy in the country.  Ã‚  

Lee Valley Segmentation Essay Example for Free

Lee Valley Segmentation Essay Background Lee Valley——a family-owned business which has been providing customers of woodworking and gardening tools since 1978.Their reputation is based on three principles: 1. Customer satisfaction: Any product may be returned within 3 months and no cost to the customer (for shipments within North America, they will refund your return parcel post costs). 2. Integrity: Product descriptions are matched with the product——even if the product is roughly made, they will give you accurate descriptions. 3. Treat the customer like a friend. â€Å"About one third of their total sales volume is in products of their own design. The vast majority of these are Veritas ® brand products made by Veritas Tools Inc., their manufacturing arm. They have a research and development team of 11 people and 130 more in manufacturing. And, to reinforce the part about listening to customers, they have a number of customers earning royalties on products that they manufacture based on designs received from them† (Lee Valley). Objective Both woodworking and gardening must have a 2.5% increase in total sales in the next fiscal year. To achieve this goal, management has allocated a budget of $500,000—exclusive of the cost of printing and mailing the catalogues. This budget is intended to fund the prospecting activities of both product lines. Current Situation Analysis Since Lee Valley launched its e-Commerce site in 2000, internet sales have been an increasing percentage of total sales. When launched, the sitegenerated about 20% of total sales, with phone sales being 70% and sales from mail at 10%.By 2010, Internet sales have reached 70% of total sales, which phone sales at 25% and mail at 5%. [pic]Fig. 1. Percentage of total orders generated by e-commerce from Lee Valley Tools Ltd. [pic] Fig. 2. Percentage of total orders generated by e-commerce from Lee Valley Tools Ltd. According to the pie charts illustrate above, Internet sales have already dominated the total sales of Lee Valley since its e-Commerce site launched in 2000.About 70% of the total customers obtain their products online in 2010 which means that new market segmentation and promotion which focus on online shopping must be generated to accommodate the needs of existing customers as well as new customers. Customer Segmentation——who the firm will serve Geographic Variables In views of the database surveyed by Euromonitor International in 2012, Home and Garden reveals emerging markets and are growing in popularity, developed countries remain, by far, the highest spenders on gardening products. Higher levels of urbanization and incomes, combined with greater access to a wider range of goods and services in cities, are key factors underpinning demand. -All countries with per household expenditure higher than US$1,000 have more than three quarters of their population. -Economic growth and urbanization are the main forces behind the growth in home and garden in developing countries. Demographic Variables According to the Gardening Market Research, the most popular lawn and garden activities included lawn care (48% of households), growing indoor houseplants (31% of households), flower gardening (30% of households), and landscaping (27% of households). The customer profile indicated from Lee Valley shows that the average gardening buyer characteristics are as follows: -Age: average 47 -Gender: 65% female -Income: average household income $72,017 -Education: 60% have a college education -68% are married -82% are homeowners Psychographic Variables In general, gardening enthusiasts also have their distinguishing lifestyles and personality traits, such as: -Environmental friendly -Family-oriented -Seeking freedom and relaxation -Living a simple and peaceful life -Retired, enjoy DIY and private time -Focus on landscaping Behavioral Variables 1. User status Regular users are those who have their regular schedule for purchase in gardening, most of whom have their own projects. Potential users are people who are intending to access to the market but still with different reasons of hesitation or lacking of stimulation. Ex-users are those who used to purchase gardening tools in the past or 2. Intensity of use In the â€Å"Pareto’s Law†, 20% of the customers are heavy users but the remaining 80% are only light users. That indicates companies should emphasis on the most valuable group of customers who are come from the 20%.It dosen’t mean the rest parts are non-essential. Frenquency of order in terms of the climate where the customers live as well as the purpose of purchase. 3. Innovativeness Since 2000, there has been a double-digit growth in the e-commerce sector; statistics have shown that more than 80% of regular online shoppers have used Internet to purchase products or services, while 50% of the online population recorded to have shopped online more than once. According to statistics from Invesp Blog, shoppers by age group is as follows: 18-30 years (54%), 31-44 years (68%), 45-54 years (64%), 55-65 years (68%), 66 years and up (48%). Teens and the young generation find entertainment and social networks online, whereas older generations use the internet as a tool for research, shopping and banking. According to statistics researched in 2009, Generation X (internet users ages 33-44) continues to lead in online shopping. Fully 80% of Generation X internet users buy products online, compared to teenage online users between ages of 18-32, the next runner-up, which constitute 71% of online shopping total. However, there is a decline of internet shopping between the ages 64-72, accounting to 56%, and 47% of online users between the age 73 and older. Global E-commerce sales are growing by more than 19% a year and will be of almost $1.4 trillion by 2015. Lee Valley has a large numbers of customers (70%) ordering online, which illustrates that customers with these certain characteristics are the key part of gardening market. Most people between 35 and 55 years have their own house and garden, 68% of them are married and they are more willing to live a high quality of life with their families. They prefer to online shopping because it is more convenient and can save most of their time as well as money. As far as I am concerned, I suggest Lee Valley to build up collaborative relationships with multinational internet corporations like eBay to extend their market size. At the same time, cut the budget on printing the catalogues and put it to social media so as to attract more new customers. Meanwhile, loyalty program to exiting customers is also indispensable. For instance, gathering different suggestions from loyalty customers and meet their special demands will not only increase the order frequency but also improve the customer satisfaction. Works Cited Datagraphics, Home and Garden. â€Å"Urban Countries Spend the Most in Home and Garden.† Euromonitor International. N.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2012. Khalid. â€Å"How Big is E-commerce Industry.† invesp Blog. Web. 21 Sept. 2012. Lee Valley. â€Å"About Us.† Lee Valley Veritas. N.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2012. National Gardening Association. â€Å"Garden Market Research.† National Gardening Association. N.d. Web. 21 Sept. 2012. Pew Research Center. â€Å"Generations Online in 2009.† PewResearchCenter Publications. Pew Research Center, 2009. Web. 21 Sept. 2012.

United States Cuba Relations And The Economies Politics Essay

United States Cuba Relations And The Economies Politics Essay Economic sanctions can be and are a valuable tool for enforcing international norms and protecting our national interests. The U.S. Policy of applying economic pressure in Cuba originated soon after Fidel Castro came into power in 1959. The United States first imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba on February 3, 1962, after the Kennedy Administration became convinced that Castro was moving rapidly toward the establishment of a totalitarian regime in alliance with the Soviet Union. Castro had not only confiscated U.S. and other Cuban and foreign-owned properties on the island, but had been providing indiscriminate support for violent revolution throughout the Americas as part of his efforts to carry on the continental struggle against the Yankees, which he considers to be his true destiny. The embargo was formally begun by President, John F. Kennedy, and has been supported by all successive Presidents. The U.S. embargo has had a major impact on the Cuban economy involving trade, wages, and jobs; and in addition, it has affected many United States businesses both directly and indirectly. The Helms-Burton Act is one of the major bills regarding trade with Cuba, and it has encountered much opposition and controversy both in the United States and abroad. Only recently was the news media ban in Cuba lifted allowing American journalists to get news from within Cuba. Health care in Cuba is also a major concern and is strongly affected by the Cuban Embargo. Our policy on Cuba is illustrative of one of the principal goals of economic sanctions-to encourage our friends and allies to adopt policies that can advance our common interests. Our allies and trading partners disagree with our embargo and have urged us to alter the provisions of the Libertad Act, also known as the Helms-Burton Act named after its principal sponsors. Cubas economy is in complete disarray as a direct result of Castros insistence on adhering to a discredited economic model-that of communism. The impact of the U.S. embargo was offset during the Cold War years by five to six billion dollars in subsidies a year from Russia. The economic problems in Cuba were exacerbated by the demise of the Soviet Union. The U.S.S.R. annually gave nearly five billion dollars in subsidies to the Castro government. However, the communist regime dedicated a bulk of these funds to maintaining an over-sized military machine and to a massive internal security apparatus. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Cuba suffered a 35% decline in its gross domestic product between 1989 and 1993 (see chart), revealing an inherently dysfunctional economy. Food shortages and failure to provide basic public services incited disturbances that began to threaten the regime. In order for the communist government to survive, they had to undertake certain limited economic reforms because of these problems coupled with the continuing embargo. In the mid-1990s, the Cuban government began to allow private citizens to offer certain services under strict government scrutiny. Then in 1997, they introduced heavy taxes that forced many of these people out of business. In this sector, employment peaked at 206,000 in 1996, and then fell to 170,000 in 1997. The Cuban government has actively encouraged foreign investment, but forbids private investment by Cuban citizens, leaving it hostile to private enterprise. Not until 1993, did the Cuban government make it legal for Cubans to possess U.S. dollars. Since then, it has become the major currency. Failure by the communists to launch major economic reforms has fostered the development of a large black market and vividly growing corruption. Those with access to dollars can purchase imported goods at government-run dollar stores. To earn dollar tips, many skilled persons, such as doctors, teachers, engineers, and scientists are working in more remedial jobs in restaurants or as taxi drivers. Nevertheless, the Cuban government has not employed any credible effort to adopt market-based policies and continues to keep tight control over the highly centralized economy. Over 80% of the work force are employed by the state. To encourage a democratic transition in Cuba, Congress passed the Cuban Democracy Act (CDA) in 1992, which tightened the embargo by prohibiting American owned or controlled subsidiaries located abroad from doing business with Cuba. The sanctions will also have an unanticipated indirect effect on the American economy too. In addition to the immediate impact of sanctions on trade with the target, Cuba, many American businesses will suffer. American businessmen claim that the effects of even limited unilateral trade sanctions will go well beyond the targeted sectors. They also argue that the effects of such action will tend to linger long after the embargo is lifted because U.S. forms will come to be regarded as unreliable suppliers. Exports lost today may mean lower exports after the sanctions are lifted because U.S. firms will not be able to supply complementary parts, replacement parts, or related technologies. These indirect effects may extend beyond the sanctioned products and even beyond the time period in which the sanctions are imposed. Jobs in the export sector of the economy tend to pay better than the average wages. Thus even in the full employment economy that the U.S. is enjoying now, the loss of exports still means a loss in wages-the export wage sector premium. The export sector wage premium is about 12 to 15 percent, taking into account both direct and indirect employment. In 1995, the average salary in the manufacturing sector was about $34,020, so the premium paid by the export sector was about $4080 per worker (12% of $34,020). What these figures mean is that, as a consequence of U.S. sanctions, workers probably lost between $800 million and $1 billion in export sector wage premiums in 1995. In some periods in the last two decades, when the U.S. economy was not flourishing with full employment, and when jobs were not readily available, the loss of these exports may have added to the unemployment rolls. But even if the loss of exports had a zero effect on unemployment, it certainly reduced the number of good paying jobs. If the next twenty years see similar applications of sanctions in the United States, the cumulative loss of wage premiums could be around $20 billion (20 years times roughly $1billion a year). This is a heavy cost for us, and does not even take into account less tangible costs like making U.S. companies seem unreliable as suppliers and handing over business to foreign competitors. U.S. businesses are alarmed by the proliferation of trade sanctions by federal, state, and local governments and are pushing for legislation making it harder to use commerce as a weapon in international disputes. USA*Engage and its 632 businesses and organization members argue that unilateral trade sanctions rarely work, and often, they do backfire and have a bad affect ion American interests. Most of the analysis of the effectiveness of economic sanctions suggests they have limited utility for changing the behavior or governments of target countries. Previous research at the Institute for International Economics concluded that US sanctions had positive outcomes in fewer than one in five cases in the 1970s and 1980s. Much less is known about the costs of economic sanctions for the U.S. economy. Foreign investment in Cuba has failed abysmally to meet the regimes own expectations. Many of the countries that had committed investment hardly reached what they had actually promised (see chart below). Originally targeted at $500 million per year when new measures to attract foreign investment were introduced in 1990, the three-year investment total (FY 90-91 to 92-93) barely reached $500 million. For thirty years, the United States had a media ban restricting the media from having outposts in Cuba. American news bureaus were closed down in Cuba in 1969 when Castros government expelled the last members of the Associated Press who had been operating in the country. Almost thirty years later, in February 1997, President Clinton stated that ten news organizations would receive licenses allowing them to resume operations in Cuba. The decision to lift the news media restrictions came at a time when questions concerning relations with Cuba began to cause policy rifts between the United States and our European allies. Despite this minor concession made by the White House concerning the media networks, the policies of the Clinton Administration remained avidly anti-Castro. Clintons main intentions concerning Cuba are to promulgate democratic reforms in the government and bring an end to four decades of communism in Cuba. During Clintons first term in office, he signed into law, a bill that imposed sanctions on any country that chose to do business with the Castro government, the Helms-Burton Act. Our European allies argued that the law was an attempt by the United States to control the foreign policies of other countries. And they vowed to challenge the law before the newly formed World Trade Organization (WTO). After Cuban fighter jets shot down two passenger planes without warning in February 1996, President Clinton showed no hesitation in signing this bill into law. Part of his intentions were to send Cuba a powerful message that the United States will not tolerate further loss of American life, as Clinton stated himself. The bill targets companies doing business in Cuba in an attempt to block crucial international investment sought by the Cuban government. It allows Americans to sue companies that profit from the property the Cuban government has confiscated in the past 35 years, a stipulation many U.S. allies have shown opposition for. One of the major reasons for the imposition of the embargo was the Cuban Governments failure to compensate thousands of U.S. companies and individuals whose properties, large and small, were confiscated after the revolution. They specifically targeted and took property owned by U.S. nationals. Under the Cuba claims programs in the 1960s, the U.S. Foreign Claims Settlement Commission certified 5,911 valid claims by U.S. nationals against the Government of Cuba. The Castro government also took property from thousands of Cubans, some of whom have since become U.S. citizens. Under the law, any person who makes use of property confiscated from Americans by Castros government can be denied entry into the United States. Cuban-American Representative Ileana Ros-Lechtin, R-Florida, said the bill will penalize those who have become Castros new patron saints: the foreign investors who callously traffic in American confiscated property in Cuba to profit from the misery of the Cuban worker. The bill also urges the president to seek an international embargo against Cuba, but currently, no other economic power observes an embargo. Cuba doesnt seem very concerned though. The main victim of this law will be the United States itself, said Paul Taladrid, Cubas deputy minister for foreign investment, because it will have to face the opposition of the r est of the world, or its closest allies. Although many U.S. allies oppose parts of the policy, they have said that they agree with us on the key goal of encouraging democracy and human rights in Cuba. Even when supporting Cubas resolution at the UN General Assembly against the U.S. embargo of Cuba, The European Union made clear its opposition to Cubas human rights policies. The best known and most controversial parts of the Act are Title III and Title IV which created a private cause of action in U.S. Courts and prohibits visas and entry into the United States to those who traffic in confiscated property claimed by a U.S. national. The provisions extend well beyond Americas legal reach. These provisions prompted the European Union to initiate a complaint against the U.S. in the World Trade Organization (WTO). Canada and Mexico called for consultations under the provisions of NAFTA. Many think that the Act is a misguided principle; critics claim that it attempts to undermine the regime of Castro by depriving him of hard currency. This is futile, not only because the U.S. finds itself alone in its policy of isolating Cuba; although sometimes a lonely policy may be the right one. Both Canada, the biggest investor in the island country, and the European Union are still poised to retaliate against the United States. American allies reject the idea of making foreign policy under threat of lawsuit. Although the United States has such a problem with other countries not backing the embargo, an embarrassing example is still extant. After the foundation of the state of Israel, an Arab boycott penalized foreign firms for doing business with the new state. America rightly opposed this policy; now it must prepare to reverse itself. U.S. allies in Europe and Latin-America are livid over Helms-Burton; by what right, they ask, do U.S. Courts presume to impose sanctions against foreigners doing their own business in Cuba? Several of these countries have passed counteracting laws allowing their citizens to sue in their courts if Helms-Burton cases are brought against them in the United States. All this does is leave a potential legal rats nest benefiting nobody but the lawyers. Helms-Burton in section 306(b) gives the President authority to suspend the provisions allowing lawsuits against traffickers for successive periods of six months if he finds that such a step is necessary to the national interests of the United States and will expedite the transition to democracy in Cuba. President Clinton has already exercised this option several times to appease the dissention from our allies. We have been able to manage this serious disagreement with our close allies and trading partners and advance the promotion of democracy in Cuba. Under Secretary Eizenstat reached an Understanding with the EU in April 1997 under which the EU agreed to suspend its WTO case and step up its efforts to promote democracy in Cuba. The parties also agreed to negotiate disciplines on property confiscated in contravention of international law, including property in Cuba, and principles on conflicting jurisdictions. These discussions are in a crucial phase and, if an agreement is reached, the Administration will discuss with Congress the possibility of obtaining authority to waive Title IV of the Act. There is a large body of misconceptions about the present state of health care in Cuba, including the false accusation that it is the U.S. policy to deny medicine or medical supplies and equipment to the Cuban people. The end of Soviet subsidies forced Cuba to face the real costs of its health care system. Unwilling to adopt the economic changes necessary to reform its dysfunctional economy, the Castro government quickly faced a large budget deficit. In response, the Cuban Government made a deliberate decision to continue to spend money to maintain its military and internal security apparatus at the expense of other priorities including health care. In 1995, Cubas imports totaled $2.8 billion dollars, yet only $46 million dollars only 1.5% of overall foreign purchaseson medical imports for its 11 million people. By comparison, Cubas neighbor, the Dominican Republic, spent $208 million dollars on medical imports for its 7.5 million citizens in 1995. The US embargo does NOT deny medicines and medical supplies to the Cuban people. As stipulated in Section 1705 of the Cuban Democracy Act of 1992, the U.S. Government routinely issues licenses for the sale of medicine and medical supplies to Cuba. The only requirement for obtaining a license is to arrange for end-use monitoring to ensure that there is no reasonable likelihood that these items could be diverted to the Cuban military, used in acts of torture or other human rights abuses, or re-exported or used in the production of biotechnological products. Independent non-governmental organizations, international organizations, or foreign diplomats can perform monitoring of sales. Since 1992, 36 of 38 license requests have been approved to U.S. companies and their subsidiaries to sell medicine and medical equipment to Cuba. Sales have included such items as thalamonal, depo-provera, pediatric solutions, syringes, and other items. The Department of Commerce declined the other two requests for licenses it received for failure to meet legal standards. Both of these exceptions to the general policy of approving commercial medical sales occurred in 1994. Moreover, the U.S. embargo on Cuba affects only U.S. companies and their subsidiaries. Other nations and companies are free to trade with Cuba. Should Cuba choose not to purchase from the U.S., it can purchase any medicine or medical equipment it needs from other countries. Such third-country transactions only cost an estimated 2%-3% more than purchases from the U.S. as a result of higher shipping costs. In closing, the essential element of the tragedy of the Cuban people is not the United States-Cuba conflict; rather, it is the struggle of eleven million people who seek to assert their human dignity and reclaim the inalienable political, economic and civil rights that were taken away from them by the Castro regime. The Cuban people have been victims of one of the most oppressive regimes of the twentieth century. The systematic violation in Cuba of each and every human right recognized in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights has been faithfully documented in recent years at the UN Human Rights Commission and by respected human rights organizations throughout the world. The truth is there for all that wish to see. Impervious to the deplorable living conditions of the people, the asphyxiating lack of liberty, and to repeated international calls for democratic change, Castro staunchly clings onto the reins of absolute power. Yet, despite the regimes relentless repres sion, those on the island are courageously demonstrating their commitment to change with increasing resolve. The U.S. economic embargo against the Castro regime has weakened its capability to repress this universal desire for freedom and is an expression of moral support that strengthens the will of those who seek to wrestle from the hands of a dictator the destiny of a whole nation.

The Core Business of Allianz Insurance

The Core Business of Allianz Insurance Allianz is ranked among the top 100 most valuable brands worldwide and is a leading insurance and financial services company. Allianzs core business is Life and Health insurance and property casualty. Allianz is also one of the four active asset managers in the world. The total asset management operations as of 2009 were à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1,202 billion. The company s business activities in this segment consist of asset management products and services both for third-party investors and for the Allianz Groups insurance operations (Allianz Annual Report, 2009, p.48). Allianz banking operations now comprise of operations in Germany, Italy, France and New Europe. The bank offers a wide range of products for corporate and retail clients. Due to their limited size, banking operations are reported as part of the corporate and other segment. According to a press release on 24 February, 2011; Allianz announced preliminary results for the fiscal year 2010 of total revenues reaching a new high of 106.5 billion euros. Based on this release, Life and Health insurance generates the most revenue reaching a record level of 57.1 billion euros. Growth amounted to 12.5 percent compared to 50.8 billion euros in 2009, and was driven by strong demand for both investment-oriented and traditional life insurance products. Life and Health insurance also generates the most profit with operating profits growing 7.4 percent to 2.9 billion euros, compared to 2.7 billion euros in 2009. This was largely driven by a better expense result, as well as an increase in operating investment income which benefited from significantly lower impairments compared to 2009 (Press release preliminary results 2010, p.1). Life and Health insurance and property casualty will drive growth in the next decade as they have always counted for the main revenue of the Group. Allianz has been performing well and sustainable. Since 2007 it reached à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 97,689 million revenue and in 2008 the global economy was in crisis but the revenue was just went down slightly with à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 92,568 million. In 2009, the economic crisis reached its peak in the first half of 2009 however its revenue still increased up to 5.2% with à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 97,385 million. A newly announced figure for its 2010 revenue has been impressive, with total revenue reaching à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 106.5 billion. These figures have proven that the company has been doing well for the last four years and there is no doubt that the company will be successful in coming years (2009 Allianz Annual Report, p.48). Corporate Responsibility: Allianz responded to the increasing demands of society for greater Corporate Responsibility by adopting a new CSR strategy in 2009. This strategy assures that environmental and social issues are managed, deliver value for the company and that there is a continued benefit for society. The strategy focuses on three themes; managing the companys environmental impact, addressing the risks and opportunities associated with climate change and supporting the communities in which Allianz is operating (Corporate Social Responsibility 2009, p.3). As an international financial services provider, Allianz sees sustainable development as fundamental to its business. Allianz is focusing on finding innovative solutions that address local and global challenges. Allianz also established a strong structure for handling CSR activities. Delivery of the CSR strategy is the responsibility of the Human Resources Director, who is a member of the Allianz Insurance Management Board. CSR issues are included at the monthly Management Board meetings, as well as featuring at the companys annual Director and Management Conferences. The CSR Manager is responsible for setting the overall strategy, implementing initiatives and reporting performance to the HR Director and the Management Board. In addition, a CSR Steering Committee comprising of 11 senior managers from each of the major divisions has been established to ensure the CSR strategy is embedded in the business. The committee meets 2-3 times a year to review progress against the strategy and to identify future risks and opportunities. The Committee is chaired by the HR Director (Corporate Social Responsibility 2009, p.4). Climate Change Allianz sees itself and the insurance industry at the forefront of the fight against climate change. The industry must play a central role in both climate change mitigation and adaptation. Based on this initiative, Allianz has done a wide range of activities in response to Climate Change. Allianz Insurance is a founding member of ClimateWise which was founded by leading insurers in 2006 to respond to the myriad risks and opportunities of climate change, aiming to reduce the overall risks faced by economies and societies (Climatewise.org.uk). As a member of ClimateWise, Allianz must report annually on its performance against the principles and sub-principles. Allianz also supports national and global CO2 emission reduction targets and government action, including regulation that will enhance the resilience and reduce the environmental impact of infrastructure and communities. In 2002 Allianz joined the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), an independent organization now representing 534 institutional investors worldwide with more than US $64 trillion in funds. CDP collects, evaluates, and publishes data on the CO2 emissions from more than 3,000 companies around the world. RCM, a globally active investment company belonging to the Allianz Group, uses the CDP database to compile risk profile lesson companies climate performance (Corporate Social Responsibility 2009, p.9) Furthermore, Allianz remained committed to its carbon reduction plans even when the Copenhagen Summit ended having set no binding global emissions targets and no indication of when emissions should peak. Carbon management has a strong business case it is primarily about reducing energy consumption and costs. Stakeholders In order to understand stakeholders expectations, Allianz is working closely with a range of national and international organizations and doing surveys to discover which topics are most relevant to their stakeholder groups. Every two years Allianz asks its main societal stakeholders which key issues Allianz should deal with and how they should address them. For example, in the 2009 Stakeholder Survey, 131 completed questionnaires were received from stakeholders from the following sectors or groups: Politics, Media, Non-governmental organizations, Science, Companies and Allianz management (Allianz  Sustainable Development Report 2010, p.12). Regarding customers, Allianz is committed to making it easier for its customers to deal confidently with financial topics by maintaining a section on its Group web portal that explains how the financial and economic crisis develop and what its possible consequences for consumers are. Regarding Suppliers, Allianz carries out supplier surveys to learn more about their suppliers businesses and their efforts in the area of sustainable development. Regarding Community, Allianz takes todays challenges as opportunities for action through its local activities, global projects, and the work of Corporate Foundations. A good example is the Foundation for Sustainability and the Allianz Cultural Foundation. Regarding Government Relations, Allianz maintains various partnerships with renowned and trustworthy organizations such as World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) or the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEPFI) (Allianz  Sustainable Development Report 2010, p.12). Crisis Management Allianz and other financial institutions had to face the global financial and economic crisis which started in mid 2007 with the collapse of the housing market in the United States. The crisis that was initially observed within the banking sector accelerated in 2008 and spilled-over to various other sectors of the financial industry. Serious disruptions in the global financial system led to deteriorating economic conditions and investors became much more risk averse. In September 2008, the global financial system almost collapsed: large financial institutions faltered, leading to changes in business models, failures, mergers and nationalizations. Some economies were even on the verge of national bankruptcy. In consequence, the weak situation in the financial markets that was observable from falling stock markets and volatile credit spreads became even more intense in the fourth quarter of year 2008. The global economic downturn caused a series of collapses or near collapses of giant financial institutions such as Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Washington Mutual, Wachovia, AIG  and Citigroup. However, Allianz has managed successfully in its business operations, particularly its risk management as demonstrated by its impressed revenue: 97,989 billion euros in 2007, 92,567 billion euros in 2008, 97,385 billion euros in 2009 and 106.5 billion euros in 2010. Allianz  emerged from the market turbulence as one of the strongest insurance groups in the industry by solvency and ratings, as evidenced by external rating agencies. The financial strength of Allianz SE was rated by Standard Poors as AA (stable outlook), by A. M. Best as A+ (stable outlook), and by Moodys as Aa3 (stable outlook). As of December 31, 2009, Allianz SE had the best Standard Poors rating among the internationally active primary insurance groups in Europe. Even during the 2008 and 2009 financial crisis, these ratings were confirmed and remained stable (Annual report 2008, p. 41; Annual report 2009, p. 187). Allianz has executed and managed its risk management consistently and focused on three main objectives to secure itself from market turbulence: Protect the  Allianz  Groups capital and solvency position as well as position its investment portfolio for continued market turbulence Protect the value of their Property-Casualty business Focus on sustainable profitability in the Life/Health business Allianz considers risk management to be one of its core competencies. It is an integrated part of its business processes. Based on the risk management framework, these key elements have been focused on: Promotion of a strong risk management culture supported by a robust risk governance structure. Consistent application of an integrated risk capital framework across the Group to protect its capital base and to support effective capital management. Integrate the risk considerations and capital needs into management and decision-making processes through the attribution of risk and allocation of capital to the various segments. This comprehensive framework ensures that risks are properly identified, analyzed and evaluated. Allianz Groups risk appetite is defined by a clear risk strategy and limit structure. Close risk monitoring and reporting allows Allianz to detect deviations from risk tolerance at an early stage (Annual report 2009, p. 179). Strategy Allianz has been doing successfully for many years, even through years of financial market turmoil and global economic contraction by executing its strategy consistently. According to Allianzs announcement in the 2009Annual Report, the Group focuses its strategy in five management priorities: Become the partner of choice for all stakeholders: Allianz believes that the Group can only continue to thrive if Allianz manages to balance the interests of all of their key stakeholders: customers, employees, investors and the public. Drive profitable growth: In property-casualty Allianz will only grow where target margins can be achieved. In life/health insurance Allianz can build on a strong capital position, growing asset base and attractive new business margins. The strategy has served the Group well in asset management where Allianz is diversifying revenues and risks into different asset classes with an overweight in fixed income investments and regions. Strengthen competitiveness: Allianz has been continuing to adapt its business models, products and customer interactions accordingly. Hence Allianz has been focusing on efforts to drive efficiencies, reduce complexity and leverage new web-based technology along the entire value chain in order to achieve productivity benchmarks. Increase market and customer focus: The Group has created the foundations for Allianz to become a customer-centric organization through its customer focus and innovation programs. Going forward they are further strengthening their customer segmentation and the delivery of segment-specific offerings. Maintain capital management discipline: Allianz has strengthened risk management function and de-risked its investment portfolio to appropriately adjust to the rising uncertainty in the real economy (Annual Report 2009, p.63). Allianzs core strength is risk management which has helped the Group protect its net asset value and carefully balance cash generation and investment opportunities. In the 2009Annual Report they state that we are managing the transition to the new Solvency II framework. And we are leveraging this process to place state-of-the-art risk management technology into the hands of our business leaders for even better day-to-day decision making. Based on this, Allianz has performed successfully as the Group usually gets AA rating and the Group has successfully steered through one of the most severe financial crises ever. Allianzs solvency is strong and its capital base grew almost 20 % to more than à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 40 billion (Annual Report 2009, p. 179). Allianz is definitely an innovative company as it has a wide range of changes, improvements and strengthening in management, products and customers services. Regarding customer services, the Group always put innovation as its priority. The 2009 Annual Report remarks At all important points of contact, we are measuring the propensity of our customers and distribution partners to recommend our products and services to others. And we have been tying our frontline managers incentives to systematically improving the service experiences of our clients. Furthermore, we are creating a channel architecture which allows customers and distribution partners to experience more targeted value propositions, service offerings and price positions which are easy to understand and consistently delivered. (p.66). Werner Zedelius, Member of the Board of Management of Allianz SE, also confirmed that at Allianz, innovation is a part of an even bigger goal Allianz wants to become a trusted innovator engagem ent (Allianz Group Portal, press, n.d). Mission and Goals: Mission: At Allianz, we strive for exceptional financial performance and growth based on our commitment to the pursuit of a sustainable world through combining long-term economic value, environmental stewardship and social responsibility. Goals: Performance: Maintain sustainable development leadership in the financial services sector Sustainable Development Reporting: Active stakeholder engagement in our materiality assessment Climate Change: Global awareness on CO2  emission reduction concept for 80% of employees Environmental   Management  System: Accomplish an 80% employee coverage Sustainable Investment: Invest an additional à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬150 million in renewable energy projects Micro insurance: Creation of a global Allianz micro insurance strategy to be implemented by a task force Engagement with Society: Launch global employee engagement program Employees: Develop KPIs for employee engagement, trust, feedback, motivation, development and diversity from the strategic HR scorecard. Customer Responsibility: Further strive for our 2010 goal of Loyalty Leadership. Net Promoter Score above market average. How does Allianz motivate employees: Allianz believes that employees are motivated if their work is well recognized and well paid. Therefore the Group created a pay structure that includes a mix of basic pay, performance-related pay and additional benefits to motivate it employees, Incentivizing staff is an important way of encouraging entrepreneurship. We have now adopted evaluation procedures that help assess more clearly how an individual or team has performed, and reward that performance accordingly (Allianz Group Portal, Employee, n.d). Allianz also motivates its employees with the Employee Stock Purchase Plan as approximately 939,000 shares were bought through the scheme. This has not only proved a sound financial strategy but it has also allowed the Group to strengthen employee engagement (Allianz Group Portal, Employee, n.d). In addition, The Group creates a good working environment where employees can maximize their ideas through innovative programs, healthcare program, tale nt development etc. Desirability as an employer Allianz is a good company to work for. Firstly, good performance will receive high payment and the incentives and bonuses of the company are attractive. Secondly, Allianz has a good working environment as a result of their policy to put employees first. Many Allianz companies offer wellness and sickness prevention training and health testing on a voluntary basis; as well as health programs for members of staff and customers. Allianz has a diversified working environment and promotes a diversity theme called Power of All Worlds. This aims to promote diversity and inclusion to reach their business goals, and continues to support Gender, Disability, Generation Mix and international cultures. Thirdly, Allianz is an innovative working place which allows employees to develop and maximise all new ideas. This culture of innovation was turned into reality by the Ideas to Success (i2s) framework launched in April 2006, and has been rolled out to 58 Allianz companies worldwide. It has actively encouraged over 172,000 employees to develop ideas which could improve the way in which Allianz operates on a day to day basis. And so far more than 60,000 ideas have been generated (Allianz Group Portal, Employee, n.d).

How Divorce Effects Kids Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If two people love each other enough to get married, and together choose to form a lifelong commitment, why are so many of these marriages ending? What does marriage mean to people nowadays and why do people decide to get married? Records show us that people have been getting married for as long as the earliest recorded history. There are many benefits for couples who have a successful marriage. When a marriage begins to fail it is usually due to a couple's inability to communicate, lack of a common goal, or a trust vs. mistrust issue; therefore, more so than not, these types of situations will ultimately result in a divorce. The most frequently asked question over the last two decades has been, â€Å"Does divorce effect children and how so?† Studies have shown that divorce affects children in many ways: affects their self-esteem, feels as thought they "lose" a parent, and takes away their sense of family. The divorce rate has quadrupled from 4.3 million in 1970 to 18.3 million in 1996 (quoted form census bureau’s release about its marital status and living arrangements). "The number of children living with both parents declined from 85 to 68 percent between 1970 and 1996. The proportion of children living with one parent has grown from 12 percent to 28 percent during this same time span (Quoted from Census Bureau's release about its report on marital status and living arrangements)". A person's first marriage, if it were to end in divorce, will most likely end in the firs...

Words and Meaning :: Philosophy of Language

Words and Meaning How do words bear meaning? The notion that a word means what it stands for – its denotation - will be examined and found wanting because logical analysis is only able to illuminate limited areas of language. It will be then suggested that metaphysical speculations about the sort of entities named by words are at best unhelpful. The idea that words get their meaning from the way they are used in public discourse will then be introduced as potentially more useful, although some problems with this approach will also be noted. Finally it will be suggested, very briefly, that an answer to this question may best be found in the common human condition – how we operate in the world using language. It is attractive to assume that the meaning of a word is the entity it denotes. There are many cases where this definition will do. For example in the sentence, John sat at the table. ‘John’ denotes a person and ‘table’ denotes an object. This seems straightforward. There are sentences, however, where the meaning is apparently clear but where the entities are not so clear cut. The sentence below has a clear meaning: The singing was divine but the acting was wooden. The proposition carried by this sentence is easily understood. However, the entities ‘singing’ and ‘acting’ are not so clear. They are ongoing actions not so clearly defined as tables and chairs. Furthermore, the metaphorical qualifiers ‘divine’ and ‘wooden’ do not help do not sharpen the meaning. Is ‘divine’, for example, merely a fanciful replacement for ‘enjoyable’? A whole conversation about the nature of singing and acting might follow such an utterance. Denotation and questions of logical form do not seem to be helpful in explaining the meanings of words in ordinary talk although human beings do seem to be impelled towards rational discussion. We habitually give reasons for things. For example, a discussion about ‘the greatest footballer ’ often finishes with extensive debate about what the defining criteria might be (a verbal dispute about connotation). Subsequently the argument often then turns to which player best meets these criteria (arguments to establish denotation). Whatever the case the denotation for ‘the greatest footballer’ is problematical. Much of this kind of discourse is based upon opinions. These opinions may or may not be true. This in no way affects the meanings intended by the speakers.

Desi Arnaz :: Essays Papers

Desi Arnaz Cuban bandleader and singer-turned savvy TV mogul who, after his marriage to comedienne Lucille Ball in 1940, parlayed their successful "I Love Lucy" series into the Desilu TV production empire, which in its heyday also produced the successful and highly lucrative "The Untouchables" and "Star Trek" series. *p*Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III was born in 1917 to wealthy Cuban landowners. His father was also the mayor of the town they lived in, but that soon changed. At the age of 16, Desi and his mother had to flee to Miami because of Batista's overthrow of the Machado Government in 1933. *P**BR*When Desi arrived in America, it was a struggle for he and his mother. But soon after he arrived, he joined the Siboney Septet at the Roney Plaza. Later, he started working with Xavier Cugat's band in 1937 and later put together his own rhumba band. His youthful good-looks and engaging presence soon won him a featured spot in the 1939 Broadway musical and theatrical version of "Too Many G irls" and the following year he was signed by RKO. On the movie set, he met his future wife, Lucille Ball. Later that year Desi and Lucy eloped to Connecticut and got married in a country club. Arnaz was featured in several films, mostly as a colorful Latin. Joining MGM, he won attention for his sole dramatic role in the war drama, "Bataan" (1942), but gave up films for touring with his successful band. The marriage was subject to the road most of the time and to Lucy's movie career. When the couple came up with the idea for a television series, they fought to do it together to save their marriage. But the network didn't think the television series would work with Desi being Cuban. But that didn't stop Lucy and Desi. In the summer of 1950, they went on tour, performing for live audiences to prove that the show would work. Well, as you know, the rest is television history!*P**BR*Desi made the first 5,000 dollars spent into millions in just four years. He convinced the show's sponsor, Phillip Morris, that Lucy having a baby on the show would give them great publicity. He was right: the birth of Little Ricky drew 44 million viewers (the swearing in of the President that year only drew 22 million), and the story made headlines everywhere across America. With Desi as a successful executive, and head of the couple's production company, DesiLu, Arnaz pioneered a new way of producing TV shows, shooting each episode of I