Accounting Standards Essay - 821 Words

Case 3-6 Accounting Standards A. Given the income statement effects of LIFO versus FIFO, how will the balance sheet inventory amounts differ between General Motors and Ford versus Honda and Daimler-Benz? In other words, will inventory be reported amounts representing recent costs or older historical costs? In your opinion, which balance sheet amounts would be more useful to financial statement users in making decisions to buy or sell shares of a company’s stock? Inventory is an asset that is intended for sale or goods that are produced for sale. To determine the value of inventory to be reflected in the balance sheet, purchases are added to the beginning inventory and then cost of goods sold are subtracted. The FIFO and LIFO†¦show more content†¦Under the current US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP), both inventory methods are acceptable. However, under the International Accounting Standards, the LIFO is now allowed. In my opinion, the balance sheet that uses the FIFO method of inventory would be more useful in making decisions to buy or sell shares of a company’s stock because the FIFO method gives users a better indication of the value of the ending inventory and the balance sheet under the FIFO method would show a bigger amount of assets compared to the LIFO method. Likewise, the income statement of a company that uses the FIFO method would also show a higher gross margin and thus, the bottom line would be higher as well. However, investors also need to look at other components of the financial statements and analyze the trend of an entity to gain a better understanding of an entity’s operations, performance and net worth prior to deciding on whether to sell or buy that company’s stocks. B. Discuss the concept of conservatism. In your opinion, which is more conservative, General Motors, and Ford or Honda and Daimler-Benz? Explain. Conservatism is â€Å"the approach of choosing an accounting method when in doubt that will least likely overstate assets and net income.† (http://www.wiley.com/college/acc/weygandt347736/site/glossary/home.htm#c). Conservatism conflicts with the qualitative characteristics such as neutrality. Because of this, the FASB hasShow MoreRelatedAccounting Standard Of Australian Accounting Standards1140 Words   |  5 Pagesin there financial statements of their company. Australia Accounting Standard Board publish some new accounting standard related to the RDR implementing to review the differential reporting framework. These standards made on 30 June 2010 and implement on or after 1 July 2013. These new standards are:- †¢ AASB 1053 Application of Tiers of Australian Accounting Standards (PDF); and †¢ AASB 2010-2 Amendment to Australian Accounting Standards arising from Reduced Disclosure Requirements. DifferentialRead MoreThe Standards Of Accounting Standards830 Words   |  4 PagesAccounting standard set has become debatable topics in regards its function in real business. The standards of accounting have been developed throughout years and many countries has applied different accounting standard. However, as business world has become interconnected, there is an urged in need to have one stand-alone of accounting standards that could use worldwide. Therefore, many countries developed convergence of their accounting standard into International Financial reporting standard (IFRS)Read MoreAccounting Standards Essay1364 Words   |  6 Pagesof accounting standards that accurately represents all of their financial activity in a manner that is useful to concerned parties. To resolve these discrepancies three separate standard setting bodies have been tasked with developing Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for these different organizations: The Federal Accounting Stand ards Advisory Board (FASAB) for federal accounting, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) for SLG, and the Financial Accounting Standards BoardRead MoreUs Accounting Standards vs. International Accounting Standards1742 Words   |  7 PagesUnited States Accounting Standards vs International Accounting Standards June 21, 2009 Introduction This research project will inform the reader of the difference between the United States accounting standards and International accounting standards. The United States uses the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to issue financial reporting procedures. The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).Read MoreEthics Standards And The Field Of Accounting950 Words   |  4 Pagesnecessity in the field of accounting. Businesses rely on accountants to accurately report their financial information and give sound advise and consultation in regards to their business. There are standards and rules set in place to ensure that ethics and information is reported accurately. Laws and repercussions are created place to deter unethical and illegal accounting practices, although it still occurs in the business world on many levels. The field of accounting has a code of ethics forRead MoreAccounting Analysis On Accounting Standards1911 Words   |  8 Pagesfocussed on the topic related to Accounting theory concept in general. There are two articles to elucidate, first article is on Accounting Standards conceptual framework, which is further discussed in detail about the qualitative characteristics of Conceptual framework. Second article is about Positive Accounting Theory, where we discuss about Accounting theories. A) Article One: 1) Australian Accounting Standard Board (AASB) AASB - Australian Accounting Standards Board Body charged with developingRead MoreAccounting Standard : Accounting Standards Essay1118 Words   |  5 PagesAccounting Standard (AS) 2 Inventories constitute a major portion of current assets of an entity. A primary issue in accounting for inventories is the amount of cost to be recognized as an asset and carried forward until the related revenues are recognized. Indian Accounting Standard (Ind AS) 2, Inventories, prescribes the accounting treatment for inventories, such as, determination of cost and its subsequent recognition as expense, including any write-downs of inventories to net realizable valueRead MoreThe Financial Accounting Standards Board1346 Words   |  6 PagesEarnings per share is introduced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board as the functionality used to calculate an institutions’ earnings for the year-end financial statements. The institutions can be made of up a simple or complex capital structure. It must be calculated on a constant basis in order for reports to remain consistent. FASB provides a formula of â€Å"dividing income available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period† (FASBRead MoreInternational Accounting Standards : Standards1365 Words   |  6 PagesInternational Accounting Standards What are International Accounting Standards? The International Accounting Standards or IASC are accounting standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board or IASB and its predecessor, the International Accounting Standards Committee or IASC. The International Accounting standards were started in 1966 after a proposal that was presented to create an International Study group that included the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and WalesRead MoreAccounting Standard And International Accounting Standards Essay1500 Words   |  6 PagesAccounting standard has been introduced after the World War II where every country has its own proper accounting practices such as the United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (the US GAAP). As time flies, international trade and foreign direct investment has experience a period of rapid growth where the companies begin to expand their business in a larger scale. Frequent international mergers and acquisitions especially by American corporations to the European companies has created

Biography Of James Scott Wheelers The Big Red - 2658 Words

The history of the United States Army’s 1st Infantry Division is one of many â€Å"firsts.† The most complete history of the division, James Scott Wheeler’s The Big Red One: America’s Legendary 1st Infantry Division from World War I to Desert Storm, describes many of these firsts in detail. The 1st Division was the first U.S. division to be organized in the Army during World War I, the first division to deploy overseas, and the first unit to engage the enemy in Europe as part of the American Expeditionary Force (A.E.F.). This paper is the story of these World War I firsts. Using primary documents to include the massive volumes of the World War Records of the First Division, A.E.F., Regular available at the Fairchild Library, and the reminiscences of Major General Robert Lee Bullard, who initially served as a Brigade Commander and then commanded the Division for the first American battles in France. This paper chronicles the deployment, training in Fr ance, and major battles of the 1st Division in the Great War. The United States entered World War I on 6 April 1917. Thus began a massive mobilization and expansion of the United States Army with the intent to deploy enough Soldiers and Marines to the Western Front in France to defeat the German forces and end the war. The plan was to eventually deploy a million men organized into 42 U.S. divisions, a staggering number considering that the Army had zero divisions in April 1917 and was comprised of only 127,588 Soldiers in

Planning Healthy and Safe Environments Free Essays

The main factors to take into account when planning healthy and safe indoor and outdoor environments are; †¢Risk assessment; a risk assessment is a process that identifies and assesses the importance of risk in a situation and then assesses the measures that control it. A risk assessment should be undertaken before a planned outdoor learning experience, and the main findings recorded. †¢Contact details; you should always make sure that you have up to date emergency contact numbers, for all staff and children attending the outdoor excursion. We will write a custom essay sample on Planning Healthy and Safe Environments or any similar topic only for you Order Now Medical; you should always make sure that any medical requirements are set in place, for example, inhalers, sickness tablets etc†¦ Also take with you the first aid kit. †¢The age of children being taken off premises should be noted as the ratio of adult:child differs on age, for example more adults will be needed per child at 4/5 years than 10/11 year old. If it an indoor environment then you need to take into account; †¢The size of room for the amount of children to work safely in. †¢Whether or not it is a safe environment for any disability i. e wheel chair, walker etc. †¢If it is a kitchen, set out rules for children, such as utensil use, near cooker when lit, what happens if emergency etc. General behaviour when near hot appliances. Monitoring and maintaining health and safety makes others in school aware of risks, hazards and safe working. Health and safety are monitored and maintained by doing daily health checks, updating children files and checking materials for currency. Parents and teachers having open Communication, and parents informing teachers of children medical conditions and updates and exposures. The use of sign in badges for visitors are used also anybody working in a school environment has to have a C. R. B check before entering. There is also a Health and Safety policy which is followed and regularly updated. Also there is a use of caution signs to let others know of spillage, danger to health etc. How to cite Planning Healthy and Safe Environments, Papers

Ancient civilizations free essay sample

Ancient China was a country that was impacted by its geographic features. Ancient China was a very large country. China’s physical features were very greatly impacted by the contact of other cultures. Some of ancient China’s physical features that prevented them from having contact with other cultures were its large mountains and deserts. This had a good and a bad side to it. The good side was that China was well protected from intruders. However, the bad side to this was that it was it more difficult for China to have contact with other cultures. (Document 2). This also led to China becoming very ethnocentric. Yu was a very important figure in ancient China. Ancient China was in need for water since it was surrounded by deserts and mountains. The solution Yu had to this problem was that he opened passages for the streams throughout the provinces and deepened the existing channels and canals as well as directing them to the streams (Document 4). We will write a custom essay sample on Ancient civilizations or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Mesopotamia was also a civilization that was impacted by its geographic features. The Fertile Crescent was a main part of the Mesopotamian society. It helped with the development of the Mesopotamian society because the crops farmed in the Fertile Crescent could be traded with other countries for goods that the Mesopotamians could not provide for themselves. The Fertile Crescent was the reason that civilizations arose in Mesopotamia. This occurred because it opened up more transportation options and it also improved trading. (Document 5). Ancient Egypt was a third example of a civilization that was affected by their geographic features. Ancient Egypt had periods of time called the â€Å"Old Stone Age, the Middle Stone Age, and the New Stone Age.† These time periods were when civilizations first started to rise. People learned how to make different tools and weapons for everyday use. For example, in the Stone Age, animals affected many people and how they lived. One way in which animals affected the way people lived in the Stone Age was that they would use animal skins and furs for clothing. This also helped to keep the people warm. (Document 1). Another example that shows how Egypt was greatly  affected by its geographic features is that the Nile River was a very important part in the Ancient Egyptian civilization. It played a big part in the development of Egypt because when the Nile flooded all of the crops and gardens would get fertilized and this would help bring food to the people of Egypt. This then helped the Egyptians become great merchants because they would sell those crops for profit in a relatively short time. The Nile River was a major part in helping Ancient Egypt become powerful at trading, farming, and transportation. (Document 6). Therefore, the development of early civilizations was greatly affected by their geographic features. To this day we still use some achievements that these ancient cultures invented. Geographic features play a very important role in civilizations.

Arsenic essays

Arsenic essays Phosphorus (P), arsenic (As), antimony (Sb), and bismuth (Bi) form a group of four elements in Group 5A of the periodic table. They exhibit increasing metallic properties going down the group. Nitrogen (N), which heads the group, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas. Phosphorus is a highly reactive nonmetal, arsenic and antimony are poisonous metalloids, and bismuth is a true metal. Because of the arrangement of the outer electrons in their atoms, each of these elements can form up to five chemical bonds with other elements or groups of elements. Arsenic has an atomic number 33, atomic mass is 74.9216, and it sublimes (passes directly into a vapor without melting) at 613Â ° C. The Earth's crust contains relatively little arsenic, only about 5.5 parts per million. Arsenic and some arsenic compounds have been known for a long time. Aristotle thought that arsenic was a kind of sulfur. The Latin word arsenicum means yellow orpiment (a pigment containing arsenic and sulfur). While knowledge of arsenic dates back to ancient Greece, it wasn't until the Middle Ages that its poisonous characteristics were described. It was identified by Albert Magnus about 1250, and he described the way to manufacture it. Since then the method has scarcely changed: the mineral arsenopyrite is heated and decomposes with the liberation of arsenic gas. The gas can be condensed on a cold surface. Metallic Arsenic was first produced in the 17th century by heating arsenic with potash and soap. Arsenic is very similar to antimony and bismuth. It exists in bright, metallic forms that are stable in air. It is found free in nature or in combination with other elements, usually sulfur. It is most often used to improve the strength and hardness of alloys, which are combinations of metals. Arsenic is a gray, shiny metalloid, which is a moderately good conductor of heat and electricity, but gray arsenic is brittle and breaks easily. This is the ordi...

Free Essays on Johan Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Johann Sebastian Bach is probally one of the greatest composers of his time, as well as our time. As a boy he had a fantastic soprano singing voice and always took the lead roles in the church and school choirs. He started composing fairly early on in his life and his first main works, including the Preludes and Variations for the organ, were composed between the ages of 17 and 20. Bach loved church music and was regarded as one of the finest organists of his day. Since he was raised up with strong ties to the church, he was always involved in church music both as a singer and an organist. He wrote many of his marvelous series of cantatas for the sunday services at the Church of St Thomas in Leipzig, which were probably the best of it's kind. Bach was always was in high demand and held a continuation of excellent jobs throughout his lifetime which included posts at the courts of Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Weimar and Prince Leopold of CÃ ¶then. Life, however, was not always that great though. In the early years Bach was heavily influenced by the composer Buxtehude (another great writer for the organ) and he left his first job as organist at Arnstadt to go and have lessons with him. This turned into a four-month leave, causing trouble with Bach's employers when he returned. Not only had his presence been missed for four consecutive months, but he had come back writing in an advanced and unusual style that wasn't exactly what was required. It was great music but it was just a little ahead of its time. So Bach moved on to the job in Weimar, which gave him greater musical freedom. His main duties were court organist and chamber musician to the reigning Duke Wilhelm Ernst, and he afterwards attained the job of conductor to the court orchestra in his last three years of service.It was at the beginning of this period of work that he wrote some of his most famous organ pieces, including the marvellou... Free Essays on Johan Sebastian Bach Free Essays on Johan Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) Johann Sebastian Bach is probally one of the greatest composers of his time, as well as our time. As a boy he had a fantastic soprano singing voice and always took the lead roles in the church and school choirs. He started composing fairly early on in his life and his first main works, including the Preludes and Variations for the organ, were composed between the ages of 17 and 20. Bach loved church music and was regarded as one of the finest organists of his day. Since he was raised up with strong ties to the church, he was always involved in church music both as a singer and an organist. He wrote many of his marvelous series of cantatas for the sunday services at the Church of St Thomas in Leipzig, which were probably the best of it's kind. Bach was always was in high demand and held a continuation of excellent jobs throughout his lifetime which included posts at the courts of Duke Wilhelm Ernst of Weimar and Prince Leopold of CÃ ¶then. Life, however, was not always that great though. In the early years Bach was heavily influenced by the composer Buxtehude (another great writer for the organ) and he left his first job as organist at Arnstadt to go and have lessons with him. This turned into a four-month leave, causing trouble with Bach's employers when he returned. Not only had his presence been missed for four consecutive months, but he had come back writing in an advanced and unusual style that wasn't exactly what was required. It was great music but it was just a little ahead of its time. So Bach moved on to the job in Weimar, which gave him greater musical freedom. His main duties were court organist and chamber musician to the reigning Duke Wilhelm Ernst, and he afterwards attained the job of conductor to the court orchestra in his last three years of service.It was at the beginning of this period of work that he wrote some of his most famous organ pieces, including the marvellou...

Defenders; Prospectors; Analyzers; and, Reactors Essay

Defenders; Prospectors; Analyzers; and, Reactors - Essay Example Unequivocally, GM is a prospector as it has adopted a proactive approach in the industry. It focuses heavily on R&D function to create premium quality, authentic, reliable and safe want-satisfying automobiles (MSN report, 2010). GM’s strategy and approach is absolutely correct because of cutthroat competition among corporations such as Ford, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, BMW, Fiat, Daimler, VW etc in the global automobile industry. The intense competition among producers increases rivalry; therefore, each company focuses heavily on technological development, adaptability, value-addition, brand recognition and product differentiation to grab maximum market share. Hence, GM has to continue its marketing approach to ensure business growth and sustainability in future. The bargaining power of suppliers (raw material providers, machinery, spare parts etc) is medium because of recent improvements in global economy. The automobile demand is stronger in 2010 compared to extremely low demand in 2009. GM successfully posted profits in first two quarters, which has also improved suppliers bargaining power. The world has still not completely come out of recession; therefore, the threat of new entrants and investors is low. Also, this is an oligopolistic industry dominated by well-established giants with colossal financial, technological, human resources and managerial expertise. In addition, there are various barriers to entry such as huge investments, registration, licensing and advertising budgets etc., which reduce this threat. Chances of rivalry among competitors, in the form of price-wars, introduction of new products and after sales services, are very high because of oligopolistic nature as it corporation seeks to increase its market share. General Motors and its renowned global competitors would continue focusing on innovation, product and market development, quality maintenance and improvement, fuel-efficiency, differentiation, advertising

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Art - Essay Example And the term Impressionism, was in fact, derived from one of his famous paintings in 1872 entitled, Impression, Sunrise (Krauss 87). This particular artwork vividly captured the everyday life scenes and commonplace interactions of humankind against his own world. The sketchy application of colors seemed to dissolve into a misty, hazy atmosphere of a typical sunrise and had extraordinarily represented even the most ordinary errand in our everyday lives. Monet’s penchant for beautiful things – nature, people and landscapes paved way for him to create offbeat and highly-interesting subjects that are influential and dominant in the current time. And as he was getting older, he gained interest in water reflecting light images such as the Water Lilies art piece (1917) and would often paint the same subject on different seasons of the year, applying different sets of color (Krauss 88). Moreover, the world of Impressionism has led to another significant art movement called Abst ract Expressionism. Jackson Pollock was considered as the most celebrated painter of the American abstract expressionism. Many of his works are represented in heavy layers of dark lines and bold colors that evoked figurative shapes, fluidity and movement.

Social terms in Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Social terms in Islam - Essay Example He went to a cave to muse on the problems, and there he prayed. In the year 610, the angel Gabriel appeared to him. It was Gabriel who gave Muhammad the words to the Koran. Muhammad started to preach, and at first his words were not taken well. Meccans were told not to trade with the would-be Muslims. In the year 619 his wife died. It was after this that he had his famous journey to Jerusalem. Soon men from Medina heard of him, and said that if his ideas worked "he would be the strongest man in Arabia." (U.S. News and World Report, Secrets of Islam pg.22) The Medina Arabs soon accepted Islam, but it was far from being accepted by everybody in Arabia. Muhammad died at the age of 63, and within a century of his death Islam spread across three continents. The first split in the religion happened not long after Muhammad's death. When Muhammad died he left no indication of who was to rule after him. The Sunnis believe that Ali, Muhammad's cousin should have been the first caliph to rule after Muhammad. Instead, he was the 4th. The third caliph; Uthman, was killed, and Ali was accused of not pursuing Uthman's killers. Mu'awiya, Uthman's cousin and the governor of Damascus refused to accept Ali as the caliph until Uthman's killers were caught. Ali was killed by one on his own followers, and then Mu'awiya took the title of caliph. Ali's son, Hussein was promised the caliph after Mu'awiy died. However Mu'awiya's son took the caliph, and Hussein died. However Hussien's son Ali survived, and the two lines of caliphs made the split between the Islamic factions of Sunni and Shia. Both sects of the religion are Islam however. A believer of Islam, be the person Sunni or Shia, is called a Muslim. Muslim is the Arab word for submission to the will of Allah. And a Muslim is a person who has submitted their will to the will of Allah. Muslims believe in the 5 Pillars of Islam. The Five Pillars are: 1. To believe in Allah and his Prophet Muhammad. 2. To pray in the direction of Mecca five times a day 3. To make a pilgrimage to Mecca during their lifetime if able 4. to pay religious taxes(alms) 5. to observe and fast during Ramadan The holy book for Muslims, the Koran, is the main source for Islamic law. It is considered the ultimate source of instruction and information. The legal interpretation of the Koran is call the Shariah and can vary within the religion. For example, the Koran calls for modesty in women's dress, and some Shariah's say that women should be veiled from head to foot. Islam soon spread far across the world. There is some debate however about how it came to Kyrgyzstan. Some sources say it was brought over by Sufis, Islamic missionaries. The majority of the other sources say that the religion was brought over by merchants and traders. As merchants traded, they would sell their wares as well as spread their Islamic faith. Islam was assimilated into the lifestyle of the people of the area. Some ideas of the religion were ignored, because they didn't fit with the nomadic life style of the people. The people of the area mainly practiced animism and forms of shamanism, and it I believed that they simply took and chose which parts of Islam they wanted to adopt. Many people also considered themselves Muslim, even if they didn't hold any of the beliefs of the religion. Because of the nomadic way of life, Islam does not have a strong hold on the society of Kyrgyzstan. One example of this is the role of women. Due to

The Zara Business Plan Marketing Essay

The Zara Business Plan Marketing Essay Zara offers the latest trends in international fashion in an environment of thought-out design. Its stores, located in the main commercial areas of cities across Europe, America and Asia, offer fashion inspired in the tastes, wishes and lifestyles of todays men and women. Zara moves at the pace of society, fashion ideas, and trends that society itself has natured. Hence its success among people, cultures and generations that, in spite of their differences, share a special sensitivity for fashion. Due to the growing of the clothing industry and the enormous unmet need in the market in the Puget Sound, we see the long-term expansion and potential of Zara throughout the Northwest. We are visionaries who see Zara as an extreme financial launch. By achieving its sales targets, Zara will position itself for exceptional profitability and self-funded growth. With our plans of Zaras expansion in South Centre Mall, our plan is to generate revenues of $7,094,763 by 2008. Management of Zara is seeking an investment of $800,000 in addition to the $150,000 already invested by the founders. Proceeds will be reinvested into the expansion of Zara into new markets and products. Purpose Approach The purpose in business is to maintain the responsiveness to the changing trends in consumer tastes through creating new designs fast that are suitable for all customers at an affordable price. In the ongoing expansion process we have decided to move into the Puget Sound Region because of the many advantages that could be exploited. We have considered several elements that we have learned throughout the semester and applied them in our decision making process. Worth of ZARA We have created a payroll chart for the just the four owners that will be our only staff, which the profit is divided evenly for all four owner. Accounting for the identifiable logo and the cost of operations our acquisition proposal would be $#######. This figure is derived from our analysis, where we multiplied our average monthly sales figure by eight percent because we included the branding of Zara and it helps us minimize our risk by not overspending. The total cost of revenue for the first year of opening is estimated at $350,000.00. Estimate Business Cycle Comparative Statement Current Assets Current Liability Working Capital Long Term Liability Zara Income Statement Lease (including Insurance and other Expense) Operating Expense Tax for cost of revenue Total Expense Payroll Hourly Wage Hours Gross Pay Tax Managers / Owner (4) N/A 4,160 Yearly Total Balance Sheet Asset Cash AR Inventory Equipment Three departments Men Æ’Â   Son Women Æ’Â   Ashley Children Æ’Â   Justin Open Shift Æ’Â   Justin Closing Shift Æ’Â   Huy Three Sunday unless holiday or event We agree on that we as the owner are the only worker in our newly franchise Zara store. Cost distributes Lenders Suppliers Government -Assumption 8.8%- How much inventory needed? Starting Inventory Number of Employee South Center Mall Mall hours 10:00 am 9:30 pm Monday to Saturday 11:00 am 7:00 pm Sunday 80 hours open per week 52 weeks in a year 80 X 52 = 4160 hours open in a year 2467.56 X 12 = 29610.72 / 4160 = 7.12 transaction per hour Price of Space $27.76 per square feet Size of space 4000 square feet 4000 X $27.76 = $111,040.00 $111,040 / 45 = 2467.56 transaction Price Range per Item $35.00 to $79.00 Asset 640 item on displace and for sale Piece $8.00 Mark-up $2.08 $10.08 Mark-up 26% Children Selling Price $35.00 $57.00 $79.00 Mark-up $9.00 $15.00 $29.54 Cogs $44.10 $71.82 $99.54 Total Cogs $215.46 Revenue $171.00 Profit 45 Contract Specifies All included Utilities Water / Sewage / Garbage Insurance $111,040 X 12 = $1,332,480 rent per year Bank of America Available for amounts up to $100,000 Provides a one-time lump sum with fixed monthly payments Quick approval process Lets you borrow without using your business or personal assets as collateral Competitive, fixed rate of interest Maximum term up to 5 years Set the stage for the success of your practice. 100% practice financing plus working capital available Buyer/Seller referral network Demographic site analysis Fixed and variable rates with terms up to 15 years Deferred, graduated, and interest-only payment plans available Combined practice and real estate loans available Financing for equipment, cabinetry, and office furniture, fixtures, and supplies Financing for renovations and construction Financing can include architecture, design, and management consulting fees All terms and features subject to credit approval. Some restrictions apply. Zara Operations To be successful in providing high quality products to all of our customers at a price that is affordable we selected our locations based on the locations that are similar to those of other Zara stores. Our strategy is to move from city to city while continuing the business practices used by Zara and implementing information technology. Our preference in location is derived from the closeness to the entertainment, financial institutions, art museums, and upscale restaurants. This preference allows us to reach numerous customers because it would be located in areas that people will either drive or walk passed. While receiving the attention provided by our friendly personable salespeople, customers will enjoy our in-store coffee shop and the ambiance that is created by our interior designers. We intend to utilize information technology to flatten the hierarchical structure of management, thus, granting our employees more decision-making power and responsibility. Exploiting information technology through implementation of TPS and DSS will enable us to organize information that can be used to improve the decision-making quality. Customers could use our online store to receive reminders of birthdays and other holidays, so that they can send gifts as well as getting the news on the new styles to be release in the near future. We have created our website with the goal of making it east to use, therefore, allowing customers to participate in sales promotions as well as providing feedback on products. They could also view the feedback of other customers. The website can also be customized to fit the customers shopping behaviors. (pp. 295) Future Potential of ZARA This business has a lot of potential. We could possibly incorporate different marketing strategies although the one used has proven to be successful. Zara could also develop an online website. Through the online store we will sell our products and do some pre-marketing of new products before they are released in addition to collecting consumer responses about the products. Another potential factor that we have considered is to open discount stores that would allow the business to sell the surpluses in inventory. This will enable us to become more efficient. The areas we have chosen for the location of our stores are downtown Seattle, Bellevue Square, and the South Center Mall in Tukwila. These areas fit the needs of surrounding businesses, our staff members, the seasonal shoppers, and the vacationing tourists. The selected areas also offer a wide variety of restaurants, tourist attractions, and entertainment, which could prove to be an advantage. (pp. 331-332) Zara Investment Recommendations Considering the risks involved of opening a business, we are confident about the future profitability, so we highly recommend the purchase of Zara. We are confident about our recommendation because we would be entering into a franchise that has maintained its success, opened its retail stores in great locations, and utilized the products of the research and development in our business practices. These actions translate into great potential for profitability because many of the practices have already been proven to be effective. Another advantage could be created by the implementation of information technology that will improve processes and performance amongst internal customers. Looking at the future potential of the business allows us to be confident in our decision as we embrace the expansion of Zara into the Puget Sound region.

bioremediation of explosive contaminated soil :: essays research papers

Bioremediation of explosive contaminated soil â€Å"It has been estimated that there are thousands of explosives-contaminated sites within the United States, and even a greater number in Europe and the Soviet Union.†(2) TNT (2,4,6- trinitrotoluene) is one of the most popular explosives used by military forces, and due to improper handling and disposal techniques TNT and its derivatives, have polluted environments to levels that threaten the health of humans, livestock, wildlife and, entire ecosystems. TNT is known to have many health effects on animals as well as humans. As stated by The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, â€Å"Workers involved in the production of high explosives experienced many harmful health effects as a result of exposure to 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene at their jobs. These effects included disorders of the blood, such as anemia, and abnormal liver function.† (1) Treatment of the contaminated soil has usually been handled through incineration, which is costly and does not always guarantee that the pollutants have been completely destroyed. Therefore new techniques such as bioremediation have been developed as a safe cost effective alternative to treating pollutants such as TNT. (3) Fundamentals of Bioremediation Bioremediation is a new, efficient, environmentally friendly, and low-cost technology, which uses microorganisms to clean up soil contaminated with heavy metals and organic contaminants such as solvents, crude oil, explosives, and other toxic compounds from contaminated environments. Mechanism: Bioremediation works by taking complex organic compounds such as TNT, which are made up of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen. When combined with regular compost ingredients such as manures, sawdust, straw, and fruit and vegetable processing wastes, the explosives become broken down into harmless chemical forms.(3) Bioremediation methods are classified into two categories: Composting, and bioslurries. Composting:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the EPA’s Fact Sheet on Composting of Soils Contaminated by Explosives, the process of composting operates as a result of naturally occurring microorganisms breaking down the explosive contaminants in the soil. Using the contaminants as â€Å"food,† the microorganisms convert them into harmless substances consisting primarily of water, carbon dioxide, and salts. In addition to this food source, microorganisms require nutrients, such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, in order to thrive, digest, and reproduce. To provide these nutrients in sufficient quantities, soil amendments, such as manure and potato waste, are added to the contaminated soil.(3)The most common type of composting used for bioremediation of TNT contaminated soil is Windrow composting. The US Army Environmental Center report on Cleanup Technology: Bioremediation of Explosives-Contaminated Soil, describes windrow composting as the following.

Building a Company Without Borders

HBR. ORG Bart Becht is the CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, headquartered in Slough, England. Building a Company Without Borders An Italian Is Running The Uk Business A Dutchman Is Running The U. S. Business An American Is Running The German Business By Bart Becht A Frenchman Is Running The Russian Business An Indian Is Running The Chinese Business A Belgian Is Running The Brazilian Business T The Idea You may never have heard of Reckitt Benckiser, but in the past few years the company has outperformed its rivals P&G, Unilever, and Colgate in growth—even during the downturn. Here’s how. ey say you can’t go home again. If you work for Reckitt Benckiser, you can go home—but you may not want to, and you certainly won’t have to. Many companies, when they describe themselves as global, mean they have operations around the world, they work virtually and in all time zones, and their key people are developed through stints in other markets. Our version is more comprehensive. Most of our top managers haven’t held jobs in their countries of origin for years and view themselves as global citizens rather than as citizens of any given nation. We have operations in more than 60 countries. Our top 400 managers represent 53 di erent nationalities. We’ve spent the past 10 years building this culture of global April 2010 Harvard Business Review 103 This article is provided compliments of Reckitt Benckiser Group. HOW I DID IT mobility because we think it’s one of the best ways to generate new ideas and create global entrepreneurs. And it has paid o . Products launched in the past three years—all the result of global cross-fertilization—account for 35% to 40% of our net revenue. For example, Finish, an all-in-one dishwasher tablet you drop into your machine, is now the leader in its market category. Recently we successfully introduced QuantuMatic—an automatic dispenser of dishwasher detergent that doesn’t need to be re lled for up to a month. With constant innovation like this we’ve enjoyed steady, pro table growth, even during the downturn. Since 2005 we’ve outpaced all our big competitors. During the recession we’ve invested more than ever in marketing, and we grew at a rate of 8% (at constant exchange rates) in 2009. A Company Without a Country The RB â€Å"Powerbrands† Though the company’s corporate brand recognition is very low, its products are well-known. RB focuses on 17 powerbrands: Air Wick Calgon (water softener) Cillit Bang Clearasil Dettol Finish French’s PREVIOUSLY ELECTRASOL Gaviscon AMERICA IN NORTH Harpic Lysol Mortein Mucinex Nurofen Strepsils Vanish Veet Woolite 104 Harvard Business Review April 2010 Reckitt Benckiser resulted from a merger in 1999 of Reckitt & Colman—a British purveyor of household cleaning products with a great stable of brands—and the Dutchlisted Benckiser, a much smaller but betterperforming consumer goods company. But we don’t want to be known as an AngloDutch enterprise, or by any other label based on our operations or history. We’re not any country’s company—we’re a truly multicountry company. That is by design. Postmerger we mixed the national cultures quickly in every corner of our operations. Premerger many of the local businesses had been running themselves more or less independent of the rest of the world and without regard to overall corporate priorities. We transferred people who embodied RB’s values into key positions in new markets. Managers from one side of the merger were purposely moved to another territory, and then moved again. Now in every country we have people of many nationalities as well as local citizens. Today an Italian is running the UK business, and an American is running the German business. A Dutchman is running the U. S. business, an Indian the Chinese business, a Belgian the Brazilian business, and a Frenchman the Russian business. It’s not that you can’t advance at RB in your local company. You can. But we also offer unique global mobility and experience to people who want to grow their careers on a world stage. To facilitate this mobility, we established compensation rules that apply equally to our top 400 managers in all markets, making international transfers easy. We have just one employment contract, and our salary ranges were developed with global benchmarking. Our annual cash bonus structure and long-term incentive plans are the same for everyone, as are our pensions, medical plans, and other benefits. We have no expatriates in the traditional sense, no tax equalization or guarantee of a job back in one’s home country. When employees take jobs in other countries, they’re transferred as â€Å"local hires. † We’ve built in standard protocols to make it easier for people with families to move. For example, we fund whatever school the employee chooses for his or her children because we understand how important that is to a family’s adjustment. That way, we can instantly accomplish a transfer—we don’t have to negotiate a lot of convoluted contractual nonsense. We have moved people to new countries in as little as two days. We also do something pretty rare with graduates. In some markets we help foreign students to get work permits in the countries where they’ve been studying. The very fact that they have traveled to study means they are internationally minded and thus likely to be keen to work in other countries as well. At a lot of companies it’s assumed that employees, having â€Å"seen the world,† will sooner or later return to their home countries to continue their careers. Our idea is that you focus primarily on the best job possible for you, regardless of country. That kind of life isn’t for everyone, and not everyone has to follow that path. But those who love it really love it. It’s exciting, and it gives pace, challenge, learning, and a buzz to people’s careers—along with the satisfaction of being able to be entrepreneurial and innovative. We try to put our high potentials in stretching situations around the globe. For example, we had one excellent employee who wanted to be moved to an international marketing job. We had an opening in India, but that would have been a poor choice for him—he’s Indian. Our previous three marketing people in India were German, French, and British. If this employee wanted to grow, he needed to acquire different experiences and learning, so a better development opportunity would be for him to work in Brazil or Mexico. Our high potentials have to find their footing very quickly, and most of them grow tremendously when we take them out of their familiar zone. This article is provided compliments of Reckitt Benckiser Group. HBR. ORG Reckitt Benckiser at a Glance A DECADE OF GROWTH , MILLIONS , ?, ? Total , Net Revenue (? M) , , , , , , , OPERATING PROFIT , Operating Pro? t (? M) NET REVENUE , Employees ?, ? , Total , Net Revenue (? M) Operating Pro? t (? M) Employees SOURCE RECKITT BENCKISER Even their failures in new markets are important learning experiences for our high potentials. One of our top managers, who is Dutch, still talks about the hard lesson he learned when we transferred him to Turkey. In The Netherlands, where he had worked before, billing and receivables were predictable and orderly. In Turkey the currency suddenly collapsed by 70%—while he was focusing on market share rather than on delinquent receivables. As he puts it, there’s nothing like a currency failure to change your views on tight financial management. If you don’t express your opinion, you don’t have an opinion, and that’s a fatal weakness for people who want to do well at Reckitt Benckiser. That means our meetings are a bit chaotic. Everybody wants to be heard, so it’s more like an Italian family dinner than a nicely organized board meeting. What takes over in our meetings is an intensity and a feeling that we have to ght for better ideas. Con ict is good. We don’t care about consensus. Not having it doesn’t slow us down and doesn’t mean that people aren’t aligned. We make decisions fast and then all stand behind them. What isn’t tolerated is conflict that simply slows down decision making or is for political or personal gain. Almost every key decision is made in the meeting at which it’s rst discussed. We expect people to come armed with facts, be prepared to argue their point of view, and be willing to live with the decision we ultimately make. Get 80% alignment and 100% agreement to implement. And move quickly. But I also don’t believe in crushing minority views. If we have 10 people in a room, eight of them agreeing on one thing and two passionately believing something else, we don’t try to resolve it to everyone’s satisfaction. We allow those two to experiment with their ideas—even if everyone else thinks they’re wrong. At the end of the day, what counts is not what the 10 people in that room think, it’s what the consumer thinks. So we let them run maverick smallscale experiments to get consumer feedback. Sometimes our biggest ideas come that way. About six years ago we had a huge internal debate about a product called Air Wick Freshmatic, which automatically releases freshener into the air on a schedule. It originated when one of our brand managers in Korea observed a new kind of automatic scent dispenser in stores there. In his opinion it was not a well-designed product, but he thought the idea was intriguing, so he brought it to a group meeting at our headquarters. Vigorous debate ensued. April 2010 Harvard Business Review 105 With so many different native languages in our company, it was necessary to make English the official language for all meetings. I’m Dutch, but I don’t speak Dutch with any of my Dutch colleagues, because if others are around, it excludes them. We are one team with one language. English isn’t most people’s native language, and often our English isn’t pretty. But the way we see it, it doesn’t matter as long as you give a view. If you don’t express your opinion, you don’t have an opinion, and that’s a fatal weakness for people who want to do well at Reckitt Benckiser. You have to stand for something, no matter how bluntly you communicate it. Con? ict Is Good This article is provided compliments of Reckitt Benckiser Group. HOW I DID IT HBR. ORG RB’s Performance-Based Remuneration Reckitt Benckiser believes it has designed a compensation plan to foster its innovative and entrepreneurial culture. The company has touted performance-oriented pay in its annual report as key to RB’s strong growth. According to a 2006 Harvard Business School case study, the plan, which applies to the company’s top managers (including the CEO), consists of three parts: base salary, short-term incentives, and long-term incentives. Base salaries are set near the median for competitors’ pay. The real bene? comes in the form of bonuses. A manager who meets all targets will typically receive 40% of his or her base salary as a bonus that year. A manager who blows the targets out of the water A manager who blows the targets out of the water can earn a bonus of up to 144%. (usually that means doubling the target numbers) can earn a bonus of up to 144%. Long-term compensation, in the form of options and perf ormance-related restricted stock, depends on meeting three-year corporate growth targets for earnings per share. New long-term goals are put into place each year. Karen Dillon A couple of our managers believed it should be a consumer product in Europe, but a lot more thought that made no sense— it might work in Korea on a very small scale, but it would never work in Western markets. For one thing, it would have to be priced well above the standard air freshener, and it wasn’t clear that the market would support that. Also, this would be our rst foray into something electronic, with wires, batteries, interval switches—a complex technology combination. The product would require new manufacturing facilities if it went to any scale. But two people meant we had to source materials we had no prior experience with. Today Air Wick Freshmatic is sold in 85 countries, with a wide range of options for consumers. It generates well in excess of ? 200 million annually. That product had the most successful launch in our history. Of course, things don’t always work out that well. We’ve launched some beautifully thought-out products that we were passionate about—but consumers weren’t. A few years ago we introduced a wonderful product to clean your microwave: You put a little sachet into the oven and start it. While If someone wants to stand up under stress and say, â€Å"No, I passionately believe in this,† then I’m willing to take a chance. saw the potential and were willing to ght for the chance to prove it. If somebody wants to stand up under stress and say, â€Å"No, I passionately believe in this. You guys are all wrong! We’ve got to do this,† then I’m willing to take a chance. So in this case I said ne, here’s the money— go gure it out, but do it on a small scale. And that’s what they did. In January 2004, initial testing of the idea with consumers in the UK produced extraordinary results. By the end of the year the product was in more than 30 other countries, and we’d overseen the building of a new factory in China to make it—which 106 Harvard Business Review April 2010 the oven is heating, the sachet pops and spreads cleaner around. When it’s nished, the sachet has become a cloth to wipe your cleaner away. It was a beautifully designed product. But it turns out that people don’t actually want to clean their microwaves all that often, so we pulled it from the market. If we are going to fail, we want to fail small and quickly. Failure is actually a huge incentive for the kind of people who fit well with our company, because they’re so personally competitive that they’ll work even faster for the next success. Everyone wants to do something to get on the map. I just moved one manager from Chile to Turkey. He earned that move because he had done something very challenging in his market—he’d launched one of our â€Å"powerbrands,† the sanitizer Dettol, in Latin America. It wasn’t the biggest success we’ve ever had, but the point is that he did it. He was the guy who brought Dettol to Chile and created a platform for its growth. That’s his mark on the business. That kind of thing earns you a promotion in this company, and the promotion will probably take you to another part of the world. Some people look at us and think they’d have to be nuts to work here. We’re looking for people with a certain level of maturity, intensity, and competitiveness. If you bring all of that to Reckitt Benckiser, it will be rewarded. (See the sidebar â€Å"RB’s Performance-Based Remuneration. †) As the CEO who has guided the company for more than a decade, I’d like to take credit for having a brilliant strategy or unique insights into the global marketplace. But in reality the â€Å"vision† slide we use today is the exact same one we’ve used since the merger. We have a very simple approach to the business: Focus on 17 powerbrands in fast-growing categories, innovate and invest behind them—and do so in every market. At the end of the day, what is most distinct about Reckitt Benckiser is its people and culture. I can tell in three minutes if someone would be a good t for our company. We’d rather have a position open for a long time, if necessary, than put the wrong person in place. It’s that important. HBR Reprint R K This article is provided compliments of Reckitt Benckiser Group.

Free Essays on Bertolt Brecht And The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Bertolt Brecht and The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht was one of the most prominent figures in theatre during the twentieth century. A German poet, playwright, and theatrical reformer, Brecht was born in Ausburg in 1898, and died in East Berlin in 1956. Throughout his lifetime, Brecht contributed an impressive body of work, including four volumes of prose and short stories, three volumes of poetry, seven volumes of plays, two volumes of scripts and scenarios, three volumes of essays on theatre, two volumes of essays on literature and art, and one volume of essays on politics and society. Some of his best known works are Baal, Man is Man, The Threepenny Opera, Mother Courage and Her Children, The Good Woman of Setzuan, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and Galileo. One of Brecht’s greatest contributions to theatre was a technique known as the alienation effect, designed to encourage the audience to detach themselves emotionally from the play. He encouraged his audience members to think rather than feel, or become t oo involved in the story. Brecht developed a form of drama known as epic theatre, in which the ideas or lessons are important, and are the reason for telling the story. Brecht was a socialist, and his political views are evident in most of his work. He used his work as a forum to address the political issues and the current events of his day. He staunchly opposed Nazi rule of Germany, and fled the country in 1933. He lived in the United States from 1941 until 1947, and it was during this time that he wrote The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Stern vii). Brecht had always allowed himself to be influenced by a variety of sources including, but not limited to, the theatres of Japan, India, and China, as well as Greek tragedy, fair-ground entertainments, and the Elizabethans (Bertolt paragraph 2). Brecht borrowed from many sources for The Caucasian Chalk Circle. The story is loosely based on an ancient Chinese leg... Free Essays on Bertolt Brecht And The Caucasian Chalk Circle Free Essays on Bertolt Brecht And The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht and The Caucasian Chalk Circle Bertolt Brecht was one of the most prominent figures in theatre during the twentieth century. A German poet, playwright, and theatrical reformer, Brecht was born in Ausburg in 1898, and died in East Berlin in 1956. Throughout his lifetime, Brecht contributed an impressive body of work, including four volumes of prose and short stories, three volumes of poetry, seven volumes of plays, two volumes of scripts and scenarios, three volumes of essays on theatre, two volumes of essays on literature and art, and one volume of essays on politics and society. Some of his best known works are Baal, Man is Man, The Threepenny Opera, Mother Courage and Her Children, The Good Woman of Setzuan, The Caucasian Chalk Circle, and Galileo. One of Brecht’s greatest contributions to theatre was a technique known as the alienation effect, designed to encourage the audience to detach themselves emotionally from the play. He encouraged his audience members to think rather than feel, or become t oo involved in the story. Brecht developed a form of drama known as epic theatre, in which the ideas or lessons are important, and are the reason for telling the story. Brecht was a socialist, and his political views are evident in most of his work. He used his work as a forum to address the political issues and the current events of his day. He staunchly opposed Nazi rule of Germany, and fled the country in 1933. He lived in the United States from 1941 until 1947, and it was during this time that he wrote The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Stern vii). Brecht had always allowed himself to be influenced by a variety of sources including, but not limited to, the theatres of Japan, India, and China, as well as Greek tragedy, fair-ground entertainments, and the Elizabethans (Bertolt paragraph 2). Brecht borrowed from many sources for The Caucasian Chalk Circle. The story is loosely based on an ancient Chinese leg...

10 Tips for Learning a Foreign Language as an Adult

10 Tips for Learning a Foreign Language as an Adult While the U.S. is home to over 350 different languages, according to a report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS), most Americans are monolingual. And this limitation can negatively impact individuals, U.S. companies, and even the country as a whole.   For example, the AAAS notes that learning a second language improves cognitive ability, assists in learning other subjects, and delays some of the effects of aging. Other findings include that up to 30% of U.S. companies have stated that they’ve missed business opportunities in foreign countries because they didn’t have in-house staff who spoke the dominant languages of those countries, and 40% stated they could not reach their international potential because of language barriers.  However, one of the most striking and alarming examples of the importance of learning a foreign language happened at the onset of the 2004 avian flu epidemic. According to the AAAS, scientists in the U.S. and other English-speaking countries did not originally understand the magnitude of avian flu because they could not read the original research – which was written by Chinese researchers. In fact, the report notes that just 200,000 U.S. students are studying Chinese compared to 300 to 400 million Chinese students who are studying English. And 66% of Europeans know at least one other language compared to just 20% of Americans. Many European countries have national requirements that students must learn at least one foreign language by the age of 9, according to data from the Pew Research Center. In the U.S., school districts are typically allowed to set their own policies. As a result, the vast majority (89%) of American adults who know a foreign language say they learned it in their childhood home. Learning Styles for Children Children and adults learn foreign languages differently. Rosemary G. Feal, executive director of the Modern Language Association, says, â€Å"Children generally learn languages through games, songs, and repetition, and in an immersive environment, they often produce speech spontaneously.† And there’s a reason for that spontaneity. According to Katja Wilde, head of Didactics at Babbel, â€Å"Unlike adults, children are less aware of making mistakes and the associated embarrassment, and therefore, dont correct themselves.† Learning Styles for Adults However, Feal explains that with adults, studying the formal structures of the language is usually helpful. â€Å"Adults learn to conjugate verbs, and they benefit from grammatical explanations along with strategies such as repetition and memorizing key phrases.† Adults also learn in a more conscious way, according to Wilde: â€Å"They have strong metalinguistic awareness, which children don’t have.† This means that adults reflect on the language they learn. For example ‘Is this the best word to express what I want to say’ or ‘Did I use the correct grammar structure?’† Wilde explains. And adults usually have different motivators. Wilde says that adults typically have specific reasons for learning a foreign language. â€Å"Better quality of life, self-improvement, career advancements, and other intangible benefits are usually the motivating factors.   Some people believe that its too late for adults to learn a new language, but Wilde disagrees. â€Å"Although children tend to be better at subconscious learning, or acquisition, adults tend to be better at learning, because they are able to process more complex thought processes.† Try 10 tips for learning languages: 1) Know why youre doing it. 2) Find a partner. 3) Talk to yourself. 4) Keep it relevant. 5) Have fun with it. 6) Act like a child. 7) Leave your comfort zone. 8) Listen. 9) Watch people talk. 10) Dive in. Feal also recommends other ways for adults to learn a foreign language, such as watching TV shows and film in the target language. â€Å"In addition, reading written materials of all kinds, engaging in interactive conversations on the web, and for those who can travel, an in-country experience, can help adults make meaningful progress.† In addition to these tips, Wilde says that Babbel offers on-line courses that can be completed in bite-sized chunks, anytime and anywhere. Other sources for learning a new language include Learn A Language, Fluent in 3 Months, and DuoLingo. College students can also take advantage of study abroad programs where they can learn new languages and new cultures. There are several benefits to learning a new language. This type of skill can increase cognitive skills and lead to career opportunities - especially since multilingual employees can earn higher salaries. Learning new languages and cultures can also result in a more informed and diverse society.

Different types of advertising Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Different types of advertising - Assignment Example This "Different Types of Advertising" essay outlines seven various types of ad, their functions and attributes. Institutional advertising focuses on projecting ideas, benefits, as well as, philosophies of a particular business. Fundamentally, the promotional messages aim at building a positive image, enhancing a reputation, and creating goodwill as opposed to promoting sales (Shah & D'Souza, 2009). In essence, the organizations employ institutional advertising as a marketing strategy. Notably, institutional or corporate advertising tends to create positive public relations. Non-profit advertising entails reaching customers to participate in certain programs. Non-profit organizations such as associations, foundations, museums, charities, and hospitals solicit for financial assistance and membership through this type of advertising (Moriarty, Mitchell, & Wells, 2011). Primarily, non-profit advertising entails creation of slogans and logos, as well as, development of campaigns through t he media to popularize the organizations to the public. Public service advertising targets the general population. The design of the advertisement is to educate and inform the public rather than promoting or selling products and services. It is noteworthy that the seven types of advertising differ markedly. Notably, each type of advertising seeks to attain a certain goal. Brand advertising aims at increasing consumer base and sales through creating a brand image and identity in the minds of the public.

What Factors Contribute to Cost Increase in Higher Education Research Paper

What Factors Contribute to Cost Increase in Higher Education - Research Paper Example According to the US statistics shown by Institutional Characteristics Survey tuition fee charges remained relatively stagnant in the 1970s. But there was a considerable increase in fee charges between 1980 and 1990. This increase not only had a great effect on the student and parents but also on education policymakers. In the same survey, it was noted that rate of increase was greater at public institutions as compared to private institutions. Despite increase in tuition charges, number of students continuing on to higher education after finishing their high school has raised from 49% in 1980 to nearly 62% in 1993. During 1992-93 full-time students attending a public school received financial aid on an average of 29%. The aid was greater for families with poor income about 80% and less for high-income families about 10%. (Livingston 1995).Some enthusiast believes that higher education should be free. Many would agree that this statement is misconstructed. Even though sometimes consum er may not have to pay for a product but someone else in the background is bearing the cost. Going through a lot of literature I realized that it has been debated extensively but the question is still the same: who should pay?. Before we can answer this question we need to understand different policies which provide the revenue that fuel the education system. The most common and classical model is General Tax system. In this policy, the funds are collected via general taxes imposed on every individual of the country.

Security Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Security Management - Essay Example organizing physical detection, alarm, response, and control systems; for many federal and private occasions and on regular basis. According to Mullins, a central part of the study of organization and management is the development of management thinking and what might be termed management theory. The application of theory brings about change in actual behavior. So when a security specialist starts applying the management theory, he can change the entire behavior of the organization towards security. The Security manager's primary duty involves managing and supervising the security employees. The security programs like personnel, physical, information, or industrial security does need experts in their area of specialization. A security expert in Information system may not handle all the physical security threats. This makes the necessity of security expert in that particular field to operate the security operations in the organization. Just like, risk management, security is also to be managed with reference to its plan, standards and practices. The security mangers who are authoritative to execute this security managers are the ones who are experts in the special fields. In order to avoid, line and staff conflict, many organizations directly hand the responsibility of security management to the person who is expert and specialist in handling the particular security tasks. But the entire security management on its own is a process and needs to be managed by people. Here comes the need for the role of a security manager, to manage the activity of security. Management in its true sense is, a process of getting activities completed efficiently and effectively with and through other people. In criminology, it is very important to study the organizational behavior along with the individual human behavior. Just like as organizational behavior gives an integrated and contingency approach to management, it also gives an edge to perform the security activity to the security specialists. The understanding of organizational behavior will enhance the chances of successful implantation of the security project. The organizational and group behavior dynamics will highlight the areas of concentration basing on scientific foundations. Organization behavior coordinates the diversified range of disciplines. Management in other terms is doing the job in a well-organized, efficient manner, making good use of all resources like, time, money, human resources and the efforts. Also the basic functions of Management are named as Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Directing, Coordinating, Reporting and Budgeting, (Gulick & Urwick 1937) The roles of the manager involve, Interpersonal roles like, Figurehead, Leader, Liaison 2) Informational roles such as Monitor, Disseminator, Spokesperson, 3) Decisional roles Entrepreneur, Disturbance handler, Resource allocating

Interpersonal Relationships Essay Example for Free

Interpersonal Relationships Essay Do you know what I mean when I say â€Å"What are some things that affect your interpersonal relationships? † Interpersonal relationships are any type of relationship that you have with someone else. I am going to share some tips that help with interpersonal relationship conflicts, and the things that influenced these relationships. As you get older you start to develop relations through personality, looks, intellectual stimulation, things in common or differences. This creates friendships, colleagues, and unimportant people. All types of things determine your interpersonal relationships. The most common form of daily communication is interpersonal. That is face to face, at the same time and in the same place (Lievrouw 2005). Emotional intelligence plays a strong role in relationships. As your relationship grows, you start to share a lot of emotions with others. Emotional intelligence is the ability to perceive, control, and evaluate emotions. Without the ability to show emotions, or understand them, they wouldn’t have any effect on a persons’ perception. Perception is your thought process about someone after taking, and observing the other person. Interpersonal conflict is neither bad nor good, but depending on how the disagreement is resolved, the conflict could strengthen or weaken the relationship. After the conflict, try to learn Interpersonal Relationships something from it. Conflicts will arise, and people are always going to communicate, and with communication in your interpersonal relationships. There are a few tips that could help save some conflicts. You could just deal with it, just leave the situation alone. Most important when you confront any conflict situation, you have to think it through. Otherwise you might make the wrong decision. You could confront the conflict face to face, and talk it out. Sometimes using a mediator would help. Having someone between the conflict, seems to keep the tension down. Something that proves right over and over to me is to avoid trouble makers. If you can ovoid these kinds of people then you are sure to pass a conflict. You should choose your battles. Be wise, and think it through, and apologize when appropriate. You have to know that you are not always going to be right. Maybe there is something you could do like work on your communication skills, and work to minimize conflicts. When you work to minimize a conflict you avoid conflicts as much as possible. And try not to be verbally aggressive or attacking the other person. Some of my most influential interpersonal relationships started at a young age. I was around mostly family and a couple of kids that were the kids of my parents friends. The reason they are the most influential is because these relationships were developed from unconditional love. When I was younger there was no one with bad intentions for me. I created my lifelong best friend at a young age. Her and I were always together, and was a year older than I, and she lived next door. So we connected through the fact that she lived right next door. We also shared a lot of common hobbies. Interpersonal Relationships The amount of self-disclosure depends on the level the relationship. Self-disclosure is information about yourself that you share with others, who you have already established a relationship with. So the more trust and comfort you have in any relationship the more you would share. It is communication of more sensitive, private, and confidential information. The level of self-disclosure in our relationship was high and very easy to do. I trusted her with everything and told her everything. When it comes to other people I have a hard time telling them anything. I have a hard time trusting other people. When you are younger the relations that you start are pure, which makes it easier to start. Still to this day every time that I see her, my perception of her is still the same as it was when we were children. We have shared a lot of hard and good times together. So with the emotional connection that we have it makes us both turn to each other when we are in need. We shared a lot in common being close in age, that we shared mutual friends. Sometimes this would cause a conflict. We always seemed to get though the situation. I think that we really connected through personality. Through the years our relationship is still the same. I am thankful to have a friend that I can always count on. I have a lot of interpersonal relationships that are a big part of my life. My family and my fiance are strong relationships, created from love, trust, verbal and non-verbal expressions. The hardest to maintain is the one with my fiance. There are so many obstacles that can ruin a relationship like this. Interpersonal relationships are also built around need. As long as you fulfill the need of the other person you will have a strong relationship.

Treatment Intervention to Improve Sleeping Habits

Treatment Intervention to Improve Sleeping Habits Individual Assignment: Bad Sleeping Habits Koh Ke Mian Bad Sleeping Habits According to Carskadon and Dement (2011), sleep is both combinations of physiologic and behavioral processes. When sleeping, the awareness to environment stimuli will decrease (Carskadon Dement). On the other hand, National Institutes of Health (2011) had stated that sleep is just for your brain and body to shut down. People always think sleep is merely their â€Å"down time† due to their brains will shut off when sleeping. Therefore, people will always stay up late because they will think sleeping is not important and it is wasting their time. Moreover, the researchers found that how much you rested depends on the total sleep, timing of the sleep stages, and how much sleep you get each night (National Institutes of Health). Besides, Kashmir Monitor (2012) had stated that health problems are caused by the sleeping patterns. In this globalization and urbanization, bad sleeping habit has become common and more and more young people stay up late to make sure their work is done o n the day. In addition, people will also sacrifice their sleep to do other things, such as rushing assignment which due on the next day, watch movies, play games, or chit chatting. According to Sleep Health Foundation (2011), bad sleeping habits is defined as poor sleep hygiene. Bad sleeping habits can be refer as erratically bedtime routine, which is not enough sleep for each day and sleeping very late. Bad sleeping habits may bring a lot of consequences to us which may influence our life. There are consequences that will be affected by bad sleeping habits. According to Harvard Health Publications (2007), there are connection between sleep and heart disease. They had stated that bad sleeping habits may cause heart disease and heart disease will affect the quality of sleep (Harvard Health Publications). On the other hand, the researchers had also mentioned that bad sleep habits brings a lot of consequences, such as high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, heart attack, heart failure, stroke, diabetes, and obesity (Harvard Health Publications). According to Harvard Health Publications, there will be higher risk of getting heart attack due to the bad sleeping habits. Furthermore, the researcher had also stated that bad sleeping habits causes higher risk of getting mood disorder such as major depression (Oster, 2012). Other than that, the researcher had found that students who have bad sleeping habits will negatively affect their academic performance (Park 2009). In addition, bad sleeping habits may also affect the performance and difficulty concentrating in class (Park). National Institutes of Health (2011) had stated that people who suffer from lack of sleep will slower down the thinking processes, harder to focus or pay attention on something, may cause confusion easier, make the wrong decision and risk taking, and slower down the reaction time. People who do something which need quick reaction may be dangerous if they suffer from lack of sleep. According to Cain (2012), the intervention of school will be effective in increasing the knowledge of sleep to adolescents. However, there are no significantly improvements of changing bad sleeping habits (Cain). On the other hand, students had stated that there were no motivations for them to change their habits in order to get more sleep (Cain). According to Cain, he had stated that people who have bad sleeping habits have the trend to avoid the morning bright light. Other than that, the researchers had mentioned that changing a behavior may require the willingness of an individual (Miller Rollnick, 2002, p.10, as cited in Cain). To change the bad sleeping habits, the individuals should have the willingness to change and believe on their own ability which they can change the habits. Motivating me is the way that I can change this habit and knowing more about the effect that cause by the bad sleeping habits may force me to change it. I will change this habit due to the consequences that could bring me. According to Harvard Health Publications (2007), lack of sleep will cause high blood pressure, atherosclerosis, heart attack, heart failure, stroke, diabetes and obesity. Lack of sleep may also affect an individual difficult to focus, decrease reaction time, and faulty decision making (National Institutes of Health, 2011). In addition, the tools that I will use to help me change my bad sleeping habits are avoid to take caffeinated drink at least four hours before going to sleep, not to take nap in the evening because it may make it harder to sleep at night, not taking meals when going to bed but not feel hungry, try to go to bed at same times, and not spending too much of time with bed while not sleeping (Sleep Health Foundation, 2011). According to LeBourgeois, Gi annotti, Cortesi, Wolfson, and Harsh (2005), as cited in Marhefka (2011), avoid taking nap in the late-afternoon or taking nap more than an hour during daytime, and not taking alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco before going to bed may have good sleeping habits. Method To make sure that I change the behavior, the behavior that I measure is the bad sleeping habits. In the baseline phase, I have used a mobile app which called sleepbot (Refer to Appendix F) to help me record my sleeping time and wake up time. This app help to record people’s sleep pattern and it can also track motion. It can help people know what are the problems that make them cannot sleep well and they can change their sleeping pattern through understanding this. Moreover, through recording my sleeping time and wake up time, I can know the amount of my sleeping time that I slept in a day and mostly what time I go to bed. Moreover, in treatment phase, I had set alarm clock for myself which remind me to sleep and wake up on time. Besides, sleepbot is the app that could help me calculate my amount of sleep and how much I debt to my sleep. I had set up the hours that I have to sleep which is eight hours a day and I set the alarm clock by using this app as well. Through using this sleepbot application, it reminds me the time I have to sleep everyday which may help me change my bad sleeping habits. On the other hand, this app may also allow me to record my daily sleeping quality. I will choose this app to help me change my bad sleeping habits because this app has a lot of functions which I can use it and no need to download so many apps that help me record my sleep quality. Furthermore, I will choose this app to help me change my behaviour because the first things that I will do when I open my eyes is check my smartphone. This app has the alarm clock system, so I will turn off it when it ring and it records my wake up time together, and I think it is very convenience. Results In the baseline phase, there are 54.4 hours of sleep time from 29th January 2015 to 5th February 2015 (Refer to Appendix A). The average daily sleep in these seven days is 9.1 hours. There is only a day which I did not sleep for eight hours. However, the earliest sleep time for me is at 12.14am and the latest sleep time is at 1.39am (Refer to Appendix B). Other than that, my earliest wake up time in the baseline phase was at 7.15am, and the latest wake up time was at 11.06am. Even though the total average sleep for me was 9.1 hours, but I do not have a healthy life style (Refer to Appendix A). Therefore, I would like to change it and make me be healthier. The treatment phase started from 12th February 2015 to 19th March 2015. In this treatment phase, I had found that the earliest sleeping time for me was at 11.15pm, but the latest sleep time was at 2.57am (Refer to Appendix D). This has showed that the behaviour that I would like to change had failed. Furthermore, my average sleep ti me in this treatment phase is 8.8 hours per day (Refer to Appendix C). It showed I slept more than eight hours a day, but my sleeping time and wake up time are not the same every day. On the other hand, the researcher had stated that if a person want to have good sleeping habits, they should go to bed at the same time (Sleep Health Foundation, 2011). According to Appendix E, the longest time I slept was about 12 hours, and the shortest time I slept was about four hours. My consumption of sleep dramatically changes every day. Furthermore, the results had showed that I did not change my sleep behaviour throughout the time and it had showed that I had slept latest in the treatment phase than baseline phase. Discussions This treatment programme did not work for me. This is because Lunar New Year was in my treatment phase, and I went to travel on that time. I could not sleep on time because I was not in the hotel on that time. Furthermore, this treatment programme failed because the treament period was the assignment weeks and I had to sacrifice my sleeping time to finish my assignment on time. In addition, I think procrastination is the important effect that I have to sacrifice my sleeping time to do my assignment. On the other hand, I think the app was useful, however, it could not motivate me to sleep earlier. Moreover, I think the weakness of this app was that I have to open the app myself while I want to record my sleep time and it is not convenient for me when I was feeling sleepy. It caused me lost my drowsiness when I started to set my sleeping time. This is because I have to think where my app is which caused me to regain consciousness. I think this app had contributed to me 60 percent out o f 100 percent. This is because it does not provide any other functions such as tips which help for sleeping, or music which makes people relaxes. Furthermore, I always switch off my smartphone when I am sleeping. However, this app needs to on my phone all the time and it drain my phone battery whole night. The difficulties that I had faced in this treatment phase were I did not have any motivation which helps me to sleep earlier. In addition, there were a lot of others factors which caused me to sleep late, such as rushing assignment, watch drama, or chit chatting. Procrastinating could affect my sleeping time. Furthermore, I think that because of nobody urge me to sleep earlier which makes me do not care on it. Besides, I had influenced by other people (e.g. family and housemates) that they all sleep very late and it makes me to sleep late also. According to Voke (2002), environment encourages exploration will encourage the child’s natural motivation. The motivation will come from the encouragement of environment. Other than that, according to Saul (2014), he stated that procrastinating could affect ability to sleep, and also affect general health and well-being. I think the app could add some music in which could help people to relax when they are stress out and could not sleep due to the stressful environment. In addition, I think the app may provide some functions which calculate the intake of caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol in a day. This is because the amount of taking caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol may also affect the quality of sleep. Other than that, I think this app should change their system which allows their user to switch off their phone while they are sleeping. It not only helps the users sleep better, it also helps the users to save the battery of their phone. Besides, I think I should ask someone to urge me to done my work earlier and also go to sleep before 12am. I think it could be effective if someone urging me. Moreover, stay with the people who sleep early could motivate me sleep earlier. In addition, I may also require my family to sleep earlier which help to motivate me.

Voodooism in Haiti Essay -- Science Religion Religious Essays

Voodooism in Haiti Introduction: My Exposure to Voodooism Voodooism is a fascinating way of life. Ever since living in Haiti in the early 1980's, the constant thumping of drums in the twilight has intrigued me. Their melody and rhythm seemed to consume the moist evening air like a pungent odor that will not dissipate. Life is very different in Haiti than it is in the United States, and however odd it seems to Western mentality, I could feel the presence of spirits in and around almost every aspect of life in Haiti. Since living in Haiti as a child, this is the first time I have researched the impact of Voodooism on the lives of Haitians. As a scientist, I want to document how the religion of Haiti quantitatively affects the worldview and lives of the people. I want to know if the science that I have learned and been taught would make sense in the Haitian culture; and as I have been trying to relate my faith to my scientific understanding, I wonder if Voodooism and theoretical science can coexist? Are US American methods of science appropriate and applicable to the Haitian context? I am on a journey to discover what Voodooism is and means and then how that relates to science. Science as a Worldview Science is a way of approaching the world, knowing why and how things around us are occurring. The scientific method allows scientists to be precise and focused. Through that medium, they can determine which hypotheses are consistently supported such that they become theories and which need more modification or rejection. This type of knowing can be tested and quantified. Scientists strive to make their observations as objective as possible, to be devoid of human interest. Scientists try to control all the variables ... ...ax or a strange form of acting. Maybe my world view prevents me from embracing the religion of the people in Haiti and they have a fluid tradition that is willing to accept scientific proofs into it's reality. I want to test more circumstances and explore more variables before I will be able to conclude with a probable theory. Bibliography Bellegarde-Smith. Haiti: The Breached Citadel. 1990. Corbett, Bob. Introduction to Voodoo in Haiti. http://www.primenet.com/~rafreid/voodoo.html Foster, Charles. Haiti-Today and Tomorrow. 1984. Franciscus, John. Haiti: Voodoo Kingdom to Modern Rivera. 1980. Herskovits, Melville. Life in a Haitian Village. 1971. Lawless, Robert. Haiti: A Research Handbook. 1990. The Vodun (Voodoo) Religion. http://web.canlink.com/ocrt/voodoo.html Weinstein, Brian. Haiti: Political Failures, Cultural Successes. 1984.

Midterm Essay Essay

Briefly identify and explain the key differences and similarities regarding the UCR, NIBRS, and NCVS programs. The Uniformed Crime Reporting (UCR) Program displays crime data for the United States, as well as for states, cities, counties and colleges. This allows for a comparison among neighboring jurisdictions and among those with similar populations and other common characteristics. The National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) collects information on the frequency and of crimes such as rape, sexual assault, aggravated and simple assault, household burglary, theft, and motor vehicle theft. Both systems report different types of information and different details. The UCR program displays statistics for law enforcement administration, operation, and management. The UCR program utilizes what is called the hierarchy rule. If more than one crime was committed by the same person and the time separating the crimes was minor, then the crime highest in the hierarchy is the only crime reported. This seems like a very inaccurate method of recording data, one would assume that all records of offenses were taken into consideration for reporting purposes. The NCVS program collects information on crimes by individuals and households while also providing information on victims such as age, sex, race, marital status. The difference in the two programs is that each serves a different purpose in reporting. The UCR reports information for law enforcement, operations and management. The NCVS provides information about each crime, its victims and the offenders. Summarize the evolution of the criminal justice system in America. Identify and discuss at least three (3) key U.S Supreme Court cases that have had a significant impact on the issue of individual rights versus public order, with respect to arrest, search, and seizure. In modern day America, the public’s view on the typical criminal has shifted from seeing him or her as a victim of social and personal unfortunate circumstances to seeing him  or her as a dangerous predator who takes advantage of the rights and privileges of citizens (Schmalleger, 2014). An example of a Supreme Court case that had an impact on the issue of individual rights versus public order is McCullen v. Coakley. Individuals claimed that a â€Å"buffer zone† around an abortion clinic infringed upon their First Amendment rights to free speech by communication with patients less effective (Takeway). This relates to the possibility of an arrest if the protestors are blocking the entrance to an abortion clinic or physically harassing a patient. In 1995, the Supreme Court ruled that officers must knock and announce their identity before entering a dwelling even if they hold a search warrant (Schmalleger, 2014). In January 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that the FBI needed a warrant to attach a GPS device to s suspected drug dealer’s car. This ties into the search and seizure topics and preserves the individual rights of the suspected drug dealer. After all, the individual is just suspected of being a dealer, there is no hard evidence. In general, outline the police mission, operational strategies, styles and the legal and ethical aspects of policing today. The police officer mission consists of five components, enforcing the law, apprehending offenders, preventing crime, preserving the peace, and providing the community with needed enforcement related services. Law enforcement has a chain of command just like the military with three policing styles that vary by department and region. The watchman style attempts to achieve â€Å"order maintenance†. The legalistic style attempts to enforce the letter of the law. The service style attempts to meet the needs of the community and serve its members. In general, police officers are mandated to stay within the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments. All law enforcement officials regardless of status or rank should be held accountable for their actions however, this is not always the case. There are three methods that guide American policing. Strategic policing retains the goal of professional crime fighting but enlarges the target to include serial offenders, gangs and criminal associations. It makes use of technology, intelligence operations and undercover stings (Schmalleger, 2014). Problem solving policing assumes that crimes are caused by social conditions within the community and that they can be controlled by addressing social problems (Schmalleger, 2014).  Lastly, community policing supports the use of partnerships and problem solving techniques to address the issues that cause crime. (Schmalleger, 2014). Ethical issues that plague law enforcement vary. Racially biased policing in which police officers are viewed as biased for example, taking that a predominately African American neighborhood is full of criminals. The use of excessive and deadly force is another issue in which police officers either use too much force in the apprehension of a suspect or cause death or great bodily harm (Schmalleger, 2014). What is the dual-court system? Identify and explain the three levels of characteristic of the federal judiciary. The dual court system is the result of general agreement among the founding fathers about the need for individual states to retain significant legislative authority and judicial autonomy separate from federal control (Schmalleger, 2014). The three levels of characteristics of the federal judiciary are the district courts, the courts of appeal and the Supreme Court. The district courts are composed of 94 judicial districts . Federal district courts have jurisdiction over all cases involved alleged violations of federal statutes. The 94 judicial districts are organized into 12 regional circuits each with a court of appeals. The court of appeals hears appeals from district courts within its circuit (Schmalleger, 2014). These courts are also known as circuit courts. The U.S. Supreme Court is the top federal court system in the U.S. It is comprised of nine justices with eight being associates and the ninth being the chief justice (Schmalleger, 2014). The Supreme Courts’ decisions affect the United States by deciding what laws and lower court decisions are in line with the Constitution. Identify and describe the various pre-trial stages of criminal trial. There are various pre-trial stages in a criminal trial. It begins with an arrest when the person is taken into custody. The first appearance is when the defendant appears before a judge. The legality of his or her arrest is contemplated and the defendant is told what he or she is being charged with. The accused will either be kept incarcerated without bail or with bail, the latter being money paid by the arrested in exchange for release. The next stage is the pretrial release in which the accused person is released from custody before or during prosecution. However, there is a condition; the  accused person is required to appear in court when told to do so. Plea bargains are also negotiated. The defendant can agree to plea guilty to a lesser charge than the one he or she is being accused with. A lesser punishment may be in order if they are being accused with multiple offenses. A plea bargain is a debate or negotiation between the defense counsel, defendant and the prosecution. Normally criminal cases end at this stage in order to reduce time and money. References Schmalleger, F. (2014). Criminal Justice: a brief introduction, (10th ed) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Takeaways From Supreme Court Rulings On Buffer Zones, Recess Picks. (2014). National Public Radio.

Ibn Battuta essays

Ibn Battuta essays Ibn Battuta was one of the great travelers of ancient history. He traveled to Mecca on his first hajj to complete the service that all Muslims should do if they are able to. Traveling to Mecca was an adventurous experience and many people didn't make it because the trip was very rough on the body. There were rituals that had to be followed before Ibn Battuta got to Mecca and rituals that had to performed while in Mecca. These rituals sometimes symbolized events of the past. Before reaching Mecca, Ibn Battuta went through several different places such as North Africa, Egypt, Palestine, and Syra. "There were five stations on the trails leading to Mecca where pilgrims were required to enter into the state of consecration called ihram." At this point the male pilgrims prayed and washed themselves. After they finished praying they received a special garmet, also called an ihram. The garmet they received was two plain white cloths; one was wrapped around the waist and the other was wrapped around the top portion of the body, but didn't cover one shoulder. The ihram symbolized equality of all men before God, the pilgrim was to behave himself the same as he entered. In October 1326, Ibn Battuta finally reached Mecca and he went to the Holy House. Pilgrims from all over gathered in Mecca to pray in the Sacred Mosque. When a visitor arrives in Mecca, he must as his very first act perform the tawaf, the cirumambulation. He walks around the Ka'ba seven times counterclockwise slowly, while reciting prayers special to the occasion. Each time he passes the eastern corner he kisses or touches the Black Stone, he does this because the Prophet kissed the stone. Once the pilgrim has completed his tawaf he goes to the Maqam where he prays a prayer of two prostrations. Next the pilgrims go to the well to drink, the water is sacred and has a saline taste, but the pilgrims still drink it because it heals them. After drinking from the ...