Paychex Market Analysis Essay

Paychex, Inc. (Paychex or â€Å"the company†) is a provider of payroll, human resource, and benefits outsourcing solutions for small to medium-sized businesses. The company operates in the US and Germany. It is headquartered in Rochester, New York and employed approximately 12,400 people as of May 31, 2013. The company recorded revenues of $2,326.2 million during the financial year ended May 2013 (FY2013), an increase of 4.3% over FY2012. The operating profit of the company was $904.8 million in FY2013, an increase of 6% over FY2012. The net profit was $569 million in FY2013, an increase of 3.8% over FY2012. BUSINESS DESCRIPTION Paychex, Inc. (Paychex or â€Å"the company†) is a provider of professional services to small to medium-sized businesses. The company offers payroll,  human resource, and benefits outsourcing solutions. As of May 31, 2013, Paychex provided services to over 570,000 clients, including approximately 2,000 clients through its four offices in Germany. The company operates through a single segment. However, it has classified its services into two categories: payroll and human resource (HR) services. Paychex’s payroll service includes the calculation, preparation, and delivery of employee payroll checks; production of internal accounting records and management reports; preparation of federal, state, and local payroll tax returns; and collection and remittance of clients’ payroll obligations. The company’s payroll services support the small business market through its core payroll and SurePayroll products. Mid-market companies are primarily serviced through Paychex’s Major Market Services (MMS) payroll product. The company offers Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution to meet the payroll and human resource administrative needs of its MMS clients. In addition, Paychex also offers ancillary services to its clients. The company’s ancillary services include Paychex HR Online, an internet-based human resource management system that offers tools for managing employee benefits, personnel information, and critical human resource compliance and reporting needs; BeneTrac, an employee benefits management and administration system that offers its MMS clients a solution for streamlined benefits management; Paychex Time and Labor Online, a solution for time and attendance process; Paychex Expense Manager, an integrated expense management solution that allows clients to control discretionary spending; and applicant tracking service. In addition, Paychex offers online payroll services through Paychex Online, an internet portal, which offers a suite of self-service, interactive services and products. These include Paychex Online Payroll, Internet Time Sheet, Paychex Online Reports, and General Ledger Reporting Service. The company also offers self-service and mobile applications for small business through its SurePayroll SaaS product offering. Paychex’s other payroll services include payroll tax administration services, employee payment services, and regulatory compliance services. The company’s HR services include Paychex HR Solutions, an HR outsourcing solutions provider that addresses the outsourcing of employer and employee administrative needs of businesses. Its Paychex HR Solutions offering is available as an administrative services organization (ASO) and as a professional employer organization (PEO). Both options offer businesses a combined package of services that includes payroll, employer compliance, human resource and employee benefits administration, risk management outsourcing, and on-site availability of a professionally trained HR representative. Paychex’s retirement services product line offers options to clients, including 401(k) plans, 401(k) SIMPLE plans, SIMPLE IRAs, 401(k) plans with safe harbor provisions, profit sharing plans, and money purchase plans. These services provide plan implementation, ongoing compliance with government regulations, employee and employer reporting, participant and employer online access, electronic funds transfer, and other administrative services. In addition to the above HR services, the company operates a licensed insurance agency, Paychex Insurance Agency that provides insurance through several carriers. Its insurance offerings include property and casualty (P&C) coverage such as workers’ compensation; business-owner policies; commercial auto; and health and benefits coverage, including health, dental, vision, and life. Paychex also offers online HR administration software products for employee benefits management and administration and time and attendance solutions. Paychex HR Online offers tools for managing employee benefits, personnel information, and human resource compliance and reporting. The company’s other human resource services and products include the outsourcing of plan administration under  section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code; state unemployment insurance services; and employee handbooks, management manuals, and personnel and required regulatory forms. HISTORY Thomas Golisano founded Paychex, Inc. (Paychex or â€Å"the company†) as Paymaster in 1971 in Rochester, New York, the US. In 1988, the company started its personal services division. In the following year, the company reached the 100,000 clients mark and opened its Taxpay division. This expansion continued into the 1990s. In 1991, Paychex formed the human resource services (HRS) division, with new offerings such as employee handbooks, employee evaluation, employee testing tools, insurance products and services, and section 125 cafeteria plans. Paychex acquired two California based companies, Pay-Fone and Payday in 1995. The company expanded its client base to 210,000 clients and its Taxpay division reached 100,000 clients mark. During 1995, Paychex’s HRS division introduced its 401(k) Recordkeeping service. In 1996, the company acquired California-based Olsen Computer Systems and Florida-based National Business Solutions. Paychex acquired Advantage Payroll Services (Advantage), a provider of payroll and tax-filing services, in 2002. The acquisition of Advantage provided Paychex with more than 49,000 new clients. Paychex acquired InterPay, a wholly owned subsidiary of FleetBoston Financial (a Boston, Massachusetts–based bank), in 2003, for $182.3 million. In the same year, the company was selected by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) for its payroll services. Subsequently, Paychex acquired Stromberg’s (a provider of time and attendance and workforce  management solutions) ‘Time in a Box’ product line, a Windows-based time and attendance solution for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In 2005, the company and the American Bar Association (ABA), a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, teamed up to offer attorneys nationwide free access to continuing legal education (CLE) through a series of live teleconferences. In the same year, Paychex launched Accountant Advisory Boards in three cities in the US, further accentuating its focus on partnering with accounting professionals who play a vital role in influencing the purchase decisions of small business owners. Paychex added Paychex COBRA Administration to its suite of human resource services for SMEs, in 2006. In the following year, the company introduced Tax Credit Services, a product that provided SMEs across the US with a tool to help them identify and apply for wage-based tax credits they may be eligible to receive. Subsequently, Paychex acquired Hawthorne Benefit Technologies, a privately held company in San Diego, California, and BeneTrac, a provider of online employee benefit administration solutions. In 2007, the company launched Paychex workers’ compensation payment service, which is an expanded service to include Paychex major market services (MMS) clients. In the same year, Paychex and Taleo, a provider of on-demand talent management solutions, formed a strategic  alliance to allow SMEs to compete in the recruiting and retention of top talent. Subsequently, Paychex and BeneTrac integrated Paychex preview payroll software and BeneTrac’s web-based benefits enrollment and  administration technology. Later in the year, Paychex launched the Paychex accountant knowledge center, an online resource center available on the accounting portal of www.paychex.com.

The Advantages of My Apartment

A new family moving into the Vista community would have a plethora of housing options. There are just so many flashy ads and advertisements around. It can make finding a place to call home a true chore. But as many families have already found out, there are many reasons as to why the apartments in my neighborhood are some of the most sought after in Vista, CA. Especially in comparison to my previous residences such as Marine Corps barracks, my current apartment has many advantages that would make it a wonderful place any family would be proud to call home. First of all, for its size, the apartment is very affordable. During my 3 months of apartment shopping, I could not find a more sizeable apartment for the price I pay. It is only twelve-hundred dollars per month for two bedrooms and two bathrooms when some other properties charged nearly that price for a studio or single bedroom unit. Also, the rooms in the apartment are very large. We have a large master bedroom, and the guest bedroom is big enough for my wife and I to store all of our extra belongings as well as a twin bed and a computer workstation. In addition to those, my apartment also has an immense amount of storage space. There are walk-in closets in both bedrooms, extra storage outdoors, and there is even a walk-in pantry in the kitchen. Although, as much of a selling point the size and price were, if not for the great location, we still may have kept searching. Secondly, the apartment is in a great location. For one, it is very close to the business district. We are within a few miles of many grocery stores, shopping centers, movie theatres, and many other attractions. Also, it is within walking distance of several public transportation hubs. The buses and trains at these places travel all over, to San Diego and Los Angeles and everywhere in between. Another example of the apartments’ great location is that we are close to our friends. We live only minutes away from many of our friends. Furthermore, since we only have 1 vehicle, my wife can always simply call a friend if she needs to run errands or shop, due to the fact that we live so close together, so as not to cause a hassle. Another huge advantage of my apartment is the level of tranquility it retains. A third advantage my apartment has is how tranquil it is. One reason these apartments are so peaceful is the fact that there are no pets. Since pets are not allowed, the apartments are always almost eerily quiet. This is great because on could sleep however long they want to without being rudely awoken. Also, we do not have to worry about barking or other animal sounds interruption my television watching, music listening or whatever else I may be doing. Another reason for the tranquility of the apartment is due to the face that there are very few young children. This is nice because my wife and I have no children with the other young couples around us. Moreover, we do not have to worry about the cries of little children disturbing us during whatever we may be doing at the time. Going hand in hand with the tranquility of the apartment though, is how helpful and courteous our neighbors are. A fourth reason my apartment is advantageous is that my neighbors are very courteous and friendly. One example of this is how our neighbors always have helped us when we were in a bind. On one occasion, the battery in my car suddenly died and one of my neighbors unselfishly dropped everything he was doing and drove his car to mine to give my battery a jump start, enabling me to go to the store to buy a new battery. Also, on many occasions, our neighbors have taken our wet clothes from the community washers and changed them over to the dryers, alleviating us of having to do the task ourselves. In addition to how helpful our neighbors are, they are also quite courteous. As far as the adults around us, while they do listen to music and other things like most, they do not listen to it at absurdly loud levels so as to disturb the people around them. Furthermore, the few children that live around us are obedient and do not cause excessive noise when they play. But at any rate, even with all these upsides, I would have never chose my current apartment if not for how good and kind the management is. Lastly, an advantage our apartment has is how kind and efficient the management of our apartment is. First off, our management is very kind. They know the tenants by name . Even from the day we first picked up our house keys from the office, the people inside welcomed us by name, which was very reassuring to us. Also, whenever we pass by one of the managers, they always greet us. Though, most importantly to me, the management always address our complaints expediently. For example, when my wife and I first visited our apartment before we moved in, we had to complete a pre-occupancy checklist. While there were not many discrepancies, the few that we did note were fixed before we even started moving into our new home. Even since then, all of the problems that have arisen in our apartment such as; burnt-out light bulbs, faulty appliances, broken hot water heaters, and so on; were addressed immediately. Finally, at our apartment complex, every tenant has assigned parking spots only for our vehicles. On multiple occasions, I would find other peoples’ cars parked in my spot. All I needed to do was inform the management of someone in my spot, and the problem was taken care of right away. As you can see, my apartment has a lot going for it. All these reasons like; a good location, the level of tranquility, its’ roominess, the friendliness of the neighbors, and the quality of the management, make for a wonderful neighborhood, and a great place to bring your family home. Now, having been educated, the choice of where to call home should be quite simple. I gladly made mine, and have not regretted it for an instance

Cpr Speech

Justine Capps July 23, 2012 SPCH 1315 – Patton How to Perform CPR General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose:At the end of this speech, the audience will know how perform CPR. Central Idea:To perform CPR, you will check the scene for danger, send for help, and then begin chest compressions. I. INTRODUCTION: A. Attention Material 1. Has anyone ever wondered what they would do if somebody they knew had stopped breathing or heart had stopped? If so, you can restore circulation and oxygen to that person's' body by performing CPR. . Performing CPR can save a person's life. A person can live 4 to 6 minutes once they have stopped breathing and/or their heart has stopped breathing. Performing CPR canresuscitate that person. B. Orientating Material 1. CPR can restore resposiveness in a person who haslost resposiveness. C. Preview: Using 6 steps, almost anybody can perform CPR during an emergency. (Transition: Let's start with the first step of CPR. ) II. Body A. The first step of CPR is to make sure the scene is safe. 1.If it is not safe, for example, if there is a fire, extinguish the firethen begin CPR. 2. If you can not secure the victim, then move the victim. (Transition: Once you and the victim are secure, you are ready to begin the second step of CPR. ) B. The second step of CPR is to assess the victim's conciousness. 1. Tap his/her shoulder and ask, â€Å"Are you OK? † if the victim responds, CPR is not required. (Transition: If the victim does not respond continue with the third step of CPR. ) C. Send for somebody to call 911.If nobody else is available call 911. 1. Give your location and inform the dispatcher that you are going to perform CPR. (Transition: After sending for help, you will begin the fourth step of CPR. ) D. Next, you will check for breathing. 1. Put your ear close to the victim's mouth, and listen for breathing, if the victim is breathing do not continue with CPR. (Transition: If the victim is not breathing, continue with the next step. ) E. The fifth step of CPR is to perform 30 chest compressions. 1.Place the victim on his/her back. Make sure they are lying flat toprevent injury. 2. Place the heel of one had on the victim's breastbone, between the nipples. 3. Place your other hand on top of the first, palm down. 4. Postition yourself directly over your hands, so your arms are straight. 5. Press down by about 2 inches in a fast rhythm. (Transition: After performing 30 chest compressions, you will begin the last step. ) F. Immediately after performing 30 chest compressions you will give two rescue breaths. 1.Tilt the victim's head back to open the airway. 2. Keep the airway open, pinch the victim's nose closed. 3. Make a seal with your mouth over the victim's mouth and breathe out slowly for about one second. III. CONCLUSION A. Summary: You have now learned how to perform CPR. Whenever somebody has lost consciousness, you can now possibly save their life. B. Wrap up: Always continue CPR until emergency perso nnel arrive with an AED. C. You can obtain a Heartsaver CPR Certification through the American Heart Association.

Increasing Physical Activity amongst Youth Australians Essay

Increasing Physical Activity amongst Youth Australians - Essay Example Increasing physical activity amongst youth Australians Since the 70’s and 80’s, research has shown that Australian kids between the ages of 7-16 tend to suffer from overweight and obese. According to the research results by Beaulieu (2008) the increase in  overweight  population  occurrence  rose by 70% while that of the obese went up 2-4-fold. The results from the analysis by Beaulieu raises alarm urging Australian parents to  identify  and  employ  effective  measures to counter overweight and obesity, a hazard to the community health. People with weight problems are  prone  to organ failures and  acute  body  malfunctions. People with overweight problems have their hearts overworking due to lots of fat accumulation in the chest cavity and the  heart  itself, putting their lives at risk because they are likely to suffer from heart failures and breathing problems. The dangers of failing to exercise regularly  are clearly explained  b y Mackinnon’s book Exercise Management (2003). Lots of Australian parents ignore the  data  that researchers  present  them from their recent  analysis. A research conducted by Royal Children’s’ Hospital in Melbourne shows that 30% of all the 12-17 years old are overweight. Different programs implemented to curb this situation failed because of the ignorance, including  The 3000 Steps  Campaign  initiated by Hong Kong Medical Association in 2003.recently, the 3000 steps campaign got  support  from MTR. The partnership from MTR aims to  encourage  children and parents to walk every day to the stations promotions to and fro. This project targets young Australians encouraging them to  walk  at least 3000 steps daily. Making 3000 steps a day is a healthy  living  habits  that helps keep the body in  excellent  condition. Making the steps can be frustrating and making the  walker  lose count. To avoid such situations, we try to  implement  the use of small gadgets like iPods and  iPads  to play music and most prominent count the steps. These pedometers help break the monotony encountered when walking alone and keep the  walker  focused on music rather than the number of steps needed. The SWOT analysis The strengths and weaknesses of the analysis The Internal environment of the factors affecting Australia’s health- the situation needs evaluation to facilitate the curbing negative impacts arising from its status. Situation among the parents and children leading to overweight- this calls for sensetization so as to ensure that a healthy leaving. The present factors affecting healthy living needs evaluation to ensure that that loops are easily identified and required measures taken by relevant authorities. Ignorance towards information, myths among the parents and discouragement from parents to join sporting activities- this calls for awareness among parents, so as to ensure that they appr eciate the needs among the young Australians. The opportunities & threats facing the initiative’s goals The external environment of the factors affecting Australia’s health   The situation that is controlled by the organizations and govt. bodies. The future factors that will affect the direction of Australians health Failure by the govt. bodies to communicate health information to the people. The marketing objective is to  enlighten  other parents on the dangers of neglecting the  lifestyle  of their children and the foods they eat. Basing on research by Cameron (2011), many young kids in the age of 7-15 years are overweight because

What is the relationship between public administration and democratic Essay

What is the relationship between public administration and democratic governance - Essay Example In essence, one can establish that public organizations have highly static organizational structures more often than not mandated by a statute. Because of this static nature, leaders of public organizations are prone to be weak and lacking in discretion; this is used to explain the traditional leadership theory where employees or subordinates respond to the influence of little discretion employed by their leaders. Similarly, because of the seniority basis of reward systems public administration will older managers often take more up. These older managers are seen to exercise little discretion since they operate in different environmental contexts from their private sector counterparts, where environmental contexts are differentiated by market forces and interaction with legislations and legislatures (Pacek, 2010). It has been found that there is a dichotomy between public administration and politics where this has been evidenced by the fact that the division of authority and labour is branched out into between administrative and elected officials, which raises the planning ability along with democratic ability among public administrators. It is crucial to establish the relation that lies between public administration and politics as it has important implications on the institutional development as well as intellectual identity of public administration. One finding into this dichotomous relationship suggests that politics and public administration are two distinct, separate issues. This outlook defines politics as being about making policies, a process that encompasses a set of activities involving value choices. Public administration, on the other hand, is seen as a tool for interpreting articulated policies into actual outcomes through the application of dedicated skills and knowledge, forma lly referred to as administrative knowledge. In essence, politics serves up the duties for public administration but should not be

Pressure to cover Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pressure to cover - Essay Example The need for cover is not only in the call centers operating from India, but even in the United States, which prides itself as a nation which embraces diversity. Wherever you go, you can see instances of ordinary Americans 'covering' under pressure. That is, pretending to what they are not-pretending to be like the mainstream. According to Kenji Yoshino who writes in his article,"The Pressure to Cover" published in the New York Times of January 15, 2006, people "play down their outsider identities to blend into the mainstream." Although the laws against discrimination have become pretty strict with the enforcement of "a battery of civil Rights Laws" like the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, there are still subtler forms of discrimination practised. Now entire ethnic groups or racial minorities are not targeted for discrimination, but there is still discrimination against individuals who dare to go against the mainstream. Yoshino says that individuals are forced to 'cover'. Since the existing civil rights laws do not protect individuals fully, they are forced to concede to the social demands to 'cover'. I have come across many people who try to cover. I remember I used to wear long sleeved shirts even in summer when I had an attack of eczema in my elbow when I was seven years old. I was just covering my stigma, although everybody knew about the eczema. Fortunately for me, it got cured very soon and I could wear comfortable clothes. My friend Singh who belongs to a religious sect called Sikhs, wears a turban according to the tenets of his religion, and has long hair. Although his ambition is to join the air force, he can never do so. . Sociologist Irving Goffman's 1963 book, "Stigma" provided the inspiration for Yoshino. According to Goffman, covering was practiced even by the famous like President F.D.Roosevelt. "He relates how F.D.R. stationed himself behind a desk before his advisors came in for a meeting.He was covering, playing down his disability so people would focus on his more conventionally presidential qualities." (Yoshino) Yoshino gives examples of other famous personalities who resorted to covering- Helen Keller got artificial glass eyes in place of her natural , protruding eyes, Margaret Thatcher got coaching in speaking, many famous personalities like Martin Sheen and Ben Kingsley changed their original names to Anglo-Saxon sounding names. Covering is done by people who have already admitted that they have a stigma, and make efforts to ensure that the stigma is not very noticeable. Karthikeyan told me about his own son, a little boy of six, whom the parents have named Ashwin. "I call him Ash, and my wife calls him Win. We are happy both the names sound American," he said smugly. Many non white and non Anglo Saxon ethnic groups have started giving Anglo-Saxon sounding names to their children. Almost all Chinese Americans have an English name; there are many Charlies and Jimmys in Chinatowns. It is a well known fact that many Hollywood stars have changed their names to make them more English sounding. Kirk Douglas' real name was Issur Danielovitch Demsky, and Ben Kingsley's was Krishna Bhanji. Changing their real name is also a sort of cover. When Karthikeyan introduces himself as 'Karr', he is taking refuge in a cover, he is trying to blend seamlessly into the mainstream. Citing a number of cases, Yoshino argues,"Under this rule,

Case analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Case analysis - Assignment Example The data entered at this stage include prescription, drug, customer, payment as well as insurance. The system then performs drug utilization review against previous customer history to determine drug appropriateness of the drug as well as to avoid causing any harm. In case of any problem, the system comes to a stop until reviewed by a pharmacist. The next stage in the fulfillment process is insurance check. The process of insurance check comes in after drug utilization review. The system performs insurance check, after any hard stop had been reviewed, to determine the payor. Following successful insurance check, the script goes to the production section. Under the production section, the required drugs for the script are counted by a certified pharmacy technician. Next the drugs are verified by a pharmacist to ascertain that the script has the right drugs, right quantities and the contained information is correct. After quality assurance, scripts are sealed in a bag and arranged in alphabetical order at the pick-up section, for customers to collect. The purpose and objective of CVS is to promote the health of customers by providing quality drugs according to the documented prescription in a timely manner. The purpose is derived from the organizational goals forming the basis of the sponsored research to identify problems and recommend possible changes and solutions to them. The problems identified in all five sections include unmanned drop off window, ineligible drop off and drug utilization review hard stop. Other problems included insurance check errors, insufficient inventory for filling the script during production stage as well as unpleasant customer surprises like unauthorized refills and unprocessed scripts forcing customers to walk away with a bad impression having lacked medicine. Waiting time at the pickup section was also

Price Differences Associated with Quality Essay

Price Differences Associated with Quality - Essay Example This paper will critically analyze the price differences associated with quality by giving a specific focus on imperfect competition and price differences. Effects of grade quality on demand According to an observation, â€Å"grade quality is the distinguishing feature or grade of the product in appearance, performance, life, reliability, taste, odor, and maintainability etc; these are generally called as quality characteristics† (Charantimath, 1). The grade quality or quality characteristics can have a great influence on the demand of a product because quality and price are the major determinants of a product’s market demand. Economic theories state that a change in quality can make a shift in the demand curve. When two identical products with different quality levels are available in the market at the same price, consumers would buy the product having superior quality. To illustrate, demand for Giordano’s pizza is greater than that of Papa John’s at a gi ven price. It happens because consumers believe that Giordano’s pizza has higher quality and therefore it would better satisfy their needs than Papa John’s pizza would do. ... It is observed that modern people are able to determine their needs precisely; hence, they can accurately identify product quality characteristics that are necessary to serve those needs. It is obvious that improved quality characteristics may better serve an individual’s needs. In other words, a consumer would get greater level of utility from a product with higher grade quality. Generally, a consumer always tries to acquire increased utility with minimum amount of money. In short, it can be stated that a product with higher grade quality will have increased market demand or demand is positively affected by grade quality. Referring to the law of demand, it is clear that the price of a product is directly proportional to its market demand. As discussed earlier, a product with higher grade quality will have a high level of market demand which in turn leads to an increase in its price. Maintenance of quality-price relationship is necessary for stabilizing an economy. To illustra te, majority of the agricultural products have predetermined grade quality standards and hence their price considerably varies in accordance with grade quality changes. Agricultural yields with a lower quality are paid minimum prices while marketers are ready to pay higher for high quality agricultural yields (â€Å"Grain marketing plans for farmers†). However, the law of diminishing marginal utility is also applicable to quality-price relationship. The law states that utility derived from the consumption of a product diminishes with each unit of the same product additionally consumed. Hence, a product’s price will not be increased beyond a certain level if a person continuously consumes a

Develop the film Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright, 2007) Essay - 1

Develop the film Hot Fuzz (Edgar Wright, 2007) - Essay Example While it contains indistinguishable comedic topics, specialized style and funny savagery to its forerunner, Hot Fuzz turns into a more genuine, unique postliminary. Therefore, it is a much more grounded portion that has now turn into a current benchmark in British comic drama. Directed by Edgar Wright, the film expressed the director’s love for the genre of thriller, regretting that in Britain over the last 30 years, they were not there at all. While mocking numerous films inserting allusions to more than fifty film tapes, creators skillfully blended a variety of genres - police thriller, detective, romance, action and comedy. The film is replete with derision of various clichà ©s. This is probably its most important advantage that certainly does not mean that it is the only one, but that is what keeps on all the action and all the dialogue, in addition to the chic of acting without exception. The main characters of Pegg and Frost, the main villain, Timothy Dalton, bad and ironic rural police, the sheriff, the father of the hero Frost, and even the saleswoman colors - all played exactly what was required of them the absurdity of the film. Hot Fuzz rejoined Simon Pegg and the director Edgar Wright in a satire film. Pegg plays straight-bound police officer Nicholas Angel, who is elevated to sergeant and sent from London to the lethargic Gloucestershire town of Sandford in light of the fact that his hard working attitude was showing up whatever is left of the police. The plot is not intended to be bode well. A spate of horrible murders in Sandford is disregarded with the perception that somehow accidents happen. Pegg stars as the protagonist, Nicholas Angel, a London police officer who lives for his employment. He is a thorough and prompt cop, who is great at doing his job - so great indeed that he is making whatever is left of his associates look crude. His bosses who are played by

Police Ethics Essay Example for Free

Police Ethics Essay All professions operate within a certain broad framework of code of ethics. These are rules that govern the conduct of a particular group of professionals, the conduct amongst themselves and most importantly with the rest of the society. Some of these codes of ethics may be legally enforceable and their violation may lead to criminal proceedings instituted against the violator. Contravening of the code of ethics may also lead to an individual’s name being struck off the professionals’ list like in the case of auditors, engineers and accountants amongst others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The police force has its own distinct code of ethics both implied and express. It is these ethics that regulate the conduct of all law enforcement officers in their day to day running of their duties. These ethics may be unique to one state or universal as they are a product of social and political environment. The United Nations has its own framework of ethics within which the police or law enforcement officers are supposed to operate. These are ethics that have been fine tuned and can be universally applied (United Nations, 1989).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Police is a broad term used to denote all officers mandated to enforce the law, officers that can make arrests as well as detain a suspect.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is agreeable that police officers are charged with the delicate duty of maintaining law and order. In the course of maintaining such order, they are bound to come across various challenges and impediments that may make them compromise their legal duties. Police exist in an environment filled with suspicion and hostility and with the powers they possess; they are likely to intimidate the rest of the citizens. They also have discretionary powers as it is not possible to spell out and dictate in the law how a certain issue is to be handled. They are expected to make split decision over who is innocent and who needs to be questioned (Hirst, M.J., 1990).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To carry out these duties, they are governed by professional ethics that guide them when carrying out their duties. In the process of carrying out these duties, police officers are expected to uphold and protect the human rights of the civilians and suspects. This is in conformity to both the national and international law. Their duty is to safeguard the interests of the public and assist public officials in the execution of their duties. These duties and responsibilities should be carried out in line with the laid procedures. Objectivity and fairness are two key ideals that should be upheld and personal interests should not conflict the efficiency in carrying out of such responsibilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Key to police ethics is the issue of discrimination. Police officers and other law enforcement officers are expected to carry out their duties indiscriminately. They are guided by the law and it should not be applied selectively. Gender, race, social and political status, creed or ethnic background should not be used as a basis to accord somebody harsh or preferential treatment. Almost all professions are expected to uphold confidentiality in their interactions with the public. Police officers too are not expected to reveal private details not unless it has been established that publicizing such details will help in the line of duty, for example in apprehending a suspect. The procedures and operations of the police officers should remain within the forces precincts as the release of such information can lead to jeopardizing of important missions. Every police officer is hence bound to confidentiality. No data regarding the police should be released to another party without proper authorization (Miller, S. et al, 1997.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Police officers are expected to use reasonable force in carrying out their duties. This however does not extend to malicious damage to property, unwarranted harassment of the pubic and any other measures that are not within the precincts of what is unavoidable in the line of duty. The force applied should not go beyond what is necessary and reasonable in carrying out such kind of an activity. The police ethics are against the subjection of suspected criminals to brutality that is outside the stipulations of the law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hierarchy in the police force is legally and ethically emphasized. Orders and commands in the force always take downward route. As long as the orders given are lawful and do not contravene the ethics, an officer is under obligation carry them out. The superiors on the other hand are expected to have full responsibility of the actions of their juniors in regard to the instruction that they have issued. Codes of ethics also do not allow police officers to accept gifts that are attached to their work, in case of such an offer; they are expected to notify their superiors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also against police ethics for officers to carry out investigations into issues that they have personal connections with unless such involvement is not likely to have a bearing on the investigations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Objectivity is to be upheld at all times. As far as suspects are concerned, police ethics require the officers to treat suspects humanely in the knowledge that they are innocent until proven guilty. There should also be enough grounds to necessitate the arrests of such suspects (Bracey, D.H, 1992).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like in any other profession, personal feelings and prejudices are bound to get into the way of efficiency and professionalism. Law enforcement officers sometimes find themselves in ethical dilemmas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are four classifications of dilemmas; among these discretion and loyalty are the most common. Police are allowed discretionary authority in their line of duty. These are powers to choose the most appropriate decision to make in a specific case. This is where personal intuition comes at play and in many cases lead to selective application of the law. A policeman is supposed to chose who to charge with a certain crime and who to leave. In making such a decision, personal preferences and prejudices may impede on the process of making of the right judgment as required by law. This is a very common dilemma (Blalock, J., 1992.).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Blacks and Hispanic community have been complaining of harassment by the police. The crime rates in the United States are that these two communities have a high prevalence rate in crime, with such a notion in the back of a policeman mind; an officer is bound to have a clouded judgment in his view of any person from these communities. With his or her discretionary authority, a police officer is more likely to arrest a black in the midst of whites in case of a fracas more than he would to a white who is amongst blacks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Personal interests are also likely to stand in the way of executing proper judgments. This is complicated by the temptation to take bribes. It is against police ethics and also against the law for police officers to solicit or accept a bribe. References Hirst, M.J., 1990. Setting the Standards for Policing: Meeting Community Expectations, London, Association of Chief Police Officers. United Nations, 1989. United Nations Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, New York Miller, Seumas, Blackler, John, Alexandra, Andrew, 1997. Police Ethics, Sydney: Allen Unwin.. Blalock, J., 1992. Mismanagement and Corruption. Police Studies 15(4). Bracey, D.H, 1992. Police Corruption and Community Relations: Community Policing. Police Studies 15(4).

Relationship between consumption saving and investment according to keynes

Relationship between consumption saving and investment according to keynes 1. Explain the consumption function according to Keynes! What is the relationship between consumption, saving and investment according to Keynes? The main hypothesis of Keynes is that the real consumption depends on disposable income. This hypothesis you can express like this: C = C(Y). In that case consumption (C) and disposable income (Y) are measured in units.  [1]   Kenynes also said that people enhance consumption when their disposable income increases. But the increase of consumption is smaller than the increase of disposable income. This hypothesis you can describe with the marginal propensity to consume. It describes the increase of consumption when disposable income rises.  [2]   The marginal propensity to consume is defined as C = = Because of the fundamental-psychological law the marginal propensity to consume is between 0 and 1.  [3]   0 When the marginal propensity to consume is 0.8, consumption increases 0.8 units. At once disposable income increases one unit. The fundamental-psychological law is fullfilled because increase of consumption is smaller than increase of disposable income. When 0.8 units are used for consumption the remaining 0.2 units are obviously used for savings. The proof is expressed by following formula: Y = C + S 1 = 0.8 + S I 0.8 S = 0.2 . Therefore we define the marginal propensity to save money as differential quotient dS /dY. The marginal propensity to save shows how much the savings grow due to increasing disposable income. Through differentiation of the budget restriction after Y you can see that after adding the marginal propensity to consume and the marginal propensity to save the result always amounts 1. = 1 I = . That shows you that every additional income has to be used either way.  [4]   The formula below is the consumption function: C = Caut + C  · Y . Caut is autonomous consumption. You can interpret the consumption function like a normal formula which you know from mathematics. Therefore Caut is the intersection point with the ordinate and C ·Y the gradient. The last formula which is important to know concerning the consumption function according to Keynes is the consumption rate. It serves to find out which quantity of disposable income is used for consumption. The formula is c:= .  [5]   So far almost always mathematical background has been mentioned. But it is also necessary and maybe easier to summarize consumption in my own words. This will help to explain the relationship between consumption, savings and investments according to Keynes. Basically Keynes had three suppositions which result the consumption function is.  [6]  The first was mentioned above. He expected that consumption increases when disposable income increases one unit. This mentioned process is the so called marginal propensity to consume. The value of it is between 0 and 1. You see that consumption can not increase just as money. But the main fact is that people lean towards consuming when they have more disposable income. Furthermore the average propensity to consume decline when dispoable income increases and consumption depends on current disposable income. Keynes thought that the rich spend more of their disposable income than the poor and that interest rates are not important.  [7]  Therefore a short example should make this facts more familiar. We expect, that the average consumption and disposable income was 1700à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ and 2000à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬. In a formular you find following average propensity to consum: c0 = = 0.85. The result says that 85% of disposable income is used for consumption. One year later the disposable income increases more than the consumption expenditures: c1 = = 0.84. The result says that now 84% of disposable income is used for consumption. Now it is possible to calculate the marginal propensity to consum. C = = = . Now you see that consumption increases 0.75 units when disposable income increases about 1 unit. While explaining the consumption function different facts were metioned. Also consumptions and savings. One word is still missing investments. In the consumption function according to Keynes investements have not been borne in mind. There is only a relationship between consumption and savings. It was mentioned that you have an disposable income which you use for your consumption expenditures. When consumption does not exceed the disposable income you have a specified amount which you can save. This is expressed by this formular: Y = C + S 1 = 0.6 + S I 0.6 S = 0.4 . Consumption is 0.6 units. Therefore you are able to spend 0.4 units. But when you take a look at the incomne-expenditure model or the equilibrium for good markets  [8]  you find other different relations between consumption, savings and investments.  [9]   The first important formular is Y = C + I + G. This formular describes the equation for equilibrium in the goods market.  [10]  Immediately you find consumption, investments and government spending. You see that there is an existing relationship. Now there is the possibility to play with the formular what could be interesting to identify the different relationships. Therefore taxes (T) and consumption (C) have to be subtracted from Income (Y). It is also necessary to subtract taxes from government spending. The new formular looks like this: Y T C = I + G T. We know that S = Y T -C takes effect. Therefore the term reads S = I + G T . The term on the left side is private saving. On the right side you find investment (I) and public savings (G T). The government is able to run a budget surplus. This happens when taxes exceed government spending. But when government spending is higher than taxes there is a budget deficit. That means that the country consumed too much.  [11]   2. Which monetary policy instruments does a Central Bank have to control the money supply? Which of these instruments is the most effective and why? A Central Bank has three different instruments to control the money supply. It is able to choose between standing facilities, minimum required reserves and open market operations.  [12]   Deposit facilities comply with deposits of merchant banks. Business partners of the european system of central banks (ESCB) are able to invest redundant central bank money until the next business day. There are no restrictions for using this facility and no corresponding amount limits for deposits. The interest rate is the bottom line for overnight money.  [13]  Business partner of the ESCB are able to use marginal lending facilities to provide overnight liquidities by national banks. There is a fixed interest rate for these liquidities. But the business partnes will not get the liquidities if they are not able to deposit refinancable securities. There are also no existing credit lines or restrictions which could make barriers. The interest rate for marginal lending facilities is the maximum limit for overnight money.  [14]   The second monetary instrument of the ECB to control the money supply are reserve requirements. Due to competition international financial centers to decrease the reserve debt. It was introduced in the beginning of the 20th century. The idea was to secure the banks solvency. Nowadays this task is done by banking supervisory standards.  [15]  Banks always hold reserves. The reason is very simple. They want to satisfy the depositors. But that money reserves which are required are much bigger. Therefore the aim to satisfy the depositors is not the only one. To prohibit disadvantages in competition between different currency areas where banks do not have to hold reserves interests are payed on reserves of European banks by the ECB.  [16]  The bank has to have reservers which are equal to 10% of their checkable deposits.  [17]  But it is to mention that the monthly average percentage has to be 10%. If there are liquidity bottlenecks the bank is able to go back to their reserve s. When all banks average reserves at the beginning of the month are below 10% they can feel certain that the ECB provides liquidities at the end of the month. Otherwise banks would not be able to fullfil their reserve requirements.  [18]   The most important instrument are the open market operations. When a central bank buys bonds they pay for them with creating money. This activity is used to increase the amount of money. Vice versa the central bank is able to sell bonds. It has to remove the money which is in circulation because the central bank get it for the selling of the bonds. The amount of money will decline. In modern economies these procedures are the most popular to increase or decline the money stock. Open markt operations are distinguishable into expansionary and contractionary open market operation. To understand that operation an example with a short balance sheet would be helpful.  [19]  Below you find the situation before buying bonds (a) and after buying bonds (b): (b) Assets Liabilities Assets Liabilities 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ + 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ + 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 2 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 2 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ This is an example for an expansionary open market operation. In (b) the amount of bonds is 2 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ that means 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ higher than before. But therefore the amount of money in the economy is also 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ higher. Assets Liabilities Assets Liabilities 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 0 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 0 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ In the example above you see an example for contractionary open market operation. You see that the central bank decided to decline the supply of money. The procedure is the same like for the open market operation only vice versa. The amount of bonds decline and the money in the economy, too. Both decline about 1 Mio. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬. Now it is interesting to know what kind of effects are resulting by open market operations. Therefore it is necessary to take a look at Treasury bills which are one-year bonds. The main fact of Treasury bills is that you get a fixed amount of dollars after one year. An example will explain to you the interest rate which you get after one year. At first we fix that you get 200 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ after one year. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬PB is the price of the bond after one year. In our example we take 150 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ . Below you will find the formular for the interest rate: i This example shows that in that case the interest rate is 33% per year. When you the interest rate for the bond you can play with the formula and change it so that you are able to find the future price of the bond after one year. For that operation the formula below is an example: . Because of this mathematical facts you can say that the price for bonds is less than the final price when the interest rate is positive. Sometimes you read in newspapers that bonds went up. This means that the interest rates for bonds decrease and the prices for bonds increase.  [20]   3. Which monetary policy strategies are the most widely practised? Which monetary policy strategy is currently used by the European Central Bank? The most widley practised monetary policies strategies are the nominal exchange rate peg, inflation targeting and monetary targeting. 1974 the Deutsche Bundesbank was the first one which used monetary targeting. Monetary targeting is based on the quantity theory of money. Therefore it is necessary to take a look at the quantity formula: (1). P are prices, V is velocity, Y is real GNP and M money supply. If you change the formula you are able to see which amount of money has to be choosen to achieve a certain price level: (2). For practical use the stability of velocity is very important. If you take a look at formula (1) you are able to see that an increase of V increases P. That means that less money is needed to achieve an intended price level. V is determined by demand for money. If the demand for money decrease money supply (M) is converted faster.  [21]  A country has to do some tests which proof if monetary targeting can be practiced.  [22]   A further monetary policy strategy is inflation targeting. The short-term or middle-term aim of a central bank which is using inflation targeting is to achieve low inflation rates or their inflation targets. The expected inflation rate play an important role. Central banks are able to influence the inflation target by using interest rates. It is a very simple example which should explain this instrument: If inflation is higher than the target, the bank can raise interest rates. The effect is that the inflation will decrease. If inflation is lower than the target, the bank can decrease interest rates. The result is that inflation will increase.  [23]   Concerning inflation targeting it is necessary to take a look at Taylors Rule which determines the interest rates. The central banks may follow the rule. Therefore you have to take a look a the following formula: . is the inflation rate, is the inflation target, is the nominal interest rate, is the target interest rate, is the unemployment rate and is the natural unemployment rate. and are positive coefficients. If and the nominal interest rate should be equal to , the inflation target. This procedure has to be done by the central bank. When >, the inflation rate is higher than the inflation target. In that case the central bank has to intervene. It has to increase above . The effect is that umeployment will increase because of the higher interest rate and the inflation will decrease. The coefficient has to be larger than one. The higher it is the better the inflation target will be achieved.  [24]   2. The more central bank increase interest rate 3. The more economy slow down 4. The more unemploy-ment increase 5. Inflation target achieved faster 1. The higher The central bank has to increase the real interest rate when inflation increases. But therefore the aim of the central bank should be decreasing spending and ouput. When > the nominal interest rate should be decreased by the central bank. The result is that the output will increase and the unemployment will decrease. has the the same aim like . It shows the care about unemployment in relation to inflation by the central bank. If ÃŽÂ ² is higher, the c.bank is more concerned to bring the unemployment close to natural level (to increase employment) and to increase output than to keep the inflation close to its target.  [25]   2. Central bank bring unemployment close to natural level 3. Central bank increase output 1.The higher 4. Central bank achieve inflation target The nominal exchange rate is also a monetary policy strategy. Through pegging the domestic currency to a very stable currency it is possible to control the exchange rate and the inflation.  [26]  But there are some requirements which have to be fulfilled. At first there has to be a country which has a currency that is powerful enough to be an anchor currency. The issue bank of the anchor currency country needs a huge reliability because of well developed stability in the past. Furthermore a large part of the foreign trade has to be done with the anchor currency country or in its currency. That means that for example Poland has to trade with Germany or in à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬. It is also possible to trade in US-$ but therefore the anchor currency country has to be the USA.  [27]  Furthermore an aim is to attract capital flows and to stabilize the movement of interest rates. When there is a danger that the domestic currency will decrease the central bank will increase central banks. If there is an danger that the domestic currency will increase the central bank will decrease interest rates.  [28]   The European Central Bank (ECB) is using the two-pillar strategy. The first pillar is a wide economic analysis to identify short- and middle-term risks for keeping price stability. For the analysis the ECB has a lot of indicators which are used to identify these risks. For example the economic growth, wage development, exchange rate development and the balance of payment situation, consumer price and producer price index development, asset price and real-estate price development and the inflation forecast.  [29]  The content of the second pillar is based on the quantity theory of money and is similar to the strategy of the Deutsche Bundesbank. The formular below expresses the annual increase of M3: M3  · V = P  · Y V is velocity and it is between 0,5% to 1% per year. P is price increase and it is up to 2%. Y is the growth of the production potential and it is between 2% to 2,5%. Because of these factors the annual increase of M3 is 4,5%. With the help of these two-strategies the ECB is able to achieve their main aim, price stability.  [30]   4. List of sources Felderer, B. / Homburg,S., Makroà ¶konomik und neue Makroà ¶konomik, 9.Auflage, Berlin 2005 Borchert, M., Geld und Kredit, 7.Auflage, Mà ¼nchen 2001 Gischer, H. /Herz, B. /Menkhoff, L., Geld, Kredit und Banken, 2.Auflage, Berlin-Heidelberg 2005 Kazandziska, M., Macroeconomics I, Session 13 Bofinger, P. / Reischle, J. / Schà ¤chter, A., Geldpolitik, 1.Auflage, Mà ¼nchen 1996 Blanchard, O., Macroeconomics, 3.Auflage, Upper Saddle River 2003 Heine, M. / Herr, H., Volkswirtschaftslehrer, 3.Auflage, Mà ¼nchen 2003 Mankiw, N. Gregory, Mikroà ¶konomik, 5.Auflage, Stuttgart 2003 Burda, M. / Wyplosz, C., Macroeconomics, 3.Auflage, New York 2001

The strategies of McDonalds expanding internationally three MacDonald

The strategies of McDonalds expanding internationally three MacDonald 9.3.1 Introduction The biggest challenge for an multinational is to maintain its global strategy in the stint of diversity as they hit different foreign lands. The same was the biggest challenge for McDonalds when they launched into India. They faced severe Public relation crisis and it was a very difficult to come up with a solution in such a country. Some of the key variables in this relation were the suppliers, customers, government and the Global Brand image of the company itself. McDonald Corporation was created in the year 1955, when Ray Kroc opened his first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois. He soon realized this success could be duplicated across the United States and beyond, if consistency and quality could be maintained. In 1957, the company adopted Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value as its motto. Over the decades, McDonalds corporation has grown to a $ 25 billion company and is the worlds leading food service retailer with more than 30,000 restau ­rants in 119 countries serving 27 million customers each day. With such high customer base and the industry they cater too, it becomes very challenging to maintain the Public Relation standards as per each country norms. This industry strives on the type of public relation one creates with the customers and various stakeholders. The globalization, WTO, the facilitates that many governments offered for foreign organizations to enter to its markets, the availability of many suppliers worldwide for many goods and services, all these factors and other factors in behind encouraged many organization to expand globally, this wide expansion made the responsibilities of the operation management more comprehensive and complicated, operation management means design, execution and control the organization operation through convert the resources into desired goods or services with aim to implement it based on the business strategy (Business Dictionary). 9.3.2 Background When McDonalds started their operations in 1948 the menu consisted of cheese burgers and hamburgers, pie, potato chips and beverages like milk, soft drinks, coffee. The cost of hamburger at that time was mere 15 cents. Now it is the largest food chain all over the world. By 1965 McDonalds had 700 restaurants. McDonalds all over the worlds are aligned by Global strategy of plan to win. This strategy focuses on price, people, customer experience, promotion and place. It is a publicly traded company and around 80% of the McDonalds restaurants all over the world are operating on franchisee basis. It competitors consist of Sub Way, burger king, Wendys and YUM which run some of the very famous brands like KFC, AW, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. McDonalds is the industry leader in terms of sales, market cap, employees, gross and net margins. The main cited reason of McDonalds success is the quality standards they have been able to maintain all over the world despite having location constraints at some of the places. They have consistently developed new menu items thereby always attracting new sets of customer and giving enough reasons to old customer to be attached. With this challenging cut throat competition, public relations are becoming very critical for quick restaurant industry. A psychological competition right now in US is the criticism these industry is facing from large obese population. This is especially true for the concept of value meals which provide extra large portion of unhealthy foods. The nutritional value of the quick restaurant segment has sparked many a campaigns and few legal actions. According to New York City department of Health a law was passed in 2008 making it mandatory for quick restaurant to post all the calorie related information against the food item on the menu boards. One of the biggest outcries has been the promotion of this food habits among the socio economic classes and the direct correlation of the obesity among the people. In response McDonalds introduced new and healthier item in the menu and shifted its marketing. With this background McDonalds entered into Singapore as a very famous brand to cater. 9.3.3 McDonald Profile The roots of McDonalds go back to the early 1940s when the McDonald brothers Dick and Mac opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino, California. Ray Kroc, a salesman with a flair for marketing, was so impressed by the speed at which they served people that he became their national franchise agent. McDonald Corporation was created in the year 1955, when Ray Kroc opened his first restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois. He soon realized this success could be duplicated across the United States and beyond, if consistency and quality could be maintained. In 1957, the company adopted Quality, Service, Cleanliness and Value as its motto. Over the decades, McDonalds corporation has grown to a $ 25 billion company and is the worlds leading food service retailer with more than 30,000 restau ­rants in 119 countries serving 27 million customers each day. In January 2003, McDonalds announced its first ever-quarterly loss of $343.8 million since it became a public company in 1965. This led McDonalds to embark upon on a new strategic course, reflecting upon a fundamental change in its approach to growing business. While it initially aimed at adding new restaurants, it now shifted its emphasis to building sales at existing restaurants. In February 2004, McDonalds Corporation announced that System wide sales for McDonalds restaurants had increased by 22.6%, or 14.8% as compared to the previous year. Comparable sales for McDonalds restaurants worldwide had increased by 13.9%. Macdonald is known as fast food company worldwide, it has over 32,000 restaurants worldwide, approximately 75% of MacDonalds restaurants operated via franchise, therefore the nature of MacDonald business guided its performance to pay attention to the quality objective with aim to reduce the costs, as long as it exist in several countries and each country different from each other in terms of taxes row materials, suppliers etc, pay attentions to the speed objective which is the core of its business, pay attention to the flexibility objective, the exist in different nations strongly required to able to change and flexible based on the host country culture and custom. 9.3.4 Strategic Objectives Quality is the mirror of any organization, customers could judge about the organization based on the level of the organization quality, therefore the first step to attract customers is through quality objective which is in somehow is to guarantee that customers will return back again, in this part MacDonald provided high quality products and services though standardize all its branches, and therefore MacDonald obtained customers satisfaction additional to made the operation more easy for the staff, for example MacDonald deal with over 20 bakeries to standardize the products in all the united states in terms of color, flavor etc (Gale/Online), the target of standardization is not only to aim to standardize the food in all restaurants but also to reduce the possibility of mistakes and therefore reduce costs too, another part of the quality objective that MacDonald provided which consider as rare in front of many restaurants is providing customers with nutrition information, thus custom ers can select the meal that applicable to their health (POM Report Macdonald/Online). Speed is the core of MacDonald objectives, to achieve speed objective MacDonald provide set of order channels such as drive-thru, home delivery etc, according to MacDonald CEO McDonalds that put the fast in fast food, and its speed continues to be a major factor in the iconic restaurant chains profits (Restaurant news/Online). Flexibility which consider the secret of MacDonald Success in front of its traditional competitors, MacDonald almost managed to be flexible in all the markets its entered, the flexibility of MacDonald made kind of loyalty among customers and MacDonald due to the changes that MacDonald made it based on the customers cultures and taste, additional to the flexibility to supply from local suppliers of the host country, for example MacDonald added corn soup to the food menu in China, adopted slaughter by Islamic method in GCC countries etc, flexibility to reflect positively insid e the operation through the readiness to response to any increase in the demands. Macdonald is one of the rare organization that succeed to balance between its operation strategic and customer demands, MacDonald combined order-winning and qualifying factors, in terms of order-winning which refer to the customer as key reason of purchasing the product or service (Slack, Chambers Johnston, pp 69), MacDonald as we clarified previously its ability to be flexible for any changes based on the host county culture, in terms of the qualifying factors which refer to that operation performance has to be above a particular level just to be consider by the customer (Slack, Chambers Johnston, pp 69), MacDonald paid attention to the quality aspect, and strive to make all its brunches standardized, therefore MacDonald built hamburger university to teach the franchisers how to be on the standard. Therefore MacDonald operation process aligned with the strategic objectives successfully. 9.3.5 Operation Process Due to the importance of the quality, speed, and cost MacDonald adopted decentralization methodology in its supply network, for example MacDonald in China deal with over 50 suppliers which covers 95% of the raw materials, another example show the (Chain Daily/Online) methodology of MacDonald supply network is MacDonald in United Kingdom, where MacDonald rely on the local market for its supply for almost 60% of the raw materials (Benfield /Online). Although MacDonald rely on outsource for most of its supplies but it maintained the quality part with aim to standardize the meal in all its branch locally and globally, thus MacDonald spent millions to found hamburger university, additional to the close training to the franchisers (AMI info/Online) with aim to ensure that its franchisers will provide the oriented level of quality additional to the closely monitoring and supervision (Slide share/Online). In terms of location of capacity MacDonald deal with Egypt Bakery Stores to supply part of African countries additional to Saudi market, Egypt Bakery Stores has selected by MacDonald due to the strong capacity, Egypt Bakery Stores has over 180 stores regionally (Egypt Bakery Stores/Online), in terms of MacDonald in China, MacDonald selected to start its business in China market particularly in Shenzhen the economic zone of China due to the facilitates that Shenzhen offered to the foreign firms such as cheap power, freedom to hire and fire, cheap manpower, low taxes etc (Paul, pp 478). In terms of the layout MacDonald aimed to have layout that meet its competitive needs, additional to utilize the space as possible as it can in professional and safety way (Operation management/Online). 9.3.6 Utilizing Technology As we mentioned previously how MacDonald paid high attention to the standard and quality parts in several Dimensions, for example in Australia in terms of the documentation work such as issuing and archiving documents, every branch of MacDonald required in quarterly basis to do archive for high volume of documents such as architects, surveyors, interior decorators and designers, and these documents include restaurant layouts, design guidelines, operating procedures, style guides for internal imagery, high resolution photographs and graphics libraries, to store all these documents MacDonald used to save it in CDs, MacDonald observed that this method in somehow expensive and difficult to control, therefore MacDonald deal with Aconex, Aconex offer high technology which allow all MacDonald branch to upload all the documents in one resource (website), thus with this technology MacDonald succeed to reduce costs and time, additional to facilitate a way to find the any documents easily. (Aco nex/Online) 9.3.7 Launch in Asia (Test Market-India) The biggest problem McDonald faced was during the launch of its product in India was the public image it was carrying as an International food chain and not matching Indian standards. There were concerns raised about how the burgers are made in McDonalds. Offering the cheapest burger in the world was not easy 11. In India, McDonalds chose to offer a menu that had no beef or pork items and special product formu ­lations to accommodate the Indian culture and palate. This included developing special sauces with the use of local spices, which once again, contained no beef or pork or any of their derivatives or flavorings. Furthermore, all the vegetarian products, including the mayonnaise in vegetable burg ­ers, were egg-less and 100% vegetarian. Additions to the menu have been a regular feature of McDonalds in India. The product devel ­opment team works on innovations in products. These are based on consumer insights and feedback obtained through extensive research. McDonalds in India conducts regular qualitative and quantitative studies, tracking the target consumer lifestyle across India, a practice that is followed internationally as well. All the new products are test-launched and following customer approval and feedback, the product is taken forward after making the necessary changes. The number of changes in the product offering is the greatest in India. To date, McDonalds has introduced 12 products to suit the Indian tastes. When you perceive the product range as Nothing but the best, providing quality to the customer requires extensive and meticulous quality control. This is a particularly difficult task in a land where a substantial amount of food produce is wasted every year due to lack of proper infrastructure and storage facilities. It was under these circumstances that McDonalds India went about creating the cold chain infrastructure for its restaurants in the country. As McDonalds considers the quality of its products to be of absolute importance, it sets stand ­ards for suppliers that are amongst the highest in the food industry. World over, McDonalds be ­lieves in developing close relationships with suppliers and this is precisely what it has done in India. 9.3.8 Variables Commitment Provided by McDonalds in India-building Suppliers within India In keeping with commitment of sourcing almost all the products from local country suppliers, McDonalds tried to identify Indian business which shared the level of commitment and dedication in supplying its customers with the highest quality products. In the process, McDonalds actually en ­couraged entrepreneurship, by introducing the local suppliers to its global suppliers. This associa ­tion involved transferring in latest food processing technology, thereby leading to an improvement in quality standards and helping create world class manufacturing facilities in India. This was the first step towards creating the unique cold chain. McDonalds suppliers of cheese, Dynamix Dairy, too, recognizing the needs of quality milk for making quality cheese, did set up a quality program for in house milk procurement. McDonalds local supply networks through Radhakrishna Foodland (P) Ltd, which operates distribution centers (DC) for McDonalds restaurants in Delhi Mumbai. The increase in the number of restaurants, investments in multi temperature trucks and systems, which enable the tracking of demand and supply, have helped control inventories. On its part, McDonalds constantly pushes its suppliers and DCs to bring costs down. Suppliers have to hence, necessarily find ways of improving efficiencies, reducing time and cutting costs. The Indian Value Proposition Business decisions in the company are based on emerging trends in the informal eating out industry as well as the marketplace dynamics. In the present economic environment, reviewing the external environment, macro economic factors and consumer-spending patterns is extremely important and this is reviewed along with qualitative studies. As providing value to the customer is the key, price sensitivity studies are conducted before de ­termining the pricing. The rate of inflation is also reviewed. A penetrative pricing strategy has been adopted for most of the products to sustain long-term growth. McDonalds definition of value was far broader than of most of the restaurants in its competition. With this objective, McDonalds India has launched a variety of options grouped under the umbrella of Value Meal. The a la carte items (Burgers, Wraps and McCurry Pan) can be purchased with either a small drink small fries to make up a small value meal or with a medium drink and medium fries for a medium value meal. For Rs. 10/- (net) more, the medium value meal can be upsized to a large Value Meal. This offers the customer a larger selection, and also provides value to the customers (up to Rs. 12/- on every Value Meal) with these combinations. The Happy Price Menu is a move to demonstrate to the customers that McDonalds is affordable. It aims to connect the customer with the branding, the proposition not with the price or the product alone. Under this offering, the McAloo Tikki, Chicken McGrill, Pizza McPuff and the Soft Serve Small [Hot Fudge Strawberry] are offered at Rs. 20. The En deavour is to offer good food, more convenient hours, enhanced service and great value. With the new Happy Meal which has been recently launched, the company aims at addressing the issue of value, choice and flexibility. The starting price point is Rs.55 [net] across the country and offers a wide range of burgers to choose from, viz. in addition to McAloo Tikki, Chicken McGrill and Pizza McPuff earlier, now customers can also choose from McVeggie, McChicken and Filet-O ­-Fish as part of their Happy Meal. The customer is also given the option of substituting the aerated beverage for a small McShake for Rs.8.00 more. The People and the Training-Critical to Public Relations Service is the key element of McDonalds operations. Every employee strived in providing 100 % customer satisfaction for every customer in every visit. This included friendly and attentive service, along with accuracy in order taking and anticipation of customers needs. When the Indian joint venture was formalized, the MTs were given extensive job training in Indonesia. MTs in human resources, real estate and buildings were hired and global directors worked with them to train them in the necessary areas. At McDonalds, training is combination of on-floor along with classroom training, provided by the Learning and Development department, with exposure in various aspects of business. The projected sales of each restaurant determine its staffing requirements. On an average, every restau ­rant has a staff of 40-60 people, including managers. Induction training is conducted at the time of an employees joining the organization. This was done through interactions as well as through exposure with the customer through operation training within the restaurants for a fixed period of time. The organization also provides ample opportunities of overseas training to those displaying po ­tential. Restaurant Managers are sent to the Restaurant Leadership Program held at the prestigious Hamburger University. Similarly, employees of other departments are sent abroad for various rel ­evant training programs. The Location Being located in the right place is always critical in retail. McDonalds prefers to be located at a place convenient to the people. Various parameters termed as generators by the company are studied to gauge the kind of business that could be generated from the location. Some of the generators are residences, shopping areas, offices, entertainment, education institutions along with transit points like stations or bus depots. Feasibility studies are done and once the location is finalized, the premises may either be bought or taken on a long-term lease. The joint venture company makes a majority of the investments. An in- ­house team aided by architects, interior designers and legal agencies then work on creating the restaurant. The People and the Training When the Indian joint venture was formalized, the MTs were given extensive job training in Indonesia. MTs in human resources, real estate and buildings were hired and global directors worked with them to train them in the necessary areas. At McDonalds, training is combined with on-floor along with classroom training, provided by the Learning and Development department, along with the exposure towards various aspects of business. The projected sales of each restaurant determine its staffing requirements. On an average, every restau ­rant has a staff of 40-60 people, including managers. Induction training is conducted at the time of an employees joining the organization. This was done through interactions as well as through exposure with the customer through operation training within the restaurants for a fixed period of time. The organization also provides ample opportunities of overseas training to those displaying po ­tential. Developing the Supply Chain When you perceive the product range as Nothing but the best, providing quality to the customer requires extensive and meticulous quality control. This is a particularly difficult task in a land where a substantial amount of food produce is wasted every year due to lack of proper infrastructure and storage facilities. It was under these circumstances that McDonalds India went about creating the cold chain infrastructure for its restaurants in the country. McDonalds considers quality of its products of absolute importance; it is known for setting stand ­ards for suppliers amongst the highest in food industry. World over, McDonalds be ­lieved in development of close relationships with suppliers and this is precisely what it has done in India. In the process, McDonalds actually en ­couraged entrepreneurship, by introducing the local suppliers to its global suppliers. This associa ­tion involved transfer of state-of-the-art food processing technology, thereby leading to an improvement in quality standards and helping create world class manufacturing facilities in India. This was the first step towards creating the unique cold chain. Building the Brand Once the infrastructure was ready, the build-up towards the opening of the first McDonalds restau ­rant in India began. A 3600 approach was taken, wherein the marketing, advertising and the public relations support were garnered before the launch. When McDonalds launched its first restaurants in India, the advertising done was largely local in nature. Teaser campaigns in local newspapers and extensive PR were used. Ronald McDonald parades also helped create excitement in the first few months of the launch. Mc Donalds had posi ­tioned its restaurant as a family restaurant and barred smoking and serving of alcohol on its premises. In the first two years of its launch in India, the advertising worked on increasing footfalls at its restaurants. Economy pricing of products like the ice cream cone at Rs. 7, bounce back coupons with every cone and Economeals at Rs. 29, 39 and 49 played a major role in getting customers into the restaurants. The results were apparent and resulted in a 48% increase in footfalls along with 30 % hike in the sales. From the onset, McDonalds had positioned itself as a family restaurant and barred smoking and serving of alcohol on its premises. From the year 2000, McDonalds focused on creating a dis ­tinct image of the brand in the mind of the consumer and launched its McDonalds main hai kuch baat campaign. It was the first Quick Service Restaurant [QSR] brand in the country to start adver ­tising on television. The first commercial Stage fright brought out the emotional bond between a father and child. In the same year, the company aired its 1V commercial for the Rs. 7/- soft serve cone cam ­paign, thereby establishing its value proposition. However, research also indicated that people were unaware of the food served by McDonalds. This led to the creation of an advertising campaign which focused on familiarizing customers with the food served at McDonalds. The film showed peo ­ple dreaming of the food served at McDonalds, thus depicting the range of products it offered. Sub ­sequently, in 2002, the company moved to a new tagline To Aaj McDonalds Ho Jaye, which indicated that now McDonalds is a part of your daily life. Consumer research also pointed out that a larger mix of offering was required in its vegetarian menu and McDonalds consciously addressed this need. The company also became aware that eating out, though gaining in frequency, was still largely a family affair. Hence, it was relegated mainly to evenings and the weekends. Another significant finding of the research was that the father, the decision-maker in the family, did not find the food served relevant to him. It wasnt filling enough or to his taste. Taking these nuggets of information, the company worked on extending its range of products and added the Wrap [2002] and the McCurry Pan [2003] to the menu, thereby providing choice and variety as well as addressing the willingness issue that the father faced. The Happy Price Menu came close on the heels of the marketing initiative im lovin it which was launched in September 2003. It has been designed with the purpose of connecting McDonalds with its customers in highly relevant and culturally significant ways around the world. The commu ­nication about this new offering is funky and funny and tells you that McDonalds is a great place at a great price restricted not only to the product, but also extending to the experience. The new television commercials show that any excuse, however small, is a good enough reason to come to McDonalds. The marketing proposition, What your bahana is? speaks to the customer in his lan ­guage, with research once again providing insights for the communication. In an effort to bring the Golden Arches closer to the consumer, The company plans a phased roll out in the region once the operations are established. The key objective for starting de ­liveries is to increase convenience for the customers, so as to enable them to enjoy McDonalds prod ­ucts in the comfort of their homes. At the same time, it aims to make the service hassle-free and easy to use. The concept per se, is not new, as the delivery business has been running successfully in coun ­tries like Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia and Singapore. It is also in line with the international strategy of growing its customer base instead of increasing the number of restaurants. Furthermore, the deliv ­ery model is based on the companys own international standards and is therefore, different in some ways than other local chains. McDonalds is the first in India to have a single toll-free number which customers call to place their order. The call centre determines as to which restaurant the order should be directed. According to Mr. Amit Jatia, Joint Venture Partner Managing Director, McDonalds [Western India], Research conducted by McDonalds has shown that people were ready to try something new and convenient, which would also be value for money. This encouraged the company to launch kiosks in Mumbai in 2004. Kiosks are a point of sales with a limited menu and have been introduced to offer a convenient option for customers who wish to purchase only desserts. Currently, there are 7 kiosks which are op ­erational. These kiosks offer a unique new range of desserts and cold beverages, which are 100% vegetarian. The menu comprises of aerated beverages, non-aerated beverages such as iced tea and cold coffee, soft serves and floats. The strategy is To build brand presence by increasing points of distribution and providing variety to the customers. These are cold kiosks and they serve frozen desserts only. The kiosks are in close proximity of the existing McDonalds outlets only. Serving the Society In keeping with its international policy of serving the society, McDonalds India has also partici ­pated in and supported heath initiatives like the Pulse Polio Immunization program since 1998. In the same year, McDonalds also started Spotlight, an annual inter-school performing arts compe ­tition to provide the students with an atmosphere for healthy competition. Last year, more than 300 schools participated in the event. Other initiatives include its association with the Nehru Science Centre in the year 2000, to bring to the schools of Mumbai, a science quiz, and partnering with the Nalanda Foundation, in the year 2002, for its Blue dot Education Initiative for the under-privileged girl-child. In the near future, the company aims to focus on core markets, get the scale there and then look at further expansion. It plans to add 10 -15 restaurants each year [2004 2005] and estimates a total revenue growth of 40-45% over 2003, of which deliveries will contribute 15- Serving the Society-Assurance In keeping with its international policy of serving the society, McDonalds India has also partici ­pated in and supported heath initiatives like the Pulse Polio Immunization programme since 1998. In the same year, McDonalds also started Spotlight, an annual inter-school performing arts compe ­tition to provide the students with an atmosphere for healthy competition. Last year, more than 300 schools participated in the event. Other initiatives include its association with the Nehru Science Centre in the year 2000, to bring to the schools of Mumbai, a science quiz, and partnering with the Nalanda Foundation, in the year 2002, for its Blue dot Education Initiative for the under-privileged girl-child. Relationship among Variables The key reason behind the success of McDonalds has been the integration of all key objectives and variables under one roof, and then aligning global strategy in the local format. They have used their extensive Public relations capability to build up a strong bonding among the variables. It has bought all the stakeholders at the same platform and assured success and benefit for each one of them. This in turned assured that all of them strive to achieve what McDonalds was set out to achieve when it came to India.

Asian Religions in the USA :: essays research papers

Asian Religions in the USA   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this essay I will discuss the many aspects and ideals of Asian Religions along with their impact and the role they play within the United States. I had a few questions that I had to try and find answers for, in order to complete the connection of Asian Religions to the United States. Why are some Americans and westerners finding Asian Religions as well as Asian thought and philosophy to be more gratifying than traditional western religions and philosophy? How are Asian Religions perceived and practiced here in the United States as opposed to its place of origination? Finally, is there further growth of the Asian Religions as well as philosophy still possible here in the United States and the west? All of the answers to these questions will try and explain the place Asian Religions have here in the United States.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Why are some Americans finding Asian religions as well as Asian thought and philosophy to be more satisfying than traditional western religions and philosophy? One thing I might point my finger at is the expansion of religious studies within the United States. As we discussed in class, just within the past ten years the idea of religious studies (including more than just the majority religions) is just now being accepted and explored. As we have become more familiar with the many different religions that are in this world, the more we will pursue and possibly practice those religions. As the west is becoming more educated to all the different religious possibilities, I feel many people are becoming more accepting of a person who searches out these different possibilities. Technology is also a factor in the education of Asian religions. The technology we have today allows people to really explore the entire world from the tips of their fingers. Being knowledgeable that something different does exist will open your mind to different avenues. You may find a western traditional religion to be right for you, but if you are educated in many of the options you might accept the idea someone else finds your western tradition not comfortable for them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I find many Americans searching for a higher spirituality than traditional western religions, and they can find what they are searching for in Asian religions. Alan Watts was the type of a person who refused western religions and their thinking and in his search he formed â€Å"his own hybrid spirituality a between Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism, with a certain leaning towards Vedanta and Catholicism, or rather the Orthodox Church of Eastern Europe.

Destiny :: essays research papers

Pre-Destination vs. Self-Determination People like to believe that they have the freedom to choose to be or do whatever it is that they want to be or do; it is, however, quite the opposite. This sense of freedom is called self-determination. At the other end of the spectrum, when no matter what we do seems to make any difference or when events just seem to happen and we think about them as being out of our control or somehow planned by some force unknown to us (such as a God), that is called pre-destination. Self-determination has its limitations as to what people are allowed to do, but pre-destination has no limits of any kind. Self-determination is, in fact, used to mask pre-destination, to keep people content in following a pre-set path that life offers. Without pre-destination, how do we know what the weather will be like, or if the sun rises, or if someone will stop at a red light? Without these paths where would our lives be going? People do these every day things that are simply there to keep them going down the pa th that they have always been on. When people get off that path, such as when they stop doing drugs, then their lives are on a new track. But the new track doesn’t necessarily have anything unique about it, it’s just a new path and already pre-determined. And once on a path, it is very difficult to veer away from the pre-determined, pre-disposed activities that a particular lifestyle requires. Smith 2 Pre-destination, not our life choices, guides our lives. There is no other way to explain things such as people who grow up poor yet somehow manage to create a multinational company and become multimillionaires. Although some might say that these people chose to follow a particular path that led them to their fame and fortune. Instead, it should be argued that even if these people were born poor, they were they were destined to create that company. They were given the drive to make that company into what it was. Anyone can choose to start a company, but few actually have the ability to make that company a success. Choice does not have anything to do with ability: I choose to be a billionaire but I do not have the bank account to be one. Predestination explains almost ninety percent of what happens in the world, from birth to death, and even pure luck.

Abraham & God Essay

Abraham is truly an exceptional man who completely surrendered his life to God’s will. However, while Abraham was a man of faith, he remained a man with flaws, asking God questions that implied confusions about the will of God and God’s omnipotence. For example, he laughed when God promised him that he will have offspring even in his old age. He also lied about Sarah being his wife for fear that he will be killed because of her and not trusting God will protect him. The greatest test, however, was when God asked him to sacrifice his only son. Abraham was willing to sacrifice Isaac to prove his love of God, and this should not be a question regarding his faith. But what of God who made a covenant with him stating the He will make a great nation out of Isaac? There is no doubt that God was testing Abraham. But what if Abraham had refused to sacrifice his son? Would that change what God had promised to Abraham regarding Isaac? This, to me, is a disturbing question regarding God’s purpose, and it is not an appealing image of God reconsidering His promise when His subject failed His test. See more:  Capital budgeting essay On the other hand, if Abraham was doing the sacrifice out of faith, then he would already know that God would not let the boy get any harm. How would God then fulfill his promise if Isaac was sacrificed? Knowing this, it would not be God who is really testing Abraham but the other way around. The story of God’s covenant to Abraham and God’s test to him, to me, does not really establish the faith of the religion but poses contradictions to divine purpose and the faith of the people. Credit #6 Jews and Christians look at the Messianic Prophecies on different context, hence while the other promote Jesus to be the messiah, the other reject him as such. Examining these contexts would allow us to understand why Jesus is accepted to be the messiah or not. The Jews believed the messiah to be human—not a god or a demigod. That the early Christians claim that Jesus was the Son of God and indeed a God himself made most of the Jews not accept him as the messiah. The Jews believe in only one God, hence the introduction of another, and a mere man claiming to be God, is seen as a heresy to the Jewish faith. The Jews believe that the messiah will unite all the Jews back to the land of Israel, reign in a time of world peace, and would be a great military leader. Jesus fulfilled none of these. However, the Christians believe that these prophesies will be fulfilled in Jesus’ second coming. On the other hand, the Jews believe that the prophecies will be fulfilled immediately and that there is no concept of a second coming. Hence, the Jews reject the idea of the second coming of Jesus. Other Messianic Prophecies have been justified by Christians to have been fulfilled by Jesus. The evangelists claim that, through Joseph the carpenter, Jesus was descended from the line of David, of which the messiah is said to come from. However, this claim is contradicted with the Christian doctrine of the virgin birth from which, strictly speaking, Jesus could not have been a direct descendant of David. The Christians also believe that Jesus have restored the temple, which they believe to refer to Jesus’ body, by his resurrection. On the other hand, the Jews believe that the messiah will be a strict observant of the Torah, which by all means and according to the accounts of the New Testament Jesus was not. Having said these, it is also important to note that the early Christians, as well as Jesus himself, were Jews. Accepting the teachings of the Apostles and disciples of Jesus depends on how one looks on messianic context. The fact that some Jews have accepted Jesus as their messiah while others clearly regarded him as a heretic and a threat to the Jewish faith proves this point. Jesus’ challenge to the Jewish law earned the right of the elders to suppress the sect that is slowly emerging. Considering however that Jesus lived an extraordinary life, with teachings of peace instead of being a war-like messiah, deserves credit for the Christian faith. Credit #7 Monasticism throughout the world shares a similar purpose—the renouncement of worldly pursuit in search for spiritual growth. Images of gods and holy men are usually present in monasteries. The Greek Orthodox Christianity justified the use of these images as â€Å"windows† to heaven. It is not these images that they praise, but those of which they represent, which are unseen. It is explained that the human body is comprised by two elements—the physical and the spirit—and that the physical part needs to see some representation of the divine and that the images are merely tools to help them in their journey. Monks practice strict compliance to the teachings of their religion, isolated from the city life, spending most of the day in prayer. Monks also have assigned chores they must perform. They were also expected to forget the physical element of their body for a while—getting sufficient for the body to have its strength needed for daily tasks, no shower, no shaving. There is limited conversation between monks—they spend each day in silence and contemplation and prayer. Furthermore, monks are taught to pray from the heart. One could only wonder whether these prayers are repeated, as if being recited. Whether or not this is the case, monks believe truly in their heart that they have found their peace and satisfaction apart from the calling of worldly desires.