Argument Essay Essay

As students we all have been challenged to do our best. Throughout our lives we have been labeled with our grades; in high school, the ones with low grades were left alone in misery, while the ones with higher grades were praised as the leaders of this horse race. Then, the question that comes into mind is: is it right to categorize students, does grading contribute to educationa? It is assumed and stated in the philosophy of the current educational system that grading encourages learning and without it students would not study. That is far from being true and also expresses another flaw of our education system. The system is based on fear: the basic motive for students to study is fear of low grades. Furthermore, because the grades are the main criteria for passing courses, students do not study: they just develop methods of cheating. Thus, without learning the subject, they keep passing. Since grades received in exams are more important than learning the subject matter, all students have to do to pass their courses is memorize how a specific problem is solved. Without knowing why such a method is used, students cannot apply their ability to solve the problem to daily life. However, they pass exams without learning why, how or what of the matter. Another disadvantage of grading is that grades of a student are not updated. That means the grades of a student for the first year of school will still be valid in the last year, whether his knowledge about the subject has improved or deteriorated. Considering all the factors that affect a student’s exams and marks, even a small incident may have a great impact in the long run. Apart from these problems, which can be virtually solved by optimizing and improving the grading system, the most important defect of the system cannot be repaired without changing the whole system. The grading system causes inequalities, superior-inferior relations, classifications and even conflicts. It may be maintained that societies of the modern world are structured on these basic principles, but the fact that something exists does not justify it. Moreover, the people grown up in such an education system will not be able to see the other side of the walls, or will be afraid even to take a glimpse. To sum up, grading students is not a good practice and should be abolished. It is clear that education, especially education during childhood, has a great effect on one’s life. And if you bring the children up in conditions of conflict and competition, they will look for conflicts in the future too.

Community College vs. Universities Essay

Which is better, a community college or university? Both are a great experience. But In my opinion you would benefit more affectively from a community college. There are multiple reasons why a community is better, such as a cheaper cost. In this economy cheaper sounds much nicer than an expensive university. Also a smaller class, which means more hands on experience with your teacher. And the hours would be more flexible, adjusting to your lifestyle. I could sit for hours for and name many more reason; the examples are numerous but let’s go a little deeper into the details and see if you’ll also agree with me. For starters, in our current economy cheaper sounds very alluring and tempting. Although you can’t put a price on your education, it’s nice to know you’re getting your money’s worth. Being said; the average tuition for a university is 4,694 dollars. And the whole sum for the full four years is roughly about 35,000 dollars (A real eye opener for a soon to be college student! ) The community college is lower and tuition lesser than half reaching only about 2,076 dollars. Meaning you can take classes and earn credits toward a two year or four year degree program at a lower cost. With a university the price expectations can be difficult to reach. You never know if you get into your major and want to switch it up; in that case it would’ve just been a waste of time and money. So the difference in the prices should already be opening your thoughts on if you should be considering a community college over a university. Also, if you like more hands on opportunities with your teachers a community college would be perfect for you. Community Colleges tend toward fewer students per class, which means more student/teacher interaction. The standard number of students in a community class is around 15 to 20 students. In a smaller class, professors have the opportunity to learn more about their students and become more entwine in your work personally. And you will also have a much easier time getting to know your classmates, compared to a university where’s there’s about 40 to 50 a class. In which classes would be more lectured instead of having that one on one time. That could result in you not fully understanding the work or your teacher’s method. Also, this is good for students who like access to their instructors so they can ask questions and avoids getting lost in the course material or in the shuffle. Therefore, it shows that size matters when it comes to education, and reducing class size is an important step in promoting effective learning. Another asset to being in a community college is being able to adjust your school schedule to your lifestyle. For instant, many students don’t realize that if they plan on working while attending school, community college is hands down, the best option. For example, having a job while going to school can become very difficult. A job schedule is very unpredictable, and so are the people you work with. And whoever you work for may need you to come in early or work late, so having an early or night class may help you out. And another crucial scenario that a lot of school student have nowadays is children. Sometimes you’re put in a situation where u may have to be with your child, or have to pick them up from school. That may cause you to miss a day of class, or in worser cases days of school. A community college offers far more night classes then a university college, which means there can be more personal adjustments to you schedule. Versus a university, where it may be more backbreaking to deal with the schedule they apply to you. University students are expected to do university as if it’s a full-time job, and then some. As such, the schools will not flinch to schedule a crucial class at 8 or 9 in the morning, five days a week. In doing, it would become extremely difficult to work a 9 to 5. Concluding, community college sounds way more stable and appealing to the upcoming college student. The pricing is more affordable year round, so you still have cash for the necessary necessities. If you’re looking for more hands on experience then it’s also right for you, versus the 50 students that’ll be in your university class. Lastly it would be lighter on your schedule, especially if you are trying to keep a 9 to 5 job, or juggle kids. To wrap it all up, the university life isn’t as glamorous as it may appear. It may look appealing on TV but the price will make you reconsider.

I Don; T Know Essay

Why or why not? All personal and confidential information should be limited to the bare amount of health care professionals. Only to carry out medical treatment (MLAE). 2. In this case, how would you be able to correct your error and provide the missing documents to the patient while still protecting patient confidentiality under HIPAA? You should contact the patient inform them you still have the documents, and ask if they ould like to come to get them (MLAE). 3. Besides a HIPAA Patient Release of Information form, list 4 other items that are found in the medical record. A privacy notice, acknowledgment that the privacy notice was received, a trading partner agreement, and an agreement reached with a healthcare professional business associates (MLAE). 4. Legally, does the patient or the physician/healthcare facility own the medical record? Why? The healthcare facility, but the patient can access them any time as long as the physician feels it will cause no harm to the patient (MLAE) . 5. List 3 ways patient confidentiality is maintained in the reception/waiting area of a medical office. Not discussing patient information in the lobby. Making sure computer screens are out of patients sight. Also making sure patients files are not left open (MLAE). 6. A breach of confidentiality can result in what consequences for a health care professional? This could result in possible termination, or possible civil action being taken (MLAE). 7. From the list of Interpersonal Ethics (found in Chapter 1 of the Fremgen text), please describe how any of those traits were demonstrated in your actions in this case scenario? Respect by looking to make sure you could access his information (MLAE). Unit 8 Project Questions: Part II 1. Would the action taken in this second scenario be within your scope of practice for your chosen field? Why or why not? No only physicians should be giving out prescriptions, and they should have never even looked in the file. They should have just taken a message for the doctor (MLAE). 2. What determines your scope of practice for your chosen career? What you study, and what the office you are working in tells you to do (MLAE). 3. Would Respondeat Superior apply in this case scenario? Why or why not? I would not think so, because this person was not acting within their scope of Employment (MLAE). 4. Would the Good Samaritan Law apply in this case scenario? Why or why not? No because this was not any emergency situation (MLAE). 5. What role does the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) play in regards to prescription medication? The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the regulation and supervision of food safety, tobacco products, dietary supplements, prescription and ver-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs (medications), vaccines, biopharmaceuticals, blood transfusions, medical devices, electromagnetic radiation emitting devices (ERED), and veterinary products (MLAE). 6. What role does the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) play in regards to prescription medication and a physician’s ability to prescribe narcotics? Physicians must have a DEA license to write prescriptions, and i t must be for the state they are practicing in (MLAE). References Bonnie F Fremgen, Ph. D. (2009). MEDICAL LAW AND ETHICS. New Jersey : Pearson Education Inc.

Monster Cookie Company and E-commerce Assignment

Monster Cookie Company and E-commerce - Assignment Example MCC company may face a risk of future closure because the company may hire dishonest web designers and programmer unknowingly who may tend to expose MCC business secrets to its competitors (Ghosh, 2001).Additionally, a mostly online business depends entirely on the mercy of their financial institutions. In case financial institution receives claims against the company from its suppliers, the bank may freeze the account of the company and this may cause the company to collapse (Ghosh, 2001). 4 Introducing e-commerce at MCC will enable the company to have a broader market of supplying monster cookies due to a wider geographical coverage established by e-commerce. This, in turn, will lead to an increase in companies sales and profitability (Al-qirim, 2004). Additionally, the company will have an opportunity of interacting with suppliers who can supply raw material for manufacturing monster cookies’ at a subsidized cost. 6 There are numerous e-commerce systems used by similar organizations among the systems include LinkedIn, twitter, facebook to name just but a few. Those systems have enabled similar organizations as MCC Company to have a broader network where business transactions can take place more efficiently and effectively (Al-qirim, 2004). 6 The most significant financial implication of e-commerce at MCC Company is that the company has to adopt the use credit cards in order to receive payments from virtual customers located in different parts of the world. However, this may lead to fraud because some online customers are dishonest and may tend to make payments using a defective and stolen credit card and this may cause MCC Company to incur substantial financial losses (Ghosh, 2001).

Tocquevilles Concept of Social Reciprocity in the Democratic Age Essay

Tocquevilles Concept of Social Reciprocity in the Democratic Age - Essay Example Tocqueville believed that to thrive within democracy, polities require citizens who are highly participatory, who are engaged civically, and who have formed close bonds with one another. From this correlation, he theorizes that civic engagement teaches people to be cooperative, which, in turn, affects the body politic, fostering democracy. Thus, in Tocqueville's view, political/civic participation is not simply the manifestation of the fulfillment of citizenship obligations but is the basis for individual and social improvement. Tocqueville makes much of the spill-over effects of political participation and social reciprocity. He recognizes that political participation has the capacity to create an active citizenry capable of organizing most spheres of social (and, thus, economic) life. The corollary of this view is that the participatory citizens of this kind of social/commercial system will, of necessity, participate in political life. In his view, there is, at the very least, the potential for a sort of sociopolitical symbiosis. Tocqueville states that the fundamental condition underlying American democracy is equality; it is the essential fact from which all others seem to be derived. This social equality did not exist in aristocratic Europe. The aristocracy, although declining, still had considerable power. In the aristocracy social and political power was based on name and birth. Nobility, political influence, and wealth could be passed on from one generation to the next. Social classes were fixed, and it was rare for a person to move up in social class. This lack of social equality prevented democracy from taking hold in Europe. In the United States, there was no aristocracy or rigid social classes, instead there was equality (except, of course, if you happened to be a woman or a slave). According to Tocqueville, this equality of conditions served as a guiding principle of American democracy. Much of the writing in Tocqueville's work documents how the many trends of social and political life-such as the propensity to form associations-stems from the equality of condition as he describes it. He sees participation (specifically, the formation of private associations) as the principal means by which a people might develop personally, intellectually, and, by extension, socially. Tocqueville views the myriad associations formed by Americans as an apt illustration of the idea of individual benefit being consistent with social benefit. Tocqueville observes that, among their participants, associations foster understanding, cooperation, solidarity, and a willingness to take part in political affairs: Among democratic peoples associations must take the place of the powerful private persons whom equality of conditions has eliminated. As soon as several Americans have conceived a sentiment or an idea that they want to produce before the world, they seek each other out, and when found, they unite. Thenceforth they are no longer isolated individuals, but a power conspicuous from the distance whose action serve as an example; when it speaks, men listen. (Tocqueville 517) According to

Managing a multinational corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managing a multinational corporation - Essay Example Multinational corporations bear certain peculiarities which should be taken into account when developing management strategy for any of them. The topic of the present work is relevant in the framework of the existing numerous multinational corporations for the better understanding of the management processes which take place in them. The topic of the present paper is closely related to the field of management. Managing multinational corporations means applying the general notions of management, accounting the peculiarities of the multinational corporation operations and implementing the innovations which ultimately improve the general work of the corporation. Any multinational corporation needs thoroughly developed strategy of development and coping with difficulties which arise at the way of this development, and what else except management notions and theories may be applicable here It is obvious, that the field of management knowledge represents vast opportunities for the successful management of multinational corporations, for the development of innovative strategies, which will ultimately positively influence the profitability and market position of the product. Despite the fact that multinational corporations take significant part of the market and are huge structures, their development and perspectives ar e at best viewed from the viewpoint of an individual manager. (Mockler 2002, p. 10) However, to find the best solutions and to create the most successful guidelines for the development of any multinational company this manager should possess deep understanding of the basic processes taking place inside the company, and the impact the external factors create on its business activity, but even understanding these processes and factors, without knowledge of management, its notions and theories it will hardly be possible to create a solid base for the successful management of so large companies, especially bearing in mind that multinational corporations usually deal with production of various, often not even related each other, products; for their stable market position successful management is crucial, and the field of management is closely related to the narrow topic of multinational corporations' management. (Buckley & Carter 1999, p. 227) Modern companies try to respond to the emerging open market opportunities, and for the aim of winning better market share and higher profits, have to pay their attention to the globalization and the need for creating large multinational corporations. A bright example of such changes may be represented by the German Hoechst chemical company, which at the beginning of the year 2000, admitting the rapidly changing positions on the chemical market and understanding the new accents on the global cooperation and production, decided to take this step and create a new structure. Through the 2001 and 2002 it has sold twelve of its businesses in Germany for being no more profitable, and has bought four new pharmaceutical firms outside Europe. Hoechst in Europe was the pioneer of such drastic changes in the multinational management trends. Though the Hoechst's labor force in Germany was decreased almost twice, it became possible to increase the sales over the US continent from 6 to 33 percent of the market share by the end of 2002. These actions could be

Global Warming Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Global Warming - Research Paper Example Green house gases trap heat in the atmosphere and this causes an increase in temperature on the earth surface, these gases include carbon dioxide, an increase in carbon dioxide in the air has mainly be contributed by human activities, states that this include carbon emissions by cars and power plants, power plants that utilize coal to produce electricity have largely contributed to an increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (Houghton 14). The use of internal combustion engines to run cars has also contributed to the increase in the increase in carbon dioxide, over 30% of carbon dioxide emission in the US is from cars. Worse effects are caused by traffic congestion that results into unnecessary combustion of gasoline (EPA 5). Nitrous oxide is green house gas that is produced by cars and nitric acid products produced, this product is also a major contributor of global warming. He also states that water vapor is considered a green house gas, the increase in water vapor in the atmosphere is mostly contributed to the presence of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, as temperatures increase more water is vaporized and this results into an increase in heat trapped in the earth’s atmosphere (Philander 15). Deforestation is also considered to have contributed to global warming, human economic activities such as timber production and agriculture contribute to the reduction of forest cover on the earth surface, when this happens the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere declines in two ways, one of the ways in which deforestation contribute to an increase in carbon dioxide is that the decomposing carbon material increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and second trees utilize carbon dioxide to make their food referred to as photosynthesis which reduce carbon levels in the atmosphere and a reduction in the

Technology Management Blog Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Technology Management Blog - Essay Example The book, Service Strategy explained that "in simplest sense, it [ROI] is the net profit of an investment divided by the net worth of the assets invested," and that "the resulting percentage is applied to either additional top-line revenue or the elimination of bottom-line cost." (TSO 2007, p. 112) It is easy, hence, to understand how in service management, ROI came to be considered as a benchmark to determine the ability of an organization to use assets in order to generate more value. For example, when financial managers develop and introduce a service to the market, there is no telling whether it can provide financial returns to the investment. Using ROI, however, the management can predict, examine and analyze product/service performance not just after service delivery but also early in the process, such as during the planning stage. What this means is that financial managers can either integrate value-added services or improve on existing ones depending on the stage of a given p roject or strategy. The above point is significant because service strategy is all about analyzing trends, looking at whether strategies, policy and standards introduced achieve their goal or are viable. (VHP 2007, p. 199) ROI can be crucial in several techniques to analyze trends and performance such as the Component Failure Impact Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis, Service Failure Analysis and so forth. Finally, ROI also plays an important part in identifying opportunities. This is demonstrated in the capacity management technique, which analyzes when which customer uses what services, how they use them and how this influences the performance of one or more systems or components. (VHP, p. 199) ROI enables managers to measure whether a product or service meet a specific or numerical criterion. A problem with the way ROI is used in financial management and in service strategy phase, particularly, is when ROI calculations are focused

How technology changed society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How technology changed society - Essay Example This has also lead to the growth and development of trade as entrepreneurs can advertise their goods and services through the social media. As a result, this has improved the economic status of most societies, as well as countries. Technological advancements have resulted in various modernization effects into the lives of the people. This has in return increased the co relationship among the different ethnic groups in the country thus promoting peace and unity among citizens. Through plurality, different ethnic groups have been able clearly facilitate the social economic life of their livelihood. Through technology such as television, different ethnic groups have been able to learn each other’s cultural values and adapt them in their social lives resulting in a diverse society. Technology has enhanced communication in the society. Following the introduction of new methods of communication, communication within society has become more effective. The emergence of mobile phones is among the greatest improvements in communication that has been so effective. Various technological devices such as the computers, iPods and other industrial, as well as commercial devices that are designed to facilitate effective communication have been introduced. This has increased contact among the members of the society thus enhancing their relationships whether business, social, political, or development projects. With the numerous innovations in production sectors, the environmental has become more susceptible to pollution. The disposal of some technological waste such as the broken parts of electrical and mechanical gadgets such as mobile phones has negative impacts on the environment. Although technological innovations have resulted to the introduction of new methods of undertaking duties thus improving the methods used in the production making production more effective, they

Male Role Models in Childcare Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 8000 words

Male Role Models in Childcare - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that it is expected by the modern society that men will start having a larger role to play in the upbringing of child care and child care.   It is very common nowadays to see the father playing an active role in the upbringing of the child, and in some cases, the father names the major role in child care and upbringing.   Thus it is evident that the reversal of roles is now a reality in a number of households. However, in the scenario of child care centers and professional childcare management, it has been seen that the role of female professionals is much more dominant than their male counterparts. The United Kingdom’s green paper named ‘Meeting the Childcare Challenge’ was published in 1998 and it emphasized the need for more and more major workers in child care management and the prevailing status of child care workers in the child care industry of the UK.   It is often assumed that child care management is a fe male profession predominantly, and there is a strong mindset among a number of people in the UK as well as Europe which prefers a female childcare workforce rather than a male child care workforce.   One of the primary reasons why male child care professionals should be encouraged to work and contribute to this industry is that the male professionals can automatically serve as role models for young boys, especially the boys belonging to those families where the father is not present.

Robert Mondavi Company Essay Example for Free

Robert Mondavi Company Essay California wine-maker Robert Mondavi has been one of the worlds most innovative and high-quality producers of fine wine. The Mondavi family did significant effort on showing the Napa Valley region to the forefront of international winemaking. Robert Mondavi is an Italian migrant and started his winemaking business since 1960s. His intelligence and passion in wine lead him to be a legend in Californian premium wine industry and owned brands like Robert Mondavi Napa Valley, Robert Mondavi Coastal, Woodbridge, Vichon Mediterranean, Caliterra and Lucente. Since 1979, Mondavi has also produced, in joint partnership with the Baron Phillippe de Rothschild wine family, the ultra-premium Opus One label. The company sells about 10 million cases of wine per year, with Woodbridge as its top-selling label. In 2001, the company earned $481 million in revenues and distributed wine in more than 80 countries. The Robert Mondavi Corporation went public in 1993, although the Mondavi family controls 92 percent of voting stock. Problem Statement How can the Robert Mondavi Company strengthen their competitive advantages and thrive in the long run in the global wine industry with many established and consolidated competitors. External Analyses – Porter’s Five Forces †¢Buyers The bargaining power of buyers in the wine industry is fairly high due to their concentrated control of sales at both wholesale and retail levels. Several large distributors control a substantial share of the market and generate most of the revenue for wine producers such as Mondavi. At the retail level, supermarkets and discount chains have become more concentrated, often accounting for 70% or more of off-premise sales in Europe. In fact, Mondavi’s largest wholesaler, Southern Wine and Spirits, accounted for 29% of the firm’s sales. And Costco, the largest wine retailer in US, also accounted for 10% of Mondavi’s total sales volume. The  concentrated bargaining power of buyers gives the large wholesalers and retailers significant influence and power over wine producers’ business decisions. †¢Suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers is relatively low in the wine industry due to the large number of suppliers for raw materials such as corks, bottles, and grapes; and prices for these raw materials are relatively stable as a result of significant competition. This situation creates less bargaining power of suppliers. On the other hand, backward integration within the industry also weakens the bargaining power of suppliers because the companies can control their supply chain. For instance, Mondavi signs long-term contacts with its grape suppliers and works closely with growers to improve grape quality and availability. This practice increases the price stability and limits the suppliers’ bargaining power over the company. †¢Entrants The threat of new entrants in the wine industry is fairly low. Winemaking is a capital-intensive business that requires significant investments in working capital, as well as the cost of acquiring land. For luxury wine producers, an acre of land can sell for as much as $150,000 in California and $250,000 in France. There is also the fact that a new plot of land cannot produce revenue for several years, due to the maturity of the grapes. A new entrant must be able to sustain itself in the industry with no revenues or profits for a reasonably long start-up period. For these reasons, the threat of new entrants in the wine industry is fairly low. †¢Rivalry The threat of rivalry is very high in the premium wine business. Major focused competitors in the premium wine market include Kendall-Jackson, Trinchero Estates, Southcorp and Robert Mondavi. Large-volume producers such as EJ Gallo and Constellation Brands are also shifting toward the premium wine market. And even large alcoholic beverage firms such as Diageo, Foster’s Group, Brown-Forman and Allied Domecq are acquiring wineries to enter the premium wine business. The number of big competitors and  aggressive acquisitions within the industry makes the competition of rivalry exceedingly intense in the premium wine industry. †¢Substitutes The threat of substitution in the wine industry is high since there are many alternatives including both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. The alcoholic beverages mainly include beer and distilled spirits, while the non-alcoholic beverages include soda, coffee, and water. According to Exhibit 18a, beer accounts for nearly 55% of the World Market Share between the top 5 firms of beer, spirits, and wine, whereas wine only accounts for roughly 3%. Other substitutions include cheaper and large volume producers of wine such as EJ Gallo and Constellation Brands, which are both Mondavi’s competitors. Internal Analyses – VIRO †¢Access to capital Mondavi (MOND) is a publicly traded company listed on NASDAQ, which enables the company to extensively finance its investments and expansion through its access to the capital market. Mondavi’s access to capital is valuable as the firm raised approximately $600 million in exchange for its stock shares. Mondavi’s access to capital market is also rare since many of its competitors are still privately held or independent. In addition, the huge expenses and complicated processes of an Initial Public Offering make Mondavi’s access to capital market costly to imitate. Finally, Mondavi is organized to benefit from this resource and the firm has utilized its capital to invest in several new production lines, new brands, land acquisition and winery acquisitions etc. †¢Path dependence on land One resource of Mondavi is its path dependence on land. Robert Mondavi bought his first winery in Napa Valley in 1943 for $75,000. Today that land is worth more than five times that amount. Since 1943, Mondavi has made many similar purchases, and the land is only increasing in value. For this reason, Mondavi’s path dependence on land creates value for the firm.  Mondavi’s path dependence on land is also rare in the industry. Not many of Mondavi’s competitors have the same history with purchasing real estate as Mondavi. Since path dependence on land results from past actions, and since real estate in the wine industry is always appreciating, it makes this resource very costly to imitate. Finally, the organization is benefiting from Mondavi’s path dependence on land. Without it, the company would be spending millions of dollars on purchasing land, and would most likely not have the same competitiveness that it has today. †¢Organizational structure Mondavi has reorganized its organization structure into three distinct business units: RMW, Woodbridge, and Joint Ventures Small Wineries. This structure is valuable to the firm as it helps to enhance the brand clarity within the company. Customized sales and marketing strategies help shape the distinct competitive positioning for each of the firm’s brands. Although Mondavi’s organizational structure is not common in the industry, it would not be very costly for its competitors to imitate this structure. †¢Variety of brands One capability of Mondavi is its variety of brands. A variety of brands creates value for the firm because they can sell to different customers in different markets, thus increasing their customer base. Many of Mondavi’s competitors also have a variety of brands, making it not rare in the industry. †¢Reputation Mondavi has 16 different wine brands through company-owned wineries and joint ventures. Each brand had a reputation for quality in its market segment and good relationships with the independent growers. It is definitely a valuable source of the company. However, a resource is rare simply if it is not widely possessed by other competitors. In this case, most of the competitors of Mondavi all have high quality reputation and well-known brand name, so it is not rare in the premium wine industry. †¢High quality Robert Mondavi Winery has been recognized as one of America’s highest-quality winemakers since 1960s. Mondavi consistently uses only high-quality fruit along with traditional winemaking and aging processes to produce premier wines. RMC wine’s high quality has attracted a good number of loyal customers and rewarded the company a decent market share. Nevertheless, high quality is not exceedingly rare in the segment, competitors such as Trinchero Estates, Kendall Jackson and many other traditional European wineries also produce quality wines. †¢History Robert Mondavi founded the iconic Robert Mondavi Winery in 1966. As early as the late 1960s, Robert Mondavi Winery helped introduce to California such fine winemaking techniques as the use of cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks, and French oak barrels. The history is the valuable and intangible source of the company. But since most of Mondavi’s competitor also have remarkable histories, it is not rare in comparison with others. †¢Process innovation Robert Mondavi became one of America’s most innovative winemakers by introducing many new methods and techniques. These techniques included cold fermentation, stainless steel tanks, and the use of small French oak barrels as a way to age fine wine. He also enhanced the company by working with NASA to apply remote-sensing and digital mapping techniques which in turn helped enhance the vineyard. The company also developed a capsule-free, flange-top bottle. Mondavis innovative process is very valuable, because it keeps his company at the top of the industry. For example, in 1972 his 1969 Cabernet Sauvignon was named the best wine produced in California. Assuming these techniques are firm specific, Mondavis process is very rare and costly to imitate. Overall, the new inventions and innovative processes have allowed the company to be successful and earn money throughout the years. Alternative Solutions †¢Merger Mondavi is currently competing in a market were consolidation has become the  new norm within the past decade. Many of Mondavi’s competitors have been aggressively consolidating, and the results have been profitable for them. An optimal merger partner would be with a well- established firm that already has a market presence in different geographic regions, such as Constellation. The advantages of this strategy would be the opportunities that would arise from entering new markets and regions, as well as the opportunity to become more cost effective. By consolidating like operations in both firms, such as accounting, the firm can reduce costs and increase the bottom line. Another advantage of merging would be that the new consolidated company would have a viable presence in more market segment. The disadvantages of this strategy are possible public disapproval, as well as loss of independent reputation. Another disadvantage would be the initial costs involved with consolidatin g like operations, and other predictable costs of merging. To stay competitive in the industry and to gain market share in new geographic regions, it would be beneficial for Mondavi to consider the consolidation strategy †¢Global expansion Mondavi sells 90.5% of its wine domestically, but the United States is only ranked ten in wine consumption worldwide. For this reason, Mondavi should consider a global expansion strategy. The advantage of a global expansion strategy is the increased market share, and exposure to a larger customer base. Only 12% of Mondavi’s customers consume 88% of their wine. Mondavi must increase their customer base to stay competitive in the long run. The disadvantage of this strategy is the risk and costs involved when entering new markets. It is very expensive to not only place a product in a new market, but to also market the product and build brand awareness. Global expansion also takes a major time commitment and investment in human capital. These costs make it a very risky venture with no guarantee for success, because early-mover competitors, such as Southcorp and EJ Gallo, already have significant market share and resource advantages in these foreign markets. For the necessary reaso n of increasing their customer base, Mondavi should consider a global expansion strategy. †¢Sale of the firm The entire Mondavi reputation and history are built around the legacy of Robert Mondavi. When Robert Mondavi is no longer active in the business, it may create financial distress for the company. Mondavi built his winery from the perspective of a family business that produces high quality products with innovative processes and environmentally friendly methods. Over the years, Mondavi introduced new techniques to the California wine industry, and he also hosted concerts, art exhibits, and other cultural events at the winery. Mondavi has built his reputation and customer loyalty by producing award winning products and being involved with the community. If Robert Mondavi is no longer here, then his reputation and history may die with him. For these reasons, Mondavi might want to consider selling the company as an exit strategy. Recommendation and Implementation Overall, we recommend Robert Mondavi Company to merge with another well-established firm such as Constellation that holds significant market shares in both domestic and international markets. The new consolidated company would have the opportunity to enter new market segments and geographic regions. Cost effectiveness would be another huge benefit when operations and processes are consolidated. This option of merger is superior to global expansion in term of cost and time efficiency. Merger is also better than sale of the firm because it will keep the core competencies of the company rather than abandon the entire business. Once all the formalities of the merger are complete, the new company must start an integration process. The company must decide what name to keep, as well as what to do about the shareholders. If the company that Mondavi merged with is a public company, they must decide on how to convert the shares. If the company is a private one, they must make a decision on issuing more shares or buying out the current shareholders. The newly merged company must also start consolidating like operations as soon as possible to benefit from the forecasted cost savings. Finally, the new company must decided which brands will sell in which market, along with the appropriate enter and exit strategies.

Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Essay Example for Free

Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Essay The foundation of Euclidean geometry is the concept of a few undefined terms: points, lines, and planes. In essence, a point is an exact position or location on a surface. A point has no actual length or width. A line shows infinite distance and direction but absolutely no width. A line has at least two points lying on it. Euclid’s first postulate is that only one unique straight line can be drawn between any two points. Line segments are lines that have a set length and do not go on forever. Euclid’s second postulate is that a finite straight line, or line segment, can be extended continuously into a straight line. The last of Euclid’s undefined terms is a plane, a flat surface similar to a table top or floor. However, a plane’s area is infinite. It has never ending length and width but has no depth. Lines can intersect each other or they can be parallel. Intersecting lines can be perpendicular, meaning they cross at a right angle. Lines in a plane that do not intersect or touch at a point and have a constant, unchanging distance between each other are called parallel lines. Line segments can be used to create different polygons. As in Euclid’s third postulate, with any straight line segment, a circle can be drawn having the segment as radius and one endpoint as center. All the angles in a triangle add up to 180 degrees. An acute angle is less than 90 degrees. A right angle is 90 degrees; all right angles are equal, as stated in Euclid’s fourth postulate. An obtuse angle is greater than 90 degrees but less than 180 degrees. Lastly, 180 degrees makes up a straight line. Two triangles with the same angles are not necessarily congruent. Today we know the fifth postulate as the rule that through any point that is not on a line, there is only one line that is parallel to the line. One kind of Non-Euclidean Geometry is Riemannian, or elliptic, geometry. It is a geometry based on curved/spherical, surfaces invented by a German man named Bernhard Riemann. In 1889 he rediscovered the work of an Italian mathematician which stated certain problems in Euclidean Geometry. The earth is round and spherical so elliptic geometry is useful, and directly related to our everyday lives. Elliptical geometry is not limited to spheres and can be used applied on cylinders (Roberts). Euclid’s first postulate is false in elliptic geometry. Between two points there are many different lines that will connect them. The shortest distance between two points is called a minimal geodesic. Also, because it is based on curved surfaces, straight lines are impossible. This makes Euclid’s second postulate untrue as well. If you extend a line on a sphere or cylinder, most of the time the line will curve back around and form a circle. A line will always curve in elliptic geometry. In elliptic geometry all the angles in a triangle add up to greater than 180 degrees. Two triangles with the same angles are not just similar, they are actually congruent. In Elliptic there are no parallel lines (Elliptic geometry). Another kind of Non-Euclidean Geometry is Lobachevsky, or Hyperbolic, Geometry. It is also called Lobachevsky-Bolyai-Gauss (Weisstein). It is a geometry based on saddle-shaped space, similar to a Pringle. Hyperbolic geometry was invented by a Russian mathematician named Nicholas Lobachevsky. Lobachevsky also expanded on Euclid’s ideas. It’s very hard to see how this geometry is useful but it can be used in gradational fields, space travel, and astronomy (Roberts).

Parmenides Argument For All Things Being Continuously One Philosophy Essay

Parmenides Argument For All Things Being Continuously One Philosophy Essay Describe and assess Parmenides argument for all things being continuously one. Parmenides argument for things being continuously one begins with the ways of inquiry into the reality of the world. He shows there to be the Way of truth and the Way of opinion. His criticism in his poem entitled On Nature is that the true nature of the reality of the world cannot be known by the way of opinion. The Way of opinion being the perception of the world as one would see it, not the reality of the world as these observations or perceptions only give truth to the appearance of the world. Appearance can be illusory. The way of truth on the other hand gives the follower of this route a true idea of the reality of the world as it is based on logical deduction and it is from this that Parmenides reasons that all things are continuously one. In On Nature Parmenides presents the possible way of truth in two ways with which one could deduce the world, one way being the way of it is the other being it is not. It in these propostions can be thought of as anything one is thinking about, the is to be thought of as exist. Accepting that is means exist Parmenides comes to the conclusion that thinking it is not is impossible. His argument is as follows. Anything that one can think of is something that can exist For something to be it is not cannot exist (something cannot be nothing) Therefore if thinking about something that cannot exist is impossible, one cannot think about something that is nothing (that is not) Armed with this conclusion, Parmenides then follows the way of truth that he has presented. In the world there is only it is as it is not is impossible and to think of the latter is impossible. To just empirically observe the world is not to know the reality of the world, such empirical observations would have you believe that the world is in constant motion; going through the constant changes of generation and destruction as a result of such movement. An example being Heraclitus statement that one cannot step into the same river twice as the waters are constantly moving and changing. In order these changes happen there must be space in the world in which all this movement can take place. This space; to be thought of as nothing or nothingness, is impossible by following the route of the way of truth. Thinking of nothing is thinking it is not and therefore impossible. There is no nothing, or what Democritus and Leucippus named a void, in which movement is possible. Without a void, Par menides states that everything must be unchanging. Heraclitus example of the river is to Parmenides the way of opinion; the appearance of the world but not the reality or truth. Generation and destruction also require nothing, generation; that something comes from nothing and destruction; that something will turn into nothing. Both are impossible to Parmenides and what he concludes from the impossibility of nothing is that all that what is is eternal. As well as eternal the world must be infinitely continuous as if it did end at some point then what would be beyond that point? Parmenides cant say nothing. Continuous with no spaces of nothingness the world is, in Parmenides own words from On Nature, full of what is. Let us look at Parmenides argument that concludes that thinking of something that is not is impossible. The first premise that anything we think about can exist seems valid. How would it seem possible to think of something that doesnt exist? Hume named thoughts ideas and reasoned that all ideas can be broken down to simple ideas built up in different ways, where these ideas came from was an impression of something perceived in the world. For example the idea of a blue horse is the amalgamation of the impressions of the colour blue and the animal named a horse. What about imaginative thoughts though? Imagine magic, the Harry Potter books are testament to the human imagination but magic doesnt exist. Hume would defend his argument by saying magic was the amalgamation of more simple ideas and mixed into something not possible, but Parmenides argument seems not allow for one to think of magic, but by typing these words or reading or them one has already thought of it. Also in this premis e how does Parmenides justify the existence of anything? To justify any existence would be to justify through the way of opinion, but he has said himself in On Nature that this is not the route to seek truth, in order seek truth one must follow the course started by the first premise in question. It seems almost contradictory of Parmenides to justify the way of truth by the way of opinion when the way of truth is taken by Parmenides to know the reality of the world as oppose to just the appearance granted by the way of opinion. The second premise, something cannot be nothing, seems sound, something indeed cannot be nothing. But let us in assessment accept the argument that Parmenides gives for the impossibility of it is not and see what we can make of this interpretation of nothing. Having accepted this must we accept the following conclusions that run from this argument, in entirety that the universe/world is continuously one? Accepting the conclusions depends upon the role played by nothing. Here in Parmenides argument the interpretation of nothing would be that nothingness is the necessary ingredient of change; the other being movement. Movement would be impossible if there was no place to move and a place to move must be unoccupied place; that being nothing. Does movement require nothing? Could there not be another form of vacantness that isnt necessarily nothing but allows movement? Aristotle replaces nothingness with space, space being a receptacle in which objects are placed in. By doing this Aristot le could be seen as accepting the argument of Parmenides that there is no nothing but not accepting what follows logically for Parmenides that everything is continuously one. Aristotles space is part of Parmenides what is and allows for the movement and all that follows it to happen; allowing Heraclitus to step in different rivers forever. Parmenides conclusion that there is no movement, no change, no destruction, no generation etc. almost seems counter intuitive. It seems that in the world there is movement and change. Parmenides said that his insight is an insight derived through logic; his central tenant being the impossibility of nothing, due to the contradiction pointed out that for nothing to exist; something would have to be nothing. But do his conclusions that the world is without start or end, and that it is infinite ask a few questions of logic themselves? If something never started how then can it exist? Everything it seems requires a start. The infinite has it self some strange paradoxes, one in mathematics being that there are as many even numbers in infinite as there are combined even and odd numbers; an infinite amount. Parmenides begins On Nature attempting to know the world without nothing something that he sees as illogical. Discarding nothing his logical conclusion leaves him with a set of descriptio ns of the world that seem slightly illogical in themselves.

Gangs of New York, A Film Analysis :: Film

Bill the Butcher was the ideal "bad guy" for a movie. He was a stubborn individual who would not change his ways of thinking for anyone. If you came off a boat and tried to settle in the United States you were automatically hated by Mr. Cutting. Bill was a tall man, very skinny, and he had long hair with a matching mustache. Bill and his party believed that the only rightful people to have jobs, families, and make money were people who were born in the U.S., not immigrants. Women and children are not even spared by Bill and his rugged party. They hatred for the immigrants was so strong that they would shout profanities at them or hurl rocks at them when they unloaded from the massive ships. At times they would beat an immigrant close to death just because they looked at them the wrong way. Cutting's father installed these beliefs into him, Bill's father was killed in a gang war with the immigrants and he would never live that down. The way the immigrants were treated by some of the townspeople made some of the immigrants become very poor. Shop keepers and other store owners would not hire immigrants mainly because they did not like them and secondly that they did not want to upset Bill and his gang. Immigrants would soon leave New York and look for an easier life but most remained behind and lived in the side streets to fend for food with the rats. This is where thievery came in. Since most of the immigrants were poor they had to learn to steal to survive. "Pick-Pocketing" became the most famous means to steal in the streets of New York. The immigrants who would come off of the boats had no idea what was in store for them as they unloaded their boat. The immigrants were friendly people for the most part, they were not looking for a fight in America just a new start to their life.

Embryonic Stem-cell Research - A True Faustian Bargain :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Embryonic Stem-cell Research - A True Faustian Bargain      Ã‚  Ã‚   In the debate over whether the federal government should fund embryonic stem-cell research (ESCR), our country is being offered a true Faustian bargain. In return for a hoped-for potential - it is no more than that - of deriving desperately desired medical breakthroughs in the treatment of such afflictions as Parkinson's disease, paraplegia, and diabetes, we are being asked to give the nation's imprimatur to reducing human life into a mere natural resource to be exploited and commodified.    Given the stakes, our lawmakers owe it to their country to take the time to thoroughly understand the issue before speaking in public and taking sides. Unfortunately, some senator's statements in favor of embryonic research exhibited stunning ignorance regarding the subject about which they opined. Making matters worse, the press quickly leaped upon the statements of these pro-life senators as proof that embryonic research is moral, ethical, and scientifically justified, when the reverse is actually true.    Senator Hatch's attempt to explain his pro ESCR funding position to Chris Matthews on Hardball on June 20, demonstrated that he doesn't know an embryo from a stem cell. Take the following statements:    * "After a long period of study and prayer, I found that pluripotent cells are not full human beings but can be very, very beneficial as used by science to help with all kinds of maladies...." * "It is appropriate to use pluripotent cells but inappropriate to use totipotent cells because a pluripotent cell cannot be made into a full human being. A totipotent cell can actually be replicated into a human being through even cloning." (Totipotent cells are the first to appear after fertilization and can actually develop into a completely new embryo - as occurs during identical twinning. Pluripotent [stem] cells appear a bit later. They are "undifferentiated cells" that can develop into any body part - which is why researchers wish to study them.) * "Life begins in the mother's womb, not in a refrigerator."(Embryonic)    In stating that the feds should fund the study of pluripotent cells but not totipotent cells, Senator Hatch confused several essential points. First, pluripotent cells and totipotent cells are not the same thing as the embryo itself. Rather, these cells are constituent parts of the embryonic whole just as vital organs are parts of born persons.

Nazi-Soviet Pact and Appeasement Essay -- Papers

Nazi-Soviet Pact and Appeasement The Nazi-Soviet was a non-aggression pact signed by the foreign ministers of Germany and Russia on 23 August 1939. When Germany and Russia reached this promise not to fight each other, they made a secret pact to invade and divide Polandand give the Baltic States to Russia. By signing the Pact, Germany was able to invade Poland from the west and the Soviet Union gained the eastern half of Poland as well as the Baltic States as well as gaining time to prepare for war against Germany. Why was the signing of the Pact a surprise? The signing of the pact was a total surprise because everyone knew that Fascist Germany and the Communist Soviet Union were political enemies. In addition Hitler had sworn for years that he was the mortal enemy of Bolshevism, so it was not surprising that the Pact came as a shock. During 1939 Stalin had invited Britain to discuss a possible alliance against Germany to prevent Hitler from carrying out his plans. At first Britain had refused tal...

What Do You Think Are The Most Important Qualities

What do you think makes you a good call center agent? Am a responsible and positive person, I am totally dedicated to my job. And I believe will get along well with colleagues, learn from each of them and become an asset to the company. What I can bring into this position is my 10 years of customer service experience, the passion to help others in a timely manner. Plus the ability to communicate and build customer relationships.I see more challenges ahead of me and that's something thrive on. I'm a quick learner and take pride in all my work. Why should we hire you? ;You should hire me because although may not have experience, I am very much willing to learn the gropes and be trained. Believe that have the exquisite competence and qualities that perfectly fit this position. I want to be part of this company and believe that would be a valuable asset to it.Tell me about yourself ;It's my pleasure to introduce myself to you; basically I'm Aziza Del Rosaries. I graduated from Holy Angel University with a bachelor degree in business administration major in accounting. Am an industrious person, open to criticism, hardworking. I can easily get along with others. I'm loyal, sincere, energetic and approachable person am a fast learner and responsible person willing to learn and focus on what am applying for. Why do you want to work in a call center?

Tarahumara Indians

The Running People Rex Pace, an ultrarunner, once said, â€Å"Pushing your body past what you thought it was capable of is easy; the hard part is pushing yourself even further †¦ past what your mind wants to let you. That’s what ultrarunning is all about; introducing you to a self you’ve never known. † The human body can do amazing things, especially when it comes to running. Although most people think of running as a pain in the behind, a small minority are crazy about it. These people live and breathe running.People like a Scott Jurek, or Ann Trason, well known endurance runners, can clock in more than 150 miles a week because to them, running is not just a sport, but a lifestyle. Because of these people, ultrarunning was born and has taken its hold. All over the country, races anywhere from 50 to 300 miles long are taking place, and only the best runners complete them. That is, the runners who want to be known. However, there is a group of people who have been called â€Å"the finest natural distance runners in the world†, yet barely anyone has heard of them.These very shy and isolated people are known as the Tarahumara Indians, and they are incredible endurance runners. This is evident in the way they live and how they incorporate running as a part of their lifestyle. The Tarahumara Indians also call themselves the Raramuri, which translates to mean foot runner. These Indians live in the Sierra Madre of Mexico, in â€Å"small isolated clusters with most of the population concentrated in the†¦Copper Canyons† (Beauregard). The Copper Canyons consists of five canyons, three of which are deeper than the Grand Canyon.The terrain is very rugged, nearly impassable to outsiders, and there is a lot of vegetation. Due to cold temperatures, the soil is bad for growing crops, and so the â€Å"Tarahumara are semi-nomadic and cave dwellers for part of the year† (Beauregard). They also live under cliffs or in small cabin s. Because they live so deep within the Copper Canyons, they do not receive many visitors, so the Tarahumara are a very shy bunch. Life is very simple because â€Å"the Tarahumara still want nothing to do with money and material things that are not important to them† (Beauregard).Family and running are probably the two most important things to a Tarahumara Indian. Speaking of running, the incredible endurance of these Indians may be, in part, due to their healthy diet. The main staple food is corn. Almost everything the Tarahumara eat contains corn, such as their favorite: Pinole. Pinole is basically corn ground to a powder and then toasted. A few other common foods would be squash, beans, chili, wild greens, and handmade tortillas. Meat is only eaten on special occasions because animals are usually kept for farming purposes only.The Tarahumara eat â€Å"approximately 10% protein, 10% fat and 80% complex carbohydrates† (Lutz 31). This ratio keeps the Tarahumara fueled with energy all day long, and helps them stay fit by consuming so little fat. Although the â€Å"Tarahumara diet is very simple†¦nutritionists agree that it is very healthy† (Kennedy, 20) and is linked to why the Tarahumara are such great distance runners. They also have a special drink that can only classify as the best energy drink around.Made with only the seeds of the chia plant, water, and a little lime juice, this drink, which they call iskiate, can energize a person for the entire day. The chia seeds are tiny, but are â€Å"superpacked with omega-3s, omega-6s, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber, and antioxidants†¦ [and aid in] building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease† (McDougall, 44). Their diet keeps these Indians strong, fit, and always ready to run. For the Tarahumara, running is simply a part of daily life.In some ways, their running abilities are due to the biggest social event in their culture: the rarajipar i. The rarajipari, or foot throwing game, is a competition between the male adults of two neighboring villages that involves running along a set race course while â€Å"throwing† a wooden, baseball sized ball with the foot. The first team to cross the finish line with the ball wins. A game that lasts for two days â€Å"is not unusual†¦ and many [courses] are 60 to 90 miles long† (Kennedy, 92) or longer. The runners do not get breaks, but must constantly be alert at all times as to where the ball is, and no hands are allowed.In the beginning of a race, â€Å"spectators frequently run along with the runners†¦ [and] a great deal of fun is generated† (Lutz, 26). The game is taught to kids at an early age, and is the only sport the Tarahumara play. Competitions happen very often because â€Å"the rarajipari [is] the heart and soul of Tarahumara culture† (McDougall, 41). This game is part of the reason the Tarahumara are such great endurance runners, and without it they would not be the same people. However the rarajipari is not the only way the Tarahumara incorporate running into their lifestyle. The Indians run almost everywhere they go, apparently because they like to† (Lutz 33). There are almost no roads in the Sierra Madre, and most paths are rugged, steep and narrow. For this reason, foot travel is the preferred mode of transportation by the Tarahumara to get from point A to point B. If point B happens to be another village, it is most likely more than 50 miles away, so the Indians must be in amazing physical condition. It would not be uncommon for a Tarahumara to â€Å"run 200 miles over a period of three days and nights† (Lutz 22).Since they tend to move around according to the season, the family’s â€Å" small plots of land are frequently miles from where the family lives, [so] every member of the family must be able to travel long distances in order to perform his everyday tasks† (Lutz 33). A lso, when the Tarahumara go out hunting, they do not use traditional hunting techniques because they do not have guns or other weapons. Instead, â€Å"in order to catch such wild animals as deer, wild turkeys, and rabbits, the Tarahumara simply chase after the animal until the animal drops from exhaustion† (Beauregard).This is, again, an example of their super endurance and incorporation of running in their lives. When these amazing runners became known, a man named Rick Fisher, a wilderness photographer, decided it would be great publicity to sponsor an all-Tarahumara team and sign them up for the Leadville 100 mile race in Leadville, Colorado. Leadville happens to be the highest city in North America, and so the â€Å"Leadville Trail 100 boils down to nearly four full marathons, half of them in the dark, with twin twenty-six-hundred-foot climbs smack in the middle† (McDougall, 57).Basically, the trail is a nightmare, and only about 50% of the participants ever finish . So Mr. Fisher trekked into the Copper Canyons to find his all-star team, promised their village a pile of corn, and in 1993, Victoriano Churro, Cerrildo Chacarito, Manuel Luna and Felipe Torres ran the Leadville 100. About half way through the ultra-marathon â€Å"even the best ultrarunners†¦are heads down and digging deep†¦ [but] by mile 60, the Tarahumara were flying† (McDougall, 65). Victoriano, Cerrildo, and Manuel had swiftly crept up and passed all the other runners.In the end, Victoriano came in first, Cerrildo in second, and Manuel came in fifth because of a broken sandal. â€Å"The first non-Tarahumara finisher was nearly a full hour behind Victoriano†¦ [and the Indians] had done serious damage to the record book† (McDougall, 65). Having never trained for or run the Leadville 100 before, the Tarahumara team managed to grab three of the top five spots because of their amazing endurance. Later, in 2008, the Tarahumara participated in another ult ra-marathon. However, this race had never been run before, and will never be run again.Put together by a man who calls himself Caballo Blanco, a very good friend of the Tarahumara people, this race took place in Urique, Mexico, heart of the Tarahumara country. The start and finish line was the village of the Urique Tarahumara. Caballo Blanco had â€Å"laid out a diabolical course; [they would] be climbing and descending sixty-five hundred feet in fifty miles† (McDougall, 258) and the entire course had been planned â€Å"in a Y pattern, with the starting line dead in the center† (McDougall, 262).There were a total of 25 participants: 20 Tarahumara, including the legendary Arnulfo and Silvino, and 5 Americans, including Scott Jurek, one of the best ultra-marathoners in the world. When the race started, the Urique group bounded out with a burst of speed to lead the pack. However, it became suspicious when,â€Å"in the space of just four miles, the Urique crew had opened up a four minute lead†¦ [and so] they were disqualified† (McDougall, 262) for cheating. With the Urique out, Silvino and Arnulfo took the lead, with Scott Jurek right on their heels.In the end Arnulfo took the gold, Scott the silver, and Silvino the bronze. The last racer to finish, Christopher McDougall, crossed the finish line 12 hours after the race began, â€Å"meaning that Scott and Arnulfo could have run the course all over again and still have beaten [him]† (McDougall, 273). Most of the Tarahumara who competed finished the race within 6 or 7 hours, again displaying their incredible endurance. When it comes to the test, these Indians sure know how to take the gold. Completely isolated in the Sierra Madre from the rest of the world, these Indians and their abilities were unknown for a very long time.Many people still have never heard of them, but if they did, they would surely be blown away and inspired. The Tarahumara are the best endurance runners out there and completely by accident. Due to the simplicity of their lives, a very healthy diet, and the importance that running has in their lifestyle, the Tarahumara have every right to call themselves the Raramui, or running people. These Indians are an inspiration to me, and probably to many other runners out there. Hopefully one day I can be half as good an athlete as they are. Tarahumara Indians The Running People Rex Pace, an ultrarunner, once said, â€Å"Pushing your body past what you thought it was capable of is easy; the hard part is pushing yourself even further †¦ past what your mind wants to let you. That’s what ultrarunning is all about; introducing you to a self you’ve never known. † The human body can do amazing things, especially when it comes to running. Although most people think of running as a pain in the behind, a small minority are crazy about it. These people live and breathe running.People like a Scott Jurek, or Ann Trason, well known endurance runners, can clock in more than 150 miles a week because to them, running is not just a sport, but a lifestyle. Because of these people, ultrarunning was born and has taken its hold. All over the country, races anywhere from 50 to 300 miles long are taking place, and only the best runners complete them. That is, the runners who want to be known. However, there is a group of people who have been called â€Å"the finest natural distance runners in the world†, yet barely anyone has heard of them.These very shy and isolated people are known as the Tarahumara Indians, and they are incredible endurance runners. This is evident in the way they live and how they incorporate running as a part of their lifestyle. The Tarahumara Indians also call themselves the Raramuri, which translates to mean foot runner. These Indians live in the Sierra Madre of Mexico, in â€Å"small isolated clusters with most of the population concentrated in the†¦Copper Canyons† (Beauregard). The Copper Canyons consists of five canyons, three of which are deeper than the Grand Canyon.The terrain is very rugged, nearly impassable to outsiders, and there is a lot of vegetation. Due to cold temperatures, the soil is bad for growing crops, and so the â€Å"Tarahumara are semi-nomadic and cave dwellers for part of the year† (Beauregard). They also live under cliffs or in small cabin s. Because they live so deep within the Copper Canyons, they do not receive many visitors, so the Tarahumara are a very shy bunch. Life is very simple because â€Å"the Tarahumara still want nothing to do with money and material things that are not important to them† (Beauregard).Family and running are probably the two most important things to a Tarahumara Indian. Speaking of running, the incredible endurance of these Indians may be, in part, due to their healthy diet. The main staple food is corn. Almost everything the Tarahumara eat contains corn, such as their favorite: Pinole. Pinole is basically corn ground to a powder and then toasted. A few other common foods would be squash, beans, chili, wild greens, and handmade tortillas. Meat is only eaten on special occasions because animals are usually kept for farming purposes only.The Tarahumara eat â€Å"approximately 10% protein, 10% fat and 80% complex carbohydrates† (Lutz 31). This ratio keeps the Tarahumara fueled with energy all day long, and helps them stay fit by consuming so little fat. Although the â€Å"Tarahumara diet is very simple†¦nutritionists agree that it is very healthy† (Kennedy, 20) and is linked to why the Tarahumara are such great distance runners. They also have a special drink that can only classify as the best energy drink around.Made with only the seeds of the chia plant, water, and a little lime juice, this drink, which they call iskiate, can energize a person for the entire day. The chia seeds are tiny, but are â€Å"superpacked with omega-3s, omega-6s, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber, and antioxidants†¦ [and aid in] building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease† (McDougall, 44). Their diet keeps these Indians strong, fit, and always ready to run. For the Tarahumara, running is simply a part of daily life.In some ways, their running abilities are due to the biggest social event in their culture: the rarajipar i. The rarajipari, or foot throwing game, is a competition between the male adults of two neighboring villages that involves running along a set race course while â€Å"throwing† a wooden, baseball sized ball with the foot. The first team to cross the finish line with the ball wins. A game that lasts for two days â€Å"is not unusual†¦ and many [courses] are 60 to 90 miles long† (Kennedy, 92) or longer. The runners do not get breaks, but must constantly be alert at all times as to where the ball is, and no hands are allowed.In the beginning of a race, â€Å"spectators frequently run along with the runners†¦ [and] a great deal of fun is generated† (Lutz, 26). The game is taught to kids at an early age, and is the only sport the Tarahumara play. Competitions happen very often because â€Å"the rarajipari [is] the heart and soul of Tarahumara culture† (McDougall, 41). This game is part of the reason the Tarahumara are such great endurance runners, and without it they would not be the same people. However the rarajipari is not the only way the Tarahumara incorporate running into their lifestyle. The Indians run almost everywhere they go, apparently because they like to† (Lutz 33). There are almost no roads in the Sierra Madre, and most paths are rugged, steep and narrow. For this reason, foot travel is the preferred mode of transportation by the Tarahumara to get from point A to point B. If point B happens to be another village, it is most likely more than 50 miles away, so the Indians must be in amazing physical condition. It would not be uncommon for a Tarahumara to â€Å"run 200 miles over a period of three days and nights† (Lutz 22).Since they tend to move around according to the season, the family’s â€Å" small plots of land are frequently miles from where the family lives, [so] every member of the family must be able to travel long distances in order to perform his everyday tasks† (Lutz 33). A lso, when the Tarahumara go out hunting, they do not use traditional hunting techniques because they do not have guns or other weapons. Instead, â€Å"in order to catch such wild animals as deer, wild turkeys, and rabbits, the Tarahumara simply chase after the animal until the animal drops from exhaustion† (Beauregard).This is, again, an example of their super endurance and incorporation of running in their lives. When these amazing runners became known, a man named Rick Fisher, a wilderness photographer, decided it would be great publicity to sponsor an all-Tarahumara team and sign them up for the Leadville 100 mile race in Leadville, Colorado. Leadville happens to be the highest city in North America, and so the â€Å"Leadville Trail 100 boils down to nearly four full marathons, half of them in the dark, with twin twenty-six-hundred-foot climbs smack in the middle† (McDougall, 57).Basically, the trail is a nightmare, and only about 50% of the participants ever finish . So Mr. Fisher trekked into the Copper Canyons to find his all-star team, promised their village a pile of corn, and in 1993, Victoriano Churro, Cerrildo Chacarito, Manuel Luna and Felipe Torres ran the Leadville 100. About half way through the ultra-marathon â€Å"even the best ultrarunners†¦are heads down and digging deep†¦ [but] by mile 60, the Tarahumara were flying† (McDougall, 65). Victoriano, Cerrildo, and Manuel had swiftly crept up and passed all the other runners.In the end, Victoriano came in first, Cerrildo in second, and Manuel came in fifth because of a broken sandal. â€Å"The first non-Tarahumara finisher was nearly a full hour behind Victoriano†¦ [and the Indians] had done serious damage to the record book† (McDougall, 65). Having never trained for or run the Leadville 100 before, the Tarahumara team managed to grab three of the top five spots because of their amazing endurance. Later, in 2008, the Tarahumara participated in another ult ra-marathon. However, this race had never been run before, and will never be run again.Put together by a man who calls himself Caballo Blanco, a very good friend of the Tarahumara people, this race took place in Urique, Mexico, heart of the Tarahumara country. The start and finish line was the village of the Urique Tarahumara. Caballo Blanco had â€Å"laid out a diabolical course; [they would] be climbing and descending sixty-five hundred feet in fifty miles† (McDougall, 258) and the entire course had been planned â€Å"in a Y pattern, with the starting line dead in the center† (McDougall, 262).There were a total of 25 participants: 20 Tarahumara, including the legendary Arnulfo and Silvino, and 5 Americans, including Scott Jurek, one of the best ultra-marathoners in the world. When the race started, the Urique group bounded out with a burst of speed to lead the pack. However, it became suspicious when,â€Å"in the space of just four miles, the Urique crew had opened up a four minute lead†¦ [and so] they were disqualified† (McDougall, 262) for cheating. With the Urique out, Silvino and Arnulfo took the lead, with Scott Jurek right on their heels.In the end Arnulfo took the gold, Scott the silver, and Silvino the bronze. The last racer to finish, Christopher McDougall, crossed the finish line 12 hours after the race began, â€Å"meaning that Scott and Arnulfo could have run the course all over again and still have beaten [him]† (McDougall, 273). Most of the Tarahumara who competed finished the race within 6 or 7 hours, again displaying their incredible endurance. When it comes to the test, these Indians sure know how to take the gold. Completely isolated in the Sierra Madre from the rest of the world, these Indians and their abilities were unknown for a very long time.Many people still have never heard of them, but if they did, they would surely be blown away and inspired. The Tarahumara are the best endurance runners out there and completely by accident. Due to the simplicity of their lives, a very healthy diet, and the importance that running has in their lifestyle, the Tarahumara have every right to call themselves the Raramui, or running people. These Indians are an inspiration to me, and probably to many other runners out there. Hopefully one day I can be half as good an athlete as they are.

Using Case Study Examples Discuss the Rationale

Tourism is one of the biggest and fastest growing global industries. In the 20th Century, the tourism industry experienced universal expansion that has obvious economic, social and political benefits. The benefits of tourism have been enormous especially for developing poor countries that have limited sources of foreign currency; it has an important source of income and employment. On the other hand however, the growth of that sector has been accompanied by negative impacts as well. As tourism market is remarkably dynamic, there is an impact for local economies, environment and society.Examples of Malta and Gambia will help us to understand how tourism planning is developed in those countries through sustainability as well as the approaches of tourism planning for the better future of those countries. Firstly, it is important to understand the definition of sustainability. Brundtland as cited in C. Michael Hall defined sustainable development as ‘development that meets the need s of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’.Trying to meet those needs is a primary political, economic and environmental issue as it puts demand on the new ways of thinking about the nature and purpose of development and growth. For instance, looking at Malta the centre of Mediterranean, that is seen as a sun-and- see travel destination. Tourism development in Malta begun in late 1950’s, attracting especially mass tourists during the summer time. However, after decent beginning and rapid growth the development went into stagnation.It is closely illustrated as the classic model of a tourism development cycle (Butler, 1980). Maltese Islands have a large number and wide variety of tourism attractions that give a strong potential for tourism development. To reach the goal of a successful sustainable tourism development, country needs to careful planning, systematic implementation of the plans and continuous and effectiv e management. Planning itself is not only a decision-making but as much important as policy-making. Friedmann(1973) as cited in C.Michael Hall identify two different types of planning ‘which lay at opposite ends of an autonomy-dependency continuum depending on where the planner or the planning agency lay within the planning system’; developmental and adaptive planning. With no expectations the planning is always related to policy making. Therefore, as stated by Cullingsworth(1997:5) ‘planning is the purposive process in which goals are set and policies elaborated to implement them’. Policy making is notably involved with government actions. Furthermore, governments are machinery of tourism which can help or not regarding to the tourism industry.For instance, Malta’s Tourism Authority (MTA) has a huge impact on the regional tourism development. In 1999 the MTA took over the charge of NTOM, the Hotel and Catering Establishments Board (HCEB) as well as become committed in human resources. The key changes in new tourism administration were stated as: ‘visibility of the Malta brand in source markets; product upgrading; development of core service skills; the establishments of standards and regulation of the industry; the provision of relevant information to enable critical decision-making by the MTA itself, by the government and by the industry ( MTA, 2000a)’.As a result, the new approach that was mainly directed not only to the main stakeholders in Malta but overseas operators and visitors as well. The strategic was directed into three principal areas; ’product development, re-imaging of the Islands and redefined marketing campaign. ’ In this perspective of those main areas Malta has started to develop their very fragmented product. Moreover, it was mostly concentrated on a dissimilar perception that was giving a wrong image of Maltese Islands.In addition, different overseas MTA representative offices hav e shown varied advertising campaigns that gave a mixed image of Malta. Malta is seen as a destination of different activities for tourists from different countries. For instance, Malta is seen as a beach destination and a destination for elderly people for English tourists. However for French and Italian visitors it is a place witch a cultural treasures. Therefore, MTA has designed brand new image and logo of the Islands to create a more understandable vision of Malta for international visitors.The new logo was trying to encourage the visitors to see more than they are aiming to experience. MTA has concentrated on the quality of product that was focused on the accommodation, activities and events as well as on beach development and country walks. The new way of marketing and promotion was a great economic approach. Therefore, the projects leading to upgrading the cultural heritage and the tourism infrastructure of Malta were funded; The Ministry for Tourism and Culture as well as MT A accessed founds that interference tourism.However, the new approach for the changing the images of the Maltese Islands do not concentrate on local people. Undertaken actions conceal the actual picture of Malta that is most populated place in Europe as well as most of the tourists are young couples. The new image can easily direct to extremely negative effects; visitors realise that Malta is heavily build up with very busy life of local people. On the other hand there are a lot of beneficial impacts of tourism development in Malta. Tourism is Malta is giving a lot of employment as well as development of the island is highly seen.Although there is a lot of aspects to improve; the real product as well as image has to be identified, more of the local stakeholders have to project instead of outside tour operators. The approach of governments has to be more affective in tourism development. It has to be identified that not only the rich culture, history and climate are the higher valued products of Malta but the most important and the more valuable are local people. Tourism in Gambia has an extremely important impact for country development and economy. Tourism is not only the source of income and government revenues but as well it gives opportunities of employment.Gambia, the smallest country on the African continent that was known as a travel destination since 1965 went from steady growth through boosted development to lack of further development over last years. Limited financial and human resources as much as poor infrastructure at local stage are restricting tourism development in country. Number of visitors arriving Gambia was increasing until 1994 when military coup was held. However, after 1995 the tourism sector started to collapse and in addition Gambia lost market share and reminded static. The country economy did not develop at any stage since that time.It could be necessary to note that problems Gambia is facing are strongly related to socio- economic and political issues inside the country. Important fact to point out is that agriculture is accounting approximately 75% of employment but merely 35% of GDP, where tourism accounts of 12% of employment with as much as 23% of GDP for the country( according to WTTC data). With regard to tourism planning and development there is a need to recognise two different phases of development. The first phase that happened between 1972- 1994 was significant in rapid increase of arrivals into the country.Moreover, Gambia became dependent on a tourist markets especially from UK and Scandinavia. On the other hand tourism became highly seasonal; known as a winter-sun destination where over 80% of arrivals occurred between November to April. In this situation, the number of accommodation supply has increased. Furthermore, the government took a huge part of the tourism development by providing a wide variety of incentives for and controls on hotel development. The government created specific bodies responsible for policy development and implementation.However public sector was very limited by lack of funding for tourism development and promotion therefore was mainly driven by the overseas private sector. Another example of critical changes in tourism development is second phase of the economy in Gambia. ‘Phase 2’ was held between 1995 and 2005. After the year of coup the tourism sector was still growing with record of 96,000 tourists in 1999. However, following the extremely growth in visitors the arrivals have tragically collapsed. Although it can be noticed that there was an increase of accommodation supply however most of the hotels remain under foreign ownerships.On the other side the infrastructural development funded by an African Development Bank loan have included a $10 million beach recovery project, a $150,000 street lightning system as well as a new road bypassing Serrekunda that improved the access to the tourist areas. Moreover, the new terminal build ing was launched in the international airport. Meanwhile, during the period of ‘Phase 2’ large number of international operators have decreased. On the other hand the lack of data is a continuing problem regarding to economic value of tourism to the country.Nowadays, few organizations (Responsible Tourism Partnership and Association of Small Scale Enterprises in Tourism) have been created to work ‘towards developing a more responsible approach to tourism development’. Their main goal is to help small- scale businesses in participation and benefiting from tourism industry. It can be said that the Gambia’s tourism policy for 1995-2000 have created ambitious targets such as increasing the arrivals numbers to 150,000, accommodation supply growth to 10,000bed spaces and the aim to change the direction from mass charter tourism to more individual and special interest groups tourism.Furthermore, the new ‘Master Plan’ from 2005 that has been con centrated on developing tourism industry sets out the new route for tourism development until 2020. Moreover, it is already recognising lack of progress and can be said that Gambia’s development project has already entered the ‘lost decade’. It is clear from the above that Gambia both as a country and a tourist destination has a limited market that is restricted by climate, lack of facilities as well as health requirements. Furthermore, Gambia is not rich either in natural or cultural attractions that could appeal to tourist’s interest.Also Gambia could be taken as an expensive destination where tourists are entitled to pay arrival taxes. On the other hand, it could not be said that many efforts have been taken to develop tourism in the Gambia. Consequently, GTA (Gambia Tourism Authority) provides motivation to prospective developers as tax breaks and ‘free’ land subjected to future development and a 50-year lease on that land. In conclusion, without expectation that approaches to tourism planning are extremely important aspects for tourism development in each country.It has been identified that five certain mechanism by which long-term approach to tourism development can be achieved; cooperative and integrated control systems, development of industry coordination mechanisms, raising customer awareness, raising producer awareness and strategic tourism planning to supersede conventional approaches (Dutton and Hall; 1989). Tourism requires certain approaches as well as appropriate managements to operate at higher levels to sustain tourism development process in both of the counties.Malta as well as Gambia need to look forward the future and ask themselves what do they want gain for the new tourism planning and future development. It is not an exception that it is going to be an easy task for both of those countries, especially for Gambia who is one of poorest countries in the world. Each of those countries has to find new strategies of tourism planning as well as new, better direction for tourism development where local people and local investors are involved in the complete project of gaining benefits from tourism planning. Bibliography Hall, C.Michael (2000) Tourism Planning: Policies, Processes and Relationships Gunn, Clare A. (3rd edition) Tourism Planning: Basics, Concepts, Cases Keyser, Heidi (2002) Tourism Development Hall, C. Michael and Page, Stephen J. (1999) 2nd edition; The Geography of Tourism and Recreation: Environment, Place and Space References Hall, D. , Smith, M. , Marciszewska, B. (2006) Tourism in the New Europe: Challenges and Opportunities of EU Enlargements; Chapter 17; Theuma, Nadia (2006) Malta: Re-imaging the Mediterranean Destination Sharpley, Richard; Developments in Tourism Research; Chapter 4; Tourism in The Gambia- Ten Years On

Bernard Lawrence

  Describe the three types of illegal behavior alleged allegations against Mr. Madoff and for each of the behavior explain why it is illegal or unethical in the conduct of business? Ans) Bernard Lawrence Madoff was a stock broker, investment advisor and the non executive chairman of the NASDAQ. Bernard has been found guilty for 11 federal crimes for which he has been sentenced to imprisonment for 150 years and had to pay $170. 179 billion as a penalty. He was convicted for 11 federal crimes which included security fraud, money laundering, perjury, theft from an employee benefit plan, wire fraud and mail fraud.In order to further clarify three of the crime would be explained in details which are as follows: Money Laundering: Bernard Lawrence had been convicted for 2 International money laundering crimes. He had been using the money of his investors for his own purposes and was showing false accounts. His company was convicted of tax evasions and taking advantage and showing false ac counting in his books. This is a serious crime in the whole world as this is a way of misinterpreting and misleading the investors and the government officials.This is an unethical business practice because it refers to concealing important details of the business from the various stakeholders and thus taking undue advantage from that. The companies seem to misguide the public and the government and save million dollars by evading taxes and buying assets from the money that they have actually stolen from the investors. Securities fraud: The victim was convicted of securities fraud where he was guilty of doing illegal sale and purchase on the trading floors. He had broken various securities laws and embezzled millions of dollars.This is an illegal practice because the investors by doing so start manipulating the stock exchange and the stock prices. This is considered a crime because by this the stock prices can be over stated or understated which would harm the small investors. Theft from Employee benefit plan: He was alleged of stealing $10 million from the pension fund assets. This is a plain act of stealing where he took the money that was the right of 35 labor unions. Due to this the labor union would not have been able to get the money that was basically their right by law. (Voreacos, 2009)Question 2: Name three types of parties who were impacted by the practices of Mr. Madoff and describe how they were impacted? Ans) The scandal had impacted the lives of various people which included people from all walks of life. From various celebrities to huge investment companies and banks have had an impact on their balance sheets due to the scandal. Some of the parties involved were: Universities: Various universities and schools which include the New York University and Maimonides school had invested their idle funds with the company which they lost due to the scandal.Investment Funds: Various investment funds had their assets managed by the company. The investment companies lost the money that they had invested with the investment fund of Lawrence Bernard. Various investment companies had even bought the shares which brought them loss of billions of dollars. Charity organization: A lot of Non profit organizations and charity organization of celebrities and other people had invested the charity’s money. The charities had to lose billions of dollars due to the fraud as they did not get their invested money back. (Madoff's Victims, 2009)Question 3: Describe three business safeguards that may have prevented the harm caused by Mr. Madoff? Ans) The ponzi scheme was a major negligence from the respective authorities. The SEC authorities did not have complete check over various factors due to which people had to face losses of millions of dollars. Some of the ways the debacle could have been prevented are: Strict policies from Securities Exchange Commission (SEC): This scandal had been in practice for almost over a decade but was not detected by the SEC. Thus the SEC was not too active in its practices.The organization was giving a high return which was an unusual activity. Thus in such an abnormal situation SEC should have been more diligent and transparent in fulfilling its duties. If there had been cross checking of the accounts and financial transactions this loss could have been prevented. Transparent practices by the external auditors: It is something very pungent that such a massive scandal had hit the financial world despite of the strict financial standards and the constant audits by the licensed auditors. The external auditors would have to be more ethical and transparent in their activities.If they would have identified small symptoms of unethical practices to the state earlier, millions of dollar could have been saved. Forensic Accountants reactive attitude: The forensic accountants have been silent over the issue until it was the news all around the world. The forensic accountants are trained to identify an y sorts of fraud symptoms in the economy. There was a reactive approach by these accountants which caused this fraud to go on for too many years. The forensic accountants could have prevented the loss by actively reporting them on time. (Herrerra, n. d. )Question4: Describe three ways the private investors could have prevented themselves from risk? Ans) The investors could have been prevented from the debacle by knowing the investment practices and the basic rules of investment. Generally the investors are not aware of the practices due to which they are not able to identify if the investment is done in the right manner. Second, the loss could have been prevented if the investors have been careful in selecting the investment company. The investors would have been saved if they would have not selected the company for investment.The investors could have managed their funds properly by not investing huge amount in just one avenue. The risk could have been mitigated if they had invested at various avenues due to which they would not have to bear such a huge loss. (Herrerra, n. d. ) Question5: Describe three legal actions that possibly may be brought against Mr. Madoff under criminal or civil law? Ans: Mr. Madoff had been convicted of 11 serious federal crimes to which he was sentenced to imprisonment for 150 years. The three legal actions against him are as follows: Securities fraud: 20 years of imprisonment with 3 years supervised release.Along with this there would also be a fine of $5 million or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Money Laundering: 10 years of imprisonment with 3 years of supervised release. These would also be a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. Perjury: 5 years of imprisonment with 3 years of supervised release. These would also be a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense. (Department of Justice Press Release, 2009) References Department of Justice Press Release. (2009, Ma rch 12). Retrieved June 7, 2010, from Federal Bureau of Investigation New York: http://newyork.fbi. gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/nyfo031209. htm Herrerra, C. (n. d. ). Ponzi Schemes and Forensic Accountants. Retrieved June 7, 2010, from Accounting Sites: http://www. bellaonline. com/articles/art49196. asp Madoff's Victims. (2009, March 6). Retrieved June 7, 2010, from The Wall Street Journal: http://s. wsj. net/public/resources/documents/st_madoff_victims_20081215. html Voreacos, D. (2009, March 11). Madoff Criminal Charges: Summary of the 11 Counts Against Him. Retrieved June 7, 2010, from Bloomberg: http://www. bloomberg. com/apps/news? pid=20601087&sid=a6Osnj. SoYdM&refer=home Bernard Lawrence Bernie Madoff was born on 29th April, 1938 in New York. His parents were Jewish, namely Ralph and Sylvia Madoff. In 1956, he had graduated from the Hofstra University where he had studied political science. He then became a plumber, and later on founded the Madoff charitable Foundation. His career in the investment field began after he married Ruth Alpern, his high school sweet heart, who worked at a stock exchange market in Manhattan. In 1960, he founded the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, (now NASDAQ) and has ever since acted as its chairman until he was arrested.Before the discovery of the fraud, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities seemed like the kind of firm that every stock broker would want to work with. The investors and the employees all believed in Bernie. It was for this reason that he was appointed as the chairman of NASDAQ, and was also appointed to industry channels by the SEC. Madoff is said to have been a philanthropist who worked with many nonprofit institutions. He was a man of great influence, and many people had entrusted him with their wealth.Madoff is known to have committed the biggest fraud through a Ponzi plan which he had carried out for at least 20 years. He confessed his crime to his sons, Andrew and Mark last year. This is an essay covering Madoff’s, big Ponzi plan that led to his incarceration. (Lenzner) The Ponzi plan Even as Madoff was still in studying law at Brooklyn Law School, he was in involved in the securities business. On of his first investments was with a company, called the Electronics Capital, where he had invested $200. According to what the SEC disclosed, his stocks had grown from the original $200 to $16,140.At that time, this was a lot of money, and this must have captured his interest in the securities market. His scheme to get involved in illegal operations to make more money must have been in his mind for some time. This is because in the 1990s, Madoff would boast to some of his investor s that he was using a different strategy from the split-strike conversion method. This must have been what led to the fraud. An investigation revealed that there were clues in his office, but it was very hard to catch him.For example, there was an IBM server, and an AS/400 which dated from as early as the 1980s; reports said that it was so old, that some information was keyed in by hand, but Madoff was reluctant to have it replaced. This machine is said to have been the centre around which the fraud was schemed. Thousands of statements that were printed from it revealed trades that had never been made. (Bandler etal) According to those who played roles in the early electronic trading and the company, Madoff’s company was successful only in the 1970s and the 1980s.They further said that the success could only be attributed to the fact that his security business was the first to have used the electronic software to trade stocks. He was also able to attract many consumers becaus e the software was not only cheap, but also fast. Instead of taking a fee for trading stocks like the NYSE did, Bernie paid some firms like Charles Schwab a few dollars a share for every order they made. Though the software used by Madoff, his company had the expertise to hedge the risk that resulted form the imbalance in the buy and sell orders and hence were able to preserve its profit.This means that even if he paid the client, he still remained with enough money to make a huge profit. During the early 1990s, his firm had succeeded, in that it was responsible for executing at least 9% of all the stocks traded every day at the NYSE. His firm specialized in trading other shares from big companies outside the exchange. In the history of trading stocks, no other company could outdo NASDAQ, which got its advantage from the use of electronic means. He was respected among his peers, except those of the NYSE, who likened his orders to kick backs.They viewed Madoff’s trades as shab by, but they had no way to prove any illegal activities. The payments that he paid for the orders were all legal, and Madoff ensured that they remained so. NASD and SEC insisted that the securities industry’s self regulated body bring together a panel to investigate NASDAQ. Being the chairman NASDAQ, Madoff challenged his investigators by suggesting that they go ahead to include witnesses in the panel. He was able to talk himself out of the problems that could have possibly befallen him. (Bandler etal) He successfully talked the investigators into his line of thinking.In fact, some of the members in the panel said that he was not pushy during the interrogations. Although his main aim was to protect his business, he never suggested that in any direct way. He was just determined to make the panel â€Å"understand† the way his business operated. At the end of it all, Madoff prevailed. He had managed to convince the panel that his practice of offering payments was all the same as that applied by the Wall Street. Things however changed in 1997, when the rules that governed the trading spreads changed. That year, they were slashed from 12. 5? a share to 6.25? , and later on in 2001, dropped to just a penny. NASDAQ’s profits started decreasing. Madoff was able to continue committing his fraudulent acts because he now started marketing his investment business by convincing people through word of mouth. Those who learnt of it spread it to their friends. It became a private club, and Madoff’s plan not wanting to admit new members, attracted even more attention from those who knew of it. His private investors were urged to keep quiet, and not to mention the matter to an outsider; if they did, they risked losing their investments.In spite of his efforts to keep his investments secret, they somehow surfaced, but he was determined to keep covering up any act that would arouse suspicion. Two publications that were directed at arousing suspicion on Madoff’s operations went ignored. Even the employees who worked within the organization ignored them; after all, they had no clue of what was going on. It later turned out that Madoff’s illegal investments were interfering with the legal ones. In fact, during the trial, Madoff admitted hat he transferred millions of dollars from his fraud businesses in London to his legal firm in New York.His fraudulent schemes were so complicated; it is said that it would not be easy to understand his operations in details. He also lied to defend or cover up his acts. For example, in May 2006, he was interviewed by the SEC, and asked whether the equities were traded in Europe, he admitted that they were. The truth was that he always said that he had several trades in Europe, whenever he could not explain the nature of the businesses. There were also no equities being traded in Europe. In many occasions, Madoff’s lies paid him off. Madoff’s accompliceAlthough Madoff was the mastermind schemer, he obviously had an accomplice. Employees confessed that Frank DiPascali, acted as Madoff’s deputy and was responsible for running the business on the 17th floor, the floor where Madoff’s office was. A former trader said that the he was aged 33, but people neither knew what his work really was, nor his title. One employee said that, â€Å"Everyone knew he was a big deal, but he was like a shadow. † (Bandler etal) DiPascali, when arrested, showed his involvement in Madoff’s plan when he started to negotiate a plea deal with federal prosecutors.He offered to uncover the whole scheme and to name names, in exchange for a reduced sentence. However, he had no evidence that there were other family members involved in the Madoff scheme. DiPascali was the facilitator of Madoff’s schemes. He admitted to have manipulated phony returns on behalf of several major investors in Madoff’s business. Some of them include Frank Avellino, is said to have been running the â€Å"feeder fund† and Jeffry Picower, who had to shut down his foundation as it was affected by the losses associated with Madoff.For example, if one of such important clients earned more money on other investments, Madoff would tell DiPascali, who then fabricated a loss with the motive of reducing the tax bill. In my opinion, I would ay that the United States was able to produce such a person as Madoff because besides the fact that he had strong connections, his firm was performing well enough; in fact it offered job opportunities to Americans, while in many ways contributed to the economic development of the United States.Madoff was also able to cover up his shoddy operations effectively, protecting himself from the authorities. An example of such an instance is when he was able to defend himself from the panel in 1991 during the investigations. (Paltrow) He had a clever way to get himself out o trouble. The fact that most people knew him as a philanthropist was enough defense, at least to the mercies. His generous acts like giving donations were just for show, including his donations to the 2008 presidential campaigns, where he funded both candidates.The Madoff case was one of the hardest to be completely uncovered, given that it had been schemed for at least 20 years. It could also be enough reason that Madoff was a clever man since he was able to commit the fraud on his own. If Madoff could have had more funds to pay off his investors in December, then he would have been able to carry on with his Ponzi scheme. His scheme has led to the collapse and closure of several organizations that had invested in his operations. Works cited 1) Bandler J. Varchever N. (April 30, 2009) Ho