Investment Opportunity A New Type Of Cruise Ships

Investment Opportunity An Ultra Ship is a new type of cruise ship, significantly larger, and with greatly expanded amenities and attractions, versus a traditional ship. Only three Ultra Ships have been built thus far, and no further ones are on order. Newco Cruise will build two â€Å"Ultra Ships† for the North American and European cruise markets, capitalizing on an attractive green field opportunity created by a) recent strategic developments by legacy players, and b) the depressed condition of shipyard order books. Total Project cost is â‚ ¬2 - 2.1 billion. â‚ ¬425 - 450 million equity is required, staged over five years between 2011 and 2015, with the major amounts being required in 2012, 2014, and 2015. Realization of the investment is projected in 2016. Projected IRR over the five year life of the project is 24.9%, with considerable scope for greater than that. There is also, naturally, risk of a lower return. Current trends and macro conditions favor the upside. 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It is vital to the survival of many Caribbean islands as it is the pillar of their economy because it provides a vast amount of employment opportunities for locals as well as constantly pumps foreign investment and expenditure into the region, among other benefits which will be highlighted. However, like most actions in life, there are pros and cons, tourism is no different. It is a very controversial topic because on oneRead MoreCarnival Corporation Case Study2234 Words   |  9 PagesCorporation as the largest cruise line in the world is being a leader and innovator in the cruise line industry. Many of the onbo ard activities and services were introduced to strengthen the competencies between competitors. The challenges of the Carnival were being overcome by the management with creative and innovative strategies. As a corporate entity, Carnival did not refuse to withdraw money to settle the ocean pollution charged by public. The expansions of cruise line market via acquisitionRead MoreCase Assignment Royal Caribbean Essay2485 Words   |  10 Pagesdollar amounts to cruise to the Caribbean Islands as a great alternative for a week or weekend getaway. After proposing this idea to Norwegian entrepreneurs, Royal Caribbean Cruise lines, was born. Forty five years and forty ships later, based out of Miami Florida, Royal Caribbean is the second largest cruise line in the world, behind frontrunner Carnival. RCCL operates its ships under the brand names Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Cruises, and Croisià ¨res de

Poverty and Homelessness - 1942 Words

Poverty and homelessness are serious issues in the U.S. today, especially because of the current recession, with levels of poverty and unemployment higher than at any time since the 1930s. Blacks and Hispanics are being affected disproportionately by homelessness, as well as poverty and unemployment in American society. This is just another example of the racial caste system and institutional racism that goes far beyond that of social class, and has always been the case in recessions and indeed with every other social and economic problem in American history. Even though the country elected a black president in 2008, wealth and incomes for minority groups, which were already far lower than whites, have been in severe decline for the past few years (Baumann 2001). Compared to the trillions of dollars in federal assistance that has been extended to the large financial institutions from TARP and the Federal Reserve, programs to aid the poor and homeless have been very inadequate, and ar e even being cut back on the local, state and federal levels. The poor and homeless also need a program of universal health care coverage, which the U.S. has never had in its history, and like most programs to assist those at the lowest end on the social scale has often been limited or blocked by conservative interests. Poverty and homelessness are caused by racism, lack of education, alcohol, drug abuse, and individuals who have been born into poverty and are not able to afford the means toShow MoreRelatedHomelessness And Poverty And Homelessness1699 Words   |  7 PagesCenter on Homelessness and Poverty 7) While a portion of today’s society turns a blind eye to the subject of the criminalization of homelessness, an even larger quantity of people are not aware of the situation that is happening in every major city of America. For those living an affluent lifestyle, it can be difficult to discuss the amount of poverty and homelessness that is constantly occurring. The definition and meaning behind the absence of home is also arduous to discuss. While homelessness is commonlyRead MorePoverty And Homelessness1715 Words   |  7 PagesPoverty and homelessness are very serious problems in the United States. 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Without education, the middle class people wouldRead MorePoverty, Hunger, And Homelessness971 Words   |  4 PagesPoverty, hunger, and homelessness in America are much more common despite being the wealthiest nation in the world. Poverty is well-defined as having inadequate income to provide the food, shelter and clothing needed to preserve good health. Hunger is quite simply not knowing where your next meal will be coming from, to a certain extent simply being food insecure. Homelessness is homeless who are most often unable to acquire and maintain regular, safe, secure, and adequate housing. To live belowRead MoreThe Problem Of Poverty And Homelessness1604 Words   |  7 Pagesissue of poverty and homelessness in America. In fact, a study taken in 2015 gathered that wi th more interaction and willingness to help the homeless, the more empathy and compassion is gained for them, later resulting in a larger contribution from society creating a social change. I obtained this information based on a survey taken by Lindsay Phillips, a physiologist, that took it upon herself to ask working, undergraduate college students to describe their perceptions of homelessness, willingnessRead MoreHomelessness and the Cycle of Poverty717 Words   |  3 Pagespassed on to their children. Reported by Barbara Ehrenreich, an author with many books on the subject of homelessness in America, â€Å"Catholic Charities saw a spike of domestic violence... attributed to the unemployment and overcrowding.† (325)ï€  Ã¯â‚¬  Not having the funds to support oneself and one’s family causes stress and tension while otherwise might not have been there. Sadly homelessness and poverty have and will always go hand in hand. Many people due to financial hardships have to relocate constantlyRead MoreThe Problem Of Poverty And Homelessness956 Words   |  4 Pagestransportation and I see a person who is homeless I do one of two things: 1) Avoid eye contact and act as if they don’t exist or 2) I give them some extra food or my loose change. Poverty is something that most people tend to ignore, or act like someone else is there to fix it. This image critically argues that poverty and/or homelessness isn’t something that can be fixed with some coins it requires an actual change. This image makes this argument with its size and color, play on words that targets a specificRead MoreA Survey On Homelessness And Poverty1404 Words   |  6 Pagespoint in time by a survey provided by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, an estimated 740000 individuals are experiencing homelessness at any particular time in America (Aratani). Additionally, an approximated 3.5 million individuals are at risk of e xperiencing temporary homelessness at a certain point in a particular year with some 1.35 million children based on the report by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty (Aratani). In 2005, 50 percent of the cities in the US were surveyedRead MoreThe Problem Of Poverty Of Homelessness950 Words   |  4 PagesPoverty WHAT I ALREADY KNOW/WHY THIS TOPIC Down my building street, a homeless lives there. I always wonder what brought him here. What was his previous occupation before living down the street and annoying everyone else. Questions started to rise. Are they really homeless? poor? or faking it up to attract people’s attention? I had an experience that made these questions rise weirdly. One day, I was sitting in Starbucks, located in Cary street beside Chili’s and I saw the homeless that howl besideRead MoreHomelessness : Difficulty Escaping Poverty1321 Words   |  6 PagesArjan Singh Mrs. Woolcock English IV-CP May 19 2016 Homelessness: Difficulty Escaping Poverty A homeless person is someone who lacks housing, including an individual who lives in a supervised public or private facility (What Is the Official Definition of Homelessness?). Being homeless means not having a place to call home, not having a stable income. It is not just individuals that can be homeless. There are millions of families living in poverty and on the streets all around the world, contrary to

Breastfeeding Is Accepted Globally As One of the Cornerstones

Question: Breastfeeding Is Accepted Globally As One Of The Cornerstones? Answer: Introduction Breastfeeding is accepted globally as one of the cornerstones of postnatal child health and development (Kuhn et al., 2007). There is convincing testimony that breastfeeding is preventive of a myriad health challenges (Kornides Kitsantas, 2013; McDowell, Wang Kennedy-Stephenson, 2008). Various policy documents have been published governments and non-governmental organizations to promote exclusive breastfeeding and after that to breastfeed together with complementary feeding up to two years. One such document is policy directive from the Australian Government titled Breastfeeding in NSW: Promotion, Protection, and Support. The policy was drafted to serve two purposes within the NSW region. The first purpose is to provide a framework targeted at initiating, sponsoring and protecting, safeguarding and upholding breastfeeding. The second purpose is to clarify the duties and responsibilities necessary for coordination of breastfeeding in NSW Healthcare system. The policy also outlines the mandatory requirements necessary to ensure breastfeeding across specific key areas triumphs. There is a section outlining actions that must be undertaken to ensure that every mandatory requirement is met. Assigning various departments, groups or individuals is easier for implementers to guarantee that the policy is effected wholly. Monitoring and surveillance are one of the mandatory requirements of the policy. Without a carefully coordinated monitoring and surveillance plan, it is difficult to keep track of statistics related exclusivity and duration of breastfeeding and more importantly the areas requiring improvement or even resources (DUrso, 2006; Chapman Prez-Escamilla, 2009). In the wisdom of the drafters of the policy, they saw it fit to provide for the use of WHO standards parameters coupled with nationally recognized breastfeeding terminologies. This is crucial in ensuring the accuracy of the data as well as allow for comparisons with other regions. Monitoring and surveillance have six sections that can be distributed to various agencies or individuals for execution. For example, developing a breastfeeding dashboard indicator can be tasked to a few individuals and piloted in various facilities to determine its workability before it is rolled out nationally. In order to realize the full potential of breastfeeding, the policy advocates for the training of healthcare professionals. Healthcare personnel play a fundamental responsibility in delivering health education and support critical in supporting postnatal growth and development of children (Ekstrm, Kylberg Nissen, 2012). It is only through continuous education that updated and relevant knowledge can be passed to the pregnant and lactating women. Healthcare professionals who are adequately trained are confident at their jobs. It has also been proven to be instrumental in addressing barriers related to initiation and maintenance of successful breastfeeding. Training may involve merging of experience and research with peer support group (Hannula, Kaunonen Tarkka, 2008). Some actions have been outlined in the policy to be key to supporting training of healthcare personnel. One such action is the provision of education related to Baby Friendly Hospital Initiatives (BFHI). BFHI is a conce pt that outlines steps that a maternity healthcare facility has to follow to ensure successful initiation and continuity of breastfeeding in the initial six post natal and after that up to around twenty four months. It is a relatively new concept thus requiring training to ensure healthcare professionals are BFHI savvy (Zareai, O'Brien Fallon, 2007). The policys inclusion of breastfeeding friendly environment including workplaces as a priority area is an adequate demonstration of its depth. Exclusive breastfeeding, which needs to last for the first six months of life, has proven to be challenging for the working women. The duration of paid leave of 126 days in Australia falls short of the first six months life by 8 weeks (Whitehouse et al., 2006; Pincombe et al., 2008; Hewitt, Strazdins Martin, 2017). The policy explicitly advocates for breastfeeding friendly working environments. The benefits that can be ripped from such an undertaking can have far-reaching implications for both the employee and employer. To the employer, breastfeeding friendly environments can be instrumental in ensuring workforce retention and reducing absenteeism and employee turnover. To the employee, a calm and friendly environment translates to reduced stress and adequate care for the growing child. Of the many supportive actions outlined, participating i n talks about ABA Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Accreditation of all Local Health Districts is instrumental to ensuring that employers take part in the noble course with full knowledge. Reason for choosing policy Advocating for monitoring and surveillance, training of healthcare professionals and inclusion breastfeeding friendly environment and many other mandatory requirements makes the policy an appealing document to analyze. I chose this policy because of immense potential in impacting lives positively, both in the short and long terms. I have a keen interest in studying its implementation at the facility level and document any challenges unique to facilities and how they are being addressed. Policy Summary In summary, the policy aims at promoting, protecting and supporting frameworks to form the basis for ensuring breastfeeding, where possible, is not interrupted. The primary aims center on a number of mandatory requirements, with each split to actions that needed to be done by the Department and Local Health Districts not later than 2015. The actions can be split into executable activities during the implantation stage. Understanding of policy issues Childcare touches everyones live both directly and indirectly. When childcare practices (including breastfeeding) are carried out properly, there can be far-reaching implications. It is difficult for individuals to establish a linkage between simple actions such as proper breastfeeding to legal, economic, social and political goings on around the world. In this section, we shall explore the legal, economic, social and political implications of the policy in the Australian and even the global context. Political Context National budgetary allocations are influenced by political decisions ad prioritization. The policy provides a framework to ease implementation glitches at the national level within the context of the national level. There are many other parameters and documents that were taken into consideration as potential supporters of the current policy including BFHI, Maternal Health and Infant service and Aborigines and Health seeking behaviors among others. All these parameters have an attachment to the national and global politics in various ways. The evidence that public health interventions require high-level support is overwhelming. It means that without the support of the political leadership, leadership within the healthcare and throughout the chain of command to the lowest unit of organization, the policy is just another piece of paper. From the topmost leadership to the implementing healthcare professionals on the ground is a long list of stakeholders who make various decisions and even implement them; this requires collaboration, cooperation and complementation in various capacities. The policy puts emphasis collaboration between NSW Health and stakeholders with similar goals. Economic Context Breastfeeding can have tremendous economic implications to the infant, mother, and society at large. Studies indicate that breastfed infants thrive both physically and mentally into adulthood. In addition, there are reduced instances of childhood illnesses among breastfed infants. The milk if free and therefore the mother does not need to pay to feed the infant. Other benefits related to breastfeeding include prolonged postpartum anovulation, reduces maternal stress, reduced risk of cancer and cardiovascular diseases to the mother. Medical treatment of such diseases cost a lot of money. To the society, having a physically and mentally stable workforce translates to high output per an employee. Despite these benefits, the policy is not clear on how to educate society about all these benefits to ensure each stakeholders efforts, no matter how infinitesimal, is harnessed. Nonetheless, there is dotted compensation of economic of the economic context of the policy by talking about BFHI an d support from the highest level of governance. With BFHI in place, mothers can be more relaxed impacting on employee turnover positively. BFHI has also been implicated in retaining of talent and boosting employee morale. Legal Context The global business environment presented challenges that needed to be addressed legally (Aguayo, Ross, Kanon Ouedraogo, 2003). NSW Health is under the obligation of the law to comply with the World Health Organisations ethics on Global Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes (BMS). The policy stipulates an avenue that can support staff to notify the advisory committee of any breaches by the manufacturers and any dealers of BMS. NSW Health created a complaint form that can be filled and mailed to the advisory panel. In addition, the NSW Health provides guidelines for the healthcare practitioners to follow when launching a complaint against all BMS handlers; from manufacturing to selling. Social Context The policy recognizes the need social support to ensure that the policy meets its goals. The community plays an integral role in shaping peoples perception and flow and interpretation of information. For that reason, the NSW Breastfeeding policy sought to offer adequate support to breastfeeding mothers with regards to lessening the intricacies related to access and referrals from and from maternity, neonatal and pediatric health services at the community level. Some of key areas of interest include support from professionals, peer support groups and creation and maintaining social networks that promote cohesiveness between pregnant and/or lactating mothers. Appointing peer counselors who work in collaboration professionals is a sure way promoting breastfeeding and addressing any challenges. The policy also recognizes the changing technological environment. As such, it creators were keen on advocating for use technology to pass messages along. This is particularly important for young mothers. They digital platform provides an ease means of forth and back communication. A mother experiencing any challenges can post their messages and get guidance from more experienced peers. Critical discussion and analysis Objectives and goals As discussed under economic context, the policy is not very elaborate the role the employer may have to perform to ensure that policy succeeds with regards to ensuring a friendly breastfeeding working environment. To ensure that happens, the following objectives have been set: To train employers on breastfeeding friendly work place requirement and benefits accrued. To lessen the Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Accreditation process by half the time taken. To advocate for incentives for employers who implement breastfeeding friendly and baby friendly protocols. Identification of decision parameters Realization of the outlined objectives requires three markers including resources, timeframes, and accurate prioritization. Some of the most critical resources required include capital, personnel, space and time. Availing all these resources from the start is critical to the success of the whole process once set in motion. Capital is essential during training, hastening the Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Accreditation and offering incentives to the employers. Organizing for training may include preparation of training materials, hiring of training and making reconnaissance visits, to mention just but a few, require money. The government will be a contributor. Other stakeholders with similar goals can also chip in for support. Hastening the process of Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Accreditation may require frequent and hastened visits to companies seeking installation breastfeeding friendly facilities. The Work-Life Grant set aside is hardly enough. In addition is too general. It covers a wide range of issues from disability to breastfeeding friendly workplace initiatives. Having a breastfeeding support grant will expedite many of the steps known to stall. Having adequate and well-trained workforce on breastfeeding skills is important for the overall realizing of the set objectives. Trainers well versed with workplace breastfeeding can be able to convince an employer that installing such gadgets is a strategic step towards enhancing company performance. Employers will need to be versed with creating an extra conducive room fitted with furniture and a means of refrigerating the milk. The room should provide adequate privacy. Ideally, an electric outlet and sink will be required for hand washing before and after expressing. The employer will need to be taught how long breastfeeding or expressing milk may take so as to allow mothers to take 2-3 breaks of 15-30 minutes per day. Without a timeframe, the realization of the set objectives is likely to prove difficult. To ensure this happens, the following time frames have been set: Table One: Timeframe Objective Timeframe To train employers on breastfeeding friendly workplace requirement and benefits accrued. 2017-2022 To lessen the Breastfeeding Friendly Workplace Accreditation process by half the time taken. 2017-2018 To advocate for incentives for employers who implement breastfeeding friendly and baby friendly protocols. 2017-2019. Prioritization is an important element to ensure all activities are coordinated smoothly. Preliminary activities will take precedence to lay the groundwork for objectives listed. The second objective will become the priority to ensure that the employers are well versed with workplace support needed to support breastfeeding. The procedure may involve a tour to various companies applying for the exercise to gauge the complexity of their management. Small companies will be advised to elect project leaders who will serve as contact persons for future follow ups on the progress of the process. Huge companies may need to hire consultancy services to evaluate the requirements necessary to set up rooms and gadgets required for the exercise. Compared to the first and third objectives, the first objective spans for a relatively shorter period, that is 2017 to 2018. The third objective which seeks to provide employers with incentives will come second. This objective seeks to ensure many employe rs get enticed to roll out the program in their workplace. As the third objective is taking speed, the first objective will be set in motion. Some of the potential contributors to the Work-Life Grant would be employers themselves. Alternatives Breast milk is an ideal food there can be for an infant. However, once in a while, breastfeeding may not be possible due to various reasons (Aguayo, Ross, Kanon Ouedraogo, 2003). Various companies such as Nestle specialize in producing breast milk substitutes. Time and again, such companies have found in awkward positions putting profits before customers. Their notoriety for excessive marketing in yesteryears cannot go unnoticed (Brady, 2012). Before the introduction International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, the companies had almost managed to convince everyone that MBS were superior to breastmilk in term of nutrient composition (World Health Organization, 2013). However, this has long been disputed with scientific studies that have proven than breast milk has antibodies that BMS cannot provide. In addition to the physical benefits of milk to the infants, breast milk also confers psychological benefits. In circumstances where breastfeeding has proven impossible, BM S is next possible idea meal for an infant. Preparation of BMS requires keenness and high hygienic standards that are hard to maintain (World Health Organization, 2010). The other alternative available to nursing mothers is buying of already human expressed milk. It is a new concept that has taken the world by surprise. Some women can produce more milk than infant may require. They have a decision to make about the extra milk. Some opt to express and store and some discard (Akre, Gribble Minchin, 2011). With the help of the internet, it has become a common phenomenon to find women asking what to do with the extra milk (Weber et al., 2011). Slowly but surely, the idea of selling the surplus is gaining popularity. However, one of the biggest challenges of the online platform is that it is unregulated. There are multiple websites currently dedicated to facilitating the trade. However, the FDA warns against feeding a child directly milk acquired from another source other than the mother of the child. Such milk comes with high risks of the child contracting viruses such as HIV and cytomegalovirus (CMV (Keim et al., 2013). Some countries have established milk banking system with similar workings as blood banks; an example is Human Milk Banking Association of North America. It has fully installed systems of that are instrumental in screening for infections and usage of elaborate lifestyle questionnaires to determine the suitability of the milk (Geraghty, Heier Rasmussen, 2011). Conclusion Breastfeeding certainly remains unparalleled as the most suitable mode of infant feeding. The option of BMS and buying of human milk cannot, however, go unnoticed. However, the Breastfeeding in NSW: Promotion, Protection, and Support does not provide offer guidance on how society can deal with these new occurrences. Purchasing of already expressed human milk presents new challenges. The quality of the human milk purchased online is difficult to determine in terms of microbial contamination. In addition, one is left wondering if a child who feeds on purchased human milk in the six months postnatal should be considered to have been exclusively breastfed. To address the challenges posed, we recommend that the policy be revised taking into account new challenges. References Aguayo, V. M., Ross, J. S., Kanon, S., Ouedraogo, A. N. (2003). Monitoring compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes in west Africa: multisite cross sectional survey in Togo and Burkina Faso. Bmj, 326(7381), 127 Akre, J. E., Gribble, K. D., Minchin, M. (2011). Milk sharing: from private practice to public pursuit. International breastfeeding journal, 6(1), 8. Brady, J. P. (2012). Marketing breast milk substitutes: problems and perils throughout the world. Archives of disease in childhood, 97(6), 529-532. Chapman, D. J., Prez-Escamilla, R. (2009). US national breastfeeding monitoring and surveillance: current status and recommendations. Journal of Human Lactation, 25(2), 139-150. DUrso, S. C. (2006). Whos watching us at work? Toward a structuralperceptual model of electronic monitoring and surveillance in organizations. Communication Theory, 16(3), 281-303 Ekstrm, A., Kylberg, E., Nissen, E. (2012). A process-oriented breastfeeding training program for healthcare professionals to promote breastfeeding: an intervention study. Breastfeeding Medicine, 7(2), 85-92. Geraghty, S. R., Heier, J. E., Rasmussen, K. M. (2011). Got milk? Sharing human milk via the Internet. Public Health Reports, 126(2), 161-164. Hannula, L., Kaunonen, M., Tarkka, M. T. (2008). A systematic review of professional support interventions for breastfeeding. Journal of clinical nursing, 17(9), 1132-1143. Hewitt, B., Strazdins, L., Martin, B. (2017). The benefits of paid maternity leave for mothers post-partum health and wellbeing: Evidence from an Australian evaluation. Social Science Medicine. Keim, S. A., Hogan, J. S., McNamara, K. A., Gudimetla, V., Dillon, C. E., Kwiek, J. J., Geraghty, S. R. (2013). Microbial contamination of human milk purchased via the Internet. Pediatrics, 132(5), e1227-e1235. Kornides, M., Kitsantas, P. (2013). Evaluation of breastfeeding promotion, support, and knowledge of benefits on breastfeeding outcomes. Journal of Child Health Care, 17(3), 264-273 Kuhn, L., Sinkala, M., Kankasa, C., Semrau, K., Kasonde, P., Scott, N., ... Aldrovandi, G. M. (2007). High uptake of exclusive breastfeeding and reduced early post-natal HIV transmission. PloS one, 2(12), e1363. McDowell, M. M., Wang, C. Y., Kennedy-Stephenson, J. (2008). Breastfeeding in the United States: findings from the national health and nutrition examination surveys, 1999-2006. NewYork: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Pincombe, J., Baghurst, P., Antoniou, G., Peat, B., Henderson, A., Reddin, E. (2008). Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative practices and breast feeding duration in a cohort of first-time mothers in Adelaide, Australia. Midwifery, 24(1), 55-61. Weber, D., Janson, A., Nolan, M., Wen, L. M., Rissel, C. (2011). Female employees' perceptions of organisational support for breastfeeding at work: findings from an Australian health service workplace. International breastfeeding journal, 6(1), 19. Whitehouse, G., Baird, M., Diamond, C., Hosking, A. (2006). The parental leave in Australia survey: November 2006 report. World Health Organization. (2010). International code of marketing of breast-milk substitutes. 1981. World Health Organization: Geneva. World Health Organization. (2013). Country implementation of the international code of marketing of breast-milk substitutes: status report 2011. Zareai, M., O'Brien, M. L., Fallon, A. B. (2007). Creating a breastfeeding culture: a comparison of breastfeeding practises in Australia and Iran. Breastfeeding Review, 14(2), 15-24.

The Physics Of Golf Essays - Classical Mechanics, Rotation

The Physics Of Golf As anyone who has played a round of golf will attest to, the sport is based around many fundamental principals of physics. These basic laws are involved with every aspect of the game from how a player swings the club to how the ball moves through the air on its way toward the pin. It is the challenge that physics presents to the golfer that has allowed the game, and equipment used, to develop so drastically over the past one hundred years. The first golf balls used were called featheries. They were made with a horsehide cover packed with wet goose feathers. When the balls dried they became extremely hard. The major flaw with the featheries was that they could not be used when the conditions were wet because they would soften again.[5] Despite the flaw of the featheries, they remained the only ball used up until the middle of the 19th century when the revolutionary gutta-percha ball was invented. The new ball, sometimes referred to as a ?guttie?, was molded from the warmed, dried gum of the sapodilla tree.[5] These balls were cheap to manufacture and opened up the game of golf to a more diverse socio-economic group. This in turn made the game of golf very popular, which led to dramatic improvements in golf balls in the next decades. In 1900 a unique event occurred. Some claim that it can be called the first professional sports endorsement. The Spalding Company paid England's Harry Vardon a considerable sum of money to c ome to the United States to demonstrate what he could do in winning tournaments using the latest ball design. He won the U.S. Open using the new rubber-wound Haskell ball.[5] This led to another major revolution in the design of the golf ball. Not only was this ball cheap to manufacture, but also it could be hit farther than any other ball previously used. The Haskell ball was such a success that it was not until 1968 that the two-piece balls of today emerged in the market. Obviously a lot of time, effort, research, and money were put forth into the development of the golf ball, as it is manufactured today. The reason for this ongoing process is to help a golfer use some laws of physics to his advantage (i.e. placing spin on the ball to create lift) while finding a work around for other physical properties that can be detrimental to a players golf game (i.e. drag which causes the ball to slow down and fly closer to the ground). When examining the physics, which surrounds the game of golf, one must carefully consider all aspects of the game, not just the golf ball or even just the equipment being used. The stroke is by far the most important aspect to any participants round of golf. Among the scientific community, an event, such as the golf stroke, is thought of as a dynamic process using the physical principals of mechanics based on Newton's Laws of motion. The stroke is actually three separate events; the swing of the club, the impact of the club head with the ball, and the flight of the ball toward the target. It is the sum of these three parts that makes a successful stroke. Before delving into the details of the golf stroke, it is important for one to consider the general concepts of motion that control the swing of the golf club. Two men are most influential in this area of study, Galileo Galilee and Isaac Newton. It is the principles of these two men that will be used during the discussion of the physics of golf. A brief explanation of momentum, moment of inertia, torque, centripetal force, and centrifugal force can be located in ?Appendix 4?. These terms were derived from the experiments and research of first Galileo, and then expanded upon by Newton. Although neither of these two men are solely responsible for all of the physical principals presented in this paper, Galileo and Newton were two of the most influential men in these areas of study. When a scientist attempts to explain something, he or she always develops a model to work with. In the case of

Predicting the Next Geologic Ice Age

Predicting the Next Geologic Ice Age The climate of the earth has fluctuated quite a bit over the last 4.6 billion years of our planets history and it can be expected that the climate will continue to change. One of the most intriguing questions in earth science is whether the periods of ice age are over or are we living in an interglacial, or period of time between ice ages? The geologic time period we are now living in is known as the Holocene. This epoch began about 11,000 years ago which was the end of the last glacial period and the end of the Pleistocene epoch. The Pleistocene was an epoch of cool glacial and warmer interglacial periods which began about 1.8 million years ago. Where Is Glacial Ice Located Now? Since the glacial period known as the Wisconsin in North America and WÃ ¼rm in Europe - when over 10 million square miles (about 27 million square kilometers) of North America, Asia, and Europe were covered by ice- , almost all of the ice sheets covering the land and glaciers in the mountains have retreated. Today about ten percent of the earths surface is covered by ice; 96% of this ice is located in Antarctica and Greenland. Glacial ice is also present in such diverse places as Alaska, Canada, New Zealand, Asia, and California. Could We Enter Another Ice Age? As only 11,000 years have passed since the last Ice Age, scientists cannot be certain that we are indeed living in a post-glacial Holocene epoch instead of an interglacial period of the Pleistocene and thus due for another ice age in the geologic future. Some scientists believe that an increase in global temperature, as we are now experiencing, could be a sign of an impending ice age and could actually increase the amount of ice on the earths surface. The cold, dry air above the Arctic and Antarctica carries little moisture and drops little snow on the regions. An increase in global temperature could increase the amount of moisture in the air and increase the amount of snowfall. After years of more snowfall than melting, the polar regions could accumulate more ice. An accumulation of ice would lead to a lowering of the level of the oceans and there would be further, unanticipated changes in the global climate system as well. Our short history on earth and our shorter record of the climate keeps us from fully understanding the implications of global warming. Without a doubt, an increase in the earths temperature will have major consequences for all life on this planet.

Womanly Words †Gyn

Womanly Words – Gyn Womanly Words Gyn Womanly Words Gyn By Sharon Well, I couldnt let the men have all the fun. English has a lot of words that contain the Greek root meaning woman or female gyn. This appears at the start or in the middle of many common words. As with the andr- words, many of these have biological or scientific origins. Heres a list to start you off: acrogynous plants having female organs at the top of the stem androgynoid a male with female features androgynous having both male and female characteristics; also applies in botany. apogynous, apogyny referring to the condition of having non working female reproductive organs calligyniaphobia a fear of beautiful women (if youre scared of all women, then you have gynephobia or gynecophobia) ergatogynous describes insects who have worker females gyneceum harem or womans house gynander woman who has male characteristics (gyndandrous refers to plants) gynarchy government run by women gynecentric regarding women as primary or central gynecium the pistil, or female part of a flower gynecogen something that stimulates female sexual characteristics (hormone) gynecology the study and treatment of diseases that affect womens reproductive systems gynogamete ovum gynoid robot shaped like a woman Many more here. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Similes from Literature to Inspire YouWhen to Form a Plural with an ApostropheAdvance vs. Advanced

Consultancy Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Consultancy Project - Essay Example This will also help the company to identify its customers and gain knowledge about their needs and interests which in turn makes positioning quite easy. We strongly recommend that the marketers should play an active role in identifying the targeted customers. It is also recommended that the company should open its own restaurants in convenient locations after conducting market research. Frequenting local festivals is not the best way of establishing a new business enterprise in an area. If the company opens its own restaurants, it becomes visible even to passersby who may be tempted to try the products offered by the company. It becomes easy for the company to market its products by virtue of being visible to many people. Company owned restaurants also have an advantage in that the customers can relax and enjoy their meals and they can interact with the staff members. This helps the employees to get feedback from the customers which can be used to improve the operations of the firm. We also recommend that the company should adopt an integrated marketing communication strategy rather than relying on social media and limited advertising. Integrating the firm’s various communication channels will help it to deliver clear and consistent messages about their products. Other strategies that should be used by the firm in this case include personal selling, sale promotion and direct marketing. It is our strong belief that personal selling will help the marketers to interact directly with the customers which can help them to provide the necessary information about their brands. This goes hand in hand with direct marketing which creates direct contact between the marketers and the consumers. We also believe that sales promotion will significantly help to appeal to the interests of the new customers since this is also a new business entity in the area. Last but not least, we recommend that the company should strive to employ local people who have

Crime and Poverty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Crime and Poverty - Research Paper Example The genesis of the crime Before reviewing some sources related to poverty and crime, it is important to determine the evolution and genesis of the crime. As mentioned above, poverty is a social phenomenon. This means that it is socially constructed. According to Obeidallah & Brooks-Gunn, the cases of crime have been rising drastically since the advent of agrarian revolution (1475). Crime is an activity that occurs when a person uses unaccepted means to solicit resources, money or to benefit him or herself. Poverty limits one from getting basic needs hence encouraging crime Inability to meet the basic needs is one of the major factors fuelling crime. A person who does not have means of making life comfortable or sustaining life would opt into engaging him or herself in activities that would enable him or her to acquire the basic needs. However, these activities are usually not socially accepted. They are classified as crime. Poverty is the main factor that limits people from using the legal means to acquire their daily bread. It does this by limiting the access to resources such as money that can be used to pay fees, access good schools and finish education. According to Hannon & DeFina, education is a means through which a person can get money and other resources necessary in offsetting the daily expenses that relate to life matters (53). However, because of poverty, some people would find it difficult to pursue their education to the expected level. The chances of such people getting employed become limited. Consequently, such people would have to opt into those activities that are not socially and legally accepted, crime. In a study conducted in Dubuque to find out the trends and perceptions of crime in conjunction with poverty, it was found... The intention of this study is crime as an unaccepted social activity that entails doing things or activities that are against the expectation of society. A number of studies related to crime and poverty have been conducted but most of them normally focus on these social phenomenons individually. Few researches have tried to find out the link between the two. However, none of the researches is comprehensive and intensive enough to explain the relationship between crime and poverty. From the foregoing discussion, it is clear that poverty play an important role in creating an environment that fuels crime activities. However, the discussion implies that there is no direct relationship between poverty and crime. This means that poverty fuel crime by limiting man from accessing resources that are necessary in development of an ideal life. One interesting idea that should be noted as far as poverty and crime is that crime is a short cut of meeting ones basic needs. It is closely related to lazy and poor people who cannot work hard through the normal legal and socially accepted process. This implies that the best way of mitigating the crime rate is by helping people navigate through their education so that they can acquire better ways of dealing with life challenges as well as better means of earning their livelihood. The discussion also implies that criminal justice system should not be handled independently because it does not provide long term solution to the crime rates. Conversely, combining the criminal justice system and the welfare system would bring a relatively long term solution to the rising crime rates

Sport Obermeyer Essay Example for Free

Sport Obermeyer Essay From a quality standpoint, production in Hong Kong would be ideal considering the repair rate in China is five to ten times greater than it is in Hong Kong. Although the costs of repair are relatively low, Obermeyer is a high quality apparel company, and its customers in all likelihood want durable products. Not only would this keep customers happy in the short term, but it would greatly increase the chance that they would return for more Obermeyer products in the future. Thinking strategically in the long term, Obermeyer may want to begin training workers in China to bring them to the quality of workers in Hong Kong. Despite the fact that there would be training costs involved, the improvement in long run quality and productivity of the workers would be balanced considering their wage is more than twenty times lower. If these workers were then able to produce faster, Obermeyer could produce fast enough at the low cost and ship product before the import quota is filled. Since there is an import quota in goods coming from China, it may be more beneficial in the long run to have the first round of orders produced in China before the quota runs out. On that same note, the minimum order quantity in Hong Kong is half that of China, and so there is a less likely chance that Obermeyer would have unsold products at the end of the season. One benefit from a materials procurement standpoint is the fact that six of the nine components needed to produce a parka are manufactured in Hong Kong. By assembling the parkas in the same country, transportation costs and lead times could be decreased, minimizing the possibility of the bull whip effect for those products. Also, the preparation for manufacturing in China takes longer than in Hong Kong, another benefit to having first round orders produced in China and second round in Hong Kong. One of the major advantages of producing in China is the fact that the total landed cost is less than the cost of production in Hong Kong. In the example of the Rococo Parka, TLC was $60. 08 in Hong Kong compared to $51. 92 in China, the difference being $8. 16. This number is important to look at relative to the cost of the loss on unsold parkas, which is 9 dollars. This means that the cost of an unsold product produced in China is a mere 84 cents as compared to the full 9 dollars in Hong Kong. Clearly the cost of overproducing in China is far less than in Hong Kong, in fact, it is than 1 percent Obermeyer’s price.

Online Education Versus Traditional Education Essay -- Education and t

With high speed internet available to potential students of all economic levels, schools are opting to implement online classes into their traditional teaching curriculum. As a result, our society is divided in two different ways of thinking on the education. Some believe the modern method is better than the traditional method of teaching. Personally, I believe both methods should balance one another instead of attempting to substitute one another; this way their purpose of educating will be far more successful. Online education, also called long distant learning, can be defined as a new method of learning through a computer network. This modern way of teaching gives students an opportunity to take classes online. Bill Gates recently predicted that in five years most colleges will be providing online education. â€Å"The self-motivated learner will be on the Web,† Mr. Gates said, speaking at the Techonomy conference in Lake Tahoe. â€Å"College needs to be less place-based.†(Steve) Online courses allow students to access course content, including reading lists and library materials, at any time. This flexibility of online courses is primarily important for students who have young children, who are caring for ailing or elderly family members, who have full-time jobs, or who live too far from campus. Flexible hours are also beneficial because it allow students to work at their own speed; taking courses either part time or on an accelerated schedule. According to the article in t he New York Times, titled â€Å"Study Finds That Online Education Beats Classroom,† the SRI International for the Department of Education, conducted a research on online versus traditional classroom teaching from 1996 to 2008. Most of the studies were conducted in co... ...ies to pull up all of those related bits of data from their multiple storage areas in response to a single cue. This cross-referencing of data means we have learned, rather than just memorized.† However, it is important to accentuate that learning highly depends on the students’ motivation to learn. So it still comes down to the effort that the students put into their education that ultimately decides how beneficial the overall experience was to their future career. Works Cited Willis, J. (2008). Brain-based teaching strategies for improving students' memory, learning, and test-taking success (Review of Research). Childhood Education, 83(5), 31-316. Lohr, Steve. "Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom"." New York Times (2014). Web. 16 Mar 2015. Lohr, Steve. "Second Thoughts on Online Education." New York Times (2013). Web. 06 Mar 2015.

Employee right case study bea Essay

The Pledge of Loyalty is portion of the baptismal of fire when you enter an organisation. When you become portion of a group. you are obliged to follow the pledge or if you can non. merely leave. And this will play a important function in the treatment of this instance survey. On the first inquiry of Allen Lopez retaining his occupation. while the First Amendment states that Lopez’ aerating of grudge is protected under the Freedom of Expression. he is. nevertheless. in struggle with the offense of calumny and for non detecting employment limitations and trueness curses. So while he is allowed to utilize whatever medium to province his feelings and thoughts. the jurisprudence allows his company to fire him for he endangers the security of his company’s work force. On the 2nd inquiry on whether Lopez be forced to take his web site. the company may make one of two things. First. the company may petition for Temporary Restraining Order that will be issued by the tribunal which will so order Lopez to stop dead the web site or to convey it down temporarily before the tribunal decides on whether seting up the web site did go against company Torahs as stated in the trueness pledge. Second is to action Lopez for amendss and include in their gesture that he convey down the web site to control farther onslaughts on the company’s image.Last. on how ExtremeNet’s executives will esteem Lopez’s rights and self-respect. it is best for ExtremeNet to merely inquire the tribunal to convey the website down particularly if it did non present any important negative effects in the traffics of the company. Allen Lopez has been a good employee and was merely contending for the public assistance of the lower ranking employees. But still. it is in the discretion of ExtremeNet to either fire or retain Allen Lopez in the company. FindLaw. First Amendment – Freedom of Expression. & lt ; accessible at hypertext transfer protocol: //caselaw. LP. findlaw. com/data/constitution/amendment01/ & gt ; eLaws. Employment Law Guide. & lt ; accessible at hypertext transfer protocol: //www. dol. gov/compliance/guide/ & gt ;

July at the Multiplex

DATE:June 12, 2012 TO:Mr. Plex, Owner, Royal 16 Theater FROM: Team 8 RE:Analysis of Liability for Fraud Based off of your request, we have completed an analysis concerning Royal 16 Theater’s liability for fraud assumed by the customer, Tommy. Please contact us if any additional information is needed. July at the Multiplex Executive Summary What are the standards of selling a service or product so the customer will not get furious? If we tried out best but they are still unsatisfied, what kind of response should we give? In this case â€Å"July at the Multiplex†, the plaintiff, Tommy, was not satisfied with the service that was provided with Royal 16 Theater. He demanded the money that he paid be returned. The theater owner, Mr. Plex refused to do so. Therefore, Tommy was outraged and filed a lawsuit against him. Mr. Plex has two choices to make. The first is to negotiate settlement money or defend the lawsuit. As a group, we will give our best knowledge of business law, statistics, and ethics to help Mr. Plex choose the ideal decision. First of all we will compare the fraud and misrepresentation of business law. Furthermore, we conducted tests on Hypothetical test and a Confidence Interval calculation. Lastly, under the ethics theory of cost-benefit analysis, justice vs. fairness and rights, we decided on the best action that Mr. Plex is supposed to take. July at the Multiplex Purpose: This report is intended to analyze the liability for fraud, the results of the statistical conclusions conducted by the movie theater, and the ethical issues involved with screening commercials before the scheduled movie. I. Analysis for Liability of Fraud The analysis for liability of fraud will explain in detail the offer, acceptance, and possible misrepresentation involved in the contract between Tommy and the Royal 16 Theater. The analysis will also cover the  Cao and Cao v. Nguyen and Pham  case and draw conclusions based on the prima facie case. Assuming that a contract exists between Tommy and Royal 16 Theater this examination of the facts will help determine whether Royal 16 Theater is liable at all for fraud. The offer made to Tommy by the Royal 16 Theater complex was a unilateral contract. That means that only one of the parties involved made a promise and they made that promise for an action. When Tommy bought his ticket for â€Å"The Governator† movie, this solidified the unilateral contract between him and the Royal 16 Theater complex. Tommy took the action of buying the movie ticket at the front kiosk and in exchange for that action the Royal 16 Theater complex promised him the opportunity to go inside, find a seat in the theatre, and watch the movie he paid for. Since all of the requirements were met in the contract this made the contact between Tommy and Royal 16 Theater valid. Read also  Case 302 July in Multiplex Valid contracts are contracts in which all of the legal requirements are met making the contract binding to both parties. The contract between Tommy and Royal 16 Theater is a valid contract because it was legal and both parties met the requirements to make that contract binding. Tommy fulfilled his part of the contract buy purchasing a ticket for the movie â€Å"The Governator† and the movie theater performed their part of the contract by screening the movie. Tommy knowingly knew about the contract he was entering into when he gave the Royal 16 Theater his acceptance. The duty of acceptance falls upon both parties seeking to enter into the contract. In a unilateral contract the party seeking to perform an action for a promise must accept the offer made by the offeror by the terms and in the method requested by the offeror. In this case Tommy was the offeree and the Royal 16 Theater was the offeror. Tommy accepted the offer made by Royal 16 Theater and did so in the method requested; making both the offer and acceptance valid for all terms and purposes in this contract. There are certain limitations on the recovery of damages imposed upon the contract that both Royal 16 Theater and Tommy entered into. The duty to mitigate damages falls onto Tommy, the plaintiff, in this specific case. The duty to mitigate damages is the responsibility of the plaintiff because the plaintiff injured by the breach of the contract cannot recover for losses that could have been easily avoided. In this case Tommy fulfilled his duty to mitigate damages and was not trying to recover for any damages that he could have easily avoided. Instead Tommy wants to file a lawsuit based on misrepresentation. A misrepresentation is a statement made that is not unified with the truth. There are two categories that misrepresentation can fall under: either innocent or fraudulent. When a misrepresentation is innocent it was made not intentionally to deceive the other party. A fraudulent misrepresentation is made with the intent to deceive with knowledge that it is false. Tommy wants to pursue legal action against Royal 16 Theater on the basis that they conducted fraudulent misrepresentation. Prima Facie Case The prima facie case that relates to this case between Tommy and Royal 16 Theater is  Cao and Cao v. Nguyen and Pham. In  Cao and Cao v. Nguyen and Pham  the plaintiffs file a lawsuit against the defendant for fraudulent misrepresentation. They said that when they were attempting to buy a property the defendants claimed that the property was in fact a duplex and that multiple families could live there. The city building and safety department revealed that the property was not a duplex and could not become a duplex due to building and safety issues. The plaintiffs then filed a lawsuit against the defendants for fraudulent misrepresentation. The first trial court dismissed the charges and found that the buyers did not prove the elements of fraudulent misrepresentation. When the plaintiffs appealed the results the second court reversed the decision of the first court and decided that the plaintiffs did prove fraudulent misrepresentation. The property sold by the defendants caused reasonable reliance upon the plaintiffs and there were damages because of the reliance. The property was sold to them on the idea that the property was indeed a duplex when the defendants had prior knowledge that it in fact was not a duplex. The defendants knew that the plaintiff would rely on the representations and conducted business anyway. This case relates perfectly to the situation going on between Tommy and Royal 16 Theater because both cases involve the plaintiffs trying to recover for fraudulent misrepresentation. In our opinion, Royal 16 Theater does have some liability for fraudulent misrepresentation when they tell their customers the movie is supposed to start at 1:00 pm, but they play twenty minutes of previews before. A simple solution to this issue could be resolved by printing disclaimers on the tickets sold to a customer that warns them about the commercials before they enter into the theater. That way when customers come to accept the offer from the theater they are bound by the method of acceptance and they agree to the commercials playing before the movie starts. The simple disclaimer will go a long way and will ensure that there will be no more plaintiffs like Tommy pursuing legal action against the theater again (Mallor, 2009). II. Statistical Analysis According to the commission of Royal 16 Theater, they need to decide which courses of actions are more advisable, considering negotiating a settlement of any lawsuit or defending vigorously. The survey is the key to which course of action will be taken. If the result shows that the percentage of people resenting the ads is 10%, the consortium should consider negotiating the settlement. However, if the percentage is less than 10%, Royal 16 Theater should vigorously defend. We have performed a survey which asked 100 random patrons whether they resent the ads. The result came out to be 6 out of 100 resented the ads. This information itself is not enough. We have to conduct several more tests to have a more solid idea of whom and how many resented the ads. First of all, we have to begin with a Hypothesis test, which means that we conduct a test to understand whether 10% of moviegoers resent the ads or less than 10% of moviegoers resent the ads. Our Ho(null hypothesis) should be p = 10% and our Ha(alternative action/hypothesis) should be p < 10%. In this case, the sample proportion would be 6100 = . 06. The calculation is going to be done using a confidence level of 95%. The confidence interval formula for this analysis is p=p  ±z ? p(1-p)n where p is the sample proportion, z is the level confidence from the 95% confidence level and n would be the sample number. = . 06, z = 1. 96, n = 100. If we plug in the numbers into the formula then we will get p  ±E (E is Error = z ? p(1-p)n). E would be . 04655. Therefore, p= . 06 ± . 04655 = 0. 1066, . 01345. Thus, the confidence interval for this analysis would be . 01345 and 0. 1066 which are 1. 345% and 10. 66% if written in percentage form. This says that this result is not accurate and the actual result may vary between this interval. In this case, since our null hypothesis which is 10% lies between the confidence interval, then the null hypothesis is not to be rejected at the moment. We have to perform further research and calculation. By this result alone, we suggest that Mr. Plex should consider the settlement agreement. Type I and II error Before we start with the consortium, here are the definitions of each error according to the textbook â€Å"Statistic for Business and Economics†: * A type I error is an error if we reject the correct null hypothesis * A type II error is an error if we fail to reject the false null hypothesis. Therefore, the Type I and Type II errors are wrong judgments in the testing of null and alternative hypotheses. With the null hypothesis Ho and the alternative Hypothesis Ha, only one of them is true. The result of hypothesis testing must accept Ho when it is true and reject Ho when Ha is true. If the result of Ho is true, but we reject it then we will make a type I error. On the other hand if Ha is true, but we fail to reject it then we make a type II error. As stated before, the Ho(Null Hypothesis) is when p = 10% and the Ha(Alternative action/Hypothesis) is when p < 10%. To illustrate more, A type I error would happen if 10% of moviegoers resent the ads, and they reject it. It would be a careless decision if they decide not to consider the settlement money, even though they understand that their null hypothesis lies between the Confidence interval. Going deeper with error, a type II error would happen if less than 10% of moviegoers resent the ads, and they fail to reject it. It would be a waste of money if they agree with the settlement when in fact, they do not need to and should defend the lawsuit. Hypothetical Statistical Analysis This time, we have a survey of 300 patrons. The result states that 18 out of 300 resent the ads and this 6% is inadequate for finding the answer. Once again we have to conduct a hypothesis test and confident interval calculation. Just like before, the null hypothesis for this would still be p = 10% and the alternative action would still be p < 10%. If 300 patrons are to be randomly selected instead of 100 patrons, and in the end 18 out of 300 patrons agree with Tommy to resent the ads, then the sample proportion would be 18300 = . 06. The calculation is going to be similar as above. This time it is still going to be calculated using a confidence level of 95%. The confidence interval formula for this analysis is p=p  ±z ? p(1-p)n where p is the sample proportion, z is the level confidence from the 95% confidence level and n would be the sample number. p = . 06, z = 1. 96, n = 300. Then if we plug in the numbers into the formula we will get p  ±E (E is Error = z ? p(1-p)n). E would be . 02687. Therefore, p= . 06 ± . 02687 = 0. 08687, . 03313. Thus, the confidence interval for this analysis would be . 03313 and 0. 08687 which are 3. 3313% and 8. 87% if written in percentage form. This time, the null hypothesis does not lie between the confidence interval. Thus, the null hypothesis has to be rejected and the alternative action accepted. Therefore, we suggest that it would be better not to do the settlement and instead defend the lawsuit. Additional Information There are many other factors which we are not aware of that might affect the survey. The most common one is how the survey is taken. In statistics, there are a few types of conducting surveys and each would lead to different outcome. There are Simple Random Sample, Stratified Random Sample, Cluster Sample, Systematic Sample, etc. Beside these types, the time and place of the survey is also a huge factor. To illustrate, there are more teens in a certain area and more elders in a certain are. What teens think and what elders think are two different things. Thus, the place is also a factor. Furthermore, the time is also a significant factor. Surveys taken on weekdays night and weekend afternoon would result in a different outcome. To conclude, we believe that the survey might not be very accurate survey. III. Ethical Analysis The ethical issues that may be involved in showing twenty minutes of commercials before the screening of the movie can be described under three main categories: the cost-benefit analysis, fairness, and the theory under which we believe Royal 16 Theater should act under. Cost-Benefit Analysis Schmidt (2012) believes cost-benefit analysis is when â€Å"both positive and negative consequences of a proposed action are going to be summarized and then weighed against each other† (â€Å"Cost benefit†, para. 1). Using this analysis will help to understand which is the best route for the Royal 16 Theater to take between their costs and benefits. Costs The â€Å"negatives† or cost of Royal 16 Theater showing twenty minutes of commercials before the movie is customers can of course become upset such as Tommy had. If there are more moviegoers that hear of Tommy’s lawsuit, many could follow in his footsteps because they believe in his position on the matter. Another cost the Royal 16 Theater will have due to commercials is they will need to keep their advertisers and stakeholders pleased. According to investopia. om (2012) stakeholders are â€Å"investors, employees, customers, and supplier that have an interest in an enterprise or project† (â€Å"Definition†, para. 1). It will always cost the theater something to keep each stakeholder happy. By showing commercials, the investors will get their money’s worth for finding advertisers to invest their time with Roya l 16 Theater. Employees will not have any benefits from commercials. Tommy has already showed the discontent a moviegoer may have towards commercials. Finally, suppliers can be content with commercials because customers can see their product and need to buy it during or after the movie. However, all this shows a large cost of trying to keep all of these stakeholders pleased. Keeping one stakeholder happy can make another unhappy. Benefits One benefit of showing twenty minute commercials is gaining revenue from commercials. When a customer sees a commercial with yummy chocolate bars or dancing popcorn they are going to be more enticed to go run and get some snacks before the movie starts. The Royal 16 Theater gains much revenue from moviegoers who gain this feeling during commercials. Another benefit from showing commercials is actually towards Royal 16 Theater’s customers. By showing commercials, a moviegoer can show up late and not miss the movie. This is usually what customers will do if they do not care for the commercials or just decide on a last-minute movie trip. Now we can decide on the cost vs. benefit choice for the Royal 16 Theater. Cost-Benefit Analysis Conclusion After seeing both costs and benefits Royal 16 Theater should deal with the cost entailed with dealing with stakeholders and Tommy. We believe this due to the fact that the Royal 16 Theater has too much invested with their stakeholders to stop it all just for one lawsuit. By taking the cost choice Royal 16 Theater will keep its reputation with customers and keep a relationship with the stakeholders. Having the benefits of customer satisfaction would be great; however losing the stakeholders is too much of a risk for the theatre to take. We have discussed the cost-benefit analysis, now we can understand if moviegoers are being treated fairly. Customers Treated Fairly In this ethical issue it is pondered if the customers are truly being treated fairly. This is a yes or no issue. It can be argued that the customers are being treated unfairly because they are not seeing a true representation of an advertisement or time for a movie. However, it can be argued that moviegoers are being treated equally because the Royal 16 Theater does not have an actual contract stating that a movie will start at this time no matter what happens. Neither party has an agreement saying any compensation will be given if the contract does not follow through. Also, movies have always been similar to this routine of commercials and many customers understand that. However, based on ethics the moviegoers are not being treated fairly. It is mainly due to the fact that the Royal Theater states a time slot for a movie to start, not when commercials for the movie will start. It is just good business practice to keep moviegoers happy by not deceiving them. According to Michael Hackworth (1999), â€Å"ethical leadership actually saves money; consider it the role of quality in business† (â€Å"Only the Ehical†, para. 1). We have just discussed if the moviegoers are being treated fairly, now we will discuss the ethical theory which the Royal 16 Theater should act under. Ethical Theory The ethical theory Royal 16 Theater should act under is the stakeholder/utilitarian theory. We believe this theory is the best because it lends itself to the golden rule of â€Å"the greatest good to the greatest number†. We believe this is the best course of action for the Royal 16 Theater because the theater has to act out of its own interest to keep its stakeholders content with performance. Ethically, this decision makes the most sense because by going on with Tommy’s lawsuit it will make the problem go away quicker. By fixing this issue with Tommy, the Royal Theater will make their stakeholders pleased and keep pursing revenue with their other fellow loyal customers. Conclusion In conclusion, we believe Mr. Plex should fight the case against Tommy with the consortium. We consider our evidence of the analysis of liability for fraud, statistical analysis, and ethical analysis enough to show Mr. Plex he will be successful in the case. Reference List Anderson, Sweeney, and Williams T. â€Å"Chapter Nine- Hypothesis Tests†, Statistics for Business and Economics. 10th ed. Thomas South-Western, 2009. Cao and Cao v.Nguyen and Pham, 258 Nev. 1027; 607 N. W. 2d 528; 2000 Neb. LEXIS56 Hackworth, M. (1999). Only the Ethical Survive. 10. Retrieved Jun 8, 2012 from http://www. scu. edu/ethics/publications/iie/v10n2/ethical-surv. html Mallor. (2009). Business law: The ethical, global, and e-commerce environment. (14th ed. ). United States: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Schmidt, M. (2012). Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA). Retrieved June 9, 2012 from http://www. solutionmatrix. com/cost-benefit-analysis. html Stakholder. (2012). Retrieved June 8, 2012 from http://www. investopedia. com/terms/s/stakeholder. asp#axzz1xLL3G6UG

Mistreatment of Native American by the English essays

Mistreatment of Native American by the English essays Native Americans were mistreated by the English. Because the new settlers of America believed that land would benefit them greatly with a new life and new settlement. The Native Americans were driven off there land, they became slaves for New England, they were forced to choose a religion and they had social mistreatment. Settlers coming to America had many negative images of Native Americans. In 1502, Sebastian Cabot began parading around three Eskimos that he had kidnapped on an Arctic voyage. These Eskimos were described as "flesh-eating savages" and "brute beasts" that had a language they spoke in which no one could understand. Amerigo Vespucci stated that, "these Native Americans were, brutal, loathsome half men, who lived with an outlaw, religion, rulers, immortality of the soul, and private property." The English had another reason for believing that Indians would not be friendly. They had read the experience of the Spanish and the Aztecs. These books had very detailed descriptions of the violent attacks upon the meeting of the Mayan. Native Americans had possession of the land necessary for settlement. English knew this would be a problem, so they decided to solve the problem by believing that "English settlers did not intend to take Indians' land but wanted only to share it with them. In return, they would offer the natives the advantages of a more advanced culture and, most important, the Christian religion." (29) In Virginia, English population increased. More and more settlers began settling up the rivers that flowed into the Chesapeake Bay, causing the local tribes to worry about coming in contact with the new settlers. By 1680 the Chesapeake Native Americans had been reduced by as many as 1,000. Virginians now believe that these Native Americans need to be removed because they are just obstacles in trying to create a new settlement. The Massachusetts Bay Company claimed that it intended, "to win and inc...

Tips to Help College Students Sleep

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Strategy-evaluation Framework for Mattel

Strategy-evaluation Framework for Mattel 1.0 Strategy Review, Evaluation, and Control The best-formulated and best-implemented strategies become obsolete as a firms external and internal environments change. It is essential, therefore, that strategists systematically review, evaluate, and control the execution of strategies. We have developed a general strategy-evaluation framework for Mattel: Reviewing bases of strategy Measuring organizational performance Taking corrective actions Besides that, we will introduce balanced scorecard as another strategy-evaluation tool to analyze Mattel from few areas of objectives: customers, managers/employees, investors/shareholders, operations/processes, community/social responsibility, and financials. 1.1 General Strategy-Evaluation Framework 1.1.1 Reviewing bases of strategy Reviewing the underlying bases of Mattels strategy could be approached by developing a revised EFE Matrix and IFE Matrix. As being well described and analyzed in Chapter 3 and 4 of this report, here, we will revise EFE and IFE Matrix to review and evaluate how effective Mattels strategies have been in response to key external and internal factors. External Factors Opportunities Mattel has a chance to market Barbie to the whole world and make it a recognizable brand worldwide. This has been proven that Mattel tries its best to improve its marketing strategies to penetrate different market segments and strive for stable revenue annually from international market. Weakening dollar makes the price of Mattels toys becomes more affordable. It is helpful in increase its revenue. To take this advantage, in fact, Mattel has reduced the selling price of its products in some countries. Threats Many children start abandoning tangible toys and looking for more interactive and technological toys or cyber/virtual games. That was why Mattel tried to diversify into software industry. However, until now, its result is not satisfactory. One of the reasons is, the adopted strategies are not matched with its corporate culture or operations. Global recession caused reduced spending or down trading for toys. This is inevitable despite how much effort has been made to stimulate the revenue. However, if Mattel is able to make it more affordable and create a need for customers, it might change its situation. However, strategies should be well developed. Different countries with different cultures and languages in fact have posed barriers which hindered market penetration strategies of Mattel. However, Mattel seemed to have overcome them well as it tried to market its products with different languages in different countries and modified the content of ads with some â€Å"local flavors†. Many other competitors keep coming out with different and better products, such high product substitution threat might threaten the competitive position of Mattel. Therefore, Mattel is particularly cautious with its product quality and safety issues. However, there was still an outbreak of toxic toy which caused few millions loss to Mattel. Due to the emergence of China market and since many production plants have been setup in China, raw materials are subject to price fluctuation when the economy of China appears to be unstable. To overcome this, possibly, Mattel can locate its plants at many different countries. The downfall in one country might be offset by the upturn of another country. Internal Factors Strengths With successful operational and marketing strategies, Barbie has been known as a long established brand for 60 years. With recognizable brand portfolio and wide product range to cater various life stage, in fact, Mattel has safeguarded its market leader position for years. One of the strategies is to have new product launch annually, so that, customers will have â€Å"surprise† every year. Such strategies are considered successful. With the effort and perseverance in maintaining business integrity and practicing corporate social responsibility, it has brought much credit to the reputation of Mattel. Despite the scandals, Mattel does have a group of loyal supporters and fans who will purchase new products of Mattel. Such strategy of creating loyalty and trust in customers is very effective in customer retention. Since Mattel has strategic partnership with Microsoft, Disney, BanDai and etc, this created an invincible strength for it. As there are so many other strong rivals who strive to win market share from Mattel, Mattel tries to form a strong alliance with other strong companies in the market. Devoted, highly-motivated and energetic management team which works together to make better and better products and performance and stay together during doom time, this shows that Mattel has a successful HR strategy which retains experienced and outstanding employees in the corporation. Since early year, Mattel has been keeping its intangible assets as its valuables, such as trade names and trademarks. That is why it has a particular department which deals with this issue. Weaknesses Unprofitable mergers and acquisitions of the Learning Company had made a loss of nearly billion in Mattels account. Although eventually Mattel sold off this subsidiary, this reduced the confidence of investors as Mattels management is perceived as too reckless in MA strategy. Due to many external changes, slipping popularity of their core product – Barbie has been shown in the declining sales of its product. Therefore, Mattel keeps coming out with new products to retain the interest and passion of customers. After the outbreak of toxic toys scandal, generally, the level of acceptance of customers has dropped. No doubt, Mattel has been striving to give the customers the best products, in terms of quality, safety, and etc, however, such an incident is nearly fatal to the reputation and future of Mattel. No matter how good the strategies are, one scandal might ruin the company as a whole. 1.1.2 Measuring organizational performance This includes comparing expected results to actual results, investigating deviations from plans, evaluating individual performance, and examining progress being made toward meeting stated objectives. Both long-term and annual objectives are commonly used in this process. Criteria for evaluating strategies should be measurable and easily verifiable. Generally, strategy evaluation is based on both quantitative and qualitative criteria. For quantitative criteria, financial ratios are commonly used. There are three critical comparisons: Comparing the firms performance over different time periods Comparing the firms performance to competitors Comparing the firms performance to industry averages Mattels performance over different time periods has been well explained in Chapter 7. Overall, Mattel is able to maintain its financial ratios over years. It only has slight increase or decrease occurred. Therefore, internally, we may say Mattel is financially stable and strong over years. Even during economic crisis period, it was still able to maintain its financial performance at a satisfactory level. On the other hand, to compare the performance of Mattel to that of competitors and also industry averages, two main competitors, namely, Hasbro Inc. (HAS) and Jakks Pac Inc. (Jak) have been identified and served as a benchmark to compare the performance of Mattel Inc. (Mat). From the table below, it is obvious that Mattel is the market leader of this industry which having splendid financial performance as compared to its main competitors. By looking at its valuation, profitability, dividend, growth, liquidity and asset ratios, Mattel is far better than competitors and industry averages. In short, based on quantitative criteria, Mattels performance takes a leading position which created core competency for its sustainability and survival. However, it may guarantee long-term success if it does not proactively improve itself. Year 2008 MAT HAS JAKK Industry Averages Valuation Price/Earnings (TTM) 15.24 14.58 1.52 12.78 Price/Cash Flow 10.73 7.83 10.07 9.54 Price/Sales (TTM) 0.98 1.13 0.75 0.95 Price/Book 2.66 2.46 1.06 2.06 Per Share Data Last Dividend 70.09 42.11 0 37.40 Book Value 5.88 9.3 11.66 1.95 EPS (TTM) 1.07 1.9 -12.8 -3.28 Revenue 5.91 B 4.02 B 903.39 M 3.61 B Profitability EBIDTA 742.00 M 654.33 M 101.79 M 499.37 M Operating Margin 9.74% 12.29% 1.85% 10.29% Profit Margin 6.41% 7.63% 1.42% 7.49% Gross Profit Margin 45.19% 55.96% 35.56% 45.57% Dividend Dividend Yield 4.18% 2.96% 0.00% 2.38% Payout Ratio 70.09 42.11 0 37.40 Dividend Yield 5 Year Average 3.33% 2.07% 0.00% 1.80% Growth Net Income 379.63 M 306.76 M 76.05 M 254.15 M EPS (TTM) 1.07% 1.90% -12.80% -3.28% Revenue 5.91 B 4.02 B 903.39 M 3.61 B PEG 1.56% 1.44% 1.71% 1.57% Financial Strength Quick Ratio (MRQ) 6.41 7.63 1.42 7.49 Current Ratio (MRQ) 2.06 2.61 2.09 2.25 Long Term Debt to Equity Ratio (MRQ) 32.72 81.65 0 31.12 Total Debt to Capital (MRQ) 29.83 34.03 11.64 25.17 ROE 17.32 21.24 9.47 16.01 ROA 10.9 9.67 -46.98 -1.80 ROIC (Return on Invested Capital) 13.8 15.52 9.5 12.94 Assets Asset Turnover 1.43 1.29 0.88 1.20 Asset per Employee 143,123.72 528,095.93 1.03 M 0.57 M Inventory Turnover 6.72 5.74 6.79 6.42 Apart from quantitative criteria, there are some qualitative criteria needed to be taken into consideration. These criteria are presented in question forms, including the following questions: * Is the hiring and recruitment process matched with the strategy? Among the workers working at Mattels plant, a large majority of the workers (79%) got their job by applying directly at the plant site, while another 19% were referred by friends. The average length of employment among the interviewed workers was approximately 4.0 years. However, for 26% of the workers, employment at Mattel was their first job. This indicates that while the workforce includes a sizeable proportion of temporary and seasonal workers, the core group provides Mattel with a substantial number of stable and experienced employees. The hiring process includes general company orientation, which covers such issues as the employment contract, rules of conduct, disciplinary measures, grievance procedures, wages deductions and overtime pay policies, transportation services, facilities, amenities and tour of the factory. Newly hired workers also receive information and training in the topics of Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS Orientation). Each worker at the Mattels plant ha s a signed contract on file. Employee personnel records also include illness and injury reports; disciplinary action reports; medical examinations and maternity leave reports. All new hires are also given a medical examination. They also received job-related training of varying length based on the specific requirements of their jobs. Based on these mechanisms on hiring and recruitment, Mattel is able to ensure they have selected the best and right people to achieve companys goals. Are the workers able to understand and practice GMP? GMP is very important in ensuring the quality of products. Interviewed workers largely confirmed that they were familiar with various provisions of Mattels GMP. Management Compliance Report (MCR) indicated that GMP document in local language was provided to all employees and is available in local language. The Plant Manager plays the key role in communicating GMP information to supervisors and employees. The MCR also stated that information on GMP is provided twice a year, through various sources such as the new hire orientation program, employee handbook, boards and the company intranet. Are the plants workers financially motivated to achieve companys objectives? Financial compensations to plants workers are very important to maintain the morale and motivation level of workers. The minimum wage for Tijuana is $41.67 (Mexican pesos) per day. Temporary workers at the Mexicos plant earn at least $74.00 per day; while the core groups minimum wage is $85. All overtime is paid at double wage rates, up to 9 overtime hours each week. All hours worked in excess of 9 hours per week are paid at triple rates. In addition, workers also receive attendance and punctuality bonuses. Besides, all confirmed workers are also entitled to annual leave, sick leave, maternity leave, free vacation, free transportation, free coffee and bakery products, free training courses, and etc. These policies are able to match the workers objectives with companys objectives when they are well compensated. Are work environment of manufacturing operations and related facilities able to ensure the quality of work from workers? As an example, the plant in Mexico is a large plant consisting of one building covering an area of over 473,000 sq. square feet. The facility has installed a very modern and efficient delivery system for handling raw materials. Resins for manufacturing plastic are delivered by trucks to a roadside facility where they are stored in large silos. From there, they are delivered to the molding machines on the factory floor through a sophisticated computer-controlled system. The process is designed to keep the site clean and helps minimize spillage and waste. The facility maintains, among others, detailed and up-to-date records on plant maintenance, air filtration, noise control, fire prevention, and safe storage of hazardous materials. The high standards of environmental health safety of the plant were also confirmed by the ICCA professional engineering audit team through an extensive â€Å"walk through† of the entire plant. ICCAs inspection confirmed that the plant was in â€Å"good† operating condition internally and in â€Å"fair† condition externally. The plant provides free-of-charge Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to all employees where use of such equipment is required and appropriate. The factory meets or exceeds the GMP requirements for bathroom, wash basins, and clean drinking water. Toilets are equipped with an effective flushing system and are maintained and cleaned on a regular basis. The dining area at the factory canteen is quite attractive. Colorful paintings, natural light through large windows a nd TV for entertainment provides the dining room with a pleasant environment. There is also an outside eating area for those who wish to smoke. Employees are served two meals per shift. The meals are mostly subsidized by the factory with workers paying only a nominal sum. In addition, the medical clinic at the plant is excellent and well-staffed. It is open 24 hours and seven days a week. It is staffed with one medical doctor and three qualified nurses. The clinic has a good record keeping system for the workers use of the clinic including work-related injury data. In short, Mattel has a well maintained facility and operates in an efficient manner while ensuring that the plant provides a clean, safe and healthy work environment for its employees. This also helps to ensure the workers produce high-quality products. 1.1.3 Taking corrective actions The final strategy-evaluation activity is about taking corrective actions, which requires making changes to competitively reposition a firm for the future. These corrective actions might be derived from the inspection of internal or external auditors who review and evaluate the practices and policies of a company. Some corrective actions, for example, like altering an organizations structure, replacing one or more key individuals, selling a division, or revising a business mission. Other changes could include establishing or revising objectives, devising new policies, issuing stock to raise capital, adding additional salespersons, differently allocating resources, or developing new performance incentives. As for Mattel, despites some of the scandals, it has been performing well since its establishment. When there were discrepancies of performance from target, Mattel had made corrective actions accordingly. 1. Mattel Independent Monitoring Council for Global Manufacturing Principles In this internal auditing practice, the physical plant, including all manufacturing and storage areas, were found to be in excellent condition. The plant and its related machinery were well maintained. The housekeeping appeared to be very good resulting in a neat, clean and safe operating plant. MIMCO was especially attentive to ensure that employees were properly using safety equipment and that environmental practices were being followed. However, there are few areas have been identified to make improvements. Employee Treatment by Line Supervisors MIMCO report of the previous audit had noted that the primary source of employee dissatisfaction pertained to incidents, albeit infrequent, of verbal abuse by line supervisors especially when it is meted out in public and in the presence of co-workers. It was recommended that Montois plant management review all pertinent issues of supervision and human relations in its weekly meetings. Further, the plant management should take action to strengthen its first-line supervisor training program. Work-place Hazards Mattel was found to have insufficient storage space as it had reached its maximum capacity. This shortage led to storage of volatile compounds in a tool crib in the middle of the factory assembly line. Another issue of concern was the noise level in some areas caused by the sonic welding machines. This noise level was found to be in access of Mattel GMP standards in the vicinity of the sonic welding operations. A possible work hazard described by employees was the risk of fire when water spilled from machines on the electric cables in work areas. MIMCO recommended an upgrade to the water feeding system and training of employees. The use of all-purpose utility knives to trim the mold marks was identified as a work hazard by management, production employees and the MIMCO team. These cuts were found to be a major source of injury and lost-days of work. Mattel had made corrective actions accordingly to rectify the mistakes and improve on the insufficiencies. Insufficient Bathroom and Toilet Facilities In the initial audit of Montoi, employees had complained about long waiting time for the use of bathrooms. The employees felt that there were not enough bathrooms to meet their needs when the plant was operating at full capacity. Although, the number of available bathrooms met both the GMP standards and the Mexican law, it was recommended that serious consideration should be given to expanding these facilities. The Montoi plant has added 11 more toilets for female employees and 8 for male employees. 2. Mattels corrective actions on ICCA 2004 Follow-Up Report of Mattel Owned and Operated Plants in China Regular and Overtime Work Hours ICCA found that Mattels plants were scheduling work hours in excess of Mattels 60 hour per week requirement. In response to this, Mattel has elected to limit the maximum number of working hours to 60 per week during normal operations, and 72 hours per week during peak periods and other extraordinary situations, provided that overtime is voluntary, the employees are paid appropriately and work hours in excess of 60 hours per week, but less than 72 hours per week, do not exceed 1/3 of the year for each employee. Payment of Minimum Wages Mattels China partner at the Guan Yao facility had made a good faith effort in negotiating a minimum wage that was competitive with other local cities, and had sought out and received approval for the reduced minimum wage originally stipulated for their area. With respect to this reduction of minimum wage at Mattels Guan Yao plant, Mattel has instituted a policy in conjunction with the new minimum wage increase slated for early 2005, which requires Mattels China partner to pay the stated minimum wage for the area. Due to the inconsistency in legal opinion regarding local waivers allowing a reduction of the minimum wage, Mattel will no longer accept these types of waivers from the local labor bureau. Inappropriate Wage Rate During Temporary Shut Downs and Other Circumstances There are three separate and distinct situations with respect to the amount of money employees are compensated for hours worked. In each case that ICCA has identified, Mattel has gone back and assessed an acceptable corrective action. For example, in the case of Guan Yao Chang An, with respect to the payment of minimum wages during down time for internal factors within control of the plant operations, Mattel has instituted a policy of paying the employees minimum wage during these unexpected shutdown periods. This policy change was instituted in January 2004. Mandatory Deductions and Legally Mandated Benefits Mattels annual leave policy has been amended to reflect the actual days of service an employee has worked over the length of their tenure at Mattel. In 2004, Mattel will compensate employees with 5 days of paid leave for those who quit before the end of the year and have one year of service. Mattels policy with respect to maternity leave was updated in 2004. All employees seeking maternity leave, regardless of whether they return to work, will be compensated for the full 90 days, as allowed under Chinese labor law. Mattels policy on deductions for room and board was changed in 2004. All employees who stay in the dorm and eat at the cafeteria will be charged no more than 50 percent of their minimum wage rate. It should further be noted that staying in the dorms is voluntary for employees. 1.2 Balanced Scorecard There are few criteria have been introduced to evaluate and review the performance of Mattel Inc. 1.2.1 Customers Product Quality and Safety Mattels reputation for product quality and safety is among its most valuable assets. Their commitment to product quality and safety is an integral part of their design, manufacturing, testing and distribution processes, and is essential to the success of their business. Childrens health, safety and well-being are their primary concern. They will meet or exceed legal requirements and industry standards for product quality and safety. They strive to earn their consumers trust through their dedication to safety, and to exceed the expectations of parents. Employees have an obligation to immediately report any concerns about product safety or quality to Mattels Worldwide Product Integrity Department. Consumer Information They respect the confidentiality of consumer information consistent with all applicable privacy and data protection laws and regulations. They do not share, sell or trade any private or sensitive personal information obtained online from children without the prior consent of the parent or unless compelled by legal process. Advertising and Promotions Mattels brand and product promotion activities, including advertising, packaging, point of purchase displays, promotional programs and sweepstakes, should be conducted in a manner consistent with applicable laws and with their reputation for honesty and integrity. They adhere to high standards of commercial fairness in ads and promotions. They must accurately portray the features, quality and performance of their products in all advertising media and packaging in a manner appropriate for their target audience. They do not misstate facts or provide misleading or deceptive information about Mattels products, or the products of a competitor. They should be diligent in safeguarding the reputation of Mattel brands and products by being selective about promotional opportunities, such as event sponsorship and other joint promotions, avoiding association of Mattels name with any product, service or activity which might be considered unsafe or inappropriate for children, or with any person or organization if the relationship might be damaging to Mattels reputation. 1.2.2 Managers/Employees Respect They will treat others as they want to be treated with respect, dignity and fairness. They have the right to work in an environment free from discrimination and harassment based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, social origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status or other protected characteristics. They also respect their co-workers rights, and remember that such discrimination and harassment will not be tolerated. They should speak out when the conduct of a coworker makes them or others uncomfortable. They each have a responsibility to report to Human Resources any such harassment or discrimination that they experience or observe. Diversity Mattel recognizes diversity as an asset, and is committed to actively seeking and promoting diversity in the workforce. They value the different perspectives, insights and experiences of diverse individuals and cultures, and they aspire to create a company culture that encourages an expression of, and a respect for, diverse viewpoints. They provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees, without regard to factors such as race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, ancestry, social origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status or other protected characteristics. They make employment decisions to meet their business needs based on factors such as qualifications, skills and achievement. They comply with local and national employment laws. Employee Health and Safety Mattel is committed to providing a safe, healthful and environmentally responsible workplace, and has established safety programs to provide information and training for safe practices in the normal conduct of business and for emergencies. They are responsible for observing safety and health rules, for taking appropriate precautionary measures and for reporting unsafe or hazardous conditions to their supervisors, to Mattels Global Sustainability Department, Global Security Department or local Mattel security personnel. In order to maintain their high standards for quality, productivity and safety, they should be in suitable mental and physical condition at work. Possessing, buying or selling, using or being under the influence of illegal drugs or engaging in any other activities which create an unsafe work environment while on duty, or when on Mattel premises, are expressly prohibited. The consumption of alcohol while on duty or when on Mattel premises is prohibited except during approved Mattel social functions, or during business meals. 1.2.3 Investors/Shareholders Protecting Mattel Assets All employees and Directors share in the responsibility to protect Mattels assets, including physical assets, financial assets, intellectual property and proprietary information from theft, loss, damage, misuse or waste. Those of them who have custody of company property, such as vehicles and laptop computers, should take appropriate measures to ensure their proper security and use.