Essay on “Me talk pretty one day” Essay

†Me talk pretty one day† is an essay written by David Sedaris in 2005. It tells the story of the authors return to school at the age of forty-one and about his experience with learning French in Paris with a very strict teacher. The theme of the essay is David Sedaris attitude towards learning a new language. Although he seems to have an attitude towards learning French he actually moves all the way to France with only one month of French lessons as his previous experience with the language because he does not think that he can learn proper French in America. Throughout the essay you can almost hear the author’s ironic and sarcastic voice. He creates an ironic tone to the whole experience of learning the language which gives the essay some humor. The language in the essay is very informal which is supported by him talking about own experiences. He uses a lot of imagery and has a tendency to exaggerate his experiences. For example: â€Å"it’s everyone into t he language pool, sink or swim† (p. 1, l. 16). This gives the reader some lifelike pictures of the situation. He also gives the reader the feeling that they are there with him by using sentences as: â€Å"’Even a fiuscrzsa ticiwelmun knows that a typewriter is feminine† (p. 2, l. 72). He gives the reader the whole experience of him learning the language. He does not know the words and he makes it easier for the reader to identify with him. His attitude towards learning the language changes throughout the essay. He starts by being positive but after his first lesson he feels terrified. Even though he is the oldest one there, the teacher makes sure that there is no segregation. The teacher is very strict and does not care to give the students a hard time. â€Å"Before beginning school, there’d been no shutting me up, but now I was convinced that everything I said was wrong† (p. 3, l. 101). This shows us that he is so afraid of the teacher that he does not dare to use the advantage that he actually is in France. He can easily improve his language by trying to speak outside of the classroom but he simply does not dare because of his teacher’s personal attacks. The teacher completely ruins all of the students’ confidence. It ends up with them feeling as if they were in a war zone. â€Å"We soon learned to dodge chalk and protect our heads and stomachs whenever she approached us with a question† p.2, l. 83-84). This feeling of fear and shame ties the students  together and there is no competition between them. Sedaris wants to avoid the attacks and the humiliation so he starts studying really hard. He wanted an identity but the teacher would not let him have that. He was constantly reminded that he could not speak French which also shows in the title: â€Å"Me talk pretty one day†. It shows the insecurities in Sedaris’ and the other students faith in learning the language. They all hope that one day they will be able to speak and understand French but has lo st the hope because of their teacher. David Sedaris describes the teacher as: â€Å"a wild animal â€Å"(p.2, l 82). â€Å"She crouched low for her attack† (P. 2, l 52). This makes her stand out like terrifying and aggressive. The teacher’s attitude towards her teaching seems to be that if she pushes them hard enough it will end up giving good results. Even though Sedaris describes the teacher as a terrifying wild animal he still has a humorous tone around it which makes it relatable for the reader since most people has found themselves in a similar situation. Towards the end of the essay we get the feeling that Sedaris’ French has improved. The teacher’s insults do not seem to bother him that much anymore. By the teacher being so strict to everyone, do the insults not seem to be that serious and maybe not something she means entirely. Suddenly he could handle her personal attacks and it occurred to him, that for the first time since arriving to France he could understand every word of the teacher’s sentence. Even though she had just insulted him he feels like it was a victory for him. He cannot speak the language but it is a step in the right direction. He had lost all hope in ever improving in this class but now he had. He becomes curious and it gives him the lust for learning back. He ends the essay with the sentence: â€Å"Talk me more, you, plus, please, plus† (p. 3, l 128). This shows us that he wants to learn and he does not care if the teacher insults him, he just wants to hear the language and learn from it. David Sedaris’ essay shows that to learn a new language you need to learn the culture around it and you have to feel at home in the situations where the language are included. Learning a language is not just about learning the words and the sounds which the teacher ignores completely as she exclusively focuses on the form of the language rather than its use.

How Can the Uncertainty Map Help Managers Essay

1. How can the uncertainty map help managers? Pearson’s uncertainty map provides a framework for analyzing and understanding uncertainty in the innovation process. It addresses the nature of the uncertainty and the way it changes over time, and provides managers with knowledge to make a decision and transform ideas into innovation. It also determines the type of management skills needed for different degrees of uncertainty. The framework separates uncertainty into four quadrants based on basic characterizations: a. uncertainty about ends – the eventual target of the project b. uncertainty about means – how to achieve the target Drawn on two axes, uncertainty about ends appears on the vertical axis, about means on the horizontal. The axes then divide producing four quadrants, namely: – Quadrant 1, also known as exploratory or Blue Sky Research is where there is no clear definition of the target or the means. Here, the organization is experimenting with unfamiliar technologies, and unidentified markets or products. Depending on the manager, ideas and developments may be immediately recognizable as possible commercial products. A technical manager may understand a technology but a commercial manager might see a wide range of commercial opportunities. – Quadrant 2 bears the label, Developmental Engineering. It contains ongoing activity within say, manufacturing companies that continually examine production processes looking for inefficiencies and ways to reduce costs. Here the target is clear but means are unidentified. The company may start several different projects centered on different technologies or approaches along the way so there is considerable uncertainty about how to reach the target. A manager will require special project management skills here to ensure either project delivery within budget, or cancellation to avoid escalating costs. – Quadrant 3 is the Applications Engineering dimension in which there is somewhat more certainty about how the business will achieve the target, but less certainty regarding the ends. Here they explore the potential uses of known technology, and management efforts center on which markets to enter, as well as discovering how to use the technology most effectively. – Quadrant 4 is the dimension with the most certainty. Activities here center mostly on improving existing products or creating new products through a combination of market opportunity and technical capability. This is where companies use innovation to develop new product designs that use minimal and new technology, but dramatically improve appearance and performance. Managers have to make timely decisions because while certainty is highest for them, so it is for the competition. This is where a company can win or lose the race to be first to market, and commercial managers become excited because the project is close t o market with minimal technical newness.

Earth Day

1 EARTH DAY SKIT: â€Å"How Earth Day Began† This skit can be performed at an Earth Day assembly for an entire school or a single class Scene 1: At Home A student returns home from school. While eating dinner, she discusses her day with her parents. The end of April is approaching and her school [insert your school name] is preparing for its Earth Week festivities. Teachers and students have been talking about the week’s event and she can’t wait – excitement is in the air! She tells her parents that Earth Week events begin tomorrow and that she will participate in a day of tree planting; bring a litterless lunch, and even wear something green! After helping her parents clean up after dinner, she heads off to bed. As she falls asleep she thinks of all that she has learned about Earth Day so far. Student: Hi Dad! Dad: You’re home a bit later than usual, how was your day? Student: Oh Dad, today was sooo exciting. Mrs. Ali taught us all about the history of Earth Day and she spoke about all the fun activities that we’re going to do for Earth Day. Dad: Really? Student: Yep! Our school is planning to have a week of festivities to celebrate how much we care about our earth. I’m so excited I can hardly wait! Dad: Let’s sit down and have some dinner. Your Mom and I prepared your favourite dish! Copyright © Reproduction permitted only with written permission of Earth Day Canada. All Rights Reserved. 2 Mom: And while we eat you can tell us all about the activities. They sit around the dinner table. Mom: So, what’s the plan for tomorrow? Are you going around the community and picking up garbage? Student: Nope, that’s Friday, along with an assembly and guest speaker. Tomorrow we are planting trees, bringing in litterless lunches and wearing green. Does anyone know wear my green overalls are? Dad: We’ll have a look for them; we’ll make sure that you are as ‘green’ as can be. Student: I’m so eager to plant trees; I’ve never done that before. This is my first Earth Day celebration†¦all my friends are so thrilled. The class that plants the most trees wins a prize, we’re going to win for sure! Mom: I bet you will, now help us clean up the dinner table and off to bed you go! Student: (pleadingly) Do I have to? Mom: Yes, dear. They clean up the table. Student: (She heads to her bed, already laid out in the middle of the stage) Good night! Parents (in unison): Copyright © Reproduction permitted only with written permission of Earth Day Canada. All Rights Reserved. 3 Sweet dreams! Parents exit. Narrator: As she falls asleep, she thinks only of tomorrow’s festivities. Curtains Close Scene 2: Her Dream_______________________________________________ The purpose of this scene is to provide students with a background of the history of Earth Day, to make them aware of the environmental degradation occurring then and now, and finally, ways in which students can act to help make our Earth healthier. Wisconsin Governor Gaylord Nelson (speaking to the history of Earth Day) will be in the middle of the stage, surrounded by the three groups (each representing a type of environmental degradation). Each group will be on stage at the same time as the governor. He will stand behind a podium discussing the creation/development/successes of Earth Day. As the governor speaks about each type of environmental degradation, the corresponding group will act out their part accordingly. Curtains Open Narrator: It’s 2005 and Wisconsin Governor Gaylord Nelson is making a speech about Earth Day. Governor: (in 1970s attire) Good afternoon and thank you for attending today’s event. How many of you are aware of the history of Earth Day? Pause] Well, here’s a bit of history that you might be interested in. In 1963, I began to worry about our planet, it was becoming more and more degraded, pollution was evident and plants and other species were disappearing. I began to talk with lawmakers in the US and to the president at the time, President Kennedy, about going around the country and telling people about these environmental concerns. However, while he did go around the countr y speaking of these concerns, this did not get the attention of enough of the country and Copyright © Reproduction permitted only with written permission of Earth Day Canada. All Rights Reserved. 4 environmental degradation continued. I worried that the affects would be detrimental to the health of our environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Pause†¦first group proceeds with their segment First Group: Air pollution group Without speaking, this group (wearing white and symbolizing air) will stand together in a group of 5 or more while 2 other students dressed in red will burst through the ‘wall’ of white representing holes in the ozone. The red will represent chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform (option: have students in red hold or paste a sign on themselves that reads: †CFCs†). Move to second group Second Group: Deforestation group Without speaking, this group of 5 (wearing green) will have their hands in the air, standing tall and swaying (resembling trees). After a few seconds most will eventually fall to the ground representing trees being cut down and the spoiling of natural wilderness. Move to third group Third Group: Water group Without speaking, this group of 5 (wearing blue) will all lay on the ground symbolizing a river, watershed. Pollution (those wearing brown) will come up from behind and will lie down beside them representing pollutants entering the water stream and remaining there for long periods of time. Back to the Governor’s speech Governor: In 1969, I was still very concerned so I came up with another idea. I decided to have one special day to teach everyone about all the things that had to change in our environment to make it healthier. That day was EARTH DAY. The first Earth Day was held on April 22, 1970, with the help of Harvard University Student Denis Hayes and it was a major success. Since then, Earth Day celebrations have spread all over the country, and especially in Canada. Today, more than 6 million Canadians join 500 million people in over 180 countries in staging events and projects to address local environmental issues. Nearly every Copyright © Reproduction permitted only with written permission of Earth Day Canada. All Rights Reserved. school child in Canada takes part in an Earth Day activity. [pause] So, you want to know how to make every day Earth Day? Make a promise to the Earth to stop environmental degradation by: Spreading the message to your family and friends that idling their vehicles causes air pollution. Try taking public transportation! First group (Air pollution group) walks of the stage†¦. You can adopt a â€Å"zero waste† frame of mind at school, home, in your everyday-liv es. All you have to do is remember the 3 R’s – reduce, reuse, recycle. Also, how about planting some trees? Second Group (Deforestation group) walks of the stage†¦ Also, let everyone know that dumping garbage, household cleaners, pesticides, or oil down a storm sewer drain is harmful to the watercourse. Paint a yellow fish on storm drains in your area to remind your community that what goes down the drains ends up in our water systems†¦ Third Group (Water) walks of the stage†¦ That’s not all you can do! I challenge you and your class to think of more ways to help our planet. It only takes a small group of people to make big changes in the world. I wish you all a wonderful Earth Day! Curtains Close Scene 3: Back in students room ____________________________________ Mum: Wake up, its time for school. How did you sleep? Student: I had a great sleep mom, I dreamt all about Earth Day. Thanks for getting my clothes ready, Dad! Copyright © Reproduction permitted only with written permission of Earth Day Canada. All Rights Reserved. 6 I have to run, I don’t want to be late for tree planting! All: Bye! Student exits off stage with her litterless lunch, dressed in green with a big smile on her face! THE END Copyright © Reproduction permitted only with written permission of Earth Day Canada. All Rights Reserved.

Why Do Firms Voluntarily Disclosure Information Essay

Why Do Firms Voluntarily Disclosure Information - Essay Example Economic theories propose that it is better for firms to provide additional information to investors and financial analysts, because the voluntary disclosure assists investors and shareholders to analyse the firm and thereby to estimate future rate of returns on their investment. This paper will discuss why modern firms voluntarily disclose their information. Voluntary disclosure of information While analysing modern corporate culture, it seems that organisations voluntarily disclose more information in their annual reports than what is actually required to comply with the basic financial and accounting regulations. Firms voluntarily disclose three types of information such as strategic, non-financial, and financial information. As per the logical conclusions made by Kim, better informed shareholders were satisfied with less disclosure whereas uninformed shareholders preferred more disclosure (as cited in Cataldo, 2003, p.68). Thus, Kim linked voluntarily disclosure of information wi th shareholder interests. According to Williams (2008), nowadays firms engage in operations that are not captured by accounting process but have an impact on the firm’s profitability; therefore, such activities of firms have considerable significance in the sense that they may cause changes to investment decisions. Hence, firms make voluntary disclosures so as to overcome these troubles. It is relevant to use normative and positive accounting theories to explain the reasons for firms’ voluntary disclosure of information. The normative accounting theory justifies the feasibility of an accounting treatment whereas the positive accounting theory scientifically shows the truth of an accounting phenomenon. More simply, the former approach illustrates accounting taxonomies as an art while the latter represents accounting as a science of economy. The normative theories deal with intangibles and corporate, social, and environmental reporting while the positive theories represe nt social and environmental disclosures. Normative theories The normative approaches reflect the direct economic benefits of information disclosures. Economists identify that the major portion of the real value of a company is based on intangibles assets including goodwill and brand loyalty; a firm’s value of intangible assets is represented by the difference between market value and book value of the firm (Lecture 4, slide 7). In addition, the real value of a firm also embraces the intellectual capital of the firm including patents, computer programs, customer relationship, and trademarks (Lecture 4, slide 11). Traditional accounting systems do not provide investors with adequate information about intangible assets and intellectual capital. Hence, investors find difficulty in estimating the real value of the company. This is one of the main reasons why firms voluntarily disclose their information. Since modern societies give great emphasis on environment safety and public we lfare, organisations cannot vie with the market competition unless they maintain effective corporate responsibility policies. As Deegan (2002) reports, nowadays majority of the multinational corporations prepare an annual sustainability report in order to promote their social responsibility policies. Even though firms set different goals while initiating corporate sustainability reporting, their main focus is to enhance the firms’ international operations and to convince investors. Healy and Palepu (2001) argue that corporate disclosure is essential for the effective functioning of capital market. In total, normative theories

Observing the moon Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Observing the moon - Assignment Example When you make your fist and hold it out at arm’s length, it represents approximately 10 degrees. This can be checked out by going fist over fist from the horizon to the point directly over your head which is 90 degrees from the horizon to the point directly overhead thus should span approximately 9’fists’. From each observation of the moon, find the moon in the sky and find the point along the horizon directly below the moon. Measure how many fists the moon is above the horizon. This will be the altitude measurement of the moons line touches the horizon. Though measuring azimuth is a bit trickier, this is the number of degrees along the horizon starting from true north and always passing through the east. One has to find out where north is and then drop imagined line down from the moon to the horizon and count how many fists it takes to go from north to where the imaginary line touches the horizon. Since each fist equals 10 degrees, increase the number of fists u sed by 10 to get the azimuth in degrees. It is advisable that you should make your observations from the same location in order not to determine true north every time. At first the new moon is seen. The moon, sun and earth are in approximate alignment. The new moon is on the opposite side of the earth such that the entire sunlit part of the moon is facing us. The shadowed portion is entirely hidden from view. At first and third quarter moons happens when the moon is at a 90 degree angle with respect to the earth and sun. In this case, we only see half of the moon illuminated and half in shadow. In the waxing crescent, the sunlit portion is increasing but less than half. On the other hand, waxing gibbous refers to when the sunlit portion increases but is now more than half. At full moon, there is maximum illumination and after this, the light continually decreases hence waning gibbous phase occurs next. The third quarter is then followed by the waning crescent which wanes until

The Political Economy of Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Political Economy of Communication - Essay Example By adopting Mosco’s process of commodification, it is evident that Google’s value addition outcomes from its advertising ventures can be directly linked to its commodification of the users of Google on an extensive level. Due to Google’s online platform popularity and accessibility, a lot of firms use this venue as an advertising forum. The number of Google users are so many such that it makes the company an efficient advertising avenue for companies and in so doing, commodifies its users at a level above that of conventional advertising media. In addition, Google employs a valorization process that enhances its ability to reap more profits and revenue than conventional media platforms. Its commodification of the users is also identified via its ability to calculate the advertising costs accurately and personalizing strategies for advertisements, which are largely due to its unlimited access to consumer behavior data. Also, the company’s vague differentiation between serviced content and advertisements for goods and services on its platform, clearly results in the intense commodification of its users and their online activities. However, the most intense commodification identified with the activities of Google has to be those related with its sale of keywords to advertisement companies. The advertisers then link the advertisements to the output of search data and are valued with regards to their popularity on the Google online platform. This behavior of intense corporate capitalism at the expense of the rights of consumers (privacy) has been termed as commodification of user behavior at its worst, and highlights the importance and relevance of PEC/M in modern times. Besides advertisements, Google maps and its application constitutes part of the company’s main activities and revenue sources. In accordance with Mosco’s definition of spatialization, it is mainly concerned

Biochemistry - How BSE Occurs at a Molecular Level Coursework

Biochemistry - How BSE Occurs at a Molecular Level - Coursework Example Toxicity: Large amounts of phenylalanine taken in the form of nutritional supplements elevate blood pressure. Symptoms such as headaches, heartburn and nausea may be experienced. In addition, the nervous system is usually affected by the toxicity of phenylalanine. Reactivity: Phenylalanine is a hydrophobic amino acid with an aromatic side chain. Therefore, it is fairly unreactive and mostly takes place in substitution reactions where it is interchanged with amino acids of a similar nature. Consequently, it plays a key role in substrate recognition rather than in protein function. Hydrogen bonds: Hydrogen atoms from the amine groups are pulled towards the electronegative carboxyl groups leading to sharing of electrons. The repetitive nature of such attractions within the protein structure confers stability. Van der Waals forces: Interactions among induced dipoles that form from the changes in charge density that occur in adjacent atoms that do not necessarily form a bond constitute attractive van der Waals forces. Repulsive forces, on the other hand, entail interactions between atoms that come close to each other but do not form dipoles. The huge numbers of such forces within the structure of proteins affect the stability of proteins. When certain proteins fail to fold in the required way, they begin to cluster and form aggregates. These aggregates contain certain polymeric structures such as beta sheets. In BSE, these aggregates are in the form of prions, which get into the brain and cause disease. Prions are proteinaceous infectious particles that comprise aggregates of misfolded proteins. Prions alter the structure of the brain by stimulating the formation of ‘holes’ in the brain, which ultimately give the brain a spongy architecture. Consequently, the nervous system is affected making the cow behave abnormally.  Ingestion of prions present in contaminated food causes them to be taken up into the body.  Ã‚  

Reflection of slingshot Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflection of slingshot - Essay Example In 1930-s many people had their private cars. Most of them were used for family needs. They became important representations of American dream ideology. At the same time, Great Depression and World War II created the situation when many cars were out of use. Adult men had to work and fight leaving their cars to their children. Hard times motivate people to seek for some new ways to entertain. Those times gave the boost to cinematography, music and sport including drag racing. Drag races appeared as a participatory sport organized by those people who wanted to test their cars. Southern California became had perfect condition for drag races. It was a land of opportunities where people moved to start their lives from scratch. It was a land of big deserts where young people had enough space to conduct their illegal hobby. Media reacted to drag races negatively. Local newspapers were focused on road incidents which happened as a result of races stressing their danger for young people. Moreover, drag races were illegal and their participants could be imprisoned if they were caught by the police. Despite their illegal status, drag races were very popular with young people in Southern California. People who took part in drag races tried to organize them better. Location of drag races moved to military locations which were out of use. Airports and military bases became perfect locations for racers. In the end of 1940-s, the attitude to drag races became better. Racers could invite their parents and friends to support them. Local entrepreneurs sold snacks during those events. Timing system and races in pair were introduced to people who took part in races. Orange county airport became the location which held the first official drag races that welcomed spectators. Participants had to pay $2 to take part in the race. Spectators were expected to pay 50 cents to watch the race. What is more important, the winner got the prize of $10 which was a

Effective Interpersonal Communications Term Paper

Effective Interpersonal Communications - Term Paper Example You see there are also many misconceptions about communication. A misinterpretation can cause problems between parties; however not communicating at all may cause problems as well. When two people do not communicate with each other, there is no way to express their feelings or intent about each other and thus people assume that the hostility will remain between each other unless clarified through communication. Another factor of how miscommunication can take place is through having different communication styles. More predominately found in males and females who have contradicting ideologies about communication styles. An example of this is that if a student asks too many questions, to one person it may seem as if he is interested in studies while another will contradict the belief by assuming that he is disrespectful to the teacher by cutting her off again and again. Studies have shown that women tend to prefer intimacy when they communicate preferring to look at the person they are communicating with right in the eye while males remain predominately professional preferring to look around and shift at an angle which will reduce eye contact to a bare minimum. Women will also be sympathetic to each other and will prefer to talk to each other and men would rather push something under the carpet then deal with a problem with requires one to communicate. Fortunately, these breakdowns in communications can be repaired. Misconceptions can be cleared out, relationships can be restored and languages can be translated.... The first of these states that if communication can fail, it probably will; A message can be understood in different ways, most of the times being in ways that does most harm; There is always an individual who understands what you mean by your message a lot better than you do; As communication takes place more, it becomes difficult for communication to succeed. You see there are also many misconceptions about communication. A misinterpretation can cause problems between parties; however not communicating at all may cause problems as well. When two people do not communicate with each other, there is no way to express their feelings or intent about each other and thus people assume that the hostility will remain between each other unless clarified through communication.   Another factor of how miscommunication can take place is through having different communication styles. More predominately found in males and females who have contradicting ideologies about communication styles. An example of this is that if a student asks too many questions, to one person it may seem as if he is interested in studies while another will contradict the belief by assuming that he is disrespectful to the teacher by cutting her off again and again. Studies have shown that women tend to prefer intimacy when they communicate preferring to look at the person they are communication with right in the eye while males remain predominately professional preferring to look around and shift at an angle which will reduce eye contact to a bare minimum. Women will also be sympathetic to each other and will prefer to talk to each other and men would rather push something under the carpet then deal with a problem with requires one to communicate

The Fourth Crusade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Fourth Crusade - Essay Example [The crusades. New York: Cosmopolitan book corporation, 1929.] The mission of beginning a new crusade had become a life-task to Pope Innocent III. After the death of Richard the Lionheart, the Pope lost all hope in getting a trustworthy monarch to lead the holy war. Almost immediately upon being elected pope, Innocent III decided that the papacy itself should assume the leadership of the next Crusade. He issued his crusading letter in August of 1198, sending it to all the archbishops of the West. He directed the call to arms not to kings and emperors, but to counts and barons and even to cities. The archbishops and bishops of the Church were likewise to contribute soldiers, or an equivalent amount in money.["The Fourth Crusade ", Vol 3:1, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania] In 1198 he called for a new Crusade, which was largely ignored among European leaders. The Germans were struggling against Papal power, and England and France were still engaged in warfare against each other. The tone of the encyclical makes it clear that Innocent believed the Church itself was the true leader of the Crusades. Even so, he wrote separately to the kings of France and England, ordering them to cease their war. Not, you will note, that they should go on crusade themselves, but only that their quarrel should not interfere with the raising of troops and money for the Crusade. He likewise sent a papal legate to try to persuade Genoa and Pisa to make a truce between them, for much the same reasons, except that he wanted the Pisans and Genoese to participate in the Crusade.However, due to the preaching of Fulk of Neuilly, a crusading army was finally organized at a tournament held at Ecry by Count Thibaud of Champagne in 1199. Thibaud was elected leader, but he died in 1200 and was replaced by an Italian count, Boniface of Montferrat. Boniface and the other leaders sent envoys to Venice, Genoa, and other city-states to negotiate a contract for transport to Egypt, the object of their crusade; one of the envoys was the historian Geoffrey of Villehardouin. [Donald Queller: The Fourth Crusade, and bibliography in Jonathan Riley-Smith, The Crusades.] Preparation for the Crusade Genoa was uninterested but Venice agreed to transport 33,500 crusaders (as well as 4,500 horses), a very ambitious number. This agreement required a full year of preparation on the part of the city of Venice to build numerous ships and train the sailors that would man them, all the while curtailing the city's commercial activities. The majority of the crusading army that set out from Venice in October 1202 originated from areas within France. It included men from Blois, Champagne, Amiens, Saint-Pol, the Ile-de-France and Burgundy. However, several other regions of Europe sent substantial contingents as well, such as count Flanders and Marquis Boniface of Montferrat from northern Italy. Other notable groups came from the German Empire, including the men under Bishop Martin of Pairis and Bishop Conrad of Halberstadt together in alliance with the Venetian soldiers and sailors led by the Doge Enrico Dandolo.[ Queller, Donald E. "The Fourth Crusade: The Neglected Majority] Attack on Zara Since there was no binding agreement amongst the crusaders that all should sail from Venice, many

A Worn Path Essay Example for Free

A Worn Path Essay â€Å"A Worn Path† written by Eudora Welty, is set during a cold winter after the conclusion of the Civil War, in a rural area near Christmas time in the mid 1900’s. Phoenix, an older uneducated Negro woman, who endured racism, is the main character with minor characters of a hunter, a dog, a nurse, a clerk and Phoenix’s grandson. Eudora Welty began developing the story in the first paragraph by choosing the name of the main character – Phoenix. A phoenix is a mythological bird that supposedly lived over 500 years ago and died in flames and rose again from the ashes. (W) My idea of what the author is conveying through various writing techniques is that there are many obstacles in life and one may overcome obstacles by determination, love, a strong personality and a helping hand from others. The characters represent various aspects of life. Phoenix had to overcome many obstacles – cold weather, her age, a hunter with a gun, thorns and hills. The obstacles can be viewed as lessons or opportunities to learn. The black dog which startled Phoenix represents unexpected â€Å"bumps in the road.† Another obstacle, Phoenix had to overcome was her own internal worry about wild animals (snakes, coons, wild hogs, foxes, owls, and beetles) on her way to town. An external conflict was represented by the physical struggles Phoenix endured. A major obstacle, Phoenix overcame was to walk across a log suspended over a creek, using her cane to balance her weight. I consider this particular obstacle as a life changing event. Phoenix also knew she had to ta ke care of her grandson because she was the only person left. A reader could view the walk Phoenix regularly completed as Phoenix’s reason for being alive or as a rebirth. Assistance in life comes in many ways. The hunter and his dog helping Phoenix with a hand-up moved Phoenix forward on her journey. Life is like that made easier with help from others. The author did a great job conveying these characteristics. The main character, Phoenix, represents a strong individual who overcame numerous obstacles. Phoenix was dedicated to helping her grandson and was determined to complete her task. The author, through creative descriptive words, revealed a multitude of personality characteristics within Phoenix. The main character was in control of her life as evidenced by her determination to stay on her journey even when the hunter tried to persuade Phoenix to return home. A reader could view the walk Phoenix regularly completed as Phoenix’s reason for being alive or as a rebirth. Phoenix was on a mission! Eudora Welty was very effective with the writing techniques. The story was easy to understand, the language descriptive and was enjoyable to read. The descriptive language the author used made me feel as if I was there. I feel the author wrote the story from the third person omniscient (all knowing) narrator point of view. The author utilized the setting to represent obstacles. The setting is both physical and chronological. The author used great descriptive language to help create the story in the reader’s mind. The author, based on this particular story, perceives life as a struggle. Welty was successful in creating a story about values of love, compassion, dedication, determination and helping others. Works Cited W, Susan. LLCS. 2013. Definition. 2013. . Thesis statement: Thesis from A Worn Path by Eudora Welty: In Eudora Weltys A Worn Path, Phoenix Jackson exhibits great love, determination, and devotion as she overcomes many challenges on her frequent yet terrifying trek to town in order to retrieve medicine for her grandson.

Problems with Education Essay Example for Free

Problems with Education Essay What is it that’s making our nation suffer from excelling in education? Not many would argue about the importance of excellence in education. Problems such as teacher attrition, lack of parent involvement, and teaching high-stakes testing may hinder progress in education. An education is an indispensable and essential tool, unfortunately, with all the jaded judgments; our students aren’t valuing or able to value their education. An Education can open the doors to opportunities that would have never been possible if it had not been for the knowledge and preparation that one received while in school. With the fluctuating economy and hesitant times, it is more important than ever for our nation’s children to receive the proper education and training that will allow them to acquire a good job and produce the revenue needed to live. Unfortunately, there are many problems facing our education system today, and several of them are having negative effects on the quality of the education our students are receiving. Would one feel comfortable fifty years from now, when the children who are victim of the disadvantages of teacher attrition, lack of parent involvement and a majority of their education being how to take a high stakes test, are running this nation? How soundly can one sleep knowing that their decisions on a bill deciphering how much of a pension someone will receive or what’s legal and what’s not is at stake? Should these problems be quietly swept under the rug and addressed again in another five years, or is it best bite the financial bullet and at the very least, acknowledge there is an issue? A serious problem that is attacking the education system in America is the alarming attrition rate of teachers. Only those not involved with education at all will argue that it is an undemanding profession; in actuality, it is a very demanding profession with an often overwhelming amount of pressure and responsibility tied to it. However, it can also be a very rewarding profession. Unfortunately, many teachers simply cannot overcome the immense responsibilities well enough to stick with the profession for any length of time. Jalongo and Heider (2006) present staggering statistics in their article, saying that forty-six percent of new teachers in this country quit teaching after five years or less, with that percentage growing to fifty percent in urban areas. Even more shocking is the fact that ninety percent of teachers who are hired in this country are replacements for teachers who have left teaching for some reason other than retirement (p. 379). There are many reasons that the rate of teachers leaving the profession is so high. Anhorn (2008) very concisely sums up some of the major problems in her article when she says, â€Å"Difficult work assignments, inadequate resources, isolation, role conflict, and reality shock are some top reasons for the horrendous attrition statistics with the widespread â€Å"sink or swim† attitude that is prevalent in so many schools† (p. 15). It is easy to see why the beginning teacher attrition rate is so high. There is simply so much to do these days, between extracurricular responsibilities and high-stakes testing, it is easy to get overwhelmed. In her article, Sitler (2007) sums it up quite nicely when she says, No one expects the first years of teaching to be easy. No one expects that Teaching assignments will never change. But no one expects either that One’s first years of teaching will be compromised by administrative Systems that make instability and disillusionment routine occurrences Rather than exceptions. (p. 22) If teachers received more support from the administration and less of the strong arm effect, educators wouldn’t be so timid in teaching and instead bring more value to the classroom. Many of us probably remember our parents being very involved with our education, whether they were part of the PTA or just asked about your grades and homework every day when you got home. Unfortunately, today, parental involvement seems to be waning. While there still is a good deal of involvement at the elementary level, middle school and high school, when children really need that parental guidance, it’s almost nonexistent. It is our responsibility to try to involve parents who seem hesitant and reluctant to be a part of their child’s education. No matter what the hesitation is from the parent, be it a language barrier,  fear of school itself, whatever might be causing a parent to be stand offish about their child’s education and being an active part of it, not only the teacher, but administration should use every opportunity to pull a parent in and allow them to become and active part in their childs education. When parents are involved in education, teens typically have higher grade point averages, higher test scores on standardized and classroom assessments, enrollment in more rigorous academic courses, more classes passed, more credits earned toward graduation, and higher graduation rates. Parents are not performing their duties as first teacher to their kids in education. Many parents left their kids behind and keep putting the blame on the teachers due to their misunderstanding of the No Child Left Behind Act. These parents concerned are the ones who left their kids behind and not the schools; teachers are secondary to kids’ education. Unfortunately so many educators feel such pressure to prepare students for the TAKS test that they fail to ever demonstrate the relevance of what they are teaching. They fail to teach the items within the curriculum that are useful outside of the walls of the school. So, we have students who graduate and can solve quadratic equations, classify living organisms and distinguish between a plant and an animal cell but don’t know how to budget money, complete a financial aid form, solve a real-world problem, think for themselves, or apply the testing information beyond what was taught. I have heard people say the purpose of the exams is to make sure our students do not graduate before they know basics skills†¦ like Physics? Most of the arguments I hear come from people who have never even looked at the test; people who just blindly adhere to the regulations because it is a law. Which leads me to the most frustrating and most often argument I hear which is, â€Å"We need to hold students accountable because it is the law? † Well, there have been lots of bad laws over the years. Does anyone remember the Jim Crow laws? If as a country we were to have blindly followed these laws, then blacks and whites would still be segregated. There is no denying the fact that the problems mentioned, are not going to go away over night. They are major issues facing American education, and educators simply must do everything in our power to conquer them. An education is such a valuable and necessary tool, and we must do everything we can to get our students to value their education. I personally do believe there is hope for a positive change. Problems don’t fix themselves, and if admitting that we need help in going about the way our nation views the importance of education is what needs to be done, then it’s time to slap on the â€Å"HELLO MY NAME IS †¦Ã¢â‚¬  sticker and start being honest and start fixing the problems of teacher attrition, lack of parent involvement and teaching children how to take a state issued test. References Jalongo, M. R. , Heider, K. (2006). Editorial teacher attrition: An issue of national concern. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(6), 379-380. Anhorn, R. (2008). The profession that eats its young. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 74(3), 15-26. Sitler, H. C. (2007). The lived experience of new teachers, or why should I stay in this profession? Phi Kappa Phi Forum, 87(4), 22.

A Pestel Analysis Of China Market Economics Essay

A Pestel Analysis Of China Market Economics Essay Since 1979, China adopted an export-manufacturing strategy successfully following with Japan, Korea and Hong Kong. The Golden Bridge Co., Ltd is one of the beneficiaries. It was founded in 2007 with flooring as its main products. The product is of high quality by utilizing advanced technology and equipments imported from Germany and Italy. The glue and lacquer materials for production are also imported. In current stage, Golden Bridge has a total capital of 800 million RMB and exported to 35 foreign markets including the U.S., Canada, Japan and Germany. In order to help it to expand the business, our consultancy company attempt to analyze the China business environment and seek a foreign market to relocate the manufacturing of this company with proper entering and competing strategies. This essay first illustrates the business environment of flooring industry in China and German with PESTEL analysis. Then it evaluates the threats in Germany market by following Porters five-force mode l. Later a recommendation would be given on how to properly enter into the targeted country. PESTEL analysis of china market: The PESTEL analysis is used to assess the macro environment and identify the challenges Golden Bridge faced with in china market in order to make an appropriate suggestion. Political: The Chinese political system characterized as one-party communist dictatorship makes a great contribution to national stability, enabling the economy keep dynamic and sustainable. Nevertheless, when the economic system was deregulated from the command economy to market economy since 1978, the power of economic management was increasingly decentralized, raising the issue of uncoordinated development of regional economy. Currently, though the central government has made effort to alleviate the gap among different areas in terms of developing standards, provinces tend to give a priority to local profits rather than considering the integrated advancement of the whole country. Local protectionism exerts detrimental influences upon market expansion of Golden Bridge Company in nationwide and deters the establishment of a comprehensive distribution channel. Economical: China is valued as one of the most vibrant countries in terms of economic development among the world. The reform opening up in 1978 accelerated Chinas GDP growth from 362.4 billion RMB to 30 trillion RMB within a 30-year period. Moreover, in 2010, China has been the second largest economy instead of Japan whilst the value of export accounted for 10% of world. Based on these statistics, judgment can be made that manufactures in China including flooring industry may keep an optimistic attitude to their future prospects in some extent. Nonetheless, Chinese economy may suffer unpredictable circumstance in the future. Labor resource is one double-edge sword. Once being an advantage of China, abundant labor resource and economical labor price make a great contribution to progress of those labor-intensive manufacturing industries. This is also the primary reason that China flooring industry is quite profitable though China is a net importer of timber. However, as cited by AME info (2005) there is a growth in the minimum wage standard, labor may not be regard as a perpetual advantage of China if this trend continues. In Addition, appreciation of CNY since 2005 against USD may imperil the export of Golden Bridge Company (Goldstein, M. and Lardy, N., 2006). Social: It is claimed by Su and Littlefied (2001) that China is an extremely high-context country where people prefer to receive implied messages. For establishing a business in China, strong private-relationships with different stakeholders is the key to success. However, this is extremely time-consuming while the maintenance is also expensive. Potential conflicts in interest may easily erode it. Besides the relationship, corruption is another issue in China. According to the Corruption Perceptions Index, China was positioned 72nd among all 179 countries in 2008. However, damages caused by corruption may be far more hazardous than anticipated, particularly to the economic development. Corruption has been treated as a vital barrier for operating in Chinese market due to enormous back-stage expenditures as well as resulted injustice. For Golden Bridge to gain more import quotas and pay less tariff, costs may be made up of not only normal ingredients such as transporting, but also implied expense for smoothing the network. Technological: China wood flooring industry is experiencing a relatively laggard technological standard in its initial stage of development. According to Cheng and Song (2006), the level of timber utilization was 61% in 2004 with a considerable disparity with developed countries (nearly 90%). Additionally, imbalanced technological support aggravates the long-term conflicts between wood supply and demand in Chinese domestic market. In 2004, though the total domestic timber supply is 273.6 million cubic meters and exceeded the total consumption of 241.5 million cubic meters, scarcity of raw material still existed in some parts of timber manufacturing industry. Environment Legal: Chinese government proposed the Natural Forest Protection Program (NFPP) nationwide in 1998 to limit exploitation of natural forest resources. The legislation made the supply of domestic natural timber restricted. Between 1997 and 2003, natural timbers supply decreased from 32.05 million cubic meters to 12.145 million cubic meters (Cheng and Song, 2005), which was extremely insufficient to satisfy demands of the highly prosperous timber industry in China. Timer manufacturing companies in China have to depend on importing. Statistics shows that in 1997 the quantity of imported timber only occupied 23.56% of total wood consumption, while the number soared to 53.78% in 2004. The expenditure of imported timber was $33.96 higher per cubic meter compared with the price in 2007, which increased the material coast of Golden Bridge Company. PESTEL analysis of German market: Since this essay has analyzed the macro environment of the china flooring market, further looking at the political, economic, social and technological factors of the German can help advance and strength the logic of the whole assessment. Political factors: Germany is a home of secure, legal and rewarding investment. The World Economic Forum has rewarded its legal system as the most efficient and this fact has also gained international recognition. Flooring coverings are categorized according to German and EU laws and building products should be subject to the EU construction products directive and the German construction products law. The directive and law are mainly focused on environmental, health-related, material and usability sectors and most people agree that by considering the environmental restrictions, the EU can be the strictest market. Moreover, with the transnational economic environment, it is predicted by experts that the approval criteria for flooring is likely to decrease and there seems to be a limited permission of eco-labels for flooring products. Further, comprehensive incentives  are provided to both home and oversea investors by German government, individual federal states and the EU. Economic factors Germany is the largest economy in Europe and in general German is export-oriented. Since 2003, German has been the largest exporter machinery, vehicles, chemicals and household equipment, with an annual export increase of 8%. However, factors that may prevent Golden Bridge from entering into and developing itself in Germany also exist. They can be excessive dependence on euro currency, tight credit markets and an increasing rate of unemployment. Stimulus and stabilization efforts initiated in 2008 and 2009 and tax cuts introduced in Chancellor Angela MERKELs second term will increase Germanys record budget deficit, which is expected to exceed 5% of GDP in 2010. The EU required Germany to get its consolidated budget deficit below 3% of GDP until 2013. A new constitutional amendment likewise limits the federal government to structural deficits of no more than 0.35% of GDP per annum as of 2016. Technology factors: Germany is claimed to be the leading nation in high-tech development and receives high turnover accordingly. In 2007, the high-tech products exported by Germany accounted to a value of RUR 114 billion, ranked first in Europe and third worldwide. More than 27% turnover of German manufacturing factory is generated from high-tech products, compared to a European average of 19%. Social factors: Social factors also need consideration. Hofstedes analysis of Germany shows the emphasis on individualism, masculinity and uncertainty avoidance. Power distance and long-term orientation are both ranked considerably lower than the others. Germany believes in equality and equal opportunity, as well as its ability to change and adapt rapidly. Another arising issue is the social awareness of pollution, which leads Germany to use more environmental-friendly materials. Abstract for the use of five-force model: After analyzing the macro-environment of both countries, it is reasonable and necessary to apply Michel Porters five-force model in order to provide a thoroughly understanding of the German flooring market before the Golden Bridge company entering into it. According to this model, the competitiveness of an industry is influenced by such five forces and their collective strength and thus determines the ultimate profit potential of this targeting industry. These five forces covered in the analysis are competitive rivalry, supplier power, buyer power, the threat of substitution and the threat of potential new entry. However, the five-forces framework is not a set of principals per se, instead is a tool for systematically use these principals to assess the current status and likely evolution of an industry. Competitive Rivalry: The internal competitive rivalry in German flooring market seems high. There are three main reasons. First, the switching cost is low because flooring products are homogenous with little product differentiation. Another reason is that the German flooring market is saturated with a relatively low growth rate. The flooring production in 2008 suffered a 15.1% decline while the total consumption slumped for about 12.19% (FEP, 2008). Also the number of competitive companies in German flooring market and the intensity of rivalry also determine the high threats of rivalry. There are a large number of companies competing in the German flooring market and these companies are divided into three categories, they are Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), Domestic Leading Manufacturers (DLMs) and Niche Market Brands (NMBs). First of all, SMEs has the largest number in the German flooring market (Roadmap, 2010). These SMEs are often manufacturers provide low-grade flooring with low price. Their marketing strategy is just reverse to Golden Bridges. Thus Golden Bridge is suggested to treat them in an abstemious way. However, there are also a few numbers of large flooring manufacturers who operating on European and/or global base. It is suggested by German Timber (2007) that few DLMs account for the majority of the total market share. These companies usually possess strong competencies, highly recognized reputation and well-established brand image. One main rivalry is the Krono Group, who is one of the world leading producers of high-quality flooring. Founded in 1897, it has accumulated years of experience and extensive knowledge know-how. It delivers products to 80 countries worldwide while has its own production-base in 18 countries. In 2004, its production capability of flooring reached 310 million à £Ã … ½Ã‚ ¡, took up about 1/3 of the world market share with total sales revenue of 24 billion RMB. It also has an annual RD investment of 15billion RMB with over 200 scientists doing research in Krono International Laboratory. In addition, there are Niche Market Brands (NMBs) with several well-known brands like Espirt and Kaindl, holding part of the flooring market (FEP, 2007). These companies merely provide certain kinds of flooring to meet the special needs of a group of customers. Furthermore, in order to gaining competitive strength, the NMBs together with some foreign brands such as Balterio from Belgian and Vito from Austria have formed a conglomerate named Beamy International, a commercial platform allowing them to compete on both domestic and global markets (FEP, 2008). As the competition is fierce in German flooring market, Golden Bridge is suggested to adopt a niche strategy and doing effective promotion after entering the market. To explain, the original German wood flooring manufacturers already gains economy of scales and undeniably enjoy a cost advantage. Advanced distribution channel comparing with those new entrants also allows them first mover advantages. Cost disadvantage and lacking reliable cooperators are main barriers for Golden Bridge to survive in German market. Insufficient in capital determines that an aggressive expansion strategy is also irrational. However, one advantage Golden Bridge occupies is that it has been doing export business within German importers for couple of years and its products did have certain reputation in this highly competitive market. By offering additional value, Golden Bridge can efficiently differentiate itself among the rivals with a brand image of reliability, valuable, and symbol of statuses. This may help obtain sustainable brand loyalty among German customers. Threat of Substitutes: The threat of substitution refers to the extent to which different products used in place of a companys products or offered by other industrials. Flooring is not restricted on only wood but other materials such as textile and stone/ceramics are also widely used. For instance, in German market in 2008, textile took the largest raw material market share (i.e. about 37.4%) for making flooring. This is followed by stone/ceramics of 28.6%. Comparably, the laminate only had a market share of 13.9%, ranked in the third place. In terms of switching cost, the result can be distinct regarding to different objects of study. To individual consumers, there is almost no switching cost exists because choose one kind of material instead of another is just a matter of personal taste. However, this can be criticized in depth for the reasons that wood-made flooring has its own characteristics and functions that other materials may not have. To some extent and to specific customer groups, for instance, those who have fixed-decoration style, the switching cost can be relatively high. However, to large wholesalers (e.g. Beamy International) who previously dedicated in wood-made flooring, the switching cost would be extremely high, as they may lose the stable distribution channels with their current wholesalers or retailers, and also the price advantage provided by the long-term cooperative producers. This means the substitution threat is less considerable because their past investment in developing stable distribution channels with retailers and producers offers them an advantage in current market and this may make them unwilling to undertake risks of operating and competing in a new and highly competitive market. Summing up the above, it is the end-user customers that Golden Bridge should pay close attention to. First of all, it is advised that a regular customer survey to be conducted to make a comprehension of customers preferences and what they really appreciate. The company should also emphasize the exclusiveness and unique utilities of their products, making it cost more for the customers to switching to other substitutes. In the meantime, though as mentioned the future trend seems favor wood flooring industry, Golden Bridge should cause enough value that the technology development is always indeterminate. Thus in order to avoid sudden shock of new technologies that brings in comparable substitutes, Golden Bridge should invest continuously in Research and Development to keep pace with the times. Threat of New Entrants: Threat of new entrants is moderate. As put by European Commission (2001), the main barriers to enter German market include certification approval and the quality standards and label, while the incentive to enter German market depends mainly on its impeccable infrastructure system. The extensive unified intensification, which has been mentioned before in PEST Analysis of German, increase the starting investment of new entry, accordingly has negative effect on new entrants to the market. There are totally fourteen member countries of European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP). Under the Single European Market policy, twelve of them have reached an agreement on moving goods, service and capital freely internally, giving companies in these markets strong mobility. To put it simpler, a flooring company located in Germany for example, can either choose to develop domestically or entre into either of the other 11 member countries of EFP, in support of the unified system. Once entering into the consolidated FEP, the new members deserve this privilege with little hindrance, however, the legal entry requirement, especially for flooring companies compliance with environmental protection, is said to be quite strict in European Market, which is especially true in Ge rmany. Thus it can be expected that in order to harmonize to European standards, a large quality of funds will be needed to invest in order to fulfilling the standards ranging from environmental protection to individual healthcare. What is more, the sophisticated infrastructures that Germany possesses nationwide make the market considerably attractive to those adventurous entrepreneurs. As known to all, Germany lays in the center of the Western Europe, with large-scale transportation centers such as International airport in Frankfurt and seaport in Hamburg (ELA, 2010). Centering in a fast and efficient logistic network covering almost all the main markets in Europe, flooring companies in Germany can procure raw materials namely timber on a global scale, and reach the external markets with relatively lower transportation costs. Therefore the threats of new entrants would be moderate in German flooring market. For Golden Bridge, the corporate should create a marketing and brand image and keep customers loyalty, tie up to both suppliers and distributors. More important, it should sign a patent to protect the intellectual property of their high-tech products. Buyer Power: Buyer power, which is determined by the individual customers ability in negotiating purchase prices with suppliers, is at an intermediate level in German market basing on four crucial reasons. Firstly, according to the previous analysis, competition in the wood flooring manufacturing is largely intensified by a large amount of incumbents. Hence, purchasers are more unrestricted in choosing their suppliers with considering competitive advantages of products, and price may be a decisive factor for some customers. However, it is important to note that Wholesalers have more bargaining power than individuals. Being the large-volume buyers, they are not only main customers where companies earn profits from, but also controllers of dominant distribution channels. By stark contrast, individual customers with smaller purchase volume may be positioned less vitally in suppliers minds. Secondly, the buyer power is attenuated by the availability of substitutes of wood flooring in German market. E xcept for this category of flooring, more choices are supplied on the market. Despite competition reinforces customers bargaining power, the phenomena of demand surplus in German wood flooring alleviates this circumstance. According to the research of European Federation of the Parquet Industry (FEP), the consumption of German wood flooring is about 17.88 million square meters, while the production of German wood flooring is only about 11.04 million square meters (Slides Stats 2008). In additionally, German culture also plays a significant role in lessening customers bargaining power. The spirit of the nation, such prudence and fixation lead to a fairly strict standardization in both work and life. Germans are used to calculating a precise price based on all dimensions. Hence, they dislike dealing with situations out of their planning, enabling bargaining become very difficult. Ten percentage cut in price is the biggest range they will agree in they dealing with foreign buyers. (LeMont Schmidt, 2001). Supplier Power: Supplier Power refers the power of suppliers to drive up the prices of raw materials, supplies, equipment or inputs. Your company purchases the glue, paint and equipment, and employs labors from Germany and imports the wood from Russia. There are some crucial factors performing low supplier power of your company. Firstly, German is not used to bargaining, which is mentioned in Buyer power. Hence, it is meaningless for German suppliers to drive up the price of material and equipment. Negotiating power is weak in Russia as well. Although the nation is one of the largest wood producers, there are a large number of wood suppliers ¼Ã…’which provide a strongly competitive circumstance in Russia. Admittedly wood is a kind of nature product so that customers are sensitive to the price of wood. Because of high standard of transparency, the switching cost is low in Russia. On the other hand, many substitutes with lower expenditures are becoming increasingly prevalent such as marble, carpet, plastic flooring. High standard of substitutes threat can restrict the suppliers to drive up the price and reduce the power of suppliers. However, high labor cost strengthens the supplier power. The German labor cost is one of the highest in world. According to Common Protocol of Salary, Labor wage need be determined by the negotiation between wood flooring industry and backwards industry (Fact about Germany, 1996). Therefore, the security of labor force is quite completed. Unions are powerful to argue with unfair wage or welfare. For example, Michael Sommer, the head of the trade union federation(DGB) , claimed that is necessary to increase labors wage with the upturn of economy in 2010( Guardian ¼Ã…’2010). Supplier power and buyer power, which exert a moderate threat on Golden Bridges development in German, can be alleviated through several ways. From one aspect, to limit bargaining power of large-volume wholesalers, the company should give priority to building up a distribution network itself by developing new franchisers rather than depending on the primary channels of wholesalers. In terms of individual customers as well as challenges from substitutes, enhancing the products benefits would be the most efficient way to reduce their bargaining desire as most of affluent people value quality more important than price. From the other aspects, labor relationship, the most considerable barrier in lessening German supplier power, should be harmonized through affording sufficient welfare to employees, as well as building a relative democratic organizational culture by the company. Moreover, it is supposed that importing a few skilled workers from China would benefit the company not only by more economical labor cost, but also reducing the significant dependence on the German labor market. Limitation of the 5-forces: Porters five-force model is not perfect but based on the assumption that from the view of any one firm, all the other firms no matter whether they are supplier, competitor or buyer are threats to the profitability. However, according to Brandenberger and Nalebuffs value net theory, interactions among firms can sometimes enhance profits. Thus critics raised and attentions on cooperation are much more paid. The cooperation between the Golden Bridge Company and other foreign flooring companies will be analyzed and evaluated in the later recommendation part. Recommendation By illustrating the German macroeconomic environment and its circumstance of flooring industry, it is thought that the most recommended strategy for Golden Bridge is to build a joint venture with one or several German covering floor manufacturing enterprises, whilst maintaining the manufacturing section and primary market system in China. Joint venture can be explained as a collaborative formation among companies that each party invests parts capabilities to constitute a new enterprise, thereafter determining the distribution of ownership according to corresponding contributions. Nevertheless, two preconditions should be taken into consideration before making an alliance with German incumbents. Firstly, as a dominant barrier in Chinese market, capital insufficiency would also limit the investment ability of Golden Bridge in German to a large extent. Consequently, small-to-medium incumbents are more desirable as cooperators rather than large-scale companies in terms of ensuring a rela tively high proportion of ownership of Golden Bridge in the new joint venture. Moreover, it is imperative to illustrate compatibility of potential partners based on a number of philosophic criteria, including similar experience, common principles and agreed future target as well (Kanter, 1994). Where extremely intensive competition takes place, German market would tend to pose more threats than opportunities on the Golden Bridge if the company attempts to entirely entry the market alone. In comparison, cooperating and aligning with local companies would be a much safer and efficient measure from two aspects. First, by giving joint ventures preferential treatment, the Golden Bridge gains a good opportunity to penetrate the German market in a relatively short period with minimum risks as the company is unnecessary to expose abundant long-term investments to gain market shares in German wood flooring industry. Instead, it can utilize those important strategic assets of local cooperators such as complete distribution channels, customer relationships and brand loyalty. Moreover, Golden Bridge is still deficient at technology and management comparing with the local German companies. Through setting up a joint venture, advanced technology and managerial know-how can be more easily accessible by Golden Bridge, which is beneficial to its development in China market as well. Nevertheless, possible issues relating to joint venture cannot be neglected by the Golden Bridge. First, operational dissimilarities caused by political and economic divergence between China and German may be a vital problem for Golden Bridge. For instance, blind spots in law or financial systems will damage the corporate profits at initial stage. Additionally, cultural and managerial difference may be difficult to consolidate as different authority, reporting and decision-making patterns (Kanter, 1994), therefore leading to possible mistrust and misunderstanding between Golden Bridge and its partners. It has been widely recognized that German managers are prudent and rigid in dealing with regulations and rarely consider the influences of the network relationship, which is fairly distinct from Chinese managers conceptions. Conclusion: In conclusion, according to the PESTEL analysis, there are a number of challenges in China. These challenges can be the unbalanced market condition in china because of local protectionism and insufficient infrastructures, under-developed technology and managerial skill led to the low efficiency of timber industry in China, Natural Forest Protection Program limits the domestic nature timbers supply as well as the increasing labor cost in flooring industry due to Chinas economy prosperous. The complexity of interrelationship of different parties involved in the business environment also cannot be neglected. The PESTEL analysis of German market was further conducted to make the assessment more comprehensive. Later the consultants use five-force model to assess threat of entering the German flooring market. For instance, the competitive rivalry and threat of entry in German flooring market is extremely high. In terms of threat of substitution, it is much more complex. The supplier power and buyer power are both at an intermediate level. However, Porters model is criticized for lacking of corporation with other market players. Thus, a recommendation is made by our consultancy company for Golden Bridge to organize a joint venture and thus with other reliable and competitive companies for instance, the Beamy International. Facts about Germany. (1996). Frankfurt am Main: Società ¤ts Verlag. LeMont Schmidt, P. (2001). Die amerikanische und die deutsche Wirtschaftskultur im Vergleich: Ein Praxisbuch fà ¼r Manager. Gà ¶ttingen: Hainholz Verlag. Guardian (2010) German steel workers demand 6% wage increase http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/14/germany-angela-merkel http://www.roadmap2010.eu/wisd/pdfs/68-81.pdf http://ecotec-energiesparhaus.de/Daten/Holztechnik-Forest-and-wood-industries-in%20Germany%20at-a-glance.pdf http://www.tarkett.com/group/en/company/Tarkett-at-a-glance http://www.homeinstitute.com/types-of-flooring.htm http://news.frbiz.com/parquet_floor_once_again_leading-440481.html http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004D0275:EN:NOT

Mrs. Whipples Mistreatment of Her Son in Katherine Anne Porters He :: Katharine Anne Porter He Essays

Mrs. Whipple's Mistreatment of Her Son in Katherine Anne Porter's He The prevailing theme in Katherine Anne Porter's story "He" is Mrs. Whipple's concern over appearances and particularly how her neighbors perceive her actions concerning her retarded son. Many critics have written about Porter's emphasis on appearances in this story. However, what lies under the surface of the story is also interesting. Contrary to both her actions and spoken words, it is clear Mrs. Whipple inwardly feels her retarded son is an animal and that she secretly wishes for his death. The story "He" is similar to another story of Katherine Anne Porter's titled "The Downward Path to Wisdom." Both stories depict children who are retarded, who are equated to animals by one or both of the parents, and who are wished dead or never born (Weisenforth 359). The title of the story "He" provides the reader with the first clue that the retarded son is de-humanized. Throughout the story the other two of Mrs. Whipple's children, Emly and Adna, are given names and are referred to by their given names. This is not true of the retarded son. Not once in the story is He called by his given name. In fact, the reader never learns his given name. The failure to give the retarded son a name is similar to the farm practice of giving names to pets but not to the ever-present farm animals. People generally do not name animals they plan on killing. Because Emly and Adna have names, they appear to the reader to be more human. In contrast, the failure to name the retarded son makes him appear more animal-like or less than human. Another example of animal treatment takes place during family meals. The retarded son does not eat his meals at the table with his family. In a description of the retarded son, Porter writes "He didn't whine for food, as the other children did, but waited until it was given Him; He ate squatting in the corner, smacking and mumbling" (597). When Mrs. Whipple's brother comes for a visit, Porter writes "He wouldn't come into the dining room, and Mrs. Whipple passed it off very well" (599). For appearances sake "Mrs. Whipple loaded up a big plate for Him first, before everybody"(Porter 599). The parallels to how people treat their dogs can not be overlooked. It is common practice for dog owners to train their dogs not to beg or whine for food.

The Opening Chapter of Enduring Love by Ian McEwan Essay -- Enduring L

The Opening Chapter of Enduring Love by Ian McEwan A dictionary defines the word addictive as being: wholly devoted to something, a slave to another and in a state of wanting more. Ian McEwan claimed that he wanted to write an opening chapter that had the same effect as a highly addictive drug. In my opinion he has achieved in doing this. At the end of chapter one the reader is left needing more information about the characters introduced and what tragedy actually occurred. McEwan took the definition, addictive, and wrote the opening chapter, never forgetting what his objective was. The opening chapter has to be effective in order to keep the reader interested and to keep them reading. The style of the writer and novel also need to be established and tailored to suit the tastes of anyone that decides to read this novel. McEwan uses many factors that all contribute towards the effectiveness of the opening chapter. A lot of suspense and tension is used right from the start of the novel, in the first line, "The beginning is simple to mark," which makes you question, the beginning of what exactly? This is a short sentence that is used which draws you in and leaves you wanting to know more. McEwan also creates a lot of tension, "partly protected from a strong, gusty wind," which describes the wind as being an unpredictable, natural force which together conveys a sense of urgency. The narrator also starts to withhold vital information from the reader to create anxiety from within. "The encounter that would unhinge us was minutes away," the narrator is building up the tension that leads to this huge disaster, but doesn’t just say what is install for him and the other characters. He also hints that the disaster is life changing, "This was the last time that I understood anything clearly at all." The narrator then goes on to describe the atmosphere and events just before the disaster reached them, "I heard what was coming two seconds before it reached us." Which is an innuendo, which McEwan uses a lot throughout this first chapter. The narrator then goes on to describe the wind that day using verbs to describe the strength of it, "transversing" and "hurtling," but before the narrator goes any further he says "Let me freeze the frame," which is media terminology, which too is used quite a lot through this opening chapter. McEwan uses this techniq... ...t it is ruthless and is used to increase the sense of danger, "Met Office figures. . . . . . it was said of 70 miles per hour." The wind threatens the characters, leaving the reader knowing that disaster is just around the corner. The idea of a catastrophe is always present throughout the opening chapter. It is used to create excitement in the reader and to fuel the craving of needing more information, "At the inquest" at this point, the reader is left to deal with the fact that, obviously someone died, but it is not yet revealed who - the boy in the basket or Logan. Also, the fact that what happened is life changing, "It was time when other outcomes were still possible." The narrator even says they "Were running towards a catastrophe." All the points I have considered, all contribute towards creating a stimulating and addictive opening chapter. The main stimulant being, the need for more information. Where the narrator deliberately gives you a hint as to what may happen next, he then takes it away from you, making you want the information more - therefor he has created an addiction. The cause of it, being the first chapter, the only way to cure it, is to finish the novel!

Essay --

Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, known as Yves Saint Laurenta was born January 1, 1956 in Oran, French Algerian. His family consisted of his mom, Lucienne-Andree, dad, Charles & two younger sisters Michele & Brigitte. As Yves was growing up he was bullied constantly. When Yves went home he found refuge by looking throuh VOUGE Magazines & fell inlove with the descriptions & outfits. Yves started out making paper difficut cut out dolls and designing them. Time pass & he got into designing & making dresses for his mother and sister based of the ones on the VOUGE magazines that caught his eye. In one of the magazines that Yves read their was a contest for young fashion designers, organized by the International Wool Secretariat. Yves submitted 3 of his favorite sketches. He won first place and was invited to attend the awards ceremony in Paris, in December of that year (1953). While he and his mother were in paris, they met the editor & chief of the VOUGE magazine, Michel de Brunho ff. Michael-De-Brunnoff was impressed by the sketches Yves brought with him and suggested he become a fashion designer. Yves followed his advice. Leaving Oran for Paris after graduation, began his studies there and eventually graduated as a star pupil. The next year, (1954) Yves considered a course at Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, the council which regulates the Haute Couture industry and provides training to its employees. Later that same year, he entered the International Wool Secretariat competition again and won, beating out his friend Fernando Sà ¡nchez and young German student Karl Lagerfeld. Later after his win, he brought a number of sketches to de Michael who recognized close similarities to sketches he had been shown that morning by Ch... ...he decade, with Saint Yvez slowing down his work pace, he and Berge had sold the company they'd started, netting the two men a fortune.In January 2002, Yvez participated in his final show and then retired for good in Marrakech. Five years later, Saint Laurent's imprint and importance on French culture was cemented when he was appointed Grand Officer of the Legion d'honnerur by French President, Nicolas Sarkozy. Yves Saint Laurent later passed away in Paris on June 1, 2008 after a brief illness. YSL Company Head-Quarters Located in New York City 10022 3 E 57th Street Corporate Phone Number: 1-212-832-7100. Yves Henri Donat Mathieu-Saint-Laurent a.k.a. Yves Saint Laurent is a famous French fashion designer credited with developing â€Å"Le Smoking,† a tuxedo made just for women. The tuxedo design earned the attention of other designers like CoCo Chanel, Pierre Cardin and K

Costing in Banking Service Essay

It does so by describing the partial costs and full cost systems in banking institutions. It then looks at the limitations of these approaches to the current competitive conditions and goes on to consider the applicability of the activity based costing system in the allocation of indirect transformation costs to branches, products and customers. Finally, we will look at the findings of a questionnaire to Spanish savings banks in order to evaluate how widespread these systems are and how they are used in savings banks. We found that direct costs systems predominate in customer and products entries whereas full costs systems are much more widespread in the case of branches. Furthermore, we also found that the use of activity based costs systems is very limited. Keywords: Saving banks Cost structure Management accounting Cost systems Activity based costing. JEL Classification Codes: M41 – Accounting G21 – Banks; Other Depository Institutions. 1. Introduction Historically, management accounting in banking institutions was introduced considerably later in comparison with companies in other sectors. There are a number of reasons for this limited development. This was due, on the one hand, to external causes. For example, it was not until the 80’s that competitive conditions in the banking sector fostered the development of accounting management planning and control systems. On the other hand, there were also internal conditions that had to do with the nature of the banking business and the operations that these companies carry out, which differ significantly to those of other sectors. This hindered the transfer of models that had basically been developed for industrial companies to the financial sector. As regards internal factors, the accounting regulations set down by regulating bodies of the banking system have traditionally been the starting point from which banking institutions have drawn up their accounting information. The purpose of he latter was clearly to address the needs of central banks that used this accounting information in order to supervise and control the solvency of the financial system and to control the relevant variables of monetary policy (Tà ºa and Larriba, 1986, p.37; Cates, 1997, p.51-56; Kimball, 1997, p.24). Furthermore, the environment in which these companies had traditionally operated had been sufficiently stable in order for them not to see the need to improve their management accounting systems (AECA, 1994a, p.12-13). On an internal level, Waden-Berghe (1990, p.569) Rouach and Naulleau (1992, p. 101-102) and Carmona (1994, p.210) point out that the characteristic features of the products and the production process of banks hinder the application of management accounting techniques: the intermediation function they carry out, the permanence on the balance sheet of the main sources of income and expenses, the problematic definition of outputs and input, given that there is no difference between the nature of the raw material obtained via financial markets or deposit taking and the final product (loans), the fixed cost and marginal revenue syndrome, the difficulty in allocating indirect costs to cost objects or the diffuse figure of the customer-supplier. However, the deep transformation of the banking system, and, more specifically, deregulation, disintermediation and innovation processes, have ushered in changes to the competitive behaviour and the information needs of banking institutions. We can therefore assume that the accounting systems of these companies have most probably also evolved and established new conceptual frameworks 1. As a consequence of growing competition in the banking sector and the reduction of financial margins, banking institutions have had to give increasingly greater importance to the planning and control of their non financial costs, which has opened up the debate around the adequacy of the costs systems currently in use in these companies (Scias, 1985, p. 48; Kimball, 1993, p. 5-20; Bos, Bruggink et al., 1994, p.12; Carmona, 1994, p. 213). This essay aims to analyse the characteristics of the costs systems of Spanish savings banks which operate in the universal retail banking segment. In the first place, we will look at the different theoretical models that will enable us to analyse the financial intermediation activity from a microeconomic viewpoint. Secondly, we will go on to describe the characteristics of non financial costs in banking institutions, given that they influence the application of management accounting in these companies. Thirdly, we will put forward a costs classification in savings banks that facilitates the allocation of their non financial costs to different cost objects (centre of responsibility, products, customers and activities). Based on the above, we can then go on to assess the use of different costing systems, looking at both traditional costing systems (partial and full) as well as activity based costing. The study finishes by presenting the results of a questionnaire given to the heads of management control of Spanish savings banks with the aim of finding out which costing systems are currently in use and how they are likely to evolv e in the future. 2. The Production Process in Banking Institutions This section aims to present an overview of the different theoretical approaches that interpret the productive process of banking institutions. According to Bergà ©s and Soria (1993, p. 17-23) the models that explain the productive process of banking institutions can be grouped into three groups: partial decision models, portfolio theory and services production. Let’s look at these in more detail. 2.1. Partial Decision Models Partial models focus either on the assets and investment decisions (loans versus the treasury) or on the composition of the liability structure (capital versus deposits), considering the other part of the balance sheet as an external or exogenous variable. In these models, the banking institution’s balance sheet is 1 We can identify various evolution stages in bank accounting and management; for example, Chisholm and Duncan (1985, p.27-33) have divided its historical evolution into three stages, Faletti (1986, p.88-95) refers to four stages, Rezaee (1991, p.26-28) and Roosevelt and Johnson (1986, p.30-31) have established five stages, and Ernst & Young (1995, p.25-31) outline up to 11 phases. Having said this, the different number of stages by different authors reflect differences in nuances but not in fundamental aspects because the evolution of information drawn up by management accounting in banking institutions may be seen as a continuous process rooted in financial accounting that is evolving towards objectives that are more and more related with tactical and strategic decision making. viewed as the key element, because each of its components is modelled individually (Santomero, 2000, p.4). When loans are regarded as outputs of the banking institution, it is assumed that, given a certain level of exogenously determined deposits, which are not subject to optimization, the company’s management decision is focused on determining what proportion of deposited funds will be allocated to the provision of loans and what proportion will be kept in the treasury. This is due to the fact that the banking institution needs to maintain a certain level of liquid reserves in order to address possible withdrawals of deposits. Obviously, maintenance of this treasury will generate an opportunity cost, so banking institutions will have to minimise this opportunity cost by maintaining the treasury at a minimum level. However, if the treasury that is kept is insufficient, the company exposes itself to a high liquidity risk (Baltensperger, 1980, p.3; and Swank, 1996, p.176). When deposits are regarded as outputs, the problem focuses on determining the optimum balance between deposits and equity (Swank, 1996, p.177). According to this approach, a situation of insolvency could be brought on not only by the mass withdrawal of customer deposits, but also if the value of assets drops below that of liabilities. This scenario is less and less likely the fewer the deposits. It can therefore be minimised by increasing the volume of equity (Baltensperger, 1980, p.1011; Swank, 1996, p.177). However, given that the opportunity cost of equity is greater than the financial cost generated by deposits, in order to maximise profitability the bank need to minimise the bank’s own funds, which increases the possibility of an insolvency scenario and of meeting the ensuing costs associated with it (Baltensperger, 1980, p.13). 2.2. Portfolio Theory Based Models The previous models seek to address the structure of assets or liability management whilst considering the other part of the balance sheet as exogenous. A comprehensive theory of the productive process of banking institutions needs to simultaneously account for the structure of assets and liabilities. The efficient portfolios selection model for banking institutions put forward by Markowitz (1959) and developed by Pyle (1971, p.737-747) concomitantly looks at decisions concerning assets as well as liabilities and gives us a more comprehensive view of the interrelations between assets and liabiliti es. Having said this, it must be acknowledged that although portfolio theory overcomes the limitations of partial models by determining optimum treasury, loans and deposits levels together, it still has its drawbacks. The most relevant to this study has to do with the fact that both partial models and portfolio selection theory regard non-financial costs as irrelevant when it comes to estimating the output level and composition of banking institutions (Swank, 1996, p. 194). 2.3. Models Based on the Production of Services and Real Resources The provision of financial services entails transformation costs which are not contemplated in the abovementioned models. The services production model advocates that the production processes of banking institutions cannot be properly analysed by simply looking at the management of its optimal assets and liabilities structure, but that we also need to take into account the fact that both financial intermediation and the provision of other banking services generate transformation costs, which entail the use of real resources both human and technological (Baltensperger, 1980, p. 27-29). The models developed by Pesek, (1970, p. 357-385); Saving (1977, p. 289-303) and Sealey and Lindley (1977, p.1251-1266) are approaches based on production and cost functions, and enable us to study the banking institution’s behaviour from the point of view of profit maximisation. According to the above models, the activity of banking institutions consists of providing a range of different financial services (both intermediation and other kinds of services), the production of which can be expressed in accordance with a production function. The inputs of this production function are a combination of different types of factors consisting of real resources whereas the outputs are different possible combinations of assets, liabilities and services. Hence the production function, along with the balancing of the accounts between assets, liquidity and liabilities, interest rates that are externally set by the market and legally established coefficients, make up the restrictions under which banking institutions must operate and try to maximise their profits. These profits will ultimately depend on the difference between revenue generated from the sale of their services on the one hand and the total costs of their inputs both financial and non financial on the other (Sealey and Lindley, 1977, p. 1255; Santomero, 2000, p.3). The following sections will discuss the problematic of the costing structure of real resources in banking institutions and look at how these are classified for management accounting purposes. This will be followed by an overview of the different costing systems identified in the literature, partial costs, full costs and activity based costing. And finally, we will present the findings of an empirical research study concerning the costing systems used by Spanish savings banks. 3. The Cost Structure of Banking Institutions Before we proceed to assess the different existing cost systems and their application to banking, we would like to highlight some of the characteristic features of the banking business which influence the cost structure of its costing systems. These characteristic features can be summed up as follows (Sloane, 1991, p.76-79; Sapp, Rebischke et al., 1991, p.56-57): †¢ Variable work load: the volume of operations fluctuates enormously from one moment to the next, which obviates the problem of capacity management, given that at certain times there are â€Å"peaks† whilst at other times there are â€Å"valleys† which means that these resources are underused. †¢ High fixed costs: resources are usually allocated to covering â€Å"peaks† of activity. However, the cost of these resources does not vary with the volume of transactions, because they have a large fixed component. †¢ Predictability of the activity: although the demand for services tends to be hi ghly variable, it is relatively easy to predict, because it follows a cyclic behaviour pattern, which offers the possibility of turning part of fixed costs into variable ones by means of outsourcing. †¢ Mass services production activities: a comparison can be drawn between the high volume of repetitive operations in banking institutions and traditional industrial mass commodity manufacturing, which facilitates the use of methodologies that originated in industry and the setting up of a standard costing system. †¢ Joint production and an undefined product: the banking product is physically indefinable which makes it more complex to identify. For example, when a banking institution issues a loan to a customer, the latter must open up a current account to meet the loan payments. If on top of this the customer orders a cheque book on his current account and takes out a life insurance policy, we have four interrelated products. †¢ Low cost traceability: given that we are dealing with joint production activities with elevated fixed and indirect costs there are many resources that are shared by activities, customers, products and centres of responsibility. As far as we see it, the most significant factors that influence the applicability of different cost systems in banking institutions are on the one hand, the significant weight of indirect costs in relation to cost objects, which makes it difficult to trace them in relation to cost objects. Similarly, given that a large part of the operations carried out by banking institutions are of a repetitive nature and susceptible to standardisation, this makes it feasible to consider calculating the costs of these operations and allocating them to cost objects, and to introduce the use of standard costs as a planning and control instrument. 4. Costs Classification in Banking Institutions The classification of the non financial costs of banking institutions may prove useful in studying the applicability of different cost systems to banking institutions. Although we can make different classifications of these costs, the most relevant for our purposes is the difference between transformation and overhead costs (AECA, 1994a, p.61-62): â€Å"transformation costs are costs that are generated in profit centres and in operational cost or general services centres. In general, the costs of these centres are directly or indirectly related to the consumption of products and services on the part of customers†. At the same time, transformation costs can be divided into direct and indirect costs, depending on their relation to cost objects (AECA, 1994a, p.61): †¢ Direct costs, are those costs that can be unequivocally and directly allocated to cost objects, in other words their allocation is controlled economically in an individualised fashion. †¢ Indirect costs, are costs that cannot be directly allocated to cost objects because there is no exact allocation of funds that enables us to estimate the consumption of these costs by cost bearers, It should be noted that a significant number of transformation costs of banking institutions are dual in nature when viewed from the previous classification criterion, to the extent that certain transformation costs can be direct with respect to the branches network but indirect in relation to products and customers (De la Cuesta, 1996, p.85-87). In banking institutions, transformation costs basically correspond to personnel costs, depreciations and other general costs, which although they are difficult to allocate to customers and products, are generally easier to allocate to responsibility centres (Cole, 1995, p.152). The second costs category corresponds to overhead costs, which are generated in the bank’s organisational centres. These costs are generated by the various functions related to management, administration, organisation and control. In general, these are indirect in relation to all the cost objects. These costs are treated as costs assigned to support all the company’s functions, and as such they are independent of production volume, the existing product lines and of the markets they serve (AECA, 1994b, p.58).