Perceptions of African American Women Essay

I am taking some classes that will eventually qualify me to major in Astro – Physics, or Chemical engineering, I also want to work with NASA and train as an astronaut. It was amazing to know that Dr. Mae C. Jemison who happens to be the youngest of three children born to a middle class African American family, Charlie Jemison, a maintenance worker and his wife, Dorothy, a teacher. Dr. Mae C. Jemison was the first black woman astronaut to be in space in an era filled with segregation and racism, she is a Chemical engineer, scientist, physician, teacher and astronaut, she has a wide range of experience in technology, engineering, and medical research. In addition to her extensive background in science, she is well-versed in African and African-American Studies, speaks fluent Russian, Japanese, and Swahili, as well as English and is trained in dance and choreography. Dr. Mae C. Jamison was an inspiration to me, and probably to many African American women. She was full of resilience and determination especially to have reached and achieved success in an unusual field of endeavor for many African American women, I applaud her determination to make a difference among the African American women and blacks in Diaspora. After graduating from Morgan Park High School in 1973 at the age of 16, Dr. Mae Jemison earned a BS in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University, while also fulfilling the requirements for a BA in African-American Studies. After earning these degrees in 1977, she attended Cornell University and received a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1981. During medical school she traveled to Cuba, Kenya and Thailand, providing primary medical care to people living there. This is an indication of her humanitarian efforts and eagerness to reach out to the less privileged population. Having a desire to do more with her life, she enrolled in graduate classes in engineering and applied to NASA for admission to the astronaut program. She was turned down on her first application, maybe because she is a black woman, but she persevered and in 1987 was accepted on her second application. She became one of the fifteen candidates accepted from over 2,000 applicants. When Dr. Mae Jemison successfully completed her astronaut training program in August 1988, she became the fifth black astronaut and the first black female astronaut in NASA history. In completing her first space flight, Dr. Mae Jemison logged 190 hours, 30 minutes, 23 seconds in space, making her the first African-American woman in space. She says, â€Å"I had to learn very early not to limit myself due to others’ limited imaginations. I have learned these days never to limit anyone else due to my limited imagination. † This is an inspiration to other blacks in general who normally assume a second class citizen and believe that they will never do well or will be appreciated in whatever they do. This is a wake-up call, and manifestation of the saying â€Å"Determination is the mother of invention†. In 1993, Dr. Mae Jemison resigned from NASA and founded the Jemison Group, Inc. to research, develop and implement advanced technologies suited to the social, political, cultural and economic context of the individual, especially for the developing world. Current projects include: Alpha, (TM) a satellite based telecommunication system to improve health care in West Africa; and The Earth We Share, (TM) an international science camp for students ages 12 to 16, that utilizes an experiential curriculum. Among her current projects are several that focus on improving healthcare in Africa. She is also a professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College. Dr. Mae Jamison made a name for herself and name for blacks in general; Her entrepreneurial spirit put her in the limelight and acts as a boost to determined black men and women in Diaspora. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf. It was quite surprising to read about Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, I know almost nothing about this â€Å"giant and queen of modern Africa† who is presently the current president of Liberia. According to what I have read so far about this â€Å"queen of Africa† she was born In Monrovia, the capital of Liberia on October 29, 1938. During this period, Liberians had no clue that the First female president of an African country had been born into their mist. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is a daughter to descendents of original colonists of Liberia (ex-African slaves from America, who promptly on arrival set about enslaving the indigenous people using the social system of their old American masters as a basis for their new society). These descendents are known in Liberia as Americo-Liberians. From what I read, I noticed that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was truly an intellectual power house, a charismatic leader and destined to make a change in Liberia and contribute her quota in Africa. From 1948 to 1955 Ellen Johnson studied accounts and economics at the College of West Africa in Monrovia. After marriage at the age of 17 to James Sirleaf, she travelled to America (in 1961) and continued her studies, achieving a degree from the University of Colorado. From 1969 to 1971 she read economics at Harvard, gaining a masters degree in public administration. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf then returned to Liberia and began working in William Tolbert’s (True Whig Party) government. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf also served as Minister of Finance from 1972 to 73, but left after a disagreement over public spending, this is an indication of her prudence and will power. As the 70s progressed, life under Liberia’s one-party state became more polarized to the benefit of the Americo-Liberian elite. On 12 April 1980 Master Sergeant Samuel Kayon Doe, a member of the indigenous Krahn ethnic group, seized power in a military coup. With the People’s Redemption Council now in power, Samuel Doe began a purge of government. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf narrowly escaped – choosing exile in Kenya. From 1983 to 1985 she served as Director of Citibank in Nairobi. I will say that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf had a lot of courage, because it was quite unusual for a woman to challenge a dictatorial incumbent president in Africa without being kidnapped, tortured or killed in the process, although She was later sentenced to ten years in prison. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf spent just a short time incarcerated, before being allowed to leave the country once again as an exile. During the 1980s she served as Vice President of both the African Regional Office of Citibank, in Nairobi, and of (HSCB) Equator Bank, in Washington. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf played an active role in the transitional government as the country prepared for the 2005 elections, and eventually stood for president against her rival the ex-international footballer, George Manneh Weah. Despite the elections being called fair and orderly, Weah repudiated the result, which gave a majority to Johnson-Sirleaf, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf eventually became Liberia’s first elected female president, as well as the first elected female president in the continent Africa. . In 2005 She established a Truth and Reconciliation Commission with a mandate to â€Å"promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation† by investigating more than 20 years of civil conflict in the country and in November 2007, she received the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, the U. S. government’s highest civilian award. She is truly a giant and â€Å"queen of modern Africa†. References: 1. http://space. about. com/cs/formerastronauts/a/jemisonbio. htm 2. http://www. k-grayengineeringeducation. com/blog/index. php/2008/09/12/first-african-american-women-in-space. 3. http://www. joinafrica. com/africa_of_the_week/ellenjohnsonliberia. htm.

Gothic literature Essay

In response to the question â€Å"is gothic literature purely escapist? † considering Austen’s Northanger Abbey and Walpole’s novel The Castle of Ontranto, which is recognized as pretty much establishing the genre, the answer is yes. Castle of Ontranto Brief Plot summary The plot of Castle begins full tilt as Conrad, son of Manfred of house Otranto, is crushed by a giant helmet on his wedding day, also his birthday. Because of the marriage’s political connections, Manfred decides to divorce his wife, Hippolita, and marry Conrad’s betrothed, Isabella. Amid speculations about an â€Å"ancient prophecy† claiming â€Å"That the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it,† Manfred’s second union is disrupted by a series of supernatural events involving many oversized limbs, ghosts, mysterious blood, and a true prince (Wikipedia). Castle of Ontranto represents the quintessential Gothic story. It created the genre. Key examples of this can be seen as follows: 1 Note: that Gothic literature is escapist through the use of contrasting specific elements to create conflict and draw the attention of the reader. (the main themes most common in these two novels are: horror vs romance, good vs evil, and the element of mystery basically the known vs the unknown. ) The Castle of Ontranto opens with the line â€Å"Manfred, Prince of Otranto, had one son and one daughter: the latter, a most beautiful virgin, aged eighteen, was called Matilda (chp1). † This is a very fantastic scenario from the main character being a Prince to the daughter being a beautiful eighteen year old virgin in an era when many women in prestigious families were married off by the age of 14. The author goes on to point out how the son Conrad three years younger than Matilda is ugly sickly frail and pale. The act of immediately contrasting Conrad’s ugly sickliness with Matilda’s beauty and pure virginity, significantly defines the gothic genre, which is literally defined as â€Å"an important genre of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. † -Another important contrast other than horror and romance is good and evil. This can be seen in Walpole’s novel through the differences in the characters. The Castle of Otranto† revolves around a curse that has been placed upon the family of Manfred, ruler of the principality of Otranto. The curse is slightly ill defined, but apparently threatens the end of Manfred’s rule and destruction of his family. Manfred is a greedy man who plots and schemes to outwit this curse. He is clearly the villain of the novel and contrasts strongly with the three leading women, Hippolita his wife, Matilda his daughter and Isabella the intended wife of his son. These women represent the forces of good throughout the novel. NOTE: Heroines in gothic books as well as in contemporary horror is a common theme a major example of this being emphasized in Northanger abbey can be seen when Austen says, â€Å"Chapter 1 – But from fifteen to seventeen she was in training for a heroine; she read all such works as heroines must read to supply their memories with those quotations which are so serviceable and so soothing in the vicissitudes of their eventfuly lives. † (page 9) NOTE: examples of Romance as a theme in Northanger Abbey â€Å"Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of disappointed love. † Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey â€Å"In every power, of which taste is the foundation, excellence is pretty fairly divided between the sexes. â€Å" Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey, 1818

Wendy Citrarasa

PT. WENDY CITRARASA Alexandre Richard Arief Putratama Said Ryandiaz ACCOUNTING – 4 [pic] Campus BSD – City Bumi Serpong Damai – 15321 Island of Java – Indonesia June 2011 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, we would like to thank God Almighty for His blessing during the process from the start until the end of the interview at PT. Wendy Citrarasa. Our group would also like to thank PT. Wendy Citrarasa, who managed to spare us some time for the interview and provide resources in order to finish the project. Especially to Mr.Ipeng Widjojo, the owner of Wendy’s for this opportunity. The knowledge came from this project has been a great opportunity on a real business example on a corporate marketing. Author also thank to Mr. Bernadus Agus Finardi (Swiss German University Marketing lecturer) for his assitance towards the project. In the end, we would like to apologize if there is any unintentional mistakes. It is our deepest expectation that this project paper may broaden up the knowledge of the readers and we appreciate any feedbacks. Thank you. BSD City, 2011 abstract PT. WENDY CITRARASA his paper are a compilation of what the student had learn during in class session with Mr. Bernardus Agus Finardi, and the interview with Mr. Ipeng Widjojo as the Head of PT. Wendy Citrarasa. The purpose of this paper is to make student able to understand more about marketing theory, and the marketing behind PT. Wendy Citrarasa. The interview was held on 26th may 2011 by Mr. Ipeng Widjojo himself. This project is expected to be submitted on 10th june 2011. The group are expected to anlyze the real case in indonesia from the perspective of Customer Driven Marketing Strategy.The extends of the topic includes some chapter in the Principle of Marketing book which are Company General Overview, Marketing Environment and Analysis, Marketing Strategy, Marketing Mix, Customer Driven Marketing Strategy, New-Products Development, Pricing Products: Understanding a nd Caputring Customer Value, and Advertising & Public Relations. a. Background 1. TOPIC’S BACKGROUND Fast food refers to food that can be prepared and served quickly. Fast food restaurants usually have a walk up counter or drive-thru window where you order and pick up your food.There is a lot of international fast food restaurants in Indonesia such as Mcdonalds, KFC, Burger King, and many more. Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers (simply known as Wendy's) is an international fast food restaurant founded by Dave Thomas on November 15, 1969, in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company decided to move its headquarters to Dublin, Ohio, on January 29, 2006. As of March 2010, Wendy's was the world's third largest hamburger fast food chain with approximately 6,650 locations, following McDonald's 31,000+ locations and Burger King's 12,000+ locations.On April 24, 2008, the company announced a merger with Triarc, the parent company of Arby's. Despite the new ownership, Wendy's headquart ers remained in Dublin. Previously, Wendy's had rejected more than two buyout offers from Triarc Companies Inc. Following the merger, Triarc became known as Wendy's/Arby's Group, a publicly traded company. (RUPSLB), which was held on August 10, 2010. PT Wendy Citrarasa is the firm that covers all the Wendy’s franchise in Indonesia. Currently, it is owned by Ipeng Widjojo, who had studied in the Boston University back in the early 1990s 2. Interview PurposeThe purpose of the interview is to make student understand about marketing in reality and to make student learn about the process in the company. Added on, it will give student experience which be useful for student’s future. 3. methodology This report is a combination from what the writer has learned from university and during the interview period with Mr. Ipeng Widjojo 1. 4 Theory review According to some reliable references, Marketing is â€Å"the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communic ating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. Marketing is a product or service selling related overall activities. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments. It is an integrated process through which companies build strong customer relationships and create value for their customers and for themselves. Marketing is used to identify the customer, satisfy the customer, and keep the customer. With the customer as the focus of its activities, it can be concluded that marketing management is one of the major components of business management.Marketing evolved to meet the stasis in developing new markets caused by mature markets and overcapacities in the last 2-3 centuries The adoption of marketing strategies requires businesses to shift their focus from production to the perceived needs and wants of their customers as the means of staying profitable. Ma rketing is used to identify the customer, satisfy the customer, and keep the customer. With the customer as the focus of its activities, it can be concluded that marketing management is one of the major components of business management. 1. 5 company general overviewWendy’s/Arby’s Group, Inc. is the nation’s third largest quick service restaurant company and is comprised of the Wendy’s and Arby’s brands, two companies distinguished by traditions of quality food and service. The company, with approximately $12 billion in system-wide sales, owns or franchises over 10,000 restaurants. Approximately 77% of Wendy's restaurants are franchised, the majority of which are located in North America. Wendy's and its affiliates employ more than 46,000 people in its global operations. In fiscal year 2006, the firm had $2. 469 billion (USD) in total sales.While Wendy's sets standards for exterior store appearance, food quality and menu, individual owners have con trol over hours of operations, interior decor, pricing and staff uniforms and wages. Wendy’s arrived in Indonesia back in 1992. In 1997, Wendy’s Indonesia franchise was bought by PT Sirat. Back in year 2006, PT Wendy Citrarasa bought the franchise from PT Sirat. Currently, it has 26 outlets, which covers some major cities in Indonesia such as Jakarta, Bandung, Jogjakarta, and Surabaya. [pic] Wendy’s current logo [pic][pic] 1. 5. 1 vision of WENDY’STo continuously grow stakeholder value by leveraging the strengths of our vibrant, independent restaurant brands 1. 5. 2 mission of wendy’s People Maintain aligned, people-driven culture and values. ?Attract, retain, and develop top talent. ?Offer performance-driven compensation and rewards. Brands Support independent, relevant, and healthy brands focused on sales growth and profitability. Select and support excellent brand leadership (CEO, President, CMO, etc. ). Profitability Set metrics for performance in sales and profits (EBITDA). ?Maintain a lean and efficient support organization.Growth Provide strategies and resources for growth initiatives (new units, remodels, day part expansion, other new platforms, international expansion, refranchising, etc. ).? Seek acquisitions of other brands and opportunities for growth. Value Establish metrics for creating shareholder value. Provide attractive franchisee ROI/value and competitive business models. Demonstrate community-minded citizenship, and giving back by sharing the wealth. 1. 5. 3 WENDY’S CORE VALUE Integrity We pledge honesty, integrity and ethical behavior in everything we do. AccountabilityWe hold ourselves and our teams accountable to deliver positive results. Respect We treat people the way we would like to be treated. Responsibility We believe in giving back to improve the quality of life in our communities. Innovation We strive to become better every day, both personally and in the services and products we produce. Teamwork We are willing to put the team and the team’s needs before our own needs. Opportunity We believe in creating opportunity for our people to reach their full potential. B. Marketing Environment & Analysis 1. Microeconomics – The companyTalking about interrelated groups such as top management, finance, research & development (R&D), purchasing, operations, and accounting, Wendy’s Restaurant have the internal environment as follow : [pic] From above, we can see that Wendy’s restaurant has five departments, which are marketing, operational, bussiness development, supply chain, and finance. Esspecially for the marketing department, they work closely with other departments in making decision in marketing strategies, and all of the interrelated departments have an impact on the marketing department’s plan and action.They work to achieve goals which is customer value and satisfaction. Supplier Talking about the supplier of Wendy’s Restaurant , it will be closely to the material of the foods & drinks and others properties. Generally, 20% of food materials is still imported. For the basic material of the recipe, like cheese, seasoning (chili, tomato), etc, it is imported from the international supplier. The reason is due to the taste of those imported material is different from the local material, and if Wendy’s use the local material, it causes the different original recipe of Wendy’s menu.Similarly, Wendy’s also imported beef from the international supplier, and the reason is same, which is the different taste. While, they use local supplier for the chicken. Marketing Intermediaries They have no marketing intermediaries because they only sale their product by their own store. Customer The customer of Wendy’s is consumer market which consist of individual and household that buy foods and drinks for personal consumption. Competitor They said that the competitor of Wendy’s is all the fast food restaurant such as McDonalds, A&W, Burger King, etc.They claim that they have the superiority in some menu like burger, baked potatoes compare to their competitor. Public General public which is Wendy’s need to be concern about general pabric attitude toward its product and activities because the public image of the Wendy’s will affect its buying. 2. Macroevironment Demographic Environment Based on survey, Wendy’s menu can attract all gender, but for the age they said that old people prefer some less oil menu like baked potato, salad and soup while the younger people prefer the menu like burger, fried chicken, and french fries. Economic EnvironmentTalking about economic condition of their consumer especially in Indonesia Wendy’s has segmentation to reach middle up class. Natural Environment Is natural resources that are needed as inputs by Wendy’s such as meat, vegetables, and seasoning food material. Technological Environment Is a forces tha t create new technologies, creating new product and market oportunities. As a fast food restaurant, Wendy’s has use some technology that supported its operating process. For example: when customer order the food, the waitress directly tell to the other part of kitchen using mic which relates him to the staff in the kitchen.So, kitchen staff can make the food order faster. Political Environment Is laws, government agencies, and pressure groups that influence and limit various organization and individuals in a given society. Especially in Indonesia, the laws that closely related to the food business is about â€Å"Halal†. So, in implementing their business, Wendy’s sale the halal product to attract their customer in Indonesia. Cultural environment Is made up institution and other forces that affect society’s basic values, perseption, preferences, and behaviour.Wendy’s as a branch of West culture restaurant has been sucsessful bringing its own culture to Indonesia. We can see that condition from many Indonesian people like the western food including Wendy’s restaurant. Generally the influence of microenvironment and macroenvironment for the company is about how Wendy’s restaurant can research, plan, and implement their marketing strategy by considering both of the environment in order to achieve customer value and satisfaction. While, the obstacle of microenvironment and macro environment for Wendy’s restaurant is: (CompetitorWendy’s must compete to many fast food restaurant in Indonesia. Such as McDonald, KFC, Burger King, CFC, A&W, etc which has their own specialty. So, Wendy’s has to improve their quality and promotion to achieve customer value and satisfaction. (Political Wendy’s has to face many rules and laws in Indonesia which can limit the freedom to make the creativity of their own menu. C. Marketing Mix Chapter 3 Marketing Environment The microenvironment in Wendy’s will help Wendy’s to build relationship with customers. Because all of the streams of company’s environment will connect with the marketing team.The company’s has all interrelated groups of people. The company has suppliers from Indonesia and foreign countries. They still need the US for the burgers because the taste of beef is very elastic in accordance of geographical side. These suppliers are very different in behavior, needs, interests, and everything. The marketing intermediaries help to promote, sell, and distribute its products to final buyers. They include resellers, physical distribution firms, marketing service agencies, and financial intermediaries. In Wendy’s they only have physical distribution firms marketing service agencies, and financial intermediaries.Marketing service agencies is fully controlled and walk solely with other division. And also banks is in company’s important role. The customers hold a very important role in the life of the company. The company will surely give the customers best service, quality and everything that counts into account to make the customers loyal to the company. Mr. Widjojo says that quality that is the one thing that attracts customers. The competitors of Wendy’s are the other fast food companies like Kentucky Fried Chicken, A&W, McDonald’s, and other domestic food channels like Hoka-Hoka Bento, and so on.Chapter 4 Wendy’s have its own marketing information system to support the daily operations of Wendy’s. Because of the many division Wendy’s have, they need its own marketing information system to help the. Information system will create better information for the marketing team and in the end, the marketers will have better target, and win the goal of company’s challenge. Wendy’s keep daily sales and transfer the data to the headquarters. So they can budget and give approximation for the stocks of food in the store. So, internal database is very crucial in the company’s aim to have better service.In other words, Wendy’s does market research on the design, collection, analysis, and reporting of data in marketing to improve the effectiveness of selling. When Wendy’s wants to launch a new product, they always start it with doing market research and take information from customers. Usually Wendy’s does survey research. And take sample from it, which is their customer. After that the information is given to the market researchers. And make something out of the research. Chapter 5 Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behavior The customer’s cultural factors aren’t applied in Wendy’s.Because everybody’s with middle – middle-upper economic power will buy their product. Do not affect about occupation, gender, age, lifestyles, personality, everybody is willing to buy Wendy’s because Wendy’s is very for everybody. Wendy’s does not take segmented markets for limited buyer, for example, bacons, pork, and something like that. And that helps the market to feel that it’s for everybody. There’s no limitation of buyers. Chapter 7 Customer Driven Marketing Strategy Wendy’s market segmentation is for middle – middle-upper segment. And people will buy if they have the power of buying.And for big middle-up families that want to gather around. Wendy’s position itself in the market different than the other fast food competitors like Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald’s, A&W, etc. quality is their pinpoint of marketing. Most middle-upper consumers are smart buyers. They can choose what’s good and not. So, Wendy’s does not want to deceive the customers by reducing the quality. So, Wendy’s set the customers as their exemplary. Value that Wendy’s given to customers are value in a way. People does not think about the â€Å"a little bit pricey† price, because consumers believe that the price is okay with the quality they give to them.Chapter 8 Branding Strategy The brand is well-known in the world and it has been in Indonesia since 1980s. And every part of the world is held by one franchisee. So it is not so difficult to market the product. But every part of country has its unique product by geographical side. Chapter 10 Pricing Products: Pricing Strategies The price set by Wendy’s Citra Rasa is based on research, and the value they give in the service, food and everything else they put into their food. Factors to consider when setting prices were very vast. There is value based pricing; good value pricing and value added pricing.Value based pricing uses buyers’ perception of value, not the sellers’ cost as the key to pricing. Value-based pricing means that the marketer cannot design / make a product and marketing program and set the price. Price is considered along with other marketing mix variables before the mark eting program is set. [pic] Good value pricing offers the right combination and quality and good service at a fair price. For example, Burger King offers value meal for less than the total of the selected food. In other words, good value pricing give the consumers more quality for the same price or more quality for even less.Value added pricing is a way to build pricing power, to escape the price competition and to justify higher prices and margins without losing market share. It’s better not to cut prices to challenge competitors, but to give value added services and then, support higher prices. Even nowadays it is not always about price, but to keep customers loyal by giving them service that others do not give to them So, in this company’s case, all of the above strategies is used by Wendy’s Citra Rasa. They give customers what they want, and give them service and quality customers do not get anywhere else.Mr. Ipeng said that in Wendy’s everything is d ifferent than the other restaurant in Indonesia. â€Å"It is all about timing. † everything was timed and very precise. The timing is the quality Wendy’s give into service to customers. It promises the customer what is the goodness and healthiness of the food they eat. Also, Wendy’s marketing team uses a strategy they called, Customer Testing Profile. This strategy is used to give random customers a free sample of new product to test. They compiled customer’s opinion and give report to the headquarters.And the headquarters give commands to other division, say, operational division, and then, the decision is taken whether the new product should be launched or not. All the sales daily report is given to the headquarters. In that case, they can decide when to raise the price. Wendy’s can raise the price by monthly sales journal, and check which are the bestseller products in every stores. When they know it, usually they raise the price Rp 1000  œ Rp 5000. Chapter 15 Advertising & Public Relation Wendy’s Citrarasa has its own marketing and advertising division.This division controls all the design, public relations, and everything that is connected to communicating to customers. The main advertising objective is to make people interested in the product they create. Strategies Wendy’s have applied to their advertising method is †¢ The advertising strategy that they have done up to now is always below the line. They haven’t ever tried above the line (TV ads). Unlike any other fast food rivals, that have tried above the line and getting mediocre response, Wendy’s always does below the line but it has gain some serious markets in it. Routine type of adverts that they have applied to their stores is for example, when people come to their store, the waiter / cashier always ask and give customers recommendation of new products so they can try their new products. And Wendy’s store manager tri ed to ask the customers’ feedback by asking how good is the food today, etc. †¢ Promotional, they applied some method in running their business also, for example, free upsize for drinks and French fries for buying the new mushroom cheese burger.It is promotional because it is only for a limited time, and soon the promotion terminated. In the ads problem, Wendy’s has never encountered any problem. The downside is, sometimes the advertising is so good until the stock of food they run is empty. And they cannot serve customers no more. It happens when new products has been launched. D. Marketing Strategies 1. Managing Marketing Information to Gain Customer Inside Before implementing their marketing strategies / information to customer, Wendy’s do the research of what their customers like, especialy in Western menu.Then they also compare their menu to the competitor, so what the competitor sale will be considered by Wendy’s. Wendy’s also implement their marketing research by looking for the problem that appears (among their stores, their customers, their suppliers, their own managements, and other things) that can hamper their operation. Information system is very important for Wendy’s which can provide the actual data happened. For examples: the complete data of sales which consist of what product sold, kind of product sold, highest sales among 26 stores.One of terminology that Wendy’s has is â€Å"If you fail to plan, you plan to fail†. That terminology always remember by their company before doing marketing research. That words means that the marketing strategy and plan are the main basic for implementing the marketing action because if Company’s makes a mistake in doing the marketing planing, it will make the bad effects of marketing action which cause the failure. For detail the ways that Wendy’s do marketing research as follow: – Defining the problem and research objectivesMarke ting research projects might have one of 3 types of objectives which are : to gather preliminary information that will help defines problems and suggest hypoteses (exploratory research); to better describe marketing problems, situation, or markets, such as the market potential for a product or demographic and attitudes of consumers (descriptive research); to test hypotesis about cause-and-effect relationship (causal research) – Developing the research plan Research objectives must be translated into spesific information needs. The research plan should be presented in written proposal.A written proposal is especially important when the research project is large and complex or when an outside firm carries it out. The proposal should cover the management problem addresed and the research objective, the information to be obtain, and the way the result will help management decision making. The proposal also should include research cost. – Gathering secondary data Secondary data is information that already exist somewhere, having been collected for another purpose. For example: Wendy’s use the data of population demographic in Indonesia. – Primary data collectionPrimary data is information collected for spesific purpose at hand. Some research approach of primary data collection are observational research, ethnographic research, survey research, experimental research. Wendy’s use survey research which is gathering primary data by asking people question about their knowledge, attitudes, preferences, and buying behavior. – Implementing the research plan The researcher puts the marketing research plan into action. This involve collecting, processing, and analysing the information. Researcher should watch closely to make sure that the plan is implemented correctly.Researcher must also process and analysis the collected data to isolate important information and findings. – Interpreting and reporting the finding Researcher m ust interpret the findings, draw conclusion, and report them to management. Researcher should present important findings that are useful in the major decision faced by management. Managers and researcher must work together closely when interpreting research result, and both must share responsibility for the research process and resulting decision, 2. Consumer Markets and Consumer Buyer Behaviour. The kinds of characteristic that affecting consumer behaviour is: – AgeYounge people prefer menu like burger, fried chicken, french fries, and softdrink while the older customer prefer some food which has less oil like salad, baked potatoes and soup. It is because the age influence the physical and health condition of people. So, older people prefer some food that can bring the healthiness for them. But, whatever the product is both of them are prioritizing the quality. – Economic The consumer market of Wendy’s is middle up class because comparing to the other Indonesia food restaurant the price of Wendy’s restaurant is higher than them.The motives of the buyer that affect the willingness to buy the Wendy’s product is physicological needs which is hunger and thirst. Especially the drive or motive of customer to fulfill physical need through Wendy’s is a quality offered and the kind of the menu that the competitor don’t have it. The process going before customer going to buy Wendy’s product is: – Need recognition Is the first state of the buyer decision process, in which the consumer recognizes a problem or need, in this case hunger and thirst. – Information searchIs the stages of a buyer decision process in which the consumer is arrowsedto search for more information; the consumer may simply have heightened attention or may go into active i nformation search. In this case the consumer of Wendy’s have decide to find the food and drink which can satisfy them from hunger and thirsst, so they wil l pay more attention to the advertising of restaurant through website, brochure, and also the location of restaurant. – Evaluation of alternatives Is the stages of buyer decision process in which the consumer use information to evaluate alternatives brand in the choise sets.Consumer swill face some choise of restaurant that can fulfill their needs, generally they will evaluate the kind of western food or Indonesian food or other kind food. And then after they choose Western food, they will evaluate again some brands of the similar food which is the competitors of Wendys such as McDonald, KFC, A&W, Burger King, CFC, etc. – Purchase decision Is the buyer decision about which brand to purchase. Generally, the consumer purchase decision will be to buy the most preffered brand, but 2 factors can come between the purchase intention and purchase decision.The first action is the attitude of others. In this case if the customer’s friends think that he should buy the spec ial menu at Wendy’s then the chances of his buying at other restaurant are reduce. The second factor is unexpected situational factor. The consumer may form a purchase intention based on factor such expected income, expected price, and expected program benefit. In this case if the consumer friend promote or tell him that there are discunt at Wendy’s then he will have the intention to buy Wendy’s product. – Postpurchase BehaviourIs the stages of the buyer decision process in which the consumer takes further action after purchase base on their satisfaction or disatisfaction. The answer lies in the relationship between the consumer expectation and the product percieved performance. If the products fall short of expectation, the consumer is dissapointed; if it meets expectation the consumer is satisfied; if it axceeds expectation, the consumer is delighted. The management of Wendy’s says that almost consumer of Wendy’s will be satisfied even mor e delighted because they guarantee that Wendy’s give the best quality to their consumer.So, they’re sure that their customer will satisfied and doing the repeat consumption. 3. Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy – Market segmentation Dividing a market into smaller groups with distinc needs, characteristic, or behaviour who might require separate products or marketing mix. a. Demographic The demographic segmentation consist of gender (male and female), age (range of ages), etc. b. Geographic Tha geographic segmentation consist of America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. – Market targeting Now Wendy’s must evaluate the various segment and decides how many and which segment it can serve best. . Demographic Wendy’s has a segmentation of universal gender (male and female), all ages. b. Geographic Wendy’s restaurant covers the America, Europe and Asia region. – Differentiation and positioning Product position is the way the produ ct is defined by consumers on important attribute, the places the products occupies in consumers minds relatives to competing product. Wendy’s has the position of their product in quality and has various menu which common competitor did not have. Such as baked potato. 4. Product, services, and branding strategy. – ProductThe product that offer by Wendy’s is consumer product which is product bought by final consumer for personal consumption. The type of consumer product is convinience product that the customer usually buys frequently, immediately, and with a minimum of comparison and buying effort. In this case the product is fast food which often placed in many location to make customer Wendy’s readly available when customer needs them. – Branding Brand equity is the positive differencial that knowing the brand name has on customer’s respond to the product or service.Wendy’s Indonesia is a franchise of international Wendy’s so the the brand name just follow the original brand. The choose of the brand name â€Å"Wendy’s† base on the reason of simple word (only using one word) to make the customer remember the brand easily. E. Role as an Accountant to help Wendy’s Accounting division in wendy’s is under finance division. Wendy’s finacnce division is straight under mr. Ipeng’s supervision. The directed division creates the division to be one of the high leveled side of company. They collaborate with all division to create budgets and all of the financial matters of the company.Not only in sales probelms but also in company’s staff welfare. All the company’s incentives, fee, and wages is hed by this important division The finance and accounting will help the marketing to plan the budget and give the funding to the respective division that needs it. All the funding are checked and revised by the accounting and finance division. All flow of monetary stream s are going in one way, It’s finance division In order to create good environment for the company to run its business, the company must have all the resources needed to create it.Accountants must have the authority to give consents to other division. So there is no fraud or collusion around the company. Accounting division must have everything that happens in the company for all Inventory, slips, checks, everything that goes into the action important to the company. Accountants must have the authority to take all proves and bank slips in order to have lower control risk as well as to lower inherent risks. Every loans, borrowings, charity in and out to the company always have to report it to finance and accounting division. It is needed to have credibility to run the company.F. Summary & Recommendation Wendy’s has been one of the biggest fast food restaurants all over the world. It arrived in Jakarta back in 1992 and PT Sirat bought it in 1997. PT Wendy Citrarasa took o ver Wendy’s Indonesia in 2006. Wendy’s restaurant has five departments, which are marketing, operational, bussiness development, supply chain, and finance. Esspecially for the marketing department, they work closely with other departments in making decision in marketing strategies, and all of the interrelated departments have an impact on the marketing department’s plan and action.G. References www. wikipedia. com www. wendys. com Kotler, Philip, & Gary Armstrong. 2009. Principles of Marketing. 12th Edition. ———————– Wendy’s Pacific Place, Jakarta Wendy’s Braga, Bandung Marketing Director Finance Director Owner Supply Chain Director Operational Director Bussiness Development Director Marketing Comm. Manager Graphic Designer District Manager Store Manager 1 Store Manager 2 Store Manager 3 Store Manager 26 Project Manager Architec Purchasing Manager Logistic Manager Finance Accountancy

LJB Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

LJB Company - Case Study Example This discussion outlines that fulfilling these requirements in advance and formulating appropriate plan is the key to a winning entry into the market as public firm. Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that the management of the companies, which are made public recently, must deliver a report that evaluates the effectiveness of the firm’s internal control over financial reporting. An attestation report on the operating effectiveness of the measures is also in need to be submitted by the firm. As the paper highlights the manager should appoint independent counsel and advisors as stated necessary by the law to carry out the duties and to deal with concerns related to employees and organization. They are necessary to meet the issues regarding accounting, internal control, and auditing procedures. The LJB Company management should integrate the internal controls systems into the financial processes on time in order to adequately assort and asses the effectiveness of the implemented control measures. The LJB Company is seen functioning well with many of its activities. The company was doing right when it decided to start using pre-numbered invoices for the petty expenses. It would bring the transactions into the daylight from being tampered or manipulated. In the same way, the decision to use indelible ink machine to print their checks is considered to be a wise decision. There is less chances for clerical errors when using indelible ink machines. Furthermore, the system of paying the employees sounds well and suits well with the requirement of becoming a public company. On the payday, the accountant himself prepares the checks distributed at the office. In accordance with the company’s system, before closing fort he weekend, the accountant moves all the cash balance and checks into the safe in his office. This practice makes sure that no cash-at-hand is kept with the accountant without entering the accounts.  

Role of the United States Contitution Paper Essay

Role of the United States Contitution Paper - Essay Example overnment in the development of a uniform system of trade as follows: â€Å"The Congress shall have power†¦..to regulate commerce with foreign nations and among several states and with Indian tribes.†(www.usconstitution,net). The United States Constitution thus spells out the regulatory role of the federal Government. This is very important because if businesses are allowed to operate completely without any kind of regulation, then there is a scope for abuses of business power to take place. For example, big corporations could turn themselves into monopolies and take over all the business, thus resulting in unfairness to customers who will be saddled with heavy prices at the whim of the monopoly. Such a move would also produce a lack of business fairness and opportunity for others to also flourish and thrive in the economy through the effective exercise of competition. But by allowing the federal Government to play a regulatory role, the national government can make use of its power to ensure that opportunities and resources are provided to a multiplicity of groups, so that there is potential for the balanced development of power rater than it becoming aggregated in the hands of a few wealthy corporations. The Government’s regulatory role extends to the development of sound monetary and banking systems and ensuring that adequate opportunity is provided to all, including those minority and disadvantaged sections of society who may not have the resources and wealth to make the best use of business opportunities existing in the economy. In the case of McCullogh v Maryland Justice Marshall found unquestionable evidence existing in the Constitution to support the position that the American people, who are in effect, the source of the Constitution, wished to accord to the Government, the powers to lay down taxes and to collect them, as well as to regulate commerce and since this was the intent of the people, it must have also been their intent that the national

Financial Report and Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Financial Report and Analysis - Research Paper Example In 2012, it was ranked as the 2nd largest firm in terms of number of employees around which are around 435,000 globally, the 4th biggest firm in terms of market capitalization, the 9th most profitable company and the 19th in the list of highest revenue generating business. It has 12 laboratories and the company has on its credit record for creating the most patents for the consecutive 20 years. Overall industry sales are increasing globally since 2013. In the current year 2013-2014 sales are expected to increase by 6.5% and in the next year growth are expected to reach 7.5%. The expected growth rate is higher than the growth rate in the last two years that are 5.5% in 2012 and 0.4% in 2011. The impact of these expectations will definitely have positive impacts on the company in terms of growth in sales revenue and high profits as well as healthy cash flows (Stephen, 2013). There is a continuous decline in the sales revenue since last two years. It has gone down by 2% in 2012 and 4.55% in 2013. This decline is in contrast with the industry expectations mentioned above. The chairman of the company in her report to shareholders mentioned the reason for the decline that there in an adverse movement in the currency exchanges because it is operating in more than 170 countries around the world. Especially, there is a sharp decline of 4.2% in the revenue from Global Technology Services and 1olost 19% decline in revenue from Systems and Technology (IBM, 2013). In total, the net profit has declined by $121 millions in 2013 representing fall of 0.73%, but there is a continuous improvement in the net profit ratio since 2011. It has increased from 12.48% to 15.89% in 2012 and 16.52% in 2013. This year to year improvement is due to the effective controls over administrative expense for instance in total they decreased by $51 millions in 2013 as compared to last year, whereas, cost of sales is reasonably consistent as indicated by consistency in the gross profit

Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Policy Research Paper

Domestic Violence and Elder Abuse Policy - Research Paper Example The problem statement for this study is elderly abuse as a social problem considered as a complex phenomenon lacking a single and consistent definition. It falls under the wider domestic abuse and mistreatment definition which encompass â€Å"incidents perpetrated by either a family member or a member of the victim’s household†¦ to include physical, psychological, or financial abuse, and neglect,† referring to the elderly as the victim. Elderly, too, may be of contention since acceptable age range or bracket may be different from one institution or state to another. It was observed that resolution of elder abuse require multidisciplinary approach of which administrators form adult protective services and the criminal justice system cooperate to address cases and prevent repetition and escalation of the abusive acts as there are possibilities that unreported and undeterred abusers may turn to more victims.Local law enforcement have jurisdiction to investigate any co mplaint of elderly abuse and another investigative body is the adult protective services or APS. APS is usually the agency that handles elder mistreatment. McNamee and Murphy cited lack of knowledge about elder abuse with the case of nursing home caretaker Charles Cullen as example. In 2004, Cullen admitted to administering fatal doses of medication to about 40 patients in various institutions over a 16-year period indicating the extent of knowledge on the recognition of abuse, incidences, prevention, and prosecution. The lack of standard for recognition of elder abuse was cited as a major factor in the lagging knowledge about the maltreatment (McNamee and Murphy, 2006). There is a need to rely on forensic markers in order to identify abuse and neglect. However, this was also seen as problematic because caregivers, APS agencies, and physicians lacked training to determine injuries caused by mistreatment and those that came from accident, illness or aging (McNamee and Murphy, 2006). Elderly individuals, too, also experience signs and symptoms that are disease related which may be mistaken for abuse or maltreatment. Thus, caretakers, family members, and health professionals are not alarmed about the real causes even when incidents lead to death (McNamee and Murphy, 2006). Facts and Figures The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting noted that in 2004 that there were 1,551,143 reported incidents of family violence between 1996 and 2001; that 20,955 elderly relatives were victims of simple assault during that period. A study on elderly sexual abuse, Burgess (2006) reported that among the 284 victims under study, the mean age was 78.8 years and that majority or 82.3% were Caucasians. The majority also consisted of 93.2% females with only 6.8%

Doing Business in China Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Doing Business in China - Research Paper Example There is more than 1 billion population in China; one sixth of the world’s population lives in China itself (Colson, 2013). More than 56 ethnic groups are recognized in China and 90 percent of the population is Hans Chinese but the group also consists of other ethnic groups like Zhuang, Yi Miao, Uighar Manchu and Dhong (Colson, 2013). Like any other countries culture the cultural values of China has altered slightly due to the impact of globalization (Ward, Entrkin & Pearson, 2002).During the Chinese Cultural Revolution in the People’s Republic of China the orthodox Chinese Confucianism was heavily criticized on several grounds. After the Cultural Revolution there was a slight alteration in the Chinese value system and even culture dominated cities like Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong witnessed considerable amount of changes (Yau, 2007). The Chinese culture is largely influenced by the social interactions and interpersonal relationships between the individuals in the so ciety. The Chinese language is spoken by more than 85 percent of the population and is considered as one of the toughest language of the world. The language is also called Putonghua and is also claimed as the country’s national and official language (Kane, 2006). ... China: Individual or Collectivist? It is observed that the Chinese society is a highly collectivist culture where the interest of the team are given more importance than the priority of the individual. It is not necessary that in a family oriented business there would be preferential treatment towards the family members. The workers would prefer working on a holiday or a public holiday to meet the deadlines of the work. The commitment towards the organization is high than the employee interest and goals (Duel, 2012).The relationships of employees within the group are warm and cooperative while the relationship with other groups is hostile and cold. The Chinese employees believe in cooperating with each other for delivery of excellent performance (Pang, Roberts & Sutton, 1998). For example the MG6 was the first automobile designed by Shanghai Automotive Corporation in UK. The success of the car was totally contributed to the effective teamwork between the Chinese employees. If a weste rn organization wishes to collaborate with the Chinese department then they should lay emphasis on communicating the ideas and process to the Chinese employees with patience and clarity for successful performance (Xiaoming, 2011). China: High or Low Power Distance? The power distance lays emphasis on the impact of the influence of the culture within a society or an organization (SagePub, 2006). It is observed that the individuals working in the society and the employees working in the organization are not treated as equal. The Chinese Society maintains a rank system and follows the hierarchy stringently. The Chinese society believes that the inequalities prevalent in the society are

Corporate finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Corporate finance - Essay Example Therefore, the depreciation for the last is uniform and equal to $ 9,143. In the second scenario, a brand new control system at a cost of $600,000 is installed. The revenue remains the same, but the operational costs are reduced to $1,020,000. The calculation of revenue, operational costs, tax depreciation, and pre-tax profit, company’s tax, after tax income, cash flow, present value and net present value are calculated as in the first scenario. In the two scenarios, overhauling mark 1 would take it out of service for 6 months and it would resume commercial operation after an year. In the calculation done, the revenue is obtained starting second year and the operational costs are calculated from second year. The tax depreciation however, starts from the first year and the after tax income for the first year is seen to be negative meaning a loss is incurred in the first year since investment have been made yet no revenue is earned. The amount obtained after selling Mark 1 is assumed to be part of the cash used to purchase the new plane and is therefore, deducted from the initial cost. The total operating cost is the sum of annual operating costs incremented by 2.5% inflation rate every year for 20 years. There is no operating cost in the first year as the plane is delivered in the second year. From the analysis done above and the calculation of Net Present Value of the two scenarios involving overhauling of Mark 1 plane and buying a new plane, the following recommendations are hereby presented. The investment that gives a higher Net Present Value is the best provided they have the same lives (Hill 26). Overhauling Mark 1 without purchasing new control system gave an NPV of $ 150,050 while if a new control system is purchased, the NPV is $365,942.10. From the two results, inclusion of a new control system gave a higher NPV and hence considering the two options, the best investment is to purchase a new control system for the plane. When annual

Organizational Buyer Behavior and Buyer-Seller Relationships Essay Example for Free

Organizational Buyer Behavior and Buyer-Seller Relationships Essay Business to business marketing also known as Industrial marketing is the marketing of goods services to organizations including commercial enterprises, government and other profit non-profit institutions for use in the goods services they in turn produce for resale to other customers or to facilitate the operation of their enterprise (Reeder, Brierty, 2002). Business to business market is characterized by few customers who buy in very large quantities and are geographically concentrated. The customers are professional and rational in their purchase approach. The nature of demand is derived demand, which is usually customized. The channels of distribution are shorter and there is more emphasis on personal face-to-face communication. In this era of globalization the business environment is characterized by intense competition. To sustain and grow in such a competitive economic environment, business organizations are under tremendous pressure to manufacture a product or provide a service that is of optimum quality, is customized to individual customer requirements and is delivered on time at minimum possible price. The role of the suppliers is crucial in helping the business organizations to achieve this objective. To succeed and grow in such business to business markets business marketers need to understand the Business Buyer Behavior and evolve close, enduring and long-term relationships. Business Buyer Behavior Understanding the dynamics of business buying behavior including the organizational buying process, the types of buying situations, forces influencing the organization buyer behavior, the composition of the buying center and the motives and the roles played by each member of the buying center is crucial for business marketers to identify profitable market segments, locate the various buying influences within these segments and reaching these buyers efficiently and effectively with product or service offerings that satisfy their needs. The Organizational Buying Process The organizational buying behavior is a process rather than an isolated program. It involves comprehensive phases or stages. The process begins with the recognition of a need for a product or service by someone in the company. Broad parameters for the desired product/service are then worked out. Detailed specifications and description for the desired product or service are developed. Once the company has defined the product /service it needs then the search for potential suppliers who can meet the needs begins, alternative suppliers are identified, asked to submit their proposals and the proposals analyzed. The short-listed suppliers are invited for negotiations and the final suppliers are selected. The order is then placed with the selected suppliers on the agreed terms. Finally the performance of the firms supplying the required products/ services is reviewed periodically. The buying process stage of the potential buyer for the seller’s product or service will have a major implication on the marketing approach to be adopted by the seller. Types of Buying Situations There are basically three major types of buying situations, namely the straight rebuy, modified rebuy and new-task buy. In a straight rebuy situation the buyer reorders a product or service without any modifications on a routine basis through the purchase department. In a modified rebuy situation the buyer may wish a modification in product/service specifications, prices, terms of supply etc. This situation usually involves more number of participants in the buying decision process. In a new task buying situation the company is buying a product or service for the first time. In such a situation the organization buying process is more complex and involves many more number of participants from different departments in the organization. The buying company also needs to decide on the product/service specifications, prices, delivery terms, order quantities, service terms etc. Forces Influencing Business Buying Behavior The organization buying behavior is influenced by environmental forces like changes in the domestic and global economy and changes in the technologies. The rapid strides made in information technology especially Internet technology has had a major influence in the way businesses buy. For example most of the small and large business organizations buy computer systems from Dell through its well developed website www. ell. com. Organization buying behavior is also influenced by the organizational forces like centralization and decentralization of purchase and strategic role and priorities of purchase prevalent in the given organization. The group forces influencing behavior include the composition, motives and the roles played by each member of the buying center. Buying Center It is the decision-making uni t of a buying organization and comprises of all members of the organization who are involved in the buying decision process. The members of the buying center will change depending on the product/service being purchased and the buying situation in which it is being purchased. The buying center members may play any one or a combination of the five roles namely, users, influencers, buyers, deciders and gatekeepers. Users are the members who will actually use the product being offered. Influencers are members who influence the purchase. Buyers are members who have the formal authority to make the purchase. Deciders are members who have formal or informal power to select/approve the final suppliers. Gatekeepers are members who control the flow of information from the seller to other members of the buying center. The buying motives/objectives of each member of the buying center through which the members evaluate potential suppliers may differ. The motives may include task oriented objectives such as price, quality, service and Return on Investment and non-task oriented objectives such as recognition, promotion, increments and job security. Companies involved in business to business marketing need to clearly identify the buying situation, the stage or the phase in the buying decision making process for the product being offered, the various forces influencing the buying organizations behavior, the composition of the buying center, the role played by each member of the buying center and the criteria on which they evaluate the suppliers for each individual customer. Based on such an understanding they should evolve suitable marketing strategies for success. For example Unilever the British FMCG major may need new high-speed packaging equipment for its innovation in detergent ‘small mighty’. Companies in the business of packaging equipment need to understand that it is a new task buy situation for Unilever. And the company may be in the need identification stage of the buying process. They need to have closer relationship with the members from different functional areas like operations, engineering, design, finance and purchase who may comprise the buying center, understand the motives of purchase and the role played by each member. This is crucial because each of this buyer behavior characteristic will have an implication on the buying decision process at Unilever. This will help the supplier to evolve suitable marketing strategies to be the favoured supplier of Unilever. Relationship emphasis in Business to Business Marketing In the highly competitive environment that is prevalent today, suppliers have evolved into business partners. There is a major emphasis on close and long-term relationships in the business to business markets. To maintain the relationships, business markets must develop an intimate knowledge of the customers and add value to it. Relationship marketing centers on all marketing activities directed towards establishing, developing and maintaining successful exchanges with customers (Morgan, Hunt, 1994). A strong relationship between the buyer and the seller is a win-win situation for both. The seller will have a competitive advantage over his competition and the buyer will have effective business solutions to his problem. The relationships between the buyer and the seller in the business to business setup are positioned on a spectrum with transactional exchanges on one end and collaborative exchanges at the other extreme with value-added exchanges in the middle. Transactional Exchanges focus on timely exchange of a product/service for a competitive price. Economy and necessity are the main motivational factors of such exchanges with little interest on the part of the buyer or the seller to extend the relationship. Such types of exchanges may be preferred by the buying organization when the purchase decision is not complex, the purchase is considered to be less significant to the achievement of its objectives, many suppliers are available and the supply market is stable. Here the business marketer need not make any specialized investment in building relationships. For example the supply of office stationery and cleaning services may call for a transactional relationship. Value added exchanges focus on complete understanding of the present and future needs of the customer and meeting those needs better than the competitor by customizing the firm’s offerings to the needs of individual customers. For example Intel Corporation, a leading player in the semiconductor industry has understood the changing computer server needs of it corporate clients and has developed and introduced a new chip that lowers electricity consumption to a very great extent. This has drastically reduced the huge electricity bills of its customers like Google Corporation that maintain thousands of servers world wide (Edwards, 2006) Collaborative Exchanges focus on building a strong social, economic, service and technical ties over a long period of time for mutual benefit through reduced costs and increased value. Such exchanges are very crucial when the market is very dynamic, the complexity of purchase is very high and the product/service being purchased is very crucial for the performance of the end product of the buying organization. In such situations the switching costs involved in changing a supplier are also very high for the buying organization. For example Asin is the sole supplier to the Japanese car manufacturing major Toyota Motors for â€Å"p-valve†, a critical brake part used in all Toyota vehicles worldwide. Aisin works in very close collaboration with Toyota Motors and is highly involved in the product development process at Toyota Motors to keep pace with the innovations being made in the Toyota vehicles and meet the JIT production requirements of Toyota (Liker, 2004). Business Marketers have some flexibility in deciding where to participate along the relationship continuum. It basically depends on the characteristics of the market, the type and price of product/service being offered and the significance of product/service being offered to the buying organization. However rival companies are continuously working towards taking away the best accounts and so also the requirements, expectations and the preferences of the individual customers keeps changing continuously. To meet these challenges business marketers must develop mutually beneficial relationships with individual customers by developing a deep understanding of their needs. Information should be openly shared to benefit both the buyer and the seller. The systems, procedures, and routines of the buyer and seller should be connected to facilitate operations. There should be very good cooperation between the buyer and seller and both should treat the buying situations as joint responsibilities. Both the buyer and seller should invest in processes and procedures that are necessary to meet the specific needs of the exchange partners. Such mutually beneficial relationships between the buyer and the seller will result in better service to the business customer as the seller will be able to provide customized product/service solutions that precisely meet the individual customer needs. Conclusion Business to business markets are growing in volume as compared to consumer markets. The characteristics of the Business to business markets call for closer buyer seller relationships. Companies operating in the Business to business markets should clearly study the organizational buyer behavior with respect to the product or service they offer. They should decide on the type of relationship, ranging from transactional exchange to collaborative exchange, which they should adopt with each customer to gain competitive advantage in the intensively competitive business environment.

Fulfilment of Obligations for a Contract

Fulfilment of Obligations for a Contract Jack’s purchase of â€Å"the machine† from Jim of Agricultural Supplies Ltd is one for a specific purpose. The contract with ASDA will no doubt reap substantial reward. The machine is a fundamental part of that agreement, as Jack cannot fulfill his obligations without it. The importance of the machine being able to produce vegetables that comply with the terms of the contract with ASDA was brought to the attention of Jim at the time the contract was entered into. The question of whether Jack can recover anything beyond the price of the machine after it fails to deliver will initially depend upon the interpretation of the exclusion clause. The contract specifically excludes liability for any consequential loss whatsoever. This would include the loss of profit to be suffered by Jack as a result of ASDA summarily terminating their agreement. Such terms are however subject to the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, and more specifically s. 3[1], and the test of reasonableness contained within s. 11. There is a standard requirement that the term is â€Å"fair and reasonable[2]† but what amounts to this will be a question of fact in each case. Not only will it look at the extent of what the clause is attempting to exclude, but also the bargaining position of the parties. As both are essentially acting â€Å"in the course of a business† there is a suggestion that there is an equal footing and the greater the equality, the more likely that an exclusion clause will be considered reasonable[3]. What is fair to infer from the facts of this case, is that Jack is not an experienced businessman with an understanding as to the operation of a clause that would exclude liability. He may well have noticed its presence, but requires firm clarification as to what he can actually recover in the event of a breach. It is Jim’s response that leads to the exclusion clause probably becoming unenforceable. The clause is attempting to limit the liability of Agricultural Supplies Ltd but Jim, a company Director contradicts this position and assures Jack that any consequential losses will be covered in the event of a breach. S 11(1) UCTA 1977 states that the term may be considered reasonable having regard to the circumstances known to, or in the contemplation of the parties when the contract was made. It would be harsh in this case to deny Jack the ability to rely upon Jim’s assurances. Certainly there is a strong argument that Jim’s statement will become a term of the con tract, overriding the earlier exclusion clause. It was the parties’ true intention and to allow the exclusion clause to stand would not only be unreasonable, but an inaccurate reflection of that intention[4]. Assuming therefore that the exclusion clause itself does not prevent a claim in principle for losses beyond the defective machine, we can consider the issue of lost profit arising from the agreement with ASDA. It has traditionally been the accepted practice of assessment of damages in the area of contract, that lost profit following a breach are subject to tests of causation and mitigation. While the general rule in contract law is to put the claimant in the same position as if those terms had been fulfilled[5], it is still necessary for the Court to assess such damages in monetary terms. In Jack’s situation he has an expectation interest which is defined as â€Å"the benefit [the claimant] expected to receive from the completion of the promised performance of the other party’s obligation, but which were in the event prevented by the breach of contract committed by [the defendant][6]†. The difficulty here is that while there is a definable loss i.e. the profit from the contract with ASDA, there is no knowing how long that contract would continue for or how much Jack would receive per annum. Where significant loss has been sustained, the Courts will look to the availabl e evidence to assess quantum[7]. But whether this alone would suffice is debatable. The difficulty is causation; to what extent was this breach of contract the effective or dominant cause of the loss[8]? The case of Headley v. Baxendale (1854)[9] laid down the rule regarding recovery of losses that were allegedly too remote. In modern terms it is stated to be: â€Å"A type or kind of loss is not too remote a consequence of a breach of contract is, at the time of contracting (and on the assumption that the parties actually foresaw the breach in question) it was within their reasonable contemplation as a not unlikely result of that breach[10]†. It would certainly appear therefore that such contemplation was well within the mind of both Jack and Jim at the time of entering into the contract. Indeed, Jack showed Jim a copy of the agreement with ASDA and his statement that Agricultural Supplies Ltd would â€Å"see to it that Jack is compensated for any loss he incurs† certainly seems to suggest an acceptance of the types of loss i.e. future profit, which Jack would now seek to recover. The recent judgment of the House of Lords in Transfield Shipping Inc v. Mercator Shipping Inc (The Achilleas) (2008)[11] has however thrown such assumptions wide open. This case concerned the hire of a ship for a certain period. The defendant failed to return the ship on time and as a result, the claimant lost a contract with a third party. While the defendant accepted that â€Å"in the trade† compensation would have to be paid, the disputed that they were liable for the loss of profit under the second contract. The arbitrators at first instance and the Court of Appeal[12] found for the claimant. The House of Lords however reversed that decision finding for the defendant. The issue of â€Å"assumption of responsibility† was at the forefront of the Lords’ considerations in this matter. While the defendant’s accepted that some losses would be sustained for which they may be liable, the Court felt that the particular kind of loss was not reasonably contemplated. As Lord Hope of Craighead stated[13]; â€Å"a party cannot be expected to assume responsibility for something that he cannot control and, because he does not know anything about it, cannot quantify. It is not enough for him to know in general and on open-ended terms that there is likely to be a follow-on [contract]† What has been established by the case is a second limb to the test in Headley v. Baxendale. A claimant will not necessarily recover losses that were not unlikely to occur in the usual course of things, if the defendant cannot reasonably be regarded as having assumed responsibility for losses of the particular kind suffered[14]. No longer can it be said that such losses were likely, probable or foreseeable alone, the particular type of loss must have been contemplated by the defendant and he nevertheless accepted the risk in the event of a breach. While this issue of a certain type of loss is not a new phenomenon[15], the combination with the test in Headley v. Baxendale has redressed the scope of recovery in contract cases and particularly the issue of remoteness of damage. Baroness Hale[16] has referred to this extension as â€Å"adding a novel dimension to the way in which the question of remoteness of damage in contract is to be answered†. What this case has done is establi sh a negligence type assessment for causation in contract. While the issue of remoteness, and whether the kind of loss was â€Å"not unlikely† to occur remains a question of fact, the issue of whether it was reasonable to assume the defendant accepted responsibility for that particular type of risk is a question in law[17]. Whether this will assist Jack is not clear. It has been suggested that the effect of The Achilleas upon Sale of Goods Act 1979 claims (as is Jack’s) may have relevance. S. 52(2) of the SGA 1979 states that; â€Å"The measure of damages is the estimated loss directly and naturally resulting, in the ordinary course of events, from the seller’s breach of contract†. If such loss of profit from the agreement with ASDA is to be â€Å"not unlikely† to occur, then Jack may have to establish that Jim assumed responsibility for that particular type of loss. In Chitty on Contracts[18] it is submitted that the House of Lords see their decision as a separate rule when applicable to sale of goods contracts. It should be noted that the facts of The Achilleas related to shipping contracts and the House noted that lack of case law considering this specific issue. While not limited to this area of law, the decision as opposed to other areas i.e. sale of goods, needs to be watched with trepidation. Ultimately there are reasonable prospects for Jack to secure damages beyond the cost of the machine. It can certainly be argued that Jim accepted the risk of the particular type when he was referred to the contract with ASDA. The loss of profit resulting from the termination of that agreement is not the only possible pecuniary disadvantage Jack could suffer i.e. damages claimed by ASDA, returned goods through poor quality etc. This coupled with the uncertainty as to the duration and net value of the contract makes quantum an almost impossible task. It should be noted that such losses have been recovered in Victoria Laundry (Windsor) v. Newman Industries (1949)[19], and more specifically for lost profit arising out of defective equipment under a contract of sale in H Parsons (Livestock) Ltd v. Uttley Ingham Co Ltd (1978)[20]. However the particular circumstances of Jack’s contract are quite unique, and the possible extension of the remoteness rule will not appear to be a help. BIBLIOGRAPHY Chitty on Contracts; Thirteenth Edition 2008, Sweet Maxwell Publishing Peel, E.; â€Å"Remoteness Revisited†, L.Q.R. 2009, 125(Jan), 6-12 Poole, J.; â€Å"Casebook on Contract Law†, Ninth Edition 2008, Oxford University Press McKendrick, E.; â€Å"Contract Law: Text Cases and Materials† Third Edition 2008, Oxford University Press Tamblyn, N; â€Å"Damages Under String Contracts for Sale of Goods†, J.B.L. 2009, 1, 1-14 Rose, F.; â€Å"Blackstone’s Statutes on Contract, Tort Restitution 2008-2009†, Nineteenth Edition 2008, Blackstone Press www.westlaw.co.uk – as accessed on 22nd December 2008 1 Footnotes [1] UCTA 1977 s. 3(1) â€Å"This section applies as between contracting parties where one of them deals†¦on the other’s written standard terms of business†; Chester Grosvenor Hotel Co Ltd v. Alfred McApline Management Ltd [1991] 56 Build LR 115 [2] UCTA 1977 s. 11(1) [3] Watford Electronics Ltd v. Sanderson CFL Ltd [2001] All ER (D) 290 CA [4] This section can be expanded upon to include additional cases on exclusion clauses in any text book. There is also an argument for rectification by mistake i.e. Joscelyne v. Nissen [1970] 2 QB 86 (CA) [5] Golden Strait Corp v. Nippon Yusen Kubishika Kaisha [2007] UKHL 12 [6] Chitty on Contracts: Thirteenth Edition, Volume I, at para 26-002 [7] Tai Hing Cotton Mill Ltd v. Kamsing Knitting Factory [1979] A.C. 91, 106. [8] Ibid fn 6 at para 26-032 [9] [1854] 9 Ex. 341 [10] Ibid fn 6 at para 26-054; see also Koufos v. C. Czarnikow Ltd (The Heron II) [1969] 1 A.C. 350 [11] [2008] UKHL 48 [12] [2007] Lloyd’s Rep 555 [13] Ibid fn 11 at para 36 [14] Ibid fn 6 at para 26-100A [15] Victoria Laundry (Windsor) v. Newman Industries [1949] 2 K.B. 528 [16] Ibid fn 11 at para 93 [17] Ibid at para 22 per Lord Hoffman [18] Ibid fn 6 at para 26-100G [19] Ibid fn 15 [20] [1978] Q.B. 791

The Potential Users Of Financial Accounting Information Accounting Essay

The Potential Users Of Financial Accounting Information Accounting Essay The users are an important component in accounting systems, and play a key role in usefulness of financial accounting information. Financial accounting is a term usually applied to external reporting by providing information about the financial position of a business to a wide range of users in making economic decisions (Weetman, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to review the relationships between the potential users and actual users of financial accounting information and the relevancy evidence to current practice. A variety of different arguments have been put forward about this issue. The paper has been divided into five parts. It first gives a brief overview of who the potential users of financial accounting information are. Secondly, it deals with the actual users of the information. It then goes on to how useful of financial accounting information is and looks at how strong is the evidence that they use information in the ways predicted. Finally, the reason why the potential users may not be actual users of financial accounting information is carried out. The potential users of financial accounting information Financial accounting aims to allow users to understand the economic activity of the company (Stolowy, et al., 2010). For a limited liability company financial statements would contain balance sheet, profit and loss account, statement of recognized gains and losses and cash flow statement (Weetman, 2011). Without users, financial accounting information will lost its role. According to FASB (2010), the objective of financial reporting is to provide useful financial information for existing and potential users to make economic decisions. There are several users who are interested in financial accounting information. Atrill and Mclaney (2008) stated that the purpose of financial information to be used and the person financial information to be given must be clear. By definition and different needs from each other, it could define as internal users such as managers and external users which include owners, lenders, government, employees, competitors, customers, community, and suppliers (IA SC, 1989). General purpose financial statements expected accounting information which would be of interest to a wide range of user groups (FASB, 2010), see appendix 1. Therefore, everyone could be the potential users of financial accounting information as long as there is a need for the information. Actual users of the financial accounting information From the internal management view, it has been argued that the main users of accounting information about an organization could be those who manage the company every day, such as managers (Weetman, 2011). A Statement of Basic Accounting Theory (ASOBAT) did not declare any particular user group such as investors to be primary users. Instead, it has been asserted that useful information was required for both internal and external purpose. Classified users of accounting information into two broad groups: external users which include present and potential investors, creditors, employees, stock exchanges, governmental units and customers on contrast with internal management. However, According to FASB (2010), the primary users of financial accounting information refer to existing and potential investors, lenders, and other creditors. They need entities reporting information provided indirectly. As actual users are contained in the potential users, see appendix 2, if they have same interes ts in the financial accounting information, the actual users might include managers, lenders, suppliers, customers, competitors, employees, government and community (Britton and Waterston, 2006). Similar conclusion has been argued by Atrill and McLaney (2008), Perks (2007) and Weetman (2011). The usefulness of financial accounting information Most of users treat the financial statements as the main source of financial information. According to IASB (1989), it assumes that if financial statements meet the needs of investors, it will also meet the needs of most other users (Weetman, 2011). The usefulness of accounting information is under premise of its high qualitative characteristics. There are four main qualitative characteristics which are described as relevance, reliability, comparability and understandability. However, only if the information actually makes a change in users decisions could define it as relevance Framework (1989). Also accounting information should be material and the benefits of providing the information should outweigh the costs (Atrill and Mclaney, 2008). The purpose of financial statements is not meant to meet all the users needs (FASB, 2010). It is possible to prepare the financial statements for general purpose which will have some interests for all users. For instance, as investors provide risk capital to the company, the provision of financial statements meets both investors and other users who are interested in estimating risks (Stolowy, et al., 2010). These financial reports are valuable for users who have no bargaining power and no significant economic influence in organizations (Elliott and Elliott, 2009). It has been asserted that general purpose financial statements tend to focus on the primary users which included the owners, long-term lenders and creditors. The interests of primary users might overlap with the interests of other user groups. Therefore, this could satisfy most users needs for financial accounting information (Weetman, 2011). The financial statements, which treat owners, lenders and creditors as primary use rs, could provide useful financial accounting information for the existence of users. use information in the ways predicted The financial accounting information could help users to make decisions and reduce uncertainty over the financial position and performance of the business. For example, to help availability of funds to pay owners a return, to repay loans, to reward employees (Atrill and Mclaney, 2008). It has been claimed that accounting information cannot meets all of the needs of each of the various user groups (FASB, 2010). Atrill and Mclaney (2008) stated that Different groups of users have different value and needs. However, user groups desire to know more accounting information as possible. Conflict between user groups is likely happen during business processing. For instance, managers they have close involvement with the business, they have access to a wide range of information and most might be confidential in company (Weetman, 2011). They know more internal information about the current and future situation of the company than outside investors. This could be defined as information asymmetry (Scott, 2009). Investor might make wrong decision based on inaccurate information provided by managers, so they want to know more information besides the financial statements. It is further contended that there are several user groups they want to meet specific needs directly from the business, such as governments, HM Revenue and Customs, and managers and directors. Lenders are usually given much more information than is included in published financial statements, including forecast information, monthly breakdowns and cash budgets (Perks, 2007). To have everything to be included in a companys financial statements is unrealistic (Perks, 2007). Financial accounting information is presented as the form of highly summarized financial statements. The main problem with the financial information needs of the user groups are that most want to know predict the future. Shareholders, creditors, lenders and employees all want to know what the companys future prospects are. But most of information in financial statements has already happened (Stice and Stice, 2006). Many users concerned how valuable the past information was and the reliability of business future forecast. Therefore, it is not possible for a company to publish exactly the information that everyone wants. The information is designed on the behalf of focus on shareholders and creditors (Perks, 2007) There is no similar substitute for the information provided by the financial statements. Thus, if users cannot gather the required information form the financial statements. It is often unavailable to them. Other sources of information concerning the financial health of a business are normally much less useful. As a result, the evidence is not strong enough for the user groups to use information in the way predicated and it is normally very difficult to assess the impact of accounting on decision-making (Atrill and Mclaney, 2008) potential users may not be actual users of financial information As Young (2006) claimed some of the actual users were multiple, conflicting, inconsistent, and uneducated. These users are unreliable and limited knowledge about financial accounting information and its process. FASB (2010) have conducted a new concept of the financial statement user-a rational economic decision-maker. It means that the decisions of interest are rational, if statements can be connected to the forecast of future cash flows, it could be said rational decision makers need it. Users can be seen more as hypothetical readers of financial statements than as actual users, because they need particular types of information (Young, 2006). Moreover, the conflicting needs of users and limited information provided in reports might cause potential users cannot find information useful to them (Atrill and McLaney, 2008). Therefore, the potential users might not be the actual users of financial accounting information, a portion of potential users could be. Conclusion In conclusion, the current paper has reviewed the users of financial accounting information. The question posed at the outset of this paper was to examine the reasons why the potential users may not be actual users of financial accounting information and relevancy evidence to practice. It has been seen that different users have different needs, even financial statements focus on primary users to provide useful information. However, it could not achieve the expected level and cannot meet all users needs. It may therefore be concluded from the above discussion that the actual users are a portion of potential users. Potential users might not be actual users of financial accounting information. Appendix 1 The relationship between potential users and actual users: Potential users Actual users Primary users Appendix 2 Users and their information needs (FASB,2010) Investors. The providers of risk capital and their advisers are concerned with the risk inherent in, and return provided by, their investments. They need information to help them determine whether they should buy, hold or sell. Shareholders are also interested in information which enables them to assess the ability of the entity to pay dividends. Employees. Employees and their representative groups are interested in information about the stability and profitability of their employers. They are also interested in information which enables them to assess the ability of the entity to provide remuneration, retirement benefits and employment opportunities. Lenders. Lenders are interested in information that enables them to determine whether their loans, and the interest attaching to them, will be paid when due. Suppliers and other trade creditors. Suppliers and other creditors are interested in information that enables them to determine whether amounts owing to them will be paid when due. Trade creditors are likely to be interested in an entity over a shorter period than lenders unless they are dependent upon the continuation of the entity as a major customer. Customers. Customers have an interest in information about the continuance of an entity, especially when they have a long-term involvement with, or are dependent on, the entity. Governments and their agencies. Governments and their agencies are interested in the allocation of resources and, therefore, the activities of entities. They also require information in order to regulate the activities of entities, determine taxation policies and as the basis for national income and similar statistics. Public. Entities affect members of the public in a variety of ways. For example, entities may make a substantial contribution to the local economy in many ways including the number of people they employ and their patronage of local suppliers. Financial statements may assist the public by providing information about the trends and recent developments in the prosperity of the entity and the range of its activities.

Concussions †Managing the Risk Essay examples -- Essays Papers

Concussions – Managing the Risk Imagine that one day you woke up and could no longer do the simple things you enjoy in life. What if you couldn’t even read the paper or watch a movie with a loved one? Many current and former athletes are suffering through this every day, and the reason for this is long-term brain damage which is a direct result of concussions. Unfortunately concussions have been rising at an alarming rate. This trend has not only been occurring in big money professional sports, but also in amateur sports like youth soccer. Concussions are quickly becoming an epidemic across the entire sporting world. Each year about 300 000 amateur and professional athletes suffer head injuries (Mcphee 1). Athletics must make some significant changes to deal with this ongoing crisis. First of all, more research must be done on concussions and athletes must be more informed about the risks they are taking. Secondly, the athletic community must look at the role of technology in sports and decide how i t should be applied to help improve this situation. Finally, the governing bodies of sport must implement rule changes to protect athletes from unnecessary risks during competition. Until these issues are addressed, this alarming trend of long-term brain injury will continue throughout the sporting world. A concussion is most often defined as a trauma induced alteration in mental status that may or may not involve loss of consciousness (Leclerc 2). Concussions can be sorted into three grades. The least serious is a grade one or mild concussion; this type of concussion occurs when there is no loss of consciousness and the posttraumatic amnesia is less than thirty minutes. The second grade of concussion is a grade two... ...?† Chronicle of Higher Education. Vol. 48.12, p.17. 16 November 2001. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost. Moore, Anne. â€Å"Riddell tackling school market; Helmet design aims to lessen concussions. Crain’s Chicago Business. 5 August 2002. Gen’l Reference Ctr Gold. Infotrac. Potter, Douglass. â€Å"Effects of closed head injury on cognitive function.† University of Dundee Research Projects. 28 February 2003. . Roos, Robert. â€Å"Guidelines for Managing Concussion in Sports: A Persistent Headache.† The Physician and Sports Medicine. Date of visit unknown. . Schnirring, Lisa. â€Å"How Effective is Computerized Concussion Management?† Physician and Sportsmedicine. Vol. 29.8, p. 11. August 2001. Academic Search Premier. EBSCOhost.

Oedipus and Tiresias :: Essays Papers

Oedipus and Tiresias Oedipus and Tiresias, characters of Sophocles' play "Oedipus Tyrannus," are propelled to their individual destinies by their peculiar relationships with truth. Paranoid and quick to anger Oedipus, is markedly different from the confident and self-assured Tiresias. In the dialogue between the two men, Oedipus rapidly progresses from praise of Tiresias as a champion and protector of Thebes in line 304, to blatantly accusing the blind prophet of betraying the city in line 331, to angrily insulting him in line 334. Rather than be intimidated by the protagonist's title and temperament, Tiresias draws strength from what he knows is true and is able to stand his ground. In this play, power and strength come from the knowledge of truth. Ironically, blind Tiresias, who has the ability to see the truth, becomes enslaved to his own knowledge. Knowing the truth about Oedipus enlists him in the designs of fate as the catalyst of Oedipus' destructive revelation. The prophet takes strength in knowing what he knows is true but, as he says in line 316, he is not able to profit from the knowledge. Forced into dispute with the king of Thebes, by playing off of the anxieties of the main character, the simple power of knowing what another does not know protects Tiresias. Gradually Tiresias' and Oedipus' relationships with the truth are revealed as that of knowledge and ignorance, respectively. The anxieties that plague Oedipus, making him weak and prone to paranoia, are rooted in the obscurity of his origins. In response to accusations made by Oedipus, Tiresias declares that he is neither a conspirator in a scheme concocted by Oedipus' paranoid mind, nor his supplicant. Rather, Tiresias states that he is a slave of Loxias: the ambiguous one. In whatever manner the mechanics of Tiresias' prophetic sight function, to understand the nature of truth, they must include deciphering the ambiguous. As a true slave of Loxias, he is incapable of directly telling Oedipus the truth but always speaks enigmatically. An extreme annoyance to Oedipus, such seemingly vague speech may be the only way that the truth may be expressed. Tiresias is thus fluent in the language of truth and is speaking to Oedipus, who claims to excel in deciphering riddles, in the clearest manner. Tiresias knows who Oedipus' parents are, and he knows that the revelation of Oedipus' genealogy will cause the foundations of Oedipus' identity to crumble, simultaneously destroying one man and causing another man to come into being.