Source of Finance Report - 3389 Words

Source of Finance Report I’m writing to you to give you more advice and guidance about which sources of finances should you go for. I’m going to give you a detailed analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of each source that will be appropriate for your business. External and Internal Sources of Finance External sources of finance are any sources of capital that can provide small business capital. For example a major external source are banks who can provide capital to your business to start up, the running operations of your business and for your company’s expansion. Internal sources of finance are any capital that is found within your business. For example you can retain yours profits for backs profits for business’s activities†¦show more content†¦To get a bank loan, you and your business partner need have good credit scores, if you don’t have good credit scores. Then the bank will be more reluctant to lend you reasonable bank loan. Also if you and your business partner fail to repay the loan, the bank will demand that you sell some of your assets (property or car). I would suggest that the owners of Caveman Brewery pick a bank loan that they can afford to pay back. It would less stress on the owners as the bank is not chasing them for payment. Capital Capital is essential for your business’s growth, this enables your business to pay off debts, company’s expansion and be able to compete in competitive market. Venture Capital Another of form of gaining capital is venture capital. Venture capitalists are a panel of wealthy investors who can provide capital to your business so you and your business partners can carry out your business’s activities. â€Å"Venture capitalists can introduce your business to an extensive network of strategic partners both domestically and internationally† and they can help advertise your business to gain the public attention. Advantages The major advantage of venture capital that it can provide a source of capital into your business. For example you and your business partner have a business idea but don’t have enough capital to bring the idea into the brewery market before any of your competitors enters theShow MoreRelatedGfsgsdf Hshsdfshfd Sdhgw1479 Words   |  6 Pagesunderstanding of the purpose of managing resources effectively, not only in relation to human resources but also in terms of physical and technological resources. Learners will also gain an understanding of how an organisation can gain access to sources of finance, both internally and externally and be able to interpret financial statements. There are clear links between this unit and many of the other units; it serves as a useful introduction to areas that may be covered in depth in further units. Read MoreManaging Financial Resources Essay examples1182 Words   |  5 Pages 2. Identify the sources of finance available to a business.(P1.1) 3. 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Example Waitrose gets money by selling their products to the customers and hence customers are the different classes Internal and External source of financeRead MoreManaging Financial Resources and Decisions Essay1355 Words   |  6 Pagesimplications of finance as a resource within a business 2 Introduction In this essay I will be discussing and understanding of where and how to access sources of finance for a business, and the skills to use financial information for decision making.    Finance is essential for a business’s  operation, development and expansion. Finance is the core limiting factor for  most businesses and therefore it is crucial for businesses to  manage their  financial resources properly. Finance is available toRead MoreIf Assignement1521 Words   |  7 Pages ACADEMIC YEAR 2013/2014 Bachelor of Science (Hons) Actuarial Science Bachelor of Science (Hons) Financial Mathematics YEAR 3 TRIMESTER 2 UKFF 3243 INTERNATIONAL FINANCE ASSIGNMENT (Question) ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Pick a multinational enterprise (MNE) from Table 1 below and answer ALL questions. Table 1: List of Multinational Enterprises | Acer Inc. (Taiwan) | Aeon Co. Ltd. (Japan) | Adidas AG (Germany) | CarrefourRead MoreThe Key Departments Of The Business1529 Words   |  7 Pagessupports the business to build and embellish in all worldwide markets. This report will consider what the key departments do for the business, in addition, this report will enlighten the research procedure used and significant complications which have been encountered throughout. Key departments within businesses Departments in businesses all partake in important roles, departments such as human resources, accounting and finance, production amongst others remain vital to the company so it can work progressivelyRead MoreThe Key Departments Of The Business1529 Words   |  7 Pagessupports the business to build and embellish in all worldwide markets. This report will consider what the key departments do for the business, in addition, this report will enlighten the research procedure used and significant complications which have been encountered throughout. Key departments within businesses Departments in businesses all partake in important roles, departments such as human resources, accounting and finance, production amongst others remain vital to the company so it can work progressivelyRead MoreCU2691 Support Individuals To Manage Their Finances937 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿CU2691 Support Individuals to Manage Their Finances. 1. Know how to access information and advice about financial affairs. 1.1 Identify sources of information and advice about methods and services for managing personal finances. Citizens Advice Bureau Financial Services Financial Advisor (Bank) Internet websites Council Offices 1.2 Identify sources of information and advice about benefits and allowances. County Council Benefits Office www.gov.uk/browse/benefits/entitlement 1.3 Describe the role

A Greek Play Created By Sophocles - 1608 Words

A Greek play created by Sophocles around 335 BC, Oedipus the King tells a story about one man’s irony to find the previous’ king’s murderer to seek justice. Oedipus stops at nothing to find the killer. As he questions the citizens, he only finds himself to be the killer. In this essay we explore how one major event can create multiple forms of conflict. The conflicts of Human vs. supernatural, the predestined fate of Oedipus and the gods. Human vs. human, when Oedipus heeds no warnings and stops at nothing to find the truth behind his true identity. And lastly; human vs. self, where Oedipus’ curiosity puts him in a fight amongst himself that he cannot win. Human Vs Supernatural Whilst Oedipus was still in the womb, an oracle from†¦show more content†¦In a way it was fate from the very start. From the time when his parents talked to the oracle, up until he was placed on the mountain after birth. It was fate that he was then found by the herdsman who then took him back to the city of Corinth. He lived with his adoptive parents until he left, it was at the crossroads where he murdered the man who almost ran him over in a carriage. That man was Laius, his father. As destined he then married his mother. When a plague hit Thebes, Oedipus sends Creon to the oracle who tells him that the only way to end the plague is to find out who had killed Laius, the previous king. He needed to find them and banish then to demolish the plague from Thebes. Oedipus inquires for Teiresias, of whom he then accused of murdering the late king when he refuses to speak of what he knows. Even after being accused shamelessly by Oedipus of murder for being silent, Teiresias responds â€Å"It is not fate that I should be your ruin. Apollo is enough, it is his care.† (p.435). Teiresias is saying that no matter what he would have said, or what he did not say, that it was destined by the gods to happen anyway. Oedipus confronts Teiresias about how he himself saved Thebes by successfully solving the sphinx’s riddles on his wit alone. With knowledge that Oedipus is great at solving riddles, Teiresias taunts him saying† This day

Ann Taylor Free Essays

string(35) " 2 billion in fiscal 2009 and \$1\." Table of Contents |Executive Summary |2 | |Company background Current Marketing Situation |3-7 | |Marketing Objectives |7-8 | |Opportunity Issue Analysis |8-13 | |Marketing Strategy Actions taken |13-16 | |Appendix 1 2 |17-20 | |Bibliography |21 | Contributions (write ups only) Executive Summary, Company background Marketing Strategy- Priyanka Chigurupati Marketing Objectives Marketing Strategy- Maira Braga Opportunity Issue Analysis- Judy Seng Yui Yasuda Executive Summary Ann Taylor Stores Corp. has been one of the largest apparel and accessories firms in the fashion industry for a long time. It has four divisions; Ann Taylor, LOFT, Ann Taylor Factory and LOFT Outlet each of which caters the same category of apparel and accessories, i. We will write a custom essay sample on Ann Taylor or any similar topic only for you Order Now e. work related clothing to different markets. The introduction of Dan Taylor; our challenge has been positive and we feel that this division for men’s clothing would reap benefits for the company primarily because the men’s market is a growing one. Also, Dan Taylor can capitalize on Ann Taylor’s reputation of being amongst the top few brands customers pick for work related, casual yet chic clothing. Our product line will follow along the path of LOFT; catered to men instead of women. Although there are several threats the company might face, we strongly believe that the opportunities will outweigh the risks. Dan Taylor will use promotional tools that Ann Taylor never used but in terms of overall advertising, Dan Taylor will follow Ann Taylor’s path. The company’s overall goal is to improve the bottom line growth of both the divisions (Ann Taylor Dan Taylor). If successful, Ann Taylor Store Corp. will be one of the highest grossing companies in the United States. COMPANY BACKGROUND CURRENT MARKETING SITUATION Ann Taylor Stores Corp. has been one of the most popular women’s clothing company in the United States for the past few decades. Founded in 1954 by Richard Liebeskind, the company was named â€Å"Ann Taylor,† because â€Å"Ann,† was considered a very New England name and â€Å"Taylor,† evoked an image of tailored clothing. Ann Taylor has four divisions; Ann Taylor, LOFT, Ann Taylor Factory and LOFT Outlet. Ann Taylor caters to working women with classic clothing that is polished, refined and versatile. The fashions offered at Ann Taylor stores are for affluent career women. With price points between $40 (for a basic top) and $430, Ann Taylor falls in the â€Å"better,† category. LOFT was established in the late 90’s and offers more casual and relaxed fashions for relatively younger customers. Priced anywhere between $20- $90 and $200 for suits (two separates), it falls under the â€Å"upper moderate,† category. Ann Taylor Factory and the LOFT outlet are extensions of the brand (Ann Taylor and LOFT) in the outlet division. Ann Taylor Stores Corp. ’s product line (width) includes â€Å"Apparel,† that includes tops and blouses, sweaters and knits, dresses, pants, skirts, suits, jackets and coats, denim and accessories among all four divisions (based on different price points). The depth of the accessories includes shoes, jewelry, handbags, belts, scarves and shape wear. Ann Taylor has an exclusive line of Bridal wear that is an one stop shop for all wedding needs for women including wedding dresses, bridesmaids dresses, shoes and accessories at an affordable range of $38 (accessories) to $495 (wedding dress). LOFT, being the more casual between the two has an exclusive line of lounge wear ranging between $20 and $60. The extensive product line is available for Ann Taylor and LOFT in brick and mortar stores, on the internet (ecommerce) and in catalogues. Ann Taylor’s strengths lie in the fact that it caters to a strong and growing market, i. e. primarily to the working sector of people. Ann Taylor’s target market primarily comprises of ages between 30 years and 60 years to whom, the company offers a plethora of work related apparel and accessories. LOFT’s target market comprises of 18 to 34 year olds who have a wide variety of casual work related (can be used for other purposes) apparel and accessories. Although the two divisions cater to different target markets, their primary purpose is to provide to the ‘working customer. Ann Taylor’s expansion into value based divisions (LOFT and its clearance centers) has captured the value market. The pricing at LOFT is about 30% lower than its sister concept, Ann Taylor. The outlets too, have captured the market that comprises of consumers seeking deeper value over traditional pricing and stores. The corporation added more value to these â€Å"clearance cente rs,† by creating private labels for the outlet centers. All the three divisions have proven to be a success among consumers. A third strength of the company would be its marketing strategies through celebrity associations. Some of the biggest celebrities like Heidi Klum, Milla Jovovich, Rachel Bilson are the faces of the company. The brand equity of the company, i. e. the image of the company in the minds of the consumers is enhanced because of positive perceptions. To further enhance this, the company is specifically targeting different markets by using different celebrities for each type of market. For example: Christina Hendricks, known for her curves is a face of the company. Although not directly done this speaks to the relatively more curvy women, a huge upcoming market. Also, since Ann Taylor has been associated with ‘luxury products,’ its reputation has trickled down to its LOFT brand and customers have started to consider LOFT as affordably luxurious. One of the biggest weaknesses of the company (in disguise) is also a blessing for the company, i. e. its LOFT division. The LOFT brand has been growing rampantly with 506 LOFT stores as compared to 291 Ann Taylor stores in 2009. The reason for this growth has been the demand for value oriented ‘luxury,’ products offered by LOFT. When LOFT was set up in the late 90’s, it was oriented towards casual clothing. Today, with the shift towards more casual clothing even in the working environment (casual Friday), LOFT unwittingly turned into Ann Taylor’s direct competitor with a better value proposition. Ever since the economy has been in the throes of a recession, Ann Taylor’s performance like that of most other companies has spiraled downwards. Since 2008, the company has been spiraling downwards with net sales of $2. 4 billion in fiscal 2008, $2. 2 billion in fiscal 2009 and $1. You read "Ann Taylor" in category "Papers" 8 billion in fiscal 2010. The net loss went down considerably from $333,906,000 in fiscal 2009 to $18,208,000 in fiscal 2010. The company has been facing tough competition from its major competitors like White House Black Market, Chico’s, Anne Klein, Talbots, Banana Republic, J Crew and Cold Water Creek for Ann Taylor and The Gap, AK Anne Klein, New York Co. and INC International Concepts (Private Label at Macy’s), a few among others. In terms of advertising, Ann Taylor promotes it products mainly through catalogs, television and magazine ads. It uses a combination of Institutional advertising, i. e. dvertising done to promote the company’s image and Promotional advertising, i. e. advertising that highlights an item or a category of items to get an immediate response. [pic] [pic] Institutional Advertising Promotional Advertising In 2009, Ann Taylor partnered with Proctor Gamble due to the economic downturn, and handed out free samples of detergent and coupons to customers who buy machin e washable clothes. In addition, Ann Taylor created an eight-page magazine, available for free in stores that provided tips on how to keep clothes looking fresh. Of course, due to the partnership, they require Tide or Downy Total Care, which are both Proctor Gamble products, but this was one of the many successful promotional strategies implemented by Ann Taylor. In an effort to utilize maximum amounts of different media in order to integrate the customer with the promotion strategies, Ann Taylor partnered with CFDA/ Vogue fashion fund in which the selected stylists were asked to put together a full look for Ann Taylor that would suit today’s working woman. This brought out not only increased exposure but also offers a fashionable, vivacious look to the brand. MARKETING OBJECTIVES Given the current market situation, Ann Taylor should be looking to expand and conquer any new potential clientele to drive profits up. Sale trends still place the retailer amongst the top two competitors of its US Top Women’s Apparel Division, giving the brand a leadership position within its industry. Although product offerings are fairly uniform amongst such brands, very few of Ann Taylor’s direct competitors are currently in the Men’s clothes division (primarily department store private labels). Furthermore, as was once predicted of Contemporary and Young Designer fashions, Menswear is the next â€Å"white space† of the industry, offering high rates of growth and return for early entrants. This provides Ann Taylor a high incentive towards accepting the risk of being an early-mover and adding a menswear line to its current offerings. Ann Taylor’s previously existent mill and factory relationships will also conduce towards seamless integration of the production of a menswear line for select stores. Furthermore, despite harsh economic times, Ann Taylor shows clear signs of recovery, having started to post profits of $18. million in the second quarter of 2010, over $260 million to finance expansive efforts. Another trend that has been identified within a more general Apparel market is that women make up to 80% of all of all shopping for a family. This would indicate that for a large portion of the male population, it is in fact their female counterparts that are ma king the calls in regards to many purchasing decision. Large portions of these women are wives of family households as well as long-term partners. Nationally, nearly 50% percent of the entire population is comprised of married couples – a broad base for a core target audience. This buying behavior creates an untapped potential market for the Ann Taylor brand. Since women would already be in the store, this is a process of adding on to their current purchases, adding not only profit, but value to the Ann Taylor brand by having the client associate stores with convenience and multi-level shopping. This was already proven successful with strategic integration of home furnishings and accessories to select flagship stores. The target male consumer for these groups was a relatively simple process of reexamining our current demographics under a different lens. Most evidently, the targeted age group would be a similar 18-34. This age group makes up 23. 5% of the American consumer base as a whole, with over 23 million potential male customers. The ideal â€Å"Dan Taylor† is a middle classed, working male aged 18-34 either with, or thinking about a family who makes $75-99,000 a year, and is looking for workable, affordable, well-constructed clothes that speak to a tailored, New England look. Nationally, this corresponds to 12% of American households with a corresponding range of disposable income, with slight variations across regions of the country. Furthermore, in a more generic view, 78. 6% of the population consists of private wage and salary workers who would maintain the targeted aesthetic of the Dan Taylor line. Considering the harsh economic times, many higher income group clients would also be looking towards lower end options for their everyday work wear. This comprises an additional 31. 7% of the population that would be well within means to shop at Ann Taylor. With further research into specific regional demographics, initial expansion of the Dan Taylor line would be limited to the Northeast area. As will be detailed, this capitalizes on maximum saturation of target market as well as core following of brand lifestyle and traditional aesthetic. The Northeast region shows the highest rate of educated males with a bachelor’s degree or higher educational attainment at 32. 5%. This figure is well above any other regions and is a full 4 points higher than the national average at 28. 4%. The Northeast also has to the second highest percentage of private wage and salary workers at 79. 5% or workforce, only behind the Midwest at 81. 1%. This category corresponds to the key lifestyle psychographics of the Dan Taylor customer. The area also corresponds to the second highest percentage of households within the targeted $75-$99,000 income level with 12. 6% and leads in terms of households making above $75,000 dollars, at 37. 6%, a full six points above the national level. Another compelling factor in terms of income is the Northeast’s mean male yearly earnings is a full $10,000 above the national level and is by far the highest of all regions. This higher income level means this population has a greater willingness to spend from discretionary income, particularly during harder economic times. Another great value in early investment in the Northeast of the United States is the historical association of the Ann Taylor brand with the region. As previously mentioned, the brand’s name is already associated with the area. The label’s look, comprising fashionable day and work wear for the active woman is also in key target with the ambiance and feel of the Northeast region. Color stories of Ann Taylor lines are also frequently associated with this area; pastels, khakis and navy are proven a timeless classic to locals of the area. This mix of ideal target market as well as a value-conscious higher income customer that is not only accustomed, but a follower of the Ann Taylor aesthetic creates an ideal marketing position for the Dan Taylor line. If success is seen within the Northeast sector, analyzed demographics then suggest the Western region of the United States as being the best to serve, followed by the Midwest and finally the South. OPPORTUNITY AND ISSUE ANALYSIS Opportunities 1. Growing Menswear Industry Men nowadays have become more aware of their appearance, and therefore, their spending on apparels also increased. According to Data Monitor (Table 1 Figure 1- Appendix 1), from year 2004 to year 2008, the market value of the menswear market has a steady growth rate from around 3% to 5 %, its market value has also grown from $82. 6 billion in 2004 to $98. 2 billion in 2008. Data Monitor also forecasted that by 2013, the market value would grow to $118. 3 million dollars, an increase of 20. 4% since 2008. If we take a look at Table 3, our target customers who are among the age group of less than 25 years old and 25 – 34 years old, have a total of 27,919 thousand (7875 + 20,044) customers. Their added annual expenditure will be $76,413. Compared to women, men spend less on apparel. This may seem to be a discouraging data, however; it also proves that the menswear market is still catching up, and that Ann Taylor can utilize its edge of having the existing loyal female customers to expand to the menswear market. By introducing Dan Taylor in the Loft store, it is expected that our female customers would purchase menswear merchandise for their male friends and husbands. Some of the men may not like to spend too much too much time shopping around and may leave the styling job to their girlfriends or wives. This becomes a strong edge for the launch of Dan Taylor because this approach helps Loft to reach to a new group of male customers through our existing female customers. It is certain that the menswear market is still growing, and therefore Dan Taylor will seize this growing market to obtain some market share in the menswear industry for more profits in the future. By making the first move, Dan Taylor will have the first mover’s advantage. 2. Product line and Price Points The chart below includes the product lines of each of our competitors and their price points. Department private labels such as Alfani, INC and Izod have a narrow product line and a relatively lower price point. They place their focus on business clothing with items such as t-shirts, polo, shirts (casual and formal), sweaters, and trousers. However, for each assortment, they only offer a few styles. Compared to competitors, such as Gap and Express, Dan Taylor positions itself as more for the same; we provide better quality but offer the same price points. This positioning allows us to fit in the white space between low to medium priced and medium priced specialty stores. Although our quality is comparatively lower than what medium priced brands such as Kenneth Cole and J. Crew offer; our price points are much lower and therefore, Dan Taylor provides better value. In addition to the demographics qualities, we are also targeting customers that look for consistent qualities and values. Our goal is to establish a long-lasting relationship with our customers by offering great quality, details, and a wide variety of products with affordable price. We believe in values, and so do our customers. It is expected that customers from our competitors will be drawn to our store because of our promising value and quality. 3. Strong Brand Image Ann Taylor Loft has been in the women specialty retail market since 1983. Currently, we have around 900 stores in the United States, including the labels Ann Taylor, Loft, Ann Taylor Factory, as well as Loft outlet stores. Within these 900 stores, there are 509 LOFT stores because Loft has outperformed Ann Taylor by using a more moderate pricing strategy. Loft targets to a slightly younger group who has a more relaxed lifestyles at work and at home. Our customers are value-conscious and are loyal; this allows us to introduce Dan Taylor (which will have LOFT’s price points and quality) which targets to a similar group of men. Our approach is to first introduce the menswear to our existing Loft customers. It is common that women will buy gifts for their boyfriends or husbands during special occasion such as holiday seasons or birthdays. Therefore, it will be a great opportunity to launch Dan Taylor since our well-known values and quality will draw our existing customers to purchase our menswear’s’ products as gifts for their spouses. This approach allows us to reach our potential male customers and provide them exploration to our products. 4. Online Opportunities The online U. S retail market is growing tremendously in the recent years. According to industry reports by Data monitor, ‘the US online retail market grew by 16. 6% in 2008 to reach a value of $186. 7 billion. in 2013, he US online retail market is forecast to have a value of $325. 2 billion, an increase of 74. 2% since 2008†. This trend leads many of the retailers setting up their own websites, providing customers an easy access to their newest campaigns and other information related to the company. This approach helps the customers to have a better knowledge of the company. Some of these companies also set up an online store whe re customers can purchase directly online. Images, measurements and other details are shown to give customers a better visual idea of the merchandise. Today, with such busy lifestyles, people who do not have enough time to shop at the virtual store can now have the option to shop online. Therefore, Ann Taylor should keep focusing on the online sales channel to drive margins because e-commerce is the fastest growing and high margin segments which currently representing nearly a 25% of the company’s revenue base. 5. Collaborations with designer labels and international markets Today, the trend of retail stores collaborating with high-fashion brand labels is more popular than ever. Some of these examples would be HM and Lanvin, as well as Uniqlo and Jil Sander. Regardless of it the partnership being short term or long term, this approach has always been successful. Long queues are found lining up outside the store on the launch date, and most of the limited merchandises in the collaboration collections are gone in less than a few hours. This not only creates instant buzz about the company but the other customers who come to shop the designer collections might end up looking at the other merchandize as well. Aside from advertising purpose, the limited merchandise brings in some differentiation and freshness to the company and attracts a new group of customers. A further opportunity derived from these collaborations is the recognition in the international markets. While Ann Taylor High-end designer labels now mainly focus on the domestic U. S market, the collaboration with designer labels can help promoting Ann Taylor Loft and Dan Taylor throughout the world. Getting the name out to the global market will be a stepping-stone for the company to launch new stores in new markets. Threats/ Issues 1: Effects of recessionary environment will continue impacting consumers spending habits The economic condition might be one of the most serious threats for Ann Taylor. We haven’t come out of the recession yet, and consumers in the US are suffering high unemployment and lower disposable income. Consumers are reluctant to pay for anything that is not on sale or with some sort of down pricing. Rising unemployment further reduces consumers’ ability to spend, which might be a threat to Dan Taylor although the economy is slowly recovering from the recession. Rising unemployment also means less people are at work – the precise demographic of the Ann Taylor and Dan Taylor aesthetics. Increased pursuit of everyday/ lounge wear from high unemployment trends could show significant damage to Dan Taylor’s future success. 2: Increased regulations on cards issued by the retailers will affect the appeal of these cards adversely A new act called the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 was passed which enforces several restrictions for retailers while issuing the credit cards. Several norms that originally contributed to the rising popularity of the retailer cards, have been identified as the reasons that later left the consumer with high debt. The new set of rules will benefit the customers, but will nevertheless restrict retailers and the earlier growth in retailer credit cards. Additionally, retailers rely on offering loyalty programs through these cards. The decline in the card base will negatively impact the success of these promotions. Ann Taylor issues its own branded and co-branded charge card for its customers. This will expose the company to high risk of default, higher regulations and compliances. The new act further imposes higher restrictions and this might lead to less popularity of the cards impacting the cards business adversely. The new regulations might also make it more difficult for the company to issue new cards to the customers. 3: Rising of private label has affected the sales of national brands seriously Due to the recession, customers care now about price more than they did before. As customers became more price-oriented, large retailers filled that gap with lower priced private labels. Their close ties with factories allow these clothes to sit at a very low price point while still offering profit to the retailer. As a result, Macys, which is one of the largest department stores in the world and other companies have begun to focus on their private brands (Alfani, INC and IZOD for Macy’s, Aqua for Bloomingdales) and launched various types of clothes with reasonable prices for men and women of all ages. In addition, many discounted supermarkets such as Wal-mart and Target collaborated with designers and launched fashionable collections with reasonable prices as well. The popularities and sales of these brands increased rapidly. This might be another potential threat to the moderately priced Dan Taylor. 4: Rising apparel costs and labor costs in China are pressurizing margins Dan Taylor’s major production will be in China where the costs are estimated to inflate in the near future. This will increase costs for the company and pressurize margins. The prices of cotton, which typically comprise 40-45% of the price of a garment, were up 25% year in one year. Higher energy costs and rising labor costs in China will contribute to the increase in import cost of the apparel as well. The relative cost of manufacturing in China will almost certainly rise as the labor costs rise. Wage increases, coupled with higher costs for cotton, oil and freight will also push up prices. This cost increase is particularly troubling when taking into consideration the rise of private labels and increased competition within the industry to keep prices down. 5: A men’s brand in a women’s store might inhibit men from walking in Ann Taylor, being the feminine store it is might often prevent men from walking into the store. A large portion of men, even while shopping with their partner, prefer to wait outside or visit a different store, rather than shopping alongside the woman. This moderate level of interest shows a threat to the Dan Taylor line, however, it is also provides room for growth. By changing promotional efforts in-store, management can captivate the attention of such idle shoppers and transform their boredom into profits. MARKETING STRATEGY ACTIONS TAKEN Ann Taylor’s primary advertising strategies will be â€Å"combination advertising,† including both Institutional and Promotional advertising. The promotion strategies will be divided into two phases. Stage 1 will involve bringing the company’s name out to the public and creating loyalty from Ann Taylor’s female consumers thereby exposing their partners to the line in a passive manner. Stage 2 will be dependent upon the first stage’s success and will encompass the creation of the actual ‘Dan Taylor,’ stores and shifting shopping responsibilities from the woman to the man. Product line |Tops |Bottoms |Jackets Coats Accessories | |T shirts |Pants/ Trousers |Suit Blazers |Ties | |- Polos |- Flat front |- Suit jackets |-Boleros | |- Henley |- Pleated |- Sports blazers |-Neckties | |- Sleeveless | | |-Bow ties | | | | |-Ascots | |Sweaters |Denim | |Cufflinks | |-Vests |- Relaxed | |- Double faced | |-Crew neck |- Straight leg | |- Chain | |- Full sleeved |- Skinny | |- Snap on | |- Boat neck |- Boot cut | |Belts | |- V neck | | |- Casual | | | | |- Formal | |Shirts |Shorts | |Socks | |- Dress s hirts |- Cargo | |- Ankle length | |- Cufflink shirts |- Chino | |- Low cut | | |- Bermuda | |- Mid calf | Stage 1: At this stage, Dan Taylor’s promotional efforts will be limited to news papers, magazines, in store promotions and social media. Given the economic difficulties of the Ann Taylor stores at the moment and the high-risk nature of adding a menswear line, these forms of advertising were chosen due to their maximum exposure to both men and women. Although newspaper advertising is a slowly dying medium, it still has the maximum exposure at minimum cost. This is an efficient medium to get the â€Å"Dan Taylor,† name out there to people who read newspapers that are not fashion related. In addition, trade publications like Women’s Wear Daily and other national and local magazines in the North East Region will feature advertisements for both Ann Taylor and Dan Taylor with both male and female models. Social Media, a highly upcoming medium for advertising will be taken advantage of as well. Dan Taylor will feature on facebook and twitter. These social networks will be constantly updated with new arrivals, sales and other promotions. These are excellent tools for reaching out to a mass audience that is specifically interested in the brand. Particular focus will be placed on these tools before the launch of the first Dan Taylor line to reach a wide audience and create massive hype. By using such a medium the brand can create an interaction and communication with the fan base, sponsoring loyalty and a following before the label is even launched. To introduce line on a grand scale, the company will have a launch party for the Dan Taylor line. Social media will be heavily used to publicize and to create excitement over the brand before said opening. Much emphasis will be placed in public relations and in creating hype for the launch. One such effort will be a competition on the Dan Taylor website (which is a part of the Ann Taylor website). Links to the website will be available on the facebook and twitter pages. The competition will involve men dressing their girlfriends or wives in Ann Taylor clothing and accessories and then submitting their entries. Visitors of the website will get a chance to vote for their favorite outfit and the top three couples will win free flight tickets, hotel accommodations and be featured at the launch party of the Dan Taylor brand. At the party, the winners, along with three celebrity couples will be highlighted as the event’s main feature. Each couple will be given an exclusive look into the Dan Taylor line and the woman will be given the opportunity to style their man. At the party, both the contest winners as well as the celebrity males will be asked to walk down a runway. Outfits will later be featured in editorials in a major fashion magazine. The celebrity couples will be chosen directly from previously existent Ann Taylor spoke models including Rachel Bilson, Heidi Klum and Christina Hendricks. Fortunately, all three women have famous actors as their boyfriend or husbands, which would translate seamlessly with raising awareness of the brand in a fun, star studded manner. Once the line is in store, promotional efforts will be rampant. Campaigns will appear primarily in newspapers and magazines. Adverts will always feature both a man and a woman, posing together in some manner to suggest a relationship. Emphasis will be placed on the novelty of the line as well as on how shopping the line makes the female reader a better wife or girlfriend. Ads will play on the idea that one uses gifts to demonstrate their love, adding that now woman can shop for men – while they shop for themselves! This activity will be depicted as pleasurable and an enjoyable addition to a woman’s afternoon shopping trip. The Dan Taylor line will be available in all Ann Taylor Loft outlets within the Northeast region. As previously detailed, this region shows highest rates of employment and of brand loyalty. It will be a perfect smaller test market to see whether the line has potential for future success. Loft stores were chosen due to their history of higher sales and lower price point. By limiting distribution of the product, we will also create a greater sense of demand and urgency for the label when stage two moves distribution nationwide. Stage 2: At this point, there will already be some sort of general awareness within the market of the Dan Taylor brand. Depending on the success of the first stage we will move directly into constructing brick and mortar Dan Taylor retail outlets. These will most likely be connected to Ann Taylor stores, much in the vain of Gap’s strategy. In addition to the print campaign, television ads will start being used specifically for the Dan Taylor line. Also, Dan Taylor print campaigns will no longer always feature a both a woman and a man. Campaigns should have similar feelings as Tod’s campaigns, with very manly, dark colors and a restrained sense of humor. We want a sleek sophistication in our ads to go in line with the product. We will increase product offerings to match the larger retail space, with products no longer being exhibited simply in racks within already existent Ann Taylor Loft outlets. A large launch party will be offered for both the Ann and Dan Taylor lines. The ultimate goal is to have both men and women’s wear lines have equal stature within the corporate structure. We will have created a one-stop shop for the power couple family unit, creating a comfortable environment for both the man and the woman. Conclusion The company’s overall goal is to improve the bottom line growth of both the divisions (Ann Taylor Dan Taylor). If successful, Ann Taylor Store Corp. ill be one of the highest grossing companies in the United States. Appendix 1 [pic] [pic][pic][pic] Appendix 2: [pic][pic] [pic][pic][pic][pic] [pic][pic][pic][pic] [pic][pic][pic] Bibliography †¢ Karr, Arnol J. â€Å"Ann Taylor Update Leads Retail Rally. † Women’s Wear Daily 3 Feb. 2010,199th ed. , sec. 23: 14. Print. †¢ Moin, David. â€Å"Ann Taylor Moves to Profit in 2nd Qtr. † Women’s Wear Daily 23 Aug. 2010, 2000th ed. , sec. 39: 10. Print. †¢ Moin, David. â€Å"Ann Taylor Swings to Pofit in 4th Qtr. † Women’s Wear Daily 15 Mar. 2010, 199th ed. , sec. 56: 2. Print. †¢ Romano, Anthony M. â€Å"How Ann Taylor Put Strategic Sourcing on the Management. † Supply Chain Management Review October (2006): 32-40. Print. U. S. Censs Bureau, 2009 American Community Survey †¢ Datamonitor | the Home of Business Information. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. http://www. datamonitor. com/ †¢ EBSCOhost – Worldaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s Foremost Premium Research Database Service. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . †¢ Macy’s| Department Store, Dept Store , Department Stores, Clothing, Apparel, Accessories. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . †¢ J. Crew – Cashmere, Sweaters, Women’s Clothing ; Dresses, Men’s Clothing, Children’s Clothing ; Kids Clothes. Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . †¢ Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . †¢ Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . †¢ Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . †¢ Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . †¢ Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . †¢ Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . †¢ Web. 22 Nov. 2010. . How to cite Ann Taylor, Papers

Check sample assignment on sustainable development in business

Question 1: Should business behave more sustainably or should they concentrate on growing profits? Is CSR a marketing tool that companies use to improve their reputation or distract attention from various unethical practices they engage in? Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of CSR as a way of encouraging business to behave more sustainably, using appropriate example. The prime objective of companies in business is to gain profit. However in recent times, companies have realized that they should focus on long term benefits and sustainable growth. CSR or Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the ways by which sustainable development can be achieved. One of the classical theories would suggest that businesses should concentrate on growing profits and the first objective of companies in any industry should be to gain profits. The new theory would suggest that companies should also look for ways to give back to society. It means that companies should look for the ways by which they can attain profit without disturbing the environment and social balance. The businesses can not have any single statement or direction that can resolve the dilemma between the profit making and sustainability. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the time has come when companies should look for a more balanced approach that can focus on both the aspects of growin g profits and sustainability. The time has come when profit making and sustainability should not be considered as two different phases of a coin. Therefore companies should focus on profit making and sustainability together. Having said that, it is also true that corporations should never leave the core function of profit making, the steps towards the sustainability should only help corporations to generate more profit. A strong debate exists between the real implications of CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Many experts have believed that CSR is just another marketing tool while some other believes that CSR does have real value. The harsh fact is that the CSR is one of the last things that is at the agenda of corporations. It all started as a marketing tool only. In fact corporations would not be able to survive in the industry by focusing first on CSR. It is correct that corporations carry certain social responsibility but this responsibility comes after the core business function of corporations. In the current environment of cut throat competition, it would not be incorrect to say that CSR is more of a marketing tool that is used by corporations to improve their reputation and distract attention from various unethical practices that they engage in. For example, large companies like KFC have been doing certain CSR initiatives only to ensure that people do not blame them for killing of animal s. There are various reports about the unethical practices adopted by KFC but somehow, these practices are covered under the umbrella of Corporate Social Responsibility. Coca-Cola is another brand that is reported to spend a lot on CSR activities but in the end Coca-Cola is also accused of using child labor in the developing nations such as India and China. The harsh truth is that CSR has evolved as a marketing tool that helps organization to improve their competitive position by doing something different from their competitors. As a concept, CSR is a powerful concept. CSR helps organizations to realize that profit making should not be the only goal of corporations. It is also correct that CSR encourages businesses to behave more sustainability. For example, automobile companies like Toyota and Ford have realized that pollution impact of gases emitting from their vehicles eventually pollute the surrounding that is not good for society. The sustainable development effort put by these organizations is eventually helping these organizations to grow their business. People have also appreciated the CSR activities from large corporations like Walmart and Microsoft. These large corporations have also realized that they would not be able to sustain in the long term if they do not focus on sustainable development. Eventually the objective of corporations is to improve their profit and this can happen only when end consumer is able to develop and grow in long term. The associated weaknesses of CSR as a way of encourag ing business are that the activities of CSR may require some initial investment. The corporations should be able to spend some money initially in order to derive the long term benefits. The initial expenditure does act as deterrent for corporations to involve in CSR activities. Also, large organizations can afford the initial investment or short term loss but mid-size and small scale industries can afford the sustainable development when they have to spend some amount. Question 2: How can market based instruments such as tradable carbon permits, encourage business to become more sustainable. Are they the most effective way of encouraging sustainable development or should there be other approaches? Compare and contrast market based instrument with regulatory and other approaches, using appropriate example. The sustainable development demands that organizations in both developed and developing world should work hand in hand towards sustainable development. Different corporations in developing nations have believed that it is the developed nations that are primary responsible to pollute the environment and to develop, emerging nations cannot always focus on sustainable development. To overcome these conflicts several instruments were devised such as tradable carbon points. One carbon credit is equal to one metric tonne of carbon dioxide, or in some markets, carbon dioxide equivalent gases. Carbon trading is an application of anemissions tradingapproach. Greenhouse gas emissions are capped and thenmarketsare used to allocate the emissions among the group of regulated sources. Eventually business can earn profit by selling their carbon points. Companies can earn the carbon points by involving in activities that encourage the use of green energy. This way market based instruments such as tr adable carbon permits would encourage business to become more sustainable. This way the sustainability of the business would enable to corporations to gain profit. There could be various approaches to encourage the sustainable development. One of these approaches is to encourage corporations to get involve in carbon dating. It would not be entirely correct to say that this approach is the most effective way of encouraging corporations. One of the approaches to encourage corporations is the recognition and rewards approach. In this approach, government would reward the corporations that would work towards the sustainable development. There has to be some ways through which the sustainable development is directly linked to the returns that organizations get, and then only corporations would feel encouraged and motivated to work towards sustainable development. It is recommended that government and other agencies should have other approaches also towards sustainable development. A framework should be developed through which end consumers can also realize the firms that have really worked towards sustainable development. One another approach of sus tainable development would involve all the stakeholders of the society. Under this approach all the stakeholders would join hand to work for sustainable development. The focus of this approach is that people should also realize that CSR cannot be accomplished only by corporations. The consumers and citizens and society at large should also support corporations to attain the goal of sustainable development. It is also recommended that sustainable development and CSR should not be taken as a social change. It should also be taken as the political and economic change in the system. The real sustainable development would happen only when the goals and objectives of CSR policies would include the changes in all direction including social, political and economic dimension. There also exists a strong regulatory based approach. Under this approach the government or the environmental agencies can have laws and regulations that can limit corporations for pollution emissions and can regulate c orporations to adopt green sources of energy. Both the approaches, market based instruments and regulatory instruments can help corporations to take their steps towards sustainable development. These two approaches are different and these approaches can be suited in different cases. It may not be completely feasible to compare these two approaches. However, on a high level, it can be said that market based instrument could be a better approach in most of the cases as it allows corporations to take their own decisions around sustainable development. In the regulatory approach, corporations have to work under the guidelines of government. The private corporations may not like the idea to work and operate under the government guidelines. Therefore, market based instruments could be a batter option. Moreover in market based approach, corporations are not forced upon to choose the policies and strategies and therefore corporations can obtain a balance between sustainable development and core business. For example, Walmart is interest ed to do CSR activities but it does not want the government interference. Coca-Cola has also launched certain programs to gain public trust and respect. Large corporations and MNCs have acknowledged that it is sometimes difficult to work towards CSR and sustainability when it is imposed by government.

Russian Society in the First Part of the 19th Century

The analysis of the works of 19th Century Russian writers reveals that Russia was not an ideal empire. The empire was a stratified such that numerous social classes emerged based religion, ethnicity and economic status. The Russian officialdom oppressed the masses for the benefit of the ruling class.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Russian Society in the First Part of the 19th Century specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More One of the ways through which the masses were oppressed was through censorship of literature. The ruling class censored writers with the sole purpose of maintaining the status quo. Despite such censorship, many of the 19th century Russian writers managed to develop works that showcased the perils of this empire. These include Mikhail Lermontov and Nikolai Gogol whose works are the major references for this paper. Lermontov and Gogol make subtle references to the vagaries of the19th century Russian ru ling class and the perils of the class society. Through the main characters Perochin and Hlestakov, Lermontov and Gogol respectively allude to the struggles of the peasants under the brutality of the ruling class. Pechorin is Lermontov’s antagonistic hero and key symbol. Through Pechorin the reader is able to see the disdain with which the rich and the powerful had on the poor. The mistreatment of the poor by the rich is symbolized through Perochin’s treatment of women, for whom he sees as mere objects for his personal satisfaction. He comments that he â€Å"often wondered why he was trying so hard to win the love of a girl he had no desire to seduce and whom he would never marry.†1 Thus, Perochin symbolizes 19th century Tsars, who gained personal satisfaction by oppressing the peasants. Similarly, Gogol, in his play The Government Inspector uses Hlestakov to illuminate the extent which class played in determining a person success.Advertising Looking for es say on eastern europe? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Hlestakov cunningly cheats the residents of the town that he belongs to the higher class, a Government Inspector, and as a result receives favors and privileges which could not be afforded to people from the ruling class.2 Thus, through symbolism, the reader is exposed to the class-based struggles in 19th century Russia. The two literary works also identify a unique characteristic about the 19th century Russian society: that there existed neurotic and enigmatic personalities. Critics argue that neurotic personalities exhibited in Russian literature had nothing to do with medical disorders, but portrayed a combination of positive and negative traits that exceeded the understanding of fellow men. Such men were able to utilize those traits for their own selfish ambitions with little regard for others and the consequences of their actions. Lermontov’s enigma is Perochin, a m an of great contradictions. Perochin was sensitive yet cynically melancholic. Perochin perceived women as objects for his romantic gratification. Ironically, perochin is seen as the romantic hero3. Similarly, Gogol portrays Hlestakov as an enigma. Through his cunningness and dual personality, Hlestakov exceeds the understanding of the town residents. So enigmatic is Hlestakov that he cunningly elicits bribes from the Mayor, who is revered by the town’s criminals for his ruthlessness. As such, residents of the small town hold Hlestakov in awe. Thus, through Hlestakov and Perochin, Lermontov and Golgol highlight the presence of enigmas in the 19th century Russia. The 19th century Russian society is in a moral dilemma. The society’s moral decadence is highlighted through other minor characters like the Ossetian drivers who exploit their clients at any opportunity. This is captured through Maxim Maximych’s comments thus â€Å"but the oxen understand them all right. Hitch up twenty of the animals if you want to and they won’t budge as soon as those fellows begin yelling in their own language†¦ Terrific cheats, they are†¦They do like to skin the traveler. Spoiled, they are, the robbers†¦ you’ll see they’ll make you tip them too.†4Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Russian Society in the First Part of the 19th Century specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Moral decadence in the 19th century Russia is equally captured in the Government Inspector through the Mayor’s famous words ‘‘what are you laughing at? You are laughing at yourselves.’’5 This implies that it is not only the Mayor who has been fooled but also the other town officials, including the Director of Charities, The Superintendent of Schools, The Judge and The Town Doctor. All these officials had bribed Hlestakov in efforts to stop him from exposing corruption by state officials. Ironically, the town merchants, mostly Jews, had also bribed Hlestakov so as to prevail upon him to dismiss the Mayor for corrupt deeds and discrimination against them. Through Lermontov’s and Gogol’s works it is evident that the 19th century Russian society was far from ideal. The society is stratified into socio-economic classes, with those in power oppressing the poor. Such stratification and disregard for the rule of law provided suitable conditions for moral decadence to breed, as evidenced in Lermontov’s and Gogol’s works. Bibliography Gogol, Nikolai. The Government Inspector. Indiana: Sylvan press, 1947. 50 – 108 Lermontov, Mikhail. A Hero of our Time. London: Penguin Books, 2009. 15 – 116 Footnotes 1 Mikhail Lermontov. A Hero of our Time. (London: Penguin Books, 2009), 116Advertising Looking for essay on eastern europe? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More 2 Nikolai Gogol. The Government Inspector. (Indiana: Sylvan press, 1947), 50, 84 3 Mikhail Lermontov. A Hero of our Time. (London: Penguin Books, 2009), 83- 95 4 Mikhail Lermontov. A Hero of our Time. (London: Penguin Books, 2009), 15 5 Nikolai Gogol. The Government Inspector. (Indiana: Sylvan press, 1947), 108 This essay on Russian Society in the First Part of the 19th Century was written and submitted by user Remington N. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Free Essays on Black History

by historian Benjamin Quarles best describe what the American Revolution meant for African Americans and their fight for freedom. When a portion of white Americans demanded freedom from Britain, because it was their human right, it led to enslaved African Americans also asking for their freedom from slavery. After the Seven Years War had ended and eliminated French and Spanish threats to American colonies, it weakened the relationship between Britain and the colonies. Since Britain had helped America get rid of these threats, Britain felt that America should be taxed in order to pay for the war. The colonies during this time were used to governing themselves and therefore believed that paying Britain was out of the question. This led to a number of taxes by the British on the colonies and Americans against British products. These events eventually led to the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War. The Declaration of Independence, which was written and adopted by Congress on July 4th, 1776, was written by a slaveholder. In it Thomas Jefferson wrote, â€Å"all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Hine and Harrold pg. 75). These rights that Jefferson wrote about did not apply to blacks. When blacks read this they believed that these rights belonged to them as well as whites and began to voice their opinions. African Americans then challenged whites to look at what had been written, and forced them change the way they thought about black freedom. When the War for Independence finally began, blacks joined the side of either Patriots or Loyalists. African Americans in the north were eager to join the side of the Patriots becaus... Free Essays on Black History Free Essays on Black History American Revolution â€Å"The Negro’s role in the Revolution can best be understood by realizing that his major loyalty was not to a place nor to a people, but to a principle.†(Hine and Harrold pg.80) These words by historian Benjamin Quarles best describe what the American Revolution meant for African Americans and their fight for freedom. When a portion of white Americans demanded freedom from Britain, because it was their human right, it led to enslaved African Americans also asking for their freedom from slavery. After the Seven Years War had ended and eliminated French and Spanish threats to American colonies, it weakened the relationship between Britain and the colonies. Since Britain had helped America get rid of these threats, Britain felt that America should be taxed in order to pay for the war. The colonies during this time were used to governing themselves and therefore believed that paying Britain was out of the question. This led to a number of taxes by the British on the colonies and Americans against British products. These events eventually led to the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War. The Declaration of Independence, which was written and adopted by Congress on July 4th, 1776, was written by a slaveholder. In it Thomas Jefferson wrote, â€Å"all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Hine and Harrold pg. 75). These rights that Jefferson wrote about did not apply to blacks. When blacks read this they believed that these rights belonged to them as well as whites and began to voice their opinions. African Americans then challenged whites to look at what had been written, and forced them change the way they thought about black freedom. When the War for Independence finally began, blacks joined the side of either Patriots or Loyalists. African Americans in the north were eager to join the side of the Patriots becaus...

Strategic Marketing Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Strategic Marketing Management - Essay Example However, it should be noted that portfolio analysis tools should be applied with caution as each of the individual technique has limitations. These are further elaborated on the discussion of the different tools. The three main portfolio planning tools are The Boston Consulting Group Growth-share Matrix, General Electric Market Attractiveness Competitive Position Model, and Shell Directional Policy Matrix. The Product Life Cycle (PLC) as a portfolio analysis tool highlights four stages in a product's life cycle-introduction, growth, maturity and decline. This technique stresses that products life is limited and each stage in the life cycle offers different levels of potential gains. Thus, companies should employ the right strategies to maximize cash flow. PLC is valuable as a marketing tool because it emphasizes product termination, growth projections, different marketing objectives and strategies in each stage, product planning, and dangers of overpowering. However, it is also recognized that PLC is limited as each product follows a unique life cycle (e.g., fads and classics), PLC is the result of marketing efforts and not the cause, the time span of each stage is unpredictable, and misleading objectives and strategies. The PLC can always be a good tool choice for compani

The war on terror has contributed to the growing abuse of human rights Essay

The war on terror has contributed to the growing abuse of human rights - Essay Example While the War on Terror has been a global one, in one way or another, the heart of the military battle has been fought in the Middle East, specifically Afghanistan and Iraq, where the death toll of non-combatants- of humans beings and their rights- continues to rise, almost a decade later. It is the position of the author that this paper’s title is incontrovertibly true. By distilling this issue into its simplest details, and comparing it to the procedures of a common self-defence case, it will be demonstrated that the War on Terror has not only contributed to the abuse of human rights, but is in fact, an attack on human rights. The basic central argument to go to war to protect human rights or liberty or security is perhaps not necessarily a flawed one. The first premise is that one’s liberty or security is threatened, which, in the light of 9-11, say, it would seem that this is true. Liberty and safety does seem to be in jeopardy, even at the best of times, from, amon g other things, terrorists. The second premise for the argument proposing war/violence to defeat terrorism is that something can -and should- be done about the problem. This too, all but the most cynical would agree to be true. The dissolution of Apartheid in South Africa is a prime example of the truth of the second premise. Further damage to human rights was stopped in this case without revolutionary war or violence of any kind. The argument that the progenitors of the War on Terrorism propose goes as follows: there is a threat to human rights because of terrorist groups who are attacking innocent people (premise 1), and so something can and must be done to solve the problem (premise 2), and finally, the best possible course of action is to react with violence in turn. Basically, if you are under attack, you should attack in return so as to end the assault, to survive. Self-defence is its own perfectly sound argument. However, when the defender of himself (or human rights) goes be yond self-protection and inflicts more harm than is necessary, he in turn becomes an assailant, a threat to human rights (Allan, Foster and Tredoux 374) In a court of law, self-defence becomes assault when the ‘defendant’s’ actions are not justified for the situation or level of threat, and/or when their act of self-defence invokes collateral harm. Now that one can consider the War on Terror as a kind of self-defence case, what would the jury of this case conclude about the way the defenders of human rights have gone about their defence? Events like 9-11 are despicable acts of violence, of terrorism, against civilians, against human rights. It is a problem that ought to be solved. Any nation or group of nations would be perfectly entitled to defend themselves against such terrorism. But, who are the defenders of the human rights victims of events like 9-11 supposed to return violence to? Who exactly is their assailant? It is not a sovereign country. It is not eve n a military platoon or contingent- not exactly anyway. Who should the assailed people of terrorism exact their justifiable violence on, so as to protect themselves? The answer that is proposed by pioneers of the War on Terrorism is brazen and presumptuous, at best. At worst, it is in turn, an act of terror, an attack on human rights. This is true because, euphemisms aside, the War on Terror has been, for all practical purposes just like any other war, which always involves invasions, civilian casualties, infrastructure damage

Organizational Structure Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Organizational Structure Paper - Essay Example Starbucks’s reorganization of its structure has come in the trail of its rapid growth. With rapid growth, the firm has encountered more challenges in satisfying its customers and this has increased the concern on how the firm will operate in the future. To deal with these new challenges, the firm, under the leadership of Howard Schultz, has deiced to take a matrix structure. A matrix organizational structure is considered to be the best organizational structure since it helps the organization to better utilize its resources (Galbraith, 2008). In a matrix organizational structure such as found in Starbucks, all resources, especially human resources, are not fixed on one function but are loosely attached so that they can be deployed to be used in any part of the organization when they are needed there (Simms, 2008). Starbucks has employed this structure, to go align with its new needs for human resources. The matrix structure in Starbucks is implemented over the functional structure which forms the chassis of Starbucks’ structure. The Starbucks is in contrast to that of its competitor, MacDonald’s (Torresjan, 2014). MacDonald’s is a fast food restaurant that sells fast food as well as coffee and is also based in the US (Jargon, 2013). The firm uses a hierarchal structure headed at the top by a chief executive officer who oversees the firms (Torresjan, 2014). According to (Macdonlads.com, 2014) the CEO Don Thompson and oversees all of MacDonalds business across the world. However, although the MacDonald’s organizational structure is different from that is Starbucks by taking up a hierarchical structure, it is also similar to the one for Starbucks in that it also takes a functional structure where various functions at certain levels are given to the different people (The Associated Press, 2011). However, the main difference is the

House of Power Westminster

House of Power Westminster Parliament at Westminster remains the most powerful institution in UK politics.’ To  what extent do you consider this to be true? This essay I am going to defend that Westminster is not the most powerful institution and in fact, its dependant on the composition of the house of Commons for it is just an instrument to enact the wish of the political party in power. In this essay I am going to relate Westminster having the main role when controlling institution as a way to determine real power. In the first part of the essay I will establish relationship between the Executive powers, and how the structure of the secondary election of the Prime minister affects the power of Westminster. In the second part of the essay I will discuss the transposition of the European Union (EU) laws and how this reduces the reach of the legislative power in the United Kingdom legislative power in certain matters. Legislative power is defined as the ability, skill, capability or authorization to carry out a specific legislative action,. Note that the uncodified constitutional configuration allows high regulation capacity because Westminster law become Constitutional Law. This kind of constitutional order permits an evolution in the same time of social thinking evolution, and adapt the social changes, such as changes from censatarian masculine suffrage (1831), and ultimately to universal suffrage(1970), or if the most recent devolution of powers to the nations inside the UK at the ends of 1997-98, all this crucial changes by the willingness Westminster. UK constitutional practice is the product of an historical experience with laws, customs and conventions being added to and subtracted from it over time as circumstances dictate (Politics and power in the UK, 2005, p.19) In addition it has also the ability, to reverse the changes and return to the absolute realm structure, although hardly on the political culture of citizenship possible, if It has the society will. This complete freedom to regulate could be the only point that could lead us to the conclusion of the supremacy of the legislative power. While the capabilities or the legitimation of the legislative power are vested in Westminster, this is who lays down rules as an institution, is not who has the power. It is the instrument of the law enactment. UK’s unified parliamentary government facilitates the fusion of the executive (the government) and the legislature (parliament).UK politics are primarily conducted between the executive and the legislative branches,[], the UK model of democracy facilitates executive dominance over the legislature (but provided the executive has a parliamentary majority)(Politics and power in the UK, 2005, p. 15) The electoral system is the first point to considerate, is how the Westminster it is compose, the electoral system is characteristic of Majoritarian Democratic System, Single Member Plurality System (SMPS). This system brings an over representative of the big parties, and event in theory brings a territorial representationally, in our days of a mass media politics it just make easier to concentrate in one party all the electoral power. The actual Executive power it is a coalition of Two political parties, that situation it is an exceptional, the UK’s fi rst peacetime coalition government since 1931 is a considerable departure from the UK norm (Politics and power in the UK, 2005, p.33),situation occurred just 3 times the last century. Normally Labour party or the Conservative party won at least 326 SMP, number enough elected members to elect the leader of the political party as the Prime Minister. To prove the over representably we just need to see the last election, especially between labour party with 29% of votes have 258 SMP and Liberal Party with only 23%, only 6 points less, 57 SMP. And moreover Liberal party has lost 5 SMP even they wont 1% more votes (BBC Electoral results). In the UK politics the election of the executive power it is make through the secondary election, elected by the elected members of the house of Common, and elect the head of the majoritarian party, or the majoritarian coalition, the Prime Minister. That circumstance make that the theory of separation of power (The Spirit of the Laws ,Montesquieu 1748) that define liberals democracies have become weaker. It has became weaker because the theoretical check and balance it becomes an illusion in the political life. The UK executive is empowered as a powerful government, even when it takes the unusual form of a two party coalition, thanks to the disproportional of the single member plurality system and the three party plus others system it now encourages. This executive, armed with a Commons majority, is therefore able, with parliamentary permission, to alter the constitution as it chooses and in ways electors tolerate.(Politics and power in the UK, 2005,p.36) The legislative power when there are a majoritarian party, with more than 326 SMP, have the Executive, and both follows the same agenda, or more exactly Westminster follow the directives of Whitehall and his agenda. And that party have two of the three powers the political party become the most powerful institution in United Kingdom. Moreover if we considerate the policy of the stick and carrot (Politics and power in the UK, 2005, p.26), punishing dissidence members through the party or reward him/her with honours and government jobs. The Executive control of elected members of his party and the fact of the Prime Minister is his political Party leader too, then he have two ways to influence and force the loyalty of his partners. But, as I said, the party its the most powerful power, and sometimes its the political party in govern who force the executive, or the prime minister, to do some decision. For example we can see the govern of Tony Blair. He join the country in the Iraqs War, this situation with the time made loses to Labour party most of his electoral support, this fact force to resign the Prime Minister in favour of Gordon Brown in the summer of 2007, after bad results on local elections of 4th of May.(BBC T. Blair Time line) This replacement was the way to change the strategy and the perceptions of the electorate of the Labour Party, and recover the confidence lost during the last years of Blairs Government and the Iraqs war. Also Gordon Brown PM has to manage the international Crisis, and in the election of 2010 Labour party lost the majority in Westminster. From another point of view of Westminster action is the result of the previous relation between the political parties, fact that easily we can see when there are an executives in coalition of political parties, as Whitehall have now with the Conservatives and Liberal parties in power, this coalition forge a defined political agenda before the election of David Cameron, and this agenda with the support of the parties is passing through it of the parliament. This circumstance exemplify more the role of validate the previous agrees of the political parties. As I said before Westminster is theoretically entitled to regulate freely. But from the UK integration to the European Economic Community in 1973, which was later constituted as the European Union that. EU as a multi-state structure regulates certain matters of regulations (Politics and power in the UK, 2005 , p.68-69), in the case of second-rank ordering directly applicable to United Kingdom law, as based on the legal basis of the development of a treaty approved and ratified by the parliament itself. The European Communities Act 1972 (ECA) allows EC specified instruments to become part of UK law without the need for separate enactment of each and every EC instrument. Section 2(1) of the ECA gives the statutory authority for Treaty provisions and directly applicable secondary legislation (e.g. regulations) automatically to have legal effect in UK domestic law without further enactment .(p. 89 Comparative Study on transposition of Ec Law, June 2007) Despite this habilitation by way of treaties is in practice a normative power loss, an alien subjugation on regulatory and legal system, and in consequence broke the theory freely of Westminster generated by the uncodificate constitution. The negotiation the regulations depending upon the matter is carried to treat the ministers, depending on their portfolio at the European Council of Ministers meetings. Or the importance of the subject by the own prime minister to European Councils. Furthermore, together with the agreements and later to assessments among ministries, and also departments transpose the European legislation generated by the European institutions, which rests in the hands of ministers or cabinet, except in cases of assuming of obligations in cases affecting rights previously acquired by the public or the state, in this case the rule will require a complement of Westminster United Kingdom the vast majority of EC legislation is enacted by Statutory Instrument under Section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972. This Section confers authority on ministers, Government departments or Her Majesty in Council to make, with certain exceptions, subordinate legislation for the purpose of implementing any Community obligation of the United Kingdom. Subordinate legislation made under this section can repeal or amend existing legislation if this is incompatible with EC law.(p. 11 Comparative Study on transposition of Ec Law, June 2007) Given that treaties with was Lisbon Treaty (2007), or even was the Maastricht Treaty (1992) form United kingdom de facto is constitutional encoded country, and a country that explores the progressive tendency of continental integration and harmonization. In conclusion Westminster have no limitations to legislate whatever thinks the society need, but how works the relation between legislative and executive make that the legislative production follows the directives of Prime Minister and the executive. This situations are accentuate by the concentration of power of majoritarian democratic system, because the representation is concentrate by SSMP as a way to become over-represented the Conservative Party and Labour Party, and this political parties control executive and legislative branches. Since 1973, and progressively more, the EU have increased the power and control over the states, specially in matter of agriculture and economics, but since the Lisbon Treaty and the failed European Constitution, the tendency is harmonization of all states in the union. For another hand, UE is the union of states, and the legislation is make by executives, and transposed by executives, reducing also the power of Legislative Power. With the arguments submitted can be concluded that the theoretical power of Westminster significantly lower than really have, even have capacity havent iniciatve. . Bibliography BATTA, D.(2007) COMPARATIVE STUDY ON THE TRANSPOSITION OF EC LAW IN THE MEMBER STATES,EU Policy Department Citizens Rights and Constitutional Affairs,June(2007) BBC(2010)BBC News, [online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6625869.stm [Accessed 13th may 2014]. BBC(2010)Electoral Results, [online] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/ [Accessed 13th may 2014]. Hefferman, R. and Guibernau, M.(2005)Politics and Power in the UK, 3rd ed, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, Montesquieu, C.(n.d.)The Spirit of the Laws, France: n.d. 1/6

Enclosure Act :: essays research papers

Enclosure Act The Enclosure Act was passed to create more commerce for farmers and use the lands more rationally. The enclosure was good because it increased food production. The enclosure also began a capitalistic attitude in Europe. The Enclosure Act damaged the pheasant population. Before the enclosure of the land, there were strips of land poor farmers would farm. There was also common land farmers would use to allow their animals to graze. This system discouraged improvement and favored the small time farmers. When the enclosure happened the landlords consolidated their lands, they transformed the strips of land into block fields, and fenced up the common land.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The enclosure increased the amount of food produced and the food supply. The enclosure allowed the continuation of innovations and inventions to help increase food production. The land was used more efficiently. The decisions on what crops to plant were not made communally as like in the village method. The farmers would use crop rotation and had more manure to use as fertilizer.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The farmers wanted to make more money after the enclosure. There was an entrepreneurial attitude. The farmers wanted to own land. These attitudes, however, hurt the poor farmers. The landlords, who were concerned about profits, did not care like they did during the village method about waving rents and look out for the farmers. Now all they wanted was their money.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the bad things that happened during the enclosure of land was what happened to the small farmers. In some cases the population of the poor cottagers, common pasturagers, and small farmers dropped. The landlords were not taking care of them like they us to during depressed times.

1920s Good Times or Bad Times Essay

For many decades, there were numerous arguments stating whether the â€Å"Roaring 20s† were good times or bad times in Canadian history. Although there were many clear reasons that supported both sides of the argument, I believe that the 1920s were good times. The â€Å"Roaring 20s† were times of economic and social boom. New inventions which are still effective part of our lives in 21st century, growing power of multimedia and entertainment, and modern form of industrial revolution with mass production all originated from 1920s. Moreover, the entrepreneurs and industrializing businesses especially in the central Canada or in the cities were successful. Lastly, stock market was rising gradually until the very late 1920s, until it collapsed. The 1920s were surely the golden era of Canadian history. First of all, great inventions and discoveries were made during 1920s. These fascinating discoveries and inventions had made significant impacts and brought changes in people’s everyday lives. Some of the essential items that we use every day were inventions made in the 1920s, such as vacuums and dishwashers. The three major discoveries and inventions that I believe were the greatest out of all which still are being used today are insulin, private automobiles, and radio. Insulin was the first effective medical treatment towards diabetes. Diabetes was one of the major diseases that had killed many people around the world during 1920s. Proper and effective treatments towards diabetes were needed as soon as possible. In 1921 at University of Toronto’s labratory, Dr. Fredrick Banting with help of his co-leagues and students succeeded isolating insulin which is a hormone from the dog. Banting’s idea was to inject the isolated insulin to the patient’s body since the reason diabetes is being caused is because of the scarcity of the insulin in one’s body. The results of insulin were astonishing! Banting and his colleagues had successfully created new treatment for diabetes. Fredrick Banting was therefore rewarded with highest praise, the Nobel Prize in physiology, and became the first Canadian to ever receive the Nobel Prize in physiology. Insulin is still the best medicine available towards diabetes in modern days. Private automobiles, such as Model T was produced in large quantities by mass production which was caused by modern industrial revolution during 1920s. The method of assembly line made this mass production possible. With private automobiles, distant families could easily connect with each other. Private automobiles had have brought new era of transportation system. In addition, the price of the private automobiles was reasonable. Therefore every average Canadian family had enough money to afford an automobile if they wanted to. The cars, highways, traffic lights, and so on that we see every day had originated from the 1920s. The invention of the radio was fascinating. It allowed people to connect with the world even in remote regions, allowed important messages to be set out to big population in short amount of time, and lastly made the gap between the cities and the countryside smaller. Radio was the tool that allowed people in remote regions, such as farmers to be connected to the world, issues, and so on. It has helped many Canadians to be less isolated and lonely. Radio also marked the beginning of the mass media revolution. It was the radio which influenced televisions, computers, and phones, and so on to be created. All of these great discoveries and inventions I have mentioned were created in 1920s, and they are still very effective part of our lives in modern days. 1920s surely was a very productive decade and was essential towards the development of the World including Canada. The 1920s were the starting point of the Mass Media Revolution. Mass media brought fashion trends, music, games, etc. along with them. Canadians were still in despair and in depression during the 1910s after WWI. Canadians faced high unemployment rates as many soldiers came back from the war, and they were also faced with the sorrow due the loss of the loved ones through the war. It was the mass media and the entertainment which helped Canada to forget about the hard times and to recover. Multimedia such as live broadcasts from new invention â€Å"radio† fascinated the Canadians. They could tune in to different channels in order to listen to many different types of programs. They could hear the music, live broadcast of the hockey game, live entertainment session with the comedian, and so on. The farmers in remote regions in prairies could even hear the live broadcast of the Maple Leaf’s match! Radio therefore has contributed a lot towards the society such as connecting the nation together, sending out information, entertainment, and so on. Secondly, the new fast pace and grooves of the jazz music and new trends of dances were appealing towards the younger generations, and were very popular. These types of music could also have been easily accessed through the multimedia such as radio. Thirdly, the younger generations were also fascinated by the new fashion trends from New York, and other regions in United States. Woman who were extremely in to these fashion trends were called flappers. They have cut their hair short, rolled down their silk stockings, rose the hem- lines, and so on. Flappers believed in the unique characteristics of them and admired the new fashion trends. Lastly, new games such as Mah-Jong from China, and Crossword puzzles from U. S. ere also very popular since they could be easily played by anyone. Without these entertainments and power of multimedia, the variety of multimedia we see everyday perhaps might not have existed. Moreover, these entertainments, and new trends has helped Canada get over the hardships of the post war economy and its effects. Entertainments and multimedia played big role in encouraging the people, which helped the economy to bo om. During the 1920s, the modern industrial revolution began. The idea of mass production was made possible due to the new assembly line system. Industrial revolution affected almost every aspect of people’s lives in 1920s. Private automobiles like model Ts were made on assembly lines at Ford Factories. The stock market of the industries has boomed and reached the highest points. The prices of the stocks during 1920s were considered impossible just a decade before, which proves how high the quality of the economy in Canada would have been during the 1920s. Canada’s economy has increased significantly and great parts of the central Canada had developed gradually in 1920s as well. It was said to be the golden years for the people in the cities, especially to the entrepreneurs and business men. As more money was gained, more money was spent and the development and enhancements were possible. This is how Canada has developed so much in 1920s, despite the depressing years they had faced earlier, which were 1910s due to the World War I. It was true that not everyone was happy during 1920s. Almost every farmer in remote regions has suffered greatly during the 1920s. The grain prices has dropped 50% after the WWI, and the new laws made by the government such as tariffs were only focused towards the workers in the cities, therefore farmers faced economical hardship. However I still believe that the 1920s were golden years to Canada. First of all, the majority of the Canadians were living in major cities, and was involved with the major industrializing economy and services. The farmers in Canada were the minority group. Therefore I believe that it was fair for government to set their focus on majority and support them as much as they could since the majorities were growing with gradual speed. Secondly, the farmers had their golden years during the 1910s, for example, the productivity of the grain industry, fishery, and forestry has grown almost twice in sizes and the prices of these products has also greatly increased during 1910s, or WWI. This decade was also a devastating decade towards the industrial economy due to the WWI. Therefore, I believe that the farmers should be able to accept the fact that it was the other part of the economy’s turn to grow. Lastly, some good came out towards the farmers during 1920s as well. Although farmers were facing hardship, they still appreciated the new inventions, such as radio and private automobiles because they were very helpful. These inventions allowed farmers in remote regions to be connected with the world. All the new forms of entertainments were also appealing to farmers as well, such as Jazz music, talkies which were talking movies, and so on. Therefore I believe that the 1920s weren’t so bad for farmers as well since they have gained a lot during 1910s, and farmers also were influenced positively with the new inventions, trends and entertainments. The â€Å"Roaring 20s† were golden times, especially when compared with the war times during 1910s, and the great depression, â€Å"Dirty Thirties† which the Canadians would soon face. The new fascinating and significant discoveries and inventions, multimedia revolution, new forms of entertainment, and lastly gradual increase in the industrialization economy and services made the 1920s to be successful. Although some visible minorities has faced hardship, it was their sacrifice which made the boom of the economy possible. It was reasonable for the government to support the majority if they had to choose only one group to set their focus in order to develop the country’s economy. I believe that 1920s were a lot more than just a golden era. I believe that 1920s were the cornerstone of the revolutionary development which has helped us reach the society which we currently live in. We should never forget about the efforts and sacrifices that people had contributed for us, and we should also contribute with our best effort to create better society for our future generations.

The Biography of Florence Nightingale Essays

The Biography of Florence Nightingale Essays The Biography of Florence Nightingale Paper The Biography of Florence Nightingale Paper Essay Topic: Blankets Florence Nightingale helped make hospitals cleaner and more efficient, she helped make nursing an important, respected profession, and helped change the world around her into a better, more caring place. Would you like to be in a dirty, smelly hospital with fleas and rats? Would you want to have a nurse care for you who knows nothing about diseases or nursing? Well that’s the way it would beif it wasn’t for a woman pioneer set out to improve hospital conditions. That woman was Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale was born on May 12, 1820, in Florence, Italy. She was named after the city that she was born in. Her mother loved gaiety, and Florence, Italy had the reputation of being the gayest city in Europe. Florence had a sister named Parthenope who was born one year prior to Florence’s birth. She was born in Naples, Italy. Parthenope was also named after the city she was born in. Parthenope is Greek for Naples. Florence and Parthenope were seldom called by their full names. Florence was called Flo, and Parthenope was called Parthe or just Pop. Florence and Parthenope’s parents were Fanny and William Nightingale. They were both from England. Her father was a Unitarian and a Whig who was involved in the anti-slavery movement. As a child, Florence was very close to her father, who without a son, treated her as his friend and companion. Florences mother, Fanny Nightingale, also came from a Unitarian family. Both Florence and Parthenope were born while they were on vacation in Italy. The Nightingales were a very rich and wealthy family. Flo and Pop grew up with a very privileged childhood. They had many gardens to play in, ponies to ride, and numerous cats, dogs, and birds to take care of. They lived in a large house in a town called Derbyshire, near London. They called it Embley Park. They also had a summer home that they called Lea Hurst. Even with all of this, Flo was not happy. Flo was not an ordinary child. She was not naughty like every other child. Instead, she was passionate, loving, strong-headed, and miserable. She craved sympathy. She was a very cryptic child. Florence thought that she was not like other people. She was scared that other children might discover her secret. Florence was not happy living the rich life that she was. She was always in discontent. To escape from this, she day-dreamed all of the time. Florence was very pretty like her mother. She had a very vivid and active imagination. She would day dream all of the time. She imagined herself as a monster and as a great heroine. Flo and Pop were educated by their father. Their education was very thorough and classical. Florence was very smart, and was especially good at math. Besides the fact that she loved to daydream, Florence loved to write. She was always writing in her diary. When her diary was not with her, she wrote on small scraps of papers or anything that she could get her hands on to write down her thoughts! On February 7, 1837, when Florence was 17, she wrote, God spoke to me and called me to His service. She had no idea what this service might be. God’s call to her was ambiguous, but she did know that she was to do something. Many men liked Florence, and the man that she liked had asked her to marry him. She turned him down, as she did many others, because she did not want to live her life like her mother lived hers. If she were to marry that man, she would have had to spend her time making society and arranging domestic things. Her mother was very upset with her decision to turn him down. She was always looking for a husband for Flo. Early on in her life, Florence knew that she was not an ordinary person. She wanted to do something that would make a difference. In the 1840s, people in England were hungry. It was a very hard time for them. Prisons and hospitals were overcrowded and dirty. During this time, Florence brought food to the hungry, medicine to the sick, and clothing to the cold and naked. In 1844 Florence was twenty four years old. She decided that her calling was to work in a hospital. She was to help other people by being a nurse. She wrote in her diary that it was God’s work for me. When Florence told her parents her plans to become a nurse, they were horrified because nursing was associated with working class women. They would not let Florence carry out her calling. Hospitals then were very dirty and smelly. To relive their pain, many patients drank whiskey. Some of the nurses drank whiskey along with the injured and sick soldiers. The nurses then didn’t know much about disease. There were close to no servants to cook and clean the hospitals. Because her parents didn’t approve of her plans, Florence was devastated. She became depressed because she could not do what God wanted her to do. She hardly slept. She lost weight. On December 5, 1845, in her diary, Florence wrote, I am dust and nothing†¦This morning I felt my soul would pass away in tears. Florence became very sick. In all of this Florence was determined to carry out God’s wish and didn’t give up hope. In 1849 her parents allowed her to go abroad and study the European hospital system. In 1850 she began training in nursing at the Institute of Saint Vincent de Paul in Alexandria, Egypt. In June of the year 1851 Florence’s parents allowed her to go to nursing school. She was thirty one years old, and she was finally carrying out her calling. The school that she went to to learn nursing was in Kaiserswerth, Germany. It was called the Institute for Protestant Deaconesses. She was on her way to fulfilling God’s will for her. Early in the year 1853 Florence went to Paris, France. She visited hospitals and watched doctors at work so that she could learn first-hand what it was like and what she must do. Late that same year Florence was made the superintendent of The Institution for the Care of Sick Gentlewomen. It was just a small women’s hospital in London, but a big step for Florence. Florence always made certain that the hospitals were clean, and she allowed anybody to come to the hospital that needed care, not just the members of the Church of England. England joined the Crimean was against Russia in 1854. There were not enough hospital beds or doctors for the injured and sick soldiers. On October 15, 1854, the Secretary At War asked Florence Nightingale to choose a group of nurses and take them to Crimea to help with the sick and wounded soldiers. Florence was happy to take on the task and within one week, Florence and her fleet of thirty eight nurses were on their way. When Florence arrived in Scutari, Turkey, she was shocked. She had never before seen such an unkempt hospital. The hospital was swarming with fleas, and rats were scurrying everywhere. Since there were not enough beds to accommodate all of the injured and sick soldiers, they were lined up in the beds and on the floor. The men were kept in rooms without blankets or decent food. The soldiers remained unwashed and still in their dirty, bloody uniforms. In these conditions, it was not surprising that in army hospitals, war wounds only accounted for one death in six. Diseases such as typhus, cholera and dysentery were the main reasons why the death-rate was so high amongst wounded soldiers. Military officers and doctors objected to Nightingales views on reforming military hospitals. They interpreted her comments as an attack on them, and she was made to feel unwelcome. Florence received very little help from the military until she used her contacts at The Times to report details of the way that the British Army treated its wounded soldiers. Nightingale was given the task of organizing the barracks hospital after the battle of Anchorman. Florence and the other nurses cleaned the hospital, prepared better food, and cared for the sick. They turned the hospital around, and they even built another one. Florence cared for the wounded soldiers so much that every night she carried a lantern and walked from bed to bed for hours. She wanted to make sure the soldiers were comfortable. Because of this, the soldiers started calling Florence The Lady with the Lamp. They always looked forward to her visits. As she passed their beds, and her shadow fell across the walls, some soldiers reached out to kiss it. They were very thankful that Florence had come to help them. Because of Florence and the other nurses, the mortality rate among the sick and the wounded was greatly reduced. Sometimes, Florence worked straight through the night and didn’t sleep. She worked very hard to make others happy. Because of all of her hard work, she became sick herself in May, 1855. She was near death for two weeks. Fortunately, within a few months she recovered and was back to work. The people back in England were very proud of Florence. In a letter that Parthenope wrote to Florence, she said, The people love you. Poems and songs were written about her. Babies were named Florence in her honor. Money was collected for a fund called the Nightingale Fund. A lot of the money was donated by thankful soldiers. Later, Florence used the money to set up a school for nurses. In March, 1856 the Crimean War ended, and Florence could return home. A parade and many other celebrations were planned for her return to honor her. Because so many people had died in the war, Florence didn’t feel like celebrating. She came home quietly and refused to make a show of herself. When she returned, Florence was thirty six years old. She was still a young woman, but her past illnesses had left her weak. She became very sick again in 1857. She was ill yet again in 1861. From then on, she stayed at home most of the time and worked there. She worked on writing. She was happy because she was surrounded by the things she loved: papers, notebooks, and many cats. Queen Victoria admired Florence a great deal. She supported Florence’s push for improved medical care for the British soldiers. Because of this, a Royal Commission was started. Florence gave the commission a 1,000 page report. It was called Notes on Matters Affecting the Health, Efficiency, and Hospital Administration of the British Army. As a result of her work, the living conditions and medical care given to British soldiers were greatly improved. Because Florence stayed at home most of the time, she was able to write many books. In 1859, two of her books were published. They were Notes on Nursing and Notes on Hospitals. Her book, Notes on Nursing, was the first textbook for nurses, which was translated into many languages. In 1861, Florence Nightingale advised the United States Secretary of War on setting up army hospitals for those injured in the American Civil War. She also advised on improving health conditions in India. In 1860, Florence Nightingale founded the Nightingale School and Home for Nurses at Saint Thomass Hospital in London. She used the money that she raised from her two books and the Nightingale Fund. The opening of this school marked the beginning of professional education in nursing. Florence’s nurses were called Nightingales. They were very well trained. Often, they came to Florence for her blessing before they began their work. When a Nightingale was sent to do a duty in a far away place, Florence sent them flowers to greet them when they arrived at their stations. Nursing schools in Europe and America followed the example of the Nightingale School. Florence was getting very weak. She was getting sick very often. In 1895, she went blind. Soon after, she lost most all of her other functions. She required full-time nursing. In 1907 Florence was eighty seven years old. She was awarded the Order of Merit by King Edward VII of England for all the work that she did for other people. She was the first woman to ever win the award. On August 13, 1910, when she was ninety years old, Florence Nightingale died quietly in her sleep. Even though she died, her life’s work survived. She helped make hospitals clean and efficient. She helped make nursing an important, respected profession. Florence Nightingale helped change the world around her into a better, more caring place. In 1915 the Crimean Monument in Waterloo Place, London, was erected in her honor. Florence Nightingale has affected the course of human history in many ways. She worked to make hospitals as good and as hospitable as they could be. That is why hospitals are so good and clean today. She also worked to make nursing an important and well respected profession. Florence Nightingale changed the lives of those around her and those who heard about her. She was a great inspiration to others who wanted to make a difference in the world. One way that Florence Nightingale made hospitals like they are today is that she insisted that the wounded soldiers of the Crimean War have a nice place to get better and rest. She wanted them to have good food, and enough warm blankets and clothing. She also wanted the living quarters to be like home. She insisted that the hospitals be rodent free. She also made sure that the hospitals were not smelly. Florence Nightingale wanted to make the patients as happy and as comfortable as possible. She made them feel at home when they were at war and sick or injured. Her altruistic attitude made the soldiers feel better. Just by caring for them, she had a huge impact on them. Since she was so uplifting, she inspired the soldiers to be the same way. She made war a better place. She made the soldiers feel better. When she walked from bed to bed in the darkest hours of the night, she made the soldiers know that someone cares for them. In doing this, she made the world a much better place. Florence Nightingale made nursing an important and vary respected profession. Before Florence became a nurse, nurses knew very little about disease and nursing. They didn’t care about the patients or the living conditions. Before Florence, nursing was thought to be a dirty job. The nurses were often depressed and became nurses because they had nowhere else to go. Florence didn’t want to be a nurse just because she needed a job. She wanted to be a nurse to help people. It was her duty to be a nurse because God called her to do so. She truly cared. Because she cared, she made sure that the hospitals were clean. She also made sure that her patients were comfortable. Because Florence was so determined to be a good nurse, she inspired others to do the same. She led the way to making nursing a desirable job. She led other women to be nurses like her so that they could also help those in need. She was a pioneer to help others. She set up a school for nurses in order to allow nurses to get the proper education. She really wanted to make nursing better, and she made it easier for others who wanted to be good nurses like her to do so. Florence Nightingale changed the lives of those around her. She made the soldiers happier. Because of her, they knew that someone cared for them. Florence wanted to care for the sick to make them feel better. Not only did she make them physically feel better, but because of her caring nurture, she made the soldiers feel better in their hearts, too. When Florence’s Nightingales was sent to a far off place to care for the sick and wounded soldiers, she sent flowers to them. She wanted to make them feel welcome. She also wanted to make them feel as at home as possible. Florence just wanted to brighten the day of that nurse who might be a bit scared. Florence cared deeply for others. Even before Florence was a nurse she cared for others. She cared for them by just being nice. Before Florence knew that her calling was to be a nurse, she was helping others. She gave food to the hungry. She gave medicine to the sick. She gave clothes and blankets to the cold. She gave what she had to the poor people who could not afford those things. Florence Nightingale was a very benevolent person. She cared for others who she didn’t even know. Because Florence Nightingale was so brave and courageous in pursuing her dream, she was, and still is, an inspiration to others. When Florence’s parents forbade her to go to nursing school and become a nurse, Florence never gave up hope. She kept her dream in her mind always. Florence always looked for her parents’ affirmation. Because of her consistency in pursuing her dream, Florence finally was allowed to go to nursing school and become a nurse.