The Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 2002 - 1044 Words

I. The Regulatory Backdrop Over the years Congress has acknowledged and agreed that more needs to be done to incentivize and protect whistleblowers. In the early 2000s, following major accounting scandals, Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (â€Å"SOX†). Then several years later, following more major financial scandals and plummeting of the United States economy into the Great Recession of 2008, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Act. This section will briefly describe each of these Acts as they provide background for the dispute. A. Round One: The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Following the massive Enron and WorldCom scandals, Congress enacted SOX. SOX’s purpose is â€Å"[t]o protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of†¦show more content†¦Whistleblowers who meet these criteria must state a prima facie case, which must first show that they â€Å"engaged in a protected activity.† However, SOX limits protected activity to an employee who â€Å"provide[s] information . . . regarding any conduct which the employee reasonably believes constitutes a violation of section 1341 [mail fraud], 1343 [wire fraud], 1344 [bank fraud] or 1348 [securities fraud], any rule or regulation of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or any provision of Federal law relating to fraud against shareholders.† If an employee can prove that they engaged in a protected activity, then they can then proceed through the rest of the required elements to make their claim. To file a claim, whistleblowers must first file with the Secretary of Labor. The Secretary of Labor has 180 days to make a decision, and only if that time lapses can the whistleblower file their complaint directly with the court. Regardless of which way the case is filed, if the plaintiff succeeds relief includes â€Å"all [that is] necessary to make the employee whole.† Thus, relief includes â€Å"reinstatement with seniority, back pay with interest, and costs.† It is important to point out that while SOX provides protection for whistleblowers, it does not provide any kind of incentives for employees to blow the whistle in the first place. B. Round 2: The Dodd-Frank Act However, SOX was not the end of the story. 2008 ushered in, what is now

The Return Midnight Chapter 16 Free Essays

string(74) " her arms and legs and pul ed, as if they were planning to pul her apart\." â€Å"Once upon a time,†began Bonnie, â€Å"there were a young girl and boy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She was immediately interrupted. â€Å"What were their names?†Ã¢â‚¬ Were they slaves?†Ã¢â‚¬ Where did they live?†Ã¢â‚¬ Were they vampires?† Bonnie almost forgot her misery and laughed. â€Å"Their names were†¦Jack and†¦Jil . We will write a custom essay sample on The Return: Midnight Chapter 16 or any similar topic only for you Order Now They were kitsune, and they lived way up north in the kitsune sector around the Great Crossings†¦Ã¢â‚¬ And she proceeded, albeit with many excited interruptions, to tel the story she had gotten from the star bal . â€Å"So,†Bonnie concluded nervously, as she opened her eyes and realized that she’d attracted quite a crowd with her story, â€Å"that’s the tale of the Seven Treasures, and – and I suppose the moral is – don’t be too greedy, or you won’t end up with anything.† There was a lot of laughter, the nervous giggling of the girls and the â€Å"Haw! Haw haw!†kind of laughter from the crowd behind them. Which Bonnie now noticed was entirely male. One part of her mind started unconsciously to go into flirt mode. Another part immediately squashed it. These weren’t boys looking for a dance; these were ogres and vampires and kitsune and even men with mustaches – and they wanted to buy her in her little black bubble dress, and as nice as the dress might be for some things, it wasn’t like the long, jeweled gowns that Lady Ulma had made for them. Then they had been princesses, wearing a fortune’s worth of jewels at their throats and wrists and hair – and besides, they had had fierce protection with them at al times. But now, she was wearing something that felt a lot like a baby-dol nightgown and delicate little shoes with silvery bows. And she wasn’t protected because this society said you had to have men to be protected, and, worst of al †¦she was a slave. â€Å"I wonder,†said a golden-haired man, moving through the girls around her, al of whom hurried out of his way except Mouse and Eren, â€Å"I wonder if you would go upstairs with me and perhaps tel me a story – in private.† Bonnie tried to swal ow her gasp. Now she was the one hanging on to Mouse and Eren. â€Å"Al such requests must go through me. No one is to take a girl out of the room unless I approve,†announced a woman in a ful -length dress, with a sympathetic, almost Madonna-like face. â€Å"That wil be treated as theft of my mistress’s property. And I’m sure we don’t al want to be arrested as if we’d been caught carrying off the silverware,†she said and laughed lightly. There was equal y light laughter among the guests as Well, and movement toward the woman – at a sort of mannerly run. â€Å"You tel real y good stories,†Mouse said in her soft voice. â€Å"It’s more fun than using a star bal .† â€Å"Mouse, here, is right,†Eren said, grinning. â€Å"You do tel good stories. I wonder if that place real y exists.† â€Å"Well, I got it out of a star bal ,†Bonnie said. â€Å"One that the girl – um, Jil , put her memories in, I think – but then how did it get out of that tower? How did she know what happened to Jack? And I read a story about a giant dragon and that felt real too. How do they do it?† â€Å"Oh, they trick you,†Eren said, waving a dismissive hand. â€Å"They have somebody go someplace cold for the scenery – an ogre probably, because of the weather.† Bonnie nodded. She’d met mauve-skinned ogres before. They only differed from demons in their level of stupidity. At this level, they tended to be stupid in society, and she’d heard Damon say with a curled lip that the ones that were out of society were hired muscle. Thugs. â€Å"And the rest they just fake somehow – I don’t know. Never real y thought about it.†Eren looked up at Bonnie. â€Å"You’re an odd one, aren’t you, Bonny?† â€Å"Am I?†Bonnie asked. She and the two other girls had revolved, without letting go of hands. This meant that there was some space behind Bonnie. She didn’t like that. But, then, she didn’t like anything about being a slave. She was starting to hyperventilate. She wanted Meredith. She wanted Elena. She wanted out of here. â€Å"Um, you guys probably don’t want to associate with me anymore,†she said uncomfortably. â€Å"Huh?†said Eren. â€Å"Why?†asked Mouse. â€Å"Because I’m running through that door. I have to get out. I have to.† â€Å"Kid, calm down,†Eren said. â€Å"Just keep breathing.† â€Å"No, you don’t understand.†Bonnie put her head down, to shade out some of the world. â€Å"I can’t belong to somebody. I’m going crazy.† â€Å"Sh, Bonny, they’re – â€Å" â€Å"I can’t stay here,†Bonnie burst out. â€Å"Well, that’s probably al to the good,†a terrible voice, right in front of her, said. No! Oh, God. No, no, no, no, no! â€Å"When we’re in a new business we work hard,†the Madonna-like woman’s voice said. â€Å"We look up at prospective customers. We don’t misbehave or we are punished.†And even though her voice was sweet as pecan pie, Bonnie somehow knew that the harsh voice in the night shouting at them to find a pal et and stay on it, had been this same woman. And now there was a strong hand under her chin and Bonnie couldn’t keep it from forcing her head up, or from covering her mouth when she screamed. In front of her, with the delicate pointed ears of a fox, and the long sweeping black tail of a fox but otherwise looking human, looking like a regular guy wearing jeans and a sweater, was Shinichi. And in his golden eyes she could see, twisting and turning, a little scarlet flame that just matched the red on the tip of his tail and the hair that fel across his forehead. Shinichi. He was here. Of course he could travel through the dimensions; he Stillhad a ful star bal that none of Elena’s group had ever found as well as those magical keys Elena had told Bonnie about. Bonnie remembered the horrible night when trees, actual trees, had turned into something that could understand and obey him. About how four of them each grabbed one of her arms and legs and pul ed, as if they were planning to pul her apart. You read "The Return: Midnight Chapter 16" in category "Essay examples" She could feel tears leaking out behind her shut eyelids. And the Old Wood. He’d control ed every aspect of it, every creeper to trip you, every tree to fal in front of your car. Until Elena had blasted al but that one thicket of the Old Wood, it had been ful of terrifying insect-like creatures Stefan cal ed malach. But now Bonnie’s hands were behind her back and she heard something fasten with a very final-sounding click. No†¦oh, please no†¦ But her hands were definitely fixed in place. And then someone – an ogre or a vampire – picked her up as the lovely woman gave Shinichi a smal key off a key ring ful of identical keys. Shinichi handed this to a big ogre whose fingers were so large that they eclipsed it. And then Bonnie, who was screaming, was quickly whisked up four flights of stairs and a heavy door thunked shut behind her. The ogre carrying her fol owed Shinichi, whose sleek scarlet-tipped tail swung jauntily from a hole in his jeans, back and forth, back and forth. Bonnie thought: That’s satisfaction. He thinks he’s won this already. But unless Damon real y had forgotten her completely, he would hurt Shinichi for this. Maybe he would kil him. It was an oddly comforting thought. It was even ro – No, it’s not romantic, you nitwit! You have to find a way to get out of this mess! Death is not romantic, it’s horrible! They had reached the final doors at the end of the hal . Shinichi turned right and walked al the way down a long corridor. There the ogre used the key to open a door. The room had an adjustable overhead gaslight. It was dim but Shinichi said, â€Å"Can we have a little il umination, please?†in a false polite voice, and the other ogre hurried and turned the light up to interrogation-lamp-in-your-face level. The room was a sort of bedroom-den combination, the kind you’d get at a decent hotel. It had a couch and some chairs on the upper level. There was a window, closed, on the left side of the room. There was also a window on the right side of the room, where al the other rooms should be in a line. This window had no curtains or blinds that could be drawn and it reflected Bonnie’s pale face back at her. She knew at once what it was, a two-way mirror, so that people in the room behind it could see into this room but not be seen. The couch and chairs were positioned to face it. Beyond the sitting room, off to her left, was the bed. It wasn’t a very fancy bed, just white covers that looked pink, because there was a real window on that side that was almost in a line with the sun, sitting as it always was, on the horizon. Right now, Bonnie hated it more than ever before because it turned every light-colored object in the room pink, rose, or outright red. The bow at her own bodice was deep pink now. She was going to die saturated with the color of blood. Something on some deeper level told her that her mind was thinking of such things as distractions, that even thinking about hating to die in such a juvenile color was running away from the bit in the middle, the dying bit. But the ogre holding her moved her around as if she weighed nothing, and Bonnie kept having little thoughts – were they premonitions? Oh, God, let them not be premonitions! – about going out of that red window in a sitting position, the glass no impediment to her body being thrown at a tremendous force. And how many stories up were they? High enough, anyway, that there was no hope of landing without†¦Well, dying. Shinichi smiled, lounging by the red window, playing with the cord to the blinds. â€Å"I don’t even know what you want from me!†Bonnie found herself saying to Shinichi. â€Å"I’ve never been able to hurt you. It was you hurting other people – like me! – al the time.† â€Å"Well, there were your friends,†murmured Shinichi. â€Å"Although I seldom wreak my dread revenge against lovely young women with red-gold hair.†He lounged beside the window and examined her, murmuring, â€Å"Hair of red-gold; heart true and bold. Perhaps a scold†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Bonnie felt like screaming. Didn’t he remember her? He certainly seemed to have remembered their group, since he’d mentioned revenge. â€Å"What do you want?†she gasped. â€Å"You are a hindrance, I’m afraid. And I find you very suspicious – and delicious. Young women with red-gold hair are always so elusive.† Bonnie couldn’t find anything to say. From everything she’d seen, Shinichi was a nutcase. But a very dangerous psychopathic nutcase. And al he enjoyed was destroying things. In just one moment there could be a crash through the window – and then she’d be sitting on air. And then the fal would begin. What would that feel like? Or would she already be fal ing? She only hoped that at the bottom it was quick. â€Å"You seem to have learned a lot about my people,†Shinichi said. â€Å"More than most.† â€Å"Please,†Bonnie said desperately. â€Å"If it’s about the story – al I know about kitsune is that you’re destroying my town. And – â€Å"She stopped short, realizing that she could never let him know what had happened in her out-of-body experience. So she could never mention the jars or he’d know that they knew how to catch him. â€Å"And you won’t stop,†she finished lamely. â€Å"And yet you found an ancient star bal with stories about our legendary treasures.† â€Å"About what? You mean from that kiddy star bal ? Look, if you’l just leave me alone I’l give it to you.†She knew exactly where she’d left it, too, right beside her sorry excuse for a pil ow. â€Å"Oh, we’l leave you alone†¦in time, I assure you,†Shinichi said with an unnerving smile. He had a smile like Damon’s, which wasn’t meant to say â€Å"Hel o; I won’t hurt you.†It was more like â€Å"Hul o! Here’s my lunch!† â€Å"I find it†¦curious,†Shinichi went on, Stillfiddling with the cord. â€Å"Very curious that just in the middle of our little dispute, you arrive here in the Dark Dimension again, alone, apparently without fear, and manage to bargain for a star bal . An orb that just happens to detail the location of our most priceless treasures that were stolen from us†¦a long, long time ago.† You don’t care about anybody but yourself, Bonnie thought. You’re suddenly acting al patriotic and stuff, but in Fel ‘s Church you didn’t pretend to care about anything but hurting people. â€Å"In your little town, as in other towns throughout history, I had orders to do what I did,†Shinichi said, and Bonnie’s heart plunged right down to her shoes. He was telepathic. He knew what she was thinking. He’d heard her thinking about the jars. Shinichi smirked. â€Å"Little towns like the one on Unmei no Shima have to be wiped off the face of the earth,†he said. â€Å"Did you see the number of ley lines of Power under it?†Another smirk. â€Å"But of course you weren’t really there, so you probably didn’t.† â€Å"If you can tel what I’m thinking, you know that story about treasures was just a story,†Bonnie said. â€Å"It was in the star bal cal ed Five Hundred Stories for Young Ones. It’s not real.† â€Å"How strange then that it coincides so exactly with what the Seven Kitsune Gates are supposed to have behind them.† â€Å"It was in the middle of a bunch of stories about the – the Dz-Aht-Bhi’iens. I mean the story right before it was about a kid buying candy,†Bonnie said. â€Å"So why don’t you just go get the star bal instead of trying to scare me?†Her voice was beginning to tremble. â€Å"It’s at the inn right across the street from the shop where I was – arrested. Just go and get it!† â€Å"Of course we’ve tried that,†Shinichi said impatiently. â€Å"The landlady was quite cooperative after we gave her some†¦compensation. There is no such story in that star bal .† â€Å"That’s not possible!†Bonnie said. â€Å"Where did I get it, then?† â€Å"That’s what I’m asking you.† Stomach fluttering, Bonnie said, â€Å"How many star bal s did you look at in that brown room?† Shinichi’s eyes went blurry briefly. Bonnie tried to listen, but he was obviously speaking telepathical y to someone close, on a tight frequency. Final y he said, â€Å"Twenty-eight star bal s, exactly.† Bonnie felt as if she’d been clubbed. She wasn’t going crazy – she wasn’t. She’d experienced that story. She knew every fissure in every rock, every shadow in the snow. The only answers were that the real star bal had been stolen, or – or maybe that they hadn’t looked hard enough at the ones they had. â€Å"The story is there,†she insisted. â€Å"Right before it is the story about little Marit going to a – â€Å" â€Å"We probed the table of contents. There is the story about a child and† – he looked scornful – â€Å"a sweetshop. But not the other.† Bonnie just shook her head. â€Å"I swear I’m tel ing the truth.† â€Å"Why should I believe you?† â€Å"Why does it matter? How could I make something like that up? And why would I tel a story I knew would get me in trouble? It doesn’t make any sense.† Shinichi stared at her hard. Then he shrugged, his ears flat against his head. â€Å"What a pity you keep saying that.† Suddenly Bonnie’s heart was pounding in her chest, in her tight throat. â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because,†Shinichi said cool y, pul ing the blinds completely open so that Bonnie was abruptly drenched in the color of fresh blood, â€Å"I’m afraid that now we have to kil you.† The ogre holding her strode toward the window. Bonnie screamed. In places like this, she knew screams went unheard. She didn’t know what else to do. How to cite The Return: Midnight Chapter 16, Essay examples

Introduction to New Venture Development

Executive Summary Poor nutrition leads to obesity which in turn causes illness or even death. According to American Medical Association (AMA), the increase in health related diseases and illnesses have been caused by the increase in obesity and overweight rates. Some of these diseases include: diabetes, cancer, insomnia, heart diseases, and cardicascular disease. An individual’s body weight can be measured using body mass index (BMI). Research has found that, about 20% of adults suffer from obesity having a BMI of 30 or more.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Introduction to New Venture Development specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More More than 30% are overweight with a BMI of 25 to 29.9. Graph 1 shows the obesity and overweight for children between the ages of two and seventeen years in Australia. There is therefore a strong call for involvement to perk up diet and health in order to curb the illnesses associa ted with poor nutrition. Nutritionists have argued that, water, fruits, and vegetables can be used to counteract this problem (Sturm, 2005). The aim of this product is to promote healthy eating while trying to fight with the increasing rates of obesity in both children and adults. It has been noted that, people have forgotten their traditional foods and are now relying on highly processed foods which increase the cholesterol levels in the body. Many nutritionists and doctors advocate for the use of fruits in reducing this problem but we think dried vegetables would also do a recommendable job. This product aims at being the market leader not only in Australia but other parts of the world. It aims at providing the best nutrients in its natural form since it is not processed with chemicals. Since the product is in its dried form, it aims as reaching a big market and can stay for long. It will be available in major outlets where even the rich people (who rely on the processed food) can access it easily. This report focuses on the target market for the product, the quality of the product and how it can be used to prevent obesity in both children and adults. Part one of this report focuses on the product itself, how it is made and the opportunities available. It also focuses on the industry that is responsible for creating the product and the pros and cones of that industry in dealing with the product. Part two dwells on the anticipated (financial) performance. This part focuses on the business model to be adopted for the product, the estimated start-up costs, profits and break-even analysis. This section shows the profitability of this new venture both in the short-term and in the long-term. Part three focuses on target market (in terms of age, social status, and occupation). It also dwell on distribution avenues to be followed. The dried traditional vegetables and orphan crops can be a market leader because they do not have any side effects and they are offered a t an affordable price. They are accessible to virtually anybody and will be provided at strategic points. Part four of this report concentrates forces of competition as described by porter.Advertising Looking for report on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It also focuses on the other rival firms in the market that may pose some threats in the introduction of the product. Part five focuses of the report focuses on the environmental analysis for the product. This section concentrates on the strengths and weaknesses of the product that makes it suitable for the Australian market. It also gives a summary of the external forces that the product will be exposed to. Finally, this report focuses on the exit strategy that the team plans to adopt. The Product Product Introduction The need for keeping healthy by eating a healthy and balanced diet has made some scientists to come up with food supplements to boost this. Ho wever, most food supplements contain toxic elements that are harmful to the human health. As such, it is important to ensure that the population eats healthy foods that are not toxic. Traditional leafy vegetables are popular for their high nutritional value. The plants leaves are easy to harvest and use as vegetables. Examples of orphan crops include finger, millet, and yams; these are crops that have been neglected for along period of time although they are very nutritious. The advantage of these foods is that they contain high nutrients that have some medicinal value. In addition to that, the traditional vegetable and orphan crops if well preserved can solve the problem of food security that is being experience in most part of the world (White, 2010). This products aims at reducing the high obesity rates that are evident in Australia as it also works as a supplement to the main dishes. This product is provided in its most natural form to ensure that all important nutrients are pre sent for boosting better health. Our team aims at introducing the product to the rich people, the elderly and sick because these people are not very active and take very little exercises. It aims at targeting the rich because; these are people who have been relying on the highly processed food that is becoming a problem to their health (Biggs, 2006). The product will be branded in several colours that symbolize the different elements of the product. For example, national colours will be used to show the origin of the product. Food is a basic need and a right for each individual on the universe, however most people do not have access to nutritious foods and this has facilitated the development of health related complications. The product (dried traditional vegetables and orphan crops), is aimed at helping the larger Australian population that rely on junk foods for their daily meals. The Opportunity There are many opportunities in the market which our team aims to take advantage of i n meeting customers’ needs through the creation of awareness of the new product. These opportunities guarantees successes of the product because issues related to health have remained unsolved for quite some time now. Australia is one of the developed nations and almost all food industries focus on the processed food because of the development in technology.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Introduction to New Venture Development specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These foods seem easy to make and have been able to attract a wide population. However, they have not been able to solve the health related issues (which is a common problem) and instead they have accelerated them. This has forced customers to incur additional costs as they seek for medical attention. This creates a very good opportunity for the dried traditional vegetables and orphan crops which guarantees sound health. The following table gives a summary of the factors that have created an opportunity for this new product Factor Opportunity Global increase in processed foods available in major outlets where they are accessed by everyone. People are no longer going to the market to purchase foodstuffs as they can get them in the supermarkets in their preserved form. Due to the increased need and demand for processed food. It has proved to be difficult to find a market for the fresh food products. This has resulted in the abandonment of the natural vegetables which contain high nutrients. To satisfy these customers, our product will be dried to ensure that it can stay for a longer period of time and will be available in supermarkets where other foods stuffs are stocked. Most people are busy and hardly have time to do shopping after work. They prefer to shop during the weekends when they are relaxing. Most of the time they will go to the supermarkets because they are assured of getting everything under one roof as comp ared to going to the markets This creates an opportunity for the dried traditional vegetables. By branding them in different colours, they attract the customers’ attention and the content speaks for it self. This ensures that, this product is not swept out by other supplementary products. Good health is currently receiving both national and international attention. Many people have realized that, they are responsible for taking care over their health status and beyond what they can not provide, the government comes in. Dried vegetables and orphan crops would not have come at a better time than this. This product is assured of success because of the national concern of good health. Most international organizations are advocating for the use of vegetables in fighting heart disease, and other chronic diseases (National Institute of Health, 2010). Many international organizations such as the World Health organization (WHO) are fighting against increased obesity rates in Austr alia which has grown at a very alarming rate. This problem is common in children below the age of five years who are likely to develop health complications. To avoid this, these organization are discouraging customers from using highly processed foods and food reach in fats such as pizzas, because they are facilitating obesity in children (Morgan, 2010) Traditional vegetables such as cowpeas bunya nuts and Kakadu plums are the best solution to this problem. They are high in nutrients and contain less fat, if any. These products are also known to assist the white blood cells as they fight with disease causing organisms Powers (2007) noted that, people find it hard to avoid unhealthy foods and it has even become difficult for nutritionist to advice people on which food to take. It is therefore upon the government to ensure that people eat healthy foods. One way would be to raise the taxes on junk foods and make healthy foods (such as vegetables and fruits) available and affordable f or consumption. This is a good opportunity for our dried vegetables and orphan crops because we will be able to purchase them at reduced prices enabling as to offer them to the customers at affordable prices. We are also assured of a ready market because the government is creating public awareness on the importance of organic foods. How will the Product be sold The dried traditional vegetables and orphan crops will be sold in supermarkets which are strategically located in both the urban and rural centres in order to reach a big population. They will be offered at affordable prices because the main aim of the introduction of this product is to promote health to all people. After drying, the product will be packed in small, medium sized and big tins decorated in different colours and with the nutritious values well specified on the tin. They are to be placed alongside other products although the team plans on carrying out a vigorous advertisement to create public awareness. We als o plan to open up a small store in Victoria because most of the target population is concentrated in this area. Start-Up Strategy We understand that, the introduction stage is the most expensive stage in the product life cycle. This is the stage when we expect to create public awareness in all areas. To achieve this, our team plans to take orders from major supermarkets while at the same time use direct sales representative to reach the areas that may not be served by the outlets. We expect our start up costs to be approximately $30, 000 with the advertising budget taking the bigger percentage (about 30%). Vigorous marketing will be carried out in the areas where the target consumers are located for instance, near hospitals, schools and colleges. The team seeks to reach its target population by using printed brochures and small pamphlets that explains what the consumer stands to gain by using the product. The pamphlets will be offered for free for every purchase made. The other perc entage will be used for the production process and to pay human resources. Most of this products will be imported from African for, instance Kenya because they have a wide variety of vegetables which are yet to be exploited. Our work will be to dry and package these products before offering them for sale. Performance and Financials Expected Performance During the first year after the product has been launched into the market, we do not expect to make much sales because the product will be in its introduction stage which needs a lot of advertisement in order to create public awareness on the availability of the product.Advertising Looking for report on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Most of the money collected from sales will be used for further advertisement in order to ensure that, the product kicks off during the growth stage. Since this is a natural product, we expect its sales volume to increase drastically towards the end of the first year so that a lot of profit is collected in the second year of operation. The cost of production depends on the type of vegetable and quantity, but since the product does not go through a lot of process, we expect one kilogram of vegetables or orphan crops to cost about $1.5 and the expected selling price is $3. This means that, our products will earn $1.5 gross profit per every kilogram sold. Some of this profit will be used to cater for the overhead costs while the rest will be saved as retained profits. During the first year, our team expects to sell more than fifty thousand kilograms of dried vegetables and orphan crops fetching close to one hundred thousand dollars as gross profit. This sales volume is expected to incr ease in the second year even though the product is expected to face some competition. During the second year, the product will be differentiated further and packaged in different tins with each tin containing different type of vegetable. Financial Analyses The expected financial performance for the first three years can be summarized in a table as shown below. Year Production cost/kg Selling price/kg Estimated sales (in kg) Gross profit Overhead cost Net profit one $1.5 $3 50, 000 $75, 000 $50, 000 $25, 000 two $1.5 $3 150, 000 $225, 000 $40, 000 $185, 000 year $1.5 $2.5 150, 000 $150, 000 $40, 000 $110,000 As noted earlier, during the first year of operation, we do not expect to make much profit because a lot of money will be used for advertisement. Also the sales are expected to be very low because people will not be familiar with the product. However, in the second year, sales are expected to shoot upwards while overhead costs declines due to reduced advertisement. Wi th time, competition will emerge in the market which is likely to force us to lower the selling price to at least $2.5 in the third year of operation. By lowering the prices we will be able to retain our market share although the overall effect will be a reduction in the profit levels. The product is expected to break even after three years since competition will have risen to significance levels. At this point, the product will be decline stage of the life cycle, instead of allowing the product to die; it will be sold to big companies Business Model The start-up capital will come from members’ contribution (which will be treated as share capital) and contributions from well wishers such as international organizations. Revenue model Having no other products in the market, our main source of revenue will be the sale of our products. With this revenue, we plan to start up other products and services to boost our revenue base and to ensure that our products do not die. Cost mode l Our costs include †¢ Product purchases †¢ Rent for the production centre †¢ Salaries and wages †¢ Transportation of both raw and finished products †¢ Paying contractors †¢ Licensing Market Market segmentation To ensure that our product does not die after reaching the maturity stage, we plan to use the cost leadership strategy. This is a strategy aimed at ensuring that costs remain as low as possible. It is a competitive strategy used by many organizations by giving them a competitive advantage in the market (Hitt, et al, 2009:81). Cost leadership strategy is an indication of how a firm’s theory in successful competition is centred on low costs and prices. It ensures that products of the same value are offered at a lower price in order to attract more customers. By using the cost leadership strategy, we will be able to position the product to target the average customers in the market with little or no differentiation. This strategy uses the lo w-margin high-volume kind of approach. Key areas in cost leadership are: materials, management of logistics and manufacturing. Consumers’ choices are complex and multifaceted. If consumers were concerned only about getting food at the lowest possible price, alternative agriculture would have a hard time taking hold, because industrial-style farming produces food cheaply. Consumers require the source of food that will be of most benefits to their bodies. Vegetables and orphan crops are the only type of food that can satisfy a wide range of consumers’ need. Most of the government health agencies and departments such as World Health Organization (WHO) have been fighting with the growing problem of obesity and unhealthy eating. They have been advocating for a modification in the health program to include more fruits and vegetable. Research has proved that, diets with a bigger portion of vegetables can lower or even prevent some illnesses such as cancer and heart diseases ( World Health Organization, 2004). This is because diets rich in vegetables contain less cholesterol as compared to those rich in carbohydrates or proteins. Obese and overweight people are advised to increase their daily intake of vegetables as this will help them to maintain an incredible figure (Baourakis, 2004). This being the case, our product targets to reach people in hospitals, schools, colleges, and government institutions. By reaching these populations we are assured that our products get to the right people. The elderly people are also our main point of focus because they too need a lot of vegetables to help then in fighting diseases and to grow strong. Vegetables are digested easily and can also be used to clean the stomach. Competition and Risks Being a new product in the market, we are expecting to face some risks and competition although this will not deter us from further production. Having the government fight against junk food by taxing them heavily is a good opportu nity for us and we will take full advantage of it. To be able to survive in the competitive market, we will charge low prices for our products so as to attract a big market. The low cost also gives us a competitive advantage which is a significant entry barrier. By charging low prices, we are able to buy large volumes of goods from suppliers thus we enjoy economies of scale. However, being a cost leader we are prone to face some risks (Hosler, 2008). The first risk is that, in most cases, there is a danger of out competition on the basis of cost. If this happens, the leader will be forced to continuously reduce prices which may not be profitable in the long-term. The other risk is that, the persistent force to cut costs may engrave corners that displease customers because more often than not these low prices will result in the production of poor quality products. Porters’ Five Forces Model Porter developed a structure for analyzing the nature and extent of competition within an industry. His argument was that, in every industry, there are at least five competitive forces which establish the nature of competition within that industry. These five forces apply to our product and are discussed below: Buyer’s bargaining power Buyers have the ability to determine which products will move first and which will not. It is through buyers that a company realizes its competitive advantage in the market. We expect our product to be subjected to the following buyers’ power. †¢ Low switching costs †¢ Buyers are many and are not concentrated This is a weak force since the buyers have limited bargaining power Competitive Rivalry in the industry Within the food industry, there are businesses which compete with each other for the available market share. These businesses either specialize in the production of similar products or differentiated products. This competition is based on: †¢ Low prices †¢ Quality †¢ Performance †¢ High exits barriers †¢ Little product differentiation †¢ High investment intensity Though there are several companies which offer high quality and low cost products, there is still great rivalry in the industry as products are close substitutes to each other. Threat of Substitutes Our product is likely to face many substitutes in the market. Other companies are likely to come up and offer similar products thereby threatening the survival of our product. Threat of entry Dried traditional vegetables and orphan crops product will enjoy the following barriers: †¢ Strong economies of scale †¢ Brand loyalty of customers †¢ Strong capital cost on entry †¢ Legal constraints †¢ Mergers and acquisitions It stands to win over the threat of entry in the market because; the government has put strong entry barriers. Supplies’ bargaining power †¢ Flexibility to the industry’s request †¢ Volume and price provided †¢ Concentrated suppliers †¢ High switching cost The suppliers bargaining power is weak over the buyers’ and could always lower their prices to ensure a share of the buyers’ prospective profit. Environmental Analysis SWOT Analysis SWOT is an acronym for Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. In order to understand where our product stands in the Australian market, we have first to analyze the strengths and opportunities of the product as well as the threats and weaknesses that the product will be exposed to. Strengths 1. Marketing power growth- strong brand creation through cross-promotion 2. Strategic expansion through customer-focused innovations 3. High turnover growth 4. A strong market strategy 5. Strategically placed to fight competition Weaknesses 1. Low profit margins 2. Lack of a well thought future market strategy Opportunities 1. Increased economic development 2. An unfulfilled customer need 3. Rise in per capita income 4. Increased technological advancement Threats 1. Industry rivalry 2. Entry of new firms 3. Strong government regulations 4. Competition 5. Emergence of substitute products PEST Analysis Political †¢ Free and fair government which promotes equality †¢ Fair Trade Practices †¢ Consumer Protection †¢ Taxation policies Economic †¢ Factors affecting the GDP- for instance employment, inflation, and government spending †¢ More disposable income †¢ Seasonality issues †¢ Developed Australian economy Socio-cultural †¢ Lifestyle trends and consumer preferences †¢ Demographic changes †¢ Increased consumer spending †¢ Multi-cultural society Technological †¢ Innovation capacity †¢ Improved infrastructure †¢ Australia is among the technologically advanced nations in the world The forces described above helps in the determining the market growth (or decline) of our product and the implication of its strategic business unit. If an economic recession occurs, the economic f orces would have a considerable bearing on the future market strategies through ripple effects on the political and socio-cultural factors. Political factors put a restriction on the development of the industry by putting tough taxes and regulation requirements. Australia has been experiencing low tariffs barriers which have led to an expansion in the international trade thereby resulting in increased demand for food products. Australia’s economic growth potential is facilitated by its demographic advantage and could therefore open up opportunities for industry development. Although the Australian economy has been doing well and the future is promising, our product has to overcome some obstacles before it realizes its full potential. First there is the government requirement which it has to adhere to before being allowed to operate, increased capital costs, requirement of skilled labour force, and rivalry from other firms. To add to these risks, the product is not guaranteed of a ready market in the rural areas making it a risky undertaking. Exit Strategy Since we may not be in a position to continue the production of our product because of competition, we plan to sell it to one of the major food industries in the country. Depending on the circumstances, we may even choice to emerge with big grocery firms and continue producing the product. Another option would be to franchise our product so that we maintain our market share and even attract new customers. All this will depend on the performance of the product after three years of operation. Reference List Baourakis, G., 2004. Marketing trends for organic food in the 21st century, Volume 3 Marketing Trends for Organic Food in the 21st Century. World Scientific Biggs, M., 2006. Overweight and obesity in Australia Web. Web. Hitt, M., et al, 2009, Strategic management: competitiveness and globalization: concepts cases. London, Cengage Learning Hosler, A. S., 2008. Assessing retail fruit and vegetables ava ilability in urban and rural underserved communities, Public health research, practice and policy, 5(4): A123 Web. Morgan, C., 2010. Should the government control; what we can and can not eat? Web. Web. National Institute of Health, 2010. DINE Healthy: Diet improvement software Web. Available at:  https://rtips.cancer.gov/rtips/programDetails.do?programId=286002 . Powers, S., 2007. Organic for Health. New York, Sandra Powers Sturm, R., 2005. Childhood obesity- what we can learn from existing data on societal trends, part 1. Public health research, practice, and policy Web. White, Anne, 2010. Why organic Food costs so much Web. Available at:  https://blog.mint.com/trends/organic-food-07082010/ . World Health Organization, 2004. Fruit and vegetable for health, Report of a joint FAO/WHO workshop, Kobe, Japan Web. Available at:  https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/fruit_vegetables_report.pdf . This report on Introduction to New Venture Development was written and submitted by user Grant Cline 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.

A comparative essay of I Cladius by Robert Graves and Augustus by Alan Massie

A comparative essay of I Cladius by Robert Graves and Augustus by Alan Massie "Autobiography is now almost as common as adultery, and almost as reprehensible," wrote Lord Altrincham. Whether writing an autobiography is as reprenhensible is open to debate, but Lord Altrincham did get one thing right: that many people, even the most obscure citizen, are writing autobiographies. Some authors are even taking to writing fictional ones for historical figures who have been dead for millenia.In these books a modern author assumes the role of a historical figure and recounts the subjects life and history of the time period through a first person narritive.Claudius the God by Robert Graves and Augustus by Allan Massie are two such books. The protagonists in these novels, Claudius and Augustus, were both emperors of Rome at the height of its power making them ideal candidates for such a work. The application of a modern author's perspective to an era whose history books are already full of bias, rumour, and unfounded opinion is an interesting premise, but is it actually effective?The answer is yes, the fictional autobiography is an effective and entertaining genre, because it allows for vast amounts of both explicit and implicit characterization, which gives the reader a real insight into the true nature and beliefs of the of the protagonists, which allows the reader to develop connections with the protagonist.papo com a là ­via na casa do claudioThese connections are important because they allow the reader to fully empathize with the protagonist and thus be affected and entertained by the plot of the novel. If these connections do not exist then the reader will not care what happens to the protagonist, and thus the fictional autobiography will fail to be engaging, because the plight of the protagonist is of such importance to the novel.This all-important characterization is achieved implicitly through the protagonists' relations with women, how power corrupts...

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Timeline From 1810-1820 (Waterloo, War of 1812) Decade By Decade: Timelines of the 1800s 1810: May 23, 1810: Margaret Fuller, editor, writer, and feminist icon, was born in Massachusetts.June 23, 1810: John Jacob Astor formed the Pacific Fur Company.July 5, 1810: American showman Phineas T. 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A British land force simultaneously battled Baltimores defenders on land, at the Battle of Baltimore.September 14, 1814: On the morning after the British bombardment of Fort McHenry, Francis Scott Key saw the American flag still flying and wrote The Star-Spangled Banner. Keys lyrics accurately described the Congreve rockets fired during the night.December 24, 1814: American and British negotiators in Belgium signed the Treaty of Ghent, which formally ended the War of 1812. 1815: January 8, 1815: Diverse American forces commanded by Gen. Andrew Jackson defeated British attackers at the Battle of New Orleans. As news traveled slowly, neither side knew the war had actually ended with the Treaty of Ghent weeks earlier.February 1, 1815: Irish political leader Daniel OConnell reluctantly fought a duel outside Dublin and killed his opponent.April 1, 1815: Otto von Bismarck, German statesman, was born in Prussia.April 5-12, 1815: The volcano at Mt. 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Tambora volcanic eruption caused lower temperatures throughout the world.November 6, 1816: James Monroe was elected president of the United States, defeating Rufus King. 1817: In 1817 a legendary supernatural creature, The Bell Witch, began terrorizing a family on a Tennessee farm.March 4, 1817: James Monroe took the presidential oath of office outdoors, as the U.S. Capitol was still being rebuilt after its burning by the British.July 4, 1817: Construction began on the Erie Canal.July 12, 1817: Author and naturalist Henry David Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts. 1818: The first packet liners began sailing between New York City and Liverpool.February 1818: Abolitionist author Frederick Douglass was born into slavery on a plantation in Maryland.May 5, 1818: Karl Marx, German philosopher, was born in Prussia.December 13, 1818: Mary Todd Lincoln, American first lady, was born in Lexington, Kentucky. 1819: The Panic of 1819 was the first great financial panic of the 19th century.May 24, 1819: Queen Victoria was born at Kensington Palace, London, England.May 31, 1819: American poet Walt Whitman was born at West Hills, Long Island, New York.August 1, 1819: Author Herman Melville was born in New York City.August 26, 1819: Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, was born in Germany.

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Forum on Congress - Essay Example The introduction of the bill to the houses is followed by reference of the bill to a special committee by the speaker of the house and Senate’s leader. The committees are given time to study the bill and sub-committees are invited to amend or add on to the bill after approval by the house (Smith et. al., 2007). The committee of house rules later receives the new bill and sets the limits and rules for the bill. The committee of house rules hands the bill to the house and senate. The house considers the rules attached, and after approving them, debate on the bill kicks off. The period for debate and amendment of the bill is not specified (Dewhirst & Rausch, 2007). A conference committee receives the bill after a vote by the house and the senate and harmonizes the changes made by the house with those of the senate. The house and the senate approve the harmonized bill and votes on it. The bill is then handed to the president to either approve or disapprove it. The president can automatically sign the bill if satisfied with it. It is within the president’s discretion to veto the bill or decline to sign the bill. If the congress is in session, vetoing the bill or declining to sign it renders it a law after the lapse of ten days (Smith et. al., 2007). The president can pocket veto the bill if the congress is going on recession thereby killing the

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