Cold Case Investigation

Abstract Cold case investigation is a growing concern due to increased numbers of unsolved cases and pop culture appeal. This paper will walk you through what a cold case investigation is, how one begins, and factors such as the use of volunteers can effect the outcome of a cold case investigation. Each year the number of unsolved cases in the U. S. goes up, but with limiting funding and lack of manning something has to be done to keep the numbers down. A dedicated cold case unit is the best answer to this problem. Cold Case InvestigationApproximately one-third of all homicides in the United States are not cleared within the first year of being committed. These cases are dubbed cold cases after active investigation has been terminated for any of several reasons. If investigators lose the trail or cannot come up with enough evidence, witnesses, or a suspect the case may be closed. More important or high publicity cases may become a priority and with lack of a trail a case is closed. T hese cases can be placed on a back burner until time and manning is available to conduct a more thorough investigation and continue where previous investigation left off.The low clearance rate has also been attributed to the number of experienced detectives, changes in resources, deterioration of quality of investigation, and escalation of other related crimes. The means of conducting a cold case investigation vary greatly from that of an ongoing investigation and may even be conducted by people not employed by the original agency handling the case. Resurrecting a Cold Case Investigation After a case has been dubbed a cold case, it may take several months to even years before it is re-opened for investigation.Some times the original investigator may feel a desire to re-open the case or new evidence or witnesses may come to light offering up a direction for investigators to follow. Other times it requires others not involved in the initial investigation to take initiative to gather c losure for victims or other reasons. If the primary investigator in the initial case is not involved in the cold case investigation, the current investigators need to be brought up to speed on the background and prior evidence or facts of the case.Investigators may then contact any prior witnesses and re-entertain questions previously asked or expand on the subject. Some witnesses may provide further information. If there were no witnesses or suspects, current technology that was not available during the initial investigation could provide evidence not previously available such as DNA. Personnel previously interviewed may also be feeling guilt by the time a cold case is re-opened and need an opportunity to vent or even confess their guilt.If little or no further information is found for investigators to go off of the case may become frustrating and be given up on again. Re-opening a cold case also creates some turmoil such as opening old wounds with the victims of these crimes due t o the suspect not being caught initially, and because the victims are forced to relive the past. Cold Case Investigation Units Cold case investigation investigations units have been formed to combat the growing trend of unsolved cases. They usually consist of one or more dedicated homicide investigators with the sole purpose of solving the cases.The structure and management of these units are not clearly defined at this time and there is little evidence to prove that they are effective at reducing the numbers of unsolved cases. Cold case units have gained popular appeal in the last couple of years through various television shows related to that of solving cold cases. There are two perspectives as to why certain cases remain unsolved. The first is based on conflict theory and behavior of law theory. This theory shows that the police’s discretion leads to differences in investigative effort and shows bias.The biggest thing to note on this theory is that a case will have more t ime and effort put into it if the victim is from a more favorable social position. The second theory is the opposite. It states that everyone receives maximum effort regardless of victim characteristics and cases remain unsolved due to a lack of situational characteristics such as evidence, witnesses, and use of a weapon that can be found and fingerprinted. (Napolean, 2009, pg n/a) The cold case unit concept was created by the Miami police department in the 80’s to handle approximately 1,400 unsolved cases.This unit had much success and cold case investigation units became popular nationwide. To date there are still some concerns on how a cold case unit should operate, but prioritizing cases is the biggest concern. As a standard the highest priority cases are those, which the victim or a second victim has been identified, the death was ruled a homicide, suspects were previously named by forensic means, an arrest warrant was previously issued, significant physical evidence can be further processed, or new leads have arisen where critical witnesses are willing to cooperate.Cold cases are generally broken into three categories, high, moderate or low. By any means, a staffed and supported cold case investigation unit is more advantageous than a temporary unit. Volunteers are Essential Cold case investigation is an extremely labor intensive process. There has been a growing desire for cold cases to be solved due to its pop culture appeal. Many police departments are feeling the pressure to get their unsolved case numbers down, but due to the economy and budgets on a downward trend staffing and resources are at a premium.Agencies are now turning to a more non-traditional alternative to fill staff voids left by budget cuts. Volunteers can play an essential role in the assistance to detectives who solve cold cases. Retired detectives provide an allure to some agencies. These retirees do not require additional training because they were previously employed in th e same line of business. They are also most likely to enjoy doing the work because they retired doing it. A great attractor for retirees is that they benefit from getting a chance to do what they love without being forced into the long hours that comes along with it.Other volunteers can come from just about anywhere as long as they have a willingness and drive to solve the cases. Ex-law enforcement and civilians are vital. Having a mixed background of volunteers provides a variety of experience to draw from and a fresh set of eyes on the cases. Investigators that previously worked on the cases may feel refreshed having another opinion on the work they did and find something that was previously missed. Often times investigators are drawn into the way they were instructed to solve a case and miss alternative approaches to problem solving.Volunteers can provide this alternate because they may not have any training in solving cases. Even if volunteers do not work specifically on solving the case, there are other just as important opportunities. Law enforcement comes with a lot of paperwork and filing. Volunteers are perfect for this because by them doing the paperwork aspect of the investigation it frees up the time of the actual detectives to do the foot pounding. References Leonard, G. J. , Gerard, F. D. , & Camille, D. B. (2005) Resurrecting cold case serial homicide investigations.FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 74(8), 1-7. Retrieved from https://search. proquest. com/docview/204129494? accountid=8289 Napolean, C. R. (2009) Cold case investigation units. TELEMASP Bulletin, 16(1), 1-10. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/198013843? accountid=8289 Regensburger, D. (2011). Law enforcement volunteers: An essential tool in the investigation of cold case homicides. Sheriff, 63(3), 22-24. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/869520529? accountid=8289

Mang Inasal Essay

I. Executive summary Mang Inasal is a locally owned fast food restaurant in the Philippines that will be soon, positioned as an international franchise through our creative approach to the company’s image and detail presentation. Mang Inasal will provide a combination of excellent food at value pricing, with fun packaging and atmosphere. Mang Inasal is the answer to an increasing demand for BBQ’ed fast food, to be consumed while having quality time with your friends or family in the shopping mall. In today’s highly competitive environment, it is becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate one fast food outlet from another due to its variety of product line and services. Dubai, a city state, is now becoming the model metropolis in the Middle East’s new economic boom. With more than a total population of 2.106 million (2013), mainly from neighboring countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines), Dubai’s import in meat, vegetables and so on in its sector is the strongest in the region. Our main priority is to establish one fast food restaurant in a crowded mall, preferably in one of prominent shopping malls in Dubai. Later, our effort will be a further development in our service and product line in the surrounding area. This plan is prepared to obtain a location for the initial launch of this concept. Additional financing will need to be secured for the fast food restaurant. The financing, in addition to the capital contributions from shareholders, will allow Mang Inasal to successfully open and expand. The initial capital investment will allow Mang Inasal to provide its customers with a value-driven, entertaining experience through the creativity of its founders. Mang Inasal will entice the diverse culture to bring their friends and family with our innovative environment, fresh-cut Chickens, and selection of unique signature sauces. II. Business overview A. Business profile History Mang Inasal (Ilonggo term for Mr. Barbecue), the Philippines fastest growing barbecue fast food chain; serving chicken inasal, pork barbeque and other Filipino favorites, was first established on December 12, 2003 in  Iloilo City by businessman Edgar Sia II. Apart from the usual food presentations of multinational food company copycats, Mang Inasal endeavors to adhere to elements that bear a distinctively Pinoy stamp-grilling with charcoal, rice wrapped in banana leaves, a marinade concocted out of local spices and herbs, bamboo sticks for skewers, and the ambience that encourage skinamot (Ilonggo term in eating with the hands) whenever chicken inasal is served. In the year 2014, seven marketer’s decided to franchise Mang Inasal . They decided to penetrate the new market in Dubai, with the use of their experiences in the marketing field, they will try to capture the new market of the Middle East to patronage Mang Inasal to the population of Dubai. They will try to use the cultural, economic, political, and technological environment of their market area for their advantage in order for them to achieve their objectives and goals as a marketeer, with the use of the cultural diversification of the country we marketeers will try to cater this diverse cultured by offering new product lines such as grilled lambs and chicken for Muslims and original mix recipe of Mang Inasal such as pork inasal and chicken inasal for non-Muslim customers. In using our SWOT matrix we will try to consider our strengths and opportunities in gaining new insights, marketing strategies, and programs to adapt and improve our brand equity towards our market. B. Background of the product Mang Inasal is a fast food restaurant chain; its vision is to be the first choice and leading fast food chain everywhere nationwide. Its mission is to provide great tasting products and quality services to our customers with a great pinoy ambience fast food chain nationwide. Develop, motivate and retain employees in providing benefit programs, employment security and good working environment by applying new technologies for better and easy way of serving. Do our best to provide good quality products and services to our franchisees with fairness and integrity. And provide livelihood programs to the community by treating them as our business partners. If you want a great deal to satisfy your enormous appetite, the Mang Inasal Menu is the one to choose from. With the most reasonable prices covering a variety of meals, the Mang Inasal menu will make you feel like a winner! Really, your money’s worth is guaranteed with filling and satisfying meals. Have you ever heard of unlimited items offered by restaurants? Well, the Mang Inasal Menu offers unlimited rice and that’s the best deal a Pinoy can ever want. Eating big servings of chicken and pork is gratifying with cups and cups of rice. Mang Inasal is a Filipino restaurant chain that offers delicious chicken barbecue as the main product. Its recipe is uniquely delicious with big chicken servings marinated, skewered over charcoal and served over banana leaves; it’s a real Pinoy recipe everybody loves. The Mang Inasal Menu is excellent; everything in it is 100% delicious. Mang Inasal has a variety of product line raging from BBQ’ed Chicken legs to Grilled Fish with unlimited rice, and its desserts are the Leche Flan, Toron Split served with a two scope ice cream covered in choco syrup, and the famous Halo-Halo Filipino Styled dessert, served drinks are Sago at Gulaman, Iced tea, Coca cola and hot coffee. It has been one of the most favorite eateries nationwide with over 445 branches and growing, and a staggering 10,000 employees system, it has become famous and profitable for any individual to finance as a business. During Mang Inasal ’s reign in the fast food chain it has consistently growing over the past year finishing in the top 3 in the most visited fast food chain in the Philippines and Edgar Sia aim is to be top two in the Fast food chain industries beating Chowking in it’s position. Below are some menus that Mang Inasal serves to its customers: PABORITO/FAVORITE MEALS (UnliRice) PM1 Chicken Leg w/ Rice Barbecued chicken leg and thigh with unlimited rice PM1.5 Chicken Leg (spicy) w/Rice Barbecued chicken leg and thigh with unlimited rice (in spicy flavor) PM2 Chicken Breast w/ Rice Barbecued chicken breast and wing with unlimited rice PM3 Pork Inasal w/ Rice 3 sticks skewering pork, barbecued in inasal way, unlimited rice PM4 Sizzling Fish w/ Rice Sizzled Bangus fish with unlimited rice PM5 Sizzling Pork w/ Rice Sizzled pork with unlimited rice PM6 Roasted Fish w/ Rice Roasted boneless Bangus with unlimited rice PM7 Grilled Liempo w/Rice Grilled liempo marinated with sweet and spices with unlimited rice Others Bangis Sisig Sizziling Pork Ensaladang Talong SULIT/AFFORDABLE MEALS SM1 1pc Chicken Inasal w/ Rice Chicken Inasal is a grilled chicken dish and one of the well-known Ilonggo dishes with unlimited rice SM2 2pcs Pork Inasal w/ Rice Pork Inasal is a grilled pork dish and one of the well-known Ilonggo dishes with unlimited rice MERIENDA/SNACK MEALS Pansit Bihon/Bijon Pancit Bihon or Pancit Guisado is a Filipino noodle dish and is a staple second to rice. Dinuguan at Puto Cake Pork blood stew, blood pudding stew, chocolate meat served with 3 puto cake DRINKS/Beverages Sago’t Gulaman Sago at gulaman drink is sweet, thirst-quenching and popular during the sizzling summer months. Softdrinks Mang Inasal serves some of the most popular fast food chain such as sprite, coke and royal Iced Tea Freshly brewed each day from a premium blend of tea leaves. Tea is a natural source of protective antioxidants Coffee Mang Inasal serves piping hot brewed coffee for our customers DESSERTS Halo-Halo Halo-halo is a popular Filipino dessert with mixtures of shaved ice and evaporated milk to which are added various boiled sweet beans, jelly and fruits. It is served in a tall glass or bowl. Leche Flan/Creme Caramel Crà ¨me caramel flan or caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed tocrà ¨me brà »là ©e, which is custard with a hard caramel top. Turon Split is a dessert made out of banana concealed in a lumpia wrapper With Mang Inasal s variety of product line and with a very high value brand name and profitable institution it can compete with other fast food chain nationwide, but can this ever growing business be used in other countries, can it’s business practices and product lines and system be brought on foreign soil not just to challenge its competitors head on but to prosper as a fast food chain and complete its vision as the leading BBQ fast food chain in the country? Below is an analysis of the environment of where Mang Inasal Branch will prosper, its analysis includes Company analysis, Competitor Analysis, Customer analysis, and Environmental analysis which includes the PEST or Political, Economic, Social or cultural and Technological analysis in which the Franchised Mang Inasal branch will launch. C. Background of the Market The destination of where Mang Inasal will prosper will be in the nation of UAE specifically in Dubai. Why Dubai? Why did choose the country Dubai instead of any other country? Because Dubai is the mecca for growth is the no.1 country in the oil business giving us an advantage in making use of its economic growth? And it stands in having the highest imports in any other UAE capitals in all of the Middle East but above all we choose Dubai for one single purpose. And that purpose is Food. People in Dubai love to eat, and as a fast food chain business that is one great news for us, but what separates us from our competitors’ is the product line that we offer because statistic shows that people in Dubai likes to eat rice since rice is the best side dish when eating meat with sauce or vegetables. The imported food of Dubai consisted mainly of fish, rice, bread, dates, yogurt, homegrown vegetables, and meat from sheep, goats, and camels. And this are most consumed food that people eat in Dubai D. Situational analysis Company Analysis Goals The goal of our company is to be the first choice and leading barbequed fast food chain of everywhere nationwide, and to provide great tasting product and quality services to our customers with the use of different kinds of products we will try to capture the large market in our new market area and cater their culture by offering new product lines that are made from lamb/sheep products. With the use of our marketing expertise we will try to analyze what is our opportunity and threats in our environment to maximize our growth in the fast food industry. Focus Our restaurant focuses on customers who loves to eat food, whose customer classes are mostly class C’s D’s and E’s since the product of Mang Inasal are affordable and cheap, and whose customers that has an active lifestyle in eating, our restaurant’s new product line are specialize in chicken, pork and possibly new product line lamb with unlimited rice to align its food chain culture towards the culture of our target market. Strengths Our strengths as a fast food chain is endorsement, large target market, market leader in barbeque fast food chain, accessibility, and strong commissary system in which case we can utilize these strengths to create new marketing strategies and programs in developing new product and services to offer in our growing and diverse market. Weaknesses Our weakness as a fast food chain is unhealthy food, Filipino culture,  brands under the Mang Inasal , commissary struggle, and lack of research for other countries since Mang Inasal is under Jollibee Corporation McDonalds can consider us as a threat in the market area and that the lack of technology can cause a delay in our R and D in improving our restaurant’s products and services. Customer Analysis Number The total population of Dubai is 2.106 million (2013) Approximately 85% of the expatriate population (and 71% of the emirate’s total population) was Asian (chiefly Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan). About 3% of the total population of Dubai was categorized as â€Å"Western†. In addition, 16% of the population (or 288,000 people) lived in collective labor accommodation were not identified by ethnicity or nationality, but were thought to be primarily Asian. Approximately 85% of the expatriate population (and 71% of the emirate’s total population) was Asian (chiefly Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan). About 3% of the total population of Dubai was categorized as â€Å"Western†. In addition, 16% of the population (or 288,000 people) lived in collective labor accommodation were not identified by ethnicity or nationality, but were thought to be primarily Asian. Type Our restaurant focuses on the market area of Dubai a fast growing country, whose cultural heritage of the people are both religious and hospitable people, but in Dubai as their culture diversifies and meets new culture that will conflict their own belief, our restaurant will try to manage and use this diverse culture in our favor, such as using the most delectable food of Dubai: Lamb as our new product line. Value Drivers As our value drivers we will use our variety of products and combine some of them to create new promos and products such as free upsize drinks, Pancit bihon/bijon perfect combo, Solve sarap and many more value propositioned products. Decision Process We will use our traditional advertising to let our restaurant be known to the target market, with the use of controlled advertisement of every six months  monitoring to see how customers respond to our billboard, flyers, and TV advertisement but statistic shows that Mang Inasal favorable ways of advertising are through Social media, TV, Events and Experience and Word of mouth. Next is trying to penetrate the new market through the use of discounts and promo’s due to our grand opening in the new target market for the first month, and maintain its standard customers a day and invest in improvement towards the target market. Competitor Analysis Market Position As a threat our competitors has the advantage to be the first known fast food chain in the country such as McDonalds, Burger king, Del Taco, Wendy’s, Hardee’s, KFC and Pizza hut. But what separates our restaurant towards our competitors is the unique product line that we offer, since we offer BBQ’ed and Filipino styled desserts products with the use of the most popular side dish that the food industry can offer which is Rice, we can patronage and capture the market through the use of our product line and cater new product line to adapt to the culture of Dubai. Strengths The strength of our competitor is Cost advantage, strong management, real estate, pricing power, innovative culture. Financial leverage, asset leverage, supply chain, size advantages, economies of scale, cost advantages, unique products, technology. The strength of our competitors can cause major problems in our brand recognition process of our restaurant, since some of our competitors are known brands; it can cause problems in the decision process strategy and in our brand awareness towards our competitors. Weakness The weaknesses of our competitors are Negative publicity, Unhealthy food menu, Job and high employee turnover, and Low differentiation. The weaknesses of our competitors that are mostly towards its employees can be an advantage for our restaurant, in which case we can use this to offer new jobs and programs for our workforce. Collaborators Mang Inasal is currently under Jollibee food corp. who owns 70% of Mang Inasal ’s market share but as a fast food chain Mang Inasal is now currently profitable since the owner of its large market share is the no.1 leading Fast food chain in the Philippines with over thousands of branches both nationally and internationally making it a main player in the Fast food chain industries, with its other fast food subsidiaries such as Greenwich, Red Ribbon, and other businesses. III. Target Market E. Market Segmentation Geographic Segmentation Dubai is located on the Persian Gulf, in the northeast of the United Arab Emirates. Dubai is the second largest emirate with an urban area of 3885 sq. km and the city is roughly 35 sq km. However it will expand to twice that size with the addition of the man-made islands; the Waterfront, the three Palms, the World, the Universe, Dubai land, as well as the construction in the desert. Psychographic Segmentation The UAE culture mainly revolves around the religion of Islam and traditional Arab culture. The influence of Islamic and Arab culture on its architecture, music, attire, cuisine and lifestyle are very prominent as well. Five times every day, Muslims are called to prayer from the minarets of mosques which are scattered around the country. Since 2006, the weekend has been Friday-Saturday, as a compromise between Friday’s holiness to Muslims and the Western weekend of Saturday-Sunday. Behavioral Segmentation Dubai buying behavior: Consumers in the three largest emirates tend to shop more at hypermarkets and frequent the smaller shops and convenience stores for last-minute food needs. In the more distant suburbs and the less-populated areas of the federation, smaller grocery and convenience stores play an important role in food shopping. The number of hypermarkets is increasing steadily with retail chains such as Carrefour, Spinneys and Lulu dominating the big format supermarket trade. These key retailers tend to partner with foreign companies to procure imported food products  directly, while small format grocery retailers rely on consolidated deliveries for replenishing their stock levels. The continued growth in both affluence and the expatriate population has created the need for a diverse range of food products in the UAE the food retail sector has responded by providing a range of foods and ingredients suiting the tastes of the different ethnic groups in the country. Data monitor has evaluated a number of food categories and projected growth at retail in most areas, particularly chilled foods, bakery/cereal products, savory snacks and pasta/noodles. F. Macro Environment PEST ANALYSIS Political and Legal Environment Overview of the Political System of United Arab Emirates: The United Arab Emirates is made up of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Qaiwain, Ra’s al- Khaimah and Fujairah. The United Arab Emirates gained its independence from the UK on December 2, 1971. Its constitution was established on independence, and was made permanent in 1996. The form of government can be referred to as a federal presidential elective monarchy, as the president is elected from among the absolute monarchs who rule each of the seven emirates. Economic Environment The UAE, the world’s eighth largest oil producer, maintains a free-market economy with minimal restrictions on private-sector activities, international trade and capital movements. Despite the impact of the global economic downturn, the UAE’s economy has proved to be remarkably resilient. Higher oil prices, increased government spending and a noteworthy resurgence in tourism, transport and trade have contributed to the upswing in the economy. In addition, the successful restructuring of debt owed by high-profile companies, solidarity among the emirates and accommodative monetary and fiscal policies have all played a role in bringing stability to the market. The Economy of Dubai is mostly in the tourist sector and other finances of the country with over 50% of the countries finance is covered and 5% in oil 10% in real-estate, 12% in transportation and communication and 13% manufacturing. Social and Cultural Environment Dubai’s culture is rooted in Arabic and Islamic tradition Dubai is built on foundations that are rich in history and tradition. Dubai is a forward-looking society that is equally bound to its culture and heritage. Dubai has always been renowned for its tolerant outlook; Dubai has built a reputation for being open to new ideas and ways of doing things. This has enabled Dubai to become a global center for innovation, tourism and business. Sophisticated: Dubai is a city with style and charisma. Dubai has successfully fused sophistication with charm. It has redefined the meaning of luxury with its stunning hotels, award-winning restaurants and its position as an international shopping destination. Energetic: Dubai has an aura of vitality and a get-up-and-go spirit. Visitors are struck by the ingrained optimism and spirit of adventure and innovation that permeates through all layers of the community. To a holidaymaker, a business traveler or a resident, Dubai is a place where there is always something exciting to see and do. Embracing: Dubai aims to bring together the best in people Dubai’s success is based on the vision and commitment of its leadership, the generosity and aspirations of its people and the contribution of many people from different parts of the world, many of whom have chosen to make Dubai their permanent home. This creates a blend of many cultures that coexist peacefully. But in a religious country Dubai is a very conservative country having a strict dress code and with a very diverse culture in its social class. Technological Environment Dubai is today recognized as an international trading port. While rapid sophistication of the 21st century technology has changed the face of Dubai from timeless deserts to a thriving economy with strengths in trade, services, manufacturing and technology, Dubai maintains a fine balance of cultural legacy and a modern metropolis. G. SWOT Analysis Strengths Endorsements Large Target Market Market Leader in Barbeque Fast Food Chain Accessibility Strong Commissary System Weaknesses Filipino Culture Unhealthy food Brands under the Mang Inasal Commissary struggles Lack of Research for other countries Opportunities Local Culture and Tradition Cultural Diversity Philippines- Agricultural Nation New Brand Acquisition Urban Development Threats Foreign-owned and Local SME’s Global Financial Crisis Increase in Oil Prices Sanitary Issues Standards/ Health and Safety Political Instability H. SWOT Matrix Strengths 1. Endorsements 2. Large Target Market 3. Market Leader in Barbeque Fast Food Chain 4. Accessibility 5. Efficient Commissary System Weaknesses 1. Filipino Culture 2. Unhealthy food 3. Brands under the Mang Inasal 4. Commissary struggles 5. Lack of Research for other countries Opportunities 1. Local Culture and Tradition 2. Cultural Diversity 3. Brand Acquisition 4. Urban Development 5. Philippines being an Agricultural Nation SO Strategies (S3+05+03) Consider raising their own chickens (S3+S2+04) Expand network of stores to newly developed areas in the country (S3+03) Acquire business in order to penetrate new market WO Strategies (W2+03) Acquire restaurants that serve healthy food and introduce a healthy product line. (W5+02) Intensity research on other countries’ culture in order to cater effective marketing strategy towards customers culture and lifestyle Threats 1. Foreign-owned and Local SME’s 2. Global Financial Crisis 3. Sanitary Standards/ Health and Safety issues 4. Oil Prices 5. Political Instability ST Strategies (S5+T3) Continue adherence to standards and become a benchmark in the government sanitary health standards (S2+S3+T5) Strengthen advertising to reinforce market leadership amidst (S3+T2) Create more affordable meals towards the target market (S1+S3+T1) Intimidate competitors by reinforcing market dominance through the use of specialized BBQ product line WT Strategies (W5+T1) Intensify research on culture and develop marketing strategies to cater diverse market preferences (W2+T1) Can cater new product lines for a new market segment to fill in the gap between healthy foods and unhealthy foods IV. Marketing Strategies 1. Product/Service Strategy For our Product strategy we will use the most common strategy of Mang Inasal which is the Product development strategy – As seen in the analysis of Mang Inasal operations the past years, this strategy has been proven beneficial to the company. With good research and development, Mang Inasal is capable of continuing to produce products that fit well to the taste of their market. They could also continue innovating their current product line so as to continuously remain ahead of its competitors. And to compliment this strategy: Cost Leadership strategy – Best value strategy. In this strategy we can create a new product line to cater to a unique segment of their market. For example, creating a healthier product line for those who are weight and health conscious would be ideal. 2. Pricing Strategy For the pricing strategy our cost leadership would be best since our product are already affordable for the market, all we need to consider is the new product line that we have to offer towards our customers in order for us to capture new market segments and to achieve our goal in being the leading BBQ’ed specialized fast food chain in the country. And with our new product line we can assess the gap between the healthy foods and unhealthy foods, and cater the culture of non-muslim by offering non pork products such as lamb and goat. 3. Place/Location Strategy For the location strategy we will place our restaurants near hotels or inside malls but more specifically the Zamatao mall in Dubai which houses many competitors such as McDonalds, Burger king, Hardee’s, Wendy’s and so on, but these competitors are just indirect competitors since their product line differs from us, as a competitive edge, our fast food chain will be  placed in front of other fast food restaurant to intimidate our competitors and in order for us to capture our desired target market with the use of our new product lines and unique product position, since our products differ from their product line we can have the advantage of product positioning 4. Promotional Strategy In our promotional strategy we will use a controlled advertising having a 6 month monitoring towards the reaction of the customers in our advertisement to do further study in analyzing negative and positive factors in our promotional strategy and focusing on the positive reaction and lessen the negative factors of our advertisements and through the use of online and TV advertisement we can make our product known to the target market. 5. Positioning Strategy With the use of the diverse market we can cater and create new product lines to capture new segments of the market, and we should keep to our new market for now, and should avoid risk in the new market to prevent any major financial problems towards our restaurant in order for us to keep an update in our budgeting and opportunities in gaining new technology/insights in our environment to use as an advantage for our restaurants, and with the use of new insights we can raise new supply system in the new market to eliminate unnecessary cutbacks/problems in the inventory of our products and services. I. Financial Statement Requirements to become a franchisee If you are interested in becoming a franchisee of Mang Inasal, there are a few requirements you need to look into. Here are the franchise details of Mang Inasal: Franchise fee: Php 15 to 30 million Franchise fee inclusive of: use of brand, operational support, opening marketing support, and training support Product security deposit: Php 800,000.00 Franchise term: 7 years, renewable Store space requirement: 150 square meters to 200 square meters Advertising fee: 2% of gross sales Royalty: 5% of gross sales Estimated cost of renovation: Php 7 million to Php 9 million Cash Flows from Operating Activities: Operating Income (EBIT) 7,000,000 Depreciation Expense 800,000 Loss on Sale of Equipment 70,000 Gain on Sale of Land (500,000) Increase in Accounts Receivable (300,000) Decrease in Prepaid Expenses (200,000) Net Cash Flow from Operating Activities 6,870,000 Cash Flows from Investing Activities: Sale of Equipment 700,000 Sale of Land 3,000,000 Purchase of Equipment (500,000) Net Cash Flow from Investing Activities 3,200,000 Cash Flows from Financing Activities: Payment of Dividends (250,000) Payment of Bond Payable (300,000) Net Cash Flow from Financing Activities (550,000) Net Change in Cash 500,000 Beginning Cash Balance 400,000 Sending Cash Balance 10, 420,000.00 J. Balance Sheet ASSETS Current Assets: Prepaid Expense Inventories Other current assets 1,800,000 1,700,000 500,000 Total Current Assets 4,000,000 Noncurrent Assets: Property And equipment (Fixed assets) Deferred tax assets Other noncurrent assets 1,500,000 1,000,000 500,000 Total Noncurrent Assets 3,000,000 TOTAL 7,000,000 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Current Liabilities: Accounts payable and accrued expenses Credit Card Payable Loan payable 3,000,000 2,000,000 500,000 Total Current Liabilities 5,500,000 Equity: Capital Stock Additional Paid-In Capital Retained Earnings 425,000 350,000 725,000 Total Equity TOTAL 1,500,000 7,000,000 V. Breakeven point In the Breakeven point our price per unit is Php 115 our variable cost is Php 99 and our estimated total fixed cost is Php 600,000: Price per unit – Php 115 Variable cost – Php 99 Total fixed cost – Php 600,000 600,000 à · (115 – 99) 600,000 à · (16) 37,500 units 115 x 37,500 = Php 4,312,500 The breakeven point in sales is 4,312,500 per month VI. EXIT PLAN For our exit plan strategy, we decided to sell-out the company in case of bankruptcy or other major financial problems, because sell-out is the most easy way in earning back the owner’s equity and the same time earn dividends afterwards – it clearly is in our interest to ensure our firm is a good fit for the buyer and therefore more likely to prosper. In other words we would create a win-win situation for both our company and the firms who are willing to buy the company’s asset and other subsidies.

People Resourcing and Discrimination Laws in United Kingdom Essay

People Resourcing and Discrimination Laws in United Kingdom - Essay Example The researcher states that the Discrimination Law in United Kingdom that tends to bring about equality in the workplace works in parallel to the Equality Act of 2010. It tends to indicate discrimination at the workplace on the following sub-heads. The Equality Act of 2010 condemns an employer who tends to discriminate between the employees based on racial differences. Racial differences can be observed between the different people in regards to their skin colour or in regards to their native birth place. Herein an employer who tends to render lower wages to an employee owing to racial differences or maltreats a staff because of his or her skin colour is rightly condemned by the law. The law states that an employer is required to render positive action to such staffs that belong to the under-represented communities and thus has needs different from the normal community. The employer is required to safeguard such people from being victimised and should render moral and professional sup port. People subject to such discriminatory acts can directly confront with their immediate superiors or can take help of tribunals pertaining to employment. The Equality Act of 2010 also condemns the discriminatory acts in the workplace that tends to create differences of opportunities among men and women along all levels of an organisation and in regards to the various human resource functions. Thus men and women are required to gain the same opportunity to grow with the concern professionally, financially and personally. Victims of sexual discrimination are required to firstly bring such acts in the eyes of their superiors and also they can take help from employment tribunals if the matter does escalate (Directgov-a, n.d.). Discrimination owing to Disability Similarly the law also condemns the discriminatory act of the employer on the part of an individual suffering from permanent or temporary disability. Herein also the law requires the victimised individual to have an informal course of talk with the employer in regards to such discriminatory acts. The victim can also take recourse to the support of employment tribunals through the advisory and arbitration services of the United Kingdom government (Directgov-b, n.d.). Discrimination owing to Old Age The law also focuses on rendering protection to the old age people who are still working in business organisations from being discriminated. Herein the law safeguards the old people from the acts of the employer in penalising the old people through discriminatory redundancy policies by making them turn jobless. Further after April 2011 the age of retirement has been totally abolished for which a person can continue working a concern till he or she desires to and henceforth cannot be made redundant (Directgov-c, n.d.). Discrimination in regards to Religion The law tends to safeguard individuals working in organisations from being discriminated against his or her religious beliefs. The employer cannot forcibly r equire an individual to abstain from wearing religious clothes and ornaments and in abstaining to take to foods against one’s religious belief. Such people who feel victimised by such discriminatory activities can take resort to the arbitrations and advisory

Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 10

Human Resource Management - Essay Example With modernization, organizations grew larger and the demand for human resource management kept increasing. With fordism in place human resource management emerged. Skills became fragmented and specialized as positions were highly differentiated. Organizations, therefore, updated service delivery to answer to the demands of the customers. Fordism highly supported division of labor mass production is widespread and most production companies still implement fordism principles in their administration of human resource management. Long hours and labor that is cheap are factors that are still profitable to the small manufacturing companies. However, the fordism principles cannot be as successful as before but they have highly helped in shaping the future of human resource management in most industries. There is so much improvement in technology, complexity of social environment and so many other changes. The human resource management being applied today has some traces of fordism but ford sim alone cannot be successful (Petit 220). The concept of institutional economics is a foundation of human resource management. The neoclassical and neo-institutional schools of economics argue that the economic theories are a foundation and great implications of the human resource management theory. The macro-prudential policies provide policy makers with a set of policy instruments to complement changes. The instruments implicate the policy makers to make fine judgment on risks to financial stability and traditional concerns on monetary policy. Caution when making judgments is highly encourages by the monetary policies. The macro-prudential policies are the main components of human resource management. People are highly affected by the changing customs and changing institutions and the institutional economics are pecuniary and emphasize on collective action of

Lake Wabarmun, Alberta Oil Spill 2005 Research Paper

Lake Wabarmun, Alberta Oil Spill 2005 - Research Paper Example The plant in some sources is said to be responsible for the existence of health standards made possible by the use of pesticides. Another source stated that 10% of India’s crop were saved by the use of the pesticides made in Bhopal. MIC is very toxic and only noticed when signs of toxicity appear such as watering of the eyes and nasal passages. It is the most toxic chemical belonging to the isocyanate family and at room temperature it is a colorless liquid (Varma, Roli, and Daya Varma, 2005). On December 2 a very small amount of water went through the pipes into MIC tank 610. The reaction generated heat which transformed the MIC liquid into a gas. Pressure in the tank increased; this ruptured the disc and the MIC vent began to discharge into the atmosphere. In Bhopal at the time MIC was stored in three tanks and tank 610 was 87% full, above the 60% recommendation for the Bhopal plant and 50% which was recommended for the Connecticut plant. Safety devices which were in place fo r such an emergency failed or were inadequate. There was no public warning system in place though a warning signal was activated at 2:30 am,2 hours after the leak was detected. It is estimated the MIC leak lasted from 45-60 minutes in duration. When the siren actually went into effect people had already began noticing the effects of the leak. Most of this was at first ignored as minor leaks were common. Police were unaware of what had actually happened and advised citizens to run which in turn exposed them to higher levels of inhaled MCI. On the morning of December 3 and subsequent days citizens were running to the hospital and deaths were attributed the first four days especially to pulmonary edema. Only house flies were unaffected by the MCI; presumably because they lie still at low levels. The effect of the MCI was a chemically induced SAR’s with little if any treatment options. It is estimated that 30,000 people were killed by the MCI and 500,000 more injured. The gas lea k has had far reaching consequences 25 years later and environmentalist have stated that the site still contains large amounts of chemicals which are toxic which they collected from soil samples at the site (Iyengar, Radhika, And Monisha Bajaj, 2011). Identified as one of the worst chemical disasters in history yet new attention was spurred by the Environmental Protection Agency Office of Toxic Substances to the dangers of chemicals which are stored as opposed to those on the environment. Water quality was questionable before the incident and during the period of time immediately following large tanks were filled from other parts of the city to supply residents with drinking water. There were over 500,000 registered victims of the Bhopal incident in 1984. Survivors continue to experience long term effects of the exposure; studies show cases of pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, COPD, emphysema, chest infections and other related conditions as lingering effects of the disaster (Kewal K. Mau dar, et al, 2009). Studies were carried out on 80,000 individuals. Rapid industrial growth in India today contributes to the economy but it comes with a price of environmental degradation and increased health risks to the public. Water quality is Bhopal today is under threat of pollution and in May of 2012 the factory was ordered to clean up

The importance delivering a good prevention for teachers at risk of Essay

The importance delivering a good prevention for teachers at risk of voice problems - Essay Example In a study, 39.6% of the teacher trainees reported of voice problems in comparison to 32.6% females belonging to the general public (Thomas et al 2006). Similar results were noted in a different study when it was seen that teachers who were studying, 17.2% reported of problems with their voices. On the other hand only 9.7% of the people belonging to other professions which did not require vocal stress reported of vocal issues (Donders et al 2006). These vocal issues can be overcome with the assistance of different forms of treatment. It has been analyzed that if treatment is not sort, it can result in aggravating the vocal problems. Vocal amplification and vocal hygiene belong to forms of treatment modalities which prove to be useful for such problems. Vocal amplification is considered to be a superior procedure as compared to the vocal amplification. This was because the teachers felt more comfortable with this procedure and felt easier to comply with it (Roy et al 2004). Vocal func tional exercises also belong to a treatment option for vocal problems. A study has proved that vocal functional exercises serve as a more superior procedure to vocal hygiene for treatment voice problems. The teachers under the treatment of these exercises report better results and also present with higher satisfaction levels with this form of treatment (Simon et al 2001).

2 Papers for Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

2 Papers for Political Science - Essay Example (MSNBC, 2005). This was so done on a two cent piece. It was however, not until almost a century later that the words â€Å"In God We Trust† appeared on U.S. currency as they do today, â€Å"In 1955, the year after Congress inserted the words â€Å"under God† in the Pledge of Allegiance, Congress required all currency to carry the motto â€Å"In God We Trust.†(MSNBC, 2005). Separation of church and state has been a truly difficult feat from the issue of same sex marriage to the inclusion of references to god in the pledge of allegiance both in schools and during public events. The imposition felt by many is not so different from the early settlers who were puritanical in nature and imposed a rigid set of moral and religious codes for everyone, including the Native Americans who were imposed on by them, to follow. This even led to the fateful Salem witch trials when women who were thought to be witches were On the other hand, this congressional action of implementing the phrase â€Å"In God We Trust† on our currency, was done on the basis of the very principles upon which this country was founded. Although times have changed, making religion or belief in God, less and less of an openly discussed topic; the reversal of basic principles which are meant to remind every American where they came from and how this country was founded, is nothing shy of deconstructive. The pledge of allegiance which includes the phrase â€Å"one nation, under God† has become an oath which all Americans have taken at one time or another, and though America is a cultural melting pot, we are all united under fundamental ideas of freedom, liberty and unity ‘under God’. By dissecting the very basis of this ideology which we have all grown up embracing, we dissolve not only a tradition but a sense of basic accountability to stand together as a Nation under ‘God’,

Use of hydrocarbons as fuels Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Use of hydrocarbons as fuels - Essay Example The early man’s industries included mining and smelting of ores, and a later transition from Stone Age to Metal Age. This resulted to not only wastage, but also potential spread of carbon monoxide, toxic elements of mercury, and lead among others. However, with Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century, the introduction of the steam engine saw the industrial growth due to possible transportation of industrial goods hence more pollution due to higher industrial demands (Khopkar 2004 p.16). These industries pollute the environment through sulfur dioxide, dioxin, and other toxic substances. The pollutants are in form of liquid, gas, and other solid forms that seriously damage the bio system. Air pollution is inevitable within the industrial process although industrial ecology aims at harmonizing the industrial sector and the biosphere as a solution to this growing problem. The chemistry involved in this industrial process includes production of emissions like SO2, Nitrogen Oxides, and particulate emissions. Sulfur dioxide a content of fuel gases is one-quarter depending on the fuel. A coal-fired power plant produces 2.5million of fuel gas per hour if its output is 700MW, and emits 2.5 tons of sulfur per hour. However, the sulfur emissions are lower in industrial sources compared to power plants and occur where heating reactors use sulfur fuels. Oxidation of dust and soot particles with heavy metals due to presence of water droplets can result to acid smog that has deleterious effects on respiratory system. During combustion of nitric acids, the combustion process forms nitrogen oxides that are common air pollutants. Once Nitrogen oxide and the molecular oxygen or other radicals oxidate they form nitrogen dioxide. A good example is the use of sulfuric acid that contains nitrous elements during super phosphate production, because the process emits over 50% of nitrogen oxide gases. The

The Drama GCSE Course Essay Example for Free

The Drama GCSE Course Essay During the summer term of 2003 I have been working on an improvised piece of drama for option 3 of the drama GCSE course. The theme of our piece is fame. Our improvisation is about a young man called Jack who has the misfortune to become famous at first this is his dream come true but as the story unfolds he becomes more miserable and becomes addicted to drugs. The opening scene is where everyone who has had something to do with his death is gathered around him in his coffin at his funeral. Caudilia Smith throughout the funeral stays totally emotionless and does not shed a tear for her dead husband. Then it switches to Jack in bed being woken by his drug dealer, she barges in and starts to threaten Jack and he tells her he can get the money tomorrow and she agrees and tells him he will be dead if he doesnt. then we move further back and go to the high street where he first becomes famous. A news reporter comes to the agent who is sat at one of the cafes on the road where she is accosted by a journalist and is asked to comment on her upcoming blockbuster this is the scene where we find out that the agent is looking for a real life hero. Then Bernard moves past the journalist who has to move to block the agents way whilst Jack and Bernard are talking which is significant because Bernard starts to walk across the road but a car is coming and he does not see this because he is fixated on Jack but luckily a passer-by comes to the rescue and saves him but everyone thinks it was Jack who has saved him and because of this Jack becomes skyrocketed into fame which gets him a wife and helps feed his habit. But as he goes on his head gets bigger so he cant see the cracks that are forming below him. Caudilia finds out about his habit from a phone call that she listened in and she informs the papers and then because his agent finds out about this he gets sacked and then his wife leaves him and he has no-one left and then he kills himself. And then we all put him in his coffin, which is significant because it was our fault that he died so we are putting him in his coffin. When Maria Marten was set it was normal to see Gypsies and for the social classes to affect relationships then. And also the difference in currency then because it is not Guineas any more. The language is much different compared to the improvisation that we are doing now because we use much shorter sentences and frequent swearing but at the time of the script it would be considered very rude to swear but now its seems like a second language (not to me of course) to us. Also even the William confessed his love for Maria he hid it from the public and when he was caught with Dora and she asked who she was William just fobbed Dora off and said that she was just a peasant and he probably would not be caught dead with a girl like Maria. At the time of Maria Marten people believed Gypsies and took head of what they said but whereas now no one believed them, also people wouldnt be allowed to speak to other people in a higher social class than themselves. People behaved a lot different in the Victorian times because they had to be seen as properly behaved they couldnt be seen with people that were in a lower class than they were and this is where snobbery comes into it. And in the Victorian times people lived dull lives and didnt have much to do so going out to see a melodrama was like going to an Eminem concert for use it was that exciting! A melodrama in the Victorian days is the equivalent of going to the cinema and watching a movie. In our piece there are different types of cherecters in there there is Caudillia she is the gold digging bitchy type and then there is Bernard who is a nice person and is always good natured until he finds out jack has not been entirely honest with him. Then ther is the scheming journalist and then there is the larger than life I dont have any time for you agent. We chose this type of style of drama because it suted what we wanted serious yet funny and I feel this suted what we wanted exactly because with the amount of people there is there is enough room for both types of acting. We have learnt of the changes in the time affect the type of thinks that are funny now becayse they would not be funny then they probably would be improper. The fact that the script ended in tragedy gave us an incentive to head in the direction of tragedy.

Body mass index Essay Example for Free

Body mass index Essay In this assignment I will demonstrate every step of the process of determining my body mass index or BMI. After finding the body mass index I will then complete the following intervals based on my height. The formula used to determine the body mass index is BMI= 703W , where W represents a person weight in pounds and H represents a person H2 height in inches. My height is 70 inches. The first interval shows a compound inequality for: 17BMI22 17703W22 H2To make it an equivalent inequality I replaced the BMI with the formula 17703W22 702 My height in inches replaced H2 17703W22 4900then multiply by the height that was squared 17(4900)703W22(4900) 4900cancelling is performed 83300703W107800 multiplication carried out 83300703W107800 703 703 703to get W by itself all terms were divided by 703 118.49W153.34 After completing the problem I determined that people who are 70 inches may have a longer that average life if they weigh between 118.49 and 153.34 To solve this interval I’m going to solve for W prior to solving the inequality. 23703W25 H2 Multiply by H2 23H2703W25H2 Divide by 703 to get W by itself 23H2703W25H2 703703703 it is now an equivalent inequality 23(4900)W25(4900) 703 703from solving the first interval I know that my squared height is 4900. I then plugged it in the place of H2 then multiplied 112700W122500 703 703 160.31W174 Divide A person of 70 inches who weighs between 160.31 and 172 is probably not overweight. The third interval indicates a range for a person that is probably overweight. I solved this problem by inputting the number into the last compound inequality for 23 25. 25BMI29.9 25(4900)W29.9(4900) Multiply 703 703 122500W146510 703 703 Divide 174.25W208.41 A person that is 70 inches tall probably is overweight if their weight is between 174.25 and 208.41. The last interval is to be solved for someone who is obese. The inequality is BMI≠¥30 Since this is not a compound inequality I only need to use the middle and right terms. W≠¥30(4900) Multiply 703 W≠¥147000 Divide 703 W≠¥209.10 This interval indicates a person of 70 inches in height is obese if their weight is greater than or equal to 209.10. Of the 4 regions I’m going to notate interval 4 which states a person is obese if their weight is greater than or equal to 209.10. X is going to represent those who are obese X= (209.10, ∞) Graphed it would start at 209.10 pounds and so to infinity or it would never end. ( 209.10 ∞ In conclusion, during the course of the week I learned two different ways to solve for inequalities. I found that by solving for W in the intervals 2 through 4 was a lot easier and quicker than completing all the steps in the first interval. Reference Dugopolski, M. (2012). Elementary and intermediate algebra (4th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Publishing

Cinematography In A Horror Movie

Cinematography In A Horror Movie Abstract: From our child hood we have been imagining ghosts and seeing imaginary things that are almost improbable to exist to give us terrific fears and these fears come to haunt our dreams. Watching a horror movie gives us that old feeling of fear and makes us emotionally attached to the film. The horrific images from the movie with its special effects and sudden sounds would make many watch them even though its scary. But almost all the horror movies end after balance is restored and everything turns to normal to give the audience a sense of satisfaction. The dissertation is based on the Study of cinematography and special effects in a Horror movie. In the recent past camera, lighting and special effects are of greater importance and fame, so it will be worth exploring those topics. As far as the technical aspect is concerned a brief research of how these kind of films are being filmed from the shooting spot itself, will be very useful for an aspiring artist to get a better idea about its development. Horror films go back as far as the onset of films themselves, over 100 years ago. Introduction: The researcher was interested in watching horror films from his childhood and he was deeply interested in these genres. In his childhood the researcher was very much impressed with the serial mainly called Genmam-X and Marmadesam. The drama that he staged in his schooldays with horror and scary effects as the theme was applauded well by the audience. The tremendous response from the viewers made him start learning the concepts and idea relating to this genre and finally concluded with this concept. It is difficult to show scary effects in screens. If the director gets his requirements from all the technicians the film will be successful, otherwise it will not. In order to get success the film must contain interesting characters and it also depends on their acting. And in terms of technical aspects the cinematography and special effects play a major role. In Indian cinemas, there is some response for these kinds of genre when compared to Hollywood. The main aim of the upcoming short film is that after seeing this, many people have to change their mind to see horror films also. So the main thing that the film should contain is better cinematography with matching special effects. Instead of concentrating on the story alone, cinematography and special effects should be given more importance. Aim: To give the thrill the viewer expects mainly the use of the camera, lightings and Special Effects, Were Script play the secondary role. Statement of the problem: The main purpose of adding the special effects is to frighten the viewer.When it goes beyond the limit it might not be watched by many people. In this situation it may go to another genre of hardcore horror. It may scare people but it will create some abnormal effects in the minds of some people. Objectives: How is cinematography in horror films different from other films? What are special Effects? How is Special Effects done in horror movies? A Study of the cinematography for horror movies. How is make up done for horror movies? Research Questions: What are Special Effects? Colors and intensity of lights? Camera trick and technique in cinematography? Special Effects (Make up) for horror movies? How the horror movies getting winning changes? Significance of the study: Horror movies are the best platform to find rich special effects and lighting and Much interesting camera handling which gives the viewers a different experience From other films. The study through this dissertation is to understand The cinematography in horror films and application of special effects in them. Table of content Chapter 1| Introduction 1.1 | Aim 1.2 | Statement of problem 1.3 | Research questions 1.4 | Objectives 1.5 | Significance of study Chapter 2 | Review of literature 2.1 | Movies 2.2 | Websites 2.3 | Books and articles Chapter 3 | Research Methodology Chapter 4 | Horror films 4.1| Definition 4.2| History Chapter 5 | Introduction to Cinematography 5.1 | Camera 5.1.1 | Lens 5.1.2 | Filters 5.2 | Depth of Field and Focus 5.3 | Aspect ratio and Framing 5.4 | Camera Movements and Camera Angles 5.5 | Lighting Chapter 6 | Cinematography in Horror Films 6.1| over View 6.2 | Camera Works in Horror Films 6.2.1| Camera Movement and Angles 6.2.2| Analysis of Movie Shots 6.3 | Lighting Chapter 7 | Different between Normal films and Horror Films (Cinematography) Chapter 8 | Special effects 8.1| History 8.2 | what is Special effect 8.3 | Planning and use 8.4 | Live Special effect 8.5 | Make up Chapter-9 Integration of dissertation with project Chaper-10-Analysis and conclusion REVIEW OF LITERATURE Movies Reference: Psycho (1960) and the director is Alfred Hitchcock. The cinematography is done by John L.Russell. Psycho is one of the best Hollywood horror movies best for lighting. In one scene the psycho is going to kill the lady who is taking her bath were the lighting was done very well to signify the horror. It is considered to be the best cinematography, in 1961 by John L.Russell .Oscar was nominated for this film. Reference: The Thing (1982) directed by John Carpenter with Special Effects by Rob Bottin. The movie was taken in 1982. In that period they used special effects and visual Effects and make up. The makeup was so realistic that it attracted the viewer Quickly. A human is transformed to a demon easily and the scene is presented very effectively which will fascinate the people. . The comment was that it was too scary. This shows how they have applied VFX and SFX. And the Best special effect 1982 Rob Bottin Saturn award was nominated for this Film. Reference: Van Helsing and the director is Stephen Sommers.The cinematography is handled by Allen Daviau. The movie Van Helsing comes under the genre of horror and it came out in the year 2004. In this movie they followed a really nice cinematography. Actually this movie came out from the comic that Van Helsing is a ghost hunter who will be roaming around the earth in search of ghost, In this movie also he is coming to a village in search of the ghost. There are two interesting characters in this movie. One is the Frankenstein and the other one is the wolf character which was in the custody of the villain. The extra ordinary thing about the movie is that the CG In early days, man used special effects and later it got developed into visual effects. In this movie there are many visual effects shots. A few examples include the climate sequence where the ordinary man transforms into a wolf that is a quality CG work in the industry. Further there are many VFX shots in the movie. Special effects include the blood bossing from the mouth and the usage of the miniature in the movies where Gabrie l (hero) taking the Frankenstein away from the village. Most of the shots were shot inside the studio and they were composited later. Usage of expressive and breath taking matte paintings added to the quality of the movie. The cinematography of the movie plays a major role because of the proper establishment and composition. Reference: Mirror-2 directed by Victor Garcia. Cinematography is done by Lorenzo Senatore. It is really a kind of hardcore killing movie where we can find the hero who is replacing the old security guard in the office. The main concept behind this movie is the revenge by the girl who is killed by the head officer. And he is killing the people through the medium mirror. The main success behind the movie is the lighting and cinematography. Reference: Saw-4, directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and cinematography by David Armstrong. This movie is the successor of the three early parts. The success behind the movie is the usage of the equipments and the method he used for killing others. In the first scene of the movie the villain killed the victim by tying the body to a steel bed and the axe was in a to and fro motion just above the stomach of the victim where it got peeled into many pieces. Website Reference: This Media Studies Factsheet was researched Written by Steph Hendry The horror films are not from this period. Those films were taken from the very early times where they only depend on the special effects and the camera tricks .At that time also some nice pictures came namely the Frankenstein a ghost which was made by a man by assembling many internal organs .This is the fact, that behind the creation of the ghost namely Frankenstein, is one type of ghost. There are many types of ghost that may include the external ghost which was having its own appearance and they will have some special characteristics. The Internal ghost is that it will enter ones body and it will do some thing inside the body of the character. This is the kind of ghost and others include the vampire. Mostly all the thriller movies have this type of ghost, there will be a character sucking blood from the humans and using them for their existence. They will be more like humans living with them but they will have some special characteristics In the earlier periods the ghost will be only living inside the cave and later the living area of the ghost also increased ,no matter where the ghost are living- it may be at school, it may in our home or inside ones soul no matter where it will be. So we can go to the place as we wish when going for this kind of genre. And nowadays time is also not a matter for the ghost it may come at day time or it may come when we are sleeping and when we are in dream. The only fact is that vampire can roam around the world during day times. (Reference: www.darkwebonile.com )accessed on Book

Parkers Back :: Religion, Divine Intervention

â€Å"Parker’s Back† is filled with biblical allusions as one man’s journey towards God and pleasing his wife ends unsuccessfully. Parker has always been a rebel; however, his wife is a devout, plain woman who has an indescribable control on him, possibly due to his subconscious wish to be saved. Parker wishes to leave her, but finds he never can do so. Not only is he unable to please his wife, but also he is unable to experience spiritual satisfaction, and in the brief moment at the end where he does have a connection to God, his wife rids him of it. Biblical allusions are spread throughout â€Å"Parker’s Back,† and they serve to emphasize O.E. Parker’s failure as a spiritual person. Parker notices a tattooed man at fair, where he became inspired to get tattoos. The man’s tattoos are of â€Å"beasts and flowers,† (384) full of â€Å"intricate design of brilliant color† (384), as they represent an Eden that Parker cannot have. Parker’s response to the man’s tattoos can never be replicated; Parker always feels dissatisfaction with his own tattoos. The man’s tattoos seemed to be alive and have â€Å"a subtle motion† (384), and Parker is never able to experience the emotion he felt when looking at the man’s tattoos, as if he can never experience Eden again. On the other hand, Parker’s tattoos seem to represent something entirely different. The serpent on Parker’s arm represents the wrongs he has done, and with the serpent on his arm, Parker cannot truly experience the religious and spiritual satisfaction that his wife does. This biblical allusion of Eden and the serpent shows that Parker has strugg led to find peace, and has had a troubled life. As a tattoo-clad high school dropout, a dishonorably discharged ex-navy, and a heavy drinker, O.E. Parker is a failure. His soul is a â€Å"spider web of facts and lies,† (393) and compared to his devout wife, he is a failure in religion because of his lack of faith. Parker detests his own wife, calling her â€Å"plain,† (382) but he still stays with his wife, an action that caused him to be â€Å"puzzled and ashamed of himself† (382). Perhaps the real reason he is staying with his wife is that she â€Å"had married him because she meant to save him,† (382) and Parker is waiting to be saved. Sarah knows that O.E. Parker’s real name, Obadiah Elihue, is significant when she says it out loud in â€Å"a reverent voice† (387).

samurai ethic in modern japan Essay -- essays research papers

Yamamoto, Tsunetomo Bushido: The Way of the Samurai Garden City Park, NY 2002 After reading this book it is my belief that it is important for Westerners to understand the seemingly strange concepts of Bushido, not only as a guide to events of the past, but as a primer for understanding the Japanese business mentality of today. The first thought that comes to mind when Japanese work ethic is hard working, no breaks, complete commitment to ones job. There may be a reason why Japan was able to rebuild their country so quickly after World War II, this reason is Bushido, the principles of the samurai. The origin of this book is from the Hagakure, which this book was based on was dictated by Tsunetomo Yamamoto, a samurai. And later scribed verbatim by Tsuramoto Tashiro over a period of seven years (1710-1716) in which they lived together in a far off mountain retreat in Japan. Tashiro was sworn to secrecy over the texts contents because the author believed the teachings to be far too radical and too militaristic for the then peaceful times during the Shogunate Rule (1603-1867). During this time of unusual calmness, the teachings of Buddhism and the ethical codes of Confucius permeated Japan, enriching every aspect of its culture from arts to politics. But the old samurai, Yamamoto, believed that the samurai, as a class, had become effeminate and weak. Yamamoto's basic premise was that the samurai could not serve two masters, religion and the clan, and by doing so had become less effective. The service of the lord and the clan should come first, and once this was done, one could the n amuse oneself with the studies of the humanities. In writing the Hagakure, Yamamoto hoped that someday the Samurai would return to the purity of its strong and compassionate past.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This book gives a unique look back to the late 18th century, when Yamamoto was active as a samurai. The view is unique, because Japan was unifying and there was less need for each minor lord to have an armed class. The warrior ethic was changing as war became less common. In some way, these notes seem to mourn the passing of the clearest, purest form of that ethic.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The warrior ethic only changed, though and still underlies many aspects of modern Japanese thought and policy. The feudal caste system still gives a fair description of different l... ...ect Bushido would have been something lesser, but none the less still of great importance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This is a book that I have thoroughly enjoyed, and allowed me to dive into the mind of a typical Japanese business man. Yamamoto is a very insightful man indeed, and it is obvious that his life as a samurai has made him appreciate every aspect in life. I can now understand why their work is their highest priority in their lives and why they work so diligently. It’s is amazing to see how a country that has gone through so much has become one of the world leaders in technology, automobiles, and so many other things. Without Bushido, would Japan be in the same position as lets say the Philippines, or Indonesia, or any other country that is now slowly developing? Even though the Japanese economy has been in decline for the past few years, I have very little doubt in my mind that Japan won’t be able to rise up again, with the principles of Bushido laid in as its’ foundation. Bushido is the moral code that has provided Japan with a national identity and work ethic that has guided them through bloody civil wars, Mongol invasions, a world war, and nuclear devastation.

Poverty and Children in the United States Essay

Poverty can be hard to describe at times especially when involving children. â€Å"Last year, 35.9 million Americans – including 13 million children – lived in poverty† (de Leon, 2004). There is no need for these kinds of rates, especially when it comes to our children. Children in poverty are issues that cannot be ignored in today’s society. Over coming child poverty would take enormous energy and strength from everyone in the United States. â€Å"While we are the richest country, we rank highest in child poverty rates among rich nations† (Bezruchka, 2007). The thing that most people overlook is the insufficient nutrition along with unemployment and housing that is overcrowded. Some people like to believe that these children do not exist and everyone is happy and carefree. When in most cases there could be a child living in poverty next door. There are many low-income people in the United States; a huge number of them are children. â€Å"In 2003, the government classified 35.9 million men, women, and children—12.5 percent of the U.S. population—as poor† (Macionis, 2006). A person being poor is another word for a person being in poverty. Poverty can be defined in many ways, for example, inadequate income can make a family be below the poverty line. The home environment can also add to the poverty issue because, most homes that look in disrepair mean that the family living inside might not have the income to fix things. When a family is in the poverty zone they feel bad and inadequate which can make them unwilling to ask for help. This can be harmful to the children because they do not have a say when the adults need help. A child in poorer family can also have poor health due to inadequate healthcare and routine visits. Lower income families try to buy enough food for everyone but, this does not always carry the vitamins and nutrients a growing child needs. The nutritious and healthy food is not always low cost and can be hard for a low-income family to afford. A number of nutritious meals takes time to prepare and when guardians work all day they probably do not feel like or have time to cook a full course meal. For example, a single mother works in a pizza parlor to support her children, every night the owner lets her take a free pizza home, this is good to eat but does not supply the every day nutrients a child needs. A child who does not get adequate nutrition can suffer academically. Children who live in poverty endure hardships in academics, social problems and sometimes physical problems. Children who live in low-income homes are more likely to have problems in school, making friends and staying healthy. When children from lower income families attend school they can be ridiculed due to them not having the best clothes or the right supplies. This takes a toll on their self-esteem and socializing, the children will continue to be nervous about these things. The grades will sometimes show when a child has esteem issues or is too nervous to pay attention. Healthcare is a growing concern for children because most people cannot afford coverage and sometimes make too much for programs like the medical card. Without the right type of medical visits the child will suffer. Sicknesses like colds or the common flu can go undiagnosed which if bad enough can lead to serious health problems. Diseases like Attention Deficit Disorder also know as ADD which can be easily diagnosed by a doctor can be mistaken for misbehavior. Most parents without coverage wait until it is absolutely necessary to take the child to a doctor, which at time can be damaging. Some people would think that low-income children would not have weight issues but, they do, due to unhealthy eating habits. The numbers of children in the United States living in lower income families continues to grow.   The number of children living in poverty has increased by more than 11% between 2000 and 2005. There are 1.3 million more children living in poverty today than in 2000, despite indications of economic recovery and growth† (Fass and Cauthen, 2006). Most people want to believe since the economy is growing the poverty level is dropping but, it is not. Sure there are more jobs and higher paying jobs but these require training which is costly. The other thing to remember is this occurs when wages go up the merchandise goes up also. People tend to help children in other countries rather than help their own. There are many commercials about saving the children from disease and famine in other countries no one thinks about the children here. The number of children in poverty would fall if people would recognize the troubles in their own back yards. There are people who make millions from making movies or music and do not help the children in the U.S. They would rather have the publicity from adopting a child or donating money to children in another country. In all honesty how much of the donated money, in fact goes where it belongs. To aide in the costs of healthcare for children and elderly Medicaid and Medicare were formed. â€Å"The government’s most substantial — and most successful — involvement in health care came in 1965, when it created Medicare to help the elderly and Medicaid to help the poor† (2000). Medicare and Medicaid were brought about because people were going into debt for medical attention and most children could not afford medical treatment. Medicare is a health insurance program made for people over 65 and Medicaid, which is funded by federal and state governments, is for children who cannot afford coverage. As for the ones who do not qualify for either Medicaid or Medicare there is SCHIP which is for low to middle class families. â€Å"The State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was established in 1997 to provide government-paid coverage for children whose parents aren’t poor enough to receive welfare and Medicaid† (2007). These programs made a drastic improvement upon poverty ratings in children because healthcare was made affordable. These are good things, but there are some problems with the plans and people do not qualify. Some medications are not approved to be covered along with needing tests done that have to wait for approval. There are cracks in the system as well, because the Department of Health and Human Resources does not take into the account the medicines family members are on and how much out-of-pocket cost they are covering. For example a family may bring in roughly eight hundred dollars a month and have to spend one third on medications. The DHHR just sees they make too much money to qualify for different types of assistance. However, for the most part Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP have made poverty levels in children decrease. The next thing to be reckoned with was bills and finances. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families helps with the financial responsibilities of the household. TANF is for families with children who have no income or ways of supporting themselves. The amount received depends on the size of the family, but only covers two children and two adults total. TANF is there for when a family looses a job or becomes unable to perform job related tasks anymore. Welfare assistance such as TANF now has a limit to how long a family can receive assistance. This limit is 60 months, which can be spread out, used only when needed or for 5 years straight. Food Stamps aide in the families food needs, these pay for food only. Like TANF there is a set income level to receive these. The Food Stamp program was first started as a type of supplement, a person would buy stamps with cash and use them in a store but, they would be worth more than what the person had paid in cash. Later on the food stamps became free to qualifying families. This means food stamps no longer had to be bought, a family just had to meet certain income requirements. There are a number of people currently receiving food stamps because the cap for income is high, which helps a number of families out with purchasing food. There is no limit to how long a family can receive food stamps as long as they continue to qualify. A regular yet harmful part of the welfare system is that some of the public which do not try have a tendency to take the low road and receive assistance when the assistance is not needed. While other people put forth immense effort to make an honest livelihood end up paying taxes to help maintain the welfare system. Some people believe that the food stamp program has made it too easy on some people to sit around and does nothing while collecting TANF and food stamps, but for the people who truly need it they are wrong. There are many people who go to welfare for assistance who truly need help for a short time while they get back on their feet. There are also people who are temporarily disabled, parents who have lost their counter part and have nowhere else to turn for financial help, or other unforeseen circumstances, these are the people who need these types of assistance. However, for the people who take advantage of these systems they make things harder for the people who need help. Low-income families with children need these services in order to survive; some make it difficult for them. Without the help from agencies child poverty would continue to rise drastically. Child poverty in the United States is high right now but guesses how high the rates would be without programs like TANF, Medicaid, Medicare, and food stamps. Low-income children would be unhealthy and without the minimal requirements needed to sustain normal life. Even though there have been improvements to the programs which help children in poverty there is still a long way to go. Sometimes children fall through the cracks because they are right on the cusp and do not qualify for government assistance or have enough income or medical coverage. Policies need to be changed and assistance groups should look over qualifications better. The responsibility of the United States residents is high because these children who live in poverty is our future and need to be taken care of. People in the United States need to take better care of their own and worry less about what is going on in other countries. References Bezruchka, Stephen (2007, April 29). Give U.S. Children Our Best; Poor Report Card On Child Health Should Be Our Call To Action: [FINAL Edition]. Seattle Post – Intelligencer, p. J1 Retrieved February 03, 2008, from Business Dateline database. (Document ID: 1262409031). Fass Sarah and Nancy K. Cauthen (December, 2006). Who are America’s Poor Children? Retrieved February 03, 2008, from http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_684.htmlNO Macionis, J. (2006). Society: The basics (8th Ed.). P.216 Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Case Analysis of Lenovo M&A IBM PC department Essay

Lenovo Group Limited is a Chinese transnational computer hardware and electronics company. Its operational headquarters are located in Morrisville, North Carolina, United States and its registered office is in Hong Kong. It produces personal computers, tablet computers, mobile phones, workstations, servers, electronic storage devices, IT management software and smart televisions. Lenovo has operations in more than 60 countries and sells its products in around 160 countries. Lenovo was founded in Beijing in 1984 and incorporated in Hong Kong in 1988 under its previous name, Legend. Lenovo is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and is selected as a  constituent stock of the Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index. In the 1980s, when market reforms were in progress, the Chinese government hired Liu Chuanzhi to distribute imported computers. In 1984, Liu founded Lenovo with a group of ten engineers and 200,000 yuan in Beijing. Their first significant effort to import televisions was failed. The group could rebuild itself within a year by carrying out quality checks on computers for new buyers. Shortly afterward, Lenovo started developing a circuit board that would allow IBM-compatible personal computers to process Chinese characters. This product was Lenovo’s first major success. Lenovo started to manufacture and launch computers tagging its own brand name in 1990. In 1996, Lenovo’s market share went up to the first place in China, and it launched its first PC. Since then, it developed rapidly and in 2000 it became a constituent of the Hang Seng China-Affiliated Corporations Index. However, Lenovo’s diversification strategy and the competition with the computer manufacturers around the world made Lenovo to loss position. In 2003, the three business lines which include mobile phone, IT and the internet unit lost over hundred million Hong Kong dollar. Even in the line of the PC, the most profitable unit of Lenovo, it should compete with the DELL and HP. The fact that the global market made DELL stronger encouraged Lenovo to focus on its comparative advantages of operational area, the PC and go back to the internationalization strategies. After nine years, Lenovo became the world’s largest PC vendor in 2012 marketing the ThinkPad line of notebook computers and the ThinkCentre line of desktops. Lenovo could success because of its long-term concentration on emerging markets and successful overseas M&As suffering from a low profit margin in the PC business and intense competitions from tablet PCs and smart phones, the company is initiating to diversify its businesses. The most famous M&A case is the merger and acquisition of IBM’s PC unit. In fact, in early 2000, IBM had already represented its willingness to sell their PC unit to Lenovo. Why would IBM sell its renowned PC unit? According to the financial report submitted by the IBM in the year 2004, the PC division lost 397million dollar in 2001, 171 million in 2002, 258 million in 2003, and 139 million in the first half of the 2004. For the successive years, IBM was in a lost position. The active pricing strategies of companies such as Dell, Hewlett-Packard (HP) had a serious impact on the sales of the IBM PC which  means, for IBM, the PC unit is â€Å"tasteless†. Therefore, IBM was to leave unprofitable PC market, and put in more effort in the profitable high-end servers, software and IT services business. However, the acquisition price then is up to 4 billion in US dollar, Lenovo was unable to afford that much. Moreover, Lenovo played a dominant role in the market of mainland China then, so it didn’t accept this proposal. In May 2002, IBM’s CEO Sam Palmisano visited Lenovo to revisit the issues of the two sides. Lenovo had then enthusiasm about the implementation of diversification strategy, but also aware of the importance of the internationalization. Hence, it was possible for later further negotiations. From the end of 2003 to December 8, 2004, this merger continued for an entire year. December 8, 2004, Lenovo publicly announced that the acquisition of IBM’s global PC business is complete. Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM’s personal computer division accelerated entry to foreign markets while improving both its branding and technology. Lenovo paid $1.25 billion for IBM’s computer business, including $650 million in cash, 600 million shares and an additional $500 million of IBM’s debt. This acquisition made Lenovo the third largest computer manufacturer in the world by volume then. After the acquisition completed, Lenovo wanted to take over IBM’s notebook and desktop businesses and other related businesses including its customers, distribution and marketing channels worldwide. With regard to the purchase of IBM’s personal computer division Liu Chuanzhi said, â€Å"We benefited in three ways from the IBM acquisition. We got the ThinkPad brand, IBM’s more advanced PC manufacturing technology and the company’s international resources, such as its global sales channels and operation teams. These three elements have shored up our sales revenue in the past several years.† Besides, Lenovo obtained the 5-year-right to use the brand name of IBM. Acquisition agreement also point that the executive candidate: Stephen Ward (the senior manager of IBM) became the CEO and board directors of Lenovo group. Whereas after the M&A, Lenovo faced various serious problems such as culture differences and the integration of human resources, high salary costs, supply chain issues and the financial distress. However, Lenovo eventually solved the problems and dramatically survived. 1. To solve the problem of the large gap of the salaries between the employees of the Lenovo and the employees of the IBM PC Unit, Lenovo decided not to change the salary of the employees of IBM within 3 years and agreed to transform their stock options into the stock options of Lenovo. And for the three years of time, Lenovo will adjust and establish a unified and equitable salary system. 2. To solve the difficulty of the integration of the brand, Lenovo required at least a five-year-time to launch an independent and prestigious brand. With the agreement between Lenovo and IBM, Lenovo can use the brand name of IBM for five years. After that, Lenovo can only use â€Å"ThinkPad† and â€Å"ThinkCentre†. 3. To solve the supply chain issues, by the end of the year 2005, Lenovo had invited William J. Amalio to charge the position, the CEO of the Lenovo Group, replacing the former CEO, Stephen N. Ward. Amalio made a great effort to optimize and improve the international supply chain system of Lenovo during his tenure. Lenovo started the â€Å"Reconstruction project of the supply chain worldwide† through developing the infrastructure of not only the IT but only the efficiency of the supply chains. 4. The financial distress was a huge obstacle for the progress of Lenovo which carries seriously negative effects. When the acquisition is complete, the net profit of Lenovo decreased significantly from 1092 million Hong Kong dollar in 2005 to 216.528 million Hong Kong dollar in 2006. And the EPS(Earnings per share) of Lenovo also dropped from 14.97 HK cents to 1.95 HK cents. The loss of revenue was due to the loss of the market share of the IBM PC unit. After every possible works, in 2007, Lenovo has basically completed the pre-integration of the PC unit. And the financial indicators seemed all getting better. The profit of Lenovo increased to 1256.88 million Hong Kong dollars, and its EPS increase to 14.35 in 2007. However, Lenovo should endeavor to get a stable condition before they had. In 2008, Lenovo showed the worst financial reports since its acquisition of the IBM PC unit. The profit was only 23.3 million dollar which is 78% of decrease compared with the profit last year. At Feb, 5, 2009, Lenovo announced a loss of 97 million dollar. And at the same time, Lenovo found that it had lost the dominant market share in mainland China. After bearing a really tough time of its own, Lenovo made a right decision during this period of time. Liu’s comeback must be the most correct one. Liu adjusted the company’s business strategies to maintain a desirable share of domestic sales and continue to expand global overseas markets. Lenovo Group  immediately reduced its losses in 2010 and finally, achieved profitability and got a profit of 1,009 million Hong Kong dollar in fiscal year of 2010. Lenovo eventually got survived. 1. The critical successful factors that are the focus of the successful M&A activities 1.1 Synergistic Effect The key of the successful M&A case is whether the merging companies and the merged companies can complement other group’s advantages and make one plus one bigger than two or not. The merging of Lenovo and IBM’s personal-computer department has great synergistic effect in many aspects. It made the remarkable positive value in the synergy of businesses, the synergy of distribution channels, the synergy of the brand and management and the synergy of cost savings. 1.2 Integrated the human resources and resolved the labor cost problem successfully At the first time, there was tremendous difference between Lenovo’s and IBM’s human resources strategies. The major problem was the large salaries gap between Lenovo and IBM, the salaries of previous IBM’s employees made great cost expenses. In order to retain the previous IBM’s employees and reduce the discontent of Lenovo’s employees, Lenovo gave itself three years of transitional period and formed a unified and equitable paying system within three years. 1.3 Resolved the difficulty of blending two brands Many companies try to increase their sales amounts and seek growth of revenue by developing new products. And the co-branding strategy is one of the effective methods to provide a way to produce new and profitable products. Lenovo planned to utilize the well-known brand name of IBM in order to access to the international market hence increase the revenue. However, merging two brands caused brand meaning to transfer in unexpected ways that were never intended. Through signing an agreement to obtain the right which is allow Lenovo to use the trademark of IBM for five years, Lenovo could use the buffering time to make the global computer users worldwide to recognize its half-new name. In 2011, Lenovo took over the Acer and became the world third largest PC supplier globally. We can see that Lenovo has gradually built its reputation in the international market around the world so far. 1.4 Well-designed corporate management plan After the acquisition, Lenovo experienced a tough time in transition, with serious financial hardship as well as plummeting the price of stock. In order to resolve these problems, Chuanzhi Liu designed an accurate scheme with two steps forward to make Lenovo achieve success in the acquisition. Owing the accurate action, Lenovo could eventually break the stalemate and achieve brilliant success in profit again in 2010 as it shows below. 2009 2010 EPSï ¼Ë†HK centsï ¼â€° -19.97 10.37 Net incomeï ¼Ë†million HKDï ¼â€° -1765.83 1009.07 ROAï ¼Ë†%ï ¼â€° -3.42 1.44 ROEï ¼Ë†%ï ¼â€° -17.27 8.06 The profit index of Lenovo in 2009, 2010 2. The summary of lessons learned which made the factors successful 2.1 Synergistic Effect There are several synergistic effects in the case of Lenovo M&A IBM PC department. Complementing IBM’s and Lenovo’s advantages, Lenovo are able to increase its market share and the revenue, reduce the cost and finally manage the firm to be effective in full operation. Firstly, one of key driving forces for the successful M&A was that IBM has already penetrated the global large enterprises’ market whereas Lenovo have relatively the small enterprises’ market in terms of scope of their activities and the consumers’ market. However, after the merge with IBM PC department, Lenovo  expands its business share thus increases the bottom line. Secondly, it was the synergy of distribution channel. Lenovo has an internationalization strategy that â€Å"Attracting-In† and â€Å"Walking-Out† while IBM which is a globally mature large entity has tones of successful distribution channels all over the map and the corresponding sales teams and managing groups. By merging IBM’s PC department, Lenovo is able to combine the domestic and international distribution channels and it gains the international market at a relatively cheaper cost. At the third place, the synergy of the brand and management. After merging, Lenovo processes IBM’s THINK series brand and their patents, two R&D centers and retention of the previous IBM’s top executive board. Lenovo maintains the competitive advantages of IBM’s PS department, the leading R&D as well as the product innovation capability. At the forth place, the synergy of cost saving. Lenovo did not have competitive advantages regarding of invention cycle and the integration of the whole industry chain. After merging, Lenovo cut IBM’s money-consuming outsourcing businesses, and then optimize its supply chain. As a result, save a great deal of cost. 2.2 Integrated the human resources and resolved the labor cost problem successfully At first, there was an immense difference in their strategies between two companies. Lenovo paid attention solely in the internal training among skilled and outstanding people while IBM’s training mechanism was far improved. Lenovo hires employees according to the degree of agreeing its corporate culture whereas IBM focuses on morality. The most practical issue seemed to be the cost of labour. The total amount wages of IBM’s employees was much greater than Lenovo’s. IBM’s employees enjoyed wages about seven times more than Lenovo’s among the same level positions. Lenovo determined to stick to the wage level of the previous IBM’s executives within three years and also their IBM’s stock options exchange to Lenovo’s in the same amount. In three years, they gradually prepared to form an integrated payroll system. In which case, Lenovo retained the IBM previous technicians and the top executive group which are definitely crucial assets for Lenovo. 2.3 Resolved the difficulty of blending two brands IBM’s brand value is fairly influential and stable, maintaining its name value at top three for 6 years (2001 to 2006) whilst Lenovo did not gain much global reputation before the merging. In order to keep the competitiveness of IBM’s global PC business and settle the problems of blending two brands in a steady state, Lenovo and IBM got in terms that Lenovo would be able to use the trademark of IBM in five years, after five years, Lenovo can only us ThinkPad and ThinkCentre. Hence, the co-branding strategy for Lenovo to merge with IBM’s PC department was quite fruitful which did not hurt IBM’s reputation and during the buffer time, Lenovo are able to increase its popularity worldwide with the brand of IBM, after five years, Lenovo earned its own reputation. 2.4 Well-designed corporate management plan Lenovo has made a pivotal management plan after M&A strived to unravel the financial difficulties. STEP ONE: In order to stabilize overseas customers after the acquisition as well as to learn know-how from advanced International management team, Lenovo selected two foreign managers as CEO in roll, Stephen Ward(the senior manager of IBM) and Amelio (the ex-vice CEO of DELL). During this term, the primary task for the Chinese senior managers is to learn in despite of unpleasant situation. Stephen Ward stabilized the original employees of IBM and customers, which plays a central role in reducing the flow of employees and customers. Amelio constantly induced the efficiency management of DELL to Lenovo, cut uncalled for staff member, and streamlined the whole management structure. During that period, Lenovo accomplished a high level of profit of more than 40 million dollars. Moreover, Chinese managers had acquired a bulk of experience in multicultural corporation management and stored a pool of the capable employees for future development. STEP TWO: Restructured foreign CEOs that are near-sighted and lack in courage to enlarge business and reemployed the reliable and outgoing Chinese senior management crew after 4 years. This step established the desire of original employees of Lenovo and released the inner power of Lenovo storing for 4 years. 3. What should the company do next to improve its post-M&A initiatives Lenovo cannot survive after the M&A if it cannot provide valuable product, so it  should focus on further research and development. Lenovo should adhere to its innovative corporate culture. Lenovo Group has established a R&D team which has three core research locations—China, The US and Japan. And the team is closely connected with the business department. Within Lenovo group, they called this enormous system, â€Å"Global innovation triangle†. After the acquisition, Lenovo was faced with new challenge, that is, the culture conflict; the difference between the two countries may force the former employees of IBM to leave Lenovo. So that Lenovo should respect the autonomy of overseas R&D centers. Powers are returning to the engineers, and even the appearance of the new headquarters of Lenovo in the Raleigh, US, is designed by the senior director David and his American team, and it impossible under IBM’s rule. And this is a very good beginning. Even though Lenovo has a global marketing channel after the acquisition of IBM PC unit, it needs a more proactive marketing team. The sales team of IBM just issued orders for Lenovo but never take active steps to find new customers. The acquisition of IBM PC leads to a loss of the customers such as the US government, so that the marketing team of Lenovo should improve its skills to find new customers. Lenovo should deepen its internationalization achievements. Since Lenovo’s success is attributed to its long-term target on emerging markets and successful overseas M&A, it should run a good business of the corporations it merged. Lenovo should shape itself for the global market. Positioning is always the critical issue that the Chinese companies ignore, and it is the reason why Chinese company can hardly last longer than other in western countries. After the positioning, Lenovo should rationalize their pricing strategy. The value of the product is an important factor to concern; Lenovo can no longer make low-price strategy to survive in the global market. Lenovo should rather concern about the demand of their target customers, and make valuable and long-lasting product for them. Since China is concerning about the industrial upgrading, Lenovo should grasp this opportunity, and actively develop new smart phones, tablet PCs, smart TVs to promote the association to achieve the leap from PC to PC +. Conclusion In conclusion, the traditional era of homogeneous workforce has begun to  change. With the quickly changing social structure and emergence of new technology, a heterogeneous workforce is currently essential to market’s needs. In the past few years, China has emerged as the most potential market with a huge population, rapidly growing domestic demand and low cost of production. Many multinational companies have been trying to get a footing in China in order to obtain their competitive advantages. Consequently, that has posed serious challenges to the Chinese local producers in competing with these large giants. In order to survive and boost businesses growth, many business need to expand its market beyond the home base. There are many entry modes that may help firms business move into the international market. After the M&A has taken place, organization needs to pay extra attention on the strategy it chose to adopt to integrate the culture of the two companies to keep the smoothness of the organisation operation and performance. From the case study of Lenovo and IBM, a number of important conclusions can be drawn. For a Chinese company like Lenovo, the main motives for its embarking on M&A with IBM PC-D were its need for international branding to gain access to international customers as well as its need to be equipped with technology. As mentioned previously, Chinese products have always been marketed at the lower end of the product line with low costs and poor quality. Acquiring a well-known international brand is considered to be the fastest route to changing these intolerable perceptions of the consumers towards Chinese products and booting up its product image. Under this special circumstance, the need for branding is deemed the most important for a Chinese company to expand into international market. The case of Lenovo’s adopting a separate management mode to manage IBM PC department team was different from those described in the literature. The acquiring company is the very one that encourages the acquired team to preserve and maintain its own management system and procedure. Among the reasons behind this move, the most curial factor affecting this decision is fixed length of time agreed by IBM to allow Lenovo to use the brand ThinkPad. With this fixed term of a five-year period posted to Lenovo has to make best effort to build up its own brand â€Å"Lenovo† within this period. Therefore, it is sensible for Lenovo to encourage IBM PC department to maintain its own system and focus on digging the target in time. The use of culture integration committee in the case study of Lenovo has been very useful and helpful for members to  understand and become more aware of the differences it may occur among them. The committee has set up several activities such as culture discovery newsletter and discussion forums to encourage communication between two teams. These arrangements have been well received by the employees with active participation and enthusiasm. Therefore, it is believed that this strategy may well be recommended for organisations to encourage communication between employees.