Accounts Sba Essay

The aim of my project is for me to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the financial sector of the business world. To draw up the financial records for the year 2009 for Jen’s Supermarket and to comment on the entity’s performance using appropriate tools of Analysis Description and Overview Jen’s Supermarket is a developed and simulated entity owned by Jenevonne Kirton, who is the sole proprietor. Jen’s Supermarket is a developed supermarket which sells a variety of food items and miscellaneous goods, serving most of the island in its convenient location. The supermarket employ fifteen staff along with Ms. The capital at beginning was 202800 while at end it was 208165 which showed an increase by 5365 at the end of the month. Suggestions/Recommendations Current Ratio It is recommended that Jen’s Supermarket 1. Uses the excess money to expand the business by opening another supermarket. 2. Introduce new product to the business and purchase new equipment. Gross Profit It is suggested that Jen’s Supermarket should 1. Source cheaper suppliers to facilitate the demand of goods so profitability would be greater at the end of the month. 2. Offer new promotions every week and offer the customers raffles at a chance to win prizes at the end of the year. These are given to help Jen’s Supermarket increase gross profit and sales. Conclusion It is clear that Jen’s Supermarket keeps adequate records for the business to demonstrate the profitability over the financial period for the month. It could however, increase the current ratio and gross profit by incorporating the suggestions/recommendations outlined. Nevertheless Jen’s Supermarket made a good net profit for the month of December in 2009. Overall based on the performance of the business Jen’s Supermarket was able to make a profit of 6365 despite the low sales of 104 850.

Importance of Eucharist in the Catholic Faith

Eucharist in the Catholic Faith In order to understand the Catholic faith, a person has to know the mysteries of the church, or in other words, sacraments. Sacraments are special occasions where God’s presence can be felt. Each sacrament provides us with grace with the life of God in our souls. Eucharist is one of the essential sacraments in the church because it is a way of literally bonding with Christ Himself, as He is truly present under the appearance of bread and wine. Receiving the host is important in the Catholic faith because it strengthens our relationship with God.When we receive communion, Christ dwells in us and we in Him. As the bread is broken down, the Holy Spirit sets us free and cleanses us from our sins. Taking communion must remind each individual that Christ will dwell in our bodies. This should make us more respectful to others and ourselves by following a Christ-like behavior. A person not taking communion will not be worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven. Go d Himself said: â€Å"Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day. (John 6:54) The Eucharist is a share in the inheritance of Heaven. Our vocation on this earth is to be holy and to follow God’s commandments, which include taking the Eucharist, so we can live with God eternally. Whenever someone is taking communion, he is reminded with God’s love to us. Communion is a reminder that God died to save us on the cross to shed His blood for us. Communion is Christ sharing His heavenly award with us. Before He was betrayed, Jesus told His disciples to eat the bread and drink the wine.We still we still practice this until now as a way of remembering the sacrifice of God’s Son who paid the ultimate price for the atonement of our sins. In conclusion, the Eucharist is definitely one of the important sacraments according to the Catholic faith. Without it, none of us will be saved on the last day. Taking communion regu larly helps strengthen the relationship with Christ, as each person meets Him on the alter every Sunday. Without His salvation on the cross, we wouldn’t be able to enjoy all the Holy gift of the Eucharist.

Strategic Corporate Communication in Vodacom

Strategic Corporate Communication is communication that happens in a corporation e. g. business, company, shop or group of companies. It is about laying a plan to reach the intended objectives of the company. Let say if the company needs to make profits it should have its strategic plan to reach that goal. On the other hand, those strategic plans must involve internal and external public. Mainly Strategic Corporate Communication is supported by a detailed research plan. Corporate communication is now making its entrance in Tanzania though it claims historical links to the field of Public Relations. The core functions of corporate communications are more similar to those of Public Relations though they differ a bit. This paper is going to examine the Vodacom Tanzania company, to see how they implement Strategic corporate communication techniques and make the company the so successful in mobile communication industry in the country. The study also is interested to know how Vodacom communicates with its employees, the external audiences and other stake holders. INTRODUCTION The field of corporate communication has developed to a large extent since its first inception in the mid-90s. Corporate communication began as what many of us recognize as Public Relations (PR). The function of earlier PR departments was focused on preventing media from getting too close to management. Argenti argues that â€Å"the first PR professional were asked to protect the company from bad publicity, often by ‘spinning’ damaging news in a positive light. † This idea became popular through the 1960s, however, organizations soon found that external communication was not the only solution to their communication problems. Argenti, J. F. (2002) Strategic Corporate Communication refers to communicating a concept, a process, or data that satisfies a long term strategic goal of an organization. It is communication that happens in a corporation. It is about laying a plan so that to reach the intended objectives of the company. In fact, Corporate Communication is a managerial position which is involves managing and coordinating all internal and external communications. It deals with the dissemination of information by a variety of specialists in an organization, with the common goal of enhancing the organization's ability to retain its license to operate. Strategic Corporate Communication can do a lot for an organization. It is a new way for an organization to respond to a changed business landscape that results from today's networked communication environment. Strategic Corporate Communication helps to build organization image, combining its vision, mission and values and supports the organization by communicating them to all of its stakeholders; to mobilize internal and external support behind corporate objectives; to develop plans that will minimize differences between the organization's desired identity and brand features. Argenti, J. F. (2002) Like in most countries in Africa; in Tanzania, Corporate communication is making its entrance though I can say in a slower pace. A number of local organizations still embrace the Public Relations traditions. The forces behind this transformation from Public Relations to Corporate communications has its base in globalization whereby regional economies, societies, and cultures have been included in a global network of political ideas through communication, transportation, and trade. The mixing of national economies into the international economy through trade, foreign direct investment and the spread of technology has changed the world of business in so many ways. Companies have to manage their communications to the employees and the publics, Industries have to advertise their products so that to face increased competition. The need to employ corporate communication personnel in their businesses was not an option. This paper is going to examine the role of strategic corporate communications in Vodacom Tanzania limited and problems that may arise from this process. Background of Vodacom Tanzania limited. Vodacom Tanzania Ltd is a subsidiary company of Vodacom (Pty) Ltd based in South Africa. Vodacom (Pty) Ltd owns a majority share portion of 65%, the remaining 35% is owned by a local company called Mirambo. Vodacom Tanzania was issued its license in December 1999 and commenced operations in august 2000. By August 2000, Vodacom (T) Ltd completed its state of the art GSM infrastructure and went live on August 14, 2000. On August 15, 2000 Vodacom (T) Ltd officially started its commercial operations. Vodacom is a profit making company. The core functions of Vodacom Tanzania limited is to provide mobile communication services focusing on voice and data communications, with a great emphasis of quality and coverage. Recently, Vodacom has positioned itself as a total communication provider with the launch of Vodacom business which is one stop solution for corporate data needs, specifically catered to address the need for high speed internet, data and Virtual Private Networking (VPN) powered by 3G and WiMAX services. Vodacom, (No. 01, 2009) Vodaworld Tanzania, magazine. Tanzania has adopted a free market economy. The growth of cross-cultural contacts; arrival of new categories of realization which symbolize cultural diffusion, the desire to increase one's standard of living and enjoy foreign products through free marketing, adoption of new ideas and new technology are the results of globalization policy. Therefore, Vodacom is lucky to operate in such a country where there is no political, economic, social or cultural restrictions. Vodacom Tanzania limited has a corporate communication office. It is reflected in its organization structure, and is referred to as The Head of Division of Corporate Affairs who reports direct to the Vodacom Managing Director. (see appendex1). The corporate Affairs office has to take care of employee relations, community relations, media relations, government relations, investor relations, advertising and marketing communications functions. This indicates that communication is a core value to Vodacom. Vodacom strategic corporate communication plan is to incorporate internal and external stake holders very closely to an overall corporate communication strategy. To keep them informed on the progress of implementing the strategy and to ensure that communications with the Vodacom management is directed to strategic planning development. This strategic corporate communication plan gives Vodacom an opportunity to link strategy with communications and preserves the direct connection with the management. Strategy and corporate communication case studies. The corporate communication function needs to add significant value to the business and must be fully aligned with those making high impact strategic decision for the company. Every organization has its goals, and we need to develop a strategy to accomplish those goals. Through corporate communication it is easier to know the organization vision (where we want to go) and mission (reasons for existence). Then the strategy has to be communicated so that to bring changes. This is where the corporate communicators intervene to help the internal workers and external audience to understand the organization. A study done in United States 2004, By Tim Leberecht, titled ‘Internal branding as a strategic corporate communications tool†; A case study of JetBlue Airways, has shown clearly how these two combinations can do to an organization. JetBlue Airways gains its high customer loyalty by making its employees understand and experience the brand character. The researcher defines Brand as the internalized totality of all impressions received by consumers resulting in a distinctive position in their mind’s eye based on perceived emotional and functional benefits, Knapps, (2001 p. 22). He explains that Internal branding includes promoting the main corporate brand to the employee base in a fashion that makes them understand the connection between brand promise and brand delivery. Tosti & Stotz (2001). Internal branding then leads to a marketing strategy, as (De Chernatony 2001, p. 5) puts it â€Å"People’s impressions of brands are more strongly influenced by the staff they interact with†. The study uses qualitative research methods and draws on both primary and secondary sources. Through the analysis of secondary sources including articles and magazine features the brand character as perceived by customers is identified. Primary sources, including email correspondence, newsletters, or Intranet content, indicate how the airline accomplishes its strong customer loyalty by making its employees understand and experience the brand character. JetBlue Airways Corp is a relatively young organization (founded in 2000) has implemented internal branding from the very beginning as a founding pillar of its business model. The internal communication strategy in JetBlue corporate practice has work so powerful due to the implementation of additional training or incentives that are necessary to encourage, support, and reward the employees required behavior. In JetBlue Airways the employees are behind the success of the corporation because they totally identify with their brand as a result they become good ambassadors of their own brand to the public. The internal branding as a communication strategy have given a chance for the JetBlue employees to experience the brand and feel the connection of the brand to themselves as a result support to deliver the brand promise. Another study done in United States 1984, By Michael Dell; A case study of Dell Corporation. Dell was found by Michael Dell in 1984. Dell company is producing both customer based PC’s and also organizational based servers. Dell’s sales came from enterprise products and73% from desktops & notebooks. Their basic purpose is to cut off middleman and selling to customers directly for its lower cost. This organization is having well image in US & Global market. Though Its structure is complex and fluid; the organization has a well disciplined direct communication system known as â€Å"direct Mails system† for its customers and employees in organization. It is the easiest way of communication because everyone in organization can talk to higher authority. Team communication is very strong in Dell. The company has relationship with GCI & other public-relation firms. Dell looked internet as a source of staying connected with these agencies by using its own extranet for file sharing and online dialogue about specific issues. Talking about its corporate strategy, company strategy came from senior management rather than formal strategy process. Michael Dell found its strategy very important. Dell would find in late 2002 that its commitment to communication played a direct role in allowing company to implement strategy, even during crisis situation. And of course, Dell prove itself a successful company from both customer and financial perspectives in market during this crisis. Dell established formal and structured approach for team communication including standing meetings and conference calls. However, Dell spends low budget on research & development. The researcher concluded that Dell has a good image in the market that is why it is still in the market. Its corporate communication was effective and its appropriate strategies have been applied to satisfy customer and the employees. Although there had been crisis but Dell was able to handle situations because of its proper communication techniques. However, the researcher recommends the company to spend more budgets on Research and Development sector and to retain its lower cost commodities according to its goals and strategies. As we have seen Communication is a core value in Dell. Team communication is very strong in Dell. That is why in late 2002 its commitment to communication played a direct role in allowing company to implement strategy, even during crisis situation. Corporate Communication strategy in Dell focuses on team communication which includes standing meetings, conference calls and by emails. This kind of communication strategy (direct mails system) have worked so powerfully for them due to the fact that the system creates a good platform for interaction between the management and the employees (internal communication), as well as between the company and their customers by selling direct to them without the middle men. On the other hand, JetBlue Airways recognized that internal employees has a big part to play to make the company successful. Companies can save considerable time and by ensuring a measure of compatibility between their employees and their corporate or product brand. Communication Audit of Vodacom Tanzania Limited. As noted by Columbia University’s Centre of Continuing Education, a good communication strategy is a map that connects the present state of an organization to a future desired state. In order to design a good customer relations plan, it is important to evaluate how an organization has been dealing with its customers in the past and whether such communication approaches have had good impacts on the organization or not. According to Vodacom communication policy (2007), Vodacom Tanzania Limited operates throughout the country and has offices in all regions both in Island and Mainland. In order to achieve both smooth operations as well as to keep employees well updated, Vodacom opted for multiple channels of communication in order to implement the internal communication. Notice boards; news letter called Voda News and internal memos are some of the channels of communication which are used at Vodacom to implement internal communication. Other channels of communication used to run internal communication are online news letter, telephone, outlook emailing system is the main tool which controls the internal communication flow in the company. This system is very fast and offers instant feedback from employees. As we have seen in both case studies earlier, that effective internal communication systems is particularly crucial when organizations operates in an environment of rapid and sustained changes like Vodacom. Organizations must be innovative to be able to respond and adapt to the challenges presented by such changes. It is now increasingly evident that those organizations which promote good internal communication reap positive share in meeting these challenges. In most occasions, employees’ disloyalty and lack of commitment to organizational goals are a result of lack of effective two ways communication between management and employees. In a publication titled â€Å"Designing a Communications Strategy† by the International Research Center of Canada (IDRC) it is emphasized that reviewing a company’s past and present ways of dealing with its publics is an essential first step in designing a good corporate communications strategy. In this case the first public to deal with is the employees. Recommendations. Channels of communication adopted by Vodacom to implement Internal Communication are notice boards, news letter, internal memos, online news letter, telephone, outlook emailing system. All these channels are quite good. However, I would recommend a reliable and proactive communication strategy to be used. Off late Vodacom has decided to change its brand. Before the launching of a new brand, most of Vodacom employees were kept in the dark except those working in corporate communication department. The Vodacom corporate communication professionals should know that when employees are informed about the brand after the brand has been defined and positioned, they will be a passive audience. As we have learnt in both case studies that Strategic corporate communication is the heart of any organization. Being a communication company, Vodacom Tanzania should make sure that more budget is allocated on research and development, maintain a good communication system within the company, maintain its strategy by communicating with the customers, management and all other important pillars of their company. Whatever plans they have must be well known internally and well communicated externally to their customers and other share holders. That is the biggest secret if they want to remain the number one service provider in mobile communication industry. Conclusion: This paper has analyzed strategy and corporate communication in Vodacom Tanzania. Like any other profit making company Vodacom has strategies and objectives to achieve. Through well articulated corporate communication techniques Vodacom has managed to be the leading mobile company in the country. However, there are some areas need to be improved, especially on strategy development where by internal employees are being side lined so far.

Higher education in Angola Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Higher education in Angola - Essay Example Education plays a crucial role in the success of a society or country. With globalization there is an increasing trend towards alterations in the field of education, in order to equip students with the capability of international standards. For this reason, a large number of countries have undergone changes in their education policies, specifically, higher education policies on state and national levels, which need assessment and evaluation. Therefore, this paper will specifically focus on the policies of higher education system of one of the countries of the African continent- Angola. In particular, the paper will focus on the process of policy development in Angolan higher education system while discussing the responses of higher education institutions, regarding decentralization policy developments in the country after the end of the civil war in 2002. Lastly, this paper will propose some recommendations that will be beneficial for the higher education system in Angola in the coming years. In addition, it is anticipated that this discussion and deliberation on higher education system of Angola and its process of education policy formation will enlighten readers in many ways. Most importantly it will highlight the discrepancies in the policy formulation and its implementation in real scenarios. Institutional amplifications have been a point of discussion in several countries. According to Chikering (2006), such amplifications and changes may imply several adjustments, namely institutional, social, and political ones: ‘As we pursue these changes, we would try to distinguish among four separate questions and address them discretely: Are the changes we contemplate consistent with our mission and institutional values? Is their design and implementation educationally sound? Are those designs and implementation strategies financially feasible? What are the

Design a testing method to evaluate and improve a troubled website Assignment

Design a testing method to evaluate and improve a troubled website - Assignment Example The site also has a problem in not being user-friendly or rather rich in content This site is hard to traverse. The clients with different problem such as facial injuries and skin infections cannot easily get information on the site as it does not have valuable info to keep clients informed and involved. In addition, http://www.ameriface.org/ cannot update itself in a timely manner. Webmaster has not been unable to provide it with changes to or responding to the clients  requests in time.  It lacks of control over its own information. the website cannot be static and boring when it has an active news service on its home page to update the website’s information daily. The news style should be engaging and exciting to clients and readers as well. Members who like to chip in to the success of the organization need to be given a chance to contribute and propose ideas. Constructing and growing an organization takes a lot of hard work and dedication. One of the projects is that the websites personally takes over is the news service. Each morning the assigned employee needs to deliver breaking news and conveying significant information to the members. In case http://www.ameriface.org/ club, some of the profits the site offers to members should include: chapter meetings, a resource rich website, news services and weekend Edition Bulletin. Be systematic http://www.ameriface.org/ requires that organization leaders should figure systems for their organization earlier. The website should be created to manage its own membership, its vision vision on choosing a scheme that can house their needs as the organization develop as this is the best decision each websites should opt for in order to achieve its objectives and marketing itself. The websites requires to use a tactical approach, Ameriface website should learn when and how to convey press releases. For instance, by incorporating the press release in the body of the email, attach it to a PDF,

Informative Speech on Ebola Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Informative Speech on Ebola - Essay Example However, the people who were seroconverted by the Ebola virus did not develop the Ebola hemorrhagic fever. The last known strain Ebola virus strain is the Ebola Cote d’Ivoire that was discovered in the year 1994 (Li and Chen, pg 8). It occurred when an ethnologist was performing a necropsy in Tai forest on a dead chimpanzee infected herself in the process. Ebola outbreak in 2014 is the largest ever in the history of Ebola. It became the first ever Ebola outbreak in West Africa countries and recorded as the world’s first epidemic ever. There are few cases reported in Nigerians Port Harcourt and Lagos. The cases in Nigeria have been associated with a man who had visited Liberia and died of Ebola days later in Lagos. However, the virus has not spread widely in Nigeria. In Senegal, one case of Ebola was reported from a man who had traveled from guinea (Center for Disease control and Prevention factsheets). As per September 18th, 2014, the number of cases counted had risen to 5347 with total deaths of 2630. Among the counted people, 3095 have been confirmed in the laboratory to have been infected by the Ebola virus. The deaths have been experienced across five countries in West Africa among the affect countries are Nigeria, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Guinea (Gatherer, pg 5). So far the food and drugs association has not approved a safe vaccine for Ebola virus. Therefore, the prevention modalities are guided by the behavior of individuals when in the Ebola outbreak affected areas. To prevent spreading of the virus, a number of behavioral practices have to be integrated to the people visiting the outbreak areas. According to Centre for Disease Control and Prevention reports, preventive measures involves careful hygiene without any contact with body fluids of infected people, avoid handling items used on the affected people’s body fluids,

Land Law in Real Facts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Land Law in Real Facts - Essay Example Last year, Bentley and Damian too died of the accident leaving the property to Damian’s children because Bentley had left his property to his brother and Damian had left his shares of the property to his sons. Now Damian’s sons want the house and evict Alice. ‘A constructive trust comes into existence, regardless of any party’s intent, when the law imposes upon a party an obligation to holds the specific property for another. The person obligated becomes by force of law a constructive trustee towards the person to whom he owes performance of the obligation’ (Donovan waters, p378). The said property, despite the fact that the children of Damian had legally inherited the property from their father, Alice may be considered as the strong equity owner of the property. Alice has a strong estate and land interest in the property. This factor becomes significant when considering the question of unconscionability and applying the law of estoppel which primarily operates in the form of constructive trust. Therefore, it is important to know that Under (Law of Property Act 1925 s 199(1)(ii)(a)), the occupant(s) of the property has major interests ‘since it is implicit in Williams & Glyn’s Bank v Boland 1, Midland Bank v Dobson 2and Lloyds Bank v Rosset 3 that the beneficial interest (of the third parties) under this trust precedes the court order’ (Milney, 1997). It is an important consideration that belief involved in proprietary estoppel cases can be in any rights in and over the property. In the last 47 years of her life with her partner Bentley, Alice of assured that ‘he would do the right thing by her’ which was also seconded by Bentley’s brother, Damian, and co-owner of the house. The good intentions of the owners expressed verbally and the fact that she had been a resident of the house for more than 47 years, gave her the right to contest the will of Bentley and Damian. Â  

Good Faith and English Contract Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Good Faith and English Contract Law - Essay Example Good faith is vital concept in law and it is a prime essence in contractual dealings. Persons are expected to act in good faith for fair dealings in day-to-day business contracts. The concept of good faith has a large bearing on contract law as well as law of obligations. In contract law good faith is indispensable element. Though the contract is formed with free consent or free will good faith is inseparable from contract1. 1. An institutional competent dimension: When good faith is viewed from this dimension in England the institutions of the law, which are the courts, interpret good faith according to needs for rendering justice. Thereby giving room for arbitrary decisions. If the doctrine of good faith introduced in law of contract there would be judicial restraint, judges loose the liberty of interpreting the concept. Their discretionary powers are restricted. Simultaneously equitable flexibility is also affected. 2. Formal dimension: When we view the good faith in formal dimension it appears as vague. When it is vague it is difficult to define the good faith to introduce into contract law. The term good faith has vague meaning, lot of efforts are to made to define the good faith to make it as a statute. ... Presently the Judges use this term in various occasions in rendering the justice using their profound experience and after legitimate study of the case. The vagueness of the term is cured with their professional knowledge and profound experience before the benefit of good faith is extended to the deserved. 3. Substantive dimension: Substantive dimension refers to the contractual ethics. Contractual ethics imposes duty of good faith on the contracting parties. When such ethics are broken what is remedy Like any ethics contracting ethics are moral of the individuals, which they are supposed to keep up. The contract law does not interfere on morals. When good faith, which is vital element in business contracts is left to the ethics, which is not protected under the contract law the interest of the parties is at risk. This risk can be avoided by introducing the doctrine of good faith into contract law. Historically good faith functioned as a binding element between people by formless contracts (pacta nuda) even if there was no written contracts, to confer priority to the intention of parties and contractual terms than their literal meaning. Such contracts inclined to substantive fairness qua the intended meaning of the contract. Contract is defined in English contract law: Since the good faith is a vital element in all contracts it is essential to have a brief view of what how contract is confined under the definition in English law. As per this definition, the essential ingredients of contract are a) consensus ad idem, b) consideration, c) legal object, d) capacity to contract. Apart from these, another ingredient i.e. intention of the parties is also important

Python Programming Language Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Python Programming Language - Essay Example In addition, python language integrates amazing control with extremely clear and simple language syntax or python programming rules. Moreover, it offers user interfaces to a lot of system calls, built-in libraries, and to a variety of window systems. Thus, we can say that the python language has the power to be integrated within C++ or C capabilities. On the other hand, it can also work as an extendable language for programs that require a programmable user working interface. In short, python is a high level programming language which offers a great deal of portability facility because it executes on a lot of UNIX platforms, Personal Computers under MS-DOS, Macintosh system, and Windows based systems like Windows NT and OS/2 platform (Python Software Foundation, 2011; Snyder, 2007; Cai, Langtangen, & Moe, 2005). This report presents a detailed overview of python programming language. ... Additionally, it can be utilized for the development of various types of application programs and software. The basic design principle of the python language highlights the programmer efficiency and program code interpretation. Python was at first developed by Guido van Rossum. The development of python was encouraged by Haskell, ABC, LIST programming, Java, Perl and Icon programming languages used for various purposes. Python programming language is a high level, extensive, construed and multi-platform programming language. In addition, python programming language is a smallest programming language. However, the most attractive characteristic of python programming language is that it does not make use of any sort of brackets or semicolons in source code. In its place, python utilizes indentation technique (Bodnar, 2010; Hightower, 2001). Moreover, python programming language comes in two versions. In this scenario, these versions of python programming language are 3.x and 2.x. The P ython 3.x has cracked backward compatibility issues with earlier editions of python language. It was made to rectify a number of design defects of the language as well as enable enhanced capability of the language (Bodnar, 2010; Hightower, 2001). History of Python Python programming language was initially developed by Guido von Rossum during 1990s. This name of language was established due to Brit-com Monty Python's Flying Circus. This programming language has since been updated and improved by a large number of members or helpers as well as can be downloaded without paying any cost from the Python Software Foundation. Additionally, the latest edition of Python, 2.5, was brought to public in 2006. Python programming language is currently established in a lot of

Direct Vs. Indirect Taxation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Direct Vs. Indirect Taxation - Research Paper Example In order to assess our argument it would be important for us to know the difference between direct and indirect taxation.   Direct taxes are those taxes that are levied on one’s income. They are calculated annually and a certain percentage is levied on the earnings of a person. Similarly, indirect taxes or not levied on the people’s income. Instead, indirect taxes are paid on the purchase of goods and services. They are paid whenever a purchase is made. They are included in the selling price of a good and service and hence a person cannot escape indirect taxes since he is paying not only the price of the good or service, but also the portion of a tax. Hence it is unavoidable and is paid by everyone irrespective of his earning. (McConnell)We can use the above definitions to classify the federal income tax and federal sales tax into one of the two classes of taxation. This would help us in determining which is more useful in terms of revenue for the government and welfa re of the society. Since we know that federal income tax is levied on people’s income and is calculated annually, we can classify it as a direct tax. This means that it is levied on the person’s income. It is a progressive tax where the rich person pays a higher amount than a person who is earning lesser than that person. On the other hand, federal sales tax is levied on the purchase of goods and services. People pay this type of tax only when they buy or sell something. It is not charged on the person’s income and it is a regressive tax meaning.... Hence it is unavoidable and is paid by everyone irrespective of his earning. (McConnell) We can use the above definitions to classify the federal income tax and federal sales tax into one of the two classes of taxation. This would help us in determining which is more useful in terms of revenue for the government and welfare of the society. Since we know that federal income tax is levied on people’s income and is calculated annually, we can classify it as a direct tax. This means that it is levied on the person’s income. It is a progressive tax where the rich person pays a higher amount than a person who is earning lesser than that person. On the other hand, federal sales tax is levied on the purchase of goods and services. People pay this type of tax only when they buy or sell something. It is not charged on the person’s income and it is a regressive tax meaning that both rich and poor pay equal amount of tax if the selling price of a good is same for their purch ases. In other words, we can differentiate between these two types of taxes by using mathematic equation. Income tax is charged on one’s income. It is a percentage of one’s income. Let’s suppose that the prevalent income tax rate in the United States of America is 20%. The calculation of taxes for the income will be the following: Income Tax = Annual Income * 0.25 Similarly, in case of an indirect tax such as federal sales tax, the calculation for the income tax will be the following: Tax = Selling Price of Commodity * Percentage of the Tax These two equations tell us that federal sales tax has nothing to do with the income of a person. It is calculated just by looking at the value of the purchase that the person is

Insider Trading Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Insider Trading - Research Paper Example In Martha Stewart case, Martha avoided a loss of $ 46000 by selling her shares which is duly covered by the fine she was subjected to; Moreover, she lost a great deal of money as a tradeoff for her legal troubles. Furthermore, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia’s stock price fell and Martha was banned to serve as an officer or director of a public company for five years. Peter Bacanovic, on the other hand, was barred from working in securities industry along with a $ 75000 fine. These penalties are enough to set an example for the public. SEC can and should take measures to prevent such incidences before their occurrence. They can do so by eliminating the opportunity to insider trading because no matter what the penalty, such violations are very appealing to people as their upside is extremely lucrative. â€Å"Research shows that the certainty of punishment, rather than its severity, as well as how particular punishments are perceived, that most greatly impacts whether criminal sanctions deliver a potent â€Å"message† to would-be lawbreakers† (Berman, 18). Control person provision suggests certain internal controls that would raise the bonding cost. By incurring bonding costs, a firm’s cost of capital will be reduced. Insider trading leaves behind agency cost and since investors cannot detect insider trading within a firm, they adopt a discounting method to value the firm’s stock that leads to a raise in the firm’s cost of capital. So in essence, incurring bonding cost would reduce the cost of capital which would send a strong signal to the investors that the firm has taken extraordinary measures to control insider trading. So in short SEC should impose the control person provision which would encourage the application of internal

Skungpoomery - Textual analysis Essay Example for Free

Skungpoomery Textual analysis Essay Skungpoomery features two characters, a mother and her son. The mother is very much a dominant woman who still enjoys fussing over and bossing about her rather useless, weak son. We did an exercise where we visualised what the characters would look like in our heads. Both the mother and the son reminded me of a famous duo, Laurel and Hardy. Mrs Wibble being Oliver Hardy, the domineering one and PC Nicholas Wibble being Stan Laurel, the simple one. Like Hardy treats Laurel, Mrs Wibble treats her son in a condescending way, much to the chagrin of PC Nicholas who would much rather be treated like an adult, and not have his mother still nagging at him. I can picture Mrs Wibble being quite a large character who would be wearing some sort of floral dress with bright red lipstick. I can imagine her voice being loud and perhaps quite high pitched and can see her walking around the stage with a good posture and large strides. PC Nicholas Wibble, I can picture being tall and lanky with a short bowl haircut, which of course his mother would have made him get, and can see him slouching across the stage, with a decidedly nervous disposition. I would imagine his voice would be rather quiet and perhaps slightly squeaky, as if it had not quite broken yet. I found that doing this exercise, helped improve my performance on stage as it meant I was able to act out the characters easier now that I had a clear image of what they looked like and how they acted in my head. PC Nicholas Wibble is still very child like, probably because he still lives at home and Mrs Wibble still treats him like a child rather than the adult that he is. Although PC Wibble may try to stand up to his mother, she will tell him otherwise and he backs down easily, here is an example of this: MRS WIBBLE- Take them off and let me give them a quick press. WIBBLE- O no, Mum-look Im going to be ever so late now. MRS WIBBLE-Take them off, Nicholas, it wont take a moment. WIBBLE- No. MRS WIBBLE- Nicholas!!! WIBBLE- Ooooooooooooh! Doing this exercise made it easier for me to do the butter and trouser scene in the play. This is where the phone is ringing and Mrs Wibble accidentally picks up the iron and puts it to her ear, rather than the phone, and then gets Nicholas to get her some butter to soothe it, and burns his trousers. To make this part of the performance more comical, we had to look at how the characters would move in a panicked way. For example, we thought that we could have Nicholas running about the stage in circles in a confused way, hands on his head, looking about, and thinking what to do while mumbling to himself. We could then have Mrs Wibble shouting at him to get the butter, while sobbing and moaning about her ear loudly, as it would make it more comical for the audience. To make sure that we had enough space on stage for all that was going on, we had to plan out the set and make sure we knew where everything was going to be so that we could determine exactly what the characters had to do and where. Learning and using all of these different techniques was useful when developing our final piece as it meant that we could piece together things that wed used from this practice piece, as well as our own new ideas, to get a good performance. We were now able to visualise exactly what our character would look and act like as well as the way they would move on stage, so that we could get a better understanding of our character and act them out in a suitable way.

Factors influencing employee Affective Commitment

Factors influencing employee Affective Commitment In this era of globalization there is a dynamic business world which demands continuous change. Change in an organization is undeniable. Organizations have to make changes either due to external or internal factors. In the process of adaptation of change adaptive leader provides new roles, responsibilities, values and the ways of working to his employees. No doubt it is quite uneasy for employees to adopt change (Heifetz. R, Laurie, 2001). In order to manage these changes, understanding the process of change management is very important for the success of organization in the continuously changing business environment (Lowder, 2009). Change is defined as making something different in some particular way (Randle Flamholtz, 2008, p.3 ) Change is anything which is different from norms. Organizational change refers to activities associated with planning, designing, implementing and internalizing tools, procedures, routines, processes, or systems that will require people to perform their jobs differently (Mourier Smith, 2001, p.212). For successful implementation of change employees have to adopt new roles, new values, new relationships and new approaches to work. There are many different types of changes on the basis of different criteria. As Dunphy and Stace (as cited in Rafferty Simons, 2006) define four types of organizational changes,  ¬Ã‚ ne-tuning change, incremental adjustment, modular transformation and corporate transformation. Fine-tuning change means small changes adopted in the strategy, structure and the process of an organization. Background of the study When leader applies change in an organization he should not only check the performance of the firm but also check that how much employees are committed to change, because change has direct impact on employees (Heifetz.R. Laurie, 2001). If employees are committed they will support the change initiatives. Can commitment to change be obtained and, if so, will that help the implementation efforts (Parish Cadwallader, 2008). There is a need to understand how employees perceive change. How organizational change can be supported by employees commitment (Herscovitch Meyer, 2002). There is growing interest in estimating the role of employees commitment in the success of organizational change (Parish Cadwallader, 2008). To get employees commitment, leaders of an organization should understand the factors which enhance commitment to change. In Pakistan there are no significant research study conducted regarding change management. This study is conducted for sports goods manufacturing sector of Pakistan. In manufacturing sector transformational changes are usually considered to be capital intensive. In Pakistan sports goods manufacturing sector is labor intensive. So both fine tuning change and employee commitment can be measured in this sector by this study. Significance of study This study tries to explain the role of affective employee commitment for the success of organizational change. Basically this study is an attempt to fill the gap by adding new factors in the model which was proposed by Noble Mokwa, (1999) and then used by Parish Cadwallader, (2008). This study tests their model by adding new factors like self autonomy, trust in coworkers to add some knowledge in the literature. This study also provides factors responsible for successful implementation of fine tuning change in sports goods manufacturing sector of Pakistan. Broad Problem Area In Pakistan there is lack of research regarding change management practices. Major areas in which change management has implemented are federal board of revenue of Pakistan and irrigation system of Pakistan. There is a need of change in sports goods manufacturing sector of Pakistan for its progress in all over the world . There is gap for measuring organizational change with respect to employee commitment to organizational change Parish Cadwallader, (2008) and this study fills up that gap by adding some new factors from different studies. Research objective Main objective of this study is to measure the factors which can influence employee affective commitment to fine tuning change in sports goods manufacturing organization of Pakistan. Delimitations of the study Due to constraints of time, geographic area and little experience in the field of research this study limits itself to sports goods manufacturing organization in Sialkot. Literature review Change management is a painful process for almost any organization. In the form of change leaders and followers both take it as challenge. Changes in societies, markets, customers, competition, and technology around the globe are forcing to clarify their values, develop new strategies and learn new ways of operating (Heifetz, R. Laurie, 2001). Types of organizational changes There are many types of organizational changes on the different basis Dunphy, Stace (as cited in Rafferty Simons, 2006) define four types of organizational change on the basis of level of change, content of change, and the impact of change. Level of change means either the change is on big level or small level. Content of change means either changes is due to external factor or internal factors. Four types of changes are four types of change including  ¬Ã‚ ne-tuning change, incremental adjustment, modular transformation and corporate transformation. Fine tuning changes are done on small level of an organization usually at departmental or divisional levels. Incremental adjustments are those which are not radical but direct modifications in firms strategy, structure and management process. Modular transformation refers to realignment of one or more departments or divisions. Corporate transformation refers to change that is done on corporate level and revolutionary in its impact. I n many cases fine tuning change has positive and significant consequences as compare to other types. Employees are more adoptive and show commitment towards fine tuning change (Rafferty Simons, 2006). Employee commitment The extent to which a person identifies with and works toward organization-related goals and values (Noble Mokwa, 1999, p. 54). In the context of organizational change another definition is a force (mind-set) that binds an individual to a course of action deemed necessary for the successful implementation of a change initiative (Herscovitch Meyer, 2002, p. 476). Affective, continuance and normative commitment For deeply understanding the concept of commitment, Meyer Allen, (1991) gave a three component model having three categories of employee commitment, affective, continuance and normative commitment Meyer Allen, (1991) defines affective commitment (AC) as employees emotional attachment to, identification with, and involvement in the organization in other words employees stay with a  ¬Ã‚ rm because they want to. Continuance commitment (CC) means that the employee is very much aware about the cost to leave the organization in other words employees stay with a firm because they need to. Normative commitment (NC) means feeling of obligation to continue employment in other words employees stay with a firm because they ought to. Some categories of commitment were also discussed by Bennett, (2000) in different way. Three psychological bases for organizational attachment are compliance commitment, identification commitment and internalization commitment. Compliance commitment (continuance commitment) means the employees are committed to the organization because there are high monetary and social costs to leave the organization. Identification commitment (affective commitment) is commitment based on an emotional bond with the organization and the persons desire to be affiliated with the organization. Internalization commitment (Normative commitment) is internalized norms shared with the organizations goals, values and mission. When change affects an organizations core values employees internalized organizational commitment will be eroded. Since internalized commitment can be associated with other behaviors key to the change process this can have serious implications to an organization (Bennett, 2000). On the basis of above three components model of commitment Herscovitch Meyer, (2002) proposed a three-component model of commitment to organizational change and suggested that it has advantages similar to those demonstrated in the organizational commitment literature (e.g. improved ability to predict employee behavior). Therefore, affective commitment to change refers to a desire to support a change; continuance commitment to change is based on recognition that there are costs associated with resisting change, and normative commitment to change reflects a sense of obligation to be supportive. To measure the employees commitment to change there are different factors proposed by several researchers. Some of them are discussed here. Factors influencing employee commitment to organizational change Participation Employee participation refers to a process in which in ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uence is shared among individuals who are hierarchical unequals. In participation process subordinates equally share decision making authority with their superiors (Wagner, 1994). Many researchers have found that employee participation in decision making process is very important for the success of change as it reduces the resistance to change. Participative management encourages employees to participate in the process of making those decisions which directly affect their working environments ( Erturk. A, 2008). In many organizations change process badly failed because top management not involved their employees in the change process decisions. Lack of employee participation leads to unawareness of change so middle and lower level employees could not manage themselves with change. Employees dont get enough time to socialize themselves with change (Stanleigh, 2008). Employee participation not only provides task clearance but also gives self satisfaction and learning to employee. Employee participation can be used as tool by which top management can reduce resistance to change (Tonnessen, 2005). Participation increases the job performance by reducing role conflict and role ambiguity (Rafferty Simons, 2006). From above point of views I can propose that there is positive relationship between employee participation and employee commitment. Trust in superiors Trust has been de ¬Ã‚ ned as the willingness of a party to be vulnerable to the actions of another party based on the expectation that the other will perform a particular action even in the absence of monitoring or controls (Mayer, Davis, Schoorman, 1995; Rafferty Simons, 2006). Trust in seniors decreases the fear of change and manage the mindset of employees (Cheramie, 2008). Basically changes are initiated and driven by senior organizational leaders and employees take these changes as a risk for themselves (klein, 2004) in such situation trust in top management is very much important to keep the employees on the correct track by telling them the benefits of change. I propose that that there is a positive relation between trust in top management leaders and employees job commitment. Role autonomy Role autonomy refers to the degree to which employees experience freedom, independence and discretional decision making in terms of scheduling their work, selecting their equipment they will use, and deciding on procedures to follow (Graham Nafukho, 2007). When employees report high level of autonomy they believe they are able to act independently and control their own work. Role autonomy refers to the extent to which one has freedom to make job decisions and adjust behaviors accordingly (Noble and Mokwa, 1999). A manager who grants employee autonomy is perceived as sharing control. Under conditions of greater Autonomy, employees tend to have greater commitment to change (Tonnessen, 2006). Employees who have a sense of autonomy about their role in implementing workplace change initiatives they will develop commitment to change. I propose that there is positive relation between employee role autonomy and employees commitment to change. Trust In coworkers Another factor which can be linked with employees commitment to change is an individuals trust in his coworkers. Researchers argued that high level of trust within a work group leads to better understanding of task, improved performance, high level of corporation within work group and psychological satisfaction (May, Gibson, Harter, 2004). When there is high level of trust within there is low stress and tension which increase the innovation and performance of employees (Spector Jones, 2004). When any change comes in the system work group with high level of trust can better understand and response to that change Stanleigh, (2007) explored the relationship of organizational justice and trust for implementing change. They investigated the nature of trust through depth interviews of employees. They found that there is a little difference between trusting and mistrustful employees perceptions of distributive justice. They claimed that employees who experienced trusting emerged to receiv e an emotion of being respected and esteemed from their societal relations with top management. Job motivation Motivation is an energizing force with implications for employees behavior (Meyeret al., 2004). We believe that job motivation also influences attitudes. Specifically, it has implications for employee commitment to organizational change. In fact, there is a growing body of literature that supports the positive relationship between job motivation and employees attitudes toward change (Coopey Hartley, 2004). Paton and McCalman (2006) argued that organizational success is generated by motivated people. Furthermore, the greater the job motivation the greater the likelihood of employee commitment to the organization and to organizational change (Mathieu and Zajac, 2007; Thorsurd, 2002). Thus, I propose that employees experiencing high job motivation develop employee effective commitment. Outcomes of employee commitment to organizational change There are very few research studies in which researchers attempt to link employee affective commitment with organizational outcome. According to Meyer and Allen, (1991) affective commitment is positively associated with organizational outcomes by using importance, scope, and support from senior management as a factors influencing employees commitment. On the basis of model presented by Noble and Mokwa, (1999) and further used by Parish and Cadwallader, (2008) this study suggests two outcomes of employee commitment to organizational change and these are Perceived implementation success and Individual learning. Perceived implementation success Noble and Mokwa , (1999) identified implementation success as a primary outcome of commitment to a change and defined it as the extent to which an implementation effort is considered successful by the organization. Although researchers often evaluate strategic success from the viewpoints of managers Noble and Mokwa, (1999), it is valuable to consider nonmanager perspectives as well. Implementation can be effective only when employees are committed (Paton McCalman, 2000). In fact, Conner and sPatterson, (2001) labeled the lack of employee commitment as the most prevalent factor contributing to failed change projects. I propose that affective employee commitment to change is positively related with implementation success. Individual learning Learning has been defined as a knowledge-creation process in which information interpretation leads to a change in behaviors (Lehesvirta, 2004). Learning is part of the change process. For example Gibb and Scott, (2003) found that firms change by solving problems as they arise and by learning from the problem-solution process. Employees committed to change efforts are more likely to learn from the process. Loyal employees want to contribute to and see the results of their efforts, and they can do so through learning Teare and Rayner, (2002).When employees learn from being involved in an organizational change, they consider that learning to affect the success of the implementation. I propose that affective employee commitment to change is positively related with individual learning. Proposed model Employee participation Role autonomy Trust in senior leaders Job motivation Employee affective commitment to fine tune change Individual learning Implementation success Employee affective commitment to fine tune change Implementation success Individual learning Limitation of the study Some limitations of this study that could lead to future research are following. For this study data gathered from sports goods manufacturing organization of Pakistan. The same study can also be conducted for services sector of any country. Model of study emphasis on fine tuning change and employee effective commitment it can further expand by adding two other types of employee commitment change, continuance and normative commitment. Other factors which could influence are organizational culture and leadership style.

My Educational Goals and Philosophy Statement Essay -- Philosophy of E

My Eclectic Educational Philosophy Thinking back on the years of high school, I remember having wonderful experiences both inside the classroom and out. I had influential teachers and the drive to succeed in order to obtain a higher education. I realize that not all students have that drive to continue their education, but as an aspiring educator I wish to seek and find that drive in each of my students. The famous philosopher and educator, John Dewey, once said, "The aim of education is to enable individuals to continue their education -- or that the object and reward of learning is continued capacity for growth." As a facilitating instructor, I plan to pursue this "aim of education" with an eclectic blend of elements stemming from philosophies of education that already exist while creating and incorporating my own. The definition of progressive education is an educational philosophy emphasizing democracy, student needs, practical activities, and school-community relationships. Part of this philosophy with which I identify so well is the idea that the teacher should be more than just a regurgitation of their content area. I feel that an important element in teaching students and students reaching their goals is student-teacher interaction. The students should be more involved in classroom decisions when appropriate and as often as possible because, after all, it is their classroom on an everyday basis as well as mine. Because educating young minds will soon be my responsibility, I believe that part of that responsibility is to teach every child that enters my room the proper skills to become more advanced learners and listeners. So, incorporating student intervention in the classroom decisions will help a... ...dle. I do understand however, on the contrary, that too much communication can be a bad thing, so my job is to only teach appropriate levels of communication and ways to use it. Being a teacher is something I have always wanted to do with hopes that one day I will be able to have a classroom of my own filled with bright colors and fun, reliable resources. I picture books everywhere of every culture providing inspiration, excitement, and aspiration for each of my students. Artwork will hang from the walls and the desks will be in a neat linear design while smells of candy fill the room; my students will never need for anything. Today, as a college student making my way closer to my future, my hopes of having that classroom are now becoming a reality. As clique as it sounds, I dream of being the teacher that each child wants to have -- some day I will.

Literary Themes In All Quiet O :: essays research papers

Some authors use themes to show the reader some perspective. Erich Maria Remarque’s book “All Quiet on the Western Front'; uses many themes but there are four main ones. Those four themes are the Lost Generation, futility of war, sound imagery, and the institutionalization or depersonalization of war. Some of these themes can be integrated together to make an alarming yet wonderful effect to draw the reader into the story of “All Quiet on the Western Front';.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most prominent themes book is also the most saddening. That theme is the institutionalization or depersonalization of war. Remarque begins the story with Germany’s soldiers fighting an institutionalized war. Soldiers were trained to destroy and kill the enemy. By institutionalizing the war, it was made easier to kill someone just like you for no reason. But by depersonalizing the soldiers with their enemy, it left devastating effects on the mind and heart. Soldiers emotions were deadened and they became irrational. Throughout the story, Paul Baumer, the narrator does not talk about killing someone but as the story progresses, this changes. An example of Paul acting irrational because of the effect war had on him was when he was in the trenches and all of a sudden, a French soldier comes into the trench and Paul immediately stabs him without thinking about, for Paul is scared and emotionally scarred. After stabbing him, Paul leaves him alone to let him bleed to death. In that part of the story, Paul regains a little bit of his emotions because after he stabbed the man, he starts to feel very guilty about it. He tries to talk to the dead man and help the man’s wounds. When Paul looks at the mans wallet, he finds some information about the soldier and realizes that the soldier was very much like himself, the only difference was that they were fighting on different sides. Paul then starts to feel he killed himself and wishes no more of a part in the war.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The institutionalization of the war led to people thinking how futile this war really is. Because the war was so depersonalized for the soldiers of Germany, they start to feel this isn’t their war to fight. Their loyalties are lost. What could have been solved between world leaders in a peace meeting had been made into an all out war, making millions of people lose their lives.

Chartists and Chartism Essay -- European Europe History

Chartists and Chartism   Chartism was the name of a variety of protest movements in England during the 1830s and 40s, which aimed to bring about change   in social and economic conditions through political reform. Its name comes from the People’s Charter, a six-point petition presented to the House of Commons with the hope of having it made law. The six point included annual parliaments, universal manhood suffrage, abolition of the property qualification for members of the House of Commons, the secret ballot, equal electoral districts, and salaries for members of Parliament.   This was the first independent working-class movement in the world, that is, not simply sporadic uprisings or agitation, and arose after the Reform Bill of 1832 had failed. Working men had agitated for this bill and its failure left them still without the sought-for right to manhood suffrage. The Factory Act of 1832 had reduced working hours for children, but not for adults. The New Poor Law of 1834 caused resentment among workers by building workers’ housing in factory districts, where living conditions were bad.   By 1837 50,000 were out of work in Manchester alone, owing to overproduction, loss of trade, and the shutting-down of many mills.   Throughout the country, from 1839-1851 widespread depression was due to a combination of jobs lost, bad harvests, and high food prices. There were organized groups in London and Birmingham, but a national organization was inspired by Feargus O’Connor, who edited a Chartist paper, The Northern Star, and was   a rabble-rousing speaker.   The Chartists’ method was to circulate their petition throughout the country and gather signatures which were to be presented to the House of Commons at a giant convention in... ...nating the worst working conditions were gradually enacted into law.   Victorian England was to struggle with labor-management problems throughout the century. Gradually the working class would come to recognize its need for centralized organization and would gain support from radical middle-class intellectuals and writers, notably Henry Mayhew, who during the years 1849-51 investigated living and working conditions in London and published a series of violently-debated letters in the Morning Chronicle. It would appear that the efforts of the Chartists, while not immediately successful, served as valuable experience for a future labor   movement, as well as awakening the consciences of individuals and groups outside the working class. Sources: Sally Mitchell, ed.   Victorian Britain â€Å"Chartism,†Ã‚   â€Å"Riots and Demonstrations,† â€Å"Strikes.† New York, Garland, 1988.

Classroom Observation Reflective Summary Essay

Throughout my class lectures and discussions in many of my classes, I recall one of my professors accenting the fact that teachers need to be flexible in their schedule and need to conform to the changes that are associated with the career. Upon hearing this, I didn’t accept this fact she was giving me and never associated the term, â€Å"teacher† and â€Å"flexible† together. Nevertheless, after my observations this semester in the classroom, I understand why you need to be flexible in the teaching profession. Every class I observed this semester was dissimilar from each other. Some class’s harbored students who comprehended the material better, were ethnically diverse, special education, motivated and lazy students. Each time I observed, there were particular occasions that I had anticipated to occur and other instances that I was astounded. I found it intriguing to see how the teacher responded when something in the classroom did not go as planned and t hen observe them trying to not let it affect their teaching plan for the day. After my observations, I am self-assured and avid that I want to become a teacher and will be a good one at that. As a teacher, I believe you need to set the tone of the classroom and let them know that you are in control. The medium or atmosphere of the classroom needs to be accepting and eager to learn. All of the classes that I observed had great classroom atmospheres. By saying â€Å"great classroom atmospheres†, I mean that most of the students were attentive to the teacher, eager to learn, asking questions and that no one person in the class was omitted from the class discussion or the learning of that particular day. Being the â€Å"student observer†, I was curious to see how the students would act toward me and treat me in their class. Infrequently, I caught a couple gawks during instruction from prying students. For the most part, I was much embraced in their classrooms, as they frequently asked me questions about their school work or of me in general. I remember my first observations, I was very nervous upon entering the classroom. After that day I always felt comfortable in the classroom. During my observations, I never saw the teacher leave any students out of the lecture that they taught to their students that day. I was very impressed to see that no students were neglected, but instead were incorporated into the learning plan for that day and got a chance to ask questions of the teacher to help further their learning. Throughout my  time in the classrooms with different teachers, I observed many different lessons that each teacher was teaching to the students. Some of the lessons included daily math skills, reading tasks, and working together at recess to rescue a dog. One of the most important aspects of being a teacher is having a good teacher-student interaction. All of the classes I observed had a good interaction between the students and teachers. As a future educator, I believe my biggest challenge will be trying to become flexible with my schedule and trying to motivate each student to learn and be active in class. Much of this depends on where I will be teaching, whether that is urban, rural, or city. I’ll address these challenges by becoming more organized and doing projects where participation is graded and required, so then each student will be learning and never feel left out. My strengths include being very determined, goal driven, hard working, learning, good people skills and motivating others. I will use these strengths to the best of my ability when I have my own class in the future. I want to continue with my teaching and learning process and obtain my teaching certificate in the near future. After observing this semester, I realized that I would like to work with 5th grade students because I think I would respond better to them. These observations were very interesting and helped me better appreciate the teaching profession.

Helping English Language Learners in the Classroom Essay

Learners from different background and surroundings have different perceptions towards learning English. Their surroundings contribute to their more or less of understanding of towards English language learning. From urban to rural settings, most schools are in charge for educating English language to students. In relation to that matter, teachers of English language in schools are also facing several difficulties in teaching English in the classroom. The first issue is age. In general, the older the student the more difficult it is for them to learn the second language naturally. It is advisable to enroll the child in the beginning levels so he/she hears a combination of English and his native language. Learners who are still young are like a white paper they can grasp and understand the rules and regulations of English grammar easily as they are not yet influenced by the other language. Teaching communication for them is also easy as they can absorb the new things and comprehend the language with teacher guidance. Whereas older students or learners are exposed to many new things and they were influence from what they see, read and hear so the process of teaching English language is a little affected because of their prior knowledge. Older students need more support to encourage them to work hard in their studies, hence helping them to learn English language. The second issue is native language. Sometimes, native language plays a big role in influencing the learners to the new language. t can sometimes confuse them as some word in the first language has the spelling as the new language. So, the educator needs to be focus and consistent in explaining them. Hence, fluent in their native language is considered an extra credit too. A student who is good in his/her rules and regulations of his/her native language and also fluent in his first language is often considered as lucky. As such it is an advantage when they are learning English. The proximity of speech sound for oral communication and whether or not the first language uses Roman letter for writing are also considered as an important factor in English proficiency. When there are some similarities of first language and English language the teaching of the target will be easier. The teachers and learners can both use their first language knowledge to be adopt and adapt in the learning of English language. Lastly, the third issue is literacy of parents. Parents who are not concerned with their children learning often have some effects to their children’s learning. This is same as parents who are not educated in school cannot help their children at home. So, the teaching and learning of English language in classroom at school will a little hard for the unexposed students. The level of literacy of a student’s parents may also affect the acquisition of written language. In average, the more fluent the parent the more fluent the child is. As it is mention earlier, the fluency of a learner in the native language promotes acquisition of English. Teachers need to know about their students’ cultures, it can help teachers to communicate to theirs students well. By doing this, it shows that teacher value their heritage and it will also allow teacher to connect academic content to a student’s set of experiences and knowledge about the world. Eventually, students of target language whose native culture is valued have a greater sense of self-worth and higher academic achievement.

Compare and Contrast the Presentation of Family Relationships Essay

‘Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit’ (OANTOF) by Jeanette Winterson, and ‘Behind the Scenes at the Museum’ (BTSATM) by Kate Atkinson both highlight the fundamentality of families and the dissatisfaction experienced between these seemingly strained relationships. Both protagonists of the two books feel a sense of unacceptance due to a variety of reasons involving suppression of desire – caused by family members; however this secret yearning also reveals itself through the characters experiences as the two novels progress. Both novels share one main theme – the quest for identity – not only for the main characters, but also for their mothers. Ruby Lennox, the protagonist of BTSATM is a quirky, complex character who relates the events of her life and those of her dysfunctional family with equal parts of humour and passion – starting with her conception in York, England, in 1959: â€Å"I exist! â€Å"(p. 9) Atkinson centres the novel on the idea of the conventional ‘nuclear family’, which is almost ahead of her time as this concept wasn’t in place at the time it was written, however she illustrates this through mother-daughter relationships and also explores this family unity first with her depiction of marriage. She presents this concept in generally unfavourable terms, her writing shows us how marriage has evolved from women in the Victorian era marrying for primarily social and economic reasons to the more liberated views of the 1960’s. Atkinson uses the character of Alice to provide an example of a lower middle-class woman in the 1800’s marrying for security thus no longer having to work, rather than love. Alice’s choice was simple in its restrictions: â€Å"to go on teaching (which she loathed) or accept Frederick’s offer of marriage† (p. 32) Her purpose of marriage thus becomes ironic: She marries believing she would escape the one thing she loathed, but thus traps herself in years of unhappiness with a man she does not even like; â€Å"not a day passes when Alice doesn’t imagine what life would be like if she hadn’t married Frederick Barker† (p. 33). Unmarried women are spinsters, therefore frowned upon by society. Neither Rachel, whose marriage to Fredericks was merely out of justification of acceptance in society, nor Alice, find any kind of fulfilment from their marriages to Frederick Barker as â€Å"a sullen drunk with an insatiable appetite for gambling† (p. 33) Similar experiences happen to the women of the next two generations. Nell’s fear of being a spinster encourages her to marry Frank, the only eligible man left after the war, and resigns herself to a similar life to that of Alice’s, one of dissatisfaction and ‘second best’. This settling for substandard simplicity rather than following dreams seems to become a prominent theme for the women of the book; this is thus reiterated with Bunty: She marries George after being abandoned by her fianci ; â€Å"She wasn’t entirely sure about this, but, with the war now drawing to a close, the possibilities were beginning to fade† (p. 108). Bunty’s marriage was thus, to the reader, predictable to fail as it follows the same unfulfilling course of antipathy and adultery as the previous generations. Both Nell and Bunty are pressured into marriage by social expectations of the time. It is only in the liberation of the1960’s, when Ruby’s generation begins to see love rather than social acceptance as the primary motive for marriage; this new idea ultimately highlights the fairy tale like quality of the new reasons behind matrimony. Ruby illustrates this illusive expectation of romanticism in marriage and how damaging these unrealistic expectations can be. Ruby marries â€Å"a beautiful boy with green eyes and black hair† (p. 335) However, these romantic ideas end in â€Å"some truly wretched years† (p. 358). Atkinson presents to us a picture of marriage through the ages that shows how a woman originally gave up her passions for a marriage of acceptance and convenience in society, to one of Ruby’s idea of true love, however ultimately all marriage is predetermined, and is thus harmful to all women – This is due to previous generations being so unsuccessful. This can be compared with Jeanette’s mother’s motivations for marriage in OANTOF as a way of progressing further in the church rather than love itself, however she secretly desires Pastor Spratt. The want for and lack of maternal love between Nell and Bunty leads on to the central point of the novel, the relationship between Bunty and her youngest daughter, Ruby. The social restrictions of the 1950’s leave Bunty feeling a sense of imprisonment to survive within the domestic expertise as a wife and mother; â€Å"a slave to housework† and she’s â€Å"chained to the cooker† (p. 44). Bunty, trapped in a role she does not wish to have, dreams about â€Å"What it would be like if her entire family was wiped out and she could start again† (p. 14); this thought to any mother would seem totally unacceptable, she obviously loves her children, however due to her own relationship with her mother, she is incapable of expressing this love. Bunty begrudges her daughters because they have entrapped her in an unsatisfactory life, this view is similarly held by Ruby, however she dislikes Bunty as a mother due to the romanticised notion of fairy godmother like figures that society enforced upon little girls. Ruby represents her mother as a monster, almost leaving the reader unsympathetic and ignorant to Bunty’s pressures, however this highlights the reality of conventionality within mother-daughter relationships. Although Ruby may try to leave the reader disliking Bunty, it actually creates the opposite feeling as many mothers themselves reading the book will relate to Bunty’s situation as it is very normal and there is fascination and empathy behind the reader’s view of Bunty. This can be compared with Jeanette’s mother in OANTOF as they are both similar in respect of their individual struggles. Jeanette’s mother actively seeks out combat with others. She feels delighted when she is able to sing hymns to irritate the next-door neighbors. While Jeanette’s mother relishes religious fighting, other indication of her hypocrisy stands out in the novel – for example her picture of her â€Å"old flame† yet she condemns lesbianism. This fight against the world is similar to Bunty’s however a contrast could be distinguished as Bunty does not have the strength or confidence to broadcast her struggles or deploy any mechanism to help her, due to her social unacceptance if she did so. We feel sympathy for Bunty, even thought Ruby outwardly wants the reader to see her flaws, we know she is not living the life she wishes to lead and has only married for functionality, whereas this contrasts the view we have on Jeanette’s mother as she is made a mockery of. Both Ruby and Jeanette feel a sense of rejection from their mothers. For Ruby this is due to her and her family stopping Bunty living the life she wished for, but also due to the belief of causing Pearls death. For Jeanette this is because of her mother’s fight with her homosexuality rather than her daughter herself, which has cursed her mother’s plan for Jeanette to be a servant to God – For Jeanette’s mother, Jeanette is merely a tool for filling expectations of the church – thus when she leaves, she leaves acceptance also. Both mother’s and daughters share a similarity which makes their unacceptance ironic – Bunty in that she was never accepted by her mother â€Å"stuck right in the middle†(p. 94), and Jeanette’s mother by the fact she had a lesbian encounter herself. This can be compared with Jeanette’s and her mother’s relationship. Although there are obvious difficulties in Jeanette and her mother’s relationship, Jeanette learns much from her mother and her mother’s role in the church. Jeanette is similar to her mother in the sense that she learnt to be an outspoken and strong person, important in dealing with and defending her sexuality. Although she has broken away from her mother’s faith Jeanette has inherited her mother’s strength of conviction on pursuing happiness and what she believes is right.

Emilio Jacinto’s Trading Cooperative

A1457 Cooperatives: Principles and practices in the 21st century Kimberly A. Zeuli and Robert Cropp ABOUT THE COVER IMAGE: The â€Å"twin pines† is a familiar symbol for cooperatives in the United States. The Cooperative League of the USA, which eventually became the National Cooperative Business Association (NCBA), adopted it as their logo in 1922. The pine tree is an ancient symbol of endurance and immortality. The two pines represent mutual cooperation—people helping people. COOPERATIVES: ii Chapter 1 An introduction to cooperatives 1 Chapter 2 Historical development of cooperatives throughout the world 5Chapter 3 Cooperative history, trends, and laws in the United States 59 Chapter 8 Procedures for organizing a cooperative 69 Chapter 9 A summary of cooperative benefits and limitations 77 Notes 81 Glossary 85 Cooperative resources IN 49 Chapter 7 Cooperative financial management PRACTICES 39 Chapter 6 Cooperative roles, responsibilities, and communication & 27 Chapte r 5 Alternative business models in the United States PRINCIPLES 15 Chapter 4 Cooperative classification Contents Publication notes ? 89 THE 21ST CENTURY i Publication notes This publication is the fourth and most extensive revision of the Marvin A.Schaars’ text, Cooperatives, Principles and Practices, University of Wisconsin Extension—Madison, Publication A1457, July 1980. What has come to be known simply as â€Å"the Schaars book,† was originally written in 1936 by Chris L. Christensen, Asher Hobson, Henry Bakken, R. K. Froker, and Marvin Schaars, all faculty in the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Wisconsin—Madison. Since its first publication, the Schaars book has served as a basic reference for cooperative members and leaders, cooperative instructors and development specialists, and students of cooperatives throughout the UnitedStates and world. It has been translated into several languages. Although the Schaars book has been out of print for some time, the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives (UWCC) continues to receive regular requests for copies. Its straightforward, basic information on the organization, structure, financing, and management of cooperatives is as needed and relevant today as ever. The revisions in this version, which reflect over two decades of learning about cooperative development as well as new cooperative laws and ways of doing business, will hopefully make it even more useful.Although we focus on cooperative businesses in the United States, and draw most of our references from the agricultural sector, most of the book’s content is pertinent to cooperatives anywhere, in any sector. Readers are encouraged to seek out other publications that deal more extensively with cooperative laws in their own states and countries, and provide more detailed information on consumer, service and worker-owned cooperatives and credit unions. ii Kimberly Zeuli and Robert Cropp, Assistant Professor and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin—Madison, re responsible for all of the editing and most of the revised text. The following individuals also contributed to various chapters: David Erickson, Director of Member Relations, Wisconsin Federation of Cooperatives E. G. Nadeau, Director of Research, Planning and Development, Cooperative Development Services David Trechter, Professor, University of Wisconsin— River Falls Richard Vilstrup, Professor Emeritus, Department of Animal Science and Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin—Madison This revision would not have been possible without generous funding from The CooperativeFoundation, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota. COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER 1 ? An introduction to cooperatives According to the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA): a cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their com mon economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise. Cooperative leaders around the world recognize the ICA, a non-governmental organization with over 230 member organAlthough the word â€Å"cooperaizations from over 100 countries, as a leading tive† can be applied to many uthority on cooperative definition and values. 2 different types of group activities, in this publication The ICA definition recognizes the essential the term is used to reference element of cooperatives: membership is voluntary. Coercion is the antithesis of cooperation. Persons a formal business model, compelled to act contrary to their wishes are not which has relatively recent origins. The earliest coopera- truly cooperating. True cooperation with others arises from a belief in mutual help; it can’t be tive associations were created in Europe and North dictated. In authentic cooperatives, persons join The first signs ofAmerica during the 17th and voluntarily and have the freedom to quit the cooporganized hunting 18th centuries. These associ- erative at any time. 3 The forced collectives prevaactivity based around lent in the former Soviet Union, for example, were ations were precursors to communities are associated with not true cooperatives. cooperatives. The pioneers Homo erectus, of the Rochdale Society in Another widely accepted cooperative definition is modern human 19th-century England are ancestors who lived the one adopted by the United States Department between 500,000 and celebrated for launching the f Agriculture (USDA) in 1987: A cooperative is a 1. 5 million years ago modern cooperative user-owned, user-controlled business that distributes in Africa. movement. The unique conbenefits on the basis of use. This definition captures tribution of early cooperative organizers in what are generally considered the three primary England was codifying a guiding set of principles cooperative principles: user ownership, user and instigating the creation of new laws that control, and proportional distribution of benefits. helped foster cooperative business development. The â€Å"user-owner† principle implies that the peopleToday, cooperatives are found in nearly all countries. Chapters 2 and 3 trace the remarkable history who use the co-op (members) help finance the coof cooperative development internationally and in op and therefore, own the co-op. Members are responsible for providing at least some of the the United States. cooperative’s capital. The equity capital contribution of each member should be in equal proportion to that member’s use (patronage) of the coop. This shared financing creates joint ownership The cooperative model has been adapted to (part of the ICA cooperative definition). numerous and varied businesses.In 1942 Ivan G roups of individuals around the world and throughout time have worked together in pursuit of common goals. Examples of coop eration, or collective action, can be traced back to our prehistoric predecessors who recognized the advantages of hunting, gathering, and living in groups rather than on their own. What is a cooperative? Emelianoff, a respected cooperative scholar, remarked that â€Å"the diversity of cooperatives is kaleidoscopic and their variability is literally infinite. †1 As a consequence of this diversity, no universally accepted definition of a cooperative exists.Two definitions, however, are commonly used. PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN The â€Å"user-control† concept means that members of the co-op govern the business directly by voting on significant and long-term business decisions and indirectly through their representatives on the board of directors. Cooperative statutes and bylaws usually dictate that only active co-op members (those who use the co-op) can become voting directors, although non-members sometimes serve on boards in a non-voting, advisory THE 21ST CENTURY 1 cap acity. Advisory directors are becoming more common in large agricultural cooperatives in theUnited States, where complex financial and business operations require the expertise of financial and industry experts. Only co-op members can vote to elect their board of directors and on other cooperative actions. Voting rights are generally tied to membership status—usually one-member, one-vote—and not to the level of investment in or patronage of the cooperative. Cooperative law in a number of states in the United States and in other countries, however, also permits proportional voting. Instead of one vote per member, voting rights are based on the volume of business the member transacted he previous year with the cooperative. Generally, however, there is also a maximum number of votes any member may cast to prevent control by a minority of members. For example, a grain cooperative might permit one vote to be cast for each 1,000 bushels of grain marketed the year before, but any single member would be limited to a maximum of ten votes. Democratic control is maintained by tying voting rights to patronage. Equitable voting rights, or democratic control (as written in the ICA definition), are a hallmark of cooperatives. â€Å"Distribution of benefits on the basis of use,† escribes the principle of proportionality, another key foundation for cooperatives. Members should share the benefits, costs, and risks of doing business in equal proportion to their patronage. The proportional basis is fair, easily explained (transparent), and entirely feasible from an operational standpoint. To do otherwise distorts the individual contributions of members and diminishes their incentives to join and patronize the cooperative. 2 Co-op benefits may include better prices for goods and services, improved services, and dependable sources of inputs and markets for outputs. Most ooperatives also realize annual net profits, all or part of which are returned to members in proportion to their patronage (thus, they are aptly called patronage refunds). Cooperatives can also return a portion of their profits as dividends on investment. In the United States, however, federal and most state statutes set an 8 percent maximum on annual dividend payments. The purpose of these limits is to assure that the benefits of a cooperative accrue to those who use it most rather than to those who may have the most invested; the importance of capital is subordinated. Today, some co-op leaders and scholars consider his dividend restriction arbitrary and harmful to cooperatives. From their perspective, the 8 percent maximum makes investing in cooperatives less attractive than investing in other forms of business. It makes cooperatives less competitive as well, especially in the agricultural processing sector, which requires a lot of capital for start-up and growth. An overview of the federal laws that govern cooperatives in the United States is included in chapter 3. Why cooperate? People who organize and belong to cooperatives do so for a variety of economic, social, and even political reasons.Cooperating with others has often proven to be a satisfactory way of achieving one’s own objectives while at the same time assisting others in achieving theirs. Farmers create farm supply and marketing cooperatives to help them maximize their net profits. This requires both effective marketing of their products for better prices as well as keeping input costs as low as possible. The farmers recognize that they are usually more efficient and knowledgeable as producers than as marketers or purchasers. By selling and buying in larger volumes they can also usually achieve better prices. COOPERATIVES: CHAPTEREmployees organize bargaining associations and labor unions to negotiate collectively with management and owners. In some cases, employees form worker-owned cooperatives. As the name suggests, a worker-owned cooperative is owned and controlled by its em ployees. 4 Employees establish bargaining units and cooperatives in the hopes of increasing their wages and fringe benefits, improving their general working conditions, and ensuring job security. Cooperatives do not, as is sometimes assumed, contradict the goals of capitalism. If that were the case, cooperatives would not play such an important role in the American economy.About 48,000 cooperatives, operating in nearly every business sector imaginable, serve 120 million members, or roughly 4 out of 10 Americans. 5 The top 100 cooperatives in the United States, ranked by revenue, individually generated at least $346 million in revenue during 2002 and in the aggregate, $119 billion. 6 They represent agriculture, finance, grocery, hardware, healthcare, recreation, and energy industries (figure 1. 1). An introduction to cooperatives Consumer cooperatives are established to sell the products a group of consumers want but cannot find elsewhere at affordable prices. The consumer embers are primarily interested in improving their purchasing power—the quantity of goods and services they can buy with their income. They naturally wish to get as much as possible for their money in terms of quantity and quality. As owners, the members have a say in what products their stores carry. 1 ? Cooperatives are especially important to agriculture. In 2002, 3,140 agricultural cooperatives provided roughly 3. 1 million farmers (many farmers are members of more than one cooperative) with agricultural marketing, farm supplies, and other farm-related services. They captured 28 percent of the market share. Figure 1. 1. Top 100 revenue generating cooperatives in the U. S. by sector, 2002 PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN THE 21ST CENTURY 3 In terms of non-agricultural cooperatives, 84 million Americans are members of 9,569 credit unions, 865 electric co-ops serve 37 million people in 47 states, over 1. 5 million families live in housing cooperatives, and over 3 million people are members o f 5,000 food cooperatives. 8 The involvement of so many people in cooperatives in such a highly competitive economy reflects the general satisfaction of members toward their companies and the apparent efficiency and solid inancial performance of these businesses. Chapter 4 provides a more comprehensive discussion of the various types of cooperatives and the extent of their economic success in the United States. In short, cooperatives are organized to serve member needs and are focused on generating member benefits rather than returns to investors. This member-driven orientation makes them fundamentally different from other corporations. Additional cooperative structural characteristics and guiding principles further distinguish them from other business models. In most countries, the cooperative model represents only one of several ifferent ways a business can choose to legally organize. Chapter 5 presents a comparison of the six major alternative business models in the United States . Cooperative management and development To prosper, cooperatives must be well organized, well financed, well managed, and governed well by a committed membership. They must be progressive, adapting to changing business climates, and responsive to their members’ changing needs. Members, the board of directors, and management each have responsibilities within the cooperative. Strong, viable cooperatives require all three groups to do their share.Chapter 6 describes each group’s unique and important role. 4 Although capital, employees, business volume, and good management practices are all very important for successful operations, a co-op’s members are its most important asset. Cooperative success also hinges on effective member education and communication. Indeed, providing education, training, and information to members is one of the seven cooperative principles adopted by the ICA. The unique education needs of cooperatives and the essential elements for a succe ssful education and communication program are also discussed in chapter 6.Cooperative financing is also critical and in today’s complex cooperative organizations it can be quite complicated. Adequate capital is one of the fundamental principles of sound business operation and at the same time one of the biggest challenges facing cooperatives today. Financing options must be consistent with principles of cooperation as well as with federal and state laws. Chapter 7 lays out the main concepts behind cooperative financing, including alternative sources of capital and equity redemption plans. As with other business forms, cooperatives should be established only to meet a well-defined need in he market. Before cooperatives are created, advance research should be done by a steering committee to ensure sufficient support by other potential members in the community. Chapter 8 discusses in greater detail the procedure for organizing cooperatives. A good feasibility study, strong membe rship drives, and a comprehensive business plan are essential ingredients. A final analysis of the cooperative model’s benefits and limitations, to members and the broader community, is presented in chapter 9. COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER Revolutionary roots in England The first cooperative businesses created in Europe rose during periods of great social upheaval and distress caused by dramatic shifts in agricultural and industrial production practices. Prior to the Industrial Revolution (about 1750-1850), most families in England and other parts of Europe were largely self-sufficient, creating enough food and goods for their subsistence and small amounts for trading. The Industrial Revolution introduced the factory system of production and was marked by a rapid succession of remarkable inventions that accelerated the industrialization of business. Examples of inventions during this period include smelting iron with coal instead of charcoal, the otton gin and power loom, and the ste am engine. The writings of Adam Smith at the time, especially his advocacy of the laissez faire principle (no government intervention in the economy), further spurred the revolution. The industrial system gradually replaced cottage industries and home-based production. Workers were required to move into cities to find work. Away from land, their families were increasingly integrated into a market economy; instead of pro- PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN ducing most of their household requirements, especially food, they had no other choice but to purchase them. Advances in production were not, nfortunately, accompanied by fair labor standards. Workers were typically paid very low wages and were subjected to harsh working conditions. 10 People remaining in rural areas were not much better off. An agricultural revolution was already well underway in the 18th century. The introduction of new cultivation methods and crop varieties supported a dramatic change in land tenure patterns. Scattered, small plots of farmland were aggregated into large, enclosed estates, primarily for the purpose of grazing sheep and other live- The historical development of cooperative businesses cannot be disconnected from the social and conomic forces that shaped them. Co-ops then, as now, were created in times and places of economic stress and social upheaval. 9 stock. Between 1760 and 1843, nearly seven million acres of agricultural land in England were enclosed in estates. As a result, large numbers of small farmers were driven from their land into neighboring towns and villages with few remaining jobs. A movement towards greater freedom of expression was another hallmark of this revolutionary period. The citizens of England began to publicly dissent with government policies, taking issue with the status quo and demanding more personal ights. Therefore, the widespread poverty, unemployment, and general social deterioration that were left in the wake of the industrial and agricultural revolut ions were met with a public outcry to the government for improved working and living conditions. THE 21ST CENTURY Historical development of cooperatives throughout the world T he historical development of cooperative businesses cannot be disconnected from the social and economic forces that shaped them. Co-ops then, as now, were created in times and places of economic stress and social upheaval. 9 Ancient records and archeological discoveries oint to the existence of cooperative organizations created by early civilizations in diverse parts of the world (China, Greece, Egypt, etc. ). But it is the founders of the Rochdale Society in 19th century England who are celebrated for launching the modern cooperative movement. The Rochdale pioneers, and the early European cooperative thinkers and organizers who laid the foundation for their success, are responsible for codifying a guiding set of principles that helped guide the development of cooperatives across the world. 2 ? 5 Early coopera tive societies Robert Owen and In the absence of public assistance, the people ofCharles Fourier— Europe established various types of self-help organizations. Mutual fire insurance companies Cooperative visionaries existed in London and Paris as early as 1530, although the first highly successful and wellknown example was organized in England in 1696, the Amicable Contributionship. 11 The people of England also created Mutual Aid Societies (they eventually became known as Friendly Societies) that offered financial payments and assistance to members in times of sickness, unemployment, or death. 12 By the mid-18th century many well-established societies were already in operation.They were legalized with the passing of the first Friendly Society Act (also called the Rose Act) in 1793. A number of bills were introduced in the 19th century to encourage Friendly Societies since they lessened the public burden. 13 Workers organized labor unions to bargain with employers for more fav orable working conditions and to lobby the government for improved labor legislation. Cooperative or quasi-cooperative industrial businesses were in operation in England by 1760. Most were consumer-controlled organizations focused on flour milling and baking industries. Cooperative orn mills for grinding flour appeared in a number of cities shortly after the turn of the 19th century to cut the cost of flour and prevent tampering by greedy millers. Purchasing cooperatives already existed in most Western European countries by the 18th century. The Weaver’s Society in Fenwick, Scotland (often referred to as â€Å"penny capitalists†) began to purchase supplies as a group in 1769. 14 The precursors to mutuals and unions were guilds, the associations of merchants, artisans, and craftsmen that date back to Medieval times. Guilds had binding rules for production and business practices.Although guilds were created partially in an attempt to establish local trade monopolies, the y incorporated socialist practices: member control, equitable treatment of all members, and financial support of members who were ill or faced family crises. 6 â€Å"Often men wish to escape the realities of life, and when they do, they dream of Utopias. † 15 The first cooperative movement, that is, the establishment of a coherent argument for the cooperative form of organization, gained momentum in the early 19th century with the writings and advocacy efforts of Robert Robert Owen (1771- Owen and William King in 858):â€Å"The Father England and Charles Fourier in of Cooperation. † France. Robert Owen and Charles Fourier were both well-known Utopian Socialists; not only did they envision ideal societies, they tried to create them in Europe and the United States. 16 Robert Owen (1771-1858) was a prominent industrialist who began to advocate the establishment of a new type of community to alleviate the poverty and suffering caused by the Industrial Revolution. Charles F ourier (1772-1837) was a bourgeois, famous French social philosopher whose plans for self-reliant communities were motivated by the French Revolution and his view hat the working class was being dehumanized and repressed. They both envisioned rural villages composed of farms and small-scale industry, all operated cooperatively by the citizens who would also live together communally. Owen originally conceived of these communities as a solution for unemployment, but later believed (like Fourier) that they were a better alternative to private capitalism and competition, providing self-employment opportunities and other conditions that would provide universal happiness. Fourier called his planned communal cities â€Å"phalanxes. † COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER Fourier never found philanthropists willing to fund he creation of a phalanx. After his death, several were attempted in France and more than thirty organized in the United States. 18 The most notable in the United States were Broo k Farm, near Cambridge, Massachusetts (1842-1846), and one in Fond du Lac County (now the city of Ripon), Wisconsin (1845-1850). The phalanxes suffered from a conflict between treating everyone equally and rewarding those who provided more capital and labor. The phalanx model, however, influenced the successful kibbutzim in Israel (discussed later). Owen was a visionary idealist, not a realistic cooperative developer.He was not at all interested, therefore, in helping the early consumer cooperatives in England:â€Å"Joint stock retailing is not the Social System which we contemplate†¦and will not form any part of the arrangements in the New Moral World. †19 In 1839 he did not even bother to respond to an urgent request by Charles Howarth to visit Rochdale, England to discuss organizational plans for a new retail cooperative. Owen’s attack upon individualism, the family, competition, private property, the market economy, and organized religion, alienated many peopl e from cooperation and provoked condemnation of cooperatives from various religious groups.Even so, Owen is often called the â€Å"father of cooperation. † Despite his failures, Owen continued preaching that cooperative production and living were the best medicines for the ills of society. His advocacy stimulated the creation of cooperative societies, labor exchanges (where handicrafts were traded based on the amount of labor involved in their making), and trade unions. Although most of the organizations he started lasted only a short time, PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN they provided the groundwork for another generation of cooperative development in Europe and North America. William King—A cooperative developer and pragmatist Dr. William King (1786-1865), another social reformer in England, was in many respects more responsible than Robert Owen for spreading the cooperative idea and for the actual organization of cooperatives. Although he accepted much of Owen’s so cial philosophy, he disagreed on how to reach those goals. King was more realistic about cooperatives, advocating and inspiring the development of consumer cooperatives across England. As a physician, King became interested in improving the welfare of the working people of Brighton, England. He was involved in organizing numerous ocial and educational institutions, including an infants’ school, a mechanics’ institute, and a library. Between 1828 and 1830, King published (at his own expense) a small magazine called â€Å"The Cooperator† that was widely distributed throughout England. Its 28 issues were a source of inspiration, information, and instruction on cooperation in theory as well as in practice. The magazine advocated a more realistic type of cooperation within reach of the working class. King believed that cooperatives should start small with the original capital supplied by members, a significant deviation from Owen and Fourier’s arge-scale opera tions funded by wealthy investors. King did not necessarily object to Owen’s self-sustaining cooperative communities, as long as they were funded with the members’ own capital and were restricted to Christians. King was a religious fundamentalist who believed that biblical scripture should guide the ethics and operations of cooperatives. He also taught that cooperatives should not pay patronage refunds, but instead reinvest all net profits to increase the scope of their activities and to employ as many members as possible. King also proposed the following guidelines for consumer cooperatives: THE 1ST CENTURY Historical development of cooperatives throughout the world Owen and Fourier were not abstract thinkers; they laid out very specific details for their communities. For instance, they believed that the communities should contain 1,000-1,800 people living on a relatively small tract of land. Fourier was more explicit: the area should be three square miles. 17 Wealthy supporters of Owen’s ideas were willing to finance the creation of such communities. Four were eventually created: New Harmony, Indiana (USA); Orbiston, Scotland; Ralahine, Ireland; and Queenswood, England. All ultimately failed. 2 ? 7 1) members should pay cash for all merchandise purchased at the cooperative; (2) the co-op should adopt democratic principles of governance; and (3) it should publicize the cooperative movement. In addition to the advocacy of Owen and King, the cooperative movement in England was supported by a number of short-lived cooperative journals, which were circulated between 1825 and 1830. Cooperative congresses also advocated and promoted cooperation; the first took place in 1830 in Manchester, the second in 1831 in Birmingham, and the third in 1832 in London. Owen’s influence and rhetoric were exhibited in these and later congresses.For instance, the Third Congress stated that â€Å"the grand ultimate object of all cooperative societies is c ommunity on land. † What began with a few cooperative societies in 1826 quickly grew to about 300 consumer cooperatives by 1830, many patterned after King’s Brighton Cooperative Trading Association. King’s ideas may have also influenced early American cooperatives. A treasurer of a cooperative in Brighton, England, William Bryan, helped organize a consumer cooperative in New York City in 1830. King was compelled to discontinue his active role in the cooperative movement in the late 1830s for wo reasons: his medical practice was suffering and poor management and internal discontent plagued individual co-op stores. By 1840, the cooperative movement in England was basically at a standstill and King’s ideas were forgotten, ignored in the cooperative literature for several decades. The Rochdale Pioneers In the first wave of consumer cooperatives, a shortlived society was created in Rochdale, England in 1833. James Smithies, one of the original organizers, was i nspired by King’s cooperative magazine and shared it with his co-founders. Their ultimate cooperative goals, however, echoed Owen’s teachings.Although their first co-op effort failed after only two years, a core group of 28 continued to work actively for social reform and eventually created the prototype cooperative model for a modest shop on Toad Lane in 1844. The so-called Rochdale Pioneers were ambitious and had lofty goals for their co-op: (1) to sell provisions at the store; (2) to purchase homes for their members; (3) to manufacture goods their members needed; and (4) to provide employment for their members who were either out of work or poorly paid. In sum, they wanted to â€Å"establish a self-supporting home colony of united interests† nd to â€Å"arrange the powers of production, distribution, education, and government† in the interests of its members. In addition, they hoped to open a â€Å"temperance hotel† in one of the cooperative hou ses to promote sobriety. The foundation for the Rochdale cooperative was built upon the intelligent combination of various ideas that had been tried by previous cooperatives. The Pioneers learned from the co-op failures of the past. For example, the business practices they adopted for their small store, later called the Rochdale Principles (sidebar), were novel primarily in their combination; many had been borrowed rom other cooperatives. The original Rochdale Cooperative shop on Toad Lane. It is now preserved as a museum. 8 COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER The Industrial and Provident Societies Act, authorized in England in 1852, was a major development in the cooperative movement. Prior to the enactment of this law, the Friendly Societies Acts of 1834 and 1846 regulated the registration of cooperatives, even though these acts were designed for mutual-aid groups and not for businesses engaged in trade. Therefore, the consumer cooperatives did not have the proper legal protection essential for their business operations.The acts further prevented them from selling to people other than their members. 1. Voting is by members on a democratic (one-member, one-vote) basis. 2. Membership is open. 3. Equity is provided by members. 4. Equity ownership share of individual members is limited. 5. Net income is distributed to members as patronage refunds on a cost basis. 6. Dividends on equity capital are limited. 7. Exchange of goods and services at market prices. 8. Duty to educate. 9. Cash trading only. 10. No unusual risk assumption. 11. Political and religious neutrality. 12. Equality in membership (no discrimination y gender). Adapted from David Barton,â€Å"Principles,† in David Cobia (ed. ), Cooperatives in Agriculture. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1989. Some of the Rochdale Principles, such as democratic control (one-member, one-vote) and limited dividends on equity capital, are still followed by most cooperatives around the world. Other principles, such as ca sh trading, are clearly outdated in most countries where credit cards and (in agricultural co-ops) seasonal loans are the norm. As a set of guiding principles, they are not necessarily appropriate for all types of cooperatives in all locations.They are after all a product of a historical period and economy and were meant to govern a small retail store (see chapter 4 for further discussion of cooperative principles). The phenomenal success of the Rochdale cooperative, which is still in operation today, was just the boost that the cooperative movement in England needed. Rochdale became the cooperative beacon for others to follow. It provided the organizational pattern that became the prototype for other cooperatives and spurred on the cooperative movement in Europe and North America. PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN The Industrial and Provident Societies Act rovided both important legal protections for the cooperatives while also imposing some operating restrictions. It protected the propert y of the societies, gave binding legal authority for their rules, safeguarded the savings of their investors, allowed them to sell to non-members, and provided legal status so that an association could sue fraudulent officials. It allowed cooperatives to pay patronage refunds on purchases but limited dividends on shares of stock to five percent. Although members still faced unlimited liability for cooperative debts, share limits of ? 100 per member were enforced.The passage of the Industrial and Provident Societies Act of 1862 loosened some of the restrictions and provided limited liability for members, meaning they would be liable only for co-op debts less than or equal to the value of their stock. Share limits were increased to ? 200 per member and cooperatives were permitted to invest in other cooperatives. As a result of these changes, the organization of the North of England Co-operative Society became possible. Established in 1863 to create cost savings for members by purchasi ng a variety of goods in bulk, today the Co-operative Group comprises a family of businesses employed n a wide range of activities (food, finance, farms, funerals, etc. ). It is a unique consumer-owned business that is the largest of its kind in the world. THE 21ST CENTURY Historical development of cooperatives throughout the world The first cooperative law Rochdale cooperative principles 2 ? 9 The beginnings of cooperative credit During the 1840s, later called â€Å"the Hungry Forties,† famine and extreme hardship spread throughout Europe. A blight ruined potato crops in many European countries, although Ireland was the most severely hit, during 1845-47. The shortage of potatoes drove up other food prices.Low fishing yields further exacerbated the food shortage, which caused millions of deaths and led to severe economic depression, high unemployment, and political unrest in the region. The Communist Manifesto was published in 1848. During this same year, F. W. Raiffeisen, a mayor of a group of villages in Northern Germany, created a cooperative society to alleviate some of the suffering in his community. The cooperative gave potatoes and bread to the poor. He soon realized, however, that charity alone could not solve the problems of poor farmers; they needed to become self-sufficient and earn more money. Raiffeisen hen started to organize loan societies, which embraced various cooperative features. Although Raiffeisen continued to advocate self-help, his first societies were mainly efforts to transfer money from the rich to the poor. In 1862, he helped the rural farmers of the little town of Anhausen organize a truly cooperative loan society. Early agricultural marketing and farm supply cooperatives in Europe Denmark is generally regarded as the most outstanding example of early and successful cooperative farm marketing and farm supply organizations. 20 The first cooperative creamery in Denmark was established in 1875 at Kaslunde. The early ooperative creameries incorporated some significant improvements in the butter-making process, including a standardized grading system. The high quality butter was marketed under a government brand to reflect their supervision of the grading. The first cooperative creameries were very successful. News of their success and popularity spread to other rural areas of Denmark; many others were soon organized throughout the country. These developments took place without government assistance or subsidies. The early and striking success of cooperatives in Denmark can be primarily attributed to the role of the Folk High School.An institution unique to the country, this school educated young adults in rural areas. The schools were inspired by the philosopher and clergyman, Bishop Nikolai (N. S. F. ) Grundtvig (1783-1873), and popularized by Kristen Meanwhile, Herman Schulze had created a somewhat similar credit institution among artisans Kold, an educator. Grundtvig established the first in Eilenburg i n 1850. He further refined this model Folk High School in 1844; the one created by Kold in 1851, however, was more successful and widely to fit the credit needs of artisans and other smallscale industries and developed other credit organi- replicated.The mission of the schools was to enlighten Danish citizens (beyond what they were zations. Raiffeisen may have been familiar with learning in primary schools) so they could particithese organizations and used them to inform his pate in the governance of the kingdom. They were own co-op development efforts. Both the not meant to be vocational or cooperative training Raiffeisen and Schulze cooperative bank models schools but rather designed to expose students to rapidly spread across Europe. Features of both new ideas and experiences. Today, we would call models were used to form credit unions in North them liberal arts schools.Numerous such schools America. Incidentally, the Credit Union National still thrive in Denmark. Although suppor ted finanAssociation’s headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin was called â€Å"Raiffeisen House† for a number of years. cially by the state, they are free to set their own curricula and are required to be nonvocational and without examinations. 10 COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER Cooperatives around the world The cooperative movement gradually spread around the world in the 19th century (table 2. 1). Another notable cooperative advocate is Sir Horace Plunkett (1854-1932), an Irishman (who spent 10 years as a cattle rancher in the UnitedStates in the 1800s) famous for advocating the benefits of agricultural cooperatives in Ireland and beyond. 21 He was instrumental in creating an international cooperative movement and promoting the cooperative principle of political neutrality. The Irish Cooperative Organization Society (formerly the Irish Agricultural Organization Society), originally founded by Plunkett in 1894, is located in The Plunkett House in Dublin. Today, cooperative business es are found in nearly all countries, from the developing nations of Africa, Asia, and South America to the industrial countries of Europe and North America.Northern Europe, where the cooperative movement took hold very early, still contains a strong cooperative presence, especially in agriculture. Many of the cooperatives in these countries have long histories and are extremely successful. However, as is the case in the United States (see chapter 3), economic pressures have been met with cooperative mergers and consolidations. As a result, cooperative numbers in these countries appear quite low (tables 2. 2 and 2. 3). Cooperative numbers in India, even on a per capita basis, are by comparison astounding. In the case of India and other countries with relatively high ooperative numbers, this situation typically reflects the existence of numerous, local cooperatives. More cooperatives do not imply necessarily that the cooperative sector as a whole is stronger or more competitive, howe ver. The spread of the cooperative business model from 18th century England to such diverse countries as India, Korea and Uganda, points to the universal adaptability and diversity of the cooperative model. Cooperative businesses are found in nearly all countries, from the developing nations of Africa, Asia, and South America to the industrial countries of Europe and North America. PRINCIPLES PRACTICES IN THE 21ST CENTURY Historical development of cooperatives throughout the world Folk High Schools created trained, rural leadership. They also established bonds of trust among those who came to live and study at the schools. The students developed a willingness to think together, work together, and play together—in short, to cooperate. Although not an intended outcome, the spirit of cooperation produced in these schools has been, without doubt, an important factor in the growth of Denmark’s cooperative movement. 2 ? 11 Table 2. 1. Historical cooperative statistics for se lected countries CountryFirst co-op First co-op law Membership (% of population) Albania 1946 NA NA Austria 1794 1873 47. 4 Belgium 1848 1873 35. 4 Czech Republic 1852 1873 13. 4 Denmark 1851 NA 34. 2 Finland 1870 1901 45. 8 France 1750 1887 30. 1 Germany 1845 1867 27. 9 Greece 1780 1914 9. 9 Iceland 1844 1937 20. 0 Ireland 1859 1893 59. 5 Italy 1806 1886 13. 3 Lithuania 1869 1917 6. 8 Luxembourg 1808 1884 4. 8 Netherlands 1860 1855 41. 1 Norway 1851 1935 36. 4 Poland 1816 1920 NA Portugal 1871 1867 21. 9 Romania 1852 1903 28. 5 Russia 1825 1907 9. 5 Spain 1838 1885 11. 1 Sweden 1850 1895 53. 7 Switzerland 1816 1881 50. 1 Turkey 1863 867 12. 9 United Kingdom 1750 1852 16. 6 United States 1752 1865 56. 7 Yugoslavia 1870 1925 6. 5 NA = not available Source: Adapted from Shaffer, J. (1999). Historical dictionary of the cooperative movement. London: Scarecrow Press, Inc. (pp. 437-39). 12 COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER Region Number of countries Organizations Individual members Societies Africa 1 2 19 27,214 9,561,443 Americas 18 61 43,945 182,486,437 Asia 28 64 480,648 414,383,079 Europe 35 88 197,293 118,473,862 Total 93 232 749,100 724,904,821 Source: International Co-operative Alliance, www. coop. org/statistics. html (July 1,1998). Table 2. 3.Agriculture cooperative statistics from select countries Number of co-ops Country Membership (millions) Brazil 4,744 3. 74 Canada 7,880 14. 52 Columbia 1,936 4. 82 Denmark 1,446 1. 39 Egypt 6,992 4. 28 46 1. 07 23,573 17. 49 Finland France Germany 9,112 21. 64 India 446,784 182. 92 Israel 256 0. 03 Japan 3,860 42. 84 NA 0. 63 Morocco 9,635 0. 68 Norway 4,259 1. 59 Repub. Korea 7,669 17. 07 15,106 Historical development of cooperatives throughout the world Table 2. 2. Cooperatives and membership by international region 2 ? 4. 78 Mexico Sweden Switzerland Uganda United Kingdom United States Zambia 16 1. 51 3,131 0. 4 42 9. 04 27,076 156. 19 2,174 0. 57 Source: International Co-operative Alliance, www. coop. org/statistics. html (Apri l 26, 2002). PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN THE 21ST CENTURY 13 14 COOPERATIVES: CHAPTER The driving forces behind cooperative development in the United States include the following five interrelated dynamics: 1. Market failure (monopoly power, excess supply, missing markets, etc. ). 2. Economic crises (depressions and recessions). 3. New technology. 4. Farm organizations and cooperative advocates. 5. Favorable public policy (presidential interest, legislative initiatives at both state and federal evels, and judicial interpretation). The relative importance of these forces at different periods will become apparent as we trace the path of cooperative development. Since some of the most significant contributions Americans have made to the cooperative model and movement have been in the agricultural sector, farm cooperatives will dominate this discussion. PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES IN The first American cooperatives The first recognized cooperative business in the United States (a mutual insura nce company) was founded in 1752, almost a quarter-century before the birth of the country (America achieved independence in 1776).Benjamin Franklin, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, worked with other members of fire fighting associations to create the first successful fire insurance company in the colonies: The Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire. 24 Franklin had already formed the Union Fire Company in 1736, which became the model for volunteer fire fighting companies. Franklin had witnessed the success and importance of mutual societies when he was living in England. The Philadelphia Contributionship was based on a similar London association created in 1696. 25 Although European models and European immigrant cultures remained influential, it was in agriculture that co-ops began to take root in new and distinctive North American forms. † 26 Cooperative history, trends, Cooperative history, trends, and laws in the United States and laws in the United States C ooperatives are neither indigenous to the United States, nor are they an American invention. As Fairbairn reminds us,â€Å"The idea of the co-op was both imported by the colonists from Europe and also independently developed and adapted by settlers of European origin under North American conditions. †22 Pilgrims coming to he new world on the Mayflower in 1620 signed the Mayflower Compact, which described the operations of an organization, or constitution, with cooperative characteristics. Once they arrived, the early settlers worked together collectively to clear the land, build homes and communities, start farming, and provide protection for their families. 23 The overview of cooperative development in the United States provided here supports the idea that cooperatives in the United States are both an artifact of early settlers’ European heritage and a collective response to harsh living conditions in rural areas. ? Americ an farmers first attempted to organize in 1785 with the establishment of the Philadelphia Society for Promotion of Agriculture. The first formal farmer cooperatives were created in 1810: a dairy cooperative in Goshen, Connecticut, and a cheese manufacturing cooperative in South Trenton, New Jersey. On the heels of these organizations, other cooperatives involving different commodities were formed in many parts of the country (table 3. 1). There was no identified coordinated leadership and most cooperatives restricted their operations to their local community. Most of he early agricultural cooperatives were ultimately unsuccessful. THE 21ST CENTURY 15 Table 3. 1. Selected early cooperatives and mutuals in the United States Year Cooperative 1752 Philadelphia Contributionship for the Insurance of Houses from Loss by Fire (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) 1810 Dairy cooperative (Goshen, Conneticut) and cheese cooperative (South Trenton, New Jersey) 1820 Hog marketing, slaughtering, and packi ng cooperative (Granville, Ohio) 1853 Irrigation cooperative (Tulare County, California) 1857 Grain elevator (Madison, Wisconsin) 1862 Tobacco marketing cooperative (Connecticut) 1863