Persecute, Prosecute

Persecute, Prosecute Persecute, Prosecute Persecute, Prosecute By Sharon Persecute and prosecute are occasionally mixed up. Persecute means to torment or cause suffering, usually because of some perceived difference. School bullies persecute those whom they perceive to be weaker than they are. In the adult world, people may be persecuted because of their religious beliefs, political beliefs, ethnicity, sexual orientation or social grouping. Prosecution, on the other hand, involves bringing legal charges against someone. In some US states jaywalkers are prosecuted. That means that they face court charges because they crossed the road at the wrong time. And these days, if you have been persecuted for your beliefs, you are often able to prosecute your persecutor. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:The Yiddish Handbook: 40 Words You Should KnowItalicizing Foreign WordsWhat the Heck are "Peeps"?

3 Ways Women Sabotage Themselves in Business

3 Ways Women Sabotage Themselves in Business There’s a new book out there by Tara Mohr called Playing Big, and everyone should read it. It’s a how-to  for brilliant and talented women who are playing it too small and could really use a chance to break out of self-sabotaging patterns to fully live up to their potential. Here are three takeaway strategies to counteract some common things you might be doing to hold yourself back.1. Change the â€Å"this before that† approachWe’re all guilty of this one. â€Å"I’ll have that chat with my boss once I’ve done x, y, and z.† Or, â€Å"I’ll approach this contact once I have x, y, and z to show for myself.† Sometimes we’re being careful and  coming up with a solid game plan, but other times we’re just scared to make the big moves.If you find yourself having a â€Å"this before that† moment, ask yourself if that assumption is based on real strategy, or if whether you just assume you aren’t ready for the next step. If you can’t find any real reasons to wait, then don’t.2. Don’t let your â€Å"commitment to quality† hold you backSometimes â€Å"commitment to quality† just means overcomplicating things and â€Å"endless polishing.† Being detail-oriented and quality-concerned is great, but can be crippling. Rather than obsess over details at every stage, allow yourself to brainstorm, think big, and let your preliminary work be just that- preliminary. Waiting for every idea and aspect of a project to be perfect will delay its completion and your success. Besides, it might just be a cover-up for fear and insecurity. Be bold and own your work.3. Don’t hold yourself back because you don’t have the degreeMohr says, â€Å"Talented women with a dream believe they need another degree, training, or certification because they are not ‘enough’ as they are.† We all like the structure and reassurance of being a stu dent, but sometimes it’s time to take the leap into the big, bad business world without the safety net.Figure out what you can do with the training you already have and start there. Don’t take no for an answer. Get as far as you possibly can- and only stop for more education when it’s absolutely necessary. You’ll probably surprise yourself at how far you can go without that next degree.Make 2016 the year of you. Make sure you’re not holding yourself back because you don’t think you’re good enough. Chances are, you are your own worst limiting factor. Get out of your own way!3 Ways You May be Sabotaging Yourself at Work (and what to do about it)

Human resorce web Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human resorce web - Article Example It also said that the company's management had failed to address and correct the issue even after the victims raised complains. The acts violated the Civil Rights of 1964, Title VII. The company also was to offer training to all employees, furnish the commission with its employment-practice reports for 3 year period and source for consultancy to review the company's policies dealing with harassment and the involved procedures in an agreed consent decree which was, on September 5 approved by the court. The above case shows that rules on work discrimination needed to be strengthened and taken very seriously. In addition, the laws are still weak on these cases since I feel that the senior officials would have been taken personally responsible for this misconduct. All forms of sexual harassment to interfere with a person's employment, performance at work un- reasonably, intimidates him/her or sense of it, hostile or work environment that is not conducive. The laws also prohibit discrimination against age, disability, pay discrimination, national origin, pregnancy, race, religion and retaliation.

Importance of Understanding of Marketing to Organizations Essay - 1

Importance of Understanding of Marketing to Organizations - Essay Example This paper illustrates that successful firms adjust their marketing approaches to the changes in the set-up of the environment. Nevertheless, an awareness of the market-place is critical as there is a very little effect if the firm is marketing knowledge remains within its own boundaries. So that information can become useful, it has to be shared in the entire organization. Some of the knowledge may be codified to create a situation where they can be sent through information technology systems. However, tacit knowledge can only be shared through a give and take method which may be developed by participants over time after they understand the intricacies associated with a particular situation. Tacit knowledge allows an organization to apply critical knowledge in operational activities whose outcome is improved efficacy, the creation of value and improved financial performances. For instance, when a sales-person gets more knowledge concerning what an executive requires in a main custom er’s firm, they can utilize this information to better customize the message, create a better solution and increase the chances of amassing revenue. Therefore, this form of knowledge may be used as a source of competitive advantage creating the need to understand the ways in which this form of knowledge may be shared. In order for a business to succeed, the customers must be aware of the product associated with the business. Except if the public is aware of the firm and the firm’s communiquà © with the clients is easily obtainable, the firm has to utilize marketing approaches to develop product awareness. The use of marketing in the promotion of the company’s product provides the business with the opportunity of being discovered by prospective clients. When the prospective clients become aware of the product and the company, the chances that the customers will make purchases increases.

Denver Art Museum Essay Example for Free

Denver Art Museum Essay The Denver Art Museum is one of the few luxuries Colorado residents and tourists alike, have the pleasure of experiencing. It is truly a world class facility, from the outside in. Within the confines of its walls reside masterpieces from the likes of Monet, Degas, and Picasso. There is a broad spectrum of art from all corners of the globe represented here. This includes art from various European nations, as well as that of far eastern cultures to American Indian design. Each exhibit presented work which seemed to grasp and shed light onto the respective time period or culture represented. I found three particular compositions to be representative of their era or genre. The first of which is an oil painting on a wood panel by an Englishman named William Larkin to be completed in 1610. This piece, entitled Mary Radclyffe, is a portrait of King James’s wife, Mary Radclyffe. It is very obvious to see, after reviewing the Roman artistic style of idealizing an individual in a realistic way, that this is a idealized view of Radclyffe. As a matter of fact, William Larkin was one of the last artists to work in this refined, elegant portrait style of Elizabeth I. The clothing Radclyffe is donning in the aforementioned painting is typical of the high class during the time it was completed in the early 17th century. This piece can also be classified as having a Baroque nature about it. The Baroque cultural movement pertained to not only art, but music, dance, and literature as well. The artistic style emits a sense of awe and a tremendous attention to detail which is seldom mistaken for any other method. This Idealized style derives from Plato and the â€Å"higher reality of eternal truths† which he refers to in his book, the Theory of Forms. â€Å"Plato’s theory of forms proposes that all sensory objects are imitations of Forms, which, like the simplest mathematical equations, are imperishable and forever true. † (Fiero I: 98) The next piece which caught my attention is a sculpture I have always been intrigued in. Shiva, King of Dancers, or Shiva Nataraja, comes from Tamil Nadu during the Chola Dynasty, in India. The Chola Dynasty enjoyed a long ime span of power from the late 9th century all the way up to the 13th century. The bronze sculpture standing 36’ 7/8† tall, encompasses radial balance contains a strong symbolic message, typical of most Hindu art. This iconic statue portrays Shiva dancing, with his right foot supported by a crouching figure, and his left elegantly raised in the air. The figure appears to have four arms, so it is clearly not meant to be realistic. Shiva is understood to be two conflicting things. One side of him signifies total tranquility, whereas he is also filled with total activity and energy on the other side. Not only does this depict what many people from this culture aspire attain, but people in many different cultures all over the globe as well. Although this particular work was made centuries after the Greeks revolutionized portraying the human body in sculpture, this freestanding figure was almost directly influenced by the Greeks. Not only for the fact that it is freestanding and praises the individual, but also because it pays homage to something greater than the human. As it says in the text, The Humanistic Tradition, â€Å"they paid perpetual homage to the gods. (Fiero I: 109) Not only that, but the perfection of the piece also comes from the Archaic period in Greek sculpture. More specifically, â€Å"the quest for realism was offset by the will to idealize form. (Fiero I: 109) This is also an idea from the philosopher Plato in his book, Theory of Forms. At the end of my journey of cultural enlightenment, I felt an obligation to take a gander at the African art exhibit because of how unique the style is compared to the rest of the museum. While there were many interesting works in the gallery, a certain piece done by Moyo Ogundipe caught my eye from a distance. Perhaps one of the better known images within the gallery, Soliloquy: Life’s Fragile Frictions was completed in 1997 and was done in acrylic on a 54’ x 78’ canvas. The cool collection of analogous colors really drew me into the image. The content in the piece is said to be inspired by the Egungun Festival in the village where the artist grew up. Some of the influences were drama, acrobatics, poetry, mime and pantomime, and black magic all play a role in creating the mood and atmosphere of this piece. Although this piece isn’t an ancient African work of art, it embodies my view of African art for its vivid color selection, organic shapes, chaotic nature, and intricate detail in the patterns. To me, this composition is reminiscent of an Egyptian scene done on the tomb walls in the 14th century. It tells a story in a similar fashion which the Egyptians did and depict the importance of the figure by size in a comparable way as well. This style is referred to as conceptual â€Å"that is, based on ideas rather than perceptual†¦ based on visual evidence. † (Fiero I: 34) Each piece I reviewed from the Denver Art Museum clearly depicted the transcendent nature of how art progresses. Each culture and movement reflect the ideals of the past through either subject matter, content, style, or technique. In many cases, philosophy and literature influenced the development of art especially Plato’s teachings. Overall, I felt more comfortable when I was in the North building because of not only the subject matter, but the architecture as well. Call me old fashioned, but I find that I appreciate art in a more intimate setting like the North building provides. From the wood floors, to the tighter confines of the vicinity between each piece, and the amount of information provided for each exhibit, I felt like I walked away with a deeper appreciation for the art in this building. The Hamilton building gave a unique presentation of each exhibit, though. I enjoyed the abstract architecture although I don’t think it is very practical for a museum. The next time I venture out to the museum, I will definitely spend more time in the temporary exhibitions, as I did not even scope that specific area out.

D. H. Lawrences You Touched Me and Nietzches The Use and Abuse of His

Compare Happiness and Life Between D. H. Lawrence's You Touched Me and Friedrich Nietzche's The Use and Abuse of History Taken From The Twilight Of the Idols INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In this paper, I won't stick to only one topic. I will compare different topics, such as happiness and life between two romantic writers, D. H. Lawrence and Friedrich Nietzsche from D. H. Lawrence's You touched me and Friedrich Nietzche's The use and abuse of history taken from The twilight of the Idols. I will start talking about life and happiness by giving my own little definition of each of these two terms. LIFE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Life: one word, many meanings. Life: one word, one precious thing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We see life in a total different way by the two writers. Life, in D. H. Lawrence's You touched me, is one, short and precious thing. We see life through the eyes of a dying father and his two daughters, who loves their father a lot and an adopted son enrolled in the army. The father continuously fights his disease, battling to stay alive. We see life as a fragile, vulnerable thing. It can also vanish unexpectedly. What I mean by "life can also vanish unexpectedly" is that you never know when something terrible could happen to you and see it taken away.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Friedrich Nietzshe explains us a lot more his perception of life. Unfortunately, I didn't understand most of the things he meant, but I will explain what I think I understood. Nietzshe describes life with the help of a man and a bea...

Heredity, the Environment, and Development Essay

The field of behavioral genetics strives to understand how and why we develop the way we do. Behavioral genetics seeks to find how not only heredity, but also environment, plays a role in the development of human beings. The field has evolved quite a bit in the last few years. Studying genetics helps us to be able to predict future behaviors and also potentially help us to use genetic engineering. Since the study of behavioral genetics can potentially lead us down the road of genetic engineering it attracts a lot of controversy. As will be examined here genetics shows some strong correlations between heredity and environment. The field has studied numerous examples to help explain what is caused by heredity, what is caused by environment, and how the two can be linked together to further understand why we behave the way that we do. Behavior Genetics†Human behavioral genetics, a relatively new field, seeks to understand both the genetic and environmental contributions to individual variations in human behavior.† (McInerney, 2008) Human behavior genetics studies how an individual’s genetics and environment influences their behavior. â€Å"Behavior genetics focus is on the effect of heredity on differences between individuals.† (Boyd & Bee, 2006) Heredity refers to genetic and traits being transmitted from one generation to the next or from the parent to the offspring. â€Å"Traits or behaviors are believed to be influenced by genes when those of related people, such as children and their parents, are more similar than those of unrelated people.† (Boyd & Bee, 2006) Behavior geneticists study behavior genetics and the way they can affect an individual. Behavior geneticists have shown in their studies that heredity can affect some traits and behaviors, like intelligence, shyness, and aggressiveness. The basic concepts of behavior genetics are: phenotypes which are observable or measurable characteristics (hair and eye color); genotype which are genetic complement of an individual, like having a recessive gene for color blindness; polygenic which is many genes influencing a trait but no one gene has a major effect (hundreds of genes influence IQ and personality). Correlations between Heredity and EnvironmentCorrelation between heredity and environment can be looked at through genotypes or a person’s â€Å"unique genetic blueprint† (Boyd & Bee, 2006) and the environment which a child tends to experience. Active genotype environment correlation, evocative genotype environment correlation, and passive genotype environment correlation are three casual mechanisms to describe the correlation between heredity and environment in relationship to human behavior (Scarr & McCartney, 1983, p.4). Genotype environment correlations affect phenotypes through the course of a person’s development (p.4). A child’s development stems directly from traits his or her parents pass along and environmental experiences therefore behavioral genetics has developed theories of the correlation between heredity and environment. Active genotype environment correlation is defined as a child’s tendency actively to seek environments he or she finds to be â€Å"compatible and stimulating† (Santrock, 2002,  ¶2). An example would be a child who is introverted tends to seek solitary environments. A child who is extroverted tends to seek out social environments. Evocative genotype environment correlation is â€Å"when the child’s genotype elicits certain types of physical and social environments† ( ¶19). The responses a child receives from his or her environment molds the child’s development. A child who demonstrates a pleasant disposition evokes positive reactions in his or her social environment for example. (Scarr & McCartney, 1983, p.4) Passive genotype environment correlation describes correlation based on the â€Å"rearing environment† (Santrock, 2002,  ¶31) supplied by the â€Å"biological parents† . The explanation the passive type of correlation is the parent passed the genes to the child and supplies the environment in which the child is raised. The environment a parent supplies is directly related to the parents genes which were passed to the child hence the correlation (Scarr & McCartney, 1983, p.4). The example given by Scarr and McCartney is one of a positive nature. A parent who is well versed and enjoys the activity of reading books reads often to the child. The child will most likely be well versed at reading books and enjoy the activity based on the environment provided and the genotype inherited. The Ugly Side of EugenicsAs mentioned previously, the ethical study of genetics is a concern. Galton and his American colleague, Charles Davenport, studied and promoted eugenics in an effort to improve the quality of humans and to create a better future for mankind. Galton and Davenport researched patterns for undesirable character traits such as alcoholism, insanity, the propensity for criminality. In time, certain behavioral tendencies were linked to particular races. Lehrman cited examples of Davenport’s characterizations of â€Å"Italians as drawn toward crimes of personal violence, Greeks as slovenly, and Swedes as tidy† (1998,  ¶8). Society began to adopt laws and policies based on the principles of Galton’s and Davenport’s findings with the purpose of correcting social and economic problems before they started. Although Nazi Germany was the first country to rationalize mass sterilization and then extermination of a race based on their perceived inferiority, the United States also contributed to the mindset of an inferior people. As many as 30 states had legislation concerning the sterilization of people regarded as genetically inferior. The horror and immorality of the holocaust discredited eugenics. Ethics are a guiding force for today’s human behavior geneticists who seek to understand traits that enhance the human race and those that are harmful (Lehrman, 1998). Twin StudiesIdentifying traits that are beneficial and those that are harmful is just the first of many steps. Behavior geneticists must also identify correlations between the genes humans inherit and the environment that humans are fostered in. Researchers have an exceedingly difficult task before them since experiences and environments are intricately influenced by genetic predispositions. For example, identical twins both are born taller than average. When they complete surveys for behavioral geneticists, they both score high for people who are extroverted and self-confident. Is this because they have a â€Å"self-esteem† gene, or is this a result of society reacting towards them in a manner with more respect and attention because they are tall (Piercy, nd.)?Likewise, a child who is predisposed towards shyness will not seek out social situations that are uncomfortable to her. She may not choose to participate in organized sports. Whatever athletic ability or talent she may possess will remain dormant. Due to her choices, she will not receive any instruction to develop athletic ability.  Conclusions that outgoing individuals possess more athletic ability could be grossly inaccurate (Boyd & Bee, 2006). Due to the difficulty found in the previous two illustrations, most research involves fraternal and identical twin sets for the following reasons: †¢Fraternal twins raised together show a correlation with a shared environment but not agenetic sameness. †¢Identical twins raised apart as adoptees show correlations for non-shared environmentsbut a shared genetic foundation. One such study examined the influences of heredity and environment on the differences of children’s conversational language use among twins. The study measured language skills with two standardized tests among 380 twins. According to the study, more than half of the variance in conversational language skills can be attributed to genetics. Additionally, evidence was not found to support significant shared environmental influence. This study sheds new light on this issue. Previously, differences were attributed to environmental influences such as premature birth and low birth weight (DeThorne et al., 2008). Conclusion â€Å"To be born and die are common to all animals, but there are specifically diverse ways in which these phenomena occur.† (Aristotle, trans. 1984). How humans grow and mature behaviorally is important in understanding the impact heredity, shared and non-shared environmental experiences have on humans. As humans age behavioral social-environmental and psychological changes emerge in a direct correlation with cultural and environmental influences. Environmental, heredity and behavioral genetics all give rise to â€Å"obesity, pre-diabetes, atherosclerosis, cancer, immune-suppression, menopause, and osteoporosis† (Biological, Social-Environmental, and Psychological Dialecticism: An Integrated Model of Aging, 2000). As well with age innate biological changes impact our brain based on both shared and non-shared environmental experiences. A keen understanding of morbidity, mortality and how genetics influence both health and behavior are all important factors in how biological changes in the  brain are associated with each stage of aging. Human behavior can be influenced by genetic pre-dispositions as well as shared and non shared environmental experiences each of these forces account for physical changes and/or declines throughout adulthood. References Blumenthal, H. T. & Von Dras, D. D. (2000). [University of Phoenix e-Text]. Biological, Social-Environmental, and Psychological Dialecticism: An Integrated Model of Aging. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc. Boyd, D., & Bee, H. (2006). Lifespan Development (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Allyn &Bacon, Inc. A Pearson Education Company. DeThorne, L., Petrill, S., Hart, S., Channell, R., Campbell, R., Deater-Deckard, K., Thompson, L. A., & Vandenbergh, D. (2008). Genetic effects on children’s conversational language use. Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 51 (Issue 2), Retrieved June 4, 2008, from EBSCOhost database. Lehrman S., (1998). DNA & behavior: the topic in-depth. Retrieved June 6, 2008, fromhttp://www.dnafiles.org/archive/about/pgm2/topicMcInerney, J. (2008, September 16). Behavioral Genetics. Retrieved April 8, 2009, fromwww.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/behavior.shtm1Piercy J., (n.d.). Psychology 230. Retrieved May 20, 2008, fromhttp://courses.cvcc.vccs.edu/Psychology_Piercy/. Sandrock, J. (2002). Life-Span Development: A topical approach. McGraw-Hill HigherEducation. Retrieved April 7, 2009, from http://highered.mcgrawhill.com/sites/0072435992/student_view0/glossary.htmlScarr, S. & McCartney, K. (1983, April). How people make their own environments: a theoryof genotype → environment effects. Child Development. Vol. 54 Issue 2, p424, 12p.

Coffee and Starbucks Essay

Starbucks began in 1971 when three academics—English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and writer Gordon Bowker—opened a store called Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice in the touristy Pikes Place Market in Seattle. The three partners shared a love of fine coffees and exotic teas and believed they could build a clientele in Seattle much like that which had already emerged in the San Francisco Bay area. Each invested $1,350 and borrowed another $5,000 from a bank to open the Pikes Place store. Baldwin, Siegel, and Bowker chose the name Starbucks in honor of Starbuck, the coffee-loving first mate in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick(so company legend has it), and because they thought the name evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early coffee traders. The new company’s logo, designed by an artist friend, was a two-tailed mermaid encircled by the store’s name. The inspiration for the Starbucks enterprise was a Dutch immigrant, Alfred Peet, who had begun importing fine arabica coffees into the United States during the 1950s. Peet viewed coffee as a fine winemaker views grapes, appraising it in terms of country of origin, estates, and harvests. Peet had opened a small store, Peet’s Coffee and Tea, in Berkeley, California, in 1966 and had cultivated a loyal clientele. Peet’s store specialized in importing fine coffees and teas, dark-roasting its own beans the European way to bring out their full flavor, and teaching customers how to grind the beans and make freshly brewed coffee at home. Baldwin, Siegel, and Bowker were well acquainted with Peet’s expertise, having visited his store on numerous occasions and spent many hours listening to Peet expound on quality coffees and the importance of proper bean-roasting techniques. All three were devoted fans of Peet and his dark-roasted coffees, going so far as to order their personal coffee supplies by mail from Peet’s. The Pikes Place store featured modest, hand-built nautical fixtures. One wall was devoted to whole-bean coffees; another had shelves of coffee products. The store did not offer fresh-brewed coffee by the cup, but samples were sometimes available for tasting. Initially, Siegel was the only paid employee. He wore a grocer’s apron, scooped out beans for customers, extolled the virtues of fine, dark-roasted coffees, and functioned as the partnership’s retail expert. The other two partners kept their day jobs but came by at lunch or after work to help out. During the start-up period, Baldwin kept the books and developed a growing knowledge of coffee; Bowker served as the â€Å"magic, mystery, and romance man. â€Å"1 The store was an immediate success, with sales exceeding expectations, partly because of a favorable article in the Seattle Times. In the early months, each of the founders traveled to Berkeley to learn more about coffee roasting from their mentor, Alfred Peet, who urged them to keep deepening their knowledge of coffees and teas. For most of the first year, Starbucks ordered its coffee beans from Peet’s, but then the partners purchased a used roaster from Holland and set up roasting operations in a nearby ramshackle building. Baldwin and Bowker experimented with Alfred Peet’s roasting procedures and came up with their own blends and flavors. A second Starbucks store was opened in 1972. By the early 1980s, the company had four Starbucks stores in the Seattle area and could boast of having been profitable every year since opening its doors. But the roles and responsibilities of the cofounders underwent change. Zev Siegel experienced burnout and left the company to pursue other interests. Jerry Baldwin took over day-to-day management of the company and functioned as chief executive officer; Gordon Bowker remained involved as an owner but devoted most of his time to his advertising and design firm, a weekly newspaper he had founded, and a microbrewery he was launching (the Redhook Ale Brewery). Howard Schultz Enters the Picture In 1981, Howard Schultz, vice president and general manager of U. S. operations for Hammarplast—a Swedish maker of stylish kitchen equipment and housewares—noticed that Starbucks was placing larger orders than Macy’s was for a certain type of drip coffeemaker. Curious to learn what was going on, he decided to pay the company a visit. The morning after his arrival in Seattle, Schultz was escorted to the Pikes Place store by Linda Grossman, the retail merchandising manager for Starbucks. A solo violinist was playing Mozart at the door, with his violin case open for donations. Schultz immediately was taken by the powerful and pleasing aroma of the coffees, the wall displaying coffee beans, and the rows of red, yellow, and black Hammarplast coffeemakers on the shelves. As he talked with the clerk behind the counter, the clerk scooped out some Sumatran coffee beans, ground them, put the grounds in a cone filter, poured hot water over the cone, and shortly handed Schultz a porcelain mug filled with the freshly brewed coffee. After three sips, Schultz was hooked. He began asking the clerk and Grossman questions about the company, about coffees from different parts of the world, and about the different ways of roasting coffee. Next, Schultz met with Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker, whose offices overlooked the company’s coffee-roasting operation. The atmosphere was informal. Baldwin, dressed in a sweater and tie, showed Schultz some new beans that had just come in from Java and suggested they try a sample. Baldwin did the brewing himself, using a glass pot called a French press. Bowker, a slender, bearded man with dark hair and intense brown eyes, appeared at the door and the three men sat down to talk about Starbucks. Schultz was struck by their knowledge of coffee, their commitment to providing high-quality products, and their passion for educating customers about the merits of dark-roasted coffees. Baldwin told Schultz, â€Å"We don’t manage the business to maximize anything other than the quality of the coffee. â€Å"2 Starbucks purchased only the finest arabica coffees and put them through a meticulous dark-roasting process to bring out their full flavors. Baldwin explained that the cheap robusta coffees used in supermarket blends burn when subjected to dark roasting. He also noted that the makers of supermarket blends prefer lighter roasts because they allow higher yields (the longer a coffee is roasted, the more weight it loses). Schultz was struck by the business philosophy of the two partners. It was clear from their discussions that Starbucks stood not just for good coffee, but rather for the dark-roasted flavor profiles that the founders were passionate about. Top-quality, fresh-roasted, whole-bean coffee was the company’s differentiating feature and a bedrock value. It was also clear to Schultz that Starbucks was strongly committed to educating its customers to appreciate the qualities of fine coffees, rather than just kowtowing to mass-market appeal. The company depended mainly on word-of-mouth to get more people into its stores, then relied on the caliber of its product to give patrons a sense of discovery and excitement. It built customer loyalty cup by cup as buyers of its products developed their palates. On his trip back to New York the next day, Howard Schultz could not stop thinking about Starbucks and what it would be like to be a part of the Starbucks enterprise. Schultz recalled, â€Å"There was something magic about it, a passion and authenticity I had never experienced in business. â€Å"3 Living in the Seattle area also had a strong appeal. By the time Schultz landed at Kennedy Airport, he knew he wanted to go to work for Starbucks. Though there was nothing in his background (see Exhibit 2) that prepared him for the experience, Schultz asked Baldwin at the first opportunity whether there was any way he could fit into Starbucks. The two quickly established an easy, comfortable rapport, but it still took a year of numerous meetings and a lot of convincing to get Baldwin, Bowker, and their silent partner from San Francisco to agree to hire Howard Schultz. Schultz pursued a job at Starbucks far more vigorously than Starbucks pursued him. There was some nervousness at Starbucks about bringing in an outsider, especially a high-powered New Yorker, who had not grown up with the values of the company. Nonetheless, Schultz continued to press his ideas about the tremendous potential of expanding the Starbucks enterprise outside Seattle and exposing people all over America to Starbucks coffee—arguing there had to be more than just a few thousand coffee lovers in Seattle who would like the company’s products. Schultz believed that Starbucks had such great promise that he offered to take a salary cut in exchange for a small equity stake in the business. But the owners worried that by offering Schultz a job as head of marketing they would be committing themselves to a new direction for Starbucks. At a spring 1982 meeting with the three owners in San Francisco, Schultz once again presented his vision for opening Starbucks stores across the United States and Canada. He flew back to New York thinking a job offer was in the bag. But the next day Baldwin called Schultz and indicated that the owners had decided against hiring him because geographic expansion was too risky and because they did not share Schultz’s vision for Starbucks. Schultz was despondent; still, he believed so deeply in Starbucks’ potential that he decided to make a last-ditch appeal. He called Baldwin back the next day and made an impassioned, though reasoned, case for why the decision was a mistake. Baldwin agreed to reconsider. The next morning Baldwin called Schultz and told him the job of heading marketing and overseeing the retail stores was his. In September 1982, Howard Schultz took on his new responsibilities at Starbucks. Starbucks and Howard Schultz: The 1982–85 Period In his first few months at Starbucks, Schultz spent most of his waking hours in the four Seattle stores—working behind the counters, tasting different kinds of coffee, talking with customers, getting to know store personnel, and educating himself about the retail aspects of the coffee business. By December, Jerry Baldwin decided that Schultz was ready for the final part of his training—roasting coffee. Schultz spent a week at the roaster examining the color of the beans, listening for the telltale second pop of the beans during the roasting process, learning to taste the subtle differences among Baldwin and Bowker’s various roasts, and familiarizing himself with the roasting techniques for different beans. Meanwhile, he made a point of acclimating himself to the informal dress code, blending in with the culture, and gaining credibility and building trust with colleagues. Making the transition from the high-energy, coat-and-tie style of New York to the more casual ambience of the Pacific Northwest required a conscious effort on Schultz’s part. One day during the busy Christmas season that first year, Schultz made real headway in gaining the acceptance and respect of company personnel at the Pikes Place store. The store was packed and Schultz was behind the counter ringing up sales when someone shouted that a customer had just headed out the door with some stuff—two expensive coffeemakers it turned out, one in each hand. Without thinking, Schultz leaped over the counter and chased the thief up the cobblestone street outside the store, yelling â€Å"Drop that stuff! Drop it! † The thief was startled enough to drop both pieces and run away. Schultz picked up the merchandise and returned to the store, holding up the coffeemakers like trophies. Everyone applauded. When Schultz returned to his office later that afternoon, his staff had strung up a banner that read â€Å"Make my day. â€Å"4 Schultz was overflowing with ideas for the company. Early on, he noticed that first-time customers sometimes felt uneasy in the stores because of their lack of knowledge about fine coffees and because store employees sometimes came across as a little arrogant. Schultz worked with store employees on developing customer-friendly sales skills and produced brochures that made it easy for customers to learn about fine coffees. Schultz’s biggest idea for Starbucks’ future came during the spring of 1983 when the company sent him to Milan, Italy, to attend an international housewares show. While walking from his hotel to the convention center, Schultz spotted an espresso bar and went inside to look around. The cashier beside the door nodded and smiled. The barista (counter worker) greeted Howard cheerfully, then gracefully pulled a shot of espresso for one customer and handcrafted a foamy cappuccino for another, all the while conversing merrily with those standing at the counter. Schultz judged the barista’s performance as â€Å"great theater. † Just down the way on a side street, he entered an even more crowded espresso bar, where the barista, whom he surmised to be the owner, was greeting customers by name; people were laughing and talking in an atmosphere that plainly was comfortable and familiar. In the next few blocks, he saw two more espresso bars. When the trade show concluded for the day, Schultz walked the streets of Milan exploring espresso bars. Some were stylish and upscale; others attracted a blue-collar clientele. What struck Schultz was how popular and vibrant the Italian coffee bars were. Most had few chairs, and it was common for Italian opera to be playing in the background. Energy levels were typically high, and the bars seemed to function as an integral community gathering place. Each one had its own unique character, but they all had a barista who performed with flair and exhibited a camaraderie with the customers. Schultz was particularly struck by the fact that there were 1,500 coffee bars in Milan, a city about the size of Philadelphia, and a total of 200,000 in all of Italy. His mind started churning. Schultz’s first few days in Milan produced a revelation: The Starbucks stores in Seattle completely missed the point. Starbucks, he decided, needed to serve fresh-brewed coffee, espresso, and cappuccino in its stores (in addition to beans and coffee equipment). Going to Starbucks should be an experience, a special treat; the stores should be a place to meet friends and visit. Re-creating the Italian coffee-bar culture in the United States could be Starbucks’ differentiating factor. Schultz remained in Milan for a week, exploring coffee bars and learning as much as he could about the Italian passion for coffee drinks. In one bar, he heard a customer order a caffe latte and decided to try one himself—the barista made a shot of espresso, steamed a frothy pitcher of milk, poured the two together in a cup, and put a dollop of foam on the top. Schultz concluded that it was â€Å"the perfect drink,† and thought to himself, â€Å"No one in America knows about this. I’ve got to take it back with me. â€Å"5 Schultz’s Growing Frustration On Schultz’s return from Italy, he shared his revelation and ideas for modifying the format of Starbucks stores with Baldwin and Bowker. But instead of winning their approval, Schultz encountered strong resistance. Baldwin and Bowker argued that Starbucks was a retailer, not a restaurant or bar. They feared that serving drinks would put them in the beverage business and dilute the integrity of Starbucks’ mission as a coffee store. They pointed out that Starbucks was a profitable small, private company and there was no reason to rock the boat. But a more pressing reason for their resistance emerged shortly—Baldwin and Bowker were excited by an opportunity to purchase Peet’s Coffee and Tea. The acquisition took place in 1984; to fund it, Starbucks had to take on considerable debt, leaving little in the way of financial flexibility to support Schultz’s ideas for entering the beverage part of the coffee business or expanding the number of Starbucks stores. For most of 1984, Starbucks managers were dividing their time between their operations in Seattle and the Peet’s enterprise in San Francisco. Schultz found himself in San Francisco every other week supervising the marketing and operations of the five Peet’s stores. Starbucks employees began to feel neglected and, in one quarter, did not receive their usual bonus due to tight financial conditions. Employee discontent escalated to the point where a union election was called, and the union won by three votes. Baldwin was shocked at the results, concluding that employees no longer trusted him. In the months that followed, he began to spend more of his energy on the Peet’s operation in San Francisco. It took Howard Schultz nearly a year to convince Jerry Baldwin to let him test an espresso bar. After Baldwin relented, Starbucks’ sixth store, which opened in April 1984, became the first one designed to sell beverages and the first one in downtown Seattle. Schultz asked for a 1,500-square-foot space to set up a full-scale Italian-style espresso bar, but Jerry agreed to allocating only 300 square feet in a corner of the new store. There was no pre-opening marketing blitz and no sign announcing Now Serving Espresso—the lack of fanfare was part of a deliberate experiment to see what would happen. By closing time on the first day, some 400 customers had been served, well above the 250-customer average of Starbucks’ best-performing stores. Within two months the store was serving 800 customers per day. The two baristas could not keep up with orders during the early morning hours, resulting in lines outside the door onto the sidewalk. Most of the business was at the espresso counter; sales at the regular retail counter were only adequate. Schultz was elated by the test results; his visits to the store indicated that it was becoming a gathering place and that customers were pleased with the beverages being served. Schultz expected that Baldwin’s doubts about entering the beverage side of the business would be dispelled and that he would gain approval to take Starbucks to a new level. Every day he went into Baldwin’s office to show him the sales figures and customer counts at the new downtown store. But Baldwin was not comfortable with the success of the new store; he believed that espresso drinks were a distraction from the core business of selling fine arabica coffees at retail and rebelled at the thought that people would see Starbucks as a place to get a quick cup of coffee to go. He adamantly told Schultz, â€Å"We’re coffee roasters. I don’t want to be in the restaurant business . . . Besides, we’re too deeply in debt to consider pursuing this idea. â€Å"6 While he didn’t deny that the experiment was succeeding, he didn’t want to go forward with introducing beverages in other Starbucks stores. Schultz’s efforts to persuade Baldwin to change his mind continued to meet strong resistance, although to avoid a total impasse Baldwin finally did agree to let Schultz put espresso machines in the back of two other Starbucks stores. Over the next several months, Schultz—at the age of 33—made up his mind to leave Starbucks and start his own company. His plan was to open espresso bars in high-traffic downtown locations that would emulate the friendly, energetic atmosphere he had encountered in Italian espresso bars. Schultz had become friends with a corporate lawyer, Scott Greenberg, who helped companies raise venture capital and go public. Greenberg told Schultz he believed investors would be interested in providing venture capital for the kind of company Schultz had in mind. Baldwin and Bowker, knowing how frustrated Schultz had become, supported his efforts to go out on his own and agreed to let him stay in his current job and office until definitive plans were in place. Schultz left Starbucks in late 1985. Schultz’s Il Giornale Venture Ironically, as Schultz was finalizing the documents for his new company, Jerry Baldwin announced he would invest $150,000 of Starbucks’ money in Schultz’s coffee-bar enterprise, thus becoming Schultz’s first investor. Baldwin accepted Schultz’s invitation to be a director of the new company, and Gordon Bowker agreed to be a part-time consultant for six months. Bowker urged Schultz to make sure that everything about the new stores—the name, the presentation, the care taken in preparing the coffee—was calculated to lead customers to expect something better than competitors offered. Bowker proposed that the new company be named Il Giornale (pronounced ill jor-nahl-ee ) Coffee Company, a suggestion that Schultz accepted. In December 1985, Bowker and Schultz made a trip to Italy during which they visited some 500 espresso bars in Milan and Verona, observing local habits, taking notes about decor and menus, snapping photographs, and videotaping baristas in action. Greenberg and Schultz then drew up plans to raise an initial $400,000 in seed capital and another $1. 25 million in equity—enough to launch at least eight espresso bars and prove the concept would work in Seattle and elsewhere. The seed capital was raised by the end of January 1986, primarily from Starbucks and two other investors who believed in Schultz and his ideas, but it took Schultz until the end of the year to raise the remaining $1. 25 million. He made presentations to 242 potential investors, 217 of whom said no. Many who heard Schultz’s hour-long presentation saw coffee as a commodity business and thought that Schultz’s espresso-bar concept lacked any basis for sustainable competitive advantage (no patent on dark roast, no advantage in purchasing coffee beans, no way to bar the entry of imitative competitors). Some noted that consumption of coffee had been declining since the mid-1960s, others were skeptical that people would pay $1. 50 or more for a cup of coffee, and still others were turned off by the company’s hard-to-pronounce name. Being rejected by so many potential investors was disheartening (some who listened to Schultz’s presentation ? didn’t even bother to call him back; others refused to take his calls). Nonetheless, Schultz continued to display passion and enthusiasm in making his pitch and never doubted that his plan would work. He ended up raising $1. 65 million from about 30 investors; most of this money came from nine people, five of whom became directors of the new company. One of Howard Schultz’s earliest moves during the start-up process was to hire Dave Olsen, who in 1974 had opened a coffee bar, Cafe Allegro, near the busiest entrance to the University of Washington campus. Olsen was a long-standing Starbucks customer, having discovered the quality of Starbucks’ coffee beans, gotten to know the owners, and worked with them to develop a custom espresso roast for use in his cafe. Olsen’s successful Cafe Allegro had become known for cafe au lait, a concoction equivalent to the Italian caffe latte. When Olsen heard of Schultz’s plans for Il Giornale, he called Schultz and expressed an interest in being part of the new company—he was intrigued by the Italian coffee-bar concept and was looking for a more expansive career opportunity. Olsen not only had coffee expertise but also had spent 10 years in an apron behind the counter at Cafe Allegro. Schultz immediately picked up on the synergy between him and Olsen. His own strengths were in forming and communicating a vision, raising money, finding good store locations, building a brand name, and planning for growth. Olsen understood the nuts and bolts of operating a retail cafe, hiring and training baristas, and making and serving good drinks. Plus, Olsen was fun to work with. Schultz put Olsen in charge of store operations, made him the coffee conscience of the company, and gave him the authority to make sure that Il Giornale served the best coffee and espresso possible. The first Il Giornale store opened in April 1986. It had a mere 700 square feet and was located near the entrance of Seattle’s tallest building. The decor was Italian, the menu contained Italian words, and Italian opera music played in the background. The baristas wore white shirts and bow ties. All service was stand-up—there were no chairs. National and international papers hung from rods on the wall. By closing time on the first day, 300 customers had been served, mostly in the morning hours. Schultz and Olsen worked hard to make sure that all the details were executed perfectly. For the first few weeks, Olsen worked behind the counter during the morning rush. But while the core idea worked well, it soon became apparent that several aspects of Il Giornale’s format weren’t appropriate for Seattle. Some customers objected to the incessant opera music, others wanted a place to sit down, and many didn’t understand the Italian words on the menu. These â€Å"mistakes† were quickly fixed, without compromising the style and elegance of the store. Within six months, Il Giornale was serving more than 1,000 customers a day and regulars had learned how to pronounce the company’s name. Because most customers were in a hurry, it became apparent that speedy service was a competitive advantage. Six months after opening the first store, Il Giornale opened a second store in another downtown building. A third store was opened in Vancouver, British Columbia, in April 1987. Vancouver was chosen to test the transferability of the company’s business concept outside Seattle. To reach his goal of opening 50 stores in five years, Schultz needed to dispel his investors’ doubts about geographic expansion. By mid-1987 sales at the three stores were equal to $1. 5 million annually. Il Giornale Acquires Starbucks In March 1987 Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker decided to sell the whole Starbucks operation in Seattle—the stores, the roasting plant, and the Starbucks name. Bowker wanted to cash out his coffee-business investment to concentrate on his other enterprises; Baldwin, who was tired of commuting between Seattle and San Francisco and wrestling with the troubles created by the two parts of the company, elected to concentrate on the Peet’s operation. As he recalls, â€Å"My wife and I had a 30-second conversation and decided to keep Peet’s. It was the original and it was better. â€Å"7 Schultz knew immediately that he had to buy Starbucks; his board of directors agreed. Schultz and his newly hired finance and accounting manager drew up a set of financial projections for the combined operations and a financing package that included a stock offering to Il Giornale’s original investors and a line of credit with local banks. While a rival plan to acquire Starbucks was put together by another Il Giornale investor, Schultz’s proposal prevailed and within weeks Schultz had raised the $3. 8 million needed to buy Starbucks. The acquisition was completed in August 1987. After the papers were signed, Schultz and Scott Greenberg walked across the street to the first Il Giornale store, ordered themselves espresso drinks, and sat at a table near the window. Greenberg placed the hundred-page business plan that had been used to raise the $3. 8 million between them and lifted his cup in a toast—†We did it,† they said together. 8 The new name of the combined companies was Starbucks Starbucks as a Private Company: 1987–92. The following Monday morning, Schultz returned to the Starbucks offices at the roasting plant, greeted all the familiar faces and accepted their congratulations, then called the staff together for a meeting on the roasting-plant floor. He began: All my life I have wanted to be part of a company and a group of people who share a common vision . . . I’m here today because I love this company. I love what it represents . . . I know you’re concerned . . . I promise you I will not let you down. I promise you I will not leave anyone behind . . . In five years, I want you to look back at this day and say â€Å"I was there when it started. I helped build this company into something great. â€Å"9 Schultz told the group that his vision was for Starbucks to become a national company with values and guiding principles that employees could be proud of. He indicated that he wanted to include people in the decision-making process and that he would be open and honest with them. Schultz said he believed it was essential, not just an intriguing option, for a company to respect its people, to inspire them, and to share the fruits of its success with those who contributed to its long-term value. His aspiration was for Starbucks to become the most respected brand name in coffee and for the company to be admired for its corporate responsibility. In the next few days and weeks, however, Schultz came to see that the unity and morale at Starbucks had deteriorated badly in the 20 months he had been at Il Giornale. Some employees were cynical and felt unappreciated. There was a feeling that prior management had abandoned them and a wariness about what the new regime would bring. Schultz determined that he would have to make it a priority to build a new relationship of mutual respect between employees and management. The new Starbucks had a total of nine stores. The business plan Schultz had presented investors called for the new company to open 125 stores in the next five years—15 the first year, 20 the second, 25 the third, 30 the fourth, and 35 the fifth. Revenues were projected to reach $60 million in 1992. But the company lacked experienced management. Schultz had never led a growth effort of such magnitude and was just learning what the job of CEO was all about, having been the president of a small company for barely two years. Dave Olsen had run a single cafe for 11 years and was just learning to manage a multistore operation. Ron Lawrence, the company’s controller, had worked as a controller for several organizations. Other Starbucks employees had only the experience of managing or being a part of a six-store organization. When Starbucks’ key roaster and coffee buyer resigned, Schultz put Dave Olsen in charge of buying and roasting coffee. Lawrence Maltz, who had 20 years of experience in business and eight years of experience as president of a profitable public beverage company, was hired as executive vice president and charged with heading operations, finance, and human resources. In the next several months, a number of changes were instituted. To symbolize the merging of the two companies and the two cultures, a new logo was created that melded the Starbucks and Il Giornale logos. The Starbucks stores were equipped with espresso machines and remodeled to look more Italian than Old World nautical. The traditional Starbucks brown was replaced by Il Giornale green. The result was a new type of store—a cross between a retail coffee-bean store and an espresso bar/cafe—that became Starbucks’ signature format in the 1990s. By December 1987, employees at Starbucks had begun buying into the changes Schultz was making and trust had begun to build between management and employees. New stores were on the verge of opening in Vancouver and Chicago. One Starbucks store employee, Daryl Moore, who had voted against unionization in 1985, began to question his fellow employees about the need for a union. Over the next few weeks, Moore began a move to decertify the union. He carried a decertification letter around to Starbucks stores and secured the signatures of employees who no longer wished to be represented by the union. After getting a majority of store employees to sign the letter, he presented it to the National Labor Relations Board and the union representing store employees was decertified. Later, in 1992, the union representing Starbucks’ roasting plant and warehouse employees was also decertified. Expansion into Markets Outside the Pacific Northwest Starbucks’ entry into Chicago proved far more troublesome than management anticipated. The first Chicago store opened October 27, 1987, the same day the stock market crashed. Three more stores were opened in Chicago over the next six months, but customer counts were substantially below expectations—Chicagoans didn’t take to dark-roasted coffee as fast as Schultz had anticipated. At the first downtown store, for example, which opened onto the street rather than into the lobby of the building where it was located, customers were hesitant to go out in the wind and cold to get a cup of coffee in the winter months. Store margins were squeezed for a number of reasons: It was expensive to supply fresh coffee to the Chicago stores out of the Seattle warehouse, and both rents and wage rates were higher in Chicago than in Seattle. Gradually, customer counts improved, but Starbucks lost money on its Chicago stores until 1990, when prices were raised to reflect higher rents and labor costs, more experienced store manag.

Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of financial derivatives used by small companies and make suggestions for small companies to better take advantage of financial derivatives. The WritePass Journal

Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of financial derivatives used by small companies and make suggestions for small companies to better take advantage of financial derivatives. Introduction Analyze the advantages and disadvantages of financial derivatives used by small companies and make suggestions for small companies to better take advantage of financial derivatives. IntroductionAdvantagesDisadvantagesSuggestionConclusionReference:Related Introduction In the present-day society, with the development of globalization, small companies are struggling to survive in a severe environment. Not only do they have to compete with large companies, but also are affected by the impact of fluctuating economic climates. Under this environment, they have no choice but to seize every chance to increase profits. A feasible method is by using financial derivatives. These financial instruments, which are linked to a specific indicator, commodity or other financial instruments, can receive great rewards with only a small amount of investment.   This essay first discusses four main financial derivatives: forwards, futures, options and swaps. Then analyze the pros and cons of financial derivative usage by small companies. Finally, suggestions are made for small companies to better take advantage of financial derivatives. Definition of small business â€Å"A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships or sole proprietor ships. â€Å" In this article, the four main group of financial derivatives discussed are forward, futures, options and swaps. They are basically business contracts made either in the financial market or individually negotiated between parties. Forwards and Futures obligate one of the parties to buy and another to sell a specific asset at a specific price on a specific date, Options give one party the right of selling or buying, not the obligation. Meanwhile, Swaps have obligations and rights set to exchange one security for another to alternate quality of issue, or investment objectives. In the research of (Kosik and Pontiff 2004)[3], among all the categories of derivatives, foreign exchange derivatives, interest rate derivatives and commodity price derivatives are the most frequently used derivative instruments by small firms. Advantages To start with, the most noticeable advantages for small companies of using financial derivatives are in the financial area. This includes predicting a future price trend, stabilizing costs and maximizing sales profits. When the company is concerned about the derivative market, the price of futures and options and commodity price derivatives can easily help it to predict the future price trend of its raw materials. Thus wise decisions on making instant large purchases or future purchases could be made. If the predictions prove correct, unnecessary expense on raw materials can be avoided. Another way small companies could take advantages is to stabilize their purchase costs. If the company enters into a commodity price forward contract, it could possibly stabilize its purchase costs. Since engaged in these derivative contracts, the company has accepted to buy a certain commodity at a special price, thus the purchase cost is fixed in contractual format. Or it could use foreign currency forwards and options to minimize the impact of exchange rate fluctuation in the same way. (Bodnar and Marston, 1988).[4] A third area a small company could benefit from utilizing financial derivates is to maximize its profits. A foreign currency forward or option contract with its distributors, the company is able to sell its products with fixed sales income in domestic currency. As a result, no more price or exchange rate fluctuation could influence the company’s sale revenue. There are three other advantages caused by derivative instruments. These are: increasing business reputation, expanding the company to enter the finance industry, and training the management team to handle more complex finance problems. There is a further explanation that derivative instruments can increase business reputation. When a company fulfills all the obligations and duties that the derivative contract included, distributors may think it a creditable partner and shareholders may give more credi t to their invested entity as well. The second advantage is that a small company can gain opportunities to enter the high level of financial markets for its frequently participation in the derivative market. It is beneficial for the future development of the company. Through earning large quantities of short-term return, the firm’s volume could be increased and expansion into the financial markets could be realized (Gay and Nam, 1998).[5] Finally, the management team of a small enterprise could get plenty of experience in dealing with these advanced financial instruments. This could train them for better understanding of the whole economic trend, so they are better prepared for future financial work, benefiting the company in a fundamental way. Disadvantages Aside from all the possible advantages financial derivatives can bring for small companies, there are also corresponding disadvantages. Just as proper managing can cut down on material costs and maximize sales figures and profits, if used inappropriately, derivative instruments may result in huge losses or even bankruptcy for small companies. The most recognized disadvantage that financial derivatives could bring about is financial difficulty. In this situation, it is hard to professionally handle the derivatives instruments, the consequences would be terrible. One appropriate example to illustrate the huge financial losses caused by derivative use is that five to six small firms in India have engaged in a lawsuit with private-sector banks with some improper handling of the derivative product, causing ten million losses on derivative instruments.[6] In the second place, if the prediction is incorrect, a commodity price or foreign exchange future or forward contract will raise the purchase costs for small firms, for that this kind of derivatives sets the future amount due fixed whatever the future prices or exchange rate would be. In a similar situation, when arrangement is improper, interest rate derivatives will cause fund costs to rise. That is because the interest rate derivatives have set a limit to the funding costs. As a consequence, when the interest rate descends, funding costs are increased, leading to financial trouble for the small enterprise. There have some other disadvantages come in other area except for finance. When company failure on derivative markets, shareholders, creditors and other relevant parties tend to be lose their confidence in the company’s performance, therefore, it will face a much worse financial position. Shareholders may start to sell their stocks, and creditors may ask for early repayment of credit. Under these circumstances, the reputation of company may be seriously damaged. Another drawback is the management team of the company may feel frustrated about their poor operation on derivative instruments, thus losing morale for attempting another innovative financial instrument, which could possibly put the enterprise into a more difficult situation. Suggestion After analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of derivative instruments which are used for small enterprises, some suggestions for making full use of these instruments can be made. Taking two fundamental factors into consideration, they are the size of firm and the special characteristics. Forwards, futures and options are recommended for frequent use, whereas swaps should be carefully used. When investing in these financial instruments the level of risk involved the selection of the type of derivatives. Conclusion To sum up, from comparing the advantages and disadvantages of derivative investments, it clearly can be seen that certain type of derivatives, such as forwards and futures, when used properly can bring visible benefits for small firms. On the other hand, when inappropriately used, derivative instrument may result in huge losses and even bankruptcy. Thus, the conclusion is that small companies can take many advantages of financial derivatives as long as they pay sufficient attention to their investments.    Reference: 1. The International Monetary Fund.(2008) Financial Derivatives. Available from: imf.org/external/np/sta/fd/index.htm [Accessed on September 09, 2010] 2. Small business .Available from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Small_business [Accessed on September 09,2010] 3. Koski, J. and Pontiff, J. (2004).Wiley Interscience. How are derivatives used.Availablefrom:http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119065624/abstract?CRETRY=1SRETRY=0. [Accessed on September 10, 2010] 4. Bodnar, G. and Marston, R. (1998). The Wireless Center for International Financial Research.1998 Survey of financial risk management by U.S. non-financial firms. Available from: http://finance.wharton.upenn.edu/weiss/survey98.pdf   [Accessed on September 09,2010] 5.Gay, G. and Nam, J. (1998). The underinvestment problem and corporate derivatives use. Financial Management 27(4):53-55 6. Reuters India. India Axis Bk: clients’ notional derivative loss $169mln. http://uk.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUKBOM14592320080421.[Accessed on September 09, 2010] 7. Pennings, J. and Garcia, P. (2004). Hedging behavior in small and medium-sized enterprises: The role of unobserved heterogeneity. Journal of Banking Finance 28: 951-978.

African American Inventors - Patent Holders Index P

African American Inventors - Patent Holders Index P Black history inventors are listed alphabetically: use the A to Z index bar to navigate and select or just browse the many listings. Each listing has the name of the black inventor followed by the patent number(s) which is the unique number assigned to an invention when a patent is issued, the date the patent was issued, and a description of the invention as written by the inventor. If available, links are provided to in-depth articles, biographies, illustrations and photos on each individual inventor or patent. How to submit to the database. O Pace to Pickett, Pinn to Purvis Q Harold Pace #5712899, 1/27/1998, Mobile location reporting apparatus and methods Lionel F Page #2,170,032, 8/22/1939, Auxiliary circulating device for automobile heaters Alice H Parker #1,325,905, 12/23/1919, Heating furnace John Percial Parker #304,552, 9/2/1884, Follower-screw for tobacco presses#318,285, 5/19/1885, Portable screw-press James A Parsons Jr. #1,728,360, 9/17/1929, Iron alloy#1,819,479, 8/13/1931, Method of making silicon iron compounds#1,972,103, 9/4/1934, Process for treating silicon alloy castings#2,200,208, 5/7/1940, Corrosion-resisting ferrous alloy Moses Payne #394,388, 12/11/1888, Horseshoe Robert A Pelham #807,685, 12/19/1905, Pasting device#NA, 1913, Tallying machine John Perry Jr. #3,284,239, 11/8/1966, Biochemical fuel cell (co-inventor Herbert F Hunger) Frank R Perryman #468,038, 2/2/1892, Caterers tray table Charles A Peterson #3,391,903, 7/9/1968, Power generating apparatus Henry Peterson #402,189, 2/30/1889, Attachment for lawn mowers William Henry Phelps #579,242, 3/23/1897, Apparatus for washing vehicles Anthony Phills #5,136,787, 10/3/1991, Ruler template for computer keyboard John F Pickering #643,975, 2/20/1900, Air ship Henry Pickett #152,511, 7/30/1874, Improvement in scaffolds O Pace to Pickett, Pinn to Purvis, Q Traverse B Pinn #231,355, 8/17/1880, File holder William D Polite #1,218,458, 3/6/1917, Gun Austin J Polk #558,103, 4/14/1896, Bicycle support Jessie T Pope #2,409,791, 10/22/1946, Croquignole iron James Hall Porter #3,534,528, 10/20/1970, Gas well sulfur removal by diffusion through polymeric membranes Alfred G B Prather #3,715,011, 2/6/1973, Gravity escape means Frank Rodger Prince #3,637,743, 1/25/1972, Production of 2-pyrrolidones Abraham Pugsley #433,306, 7/29/1890, Blind stop#433,819, 8/5/1890, Shutter worker Samuel Pugsley #357,787, 2/15/1887, Gate latch John E Purdy #405,117, 6/11/1889, Folding chair, (co-inventor Daniel A. Sadgwar) #570,337, 10/27/1896, Device for sharpening edged tools#609,367, 8/16/1898, Device for sharpening edged tools#630,106, 8/1/1899, Device for sharpening edged tools William H Purdy #D 24,228, 4/23/1895, Spoon design (co-inventor Leonard C. Peters) Willam B Purvis #256,856, 4/25/1882, Fastener for bag#273,149, 2/27/1883, Hand stamp#293,353, 2/12/1884, Paper bag machine#419,065, 1/7/1890, Fountain pen#420,099, 1/28/1890, Paper bag machine#519,291, 5/1/1894, Electric railway#539,542, 5/21/1895, Magnetic car balancing device#588,176, 8/17/1897, Electrical railway system Continue black history database Q

Business week 7 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Business week 7 - Essay Example The role of the delivery can be judged by the fact that failing to deliver the presentation correctly can ruin the overall presentation though the subject matter may be excellent. Delivery styles and their importance is highlighted before the presenter even starts making a presentation and the delivery style needs to be decided in advance. Adaptation to the audience is one of the major aspects that need to be kept in view while delivering an informative presentation. The general idea is to keep the audience attentive towards the presentation. In any case adapting to the audience helps a lot in many ways. The idea that the audience is not interested in what you are saying is quiet correct hence to develop their interest, the presentation should include subject that might be of interest for the audience. This can be achieved with different methods and the starting point is to adapt to the audience. The three categories of adaptation include; The knowledge level of the audience has to be acknowledged by the presenter and than alter the course of his or her presentation. Usually the presenter knows how well informed is the audience about the subject he or she would be talking about hence terms and sentences or the subject matter should be set accordingly. The presenter can only analyze how interested the audience is in what he or she is discussing while the person is presenting, hence the most important aspect while presenting is the interest of the audience. The presenter than needs to include material or activities that might improve the interest level of the audience. The level of acceptance is generally known before the presenter starts his or her presentation according to the topic. The acceptance level basically is the attitude of the audience towards the topic that is being discussed. This needs to kept in mind even before the presentation is being prepared and