A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Profitability Analysis

ISSUES IN ACCOUNTING EDUCATION Vol. 26, No. 1 2011 pp. 181–200 American Accounting Association DOI: 10. 2308/iace. 2011. 26. 1. 181 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Continental Airlines Francisco J. Roman ABSTRACT: This case exposes students to the application of regression analyses to be used as a tool pursuant to understanding cost behavior and forecasting future costs using publicly available data from Continental Airlines. Speci? cally, the case focuses on the harsh ? nancial situation faced by Continental as a result of the recent ? ancial crisis and the challenges it faces to remain pro? table. It then highlights the importance of reducing and controlling costs as a viable strategy to restore pro? tability and how regression analysis can assist in this pursuit. Students are next presented with quarterly data for various categories of costs and several potential cost drivers, which they must use to perform regressions on operating costs using a variety of cost drivers. They must then use their regression results to forecast operating costs and conduct a pro? tability analysis to project quarterly pro? ts for the upcoming ? scal year.Finally, students must summarize the main results of their analysis in a memorandum addressed to Continental’s management, providing recommendations to restore pro? ts. In particular, the concept of mixed cost functions is reinforced, as is the understanding of the steps required to perform regression analysis in Excel, interpreting the regression output, and the underlying standard assumptions in regression analysis. The case has been tested and well received in an intermediate cost accounting course and it is suitable for both undergraduate and graduate students. Keywords: cost estimation; pro? ability analysis; cost behavior; regression analyses; cost functions. Data Availability: All data are from public sources and are available in hard copy inside the case. Data are also availabl e in electronic form by the author upon request. INTRODUCTION n 2008, the senior management team at Continental Airlines, commanded by Lawrence Kellner, the Chairman and Chief Executive Of? cer, convened a special meeting to discuss the ? rm’s latest quarterly ? nancial results. A bleak situation lay before them. Continental had incurred an operating loss of $71 million dollars—its second consecutive quarterly earnings de-I Francisco J. Roman is an Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University. I thank Kent St. Pierre editor , Michael Costa, and two anonymous referees for their suggestions on previous versions of the case. Editor’s note: Accepted by Kent St. Pierre Published Online: February 2011 181 182 Roman cline that year. Likewise, passenger volume was signi? cantly down, dropping by nearly 5 percent from the prior year’s quarter. Continental’s senior management needed to act swiftly to reverse this trend and return to pro? tability. Being the fourth largest airline in the U.S. and eighth largest in the world, Continental was perceived as one of the most ef? ciently run companies in the airline industry. Nonetheless, 2008 brought unprecedented challenges for Continental and the entire industry as the United States and much of the world was heading into a severe economic recession. Companies cutting deeply into their budgets for business travel, the highest yielding component of Continental’s total revenue, together with a similar downward trend from the leisure and casual sector, combined to sharply reduce total revenue.Concurrent with this revenue decline, the price of jet fuel soared to record levels during 2008. 1 Thus, while revenue was decreasing, Continental was paying almost twice as much in fuel costs. Interestingly, fuel costs surpassed the ? rm’s salaries and wages as the highest cost in Continental’s cost structure. This obviously had a negative impact on the bottom line, squeezing even fur ther the already strained pro? t margins. The outlook for a quick recovery in the U. S. economy and, consequently, an upturn in the demand for air travel in the short term did not seem likely.Continental’s internal forecasts indicated that a further decline in passenger volume should be anticipated throughout 2009, with a recovery in travel possibly occurring by the middle of 2010. To summarize, adverse economic conditions in the U. S. , coupled with the rise in fuel costs, were dragging down Continental’s pro? ts and relief was unlikely through the foreseeable future. THE DECISION TO REDUCE FLYING CAPACITY AND THE IMPACT ON OPERATING COSTS Given the situation described above, management needed to act swiftly to restore pro? tability. Several strategic options were evaluated.Since the U. S. and much of the world was facing a severe recession, the prospect for growing revenues by either raising airfares or passenger volume seemed futile. Contrary to raising revenue, Con tinental’s managers believed that raising fares could potentially erode future revenues beyond the present level. Discounting fares did not seem a plausible solution either, because given the severity of the economic situation a fare cut could fall short in stimulating additional passenger demand and lead to lowering revenues. Thus, because management anticipated that revenues would remain ? t for most of the year, the only viable short-term solution to restoring pro? ts was a substantial and swift reduction in operating costs. This could most effectively be accomplished in two ways. First, through a reduction in ? ying capacity adjusted to match projected passenger demand. With this in mind, Continental’s management agreed to reduce ? ying capacity by 11 percent on domestic and international routes. 2 As a result of this action, Continental would eliminate the least pro? table or unpro? table ? ights and, accordingly, would ground several planes in the ? eet.Managemen t anticipated that this decision would reduce several of the ? rm’s operating costs. Apart from this, Continental could achieve further reductions in costs by implementing several cost-cutting initiatives and through operational ef? ciencies. For example, management pro- 1 2 To illustrate, jet fuel is tied to the price of oil and, over the past year, oil prices surged from about $70 to $135 per barrel. Consequently, the price of jet fuel increased markedly, from an average of $1. 77 per gallon to $4. 20 by the mid-summer of 2008. Speci? cally, on June 13, 2008, Continental Airlines announced that it planned to reduce its ? ght capacity by 11 percent. By shrinking capacity, Continental expected to reduce the number of domestic and international ? ights from its three major hubs in Houston, Cleveland, and Newark Maynard 2008 . Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Conti nental Airlines 183 jected that it could achieve reductions in Passenger Services expenses by consolidating several tasks during passenger check-in and by reducing food and beverage waste served during ? ights. Additionally, the ? m could reduce various miscellaneous expenses through targeted cuts in discretionary spending. In sum, to close the gap in pro? tability, Continental’s strategy was geared toward slashing operating costs by cutting capacity and through aggressive identi? cation and implementation of cost-cutting initiatives. The next step would be for management to know precisely how their decision to downsize capacity would impact the ? rm’s future operating costs, and also identify speci? c areas in which the ? rm could achieve additional cost reductions. Additionally, the cost analysis would help forecast the ? m’s operating costs and projected pro? ts or losses for the upcoming ? scal year. However, before we can proceed with such analysis, an exam ination of how the various categories of Continental’s costs behave is in order. Before we begin, let us prepare with an overview of the airline industry and its competitive landscape, and an understanding of why cost behavior bears particular relevance in this case. Relative to other industries, airlines are a very dif? cult business to manage. In particular, they are exposed to tremendous risks brought by volatility inherent in their business model, as they deal with high ? ed costs, labor unions, instability in fuel prices, weather and natural disasters, passenger safety, and security regulations. These aspects bring a large burden to airlines’ cost structures. Moreover, competition within the industry is ? erce; the proliferation of discount carriers, such as Southwest Airlines and, most recently, Jet Blue, and the end of fare regulation in 1978, has hindered airlines’ pricing power and their ability to spur revenues. For these reasons, cost containment is a critically important aspect of pro? tability in this industry.In order for Continental to restore pro? tability in this harsh environment of weak demand for air travel, it must be able to contain its operating costs, especially its massive ? xed costs, which are visible in several ways. For example, salaries for pilots, ? ight attendants, and mechanics, as well as aircraft leasing costs, are typically ? xed, varying little with shifts in passenger volume. Because ? xed costs typically embody the amount of operating capacity of a ? rm, they are commonly referred as â€Å"capacity† costs. Since ? xed costs do not self-adjust to ? ctuations in passenger volume, the only way in which they can be decreased or increased is if management adjusts them in accordance to the level of operating capacity. In contrast, other costs, such as passenger services and reservation and distribution costs, behave as variable and would self-adjust with variations in volume or operating activity. He nce, to assess the impact of this strategic decision to alter Continental’s cost structure, and identify the areas that could achieve the greatest reduction in costs, we must resolve how Continental’s operating costs behave and what drives them.In what follows, we learn how to apply regression analyses to examine cost behavior and forecast future costs, and then use that knowledge to assess how the reduction in ? ying capacity would affect Continental’s operating costs and pro? tability in the near term. ESTIMATING COSTS USING REGRESSION ANALYSES The previous discussion highlighted the importance of examining the behavior of Continental’s operating costs to pave the way for a cost and pro? tability analysis using regression analysis. Regression analysis is a powerful statistical tool that is frequently used by ? ms to examine cost behavior and predict future costs. The idea behind regression analysis is straightforward: historical data for costs, and the various activities that could potentially drive operating costs, are inserted into a mathematical calculation which yields the average amount of change in that particular cost that has occurred over time. Average values provided by regression calculations may then be applied to estimate future change that will occur in that cost given a one-unit change in one or Issues in Accounting Education Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Association 184 Roman ore of the business activities which drive that cost. 3 More precisely, in a regression model, cost is a function of one or more business activities or factors underlying a business operation. Simply put, the business activities are the drivers of operating costs. Therefore, since activities drive costs, our ? rst step in the estimation of a cost function is to identify the underlying activities or other potential factors that drive the cost in question—the cost drivers. This requires extensive knowledge of the business ope ration. In the case of Continental Airlines, the potential drivers of operating costs vary greatly.For instance, as previously noted, the number of passengers that Continental ? ies may drive the costs related to Passenger Services. Likewise, Aircraft Maintenance and Repairs costs could be driven by the number of aircraft in the ? eet and by the level of ? ying capacity set by Continental i. e. , available seat miles . In synthesis, to predict how Continental’s operating costs would be affected by the decision to reduce capacity, and to identify those areas in which additional room is available for cost cutting, we need to identify which costs in this ? rm’s cost structure behave as variable, ? ed, or mixed in which elements of both variable and ? xed are observable . Equally important, we should also identify the speci? c drivers if any of each cost. Your job is to assist management in their quest to restore pro? tability at Continental Airlines. Speci? cally, you mus t conduct regression analyses to examine cost behavior and then use this information to forecast operating costs and pro? tability for the upcoming year. As part of your cost analysis, you should investigate how the decision to cut ? ying capacity would impact the ? rm’s future operating costs and, equally important, identify those speci? expense categories or operating areas in which this ? rm could attain additional costs saving by implementing cost-cutting initiatives. Your conclusions should be outlined in a memorandum directed to Continental’s Executive management team. You are provided next with a description of Continental’s operating costs and the potential drivers of costs so you can conduct regression analysis to estimate the corresponding cost functions. To help you in estimating the regressions, a comprehensive set of instructions for performing regression analysis using Microsoft Excel is provided in the Appendix.Immediately following the descriptio n of costs, a series of questions is provided that should help guide your analysis. Additionally, to help you estimate your regressions, Exhibit 1 presents past quarterly data for all of the above expenditures for the period of January 2000 through December 2008, while Exhibit 2 provides quarterly operations data for the same period of time. CONTINENTAL’S OPERATING COSTS AND POTENTIAL COST DRIVERS As shown in Exhibit 1, there are ten categories of operating costs.These include salaries and wages, aircraft fuel and related taxes, aircraft rentals, airport fees, aircraft maintenance and repairs, depreciation and amortization, distribution costs, passenger services, regional capacity purchases, and other expenses. Of these, some represent a single expense item. For example, the cost of aircraft rentals and airport fees together comprise a single cost item. Other costs represent cost pools comprising several cost items. Such is the case of passenger services and other expenses. T he following provides a detailed description of each cost, along with the potential cost drivers. 3 4 For ease in exposition, cost functions and regression analyses are discussed brie? y here. For further insight on cost functions and on the mechanics of regression analyses, I refer the reader to the Appendix. A cost driver represents a particular business activity, which usually tends to have a cause-and-effect relationship with a given cost. For example, for airlines, a typical cost driver for landing fees is the number of daily ? ights carried by the airline, as well as the number of passengers ? own. An increase decrease in the number of ? ights or passengers ? own would increase decrease landing fees.Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Continental Airlines 185 EXHIBIT 1 REVENUES AND OPERATING COSTS DATA Obs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Obs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Period 1Q-2000 2Q-2000 3Q-2000 4Q-2000 1Q-2001 2Q-2001 3Q-2001 4Q-2001 1Q-2002 2Q-2002 3Q-2002 4Q-2002 1Q-2003 2Q-2003 3Q-2003 4Q-2003 1Q-2004 2Q-2004 3Q-2004 4Q-2004 1Q-2005 2Q-2005 3Q-2005 4Q-2005 1Q-2006 2Q-2006 3Q-2006 4Q-2006 1Q-2007 2Q-2007 3Q-2007 4Q-2007 1Q-2008 2Q-2008 3Q-2008 Q-2008 Revenues Fuel Salaries and Wages Capacity Purchases Aircraft Rentals Landing Fees 2,277,000,000 334,000,000 672,000,000 — 206,000,000 2,571,000,000 313,000,000 719,000,000 — 210,000,000 2,622,000,000 354,000,000 748,000,000 — 215,000,000 2,429,000,000 392,000,000 736,000,000 — 213,000,000 2,451,000,000 345,000,000 758,000,000 — 214,000,000 2,556,000,000 349,000,000 800,000,000 — 223,000,000 2,223,000,000 322,000,000 779,000,000 — 230,000,000 1,739,000,000 213,000,000 684,000,000 — 236,000,000 1,993,000,000 208,000,000 732,000,000 — 228,000,000 2,192,000,000 254,000,000 746,000, 000 — 231,000,000 2,178,000,000 76,000,000 743,000,000 — 227,000,000 2,039,000,000 285,000,000 738,000,000 — 216,000,000 2,042,000,000 347,000,000 778,000,000 — 223,000,000 2,216,000,000 302,000,000 762,000,000 — 224,000,000 2,365,000,000 316,000,000 778,000,000 — 225,000,000 2,247,000,000 290,000,000 738,000,000 158,000,000 224,000,000 2,307,000,000 333,000,000 688,000,000 317,000,000 220,000,000 2,553,000,000 387,000,000 711,000,000 328,000,000 222,000,000 2,602,000,000 414,000,000 703,000,000 347,000,000 224,000,000 2,437,000,000 453,000,000 717,000,000 359,000,000 225,000,000 2,505,000,000 470,000,000 715,000,000 353,000,000 227,000,000 2,857,000,000 75,000,000 649,000,000 382,000,000 229,000,000 3,001,000,000 684,000,000 646,000,000 406,000,000 234,000,000 2,845,000,000 714,000,000 639,000,000 431,000,000 238,000,000 2,947,000,000 672,000,000 661,000,000 415,000,000 245,000,000 3,507,000,000 744,000,000 791,000,000 454,000,000 248,000,0 00 3,518,000,000 858,000,000 743,000,000 475,000,000 249,000,000 3,156,000,000 760,000,000 680,000,000 447,000,000 248,000,000 3,179,000,000 684,000,000 726,000,000 430,000,000 248,000,000 3,710,000,000 842,000,000 821,000,000 444,000,000 248,000,000 3,820,000,000 895,000,000 836,000,000 446,000,000 249,000,000 3,523,000,000 33,000,000 744,000,000 473,000,000 249,000,000 3,570,000,000 1,048,000,000 729,000,000 506,000,000 247,000,000 4,044,000,000 1,363,000,000 704,000,000 589,000,000 246,000,000 4,072,000,000 1,501,000,000 765,000,000 553,000,000 244,000,000 3,471,000,000 993,000,000 760,000,000 425,000,000 240,000,000 129,000,000 138,000,000 133,000,000 132,000,000 141,000,000 153,000,000 139,000,000 148,000,000 161,000,000 160,000,000 163,000,000 149,000,000 152,000,000 152,000,000 165,000,000 151,000,000 160,000,000 163,000,000 171,000,000 160,000,000 171,000,000 181,000,000 182,000,000 174,000,000 185,000,000 198,000,000 195,000,000 86,000,000 193,000,000 190,000,000 209,000,00 0 198,000,000 207,000,000 210,000,000 225,000,000 210,000,000 Period Distribution Costs Aircraft Maintenance Depreciation Passenger Services Other Expenses 1Q-2000 2Q-2000 3Q-2000 4Q-2000 1Q-2001 2Q-2001 248,000,000 261,000,000 255,000,000 217,000,000 243,000,000 230,000,000 159,000,000 171,000,000 167,000,000 149,000,000 160,000,000 162,000,000 95,000,000 98,000,000 102,000,000 107,000,000 105,000,000 111,000,000 85,000,000 91,000,000 97,000,000 89,000,000 91,000,000 96,000,000 286,000,000 284,000,000 288,000,000 277,000,000 318,000,000 295,000,000 (continued on next page)Issues in Accounting Education Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Association 186 Obs. 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Obs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Roman Period Distribution Costs Aircraft Maintenance Depreciation Passenger Services Other Expenses 3Q-2001 4Q-2001 1Q-2002 2Q-2002 3Q-2002 4Q-2002 1Q-2003 2Q-2003 3Q-2003 4Q-2003 1Q-2004 2Q-2004 3 Q-2004 4Q-2004 1Q-2005 2Q-2005 3Q-2005 4Q-2005 1Q-2006 2Q-2006 3Q-2006 4Q-2006 1Q-2007 2Q-2007 3Q-2007 4Q-2007 1Q-2008 2Q-2008 3Q-2008 4Q-2008 194,000,000 142,000,000 172,000,000 158,000,000 138,000,000 124,000,000 27,000,000 138,000,000 131,000,000 135,000,000 137,000,000 140,000,000 139,000,000 136,000,000 138,000,000 154,000,000 154,000,000 142,000,000 160,000,000 178,000,000 157,000,000 155,000,000 161,000,000 176,000,000 171,000,000 174,000,000 182,000,000 194,000,000 182,000,000 159,000,000 142,000,000 104,000,000 114,000,000 119,000,000 119,000,000 124,000,000 133,000,000 126,000,000 135,000,000 115,000,000 112,000,000 102,000,000 107,000,000 93,000,000 112,000,000 106,000,000 116,000,000 121,000,000 127,000,000 140,000,000 140,000,000 140,000,000 144,000,000 169,000,000 166,000,000 142,000,000 159,000,000 167,000,000 52,000,000 135,000,000 120,000,000 131,000,000 106,000,000 112,000,000 112,000,000 114,000,000 116,000,000 110,000,000 110,000,000 108,000,000 104,000,000 105,0 00,000 104,000,000 102,000,000 99,000,000 98,000,000 97,000,000 95,000,000 96,000,000 97,000,000 99,000,000 99,000,000 99,000,000 101,000,000 106,000,000 107,000,000 106,000,000 108,000,000 112,000,000 111,000,000 89,000,000 71,000,000 77,000,000 73,000,000 78,000,000 68,000,000 70,000,000 73,000,000 81,000,000 73,000,000 69,000,000 76,000,000 84,000,000 77,000,000 77,000,000 84,000,000 91,000,000 80,000,000 82,000,000 90,000,000 97,000,000 87,000,000 90,000,000 9,000,000 105,000,000 95,000,000 96,000,000 107,000,000 113,000,000 91,000,000 121,000,000 166,000,000 382,000,000 454,000,000 276,000,000 277,000,000 320,000,000 91,000,000 250,000,000 455,000,000 304,000,000 279,000,000 287,000,000 278,000,000 316,000,000 280,000,000 282,000,000 305,000,000 293,000,000 323,000,000 313,000,000 333,000,000 340,000,000 357,000,000 357,000,000 328,000,000 356,000,000 427,000,000 461,000,000 372,000,000 Period Total Aircraft 1Q-2000 2Q-2000 3Q-2000 4Q-2000 1Q-2001 2Q-2001 3Q-2001 4Q-2001 1Q-200 2 2Q-2002 3Q-2002 4Q-2002 1Q-2003 2Q-2003 514 522 535 522 548 557 501 522 538 570 570 554 562 70 OPERATIONS AND COST DRIVER DATA Leased Aircraft Flights Passengers Available Seat Miles 403 410 414 398 406 416 377 393 400 404 401 410 419 428 98,820 97,871 97,967 98,378 98,590 99,018 98,564 81,109 81,883 82,815 81,737 78,809 75,178 75,617 11,201,000 12,084,000 12,155,000 11,456,000 11,220,000 12,256,000 11,254,000 9,508,000 12,062,000 13,099,000 13,006,000 12,874,000 11,518,000 13,044,000 20,951,000,000 21,384,000,000 22,356,000,000 21,409,000,000 21,459,000,000 22,813,000,000 21,994,000,000 18,219,000,000 20,375,000,000 22,286,000,000 22,626,000,000 21,054,000,000 20,843,000,000 21,241,000,000 Available SeatMiles Regional — — — — — — — — — — — — 1,767,000,000 2,073,000,000 (continued on next page) Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cos t Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Continental Airlines Obs. 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Obs. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Period Total Aircraft 3Q-2003 4Q-2003 1Q-2004 2Q-2004 3Q-2004 4Q-2004 1Q-2005 2Q-2005 3Q-2005 4Q-2005 1Q-2006 2Q-2006 3Q-2006 4Q-2006 1Q-2007 2Q-2007 3Q-2007 4Q-2007 1Q-2008 2Q-2008 3Q-2008 4Q-2008 187 OPERATIONS AND COST DRIVER DATALeased Aircraft Flights Passengers Available Seat Miles 570 579 586 587 592 594 598 604 611 622 630 634 648 648 630 625 631 628 641 630 653 632 428 434 437 440 445 448 453 459 466 477 483 484 482 480 446 418 415 415 414 390 412 397 76,297 75,650 74,859 75,816 74,211 74,443 71,494 74,651 74,630 75,886 74,962 77,729 77,468 79,030 78,601 82,582 81,118 80,850 76,719 76,096 78,599 76,000 Available Seat Miles Regional 13,727,000 13,769,000 12,810,000 14,558,000 14,862,000 14,252,000 14,122,000 15,540,000 15,905,000 15,448,000 15,594,000 17,596,000 17,328,000 16,601,0 00 16,176,000 18,120,000 17,901,000 16,733,000 16,440,000 7,108,000 17,962,000 15,183,000 22,819,000,000 21,907,000,000 22,670,000,000 24,150,000,000 24,674,000,000 23,588,000,000 23,585,000,000 25,482,000,000 26,833,000,000 25,720,000,000 26,117,000,000 28,259,000,000 29,262,000,000 27,280,000,000 27,250,000,000 29,592,000,000 30,346,000,000 28,550,000,000 28,376,000,000 30,304,000,000 30,383,000,000 26,448,000,000 1,605,000,000 2,980,000,000 2,400,000,000 2,603,000,000 1,999,000,000 3,408,000,000 2,740,000,000 3,026,000,000 3,112,000,000 3,095,000,000 3,082,000,000 3,374,000,000 3,503,000,000 3,292,000,000 3,126,000,000 3,177,000,000 3,193,000,000 3,104,000,000 3,098,000,000 ,450,000,000 3,390,000,000 3,046,000,000 Period Passenger Miles Flown Employees Fuel Price Fuel Consumed 1Q-2000 2Q-2000 3Q-2000 4Q-2000 1Q-2001 2Q-2001 3Q-2001 4Q-2001 1Q-2002 2Q-2002 3Q-2002 4Q-2002 1Q-2003 2Q-2003 3Q-2003 4Q-2003 1Q-2004 2Q-2004 3Q-2004 4Q-2004 1Q-2005 2Q-2005 15,005,000,000 16,491,000,000 17,325,000,000 15,340,000,000 15,114,000,000 17,053,000,000 16,206,000,000 12,767,000,000 14,867,000,000 16,489,000,000 16,960,000,000 17,252,000,000 14,352,000,000 16,129,000,000 18,041,000,000 16,412,000,000 16,255,000,000 18,735,000,000 19,922,000,000 18,239,000,000 18,112,000,000 20,292,000,000 45,000 45,500 46,000 5,944 38,396 39,000 39,500 39,461 40,229 41,011 41,809 40,244 38,960 39,000 39,500 39,000 38,240 37,496 36,766 38,255 41,831 45,742 $0. 829 $0. 797 $0. 865 $0. 885 $0. 856 $0. 815 $0. 824 $0. 826 $0. 644 $0. 723 $0. 760 $0. 740 $1. 029 $0. 881 $0. 857 $0. 872 $1. 041 $1. 787 $1. 199 $1. 190 $1. 453 $1. 670 377,000,000 386,000,000 398,000,000 372,000,000 369,000,000 391,000,000 373,000,000 369,000,000 308,000,000 332,000,000 340,000,000 316,000,000 305,000,000 308,000,000 330,000,000 314,000,000 320,000,000 347,000,000 345,000,000 321,000,000 324,000,000 344,000,000 (continued on next page) Issues in Accounting EducationVolume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Associ ation 188 Roman Period 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Passenger Miles Flown Employees Fuel Price Fuel Consumed 3Q-2005 4Q-2005 1Q-2006 2Q-2006 3Q-2006 4Q-2006 1Q-2007 2Q-2007 3Q-2007 4Q-2007 1Q-2008 2Q-2008 3Q-2008 4Q-2008 Obs. 21,762,000,000 20,033,000,000 20,336,000,000 23,367,000,000 24,042,000,000 21,772,000,000 21,450,000,000 24,623,000,000 25,422,000,000 22,670,000,000 22,280,000,000 24,836,000,000 24,746,000,000 20,825,000,000 50,018 42,200 42,600 43,450 41,500 38,033 41,800 43,300 41,400 39,640 43,000 40,100 43,500 42,490 $1. 880 $1. 776 $1. 904 $2. 10 $2. 215 $2. 064 $1. 895 $2. 079 $2. 206 $2. 499 $2. 797 $3. 856 $3. 450 $2. 925 364,000,000 344,000,000 347,000,000 375,000,000 387,000,000 362,000,000 361,000,000 395,000,000 406,000,000 380,000,000 375,000,000 389,000,000 395,000,000 339,000,000 EXHIBIT 2 PROJECTIONS OF REVENUES AND OPERATING ACTIVITY FOR YEAR 2009 Variable Revenues Available seat miles Available regional seat miles Number of passengers Number of planes Number leased planes Price of fuel per gallon Gallons of fuel consumed Quarter 1 Quarter 2 Quarter 3 Quarter 4 $2,962,000,000 26,323,000,000 2,971,000,000 14,408,000 634 398 $1. 82 403,000,000 2,767,000,000 28,007,000,000 3,044,000,000 16,348,000 617 394 $2. 07 430,000,000 $2,947,000,000 28,933,000,000 3,130,000,000 16,795,000 604 380 $1. 99 369,000,000 $2,462,000,000 26,291,000,000 3,002,000,000 15,258,000 601 379 $1. 98 479,000,000 All ? nancial and operational data represent quarterly data for the quarter beginning January 2000 Observation 1 through December 2008. Data have been compiled from Continental’s 8-K and10-K reports, submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission. De? nitions of Operations Variables: Available seat miles the number of seats available multiplied by the number of miles ? wn; Available regional seat miles available seat miles on regional routes; Number of passengers number of paying passengers ? own; Number of planes number of planes in the ? eet, including regional routes aircraft; Number of leased planes number of leased planes; Price of jet fuel average price per gallon of jet fuel in the respective quarter; and Gallons of fuel consumed number of gallons of fuel consumed in the respective quarter. Salaries and Wages This account represents costs related to salaries and wages, as well as fringe bene? ts, of Continental’s workers. These include salaries for pilots and wages for ? ght attendants and ground crew, as well as wages for Continental’s mechanics. Additionally, a signi? cant portion of this salary pool represents wages of reservation specialists, customer service representatives at airports, and the salaries for administrative and support personnel e. g. , ? ight schedulers, technology Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Continental Airlines 189 personnel, accountants, and division managers . A possible cost driver of salaries is the available seat miles. Aircraft Fuel and Related Taxes This represents the cost of jet fuel and related fuel taxes. Jet fuel cost tends to be driven by the current price of jet fuel and gallons of jet fuel consumed. Aircraft Rentals These are expenses for capital leases of aircraft. The main driver is the number of leased planes in Continental’s ? eet, including regional jets operated on behalf of Continental by four regional airlines under various capacity purchase agreements. Airport Fees Represents landing fees and passenger security fees paid to the various domestic and international airports where Continental ? ies.Landing fees are driven by the number of passengers. Aircraft Maintenance and Repairs These are expenses associated with the service and maintenance of planes. These include expenses related to scheduled maintenance, spare parts and materials, and airframe and engine overhauls. The main drivers of these cost s are the number of planes in the ? eet and the number of miles ? own. Depreciation and Amortization This represents depreciation and amortization expenses of aircraft, ground equipment, buildings, and other property. It must be emphasized that the largest portion of depreciation expense relates to the depreciation of aircraft.Although depreciation expenses are driven by the acquisition cost of Continental’s capital assets, depreciation is greatly in? uenced by both company policy and accounting principles, such as the depreciation method, that a ? rm adopts. Distribution Costs These expenses represent credit card discount fees, booking fees, and travel agency commissions, all of which are affected by passenger revenue. Therefore, the driver of these costs is total revenue. Passenger Services This is also a cost pool that includes expenses related to processing and servicing passengers prior to take-off, during ? ight, and after arrival at their destination.A signi? cant port ion of these costs is generated by Continental’s Field Services Division, the main function of which is to provide service to planes prior to take-off. Some of these expenses relate to checking in passengers, handling luggage on and off planes, cleaning planes, stocking planes with beverage and food, and refueling the aircraft prior to take-off. The potential cost driver of these costs is the number of passengers. Regional Capacity Purchases These are costs related to the purchase of regional routes served by several regional airlines on behalf of Continental ExpressJet, Chautauqua, CommutAir, and Cogan .These costs are 5 Available seat miles is calculated as the number of seats available for passengers multiplied by the number of scheduled miles those seats are ? own. Issues in Accounting Education Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Association 190 Roman driven by the combined ? ying capacity of the four airlines: available regional seat miles. Other Expenses This is a cost pool that comprises many ancillary and discretionary expenditures, including technology expenses, security and outside services, general supplies, and advertising and promotional expenses.Further, this cost pool contains various special charges for gains and losses from the sale of retired aircraft and costs of future leases. Given the large variety of miscellaneous items, there is no clear driver of these expenses; however, a large portion of them, such as advertising and promotional expenses, are driven by total revenue. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6 Using the quarterly data for operating costs and the various cost drivers of costs provided by Exhibits 1 and 2, estimate regression for cost category of costs.Then, write the appropriate cost function for each category of cost and then interpret your regression results. Based on your regression results, where do you see the largest reductions in costs if ? ying capacity is lowered by 11 percent? Also, in which areas d o you see opportunities to achieve further cost reductions and why? Exhibit 2 provides a quarterly forecast of revenues, jet fuel prices,6 and the projected operating activity for 2009. Using the information from your regressions and the forecast information provided in Exhibit 2, estimate Continental’s operating costs and expected pro? for the upcoming ? scal year. Based on the results of your pro? tability analysis, what can you say about the ? rm’s ? nancial outlook? Would Continental be earning an operating pro? t in 2009? If not, what should Continental’s management do to restore pro? tability in 2009? Summarize your conclusions in a memorandum addressed to Continental’s CEO. In the memo, you must clearly communicate your main ? ndings, emphasizing speci? c areas in which you see the greatest potential to achieve further reductions in costs and, based on your pro? tability analysis, sum up the ? nancial outlook for 2009.You should note that Continent al has entered into several future contracts to hedge the exposed risks of rising fuel prices. The projected costs for jet fuel on exhibit re? ects the value of the various future contracts which guarantee Continental a ? xed price for jet fuel at various maturity dates in 2009, as well the estimated gallons of fuel that Continental plans to use during the year. Issues in Accounting Education American Accounting Association Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 A Case Study on Cost Estimation and Pro? tability Analysis at Continental Airlines 191 CASE LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCECost estimation is a fundamental aspect of managerial/cost accounting Datar et al. 2008; Eldenburg and Wolcott 2005 . For example, cost estimation is critical for developing budgets, setting up cost standards, inventory valuation, product costing, and many other applications. Ultimately, ? rms’ ability to accurately predict production and operating costs has a profound impact on decision-making. A dditionally, given the frequency with which ? rms downsize or expand their operations in response to economic or market-wide conditions, knowing how this strategic decision of scaling output impacts ? ms’ future operating costs, and which tools can facilitate this task, has become increasingly relevant for ? rms. Nonetheless, despite its importance, cost estimation is a topic that merits further discussion in accounting textbooks. Although several managerial/cost accounting textbooks provide rich theoretical discussions of cost estimation, including cost behavior, cost functions, and, to some extent, regression analyses, the examples that are typically used to illustrate such an important concept often lack a sense of realism. Either ? titious data are commonly used in cost estimation, or the examples covered fail to capture realistic situations faced by ? rms in a â€Å"real world† context. Accordingly, this case aims to close this gap. The objective is to support stu dents in learning how to apply regression analyses to understand cost behavior and forecast future costs using real data from ? rms. The case focuses on the harsh ? nancial situation faced by Continental Airlines as a result of the recent ? nancial crisis and the challenges it faces to remain pro? table.It then highlights the importance of reducing and controlling costs as a viable strategy to restore pro? tability, and how regression analysis can assist in this pursuit. Students are next presented with quarterly data for various categories of costs and several potential cost drivers, which they must analyze and then perform regressions on operating costs using a variety of cost drivers. Based on these results, students have to examine how costs behave and then use the regression output to forecast the ? rm’s operating costs for year 2009. As part of the cost analysis, students must also identify speci? areas in which Continental could achieve the largest cost savings as a re sult of cutting capacity and implementing other cost-cutting measures. Apart from this, they must conduct a pro? tability analysis to project quarterly pro? ts for the upcoming ? scal year. The learning objectives of the case are as follows: 1. 2. 3. Students learn to conduct regression analysis in Excel and use this technique to study cost behavior and forecast future costs. Students also learn how to use actual ? rm-level data from public sources for estimating costs, and apply cost estimation in a â€Å"real world† context that involves a widespread decision among ? ms: downsizing capacity. Moreover, learning to use public ? nancial information in cost estimation could have implications that reach beyond accounting; learning to access public ? nancial information exposes students to the possibilities of applying regression analysis for business analysis in general, including cost and pro? tability analyses. The case requires students to synthesize their ? ndings in a memor andum addressed to Continental’s CEO; thus, students are also exposed to re? ning their writing skills in a business setting. Implementation GuidanceThis case is primarily designed for use in an intermediate managerial/cost accounting undergraduate class; however, it could also work well in a graduate-level managerial accounting course, at either the master’s level or M. B. A. Issues in Accounting Education Volume 26, No. 1, 2011 American Accounting Association 192 Roman The realistic nature of the setting everyone can easily identify with the business model of airlines makes a particularly appealing environment for students to learn how regression analyses can be applied in cost estimation in a real-world context.The questions presented in the case include both practical and theoretical questions. As an augmentation of the principles contained in the application of this case, instructors could enhance the student experience by devoting time to reviewing the concepts o f cost functions and cost estimation, as well as discussing the fundamentals of regression analyses, so students can be exposed to these concepts prior to receiving the case. Alternatively, students can review these concepts on their own.The Appendix provides a detailed explanation of cost functions and regression analysis and describes the steps to perform regression analysis in Excel. Additionally, it provides students with broad guidelines to write an effective memorandum. Student Feedback The case was administered to two sections of an upper-level intermediate undergraduate cost accounting class at a major U. S. university. Seventy-seven students responded to an evaluation survey to assess whether they improved their understanding of the concepts illustrated in the case, as well as to whether the case illustrated a â€Å"real world† application in predicting operating costs.As shown in Table 1, students agreed that the case enhanced their understanding of the use of regre ssion analyses in predicting future costs mean of 4. 17, based on a ? ve-point scale , the case encouraged them to think critically about the behavior of operating costs in a â€Å"real world† context mean of 4. 03, based on a ? ve-point scale ; plus, they found the case interesting and recommended it for use in teaching cost estimation via regression analyses mean of 4. 07, based on a ? ve-point scale; see also Table 2 . Similar positive responses are shown in Table 2. For example, Table 2 reports students’ knowledge on the use of regression

Definition paper on the word “Strength” Essay

Strength is more then just a physical word. It is a word of high stature. Strength can be used in three ways; physical, mental, and spiritual. Strength is the quality of being physically strong, capacity to sustain the application of force without yielding or breaking, effectiveness, and concentration. Strength is a word that is a greatly misinterpreted from time to time. To some, strength is only in physical form, but for others strength comes with emotions and spirituality. Physical strength is a good thing to have for your personal benefit. To be physically fit is good for your health and for the protection of you and others. To have physical strength is a great asset, but for some a mere burden. For the bully who abuses his physical strength, it could lead to anguish and pain for him and others. Is a man strong when he hits his wife or is a man strong when he offers comfort? That’s were mental strength comes into play. Mental strength can be one of the best things to have. To be able to control a situation is a great thing. When we get older we gain more mental strength, because our minds gain more knowledge. Karate teaches self defense, but their main focus is on mental strength. The instructors  teach their students to only use karate as self defense. That it takes more strength to not use karate then it does to actually use it. In a relationship mental strength is the top quality. â€Å"It takes a lot of mental strength to focused and stay married for twenty-nine years.†(John Hart) Teaching anything and everything involves a lot of mental strength (patience). For some having attractive features can lead to over confidence, niaveness, and broken relationships. For others having beauty is not taken lightly and put it to good use by being faithful to their mates which takes mental strength by choosing not to be a rover. Spiritual strength takes a lot of self assurance. Strength in the religious world comes from within. Faith and trust are the strong reminders for those in their beliefs. Is a pastor strong because he stays in a church that is conspiring against him and lost their ability to hear the word of God through their Pastor, or is he strong when he chooses to leave? I would have to say that a Pastor has to be wise and listen to God telling him its time to go and be a fresh voice to others. It takes strength to discern from what the Devil wants us to believe and the truth. Spiritual strength can come in hard times as well as good. Consider a mans thoughts when he suffers a tragic fall and becomes a paraplegic and has to spend the rest of his life looking up to short people, having to ask for the simplest of help (wheel chair getting stuck in a small hole), or simply having to behave or else. Spiritual weakness can come in the form of  cursing God for our misfortune and asking him why Spiritual strength is accepting that the Bible tells us there is a reason for all things. To some spiritual strength is doing good deeds and keeping a record of them. I have seen people of strong spiritual strength who never seem to waiver in challenging times. Job was a man of spiritual strength and I know personally I would not want to suffer as much or the way he did. Job was a man of all three strengths, physical, mental and spiritual.

Safe Guarding Babies and Children Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Safe Guarding Babies and Children - Essay Example ld abuse. The object is to establish the moral responsibility of every individual in the child-care system and create awareness. The article focuses on factors on the agency and individual level that are deemed key to avert tragedies such as this from happening in the future. 1. Responsibilities of local authorities. 2. Multi Agency policies. 3. Valued judgement and effective communication. 4. Targeted and Specialized support. 5. Individual social worker’s responsibilities The article evaluates and explores the methods that can be employed to avoid the mistakes as ascertained by the Laming report. Responsibilities of local authorities: â€Å"Those who sit in judgement often do so with the great benefit of hindsight† (Lord Laming Report, 2003 Page 1. ... In this event the Local authorities outline all disciplinary and inter-agency policies to be implemented by the agencies. Research has shown that multiagency working is more pronounced during the early stages of the case while making enquiries and â€Å"less pronounced and apparent in implementing action plans† (Chahal and Coleman 2003, p.39). Agencies that handle the cases from the Local authorities work on the brief give to them. Therefore it is imperative that professionals from both Local and Agency levels communicate effectively. In Victoria Climbie’s case there was evidence that the front line staff that received her case were not kept up to date on the guidelines as outlined by the Children Act of 1989. The procedure books made available to them were not up to date on the guidelines to monitor and provide care for children who were undergoing abuse. This affects the judgement of the staff and the ability to recognize an emergency or sounding the alarm. A sense of lax amongst caseworkers and front line staff is also prevalent as social work and especially working with children is not seen as an attractive career option. This has been attributed to the callous treatment of social workers by the top executives. Most of the work that social workers put into their work goes unnoticed or unappreciated. London shows a 11 per cent vacancy rate nationally in these sectors while some boroughs show as much as 40 to 50 per cent (Dfes 2003, Every Child matters, The Challenge, p.22). Because of this most front line staff are not adequately qualified to handle such sensitive issues. It is important for agency heads to be qualified in the regulations of social work to be able to empathize with the staff handling the cases and appreciate the work and

Monopolistic competition in fastfood business Essay

Monopolistic competition in fastfood business - Essay Example The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which the competition in the fast food industry fits the description of "monopolistic competition "as well evaluate how major fast food chains compete in the industry and what challenges they currently face. It is clear that fast food industry is one of the most competitive industries in the USA. Most of the fast food chains provide their customers with almost identical menus (especially two largest rival companies - Burger King and McDonalds), it is relatively easy for the company to enter the market of the fast food; in spite of the fact that domestic market is saturated fast food industry is still regarded as one of the fastest growing industries in the world. In the USA, consumers spent more than 100 billion dollars on the fast food in the year 2000, and according to the information provided by National Restaurant Association, the sales in 2006 might reach the new record level of 142 billion dollars (though this is less that the level exhibited by full service restaurants- 173 billion dollars). According to many observers fast food restaurants have been recently under competitive pressure from fast casual restaurants that provide their customers with food of higher quality at the reasonable price. 3 There are many fast food chains in the USA, and most of them prov... taurants have been recently under competitive pressure from fast casual restaurants that provide their customers with food of higher quality at the reasonable price. 3 Product differentiation in the fast food industry. There are many fast food chains in the USA, and most of them provide the customers with almost identical products. There is a slight difference in cooking process between Big Mac provided by Mc Donald's and King Supreme, relatively new product of Burger King. Neither the menu of Wendy International (with standard set of hamburgers and chicken salads) differs in any significant aspect from the menu provided by two largest national fast food chains-McDonalds and Burger King. In order to succeed in the market the companies have to promote and advertise their products as successful advertisement campaign might create some "virtual "differences among the products; they also should stay abreast of the latest changes in the market. These differences are usually created through advertisement and are very important in the industry of "monopolistic competition". With the increased health consciousness among the consumers of the fast food chains, new advertisements campaigns conducted by the chains are aimed to convince the consumers that the food is healthier. This is usually done by including more salads in the menus of the chains. For instance John Schuessler, a chairman of Wendy's chain claimed that it poorly performance in 2004, might have been caused by the steps taken by competitors that included salads to their menus.4 Other commentators however claimed that poor advertisement campaign and inability of the chain to adapt to the new challenges were the main reasons of the poor results that the company showed. Apart from adding salads other chains

History 5 questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

History 5 questions - Essay Example I agree that the only thing that made them human was the Christmas festivity which propelled them to enjoy the occasion. Despite hostility and even in the battle ground, Christmas spirit overtook the rigors of war. The repercussions of war are always bad and strip nations of not only wealth but also diminish their military and financial powers over the rest of the nations. The First World War was highly expensive in terms of technology driven warfare and much extended period of its ongoing battles that increasing covered all Europe. The industrialized nations like Germany, France and England had lost much of their accumulated wealth and had ultimately become indebted to United States. Moreover, war invariably leads to breaking of nations. As revealed, Germany had lost large region to France and Turkey had emerged as new nation from the ruin of Ottoman Empire. Thus, I believe that in the long run, war has no advantage and only leads to huge socio-economic loss and reduced political dominance. (words:

Has Reality Television Made Voyeurism Another Form of Entertainment Essay

Has Reality Television Made Voyeurism Another Form of Entertainment - Essay Example Although earlier forms of this type of entertainment have been seen as early as 1948 with Candid Camera, it gained more notoriety and a wider genre by the end of 1990s with the introduction of the shows like Survivor, Big Brother, and American Idol (Caudle, 2011). These shows portray various situations and activities, with some featuring contests between ordinary people competing for money and other prizes, others portraying ordinary people living their lives while raising their children, and some others featuring celebrities carrying out daily activities. All in all, these shows seem to share common themes – taking ordinary people and placing them in extraordinary situations or presenting the reality of celebrities’ lives to an audience who would likely be engaged in the fascinating and magical lives that these celebrities are living. Reality shows seem to portray the magical and the ordinary, the reality and the ‘non-reality’ of celebrity or non-celebrity lives. For some shows, an element of voyeurism seems to be one of the common elements, especially as these allow the viewers a peek into the lives of celebrities and non-celebrities. The voyeur element also seems to lend entertainment value for viewers as melodramatic events like weddings, dates, births, and arguments often draw in high ratings. This paper shall explore reality television and how it engages the magical and the real. It will also discuss how reality television has made voyeurism a form of entertainment. Initially, a brief overview of popular reality television shows will be discussed, indicating reasons for their popularity. Secondly, this paper will present the negative and the positive impact of reality television. Thirdly, a deeper analysis of the reasons for the popularity of reality television shall be considered. Lastly, this essay shall be summarized and its themes clearly established in order to answer its primary goals and research issue. This article is be ing carried out in order to establish a clear understanding of reality television, its general impact, and what it implies about current TV behaviors as well as preferences. Body Overview of reality television shows When the shows Big Brother and Survivor became major successes in 2000, reality television suddenly gained widespread popularity. Specifically, the shows Survivor and American Idol consistently topped the television ratings since their inception (Hill, 2005). Other shows like America’s Next Top Model, Dancing with the Stars, The Apprentice, Fear Factor, and Big Brother were soon able to gain a global audience in the years that followed. Some television companies have also set aside networks, including Fox Reality, Global Reality Channel in Canada and Zone Reality in the UK to cater specifically to these reality shows (DeVolld, 2011). Other networks like Bravo, VH1 and MTV have also numerous reality shows in their line-up. Other successful shows like COPS have beco me major successes and the profit generation for TV networks and producers has also been very significant (Hill, 2005). Reality show celebrities have also made millions of dollars in profit for their TV contracts and product endorsements (Hill, 2005). This genre has also spawned new singers, dancers, models, chefs, actors, directors, and celebrities like the Kardashians who have been known as

Report on Public Relations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Report on Public Relations - Assignment Example PUBLIC RELATION Public relation is concerned with reputation of the company. It is the result of the organizations’ perception that is developed from the organization’s conduct, attempt of an organization to derive certain perception and behavior towards its products and services. Also it is aimed at extracting the perception of stakeholders about the organization. This in turn enables organization to build the mutual understanding and goodwill with stakeholders. Stakeholders include customers, employees, suppliers, investors, regulators and journalist (Green, 2009). Nowadays the competition in every industry has been highly increased. Every company in the industry seeks to get the competitive advantage by differentiation and reputation management is considered as one of the most effective tool to get the competitive edge. Two factors are very important in public relations i.e. communication with all the stakeholders and the relationships with all stakeholders which is also the central idea of above definition. The comments and opinion of stakeholders actually defines the company’s reputation. ... This advertisement was designed with the purpose of reducing the impact of the rising debate regarding the public health concerns over soda products (Daily News, 2013). The message was conveyed about the Coca-Cola’s record of giving drinks with smaller amount of calories since it is available in the market. It also lobbied against comments that gaining weight is the outcome of consuming too many calories of any type-it’s not just soda (Daily News, 2013). Similarly, Apple, tech giant of USA, is lobbying with government and other politicians for zero percent tax rate (Steimle, 2013). Hence, PR plays has gained critical position in business. PUBLIC RELATION CONTRIBUTION TO ORGANIZATIONS The stiff competition in all the industries has made the companies to focus on its public image to get the competitive advantage. The following are the functions of public relations that can impact on any kind of business or organization. The application of public relation is discussed in t he general view. DEVELOPING IMAGE AND RELATIONS Public relation employees works with the top level executives of the company to formulate an overview of how the organization desires to be perceived in the consumers’ perception, suppliers, government and other regulatory bodies as well other pressure groups.. This focused engagement develops on precise the accurate message or communication. Organizations make a plan on the extensive yet focused outlines of a reputation building campaign to spread that message in to the desired set of group (L'Etang, 2006a). OUTREACH STAKEHODLERS COLLECTIVELY THROUGH EVENTS AND EXPAND CUSTMOER BASE The professionals of public relations organize events to lift up the image or profile of the organization

Live Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Live Art - Essay Example Modern performance art dwells on current political topics and tries to illustrate them employment various techniques. In this essay I will attempt to focus my attention primarily of the visual arts and how they passed through an evolutional process in the 20th century. Although I partially agree with the statement that Goldberg (2001) makes that performance art is a medium with endless variables, almost no barrier, crossing all known taboos, and eventually borders with anarchism, I will try to pose the contra-argument that those alternations are caused by the fast-revolving global cultural, political and social life and consequently is a process which barely faces intentional directions. The term "performance art" was first used in the 1960's in the United States. Originally, the term referred to any live artistic event which engaged musicians, poets, film makers and so on (Goldberg, 2001). However, there were earlier forms of visual arts, for example the live performances of the Dadaists which was a combination of poetry and visual arts. Another example that Goldberg (2001) cites are the German Bauhaus, who established a theater workshop in order to examine the bonds between sound, space and light. Although, there were various other art performances the term hadn't been coined until the 1960s. By the 1970's the performance art idea spread as a worldwide acknowledged word which with the time began to be treated as a commodity - traded, advertised and sold (Goldberg, 2001). Consequently, the performance artists instilled in their art the direct contact with their audience through the public forum. This evolution of the performance art, eliminated the requirement to f or galleries, agents and brokers to act as mediators between the artists and their audience. On one hand, this opened the art to the general public and aided the artists to maintain a more real contact with their admirers, on the other this process destroyed all aspects of the capitalism and gaining profits from the artists. The main characteristics of the performance art are that: It is in live; There are no specific rules or guidelines, the art is experimental and if the artist says it is art, then it is; It is not for sale, though there might be admission tickets or included film right; It may contain painting or sculpture, music, dance, opera, film footage, poetry, dialogue, live animals, fire and everything that crosses one's mind; It is a legitimate artistic movement and there are many institutions where it is taught as a degree course; It is amusing, shocking, terrifying, entertaining and memorable. The most memorable and affirmative definition that I found about visual art is, is given by Goodman (1982). The comments: "What we know through art is felt in our bones and nerves and muscles as well as grasped by our minds . . . all the sensitivity and responsiveness of the organism participates in the invention and interpretation of symbols (pp.198 - 199)." That is true about performance art is that it is influential, because it reaches everyone, because they can perceive it with their senses and react to the feelings that the art evokes in them. Goodman (1982) a philosopher most of all, notably remarks that visual art is riddled with "philosophic faults and aesthetic absurdities (p. 191)." We can refer the aesthetic absurdities to the quote that Goldberg (2001) stating that art in the 20th century resembles anarchy. If analyzed from a artistic point of view anarchy means performances combined

Persausion Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Persausion - Case Study Example In this paper, three of the 21 principles will be discussed in detail, namely: â€Å"Learn to Transfer Energy†, â€Å"Communicating Clearly is Key† and â€Å"Being Prepared Gives you the Advantage†. Persuasion is not simply talking people out in order for others to agree with one’s thoughts and ideas. Nazar says that in persuading people, one has to learn to transfer energy. Needless to say then, one must have a positive attitude so that the energy he will transfer to others will make people motivated and invigorated instead of drained. The writer suggests that an individual should maintain eye contact with the people he is communicating with. This approach is known to show a person’s honesty in what he is saying. On another hand, it informs the other person that the communicator is interested in his response. Physical touch is another suggestion that the author makes. A hug, a pat on the shoulder or even a simple touch on one’s hand has an affirming effect on people. This can make a difference by letting others that a person cares for them and therefore, they will be willing to listen to whatever that individual who cares a lot about them; has to say. More over, an enthusiastic speaker who shows excitement in his verbal responses will be able to make others excited as well. Communicating clearly is also an important principle in persuasion. A person should not complicate things because it is believed that someone who does so has hidden agendas. People are often interested in what they benefit from others so that should be communicated simply and clearly. It is also important not to complicate matters for others to understand because it could give the impression that the speaker himself does not understand what he is saying. Therefore, it is essential for a person to explain matters in the most understandable way even if it means making it very simple. In relation to making things simple, it is also significant

IB Chemistry Lab Design - compare the effect of temperature on the concentrations of Vitamin C and Vitamin A in solution Essay Example for Free

IB Chemistry Lab Design compare the effect of temperature on the concentrations of Vitamin C and Vitamin A in solution Essay Research Question: To compare the effect of temperature on the concentrations of Vitamin C and Vitamin A in solution. Background Information: Many researchers claim that the vitamin content in the food we eat decreases as we cook the food, since it is being exposed to high temperatures. This really intrigued me since cooking is one of my hobbies, and I always try and check the nutritional value of meals that I cook. With this in mind, it was quintessential for me to see for myself if these claims hold true. To narrow the scope of the investigation, I chose Vitamins A and C to do this study upon. The claims state that the enzyme in whose form Vitamin C is found, gets denatured (or oxidised) at temperatures over 70Â °C as well as at low temperatures, in the freezer. Also, studies claim that Vitamin A (in the form of retinol) gets oxidised at high temperatures, during cooking. Once these vitamins get oxidised, they are lost to us. This investigation will compare the effects of high temperature on Vitamin A and Vitamin C solutions. http://chemmovies.unl.edu/chemistry/smallscale/SSGifs/SS054Ascorbic.gif The ascorbic acid enzyme gets denatured at high temperatures because the tertiary structure of the protein, which the enzyme is made up of, unravels, causing the active site of the enzyme to change in shape. This leads to the substrate being unable to fit into the active site, and we say that the enzyme is denatured. This denaturing can take place at extremes of pH too.The Vitamin A (retinol) gets oxidised because, at high temperatures, it reacts with oxygen in the air to form a carboxylic acid (retinoic acid). In the laboratory, ascorbic acid found in fruits and vegetables can be simulated by adding ascorbic acid crystals to water, to form a mildly acidic solution. This solution can also be used as the standard solution during titration to find concentration of ascorbic acid. To simulate Vitamin A, we can simply add retinol to water to form a standard solution. Hypothesis: At higher temperatures, both the concentration of Vitamin C and Vitamin A can be expected to decrease. However, I expect the decrease to be greater in the case of the Vitamin C solution since (having protein-like properties) it is more sensitive to extremes of temperature. Also, the alcohol retinol has a high boiling point, so I believe that it will be more resistant to oxidation too. Variables: Independent Variable Why and How it is Changed Temperature to which the Vitamin C/A solution is heated The factor whose effect is being studied on the concentration of Vitamin C/A in a solution is the temperature the solution is heated to. Therefore, the temperature is the independent variable. In order to change the temperature, equal quantities of the same Vitamin C/A solution are heated to different temperatures. The different temperatures taken are – 30Â °C, 50Â °C, 70Â °C and 90Â °C. As a control, one solution is placed at room temperature. A thermometer is used to measure the temperature of the solution. Investigation at each temperature will be repeated 3 times, to ensure reliability. Dependent Variable Why and How it is Recorded Concentration of Vitamin C/A in solution (in mol dm-3), after exposure to temperature The effect of temperature on the concentration of Vitamin C/A in a solution is being studied, thus the concentration is the dependent variable. As the temperature moves further away from room temperature (above or below) the concentration of Vitamin C/A in the solution should decrease due to denaturing or oxidation. The concentration of Vitamin C is calculated by doing an iodine titration. A starch solution is added to a standard Vitamin C solution which is the titrant. Into this, a solution of potassium iodide and potassium iodate is titrated till a blue colour is obtained (end point). This is repeated thrice. The average volume of iodine solution used is calculated, and divided by the concentration of Vitamin C. Then, the solutions of unknown concentrations are titrated and unitary method is used to calculate their concentrations. The concentration of Vitamin A is calculated using a redox titration. This is done by making a solution of acid dichromate, potassium iodide and starch. This is titrated against a solution of sodium thiosulfate of known concentration. The volume of thiosulfate used is noted. Then, the Vitamin A solutions are added to a similar solution of dichromate, KI and starch, and titration is carried out with thiosulfate. For every 1 less mole of thiosulfate used there is 0.25 mole of alcohol in the sample (according to the chemical equations) which was tested. Controlled Variable Why and How it is Maintained pH of Vitamin solution Extremes of pH can also lead to the denaturing of enzymes, so if pH changes it will interfere with the results, potentially giving inaccurate results. Thus, the pH needs to be kept a constant. This can be done by adding a few drops of acidic buffer to the initial solution. Presence of Antioxidants Antioxidants including salts such as sodium chloride tend to ‘protect’ ascorbic acid from being oxidised, and thus their presence may lead to inaccurate results. Thus, they need to be eliminated. This can be done by using distilled water (without any salts) while preparing the solution of ascorbic acid. Head Space Present in System The ascorbic acid gets denatured because of oxidation by air. Thus, if the volume of air present in the system changes, the results will also change invariably. To prevent this, the amount of head space present in the system must be kept constant. This can be done by placing a lid on top of the beaker in which the acid solution is heated. Initial Concentration of Ascorbic Acid solution If the initial concentration of ascorbic acid in the solution is different, then the final concentration will also be affected. This can be avoided by adding the same mass of ascorbic acid to the same volume of water while preparing all the sample solutions. Volume of Ascorbic Acid solution The volume of acid solution used for each temperature and each trial should be the same since otherwise it will affect the volume of iodine solution used. Therefore, the volume has to be measured accurately using a pipette for each temperature and trial (each titration). Concentration of starch, potassium iodide and potassium iodate solutions The concentration of any of these solutions will affect the volume of solution titrated during each trial. Thus, it needs to be kept a constant. This can be done by ensuring that equal masses of these reagents are added to equal volumes of water, for all the trials. Final temperature of solution The final temperature of the solution may affect the concentration of the acid in the solution, as rapid heating and cooling can encourage oxidation. Thus, to avoid errors, the solutions will be allowed to rest till they reach room temperature, and only then will they be titrated to calculate concentration. Chemicals 1. L-ascorbic acid – 3.52 g to make 1 dm3 of 0.002 M solution of acid 1. Glucose – 50 g to add to acid solution, to simulate fruit juice 1. Potassium Iodide – 10.0 g to make 1 dm3 iodine solution 1. Potassium Iodate – 0.536 g to make 1 dm3 iodine solution 1. Starch (soluble) – 0.25 g to make 50 ml of 0.5% starch solution 1. 3.00 M Sulphuric Acid – 60 ml to add to iodine solution 1. Distilled Water – To make all the solutions and washing Other Materials 1. Weighing Scale 1. Bunsen Burner 1. Tripod Stand 1. Wire Gauze 1. Mortar and Pestle 1. Pipette Filler 1. Lid (for beaker) – 4 1. Thermometer Procedure: Preparing Ascorbic Acid Solution of concentration 0.002 M 1. Measure 3.52 g of L-ascorbic acid using the weighing scale and the weighing boat (which has to be completely dry). 1. Place the weighed crystals in the mortar and use the pestle to crush the crystals into a fine powder, to aid with dissolving it in water. 1. Place the powdered acid into a 500 ml beaker and add a little distilled water to dissolve the acid. Use the glass rod to stir. 1. Once it seems that the acid has fully dissolved, add some more water to the solution, to ensure that all the acid has actually dissolved. Then, transfer the solution into the 1000 ml standard flask using a washed funnel and the glass rod. 1. Wash the beaker with water and pour into standard flask, to remove any remaining solution. Repeat this process 3 times. 1. Wash the funnel and the glass rod, letting the water run into the standard flask. 1. Make up the solution to the 1000 ml mark. Place the stopper and mix the solution thoroughly. Transfer approximately 500 ml of this solution to the 500 ml beaker, for ease of use. Preparing the 0.5 % starch solution 1. Measure 0.25 g of starch using the weighing scale and weighing boat. 1. Bring 50 ml of distilled water nearly to a boil, and then add the measured quantity of starch powder to it. Allow to cool. Preparing the Iodine Solution 1. Measure 10.0 g of potassium iodide and 0.536 g of potassium iodate using the weighing scale and weighing boat. Transfer this to a 500 ml beaker. 1. Dissolve the solids in approximately 400 ml of distilled water. Stir using the glass rod, to aid in dissolving. Add the 60 ml of 3.00 M sulphuric acid to the solution at this point. 1. Once it seems that the solids have fully dissolved, add some more water to the solution, to ensure that all of it has actually dissolved. Then, transfer the solution into a 1000 ml standard flask, using a washed funnel and the glass rod. 1. Wash the beaker with water and pour into standard flask, to remove any remaining solution. Repeat this process 3 times. 1. Wash the funnel and the glass rod, letting the water run into the standard flask. 1. Make up the solution to the 1000 ml mark. Place the stopper and mix the solution thoroughly. Transfer approximately 500 ml of this solution to a 500 ml beaker, for ease of use. Titration Set-up and Final Steps 1. Transfer 65 ml of Vitamin C solution each into 5, 250 ml beakers. 1. Keep one of the containers in a trough containing melting ice (0Â °C). Keep one at room temperature (as a control + standard solution). Heat the other three to 30Â °C, 60Â °C and 90Â °C respectively. Ensure that all the beakers are covered with a lid during heating or cooling. 1. Wash the pipette, first using tap water and then distilled water. Rinse the pipette thoroughly with the Vitamin C solution at room temperature. 1. Use a pipette to transfer 20 ml of the Vitamin C solution, at room temperature, into a conical flask. This is the standard solution (and the control) since its concentration is known (0.002 M). 1. Add 10 drops of the starch solution to the conical flask. Swirl the contents to mix properly. 1. Wash the burette with tap water followed by distilled water. Then, rinse the burette with the iodine solution. 1. Fill the burette with iodine solution till the 0.0 ml mark. 1. Titrate the iodine solution into the conical flask, swirling the conical flask at all times. The end point is reached when a blue colour is obtained that persists even after 20 seconds of swirling. Note down the volume of iodine solution used. 1. Re-fill the burette to the 0.0 ml mark. Repeat the titration process 2 more times. Note down these two values for volume of iodine solution used as well. Calculate the average volume used. 1. Check that all the solutions that were heated (or cooled) have reached room temperature, with the help of a thermometer. 1. If they have reached room temperature, repeat the entire titration process (steps 18 – 24) with the other 4 solution (0Â °C, 30Â °C, 60Â °C and 90Â °C). Ensure that the burette is re-filled to the 0.0 ml mark after each and every titration, and that the pipette is first washed, and then rinsed with the solution that is going to be placed in the conical flask. 1. Use unitary method, to calculate the concentration of Vitamin C in each solution, after heating or cooling, using the concentration of the solution at room temperature (0.002 M) as the known value.

Personality Tests in Recruitment

Personality Tests in Recruitment Personality Test Personality test are frequently used to access the potential of the candidate such as conscientiousness experience optimism, stress tolerance, emotional stabilty, extraversion and proactive. These few personality test are very important and are required needs when they want to be successfull in their performance, when they are having interpersonal interaction in team setting. Pros of personality test There are many diffrent advantages of personality test. The reason why the organization have this test is that they are able to reduce the business cost and also the outcome by identifying the candidate for hireing, promoting and training. This test are conducted by the administrate via paper and pencil or computerized method. The organization are able to carefully select candidate that are pontential in the interpersonal interaction with the team setting, which enable the company to progress in business. Moreover it is one way to cost effective and does not require skill administrator. Cons of personality test Normally personality test question based on behaviour, cognitions and needs, all received only a single score. The scoring system may eliminate the option for alternate interpretation to the answer given. When grouping all the different combination of behaviour and needs, sometime this can lead to misinterpreted. Another problem is self knowledge aspect of the objective exam can be faked. Since not all question and answer given can match the test maker exactly there are not able to elaborate their answer and it can be quite frustrating and inaccurate. In conclusion, one assessment alone can be used, but it is much better to have a complete assessment program, in order to balance out the advantage and disadvantage for each personality assessment type. Biographical data Biographical data is very essential in this era of time and date. Technologies have become an important part of the business, having the knowledge of biographical data such as leadership, knowledge of software, interpersonal skill, tean work skill, knowledge of the job, creativity and many more can help the person to succeed futhur. Biographical data uses question about education, work experience, personality assessments of skill and interest to predit how the candidate can be successful on the job. Pros of biographical data Biographical data is also administrated by paper and pencil or computerized method because it can easily enlarge the numbers, moreover it reduce business cost and does not need administation skill. It is also less likely uses to diffrentiate in results by gender and race. Neverless it produce valid infrences of the organization outcome for example turnover and performance. This is one way identifying individuals for hire, promote, or training who needed skills and abilities. Cons of biographical data. The disadvantage of biographical data is that the candidate will try to project more positive decision outcome to impress the organisation thus this will be more difficult to understand how they actually are , for example it will be difficult to diffrentiate between the positively manage impression to the fake response. This interview conducted does not necessarly provide enough information for development feed back. For example one is enable to change the past and last not least it is time consuming to develop. Work sample Test Work sample test is the the future behavior observed under similar situations. There are three tests which are required to perform on the job. Pros of work samples The advantages of work samples, it has high reliability and it has high content of validity because it is a sample of the actual work to perform that particular job. Besides that, work samples has low adverse of impact because these test is viewed favorable by examinees than aptitude or personality tests. The most interesting part in these work sample test is if the applicants wants to fake job proficiency to increase the test score and performance on job, it is difficult. These tests uses equipment which is the same or to the original equipment used for the job. Cons of work samples It is costly to administer often only can be administered to one applicant at a time. Although the task and duties can be completed in a short period of time, however the test have less ability to predict performance on the job, when it can take day or week to complete. It will be difficult to measure the aptitude of an applicant, because it is unable to see whether the applicant is able to handle more difficult task when they are encountered with. Integrity test Integrity test is used to identify candidates who like to involes in antisocial at work, dishonesty and engage inappropriate behaviour. It is important for the organization to assess the attitude and experience such as candidates honesty, turstworthiness, dependability, reliability and prosocial behaviour. This is usally conducted with direct question regarding previous experiences such as ethnic and integrity also regarding preferences and interest about inferences of future behaviour. Pros of integrity test Integrity test is to make the candidates to understand the important of the coperate value. This test are also done via paper and pencil or computerize method, which is easily to large number. The test produce valid inference of organization of outcome, such as inventory shrinkage, difficulties in dealing with supervision, performance and others. Beside that it is not required any administration skill and it is cost effective. Futhurmore it does not relate in result to by gender and race than other types of test. This test also reduce the business cost by identifying individuals who like to absent or engage in other counter productive behavior. Cons of integrity test The disadvantage of integrity test is the candidate will try to project more positive decision outcome to impress the organization. In some cases the candidates may have difficulty or disliking to questions which are unrelated or intrusive to the job. This can be slightly difficult for the organization to diffrentiate from fake to actual response. Cognitive abilities test Cognitive abilities test is used to see onces abilities by using diffrent question or problems such as the abilities of reading, logic, reasoning and comprehensive mental abilities which leads to success in many diffrence kind of jobs. Pros in cognitive abilities test. By using this method the outcome of success of performance has increace and it is use by many organization. This is use especially for more specialized jobs. There are many various way to adminster these test for example by paper and pencil or computerized method. Most of the company use this method because it is cost effective and does not require skill administration. By using cognitive abilities test the company are able to reduce business cost as there are not easily influents by the test taker to impress the manager on fake responce. When ever a company wishes to promote, hire or train a person there are able to make a decision according to their skill and abilities. Cons in cognitive abilities test. Cons for cognitive test are that there will always be different answer or result by various person or race. As such it is always time consuming in picking out the right candidates for the job. The organization will have to carefully verify all the result and choose according to specific job, that they wish to assign the person before making the final and right decision.

Was Hamlet Insane Essay -- essays research papers

Was Hamlet insane? Scholars have debated this question ever since Shakespeare presented this play to the public. Although I am not a scholar, I believe that there is enough evidence in the play to suggest Hamlet had been sane. He may have been depressed and angry however this was due to the treachery and betrayal contaminating Denmark. The insanity act had been an instrument to allow Hamlet the freedom to achieve his goal of revenge. When the audience first meets Hamlet, he is dressed in black. He is in mourning over the death of his father. When questioned by Gertrude about his attire and his disposition, Hamlet replies 'But I have that within which passeth show—these are but the trappings and the suits of woe.'; (Act 1, Scene 2). Hamlet is incensed over his mother's hasty remarriage to Claudius by stating 'She married. O most wicked speed, to post With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!'; He comments that he would commit suicide if his religious beliefs allowed it. To add to Hamlets problems, his girlfriend Ophelia refuses to see him anymore. She 'did repel his letters and denied His access…';. No explanation is given to Hamlet about her actions. The audience knows that Polonius is responsible however Hamlet does not know this. Hamlet is an angry, depressed man due to life altering events. His faith in humanity is at an all time low. It is in this depressed state of mind that Hamlet meets the ghost of his father. Hamlet's friends find him ranting...

Imperfect Society Depicted in Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman :: Death of a Salesman

Imperfect Society Depicted in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman   Advancements in science throughout this century have led to tremendous advancements in industry.   Advancements in industry, however, have not always led to advancements in living.   For some, society has created mass wealth and enabled a standard of living unparalleled throughout history.   For Willy Loman, society has created only tremendous grief and hardship, aggravated by the endless promise of the good times to come.   For these reasons, Willy’s tragedy is due more to societies flaws than to the numerous flaws in his own character.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willy Loman was host to many flaws and deficiencies ranging form suicidal tendencies to psychotic disorders.   However, these shortcomings did not account for his tragic end, not by themselves anyway.   Society is to blame.   It was society who stripped him of his dignity, piece by piece. It was society who stripped him of his lifestyle, and his own sons who stripped him of hope.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The most obvious flaw in society is greed, the desire to get ahead of the next guy.   This malady is present on a national level.   It is the philosophy of business and comprises the dreams of man.   Sometimes, this can drive man to great things, sometimes it can drive a man to ruin.   Willy was driven to the latter.   (Not his own greed for he was a simple man with simple dreams, but by the greed of others.)   The developers who took away the sun and gave birth to shadows, his boss who reduced him to commission and his sons which reduced him to a failure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The next largest flaw in society is a lack of compassion.   This could be as a result of almost overwhelming greed, the main culprit being big business. I'm always in a race with the junkyard!   I just finished paying for the car and it's on it last legs.   The refrigerator consumes belts like a goddam maniac.   They time those things.(Act 2, page 73, lines 16-19)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willy's belief in this statement drew him to believe that big business lacked compassion.   It is because of this that he is abandoned by Biff and disowned by Happy, left babbling in a toilet.   It is this flaw that allowed him to die a slow death and played the greatest role in his eventual downfall.      Ã‚  Ã‚  The third largest flaw in society (particularly American society) is the lack of a social safety net.

Lasers :: laser lasers

Since boyhood Einstein wondered about light. He would wonder about its speed, and how it works. In fact most of Einstein's work involved light in someway or another. (Guillen) So of course when S.N.Bose sent Einstein a paper on light being a gas consisting of photons, Einstein was very interested. Bose's paper was more like a bunch of questions. For example he noticed that photons didn't behave like statistical billiard balls. Billiard balls that are shaken on a table will eventual fall in some pocket. But photons tended to fall in to one "pocket" if another photon was ready there. (Forward) Einstein and Bose continued to work together on photons and noticed that one photon was indistinguishable from another photon. This let Einstein and Bose to conclude that strange behavior or photons was just statistical probability. (Forward) For example if I have the set of numbers {1,2,3} There are 6 subsets if each position is unique: {1,2} {1,3} {2,3} {2,1} {3,1} {3,2} but if position doesn't matter then there are only 3 subsets: {1,2} {2,3} {1,3} Since {1,2} is the same as {2,1} Using this idea and many other ideas Einstein laid the foundations for the laser by theorizing about the stimulated emission of radiation. His idea was that if you had a large number of atoms full of excess energy, and they were ready to emit a photon at some random time in some random direction, if a stray photon passed by, then the atoms are stimulated by its presence, and each atom may emit there photon early. This new photon would have the same direction and the same frequency as the original photon! Repeating this process with more and more photons each time is what gives us a lasers. (Forward) Einstein did not actual build the first laser. The first laser would not be created till 1954 by Townes. He called his invention a M.A.S.E.R. : Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. but skeptics read it as: Means of Acquiring Support for Expensive Research ! (Talbot) Townes first used Microwave energy to create resonance in ammonia, if the power input was really large, the ammonia would emit energy . Most people don't consider this a laser, since it was using Microwave energy to stimulate the atoms to change energy levels, but the maser did stimulate the research that lead to the laser.

The impenetrability of life

An Interpretation of the Morals of Heinrich von Kleist’s The Earthquake in Chile Akin to most writers of the Romantic Movement, Heinrich von Kleist eschewed the Enlightenment’s belief in reason, science and progress. He believed that life was too complex for it to be interpreted by reason and science. The impenetrability of life, particularly com/literary-analysis-skills-lesson-structure/">human nature, is the central theme of Von Kleist’s short story The Earthquake in Chile (1807). Set in the wake of a fictitious earthquake in Chile, the short story reveals how man-made norms prove to be useless in moments of disaster.Thus, it is only in times of crisis that the true nature of individuals and or institutions is bared (Allan, 108). The earthquake is traditionally used as a metaphor for massive social upheaval. The manner in which it inflicts damage – from the bottom, destroying the foundations of edifices – renders it a suitable allegory of public c ataclysm. Reactionary priests interpreted the Lisbon earthquake of 1755 as a â€Å"punishment† for the supposed sins of its populace.The French philosopher Voltaire wrote in his novella Candide (1759) that the Roman Catholic Church used the said catastrophe as an excuse to burn more alleged heretics at the stake (The Internationalist, n. pag. ). The Scottish historian, essayist and satirist Thomas Carlyle referred to the French Revolution as â€Å"(an) earthquake of Insurrection† (Carlyle, 409). In The Earthquake in Chile, an earthquake temporarily halted the implacable operation of social, civil, moral and ecclesiastical law over society (Fenves, 313).Subsequent events exposed the futility of searching for assurance in life through reliance on loosely-argued metaphysical biases such as morals (Allan, 108). In the context of the short story, morals are detrimental to human society and relationships. It merely results in prejudices that allow the powerful to subjugate t he weak. From the outset, it is already clear to the reader that patriarchal structures of authority control Santiago. Power lies primarily in the hands of the viceroy, the Archbishop and the paterfamilias.In addition, women are perceived as valued sexual possessions and individuals whose intellect and morality must be dictated by men. But, ironically, it is women who are expected to control the sexual ardor of men (Allan, 109). Under the guise of â€Å"morality,† women are supposed to exhibit behavior that will protect her from unwanted sexual advances from men. If a woman is subjected to inappropriate sexual conduct by a man, it is believed to be her fault – she is a â€Å"loose† woman who does not deserve respect from men.When, for instance, Don Asteron discovered that Jeronimo is having an illicit affair with his daughter, Josephe, he sternly warned her instead of Jeronimo to end the relationship. And when Don Asteron later found out through Josephe’s brother that she and Jeronimo continued their liaison, he had her banished to a convent. Josephe’s new â€Å"spiritual father,† the Archbishop, proved to be more unforgiving – he insisted that she be put to trial and condemned to death after she gave birth during the religious procession.Both Don Asteron and the Abbess strongly opposed the death sentence, to no avail (Allan, 110). The decision to commute Josephe’s sentence from burning at the stake to beheading resulted in â€Å"indignation (from) the matrons and maidens of Santiago† (Von Kleist, 175). Because they committed themselves to the patriarchal values of feminine innocence and impeccable chastity, they believed that no punishment could be too severe for a woman like her. Furthermore, a gory execution for Josephe would allow them to bask in the illusory sense of their own moral superiority.Her burning at the stake would affirm their belief that they were â€Å"good† women and she w as an â€Å"indecent† woman (Allan, 111). The earthquake, however, transformed Santiago into an entirely different society. The catastrophe destroyed the bastions of patriarchal authority – the cathedral, the Viceroy’s palace, the court, the house of Josephe’s father and the prison. As a result, the people finally learned to work side by side in order to survive. Differences in social class, gender and religion were disregarded to attain the common goal of survival:And, indeed, in the midst of these awful moments, in which all the earthly goods of man were destroyed and all of nature was threatened with burial, the human spirit seemed to open out like a beautiful flower. In the fields, as far as the eye could reach, people of all ranks could be seen mingled together, princes and beggars, matrons and peasant women, bureaucrats and laborers, monks and nuns. They sympathized with one another, assisted one another and cheerfully shared whatever they had been able to save to keep themselves alive, as if the universal calamity had made a single family of all who had escaped it.(180) For Jeronimo, Josephe and their son Philipp, help came in the form of Don Fernando and his wife Dona Elvira. After Josephe agreed to Don Fernando’s request that she be the wet nurse of his son Juan (Dona Elvira was badly injured in the earthquake), he welcomed her, Jeronimo and Philipp into his family. Don Fernando and Dona Elvira treated them well despite their background: Don Fernando was very grateful for this kindness (Josephe’s consent to become Juan’s wet nurse) and asked whether they did not wish to accompany him to that group of people who were just preparing a small breakfast by the fire.Josephe replied that she would accept that invitation with pleasure, and, since Jeronimo had no objection either, she followed Don Fernando to his family and was received most heartily and tenderly by his two sisters-in-law, whom she knew to be ve ry respectable young ladies. (179) Dona Elvira, to whose wounds Josephe was busily attending, had at one point – just when these stories were arriving most quickly, each interrupting the other – taken the opportunity to ask her how she had fared on that terrible day. And when, withanguished heart, Josephe recounted some of the main features of her story, she was delighted to see tears well up in that lady’s eyes; Dona Elvira seized her hand and squeezed it and gestured her to be silent. (180) Unfortunately, the rest of the town retained its bigotry. In the afternoon of the earthquake, a service was held at Santiago’s remaining cathedral. The sermon of the officiating priest likened the calamity to God’s annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah. The earthquake, according to him, was God’s â€Å"punishment† to Santiago for Jeronimo and Josephe’s sin:He castigated it (the city) for abominations such as Sodom and Gomorrah had not known, and ascribed it only to God’s infinite forbearance that Santiago had not been totally obliterated from the face of the earth†¦he†¦digressed, with copious imprecations, to mention the two sinners themselves by name and to consign their souls to all the princes in hell. (183-184) The heady rhetoric of the sermon, along with emotional intensity generated by the devastating effects of the earthquake, resulted in violence. When a member of the congregation recognized Josephe in the service, an angry mob went after her and her companions.When the crowd dispersed, Jeronimo, Josephe, Juan and Dona Constancia (Don Fernando’s sister-in-law) lay dead. The Earthquake in Chile was Von Kleist’s explanation for his disbelief in the ability of science, reason and progress to influence life and humanity. He believed that science, reason and progress governed life and humanity through morals that were in favor of the powerful. The powerful, in turn, used these morals to exploit the weak and the helpless. Thus, when the powerful loses their ability to subjugate, they resort to diabolical means to regain this capability. In doing so, their real nature is exposed.Works Cited Allan, Sean. The Stories of Heinrich von Kleist: Fictions of Security. New York: Boydell & Brewer, 2001. Carlyle, Thomas. The French Revolution: A History. New York: Modern Library, 2002. Fenves, Peter David. Arresting Language: From Leibniz to Benjamin. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press, 2001. â€Å"Lisbon, 1755: The Earth Shook. † January 2005. The Internationalist. 17 September 2008. <http://www. internationalist. org/lisbon1755. html>. Von Kleist, Heinrich. â€Å"The Earthquake in Chile. † Great German Short Stories. Ed. Evan Bates. New York: Courier Dover Publications, 2003.

Internet Cafe Business Plan

An Internet cafe or cybercafe is a place which provides internet access to the public, usually for a fee. These businesses usually provide snacks and drinks, hence the cafe in the name. The fee for using a computer is usually charged as a time-based rate. Internet cafes are a natural evolution of the traditional cafe. Cafes started as places for information exchange, and have always been used as places to read the paper, send postcards home, play traditional or electronic games, chat to friends, find out local information. Cafes have also been in the forefront of promoting new technologies. Internet cafes are located worldwide, and many people use them when traveling to access webmail and instant messaging services to keep in touch with family and friends. Apart from travelers, in many developing countries Internet cafes are the primary form of Internet access for citizens as a shared-access model is more affordable than personal ownership of equipment and/or software. A variation on the Internet cafe business model is the LAN gaming center, used for multiplayer gaming. These cafes have several computer stations connected to a LAN. The connected computers are custom-assembled for gameplay, supporting popular multiplayer games. This is reducing the need for video arcades and arcade games, many of which are being closed down or merged into Internet cafes. The use of Internet cafes for multiplayer gaming is particularly popular in certain areas of Asia like China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and The Philippines. In some countries, since practically all LAN gaming centers also offer Internet access, the terms net cafe and LAN gaming center have become interchangeable. Again, this shared-access model is more affordable than personal ownership of equipment and/or software, specially since games often require high end and expensive PC's. There are also Internet kiosks, Internet access points in public places like public libraries, airport halls, sometimes just for brief use while standing. Many hotels, resorts, and cruise ships offer Internet access for the convenience of their guests; this can take various forms, such as in-room wireless access, or a web browser that uses the in-room television set for its display (usually in his case the hotel provides a wireless keyboard on the assumption that the guest will use it from the bed), or computer(s) that guests can use, either in the lobby or in a business center. As with telephone service, in the US most mid-price hotels offer Internet access from a computer in the lobby to registered guests without charging an additional fee, while fancier hotels are more likely to charge for the use of a computer in their â€Å"business center. For those traveling by road in North America, many truck stops have Internet kiosks, for which a typical charge is around 20 cents per minute. Internet cafes come in a wide range of styles, reflecting their location, main clientele, and sometimes, the social agenda of the proprietors. In the early days they were important in projecting the image of the Internet as a ‘cool' phenomena. Building up an internet cafe seems so easy from outside. It feels as if one just needs to pull some chairs and tables, few computers and an internet networking system, and here goes the flourishing business. One has to take many steps and decisions to make his business successful. It needs a lot of patience, administrative quality and leadership skills to maintain an internet cafe. Running an internet cafe is quite challenging job as you have to deal with the employs, customers, the safety on internet, environment of the cafe and the quality of internet. One has to satisfy everyone, has to keep an eye on because there is lot of competition in this field too. It might difficult at the beginning, because there were not many resources. But nowadays, with the invention of high technological efficient internet cafe software, it has been quite little easy for the internet cafe owners to take care of all their duties. A lot of burden has been raised from their shoulders. Having a check on the customers activities as the cyber crime rate is getting sky high, blocking of different sites that are harmful for the environment of the viewers and giving a homely environment to users, are some of the various advantages that one can achieve using the internet cafe software. Moreover to these advantages, internet cafe software also accelerates the speed of internet. It makes the users feel contented while using the internet in cafe as it increases the downloading speed and improves the quality of internet. Due to all above discussed reasons the work of cafe owners has become trouble-free and convenient. The customers are attracted towards the cafes due to their better performance and professional environment. As the environment is professional, it does not fascinate only one class of people, it caters to the need of people of every age. As Internet access is in increasing demand, many pubs, bars and cafes have terminals, so the distinction between the Internet cafe and normal cafe is eroded. In some, particularly European countries, the number of pure Internet cafes is decreasing since more and more normal cafes offer the same services. However, there are European countries where the total number of publicly accessible terminals is also decreasing. An example of such a country is Germany. The cause of this development is a combination of complicated regulation, relatively high Internet penetration rates, the widespread use of notebooks and PDAs and the relatively high number of WLAN hotspots. Many pubs, bars and cafes in Germany offer WLAN, but no terminals since the Internet cafe regulations do not apply if no terminal is offered. Additionally, the use of Internet cafes for multiplayer gaming is very difficult in Germany since the Internet cafe regulations and a second type of regulations which was originally established for video arcade centers applies to this kind of Internet cafes. It is, for example, forbidden for people under the age of 18 to enter such an Internet cafe, although particularly people under 18 are an important group of customers for this type of Internet cafe. In Asia, gaming is very popular at the Internet Cafes. This popularity has helped create a strong demand and a sustainable revenue model for most Internet cafes. With growing popularity, there also comes with this a responsibility as well. In fighting for competitive market share, the Internet cafes have started charging less and hence are adopting alternate means to maximize revenue. This includes selling food, beverages, game and telephone cards to its patrons. Today in the Philippines, the net cafe business has even expanded to online gaming to which most net cafe owners admit rakes in the bigger share of their monthly revenues. Then, there’s the local chain of net cafes like Netopia and Station 168 that’s been mushrooming all over the country. So it looks like putting up an internet cafe is still a viable business. But, and that’s a big BUT, take into consideration several factors that will spell the success or failure of your business venture. As the popularity of the Internet continues to grow here in Philippines specifically here in Albay, easy and affordable access is quickly becoming a necessity of life. We will provide communities with the ability to access the Internet, enjoying it with snacks we offer, and share Internet experiences in a comfortable environment. People of all ages and backgrounds will come to enjoy the unique, upscale, educational, and innovative environment that we will be provided provides. Internet Cafe Business Plan The Integration of Computer in Manufacturing Business Executive Summary â€Å"Computer-integrated Manufacturing is the integration of total manufacturing enterprise by using integrated systems and data communication coupled with new managerial philosophies that improve organizational and personnel efficiency. † This is according to Erhums. This system helps to reduce problems regarding to the manufacturing of products with the help of the implementation of computers. This strategy helps to improve the performance of manufacturing.It is implemented to satisfy the needs and demands for a productivity enhancement and higher quality products with fewer errors in production process. This paper discusses about the help provided by the computer-integrated manufacturing in various business. It also states here the illustration of the key issues of the integration and adaptability of CIM. In addition, a new framework has been proposed in this paper for the design and implementation of CIM. Introduction Business has so many things to consider. And one of it is how will you increase efficiency and enhance productivity with fewer errors.Before, the only way to manufacture products is through manual approach wherein there is a possibility of wrongdoings which may lead to business failures. But since advanced technology has been developed, it will be a very big advantage in the field of manufacturing business. It focuses on producing products in its most favorable condition, and at the same time, guaranteeing high quality, low costs, high flexibility and even smaller production quantity. Computer-integrated Manufacturing (CIM) is concerned with the integration of the business, engineering and manufacturing processes of an enterprise.It helps the enterprise to achieve and maintain a competitive edge in the manufacturing marketplace. Over a period of time, factory owners have integrated computer systems in order to control the entire production process. This is done by taking the design, analysis, planning, purchasing, cost accounting, inventory control and distribution departments and interlink them with the factory floor, material handling, and management departments. This system will have an impact on every system within the factory.This paper focuses on the integration of computer in the manufacturing process. This is an area of significant importance of computer application which is inclined to the field of Information Technology in business. Literature Review According to the US National Research Council, CIM improves production productivity by 40 to 70 percent as well as enhances engineering productivity and quality. CIM can also decreases design costs by 15 to 3o percent, reduce overall lead time by 20 to 60 percent, and cut work-in-process inventory by 30 to 60 percent.Managers who use CIM believe that there is a direct relationship between the efficiency of information management and the efficiency and the overall effectiveness of the ma nufacturing enterprise. Thacker’s view is that many CIM programs focus attention on the efficiency of information management and the manufacturing machines, material transformation processes, manufacturing management process, and production facilities. Computer-integrated Manufacturing can be applied to manufacturing organizations by changing the manufacturing focus toward a service orientation.CIM and Job Definition Format (JDFF) are becoming increasingly beneficial to printing companies to streamline their production process. A better understanding of manager’s needs would help systems develop recognize the emerging opportunities for creative use of information technology, and implement necessary changes. Methodology Computer-integrated Manufacturing is the system used to describe the full automation of manufacturing plant, with all processes functioning under computer control and digital information on tying team together.This system was promoted by machine tool man ufactures in the 1980’s and the society for Manufacturing Engineers. It is not the same as a â€Å"lights-out† factory wherein it will run completely independent of human intervention. The hearts of CIM are the Computer-aided design (CAD) and Computer-aided Manufacturing (CAM). These systems are essential in reducing cycle times in the organization. Functional requirements must be compared to the current inventory of systems and available technologies to identify the accessibility of the system.According to Jorgensen and Krause, there are techniques that is being used in satisfying system requirements which includes utilizing unused and available functional capabilities of current systems; identifying functional capabilities but not currently in house; recognizing state-of-the-art technology that is not immediately commercially available on a system; foreseeing functional capabilities of systems on the technical horizon; and identifying whether the requirement is beyon d the capabilities of systems on the technical horizon. StudyComputer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) system is simply the manipulation of computers in manufacturing products or other activities where final products or other activities are the main concern of this system. CIM has a big role regarding to the development of a product concept that may exist in the marketing organization which includes product design and specification, commonly the responsibility of an engineering organization; and its extension through production into delivery and after-sales activities that reside in a field service or sales organization.CIM systems had come into view as an outcome of the developments in manufacturing and computer technology. This integrated computer aided manufacturing system, operates on both hardware and software. The software is simply what runs the factory or it is the brain of the factory. And the hardware is what makes the machine functions or run, or simply hardware is the musc le of the factory. These systems run on efficient output process. This means that the hardware and software works in the factory together. They should be not separated because as a unified unit, it operates for the peak benefit of the whole factory.CIM system divided every individual â€Å"center† of the factory into work cells. As work cells, they are then divided into individual stations. He stations are the broken down to the individual processes and this process are what metamorphosis that raw materials into actual product. It may sound interweaving, but it streamlines the whole manufacturing process. This also allows the operations to change any necessary things that should be altered to the system without shutting down the whole system. In this way, optimizing production and its good quality will be highly obtained.Analysis In spite of all the positive outcomes of the computer-integrated manufacturing system, there are also problems or key issues arose that needs to be ponder carefully such as the equipment incompatibility and difficulty of integration of protocols. The integration of different brand equipment controllers with robots, conveyors and supervisory controllers is a time-consuming task with a lot of pitfalls. In other words, the time required for software, hardware, communications and integration and large investment cannot be financially justified easily.Another problem is data integrity. Machines react clumsily to bad data and the costs of it upkeep as well as general information systems departmental costs is higher than in non-CIM facility. Another problem that evolved is to try to accomplish in programming extensive logic to be able to produce schedules and optimize part sequence. There is no human mind that is to put into place of this approach in reacting to a dynamic day0today manufacturing schedule and changing priorities.On the other hand, integrated manufacturing is neither a universal remedy nor should it be embraced as a rel igion. It is an operational and tool that if executed and used properly will provide a new dimension to competing. Eventually, it will introduce quickly new customaries high quality products and delivering them with unprecedented lend times, swift decisions, and manufacturing products with high velocity. Conclusions and Recommendations Computer is one of the models of the information and communication technologies in manufacturing.There are factors which are involved when it comes to the CIM implementation and this includes production volume, in order to make the integration, the experiences of the company or personnel is highly concerned also the level of the integration into the product itself and the integration of the production process. When a company wants to integrate the computer into their business, they must be careful in starting manipulating this system for this undergoes a complex process. Computers, made an enormous impact regarding on the speed and accuracy of the pro duction process.With the help of this system, it is now accessible to create high quality outcomes in just a short period of time and it is hustle-free and less effort not like in the previous tomes, it would have taken a number of days to make the same products with no assurance that they would all be able to have the same quantity and quality. Computer-integrated manufacturing is a very interactive and hands on system. If it is applied appropriately, it will surely increase efficiency and enhance productivity with fewer errors to the whole factory. References http://www. computerintegratedfacturing . com/