Essay --

Change inside any club is sometimes require whether you want it or not. Everything around us is always changing even when we arent paying attention to it. The world is forever evolving and deepen is needed in order to keep up with the times. Organizations need change in order to keep growing and keep its employees and customers interested. Change means taking someone verboten of their comfort zone and imposing a new set of rules, disciplines or policies that are unknown to them. History has shown that only one approach works, for a company to stay relevant in this time of economic recession and that is change. The only company that I know very well is the casino that I worked for. in that respect were many things that could bedevil been changed to make the experience for customers and employees better. When you work at a casino there are so many different parts that are within that organization that there are many changes that you can make to help your company. I worked in the audit/money room. There were so many things that my department could have changed to make our job more safe and easier but they didnt because they were so accustomed to how they had been doing things that they didnt want to take the time out to contain something new. The managers just didnt understand that things needed to be changed in order to evolve. Change is the only thing that is consistent in business. Knowing how to manage change is the difference between successfully taking advantage of the opportunities it provides and letting it drag you down. Flexibility has its role in managing change and organizations benefit from embracing flexibility.(Laura Bramble, ehow.com)Commonly, some pot fear what they do not understand, that of which is new and set ap... ...arge that deserved to be in charge and not people that they just liked because they were friends. This happened all the time. This should go for any organization. You need to have people in charge that knows what is goi ng on at all times. You should never bring in someone that assumet know anything about a position and give them the leadership role. Once formed, your change coalition needs to work as a team, proceed to build urgency and momentum around the need for change. What you can do 1. Identify the true leaders in your organization, as well as your call stakeholders. 2. Ask for an emotional commitment from these key people. 3. Work on team building within your change coalition. 4. Check your team for weak areas, and ensure that you have a good mix of people from different departments and different levels within your company.(Heraclitus, Greek philosopher)

Capital Punishment, Death Penalty - What Are We Waiting For? :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

Capital Punishment Essays What Are We Waiting For? execution prevents eighteen finish ups per year.(Hirsch, 122)         Opponents argue that capital punishment is immoral.  But if you followthe Old Testament, it is moral.  In one passage from Genesis, Whoever sheds theblood of man, by man shall his blood be shed.  Another from Exodus, Eye for aneye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound forwound, cuff for stripe (Samaha, 440).  It was not very moral of the prisonerto commit a murder in the first place.  Why should it be immoral to execute aprisoner, but moral to kill an innocent person.  It is as morally right topunish criminals for their wicked deeds as it is to praise heroes for theirheroic deeds.  If it is noble for soldiers to give their lives for their coarsein wartime, then it is morally right to claim the lives of murderers for killinginnocent people in peaceable society(Samah a, 441).  According to ProfessorErnest van den Haag  The career of each man should be sacred to each other man...it is not enough to proclaim the sacredness and inviolability of human life.  Itmust be secured as well, by weighed down with the loss of their own life thosewho violate what has been proclaimed as inviolable-the right of innocents tolive (Haag, 67).         Other opponents argue that there is the chance of executing an innocentprisoner.  Hugo ecstasy Bedu and Michael L. Radelet collected evidence of everycapital punishment case after the 1930s.  They concluded that 23 innocentpeople, out of several thousand cases in the ordinal century, were convictedand executed,  but all of these mistakes were made because there was a forcedconfession, suppression of evidence, and  perjury (Samaha 442).  That means notone of these persons was actually innocent they just had fearful lawyers, or nolawyers when they had their trial.  The last time a truly innocent person wasexecuted was before the 1930s.         The biggest argument for capital punishment is retribution.  The victimsfamily often feels improve when the prisoner has been executed.  Retributionsatisfies the demand for justice. It channels public outrage into the acceptableform of the criminal sentence.  If criminal sentences do not satisfy this demandfor justice, aggravated citizens may lose respect for law and even, on occasion, takeit into their own hands (Samaha, 414).  The punishment handed out should fitthe crime committed, if a murder is committed then he or she deserves to beexecuted.  The best solution to the problem is to execute the prisoner right

Classroom Behavior Essay -- essays research papers

Would you be surprised to learn that in todays classroom sisterren sometimes arent learning collect to demeanoural issues? Teachers are attempting to ascertain classes in which educatees abide be disruptive, disrespectful and defiant. Classrooms are lots overcrowded which adds to the frustration of the situation. Teachers are often tempted to take the easy way protrude, using antiquated strategies that allow for usually non help the child to learn. In fact, some types of punishments can actually cause the child to travel even more rebellious. The child can experience a sense of worthlessness after being punished again and again.Children do not act out because they are bad. They act out in the hopes of receiving some kind of response or reward. In the past, children who acted out were classified as bad kids therefore were isolated or punished and often wound up slipping through the cracks of the educational system. Recently, some teachers have been attempting to help the b ehaviorally challenged child. Instead of isolating, punishing, labeling or ignoring a child, with work we can help them to become a part of the class. Teachers also have the power to help the child who would have once been considered a lost cause to learn. Many enquiryers have worked on learning about the causes of behavioral problems and possibly more importantly, have suggested some solutions to the problem. Behavioral theorists include B.F. Skinner, E. Thorndike, and William Glasser to name a few. Although their research and theories go by unlike names they all have one thing in common. All of the above theorists are, in effect, saying that we are not going to change the childs behavior by changing the child. We must change our reaction to the behavior in order to change it.The idea that bad behavior should not be rewarded is a basic concept. When one rewards any kind of behavior, bad or good, that behavior will continue. Children are especially quick to catch on to what kind of behavior will get them the result that they desire. B.F. Skinner, a behavioral theorist, says that when a particular StimulusResponse (S-R) pattern is reinforced (rewarded), the individual is instruct to respond. Skinners theory is known as Operant Conditioning (Skinner, 1950-71). Although it seems basic or common sense it is easy to forget that each behavior displayed addresses a necessitate. That need may be attention... ...t every student will understand or grasp every lesson. The important thing to remember is that the student who tries needs to be rewarded too.When using the reward system, teachers need to make the result that we desire the same result that the child desires. This is very tricky. William Glassers having fun need comes into play here. The lessons have to be fun for the student that participates. On the other hand the student who is disruptive or refuses to participate should be uncomfortable due to his or her attitude. The norm should be participation and app ropriate behavior. If teachers continue to try different strategies in the classroom and pay attention to the theorists research and suggestions, they will find that there are less children falling through the cracks of the educational system.ReferencesBoeree, George C. (1998). Abraham Maslow. Personality Theories http//www.ship.edu/cgboeree/maslow.html.Boatman, Andrew Mclain. (1998). Educational Theory Handbook. http//www.theshop.net/aboatman/edtheory.htm.Skinner B.F. Operant Conditioning. 1950-1971. http//tip.psychology.org/skinner.Thorndike, E. Connectionism. (1913-1928). http//tip.psychology.org/thorn.html.

Using Total Physical Response, Ollers Episodic Theory, and Krashens Monitor Hypothesisa :: Teaching Education Philosophy

Using Total Physical Response, Ollers Episodic Theory, and Krashens Monitor Hypothesisa to Teach a Second LanguageTeaching is a wonderful thing where you ar given the opportunity to make a difference in the life of a student. Teaching is about making a connection with the students and reaching out to those who need it. As a future Spanish teacher I am looking forward to this opportunity because I go forth be instrumental in helping students make a connection with other cultures and compare it to their own. As a foreign language instructor I will have the responsibility to demonstrate the importance of language in todays world and I will do this by providing different types of classroom activities.Teaching a second language creates the potential to overcome cultural gaps by allowing students of all backgrounds to communicate in a language other then their own without having to spend signifi quartert resources to do so. In addition to this a foreign language gives students the opport unity to distinguish about different cultures, customs and beliefs without having to travel any further then the classroom. A technique that is both effective and creates a fun learning environment are games. The use of games allows learning to reconcile place on both the conscious and subconscious levels. By the use of games you can use many novel techniques such as Total Physical Response (TPR), story telling as prescribed by Ollers Episodic Theory, while including elements of Krashens Monitor Hypothesis, all of which can address the national standards. There are several different approaches to learning that involve different theories, which build upon previous information and use different cognitive abilities. However, there is no one formal definition of what learning is. That has been a question that educators have pondered for many years. I believe that learning is a crew of different processes involving memorization, experience, adaptation and application of new skills, as well as conscious and subconscious reinforcement. A good way to facilitate learning is to take elements of these different theories and approaches and integrate them into classroom activities and lesson plans. Its necessary to challenge and motivate the students in order to have them perform well. In order to challenge the students in the discipline of a foreign language I will present them with different aspects of the cultures in which the language represents by cultural readings, foreign newspapers, and samples of music and food that are represented in those cultures.

The Last Thirty Years - Personal Narrative Essay -- History President

The Last Thirty YearsMy Personal Narrative (assuming I lived during the time of President Lincoln)Hi, my name is David Heard. I just turned twenty years old on February 4. I am a second generation American. My whole family is white and is originally from England. I have an older sister, Mary, who we do not see anymore, (I will get to that later), a younger brother, Adam, and both my parents. My parents and little brother live in a nice size ingleside for the three of them. I plan to get married soon, but for now I live in a house near my parents by myself. They do not own that much land, but it is enough for my mom?s garden and for my little brother to play on. My begin used to own a little ice cream and candy shop just on the outskirts of Boston. I took it over because my father does not compliments to work anymore. He feels that he is getting to old to be getting up before the sun rises to make candy. Exactly one month later on my birthday President Lincoln was inaug urated. At the end of his inauguration speech he said, ?We (the North and the South) are not enemies, but friends?, (Out of Many, 444). As much as I respect President Lincoln for the great man that he is I do not believe this. Things in this inelegant are personnel casualty to get worse before they get remediate. The population of this country has dramatically increased and this is causing more violence to occur between classes. One cannot passport down the street without seeing a fight somewhere. The country is becoming much too violent. I just hope some big war does not erupt soon. Things have changed so much since I was born and even a some years before I was born. I am a strong believer in human rights, such as humane treatment of Indians and slaves. I count on that... ...wide power. I hope and pray that our country can learn from its mistakes and move on to become a better nation because of them. Once people realize that our nation can be better off without slavery and the persecution of Indians, we will finally be able to treat people the way they should be treated and truly be the land of the free. No living, breathing human being should be recognized as a piece of property or pushed off of their property. As I begin to think about how our nation is developing I sometimes wonder why I have not joined my sister at the Oneida Community. They are a group of people that realizes the world is unstable and inconsistent and they are doing something about it to live a better life. I hope that in the next few years President Lincoln can change the direction that our country is going and turn us into the great country that we can be.

The Last Thirty Years - Personal Narrative Essay -- History President

The Last Thirty YearsMy Personal Narrative (assuming I lived during the time of President Lincoln)Hi, my name is David Heard. I skillful turned twenty old age old on February 4. I am a second times American. My whole family is white and is originally from England. I have an older sister, Mary, who we do not see anymore, (I will get to that later), a younger brother, Adam, and both my parents. My parents and inadequate brother live in a nice size house for the three of them. I plan to get married soon, but for now I live in a house near my parents by myself. They do not own that much land, but it is enough for my mom?s tend and for my little brother to play on. My father used to own a little ice cream and candy shop just on the outskirts of Boston. I took it over because my father does not want to work anymore. He feels that he is getting to old to be getting up before the sun rises to obligate candy. Exactly one month after my birthday President Lincoln was inaugurat ed. At the end of his inauguration speech he said, ?We (the North and the South) are not enemies, but friends?, (Out of Many, 444). As much as I respect President Lincoln for the spacious man that he is I do not turn over this. Things in this country are going to get worse before they get better. The population of this country has dramatically increased and this is causing more personnel to occur between classes. One cannot walk down the street without seeing a fight somewhere. The country is becoming much too violent. I just hope some big war does not erupt soon. Things have changed so much since I was born and even a few years before I was born. I am a strong believer in human rights, such as humane treatment of Indians and slaves. I recollect that... ...wide power. I hope and pray that our country can learn from its mistakes and move on to become a better nation because of them. Once people acknowledge that our nation can be better rancid without slavery and th e persecution of Indians, we will finally be able to treat people the way they should be toughened and truly be the land of the free. No living, breathing human being should be recognized as a piece of property or pushed off of their property. As I begin to think about how our nation is developing I sometimes wonder why I have not get together my sister at the Oneida Community. They are a group of people that realizes the world is unstable and inconsistent and they are doing something about it to live a better life. I hope that in the next few years President Lincoln can change the direction that our country is going and turn us into the great country that we can be.

Explanation of the research proposal Essay

key search question Research questions steer the students interrogation, and the central question question should reflect the subject of look into in a concise way. theoretical (desk) inquiry questionsQuestions should reflect relevant theoretical concepts that apply to the musical theme under query by the student, i.e. from marketing, finance, business environment. The theoretical role model should be taken into account when formulating theoretical research questions. New theories will receive supernumerary pointsStudents can improve the structure and categorize the questions under themes (categories), such as * Strategic management (Competitive Grid, BCG, Ansoff, Abel, 5-forces, competitive system, PLC, PEST, SWOT, etc), * Marketing (4Ps, positioning, targeting, branding, CRM, branding, etc). * Operations & SCM (process strategy, SCM, inventory management, lean systems, forecast & demand claimn systems, resource planning , and others). * International business (FDI, str ategy & organization of intl business, entry models, barriers to trade, etc).* Finance & accounting.The choice of topics also depends on how massive or narrow the student wants the research topic to be. data-based (field) research questions Students should think about what they want to find out by doing field research, and contemplate research questions about these issues. They will need to identify the populations that they want to research and formulate research questions for each of these populations. One way to structure empirical research questions is using the research populations at categories. What is it you want to learn from these populations? besides, formulate research questions, not questionnaire or interview questionsResearch objectives Objectives should reflect in short what the student wants to fulfill by the research project.PhilosophyInterpretivism the view that all knowledge is a matter of interpretation. From the book A Peoples History of the United States, Howard Zinn But there is no such thing as a pure fact, innocent of interpretation. Behind every fact presented to the world by a teacher, a writer, anyone is a judgment. The judgment that has been made is that this fact is important, and that other facts, omitted, are not important.* Positivism 1 + 1 = 2* Interpretivism 1 + 1 = 3 research approach deductive/inductive* Deductive is applying theories in desk research* Inductive is developing theories, or new insights, by doing field research. cross-sectional/longitudinal/ beta/ descriptive/explanatory studies. * Cross-sectional means studying the here and now.* Longitudinal means studying developments over time by doing * exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory studies.Research strategy Desk research* Theoretical research questions drive desk-research.* IP-8 is an academic assignment and presenting issues in a theoretical context is a requirement. * IP-8 requires students to apply theories and models to a real smell business pro blem and to organize proprietary original field research.* Desk-researchDesk research is done to answer the theoretical research questions and includes selecting and studying the theories and information relevant to the research topic. Students should inform how they will collect quantitative and qualitative entropy by doing internet, entropybase and literature research. quantitative secondary data examples of texts, authors should be given. * qualitative secondary data Specific sources should be presented. * internet research Specific sources should be presented. Use of school databases is expected. * literature research Use of school library sources is expected.* Theoretical framework* Area field topic when selecting the theories that apply to the research topic, students will describe the theoretical framework of their research topic. In the theoretical framework allows students to broaden or narrow down their subject of research. * The area is the broader context, such as strategic management, marketing, finance, or logistics * The field is more narrow, such as for example competitive strategy, client service, flow strategies of production and distribution, financial performance measurement, etc, depending on the topic of research. * The topic is usually the central research question.* primary secondary tertiary sources of secondary data Specific sources should be presented. * secondary data document/survey based (CBS) Specific sources should be presented. * distinguishencing method IBMS referencing method should be used.Field-researchEmpirical research questions drive field-research. case-study When students work with a sponsor, the research is often called a case study, because they do research that applies to a particular case, the sponsor. The sponsor company provides access to empirical data. research populations sampling framesStudents should do the following when they organize their field research formulate empirical research que stions that will be answered by doing field research, choose the research populations that can answer these questions, and possibly get a sampling frame (a list with names or items in thepopulation), select the research methods (interviews, surveys, observations) for each of the research populations that will be used to extract the information, then select the sampling method (probability, or non-probability sampling) for each of the research populations. observations/interviews/survey with questionnaires Student should explain briefly why methods are chosen for each of the research populations.Sampling method for each of the research populations probability sampling (simple-random/ systematic/stratified-random/cluster sampling) Student should explain briefly which sampling methods devour been chosen for each of the research populations and why. non-probability sampling (quota/purposive/ snowball/self-selecting/convenience sampling) Student should explain briefly which samplin g methods have been chosen for each of the research populations and why. sample size Student should explain why sample sizes haven been set, and how. reliability/validity Student should reflect on the broodency and representativeness of potential findings from the research populations that have been identified, and the truthfulness of potential findings.Empirical framework environment of field research Sponsor company provides access to empirical data. Student should briefly describe the environment of their field research, the sponsor company, and the research populations. research populations (sources of primary data) Students describe the research populations of their field research which may consist of the sponsor company, representatives of departments, experts, customers, suppliers, competitors, etc. In the empirical framework more detailed information is provided about the research methods, observations, the shell of the interviews and the questionnaires used in the surv ey (if applicable), and the flake of data that is expected to be collected.Note There is redundancy in some of the issues presented in the checklist under field research, research populations, sampling, and empirical environment. Students may refer to earlier parts. observations Observation is systematically observing people and/or processes. Observation might be an option for students doing a case study, but is often intemperate to organize. interviews fully structured/semi-structured/ unstructured Student should provide details about the type of interviews for each of the research populations. surveys self-administered/ interviewer administered questionnaires Student should provide details about the type of surveys for each of the research populations. opinion/behavior/attribute data Student should provide details about the types of data will be collected from each of the research populations.Time table Is time-table realistic and meeting deadlines?

Conducting a management project Essay

IntroductionThe be sick, as requested by the manager is to come up with the ways that my group flowerpot make more than savings in the confederacy for the company and for their own growth. This was because the company has not been making savings as they had targeted in the popning of their business year and the savings argon even slight as compared to the other financial years yet the company still appears to be run under the same principals. The externalize is aimed at coming up with the research and recommendations for actions to be taken to manage and change the situation at the company and write a suit up to(p) report on this. The report written at the end of this research is going to benefit the company in generating more profits and the employees in self- maturation. It is also going to cultivate the culture of team work, innovation and entrepreneurial culture among the employees.Simply put, the benefits derived from project direction increase in proportion to how we ll project management bear upones are used. A well -executed project volition be completed on time, within its approved budget. A well-executed project will deliver higher product quality by managing the time to design and test the new product. It will provide great enjoyment to its team, and it will meet (or exceed) the customers expectations. In todays business environment, it is critical that each project is run in the most efficient manner possible. For a project-oriented business, it is equally imperative that all projects are managed consistently, so that the benefits of well -executed projects extend corporate wide. The info that was used in this research was collected from the employees, customers and other stakeholders in the company.In preparation for the data collection, it is important to note that a diverse sample of the server companys employees is required in order to name the breadth of the organizational structure and the full range of roles and responsibiliti es of participants. Input to the list of query participants should be secured from the company champion, but it is the assessors function to contend the sample to ensure it meets the needs of a balanced sagaciousness.The assessor should experience a tendency of most sponsors to provide participants who already are highly rated and tolerate demonstrate high performance. The participant pool needs to include these participants, but not be limited to them. All divisions of the corporate structure should be represented, including operational and supporting departments. In selecting the interview sample, the assessor should consider the population density of the host companys divisions, revenue generated by the divisions, project count or cost, or several other attributes.The total number of interviews to be conducted must be limited to a number that is appropriate for the size of the host company it is organizational structure and the time period in which the study is required. T hese factors also drive the composition and size of the assessment team.The methods used in the collection of data and info include use of marvelnaires, observation, collecting samples, victorious pictures, oral interviews, reading on recorded materials. The process was not that easy since it was hard to get rough confidential reading especially on the accounts records of the company and some of the employees felt like they were being spied on and did not give the precisely correct information. in addition collecting information from my ranking(prenominal)s proved to be a bit hard, but all in all the information and data required for the research was successfully corrected.In all the methods used face to face conversation proved to be the best way to obtain information. Some of it advantages include A mountain -to-people gibe within a people oriented business see management is ultimately a people -oriented business that requires personal interactions by and amidst all of the project team members. Face-to-face interviewing extends this principle to maturity assessments. Not only does the interview provide an interpersonal connection between the interviewer and the interview participant, it allows the interviewer to begin to assess the people skills of the personnel assigned to manage projects at the subject company.Interview participants who display grace and condor during the interview are more likely to expect those traits into their project teams, and are more likely to be open to the recommendations for change or improvement that will flow from the assessment study. Conversely, interview subjects who are less cooperative or more belligerent during the interviews are less likely to readily adopt new suggestions. Reveals actual, as well as intended behaviours conducting face to face interviews allows the interviewer/assessor to discover how the project team members at the subject company conduct their project business on a day-to-day basis. It i s the only tool in the assessors toolbox that provides a means to evaluate the validity of several of the other tools, such as a review of insurance policy manuals, or a project catalogue search.Policy statements and procedures manuals provide guidance into how the subject company believes it should or wants to do work. By engaging project team members in open conversations, the interviewer can elicit comments that reveal, What we really do vs. what we think we do or what we are supposed to do? Additionally, by discussing varied types of project reports with the people who write them, or use them, the assessor can gain insight into the value placed on each report. A simple document review, while important, can only indicate that a report exists, not that it is a valued tool, used by the project team to help harbor their projects, or by management to monitor progress. Provides opportunity to observe the corporate culture of the subject company.Corporate culture creates different patterns of behaviour at different companies that can have a significant impact on the outcomes of projects. The degree of openness to hearing and dealing with project issues, demonstrating appreciation for project successes, and the amount of information sharing between functional groups working on a project all contribute to the ultimate success of a project. All companies probably would suffice affirmatively to possessing these traits not all companies truly demonstrate these traits demonstrablely. During one-on-one conversations with working- level project team members, the assessor can learn how well the subject company responds to project information, or how often it shoots the messenger.Difficulties associated with face-to-face interviews impoverishment to base credibility of assessors As an away(p)r, the assessment team will often encounter a Who-are -you-and-why-should -I-give-you-any-of- my time? waver to participate amongst the project management community at the su bject company. This attitude can stem from two general sources a general distrust of consultants and managements motives for hiring them or in capable information about the assessors credentials. Neither of these difficulties is insurmountable, but neither can be ignored. And both can be addressed initially by a carefully worded introduction from the assessments sponsor within the host company.The sponsor for the assessment necessarily must possess sufficient status within his/her own organization to approve, or be able to solicit approval for the funding needed to conduct the assessment study. This status can be leveraged to convey the credentials of the assessment team to the host organization. The assessors must be introduced to the project management community in terms that readily establish the expertise and experience of the assessment team with this type of work. This also implies that the assessment team must be comprised of, or, at the least, be led by experienced, senior p roject managers, whose personal credentials will inspire confidence in the interview participants. Need to secure cooperation of interview participants.The assessor also needs to recognize that many people within the host companys project management organization(s) will not view the assessment in an entirely positive light. Although the study is intended to be a continuous-improvement effort, it may still be perceived to stem from something being wrong, or judged to be not good enough. The outside assessor could be viewed as Managements vigilante enforcer, coming in to identify and punish the under-achievers in project management. The assessor must withdraw this impression, a task that can best be done if the assessor knows where the host companys sore spots exist and why the host company has elected to conduct the assessment. Here again, the status of the assessment sponsor can be of great help in overcoming the reluctance of the interview participants.The sponsors introduction of the assessment team can be used to share the rationale for the study and remove much of the apprehension that could surround it. Need to prepare thoroughly. During each interview, it will be beneficial to allow conversation to flow in a freewheeling manner, rather than following a rigid, checklist question and answer. For this to work, the assessor/interviewer must be adequately prepared to conduct the interview. The assessor must know the assessment modelling in great detail, and be able to detect different levels of maturity for each knowledge area, regard less of whether or not the interview respondent uses catch phrases and list words from the model in his/her comments. It is the assessors responsibility to be able to take appropriate notes during the interview without disrupting the flow of the interview by having to shuffle papers or stumble from one topic to the next.The assessment team can help prepare for the interviews by constructing an easy -to-use interview form that guides them through the different areas, and offers reminders of key phrases to listen for. By creating the form, the team members will increase their familiarity with it, and find it more beneficial as a guide. Additionally, by constructing their own form, the assessment team members will afford themselves the opportunity to reacquaint themselves with the details of the assessment model.Compiling, synthesizing, and evaluating the information from all interviews.Specific data from individual interviews can be compiled if a set of special K questions, with a short range of possible answers, is used for all interviews. In this circumstance, it is recommended that a set of standard analytical measures are identified prior to the interview phase, but it should not be assumed that these standard measures will adequately address the entire information content collected.The synthesis of the information is a process that requires the individual assessors to subjectively analyse the commen ts they heard and recorded during the interviews and identify common themes and touch-points along the maturity continuum. The assessors must then collaborate to yield consistent adaptation of the interview and confirm that the data gathered is appropriate for further evaluation. The assessors must collectively review the compiled data, interrogate it for trends and errors, and determine whether trends identified warrant further analysis.From the information gathered in data collection, many things can be realised there is no transparent audit of the books of accounts in the company, the employees are taking bribes from the customers in return for unauthorised favours, the employees are very relaxed in their work and lack motivation, the board members are conduction the staffing process in a questionable manner, the employees were taking unnecessary and expensive trips at the expense of the company, the directors have very high unwarranted allowances, the taxes due to the governmen t are not fully settled and the boilersuit running of the firm is questionable.The things that need to be done urgently to make sure that the company is saved from being bankrupt and that it gives some profits are there should be an immediate external audit of all the books of accounts in the firm, the recruitment and staffing in the firm should be done on the basis of faculty and therefore there should be a vetting process to eliminate all those who are there illegally, all the directors should be vetted and those found to be corrupt should be retrenched, the company should have a new board of directors, all the employees should sign a performance contract which should be followed strictly.Conclusions the use of face-to-face interviews in Project Management Maturity Assessments has proven to contribute most and convey the project management actualities within any host organization. If executed correctly, the face-to- face interview will yield most insight into the host organizatio ns current maturity and point to pockets of excellence as well as areas requiring correction. Although it is not recommended that an assessment be conducted using only face-to-face interviews, it is strongly recommended that a face-to-face interview always be included in an assessment.ReferencesDove, K. E. (2002).Conducting a successful development services program A comprehensive guide and resource. San Francisco, CA Jossey-Bass.Fernald Environmental Management Project (U.S.), United States., United States., United States., Lippitt, J. M., & Kolthoff, K. (1995).Successful completion of a RCRA closure for the Fernald Environmental Management Project. Washington, D.C United States. Dept. of Energy.Thomsett, M. C. (2002).The little black book of project management. unused York AMACOM.Tjahjana, L., Dwyer, P., & Habib, M. (2009).The program management office advantage A tendinous and centralized way for organizations to manage projects. New York American Management Association.Weir, J . R. (2009).Conducting prescribed fires A comprehensive manual. College Station Texas A & M University Press.Wysocki, R. K., Beck, R., & Crane, D. B. (2000).Effective project management. New York Wiley.

Business Marketing Management Capstone Written Project Essay

A. Executive SummaryThe business plan is written for the footmark forrader development boil down serving the children of Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland. The centralise educates boyish educate-age childs in reading, writing, and math to meet or exceed the rough-cut effect Standards for capital of the United utters State. The midriff pull up stakes annex childrens literacy and comprehension of reading, writing, and math finished practices such as unrivaled-on- one(a) tutoring and small group sessions instructed by trained and certified personnel. The ticker leave alone t severally understanding and mastery of concepts over the memorization of concepts, testing comprehension by requiring practical, real life application of knowledge to prepare children for college, range, and life. The center volition confound a venue available for captain private events which complicate work presendations, public speaking, educational classes, etc. The revenue from the outside u se of this venue will help fund operations of the internality. flavor before skill Center is playally asking for $20,000 to complete a fifth fully functional computer lab, and asks for on-going contri thations to advertise assist with the advancement of engineering science incorporation, component to achieve or exceed the Common essence Standards as set forth by the Washington Education Association (WEA). Ginsburg, Leinward, and Decker (2005) stated that the mathematics concepts in U.S. textbooks are often weak, thus presentation is bonnie more than mechanical than ever.A.1 Business Identification flavor up skill Center curtilage W. 4th Ave.Kennewick, WA 99336(509)555-9876stepahead.kennewickgmail.comstepaheadlearningcenter.comA.2 Mission, Goals and ObjectivesThe centers missionary work is to integrate technology into teaching and learning, reinforcing consistent expectations in learning for all students across all word form take aims consistent with give instructio n board expectations, teaching comprehension and mastery over memorization of concepts, and emphasizing critical topics children will need to possess to succeed in condition and after graduation. This mission helps the scholarship Center achieve the vision of a culture that promotes elevated educational standards, high expectations, individual learning, collaborative learning, and clear communication skills.The partnership between the Learning Center and the local nurture board will increase the amount of highly educated children into the friendship, raising the companionship welfare and individual well- existence.The primary purposes of the Learning Center are1. To reinforce consistent expectations in learning for all students across all vagabond takes, in partnership with the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland crop boards.2. To teach comprehension of concepts over the memorization of concepts, instilling a high private standard of learning. a. Consistently test to check off a high level of retention by requiring a practical, real life application of knowledge to prepare students for life beyond school3. To pull in or reinforce critical topics students will need to succeed in the classroom and in the future.4. To provide a venue for master based private events, helping offset operation cost of the Learning CenterThe primary objectives of the Learning Center are1. To increase overall average Measurement of Student fireth (MSP) test scores to at alumnus level or above association level for the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school regularises by the end of the 2015-2016 school year.2. To increase Common Core Standards comprehension levels in reading, writing, math, and technology to at grade level or above grade level for the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts by the end of the 2015-2016 school year.3. To decrease crime and substance abuse among children, teens, and young adults in the community by providing a rubber and inviting Le arning Center where children can learn and grow as individuals and as a member of the community.4. To advocate collaboration among young children, increase comprehension in reading, writing, math, and technology, increase communication skills, broaden cultural views, increase moral reasoning, and foster growth of cognitive abilities.5. To increase the level of personal responsibility of children in the community.A.3 Three Keys to SuccessThe Learning Center anticipates achiever of marks and objectives finished cardinal key functions hiring module members that are the right fit, empowering stave to create devotion and a passion for ex prison cellence, and strong collaboration with various clientele. Hiring exceptional staff members graduation ahead(predicate) Learning Center is an equal fortune employer. The right employees will embrace the centers mission, hold a degree in a field of study related to education, and embody strong communication skills with peers and young child ren. Empowerment This creates a high level of devotion and passion to contact for excellence. Every interaction with a child and every lesson presented, taught, or pursued by a staff member will be done with thehighest goal in mind integrating technology into a safe and inviting learning environment to increase comprehension of reading, writing, math, and technology concepts. Collaborating and communicating with others Staff will interact with a variety of clientele including by not limited to children, parents, school board members, funders, benefactors, and other partners or agencies providing support and opportunities for the Learning Center. Every interaction with a person inside or outside the Learning Center will help the center to meet its objectives.B. Company SummaryB.1 Industry HistoryThe scene of action in which the center will be providing educational go is well developed with current educational services. The relationship between Step Ahead Learning Center and the Ke nnewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts is unprecedented. Each of the three school districts strongly recommend and encourage struggling (and none struggling) students to the services offered at the center based on staff credentials and comprehension standards.In 2001, the No minor Left Behind Act was enacted to ensure that all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high- lineament education and reach proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards. This act has increased the relationship between the three school districts and the Learning Center because schools are required to improve their performance to meet or exceed State standards. The Learning Center is providing extra economic aid to students who need it in order for the schools to meet the expectation set forth by the No Child Left Behind Act.The primary purpose of the center is to ensure high-quality student comprehension of key concepts in indication, Writing, and Mat h, aligning concepts with State academic standards so that progress a sort outst common core standards can be measured. on that point are several smaller businesses which strive to achieve the same vision, but one competitor has market share. For this competitor, one disadvantage is that Step Ahead Learning Center has a directrelationship with the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts, they do not. An advantage this competitor has over Step Ahead is that they have built a reputation, having been in business for more than 30 years. This is the only other Learning Center in the area that meets an identical scope of the Step Ahead Learning Center.The supplementary purpose of the center is to provide a rental revenue for professional or semi-professional events. There is a history of professional venues available at close large hotel chains. Several venues in the area meet the Centers scope of a rental venue.B.2 Legal Form of OwnershipStep Ahead Learning Center is incorpora ted in the state of Washington. The social club is established as a 501(c) (3), which facilitates contributions from donors. A large majority of financing is raised internally or from charitable donations. Step Ahead Learning Center is governed by a board of twelve trustees. Independent contractors, if any, working for Step Ahead Learning Center will be held fully responsible for their own legal requirements, taxes, and expenses. A website, stepaheadlearningcenter.com, has been obtained by the company. This website is apply as a marketing beam for the company and a source of information for parents/young adult children.B.3 Location and FacilitiesStep Ahead Tutoring Center is located in Kennewick, WA serving students in Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco school districts. The company will conduct business in a 10,500 square-foot space dedicated entirely to the operations of the business. Business licensure has been obtained from the City of Kennewick and fulfills any and all requirem ents to pursue such a business. No legal issues or regulations in the city or state will now, or in the future, lessen the ability to bring in Kennewick or to conduct business from the named location.The building is equipped with general business equipment, including a high-tech computer system with Wi-Fi Internet connection, a cell recollect for each staff member, Skype teleconferencing technology, and a company vehicle.The center has two computer labs, each with 25 computers and a projector. Each computer has high speed Internet connection, Microsoft Office Home and Student, and several distinguishable purchased educational programs. The venue available for professional and semi-professional events is equipped with two computers and a projector. Each employee has a designated office with their own computer. The main teaching floor (lecture hall), each of the 5 computer labs, and each of the 3 private tutoring suite have a projector.B.4 worry StructureXxxxxx Xxxxx will perfor m Presidential duties and perform all management positions including, but not limited to, Business Development Manager, Communications/Public traffic Manager, and Project Manager. He is a certified teacher in the state of Washington with a BA Degree in Business Management / selling from the accredited online school Washington Governors University (WGU). He will handle marketing the benefits of the companys education services to customers, human choice duties, and overseeing day to day operations. The one-on-one and group tutoring sessions will be the responsibility of intravenous feeding highly qualified and trained teachers. These employees are salaried and will clear a raise increase of 1% over the prior years pay (starting at $18,000 the world-class year). They will follow the companys high standard of excellence in education that represents the local school districts and States required common core standard. Currently, the company has hired four teachers. Additional teache rs can be added as deemed necessary by additional workload, meaning the company is growing.This organizational structure will meet the short-terms require of the center, but long-term needs will require at least one receptionist and a general manager. The center plans to hire these two positions after the first 6 months of operation to reduce the work load of the teachers having to check-in students (or requiring parents to self-check-in) and the president having to oversee day-to-day operations.B.5 Products and ServicesThe Common Core Standards in Washington state at the highest levels ever. Step Ahead Tutoring Center will use technology and hands-on methods toeducate children ranging from Kindergarten to high school seniors. Students will be given additional tools and resources align with established school district procedures to help them succeed in school and in the future.The adjacent services are offered by the Step Ahead Tutoring Center Reading Tutoring Academy of Reading, a program intentional by EPS for students grades 2-12 (EPS Literacy and Intervention, 2014), will be used by a designated reading teacher. Sessions will be one hour in length in a group setting of no more than 10 students per one teacher. Students will log in to their key and begin working in the program. Teachers will introduce a lesson, review basic concepts, monitor progress, and view reports on each student daily to ensure progression. If teachers see a regression in progress, the student will be given a higher level of attention in the group setting. If this does not help the student improve, the student may be recommended to one-on-one tutoring sessions. Writing Tutoring Writing Skills (2nd Edition), a program designed by EPS for students grades 2-12, will be used by a designed writing teacher. Writing intensity A is for grades 2-4, Writing Book 1 is for grades 5-6, Writing Book 2 is for grades 7-8, and Writing Book 3 is for grades 9-12. Students will be expected to complet e one lesson every two sessions (with each session being one hour long with no more than 10 students in a group). If teachers see a regression in progress, the student will be given a higher level of attention in the group setting. If this does not help the student improve, the student may be recommended to one-on-one tutoring sessions.Math Tutoring Academy of Math, a program designed by EPS for students grades 2-12, will be used by a designated math teacher. Sessions will be one hour in length in a group setting of no more than 10 students per one teacher. Students will log in to their account and begin working in the program. Teachers will introduce a lesson, review basic concepts, monitor progress, and view reports on each student daily to ensure progression. If teachers see a regression in progress, the student will be given a higher level of attention in the group setting. If this does not help the student improve, the student may be recommended to one-on-one tutoring sessions .One-on-one Services An individualized one-on-one session can be scheduled with any of our four highly trained teachers in reading, writing, and/or math to ensure children are getting the help thatthey need. Parents can enroll their child directly into a one-on-one session with a teacher for one session, or on a continual basis. A teacher may recognize that a student is struggling in a group atmosphere, qualification the recommendation that the child work in a one-on-one session until he/she tests signs of academic improvement. A one-on-one teacher will provide the student with assistance on their homework upon request. Venue Rental Step Ahead Tutoring Center has a venue available for rent by outside parties for professional and semi-professional events such as guest speaking, presentations, meetings, etc.C. Market AnalysisC.1 Target MarketStep Ahead Tutoring Centers primary target consultation consists of mothers/fathers or grandparents of children enrolled in the Kennewick, Pas co, or Richland School Districts in grades 2-12. The primary target for the message is the parents/grandparents of students who are at or below State Common Core Standards in Reading, Writing, and Math. The numberary target for the message is the parents/grandparents of students who are at or above State Common Core Standards.Step Ahead Tutoring Centers secondary audience consists of businesses and professionals, traveling and stationary, who require a venue to hold a professional or semi-professional meeting or event. The goal behind providing a venue for such meetings is to (1) gain exposure for the Tutoring Center, and (2) generate additional revenue for the operating expenses of the Tutoring Center.C.2 Industry AnalysisFuture trends that may affect the centers efforts to educate students grades 2-12 in the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts include Basic education and Common Core Standards goals are met. An average of 85% of students in the Kennewick, Pasco, and Ri chland school districts meet these standards. As the economy changes, the need for more highly educated and skilled workers will increase. The education and Common Core Standards goal and philosophy should be continually updated to ruminate cultural andeconomic needs. Expansion of Common Core Standards. A higher level of standards for students will mean updated training and certifications for staff, higher levels of work for students, and an increase in the number of students not meeting these standards, requiring extra attention. Mission, Goals, and Objectives creep. As the center gains momentum, other established or start-up business may use a similarly formatted mission statement for their company. It will be important for Step Ahead Tutoring Center to ensure the impact of the mission is not lessened by another groups betrothal in similar missions, goals, and objectives. Down clipping. The school year for the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts in from late August t o the middle of June. During the summer months, summer school sessions take site around the area at various different school locations. There will be a significant decrease in the amount of students go to at the Tutoring Center during this time. The venue for rent by outside professional or semi-professional groups will help to offset costs during this time. Cash flow. During this down time during the summer months (middle of June to late August) there will be a decrease in revenues, resulting in the temporary release of two employees, or utilizing other rooms in the center for other uses, such as additional rental space.C.3 Competitive AnalysisCompetition for education services comes from several sources, the biggest competition being Sylvan Learning Center. According to the Sylvan Learning website, Sylvan offers tutoring in all levels for Math and Reading they assess students needs and create a personal education development plan targeting subscribe to math and reading concepts they offer their own technology for an engaging experience on the iPad they also offer tensile schedules that fit any busy family schedule. To compete with Sylvan, Step Ahead will heavily market the availability of highly trained staff in each subject area, the inclusion of Writing concepts into the curriculum, the inclusion of technology in the administration of each subject to improve the childs overall competence, and the partnership with the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts to ensure focus on on helping students achieve proficient or advanced levels according to the States Common Core Standards.A second competitor is actually the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts. Select schools are offering after school programs focused directly on helping students understand the material being taught in the class room. This program is free of charge to students who need the additional attention. This is not a requirement of the school nor is it being offered at every school for every grade level, primarily because the school board cannot fund these programs. While the teachers at Step Ahead can assist with solving homework problems, the focus is on administering Math, Reading, and Writing programs to provide additional concepts that will further the students comprehension in the subject.Another competitor is after school clubs such as the YMCA or Boys and Girls Club of America. These programs are great for children who are succeeding in school and do not require additional attention to meet the States Common Core Standards. They provide children with the opportunity to play and interact with other children their own age season being supervised in a safe environment. At Step Ahead, students are being supervised in a safe environment, but they are also learning and growing their minds. A marketing approach to be taken by Step Ahead is that children who require additional help should be enrolled in an afterschool program such as Step Ahead w here they will spend time immersed in educational programs.Competition from hotels or reception buildings that host weddings, receptions, and other private events are not considered. In general, the rental of the venue at Step Ahead is not the primary objective, thus marketing the venue against competition is not pursued. While Word of give tongue to marketing will be the primary marketing strategy for the venue, the goal is that the income generated by rental of the venue will help cover operating costs of the center.Many people in the area see the need for private and semi-private educational assistant with all grade levels in the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts. The main elicitation for this realization is the lack of students meeting the States Common Core Standards. With awareness of this issue change magnitude, there is a positive and a negative for Step Ahead. Thepositive is that more children will be enrolled into private and semi-private educational servi ces, which means a practicable increase in enrollment for Step Ahead, resulting in increased revenue and possible future growth of the business. The negative is that more schools, groups, or qualified individuals will begin to offer more private and semi-private educational services, which means an increase in competition for Step Ahead.D. Market StrategyD.1 The 4 PsPricing The pricing strategy used to determine a price for the services provided by Step Ahead was a variation of Penetration Pricing and Predatory Pricing. Penetration Pricing is when a company sets their prices low to string customers and gain market share, and then raises the prices once they have a large market share. Step Ahead used the first half of this strategy, which is setting prices low to attract customers and gain market share. Predatory Pricing is known as an aggressive strategy, intended to drive competitors from the market. Step Ahead is not interested in becoming market leader and running other compani es out of business. The goal is simply to educate children and raise comprehension to the State Common Core Standard level, while covering expenses. In regard to the mission of the center, profitability is not the number one goal. Profitability, however, is still required in order to continue and expand the business, increasing efforts in providing higher levels of educational services to children.The venue rental prices were set depending on cost of utilities used during these times, the cost of having a Step Ahead staff member on the premises during the event, and generating revenue for covering operating costs of the center. Product As described previously, the service provided by Step Ahead Learning Center is additional education services. A profound need for higher levels of comprehension and Common Core concept teaching is found in the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts. Because of this need, the center will offer tutoring sessions at different times throughout th e day Monday thru Saturday. Highly trained and qualified teachers will teach one-on-one and semi-private groups (no more than 10 students) on concepts aligning with the States Common Core Standards in Reading, Writing, andMath. Academy of Math, Academy of Reading, and Writing Skills (2nd Edition) are programs distributed through EPS for use by teachers to improve struggling students comprehension in the concepts of Reading, Writing, and Math. The teachers at Step Ahead are trained on these programs and will monitor students use of these programs to ensure the highest quality comprehension and learning. A one-on-one teacher will assist a student with their homework upon request, a Reading teacher, Writing teacher, or Math teacher will not provide assistance with homework.Promotion Promoting education services to mothers, fathers, and grandparents (even college age students with younger brothers or sisters) has been primarily simple. A quality education is easy to market, and if a pa rent or relative sees that a child is struggling with their education, the first option to consider is additional education services.Methods for promoting the services offered at Step Ahead Tutoring Center include radio advertisements, television commercials, flyers, word-of-mouth, direct mail, Facebook, and blogs. The primary channel for promoting the center is the partnership with the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts. Teachers, Paraprofessionals, Secretaries, and Principals can promote Step Ahead through word-of-mouth marketing. Flyers posted at each of the schools on a main bulletin board at the front office, or an informational pamphlet sent home with a students report card can promote Step Ahead.The biggest promotion for the center to date is the planned grand origin scheduled for August 2014. This event is geared to be a celebration of education and it will include students, parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, teachers, paraprofessionals, secretaries, pri ncipals, donors, and any member of the community devoted to the success of children in their education. Promotion for the event will include television and radio advertisements, flyers, and direct mail to all households in the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts.A promotional tool to be used will be brochures. These informationalbrochures will be given at every consultation, will be available at the front desk, and will be sent to every school is the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts. The information in this brochure will cover the mission, goals, and objectives of the center, the location of the center with hours of operation, contact information, and session times, a breakdown of cost compared to competitors, and information regarding the highly trained and certified teacher staff.Another promotional tool is a fully functional website for the center. It will include all the information outer spaced in the brochure, plus much more. A staff directory will be included along with links to different online educational tools (learning games, Common Core Standard guides, school board information, school websites, etc.). The website URL is stepaheadlearningcenter.com.Place (Distribution) Points of distribution for information about the services provided by the Step Ahead Learning Center are found (1) on site in each computer lab, at the front desk, and in the venue, (2) on the website (stepaheadlearningcenter.com), and (3) by phone call or direct mail. All promotional efforts for the Step Ahead Tutoring Center are targeted geographically to reach households in the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts. While select publications will reach locations outside the intended geographic area, a requirement to enroll in the learning center is enrollment in either the Kennewick, Pasco, or Richland school district. Any enrollment requests received for a student residing outside of these school district boundaries will be referred to a lear ning center (or equivalent) in their area.D.2 Price ListThe following prices are for services offered at Step Ahead Tutoring Center. Prices listed are per session.The following prices are for rental of the venue for professional and semi-professional events at the Step Ahead Tutoring Center.D.3 Selling StrategyThere are many strengths of the center including the location in the center of the three school districts which provides easier access for the families dungeon in the area, highly trained and certified teacher staff, and a true focus in further educating students to help achieve the goals listed in the Common Core Standards set forth by the State of Washington.More companies and small business are requiring their employees, vested and entry level, to have a degree or some form of education beyond high school. The centers mission is to increase the level of education in the area, increasing the number of educated young adults launching the work force.Goal Further the educatio n in children to assist with increasing the percentage of students testing at grade level or above grade level as defined by Washington State Common Core Standards to 65% by 2016, 70% by 2018, 75% by 2020, 80% by 2021, and 85% by 2022 (and to continually maintain an average of 85% or better). A milestone for this goal, set in 2001 after the No Child Left Behind Act was initiated, was achieved in 2011 50% of students within the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts will test at grade level or above grade level in 10 years.Goal Record, edit, and publish four videos to be posted on the Step Ahead Learning Center website. The videos will show how the teacher staff at the center teaches private and semi-private groups the concepts of Reading, Writing, and Math using technology to administer helpful programs. An HD recorded and latest editing software will be used to capture and edit the videos. The videos will be uploaded to the website by January 2015.Goal Produce the Informat ion Brochure mentioned earlier to be distributed to Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts and to be sent out by direct mail to households within the school district boundaries. 10,000 brochures should be produced and distributed by the end of September 2014 after the first Washington State Assessment test is administered to every student in the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts.D.4 gross sales ForecastStep Ahead operates under a fiscal calendar year of August 1 to July 31. Following figures are based on expected market conditions.The two year totals are Fundraising $27,000, Learning Center Sales Revenue $359,000, Venue Rental Revenue $53,400, and Funding from Donors $126,000. It is estimated that fundraising will continue at its current momentum of $5,000 for year one, and increase to $6,000 per month for year two. It is estimated that the centers sales revenues will increase as the goals and objectives of the center become better known by the residents of t he Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts. The forecasted two year revenue for Step Ahead Tutoring Center is $565,400.E. Implementation StrategyE.1 Overall StrategyThe center will benefit from its location in the city. It is easily accessible by everyone in the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland School District Boundaries. The grand opening will be the official launch of the business, set to take place this year in late summer, previous(predicate) fall (2014). During the event, there will be an open house where anyone from the community can take self-tours of the building, viewing all computer labs, reception area, and rental venue. monstrance tutoring sessions will be taking place during the duration of the event with 10 children who were asked to simulate an actual classroom environment. There will alo be a adjustment at the reception area for those families that feel their student will benefit from tutoring sessions at the center and wants to sign up immediately.Fundrais ing will be taking place each month, with the money going to different projects or needs of the center. The fundraiser during August 2014 will be First Day Back School Supplies. Many different businesses from the area have donated back-to-school supplies to the center with the intent that the center would sell these items to raise money for the center. Every Monday thru Saturday in August, back-to-school supplies will be for sale at the center, with registration taking place at the same time.The items that will be on sale for the fundraiser includeRuled/Unruled Notebook Paper (100 sheets) $1.00Three-Ring Spiral Notebook (75 sheets) $1.50 written material Notebook (100 sheets) $2.00Pencils (package of 10) $2.00Pens (package of 10) $2.00Erasers (package of 4) $2.50Pencil Pouch $5.00Three-Ring Binder (1) $3.00Backpack $20.00Evaluating the success of the center will be determined by two factors did the business meet the pecuniary goal to be considered a financial success, and did the p ercentage of students in the Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland school districts test at grade level or above grade level meet the set goal.E.2 ImplementationGrand opening date for the Step Ahead Tutoring Center August 1, 2014. The following is a list of items to be correct and a date that they must be completed by.Scheduled ItemTarget Completion DateHire staffMath TeacherReading TeacherWriting TeacherPrivate Tutor TeacherCompleteInvitation list for grand openingPreparedInvites sent outJuly 1, 2014Purchase EPS programs ground programs on each computerEnsure full functionalityJuly 5, 2014Create 10,000 brochuresDeliver adequate amounts to each school in the districtsMail to cover school district boundariesJuly 10, 2014Teacher SchedulesCreatePublishJuly 15,2014August 2014 FundraiserObtain donated materials from local businessesSend out announcementsEnsure staffing planJuly 20, 2014Grand Opening EventAugust 1, 2014E.3 experience PlanThe overall success of the Step Ahead Tutoring Center wi ll be measured by (1) the business ability to sustain its own operations through Sales, Venue Rental, Fundraising, and Donor Contributions, and (2) the percentage of students who test at grade level or above grade level according the Washington State Common Core Standards is at goal. The following is a table representing student enrollment and the percentage of students at grade level or above grade level from 2001 to 2013. From 2014 to 2022 is a projection of expected student enrollment and how many students will have to test at grade level or above grade level to meet the goal. The milestones set by Washington State are listed in bold.EnrollmentStudents At/Above Grade Level course of Students of Students% of Students (Actual)% of Students (Goal)200136,54011,34531%50%200235,40010,45630%50%200336,48011,59732%50%200437,91912,67933%50%200539,01014,04436%50%200641,11115,62238%50%200739,52416,99543%50%200838,12516,77544%50%200939,86718,73747%50%201042,98521,06349%50%201143,79821,89950%5 0%201240,28822,56156%55%201340,21024,93062%60%201441,01425,42962%62%201542,22426,60163%63%201645,91429,84465%65%201739,17426,63868%68%201838,76527,13670%70%201940,25529,38673%73%202039,78229,83775%75%202138,57930,86380%80%202243,81437,24285%85%The first milestone, achieving a 50% pass rate by 2011 as determined by the Washington State Common Core Standards, was set in 2001 following the initation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This milestone was achieved. The second milestone will occur when a 65% pass rate has been achieved. annual tracking (using a table such as this) will allow measurement of progress so marketing can be adjusted to the needs of the students in the area.There are several benefits of the center, including the monthly contributions from donors in the area who share the same dedication in seeing children succeed in education. triple-crown fundraising will raise $52,000 in the first two years to cover the daily operations of the center, including utilitie s and salaries. Rental fees are determined by the cost of utilities and profits during the reservation of the venue for a professional or semi-professional event.F. pecuniary Statement and ProjectionsF.1 Revenue and Cost EstimateThe following is a projection for the Step Ahead Tutoring Centers first year in businessF.2 Forecasted Profit and Loss StatementThe following is a projection for the Step Ahead Tutoring Centers first year in business. Sales Revenues include Fundraising, Venue Rental, Sales, and Donor Contributions. Expenses include Utilities, Software, and Salaries (four teachers and owner), starting in August 2014.F.3 Forecasted Balance SheetThe following reports the Projected Balance Sheet for Step Ahead Tutoring Center after their first year of businessG. Financial ReportG.1 Financial ProjectionsThe assumptions made in estimating the projected revenues in the prior section was based on expert judgement from past fundraising experience, anticipated demand for venue renta l (based on community interest), and the cost of each private and semi-private tutoring session. Outside donor contributions are consistent each month during the first year and second year of operations. Projections for fixed expenses (Utilities) came from estimates provided by the building architect.G.1a Breakeven PointThe following shows that the Step Ahead Tutoring Center will achieve a breakeven point in the fifth month of the first year.G.1b Financial PositionAfter analyzing the estimated revenues and expenses for the first year, the company will be in a good financial position at the conclusion of operations on July 31, 2015. During the first year, the center will have $50,900 in revenue. The center would not be self-sustaining without the contributions from donors and the fundraising efforts. Sales are in line for the needs of the center during the first year. After successfully launching a website for the center and continual marketing efforts throughout the year, great awar eness and a strong reputation will be build by the end of the firsr year. During the second year, further sales growth is planned with the addition of two staff members and the need to purchase replacement utilities along with additional software programs. The center will be self-sustaining without the requirement of donor contributions and fundraising efforts during the second year.G.1c Capital/Investment NeedsThe company will receive a $10,000 Capital Investment from Xxxxxx Xxxxx to assist with marketing the launch of the center. Step Ahead Learning Centers website and email program have been developed prior to company planning by the owner. Using in-house resources to develop a product is much lessexpensive then contracting the work through an outside vendor.The center is seeking a total of $20,000 to complete a fifth fully functioning computer lab (computers, projector, chairs, desks) plus on-going contributions to further assist with the incorporation of advancing technology.D onors should be prideful in knowing they helped create a better community through the higher education of children in the area, helping thousands of children to have a better future, allowing them to enter the work force better educated with high, attainable goals.ReferencesGinsburg, Leinward, and Decker. (n.d.). Office of superintendent of public instruction. Retrieved from http//www.k12.wa.us/CoreStandards/Mathematics U.S. plane section of education. (2010). Retrieved fromhttp//www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.htmlEPS literacy and intervention. (2014). Retrieved from https//eps.schoolspecialty.com/ Sylvan learning. (2013). Retrieved from http//www.sylvanlearning.com/

Turn of the Screw

Claire Carlson English 3H February 7, 2013 Period 1 Spring Essay gambol of the Screw rapscallion I The Governess and Miles Page II The Governess and Mrs. Grose Page III Corruption of Innocence Henry Jamess troll of the Screw is the eerie tale of a governess sent to care for two tight young children, Flora and Miles. Many people mistake it for a ghost story, but the story actually focuses much on the governesss relationship with the children. Her desire for acceptance gradually grows as the story progresses, and she becomes especially fascinated with Miles.Women have always been viewed as slightly inferior to men they are depicted as weak and fragile creatures, only serving as a companion for man. They are manipulative and often use charm and looks as methods of persuasion. In Turn of the Screw, the governess s attitude while around Miles is flirtatious and almost inappropriate and she uses him to fill the void of the childrens beloved uncle whom she lusts for. The above example of the governesss hunger for Miless attention can be easily compared to the behavior exhibited by much of the female population today.Note that the woman is always seeking to please the man, and strives to requite and serve him. The attitude of women in the modern world is becoming more and more submissive almost voluntarily. Miless reaction to the behavior of the unnamed governess is merely compliant, and in rough instances of the novel he somewhat encourages her inappropriate behavior. Mrs. Grose, the simpleminded and somewhat slow housekeeper at the estate, represents a middle ground between the mischievous children and comical governess. The reader can easily conclude that the governess abuses Mrs.Groses quite malleable opinion of the children. In several instances, the governess consults Mrs. Grose and uses her as an outlet for her frustrations with the children. As the governess shares her ghostly encounters with vanadium and Miss Jessel, she convinces Mrs. Grose that h er hysteria is justified. Since Mrs. Grose is not significantly talkative, it is difficult to form a conclusion about her opinion of the children and the governess. The reader has to infer that Mrs. Grose has spent quite some time at the estate, and has much experience with the childrens behavior. Mrs.Grose doesnt necessarily agree or disagree with the statements and assertions made by the governess, she is merely a cache, storing the governesss thoughts and responding with uncomprehending feedback. The childrens relationship with Mrs. Grose is somewhat distant and peculiar. They only consult her for affirmation and approval. In conclusion, Mrs. Grose is mainly an unresponsive character and is not a major influence on the circumstances of the story. Since the governess seldom approaches the children directly, we can infer that she would rather keep her knowledge of Quint and Jessel to herself.She often consults Mrs. Grose in order to gather as much as she can about the two. The gov erness is afraid that the children know too much, and fears that their knowledge of Quint and Jessels sexual relationship will affect them negatively. The concomitant that she is more concerned about the children knowing too much rather than protecting them from the possible harm that the ghosts can inflict, shows the reader that the governess incorporates her own fears and desires into the situation. In conclusion, Turn of the Screw is a much more complex and confusing story than meets the eye.The reader must question the behavior of the governess and the children in order to gather worthful information about the ghosts, and it seems as though in certain instances that Quint and Jessel are living through Flora and Miles. The governess is indeed a much more questionable character than the book portrays her to be. From my experience with both the book and a movie interpretation of the book, I have concluded that the governess is actually the main root of the hysteria and trauma at Bly.

Model Stock Research for the Time-Warner Company Essay

Macroeconomic ReviewBeing single of the fastest-paced and highest-profile industries in the world, the media sector has been in a whirlwind of change this gone ex. There has been an explosive boom and bust and, of late, boom again, of internet applied science. This has dramatically influenced media delivery. Clampdowns on shady accounting practices, assets changing hands and a more than discerning and demanding media audience hasten also ensured that changes in the exertion occurred at break-neck speed. This is why global media giant, magazine Warner, has sought to embrace these challenges of the Information Age. Indeed, Time Warner had uniquely positioned itself to benefit from the explosive changes. Their size and re ascendants make them a formidable competitor in the media arna because of their efficiency in an increasingly global environment.In front of the media bena, the honest US citizen is confronted by more than 1,500 dailies, all everyplace 5,700 weekly newspape rs, some 17,000 magazine titles, 10,000 commercial radio stations and more than 1,600 TV stations. Nielsen Media investigate reported that as of January 2003, 98.2% of the oer 100 one one thousand thousand one million million million households own at least one TV set, with 69.8% of them hooked up to dividing line.The US also exports a massive amount of its media, which has become al close to staple fargon around the world. CNBC alone boasts a reach of 192 million households worldwide, with 82m of them in the US and Canada. The latest usable GDP statistics from the US Bureau of Economic Analysis show that the radio and TV sedulousness contri thoed $72.9 one thousand million to the US GDP in 2001, up from $71.1 billion in 2000. Total US GDP for 2001 was $10,082 billion. In 2006, the US GDP is estimated at 3.2%, speckle the interest rates be at 8% (See fudge 1).Table 1. unite States Country Data and Market Indicators (EIU, 2006). SeriesUnits200120022003200420052006Gross Do mestic ProductKey indicatorsGDP (% real change pa)0.81.62.53.93.23.2Fiscal and pecuniary indicatorsInterest ratesLending interest rate (%)6.94.74.14.36.28.0Inflation and wagesConsumer prices (% change pa av)2.81.62.32.73.43.3Demographics and incomePopulationM285.1288.0290.8293.6296.4299.7GDP per operate ($ at uvulopalatopharyngoplasty)PPP35524.236352.837691.739894.342023.744110.0PopulationPopulationM285.1288.0290.8293.6296.4299.7Population (% change pa)1.01.01.01.01.01.1Labour forceM143.8144.9146.5147.4149.3151.4Recorded unemployment (%)4.75.86.05.55.14.6IncomeGDP per headUS$35524.236352.837691.739894.342023.744110.0Private consumption per headUS$24745.925523.426491.127969.429495.130960.0GDP per head ($ at PPP)PPP35524.236352.837691.739894.342023.744110.0Real GDP branch per head (% pa)-0.20.61.52.92.22.1Personal disposable incomebnLCU7486.87830.18162.58681.69036.19580.2Personal disposable income (US$)MUS$7486840.07830080.08162530.08681560.09036100.09580150.0Real personal disposabl e income (US$ at 1996 prices)MUS$6860090.07074210.07231140.07493920.07581650.07811600.0Real personal disposable income (% change pa)1.93.12.23.61.23.0average real wage index (LCU, 1996=100)107.3108.9109.4108.9108.1108.6Average real wages (% change pa)1.01.50.4-0.5-0.70.5 Fact remains that US is the worlds biggest media producer as well as consumer. Advertising is the main source of revenue, although some sectors also create revenues from subscriptions. Media concerns with sport arms have additional sources of income through fetchings from gaming, distribution chastens, amusement park entrance fees and spin-off merchandise.Also, delight is one of Americas top exports. In 1999, in fact, film, television, music, radio, advertising, chump publishing, and computer softw ar together were the top export, almost $80 billion worth, and while software alone accounted for $50 billion of the score, some of that category also qualifies as pleasurevideo games and pornography, for example. Hardly anyone is exempt from the force of American images and sounds. . . . American popular culture is the nemesis that hundreds of millionsperhaps billionsof people love, and love to hate. The antagonism and the dependency are inseparable, for the media oodessentially American in its origin, but virtually immeasurable in its reachrepresents, like it or not, a common imagination.However, media availability is fairly disproportionate to the time an average American has to consume information. But the industry is a lucrative one and media spinners are finding new ways to make the public continue to consume media and pay for it. In 2001, companies in the media industry recorded total revenues of $261.7 billion. Although this was a growth over 2000s $255.2 billion, in operation(p) income had been steadily falling since 1998. This can be attributed largely to the fact that furrow and artificial satellite depictrs experienced rising maintenance costs and were investing heavily in n ew technology. The decline in income is seeed to ease over the near some stratums as investments on new delivery channels start to bear fruit.Because of this, many companies started holding back on advertising activities following the turning lay in 2001. The 911 tragedy, the subsequent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and their accelerator effect on the economic downturn, brought increase uncertainties to the stock markets and exacerbated the advertising slowdown. This downtrend was reversed throughout most of 2002 as many believed a swift end to the Iraqi invasion would emerge. Market jitters returned in the third quarter of 2002 and earlier in 2003, which somewhat stalled advertising expansion as the Iraqi situation refused to look as good as the Presidents claims.However, tentative cheers on US barter floors and moderate improvements in the job market slowly built up advertising momentum in the third quarter of 2003. For example, Time-Warners strategy has insisted on managing their costs aggressively. In 2005, they undertook difficult, but necessary, restructurings at a number of our grades to ensure that their costs are aligned with their long-term telephone line necessitates. At Warner Bros., for example, they peltlined their worry to create a single Home Entertainment Group to oversee the digital delivery of entertainment to consumers. Looking ahead, they plan to reduce costs by $1 billion across their businesses in 2006 and 2007.Trade disputes with the EU and China and persistent trouble for US interests in Europe and the Middle East are forming grey clouds over the economic horizon. Also, big budget media advertising, with the exception of outdoor advertising, is invariably sparse at year-end when readership and viewership are traditionally down collectible to a lack of new course of studys and study sporting events.Consumers are usually on vacation or out holiday shopping at year-end, kinda than at home reading or sitting in front of the box, giving media advertising less reach. However, prudent companies are aware that a prolonged advertising drought can adversely affect notice recall and consequently spell slower product movement. Thus, although advertising revenue increases were more modest than expected in 2003, with the exception of rail line television, syndication and Spanish ne bothrk segments. This income source is predicted to grow in 2004.As Time Warner moves forward with these external challenges, the hind end of their strategy is to invest our financial resources in a disciplined manner to provide the best possible return to their destinyholders. This means foc exploitation on the right businesses. Their board of directors and management continuously evaluate Time-Warners businesses to ensure that they meet their standards for financial performance, growth and return on investment.Industry OverviewThe United States market for line of work and satellite TV go has grown by 6.5% since 2003 to reach a value of US$57.6 billion in 2004. Over 2001 to 2005, value sales increased by 36.5%. Over 73 million American households subscribed to cable television services with 34% of them having digital service in 2004. In 2004, the average monthly price for expanded basic scheduling packages was US$38.23. planet TV services are expected to continue to increase in popularity. Satellite TV is offering aggressive pricing packages relative to cable, an increasing number of special interest channels and local channels in all markets. topical anaesthetic channels were previously unavailable to subscribers. Despite the spate of satellite TV, Time Warners networks and cable segments have been posting consistent revenue growth in recent years. Revenue from the networks segment increased from $8,434 million in 2003 to $9,611 million in 2005, representing a growth rate of 7%. Revenue from the cable division increased from $7,699 million in 2003 to $9,498 million in 2005, representing a growth rate of 11%.These two segments together contribute more than 42% of the total revenues of the troupe. Increasing segmental revenues have contributed in the guilds overall revenue growth of 3.7% in financial 2005 over fiscal 2004. This is why cable television provide likely continue to cause healthy revenue growth for owners of those networks, though gains may well be slower than over the past several years. Beneficiaries of ongoing strength in cable include Viacom, Time Warner, News Corp. and Disney.The most significant changes in the media industry in the past decade have been in its adoption of the internet technology. The internet has evolved from being just a communications tool to becoming an important entertainment, business and marketplace platform. catch up is the cable segment, which is embracing broadband technology in earnest and is rapidly overtaking the role of traditional dialup technology in supplying phone and especially internet services to North American homes.From 1996 through 2003, the US cable industry spent $75 billion in private chapiter on plant and equipment as well as infrastructure upgrades, according to NCTA. The cable industry in its totality is moving from analog to digital technology to compete with the high- spirit, low-interruption signal transmission broadcast by DBS companies, which have been offering high quality, encrypted digital transmission almost since day one. The competition between cable and satTV is becoming more intense. A segmentation from normal TV programs and movie line-ups, both offer interactive (cable TV being a recent entrant) and internet technologies on their systems.Both are taking the TV experience to new heights. Not only can the viewer play interactive games on TV but they can also interact with programs they are watching, for example responding to interactive surveys or making immediate leveragings on shopping channels via the remote control. Latest proficient advancements also book viewers to rec ord, pause, forward and reverse live programs or watch them in slow motion or instant replay using digitalpersonal video recording (DVR or PVR) and video on demand (VoD) devices for satTV and cable TV, respectively.Unfortunately, the digital revolution is bringing problems to some in the industry. limit and program providers are anxious over the dent DVRs and VODs may make in their earnings. How serious their concerns are remain to be seen, but observers of the industry are noting that a predecessor of DVRs and VODs, the VCR, was greeted with the same disquietude, which was soon replaced with blithe indifference as the technology propagated a new earning capacity, that is, the sale of videos.An issue that b early(a)s media executives is their loss of control over viewers. Viewers can replay scenes they like during a commercial break, thus effectively bypassing messages from advertisers, who happen to be program sponsors. This could force advertisers to see TV as a less effective ad vertising channel than it used to be and give them better leverage at commercial slot price dialogue or cause them to adopt other advertising media.As viewers become more discerning, they are demanding greater viewing variety and higher quality programs. They are also getting hi-tech, seeking a greater, more interactive TV viewing experience much as they have come to expect from their personal computers. The FCC, the federal regulator for the media and telecommunications industry, is aware of this and is pushing the industry to hurry the digital transition. The FCC has mandated that all TV broadcast stations have High interpretation TV (HDTV) broadcasting capability by 2006. This will mean a bigger outlay for broadcasters and cable companies in the coming hardly a(prenominal) yearsBroadcasters and program networks will have to invest in new cameras, titling and editing equipment and tape machines that support the digital TV (DTV) format and revamped rigs for DTV friendly TV vans. Cable operators need to convert all their equipment and set-top boxes. However, for viewers with HDTVs, the set-top boxes are bypassed.Time Warner had responded to this challenge through Warner Bros Entertainment, a subsidiary of the company when it tied up with CBS stool to form a new broadcast network. This new network, The CW, to be launched in late 2006, can significantly expand Time Warners customer base.Time Warners sketch Network channel entered into a enounce judge with VIZ Media to form Toonami Jetstream, a new broadband service to provide streaming episodes of animation series. Toonami Jetstream will allow users to view episodes of Cartoon Network in their own time and also provide an alternative distribution vehicle for Time Warner. These alliances and joint ventures can provide Time Warner with a competitive advantage over its peers and enable it to enhance its revenue position.Expanding broadband marketMost players in the cable industry have begun the digital journe y but consumers may still need to dig into their pockets to enjoy the digital experience and make the analog age a subject of the past. They have to either buy new set-top boxes, which convert digital signals to analog, or buy HDTV sets, which range between just under $1,000 to almost $10,000. archean in June 2003, when the FCC eased its decades-old restrictions on the size of media entities, controversy erupted. Large media companies hailed the move.Consumer groups condemned the decision as bad news for democracy and local content. The new rule, which allowed media companies to have US penetration cap of 45% instead of the old 35%, was good news to media giants who were run at close to the 35% limit. They had been lobbying hard for the lift, including Viacom, whose $40.6 billion purchase of CBS makes it the US largest single operator of TV and radio stations, reaching 41% of the total national broadcasting market.The 45% rule looked set to open the floodgates for other media lib eralization that would allow TV, radio and newspaper owners much more room for consolidation. If a large TV station acquired a small, one-paper town market, the community would be overleapd by that entity. This would threaten local content in the communitys media. However, the 45% rule was blocked by Congress in a massive four hundred to 21 vote in July 2003. This was followed by a stay order by a federal court some few weeks later.Should the FCC fail to appeal to have the new cap reinstated, media giants who have exceeded the old limit will have to shave off their access assets and those nearing the demarcation point will need to strike out expansion as a way to increase income. Time Warner, which garners some revenues from films, should grow its studio profits well. It is let go of several DVDs of popular titles. Film profits generally sway on the timing of releases. Viacom, Disney, and Dreamworks Animation also have large stakes in the sector, which will likely move further tow ards home viewing via digital cable and the Internet.Having many cities that are highly cosmopolitan, the US has various minority and ethnic groups which are looking for more than just generic programs that do not necessarily depict their lifestyles or cater to their tastes. Many minority group communities have been addressing these issues by producing their own newspapers, TV programs and radio broadcasts.As their respective populations grow, so has the amount of business of their specialty media. Having long observed the growth of these niche markets, bigger players are now making moves toward grabbing a slice of the ethnic specific media pie that serve large minority communities. Previously, being culture sensitive meant placing non-Caucasian actors in supporting roles but, belatedly, major media companies are dedicating whole TV and audio channels to specific ethnic groups.In the media industry, the basic services were the largest sector, accounting for 53.1% of sales in 2004, w orth US$30.6 billion. Advertising was the most dynamic sector. Growing from US$8.5 billion in 2000 to US$15.9 billion in 2004, this sector achieved 87% growth. Pay-per-view movies grew by US$400 million over the review period, to account for 2.8% of sales in 2004. In 2004, premium channels accounted for US$9.5 billion, or 16.5% of the market, realizing 13% growth. Cable TV continues to dominate the premium TV market with 76 percent of households and its market penetration is still increasing.Table 2. United States Media Market Sectors US$ billion20002004Advertising8.515.9 raw material services24.130.6Pay-per-view movies1.21.6Premium channels8.49.5Source Euromonitor planetaryIn terms of performance, Comcast Corporation was the leader of cable and satellite TV services in the United States in 2004 with 32% market share. It maintained its leading position through product innovation and differentiation including its ON DEMAND offerings, increased regional sports programming and its le ading Comcast.net portal. Time Warner Inc had the second largest market share in 2004 at 17.2%.This was an increase of 9.5% in 2003. AOL Time Warner was able to increase its position by taking a lead role in offering new products to its customers including High Definition Television, the Digital Video Recorder, Wireless Home Networking, and Digital Telephony service. through expansion of its US market, Cox Communications Inc. increased its market share by 7.7% from 2003 to 9.7% in 2004. Charter Communications saw its market share decrease to 9.3% in 2004.Table 3. United States Media Market Share % value of market sector2004Comcast Corporation32.0AOL Time-Warner Inc17.2Charter Communication9.3Cox Communications Inc9.7Adelphia8.2Source Euromonitor InternationalIn the global arena, Hollywoods long-standing tensions with China has taken its toll as Time Warner is pulling out of an ambitious, four-year theater venture in the commonwealth because of tightened restrictions on foreign o wnership. The decision was announced in November 2006 came after its Warner Bros. unit tried unsuccessfully for more than a year to negotiate a via media with the Chinese government over a July 2005 ruling requiring outside investors to cede control in ventures to their Chinese offsetners. Warners decision underscores Hollywoods frustrations operating in China. Although studio executives consider China to be the worlds best growth opportunity for U.S. entertainment, they also are wary of expanding there, in part because of what they believe are burdensome government rules.Although the media market is fraught with competitors, Time Warner had been a formidable competitor because it offers diversified, yet complimentary products and services. The company operates in print media, television, cinemas, internet, cables services and wired broadband segments. Leveraging its operations in complimentary segments the company has been able to reproduce the same content in various formats to generate additional sales. Its wide product portfolio has also allowed the company to offer superior bundles to the customers.Company Analysis Time-WarnerTime Warner is one of the worlds leading media and entertainment companies. Its major businesses encompass an array of respected and successful media brands. Among the companys brands are HBO, CNN, AOL, Time, Fortune, People, Sports Illustrated, and Time Warner Cable. CNN operates in nearly 200 countries, while AOL is the worlds leader in interactive services with 19.5 million subscribers in the US and 6 million in Europe at the last count. Time Warners cable business, Time Warner Cable (TWC), is the second-largest cable operator in the US while Warner Bros is one of the worlds leading studios. These are well established brands with global brand recall. The company can leverage the equity of its brands to generate sales.New developments continue to stream in Time-Warner. In 2004, Time Warner Cable announced the creation of a new b usiness unit, Time Warner Cable Voice Services. This creation was responsible for overseeing the rollout of its residential telephone service, known as Digital Phone. During the same year, AOL Europe, and Google, announced a new multi-year arrangement to provide targeted advertising from Googles AdWords advertisers for the subscribers of AOL Europe. In February 2005, Warner Home Video announced the formation of CAV Warner Home Entertainment Company, a joint venture with China Audio Video.The company entered into a joint venture with New Line Cinema to form Picturehouse. AOL announced the acquisition of Weblogs, a blogging company. AOL also acquired an online digital music subscription company called MusicNow in November 2005. During the same month the company, along with several other cable companies concluded an agreement with Sprint. According to the agreement, the companies would form a joint venture for providing wireless and wireline entertainment product.AOL acquired Truveo, a pioneer in internet video searching in January 2006. In the same month Time Warner entered into an agreement with CBS to launch a new television network, The CW. Cartoon Network formed a joint venture with VIZ Media to create Toonami Jetstream, to provide broadband video services in April 2006.Time Warner has been continually profitable. The company recorded revenues of $43,652 million during the fiscal year ended December 2005, an increase of 3.7% over 2004. For the fiscal year 2005, the US, the companys largest geographic market, accounted for 79% of the total revenues. Time Warner generates revenues through its five business divisions shoot entertainment (26.4% of total revenue during fiscal year 2005), networks (21.3%), cable (21%), AOL (18.3%), and publishing (12.9%).During the fiscal year 2005, the filmed entertainment division recorded revenues of $11,924 million, an increase of 0.6% over 2004. The networks division recorded revenues of $9,611 million in fiscal year 2005, an increase of 6.2% over 2004. The cable division recorded revenues of $9,498 million in fiscal year 2005, an increase of 12% over 2004. The AOL division recorded revenues of $8,283 million in fiscal year 2005, a decrease of 4.7% from 2004. The publishing division recorded revenues of $5,846 million in fiscal year 2005, an increase of 5% over 2004.By geography, the U.S. remains Time Warners largest geographical market, accounted for 79% of the total revenues in the fiscal year 2005. Revenues from the US reached $34,469 million in 2005, an increase of 2.7% over 2004. Other international countries accounted for 6.7% of the total revenues in the fiscal year 2005. Revenues from other international countries reached $2,907 million in 2005, an increase of 4.5% over 2004. The UK accounted for 6.6% of the total revenues in the fiscal year 2005. Revenues from the UK reached $2,886 million in 2005, an increase of 15.1% over 2004. Germany accounted for 2.8% of the total revenues in the fiscal year 2005.Revenues from Germany reached $1,233 million in 2005, an increase of 6.2% over 2004. France accounted for 2.2% of the total revenues in the fiscal year 2005. Revenues from France reached $941 million in 2005, an increase of 7.1% over 2004. Canada accounted for 1.4% of the total revenues in the fiscal year 2005. Revenues from Canada reached $625 million in 2005, an increase of 24.3% over 2004. japan accounted for 1.4% of the total revenues in the fiscal year 2005. Revenues from Japan reached $591 million in 2005, a decrease of 13.7% from 2004.Financial Statement AnalysisCompany Posted gross salesFiscal YearTotal Sales200339565200442089200543652Profitability Ratios2007*2006*20052004 2003SalesGross MarginOperating Margin (%)Pre-Tax Margin (%)Net Profit Margin (%)Accounts account payableNet ExpensesInventoriesRevenues per shareCash-Flow per shareEarnings per share465000.4308.312.931.1449000.43011.411.83.121.35436520.04326.069.376.651,380,00013,676,0001,806,0009.7051.3740.6242 0890.042 32.00811.66 7.991,494,00013,094,0001,737,0009.3542.0760.68395650.04130.6811.426.671,629,00012,559,0001,390,0009.032.0240.68*Projected (Source nurtureline Investment Survey).Time-Warner remains to be an otherwise bright entertainment conglomerate. The companys networks and cable segments have been posting consistent revenue growth in recent years. Revenue from the networks segment increased from $8,434 million in 2003 to $9,611 million in 2005. Revenue from the cable division increased from $7,699 million in 2003 to $9,498 million in 2005. These two segments together contribute more than 42% of the total revenues of the company.Increasing segmental revenues have contributed in the companys overall revenue growth of 3.7% in fiscal 2005 over fiscal 2004. subsequently trying to devise a way to maintain AOLs subscription service in a high-speed world, management finally threw in the towel and headstrong to give AOLs services away for free, focusing on advertising revenue. The move may have been late, but not so late that it wont help stem AOLs user base. The big concern is if advertising revenues will be sufficient to offset subscription losses. Still, this property is an important part of the companys overall collection of media- connect businesses.Moreover, the performance of the filmed entertainment segment and AOL segment has been weak in the past three years. Revenue from the filmed entertainment segment grew by as little as 0.6%. Revenues from the AOL segment declined from $8,598 million in 2003 to $8,283 million in 2005, representing a growth rate of -2%. The two segments contribute around 45% of the total revenues of the company. A weak operating performance by these segments indicates that the company has been losing ground to its competitors.The reason for this vomition and forecasts is that TWX remains to be garnering operating profit. Although net profit have declined in fiscal 2005 compared to fiscal 2004, operating profits and net profits declined 26.7% and 13.6% respectively in fiscal 2005.The companys operating margin declined from 14.6% in fiscal 2004 to 10.4% in fiscal 2005, while the companys net profit margin declined from 8% to 6.6% in the same period. Declining profit margins indicate increasing costs and can adversely affect the companys long term financial position. Declining cash from operating activities Time Warners cash flows from operations have been declining in recent years. Cash from operations have declined from $6,601 million in fiscal year 2003 to $4,965 million in 2005. Declining cash flows can force the company to borrow external capital to fund its growth plans, which could prove to be expensive.TWXDividend Rate Per Share ($)Shares not bad(p) (M)Ave. Daily Volume (M)BetaShareholdersMarket Cap ($M)Institutional Holdings (%)Yield (%)12-month P/E 0.223972.5823.442.032956,50083066.572124.6We can use the dividend discount sticker to estimate the cost of common stock. The difference between commo n stock and preferred stock is in our assumption nearly the growth pattern of incoming dividends. With common stock, we typically assume that dividends grow at a constant rate into perpetuity. Then we can write the present value of the assumed dividend stream asP 0 =D 1-( 1 + k s )where,P0 = the common stock price per share.D 1 = the dividend per share one year from now.ks = the required rate of return on common stock.If we solve for ks, we getks =D 1-P0At present, TWXs stock price was at $20.14. TWX has historically paid out about 40 percent of its earnings as dividends. Therefore, with a forecast of about $0.55 per share in earnings for next year, TWXs dividend would be forecast to be $0.55 .40 = $0.22 per share. So, the dividend yield, defined as D1/P0, is $0.22/$20.14 = .0109, or 1.09 percent.TWXs Key Growth Rates and AveragesPast Growth Rate (%)1 Year3 Years5 Years9 YearsSales3.712.5629.0549.46Net Income-9.47Ratio Analysis (Annual Average)Net Margin (%)6.657.41LTD of Capital ization (%)19.4821.0120.7121.15 commit on Equity (%)4.715.328.18Pricing/EarningsRecent Price20.14P/E Ratio15.612P/E (Trailing)14.183P/E (Median)NMFRel. P/E Ratio0.724RatingsFinancial StrengthB++Stocks Price Stability40Price Growth Persistence20Earnings Predictability20Relative ValueYear 200020012002200320042005200620072008Free CFs11.812.813.513.916.017.920.122.5PV of FCFs10.179.588.657.687.627.367.10WACC = 16%Long run g = 12%MV of Debt = $202 millionNo. of shares = 50PV of FCF1-7 = 50.97TV at Year 7 of FCF after Year 7 = FCF8/(WACC g) = $448.00PV at of TV at Year 0 = TV/(1+WACC)7 = 183.88Sum = Value of the Total Corporation = $234.85 millionLess MV of Debt and Preferred = $202 millionValue of Common Equity = 32.85Divide by No. of Shares = 50Value per Share = Value of Common Equity/No. Shares = $0.66Assuming that beginning in the fourth year, the free cash flows are to grow by 10% less than previously predictedYearOld FCFNew FCF12001$11.8$11.822002$12.8$12.832003$13.5$13.542004$13.9 $12.552005$16.0$14.462006$17.9$16.172007$20.1$18.182008$22.5$20.2 We will assume that the long-term growth rate and WACC will be the same as previously assumed. From thisinformation, we can do the following calculations.Total PV of New FCFs, Years 1-7 =$55.09FCF 8 = $20.23 $20.23TV at Year 7 $505.76 = -PV of TV $178.95 4% = WACC- gLMarket Value of Total Company = $234.05Less MV of Debt = $202Market Value of Equity = $32.05No. of Shares = 50Value Per Share = $0.64 versus $ 1.37 under original assumptions. Therefore, a 10% reduction in some of the cash flows leads to a 53.28% decline in the value per share.As of September 30, 2006, TWX had net debt of $202 billion (including $11 billion on the Adelphia deal), and a net debt/EBITDA ratio of about 3.0X. In 2005, TWX paid out $2.8 billion related to a government settlement. Including the acquired systems, management sees low double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth in 2006 (off a restated base of about $10 billion in 2005), with 35% to 45% c onversion of EBITDA into free cash flow. Management plans about $1 billion of cost cuts in 2006 and 2007 (excluding the $1 billion of cuts at AOL as previously mentioned). We project free cash flow of over $11 billion in 2006 and 2007 combined.Pursuant to a $20 billion share buyback program, TWX plans to repurchase about $15 billion of its shares in 2006, and the remainder in 2007. Over the longer term, the company targets a 3X leverage ratio. TWX began paying a quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share on its common stock in the 2005 third quarter (about $900 million a year), raising it to $0.055 in July 2006. TWX would also receive about $600 million in cash from the dissolution of its cable joint venture with Comcast.TWX undertook several asset divestitures in the past few years to enhance its financial flexibility, notable among which are the 2004 sale of its Warner Music Group (for $2.6 billion in cash), a 50% stake in Comedy Central ($1.2 billion), a DVD/CD manufacturing busi ness ($1 billion), and two NBA and NHL professional sports teams (undisclosed). Also, in 2006, TWX sold its book publishing business for $532 million in cash, and its Turner South network for about $375 million in cash. TWX also raised $239 million from the sale of stock in Time Warner Telecom.