Title: Patch Management Solution

 

The patch management plan to be outlined herein relies mostly on the fact that not all known vulnerabilities have had their mitigating patches released and thus there is also need to counter any unpatched vulnerabilities.

The first step of the plan is to identify and implement an automated patch management system for all the servers that best suits the needs of the company.  The involved personnel should also be adequately trained in patch management. It will be used in addition to normal business vulnerability scanning routines.

The firm will use professionally recommended tools or other industry accepted automated patch management software. The system administrator will then issue a certificate to show that the patches have been applied. The patches will be applied twice a month hence two certificates will be issued a month (Felicia, 2011).

Prior to deployment of the patches, they will be tested using test equipment not commercially used by the company. Any issues arising will be directed to the systems administrator. The system administrator will also be required to subscribe to newsletters and feeds from Microsoft patch centre. This will enable him/her to be up to date when any new patches and security warnings are issued.

Since there is a limit of the personnel number that can be utilised, the patches will be applied using a set of predetermined patch prioritization criteria. The most critical patches will be deployed first followed by the rest in descending order. Patching of servers will be made a top priority over patching of end user systems. Due diligence will be taken in ensuring that the automatic patch deployment is applied to the correct target machine.

After patch installation, verification will be done through carrying out of host and network vulnerability scanning by the system administrator (Felicia, 2011). Implementation of a patch management solution will ease this task since they generate reports of the whole patch deployment process.

There will be monthly scanning of vulnerabilities in order to identify systems not yet patched. Tests will also be carried out to ensure that there is total compliance of patch deployment across all servers and workstations.

Any identified vulnerabilities and patches that cannot for any reason be updated through the use of the automated patch management system will be well documented on an ad hoc report and corrected (Priscilla, 2004).

As part of the plan, each personnel will be assigned roles as regards to patch management. These roles will include monthly reporting of status of patch management, adequate training of all relevant personnel on the policies and procedures to be implemented in the plan and the completion of forms on patch management certification amongst other roles.

Further to all that, a database of all enterprise hardware and software inventory will be created and maintained by the system administrator.  Also a database containing information on all required and deployed patches will be maintained for internal control purposes and for reporting purposes.

Any exceptions on these policies will require a formal request to the system administrator. They will only be put under consideration due to unavoidable circumstances such as implementation timeframe amongst others. Exceptions that will be approved will be on a short term basis and will be subject to continuous reporting until the issues are solved or until the allowable time limit of two weeks is reached.

There will be the creation of the role of Patch Management officer who will be responsible for designating roles and duties to other personnel.

Due to the fact that zero day exploits are discovered frequently and in a random manner, deviations from the plan on patch deployment twice a month may be deemed necessary. Discovery of zero day exploits necessitates deploying of patches to all the servers as soon as possible. A patch management system is well efficient at handling such scenarios.

Since one can never be too cautious, a regular verification of the patch management system logs will be carried out on a regular basis. Periodic scans will also be carried out regularly to ensure that all servers are patched and new added systems are up to date fully.

Redundancy will also be deployed to a great extent. Having it for all critical services will enable spending of less time on patching which also improves work. In addition to that, it facilitates easier correction of patch deployment that goes wrong quickly and easier. DHCP scopes that are overlapping and redundant domain controllers will be identified and used.

 References

Felicia Nicastro (2011). Security Patch Management, Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press.

Priscilla Oppeinheimer (2004). Top Down Network Design, Second Ed. Indianapolis: Cisco Press.

Mining in Colorado

Introduction

The United States is the largest producer of several minerals that have wide applications in the modern industry such as coal, and gold. Gold is precious in jewelry; however, coal is very valuable to industries that consume energy in large scale. United States also produces other minerals such as copper, clay, lithium, magnesium, silica, and sulfur among other useful minerals. Sulfur, in particular, occurs in Louisiana state where is mining takes place through the famous Frasch process (Colorado Mining Association, 2012). The process of mining in Colorado dates back to 1859 when potential miners found gold deposits on lying on gravels in Denver. This paper will reflect on the several aspects of mining in the Colorado state such as history of the mining process, the types of rocks mined, the historical advances in the process of mining, and finally, the current state of mining.

History of Mining in Colorado

The mining works in Colorado state dates back to 1859 when the first gold deposits were found in Cherry Creek about south of the Denver city. More prospects discovered that there were more gold in towns such as Blackhawk, and Central City. These discoveries prompted a rush for the gold deposits that occurred in Colorado County. The production of gold in the Front Range area had reached almost seven ounces in the beginning of 1990 (Don & Jean, 1996). Since the year 1859, the Colorado mines have produced a total of nearly forty five million ounces in gold.

The most prominent gold discovery in the state of Colorado was in Cripple Creek around 1893. The total production coming from the Cripple Creek alone stood at 22 million ounces a year. The Cripple Creek site remains as the sole site where gold is being produced in the whole Colorado mine with its annual production standing at about a quarter million ounces by the year 2000 (Colorado Mining Association, 2012). More prospects for minerals continued, and the discovery of an unknown mineral occurred in the Leadville area. This unknown mineral was an ore containing silver and prompted the rise of several districts such as Kokomo, Leadville, and Gilman (Don & Jean, 1996). These sites produced a combined total of about 1.9 million tons of zinc mineral, 1.3 million tons of lead, 333 million tons of silver, and 3.6 million tons of gold all the way to the year 1999.

The discovery of Molybdenum was in the year 1879 in the Climax area neighboring the Fremont Pass, lying in the northern part of Leadville. The mineral that had no apparent use at the time, later found great applications in the hardening of steel. This alloy of iron with varying degrees of other minerals such as carbon was useful in the making of various types of armaments in the onset of World War I (Duane, 2011). The production of these minerals continued until World War II. In the onset of the 1980s, more production sites came following the discovery of molybdenum, particularly the famous Henderson Area in Clear Creek, which officially opened in the year 1976. By the year 1986, the Climax Mines closed down, and the only mine that served then onwards was the Henderson mine in the Colorado.

Apart from the minerals so far discussed, the discovery of uranium deposits came in the 1950s in the southwestern part of the Colorado mine in the Front Range area (Colorado Mining Association, 2012). The most important mining area was in Shwartzwalder, which was lying between the Golden and the Boulder areas. Around 1997, the Schwartzwalder mine had a total production of about 500, 000 pounds of uranium. However, this mine officially closed in the year 2000. The Colorado area is very famous for some of the most important minerals, and ores such as diamond gemstones, beryl, aquamarine, and rhodochrosite among other vitals minerals. The diamond mineral was discovered 1975 (Mining Artifacts, 2014). However, the Larimer County based Kelsey Lake began the commercial level production around the year 1996. This mine produced some of the best quality diamonds spanning to almost 26 carats.

More minerals such as sand, gravel, small stones, limestone, gypsum, and other important rocks that served as the chief materials for the local construction. These varying types of infrastructures have made Colorado an area of booming business between 1990s and 2000s. The level of production of these materials has increased steadily with the central Colorado based Yule Marble being renowned for producing some of the best marbles in the world (Duane, 2011). Most of these marbles from the Yule quarry have found high profile uses such in the construction of Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D .C, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Some important compounds with varying applications in the industry such as sodium hydrogen carbonate are also present and mining such compounds employs the use of the famous solution mining. The deposits that produce the sodium bicarbonate come from ores such as nahcolite found in the Piceance basin lying in the northwestern part Colorado state. Sodium bicarbonate have several industrial uses, however, the sodium carbonate obtained after the thermal decomposition of the corresponding bicarbonate have varied uses, and is a more important raw material in the industrial process (Duane, 2011). Consequently, the American soda company installed a plant that converts sodium bicarbonate into sodium carbonate that is the chief raw material in the glass and water softening industries.

The coal mining process in Colorado started after the arrival of the first settlers and several miners in the Front Range area. This area lying between the Boulders and Weld counties have nearly one hundred mines that produce coal. The production of coal employs either the open earth method or the deep underground mining method (Duane, 2011). The production level in these mines was nearly 30 million tones of coal, taking Colorado State to position eleven out of the thirty cola mining states in the United States.

 

 

Minerals Produced and their Uses

Many of the minerals used in the production of several materials that citizens consume come from the Colorado mines in the United States. The outline of these minerals and their uses follows below:

 

Coal

This mineral is a chief source of industrial energy. Coal is a material that burns producing a lot of heat. It is formed from rudimentary plants such ferns that died during the time of the dinosaurs. There are several varieties of coal such as anthracite, lignite, sub-bituminous, and bituminous types (Colorado Mining Association, 2012). Most of the varieties in Colorado assist in the generation of electricity.

Gold

Gold has several uses such as in dentistry, jewelry, medallions, and making of coins among other notable uses. The major gold producing area in Colorado is the Cripple Creek.

 

Gypsum

This mineral has several uses such as making of cement, and building plasters. The American Eagle Gypsum Company mines it.

Marble and Limestone

This mineral composed of calcium carbonate forms from the remains of sea creatures. The conversion of limestone to marble requires the use of heat and pressure in the industry.

Molybdenum

Molybdenum has several uses such as removal of sulfur from crude oil, making of gas pipes, vehicle parts, and lubricants.

Sodium Bicarbonate

Colorado mine is the only mine in the entire United States that produces pure sodium bicarbonate. The important derivative of this mineral is sodium carbonate that has several uses such as in the making of glass, and water softening.

Silver

This important mineral has several uses. These include photography, chemistry, silver plating, making of mirrors, electronics, and solders.

Titanium

Colorado has the largest titanium deposit in the entire United States. Titanium has several uses such as making jet engines, and space aircrafts (Colorado Mining Association, 2012).

Uranium

This important mineral has one wide application, which is the production of nuclear energy.

Advances in Mining Overtime

The methods of mining changed rapidly as the availability of the ores or minerals on the surface decreased. The miners had to device rapid and more efficient methods of mining that could ensure more production, and sustainable earning.

The mining of gold, silver, and other minerals  has evolved over time with miners devising more and more efficient ways of obtaining the ore from the rocks, underground deposits or from the crushed ore itself. In the earlier days, the miners used the method of placer mining. This method involved scooping water mixed with soil from the riverbed, swirling it to remove the lighter soils, and leaving gold behind (McDade, 2014). Secondly, the method of winnowing was also very relevant. The Indians took advantage of the wind, which swept away the lighter sand leaving behind the heavier gold particles.

In 1858, the gold dusts that were occurring on the surface had diminished; the miners began thinking on how to dig for the gold deposits that were lying underground. This called for other methods of mining such the hard rock mining, hydraulic drills, and stamps, which crushed the rocks that originated from the underground mines. The crushing of the rocks containing the ores turned them into powder (James, 2009). However, there was a problem on how to separate gold from other minerals such as silver. This called for new methods, as the older methods of separations were wholly inadequate, and led to wastages of about 70%.

The solution to this problem came from Professor Nathaniel Hill, who had visited the Colorado mining area to explore the investment opportunities for several potential investors. The chemistry teacher from the Brown University met the miners who presented the problem of separating the gold from the underground ores once were crushed. This intrigued Nathaniel; however, he later developed the smelting method that served to work more efficiently than the other previous methods. He later established the smelting company that made a lot of profit since the miners were interested in the refining o f their gold ores (Denver Mineral Engineers, 2014).The current methods of separating gold from the ore vary from use cyanide to gravitation among other modern techniques.

The Current State of Mining

Colorado has a rich history of mining since the year 1859. This year marked the discovery of gold. Over the years, there have been discoveries of new reserves. The present states of mining in Colorado entails safe, modern, and environmentally friendly mining methods enabling citizens to extract minerals valued at nearly $ 2 billion. The mining in Colorado contributes about $ 8 billion to the economy of the state.

The mining in Colorado employs almost 12,000 people, and generates about 46,000 jobs in varied areas such as engineering works, geological works, transportation, and finance among other areas that directly employ the citizens of this state. Moreover, the miners at the Colorado mines are the highest paid workers earning an average of almost $ 98,250, which represents twice the pay that the private sector offers. In the year 2008, the state of Colorado received almost $ 174 million in royalty fees that directly supports education. In the year 2012, Colorado produced 29 million tons of coal with a value of $1.1 billion. This production made Colorado rank number nine among the other coal producing states. Cheap electrical energy from coal constitutes 66% of the total electric energy consumption in the state. However, the coal from the Colorado mines is the safest, and the finest varieties in the whole world, and thus burns producing clean energy, which requires no further purification. The coal production in the Colorado mines employs the very productive long wall method. The Peabody Energy that owns the operation was the first to break the world record of being the first of produce one million tons of coal in one month.

Currently, the most productive gold mine in Colorado is the Cresson Mine, which produced over a quarter million ounces of gold in the year 2008. Colorado comes at number four among the gold producing states. Colorado also hosts the mines that produce the largest quantity of molybdenum in the entire world. In the year 2008, Colorado mine produced over 40 million pounds of molybdenum. Molybdenum has several uses; however, the pure form of this mineral from the Colorado mines helps in the manufacture of automobile air bags for the safety of passengers.

The Colorado mines provide minerals that have extensive uses in the current industries. However, there several environmental challenges that face the mine. In the year 2000, an agreement brought the closure of the pumice mine in Flagstaff after several occasions of protest from the Indian tribes, and the environmental groups. Moreover, the extensive stripping of the land leads to loss of vegetative cover causing soil erosion, and gross habitat loss (Earth Justice, 2014). The infiltration of wastes from the mines to the local underground water system also contaminates the water with making them unsafe for human consumption. This is due to the excessive contamination from the heavy metals such as copper, zinc, manganese, and lead.

Conclusion

Colorado mines produce some of the finest quality minerals in the world. Moreover, the state ranks well in comparison to other states with regard to its production capacities. The most important minerals produced include gold, silver, coal, molybdenum, diamond, and sodium carbonate among other useful chemicals. Such chemicals find varied uses in the current industries like the automobiles, electronics, water purification, glass making, refining of crude oil among other uses. The methods of mining have evolved with both time, and the level of depth at which the minerals occur.

In Colorado mines, the minerals produced have varied uses; the citizens of the state have reliable jobs, and favorable sources of income. However, there are inherent environmental impacts that directly result from the mining process in Colorado. Such effects include contamination of under ground water with heavy metals, removal vegetation cover that accelerates soil erosion, and loss of habitat. Such concerns still require further deliberations so that citizens can enjoy the benefits of mining alongside a clean and friendly environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Colorado Mining Association. (2012). Mining facts and resources. Retrieved from http://www.coloradomining.org/mc_miningfacts.php.

Don, L. & Jean, H. (1996). “History of Leadville and Lake County, Colorado.” Colorado Historical Society. Denver: University Press of Colorado.

Denver Mineral Engineers. ( 2014). Gold mining process development: the basic process of gold recovery. Retrieved from http://www.denvermineral.com/gold-mining-process-development/.

Duane, A. (2011). The trail of gold and silver: mining in Colorado, 1859-2009. Colorado: University Press of Colorado.

Earth Justice. (2014). Pollution giant: new Colorado coal mine. Retrieved from http://earthjustice.org/features/pollution-giant-new-colorado-coal-mine

James, E. (2009). Ores to metals: the rocky mountain smelting industry. Colorado, University Press of Colorado.

McDade, S. (2014). The evolution of gold mining. Retrieved from http://www.calgoldrush.com/graphics/evolution.html.

Mining Artifacts. (2014). Colorado mines. Retrieved from http://www.miningartifacts.org/Colorado-Mines.html

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Microsoft Competing on Talent

Recruitment is regarded as one of the most important parts of HR because when the recruitment process is done right, future employees’ issues are minimized. For many years, Microsoft has managed to be successful due to its ability to recruit, motivate, and retain its employees.  Bill Gates had realized that exceptional people were required to write outstanding software that will enhance customer satisfaction globally. This has made Microsoft to be among the best companies in the world in attracting, developing, and retaining talented employees. Microsoft has achieved this through effective recruitment and selection processes that focus in identifying the best candidates with potential to bring positive results to the company. This paper will evaluate the recruitment practices at Microsoft and determine whether they align to the company’s objectives. Likewise, the paper will also evaluate Microsoft’s selection practices and whether they align to its business objectives.

Microsoft utilizes both internal and external sources of recruitment. One of the main external recruitment sources applied by Microsoft is campus recruitment. This was observed in the early days when Microsoft used to recruit people from elite educational institutions such as Yale, Harvard, and MIT among others. At the start-up days, Gates and the co-founder Paul Allen had made a decision to be hiring some of the most intelligent college graduates who were not necessarily experienced. In subsequent years, Microsoft saw the need to apply effective methods of recruitment in order to hire the best among all the candidates that were available. This was a positive move because the idea of hiring the brightest candidates was not as effective because they were so many and had to be selected through a competitive recruitment process.  It is important for managers to be involved in the recruitment process of their organizations because they are best placed to understand the type of people they need to hire. In relation to this, Gates considered assisting his managers to employ the best possible candidates as one of his main achievements.

The main focus in the recruitment process at Microsoft is to concentrate in hiring ambitious people who are also capable of thinking creatively. Indeed, this is a positive move because the success in the intellectual property business is largely determined by the effectiveness of software developers. For this reason, knowledge and experience of the candidates are not considered to be important. Actually, this is true because the intellectual property business is driven by technology that constantly changes. Hiring experienced people means that such people might be tempted to use their old skills to drive the company. However, recruiting candidates who are smart is a lifetime investment because they are likely to drive the company through innovation.

In the recruitment of human resource, it is important to identify the best candidates who can steer the set organizational objectives. Microsoft understands this quite well and subjects its candidates through an intense interview process. It is quite critical for the interviewers to understand the policies and business objectives of the companies they are recruiting for. This approach is applied in Microsoft where candidates are interviewed by company workers who test their problem-solving abilities and thought processes. In this regard, interviewers understand that objectives of Microsoft revolve around the ability to come up with new technological ideas.

In essence, managers should establish operational recruitment systems that will facilitate the identification of the best candidates. For instance, when Steve Ballmer was hired as an assistant to the president in 1980, one of his main responsibilities was to coordinate Microsoft’s recruitment. At this point, Ballmer was interested in recruiting people who were smart, could work hard, and were able to get things done. Indeed, this is in line with the best practices in human resource management where the primary focus in recruitment is to identify people who have the right skills to implement their employer’s objectives.

Best practices in HR management highlight that the recruitment needs of a company may be affected by its growth. As the company expanded, recruiting needs also increased prompting Microsoft recruiters to target more universities not just in the United States but also in other countries such as Canada and Japan as their main recruiting grounds. This approach made Microsoft to recruit fresh graduates who could directly apply the skills they had learned in school. When a company hires people who have worked in other companies, such people are required to unlearn their previous company values, technological approaches, and even work habits in order to fit in their new company.

Sometimes, such employees may take long to adjust to their new working environment and hence affecting their productivity.  This method of recruitment is only applicable when the number of people being recruited is not high. Ideally, in the late 1990s Microsoft started recruiting even outside colleges where it targeted people who had some experience in IT and had the potential to work for it. In particular, the use of more than 300 recruiting experts to identify the most talented people in the industry was a wise move because it aimed to develop a relationship with the potential candidates even before they were recruited. Furthermore, this increased the candidates’ chances of interest to work for Microsoft.

During recruitment, it is paramount to realize that a person who might be selected may either impact an organization positively or negatively. Bill Gates understood this well when he told Microsoft managers that if the company does not employ outstanding people, there are likely to be various problems with employee progression. This is because such a person will continue occupying a position that would have been occupied by a more helpful person. To ensure that only the best candidates were employed, Microsoft included an “appropriate” interviewer to be part of the interviewing group.   An “appropriate” interviewer understands the culture of Microsoft and therefore ensures that only those people who can embrace this culture are selected. This practice ensures that the people who are recruited are fit to support the company’s goals. In practice, this can be affirmed by the belief of Microsoft managers that hiring an employee who is not outstanding can be equated with an unsuccessful appointment.

Human resource recruitment is considered to be an expensive process and it can even be more costly if the company ends up hiring the wrong candidate. With this understanding, Microsoft operates under the philosophy of hiring one less employee that the actual number required. Although this might affect the work output of employees, Microsoft covers this by employing people who are willing to go beyond their normal job description and even sacrifice to work for more hours than required.  When an organization has to handle large numbers of employees, it is critical to put up appropriate measures of how the applicants have to be shortlisted. For instance, by the mid 1990s Microsoft recruiters had to deal with more than 30,000 computer science graduates in the US who had the potential to work for Microsoft. Thereafter, they used to shortlist around 9,000 of such people and then call them for interviews.  These would then lead to approximately 900 candidates being invited to join Microsoft’s Redmond campus.

Fundamentally, recruitment practices at Microsoft are aligned to the business objectives of the company. For instance, the company has established a recruitment team that consists of professionals. The main purpose for this is to make sure that all the candidates who are recruited have the relevant skills that can be applied in the field of technology. Today, Microsoft targets the right candidates from technical colleges that are known to impact some of the best skills in technology to their students.  This ensures that all the applicants who qualify for recruitment have a technological background that is essential in the accomplishment of the company’s objectives.  Moreover, some of the managers at Microsoft affirm that recruiting is the company’s core competency as is demonstrated by its willingness to pursue the best talents regardless of where they live. Indeed, this shows the high value that the company holds for recruitment.

Effective staff selection requires good interviewing skills in order to identify the best candidates among the ones recruited. Microsoft guarantees this is done by appointing a team of highly trained professionals who have experience in conducting interviews. However, various approaches should be used to identify suitable candidates to fill up the required positions in a company.  For Microsoft Company, the interviewers tend to concentrate on the practical skills of the Job applicants. In my opinion, this is not the best approach because it fails to recognize people who are quite practical in applying their skills at work but are unable to express themselves verbally. By using this approach, there is a high likelihood of some useful candidates being left out in the selection process after recruitment.

By targeting the brainy students from some of the most established colleges in the United States, Microsoft was promoting the selection of people who could add value to the company. Similarly, the selection of qualified candidates increases the overall efficiency of a company.  In addition to having the appropriate skills for recruiting, the selection process requires the interviewers to have good listening and observational skills. This will enable them to analyze any presentations that the interviewees may be requested to make and listen to how they respond to the questions posed. Towards the end of 1998, Microsoft had more than 7,000 jobs to be filled.  This required the recruiters to be keen in ensuring that they selected the best candidates after the initial interviews. As a result of selecting qualified and deserved candidates, the cost of training and development is reduced because less training is required once they are employed.

Like the recruitment process, selection practices applied to Microsoft align to the company’s business objectives. Before the recruitment team identifies the candidates to recruit, the basic criterion is to involve people who have skills in software development and are aspiring to work at Microsoft. This sets the basis for staff selection after the initial recruitment process is held.  As an elementary practice, all the managers who are involved in the selection process look for the candidates with the best qualifications and who have the potential to of being creative. In reality, selecting candidates on the basis of their qualifications lead to job satisfaction in any organization. Indeed, the selection process at Microsoft is guided by one of Bill Gates’ policy, of allowing the best talent to work for the company. Actually, it was for this reason that Gates used to hold meetings with some of the superior candidates to convince them to accept working for Microsoft. As a result of the effective recruitment and selection practices, Microsoft has continued to dominate the development of computer software and is considered to be among the best employers in the world.

Racial Segregation: South African Apartheid

South Africa was a colony of the English and Dutch in the 17^th century. The English domination of the Dutch descendants, who were referred to as Boers or Afrikaners, contributed in the formation of new colonies of Orange Free State and Transvaal by the Dutch. After the independence from England, the two groups continued sharing power until 1940s when the Afrikaner National Party gained a strong majority. As a result, the principal strategist in this party invented apartheid as a way of taking over the control of social and economic issues. In Afrikaans apartheid means “separateness” and refers to the systems of racial discrimination and White political domination that were adopted by the National Party when it was in power from 1948 to 1994 (Beck, 2000). This involved a situation where apartheid officials incorporated into law the quality and nature of life for all the people living in South Africa including Whites, Africans, Coloreds, and Indians. Some human rights scholars distinguish between “petty” apartheid and “grand” apartheid where petty apartheid refers to the racist laws that affected people’s lives. There was racial segregation in the medical field where the best hospitals were preserved for Whites. Likewise, there were cemeteries that were used by Whites and other races were prohibited from using them. Furthermore, South Africans lived, worked, and were exposed to racially segregated offices, businesses, schools, colleges, beaches, restaurants, theaters, sports fields, restrooms, transport, and park benches. Ideally, every aspect of life of South Africans was exposed to racial discrimination.

Conversely, grand apartheid is associated to land and political rights. For instance, the apartheid government made an extension of the 1913 and 1936 Land Acts to create ten African homelands as “independent” or some sort of semi-autonomous nations. The main objective of creating these African homelands was to make all South African Africans to be citizens of these homesteads and ultimately to make South Africa a nation with a White majority (Beck, 2000).The policy of grand apartheid also defined where Whites, Africans, Coloreds, and Indians were supposed to live by race. For this to happen, it required millions of South Africans to be relocated to create room for other races. When it came to politics, the rights to vote and hold any public office was only reserved for Whites and hence making only around 13 percent of the population to control the entire political system in South Africa.

In essence, apartheid system operated on four fundamental principles. Firstly, there existed some four official “racial groups” that were identified as White, African, Colored, and Indian. Secondly, Whites were also perceived to be the only civilized race and hence had an absolute political power over all the other racial groups. Thirdly, in every scenario, the interest of the Whites always came before Black interests. Fourthly, all Whites regardless of their European origin were referred to as White. Nonetheless, the government failed to recognize the widespread Bantu-speaking origins of most Africans and instead classified them into nine separate African subgroups namely; Xhosa, Tswana, Zulu, North Sotho, South Sotho, Swazi, Venda, Ndebele, and Tsonga.  The Indians were not categorized because they were seen as aliens in South Africa.

For better understanding, the apartheid era can generally be divided into three phases. The first phase started in 1948 after the National party emerged victorious in the elections, and came to an end in 1959 after the government introduced separate development and self-government for the African reserves.  Indeed, this period is the classical or baaskap (White Supremacy) phase when the apartheid dogma was enacted into law. The second phase lasted until the early 1970s and it was the period when separate development was implemented. Moreover, this period was regarded as the high point of the apartheid state and Afrikaner nationalism (Beck, 2000). During this phase, most of the anti-apartheid organizations used violent means to advocate for change in South Africa. In the third phase that started in the mid 1970s, there were many anti-apartheid organizations from South Africa and other countries around the world. These organizations continued putting pressure to the government to change their approach of leadership and this paid off when apartheid was ended in 1994 after the election of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa.

The enactment of apartheid laws in 1948 led to the institutionalization of racial discrimination in South Africa. Race laws addressed every aspect of social life that included the prohibition of marriage between Whites and non-whites and the categorization of some jobs as “White-only”. As such, all Whites were only allowed to marry among themselves and any marriage with non-whites was considered to be against the law where the non-white partner was always considered to be on the wrong. In 1950, the Population and Registration Act made a requirement for all South Africans to be racially classified into one of the three categories that included White, Black (African), Colored (mixed decent), and Indians. The Colored race was classified as people who were not Whites, Blacks, or Indians. Obviously, this categorization favored Whites because a person could not be considered to be White if one of their parents was non-white (Baker, 2004). In some instances, the legislation ended up splitting families where parents could be categorized as White, while their children were categorized as Colored on non-whites.

Land Acts were also adjusted to favor the Whites where majority of the country’s land was reserved for the White minority. Moreover, laws were also passed necessitating all non-whites to carry documents that allowed them to visit controlled areas. As a way of minimizing the contact between the races, the government created public facilities for Whites and non-whites and restricted the activities of non-white labor unions. Likewise, these laws banned the inclusion of non-whites in the national government.

When Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd became the prime minister in 1958, he refined apartheid policy to include a system that was referred to as “separate development.” Indeed, the endorsement of Bantu Self-Government Act of 1959 led to the formation of 10 Bantu homelands that were known as “Bantustans.” The sole objective of these homelands was to separate the South African Blacks from each other and hence allow the government to make claims that they were not the majority (Kirkman, 1990). This was also used as a strategy to reduce the possibility of Blacks coming together to form one nationalist organization that would be difficult to tame. Although the Bantustans supposedly gave the black South Africans some political rights, they also managed to keep off the Blacks from participating in any national politics. In one of the negative aspects of apartheid, the Black South Africans were forced to move out of rural areas and the government sold their land to White farmers. From 1961 to 1994, there were more than three million people who were forcibly evicted from their homes and moved to “homelands” where they lived in poverty and misery.

As African resistance to racial discrimination escalated, the achievements that had been realized by the white minority since the beginning of the 20^th century were seriously under threat. This crisis was further enhanced by the turn down of the reserve economies that were introduced during the apartheid period.  Human rights activism from organizations that were against racial segregation was also threatening the migrant labor system that was relied upon by the Whites as a source of income. In addition, the protests also came at a time when secondary industrialization, the growth of the African populations, and African working class militancy were rampant in South Africa.  When nationalist regime came into power in 1948, it developed some measures to handle the existing crisis (Christopher, 1990). Instead of addressing the problem of racial segregation in South Africa, the nationalist opted to convert the existing systems of segregationist into apartheid. Therefore, apartheid was introduced in order to maintain migrant labor and extend the benefits associated with cheap and controlled labor for farms, mines, and the growing manufacturing industry.

The nationalists, who had come to power due to a strong rural vote, initiated a process of trying to remove the few African workers that had remained in White farming districts. Likewise, the nationalists also had plans to transform labor tenancy into wage labor. As a result, most of the farmers who supported the unlimited supply of labor in 1930s and 1940s viewed labor tenancy as being economically devastating. The mutual agreement was that labor tenancy had to be stopped if agriculture was to modernize. Eventually, calls by White farmers were considered through the 1964 Bantu Laws Amendment Act (Martine, 2012). This Act repealed the 1932 Native Service Contract Act and also amended the tenancy provisions in the Land Act of 1936 which technically had a negative impact on labor tenancy. Thereafter, labor tenancy was gradually eliminated prompting evictions by farmers or Bantu Administration officials.

After the ban on labor tenancy was achieved, Africans were no longer needed to work in the agricultural sector and the 1964 legislation was used to remove them from the farms owned by Whites. Between 1960 and 1982, around one million people had been evicted from White rural areas and moved to the reserves that had been structured as ethnic “homelands” by the apartheid administration. One of the main features of apartheid was to re-engineer the traditional African leadership and function of the reserves. To assist in this, the Bantu Authorities Act of 1951 welcomed a system that resulted in a formal separation of the Black majority from Whites living in the countryside. The establishment of separate “homelands” to fit various ethnic groups was a system that was administered by traditional authority through the use of Chiefs (Beinart & Dubow, 2013). This system left a legacy that South Africa is still fighting to overcome. In the meantime, poverty and landlessness were being experienced in the reserves due to the collapse of agriculture. To salvage the situation, Betterment or Closer Settlement Schemes were introduced and hence threatening the system of cheap labor. In essence, the main reason for doing this was to increase crop production and introduce animal husbandry. However, the Betterment Schemes did not make the situation in homelands any better but instead continued causing suffering and misery to the Africans. Furthermore, under the Betterment Schemes, the land sizes were significantly reduced causing people to be forcibly evicted.

Additionally, the National Party made some effort to enhance economic development in the “homelands” for them to become self-sufficient regardless of the fact that the reserves did not have access to natural resources and lacked basic infrastructure and industries. Using this approach, the White South Africa transferred the responsibility of its citizens into a system that could not sustain itself. Chiefs situated in homelands were on the payroll of the apartheid regime as the system tried to legitimize the oppression of the people.

The attempts to reshape and re-engineer the rural villages were resisted through the rise of aggressive Afrikaner nationalism. As a result, violence was started against Chiefs who were collaborating with the apartheid government and for the disruption of rural African life. In addition, the period also experienced rural resistance and the economic struggle in the urban areas. Africans who were retrenched from plantation participated in demonstrations and uprisings. For instance, the Pondoland revolt was mainly dominated by immigrants who were retrenched from Natal sugar plantations between 1959 and 1960 (Clark & Worger, 2013). Conversely, Tembuland resistance was initiated by migrants who had been relocated from the Western Cape. Essentially, migrants took part in these struggles by funding them and appointing lawyers to represent them. Despite the connection to the urban areas, these struggles were only contained within the rural areas where they also remained isolated from each other. As a result, they were unsustainable since they were not supported by national campaigns that only addressed urban issues.

The widespread resistance to apartheid in South Africa was done in various forms that included non-violent demonstrations, strikes, protests, political action and armed resistance. For instance, ANC and the South Indian National Congress organized for a major meeting in 1952 where they persuaded the attendees to burn all their pass books. Another group, which was referring to itself as Congress of the People, approved a Freedom Charter in 1955 to assert that South Africa was owned by all those who lived in it regardless of their race. The government was not pleased with this meeting and broke it up and arrested more than 140 attendees and charged them with betrayal. Similarly in 1960, police opened fire to some unarmed Blacks who were associated with the Pan-African Congress (PAC). The group had gone to Sharpesville police station without their passes as a way of resisting racial segregation. Instead of listening to their grievances, the police opted to kill more than 65 Blacks, and wounded more than 170 people (Clark & Worger, 2013). Thereafter, many of the anti-apartheid leaders convinced their followers that it was not feasible to attain their goals through peaceful means. For this reason, both PAC and ANC established some military wings that posed a serious threat to the state.  The state could not tolerate this and by 1961 most of the resistance leaders had been arrested and punished with long prison terms or even executed. Nelson Mandela, who founded Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”), the military wing of the ANC, was arrested and imprisoned for 27 years from 1963 to 1990. It was his imprisonment that drew a lot of international attention and global support for anti-apartheid.

In 1976, when many Black children in Soweto held a demonstration against the elementary requisite for Black students to use Afrikaans language, the police used tear gas and live bullets to disperse the protests. After these demonstrations, there were numerous government crackdowns and economic recession that drew world’s attention to South Africa. This crushed the fantasy that apartheid had enhanced peace and prosperity in the country. In 1973, the UN General Assembly was totally against apartheid prompting the UN Security Council to call for a mandatory restriction towards the sale of arms to South Africa. Other countries also followed suit led by United Kingdom and the United States that imposed economic sanctions on South Africa in 1985.

Due to the demands from various global leaders, the National Party that was led by Pieter Botha initiated some reforms that included elimination of the pass laws and the interdiction on interracial sex and marriage. However, these reforms failed to bring any substantive change and pressure was put on Botha to step aside for F.W. De Klerk in 1989 (Lowenberg & Kaempfer, 1998). De Klerk’s government succeeded in revoking the Population Registration Act and other legislation that had been enacted to support apartheid.   Indeed, the new constitution that was enacted required South Africans to participate in elections that formed a coalition government with the non-white majority. Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa and he vowed to advocate for equality among the Whites and non-whites. This officially marked the conclusion of apartheid, but racial segregation remains a major concern in South Africa to date.

References

Baker, D. (2004). South Africa’s Racial Past: The History and Historiography of Racism, Segregation, and Apartheid. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 27 (1), p. 194.

Beck, R. (2000). The History of South Africa. Boston: Greenwood Publishing.

Beinart, W. & Dubow, S. (2013). Segregation and Apartheid in Twentieth Century South Africa.   New York: Routledge.

Christopher, A. (1990). Apartheid and Urban Segregation Levels in South Africa. Urban Studies,             27 (3), pp. 421-421.

Clark, N. & Worger, W. (2013). South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid. New York:             Routledge.

Kirkman, W. (1990). Racial Segregation and the Origins of Apartheid in South Africa.      International    Affairs, 66 (2), p. 427.

Lowenberg, A. & Kaempfer, W. (1998). The Origins and Demise of South African Apartheid: A   Public Choice Analysis. Michigan: University of Michigan Press.

Martine, M. (2012). Labour Markets during apartheid in South Africa. The Economic History       Review, 65 (3), pp. 1100-1122

 ACADEMIC HONESTY ESSAY

Introduction

Academic honesty can be defined as morals and characters as revealed from a student. It helps to encourage truthfulness and value to other people and their literature hence giving learners the same opportunity to show their understanding and skills obtained from their studies. (Academic honesty (n.d.). This essay will discuss academic honesty, plagiarism and how to prevent it and explore the use of SafeAssign as a tool to detect plagiarism.

According to Gregory (n.d.), academic integrity can be explained as being honest and responsible in academics, the rule of academic honesty require the entire academic to be original. Academic integrity is important for a university looking forward to succeed in research and education.  It is meant to assist students as they work on examination, assignments and other projects meant to help in the award of degree. Working against academic integrity may result into serious consequences to the university.

Plagiarism is an act of owning someone’s work without appreciating the original author by giving quotes and citing the paper in the right way. It is forbidden to work with the excess of 10% strait quotations owned from others in your work. Plagiarism can be classified into five categories i.e purchasing a pre-written paper or contracting someone to write the paper on your behalf, applying ideas from other sources in your work and failing to put citations, using a number of times a paper you wrote before for a different subject and duplicating directly from another person’s work without applying citations or quotation marks.

A tool called SafeAssign has been developed to aid in the detection of plagiarism and it gives a great chance for learners to study the correct methods applicable in writing and assignment to make them more original, the tool is essential in many ways including in reducing cases of plagiarism as well as for training purposes. Its principle of action involves database information with the assignment to establish any likeness by use of algorithms, the reference documents can be obtained from document reserves in different institutions, internet and databases from ProQuest(SafeAssign. (n.d.).

Kaiser university embrace plagiarism policies which require the students be sincere as they submit their work for examination and whichever assignment they are requested for by their tutor. It is regarded as deceit and stealing other people work therefore attracts various punishments such as .Plagiarism noted in the student’s assignments leads to an “F” grade for the task in the first incidence. The whole subject receives an “F” grade if the student duplicates the whole paper and owns it for the first incident. If plagiarism is detected in a second time in a student’s assignment, the student receives a strait “F” grade for the whole course but in a second instance when a student copy someone work and owns it, the student receives one semester suspension from the university .Third occurrence of plagiarism in a students work result in one semester suspension from the university while forth instance of the same leads to dismissal and the student will not study again in the university

Plagiarisms can be avoided by providing proper citation of another person’s work using specific styles including APL and MLA both in the in text and inclusion in the list of reference. Paraphrasing which is the rewarding an author idea in your own style should be embraced together with proper in text citation to avoid plagiarism (Fowler, J. (n.d.)

Conclusion

Plagiarism is indeed unethical act and must be avoided as much as possible for its consequences can be very severe especially if the student involved student is dismissed from the university. It is also important to appreciate what an outher has struggled to put in place. SafeAssign tool is therefore very essential in curbing plagiarism.

References

Academic honesty | film competition. (n.d.). Academic honesty | film competition. Retrieved March 13, 2014, from http://www.ibo.org/honestyfilm

SafeAssign. (n.d.). – Blackboard Help. Retrieved March 13, 2014, from https://help.blackboard.com/en-us/Learn/9.1_SP_10_and_SP_11/Administrator/110

Gregory, w. (n.d.). Academic Integrity and Plagiarism. Academic Integrity and Plagiarism. Retrieved March 13, 2014, from

Fowler, J. (n.d.). Avoiding Unintentional Plagiarism. Www.grad.msu.edu. Retrieved March 13, 2014, from http://www.grad.msu.edu/researchintegrity

 

UNIQLO’s Marketing Report

Contents

Introduction. 3

Marketing objectives. 3

Target market and positioning. 3

Segmentation. 4

Targeting. 5

Positioning. 5

Marketing mix. 6

Price. 6

Product 7

Place. 7

Promotion. 8

People. 8

Process. 9

Physical evidence. 9

Links between marketing plan elements. 9

Conclusion. 10

 

Introduction

UNIQLO is a Japanese clothing company that is rapidly expanding into other markets. The company has branches in the US, Europe and presently in Singapore (Clifford, 2012). There is a lot of competition in the retail industry with established players continually improving their products to stay ahead of others. UNIQLO deals with casual wear as a designer, manufacturer and retailer. Although the company is ranked behind major competitors like H&M, ZARA, GAP and Cotton On it is steadily growing its market share enhancing its portfolio by curving out a niche as a provider of quality clothing for lower prices. A marketing plan that enhances the company’s strengths and minimizes on its weaknesses is outlined in this paper. Segmenting, targeting and positioning strategies will determine the marketing mix in order to meet the outlined objectives.

Marketing objectives

The objectives of the marketing plan are to increase the customer base of UNIQLO products through the provision of quality products at reasonable prices and through the use of qualified personnel. UNIQLO’s entry into Singapore marked another milestone in the company’s overall global strategy. While the global objectives entail the company being the largest designer and retailer of quality clothes for reasonable prices, this objectives must be translated into the new market (Gentry, 2003). The specific objectives are:

• To increase UNIQLO’s market share to 15% by the end of 2015
• To grow the company’s revenue by 10% by the end of 2014
• To increase product offerings
• To increase the number of physical stores to 50 by the end of 2015

Target market and positioning

            UNIQLO has not had a targeted marketing campaign per se. Conversely, the company has availed products that are appreciable to a wide variety of customer groups. The major strategy adopted by the company has been mass targeting where products are availed in the market for the general population. This has led to the underperformance of some specialty brands. In order to ensure that the company remains competitive and that it increases its market share, there is need for market segmentation, targeting and product positioning (Roger et al., 2013).

Segmentation

Segmentation refers to the division of a market into clusters that have unique needs. UNIQLO’s segmentation strategy has entailed all groups of people without paying attention to any specific characteristics. While this strategy has been largely successful, the company needs to venture more into specific clusters in order to boost sales of specialty products. The two segmentation strategies that the company should pursue are behavioral and demographic. Demographic segmentation entails the division of a market according to factors such as occupation, age, education, income, nationality and gender. Already, the company has a variety of clothes targeted for both men and women. There are also products that are created for specific age groups. However, the company has not entirely ventured in the provision of products that reflect the wide array of occupations. Although UNIQLO is famed for the provision of causal wear, it is advisable that it also venture into offering products that are considered as a combination of both office and causal wear. The advent of the modern office where most interactions take place in online platforms has reduced the need for conventional office wear. However, since there still remains the inherent desire to appear serious in the job environment, a blend between causal wear and office wear has been preferred (Greb, 2012). Thus, this new-age working class segment should be what UNIQLO focuses its attention. Behavioral segmentation focuses on “behavior, lifestyle, frequency, usage and desired benefits” (Bruning et al, 2009). This touches on the desires of people like the modern workers who have chosen to redefine traditional office norms and customize them to their own situations and realities.

Targeting

The retail industry is very competitive. Companies like H&M, ZARA, GAP and Cotton On are way ahead of UNIQLO in market share judged by the disparities in revenues. There is thus a major challenge in competing against these established retail giants (Porter & Rivkin, n.d). The main target group for UNIQLO should be the modern worker. Technology has made it easy to disseminate information. People nowadays value simplicity as they have less rigid barriers in dress and work times. Thus, their clothes should reflect this freedom. The advantage of targeting this group is that they are aware of what they want, have the financial capacity to make purchases and are easy to please. They therefore present the company with the opportunity to boost its sales.

Positioning

UNIQLO’s business model just like all others is based on repeat business. The first consideration in positioning is awareness of the specific customer needs that will give the company an advantage by making its products more superior. Consumers today are very particular about what they purchase since they have a lot of information on different products from a wide range of sources especially in Singapore which ranks highly in the use of social media. There are many product positioning strategies that UNIQLO can choose from. However, the choice should be informed by the target market as well as other macro economic factors that have been discussed in the previous paper including the political, environmental, economic, social, technological and legal factors. The product positioning strategy that the company should establish is the use of loyalty programs. The aim of product positioning is availing products in such a way that they create an image in the mind of customers and hence making them attached to it.

There are two approaches that can be taken in the creation of loyalty programs; either in isolation or as part of customer relationship management. Both of these approaches require that the company maintains customer purchase data so that it is used in loyalty and reward programs. In other countries UNIQLO gives customers a 10% cash back guarantee from the purchase of a predetermined number of items. Other modes can include offering discounts and other free items after crossing a purchase threshold. Retail stores, restaurants and gas stations have been found to be the most effective in the use of these types of reward programs. With advances in technology, customers interact with the products on a regular basis using a number of platforms (Cavusgil et al., 2012). UNIQLO should develop a mobile app where consumers can track unique company products and also have access to savings and special discounts. These reward systems could create an awareness for the company’s offering in addition to the creation of a network which increases market exposure and in turn prompt repeat purchases and thereby customer loyalty.

 

Marketing mix

Price

Price is a very important part of the marketing mix. UNIQLO has been known for offering quality products for low prices compared to the competitors (Johnson, 2000). This is a major advantage that the company should exploit. The company has to consider other factors before settling on the favorable prices for the Singaporean market. Since the company is just setting up in this market, other factors of production have not yet been established. Thus, most of the product offerings are being imported from other countries. This mans that the prices of UNIQLO products will be inclusive of distribution costs and the taxes payable in operating in the new market in addition to the normal costs of product manufacturing. Prices are however never fixed for long periods (Trunick, 2003). Thus, the company must constantly review its prices to ensure that they reflect the current economic realities of the company and the customer.

Product

UNIQLO is already an established retailer, designer and manufacturer of quality clothing for a fair price. In order for the company to ensure that it is providing the right products, it is important that it analyze the situation from the perspective of the customers. Here, the use of marketing consultants is invaluable as they give insight into the dynamics of the markets that they have experience in serving. These resources should be used after careful and extensive research has been done into the buying habits, fashion trends, customer activities prior to purchase and after purchase and also into the present and future needs (Kolodko, 2003). Nowadays, there are very knowledgeable customers who have divergent needs that must be met if a company is to remain competitive. By constantly appraising the product offerings, UNIQLO can improve its outlook by phasing out non-performing products and stocking those that perform well. This can partly be informed by weather patterns.

Place

Place in marketing mix refers to the location where products are offered. It is important that this location be visible and accessible. This should be in addition to positioning in an area where there is a steady flow of traffic primarily comprising the company’s target market. Technology has eased the process of looking for suitable locations as people can now buy most of their products in online stores. However, this new frontier does not discredit the presence of traditional stores. On the contrary, people still find it pleasurable to spend sometime in physical stores trying on the different merchandise for size. The sizes of requisite stores, the facilities required therein including parking and building specifications are all contained in the location’s local authority codes. Therefore, when UNIQLO seeks to expand its range of stores, mostly located in the densely populated areas, the above considerations must be met. The better the location of a store, the less the company will use in advertising.

UNIQLO should expand its reach in Singapore if it is to compete with the other established retailers. This will require the company diversify its locations by availing their merchandise in trade shows, fashion shows and other competitions. The customer today is well aware of associating the best quality products with successful showings. For example, if items of clothing are featured in a fashion show, then, quality is insinuated.

Promotion

Promotion simply encompasses the strategies and methods of delivery that a company chooses to avail information regarding product offerings to customers. The overall picture is the development of an image for the company. This can be achieved through copywriting and advertisements. The two strategies that will be simultaneously used will be target marketing and mass marketing. The general company offerings that bear its logo will be mass marketed whereas specialty products will be marketed to targeted groups. Young people are especially fashion conscious. Therefore, new products will be targeted towards this segment of the population.

While mass media will be effective for marketing of the major product offerings for the company, there will be need for more differentiated media. Use of social media in creation of product fan pages will be a key strategy. In the former, television advertisements, newspapers, newspapers and the internet will be used. In the latter, features in select entertainment and fashion magazines, branded websites and segment-specific activities will be used.

People

It is important to consider who inside or outside of the company makes every aspect of marketing successful. UNIQLO has a very comprehensive plan on availing product information and products to the targeted customers. While this is commendable, it must be supported by identification of the right personnel. Thus, guaranteeing successful marketing will require the selection, recruitment, hiring and retaining people with the right combination of job-specific skills and abilities. Experts posit that it is best to get the right people into a team and get the wrong ones of before embarking in allocating specific tasks for the identified team members. It is prudent to remember that however well crafted a marketing strategy is, it will result to naught if the right people are not identified to implement it.

Process

Process encompasses all activities that take place between the manufacture of a product and its availability in the market. This entails all administrative and technical functions and all the decisions therein that affect the speed with which products are available in the market. Presently, UNIQLO lags behind in delivery of its latest designer trends. This negatively affects the company’s efforts as ultimately, the customers will be inconvenienced and consequently dissatisfied which will translate to lost business. Processes must be seamless and the delivery of finished products must be prompt to ensure maximum capitalization. The company can achieve this by partnering with established distributors who have good reputations in the market.

Physical evidence

Physical evidence entails how products are being perceived in the market. This largely deals with branding of the company products. A comprehensive integration of the previous 6 Ps of the marketing mix will ensure that UNIQLO establishes a formidable customer base in the Singaporean market. Thus, the company should ensure that it builds on the positive image created in order to continue growing.

Links between marketing plan elements

The sole purpose of having a marketing plan is to ensure that products reach the target market in the right conditions and at the pristine time. There are different endeavors that a company like UNIQLO must focus on in order to achieve this objective. Market research must be done to identify the different segments of the market that offer the most promise for the company’s products. The company decides which segments have the most promise and focuses on meeting their needs through the development of strategies that appeal to that group. While targeting, the company must ensure that it positions its products in such a manner that they are accessible to customers at convenient times and in convenient ways. In this case, the modern working class will be the target market and will be reached through online platforms in programs that enhance their value to the company. The company will then avail customized products for this target market in online stores and also in physical stores, at reasonable prices, using the internet and mobile apps as the basic promotional tools. In addition to this, UNIQLO will ensure that its processes are streamlined to guarantee efficiency and through the use of qualified and motivated personnel.

Conclusion

UNIQLO’s overall aim is to make profit. All endeavors of the company must therefore be geared towards this singular goal. The company has had unprecedented success in the markets that it has ventured into so far. This has largely been due to the wide range of products that are offered ensuring a large customer base. With increased use of technology in the design, manufacture, sale and promotion of products, the company has been forced to develop new plans. The company has developed segmentation, targeting and positioning strategies that will help it differentiate its products for specific market segments. These strategies will ensure that the company maximizes its efforts on individual segments as a means of growing overall market share and revenue. This will be achieved by having an expanded product range, having competitive pricing, availing products in convenient locations, advertising through segment-specific media, having qualified and motivated teams for the job, streamlining company processes and building on the brand. These endeavors will ensure that UNIQLO products receive high visibility in the market and thus boost sales, enhancing the company’s position.

 

References

Bruning, E. R., Hu, M. Y., & Hao, W. (2009). Cross-national segmentation. European Journal of Marketing, 43 (11/12), 1498-1522.

Cavusgil, S. T et al. (2012).  International Business: The New Realities. Australia: Pearson Education.

Clifford, S. (2012, May 23). As U.S. Retailers Retreat, a Japanese Chain Sees an Opening. The New York Times, B1

Gentry, C.  (2003). Continental divides.  Chain Store Age, 79(9), 70.

Greb, R. (2012). The Future Of Fashion Retailing- Uniqlo, Forbes.com. Retrieved March 14, 2014 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2012/10/23/the-future-of-fashion-retailing-part-1-uniqlo/

Johnson, J.  (2000). The power broker. Discount Merchandiser, 40(4), 31-38.

Kolodko, G.W. (2003). Emerging Market Economies: Globalization and Development. Aldershot:  Ashgate Publishing Limited

Porter, M.E & Rivkin, J.W. (n.d). Looming Challenge to US Competitiveness. Harvard Business Review

Roger, A.K. et al. (2013). Marketing In Asia. (2^nded). Columbus, OH: McGraw-Hill Education.

Trunick, P. (2003). Flex Your Global Supply Chain. Transportation & Distribution, 44(6), 16, 18-19

 

Analysis of mistakes made by the management/ CEO of Arthur Anderson LLP & Enron

The decisions that Chief Executives undertake on behalf of their companies can have far-reaching implications. The recent corporate scandals and collapse have a basis on the policies pursued by the company executives. Indeed, rarely will the external environment have such far-reaching consequences as evidenced in the collapse of Andersen Company and Enron. Therefore, the decisions of the management have a big impact on the growth of the company. This paper will review the reasons behind the collapse of two companies; Andersen Company and Enron.

Enron was a leading energy and service company with revenues slightly over US $ 100 billion in 2000. The company had about 21, 000 employee by this time based in the company’s headquarters at Houston, Texas (Cunningham 31). Throughout the company’s existence, it relied heavily on borrowed cash to finance its day-to-day operations. As the company continued to experience growth, it started dealing with trade commodities. However, the company’s employees knew very little about these operations (Cunningham 31).  The company’s commodity banking expanded from natural gas to other goods and services including the internet, electricity and weather futures. As the company’s prospects continued on an upward trend, its fixed assets changed to intangibles like pipelines to commodities, which are derivatives.  As the company grew, budgetary and other important control mechanisms were abandoned. Accordingly, the company’s dealmakers changed the company from an operating empire to an investment fund (Cunningham 31). The company’s Chief Executive and employees were not prepared for this change in business strategy and could not as a result anticipate the potential risks in such transformation. For any investor to have confidence in a company’s reporting system, it is critical that the reporting company and the auditor to have strong internal controls. Available information shows that Anderson has difficult internal controls. The advice provided by the company was not considered by the on-site audit team. This shows that the company did not have strong internal control to ensure that audit information was followed.

The collapse of Enron not only affected the clients but also the employees who had been encouraged to invest their pension in the stocks of the company. After the release of the scandalous information, the stocks dipped and those who had invested in the company made great losses (Haug 212). The top management benefited greatly from shady deals that the company had undertaken.  Andersen got into a scandal when it was auditing the Enron Company and did not disclose the results from the financial statements that it had audited.  The releasing of the financial audit was in the hands of the two companies. Therefore, failure to release the results made both companies responsible. The company’s executives were not keen on proper record keeping, even after being warned by some top leaders within the company. Because of poor record keeping, the management created a loophole for the misappropriation of company funds and mishandling of auditing of financial accounts of the company.

The changing business model among the two companies had a significant effect on the failure of the companies. Within the two companies, their business models were changing. Enron was moving toward a new business model and organizational culture (Cunningham 44). Enron was changing from a tangible business model to one dominated by intangible assets of buying and selling commodities. This transformation created its own growth proved problematic to both investors and the company auditors.  For instance, the change of the business model for Enron was likely to increase volatility, which was complicated by the use of mark-to-market accounting. Moreover, the changing business model at Anderson, from a professional auditing business to one of commercialization of consultation was likely to affect the monitoring ability of the company auditors. Further, the changing business models and the changes in organizational culture as well as employees who were not equipped to manage changes played a significant part in the confusion that led to the collapse of the two companies (Cunningham 43).

Another aspect of organizational culture at Enron was rather discriminatory as it required that “20% of the employees be rated at below performance and encouraged to leave the company” (Jennings 239). Because of this policy, there were no employees who wanted to be carrier of bad news. Enron had unethical reporting procedures. For instance, losses from the Energy Services were moved to other sectors within the company so that the energy sector would look profitable and attractive to investors (Jennings 239).

Enron offered shares of its stock to several executives, SPEs, among others. Many of the shares issued by the company were in exchange of notes receivable (Fernando 15). This was in contravention of US GAAP, because the regulations do not permit the recording of a receivable in exchange for the issuance of notes receivable.  Enron overstated its assets and equities by more than $ 1 billion. However, Anderson overlooked this transaction, which Enron used to hoodwink investors (Bauer 4).

According to Bauer Enron started hiding debts by creating a company, Chewco, which bought out JEDI, which was partner in Enron. The company therefore continued to increase in debt over time.  In all these activities, the perpetrator was Kenneth Lay, the CEO at the time. He made it rather difficult to undertake any investigations into the financial undertaking of the company. The buying out of partner JEDI was discovered later. He hired and fired people who had already engaged in corrupt practices for the company. For example, Andrew Fastow, the chief financial officer of the company, who was replaced.  Kenneth Lay was propagating all these activities to suit his interests in the company.

Its founder Anderson who strictly carried out business faithfully founded Anderson Company. At times many companies wanted backdoor ways to increase their profitability, but Anderson Company stood its ground of honesty and faithfulness. The founder had developed a motto that was ‘think straight talk straight’.  The company had built a great reputation, which made it one of the trusted companies in America. The management that took over, as in the case of Enron scandal, did not maintain the honesty and truthfulness in its operations as dictates by its founder.

According to Fernando Andersen destroyed crucial evidence regarding the accounts of Enron Company.  Some of the evidences were shredded while other information that consisted of emails was done away with to prevent any trace of the financial information (Fernando 16). This made it difficult to ascertain what amount had been misappropriated. Andersen allegation of destroying crucial financial information or Enron in one of its offices was not true since the destruction of emails and other financial information was carried out in other offices including offices in London which headquarters Anderson. Thus, executives in this case are not exempted in the destruction of the documents and, thus, obstruction of justice.  They mistakenly allowed the destruction of relevant documents under their care.

Engaging in huge venture like Enron where it was paid a lot of money was another instance that led to the downfall of Andersen (Fernando 16).  In ethical considerations, Andersen Company did not do its part as an honest auditor of financial accounts on Enron. In hiding information and not bringing it o the light of the public, it acted against the ethics regarding auditing. Therefore, it colluded with Enron in hiding important information from the public and stock exchange committee. The management organization for the destruction of the accounts which would have been a collusion between it and Enron to conceal important information that would have led to prosecution of both companies. This would not have been done without the knowledge of the company chief executives at the time.

In conclusion, the failure of Enron can be attributed to several factors. The growth of the company portended challenges for the company. In addition, the complexity and lack of proper controls played a big part in the company’s downfall.  Enron dealt in treacherous ways, as massive greed and collusion continued to dominate its operations. The collapse of Enron was gradual at the same time subtle, but was hidden from the public, the relevant authorities and the investors. The management propagated it, chiefly by Kenneth Lay who was the chief executive officer of the company and who had been involved in the inception of the company. Most of the dubious deals and undertakings done by Kenneth Lay were done to amass wealth for family and friends while endangering the stocks of the company and the investments that people had put in the company. The company colluded with many players including politicians to seek tax exemptions

The auditing of the financial statements of the company and release of information regarding the accounts of the company was questionable (Davis 208). Before filing for bankruptcy, the company had long accumulated debt, which should have been brought to the fore by the company auditors and external auditors. Andersen, which had a good reputation in its undertakings, had developed a thirst for more money; the management of Anderson was involved in the shredding of documents that were linked to the Enron scandal. It had been its auditor since its inception.  Therefore, the company was party to the financial misappropriation of financial accounts. Therefore, the embezzlement and misappropriation of stocks and money from the company was to be blamed solely on the management of Enron and partly to the Anderson Company, which delayed crucial financial information from reaching the public. The destruction of information was illegal and the company had to answer for those charges, which the Supreme Court had sought to investigate.

Works Cited

Bauer, Andreas. The Enron Scandal and the Sarbanes-Oxley-Act, London: London: GRIN Verlag, 2009. Print.

Cunningham, M. Gary. Enron and Arthur Anerson: The Case of the Crooked E and the Fallen A. Global Perspectives on Accounting Education, 3: 27-48. Print.

Davis, B. James. The Teapot Dome Scandal: Corruption rocks 1920s America. Minneapolis, Minn: Compass Point Books, 2008. Print.

Doryan, M. Aysen.  Financial Crisis Management and the Pursuit of Power: American Pre-Eminence and the Credit Crunch. London: Ashgate Publishing, 2011. Print.

Fernando, A. C. Business Ethics and Corporate Governance. New Delhi: Pearson Education India, 2009. Print.

Haig, M. (2005). Brand failures: The truth about the 100 biggest branding mistakes of all time. London: Kogan page, 2005. Print.

Jennings, Marrianne. (2011). Business Ethics: Case Studies and Selected Readings, London: Cengage Leraning, 2011. Print.

Russell, Jane. Enron scandal. S.l.: Book On Demand Ltd, 2013. Print.

Accounting Cycle

Introduction

Accounting cycle is the process that involves classification, recording, interpretation and presentation of financial data and information to the relevant stakeholders of organizations.  The accounting process is composed of a series of steps that organizations follows so as to come up with the accounting data that helps determine the performance and worthiness of organizations (Helfert, 2001). Some of the major tasks in accounting cycle include recording transactions of businesses, making journal entries, summarizing the accounting information, verification of the accounting information and preparing of the financial statements. Each organization has specific accounting cycle followed during the process of preparing accounting statements. This essay provides the overall accounting cycle at Starbucks Corporation. It provides details of the stages, processes, people and systems that are important in the accounting cycle at Starbucks Corporation.

The Accounting Cycle at Starbucks

The accounting cycle at Starbucks follows a distinct procedure that involves a number of stages, people, processes and systems within the organizations. The main stages that are involved in the accounting cycle at Starbucks includes identification of business transactions, recording transactions, general ledger posting, adjusting entries in the general ledger, trial balancing and preparation of the financial statement.

Identification of Business Transaction

This is the first process of accounting cycle at Starbucks and involves the identification of all the business transactions that has occurred in the organization.  All data relating to different business transactions such as sales, purchases, expenses and income are identified at this stage (Moores & Yuen, 2001). These are retrieved from various departments of the organizations such as sales department, procurement departments and all other departments within the organizations.  The accountants in coordination with other departmental heads facilitates the identification and sorting of these business transactions.

Recording Transactions

After the identification of the business transactions of the organizations, the next step involves recording of the identified data into appropriate journal entry books (Moores & Yuen, 2001). The recording of business transactions at Starbucks take place during the company’s accounting period. The business transactions are recorded into respective debit and credit entries so that they can be posted later to the general ledger. The business transactions are also adjusted appropriately in the journal entries to reflect any changes in revenues and expenses of the company.  This stage of the accounting cycle facilitates the future accounting process of organizations hence should be accurate in recording relevant data and information.

Account Posting

At this stage of account posting, all the previously recorded business transactions are posted to the organizations general ledger books. The posting of journal entries into general ledger book at Starbucks is done at the end of each month. The Starbucks business transactions are posted into the general ledger as they have occurred.  The general ledger of the company is organized in specific order that starts with assets, liability and finally the owner’s equity.  This is followed by different revenues and expense accounts. At this stage the entries in the general ledger is also adjusted accordingly.

Trial Balancing

Trial balancing is an important stage in the accounting cycle as it ensures that there are no errors in the general ledger.  Starbucks uses trial balancing to ensure that there are no errors committed when posting the journal entries into the ledger accounts.  In the trial balancing, all the balances of the various business transactions are arranged in either debit or credit column. The total of the debit and credit balance should be equal.

Preparation of Financial Statements

The last stage of the accounting cycle is the preparation of the financial statements.  Organizations prepare financial statements based on the information obtained from the ledger accounts and trial balance statements (Libby et al, 2004). There are various financial statements that can be prepared by organizations and this might depend on the need and nature of the organization. Starbucks prepare a number of financial statements that include balance sheet, income statements, cash flow statements and the statements of shareholders equity.  At Starbucks, the financial statements are prepared at the end of each financial period which is usually at the end of every six months.  The company therefore prepares its financial statements two times in a year specifically at the end of June and December of every year.

The People, Processes and Systems

Various people, processes and systems are involved at different stages of account cycle of organizations. At Starbucks the account department is responsible for all the processes that take place within the account cycle. The personnel that are involved in the account cycle at Starbucks include account clerks, accountants, accountant analysts, procurement manages, purchasing managers, credit managers, internal auditors, external auditors, the chief financial officers and the chief executive officer. Each of these personnel has various responsibilities at different stages of the account cycle.

The processes involved in the account cycle at the company includes billing, recording of information, adjusting of the journal entries, preparation of the financial statements, posting of the financial statements and presentation of the financial statements (Libby et al, 2004). Another important process in the accounting cycle involves both internal and external auditing of the company’s accounts.

The systems that are integral in the account cycle of Starbucks include communication systems which the personnel involved in the accounting cycle use to pass relevant information to the organizations stakeholders.  Filing systems is also important in the accounting cycle of the company as it ensure that different data and information are stored safely and made available for use during the accounting cycle. The company mainly uses computerized system to collect and store various accounting information and data that are used in preparation of the financial statements of the company.

Conclusion

Accounting cycle is important for organizations since it ensures the determination of the performance and worthiness of a company. The stages that are followed in accounting cycle determine the accuracy of the financial statements of the organization. Starbuck follows strict processes in the preparation of its financial statements and involve different personnel, systems and processes. Starbucks accounting cycle has played an important role towards its improved performance due to its ability to come up with accurate and reliable information that form the basis of making appropriate business strategy aimed at improving its performance in the global market.

 References

Helfert, E. A. (2001). Financial analysis: tools and techniques: a guide for managers. New

York: McGraw-Hill.

Libby, R., Libby, P. A., & Short, D. G. (2004). Financial accounting, Boston: McGraw-

Hill/Irwin.

Moores, K., & Yuen, S. (2001). Management accounting systems and organizational

configuration: a life-cycle perspective. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 26(4), 351-389.

 

 

 

Introduction to International Business; Global Marketing 2

Doing Business in Egypt

Introduction

Arab Republic of Egypt is a nation in Middle East and North Africa. The income category of Egypt is among the lower middle income as compared to the global scale. The population of Egypt stands at more than eighty million individuals with GNI per Capita standing at three thousand United States dollars. Cairo is the capital city of Egypt.

Main Body

Statistics compiled by doingbusiness.org as at 2013 indicated that: Egypt ranked at position fifty considering the ease of starting a business; position one hundred and forty nine considering the simplicity of dealing with permits relating to contracts; position one hundred and five considering getting electricity; position one hundred and five considering registering property; position eighty six considering getting credit; position one hundred and forty seven considering protecting investors; position one hundred and forty eight considering paying taxes; position eighty three considering trading across borders; position one hundred and fifty six considering enforcing contracts and position one hundred and forty six considering resolving insolvency (Doingbusiness.org., 2013). The comparisons were conducted out of one hundred and eighty eight economies by The World Bank.

Egypt has experienced reforms; that have made it easy or difficult in operating businesses. Egypt is a target by many international organizations basing on the reduced costs of initiating a business. Egypt also made reforms that facilitated international trade; this was mainly supported by the electronic system that facilitated electronic submission of import and export documents, hence reducing the time waited in the conducting international trade. Egypt has also been influential in easing the processes involved in dealing with construction permits, accessing credit and enforcing contracts (Doingbusiness.org., 2013). Egypt has also simplified processes involved in registering properties and protecting the local and international investors; there are diverse variables  making it easy for organizations to do business in Egypt (Terterov, 2011).

There are various variables that made it difficult to do business in Egypt, taking a critical look at the issues of paying taxes in Egypt, it was noted that Egypt to some extent made it costly for organizations to pay taxes since the reforms increased the corporate tax rate. Another factor that made it difficult to do business in Egypt is the political instability in the region, which has caused uncertainty among the investors (Highered.mcgraw-hill.com., 2012).

Doingbusiness.org focus on the regulations in place in conducting business in different nations that constrain or facilitate the local and international business; categorically reflecting on the five main stages that affect the business life cycle; the five stages identify with initiating a business, addressing construction permits, property registrations, international trade and on enforcing contracts (Doingbusiness.org., 2013). All this factors in one way or another influence the commercializing of products and services in Egypt; the five stages of a business cycle signal the reforms and economic outcomes that influence the day to day operations of businesses. Egypt experienced the revolution in January 25^th 2011; the revolution facilitated change of social and political transitions (Games, 2013). The revolutions caused economic disruptions in the region that affected trade, tourism, banking and retail industries among other industries.

Conclusion

The government of Egypt has been working around the clock in improving the business environment, by attracting local and international investors in various industries in the region. Doing business in Egypt is promising as the government keep on improving the business environment. Majority of businesses in Egypt admit that the model of taxing businesses is inappropriate and should be revised.

References

Doingbusiness.org. (2013). Doing Business in Egypt 2014. Retrieved February 15, 2014, from Doingbusiness.org: http://www.doingbusiness.org/~/media/GIAWB/Doing%20Business/Documents/Subnational-Reports/DB14-Egypt.pdf

Games, D. (2013). Business in Africa: Corporate Insights. London: Penguin Global.

Highered.mcgraw-hill.com. (2012). The Nature of International Business. Retrieved February 2014, from Highered.mcgraw-hill.com: http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0078029376/889427/Chapter01.pdf

Terterov, M. (2011). Doing Business with Egypt . London, United Kingdom: Kogan Page.

 

 

 

 

Regulations

There exists a relationship between the American National Legislative and Regulatory Agencies and ISO 14000. ANLRA has the mandate of ensuring that there is an absolute adherence to environmental conservation in the United States of America. The requirements in ISO 14000 bring out its relationship with the ANLRA because it sets the regulations that guide the ANLRA’s sub-division (the US Environmental Protection Agency) that safeguards the environment (United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Management and Organization Division, n.d).

The ANLRA, through the US Environmental Protection Agency, implements the provisions of the ISO 14000 as well as forms new laws that ensure total adherence to the requirements of the ISO 14000 in the USA. For instance, ISO 14000 requires that there is minimal human destruction of the environment through pollution. It is an obligation that all countries with an interest in the prevention of environmental damages implement this policy. The USA enforces the rule through the US EPA, which is a sub-division of the ANLRA (Cascio, Woodside, & Mitchell, 1996).

The ISO 14000 also requires that there exists alternatives to any activities that may culminate in environmental destruction. The ANLRA works to find other ways by which people can conduct their businesses without having a negative impact on the environmental. For instance, they have formed “Environmental Impact Statement,” which guides them to ensure that they are also in compliance with ISO 14000 before ensuring that all other parties do the same. This helps them to identify the activities that people engage in and poses serious threats to the surrounding (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d).

In conclusion, the relationship between ISO 14000 and the American National Legislative and Regulatory Agencies comes out through the US Environmental Protection Agency. This ecological organization enforces the environmental provisions of ISO 14000. The agency works to minimize the rates of pollution in the United States of America as well as find alternatives to activities that may lead to environmental destruction.

References

Cascio, J., Woodside, G., & Mitchell, P. (1996). ISO 14000 Guide: The New International Environmental Management Standards. New York: McGraw Hill Professional.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency peer review handbook. Collingdale: DIANE Publishing.

United States. Environmental Protection Agency. Management and Organization Division. (n.d). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advisory committees, charters, rosters, and accomplishments. Washington D.C: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.