Individual’s age or abilities

Counseling is important as it allows individuals to lead positive lives. In counseling, there are different factors that need consideration to ensure that it becomes effective. This paper delineates on the various aspects concerning clients-counseling relationship.

Various factors do take precedent in the client- therapist relationship because they play a key role in the process. Some of these factors are the age and the abilities of the client.  The age of an individual is important because it indicates the experience of the person, which is important in providing therapy. For instance, a person that is older is more exposed and experienced on various aspects compared to a younger person and this need consideration when providing therapy services. An older person may also have other complication associated with hearing impairment, which requires therapist to factor when providing therapy compared to a younger person.  Abilities also do matter when it comes to client-therapist relationship (Souza, & Hoyer, 1996). The level of education that an individual has and the understanding of a given aspect is essential consideration that therapists need to factor. An educated and a highly skilled person will not require a lot of explanation compared to a person that has low level of education because the level of understanding of these two people differs.

Age related hearing among the elderly population has some implications for counseling.  Old people aged above 65 years often develop hearing problems that deter effective communication. In counseling, communication is essential, as it is the medium through which the client and the counselor share and provide amicable solution to the problems that the client face (Souza, & Hoyer, 1996). Therefore, when the individual has this hearing complication, it becomes a challenge to carry out effective counseling process. However, to enhance the process of hearing, various measures are available. One of them is to use hearing aids that can help the old with hearing impairment to amplify the sound for them to hear. Other mechanisms include, reduction of background noise, using facial cue and positioning closer to the speaker among others (Souza, & Hoyer, 1996).  The counselor must also speak slowly and clearly without exaggerating, the voice should be at the same volume throughout the conversation and should pay close attention to the facial expression and body language of the older person with hearing impairment (Souza, & Hoyer, 1996).  Furthermore, the hearing impairment can use adaptive communication by asking a given point missed to be clarified or rephrased. These strategies are essential in enhancing communication and understanding between the adult with hearing impairment with the counselor. The most important thing is for the counselor to understand the person and the best way to engage in a conversation with the person.

Physical disabilities of lesbian population have some implications when it comes to counseling too.  Lesbians with physical disabilities face many challenges in society such as negative perception, which affects their lives.  Counselors may also have negative perception about these physically disabled lesbians affecting the counseling process. During the counseling process, the physically disabled lesbians have expectations that they expect to be met and at times, they are not met because of various factors (Hunt, Matthews, Milsom & Lammel, 2006). One of the reasons is lack of counselor awareness and education on issues that are important to lesbians with physical disabilities that compromises the process. When the counselors are not familiar with the pertinent issues that these people go through, then it becomes a challenge. Other factors are   biasness and discrimination from the counselors. This discrimination deters the process of effective counseling hence compromising the same. Others include counselor identity whereby, the counselor is not a lesbian with disability. If the counselor is a lesbian with physical disability, it creates a conducive environment for the lesbian client to be open to share their views without restrain because they feel secure and acknowledged.

Therefore, in conclusion, various issues such as age and disabilities play a key role in counseling and counselors must consider all these to succeed in their quest to offer effective counseling. Clients will feel at home to share with the counselors if given enough attention and respect.

 

 

References

Hunt, B., Matthews, C., Milsom, A., & Lammel, J. A. (2006). Lesbians with physical        disabilities: A qualitative study of their experiences with counseling, Journal of          Counseling & Development, 84(2), 163–173.

Souza, P. E., & Hoyer, W. J. (1996). Age-related hearing loss: Implications for counseling,            Journal of Counseling & Development, 74(6), 652–655.

 

 

 

Correlation between Corruption and Press Freedom

The interest of the public is one of the most important factors in determining many actions, including government policy, where there is need for public involvement and support. The media realizes this, and thus where there is in-depth reporting, there is bound to be pressure put on the government to act in a manner that considers the interests of the many. Corruption may be so rampant that people may perceive certain behaviors as acceptable while in a real sense, they may be corrupt. The media should step into such a situation and raise public awareness so that unacceptable behavior is exposed. The media plays an important role in ensuring that there is accountability on the part of the spending of public funds and also in the fulfillment of the duties that public officials are charged with. Rose-Ackerman (159) argues that the participation of the media inevitably activates anticorruption values that can help the public in mounting pressure on the government to be more transparent and accountable.

Many researchers have found that the media can have both tangible and intangible impacts on corruption. Tangible impacts are perceived as those that have direct consequence for example a news article or a story, such as the impeachment of a crooked official, the launching of an investigation, and the reversal of a directive or even the review of a law or policy. On the other hand, intangible impacts can be seen in a wider social context, where there may be increased debate on a given topic, improved effort on the part of public servants, political pluralism and a heightened sense of accountability in the use of public funds. There are a number of factors that determine the efficacy of the media in its watchdog role that fall into either in the legal, political or economic categories. Ownership, outreach, access to information, credibility, freedom of expression and competition are some of the clearest factors. There is a need to closely interrogate these factors so as to establish the extent to which they can be useful in reducing corruption.

 

There is temptation that arises from handling public funds. In many countries, mostly in Africa and Asia, public coffers are viewed as easy targets for individual enrichment. In this regard therefore, the media can be indispensable in scrutinizing the actions of those entrusted with drafting policy, overseeing budgets and spending public funds. This can be done through monitoring the processes that are involved in deciding what projects to undertake and in investigating the actual details of the spending of public funds. Many public officials have a poor attitude to the handling of public funds and have found themselves falling into temptation, using the funds to enrich themselves, an action that is tantamount to abuse of office.

	1	2	3
Politicians getting to elective positions through bribes	.72
Elective officers recouping investments in politics	.66
Absence of political commitment to fight corruption	.56
Presence of so many centers of political power	.56
Lack of freedom of the press		.70
A weak judiciary system		.65
Lack of participation in decision –making		.63
The opening up of political space in Uganda			.77
Lack of political freedom due to party restrictions			.60
Selection of politicians through party ideologies			.56
% age variance	20%	12%	10%

The table above is a representation of 10 variables that were the most prominent in increased corruption in Uganda. They were sourced from different studies and were correlated for statistical significance “based on slightly different empirical specification” (Serra, 42). They were grouped into three broad categories in consideration of their economic and political effects. The first group entailed politicians who invested so much in bribing people to get to political office that they have to practice corruption to recoup their losses. The second highlights the strategic weakening of watchdog institutions key among them being the media and the judiciary and the last one entails the expanding of opportunities in Uganda translating to more avenues for corruption. Freedom of the press is one of the most significant weaknesses of the Ugandan system which if improved could have an effect on all other variables as it will avail requisite information for actions to be taken.

There are many methods that people use in order to misappropriate public funds. The tangible impacts of media influence should ensure a comprehensive manner of covering these loopholes so that there are fewer and fewer ways to carry out misappropriations. Parliament and other oversight bodies could launch investigations into matters that involve the non-transparent spending of public funds, could impeach, censure, force from office or fire people who are found to be guilty of corruption. The other arms of government can also take action, by such as the launch of judicial proceedings, or repeal policies and laws deemed to be unhelpful in the fight against corruption. The major way in which media coverage influences other bodies to act is by stirring public debate and triggering public hostility towards an unpopular outcome. The media has been found to be effective in focusing public opinion on corruption, which has led to many politicians losing favor in the eyes of the electorate. At the same time the media can mount pressure on the government to do away with unpopular policies or laws.

News items should be of high quality, in that they should inform the public using facts and not through propaganda. This means that there must be massive investment by the media to ensure that there are thorough investigations carried out regarding a particular topic. Any weaknesses and flaws that may have contributed to an act of corruption should be exposed so that corrective action can be taken to prevent further illegality. In many African countries, there have been numerous efforts that have been aimed at reforming the police, courts and anticorruption agencies to ensure that they are not responsible for encouraging corruption but rather, are at the center of eradicating it. These endeavors have resulted in: the increase in costs of behavior attributed to corruption, enhanced legitimacy of the bodies charged with oversight, increased independence of watchdog bodies, removal of conflicts of interest that might make the oversight and watchdog authorities have a vested interest in corruption and sensitizing the public to the dangers of corruption, whilst encouraging them to be more active by reporting corruption incidences and being willing to be witnesses in such cases in courts of law. There are numerous countries where people feel that the legal process is very drawn out, to the point that they become unwilling to be involved in processes that may take years to have any tangible results. Thus many cases of corruption that could be easily concluded with the culpable people being convicted, fall by the wayside due to lack of evidence and witnesses. An aggressive media may not necessarily be effective after-the-fact. There may be preemptive responses by institutions or governments eager to protect their reputations, who may move with speed to preserve their public image by responding to any corruption allegations prior to such reports being aired.

The media is indispensable in areas where there is little political competition. In many democratic societies, there are two or more sides to political competition. The winners usually form the government while the losers form the opposition. In other systems, there is little to no political competition, meaning that those in power have little to no pressure when executing their mandate. A case in point is Uganda, where the ruling class has been able to unilaterally dictate policy with little in terms of opposition. There have been numerous instances where the term of the president has been reviewed and extended, so that there is only one leader. In such a country, the media can be an important tool in ensuring that the government plays its part without misappropriating public property. Weak political competition therefore, can be compensated for through a strong, vocal and independent media. Aggressive, factual reporting can ensure that the public is informed on issues that will inevitably influence their everyday lives. The media can spark healthy public debate on the conduct of institutions or governments which the people have entrusted with their wellbeing. The media can also ensure that there is a platform for the formation of formidable opposition voices that can check governments. The end result would be political as well as economic competition that would assist in improving the lives of citizens. Increased public interest can lead to corruption networks being dismantled, enhanced accountability and the creation of incentives where public officials are empowered to deal with corruption as it arises. In undemocratic societies, a push by a vocal media might create an uprising where people become more empowered to fight for their civil liberties as well as simple freedom of expression. The media is also important due to the fact that it provides information to a large part of the population. A monopoly of information is one of the preconditions for corruption (Besley, T. & Prat, 24). By ensuring that the public is well informed, the media removes an avenue for powerbrokers which is key to increased corruption. Decisions and procedures carried out on behalf of the public are usually the preserve of a few people which means that the public is rarely aware of them. For example, where multibillion dollar projects have been planned, tendered and allocated by institutions or government for the purpose of improving facilities for better living, all the pertinent information is rarely shared with the public. When such projects therefore drag on for longer periods than scheduled and thus inevitably require more money for successful completion, vast sums may be lost. Unless the media is inquisitive and questions such issues and events on behalf of the public, there are no other means of the public getting this information, meaning that corruption will proliferate.

The freedom of media personnel to access and verify information is one the most critical factors in determining whether the media is effective. Even after information has been sourced and verified, its publication may be a major issue. In many democratic societies, the media is independent and the political powers of the day ensure that they are partners with them and not influencers (Robinson, 32). For this to be possible, the media must have financial freedom and must have resources to ensure that pertinent information regarding corruption is sourced from different areas of operation. The basic role of the media requires that it have the freedom to express itself in a manner that is professional, ethical and effective, in order to appeal, educate and inform a large number of people. The freedom of the media should be enshrined in the laws and regulations of the different jurisdictions. The extent to which the media enjoys these freedoms is therefore determined by the contents, contexts and actions deemed as appropriate by the specific laws and regulations. The government should never at any time influence the content of the information being disseminated to the public by the media. However, even where the government may not directly influence the news content, there may be other influences such as economic constraints through government policy or by private stakeholders. Additionally, the government may be oppressive in regards to the media, to the point that it is altogether gagged (Brunetti & Weder, 37). It has been found that where there is a free media sector, there are correspondingly low levels of corruption (Ahrend, 22).

Many governments, especially in Africa use a number of underhand tactics to minimize media influence. In some countries like Uganda, there are laws that are aimed at coercing the media, censuring journalists, promoting a culture of self-censorship and making it difficult for the media to be adequately funded. Colonial governments resulted to libel and sedition laws to reduce the freedom of the press and also to ensure that journalists were discriminated against in court cases. Nowadays many governments routinely cite national security as the major reason for censoring the media. They claim that some reporting is tantamount to giving terrorism and extremists a useful a platform for expressing extreme ideals. There are many countries that also make it hard for journalists to get licenses (Stevens, 18). This practice is extended to the point where their licenses could be taken away when the government deems fit. These preconditions for licensure make press freedom a pipe dream. In other states the government has control over the media, in that it is the source of subsidies and also the source of advertisements as it informs the public of its various activities. Media houses that target the government as the major source for advertising business might find themselves financially hamstrung. Threats of jail or expensive lawsuits or the revocation of licenses are some of the most common tactics used by governments to create self-censorship in the media

There is a direct relation between the level and rate of information access and the existence of corruption. Where independent media readily access information, more accountability and transparency has been witnessed. Politicians who are prone to bad conduct may be dissuaded by the presence of adequate information in the public sphere. In many countries around the world, citizens usually rely on the media to access even basic information. Therefore, the rate at which the media itself accesses pertinent information is a major determinant on the rate at which the public receives it. The media thus serves as an intermediary which primarily collects information and provides it to a large number of people who would have otherwise not have had it. If the media is denied reliable access to information, it fails in its public accountability duty (Stapenhurst, 67). There are numerous laws that are used by governments to limit the media’s access to information. Some laws refer to state secrets that are not meant to be provided to the public since they may compromise public security. These national security secrets laws are not transparent, as they may not be balanced in a manner that ensures that the public is made aware of pertinent issues whilst being protected against perceived threats. The government has a very crucial mandate to guarantee national security. However, such responsibilities must not be at the expense of press freedom. Governments usually have the discretion to determine which matters relate to national security and which do not. This power can easily be abused in a manner which undermines the mandate of the media to act as the public watchdog body. Some governments use these powers to ensure that the media remains in check through self-censorship. Criminal defamation as well as libel laws are extensively used by governments where they think that national security has been compromised. Some public officials are also protected by these laws to the extent that the media is prohibited from doing their jobs properly.

Ownership of the media is a major determinant in its freedom. Privately owned media usually leads to more accountable and transparent governments. A study of 98 countries carried out by Djankov (20), found that in countries where the media is state owned, regulations are of a lower quality than in countries where the media is privately owned. Corruption proliferates due to the government restricting the flow of information which is a major determinant in its inefficiency. One sure way of reducing inefficiency and corruption is privatization of the media and encouraging other privately owned media to join through the removal of barriers to entry. The presence of the private media provides the public with an alternative perspective and prevents state owned media from distorting information for its own benefit. Researchers however caution that the privatization of the media does not always result in lower corruption levels (Eigen, 24). In poor countries, there may be only a few entrenched entrepreneurs who own the media, meaning that they will be open to relaying information supplied by the highest bidder. These business elites might be attracted to the government as a source of advertising revenue, which may lead to them being government tools rather than independent disseminators of information. The case of Uganda shows that there are some small radio owners who depend on the government for revenue and have been used as government apologists. This has made the task of exposing corruption herculean. These private media companies have relinquished their roles as public accountability overseers and have sold out to the government. Such outcomes greatly undermine the fight against corruption, while promoting individual development albeit at the expense of the larger body of the citizenry. Up until 2013, newspapers were very vocal in Uganda against acts of corruption. They used their healthy income from sales to cover against lawsuits and also to conduct research. However, the government has gone a step further and has ordered the closure of some newspaper companies under the guise of national security.

There is need for effective and healthy competition among media houses. Suphachalasai (2005) found that increased competition in the media directly led to low levels of corruption. The researchers’ logic was that in the quest for profit maximization, media houses will inevitably compete to have the most interesting story, in order to sell more. Since the public is usually very interested in knowing how public funds are spent, competition within media houses ensures that the most sensational details about acts of corruption are published. This has been found to be more effective than the simple right of freedom of expression itself. Ultimately, competition in the media leads to governments loosening their censorship rules and regulations since they cannot use underhand tactics on a large number of media outlets. This has led to governments taking preemptive action by reviewing laws that allow for the proliferation of corruption.

Press freedom is a vital cog in the fight against corruption. Countries that have been found to have an independent, financially stable, competitive, privately owned and well-versed media have been found to have relatively lower levels of corruption. Nations that have state controlled media are the most prone to corruption, as the state inevitably distorts the information supplied to the population. The government uses a number of underhand techniques where it cannot directly control the media, such as by using libel laws and draconian laws under the guise of national security. All in all, a state that wishes to dramatically reduce corruption should begin by having a free press.

 

 

Works cited

Ahrend, R. Press Freedom, Human Capital, and Corruption, DELTA Working Paper, No. 2002-11, DELTA, 2002.

Besley, T. & Prat, A. Handcuffs for the Grabbing Hand? Media Capture and Government Accountability, London School of Economics, 2001

Brunetti, A., Weder, B. A free press is bad news for corruption, Journal of Public Economics, 87, 1801-24, 2003

Djankov, S. Who Owns the Media?, Policy Research Working Paper 2620, World Bank, 2000.

Eigen, P. The Media and the Fight Against Corruption, Transparency International, Presented to the CELAP Conference, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1999

Robinson, M. The political economy of governance reforms in Uganda, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Study commissioned by the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management (PREM) Network, World Bank, 2004, 30-3.

Rose-Ackerman, S. Corruption and Governance: causes, consequences and reform, Cambridge University Press, 1999, 143-167.

Serra, D. Empirical determinants of corruption: A sensitivity analysis. World Bank Governance and development, 2004. Accessed 19 Jan, 2014 <http://www.gprg.org/pubs/workingpapers/pdfs/gprg-wps-012.pdf>

Stapenhurst, R. The Media’s Role in Curbing Corruption. World Bank Institute, World Bank, 2000.

Stevens, J. Freedom Subject to License: Attempts to license journalists in Uganda, Zambia and other Commonwealth African Countries, ARTICLE 19, London, March, 1999, pp. 61-83.

Suphachalasai, S. Bureaucratic Corruption and Mass Media, Environmental Economy and Policy Research, Discussion Paper Series Number 05.2005, University of Cambridge.

Statement of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balance

 

Introduction

This is a statement which is usually used to get measurement of the extent of success acquired over a given period. It is a major component of the state or local government annual financial reporting. This statement is usually very useful in ensuring that the expenditures over a given period are well covered by the revenue collected over the same period.

Basically, the state or local government accounts for various components in the annual financial reports. General fund is one of the components of the financial reporting in the statement of revenues, expenditures and changes in fund balance (Ruppel 2009). The general fund gives an account of the general operations and activities which are independent from the other forms of funds. The other component of the statement is the special revenue. This is the area where the funds which are designated by the law for a specific thing is accounted for. For example, the state and federal fuel tax revenues are accounted for under this category. The other part of the components is referred to as capital projects. This is the area where accounting for funds used in acquisition or building of fixed assets takes place. Things such as buildings, roads and equipment are accounted under this category of fund accounting. It is worth noting that the capital project fund is recognized up to the point where the project is completed. The other category of components in the statement of revenues, expenditures and change in fund balances is referred to as debt service. This category is used to account for the funds that have been used in payment of long-term debt related items. The debt service category accounts for the amount used in paying for the loan principal amount and the related interest rate. For example, the government bonds that are used in the financing of the government’s projects are accounted for in this area. It is worth noting that the bonds are usually paid back from the money that is collected from the tax revenue. The other category of components is referred as the special assessment. This category usually covers the accounting of funds used in financing public infrastructure improvements. These are the ones which are funded by the use of special levies from owners of various properties. For example, funds used in the repair of pedestrian sidewalks are accounted for under this category known as special assessment. In the statement of revenues, expenditures and changes in fund balances, a total is obtained for all components so that the final figure may be arrived at. This is able to give a simpler presentation of the statement (Weil, 2012).

Budgeted Village of AIU Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances Governmental Funds For the Year Ended 20X9 Fiscal year
General Fund
REVENUES:
Property taxes	$130,000
Interest and penalties	21,500
Licenses and permits	39,250.00
Intergovernmental grants	15,000
Investment revenue	75,000
Miscellaneous	5,000
Total revenues	285,750
EXPENDITURES:
Current:
General government	80,000
Public safety	23,000
Street sanitation	50,000
Health and welfare	35,000
Community Development	12,000
Parks and recreation	25,000
Total expenditures	225,000
Net change in fund balances	50,000
Fund balances – beginning	75,000
Fund balances – ending	$125,000

 

 

Village of AIU Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances Governmental Funds For the Year Ended 20X9 Fiscal year
General Fund Total
REVENUES:
Property taxes	$5,000
Interest and penalties	1,500
Licenses and permits	4,250.00
Intergovernmental grants	13,750
Investment revenue	1,250
Miscellaneous	2,450
Total revenues	28,200
EXPENDITURES:
Current:
General government	8,750
Public safety	125
Street sanitation	1,750
Health and welfare	6,000
Community Development	1,600
Parks and recreation	2,500
Total expenditures	20,725
Net change in fund balances	7,475
Fund balances – beginning	75,000
Fund balances – ending	$82,475

 

 

 

From the records of the AIU Village, the performance of the village went down than budgeted. From the budgeted statement of revenues, expenditures and changes in fund balances, the total revenues went down by $257,550. This is a very big difference between what was budgeted and what was received as revenue for the AIU village.

On the other hand, the expenditure was also less than what was budgeted. This shows that the expenditure was not able to reach the levels that the village had budgeted.

The encouraging thing is that the revenue was higher than the expenditure for the 20×9 fiscal year. This means that the AIU Village was able to cover its expenditures fully.

Conclusion

It is always important for the people responsible for preparing and managing the statement of revenues, expenditures and changes in fund balances monitor the progress of the trial balance items. This is because the continuous monitoring will be very useful in reducing the variances between the budgeted and the actual balances.

It is also important to ensure that all the components of the statement of revenues, expenditures and changes in fund balances are well understood (Schroeder, Clark & Cathey, 2011). This will be very useful in ensuring that the results obtained are reliable. Proper understanding of the components of the statement will ensure that each entry is done as per the requirements of the financial reporting standards.

References

Ruppel, W. (2009). Government Accounting made easy. John Wiley and Sons.

Schroeder, G., Clark, W. & Cathey, M. (2011). Financial Accounting Theory and Analysis: Text and Cases, John Wiley & Sons.

Weil, L. (2012). Financial Accounting: An Introduction to Concepts, Methods and Uses, 14^th Ed., Cengage Learning.

 

 

Evaluation of the Argument on the Middle Aged Consumers’ Behaviors as Compared to Younger Consumers’ Expenditures on Departmental Store Products

It might be true that most middle aged consumers devote an average of 39% of their retail expenditures to departmental store products while the younger consumers only devote an average of 25% on the same. However, the author does not cite demographic data to prove the assertion. Therefore, it cannot be justified whether the actual population of younger consumers exceeded the middle aged consumers by more than 40% (Martins, Yusuf and Swanson, 2012). In such a case revenues derived from the younger consumers would be higher than those generated from middle aged consumers for the same products.

Moreover, the sudden increase in the middle age population does not necessarily mean that a similar trend will remain in the near future. Therefore, it is illogical to argue that since the number of middle aged are expected to increase the departmental stores should produce more products to target the middle aged consumers and reduce manufacture of those which are consumed mostly by the younger consumers. This further implies that the argument would only apply when it has been proven without any reasonable doubt that the real population of the younger aged consumers would be less than that of younger consumers.

Additionally, the author does not include any research that indicates that the real retail expenditure of middle aged and younger aged consumers are 39% and 25% as stated. Martins, Yusuf and Swanson (2012) argue that despite the younger consumers devoting less of their retail expenditure on consumption, the real revenues earned from the younger consumers purchasing departmental store products might be higher than those earned from the middle aged. The argument would further be justified if the author had indicated the steps that he/she followed to reach the conclusion. In this case, the most suitable step would be a calculation on the profits derived from each of the two consumer categories. Hansen (2009) cites that every sales analysis involves the determination of the exact gross sales revenues that a businessman receives minus the costs involved in the sales and production processes. However, if the profits generated from the middle aged consumers are higher than the younger customers, then the conclusion would be applicable.  Therefore, since the author does not provide the profit margin that he/she used to reach the decision, the conclusion might not be true.

Moreover, the author overlooked the overall impacts of reducing younger customers’ products on the departmental stores reputation. For example, although the profits which would be derived from the middle aged consumers might be higher, it is unethical to replace products intended for the younger consumers with those for the middle aged consumers. According to Lee and Kottler (2013) all businesses must treat their stakeholders equally. It also probable that if the decision is implemented, it would lead to shortage of products which suit the younger persons’ specific needs.  Furthermore, the argument assumes that the rise in middle age customers’ population would lead to an automatic increase in the stores profitability. However, profitability is often determined by several other factors including, but not limited to price, appeal and quality of the products.

Consequently, it is important to consider all the factors affecting consumption behaviors leading to such decisions. As such, the most coherent conclusion would require coming-up with a marketing strategy to enable the businesses to maximize profits from both the two categories. That is, the businesses should produce more products to target the middle aged customers without interfering with the quality and the quantity of those which are consumed mostly by the younger customers. Instead, the business should launch new sales strategy to boost the younger customers’ retail expenditures from 25% to higher percentages.

In conclusion, the argument would only be rational if the author had included the demographic and other statistical data that he/she used to reach the decision. In addition, if the author had correctly evaluated the impacts of the decision on the overall performance and the reputation of the businesses. Specifically, if he would have considered other options that would enable the departmental store owners to meet both the middle aged and younger customers’ needs. Therefore, the argument is weak thereby making the conclusion not only irrational, but also less convincing.

References

Hansen, H. (2009). CAPEX excellence: Optimizing fixed asset investments. Chichester, U.K: John Wiley & Sons.

Lee, N., & Kotler, P. (2013). Corporate social responsibility: Doing the most good for your company and your cause. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley.

Martins, J. M., Yusuf, F., & Swanson, D. A. (2012). Consumer demographics and behavior: Markets are people. Dordrecht: Springer.

                                                                                                 Outsourcing

 

Introduction

Outsourcing is the current trend in most management and operation activities of most companies. This is due to its flexibility, convenience and the indirect cost savings associated with it. Outsourcing refers to delegation of non-core processes or functions to other companies, organizations or other external specialists in their area of service while refers to a situation where an organization or a company decides to develop or to utilize some of the functions within its own departments to perform certain specialize tasks.

In large organizations, the labor intensive sections are normally outsourced to smaller and easily manageable companies whose management is not very complex but their services are reliable. These services or production functions are mostly allocated to regions where their economic benefits can be maximized. Most of the workers are normally untrained and they do not possess other skills that may be utilized in other companies and there are in most cases trained in accordance to the requirements and needs of the company. (Bardhan and Kroll, 2003)

The major benefit of outsourcing besides cost savings and convenience, are to gain the best practices, access improved quality, allow the company to concentrate on the core business and also make use of the best technology. The motive and the drivers of the HR outsourcing should be clearly identified and defined. (Woodall,  Scott-Jackson,  Newham,  and Gurney, 2009)

Companies that experience rapid changes in the labor or other resources in the market may outsource the major functions which are highly affected by such changes to avoid interruptions in its production processes. (Miller, 1987) Companies that adopt proactive strategies to deal with unpredictable situations may opt to rely highly on outsourced functions of other specialized smaller companies.

The sneaker industry has intense competition and most of the companies are under intense pressure to adopt manufacturing practices that require large productions and maintenance of quality standards. These actions may prove to be costly to maintain and also challenging to the management. (Drucker, 1999) The major leader of the sneaker industry, Nike and which controls 47% of the American footwear industry while Reebok follows at 16% and Addidas at 6%. Outsourcing in the home market has major advantage of convenience in operations supervision and monitoring activities, access to specialized staff and government subsidies to induce job creation and expansion in form of tax waivers and other fiscal measures. The major disadvantage is mostly the high costs of labor in the home countries and lack of the raw materials required in the production processes.

The major problems related to outsourcing in foreign countries are the fears that the company’s proprietary skills may be pirated by other competitors or replicated by other unauthorized persons. The benefits may include, reduced capital needs and production risks, low wages and the available ability to focus mainly on the core competencies of firm.

Nike utilizes the services of the subcontractors in all its manufacturing plants across the world. They have a major presence in China, Indonesia and in Vietnam. Other factories are in South Korea, Taiwan and Philippines. Nike has directly employed four expatriates in each of the above three countries to monitor quality. They also have a code of production standards that the subcontractors have to adhere to.

Adidas have literally adjusted their operations from the vertical strategy in Germany in the early 1960’s to outsourcing in the Asian countries. Adidas manufacturing practices are the lowest among the leaders of the industry. (Van, 1998)

New Balance has a market share of 3% and has five plants in New England. Its label is made in the USA. Its strategy is to internalize its structures and relies heavily on its patriotic principles of maintaining jobs in the US and which forms the major strategy of its marketing technique. They are specialized on the Niche market and running shoes. They only outsource their technical products only. (Van, 1998)

To conclude, Outsourcing these services may eventually be economical and convenient for an organization. The main company does not have to grapple with the problems of staff welfare, employee absenteeism, strikes or unions. These problems are handled by the subcontracted companies. The major challenges facing these companies are the issues of human rights and the workers working conditions. However, outsourcing practices or trends will certainly increase in the industry in future.

 

Reference

Drucker, F. (1999) Management Challenges of the 21st Century. New York: Harper Business.

Bardhan, A.D. and Kroll, C. (2003) “The New Wave of Outsourcing”). Fisher Center for Real Estate & Urban Economics. Fisher Center Research Reports.

Miller, P. (1987) Strategic Industrial relations and Human resources Management: Distinction, Definition and Recognition. Journal of Management Studies, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 347-61

Woodall, J., Scott-Jackson, W., Newham, T. and Gurney, M. (2009), “Making the decision to

outsource human resources”, Personnel Review, Vol. 38 No. 3, pp. 236-52.

Van, D. (1998) Manufacturing Practices of the Footwear industry, UNC – Chapel Hill.

Analyzing and Evaluating Research Questions and Hypotheses

Qualitative article

In qualitative articles, the research questions are the routes used to lead the readers through the article. These research questions are related to the purpose statement that is stated at the beginning of the article in that they act as a guide towards provision of different findings in a study that is carried out in different situations or settings (Mendenhall, & Doherty, 2007). These research questions are also linked to the research statement because they are created from a particular set of assumptions or theories that determine how the research should be carried out. The research questions are said to focus mainly on one concept or idea and they pertain to the responses of the participants in the research (Mendenhall, & Doherty, 2007).

The research questions are very important in a research since it helps the researchers to have an organized way in which they can collect and analyze data. For example in the article, “Partners in diabetes”, qualitative research was carried out through the use of detailed meeting processes and interviews that involved providers, patients, and family members (Mendenhall, & Doherty, 2007). The research questions played a very critical role in this study because they provided a guide on the kind of questions to be drafted for the interviews and the kind of data that was collected (Mendenhall, & Doherty, 2007).

For the quantitative article, research questions and testable hypotheses relate to the purpose statement in that they guide the reader towards where they want to go because they direct the study from general theories to specific instances (Mendenhall, & Doherty, 2007). This brings out objectivity of the study which links the whole study with the purpose statement. In the article, “Partners in diabetes”, the kinds of variables that were used include dependent and independent variables. The kind of hypothesis that was used in this research was null hypothesis (Mendenhall, & Doherty, 2007).

 

 

 

 

 

References

Mendenhall, T. J., & Doherty, W. J. (2007). Partners in Diabetes Action research in a primary care setting. Action Research, 5(4), 378-406.

 

A Controversial Essay on Religious Symbols in the Public Sector to be banned.

Introduction

The main reason why the issue of banning religious symbols is controversial is because it directly contravenes the core principles of a democratic society such as ours. In a democratic society there is the upholding of freedom of expression. At the same time, democratic societies advocate for an inclusive setup that accepts people iregardless of their differences from the larger group. A democratic society can therefore be defined by the existence of metropolitan groupings within it. Metropolitan refers to the existence of individuals drawn from different culture. A proposal to place a ban on the different religious symbols in the public sector is tantamount to stopping the individuals who use these symbols from expressing their different faiths.

I believe a ban needs to be placed on the use of these religious symbols by individuals who have been employed in the public sector because they are an indication of bias on the part of the individuals who put them on are bound by a secular law that has been designed in such a manner that it provides no favoritism towards any religious grouping. Because of this, they need to present themselves in a matter that suggests this secular position held by the law.

The religious symbols that are being discussed in this context are outward expressions of religion through large crucifixes for Christians, Pendants, Hijabs for Muslims, turbans for Sikhs and also traditional tunics for Buddhists among others.

The first reason why these need to be banned from the public sector is for the personal safety of the employees. By exposing their religion to those around them, these people make themselves easy targets for discrimination. Discrimination may lead to verbal and in extreme cases even physical attacks. This is because the issue of religion is very emotive to some members of the public who may feel aggrieved by another faith for one reason or another. This will therefore be done in the spirit of prevention being better than cure.

The second reason why a ban needs to be placed on the use of religious symbols in the public sector is the fact that it in a way contravenes the constitution which seeks to treat all citizens equally. A person who displays religious symbols is more likely to attract people of his or her faith who think they will get preferential treatment. At the same time, it may lead to favoritism or discrimination against employees by their workmates and worse by their superiors.

The third reason why these symbols need to be banned is the fact that some of the positions of public officials come with some form of authority. It will be unfortunate if the decisions of some of these people appear to be influenced by their religion rather than their work ethic. Even if the mistakes of these individuals are not influenced by their faiths, the outward symbols they display will send that message thus working to their disadvantage.

In conclusion, it is evident from the above points that it will be prudent to place a ban on religious symbols in the public sector. This will help to streamline the operations of those who work in the sector by eliminating barriers to their effectiveness in the place of work. At the same time, the lives of those around these individuals will be easier as they will be able to interact with their workmates without any inhibitions, prejudice or fear of any form of reprisal that arises from religious tensions.

 

Should Supreme Court Justices have Term Limits?

Supreme Court Justices should have term limits.  The appointment of justices to serve for life increases their power to an extent of threatening the “checks and balances” concept of the government (Lazarus, 2004).  The judiciary branch of government is given more power than the executive and legislature. In addition, the Supreme Court is given far too much power without any accountability to the people. This makes the courts to become opaque, imperious and isolated.

A very important aspect of life terms is that they guarantee a lasting legacy of the current president’s laws and terms (Lazarus, 2004). Presidents often appoint judges with whom they share similar interests. The party in power uses the chance to protect its ideologies and, possibly, suppress the ideologies of the opposing parties. There is a tendency for presidents to name very young and inexperienced judges with similar ideologies to the bench with the hope that they will get out of office when the favored party has regained power. The young appointed judges are used as political tools. They sit on the bench for many years with the hope of leaving office when successors have been appointed again. The main rationale behind life tenure is that judges will become immune to political and social pressures. However, this is not a guarantee. Judges are still capable of being influenced by the factors surrounding them.

The third reason against life terms is that they keep justices in office far past their prime (Lazarus, 2004). There is a danger in assuming that longevity guarantees good service. Life tenure creates challenges by the fact that sitting judges may suffer loss in mental capacity or energy. They may also become disturbed or disabled, and eventually fail to think rationally. This compromises with their effectiveness and productivity. Life terms also allow bad judges to sit on the bench indefinitely, with a very low possibility of impeachment.

Reference

Lazarus, E. (2004). Life tenure for federal judges: should it be abolished? FindLaw. Retrieved                 from: http://writ.news.findlaw.com/lazarus/20041209.html

 

 

How Organizational Size Affects HR Outsourcing

Introduction

In the world of today mainly ravaged by competition, organizations are left with no otherwise but to look and search for new ways of generating value. The universe has clinched the outsourcing phenomenon and companies have incorporated its principles in helping them expand into unreached markets (Abdul-Halim et al., 2009). Strategic outsourcing management is perchance the most significant tool in the management field and its frontier is the innovation outsourcing. Outsourcing may be defined as the transfer of functions previously done internally to external providers (Abdul-Halim et al., 2009). Many organizations have realized the significance of outsourcing and have begun to expand this activity to majority of their business operations. Outsourcing has been involved in manufacturing operations, logistics, research and development, human resource management, information technology, and accounting. This function has therefore become a common activity.

Factors Influencing Organizations to Outsource

The organizational influences to eradicate the in-house Human Resource (HR) functions include elimination of duplication after acquisition and merger, cost reduction, and eradication of non-strategic and value added job functions. Outsourcing also allows HR experts to center on organizational effectiveness coupled with strategic and value –added job functions (Woodhall et al., 2009). Reasons to outsource are quite many depending on the organizational size and whether it is a merger or acquisition. Nonetheless, there is flexibility in allocating variable cost rather than fixed cost to HR functions and there is also concentration on main business activities (Woodhall et al., 2009).

 

 

How the Outsourcing of HR Functions Address Organizational Issues

The outsourcing of HR functions has been referred to as a strategic tool available to organizations thriving in a competitive environment. It is popular and fast gaining ground significantly due to the need by the HR department to exercise a more strategic role in an organization. The HR managers of today are anticipated to shed off their traditional duties associated with procedures and policies, and the selection, hiring, training and compensation of employees, for more strategic duties that include improving the quality perception of customers,, reduction in costs of HR administration and management of scarce resources (Thompson, 2008). Many HR managers in response to this shift in archetype, are now outsourcing their more orthodox roles (Thompson, 2008).

Positive and Negative Ramifications of Outsourcing

Benefits of outsourcing involve provision of greater concentration and awareness on key business activities, improved service delivery to stakeholders, and heightened HR performance with reference to reduction in cost such as lay-offs (Abdul-Halim et al., 2009). Other advantages include increased capacity, improved quality, improved financial performance, increased profitability and productivity, lower risks and innovation costs, and improved organizational competitiveness. However, some problems are eminent. Outsourcing normally reduces the company’s control on how particular services are delivered and this increases the company’s exposure to liability. Another drawback is the elimination of internal HR professionalism (Woodhall et al., 2009). In this scenario, morale would be undermined and if the downsizing of staff is heavy, a few HR experts remain to carry the load and this can lead to role strain.

 

 

Implication for the Carrier Paths of HR Professionals

There are far-reaching implications for career paths of HR experts in an outsourcing scenario or situation. HR professionals who are forward-thinking and are strategic thinkers as well as leaders of change will automatically survive in such a scenario. These experts in the field of human resource management identify the revolution and changes that transpire due to the age of information as well as how technological breakthroughs will explode in the forthcoming years (Thompson, 2008). HR professionals are conversant with the fact that for them to protect themselves from the job downsizing strategy with the aim of reducing the organizational cost, it is imperative that they improve their value in the organization by being strategic partners and also able to confirm their worth in the organization. In maintaining this momentum, these professionals should further their education.

The Impact of Company Size on Organizational Outsourcing Decisions

The size of a company does not essentially dictate the outsourcing decision by that organization. Even smaller companies would need to concentrate on development of core competencies and not branching out into unknown areas that need specialized skills (Thompson, 2008). Acquired companies merge their HR departments and therefore, downsizing coupled with layoffs inevitably occur. Abdul-Halim et al. (2009) indicates that the decision in outsourcing HR functions is significantly determined by the business strategy type exploited by an organization. The author presents four types of business strategies and include proactive, quality- based, reactive, and breadth.

Quality- based business strategy creates products and services with high standards of quality. In this particular strategy, HR functions that are transactional in nature such as benefits and payroll are normally outsourced and this frees the time of the HR professional on concentration on the retaining and attracting the best talent. A proactive strategy helps a company to focus on the product or service differentiation hence its reaction to the ever changing business environment. In this strategy, the HR functions that are non-strategic such as routine and standardized functions are outsourced. A breadth strategy assists the company to focus on myriad product or service lines with a broad customer base. This strategy enables the HR professionals to maintain most of their functions in-house and not out-house. Lastly, the reactive strategy helps an organization to try in producing goods and services at a rate which is cheaper as compared with that of the competitor. With this strategy in operation, a reactive company is more tending in outsourcing all its HR functions with a dramatic attempt to cut costs (Abdul-Halim et al., 2009).

 

References

Abdul-Halim, H., Che-Ha, N., & Geare, A. (2009). The Influence of Business Strategy on the Decision to Outsource Human Resource Activities: A Study of Malaysian Manufacturing Organizations. Journal of Human Resource Costing and Accounting, 13(4), 274-293.

Thompson, P. (2008). Will HR be about strategic partnership or operational support in 2028? Personnel Today, 12.

Woodhall, J., Scott-Jackson, W., Newham T., & Gurney, M. (2009). Making the decision to outsource human resources. Personnel Review, 38(3), 236-252.

 

Franchisors do not like to take on ‘Entrepreneurs’ as Franchisees

A business franchise is any economic venture that entails the aspect of branding where an entrepreneur seeks to use a given recognized company name at a fee. The term can further be used conservatively to refer to commercial activities where an entrepreneur is granted express authority by the producers or manufacturers to distribute goods and services from a given supplier. This practice is often undertaken by licensing brand trademarks and the supply chain through which goods are passed from the manufacturer to the consumer. Franchisees are the traders who obtain the licenses to trade in a given line of goods or services while an entrepreneur is a person who invests time and money into a business venture with the intent of maximizing returns (James 2007). A franchisee is the trader who owns the trademark, license, business model or a given business name. Thus the statement ‘franchisors do not like to take on ‘entrepreneurs’ as franchisees’ is a credible remark that defines the place of startup entrepreneurs prefer setting up their own business brands rather than using already established and licensed trademarks by other companies.

The applicability of this statement has spiked controversies regarding the best choice of business startup and how spontaneous entrepreneurs can manage their own portfolio. Looking at the historical evolution of franchising whose definition has been associated with the use of another firms business model because of its success in attracting customers, franchisors are faced with the challenge of either starting their own chain stores or avoiding the potential risks and liabilities that could possibly arise from making investments. Therefore the statement that franchisors do not like taking up business ventures as franchisees supports the fact franchising makes the success of the franchisors fully dependent on the reputation and goodwill of the franchisees (Brian 2009). This is because the franchisee obtains a greater incentive from the trademark than another start up entrepreneur would.

It is generally acknowledged that franchisors benefit from franchisees in the sense that they gain a stronger reputation and customer loyalty because of their increased accessibility following the setting up of sub stores affiliated to the good brand. An example is Subways Company and McDonalds (Lesonsky & Conley, 2007). Furthermore there are payments which are made in form of loyalty for using the licensed trademark or reimbursements paid after consultancy, training or consultancy services offers by the franchisor to the entrepreneur. The franchising agreement stipulates the time period within which payments are to be made and the itinerary in which a franchisee is supposed to operate. Such agreements are renewable and last for five to thirty years. Premature cancellation of a contract could have serious implications on the franchisee because the entrepreneur activity is by itself a temporary business venture that operates as a lease and not an actual purchase. This implies that franchising is hurting to the entrepreneur or the franchisor because they do not gain ownership of either the business or the trademark in the long run. Because of this factor, entrepreneurs consider franchising as a wasting asset because of its finite license which might be beneficial for a short period of time.

Apart from the statement being negated by the fact that entrepreneurs might disregard franchises, it is rife that franchisors do not like to take on entrepreneurs because of factors relating to conflict of interest. The obligatory parties consisting of the franchisor and the franchisee are bound by legal agreements aimed at protecting their rights and privileges. Whereas the franchisor is keen on securing and protecting the trademark, controlling the business model as well as the business concept, the franchisee is obligated to perform according to the contractual agreement. Furthermore the franchisee is required to keep up with standardization bids tailored by the franchisor. This can be done by ensuring that the franchisee uses the franchisors logo, signs, trademarks and plan designs for the business. The services too have to be in accordance with a standard code thus the franchisees are prevented from gaining full control of their businesses as compared to entrepreneurs. Because of this factors, franchisors view entrepreneurs as creative and innovative people who might steal their business ideas and startup competing businesses.

Services recommended by the franchisor are offered using supplies and equipment bearing the trademark of the licensed business. There are cases where equipment such as those used in the confectionary industry could be purchased at a fair price from supplier contracted by the franchisor. The franchisors also fear that entrepreneurs can negotiate for licenses that will allow them to dominate the market at the expense of the franchisor (Longenecker, Petty, Palich & Hoy 2011). This is possible when the entrepreneur develops marketing models that are more workable compared to those of the franchisor. It is legally recommended that the franchisee should be given the correct informational disclosure that will guide their decision making and avoid being bound to legal obligations associated with franchises. On the side, the franchisors will be restricted from adding more franchisees into the itinerary.

The fact that the activities of an entrepreneur cannot be easily narrowed down into becoming an independent merchant or franchisee makes franchisors weary of taking on them. This is because entrepreneurs who indulge themselves in multiple activities can easily infringe the trademark as third parties without being easily noticed. The training session that the franchisee is inducted through could be an eye-opener for an entrepreneur who might use it to gain an insight into business operations provided by the franchisor. Regarding the risk presented by entrepreneurs infringing the trademark, the franchise agreement fails to provide adequate cover for the franchisor. The agreement does neither warranties nor guarantees that the franchisee will be charged for recourse or legal intervention  in case the two parties begin to conflict.

The franchisor is further aware that franchise contracts are at most unilateral thus they favor them at the expense of the franchisee. Wilson & Stokes, (2010) states that the contract protects them from lawsuits raised by the franchisees because the contracts are non-negotiable thus entrepreneurs who are focused on growth cannot ascribe to the terms and conditions instigated by the franchisor. The franchisor virtually holds all the power to control decision making and internal operations. Such a condition is not admirable to entrepreneurs who have a passion of controlling their businesses by making key decisions and seeing to it that their efforts are rewarded in form of profits. Because of the need for autonomy entrepreneur franchisees are rebellious thus franchisors shun from taking on them. The renewability of the contract makes franchising more risky than it is secure because entrepreneurs make long term decisions that either impact the financial performance negatively or positively (Birkeland 2007). Additionally the entrepreneurs have shown opposition and criticism while signing agreements limiting itinerary thus taking on entrepreneurs presents a major risk to the growth of the franchisor.

Despite much critic for this statement, proponents of the idea support that franchisors prefer to take on entrepreneurs as franchisees. In fact the intermittent growth of social franchises has provided a solid ground upon which premises opposed to the statement have thrived. Social entrepreneur have been among the groups in support of taking on entrepreneurs. This is coupled by the realization that social enterprises are aimed at simplifying the classical franchising practices that have discouraged the setting up of entrepreneur ventures and new businesses. The idea of social enterprise franchising has in the past been applied to business ideas ranging from soap making, aquarium maintenance, hotel operations, wholefood retailing and courier services just to mention but a few. These firms have been on the fore front in creating franchise contracts with the disadvantaged or the disabled groups of people in societies as a part of the corporate social responsibilities (Bradford & Duncan 2010). Unlike the former franchisors who use their power to wade off competition or opposition that might result from entrepreneurs, social franchisers embrace entrepreneurs by acting as venture capitalists. The bottom-line being the provision of incentives to attract more entrepreneur franchisees.

The best example that supports criticism against the statement has been exemplified by the CAP market which has been successful. Their success is part of their incorporation of ideas from entrepreneurs who have come up with winning strategies that are adaptive to their markets. By so doing, steady growths of the supply chain were noted in more than 50 franchised supermarket chains in Germany (Lorenzen 2006). The other example that supports this statement is the St. Mary’s Place Hotel located in Edinburgh which has had many social franchisers grow its brand (Kuratko 2013). With social franchising also, franchisors have edged closer to reaching markets with underprivileged or customers with special needs thus creating profitable market niches which have been beneficial to both the franchisor and the entrepreneur franchisees.

Swart, (2010) specifies that similar to the social franchise, there is the third party logistic franchising which has integrated both the services of the franchisor and the franchisees. These two parties work together as one thus achieving the joint goal of reaching out to the customers through a third party. The third party logistics has become synonymously associated with the offering of franchising opportunities to entrepreneurs (Tuunanen & Cliquet, 2011). Apart from subjecting the franchisees to the franchisors demands, the logistics franchise gives freedom to the franchisees to offer their services to the transportation industry. The system which has been described as being a low cost franchise is a suitable option for entrepreneur franchisees.  By using these franchising strategies, companies in the logistics and courier industry have managed to grow because of the support they receive from franchisees because of their proximity to the consumers and their understanding of their specific market segments as they act as third party logistics franchisees.

Moore, (2008) states that event franchising has also shown disapproval of the statement that ‘Franchisors do not like to take on entrepreneurs as franchisees’ because it is a service based activity that entails the duplication of event management practices in geographical areas where such services are much needed. This implies that entrepreneur franchisees have been contacted using franchise agreements to use the original trademark of companies such as Kodak among other imaging companies to foster the growth of the companies brand as a whole (Morrison 2013). Instead of imposing harsh terms on the franchisees so as to regulate their practices, the companies have expanded their trademark by sharing their business models and mission concepts to entrepreneur franchisees who have in return gained from the trademark. In return, the company gains customer loyalty, increased customer base and an increased rate of stock turnover. Just like it is used in classical franchise activities, event franchising replicates successful events such as Music Stops then the franchisees replicate the idea in their itinerary (Baron & Shane 2007). By so doing their get returns from their entrepreneur ventures.

The home based franchising model does not advocate for the statement since it advocates for the duplication of successful business ideas. It is supported by the home based business model which has in the recent past been applause as a great business venture for startup businesses. Apparently this translates into attracting entrepreneurs who might want to start their businesses as franchisees. Franchisees support this franchise model because the franchisors provide low barrier to entry and innovation. Since innovation is a vital aspect exhibited by most successful entrepreneurs then the home based model of franchise becomes applicable to entrepreneurs. The entrepreneur is further exempted from high costs of renewal fees or goodwill. The entrepreneurs who take up these franchises only need to dedicate time to work because it is home based. These provisions have been preferred by entrepreneurs who want to be franchisees, because the restrictions towards innovation or purchase of specific equipment or work machines are avoided. An example of such franchises is the GLD and Tanisha which are companies specialized in offering nutrition products (Anttonen & Ilan 2005).

 

List of References

Anttonen, N & Ilan, A 2005. ‘The International Business Environments of Franchising in Russia,’ Academy of Marketing Science Review, (5), 1-18.

Baron, R & Shane, S 2007. ‘Entrepreneurship: A Process Perspective. Cengage Learning: Australia.

Birkeland, P. 2007. ‘Franchising Dreams: The Lure of Entrepreneurship in America.’ University of Chicago Press: United States.

Bradford, M & Duncan, B 2010. ‘Simplified Strategic Planning.’ Chandler House: United Kingdom.

Brian, T 2009. ‘The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success.’ Koehler Publishers: Beret

James, S 2007. ‘The Business Communication Casebook: A Notre Dame Collection’ (2^nd Ed.), Cengage: United States.

Kuratko, D 2013. ‘Entrepreneurship: Theory, Process, and Practice.’ Cengage Learning: Australia.

Lesonsky, R & Conley, M 2007. ‘Ultimate Book of Franchises.’ McGraw-Hill Companies, Incorporated: Canada.

Longenecker, J., Petty, J., Palich, L & Hoy, F 2011. ‘Small Business Management: Launching and Growing Entrepreneurial Ventures.’ Cengage Learning: Australia.

Lorenzen, M 2006. ‘Strategic Planning for Academic Library Instructional Programming,’ Illinois Libraries, 86, no. 2.

Moore, C 2008. Managing Small Business: An Entrepreneurial Emphasis. Cengage Learning EMEA. United States.

Morrison, A 2013. Franchising Hospitality Services. Routledge: US

Swart, N 2010. Starting Or Buying Your Own Business Or a Franchise. Juta and Company Ltd: South Africa.

Tuunanen, M & Cliquet, G 2011. New Developments in the Theory of Networks: Franchising, Alliances and Cooperatives of Contributions to Management Science. Springer: Austria

Wilson, N & Stokes, D 2010. Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship. Cengage Learning EMEA: United States.