The CFO & the Performance and Budget Review Assignment

The CFO & the Performance and Budget Review - Assignment Example If budget is over or underutilized then VP Marketing can give its justification and on the basis of whichperformance of entire marketing department can be evaluated. CFO has no role either in budget utilization of Marketing Department or achieving performance objectives of marketing except in analyzing ROI, Revenue & Profits. CFO approves finances against proposals or case presented by Marketing Department. So CFO also has good idea about the marketing campaigns launched by the company. CFO can only be involved in order to analyze actual financial impact of marketing budget and its performance (Miller, 200). Main objective of Marketing budget is to increase salesby attracting new customers and retaining existing ones through marketing activities. Increase in customer base will eventually lead to increase in revenue. President will call the CFO if marketing expenses and performance is not justifiable as per financial outlook. Marketing expenditure is considered as an investment for the Company. These expenditures have both short term goals (get new leads, retention of existing customers) and long term impacts such as relationship building, brand awareness etc. CFO role in this scenario would be to analyze facts such as why budgets are over or underutilized, what is actual ROI as per existing and new customers on the basis of yearly marketing expenditure, whether campaigns launched by the Marketing Department during the year generated any revenue or not, financial impact of the proposals presented by the Marketing Department VS their actual output, variance analysis of Marketing budget, and other financial factors which lead to the particular result. CFO in the meeting can also suggestto decrease or increase the Marketing budget after reviewing the performance, which marketing ventures feasibility will be effective and how company can improve the revenue

Professional development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Professional development - Essay Example The project, which will probably involve an element of problem solving, can relate to any aspect of the organisation so long as it is considered to be of use to the company. It is important that on completion of the project you obtain from your employer a written statement (on official company stationery) which gives his/her opinion of your performance in carrying out the investigation and presenting your conclusions and recommendations. The statement should comment on the overall benefit to the company of the investigation and any recommendations that you make. List in the order of Books, Journals and Website the sources you used in the Harvard Style. Remember the information here must relate to the in text referencing that has been included in the Harvard style throughout the main report, According to Learnthenet.com (2008) Â  netiquette, a term coined from either network etiquette or Internet etiquette comes in handy. To guide you through your online communications, here are a few pointers: When you talk with someone, the tone of your voice conveys great meaning. To add personality and humour to your messages, use smileys, also known as emoticons, expressions you create from the characters on your keyboard. A few popular ones include: Keep your written communications to the point. Few people like reading text on a computer screen. Many people now receive e-mail on cell phones and other portable devices. The tiny screens make reading lengthy messages particularly challenging. This is true whether you send e-mail or post messages online. To keep messages short, use some common abbreviations: A favourite is , which stands for Rolling on the Floor Laughing. A shortened version is --Laughing Out Loud. And if you get called away whilst in the chat room or on Windows Live Messenger try --Be Right Back. Remember that anything you post to a blog, newsgroup, forum or website

Distortion effect for electric guitar

Distortion effect for electric guitar Distortion Effect For Electric Guitar Using FPGA Introduction Project Goals And Objectives The goal of the project is to implement distortion effects for electric guitar on an FPGA board. The algorithm that is going to be used is The Extended Karplus Strong Algorithm (Jaffe Smith, 1983). The analog audio signal from the electric guitar is captured by the analog to digital converter (ADC) module of the board. The FPGA is going to send the digital audio signal to a speaker to be played. The algorithm is going to be implemented on FPGA instead of using ASIC design approach. The pros and cons of FPGA design and ASIC design are discussed on the Xilinx website. The design advantage comparison of FPGA and ASICand the design flow comparison of FPGA and ASIC (Xilinx Corporation, 2009). ASIC design has more steps to complete as can be seen . Also, it is suitable for very high volume designs. For a single unit, using FPGA is a better solution. FPGA has no upfront non recurring expenses. It is faster to implement. Manufacturing of ASIC design chips take long time. However, a design can be downloaded to the FPGA and programmed very fast. Considering all these, using FPGA design is more suitable for this project. Project Deliverables The deliverables include the Verilog HDL code of the design. It is going to be synthesizable and can be used with suitable FPGA boards. The final project report is going to be delivered. It is going to include the details of the hardware algorithm, the design process and the results obtained from the functional verification and the hardware validation of the system. A demonstration of the project is doing to be done with the developed prototype of the system. The electric guitar is going to be the input of the system. The output from the board is going to be played through speakers. Technology Trends Before the invention of FPGAs, CPLDs (Complex Programmable Logic Device) were the most complex programmable logic devices. And before CPLDs, PALs (Programmable Array Logic) were used frequently. PALs were introduced in March 1978 by Monolithic Memories, Inc. They are only one time programmable. PALs are consisted of PROMs (programmable read-only memory). They were mostly used in minicomputers. These devices have fixed OR and programmable AND arrays. This enables the implementation of sum of products logic. A simplified programmable logic device. Typically, PAL devices have a few hundred gates. CPLD devices have higher complexities compared to PAL devices. They have similar features to both PAL devices and FPGAs. Like PALs, they dont have external ROMs, which enable the CPLDs to start functioning just after startup. They have much higher number of gates compared to PAL devices. They have around thousands to tens of thousands of gates. However, this is low compared to FPGAs, since the number of gates inside the FPGAs can go up to a few millions. FPGAs have the most number of gates and flip-flops compared to the others. They are more flexible but their design is more complex. The first distortion effect for electric guitar wasnt produced on purpose. It was mostly caused because of damaged guitar amplifiers. One example was a recording by Johnny Brunette Trio, which caused a fuzz tone effect. (The Train Kept Rollin, 2009). Electronic based distortion and overdrive effects came to scene in 1960s and 1970s. The effects were achieved by diodes, transistors and amplifiers and most of these pedals were analog. With the improvement in the digital signal processing techniques, digital processors became an important part of the technology in the last decade. Market Research The digital products in the market nowadays feature more adjustable effects than just a distortion effect. Typically, they have parallel effect modules that can run simultaneously. They also have advanced software. They have preset tones and effect libraries, tuners and even more features. Also, most of them have USB interfaces with a PC or MAC for compatible recording software. So, the projects features arent going to be able to match the products features in the market. Boss, Line 6, Zoom, Korg, Digitech are among the major companies which produce digital guitar effects processors. The bestselling multieffect electric guitar processors on Amazon.com. It can be observed that Zoom and Digitech have the most market. Requirements Functional Requirements The electric guitar will be connected to the FPGA boards analog to digital converter input. The analog to digital converter is going to convert the incoming analog signal to an 8-bit digital signal. The sampling frequency is going to be 44100 Hz, which is the standard for most of the digital audio files. The reason for choosing this sampling frequency is the human ears ability. The human ear cannot perceive frequencies above 20 KHz. According to the Nyquist Sampling Theorem, a signal can be exactly reconstructed from its samples if the sampling frequency is greater than twice the highest frequency of the signal. If the highest frequency that the human ear can perceive is considered to be 20 KHz, anything above 40 KHz is going to be enough for sampling frequency (Schulzrinne, 2008). The signal is going to be processed inside the FPGA using The Extended Karplus Strong Algorithm (Jaffe Smith, 1983). The processing should be fast enough so that the human ear cannot understand the delay between the time when the player hits a note on the guitar and the time that the output is played by the speakers. After the processing, the 8-bit signal is going to be converted to analog. Finally, this analog signal is going to be sent to the speakers and played. The hardware functionality that the system is going to provide. Nonfunctional Requirements The most of important constraint on the system will be the time constraint. The delay between the input and output audio signals must be minimized. This requires the design to be fast. For this purpose, the resources available on the FPGA should be used efficiently. The most of important constraints on the timing of the design is going to occur due to the algorithm. Floating-point arithmetic might be needed to use according to the algorithm. This might cause the calculations to take longer. Also, another constraint on the system is the speed of the FPGA. The speed of the FPGA is not going to cause a problem for sampling the incoming analog audio signal. However, the speed of the FPGA is going to put a constraint on the speed of the algorithm. A pipelined algorithm might be used in order to satisfy the requirements for the speed and the timing of the system. There are going to be feedback loops, filters and saturator blocks in the system. So, a pipelined algorithm is going to increase the utilization of these blocks and this is going to result in the increase in the throughput. If there is a pipelined algorithm, more resources are going to be needed to implement the pipelined system. The limited amount of the resources such as memory blocks and arithmetic units might put a constraint on the design. Also, another constraint is going to be the data width of the ADC and DAC. Due to the limited number of bits on ADC and DAC, the quality of the digital audio signal is going to be limited. Product Requirements Analysis The product requirement analysis is done using Quality Function Deployment (QFD) technique. The most important criteria for customer satisfaction are low delay time and distortion effect level. Also, good sound quality is very important too. Implementation of additional effects is the least important feature of the product. Low power consumption, low cost, effect adjustability, good bass and treble sounds, good feedback are also expected to have good standards by the customer. In order to meet the customer expectations, most important step is choosing the distortion effect algorithm correctly. The use of external resources should be kept to minimum level in order to meet the speed requirements of the system. Any use of external memory is going to cause additional memory access time and cause the system to function slower. This is going to result in an unwanted delay time. Bit resolution is also important. It is going to affect the sound quality. The higher number of bits is going to increase the quality. It might also help us get rid of using floating point arithmetic for implementing the saturation algorithm. However, the higher number of bits might cause a problem with the pipeline implementation. Project Requirements FPGA has to capture the analog sound and this signal is going to come from the output of an electric guitar. The FPGA board that is going to be used is chosen to be Spartan-3A Starter Kit board because of its built in analog to digital converter and digital to analog converter modules. The board also has a stereo mini jack for audio. These features make this board very suitable for audio processing and thus, very suitable for this project. Also, the FPGA chip has 700 K gates (Xilinx Corporation, 2009). In order to play the output, stereo speakers are going to be connected to the board pin to which the output signal is connected. The design is going to be done in register transfer level (RTL). The RTL design of the system is going to be described using Verilog HDL. In order to do this, Xilinxs design tool Xilinx ISE Webpack 11.3, which is free a program, is going to be used. Before prototyping the system, functional verification has to be completed successfully. For this purpose, Modelsim, which is develop by Mentor Graphics, is going to be used. Before starting the hardware design of the system, the algorithm is going to be simulated and verified using functional blocks in MATLAB Simulink. The hardware requirements for the system are and the software requirements for the system. Design Architecture As discussed earlier, the algorithm that is going to be used is The Extended Karplus Strong Algorithm (Jaffe Smith, 1983). The algorithm extensively uses filters. The algorithm is modeled and simulated under MATLAB Simulink. The model consists of functional blocks. The filters are defined by their discrete transfer functions. There is also a feedback loop. The sound is amplified by a gain block and passes through a saturation block. The saturation block basically causes the signal to saturate if its amplitude goes over or below specific thresholds. So, the higher the signal is amplified by the gain block, the more the signal is going to get distorted; since it is going to be saturated from lower amplitude compared to its new peak value. The model of The Karplus Strong Algorithm. Since there are consequent filter blocks, the signal is going to be delayed. To overcome the problem, the level of parallelism should be increased. Since there are 20 block RAMs in the FPGA, these can be used for increasing the pipeline depth and the level of parallelism. When an 8-bit sample passes though the first filter, it is going to go to the second one. Instead of waiting and doing the second operation using the same hardware, we should maximize the use of the resources and send the data that passed through the first filter to another resource. During that time, the other sample can pass through the first filter. Usage of block RAMs might be very beneficial here, in order to increase the throughput and the speed of the system. Since the data that is going to be processed isnt going to be large, only the internal block RAMs might be enough. Also, use of an external RAM is going to put more delay on the line because of the longer memory access time. This is highly undesirable since the most important criterion for the system is its speed. Structure The system consists of four main parts. First part is where the user interacts with the system. The user is going to generate an output from the guitar and that output is going to be captured by the FPGA board. FPGA is going to the process the output and pass it to the third part of the system, speakers. The stereo output is going to be played by the speakers. Also, a PC is needed to send the .bit file to program the FPGA. The FPGA board. It has an audio output port on the right top. If needed, DDR2 SDRAM can be used as external memory. The analog digital circuitry is used for capturing the analog signal to the board. The circuitry has 2-channel 14-bit analog to digital converter and 4-channel 12-bit digital to analog converter. The switches can be used for turning the distortion on and off. Also, they can be used for the same purpose if additional sound effects are added to the system. Rotary knob can be used for adjusting the level of the distortion or the gain or the volume. The quantity that is going to be adjusted can be determined by the switches since there is only one rotary knob. Interface There are three interfaces in the system. The first interface is for programming the FPGA. The connection between the FPGA and the computer is going to be achieved with USB 2.0. Xilinx iMPACT tool is going to be used to program the FPGA. The second interface is for capturing the analog audio signal from the electric guitar to the FPGA board. The on board analog to digital converter is going to be used for that purpose. Analog to digital converter unit on the board. The third interface is going to be between the FPGA and the speaker. The digital signal is going to be converted to analog signal using Xilinxs digital to analog converter module and it is going to be sent to the audio jack port of the board. The stereo audio jack module. Implementation Implementation Scope As discussed in Section 3.2, the system consists of four main parts. The module for sending the .bit file from the PC to the FPGA is already given with Xilix iMPACT tool, so no implementation is required for this. The second module is the audio input to the board. This is the input module. The input module is going to be implemented with the help of on board analog to digital converter. As discussed earlier, the sampling rate and the bit resolution are the most important parts of the input module. The sampling rate is going to be 44100 Hz and the resolution is planned to be 8 bits. The captured analog signal is going to be converted to digital signal and sent to FPGA module for processing. FPGA module is going to be responsible for processing the digital signal. For faster and efficient processing, pipelined implementation is going to be done. This is going to be done using RTL description of the hardware with Verilog HDL. The output module is going to convert the processed digital signal to analog and send it to the boards audio jack port for playing the processed signal using speakers. Xilinxs DAC module is going to be used for the implementation of this module. Implementation Coverage The algorithm that is going to be used for implementation is The Extended Karplus Strong Algorithm (Jaffe Smith, 1983). The block diagram of The Extended Karplus Strong Algorithm. The output is going to be sent to gain and saturation blocks. There are filter blocks and delay blocks in the system. These functions are going to be implemented inside the FPGA. The first functional block is a pick-direction low pass filter (Smith III, Pick-Direction Lowpass Filter, 2009). The second functional block before the feedback loop is a pick-position comb filter (Smith III, Pick-Position Comb Filter, 2009). In the feedback loop, there is a delay block on the top. The other blocks are again filters. After the delay block, the signal goes through a two-zero string damping filter (Smith III, Two-Zero String Damping Filter, 2009). Before the addition operation in the feedback loop, another pick-direction low pass filter is going to be used. After the loop, there is going to be dynamic level low pass filter (Smith III, Dynamic Level Lowpass Filter, 2009). After these filters and delays, there is going to be a gain block which is used for increasing the level of distortion. Distortion effect is going to be generated by a saturation block. The saturation can use either hard clipping or soft clipping. Soft clipping has higher complexity. It is a third order polynomial. It results in a smoother sound. However, for more distorted and fuzzy sound, hard clipping is preferred. Since it has a heavier sound and is easier to implement, hard clipping is going to be used. The input-output relations of hard clipping and soft clipping Develop Or Adopt Decision The most important part for the project is the FPGA board. It is going to be adopted. If I wanted to design the circuit with a PCB design tool in which I am not experienced, I would have paid a lot of money to get it manufactured. And the design has to be perfect before getting the chip produced. The decision of choosing whether to use FPGA design or ASIC design was discussed earlier in Section. So, buying and using an FPGA board is the best option here. Spartan 3A Starter Kit is going to be used for the project. For the output interface of the design, Xilinx has a module described in Verilog and is available for free. For DAC and output purposes, that module is going to be used. If there is an available module for the input port of the system for free from Xilinx, it is going to be adopted. Otherwise, the ADC module is going to be developed according to the ADC hardware available on the FPGA board. The design on the FPGA is going to be based on an algorithm but it is going to be designed by me. Also, an electric guitar and speakers with amplifiers are needed for the project. They were already available before the start of the project. For software, Xilinx ISE, Xilinx iMPACT, Modelsim XE and MATLAB are going to be used. MATLAB is already available and the others have free versions for students. Implementation Process Three modules are going to be implemented. Each module can be implemented independently from each other. Finally, all the modules are going to be connected under a top module. DSP module is the main part of the design where the algorithm is going to be implemented. The functional verification of the design is going to be independent from the other modules. Implementation Resources The resources for implementation can be grouped into two. First, we need hardware resources. The second group is the software resources. The most important resource for hardware is the FPGA development board. Spartan 3A Starter Kit is going to be used. This specific board is chosen due to some reasons. This board is suitable for DSP applications. It has ADC and DAC modules. It also has a stereo audio jack for outputting the processed signal. So, this board is going to be used for implementation. FPGA is going to be programmed from a PC. The hardware of the system is going to be described using Xilinx ISE tool, which requires a PC. So, we also need a PC for implementation. The connection of the board with the PC required a USB cable, which is provided with the board. We also need an electric guitar and speakers. The required hardware resources for implementation. Besides the hardware resources, some software resources are going to be needed too. First, before starting writing the code for the hardware, the algorithm is going to be tested and the functional blocks are going to be made clear using MATLAB Simulink software. For synthesis and implementation, Xilinx ISE is going to be used. It is going to synthesize and implement the hardware described by Verilog HDL. It also includes Xilinx iMPACT tool which is used for sending the .bit file to the FPGA for programming. For functional verification, Xilinx Edition of Modelsim, developed by Mentor Graphics is going to be used. Implementation Activities The project group consists of only one person. So design, verification, implementation and testing are going to be done by me. During the project, additional training and study is going to be required in digital signal processing and filters. Also, digital filter design should also be studied. Another thing that needs improvement is writing testbench to verify the designed system. Testing Testing Scope The testing of the system consists of two parts. There is a functional verification part and a hardware validation part. For functional verification, Modelsim XE software is going to be used with Verilog HDL. The parts that are going to be tested are the input module, the output module, the DSP module. After the integration of the modules in order to form the system, the whole system is going to be tested. Also, the hardware validation of the DSP and output modules can be done without a working input module. A randomly generated signal in FPGA can be processed and sent to output module for playing and this can be tested. Testing Coverage As explained in Section, the modules are going to be tested individually at first. The input module is going to get an analog signal from an external source. This might be coming from the electric guitar or directly from a PC. If the input signal is coming from PC, the signal can be adjusted to be simple and therefore testing can be simpler. After the conversion, the signal is going to be observed. Also, if the output module is working, the input signal can be directly transferred to the output module without any signal processing done on it. A randomly generated signal inside the FPGA is going to be enough to test the output module. DSP module is going to be tested by functional verification. The filters, the gain and the saturation blocks are going to be tested. After these, the whole DSP module is going to be tested. An example of input and output of the system with hard clipping. Pass/Fail Criteria The pass/fail criterion for the input module is going to be its analog to digital conversion performance. If a given analog input can be correctly converted to digital signal, it is going to pass the test. Digital conversion operation with its input and expected output. The module, the expected output is going to be the signal on the bottom (Azima DLI , 2009). In order to pass the test, the module has to give the correct output for each stimulus applied. The output module has to do digital to analog conversion and send the signal to speakers. For that, a signal is going to be generated inside the FPGA. This signals amplitude and frequency is going to be changed. According to the changes, we are going to expect different outputs. The output is going to be listened through the speakers. In order to pass the test, the output module should correctly respond to every amplitude and frequency change. The DSP module is going to be tested with functional verification. A reference model is going to be constructed in behavioral level. Randomly generated stimulus is going to be applied to the design and to the reference model at the same time. In order to pass the test, the results from the DSP module and the reference model have to match 100%. Another important criterion for the DSP module is its timing. The delay between the input and the output has to be below a determined quantity in order to pass the test. Testing Approach In order to test the DSP module, a self checking testbench is going to be written using Verilog HDL. There is going to be a behaviorally modeled reference unit inside the test bench. The test bench is going to generate random stimuli. These stimuli are going to be applied to both a design under test unit (DUT), which is a module from the design, and the reference model. Then, the results are going to be compared in a scoreboard. The verification approach. Also, the timing of the system is going to be considered since it is one of the most important parts of the project. After the functional verification, the timing analysis of the implemented system must be done using Xilinx ISE. Testing Resources First, in order to test the algorithm, MATLAB Simulink is going to be used. In order to test the input module, preferably a PC or an electric guitar is going to be needed as discussed in the second paragraph. To test the output module, speakers or headphones are going to be needed. For functional verification of the DSP module, Modelsim XE is needed. Also, for the timing analysis of the design, Xilinx ISE is going to be used. Test Cases After these inputs are applied, the outputs from the reference model and the DUT are also going to be stored in response file, which is going to be in .txt format. Finally, a log file is going to show where the errors occurred, if there are any errors or it is going to show that no errors occurred in the simulation. Looking at the log file and the response file, we are going to able to see where exactly the errors occurred. Test Activities Since the group has just one member, every part of testing is going to be done by me. More training about writing self checking test benches using Verilog HDL should be done. 6. Schedule If we look at the PERT chart, we can calculate the critical path. The critical path consists of the following activities: A-F-G-H-I-J-K. This path leads to a completion time of 133 days. If the most optimistic and the most pessimistic completion of each activity is estimated, we can calculate the expected completion time and the variance of the project. The expression for the expected completion time is given in Equation and the expression for variance is given in Equation. Using these equations, the completion time and the variance are calculated. The activities in the critical path are highlighted and the calculations are done according to the critical path. PERT calculation gives almost the same result with the CPM result. CPM result was 133 days. PERT calculation gives an estimated project completion time of 133.166 days. Also, the variance turned out to be 26.58. This means the project can be completed 26.58 days earlier or later. The Gantt Chart of the project is given. The estimated start date of the project is December 27, 2009. The project is planned to be completed on May 9, 2010. Bibliography Azima DLI . (2009, February 8). Analog to Digital Conversion. Retrieved November 29, 2009, from Azima DLI Corporation Web Site: http://www.azimadli.com/vibman/analogtodigitalconversion.htm Collicut, M. (2009, March 3). Extending the Karplus-Strong Algorithm to Simulate Guitar Distortion and Feedback Effects. Retrieved November 29, 2009, from McGill University Web Site: http://mt.music.mcgill.ca/~collicuttm/MUMT618/KSA_distortion_and_feedback.html Jaffe, D. A., Smith, J. O. (1983). Extensions of the Karplus-Strong plucked string algorithm. Computer Music Journal , 56-69. Schulzrinne, H. (2008, January 9). Explanation of 44.1 kHz CD sampling rate. Retrieved November 27, 2009, from Columbia University Web Site: http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~hgs/audio/44.1.html Smith III, J. O. (2009, March 21). Dynamic Level Lowpass Filter. Retrieved November 28, 2009, from Stanford University Web Site: https://ccrma.stanford.edu/realsimple/faust_strings/Dynamic_Level_Lowpass_Filter.html Smith III, J. O. (2009, March 21). Pick-Direction Lowpass Filter. Retrieved November 28, 2009, from Stanford University Web Site: https://ccrma.stanford.edu/realsimple/faust_strings/Pick_Direction_Lowpass_Filter.html Smith III, J. O. (2009, March 21). Pick-Position Comb Filter. Retrieved November 28, 2009, from Stanford University Web Site: https://ccrma.stanford.edu/realsimple/faust_strings/Pick_Position_Comb_Filter.html Smith III, J. O. (2009, March 21). Two-Zero String Damping Filter. Retrieved November 28, 2009, from Stanford University Web Site: https://ccrma.stanford.edu/realsimple/faust_strings/Two_Zero_String_Damping_Filter.html Sullivan, C. R. (1990). Extending the Karplus-Strong Algorithm to Synthesize Electric Guitar Timbres with Distortion and Feedback. Computer Music Journal , 26-37. The Train Kept Rollin. (2009, November 21). Retrieved November 21, 2009, from allmusic: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amgsql=33:jjfoxzq0ldte Xilinx Corporation. (2009, April 8). Getting Started with FPGAs FPGA vs. ASIC. Retrieved November 20, 2009, from Xilinx Corporation Web site: http://www.xilinx.com/company/gettingstarted/fpgavsasic.htm Xilinx Corporation. (2009, October 6). Spartan-3A Starter Kit. Retrieved November 27, 2009, from Xilinx Corporation Web site: http://www.xilinx.com/products/devkits/HW-SPAR3A-SK-UNI-G.htm

Lextura Dantis :: The Divine Comedy

Dante varies his presentation greatly throughout Malebolge. Each bolgia has its own particular atmosphere, and the abrupt tonal and structural shifts between them make the move from bolgia to bolgia a medley of styles and techniques. But no shift is so striking as that between the eighth and ninth, in which the reader leaves a bolgia marked by two eloquent, searching dramatic monologues for one characterized by pithy, epigrammatic comments. The heroic exhortation of Ulysses and the sinuous self-revelation of Guido da Montefeltro give way to the truncated, compressed rhetoric of Mohammed, Pier da Medicina, Mosca, and Bertran de Born. The earlier bolgia begs for psychological readings; the latter frustrates them. The structures of these cantos present a similar incongruity. Ulysses and Guido are given ample opportunity for leisurely expansion, and their stories have a smooth development and denouement. Each is the absolute star of his canto, and Dante records both their coming and going with reverent attention. Inferno XXVIII, however, presents a rapid succession of scenes, and the cuts between them are as savage and inexorable as those delivered by the devil to the damned. The canto seems unified only by Dante's desire to present the contrapasso in as many ways as he can. Those who sowed discord in life are hewn in imaginative ways __ Mohammed split from chin to anus, Ali sliced from chin to hairline, Pier da Medicina clipped and nicked in different places, Curio's tongue hacked out, Mosca's arms lopped off, and Bertran de Born neatly decapitated __ a near Baroque variation on a single theme. One horror follows on the heels of another, and each permutation replaces the memory of the ea rlier one. Despite this profusion in the particulars of the punishments, the structure of the twenty-eighth canto is relentlessly schematic. The canto can be easily divided into six compact episodes, four of which are fundamentally identical __ even somewhat repetitive. The canto begins with a familiar epic gesture: the ineffability topos. Dante despairs of ever doing justice to what he must describe (vv. 1-6): Chi poria mai pur con parole sciolte dicer del sangue e de le piaghe a pieno ch'i' ora vidi, per narrar pià ¹ volte? Ogne lingua per certo verria meno per lo nostro sermone e per la mente

The Host Chapter 34: Buried

Jared lunged forward, away from me. With a loud smacking sound, his fist hit Kyle's face. Kyle's eyes rolled back in his head, and his mouth fell slack. The room was very quiet for a few seconds. â€Å"Um,† Doc said in a mild voice, â€Å"medically speaking, I'm not sure that was the most helpful thing for his condition.† â€Å"But I feel better,† Jared answered, sullen. Doc smiled the tiniest smile. â€Å"Well, maybe a few more minutes of unconsciousness won't kill him.† Doc began looking under Kyle's lids again, taking his pulse†¦ â€Å"What happened?† Wes was by my head, speaking in a murmur. â€Å"Kyle tried to kill it,† Jared answered before I could. â€Å"Are we really surprised?† â€Å"Did not,† I muttered. Wes looked at Jared. â€Å"Altruism seems to come more naturally to it than lies,† Jared noted. â€Å"Are you trying to be annoying?† I demanded. My patience was not waning, but entirely gone. How long had it been since I'd slept? The only thing that ached worse than my leg was my head. Every breath hurt my side. I realized, with some surprise, that I was in a truly bad mood. â€Å"Because if you are, then be assured, you have succeeded.† Jared and Wes looked at me with shocked eyes. I was sure that if I could see the others, their expressions would match. Maybe not Jeb's. He was the master of the poker face. â€Å"I am female,† I complained. â€Å"That it' business is really getting on my nerves.† Jared blinked in surprise. Then his face settled back into harder lines. â€Å"Because of the body you wear?† Wes glared at him. â€Å"Because of me,† I hissed. â€Å"By whose definition?† â€Å"How about by yours? In my species, I am the one that bears young. Is that not female enough for you?† That stopped him short. I felt almost smug. As you should, Melanie approved. He's wrong, and he's being a pig about it. Thank you. We girls have to stick together. â€Å"That's a story you've never told us,† Wes murmured, while Jared struggled for a rebuttal. â€Å"How does that work?† Wes's olive-toned face darkened, as if he'd just realized he had spoken the words out loud. â€Å"I mean, I guess you don't have to answer that, if I'm being rude.† I laughed. My mood was swinging around wildly, out of control. Slaphappy, like Mel had said. â€Å"No, you're not asking anything†¦ inappropriate. We don't have such a complicated†¦ elaborate setup as your species.† I laughed again, and then felt warmth in my face. I remembered only too clearly how elaborate it could be. Get your mind out of the gutter. It's your mind, I reminded her. â€Å"Then†¦?† Wes asked. I sighed. â€Å"There are only a few of us who are†¦ Mothers. Not Mothers. That's what they call us, but it's just the potential to be one†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I was sober again, thinking of it. There were no Mothers, no surviving Mothers, only the memories of them. â€Å"You have that potential?† Jared asked stiffly. I knew the others were listening. Even Doc had paused in the act of putting his ear to Kyle's chest. I didn't answer his question. â€Å"We're†¦ a little like your hives of bees, or your ants. Many, many sexless members of the family, and then the queen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Queen?† Wes repeated, looking at me with a strange expression. â€Å"Not like that. But there is only one Mother for every five, ten thousand of my kind. Sometimes less. There's no hard-and-fast rule.† â€Å"How many drones?† Wes wondered. â€Å"Oh, no-there aren't drones. No, I told you, it's simpler than that.† They waited for me to explain. I swallowed. I shouldn't have brought this up. I didn't want to talk about it anymore. Was it really such a big thing to have Jared call me â€Å"it†? They still waited. I frowned, but then I spoke. I'd started this. â€Å"The Mothers†¦ divide. Every†¦ cell, I guess you could call it, though our structure isn't the same as yours, becomes a new soul. Each new soul has a little of the Mother's memory, a piece of her that remains.† â€Å"How many cells?† Doc asked, curious. â€Å"How many young?† I shrugged. â€Å"A million or so.† The eyes that I could see widened, looked a little wilder. I tried not to feel hurt when Wes cringed away from me. Doc whistled under his breath. He was the only one who was still interested in continuing. Aaron and Andy had wary, disturbed expressions on their faces. They'd never heard me teach before. Never heard me speak so much. â€Å"When does that happen? Is there a catalyst?† Doc asked. â€Å"It's a choice. A voluntary choice,† I told him. â€Å"It's the only way we ever willingly choose to die. A trade, for a new generation.† â€Å"You could choose now, to divide all your cells, just like that?† â€Å"Not quite just like that, but yes.† â€Å"Is it complicated?† â€Å"The decision is. The process is†¦ painful.† â€Å"Painful?† Why should that have surprised him so? Wasn't it the same for his kind? Men. Mel snorted. â€Å"Excruciating,† I told him. â€Å"We all remember how it was for our Mothers.† Doc was stroking his chin, entranced. â€Å"I wonder what the evolutionary track would be†¦ to produce a hive society with suiciding queens†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He was lost on another plane of thought. â€Å"Altruism,† Wes murmured. â€Å"Hmm,† Doc said. â€Å"Yes, that.† I closed my eyes, wishing my mouth had stayed closed. I felt dizzy. Was I just tired or was it my head wound? â€Å"Oh,† Doc muttered. â€Å"You've slept even less than I have, haven't you, Wanda? We should let you get some rest.† â€Å"‘M fine,† I mumbled, but I didn't open my eyes. â€Å"That's just great,† someone said under his breath. â€Å"We've got a bloody queen mother alien living with us. She could blow into a million new buggers at any moment.† â€Å"Shh.† â€Å"They couldn't hurt you,† I told whoever it was, not opening my eyes. â€Å"Without host bodies, they would die quickly.† I winced, imagining the unimaginable grief. A million tiny, helpless souls, tiny silver babies, withering†¦ No one answered me, but I could feel their relief in the air. I was so tired. I didn't care that Kyle was three feet from me. I didn't care that two of the men in the room would side with Kyle if he came around. I didn't care about anything but sleep. Of course, that was when Walter woke up. â€Å"Uuuh,† he groaned, just a whisper. â€Å"Gladdie?† With a groan of my own, I rolled toward him. The pain in my leg made me wince, but I couldn't twist my torso. I reached out to him, found his hand. â€Å"Here,† I whispered. â€Å"Ahh,† Walter sighed in relief. Doc hushed the men who began to protest. â€Å"Wanda's given up sleep and peace to help him through the pain. Her hands are bruised from holding his. What have you done for him?† Walter groaned again. The sound began low and guttural but turned quickly to a high-pitched whimper. Doc winced. â€Å"Aaron, Andy, Wes†¦ would you, ah, go get Sharon for me, please?† â€Å"All of us?† â€Å"Get out,† Jeb translated. The only answer was a shuffling of feet as they left. â€Å"Wanda,† Doc whispered, close beside my ear. â€Å"He's in pain. I can't let him come all the way around.† I tried to breathe evenly. â€Å"It's better if he doesn't know me. It's better if he thinks Gladdie is here.† I pulled my eyes open. Jeb was beside Walter, whose face still looked as if he slept. â€Å"Bye, Walt,† Jeb said. â€Å"See you on the other side.† He stepped back. â€Å"You're a good man. You'll be missed,† Jared murmured. Doc was fumbling in the package of morphine again. The paper crackled. â€Å"Gladdie?† Walt sobbed. â€Å"It hurts.† â€Å"Shhh. It won't hurt much longer. Doc will make it stop.† â€Å"Gladdie?† â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"I love you, Gladdie. I've loved you my whole life long.† â€Å"I know, Walter. I-I love you, too. You know how I love you.† Walter sighed. I closed my eyes when Doc leaned over Walter with the syringe. â€Å"Sleep well, friend,† Doc murmured. Walter's fingers relaxed, loosened. I held on to them-I was the one clinging now. The minutes passed, and all was quiet except my breathing. It was hitching and breaking, tending toward quiet sobs. Someone patted my shoulder. â€Å"He's gone, Wanda,† Doc said, his voice thick. â€Å"He's out of pain.† He pulled my hand free and rolled me carefully out of my awkward position into one that was less agonizing. But only slightly so. Now that I knew Walter wouldn't be disturbed, the sobs were not so quiet. I clutched at my side, where it throbbed. â€Å"Oh, go ahead. You won't be happy otherwise,† Jared muttered in a grudging tone. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn't do it. Something stung my arm. I didn't remember having hurt my arm. And in such a strange place, just inside my elbow†¦ Morphine, Melanie whispered. We were already drifting now. I tried to be alarmed, but I couldn't be. I was too far gone. No one said goodbye, I thought dully. I couldn't expect Jared†¦ but Jeb†¦ Doc†¦ Ian wasn't here†¦ No one's dying, she promised me. Just sleeping this time†¦ When I woke, the ceiling above me was dim, starlit. Nighttime. There were so many stars. I wondered where I was. There were no black obstructions, no pieces of ceiling in my view. Just stars and stars and stars†¦ Wind fanned my face. It smelled like†¦ dust and†¦ something I couldn't put my finger on. An absence. The musty smell was gone. No sulfur, and it was so dry. â€Å"Wanda?† someone whispered, touching my good cheek. My eyes found Ian's face, white in the starlight, leaning over me. His hand on my skin was cooler than the breeze, but the air was so dry it wasn't uncomfortable. Where was I? â€Å"Wanda? Are you awake? They won't wait any longer.† I whispered because he did. â€Å"What?† â€Å"They're starting already. I knew you would want to be here.† â€Å"She comin' around?† Jeb's voice asked. â€Å"What's starting?† I asked. â€Å"Walter's funeral.† I tried to sit up, but my body was all rubbery. Ian's hand moved to my forehead, holding me down. I twisted my head under his hand, trying to see†¦ I was outside. Outside. On my left, a rough, tumbled pile of boulders formed a miniature mountain, complete with scrubby brush. On my right, the desert plain stretched away from me, disappearing in the darkness. I looked down past my feet, and I could see the huddle of humans, ill at ease in the open air. I knew just how they felt. Exposed. I tried to get up again. I wanted to be closer, to see. Ian's hand restrained me. â€Å"Easy there,† he said. â€Å"Don't try to stand.† â€Å"Help me,† I pleaded. â€Å"Wanda?† I heard Jamie's voice, and then I saw him, his hair bobbing as he ran to where I was lying. My fingertips traced the edges of the mat beneath me. How did I get here, sleeping under the stars? â€Å"They didn't wait,† Jamie said to Ian. â€Å"It will be over soon.† â€Å"Help me up,† I said. Jamie reached for my hand, but Ian shook his head. â€Å"I got her.† Ian slid his arms under me, very careful to avoid the worst of the sore spots. He pulled me up off the ground, and my head spun like a ship about to capsize. I groaned. â€Å"What did Doc do to me?† â€Å"He gave you a little of the leftover morphine, so that he could check you out without hurting you. You needed sleep anyway.† I frowned, disapproving. â€Å"Won't someone else need the medicine more?† â€Å"Shh,† he said, and I could hear a low voice in the distance. I turned my head. I could see the group of humans again. They stood at the mouth of a low, dark, open space carved out by the wind under the unstable-looking pile of boulders. They stood in a ragged line, facing the shadowed grotto. I recognized Trudy's voice. â€Å"Walter always saw the bright side of things. He could see the bright side of a black hole. I'll miss that.† I saw a figure step forward, saw the gray-and-black braid swing as she moved, and watched Trudy toss a handful of something into the darkness. Sand scattered from her fingers, falling to the ground with a faint hiss. She went back to stand beside her husband. Geoffrey moved away from her, stepped forward toward the black space. â€Å"He'll find his Gladys now. He's happier where he is.† Geoffrey threw his handful of dirt. Ian carried me to the right side of the line of people, close enough to see into the murky grotto. There was a darker space on the ground in front of us, a big oblong around which the entire human population stood in a loose half circle. Everyone was there-everyone. Kyle stepped forward. I trembled, and Ian squeezed me gently. Kyle did not look in our direction. I saw his face in profile; his right eye was nearly swollen shut. â€Å"Walter died human,† Kyle said. â€Å"None of us can ask for more than that.† He threw a fistful of dirt into the dark shape on the ground. Kyle rejoined the group. Jared stood beside him. He took the short walk and stopped at the edge of Walter's grave. â€Å"Walter was good through and through. Not one of us is his equal.† He threw his sand. Jamie walked forward, and Jared patted his shoulder once as they passed each other. â€Å"Walter was brave,† Jamie said. â€Å"He wasn't afraid to die, he wasn't afraid to live, and†¦ he wasn't afraid to believe. He made his own decisions, and he made good ones.† Jamie threw his handful. He turned and walked back, his eyes locked on mine the whole way. â€Å"Your turn,† he whispered when he was at my side. Andy was already moving forward, a shovel in his hands. â€Å"Wait,† Jamie said in a low voice that carried in the silence. â€Å"Wanda and Ian haven't said anything.† There was an unhappy mutter around me. My brain felt like it was pitching and heaving inside my skull. â€Å"Let's have some respect,† Jeb said, louder than Jamie. It felt too loud to me. My first instinct was to wave Andy ahead and make Ian carry me away. This was human mourning, not mine. But I did mourn. And I did have something to say. â€Å"Ian, help me get some sand.† Ian crouched down so I could scoop up a handful of the loose rocks at our feet. He rested my weight on his knee to get his own share of dirt. Then he straightened and carried me to the edge of the grave. I couldn't see into the hole. It was dark under the overhang of rock, and the grave seemed to be very deep. Ian began speaking before I could. â€Å"Walter was the best and brightest of what is human,† he said, and scattered his sand into the hole. It fell for a long time before I heard it hiss against the bottom. Ian looked down at me. It was absolutely silent in the starlit night. Even the wind was calm. I whispered, but I knew my voice carried to everyone. â€Å"There was no hatred in your heart,† I whispered. â€Å"That you existed is proof that we were wrong. We had no right to take your world from you, Walter. I hope your fairytales are true. I hope you find your Gladdie.† I let the rocks trickle through my fingers and waited until I heard them fall with a soft patter onto Walter's body, obscured in the deep, dark grave. Andy started to work as soon as Ian took the first step back, shoveling from a mound of pale, dusty earth that was piled a few feet farther into the grotto. The shovel load hit with a thump rather than a whisper. The sound made me cringe. Aaron stepped past us with another shovel. Ian turned slowly and carried me away to make room for them. The heavy thuds of falling dirt echoed behind us. Low voices began to murmur. I heard footsteps as people milled and huddled to discuss the funeral. I really looked at Ian for the first time as he walked back to the dark mat where it lay on the open dirt-out of place, not belonging. Ian's face was streaked with pale dust, his expression weary. I'd seen his face like that before. I couldn't pinpoint the memory before Ian had laid me on the mat again, and I was distracted. What was I supposed to do out here in the open? Sleep? Doc was right behind us; he and Ian both knelt down in the dust beside me. â€Å"How are you feeling?† Doc asked, already prodding at my side. I wanted to sit up, but Ian pressed my shoulder down when I tried. â€Å"I'm fine. I think maybe I could walk†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"No need to push it. Let's give that leg a few days, okay?† Doc pulled my left eyelid up, absentminded, and shone a tiny beam of light into it. My right eye saw the bright reflection that danced across his face. He squinted away from the light, recoiling a few inches. Ian's hand on my shoulder didn't flinch. That surprised me. â€Å"Hmm. That doesn't help a diagnosis, does it? How does your head feel?† Doc asked. â€Å"A little dizzy. I think it's the drugs you gave me, though, not the wound. I don't like them-I'd rather feel the pain, I think.† Doc grimaced. So did Ian. â€Å"What?† I demanded. â€Å"I'm going to have to put you under again, Wanda. I'm sorry.† â€Å"But†¦ why?† I whispered. â€Å"I'm really not that hurt. I don't want -â€Å" â€Å"We have to take you back inside,† Ian said, cutting me off, his voice low, as if he didn't want it to carry back to the others. I could hear the voices behind us, echoing quietly off the rocks. â€Å"We promised†¦ that you wouldn't be conscious.† â€Å"Blindfold me again.† Doc pulled the little syringe from his pocket. It was already depressed, only a quarter left. I shied away from it, toward Ian. His hand on my shoulder became a restraint. â€Å"You know the caves too well,† Doc murmured. â€Å"They don't want you having the chance to guess†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"But where would I go?† I whispered, my voice frantic. â€Å"If I knew the way out? Why would I leave now?† â€Å"If it eases their minds†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ian said. Doc took my wrist, and I didn't fight him. I looked away as the needle bit into my skin, looked at Ian. His eyes were midnight in the dark. They tightened at the look of betrayal in mine. â€Å"Sorry,† he muttered. It was the last thing I heard.

Using an example of an organisation, identify how the change in legislation was implemented and evaluate the impact of this on the service delivery

Our role as social workers is one of an empowering nature; we are or should be committed to equality and re-establishing equal power bases. Promotion of independence is fundamental to our role, for this reason I have decided to look at the implementation of the Direct Payments scheme, for disabled people; brought in under the Community Care (direct Payments) Act 1996. This was brought in as legislation, because of disabled peoples pressure groups, and in order to give disabled people further ‘independence and choice' (Abbot, D (2003)) further to this the Disabled Children Act 2000 extended the access to Direct Payments to 16 – 17 year old disabled people. Within this paper I will analyse the role of social services departments for disabled people before and after the implementation. In analysis I will identify issues that have arisen from this change in relation to the organisation of social services, the social workers and service users, analysing issues of interpretation, and cultural change. The legislation empowered local authorities to set up ‘Direct Payment' Schemes for disabled people that are entitled to community care services, under the community care act but discretion was given to local authorities on how to implement it. (Community Care, (1999) sept, 8th). Because of this discretion the take up and the manner of take up to the scheme differed which resulted in very little movement for a number of years. Husler (no date given) states ‘this legislation is permissive, which means councils can not ignore it, but they have discretions on how to implement it' (Ibid). This lack of guidance to implementation led to discrepancies in the implementation of the Direct Payments scheme Prior to the implementation of the direct payments scheme, the role of social services was to assess the needs and risks of the disabled person, and through this process of assessment seek to minimise or control risk and elevate need. This was done through the provision of services directly controlled or distributed from central government of local social services departments. We see in this situation the relationship of power was one of retention by the social worker within a culture of ‘Role' and ‘task' rather than person. Although many would argue with this point and state the cultural work base of this time was one of a ‘person' culture as defined by Burnes (2000)p.164), where the service users needs and wishes are prominent with the minimisation of the structural highrachy base. Handy (1986) would disagree with this notion and further argues that western organisations work predominantly from a role or task orientated cultural work base. This is evident in many of the recently published documents on working practices and guidelines on legislation interpretation, such as the ‘Working Together Document 2000 and the Assessment Framework 2000. Further, if look back to the development of the social services and the then Charity Organisation Society (COS) founded in 1869 we see evidence of similar practice in relation to current assessment of needs. This was also done by a COS worker who made judgements based on his of her knowledge, this is clearly an earlier form of means testing (Glasby & Littlechild (2002)). From this assessment a payment was given to the person or which then was referred to as ‘relief.' This was technically abolished in 1834; it continued to be paid in practice well into the twentieth centaury, as a range of complex measures for the support of the poor as unemployment soared (Thane. P (1996). The Poor Law was finally abolished in 1948 putting an end to payments to the poor by social services departments, and replaced by a national scheme for the payment of social security benefits and the provision of welfare services to the elderly and the Disabled. This allowed the practitioner to distance themselves from cash payments and the stigma of poverty, further this led to as Becker (1993) states ‘practitioners having little poverty awareness (p93) and further viewing money problems as being the problem of other agencies (Davies & Wainwright (1997) quoted in Glasby & Littlechild p 61) This desire for the social work profession to distance it self from the nineteenth centaury roots has, resulted in the resistance to the implementation of the Direct Payment Schemes. Although the Direct Payment Scheme is very different from the early payments made by the COS and earlier forms of social services departments. This resistance has been from the shop floor social workers to MPs such as Virgina Bottomly, who wrote to the MP introducing the Private members bill prior to its introduction to legalise direct payments â€Å"Social services legislation is concerned with†¦.services and not with direct payments which is the province of the social security system† (Quoted In Hatchett W, (1991): pp 14 – 15). Governmental ideology for the implementation of the Direct Payments scheme was to reflect the principles of participation, inclusion and equality through offering choice and independence. Because of the lack of clear guidance on interpretation this agenda has been misinterpreted and further resulted in the slow take up of the scheme. Roles and procedures have changed in departments which require operational changes, and a further shift in the approach to the concept of risk and control (Dawson (2000) quoted in Carmichael & Brown (2002) p.804) The involvement in service users lives by social workers has shifted away form one of assessment and the in house provision of services, to one of assessment and the provision of monies to purpose individual care form the quasi market place. This can be tailored to meet the individual needs and life of a person, rather than the one ‘size fits all' attitude of previous service provision (Glasby & Littlechild (2002)) this is in comparison to earlier payments being made by the Independent Living Fund indirectly through third parties (Brindle, D. (2000)) further key points to the misinterpretation and slow take up of the scheme is due to the ambiguous wording of the legislations guidance the ‘willing and able criteria' (Clark & Spafford (2002)) this point argues the service users must be able to ‘choose' direct payments, problems such as ability the to choose have arisen from this guidance as well as to whom the allocation of payment should be made. Who should have control over the money? Is a question the local authorities have struggled with when assessing people with severe disabilities and people with mental incapacitates. Authorities have taken this grey area of the legislation and effectively excluded people with mental incapacities because of the legal implications which resulted in the rejecting of an application. Further to this councils have adopted a top down model in which local disability organisations are not closely enough involved within. This bureaucratic model is arguably necessary because of the complexity of the system, the workforce need clearly structured role, responsibilities and lines of command for effectiveness (Coulshed & Mullender (2001)) this is for the purposes of accountability and stability in the system (Ibid).although this can restrict professional autonomy and offer further resistance to change (Aldridge (1996) quoted in Coulshed & Mullender, p 31) With the implementation of this scheme, there was a shift away from the old system of social worker control to that of user control, which social workers saw as a danger and who have voiced concerns of â€Å"vulnerable people managing their own services and whether it is right to risk such payments' (Snell, J. (2000)). This is clear indication as Cyert & March (1963) state ‘confusion over how political constraints on policy make a rationalist approach to decision making impossible (quoted in Burnes. B (2000)) This has led to social workers becoming uncertain as to what is needed from them, because of the role and responsibility change, as well as the cultural change in the departments, which has further left social workers feeling disempowered. Power and control is reduced from the social worker, and rebalanced with the service user, social workers have seen this as a perceived loss of their identity and status. (Clark & Spafford (2002) p 252) Confusion and lack of participation in the planning stages of the delivery of services has left social workers resenting the direct payments scheme, this has further led to slow take up and slow information distribution to service users. Etienne d'Abouuville (1999) states the schemes are floundering because local authorities are using social workers to advice on direct payments, rather than Disabled peoples organisations which can provide peer support. This is further evidence in the change of role change in the role of the care manager Glasby & Littlecihild (2002) argue workload implications and the low ratio of staff is a strong and potential barrier to the independence of disabled people. Mullins (1993) comments on this and states ‘commitment and cooperation to organisational goals will depend on how these are perceived to be in their own interests'. If we look at this in the context of the social worker who has been giving advice to the service user on, employers' responsibility, obligations and legal ramifications without training and on top of their ‘normal' workload we see why social workers are feeling stressed. Further too this reluctant to work in with the scheme (Hosler (1999)). Social worker having little involvement in the change has led to this resistance; this is perpetuated with the burdening of further responsibility on the worker. Mullender and Coulshed argue ‘where structures are going through change this is adapted to more quickly where there are open lines of communication and decentralised structures. If we analyse the impact of the organisational change to the service user we see a clear recondition of the social model of disability which as Oliver argues ‘It is not people impairments which limit people's ability to participate in society and to exercise their rights, but the organisation of society it self which causes the disability† (Quoted in Stainton, T. (2002) p 752) This social model articulates not how to find a way of compensating for the natural disadvantage, but how society can accommodate a range of differences (Ibid). Service users have stated they have rights and autonomy furthering the ability to be recognised as full citizens (Stainton, T (2002)). Many disabled people prior to the introduction of the Direct Payments Scheme were given little or no choice in relation to who provided the care, and to what extent. This was reflective of the funding structures and mechanisms of the social services departments (Statinton, T (1998)), here the departments or the family would access and commission the service, which resulted on many occasions being put on a waiting list. In this analysis we see little or no choice or control on the part of the service recipient, and further if criteria for service were not met then no service was offered. This coupled with resource constraints and tightly specified service contracts can together restrict the remits and activities of services (Glendininig, C, (2000)) With the new system the service user retains overall control on who to commission to carry out the work and for what period of time, the service user defines what needs are to be met and to what extent. A shift away from the social worker led assessment. With a recondition of the Disabled person's rights the Direct Payments Scheme also brought with it the responsibility of being an employer and with that obligation to contractual agreements. This could be seen as a potential barrier, but many disabled people have commented, â€Å"All the stress is worth having control of your own care† (Clark and Spafford (2002)) In conclusion we see how the change has resulted in a cultural change within the social services departments and further a shift away from the ethos of the social worker as the expert. This is welcomed by Disability groups who have campaigned for the Direct Payments Scheme, but resented by those whose job's it has affected with added workload and change in role. Change is a natural occurrence and some would argue inevitable to human evaluation, it is about recognising where sociality shortfalls are and actively seeking to rectify them. As with a majority of pieces of legislation they are based on social justice principles, but interpretation results in oppression and discrimination

Serial Killers essays

Serial Killers essays Focus: Abuse, genetics, chemical imbalances, traumatic events and societal injustices led to serial killing What do Ed Given, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayce Gacy, Ted Bundy, Albert Desalvo and Jack the Ripper all have in common? They are just six among the hundreds of known serial killers. Every day people try and look at these people and figure out why they do what they do. Unanswered questions float around, and the families of victims may never find out why their loved one was killed. The truth of the matter is serial killers are insane. Many factors add up to show the motives behind serial killers. On a crime Web site (www.crimelibrary.org), author Shirley Lynn Scott blames abuse, genetics, chemical imbalances, exposure to traumatic events and perceived societal injustices for motives behind killing. All of these will be closely looked at to find out why serial killers kill. Child abuse can be the cause of therapy for the victim later in life. Usually, we don't think of abuse leading to serial killing. Albert DeSalvo, better known as the "Boston Strangler," was actually sold as a slave by his alcoholic dad. Many sadistic murderers portray their childhood as an endless chain of horrifying sexual abuse, torture and mayhem. According to the Web site, the mother is usually to blame for the behavior. Serial killers have described their mothers as "too domineering or too distant, too sexually active or too repressed." However, the mother is usually to blame over the father because he has at some point disappeared. When a father is in the picture, he is usually noted for his sadistic disciplinarian tactics, alcoholic rants and overt anger toward women. Due to the poor relationships with their parents, killers usually begin or end their reign of terror by killing their parents. The crime Website tells the story of Ed Kemper who, after beheading his mom, "shoved her vocal cords down the garbage disposal, raped her headless bod...

American Way essays

American Way essays There's nothing more ingrained in the American value system than work ethic that involves the notion that hard work will lead to the fulfillment of the American dream, economic success. According to the New York Times (Schmitt, 2001), there's ample evidence to suggest that American hard work is paying off as evidenced by a sharp increase in living standards shown by census data for the 1990s.[1] The proof provided by the article includes: An increase in high school and college graduates An increase in people owning cars, with eighteen percent owning three bigger homes, with an increase in the number of houses with seven growing family incomes However, books such as Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal (Schlosser, 2001)[2] and Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America (Ehrenreich, 2002)[3] dispute the claims of The New York Times. These works argue that working class people are now working longer, harder hours than ever before with little reward or hope for a better future. These books claim that hard work may be the American way, but it is certainly not to key to the American dream. Schlosser describes the "deskilling" of fast food jobs and the grueling labor involved. Fast food jobs have their origins in the assembly line systems adopted by American manufacturers in the early twentieth century (Schlosser, p. 68). In a restaurant assembly line, tasks are broken up into small, repetitive bits requiring little or no skill, while machines and operating systems do the things that require timing and training (Schlosser, p. 69). In the chapter called Behind the Counter, Elisa, is a sixteen year old fast food worker who must get up at 5:15 in the morning to arrive at work on time. She and her manager open the restaurant by turning on the ovens and grills and getting the food and ...

Analytical Essay About Leaders Essay Example for Free

Analytical Essay About Leaders Essay What is a leader? A leader is a person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. There are many types of leaders. A leader can be a laissez-faire leader that lacks direct supervision and fails to provide regular feedback to those they lead, an autocrat that possesses total authority and take decisions upon their own will without consulting those who are following or even a participative leader who has the responsibility of making the final decision but greatly includes the opinions, ideas and feedback of those they lead. Leaders can also be transactional leaders who receive certain tasks to conduct and give rewards or punishments to those under them based on their performance or transformational leaders who motivate followers and increase productivity using communicative techniques and involvement in the tasks they set. Not only that, a leader also has to have some traits that correspond to their types of leadership. For example, transformational leaders have to be patient with their followers otherwise relationships can break down and the whole idea of efficiency is destroyed. Leaders need to be persuasive as well to motivate and convince their followers to believe in an idea or their ability to do a task which they hesitate to do or think they are unable to. As seen in history and many novels, leaders lead differently than other leaders as ideas, methods and perceptions of perfection differ between them. For example, the ideas and methods used by Queen Elizabeth the First differed from those used by Sampath Chawla from the novel entitled ‘Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard’ written by Kiran Desai as well as Mark Antony from the play entitled ‘The tragedy of Julius Caesar’ written by the famous William Shakespeare. The three of them all differed in how they led their followers and using which ideas to do so. Despite differing in many aspects, they all shared some common traits that are the bases of leadership. In ‘The Tragedy of Julius Caesar’, some conspirators had killed the almost roman emperor, Julius Caesar. They did so, giving the false reason that they wanted to rid him of the fear or worry of death. Mark Antony, using persuasive techniques, managed to change the mindsets of the public who believed in the conspirators’ reason into believing that Caesar was a good man and had no bad intentions, which is what the conspirators’ thought. Mark Antony uses persuasive techniques like repetition, false intentions and sophistry. He uses these in his speech at Caesar’s burial to convince the crowd into believing his ideas by first commending Brutus on how honorable he is but then repeating how honorable he is to make the crowd question their faith in Brutus. He also says that he did not arrive to praise Caesar but to bury him which is exactly the opposite of what he wanted to do. Another false intention was that he did not want to disprove Brutus which is exactly what he did by using appropriate facts. Lastly, his speech was sophisticated and so led the crowd to believing that he was superior to Brutus which cemented his gaining the crowd’s support. In ‘Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard’, the main character, Sampath, is a leader later on in the novel after losing his job at the post office where he reads every letter that passes him. He becomes a sort of spiritual leader as he passes on some of the knowledge, both useful and downright senseless, to those who believe he is one. He manages to convince the people who come to him for advice, as he seemingly has an answer that seems meaningful and wise, using persuasive techniques that include loaded language and glittering generalities. An example of the responses he gives to people is when someone asked him if anyone could comprehend all there is to know about god to which Sampath replied ‘‘ Once you have broken the bottle you can no longer distinguish the air inside from the air outside’’ This represents the colorful and loaded language Sampath represents as well as his ability to confuse and manipulate people into thinking meaningless sentences like these have greater meaning and that is the reason they cannot understand. He is also a leader because he represents a symbol of knowledge and religious importance and this gives people something to look forward to, believe in and rely upon. Queen Elizabeth the First was a leader as well when she ruled over England in 1588. She was brave, intelligent, caring and because of this, loved by the people. At this time, England was about to go to war with Spain. The units in concern were the naval fleets of both nations that were about to engage in combat. The Spanish fleet, nicknamed the Spanish Armada, were in comparison to the English fleet, bigger, stronger and heavily armored and this caused the soldiers to doubt their own ability to win and caused large bouts of cowardice. Despite this, the English fleet came out victorious. Queen Elizabeth, on the eve of the Spanish Armada, gave a powerful speech that motivated her soldiers and showed her love and respect for the country. She used persuasive techniques like bandwagon appeal to bring out the desire to belong in the soldiers, rewards that gave incentive to the soldiers to fight, win and return, loaded language to appeal to her audience, a tone of self-assurance to show that she knows the position of power she is in and how she is not threatened by anything on the outside and lastly, the most powerful technique she used was to keep using the word ‘we’ to show how they are all united and how she was willing to give up everything for the nation. This inspired the confidence needed to win the battle. A leader is a person who leads or commands a group, organization, or country. This is what all three leaders have shown, the ability to lead. They have shown this in their own ways and with their own ideas. They all share this common trait as well as being persuasive and adapting intelligently to fit the situation. That is the basic leadership trait that all successful leaders throughout history have shown and that is all that is needed in order to be a successful leader. Analytical Essay About Leaders. (2016, Sep 15).

Foster Youth and why they are not succeeding in their Education- Research Paper

Foster Youth and why they are not succeeding in their Education- - Research Paper Example For practically all young individuals, the finale of adolescent life means becoming a part of the employment world, vocational preparation, or post-secondary education. But many are neither in school nor at work, especially among foster youth. A large number of children presently in foster care in the United States are among the highly vulnerable youth in the country (Whiting, 2000). Studies reveal that adults who were previously foster children are more prone to experience low quality of life compared to the mainstream population (Staub & Meighan, n.d.). Thus foster youth are more at-risk of becoming involved in criminal activities, homeless, or reliant on welfare services (Courtney et al., 2010). This paper analyzes the academic performance of youth in foster care and the causes of the observed low educational attainment of these foster youth. Human capital is obviously necessary for success during the passage toward adulthood, yet researchers on previous foster youth discover low academic performance and that they perform poorly in comparison to the general population. Besides proving that previous foster youth have a lower level of educational achievement, most researchers report that they are less able to finish high school or pass the General Education Development (GED) exam (Zeitlin, Weinberg, & Kimm, 2004). Foster youth confront numerous difficulties or challenges throughout their lives. There are an approximated 500,000 foster care children in the U.S. (Finkelstein, Wamsley, & Miranda, 2002, 1). A large number of them have experienced maltreatment and other ordeals both prior to and after they were transferred to foster care, and numerous have particular social, emotional, and medical needs. However, of all the problems foster youth encounter, poor academic performance could have the most severe impact on their liv es. For youth in long-term foster care, a serious problem is the tough transition from

Global Warming Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Global Warming - Research Paper Example The government needs to take a number of drastic steps in the coming years in order to reduce our dependence on hydrocarbons, plus change the culture of America to make it generally more green. Only then will we turn back the clock on our environmental problems. The world’s climate is changing and the consequences are far reaching. When examining this important issue we must be sure to have our facts straight. Even before looking at the consequences and possible solutions, it is necessary to determine what is causing this phenomenon. Some people say climate change is part of a natural process which happens every few centuries and which caused the ice age and other periods in Earth’s history in which the temperature was different. This might be true. But many scientists believe that human beings cause global warming (Coren). They say it is caused by the huge amount of cars we drive on our roads and by our coal plants and our thousands of factories. These people say we have simply not been good stewards of the Earth and are now responsible for the fact that the surface of the planet seems to be warming because of trapped gases. Our fossil fuel use is the main reason those gases are present. Every time we drive a car to school or work, use electricity, or heat our houses, we are releasing carbon dioxide into the air and making our planet hotter. Another important source of greenhouse gases is caused by deforestation, mainly in the Amazon. There is a lot of money to be made in cutting down trees and planting land for animals to use so the animals can be made into hamburgers at the end of the day. Cattle itself is said by some people to be in part responsible for increasing the amount of methane in the atmosphere (Flannery, 201). So much of what we do to stay alive and to make money appears to be hurting our planet, according to scientists who are increasingly vocal about this important

Leadership Behavior in the workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leadership Behavior in the workplace - Essay Example It also gives a narrative criticism on the article journal by examining female entrepreneurs’ management style as an application of a relational frame. The articulation of abstract in this article is decent. This is because the first line of the article contains the purpose of the research in an exhaustive manner. For example, this paper reports the result of a qualitative analysis of female entrepreneurs’ and their roles in their organizations using Relational Theory. The report of content analysis of group shows that women used a relational approach in working with employees and clients lacks the problem statement, which should appear in the second line of an abstract. The article does not explain the approach that the research employed in the third sentence of the abstract. Instead, it articulates some of the relational skills required in a place of work such as preserving, mutual empowering, achieving and creative team. The abstract indicates the findings of the research clearly in the fourth line. The findings show that Relational Theory is a useful frame in identifying and explicating women entrepreneur in their own bu siness. Finally, a concluding statement about the research is lacking in the abstract. The title of the article is appropriate. This is because it provides a thought of what is contained in the articles. It makes use of a particular theory, Relational Theory to answer subjectively the problem statement, leadership Behaviour in a work place (Xiaojun, 2014). Some of the in-text citation of the article is not in reference to American Psychology Association (APA) format. For example in page 1, the introduction of an in-text, citation at the beginning of a sentence should not make use of quotation marks as contained in this article. In addition, the use of page numbers in the in-text citation on the same reference applies to Modern Language Association (MLA) format. Therefore, this is a shortcoming since the referencing style used in the

Prize Money in Tennis A Gender Perspective Essay

Prize Money in Tennis A Gender Perspective - Essay Example Their sporting skills, sadly take a backseat. Marxist theory equates the man as the bourgeoisie and the wife as the proletariat. He felt that the communist ideology will give space to women by bringing them into the public space. In communism, women can enter into public sphere of production and communalize the realm of private production. This then, becomes the program for emancipation of women. If we take the example of Cuba, which is a socialist dictatorship, structured along the Eastern European countries. Fidel Castro, after coming to power, brought about major changes in all aspects of Cuban society, including its sports. The other communist countries held up Cuba's success in sports as an example as a success of socialist experiment. $80 million is still invested in sport annually, which represents 2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Cuba. The Cuban government invests a disproportionate amount of its resources in its athletes - educating, feeding, clothing them, paying for equipment, and travel. Sports in Cuba is deeply integrated with politics and political ideology borrowed from Eastern Europe ideology Sports is an integral part of the political culture, and it is available to all. Castro established a strategy both to unite the population behind common sporting goals and establish a shared national identity through sport. The liberal feminist theory states that sports increases socialization among women. It develops confidence, decreases the gender imbalance. But a lot of discrimination exists in sports. This includes categorizing sports as feminine and masculine. Feminine sports being hockey, volleyball, handball, masculine being rugby, cricket, football. Women are also not represented in major sports organizations. They do not hold decision-making positions. In 2002, women held 17 per cent of executive director/general manager positions.Legal restrictions also reduce the chances of women holding important jobs. The sex discrimination Act, 1975, in UK does not include sports in its agenda. Private sports clubs remain outside the purview of equal opportunities legislation. Liberal feminism has included these issues on the agenda of sports organizations, clubs. Organizations such as Women Sports Foundation-WSF, Women's Sports International-WSI, have put pressure on these institutions and have managed to put issues like gender equality and equity becoming part of mainstream sports agenda. The liberal feminist theory says that biological constraints are not responsible for less participation of women in sports Inspite of all this, discrimination continues. There is another theory - radical feminism, which sees the male as oppressors and the female as suppressed. Unlike the liberal feminism, which only talks about equal opportunities for women, radical feminism mentions that women are encouraged to have an acceptable heterosexual feminity in sports. For example, in international women beach volleyball, bikini bottoms should not be deeper than 6 centimeters. This has less to do with appropriate dress codes and more of objectification of women's bodies. Radical feminism has also led to an understanding of

Managing in an IS Environment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managing in an IS Environment - Case Study Example Alex has also engaged in monitoring the daily routine work so as to make sure that all things are done in a standardised way. Alex is also involved in interaction with people in form of scheduled meetings to discuss the daily issues with the regional manager. Alex also communicates through telephone conversations usually with suppliers about orders and deliveries. The unscheduled meetings are mainly either brief exchanges with customers as they pay their bill or they are interruptions from staff - requests for information or assistance. Alex doesn't perform any type of decisional role in his job. Because his job is predominantly one of routine paperwork and helping out' to the staff members. Rose who is a manager of domestic service unit is responsible for the cleaning and housekeeping of a large National Health hospital plays various managerial roles while on job. Rose is involved in a little bit of office paper work to manage the hospitals legal documents and other important documents. She is involved in lot of external work for the hospital. She spends a significant amount of her time out of the office, either at meetings or touring the hospital, speaking to domestics, nurses or administrative staff and checking the progress and quality of work. She also plays her informational role while monitoring the day to day activities of her staff members that all the work is done accordingly and the quality is maintainted well. She also helds scheduled meetings like committee meetings, policy meetings or negotiations, involving a wide variety of people, and unscheduled meetings or conversations - with domestic, nursing and administrative staff. As a decisional role she is eng aged in negotiations with the different authority levels of the hospital and is involved in seeking out people to obtain or give information, to deal with problems and to request or give assistance. Stewart's Demands, Constraints and Choices' Model: ALEX Alex is bounded by certain demands that he has to fulfil while on job that includes Ordering and controlling materials, Controlling money, Monitoring operational performance, Maintaining company quality standards, Planning and maintaining staff levels. These are some of the most important demands of Alex job. Along with it he has certain contraints given the number of rules and procedures within which alex has to work like standard menus and prices, methods of food preparation and presentation and etc. That's why he make choices according to situation and does spend much of his time in office doing paper work. ROSE Rose is bounded my certain important tasks that she has to do which includes Planning and ensuring staff level, Good industrial relations, Standard of cleanliness, Cost of domestic service function and etc. Although there are many constraints that she faces in day to day activities like Atmospheric crisis and uncertainity, restructuring issues is what must peoccupy her she has many restictions from within the organizations from different factors. But although she makes considerable choices about how she handles it. She chooses to make the job people-oriented and political', trying to reconcile competing interests, ameliorating the impact of change on domestic staff. The Internal Environment ALEX Alex is influenced by many factors of the organizations internal

Paul Van Dyke Concert Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paul Van Dyke Concert Critique - Essay Example The costumes of the artist are a black shirt and black trouser. The staging of the singer is on a podium. The shooting of the video makes him appear to be moving across the podium from left to right and vice versa. A large part of the song mixes music, light, and motion using electrical control. The musicians were well prepared since the song achieved all the musical elements and styles in an efficient manner. The song is quite entertaining and has a message too. This is evidence that the musicians had a good command to the instruments (Ann 103). The song acted as an informative device to me. It made me feel the different and contrasting situations that humans undergo just because of the existing difference in time (Ann 98). The vocal style of the song is a soft one, which is not easy to understand. The next song is â€Å"the other side.† The song is categorized under the electronic dance music. The song has employed instruments such as guitar, drums, and piano. The vocal style used in the song is a soft one, and is easy to comprehend and interpret, with relevance to the video. Analyzed and interpreted, it is a political song showing the necessity of a good relationship between the top leading politicians in a given society and their subjects within the same society. The rhythm of the song is a complex one since there more than one rhythms in the song. It is easy for a dancer to get lost while listening. The song has a strong beat which changes in pitch and speed throughout the song. The tempo of the song is a medium a fast one. The costumes of the singer is a uniform black, both shirt and trouser. Other characters are in white attire. Considering the song’s choreography, there is no dancing on the performance of the song as the entire song takes place in the house of an old man. It looks like a story, in the making. The song was performed on a concert in New York. The musicians were not well prepared as there were difficulties hearing their voices. The instruments were high in volume submerging the performer’s voices. The lighting was red, in color making the background of the show appear red. The performers had a good command of music. Like other audiences, the song made me feel bad about the political system in our nation, where the top leaders behave like totalitarians towards their poor subjects. â€Å"Crush† is another song done by Dyke. There is the use of guitar, saxophones, trumpet, and drums in the song. It is electronic dance music. It is also classified under classical music. The vocal style is shouted, as there is a rising and falling of tones within the performance. The words or lyrics are difficult to understand. The core message

Managing in an IS Environment Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managing in an IS Environment - Case Study Example Alex has also engaged in monitoring the daily routine work so as to make sure that all things are done in a standardised way. Alex is also involved in interaction with people in form of scheduled meetings to discuss the daily issues with the regional manager. Alex also communicates through telephone conversations usually with suppliers about orders and deliveries. The unscheduled meetings are mainly either brief exchanges with customers as they pay their bill or they are interruptions from staff - requests for information or assistance. Alex doesn't perform any type of decisional role in his job. Because his job is predominantly one of routine paperwork and helping out' to the staff members. Rose who is a manager of domestic service unit is responsible for the cleaning and housekeeping of a large National Health hospital plays various managerial roles while on job. Rose is involved in a little bit of office paper work to manage the hospitals legal documents and other important documents. She is involved in lot of external work for the hospital. She spends a significant amount of her time out of the office, either at meetings or touring the hospital, speaking to domestics, nurses or administrative staff and checking the progress and quality of work. She also plays her informational role while monitoring the day to day activities of her staff members that all the work is done accordingly and the quality is maintainted well. She also helds scheduled meetings like committee meetings, policy meetings or negotiations, involving a wide variety of people, and unscheduled meetings or conversations - with domestic, nursing and administrative staff. As a decisional role she is eng aged in negotiations with the different authority levels of the hospital and is involved in seeking out people to obtain or give information, to deal with problems and to request or give assistance. Stewart's Demands, Constraints and Choices' Model: ALEX Alex is bounded by certain demands that he has to fulfil while on job that includes Ordering and controlling materials, Controlling money, Monitoring operational performance, Maintaining company quality standards, Planning and maintaining staff levels. These are some of the most important demands of Alex job. Along with it he has certain contraints given the number of rules and procedures within which alex has to work like standard menus and prices, methods of food preparation and presentation and etc. That's why he make choices according to situation and does spend much of his time in office doing paper work. ROSE Rose is bounded my certain important tasks that she has to do which includes Planning and ensuring staff level, Good industrial relations, Standard of cleanliness, Cost of domestic service function and etc. Although there are many constraints that she faces in day to day activities like Atmospheric crisis and uncertainity, restructuring issues is what must peoccupy her she has many restictions from within the organizations from different factors. But although she makes considerable choices about how she handles it. She chooses to make the job people-oriented and political', trying to reconcile competing interests, ameliorating the impact of change on domestic staff. The Internal Environment ALEX Alex is influenced by many factors of the organizations internal

A Fair Price Essay Example for Free

A Fair Price Essay An analysis of Warren Buffet as a superior investor and how this contradicts finance theory and the semi strong form of efficiency. Then on a personal level the ethics and social responsibility underpinning Warren Buffet and his company will be expressed. a) Discuss what can be inferred from the changes in stock price for Berkshire Hathaway Ltd. and Scottish Power plc. on the announcement day of the acquisition? On the 24th of May the public announcement was made that Berkshire Hathaway Ltd, would take over Scottish Powers’ PacifiCorp, a significant effect resulted to the stock prices of both companies respectively. The stock price effect is visible in graph 1 2 showing the daily prices for May 2005 for both companies. b) Assess the bid for PacifiCorp. Do you think the bid is a â€Å"fair† price? In assessing whether the bid price $5. 1 billion dollar is a fair price a valuation of PacifiCorp must be conducted. The model that was implemented to perform the valuation was the DCF method. The value derived from this methodology was $ 5 119. 348092 million dollars, rather astonishingly close to the bid price of MidAmerican. The DCF model can be found in appendix) Therefore with a value so similar to that of the bid price, it can be ascertained that the bid reflects the company’s value thus is a fair price. CAPM =| RF +| ? | (rm-rt)| 0. 1013 =| 0. 0488+ | 0. 75| (0. 07)| Table [ 1 ] Terminal Valuen = E(FCFE)n+1 /(rn gn) The DCF model was followed from Rosenbaum’s text (reference) the majority of the inputs have been derived from PacifiCorp’s annual reports. The EBIT has grown at %5. 7 since 2000, signifying good growth signs. This figure combined ith speculation from the 2005 annual report predicting sales to grow at %3 to result in a predicted growth rate of %5 to forecast the FCF’s. A CAPM was used to calculate the cost of equity (as seen in table 1). The industry Beta was used 0. 75(reference), the RFR %4. 88 was derived from the 20 year US Treasury bond rate and the market premium was given at %7. Using these figures cost of equity was found to be %10. 13. Once the cash flows have been forecasted at the 5% growth rate and discounted back at the %10. 13 Ke, then the terminal value must be determined. The terminal value was calculated the below formula, found in Damodorans’ text.

Pel Company History

Pel Company History Pak Elektron was setup in 1956 as a Public Limited Company with the object of initially producing transformers, switchgears, and electric motors. AEG experts and PEL personnel carried out the designing and production of this equipment jointly. After the conclusion of joint venture agreement with AEG Saigol Group acquired the PEL COMPANY in October 1978. The company floated its shares to the general public and was listed on Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE). In 1980, Appliances Division was established and in 1981 its starts the production of Window Type Air Conditioners with the technical collaboration of General Corporation of Japan. This air conditioner was well received in the market for its quality. Subsequently in 1987 the production of Refrigerators and Deep Freezers was started. In 1993 the company has started the assembly of Compressors for Refrigerators and Deep Freezers under technical collaboration with Messrs. NECCHI COMPRESSORI of Italy. It was in early 70s that PEL became known in overseas markets due to its quality. The company started its export to countries like Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Qatar etc. Later on PEL supplied electrical equipments to various other countries in the Middle East, Far East and Africa with great success. 1.2 Vision To providing engineering goods and services through continuous improvement 1.3 Mission Statement To provide quality products services to the complete satisfaction of our customers and maximize returns for all stakeholders through optimal use of resources, To focus on personal development of our employees to meet future challenges, To promote good governance, corporate values and a safe working environment with a strong sense of social responsibility CHAPTER NO 2 BUSINESS OPERATIONS This chapter has been divided in five section, Section one described the product in which PEL deal. In second section business operation analysis are given. In section third SWOT analysis is given. In fourth section future strategy is given. In fifth section competitive analysis is given. 2.1 Organizational Structure 2.1 Division of PEL There are two division of PEL: Power Division Appliances Division This division is comprised for four departments. 2.1.1 Power Division The most powerful revenue generating business unit of PAK Elektron, produces Transformers, Switchgears and Energy Meters for the public sector such as KESC Karachi Electric Supply Corporation, LESCO and PESCO. They provide these three products: Production Transformers Production Switchgears Production Energy Meters During the year 2006, PEL retained its market leadership in the Power Equipment market, increasing its market share from 33% in 2005 to 36% in 2006 in the switchgear market and also maintained share of 35% in 2006 as well in the energy meters market. PELs leadership in the Power Equipment market is largely due to its strong Research and Development knowledge and high product quality. 2.1.1.1 Production Transformers PEL has vast experience in design and manufacturing of standard and special purpose transformers up to 33kV and up to 6000kVA ratings. PELs transformers have been successfully type tested for Impulse voltage and short circuit tests at KEMA, (Holland), HVSC Lab, Rawat (Pakistan), NIP (Pakistan) and UET (Pakistan). 2.1.1.2 Production Energy Meters Another successful and most powerful department of power division is its energy meter production department that manufactures Electro-mechanical Energy Meters under license from ABB-USA.The quality of PEL meters has been certified by KEMA Laboratories (Holland) and conforms to IEC 521, SGS Yarsley, and U.K, has certified PEL Energy Meter plant for ISO 9002. Following types of meters are manufactured: Electro mechanical Single phase Three phase_ Direct connected STATIC /DIGITAL Single Phase Three Phase Directed connected 2.1.1.3 Production Switchgears Switchgears are one of the highly technical and specialized power products of PEL. They are produced for indoor and outdoor installations complying with international installation standards. A major customer for this product is WAPDA. The Company provides one year after sales service warranty to WAPDA, KESC and other customers. In Switchgear, PEL enjoys market share of 33 % while competitors are Alstom, Siemens and Fico. 2.1.1.4 Power Transformers Owing to massive growth in power sector, demand for power transformers is also growing proportionately for all ratings from 66KV to500 KV. PEL has stepped into this activity by starting the manufacturing of 132 KV transformers, being the most demanded rating, and for these purposes has formed a strategies partnership by signing the two agreements. Based on the demand forecast of Power Transformers for WAPDA, KESC and other projects, PELs market share is initially targeted to be 20%, growing in five years. 2.1.2 Appliances Division The Appliances Division of PEL is the pioneer manufacturer of electrical goods in Pakistan. The Divisions product portfolio comprises of air-conditioners, refrigerators, televisions, microwave ovens, and split air-conditions. PEL is one of the three leading players in the home appliances market. The Company is engaged in the manufacturing and/or marketing of the following home appliances. The Companys Appliances Division contributed significantly to its sales in 2005-06. The main reasons for this growth are increase in market sizes along with PELs strong brand image accompanied with its extensive dealership network spread nationwide with over one thousand outlets and an after sales service network with over 100 workshops. Another major reason for the increasing growth in the home appliances market is the easy availability of consumer financing at lower interest rates. PEL itself is involved in selling its products through a marketing wing for sales against consumer financing. Availability of Chinese products at very competitive prices has not proven to be that big a threat to the local industry. This is because of the improved quality of the local products and cost efficiencies due to economies in product and raw material purchases hence making the local products competitive with the Chinese imports. In 2005-06, the Appliances Division contributed around 53%to the Companys sales whereas the Power Division made up the remaining 47%. Refrigerators and Split air conditioners were the main source of revenue in the Appliances Division, whereas transformers and energy meters are the main revenue drivers in the Power Division. The Appliance Division accounted for 44% of Net Sales during the year ended June 30th 2007. Refrigerators and Split air conditioners were the main source of revenue in the Appliances. The Company is engaged in the manufacturing and/or marketing of the following home appliances. Manufacturing Trading Refrigerators Microwave Ovens Air Conditioners (Split) Conditioners (Window) Deep Freezer Floor Standing ACs Generators Washing Machines 2.2 Business Process Analysis (Industrial Analysis) 2.2.1 Transformers PEL has vast experience in design and manufacturing of standard and special purpose transformers. New technical designs for improved efficiency and quality against special orders of non-standard transformers are continuously being explored. These transformers are available for various applications. Distribution Transformers Auto Transformers Furnace Transformers Welding Transformers Transformers are normally supplied in a period of 3 4 months after the receipt of orders from respective distribution companies of WAPDA and varied supply time for private customers. The Company provides one year after sales service warranty to WAPDA, KESC and private sector customers. 2.2.2 Energy Meters PEL manufactures three types of energy meters; Single Phase and Poly Phase. The electro-mechanical energy meters are manufactured under license from ABB of USA. The quality of PEL meters has been certified by KEMA Laboratories of Holland. PEL meters are superior than others due to their ability to lower revenue losses through accurate precise operation and reduction of maintenance expenses. Single Phase energy meters provide maintenance-free operations over a long period and accurate measurement of electrical energy. Poly Phase energy meters improve load performance and precision accuracy. The meters require minimum maintenance and can withstand abuse from surges and magnetic tampering. Three phase digital electronic meter with dual tariff capability recently launched and supplies to WAPDA has begun this year. Energy meter orders from WAPDA are received annually and their supply period is 9 -10 months. Energy meters to KESC are supplied in a period of 3 4 months. The Company provides one year after sales service warranty to WAPDA, KESC and Others. 2.2.3 Switchgears Switchgears are one of the highly technical and specialized power products of PEL. They are produced for indoor and outdoor installations complying with international installation standards. A major customer for this product is WAPDA. The Company provides one year after sales service warranty to WAPDA, KESC and other customers. 2.2.4 Refrigerators PEL Refrigerators were introduced in 1987 with features such as VCM (Vinyl Coated Metal) coating; stylish finishing and auto drain systems. PEL refrigerators carry compressor made by Danfoss of Germany. The low noise compressor is extremely silent and keeps the refrigerator running smoothly. Furthermore, the compressor is resilient to fluctuations in voltage level, thereby proving to be a more durable product. PEL is actively involved in the manufacturing and trading of refrigerators, which is a major source of consistent growth. The refrigerators business contributes to 48% of the Companys sales and this trend is expected continue in years to come (which is reflected in the figures for 2005-06 in the table below). 2.3 SWOT Analysis 2.3.1 Strengths PEL has the following strengths and is in more competitive position in these areas than its competitors. Following are the main strong points of PEL. 2.3.1.1 Strong Brand Image PEL has created the strong brand image in the mind of the customers through higher quality and low price. The customers of the PEL always prefer to buy the PEL home appliances like WRAC split AC and refrigerators whenever they wanted to buy. 2.3.1.2 Strong Dealer Network It is also the plus point for the PEL that it has also developed the strong dealer network in the market. The dealers are always trying to sell the PEL appliance to the customers because they know there are high margin in the PEL products. They can get more money after selling the PEL products. The management of PEL also provides more incentives to their dealers than their competitors 2.3.1. 3 Free Customer Service PEL provides free customer service for one year to its customers. So the customers always buy the PEL products due to its free service and it becomes loyal customer for the PEL. PEL always provides help to their customers for repWRAC, Refrigerators and other items. PEL always make efforts to satisfy the customers. 2.3.1. 4 M Arket Leader In WRAC (Window Room Air Conditioner) It is another strong point that PEL is a market leader in WRAC. The window room air conditioner is more demanded by the customers than its competitors air conditioners because it has more durability in operating systems and cools the room in few minutes. PEL always strives to provide the innovative features in WRAC. PEL air conditioner is cheaper and has a higher quality than others WRAC. Thats why customers always purchase the PEL window air conditioner. 2.3.1.5 Leader In Power Division In Pakistan the PEL is almost leader in power division. Almost all power division are provided by PEL to wapda. 2.3.2 Weaknesses Overcome on these weaknesses then it can become a market leader in the home appliance. Like other companies PEL has some weaknesses in operating the business. If PEL loses some competitive edge in the following points: 2.3.2.1 Lack Of Advertisement PEL was a very lack of advertisement according to other appliances companies. So it is a big weakness of PEL. 2.3.2.2 Lack Of Product Range PEL has introduced more products of consumer items but there are more needs to develop new consumer items like PEL washing Machines, Vacuum cleaner and other items. Due to lack of product Range, Company cannot earn more profit because consumers have high demand of these products and they say that if company is investing in these products then we can keep all PEL items and we never need to keep others company products. 2.3.2.3 Financial Problems Sometimes PEL faces the financial problems because its stocks are so much piled up in the stores that create the problem of cash flow because when the stocks are not sold and the production is in process for 24 hours a day than the company faces such problems. 2.3.3 Opportunities For the PEL there are more opportunities for expansion the business. If PEL realize that opportunities then it will be more fruitful and profitable for the company. 2.3.3.1 Exploration of Market In Pakistan PEL has the opportunity to explore the market in all over the Pakistan. Even though PEL introduce its products in all cities of Pakistan but there are so many places that have the capacity to absorb the PELs products. 2.3.3.2 Increase in Product Range It is the main opportunity for the PEL that it can increase its product range that will be a more profitable for the company. There are more needs to develop new consumer items like PEL washing Machines, Vacuum cleaner and other items. Due to lack of product Range, Company cannot earn more profit because consumers have high demand of these products. 2.3.3.3 Export Opportunity PEL Company has also the opportunity to export their products in other international countries like UAE, SAUDI ARABIA, and other Arabic and African countries. 2.3.4 Threats PEL Company in such a competitive era has many threats as well. These threats are for the present situations and future. Company should make its policies and strategies according to these threats. So following are the main threats for the PEL: 2.3.4.1 Strong Competition There is very strong competition for the home appliance in the market. So every company tries to come in the number 1 position for achieving the maximum shares in the market. 2.3.4.2 Chinas Product Chinas products are another threat for the Pakistani companies because these products are cheaper than the Pakistani products. An even china product not well in quality but it is comparatively in low prices than the consumers home appliance that are manufactured by the indigenous company. 2.3.4.3 Price War As there is stiff competition in the home appliance market that will cause the price war. So every company reduces the prices of its products to increase the sales. It will not only reduce the profit margin of the company but also reduce the quality of products. So price war is the main threats for all the companies, which are operating in these products. 2.3.4.4 Instability Of Government The rapid changes in governments will become threats for the companies because every government adopts its own policies for the industries. So it increases the uncertainty for the investors who want to invest heavy amount in their new projects. 2.4 Future Strategy PEL is one of the most widely recognized brands in the domestic refrigerator market. It is the second largest local manufacturer and one of the leading brands. For the past four years the Companys market share growth averaged 2% per annum. With continuous efforts in RD, PEL is concentrating on quality of product and cost minimization. The Company is considering technical collaboration for value addition through planned capital expenditures. Increased sales of manufactured refrigerators coupled with sales of split air conditioners are the major factors contributing growth in the appliances business. Other products are also being introduced as a part of Companys strategy to broaden its product range. 2.5 Competitive Analysis The prices are concerned PEL is charging reasonable prices to its customer for all of its microwaves comparatively from others. Prices charged by National, which is a multinational firm, are very higher in comparison with others because it uses special Japanese parts in its microwaves and ensures high quality and performance and only rich class shows interest in National Products. According to the retailers information, people are satisfied with the prices charged by PAK Elektron but still their preferences go along with Dawlence microwaves because of its highly created awareness. CHAPTER NO 3 LEARNING AS STUDENT This chapter has been divided into four sections In section one, I have discussed my duties as a internee during internship, In the second section, I mentioned accomplishments, In the third section I briefed my problems which I faced during internship and in the last and fourth section I offered that how this internship experience impact on my carrier. 3.1 Learning and Duties In finance department there are three sections. Corporate section Leasing and pledge Budgeting 3.1.1 Corporate Section In corporate finance I worked in different units. Firstly, I learned that how letter of credit works in PEL. 3.1.1.1 L.C Section I started working for the Letter of Credit Section. They gave me an introduction and shared important points. Mr. Asad, Senior Executive supervised me in this section. Letter of Credit: A document issued mostly by a financial institution, used primarily in trade finance, which usually provides an permanent payment undertaking. The letter of credit can also be source of payment for a transaction, meaning that redeem the letter of credit will pay an exporter. Letters of credit are used primarily in international trade transactions of significant value, for deals between a supplier in one country and a customer in another. In such cases the International Chamber of Commerce Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits applies.The parties to a letter of credit are usually a beneficiary who is to receive the money, the issuing bank of whom the applicant is a client, and the advising bank of whom the beneficiary is a client. There are different types of LC: a) L.C at Sight: In L.C at sight, Our Company opens an L.C in a bank which provides a guarantee to the exporter that he will pay the due amount. Now, the exporter takes these documents to his bank and asks the bank to give him money so that he can start working on the required contract. When he fulfills the contract, he goes to his bank and provides the required documents to prove that he has fulfilled the contract. Now his bank sends these documents to our bank and our bank ask us to confirm the clarity of the documents and if cleared then these documents are called cleared documents. Then lastly we will pay the bank the due amount. b) Usance L.C: In usance L.C the contract between the two parties require the importer to pay in a longer term e.g. 3 or 6 months after receiving the material from exporter. Our bank will pay the contract amount after the agreed period. c) INLAND LCIn land LC means LC open in a same country. 3.1.1.2 Guarantees I started working on the Guarantees, Leasing, Finance against Merchandise and Cash Financing Section. They just gave me an introduction and shared important points. Mr. Tahir Mahmood, Senior Executive supervised me in this section. Guarantees Section: Secret behind PELs success and increasing market share is its guarantees section that actively works to get every order either for appliances or for power of the company by speedily participating for the contract with the help of Tender Bonds of Guarantees. Types of Guarantees Tender guarantee ( Bid guarantee ) Balance of payment guarantee Advance payment guarantee Performance bond guarantee 3.1.1.3 Long Term Loans PEL acquired a long-term loan to finance the import of machinery. Recently PEL has purchased some machinery from China for Digital Energy Meters. The process for long-term loan is explained in following. Preparation OF Feasibility Report: Following points are considered while preparing the feasibility report. Financial Statement Cost of the project. This includes operating assets (land, building, Vehicles, furniture, capital expenditure and means of finance) Project profit and loss account Projected statement of changes in financial position. Financial Analysis Pay back period of total investment Ratio analysis Breakeven analysis Schedules Sales forecast statement Total production cost. Working capital Loan repayment schedule Bank Feasibility Report Bank studies the feasibility report and prepare report and prepare its own feasibility report to see where it would be feasible to sanctioned loan to company or not. Offering the Letter: The bank, if it is satisfied with the feasibility report then send offering letter. It has, Amount sanctioned Mark up rate Charge over fixed assets Tenor Installment periodS Interest payment period Acceptance If company accepts the terms, it must respond with this period. Negotiation: Negotiation between bank and company takes place to change certain conditions of offer letter and it acceptable for both parties. A second draft of the offer letter is prepared with changes and signs of bank and CEO OF PAK ELEKTRON LIMITED. Creation of Charges: A charge is created in favor of the bank to secure its loan with following documents affidavit. It is an undertaking by the company that will follow all conditions. Form 10. It contains the particulars of assets against which charge is created. All the above documents are submitted with registrar against whom a Certificate of Registration of Mortgage is issued. Types of charges Exclusive Ranking Pari passu Loan Repayment Schedule: This schedule is prepared to show the mark up principal and total installment value for whole tenure. 3.1.1.4 PRE-Shipment Pre-shipment is the last section of the finance department. The pre-shipment report may be summarized in the following 5 tasks which are as follows: Tender Bidding Acceptance Purchase order Inspection 3.1.2 Leasing Section This section works in order to fulfill the corporate production, personnel and operational needs such as Machineries, Auto Mobiles and office equipments. It enters into the Buying Contracts always with the one who offers best terms and conditions as well as the best Internal Rate of Return to the Company. 3.1.2.1 Direct Leasing In case of auto mobiles, a bank makes the pay order and gives it to the dealer on the behalf of firm. Firm pay the principle plus interest in installment to bank. PEL can do leasing with AL-Baraka bank. They paid approximately 15%interes on them. 3.1.2.2 Indirect or Machinery Leasing Machinery is imported from china and other countries e.g. USA etc. incase of imported machinery PEL has an LC opened by particular bank. The LC issuing bank deals with the exporters bank and makes payment to it. In machinery dealing the import department of the company is involved. Import department informs finance that they do not have enough funds to make a lump sum payment of machinery, and then leasing facility is used. A third bank called the leasing bank (from whom PEL takes leasing facility) makes payment to issuing bank and acquires papers of the machinery. PEL then makes regular lease payments to the leasing bank and finally acquires the papers of the machinery. Leasing bank also sends external auditors to PEL to verify whether the machinery is actually of the value quoted, whether it is in proper condition, durability of the machinery etc. 3.1.2 Working Capital Finance This type of loan is secured against: Pledge Hypothecation 3.1.2.1 Pledge It may be constructive or actual. Constructive pledge is that in which goods are not taken by bank rather keep them in companys good own under its own security. In case of actual pledge, bank holds the possession of goods. Logistics: The logistics department comprises a part of the finance department. It is headed by Mr. M. Hanif and further consists of a senior accounts officer, two junior executives and two accountants. The basic task carried out by the persons working in the logistics section is: daily check on production daily check on stock (materials and finished goods) controlling the production plan for the future control on orders in hand Materials imported by PEL basically remains in bank custody. The bank makes payments for these materials to the foreign suppliers and releases them to PEL as per payments by them. The bank further higher mucaddam companies/clearing agents to watch over and monitor these materials. The materials are generally store in PEL premises. Material requirement for appliances and power good manufacturing are different hence their requisition are also different. PEL uses cash financing and various other credit facility provided by the bank. Raw materials are imported using the different financing facilities. Materials are then use to make finished goods. The materials when enter the production cycle a term as work-in-process (WIP). WIP is hypothecated and loans taken against it. Then a portion of finished goods produced are further pledged and payments for raw materials are made through it. The whole procedure must be carried out in a timely way with correct information reaching at the right time from factory to material section, so that materials may be requested and obtained at the right time without delay. 3.1.2.2 Hypothecation Of Stock In this the finance is given on work in process goods. 3.1.3 Budgeting Section Getting started from the first day after formal introduction of staff, MR. Masood Tahir, Manager Finance PEL assigned task to Mr. Amer Khawaja (Manager Budgeting) and Sheikh Zaigham Ali (Finance Executive) Finance Budgeting section of my supervision. Forecasting for next year He told me management prepared Sales plan Production plan Material purchase plan Direct labor F.O.H ( factory overhead) Selling expense /administrative expense Other income Financial cost Mr. Zaigham told me PEL has two Divisions 1st Power Division, which deals in the manufacturing of Distribution Transformers Power Transformer Power Project Electric meters Switch gears 2nd Appliances Division includes production of Refrigerators, Deep freezer, Micro-wave Ovens, Splits AC. Trading items (Imported goods) water dispensor, washing machine, window AC, T .V, Generator. Sales Plan Sales plan made by marketing department for appliance and power division. Forecasting Base on last five year sales which is approved by marketing G.M. Types of Sales Export sales ( Afghanistan , India) C.M.D ( Consumer marketing department e.g Govt employees ) Corporate sales ( Institutional e.g hospitals , colleges etc ) Private sales ( for bankers , G.M reference 50% discount ) Metro / Makro sales Production Plan Production plan made model wise for refrigerator, split AC, microwave oven and deep freezer. Material Purchase Plan For material purchase PEL open L/C. Direct Labour: Decide labor quantity required. Labor rate decided. Other Income Scrap sales B pair goods Financial Cost mark -up on borrowing demrage cost ( pay extra amount after exceeding the shipment days ) The beginning of every year with the help of forecasts and then latterly throughout the year they compare it with the actual transactions of these two divisions. I did Afterwards, he showed me the budgets of both divisions which are prepared at some price and cost calculations of Transformers for him and I also did different ratio analysis based on last year results. Then, I was assigned to compare the production budget of refrigerator section of the production department with the actual results yet achieved which I performed and show to him the variances till date. 3.2 Problems Encountered There was no such problem but at same time it was very confusing because they mostly prefer to tell orally rather to practical work that make us ambiguous in some manner when we want to learn more and more. 3.3 Accomplishment we were keen to know about different section of finance department specially in LC opening (letter of credit) how to get loan from banks and why made pledges. We frequently analyses the Lc. 3.4 How Experience Impact On My Career During my internship I learned lot of knowledge that is helpful in my future planning and future career. I learned how to interact with senior management and get their experience that is helpful in my career. Due to my internship habit of regularity and punctuality. 3.5 Knowledge Acquired I had chance of acquiring a lot of new knowledge because it was my first professional experience of working real world of financial brainstorming. It was great experience that how plans and decisions are made executed. It elaborate that how risk involve in each step of decision making and how efficiently management cope up themselves with their competenciese. Conclusion In the nutshell, I want to bring some new idea that PEL should initiate some social benefit programs and try build their Goodwill by participating in the society. I found that the people while purchasing for a certain item take great i