Unilever Vs Nestle free essay sample

Today we live in a global economy in which the time taken for people to move between continents has been significantly reduced and in which Internet and other connections make instant connections possible. Businesses and organisations now have to recognise that they now operate in a global market place and to develop appropriate strategies. A global strategy is an organisational plan that takes into account these new global realities. Both Nestle and Unilever have developed global distribution and marketing networks, based on their powerbrands i. . market leading brands that are recognisable in nearly every country in the world. Both Nestle and Unilever have many powerbrands. Key aspects of global strategy include: 1. Treating the global market as the domestic market, in terms of attention to detail, without being complacent or ingnorant. 2. Creating a global marketing mix, recognizing regional and national differences, such as differences in language and tastes. 3. Creating global p roduction and distribution systems, e. We will write a custom essay sample on Unilever Vs Nestle or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page g. superfactories covering major areas of the world. Concentrating on powerbrands the most successful brands and products. Because the global market is so large there are substantial benefits to be gained from economies of large scale production, marketing and distribution. Rather than producing thousands of different products it makes sense to narrow down the range to a much smaller number in order to support these brands across the globe. Unilever Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of consumer goods, including household favorites such as Persil, Knorr, Hellmann’s, Lipton, and Dove. To keep up with consumer needs and increase operating margins, Unilever wanted to consolidate its 1600 brands to 400. By consolidating its brands, Unilever plans to focus on stronger product innovations, strengthening marketing efforts, building a world-class supply chain, and simplifying business processes. Dubbed Unilever’s Path to Growth strategy, the company has already saved â‚ ¬1. 6 billion from global procurement efficiencies. Maintaining 1,600 brands across the world was very difficult for Unilever to control. Unilever had a decentralized IT infrastructure which lacked the integration needed for a truly efficient global company. To reach its Path to Growth goals, employees at Unilever needed fast, easy access to information on both a regional and global basis. To get to this point, the IT department launched the Unilever Information Program (UIP) to develop an infrastructure to support the Path to Growth strategy. One of the greatest priorities for the UIP was to find a quick data integration solution to allow user access to any number of data sources for in-depth analysis. The UIP provided Unilever with the following ; †¢Better understand consumer needs and plan with its key global customers †¢Monitor the health of its top 400 power brands and competitors †¢Identify how to improve and streamline supply chain management worldwide †¢Provide business intelligence (BI) and financial reporting on a global basis By using the UIP Unilever are strengthening their relationships with retail customers. They will also be outsourcing transactional operations in IT, finance and human resources so that they can focus on growing global brands. Unilever has deep roots in local cultures and markets around the world that gives them a strong relationship with customers and is the foundation for their future growth strategy. They plan to bring their wealth of knowledge and international expertise to the service of local consumers. They view themselves as a truly multi-local multinational. Unilever’s future strategy is as follows; â€Å"We aim to build a winning portfolio by extending our leadership positions and our presence in high growth spaces. We are improving our core capabilities. Bringing all this ogether as ‘One Unilever’ will ensure that we capitalise on both our local roots and global scale. † This implies that they are trying to become a fully integrated company with the use of their UIP system and then apply their international experience and knowledge in local markets. Nestle With such an enormous product portfolio, Nestle uses six umbrella brands: Nestle, which accounts for 40 percent of the business, Purina pet foods, Maggi, Nescafe, Nestea, and Buitoni. Nestle uses a regional strategy, which is in turn the starting point for local market business strategies. To understand Nestles strategy of cost-efficient global growth, unwrap a Kit Kat. Nestle acquired the chocolate-covered wafer bar in 1988 when it bought Britains Rowntree. Today its a $1 billion business and the company is pushing Kit Kat as its answer to the Mars bar, the worlds most popular chocolate. Last year Nestle started producing Kit Kats in Russia and Bulgaria for Eastern Europe. A Latin American launch is planned this year. Kit Kat is already selling briskly in Japan, Australia and India, and a re-launch is under way in Thailand. Unlike Coca-Colas, Kit Kats formula is different almost everywhere. A Russian Kit Kat is a fraction of an ounce smaller than a Bulgarian one, and the chocolate is coarser and not as sweet as that in a German Kit Kat. In Japan, strawberry-flavored Kit Kat is all the rage. Each of these product variations is the result of thorough market research on local tastes. There is no global consumer for the food-and-beverage business. This is a deep belief we have, says Brabeck. For all Nestles global reach, Brabeck dismisses the idea of global brands. We believe there is no such thing as a global consumer, especially in a sector as psychologically and culturally loaded as food. As a result, Nestle retains its brand strength by using local brands, such as Rolo in the U. K. or the Rossyia confectionary range in Russia. Moreover, product formulations also vary from market to market to reflect local tastes. Every single day, billions of customers have to make the choice to pick our [products], he says. This means having a local character. For this reason, he dismisses the notion of global advertising. Yes, we tried once to make a global Nescafe campaign. On paper it was efficient, but it was a flop. Either they are not relevant or they are offensive. Nestle uses a differentiated marketing strategy customizing their products specifically for local tastes. This has proved very successful for them and they look to continue this strategy. Conclusion Unilever is using a slightly adapted global strategy. They have global powerbrands which are mostly unaltered from country to country. They are focused on integrating their company and becoming more efficient. Nestle however is using a full differentiated strategy with products fully adapted to each countries local market. In theory this is a far superior strategy but the main difference between the two companies is their product categories. Nestle is heavily involved in the food category while Unilever is primarily involved in the hygiene, cleaning and personal care category. Does this mean that Unilever’s products can afford to be less adapted than Nestle’s? I don’t think so. I believe that Nestle has a far superior strategy and will gain a significant competitive advantage from their strategy in the future.

Twycross Essays

Twycross Essays Twycross Essay Twycross Essay In an constitution such as Twycross, wellness and safety is jurisprudence they must adhere to with a really rigorous policy. Both the wellness and safety of the animate beings, staff and the public must be taken into consideration, within the menagerie there are many possible risky state of affairss that could originate, and in order to avoid these safeguards must be taken. Located around the menagerie you will happen many different marks and informational postings, these marks are to convey cautiousness to the populace and staff of possible jobs which may happen. For illustration they have marks saying to non mount over or tilt on walls as this could take to brushs with the animate beings. Situations such as people acquiring bitten or members of the public falling into the enclosures are avoided by utilizing different methods, for illustration they use fosses to forestall animate beings from being able to leap out/escape. They besides use toughened Perspex screens on their enclosures so the animate beings ca nt get away and people ca nt travel in ; which avoids many jobs from happening. The possibility of bacteriums distributing and doing unwellnesss the menagerie places tonss of different points in easy to entree topographic points to rinse their custodies and halt bacterium from distributing. In all concerns risk appraisals are used to foretell and put restrictions on jeopardies in that environment. In order to put up a concern the concern has to look and hazard, and measure it. Twycross has to transport out varied hazard appraisals, so they can avoid anything go oning to staff or visitants. They will besides measure animate beings and put them in classs changing from one to three. The staff besides has to undergo hazard appraisals, they have to do certain that all hazards that could potentially happen are under supervising, and that all steps have been taken in order to avoid these from happening at any clip. Staff use the likeliness and jeopardy evaluation to analyze the hazard s of peculiar jeopardy happening. The menagerie uses evaluations from one to five which analysed by jeopardies evaluation. Hazard appraisals are carried out besides, seting each animate being into classs, they have to integrate factors such as how unsafe the animate beings are. Category one animate beings are the most unsafe and as you go up the Numberss the less unsafe the animate beings are perceived to be. If a fire was to happen within the menagerie evidences, means that the staff will hold to guarantee that the animate beings are inside their enclosures and all the public and staff are all helped to the designated countries around the menagerie. Animals may potentially be able to get away, the staff will hold to do certain that is avoided as the populace and animate beings may be harmed, they have to transport out serious safety safeguards cheques such a such as kid locks are on, and that the fire is taken out safely and every bit speedy as possible. First aiders will leap into action if anyone is hurt. The menagerie has regular fire drills in order to maintain the staff good prepared in any potentially fires. The kite grade is the symbol that gives consumers the confidence that merchandise they have bought truly does conform to the appropriate British criterions and should hence be safe and dependable. The grade of the kite stands for the service of good quality and really good safety. This grade assures that the merchandise is good ; this grade stands there to state the populace that is a secure and genuinely sure point.

The History and Invention of Peanut Butter

The History and Invention of Peanut Butter It’s one of the country’s favorite things to spread over bread. We dip celery sticks in it. It’s often baked into cookies and countless deserts. I’m talking about peanut butter and as a whole Americans consume tons of the pulverized pea about a billion pounds worth each year. That’s roughly $800 spent annually and  a booming increase from the roughly two million  pounds produced at the turn of the 20th century. Peanuts were first cultivated as food in South America and natives in the region began turning them into grounded up paste roughly 3,000 years ago. The kind of peanut butter that the Incas and Aztecs made was of course much different from the manufactured stuff sold in grocery stores today. The more modern story of peanut butter actually began towards the end of the 19th century, not too long after farmers began mass commercializing the crop that was suddenly in demand after the civil war. A Nutty Controversy So who invented peanut butter? Its hard to say. In fact, there appears to be some disagreement among food historians over who deserves the honor. One historian, Eleanor Rosakranse, says a woman from New York named Rose Davis started making peanut butter as early as the 1840’s after her son reported seeing women in Cuba grinding peanuts into a pulp and smearing it onto bread.      Ã‚   Then there are some who think the credit should go to Marcellus Gilmore Edson, a Canadian chemist who in 1884 filed and was granted the first patent in the United States for what he called â€Å"peanut-candy.† Conceived as a kind of flavoring paste, the process described running roasted peanuts through a heated mill to produce a fluid or semi-fluid byproduct that cools into a consistency like that of butter, lard, or ointment. However, there wasn’t any indication that Edson made or sold peanut butter as a commercial product. A case can also be made for a St. Louis businessman named George A. Bayle, who began packaging and selling peanut butter through his food manufacturing company. It’s believed that the idea was born out of a collaboration with a doctor who had been seeking a way for his patients who were unable to chew meat to ingest protein. Bayle also ran advertisements in the early 1920’s proclaiming his company to be the â€Å"Original Manufacturers of Peanut Butter.† Cans of Bayle’s Peanut Butter came with labels touting this claim as well. Dr. John Harvey Kellogg It isn’t difficult to find those who dispute this claim as many have argued that the honor should go to none other than the influential Seventh-day Adventist Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. Indeed, the National Peanut Board states that Kellogg received a patent in 1896 for a technique he developed for making peanut butter. There’s also an 1897 advertisement for Kellogg’s Sanitas company Nut Butters that pre-dates all other competitors. More importantly, though, Kellogg was a tireless promoter of peanut butter. He travelled extensively throughout the country giving lectures on its benefits of to health. Kellogg even served peanut butter to his patients at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, a health resort with treatment programs supported by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The one big knock on Kellogg’s claim as the father of modern day peanut butter is that his disastrous decision to switch from roasted nuts to steamed nuts resulted in a product that barely resembled the ubiquitous jarred goodness found on store shelves today. Kellogg also  in an indirect way played a part in the production of peanut butter reaching a mass scale. John Lambert, an employee of Kellogg’s who was involved in the nut butter business, eventually left in 1896 and founded a company to develop and manufacture industrial strength peanut-grinding machines. He would soon have competition as another machine manufacturer, Ambrose Straub, was granted a patent for one of the earliest peanut butter machines in 1903. The machines made the process easier as making peanut butter had been quite tedious. Peanuts were first grounded using a mortar and pestle before being put through a meat grinder. Even then, it was hard to achieve the desired consistency.    Peanut Butter Goes Global In 1904, peanut butter was introduced to the wider public at the World’s Fair in St. Louis. According to the book â€Å"Creamy and Crunchy: An Informal History of Peanut Butter, the All-American Food,† a concessionaire named C.H. Sumner was the only vendor to sell peanut butter. Using one of Ambrose Straub’s peanut butter machines, Sumner sold $705.11 worth of peanut butter. That same year, the Beech-Nut Packing Company became the first nationwide brand to market peanut butter and continued to distribute the product until 1956. Other notable early brands to follow suit were the Heinz company, which entered the market in 1909 and the Krema Nut Company, an Ohio-based operation that survives to this day as the world’s oldest peanut butter company. Soon more and more companies would start selling peanut butter as a disastrous mass invasion of boll weevils ravaged the south, destroying much of cotton crop yields that had long been a staple of the region’s farmers. Thus the food industry’s growing interest in peanut was fueled in part by many farmers turning to peanuts as a replacement. Even as demand for peanut butter grew, it was primarily being sold as a regional product. In fact, Krema founder Benton Black once proudly boasted â€Å"I refuse to sell outside Ohio.† While it may sound today like a bad way of doing business, it made sense at the time as grounded peanut butter was unstable and best distributed locally. The problem was that, as the oil separated from the peanut butter solids, it would rise to the top and quickly spoil with exposure to light and oxygen.                All that changed in the 1920’s when a businessman named Joseph Rosefield patented a process called â€Å"Peanut butter and process of manufacturing the same,† which describes how hydrogenation of peanut oil can be used to keep the peanut butter from coming apart. Rosefield began licensing the patent to food  companies  before he decided to go off on his own and launch his own brand. Rosefields Skippy peanut butter, along with Peter Pan and Jif, would go on to become the most successful and recognizable names in the business.

How will electronics fit into your professional life Assignment

How will electronics fit into your professional life - Assignment Example It is amazing to how electronics have changed for the past ten years (Aubusson, Schuck & Burden, 2009). New technologies are coming up each day making my professional life more exciting and easier. Various professions are in need of constant communications. Mobile devices such as smart phones have made communication possible. My devices have made it possible to communicate with colleagues, friends and other professionals. Social media and electronic communication have developed new ways of extending and promoting working life. From blackberry phones to iPhone, technology continues to change after day (Aubusson, Schuck & Burden, 2009). We are aware that new technologies are emerging as a result of innovation that is in various parts of the world. We all depend on technology and utilize it to accomplish certain tasks in the day to day activities. Technology is being initiated and implemented in all circles of life (Eschenbrenner & Nah, 2007). They are everywhere, in our offices, hospital, transport system and the other spheres of life. It is indeed true that we can’t perform well in the absence of technology. Technology has become a priority in many companies and organization. It is, therefore, important for us to learn how to utilize the various technological devices at our disposal. As the world continued to develop, it is of essences to be updated with new technology since technology keep on varying. In the business, for example, technology is important in saving and withdrawing money. The use of technology in business has resulted in extensive benefits yet fewer human resources are in the process. Technology has also been of the essence in storage of the day to day information. Some of this information are vital and is often protected by the same device. Unlike in the past when communication was done by sending letters and waiting for the postal services to deliver and retrieve information, current technology has made it easier for professional to

Information and Communication Technologies in Virgin Atlantic Essay

Information and Communication Technologies in Virgin Atlantic - Essay Example With emphasis on the airline industry, the emergence of internet and the subsequent development of extranets and intranets forced airlines to rethink their strategies on technological innovation and enhance their competitiveness in their market niche. The internet has proved a source of opportunity to tackle distribution costs and reengineer the structure of the airline industry (Alamdari and Mason, 2006:123). These technological innovations seek to monitor a wide range of business processes in the airlines, as well as identifying ways of improving these processes. This report examines the implementation of the online ticket booking by Virgin Atlantic Airways to achieve cost reduction and competitive advantage objectives. The report works on the assumption that the previous booking systems had flaws in efficiency and effectiveness, thus the company sort to redesign the booking process to attain some competitive edge against its competitors and increase its effectiveness and efficienc y in general (Olugbenga, 2006). Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited Virgin Atlantic Airways Limited, famously as simply Virgin Atlantic, is a British airline headquartered in West Sussex, England. The airline, founded in 1984, has become the second largest carrier in Britain serving the major cities in the world. Currently based in Manchester airport, Heathrow airports, and Gatwick in London, the airline operates long-haul services to more than thirty destinations worldwide, as far apart as Shanghai and Las Vegas. Virgin Atlantic enjoys huge popularity, receiving top business, trade, and consumer awards worldwide. The airline has credit for pioneering a range of innovations and setting new service standards, with its competitors seeking to follow the same... This essay stresses that for Virgin Atlantic to achieve competitive advantage in the airline industry, it needs to develop and implement innovative strategies to improve the sale of ticket, as this forms the primary source of income. The company may integrate ICT tools to achieve this, including developing an efficient booking system incorporated into the official website of the company. This paper makes a conclusion that ICT may support all business functions, thus integral in the efficient operation of the entire travel industry. ICT provides tools for searching for profitable and meaningful niche market segments and identify value added components for the services and products, as well as differentiate these services and products through special media to market segments. Flexibility and cost effectiveness are among the products of ICT in this process, as they are integral in cost efficiency maximization and cost reduction. The impact of ICT on the airlines industry is persuasive, as information forms the core foundation of the daily operations and the strategic management of organizations. This is evident from the implementation of Virgin Atlantic online ticket booking. The online service has significantly improved the services of the company in all levels of management. Subsequently, there has improvement in tickets sales, with increased efficiency and effectiven ess. At the strategic level, airlines must continuously assess all the external elements of the environment, as well as customers’ needs and competitors, and subsequently adapt to them to enhance their competitiveness

Economic Changes to the Welfare State

Economic Changes to the Welfare State Write a 2000 words essay describing the economic aftermath of the Welfare state in the last century I. Introduction A welfare state is broadly defined as a state in which the government/the public sector undertakes key roles in the production and distribution of economic activities with the objective of protecting and promoting the economic and social well-being of its citizens. A welfare state is essentially a mixed economy type of economic system where the government undertakes a greater proportion of economic activities. This essay describes the economic aftermath of the welfare state in the last century. The essay is organised as follows. Section II focuses on the theoretical foundations of the welfare state, while Section III concentrates on the economic aftermath of the welfare state. Section IV finally concludes the essay. II. Theoretical Foundations of the Welfare State The theoretical foundations described in this essay are from; (a) classical economics, (b) Keynesian economics, (c) Suzumura (1999), (d) Barr (1992), and (e) Heath (2011) Classical economics The classical economists including Adam Smith favoured a minimal role for the public sector. Their preference was for a limited role for the government in the provision of essential public works, the maintenance of law and order, and the defence of the country. They believe that the government’s role is to provide these core activities to provide an enabling environment for the market/private sector to undertake economic activities for economic growth. Keynesian economics Keynesian economics was used to justify an expansion in the economic role of the public sector. Keynesian economics created pressures on the government to stabilise the economy by helping to sustain the disposable income of individuals during cyclical fluctuations. Suzumura (1999) argues that welfare economics plays critical roles in enhancing human well-being and in the design and implementation of welfare state policies. Welfare economics is a normative concept and in general takes account of both efficiency and equity. On equity grounds, society may prefer an inefficient resource allocation for reasons for equity justice and this provides a justification for government intervention in the economy. Suzumura argues that the enlarged concept of welfare economics to incorporate equity justice has also extended the concept of well-being to incorporate/capture the basic considerations as liberty, opportunity and procedural justice and that this widening of the concept of well-being should reflect itself properly in the concept and agenda of the welfare state. Based on this conceptual framework, Suzumura then employs Amartya Sen’s concepts of functions and capabilities as vehicles to examine an individual’s advantages in the welfare s tate. To Suzumura the welfare state consists of one main system of competitive mechanism and three subsystems of (i) the competitive policy subsystem, (ii) the co-ordination policy subsystem, and (iii) the social security subsystem. Suzumura concludes that the task of the welfare economics in the welfare state is to deliberately design the main system and the three subsystems of the welfare state so that the whole system becomes incentive compatible to make it work effectively to maximise the well-being of the individuals in the society in terms of liberty, opportunity and procedural justice. Barr (1992) provides another theoretical foundation of the welfare state. Barr’s thesis and his contribution is on information problems for an efficiency case for various types of state intervention. He identifies two broad types of imperfect information problems leading to market failure in dealing with risks as adverse selection and moral hazard. The insurance industry was the focus of Barr’s analysis. Adverse selection results from asymmetric information between buyers and sellers of insurance, with buyers having more information than sellers and thus making it difficult to establish the ideal price for each individual. These characteristics of adverse selection cause the problems of (i) unstable pooling equilibrium because low risks drop out or because of competitive behaviour by insurers, and (ii) inefficient separating equilibrium, if it exists. Thus, in the face of adverse selection, the market is inefficient, or fails entirely and the state intervenes by making membership compulsory with social insurance as a typical example. Heath (2011) identifies the three normative models as redistributive, communitarian and public economics. The redistributive model describes the redistribution of resources to ensure that the outcomes produced by the market economy are less unequal.. The underlying assumption under the redistributive model is that the market is to maximise efficiency while the state promotes equity through redistribution by allocating initial endowments and adjusting final outcomes. The communitarian model considers the imposition of moral limits on the scope of the market so as to resist the commodification of certain domain of interaction. It is argued under this model that basic human needs should be satisfied through communal provision in which everyone is guaranteed a share rather than through commodification. The public economics model regards the state as correcting market failure, either through regulation, subsidisation and taxation, or the direct provision of goods and services. This model is referred to as the economic model because of the emphasis put on Pareto efficiency and the narrow conception of public goods based on Samuelson’s definition. Under the public economics model, market failure allows for the intervention of the state in economic activities. III. Economic Aftermath of the Welfare State The economic measure of welfare state activities is given by the proportion of public expenditure/spending to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), that is, as a share of GDP. Gwartney, Holcombe and Lawson (1998) argue that even after providing for a generous definition of the concept of core functions to include (i) the protection of persons and property, (ii) expenditures on national security, (iii) expenditure on education, (iv) expenditure on physical infrastructure, and (v) the operational costs of the central bank to maintain a stable monetary regime; the share of the expenditures on core functions for most developed countries did not exceed 15% of GDP up to 1996. Meanwhile as at 1996, the share of government expenditure as a percentage of GDP was above 45% in most developed countries. The authors argue that this higher percentage above the required percentage for the core functions exerted a negative impact on the economy in terms of slower economic growth. Their findings indicate that a 10% increase in government expenditure as a share of GDP results in approximately 1% reduction in GDP growth. The authors assigned the following reasons for this ou tcome; (i) higher taxes/and or additional borrowing to finance government expenditures impose excess burden on the economy, (ii) as government grows, its productivity declines. This is characterised by the following trajectory – expenditure on core functions increases productivity but expenditure exceeding the core functions leads to diminishing returns and more and more expenditure eventually produces negative returns which leads to productivity declines, (iii) the political process accompanying increased public expenditure inhibits the entrepreneurship that drives economic growth through the discovery process. It is argued that as entrepreneurs discover new and improved technologies, better methods of production and opportunities that were previously overlooked, they are able to combine resources into goods and services that create wealth and economic growth, and (iv) the growth in government expenditure was characterised by heavy involvement in redistribution of income and regulatory activities that encouraged individuals to seek personal income via government favours rather than through production in exchange for income. Eventually resources are shifted from wealth creating activities toward the pursuit of wealth transfer which retards economic growth and generate income levels well below the economy’s potential. Tanzi and Schuknecht (1998) argue that from the late 19th century to early 20th century total government expenditure was less than 12% of GDP with expenditure covering the core functions. In the 1920s, the average total expenditure increased to nearly 20% of GDP. In 1937 public spending went up to an average of 23% of GDP resulting from the effects of the Great Depression. Between 1960 and 1980, there was a rapid increase in public spending from around 28% of GDP around 1960 to 43% of GDP in 1980. They further argue that the increased public expenditure/spending reflecting welfare state activities produced the following effects; (i) growing public spending and debt, (ii) rising real interest, (iii) slower growth, (iv) less attractive investment destination by international investors, even under growing globalisation, growing competition and capital mobility, (v) disincentive effects caused by higher taxation, and (vi) large-scale redistributive expenditures with negative impact on gr owth, employment and welfare. The authors’ table 6 (page 83) provides a comparative analysis on the size of government and economic performance as at 1990 between big governments and small governments. Big governments are equated to states with higher government expenditure, that is, with GDP shares exceeding 40% while small governments show government expenditures of less than 40% of GDP. The main findings were based on the following indicators of economic performance; (i) real GDP growth, (ii) Gross fixed capital formation (in percent of GDP), (iii) inflation (1986-1994), (iv) public debt (in percent of GDP), (v) economic freedom indicator, (vi) size of shadow economy (in percent of GDP), (vii) PPP-based per capita GNP (in US$), and (viii) standard deviation of GDP growth. The summary findings were as follows; (a) real GDP growth over a longer period lower in big government countries and that could account for growing unemployment experienced in welfare states with big gove rnments, (b) GDP per capita based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) much higher in countries with small governments, (c) based on the ratio of the standard deviation and the average growth rate (the coefficient of variation), there was no evidence that higher public spending leads to more stable growth (i.e no evidence that welfare states exhibited more stable growth rates). This indicator was to provide evidence on one of the main justifications of Keynesian economics that growing public spending is needed for a stabilisation policy to reduce fluctuations in growth over the business cycle, (d) gross fixed capital formation and inflation did not show much difference across groups of countries (i.e both big and small governments recorded almost the same rates), (e) public debt averages almost 80% of GDP in countries with big governments in 1990 – leading to the payment of considerable risk premiums on public debt obligations (higher real interest rates), (f) economic freedom in countries with big governments worse than countries with small governments, and (g) a strong correlation between spending by governments (and corresponding taxes) and the size of the shadow economy (almost 18% of GDP for big governments compared with 9.4% foe small governments in 1996). The authors recommend that fiscal reforms and lower public spending are needed in many countries with big governments in order to increase economic growth without sacrificing much social and economic well-being. IV. Conclusion In the current globalised world where technology is making major strides, the role of the state should be significantly different from the role played to the end of last century. The economic aftermath of the welfare state in the last century indicates that to increase economic growth, the state should now play a more significant and intelligent regulatory role of providing a level playing field which allows the private sector to expand to areas traditionally undertaken by the state. The role of the state in income redistribution and in providing safety nets is very important but needs reassessment by policymakers. Targeted coverage and not universal coverage is what is needed and with the concept of redistribution narrowly defined to avoid many inefficient policies pursued under the justification of redistributing income. REFERENCES Barr, Nicholas, â€Å"Economic Theory and the Welfare State: A Survey and Interpretation†, Journal of Economic Literature, Vol. 30, No. 2 (Jun. 1992); pp 741-803 Gwartney, James, Holcombe, Randell, and Lawson, Robert, â€Å"The Scope of Government and the Wealth of Nations†, Cato Journal Vol. 18, No. 2 (Fall 1998); pp 163-190 Heath, Joseph, â€Å"Three Normative Models of the Welfare State†, Public Reason, 3 (2), 2011; pp 13-43 Suzumura, Kotaro, â€Å"Welfare Economics and the Welfare State†, Review of Population and Social Policy, No. 8, (1999); pp 119-138 Tanzi, Vito and Schuknecht, Ludger, â€Å"Can Small Governments Secure Economic and Social Well-being?† Fraser Institute, 1998 YAW BEDIAKO

A Lesson Before Dying Essay

â€Å"A Lesson Before Dying† takes place in a small Louisiana Cajun community in the late 1940’s. In the novel, Jefferson, a young black man, is an unwitting party to a liquor store shoot out in which three men are killed; being the only survivor, he is convicted of a murder and sentenced to death. To portray this novel Gaines displays respectable literary devices like setting, tone, and characterization; therefore helping I as the reader feel the emotions of Jefferson from his point of view. In the initial setting of the novel, Jefferson sits in a courtroom located in rural Louisiana, which is filled with anger, tension, isolation, and quietness from the people in the room. This setting of the book supports Jefferson’s personality in chapter nine when Jefferson’s character is introduced. Jefferson’s cell could be considered the second setting or Jefferson’s setting in the book. Jefferson’s relationship to the courtroom (initial setting) supports Jefferson’s personality in the prison. He is isolated just like in the courtroom. â€Å"There was an empty cell between Jefferson and the rest of the prisoners† (Gaines 71). Jefferson’s cell was not only isolated like a courtroom in rural Louisiana, but quiet. â€Å"Jefferson’s been quiet . . . He didn’t answer† (Gaines 71). Due to Jefferson’s isolation and quietness, he has built anger inside. An anger which had been building up since the courtroom conviction. â€Å"Nothing don’t matter,† he said looking up at the ceiling. The first setting of the novel is similar to Jefferson’s cell setting. The three settings: The courtrooms, location and time era of the town, and prison all have similarities to Jefferson’s character traits. The court trial scene embodies everything that is contained within the novel. All events that occur throughout the entire novel are a repercussion of Jefferson’s court case. These circumstances set up the tone that is simply perceived throughout the novel. Gaines tone in the novel shifts as the novel progresses. Gaines made the novel begin with a pessimism view; everything seemed awful and negative especially the court trial. Gaines shows us this disgust tone by telling us the details of the jury members. The twelve â€Å"white† jury members of the case shows us that Jefferson felt dominated by the whites. As the novel goes on Gaines tone shifts and Jefferson seems more aware and confident, the anger and disgust diminishes the longer Jefferson sits in jail. The twelve white jury members were also Gaines way of showing the dominance, and power of the whites during this ime, only thinking that blacks are only good for working, and is incapable of thinking for themselves†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Do you see a modicum of intelligence? A trait inherited from his ancestors in the deepest jungle of blackest Africa†¦ What you see here is a thing that acts on command. â€Å"(Gaines7). Understanding this time era is important for the tone, and Gaines gives good examples representing the era to the tone. Gaines’s style is unique because the figurative language that he uses improves the reader’s mental picture. For example, when Gaines was describing Miss Emma at the beginning of the novel he says â€Å"she became as immobile as a great stone or as one of our oak cypress stumps†(Gaines 36). This allowed me as the reader to picture Miss Emma and the condition that she is in with a mental image throughout the entire novel. He also used figurative language while he describes in chapter fourteen the Louisiana Countryside. Gaines told in great detail the cemetery appearance as Grant walked through and then explain the smells and feelings he has while Grant explores the Sugar Cane Planation with Vivian. The literary devices were greatly put to use by Gaines to explain, and portray his novel to any reader. He has made a novel enjoyable for an audience that may not like reading due to his sarcasm (tone), and figurative language to set up numerous scenes. The settings are a main building block for this novel because the court room and the jail cell is when the story line is put together. Each trial, and everyday described by Gaines about Jefferson in jail puts the novel together into one amazing novel that I will be sure to recommend. A Lesson Before Dying Essay The economic downturn of the past several years has been devastating to local economies and, by extension, their local law enforcement agencies. According to a report by the National Institute of Justice, the United States is currently experiencing the 10th economic decline since World War II (Wiseman 2011). The impact of this downturn will result in a change of how law enforcement services are delivered. As has been discussed by the COPS Office Director, Bernard Melekian, in a series of recent articles published in the Community Policing Dispatch, expectations will not be lowered just because an agency now has fewer officers, or because the budget is limited. Simply doing less while waiting for local budgets to recover to pre-2008 levels is not a viable option. Law enforcement leaders are faced with budget contractions that are in need to identified in different ways to deliver police services and, perhaps more importantly, articulate what the new public safety models will look like to their communities (Melekian 2011a). The effects of the economic downturn on law enforcement agencies may be felt for the next 5–10 years, or worse, permanently. These changes could be permanently driven not just by the economy, but by local government officials who determined that allocating 30–50 percent of their general fund budgets for public safety costs is no longer a fiscal possibility (Melekian 2011b). While it appears that the economy is beginning to recover on the national level, most economists agree that local jurisdictions are still in decline and will continue to be so, at least in the short term. Due to the decline of tax revenues because of Foreclosures County and municipal budgets tend lagging behind the general economy, which is one of the main source of funding for local agencies. Agencies are also faced with the budget realities, the current model for service delivery—which has been with us for the last 50 years—is already starting to change, and will be forced to continue to change dramatically and rapidly in the next 3–5 years. Police departments have been one of the affected by the current economic climate. Restricting revenues nationwide have forced local governments to make cuts in spending across the board, which has affected everything to include public safety operating budgets. However, while these budget cuts are threatening law enforcement jobs the responsibility to serve and protect remain. There has been no methodical way of measuring the effect the economic downturn has had on police agencies across our nation. A good example is how Nigeria has been experiencing difficulties in Budget implementation. The objective of the article was to present alternative forms of budgeting and after exposition on them, to recommend one that could mitigate budget implementation problem for Nigeria. Two types of budgeting addressed are incremental and zero-base. Under incremental budgeting, a certain percentage is added or subtracted from previous period’s figures to arrive at new period’s budget. Under zero bases, every program is reevaluated for its merits, as if previous budgets never existed. The starting points are the results hoped to achieve, and every debate about budget implementation is done prior to passage. Zero base budgeting is analogous to marketing concept in terms of information requirement and zeroing in on customized needs. To the extent that zero base budgeting plans, executes and controls, it serves as a management tool. Nigeria’s budgeting has been incremental, overly politicized and not carried out by experts, but merely based on benchmark price and quota of daily oil production. Factors militating against proper budgeting in Nigeria are distortions in fiscal transparency. Budget implementation in Nigeria is a critical problem. Many have blamed our poor socio-economic and infrastructural development on low degree of budget implementation, which is a result of incremental budgeting process. The paper therefore recommends zero based budgeting to Nigeria at all levels (GJSS, 2012). Sometimes inefficiencies result due to poor integration of the finance and strategy. â€Å"Budgeting and performance are typically overseen by the finance department, whereas planning s coordinated by strategy department. Often, the two processes aren’t well integrated, resulting in strategies that are often dictated by the budget process instead of vice versa† (Gary 2003). The reason for this could be that everyone involved may be attempting to accomplish the same goals, but also trying to make sure that the outcome will be beneficial to them, such as a substantial bonus or a reward. A budget cycle refers to the whole process from the commencement of developing a budget to the execution of the final charge on the budget. Since the majority of the budgets are prepared for a one year period, budget cycles cover the costs and expenditures for a period of one year. However, there are budget cycles that run for more than one year period. Government budgets have a budget cycle of at least 18 months from the conception of the various departments’ budgets to the time the appropriation bills are signed into law (Hyde, 2001). The initial steps of the budget cycle take place in the various departments and agencies. The program officers in the various departments compile all information that is necessary in the preparation of the budget. The budget cycle culminates with the president’s budget application to the Congress. This often takes place in February (USDOJ, 2011). A budget refers to a list of premeditated revenues and expenses. It represents a tool for savings and expenditure. A budget can also be defined as an organizational plan that is stated in monetary terms. It is used as a road map for conducting the activities, objectives, assumptions, and strategies of an organization. A budget cycle is comprised of various stages. Budget planning for the new fiscal year marks the first step of the budget cycle, while closing and carry forward activities mark the end of a budget cycle (Hyde, 2001). The steps outlined below are steps of a sample government’s budget cycle: Budget submissions: this entails the submission of the budget plans to the respective Budget Offers in various government departments. The budgets are reviewed and approved. Budget approval: this entails the executive committee approving the budget. The Initial Budget Authorizations are then submitted to the respective supervisors who address the respective cost items. Global Changes: the salaries are adjusted so that they reflect salary increases that are permitted by the Salary Subcommittee and the Human Resources Department. Closing: this entails the closure of the budgets at the end of the fiscal year. Carry forwards: it entails carrying forward all the unspent money to the following fiscal year. This marks the last step in the budget cycle. In most instances, law enforcement management prepares master budget for the coming year. The master budget includes the projected expenses and maintenance which is incorporated in the master budget and other smaller budgets such as training, overtime, marketing, administrative, and departmental budgets. By establishing an operating and financial budget for a future period, management can identify problems in advance. This can be maintained by forecasting for future predictions. A forecast is a reflection of the future. When forecasting is taken into account, two key aspects to consider are cash budgets and expenditure forecast. In most instances, budgets are and should be prepared for a future period such as an oncoming accounting or financial year. They are detailed by quarters or months. Typically, annual budgets are not altered once the year begins. However, budgets should not be rigid so as to prevent timely actions if need arises. Instead, budgets should only act as a guide rather than a restriction. However, there are rare circumstances when an annual budget should be revised such as due to a radical change in the business environment. Budgets are also important for obtaining funding since they portray an organization’s capacity to the lending institutions and financiers. Additionally, budgets are important management tools, they aid in setting milestones that need accountability to achieve, and aid an organization in identifying risks and establishing benchmarks. Thus, budgets facilitate the process of making adjustments to avoid risks, and to measure the benchmarks. Understanding the significance of budgeting marks the first step towards successful financial planning. It plays a significant role in the strategic planning process by an organization. It outlines the future financial goals and needs of an organization such as technological needs, overhead needs, financial requirements, and capital improvements. I have a very strong opinion that budgeting should not be scrapped, rather be modified to meet the current business environment. Organizations would have to restructure compensation programs so that managers no longer have an incentive to favors short-term goals over the longer-term. Budgeting will have to be flexible to be able to be adjusted from time to time to reflect changes in organizational goals and the economic environment. Again, accounting department should be responsible for compiling only budget information; they should not determine the budgeting process. Management, through the planning process should determine the budget, and all departments should be included in the process. Budgeting should be both top down and bottom up; i. e. upper level management and middle level management will both work to finalize a budget. We can streamline the budgeting process by developing a financial model. Financial models can facilitate â€Å"what if† analysis so we can assess decisions before they are made. This can dramatically improve the budgeting process. One of the biggest challenges within financial planning and budgeting is how do we make it value-added. Budgeting requires clear channels of communication, support from upper-level management, participation from various personnel, and predictive characteristics. Budgeting should not strive for accuracy, but should strive to support the decision making process. If we focus too much on accuracy, we will end-up with a budgeting process that incurs time and costs in excess of the benefits derived. The challenge is to make financial planning a value-added activity that helps the organization achieve its strategic goals and objectives. In order for department to compensate for dwindling budget, many law enforcement officer have had to learn how to focus on what can they can sacrifice from their normal lifestyle in order to offset the reduction in available spending. Some of these sacrifices have included families foregoing summer vacations, or shopping in discount stores instead of department stores they are accustomed too. However, today law enforcement agencies are faced with the difficult task of maintaining the same service that their communities expect despite the extreme reduction in available resources. And, in order for them to deliver the same high level of protection and emergency responsiveness that the communities depend on, law enforcement agencies must find new and inventive techniques to address those needs in cost-effective and maintainable way. Agencies must have a good understanding of how budgeting marks the first step towards successful financial planning. Budgeting has a significant role in the strategic planning process by any organization. It provides the framework for future financial goals and the needs of an organization such as technical equipment like laptops, radios, and side arms. It also shows the overhead needs, and departmental financial requirements. It can also outline the costs involved in order to get the resources that are required to meet their financial goals. Developing a budget is an important tool for determining the department’s performance, in motivating the upper-management, other members of staff, and measuring the results towards accomplishing the organization’s financial goal. References Gary, L (2003) Breaking the Budget Impasse. Pg 3, Retrieved September 30, 2013, Idio, U. S. (2012). THE BUDGET AS A MANAGEMENT TOOL: ZERO BASE BUDGETING, PANACEA TO BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION IN NIGERIA. Global Journal of Social Sciences, 11(1), 1-7. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/1036581432? accountid=32521 http://www. cops. usdoj. gov/files/RIC/Publications/e101113406_Economic%20Impact. pdf Melekian, B. , (2011a). Director’s Message. Community Policing Dispatch vol. 4, no. 3. http://cops. usdoj. gov/html/dispatch/03-2011/DirectorMessage. asp. Melekian, B. , (2011b). Director’s Column: July 2011. Community Policing Dispatch vol. 4, no. 7. http://cops. usdoj. gov/html/dispatch/07-2011/DirectorMessage. asp. Wiseman, J. , (2011). Strategic Cutback Management: Law Enforcement Leadership for Lean Times. Research for Practice, Washington, D. C. : U. S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, NCJ 232077.