Sunday, December 29, 2019

Tips on Writing a Patent Application Abstract

The abstract is part of a written patent application. It’s a short summary of your invention, no more than a paragraph, and it appears at the beginning of the application. Think of it as a condensed version of your patent where you can abstract – or take out and focus on – the essence of your invention.   Here are the basic rules for  an abstract from the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Law MPEP 608.01(b), Abstract of the Disclosure: A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification must commence on a separate sheet, preferably following the claims, under the heading Abstract or Abstract of the Disclosure. The abstract in an application filed under 35 U.S.C. 111 may not exceed 150 words in length. The purpose of the abstract is to enable the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and gist of the technical disclosure. Why Is an Abstract Necessary?   Abstracts are used primarily for searching patents. They should be written in a way that makes the invention easily understood by anyone with a background in the field. The reader should be able to quickly get a sense of the nature of the invention so he can decide whether he wants to read the rest of the patent application.   The abstract describes your invention. It says how it can be used, but it does not discuss the scope of your claims, which are  the legal reasons why your idea should be protected by a patent protected, providing it with a legal shield that prevents it from being stolen by others.   Writing Your Abstract Give the page a title, such as Abstract or Abstract of the Specification if you’re applying to the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. Use Abstract of the Disclosure if you’re applying to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.   Explain what your invention is and  tell the reader what it will be used for. Describe the main components of your invention and how they work. Don’t refer to any claims, drawings or other elements that are included in your application. Your abstract is intended to be read on its own so your reader won’t understand any references you make to other parts of your application.   Your abstract  must be 150 words or less. It may take you a couple of tries to fit your summary into this limited space. Read it over a few times to eliminate unnecessary words and jargon. Try to avoid removing articles such as â€Å"a,† â€Å"an† or â€Å"the† because this can make the abstract difficult to read. This information comes from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office or CIPO. The tips would also be helpful for patent applications to the USPTO or World Intellectual Property Organization.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Slavery And The Coming Of The War - 1474 Words

Kenneth Hicks History 1376 Dr. Hopkins Paper Assignment #3 12/6/2015 Slavery and the Coming of the War During the 1850s, slavery had become a topic of great discussion, especially when it came to the organization of new territories, and whether slavery should be allowed or prohibited in these new territories. Some argued that slavery was right, while others though it was not and should be ended, causing fear and anger between the free-states in the North and the Southern Slave states. This would lead to many problems for the nation. These problems not only created a division between the northern and southern states, it caused blood to be spilled and led to beginning of the American Civil War. Within these events, four significant ones created the spark needed to start the Civil War. These events were the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854, Bleeding Kansas, Harper’s Ferry Raid, and the Secession of the South from the Union, which created a division between northern and southern states and made the American Civil War inevitable. The event that started the chain reaction of the American Civil War was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854. This bill was created and implemented by Stephen Douglas, a Democratic Senator out of Illinois, shortly after he steps in after Henry Clay. With the intention of becoming president, Stephen Douglass wanted to organize territory from the Louisiana Purchase, with also building a railroad that would stretch across the Midwest, however, an important questionShow MoreRelatedThe Fate Of Their Country : Politicians, Slavery Extensions, And The Coming Of Civil War1344 Words   |  6 PagesThe author of â€Å"The fate of their Country: Politicians, Slavery Extensions, and the coming of Civil War†, Michael F. Holt has several very good points about the reasons why the Civil War happened. Now I am going to explain why he thinks that slavery is the main issue of the conflict between the North and South. Why did Texas have such a pivotal role in the struggle between states? Why was the Wilmot Proviso politically dangerous? What occurred in Kansas and why did things go do wrong? And what isRead MoreAnalyze the Ways in Which Controversy over the Extension of Slavery Into Western Territories Contributed to the Coming of the Civil War. Confine Your Answer to the Period 1845-1861.691 Words   |  3 Pagesstates. As a result of the Mexican War, the U.S. men vast new land holdings in the West, fueling a debate between the North and South over the extensions of slavery into the West. This sectional strife over slavery’s extension was a major factor in the eventual commencement of the Civil War. Through accentuating divisions between the North and South over the control of Western lands, the debate over slavery’s extension clearly influenced the Civil War’s coming. After the U.S. secured vast newRead MoreJohn Brown And The Civil War1719 Words   |  7 PagesAbraham Lincoln, with their own niche roles contributed greatly to the coming and the inevitability of the Civil War. Lincoln being chief among these people in respects to importance to the coming of the Civil War was a huge catalyst to the civil war through his election to presidency without the votes of a single southern state, and his debates with Stephen Douglas. Douglas was another large part of the fruition of the Civil War through his Compromise of 1850, and the Douglas-Lincoln debates whichRead MoreWhy Was The Civil War Caused?845 Words   |  4 PagesWhy was the civil war caused? The northern and the southern sections of the United States were developed among different lines. The south was predominantly arraign and the north was more industrialized. With that being said issues came about with taxes, tariffs, and internal improvements, this also included states’ rights going against federal rights. The civil war was between the northern and the southern states. The northern states didn’t to much have slaves, but the south had slaves and wantedRead More`` Apostles Of Disunion : Southern Secession Commissioners And The Cause Of The Civil War `` Essay1187 Words   |  5 PagesDisunion: Southern Secession Commissioners and the Causes of the Civil War,† Charles B. Dew analyzes the public letters and speeches of white, southern commissioners in order to prove that the Civil War was fought over slavery. By analyzing the public letters and speeches of the commissioners, Dew offers a compelling argument proving that slavery along with the ideology of white supremacy were primary causes of the Civil War. Dew is not only the Ephraim Williams Professor of American History at WilliamsRead MoreThe Civil War981 Words   |  4 PagesCivil War Paper Jennifer Ayala HIS/115 October 21, 2012 Kathy Buhe Civil War Paper The mid-19th century is a historic period in the history of the United States, one that shaped the nation we now know. In the year 1861, the tension that had long been brewing between the north and south exploded and led the nation to war. The catalyst was Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the presidential election. As an anti-slavery Republican, the southern states feared his agenda and chose to secede from theRead MoreThe Outbreak Of The Civil War1047 Words   |  5 Pagesthe Civil War Trenton Miller The Civil War was a battle for freedom of the people and helped the United States write what was called the constitution. The Civil War was a long and tiring war. There are not many reasons of why there was a war, but the few reasons that there was were the most important in history today.The issue that caused problems in the union, was the argument over the future of slavery. That argument led to withdrawing from the union, and withdrawing caused a war. The NorthernRead MoreThe American Abolitionists Book Review Essay1214 Words   |  5 Pages Written by Harrold Stanley, American Abolitionists is a book that scrutinizes the movement of abolishing slavery in the United States. It examines the movement from its origin in the 18century in the course of the Civil War and the elimination of slavery in 1856. American Abolitionists book focuses on the American Abolitionists who struggled to end slavery and advocated for equal rights for all African Americans in the United States. Harrold mainly focuses his book on the abolitionist movementRead MoreThe Civil War Of The United States956 Words   |  4 PagesThe civil war in the United States of America took place between April 12th 1869 and May 9th 1865. Those are worth a lot of reasons that the North went to war with the south the main reason was slavery. Where the North wanted to either get rid of slavery altogether or stop slavery from spreading to the new states coming into America the South wanted to expand slavery. Slavery has been around since the beginning of time, since back in the old Bible days. America was just one of the last remainingRead MoreComing Of The Civil War1265 Words   |  6 PagesComing of the Civil War The Civil War began in April 1861 and ended in April 1865. It was a bloody and brutal war between brothers. The war did not just come about overnight; it was a result of decades of tension in the United States over many different things. Because of different interpretations of the nation s Constitution, the relationship between states and the federal government, as well as between individual states, became strained during the early nineteenth century. The Civil War was a

Friday, December 13, 2019

Defining Financial Terms and Role in Finance Free Essays

Defining Financial Terms and Role in Finance University of Phoenix FIN 370/ Finance for Business November 10, 2010 Defining Financial Terms and Role in Finance The following paragraphs contain financial terms and their role in finance. The terms are finance, efficient market, primary market, secondary market, risk, security, stock, bond, capital, debt, yield, rate of return, return on investment, and cash flow. The fourteen terms all have an important relationship in the world of business. We will write a custom essay sample on Defining Financial Terms and Role in Finance or any similar topic only for you Order Now The first term is finance. Finance is managing money or supplying funds to provide a resource. A bank or loan company is a source of finance because they both provide cash. Cash is the resource that one needs to survive or make a purchase. For instance, when a customer walks into a car dealership and is ready to buy a car, the salesperson draws up the paperwork and two items are in need. The first item is cash and the second is the search for a finance company to finance the car. The role of finance in this example is the customer can provide the cash to make the purchase and the finance company can supply the funds and terms of agreement to help the owner purchase the car. The second term is efficient market. Efficient market is a hypothesis that prices prevail in the market is always fair. Its role in finance according to EMH is no one can make high return without buying riskier investment as market prices are always fair. The third term is primary market. Primary market is when securities, stocks and bonds, are offered to potential investors for the first time.Companies like Verizon or AT amp; T can issue or sell securities directly to an investor. The primary market role in finance is to allow the potential investor to buy from the company and not other investors to increase the stock. The fourth term is secondary market. Secondary market is opposite of primary because it allows the investor to buy stocks and bonds from each other rather than the original company. The role of finance in secondary market is its affect on price. The price is more or less than the issue price of the original company. The fifth term is risk.Risk is the uncertainty or chance of a difference in the actual return earned on investment and the expected return earned on the investment. There are three types of risk: market, credit, and operational. The company return on an investment depends on which risk the company took. For example, people and companies take risk sometimes when they make a financial investment or provide equipment and supplies for an opportunity to receive a high return on their investment. The role of finance for a risk is the uncertainty if they will receive payment for their investment.The higher the risk means the higher the return. The lower the risk means the lower the return. The next three terms have a correlation. The terms are security, stock, and bond. Security in finance is the relationship and representation of stocks and bonds. Some securities are interest and dividend based. Common and preferred stock, bonds, notes, debenture, and option are some examples of securities. A stock represents ownership in a business, has face value, and may not carry a maturity date. A stock’s role in finance is as follows. Common stock has no fixed rate of dividend and has voting rights. Preferred stock has a fixed rate of dividend and no voting rights and preferred are the two types of stock. A bond is the last term of correlation. A bond is a fixed income security. A bond is a debt with interest, a maturity, mode of payment, and a principal. A bond’s role in finance is that it can be issued as a long term debt and requires the company to pay on the interest even if they made a loss in profit or not. Capital is the amount of money an owner has invested in his or her business. The role of capital in finance is simple. A sole proprietor has a single investment.A partnership has multiple investments and a corporation’s amount of investment is shared by the stockholders. The capital has different amounts of investment in all three forms of businesses. In accounting, a debt is a liability to be paid back in terms to the source of finance. It can be long or short term. A debt’s role in finance is that is an expense to a company that has interest payable. Rate of returned based on market price is called yield. For example, if an investor has bought shares of $10 par and company declares dividend of 10% in cash and still the market is at par.IT means that yield earned on share is equal to dividend declared. Now if market price is different from par, say it is $20, now dividend declared is same but dividend yield is 5%. Any profit or loss that has been made for a specified period on investment is called the profit or loss in $ on your investment and when it is converted into percentage it is called rate of return. If a person invests $10,000 in January and in December it increases to $12,000, then the terms of investment for the year is $2,000. The rate of return is 20% per annum because (2000/10000)*100=20%.Return on investment is the profit or loss made on the investment. Return on investment is similar to rate of return and is a ratio that describes the company’s measurement of profit. For example, Tree and Rocks Company has profit after tax for year equal to $130 million and total assets are $1300 million, it means return on investment is 10%. Cash Flow is revenue received and paid in cash. The cash flow statement shows the cash inflows and outflows in real terms of a business. Operating, investing, and financing activities are three categories on a cash flow statement.The three categories and their role in finance are detrimental to the company. The revenue and expenses incurred during a specified time period are entered in the operating activities. Buying and selling of fixed assets and other investments are entered in the investing activities. Long term debt, issuance of common and preferred stock is entered in the financing activities. The thirteen terms defined in the earlier paragraphs have a specific role in finance. The terms and their roles surround everyone in some situation every day.It is important to know the above terms and how they relate to one another in this course.Reference Keown, A. J. , Martin, J. D. , Petty, J. W. , amp; Scott, D. F. (2005). Financial Management: Principles and applications (10th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Mayo, H. B. (2007). Basic finance: An introduction to financial institutions, investments, and management (9th ed. ). Mason, OH: Thomson. Sulock, J. M. , amp; Dunkelberg, J. (1997). Cases in financial management (2nd ed. ). New York: John Wiley amp; Sons. How to cite Defining Financial Terms and Role in Finance, Papers

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Competition and Financial Accounting Skullduggery

Question: Discuss about theCompetition and Financial Accounting for Skullduggery. Answer: Introduction In this article there is discussion of the activities of accounting skullduggery of the companies. It has been observed that there are more than $26 Billion dollars in write down that has been observed in companies such as BHP Billiton, South32, Rio Tinto, Santos, Woolworths, Orica, Woodside that has been to the collapse of more than $44 billion collapse. These kinds of write down practices has grown immensely in the last year. The Australian Securities and Investment commission has stated that it would investigate into this matter. Woolsworth company had somehow converted 800-million-dollar profit from 1.2-billion-dollar profit. If this had occurred in countries such as the United States, the SEC of the country there would have been stringent actions against these practices by the corporation. The ASIC considers the companies to follow the ethical mandates and have proper regulatory practices. The remuneration to the top management is higher and is also a problem. Response The Australian Accounting Standards is a part of the Australian government that is used to develop and maintain regulation of the financial reporting standards of the company. This applied to the private and the public sectors of the company. In this the companies are expected to balance between the stakeholder interests more than the shareholder or investor interests. The corporate governance of the company favors only some stakeholders and they ensure that the people (Balakrishnan Cohen, 2013). There is also the incorporation of the positive accounting theory of opportunistic perspective that is adopted in the accounting practices of the company (Bazley et al., 2012) . The oversight and the ethical committee of the companies should do more to address these claims. To conclude the article discusses about the ethical mandates required while balancing the budget. Durkin, P. ( 2016, September 16). Accounting skullduggery hides $26b in losses. Australian Financial Review,.p. Retrieved from https://www.afr.com/business/accounting-skulduggery-hides-26b-in-losses-20160918-grit83 Article 2 Summary In this article there is critical view of the HSBC reporting of the people retirement savings. There is the concept of positive bias in their retirement accounts and there is underestimation of the costs involved in the process. There are a number of biases that has been found in the report that the author argues. The issues with the positive accounting theory when accounting for the personal retirement accounts has been detailed in this article. The biases such as earning more would lead to better retirement lives or that selling of assets would mean a better quality of life has been disputed in this article. To summarize the article, it points out towards the issues of positive accounting theory and overestimation. Response to the Article Positive accounting theory tries to make positive accounts and predictions about the real world events and uses these positive assumptions to the accounting transactions (Deegan, 2012). There was discussion in the 7th sessions of the importance of positive accounting theories. Normative theories on the other hand discusses about what needs to be done. But the positive theories explain the positive bias and predicts the events. The reasons firms use this practices is to ensure that there is maximization of the prospects used for survival. The issues in the positive accounting theories is that they make invalid assumptions. There is no systematic or scientific review of what needs to be done nor is the predictions assured (Horngren, et al., 2012) . The positive accounting theory in the past has not been able to show substantial positive growth in the markets. Even though it has been in play from 1970 onwards. The issues of positive accounting theory and its inherent limitations has bee n explained in this article from a practical perspective. Patten, S ( 2016 August 2016) Accentuating the positive can backfire in retirement, warns HSBC. Australian Financial Review, P. Retrieved from https://www.afr.com/personal-finance/accentuating-the-positive-can-backfire-in-retirement-20160801-gqi3tt Article 3 Summary of the Article Wesfarmers had said that the actual earnings of Target would be 53 million dollars and not 74 million that was reported by Target. This is a 5.7% difference in the reporting. 21 million dollars was assumed to arise from the rebate arrangement. Apart from this there was the issue of plunging coal prices in the last year. This had caused the company to suffer a lot of losses. The remuneration losses for the executives were considered to be 10 million dollars. However, in spite of this the Wesfarmers executive remuneration was more than 1 million dollars. The short term incentive payments and the inherent risks of the process has been reported in this article. Response to the Article While an accounting reporting is made the most important aspect is maintaining the ethics. This is the core value of the corporate governance. Meeting bottom lines, maximization of the earning and adding of the intangibles in the accounting balance sheets are added in order to keep the investors of the company satisfied. However, in this case there has been considerable losses yet the management continues to receive considerable amount in bonuses in spite of the losses posted. The ethics review of the company needs to reexamine the practices of bonus payout to the top executive (Macve, 2015). To summarize it is quite clear that the company should have a better ethics and corporate governance practices in place. Greenblat, E ( 2016, September 22) Troubled year costs Wesfarmers executives $10m in entitlements, The Australian, Retreived from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/troubled-year-costs-wesfarmers-executives-10m-in-entitlements/news-story/40434a5917e419327c68a3eaff7bf63e Article 4 Summary of the Article Shine Lawyers face the risk of a class action after the collapse of the share price. The Shine lawyers are blamed for the 75% decline in the share price. This had wiped over 253 million in the market capitalization. Reason for the class action is that Shine has been criticized for over-estimating the firms ability in recovering from the loses. The company has however declined that they had ever committed any wrong doing. Over estimation of the company progress is the reason cited for the class action brought against the company. The class action has been brought against the company. Response to the Article The issue in the article can be linked to the positive accounting theory and is considered to be opportunistic perspective. This is assumed that the managers were driven by self interest and also had employed in creative accounting practices where the objectivity has not been considered. It seems to refer that the people responsible for the accounting practices were not clear and has caused this issue to arise (Henderson et al., 2015) . Shine lawyers would have been prematurely motivated to reported the revenue that there would be a future profit in the future. This is the reason for the company to face the class action. While the intention or the actions of the Shine company are yet to be uncovered it is quite clear that the company has not been meeting objectives and there is an obvious issue in the operational procedure of the company. Merrit, C ( 23rd September 2016) Shine faces class action from investors over share price fall The Australian Retrieved from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/shine-faces-class-action-from-investors-over-share-price-fall/news-story/dd911bf7579321570aa642b2f6ab499c Reference: Balakrishnan, K., Cohen, D. A. (2013). Competition and financial accounting misreporting.Available at SSRN 1927427. Bazley, M., Hancock, P., Fisher, C., Lovell, A., Berk, J., DeMarzo, P., ... DeMarzo, P. (2013).Financial Accounting: An Integrated. Thomson Pty Ltd, South Melbourne. Deegan, C. (2012).Australian financial accounting. McGraw-Hill Education Australia. Durkin, P. ( 2016, September 16). Accounting skullduggery hides $26b in losses. Australian Financial Review,.p. Retrieved from https://www.afr.com/business/accounting-skulduggery-hides-26b-in-losses-20160918-grit83 Greenblat, E ( 2016, September 22) Troubled year costs Wesfarmers executives $10m in entitlements, Retreived from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/companies/troubled-year-costs-wesfarmers-executives-10m-in-entitlements/news-story/40434a5917e419327c68a3eaff7bf63e Henderson, S., Peirson, G., Herbohn, K., Howieson, B. (2015).Issues in financial accounting. Pearson Higher Education AU. Horngren, C., Harrison, W., Oliver, S., Best, P., Fraser, D., Tan, R. (2012).Financial Accounting. Pearson Higher Education AU Macve, R. (2015).A Conceptual Framework for Financial Accounting and Reporting: Vision, Tool, Or Threat?. Routledge. Merrit, C ( 23rd September 2016) Shine faces class action from investors over share price fall The Australian Retrieved from https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/shine-faces-class-action-from-investors-over-share-price-fall/news-story/dd911bf7579321570aa642b2f6ab499c Patten, S ( 2016 August 2016) Accentuating the positive can backfire in retirement, warns HSBC. Australian Financial Review, P. Retrieved from https://www.afr.com/personal-finance/accentuating-the-positive-can-backfire-in-retirement-20160801-gqi3tt

Thursday, November 28, 2019

Internal capabilities and core competencies free essay sample

The importance of efficiency particularly in running a business provides a major opportunity for Singapore Airlines (SIA) to successfully deliver optimum value to its customers. According to Lacar(2009),SIA introduced ground-breaking in-flight services with relation to the latest technological advancements. For example,the innovative Raffles Class Space-Bed which provides passengers the ultimate luxury and comfort in their travelling experience (Anon, 2005). In addition, SIA provides services such as in-flight movies and superior food. SIA flight attendant, Singapore Girl is personification of Asian values and hospitality described as an icon that links SIA’s commitment to service excellence (Hasan, 2009). These activities correspond with the highly skilled management team in terms of formulating effective marketing strategies. 1.2 Aircraft fleets Continuous introductions of aircrafts are conducted by Singapore Airlines, with the assistance of rapid technological advancements, SIA managed to introduce new aircrafts with a larger passenger capacity and also implement fuel-efficient technology (Lacar, 2009). In fact, SIA was the largest operators of the Boeing 777 in the year 2005 which implies that the internal capabilities of SIA on being able to introduce the most updated models of aircraft is a major factor for the success of SIA despite being overtaken by Emirates Airlines in 2009. We will write a custom essay sample on Internal capabilities and core competencies or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This is an indication that SIA are capable of being one of the leaders in the airline industry due to continuous improvements. 1.3 Information technology Information technology and effective communications lead to the enhancement of customer services, particularly in terms of improving the efficiency especially due to the fact that the airline industry is a service industry. According to Singapore Airlines (2012), the introduction of the In-Flight connectivity allowed SIA to take advantage of the IT industry to bring internet and mobile data services. Doganis (2006) states that the use of IT can reduce operating costs such as the introduction of online booking and check-in services reduces the need for customers to book via a travel agent which would be more costly as SIA’s website is regarded as one of the most user-friendly and advanced websites in the airline industry. 1.4 Market Potential Singapore Airlines has managed to grow into one of the leading airline carriers in the world (Lacar, 2009). SIA’s reputation has been greatly enhanced due to its continuous innovations and numerous core competencies despite facing the challenges. SIA possesses a strong position particularly in Asia and ‘Kangaroo Routes’ (Singapore Business Review, 2013). There is a strong market potential particularly in emerging countries such as India and China. The CEO of Singapore Airlines has mentioned that the firm open to investment opportunities especially in India due to the numerous world class airports that are evident in India which could prove to be a second hub for flights to European countries (Phillip, 2013). Despite failing twice in the Indian market in 1970 and 2001, India is seen as one of the most potentially lucrative markets in the world. In terms of the US market, due to the dropping of non-stop flights, SIA’s total capacity in the US market are estimated to drop by 16% to about 22,000 weekly seats (CAPA, 2013). 1.5 Market Opportunities Due to the strong market potential in the emerging countries particularly India and China, there are major opportunities for SIA to increase its flight destinations. Phillip (2013) states that the market in India is relatively more open to foreign investment in recent years and may prove to be an instrumental factor for SIA to seize this opportunity to undergo expansion. Besides opportunities to implement new technology advancements to increase customer experience, there is a largely untapped ‘secret weapon’ in terms of investing in the low-cost airline market (Lacar, 2009). 1.6 Competitive Situation In 2006, SIA became the airline with the highest stock market value in the world. However, due to rapid competition particularly from Middle Eastern airline companies such as Emirates and Etihad, SIA experienced a major 12% fall in passenger count since 2008 (Fickling, 2012). SIA faces more challenges as Emirates Airlines and Qatar Airways expand their central hubs and are able to win premium passengers with improved front-cabin service (Tsang, 2013a). Intense competition can be observed nowadays particularly due to the increase of low cost airlines obtains an ever increasing market share in the aviation industry. 2.0 Identification of Problems and Issues 2.1 Problems and Issues 2.1.1 Brand Identity Singapore Airlines has well known with its identity of premium brand.According to IATA,premium traffic grew by 2.9% for the first 5 months of 2013, against a 4.3% growth in overall passenger traffic (Tsang, 2013b). The figure shows company lose considerable market position and recognised could not continue to Asia budget airline market over the past four years (Tsang, 2013a). 2.1.2 Operating Loss Singapore Airlines faces a challenging and unpredictable operating environment with instability in economic climate in the Eurozone and sluggish recover in United States. Furthermore, fuel prices remain persistently high. Singapore Airline’s operating loss widened to a $214.2 million after-tax loss represent 375% deterioration over the $121.8 million net profit (Tsang, 2013b).Passenger yieldfell to 11.1 Singapore cents per RPK in FY13/14 first-quarter.The cargo business faces an issue of overcapacity in the marketwhich will add pressure onloads and yields (CAPA, 2013). 2.1.3 Intense Competition The airline has been criticised for an alleged lack of strategic vision and intensifying competition in the market. The new trend of changing landscape marked by the growth of low-budget carrier and premium long-haul market,primarily from Middle Eastern carriers underminedpremium yield of Singapore Airlines. 2.2 Strategic Alternatives Singapore Airline should implement campaign activity to re-branding their strategyto launch premium economy class in growing emerging economies.The proposed strategy will minimise the risk of low demand of first-class seats and maximise revenue of the lower end market. As the wealthy population increases in emerging market. Another approach of SIAopportunities in forging close partnership with India. It would avoid the high fuel costs and intensifies of low fares competition.While the overall Asia market is growing, SIA must exploit the full potential of the market and equity stakes in airlines. 3.0 Strategic Gap The competition continues to intensify and the product gapSIA enjoyed for several years over competitors has narrowed significantly and unprofitable. SIA has perceived as leader in stylish innovation in the past few years, usurped as the world’s best premium airline. However, there is a deterioration of product challenged by image issue and customer’s expectations that frequently copied by competitors.Numerous core competencies like in-flight service, aircraft fleets, and efficient information techonology has provided convenient to the current passengers, however customer has higher expectation each day. It increased along with the expansion of Emirates and Qatar as centrally located hubs and switched passengers attracted to its improved front-cabin service (Tsang, 2013a). To bridging the gap, SIA should respond to demand of renewal the current facilities, new service ideas or partnership within the next 5 years. Company can successfully close the competitive gap with the renewal of business demands to stay ahead of competitors. 4.0 Customer or Buyer Targets Based on the proposed strategies, Singapore Airlines can target customers such as professionals, white collared and businessman who are travel frequently to other countries for their business meetings or visits. They are more conscious on service quality and price. Other than that, it can focus on few markets such as countries in Asia Pacific region such as India and China as these are emerging countries with high purchasing power parity since their level of middle income class is increasing day by day due to their fast growing economy. These emerging counties has a large population which enable Singapore Airlines to gain market share by entering these markets and become market leader in these regions by joint venture or alliance with local airlines company. 5.0 Competitive Situation and Competitior Profile 5.1 Competitor Profile Although Singapore Airlines has a few significant competitors that provide similar service and cheaper air fares around the world (Morningstar, 2005). The key rivals of Singapore Airlines can be categorized into Middle East carriers and Asian low-cost carriers. Middle East carriers Singapore Air faces challenging competition from Emirates Airline and Qatar Airways on Europe-Asia routes which are known as â€Å"Kangaroo Route† between Europe and Oceania as both competitors expand their more centrally located hubs and win premium passengers with improved front-cabin service (Fickling, 2012). Middle East carriers are more focus on the quality such as Emirates and Qataras they invest millions in upgrading lounges and enhancing services (CNBC, 2013). Also, Qantas Airways and Emirates are forming an alliance that opens up the Australian firm’s domestic network of more than 50 destinations to the Dubai-based airline. Asian low-cost carriers Low-fare airlines accounted 30 percent of seat capacity at Singapore low-cost carriers that are focus on price sensitivity competition such as Air Asia and Jetstar targeted regional and economy travelers as their customers by offering fares that are cheaper up to four times than SIA’s fares (Park,2013). Air Asia’s cut-rate pricing on Southeast Asian routes and the emergence of new rivals such as the Lion Air group from Indonesia increase the intensity of competition among airlines industry. 5.2 Competitive Situation As now population of emerging countries’ income level is moving to middle class, the demand for premium economy class will increase compare to economy class. The weak global economic performance boosted the emerging markets with the strongest growth in Africa, Latin America, and Middle East (Onyango, 2013). For instance, Cathay Pacific and Qantas offer customers premium economy tickets to satisfy the needs and demand of customers who are willing to pay more for better services and comfort but not willing to pay for business class fares. This will lead to a price war lastly as airlines company start reduce their fares of premium seat in order to gain market share and stay competitive. Moreover, Qantas and Cathay Pacific upgraded premium products as well. Besides, Singapore Airlines can carry out joint venture or alliance with other airplane industry as their strategy. The Indian government permitted foreign carriers to invest up to 49%(Bahre, 2013). By adopting this strategy, it is easier for Singapore Airlines to penetrate into Indian market as the restriction and barriers of government become relatively low. There will occur the restructuring and re-consolidation of company in the airlines industry as other airlines company will go for similar strategy in order to stay competitive and increase their market share. 6.0 Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Eight-thousander Essay Example

Eight Eight-thousander Essay Eight-thousander Essay Sudarshan Gautam has a long road ahead of him before next years historic attempt to summit Mount Everest. The Nepalese-born Mount Royal University student, who has no arms, will be cruising from one Canadian coast to the other to raise cash, awareness and, perhaps, the pulses of other drivers as he makes the journey behind the wheel using just his feet. The inspiring amputee, who is licensed to drive and has done so on asphalt in 29 countries, is planning to pull off the feat as early as this summer.Donations generated through his adventure will be split among a mountaineering program for the disabled, offered through the Vancouver-based Tetra Society, and his own endeavour to scale the worlds highest peak, planned for next March. I like to spread the message that disability is not inability and I hope it will help for our mission to raise (money) for those things, said Gautam, 30, who will meet with sponsors Tuesday to finalize a start date for the cross-country tour. I have been pl anning this for next month, but because of the federal election the sponsor wants to move the project a couple months later. | |Gautam, who hails from the rural Ramecchap district of Nepal, lost his arms at 14 while vacationing with his family in Kathmandu. He was flying a kite that became entangled with overhead power lines. Believing the wire was insulated, he used a piece of iron to dislodge the kite. The resulting jolt badly damaged his limbs, which doctors had no choice but to remove. The physical disadvantage has proven to be of little consequence to Gautam. In 2005, he earned a bachelors degree in management and commerce before moving on to his next challenge scaling the 5,372-metre Mount Yala using his teeth, feet and the aid of sherpas.Through the Mount Everest expedition, Gautam hopes to raise $1 million for Nepalese orphans and disabled persons. I was born a normal child in Gunshi, Bhauduri-1 in Ramechhap district of Nepal. An average student, I enjoyed sports, particul arly, volleyball and soccer while at school. Apart from sports, I felt excited by scientific experiments. Like any child I was full of dreams, hopes, aspirations and passion. The first few of my dreams were to become a pilot or a political leader. A tragic accident, however, turned my whole life upside down.In June 1994, I arrived in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal, on vacation. One day, I was flying a kite from a rooftop. The kite got stuck on the overhead electric wires. I did not realize that there were some naked wires. What’s even worse: I was totally oblivious to the fact that the wires carried an electricity of 11,000 volts. Naive as I was at the time, I used an iron rod to free the kite. I always shudder to think what happened after that. My father and uncle took me immediately to the Nepal Army Hospital. When I regained consciousness, I found that both my hands were completely burnt.After a few days at the hospital, doctors amputated both my arms. The unthinkabl e consequences of the accident led to the amputation of not just of my dreams but my whole future! My life became a burden onto myself. The days and weeks after my arms were amputated seem like dreadful memories. It felt as if I was engulfed in total darkness without the smallest glimmer of light. I knew I was alive, yet I was no more alive than a dead body. I could no longer do things that I did earlier. All my friends deserted me. I felt completely isolated from the world.I saw all my dreams shattering into pieces right before my eyes. I returned to my village after eight months of medication. When I reached my village, my neighbors and even my close friends laughed at my condition and others felt pity at my disability. In my own village, I was dubbed a â€Å"poor boy. † Meanwhile, many of my friends and classmates completed their School Leaving Certificate exams. The villagers congratulated them on their success and expressed pity for me, the â€Å"poor boy. † Their pity hurt me. I started facing terrible discrimination.I had not only lost my hands, but also my self-respect and dignity. I had lost my identity of being a man. There was nothing left in my life except for tears and endless sorrows. I asked myself how long I could go on living in that condition. What can I do? There seemed to be no answers. There seemed to be no hope at all. â€Å"Change and growth take place when a person has risked himself and dares to become involved with experimenting with his own life. † Herbert Otto â€Å"Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. Joshua J. Marine Time is the greatest healer and courage a genuine guide. As time passed by, I began to gather myself up and was able to muster courage and strength I never felt within me before. Things began to change after I made peace with the fact that no matter what, I had to endure my disability. I knew that if I did not overcome my weakness, I would end up worthless. I had to either prove myself a differently-abled person or live like a dead man. I followed my inner voice and started doing things in my own way. I customized things around me to suit my ability.I trained myself to do things on my own, including brushing teeth, taking showers, shaving, cooking and feeding. The more I started doing things independently, the more I realized I could do a lot of things that physically fit people do, without anybody’s support. Gradually, I started to play cards, carom, chess, etc. I even learnt how to ride a horse, a task many bodily fit people find daunting. I also practiced writing with my toes and later took School Leaving Certificate final examinations. I passed, writing the answers with my toes. â€Å"I am thankful for all of those who said NO to me.It’s because of them I’m doing it myself. † Albert Einstein Success is the harbinger of happiness. My village folks congratulated me on my success in the SLC exams. My courage and consistency paid back at last. I felt a deep sense of delight and pride. Overnight, I – the poor boy – became an icon of success in my village and others in the vicinity. Parents would tell their children, â€Å"Look! He passed his exams despite the disability. You should be embarrassed of yourself. † All this boosted my confidence. I began to believe in myself strongly once again.I managed to free myself from the psychological barriers that were holding me back. Finally, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I was ready to take on all sorts of challenges in the world and I was prepared to strive hard to succeed. I recovered my old cheerful self and started getting involved in all kinds of activities and socializations in the community. People in my village began to call me their young leader. I left my village for Kathmandu to continue my higher education. When I arrived in Kathmandu, I made a promise to myself: â€Å"One da y I will claim my respectable lace in my society and the world will regard me as a brave person! † I got enrolled at Nepal Commerce Campus, Kathmandu, Nepal from where I graduated in commerce. While at college, as a leader of students’ council, I advocated for the rights and rehabilitation of the disabled. â€Å"If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves. † -Thomas Edison † It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. † Theodore Roosevelt I aspired to have my name entered in the Guinness Book of World Records so that my country would be proud of my efforts.To achieve that goal, I decided to drive a standard car. I visited many driving institutes asking them to train me and sought financial help from many organizations to help fund the project. Nobody came forward to support the cause as they didn’t believe I could do it. At last, I invested my own funds to learn how to drive from a private dri ving institute. On September 8, 2001, I demonstrated my driving skill to approximately 10,000 spectators. The Government of Nepal, Nepal Disabled Federation, Only at Nepal and many other social organizations helped me to organize that event.The demonstration was aired by various television channels and radios and covered in the print media. Now I am capable to drive a standard car with my feet through the busy streets. Driving a car on the streets of Kathmandu for the first time was an amazing and unforgettable experience. After the driving demonstration, I got support from many institutions. I was presented with cash awards and honored by many social organizations and the Nepalese Government. As people started to take me seriously, I transformed from being a poor, pitiable child, to somebody who could help others.So I began advocating the cause of others like me. As a president of Nepali for Nepali Cooperation Committee-Nepal, Nepal Scout and other organizations, I took initiatives to support more than 20,000 people of Mugu district from 2001 to 2004. In 2003, I took on a new challenge. With the help of a driving institute, I learned how to ride a normal (not modified) motorbike. A date for motorcycle riding demonstration was fixed. Unfortunately, because Nepal’s political situation worsened, the demonstration had to be cancelled. I continued to serve as a social worker nd was an active student political leader, but I was not satisfied. Meanwhile, I had been meeting many dedicated people and philanthropists from around the world. They supported me and helped me to plan my future activities. I got a chance to visit different countries and show my abilities. The abroad experience reinforced my confidence and I felt I had attained a new status in my life. Finally, I chose Canada to settle down. Today, I have the potentialities and opportunities to prove my abilities. My dreams, which I had wrongly believed were shattered after my hands were amputated, onc e again started coming alive.I felt capable of dreaming again. â€Å"I avoid looking forward or backward, and try to keep looking upward. † Charlotte Bronte â€Å"Forget all the reasons it won’t work and believe the one reason that it will. † Unknown Now, my only one dream is to set my foot on top of the Mt. Everest. I have had some rock climbing training in Nepal. I climbed 5,732 m Mount Yala Peak in 2005 without prosthesis arms and oxygen. A press conference was held before I went on the Yala Peak expedition. People did not believe that I could not climb mountains without both arms. Some even laughed at me and taunted me.But I didn’t give up my hope. I ascended Mount Yala at 3 am on Aug. 24, 2005 with an expedition team led by the fastest climb record holder, Pemba Dorje Sherpa. I got enormous support from the Government of Nepal and the United Nations in Nepal for my attempt to summit Yala. I am confident that can climb Mt Everest as well. All I need is your support and best wishes to keep up my strength and hope. I wish to climb Mount Everest without prosthetics so that I can be an inspiration to millions of physically challenged people around the world. I’d like to spread the message: â€Å"Disability is not inability. †

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Review of the Literature 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Review of the Literature 3 - Essay Example amist revivals: revolutionary islamists, traditional islamists, and modernist islamists, where the common thread that binds them is their adherence to fundamental Islamic principles. For him, these different Islamists lead Islamic Revival in diverse terms, but they all argue for the renewal of fundamental Islamic principles. Revolutionary Islamists, also called as fundamentalist, are radical Muslims who advocate political activism and demand the conservative observance of Islam. They want to establish a purely Islamic state and to apply Sharia in their society. They resist Western beliefs and influences and anything that opposes the main beliefs of Islam. They want to reinstate the classical period, where the society made by Prophet Muhammad and his first four caliphs is the model Islamic state. For Revolutionary Islamists, the primary goal of the Islamic state is to implement the Sharia. The law cannot be separated from how the state should be run. Revolutionary Islamists do not acc ept the taglid and want to apply ijtihad and they blame the Traditionalist Islamists and their dogma of taglid for the fall of Islam. Revolutionary Islamists also do not approve of secularists, because this would weaken the ummah and oppose the idea of universalism in Islam. For the past few years, Revolutionary Islamists agree with the application of modern values in Islamic states, as long as they are aligned with the traditional Islamic principles. An example is accepting democratic ruling, as long as the ulama decides on lawmaking procedures and outcomes. Traditionalist Islamists are made of conservative ulama and Islamic scholars. Like the Revolutionary Islamists, they repudiate the teachings and principles of the West. They want to maintain Islamic beliefs and go back to the erstwhile eras of Islamic classical and medieval periods. They also do not oppose Sufism and other folk varieties of Islam, including the mystical ones. They argue that these different beliefs are part of