The Path Back Into The Community - 1531 Words

Many offenders who are released from prison encounter many obstacles which hinder their progress towards community re-entry. On their own, many fail to secure employment, housing, or complete education or training programs. Without guidance or assistance many offenders return to crime to support themselves. Fortunately there are number of organizations that see the need for services to assist offenders on their path back into the community. One such organization that has proven to be successful is the Safer Foundation. Safer Foundation Founded 1972 and located in Chicago, the Safer Foundation is the largest community –based provider of employment services for ex-offenders in the United Sates. The name â€Å"Safer Foundation â€Å"was given by its founder, Raymond â€Å"Bernie† Curran, a former priest, because he believed it would reduce crime on the streets. The Safer Foundation’s primary goal is assisting ex-offenders find jobs but also develops life skills and a positive mindset that helps ensure long term employment and success in life. The Safer Foundation has a professional staff of nearly 200 located in two states, Illinois and Iowa. Safer Goals Since its inception, Curran realized that ex-offenders needed more than just a job when they got out. Safer began to expand its focus on other areas after placement was made. These programs have expanded to include education, vocational training, addiction counseling, housing, and employment. Safer’s primary objective is to assist youthShow MoreRelatedTable 4.13- Data collection table: impact of self –governance body SD D N A SA Do you (or1700 Words   |  7 PagesTable 4.13- Data collection table: impact of self –governance body SD D N A SA Do you (or your partner) participating the Community meetings Its chance to meet communities Measure: 5-point Likert scale. 1= Strongly Disagree (SD), 2= Disagree (D), 3=Neither (N), 4 = Agree (A), 5 = Strongly Agree (SA) Method of Study and Presentation: Studying method- strongly disagree1=1Read MoreThe Mon Buddhist Monastery1236 Words   |  5 Pagesway of life. On the far back wall, there was a stunning shrine dedicated to the Buddha where one would pray. Many figurines were displayed as well as flowers and offerings along it. There were several monks in the monastery that were part of the traditional feeding of the monks. In traditional Buddhist communities, the monks would beg from house to house for food. In Akron, the community came to them, and lined up as the monks walked by while each member of the community gave them each a piece ofRead MoreNamaste Solar1507 Words   |  7 PagesSolar? Namaste Solar started mission was to propagate the responsible use of solar energy, pioneer conscientious business practices and create holistic wealth for our community. According to the companys brochure, holistic wealth was wealth that benefits all stakeholders equally - customers, employees, investors, communities and the environment - as opposed to inequitably benefiting any stakeholders at the expense of any others. How does the mission reflect the companys values? As NamasteRead MoreThe Path Of A Path1600 Words   |  7 PagesWe’ve all followed a path that leads us to where we are right now. Some of us have followed a path that has been straight forward with few wrong turns along the way. Those foibles were easily corrected. Others, like me, didn’t follow a single path. When I consider my path, I cringe at the piles of utter failure; one bad turn after another. I have become intimately connected to loss, despair, and dark pain. Much of that is due to the fact that I decided to go my own way. If you can think of aRead MoreThe Path Of Seeking Higher Education862 Words   |  4 Pageswhether we want to follow a path of education, or to entire directly into the workforce. Among those who choose the path of seeking higher education, there is a more narrow decision. Whether to directly enroll into a four year institution/university or to attend a community college, two year insti tution, seeking to receive an associates degree or to eventually transfer to a four year institution. Many factors come into play in making the educational choice, and both paths have unique pros and consRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book A Worn Path 1314 Words   |  6 PagesCaleb Clifford Dr. Vogel American Experience, period 6 1 Nov 2014 Racial Prejudice in America: Alive and Well In â€Å"A Worn Path† an old black woman is seen walking through the forest to get medicine for her grandson. Eudora Welty puts the hunter, the doctor’s office, and aspects of the journey itself in Phoenix’s path to symbolize the ongoing struggle of the African American community to gain freedom in post-slavery American society. At the end of her journey, Phoenix obtains medicine that admittedlyRead MoreReview Of Dr. Cleamon Moorer1737 Words   |  7 Pagesnot quit, thanks to his father’s wise words; he enrolled into a community college retaking the courses that he had failed previously. He could have easily wallowed in his failure and abandoned his education, but he returned to college and deepened his faith. â€Å"I got back into the regimen of attending church each Sunday and actually listening to the sermons†¦. I wanted to praise and seek Him.† (p. 49) After participating in the community college, Cleamon Moorer reapplied to GMI with a g reat resolve toRead MoreHigh Quality Education Is An Opportunity For Childhood Education920 Words   |  4 Pagescollaboration and communication, curriculum, instruction and assessments aligned with state standards, frequent monitoring of teaching and learning, focused professional development, a supportive learning environment, high levels of parents and community involvement (Mayer, Mullens, Moore, 2000). Several factors have been documented to contribute to the effectiveness of a supportive learning environment through student engagement and learning, such as the relationship between students’ perceptionRead MoreThe Structure Of Dn Cooperation And Competition949 Words   |  4 Pagesfind solutions. When Franklin shared her work at a conference, Crick and Watson used that information to build a model. They shared that with the others and discovered it was wrong. They got feedback from Franklin and went back to work. PRACTICAL PROBLEMS : Franklin also went back to work. An experiment in their lab led to more discoveries. They had problems they tabled because they couldn’t solve them at the time. Franklin split from the others. SHARING DATA AND IDEAS, EXPLORATION AND DISCOVERY:Read MoreThe Road Not Taken By Robert Frost973 Words   |  4 Pagesapproaches â€Å"two roads diverged in a yellow wood,† both looking fairly equal to one another (Frost 1). One path expresses slightly more wear in the grass than the other. Frost tells how the narrator traveled the road less taken, making all the difference in the end. Life is about decisions; some may be challenging, others simple, and sometimes life changing. My challenging decision took me down a rocky path my senior year deciding a career. There are numerous careers and colleges to choose from; however,

Choosing Good or Evil - 870 Words

Intellectual development should start at birth and end only at death. Albert Einstein We exist and we want to know love, because we were born out of love and want to get out of this world with her. Love makes us discern between good and evil, good being the natural state of our nature, and evil - a state we gain whenever neglect good. We exist and we want to know the goodness of soul, because only she can make us live in harmony. We talk about diseases as evil that could be because we do not live in harmony with divine laws, which many of us do not know, ignore others, most notably the law of love, then the other: the law of adaptation, acceptance temperance, morality, of gratitude, etc. But knowledge requires learning, feeling and†¦show more content†¦The great questions of philosophy have been: Where we come from and where were going, but spiritual and intellectual and human valences were interested, to the extent that it could think of that time. Greeks contemplate the sky, nature, a gesture not only thoughtful, but also as a necessity of knowledge, finding solutions to problems in this fortress and a miracle occurred! The time in which we talk about Greek philosophy is evident the sixth century BC. And fifth century AD It was the most important philosophical current occurred in Europe, it evolved from Roman Philosophy to Arabic, Persian, Renaissance and Enlightenment philosophy, dusting the road to modernity. Interest was the formation of man as a superior entity, ideally improving the physical, intellectual and artistic. Start to achieve the ideal of happiness is achieved in steps, in cycles. Citizen education continues beyond school age, through democratic institution. Greeks for the first time in the history of civilization, the great debate over our existence, value system, valid in our times, such as truth, happiness, justice, beauty, love, kindness, harmony, law of the state as the perfect organization, equality among citizens, property and individual respect. The ideas of homeland and patriotism were all born in Greek antiquity. Starting from the factShow MoreRelatedIgnorance is Not an Excuse Essays980 Words   |  4 PagesIgnorance is Not an Excuse We only choose what we think is good and if anyone chooses evil it must be through ignorance. Plato believes that we always choose good unless we are ignorant. Plato claims being ignorant would be the only excuse for choosing evil. His views of this are apparent in the Meno. As I read up on whether or not we deliberately choose evil I realized there are many sides, many ways to answer this question. My opinion is not as clear as I thought. In this paperRead MoreEternal Damnation, Lake Of Fire And Brimstone, And Gehenna1075 Words   |  5 Pageslarger problem of evil and the importance of free will. In dealing with doctrine of eternal damnation, Walls introduces the notion that it is more than just describing an abyss separated from God. It is involved with the entirety of the problem of evil. Hell, as defined, is an eternal evil. In speaking on the broader sense of evil, it demonstrates how God is able to persist and exist in a fallen world. If it follows that God is compatible with a world that is riddled with evil, the idea of his compatibilityRead MoreThe Existentia l Choice : Soren Kierkegaard1368 Words   |  6 Pagesyourself based on a decision you made. The aesthetic and ethical life both lead to a religious life that is dependent on the subjectivity of truth. Kierkegaard describes the â€Å"Either/Or† as simply choosing and not choosing. However, he does acknowledge that it is absolute. He opens his argument by distinguishing between the ethical and aesthetic person. The â€Å"aesthetic in a person is that by which he spontaneously and immediately is what he is† (E/O 77). InRead MoreWilliam Goldings Lord of the Flies Essay872 Words   |  4 PagesPeople are born with certain genes that either make them good or bad; the question is which genes do you have? In Lord of the Flies by William Golding these kids start to thrive on their bad genes because their surroundings are playing a part of how they act. When the boys started to hunt they would like to kill pigs for fun. At one point t hey thought of it like a sport. Jack one the characters in the book would make fun of piggy for being fat and wearing glasses. This is due because jack has certainRead MoreMackies Argument : Evil And Omnipotence1264 Words   |  6 PagesPaper 1: On Mackie’s Argument In J. L. Mackie’s â€Å"Evil and Omnipotence,† the author presents an argument detailing why belief in a both omnipotent and wholly good God is contradictory to a God who allows evil to exist. He utilizes this philosophy to show that God doesn’t exist due to the problem of evil. As Mackie’s delineates in his first paragraph, â€Å"I think, however, that a more telling criticism can be made by way of the traditional problem of evil. Here it can be shown, not only that religious beliefsRead MoreThemes of No Country for Old Men Essay836 Words   |  4 PagesIn this essay, M.D. will analyze the roles and choices the main characters made while relating them to the main theme of good versus evil and fate versus free will in Cormac McCarthy’s No Country for Old Men.) â€Å"Every moment in your life is a turning and every one a choosing. Somewhere you made a choice. All followed to this. The accounting is scrupulous. The shape is drawn. No line can be erased. I had no belief in your ability to move a coin to your bidding. How could you? A persons path throughRead MoreGod Is Not The Creator Of Evil1388 Words   |  6 PagesEvil exists in the world because of man’s poor choices not because God created it that way. God made man in His image and gave man the ability to choose between good and evil. He did not want to force us to love Him however man chose to disobey God and as a result evil entered the world. Genesis 1:27 KJV â€Å"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.† â€Å"The phrase â€Å"The problem of evil† is a label of such problems involving both God andRead MoreThe Problem of Evil Essay1536 Words   |  7 PagesIn his essay â€Å"Why God Allows Evil† Swinburne argues that the existence of evil in the world is consistent with the existence of all-knowing, all-powerful and all-good God. To start, Swinburne bases his argument on two basic types of evil: moral and natural. Moral evil encompasses all the ills resulting from human action, whether intentional or through negligence; natural evil included all evils not caused or permitted by human beings. Whereas moral evil such as abortion, murder, terrorism, or theftRead MoreChristianity And Politics : God Versus The City Of Man1415 Words   |  6 Pages(Augustine 142).† By partaking in a leisure way of life, one may find his final good. Whereas, the final good is the good which is â€Å"for the sake of which other things are desired† while the final evil is that â €Å"which other things are avoided (141).† When one reaches the final good it should make him happy, but no matter what life one chooses it may not lead him to obtain this ultimate happiness. A man has free will in choosing what life to partake in, but must keep in mind that with free will comes theRead MoreChristianity And Politics : God Versus The City Of Man1426 Words   |  6 Pageswhile the busy life is â€Å"devoted to conducting human affairs (Augustine 142).† The final good is the good which is â€Å"for the sake of which other things are desired† while the final evil is that â€Å"which other things are avoided (Augustine 141).† When one reaches the final good it should make him happy, but no matter what life one chooses it may not lead him to obtain this ultimate happiness. A man has free will in choosing what life to partake in, but must keep in mind that with free will comes the responsibility

Personal Income Taxation Economic Papers

Questions: 1. The tax implications of the sale of his first house and purchase of new house, including anyexemptions available and noting any additional information you may require from Jacob.Calculate the assessable gain, if any. 2. The tax implications of the expenditure on his house. 3. The tax implications of receiving the apple watch and bravery medal. 4. The assessability and deductibility of all the other items listed in the information as youcalculate Jacobs taxable income for the year ended 30 June 2016. 5. The tax payable/ (refundable) for Jacob f or the year ended 30 June 2016, including alladditional levies and tax offsets. Answers: Introduction: As per the personal information provided and monetary plans put forward by you we have prepared a letter of advice so that we can provide you with the guidance and advice which will be based on your tax consequences. The report presented to you will be helpful in determining the appropriate tax benefit under the ITAA 1997. The act lays down that each of the Australian resident shall be accountable to pay tax depending upon the sources of income earned (Barkoczy 2016). These sources may consist of income generated from Australian sources or from overseas sources. On performing a detailed assessment of the documents submitted by you it is understood by us that you satisfy all the criteria to be called as an Australian resident. GST on disposal of house property: You have purchased the old house property on October 31st 1987 and this does not constitute a pre-CGT asset. Since the date of acquisition of the house property is before 20th September 1999, the cost base of such asset will be assessed under the indexation method. Furthermore, it is discovered that you have held the asset for a period of more than two years and being an individual taxpayer you can avail the facilities of indexation method or take into the consideration the method of 50% exemption as per your suitability (Butler 2013). From the details provided by you it is found that you intend to dispose off your house property in the existing assessment year which forms the CGT asset as stated under Section 108-5 (1) of ITAA 1997. The status of the CGT asset is dependent upon the date of acquisition (Freebairn 2012). We would further like to put forward that the date of acquisition forms an important constituent in determining the capital gains tax. This states that whether the assets is acquired on or before 21 September 1985 will be assumed as pre-CGT asset and revenues earned from such assets shall be liable to tax exemptions. Cost of the assets acquired or held after 21st September 1985 but before 20 September 1999 is computed under the indexation method at the time of computation of tax. Following such situations, a taxpayer shall not be eligible for 50 per cent exemption if an asset falls under the index cost base. Cost base of the asset: Cost base of any property constitutes the purchase cost of the asset acquired. As per the details mentioned by you it is found that during the time of acquisition, you incurred the expense on legal cost and stamp duty relating to the purchase of the house property. As stated under section 110-25 expenses incurred at the time of procurement of property is included in the total cost base (Gilders 2012). As per the indexation method, index values associated with the expenses incurred at the time of procurement must be included in the purchase price of the property. Upon analysis we noticed that a supplementary expenses were incurred by you to make the property disposable. Under the indexation method and 50% exemption method, supplementary expenses incurred must be included with the original value while computing the cost base of the property. Exemption for residential property: Any capital gains derived from the sale of residential property is exempted from tax. Upon analysing your document, we found that you have used house as a main residence barring the phase from 31st October 2006 to 31st December 2014. We would like to put forward that you are not eligible to avail full exemption, as the property used for resident by you was unused and remained vacant for eight consecutive years (Jones 2016). Thus, you can claim for exemption for the rest of the period and you are only advised to pay capital gains for a period of eight years. Calculating capital gains: A detail calculationis conducted on the disposal of property and capital gains for both indexation method and 50 per cent exemption method (Kenny 2013). The calculation is done keeping mind the rules and assumptions as discussed above; From the above stated calculation of capital gains it is noticed that the under the 50 per cent reduction method capital gains will be lower than that of the indexation method. Sum generated from the capital gains under the 50 per cent reduction must be taken into the consideration as your statutory income. Assessable income: Assessable incomes are usually classified under two heads, which is either under the ordinary income or as statutory income. According toDivision 15, ITAA 1997 Ordinary Incomeconsists of those income which is generated from the normal course of business activities. On the other hand, statutory income consists of those incomes, whichis derived from the unusual or accidental activities (Minas and Lim 2013). The status of you earnings is listed below; Income earned from salaries: From the analysis, it is found that you are teacher by profession and earn salary by imparting teachings to your employees. According to section, 15-3 of ITAA 1997 such earnings are considered in the form of payment received on return to work which is assessable as ordinary income (Nel 2016). Franked dividend: According to the documents, it is also noticed that you must state the full amount in the assessment of tax at the time of filling return. Apart from this, you shall be avail the facilities of subtracting the franking sum of credit from the gross amount of tax. Holiday earned on opening of bank account: It is found that you have received a cash amount from bank because of holiday for opening up the bank account, which will be included in the assessable income. According to under section 21A,holiday represents non-cash benefits which is capable of being expressed in monetary value not forming the part of employment is taken into the consideration as ordinary income while assessing tax (Wallace 2015). Family tax benefit: As per the analysis perform based on the documents received, it is found that you receive family benefit tax. We would like to put forward that you must show these expenses in your assessable income and can avail the facility of offsetting the same at the time of computation of total tax (Wallis 2013). We would like to like inform you that family tax benefit for a depended child up the age of 21 years is excluded from the assessable income. Watch received as gift: Upon assessment, it is noticed that you have received gift for being the lifesaver and the gifts received by you was completely unintentional. Thus, it should be noted that gifts does not forms the part of assessable income while computing tax. Deductions allowed: Any expenses incurred for regular livings are not considered as the part of assessable income. However, any such expenses occurred at the time of generating income from any source then such expenses are considered for deductions under the assessable income (Colemanet al. 2013). Deductions can be claimed under the following expenses; Purchase of work clothes and shoes: As per the documents submitted by you it is found from the employer that official uniform is accepted by the concerned authority and you are eligible to claim deductions from your assessable income (Minas and Lim 2013). According to Under division 34 of ITAA 1997youcan also make an application for such expenses being occurred on procurement of clothes and shoes after accepting it under the register of approved occupational clothing. Work related car expenses: As stated under the Division 900 ITAA 1997any form of expense is incurred for deriving incomes being associated with work and employment shall be available for deductions. Upon assessment and documents provided it is found that depreciation on car is not charged by you. It is noteworthy to denote that not all car expenses are entitled for deductions (Woellneret al. 2016). Depreciation is a part of car expenses and it should be calculated under the Division 900 ITAA 1997. On evaluation, it is found that the car ran 25,000kms and 5600 alone was used for occupational related activities. Therefore, from the total car expenses incurred a part of such sum is available for deductions at the time of assessing the assessable income associated with work. Below listed is the computation of your deductible car expenses; Cost incurred for studying: Upon assessment, it is noticed that you have continued you studies so that you can gain promotions. According to section 8-1,you can avail deductions on expenses incurred for your personal educations. However, you cannot avail the facility of claiming deductions for expenses occurred at the time of purchasing laptop, as it is capital in nature (Wood, Ong and Winter 2012). Superannuation contribution: We would like to put forward that your employment sums up more than 10% of the total income. Thus, you are not eligible to claim any sort of deductions for your superannuation contribution. Fees for tax agent: Fees incurred towards certified tax agent at the time of filing return will not be taken into consideration in the form of deductible expenses; Computation of total income: Net amount of taxable return is laid down for the year 2015-16 as per the stated discussions and assumptions made; As per the information derived it is understood that the taxable income stands as $1,10,580 and you will be considered for assessment under the income slab of $80,001 to $180,000. You are also required to pay $17,547 and 37% of the additional income for having an earnings of more than the prescribe slab of $80,000. You are also required to pay 2% of the Medicare charge upon the amount of net tax (Yingeret al. 2016). However, it is found that you already have a dependent child so you shall be exempted from paying Medicare levy surcharge. Along with this, we are also providing you advise on areas where to claim for offsets; Franking credit: It is important to denote that the franking credit derived from the dividend can be put forward for deductions from the total amount of tax payable; Family tax benefit: Family tax benefit is exempted at the time of computation of tax. In addition to this, the information put forward by you in the assessable income qualifies for deductions from the total amount of tax (Krantz et al. 2012). From the above stated discussions and assumptions the total amount of tax payable for the period of 2015-16 is calculated below; Recommendations: Upon assessment, it is found that you intend to sell the house property and buy a new house. However, after going through the documents provided by you it is advisable that you can also sublet the house on rent and then opt for purchase. This will allow you to pre-pay your amount of interest on the investment property and make yourself eligible for claiming deductions. Despite the house being positively or negatively geared, this will help you in putting forward the claims upon the rental property upon being the principle owner of the property. We would like to further advice you that you can also put forward you claim for offset on the work related expenses such as telephone cost and subscription cost. Along with this, you can also make yourself eligible for claiming educational offset for your family by up to 50% of the items such as educational software, home computers, textbooks and cost of stationeries. Hence, we expect that the above stated discussions and recommendations have been helpful in addressing your tax related queries and have offered you complete satisfactions. Reference: Barkoczy, S., 2016. Core tax legislation and study guide.OUP Catalogue Butler, D. 2013, "Superanuation: Excess contributions tax", Taxation in Australia, vol. 47, no. 7, pp. 450-452. Coleman, C., Hart, G.E., Bondfield, B., McKerchar, M.A., McLaren, J., Sadiq, K. Ting, A. 2013, Australian tax analysis: cases, commentary, commercial applications and questions, 9th edn, Thomson Reuters (Professional) Australia Limited, Pyrmont, N.S.W. Freebairn, J. 2012, "Personal Income Taxation", Economic Papers: A journal of applied economics and policy, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 18-23. Gilders, F.M. 2012, Understanding taxation law 2012, [6th], 2012. edn, LexisNexis Butterworths, Chatswood, N.S.W. Jones, D., 2016. Capital gains tax: The rise of market value?.Taxation in Australia,51(2), p.67. Kenny, P. 2013, Australian tax 2013, 10th edn, LexisNexis Butterworths, Chatswood, N.S.W. Krantz, D.P., Weaver, R.D. and Alter, T.R., 2012. Residential property tax capitalization: consistent estimates using micro-level data.Land Economics,58(4), pp.488-496. Minas, J. and Lim, Y. 2013, "Taxing capital gains - views from Australia, Canada and the United States", eJournal of Tax Research, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 191. Nel, P., 2016. Primary residences, rental income, and tax: income tax.Tax Breaks Newsletter,2016(366), pp.2-3. Wallace, S., 2015. Property Taxation in a Global Economy: Is a Capital Gains Tax on Real Property a Good Idea. InPrepared for the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy-Land Policy Institute of Taiwan, Conference on Toward A(pp. 24-25). Wallis, C. 2013, "When is giving advice about tax laws legal?", Taxation in Australia, vol. 48, no. 1, pp. 36-38. Woellner, R., Barkoczy, S., Murphy, S., Evans, C. and Pinto, D., 2016.Australian Taxation Law 2016. Oxford University Press Wood, G., Ong, R. andWinter, I. 2012, "Stamp duties, land tax and housing affordability: The case for reform", Australian Tax Forum, vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 331-349. Yinger, J., Bloom, H.S. and Boersch-Supan, A., 2016.Property taxes and house values: The theory and estimation of intrajurisdictional property tax capitalization. Elsevier.

Designing - Implementing and Improving Processes

Question: Write an essay that demonstrates how both Benchmarking and Lean Six Sigma can be used by organisations to facilitate change in their business processes to enhance and sustain their competitive advantage. Answer: In this essay, it has been demonstrated that how an organization can implement Benchmarking and Lean Six Sigma method to facilitate change in the business processes so that it can enhance and gain sustainable competitive advantage. As Babarit et al. (2012) stated that, in the last decade business process is changing rapidly, and they are coupling with various disruptive technologies social media, mobile technology, and cloud computing. It has initiated the necessity of business process management. Industry development has made it necessary for companies to change their architecture. According to Antony et al. (2012), the relationship between information technology and business operation is getting highly complicated. On the other hand, with the increase of purchasing power of customers, it has become crucial for an organization to enhance their business operation. As Cheng and Chang (2012) stated that, presently customers are getting more involved with company operations. They scruti nize every access of business such as availability, accessibility and delivery time. Hence, in order to meet customer expectations, it has become mandatory to use strategies such as Six Sigma and benchmarking strategy. In this essay, at first, both methods are discussed. Then it has been found which organizations have actually implemented these strategies to identify business process change. After observing those case studies, an appropriate strategy has been developed to apply one or both of these techniques in a simple organization. As Rolstadas (2012) stated that, Benchmarking is the method to improve performance by recognizing and implying best-demonstrated practices to sales and operation of business. With the help of benchmarking process, managers are able to compare their process and products externally with that of competitors. They also can compare their operations internally with other operations of the organization (Sajjad and Amjad 2012). The major objective of Benchmarking technique is that it helps to find out examples of superior performance and try to understand those factors that drive that performance. After analyzing those practices, a company is able to implement them into the operations and sales of their own organizations (Williams et al. 2012). As Yakovleva et al. (2012) argued that, benchmarking is not about copying strategies of other organization to improve business operation, but it is related to the innovation of enhanced strategies to improve business operations. There are mainly 12 stages related with the appropriate benchmarking procedure. They are such as subject selection, the definition of the process, identification of potential partners, collection of data, determination of gaps, target future performance, communicate, adjustment of goal, implementation and review and calibration (Hong et al. 2012). There are three major costs related with the benchmarking procedure. They are such as visit cost, time cost and benchmarking database cost (Zink 2012). The cost of benchmarking can be reduced by using several internet resources. According to Qayoumi (2012) Lean Six, Sigma is a new methodology of business improvement. It combines both Six Sigma and Lean methodologies. It is the principal aim of Lean process management to reduce waste from business process and focus on customer's expectations. On the other hand, Six Sigma is implemented to cut process variation and enhance process improvements depending on customer's perception of quality (Psychogios et al. 2012). When these two processes are combined, they create a business methodology that can standardize and integrate business process. According to Pamfilie et al. (2012), it has been found that organizations, who have implemented Lean Six Sigma methodology, are able to deliver service and goods with minimal waste and in a cost effective manner. As Pamfilie et al. (2012) stated that lean Six Sigma process has utilized all the phases similar to that of Six Sigma. There are two major aspects on which the Lean Six Sigma process works. They are such as reducing defects depending on critical to quality (CTQ) and Lean's waste elimination. In order to implement benchmarking in an organization, it is required to understand what it actually is. Benchmarking is not superficial visits, which are undertaken to analyze the business performance. As Hong et al. (2012) argued that, it is impossible to gather detail knowledge of an operation after only a short visit. Benchmarking is also not a personal appraisal tool. As Hilton and Sohal (2012) stated that, Benchmarking should focus on organizations rather than individuals associated with it. Organizations also need to understand that, Benchmarking is not a standalone procedure (Hiebeler et al. 2012). It has to be a constant part of improvement operation strategy. The active benchmarking process can be developed within organizations if they ram up their performance frequently to remain competitive in the present business environment. Oil and Gas industry is the prime example of benchmarking implementations. In order to respond to the drastically changing technology, business, an d regulatory demands, most of the oil and gas companies have implemented benchmarking. There are various stages in which benchmarking helps to improve business operations of these companies. They are such as identification of world-class level of performance, determining the drivers of superior performance, determining gaps between world class performance and benchmarking performance recognize best practices in critical business process and build foundation for performance improvement (Habidin et al. 2012). Organizations can apply various types of benchmarking such as internal and external benchmarking and competitive and non-competitive benchmarking (Habidin and Yusof 2012). In order to implement Lean Six Sigma into the business process change, it is required to provide training to all employees. As Gremyr and Fouquet (2012) stated that, a belt-based training has been developed for Lean Six Sigma model, which is similar to that of Six Sigma model. There are four belts comprises in the Lean Six Sigma model. They are such as a yellow belt, green belt, black belt and master black belt (Gnanaraj et al. 2012). For each level, there are some levels of skills are available that describe which Six Sigma tools are required to be implemented in the present situation (Chiarini 2012). For, example yellow belt are given to the employees who have awareness about Lean Six Sigma. In the Greenbelt stage employees are focused on using Lean tools. As (Hilton and Sohal 2012) stated that, in this juncture employees learn how to implement DMAIC and Lean management principles in the business operation. At the black belt level, employees become full-time project leader of lean management. As Gnanaraj et al. (2012) stated that when lean management project leaders become two years experienced, then they become Master of Black Belt in Lean Six Sigma process. Figure 1: Organizational structure for Lean Six Sigma model The Xerox Corporation is the first company that has used the benchmarking technique to enhance its competitiveness during the mid-90s (Zink 2012). The form that time is benchmarking has become an important part of Business performance management of the organization. There are some major factors of improvement revealed under the benchmarking process. They are such as competition, manufacturing cost and quality of product (Habidin and Yusof 2012). It has been found that the average manufacturing cost of the copies companies of Japan is 30-40% less than that of company Xerox (Hong et al. 2012). For this reason, Japanese companies are able to cut down their production. Xerox Corporation also has neglected the potential of new entrants such as Canon, Sevin, and Ricoh, who have grabbed the lower-end market and niche segments. It also has been found that the products of Xerox had over 30,000 defective parts per one million products. It is 30 times more than its competitors (Gnanaraj et al. 2012). It has been found that the company Xerox needs 18% annual productivity growth rate to match up with its Japanese competitors (Yakovleva et al. 2012). In order to improve the condition, the company had initiated 5 stage benchmarking process. These five stages are as planning, analysis, integration, action, and maturity. The company has asked its branch managers to match its stocking policy with the installation orders of customers. It reduces the inventory holding time of the company. It leads to saving of $200 million for the organization (Yakovleva et al. 2012). Successful implementation of benchmarking strategy has increased the number of satisfied customer s, and it also helps to reduce the number of defective parts by 78%. Company 3M has used Lean Six Sigma process in order to provide high quality products and service to its customers. It was launched in the year of 2001 in the company 3M. As Yakovleva et al. (2012) stated that, Lean Six Sigma process provides methodologies, tools and cultural mindset that can help to meet the brand promise of the organization. There are five primary ways in which Lean Six Sigma helps to improve the business operation of the company 3M. The central part of 3M Lean Six Sigma process is a belief that consumers are entitled to get highest quality product from the enterprise. By cutting down root causes of variation from the business process, it helps to improve product quality. As Hong et al. (2012) stated that Lean Six Sigma process helps accelerate and streamline manufacturing process, supply chain and services of the organization to meet the demand. It helps the company to minimize defects and waste for the production process. It aligned innovation with the needs of cu stomers helps the company to develop a right product that can meet the needs of clients. Now Lean Six Sigma process has become a mandatory part of 3M's business operations. Successful implementation of this method has improved sales performance of the company by 20% in the last decade (Yakovleva et al. 2012). There are five stages related with Lean Six Sigma process. They are such as defining, measuring, improve and control. Together they are known as (DMAIC) tools. They help to make production control and enhance the business operation. Figure 2: DMAIC tools used in Lean Six Sigma process On the other hand, LEAN tools help to enhance speed and eliminate waste from the manufacturing process. Figure 3: LEAN tools used in Lean Six Sigma process In this section, it has been discussed how Hewlett-Packard Corporation can implement benchmarking process lean six sigma process in the organization. There are four phases in which HP can perform benchmarking. These stages are like a plan, adapt, collect and analysis. The planning process of the company includes performance benchmarking, process benchmarking and strategic benchmarking. In the next stage, the company needs to gather information. It includes points such as the cost of packaging materials, materials, physical properties like size and total package product weight. A process flow plan for the competitive analysis program has been given below for the company HP. Figure 4: Process flow of competitive analysis program for the company HP The company HP can adopt Lean Six Sigma process and give training to its employees so that they become expert problem solvers. By implementing Lean Six Sigma, the company can improve the current skill level of employees. It also provides them detail understanding about definition, measurement, analysis, improvement, and control methodologies of business operation (Hong et al. 2012). Appropriate application of six sigma model helps HP to produce products and services faster, better and cheaper manner. It helps to remove wastage from the manufacturing process, which helps to increase overall organizational productivity. Appropriate application of Six Sigma model will help the company HP to make an annual savings of $300 million. There is a table given below to measure the applicability of Lean six sigma process in HP. Name of the company Benefits drove due to application of Lean Six Sigma Hewlett Packard Reduction of error during product usage Reduction of overall time for software development Enhancing requirement gathering procedure to reduce rework Reducing the complaint resolution time Reducing appraisal cost per defects Figure 5: Advantages of implementing Lean Six Sigma in HP After analyzing benchmarking and Lean Six Sigma model, it has been found that both of these strategies are helpful to identify the process change within an organization. With the increase of customer expectation and demand from a company, it has become utterly important for the company to implement any one of the strategies for business process improvement. It has been found that company Xerox has successfully implemented the benchmarking process, which enables the company to save more than $200 million. On the other hand, the company 3M has successfully analyzed the Lean Six Sigma model and used it in the organizational process. It has been found that the company HP can successfully use both these models on anyone of them to improve its business performance. Reference list Antony, J., Krishan, N., Cullen, D. and Kumar, M., 2012. Lean Six Sigma for higher education institutions (HEIs) Challenges, barriers, success factors, tools/techniques.International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management,61(8), pp.940-948. Babarit, A., Hals, J., Muliawan, M.J., Kurniawan, A., Moan, T. and Krokstad, J., 2012. Numerical benchmarking inbusiness.Business research,41(1), pp.44-63. Cheng, C.Y. and Chang, P.Y., 2012. Implementation of the Lean Six Sigma framework in non-profit organisations: A case study.Total Quality Management Business Excellence,23(3-4), pp.431-447. Chiarini, A., 2012. Risk management and cost reduction using Lean Six Sigma tools.Leadership in Services,25(4), pp.318-330. Gnanaraj, S.M., Devadasan, S.R., Murugesh, R. and Sreenivasa, C.G., 2012. Sensitisation of SMEs towards the implementation of Lean Six Sigmaan initialisation in a cylinder frames manufacturing Indian SME.Production Planning Control,23(8), pp.599-608. Gremyr, I. and Fouquet, J.B., 2012. Design for Six Sigma and lean product development.International Journal of Lean Six Sigma,3(1), pp.45-58. Habidin, N.F. and Yusof, S.M., 2012. Relationship between lean six sigma, environmental management systems, and organizational performance in the Malaysian automotive industry.International Journal of Automotive Technology,13(7), pp.1119-1125. Habidin, N.F., Yusof, S.R.M., Omar, C.M.Z.C., Mohamad, S.I.S., Janudin, S.E. and Omar, B., 2012. Lean six sigma initiative: Business engineering practices and performance in Malaysian automotive industry.IOSR Journal of Engineering,2(7), pp.13-18. Hiebeler, R., Kelly, T. and Ketteman, C., 2012.Best practices: Building your business with customer-focused solutions. Simon and Schuster. Hilton, R.J. and Sohal, A., 2012. A conceptual model for the successful deployment of Lean Six Sigma.International Journal of Quality Reliability Management,29(1), pp.54-70. Hong, P., Hong, S.W., Jungbae Roh, J. and Park, K., 2012. Evolving benchmarking practices: a review for research perspectives.Benchmarking: An International Journal,19(4/5), pp.444-462. Manville, G., Greatbanks, R., Krishnasamy, R. and Parker, D.W., 2012. Critical success factors for Lean Six Sigma programmes: a view from middle management.International Journal of Quality Reliability Management,29(1), pp.7-20. Pamfilie, R., Petcu, A.J. and Draghici, M., 2012. The importance of leadership in driving a strategic Lean Six Sigma management.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,58, pp.187-196. Psychogios, A.G., Atanasovski, J. and Tsironis, L.K., 2012. Lean Six Sigma in a service context: a multi-factor application approach in the telecommunications industry.International Journal of Quality Reliability Management,29(1), pp.122-139. Qayoumi, M.H., 2012.Benchmarking and organizational change. The Association of High Education Facilities Officers. Rolstadas, A. ed., 2012.Performance management: A business process benchmarking approach. Springer Science Business Media. Sajjad, F. and Amjad, D.S., 2012. Role of benchmarking in Total Quality Management: case of telecom services sector of Pakistan.Business Management Dynamics,1(8), pp.34-44. Williams, J., Brown, C. and Springer, A., 2012. Overcoming benchmarking reluctance: a literature review.Benchmarking: An International Journal,19(2), pp.255-276. Yakovleva, N., Sarkis, J. and Sloan, T., 2012. Sustainable benchmarking of supply chains: the case of the food industry.International Journal of Production Research,50(5), pp.1297-1317. Zink, K.J., 2012.Total Quality Management as a holistic management concept: the European model for business excellence. Springer Science Business Media.

Ap Us History Dbq free essay sample

APUSH DBQ 6 All throughout the 1800s, slavery was a very controversial topic. During the 1860 election, Abraham Lincoln was asked about his views on slavery. He simply stated that he would do anything with slavery to preserve the union. A few months later, Lincoln issued the Emancipation and this went slightly against what he had said earlier. Once this was issued, the preservation of the Union and the abolition of slavery became the main goal in the war. I believe that Lincolns main goal was to preserve the Union and although he felt that slavery was morally wrong, he was willing to do anything to keep it together. There were many instances where Lincoln made his beliefs on slavery very clear. Although he believed that it was morally wrong, he still did not believe that blacks should have the same rights as an american. He wanted them to be free. Just free somewhere else. We will write a custom essay sample on Ap Us History Dbq or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page During his presidency he tried very hard to do whatever needed to be done to preserve the Union. Lincoln restated this again in August of 1863 when he reminded people of the democratic party that the civil war was being fought in an effort to put the Union back together. Feelings on slavery did not matter but freeing slaves would make things easier because Confederate war effort would become more difficult. I march of 1862, Lincoln decided that it would be best to award states that freed their slaves with money. With this, people were not able to say that they didnt receive money for getting rid of slavery. This was simply a bribe though. He was not forcing anyone to abolish slavery and it was completely the states decision. Although that made the thought of abolition seem less awful to the confederates, they were still unsure. When speaking to a Committee of Religious Denominations of Chicago in September of that same year, Lincoln admitted that slavery was a big part of rebellion. He also stated that emancipation would prove to Europe that the U. S. had morals (image of strong ally). Emancipation would then also weaken the rebels by taking their laborers. Although this was a good plan, people were also still curious as to what would happen to all of the freed black people because they are uneducated and not smart enough to do the average white persons work. Fredrick Douglas, brought up the idea of letting black people fight in the war, and Lincoln felt that it was a good thing for blacks to do. 54th Massachusetts was famous because it was the first all black regiment. All black people fought for free until they were seen as equal. At first, Lincoln was scared that they would not be good soldiers and they would not be loyal to the fellow troops. Another fear he had was that White regiments would be angry and refuse to fight. 54th Massachusetts did the assault on fort Wagner and although there were many casualties, they continued to fight. This impressed both Sherman and Grant. That concern was put aside when all the focus was pointed towards Lincoln during his famous Gettysburg address in July of 1863. During the historic speech, he stated that all men were created equal and pointed out that during the revolution, they fought for equality of all men. This meant that by having slavery, they were lying about the revolution. Lincoln made it a point to say that were an example to all other countries that wanted democracy. He called the United States a â€Å"test case† with slavery. They had to keep fighting for those who already died or they might as well have a monarchy. Everything was going smoothly until there was a race riot later that year. White people were beating up black people because they felt that they were stealing their jobs. Buckner was confused because these northern people were treating blacks like southerners. Abusing them and refusing to draft. He pointed out that the black people were fighting for a country that didnt even appreciate them. The memorable statement of his speech was that the freed men were braver than all the men in that room combined. As people argued about whether slavery should be abolished or not, Lincoln always made it clear that the one thing he cared about the most was the preservation of the Union. The southern states mainly insisted on keeping slaver for economic needs and the North was more open to the idea of abolition because they did not need slave help. With such a controversial topic, it was hard to compromise but with Lincolns will to do anything, the Union was once again united.

Sample Essay of Expository Content

Sample Essay of Expository ContentWhen writing a sample essay of expository content you need to make sure that it is extremely interesting and pertinent to your topic. You can write an essay of expository content to impress a potential employer or research professor. By reviewing and revising samples you can fine tune them to meet all of your needs.The sample essay of expository content has to be an original and very compelling essay on the test or exam question. It has to provide some value for the reader. Writing an essay of expository content requires attention to detail. Many writers try to use their own personal experiences to bring their opinion about a topic to life in their article.Since academic content is very important, it is important to find someone who can write it. Usually, writing a sample essay of expository content is best left to a professional writer. If you cannot afford to hire a professional, you can work with a sample.Asking your family and friends is a good i dea to get advice on how to write the writing that will make you stand out from the crowd. Remember that each person is different, so be sure to read and consider what they have to say. There is no way that you can get their input if you have not read the sample essay.Another way to evaluate your writing skills is to seek out a writing class. This can help you develop specific writing techniques that you may not have learned. Most writing classes will tell you that when you need to change something in your writing you should always check with your supervisor or department chair.Once you feel comfortable with your writing skills, you can begin writing the actual content. Be sure to keep the spelling, grammar, and punctuation all correct. Make sure that the information provided is compelling, but simple.As you review the sample essay of expository content, keep in mind that it is best if it is similar to the written information that you would receive during your time in college. Anoth er thing to keep in mind is that the sample will not be accepted for a job unless it has been read carefully. Keep these things in mind and you will soon find yourself with a unique and one of a kind writing sample.

Aes Case Solution Essays

Aes Case Solution Essays Aes Case Solution Paper Aes Case Solution Paper 1. How would you evaluate the capital budgeting method used historically by AES? What’s good and bad about it? â€Å"When AES undertook primarily domestic contract generation projects where the risk of changes to input and output prices was minimal, a project finance framework was employed. † Usually, project finance framework is used when the project has predictable cash flows, which can easily represent operating targets through explicit contract. When cash flows are certainty, the company can have higher level of leverage and it is easier to separate project assets from the parent company. Advantages and Disadvantages: ) Advantages a. Maximize Leverage b. Off-Balance Sheet Treatment c. Agency Cost d. Multilateral Financial Institutions 2) Disadvantages a. Projects V/S Division b. Complexity c. Macroeconomic Risk d. Political Risk: 2. If Venerus implements the suggested methodology, what would be the range of discount rates that AES would use around the world? If Vene rus and AES implement the suggested methodology, the projects would change while WACC changes. To find WACC we must first calculate the leveraged bets for each the US Red Oak and Lal Plr Pakistan projects, using the equation unleveled beta/(1-D/V). It is easy to find debt to capital ratios, which are 39. 5% for U. S and 35. 1% for Pakistan, and the unleveled beta, which are both 0. 25, in Exhibit 7a and 7b. Then we can obtain a leveraged beta for the U. S. , 0. 41, and for Pakistan, 0. 3852. Second we should find the risk free and risk premium rates. Because all debts are finance in U. S. dollar, we use the risk free rate, which is equal to U. S. T-bill, and risk premium rate, which is equal to U. S. risk premium, to calculate the cost of capital for all countries. Using equation cost of capital = Risk Free Rate + levered beta * Risk Premium, we can get the cost of capital for U. S. project, 7. 27%, and for Pakistan project, 7. 2%. After that we should find the cost of debt. Using the formula risk free rate + default spread, we can get the cost of debt for both U. S. project and Pakistan project are 8. 07% (4. 5%+3. 47%), in which both U. S. project and Pakistan project have a same spread, 3. 47%. To adjust we add the sovereign risk into calculation. In Exhibit 7a, the sovereign risk for the U. S. is 0% but for Pakistan is 9. 9%. We thereby get the new evaluation of the cost of capital and cost of debt, which are constant for U. S. and rise to 17. 1% and 17. 97% for Pakistan. Finally we calculate the WACC. The formula is leveraged beta * (cost of capital) + Debt to capital * (cost of debt) * (1-tax rate). Then we get for the U. S. WACC= 6. 48% and for Pakistan WACC= 15. 93%. Finally, we should adjust the WACC with its risk score. Because everything is calculated in U. S. dollar, the U. S. risk score is 0. So the U. S. projects WACC is constant. The Pakistan risk premium is 1. 425. So the change is 1. 25 * 500= 705bp = 7. 05%. Therefore, we get the final Pakistan WACC, which is 23. 08% (15. 93%+7. 05%). In conclusion, the difference between the U. S. and Pakistan projects is 16. 60%. Obviously, the U. S. project looks much more favorable. 3. Does this make sense as a way to do capital budgeting? The financial strategy employed by AES was historically based on project finance. The model worked well in the domes tic market and in the international operations. However, when AES started its diversification of business, it had to face to increasing symmetrical risks, such as business risk. In addition, project finance did not include the risk of devaluation of currency in developing economies which resulted in significant losses due to the inability of the company to survive its international debt obligations. And AES should also pay attention to political risk. Hence we see that the geographical diversification of business made project financing less recommendable as a symmetrical risk becomes more manifest. 4. What is the value of the Pakistan project using the cost of capital derived from the new methodology? If this project was located in the U. S. what would its value be? In order to calculate the value of project for the Lal Pir project in Pakistan, we first need to calculate the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) using the new proposed methodology. The first step is to calculate the value of levered ?. The value of the levered ? comes out to be 38. 52%, which essentially means that our project is not very highly correlated to the market return. Using this v alue of ? we now calculate the cost of Equity. We have used the return on U. S. Treasury Bond, which is 4. 5%, as the risk free return. The cost of equity comes out to be 7. % and similarly, using the risk free return and the default spread we calculate the cost of debt which comes out to be 8. 07%. It is important to note that the cost of debt and the cost of equity also need to be adjusted for the sovereign spread. Once we have the adjusted costs of equity and capital, the WACC comes out to be 15. 93%. However, now we need to adjust this WACC for the risks associated with doing the project in Pakistan. As mentioned in part 2, we get final WACC 23. 08%, which lead us to calculate NPV from the year 2004 to 2023. And it is -$234. 34 million. For U. S. , first we see the sovereign spread is equal to zero. Secondly, in this case we would need to calculate the business risk using the information given in Exhibit 7a. This score comes out to be 0. 64 and using this score, our business risk comes out to be 3. 23% and adding it to calculated value of WACC, we get our final WACC of 9. 64%. Using this we calculate our NPV for USA which comes out to be -$35. 92 million. 5. How does the adjusted cost of capital for the Pakistan project reflect the probabilities of real events? What does the discount rate adjustment imply about expectations for the project because it is located in Pakistan and not the U. S.? To calculate the adjusted cost of capital, we should adjust six common types of risks: Operational, Counterparty, Regulatory, Construction, Commodity, Currency and Legal. In Pakistan, it is possible to meet all these risks except construction. Additionally, the highest probability is the legal risk. When we calculate the WACC for Pakistan through traditional formula it comes out to be 15. 93%, however in order to incorporate the risk factor associated with Pakistan we need to adjust it for the Total Risk Score, which in this case is 1. 425. So we need to adjust our WACC 23. 08%. As mentioned earlier the discount rate is adjusted based on the total risk score of the country. This total risk score is compiled from 6 main types of risks, the probability of which varies from country to country. While currency, regulatory and legal risks are significantly high in Pakistan, the operational, counterparty and commodity risks are higher in U. S.. Similarly when come to the adjusted WACC for Pakistan (23. 08%) and WACC for U. S. (6. 48%), we can conclude that Pakistan is much riskier to invest than the U. S..