Legitimacy Theory Essay

â€Å"Legitimacy is a generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions† (Suchman, 1995, p. 574, emphasis in original) Legitimacy theory has become one of the most cited theories within the social and environmental accounting area. Yet there remains deep scepticism amongst many researchers that it offers any real insight into the voluntary disclosures of corporations. This brief paper outlines responses to two specific concerns identified in the literature. It will eventually form part of a much larger project addressing a range of issues associated with legitimacy theory. First, the paper brings some of the more recent developments in the management and ethical literature on legitimacy and corporations to the accounting table. Second, there are contributions to the theory that have already been made by accounting researchers that are yet to be fully recognised. The author believes that legitimacy theory does offer a powerful mechanism for understanding voluntary social and environmental disclosures made by corporations, and that this understanding would provide a vehicle for engaging in critical public debate. The problem for legitimacy theory in contributing to our understanding of accounting disclosure specifically, and as a theory in general, is that the term has on occasion been used fairly loosely. This is not a problem of the theory itself, and the observation could be equally applied to a range of theories in a range of disciplines (see for example Caudill (1997) on the abuse of Evolutionary Theory). Failure to adequately specify the theory has been identified by Suchman (1995, p. 572, emphasis in original), who observed that â€Å"Many researchers employ the term legitimacy, but few define it†. Hybels (1995, p. 241) comments that â€Å"As the tradesmen [sic] of social science have groped to build elaborate theoretical structures with which to shelter their careers and  disciplines, legitimation has been a blind man’s hammer.† This paper begins to address these issues. Not One Theory but Two (at least) An important issue which needs to be acknowledged is that there are in fact two major classes of legitimacy theory. These are graphically presented in Figure 1 below. The ‘macro-theory’ of legitimation, known as Institutional Legitimacy Theory, deals with how organisational structures as a whole (capitalism for example, or government) have gained acceptance from society at large. â€Å"Within this tradition, legitimacy and institutionalization are virtually synonymous. Both phenomena empower organizations primarily by making them seem natural and meaningful† (Suchman, 1995, p. 576, emphasis in original). In terms of accounting research, given the time frames involved and questions generally being considered, the current business environment, including the capitalist structure, democratic government, etc. are generally taken as a given, a static context within which the research is situated. This assumption would, however, need to be carefully considered for a longitudinal study of any significant length. Figure 1: Layers of Legitimacy Theory INSTITUTIONAL LEVEL GOVERNMENT RELIGION SOCIETY CAPITALISM ORGANISATIONAL LEVEL (IN THIS CASE: COMPANY LTD BY SHARE) Establishment Defence Extension Maintenance From the Moral to the Measurable One layer down from the Institutional Level is what in Figure 1 is called the â€Å"Organisational Level† (sometimes referred to as Strategic Legitimacy Theory). â€Å"Underlying organizational legitimacy is a process, legitimation, by which an organization seeks approval (or avoidance of sanction) from groups in society† (Kaplan and Ruland, 1991, p. 370). It is from this level  that most accounting research tends to draw its understanding of legitimacy. Mathews (1993, p. 350) provides a good definition of legitimacy at this level: Organisations seek to establish congruence between the social values associated with or implied by their activities and the norms of acceptable behaviour in the larger social system in which they are a part. In so far as these two value systems are congruent we can speak of organisational legitimacy. When an actual or potential disparity exists between the two value systems there will exist a threat to organisational legitimacy. At its simplest, within the Organisational view â€Å"legitimacy [is] an operational resource †¦ that organizations extract – often competitively – from their cultural environments and that they employ in pursuit of their goals† (Suchman, 1995, p. 575 6, emphasis in original). Legitimacy, just like money, is a resource a business requires in order to operate. Certain actions and events increase that legitimacy, and others decrease it. Low legitimacy will have particularly dire consequences for an organisation, which could ultimately lead to the forfeiture of their right to operate. Although we can describe a firm as being legitimate, and conceive of ‘amounts’ of legitimacy, it becomes a very subjective exercise to try and directly measure legitimacy. Although it has concrete consequences, legitimacy itself is an abstract concept, given reality by multiple actors in the social environment. For a researcher to try and directly establish, or even rank, the legitimacy of various organisations would seem to be a necessarily subjective undertaking, preferencing the researcher’s own views. As Hybels (1995, p. 243) argues, â€Å"I reject this view because it is based on a conflation of the roles of observer and participant in social science†. As an alternative, rather than trying to subjectively measure a firm’s legitimacy directly it can instead be inferred from the fact that being legitimate â€Å"enables organizations to attract resources necessary for survival (e.g., scarce materials, patronage, political approval)† (Hearit, 1995, p. 2). Hybels (1995, p. 243) develops this in some detail: Legitimacy often has been conceptualized as simply one of many resources that organizations must obtain from their environments. But rather than viewing legitimacy as something that is exchanged among institutions, legitimacy is better conceived as both part of the context for exchange and  a by-product of exchange. Legitimacy itself has no material form. It exists only as a symbolic representation of the collective evaluation of an institution, as evidenced to both observers and participants perhaps most convincingly by the flow of resources. †¦ resources must have symbolic import to function as value in social exchange. But legitimacy is a higher-order representation of that symbolism – a representation of representations. Hybels (1995, p. 243) argues that good models in legitimacy theory must examine the relevant stakeholders, and how â€Å"Each influences the flow of resources crucial to the organizations’ establishment, growth, and survival, either through direct control or by the communication of good will†. He identifies (p. 244) four critical organisational stakeholders, each of which control a number of resources. These are summarised in Table 1 below. Table 1: Critical Organisational Stakeholder STAKEHOLDER RESOURCES CONTROLLED Contracts, grants, legislation, regulation, tax (Note that the (1) The state last three of these could be either a ‘negative’ or ‘positive’ depending on the implementation) (2) The public (3) The financial community (4) The media Few ‘direct resources’; however, can substantially influence the decisions of stakeholders (2) & (3) (if not (1)) Patronage (as customer), support (as community interest), labour Investment The last of these has received considerable attention. The power of the media has been noted by a number of researchers, including Patten (2002, p. 153), who states â€Å"that while increased media attention can certainly lead to the potential for increased pressures from any of the three sources [dissatisfaction of public; new or proposed political action; increased regulatory oversight], increases in pressure can  also arise, particularly with respect to regulatory oversight.† See also Deegan et al. (2000, 2002). Companies try to manage their legitimacy because it â€Å"helps to ensure the continued inflow of capital, labour and customers necessary for viability†¦ It also forestalls regulatory activities by the state that might occur in the absence of legitimacy†¦ and pre-empts product boycotts or other disruptive actions by external parties†¦ By mitigating these potential problems, organizational legitimacy provides managers with a degree of autonomy to decide how and where business will be conducted† (Neu  et al., 1998, p. 265). Researchers need to move away from trying to directly assess legitimacy, and instead focus on measuring it in terms of the resources relevant stakeholders provide. â€Å"Rather than engage in the further development of entirely abstract constructions of the legitimation process†¦ researchers should investigate the flow of resources from organizational constituencies as well as the pattern and content of communications† (Hybels, 1995, p. 244). But Wait†¦ There’s More As shown in Figure 1 Organisational Legitimacy Theory suggests that a firm may be in one of four phases with regard to its legitimacy. These phases are outlined below, some examples of industries/firms that might be considered to be operating in each of these phases are included (further research needs to be undertaken in this area). Establishing Legitimacy. (E.g. Stem Cell based bio-tech). This first phase represents the early stages of a firm’s development and tends to revolve around issues of competence, particularly financial, but the organisation must be aware of â€Å"socially constructed standards of quality and desirability as well as perform in accordance with accepted standards of professionalism† (Hearit, 1995, p. 2). Maintaining Legitimacy. (The majority of organisations). This is the phase that most firms would generally expect to be operating in, where their â€Å"activities include: (1) ongoing role performance and symbolic assurances that all is well, and (2) attempts to anticipate and prevent or forestall potential challenges to legitimacy† (Ashford and Gibbs, 1990, p. 183). However the maintenance of legitimacy is not as easy as it may at first appear. Legitimacy is a dynamic construct. â€Å"Community expectations are not considered static, but rather, change across time thereby requiring organisations to be responsive to the environment in which they operate. An organisation could, accepting this view, lose its legitimacy even if it has not changed its activities from activities which were previously deemed acceptable (legitimate)† (Deegan et al., 2002, p. 319 – 20). Extending Legitimacy. (E.g. Alternative Health Providers). There may come a point where an organisation enters new markets or changes the way it relates to its current market. This can give rise to a need to extend  legitimacy which is â€Å"apt to be intense and proactive as management attempts to win the confidence and support of wary potential constituents† (Ashford and Gibbs, 1990, p. 180). Defending Legitimacy. (E.g. Uranium Mining). Legitimacy may be threatened by an incident (internal or external), and therefore require defence. â€Å"Legitimation activities tend to be intense and reactive as management attempts to counter the threat† (Ashford and Gibbs, 1990, p. 183). Even barring a major incident it is likely in the Western Capitalist system that almost every corporation will regularly need to defend its legitimacy, by the mere fact that â€Å"corporations must fulfil both a competence and community requirement to realize legitimacy†¦ Satisfaction of stockholder interests often occurs at the expense of community concerns (e.g., the despoiling of the environment, the use of labour) while, conversely, responsibility to the larger community often occurs at the expense of the stockholder† (Hearit, 1995, p. 3). It is this last phase that has tended to be the main focus of accounting researchers. It also provides us with the clearest opportunity to examine the crucial link between legitimacy and resources. Lindblom (1994), a key paper cited by many Social and Environmental Accounting researchers, also seems relevant specifically to this phase only. An example of work in this area is Deegan et al.’s (2000) study of five major incidents (including the Exxon Valdez oil spill and the Bhopal Disaster) which provided a context to examine the annual reports of related (in industrial terms) Australian firms to see if there had been a significant change in their social or environmental reporting. They concluded: The results of this study are consistent with legitimacy theory and show that companies do appear to change their disclosure policies around the time of major company and industry related social events. †¦ These results highlight the strategic nature of voluntary social disclosures and are consistent with a view that management considers that annual report social disclosures are a useful device to reduce the effects upon a corporation of events that are perceived to be unfavourable to a corporation’s image (Deegan et al., 2000, p. 127). The Diagnosis Needs Refinement This is where the traditional legitimacy model stops. However my own  research, into the tobacco industry, Tilling (2004), and that of other researchers, including experimental research undertaken by O’Donovan (2002), suggest a further development of the Organisational Legitimacy Level, as depicted in Figure 2 below. Added to the model is the possibility that a firm may not successfully (or may be unable to) defend the threat to its legitimacy and actually start to lose legitimacy. Figure 2: Refinement of the Organisational Level of Legitimacy Theory Establishment Loss Defence Disestablishment Extension Maintenance In this model the defence phase is usually entered by an organisation after some form of one-off ‘incident’ or ‘accident’ which threatens its legitimacy. This phase could be characterised as being ‘acute’, it can be serious, some times even fatal, but usually, with proper management, the organisation can maintain, or at least recover, its legitimacy. However should there be an ongoing series of events, indicative of a systemic issue, e.g. the nuclear power industry, or a single event with permanent consequences which cannot be effectively managed, e.g. realisation that the organisation’s product is not safe such as the tobacco industry, an organisation is likely to have its legitimacy eroded over a period of time (the ‘loss’ phase), which can be characterised as ‘chronic’. The issue can be difficult to manage, and generally leads to declining legitimacy, however the loss may be managed and slowed over a long period of time, or significant change could lead to reestablishment of legitimacy. The ‘loss’ phase is most likely to be preceded by sustained media and NGO scrutiny, and accompanied by increasing government regulation, monitoring and possibly taxation. Within this phase there are likely to be periods where the company will increase its voluntary social and environmental disclosure in an effort to meet specific threats (such as to postpone or defeat proposed regulations) or to communicate systemic corporate change  (similar to the defence phase). However, with each new restriction average total disclosure can be expected to decrease. This idea is alluded to by O’Donovan (2002) who argues, based on experimental evidence, that the lower the perceived legitimacy of the organisation, the less likely it is to bother providing social and environmental disclosure. Watch This Space Legitimacy theory offers researchers, and the wider public, a way to critically unpack corporate disclosures. However the understanding and study of the theory must become more sophisticated, drawing on developments both within the accounting literature and beyond. Only then will the full potential of legitimacy theory for examining a wide range of disclosures be fully realised. Areas that would provide useful insights include at the moment the asbestos industry (as it goes through the disestablisment phase), brothels (as they become much more legitimate within the Australian context), and the forestry industry (as it tries to defend its legitimacy), to name but a few. The knowledge gained will then be used to provide better and more useful information to inform decision making by stakeholders. In this way society is empowered to have greater control and oversight over the way resources are allocated. References: Ashford, B. E. and B. W. Gibbs (1990) â€Å"The Double-Edge of Organizational Legitimation†, Organization Science, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 177 – 194. Caudill, E. (1997) Darwinian Myths: The Legends and Misuses of a Theory, Knoxville, University of Tennessee Press. Deegan, C., M. Rankin and J. Tobin (2002) â€Å"An Examination of the Corporate Social and Environmental Disclosures of BHP from 1983-1997: A Test of Legitimacy Theory†, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 312 – 343. Deegan, C., M. Rankin and P. Voght (2000) â€Å"Firms’ Disclosure Reactions to Major Social Incidents: Australian Evidence†, Accounting Forum, Vol. 24, No. 1, pp. 101 – 130. Hearit, K. M. (1995) â€Å"‘Mistakes Were Made’: Organizations, Apologia, and Crises of Social Legitimacy†, Communication Studies, Vol. 46, No. 1-2, pp. 1 – 17. Hybels, R. C. (1995) â€Å"On Legitimacy, Legitimation, and Organizations: A Critical Review and Integrative Theoretical Model†, Academy of Management  Journal, Special Issue: Best Papers Proceedings, 1995, pp. 241 – 245. Kaplan, S. E. and R. G. Ruland (1991) â€Å"Positive Theory, Rationality and Accounting Regulation†, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp. 361 374. Lindblom, C. K. (1994), â€Å"The Implications of Organizational Legitimacy for Corporate Social Performance and Disclosure†, Critical Perspectives on Accounting Conference, New York. Mathews, M. R. (1993) Socially Responsible Accounting, UK, Chapman & Hall. Neu, D., H. Warsame and K. Pedwell (1998) â€Å"Managing Public Impressions: Environmental Disclosures in Annual Reports†, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 265 – 282. O’Donovan, G. (2002) â€Å"Environmental Disclosures in the Annual Report: Extending the Applicability and Predictive Power of Legitimacy Theory†, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 344 – 371. Patten, D. M. (2002) â€Å"Media Exposure, Public Policy Pressure, and Environmental Disclosure: An Examination of the Impact of Tri Data Availability†, Accounting Forum, Vol. 26, No. 2, pp. 152 – 171. Suchman, M. C. (1995) â€Å"Managing Legitimacy: Strategic and Institutional Approaches†, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 571 610. Tilling, M. (2004), â€Å"Communication at the Edge: Voluntary Social and Environmental Reporting in the Annual Report of a Legitimacy Threatened Corporation†. APIRA Conference Proceedings, Singapore, July.

Business plan †CoViTek Essay

CoViTek is an Atlanta based company that offers a unique value added service to the $11 billion dollars video rental industry. CoViTek will revolutionize the industry by renting movies through its video vending machines. These machines are already experiencing tremendous success in Europe, where they were invented. Customers will now be able to rent videos twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week in a timely and efficient manner at the lowest price. Our machines can be implemented anywhere, even in locations that are not accessible to our brick and mortar competitors, and we will therefore focus our efforts on all the strategic locations. Reve-lution Int. will offer a unique business-to-consumer service for the rental of videos and DVDs. The technology, containing a fully automated system, will facilitate continuous rental and return of movies bridging the gap between video stores, who only are open 15 hours a day, and services such as the nonexistent Kozmo. com, who offer video delivery for a premium price. The company has a cost-per-action (CPA) pricing structure. CoViTek’s target customers will include universities with a student body of at least 10,000 in addition to the rest of the city of Atlanta for the first six months of operation. CoViTek will provide their clientele with a complete set of integrated tools within the machine to make accurate and enjoyable purchasing decisions. CoViTek will give video rental customers the freedom of rental 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long. CoViTek will build the world’s truly first convenient and efficient rental system†¦ Target Customers Movie rentals have proven to be an integral part of the everyday lives of the American population. With more than $11 billion dollars in rental sales in 1999, we acknowledge the aggregate demand for the video rental industry. Constantly seeking immediate gratification, video rental stores want the most efficient and cost-effective methods of satisfying their customers. CoViTek will make rentals simple by providing consumers the most efficient tools for with which to initialize a rental process. With the killer application technology used in these machines, the customer will be able to conduct multiple searches in order to rent the movie of their desire. CoViTek will further assist them through the provisions of an active preference search, which is currently being used by Amazon. com. This application will determine what the customer rented last and list the preferred movies of that category the customer will like based on past rental behavior. CoViTek’s potential customers will represent the bulk of video rental households who value rental outlet convenience and flexible payment plans. CoViTek will strive for the most efficient, cost-flexible payments and active searches for preservation of quality time. Market Growth Perspective According to analyst Paul Keagan & Associates, at home movie consumption expenditures will increase approximately 40% by 2005 to $27 billion, almost triple the amount spent in 1990. The vast majority of these expenditures, about 83%, will be for video/DVD rentals and retail. However, movie consumption will also encompass pay-per-view and video on demand (VOD) available through cable and satellite services. Video Production Companies Ninety percent of our videotapes will come from one of the six major production companies: 1. Buena Vista 2. Warner Bros. 3. Universal 4. Fox 5. Paramount, or 6. Columbia-Tri-Star The power of these suppliers is very high, as they hold the exclusive rights to the movies they produce. One of our late competitors, Kozmo. com, has built a unique strategic partnership with these production companies. They have developed a profit sharing system with the major production companies requiring no initial investment in the videos, but agreeing to give 40% of the revenue generated by the rentals to the producer of the movie. We believe that this profit sharing system is financially unattractive, although it will allow us to reduce our initial investment costs; it minimizes our profits which in turn will delay our expansion strategy. We will use an initial video vendor, Video Bicicling, based out of Texas to supply us with our videos and DVDs. They will provide us with the most up-do-date movies for competitive prices. Competitor Differentiation CoViTek differentiates itself from its competitors in several key areas. While companies such as Blockbuster and Hollywood Entertainment offer the same features, only CoViTek will incorporate all of the features described below in a way that gives consumers the ultimate ease of use, active preference search, and extremely convenient locations of operations. Time Availability CoViTek’s competitive advantage is based on its time availability for rentals. The machines will be open and available for usage 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year round. CoViTek will keep customer service readily available even throughout holidays. Strategic Locations CoViTek will implement the vending machines in key strategic locations after performing a detailed demo-geographical analysis of the city of Atlanta. Locations will initially be university campuses and later the urban areas of the city. Each machine will be located in areas where there is heavy human traffic. Payment Flexibility Our pricing will be flexible depending on the amount of time the video is out. Since CoViTek is a system that is open 24 hours a day there are no late fees associated in our model. Our standard rental time for DVDs is â€Å"midnight of the following day† for a price between $2. 50-$3. 00. Each additional day will be between $1. 50-$2. 00. Video Cassettes will be $3. 99 and if returned within 24 hours $1will be credited back. Each additional day will be $1. 99. (Based on new releases) Active Search CoViTek will use an innovative application technology which actively searches for videos categorized by title, actor, new releases, type of movie (action, thriller, comedy), and most frequently rented movies. Relative Competitive Factor Blockbuster Video Hollywood Video Kozmo. com CoViTek Relative Product Quality and Differentiation i i i i Flexible Payment Plan i E-commerce Based i i Brand Recognition % 100% 63% 40% N/A Locations around campuses i i i i Locations on Campuses i i Large video selection.i i Number of employees less than 5/ location i One of the most compelling aspects of the CoViTek model is its portability into untapped realms of video rental opportunities. This will provide the company with a critical advantage-the flexibility to transform itself in response to competitive challenges or to shifts in the video rental market environment. CoViTek’s flexibility will give downside protection to its owners by insuring that new, innovative means of generating cash flow can be realized. Future elements of CoViTek may include: National Expansion. Video rental opportunities in selected national markets such as: Washington D. C. , Los Angeles, Miami and Huston. Washington D. C: our second location has similar features to our first city of operation. It has a few large universities, widely used public transportation, and high pedestrian traffic. The schools we target will be American University, George Washington University, and Georgetown University. Our downtown locations will depend on areas where there is an intersection of the public transportation lines and high pedestrian traffic. Data Distribution. Future plans may include the sale of CoViTek’s proprietary online consumer data to the major video production companies. Specialized Machine Content Another growth opportunity for CoViTek in the future is the implementation of machines with customized video selection. The content of these machines will be select videos and DVDs targeted toward an audience based on specific themes. These machines will be placed in strategic locations based around their themes. Some possible â€Å"themed† machines may include: classic movie machines, foreign movie machines with Spanish subtitles or dubbing, and award-winning movie machines. The placement of these machines will require careful market analysis and planning, and therefore we plan to wait before implementation to gather enough data about the market and the purchasing patterns of our customers. Investment Needs Michel Khoury founder of CoViTek, has accumulated cash in excess of $10,000 for the development and the start-up cost of the company. CoViTek is now prepared to obtain financing through establishing a line of credit and implementing an equipment loan for its initial machine. It will later apply for loans as needed in order to buy more machines as it expands its operation. Using the machines and earnings as collateral CoViTek should have sufficient funds to obtain a line of credit that will secure its implementation of strategy. The initial stage of funding will be used to complete Web-site development, obtain one machines, invest in computer hardware and software, lease location space needed for the machines and market CoViTek during the first 12 months of operations. After 12 to 18 months of operation, CoViTek will require an infusion of an additional $15,000 to expand its brand image and increase its service offerings at an accelerated pace. Successful development and operation of CoViTek will allow it to be self-sufficient within approximately 9 to 12 months of initial operation. CoViTek will be a for-profit company incorporated in the state of Georgia. CoViTek – Start up costs Machines $20,246. 64 Inventory: video tapes $9,210 Cash/ month $2,808 Advertising $8,000 Legal & Accounting $7,000 Insurance $3,000 TOTAL $50,264. 64 Management team Michel Khoury Chief Executive Officer Founder While founding CoViTek, Michel Khoury is Assistant Managing Director at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. He is working hand in hand with the Managing Director of the company in order to implement a system of bringing foreign investment to the company. He has had significance experience with young ventures as he has participated in the creation of several companies nationally and internationally. Michel Khoury is also consultant to the CEO of Santege Capital Asset Management Group in New York City. Michel Khoury graduated in May of 2001 from Emory University with a Bachelor of Business administration with concentrations in Finance, Consulting, Venture Management and Marketing.

Efas Analysis How-to

Synthesis of External Factors—EFAS After strategic managers have scanned the societal and task environments and identified a number of likely external factors for their particular corporation, they may want to refine their analysis of these factors using a form such as that given in Table 3. 4. The EFAS Table (External Factors Analysis Summary) is one way to organize the external factors into the generally accepted categories of opportunities and threats as well as to analyze how well a particular company’s management (rating) is responding to these specific factors in light of the perceived importance (weight) of these factors to the company. To generate an EFAS Table for the company being analyzed, complete the following steps: In Column 1 (External Factors), list the eight to ten most important opportunities and threats facing the company. In Column 2 (Weight), assign a weight to each factor from 1. 0 (Most Important) to 0. 0 (Not Important) based on that factor’s probable impact on a particular company’s current strategic position. The higher the weight, the more important is this factor to the current and future success of the company. (All weights must sum to 1. 0 regardless of the number of strategic factors. ) In Column 3 (Rating), assign a rating to each factor from 5 (Outstanding) to 1 (Poor) based on that particular company’s current response to that particular factor. Each rating is a judgment regarding how well the company is currently dealing with each external factor. 5 43 2 1 Â ¦_________________Â ¦_____________Â ¦_______________Â ¦_______________Â ¦ Out- Above Average BelowPoor standing Average Average In Column 4Â  (Weighted Score), multiply the weight in Column 2 for each factor times its rating in Column 3 to obtain that factor’s weighted score. This results in a weighted score for each factor ranging from 5. 0 (Outstanding) to 1. (Poor) with 3. 0 as average. In Column 5Â  (Comments), note why a particular factor was selected and how its weight and rating were estimated. Finally, add the weighted scores for all the external factors in Column 4 to determine the total weighted score for that particular company. The total weighted score indicates how well a particular company is responding to current and expected factors in its external environment. The score can be used to compare that firm to other firms in its industry. The total weighted score for an average firm in an industry is always 3. 0. As an example of this procedure, Table 3. 4 includes a number of external factors for Maytag Corporation with corresponding weights, ratings, and weighted scores provided. This table is appropriate for 1995 before Maytag sold its European and Australian operations. Note that Maytag’s total weight is 3. 15, meaning that the corporation is slightly above average in the major home appliance industry.

Pollution from a primary aluminum smelter for environmental law class Research Paper

Pollution from a primary aluminum smelter for environmental law class - Research Paper Example This paper will evaluate the range of water pollution caused by aluminum smelting and its aftereffects on public health and the environment as a whole. It has been identified that mainly three types of water discharges are associated with aluminium smelting. Process water is the liquid effluent which is mainly used for cooling dung metal casting; it contains small quantities of organic matter, fluorides, oils, suspended solids, and industrial gases. This process also discharges waste water from restrooms and laboratory facilities, and the discharged water contains organic matter and suspended solids. During the aluminium smelting process, drainage water is also discharged. It is estimated that the â€Å"Portland aluminium smelter discharges 73 ML of process water each year† (Salzman, Allinson, Stagnitti, Coates & Hill, 2001). In modern days, an effective system called water treatment center is established in most of the aluminum smelting plants where the water effluents are ac cumulated and eliminated. However, the water treatment center would not be able to eliminate these water pollutants completely. Adams (2011) points out that excess level of fluorine content in water may lead to dental fluorosis. Similarly, aluminum is very toxic to fish and aquatic insects if its concentration exceeds the limit 1 mg/L.

The main ideas of Buddhism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The main ideas of Buddhism - Essay Example Buddhism is a dharma or non-theistic religion that promotes the norms of the people. It consists of a range of beliefs, traditions and practices. These components are rooted in the teachings accredited to Buddha which is also known as Siddhartha. The religion followers believe that Buddha means, â€Å"The awakened one† Statistically, the Religion is practised by over 300 million people around the world with most of the followers coming from India. Buddhism has two common branches, namely; Theravada and Mahayana. The former has extensive followers from Sri Lanka while the latter has followers from East Asia.Different religions emphasize on differing aspects, while others advocate for proclaiming faith on the religion, others stress the importance of putting into practice the norms of the religion. Resultantly, Cohen (182) supposes that Buddhists accept as true that practising is obtained through comprehension of the â€Å"Four Noble Truths†. Cohen (182) brought to light the exact and ultimate goal of the Buddhism Religion, the practice. The principal goal of Buddhism is the achievement of Nirvana state by practising the ‘Noble Eightfold Path’ which is also known as middle way as per the submission of McDaniel, (250). In a nutshell, the eight factors include; having the right understanding, professing the right intention, practising the right speech and actions, righteous living, making correct efforts, at all times maintaining good mindfulness and right concentrations.

Graduation Speech Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Graduation Speech - Essay Example I’m thrilled to know that we are now among the great people who has gone through this university and added to the rich history of our nation. A time has now for u to reach out to the whole world and shield our last few years of dedication and commitment. In spite of the currently prevailing economic slump, good institutions and organizations are out there in search for great minds. This University has a prosperous history showing a steady trend of success tales, and the university’s statistics indicate that the most excellent brains have been shaped and trained here. This is the best time to turn back and contemplate the expedition of our past few years in university. We all have persisted and conquer many impediments and personal issues to be here today. We worked so hard even in situations where some of us had to spend few hours off in order to raise the university fees. We had all our assignments even in circumstances where we had to skip precious sleep and occasional meals. In some instances we challenged our professors whenever we noticed mysteries in the scientific assumptions and theories. We would sometimes read new things like yesterday and almost immediately forget, but we still had a look at the same book the following day. At the beginning of the university we would miss a few classes, but still we became time management experts. Whatever we have leaned from this university will help in our personal and intellectual growth process. At this moment we are on the winning band; this particular day is not the finish line of our last lap in the voyage of life but the launch of a trip with unforeseeable future. With all the information and knowledge that we possess, this is the best time to emphatically decline the conservative and conventional wisdom that success is something for the privileged few and the rich. This university for the last few years has prepared us

Diels-Alder Reaction Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Diels-Alder Reaction - Lab Report Example Characterization of the products is through chemical tests discussed in Mayo pages 266. The experiment cyclopentadiene and maleic anhydride were reacted with the aqueous solution to form an n organic compound in crystal form. The composition of the cyclopentadiene does make it possible for such a reaction to proceed; it has 5 carbon rings that contain 2 carbon- carbon double bonds, which are separated by single alpha bonds. Purification of the crystalline product is typically accomplished by pipetting the solution from the underlying crystal products and consequently drying it. Diels-Alder reaction entails the preparation of the six-membered carbocyclic rings, which are conjugated diene with an alkene. The reaction of the product takes place in the single step to produce carbon-carbon bonds with the four stereocenters. The product is the adequate for the direct characterization. The reaction entails two reactants that are the butadiene and maleic anhydride, which both results to the functional groups to the corresponding product. In addition, the infrared spectrum of t he segregated material depicts the observation. The spectrum of the 3-sulfolene is representative on an alkene sulfone. Thus, the underlying macro group train for an unconjugated five-membered ring alkenes fits the underlying data rationally. The non-polar ought to exhibit a more solubility in petroleum ether in place of the hexane. It is mainly due to stronger van-der-Waals forces in the ether. Due to the presence of larger alkanes in petroleum ether, more intermolecular forces exist than hexane. For this reason, the presence of petroleum ether; the solubility is high for polar molecules yet with the increase in solubility denotes the decreased yield, hence less product. The presence of the two stereocenters coupled with the long range rotating is linked via the pie system of the alkene. The whole H spectrum is

Gottfried Leibniz-Consciousness and Unconsciousness Research Paper

Gottfried Leibniz-Consciousness and Unconsciousness - Research Paper Example On the other hand, finite minds have limited pleats and folds, which remain confined to limited thinking and mental abilities, and reality serves as the set of all finite minds (Hill, 5). Charlie Dunbar Broad (1975) has also evaluated and analysed the philosophical contributions made by Leibniz, who had presented theory of mind contradictory to Descartes and his school of thought. Instead of submitting to Descartes’ notion of taking body and mind as two separate and interdependent entities, Leibniz views them two parts of one and the same entity (Broad, 89). French philosopher Rene Descartes, in his works, had declared mind and body two entirely different entities, which casually enter into one another for the performance of both the two (Ariew, 26). He states mind as res cogitans or a thinking object, the function of which is mere looking into the things and matters and analysing the same. In addition, mind or soul, according to Descartes, is sublime in nature, which seeks no boundaries to move from one place to the other within the entire universe (31). On the contrary, body remains confined to some specific area, where it has to undergo different processes in order to fulfil the requirements related to its mobility from one place to the other. In addition, body is mortal, while the soul is immortal; it is, therefore, soul is much loftier and sublime than body in the eyes of Descartes. He also asserts that man is alive till the time he is bestowed with the power of thinking. It is therefore he states that â€Å"I think; it is therefore, I exist† (Hill, 3). However, being a true believer of the Jewish traditions, Leibniz follows the philosophy his religious teachings present to humanity. Consequently, he does not agree with the Descartes’ doctrine in its full swing, and without incurring a contradictory argument. He is of the view that there is one entity in the form of two independent but interrelated organs i.e. mind and body, which thou gh work independently without much collaboration with each other, yet they cannot be declared as indifferent to one another altogether. Leibniz holds, according to Broad, that there certainly exist the corporeal substances in the universe; however, each and every substance is actually a living organism, and contains a unique identity in it (87). Moreover, since every organism has its own

The Era of Reconstruction in American History and Its Aftermath Essay

The Era of Reconstruction in American History and Its Aftermath - Essay Example The 13th amendment thus gave the core natural right, that of liberty a constitutional quintessence. There arose the need for the constitutional safeguard against retrogressive laws such as the Black codes and so the 14th amendment came about. There were several clauses in this amendment, but there were five very sensitive clauses in the amendment. There was a clause that prescribed what qualified individuals to citizenship (Democracy Reborn: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Fight for Equal Rights in Post-Civil War America 204). Another section gave protection touching on the abridgment of the exemption of the American citizens. Another clause forbade the state from denying anybody their property, freedom or life outside the confines of the suitable process of the law. The state has imposed a duty of ensuring everybody was equally protected by the law, and the equity of protection is not denied to whomever. The Congress was thus through a clause in the amendment granted the powers of putting into effect the amendment (Democracy Reborn: The Fourteenth Amendment and the Fight for Equal Rights in Post-Civil War America 206) Senator Charles Sumner had a profound dedication to antislavery efforts and universal civil liberties issues. He was actively involved in efforts that opposed slavery exploits. Sumner’s campaigns against slavery, especially against the Southerners, saw a fellow Congressional Representative Preston Brooks assault him on the floor of the house. He perceived the civil war as a necessary activity aimed at abolishing slavery and consistently prodded the commander-in-chief at the time Abraham Lincoln into sponsoring legislation for freeing the people ensnared in slavery. Others among his demands concerning slavery were to demand granting of civil, constitutional rights to the slaves and enlistment of the slaves into the army of the Union.

Thesis Contextual Review (RUMOUR Magazine Business Plan) Dissertation

Thesis Contextual Review (RUMOUR Magazine Business Plan) - Dissertation Example This is because they serve as the reference point for most people in deciding on which line of fashion to trend towards. In this UAE, this service has been served pretty well with a number of fashion magazines competing for customers. Due to this prevailing competition, the need to have a competitive advantage has become a necessity and with companies like RUMUOR, the use of technology in gaining this competitive advantage has been a major strategy. There is need for more digital content in specific industry conditions; for example, in UAE digital content is needed more considering that the fashion industry conditions is competitive (London, 2009). Therefore, adhering to new provisions made by the use of technology comes with added advantage for practicing companies. As a matter of fact, the UAE is fast becoming a global tourist destination and so the whole region has come to embrace diversity and dynamic living pertaining to areas of life such as fashion. For this reason, starting f ashion magazine that focuses on digital content such as RUMUOR is undertaking is an excelling step towards become a market leader. Market providers are also assured of their own versions of profits and benefits if they stick to the growing trend of going digital because the whole phenomenon has been associated with huge profit base for industry players as it enhances and increases productivity (Mossalli, 2010). As far as the fashion magazine industry in the UAE is concerned, there are more specific conditions that demand that there become a rapid change in order to adapt to the changing global trend. One of such specific conditions is the need for fashion magazines to remain relevant to the larger fashion industry. It would be noted that the fashion industry in the UAE is an embodiment of several sectors and sections of business, of which the fashion magazine business is one. However, because the fashion industry is the larger body that accommodates the other minor businesses like t he fashion magazine, it is important that the minor businesses adjust themselves in such a way that they match up the trend being ensued by the larger industry (Ramat-Gan, 2009). Presently, there is a trend in the fashion industry in the UAE whereby the use of technology has become so paramount. For example there has been increase in e-commerce websites in the fashion industry in the UAE over the past decade that has had e-shopping as its major focus (Newswire, 2009). To match up the changing trend and remain relevant, it is important that stakeholders in the fashion magazine market also think of ways of dancing to the rhythm of the industry. It is in the light of this dynamic nature of the fashion industry that it is critical to conduct a contextual review of a fashion magazine of a particular region to come out with ways in which it can respond to the changes in the industry. One of the smartest ways in which the fashion magazine market can catch up with the larger market has been identified to be the need to embrace digitized publishing. It is thus important that fashion magazines have strive to stay afloat in the fashion industry by adopting new strategies such as embracing internet technology in their business. It is high time fashion magazines go digital in order to remain relevant in the fashion industry in the wake of serious competition brought about by the internet technology and which threatens to cripple the business. The ability of the internet and particularly the use of social media on the