Thursday, November 28, 2019

Advertising for Advocates free essay sample

A bar on advertising for Advocates in India under Advocates Act,1961 and Bar Council of India Rules† ANALYSED BY: MOSES PINTO 5TH YEAR LL. B. (HONS. ) ROLL NO. 512 ACADEMIC YEAR: 2012-13 PREFACE After the Second World War the International Economic Order which emerged, encouraged Free Trade in goods amp; services. India was a founder signatory to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) since 1947, which led to the formation of WTO, on 1st  January 1995. This has led to a whole wide debate in India over the stringent laws governing code of ethics and morality of Legal Professionals on one hand and the WTO laws on the other hand. This debate revolves around major issues pertaining to the objectives of legal profession, consumerism, social justice, Indian commitment to WTO regime, competition law etc. Some professionals argue that the shift in trade nature of legal services shall hamper ‘professional ethics’ and concept of ‘justice to all’. We will write a custom essay sample on Advertising for Advocates or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Some others say that the regulations imposed on the legal services sector are contrary to the goals and purpose of competition policy and Competition Act, 2002. At the heart of this controversy lies the issue of legal advertising. The lawyers in India are barred from advertising their profession considering the profession to be a noble one and such advertising to be derogatory to that profession. Advertisements are a forum for establishing the utility of goods and services. Further, it enhances and encourages competition in the relevant market by providing a forum for launching of new products. To cope up with the WTO laws and norms and looking at the current trend which has subjected legal profession to trade laws, it has become inevitable to allow the legal professionals to advertise and to rethink about the policy of law in India. People think whether this kind of ban based on age old norms is viable in this modern era. The debate of the hour in the Indian legal world is on why the profession should have very strict curbs on promoting its services stemming from laws that originate from British thinking when the country from where it originates has itself done away with the curbs? In the view of the above background, I would like to discuss the laws banning the advertising for legal professionals in India and their implications, considering the position of such laws in other developed countries owing to the WTO norms. INDEX I. CHAPTER I: The Law on Legal Advertising in India * The law under Bar Council of India Rules; * The Judiciary on this rule II. CHAPTER II:  Law in other Countries * Position in U. K. * Position in U. S. * Position in other countries III. CHAPTER III: The Constitutional validity of Rule 36 IV. CHAPTER IV: Disadvantages of banning Legal Ads * Consumerism and Informed Choice * Advertisement on Internet * Other disadvantages * Need for regulating the advertising V. CONCLUSION. I. CHAPTER I: The Law on Legal Advertising in India After taking into account the recommendations of the Law Commission on the subject of Reform of Judicial Administration relating to the Bar and to legal education and to implement the recommendations of the All India Bar Committee made in 1953, the Indian Legislature came up with the Advocates Act, 1961. This act under the section 4 forms a Bar Council of India to regulate all the legal professionals and legal education in India. The Bar Council of India is the central institution for supervising and monitoring the growth and development of legal services and the functioning of advocates amp; related firms amp; corporations in India. Pursuant to the functions of Bar Council of India under section 7 and its power to make rules under section 49 of the said Act, it has enacted the Bar Council of India Rules which are binding on all the legal professionals in India. The law under Bar Council of India Rules There is a complete ban on advertising for lawyers in India. The Bar Council of India, pursuant to its functions mentioned under Section 7(1)(b)[9] of the Advocates Act read with its powers to make rules under Section 49(1)(c)[10] has framed Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules under Section IV(Duty to Colleagues) of Chapter II(Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette) of P art IV(Rules Governing Advocates). Rule 36 reads as under: â€Å"An advocate shall not solicit work or advertise, either directly or indirectly, whether by circulars, advertisements, touts, personal communications, interviews not warranted by personal relations, furnishing or inspiring newspaper comments or producing his photographs to be published in connection with cases in which he has been engaged or concerned. His sign-board or name-plate should be of a reasonable size. The sign-board or name-plate or stationery should not indicate that he is or has been President or Member of a Bar Council or of any Association or that he has been associated with any person or organisation or with any particular cause or matter or that he specialises in any particular type of work or that he has been a Judge or an Advocate General. † Thus, it is against an advocate’s code of ethics to solicit or advertise work and amounts to a misconduct on the part of the advocate. Both direct and indirect advertising is prohibited. An advocate may not advertise his services through circulars, advertisements, touts, personal communication or interviews not warranted by personal relations. Similarly, the following forms of indirect advertising are prohibited: A. by issuing circulars or election manifestos by a lawyer with his name, profession and address printed on the manifestos, thereby appealing to the members of the profession practising in the lower courts who are in a position to recommend clients to counsel practising in the high court B. anvassing for votes by touring in the province or sending out his clerk or agents to the various districts, which must necessarily mean directly approaching advocates practising in subordinate courts. Further, the signboard or nameplate displayed by an advocate should be of a reasonable size. It should not refer to details of an affiliated by the advocate i. e. that he is or has been president or member of a bar council or of any association, or he has been a Judge or an Advocate-General, or that he specialises in a particular kind of work, or hat he is or was associated with any person or organisation or with any particular cause or matter. Further advertising on internet is also prohibited. Bar Council of India, in a notice dated 21st October 1999, reaffirmed that such ‘advertisements’ on the Internet are considered an offence. It ordered all the legal Websites to be withdrawn immediately, under threat of legal action ranging from temporary suspension to permanent debarring of the lawyer from practice. The above rule has been vehemently enforced by the Bar Council of India, simply disregarding all the criticisms made against this archaic rule. Further, the words of Section IV of Chapter II of Part IV of Bar Council of India Rules are clear i. e. â€Å"Duty to colleagues†. This means that the another reason behind enactment of such a norm is to prevent the advocates, law firms, etc from enticing the clients of their adversary and to snatch away the business of their adversary. Such a law is also made in order to help the small and unknown advocates and firms to rise in the market and do business. The purpose behind it is to prevent a set of lawyers from taking unreasonable advantage. Also such a law prevents lawyers from falling below their dignity in order to fetch clients by doing anything and thus degrading the nature of the profession. * The Judiciary on this rule The courts have more or less agreed with the view of the Bar Council and have implemented the rule laid down by the Council pertaining to advertising. The Supreme Court of India observed in  Bar Council of India  v. M. V. Dhabolkar, that   â€Å"†¦.. the canons of ethics and propriety for the legal profession totally taboo conduct by way of soliciting, advertising, scrambling and other obnoxious practices†¦.   It further noted that  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Law is not a trade, not briefs, not merchandise, and so the heaven of commercial competition should not vulgarize the legal profession†. The Allahabad High Court  observed that self advertising tends to lower the dignity of this honourable profession and is undoubtedly akin to touting. The Bombay High Court in   Government Pleader  v. S, a Pleader considered sending a circular postcard merely giving the address and description as an improper conduct by the Advocate. The High Court of Madras went one step ahead in SK Naicker  v. Authorised Officer and held that even a sign board or a name-plate should be of a moderate size. It has been further observed that writing of articles for publication in newspapers under his signature, where the writer describes himself as an Advocate practicing in the court as a flagrant breach of professional etiquette. Thus, legal advertising by far is a taboo in India and the courts have more or less approved and agreed with this rule framed by Bar Council of India. II. CHAPTER II:  Law in other Countries Legal advertising has been an important and widely used tool of communication in many common law countries and in most of the developed countries like US, UK, etc. It is used by the lawyers to promote their professional services. It is allowed in most of the countries with regulations regulating it as compared to India where it is completely banned. In these countries the regulation is done in order to avoid false, misleading amp; deceptive advertisements but advertisements displaying truth are allowed. The legal system is often a mystery, and we, its priests, preside over rituals baffling to everyday citizens. Henry Miller * Position in U. K. The provision banning advertisement adopted in India has its roots in Victorian notions of U. K. which considered each and every profession to be noble and stated that such a regulation is necessary in order to preserve the dignity and nobility of this profession. Earlier, in U. K. too advertising was banned for professionals like lawyers. But later this ban was lifted. The Monopolies and Mergers Commission in 1970 and the review given by the Office of Fair Trading in 1986 pointed out at the advantages of letting the professionals advertise and the benefits availed by from relaxing such norms. Ultimately the ban was lifted and the restrictions lowered and thus legal marketing and legal advertising became a reality in U. K. * Position in U. S. In U. S. the position was somewhat similar to that in India until 1977. There was a complete ban on advertising for legal professionals. This position took a complete U-turn after the decision of the U. S. Supreme Court on 27thJune 1977 in the case of   Bates  v. State Bar of Arizona. The Supreme Court validated legal advertising and invalidated the law of State Bar of Arizona banning legal advertising by a majority of 5:4 holding such a law violative of First Constitutional Amendment. Prior to this case, the U. S. Supreme Court validated commercial advertisement and gave its scope in the 1942 case of Valentine  v. Chrestensen. Later in   Bigelow   v. Virginia   (1975) and in  Virginia State Board of Pharmacy  v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council Inc. (1976) the U. S. S. C. nvalidated laws restraining ads marketing abortion services and ads showing prices of prescription drugs on the basis that they violated First Constitutional Amendment i. e. Freedom of Speech and Expression and held that  Ã¢â‚¬Å"the free flow of commercial information is indispensable. † All these decisions were adopted in the Bates’ judgment by the US SC and it was held that truth ful legal advertising should not be prohibited as there is nothing wrong in it. The court invalidated in this appeal the law prohibiting legal advertising holding it to be violative of freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by the First Constitutional Amendment. Justice Blackmun argued that commercial speech does merit First Amendment protection given the important functions it serves in society, such as providing consumers with information about services and products, and helping to allocate resources in the American system of free-enterprise. The Court held that allowing attorneys to advertise would not harm the legal profession or the administration of justice, and, in fact, would supply consumers with valuable information about the availability and cost of legal services. But the states are allowed to regulate and monitor the advertising by advocates. This is evident from the later judgments of various state Supreme Courts which have upheld the laws regulating and restricting certain practices of legal advertising. * Position in other countries The position in other developed countries is also quite clear. Advertising is allowed in most of the countries. In France, though the law is not that liberal, it stands somewhere between Indian and U. K. position. There is not a complete ban on advertising. Also in Italy, the legal marketing has been legalized by the Bersani Decree of 2004 which was enforced in 2007. This has been true for most of the European countries like Germany, Spain, etc. Legal Advertising is a reality everywhere. Besides countries in the West, Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia have been progressively relaxing their regulations on legal advertising to adapt to global demands. For instance, Malaysia’s Legal Profession (Publicity) Rules, passed in 2001 is a simple yet comprehensive code that regulates advertisements in legal and non-legal directories, controls publication of journals, magazines, brochures and newsletters by lawyers and interviews in electronic and print edia, bars publicity through clients and even includes a rule that regulates lawyers sending greeting cards on special occasions. In Hong Kong, lawyers are forbidden from advertising on television, radio and cinema. Though advertising in print is permissible, larger firms prefer alternative strategies such as engaging in aggressive client and public relations programmes and bran ding exercises. Even in Singapore the legal advertisements are allowed with certain restrictions. Thus, it is clear that most of the countries have adopted a liberal policy towards legal advertising and has allowed it to meet the global demands and compete with the other countries. This has resulted only in advantages and benefits for those countries and no harm is done on the contrary. III. CHAPTER III: The Constitutional validity of Rule 36 The Rule 36 of Bar Council of India Rules, prohibit advocates from advertising. This Rule cannot be challenged with regards to A. 19(1)(a) i. e. reedom of speech and expression as done in US in the case of  Bates  v. Arizona State Bar, because of the decision of Indian Supreme Court in the case of  Hamdard Dawakhana  v. Union Of India. The Supreme Court came on to decide validity of law banning advertisement for the sale of certain medicines in this case against A. 19(1)(a) of Constitution of India. The Court held that: â€Å"An advertisement is no doubt a form of speech but its true character is reflected by the object for the prom otion of which it is employed. It assumes the attributes and elements of the activity under Art. 9 (1) which it seeks to aid by bringing it to the notice of the public. When it takes the form of a commercial advertisement which has an element of trade-or commerce it no longer falls within the concept of freedom of speech for the object is not propagation of ideas – social political or economic or furtherance of literature or human thought;  but as in the present case the commendation of the efficacy, value and importance in treatment of particular diseases by certain drugs and medicines. In such a case, advertisement is a part of business even though as described by Mr. Munshi its creative part, and it was being used for the purpose of furthering the business of the petitioners and had no relationship with what may be called the essential concept of the freedom of speech. It cannot be said that the right to publish and distribute commercial advertisements advertising an individual’s personal business is a part of freedom of speech guaranteed by the Constitution. † In the view of the above decision, the commercial advertisement is not a part of freedom of speech and expression and thus ban on advertisement for advocates is justified to be falling within reasonable restriction as stated under A. 9(2). The only remedy left is to challenge its constitutional validity against A. 19(1)(g) i. e. freedom to carry on Trade, Profession or Business. Article 19 (1) (g) of the Constitution of India confers every citizen with the right to choose his own employment or to take up any trade or calling. This right is impregnated with an implied right for availing all the mechanisms and resources – including advertising – for effective carrying of the trade or occupation provided it doesn’t go against public interest. Any blanket bar on this right would be unreasonable when there is an option of constituting a specialized government body that would examine the content of the advertisement. The question that remains is whether legal profession falls under the category of trade or business so as to avail the above right? Even though the judiciary in the words of Justice Krishna Iyer, has held that Legal Profession is such a noble Profession that it cannot form a part of trade or business,   the recent trend of the courts is to justify this profession as a rade. Over the years, the courts have recognized ‘Legal Service’ as a ‘service’ rendered to the consumers and have held that lawyers are accountable to the clients in the cases of deficiency of services. In the case of  Srinath  v. Union of India, the Madras High Court held that, in view of Sec. 3 of Consumer Protection Act, 1986 that Consumer redressal forums have jurisdiction to deal with claims against advocates. Sec. 2 (U) of the Competition Act, 2002 defines the term ‘Service’ along the lines of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. Also the decision of Supreme Court in  Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board  v. A. Rajappa,  holds that legal profession is covered under the definition of the term Industry under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Further it should be noted that India is a part of WTO and is subjected to WTO laws and legal services are listed as a subsection of Business Services in WTO Services Sectoral Classification list. In the view of the above background, the fundamental right to advertise guaranteed under A. 19(1)(g) can be given to the legal professionals to promote their services. This right thus, can be taken away only by imposing a reasonable restriction under A. 19(6) of the Constitution The Supreme Court further observed that: â€Å"Unless it is shown that there is a reasonable relation of the provisions of the Act to the purpose in view, the right of freedom of occupation and business cannot be curtailed by it†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. the phrase ‘reasonable restriction’ connotes that the limitation imposed on a person in enjoyment of the right should not be arbitrary or of an excessive nature,  beyond what is required in the interests of the public. The word ‘reasonable’ implies intelligent are and deliberation, that is, the choice of a course which reason dictates. Legislation which arbitrarily or excessively invades the right cannot be said to contain the quality of reasonableness and unless it strikes a proper balance between the freedom guaranteed in Art. 19 (1) (g) and the social control permitted by cl. (6) of Art. 19, it must be held to be wanting in that quality. † Restrictions can be laid by regulating and monitoring the advertising but not completely banning it as it would be going beyond what is required as regulating the advertisement is sufficient in public interest. Presently a writ petition is pending before the Indian Supreme Court challenging this rule of Bar Council of India. The petition was filed by Mr. V. B. Joshi who is an advocate practicing in the Supreme Court. In the last hearing of this matter in September 2007, the Government agreed to relax this law a bit. The Government agreed to allow the lawyers advertise on their own website and to enter their name into online directories but all these to be done under a committee monitoring it. IV. CHAPTER IV: Disadvantages of banning Legal Advertisements Globalization brought about a revolution in international trade with increasing participation and involvement of countries The implication of the same on the legal service sector has been both quantitative and qualitative. The past decade has been mini-revolution in legal service sector with the greatest legal impact on corporate legal arena activities in project financing, intellectual property protection, environmental protection, competition law, corporate taxation, infrastructure contract, corporate governance and investment law were almost unknown before 90’s. Globalization has expanded the internal and external demand for legal services. Today trade in legal services is an inevitable fact and is at the same time significant for progressive development of legal profession in India in this era of Globalization. * Consumerism and Informed Choice In the age of consumerism and competition law, consumer’s right to free and fair competition is paramount and cannot be denied by any other consideration. Informed choice is one of the rights of a consumer. Ban on advertising leads to depriving consumers of valuable information about the advocates. This has resulted in a situation where consumers cannot make an informed choice from the competitive market since information relating to the service is not available to them. Moreover restriction on professional firms on informing potential users on range of their services and potential causes further injury to the competition. The services available to consumers of India are only domestic legal service providers and consumers most often are left at the mercy of advocates and the system . Thus it is very detrimental as they cannot resort to any other service provider in absence of choice. Advertisement on Internet Looking at the recent trend of Globalization and India joining the WTO, it has become inevitable to let lawyers advertise to compete in the global market. Not allowing lawyers to advertise has resulted in Indian lawyers losing a lot of potential clients internationally. It is realized that in this era of cyber age instead of turning to the Yellow Pages, the public increasi ngly uses online search engines and other Internet tools to find needed goods and services and with the concepts of legal process outsourcing increasing, i. . to find cheap legal services, people from countries like UK and US and other developed countries search for such services online. But these searches results in not a single Indian attorney or advocate or a law firm as India bans advertising by them as compared to other neighboring Asian countries which allow it and hence a lot of potential clients are lost, in turn affecting the economy of India largely. Thus, India has lost lot of economic revenues and thus it would be beneficial for India’s economy to lift the ban on advertising for advocates. The Government has recently agreed on lifting it but only allowing the advocates to advertise on their own websites and in online legal directories. But no one knows when this will be implemented. * Other disadvantages The report of Monopolies and Mergers Commission in U. K. stated that restrictions on advertisement by professionals reduce the stimulus to efficiency, cost saving, innovation, new entry to professions and competition within the professions. Thus, new entrants who require to establish their name in the market in order to get clients, are deprived of doing so through advertising as this is the most simplest and easiest method to enter into a market. Also restrictions enhance the more undesirable effects of less open methods of self promotion. Also they could give a false image to a profession. Thus banning advertisement by lawyers is completely disadvantageous to the Indian society as a whole. * Need for regulating the advertising The need of the hour is to lift the total ban on advertising by advocates but not to completely let it free. It is required to be regulated. In case it is not monitored and regulated, then there would be lot of malpractices of misrepresentation, deceptiveness and false advertisements which would affect the society and degrade the nobility of this profession. The U. K. ’s Monopolies and Merger Commission in its report stated that the restrictions on legal advertising should be lifted but the law must also provide that: 1. No advertisement, circular or other form of publicity used by the member should claim for his practice superiority in any respect over any or all of the practices of other members of the profession. . Such publicity should not contain any inaccuracies or misleading statements. 3. While advertisements, circulars and other publicity or methods of soliciting may†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. make clear the intention of the individual member to seek customers, they should not be of a character that could reasonably be regarded as likely to bring the profession into disre pute. Thus, it is required that the advertising by legal professionals be regulated in order to avoid instances of ambulance chasing, barratry, misrepresentation, etc. This kind of regulation is also permissible under A. 9(1)(6) of Constitution of India in the interests of public. V. CONCLUSION The ban on legal advertisements in India has not proved healthy so far for the Indian economy as well as Indian consumers. India has adopted WTO laws and a free market policy and thus accepting ‘trade’ facet of legal services would develop this profession qualitatively. The Raghvan Committee has summed up the effect of the existing regulatory system in professional services as â€Å".. the legislative restrictions in terms of law and self-regulation have the ombined effect of denying opportunities and growth of professional firms, restricting their desire and ability to compete globally, preventing the country from obtaining advantage of India’s considerable expertise and precluding consumers from opportunity of free and informed choice. † Time is ripe to break shackles of this overwhelming regulation subjecting legal profession away from modernity and banning it from advertising. India must remember its commitment to WTO for opening service sectors including, legal services, globally. Thus all the regulations have to be in conformity with competition policy and the Act. Hence, there is a craving need to lift this ban and to form rules and policy to monitor and regulate legal advertising. A committee could be formed to ensure compliance but laying blanket ban on legal advertising would hamper development and growth of India. BIBLIOGRAPHY Articles, Websites, Reports and others: 1)  Ã‚  Abhibav Kumar, â€Å"Lawyers must be allowed to advertise†, at http://news. indlaw. com/guest/columns/default. asp? abhinav (last visited on 25th November, 2007). 2)  Ã‚  Anubha Charan, â€Å"Is it unethical for lawyers to put up their own Website? , October 15, 2001, at http://www. rediff. com/search/2001/oct/15law. htm (last visited on 24th November, 2007). 3)  Ã‚  Bar Council Entry of Foreign Lawyers in India, August 30, 2003 at http://www. news . indiainfo. com/ (last visited on 22nd November, 2007). 4)  Ã‚  Bhadra Sinha, â€Å"Lawyers may be allowed web ads†, September 19, 2007, at www. hindustantimes. com (last visited on 20th November 2007). Also see Supra note 6. 5)  Ã‚  Cyber Search – What Does Search Engine Marketing Mean For Solicitors? , at http://www. samsonconsulting. co. uk/legal-marketing-article-cyber-search. htm (last visited on November 25, 2007). )  Ã‚  David L. Hudson, â€Å"Bates participants reflect on landmark case†, at http://www. firstamendmentcenter. org/analysis. aspx? id=14394 (Last visited on 22nd November, 2007) 7)  Ã‚  http:// en. wikipedia. org/Legal_Advertising (last visited on 22nd November 2007). 8)  Ã‚  Lawyer can’t be blamed if his name appears in print, says Punjab A-G, May 25, 1999, at http://www. indianexpress. com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19990525/ige25114. html (last visited on 18th November 2007). 9)  Ã‚  Legal Websites, A World Wide Web Of Opportunies, at http://www. samsonconsulting. co. uk/legal-marketing-article-solicitors-websites. tm (last visited on 22nd November , 2007). 10)  Ã‚  Malathi Nayak, India  debates letting lawyers advertise, at http://www. livemint. com/2007/10/21235346/India-debates-letting-lawyers. html (last visited on 25th November, 2007). 11)  Rajiv Dutta, â€Å"World Trade Organization and Legal Services: The Indian Scenario†, at www. insolindia. com/shimlaPDFs/worldTradeOrg. pdf (last visited on 23rd November, 2007). 12)  Report on Trade in Legal Services, â€Å"Trade in Services: Opportunities and Constraints†, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, Executed by Indian Council for Research in Economic Relations, Coordinator(s) N. L. Mitra and T. C. A Anand. 13)  Ã‚  Singh  Lalithakumar I. , â€Å"A View on Legal Profession†, AIR 2006 (Jour. ) 1. 14)  Ã‚  Statement of Objects and Reasons, The Advocates Act, 1961. 15)   Ã‚  Swapnil Joshi, â€Å"Changing Face Of The Legal Profession In India In The Era Of Globalization†, at http://www. legalserviceindia. com/articles/lprof. htm (last visited on 25th November, 2007). 16)  V K Aggarwal, â€Å"Professional Advertising: A comparative analysis in the changing milieu†, 7th National Conference of Practising Company Secretaries. 7)  World Bank Report on Emerging Service Sector, 1999 quoted in The Raghvan Committee Report on Competition Law, 2000. 18)  www. legalmarketing. it (official legal marketing Italia website, last visited on 24th November 2007). Dictionaries: 1)  H. Black, Black’s Law Dictionary (5th ed. , St Paul: West Publishing Co. , 1979) 1059. 2)  Ã‚  The Concise Oxford Thesaurus compiled by Kirkpatrick Betty; Ox ford University Press. 3)  Webster’s New English Dictionary; Black Dog amp; Leventhal Publishers Inc, 2nd Edn 1995.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

complete predicate in English grammar

complete predicate in English grammar Definition In traditional English grammar, a  complete predicate is made up of a verb or verb phrase along with its objects, complements, and/or adverbial  modifiers.  Ã‚   A verb by itself is sometimes called a simple predicate. Complete predicates are all the words in a sentence that are not part of the complete subject. Examples and Observations The four boys in the back row of the classroom  giggled helplessly. Dr. Mabel stood up and blushed and  giggled and  looked flustered. -(Robert A. Heinlein,  Time for the Stars. Scribners, 1956)The engineers struck oil. He sat down and  struck a match  to light his pipe. -(Paul Goodman, The Empire City, 1942)   Exactly at six, Martha  struck a small silver bell  with a silver fork and waited until its clear note had died away. -(Pam Durban, Soon. The Southern Review, 1997) The telescreen struck fourteen. He must leave in ten minutes.  He had to be back at  work by fourteen-thirty. Curiously, the chiming of the hour seemed to have put new heart into him.(George Orwell,  Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949)Department stores, with their  escalators and clouds  of perfume and ranks of nylon lingerie, were like Heaven itself. -(John Updike, Self-Consciousness, 1989). Momma  opened boxes of crispy  crackers and we sat around the meat block at the rear of the Store. I sliced onions and Bailey opened two or even three cans of  sardines and allowed their juice of oil and fishing boats to ooze down and around the sides. -(Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969)   After exercising, Stuart  would slip on his handsome wool wrapper, tie the cord tightly around his waist, and start for the bathroom, creeping silently through the  long dark hall  past his mothers and fathers room, past the hall closet where the carpet sweeper was kept, past Georges room and along by the head of the stairs until he got to the bathroom. -(E.B. White,  Stuart Little, 1945)      Testing to Find the Complete Predicate To figure out which words make up the complete predicate: (1) Examine the sentence: The pain from a headache generally persists for about a day.(2) Ask yourself what the subject ( The pain) does.The answer is the pain generally persists for about a day. That is the complete predicate.(3) Make up a sentence with a subject and a complete predicate. (Pamela Rice Hahn and Dennis E. Hensley, Macmillan Teach Yourself Grammar and Style in 24 Hours. Macmillan, 2000)Fronting In some alternatively ordered sentences, the subject is not the first element to appear in the sentence. Some element of the complete predicate is fronted or placed at the beginning of the sentence in front of the subject. Fronting shifts emphasis from the subject to the fronted element in the sentence: At the beach, I always feel content. Never could I have imagined the horrors that awaited us. The first sentence begins with the adverbial at the beach. Though the phrase precedes the subject I, it is still a part of the complete predicate. At the beach modifies the verb feel. . . . The second sentence begins with the adverb never and the modal auxiliary verb could. Though it precedes the subject, could is still a part of the verb phrase could have imagined. - (Michael Strumpf and Auriel Douglas, The Grammar Bible. Owl Books, 2004)

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Governmental Market Intervention Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Governmental Market Intervention - Research Paper Example The first of these which will be discussed is that of those individuals and economists that believe that any level of governmental market intervention is a net negative to the economic efficiency. This particular approach relies heavily upon the concept of deadweight loss and the loss of corresponding efficiency that is lost when the natural dynamics of supply and demand are changed according to governmental regulation/intervention. This deadweight loss represents an ultimately loss of efficiency which in turn reduces the total rewards that both the supplier and his/her component parts as well as the consumers will be able to experience within the given situation (Grawe, 2007). One of the most prominent economists that espoused such a point of view is of course Adam Smith; considered by many to be one of the most important figures in establishing a modern understanding of economics. The strength of this particular approach is the fact that it is verifiable on even the most basic of s upply and demand curves. Conversely, the greatest weakness that such an approach exhibits is the fact that it is wholly unable to account for the needs of economically at risk individuals and families that could be operating upon the very margin of society at any given time.Conversely, those that believe that government intervention can represent a net positive for the economy and society espouse the belief that the a certain degree the price ceilings and/or minimum wages that the government can regulate. The basic evidence that those who espouse such a point of view point to is the fact that it is able to regulate an otherwise cut throat environment and more appropriately bring it in line with the needs of a society that cannot be understood by simple representation of supply and demand curves (Popp et al, 2011). One of the most advocates of this particular school of thought is John Maynard Keynes; the founder of the Keynesian school of economics which has dominated the nation†™s understanding of economic concepts for over the past half century. The disadvantage of such a system is the fact that the loss of efficiency to both parties is measurable to even the most basic of economists (Pinotti, 2011). Conversely, one of the most powerful benefits of such an approach is the fact that it is one of the only economic interpretations that seeks to provide a level of social understanding to the hard and â€Å"dismal science† of providing for unlimited wants with limited resources (Boettke, 2012). Although there is probably no absolutely right or wrong approach as a function of the two which have thus far been elaborated upon,

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Preliminary Organizational Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Preliminary Organizational Analysis - Essay Example In regard to the production situation, the department’s performance constantly remains under the scrutiny of the strategies department plus the ministry in charge. In the last quarter performance indicator survey, the department had trouble attaining the earlier set goals and objectives plus submitting their reports. The few staff members whined of responsibilities getting distributed unfairly. In fact, some of the workers concurred toiling more than others thereby emanating in unequal work pressure distribution (Jenster & Hussey 32). Some employees in the department possessed inadequate skills plus qualifications to work there. Furthermore, all the staff possessed the same job title, but with no specific job descriptions. Moreover, they too had problems in identifying the individual who possessed the official documents relevant to their department, thereby contributing to disorganization while trying to accomplish certain tasks due to missing documents. Furthermore, coordinat ion and harmonization among the staff became poor over time since some thought were superior to others. In addition, some repudiated orders directed to them by their fellow staff members, and only confounded to those directed to them by their seniors (Jenster & Hussey 54). ... Since the various committees had set goals and objectives, the boss left his deputy in charge of the various initiatives to be commenced. The deputy decided to oversee the initiatives by himself and took the responsibilities of planning, follow up and supervision (Jenster & Hussey 68). Analysis of the situation The strategies department and the Ministry of Internal Security in emphasizing more on timely delivery of performance reports from the various police stations, the department received immense pressure (Jenster & Hussey 46). Accordingly, by the police boss getting involved in various committees meant he had less time to establish a detailed organizational structure for the department plus prepare job descriptions for each staff. Moreover, in having less time, meant that during the end of every quarter when the strategic department came to collect performance reports, denotes he avoided accountability. For him, as long as the administration department achieved its goals and obje ctives as per the performance records, meant there existed no administrative problem. In addition, by the police boss lacking a personal secretary contributed to him having less time for his department due to poor time management, leading to poor communication between the boss and the staff (Jenster & Hussey 83). In relation to the committees, by the deputy police boss taking all responsibilities in the initiatives put forth, contributed to him too becoming busy to care for the staff problems. The employees in not knowing their job descriptions resulted to a lot of confusion in the department, but the police boss could not solve it due to his tight schedule. The staff in having poor coordination and harmonization at work affected

Monday, November 18, 2019

Marketing in success of any business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing in success of any business - Essay Example As the world gradual growth to become a global marketplace, every business owner find themselves trapped in the sticky web of the market competition and getting out of it becomes a nightmare. However, any entrepreneur can play his or her cards well and emerge victoriously in this market issue by making use of the Holly Scriptures which will provide a guideline of marketing in a divine way. For centuries that have passed, the Christian bible has remained relevant in its teaching it is believed that whoever is guided by it is doing the right. Hence, the Bible has become applicable even in businesses since anyone transacting a business is expected to maintain some biblical ethics regarding the business. Therefore, this paper cannot be termed as complete without quoting some verse from these Holly scriptures called the bible. In relation to good marketing or advertisement, the bible states, â€Å"It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfil it. Do not let your mouth lead yo u into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, â€Å"My vow was a mistake.† Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? Much dreaming and many words are meaningless. Therefore stand in awe of God† (Ecclesiastes 5: 5-7). ... Finally, it is not in good order to cheat as one carries a burden of remembering what he or she said and may at long last lead to someone's destruction. The best advertisement is a pillar of any business success and no matter what one business is, having a well planned marketing strategy is of great significant value in business prosperity (Parente, 2004). If no advertisements are made for the products and services offered by a business, then it will be a tough mountain climbing game for ones’ business. Having the adequate knowledge about an effective business advertisement allows one to have good plans to pull off better results (Hackley, 2005). Firstly, in order to have an attractive and effective advertisement to a potential customer, the advertisement has to be memorable because if the potential customer can not recall what the advertisement was talking about or the product being sold, it becomes a waste of time and resources (Copley, 2004). The ability to remember about t he advertisement is usually the stamp of a result oriented advertisement. Secondly, the target population is another concept that a business should pinpoint as not everyone will be satisfied with goods and services produced by a company (Copley, 2004). This identification of a target group helps one to know where to do their advertisements (Hackley, 2005). Thirdly, an advertisement needs to be entertaining to the potential customer making them more attentive when watching the advertisement or listening to it over the radio. Lastly, the advertisement should be eye catching and focused to achieve the maximum attention from viewers thus requiring one to select the best design for the advert. A number of economists and other brainy fellows are not happy about advertisements with

Friday, November 15, 2019

Ethics And Scandals In Financial Reporting Accounting Essay

Ethics And Scandals In Financial Reporting Accounting Essay Integrity is of utmost importance for a successful career in business and finance in the long run. Some believe that the world of finance lacks ethical considerations. Whereas the truth is that such issues are prevalent in all areas of business. The business environment in much of the world is reeling from the revelation of several financial scandals in the past few years. The optimism of the turn of the century has been replaced by scepticism and distrust. It will be discussed as to how we landed ourselves in this situation, what is being done to correct it, and what the future holds for us. Though Enron has been used as the poster-child for this purpose, breakdowns in accounting and corporate governance in Enron as well as in other companies will be discussed. Some companies that have encountered financial reporting problems will be discussed along with the role of auditors (including Andersens role in Enron), the regulatory environment, some of the causes of the problems, and the current and possible future outcomes. Ethics and Accounting Ethics (maintaining true and fair statements) is a key part of financial reporting. For shareholders to trust a company with money, they must feel confident in the companys financial reporting. Financial reporting presents all data relating to the entitys  current, historical and projected health meaning investors and shareholders rely upon the available financial data for making informed and educated decisions. To help entities comply with business regulations and maintain financial reporting, shareholders can trust the existing organizations designed to watchdog different aspects of the accounting world. Primary among the organizations are the Securities and Exchange Committee (SEC), Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). These three bodies together ensure financial reporting is fair, reliable, and available to all investors. The specific importance of ethics in business and in financial reporting is to inspire and ensure public and investor confidence in companies. Without a strong code of ethics, and adherence to that code, individuals may not be certain their investments are secure. Accounting professionals must have a strong ethical and moral reasoning as their decisions regarding financial reporting can have major consequences for individuals as well as corporations and entire nations. Ethics in the business environment are more than just issues that relate to accounting; because ethical practices can and will cross boundaries from business practice in to what a company may ask its accounting professionals to do in financial record-keeping and recording. The many recent scandals involving accounting fraud generally began at the CEO and made their way down into the financial records. Before the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, various financial abuses such as WorldCom, Enron, and Adelphia Communications plagued the American public and affected economic health of the entire nation adversely. Most of these frauds stemmed from unethical accounting practices instituted at the highest levels of the corporations, but carried out in the financial reporting practices of public accounting firms. In December 2001, Enron, which used to be one of the worlds leading energy companies once, filed the largest bankruptcy in the history of the U.S., using the retirement accounts of thousands of American workers, to enrich those at the highest levels of the corporation. Using thousands of off-the-records partnerships to hide nearly $1 billion in debt and to inflate profits, company had defrauded shareholders of billions. Due to these scandals, President Bush and Congress were forced to take tough stance in the form of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in July of 2002. When ethics seem to be on the downfall in a society, the common man naturally turns to the government for guidance. Various crises in the history of the United States have led to creation of several regulatory bodies and laws. The three entities in the US, mentioned above, work closely together to ensure financial accounting is honest. The SEC, the FASB, and the PCAOB are each an independent entity, but they often work in cooperation in certain areas such as oversight and reporting. While these three bodies work together, they rely on cooperation from member companies and from participation from whistle-blowers in companies and public citizens. As the Enron collapse illustrated, there were systemic failures in the private-sector watchdog-groups. The SEC and the PCAOB must work closely together and include way to fast-track criminal cases. Enron and other financial reporting scandals Enron was a great symbol of widespread problem in corporate America as its rise was as spectacular as its fall. Enron, formed in 1985 when Internorth purchased Houston Natural Gas was soon being run mainly by Houston Natural Gas executives, with Ken Lay as CEO. In 1990, both Jeffrey Skilling and Andy Fastow were hired. In 1996, Skilling became the President and COO. A meteoric rise in both reputation and stock value came by, with Enron being named as one of Fortunes most admired companies in 2001 and its stock price peaking at $90.56 a share as on August 23, 2000. Much of the companys success was credited to the financial wizardry of Fastow. However, companys fall was just around the corner, with Skilling resigning in August of 2001. This was followed by a $1.2 billion write-off, and the beginning of an SEC investigation in October. By December, Enron had declared bankruptcy and the share price was $.26 per share. If Enron had been a lone case, concern would have dissipated quickly and confidence in capital markets would not have plumped. But it was not so. Before Enron, there were companies such as Waste Management and Sunbeam not significant by themselves, but they should have acted as a warning of what was to come. After Enron the disclosures kept coming. WorldCom was caught capitalizing expenses. While Enron was trying to outsmart the accounting and capital market regulators, WorldCom made accounting errors that even novice accounting students would know were inappropriate. A disturbing aspect of many of these scandals is the collusion among many executives. An important observation is that all of these scandals cant be attributed to one factor alone. Each one was different. Hence it can be concluded that the solution is not easy to find. There is no single accounting practice that made these entities vulnerable to executive excesses. What these scandals had in common was a culture that was pervasive in corporations. A culture had come in that made it permissible to lie to shareholders and the markets. The ends justify the means became the corporate mantra. Also, the watchdogs, the auditors had turned a blind eye with their focus just on their consulting businesses. They were not as vigilant as they should have been in audits. The auditors role in ensuring fair play Auditors are supposed to protect the public from the types of abuses that have been seen in the past. Even though financial statements are responsibility of management, the shareholders hire auditors for the protection of their interests and to add credibility to financial information provided by the firms. To be credible, auditors need both expertise and integrity. Expertise assures if there is a financial reporting irregularity, the auditor has the capacity to discover it. Integrity assures that auditors will disclose any irregularity they may find. These two qualities are essential. They are also multiplicative that is if either is missing, other has no value. It has been found that both were missing in many cases. Expertise was missing as audits had come under cost cutting measures of firms. This happened often at the cost of quality. Integrity was gone when auditors forgot that the first allegiance of a professional is to the public. Seldom did auditors betray management for the benefit of the public. Hence, even if they did discover reporting problems, rather than reporting them to the public they often helped management devise ways around the reporting problems. Auditors fell into this position (probably not because they were incompetent or unethical but) because of the cultures in major accounting firms. Andersen, Enrons auditor, is a classic example. There were good auditors who got caught up in an economic struggle leading to undue focus on revenue generation. An audit firm having the highest reputation for competence and integrity compromised on its values as that was the only way its partners thought to be economically competitive. In the more recent Satyam case in India, the fraud started at the top level management and reached the financial records. The role of Pricewaterhouse, Satyams auditor, is also controversial in the said scandal. Causes of financial reporting problems The regulatory environment had not changed suddenly then why did the financial reporting problems surface at the time, is a question to be pondered upon. There are many reasons, not one that dominates. It was a confluence of circumstances that opened eyes to the problems. The bursting of the bubble economy was a major reason these financial abuses came to light. When everything was seemed bright, nobody questioned companies financial reports. In accounting the lack of relevance of historical cost accounting and even the basic traditional accounting framework were being discussed. The new economy was not to last forever. And when it did not last, investors began to ask tough questions. For many of the questions, there were no answers only denials and cover-ups. In the auditing profession, audits had become loss leaders. The balance sheets and income statements had lost value, so auditing of the statements was not important. Thus, many audits became hasty and more of a formality. No one was willing to pay for quality audits, so many audit firms believed there remained no sense in competing on the basis of quality. Cost drove audit decisions. Lower cost even with lower quality was the norm. The passivity of corporate boards was also a contributor. This was worsened by the growing number of complex financial transactions, most of which were beyond understanding of board members, who had gained their experience before such instruments came into being. Even a former accounting professor heading Enrons Audit Committee, a person of utmost integrity, had difficulty understanding the implications of the companys financial manoeuvring. Finally, the biggest culprit is the corporate culture. Focus was laid on short-term gains forgetting about all long-run considerations. Also the executive scorecard became focused on salary. Many players had become greedy executives, investors, and attorney, among others but more than that was the need to compete on the basis of compensation. Implications for accounting educators The perpetrators of most of financial reporting scandals are former students, graduates of accounting or MBA programs. So educators must ask themselves: What are they doing wrong and what must they do to fix the problems? The first obvious reaction is to emphasize ethics in business and accounting curricula. This is important. Educators in a business ethics class can not dissuade someone who is inclined to commit a fraud from doing so. But it is also true that most perpetrators did not at the onset set out to commit a fraud. They simply got ended up on a slippery zone. Also, the most disappointing aspect about most of the scandals is the number of people who, (though not personally involved) knew what was happening and still did nothing. Exceptions to the rule are some courageous whistle blowers, many of whom were products of university accounting programs. Thus, the focus of ethics classes should be to recognize and analyse the situations that can lead to compromise on ones ideals and values, and to promote the reporting of inappropriate behaviour. This can be best done in context because ethics issues come up in context, with you imagining yourself in the real situation. It is easy to go into an ethics class and give the answer that the instructor wants. It is an altogether different thing to put ones self in a case situation with conflicting pressures, and determine the appropriate action when ethics is only one of the many factors impacting your decision. Conclusion The accounting profession is in the middle of a challenging time. A reputation gained over years and decades can be lost in a day. Accountants were thought of as persons of high integrity working at an uninteresting job. In the current scenario the job has gotten more interesting, but at the cost of their reputation for integrity. It is essential to win back the trust of the public and maintain their belief in the importance of accounting. The road to restoring integrity of accountants today is a long one. The job will neither be quick nor easy, with the new series of financial reporting scandals that have come up.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Mark Twains Writings and Race Essay -- Mark Twain Race Racism Realism

Mark Twain's Writings and Race Samuel Langhorne Clemens, whom readers know as Mark Twain, has written many novels including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in 1876; The Prince and the Pauper in 1882; Puddin’ Head Wilson in 1883; and Twain’s masterpiece The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn which was completed in 1883 (Simpson 103). Throughout Mark Twain’s writings, Twain had written about the lifestyle in the South the way it was in truth and detail. Mark Twain was not predjudice in his writings, instead he stripped away the veneers of class, position, religion, institutions, and the norms of society through his use of setting, language, and characters.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born on November 30, 1835 and died on April 21, 1910. He was raised in the South on a Missouri Frontier and when he was only four year of age he moved to Hannibal, a large Southern town on the banks of the Mississippi River (Simpson 104). The Mississippi River is a key element in his two novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Both the characters Tom and Huck are similar to Twain in their spirit of adventure (Unger 193). Throughout his writings Twain wrote about the opression of the rich and poor, the strong and weak, and the proud and humble (Baxter 1). In his autobiography he wrote â€Å"All negroes were friends of ours and those of our own age were inface comrades (Neider 5).† Mark Twain could not find the realistic acceptance of friendships, loyalty, and courage in the adulthood of societies, and because of this he would always use a boyhood view of the world to contrast the adult hypocrac ies. Mark Twain was honest and knew that he could only write from a realistic perspective and could not accept these hypocracies of society (Simpson 25).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mark Twain had paid much attention to detail in his descriptions of the South. In 1876 he had been placed at the head of the best seller lists for his realease of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Unger 199). The time period of the book exists just prior to the civil war, although it was written just after the war (Simpson 3). In this novel the reader is asked to see and judge the ante-bellum world through Huck’s perception of it (Simpson 3). It is written in a first person narrative form told by a boy growing up in the South and therefore we are able to see the life of a young boy directly (S... ...use of setting, language, and characters. Works Cited Baxter, Sylvester. â€Å"Baxter Reviews YankeeYankee.† Boston Sunday Herald. 16 February 2000 . Boyesen, H.H.. â€Å"Cosmopolitan Reviews Puddin’head.† Cosmopolitan. 16 February 2000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  . Neider, Charles. ed. The Autobiography of Mark Twain. New York: Harper Collins, 1959. Fulton, Joe B. Mark Twain’s Ethical Realism – The Aesthetics of Race, Class, and Gender. Columbia: University of Missouri P, 1997. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. United Stated of America: Tom Doherty Associates, Inc., 1988. Unger, Leonard. ed. American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies. Vol. IV. New York: Charles Scribner’s Son’s, 1974. â€Å"Courant Reviews Huck.† The Hartford Courant. 16 February 2000   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  . â€Å"Idler Reviews Pudd’nhead† Idler. 16 February 2000 .

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Avon Products Essay

After five straights years of ten percent plus growth and twenty-five percent operating profit growth under CEO Andrea Jung, the company suddenly began losing profits. One of the main reasons of this lost was the fast growth of Avon that couldn’t be supported by its employees. As with many growing organizations the structure, people and processes that were right for a $5 billion company were not necessarily a good fit for a ten billion dollar company (Goldsmith & Carter, 2010, p. 2). There were weaknesses that hurt the effectiveness of the employees at the talent management practices. Decisions on talent movement, promotions, and other key talent activities were often influenced as much by individual knowledge and emotion as by objective facts. Neither managers nor Associates have any idea about how the talent practices work. Even the HR department wasn’t sufficient to answer basic questions that might be asked by managers like â€Å"What will happen to me if I don’t do this? † (Goldsmith & Carter, 2010). Thus, changing at the talent management practices was a necessity for the company in order to increase the operation profits. The change theory typified in Avon Products case study is the 360 degree assessment process along with performance management and succession planning this would deliver the expected results if they were consistently and flawlessly executed. They used this method to build talent practices that were easy to implement. The proposed talent management model was integrated business and human resources strategy, talent management processes, organizational culture, provides a systemic approach, and results in having talented leaders and individuals available to accomplish the mission of the organization. One of the most simple and powerful changes was to bring transparency to every talent practice. Avon’s 360 degree assessment process was hardly a model of transparency when the turnaround began. The new team leader requested copies of each VP’s 360 degree assessment due to understand common behavioral strengths and weaknesses. A new, much simpler 360 was designed and implemented that explicitly stated that proper managerial and leadership behaviors were critical for a leader’s success at Avon. Helping to make the transition to transparency easier, the new 360 assessments and report differed from typical tools that rate the participants on proficiency in various areas. The type of evaluation information that was collected was from complex to simple, from egalitarian to differentiated, from episodic to disciplined, from meaningless to consequential, from opaque to transparent, from emotional to factual and from meaningless to consequential. Leaders know what is required to be successful, how to measure the situation, how HR and management can assist them, and the consequences of higher and lower performance. They know their performance rating, their potential ratings and how they can change each of those. They actively differentiated levels of Avon talent and provided each level with the appropriate experience. Their highest potential leaders understand how management feels about them, and they see a commensurate investment. Their lower performing leaders get the attention they need (Silzer & Dowell, 2010). Managers do the right thing for their associates both because the barriers have been lower than what they previously built and because management helped them with value added tools and information. Processes began to happen on schedule and consistently around the world. Talent decisions are made with an additional layer of qualitative and quantitative information drawn from across many different leader experiences. Leaders know that they must build talent the Avon way for both their short and long term success. When the turnaround began, no global process for understanding or acting on associate engagement issues existed. Select regions or department made efforts of varying effectiveness, but there was no integrated focus on consistent measurement and improvement of engagement (Silzer & Dowell 2010). In designing the engagement process, management applied the same three questions: the business benefit, the simple path, to adding additional value. Management accepted the substantial research that showed a correlation, and some causation between increasing engagement and increasing various business metrics. There were two goals established around simplicity. One goal was to understand as much of what drove engagement as possible, while asking the least number of questions. The second goals were to write the questions as simple as possible, so that if managers needed to improve the score on a question, their options for action would be relatively obvious. Management was confident that if managers took the right actions to improve their engagement results, not only would the next year’s scores increase, but the business would benefit from the incremental improvement. The challenge was to determine and imply communicate to the managers what the right actions were. Management with the assistance of a research team developed a statistical equation model that would become the engine to produce the answers. The statistical equation model allowed them to understand the power of each engagement dimension, for example, immediate manager, empowerment, senior management, to increase engagement, and to express that power in an easy to understand statement (Goldsmith & Carter, 2010). Avon’s mission is focused on six core aspirations the company continually strives to achieve. They are leader in global beauty, building a unique portfolio of beauty and related brands, striving to surpass competitors in quality, innovation, and value, and elevating Avon’s image to become the world’s trusted beauty company. Empower their employees to achieve economic independence by offering a superior earning opportunity as well as recognition, service and support, making it easy and rewarding to be affiliated with Avon. Deliver superior returns to shareholders by pursuing new growth opportunities while maintaining a commitment to be a responsible, ethical company and a global corporate citizen that is held as a model of success (Avon Products Inc. , 2012). Avon Products Inc. is the world largest direct seller right now. The changes in 2006 set the stage for renewed growth by enabling them to be faster and nimbler, but since then the business has grown significantly and become increasingly complex.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Honorary vs. Honourary

Honorary vs. Honourary Honorary vs. Honourary Honorary vs. Honourary By Maeve Maddox The post was intended to be a straightforward look at the fact that although American and British speakers differ as to the spelling of the nouns honor/honour, humor/humour, and glamor/glamour, they agree on the spelling of the adjectives honorary, humorous, and glamorous. I felt secure in declaring that the spellings honourary, humourous, and glamourous are wrong because the Oxford English Dictionaries site lists all three with their â€Å"commonly misspelled words.† When I looked the words up in the Oxford English Dictionary, I found that glamourous receives an â€Å"also spelled† notation, but that honorary and humorous are the only options. Another source, the WordWebOnline dictionary, flags glamourous as â€Å"nonstandard British usage.† When I went Web-diving for usage examples, I discovered that not all speakers of British English are on the same page as the Oxford dictionaries when it comes to spelling these adjectives: Wagamese receives honourary degree from Lakehead University –Wawatay News Online (Ontario) Ryan Giggs ‘tremendously proud’ to receive honourary degree WalesOnline Bruce Cockburn to receive LU honourary degree –Sudbury Northern Live.ca A humourous take on a serious issue –Deccan Herald (India) A humourous look at our Customer Service (Irish travel site) A humourous look at weekends at the cottage –muskokaregion.com (Ontario) I don’t want to spark an international incident, but because my principal authorities for British English usage are the OED and its offshoot the Oxford Dictionaries site, my advice to writers is that honourary, humourous, and glamourous are nonstandard spellings of honorary, humorous, and glamorous. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Whimsical Words45 Synonyms for â€Å"Old† and â€Å"Old-Fashioned†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Least,† â€Å"Less,† â€Å"More,† and â€Å"Most†

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Me, Myself, and I - Business Grammar Rules Explained

Me, Myself, and I - Business Grammar Rules Explained Me, Myself, and I is one of the most common business grammar errors we see in business writing training sessions. What is the Difference between Me, Myself, and I? I recently found this illustrative error reading one of my favorite blogs (unnamed now, since I don't want to link the error to this otherwise wonderful blog): Can you find the error? My sister-in-law and brother surprised Eric and I with some personalized cards along with a rubber, address stamp this week from Nameless Print. The text on the cards are coral - one of my favorite colors and also the color of the bridesmaid dresses along with the rubber stamp ink. I was semi-dreading writing out all the thank you cards from the wedding (my handwriting leaves a lot to be desired), but after receiving these, I think I may enjoy it a little. The error is here: My sister-in-law and brother surprised Eric and I with some personalized cards along with a rubber, address stamp this week from Nameless Print. The text on the cards are coral - one of my favorite colors and also the color of the bridesmaid dresses along with the rubber stamp ink. I was semi-dreading writing out all the thank you cards from the wedding (my handwriting leaves a lot to be desired), but after receiving these, I think I may enjoy it a little. It should read: My sister-in-law and brother surprised Eric and me with... hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(41482, 'bf4ee473-8e6b-46bf-b9e3-368d74d60b44', {}); Grammar Rules According to The Gregg Reference Manual and AP Style Guide: Use I, we, you, he, she, it, they (nominative/subject form personal pronoun): When the pronoun is the subject of a verb.I wrote to Eileen McIntyre. Use me, us, you, him, her, it, them (objective form personal pronoun): When the pronoun is the direct or indirect object of a verb. Larry gave Maris and us tickets for the opening.My sister-in-law and brother surprised Eric and me with... The reflexive personal pronoun myself gets tricky but just remember that myself is always used as the object of a sentence and/or as an intensive pronoun to add intensity to a sentence. Myself is never used as a subject pronoun. All personal pronouns have a matching reflexive pronoun: me - myself you - yourself you - yourselves her - herself it - itself he - himself one - oneself our - ourselves they - themselves An easy rule to remember is that the reflexive pronoun myself is always used as the object of a sentence, never the subject. I (subject) see (verb) myself (reflexive objective pronoun) eating a big chocolate cookie. You'd never write "Myself ate a big chocolate cookie." Use myself to direct the action expressed by the verb back to the subject.She found herself the only one in favor of the move. Use myself as an intensive pronoun to highlight a noun or pronoun already expressed.I will contact her myself."I will contact her" has the same meaning, but adding "myself" adds intensity. Me, Myself, and I Grammar Tip Here are two tips that will help you avoid this common me/myself/I business grammar error: Simply omit all words between the subject/verb and pronoun:My sister-in-law and brother surprised Eric and I.My sister-in-law surprised I... sounds odd to the ear. You'll know immediately that My sister-in-law surprised me... is correct. Omit the injected words for a quick check. If you were, for some odd reason, rarely allowed to include myself in business documents, you wouldn't miss it much.So, if you are confused, just don't use myself unless you are certain the usage is correct. This way, you will never write the common error:Please send the report to Karen and myself.You will know that the correct sentence is:Please send the report to Karen and me.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 15

Marketing - Essay Example ographic and behavioral factors specifically computer and internet literacy and the costumers’ need for a more convenient and high quality education. Through the help of technology, the company is able to learn more about the interests and lifestyles of prospective customers. For instance, the company analyzes the online behavior of customers, finds out which affiliates send the most visitors, and tracks response to online promotion. The company also looks at the demographic factors of their previous and current students in order to know more about their prospective customers and employ effective marketing strategies to target them. As with any other business organization, Cyber Health has formulated its own marketing mix using the 4Ps-product, price, promotion, and place. Looking at the company’s marketing strategy, it can be seen that they are utilizing 4Ps which closely complement each other. In the surface, the company’s product is high quality medical education through the use of advanced technology. However, it can also be seen that the company is also selling convenience for students who are also preoccupied with other responsibilities. It should be noted that as opposed to the traditional educational system which handles thirty or more students in a class, Cyber Health gives a more customized product by letting the student study at his or her own pace and by giving exercises to the areas that each student needs most. In terms of pricing strategy, Cyber Health can afford to price more competitively due to the lower operational and administrative cost. As opposed to traditional institutions, promotions in the company are mostly online, from search engines and affiliates. The company also uses its accreditation from medical institutions to enhance its image. Cyber Health operates in the cyberspace and is not limited by geographic boundaries. Thus, the company can afford to serve almost all states in the

Friday, November 1, 2019

PEST Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

PEST Analysis - Essay Example Insecticides and pesticides are being sprayed extensively on crops without any notice and thus result in a number of medical problems. People suffer from digestion related issues, a number of carcinomas also take their origin from such chemically treated food products. As cited by Dich,  Zahm,  Hanberg and  Adami (1997), arsenic being used in these chemicals has been labeled as the potential carcinogen for humans by International Agency of Research on Cancer. Not only have the crops taken the toll, but the animal husbandry and dairy farming has also been suffering from the consequences over the past few decades. In short there is a dire need for a drastic change that will rid the mankind of this curse of chemicals and artificial products and this is where companies like Eden Food step in. As the changing trends introduced to the modern customer the organic food products, a ray of hope was seen. Organic food according to FDA as cited by Food Marketing Institute (2012) can be def ined by taking into consideration that the word organic does not simply refer to the food but also gives an indication as to how it has been produced. It must be noted that such food is different from natural food and also it must not be subject to any amount of irradiation whatsoever. Companies like Eden Food are a way out for the people seeking healthy, environment friendly food which is palatable too. As the awareness of the health conscious clientele is increasing, more questions arise and it becomes imperative for the industries and businesses to be more vigilant in their approach. Luckily enough Eden Foods has been able to cope up with the challenge it is made to face with and there have been introduced a wide variety of organic food products for the customers to choose from. With every passing day, the market for organic food and especially Eden Foods is growing by leaps and bounds. According to the Federal Marketing Institute as cited by Cook (2004), a study conducted in 200 0 showed that the global market for organic food was at an estimated 20 million dollars with USA accounting for 39% of it. In short, with the ever increasing demand of a healthy living, the responsibility on the food industry increases manifold and there is a dire need placed in front of Eden Foods to match the demands of the customers if successful business is to be managed in the long run. Procedure working of the product chosen As has been the trend observed over the past several decades, the third world countries are introduced to a new product when some time has been elapsed after the introduction of the same product in the markets of the first world countries. On the same basic principle it has been observed that the trend of organic foods in the first world traces back to the 80s and 90s, whereas the poorer states of the world are now being introduced to this concept and it is comparatively novel for them. On the other hand, when the needs of the two groups of countries are c ompared, it is seen that the people residing in the third world countries are more in need of pure and healthy food free from contaminants and artificial chemicals. These people are faced with the problems of unhealthy and unsanitary drinking water and the living conditions in general are not as refined as in the first world states (Gadgil, 1998). For that matter, the whole chiaroscuro of unhealthy lifestyle is evident in the form of malnutrition, more gastro