The Department of Homeland Security and its Impacts on the United States Emergency Preparedness Success or Failure

The Department of Homeland Security and its Impacts on the United States Emergency Preparedness Success or Failure Introduction The September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US made the US’ citizens concerned about the capacity of the government to ensure that they are secure at all times whether while in their country or in foreign nations. The resulting impacts of the terrorism act also had severe ramification on the government’s part. The government was left shocked that its security systems were not able to prevent attacks from occurring.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Department of Homeland Security and its Impacts on the United States’ Emergency Preparedness: Success or Failure specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Due to the homogenous effects of the terrorist attack, it was a matter of common knowledge that restructuring of the internal security surveillance system was necessary through the enactment of an appropriate policy in the effort to ensure that such attacks would not occur in the futur e. This prompted the creation of the division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2002. DHS was mandated to shield the US from reacting to terrorists’ attacks coupled with making sure that all Americans were prepared to counter the aftermaths of natural disasters including floods, fires, diseases outbreaks, and earthquakes (Abbott, 2005, p.5).  Disaster preparedness is critical in contemporary times. America depicts well the significance of disaster preparedness owing to the degree in which the US is prone to myriads of terrorists’ attacks and other natural catastrophes. This fact makes it necessary for the US to develop various state apparatus that would enable it to respond towards emergencies that may pose a danger to the American lives (Burmgarner, 2008, p.29). Implementation of policies that aid in the establishment of apparatus for manning terrorism and natural catastrophes is critical since one of the constitutional rights of the Americans is to ha ve their lives protected by the government. The central apparatus that ensures the fulfillment of this legal right is the department of homeland security. FEMA is the central agency that lies within DHS. Since the establishment DHS in 2002, the US has escaped incidents of terrorist attacks. However, natural catastrophes have been recorded since then. These catastrophes often lead to economic losses to a nation. For instance, the US was struck by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Hurricane Katina poked holes in the readiness of the Department of Homeland Security on issues separate from terrorism.   Perhaps this claim reveals the resurgence of the debate in the capability of the United States’ policy on emergency management and the ability of the state to deal with complex issues. This paper revolves around this interrogative.Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Preci sely, the paper attempts to explore the department of homeland security in a bid to determine the impact of the agency on efforts of disaster preparedness in America. The goal is to determine whether the agency has been effective or otherwise in achieving its mandate. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the DHS is based on the theoretical paradigms of disaster management. Hypothesis In the effort to explore emergency and disaster management in the US’ context, the paper attempts to determine the accomplishments and letdowns of the Department of Homeland Security. It hypothesizes that, amid being well prepared to handle situations articulated to terrorism activities, the department of homeland security is prone to being caught off guard by catastrophic natural disasters. Research Questions In the effort to prove or disapprove the hypothesis in the attempt to determine the effectiveness of the department of homeland security in achieving its mandates, this research paper gra pples with three main questions: Has the disaster management capacity of the United States been overtaken by the fixation on fighting terrorism? What could explain the government’s failure to respond promptly to save the lives of Americans during Hurricane Katrina? What is the nature of the threats that the United States envisions due to the conglomeration of the disaster management organs under FEMA? Research Methodology The research methodology deployed in this research paper is qualitative research. Assessment of various researches for the establishment of theoretical paradigms that may help to explain the applicability of concepts of disaster management in manning all possible dangers that a nation may be exposed to in an attempt to respond promptly before they occur will be considered. This approach forms the basis for making comparison of the extent to which the operations of DHS measures up to the developed theoretical paradigms thus implying that the data used in th e research is mainly derived from secondary sources. Hence, the methodology used in this research paper introduces a challenge of reliability and validity of the inferences made herein. However, this challenge is countered by the use of a wide range of scholarly research in the discipline of disaster management. On the other hand, the instances in which the DHS has been caught off guard by disasters are based on real examples of natural catastrophes that have occurred in the recent past under the full watch of DHS. These examples are crucial in the effort to evaluate the effectiveness of DHS and in the development of theories that explain the DHS policy. Literature Review The uncertainty and unexpectedness of disasters make disaster management technique an incredibly difficult subject because disasters strike mostly when people least expect it (Abbott, 2005, p.3). All countries have probabilities of being exposed to disasters of various types. Bumgarner (2008) defines four types of disasters: natural disasters, environmental emergencies, pandemic emergencies, and complex emergencies (p.25).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Department of Homeland Security and its Impacts on the United States’ Emergency Preparedness: Success or Failure specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Examples of natural disasters include volcano eruptions, floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes amongst others. These disasters expose people to both primary and secondary impacts. With regard to Varghese (2002), natural disasters have â€Å"immediate impacts on human health, as well as secondary impacts causing further death and suffering from floods that cause landslides, earthquakes that result in fires, tsunamis that cause widespread flooding, and typhoons that sink ferries† (p.102). A well-designed disaster management system within a nation needs to be proactively prepared to avoid or reduce these implic ations before or after the occurrence of the disasters.  Environmental disasters encompass industrial and technological accidents. They are usually experienced due to hazardous materials used in production processes. Such disasters take place where the dangerous materials are used and or transported. Forest infernos are also induced in these types of disasters. On the other hand, pandemic emergencies entail sudden eruption of contagious diseases, which have devastating effects on human health coupled with aftermaths of disruptions of businesses and service delivery mechanism. Consequently, pandemic emergencies truncate into social and economic costs. Complex emergencies entail power failures, â€Å"attacks of certain national strategic installations, and looting† (Lindell, Tierney Perry, 2001, p.19). The emergencies lead to war and or the emergence of conflicts. The resolution of these conflicts and wars has the implication of consumption of state resources at the expense of other needs of the citizens. This case perhaps explains why a nation’s arm of internal security needs to prepare and where possible identify any volatile situation that may lead to war and resolve the causes of conflicts before the situation gets out of hand to warrant the deployment of state machinery to quench the disputes. Now, it sounds plausible to posit the question: how prepared is the DHS to address these types of disasters?  The above query introduces several relevant concepts in the theory of disaster management. These concepts include disaster preparedness, disaster recovery, disaster relief, and disaster prevention. Disaster preparedness entails all the activities that are designed to ensure that damages and losses of life are minimized should a disaster struck (Smith, 2006, p.13). These activities include â€Å"removing people and property from a threatened location and or facilitating timely and effective rescue, relief, and rehabilitation† (Hansen Schramm, 1993, p.56).Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Through the deployment of disaster preparedness strategies, nations reduce the effects of disasters. In line with this argument, Hansen and Schramm postulate, â€Å"communitys of the theories that can be deployed to explain some the catastrophes that are attributed to human actions include Jetkinks social constructionism theory. The theory explains the â€Å"manufacturing of terrorism threat, conservation resources model used by Arata et al. (2000) to predict the psychological implication of the Exon Valdez oil spill disaster, and social vulnerability approach† (Enarson et al. (2003, p.4). These theories provide ample insights to emergency managers on the impacts of human behaviors’ capacity to give rise to disasters in some ways. In the first place, they indicate the existence of abundant frameworks and broad-based theoretical paradigm that links human behavior to emergencies and disasters. Secondly, they avail the basis from which true theories for disaster and emer gency management and response can be rested. In the framework for analysis emergency, Donahue and Joyce maintain that emergency management is a complex policy subsystem that involves an intergovernmental, multiphase effort to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters† (2001, p.728). These complexities emanate from the need to determine and allocate behavioral and fiscal incentives that are necessary for the formulation of the disaster and emergency management policy. Before the occurrence of an emergency and or a disaster, spending in the apparatus of disaster management often attracts the public eye scrutiny. Indeed, Donahue and Joyce argue that, in such situations, a conflict exists between the state and public on the hazards that amount to emergencies and disasters so that public resources can be allocated to develop preparedness, response mechanism, and relief strategies. When still struggling with this debate, in case natural calamity strikes, many of the critics hardly turn around to pose a question on the necessity of government intervention. Rather, as Donahue and Joyce explain, â€Å"citizens tend to automatically view the situation as a serious public problem requiring immediate governmental actions† (2001, p.728). In the case of the United States, this governmental action is effected through the department of homeland security. The underlying action is driven by the mandate given to the DHS to reduce incidences and magnitudes in a bid to mitigate the threats associated with the occurrence of disasters and emergencies coupled with preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the impacts of emergencies and disasters (McEntire, 2004, p.17). In this context, emergency and disaster management tools operate as both instruments of emergencies, disaster surveillance, and as apparatus for responding to disasters and emergencies within a nation.  Surprisingly, amid the development of a well-organized apparatus for disas ter and emergency management, disasters still strike. Does it, therefore, mean that all apparatus for disaster management, including the department of homeland security are ineffective? Evans and Drabek (2004) offer an answer to this query by positing that managing disasters gives rise to challenges that are formidable to the governments’ emergency and disaster management apparatus since they present a requirement for making difficult decisions on service delivery systems for the affected people (p.45). In their nature, disasters offset the â€Å"capacity of the governments whose jurisdiction they strike† (Donahue Joyce, 2001, p.728). Therefore, the affected governments have to source aid from other nations. In the absence of a disaster, a government cannot place a diplomatic call for help should an emergency or disaster occur in the future (McEntire, 2003, p.107). This implies that the internal emergency and disaster management apparatus only have resources adequate for the development of emergency and disaster preparedness strategies but not for relief, rescue, and recovery.  The overall objective of emergency and disaster administration is â€Å"to moderate in the most pragmatic way the extent to which the conditions of the affected communities are worsened by a disaster† (Donahue Joyce, 2001, p.730). Directly congruent with this assertion, Donahue and Joyce, (2001) retaliate, â€Å"governments and their disaster managers undertake many actions to support this goal, both pre-disaster (to foretell potential damage) and post-disaster (to correct actual damage)† (p.731). Nevertheless, the traits of disasters hamper these great concerns of disaster and emergency management arm of government. Disasters destroy an extensive portion of the property of a given jurisdiction of a nation or state besides impairing the health of the population affected in such magnitudes and rates that are beyond the capacity of a government to avoid or avert. The repercussion for this is, â€Å"coping with them drains most, if not all, of the jurisdiction’s manpower, equipment, supplies, and money† (Donahue Joyce, 2001, p.731). A challenge is amplified by the unpredictability and uncertainty of magnitudes of damages likely to be caused by the anticipated disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. Essentially, natural disasters are hard to predict leave alone to prevent. Hence, the only possible intervention is to evacuate people from disaster-prone areas. Unfortunately, it is impossible to evacuate infrastructures such as houses, health care centers, water supply systems, roads, railway lines, power supply lines, and others. This claim implies that, no matter how a government emergency and disaster management apparatus may be able to predict the occurrence of natural disasters, it is impossible to escape the resulting implications of the disaster. The implications result in the erosion of public resources beyond the rate at which the government may be able to replenish without resorting to seeking external help. This assertion perhaps explains the slow responses on some disaster management apparatus in some nations in the event of the occurrence of a disaster. For effective management of any public problem, causative agents of the problems should be possible to identify because, upon identification of causations, their mitigation amounts to success in the management of the actual problem arising from them. Extending this argument to disaster hazards makes it incredibly challenging to identify the hazards that give rise to disasters since â€Å"the causal relationship between hazards and disaster events is poorly understood with risks being hard to measure (Donahue Joyce, 2001, p.732). Disasters are also infrequent. In some situations, the political tenure of a given government may elapse without disasters being experienced. According to Donahue and Joyce, this condition â€Å"locates gov ernments in a quandary about whether, when, and what action to take to manage them† (2001, p.732). Furthermore, testing of disaster policies does not meet the criteria of Mazmanian and Sabatier’s tests for an implementation process of policy because disasters constitute intractable challenges, which are impossible to address via statutes assigning requisite resources coupled with making a clarification of responsibility lines. Lindell (2007) amplifies this argument by asserting, â€Å"disaster problems are subject to powerful non-statutory variables such as the level of public support, available administrative and leadership skills, and reigning social-economic conditions† (p.92). This argument agrees with the case that lack of a comprehensive and unified definition of the situation that amounts to disasters makes it impossible for derivation of appropriate disasters and emergency response mechanisms. Management of emergencies entails a policy subsystem, which ho uses various functions. All these functions â€Å"demand certain competencies by presenting specific political opportunities through the choice about the distribution of costs and benefits† (Sylves, 2007, p.25). In this context, emergency and disaster management encompasses the distribution of myriads of roles via political bargaining procedure. In case of the United States, the roles of emergency and disaster management are allocated to the DHS. However, it is questionable why scholarly criticism of the effectiveness of the DHS to manage emergencies and disasters is appropriate. Donahue and Joyce respond to this question by informing, â€Å"Public officials do not allocate responsibility for design and implementation of public policy based on a comprehensive evaluation of the competency of each level government† (2001, p.735). Nevertheless, this claim does not imply that a public official is merely a self-interested actor who takes the issues of public interest in a m anner that is effective and efficient. Consequently, interactions between behavioral incentives and functional competencies in the determination of the appropriate subsystem of disaster policy are immensely complex (Holdeman, 2012, Para.1).  Stemming from the above argument, Donahue and Joyce assert, â€Å"Aspects of contemporary emergency management practice are coherent applications of fundamental principles of fiscal federalism and functional theory† (2001, p.733). However, it is arguable that national governments including the United States through appropriate emergency and disaster management apparatus such as DHS engage in programs for management of emergencies and disasters, precisely recovery and responses that are prescribed by the functional theory. If this is the case, how effective is DHS in the management of disasters and emergencies? The next section discusses this query in the context of the developed theoretical paradigms on disaster management. Effectivenes s of Department of Home Land Security Drawing from the literature review, the characteristics of disasters do not give the government an opportunity to prepare for responding to disasters and emergencies only when they are anticipated to occur. Since a disaster can strike any time, the most proactive way of responding to disasters is to have an all-time disaster preparedness national apparatus. Therefore, the occurrence of disasters has led to the creation of agencies and other apparatus to facilitate emergency preparedness in the US. These agencies are the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Following the September 2001 attacks, the US found it imperative to implement policies, which will facilitate disaster preparedness and management. The need is essential upon the consideration of the mandates of both the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). DHS is equipped with numerous re sources in order to gather information on the factors, which might have an influence on the safety of the US. This case enables the relevant stakeholders to be aware of the potential disasters, which might compromise the country’s security prior to their occurrence. The claim further allows the authority to implement measures to counter the disasters’ effects hence protecting the inhabitants. FEMA is a section in DHS, which is mandated to coordinate disaster management that is beyond the capabilities of local and state apparatus. This case ensures that there is a plan to counter the effects of devastating disasters.  Theoretically, the development of policy leading to the creation of FEMA and DHS creates the perception that the two organs can respond to all forms of emergencies and disasters. Indeed, this is an anticipation of the public. From the dimension of the criticism of scholars, the question of whether DHS is prepared to handle emergencies and disasters in ca se another catastrophe strikes America (Wormuth, 2009, p.95) remains crucial. McEntire (2004) is also inclined to the perception that DHS may not be may well prepared to handle all forms of disasters that may strike America after the September 2002 attacks (p.12). The author proposes that, from the DHS perspective point of view, â€Å"vulnerability to disasters is due to cultural misunderstandings, permeable borders, fragile infrastructure, and weak disaster management institutions† (p. 12). What this means is that DHS is ineffective in managing disasters and emergencies. Therefore, it is crucial to make an effort to â€Å"correct domestic and foreign policy mistakes† (Lindell, Tierney, Perry, 2001, p.36). However, determining the effectiveness of the DHS from this perspective is inadequate because, as established in the literature review section, disasters are unpredictable. Some natural disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, cannot be avoided. Consequently, one of the adequate ways of determining how effective DHS is in terms of responding to disasters is through the introspection of the manner in which it conducts the rescue and relief missions. Another, approach for evaluation of the effectiveness of DHS is through the examination of how DHS is capable of precisely predicting areas that would be impacted by disasters. From this basis, DHS can be argued as being highly effective (Wormuth, 2009, p.103).  However, Abc NEWS does not agree with the above argument since it maintains that the US remains vulnerable to both fabricated and natural disasters. For instance, Abc NEWS claims that, following the outbreak of smallpox, the government maintained that it acquired adequate vaccines to cater for all people in the US. However, New York academy of medicine â€Å"finds the government’s actual preparedness plans to be deeply flawed† (Abc NEWS, 2005, Para.6). This assertion raises the question of whether the US is capable of d oing that given that its mandates extend beyond mitigation of emergencies attributed to terrorism: this being the main occurrence that led to its establishment to include management of disasters associated to natural catastrophes such as diseases outbreaks. This claim does not regard the massive awareness of the capability of the DHS to manage disastrous incidences in the US. After the September 2011 incident, the federal government of the United States spent billions of dollars to develop means and mechanisms of preventing future occurrence of a similar disaster in the future. Unfortunately, Hurricane Katrina struck, leaving massive destructions to property. Indeed, â€Å"president Bush agreed to take full responsibility for the slow and flawed response to Hurricane Katrina† (Abc NEWS, 2005, Para.1). Upon acceptance of these responsibilities, some people are inclined to the argument that assuming responsibility exemplified recognition of the ineffectiveness of the US’ disaster management apparatus in achieving its mandates. The criticism by Abc NEWS is consistent with the discussion of the nature of natural disasters. It was impossible for the DHS to avoid its occurrence. However, upon its appearance, DHS should have responded speedily to reduce the impacts of the disasters as part of its mandate. Unfortunately, it failed. Since 1990, FEMA was charged with pursuing all-hazard-disasters and emergency management approach in matters of development of mechanisms of disaster preparedness and response. Therefore, the role of FEMA has been ensuring the US is prepared for various disasters coupled with mitigating them no matter their causes.  The inclusion of the FEMA in the department of homeland security created a conflict of mandates between the two organs, which were then required to work together. Before the merging of the two, FEMA emerged as incredibly useful in responding to natural disasters. While in the merged state, arguably, FEMA became à ¢â‚¬Å"highly indebted in preparing for mechanism of responding to terrorism though less effective in performing its traditional mission of responding to natural disasters as time, effort, and attention were inevitably diverted to other tasks within the larger organization† (Wormuth, 2009, p.105: Jenkins, 2003, p. 21). Should this exposition then serve to explain the reluctance in responding to the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster?  The above question can perhaps be well answered upon consideration of the roles that were played by FEMA in responding to Hurricane Andrew in 1992. FEMA was able to react speedily to offer support, rescue, and relief to all people who were affected by Hurricane Andrew. Why did this not happen in 2005 during the disaster of Hurricane Katrina? Arguably, the merging of DHS with FEMA influenced the capacity of FEMA to work as an independent body. In this light, Nicholson (2005) argues, â€Å"FEMA will likely perform its homeland security mission at le ast as (if not more) effectively as an independent agency than as part of a department of homeland security† (p.11). Independency is crucial since the nature of disaster makes it imperative for a quick action to be taken without deep consultations.  The occurrence of the terrorist attack of 2001 may also have eroded the effectiveness of DHS and FEMA to respond to natural disasters. Arguably, from the public concern point of view, incidences in which the safety of the American is interfered with by forces outside their territorial boundaries attract more public interest and fear compared with internal forces such as natural disasters. Consequently, the effectiveness of both FEMA and DHS in responding to Hurricane Katrina may be attributed to the conglomeration of the disaster management organs under FEMA and over-concentration on putting in place mechanisms of developing preparedness to disasters associated with terrorist attacks. Therefore, the emergence of new forms of acci dents truncates into the erosion of effectiveness in responding to other kinds of disasters. This argument gains weight by considering, â€Å"the United States has been well behind most industrialized countries in obtaining supplies of the one medicine that works against the bird flu† (Abc NEWS, 2005, Para. 17). Nevertheless, given that some disasters are inevitable and that their probabilities of occurrence are hard to determine, the degree of responding immediately when they occur needs not to be an indicator of the capacity of the degree of effectiveness of a disaster management apparatus, mainly if the disasters were not predicted in good time. The claim holds because, upon the occurrence of a disaster or an emergency within nations, making of a responsible logistical arrangement is necessary at least over a short period following the occurrence of a disaster or an emergency. However, the speed at which DHS and FEMA responded to hurricane Katrina questions the effectivene ss of these organs in responding to disasters that are different from terrorism attacks. Conclusion Many nations across the globe encounter emergencies and disasters. In the paper, disasters were defined as calamitous emergency events that are caused by human beings or by nature and which have social and economic negative implications. It was argued that, although disasters are of different magnitudes, a common characteristic is that they damage the general welfare of the populations they affect. Due to the magnitude of the damages that are caused by disasters, the government is the chief instrument that takes the responsibility of providing aid to the people affected within its jurisdiction through emergency and disaster management apparatus created by the government. The device develops a means and or a mechanism of the emergency and disaster preparedness, response, relief, and rescue. As evidenced by the paper, the concern of each of these elements depends on the period of progre ssion of the disaster from before it has occurred to after it has happened.  In the US, the roles and the responsibility of emergency and disaster preparedness, relief, rescue, and response fall on the department of homeland security and FEMA. While FEMA is a central agency within DHS, the DHS was constituted following the September 2001 terrorists attack as one of the mechanism of restructuring the disaster managing system of the US to enhance better disasters preparedness, response, and relief in the future not only from natural disasters and calamities such as diseases outbreaks but also from terrorist attacks. From the basis of the mandates of DHS, the focus of this paper was to scrutinize the effectiveness of DHS through the articulation of theoretical paradigms on emergency and disaster management. In this extent, it had been argued that, even though the literature on emergency and disaster management provides strong evidence that some disasters are unpredictable, infrequent , and enormous to the extent that they constrain resources available to the government, DHS has suffered inefficiencies in the management of disasters and emergencies. A strong case for holding this position is the sluggish response by DHS to the 2005 hurricane Katrina disaster compared to the rapid response to Hurricane Andrew in 1992 by FEMA. Reference List Abbott, B. (2005). A legal guide to Homeland Security and Emergency Management for State and Local Governments. Chicago, IL: American Bar Association. Abc NEWS. (2005). Unprepared for disaster: experts say United States may not be prepared for natural or man-made calamities. Web. Arata, C., et al. (2000). Coping with Technological Disaster: An Application of the Conservation of Resources Model to the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 13(3), 23-39. Bumgarner, J. (2008). Emergency Management: a Reference Handbook. Santa Barbra, CA: ABC-CLIO, Inc. Donahue, K., Joyce, G. (2001). A Framework for Analyzing Emergen cy Management with an Application to Federal Budgeting. Public Administration Review, 61(6), 728-740. Enarson, E., et al (2003). A Social Vulnerability Approach to Disasters. Emmitsburg, Maryland: Emergency Management Institute, Federal Emergency Management Agency. Evans, J., Drabek, E. (2004). Theories Relevant To Emergency Management versus A Theory of Emergency Management (Monograph No. 80208-2948). Denver, Colorado: University of Denver. Hansen, R., Schramm, D. (1993). Aim Scope of Disaster Management. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. Holdeman, E. (2012). Emergency Management Is a Complicated Profession [(Opinion)]. Web. Jenkins, P. (2003). Image of Terror: What We Can and Cannot Know about Terrorism. New York, NY: Aldine de Gruyter. Lindell, M. (2007). Emergency Management. Hoboken: John Wiley and Sons. Lindell, M., Tierney, K., Perry, R. (2001). Facing the Unexpected: Disaster Preparedness and Response in the United States. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press. McEntire, D. (20 03). Epistemological Problems in Emergency Management: Theoretical Dilemmas and Implications Epistemological Problems in Emergency Management: Theoretical Dilemmas and Implications (Monograph No. 76203-0617). Denton, Texas: University of North Texas. McEntire, D. (2004). The Status of Emergency Management Theory: Issues, Barriers, and Recommendations for Improved Scholarship. Paper Presented at the FEMA Higher Education Conference. FEMA: Higher Education Conference. McEntire, D. (2007). Disciplines, Disasters, and Emergency Management. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, LTD. Nicholson, W. (2003). Emergency Response and Emergency Management Law: Cases and Materials. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, LTD. Nicholson, W. (2005). Homeland Security Law and Policy. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas, Publisher LTD. Smith, F. (2006). Budgeting for disasters- part I. Overview of the problem. The Public Manager, 35(1), 11-19. Sylves, R. (2007). A Prà ©cis’ on Political Theory and Emergency Management (Monograph). Newark, DE 19716: University of Delaware. Varghese, M. (2002). Disaster Recovery. Boston: Course Technology. Wormuth, C. (2009). The Next Catastrophe: Ready or Not? Washington Quarterly, 32(1), 93-106.

Monitoring our home planet Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Monitoring our home planet - Research Paper Example This paper will analyze the identified phenomenon that leads to natural disasters through a critique on the available web based monitoring resources. Earthquakes Earthquakes are sudden tremors that result from sudden release of energy from earth crust. The energy produces seismic waves that are experienced as earthquake. The magnitude of earthquake is determined by the degree of frequency of the resultant seismic waves. It is estimated that 500, 000 earthquakes occur annually and they are detectable with the current monitoring instruments. However, only 20% of the detectable earthquakes cannot be felt or experienced. Distribution of earthquakes around the globe is closely associated with tectonic stability. Regions with active geological activities such as volcanoes, and faults lines are more prone to earthquakes than more geologically stable regions. However, this does not restrict earthquakes to certain areas since areas that have never recorded cases of earthquakes such as New York often experience earthquakes that are below the detectable magnitude. The main earthquake zones around the world are closely associated with regions that have h istory of active volcanic activities, strong tidal waves, areas with natural fault lines and regions within tectonic plate interfaces. Seismometers are used to monitor seismic waves in the earth crust and predict earthquakes. Countries such as Japan, Haiti, Indonesia, and Turkey have experienced severe cases of earthquake in the recent past. Various resources have been set to monitor trends of seismic waves and the possibility of earthquakes. IRIS Seismic Monitor, Live Earthquakes Map and GeoNet – Quakes are some the main earthquake monitoring websites. The web based monitoring technology provides up-to-date information and data on earthquakes. However, the websites have a geographical bias and usually assume the welfare of developing countries. It is evident that the current geological system that depicts seismic hotspots is not accurate. However, the websites are restricted to availability and distribution of earthquakes monitoring infrastructures around the world. Politics plays a significant role in the recording and reporting of earthquakes and related information. Most of the global earthquake monitoring infrastructures such as satellites and seismic wave monitors are controlled by major world powers (Ollier, 1988). This indicates that availability of information concerning earthquakes is closely linked with global politics. In addition, data collection is mainly carried out in area that are of political interest. The seismic monitoring resources do not cover less developed countries or regions of less political interests. However, web based results can be used to predict occurrence of earthquakes in less developed countries through extrapolation methods. Global economics plays a critical role in monitoring and

Parents who neglect their children due to methamphetamine addiction Assignment

Parents who neglect their children due to methamphetamine addiction - Assignment Example The new changes in the law clearly show that using or possessing methamphetamine in the presence of a child is child abuse under the abuse and neglect code. In addition, the same law extends to indicate that manufacturing methamphetamine in the presence of a child is felony (Doerner & Lab, 2012). If the mother is petitioned in the new law, it will not serve under the former but it will apply under the latter give that the mother allowed the drug to be manufactured by the boyfriend in the presence of the children and cause bodily harm to the infants. If the boyfriend if proved guilty because of the methamphetamine lab evidence, the mother is likely to bear the same penalties which in my case may be charges for felony. All the children will be withdrawn and placed under foster care (Reardon & Noblet, 2009). As the sole responsible adult to the 2, 5 and 7 year old children, the mother is actually a victim of the case. The mother owes the children a duty to care as a mother hence had the sole responsibility to guard the children against the violent boyfriend after consuming methamphetamine (Doerner & Lab, 2012). Incase the mother is not petitioned, the children according to the law must be kept safe by the department of Health and welfare which is responsible for keeping children safe. The services that the department will offer to the children are designed to assist in children protection while strengthening families to block abuse and neglect (Doerner & Lab, 2012). The department looks into the concerns, notifies the family while assessing the situation and offer services to reduce safety concerns. Among the concerns will be removing the child from the family until it is safe for them to be returned back (Pelton, 2001). According to the US department of Health and Human services, several states define how drug is used,

The Importance Of Costs In The Pricing Strategy Accounting Essay

The Importance Of Costs In The Pricing Strategy Accounting Essay It is very important for companies to have a good pricing strategy as it than permits them to earn good profit margin on its product or services and at the same time making it appealing to the customers. Pricing strategies are very important part of business and different organisation spend large sum of money and effort to devise effective and efficient pricing strategies. Following are different types of pricing strategies that different business organisations use in order to attract customers and at the same time to earn profit: Competition Pricing; Psychological Pricing; Cost based Pricing; Price Skimming. Absorption costing The formula that is used by different organisations to calculate the price is:   Selling price. = Cost + profit Cost based pricing: One of the strategies is cost based pricing. This strategy involves first the calculation of the fixed cost and the variable cost of the specific product or service that is offered by an organisation. Once the total cost is calculated than the profit margin is added to each unit i.e. it can 5%, 7% or 9%. The cost based pricing strategy is very efficient strategy as it covers all the costs related to product and service and it also covers the desired profit. Although this strategy looks very simple and easy to use and managers only have to do some financial calculations in order to determine the price of the product or service that is being delivered. But the problem with this strategy is that it doesnt consider the external factors such as market or the competition that also have massive impact on pricing. But as this strategy is very old and the organisation only has to process the internal information to calculate the price thats why it is very popular. The organisation can also justify the prices that have been allocated on the basis of their cost and also prove that the price is the sum of the total cost and the profit. Absorption costing principles: Absorption costing is another costing technique that is widely used it involves the allocation of all the costs that have been incurred by the business organisation to each of its product or the service they offer. This strategy enables them to estimate whether the product will make profit in future or not. During the cost allocation process some assumptions are also made as some costs are fixed and some are variable which depend on the level of production. When absorption costing system is used the profit that are reported by the organisation depend on the level of production and the level of sales by the firm, this is due to the fact the fixed manufacturing overhead is absorbed in the value of work in progress goods and also in the finished goods. But if at the end of the accounting period the stock is not sold out than the fixed manufacturing overhead cost is transferred to the next period. Marginal costing principles: Marginal costing is another significant costing strategy. This strategy gives importance to the behavioural characteristics of the costs. The two elements of the cost are first separated i.e. variable cost in which the cost per unit is same and the total cost changes depending on the level of production and the second element is fixed cost in which the total cost is same irrespective of level of production. It is not very easy to separate fixed and variable costs, the organisation simplify the information to do this and sometimes it is not very accurate. But this costing strategy is very helpful for business organisations to perform different activities such as decision making and short term planning. In this costing system the variable cost is subtracted from the sales revenue to calculate the contribution margin of each product i.e. the amount each product has contributed to cover the total fixed cost that business organisation has sustained. And then the fixed cost is subtracted f rom the contribution margin as fixed cost is treated as period cost and then the net profit is found. 1.2 Design a costing system for use within an organization. The world was hit by the recession in 2007. Now it is been more than six years but still many countries are not able to get rid of it and most of the countries are facing the after effects. The economy has been badly affected by the recession. And therefore business organisations are also giving more attention to the financial aspects of the firm. The business organisations are trying to be prepared for such kind of disasters by using various accounting tools that helps them to closely evaluate their performance whether it is financial or management performance. This also helps them to identify various opportunities. According to Datar et.al (2008) business organisations are giving more attention to cost accounting these days in order to make their financial as well as their strategic decisions. The costing system enables the organisation to easily record the expenses that have been incurred or will be incurred in future. But the other financial technique limits the business organisa tions to sales, marketing and human resource management and does not give the accurate cost of the business activities. There are different costing systems some of them are mentioned above but the three costing systems that are gaining more attention are very popular among business organisations are: Activities-Based Costing System Absorption Costing System Direct Costing System TESCO is a multinational grocery store with millions of turn-over every year; they have been using traditional costing system which is used to cover their huge sales. But now as the competition is increasing in the market due to globalisation and various other factors the number of challenged TESCO is facing is also increasing. Therefore the best costing system for TESCO is activity based costing or ABC system. According to Dekker (2003) the fundamental principle of the activity based costing revolves around value chain analysis and integrated cost evaluation and the sales information that is associated with the supply chain of the organisation. TESCO requires the main costing hub rather than small different departments. It has more than 30,000 products and therefore it is very difficult to keep track of all of them. Any business firm offering this much number of products cannot keep track of the cost and they can be in difficult situation due to overhead cost allocation. Activity based costing system has two divers volume based and non-volume based. The most suitable costing system for TESCO is activity based costing as it helps the organisation to get the exact summary of cost of sales. 1.3 Propose improvements to the costing and pricing systems used by an organization The competition-based pricing policy should be used by TESCO. This strategy helps the firm to finalize the price of the product after analysing the prices set by the other companies that are currently competing in the market. Therefore TESCO should first identify its present competitors that are giving it a cut throat competition. Than after calculating the costs of its products TESCO sets the price of each product. The prices are set either higher, lower or exactly the same prices that are offered by competitors. This decision is actually based on how the competitor will respond to the set price. If there are few competitors in the market than the response of the competitor is very important part of this pricing strategy. Because if this is the case than, when one competitor lowers the price the other competitor will also lower theirs in order to be more competitive. By using this this pricing policy the companies can relatively quickly set their prices and as this strategy does not require accurate market data therefore it requires very little effort to carry it out. Competitive pricing also makes distributors more receptive to a companys products because they are priced within the range the distributor already handles. Furthermore, this pricing policy enables companies to select from a variety of different pricing strategies to achieve their strategic goals. In other words, companies can choose to mark their prices above, below, or on par with their competitors prices and thereby influence customer perceptions of their products. 2.1. Apply forecasting techniques to make cost and revenue decisions in an organization Assumptions for Forecasted Income Statement: The revenues have increased by 5%. The cost of goods sold has increased by 2% The selling, general and admin expenses has been managed to bring down by 3% No further borrowing took place therefore interest expense is same Interest income, income on equity investment and non-operating income has increased by 1%. All the unusual items will be same. Income tax will be 25%. Minority interest in earning and earning from discounted operations will be same. NOTE: All the figures are rounded off to one decimal place. Currency (Millions of British Pounds) As of: Feb 25 2012 GBP % Change Feb 25 2013 GBP Revenue 64,539.0 5% 67,766.0 TOTAL REVENUE 64,539.0 67,766.0 Cost Of Goods Sold (cogs) 59,278.0 2% 60,464.0 GROSS PROFIT 5,261.0 7,302.0 Selling General Admin Expenses, Total (1,634.0) (3%) (1,585.0) Total OPERATING EXPENSES (1,634.0) (1,585.0) OPERATING INCOME 3,627.0 5717.0 Interest Expense (417.0) Same (417.0) Interest Income And Investment Income 114.0 1% 115.0 NET INTEREST EXPENSE (303.0) (302.0) Income On Equity Investments 91.0 1% 92.0 Other Non-Operating Income (Expenses) 44.0 1% 44.0 EBT 3,459.0 5,551.0 Impairment Of Goodwill Same Gain On Sale Of Assets 376.0 Same 376.0 Other Unusual Items Same EBT, INCLUDING UNUSUAL ITEMS 3,835.0 5927.0 Income Tax Expense 879.0 (25%) 1482.0 Minority Interest In Earnings (8.0) Same (8.0) Earnings From Continuing Operations 2,956.0 4,445.0 EARNINGS FROM DISCOUNTINUED OPERATIONS (142.0) Same (142.0) NET INCOME 2,806.0 4,295.0 NET INCOME TO COMMON INCLUDING EXTRA ITEMS 2,806.0 4,295.0 NET INCOME TO COMMON EXCLUDING EXTRA ITEMS 2,948.0 4,437.0 Assumptions for Forecasted balance Sheet: All assets will increase by 3% except the current assets. Current assets will increase by 5%. All current liabilities will increase by 4%. All long term liabilities will increase by 3.95%. Equity will increase by 5%. Currency in Millions of British Pounds As of: Feb 25 2012 GBP % Change Feb 25 2013 GBP Assets http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif Cash And Equivalents 2,305.0 5%http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif 2420.25 Short-Term Investments 1,243.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 1305.15 TOTAL CASH AND SHORT TERM INVESTMENTS 3,548.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 3725.4 Accounts Receivable 2,502.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 2627.1 Notes Receivable http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif Other Receivables 2,244.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 2356.2 TOTAL RECEIVABLES 4,746.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 4983.3 Inventory 3,598.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 3777.9 Prepaid Expenses 420.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 441 Other Current Assets 551.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 578.55 TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS 12,863.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 13506.15 Gross Property Plant And Equipment 34,772.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3% 35815.16 Accumulated Depreciation -9,062.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3% -9333.86 NET PROPERTY PLANT AND EQUIPMENT 25,710.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3% 26481.3 Goodwill 3,449.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3% 3552.47 Long-Term Investments 1,949.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3% 2007.47 Accounts Receivable, Long Term 1,901.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3% 1958.03 Loans Receivable, Long Term http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3% Deferred Tax Assets, Long Term 23.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3% 23.69 Deferred Charges, Long Term 677.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3% 697.31 Other Intangibles 492.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3% 506.76 Other Long-Term Assets 3,717.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3% 3828.51 TOTAL ASSETS 50,781.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif 52304.43 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif LIABILITIES EQUITY http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif Accounts Payable 5,971.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif4% 6209.84 Accrued Expenses 2,612.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif4% 2716.48 Short-Term Borrowings 415.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif4% 431.6 Current Portion Of Long-Term Debt/Capital Lease 1,423.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif4% 1479.92 Current Portion Of Capital Lease Obligations 32.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif4% 33.28 Current Income Taxes Payable 416.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif4% 432.64 Other Current Liabilities, Total 8,412.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif4% 8748.48 TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES 19,249.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif4% 20018.96 Long-Term Debt 9,777.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3.95% 10163.19 Capital Leases 134.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3.95% 139.293 Minority Interest 26.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3.95% 27.027 Pension Other Post-Retirement Benefits 1,872.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3.95% 1945.944 Deferred Tax Liability Non-Current 1,160.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3.95% 1205.82 Other Non-Current Liabilities 788.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3.95% 819.126 TOTAL LIABILITIES 32,980.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif3.95% 34319.36 Common Stock 402.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 422.1 Additional Paid In Capital 4,964.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 5212.2 Retained Earnings 12,164.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 12772.2 Treasury Stock -18.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% -18.9 Comprehensive Income And Other 263.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 276.15 TOTAL COMMON EQUITY 17,775.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif5% 18663.75 TOTAL EQUITY 17,801.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif 18,701.00 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 50,781.0 http://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gifhttp://investing.businessweek.com/research/images/px.gif 52304.43 2.2 Assess the sources of funds available to an organization for a specific project: There are two sources of capital: Equity financing Retained earnings Public stock sale Partners Venture capital companies Corporations Debt financing: Asset based financing Vendor financing Commercial banks But all of the above sources are not suitable for Tesco. It already has floated its stocks in the market therefore only following few sources of funds available to Tesco: Retained earnings The retained earning directly affects the amount of dividend paid to the shareholders. Company can either use its profits as retained earnings or reinvest them or they can give it away as dividend. There are different reasons because of which it is better to use retained earnings to finance the new project instead of giving it as dividend such as company does not have to borrow it and then pay interest on the loan which will incur extra cost. The dividend policy is devised by the directors and they prefer to use retained earnings as an attractive source of fund. Bank lending: Banks are also another important source of funds these days. They lend money to business organisation and charge interest rate on it. The banks lend short term loans in terms of overdraft and short term loans. An overdraft is given by bank which company has to pay back within the set limits. The interest is charged but at a variable rate. Whereas the short term loan is the loan extended by bank for the period of up to three years. Medium loans are another type of loans that are given by banks for the time period of more than three years. The type of loan extended by the bank depends on the credit history of the company. Leasing: There are two types of parties in a lease agreement i.e. lessee and lessor. Lessor is the person who is the owner of the asset and lessee is the person who is willing to use that asset with the payment of certain amount of money. The agreement is signed between two parties after which lessee is allowed to use the asset but he has to make certain amount of payments for certain period of time. We can say that lease is another type of rental. There are different types of assets that can be leased out such as building, house, land furniture, equipment and vehicles etc. There are two different types of lease; operating lease and finance lease. Operating lease is the lease of the equipment for the specified period of time and the lessor has the responsibility of the maintenance of that equipment. The lease period is fairly short. Whereas in finance lease the agreement of lease is relatively long in most cases it is the expected life of the asset that is to be leased. Franchising: This is another attractive source of financing the new business venture for many business organisations. This method requires less financing for business organisation to expand. Two parties are involved in franchising agreement that is franchisor and franchisee. The franchisor gives a right to franchisee to operate its business using the franchisors name but in return franchisee has to pay certain amount of money. The franchisee has to pay an upfront fee to franchisor that covers the business set up cost and then monthly or yearly payments are made that is certain percentage of the franchisee profit. 3.1 select appropriate budgetary targets for an organization The budgeting is very important and essential part of any organisation as it is similar to financial plan that shows the allocation of the financial funds that are available to an organisation to different expenditures. The main drivers of the budget of any organisation are the mission, vision and objectives of that specific organisation. The budget of the business organisation includes different variables Revenues Expenses sales output operating cost fixed cost profits cash flow capital investment The budget of the organisation of the coming year is based on certain key assumptions that are made about the most likely business conditions of the organisation. This help to produce a detailed budget of the organisation which includes monthly sales level, the overall production and also the different expenditures. Business organisations should have flexible budget so that they can easily mould with changing external conditions. For example the actual sales can be higher than the expected value so it is important to change the budget and to increase the costs related to it such as overhead cost, variable cost, labour cost etc. 3.2 participate in the creation of a master budget for an organization Sales (in billions): 1st Quarter  £33,000 2nd Quarter  £30,000 3rd Quarter  £32,000 4th Quarter  £36,000 Costs (in billions): 1st Quarter  £29,000 2nd Quarter  £29,800 3rd Quarter  £29,970 4th Quarter  £31,250 Selling Expenses (in billions): Variable cost: 3% of Sales Fixed cost: (divided in fo

The Vital Event and Its Part on the Life of Greeks

Community service projects, local charity fundraising and leadership, these are just a few of the positive ways sororities and fraternities (greeks) contribute to local society. How is it that only the negative stereotypes are more widely known throughout most college campuses? Although the preconceived notions about greeks are that hey all lie, cheat, drink, party all night, get into trouble, don†t offer anything positive to society and most of all pay money to buy their friends. Yes, some greeks may fit some of these descriptions, but not all. In a questionnaire given to Ho Le of the Central Florida Chapter of the Delta Upsilon International Fraternity explains how organizations can portray themselves positively to local society. Our Community service must be presented better to the public, so that everyone is aware of our projects, and that we do help the community in our own ways. Greek organizations must also stop completely the actions that the public associates with us, and sometimes holds true, including (and not limited to) hazing, binge drinking and the use of drugs at parties. A philanthropic event also known as community service is a vital part of greek life. For example Alpha Xi Delta Sorority†s national philanthropy is â€Å"Choose Children,† which is a way for various chapters to raise money for local children organizations in their community. They also hold an annual Xi-Man competition for the fraternities on campus in order to raise money for local children†s charities. As well as being involved with one†s fraternity or sorority, greek life helps one become involved on their campus. Leadership opportunities are made more available to the greek system. Through social interaction with your greek organization you are educated with vast opportunities of leadership on campus and even within your local chapter. Running for office within student government is not your only option for leadership. Within each greek organization there are many positions that offer great leadership advancements. Not just in college life, but with experience in greek life it can help you progress in the â€Å"real world.† For example, when one goes to an interview, it is much like going through the rush and pledging periods. When one is rushed and pledged it can be evenly compared with the interview and hiring stages of getting a job. Therefore, experiencing it earlier in life will better prepare you for future occupations. While alcohol abuse, other drug use, and underage drinking among college students are by no means limited to greek organizations, it is important to target fraternity and sorority members with prevention efforts. A 1993 survey of over 17,000 students at 140 four-year colleges in 40 states found that 86 percent of students who lived in fraternities were binge drinkers-that is, had consumed at lest five drinks at one sitting during the previous two weeks-compared with 50 percent of male students overall. Although greeks may represent a small percentage of the total student population at most schools, fraternity and sorority members generally have considerable influence on the social scene and the social norms on campus. Greeks Advocating Mature Management of Alcohol, or GAMMA, the greek arm of this network, was started in 1987 as a way to involve fraternity and sorority members in alcohol education on campus. This organization (GAMMA) works in conjunction with the greek organizations to help control alcohol consumption at socials and registered parties. Being in a greek organization does not go without dues. Yes, most people may think that being in a sorority or fraternity means that you have bought your friendships. Everything that one can gain by experiencing greek life is much more valuable than the amount of money spent for dues. Almost every club on campus requires some type of dues to be paid, so greeks are not the only ones paying. The life experience one gains through the sorority or fraternity can greatly help one become an active citizen in society. Trying to search for a job that suits the needs of one†s life and to provide what the employer wants, is much like going through the rush process. Rush is a way for the current fraternity or sorority members to meet and interview potential new members (pledges). The male or female going through rush is trying to show what they can offer the greek organization and the organization is trying to find out who can contribute to them. The main problem is that greeks are perceived of being an elite, selective group of people. How can an organization that has been branded with stereotypes turn that away from society. Informing those that are willing to listen is a very effective way greeks can come out from the stereotypes.

Newt Experiences at the Chetco River

Newt experiences at the Chetco river There are many things that might come to mind when a person thinks about camping along the Chetco River. Things like swimming , roating marshmallows over a crackling fire while warming up from the cool summer breeze, or even just the smell of the good ole outdoors. For me, however, the Chetco River brings yet another thing to mind :poison. It all started on a warm summer evening in June of 2001. My family and I, as we always did this time of year,had been camping for 2 or 3 days. My brother,Ethan and I had found our usual perch im the shallow parts of the river catching frogs and Red- bellied newts.Suddenly, a billowing voice came floating through the evergreens and out to the river where Ethan and I stood. It was our mom. â€Å" Come and wash up and eat,† she shouted. So Ethan and I obediently ran up to our campsite. Now, our mom always warned us to wash our hands after playing in the river because we could get sick, and we most always obe yed in fear of getting some terrible disease or worse. This particular occasion however, Ethan went through the typical routine of pouring some water from a gallon jug on his hands,rubbing it all together with soap and rinsing.I however, thought in my little uneducated seven year old mind, that I was somehow above all of that nonsense about death and poison. So while my brother was actually washing his hands and scrubbing off the poisonous slime left behind by the newts, I chose to just pretend that I ws washing my hands so that I could eat quicker. So I , with my slime covered hands, happily scarfed down my hotdog. â€Å" See nothing happened, those newts can't be poisonous. † I thought trying to convince myself that my mom was just over reacting.I went about my usual day running around the campsite, most likely driving any by-standers including my family insane. After about an hour of this ,I felt a sharp, intense pain in my side. I keeled over, gripping my gut. My mom, not icing that something wasn't right, ran over to me. â€Å"what's wrong? † â€Å" I don't feel good,† I Explained. So she sent me to the tent to rest, assuming that I had just run around too much after eating. After an few hours of restlessly lying there, I didn't feel any better. My stomach still felt like the Roman Coliseum on fight day. I couldn't move.I tried to call out to my mom, but where the words should have been, there was just a moan of sheer agony. After a few minutes, I heard footsteps. Finally she was answering my silent plea. She walked into the tent only to find me a motionless sweaty mess. â€Å" I won't be mad,† she started â€Å" but are you absolutely positive that you washed your hands really well before dinner? † Tears filled my eyes â€Å" I'm sorry! † I gasped â€Å" I lied. † â€Å" OK† was her only answer. With that , she sprung up and out of the tent. A few seconds later,i heard her voice talking to an inaudib le listener. well she was out playing with newts and didn't wash her hands before she ate and now she's really sick. † Her voice trembled a bit. As my mom continued to explain my predicament over the phone, I got more frightened by the minute. A few minutes later, the sound of wheels and sirens came. They stopped when it sounded like they were in our campsite. Within seconds, two men who I had never seen before came rushing into the tent toward me with two big bags and what looked to me like an alien mask. One man situated himself right behind me and laid my head on his lap.The other went around to my side and told me that they were going to take good care of me. All I had to do was puke. In a flash a third worker, this one female,came in with a long cot. The three of them hoisted me up onto the stretcher and into the ambulance. After what seemed like a lifetime,we got to the Brookings Hospital. They took me into a little white room with all white walls and teddy bear wallpape r. I wasn't sure exactly where I was, but I was too exhausted to think about it. A doctor came in. â€Å" What happened here? †he asked with a smile his face wrinkled with years of wisdom. we're gonna fix you all up OK? We'll just make sure you're OK, and you'll be better in no time. † After some time had passed, I was released from the hospital with little more than exhaustion and a stern warning to wash my hands before eating. We headed back to the campsite and continued our stay until the end of the week. The next day, I was fully recovered from my fiasco and Ethan and I went back to our everyday routine of catching newts and frogs, But this time, when mom called us for dinner, I was extra sure that my hands were clean. I never want to go through that again.

Similarities Between Samurai And Knights - 992 Words

In about 1000 to 1600 CE in history two warriors were made with a different name and in two different countries. â€Å"More than a thousand years ago, a class of professional warriors arose, who swore oaths of loyalty to noble lords and fought to the death to defend them in battle† (Overview). The two warriors were samurai and knights. Samurais were fighting for Japan in the class of military retainers of the daiyomes while across the seas the knights were fighting on horseback in Europe. To keep order in the land both regions developed a system that historians called federalism.There were more differences than similarities and here are some reasons why the differences were greater than the similarities. The first reason why the differences are greater than the similarities is because of the social order in feudal Japan and Europe. †Historians and other scholars use social pyramids to show how societies were structured† (Document A). The samurai owned loyalty and military service to daimyo s for land or regular payment while on the other hand knights owned loyalty and military service to the lords. Another difference about samurais and knights was the population. Samurai with families took about 10% of Japan s population and in Europe, there was estimated 12,000 knights in England and Normany France in the 12th century. One more difference is that there are four people above the knight in the social order but only three for samurai. The second reason why the differencesShow MoreRelatedComparing The Knight Of Europe And The Samurai Of Japan1157 Words   |  5 PagesMany people often see little similarity between the country of Japan and Europe. However, there are actually several similarities between these two countries. the knight of Europe and the samurai of Japan shared many common elements. This was a result of many similarities social and cultural influences experienced by the two unfriendly countries. 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