Taxation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Taxation - Essay Example This way, a universally applicable tax framework will serve to eliminate tax avoidance issues. Another argument for this proposal is based on the premise that; the establishment of such a global universally applicable tax framework will create transparent and comparable information in financial statements (Gassen & Sellhorn, 2006:n.p.). This is because, when all countries and consequent all organizations are applying a globally universal tax framework, they will produce similar and comparable financial statements in all respects, which will then enhance transparency, and consequently help end tax avoidance issues (Ault & Arnold, 2010:47). The application of a universal tax framework globally, will bring a convergence of the International Financial Standards and the accepted National Accounting Standards in different countries worldwide (Ball, R., Kothari & Robin, 2000:44). The convergence of the two set principles will the seal the possible loopholes applied for tax avoidance. First, the regulatory frameworks of different countries in relation to taxation are very different, with some taxable aspects of the incomes and revenues within some countries being exempted from tax in other countries (Hope, 2003:236). This means that establishing a universal taxation system will eventually create inherent flawed tax accounts, which are not suitable for the purpose of inspection by the authorities (Nobes, 2002:72). While financial statements are made for the purpose of the stakeholders of any organization, tax accounts are purely prepared for the purpose of authority inspection and in fulfillment of the necessary tax obligations (Barth & Lang, 2008:469). Therefore, the establishment of one international tax framework will eventually create a conflict between financial accounting and tax accounting. Another argument against the proposal is that; a universal global tax

IDENTIFY AND DISUCUSS SOME OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT OF THE Essay

IDENTIFY AND DISUCUSS SOME OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT OF THE 19TH CENTURY ORGANIZED INTERNATIONAL PEACE MOVEMENT - Essay Example Thus, two related issues are evolved from them. One is to provide peace in the society by restricting the apparent inevitability of war. Another is a steady increase in prosperity among all categories of people such that they do not go for any conflict. The first period of peace movement includes the ethical position of the Christian. This movement originated from the religious groups, mainly the Quakers in England and the Presbyterians in America. In the early nineteenth century, the â€Å"Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace† was established in London, followed by several other peace foundations across Europe and America. In the year 1843, the first World Peace Conference took place in London. After the conference, the traditional Christian position was enriched with human values which were more fundamental in nature (Cooper 1991, p.14-15; Dungen and Wittner 2003, pp. 363-364; The International Peace Movement, n.d.; Sneh 2008, pp.2-5). The international peace movement got upsurge in the late nineteenth century after the First Geneva Convention in 1864 where international laws are passed to protect the war victims. The movement was initiated by the Nobel Peace Laureate Henri Dunant, the initiator of â€Å"International Committee of the Red Cross†. The main objectives of the convention were – The convention is closely related to the foundation of International Committee of Red Cross. The convention thus intended to impose international law for the protection of war victims, the medical personnels and the medical facilities at war against any hostile act. The convention generalizes the Red Cross sign on white zone as a sign of medical care and nursing at the war front. This convention is the initialisation of the international peace movement. All of the conventions are related to the welfare of the war victims. The Red Cross did not advocated for the stoppage of war, but pleaded for the

Poetry project Essay Example for Free

Poetry project Essay He is that fallen lance that lies as hurled, That lies unlifted now, come dew, come rust, But still lies pointed as it plowed the dust. If we who sight along it round the world, See nothing worthy to have been its mark, It is because like men we look too near, Forgetting that as fitted to the sphere, Our missiles always make too short an arc. They fall, they rip the grass, they intersect The curve of earth, and striking, break their own; They make us cringe for metal-point on stone. But this we know, the obstacle that checked And tripped the body, shot the spirit on Further than target ever showed or shone. How does poetry help you see yourself/your world differently? Imagery Imagery is when the poet describes the items in the poem and the reader can picture or feel as the poet wants them to. When poets use imagery they want the reader to be able to see in their mind what the poem is about. Imagery is used with adjectives. The Gladiator Kevin Prufer When I died When my blood feathered away and I stared blankly and sideways into the grass. When the grass ceased against my cheek, I could not help but remember the gladiator who, in falling, never groans, who, ordered to accept it,  does not contract his neck for the final blow. And the hillside grew quiet. The bombers passed withering the trees and the city to flame. The empire fell. My empire, like a blood drop into the grass. It is of little consequence to the observer if the gladiator falls forward into the dirt. He is of a mind, merely, to do as he is told. He will not see the emperor’s thumbs. His city fell to its knees and burned, rolled on its side, but he won’t think of it. Those who once cheered for him are cheering still. The airplanes flew over the hill and I, crouched in the grass, was terrified but did not look up, did not complain  when a lost bomb startled me away. Seal William Jay Smith See how he dives From the rocks with a zoom! See how he darts Through his watery room Past crabs and eels. And green seaweed Past fluffs of sandy Minnow feed! See how he swims With a swerve and a twist, A flip of the flipper, A flick of the wrist! Quicksilver-quick, Down he plunges Softer than spray, Down he plunges And sweeps away; Before you can think Before you can utter Words like â€Å"Dill pickle† Or â€Å"Apple butter,† Back up he swims Past sting-ray and shark, Out with a zoom, A whoop, a bark; Before you can say Whatever you wish,  He plops at your side With a mouthful of fish! 1. In â€Å"Seal† how does the use of rhyme scheme keep you entertained throughout the poem? 2. After you have read both poems: How do the authors compare and contrast in their use of imagery? Which one did you like better? Why? After you read: How did your poem compare to these ones? How was yours different. Did you like the way these poets used imagery? Why/Why not? Figures of Speech A figure of speech is the use of a word or multiple words that can do many things. Simile – A comparison of two things using like or as. Example: I am as sly as a fox. Metaphor – A comparison of two things not using like or as. Example: Life is a Journey. Personification – Giving an inanimate object human quality. Example: The tree waved. Hyperbole – An extreme exaggeration of something. I stood there, waiting for you, for 74 hours. And there are other kinds of Figures of Speech but these are the most common ones. Before You Read: Do you use figures of speech when you write your poems? Why do you use them or don’t use them? While you are reading: Do you understand these uses of figures of speech? Why does the author use the simile/metaphor/etc. in this way? The Writer Richard Wilbur In her room at the prow of the house Where light breaks, and the windows are tossed with linden, My daughter is writing a story. I pause in the stairwell, hearing From her shut door a commotion of typewriter-keys Like a chain hauled over a gunwale. Young as she is, the stuff Of her life is a great cargo, and some of it heavy: I wish her a lucky passage. But now it is she who pauses, As if to reject my thought and its easy figure. A stillness greatens, in which The whole house seems to be thinking, And then she is at it again with a bunched clamor. Of strokes, and again is silent. I remember the dazed starling Which was trapped in that very room, two years ago; How we stole in, lifted a sash And retreated, not to affright it; And how for a helpless hour, through the crack of the door, We watched the sleek, wild, dark And iridescent creature Batter against the brilliance, drop like a glove To the hard floor, or the desk-top, And wait then, humped and bloody, For the wits to try it again; and how our spirits Rose when, suddenly sure, It lifted off from a chair-back, Beating a smooth course for the right window And clearing the sill of the world. It is always a matter, my darling, Of life or death, as I had forgotten. I wish What I wished you before, but harder. What are frail? Spring blossoms and youth; What are deep? The ocean and truth. How can sorrow be heavy as said in the poem? Today and Tomorrow be brief? Youth be frail? And truth be deep? Sounds of Poetry Sounds of poetry contain many different elements including rhyme, rhythm, onomatopoeia, alliteration, and there subtopics. Rhyme –The repetition of the sound of the stressed vowel and anything after it. Approximate rhyme –Not exact rhyme, not an echo. Internal rhyme –Rhyme inside of a line or lines. End rhyme –Usual rhyme at the end of lines. Rhythm –A musical quality of repetition. Meter –Regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables. Iamb –Unstressed followed by stressed. Foot –Stressed followed by one or more unstressed. Trochee –opposite of an iamb. Anapest –Two unstressed followed by a stressed. Dactyl –Stressed followed by two unstressed. Spondee –Two stressed syllables. Onomatopoeia –Words that sound like what they mean. Alliteration –The repetition of the same consonant sound in several words. Assonance –The repetition of vowel sounds.

EasyGroup Business Model Analysis

EasyGroup Business Model Analysis The easyGroup is the owner of the easy brand and licenses it to all of the easy branded businesses, including easyJet plc, the airline Stelios started in 1995 and in which he remains the largest single shareholder. Easy Group brands include easy Car, easy Cinema, easy Hotel, easy Internet cafà ©, easy Pizza, and easy Value. Airline easyJet is now publicly traded, but easyGroup holds a stake in the company. The easy formula requires consumer-oriented businesses that display significant price elasticity, require a high fixed-cost base and low marginal-cost to service additional customers. Industries with strong but complacent incumbents are particularly well-suited for the easyGroup approach. Easy Group is contemplating its entry into the cinema exhibition business in the UK through the launch of a no-frills cinema. The company believes that it can redeploy the capabilities, such as yield management, that led to the success of easyJet, its low cost airline business, into this new venture. The case examines the market for cinema in the UK, as well as the evolution of Easy Groups portfolio of companies, with a view to assessing the attractiveness of the companys planned launch of easy Cinema. How would you characterise the easyGroup business model? A  business model  describes the  rationale  of how an  organization  creates, delivers, and captures value  and it captures economic and social factors. The process of business model design is part of business strategy. In theory and practice the term business model is used for a broad range of informal and formal descriptions to represent core aspects of a  business, including purpose, offerings, strategies, infrastructure, organizational structures, trading practices, and operational processes and policies. (A. Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, 2010) The  easy business model  has a  key feature: clear value proposition the easy concept is to  bring cheap and efficient services to most customers. As a solution a Web-based booking and administration system was built on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 that can be quickly adapted for numerous online ventures. This benefited the company with fast time to market of new business ventures, low-cost of ownership, easily replicated for many new ventures and highly secure and reliable. Easy Group has become an important incubator for new businesses which, while sharing the easy brand, will each be stand-alone companies. Rather than building a conglomerate, Stelios is turning easyGroup into a network of organisations linked by brand and image rather than strategic intent or purpose. The creation of easyGroup in 1998 was a signal that Stelios intended to try out this concept. The name easy itself explains much of easyGroups approach to new ventures, which one executive describes as taking a complicated business and making it simple. Technology solutions play a major role in this, but central to the easy philosophy is yield management. The group looks for businesses where there is high price elasticity, high fixed cost bases and low marginal costs and, especially, where incumbent firms have grown complacent and are not prepared for the arrival of dynamic new entrants. By launching and growing new businesses quickly, easyGroup aims to win market share from these incumbents through a combination of low cost and easy-to-access services. The Easy model provides to the customer functional services at the lowest possible price, on the basis of the real value of the basics of the provided service, avoiding any superfluous frills. The Easy group breaks up a standard service, only keeps items that are absolutely required by the consumer and provide it to him at the lowest price taking into account the time they buy it. The time is one of the most present valuable item in nowadays services. As Stelios Hajiloannou, Easy group CEO, said Easy is a functional brand. In any industry where consumers are being ripped off, if Stelios can find a way to give them real value, he states he will do it. On Easy group side, the model creates a huge turnover as it seduces a lot of consumers, due to the specificity of the model and the advertising of the brand. Direct margin are low as the model provides low prices but this is compensated by the optimization of the running fixed costs thank to the Yield management lever. The model is comprised of variations of turnover by proposing attractive prices on openings where competitors use to be underperforming. As Stelios H. focuses on highly leveraged industries, the additional turnover generated on those unusual slots is almost a net benefit that compensates the lower margins on other sales. Our business model, based on low-cost and convenience, has shown its flexibility. EasyGroups brand means low-cost products, no frills services, cost- and time-sensitive structures that offer value in exchange for some inconvenience. Thats the irony. The easyGroup brand is not necessarily an easy one to deal with. In short, the brand simply offers to make everyday things less expensive by varying the business models-not glamorous or innovative, but honest. Easy Group model obviously reduces the operational complexity and maintenance cost, which allows them to undercut their competition. All of the easy group companies offer the same class of services using standardized components, whether it is one type of plane or one type of car model. Due to the advanced technology used that helped the easyGroup to lead to innovation, it helped advance the business models and the practices which had a real impact on the peoples life. In my opinion without the web solution, the easy model wouldnt be as successful as it is, and would completely lose its essential basis of functioning. Internet makes this business model a dynamic one, with a young and accessible image. The easy model is a based on a self-serving system, which is almost entirely provided by the web solution. The web system allows fix costs to be avoided by managing the scheduling, pricing, booking, payment and various other aspects of the business and outsourcing to the customer. It is the only way the company is able to apply its concept for more people. Internet makes the offer available to almost everyone everywhere, in any moment. True to its low-cost, no-frills business model, easyCinema does not sell popcorn and drinks to movie-goers. For those who wish to treat themselves in such pleasures, they have to bring their own food along. Trailers and ads are cut back to lower the costs of operating the cinema. How would you characterise easyGroups growth strategies in terms of the Ansoff matrix? According to the Ansoffs Matrix there are four growth strategies that a company could expand. These growth strategies are Market penetration, Product development, market development and Diversification. Looking at easyGroup case it shows that the company was following a diversification strategy but that it uses the other growth strategies as well and this will be discussed further below. ANSOFF MATRIX Existing Products New Products Existing Markets Market penetration Product Development New Markets Market Development Diversification (Johnson et al page 258) The Ansoff Matrix is used to focus on the easyGroup present status, products and markets (customers). Market Penetration:  Easy group continues to achieve growth with its existing products i.e providing services at rock bottom prices. By following this business strategy the market share continues to grow. Market Development:  Easy group is seeking growth by targeting its existing products to new market segments. (Mintzberg H, Quinn J.B, Ghoshal S, 1998) For example Easyjet is targeting business travellers with its low cost airfares and frequent flights to popular destinations. The best way to achieve this is by gaining competitors customers. Other ways include attracting non-users of your product or convincing current clients to use more of your product/service, with advertising or other promotions. Market penetration is the least risky way for a company to grow. Product Development:  Easy group, particularly Easyjet has grown by introducing new flight routes thereby further developing its product range. Diversification:  Easy group is bringing forward new business ideas for its existing market segment such as easy Internetcafe, and the latest venture easy money. The Ansoff  Product-Market Growth Matrix  is a marketing tool created by  Igor Ansoff  and first published in his article Strategies for Diversification in the Harvard Business Review (1957). The matrix allows marketers to consider ways to grow the business via existing and/or new products, in existing and/or new markets there are four possible product/market combinations. This matrix helps companies decide what course of action should be taken given current performance. The matrix illustrates, in particular, that the element of risk increases the further the strategy moves away from known quantities the existing product and the existing market. The Easy Group started off with the core activity of providing low-cost flights to Europe. This is therefore its core business, and with over 18 million passengers a year flying easyJet, the Easy Group needed to establish ways for the business to grow and expand. The Easy Group had continued to penetrate the existing air transport market at low-costs flights; it also developed the market potential to include a greater accessibility of easyJet flights by increasing the number of airports handling the passengers. While the flights are the core business in Easy Group, a complementary diversification programme was entered in order for a travel solution package is made available to meet the whole range of customers needs and expectations of both frequent and holiday travellers. This is aimed at both the corporate and the customer sectors in the business. By taking the key strengths and opportunities available to the Easy Group has established a further growth strategy which includes market penetration, market development and diversification into new compatible areas of business. Market penetration their strategy of offering lower costs to the customers enable them to get access to most of the market share. Market development included the growth strategy to increase the number of handing airports by branching out into new markets and a wider customer base. Lastly with diversification Easy Groups strategy of hiring cars, the internet cafe and hotels is a way for the Easy Group to find ways and different markets that can be developed to provide the best prices for the customers. (Karen Beamish, Ruth Ashford, 2008) Therefore product development and market extension typically involve a greater risk than market penetration (existing product and existing market); and diversification (new product and new market). Ansoff stressed that the diversification strategy stood apart from the other three. While the latter are usually followed with the same technical, financial, and merchandising resources which are used for the original product line, diversification usually requires new skills, new techniques, and new facilities. As a result it almost invariably leads to physical and organizational changes in the structure of the business which represent a distinct break with past business experience. (Karen Beamish et al 2008) Most of the Easy Groups growth strategies involve three of the Ansoff matrix namely market penetration, diversification and market development. Ansoff pointed out that a diversification strategy stands apart from the other three strategies. The first three strategies are usually pursued with the same technical, financial, and merchandising resources used for the original product line, therefore diversification usually requires a company to acquire new skills, new techniques and new facilities, just like Easy Group did. The notion of diversification depends on the subjective interpretation of new market and new product, which should reflect the perceptions of customers rather than managers. To what extent is easyGroup a conglomerate? A  conglomerate  is a combination of two or more  corporations  engaged in entirely different businesses together into one corporate structure, usually involving a  parent company  and several (or many)  subsidiaries. (Dearbail Jordan and Robin Pagnamenta, September 25, 2007) Often, a conglomerate is a  multi-industry company. Conglomerates are often large and  multinational. (Dearbail Jordan et al, 2007) In the case of the easyGroup they are conglomerate and the extent of it will be discussed below. Fortune has an article on  Stelios  Haji-Ioannou and his various Easy companies that form the  EasyGroup  conglomerate. Stelio has started a number of companies that range from rental cars, airlines, to internet cafes, based on the idea of eliminating middlemen using technology. Apparently, his companies are all doing very well, including EasyJet which is a public company that generated $765M in revenue last year. (Wendy Walker, 2003) I noticed that EasyGroup has a similar business model to companies like Fresh Direct and Dell. All of these companies are using technology to eliminate the middleman to deliver lower cost and higher value to customers. These companies are not internet companies as such, but they are examples of how internet technology and general information technology can become a competitive advantage, if applied correctly to support a rational business model. All of these companies offer the same class of service, but with self-motivated pricing, using standardized components, whether its one type of plane or one type of car model. This model obviously reduces operational complexity and maintenance costs, which allows them to undercut their competition. It also reminded me of Dell in some ways because Dell is obsessed with maximizing their margins by minimizing their cost of inventory with  just-in-time assembly  of PCs. These are all sensible business principles and practices that more companies should really adopt to stay competitive. The interesting thought for me is that companies such as EasyGroup, FreshDirect, Dell, and even EBay could not exist and thrive to the same extent if there was no such thing as the Internet. However, the real focus shouldnt be on the innovation in technology that enables such companies to exist and thrive. It really should be on how advances in technology lead to innovation in business models and practices that have real impact in peoples lives. The company stands tall when it comes to achieving higher standards of excellence. (Wendy Walker, 2003) Over the years brands have been synonymous with quality innovation in their respective domains. Easy Groups passion to excel has made us grow faster than most of our competitors. Easy Group strongly believes that success is a continuous phenomenon by benchmarking ourselves with the best Business practice followed globally; we look forward to a bright future, brought to life by growing possibilities. The easyGroup is rated as one of the fastest growing business conglomerates of India. The easy group has been a front-runner in delivering innovative and customized solutions. By offering contemporary products, superior quality and assured availability. The group has gained an exceptional stronghold with an array of winning brands to its credit. Easy Solar Industries is constantly innovating to give you more value for the money. His high quality products are backed by excellent nationwide sales and service support. Easy Group continues grow in terms of products benefits, market share and customer retention. Today Easy Group is Conglomerate consisting of diverse products such as Solar Thermal, Solar Photovoltaic Power Products. Our products attained market reputation in very short span of time. Most of Easy Groups customers are mainly government and semi government organizations continuously supported us in span of last six years only because of our regular efforts in maintaining quality and adopting latest research and development. Many of the companies follow the easy format of taking away the frills in something to make it cheaper overall, plus using the  yield management system of supply and demand. In the last few years the company has started to franchise the businesses to expand, and cut down costs. Some EasyGroup subsidiaries have been more successful than others, the most successful division being  EasyJet. The extent of Easy group been conglomerate is large as they are operating with a number of different large businesses that fall under the main Easy Group corporation. There are up to fourteen businesses namely EasyJet, Easy Internet cafà ©,   EasyCar.com,   Easy Money,   Easy Cinema,   Easy Cinema DVD Rental,   Easy Bus,   Easy4Men, Easy Pizza, Easy Music,   Easy Cruise, Easy Mobile/Shimmer Bright,   Easy Hotel, Other businesses. (Wendy Walker, 2003) Should easyGroup entre the cinema industry? According to the Case, three factors made easyCinema an attractive expansion area. First, the yield management capabilities that were used for the airline business and did well running could be applied to easyCinema. For example, easyJet prices are linked to demand and advance purchase. Likewise, they would charge more for peak-time movie tickets. Stelios always wondered why cinemas charged so much money when they are so empty. He then realised that by maximizing both capacity and the extent to which it was utilized, easyGroup could grow the cinema admissions well above current rates. Second, easyGroup can use the technology to automate the process of serving customers, thereby reducing labour costs. All bookings would be made through the Internet or kiosks in the foyer of the cinema. (Jackson Mahr, 2003) Third, the no-frills concept will be applied and this could be an advantage. The cinema would now show any advertising or support promotional campaigns associated with films (activities that require significant time and organization). (Jackson Mahr, 2003)They would allow the audience to bring in their own food and drink, eliminating the traditional allowance stand. Therefore the customers will be interested in going to watch a movie knowing they do not have to spend more money on the food and drink than the actual movie they want to see. EasyCinema is just one of many new ideas in the easyGroup pipeline. (Jackson Mahr, 2003)The criteria for a new business can be summed up in one word, simple. The easy formula requires consumer-oriented businesses that display significant price elasticity, require a high fixed-cost base and low marginal-cost to service additional customers. Also, industries with strong but complacent incumbents are particularly well-suited for the easyGroup approach. Although the above mentioned aspects are positive I would recommend that it should not enter the UK cinema business, the reasons are discussed below. The main question is how well do cinemas fit in with the easy formula? I would think that Cinemas do not fit well with their formula. Firstly the success of the actual cinema will depend on success of the movie which is considered to be very low. Therefore by going through with the cinema idea it is considered to be high risk business and there is a lot of instability in the cinema industry. Secondly this product is considered to be giving entertainment to the consumer. Therefore having a low frill may not be enough to ensure the cinemas success. Moreover the Cinema industry is not that attractive according to the case. The business environment is extremely competitive. Other factors to consider are the bargaining power of buyers. Here the consumers have the choice of movie but the success of the operator depends on the success of the movie. Therefore the bargaining power of consumer is very high. With the Bargaining power of suppliers distribution of the movie is controlled by the big movie houses of Hollywood. Therefore they do have certain influence over the UK industry. They may not accept the yield management model of the Easy group. With regards to the entry barriers, it requires high capital investment. Another problem that might affect the success of the cinema is substitutes. (Jackson Mahr, 2003)There are substitutes in form of video rentals, video sales and DVD rentals which is increasing everyday and could affect the success of easyCinema. This case study gives a fair idea about the industry in which a company operates in and the various external forces that influence it. However, it any industry is not static in nature. Going forward, we foresee increasing competition in the industry and these competitors will large players and it may be possible that some kind of oligopoly come into play. If oligopoly had to be the result it would result in the industry moving towards consolidation. The barriers to entry will increase going forward; therefore according to my opinion the industry is unattractive. As discussed above the entry barriers are high capital investment, high brand loyalty, high competition, risky nature of business. They can enter by acquiring an existing cinema operator. This will help in gaining markets share in timely manner. Moreover here the strategy can be concentrating on online DVD sales and broadcasting instead of Cinema. CONCLUSION: The easyGroup profits by either selling shares in the businesses or by licensing or franchising the brand to reputable partners. The easy brand currently operates in more than a dozen industries mainly in travel, leisure, serviced office accommodation and other consumer facing sectors. Currently, only EasyJet plc, out of the easy group of companies is listed in the Stock exchange. EasyJet has shown substantial organic growth since the day it came into being in 1995. Although easy groups businesses are based on the low price model, they still face competition from established players, who emphasis on quality. Throughout the years, the  easy  Group  strategy  kept a clear readability built around some corner-stones principles: a low-cost approach, an identifiable and recognizable simple communication  strategy  mainly focused on price and entertainment, constant expansion, development of new strategic business units in close to the customers market, with a core focus on travellers. In terms of management, the  easy  Group also adopted a consistent and durable stance in minimizing its operating administrative fees and in applying for the newly created Strategic Business Units the management framework that brought success to the previously settled business. All in all, the strategic consistency is to be found in a clear managerial desire to expand as far as possible the no-frills concept to every profitable market. Harvard Referencing: A. Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Alan Smith, Business Model Generation,, self published, 2010 Alan Clarke, Wei Chen, International hospitality management: concepts and cases, 2003, page 232 Jackson Mahr, easyGroup June 13, 2005 Jardine, Cassandra (2006-11-29).  Theyd laugh if I called myself Sirà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.  The Telegraph  (London). Retrieved 2007-09-07. Karen Beamish, Ruth Ashford, Marketing Planning 2007-2008, page 44-45 Mike W. Peng, Global Strategy 2009, page 279 Mintzberg H, Quinn J.B, Ghoshal S, (1998) The strategy Process. Revised European  edition.PrenticeHall Yves Doz and Mikko Kosonen,  Harvard Business Review, Vol. 85, Issue 6, pp 98-104, June 2007. Wendy Walker, Easy Jet Press Pack, February 21, 2003

Analysis of Canadas Healthcare System

Analysis of Canadas Healthcare System INTRODUCTION Canada is a developed country located in the northern part of North America. In 1867, it became a self-governing state while retaining its tie with the British crown. When it comes to economic and technology, Canada is developing in parallel to its neighbour to the south, which is the United State of America. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, with a democratic constitutional monarchy as their form of government. In the past years, Canada’s politics faces the challenges of reaching the population’s demands for quality improvement in education, social services, economic competitiveness and health care. The health care system in Canada is funded publicly and delivered on a provincial or territorial basis, within a guidelines set by the federal government (Canadian Health Care, 2007). Every Canadian citizens are provided with preventative services and medical treatments from general practitioners at the same time having access to hospitalisation, dental surgery and other medical services. However, in the past few years Canada’s Healthcare System is facing controversy because of it’s soaring costs. INCREASING COST OF UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE IN CANADA According to a latest study (Esmail N., Palacios M., 2013), conducted by the Fraser Institute with the title â€Å"The Price of Public Health Care Insurance: 2013 Edition†, the average Canadian household now pays approximately $7,860 in taxes for health care insurance., which is 53.3% higher than of in 2003. Over the past decade the cost of healthcare in Canada doubled and is believe to exceed the $200 billion budget mark. Canada’s health care costs continue to grow at a faster rate than the government’s revenue, largely driven by spending on prescription drugs. In the last five years, however, growth rates in pharmaceutical spending have been matched by hospital spending and overtaken by physician spending, mainly due to increased provider remuneration (Marchildon G., 2013). In addition, this trend is also caused by what the health system spends on doctors, which rose by an average of 6.8 % every year. Of that value, 3.6% was caused by the increase in physician’s fees. Other driving factors for the increase in healthcare costs are population growth, aging population and increased health care demand. Consequently, this rise in Canada’s universal health care costs is said to be the reason why the government has limited ability to provide other services such as education, transportation and pension benefits. Increased health care costs will results into higher labor costs, which might cause companies to hire lesser workers, produce less output, or raise their prices. The high expenditure for health causes the budget for other government programs and priorities be restricted. EFFECT ON CANADA’S ECONOMY The abrupt rise in health care costs and insurance can affect several parts of the economy. The rise in health care costs can cause job growth to slow down because it costs companies more money to add new employees. Wage increases have also slowed for current employees, since companies must spend more money on health care premiums. The public sector includes the federal, state and municipal governments. The public sector is dealing with costs rising more than revenues. This places a high degree of examination on discretionary health care spending. Companies are faced with rising health care spending often cut other expenses, such as reducing health care benefits, requiring employees to pay a larger share of their health care benefits, or reducing wage increases. Furthermore, increasing health care costs can cause Canada’s goods and services to be less competitive in the international markets. If all other factors remain constant, the increasing health care costs will most likely be reflected in final product costs and depending on how rapidly costs rise in other countries; this may result in more expensive goods and services. IMPACT ON NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL HEALTH CARE POLICY The soaring cost of healthcare is a burden to a country in so many ways. For the community, this increase means that there is less money in their savings and triggering hard choices in balancing food, rent and needed care. For small companies, it will make it harder for them to add new employees, more difficult to maintain coverage for retiree and makes them not competitive globally. The effect of it in the local government is it will lead to higher medicare cost thus reducing funding on other priorities such as infrastructure, public safety and education. The government’s activities to lessen the burden of high health care cost includes funding and facilitating data gathering and research to regulating prescription drugs and public health while continuing to support the national dimensions of medicare through large funding transfers to the provinces and territories. The governments collaborate through conferences, councils and working groups comprised of ministers and deputy ministers of health. Nongovernmental organizations at both federal and provincial levels influence policy direction and the management of public health care in Canada. One of the policy is that only physicians are legally allowed to prescribe a full range of pharmaceutical therapies. However, in recent years, a number of provincial governments have changed their laws and regulations in order to permit some providers, including nurse practitioners, pharmacists and dentists, to have limited authority to prescribe pharmaceutical therapies within their respective scopes of practice. Policy makers should develop funding strategies that will contain the cost of delivering health care and providing economic stimulus to increase provincial and territorial revenues or income, while maintaining the delivery of quality healthcare services to all Canadians. POLICY INTERVENTION SOLUTIONS EDUCATION AND TRAINING In addressing the issue of expensive cost of healthcare, one of the possible solution is the population-wide health education about prevention and any other relevant information about health. The government can launch self-care programmes that would lessen the demand for consultation and hospitalisation. Self -care programmes includes the â€Å"patient as the expert† approach, home self-monitoring techniques and the use of latest gadgets and technology such as mobile phones, computers and telemedicines. In general, these self-care programmes trains and empowers the people to be involved in their own care and be able to manage their own condition. It also includes interventions that imparts knowledge and skills to the people to participate in decision making, to monitor and control the disease and the change in behaviour thus decreasing the chance of seeking expensive medical services. TAX BENEFITS AND PAYMENT TO CAREGIVER In Canada’s Economic Action Plan (CEAC, nd), the government is committed to recognised the sacrifies that many citizens exerts to take care of their children, spouses, parents and other family members with health issue. In support of this objective, Budget 2011 introduced a new Family Caregiver Tax Credit to provide tax relief to those who care for an infirm dependent relative .This initiative provides tax relief to those who care for an infirm dependent relative, including, for the first time, spouses, common-law partners and minor children. Same with direct payments from government, such as agriculture subsidies or social security benefits, tax benefits and payment are given directly to the citizen in exchange of accomplishing a desired behavior. As a result, tax credits permit individual discretion on spending rather than the government dictating spending priorities for each person. The availability of tax credits is probably most beneficial to people with lower incomes,because low income families often cannot give up a salary to provide full-time care, nor do their jobs offer flexibility that would allow them to mix caretaking and working. A tax credit for individuals is a simple concentration of funds from the whole economy onto a specific population segment, assuming the tax credit is paid for with general revenues. In this manner the government’s expenditure on universal healthcare is somewhat reduced. In addition to that, there is a lesser need for aged care facility, disability care or hospital care since caregiver can perform home care. RESPITE CARE Caring for a disabled or old family member can be challenging, potentially impacting caregivers’ health, mental health, work, social relationships, and quality of life. To alleviate caregiver stress, enable caregivers to better cope with the demands of caring for a loved one, and improve caregiver and care recipient outcomes, many interventions have been developed. A short-term break for people and their carer/support person is called Respite Support. This short-term break is usually done away from home and overnight. Respite services are equipped to meet the needs of a disabled person while away from home and their usual support, and aim to create a positive experience for the person. Carer Support enables a usual caregiver to take a break from supporting a person by providing an alternative carer. Moreover, respite care is a vital part of the overall support that families need to keep their family members with a disability or chronic illness at home. Respite care is temporary care to persons with disabilities or special health care needs, including individuals at risk of abuse or neglect, or in crisis situations. Respite care can be an effective cost-saving measure that Canada’s government can venture more. In US, there is an estimated 50 million family caregivers nationwide that provide at least $375 billion in uncompensated services —an amount almost as high as Medicare spending and more than total spending for Medicaid, including both federal and state contributions and both medical and long-term care ($311 billion in 2005) (Gibson and Hauser, 2008). BUSINESS REGULATIONS COMBINING WORK AND CAREGIVING Caregiver can be defined as a person or individual who provides care or assistance to a member of the family in their home or the care recipient’s home who has a mental or physical disability, is chronically ill, old or who is on a palliative care. Caregiving is a difficult task but family members tend to naturally take care of their love ones and resort to medical institutions when the burden is too much. These caregivers might find it hard to balance their work and their family obligation. The government can addressed this issue by mandating businesses to allow employees to take medical leave to take care of a disabled or sick relatives. After the medical leave, the employee should be restored of the original job or to an equivalent job. By doing this business regulations, there is less demand for health services, nursing homes, disability services thus helping the government saved the cost for healthcare. REFERENCES Canadian Health Care (2007), Introduction. Retrieved from:  http://www.canadian-healthcare.org/ Esmail N., Palacios M., (2013), The Price of Public Health Care Insurance: 2013 Edition, Fraser Institute. Marchildon G. (2013), Health Systems in Transition: Canada Health System Review, University of Regina, Canada. CEAC, (n.d.), Family Caregiver Tax Credit: Canada’s Economic Action Plan, Retrieved from:  http://actionplan.gc.ca/en/initiative/family-caregiver-tax-credit Gibson, Hauser (2008), Valuing the Invaluable: A new look at the economic value of family-caregiving, Public Policy Institute, Washington. Analysis of Canadas Healthcare System Analysis of Canadas Healthcare System Canadian Health Care Canada is regarded as having one of the best health care services systems in the world. All Canadians residents are eligible to health care irrespective of income and health. However, like any benefit, there are a few exceptions that are governed in the policies of the provincial or federal governments. Although this system benefits Canadians immensely, there are still some people debating that by privatizing health care, better health care services would be available. However, another aspect of this is that the premium health care services would be only be affordable by the wealthy. The Canada Health Act was passed in 1984 by the parliament. This act established its principles on 5 main criteria: 1. Accessibility: all insured Canadians should have reasonable access to all health care services, as well as all health care providers must be equally compensated for the services provided. 2. Portability: any insured Canadian that moves to a different province is permitted to health care coverage for a territorial determined waiting period. 3. Universality: all Canadians insured by the Canada Health Act are eligible to equal levels of health care. 4. Public administration: all of the administration of health services needs to be done on a non-profit basis by a public authority. 5. Comprehensiveness: all health care services determined by the provinces require to be insured. The province and territories manage and provide the required health insurance to all its residents. In order to be eligible for health care benefits, the residents need to apply for a provincial health card. Once, the health card is issued, the individual is eligible to receive free health care for all necessary health services as listed by the province they reside in. There is a maximum waiting period of 3 months in being able to receive health care, for new residents. Some provinces provide additional health care services in addition to what is listed in the Canadian Health Care Act; however they are not required to provide any additional services than what is stated in the Act. For any additional health care service, like dental or optometry, people usually get private insurance, or employers give additional insurance to their employees. Health care funding is provided by both provincial and federal taxation from both individual and corporate income taxes. Additional financing is also obtained from sales taxes and proceeds from the lottery. Additional funds are delivered to the provinces by the federal government through the Canadian Health and Social Transfer. The funds are paid by cash contributions and tax transfer and to the provinces. The Canadian Health and Social Transfer is a transfer of funds from the federal government to the provinces for post-secondary education, health care, and social assistance. The provincial governments are not required to show the use of the transfer income; therefore the percentage used for health care is unknown. Although provinces may choose to spend this transfer as they choose, they have to follow the Canadian Health Act and they cannot impose any residency restrictions for the social assistance.   If these two conditions are not met the cash transfer to the provinces can be reduced. The Canadian Health and Social Transfer is distributed to the provinces at an equal per capita entitlement, but the cash transfer, which is dependent on the conditions set by the federal government, will vary across provinces. In order to receive an equal average of entitlements, provinces that have higher earnings will get more tax transfers, whereas the other provinces will receive more cash transfers. Critics of the health care system state that there should be a record of the federal governments contribution towards health care. Recommended solutions to this are to either separate the Canadian Health and Social Transfer into three separate parts, showing amounts for health, post-secondary education and social assistance or to separate the health care portion from the latter two portions. Since 1984, there have been numerous changes to the Canada Health Act, and it will continue to evolve as the requirements of the society change along with the advancements in the world of medicine. Regardless of what number of commentators has to say about the health care system, it is still viewed as the most successful and valuable health care systems of the modern era. Bibliography The Canada Health and Social Transfer. (2000). Retrieved from http://www.lop.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/ResearchPublications/tips/tip55-e.htm Canadian Health Care: Health Care and Politics. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.canadian-healthcare.org/page10.html Canadian Health Care: Canada Health Act. (2007). Retrieved from http://www.canadian-healthcare.org/page2.html Canadas Health Care System. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hcs-sss/pubs/system-regime/2011-hcs-sss/index-eng.php Canadas health care system. (2016). Retrieved from http://healthycanadians.gc.ca/health-system-systeme-sante/system-systeme/about-apropos-eng.php

Suicide :: essays research papers

Nobody chooses to be born but we all have the option to take our own life. Teenagers face many problems in today's society. Depression, gangs and drugs are all negative pressures on adolescents. Suicide,( a very serious issue) seems to come up more and more often. "I am depressed, ashamed of my looks, I have no friends†¦nothing," a troubled teenager would say, "Killing myself is the only solution." Is it? According to statistics, "suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people 15 to 25 years of age, following unintentional injuries and homicide". Across the country, psychologists are treating the "suicidal teenager" with counseling and even medication. Family and friends are also very supportive. But who is to say if one should live or die. When we are born we live until we die, but when is that? When you get run over by a car? Drown? Executed, or when you kill yourself? Society tends to put a lot of pressure onto those people with mental and physical disabilities. Making them feel like something is seriously wrong. Some people believe that being homosexual is wrong and all gays should be wiped of the face of the earth. Why do they believe this? Because in the way that they were raised their environment taught them that being gay is wrong. In our society today anything said or done can be easily expressed incorrectly and therefore misunderstood. There is always someone that is going to dissect and analysis each and everything someone says or does. Leaving people hopelessly misinterpreted. There is no truth in what people say the only truth is whatever you want to believe. Some people may believe that an effective way to make a statement is by committing suicide. Born only to die. What is life? Is it going to school, getting a good job, making lots of money or committing suicide? It depends on what your values and morals are. We are all going to die eventually, but it doesn't have to be now. If problems appear there is always a solution, it is your option what to do about it and killing yourself should not be an option. No one has the right to say self-murder is wrong, it may be stupid but if you select to kill yourself it is you that decides what life is. I have had a few friends who have seriously considered ending their life.

Essay --

In this day and age, many argue that the United States has an â€Å"apathy problem.† According to The Huffington Post, â€Å"America is truly exceptional in its ability not to care.† The only time we are concerned about an issue, is only if and when it personally affects us. This is also the circumstance in regards to politics. Citizens must have reliable information in order to make good, rational decisions that will help our political system run efficiently. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. According to Converse, â€Å"most Americans glance at public life innocent of ideological concepts and unguided by any broad outlook on government policy† (Kinder and Sanders, 1996, p. 167). In such a society, there is no such thing as equal representation, only popular representation, as a result of the disparities and ignorance of the people. Converse makes very valid arguments that confirm that regardless of ideological innocence, political electorates, as a wh ole, will continue to be consistent with the changing conditions of society. In the past, the â€Å"information problem† was the scarcity of information and the disconnected flow of information to the voters. Today, the problem is one of â€Å"superabundance† (Converse, 1990, p. 371). Because there is such a massive volume of information available, it is difficult to organize and rummage through it all. Corresponding to Down’s Rational Choice theory, rational voters will not make an effort to analyze such information because there are higher costs than benefits to search through and find â€Å"good† information (Converse, 1964, p. 33). Consequently, there is a huge disparity—a difference that we greatly underestimate—between the ignorant and the well-informed constituents. According to Converse, there... ...presentation fidelity â€Å"is higher for the better-educated constituents† (Converse, 1990, p. 387). This is the case because politically sophisticated entities will be more vocal and more involved in legislation. Our society is a mix of the two models, issue-public and top-down, so it only makes sense that information will be unequally distributed. Although we don't like to admit it much, we are a very indifferent society, so people do not care; they will simply delve into and further develop their expertise on topics that they are specifically interested in. However, there is no need to fret. Everyone is different and has distinct interests and skills. After all, there are nine different types of intelligences—some excel in Math while others outshine in English. Therefore, we should leave politics to the professionals and the well-informed constituents.