Compare and Contrast Presentation Outline Essay

While spending time thinking about the goal in my life, the only one answer coming up in my mind is to achieve success. But what exactly the word ‘success’ should be defined? Thinking considerably, there are at least two fundamental achievements in life that inspire people. One is to be rich, while another one is to be famous. Though these two words are somehow closely related if you think about the celebrities who are famous and rich at the same time, there are some others who only have high recognition but not rich, such as Mother Teresa who devoted her whole life doing charity for the poor. Therefore, the topic that I am really interested in is about whether to be rich or to be famous is the key word for success. Being famous does not necessary mean bring rich, and vice-versa. Both generally bring satisfaction if brought to one in a positive manner, or in a way he/she intended it to. Because being famous and being rich are both signs leading to success, which in most cases, is the human’s ultimate goal. Being just either rich or famous, other than being a positive thing, could produce highly negative and unwanted end results too. A huge percentage of people are famous as a result of all sorts of negativity, such as criminal acts and negative politics. At the same time, a good part of the world’s drug lords and terrorism-driven groups are fairly rich too. So when does being rich or famous become a good thing? Usually, a combination of being rich and famous, surprisingly, doesn’t do as much harm to coexisting peers, as the former would. Although criminals who fall under lists such as ‘FBI’s Most Wanted’, turn out to be rich and famous, regardless of how they got to where they are. But a bigger portion of the ‘rich and famous’ category are occupied by highly paid movie stars and sportsmen, neither of whom does much harm to the society. What I expect from contrasting their difference is that the readers will realize being famous is the sustainable way to achieve success rather than being rich. In other words, money cannot be used to buy the fame. Though being rich is another sign of success, without being famous, one can be forgotten easily. On the other hand, being famous is eternally recognized by people. Even if they died, the world still praise and remind of their accomplishments. By standing on this opinion, people will not just look forward to making money, but will try themselves on inventing new things, creating beautiful arts, and doing whatever they are interested to become well-known by others and then succeed in their lives. The key word to success should start from being famous and will prove that it is true by giving examples about people who were quite poor but famous and successful in their lives. The contrast presentation will be controlled differently in each slide depending on famous area of those people. As a result, this presentation is worthy to compose because it will be such a good lesson to teach everyone, including myself, to understand the regular basis of being successful in life. Trying to be famous is the first step to achieve sustainable success.

Air and Water Pollution: The Gulf Oil Spill Essay

On April 20, 2010, BP’s oil rig Deepwater Horizon blew up in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 people and unleashing more than 200 million gallons of oil into the water (Sakashita, N.D.). The spill oiled more than 1,000 miles of shoreline and a study from the Center for Biological Diversity shows that more than 82,000 birds; about 6,000 sea turtles; nearly 26,000 marine mammals, including dolphins; and an unknown, massive number of fish and invertebrates may have been harmed by the spill and its aftermath (Sakashita, N.D.). The spill of oil lasted for three months and in that time, did massive amounts of damage. After Deepwater Horizon blew up, pollutants were introduced into the air and water. The air pollutants consisted of smoke and hydrocarbon fumes while the water pollutants consisted of the oil that spilled out of the rig and the dead animals that littered the Gulf after the spill. Both the smoke and the hydrocarbon fumes are primary pollutants meaning that they are pollutants that are emitted into the air directly from a source (Berg & Hager, 2009). No matter the type of pollutant, primary or secondary, there is still an effect on the environment. The effects of the Gulf oil spill were numerous; many different animal species died as well as coral. The deaths of these animals could be considered as both short- and long-term effects on the environment. In the short-term, water pollutants could cause a population to decrease dramatically and possibly become threatened. In the long-term, water pollutants could cause species to become extinct due to the bottlenecking that would occur to try to repopulate the species. Bottlenecking is â€Å"An abrupt and severe reduction in the number of individuals during the history of a species, resulting in the loss of diversity from the gene pool† (Bottleneck, 2012). The generations following the bottleneck are more genetically similar than expected. Bottlenecks often occur in consequence of a catastrophic event (Bottleneck, 2012). The air pollutants can cause both short- and long-term effects as well. According to the Center for Disease Control, the short-term effects of the air pollutants include upset stomach, headache, and irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat in people sensitive to smells (Gulf Oil Spill 2010: Food/Air Quality/Water Information for Coastal Residents, n.d.). References Bottleneck. (2012). Retrieved from The Free Dictionary: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bottlenecking Berg, L., & Hager, M. (2009). Visualizing Environmental Science (2nd Edition). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Gulf Oil Spill 2010: Food/Air Quality/Water Information for Coastal Residents. (n.d.). Retrieved from Center for Disease Control and Prevention: http://emergency.cdc.gov/gulfoilspill2010/information_residents.asp Sakashita, M. (N.D.). Gulf Disaster. Retrieved from Center for Biological Diversity: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/energy/dirty_energy_development/oil_and_gas/gulf_oil_spill/index.html

Freedom: Political Philosophy and Populous Positive Liberty Essay

Freedom remains the sole basis for American society as we know it. Without freedom the great nation of America would have never been founded. To understand the true principles of freedom, one must understand the scope of the word. Philosophical freedom encompasses the ability to make choices without restraints, while political freedom is the state of being free rather than in physical confinement. Despite the importance of these ideas to our founding fathers, freedom has lost much of its importance in modern American society. The failure to stress the importance of freedom has diminished the quality of life for the entire American populous. Positive liberty is the freedom for one to become all one can (Postive Liberty). This idea can be considered, in general, a totalitarian principle because leaders following this ideology often believs it is within their realm to force the citizens to become all they can be. But this could also be considered democratic through governmental programs such as welfare, affirmative action, and many others created to better society. Yet negative liberty, is the primary one we want in our lives. However negative liberty is the freedom from the constraints that limit us (Negative Liberty). In sharp contrast to the totalitarian principles of positive liberty, negative liberty is based more on libertarian principles in which the government takes the backseat allowing people to thrive through their own actions. A real world view of this would be the Conservative principle of laissez-faire, an idea that the government should stay away from enacting laws that limit buisness. Liberty constitutes a small principle in the immense ideals of American freedom. Even though Positive liberty seems like a negative thing when combined with the ideals of Negative liberty a prosperus society can be created. To understand the importance of freedom in American society, we must go back to the beginning: the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson framed the constitution around the concepts set forth by John Locke, the father of liberty. The Declaration of Independence created a way to free ourselves from the injustices done upon us by the English monarchy. This document set forth the basis of what a government can reasonably do to protect and tax its citizens, before being beyond the appropriate scope of its power. When the government exceeds this power one must consider this an infringement on freedom. This governmental basis becomes extenuated in the Bill of Rights, the foundation of the US constitution. The Bill of Rights remains the true source of our freedoms as American. These freedoms include speech, religion etc. These freedoms were â€Å"to be held dear† by all members of our society. As a result off the plasticity of these amendments, the American elitists can interpret these for their own ideas. Since the beginning of America, Elitists have found a way to hinder the lower and middle classes involvement in government through the enormous amount of money required to create a successful election campaign. Taking on an elected role in government is supposed to be a freedom every member of society can achieve, but with the fiscal importance of campaigning it is not possible. In the 2004 election campagins alone, canidates spent $144 million dollars out of their own pocket. (’04 Elections Expected to Cost Nearly $4 Billion) As displayed by the Bush family, these elitists continue their stronghold on American government. If the lower to middle classes can’t find a way to break the barriers that bar them from governmental participation, their quality of life will remain vastly behind that of the elitist. To break these barriers the citizens must resort to using the principles guaranteed to them through both the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. Positive Liberty allows us as citizens to bring ourselves to become the best we can, which destroys class barriers completley. While Negative Liberty allows us to in any manner possible liberate ourselves from this lack of freedom. One day in regards to a situation like ours, Jefferson said â€Å"Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny† (Thomas Jefferson Quotes). In high ranking offices, lower and middle class elected officials would be able to take stands to protect their peers, not the big buisnesses that are being protected now. This â€Å"ruling class† has also enacted laws that protect only their interest. In 2001 the Bush administartion created a pakage to eliminate the estate tax, which applies only to the richest 2% of Americans (Estate Tax loss will punch whole in Budget). Through this idea most of the capital owned by these millionaires is never taxed. How fair is that? Also the upper class leaders have taken stands to protect big buisness, allowing them to place subsidaries in tax havens around the world preventing most of their income from being taxed. Even though this idea allows the economy to flourish, the national debt continues to rise for the good of these elites. Throughout the course this nation has taken, the freedom we hold the dearest – the First Amendment – has been limited through some congressional and executive rulings. Not only have governmental rulings limited these rights but also the members of the â€Å"ruling class'† control over media and other sources of information. Most media outlets our controlled by wealthy people, who greatly support the elitists running for higher ranking ruling offices, often donating to their campaigns (Who owns CNN? or MSNBC? ABC? ). Without the ability for someone outside this select fraternity to own a prestigious news outlet, propaganda is easily spread without any notice by the people. Not only has our ability to gain any media control diminished, but also are right to freedom of speech has diminished. The people within the nation that is considered the most free and democratic, often find themselves facing oppression when they attempt to speak against the injustices committed by their government. In one situation a man refused to go to the specified â€Å"protest zones† designated by the Secret Service, often miles off the path of the presidential motorcade, he was then charged with disorderly conduct (Free Speech Zone). How free is that? This oppression must be cast off by the people in an attempt to right our sinking nation. Tapping phones for police or governmental purposes often requires just cause, but who needs that nowadays. President Bush thrust off any judicial oversight required to tap phone lines and served as the catalyst behind many unnecessary and illegal phone taps. As we take a stand against the abuses by the government against freedom as citizens, we must remain in our boundaries to provide ourselves the greatest opportunity to garner support throughout not only the area, but the nation. If we advertise our views too radically, our chance to improve our quality of life will fail. Pursing freedom outside the scope outlined in the constitution creates almost an anarchy, which often does not increase the quality of life but lowers it greatly. The battle for freedom within America has taken a turn for the worst as can be seen through this minute amount of examples provided. Elitists continue to rule the nation uncontended by anybody. The exponential rate at which our freedoms are being not only diminished but taken away can only be stopped through the political activism of everyone involved in this great community. Even though as a single person, we appear small in the grand scheme of things, it only takes one person to start explosive reforms..

Public and Private Partnership Paddington Health Campus Scheme Essay

Public and Private Partnership Paddington Health Campus Scheme - Essay Example Governments have numerous strategies for supplying public goods and services. Numerous of these strategies are partnerships with the non-profit or private agencies. The most recent decades have seen a dramatic increase in the formation of public-private partnerships (PPPs). The United Kingdom engaged in a new form of PPP in the 1990s to boost the participation of the private sector in public service provision (Robinson et al., 2010). According to Yescombe (2007), called the private finance initiative (PFI), the British Treasury Department has generated roughly twenty billion pounds to spend in public service management and private financing in the UK. PFI in the region has already been privatised. PPPs are public acquisition mechanisms which require private agencies to deliver services that are usually the obligation of the government. Fiscal and infrastructure demands keep on making these strategies appealing to governments, hence it is important to evaluate their outcomes (Hodge & Greve, 2005). This essay examines the Paddington Health Campus Scheme. It evaluates the actual driving forces and problems of the Scheme in terms of two issues: (1) strategic planning, and (2) working in partnership. It indicates that PPPs had dual sources: (1) a core theoretical assumption that productivity or competency would be improved by controlling competition in the market via private sector bidding, and (2) a macroeconomic strategy plan, motivated by an interest in regulating public debt (Hodge & Greve, 2005). Nevertheless, in actual fact, these productivity benefits are a long way from being mechanical—as stated by Geddes (2005), the successful progress of any PPP scheme hinges on a coordination of the objectives of operational, tactical, and strategic ranks of authority. Overview of the Paddington Health Campus It is practically useless to plan a complete business scheme and other actual reports for a PPP scheme of the private sector, or the market, does not view th e scheme as commercially appealing or fiscally workable. In the initial period of the PFI numerous schemes were marked down by the public sector as PPP-feasible, though, afterward it turned out that a significant percentage of these projects were actually not appropriate, because of a mixture of problems such as heavy contract requirements, brief contract durations, inadequate flow of income, and overflow of risk transfer (Cartlidge, 2006). Of late, the failure of the PFI Paddington Health Campus Scheme generated massive abortive costs and consultant fees. The Paddington Health Campus scheme was a complicated and aggressive project to construct a top-notch medical and research facility which in the end revealed weaknesses in the ability of the partners to work towards success. The project planned to set up high-tech and sophisticated medical services and to replace the dilapidated hospitals of Harefield, Brompton, and St. Marys (Great Britain: National Audit Office, 2006a, 4). The s cheme partners were Partnerships UK, Imperial College, St. Marys NHS Trust, Harefield NHS Trust, and Royal Brompton. The Outline Business Case (OBC) was endorsed in October 2000 by the NHS’s London Regional Office. It projected the overall cost of construction to be roughly 300 million. In May 2005, estimated costs had increased to 894 million and the date of completion was extended from 2006 to 2013 (Great Britain: National Audit Office, 2006a, 4). Initially introduced in 1998, the project was abolished after a major partner declined to back up the business case for the scheme (Robinson et al., 2010). The scheme was then restored. Circumstances such as this are apparently unfavourable for the reputation of PPPs as it disputes the entire method of this form of acquisition, in addition to the substantial waste of resources, effort, and time. Hence, if there are some uncertainties about the interest of private agencies in taking part in a planned PPP scheme, market scanning mus t be carried out at the soonest

Prestigious Fast Food Restaurant -Burger King Research Paper

Prestigious Fast Food Restaurant -Burger King - Research Paper Example Moreover, Burger King encourages and lets users customize the exclusive flame-broiled burgers with choices and so many options to their liking. This makes a healthy and strong relationship between Burger King and the user. The fast food also has the benefit of offering different items and the customer benefits by having several burger options. Burger King has expanded their menu but still, they have remained true to their unique and original flame-broiled burgers. This flame-broiled gives them benefit over other fast food chains. Burger King is providing with one of the best customer service, menu selection, cleanliness, and healthy choices. If the atmosphere of a dining area is interesting, more people will want to eat there. That is one of the major reasons that draw in more customers to Burger King. By mid-2009, Burger King was not in any of the following countries: Pakistan, India, Nigeria, South Africa and France. But now they are expanding their more and have some branches in t hese countries as well. In looking for new countries to enter, Burger King needs to find more countries to expand that is suitable ideally. They should go for the countries with higher populations and preferably youth and concentrations of urban activity. Local diets containing high feasting of beef would be inspiring and encouraging because their signature products are made of beef. In addition, areas which are safe, sustain the politically stable business environment and have available capital are ideal. Burger King Restaurants are mainly known for the type of food they serve, which is typical fast food consisting of chicken sandwiches and hamburger. Side dishes contain the standard French fries, but they also have healthier options such as apple fries. Children attending birthday parties at Burger King get cardboard crowns to wear on their heads. Burger King is an international company with a franchise location throughout the world. There are locations in each of the 50 states in the United States, and in 69 other countries. The total number of locations worldwide is 11,200 with over 11 million guests visiting Burger King on a daily basis, according to Burger King's website. Burger King competes with all types of food retailers on the basis of prices, food qualities, convenience and customer services. 1.1 Competitive Advantage Burger King has been in direct competition with burger giant McDonald's since Burger King's inception in the 1950's. It is at present the number two burger chain in the world behind McDonald's. Other direct competitors of Burger King are Yum and Wendy's In order to attract new customers and to remain competitive, Burger King is continuing its market expansion strategy. Adopting a competitive strategy in an organization will convey value to your consumers and the community. Burger King is competing in the dynamic food retail industry. Customers have a variety of choices of food. Differences that Burger King attempt are obvious, by real izing the need of their customers, and the drive for a reasonable burger with a large amount of meeting. Burger King is functioning to take advantage of the market shares and increase the revenue across countries. In addition, the fast food industry is still the leading food retail sector in the United States and this attracts lots of local and regional companies to join the industry.  Ã‚  

Mergers and Acquisitions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Mergers and Acquisitions - Essay Example A study conducted by UNCTAD (2006) shows that 17 percent of the FDI in the world comprise South-North and South-South flows and of this the cross-border acquisitions occupy a significant proportion. This project would look into the cross border acquisitions with an insight into the reasons driving the acquisitions and influential factors impacting such acquisitions. Factors motivating cross border acquisition Various theories have been developed that explain the significance of the mergers and acquisitions. According to Efficiency theories the main motive behind such deals is to exploit the benefits arising out of synergies or economies of scale. Market power theories highlight that acquisitions lead to oligopoly benefits. Agency theories state that the acquisition and acquisition deals mitigate agency problems like removing the inefficient managerial staff. This theory also states that it may also give rise to agency problems such as imprudent managerial decisions solely guided by t he motive of empire building. Besides this the acquisition deals are also guided by the advantages arising from the ‘benefits of diversification’. Though there is no single theory on mergers and acquisitions however these theories have garnered empirical support. Studies have shown that the shareholders of the target firm benefit the most in such deals whereas the shareholders of the bidder firm do not derive any immediate benefit from the deal. The abnormal return that that the bidders can enjoy is either slightly negative or zero. The combined return of the bidder-target firm is found to be universally positive indicating that the acquisition deals lead to value creation. It has also been seen that the stock price of the target firms’ exhibit higher returns in the case of cash offers as compared to the stock offers; hostile takeovers as compared to friendly takeovers; and multiple bidder as compared to contests by single bidders (Gregoriou & Neuhauser, 2007, p. 1). The success associated with the M&A deals has eluded many corporations. Marks & Mirvis (1998) state that the failure rates of such deals is around 50 to 75 percent. Despite the uncertainties associated with the deal the acquisition and acquisition deals are on the rise. The various benefits arising out of the deal include managerial synergies, cost synergies, market synergies etc. The sources of synergies include consolidated purchases, production, administration, marketing, market power, cross-selling, acquisition of technical expertise, patent, knowhow of the target, market expansion etc. In the horizontal acquisitions that involve integration of two companies belonging to the same sector the main motive is gaining market share of the target firm. This happens in the case of matured industries where the opportunities of growth are nearly exhausted, presence of excess capacity etc. Horizontal acquisitions result in enhanced revenue, savings in cost and better growth opportunit ies (Hitchner, 2006, p.106). The acquiring firm also gets a control over the customer base of the target firm thereby raising the total revenue base of the bidder firm.

Hededge funds Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Hededge funds - Essay Example Summary of Data The data used for this exercise consists of monthly returns and Assets under Management (AUM) over a period of ten years (September 1999 – August 2009) for over 28 hedge funds. The information on these sample hedge funds was obtained from the EurekaHedge database which stores information on over 21,000 hedge funds. The sample hedge funds follow one of the following strategies typical of financial institutions operating in this domain: Long/Short Equities CTA/Managed Futures Multi-Strategy Arbitrage The table below details results of the results from the Monte Carlo and the Historical simulation methods using the sample data. Historical Monte Carlo             prob Not Losing prob Number of run > 50% Not losing Not Losing prob Number of run > 50% Drift SD Mean    98.90% 9814 13.05% 1,354 98.95% 9865 13.10% 1319 0.45% 1.59% 0.46% Arbitrage 86.56% 8600 53.01% 5,363 86.02% 8532 53.20% 5371 0.76% 5.63% 0.92% CTA/Managed Futures 87.53% 8729 58.98% 5,944 85. 10% 8434 56.77% 5779 0.86% 6.65% 1.08% Multi-Strategy 86.98% 8611 55.45% 5,595 87.10% 8661 52.53% 5331 0.74% 5.19% 0.88% Long/Short Equities The above results show that the mean monthly returns (lowest to highest) for each fund class are 0.46% (Arbitrage), 0.88% (Long-Short Equities), 0.92% (CTA-Managed Futures) and 1.08% (Multi-Strategy). The dispersion (Standard Deviation - SD) of returns among these fund classes follows the same order suggesting that Arbitrage funds have the lowest mean and the lowest SD while Multi-Strategy funds exhibit the highest mean and highest SD. Summary of Approaches used The analysis uses both the Monte Carlo and the Historical simulation methods for answering the key questions listed previously. The Monte Carlo Simulation method depends on the formulation of an appropriate model that can suitably explain and analyze the monthly returns used as input for this analysis. To model the behaviour of these monthly returns, the concept of geometric Brownian Mo tion (BM) was specified (Rubinstein, 2008). The BM used in this context is a Markov Process which simply means that the monthly returns follow a random walk and exhibit behaviour consistent with the weak form of the EMH (Efficient Market Hypothesis) (Robert, 2004). This implies that the Monte Carlo method in this case utilizes the fact that movements in monthly returns are conditionally independent from such movements during previous periods. Under the Monte Carlo Method, a number of iterations for each test case was conducted to analyze the deterministic model configured using a sequence of random numbers generated as inputs. This simulation technique is especially useful when modelling non-linear, uncertain and complex parameters (Hammersley, 2005). On an average, the current simulations utilize between 5500 and 9000 iterations under any given test case. The Historical Simulation method, also known as back simulation, is part of the Value at Risk (VaR) approach which also utilizes a large number of iterations like the Monte Carlo method. As the name suggests, the Historical method depends on past information on monthly returns (unlike the Monte Carlo method that depends on random input) and simulates useful results through the construction of a CDF (Cumulative Distribution Function) of these monthly returns over time) (Dowd, 2009). Key Findings Monte Carlo Method On the question of the chances of