...Case Analysis: The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company Summary of Case Situation In the case “ The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company,” McManus and Sucher (2005) mentioned that Ritz-Carlton Hotel is a five-star luxury hotel and resort which operates 81 luxury hotels and resorts in major cities and resorts in 26 countries worldwide. The company was founded in 1898 by Cesar Ritz, who had a vision to create a legendary service combined with exceptional luxury experience. Ritz-Carlton is well known as service leadership since they have an unusual and notable commitment to providing luxurious quality service to guests. Also, they are the only service company in America that has won the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award twice. Not only a commitment to its guests Ritz Carton had made, but also members, employees and communities they had pursued an excellence for. More precisely, Ritz-Carlton's unique culture promises to providing a good working environment by making its employees feel their importance. Based on the case, McBride, general manager of the new Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C., is responsible for opening the second Millennium Partners-owned Ritz-Carlton, in Georgetown, at the end of 2001. However, Collins, manager of hotels for Millennium Partners, pressured him about new ideas of luxury service and hotel-opening process. At this point, McBride needs to reexamine the "Seven Day Countdown", the traditional hotel-opening process, but the question is should he change Seven Day Countdown...
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...JOHN A. QUELCH CAROLE CARLSON Reed Supermarkets: A New Wave of Competitors At 4:30 p.m. on December 6, 2010, Meredith Collins, VP of Marketing for Reed Supermarkets, walked down the sidewalk of the 10-store strip mall that housed Reed’s Westgate Plaza branch in Columbus, Ohio. Collins didn’t shop; instead she took mental notes about store traffic, first at the Reed store and then at an indirect but increasingly worrisome kind of competitor—a dollar store. The Reed was predictably well lit and inviting, and Collins could see three registers open and two or three customers in line at each. “Not too bad” she thought, “but not what I would hope for at this time of day, this close to the holidays.” She’d felt the same way at two other Reeds she’d visited that day . Collins walked on to the Dollar General (DG). A fairly steady stream of shoppers entered DG’s doors, their progress slowed by families exiting with plastic bags jammed full. When Collins looked inside, she noticed workers filling what was obviously a new freezer case—the first freezer she had seen in a dollar store that day. This DG was doing just as well, to judge from this glimpse, as the Family Dollar she’d walked past half an hour earlier at North Valley—but no better than the Aldi store she had visited in the morning. That Aldi trip was interesting: a bright and spotless mini- supermarket, run by a giant firm from Germany that carried one-tenth the food items that a Reed did and sold virtually no brand names, only...
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...Is Sociology a Science? A Classroom Exercise for Promoting Discussion* Royce A. Singleton, Jr. College of the Holy Cross *I wish to thank Dave Hummon for his helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. Paper presented at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, 1998. © 2005 Royce A. Singleton, Jr. Is Sociology a Science? A Classroom Exercise for Promoting Discussion Abstract Though sociology was founded on the idea that the social order is subject to scientific study, the “science” question remains controversial. By learning about this controversy, students can learn much about the discipline. This paper describes an exercise, together with data collected from six classes, that asks students to project their personal images of scientists and social scientists. These images invariably contain half-truths and misconceptions that can be used to address three related questions: (1) What is science? (2) How is sociology scientific? and (3) What are the major challenges to sociology as a science? I draw upon my own students’ responses to show how the exercise can generate a wide-ranging discussion of these issues. Is Sociology a Science? A Classroom Exercise for Promoting Discussion The question of whether sociology is a science has a long history in the discipline. It was addressed by virtually all the classical social theorists. But for some time the debate about the scientific status of sociology was muted. In the post-World...
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...Inheritance Law in Belgium and Switzerland Marieke Martens We live, we work and we die. People basically work to make money and spend it but also save it. After somebody has died what will happen to the money and the possessions? Firstly the division of the money and possessions takes place, according to the will. But what if there is now will? If there is a will or not, the possessions and money will not be inherited for free. The inheritance law is a collection of articles, which explains what happens to and with the inheritance of the person who died when there is no will and when there is a will. In this paper two countries will be compared based on their inheritance law. The first country is Belgium, which is part of the EU and has no specific advantages if it comes to being a tax paradise. The other country, which will be used in this research, is Switzerland, which is not part of the EU and is very famous for being a tax paradise. Both countries do have one thing in common: they are both West-European countries. Because Switzerland is a tax paradise it can be assumed that the inheritance law in Switzerland is more favourable than in the Belgium. This statement basically states that in Switzerland you have to pay less inheritance tax, there are better condition if it comes to making wills or not, than in Belgium, which results in a higher inheritance than in Belgium. These are the fields of Inheritance law that will be covered in the paper in order to answer he...
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...internal control Qver Financial Reporting CASES INCLUDED iN THIS SECTiON 1. Simply Steam, Co. 155 Evaluation of Internal Control Environment 2. Easy Clean, Co. 155 Evaluation of Internal Control Environment 3. Red Bluff Inn & Café 165 Establishing Effective Internal Control in a Small Business 4. St. James Clothiers 169 Evaluation of Manual and IT-Based Sales Accounting System Risks 5. Collins Harp Enterprises 177 Recommending IT Systems Development Controls 6. Sarbox Scooter, Inc. 185 Scoping and Evaluation Judgments in the Audit of Internal Control over Financial Reporting 7. Société Générale 195 How a Low-Risk Trading Area Caused a $7.2 Billion Loss case5.!-2 Easy Clean/Simply Steam, Co. Evaluation of Internal Control Environment Mark S. Beasley • Frank A. Buckless • Steven M. Glover • Douglas F. Prawitt INSTRUCTIONAL OBJECTIVES 1] To reinforce aspects relevant to the internal control environment. 2] To illustrate the degree of judgment involved in making internal control environment evaluations. 3] To provide students experience in making subjective evaluative judgments. 4] To provide a forum to discuss inquiry techniques as well as inquiry as a form of audit evidence. 5] To provide students direct experience with, and discovery of, issues surrounding the control environment, making inquiries, and the framing (e.g., positive or negative) of information provided by management. 6] To illustrate...
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...necessary to implement strategic planning. This document presents the interrelated stages of crafting and executing strategy as it relates to Comfort Care Pharmacy with emphasis being placed on the first three stages of the process. Little emphasis is placed on the two final stages of the process however there critical importance and effects on the strategic making process is briefly discussed. Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION 1 2. BACKGROUND 1 3. VISION STATEMENT 2 4. MISSION STATEMENT 2 5. STATEMENT OF VALUES 3 6. ENVIRONMENT ANALYSIS 4 6.1. ANALYSIS OF THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT 4 6.2. ANALYSIS OF THE INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT 4 7. STRATEGIES 5 7.1. GENERIC COMPETITIVE STRATEGIES 5 7.2. BUSINESS STRATEGY 6 7.3. FUNCTIONAL STRATEGIES 6 7.3.1. Procurement Strategy 6 7.3.2. Online Marketing Strategy 7 7.4. IMPORTANCE OF IMPLEMENTATION, EXECUTION AND EVALUATION OF THE DERIVED STRATEGIES 7 8. CONCLUSION 8 9. RECOMMENDATIONS 9 10. REFERENCES 10 11. APPENDIX A: PEST ANALYSIS FOR COMFORT CARE PHARMACY 11 12. APPENDIX B: SWOT ANALYSIS FOR COMFORT CARE PHARMACY 12 1. Introduction Comfort Care Pharmacy is the largest pharmacy in the Tuschen Housing Scheme, and has seen considerable growth since its establishment in 2008. Given the significant growth; the company has recognised the need to plan strategically. This paper is divided into seven sections. The first section gives a background of...
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...NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES ACCOUNTING FOR GROWTH: COMPARING CHINA AND INDIA Barry Bosworth Susan M. Collins Working Paper 12943 http://www.nber.org/papers/w12943 NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 February 2007 We are very indebted to Anthony Liu and Gabriel Chodorow-Reich for extensive assistance in understanding the data and constructing the growth accounts. This paper was presented at the annual conference of the Tokyo Club Foundation for Global Studies, December 6-7, 2006. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. © 2007 by Barry Bosworth and Susan M. Collins. All rights reserved. Short sections of text, not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit, including © notice, is given to the source. Accounting for Growth: Comparing China and India Barry Bosworth and Susan M. Collins NBER Working Paper No. 12943 February 2007 JEL No. F43,O1,O4 ABSTRACT We compare the recent economic performances of China and India using a simple growth accounting framework that produces estimates of the contribution of labor, capital, education, and total factor productivity for the three sectors of agriculture, industry, and services as well as for the aggregate economy. Our analysis incorporates recent data revisions in both countries and includes extensive discussion of the underlying data...
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...operational effectiveness by improving both the quantity and quality of management information available (Collins, 1999; Fisher and Fisher, 2001; and Abu-Musa, 2004). Years ago, when personal computers were just coming into their own, accounting software was relatively simple. Its single function was to automate the task of double-entry accounting and produce a straightforward balance sheet. As computers became more robust and integrated databases standardized, accounting software developers added more functions-including cost accounting, manufacturing resource planning, customer resource management, human resources, and payroll (Jones, 2002). Mattingly (2001) stated that choosing the right accounting software is becoming more difficult as the software market becomes increasingly fragmented. In many cases, more product information makes decision-making more difficult rather than less. The risks of leaping into an expensive purchase decision are hard to assess. Collins (1999) also confirmed that selecting the appropriate accounting software for an organization requires a close investigation of many diverse areas. It has been observed that, in selecting accounting software many organizations emphasize on satisfying their current and short term needs for information and financial and non-financial reports, rather than their future and long term needs. According to Collins (1999)...
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...EEN INNOVATIEVE OPLOSSING VOOR EEN BEHOEFTE BIJ DE DOELGROEP Businessplan voor de introductie van product X in markt Y Handleiding voor het schrijven van een businessplan www.frankvanormondt.nl Auteur: Frank van Ormondt Bedrijf: Frank van Ormondt Advies en Educatie Eekhoornstraat 36, 1216 AT Hilversum Datum: 15 januari 2011 Versie: 4 Status: Akkoord Versie 1, 25 juni 2009 Versie 2, 22 september 2009 Versie 3, 29 maart 2010 Versie 4, 15 januari 2011 © Frank van Ormondt Advies en Educatie, Hilversum, Nederland Alle rechten voorbehouden. Niets uit deze uitgave mag worden verveelvoudigd, opgeslagen in een geautomatiseerd gegevensbestand of openbaar gemaakt, in enige vorm of op enige wijze, hetzij elektronisch, mechanisch, door fotokopieën, opnamen of op enige andere manier, zonder voorafgaande schriftelijke toestemming van Frank van Ormondt Advies en Educatie. Frank van Ormondt Advies en Educatie is zich volledig van bewust van haar taak een zo betrouwbaar mogelijke uitgave te verzorgen. Niettemin kan zij geen aansprakelijkheid aanvaarden voor onjuistheden die eventueel in deze uitgave voorkomen. Copyright © 2007-2011 | Frank van Ormondt Advies en Educatie | www.frankvanormondt.nl 2 Inhoudsopgave 1. E X E CU T IV E SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................... 6 2. I N L E I DI N G ............................................
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...Required Course Materials Text: Madura, International Financial Management, Abridged 10th Edition, South-Western, 2011 Book: Lewis Michael, Boomerang: Travels in the New Third World, Norton, 2011 Calculator: A calculator is required. A financial calculator would be preferable, as it would have functions for bond valuation, net present valuation (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), present value (PV), and future value (FV). A suitable calculator, the HP10-B, is available in the bookstore for about $30. Harvard Business School Cases https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/access/17920074 The above is the URL for Harvard Business School so that you can obtain discounted student pricing for the cases: Group Ariel S.S.: Parity Conditions and Cross-Border Valuation (Note that there is no need to purchase the audio version of this case.) Pixonix Inc. Addressing Currency Exposure Recommended: 1. Subscription to the Wall Street Journal. Several class sessions will utilize information from the Wall Street Journal. See syllabus for the dates. 2. Subscription to or regular reading of the Financial Times....
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...Corruption in the Government and Politics Abstract Political and government corruption has been a big problem in America for a long time. After careful research and investigating, corruption has a way of splitting a country. Corruption in government and political corrupt seems to go hand-in-hand. In America corruption has been an issue at the highest level of government which starts at the executive level of the Presidency. Over the years corruption has reared its head in other areas of our government from the President throughout Congress and even into our state and local level government. Introduction Throughout the history of the United States of America corruption in government has been an issue. Corruption in government has been an ongoing problem from the beginning of our government. Corruption dates back to the conception of our Constitution of the United States. The constitution was created and delivered in the year 1787. It was the creation of hope that this document would set forth some rules and regulations for our country as well as the citizens of this great nation to follow. It included our rights as citizens and the guarantee of having a government to carry out the will of the people. Government and political corruption was an issue even for the framers of our constitution. Before the final draft of our constitution, the document was revised several times before it was presented. The idea was that by creating the constitution it would...
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...The effect of E-marketing on the marketing performance of Small Business Enterprise: A comparative study between Egypt and the UK. HATEM EL-GOHARY Bradford University School of Management School address : EMM Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD9 4JL, UK. Mailing address : 24 Laisteridge Lane, Bradford, BD7 1QT, West Yorkshire, UK. Telephone : +44 (0)7878470306 Fax : +44 (0)1274 546866 Email : h.o.a.elgohary@bradford.ac.uk elgohary70@yahoo.com Supervisor name : Dr. Myfanwy Trueman Supervisor e-mail : M.Trueman@Bradford.ac.uk 16th EDAMBA Summer Academy Soreze, France July 2007 Abstract:- Small Business Enterprises (SBE's) play a major role in the world economy, and their contribution to economic and employment growth is widely recognized. Based on the SBE role as an economic engine to drive global development, this research seeks to understand the practices and activities of these enterprises in terms of electronic marketing (Achieving marketing objectives and functions through the use of electronic communication technology), marketing performance and the effectiveness of industrial and trade SBE’s. In order to do this a comparative study is made between SBE’s in Egypt (developing) and the UK (developed). The main aim of this work is to identify links between the conceptual framework and empirical analysis...
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...Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociology. Volume 7, Number 2. July 2010 34 Factors Affecting Students’ Academic Performance: A case study in Agartala Municipal Council Area Amitava Raychaudhuri*, Manojit Debnath**, Saswata Sen*** and Braja Gopal Majumder**** Abstract: Number of empirical studies has been done to determine the factors affecting school students’ performance in the elementary level. The basic objective of the present study is that students’ performance in annual examination is associated with students’ attendance in the class, family income, mother’s and father’s education, teacher-student ratio, presence of trained teacher in school, sex of the student, and distance of schools. The study is based on primary data. The required information was collected through random sample survey of the student in the government and government aided schools and their households. By applying regression analysis it was found that factors like students’ attendance, Mother’s education & presence of trained teacher in the school have a positive impact of students’ academic performance. 1. Introduction: The main objectives of education, as S.K. Paul et al. held are to bring “changes not only in the amount of knowledge but also for achieving abilities to do something, to think and to acquire habits, skills and attitudes which characterize on individual who is socially accepted and adjusted”. Keeping these in view SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN was launched in 2001 with the objective of implementing...
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...News Corporation Limited Business Report Produced at the request of: Greenwich University Subject: Strategic Financial Management Case Study: The News Corporation Students Name: Students ID: Total word count: Table of Contents 0. Table of contents……………………………………….……………….3 - 4 1. Report Abstract / Synopsis………..………….……………………………5 2. Introduction………………………………………………………………..6 1. Identification & nature of the News Corporation…….…………………...……..……..6 2. Company Overview………………………………………………………………….....7 Internal Audit Review 3. Financial Analysis….…….………..………….…………………………...8 . Segmented Financial Analysis…….…………………………..…………………….….8 . Financial Performance, Profitability & Investment Analysis…………………….…….8 . Financial Evaluation & Conclusion…………………………………………………….8 4. Marketing Analysis…….…………..…….…………………………....…..9 . News Corporation’s Marketing Strategy.……………………..………………….….…9 . Marketing Evaluation & Conclusion……………..……………………………………10 5. HRM Analysis...….…………..……..………………………………....….11 . News Corporation’s HRM Strategy.………………………..…...……………….…….11 . HRM Evaluation & Conclusion…...……………..…………………………………….11 6. Operations Analysis...….…………..……..…………………………....… 12 . News Corporation’s Operations Strategy.………………………..…...………………. 12 . Operations Evaluation & Conclusion…...
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...Case Study Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme: Reliable Returns from a Trustworthy Financial Adviser By Denis Collins Denis Collins is a professor of management in the School of Business at Edgewood College in Madison, Wisconsin. His research interests include business ethics, management, and organizational change. Contact: dcollins@ edgewood.edu A [person] is incapable of comprehending any argument that interferes with his revenue. Rene Descartes Overview This case study is a chronology of the largest Ponzi scheme in history. Bernie Madoff began his brokerage firm in 1960 and grew it into one of the largest on Wall Street. While doing so, he began investing money as a favor to family and friends, though he was not licensed to do so. Over a period of fifty years, these side investments became an investment fund that mushroomed into a $50 billion Ponzi scheme. Bernie1 pled guilty without a trial on March 12, 2009, and was sentenced to 150 years in prison. Thousands of wealthy clients, philanthropic organizations, and middle-class people whose pension funds found their way into Bernie’s investment fund lost their life savings. What to Do? Bernie Madoff, at age 69, owned three very successful financial companies—a brokerage firm, a proprietary trading firm, and an investment advisory firm. On December 10, 2008, the brokerage and proprietary trading firms, managed by his brother and two sons, were performing as well as could be expected in the middle of a deep recession. His investment...
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