LOOKING AT THE PRINCIPLES OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

â€Å" Corporate Administration is the system by which concern corporations are directed and controlled. The corporate administration construction specifies the distribution of rights and duties among different participants in the corporation, such as, the board, directors, stockholders and other stakeholders, and spells out regulations and processs for doing determinations on corporate personal businesss. By making this it besides provides the construction through which the company aims are set, and the agencies of achieving those aims and supervising public presentation. † â€Å" Corporate Administration can be described as a system of structuring, operating, and commanding a company with a position to accomplish long term strategic ends to fulfill stockholders, creditors, employees, clients, and providers with the legal and regulative demands, apart from run intoing environmental and local community demands. It leads to the edifice of a legal, commercial and institutional model. It besides demarcates the boundaries within which these maps are to be performed. †Need FOR CORPORATE GOVERNANCEAs we all know that in today ‘s scenario market forces are progressively replacing authorities controls, corporate administration is deriving prominence in a concern industry. Today corporate administration can be seen as a requirement for pulling financess from foreign establishments. Investors these yearss make certain that the company in which they are puting their principal is non merely decently managed but besides follow corporate administration. I t is regarded as a control mechanism that ensures the optimal usage of human, physical and fiscal resources for an endeavor. It addresses assorted issues faced by board of managers, top direction, proprietors, stakeholders and the society at big. Corporate administration patterns are a set of structural agreements that emerge in free market economic systems to aline the direction of companies with the involvement of their stockholders, stakeholders and the society at big. Corporate administration aims to turn to three basic issues: Ethical Issues Efficiency Issues Accountability Issues Ethical Issues as the name suggests relates to the job of moralss in concern. Corporations employ deceitful agencies to accomplish their goals.In order to exercise force per unit area on the authorities to explicate public policies the companies form trusts which frequently go against the involvement of the populace. Companies in order to derive trueness from clients may give payoffs or offer gifts to possible clients. Efficiency Issues are concerned with the public presentation of the direction. Management is responsible for guaranting sensible returns on investing made by stockholders. The issues associating to efficiency of direction is of involvement to the stockholders as their return on investing is at interest. Accountability Issues relate to the stockholders need for transparence of direction in the behavior of the concern. Features of corporate administration: Discipline Transparency Independence Accountability Duty Fairness Social ResponsibilityPRINCIPLES OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE:Rights and just intervention of stockholders: Organizations should esteem the rights of stockholders and in bend encourage stockholders to exert their rights. They can assist stockholders exert their rights by efficaciously pass oning information which is in an apprehensible signifier to them and promoting stockholders to take part actively in general meetings. Interests of other stakeholders: Organizations should acknowledge that they have legal and other duties towards all legitimate stakeholders such as the creditors, providers, employees etc. Disclosure and transparence: Organizations should clear up and do publically known all the facts and findings so as to supply stockholders with a degree of answerability. They should besides implement policies and processs to verify and safeguard the unity of the company ‘s fiscal studies. Disclosure of material facts refering the organisation should be seasonably and balanced to guarantee that all investors have entree to unclutter, factual information. Functions and duties of board: The board needs a batch of accomplishments and understanding to be able to cover with assorted ethical issues. It needs to hold a degree of committedness to carry through its duties and responsibilities. There are issues about the appropriate mix of executive and non-executive managers within a company. Integrity and ethical behavior: Ethical and responsible determination devising is non merely of import for public dealingss, but it is besides an of import component in hazard direction. Organizations should raise a codification of behavior for their managers and top direction that promotes ethical and responsible determination devising at all degrees of the organisation. Many organisations have besides establishedA Compliance and Ethics ProgramsA to minimise the hazard that the house goes against the ethical and legal boundaries.Issues affecting corporate administration include:internal controls and internal audits regulations sing readying of the company ‘s fiscal statements dividendA policy the independency of the entity ‘s external hearers and the quality of their audits efficient usage of resources made available to managers in transporting out their duties direction of hazard reappraisal of the compensation for the main executive officer and other senior executives the procedure of nominations of persons for places on the boardCASES ON CORPORATE Administration:Corporate GOVERNANCE AT THE BODY SHOPIntroduction:Anita Roddick is the laminitis of The Body Shop. She is one of the celebrated personalities who is engaged in Ethical Consumerism. She is actively involved in runs for environmental and societal issues including the runs such as Greenpeace and the Big Issue ( 2007 ) , Hepatitis C. She is an enthusiastic individual who takes an initial duty to do a vision to go a success and is a positive mind and an first-class determination shaper. The Body Shop is a world-wide known British concatenation of cosmetics shops. It was taken over by Gallic Cosmetics group L'Oreal in 2006. The Body Shop is distinguished for selling its ain line of merchandises which are produced in an eco friendly mode and are non tested on animate beings. The Body Shop considers the construct of corporate administration as their competitory advantage. Anita Roddick who is the caput of the determination doing organic structure of the company creates a value system non merely in selling its merchandises but besides in keeping a important relationship with all its stakeholders. The company has established a decently structured model in order to cover with corporate affairs. It has established a proper structured plan which is reinforced by company policies and other processs for proper counsel of the managers in transporting out their day-to-day responsibilities. The company has a clear mention usher to its concern operations and corporate administrat ion. This includes the care of the criterions with regard to the corporate administration in the corporation ‘s different sectors. The Board of the company consists of 10 managers out of which two are executive while six are non executive due to which there is a just division of duties among them. The board is in charge of taking attention of the company ‘s operations, assets, and its stockholders with a position of maximising public presentation. The Board conducts a monthly reappraisal of the company ‘s concerns in relation to its fiscal motions in order to guarantee the house ‘s competent operations. The company jurisprudence obliges the board of managers to carefully fix each twelvemonth, a fiscal study that needs to be accurate and dependable reflecting the true province of the company. The Board of Directors are besides responsible for the proper guardianship of accounting statements and guarantee that these records are precise and true. It is besides vested with the duty of safeguarding the company ‘s other assets every bit good as doing the necessary stairss in order to forestall complications such as fraud and other types of hazards. Apart from the board there are other commissions which are formed which have a well-established mention usher which besides discusses their responsibilities and their range of authorization within the corporation. The wage commission handles the lineation for the company ‘s wage policy which would be reviewed by the board. Furthermore, this group is besides responsible for the assorted wage bundles that are offered to the executive managers. The audit commission makes proper recommendations with respects to the company ‘s accounting policies every bit good as supervising fiscal control within the corporation. The company besides has a clear codification of moralss and all employees must conform to this codification. The codification of moralss includes a struggle of involvement policy to guarantee that cardinal corporate determinations are taken by persons who do non hold a fiscal involvement in the result separate from their involvement as company functionaries. The comp any besides proctors conformity with the jurisprudence and the planetary fiscal policies and patterns in the country of internal controls, fiscal accounting and coverage, fiducial answerability and safeguarding of corporate assets.Effects OF PRACTICING CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AT THE BODY SHOPWith respect to the entrepreneurship patterns followed by Anita Roddick, the company has been able to accomplish complete control of all the affairs refering the company and its stakeholders. The ego doggedness and duty to the responsibilities by all the employees of the company and their obeisance to the company Torahs and ordinances all of which have contributed to the development of the corporation as a whole. The Board has changeless belief in the fact that that all the informations pertaining to the fiscal information and other facts sing their operations that are presently being practiced are dependable. The authorization of the Board is clearly recognized within the company because of which it is able to hold a solid clasp on the corporation ‘s existent operations, stakeholders and its fiscal concerns. The well defined construction of the organisation and the committedness of the board towards the stakeholders and the community has proved the fact that the organisation can manage both its ethical and legal duties expeditiously. The company maintains good dealingss and unfastened communications with its investors. The stockholders are on a regular basis invited by the company on a regular footing to discourse trade updates. Furthermore, in one-year general meetings investors besides get an chance to run into the Board members. Private investors can entree the company ‘s web site for assorted services. The company has a good consideration for all its stakeholders be it past, present, or hereafter. There seems to be a really good defined model in the house ‘s corporate division. It has policies and processs with respect to fiscal affairs and operational concerns. Its processs for measuring different sorts of state of affairss that come up is surely good defined. Furthermore, they have ever maintained good dealingss with their stakeholders. And eventually, The Board ‘s authorization has ever remained unexcelled. Clearly, the above mentioned points turn out the strength of the company ‘s corporate administration construction. The failing of this instance is the fact that one can non ever be assured that there are no losingss or other mistakes which may ensue from errors and incompatibilities by one of the commissions or employees involved. In add-on, due to the presence of diverse cultural beliefs there can be internal jobs between the members. There are times when the stockholder is non given adequate information about the position of the company, particularly if that stockholder which holds a little portion in the concern. This happens when the board of managers do non supply value to their stockholders. Other negative facet includes the restriction of fiscal coverage processs which may decidedly ensue in uneffective corporate governance.AEthical motive AT THE BODY SHOPMotto: â€Å" Nature ‘s manner to Beautiful † Body store has invariably sought out fantastic natural ingredients from all across its Earth and strives to protect this beautiful planet and the people who depend on it. The Body Shop believes that concern has the power to do the right sort of difference to the universe. This rule allows all clients round the Earth to go militants The first cosmetics company to beginning harvested palm oil and present the ingredient into the beauty industry, working in partnership with a certified organic manufacturer in Colombia, in 2007. In 2008 debut of 100 % PCR bottles ( post consumer recycled ) Community Trade plan creates sustainable merchandising relationships with deprived communities around the Earth and provides indispensable income to more than 25,000 people. The Body Shop continues to raise consciousness and support for adult females across the universe affected by domestic force in 2008. Launch of Stop Violence In The Home run runs in more than 55 states and has raised more than US $ 4 million. In 2008campaign to raise consciousness of HIV and AIDS among immature people, working with MTV Networks International was carried on. The Body Shop has committed to go Carbon Neutral by 2010, guaranting that C dioxide emanations from the company ‘s nucleus retail concern worldwide are reduced to a big extent. The Company is committed to merchandising ethically. The sourcing squad is trained in ethical audits and trade with providers who abide by the Code of Conduct for Suppliers.Corporate GOVERNANCE AT NESTLENestle is committed to the following Business Principles in assorted states it operates in, taking into history all the local statute laws predominating within that peculiar state, cultural and spiritual patterns: Nestle ‘s concern aims, and that of direction and employees at all degrees, is fabricating and marketing the Company ‘s merchandises in such a manner so as to make value that can be sustained over the long term for stockholders, employees, consumers, concern spouses and all the other stakeholders. Nestle does n't prefer short-run net income at the disbursal of successful long-run concern development, but recognizes the demand to make healthy net income every twelvemonth in order to keep the support of our stockholders, maintain them content, and the fiscal markets, and to finance investings. Nestle recognizes that its consumers have a sincere and legitimate involvement in the behaviour, beliefs and actions of the Company behind trade names in which they have their trust, and that without its consumers the Company would non hold come into being. Nestle believes that statute law is most effectual precaution of responsible behavior. Nestle is witting of the fact that the success of a company is a contemplation of the professionalism, behavior and the responsible attitude of its direction and the employees working in that company. Therefore, enlisting of the right people at the right clip and preparation and development are the critical factors in any company ‘s success. Nestle operates in assorted states and in many civilizations throughout the universe. The rich diverseness is a really valuable beginning for a company ‘s direction.National Legislations and International RecommendationsNestle emphasizes that its employees must stay by the Torahs applicable in the states in which it operates. Nestle ensures that the highest criterions of responsible behavior towards its client and the society are met throughout the organisation, by following with the Nestle Corporate Business Principles, which guides the Company ‘s activities and relationships worldwide in each sector of concern involvement. The company supports and widely advocates the United Nations Global Compact and its 10 rules, an enterprise of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Global Compact asks the companies to take up, support and enact, within their domain of influence, a set of nucleus values in the countries of human rights, the international labor criterions and the environment. The company besides recognizes the fact that increasing globalisation is taking to the development of more and more international recommendations. Although, as a regulation, these recommendations are addressed to authoritiess, they doubtless impact the concern patterns. Among others, Nestle has incorporated relevant International Labour Organization Conventions, and the International ( WHO ) Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes into its policies. Nestle endorses relevant committednesss and recommendations for voluntary self-regulation issued by competent companies in the same sector, provided they have been developed in full audience with the parties concerned. These include the International Chamber of Commerce ( ICC ) Business Charter for Sustainable Development. Besides, Nestle uses the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, approved in June 2000, as a mention point for its Corporate Business Principles.Corporate GOVERNANCE FAILURESWORLDCOM BANKRUPCYWorldCom the universe ‘s 2nd largest telecommunication company had filed for bankruptcy in the twelvemonth 2002 in Manhattan after the revelation of monolithic accounting abnormalities. The divergences from corporate behavior happened because of the Board of managers who failed to acknowledge, and to cover efficaciously with, maltreatments reflecting what was identified as a â€Å" civilization of greed † within the corporation ‘s top direction. Others resulted from a failure of responsible individuals within the company to carry through their fiducial duties to stockholders. Another lending factor was a deficiency of transparence between senior direction and the Company ‘s Board of Directors. There was a complete dislocation of corporate administration. The cheques and balances intended to forestall error and abnormalities failed to run. The cheques did n't balance and the balances did n't fit. The existent fraud which took topographic point in WorldCom consisted of a figure of â€Å" topside accommodations † to accounting entries to shore up up worsening net incomes. Largely these comprised of improper drawdowns of militias accumulated from its acquisition plan and other beginnings and improper capitalisation of costs which should hold been expensed for. While WorldCom has non completed the restatement of its financials, the company overstated its income by about $ 11 billion, overstated its balance sheet by about $ 75 billion and, as a consequence, caused losingss in the stockholder value of every bit much as $ 250 billion, a important sum of which affected the employee retirement financess. During the 1990s, favourable market positions of WorldCom was sustained by a series of acquisitions. The company was in an almost-constant acquisition during this period. This generated great force per unit area to maintain the stock monetary values high in order to fuel the acquisition fling and to supply moneymaking cash-outs for executive stock options. To make this, the company had to run into Wall Street ‘s net incomes outlooks, but when, in 2000, a proposed amalgamation with Sprint was disapproved by the authorities and the telecommunications roar came to an terminal, WorldCom net incomes began to steal. Management foremost sought to use its aggressive accounting techniques to better its gnawing fiscal image. But when these were exhausted, the direction resorted to false entries to bring forth what could portray as echt net incomes and enable them to do the Numberss and sustain the image of a company go oning to run into Wall Street ‘s net incomes marks. As a conseq uence, during the last 13 quarters prior to bankruptcy, the Company systematically reported that it met those marks, but the fact was it missed them in 11 out of 13 of those quarters and, in the last four quarters, really should hold reported losingss. The balloon eventually collapsed in 2002 when internal hearers eventually fingered significant impropernesss and the top functionaries were fired or resigned, net incomes were restated, SEC and condemnable probes had been initiated which resulted in bankruptcy. The company ‘s attack to trades was wholly adhoc and with small meaningful or consistent strategic planning. The board used to O.K. billion dollar trades with no treatment or really less treatments. WorldCom direction or the Board of Directors ne'er even bothered to supervise the Company ‘s debt degree and its ability to fulfill its outstanding duties. WorldCom ‘s issue of more than $ 25 billion in debt securities in the four old ages predating its bankruptcy was clearly facilitated by its immense accounting fraud which allowed it to falsely stand for itself as creditworthy. The Board once more passively used to acquire the proposals approved through consentaneous consent declarations which were adopted with really small or no treatment. The compensation commission of the Board agreed to supply tremendous loans and a separate guarantee for Mr. Ebbers ( manager ) without ab initio informing the full Board or taking appropriate stairss to protect the Company. The Board was besides considered at mistake for non raising any inquiries about the loans following, without meaningful consideration, the recommendations of the compensation commission. Another ground was the absence of internal controls as a cause of this fiasco was the deficiency of transparence between senior direction and the Board of Directors at WorldCom. A civilization and internal procedures that discourage or forbid scrutiny and comprehensive inquiring are engendering evidences for deceitful misbehaviors. In conformity with the accounting abnormalities, these defects created the semblance that WorldCom was far more healthy and successful than it really was. The audit commission of the Board failed to invent a work program with the internal hearers and the outside comptrollers. The internal audit operation within the company was intentionally diverted off from scrutinizing duties and forced to concentrate upon increased efficiencies and cost film editing alternatively of internal policy framing. Furthermore, it was short-handed, underpaid and under-qualified for transporting out a responsible internal audit map. The company unsuitably styled some $ 20 billion deserving duties by its subordinates to itself as alleged â€Å" royalties † for what WorldCom designated as â€Å" direction foresight † that is, the subordinates were supposed to hold the advantage of WorldCom ‘s â€Å" direction foresight † for which they would pay a fine-looking fee. These â€Å" royalty † sums were accounted in a manner that drastically reduced the nonexempt income of certain WorldCom subordinates for province revenue enhancement intents. However, these sums, while they were accrued, were ne'er really paid to WorldCom.Reasons for prostration:Non conformity to Serbanes-Oxley Act Board lacked sufficient information to carry through its duties. WorldCom ‘s civilization was non by and large supportive of a strong legal map which prevented advocate from run intoing their duties to their corporate clients. Improperly aggressive accounting schemes were proposed by direction. With its ain overambitious schemes and flawed accounting, WorldCom besides fell victim to a oversupply of telecommunications capacity. Cheap and plentiful funding allowed companies quickly to construct transcontinental and transoceanic fibre ocular webs in the 1990 ‘s. The extra capacity resulted in lower monetary values for WorldCom ‘s services, which include phone service and the transmittal of Internet informations for immense companies. The filing for bankruptcy would alleviate WorldCom of approximately $ 2 billion of involvement payments in the coming following twelvemonth. Lower debt costs allowed WorldCom to vie on a stronger bridgehead with its challengers, affecting a likely price-cutting policy refering about the wider strength of the telecommunications industry. In April 2004, WorldCom emerged from bankruptcy and changed its name to MCI, which it acquired in 1998. Ironically, holding shed $ 36 billion in debt, WorldCom emerged from bankruptcy with a improved balance sheet than most of its rivals. It besides wound up with a corporate name respected for its radical attempts in telecom.A Corporate GOVERNANCE FAILURE AT ENRON On December 2, 2001 Enron, the so 7th largest corporation in US had filed for bankruptcy. It resulted in one million millions of dollars being lost, 1000s of people losing their occupations, and a big sum of employee ‘s retirement nest eggs had been wiped out. Billions of U.S. dollars had been concealed in the balance sheet of the company which had overstated its income by $ 600 million. The public presentation inducements created a clime where employees were required to bring forth net income at the disbursal of the company ‘s declared criterions of moralss and strategic ends. Enron had all the constructions and mechanisms for working towards good corporate administration. In add-on, it had besides framed a policy for corporate societal duty and a sensible codification of behavior on security, human rights, societal investing and public battle. Yet the job occurred as no 1 followed the codification. Impact on the Company ‘s Finance: Decreasing investor assurance ( negative ) Retreat to simpleness & A ; easy to understand theoretical accounts ( positive and negative ) . Increased call for corporate transparence ( positive ) . Review of hearer and adviser relationships ( positive and negative ) . Tax return to financial conservativism and patterns ( positive and negative ) Name for increased ordinance and examination ( positive and negative ) . Political radioactive dust on all degrees ( negative ) . The Board was found to hold failed in its responsibilities in the undermentioned countries: Fiduciary failure Bad accounting Inappropriate struggles of involvement Extensive undisclosed off the books activities Excessive compensation to the managers Lack of independency The job started off when the board of managers allowed the direction openly to go against the codification, peculiarly when it allowed the CFO to function in the particular purpose entities ( SPEs ) and besides the audit commission suspected false accounting patterns but still it made no effort to analyze the SPE minutess. So the hearers failed to forestall questionable accounting. Failure of Enron resulted as a consequence of a struggle of involvements that occurred the directors to move at the disbursal of the stockholders. Internal control steps besides failed to work. The action taken by Enron made a false visual aspect by misdirecting the market by demoing greater creditworthiness and fiscal stableness. Even after Enron ‘s failure the market for barters and derived functions worked without any breaks and worked as expected. The market did what it was expected to make i.e. to utilize repute as a agency for supervising market participants. Hearers failed because of non keeping their unity and independency in their working. The hearers commission had to proactively map and supervise the determinations to guarantee that a realistic position is presented to the users of the fiscal statements of the company. Enron created partnerships with nominally independent companies, some of which were offshore. This was fundamentally done to befog debt exposure and allegedly to cover losingss at Enron ‘s entity. Enron ‘s board members were misinformed and mislead. The significant information about Enron ‘s programs and activities were hidden from the board. The board had nevertheless failed in its oversight responsibilities. High hazard accounting policies were being followed. The company was found to be in non conformity of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Enron ‘s multi-billion dollar, off-the-books activity was disclosed to the Enron Board members and received Board blessing as an expressed scheme to better Enron ‘s fiscal statements. In fact, Enron ‘s monolithic off the books activity could non hold taken topographic point without Board action to set up new particular purpose entities, issue preferred Enron portions, and pledge Enron stock as the collateral needed for the trades to travel frontward. In the terminal, the Board knowingly allowed Enron to travel at least $ 27 billion or about 50 per centum of its assets off balance sheet. Enron ‘s board failed in its fiducial responsibility to guarantee equal public revelation of its assets and liabilities. None of the board members objected to this corporate scheme. Enron provided its executives with unreasonable munificent compensation. Stock options were distributed to all the executives in big Numberss. It was argued that the company used to make this in order to pull and retain the good executives.

Head of Household during the Cold War Era

If I were the head of household who took care of my family during the Cold War Era, I would make sure to get everything needed for at least two weeks to survive if there was a nuclear bomb disaster. I would have my husband and friends build a bomb shelter that can fit at least 50 people in our basement to protect my family and friends from the nuclear disaster. I would make sure that we have plenty of water for cooking and drinking, stock up on supplies, canned food, pre-packaged foods such as crackers, cookies, wafers for at least two to three weeks to feed all of us. We will make sure to have a camp stove with enough fuel to boil rice, beans, and pasta. Have a can opener for the canned food, enough batteries with a radio, small portable television, and flashlights to keep them running so we can listen to the news, or music. We will also need a power generator, or candles with enough matches just in case the power goes out and the generator stops working. I will make sure we have available to us sanitation kits and medical kits just in case a family member gets hurt. Another kit that should be in the shelter is a radiation detection kit. For keeping everyone entertained we will have board games to keep us occupied, do sharedes, books to read, crayons and coloring books for the younger children, have cards so we can play card games. Also my husband and I will make sure we have clothing, shoes and blankets available to us. We will also make sure that a bathroom is built in the bomb shelter with running water and plumbing so we can take quick showers. In the bathroom we will have plenty of toilet paper, soap, shampoo, combs, brushes, toothpaste, deodorant, toothbrushes, and plenty of towels. We would make sure that we have heavy duty plastic sheets with duct tape to keep out harmful chemicals and gases. Most importantly my husband and I will sit down our children and explain to them what is happening and what we need to do and what is going to take place.

Princess Stories and Marriage: The Effect on Young Minds Essay

It is no secret that in modern day America more than half of marriages end in divorce, yet many still fantasize their fairytale weddings and happy endings knowing that the chances of staying together for the rest of their lives are slim. These early concepts of happy endings develop in the minds of young girls during the period of time when gender roles start to be enforced. They are not only introduced to parenting but in the media as well. In past princess movies and stories, men have always been the people in power. They are the kings and prince charming that are supposed to sweep every princess off their feet and provide them a comfy lifestyle in the castle with a happily ever after. The princesses, on the other hand, are always shy, quiet, demure, poised, and need some kind of saving. The resolution of these stories always ends in the prince marrying the princess or beautiful maiden, thus completing his conquest and receiving his â€Å"award.† Young girls, as they are more marketable towards these stories, have adopted these elements into their own romantic life giving them false expectations of real-life relationships. 1 in 4 women will be victims of severe violence by an intimate partner in their lifetimes. They are conditioned from a young age to want to have a perfect romance, but false expectations often lead them to be in relationships with the wrong people. Although these stories may seem harmless, they push an outdated agenda on to a society where most are trying to progress into an era where women are treated as equal individuals and as valued members in society, not just your average princess. In My Problem With Her Anger, by Eric Bartels, the husband and wife power dynamics in marriage is showcased in a different way than what is depicted in princess stories. Bartels starts off the piece. The wife, according to her husband, is condescending, never appreciates what he does, and fights with him constantly, which breaks the stereotypical traits of a princess and princely relationship. Charles Perrault’s Cinderella is one of the main princess fairy tales that will be showcased in my writing, as it includes many of the topics discussed, such as gender roles, power dynamics, which can be tied back to modern day domestic abuse. A question that may appear when researching a question like this may be, how exactly does the princess story influence children on certain topics. Today, we have tv, movies, books, and the internet. Children are getting more and more educated in the media as they are learning in school how to do so. They can easily access these stories through different outlets. Although I believe princess stories are harmless in intent. They carry old-fashioned values that children, mostly emulate during their play time. I too played princess as a child and have grown to know that’s not how life really is. In princess stories, The princess gets everything done for her, she has servants and she’s just there to wait around for the magical prince to come and make her life better. Many girls grow up thinking the same way until they’ve faced a hard reality, but if privileged enough are still able to think this way until the day they get married, and in marriage then realize itâ€℠¢s not what the princess stories had advertised. Women are told to â€Å"deal† with what their husband gives them in life. They’re supposed to take whatever comes at them, but still, manage to keep the image of a â€Å"good woman.† Someone who takes care of their husband, the children, someone who never seems sad, cooks, cleans, maintains a good body. These are unrealistic qualities that a woman should have to uphold. Princess stories further argue that. For example, we take Beauty and the Beast, a tale that is taken very lightly and is seen as a beautiful romance in the eyes of many, but in fact is in a way a promoter of abuse. The beast is manipulative and a horrible thing. It takes her father with no remorse. Belle deals with his temper and abusive and threatening behavior yet she still â€Å"falls in love† In real life, this would not work out. In this story, Belle believes she can change the monster from his abusive and threatening nature to someone prince-like and chivalrous, but in fact, you can’t really change someone that easily, but the movie says its possible. In real life, this would probably not cut it. Many girls go through their princess phase and wanting to have their prince, and it’s a little alarming to me how they already know what they want through just a story. To me, princess stories don’t promote diversity and keep up with the modern day which limits a child’s way of thought. Princess stories to this day have only been heterosexual relationships. We are changing as a society and love are possible in many different ways. If children aren’t taught to be more accepting of others, seeing only heterosexual relationships in media will make them close-minded and homophobic. I see this myself with my little sister. She’s never watched any gay princesses or princes, therefore the idea of that seems disgusting to her, even though I’ve never taught her to be that way.

Reflective report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Reflective report - Essay Example Lighting system creates important mood within each scene. For example, a green and somber soft light is used to present not dangerous and fearful scenes, but melancholic and depressing. Time slot may affect quality of the show since it leaves audience in much suspense. Since the film is a story on one of the great countries of the world, it will attract and appeal to a wide demographic of consumers from all walks of life, the young and the old alike. Genre as used in the films assists in limiting the scope of the film for the audience, writer and director of the programs. As used in tagline, each genre has unique elements capable of making distinctive from others such as story line, setting, characterization, style, star actors, and creative devices like action sequences. Such cases present elements of genre that requires repetitive presentations for familiarization to be established. There is an element of creating certain dispositions within audience minds whenever they view it. The program concept is extraordinary, which is one of the main things that create some sense of uniqueness (Wright, 2002). The program acts as one of the most desired examples, since the program content represents actual masterpiece sorted after by viewers. The program reveals some level of relevance based on general life hence keeps the audience entertained through various humorous instances. Several scenes used in the program utilize great set of aesthetics connecting perfectly with appropriate mood and feeling. Various technologies should be considered in such scenarios where director should be familiar with programs and scripts presented. Emphasis should be on nature of casting utilized. There is also issue on editing which should be of high quality as well. Issue on video transitions requires attention to ensure complete flow across the scenes. Few programs are known to be capable

Journalism and Mass media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Journalism and Mass media - Essay Example Therefore, from the point of view of the Associate Professor, Carmen uses methodological reductionism that the sites assist only those who require them urgently while in others it is not the case. Alternatively, Piskorski found that the online dating industry has worth of $2billion made of more than 14, 000 businesses that use various methods and techniques of matching up potential partners. For instance, OKCupid, an online dating site with a membership of about 3 million permits its users to surf each other’s profiles (Nobel, 2012). Furthermore, there are algorithms and comprehensive quizzes that allow partners to have compatible matches. Similarly, in a study of about 500,000 members of OKCupid, Piskorski discovered that older, shorter and at times overweight people viewed more profiles compared to their younger counterparts. On that account, there are several methods, data and evidence used to support the claims made in the article. For instance, Carmen uses secondary methods of data collection such as reading books, similar journals and internet sites to prove the validity of the article. Similarly, there is the interview on the Associate Professor of Harvard Business School on his studies and findings concerning various online dating sites (Nobel, 2012). Therefore, the available data to prove the claims made by Carmen include several online sites such as Match.com, eHarmony, OKCupid and Facebook among others that aim at matching up potential partners. ... For instance, Carmen uses secondary methods of data collection such as reading books, similar journals and internet sites to prove the validity of the article. Similarly, there is the interview on the Associate Professor of Harvard Business School on his studies and findings concerning various online dating sites (Nobel, 2012). Therefore, the available data to prove the claims made by Carmen include several online sites such as Match.com, eHarmony, OKCupid and Facebook among others that aim at matching up potential partners. On the other hand, the available evidence is the study of 500, 000 members of OKCupid who view the profiles of each other without any problem. Therefore, these claims hold because the members interviewed participate actively and report their results. There is also the presentation made by Piskorski on his findings in a HBS seminar concerning the various online dating sites (Nobel, 2012). On the same context, there is also the presence of the online dating sites t hat participated in the survey to determine the benefits of online dating. However, there are also biases and other missing information in the article by Carmen Nobel. For example, there is no alternative research on offline dating for comparison purposes with online dating. In other words, there is ecological fallacy in terms of the available statistics to support the benefits of online dating for its members (Nobel, 2012). Additionally, the research by the Professor does not conduct a follow up if the potential partners meet and the superseding consequences. This constitutes to individual fallacy whereby the other groups are not part of the research. Furthermore, Piskorski fails to mention the names of his variables during the findings hence

Business Law Questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business Law Questions - Coursework Example The first advantage is that this type of business is easy to form. The business organization is simple with minimal legal formalities that includes the license and permits in special cases. The business is also easy to dissolve if Eva so wishes. The second advantage is that this type of business only needs small startup capital. Apart from this, the amount of money needed for management is small as there is usually no need for specialist in the various functional areas of the company. The third advantage Eva gains from this type of business organization is that it affords a great deal of flexibility in that decision making and changes are easy and fast. The fourth and probably the biggest advantage is that the owner receives all the profits from the business. The final advantage offered is that the company if moderately free from government control. The government regulates this type of business less than other types, thus Eva’s day-to-day operations are smooth as long as she follows the letter of her permit and license. While the business offers many advantages, it also has some challenges. First, these types of companies usually have limited resources. Due to this, banks and other credit facilities are usually reluctant to grant loans due to the high mortality rate of these companies as well few assets owned. The second disadvantage is that the owner assumes unlimited liability. This means that all the debts and loses fall on the head of the owner. The third disadvantage is that in the event the company fails, creditors have the right to force the owner to sell their own property as well as those belonging to the company to offset the debt. Finally, if the owner dies or is incapacitated, the business dies or is incapacitated. In order to raise capital, Eva faces some difficulties as investors unrelated to her will not be comfortable regarding the security and use of their investment. Capital investment for sole proprietorship is also difficult to secure and formalize without risking losing control of the company. The first course of action she may take is to seek financial aid from people related to her such a family and friends. She can also raise loans from financial and banking institutions. In this case, she can secure a loan from the bank for her working capital and seek help from specialized financial institutions in case of long term investment such as buying fixed assets. The third approach is discussing with her suppliers to receive goods on credit, i.e. acquire trade credit. Finally, she can lease her equipment to other firms in order to acquire medium term funds. Question 2 By looking at the second scenario, we find that Don has a basis to set aside the contract. This is because the contract between Don and Evan was entered under coercion. According to Bigwood (369), pure coercion occurs when one party plans to engage in a legal wrong to endorse his demands leaving another party to without any reasonable alternative but to comply. While Evans threat is not a legal wrong it is however exploitative, disagreeable and wrongful in the broader sense hence an improper proposal. Under contract law, Don can prove that he was under duress (duress to the person) thus enabling the contract to be rescinded since it will then be voidable (Stone 337). In order to prove that the contract was under coercion, Don has to prove that no other reasonable option remained but to sign the contract. This can be done by reviewing the relationship between him and his nephew as well as contracts they had entered before. Apart from voiding the contract, Ron can also choose to enforce the contract (Bigwood 370). Cases of

Personal Savings and Insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Personal Savings and Insurance - Essay Example at the very primitive reason behind an individual’s or a family’s savings is financial security which guarantees safety for the basic necessities for living. There is also a need of financial security for unexpected emergencies, illness or unemployment. This trend of saving for safety needs is very evident in families with income which is neither very large nor very small. Families with large income do not need to save for safety needs and families with small income do not have any extra sums to save for safety needs. Individuals with smaller families prefer to save money for improving their lifestyles and like to spend on luxury items like vacation trips, nicer car and purchasing property. This trend is observed in people having no children. These luxury items tend to change the lifestyle of the individuals as a whole and give a substantial return to the individuals for their savings according to their perspective. This tendency is present in all individuals but is mostly observed in family heads with larger incomes. Such individuals give priority to saving money for their relationships and consider saving for children’s education, gifts for relatives etc their responsibility. When the individuals have fulfilled all the basic and primitive needs of their life, they move forward towards the higher objectives and for the fulfillment of those higher objectives they require savings. This trend is observed in older people with comparatively larger incomes who want to spend their money in charity and some of them also want to set up businesses of their own. The tendency is to achieve the goals which they set up for themselves at earlier ages of their lives. 6. The improving economic conditions nationally and internationally and recovery from recession is encouraging people to spend more and save a smaller proportion of the income because the economy is doing very well and they can rely on their spending and previous investments for financials security. 8.

Critically assess the extent and character of the impact of digital Essay

Critically assess the extent and character of the impact of digital media upon one cultural sector of your choosing - Essay Example The advancement of the internet technology as well as the world wide -web has resulted in a dynamic shift regarding the way businesses operate for effective competition in the market place. Modern technology and the World Wide Web have made it easy for organizations, both large and small, to seek clients on a global perspective. Establishment of the web presence has turned out to be a crucial factor for a consistent growth and development for many businesses. However, many companies find it a challenge in transitioning to the world of e-commerce (Alter, 2009). An effective penetration in the world of e-commerce has necessitated a formulation of an efficient solid internet marketing strategy. Business leaders today have either embraced or still figuring out on how to embrace the digital media in this dynamic business environment. This is because; the digital media can be effectively used in evaluating the level of market awareness, and uncovering new insights in business categories. Organizations have found out that consumer conversations can be analyzed through online means at both category and product level (Rindfleisch et al, 2012, 182). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of digital media on advertising. Despite the negative impact associated with the digital media, there are also positive attributes that can be related with it. For instance, digital media has enabled companies to relay information to their customers or the public faster than ever. Instead of printing inserts and waiting for local papers to announce their sales, organizations can let the international community know about the extant promotion and services through social network, mail and the internet (Alter, 2009, 11). The development of social media in marketing platforms has been increasingly used by organizations in building social signals that are very crucial in many SEO

Were agency problems responsible for the bankruptcy of Lehman brothers Dissertation

Were agency problems responsible for the bankruptcy of Lehman brothers in 2008 - Dissertation Example However, such event took place even after repeated assurances made by the chief executives of the company mentioning their claim that Lehman Brothers was financially sound, had high liquidity levels and the leverage was present at manageable levels. The fallout of this Wall Street financial institution resulted in shattering of the consumer confidence during a fragile time in the financial market. Soon after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a lot of decisions taken by it were found to be questionable. This study entails with finding the reasons behind the fallout of Lehman Brothers. This research study would try to find out the possible causes behind such a historic event that took place in United States which had a significant impact not only in the country but worldwide. Lehman Brothers was founded in the year 1850 and was headquartered at New York, United States. Lehman Brothers was considered to be one of the most prominent investment banks in the world and was engaged in the business of providing financial services to governments, municipalities and corporations worldwide. It became one of the largest underwriters of United States mortgage bonds (Onaran, 2008). Apart from offering services related to investment banking, Lehman Brothers was also involved in business activities corresponding to selling and buying of US treasuries and they were the primary dealers. It has been believed that the abolition of Glass-Steagall Act marked the beginning of Lehman Brothers’ demise. This landmark legislative act which was institutional since the Great Depression helped in separating the interests of commercial and investment banks and thus prevented it to have competition between them (Fox, 2009). It also helped to protect the balance sheets of the com mercial and investment banks to by allowing them to focus on the business transactions that they used to manage in the best possible way. The investment banks were typically meant to maintain highly liquid assets in their portfolios. On the other hand commercial banks were meant to handle the portfolios that were highly capital intensive in nature including corporate or real estate investments. In addition to this, the Glass-Steagall Act helped insulating the company from collapsing in case of the failure of one of the sectors by preventing similar

Compare and contrast the 7S and Mintzberg's configuration models of Essay

Compare and contrast the 7S and Mintzberg's configuration models of organisations - Essay Example Henry Mintzberg enhanced organizational design literature by suggesting different forms of organizations (Clegg, 3-7). McKinsey 7s model explains how an organisation goes about analyzing how well it is positioned to achieve its intended objective. This model has remained persistent over the years because it is applicable in wide range situations where an alignment perspective is useful (Strategic management journal 279). Regardless of how an organization decides to define its scope of operations, alignment issues apply, making the model significant. Organisations being complex, this model eases the difficulty in understanding them, and helps to understand them, consequently yielding maximum benefit and profitability (Clegg, 27). Description Mintzberg defines organizational structure as, the total number of ways in which an organization distributes its labor into distinctive parts and then attains harmonization amongst them. He argues that each configuration comprises of six constitue nts, which are (Clegg, 23-29): Operating core: The human labor directly linked to the manufacturing of goods and services Calculated apex: Aids the necessities of the people in the organisation Intermediate line: Managers who link the premeditated apex with the operating fundamental Techno-structure: The expert who scheme, plot, modify or train the operating fundamental Support staff: Professionals who deliver sustenance to the organisation external of the operating core’s undertakings Ideology: Philosophies and customs that make the organisation exceptional. Each one of the above part is in control to tug an organization in a specific way which is advantageous to them. As a result, Mintzberg presents organisation configuration framework with six valid organizational configurations. They are (Clegg 31-89): Entrepreneurial organization: This is a simple structure characterized by little or no techno-structure; few support staff, minimal division of labor and work differentiati on and little managerial hierarchy. There is no formal behavior, thus coordination is simple with direct supervision. This is the most starting point of many organizations (Davidson 46). Machine bureaucracy: Comprises of high specialized, routine operating tasks, very formal procedures, proliferation of rules, regulations, and formalized communication throughout the organization and reliance on functional basis for grouping tasks. There is centralized decision-making and an elaborate administrative structure with clear distinctions between line and staff. It houses the specialists who do the standardizing. Machine bureaucracy is mostly found in mature or old organizations, large enough to have repetitive and standardized tasks. Managers at this level are not problem solving, rather, they concentrate on enhancing work processes to generate more output efficiently (Hardling, et al 33). Professional organization: This bureaucracy depends on the synchronization on the adjustment of skil ls. It employs duly accomplished experts or professionals for the operational core, and gives them significant control over their exertion. They work autonomously of their coworkers, but, closely to the customers they attend (Semler, 47). Previously

Marketing concepts And Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing concepts And Strategies - Essay Example The best way of advertising is through print and broadcast media. 2. In a passage of time we have become the conspirators of reproduction generation by generation. The consumers were attracted by the item and bonded with memories of commercial culture. At present, the marketing strategy for selling product is to lure them for branded products; play in branded spaces and exposing them to TV channel. The marketers and advertising agencies work and trade on psychology of consumers for marketing their product. As the VP of a large retailer of men's suits I would introduce branded products so that all classes of people can visit and shop. 3. Marketers spend and invest lots of money in developing strategies of different methods to attract consumers towards their product and capitalize the opportunities to make or amass money. The marketers conduct research to defend, develop counter measures to meet the market competition. The ability of the youth to remove and neutralize the technique of advertising is snubbed by the other agency so as to increase the sale of their product. In the market, the Internets are counteracted by the appearance of e-commerce web sites. In the present marketing world aggressive marketing is the new mantra. Due to the changing trends and tastes of customers the best possible strategies are to explore new ways of marketing. Advertising, considerably slashing the prices of the commodities, increasing the discount rates, aggressive marketing, etc., are the methods that should be used by Apple to stay in the extremely competitive market. 4. Childhood is a creative, innovative and generative. In the society the child consumers are more than adult consumers. The marketing strategy is to attract children by making publicity of the gaming product through media. The producers and marketers display the products in supermarkets and departmental stores for sale. The best strategy is to have a good impression on parents because they are the persons who decide what to purchase for their children. Business to Consumer (B2C): In B2C e-commerce, business uses the Net for offering their products or services to consumers 24 hours a day from any part of the world. B2C portals are the most visible face of e-commerce. 5. Efficiency of management: The purpose of financial statement analysis is to know that the financial policies adopted by the management are efficient or not. Analysis also helps the management in preparing annuity products. It also helps the management to find out the shortcomings so that remedial measures can be taken to remove these shortcomings. Analysis also helps in taking decisions: a) Whether funds required for the retirement services are provided from internal resources of the business or not. b) How much funds have been raised from external sources. Reference Louis E. Boone & David L. Kurtz. Contemporary Marketing. New York: South-WesternCollege Pub. 2004.

Euroland food Essay Example for Free

Euroland food Essay In early January 2001, the senior-management committee of Euroland Foods was to meet to draw up the firm’s capital budget for the new year. Up for consideration were 11 major projects that totaled more than â‚ ¬316 million. Unfortunately, the board of directors had imposed a spending limit on capital projects of only â‚ ¬120 million; even so, investment at that rate would represent a major increase in the firm’s current asset base of â‚ ¬965 million. Thus, the challenge for the senior managers of Euroland Foods was to allocate funds among a range of compelling projects: new-product introduction, acquisition, market expansion, efficiency improvements, preventive maintenance, safety, and pollution control. The Company Euroland Foods, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, was a multinational producer of high-quality ice cream, yogurt, bottled water, and fruit juices. Its products were sold throughout Scandinavia, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, western Germany, and northern France. (See Exhibit 1 for a map of the company’s marketing region.) The company was founded in 1924 by Theo Verdin, a Belgian farmer, as an offshoot of his dairy business. Through keen attention to product development and shrewd marketing, the business grew steadily over the years. The company went public in 1979, and, by 1993, was listed for trading on the London, Frankfurt, and Brussels exchanges. In 2000, Euroland Foods had sales of almost â‚ ¬1.6 billion. Ice cream accounted for 60 percent of the company’s revenue; yogurt, which was introduced in 1982, contributed about 20 percent. The remaining 20 percent of sales was divided equally between bottled water and fruit juices. Euroland Foods’ flagship brand name was â€Å"Rolly,† which was represented by a fat dancing bear in farmer’s clothing. Ice cream, the company’s leading product, had a loyal base of customers who sought out its high-butterfat content, large chunks of chocolate, fruit, and nuts, and wide range of original flavors. This case was prepared by Casey Opitz and Robert F. Bruner and draws certain elements from an antecedent case by them. All names are fictitious. The financial support of the Batten Institute is gratefully acknowledged. The case was written as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright ï £ © 2001 by the University of Virginia Darden School Foundation, Charlottesville, VA. All rights reserved. To order copies, send an e-mail to [emailprotected] No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the Darden School Foundation. Euroland Foods’ sales had been static since 1998 (see Exhibit 2), which management attributed to low population growth in northern Europe and market saturation in some areas. Outside observers, however, faulted recent failures in new-product introductions. Most members of management wanted to expand the company’s market presence and introduce more new products to boost sales. These managers hoped that increased market presence and sales would improve the company’s market value. Euroland Foods’ stock was currently at 14 times earnings, just below book value. This price/earnings ratio was below the trading multiples of comparable companies, and it gave little value to the company’s brands. Resource Allocation The capital budget at Euroland Foods was prepared annually by a committee of senior managers, who then presented it for approval to the board of directors. The committee consisted of five managing directors, the prà ©sident directeur-gà ©nà ©ral (PDG), and the finance director. Typically, the PDG solicited investment proposals from the managing directors. The proposals included a brief project description, a financial analysis, and a discussion of strategic or other qualitative considerations. As a matter of policy, investment proposals at Euroland Foods were subject to two financial tests, payback and internal rate of return (IRR). The tests, or hurdles, had been established in 1999 by the management committee and varied according to the type of project: Minimum In January 2001, the estimated weighted-average cost of capital (WACC) for Euroland Foods was 10.6 percent. In describing the capital-budgeting process, the finance director, Trudi Lauf, said, We use the sliding scale of IRR tests as a way of recognizing differences in risk among the various types of projects. Where the company takes more risk, we should earn more return. The payback test signals that we are not prepared to wait for long to achieve that return. Ownership and the Sentiment of Creditors and Investors Euroland Foods’ 12-member board of directors included three members of the Verdin family, four members of management, and five outside directors who were prominent managers or public figures in northern Europe. Members of the Verdin family combined owned 20 percent of Euroland Foods’ shares outstanding, and company executives combined owned 10 percent of the shares. Venus Asset Management, a mutual-fund management company in London, held 12 percent. Banque du Bruges et des Pays Bas held 9 percent and had one representative on the board of directors. The remaining 49 percent of the firm’s shares were widely held. The firm’s shares traded in Brussels and Frankfurt. At a debt-to-equity ratio of 125 percent, Euroland Foods was leveraged much more highly than its peers in the European consumer-foods industry. Management had relied on debt financing significantly in the past few years to sustain the firm’s capital spending and dividends during a period of price wars initiated by Euroland. Now, with the price wars finished, Euroland’s bankers (led by Banque du Bruges) strongly urged an aggressive program of debt reduction. In any event, they were not prepared to finance increases in leverage beyond the current level. The president of Banque du Bruges had remarked at a recent board meeting, Restoring some strength to the right-hand side of the balance sheet should now be a first priority. Any expansion of assets should be financed from the cash flow after debt amortization until the debt ratio returns to a more prudent level. If there are crucial investments that cannot be funded this way, then we should cut the dividend! At a price-to-earnings ratio of 14 times, shares of Euroland Foods common stock were priced below the average multiples of peer companies and the average multiples of all companies on the exchanges where Euroland Foods was traded. This was attributable to the recent price wars, which had suppressed the company’s profitability, and to the well-known recent failure of the company to seize significant market share with a new product line of flavored mineral water. Since January 2000, all the major securities houses had been issuing â€Å"sell† recommendations to investors in Euroland Foods’ shares. Venus Asset Management had quietly accumulated shares during this period, however, in the expectation of a turnaround in the firm’s performance. At the most recent board meeting, the senior managing director of Venus gave a presentation in which he said, Cutting the dividend is unthinkable, as it would signal a lack of faith in your own future. Selling new shares of stock at this depressed price level is also unthinkable, as it would impose unacceptable dilution on your current shareholders. Your equity investors expect an improvement in performance. If that improvement is not forthcoming, or worse, if investors’ hopes are dashed, your shares might fall into the hands of raiders like Carlo de Benedetti or the Flick brothers.1 At the conclusion of the most recent meeting of the directors, the board voted unanimously to limit capital spending in 2001 to â‚ ¬120 million. Members of the Senior-Management Committee Seven senior managers of Euroland Foods would prepare the capital budget. For consideration, each project had to be sponsored by one of the managers present. Usually the decision process included a period of discussion followed by a vote on two to four alternative capital budgets. The various executives were well known to each other: Wilhelmina Verdin (Belgian), PDG, age 57. Granddaughter of the founder and spokesperson on the board of directors for the Verdin family’s interests. Worked for the company her entire career, with significant experience in brand management. Elected â€Å"European Marketer of the Year† in 1982 for successfully introducing low-fat yogurt and ice cream, the first major roll-out of this type of product. Eager to position the company for long-term growth but cautious in the wake of recent difficulties. Trudi Lauf (Swiss), finance director, age 51. Hired from Nestlà © in 1995 to modernize financial controls and systems. Had been a vocal proponent of reducing leverage on the balance sheet. Also had voiced the concerns and frustrations of stockholders. Heinz Klink (German), managing director for Distribution, age 49. Oversaw the transportation, warehousing, and order-fulfillment activities in the company. Spoilage, transport costs, stock-outs, and control systems were perennial challenges. Maarten Leyden (Dutch), managing director for Production and Purchasing, age 59. Managed production operations at the company’s 14 plants. Engineer by training. Tough negotiator, especially with unions and suppliers. A fanatic about production-cost control. Had voiced doubts about the sincerity of creditors’ and investors’ commitment to the firm. Marco Ponti (Italian), managing director for Sales, age 45. Oversaw the field sales force of 250 representatives and planned changes in geographical sales coverage. The most vocal proponent of rapid expansion on the senior-management committee. Saw several opportunities for ways to improve geographical positioning. Hired from Unilever in 1993 to revitalize the sales organization, which he successfully accomplished. De Benedetti of Milan and the Flick brothers of Munich were leaders of prominent hostile-takeover attempts in recent years. Fabienne Morin (French), managing director for Marketing, age 41. Responsible for marketing research, new-product development, advertising, and, in general, brand management. The primary advocate of the recent price war, which, although financially difficult, realized solid gains in market share. Perceived a â€Å"window of opportunity† for product and market expansion and tended to support growth-oriented projects. Nigel Humbolt (British), managing director for Strategic Planning, age 47. Hired two years previously from a well-known consulting firm to set up a strategic-planning staff for Euroland Foods. Known for asking difficult and challenging questions about Euroland’s core business, its maturity, and profitability. Supported initiatives aimed at growth and market share. Had presented the most aggressive proposals in 2000, none of which were accepted. Becoming frustrated with what he perceived to be his lack of influence in the organization. Humbolt, Strategic Planning 1. Replacement and expansion of the truck fleet. Heinz Klink proposed to purchase 100 new refrigerated tractor-trailer trucks, 50 each in 2001 and 2002. By doing so, the company could sell 60 old, fully depreciated trucks over the two years for a total of â‚ ¬4.05 million. The purchase would expand the fleet by 40 trucks within two years. Each of the new trailers would be larger than the old trailers and afford a 15 percent increase in cubic meters of goods hauled on each trip. The new tractors would also be more fuel and maintenance efficient. The increase in number of trucks would permit more flexible scheduling and more efficient routing and servicing of the fleet than at present and would cut delivery times and, therefore, possibly inventories. It would also allow more frequent deliveries to the company’s major markets, which would reduce the loss of sales caused by stock-outs. Finally, expanding the fleet would support geographical expansion over the long term. As shown in Exhibit 3, the total net investment in trucks of â‚ ¬30 million and the increase in working capital to support added maintenance, fuel, payroll, and inventories of â‚ ¬3 million was expected to yield total cost savings and added sales potential of â‚ ¬11.6 million over the next seven years. The resulting IRR was estimated to be 7.8 percent, marginally below the minimum 8 percent required return on efficiency projects. Some of the managers wondered if this project would be more properly classified as â€Å"efficiency† than â€Å"expansion.† 2. A new plant. Maarten Leyden noted that Euroland Foods’ yogurt and ice-cream sales in the southeastern region of the company’s market were about to exceed the capacity of its Melun, France, manufacturing and packaging plant. At present, some of the demand was being met by shipments from the company’s newest, most efficient facility, located in Strasbourg, France. Shipping costs over that distance were high, however, and some sales were undoubtedly being lost when the marketing effort could not be supported by delivery. Leyden proposed that a new manufacturing and packaging plant be built in Dijon, France, just at the current southern edge of Euroland Foods’ marketing region, to take the burden off the Melun and Strasbourg plants. The cost of this plant would be â‚ ¬37.5 million and would entail â‚ ¬7.5 million for working capital. The â‚ ¬21 million worth of equipment would be amortized over 7 years, and the plant over 10 years. Through an increase in sales and depreciation, and the decrease in delivery costs, the plant was expected to yield after-tax cash flows totaling â‚ ¬35.6 million and an IRR of 11.3 percent over the next 10 years. This project would be classified as a market extension. 3. Expansion of a plant. In addition to the need for greater production capacity in Euroland Foods’ southeastern region, its Nuremberg, Germany, plant had reached full capacity. This situation made the scheduling of routine equipment maintenance difficult, which, in turn, created production scheduling and deadline problems. This plant was one of two highly automated facilities that produced Euroland Foods’ entire line of bottled water, mineral water, and fruit juices. The Nuremberg plant supplied central and western Europe. (The other plant, near Copenhagen, Denmark, supplied Euroland Foods’ northern European markets.) The Nuremberg plant’s capacity could be expanded by 20 percent for â‚ ¬15 million. The equipment (â‚ ¬10.5 million) would be depreciated over 7 years, and the plant over 10 years. The increased capacity was expected to result in additional production of up to â‚ ¬2.25 million a year, yielding an IRR of 11.2 percent. This project would be classified as a market extension. 4. Development and roll-out of snack foods. Fabienne Morin suggested that the company use the excess capacity at its Antwerp spice- and nut-processing facility to produce a line of dried fruits to be test-marketed in Belgium, Britain, and the Netherlands. She noted the strength of the Rolly brand in those countries and the success of other food and beverage companies that had expanded into snack-food production. She argued that Euroland Foods’ reputation for wholesome, quality products would be enhanced by a line of dried fruits and that name association with the new product would probably even lead to increased sales of the company’s other products among health-conscious consumers. Equipment and working-capital investments were expected to total â‚ ¬22.5 million and â‚ ¬4.5 million, respectively, for this project. The equipment would be depreciated over seven years. Assuming the test market was successful, cash flows from the project would be able to support further plant expansions in other strategic locations. The IRR was expected to be 13.4 percent, slightly above the required return of 12 percent for new-product projects. 5. Plant automation and conveyer systems. Maarten Leyden also requested â‚ ¬21 million to increase automation of the production lines at six of the company’s older plants. The result would be improved throughput speed and reduced accidents, spillage, and production tie-ups. The last two plants the company had built included conveyer systems that eliminated the need for any heavy lifting by employees. The systems reduced the chance of injury by employees; at the six older plants, the company had sustained an average of 223 missed-worker-days per year per plant in the last two years because of muscle injuries sustained in heavy lifting. At an average hourly total compensation rate of â‚ ¬14.00 an hour, more than â‚ ¬150,000 a year were thus lost, and the possibility always existed of more-serious injuries and lawsuits. Overall, cost savings and depreciation totaling â‚ ¬4.13 million a year for the project were expected to yield an IRR of 8.7 percent. This project would be classed in the efficiency category. 6. Effluent-water treatment at four plants. Euroland Foods preprocessed a variety of fresh fruits at its Melun and Strasbourg plants. One of the first stages of processing involved cleaning the fruit to remove dirt and pesticides. The dirty water was simply sent down the drain and into the Seine or Rhine Rivers. Recent European Community directives called for any wastewater containing even slight traces of poisonous chemicals to be treated at the sources, and gave companies four years to comply. As an environmentally oriented project, this proposal fell outside the normal financial tests of project attractiveness. Leyden noted, however, that the water-treatment equipment could be purchased today for â‚ ¬6 million; he speculated that the same equipment would cost â‚ ¬15 million in four years when immediate conversion became mandatory. In the intervening time, the company would run the risks that European Community regulators would shorten the compliance time or that the company’s pollution record would become public and impair the image of the company in the eyes of the consumer. This project would be classed in the environmental category. 7 and 8. Market expansions southward and eastward. Marco Ponti recommended that the company expand its market southward to include southern France, Switzerland, Italy, and Spain, and/or eastward to include eastern Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. He believed the time was right to expand sales of ice cream, and perhaps yogurt, geographically. In theory, the company could sustain expansions in both directions simultaneously, but practically, Ponti doubted that the sales and distribution organizations could sustain both expansions at once. Each alternative geographical expansion had its benefits and risks. If the company expanded eastward, it could reach a large population with a great appetite for frozen dairy products, but it would also face more competition from local and regional ice-cream manufacturers. Moreover, consumers in eastern Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia did not have the purchasing power that consumers did to the south. The eastward expansion would have to be supplied from plants in Nuremberg, Strasbourg, and Hamburg. Looking southward, the tables were turned: more purchasing power and less competition but also a smaller consumer appetite for ice cream and yogurt. A southward expansion would require building consumer demand for premium-quality yogurt and ice cream. If neither of the plant proposals (i.e., proposals 2 and 3) was accepted, then the southward expansion would need to be supplied from plants in Melun, Strasbourg, and Rouen. The initial cost of either proposal was â‚ ¬30 million of working capital. The bulk of this project’s costs was expected to involve the financing of distributorships, but over the 10-year forecast period, the distributors would gradually take over the burden of carrying receivables and inventory. Both expansion proposals assumed the rental of suitable warehouse and distribution facilities. The after-tax cash flows were expected to total â‚ ¬56.3 million for southward expansion and â‚ ¬48.8 million for eastward expansion. Marco Ponti pointed out that southward expansion meant a higher possible IRR but that moving eastward was a less risky proposition. The projected IRRs were 21.4 percent and 18.8 percent for southern and eastern expansion, respectively. These projects would be classed in the market-extension category. 9. Development and introduction of new artificially sweetened yogurt and ice cream. Fabienne Morin noted that recent developments in the synthesis of artificial sweeteners were showing promise of significant cost savings to food and beverage producers as well as stimulating growing demand for low-calorie products. The challenge was to create the right flavor to complement or enhance the other ingredients. For ice-cream manufacturers, the difficulty lay in creating a balance that would result in the same flavor as was obtained when using natural sweeteners; artificial sweeteners might, of course, create a superior taste. In addition, â‚ ¬27 million would be needed to commercialize a yogurt line that had received promising results in laboratory tests. This cost included acquiring specialized production facilities, working capital, and the cost of the initial product introduction. The overall IRR was estimated to be 20.5 percent. Morin stressed that the proposal, although highly uncertain in terms of actual results, could be viewed as a means of protecting present market share, because other high-quality-icecream producers carrying out the same research might introduce these products; if the Rolly brand did not carry an artificially sweetened line and its competitors did, the Rolly brand might suffer. Morin also noted the parallels between innovating with artificial sweeteners and the company’s past success in introducing low-fat products. This project would be classed in the new-product category of investments. 10. Networked, computer-based inventory-control system for warehouses and field representatives. Heinz Klink had pressed unsuccessfully for three years for a state-of-the-art computer-based inventory-control system that would link field sales representatives, distributors, drivers, warehouses, and possibly even retailers. The benefits of such a system would be shorter delays in ordering and order processing, better control of inventory, reduction of spoilage, and faster recognition of changes in demand at the customer level. Klink was reluctant to quantify these benefits, because they could range between modest and quite large amounts. This year, for the first time, he presented a cash-flow forecast, however, that reflected an initial outlay of â‚ ¬18 million for the system, followed by â‚ ¬4.5 million in the next year for ancillary equipment. The inflows reflected depreciation tax shields, tax credits, cost reductions in warehousing, and reduced inventory. He forecast these benefits to last for only three years. Even so, the project’s IRR was estimated to be 16.2 percent. This project would be classed in the efficiency category of proposals. 11. Acquisition of a leading schnapps2 brand and associated facilities. Nigel Humbolt had advocated making diversifying acquisitions in an effort to move beyond the company’s mature core business but doing so in a way that exploited the company’s skills in brand management. He had explored six possible related industries in the general field of consumer packaged goods, and determined that cordials and liqueurs offered unusual opportunities for real growth and, at the same time, market protection through branding. He had identified four small producers of well-established brands of liqueurs as acquisition candidates. Following exploratory talks with each, he had determined that only one company could be purchased in the near future, namely, the leading private European manufacturer of schnapps, located in Munich. The proposal was expensive: â‚ ¬25 million to buy the company and â‚ ¬30 million to renovate the company’s facilities completely while simultaneously expanding distribution to new geographical markets. The expected returns were high: after-tax cash flows were projected to be â‚ ¬198.5 million, yielding an IRR of 27.5 percent. This project would be classed in the newproduct category of proposals. Conclusion Each member of the management committee was expected to come to the meeting prepared to present and defend a proposal for the allocation of Euroland Foods’ caital budget of â‚ ¬120 million. Exhibit 3 summarizes the various projects in terms of their free cash flows and the investment-performance criteria. Any of various strong dry liquors, such as a strong Dutch gin. Definition borrowed from American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed. UVA-F-1356 Exhibit 1 EUROLAND FOODS S.A. Nations Where Euroland Competed Note: The shaded area in this map reveals the principal distribution region of Euroland’s products. Important facilities are indicated by the following figures: 1 The effluent treatment program is not included in this exhibit. The equivalent annuity of a project is that level annual payment that yields a net present value equal to the NPV at the minimum required rate of return for that project. Annuity corrects for differences in duration among various projects. In ranking projects on the basis of equivalent annuity, bigger annuities create more investor wealth than smaller annuities. This reflects â‚ ¬16.5 million spent both initially and at the end of year 1. 4 Free cash flow = incremental profit or cost savings after taxes + depreciation investment in fixed assets and working capital. Franchisees would gradually take over the burden of carrying receivables and inventory. 6 â‚ ¬25 million would be spent in the first year, â‚ ¬30 million in the second, and â‚ ¬5 million in the third. 2 View as multi-pages

Prosthetic Rehabilitation of a Patient with Nose Defect

Prosthetic Rehabilitation of a Patient with Nose Defect Case Report Authors: Satyabodh S Guttal, MDS,MFPT 1, Blessy Bangera, BDS,2 Adarsh Kudva,  MDS,3 Basavaraj R Patil, MS, 4 Abstract Midfacial defects are enormous defects that result from cancer treatment that rarely are corrected by surgical reconstruction alone; they generally require a facial prosthesis to restore function and appearance. Surgical reconstruction may be viable for few defects, which are done with different flaps. But for the total nasal resection, prosthetic option would be more feasible. Nasal cartilaginous anatomy is complex due to the varying contours. Therefore it may be difficult for the surgeon to reconstruct the entire nose. This clinical report describes the rehabilitation of a large midfacial nose defect with a dental implant retained nasal prosthesis. The patient had adenocystic carcinoma of the medial maxillary wall extending to the nose. Introduction The face being the most noticeable part of the body when disfigured may lead to an impaired social life stemming from esthetic problems. 1, 2 Among facial defects, nasal defects produce severe cosmetic impairment. . Rehabilitation of such defects subsequent to surgery is done in a sequential manner, which includes a surgical, provisional, and definitive prosthesis. 3 Prosthesis helps restore the patients self-esteem and confidence, hence affecting the patients and their life style. 4-6 Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) is a rare malignant perineural tumour of the major and minor salivary glands, accounting for 2% of all head and neck malignancies and approximately 10% of all salivary gland neoplasms. 60% to 70% of ACC’s arise in the minor salivary glands, which may be localized in the palate, paranasal sinuses and nose, although they may also occur in the parotid or submandibular glands.7 In the past, nasal prostheses were held in position with strings or straps fastened behind the head,8 intranasal or intraoral extensions,9,10 and gold strings or leaves.11-13 Spectacle frames have been accepted for securing nasal prostheses.14,15 Today, with the development of biomaterials, prosthetic substitutes are secured with readily available adhesives that are effortlessly applied 16 however, the effectiveness of adhesives is questionable considering presence of mobile tissues in the defect, nasal secretions, and moist air associated with respiration.17 These factors would compromise the adhesiveness. The concept of osseointegration 18 has enabled a more reliable mode of retaining nasal prostheses. 19 This clinical report describes the rehabilitation of a large midfacial defect using an implant retained nasal prosthesis. Clinical Report: A 63-year-old female patient who reported to the B.R Patil Cancer hospital, Navanagar, Dharwad was diagnosed with adenocystic carcinoma of the medial maxillary wall. Patient had no medical co-morbidity. Patient gave history of nasal obstruction due to nasal mass on left side of the nostril for which medial maxillectomy was done via endoscopic approach in the year 1993. Then in 2012 she reported back with the complaint of nodular swelling over nasal dorsum with tearing and nasal obstruction with no orbital symptoms. Intra-orally patient had destruction of palate on the left side crossing midline. Upon further investigation, biopsy revealed adenocystic carcinoma of the nose and left maxilla with no involvement of orbit or anterior skull base (Fig 1). Two cycles of chemotherapy with cisplatin, 5 flurouracil and paclitaxel according to body surface area was given. The defect resulting after excision had to be covered at the earliest. Hence, prior to surgical intervention, prosthetic consultation was suggested to the patient who was thus referred to our Department of Maxillofacial Prosthodontics. Since an immediate definitive prosthesis was not feasible, the patient was suggested for temporary rehabilitation with an interim silicone nasal prosthesis with an attached eyeglass frame. However, since the patient expressed her displeasure towards spectacles for lifelong usage, she was given the option of implant-retained definitive silicone nose prosthesis. The patient agreed for the same. An orthopantomograph and computerized tomography scan were made as a part of the investigation to evaluate the bone height for implant placement. Left total maxillectomy with palatal resection across midline and total nasal resection done via weber ferguson incision, left modified radical neck dissection type three via macfee incision was made. The glabellar bone was evaluated on the operation table and upon conclusion that adequate bone was available; a single implant of 4.2 diameter x 6.5mm length, (Toureg S; Adin implants, Nazareth, Israel) was placed (Fig 2). The advantage of placing the implant on the operation table was that the patient would be under general anesthesia, and the psychological trauma of undergoing another surgical procedure was avoided. Following a healing period of 3 months the open tray impression posts were placed and the final impression was made. The abutment was placed on the implant and a custom made acrylic sleeve was fabricated for the abutment (Fig 3). A wax sculpted nose on the master cast was made to adapt to the margins of the healing wound. On either sides of the acrylic resin sleeve, two neodymium-iron-boron magnets, 5mm diameter x 1.2mm thick (Magnatech; Mumbai, India) were embedded into extensions made out of autopolymerising resin. The structure hence resembled a winged sleeve which was cemented on to the abutment using zinc-phosphate cement (Harvard Dental, Hoppegarten,Germany) (Fig 4). An acrylic resin index was fabricated over this structure which would harbor the respective magnetic keepers. The acrylic index was placed at its position over the magnets and was picked up by the wax nose that was placed on it using a drop of cyanoacrylate. The resulting wax nose thus incorporated an acrylic index with the magnetic keepers. This wax nose was carefully invested and the packing procedure using silicone and acrylic resin border framework, intrinsic coloring was carried out as mentioned for the interim above. Extrinsic coloring and pigmentation was done and patient was happy with the esthetic results. Digital weighing scale revealed that the definitive nasal prosthesis weighed around 12.2gms. The retentive force offered by the two neodymium-iron-boron magnets (Magnatech; Mumbai, India) was found to be 7.2N. The prosthesis was delivered to the patient (Fig 56). Following this, home-care instructions were given. In the subjective evaluation, the patient was very happy with the esthetics outcome of the prosthesis and expressed her great pleasure towards her ability to swallow liquids. The ryles tube continued to remain in place considering the general health condition of the patient and the need to feed semi solid food and protein supplements. The prosthesis was light in weight and could be comfortably placed in position as it was self-aligning due to the use of magnets. Patient, who is now on regular periodic follow-up ie, recalling at every 3 month period, is found to be doing well. Discussion Nasal reconstruction modalities comprises of primary closure, healing by secondary intention, skin grafts and local flaps and regional flaps. Small surgical defects can be treated well with different types of local flaps. The forehead flap is the better option for the large nasal defects. 20 The complex anatomical configuration may cause difficulty in surgical rehabilitation. In such cases, prosthetic closure is predictable and hence usually the treatment of choice. 21,22 The breakthrough for rehabilitation of facial defects with implant-retained prostheses came with the development of the modern silicones and bone anchorage. The limitations of the prosthesis were explained to the patient prior to the treatment, that fact that the prosthesis would enhance esthetics but would contribute less to the functions like speech and masticatory habits. Hence, the patient had no psychological set back on the prognosis of the treatment. In addition, there was a major set-back in terms of achieving outstanding esthetical and functional outcome due to the fact that all the work was carried out under technical constraints. This included a lack of time, chair-side patient availability, and ideal light conditions which, to an extent precluded optimal color blending. The main objective of treating this case was to close the open defect, to prevent the further spread of infection in the soft tissues exposed to the environment. The use of a magnetic assembly has eliminated the need for use of spectacle retention as per the patient’s request. The patient indicated that the nasal prosthesis reduced self-consciousness and was comfortable to wear without any type of irritation to the surrounding skin. The patient was pleased with her appearance and no longer found the need to wrap a cloth around her face. References Guttal SS, Patil NP, Thakur S, Kumar MV, Kulkarni S. Implant-Retained Nasal Prosthesis for a Patient Following Partial Rhinectomy: A Clinical Report . J Prosthodont 2009; 18:353–8. Kumar S, Rajtilak G, Rajasekar V, Kumar M. Nasal prosthesis for a patient with xeroderma pigmentosum. J Pharm Bioallied Sci 2013; 5:176-8. Marunick MT, Harrison R, Beumer J. Prosthodontic rehabilitation of midfacial defects. J Prosthet Dent 1985; 54:553-60. Buzayan MM. Prosthetic management of mid-facial defect with magnet-retained silicone prosthesis. Prosthet Orthot Int 2014; 38:62-7. Jain S, Maru K, Shukla J, Vyas A, Pillai R, Jain P. Nasal prosthesis rehabilitation: a case report. J Indian Prosthodont Soc 2011; 11:265-9. Anantharaju A, Kamath G, Mody P, Nooji D. Prosthetic rehabilitation of Oro-nasal defect. J Indian Prosthodont Soc 2011; 11:242-5. Shimamoto H, Chindasombatjaroen J, Kakimoto N, Kishino M, Murakami S, Furukawa S. Perineural spread of adenoid cystic carcinoma in the oral and maxillofacial regions: evaluation with contrast-enhanced CT and MRI. Dentomaxillofac Radiol 2012; 41:143–51. Saunders RCH. The gunner with the silver mask. Am Med Hist 1941; 3:283-5. Kazanjian VH, Rowe AT, Young HA. Prosthesis of the mouth and face. J Dent Res 1932;12:1 Kazanjian VH. Treatment of nasal deformities. J Am Med Assoc 1925; 84:177. Bulbulian AH. Facial Prosthetics. Springfield IL, US, Ed 1, 1973 pp. 364-7. Baird WH. An artificial nose. Dent Cosmos 1905; 47:560. Baker L. An artificial nose and palate. Dent Cosmos 1905; 47: 561. Rodrigues S, Shenoy VK, Shenoy K. Prosthetic rehabilitation of a patient after partial rhinectomy: a clinical report. J Prosthet Dent 2005; 93:125-8. Guttal SS, Patil NP, Shetye AD. Prosthetic rehabilitation of a midfacial defect resulting from lethal midline granuloma: a clinical report. J Oral Rehabil 2006; 33:863-7. Parel SM. Diminishing dependence on adhesive for retention of facial prosthesis. J Prosthet Dent 1980;43:552-60. Parel SM, Branemark PI, Tjellstrom A, Gion G. Osseointegration in maxillofacial prosthetics. Part II: extraoral applications. J Prosthet Dent 1986;55:600-6. Brà ¥nemark PI, Adell R, Breine U, Hansson BO, Lindstrà ¶m J, Ohlsson A. Intra-osseous anchorage of dental prostheses. I. Experimental studies. Scand J Plast Reconstr Surg 1969;3:81-100. Nishimura RD, Roumanas E, Moy PK, Sugai T. Nasal defects and osseointegrated implants: UCLA experience. J Prosthet Dent 1996;76:597-02. Kose R, Okur MI. Reconstruction of the defects in the middle of the nose with subcutaneous pedicled nasolabial island flap: report of two cases. Kulak Burun Bogaz Ihtis Derg. 2009;19(5):272-276 Sashi Purna CR, Annapurna PD, Ahmed SB, Vurla S, Nalla S, Abhishek SM. Two-piece nasal septum prosthesis for a large nasal septum perforation: a clinical report. J Prosthodont 2013;22:143-7. Goveas R, Puttipisitchet O, Shrestha B, Thaworanunta S, Srithavaj ML. Silicone nasal prosthesis retained by an intranasal stent: a clinical report. J Prosthet Dent 2012;108:129-32. Figure Legends: Fig 1: Preoperative patients photograph Fig 2: Placement of titanium dental implant in the glabella,-confirmed on the x-ray. Fig 3: Abutment threaded to implant and the trial of acrylic resin sleeve done. Fig 4: Cemented acrylic resin framework embedded with magnets on either side. Fig 5: Comparison between before and after prosthesis placement. Fig 6: Lateral profile of before and after prosthesis placement. Spectacle glasses were given to camouflage the borders of the prosthesis.

Military Power of the Roman Army

Military Power of the Roman Army OCdt A. Lopez-Espinosa   One of the most iconic images of the Roman Empire is that of the Roman soldier; a visual representation of the Empires power and its willingness to exercise it. Curiously, the popular image of the Roman soldier is not entirely accurate, in that the idealized image that most hold is singular and constant in nature, yet the Roman army was anything but, undergoing many changes in equipment and composition throughout the reign of ancient Rome. In fact, few things remained the same as the years went on; save for the Roman armys tradition of discipline and order, the adoption of new tactics and organizational structures was a defining feature of the Roman military, and here lies the source of the Roman armys superiority.[1] The Roman armys power came from its adaptability, which allowed it to react to new challenges presented by opponents, and from its tradition of strict discipline, which resulted in better trained forces with increased tactical and strategic capabilities. The effects of these factors can be seen in the many campaigns in which Romes forces participated, with the Romans adapting their equipment, tactics, and formations, and adopting those of its enemies, along with their great discipline being important contributors to their success.[2] In Considerations on the Causes of the Greatness of the Romans and Their Decline, Montesquieu states that, the circumstance which contributed most to render the Romans masters of the world was, that having contended successively against all nations, they invariably renounced their own usages as soon as they found better (20), thus effectively identifying one of the Roman armys primary sources of power.[3] Unlike many of the armies of the time, the Romans had no qualms about changing their own practices in order to more effectively combat an enemy, or to even adopt those of other nations that they deemed to be effective. This made it so that the Roman army became not just more experienced with every encounter, but better in any number of practical ways, with changes to their own methods and adoption of enemy tactics and equipment. Ultimately, the Romans military might was so great because it was composed of the strengths of every nation they had defeated. This virtue of adaptability was seen in some of its earliest examples with Romulus adopting the Sabines buckler, which was larger and therefore provided more protection than the Argive buckler that he previously used.[4] While to the modern reader this may seem far from a revolutionary idea, it was at the time, and as such conceded an exceptional advantage to the Romans. As remarked by Montesquieu and translated in A Treatise on the S cience of War and Fortification, It is remarkable, that the nations vanquished by the Romans never inquired into the causes of their repeated defeats; but persevered in the use of their weapons and institutions to the last moment of their political existence (OConnor, 71).[5] Clearly, this doctrine of assimilation and adaptation was fairly unique for its time, and thereby allowed the Roman Legions to continuously evolve, with new tactics, equipment, and training. An even greater testament to the adaptability of the Romans was that they did not only assimilate or adapt to the innovations of the armies after having defeated them, but would do so throughout a campaign as well, learning from every defeat in order to ultimately take victory back. A good example of this was upon encountering the elephants of Pyrrhus, where the unfamiliar animals routed the Roman cavalry, their horses, before they got near the animals, were terrified and ran away with their riders (Plutarch, XVII.3), but the Romans allowed this to happen only once.[6] In response, they first supplied the weakness of their cavalry by taking away the bridles from the horses, [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] and afterwards by mixing velites with their cavalry proper (Montesquieu, 55).[7] The Romans strategy of adaptation and adoption showed clear results on the battlefield time and time again. In this way, many a campaign that seemed lost at first was ultimately reclaimed by them, careful to ascertain in what respects their enemy might possess some superiority over them; they immediately took action accordingly (Montesquieu, 54), and thereby turn the tides in their favour once more.[8] In short, a great factor in the Roman armys success was its doctrine of constant evolution: if someone was doing something better, do what they are doing. In this way, the Roman army continuously evolved into a force that had the best traits of all powers in the area; as summarized by Josephus: If any nation enjoyed any particular advantage [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] they at once availed themselves of the same. They did not neglect to provide themselves with Numidian horses, Cretan archers, Balearic slingmen, and Rhodian ships. In fine, no nation ever prepared for war with so much prudence, or carried it on with so much audacity (Montesquieu, 56).[9] The Romans exercised another great advantage over their contemporaries: discipline. Many of the armies of their time being composed of non-professional soldiers, and those that did have standing armies had them composed of barbarians and undisciplined troops. As such, it would often come about that the Romans claimed victory despite being grossly outnumbered, [Roman] troops always being the better disciplined, it was likely, even in the most unfortunate combats, that they would rally in part, or that the enemy would somewhere be thrown into disorder [and] although overborne in the beginning [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦], they finally wrested victory from their hands (Montesquieu, 54).[10] This great discipline was of the utmost importance to the Roman armys success, and so it was instilled from the moment that a man would enlist. They began training at military schools, increasing physical strength, dexterity, and weapons handling, with the most famous of these being the Campus Martius in ancient Rome.[11] All of this contributed to the Roman soldier becoming the best version of himself, which in turn resulted in a greater esprit de corps and pride, and ultimately a greater willingness to fight. This transferred directly to the battlefield, where the Roman forces would rarely break formation despite being presented with an overwhelming enemy, and whose formations were therefore powerful and resilient enough to overcome these same enemies. The discipline that Roman soldiers exhibited came from two factors, one being the risk of punishment, and the other being Roman pride, with each being effective in their own right. The pride that Romans felt in their place in the military was an effective component in maintaining order amongst the troops by being preventative; a Roman soldier did not wish to forsake his duty because of his pride. This could be seen in the rarity of Roman desertions, which resulted from the fact that soldiers drawn from the bosom of a people so proud, so haughty, so confident of dominating other peoples, could little think so far undervaluing themselves as to cease to be Romans (Montesquieu, 53).[12] This pride went beyond retention and increased morale and combat effectiveness, as this pride allowed a Roman soldier to believe in himself and his brothers in arms all the more.[13] The other source of Roman military discipline stemmed from the threat of punishment for those who were lacking. This began from the earliest days of a soldiers career; when performance was unsatisfactory they were punished accordingly, and so it became that corporal punishment to enforce discipline was part of a soldiers way of life (Saller, 136).[14] Despite corporal punishment becoming the norm for these soldiers, there existed far more severe punishments that served as extreme deterrents for the most extreme cases of a soldiers misconduct, the most famous of these being the decimation of a unit. As described by Polybius: If the same thing ever happens to large bodies, and if entire maniples desert their posts when exceedingly hard pressed, the officers refrain from inflicting the bastinado or the death penalty on all, but find a solution of the difficulty which is both salutary and terror-striking. The tribune assembles the legion, and brings up those guilty of leaving the ranks, reproaches them sharply, and finally chooses by lots sometimes five, sometimes eight, sometimes twenty of the offenders, so adjusting the number thus chosen that they form as near as possible the tenth part of those guilty of cowardice. Those on whom the lot falls are bastinadoed mercilessly in the manner above described; the rest receive rations of barley instead of wheat and are ordered to encamp outside the camp on an unprotected spot. As therefore the danger and dread of drawing the fatal lot affects all equally, as it is uncertain on whom it will fall; and as the public disgrace of receiving barley rations falls on all alike, this practice is that best calculated to both inspire fear and to correct the mischief. (Polybius, 38)[15] This punishment is exemplary of the array of consequences that could befall a soldier who lacked discipline; if ones pride was not motivation enough, then these would be. Clearly, both methods of encouraging discipline amongst Roman troops were effective, and in turn this discipline was a powerful asset of the Roman army. The Roman armys unmatched discipline on the battlefield proved itself to be a source of strength and a great advantage time and time again. Especially against barbaric forces, even when outnumbered the Romans would hold, and the undisciplined enemy forces would be routed despite their numerical advantage, and they would thereby finally [wrest] victory from their hands (Montesquieu, 54).[16] The Roman Empires military might was what allowed it to expand and maintain its power and influence, and so the Empire was only as strong as its army. The Roman armys power came from their willingness to adapt and their strict doctrine of discipline, and this is further apparent in how the armies of subsequent eras were eager to adopt these same ideals, and when doing so became far more successful. References   Goldsworthy, Adrian. 2003. The Complete Roman Army. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd. Montesquieu, and Jehu Baker. 1882. Montesquieus Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans. New York: D. Appleton and Company. OConnor, John M. 1817. A Treatise on the Science of War and Fortification. New York: J. Seymour. Plutarch. n.d. Life of Pyrrhus. Polybius. n.d. Book 6. Saller, Richard P. 1997. Patriarchy, Property and Death in the Roman Family. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [1] Adrian Goldsworthy, The Complete Roman Army (London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 2003). [2] Montesquieu and Jehu Baker, Montesquieus Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1882), 54. [3] Ibid, 20. [4] Ibid, 20. [5] John OConnor, A Treatise on the Science of War and Fortification (New York: J. Seymour, 1817), 71. [6] Plutarch, Life of Pyrrhus (n.d.), XVII.3. [7] Montesquieu and Jehu Baker, Montesquieus Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1882), 55. [8] Ibid, 54. [9] Ibid, 56. [10] Ibid, 54. [11] Ibid, 49-51. [12] Ibid, 53. [13] Ibid, 53-54. [14] Richard P. Saller, Patriarchy, Property and Death in the Roman Family (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), 136. [15] Polybius, Book VI (n.d.), 38. [16] Montesquieu and Jehu Baker, Montesquieus Considerations on the Causes of the Grandeur and Decadence of the Romans (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1882), 54.