Addicted 2 Football

Introduction to the Addicted 2 Football (A2F) Business Plan A2F (Addicted 2 Football) is small business that provides a photography and filming service. My focus will be on helping young talented football players to get a spotted or even a contract by a professional club.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Addicted 2 Football specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More I will also be taking individual photo shots and team shots that will be offered to the family and friends of the players, high quality, average price and an outstanding service. A2F will start as a sole trader business. With Abiodun Amode the owner, he will also be taking all the photo shots on the match days and training nights. Apart from this, he will also buy all the companies equipment. All business ventures require adequate analysis and development of business plans (Barrow 2011, p. 11) Capital and Funding Sources The business will need a starting up capi tal of  £10,000. Mr Amode, will fund from the help of family members and friends. In addition, other funds will originate from Mr Amode’s secured bonds with the government. Other than this, the savings from his part time job in Marks and Spencer will also be a critical source of the capital. Other sources of funds will also be exploited to increase the capital (Hatten 2012, p. 33) Proposed Physical Location, Operation and Naming The Business will be run from canary wharf in London. I will rent the business office within this location. The company name of the business will called Addicted to football. It will operate in the office of O O consultant ltd. The operations site will not have retail store. This is mainly because the service shall not be required. Observably, a store orders for framed photos will be taken over the phone and via email.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Le arn More Necessary Strategies and Market Orientation For me to start A2F I will need to talk to many personalities and groups. These shall include the local football teams and the current youth system in North London and East London. I have the best rate of young talented football players that make it to professional teams. In this regard, I will focus on advertising in Secondary Schools, colleges and social networks. The main objective of these strategies is to capture the attention of most teenagers who spend a lot of their time on social networks. Ideally, the present technological applications enable the youthful generation to spend their free time in the internet (Johnson, Scholes Whittington 2008, p. 55). The next strategy will be to start up a website and a YouTube channel. These two approaches will help in the marketing and advertising initiatives. In order to develop or realize more impact, a lot of novelty and innovation will be appropriate. For instance, I will put the edited filming work I have done on the YouTube channel and the photos on the website. Principally, the advertising of the filming will show the quality of the work I will be producing. Indicatively, this shall enable the site to show football at its finest. My aim is to make young footballers look as good as the professionals. Another strategy will be based on the equipment to be used. The equipment to be purchased will show the quality of the professionals. This service will not only be for young footballers. However, it will also be for semi-professional and adults. Nonetheless, I also want to work with the disable community as well. It is important to be inclusive because this is the nation’s favourite sport (Walsh 2011, p. 44).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Addicted 2 Football specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A2F Mission Statement The mission statement must be transformative, unique and innovative. Generally the mission statement for the A2F is, â€Å"BRINGING AND SHARING UNDISCOVERED TALENT TO THE WORLD OF FOOTBALL† Analysis of the Potential Competitors There are a couple of competitors. Some of these include the â€Å"football-talents.co.uk and fmscout.com†. Notably, these two companies do not really offer the service. Moreover, they have a very poor level of quality. These competitors also provide a variety of services. Some of the major services include acting as foot-balling agencies. Contrarily, my own company will provide a network for everyone to have access of the young upcoming stars. Pie Chart Showing the Market Share and Make Up Some Competitors There are several other potential competitors within the UK market. Evidently, UK is one of the countries with the highest number of football clubs. It is apparent that a significant number of established clubs have started this venture (Stokes, Wilson Mador 2010, p. 94). Importantly, they are also within th e formative stages just like in my case. This means that a proper strategy will provide me with a positive advantage towards an effective competition. Actually, this constitutes my fundamental objective for establishing the company. It is vital to analyze the present market share. Ideally, this initiative is a critical factor in strategy formulation. The pie chart below indicates the market share within the UK. Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to this pie chart, football-talents.co.uk covers 24% of the market share; fimscout.com has 20%, while other football clubs share 12%. This indicates that about 40% of the market is yet to be exploited. The Main Objective of the Business My main objective of this project is to create a network for young footballers to expose and share their talent across the world. I also intend to create a network that stores all past memories of the players for future references, e.g. to show family/friends. My focus is to work on youth players under the age of 18. Suitability and Business Opportunities The opportunity for a foot-balling Network service will be very effective in the England. Ideally, the associated benefits will be explicitly rewarding. This is because the English FA have been criticized on the lack of youth British talent players making it to the top level of football in the UK. This is unlike most countries like Spain that have 80% of the players in the â€Å"LA LIGA L EAGUE† as native players. Perhaps, this may be one of the reasons for Spain being the best football nation today. This network will create away for the FA to invest and to see undiscovered UK talent. Additionally, it will help bring the right player through the youth rankings instead of professional teams investing in international young talented players. The operations of the company will allow me to charge a cheap price for the video editing, team and individual photos. I will not have the same operating expenses that other companies have. This is true since I will not be working from a store. Analytically, this means that I will not have a building to rent. Furthermore, there will be no leasing and no maintenance cost. The general implication of this is that there will be more capital available for the right photo equipments and accessories. Indeed, these basic approaches might initiate business success within the sector (Pinson Jinnett 2006, p. 123). Assumptions on A2F on Success as a Business Assumptions are fundamental in all business ventures (Kuratko 2009, p. 55).Right now in the UK, football is on a rise. Millions of pounds are invested in the different football teams. It is evident that UK has a great number of footballers. However, a lot of talent goes undiscovered and unnoticed in the foot-balling world. A2F is a network that will give people a chance to express the talent and view the talent the UK can produce. Every football player wants to be noticed and feel important. Therefore, A2F tries to notice every player on the pitch. It also seeks to major on the key moments that only last in the memories. Thirdly, kids like to see themselves play football. However, family members cannot make it in every game. Thus, this will be an easy way to watch what was missed. The market for A2F will be very busy during the months of August all the way to May. This is when the football season takes place for most age groups. The youth football population i s very popular. Match days are normally on a Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. This is the reason why it is going to be very important to invest in a motor vehicle. Some matches may take place in north London on a Saturday and I will have to travel to east London on a Sunday with all the equipment. The areas I plan to cater for include Highbury, Wood green, Tottenham, Finchley, and Brent cross. Observably, all of these are all under north London. Areas such as Canning town, Stratford, Barking, Hackney and Rumford will all be under the east London side. I believe the population of football wills enough for A2F to capture some quality. Because of the huge difference, the profit scale would be large because customers will be at the matches in all these different areas. Since no one else will be taking pictures and filming at my high level of quality, this will give a full competitive advantage over any competitors. Generally,  £10000 will be the starting capital and  £2000 wil l be used to purchase a company vehicle. The vehicle will be used for transport to match games and training sessions. Imperatively,  £4000 will be allocated for investments in the camera equipment while the computer cost will be  £1500. Ideally, these assumptions provide a platform for the foundation of the main strategy (Longenecker 2009, p. 101) The Three–Year Cash Flow Forecast With Profit The intended business is expected to make significant profits. These profits will be consistent within the first period of three years. However, there is need for adequate precaution because this is just but a forecast and projection (Stokes, Wilson Mador 2010, p. 124). More pragmatic and transformative measures shall be undertaken to ensure that the business achieves these projected profits. This shall be coupled with effective business and performance monitoring based on the invested cash as the references point. The cash flow indicating this level of success is as shown below. Year 1 (2013 Year 2(2014) Year 3 (2015) Cash at the beginning of the year  £10000  £15000  £20000 Revenue and Sales  £11000  £14000  £18000 Total Cash In  £21000  £29000  £38000 Inventory  £4,500  £4,500  £4,500 Vehicle, computer, camera and other equipment  £7500 0 0 Rent 0 0 0 Wages 0 0 0 Utilities  £500  £700  £600 Phone  £ 200  £ 100  £ 80 Ads  £ 2000  £ 2500  £ 3000 Miscellaneous  £ 2000  £ 1500  £100 Total Cash Out  £ 16700  £ 9300  £ 8280 Cash at End of Year  £ 4300  £ 19700  £ 29720 The 3-6 Months Cash Flow Forecast With a Loss The company is likely to experience significant losses. These losses might be incurred during the first three to six months of the operation. Therefore, it is appropriate to design a projection of cash flow (Dees, Economy Emerson 2001, p. 54). It helps to indicate the significant lose in the specified periods. The table below illustrates this cash flow. J anuary February March April May June Cash at the beginning of the Month  £10000  £8000  £5000  £5000  £5000  £5000 Revenue and Sales  £1000  £500  £1000  £3500  £2000  £2500 Total Cash In  £11000  £ 8500  £ 6000  £8500  £7000  £7500 Inventory 0 0  £1500  £500  £700  £1800 Vehicle, computer, camera and other equipment  £7500 0 0 0 0 0 Rent 0 0 0 0 0 0 Wages 0 0 0 0 0 0 Utilities  £500  £900  £1500  £500  £1500  £600 Phone  £ 200  £ 500  £1500  £100  £1500  £ 80 Ads  £ 2500  £ 5500  £3000  £3000  £3500  £ 4000 Miscellaneous  £ 500  £ 2500  £1100  £1600  £1500  £1400 Total Cash Out  £ 11200  £ 9400  £8600  £8700  £8700  £ 7880 Cash at End of Month  £ -200  £ 900  £-2600  £-200  £-1700  £ -380 The Breakthrough Graph As indicated, the business will make considerable profits. These will be realized during all the financial years. The months in which there will be high profit peaks include between August and May. The breakthrough graph for the company is illustrated below: Balance Sheet with a Retained Profit A2FCOMPANY BALANCE SHEET INDICATING THE INCOME AND RETAINED EARNINGS FOR THE PERIOD ENDED DECEMBER 30, 2013 2013 Revenue  £10000 Cost of sales Opening inventory  £7500 Purchases  £5000 Closing inventory  £2500 Gross profit  £5000 Operating expenses  £500 Income from operations  £1500 Net income before tax  £7000 Income tax expense  £600 Net income  £6300 (Deficit) start of year  £1750 Retained earnings – End of Year  £5750 Profit and Loss Swell The company is set to experience a very high profit swell. However, the loss swell is forecasted at minimal level. This is evident from the above financial statement. Generally, it is observable that the elevated profit swell is likely to extend to other financial years. This means that the business venture is very feasible (Birley Muzyka 2000, p. 78). SWOT and PEST Analysis Presence of adequate capital is one of the major strengths for the company. Others include application of technology, effective advertising methodologies and innovative approaches (Chell 2004, p. 56). Evidently, the application of internet as a means of capturing a specific target groups is critical. It offers the company a unique springboard for effective performance and brand promotion. Especially, this is likely to transpire amongst the youths and teenagers who are the highest consumers of social networking systems (Stokes Wilson 2010, p. 56). The observable weaknesses include lack of other human resources and high dependency on the major football seasons. Notably, not only a single person may be able to complete the stipulated tasks in the sufficient manner. Moreover, an overworked individual might develop withdrawal syndrome and negative attitudes towards the various work processes. Indicatively, lack of proper motivation leads to negligence and low innovation. However, people working within groups tend to develop more interest for their duties. They are also more motivated to enhance constructive competition (Korhonen Ainamo 2003, p. 112). The business has a large virgin market to venture. This is a significant opportunity. The company might also be threatened by stiff competition from other likeminded organizations within the market. The political conditions within UK are favourable. The government is stable and there is a great political will for small business and sporting events. The enormous love for football within UK provides a distinct and advantageous environment for increased growth and development of businesses (Hisrich 2010, p. 66). There is adequate security and legal support for upcoming and small-scale enterprises within the larger UK. Support is available and this varies in terms of financial and material. Particularly, the youth are allowed to access a variety of funding options. These also include suffic ient trainings on enterprise development and other issues concerning financial management. Lastly, advanced technological applications available within the market provide an impetus for improvement of service and advertisement (Allen 2012, p. 89). The company may use an array of technological applications to reach its target clientele. Internet use is one of the fundamental strategies that the company will adopt. Maximum output will be expected from this venture. Therefore, crucial measures must be undertaken to ensure the sustainability of the business. List of References Allen, R 2012, Launching new ventures: an entrepreneurial approach, South-Western, Cengage Learning, Mason, OH. Barrow, C 2011, Starting a business for dummies, Wiley, Chichester. Birley, S Muzyka, F 2000, Mastering entrepreneurship, Financial Times Prentice Hall, Harlow. Chell, E 2004, Entrepreneurship: globalization, innovation and development, Thomson Learning, London. Dees, G, Economy, P Emerson, J 2001, Ent erprising Nonprofits: A Toolkit for Social Entrepreneurs, John Wiley and Sons Ltd, New York. Hatten, S 2012, Small business management: entrepreneurship and beyond, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, OH. Hisrich, D 2010, International entrepreneurship: starting, developing, and managing a global venture, SAGE, Los Angeles. Johnson, G, Scholes, K Whittington, R 2008, Exploring corporate strategy, Financial Times Prentice Hall, Harlow. Korhonen, O Ainamo, A 2003, Handbook of product and service development in communication and information technology, Kluwer Academic Publishers Group, Dordrecht. Kuratko, F 2009, Entrepreneurship: theory, process, practice, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason, Ohio. Longenecker, G. 2009, Small business management: launching and growing new ventures, Nelson Education, Toronto. Pinson, L Jinnett, J 2006, Steps to small business start-up everything you need to know to turn your idea into a successful business, Kaplan, Chicago. Stokes, D, Wilson, N Mador, M 2010, Entrepreneurship, South-Western/Cengage Learning EMEA, Hampshire, UK. Stokes, D. Wilson, N 2010, Small business management and entrepreneurship, Cengage Learning, Andover. Walsh, R 2011, The start your own business bible: establish your new career– for as little as $500, Adams Business, Avon, Mass. This essay on Addicted 2 Football was written and submitted by user Porter G. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

From Communism to Democracy essays

From Communism to Democracy essays Gradualism is naturally the most feasible approach to any situation. Since the fall of the iron curtain, these two Communist power houses have chose to move towards democracy. China has chosen to take the natural, more gradual approach to democracy where as Russia has chosen the fast-paced, more dangerous approach. These two nations have chosen to change their economies from a collectivized command one to a market oriented one in order to increase the ezdard of living in their countries. As we have seen in recent years, China is booming and becoming more and more successful, while Russia seems like it is regressing back to parochial ways. It is impossible to compare anything but Russia and China's approaches to change, and the results that incurred. The two nations have vastly different economies and to compare one economy to another would be illogical. China and Russia's approach to change are vastly different, almost like night and day. China's political and economic policy has always been to do things gradually. Whereas Russia believed in going through the necessary changes quickly, so that the hardship would in turn pass just as quickly. In the implementation of their policies, we have seen that China's approach has led to a 29% of growth in their industrial field. But in comparison, Russia only yielded 15% with their approach. But one must keep in mind that China has more industrial sectors than does Russia, so their job in improving industry is notably easier than Russia's feat in developing an Politically, the two nations have the same policies that they held in their economies. China believes in gradually letting the people have more access to political freedom. And again, Russia's policy has been to flood them all at once with these new found freedoms. Unfortunately Russia's policy hasn't been the most ...

Which Philosopher Benefits the Working Class Essay

Which Philosopher Benefits the Working Class - Essay Example For example, Karl Marx is well known as the Father of Communism and his theories are being followed by some modern governments. It is interesting to study the views and theories of these historical thinkers and see how they serve to explain modern day structures and events. Some philosophers can concretely be proved more accurate than others while some theories are still matters of debate. At the base, what truly matters is the individual and where they see themselves. One may take upon oneself a theory as their self-description while another may very well deny the same theory and choose an alternative or opposing view. Herein shall be examined the position of various philosophers: Lenin, Marx, Smith, and Ortega y Gasset, as they relate to the life of one who is deemed â€Å"working class.† Vladimir Lenin was one of the great Russian political figures and a great thinker of the twentieth century (Historical Figures n.p.). He is the one responsible for the political structure o f the USSR. In Russia, he took up a fight on behalf of the working class. It was his position that the working class needed to be rescued from the capitalist oppressors that placed heavy burdens upon them. According to Lenin, a communist lifestyle greatly benefits the working class. They have the right to be free from those who would exploit them for the sake of financial gain. In his eyes, the capitalists regarded the working class as no more than a commodity and they used them to benefit their own pockets without regard for the suffering that the working class had to endure. However, Lenin acknowledged the fact that the tendency of the working class is not to take upon themselves a socialist society and that they, if the opportunity was presented, would simply switch from being the proletariat to being the bourgeois. As it has been reported, â€Å"†¦Lenin therefore concluded that if the proletariat was ever to realize its class interest the socialist idea would have to be br ought to it â€Å"from without† by those who understood Marx’s science†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Mayer159). It would seem that Lenin missed the mark in regard to the needs of the working class. The first and most obvious proof is the failure of his design, namely the USSR. Secondly, he neglected to fully recognize the cravings of the working class to be free from oppression. He did not see that his introduction of a socialist society is yet again just another form of oppression. For if the working class desires to advance in status, there ought be nothing to stop them but their own lack of determination. Yet, living in a socialist society, those who desire such freedoms would have to flee the country or abandon hope. Lenin is not accurate in the position of the working class from the view of a working class citizen. However, Lenin was not alone in his belief that socialism and communism are what will benefit the working class the most. His thoughts were greatly founded upon the vi ews of another well-known philosopher, Karl Marx. Marx, often considered the Father of Communism, also felt that capitalism was a social ill because it degraded the working class to a commodity for the rich whom they would serve. Marx blames private ownership and the ability to get wealth for many of the problems of society. Therefore, he prescribed a system where there would be no private ownership. Still, his views are not accurate to the working class who, without the ability to own privately, ends up working endlessly for naught. At least those who are working class and living in a capitalist society have the ability to hope for greatness and wealth. It is this hope that excites and brightens the eyes. They work all the harder, not only in their positions, but to improve

Neo-Polizeiwissenschaft Definition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Neo-Polizeiwissenschaft Definition - Essay Example Complete metamorphosis of Neo- Polizeiwissenschaft of the 21st century is because of the risk attached to modernity; every society changing its set up to incline with modernism, and the security installation devices mounted everywhere ventilates the subject â€Å"risk society.† In the United States, scrutiny to mobile handset, email, and other new forms of communication (new media) project to new forms of social control. Information is encrypted to avert risk or the documents having information to fall into wrong hands. This is through copyright act; other forms that inform the adoption of Neo-Polizeiwissenschaft are identity thieves, the modern war systems, and corporate relations (Dennis Par.2). However, the new forms of social control are similar to Polizeiwissenschaft and differ only on mechanization of work, but similar in fixations. 1.2 Polizeiwissenschaft of the 21st century exchanges was what defined how societies related. There existed mutual relations; however, neo-P olizeiwissenschaft has adopted a secular identity. ... This places individuals in risk society; they are vulnerable to other forms of inclusion. The latter may result to employing Polizeiwissenschaft of the 21st century, such as the debt counseling and restructuring services, which are other social control models. Neo- polizeiwisssenschaft is thus the root cause of falsehoods and poor heuristic methods of understanding an individual before excluding him or her from such benefits. This is a clear manifestation of acceptability of 21st century models of social control. Neo-Polizeiwissenschaft is imitation of 21st methods of social control. It is a total risk when the new forms focus on extraction of capital and individuals’ importance are viewed as those that favor multinationals (Dennis Par. 39). Identity theft and the production of everyday fear is a feature in the new form of social control. Personal information displayed in the Neo-Polizeiwissenschaft i.e. emails is a risk and it is enough to lead to fear regarding personal secu rity. Personal information unlike 21st century Polizeiwissenschaft is no longer safe (Dennis Par. 44). The adoption of non-secularization has eroded the ethical considerations in handling personal information . Surveillance in public schools, in the U.S. and the U.K. has taken course by imposing license on personal information to oust infringement (Dennis Par. 46). However, the 21st century social control models aimed at taming such actions only display the continued risk creating fear because of tolerating illegal activities. The adoption strategies of social control i.e. personal replication of information in a digitized format is a reassurance of continued fear, as this can lead to external attacks

You have to read the article and follow the uplode this question Assignment

You have to read the article and follow the uplode this question - Assignment Example The reference to the book Prototype of Japanese Architecture, provides fair mean of support to Reynolds’s view of legitimate claim of hierarchy by Japanese modernist. Thus, the association of Shinto shrine in Ise as a symbolic representation of imperial religious place turned into an architectural beauty for meditation; provides relevance when one observes the prevailing atheist culture of Japan. The inaccessibility to sight Shinto Shrine, made it more valuable in the political and cultural circle. Therefore, the exposure of its interior revolutionized its radiance in the political and social context and thus, it became more of a community service institute rather than a spiritual place of sanctuary. The captivating cohesive information engages the reader to read further to unravel the truth behind the change in status of the shrine. The description of modernist claims of discourse and author’s view on them regarding the significance of Japanese architectural standardization, in accord to the emerging traditions is a little confusing to comprehend ( Reynolds, p 316). Visualizing the shrines in terms of historical legacy made the article more interesting and profound. If one reads the article by keeping the past alive in their minds, it’s easy to process the change in prominence of the shrines. These historical monuments embark their significance one way or the other. Some remember them as the place where only elite class was allowed to worship and people were valued on the bases of cast and wealth. And yet, for some it has established foundation of prevailing traditions. Absorbing the details of this meticulous piece of document helped me grasp the true essence of the

Public Transportation | Construction Essay

Public Transportation | Construction Essay Public transportation is an essential service that must be provided by the government to its citizen. Yet, it still an issue faced by most of developing countries all over the world including Malaysia. As it begins to transform itself to become a developed country in 2020, it is a crucial to have comfortable, reliable and affordable world-class public transportation system to meet the target. According to Ministry of Transportation (2012), by having efficient transport network, several main transport issues faced by urban populations such as high traffic congestion during peak periods, cancellations and frequent delays of service and poor access to public transport services and network can be solved immediately. As part of government commitment to develop better system for public transportation, Malaysia has invested in many public transportation planning and development program over the years. For example under 9th Malaysia Plan (2006-2010), RM 31.8 billion was allocated to improve the public transportation performance. (Government of Malaysia, 2006). An additional RM 35 billion was further allocated under Budget 2009 (2009 2014) to enhance the public transportation services in Malaysia, for the allocation of new buses and provision of better infrastructure facilities (Bernama, 2008). However, the utilization rate of public transportation is still poor and the use of private vehicles is continuously rising. This scenario indicates that there are probably several flaws within the previous and current approach (PEMANDU, 2012). Since public transportation is very important to the social and economic life of the citizens, a new plan of massive improvement under Government Transformation (GTP) Program, the National Key Result Area (NKRA) has been launched in November 2009. There are 6 initiatives under this program and one of them is UPT-NKRA. It stands for NKRA Urban Public Transportation. The objective of UPT-NKRA may different based on the phase of its implementation. Below are several objectives that need to be achieved in 2010 and 2012. Improving the public transport modal share from 11% to 15% by the end of 2010 and to 25% by the end of 2012 during the morning peak period of 7am to 9pm in the Klang Valley and will subsequently adapt and apply successful initiatives to Penang and Johor Bahru; Improving reliability and journey times;   Enhancing commuters comfort and convenience; and   Improving accessibility and connectivity so that the percentage of the population living within 400 metres of a public transport route increases from 63% to 80% in 2012. (Source: Ministry of Transport Malaysia 2012) In the real world, government policies may not achieve the target and the actual needs. Most of developing countries have contributed so many efforts towards providing better public transportation. However, the implementation always faced with many difficulties. In Pakistan for instance, it was found that, factors like overstated role of the private sector, lack capacity among public transport organizations, negligence in the development of high-capacity public transport, failure to use existing land and integration difficulty had been identified as major problems led to the unsuccessful of their policies (Imran, 2009). The continuous failure to serve the demand of citizens to enjoy better public transportation service is not good for a developed country to be. In Malaysia, proper planning and significant improvement only had been seen in several main cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Klang Valley and Penang. On the other hand, Kota Kinabalu, the capital city of Sabah that is experiencing rapid population growth and tremendous economic activities still have to depend on bus to bring them into their destinations. This research will try to analyse the impact of public transportation policy on public bus transportation in Kota Kinabalu. Government policy at federal, state and local level will be analysed together with several issue in public transportation. Besides, the feedback of various stakeholders mainly from the government and respective authoritative body, private bus-operators as well as the public users will be taken into account. PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION IN MALAYSIA Kota Kinabalu and its Public Transportation Kota Kinabalu is the capital city of Sabah which is populated by people from various ethnics, races and religions. It is located within the rapidly developing West Coast Division  [1]  . Over the years, this city is experiencing several infrastructure developments. Many shopping complexes and commercial buildings had been erected and these have encouraged more business and trade activities. Kota Kinabalu is considered as an urbanizing city due to its economy and population growth. In 2010, the total estimate number of population in Kota Kinabalu is 452, 058 (Statistics Department, 2011) with average household income RM 2487 per month (Economic Planning Unit, 2011). Apart from becoming a centre for education, business and social activities, Kota Kinabalu also have a number of attractive destinations for the local and international tourists. It was reported that, domestic and foreign visitors entered Sabah through Kota Kinabalu is 100,000 in 2004 and increased to 600, 000 in 2010 ( Sabah Tourism Board). To date, bus (includes express bus, minibuses and vans) still served as the main mode of public transportation to the local residents of Kota Kinabalu. The public bus system is operated by various private companies featured with variable quality. They provide travelling network and service in the urban, sub-urban and intercity areas. The main terminal is located in front of Wawasan Plaza Building where the urban and suburban buses pick and drop their passenger all over again. Another terminal is located in Inanam provides intercity buses service towards long distance travels such as Kudat, Ranau, Sandakan, Tawau, Lahad Datu and Semporna. Taxicabs also still operate in this city but the service focus at the several main areas only such as at the airport, hospitals and terminal bus. Besides, a railway system known as Sabah State Railway also operated in this city. However, the destination coverage is limit to several areas where it connects Kota Kinabalu with Tenom and several other to wns in between this railway it provides daily services for commuters, travelers, as well as for cargo transportation. Players in Public Transportation: Government Entity Government entity is the important stakeholders in public transportation. Any policy formulated by the government will affect the whole public transportation system in our country. Based on the interpretation provided by Land Public Transport Act 2010, government entity defined as the federal government, or any state government, state authority or local government; and any ministry, department, office, agency, authority, commission, committee, board, council or other body, corporate or unincorporate, of the Federal Government, or of any State Government or local government, whether established under written law or otherwise. In Malaysia, federal government is most responsible party to ensure the better performance of public transportation throughout the country. Only this level of government able has the power to approve and grant funding to any plan and project suggested by the subordinates governments. This is clearly mentioned in the Laws of Malaysia (1997) where the responsibilit y for financial allocation to regional authorities or local authorities lies with the central government (Vigar et al, 2000). Not only responsible in allocate money to be distributed to the subordinates government but also federal have the power to approve or disapprove any project and program proposed by the lower governments. As transport matters are a federal listed responsibility under the Constitution of Malaysia., the improvement of the public transport system can only be carried out with central governments approval since the Transport Ministry holds absolute power over transport planning (Laws of Malaysia, 1997). There are several department and unit under the federal administration works for public transportation namely Land Public Transport Commission, Road Transport Department Commercial Licensing Vehicle Board in Sabah and Sarawak and many more. Land Public Transport Commission (LPTC) Land Public Transport Commission is established on 3 June 2010 after the formulation of Land Public Transport Commission Act 2010 by Parliament in May 2010. This commission gained its full powers under the Land Public Transport Act 2010 and coming into force on 31 January 2011. By the establishment of this commission, the functions of Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board, Department of Railways and the tourism vehicles licensing function of the Ministry of Tourism in Peninsular Malaysia have been made inapplicable. However, LPTC only have jurisdiction power over peninsular Malaysia. The commercial Vehicles Licensing Board, Department of Railways and the Ministry of Tourism still continue to exercise their respective powers in Sabah and Sarawak. The table shown below summarize the power description of LPTC. Powers Descriptions Planning Master plan to ensure comprehensive, integrated and sustainable infrastructure development. SPAD shall propose policies and plans in relation to or affecting land public transport, and develop strategies in line with the approved policies and plans with a view to achieving a safe, reliable, efficient, responsive, accessible, planned, integrated and sustainable land public transport, while ensuring the provision of affordable services for the carriage of passengers and competitive services for the carriage of goods.(The Land Public Transport Act 2010) Regulatory Monitoring and regulate standard of performance of operators through licensing. Regulating all matters pertaining land vehicles such as train, bus and taxi services as well as road and rail-based freight transport Enforcement Enhanced powers encompassing powers to audit, investigate, suspend/revoke license, seize vehicles, and penalise operators. Carry out with close cooperation with other enforcement agencies such as the Royal Malaysian Police and the Road Transport Department. Source: Land Public Transportation Commission Official Website, 2012 Road Transport Department This department is established on 1 April 1946 with the purpose to synchronize all aspects related to transportation all over the states. In line with the establishment of this department, various acts relating to land transportation had been formulated for example Road Traffic Ordinance 1958 and Land Transportation Act 1987. Both aim to uniform and standardize the national transportation law as well as to provide guideline to the department officers in exercising their duties. This department is under the Land Unit of Ministry of Transportation in Malaysia. It is responsible to provide counter service for vehicle and driving licensing as well as to enforce Land Transportation Act 1987 to ensure well behaved drivers and safety of the roads users. Commercial Licensing Vehicle Board Sabah (CLVB) Commercial Licensing Vehicle Board in Sabah is established under Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board Act 1987. As stated in the act, the member of the board in Sabah must be appointed by the Minister and shall consist the a chairman, a deputy chairman, a representative of the State Ministry charged with the responsibility for transport, a representative of the Road Transport Department, a representative of the Federal Ministry charged with the responsibility for matters relating to the licensing of commercial vehicles and not more than six persons who in the opinion of the Minister have had wide experience or special knowledge in matters relating to transport. CVLB is set up to assist the development of commercial transport industry by establishing policies to ensure a sufficient and efficient commercial transport service (ww.malaysia.gov.my) Local Government The position of local government in Malaysia is stated in Federal Constitution. By virtue of items 4 and 5 of Ninth Schedule of Federal Constitution, local government outside the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya is a subject under the State List. All local authorities outside the Federal Territories will be under the exclusive jurisdiction of States Government. There are 146 local councils in Malaysia made up of city councils, municipal councils, district councils, and special authorities and Kota Kinabalu City Hall is among of them. KKCH is only responsible to provide bus terminals, provide road lighting in their territory Problem Statement Since the last three decades, government at the federal and state as well as at the local level had created various policies and plans to improve public transportation especially in urban areas. To date, significant improvement on public transportation had only been seen in several main cities such as Kuala Lumpur. The difference of this city from the others is that, apart from having various mode of modern transportation such as Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Monorail System, Kuala Lumpur also have an integrated public bus system namely RapidKL which is characterized with attractive appearance, safety, standardization and reliable schedule of journeys. Kota Kinabalu, one of the developing cities in Malaysia relies predominantly on buses for public transport since the past until present time and it will likely to continue to be so for years. However, it is still not well-developed and people still perceived it as inadequate, less comfortable, less physically-attractive, non-punctual an d unsafe. The only noticeable changes is the introduction of city bus service in 2009 which is still not give big implication to the performance of public bus transportation. As an effort to make continuous improvement on public transportation, UPT-NKRA is then launched in 2009. After almost 3 years of its implementation, certain cities begin to show the improvement on their public transportation services. Based on the GTP Annual Report 2011, 470 RapidKL buses were introduced, which increased the frequency of buses across the Klang Valley. As of 31 December 2011, up to 4.04 million more passengers used the RapidKL bus service in comparison to the preceding year. According to the prime minister, Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak, results of the NKRA of improving urban public transport have been promising as more people are taking the bus as their mode of transport (Bernama, May 18, 2012). Recently, the coordinator of the working group on public transportation in Malaysia, Mr. A. Sivarajan urged the government to re-evaluate national public transport policy in order to provide a more effective and efficient system to consumers (Bernama, October 25, 2012). According to the working group, several main problem as the concentration of bus service within Kuala Lumpur, the unsafe locations of bus stops, the non-passing of bus at certain bus stops area and poor network connectivity had been identified. The above-mentioned scenario convinced the researcher of the need to analyse the government public transportation policy. Based on the assumption that the public transportation policy is vague and implicit to the other states and cities, there is a need to critically assess the policy in the context of public bus transportation in Kota Kinabalu. In trying to critically analyse the policy, it is equally important to explore the issues in public transportation and to examine the feedback of the various stakeholders regarding government effort to improve public transportation though its policy implementation. Research Objectives To analyse the public transportation policy regarding the public busin Kota Kinabalu To scrutinize the public transportation policy at federal, state and local level To examine the feedback of main stakeholders regarding government policy and public bus improvement in Kota Kinabalu To explore the issues associate with public transportation To recommend solutions for policy improvement purpose Research Questions In respond to the listed objectives, several questions had been formulated and will be answered through the research. The questions that take into account are: What are the government policies regarding public transportation in Kota Kinabalu? What is the position of bus in public transportation policy? How public bus transportation in Kota Kinabalu develops from the policy implementation? What is the stakeholders feedback towards the implementation of public transportation policy in Kota Kinabalu? How the issues affect the implementation of public transportation policy in Kota Kinabalu? Scope of Study This study will be conducted in Kota Kinabalu. The focus is to analyse how the government policy affects public bus transportation in Kota Kinabalu. For the purpose of policy analysis, it will cover the period since 1990 to present. The respondents of this study will be the representative from government and other authoritative bodies such Kota Kinabalu City Hall (KKCH), Road Transport Departments, Commercial Licensing Vehicle Board (CLVB), and private bus-operators as well as public bus users. This study would be conducted from February 2012 to June 2013. Limitation of Study The first obstacle that will be confronted by the researcher is limited accessibility to the desired data. Since this research employed historical method, the access to some existed data may not be granted. For example, government documents such as budget and policy plan that is perceived consist of confidential information will not be easily given. Besides, some of required data may not be available due to poor record system such as ineffective newspaper cutting service. The absence of these sources creates difficulty in tracing the chronology and meaningful trend of the public transportation policy and progress in Kota Kinabalu. Therefore, in order to get sufficient information, the data findings will not focus to one single area only. Several places need to be visited and more key actors need to be interviewed. The second obstacle is the availability of the key person (respondent). In qualitative research that used interview method to collect the data, difficulty will arises when the respondents cancel the interview appointment due to other commitments. Some of the respondents especially those at the top level management usually busy and often going outstations. This situation will possibly caused the problem to collect and analyse the data within the time framework. Therefore, the researcher must always follow up with the respective respondents and plan the interview schedule in organized manner together with the backup plan. Significance of Study The finding of this research is important for future planning purpose. It acts as a feedback to the current public transportation policy. The policy makers will be able to decide whether to change or to maintain the status quo of the policy based on the information provided. Besides, it also will contribute to the body knowledge of public transportation literature especially in the context of Sabah. It was found that here were few studies done to analyse the public transportation policy and none of them found to discuss the topic in regards with the public bus transportation. Thus, it creates difficulty to the researchers to find convincing and strong statement to support the findings. At the same time, it will serve as a source of reference to the future researchers who seek information regarding this topic. The findings also will offer valuable information to public users as they will get cleared pictures and more understanding about the policy progress and how to improve the public bus transportation in Kota Kinabalu. Definition of Terms and Concepts Policy According to Dye (1984), public policy is defined as whatever government choose to do or not do. Dye definition is too broad to be really meaningful but by defining policy in such a way, it is possible to determine the actual or working policy of a government based on what government do or not do (Gunggut, 2006), As for him , it is not enough to look at the written documents such as laws and cabinet decisions but what is actually being done or not being done by the government. In this paper, policy refers to any action and effort the government want to do and not to do including any program, plan and project that being formulated to serve the public interest. Policy Analysis Dye (2000: 4) defined policy analysis as the description and explanation of the causes and consequences of government activities. For him, an analysis of a public policy should be exhibit a primary concern with explanation rather than prescription which is means the policy analyst should attempt to develop or test general propositions about the causes and consequences of public policy and to accumulate reliable search findings of general relevance. Public Transportation Public transportation is defined as transportation by a conveyance that provides continuing general or special transportation to the public (Tran Kleiner, 2005). It excludes school buses, charter and sightseeing service and includes various modes such as buses, subways, rail, trolleys and ferry boats (Ibid) Unilever Case Study Analysis: SWOT Unilever Case Study Analysis: SWOT INTRODUCTION: There are many kinds of business everywhere; where there are many issues related to the growth of the company and Different strategies will enable different companies to reach those goals. Unilever is a company started in 1930 formed of Dutch Margarine Company and British based lever brothers. Unilever holds a wide range of products which include food, personal care, beverages, canned foods, ice creams and many more which are worlds best consumer brands. The case study describes a lot of information regarding Unilevers business strategies, key elements of Unilevers path to growth, how they rejuvenated and restructured the companies slow moving performance to wide range of brands across the world. BRIEF CASE STUDY: Unilever was created in 1930 as an outcome of merger with dual chairpersons and headquarters one in Netherlands and other in United Kingdom. This is of one the giant and best competitors in the industry which holds wide range of products. The two chairpersons have launched a strategy in early 2000 to recover the companys performance which was said to be lackluster. With the new strategies the company showed a significant progress and has gone through many dealings over the next years, this made the company to open 20 new acquisitions worldwide and increased the sales of the company. Thus the companys business was restructured, renovated and improved through its acquisitions. Then their came companies likes nestle which effecting the growth of Unilever. Unilever then started efforts to attract and motivate young, talented and innovative managers from outside its company. TASK 1: SWOT : A planning technique which is used for summarizing the key issues and evaluates the Strengths (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O) and Threats (T) in any business is called an SWOT analysis. Analysis is the brief study of any case how they are going to be obtained, who are responsible for causing it and solving it by planning which involves internal and external factors of a business or an organization; internal factors are classified as strengths(S) or weaknesses (W) and external factors are classified as Opportunities (O) or Threats (T). Strengths are those characteristics of a person or a company that are useful to achieve the goals. Weaknesses are the characteristics of a person or a company that is destructive to achieve the objective. Opportunities and threats are the external factors that are helpful in achieving and damaging the business performance respectively. The figure1 show the illustrative diagram of SWOT analysis. The internal factors include personal, finance, manufacturing capabilities, etc and the external factors may include technological changes which may cause changes in products and processes that is inventing a new product or making the product better which include quality of the product and the consumer desire, market influences due to unemployment rates effect the company and price factors is one of the important thing to keep in mind , market place is one more thing which is very important that is the company or a business should be located in a convenient environment to the consumers to attract and the product should be user friendly. Another important factor is that its external appearance the packing and the name of the products should be eye catchy. At last he customer relations should be friendly and consumer satisfaction is very necessary. Other than these there are some more factors which may be changing due to econ omic and social factors and competitive positions which may create new opportunities or threats. SWOT analysis is useful in decision making when most wanted these include nonprofit organizations, individuals. It is the only method for classification and has its own weaknesses. A SWOT which produces no strategies is of no use whereas which generates important strategies is useful. Unilever had a very tough competition during that time when it was bringing about the changes it was probably at this stage that these companies had moved forward with there various strategies. Skills, assets, finance, facilities are the resources which are used in any business to compete in the industry. In the same way Unilever used their own resources to grow as giant company. They have implemented SWOT analysis and implemented new business strategies and rejuvenated their company from lack lust to significant progress in sales. It has concentrated on marketing and advertising its business and gained increased pricing with supermarket vendors. Unilever was lagging in sales when compared with nestle, Procter Gamble, Kelloggs etc its path of growth strategy which met considerable uncertainty which made Unilever to undertake a series of actions by cutting the companies profile to reach corporate goals and introduced 20 new acquisitions worldwide and restructured the company into two divisions one includes all food products and other household and personal care. Then started other two new businesses across the world. The external market factors such as technological changes, social factors, and other companies growth made a very big impact on the consumer preferences and Unilever had to cut its revenue growth. Later it continued to obtain more products across the world and these products gave managers to make their own decision making to set priorities by introducing new initiatives. Unilever has even motivated and attracted young talented managers from outside the company to join their company. According to Unilevers SWOT analysis the strengths of the company are recognized as it is a global company with strong brand profile with worlds best brands and maintains strong relation with its retailers. But coming to its weaknesses it has insufficient management of brands and doesnt not connect with customers. And inability to maximize acquisitions has reduced spending for R D. Thought it has got many opportunities by introducing many products by changing customer preferences and increase in productio n of quality goods. There are threats equally which cause decrease in revenues with high market competition, increasing the number brands and exchange rates. There are many growth expectations, risks, profit margins in food and house hold industry which is composed of many sectors and sub sectors by challenging the change of customers preferences with challenging rival firms to gain market shares. Then with competitive achievement by creating attractive products through acquisitions and with capability of growing sales of the brands which existed and improve margins. For all this the many key to success was advertising the products. By improving the profits of the company not only included shifting sales of the products but also boosting efficiency and unit costs. There were three factors which worried in 2000, the consolidation pressures in food industry which bothered were slower growth rates in food industries, rapid consolidation among grocery markets that is between branded manufactures and private manufactures for good self space in the grocery stores. In the United States for several years the food industry was miserable and was expected to continue for few more years due to more women working and decreasing house hold sizes, single parents and singles. But the food industry in Europe, Asia, Africa and other less developed countries were attractive. Thought the competition between branded and private manufactures was a never ending issue, private manufactures improved their quality of products by growing market shares. Then there came many giant super markets and gave an opportunity for private brands with attractive prices below branded products and even provided checkout scanners to help the customers know price difference which tempt them to BRIEF SWOT ANALYSIS OF UNILEVERS CASE STUDY STRENGHTS WEAKNESSESS Global company. Reduced spending for R D. Best Brands. Inability to maximize acquisitions. Strong relation with retailers. Insufficient management of brands. Dual Leadership. OPPURTUNITIES THREATS Increasing in need of quality products. Decrease in revenues. Changing customer preferences. Strong competition. Increase in brands. shift to the private brands. Due to the heavy competition among them manufactures had to cut down the costs of the products, number of versions of the products and weed out weak brands and concentrate on those brands which were popular among the customers and those could develop into global brands. Introducing dual headquarters by dividing the food industry which consisted of 6 categories and household industry which consisted of 8 categories there were many benefits such as improving food and household industry by focusing more on them regionally and globally. Accelerating decision making and successful integration of R D though there were some critics that Unilever has been paying more for some of its acquisitions such as acquire Amora Maille. Unilever as of then in 2003 had been seen as a growing organization which probably had all the necessary requirements to make it a force to recon with, during the Path to Growth strategy many aspects of the company had come out some of them included the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths, probably the biggest strength that the company had at that time was the correct selection of the brands and the products it had in store unilever had done many researches and had to make many decisions to get the right combinations products that where to be sold it also had the right ideas to increase the sales and all the leading brands to help its cause. Unilever was very good at that time even if the financial aspect was taken into consideration it could experiment with various aspects of its store cause had the financial backup which was required at that time to help it implement various ideas and deal with the market pressures, for any company to improve its sales marke ting always plays a very important role this was probably there biggest strength as the marketing strategy applied by them managed to grab peoples attention as they easy to be connected to and much more simplistic and realistic. Unilever did manage all its clients very well considering that during a phase when they where cutting on the brands it would have been a risk to out anything at that time but it was very well managed by the company. Mainly the fact that unilever was now looking to make the higher range or the brands which where more famous as there core brands which made it much easier for them to advertise considering that it is much easier to promote a very well known and a trusted brand rather than a normal or new brand to increase the sales. Weaknesses, though unilever had a very good policy and all the right objectives to make a difference in the industry it couldnt happen basically due to the lack of proper organization, it was actually much like a bureaucratic organization where things where divided between too many people and it had become difficult to get the ideas moving due to the lack of proper organization, it probably all started with the fact that the company had to deal with too many brands in the first place it would obviously have the impact when the Path to Growth strategy came up cause of the then 1600 brands only 400 brands where retained and rest all where either removed or replaced, that shows that due the lack of proper organization and too many brands being part of it didnt help it in making the changes it wanted to in a better and quickest way. The organization was probably one field in which the company was lacking because it was felt that at the top of the company as there were too many people mak ing decisions and these decisions had to be put forward and this delayed the process of improvement for the company. Opportunities, during this phase of development and renewing it content and upgrading of the stock it turned out to be very fruitful as it provided many working opportunities for people it was at that time that many people where starting to get full time work, during this phase a lot of acquisition also took place with the major brands which resulted in some alterations in plans to that which were planned. SlimFast which is a private company is another acquisition of Unilever after implementing path to growth strategy in 2000 the company bargained an agreement to purchase slimfast diet foods. It had strong sales and network and has a special space in every super market and drugstores these products were made from natural ingredients and added vitamins and minerals to provide good nutritional profile. It also maintained a very good relationship with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies. Unilever has concentrated more on this Slimfast since the company was growing fast and attracted the customers to buy more of it for healthier and long living life .Management of Unilever utilized the opportunity to globalize the product in other countries like Europe, Australia due to increase in the percent of obese. According to the world health organization percent of the obese was increasing gradually. UNILEVERS TOP COMPETITORS ? Figure: Competitors Performance Comparison http://finance.aol.com/company/unilever-plc-amer/ul/nys/top-competitors Ben Jerrys acquisitions which produces one of the finest ice creams anywhere in pint cartons and wholesale at groceries. Their sales slogan was Vermont finest All Natural Ice cream. They never use any artificial flavors thought the cost is little more it is worth the price. According to the time magazine Vermont makes the best ice cream in the world with 29 flavors in pint cartons and 45 flavors in bulk cartons. There products were distributed throughout the world. On demand Ben jerry operated three manufacturing plants where Vermont plant produces super premier ice cream and frozen yogurts where as spring field produces ice cream, lot fat ice creams in bulk, pint cartons and half gallons. Dreyers and Haagen-Dazs were the two major competitors of Ben jerry and other competitors were Colombo frozen yogurts, Kemps ice cream and star bucks. Ben Jerry produces a wide range of ice creams products like sticks, bars, frozen yogurt pops etc. Though Haagen- Dazs was the global market leader followed by Ben jerry it had an insignificant market share in United States where as Haagen- Dazs was more significantly sold in foreign markets. Both Ben jerry and Haagen-Dazs produced ice creams with cookies and candies in it. Bestfoods was a global company across the world almost in 60 countries which was busy in manufacturing and marketing the food products. Bestfoods profits are almost from outside of the United States that is almost 60 percent of its profits. It is one of the best managed food companies among United States who has much number of employees working with in their company in which half of them were at non US locations. The company increased payments for 14 successive years has its revenues grow by7.8 percent annual rate and suddenly slow downed during the period of 1997 and 1999. Then the company introduced a strategy with four core elements. Globalization of the companys core consumers: Products which are new in the market are needed to be globalized that is the products which are less popular among the consumers, are needed to be advertised and market those products to increase its sales and profits of those products. Few such products are knorr product line, salad dressing and food service operations. The advertising of such kind of products was done very well in order to get those products globally recognized and be accepted among many big brands and soon they became household names. Improvement in cost effectiveness: With changing customer preference the quality of the products must be improved and therefore there should also be improvement in cost effectiveness as the quality improves cost increases. Cost effectiveness is nothing but it is a way by which you show to a customer that a certain is product is worth using or is better than other product or the money u spend on it is worth it. Cost effectiveness in simple would be defined as showing the worth of the product. Looking for new market opportunities: Extending the product sales all over the world via new product introductions and extending sales of the products which are existed in the market. It is very important for any company to be always alert and look for opportunities to extend the business to a large scale and see it in a bigger picture based on the opportunities it gets. Using free cash to make new acquisition: With expanding the products and brands company has created 60 acquisitions in the global market. After struggling a lot in June 2000 best foods agreed to be acquired by Unilever. Best foods were the largest acquisition undertaken by Unilever by as far as concerned and which makes a largest combination of food companies in 12 years. Management of Unilever believed that combining and assimilating bestfoods would result in pre tax cost saving, better efficiencies in business process, synergy in distribution marketing, reformation of general and administrative functions and improved economies of scale. By creating robust business in United States market, increasing strengths of Unilever and best foods in Europe, building of best foods in Latin America to speed up the growth of Unilever brands, by distributing strengths in Asia- pacific to grow and sped up Bestfoods brands and increasing the sales of Unilever products by food service channel of Bestfoods. The work culture was so casual to make the atmosphere fun and lively with communication between the management and employees. The company respected the employees suggestions and respected them even paid the employees a reasonable salary Finally Unilever has announced sale of Bestfoods Backing Company to Canadian food and super market group known as George Weston for $ 1.76billion though Unilever declared to divest Bestfoods Baking Company and Unilever other products and bakery products does not exit any more at Unilever. Bestfoods has 19plans across the United States with a strong management team and was entirely US based. It was one of the best distributing for delivering the baked products which are really baked fresh and sent directly to the retail stores. With its dedication and hard work Bestfoods sales has increased its profit margins by 8 percent. Later again Unilever announced to sell 19 Bestfood brands across North America to ACH food companies which is a supplementary of Associated British Food. By successfully combining the operations of bestfoods with Unilever by the year end of 2003 the two companies had been merged in 63countries across the world TASK 2: Path to Growth: Path to growth strategy was initiated in 2000 and was restructured for several years for better and significant results. The key elements of this Unilevers path to growth strategy were cutting down its brands from 1600 brands to 400core brands to achieve top line sales and increase profits by advertising the brands which are more popular and leading brands across the world and concentrating on R D. Another important key element was divesting underperforming brands and theirs companies and introducing more innovated things to enhance the internal development of the organization and making new acquisitions. Unilevers years of slow performance and its lack of corporate strategy in the competition industry with low number of brands and ordinary performance in growing markets with a little global presence made to create a path to growth strategy which was a 5 year growth plan which made them to concentrate on more brands and product innovations for internal and external growth of the company. And made the company to grow with acquisitions. According to FitzGerald and Bergmans path to growth strategy they predicted to manufacture double digit wages per share growth and superior positions. Focusing on the key brands by advertising and marketing made business grow higher and build brand value and increased brands prices. The case study shows Unilever as a global company according to SOWT analysis after introducing the path to growth strategy the company had really increased its sales and with introducing more number of acquisitions and cutting down the cost of revenues. As the acquisitions like Slimfast, Ben jerry and best foods were rapidly growing their market across the world building a very strong profile and providing customers attractive products and offers. Slim fast has 20%anual growth rate with strong sales and distribution all over the world and also maintained good customer relation. Where Ben jerry was worlds giant ice cream products and yogurt maker with strong brand equity. Bestfoods was USs 10 largest foo d products company with a strong global position. The two key elements of the Unilevers new business strategy was to cut down on the number of brands that were being sold or being marketed by the company, at that time Unilever was operating with as many as 1600 brands and much more products due to this the cut down on the number of products and brands was considered, the 1600 brands that where part of the company were cut down to as many as 400 core brands, the core brands mostly included all the famous and popular brands which are generally very popular among people, this idea came up as to make sure that the products where sold and by doing this it would not be much of a problem for the marketi8ng of these products as most of these brands where already day to day and very famous brands which people would generally prefer buying, which would mean that it would take much less an effort to connect to the people and more over the marketing was also done in such a way that people where able to connect to it very easily, the other key e lement of the unilevers strategy was to remove all the underperforming companies or brands and introduce some other new brands or companies in order to enhance the internal development of the organization and make new acquisitions which would enhance the sales of the company and make it more likable for the people this strategy was designed to increase the sales of the company and get rid of the companies which where not much in demand . Weaknesses according to SWOT analysis showed the company has dual leadership, insufficient management of brands and reduced R D after all this slow performance and small global presence the management has introduced path to growth strategy, which increased the company sales with cutting down it costs and introducing more acquisitions resulted in globalizing the company. As a result there were few expectations to achieve a double digit growth and securing a better position in global market for food and household products by increasing the quality of the product to gain pricing power and attract more customers. But according to the strategy plan the targets which were set was really high that is top line sales growth of 5-6 percent annually, increasing profits, and plan to complete by the end of 2004. If we look and analyze the path to growth strategy we can tell whether the strategy is working or not, we can say that it is working by its success rates and increase in profits and increase in brands and acquisitions that is the consumer preferences have changed due to which the products quality has changed and prices have changed the leading brands sales have increased from 75 percent to 93 percent. Food and personal care industry have increased its profits consistently. Operating assets have also improved by 9 percent. Acquisitions like slim fast, Ben jerry and best foods have gradually improved its growth and established its acquisitions all over the world. But the other side it is completely not yes, Unilever was gaining profits significantly after introducing new strategies but it was losing too yes it reported a net loss of $318M as the competitions was increasing and new brands were coming in to the market and rivals were introducing new strategies to compete Unilever. In th e year 2004 sales grew only by .4 percent leading brands by .9 percent so this proves that Unilever was lagging behind competitors in terms of innovation and advertising. Unilevers lack of advertising and marketing failed to improve sales. The company was small and not globalized. In this case Unilever attracted the new young talented manages to join their company with innovated ideas to increase its company profits by new methods of advertising and marketing. To justify Unilever strategies it maintained dual headquarters and dual chairpersons which reduced effective thinking and slow downed the decision making. Unilever is divided into Unilever Plc and Unilever NV. This made Unilever to focus on the needs of the customers and increase its sales profits in various industries like food, personal case, and household industries all over the world. As customers demand the products which are of the best quality and branded but at the same time convenient, cheap and attractive. The market for household products have been decreased its profits as the numbers of single parents have been increased and the rate of females working out have been increased and the demand for the healthy and high quality food has been increased. The consumers preference of the products such as its look, quality of the product and nutritional values has been increased by providing a strong competition against its giant competitors and private manufactures. This allows Unilever to focus on the need of its customers by increasing its sales. In 2003 Unilever executing its path to growth strategy by increasing its operating margins to over 15percent, but the sales of the leading brands growth as slowdown and raised questions among the investors and retailers that whether company brands could deliver some 5-6 percent of growth in revenues in the next coming years. TASK 3: Unilevers current business Strategies: Ever since the ‘Path to Growth strategy ended in 2005 there has been a 15% increase in the sales and development in the overall progress of Unilever. After the ‘Path to Growth came to an end a new process was developed by Unilever called as the Brand Imprint which helped the marketing teams in understanding how the business could face risks as well as opportunities from the social, economic and environmental issues. In this process each brand was scrutinized by a team looking into various aspects of it such as the direct as well the indirect impacts of the product, it also checked how the brand would go ahead in the future looking at the products possibilities of growth both from a customer and a stakeholders point of view. The outcome of the Brand Imprint is that the process has helped in making important decisions for the company keeping the future in perspective it also developed in addressing social missions, social and environmental issues. The Brand Imprint provided a perfect experience to find some systematic and measurable ways to explore different brands and improve the brands by addressing social issues, helping people the product well and reducing the environmental issues. When the S.W.O.T analysis was done on the ‘Path to Growth strategy many different aspects of the strategy where scrutinized using the SWOT analysis in which it dealt with many aspects such as the strength, weakness, opportunities and the threats that are being faced. After the analysis it came out that it had been very useful to determine the various aspects attached to it. Unilever for years had been a slow developing company, though the company had the right infrastructure and the capital but it couldnt utilize it properly that was basically the reason why the path to growth and various other strategies where starting to come up to help the company to increase the sales of the products and improve the business. Path to growth played a major part in the development of the company. The Path to Growth strategy did prove to be quite a useful thing considering the fact that during this period almost all of the unsuccessful brands where removed or replaced and the brands which where trusted and kept managed to increase the sales by 75% to 93%. Unilevers growth was considerably slow during this phase because the company was at that stage making very drastic changes and for these changes to come up and make a difference was something unexpected but the companys growth was obvious in certain fields thanks to the new strategies that had come in to improve the sales of the company so as to improve the business of the company. It was due to the fact that the company probably took way too much time u started and implement its plans that it caused the success to be not as higher as expected. Many business analysts and commentators felt that most of the strategies of the path to growth where working fine but there was always a speculation that what ever progress was talking place was happening too slow considering the competition the market was in with at that time, it was also felt that as the basic functionality of the business was spread among way too many people made the management way to complex and it would have been better off if it was simpler. It did work out fine when it came to the advertising of the product and getting it known to the people as it was more public oriented and it used the sources to the full extent to connect to the people. It did experience a drastic growth during that period as the analysis had proved that the company had the highest growth percentage as compared to any other company during that period it did bring in high profits to the company but looking at the whole picture it did prove to be a huge loss for the company considering the fa ct that they faced a countable loss in the revenue margin and that proved to be the difference, though it did have the right amount of sales and customers due to the slowness of there analysis to sort out and remove or replace the stuff did make a difference to analysis in the larger picture. But the company did grow during that time which might as well have effected the revenue cause many new store where started and large number of employees where starting to be employed on a full time basis. It did do quite well on the international market as well. By looking at the way the company had grown during this stage is quite remarkable many business analysts and commentators had felt that they probably had the right scheme of action because during that time they where handling 1600 brands and which was way too much and among those were quit few brands which hardly made any diff to the company so then the whole idea of brands cut based on the market outlook and sales reports was looked into to classify as to which of the products or brands where fast selling and which had the scope to sell more. It was that idea to cut down on the number of brands and start promoting only few brands which where much easier to be marketed and which where more likable by the people by which it would increase the sales and also make the marketing of these products easier cause when you are promoting bigger brands which are often very well known to public would mean that u don have to spend much on the marketing. Did the company experience growth during this period? Yes, would be the right thing to say voiding the minor things which might effect the outcome but it did see the light of success though slowly and there process and ideas where starting to get implemented in a better way and in a more successful way to deal with the growth of the company, the process of cutting down on the under selling companies was probably the decision that started to turn the tide for the company as it was when the losses where starting to be covered and it was mor

Case Study: Collective Bargaining at West University Essay

1. Employees decide to form a union to gain job security and higher wages or when they feel management is not doing their job correctly or fairly. The labor laws are in place that provides rights to unionize. I am not convinced they encourage, but they provide a protection to workers who feel they need the support of the union. The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (Wagner Act) basically provides employees the right to unionize. When under a union, employees are protected in ways such as employers must bargain in good faith regarding all issues. Union members have the right to bargain over wages and other terms of their employment. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) takes union power to a higher lever as the members, who were appointed by the president, have authority to determine no unfair labor practices are occurring, appropriate bargaining units, and conducting elections to determine union representation. Basically, the NLRB oversees that the laws of the Wagner Act are being followed and the employers are not conducting any activities that can lead to charges of unfair labor practice. The labor laws give employees the right to choose a union or choose not to participate so it appears the law does not support one over the other, but supports the employees to be able to stand up for their rights when they feel the employer is using unfair labor practices. I believe this to be a very sensitive subject, because in most places I have worked, employees complain about one thing or another. I don’t think that means they should be allowed to decide to overturn the employer’s policies by organizing a union. (DeCenzo. 2010. p.343-346) 2. I believe teaching assistance should be considered employees since this position is represented by the Graduate Employees Organization (GEO) which is a collective bargaining representative. Since it is supported by a union, this position would be considered an employee with the same rights to improve their working conditions. The University recognizes the GEO and seems to be familiar with union practices. It appears the university and the organized unions are able to work together and come to amicable agreements. I wonder if this is because some of the unions are made up of a younger generation who are not as demanding as a union of middle aged workers, mainly because they do not have the work experience to know what to ask for. Or maybe they are more willing to have a good labor-union relationship than the more experienced worker who may have become resentful over the years and may expect more then they deserve. According to the Bureau of Labor statistics, teacher assistants â€Å"perform duties and deliver direct services to students or parents† (Teacher. May 2012.) This position is a paid position that delivers a service so it does not make sense that this position would not be considered an employee. Even those who attend school, such as Graduate Teaching Assistants, should be afforded the same protections as any other paid employee. This is similar to the RAs and CDAs who were awarded the right to unionize, even though they were undergraduate students. If undergraduates can unionize, the teacher assistants are certainly considered employees and would also have the right to unionize if they chose to do so. 3. I believe management’s reaction to employee interest in unionization differs if the employer already has a high union density. This does not mean employers are happy to have a group of employees become unionized, but I think they are familiar with the practices of a union and what is involved in working with the union to hammer out the issues raised by union members. I think the reaction would be much more positive from the employer that already has a high union density that an employer who does not. The employer without any union interaction would most likely be more negative and would not want to recognize a union within their workplace. Employers with no union involvement would most likely feel their rights were taken away or that they have lost their authority within the business. An employer who has union experience knows they are still in control of their business; however, they are aware of the negotiation process and the demands they may have to agree to. This can be a tense process as I feel unions just expect employers to bow down to all of their demands. This type of force seems like it gives the union an unfair advantage, which to me contradicts the whole reason for a union, where it was thought that the employer had the upper hand. I can only assume my lack of experience makes me form judgments that may or may not be true, but it is how it appears to me looking at it from the outside. 4.I believe some of the RA complaints were overstated because they expect to be given the same consideration as a resident, when they were informed in the (MOU) the Memo of Understanding which described the terms and conditions of the position. In the MOU, the university describes the requirements of enrollment, minimum GPA, and disciplinary guidelines. Human resource polices specifically state a violation of these disciplinary guidelines would be cause disciplinary action. It is unclear to me why the RA would compare themselves to the residents when they were entrusted with this position and are held to a higher standard. The complaint of compensation was more reasonable since they do not receive much of a monthly salary for all that is expected of them. After taxes the RA is not left with much. Since they are expected to discipline residents and are faced with the retaliation and anger from the residents, it is no wonder there is such a high turnover rate for the RA position. It is unbelievable that there are so many applicants for the position although perhaps they do not know all of the details of the position. It is most likely the reason why people apply and then quit since such a low paying position demands so much from the undergraduate student to handle. Perhaps in this situation a union is needed since it is obvious that the university is taking advantage of the students by requiring them to do much more than they are compensated for. 5. Unionization could change the culture of residence life in a negative way since the management of the company will have lost the control they once had to freely make changes to the culture and business operations. A union would now require that management to adhere to a distinct set of rules and would not have to agree with the way management decides to do business. I would assume the relationship between union and management can become quite agonizing to management as they might feel they cannot make decisions in their own business. According to an article on newswise.com, a study was conducted to evaluate the impact a union has on organization culture, and I was surprised by the results. It appears a comprehensive study of 10 years of information of both union and non-union groups was provided which included more than 7000 employee responses. It was stated that an organization is only as good as its culture and their ability to be aware of it and make changes. This is not such an easy task when a union is involved since according to the study, â€Å"unions are less likely to endorse the cultures of the organization.† This can create a division between the groups. (Unions. May 2012.) Contrary to what I would have thought, this study revealed less employee involvement and less teamwork or desire for advancement. This was surprising as the power of the union negotiation would make me assume these union members are feeling empowered since their voice is heard and they have job security. Apparently, these employees are not as happy or content as one would think. I feel this may be because the employer now has no room for change when it comes to union members and perhaps the non-union members appear to be a part of the business whereas the union members may feel they do not actually fit in, since they belong to the union. A sense of pride, belonging and appreciation motivate employees to work harder, but the union members do not have this aspect so they are less motivated. 6. Arizona has a â€Å"right-to-work† provision in which â€Å"no person shall be denied the opportunity to obtain or retain employment because of a non-membership in a union.† This protects public employees from being turned down due to non-union involvement. The employees are free to choose, and cannot be discriminated against for not supporting a union. I have never worked for a union, but I have witnessed a strike take place at a previous employer, where only some departments were unionized. The strike was out of control, and those not involved had to be protected by the protests going on in front of the building. In my opinion, this should not be allowed, that employees can use such force and violence to coerce the employer to cave to their demands. (Arizona State Senate, 2012, p.1) The NLRA covers employees in the private sector, such as those employed by Federal, state, and local government, agricultural laborers, domestic service, independent contractor, and those subject to the Railway Labor Act. The rights protected under the NLRA are those concerning the employee’s right to form, join, and assist in organizing a union, or to not participate in a union. The protections are in place so no one is forced to join a union, and union cannot force an employer to hire only union members. (National Labor Relations Board, n.d.). I believe there are protections for those who do not wish to participate in a union for a reason. As I previously described, unions can become harsh in order to get their way. I would not want to pay dues for someone else to be paid a salary to speak for me. I negotiate for myself, and my commitment to the company and desire to excel helps in terms of salary increases and other benefits. I do not believe the negotiation process of a union is a benefit to anyone by the union negotiators and it only appears to create hostility within a company that should be able to run their own business. We have other avenues to explore if we feel we are being discriminated against, such as the EEOC. 7. I agree with the decision of the Labor relations commission (LRC) that the RAs and CDAs are employees and have the right to unionize. The university â€Å"hired† the RAs and had them sign a â€Å"job† description and RA Memo of Understanding (MOU). The university laid out clear terms and conditions and requirements that must be met in order to be eligible. This who met the conditions would be eligible for the CDA, community development assistant, which, to me appears to be a type of promotion since the CDA is a mentor for the RAs although no pay increase. Each position receives compensation and must adhere to mandatory requirements such as working 20 hours a week and preparation before each semester. With all of the requirements of these positions, as well as it being a compensated position, is enough proof that this is indeed an employed position in which the employees should have the same rights as any other employee, even though they are students. It would be discrimination to deny these students the rights that any other employee receives. The LRC was absolutely correct to decide for the RAs and CDAs as these are clearly employees and it appears they are being taken advantage of by the university since they deal with all of the negativity on a daily basis with little support and do not receive a pay increase with added responsibilities of a CDA. The university is not being fair to those in these positions because they are students, but being able to become unionized will help them sort through all of the issues they face. References Arizona State Senate (2012, November 8). Labor Employment Laws. Retrieved from http://www.azleg.gov/briefs/Senate/labor%20employment%20laws.pdf DeCenzo, D. A., & Robbins, S. P. (2010). Employee Benefits. In Fundamentals of human resource management (10th ed., p. 343-346). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. National Labor Relations Board (n.d.). Employee Rights | NLRB. Retrieved , from http://www.nlrb.gov/rights-we-protect/employee-rights Teacher Assistants. (2012, May). Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes259041.htm Unions Can Present Challenges to Organizational Culture and Change. (2012, October 15). Retrieved , from http://www.newswise.com/articles/unions-can-present-challenges-to-organizational-culture-and-change View as multi-pages

Stoning

Human Rights Research Task| Stoning In Iran| Daleen Conradie 11(O)| â€Å"You are a human being. You have rights inherent in that reality. You have dignity and worth that exists prior to law. † Lyn Beth Neylon Definitions Human Rights: Human rights are the basic freedoms as well as rights that all humans are entitled to. These human rights include the right to life, freedom of thought and expression as well as equality. Human Rights Violation: A violation of Human Rights is when someone has been discriminated against or has made it unable for someone to receive their basic freedoms or rights. Cultural Relativism:Cultural Relativism is the principle when someone’s activities and beliefs have to be understood according to their own individual cultures. Religious Relativism: Religious Relativism is the principle when someone’s activities and beliefs have to be understood according to their own individual religions. Stoning In Iran What is Stoning? Stoning is a way o f punishment where stones are thrown at the victim until they die. As a group complete this punishment no one can be held responsible for killing the person. This form of execution can be seen as a form of torture as it is slower than other forms.It is also said to be one of the oldest forms of execution that has been practiced in many areas of the world however most commonly in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa. There are certain crimes that by the law of the country or community are punishable by death from stoning. If someone is accused and it is agreed by the people in power of the community they are put to death by stoning, even if there is no evidence to support the accusation. If the victim is a male they are buried up till their waste while a female is buried up until her shoulders. They are then thrown with stones by the volunteers in the community.These stones are picked specially to their size as they must be able to cause physical pain without causing death immediat ely. The stoning lasts until the person has died which on average is between 10 to 20 minutes. The family of the victim are forced to watch as well as sometimes take part. It all depends on what the punishment entails. The law of stoning however also allows the person to go free if they are able to escape however this is not always followed as many that escape are then shot. Human Rights Violation: When someone does not allow them to have their human rights it is seen as they treat them as if they are less than human.It creates the sense that they do not deserve respect or dignity. All individuals are entitled to justice, life and physical safety in order to grow in a safe and nurturing environment. There are many ways to violate rights but governments have created laws to restrict the â€Å"crimes against humanity† however individuals as well certain groups of people till break these law for their own selfish reasons. Unfair trial: In cases of stoning the judges are allowed to someone sentence someone to stoning without asking for permission from the government as well as often without proof of the crime.Iran law allows a judge to sentence someone based on their â€Å"knowledge. † This means that someone will be put to death not based on evidence but rather on the feelings of the judge. This means that many cases are unfairly tried. Abuse towards Women: â€Å"Right to life, liberty, and security of person without distinction of any kind, including sex† (Articles 2 and 3 of the UDHR) (http://www. stop-stoning. org/node/10) Most of the victims of stoning are women who have been discriminated due to their statutes, customs or values.In actions that can be seen as violating normal behaviour, women are more likely to be assigned the guilt especially in the cases of adultery. The women in these relationships have a higher chance of being stoned to death while the men will receive less severe or even no punishment. Cultural or Religious Context: In past history, stoning has been seen as tradition in many cultures and religions including Jewish and Greek communities. Stoning now is associated with Islam and Muslim cultures however there is no mention of stoning in these their religion book, the Quran (religious text of Islam. The only mention is implied in the Hadith (narrations concerning the words and deeds of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) when the Prophet Muhammad dealt with the Jewish Law. There have been many debates within Muslim religious communities as well as many people have spoken out against stoning saying it humiliates and defames Islam even though it is not accepted as Islamic Law. Due to this many Muslim nations have now banned death by stoning however there are still many countries that either under law or due to the community still uses stoning as a form of punishment.In Iran many Muslim people believe that stoning can be seen as Islamic however there is no proof to show that this is part of either religion . Effects on Society due to Violation of Human Rights: As there is an unfair treatment the people in the community then become afraid as well as they are unable to prove their innocence due to them being convicted based on a feeling of the judge. The people within the society live in fear and therefore there is then no unity in the community. Friends are lost during stoning as they can be the ones who are throwing the rocks. Women are treated the worse as they are seen as weaker and less important.This means that the word of men over power those of women. If a women is able to prove her innocence yet a man is has evidence to prove she is guilty even if the evidence it is not sufficient, the word from men will be taken and women will be punished. The violation of human rights creates an environment of fear and discrimination. How Violations of Human Rights Restrict the Dignity and Development of Human Beings: â€Å"Dignity is a term used in moral, ethical, and political discussions to signify that a being has an innate right to respect and ethical treatment. † en. wikipedia. org/wiki/DignityWhen someone does not receive their human rights they lose a part of being a human being. Those who violate rights take away something from humans; they do not give them the respect or treatment that they deserve which means that they do not have dignity. It has been taken away from them with no reason. The effect of this is that the person can then live in fear or they do not fully develop as they do not have the basic forms of security. Unfair trials or accusations mean that humans are not treated as equal. They need to have certain material objects or statuses in society in order to receive treatment that they deserve.They are not seen as innocent until proven guilty; they are seen as guilty based on one person’s opinion. When women are abused or seen as less superior they are also not treated as equal. They are discriminated against which can make them feel worthless. This can cause them to be unable to fully grow and develop into independent human beings as they have not been given the opportunity to achieve their full potential. When humans grow up in hard situations they are more prone to making wrong live decisions or they just do what they are told as they have not be exposed to the freedom of making their own choice.Unique cases show how the human spirit can’t always be broken so these people are able to fully develop however if they are never exposed to this hope, to certain human rights, they will conform and live by societies rules even if it mean stoning someone to death. As of 2010, stoning is still practiced in: Saudi Arabia Afghanistan Somalia Nigeria Sudan Iraq Iran â€Å"If cultural and religious practice is protected by the constitution, do you believe that it is then acceptable/ justifiable to practice the specific example you have researched. Certain cultural and religious practices are protected by the const itution as they are protecting the human rights that state one is allowed to practice the religion or culture they chose without being discriminated against. However there has to be a balance between human rights and beliefs as one can’t neglect one of them as they are both protected by the constitution. There have been many negotiations between these two points of view and many religions and countries have reached an agreement. This is not however.Stoning is seen as part of the Islam cultures however it is not stated in the Quran. This means that the cultural and religious point of view is not justifiable as stoning is not a religious practice. Many of the countries where stoning still takes place, such as Iran and Afghanistan, are part of the International Convention of Civil and Political Rights. Article 6 of the ICCPR states that â€Å"in countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes† (http:/ /www. stop-stoning. rg/node/10) Adultery is not a serious crime however people are still executed cause of these crimes as well as they are tortured which is a violation of the Human Rights, ICCPR and the Law of certain countries. If a cultural and religious practice is protected by the constitution it can be accepted to practice it if it is within the boundaries of human rights as human rights are also protected by the constitution. Death by stoning is not a religious practice therefore it isn’t protected by this part of the constitution as well as stoning for the crime of adultery is not allowed according to agreements made.Bibliography Information oregonstate. edu/instruct/anth370/gloss. html en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Cultural_relativism wordnetweb. princeton. edu/perl/webwn http://www. iran-e-azad. org/stoning/ en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Human_Rights_(Women_in_Armed_Forces)_Amendment_Act_2007 http://community. babycenter. com/post/a22865769/the_stoning_of_suraya_m. http://rayh arris57. files. wordpress. com/2009/12/human-rights-day. jpg http://science. jrank. org/pages/9933/Law-Human-Dignity. htmlhttp://www. stop-stoning. org/node/13 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Adultery#Stoning en. wiktionary. rg/wiki/human_rights en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Human_rights http://www. quotegarden. com/h-rights. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Hadith http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Dignity en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Rights http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Human_rights http://www. stop-stoning. org/node/10 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Stoning http://www. dhushara. com/book/sakina/stoningetc/stoning. htm Bibliography Information http://www. unglobalcompact. org/aboutthegc/thetenprinciples/humanRights. html http://civilliberty. about. com/od/capitalpunishment/ig/Types-of-Executions/Death-by-Stoning. tm http://www. worldinconversation. org/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/freedom. jpg http://meydaan. net/English/showarticle. aspx? arid=133&cid=46 http://answers. yahoo. com/question/ind ex? qid=20100706003525AASKrvg http://hubpages. com/hub/The-Stoning-of-Women-in-Iran-Its-global-impact http://www. nypost. com/p/blogs/capitol/message_for_president_obama_regarding_5uChiwg2KiCzjn7V3OnxyM http://www. unglobalcompact. org/aboutthegc/thetenprinciples/humanRights. html http://www. beyondintractability. org/essay/human_rights_violations/