Workplace Law Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Workplace Law - Assignment Example Independent contractors have no minimum wage and must submit an invoice for work completed before a company honors payment. Jim had a minimum wage that Lou paid him on a daily basis. He did not submit any form of the invoice before payment, proof that indeed Jim was Lou's employee.According to the Minister of Social Security vs. Market Investigations Limited (1969) 2 QB 173 a taxpayer is an employee. An employee earns a salary as a reward for his or her labor in terms of services delivery. From the case study, Jim was to pay his taxes, a proof that indeed he was Lou's employee. Jim worked for eight a hours as the week like the other employees and casual workers in Australia. The compliance to working eight hours a week without the day off proves that Jim was an employee to Lou.Jim, therefore, regards as Lou's employee despite the terms written in their agreement terms indicating that he approved working as an independent contractor. Lou has an obligation to ensure a safe and conduciv e working environment for Jim who is his employee. The legal case presented and the provisions of the Acts cited to prove that Jim was an employee to Lou.Second IssueLou as the employer has an obligation to follow contractually the Employee Handbook procedure in relation to the bullying complaint comprehensively. Australian Federal law on anti bullying covers all employees, interns, independents contractors and every kind of worker offering their services to an organization under an employer.

Electronic Signatures Essay Example for Free

Electronic Signatures Essay As compared to paper based signatures there is an increased dependability on electronic signatures for an increased protection of documents and patient records in healthcare facilities. Thereby this paper will discuss an importance of electronic signatures in addition to the advantages that they have in order to be implemented in healthcare, business and e-commerce. Introduction Signature is more known as a script that has been designed by an individual and is associated with that very individual. Signatures in some cases have been associated with seals used for protection. In general, signatures are an evidence of the fact that all intentions made in a certain document have been approved by the individual signing it. Purposes of signatures are the same as that of normal and usual signatures as all intentions made in an electronic document are approved by an individual who undersigns a document with an electronic signature (Brazell, 2004, p. 23). Many definitions have been given in relation to the electronic signature. All in all these definitions highlight the fact that as compared to hand written signatures, electronic signatures are more protective and sealed thereby there is an increased reliability associated with electronic signatures. Defining Electronic Signatures First definition that needs a mention here is given by US Code. It defines an electronic signature as an electronic sound, or a symbol that represents documents in a unique way as these symbols are associated with these documents in a legal manner. According to this definition symbols are adopted and chosen by an individual who wishes to sign, seal and protect a document thereby making sure that all intentions are accepted by that very individual. The US code argues that the signatures can be embedded in transmissions of electronic documents observed during transmission of facsimiles. The electronic signature can also take the form of Morse code in case of electronic message transmission as the signs are embedded inside the message. Realizing an importance of the protective and sealing protection offered by electronic signatures, there is an increased use of encrypted electronic messages in fields that are more sensitive about integrity of documents thereby e-commerce, healthcare, government office are observed to frequently adopt the technology of electronic signatures (Schellekens, 2004, p. 56). Legal standing of these electronic signatures has been well established thereby the laws of EU and US recognize electronic signatures holding the same legal importance as ordinary signatures on documents. Legal issues and consequences that are associated with electronic signatures are same as normal and usual signatures. Historical Perspective of Electronic Signatures Electronic signatures have been known to exist since before the American Civil War. Electronic signatures date back to 1860s when electronically encrypted messages were being used by the help of Morse codes in telegraphy. Telegraphy in those days was used to send messages that were more secret and in agreements to terms that were presented in certain kinds of enforceable contracts. Legal standing of these electronic messages dates back to 1869 when an importance of these telegraphically encrypted documents was enforced by the New Hampshire Supreme Court (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, 2002, p. 78). In order to ensure protection, and time sensitive delivery of protected documents to safer places, in 1980s, many organizations started working on electronic signatures in order to encrypt documents. For encrypting highly sensitive documents, fax machines were used. Nevertheless in this case it has been seen that although original signatures used to be on the paper, but images of signatures and transmission used to be in an electronic format thereby ensuring increased protection. Recently it has been seen that various legal interventions have been made in order to enhance protection offered by electronic signatures. It has been added by the US courts that documents that can be protected and sealed by electronic signatures can include emails, PIN codes that are used for ATM transactions in banks, credit or debit sllip that needs to be protected by signing it with a digital pen pad device, installing kinds of software that comes with a clickwrap software license agreement along with documents that are often signed online that need enhanced protection. It has been recorded that the first document signed in an electronic way was between two sovereign nations, United States and Ireland in a communique that jointly recognized an importance of electronic signatures in trading and e-commerce (Katsikas, Lopez, and Pernul, 2005, p. 78). Enforcing Electronic Signatures United States has defined electronic signatures in legal ways and a set of requirements have been set that help in qualifying an electronic signatures as authentic. These requirements and qualifications of electronic signatures were designed by National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) in 1999 when this US based government organization released Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA). UETA has defined electronic signatures as electronic symbols that are associated with a certain document in relation to which all intention have been accepted by the individual who owns and signs the particular document. There are many laws that echo core concepts of electronic signatures and these are also observed to be the same in U. S. ESign Act that was presented and implemented in the year of 2000. Many states in United States have been working on the laws and jurisdiction in relation to the electronic signatures and more than 47 states in United States along with the District of Columbia, and the US Virgin Islands have enacted and have been using UETA in an active manner. Only three states as New York, Illinois and Washington have not enacted UETA. New York has designed its own rule that recognizes electronic signatures as legal and the law that represents these signatures is Electronic Signatures and Records Act (ESRA) (Boss, and Kilian, 2008, p. 67). Other countries that have started assigning legal values to electronic signatures include Canada. The definition of electronic signatures given by Canadian legal authorities is generic and different from the one given by the US authorities. Generic definition of signature given by the Canadian Department Of Justice says that an electronic signature contains a chain of letters, symbols, and numbers encrypted in a digital format associated with a certain electronic document that belongs to an individual or a certain organization (Snijders, and Weatherill, 2003, p. 45). After this Canadian Department Of Justice has defined an electronic signature by arguing that electronic signature in contrast to normal signatures possess some distinct properties that define these signatures. Canadian law that talks about the digital signatures in accordance to the protection of electronic documents is PIPEDA. PIPEDAs secure electronic signature regulations argue that electronic signatures are those that are designed, applied and verified in a specific manner. European Union has also given its rules and regulations in accordance to the use of electronic signatures in document protection systems. These laws have been published in the EC Official Journal. These laws are referred to as the Directive 1999/93/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council while officially these are more often referred as the EU Directive on Electronic Signatures or the EU Electronic Signatures Directive. These were published on 13th December 1999 (Adams, and Lloyd, 2003, p. 78). Maintaining Legal Nature of Electronic Signatures Various laws and jurisdictions have been defined that help e-commerce and trade to incorporate the advantages of electronic signatures in daily business deals that can help in increased document protection. It has been realized that at a local and an international level there is a need to incorporate certain document protection systems that can help in easy working and trustworthy document sharing within different parties. 1. Definitions of PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act) An electronic signature can be defined as being safe when a. It is unique to an individual b. Technology that is being used in order to generate signatures are under the control and only being used by the person who creates the signature thereby adding to the level of uniqueness. c. The technology being used to create signatures should be able to represent an individual who has created the signatures. d. The electronic signatures are to be linked with an electronic document in various ways. One way that has been defined by Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act argues that the electronic document should be able to identify, by the help of electronic signatures associated with it, if any changes have been made to this document after signatures were associated with the document originally (Kehal, and Singh, 2005, p. 78). 2. The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act This law was passed by the US congress in relation to the electronic signatures and this law has defined and authorized the electronic signatures in three steps. a. The term ‘electronic’ in electronic signatures has been highlighted as something that possesses digital, symbolic, magnetic, wireless, electromagnetic, electric properties. b. Electronic record on the other hand has been defined as a document, contract that has been generated, created, shared, discussed, and sent by using electronic means. c. Electronic signatures have been defined by The Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act as an electronic sound, symbol or a process that is legally and authoritatively associated with a document created by an individual holding rights to create, sign and decrypt the document in any manner thereby ‘patenting’ the document (Pathak, 2007, p. 34). Other similar definitions have been given by the following acts that relate to the use of electronic signatures. a. Government Paperwork Elimination Act, US b. Federal Reserve 12 CFR 202 c. UETA d. Commodity Futures Trading Commission 17 CFR Part 1 Sec. 1. 3. Creation of Electronic Signatures: Public Key Infrastructures (PKI) Importance of electronic signatures has been realized since long as it has been seen that these are more important in protecting the legal status of documents in a comparative manner. Thereby secure and much complex ways have been identified that can define electronic signatures in ways that ensure their legal status in order to protect records. Creation of electronic signatures depends on asymmetrical cryptographic method. This method ensures that the kinds of protection status being encrypted in the document are only approachable by the person who creates the signatures on the document. Thereby two kinds of keys are used in this case and these are referred to as public and private cryptographic keys. The theoretical fundamentals and practicalities of the asymmetric cryptographic key were laid down in 1976 (Doukidis, Mylonopoulos, and Pouloudi, 2004, p. 79). In accordance to the theory and recent ways that have been developed for electronically signing a document, a number is calculated that represents the length of a document and this number is referred to as the checksum of a particular document. This checksum is calculated by using a hash function. This is the case where a private key is used which is more representative of the person signing the document. Thereby signature is represented by private key which in the end is attached to a document. This private key is thereby a signature of the document. Role of Public Key Another key that plays an important role in this case is a public key. An important that is played by a public key is that the signature’s and relevant document can be checked by the public key. Public key as the name indicates is freely and easily available to any individual within the public. Decryption of the electronic key is performed by the help of an electronic signature. Integrity Check An integrity check is an important part of electronic signature allocation. It has been seen that integrity of a document can be checked by recalculating the checksum number that was allocated to the document originally. As was done during the calculation of checksum, the recalculation of checksum is also done with the help of hash functions. Integrity of the document can be validated if the checksums are identical ensuring that the integrity of the document is intact (Rice, and American Bar Association, Section of Litigation, 2005, p. 78). Role of Certificates Public keys and cryptographic keys are the most important part of the electronic signature creation thereby there is a need of a system that can authorize the genuine nature of these keys. Both of these keys are authorized by a certificate. Certificates are specially created electronic documents that associate and connect the public key with the key holder’s identification data that in this case has to be unique. On the other hand in order to provide increased protection it has been observed that to ensure increased protection, certificates are also electronically signed by the certification providers that are also authorized. All these links and methodologies designed to sign the documents make sure that document is signed, encrypted and decrypted by using the public key only by the person who has created the document. Certification service providers play important roles as Trusted Third Party offering services other than certificates for protection of electronic documents. Certification service providers are known to provide a set of directory services that are also related to electronic documents. These are the services that bring the protection provided by the electronic signatures a step ahead. Directory services provide additional measures by which the certificates can be checked for authentication time by time. Advantages of Electronic Signatures These days there is a need to exchange business in a fast manner that requires and demands exchange of information including documents in a secure manner. It has been realized that exchanging information on a regular basis is more secure in an electronic manner rather on paper. 1. Electronic information takes lesser time to travel as compared to the paper based information thereby there is no time wasted (Mann, Eckert, and Knight, 2000, p. 67). 2. The cost of electronic signature based documents is only needed in the beginning of this setup and there are no additional costs required after its implementation. 3. Because of the electronic nature of documents, there is lesser involvement of human beings other than the ones that are directly involved ensuring security in case of these documents. 4. Because of an electronic nature of these documents there is a lesser chance of interruption and interference in electronic documents that increasingly ensures the protection of these documents. In terms of protection it has been observed that electronic signature based documents are more secure and protected as compared to paper based signatures. 1. In this case it has been argued that the electronic signatures are not able to be copied as compared to the normal paper based signatures and electronic signatures are implemented on the complete document rather than the last page. 2. In this case it has been observed that as electronic signatures are implemented on whole document thereby there are no chances of any text being maliciously changed in any part of the document. 3. Time stamping is the proof of transmission time of the document thereby transmission dates can be cross checked in order to check the legal status of the document. 4. Additional restrictions can be imposed on the message content in electronically signed documents. It has been observed that with the consent of the document holder and creator, reader can read and verify the contents of the document (Katsikas, Lopez, and Pernul, 2005, p. 45). Other than these, additional advantages that are offered by the electronically signed documents include streamlining businesses and trade globally and on a local scale. Business chains are better connected when paper documents are removed having a much better control on business with the help of electronic documents. 1. Increased cost are associated with typing documents and sending these through courier and these costs are reduced in case of electronic documents that take lesser time to be emailed and fixed. 2. In case of signing the contracts an important issue used to deal with signing the contracts which is resolved by electronic signature based reinforce bale contracts that are signed anywhere. Electronic Signatures Usage in Medial Healthcare Records Healthcare in the modern days is recognized by an increase in the specialization of medical specialization. In order to ensure that patient care process is optimized there is an increased cooperation and data exchange between different healthcare institutions. Thereby it has been observed that in order to ensure timely, cost effective and economic patient care, often known as shared care, there is a need to increasingly exchange information with healthcare institutions and medical facilities. The kinds of patient record systems that are adopted these days are increasingly dependent upon the data exchange. On the other hand it has been realized that there are many shortcomings associated with paper based documents that have been also held responsible for a decreased efficiency of healthcare institutions, thereby there is an increased adoption of electronic signatures on the documents (Boss, and Kilian, 2008, p. 38). In order to ensure that all heath care operations undergo in a proper, streamlined and a secure manner there is a need to implement the technology of electronic signatures to the field of healthcare. Paper based signatures are time consuming and are less protecting as compared to electronic signatures thereby in the field of healthcare, document authenticity is a critical business operation. There is a set of documents that are in a need to be protected in face of infringements and these documents include patient records, physician diagnosis, order, bills and payments. Thereby based on the set of advantages that have been highlighted in the previous sections healthcare facilities in different countries have started to implement electronic signatures. Recently there are many changes in United States health departments in order to implement electronic signatures based documents. It has been recently reported that regulations have been passed and implemented by the Drug Enforcement Agency in order to implement electronic signatures on medical prescriptions that are of electronic nature in order to ensure that original prescriptions are checked on the counters of pharmacies rather than cooked ones. Another law that has been passed by the Veteran’s Health Administration relates to the consent forms that are signed by the patients. In order to protect these forms, protection is being ensured by the implementation of electronic signatures on these forms. In healthcare administration various standards have been defined that link important records and documents with encrypted signatures. Recently a standard has been defined that helps in an authentication of medical records of the patients, an ASTM standard. In order to electronically sign the radiological images, DICOM standard have been used and are in practice. Most of the documents in medical centers and healthcare institutions are related to signatures, including signatures from families, patients and physicians. Thereby after the creation of these documents it is important that these documents are protected and sealed by the help of electronic signatures. Successes of document security solution lies in the fact of creating documents that are electronically signed thereby are digitally protected. These protection measures have also been considered important in the case of offline and online business, e-commerce (Adams, and Lloyd, 2003, p. 24). Conclusion Internationally accepted standards have been defined that can help in securing the documents in a better manner. In case of healthcare it has been seen that there is an increased dependency on a long term archiving of patient records as soon as these are created and passed on to the other facilities. International standards have been used to define the signatures in accordance to the advantages that they ensure, as DICOM, XML, and HL7. In addition to this it has been argued that there is an increased integration of PKIs in healthcare services as these are designed in accordance to the legislations that have been designed in order to ensure document protection. References Adams, C. , and Lloyd, S. (2003). Understanding PKI: concepts, standards, and deployment; considerations, Technology series. Edition 2. Addison-Wesley. Boss, H. A. , and Kilian, W. (2008). The United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts. Kluwer Law International. Brazell, L. (2004). Electronic signatures law and regulation. Sweet Maxwell. Doukidis, I. G. , Mylonopoulos, N. , and Pouloudi, N. (2004). Social and economic transformation in the digital era. Idea Group Inc (IGI). Katsikas, K. S. , Lopez, J. ,and Pernul, G. (2005). Trust, privacy, and security in digital business: second international conference, TrustBus 2005, Copenhagen, Denmark, August 22-26, 2005:proceedings, Lecture notes in computer science, Springer eBook collection. Birkhauser. Kehal, S. H. , and Singh, P. V. (2005). Digital economy: impacts, influences, and challenges. Idea Group Inc (IGI). Mann, L. C. , Eckert, E. S. , and Knight, C. S. (2000). Global electronic commerce: a policy primer. Peterson Institute. Pathak. (2007). Legal Aspects Of Business. Edition 3. Tata McGraw-Hill. Rice, R. P. , and American Bar Association. Section of Litigation. (2005). Electronic evidence: law and practice. American Bar Association. Schellekens, M. (2004). Electronic signatures: authentication technology fro

growaw Personal Growth and Death of Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopins The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening Essays

The Awakening:   Personal Growth and Death      The Awakening is a novel about the growth of a woman becoming her own person; in spite of the expectations society has for her. The book follows Edna Pontellier   as she struggles to find her identity. Edna knows that she cannot be happy filling the role that society has created for her. She did not believe that she could break from this pattern because of the pressures of society. As a result she ends up taking her own life.   However, readers should not sympathize with her for taking her own life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Edna Pontellier was on her way to an awakening. She realized during the book, she was not happy with her position in life. It is apparent that she had never really been fully unaware   However, because her own summary of this was some sort of blissful ignorance. Especially in the years of life before her newly appearing independence, THE READER SEES HOW she has never been content with the way her life had turned out. For example she admits she married Mr. Pontellier out of convenience rather than love. EDNA knew he loved her, but she did not love him. It was not that she did not know what love was, for she had BEEN INFATUATED BEFORE, AND BELIEVED IT WAS love. She consciously chose to marry Mr. Pontellier even though she did not love him. When she falls in love with Robert she regrets her decision TO MARRY Mr. Pontellier. HOWEVER, readers should not sympathize, because she was the one who set her own trap. She did not love her husband whe n she married him, but SHE never once ADMITS that it was a bad decision. She attributes all the problems of her marriage to the way IN WHICH SOCIETY HAS defined the roles of men and women. She does not ACCEPT ANY OF THE BLAME, AS HER OWN.   The only other example of married life, in the book, is Mr. and Mrs. Ratignolle, who portray the traditional role of married men and women of the time. Mr. Pontellier also seems to be a typical man of society. Edna, ON THE OTHER HAND, was not A TYPICAL WOMAN OF SOCIETY. Mr. Pontellier knew this but OBVIOUSLY HAD NOT ALWAYS. This shows IS APPARENT in the complete lack of constructive communication between the two. If she had been able to communicate with her husband they may have been able to work OUT THEIR PROBLEMS, WHICH MIGHT HAVE MADE Edna MORE SATISFIED WITH her life.

Membership in the field of counseling

The discipline of mental health has had a long history of challenges and controversies. In the past decade we have seen an active progress in the way mental health professionals have been recognized and clearly identified as a separate discipline from psychiatry or clinical counseling. Moreover, legislations to promote the welfare of mental health counselors have been lobbied for as well as setting up standards for education, training, certification and practice of the profession. One of the most active proponent for the professionalizing of the mental health discipline is the American Mental Health Counselors Association, the organization have enabled the setting up of a professional organization exclusively for mental health counselors, the setting up of a national certification program for mental health counselors, the accreditation of educational institutions that provide training in mental health education and the setting up of a national system of state licensure (Messina, 1999). The AMHCA have become the primary voice of all mental health professionals in the country and it continues to work for the betterment of the profession and to protect those who are engaged in the counseling profession. As a mental health student, I realized that it is important to join professional organizations not just for certification or to meet licensing requirements. I believe that professional organizations are like the federal government that oversees the conduct of the profession and sets ethical guidelines and standards of practice much in the same way that the government upholds the constitution. Becoming a member of a professional organization would give me a clear direction of what my professional responsibilities are and what limitations I need to be aware of, it would also help me delineate the services that I can offer to my clients given the kind of training and education that I have. It also would keep me abreast of the recent developments in the mental health discipline; it provides trainings and workshops, research funding and a stable support group for the mental health counselor. One of the objectives of the AMHCA (2004) is to work with educational institutions that provide mental health counselor training and to make sure that the curriculum is aligned with the core competencies and skills that a mental health counselor should have even before seeking professional recognition. This is important because it would ensure the standardization of the counselor education and thus makes it possible that all mental health counselors are equipped with the necessary skills to give quality services to their clients. According to Messina (1999), only a small proportion of educational institutions have been accredited by the organization, in the long run this would mean that few mental health graduates would be qualified to become mental health counselors as required by AMHCA. If fewer counselors seek to be accredited or certified, then the professional integrity of the practitioners will deteriorate. This is an important issue to look into since the kind of services and the quality of the client-counselor relationship is dependent on how well-trained and equipped the counselors are to meet the needs of the client. We all know that the efficacy of the counselor in helping the client resolve his/her issues is dependent on the counseling plan that counselor draws up for the client. It takes a certain degree of skill and theoretical knowledge to be able to deal with different clients and it is the responsibility of the counselor to always uphold what is best for the client. It is therefore important to come up with a legislation that would require all educational institutions to seek accreditation from the AMHCA (2004) to further the mental health profession. References American Mental Health Counselors Association found at http://www.amhca.org/ Messina, J. (1999). What’s next for the profession of mental health counseling? Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 21; 3, 285. Retrieved on October 17, 2007 from Academic Premier Search database. Â  

Internet Addicition Essay

Much evidence has been alleged that social pathologies are beginning to surface in cyberspace (i.e., internet addictions). A lot of controversy is surrounding the question, is there proof that the internet is being abused and misused by individuals on an everyday basis and should we consider this to be a major mental health problem? Key Arguments: * Why do people have attachment insecurity and dissociation with their lives to make them choose to be disorganized, and allow a fantasy world to take over resulting in problematic internet abuse. * How information and communication technologies changing our way of interacting with reality. * What are the psychological symptoms involving disturbed relationships with technologies emerging, how some are more affected than others. * How different forms of related dependence behaviours, such as an addiction to social networking, cybersex, online gambling, or web-based role-playing games are affecting our need to be on the internet. * How some games reward â€Å"achievements† and â€Å"goals† making the cyber game goals more important of that than reality goals. * Does social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and other forms of cyber communication have detrimental effects related to internet addiction. * Internet Gambling, main reasons for internet addiction, however not just costing their health but impacting finances and crippling family relationships. Critical Analysis Article 1: Reference (2) Researchers have begun to examine the personal and social consequences associated with excessive online involvement. The present study examined college students’ problematic Internet use (PIU) behaviors Its specific aim was to investigate the links between PIU with both internalizing (depression, social anxiety) and externalizing (substance use and other risky behaviors) problems. Article 2: Reference (4) There are many psychological factors surrounding the present issue of internet addiction, using evidence such as Social Networking Sites (SNS)e.g., facebook , twitter etc, Massive Multiplayer Online games and Internet Gambling as my three key topics. The aim is to provide a clear and concise method about how individuals who consistently spend their time on the internet are having detrimental effects on their physical, social and psychological life. Article 3: Reference (5) There is an increasing need for the provision of both internet addiction prevention and care for any sufferers, psychologist should be weary of the dangers of internet abuse when youth present with anti-social, aggressive behaviours. Socialization in girls may be warped towards online contact and the user may beneï ¬ t from providing alternatives. The aim is to focus on internet-related addictive behaviours and how to include the use of suitable diagnostic tools, a detailed personal interview, a mental health status examination and information regarding the overt behaviours gathered by the surroundings. I want to engage the reader to believe that internet addiction is a real mental health issue, that effects youth all the way to late adolescent, whether it be an addiction though games, gambling, social media etc, there is evidence to say that individuals influenced by this addiction are not progressing in life, because excess use of a cyber world has become a major part of their li ves or taken over their lives. Structure: – Evidence addiction in Video Games (Kuss, Daria J; Griffiths, Mark D. Studies): Main conclusions stemming from this source – Psychological Evidence to Addiction (Griffiths, M Study & Gencer, S L & Koc, M Study): Main conclusions stemming from this source – Evidence addiction to Social Networking Systems (Kittinger, R., Correia, C J., & Irons J G Article): Main conclusions stemming from this source References Bozkurt, H; Coskun, M; Ayaydin, H; Adak, I; Zoroglu, S S (2013). Prevalence and patterns of psychiatric disorders in referred adolescents with Internet addiction. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences. 67(5), pp. 352-359. De, L., & Josepth, A. (2013). Problematic Internet Use and Other Risky Behaviours in College Students: An Applicationof Problem-Behaviour Theory. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 27(1), pp. 133-141. DOI: 10.1037/a0030823. Gencer, S L & Koc, M. (2012) Internet abuse among teenagers and Its relations to internet usage patterns and demographics. Journal of Educational Technology & Society. 15(2), pp. 25-36. Griffiths, M. (2010). Internet abuse and Internet addiction in the workplace. Journal of Workplace Learning, 22(7), 2010, pp. 463-472. Kittinger, R., Correia, C J., & Irons J G (2012) Relationship Between Facebook Use and Problematic Internet Use Among College Student. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 15(6), pp. 324-327. Kuss, D J; Griffiths, M D. , Internet video game addiction: A systematic review of empirical research in the literature. Revue Adolescence. 30(1), 2012, pp. 17-49.

Review of Educating Rita essays

Review of Educating Rita essays Review of Educating Rita by Willy Russel and its themes With tonight's movie, "Educating Rita", I'd kind of like to make a case for a strong sub-genre within the major film genres, and that's the school genre. I think we've got so many movies about school simply because we all have such strong memories and feelings about that time in our lives. Now, the sub-genre consists of a lot of little conventions. For example, it seems like English and Math are the subjects that most appear in this sub-genre. It seems to be the kind of subjects that students continue to be the most afraid of. We've also got the inspiring teacher convention, with movies like "Goodbye Mr. Chips" and "To Sir With Love", things like that. And we've got the unruly students. Essentially, the diamonds in the rough. They've got great potential, but they have to be moulded or shaped somehow. And we get a very large range in this sub-genre. We have light comedies like "Summer School" and serious movies like "Lean on Me". What it's all about though, is socialization and accom modation. How do these students learn to get along in the real world? In a lot of ways that's what movies are essentially about. Trying to teach us how to accommodate or socialize ourselves into the larger structures we exist in. This movie is about how the class struggle comes to the classroom. You'd think that England would be an ideal place to talk about class struggle in the school system. But, when you look at other movies in this teacher sub-genre, we see that there are ghettos in the U.S. where this class system is still in place, as much as Americans, and Canadians for that fact, might not want to admit it. What we've got is a bit of a retelling of the story of "Pygmalion", you know, "My Fair Lady", all that sort of thing. Where we have an educated man who tries to teach an uneducated woman about the finer things in life, except that in this case, we've got a very reluctant teacher in Frank ...

buy custom Historical Significance of Obesity essay

buy custom Historical Significance of Obesity essay It is unbelievably true that one of the effects caused by industrialization is obesity. The link between these two cannot easily be understood until research is conducted from the 1780s when the steam engine was invented (Mark, 2008). Further development of the steam engine led to more and more invention. Many people could work for long hours in industries and in places where they could not have a nice meal due to work and time constraints. What was seen as poor eating habits for people working in industries and construction sites later became a problem in the entire universe. Obesity has mainly been linked to the consumption of fast foods. With these developments and the continued consumption of fast foods, people all over the world were introduced to a deadly killer. Obesity took quite some time before it was realized as a health issue. With industrialization and busy work schedules, people did not get time to eat well prepared foods. Fast foods were the easily available options. T he trend went on and people got used to fast foods and began taking them during meal time even if they were not busy working. To many, obesity became an important thing as it signified wealth and riches to them. This importance continued throughout the generations. This changed peoples lifestyle and eating habits. Obesity is so prevalent today because of poor lifestyles and unhealthy diets. People are getting busier and busier in their work places and do not have enough time to cook healthy meals. The same has been replicated in the families and fast foods are taken as meals at homes. Parents have played a big role in this as they have been feeding their children with unhealthy diet. Some people think that it is something fashionable but it has caused more harm than benefit to them. With advancement in technology, a lot of free time has been created and people have lacked exercise which would have been useful to counter obesity and its effects (Levy-Navarro, 2008). Generations that followed continued the tradition despite having seen the negative effects of obesity. As nations of the world make an effort to improve life expectancy, research on the causes of obesity and possible interventions becomes very imperative. I have seen people with sedentary lifestyles overpowered by the threat of obesity. It has been amazing to realize how obesity has turned out to be both a health issue and a matter of national security. A simple analysis that I got from the society is that there are many more early deaths caused by factors contributed by obesity. As our young ones grow larger and larger, the projected lifespan gets shorter by the day. Technology has made many of our children lazy and in most cases, they have been found playing video games instead of playing in the field to have enough exercise for their bodies. Life expectancy in the universe has been affected by the ravages of obesity and apparently, we have not learnt anything from the history of obesity. Buy custom Historical Significance of Obesity essay

Definition and Examples of Dysphemisms in English

Definition and Examples of Dysphemisms in English Dysphemism is the substitution of a more offensive or disparaging word or phrase for one considered less offensive, such as the use of the slang term shrink for psychiatrist. Dysphemism is the opposite of euphemism. Adjective: dysphemistic. Though often meant to shock or offend, dysphemisms may also serve as in-group markers to signal closeness. Linguist  Geoffrey Hughes points out that [a]lthough  this linguistic mode has been  established for centuries and the term dysphemism was first recorded in 1884, it has only recently acquired even a specialist currency,  being  unlisted in many general dictionaries and reference books (An Encyclopedia of Swearing, 2006). See Examples and Observations  below. Also, see: CacophemismConnotations and DenotationsCursingHow to Flatter an Audience With Euphemisms, Dysphemisms, and DistinctioPejorative LanguagePropagandaSwear Word EtymologyFrom the Greek, a non word Examples and Observations When applied to people, animal names are usually dysphemisms: coot, old bat, pig, chicken, snake, skunk, and bitch, for example.Euphemisms and Dysphemisms for DeathThere is virtually no aspect of human experience free from dysphemism. . . .Death generates such typical  euphemisms as to pass away, to pass on, to depart this life, go to ones Maker, and so on. Parallel dysphemisms would be to snuff it, to croak, and to push up daisies, since these allude graphically and cruelly to the physical aspect of death, down to breathing ones last, the death rattle, and being reincorporated into the cycle of nature.(Geoffrey Hughes,  An Encyclopedia of Swearing. Routledge, 2006)Dysphemisms and Stylistic DiscordSpeakers resort to dysphemism to talk about people and things that frustrate and annoy them, that they disapprove of and wish to disparage, humiliate and degrade. Curses, name-calling and any sort of derogatory comment directed towards others in order to insult or to wound them are all examples of dysphemism. Exclamatory swear words that release frustration or anger are dysphemisms. Like euphemism, dysphemism interacts with style and has the potential to produce stylistic discord; if someone at a formal dinner party were to publicly announce Im off for a piss, rather than saying Excuse me for a moment, the effect would be dysphemistic.(Keith Allan and Kate Burridge, Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language. Cambridge University Press, 2006) Gratuity and TipI used to think gratuity was a euphemism for tip until I discovered that I had got it the wrong way round, and that tip was a dysphemism for gratuity. . . . Gratuity is much older than tip, and originally meant a gift made to anyone, including an equal.(Nicholas Bagnall, Words. The Independent, December  3, 1995)Dysphemisms and SlangWhen we think of euphemisms, we think of words that are substituted because their connotations are less distressing than the words they replace. In slang you frequently have the opposite phenomenon, dysphemism, where a relatively neutral word is replaced with a harsher, more offensive one. Such as calling a cemetery a boneyard. Referring to electrocution as taking the hot seat would be another. . . . Even more dysphemistic would be to fry.(Interview with J. E. Lighter, American Heritage, October  2003)Dysphemisms in ContextA jocular approach to death is only dysphemistic if the Hearer can be expected to regard it as offensive. For inst ance, if a doctor were to inform close family that their loved one has pegged out during the night, it would normally be inappropriate, insensitive, and unprofessional (i.e., dysphemistic). Yet given another context with quite a different set of interlocutors, the same expression could just as well be described as cheerfully euphemistic.(Keith Allan and Kate Burridge, Euphemism and Dysphemism. Oxford University Press, 1991) Pronunciation: DIS-fuh-miz-im Also Known As: cacophemism

Food Lion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Food Lion - Research Paper Example verseas; currently being represented in over 70 countries and seeking to integrate with the Midwestern and Western markets of grocery retail; rather than forever being attributed to the southeast/mid Atlantic region. The mission statement of Food Lion reads as follows: â€Å"Food Lions mission is to ensure that we remain the low price leader in the supermarket industry without compromising quality or customer satisfaction† (Delhaize, n.d.). Naturally, in order to achieve this goal, it is necessary for the human resources Department/organization to ensure that the needs of employees are met, a culture is defined, and effective policies which relate to this mission statement can be trained on and affected. Rather than understanding Food Lion’s mission statement as something of a separate issue to human resources, it must be understood and appreciated that human resources are integral in seeking to accomplish the goals that the mission statement sets forward. Assess the common HR challenges facing this organization (e.g., high turn-over, low wages, lack of skilled workers, etc.). Recommend an HR strategy you would implement to overcome the challenges assessed.   The core problem that Food Lion faces is the fact that it primarily hires low wage earners that have very few marketable skills. As a direct result of this, Food Lion experiences an extraordinarily high turnover rate; as individuals soon a look for other jobs that are more lucrative based upon the skills and valuable work experience that have gained while working at Food Lion. This extends not only to individuals responsible for inventory control, customer relations, and warehouse work, it encompasses the full gamut of logistics and supply that the Food Lion brand leverages each and every day as a function of encouraging further profitability. However, rather than coming to accept the fact that Food Lion is due to continually experienced high turnover rates from these low-wage earners, there are human

United States Colonization of the Philippines Essay

United States Colonization of the Philippines - Essay Example The period between 1898 and 1946 became a time when the Philippines underwent torture, enslavement and loss of their individual rights. Therefore, the colonization of the US was oppressive to the people of Philippine and it benefit for the US. In the year 1898, Philippines fought against exploitation by Spain and managed to reach a treaty. Therefore, the country was in the process of reconstruction before the US arrived in this country. The US disguised in its entry and pretended to have the motive of conducting business with this country. Although trade was part of the plan, it dawned that the purpose of the invasion was to take advantage of the country and leverage economic benefits from the country. In April 1898, the US army engaged the Philippines in war, which led to the death of many people. In the year 1902, the US government elected a civil law to govern the people of Spain (Fitzpatrick and Richard 840-845). This resulted into a tough battle between the two sides, but the Philippines had to finally give up and submit to the rule of the US. Therefore, Philippines served under the rule of Spain in the next 40 years. The motive of the US government to enter Philippine became clear immediately after it took over in the country. To begin with, the government took over the land that the Philippines had invested their efforts on. They were dispossessed of the rice and wheat lands that they had ploughed. The citizens served in these lands with little or no pay, what amounts to slavery. The US took advantage of the fertile lands to develop their industrial sector, which was the main reason for the expansionism strategy. In fact, many Americans became natives of Philippine and they even retained their identities after independence in 1946. The motive of the US was much similar to that of other western countries in the period of colonization. It was a strategy to

Comparing and Contrasting Culture and Education in Saudi Arabia and Essay

Comparing and Contrasting Culture and Education in Saudi Arabia and The USA - Essay Example or Mr. as titles. University students however can just call their professors by their first names and mostly, they are encouraged by their professors to do so, which in Saudi would be unpleasant to the ears and may be deemed a sign of disrespect so that adaptation has been difficult for me in this area. In addition, I also observed the form of instruction in the schools. American schools are interactive, with the teachers encouraging the students to participate in discussions, arguing about the subject matter and voicing out their minds with the teacher ready to aid them in channeling their thought to the right decisions, which is greatly different in my country where most of the talking comes from the teacher. The students are expected to sit down and listen in return, never challenging, negotiating or discussing the topic whether an individual agrees or disagrees, a student’s duty is to keep his mouth shut. Christianity is the widely embraced religion in America and the gove rnment founded its constitution in Christian beliefs. Saudi on the other hand established her laws from Islamic ideologies. Although both religions claim an identical story of creation and trace their ancestry to the same patriarchs, the differentiation would be as the names suggest, between the prophets Muhammad and Christ as well as their teachings. Speaking of government, the form used in Saudi is monarchy with council of ministers and consultative council helping the king in his government affairs. The king’s authority is limited because of the context of his role indicated in the Shari’a and other traditions (U.S. Department of State). America on the other hand,... This paper approves that media could be found to be a common phenomenon, affecting the countries’ success and legislation through the distribution of highly competent publications not only in the native tongues of both countries but in other languages as well. Legal issues and individual concepts are placed into the assessment of different sectors as the media make available the information released through broadcast or paper. And this is not just for people to express their interpretations of events but in response to the shared belief of a better environment we all could make. America has a greater number of immigrants from a wider scale of immigrants than that of Saudi. thais paper makes a conclusion that Nations could be entirely different but the fact cannot be denied that somehow, we are somewhat related to each other in unique ways. Looking at the data discussed in this paper, one could easily come up with an analysis of the approach a nation could employ in the making of its policies to meet the specific needs of different nations as each are different. A characteristic may be stronger in one nation than the other but this does not mean that the virtue is solely for that particular nation. In conclusion, as each have varied resources, nations should get involved in the exchange of benefits to build a global relationship that allows every nation to survive in this chaotic world.

IT-LMS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

IT-LMS - Essay Example The researcher discussed the possible frameworks for introducing LMS for the first time at an institution or for migrating from one LMS system to another. This research paper also highlighted the way this technology can negatively affect pedagogy at institutions as instructors are forced to teach in certain ways. The researcher discussed this challenge in depth within the context of modern distance education programs that incorporate blended learning. Today’s education system still largely resembles the industrial age despite of the society’s shift to the so-called Information Age. In the industrial age, education placed the onus for learning on teachers and kept students passive. All students were treated as being the same with all expected to grasp and do the same tasks in the same amount of time (W. Watson & S. Watson, 2007). In today’s world, education stakeholders are demanding a more learner-centered education system to support the customized pace of instruction. It is difficult to see how it will be possible to achieve these new customized learning processes for individual learners without technology playing a central role. For this reason, over the past decade, there has been increased use of computers in education (W. Watson & S. Watson, 2007). This increased use of computers in education has resulted in literature that has an array of non-standardized terms and acronyms. The three more popular technologies often cited in the literature are Course Management Systems (CMS), Learning Management Systems (LMS), and Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS) (Coates, James, & Baldwin, 2005; W. Watson & S. Watson, 2007). LMS and these related technologies have the potential to meet these needs of today’s learners. This research will be focused on the integrated computer systems known as Learning Management Systems (LMS). It is therefore important to understand LMS, its merits and demerits, the way to implement it in institutions of

Genre Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Genre - Assignment Example In some instance, however, as in the case of the recent Lindsay Lohan court proceedings, the events surrounding Michael Jackson’s death (TMZ is even reputed as breaking this story), and the O.J. Simpson trial are deemed appropriate for both gossip and reputable news outlets. The content that is included within the gossip blogs follows a somewhat fluid structure. One can consider the concept of A, B, and C list celebrities in this regard. For instance, a celebrity such as Kim Kardashian or Lady Gaga, who are of significant public interest, will often be featured within the blogs for simply attending a restaurant or swimming on the beach. Celebrities who are of only moderate importance are featured within the blogs on a scale that is proportionate to the outlandishness of the actions they have been caught or rumored to have participated in. For instance, Oksana Grigorieva, a not regularly publicized celebrity, is regularly featured as a result of her being involved in the sensationalistic Mel Gibson recordings. Similarly, comedian Greg Giraldo is featured as he recently died of an overdose. While these are the general rules for content inclusion, events of absurd or comedic value will also be featured within this genre. For instance, Nadya Suleman (Ã¢â‚¬Ë œoctomom’) is featured in one blog because she is humorously promoting a beer

Front-end and back-end processes of office automation Essay

Front-end and back-end processes of office automation - Essay Example The back-end system, on the other hand, serves as the back-up system. The main tasks include organization, administration and maintenance of the data pooled in the system from the front-end. Another indispensable task is analysis of data mainly through the creation of programs that can automatically complete the synthesis of information fundamental to the operation. Thus, the back-end system commonly involves the concluding stage of data processing ("Back-end," 2005; Goldfield, 1987). The typical system that is being utilized is that which involves a network of hardware stations. The main job of the front end of the system is to input the raw data regarding the main task of the establishment. The back-end system, on the other hand, concludes and analyzes the processes involved in the system and produced output for the business. The utilization of the system of automation that employs workflow database technology can perform important advantages in any business establishment. One of the benefits of such system is that can adopt on the basis of the scale of the institution or the business. Thus, the applicability ranges from small business to a large scale and complex operations.

Genre Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Genre - Assignment Example In some instance, however, as in the case of the recent Lindsay Lohan court proceedings, the events surrounding Michael Jackson’s death (TMZ is even reputed as breaking this story), and the O.J. Simpson trial are deemed appropriate for both gossip and reputable news outlets. The content that is included within the gossip blogs follows a somewhat fluid structure. One can consider the concept of A, B, and C list celebrities in this regard. For instance, a celebrity such as Kim Kardashian or Lady Gaga, who are of significant public interest, will often be featured within the blogs for simply attending a restaurant or swimming on the beach. Celebrities who are of only moderate importance are featured within the blogs on a scale that is proportionate to the outlandishness of the actions they have been caught or rumored to have participated in. For instance, Oksana Grigorieva, a not regularly publicized celebrity, is regularly featured as a result of her being involved in the sensationalistic Mel Gibson recordings. Similarly, comedian Greg Giraldo is featured as he recently died of an overdose. While these are the general rules for content inclusion, events of absurd or comedic value will also be featured within this genre. For instance, Nadya Suleman (Ã¢â‚¬Ë œoctomom’) is featured in one blog because she is humorously promoting a beer

Why global warming is considered to be a threat to the ecological Assignment

Why global warming is considered to be a threat to the ecological balance in our planet - Assignment Example This leads to global warming which is responsible for the creation of extreme climatic conditions in different areas. These extreme climatic conditions pose a big threat to the ecological balance in our planet in many ways. According to Gosden, some species would face extinction since they may not be able to sustain the extreme climatic conditions caused by global warming. For instance, animals like penguins that can only survive in Polar Regions characterised by snow may face extinction due to the melting of snow in those areas due to global warming. On the other hand, global warming may cause food insecurity in different parts of the globe as a result of extreme weather conditions like flooding or droughts. The normal human activities can also be impacted by global warming. Overall, global warming is likely to impact on the entire ecosystem as a result of the disturbances likely to be caused by extreme climatic changes that may take place in the environment. warming.† The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/climatechange/11202987/UN-climate-change-report-to-warn-of-severe-pervasive-effects-of-global-warming.html 01 November 2015. Web. 26 May

Higher education Essay Example for Free

Higher education Essay †¢Assignment # 2 – Comprehensive Case: â€Å"Muffler Magic† Read the â€Å"Muffler Magic† case and write a four-to-five (4-5) page report that answers the following: 1. Specify three (3) recommendations about the functions of recruiting, selection, and training that you think Ron Brown should be addressing with his HR manager now. Currently youre allowing your HR to hire employees without carefully screening each and every candidate, checking their references and work ethic due to such a high demand of staff. Envitably, youre higher mediocre applicants for more than mediocre pay and at the risk of your name and overall profitability. Being able to answer minimal questions shouldnt be enough to be hired as a technician and questions such as what do you think the problem is if a 2001 Camery is overheating? What would you do? should not be enough to secure a position within the company. Muffler Magic offers a range of products and services and engine issues is merely one of the many situations an employee may come across. How do these types of generic questions answer if your applicant is able to fulfill the requirements for muffler replacements, oil changes, and brake jobs? Obviously, from looking at the handful of situational mishaps youve described your HR department is merely hiring whoever walks into the office and in return youre given inaccurate and potentially life threatening break jobs and repairs out of the companies pocket. This is not acceptable and it is no wonder why the company isnt profiting. One of the reasons behinds why you dont necessarily want to adapt or change some crucial points within the company is the money. If you broke down one instance where there was an error made by one of your associates, take the engine for instance a new engine can cost any consumer somewhere in the ballpark of $2,000 to $4,000*not including the benefits or any extra perks. Now lets say that one of these errors happened in every single store then youre looking at $50,000+ worth of mistakes coming out of Magic Mufflers pocket (keep in mind that estimated figure is from 1 mistake). With that type of money, I would imagine you could hire and appropriately train quite a few applicants that would be worth your time and money. I would recommend changing your recruiting, selecting and training standards immediately. Starting with the recruiting aspect of Magic Muffler. Instead of allowing the applicants come  to you, why dont we go above and beyond and seek the preferred applicant. We can still advertise through local newspapers and internet, but we really should be seeking out those employees that have some kind of responsibility and potential retainability. The one major thing I didnt see in the recruiting process youre currently using is zoning in on what type of candidate are you looking forin terms of education level and experience level based upon the types of work they will be working on. One of the huge factors to remember is Presently, vehicles use high-tech computers and complex electronic systems to monitor the performance of the vehicle. A strong sense of understanding concerning the operation of a vehicle, including how each device interacts, as well as the ability to deal with electronic diagnostic equipment and digital reference manuals is key to the success of a technician(http://www. careeroverview. com/auto-mechanic-careers. html) Therefore, Magic Muffler is in need of a qualified individual that is capable of working with UTD automotive machinery and possible situations that could arise. Therefore Magic Muffler should be spending their money recruiting individuals that have successfully completed a vocational training program in automotive service technology(ie:Automotive Youth Education Service (AYES)). For a more advanced position they will need ,in addition to vocational training, stoma kind of Postsecondary automotive technician training whether through a prior company, community college or technical college. Finally other qualifications you should be focused on while recruiting is the ability to diagnose the source of a problem quickly and accurately, good reasoning ability and a thorough knowledge of automobiles, strong communication and analytical skills and good reading, mathematics, and computer skills to study technical manuals with the drive to continuously keep up with new technology and learn new service and repair procedures and specifications. To find these types of applicants I would recommend some type of college recruiting; starting with on campus recruiting and then continuing the recuriting process with an onsite visit. Continuing with the selection process, I think its quite obvious that we should be focusing on a Personality Profile Analysis, which applicants can perform online and follow this up with a PPA(200 HRM BOOK). If you chose not to go that route you can always focus on tests of cognitive abilities (more specifically aptitude testing and motor/physical abilities). If these tests pan out then we should go forward with a background check/reference check. This may seem to be an overwhelming process, but finding the perfect candidates is essential to low turnover rates and high satisfaction level across the board. The next step is to select the applicants that you are satisfied with their performance on the tests, interview and background check. After applicants are chosen and hired, we need to start with an orientation of the company and its overall goals and next is training. Although OTJ training does offer a lot to the employee it is not enough for these types of positions. Considering car technology is constantly advancing there needs to a need to continuously further your mechanics knowledge. As a responsible employer you should send your experienced automotive service technicians to manufacturer training centers to learn to repair new models or to receive special training in the repair of components, such as electronic fuel injection or air-conditioners and even beginner mechanics who show potential may be sent to manufacturer-sponsored technician training programs to upgrade or maintain employees skills. There are of course crucial training necessary, which cannot be offered OTJ and that is electronics training. This is vital because electrical components, or a series of related components, account for nearly all malfunctions in modern vehicles. As the employee continues to thrive the company should offer additional training for possible certifications or advancement opportunities. For example: the ASE certification has become a standard credential for automotive service technicians. While not mandatory for work in automotive service, certification is common for all experienced technicians in large, urban areas. Certification is available in eight different areas of automotive service, such as electrical systems, engine repair, brake systems, suspension and steering, and heating and air-conditioning. For certification in each area, technicians must have at least 2 years of experience and pass the examination. Completion of an automotive training program in high school, vocational or trade school, or community or junior college may be substituted for 1 year of experience. For ASE certification as a Master Automobile Technician, technicians must pass all eight examinations. *http://www. ehow. com/facts_4830630_cost-car-engine-replacement. html 2. Write three (3) questions for a structured interview form that Ron Brown’s service center managers can use to interview experienced technicians. (Note: do not list possible answers. ) As I had said previously asking generic questions are not going to offer you the results in which most employers desire. There are a couple of things that should be kept in mind when creating these questions such as; which type of questions would be more effective in displaying the qualities Muffler Magic desires? Considering HR already has a lot to do with the hiring process, I think the appropriate form of interview would be a structured situational interview. After analyzing the positions and rating the jobs main duties, we would need to create questions reflecting such duties and daily knowledge to perform them. Three questions I would use to test the waters would be: What training(classroom or on the job), have you had with engine, transmission or brake diagnostic equipment? Identify the diagnostic program and was it computer and software based? Have you worked with engine, transmission or brake diagnostic equipment computer and software? What was the diagnostic program and what was your involvement? What experience, knowledge, and skill do you have with air brake systems, anti lock, and heavy-duty truck suspensions? Relate your experience and describe your skills working with school bus, heavy-duty trucks, light duty pick-up truck, and van bodies/Relate your experience and describe your skills working with heavy and medium-duty diesel and gasoline-powered engines and light-duty pick-up truck and van engines. (www. msbo. org/library/HumanRes/Interview/Mech. doc).

Facts About Burger King Holdings Marketing Essay

Facts About Burger King Holdings Marketing Essay Burger King (BK) is the second largest fast food hamburger restaurant (FFHR) in the world with operations in 74 different countries. Its major competitors are McDonalds, Subway and Yum! Brands. BK was ranked among Americas 1,000 largest corporations by Fortune Magazine in 2008. Further, Burger King is listed among one of the Top 100 Best Global Brands. History The history of the brand Burger King refers to 1959, when J, M and D.Edg purchased the firm from the original founders. Company was run as an independent entity for eight years, eventually expanding to over 250 locations in the United States, but in 1967 due to some reasons, baking giant Pillsbury repurchased Burger King. In 1978, when McDonalds executive Donald N. Smith came to renovate the company BKC was prominantly modificated in terms of its franchise agreements, strategy, menu, and restraunt look out. But Poor operating performance and ineffective leadership weight down the company during many years, even after Diageo, the global alcoholic beverages company baught Burger King in 1989. Eventually, Diageo damaged the company by neglecting the brand, and major franchises were driven out of business and its total value was significantly decreased. In 2002 Diageo divested itself of the money-losing business and sold Burger King to a group of investment firms lead by TPG Capital. Aft er this acquisition, many positive changes started to happen to Burger King. One of the major issues was first public offering in 2006, which was highly succefful. But there were some spots on Burger King reputation. The case of unsauccessful Buck Double campaign, which promoted $1 burgers, provoking the lawsuits from franchisees, unhappy with selling at a price lower than production costs. Those events somehow were reflected on the BKC stock behavior. By the time the ordinary stock of Burger King was selling at $16 per share, another interesting and totally unexpected thing shocked the global business community. On September 2, 2010, a Brazailian company 3G Capital Management LLC. Announced decision to acquire all the stocks of Burger King for $24.00 per share, or $3.26 billion in aggregate including Burger Kings outstanding debt. As the purpose of this report is to analyse the current state of the company and give recommendation upon this recent transaction, further in this paper we will answer whether it was good or bad acquisition. Key People of Burger King John Chidsey, Ex-CEO, currently is a Co-Chairman of the Board BK Inc. He joined Burger King Corporation as an Executive Vice President and the Chief Administrative and Financial Officer in March 2004. In fact, his effective leadership and strategic thought brought company to a quite successful level of performance. His wide range of responsibilities included monitoring franchise and company operations, finance, corporate strategic planning, and oversight of the annual budget, the information technology function, risk management, and corporate procurement, as well as the Franchise Financial Restructuring Program (FFRP). Mr. Chidsey obtained Doctor of Jurisprudence and MBA from Emory University. Therefore his academic background in law and business, overall professional skills and previous experience bring unprecedented value to the company. As from the recent news, John Chidsey is going to resign from the board and will be employed with BKC until the April 18, 2011. Ben Wells CFO and Treasurer of Burger King, who has more than 25 years of experience in financa. He repots directly to CEO and proves himself as a key member of the executive leadership team. Before joining BKC he held a position of vice president and corporate treasurer at Compaq Computer Corporation, when he successfully led the finance team in stabilizing finance and accounting operations.He also was employed by such famous corporation as British Petroleum and Hewlett Packard. Possessing degree in economics and business administration (University of Missouri, Texas AM University, Canisius College), he is capabable for building a world-class treasury organization and developing capital structure and risk management programs for the global organization. Alexander Behring Co-Chairman of the Board BK Inc. and Managing Partner of 3G Capital Management LLC. Experienced engineer and successful private equity manager, he is the one, who was behind the $4bn takeover of BKC. Becoming one of the inflluential investors of Brazil, he started and lead America Latina Logistica, the biggest railroad and logistics corporation in Latin America. Mr. Behring holds MBA from Harvard Business School and Bachelors Degree from Pontifà ­cia Universidade Catà ³lica do Rio de Janeiro. Bernardo Hees new CEO of Burger King Inc., since September 2010. Previously, he was Chief Executive Officer of America Latina Logistica (ALL), as a successor of Alexander Behring, since January 2005 and served on its Board of Directors. B. Hees is an experienced executive with an impressive track record of enhancing performance, managing a team that drove strong gains in both revenues and profitability. He obtained MBA from the University of Warwick and passed Owners-Presidents Management program at Harvard Business School. According to his sound resume and reputation, he can be fairly considered as an excellent steward of the Burger King brand, inspired by the intention to take company to the next level of competition in the U.S. and worldwide. Business Model of Burger King: A business model is a plan implemented by a company to generate revenues and make profits from the operations it performs. (Investopedia, n.d.). Burger King uses the franchise business model to generate profits. Under the franchise arrangement, the franchisees invest in the equipment, signage, seating, and decor of the restaurant, while the company owns or leases the land and building. The company generates revenues mainly from three sources: sales at the company restaurants, royalties and franchise fees, and property income from certain franchise restaurants that lease or sub-lease property from the company (Datamonitor, 2010). Resources of the Company Reagrding the resources available for sustainable comptitive advantage, those resources are classified into tanbgible and intangible. As Burger King is a well-establiched global corporation, it has formulated very strong basis for its worldwide operations. In fact, despite of performing in the fast paced indutsry and facing the risk of once to become unclaimed due to unhealthy food provision, as consumers may change their preferences, BKC definitely creates a unique line of products. For instance, famous Whopper sandwich, CroissanWich, flame-broiled hamburgers and etc. Burger King proves itself as genuinly global company by localization of products versions by adding ingredients such as teriyaki or beetroot and fried egg to the Whopper; beer in Germany, Italy and Spain; and halal or kosher products in the Middle East and Israel. They property counts for almost 12 000 restaurants worldwide, of which 60% is concentrated in US and Canada, and 40% is internationally spread. Regards the intangible assets, highly quilified and experienced executive management team is a great value to Burger King, promising effective operations and high and stable earnings growth. While globally recognised brand Burger King is another powerful asset to corporation, as well as reputation and products assocated with it. And last, but not the list is the Knowledge, which mainly brought the Burger King fame for its products. They definitely possess unique production technology, which is constantly updated and successfully implemented. Strategy Analysis Business Strategy Analysis From pdf Business Strategy Analysis helps us evaluate the sustainability of the firm. BK strives to implement the following elements into its business strategy in order to grow. Further drive sales growth: BK is attempting to increase sales growth by enhancing guest experience, expanding hours of operations and emphasizing on restaurant reimaging program. All this is expected to result in higher sales and traffic in these restaurants and yield strong cash on cash returns. Enhance restaurant profitability: BK endeavours to enhance restaurant profitability by leveraging their fixed cost structure by introducing higher margin products and creating efficiencies through improved speed of service and equipment. Further, BK utilizes market based pricing model to achieve optimal pricing in the highly competitive market environment, thus making it a market follower. Employ innovative marketing strategies and offer superior value and quality: BK employs innovative and creative marketing strategies to increase their restaurant traffic and comparable sales. BKs whooper has been one of the best known products in the fast food industry. In addition, BK has also launched AngryWooperTM sandwhich, BK Burger Shots and BK Breakfast ShotsTM in the U.S., the King DealsTM in Germany, the U.K. and Spain and the Come Como ReyTM (Eat Like a King) every day value menu in Mexico. Further, their advertisement campaigns have always created a buzz and improved their visibility in the market. Expand our large international platform: Presently, BK is concentrated in the US and Canadian markets only, therefore they have a significant growth potential in international arena. BK has realized this and has developed a detailed global development plan to accelerate growth over the next few years. However, entering into international markets is tough because McDonalds already has its presence in almost all countries of the world. Further, BK fails to mention the strategy with which they plan to enter international markets. This maybe because they do not want to divulge their strategy to their competitors, or because they do not have a strategy which can provide them a competitive advantage over McDonalds. Use proactive portfolio management to drive growth: BK intends to use proactive portfolio management to drive growth and optimize their Company restaurant portfolio and franchisee participation in new and existing markets, while maintaining our 90/10 franchise to Company restaurant ownership mix. Between April 2008 and May 2009, BK acquired 128 new restaurants in parts US and sold 39 Company restaurants to new and existing franchisee. In addition, they closed under-performing restaurants in UK and sold certain Company restaurants in Germany and Canada to their local franchisees. Thus, the business strategy focuses on driving sales in existing markets and striving for presence in international market. However, almost all quick service restaurants that strive for greater profitability follow a similar strategy. If BK wishes to have a greater market presence, then it has to keep coming up with new, innovative, and creative products and marketing campaigns as these are the only ways by which they can differentiate their brand. Further, we carried out the industry analysis (See Appendix X), and found that per se the industry has a good market potential. Moreover, as the global economic environment improves the industry would again be profitable as the consumers would again become price insensitive and companies coming up with new, innovative and affordable menus would have more power than the buyers and suppliers. In addition, the industry is forecast to increase by 19.2 % till 2014 and there is a growing demand of fast-food in the emerging markets like India, China, and Indonesia etc. Therefore, the industry has good future prospects if tapped in an appropriate manner. Based on the SWOT analysis (see Appendix X1), it can be discerned that the company understands that the only way to increase its profitability is through constant innovation and expansion into new international market; and given the brand reputation, the franchise mix and robust financial performance, we think the company has the capability to grow profitably in the future. 5. VALUATION The value of any security is determined by its quality and profit potential. The economic environment and industry in which firm operates also have inevitable impact. Hence, we valued of BKC by incorporating these factors into the analysis of BKCs stock value. It is well known that it is very subjective to valuate any company and its stock as the market is changing constantly and the market price heavily depends on peoples expectations and feelings. The good example might be Burger Kings market price that soared from $16.77 to $13.64 after the acquisition announcement http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Burger_King_Holdings_(BKC)/WikiChart (Appendix H). Most analysts use various valuation models to calculate whether a stock is overvalued or undervalued. Those models are just generally accepted ways of assessing a companys stock and make a recommendation. Thus, analysts should not rely on the results of these models only but also take into consideration performance of existing competitors. Using comparables, i.e. ratios of identical companies and their financial performance indicators, as an addition to the valuation analysis should give a better understanding of company health and what it stands for in the market. For that reason, we have imple mented several valuation models, including Dividend Discount Model (DDM), Market premium (MP) and Residual Earnings Model (RE), and compared BKCs performance to its major competitor McDonalds using financial ratios. It should be noted that for the sake of comparison, we have taken the financial data available at the end of fiscal years for BKC and McDonalds i.e. June 30th, 2010 and December 31st, 2010, respectively. Further, the spot stock prices are taken as of June 30th, 2010. 5.1 Performance [I THINK PERFORMANCE SHOULD GO IN HERE] 5.2 Dividend Discount Model Starting from year 2006, when Burger King was first listed on the New-York Stock Exchange, the company has paid the fixed dividend of $0.25  [1]  per share per year (Appendix A). Therefore, we do not expect any future dividend growth and assume zero growth for DDM valuation model. For simplicity, we use DDM-perpetuity and take required rate of return (k) as a discounting factor (r). Therefore, V = D/r à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (1) According to The Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), required rate of return (k) is calculated as follows: k = rf + B(rm rf) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. (2) where, rf = risk-free rate, B = beta, (rm rf) = market risk premium We have used risk-free rate of 2.92% from company report (Burger King Holdings, 2010, p.87), company beta of 0.80 was taken from on-line source (ADVFN, 2011) and market risk premium 6.75% from Journal of Financial Economics, which is a bit outdated but we believe that this type of market is even riskier then it was 10 years ago (Fama, 1997, p.172). Substituting the values in equation 2, we get k = 2.92% + 0.80*6.75% = 8.32% As mentioned before, since r = k, substituting the value of r in equation 1, we get V= 0.25/0.0832 = $3.00 (The value of BKCs share) However, as of June 30th, 2010 market share price of BKC was $16.84/share (Wikinvest, 2011). Further, in order to assess our valuation, we valued the share price of McDonalds share and got a valuation of $36.28 (for calculations, see Appendix G). However, as of June 30th, 2010 the share price is $65.87. As, McDonalds is more popular brand than BK, and its stock price is twice as high as the valuation figure, whereas BK King is way behind McDonalds but its price is five times higher than the calculated value. To investigate the reliability of this result we calculate the market premium of the BKs share. 5.3 Market Premium Model The measure of stockholders equity on the balance sheet typically does not reflect the intrinsic value of what the equity is worth (Penman, 2003). There is a definition of intrinsic value which states that it is the actual value of a company or an asset based on an underlying perception of its true value including all aspects of the business, in terms of both tangible and intangible factors. This value may or may not be the same as the current market value (Investopedia, 2011). For that reason it is meaningful to see what extra price, or premium, the market pays for a particular security. In order to calculate market premium we use the formula (Penman, 2003): Market Premium = Market Value of Equity Book Value of Equityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. (3) Calculating the market value of BKC as of June 30, 2010, Market Value = Price per share*Shares Outstanding à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. (4) = $16.84*135.4m=$2,280.136m The Book Value of BKC = Total Shareholders Equity = $1,128.4m (Appendix C). Therefore, Market Premium = $1,151.736m. With Shares Outstanding = 135.4m, the Book Value per Share (BVPS) = $8.33 and Premium = $8.51. Indeed, the premium constitutes 102% over the book value. As compared to McDonalds, with 1,072m shares outstanding (Appendix D), McDonalds has a BVPS of $12.25 and the premium of $53.62, which is 438% higher than its book value. Thus, we may conclude that market is ready to pay quadruple premium for MCD, which indicates a great brand awareness and customer loyalty; however, they are still ready to pay twice for BKCs shares, which is a good sign for the stock evaluation. 5.4 Residual Earnings Model The residual earnings model relies on book value, which represents shareholders investments into the firm and measures value added to the investments. In other words, the book value of equity is taken and discounted back potential abnormal earnings are added to it. These earnings are returns to shareholders above their required rate of return. These earnings are important because otherwise the shareholders would have no objective to invest into the company if it break-evens at the minimum rate of return (Penman, 2003). Value = Book value + Premium à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. (5) or Value of common equity (VE0) = B0 + RE1/re à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (6) where, re = required rate of return, RE = Residual Earnings for Equity Now, Residual Earnings = Comprehensive Earnings (Required Return for Equity * Beginning-of-Period Book Value) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. (7) BK reported $165.8 million of comprehensive income on June 30, 2010 (Appendix B) on book value of $974.8 million. If BKs shareholders required a return of 8.32% in June, 2010; then its 2010 residual earnings were: Residual Earnings = $165.8 (8.32%*$974.8) = $84.70 million The very existence of the residual earnings gives us a sign that Burger King is a good investment to get extra return on invested funds. Further, substitutiting the values in equation 7, we get: Value of common equity (VE0) = $974.8 + $84.70/.0832 = $1,992.83 million VE0/share = $1,992.83/135.4 = $14.72 Assuming that RE remain unchanged (g=0%), then the calculated the intrinsic value of BKs share of $14.72 is close to market price of $16.84. Obviously, market was aware of the existing premium and recognized it by setting market price at that level. 5.5 Summary The three valuation models have revealed Burger Kings financial performance from different angles. For the reason that todays market is different from yesterdays, the DDM model is not really appropriate for security valuation, because contemporary market is mature and, as we have observed, dividends do not grow along with growing earnings as used to be in the past. However, this model was implemented just to see the consistency and get a better understanding of the value of the stock. The market premium model gave us a good sense of what market is ready to pay for the BKs share and McDonalds share. Further, the residual earnings model is said to be more reliable as compared to the other two models because it uses book value of the equity as well as market premium model. Overall, it can be seen that BK per se has performed well in the market; however it has been far behind its main competitor McDonalds. 6. RISKS Burger King is exposed to a variety of risks (3G Capital, 2011). The most prominent and important risks come from internal characteristics of the firm and market-determined factors. Internal characteristics of the firm include: Business risk: This risk might arise as a result of decreasing demand due to changes in consumer preferences, possible suppliers delays or adverse economic conditions. Also, the business model is based on franchising contracts, so franchisees financial strengths and ability to manage increasing costs is also subject of risk. Financial risk: BK has long-term and short-term debt outstanding, so it should have enough operating cash to meet these obligations. According to the notes to companys financial statements, BK uses derivative instruments, such as interest rate swaps and foreign currency forward contracts, which imply a higher risk exposure. Legal risk: As every food company, BK is in charge of risk related to food safety and toys as promotional instruments in their restaurants, as well as any legal judgments and pressures from competitors. Country risk / Exchange rate risk: BK is an international company, therefore fluctuations in foreign currencies and adverse government regulations create substantial risk exposure. Reputation risk: Customers in FFHR industry are very sensitive to the reputation and brand awareness of the company. Market-determined factors include: Systematic risk: This is an unmanageable risk, which can arise as a result of recessions and wars. Analyzing the risk associated with the functioning of the company, it can be discerned that BK acknowledges that there are some risks associated with the business. And therefore, has some measures such as following a market based pricing model, using trusted suppliers, etc. for overcoming these risks (Annual report, 2010). Further, BK is still vulnerable to the unknown risks such as exchange rate risks and systemic risks. However, these risks are faced by all companies. It is just a matter of the way in which they respond to these risks that determines how they fair in the market. As for BK, the impact of the systemic risk is has been high as compared to its competitor McDonalds (Datamonitor, 2010). However, they have realized this and have tried to overcome these setbacks by implementing promotional, other price discounting actions, and closing non-profitable company restaurants. (Annual report, 2010) 7. CONCLUSION Based on our analysis of companys background, strategy and people, as well as industry analysis and financial performance valuation we discern that the financial performance of BK was stable and improving during last five year, and the valuation revealed that the market believes that Burger Kings stock is worth investing. Therefore, we can conclude that the company is financially healthy and hence the acquirer, 3G Capital, made a good decision. However, because the new management does not have any experience in the food industry and adding to this the current economic situation, Burger King might be in a vulnerable position right now. Further, in the industry analysis, on one hand, there was a threat of customers switching to the healthier options, which might imply a risky acquisition decision by 3G Capital. And on the other hand, there was a positive outlook towards the quick service restaurant industry, which is expected to grow at a rate of 3% per year. Analyzing the annual repor t of BK, we realized that BK is aware of these issues and has been trying to improve them by introducing healthier meals and innovative marketing campaigns. Moreover, the strategy of the company is very ambiguous. The strategies and goals of BK are very generalist and unclear how the management is going to achieve these. However, the new management might set a new and a sound strategy and provide necessary resources for achieving it. In conclusion, in light of the business strategy and the comparison of the performance of the company with its competitiors , we think that the BKs acquisition was hugely overvalued. However, because of the stable financial performance and positive industry outlook it was a good acquisition and if the new management is able to tap the potential in the existing and new markets in a appropriate manner then the companys growth potential is huge. [PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ADD/AMEND SOMETHING IN CONCLUSION] APPENDIX A Consolidated Statement of Income Burger King Source: Burger King Holding, Inc. Form 10-K, 2010 APPENDIX B Consolidated Statement of Stockholders Equity Burger King Source: Burger King Holding, Inc. Form 10-K, 2010 APPENDIX C Consolidated Balance Sheet Burger King Source: Burger King Holding, Inc. Form 10-K, 2010 APPENDIX D Consolidated Statement of Income -McDonalds Source: McDonalds Corporation, Form 10-K, 2010 APPENDIX E Consolidated Statement of Stockholders Equity -McDonalds Source: McDonalds Corporation, Form 10-K, 2010 APPENDIX F Consolidated Balance Sheet -McDonalds Source: McDonalds Corporation, Form 10-K, 2010 APPENDIX G Dividend Discount Model McDonalds For valuation of McDonalds share, we have used the same risk-free rate of 2.92% and market risk premium of 6.75%, company beta of 0.49 was taken from the same on-line source (ADVFN, 2011). Substituting the values in equation 2, we get k = 2.92%+ 0.49*6.75% = 6.23%. The dividend per share was virtually stable; therefore we took the figure of $2.26 per share, as of 2010. As, r = k, substituting the value of r in equation 1, we get V = 2.26/0.0623 = $36.28 Therefore, as of June 30th, 2010 market share price of MCD was valued using the DDM model as $36.28, whereas the spot share price was $65.87 per share. It should be noted that for the valuations using the DDM model, we take the same risk-free rate and market risk premium, because companies are competing in the same industry, however beta is different because MCD is more stable than BKC which is why the risk of volatility is lower. McDonalds price history Source: Morningstar investment research, 2011 APPENDIX H Price History -Burger King Source: Wikinvest, 2011 Industry Analysis: Using the Porters Five Forces Model (Datamonitor, Industry analysis) Porters five forces model helps in analysing the profit potential of an industry which would eventually help in determining a firms chances of generating long-term profits. (book) Bargaining power of buyers: The economic recession has strengthened the buyer power as the industry players try to secure price sensitive consumers using competitive pricing strategies. However, due to the sheer convenience of having fast-food makes fast-food more important to the consumer than a simple source of food. Therefore, the buyer power is assessed to be moderate. Bargaining power of suppliers: For a fast food company to make profits, it is vital that the company has reliable suppliers that offer food of marketable quality and at a low margin. However, a large number of these suppliers serve other kinds of foodservice and cost service customers, thereby decreasing their dependence on fast food players. Therefore, the supplier power is considered to be moderate. Threat of new entrants: As large capital reserves are not required for setting up a single, independent fast food outlet, the entry into the global fast food market is easy. However, to build a global brand requires precise market knowledge, an excellent management team, and an admirable brand reputation, therefore the threat from new entrants is assessed to be moderate. Threat of substitute products: The substitutes for fast-food include other forms of profit foodservice and also food retail (ready meals or ingredients for home cooking). However, these are considered to be unhealthy and take time in preparing, whereas convenience and availability are considered to be the main drivers for choosing fast-food. Therefore, the threat of substitutes is assessed to be moderate. Rivalry among existing firms: Rivalry in the fast-food industry is considered to be intense as the fast food markets can be very concentrated. The burger segment is close to being a Burger-King/ McDonalds duopoly. Further, prices especially of value meals and brand power form the greatest sources of competition in the fast-food market. SWOT Analysis: The SWOT analysis helps us determine a companys strengths and weaknesses, and then helps us evaluate whether the company has the ability to effectively exploit its opportunities and overcome its threats. Adapted from (Datamonitor, 2010) Strong market position and brand equity BK enjoys a strong market position and possesses an established brand reputation. This has enabled it to gain economies of scale, increase its bargaining power, and enter international markets. (Datamonitor, 2010) High franchise mix The company has franchise stores and company restaurants in the ratio of 90-10. This restaurant ownership mix provides BK with a strategic advantage as the capital required to grow and maintain the BK system is funded primarily by franchisees, while the Company restaurants give it a sizeable base to demonstrate credibility. (pdf) Innovative marketing campaigns and advertising to provide greater visibility BK uses innovative marketing, advertising and sponsorships to drive sales and generate restaurant traffic. The main target market of BK is the 18-35 year old male with a love of fast food. (Datamotiner, BKcase study). Therefore, its advertisements are made to appeal to this segment. Further, BKs advertisements campaigns such as Whopper Sacrifice campaign and Cheat on beef campaign help the company gain better visibility which helps it to have an impact on the revenue generating capacity. Weaknesses Declining comparable sales growth BK saw a decline in its comparable sales growth in 2009. This was mainly because of continued adverse macroeconomic conditions, higher unemployment, more customers eating at home, and heavy discounting by other restaurant chains. This only means that the management has to focus on various product offerings that cater to the value conscious customers during times of poor economic conditions. Concentrated operations-in terms of geographic presence and dependence on selected distributors increases business risks Although BKC operates in 74 countries, its operations are heavily concentrated in the US. Approximately 61% of its restaurants are located in the US. US and Canada account for about 68.7% of the total revenues, whereas BKCs competitor McDonalds generates only 35% of its total revenues from US. Concentrated operations increase the business risk of the company and impact its results of operations and thus its financial condition. Opportunities Expansion in existing and new markets BKC should focus on expanding into existing and new markets and the company has taken steps to expand into international markets. 2009 saw a 28% rise in new restaurants in international markets. The company also entered two new in

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