Category: Uncategorized

Organizational Theory

(Name)

(Tutor)

(Institutional affiliation)

(Date)

First Principles of Social Organization

In his principles of social organization, Socrates argues that studying the society on a large scale would be better unlike partitioning it into small bits. He continues to argue that societies are driven by two concepts that of mutual need- people need to rely on one another to attain satisfactory life- and specialization by various people who are able to do certain things with a lot of expertise. In this regard, the society is bound to have natural progress.

In the society, the theory of classism applies in that different people in the society play specific roles ranging from the producers to proletarians. These classes of people contribute a great mile to the advancement of the society, as another group in the society could not have done the roles they perform better. Managers for instance cannot produce corn in the fields, while the corn producers may not in a position to do the paper work in an organization. Alternatively, if the corn producers were not present, it would be futile for the managers being in office. This relates to the need for mutual relationship stated above.

Civilized Society

Socrates argues that every society has the right to earn the privilege of enjoying civilization. This leads to our understanding of the causes of injustice and justice in the society. In our context, we not only look at luxuries of life but a strong army that is able to protect the society and what it has toiled endlessly to achieve. From Socrates argument, it is evident that he advocates for each class playing its role in the society effectively and more specifically soldiers in the pursuit for a civilized society. He contends that it is the ultimate responsibility of the society to ensure that the best men are selected to defend it by all incomes.

Qualities Required in the Guardians

Guardians are responsible for protection of the community from both internal and external assaults. Being the watchdogs of the society their attributes ought to be physical strength, bravery and a high level of philosophical personality. Just like a dog, these guardians should wary at any sight of a stranger, whether of good will or not. Guardians should always be willing to learn new skills that may assist in their conduction of duties easily. Speed is also key for any guardian for the society’s security may put under jeopardy any time; speed is obligatory to counter it.

The Three Classes and Their Mutual Relations

The guardians, rulers and auxiliaries work in conjunction to provide security to the society. While the rulers are concerned with dispensing orders to its subordinates, among them being auxiliaries, the guardians play the role of protecting the society from internal feuds and external attacks. The auxiliaries discharge militarily functions under the guidance of the rulers. All these parties play the role of a defense team to the vulnerable society.

The Rulers’ and Auxiliaries’ Way of Life

The rulers and auxiliaries live a life devoid of luxuries like having a family or owning private property. According to Plato, this is good for the society at large and is the best decision that a society may undertake to protect its people. Plato’s ideologies argue that if the guardians of the society are deprived of these luxuries and privileges, they will have no dedication towards life but to the well being of the society. If guardians are given an opportunity to enjoy life, the security of the state may be at stake, for they may dedicate their lives to personal developments and forget the entire public and their role towards it.

Final Provisions of Unity

Guardians should ensure that the society is maintained in terms of security and ability of its citizens to invest in secure manner. They should also maintain the rate at which the society is advancing to avoid a instance whereby it is too large to manage in terms of provision of services and provision of security. Having undergone military training, it is expected that the guardians perform this role with utmost ease.

The Status of Women

Socrates argues there is no difference between men and women in terms of their intellectual ability. The only difference is that their physical attributes are different. He continues to argue that if women acquire education, they may be in a better position to offer tangible counsel just like men. Women have to undergo training in all aspects- physical, mental in order to acquire the necessary expertise for administration of a ruling. In the case of war, physical training is important for women to take part in it.

If we say that women do not have the capacity to learn just like the men, this would be a mere understatement.

Marriage and the Family

Marriage is the ingredient of development of the society. According to Plato, the ageing populace has to be replaced by a younger generate who shall take over the roles provided by the aforementioned. From marriage, these new beings learn how to relate with others and respect authority. This is the first step towards governing a society it being the smallest political unit in the society. If the best species are allowed to mate then the pedigrees in the society will be good enough to enhance the norms of the society without alterations. They are later incorporated into various sectors in the society under proper guidance, which interprets that rules and regulations are inculcated in the child in the process of upbringing.

The Ideal and the Actual

Most states that exist are simply ideal but not actual. In attempt to different the two, Socrates explains that in order for a state to attain actuality, it has to surpass all the components that add up to a modern state. He likens a man painting a beautiful man to ideal since in actuality; a beautiful man is unrealistic and impractical. A state may have the best intellectuals but if does not lay down clearly rules of action, then the state is bound to fail or simply operate ideally.

The Simile of the Cave

This simile describes that reality is not achievable only through illusions but active participation of making the dream happen. All systems have to be laid in place for the whole society to function. Just as one closes their eyes and the whole, body turns into darkness, the same way if rulers do not incorporate all concepts of an organization.

Conclusion

From Plato’s perception of the State, the most striking aspect that he holds is that all institutions in the society rely on each other for almost everything. If one part is alienated then the other parts are not in a position to function effectively. It is remarkable how he puts across his message to outline this salient feature. He claims that it is from the family that citizens grow and learn the norms of the society. He also brings to picture the correlated functions of the guardians and auxiliaries in the provision of security in the society. Lastly the simile of the cave covers it all by expounding on the impossibility of one part functioning without the other or in short attain actuality.

Fingerhut’s Price Strategy

Introduction

The importance of ethics cannot be gainsaid as far as the sustainability of any business entity is concerned. Indeed, business ethics has a bearing on the appeal that a particular business has in the eyes of customers, both current and potential, and involves the application of ethical behavior to or values to business behavior. This application would encompass every other aspect of business conduct including the strategies that are used in the boardroom to the treatment that companies give their employees, suppliers and customers, as well as the accounting practices and sales techniques. Of particular note is the fact that ethics would go beyond the realm of the legal requirements placed on the company, in which case it would revolve around the discretionally decisions that the company makes, as well as the behavior that dictates the values that it holds or spouses. However, there are instances where the application of business ethics would seem to contradict the legal requirements for the companies (Ferrell et al., 2011). The fact that companies may not necessarily required by law to act in a certain way often breeds controversial issues or cases that may threaten the sustainability of a company, as is the case for Fingerhut’s price strategy. The determination of the ethical or unethical nature of Fingerhut’s price strategy would necessitate the examination of the “autonomy and creation of desire” by Roger Crisp.

In line with Roger Crisp’s assertions, Fingerhut would have been culpable or guilty of exploiting its low-income consumers through the application of unfair and deceptive marketing techniques (Treviño & Nelson, 2011). Of particular note is the fact that the company has created a database containing detailed information about its customers including their age, number of children, marital status, hobbies, dates of birth and others, thereby allowing it to make predictions pertaining to the types of products that every individual would be likely to require or purchase (Ferrell et al., 2011). This would then allow them to come up with a catalogue of an appropriate mix of targeted specialties on the basis of “statistically determined predictions pertaining to the behavior of customers”. Underlining the comprehensiveness of information that the company would collect is the fact that it would capture as much as 1400 pieces of information pertaining to a household. Crisp would underline the fact that the company purposely targets low income customers upon recognizing the motives that would present the least challenge to their marketing and manipulate the potential customers using their persuasive marketing and advertisement techniques (Treviño & Nelson, 2011). They, essentially, used the information on their clients to determine the behaviors that the customers would be most likely to exhibit, as well as what they would be most likely to need or want subconsciously, before creating the desires in them through the specialized catalogs. Of particular note is the fact that the catalogs were laced with information on easy weekly and monthly payments, which would complement the desires created to influence the potential customers to make the purchase, while making refusal of the offer extremely difficult (Ferrell et al., 2011). It goes without saying that the customers would not even have thought of buying the items if only the need for the same had not been created through the specialized catalogues that had been mailed to them alongside the incredible payment offers. Indeed, the specialization of the business catalogues with goods that matched the likely needs of the potential customers and their capabilities would make the entire business plan and pricing strategy unethical (Treviño & Nelson, 2011). According to Roger Crisp, the marketing technique used by Fingerhut denied its customers of an opportunity to act autonomously, especially considering the fact that the specialized catalogues had specific goods that were aimed at creating a desire thereby forcing the customers to buy the goods rather than making them want the same. Complementing this notion is the fact that the catalogs incorporated information on easy and low payment structures. These eventually masked the real prices that the clients would end up paying, a strategy that Crisp would see as amounting to deception of the clients. Indeed, Roger Crisp would see this as amounting to the brainwashing of the customers so as to create the impression that the items were cheaper than they were while, in fact, the goods thus sold could even have been about 100% more expensive compared to those of their competitors (Ferrell et al., 2011). Of particular note is the fact that the target customers were essentially low income individuals, in which case they can be assumed to have been less educated, and even less informed about the prices in the market, in which case they had no idea as to the variations in the prices of the goods that they paid and the prices that they should have paid in a perfect or fair market (Treviño & Nelson, 2011). This underlines the fact that the marketing techniques and motives used by Crisp were aimed at exploiting the ignorance of the customers, in which case it had acted unethically.

However, other scholars or philosophers would hold a contrary opinion. Milton Friedman, in particular would insinuate that the company had acted ethically as it was operating in a capitalist market, in which case it had a duty to generate as much profit as possible. In addition, it adhered to the fundamental rules laid down by the society. They have carved niche for themselves amongst the low-income or middle income customers, who essentially had bad credit, a group that had been neglected by other companies (Ferrell et al., 2013). The investment of Fingerhut in this group would, essentially, have been a sufficient service to the society especially considering that not only was it making an immense risk by trading with this group, but was also offering it an opportunity to shore up its credit worthiness. Of particular note is the fact that the low income of these customers allowed them to live from paycheck to paycheck, in which case they could not save up for the items that they may actually have needed (Treviño & Nelson, 2011). The extension of the credit line by Fingerhut not only gave them an opportunity to obtain the items that they needed without saving, while also assisting them in building up their credit, an aspect that would eventually assist them in purchasing other necessities in the future (Ferrell et al., 2013). The variations in the price offerings by the company would essentially be justified on the basis of the risk that it was taking with this group. Indeed, other companies may have stayed away from this group thanks to the high probability that the individuals may be unable to make their payments. Indeed, Friedman would insinuate that high risks attract or necessitate high profits in a capitalist system, in which case the exorbitant pricing of Fingerhut’s goods would essentially not amount to the flouting of the ethics by which businesses should abide.

It is evident that the two groups have considerable differences in their point of view, in which case an examination of the facts would be essential. While I may not agree with any of them, combining their points of view would essentially be imperative. Fingerhut is a profit making business that aims at maximizing its earnings through marketing (Ferrell et al., 2013). The use of specialized catalogs, not only drives the agenda of the company but also enhances the relationship between the company and its customers (Treviño & Nelson, 2011). On the same note, the company is not deceiving its customers on the price of the goods, rather it is simply providing information on the options that are available to them. On the same note, it is essentially offering them a way of building their creditworthiness, in which case they can have the capacity to make further purchases in the future.

Using the principled reasoning approach, Jane would come up with the way forward. The problem in this dilemma is the pricing strategy, with the company having to make profits while meeting the requirements of business ethics. The company, as a stakeholder would need profits and a reduction of risks, while the customers would need the goods provided in fair market prices. Abolishing the pricing strategy, as an option, would essentially eliminate the only appeal that the company has as providing low income earners with an option, while keeping it intact may invite more legal problems. Nevertheless, irrespective of the strategy used, it is likely that there will always be disgruntled members of the public, in which case keeping the system intact would be the best option, while ensuring that the customers are aware of the other options in case they choose to pay in full.

References

Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2011). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., & Ferrell, L. (2013). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. Mason, OH: South-Western/Cengage Learning.

Treviño, L. K., & Nelson, K. A. (2011). Managing business ethics: Straight talk about how to do it right. New York: John Wiley.

Name:

Tutor:

Course:

Date:

First to Fight

First to Fight is a book by Lieutenant General Victor Krulak where he talks about the reputation, truth and history of the United States Marine Corps. The book is a mixture of historical facts, fascinating background and personal stories of a man who helped shape the Marine to become what it is today. The book is easy to read and understand because it is organized in different sections. The different sections explain the different aspects of the Marine Corps.

The first part explains the details of the struggle of the Marine Corps and how they fought to remain an entity. Lieutenant General Victor Krulak tells the story of how they had to fight to attain its current status as part of the army, but a different organization all together. A number of United States Presidents tried unsuccessfully to merge the Marine with other services in the army. As the fight continued, the Marine Corps had to prove that they were necessary and that they could provide independent services. The Marine Corps finally found a position they could fill with the need for an “amphibious assault force.” General Victor Krulak tells of interesting tales of behind the scenes information of how the amphibious vehicles were evolved to attack enemy beaches.

The improvisers is a part in the book that tell of how the Marine Corps found different ways to bomb accurately despite the weather or the time of day or night. Telling stories of how Marine Corps used what was available to bravely meet even the hardest challenges, this part of the book shows that the Marine Corps were very innovative and determined to carry out their missions. This is further explained in the successive chapter of the book that shows the originality and immortality of the different techniques employed by the Marine Corps.

An important part of this book talks about the professional and personal relationship between the Marines and the people of America. These relationships are important to the Marines in their work and also during the training methods and recruitment process where careful selection is the key. In his book, General Victor Krulak gives his views on why the Marines have become successful in their service and what makes people refer to them as the America’s force that is always ready to take a challenge.

First to Fight is a book where the author talks honestly of severe conflicts between the Marines and highly placed officials. General Victor Krulak gives examples of personal encounters with people who are now legendary all in the effort to fight for the entity of the Marine Corps. The book is both educational and honest and it is a must-read for those who are interested in the history of the Marines. Well illustrated events and history of how the Marines struggled to show their importance for them to remain an entity of the armed forces are well documented.

General Victor Krulak provides a great deal of information and tales to show the struggle of the Marines for survival. The stories told in this book make up the history of the marines and why they are who they are today. The book shows why today’s Marine Corps are benefiting from those who came before them. First to fight history of the Marines and why they deserve the reputation they are currently enjoying.

Finite mathematics

A. Rounding and Truncation: In a classroom, students will receive a letter grade based on the percentage of points gained in the term out of the total points possible. There are 334 points possible. To get an A in the class, the student must have a percentage that, when properly rounded to a whole number, is at least 90%.1. Determine whether the teacher will give Student 1 an A for the class if the student has earned 299 points, justifying your answer.

229/334 x 100=68%, the teacher would not give the student an A because the score of the student is only 68%, if the teacher rounded the figure to the nearest 10, it would be 70%, this is below the 90% pass mark.

2. Use your answer in part A1 to explain whether Student 1 will receive an A for the class if the teacher truncates the percentage to a whole number.

To truncate, we drop or cut of the numbers after the decimal. This is done to reduce the figure to make it easy to operate. For example, the number is 0.6856287425 or 68.56287425%, this is a very long number which is not easy to multiply or divide with another number. So If If the teacher truncates the number to a whole number, the student would not get an A as the figure would be 89.52%, five is truncated down to 89%.

3. Explain the following (suggested length of 1 page) as if you were teaching a middle school mathematics classroom (grades 5–9): a. Why a taxpayer whose income tax rate is 27.8% would hope that the rate could be truncated to a whole number when calculating the amount of tax owed on the tax form.

In this way the amount of tax on him is reduced to a lower value, this might mean him paying only 27%. For example, if the taxpayers salary is $20000, he would have to pay $5560, however, if the tax rate is truncated to 27%, he will only pay: $5400, this is less compared to $5560. This means that the tax burden is lessened.1. Why the government prefers and requires the taxpayer to round the tax rate:

This is done to increase the accuracy of the result or to get an accurate tax rate

b. Your mental math process in calculating the above situation and how you would use rounding and truncating in real-world scenarios.

If i wanted to multiply an array of number, i would round of the decimal places and remain with the whole numbers only, which are relatively easy to operate1. Provide two examples of each rounding and truncation (four total examples) to illustrate mental math skills.

34.6545 truncated into =34

23745.823 truncated into =23745

34.345 rounded off into= 35

23745.823 rounded off into 23746

B. Primes and Composites: There are 20 boys and 24 girls in an Algebra I class. The class is so large that the teacher wants to divide the students by gender into cooperative groups composed of the same number of students.

1) Explain the process the teacher will use to determine how many students will be in each group using appropriate mathematical terms from number theory by gauss

The theory of finite maths was postulated by gauss, according to him one has to find the greatest common Factor (GCF) of both numbers, for example, he would divide both genders into same portions. By this he finds the greatest common factors of both groups

The greatest common factor of 24=6

And the greatest common factors of 20=5

2). Determine the largest number of students that can be placed in a group, showing all work

4 boys per group and 6 girls per group

Boys: 4×5

Girls=6×4

3). given your answer in B2, determine how many groups will be created from the Algebra I class, providing support

Girls= (6×4) =24

Boys= (5×4)

The total number of groups that can be created from the algebra class is 114. Explain how to prove that there is an infinite number of primes. 

Prime number has only two divisible factors, because they are only divisible by one and itself, example of prime number are 7 and 11. Prime number was postulated by Euclid. He proved that there are an infinite number of primes, according to him, if a number of primes are finite, and then there can be other primes to it, which generates other primes

Example:

Starting with a list of number of primes known x1, x2, …, xn.

Multiply the number together and adding one, the product is X X = x1x2…xn. Let q = X + 1. 

We know that X X + 1 = q. 

X divides the differences between the two numbers (X + 1) − X =1

There is no divisors of which is a prime number This number would run up to infinity as there would always be prime number in the list to

This proves that in each list containing prime number, there will always be other prime number.

C. Modular Operations: You want to explain the concept of modular operations to a middle school mathematics classroom, starting with a demonstration from clock arithmetic. Your explanation should include the following support: • Appropriate examples for modular addition using positive integers of the following sum:

Find a unit digit of the sum= 2403+791+688+4339

Total 8221, 

Unit digit 1

Same way the unit digit that results from the addenda 3+8+1+9

This can be solved by use of modular arithmetic

2403 3(MOD 10)

791 1(MOD 10)

688 8(MOD 10)

4339 9(MOD 10)

TOTAL 21 OR 1(MOD 10)_

• Appropriate examples for modular addition using negative integers

When you subtract 601 from 60002 and divide the result by 6

60002 =2 (mod 6)

601 =1 (mod 6)

60002-601 =2-1 mod 6

=1 mod 6

• A sentence or two about the use of modular operations in real-world scenarios

Modular operation is used in calculating time, espcialy amongst the military people, in the airline industry, when the say that flight x was supposed to arrive at 9.00 am and is delayed by 14 hours it is easy to calculate the time.

However, modular mathematics is only easy tom use when calculating simple mathematical problem, at higher level it get complicated because, it relies on very many assumptions key amongst them is the principle of infinity of primes, discussed above. This concept is not practical in real world situation. For example at an advanced level of structural engineering, there is no need to use modular mathematics while there are system and machines for determining the stress factors in system instead of doing complex calculation.

1. Explain how you would discuss the following (suggested length of 1 page) in the classroom setting:a. Modular arithmetic and its relation to time

The modular arithmetic’s is closely related to time in that it considers repetitive cycles of numbers such as the clock face which has 12 cycles, each cycle represents 12 hours which are represented by 60 minutes and each minutes ois represented b 60 seconds. After the 12 hour cycles, one has to start from 1. If you look closely you realise that it is a mod 12 mathematics

If the hands of the clock cycles from 0 to 11 it makes 12 hours. For example, in our case we take an example of 16 mod 12, we realise that the answer is 4. This is also applicable when one is using the military time as it involves 24 cycles round, this mould mean having a mod 24, or a year which has a mod 12 months. This is possible with all the finite cycles’ numbers.

Another example, include the calculation of time , for example one can calculate time on the following grounds, if it is 7 am, and one would like to determine the position of the hour hand in 7 hours time.

Intuitively this is 7+7=14 then

Therefore: 14 mod 12=2, this is a practical even in the 24 hour clock another example on the 24 hour clock is

If the time now is 8.00, and one want to determine the position of the hour hand at 25 hours,

This is 25 mod 24=1

=1+9 ≡ (8) mod 12 + (25) mod 12 ≡ (8) mod 12 + (1) mod 12 ≡ 9 mod 12

b. What is meant by 10 mod 6?

The remainder when 10 is divided by 6

10(mod 6) =4.

c. How to add or multiply in mod 7

Add or multiply the figures ordinarily and divide the answer by 7. For example, if one is given the question below.

Add 6 and 12 in mod 7=6+12 (mod 7) =18(mod 7) =4, here we first add the figures 6 and 12, to get 18, then divide by 7. If we divide 18 by 7 the answer is 2 remainder 4, because 7 goes into 18 twice giving us 14, remaining 4. The four is the answer as it is the remainder after the operations.

The same figures can be used for operation when one is asked to multiply the figures and get the modulus. Multiply 6 and 12 in mod 7=6 X 12 (mod 7) = 72(mod 7) = 2, here we first multiply the figures 6 and 12, to get 72, and then divide by 7. If we divide 72 by 7 the answer is 10 remainder 4, because 7 go into 72, Ten times giving us 70, remaining 2. The 2 is the answer as it is the remainder after the operations.

ECO 372 ECO/372 ECO372 Week 4 Individual Assignment International Economics Paper

International Economics Paper Instructions:

Select an organization that both U.S. and international presences. Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper in which you answer address the following:

What does the president and congress do to stimulate the economy? What does the president and congress do to contract the economy?

What does the Federal Reserve do to stimulate the economy? What does the Federal Reserve do to contract the economy?

What motivates policymakers to stimulate the economy or contract the economy?

Based on your research, what does the Federal Reserve say about its policy goals?

What does the Federal Reserve say about the strength of the economy?

How does the strength of other economies outside of the U.S. affect your organization?

Based on your research, recommend changes in your organization’s competitive strategies or supply chain.

Use a minimum of 3 peer reviewed sources not including your textbook. Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.

International Economics Paper

Hercillia C. Henderson

ECO/372

October 21, 2015

Professor Watson Ragin

The Role of the President and Congress in Stimulating and Contracting the Economy

Both the President of the United States and the United States’ Congress are capable of enacting policies that may have the effect of either stimulating or contracting the economy. The President is able to stimulate the economy in a variety of ways. One is to propose a Congressional budget that includes increases in spending for the purpose of creating a stimulus, or proposing tax cuts that likewise are intended to have a stimulus effect. The President may also issue executive orders in certain areas that have the effect of creating a stimulus or contracting the economy. These might include appointing like-minded people to the Federal Reserve Board, adjusting certain tax rates by means of changes in revenue collection policy, adjustments to trade policy, and the like. Congress possesses similar powers in that Congress may appropriate spending for purposes of a imposing a stimulus package, adjusting rates of taxation for the purpose of generating economic growth, adjusting trade policy, such as lowering tariffs, for a similar purpose, and creating public works programs. Budgets and legislation that are proposed by the President must ultimately be approved by Congress, although the executive branch of the federal government, i.e. the Presidency, possesses considerable discretionary powers with regards to executive orders, and regulatory enforcement.

The Role of the Federal Reserve in Stimulating and Contracting the Economy

The Federal Reserve likewise possesses numerous powers that may have the effect of stimulating or contracting the economy. The Federal Reserve’s primary function is to control the issuing of currency in the form of the actual money supply, and to control the availability of credit by means of setting interest rates. The Federal Reserve was created by the federal government in the early twentieth century for the purpose maintaining stability within the framework of the national banking system, and to prevent inflation, unemployment, recessions, depressions, and the economic dislocations associated with the so-called “boom and bust” cycle, or the business cycle (Timberlake, 2008).

The Motivations of Policy-Makers in Stimulating and Contracting the Economy

Policy-makers will likely have multiple goals with regards to the stimulation and contraction of the economy. The primary purpose of economic policy in this regard is the maintenance of economic stability. Many such policies, or at least the institutional framework for the execution of such policies, were created during the early part of the twentieth century in the United States for a variety of reasons. First, the Federal Reserve was created in part to curb the excesses and abuses that accompanied monetary policy during previous times. A major function of the Federal Reserve is to prevent runaway inflation, currency devaluation, and the like, but to also correct for imbalances in the economy that lead to, for instance, the overextension of credit. Likewise, a variety of institutional policy-making frameworks were established during the course of the era of the Great Depression, a time when the stock market had collapsed and unemployment was rampant. In order to correct for the instability that accompanies the social and economic dislocations that were associated with high unemployment rates, the United States federal government created a variety of public works programs that had the effect of putting citizens that had experienced job loss back to work. It was during this period that the economic theories of John Maynard Keynes became influential. Keynes’ core economic works such as General Theory argued in favor a greater government involvement in the economy in order to reduce instability, correct for the business cycle, maintain high rates of inflation, and control unemployment (Pecchi & Piga, 2010).

The Federal Reserve and Its Policy Goals

The Federal Reserve maintains multiple key objectives with regards to its role in the formulation of economic policy. The most important of these is the determination of monetary policy. The Federal Reserve assumes a primary role in the supply of actual currency that will be available in the economy. In other words, the Federal Reserve determines how much money will actually be printed. This is an immensely important power that the Federal Reserve holds because the Federal Reserve is capable of determining how rampant inflation will be in the wider economy. If the Federal Reserve Board decides that inflation rates are too high, the Board may seek to implement a reduction in the volume of currency that is available in the economy. Likewise, if inflation rates are exceedingly low, but the economy is in the state of a recession, then the Federal Reserve may seek to increase the money supply in order to stimulate the economy (Timberlake, 2008).

The Federal Reserve is also responsible for the setting of interest rates, and this is an important power because interest rates determine in part the availability of credit. Low interest rates will reduce the cost of credit and have the effect of stimulating the economy and generating economic growth. However, too low interest rates can have the effect of creating an excessive volume of debt within the economy, and widespread default on debt leading to various kinds of economic dislocations. This was a major contributing factor to the so-called “Great Recession” of 2008.Too high interest rates can have the effect of stifling economic growth in a variety of ways, such as imposing barriers to business development and job creation. The mission of the Federal Reserve is to attempt to maintain a balance between these various concerns (Timberlake, 2008).

The Federal Reserve and the Strength of the U.S. Economy

The Federal Reserve estimates the overall strength of the U.S. economy in a variety of ways. These include such leading indicators of general economic health such as unemployment rates, interest rates, inflation rates, and rates of economic growth. Each of these is a vital concern with regards to the economic health of the nation. For example, a key function of the Federal Reserve is to maintain low unemployment rates. This is a particularly important issue as unemployment rates not only impact the livelihood and well-being of citizens but also impact the general level of social and political stability. Inflation rates are likewise a vitally important concern because currency values impact the general cost of living for consumers and subsequently exercise significant impact on the economic well-being of citizens as well. Interest rates are heavily intertwined with business development, job creation, unemployment rates, the cost of living, and consumer debt, and therefore impact the economy in a wide variety of essential areas. Economic growth is likewise essential to maintaining high rates of employment, reducing poverty, and maintaining social stability (Timberlake, 2008).

The Organizational of Impact of the International Economy

The status of the economy in various nations around the world and on an international level is likely to impact my own organization in a variety of ways with regards to competitive strategies and supply chains. The status of foreign markets affects the firm’s business strategies in a wide variety of ways. For example, a high currency exchange rate or an unstable currency in a particular nation provides a powerful disincentive to being a foreign investor in that particular nation. Likewise, a generally unstable economic environment within a particular country will be an impediment to foreign investment within that particular country. Economic instability may result from a variety of factors including civil unrest, political instability, high rates of inflation, unstable currency, natural disasters, or taxes, regulations, and trade policies that are impediments to business development and growth.

Organizational Changes in Competitive Strategies and Supply Chains

It is necessary for the firm to alter its competitive strategies and supply chain operations on a periodic basis in order to counter challenges that are posed by various economic conditions that arise in the United States, in other nations, and on an international level. For example, it may be necessary to shift the focus of foreign investments away from regions where economic instability has emerged, or where an economic downturn has taken place. Likewise, various forms of instability may have a disruptive effect on the adequate maintenance of supply chains, and supply chain routes may have to be adjusted periodically in order to effectively address such challenges as well (Blanchard, 2010).

References

Blanchard, D. (2010). Supply chain management best practices (2nd. Edition). New York: John Wiley & Sons,

Pecchi, L. & Piga, G. (2010). Revisiting Keynes. Boston: MIT Press.

Timberlake, R. H. (2008). Federal Reserve system. In Henderson, D.R. (ed.). Concise encyclopedia of economics (2nd ed.). Indianapolis: Library of Economics and Liberty.

FIRE & EMERGENCY SERVICES ADMINISTRATION

Name:

Course:

Instructor:

Discussion question 1

Discrimination/legal issues

I have being the subject of unfair decision from a higher authority. I was forced by the authority to do otherwise. I was forced to receive bribery from one of the client so as to clear my client. The legal standards violated were the fair labor standard act (LEXIS 1895). The manager wanted to show his superiority complex to my client. He influenced me to take the bribery or else I was to risk to lose my job. This was against the law of legal rights of the labor. I wanted to take a step to sue the authority but thought I could lose my job furthermore the case could be twisted to favor the authority since they have got lawyers.

Discussion 2: Recruitment and Retention

The FES organization has put many strategies in plan to attract the best candidates in their organization. It has set a minimum grade required for one to apply for a post in the organization. There is some qualifications which one has to attain for him/her to achieve. The organization as well put an individual into test to prove their experience. The organization some various steps to for hiring process. For hiring one has to fill the application form then must get the confirmation from the authorities. There are some improvement that should be done to the organization for it to perform as required. The organization comes up with good criteria of hiring rather than the use of the filling. Instead it should come with a procedure which tests the ability a person than the paper work only. Lack of enough funds majorly prevents the FES organizations program of recruiting and retention not to perform.

Discussion: Labor Relation

The Fire and emergency services, it establishment came in the year 1893 as Srinagar Fire Brigade. There was a bill which decreased the gain which was made by the labor movement. The crafting of the bill was to mitigate the labor influence of the labor union. The Fire and Emergency services is obligated with the task of implementing of the emergency management strategy. This is somehow designed to develop and maintain a modern an also a robust management. The organization has a sphere of duty which has been enhanced from rescue and firefighting to also disaster management. The relation issue may affect the outcome either positively or negatively. When there is good relations outlaid then the result would be positive.

There are some various principle that the organization should adopt for a good outcome in the organization. One the organization should create a working place environment which the employees will work with their trust. Promote it employees and continuous initiatives in continuous improvement. Third is to promote teamwork which is aimed at pursuit of individual’s roles. Lastly is to develop human resources thoroughly and committed in it. The organization in my locality is trying to come up with strategies which enables the employee build a good relation for better output. The department has come with motive of promoting it employees for those who work extra harder for achievement of the organizations goal.

Assignment: Resource Management

Fire and Emergency services faces a lot of challenges in the operation of their services. The biggest challenge is that of finance. The need for new revenue source or methods of working more sufficiently within the organization faces most all fire and emergency service organizations. The citizen has neglected the service of the firefighters and therefore they should know that the services they provide before their negligence. Since many people don’t use fire they tend to perceive that they don’t need many firefighters since the risk is minimal. The firefighters pay is been taxed and benefits cut while in other organization the employees retain their pay and benefits. There are several ways in which the fire and emergency organization is funded. Town often have their budget which is set aside for Emergency Service. Some too however have a membership of subscription. The subscription of the town is to include all the members of the society who may want the service in future.

The organization as well get the funds to run their operation from the other countries as grants. Grant is a major aid in the financing of the fire and emergency organizations. This fund is used in the purchase of the machines used for fire extinguishing and also the purchase of the ambulance. The government also contributes in the financing of the fire and emergency service organization by offering them with capital to as well run their administration. There are some setback which affects the revenue stream in the society and organization as large. Ignorance by the community to contribute in financing the organization since they claim they are at low risk to be affected by fire. The evasion by this norm has highly contributed low operation of the organization due to lack of finance for the operation. Another setback is corruption in the town leaders who are provided money by the federal government to allocate it for financing of the fire and emergency service. They squander the money for their self-interest instead of channeling it to the right individuals. Poor budget of the resources allocated to the organization is another setback that affects the stream of the revenue for the organization. The organization should have a good formulated budget which serves the purpose of generating income to the organization.

The budget of the fire and emergency organization is formulated in that there is operations expenses and revenue types. The operational support overview translates to the expenses that the organization would incur during its operation. There are some various budget drivers used by the organization. These are the unionized salary increases and related overtime costs increased equipment costs, honorariums and stipends paid by the volunteer firefighter’s and the trained cost. With the well-established budget the action of providing the service by the organization will improve. The cost of expenditure is well outlaid by the budget which enhances the effective operation of the organization.

To enhance a an efficient and accountable organization there is alignment in its budgeting and planning process to its strategic goals of ensuring emergency has being responded to. The levels of accountability are very high and if one goes against the norms then he/she will be subjected to suffering. The individual is accountable is subjected to punishment by being removed from the position he/she holds in the organization. This mechanism makes the individual to be accountable to what they are doing in their line of duty.

There are certain methods of improving management to be more fiscally accountable. One is by training the members of the organization on the importance of the fiscal accountability in management. Should come up with measures that ensures that the fiscal accountability is followed to the latter.

The capital improvement plans is a plan which capital facility is been assessed needs in an area against its overall goals and its objectives. The fire and Emergency service has plan in which the following are the strategy of it capital improvement plans. One it has outlaid a special procedure tor capital projects and basic debt instrument. This ensures that capital financing is from the operating revenues. This procedure will allow the management of the organization financially forecast and the multi-year planning which occurs for the equipment. The second is planning of strategic assets management system and a budget which is special in procedurals. The third is the specification of projects capital financing and little debt. The multi- year capital occurs but it always specific. The procedures used for operating budget is the same with that of the capital budgeting.

The capital investment plan is stipulated to cater for more years for multi-year budgeting. In the FES in my community it’s stipulated for a short while not catering for the many years required in the budget. This makes the funds allocated for the organization not to be well utilized because the usage will be limited. There are some various process utilized by the organization to utilize the capital improvement pans. One is drafting of the budget line by the committee of the FES organization. This will improve the capital plan sine there will be the guidelines on how to approach the funds allocated to the organization. The provision to the input to the capital improvement plans of the FES is the government which allocates the resources to the organization. There are some various improvement that FES organization should adopt. It should adopt a long-term plan development to cater for the many years the organization will be in operation. This long-term period plan will enhance proper provision and utilization of the resources allocated to the organizations

Alternative way in which the organization would acquire funds is by getting grants from the other countries, borrowing money from the banks and also fetching the funds from contribution from the community through fundraising. After acquiring these funds there are law ordinances which should be enacted such as the fund allocated to the organization should not be used for a period of one until it matures. Another law which should be enacted is rightful used for the purposed allocated for it.

References

Cullen, L., National Research Council (U.S.)., Airport Cooperative Research Program., & United States. (2011). Collaborative airport capital planning handbook. Washington, D.C: Transportation Research Board.

Topic; Fire Management in Victoria

Name

Course

Instructor

Date

Introduction

Commonly used but the most destructive natural element on the face of the universe is fire, it’s as much a section of the natural environment of every nation as rain, wind and sun. In its natural form, it has not only assisted in shaping the environment but it has also been a driving power in the evolution of native flora and fauna (Williams 2001). This has led to several adaptations like emergent of a number of species after fire, particularly the dominant eucalypts. Fires assist in creating and amending the mosaic of biological and landscape patterns within their scope of influence and may raise the vulnerability of some regions to erosion. The intricacy of fires and the way they may alter the native ecosystems ought not to be underestimated, for their effects may still be detected twenty to thirty years later after the fire episode. More is yet to be learnt and understood about the long term demerits of repeated or single occurrence of fire on the natural ecosystem.

In spite of the intimate relationship between the biota of Australia and the fire regimes, fire is conceivably one of the least comprehended of the natural elements. The majorities’ perception is that, fire is an element of destruction. News from all over and the images on air of ranging bush fire from one region to the other have a tendency to reinforce this kind of perception, specifically within the ever increasing rural and urban societies. Such form of coverage displays fire as an individual event, whereas it’s the case of the ecosystems and their distinctiveness, in conjunction with the record of the fire and their properties that verify the effect of fire (Williams 2001).

Fire has been rated among the top destructing elements which, if not well controlled can not only be a threat in rural and urban areas, but it can also present a severe case in the affected regions. This paper therefore tends to attempt the management of risk of fire in rural Victoria.

Humans and fire

The practical application of fire by every human being has made an ineffaceable impact on several species including the humans. For the past years home-grown people have made use of fire for a several of reasons which comprise of cooking, communicating, marking ceremonies, warmth and many others. Considering different regions, the landscape burning was extensively made use of by the indigenous people and their demerit on the environment is well thought-out as one of the major complicated and controversial issues in the Australian ecology (Williams 2001). The local people’s wisdom of landscape and use across the northern Australia exhibits the lessons that can be learnt from the traditional burning. It also puts an emphasis on the dissimilar fire regimes that can take place on varying land tenures, making the explanation of fire patterns across the nations even more multifaceted. In clement nations, the ecological and functionality has been interrupted by broad-scale clearing and other major alterations, and traditional local land management has long been reinstated by management for every distinct purposes (Williams 2001). However, a variety of other modern techniques can be applied in other nations to gain more knowledge and understanding of historic fire regimes and their merits/ demerits on the biota. These may comprise of dendrochronology, palaeoecology and an understanding of different strategies.

In Victoria, every farmer is always alert to the bush fire risk and always incorporates fire protection in their business plans. This is as a result of the Victoria region being one of the world’s most bush fire prone regions. There seem to be an occurrence of grass fire and bush fire in Victoria due to the nature of the vegetation and climate. There is always loss of property and life in every episode of fire, with cases rising up to eleven thousand on rural properties engaged in agriculture production in Victoria, this took place between the years 1997 to 2005. In actual facts, the causes of the fire could probably be prevented or managed and the death rates would not have occurred.

Fire management

Due to the wide spread of fire, destruction, loss of property and lives, the Victorian government introduced a legislation calling for forest plantation organizations to form fire brigades when their own plantation assets reached a critical dimension. The firm based fire brigades are often operated by the plantation organizations but are submitted to the operational control of the Country Fire Authority (Peter 2000). This country fire authority is accountable for fire protection and suppression within the rural Victoria for land not within the metropolitan fire district and the fire protected area, which comprise of parks, reserves and forests often managed by the department of sustainability and environment. The country fire authority is a community based tragedy service provider that operates within the provincial, town and rural regions of Victoria. In order to accomplish its statutory tasks/accountabilities, country fire authority offers a variety of services to help the community in the management of risks emerging from fire and other urgent tragedies. These entails: policy for the repression and prevention of fires within rural Victoria, community development curriculum to improve the capability of the community for self defense, educating the community on the matters of fires and emergencies, incident repression to deal with fire and emergencies immediately they occur and finally preparedness and prevention activities (Peter 2000).

In addressing its agreement the country fire authority has implemented a risk management strategy, whereby it identifies or discloses risks of uncontrolled fire by examining their probability and consequence and thereafter develops treatment to manage, prevent, minimize or share the risks with some other stakeholders (Peter 2000). The country fire authority has accountability under other Acts and secondary control mechanisms like the planning schemes. Being a legislative body it lines up it usual activities with the policies disseminated by the state government like the policy of environmental sustainability. Country fire authority has come up with an environmental policy and it’s purposed to deliver its services in a secure, well-organized and successful manner while shielding the environment however possible for present and future generations (Wade 1997). This policy, nevertheless, recognizes the significance of protecting the biodiversity as a chief step towards attaining sustainable and fruitful landscapes.

The significance of biodiversity and community security is over and over again held in conflict. Particularly, disagreements emerge when dealing with clearing for fire prevention and repression, not forgetting the maintenance of biodiversity. A merit solution would appreciate dissimilar values and offer mechanisms that are adequately supple to accommodate them (Peter 2000). As the country fire authority agreement deals with fire safety, it recognizes and acknowledges that, it is unsophisticated to affirm that safety is overriding and ought to take primacy over all other values. Much is well known about the behavior of human beings and wildfires. The city legend that wildfires are challenges for rural people was abolished last summer when wildfires occurred in the urban areas of Canberra. The theatrical nature of the incidence placed the vital of wildfires into the urban realization as never before (Wade 1997). The country fire authority persuades the property owners to be prepared incase of a wildfire event. Every individual can attain major diminution to the risk through: suitable behavior before and during the tragedy, good management of the vegetation in the surrounding area of their dwellings and finally the site and design of the new houses, and stipulation of right to use and water supply. Thus fuel lessening is a chief risk reduction treatment, others entail ignition deterrence, making use of land planning and building regulations, and asset and individual deterrence enhanced through the community development programs (Peter 2000).

A major barrier to balancing biodiversity and community security goals is the lack of perceptive of the different roles of fire in biodiversity management. Fire is an essential sector of the Australian environment and has functioned over geological period to influence the purpose, composition, sustainability and structure of the ecosystems. The Australian vegetation and the wildlife it holds up have developed in reaction to fire and are widely dependent upon fire. While at the same time as majority of people regard fire as a noteworthy menace to biodiversity in Victoria, the country fire authority hold up the view that burning under proper regimes can help out biodiversity. Whether planned or wildfire it contributes to a collage of vegetation ages and resultant composition (Wade 1997). Idyllically each vegetation kind ought to have a diversity of ages since the last fire. This creates the vegetation and the habit it offers more supple to main disturbances like huge fires or pest epidemic.

The country fire authority comprehends that, the environment protection and biodiversity conservation Act, unlike other environmental bodies like the Victoria’s Environmental Protection Act; it does not offer any exception for inescapable penalty of emergency management. The environment protection and biodiversity conservation Act calls for prior Commonwealth approval of actions which might damage matters of the environment implication, entailing the World heritage areas and other areas of susceptible or migratory species. The Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 put a demand on public authorities like the country fire authority to have consideration to flora and fauna protection and management standards (Peter 2000).

Fire repression

Safeguarding of the environment during wildfire repression demands a suitable trained workforce with timely admission to information on the site and management requirements of issues likely to be affected by regulatory strategies. In every emergency condition, where appropriate action is vital, it may always not be possible to safeguard both the environmental assets and life or material goods. Stipulation of environmental proficiency is also anticipated to be hard as minor incidents. The country fire authority believes that, consideration ought to be given to comprising of plain exemptions in the environmental protection and biodiversity conservation Act for realistic actions required to carry out emergency reaction to wildfire (Wade 1997).

Prevention Works

The act of fire prevention may be carried out by the country fire authority at the appeal of or with the authority of the owner, inhabitant or responsible authority of the site at hand. It has dedicated considerable resources to promote knowledge and management of the environmental matters. They also hold up further resourcing of environmental bodies to help the land owners and managers like the municipal councils in discovering ways of safeguarding issues of environmental significance. The high-quality resources required may be over the contact of several individuals and companies. Country fire authority put into consideration that the vendor or manager of the site at hand should be required to take accountability for making sure the environmental matters are addressed. It also perceives that, it is unsuitable to pass on land and resource management accountability to other service providers like the fire services engaging in a fire prevention tasks for the land possessor or manager.

Government intervention and legislative management

The local government within the rural Victoria is accountable under the country fire authority Act to prepare the Municipal Fire Prevention Plan. These plans are required to discover the measures to tackle risk from fire and they offer the outline for implementing tasks including lacerating and approved burning throughout each municipality. Each municipal fire prevention plans must put into consideration environmental matters in formulating the risk treatments. Municipal fire prevention plan plays a vital strategic role in the management of vegetation on rural sites and offers a chance for attaining multiple goals. It should be submitted to in the framework and native vegetation plans and roadside management plans, primed pursuant to state necessities (Wade 1997). Municipal fire prevention plans ought to be involved early in the arrangement phases of better revegetation projects.

From the ancient days, much of the legislation pertaining to fire management in Victoria has been revolving around fire prevention and repression, intended at lessening of loss to life and assets (Williams 2001). Legislators act in response to deaths in bushfires by trying to enforce control on fire. In a number of cases, the legislation narrows the assortment of suitable or practicable fire regimes, and in other cases outlaws’ regimes that are essential for the preservation of some biota. The statutory establishes the Bushfire Management Committee as a way of amalgamating fire management across the landscapes that comprise of various managers with changeable objectives. The plan also functions under the National Park and Wildlife Act which describes the tasks of nature reserves and demands that fire management is not in conflict with the previous plan of management espoused for the reserve.

Risk assessment and approaches

A highly increasing significant matter is the applicability of risk management approaches to biodiversity. This approach is based on personal interpretation of the probability and penalty of hazards and is becoming the custom for the improvement of risk management scheme in business and institutional risk management in Australia (Williams, 2001). Preservation biology boarded on a diverse path for risk assessment two decades before the Australian principles were established. From its most basic commencement, risk assessment for biodiversity has naturally been well-versed by model-based or at most rule-based risk analysis. These kinds of methods have progressed to extend into a redoubtable variety of analytic and decision support apparatus. These risk assessment apparatus are valuable generally because they lay down the decision-making procedure in a formal outline in which the costs and profit of management substitute can be explored and be modernized, they are somewhat transparent and liberated of semantic uncertainty, and they offer some assurance of inner stability. These benefits are not easy, if not impracticable, to accomplish in a personal risk assessment outline (Williams 2001).

References

Peter, E., 2000. Risk Management in the Fire Service, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Philadelphia

Submission To the native vegetation inquiry productivity commission retrieved on 24 November 2010, available at;

HYPERLINK “http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FJ-Cn7Q2nwwJ:www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/file/0014/52313/sub138.rtf+management+of+risk+of+fire+in+rural+Victoria%3B&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk” http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:FJ-Cn7Q2nwwJ:www.pc.gov.au/__data/assets/file/0014/52313/sub138.rtf+management+of+risk+of+fire+in+rural+Victoria%3B&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk

Williams, J., 2001. Biodiversity Theme Report. CSIRO publishers. Australia

Wade, E., 1997. Wildfire Risk. Jones & Bartlett Publishers, Sudbury.

Interview Project Proposal

Name:

Institutional Affiliation:

Date:

Summary

This research paper contains a proposed interview questions directed to the C.E.O of the National Fire Fighting Manufacturing FZCO (NAFFCO). It also includes the achievements of this company and my reasons for choosing the C.E.O as the preferred candidate at the expense of other personnel in the same field. The achievements of the company and my desired goals and objectives as a servant in the fire fighting/protection field also make part of the research paper.

Fire Service Professional Interviewee

Interviewee:

Engineer Khalid Al KhatibManaging DirectorNational Fire Fighting Manufacturing FZCO (NAFFCO)

United Arabs Emirates

I selected the interviewee based on his role(s) as the company’s chief executive officer, which plays essential roles in the running and the operation of the business. As the chief executive officer, he is charged with ensuring that the company conducts all its activities safely. He manages and supervises al, the business operations with the help of other officers or employees who report to him directly or indirectly.

Importance and Relevance of the Selected Officer

As an optimistic and ambitious person who aims at serving in the fire fighting industry, I believe interviewing and interacting with this officer will play a vital role in ensuring I shape my career in a positive way. My goals and objectives in the fire fighting business as stated in this section of the work. I focus on providing a safe working and leisure environment for all people around the world. Training and advising people on the best ways of keeping their surroundings safer by minimizing the number of accidents, which may occur in such areas? Ensuring that all working or leisure places have the required fire fighting equipments and all the relevant fighting policies put in place to ensure safety standards are kept in check.

From my goals and objectives, it is apparent that I share the same objectives and goals as that of the C.E.O of the National Fire Fighting Manufacturing FZCO (NAFFCO). In addition, I share the same motto as that of his company, which states, think safety. Gaining more knowledge and tactics related to security measures when it comes to fire fighting services will immensely shape my future advancement in keeping people safe from inferno or fire tragedies. This vision is same as that of the company headed by my prospect interviewee (Shelley, Pg. 12).

Research findings also indicates that National Fire Fighting Manufacturing FZCO (NAFFCO) has been crowned as the best firefighting company in the world due to their distinct, quality, and dedication in the fire fighting industry. The company scooped the prestigious Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award thrice in 2005, 2006, and 2010. This has an implication that it is a top fire fighting companies in the world with over one hundred branches across the world. The company also manufactures fire fighting and protection equipments. With all this achievements, it is evident that interviewing the CEO of such a company will definitely have a positive impact in my quest of being the one of the leading entrepreneur in the fire fighting/protection business (retrieved from: HYPERLINK “http://www.naffco.com/section.php?page_id=19” http://www.naffco.com/section.php?page_id=19_truncated).

List of Potential Interview Questions

Education and Training

What are the academic requirements for one to join your business? Apart from the fire fighting team are there any other staff members if so which academic qualifications do you require when hiring such professional

Do you provide any form of special training to your personnel once you absorb them in your business? If Yes, how long does it take?

Since your business is one of the leading organizations in terms of fire fighting, do you offer time to time refresh courses/classes to your employees? If Yes, after what period are the refresher courses conducted?

Licensing and Certification

Are there any special licensing requirements needed for one to be a firefighter? If so kindly give a detailed explanations of such requirement

What are the minimum academic/experience related requirements needed for one to attain such certification?

Does your company support its employees receive such certificates? If Yes, in what capacity does it give the support (financially or consultation)?

What is the duration taken before certificate of operation expires?

How much does it cost to renew such license?

Apart from individual license and certification, are there any other license/certifications required for one to operate in the fire fighting/protection business? If so, how much do they cost?

Reasons for Choosing the Career

There are many lucrative and well paid jobs in the cooperate world, why did you choose to work in this field?

How do you manage the pressure and the challenges that come with serving in this field?

Describe an event in which, a misunderstanding occurred between two of your team members, which method(s) did you in sorting out that row/misunderstanding?

Did you choose this field since it is not crowded, and it pays well?

Are you happy serving in this profession?

Work cited

National Fire Fighting Manufacturing FZCO (NAFFCO). Company’s profile. NAFCO 2014. Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://www.naffco.com/section.php?page_id=19” http://www.naffco.com/section.php?page_id=19_truncated).

Shelley, C, Anthony, C and Timothy, M (2007). Industrial Firefighting for Municipal Firefighters. Tulsa, Okla: PennWell Corporation. Print.

Table of Contents

TOC o “1-3” h z HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964220” 1.Introduction PAGEREF _Toc355964220 h 1

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964221” 2.Firetech PLC strategy PAGEREF _Toc355964221 h 2

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964222” 3.Economic outlook for UK manufacturing PAGEREF _Toc355964222 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964223” 3.1.National and global economic conditions PAGEREF _Toc355964223 h 3

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964224” 3.2.Key economic forecast data PAGEREF _Toc355964224 h 4

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964225” 3.3.Raw material prices PAGEREF _Toc355964225 h 4

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964226” 4.Firetech PLC’s Chief Executive’s review for 2012 PAGEREF _Toc355964226 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964227” 4.1.Business strategy PAGEREF _Toc355964227 h 5

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964228” 4.2.Aerospace and Specialist Equipment Division PAGEREF _Toc355964228 h 6

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964229” 4.3.Residential and Commercial Division PAGEREF _Toc355964229 h 8

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964230” 4.4.Industrial Fire Protection Division PAGEREF _Toc355964230 h 8

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964231” 4.5.Group issues PAGEREF _Toc355964231 h 9

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964232” 4.6.Investor performance measures PAGEREF _Toc355964232 h 10

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964233” 4.7.Outlook and strategy for growth PAGEREF _Toc355964233 h 10

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964234” 5.The Executive Committee PAGEREF _Toc355964234 h 10

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964235” 6.Project to extend the UK headquarters & research facility PAGEREF _Toc355964235 h 11

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964236” 6.1.Project team personnel PAGEREF _Toc355964236 h 11

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964237” 6.2.Project plan PAGEREF _Toc355964237 h 12

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964238” 6.3.Project progress PAGEREF _Toc355964238 h 12

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964239” 7.New European Legislation PAGEREF _Toc355964239 h 13

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964240” 8.Budgeting PAGEREF _Toc355964240 h 13

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964241” 9.Product costing PAGEREF _Toc355964241 h 14

HYPERLINK l “_Toc355964242” 10.Disclaimer PAGEREF _Toc355964242 h 15

Introduction HYPERLINK “http://www.utcfireandsecurity.com/fireproducts/pages/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=2” INCLUDEPICTURE “http://www.utcfireandsecurity.com/FireProducts/Media%20Assets/000023-resized.jpg” * MERGEFORMATINET HYPERLINK “http://www.utcfireandsecurity.com/fireproducts/pages/ProductDetails.aspx?ProductId=1” INCLUDEPICTURE “http://www.utcfireandsecurity.com/FireProducts/Media%20Assets/Thumbnail%20-%20Watermist.jpg” * MERGEFORMATINET HYPERLINK “http://www.utcfireandsecurity.com/fireproducts/pages/SubCategoryLanding.aspx?subCategoryId=2” INCLUDEPICTURE “http://www.utcfireandsecurity.com/FireProducts/Media%20Assets/DA-thumbnail-05.05.2011.jpg” * MERGEFORMATINET HYPERLINK “http://www.utcfireandsecurity.com/fireproducts/pages/SubCategoryLanding.aspx?subCategoryId=3” INCLUDEPICTURE “http://www.utcfireandsecurity.com/FireProducts/Media%20Assets/UTC-Fire-Response-03.28.2011.jpg” * MERGEFORMATINET

Figure 1: Some of Firetech’s core products.

Firetech PLC is a global leader in fire and safety products. The firm serves aerospace, defence, industrial, commercial and consumer markets with the widest range of quality fire and safety products, systems and services, covering detection, protection, prevention and fire fighting. Firetech’s mission statement is:

“To make the world a safer place while delivering superior returns for our stakeholders. To do this, we will develop fire protection and safety products and systems, supported by first-class service. People everywhere trust our brands to help protect what is most valuable to them.”

The Firetech PLC group comprises three divisions: Aerospace & Specialist Equipment: Residential & Commercial Fire Protection and Industrial Fire Protection. It has its main research base and headquarters in Colnbrook in the UK, with development and product evaluation facilities associated with all of the Group’s major manufacturing locations in the UK, Europe and the US. It was established as a PLC in 2005 when it de-merged from a larger group of companies, Jones Ltd., along with Lock PLC. It was reported in the press at the time that Lock PLC got away with most of the shareholder funds (assets, capital) and it was Firetech PLC that ‘got lumbered with the debt’. In 2005 Firetech PLC started with a share price of £0.58 and long-term debt in the balance sheet of £303.4million. By 2012, despite the challenging conditions associated with the global economic slowdown, Firetech had managed to reduce this debt to £44.6m and the share price closed at £1.06 on 31st December 2012.

Firetech PLC strategyFiretech’s strategy includes the following four aspects:

Building brand awareness;

Our sponsorship of commercial television announcements, alerting consumers to the need for adequate fire and carbon monoxide protection, has increased demand for Firetech home safety products.

Innovation ahead of regulation;

We have developed the Open Path Eclipse, an infrared detector capable of ‘seeing’ a hydrocarbon gas, offering gas detection vital to safety in the petrochemical sector.

Extending capability through acquisition;

The acquisition of what is now Firetech PLC Fire Trainers enables Firetech to provide fire simulators, which offer realistic training facilities for a large range of fire scenarios, including airport emergencies.

Targeting growing markets;

As airlines develop hubs, the use of regional jets has grown dramatically, and Firetech is a market leader in the sophisticated fire protection systems they use.

As Firetech serves a wide spectrum of mainly regulated markets, developing products in anticipation of new legislation is a powerful driver of growth. The following Table 1 gives examples of legislative changes since the company’s inception that have led to growth in demand for Firetech’s products. It should be noted that in the UK there have been no significant updates since 2005, with the introduction of the extremely comprehensive “Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005”. Firetech are currently following with interest the prospect of European legislation being updated.

2000 Canadian Aviation Authority Class DMandate – adopting the FAA mandate

2001 French Civil Aviation authority mandates training of fire fighters at a certified training centre every 3 years

2002 ISO 14520 adopted as standard for halon alternatives worldwide

2003 States of Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and City of New York require residential buildings to be fitted with carbon monoxide detectors

2003 EC Directive requires replacement of non-essential halon systems

2004 All motor vehicles to be fitted with a new standard of fire extinguisher in Brazil

2004 The Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (England and Wales) states that a fire and rescue authority must make provision for the purpose of promoting fire safety in its area by (for instance) offering free smoke detectors as part of the drive to reduce deaths in the home.

2004 Housing Act (England and Wales) allows Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) strong enforcement powers to require sufficient fire safety measures in existing dwellings.

2005 New ICAO regulations governing capacity of fire fighting vehicles on civil airports. All countries subscribing to ICAO regulations

2005 The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 – (England and Wales – later adopted by Scotland and NI) places the responsibility on individuals within an organisation to carry out risk assessments to identify, manage and reduce the risk of fire.

Table SEQ Table * ARABIC 1: Regulatory and legislative factors

Economic outlook for UK manufacturingThe following review was taken from ‘Manufacturing Outlook; EEF’s snapshot survey of business conditions in engineering and manufacturing companies’ (December 2012), published by EEF; The Manufacturer’s Organisation, and incorporates data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) website and other business news websites.

National and global economic conditionsAfter three consecutive quarters of contraction, UK GDP rebounded back into positive territory with growth of 1% in the three months to September 2012. However, this still left total output slightly lower compared with the same period a year before; the data has been impacted by a series of one-off factors which means that the growth in the third quarter is most likely concealing a much weaker underlying economic performance. Latest surveys for manufacturing and other private sector indicators, including the Purchasing Managers’ Indices (PMIs), point to little momentum behind a recovery in the final months of the year. A potential bright spot heading into 2013 could be consumer spending. Employment has been edging higher through the year and inflation has been on a downward trend. While increases in energy prices and tuition fees pushed inflation higher in October, CPI came in at 2.7% compared to 5% a year ago. If maintained, both an improved labour market and lower inflation should start to lift households’ spending power through the course of 2013. The prospects for other components of growth continue to look much more uncertain and closely linked with developments outside the UK. Eurozone weakness is holding down export growth and the drop in investment intentions indicate that a sustained recovery in business investment spending still looks some way off.

The most recent assessment of the economic outlook from the Bank of England, set out in its Inflation report, judged that the UK is likely to see a sustained but slow recovery over the next few years. A key risk continued to be the situation in the Eurozone creating a challenging external environment over their forecast period. The government outlined another set of forecasts on the UK economy, from the Office for Budget Responsibility, at the Autumn Statement in which downgrades, both to the growth outlook and the public finances were announced. The Chancellor continues to consider shifting spending between current and capital budgets as a growth enhancing measure.

The success, or otherwise, of on-going efforts to resolve the crisis in the Eurozone will be a big determinant of the UK’s fortunes over the next twelve months. The Eurozone again slipped into recession in the third quarter and has not reported growth for a year. The composite PMI sunk to a forty-month low in October and European Commission indicators show that consumer confidence remains in the doldrums.

In contrast to the consumer slump in the Eurozone, confidence has been gradually picking up in the US. The recent run of data has been amongst the most positive across developed nations with most states adding jobs in October, optimism returning to the house-building sector; consumer spending has picked up a little and both the closely watched manufacturing and services PMI remain above the 50, no-change mark. While the recent election gave a decisive answer on one front, the automatically-imposed spending cuts and tax rises (the so-called ‘fiscal cliff’, narrowly avoided at the end of the year after tense negotiation in Congress) remain the key source of uncertainty for the US economy; there is little common ground on where the axe should fall or who should pay.

There was also some evidence of softening activity across emerging markets. Growth slowed in the first half of 2012 and forecasts downgraded growth projections (including for China and India) over the next couple of years. However, more recent indicators seem to have stabilised. In China the manufacturing PMI hit a 13 month high in November as domestic demand picked up and external demand held steady. China’s economy expanded by approximately 7.5% in 2012 and is expected to pick up some momentum to grow by over 8% next year.

Table 2 presents international economic forecast data, 2011-2013.

GDP Inflation 2011 2012 2013 2011 2012 2013

France 1.7 0.1 0.1 2.1 2.0 1.6

Germany 3.1 1.0 0.8 2.3 2.0 1.8

Japan -0.7 1.6 0.9 -0.3 0.0 -0.5

US 1.8 2.2 2.5 3.1 2.1 2.3

Eurozone 1.5 -0.5 -0.1 2.7 2.5 1.9

China 9.3 7.5 8.1 5.4 2.6 2.5

India 7.5 5.6 6.4 8.9 9.3 8.2

World 3.5 3.0 3.6 4.4 3.6 2.3

Table 2: International Economic Forecasts (% change except where stated) Source: Oxford Economics and EEF

Key economic forecast dataTable 3 contains a range of economic metrics for the period from 2011 and predictions for the forthcoming two years;

2011 2012 2013 2014

Exchange Rate (€/£) 1.15 1.23 1.25 1.27

Exchange Rate ($/£) 1.60 1.58 1.58 1.53

World Trade 6.4 2.5 4.2 6.4

Inflation – CPI 4.5 2.8 2.1 1.6

Inflation – RPI 5.2 3.1 2.7 2.5

Base Rate of Interest (%) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

Exports 4.51 -0.17 3.03 5.55

Imports 0.47 2.08 2.79 3.98

Current Account (% GDP) -1.91 -3.85 -2.79 -2.45

Manufacturing Output 2.1 -1.2 0.7 2.6

GDP 0.9 -0.1 1.2 2.3

Average Earnings 2.5 1.8 2.4 2.6

Oil Price (Brent Oil $/barrel) 111.3 111.0 101.4 106.4

Manufacturing Employment (000s) 2531 2572 2545 2525

Rest of Economy Employment (000s) 28847 29298 29340 29577

Unemployment Rate (%) 8.1 8.1 8.4 8.3

Table 3: UK Economic Forecasts (% change except where stated) Source: Oxford Economics and EEF

Raw material pricesRaw material prices continue to put pressure on manufacturing businesses across all sectors. The rate of increase in prices stabilised somewhat in the latter half of 2012, however year-end prices remain high at ~70% higher than the 2005 benchmark figure for all manufacturing materials and fuels purchased, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Recent (December 2012) surveys by both commercial insurer NIG and professional services firm PwC report that larger SMEs and manufacturers are being hit hardest, with 46% of firms with an annual turnover of more than £20 million actively looking to offset rising raw material costs by making reductions in other areas of the business, and over two-fifths (43%) of manufacturers having to consider cutting costs due to the resources crunch. But the effects are also being keenly felt by big business, with a Global Annual CEO survey revealing concerns about raw material costs being at a three-year high among bosses of the world’s biggest businesses. 53% of CEOs at global firms said the issue had now overtaken consumer spending and behaviour as one of the top threats to their firms’ growth prospects.

Firetech PLC’s Chief Executive’s review for 2012In 2012, we successfully followed our stated strategy and, as a consequence, have delivered what I believe to be satisfactory results in difficult market circumstances. We can be pleased with our performance against the main objective we set ourselves which was organic growth, furthermore achieving that growth in all three Group Divisions.

We also delivered an improvement in profit margin for the second year running after the significant impact of the global economic downturn. Reported growth in sales was 6.6% to £938.1m (£879.7m in 2011) and despite difficulties posed by such factors as the volatility in both raw material prices and exchange rates, the Group profit margin still grew to 2.3% (from 2% in 2011). Profits before tax were £21.6m (from £17.59m in 2011). During the year we reduced our legacy debt from £73.2m to £44.6m. The full year dividend for shareholders is 2.7p, which represents a 5.9% increase on last year.

We made further progress on acquisitions to improve our market coverage by being selective and investing in their integration, and these acquisitions have done well. During 2012, we also created a new structure of three divisions, by combining our European Fire Protection and North American Fire Protection businesses into one Industrial Fire Protection Division, which also includes our Emerging Markets business. The objective is to improve the profitability of our industrial fire protection business, focusing on reducing costs and improving margins. We will continue to focus on this throughout 2013, and expect to see benefits coming through from 2014. Figures 2 and 3 show recent company performance in both Turnover and Profit Margin.

Figure 2: Turnover (or sales revenue)Figure 3: Profit Margin

Business strategyThe resilience of our business is derived from the diversity of end-user markets we serve with a wide portfolio of strong product brands. Regulation and legislation drive demand, creating potential for growth, and we also support organic growth with investment in marketing and new product development. This is complemented with our strategy of ‘infill’ acquisitions designed to consolidate market structures, extend our distribution and service capabilities, and achieve cost and revenue synergies. Adhering to this growth strategy in attractive markets improves the strong cash generative qualities of the business; this has enabled us to focus since the demerger in 2005 on prioritising the repayment of the company’s sizeable legacy debts. We are on target to pay-down these debts by the end of 2013.

These results demonstrate that our business strategy is working, and I believe the continued application and execution of this approach represents an effective and healthy directive for future growth. The outlook for the year ahead is the most promising we have had since the start of the current economic downturn in global markets. The following Figures 4 and 5 provide an analysis of the business by division and geographic market.

Figure 4: Business analysis by division, 2012Figure 5: Business analysis by region, 2012

Figures 6 and 7 show the Return On Total Assets (ROTA) and stock turnover performance.

Figure 6: Return On Total AssetsFigure 7: Stock Turnover

Aerospace and Specialist Equipment Division

Figure 8 – Applications for some of our products

The division provides products and systems (industrial goods) for civil and military aircraft, military vehicles and bridging, plus combustion controls for power generation and industrial heating sectors. The divisional strategy focuses upon;

Targeting expanding markets plus an ongoing cycle of product development, in step with regulation.

Innovation through central R&D skills base and cross-transfer of technology into new markets.

Distribution capability through infill acquisitions, strategic partnerships and leveraging group network.

Investment in the core brand through a supportive brand architecture and awareness programmes.

Sales engineers work closely with specific customers, such as Airbus or Boeing, to determine the customers’ fire protection needs for their new products. Our products are then customised or designed from scratch to meet these needs. They also have the reassurance that they are dealing with a global firm with a longstanding reputation. They have personal relationships with Firetech’s sales engineers and we provide a comprehensive web-based marketing and service support information service. Awareness of Firetech’s brand is promoted via limited advertising in industry journals and trade magazines, whilst we offer a complete range to meet all fire and safety needs for the customer and provide a ‘one-stop shop’. This complete range and customised service commands a premium price in a competitive market, with products for new aircraft being delivered direct from our factories to the customer. However, these products also need to be supported once the aircraft, vehicle, power generation system etc. is in service and this requires a world-class distribution system to provide spare parts and maintenance. Our customers benefit from a global distribution network with regional warehouses in the major aviation hubs, such as Heathrow in the UK. We also provide training on how to use our products, for example we ran a series of training courses for British Airways cabin staff in 2012.

The net result of £206.4million turnover, representing 1.6% organic growth, for the Division demonstrates the strength in diversity. Our company continues to compete primarily with two other large groups, UTC (a US firm) and Tyco International (a UK firm) and between the three of us we hold 50% of the estimated £1,100m global market. The remaining 50% market share is divided between many local, specialist manufacturers worldwide, none of whom provide a complete product range. The Division also delivered an increase in operating profit of £1.3m in the year. This is after £1.1m of expense to rationalise the production facilities in North America, the benefit of which will be about £1.3m a year from 2014. A slight growth in our defence related business and a recovery in the demand for civil aerospace spares since the start of the global economic downturn contributed to the 1.6% organic growth in sales, despite the continued uncertainty in Original Equipment Manufacturers’ (OEMs) aerospace programmes.

Sales growth in regional jets and healthy business in civil aerospace and specialist combustion controls compensated for the decline in military sales. Wins on new programmes during the year provide a platform for future growth and the Division is positioned for an upturn in the market. The civil aerospace business benefitted from a tentative recovery in production at the major OEMs and included significant new contracts with both Airbus and Boeing. The Division also reinforced its market leadership on regional jet programmes by growing its sales and winning a large programme in China. The aftermarket in spare parts stabilised throughout the year but sales of upgrade equipment continue to suffer from uncertainty in the state of the global economy. By contrast, it was a good year for sales of equipment in support of military aircraft and bridges, boosted further by full production on the dry support bridge contract and further procurement on the F-35 Lightening II project.

The aerospace business is stable and I see continuing opportunities for growth by targeting expanding markets such as fire protection for regional jets and military applications. Although the power generation market in North America remains slow, there are good growth prospects for our specialist businesses in Asia, particularly China.

Residential and Commercial DivisionThe division provides extinguishers, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, and other safety products to the retail (for sale to consumers) and commercial markets (for sale to businesses). We had a good year in difficult trading conditions with £142.4million turnover, representing growth of 1.7% on 2011. We established significantly stronger positions with major retailers such as Lowe’s, Home Depot and Wal-Mart and our broad range of products was a factor in this. The one-off costs associated with setting up the new arrangements for these major customers were absorbed in the year and contributed to a small drop in margins. The goal in the US is to become the sole supplier to North America’s largest home improvement and mass-market retailers. To do this it is vital to achieve low costs, via economies of scale. We promote our products to retailers at the major retail trade fairs and exhibitions around the world as well as delivering local promotions and seminars. These local events are organised in conjunction with the Group’s subsidiary companies overseas and are promoted with international advertising in appropriate trade journals. Our products are distributed from our factories to the major retailers via a series of regional warehouses worldwide.

62420522860

Figure 9: Examples of the division’s products

Our success also lies in developing the consumer demand for our brand. In 2011 we tested marketing programmes with consumers and continued in 2012 by launching a major awareness campaign, which runs into 2013. This programme could reach 30% of US households, with one in six already protected by Firetech products. Central to this is our television sponsorship of announcements by former New York mayor Rudolf Giuliani. The series, called Operation Save A Life, brought about a positive impact on consumer awareness and in the future we expect consumers to specifically request Firetech products at the point of sale. Firetech aims to provide a complete product range by continuing to acquire firms to fill existing gaps – so-called ‘infill acquisitions’. The firm again competes against two other large groups (UTC and Tyco International) and the three of us together hold 80% of the estimated £500m global market for these products. The division is in an excellent position to make positive progress this year.

Industrial Fire Protection DivisionThe division provides fire and gas detection, suppression and fire fighting products to industrial markets and fire brigades globally, plus distribution and services-related activities. £591m sales included growth of 1.1%. Again we are competing fully against UTC and Tyco International and with a host of smaller local firms, resulting in a similar global market share to that held by the Aerospace and Specialist Equipment division. The promotional strategy is also very similar to that adopted by the Aerospace and Specialist Equipment division.

Figure 10: Training fire fighters

We were successful in our desire to improve margins in North America, increasing them by 0.5%. However, in Europe slower markets, plus project delays in the petrochemicals sector, put pressure on margins. Rationalisation projects previously announced have progressed according to our plans. The loss of some employees through compulsory redundancy as a result of this rationalisation, whilst regrettable, is essential for our continued long-term success. The reorganisation into a single Industrial Fire Protection Division allows better co-ordination of marketing and new product development activity. The aim is also to grow the service element of our business, to complement our comprehensive product offering and to co-ordinate the approach to global customers more effectively. The resulting direct contact with end-users of our product also enables improved customer service. The infill acquisition strategy continues to build value, while adding service activity improves performance.

The division made good progress in challenging economic conditions and we will continue to work on this by developing the service element of sales, together with the benefits derived from reorganisation activity.

I anticipate the Industrial Fire Protection Division will benefit from improved demand in Europe and continued growth in North America and the emerging markets. Infill acquisitions that we have already integrated will support continued sales and profit growth, alongside partner programmes such as that with Rolls Royce. Further growth will come from acquisitions such as Croda’s fire fighting chemicals business (now renamed Firetech Fire Fighting Chemicals) and the launch of new products for gas detection, fixed fire suppression and fire fighting.

Group issuesThe initial phase of our £16 million investment in software (an Enterprise Resource Planning or ERP system) is progressing satisfactorily. This will help all aspects of the business, integrating internal and external management of information across our entire organization, embracing finance/accounting, manufacturing, sales and service, customer relationship management etc. and providing a common software platform across the Group. The infrastructure is now established and working and the first operating unit began live use of the system in December 2012. Others will now follow at regular intervals over a 5-6 year period, and we expect to see a positive return in cost savings, operational efficiency and reduced working capital.

We announced the sale of our investment in Warmlux (a company providing domestic gas central heating boilers) in January 2013 and expect to complete the transaction in March 2014. In the 2005 de-merger Lock PLC refused to take Warmlux, despite its relatively high profit margins and return on total assets. It has considerable long-term debts and long-term liabilities with respect to the warranties offered to consumers on its products and we have found it difficult to estimate the likely future commitments required to support these warrantees. The research and development required to improve Warmlux’s product range is expensive and unique, with no synergies with other parts of the group. Being a very mature business it has a large number of retired employees and there are concerns about the current size of the pension fund and the potential size of its future payments. Nonetheless it represents a good acquisition for a company based in the provision of such products and the cash proceeds from the sale of Warmlux will further reduce borrowings, thereby enhancing the Group’s potential for making acquisitions in the year ahead.

With the prospect of the end of this year seeing the final repayment of the legacy debts resulting from the 2005 demerger, coupled with the funds generated by the sale of Warmlux, the Executive Committee have been discussing the company’s strategy towards market position. Specifically, they are interested in whether they may now fully dedicate the company to assuming a role as a technology leader or continue with the safer option of following technological developments as a ‘fast-follower’.

Investor performance measuresThere are various incentive schemes offered to the company Directors and general employees. These schemes are all linked to growth in Earnings Per Share; EPS is a relative measure of the company’s profit performance with respect to the number of shares in issue. It is a very useful ratio for any stakeholder and in particular is one that is watched closely by financial institutions and ordinary shareholders. The higher the earnings the more likely the firm is to issue dividends. All stakeholders will want to interact with a company that is profitable and therefore less likely to run into financial problems.

Figure 11: Earnings per shareFigure 12: Research & Development spend

Outlook and strategy for growthOur business strategy is proving its worth. In 2013, we expect to see further growth, both organically in what I expect to be more favourable markets, and from infill acquisitions, for which we will have more resource as a result of the sale of Warmlux. We have entered 2013 with a good order book and improving market conditions evident in all three Divisions. The influence of factors such as currency exchange fluctuations and rising prices of raw materials may be expected to continue to affect reported sales and profits, although we hope that the impact may be mitigated by our initiatives with, for instance hedging contracts that we have in place for 2013. (Hedging contracts are used to help firms manage the risk of exchange rate fluctuations, which can have a detrimental effect on the value of overseas sales, profits and assets.)

We have been suc

a).Firm I and firm II have formed a strategic alliance where firm II buys the products of firm I. The alliance is mutually beneficial to both firms though there are risks involved. Firm I agrees to build a new plant next to firm II primary facility. The agreement between the two firms is that, firm I builds a new plant close to firm II primary facility so that it can be easy for them to purchase the products of firm I. Firm I is at a greater risk as compared to Firm II. According to the alliance, Firm II seems to be benefiting more than Firm I. Firm I will incur the cost of building a new plant so that they can specifically sell their products to Firm II. The benefits of having Firm I build their plant close to Firm II primary facility is for them to minimize costs of transport and also to supervise the production to ensure it meets their standards. This is likely to cause problems when it comes to selling of the products to Firm II which is the major customer. Problems with setting the price will arise and firm II is likely to control the prices of the products from Firm I (Gerybadze, 1995). The alliance is likely to encounter strains in case firm II establishes a buyer for the same products as those of firm I that are being sold at a cheaper price. In this case, Firm I will incur huge losses with the loss of their major buyers.

b).Firm A and Firm B have formed an alliance for them to capture new markets. Both firms wish to sell their products to each other’s home countries. In the case of Firm B, selling its products in the home country of firm A does not require many regulations which mainly involve the government. On the other hand, Firm A requires contracts from the government of Firm B for it to capture the market. As explored by Ajami & Goddard (2006) there are risks involved in capturing new markets especially those related with the culture of a certain country. The government could also have strict regulations for those who wish to sell their products in that particular country. Though Firm B might face the risk of cultural difference making it hard to penetrate the market, Firm A is at a greater risk because the sell of its products is not as immediate as that of Firm B in the home country of Firm A. The regulations that might be imposed by the government may make it impossible for Firm A to sell its products in the home country of Firm A.

c). The strategic alliance formed by firm 1 and firm 2 is aimed at sharing of technologies between the two firms. This is a good venture since the new technology that is meant to be incorporated in the products of firm 2 might yield them a huge profit as compared to their profits before the alliance. In return, the profits realized by firm 2 are to be shared with firm 1 which owns the new technology. However, there are risks involved which are mainly derived from trust (Ireland, Hoskisson & Hitt, 2008). The new technology given to firm 2 by firm 1 is untested and could be bound to fail putting the firm out of business. The other issue is that firm 2 might not share their profits with firm 1 if the new technology is a success. However, firm 2 is at a greater risk because use of the new technology could lead to production of goods that are either substandard or those that do not fit the preferences of the consumers. For them it is a greater risk because competitors might use this move to their advantage in case the use of the new technology is not a success. Firm 2 runs the risk of compromising their products or being put out of business while firm 1 runs the risk of loosing one of their new technologies.

References

Ireland, R., Hoskisson, R. & Hitt, M. (2008). Understanding Business Strategy: Concepts and Cases. New York: Cengage Learning. Print.

Gerybadze, A. (1995). Strategic alliances and process redesign: effective

Management and restructuring of cooperative projects and networks. New York: Walter de Gruyter. Print.

Ajami, R. & Goddard, J. (2006). International business: theory and practice. New York: M.E. Sharpe SharpeLtd. Print.