Biography of Andrea Yates, Murderer of Her Five Children

Biography of Andrea Yates, Murderer of Her Five Children Andrea Yates (born Andrea Kennedy; July 2, 1964) was suffering from extreme postpartum depression when she drowned her five children in a bathtub in 2001. She was convicted of murder at her first trial in 2002 and sentenced to life in prison, but a second trial found her not guilty by reason of insanity. A psychiatrist who testified at her first trial said Yates was â€Å"among the five sickest patients she had ever seen. Fast Facts: Andrea Yates Known For: Drowned her five children in a bathtubBorn: July 2, 1964 in Houston, TexasParents: Jutta Karin Koehler, Andrew Emmett KennedySpouse: Rusty YatesChildren: Noah, John, Paul, Luke, and Mary Early Life Andrea Kennedy was born on July 2, 1964, in Houston, Texas,  the youngest of five children of Jutta Karin Koehler, a German immigrant, and Andrew Emmett Kennedy, whose parents were born in Ireland. She graduated from Milby High School in Houston in 1982. She was the class valedictorian, captain of the swim team, and an officer in the National Honor Society. She completed a two-year pre-nursing program at the University of Houston and graduated in 1986 from the University of Texas School of Nursing in Houston. She worked as a registered nurse at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1986 until 1994. Meets Rusty Yates She and Rusty Yates, both 25, met at their apartment complex in Houston. Andrea, who was usually reserved, initiated the conversation. She hadnt dated until she turned 23, and before meeting Rusty she was recovering from a broken relationship. They eventually moved in together and spent much of their time in religious study and prayer. At their marriage on April 17, 1993, they told their guests that they planned on having as many children as nature provided. In their eight years of marriage, the Yateses had four boys and one girl. Andrea stopped jogging and swimming when she became pregnant with her second child. Friends said she had become reclusive. Her isolation appeared to increase after they decided to homeschool their five children: Noah, John, Paul, Luke, and Mary. Rusty took a job in Florida in 1996, and the family moved into a 38-foot travel trailer in Seminole, Florida. In 1997 they returned to Houston and lived in their trailer because Rusty wanted to live light. The next year, Rusty purchased a 350-square-foot renovated bus as their permanent home. At this point, they had four children, and living conditions were cramped. Michael Woroniecki Rusty purchased their bus from Michael Woroniecki, a traveling minister whose religious views influenced Rusty and Andrea. Rusty agreed with only some of Woronieckis ideas, but Andrea embraced even the most extreme. He preached that a womans role was derived from the sin of Eve and that bad mothers who are bound for hell create bad children who also go to hell. Andrea was so totally captivated by Woroniecki that Rustys and Andreas families were concerned. Suicide Attempts On June 16, 1999, Andrea called Rusty and begged him to come home. He found her shaking involuntarily and chewing on her fingers. The next day, she was hospitalized after she tried to commit suicide by taking an overdose of pills. She was transferred to the Methodist Hospital psychiatric unit and diagnosed with a major depressive disorder. The medical staff described Andrea as evasive in discussing her problems. On June 24 she was prescribed an antidepressant and released. Once home, Andrea didnt take the medication. She began to self-mutilate and refused to feed her children because she felt they were eating too much. She thought there were video cameras in the ceilings and said that the characters on television were talking to her and the children. She told Rusty about the hallucinations, yet neither of them informed Andreas psychiatrist, Dr. Eileen Starbranch, who later told the court at Yates first trial that she ranked her â€Å"among the five sickest patients she had ever seen. On July 20, Andrea put a knife to her neck and begged her husband to let her die. Risks of More Babies Andrea was again hospitalized and stayed in a catatonic state for 10 days. After being treated with injections of drugs that included Haldol, an antipsychotic, her condition improved. Rusty was optimistic about drug therapy because Andrea appeared more like she was when they met. Starbranch warned the Yateses that having another baby might bring on more psychotic behavior. Andrea was placed on outpatient care and prescribed Haldol. Andreas family urged Rusty to buy a home instead of returning Andrea to the cramped space of the bus. He purchased a nice home in a peaceful neighborhood. Once in her new home, Andreas condition improved to the point that she returned to past activities such as swimming, cooking, and some socializing. She also interacted well with her children. She expressed to Rusty that she had strong hopes for the future but still viewed her life on the bus as her failure. Mental Illness Continues In March 2000, Andrea, at Rustys urging, became pregnant and stopped taking the Haldol. On Nov. 30, 2000, Mary was born. Andrea was coping but on March 12 her father died, and her mental state regressed. She stopped talking, refused liquids, mutilated herself, and would not feed Mary. She also frantically read the Bible. At the end of March, Andrea was admitted to a different hospital. Her new psychiatrist treated her briefly with Haldol but discontinued it, saying that she did not seem psychotic. Andrea was released only to return again in May. She was released again after 10 days and in her last follow-up visit, her psychiatrist told her to think positive thoughts and to see a psychologist. Tragedy On June 20, 2001, Rusty left for work and before his mother arrived to help, Andrea began to put into action the thoughts that had consumed her for two years. She filled the tub with water and, beginning with Paul, systematically drowned the three youngest boys, then placed them on her bed and covered them. Mary was left floating in the tub. The last child alive, her firstborn, 7-year-old son Noah, asked his mother what was wrong with Mary, then turned and ran away. Andrea caught him and as he screamed, she dragged him and forced him into the tub next to Marys floating body. He fought desperately, coming up for air twice, but Andrea held him down until he was dead. Leaving Noah in the tub, she brought Mary to the bed and laid her in the arms of her brothers. Conviction During Andreas confession, she explained her actions by saying that she wasnt a good mother, the children were not developing correctly, and she needed to be punished. Her controversial 2002 trial lasted three weeks. The jury found Andrea guilty of capital murder, but rather than recommending the death penalty, they voted for life in prison. Andrea would have been eligible for parole in 2041, at the age of 77. Retrial Ordered In January 2005 a Houston appeals court granted Yates a new trial, ruling that a prosecution experts false testimony about the television program Law Order required a retrial. The expert, Dr. Park Dietz, a psychiatrist, had testified that Yates was psychotic at the time of the murders but knew right from wrong, meaning she wasnt insane under Texas definition of legal insanity.   On cross-examination, Dietz, a consultant on Law Order, a program Yates was known to watch, said the show had aired an episode regarding a woman with postpartum depression who drowned her children in the bathtub and was found insane, and it was aired shortly before the crime occurred, according to The New York Times. There was no such episode, a falsehood discovered after the jury convicted Yates. After learning about the false testimony during the sentencing hearing, the jury had rejected the death penalty and sentenced Yates to life in prison. On July 26, 2006, at the second trial, a Houston jury of six men and six women found Yates not guilty of murder by reason of insanity. She was sent to Kerrville State Hospital in Kerrville, Texas, for an indefinite stay and has consistently waived a review of her status, the only way she could be released.   Legacy The case ignited a national debate about mental illness, postpartum depression, and the legal definition of insanity in Texas. One of Yates lawyers called the verdict in the second trial a â€Å"watershed event in the treatment of mental illness.† True crime author Suzy Spencer’s  Breaking Point, which dealt with the Andrea Yates case, was initially published just after the murders and was updated in 2015. Spencer said in an interview that Yates attorneys claimed after the second trial that a public better educated about postpartum depression was one reason the new jury found her not guilty by reason of insanity. Sources Andrea Pia Yates. Murderpedia.org.New Trial for a Mother Who Drowned 5 Children. The New York Times.Where is Andrea Yates now? ABC13.com.

F#ck Content Marketing Focus on Content Experience With Randy Frisch

F#ck Content Marketing Focus on Content Experience With Randy Frisch Marketers are in the business of creating content. They’re modern-day publishers. However, up to 70% of content that they create goes unused. Today, my guest is Randy Frisch, author of the new book, F#ck Content Marketing: Focus on Content Experience to Drive Demand, Revenue, Relationships. Also, he’s the co-founder, president, and CMO of Uberflip. He identifies how to break bad content marketing habits and adapt personalization to marketing. Content is at the core of marketing strategies; Uberflip empowers marketers to take control of created content assets and mesh them into their marketing efforts Randy’s book is not meant to throw shade at content marketers, but capture his passion and take on the â€Å"broken† status of the content marketing industry What is unused content? Content that’s created and posted, but never leveraged on a day-to-day basis in marketing Definition of content marketing to create content to attract a clearly defined audience and drive profitable customer action is too narrowly focused Content marketers need to start putting the right content in front of the right people for that encounter to be a great experience Real-life examples of what content marketers are doing right and wrong; tell a story that connects with customers Content marketers feel pressured to produce content, but they’re not the only ones responsible for customer experience Tactics and tools for the personalization of content and marketing at scale Content Experience Framework: Centralize, organize, personalize, distribute, and generate resultsEvolution of Content: People who want to go beyond content creation and think more strategically by teaming up with colleagues Links: Randy Frisch F#ck Content Marketing by Randy Frisch on Amazon F#ck Content Marketing- Focus on the Content Experience (Blog Post) Uberflip AMP123: Why Every Content Marketer Should Think Like a Publisher Content Marketing World Robert Rose Joe Pulizzi Content Marketing Institute Spotify Netflix Snowflake Sigstr Terminus Eloqua Write a review on iTunes and send a screenshot of it to receive a cool swag bag! If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Randy Frisch: â€Å"We would figure out how to create all this content and we’d end up with a different problem, which was, what would we do with all that content?† â€Å"Whether we don’t get to it or we’re expecting too muchwe end up in this position where we are letting content sit unused.† â€Å"It’s about moving on to that next step: ‘How do we put the right content in front of the right people so that the encounter they have with our content is a great experience’?† â€Å"When we deliver a personalized experience, we lead to these better outcomes. I’m willing to guarantee you’ll see higher engagement.†

Management Position Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Management Position - Research Paper Example The purpose of this paper is to describe how companies can use sustainability in their operations strategy. The concept of sustainability is not a fad. It is a sound strategy that can be used by companies to achieve long term success. There many corporations such as Colgate that have implemented sustainability as a long term strategy. Colgate’s long term sustainability strategy is focused on three areas: people performance, and planet (Colgate, 2012). This firm has integrated sustainability into its operations by investing in production technologies that lower its consumption of water and electricity. The world is currently in the middle of an energy crisis due to the high dependence on petroleum. A sustainability practice that benefits companies by lowering its operational costs is energy savings initiatives. There are various alternative energy technologies such as solar and wind energy that can partially or completely supply the electricity needs of a business. Utility comp anies will pay corporations for the excess energy that is produced by these systems. A simple operational solution that can save a lot of money in energy is switching all the light bulbs in a company to LED bulbs. Lowering the gasoline consumption of the fleet of vehicles of a corporation is another sustainable practice that can pay off great dividends. This can be achieved by switching the firm’s fleet of vehicles to hybrid and electric cars. Companies that have their own trucks can apply logistics techniques to minimize the time in transit of the trucks. A way to achieve that is by placing warehouses near the places where the most business occurs. Human resource practices can also help in the implementation of sustainability. Car pooling policies force employees to share a ride with each other. A major environmental problem that our society faces is the excessive amounts of garbage that is produced daily by the actions of individuals and corporations. Luckily sustainability is one of the solutions that can help alleviate the problem. An operational sustainability practice that can be used to improve the profitability of a company is green packaging. Green packaging can be achieved by using recyclable or environmentally friendly materials to package products. Companies that use recyclable material in their packaging are able to save money because typically the majority of recycled materials are cheaper. â€Å"It is now cheaper to recycle an aluminum can into a new can than it is to make one from virgin material, and the same is becoming true for plastic bottles† (Strom, 2012). Engineers can also use ergonomics to design packages that minimize the total use of material. A 5% decreases in total material usage for a company that generates millions of units yearly can represent a saving of thousands of dollars. Sustainability can be applied in the production process of businesses. A lot of industrial processes generate pollution. Companies have to a pply engineering principles to develop production processes that lower pollution. Air and soil pollution are two big problems that must be attended by corporations. It is often challenging to lower pollution and the problem is more complicated and complex than what people think. â€Å"Because industrial activities are so different, one from the other, it is impossible to arrive at any single solution—

Policy Process Theories Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Policy Process Theories - Coursework Example Corporate Managers should actively show their support for managing these incidents effectively. Monitoring ensures that the policy in question being implemented is done so effectively. The parties involved will be required to make a decision on how the policy should be checked. The steps to be followed involves: who will do the monitoring? How will one will be able to know whether the system is effective? What does one desire to know and whom will you consult? What data will be used and for how long will it be used. It significance to consider how to maintain the policy lively. At the same come up with the strategies on how new pupils, staff, governors and parents should be made aware (Gornitzka, Kogan,& Amaral,2005). Evaluation can be done through the use of approved data and by consulting some pupils, staff, governors and parents. Results will not always be constant since decline will not often be revealed. Hence, there is need of application of both quantitative and qualitative data. Another theory that could be used is bureaucratic policy approach. This is where the policies are made with those empowered to so by the authority. The psychological distance enables the superiors to make a decision (Edelkamp & Schrödl 2012). Contrary, the theory seems to be rigid since predetermined procedure and process have to be adhered to. Worse still, it only advocates for overreliance on formal control (Gornitzka, Kogan,& Amaral,2005). One of the best methods to solve the complex phenomena is through the use of theories. Theories help organize and describe the complexity. Therefore, policy process researchers should know and understand as well is capable of applying adverse analytical methods that are available to

From Call My People Home Essay Example for Free

From Call My People Home Essay The poem is about the journey of the narrator. It was not just a simple journey away from home but a joyride of his lifetime. The narrator’s life is simple yet complicated. Though he was just a fisherman at the sea, he has many circumstances that he continues to think of. The author illustrated the narrator’s life and journey in a descriptive way that is why the poem became longer than expected. However, the argument and discussion of the narrator’s life is simple – his difficulty in seeing his family due to his work in the sea as a fisherman but in the end of the poem, he was home at last. For me, I can say that there are many passages or parts of the poem that are difficult to understand but the most difficult is in the first stanza – The snug and round one, warm as a woman / With her stove stocked at night and her lanterns lit. I do not know what the author is trying to say in this part during the first read but as I read it many times, the woman was his boat who seemed to be his own after many years. This boat became his wife and home while he was in the sea to fish for his living. On the other hand, my favorite passage in this poem is in the last stanza – For the last time, watching the naval men / Make a note of her number, take my name. / That was the end of my thirty years at the fishing / And the end of my boat, my home. This part was the most amazing and greatest part for me because it reveals the happiness and sadness of the narrator in these passages. He was happy as he ended his journey at the sea and could be able to rest but sad for it ended his attachment to his wife and home – his boat. Work Cited From Call My People Home

The Use of Coal as an Energy Source in the United States Essay examples

Energy from Coal: The Nation’s Dirty Secret Abstract While technology has led the world into such an advanced setting with intelligent machinery and automated devices, coal has remained a loyal contributor of the energy needed by these various types of equipment to function properly. Almost half of the electricity in the United States is produced in coal plants where coal is burnt to produce this energy [1]. Both beneficial and detrimental factors come with this alternative source of energy, known by the world for centuries. Background Information Even with the quantity of fossil fuels dwindling due to human consumption, coal has remained one of the cheapest, reliable sources of electricity, natural gas, diesel fuel, and steel production. It is one of the main sources of energy for the United States particularly because one-quarter of the world’s coal reserves are found there [2]. Typically, coal mines are found throughout many different regions of the United States, depending on what type of coal is being mined. The types of coal used in the industry are anthracite, bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite [3]. Anthracite is the hardest of the four because it contains the most carbon and the least ash and moisture. It is used as a heating fuel for homes since it burns slowly over a lengthy period of time. Bituminous is medium-hard in comparison to the others and is the most common type of coal found in the United States. It generates electricity and produces coke, used to make steel. Sub-bituminous is medium-soft, meaning that it contains a lot of moisture. This type of coal is used mainly in producing steam for electricity generation for the industry. Lastly, there is lignite, the softest of the four. It contains the m... ...R.H. Fossil Fuels and Their Utilization. 26 Nov 1996. World of Chemistry. 28 July 2008. . 6. Unknown. Eco-Logical. Unknown. Grinning Planet. 27 July 2008. . 7. Unknown. BTU Conversion Liquefaction – Peabody Energy. Unknown. Peabody. 27 July 2008. . 8. Macintyre, Stacy. Coal Energy. Feb 2007. Energy Kid’s Page. 20 July 2008. . 9. Trimble, Tyghe. Clean Coal: How to Make Rock into Biofuel. 21 June 2007. Popular Mechanics. 21 July 2008. . 10. Unknown. Energy Production. 2008. HowStuffWorks. 26 July 2008. .

Bite Me: A Love Story Chapter 11

11. Being the Chronicles of Abby Normal, Pathetic Failure to All Creatures Great and Small I have failed as a minion, a girlfriend, and a human being in general, and that doesn't even count Biology 102, which I am still totally failing despite actually going to class twice. The Countess has been gone for like a week, and no one has seen her or the vampyre Flood. I've gone looking for them, mainly when I'm supposed to be at school. I don't even know where to look. I kind of walk around asking people if they've seen a totally hawt redhead and they either hurry away really fast or, in the case of one guy, who I suspect was a pimp, offered me a thousand dollars to bring her to him if I found her. Then he offered me a job, because he said, â€Å"Johns go for that skinny Lolita shit.† And I was all, â€Å"Oh, that's very flattering, sir. Thank you. Once I find my friend I will bring her back and we'll both be happy to service the disgusting choads of creepy strangers and hand you all of our money along with any self-worth we might have left.† And he was all, â€Å"You do that, little momma. You do that.† Which is just another reason that I need to find the Countess and beg her forgiveness, because my new phone has video and I can't wait to post a clip on my blog of Jody scattering bloody pimp parts all over the Tenderloin. (The Countess has lectured me about respecting myself and how a woman must never sacrifice her dignity to a man unless he gives her jewelry or is a smoking hottie and has a job, so I think there will at least be broken bones and a beating of many colors.) Evidently there's a shortage of hookers and homeless people in the City, it was on the Chronicle's Web site. They reported it like it was a good thing, VICE ARRESTS DOWN or something, and another article about homeless shelters having plenty of room for the first time, ever. OMFG! They're kitty treats, you douche nozzles! That's why I refused to be on the school paper. Journalists are oblivious to the obvious and they won't even let you say fuck. ‘Kayso, when I finally got back to the love lair, the windows were all boarded up with plywood and Foo and Jared had like alphabetized all of the rats and had them stacked up and labeled and whatnot. So, I, like, ran into Foo's arms and kissed him a good long time, then I looked around and I was all: â€Å"They're dead. Our loft is full of dead rats.† And Jared is all, â€Å"Not dead. Undead.† So to Foo I'm all, â€Å"‘Splain, s'il vous plaà ®t.† And Foo's like, â€Å"It's amazing, Abby. You just have to inject them with a little vampyre blood and it turns them, but not until you kill them. It took us a while to figure that out.† â€Å"So you killed all these rats?† â€Å"I did,† goes Jared. â€Å"It made me sad, but I'm okay with it now. Science.† â€Å"How?† And Foo says, â€Å"Potassium chloride.† At the exact same time Jared says, â€Å"With a hammer.† And Jared gets all big scared anime eyes and is like, â€Å"Yeah, potassium chloride. That's what I meant.† And I'm all, â€Å"You have been killing and vamping rats while the Countess and Tommy are lost and the whole city is papered with missing cat flyers, and like Chet and his minions are eating all the homeless and probably the hookers?† And they were like, â€Å"Well-yeah.† â€Å"And I had to work and go to class,† says Foo. â€Å"And polish my car.† And Jared's all, â€Å"And we've been making sunlight jackets for those two cops, which takes like a million little wires.† And he, like, points to our coffee table, which is the only surface that doesn't have cages full of dead rats, and there's not even jackets there, just, like, jacket-shaped nets of wire with little glass beads all over them. And I'm all, â€Å"Cops can't wear those. They look like robot lingerie.† And Jared is all, â€Å"Trs cool, non?† â€Å"No!† I go. â€Å"And do not further endorken the French language by wrapping your disgusting penis port around it. You'll ruin the whole language before I even learn enough to express my deep despair and dark desires en franà §ais, you rat smasher.† ‘Kay, I know that was a little harsh, but I was angry, and in my defense, I was grinding Foo's leg a little when I said â€Å"dark desires,† so I said it with love. Foo's all, â€Å"We didn't have time to actually get jackets. They need to be leather and they're expensive.† So it's clear that despite his mad ninja science skills, even my beloved Foo cannot be left without female supervision. But he has been going home lately, and his parents are a bad influence on him. So I'm like, â€Å"I got this. I'll go see Lily.† Lily is my backup BFF. She used to be my BFF, but at the same time I met Lord Flood and the Countess, Lily got a book in the mail at her work, which is Asher's Secondhand, and it convinced her that she is Death, so I'm all, â€Å"Whatever, ho.† And she was all, â€Å"Free to live my own nightmare, skank.† So we were cool. ‘Kayso, I took the 45 bus from the dead-ratted love lair to North Beach. Walking through Chinatown sort of creeps me out 'cause of all the Chinese grandmothers on the street, who I'm pretty sure are talking about me because they think I have ruined Foo with my Gothy-Anglo charms. Also, I get mad dim sum cravings for which I should someday seek treatment, or, like, snacks. ‘Kayso, at Asher's, Lily comes out from behind the counter and gives me a hug and a big kiss on my forehead (because she is taller than me in addition to having surplus boobage). And I'm like, â€Å"There's a big violet lip print on my forehead, huh?† And Lily goes, â€Å"Kiss of Death-get used to it, beyotch-matches your hair tips, trs cute.† So I'm all, â€Å"‘Kay.† It wasn't really the kiss of Death, but it did match my tips. Then I was all, â€Å"Lils, I need men's leather jackets in these sizes.† I gave her the note Foo wrote out with the sizes and cut and whatnot. And she was all, â€Å"WTF, Abs? Fifty long? You buying a jacket for an orca?† â€Å"Ginormous gay cop. You got it?† â€Å"Yeah. You wanna smoke a clove?† And I'm all, â€Å"Do you have enough violet lipstick?† Because smoking is, like, the worst for your lipstick and it did match my hair. And she's all, â€Å"Bitch, please.† Meaning, â€Å"Do I ever not have enough makeup?† Which is true, because Lily carries a PVC ROBOT PIRATES messenger bag you could hide a small kid in, only she carries beauty products. So I was all, â€Å"‘Kay.† So Lily and I went out the back door and stared at the Dumpster like it was the very abyss of our despair while we smoked. And I'm just getting ready to tell her about the love lair, and Foo, and vampyre kitties and all, because I've sort of been in boyfriend mode, so, like, out of contact, which Lily totally gets. And Lil's like, â€Å"So, the big gay cop have a Hispanic partner?† And I'm like, â€Å"Rivera and Cavuto. Crusty day dwellers, but Rivera kind of has a secret-agent vibe. You know them?† And Lily is all, â€Å"Yeah, they were here yesterday. Rivera wears expensive suits. Smells good, too. I'd do him.† And I'm like gagging. â€Å"Lils, he's like a thousand years old, and a cop. The Motherbot was getting squishy over him. OMG! You're disgusting!† â€Å"Shut up, I'm not saying I'd do him normal. I mean like zombie Apocalypse trapped in the mall right before we have to shoot each other to keep them from eating our brains and turning us to the undead-then I'd do him.† So I'm all, â€Å"Oh sure, then.† To make her feel better, because she doesn't have a BF and often oversluts to compensate, but I still thought it was disgusting. But to change the subject, I was all, â€Å"So what did they want?† â€Å"They were asking all kinds of irrelevant bullshit. Had I seen any strange cats, did I see the Emperor, or some redhead.† And I'm all, Fucksocks! Fucksocks! Fucksocks! inside. But on the outside I'm all chill and I'm like, â€Å"So, you like didn't know anything, right?† â€Å"No, Asher said a hot redhead came into the store the other night, and then I was on the cable car last night, going down to Max's Deli for a sammy, and I think I saw her going into the Fairmont Hotel. Like a crazy cape of long red curls I would slaughter puppies for.† â€Å"Red leather jacket?† â€Å"Sweet red leather jacket.† â€Å"You didn't tell them, did you?† And Lil's all, â€Å"Well, yeah.† And I was all, â€Å"You traitorous whore!† And I punched her in the shoulder. In my defense, you're supposed to tell your ex-BFF when you get fresh ink, so the screaming was completely over the top. I had no way of knowing that she had a new tattoo on that shoulder, so her punching me in the boob was totally uncalled for. So, I'm ouching trs loud and this Russian lady from upstairs peeks her head out the window and she's all, â€Å"Quiet please, is sounding like burning bear out there.† ‘Kayso, Lils and I start to laugh and say, â€Å"Like bear,† over and over again until the Russian lady slams the window shut, like bear. Then it comes back to me and I'm all, â€Å"Lils, I have to get those jackets and get to the Fairmont. I have to save the Countess.† And Lily is like, â€Å"‘Kay,† not even asking details, which is why I love her-she is so nihilist it's, like, not funny. ‘Kayso, I take the jackets and catch a cab to the Fairmont, which totally pisses off the cabbie because it's only like six blocks, but when I get to the hotel I'm all, â€Å"Fucksocks!† because I'm too late. JODY Falling asleep was one of the things Jody missed about being human. She missed the satisfied, tired feeling of falling into bed and drifting off in a dreamy twilight sea of dreams. In fact, since she'd turned, unless she'd just gone too long without feeding, she never even felt tired. On most mornings, unless she and Tommy had been making love, and they went out in each other's arms, she just found a relatively comfortable position and waited for the sun to rise and put her out. Maybe a flutter of an eyelid, lasting a second, then off like a light. The closest thing to a dream state she'd experienced as a vampire was when she'd gone to mist inside the bronze statue, and even then, the door into dreamland slammed shut at dawn. The constant alertness of being a vampire was, well, it was a bit irritating. Especially since she'd been searching the City for Tommy for a week, pushing her jumped-up senses to their limits, and had to return to the hotel every morning with nothing. Apparently, Tommy had limped down an alley and vanished. She'd checked everyplace in the City that she'd ever taken him, every place he'd ever been, as far as she knew, and still there was no evidence of his having been there. She'd hoped she would have some special vampire â€Å"sixth sense† to help her find him, like the old vampire who had turned her seemed to have had, but no. Now, she was returning to her room at the Fairmont for the seventh morning. And for the seventh morning she would put out the â€Å"Do Not Disturb† signs, lock the door, put on her sweats, drink a pouch of the blood she kept locked in a mini-cooler, brush her teeth, then crawl under the bed and go over a mental map of the City until dawn put her out. (Since she was technically dead at dawn, sleeping on top of a comfortable mattress was a dangerous luxury, and by climbing under the bed she put one more layer between her and sunlight, should a nosy maid somehow find a way into her room.) Part of her new pre-dawn ritual had been returning to the hotel a little later each morning; like the skydiver who will let himself fall closer and closer to earth before pulling the ripcord to boost the adrenaline rush just a little more. The last two mornings she'd just been entering the hotel when the alarm watch she wore, which was set to go off ten minutes before sunrise on any given day, based on an electronic almanac, had started beeping. She'd bought one for Tommy, too, and wondered if he was still wearing his. As she strode down California Street, she tried to remember if he'd been wearing it when they cut him out of the bronze shell. Two blocks from the Fairmont her alarm watch went off and she couldn't help but smile a little at the thrill. She picked up her pace, figuring that she'd still be safely inside her room with time to spare before sunup, but she might have to forgo the sweats and the blood snack. As she came up the steps into the lobby she smelled cigar, and Aramis cologne, and the combination sent an electric chill of alarm up her spine before she could identify the danger. Cops. Rivera and Cavuto. Rivera smelled of Aramis, Cavuto of cigars. She stopped, her boot heels skidding a little on the marble steps. There they were, both at the front desk, but a bellman was leading them to the elevator. He was taking them to her room. How? she thought. Doesn't matter. It was getting light. She checked her watch: three minutes to find shelter. She backed away from the door, out onto the sidewalk, then began to run. Normally she would have paced herself so someone didn't notice the redhead in boots and jeans running faster than an Olympic sprinter, but they'd just have to tell their friends and not be believed. She needed cover, now. She was a block and a half down Mason Street when she came to an alley. She'd survived her first night as a vampire under a Dumpster. Maybe she could survive the day inside one. But there was someone down there, the kitchen crew of a restaurant, outside smoking. On she ran. No alleys in the next two blocks, then a narrow space between buildings. Maybe she could shimmy down there and crawl in a basement window. She crawled on a narrow, plywood gate and had one foot down before a pit bull came storming down the corridor. She leapt out onto the sidewalk and started running again. What kind of psychopath uses a two-foot-wide space between buildings as a dog run? There should be laws. This was Nob Hill, all open, with wide boulevard streets, a once-grand neighborhood now made incredibly irritating to a vampire in need of shelter. She rounded the corner at Jackson Street, snapping a heel off her right boot as she did. She should have worn sneakers, she knew, but wearing the high, expensive leather boots made her feel a little like a superhero. It turned out that turning your ankle hurts like hell, even if you're a superhero. She was up on her toes now, running, limping toward Jackson Square, the oldest neighborhood in San Francisco that had survived the great quake and fire of 1906. There were all kinds of little cubbyholes and basement shops in the old brick buildings down there. One building even had the ribs of a sailing ship in its basement, a remnant built over when the Gold Rush left so many ships abandoned at the waterfront that the City literally expanded over them. One minute. The shadow of the Transamerica Pyramid was lying long across the neighborhood ahead like the needle of a deadly sundial. Jody did a final kick-sprint, snapping off her other boot heel as she did. She scanned the streets ahead for windows, doors, trying to sense movement inside, looking for stillness, privacy. There! On the left, a door below street level, the stair-case hidden by a wrought-iron railing covered in jasmine. Ten more steps and I'm there, she thought. She saw herself jumping the rail, shouldering through the door, and diving under the first thing that would shelter her from the light. She took the final three steps and leapt just as the sun broke the horizon. She went limp in the air, fell to the sidewalk, short of the stairwell, and skidded on her shoulder and face. As her eyes fluttered, the last thing she saw were a pair of orange socks right in front of her, then she went out and began to smolder in the sunlight.

Environmental Management System Audit

An Audit is not the same as an Inventory Many people can confuse an audit with an inventory. The one vital difference between the inventory and an audit is that the inventory is concerned only with the environment, whereas an audit concerns the relationship of a community. The main purpose of the inventory is to collect environmental facts. (Newman et al. , 1997). An audit relates those facts to a specific community. This concern for compliance with standard rules and requirements is also relevant to environmental audits, but normally will not dominate the audit, as it does a financial audit. The environment cannot be reduced to a set of rules, such as those that control the preparation of financial statements. The report on an environmental audit will be lengthy rather than brief, and its findings will tend to be in the form of comments, recommendations and suggestions. This means that there is scope for disagreement or different interpretations. An audit also considers how the past has led to the present situation, but it is more concerned with the overall picture than with specific problems. (Newman et al. 1996) An audit: Summary Places the emphasis on interpretation rather than on data collection Emphasizes the overall view rather than specific investigation of individual problems. Is an activity commissioned by and used by a First Nation, not something carried out by or for another body. Assists the identification of goals and priorities, rather than being a response to problems or opportunities. Definitions Environmental Management System: The organizational structure, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes, and resources for implementing and maintaining environmental management. Graff, 1997) Environmental Management System Audit: A program and procedure that determines whether the environmental management system conforms to the organization's planned arrangements and whether it has been properly implemented and maintained. (Newman et al. , 1997). It contributes to management's purpose of the continuing capability of the environmental management system. Environmental Management System Review: A formal evaluation by senior management of the status and capability of the environmental management system in relation to environmental policy and new objectives resulting from changing circumstances. Environmental Management System The International Organization for Standardization defines an EMS (Environmental Management System) as the â€Å"organizational structure, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources for implementing and maintaining environmental management. â€Å"(1995, p. 6) In simplified terms, an EMS continually provides an organization with an accurate understanding of the impacts its activities are having on the environment, as well as useful estimates of potential impacts. A critical element of an EMS is the requirement for management to demonstrate a commitment to continual improvement by periodically auditing, reviewing and revising its EMS. (Graff, 1997) As evidenced by the word â€Å"system,† an EMS suggests a continuous cycle. This cycle begins with the design of an environmental policy. The policy must then be operationalized and implemented throughout the organization. The company must declare its environmental objectives, and identify those, which will have the greatest environmental impact. These objectives become the primary areas of consideration within the company's environmental programs. The environmental programs are essentially the blueprint the organization follows to achieve specific objectives and targets along the route to achieving the overall environmental policy. The EMS establishes procedures; work instructions and controls to ensure that implementation of the policy and achievement of the targets can become a reality. (The International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Communication is vital. It enables people within the organization to understand their responsibilities, and to have an appreciation for the environmental objectives of the organization. With this information, they are better able to contribute to the success of the EMS. Conclusion Environmental management aims to make responsible use of natural, economic and human resources in ways that protect and improve the environment. It seeks to protect valued ecological assets, manage local areas in the most appropriate way and enhance the relationship between people and the natural environment. (Turner et al. , 1993). Today environmental management aims to secure the important principles of sustainable development which seeks to put in place stewardship of the environment for this and future generations.

Operating a Franchise Management Essay

Operating a Franchise Management Essay Operating a Franchise Management Essay Operating a Franchise Management Essay Franchising refers to a business relationship in which the owner of a business (a franchisor) provides an independent business or an individual (franchisee) with a licensed privilege to operate under its trademarks and name. In this arrangement, the franchisor may provide the franchisee with a varied assistance, depending on the type of a contract the two entities have signed. Some of the assistance extended to the franchisee by the franchisor include organizational training, marketing strategies and resources, and an access to the franchisor’s business concepts. Franchising is attractive to small businesses because it offers an opportunity to start a business easily. Its attractiveness results from the support afforded by the franchisor. Moreover, since the franchisor is experienced in the business, the franchisee gets a chance to use tested concepts and receives a constant guidance. The franchisor, on the other hand, benefits because franchising provides a cheap way of expan ding business since a little investment is required. Therefore, the agreement is a win-win strategy for both parties. Since the development of this concept, many businesses have adopted it because it helps businesses penetrate markets at a faster rate than when using their own subsidiaries. The franchisee, especially in the international market, is a local business. As such, the franchisee knows and understands the market better than the franchisor. Culture is an aspect that has had a great impact on international organizations when entering foreign markets. The failure to understand culture may prevent an organization from successfully penetrating a foreign market. The presence of a franchise that is conversant with the local culture helps in identifying and serving the local needs efficiently. Types of Franchises There are two main types of franchises, which include product distribution franchise and business format franchise. Product distribution franchise provides the franchisee with the rights and license to distribute its products in designated regions. The distributor uses the company’s logos and trademark, which identifies the franchise as an authorized dealer of the manufacturer. In this type of franchise, the franchisor does not provide the franchise with the entire system to help in running the business. This type of franchise is found in soft drinks, gasoline and automobile industries. To operate a product distribution franchise, the owner of the franchise must pay a specified fee or purchase a certain amount of products from the franchisor. The business format franchise is the most popular form of franchising and involves full rights to the franchisor’s business processes. The franchisor provides the franchisee with a full access to its business format, a quality control process, methods of operations, a marketing strategy, a license for its trade name, a two-way communication system and services, as well as some products to be sold. In addition, the franchisor can help the franchisee set up the facility within which the franchise will operate. This is the fastest growing type of franchise across industries. Franchising Arrangements Single-Unit Franchise Business owners have different arrangements under which they can operate franchise businesses. The most common arrangement is known as a single-unit franchise where the franchisor permits the franchisee to operate one franchise unit (Awe, 2006). Once a single-unit franchise has become operational, the franchisee can buy additional single-units. This is known as a multiple or single-unit relationship. Multiple-Unit Franchise The second arrangement is known as a multiple-unit franchise. It is divided into two sub-units. The first sub-unit is called an area development. In the area development relationship, the franchisee can open more than one unit in a specified area. The franchisor provides the franchisee with exclusive rights to develop the chosen territory. The second sub-unit is known as a master franchise. In this relationship, the franchisor grants the franchisee more rights than the area development franchisee. In master franchise arrangement, the owner of franchises can have multiple units and has the right to sell them to other people within the franchise territory. This arrangement transfers most of duties, tasks, responsibilities and benefits formerly enjoyed by the franchisor to the operator of master franchise. Representative Franchise In addition to these two main arrangements, there may arise another hybrid relationship known as an area representative franchise. The area representative purchases a territorial franchise to service and sells it as unit franchises. The contract signed by the representative is not with the unit franchisees, but with the franchisor. This representative receives a portion of the fees paid by the unit franchisee to the franchisor. The fee received by the representative is as a result of servicing the unit franchises in the territory. How to Evaluate a Franchise Starting a franchise involves some risks because the investor wishing to operate it must invest and pay fees to the franchisor. Moreover, since the franchise agreement allows the operation for a specified period, the franchisee must be cautious when choosing the franchisor with whom to enter into an agreement. The franchisee must make sure that, by the time the franchise is terminated, the business has earned some profits and returned on investment. There are two essential qualities that determine a successful franchise, i.e. trust and understanding between the franchisee and the franchisor. Therefore, the franchisee must assess the opportunities available and the trustworthiness of all the franchisors. The second aspect that the business person wishing to start a franchise must assess is a financial position and track record of the franchisor. Financial records are crucial because they indicate the profitability of the franchisor, which may provide a possible prediction parameter for the franchisee’s profitability. The investor wishing to operate a franchise must analyze the market within which this franchise will operate (Bisio Kohler, 2011). Market evaluation is critical because the franchisee will be able to determine whether the prospective market has some potential customers that will be willing to purchase products at the expected prices. Moreover, this assessment can enable the investor to analyze the trend of the population purchasing the products to ensure that the market is expanding and not shrinking. Comparing disclosure statements from various franchisors helps an investor to relate the fees, benefits, restrictions and risks associated with every potential franchisor. Therefore, such an evaluation guides the investor to make an informed decision on the right franchisor to work with based on the details contained in disclosure statements. The prospective franchisee must assess the potential franchisor on the type of activities involved in the business. The business activities may require special skills that the franchisee may not have. The franchise must match the skills and capabilities of the franchisee so that the management will be excellent and profitable. Another assessment criteria to use is whether the franchisor has been market tested. During an initial business setup, the franchisor must have tested the business model through pilot tests in the market. Such a study must have been guided by professionals. On the other hand, the market testing could be based on the number of years the franchisor has been operational and successful. Market testing is crucial because a tested franchisor is likely to survive in the market for a longer time than a new one. The franchisee must also assess how existing franchisees are operating and their level of satisfaction with the franchisor. The franchise system may look viable on paper, but frustrating in practice. To have the practical information on what it takes to operate a franchise with the franchisor, evaluating existing franchisees is essential. The business model of the potential franchisor is crucial to the prospective franchisee because it can determine whether the business is based on a fashionable foundation or a permanent base. Every investor would wish to have the security assurance that the business in which to invest will be in existence for a long time. A franchisee must, therefore, assess the permanence of a franchisor before investing. It is essential for a prospective franchisee to understand the amount of capital required to start a franchise with different franchisors. Different organizations have different capital requirements for their franchises. The franchisee, therefore, should evaluate potential franchisors and choose depending on the amount of the capital available. In addition to evaluating the minimum capital requirements, the capital required in a worse case scenario should be assessed. Different franchisors provide support services to franchises, but there is no uniformity in this provision. The type of relationship between the franchisor and franchisee may determine the level of support available for the franchisee. The support services extended to the franchise can either increase or decrease its chances of survival. The more the support services provided the higher the chances of surviving and becoming profitable. Advantages of Operating a Franchise to a Franchisee Professional Guidance In a franchise relationship, the franchisor is experienced in the field of management and operating businesses. On the other hand, the franchisee may not have managed a business before, which means that there is the lack of expertise on the side of the franchisee. Depending on the level of assistance provided by the franchisor to the franchises, the franchisee can get some technical and managerial assistance from the franchisor. This assistance can be provided before the franchise is launched and during its operations. The advantage in operating a franchise is that the franchisor provides training and offers the progressive assistance in the course of the franchise’s operations. The technical help that the franchisor can provide the franchise with includes a business layout, design, equipment, purchasing and location. Efficiency The efficiency of operating a franchise is high compared to a start up business because the franchisor has leant through the own experience where problems were arising during a business start up. The franchisee is, therefore, provided with the information that will help the franchise evade common mistakes that lead to high start-up capital requirements (Hetten, 2011). As s result of having a prior knowledge on the processes to avoid and those to focus on, the franchise that is being efficient expands easily. Opportunity To Learn The presence of experienced franchisors in a franchise relationship enables investors to operate a business without any prior knowledge and experience. This advantage is crucial to people who decide to change their careers. They can own a franchise without any experience in the field of business. Some of the organizations sell that franchise with the operations to people with no prior knowledge. Such people are trained from scratch and are able to adapt to the system’s culture at a faster rate than a person who has worked in an organization with a different culture. Therefore, the franchise allows the franchisee to learn how to operate a business practically. Recognized Standards Franchisors require standardization in many aspects of their operations to be adopted by franchises. These aspects have been tested either through experience or a research and have proven to work for the franchisor. One such aspect is quality control. The quality of products can differentiate a business from another and initiate customer loyalty. The application of these uniform standards in all the franchisor’s operations differentiates brand names and create preferences among customers. Although franchisees have the limited independence, the compliance requirement helps them to apply proven methods and practices, which lead to increased revenues and profitability. Potential for Growth The learning and experience gained by operating one franchise can help the franchisee to operate other franchises elsewhere. An opportunity to operate the franchise in another location may arise. Franchisees with experience and knowledge can expand their operations to new locations where they would increase their profits and a scope of operations. Distinctive Trade Identification A franchise has an advantage over other start-up businesses because its association with a recognized franchisor improves its goodwill in the market. The franchise, therefore, enjoys the success in market penetration by being associated with a known brand. Since building a brand name is costly and dependent on time, franchises become famous within a limited time and using fewer resources than other start-up businesses. Advertisement Programs Advertisement is crucial for the success of any organization, irrespectively of the products being sold or the industry in which the business belongs to. An advertisement consumes large portions of marketing budgets and reduces profits and returns on investments. The franchise is exempted partly from the advertisement costs because when the franchisor advertises on a massive scale, the franchise benefits for being associated with the brand name. Disadvantages of Operating a Franchise to a Franchisee Cost of Franchise Although the franchises are assisted during the start-up and the progress of business by the franchisor, the help comes with the price. Once the business becomes operational, the franchisor starts charging loyalty fees in the form of sales revenue percentages. This cost is invisible during the start-up, but becomes evident once the business starts making profits. Since the charges are continually charged, they become a burden to the franchise because the business has to ensure sales up to a certain limit to guarantee that the business can pay the fees. Risk of Misunderstanding or Fraud Not all franchisors are genuine in their business. Some of them promise many things to franchises, but rarely fulfill them. Franchisees may not see the need to involve an attorney in the transactions, but it is crucial because the contract may contain faults that only people involved into the legal profession can understand. Therefore, franchises represent opportunities and risks in an equal measure to franchisees. Over-Dependence The help that franchises receive from franchisors may limit the involvement of franchisees in managing the business. The franchisor may not understand the unique needs of the customers in local regions. This means that methods and means used by the system may not apply to some localities. At such times, the franchisee should decide on how to serve the needs of such customers without relying on the franchisor. The control exercised by the franchisor on the franchise may make the franchisee over-dependent on the franchisor to the point of not being able to adapt to unique methods that would fit localities. Restricted Creativity and Freedom Franchisors place numerous restrictions on the way their franchises conduct their businesses. They have to follow procedures and standard ways of doing things. Any creative franchisee cannot conduct a business differently without offending the franchisor. Moreover, franchises are geographically restricted because they may enter another franchise territory. The restriction can be destructive such that even when the franchisee notices that some products are not suited to the market. They have no remedy because the franchisor has the final word to say. Negative Effects from Other Franchises’ Poor Performance When other franchises licensed by the same franchisor perform poorly in terms of quality or customer service, the effects can be felt even by those franchises that perform well. Since the franchises have the same brand name, customers aggrieved by one franchise are likely to view other franchises with contempt. This may lead to poor sales in high performing franchises. Therefore, franchising may be detrimental to franchises when the franchisor allows low standards in some of its business units. Termination or Transfer Problems A franchise is a contract between two parties and has a time frame within which it can be terminated. Either party may decide to end the contract even when the other party does not wish to end the relationship. This is a disadvantage, especially to the franchisee who has devoted time and energy to build the business. Another aspect that is problematic in this relationship is the transfer of ownership. During the contract signing, the franchisee may not have considered that the business may need to be transferred to another person such as a family member. For this reason, a clause detailing the procedure of such a transfer may not have been included in the contract. It, therefore, becomes difficult to transfer the ownership to another person. Advantages of Operating a Franchise to a Franchisor The franchising relationship is like a double-edged sword because it benefits and receives disadvantages both the franchisee and the franchisor. From the franchisor’s point of view, the following advantages result from the relationship: Rapid Expansion with Little Capital Investment In conventional business models, expansion requires a heavy capital investment. However, this is different when franchising is concerned. The franchisee comes up with the capital to invest. It is given the assistance in establishing the franchise using the money by the franchisor. This means the franchisor can reach new markets at a faster rate without investing capital. The relationship is, therefore, beneficial to the franchisor because the inputs are few, but the outcomes are numerous. Highly Motivated Franchisees In terms of performance, franchising is likely to outperform other modes of investment because the franchisee has a personal interest in the business and is more motivated than a company’s employee. As such, the business of the franchisor can perform better than organizations that rely on the employees’ motivation. The performance of the franchise is high because of the motivation from franchisees. The Expansion Is Controlled Within a corporate chain, rapid expansion sometimes occurs and out-paces the central management of an organization. When this happens, the management may lose control of critical processes and its ability to control all the organizational aspects. In a franchise relationship, the expansion is controlled because franchises are territorial and limit the extent to which the franchise can operate. The franchisor is, therefore, able to control the expansion of the business and has a tight control over its operations. Ability to Purchase in Bulk Purchasing goods in bulk is cheaper than buying fewer items. The presence of many franchises allows the franchisor to purchase supplies and products at great discounts. These discounts increase the franchisor’s profitability and reduce franchisee’s costs. Multiple Revenue Sources Having different sources of revenue is the strength to any business because it diversifies risks. The various sources of income for franchisors include the fee that is paid upon signing a contract, revenue from sales of various products and a portion of franchise’s revenue. The arrangement differentiates the franchising relationship from other corporations and diversifies its sources of revenue. Disadvantages of Operating a Franchise to a Franchisor Franchisee Dispute Conflicts are common between franchisees and franchisors regarding the payment of loyalty fees, hours of operation and expansion. Initially, the franchisee does not envisage such conflicts because the mind is usually focused on a positive side of the business. This changes when the reality of business dawns; and the franchisor starts demanding fees and other compliance issues. These disputes can disrupt business and harm trust, which is essential to the success of the franchise business. Loss of Control Although the franchisor controls several aspects of the franchise business, there is an individual aspect of the franchisee that must be respected. When the franchisor needs to implement changes, consultations between the parties involved must take place. The consultations do not always result into an agreement, and the franchisee may not agree with the franchisor. This makes it difficult for the franchisor to implement changes. The result of this loss of control is that the franchisor may be unable to respond to changing tastes and preferences in the market. In such a case, the franchisor turns to the company owned units. Any testing on a new product is done through these units. The results from the tests are crucial during the negotiations because they act as the evidence of success that can be achieved by the proposed changes. Profit Sharing Once the franchisee recovers the initial investment, subsequent earnings may represent 30-50% return on investments. Such high levels of return on investment are the indication of money that would have otherwise been earned by the franchisor using the company’s owned units. The franchisor would receive all the earnings taken by the franchisee through the company’s owned units. Therefore, franchisee’s earnings are foregone revenues for the franchisor. Legal Issues of Franchising The legal issues affecting franchising involve two documents. These include the Disclosure Document and Franchise Agreement. The state and federal laws in the United States govern the relationship between the franchisor and the franchise. To perform this role, the government requires the franchisor to supply the franchisee with the information that outlines the nature of the two parties’ relationship. The legal aspect of the franchising relationship is contained in two documents known as the Disclosure Document and the Franchise Agreement. The Disclosure Document The Disclosure Document provides the franchisee with information about the franchise system, the franchisor and agreement to be signed. The franchisee should be provided with the document before the contract is signed so that there is enough time to scrutinize the issues therein and make informed choices. The law prohibits a franchisor from selling a franchise before presenting the disclosure document to the prospective franchisee. In the United States, 14 states require franchisors to register their disclosure document with the state to notify that they will offer franchises. This document is important to the prospective franchisee because the vital information that can affect the performance of the franchise is contained in it. Some of the vital information that can help a prospective franchisee to make a wise decision is management’s experience in franchise management. The franchisor’s experience in managing the business can determine whether the franchise will have a prolonged future or not. A franchisor with the limited experience may not offer a profitable and reliable franchise. Another vital piece of information contained in the disclosure document is the litigation history and bankruptcy records. The number of litigation cases in the document can inform the prospective franchisee on the type of legal problems the franchise is likely to face. The franchisor with a long history of legal cases is less attractive to franchisees. On the other hand, bankruptcy records can provide the essential information about the ability of the firm to remain profitable in future. The franchisor with several bankruptcy records indicates inefficiency in managing the business. The information regarding territorial rights informs the prospective franchisee on how large the operation territory is. Sometimes, the franchisor may have many franchises competing for the operational territory. The disclosure document provides the franchisee with details of the geographical size within which the franchise is allowed to operate. The existence of numerous franchises sanctioned by the same franchisor within a small territory can limit the prospects of a new franchise. Such information is crucial because the franchisee prefers a large territory to serve because it provides a large market share. The disclosure information outlines the responsibilities of both the franchisor and the franchisee. This information may be unclear to the franchisee when the document is not provided prior to the contract signing. Consequently, the relationship between the two parties may be strained in the future regarding their duties towards each other. The responsibilities such is the level of support available to the franchisee is crucial when the decision to operate a franchise has been made. The franchisee is likely to choose the franchisor who provides the best support among other considerations. The Franchise Agreement Compared to the disclosure document, a franchise agreement is more specific in defining the relationship between the franchisor and the franchisee (Selden, 2011). The agreement specifies how the system works and the extent to which the franchisee can use trademarks and products. This is essential because the franchisee can understand the extent to which the franchise will benefit from the use of trademarks and licenses. In the franchise agreement, the rights and obligations of both parties are clearly defined and the standard procedures of operation outlined. The importance of this legal document is that the written procedures and standards illustrate the amount of control the franchisor exercises over the franchisee. When every activity of the franchise is strictly guided by operational procedures and standards, the franchisee has a little freedom and creativity curtailed. On the other hand, when the procedures only apply to some activities, the franchisor has limited control over the franchise. This is beneficial to the franchisee because the personal innovation can be incorporated into the business and improve its performance. The franchise agreement contains the information that indicates when the franchise relationship will be terminated. The franchisee benefits from knowing when the franchise will be terminated because forecasts can be done to determine whether the business will have earned returns on its investment and profits. When the forecasts predict that the business will have earned substantial profits, then the franchisee can enter into an agreement with the franchisor. However, when the business is likely not to make any profits by the time of termination, the franchisee may opt not to operate the franchise with the franchisor. The crucial information about the amount of money the franchisee should pay the franchisor is contained in the franchise agreement. The money to be paid out can affect the business performance; and it is, therefore, important to compare such payments across a number of franchisors. The cheaper the payments are, the more profitable the franchise is likely to be. This is because the money paid out to the franchisor either comes from the franchise profits or revenues. Having this information before signing the contract helps the franchisee get the best deal based on facts and figures. The franchise agreement details the terms and the rights to transfer the franchise. At the initial stages of the franchise formation, the franchisee may not have thought about the transfer of the business to another person, such as a next of kin or selling it. However, the procedures required must be known before signing the contract because the agreement may omit such information or write in favor of the franchisor. Even when the franchise duration is long, the franchisee may wish to transfer ownership. The agreement details the procedures. The franchisee should engage a legal counsel when examining the agreement to ensure favorable terms regarding the franchise transfer that should be included in the contract before signing it. Finally, the franchise agreement contains some information on how the franchisor conducts training of franchises; how the franchisor offers assistance and marketing strategies to the franchise. Training offers the franchise a good chance of survival than other forms of start-up businesses. The training methods that the franchisor uses are tested through experience and, therefore, provide the franchisee with the practical knowledge and skills that other start-up businesses lack. Some franchisors create advertisement programs that cover their franchises. The franchise agreement should detail the advertisement strategies used by the franchisor and the role of the franchise in the process. This knowledge helps the franchise plan the marketing budget. Between the two types of franchises, the business format franchise is capital intensive and provides more opportunities than the product distribution franchise. The choice between the two ones may be determined by the amount of capital and skills the prospective franchisee has. The franchise arrangement adopted by the investor depends on the investor’s skills in management and capital availability. Investors with advanced skills and large capital reserves have the ability to operate multi-franchise units or an area representative franchise. From the analysis of the merits and demerits of franchise business to both the franchisee and franchisor, the advantages seem to outweigh disadvantages. This is why there is an increasing number of franchises being operated throughout the world. The choice of the franchisor, which is informed by the evaluation before signing the contract, can reduce the demerits and maximize the merits. Therefore, the prospective franchisee should carefully evaluate the franchisors using the identified criteria to choose the one that will meet the needs of the franchisee and profitably.

Tattoos, Red Ink, and Sensitivity Reactions

Tattoos, Red Ink, and Sensitivity Reactions If you have a red tattoo, youre more likely to experience a reaction than if you went with another color. Heres an e-mail I received about tattoo inks:Does all red ink have nickel in it? I was told by the tattoo artist that if I cant wear inexpensive jewelry I should not use red ink in a tattoo. I cannot. Whatever metal or whatever is in the ink would cause the same reaction I get to inexpensive jewelry. That would cause a problem. She will not use it on me. Would this be the same for pink or orange or any color with any amount of red in it? Someone else who has had numerous tattoos told me they never heard of that and she reacts to inexpensive jewelry.My response:Id trust the tattoo artist over someone who has numerous tattoos, since she is more likely to know the composition of the ink and whether or not her clients have had trouble with a particular color. Another artist might offer different advice and may use an ink with a different chemical composition. Key Takeaways: Reactions to Red Tattoo Ink Any tattoo ink has the potential to cause a reaction. The risk derives from any of a number of components in the ink, including the pigment, the carrier, and chemicals added to keep the suspension sterile.Red and black inks produce the highest reported number of reactions. The pigment in these inks may be linked to problems.The most toxic red pigment, cinnabar (HgS), is a mercury compound. Its use has largely been phased out.Organic pigments are less likely to cause reactions or interfere with medical diagnostic tests. However, they degrade over time. Some molecules produced from degradation include carcinogens. Why Red Tattoo Ink Causes Reactions The issue with the color red is the chemical composition of the ink. In particular, it has to do with the nature of the pigment used for the color. The carrier for the ink (the fluid part) may also play a part, but it is more likely to be common to other colors. Some reds contain iron. Iron oxide is a red pigment. Basically, its powdered rust. While it may not cause a reaction, its a rusty-red rather than a vivid red. Iron oxide inks (which also include some brown inks) may react to the magnets in an MRI scan. Small particles, particularly in red and black inks, have been known to migrate from the site of the tattoo to the lymph nodes. Not only can migrated pigment molecules cause health issues, but they may also appear abnormal on medical diagnostic tests. In one case, a woman with extensive tattoos had 40 lymph nodes removed because a PET-CT scan mistakenly identified the migrated tattoo pigment as malignant cells. Brighter red pigments include toxic metals, such as cadmium or mercury. Fortunately, the mercury sulfide red pigment, called cinnabar, has been largely phased out of ink formulations. Cadmium red (CdSe) remains in use and may cause redness, itching, flaking, and other problems. Organic pigments cause fewer reactions than the metal-based reds. These include the azo pigments, such as Solvent Red 1. Solvent Red 1 does not cause as many issues as iron, cadmium, or mercury reds, but it can degrade into o-anisidine, a potential carcinogen. Degradation occurs over time from ultraviolet light exposure (from sunlight, tanning beds, or other sources) or from bacterial action. Azo pigments like Red Solvent 1 also degrade when a tattoo is removed using a laser. While red ink is well-known for causing sensitivity reactions there are other colors made by mixing red. The more dilute the pigment (like in orange or pink) the lower the chance of a reaction from the red component, yet the risk is still present. Sources Engel, E.; Santarelli, F.; Vasold. R., et al. (2008). Modern tattoos cause high concentrations of hazardous pigments in skin. Contact Dermatitis. 58 (4): 228–33. doi:10.1111/j.1600-0536.2007.01301.xEverts, Sarah (2016). What chemicals are in your tattoo? CEN Volume 94, Issue 33, p. 24–26.MÃ ¶hrenschlager M, Worret WI, KÃ ¶hn FM (2006). Tattoos and permanent make-up: background and complications. (in German) MMW Fortschr Med. 148 (41): 34–6. doi:10.1007/bf03364782Thompson, Elizabeth Chabner (July 2015). Tattoo Ink or Cancer Cells?. Huffington Post.

Analysis of Macadamia Nut Asian Market Expansion Essay

Analysis of Macadamia Nut Asian Market Expansion - Essay Example I would like to thank the scholars in this field whose works I had to access in order to complete the report. The report was useful in honing my research skills which will surely come to my use in future research reports. The report in the following pages tries to analyze the two market s of India and China to understand which the market that the company can use to step or mark its entry into the Asian market. After going through the detailed analysis it is found that China would be better to use as a stepping stone into the Asian market. This is because of the fact that china’s demographics and the market conditions would support the move. Recommendation is also put forward those bases on how to enter the Chinese market. The present report deals with a major export industry of Australia. The macadamia nut is the chosen industry for this particular project. The particular nut is a representative of the essence of Australia. The nut which represents the soil, climate and seasons of Australia has become a global success story. People all over the world adore this particular produce of Australia which is incomparable in taste, texture and the health benefits that this nut provides. Another thing that contributes to the success of the product is the commitment and dedication that is put into the production of the nut by the farmers or growers of Australia. The total trade value of the nut industry is expect6ed to touch the levels of $1 billion by the end of this year. The export earnings from the nut sales are expected to double over the next 10 years. In light of this fact the Suncoast Gold Macadamias (Aust) limited which is one of the largest producers of Macademia nuts and the seller of the nut and pr oducts that are derived from the nuts. The company wants to expand its business in the Asian market. The target countries that the company has chosen for the entry into the Asian market the two countries of India and Africa.

The Western Treatment of Illness versus Alternative Therapies of Essay

The Western Treatment of Illness versus Alternative Therapies of Probiotics, Herbs and Cleansing Regimens - Essay Example Bacteria which are immune to the traditional treatments of antibiotics have become a serious issue for practitioners and the general public. Over-reliance on antibiotics by family doctors, and non-compliance by patients (usually through lack of understanding about the nature of antibiotics and bacteria) has produced infections such as Clostridium difficile, known as C. dif, which require very intensive therapies and are very resistant to treatment. It therefore makes sense for scientists to consider whether alternative therapies are of any benefit in providing an alternative to antibiotics. Complementary therapy such as herbs may actually cheaper than conventional medications. A study comparing standard anti-depressants with St John's Wort found that the side effects of the herb were only 10 percent that of the medications, and the herb was only one-fourth the cost of the anti-depressant. (Jonas, W. 209). Treatment of Helicobacter Pylori through antibiotics is : The side effects of antibiotics often result in a significant failure to complete the course - this has repercussions both in the duration of the illness, and the likelihood of the bacteria becoming resistant to treatment. Studies have shown that probiotics act rapidly (Mattila-Sandholm et all, 2000). In addition, it is widely acknowledged that patients are complacent about antibiotics, (Guardian 2005), and complementary therapy could provide a solution to that problem (Jonas, 208) Alternative therapies also provide a 'holistic' treatment, though some clinicians feel that it is nonsense to claim that conventional medicine does not treat the whole person (Baum, 1988)However, there is evidence that probiotics strengthen the immune system (Kailasapathy, Chin, 82; Senok, Ismaeel, and Botta, 959-960), providing long-term benefits for the patient. In cases where the patient is vulnerable to infection, this may be of particular interest. Problems with CAM Although many people take CAM without problems, there are safety issues which mean that alternative therapy is not benign. Firstly, the herbs themselves may be toxic in large doses (Silverstein et al, 162), they may be contra-indicated with conventional medication (Silverstein, 162; Jonas 209), and generally less well regulated (Senok, 959). There is also little hard evidence that CAM's are more effective than conventional treatments (Mattila-Sandholm, 394; Langmead, Rampton, 348), and despite some clinicians' feelings that CAM's have a beneficial effect, some studies seem to show the opposite (Gionchetti, et al, 492). The biggest concern over the use of CAM in treating bacterial diseases, however, is the fact that many probiotics and herbal medicines are targeted at the healthy