Discomfort, Irritation, and Confusion of The Bath Essay -- Wife of Bat

Discomfort, Irritation, and Confusion of The Bath People are living robots. They follow the norm. They go with the latest trend. They walk the latest walk and talk the latest talk. Even the "brilliant ideas" that sprout from people's minds are a combination of other people's thoughts and ideas; friends, family and the media are the greatest influences. When a situation that is out of the norm confronts people, they are suddenly caught off guard, and instead of dealing with the situation, they shy away from it in attempt to return to their protective glass case; the norm. Raymond Carver forces his readers to face discomfort, irritation, and confusion through reading "The Bath". His language is dry, and the story is short. The characters do not have names, the language does not flow well, and the ending leaves the reader hanging. The message of the story is vague, and the plot lacks depth; however, the details that this story reveals through the concise language surpasses any detail that "A Small, Good Thing" reveals through its abund ance of words. To begin with, "The Bath" lacks much usage of adverbs. Adverbs typically help describe an action so that the reader better understands either the character or the situation. Clearly, the point of not including adverbs in this short story is to force the reader to focus on what happens instead of how something happens. A short story is "something glimpsed from the corner of the eye, in passing" (Carver 558). A reader should not feel connected with the characters in the story because that is not the author's main concern. An author simply attempts to convey a message through some words in a page that is arranged in ... ... intentions for "A Small, Good Thing" differ from his intentions for "The Bath". Throughout "The Bath" the reader struggles with many uncomfortable feelings, and although the reader may not immediately realize that he/she can relate to the story more than he/she knows, a relationship is present. "The Bath" does a good job of putting the reader in the characters' shoes. "A Small, Good Thing," on the other hand, provides a comforting feeling of knowing everything that happens, and knowing that everything works out at the end. Since there is a beginning and an ending to the story, the reader can conclude a meaningful message from the story and relate or apply it to his/her life. Overall, "The Bath" sets the mood of the story better than "A Small, Good Thing" because of its concise language and its focus on "the glimpse" instead of the "big picture".

Financial Statement Analysis of Square Pharmaceuticals Essay

I hope and elieve that you will be kind enough to consider any types of mistakes that occurred at the time of preparing this proposal. Thank you. Yours sincerely, Roll : 24040 Executive Summary A few comments on the organization and content of the report may be helpful to reader. In doing so, we realize that some topics may be more important to some reader then to other. For that reason we some advanced material (e. g. questionnaires) appears in appendices. Our goal is to help the reader who must compare financial position of these two companies. First we focused on the essential element of this report. We have included here the introduction of this report, objectives of the report, findings, methodology, so that the reader can get ideas easily. The second part is very important from the sense of this report. Here we have given our recommendation of the report. We have tried out level best to give the commendation neutrally. It also contains the conclusion of this report. Contents: Topic Page Introduction Objective of the Report Limitation of the Study Literature 2 Analysis 4 Summary and Conclusion 11 Introduction: Financial Statement includes the Balance Sheet, Income statement and other tatement which determine the company’s performance. Financial ratio analysis is the calculation and comparison of ratios which are derived from information in company’s financial statements. Financial ratios are the analyst’s microscope. It allowed them to get a better view of the firm’s financial health than Just looking at the raw financial statements. Objective of the Report This term paper is prepared under submitted as a major requirement of the Financial Accounting Course. Financial Accounting provides the facts needed to make informed economic as well as operational control. Limitation of the study is about: ) Based on only secondary source of data b) Time bound restrict me for further research on the topic c) possible to analyze every ratio of the financial statement There is not Literature: Financial Ratio: Financial ratios are useful indicators of a firm’s performance and financial situation. Financial ratios can be used to analyze trends and to compare the firm’s financials to those of other firms. Current Ratio Current ratio is the ratio of current assets of a business to its current liabilities. It is the most widely used test of liquidity of a business and measures the ability of a usiness to repay its debts over the period of next 12 months. Current ratio is calculated using the following formula: Current Ratio = Current Assets Current Liabilities Receivables Turnover Ratio An accounting measure used to quantify a firm’s effectiveness in extending credit as well as collecting debts. The receivables turnover ratio is an activity ratio, measuring how efficiently a firm uses its assets. Receivables turnover ratio = Net receivable sales/ Average accounts receivables Inventory Turnover A ratio showing how many times a company’s inventory is sold and replaced over a period. The days in the period can then be divided by the inventory turnover formula to calculate the days it takes to sell the inventory on hand or â€Å"inventory turnover days. † Inventory Turnover = Cost of Goods Sold Average Inventory Asset Turnover : The amount of sales generated for every dollar’s worth of assets. It is calculated by dividing sales in dollars by assets in dollars. Asset Turnover Ratio = Net Sales Average Total Assets Return On Asset: An indicator of how profitable a company is relative to its total assets.

Oxford Brookes Bsc(Hons) in Applied Accounting (Acca)

PART IPROJECT OBJECTIVES AND OVERALL RESEARCH APPROACH 1. 0. 0 INTRODUCTION Business and financial performance in the tourism industry Tourism is now one of the largest industries in the world. According to the WTO, the export income generated by international tourism ranks fourth after fuels, chemicals, and automotive products. Furthermore, the WTO points out that, for many developing countries, tourism is one of the main income sources of foreign exchange, and creates much-needed employment and opportunities for economic development. The industry has also enjoyed staggering growth over the past six decades. ttp://www. qfinance. com The tourism industry is also a major contributor to Zimbabwe’s economy thus I chose to assess the performance of a company in this sector to obtain a clear picture of how the performance of a major player in such a sector would contribute to the economy. In the tourism industry business and financial performance is highly dependent on the politica l factors of the host country. Political stability and good international relations are important for the growth of firms in the tourism industry as tourists only go to places where they feel safe and protected. Spending on tourism and hotels is also closely related to the economic cycle. Certainly, spending on leisure activities such as holidays tends to be one of the first things that consumers cut back in times of economic hardship. REASONS FOR CHOOSING RTG 1. 2. 1 Rainbow Tourism Group Background Rainbow Tourism Group was established in 1992, and is the second largest tourism group in Zimbabwe and a major player in Zimbabwe’s Tourism Industry. Listed on the Zimbabwe Stock exchange, the company has spread its wings into the regional markets through management contracts  and Strategic Alliances. In Zimbabwe, RTG operates  four brands namely, The Rainbow Towers, Rainbow Hotels  (three star city and resort hotels), Touch the wild (top of the range eco-tourism lodges offering unique safari experiences)  Ã‚   and Zimbabwe Tourism Services (a destination management services company that caters for travel arrangements). (www. rtg. co. zw) RTG has a good corporate governance struct ure and is the second largest tourism group in Zimbabwe the largest being Africansun RTG’s operating environment For the period 2007 to 2009 Zimbabwe’s business environment was extremely hostile, most businesses were closing down and the few lucky survivors were scaling down their operations massively. The economy was ranked the worst in the world and inflation at its peak was around 6. 5 quindecillionnovemdecillion percent (65 followed by 107 zeros) . Long term planning was impossible in the industry due to the political instability and bad publicity that the country received following violence surrounding the March 2008 presidential elections as well as cholera outbreaks affected tourist arrivals in 2008, thereby limiting any growth in the economy. The highest decrease in the number of tourist arrivals was reported from traditional source markets, such as the UK and the US. Http. //www. euromonitor. com/Zimbabwe The managed exchange rate and high inflation rate made budgeting difficult. The introduction of price controls by the government in the sector meant that RTG could not increase their prices in line with inflation as they were supposed to request for price increases first whereas their expenses were increasing therefore cutting down their profits unreasonably. The rampant shortage of basic commodities such as food and drinks increased costs as supply could not match demand it also meant that hotels and restaurants could not offer services to its customers and therefore a drop in revenues and standards of services. A high unemployment rate of about 94% and a shrinking economy also meant that the local customers had no disposable income as 98% of the population was living under the poverty datum line and had to cut back on leisure activities. The tourism sector also faced a crumbling air transport sector, with ramifications for the entire economy and the withdrawal of a number of reputable airlines, citing viability problems. Approximately 18 international airlines are reported to have left the country since the start of the economic crisis in the year 2000. Some of the airlines that pulled out of the Zimbabwe route were Zambian Airways, British Airways, Swissair, Lufthansa, KLM and Air France. High fuel prices, combined with political and economic turbulence, were the reasons cited for the withdrawals. Zimbabwe’s isolation was a major blow to the already ailing travel and tourism industry, which relies heavily on high-spending incoming tourists. (www. newzimbabwe. com) Purpose and objectives of the research The objective of this research is to find out how RTG’s business and financial performance over the three year period 2007 to 2009 contributed to Zimbabwe’s economy when it was in a massive economic recession and when foreign currency and jobs were needed most. RTG is a major player in the tourism sector which contributes a significant portion to the GDP of Zimbabwe therefore RTG’s business and financial performance was not only important to its shareholders but also to the whole economy. To achieve this objective the researcher will also establish the following: * To establish how RTG measures and assesses its performance. * To find out what strategies RTG adopted to meet its business and financial performance objectives. * To assess whether RTG’s business and financial performance was adequate to survive the economic crisis it was facing. The research aims to answer the following questions: What measures were used by RTG to assess the business and financial performance and were they adequate? * What were the strategies RTG used to achieve its business and financial objectives and were they adequate? * How did RTG perform compared to its main competitors? * How did RTG’s business and financial performance contribute to the economy of Zimbabwe? * Did RTG meet the expectations of all its stakeholders? * How can RTG improve its performance? Research approach The researcher used a case study approach employing both qualitative and quantitative techniques to evaluate the performance of RTG. This approach enabled the researcher to make a balanced assessment and to consider other stakeholder’s interests that might be difficult to measure quantitatively. To answer the above questions the researcher will use traditional techniques such asratio analysis and trend analysis to establish the patterns of performance while comparisons with other organizations in the same industry will also be done. Modern techniques such as Kaplan and Norton’s balanced scorecard will also be used in order to develop a comprehensive framework of assessing the business and financial performance of RTG. Gaps will be identified, conclusions drawn and recommendations will be made as to how RTG can improve its business and financial performance in future. PART IIINFORMATION GATHERING AND ACCOUNTING / BUSINESS TECHNIQUES Introduction Description of methods This section identifies the research methodologies which will be used for data gathering by the researcher. â€Å"research methodology refers to a whole range of questions about the assumed, appropriate ways of going about social research and is therefore a theory or an analysis of how research should operate† (hitchcock and hughes 1995:20). Data collection procedures Data collection is about using the selected methods of investigation which Robson (1997:304) believes there is no generally best methods as all methods have their weaknesses. Various methods of data collection were used in this research and the following are the primary and secondary data collection methods that were used. Primary methods * Interviews * Observation Secondary methods * books * journals and publications * internet * Published financial statements Secondary data Secondary data are statistics not gathered for the immediate study at hand but some other purpose. Churchill 2002). Secondary data was used in this research to get an in-depth understanding of the business and financial performance of RTG. Saunders (2007) gave the following advantages and disadvantages of secondary data Advantages * Saves time and money * High quality of information compared to data gathered by an individual at the point of research * Provides a general framework for c omparing data collected by the individual. Disadvantages * Accessibility of data maybe costly or difficult * The purpose why the secondary data was collected may not be relevant to the research being undertaken. There is no control over the quality of secondary data therefore accuracy maybe difficult to verify * Information gathered maybe outdated Primary data Advantage * The most important benefit of primary data is that data is original. Disadvantages * Results may not be representative of what is found in the population * The flexible nature of methods used can result in ambiguous results Research instruments Interviews An interview is a social survey conducted in a face-to-face or personal conduct situation. Heyward and Sparks (1984) define an interview as an occasion when one or two people ask questions that seek to find out opinions and ideas. Advantages of interviews Face to face * Immediate feedback * Quick feedback * Easy to tell whether respondent understood the questions, * physical gestures and personal contact adds emphasis * allows for a wide exchange of ideas * Good relations are established E-mails and Telephones * Immediate feedback * Appropriate for â€Å"always busy† interviewees * E-mails can be easily stored for other uses Disadvantages of interviews Face to face * Data is difficult to record, code and analyze * time consuming interviewee accessibility may be difficult * The interviewee maybe uncooperative E-mails and Telephones * late feedback caused by disruptions due to network congestion and technical breakdowns * High telephone charges Literature review 1. 1. 11. 1. 1 Financial performance Financial performance is a subjective measure of how well a firm can u se assets from its primary mode of business and generate revenues. It measures a firm’s overall financial health over a given period of time and/or compare with similar firms across the same industry www. investopedia. com/terms/f/financialperformance. asp 1. 1. 2 Business Performance Business performance can be defined as â€Å"the integration of financial and non-financial systems and processes to achieve organization goals and objectives† http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/business_performance_management Business performance is about creating value for the stakeholders of a business. Measuring business performance is therefore very subjective and finding suitable measures is very difficult. An organization’s business and financial performance cannot be measured in isolation it has to be compared with prior periods or other organizations in the same economic sector taking into consideration the company’s business environment. Business performance is guided by an organization’s vision and mission these outline the aims to be achieved and the desired end results. Research Approach The researcher will use a variety of business and financial performance measures. Firstly the researcher will consider traditional financial performance measures such as return on capital employed, liquidity gearing indicators, earning per share and trend analysis which shows the value added to the shareholder’s investments. The traditional argument is that shareholders are the legal owners of a company and so their interests should thus be to maximize shareholder wealth. Shareholders are generally concerned with the following: * Current earnings * Future earnings * Dividend policy * Relative The objective of wealth maximization is usually expanded into three primary objectives which are survival growth and to make profit Kaplan 2007:184) Traditional financial performance measures will be used to measure how RTG has been able to satisfy its shareholders. Weaknesses of ratio analysis As illustrated by Owen G (1994:386) the following are the main weaknesses of using ratio analysis * It uses historical information which maybe out of date * Can mislead when making comparisons if accounting policies are different * Can be distorted by one-off transactions * Takes no account of cyclical changes throughout a period * One dimensional To fully assess the business and financial performance of RTG the researcher will also use non-financial performance measures through the use of the balanced scorecard and other performance measures. The Balanced scorecard The balanced scorecard was developed by Kaplan and Norton as cited in Kaplan ACCA P5 (2009) defines it as a tool to translate an organization’s vision and strategy into objectives and measures. It looks at four perspectives namely financial perspective, customer perspective internal business perspective and learning and growth perspective. The aim of the balanced scorecard is to enable the business to develop a comprehensive framework for translating a company’s strategic objectives into a coherent set of goals and performance measures. Kaplan ACCA P5 (2009) Limitations of the balanced scorecard Neely (2002) argues that the most difficult problem of Balanced Score Card (BSC) is that it lacks several important interest groups in its structure: such as suppliers, co-operation partners and close neighbors. The International Institute of Management (2002) states the following implementation pitfalls and limitations of the Balanced Score Card: * Cut the jacket to fit the person do not cut the person to fit. * The balanced scorecard should not be balanced, success factors are not equal and their relationships are not linear. Trying to balance the scorecard will lead to confusion, conflict and lack of focus. * Insufficient cause and effect relationships and performance drivers. * Conflict of interest (different stakeholders want different things) * Measuring intangible assets (information and human capital) is difficult. Other measures of performance The researcher will also use other Critical success factors and Key performance indicators such as revenue per and room occupancy rates, among others to fully analyze the performance of RTG Ethical issues The researcher took into consideration ethical issues such as confidentiality and objectivity in carrying out the research and analysis. The researcher assured RTG that he was going to use the information he collected strictly for academic purposes. The researcher also assured all the individuals he interacted with that he was going to be objective in analyzing the information they provided. All the information the researcher obtained was kept secure at all times to preserve anonymity and confidentiality. . PART 3  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Results, analysis, conclusions and recommendations This section is dedicated to the presentation of the data collected, its interpretation, drawing of conclusions and making recommendations. The researcher will start by presenting and analyzing his findings on the financial performance of RTG for the period 2007 to 2009 using ratio and trend analysis. In latter sections the researcher will present his findings and analyze RTG’s performance using non-financial performance indicators to assess its business performance. 3. 1 Traditional Financial Ratios of RTG 3. 1. 1 Profitability ratios of RTG Analysis of profitability was made very difficult by the hyperinflationary environment that was in Zimbabwe between 2007 and 2008. On 14 February 2008, the Central Statistical Office announced that the inflation rate for December 2007 was 66,212. 3%. On 20 February 2008, the Central Statistical Office said that officially, inflation had in January 2008 gone past the 100,000% mark to 100,580. 2%. On 4 April 2008, the Financial Gazette (FinGaz) reported that officially, inflation in February 2008 jumped to 164,900. 3%. On 15 May 2008, the Zimbabwe Independent reported that officially, inflation in March 2008 jumped to 355,000%. On 21 May 2008, SW Radio Africa reported that, according to an independent financial assessment inflation in May 2008 jumped to 1,063,572. 6%. The state statistical service in April 2008 said there were not enough goods in the shortage-stricken shops to calculate any new (official) figures. On 26 June 2008, the Zimbabwe Independent reported that, latest figures from the Central Statistical Offices (CSO) showed that annual inflation rose by 7,336,000 percentage points to 9,030,000% by June 20 and was set to end the month at well above 10,500,000%. According to Central Statistical Office statistics, annual inflation rate rose to 231 million percent in July 2008. The month-on-month rate rose to 2,600. 2%. By December 2008, inflation was estimated at 6. 5 quindecillionnovemdecillion percent (65 followed by 107 zeros) The Zimbabwe Central statistical office stopped publishing inflation figures and therefore the Zimbabwe Consumer Price Index was not available to adjust the 2008 financial statement figures. The historical figures used were out of date and comparison of costs and revenues gave a false picture and thus care should be taken in interpreting them. The researcher therefore could not analyze trends in revenue and cost as they had been heavily distorted by inflation and no adjustments could be made as the Central Statistical Office stopped publishing the inflation figures and the Consumer Price Index. Gross Profit Margin The gross profit margins of RTG in 2007, 2008 and 2009 were 74%, 99% and 84% respectively. The gross profit margin shows the gross profit generated per every dollar of sales. In 2009 Africansun limited’s gross profit margin was 65% therefore showing that although RTG’s gross profit margin had decreased from the prior year it was still better than its competitor. In the researcher’s interview with Mr L Chasakara RTG’s operations director, he said thatâ€Å"RTG managed to increase its gross profit margin from 74% in 2007 to 99% in 2008 by specifically targeting the domestic market†. Sales from the domestic market were increased from 78% in 2007 to 83% in 2008 as the foreign market was deteriorating due to the political instability in Zimbabwe in this period. The researcher however also noted that the increase in gross profit margin from 74% in 2007 to 99% in 2008 could have been due to the fact that the use of historical cost in 2008 overstated revenues due to high inflation figures and understated costs as most costs had been incurred earlier in the year. Revenue will generally be overstated in hyperinflationary environments if historical costs are used as costs are normally incurred before revenues are realized. Net Profit Margin The net profit margins of RTG in 2007 was (0. 62%), it rose dramatically in 2008 to 879% then decreased again sharply to 0. 13% respectively. In 2008 the net profit margin was heavily distorted by the RTG’S investment income which it gained from trading on the Zimbabwean Stork exchange which was booming at this time. In 2009 the use of the United States dollar as the official currency in Zimbabwe (Dollarization) saw inflation dropping to below zero percent. This resulted in more realistic profitability ratios with the gross profit margin dropping to 84% from 99% in 2008 and the operating net profit margin dropping to 0. 913% in 2009 from 879% in 2008. Removing investment income from the net profit before interest and tax in the 2008 statement of financial position gives us a net profit margin of 17% which is more indicative of RTG’s performance in 2008. The researcher asked Mr L. Chasakara, RTG’s operations director if the large profits that RTG had reported in 2008 were a true indication of its performance. Mr L. Chasakara responded saying â€Å"these were unusual results in unusual circumstances we did what we had to do in order to survive and excel in one of the most hostile economic situations in history† The trend in the gross profit margin and the operating and the net profit margins of RTG from 2007 to 2009 is presented in the table below: Source; Kembo H (2011) The table below shows the trend in net profit margin after subtracting investment income from RTG’s 2008 net profit before interest and tax: Source: Kembo H (2011) Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) ROCE is an indicator of the management’s efficiency in generating profit from resources. In 2007 RTG’s ROCE was 2%, it then rose sharply to93. 5% in line with the high profits that were earned in 2008 and then came down to 29. % in 2009. In 2009 Africansun Limited which is RTG’s main competitor had a negative ROCE of 18. 75%. Therefore even though RTG’s ROCE dropped from 93. 5% in 2008 to 29. 1% in 2009 it still was better compared to its rival in the Zimbabwean tourism industry. RTG’s ROCE was also higher than the average borrowing rate in 2009 of 15% which means that RTG added value to its investor’s funds as it managed ROCE above the minimum borrowing rate to compensate for the extra risk they took upon investing in RTG. Asset turnover The asset turnover ratio shows the revenue generated per dollar of assets that is the efficiency of assets in generating revenue. RTG’s asset turnover ratio for 2007 was 0. 20 times per annum then decreased to, 0. 094 times then rose to 0. 92 times per annum The Asset turnover trend between 2007 and 2009 is shown in the table below: Source Kembo H (2011) In 2007 and 2008 investment income contributed to the bulk of the net profit therefore RTG’s asset turnover ratios were very poor at 0. 20 times per annum and 0. 94 times per annumrespectively. This suggests that the group was using its funds for other investments rather than its operating activities as the operating environment was extremely hostile. In the researcher’s interview with the Operations Director of RTG, heexpressed that this move was necessary for survival as the mismatch of revenues and costs due to hyperinflation meant normal operations of the RTG would result in heavy losses. Asset turnover of RG T improved dramatically in 2009 rising to 0. 2 times per annum meaning that the group was using its assets effectively to produce revenue. Although RTG’s asset turnover ratio improved in 2009 it fades in comparison with its main competitor Africansun Limited which had an asset turnover ratio of 1. 32 times a year. This means that RTG was less efficient in generating revenue from its capital than its competitor. Working Capital Ratios Current ratio The current ratio measures the adequacy of current assets to meet liabilities as they fall due. (Financial Reporting F7 Kaplan 2009) In 2007 RTG’s current ratio was 0. 7:1 which meant that RTG’s could not service its liabilities in the event that they fall due. In an interview with the researcher the Accountant of RTG Mr G Nzunga said hyperinflation made it difficult to keep too much cash it would quickly be eroded, thus they had to channel their resources into the acquisition of tangible assets and keep current assets at a minimum. In2008there was further decrease of the current ratio to 0. 32:1 as inflation continued to rise and most people discouraged to keep cash or cash equivalents. In 2009 the current ratio of RTG was 0. 76:1, an improvement from the 2008 current ratio but still not satisfactory. In 2009 the use of the United States dollar as the official currency in Zimbabwe (Dollarization) saw inflation dropping to below zero percent thus the improvement as the economic environmentbecame began to normalize. Mr G Nzunga, RTG’s Accountant said that RTG was still in a difficult position as far as working capital management was concerned as a liquidity crisis began across industry soon after dollarization in Zimbabwe in 2009. The company was not generating enough money from its day to day activities to pay mostly suppliers and other current liabilities as they fell due. In 2009 Africansun Limited which is the biggest tourism group in Zimbabwe’s current ratio was 0. 49:1. The liquidity crisis in Zimbabwe made it very hard for companies in Zimbabwe to maintain decent current ratios and most of them had to employ aggressive working capital management. With a current ratio of 0. 76:1 RTG is considered to have performed quite well given the surrounding circumstances. Inventory Turnover Period Due to lack of information the researcher was unable to calculate RTG’s inventory turnover ratios, receivables periods and payables periods for the years 2007-2008 and could only calculate the inventory turnover ratio, receivables and payables periods for the year 2009. RTG’s inventory turnover ratio for the year 2009 was 143 days which was very bad considering the fact the larger percentage of RTG’s inventory is food that they sell to guests. Normally in the food industry inventory turnover should be fairly quick so as to preserve the reputation of the company and quality of the meals served. Africansun’s inventory turnover in the same period was 70 days which was better than that of RTG in this period. The accountant of RTG commented in this high ratio saying that they purchased large amounts storks to avoid the effects of stork outs in the event of food shortages which were common in Zimbabwe in 2008. In 2008 the retail and Food industries were almost facing ruin as shelves in shops went empty due to the economic and political challenges Zimbabwe was facing, therefore it was generally reasonable for RTG to keep relatively large amounts of stork. Payables Period RTG’s payables period was 726 days in 2009 which represents the credit period it was taking from its suppliers. RTG had such a bad payables period mainly due to liquidity problems that the majority of companies was having in industry and partly as an aggressive working capital management strategy. This however resulted in RTG gaining a very bad credit reputation from its suppliers. One of their major security suppliers Chubb Locks’ Manager was once quoted saying â€Å"RTG is the worst paying customer in the country†. Some suppliers have stopped supplying RTG as a result of RTG’s bad credit record but because they are a large firm RTG still gets new suppliers. Some suppliers now demand cash for all purchases made by RTG. RTG has also been forced to purchase their supplies from more expensive suppliers or poor quality supplies. RTG is also losing out on discounts they could gain by paying promptly. In an interview with the researcher Mr G Nzunga the accountant for RTG said that the company did not have enough liquid funds to pay all their suppliers. He also stated that it was also part of an aggressive working capital management strategy as they were receiving free financing from creditors. He however admitted that the strategy was getting over-aggressive and it was ethically questionable to pursue this strategy any further. In the same period African sun’s payables period was 12 days which was better than RTG’s period and hence its good reputation with suppliers across the industry. Receivables Period The receivables period for RTG in 2009 was 94 days. This was in line with their credit policy which states that the credit period allowable to customers should be three months. The receivables period for African sun was 59 days in 2009 which was better than RTG’s period this obviously shows that African sun Limited faces less risk from irrecoverable debts. Gearing The gearing ratio indicates the degree of financial risk the company is facing and the sensitivity of earnings and dividends to changes in profitability and activity levels. Kaplan ACCA F7(2009)) In the years 2007 and 2008 RTG did not have any long term borrowing thus the gearing ratio was zero. This meant that risk for financial risk for RTG was very low. Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe made long term loans difficult to get as any lender would find it very difficult to set interest rates as inflation was highly unpredictable in this period. The value of any money borrowed could be eroded within days if not hours therefore no companies had meaningful long term liabilities. In 2009 after the introduction of the US Dollar as the official currency in Zimbabwe companies started gearing up although the liquidity crisis that followed made it difficult to get funding from local financial institutions. In 2009 the gearing ratio for RTG was 2%. RTG’s gearing ratio was very low and induced very little credit risk to the shareholders. A low gearing ratio means that RTG has the scope to borrow more if there are any profitable ventures in the future and for their current refurbishment and expansion project at their A’Zambezi River Lodge unit and increasing the group’s room capacity. Financing will also be cheap for RTG as lenders will face very low levels of risk in extending loans to them. In 2009 Africansun Limited’s gearing ratio was also very low at 3. 5% which means it also had low levels of financial risk. The low gearing across industry also reflected the liquidity crisis which was eminent in Zimbabwe in 2009 where lenders did not have the funds to extend loans to firms and they were also still skeptical about the economic and political situation in Zimbabwe. Interest Cover Interest cover is the ability of a firm to pay interest out of its profits. In 2009 RTG Interest coverwas1. 52 timesand indicated that the shareholder’s dividends were at risk. However the ability of RTG to pay its interests having emerged from difficult economic times should satisfy its shareholders as Africansun Limited its major competitor failed to make profits to pay for their finance costs. Earnings Per Share The earnings per share of RTG for 2008was384 billion Zimbabwean dollars per share and the earnings per share for 2007 was 253. 7 Zimbabwean dollars per share. Converting these figures to United States dollars at the unofficial exchange rates that were ruling at the 2007 and 2008 year ends would make the respective earnings per share figures less than 0. 000001 US cents. Due to the hyperinflation in these periods the researcher found analyzing these figures very difficultand almost impossible. The earnings per share for RTG in 2009 was USD0. 01 which was quiet impressive compared to its rivals in the tourism industry as most of them. In 2009 the earnings per share for African sun Limited was negative USD0. 8. Customer Perspective Occupancy rates One of the main indicators of performance in the tourism industry is the occupancy rate of hotels. RTG managed an occupancy rate of 44% in 2007 which was below the Zimbabwean tourism industry average occupancy rate of 45%. In the tourism industry the more customers are satisfied by your service the higher your occupancy rate will be. In 2008 the occupancy rate of RTG decreased by 9% to 37%. The decr ease in occupancy rate was due to the economic and political instability during the 2008 Zimbabwean Elections were here was widespread violence in the country, therefore the number of tourists decreased. Most airlines also pulled out of the country ma The industry average room occupancy rate in Zimbabwe’s tourism industry was 41% which was higher than that of RTG which was 37%. This shows that RTG performed badly compared to peers in the tourism industry. The fall in RTG’s occupancy rate can therefore be attributed to failure to satisfy customers better than its rivals. In 2009 RTG’s occupancy rate increased to 40% which was an increase of 3% from the 2008 occupancy rate. The increase could be attributed to the improvement in the political and economic environment in Zimbabwe after the formation of a Government of National Unity (GNU) and the dollarization of the economy. The industry average occupancy rate for 2009 was 31% which was 9% below that of RTG. In an interview with the researcher Mr L Chasakara the operations director for RTG attributed the higher occupancy rate to better brand management, better marketing strategies and service excellence. RTG’s higher occupancy rate means that it was more able to satisfy its customers better than its competitors. RTG’s main competitor and the largest hotel group in Zimbabwe African sun Limited’s occupancy rate in 2009 was 32% showing that RTG performed exceptionally well in 2009 in managing to attract customers The table below shows RTG’s occupancy rate compared to the tourism industry average: Source Kembo, H(2011) . In an interview Mr G Nzunga RTG’s accountant said that the occupancy rates also improved because 65% of their sales come from repeat business from satisfied guests and large groups of organizations who hold seminars at RTG’s hotels. Service lead time In 2009 RTG managed to reduce its service lead time in its hotels to an average of 20 minutes between the time food in restaurants and rooms is ordered to the time it is served. In 2007 and 2008 the average service lead time was 30 minutes. Better training and process improvement helped in achieving the reduction in service lead time as said by the Mr L Chasakara the operations director for RTG, he also added that benchmarking against the best restaurants also helped in achieving the improvement. In 2007 RTG was not recording complaints in late service delivery to customers but in 2008 RTG recorded 2700 complaints and the figure improved to 1100 in 2009 which was a 59% improvement. This improvement shows that RTG improved in satisfying its customers in 2009. Service Quality RTG keeps books at all its hotels were customers are asked to write a comment on the services they would have received before they leave. A review of these books at two of RTG’s units Victoria Falls Rainbow Hotel and A’Zambezi showed the results presented in the table below: Comment| 2007| 2008| 2009| Favorable| 98%| 96%| 99%| Unfavorable| 2%| 4%| 0. 9%| Will Return| 68%| 80%| 70%| Will not Return| 0%| 0%| 0%| The results from the review of the comment books showed that the majority of guests were satisfied by the service they received on staying at RTG units which means that RTG performed very well in this regard. Internal perspective Room service complaints were 3500 in 2007 and increased to 4550 in 2008. This was mainly due to the shortage of basic commodities in Zimbabwe in 2008. Shortage of commodities meant that the hotel could not provide its customers with some luxury items they were used to having every time they visited and hence the increase in complaints. The Accountant at RTG Mr G Nzunga explained that they made sure that their staff would explain the situation very carefully to the customers and extensive training of staff ensured that they were able to utilize the few commodities that were available. In 2009 complaints decreased to 2900. This could partly explained by the end of the commodity crisis in Zimbabwe. This also shows that RTG managed to improve its internal processes to reduce the number of complaints they were receiving from customers yearly. Learning and innovation RTG has invested heavily in the training of its staff in order to give better service to its customers. RTG has opened a Hotel School for the training of its workers and other external students. The commitment of RTG to continuously improve its operating processes and learn new ways of doing things has seen them being able to keep costs low and increase room capacity to make when its competitors are making losses and their occupancies are dropping. In an interview with the researcher Mr G Nzunga RTG’s Accountant said that every worker at RTG attends at least 1 seminar every month in order to keep them abreast of changes and new ways of doing things. Interview review Question1 In the first question the researcher asked the operations director and the accountant of RTG what their financial and business objectives were. The responses can be summarized as follows: * To be profitable and to create value for our shareholders. * To survive and grow in the long run thus protecting the interests of all our stakeholders. In 2008 the main objective was to survive in the harsh economic climate in order to save the tourism industry and the Zimbabwean economy itself * To achieve service excellence in tourism and hospitality. Question 2 In question 2 the researcher asked the accountant of RTG how they measure their business and financial performance. In response he said RTG assesses its performance through traditional financial perform ance measures such as ratio analysis and trend analysis and other modern measures especially the balanced scorecard as they are equally concerned about the qualitative aspects of performance. Question 3 In the third question the researcher asked the accountant and the operations director of RTG if they could explain the trend in the ratios that had been calculated from 2007 to 2009 financial statements. They gave various explanations for all the fluctuations in these ratios some of them have been quoted in the analysis of these ratios in the section above. The most common response to the financial ratios was that they were unusual results in an unusual environment referring to the hyper inflationary environment that was in Zimbabwe during this period. Question 4 Question 4 was to establish which strategies RTG used to ensure that they met their business and financial objectives. In response the accountant and operations director outlined the following as some of the strategies they implemented: * Employing an aggressive working capital strategy to mitigate the liquidity and operational challenges they were facing * Investing in money markets rather than core operating activities to improve the cash and revenue inflow. Focusing on the local markets rather than the traditional international markets that had been negatively impacted by bad publicity and political instability. * Process and service improvement through employee training. * Intensive marketing both nationally and internationally * Strict stock management to curb the shortages of basic commodities that were prevailing as a result of price controls by the government. Questions 5, 6 and 7 These questions were to establish how RTG business and financial performance contribu ted to the economy and how it can improve its performance in future. In response the interviewees stated that in making profits and surviving through the historic hyperinflationary environment in the period under review RTG saved the tourism industry in Zimbabwe as its downfall would have surely resulted in the collapse of the tourism and hospitality industry. They also stated that they managed to save thousands of jobs and provided business for hundreds of their suppliers. They also stated that to improve performance RTG would spend more on capital through hotel refurbishments and also taking advantage of their low gearing by taking loans thus improving working capital. They also stressed the need to advertise and restore the image of Zimbabwe as a tourist destination. Conclusion The researcher found out that RTG uses both financial and non-financial performance measures through the balanced score card which gives a comprehensive framework for performance measurement. This ensures that both quantitative and qualitative performance objectives are assessed. RTG used various strategies to ensure that it met its financial and business objectives which were mainly to survive the harsh economic environment and to protect its investors employees and all its stakeholders. RTG used strategies such as aggressive working capital management, investing in the money markets instead of its core operational activities and shifting their attention on the local market rather than the traditional international market. RTG also innovated through constantly innovating and improving its processes to achieve its business and financial objectives. Limitations of results The major limitation of these results is the unavailability of inflation adjusted figures for the proper analysis of financial ratios and trend analysis which might have given a false picture. The researcher held interviews with only 2 members of the executive management team which might have given a narrow picture of RTG’s performance. Interviewing all members of the management and the board would have given the researcher a broader understanding of the business and financial performance of RTG, but time and the availability of most of these people was a challenge. The researcher could not visit all RTG companies due to limitation of resources as they are geographically dispersed. This might have limited the researcher especially when he looked at the qualitative aspects of RTG’s performance. Recommendations The researcher recommends that RTG should employ less aggressive working strategies. RTG’s current working capital strategy may see suppliers refusing to supply them with critical supplies. RTG might also face legal action from its suppliers which may increase its legal costs and even loose customers who may not want to be associated with firms who have bad credit reputation. RTG should thus reduce its payables period to a more reasonable period of perhaps 90 days. The researcher also recommends that RTG should increase its gearing levels as they are currently very low in order to take advantage of loans which provide cheaper financing than equity. Zimbabwe’s reputation as a safe tourism destination was severely damaged due to the political and economic instability in 2007 and 2008. The researcher thus recommends that RTG should form partnerships with other players in the tourism industry to market the Zimbabwean brand in the international tourism market.

Democracy in the USA Essay

Text of the US Constitution does not contain the word â€Å"democracy†. The U.S. Constitution was not a perfect document. Originally it contained provisions that are can be recognized as ambiguous. â€Å"The US Founding Fathers† did not create democracy in the modern sense of the word, but the republic. They did not fully trust the wisdom of the American people and their ability to make sound decisions. For many years America was considered to be an ideal democratic country, however in recent years the situation has drastically changed. Among the most important challenges facing America today is the growing social inequality, discrimination on racial, ethnic or religious grounds, practice of indefinite detention of prisoners without charges, judicial bias, operating outside the law in prison, use of torture, the impact of government agencies on the trials, weak penitentiary system, infringement of freedom of speech, Internet censorship, legalized corruption, limiting of citizens’ voting rights, acts of intolerance based on race and ethnicity, the violation of the rights of children, extraterritorial application of the U.S. law, leading to human rights violations in other countries, kidnapping, tracking dissidents, disproportionate use of force against peaceful demonstrators, application of the death penalty to minors and the mentally ill, etc. At the same time, the international legal obligations of the United States, continues to be reduced to participation in only three of the nine core human rights treaties, providing control mechanisms. The USA has not yet ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1979, Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, 1990, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, 2006 and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, 2006. At the same time, Americans continue to wrongfully position themselves as an absolute authority and unquestioned leader in the field of democracy and human rights. They are engaged in mentoring, trying to teach others how to build their democracy and ensure human rights. Of ten they do this roughly, ignoring the basic international law principle of state sovereignty. Often their attempts to take care of human rights in other countries is bordering on outright interference in the internal affairs. At the same time, in the USA the situation with human rights remains very complicated. Fundamental political rights of Americans in today’s society, are not only exempt from the archaic elements, but they become even more vulnerable. Elections cause the most serious complaints. The U.S. president is still not elected by direct popular election, and by the Electoral College. Many rightly believe this system obsolete and undemocratic. With it, in particular, the voice of a resident of Delaware or North Dakota has mathematically much more weight than the voice of the voters in the larger states, such as California or New York. With this system, three times in the history of the U.S. the candidate with fewer votes than his opponent was elected the President (George W. Bush in 2000). And Gerald Ford has never been elected. At first, he was co-opted by the Republican National Committee instead of thieving Vice President Spiro Agnew, and then automatically took place of Richard Nixon who departed from his position because of the Watergate scandal. In general, the U.S. political system is based on the absolute monopoly of the two political parties which is far enough from the European-style multi-party democracy. More than 5.8 million Americans (2.5% of all potential voters) are deprived of voting rights because of a criminal record. This means that in general every 40th American citizen has no right to vote, among them every 13th African American (7.7% of total), and in some states, such as Kentucky, Virginia and Florida, more than 20 % of black Americans are deprived of voting rights. According to the Census Bureau, of the 75 million eligible citizens who did not use this right in the presidential election in 2008, 60 million were not able to do so due to lack of registration, which is associated with many cumbersome procedures. Currently only the states of Missouri, South Dakota and New Mexico, as well as the District of Columbia have laws that allow the access of international observers during the elections. In other regions, the issue of the activities of foreign observers is in the competence of local authorities. The implicit control over the population is being enhanced. The current U.S. law, in effect, allows the intelligence community to carry out a total censorship of all electronic communications of foreign and U.S. citizens without a warrant. It also requires telecommunications companies to assist the Government in gathering intelligence about foreign objects and to keep the information gathered in secret. Currently under consideration in Congress, the Cyber ​​Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act – CISPA, according to human rights activists, practically does not limit the possibility of the U.S. government to monitor web browsing of individuals. Freedom of speech is being limited. For attacks on journalists covering the action of the Occupy Wall Street movement, NGO â€Å"Reporters without Borders† in January 2012 lowered its rating of the U.S. in its annual global press freedom index for 27 items at once and put the U.S. on the 47th position (57th with the territories in which Washington exercise extraterritorial jurisdiction). According to an investigation of the Coalition of Independent Lawyers (Protest and Assembly Rights Project), only in New York from September 2011 to July 2012 at least 18 accredited reporters have been arrested. The site WikiLeaks was the subject of persecution by the U.S. administration in retaliation for the publication of the diplomatic dispatches. According to the latest Google report on the availability of services of the company, during the period from July to December 2011, the amount of requests for removal of content received by it from the U.S. government has increased by 103% compar ed to the previous reporting period. U.S. law enforcement agencies requested removal from YouTube video sharing hosting of 1.4 thousand videos that â€Å"contain insults.† 6.3 thousand queries required disclosure data of more than 12.2 thousand users of this company. 93% of these requirements were met. Quite specific topic is absolutely abhorrent practice of extrajudicial killings abroad. As part of the â€Å"war on terror† in Washington highly specific approaches have been developed, the application of which caused not only massive violation of many international legal norms, but also killing thousands of innocent people. Crimes against humanity committed by U.S. soldiers abroad often do not receive proper legal assessment of the national judicial system. Illegal abduction and detention of people remain in the arsenal of U.S. intelligence. In September 2006, President Bush acknowledged the existence of secret CIA prisons. As it became known later, in 2002-2003. secret services built about ten such detention facilities, including in foreign countries – Afghanistan, Iraq, Thailand, Morocco, Djibouti, Romania, Lithuania and Poland. In January 2012, a special prison at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) â€Å"celebrated† its 10th anniversary. U.S. President B arack Obama, despite his campaign promise, failed to close it because of counteraction of Congress. The practice of torture condemned by most countries of the world remains legalized in the United States. April 6, 2009 the Department of Justice published four memorandums, prepared in 2002-2005 by the lawyers of this agency. They thoroughly substantiated the legality of application of harsh interrogation techniques to prisoners of CIA prisons in terms of U.S. and international law. Along with other human rights violations in the United States numerous cases of police brutality have been recorded. Human rights activists note that the level of sexual crimes among American police is much higher than among the U.S. population as a whole. Mass practice in the United States have become systematic violations of human rights in detention. Business, which uses the prisoners’ labor flourishes in the USA. One in 10 prisoners in this country is contained in a commercial prison. The other fact demonstrating the low level of democracy in the USA are as follows: 1. In 33 U.S. states the death penalty is still permitted and applied; 2. Hundreds of thousands of children in the U.S. are abused which results in some cases (in 2010 – 1.6 thousand) to a lethal outcome; 3. In the U.S., social and economic rights are seriously disrupted. In the country there are 12.8 million unemployed, 40 million people do not have health insurance, 14.5% of families are experiencing food shortages; 4. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the USA has one of the highest levels of income inequality; 5. One of the most rightless segments of the population of America are migrants, who make up at least half of all those employed in the agricultural sector of the country; This brief review shows that the issue of human rights, facing all of humanity, is acutely relevant for the modern United States. All claims of the United States to be the moral leader in this area require a lot of preliminary work to clear own American â€Å"Augean stables.† Works Cited Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Study on Targeted Killings, Human Rights Council, 9-11, U.N. Doc. A/HRC/14/24/Add.6 (May 28, 2010).

Antigone Character Analysis: Compassion Of Love For Her Brother Essay

In the stage play Antigone, Antigone’s drive and compassion for the love of her brother lead to the sacrifice of her own well-being and life. She gets through the harsh reality of what is destined for her with her set beliefs for what she is doing. She dies a brave death, knowing that she died for all of the right reasons. Antigone is a tragic heroine, who cares about the loyalty to her family and doing what is right in her eyes. Because she has a strong stand on what she thinks is what she needs to do the negative thoughts from others don’t affect her decision to go through with it. When her sister Ismene and her were going back and forth about why she should and should not continue with the task, she disregards what Ismene says because in her mind she already has set what she wants to do and no one can possibly change that. Antigone shows how driven she is in many situations. â€Å"But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy: I shall lie down With him in death, and I shall be as dear To him as he to me..† (Scene 2, lines 57-60). She is obviously very determined to accomplish the goal that she has set out for herself. These decisions she makes possibly set an example for other citizens of the community to see that is it okay to stand up for they believe in despite what society thinks isn’t right. Another character trait of Antigone is bravery. When knows the new law set by the new king Creon and still decides to go against it. Also questioning Creon’s authority, when arguing with him she technically insults him. â€Å"Think me a fool, if you like; but it may well be that a fool convicts me of folly† (Scene 2, lines 83-84). By Antigone saying this alone, demonstrates how brave she is. To speak as such to the king was a mighty thing to do, coming from a citizen at that. Throughout the whole play Antigone stands by her word, which could be seen as another strong character trait that she has.

Cj 216 Uncle Bob Assignment

How the Police Access Data to Obtain Criminal Information Tammy Mills CJ216-01 November 15, 2011 Carter Schoenberg How the Police Access Data to Obtain Criminal Information Law enforcement communicates between every state in the United States. Each state uses different programs which makes up different types of databases, and keeps track of just about everyone who has some sort of identification. A drivers license is the most common form of identification, and everyone in the United States is suppose to obtain a up-to-date drivers license to drive a vehicle legally.Tammy is going to the state of Florida with her Uncle Bob and her uncle is driving because she does not have a valid driver’s license. Tammy has only an identification card. Bob has a criminal record because he spent five years in San Quentin Penitentiary for auto theft and armed robbery with a firearm. The Trip On August 5th 2006 Bob calls Tammy to see if she is available for a two-week trip to Miami Florida to see the sights. Bob lives in San Diego California and Tammy lives in Moxee Washington. Tammy will fly to San Diego on August 12th 2006 to meet with uncle Bob, and they will start the trip to Miami from San Diego.The trip is set to start August 13th 2006. Bob and Tammy hope to be back in San Diego California on or around the 27th of August. Today is the day of departure. Bob fills the silver blazer with gas at the local AM/PM convenient store. Bob also decides the blazer needs to be washed. Right next door to the convenient store there is a car wash. Tammy offers to wash the vehicle and notices the license plate number. The license plate number is 448 UZO. The road trip has officially started. Tammy and Bob have to travel through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.Arizona is hot so the windows are down, and the radio is blaring with country music. Tammy and Bob are laughing and having a great time catching up on old memories. In Texas, during the ni ght driving Tammy has questions about Bob’s five-year incarceration. Tammy does not want to bring up bad memories for Bob but she just wants to know what happened to explain why Bob disappeared. Bob explains that he did time for stealing a car and robbed a bank with a firearm to satisfy Tammy’s curiosity. After this conversation Bob pulled over at the next rest stop to obtain some sleep.Tammy awakens suddenly to the sound of a semi-truck passing by, she is a little shaken so she wakes up Bob, and they start on the road again. As time goes by Tammy and Bob become dazed by the trees and the scenery that they did not notice that they were running low on food and gas. Luckily they had just entered a small town in Louisiana where they can fill up and obtain some food. While Tammy is in the restroom, she overhears a conversation about a bank robbery and a stolen car and how they were never able to find who did it or where the car is. Tammy brushes if off and continues with h er day on the road with Bob.More time flies by and Tammy mentions something about her back hurting from sleeping in the car so Bob offers for them to stay in a hotel for the night. When Bob awakens he notices that Tammy is gone and there is a note left by the door. â€Å"Bob I will be back, I have to obtain some female things from the drug store. Love you, Tammy. † Bob is ready to hit the road and waits for Tammy to return. Tammy returns with some food for the road. As they hit the road Bob seems a little cautious and Tammy notices that he is thinking about something, but she cannot put her finger on it.Tammy begins to wonder what happened to him in prison. What has him so uptight that he is on guard? Tammy eventually gives up and falls asleep. Bob wakes up Tammy as they are entering the county lines of Mississippi and Bob offers to get some breakfast and an opportunity to stretch from sitting in the car so long. As they pull up and get out of the car Tammy walks around the c ar and again notices the license plate number 448 UZO. They get done eating and the set off for the road again, they stop at a river to cool off since Mississippi has a high humidity level they decide to stop and look at the scenery.After they have spent enough time cooling off Bob and Tammy hit the road again for the millionth time. As Bob and Tammy pass the miles by Tammy begins to doze off, she eventually passes out and awakens just as they enter a small town 50 miles from the county lines of Alabama. Bob and Tammy decide to stop at a rest area for the night and obtain some more sleep. When Tammy awakens she discovers that Bob has stopped to obtain food and gas. Tammy finds out that they are halfway through Alabama, and she slept 10 hours. Bob returns to the car, Tammy eats, and they are on the road again close to their destination.Tammy obtains excitement when she sees the sign for Florida, but what she does not know is that everything is about to turn upside down when they pull up into a Dairy Queen in Miami Florida. The Initial Traffic Stop The whole trip, the speed limit was 70 miles per hour. Bob is used to the speed and forgot the speed limit decreases to 35 miles per hour. When Bob and Tammy entered Miami city limits Tammy noticed a patrol car behind them. The patrol car followed them for about a minute before she saw the red and blue lights come on. Bob noticed the patrol car also and pulled into a Dairy Queen parking lot. Bob’s behavior changed in an instant.Bob starts to sweat, and he is gripping the steering wheel. The police officer walks up to the driver side window and asks Bob for his proof of insurance, drivers license, and registration. Bob gives the officer everything the officer asked for. Tammy thinks this is just going to be a routine traffic stop. The officer walks back to his vehicle and runs everything through the computer. The officer seems to taking longer than usual and the more time the officer takes Bob seems to be uneasy . Tammy looks behind the patrol car, and sees another patrol car pulling into the parking lot and wonders why another law enforcement officer is assisting.Tammy sees the two officers talking but she cannot hear what they are saying to each other. The officer finally comes back to the car window to talk to Bob. The officer asks both Tammy and Bob to exit the vehicle. Tammy removes herself from the passenger seat and Bob removes himself from the driver seat. Both of us are asked to come to the rear of blazer. The assisting officer escorts Tammy to her patrol car to ask her some questions and the other officer has a conversation with Bob. The assisting officer asks Tammy if she has any identification and she says â€Å"yes† and hands the officer her identification card.The officer asks Tammy if she would consent to a search. Tammy says â€Å"yes† again. After the quick search the assisting officer explains to Tammy that she is not under arrest but she has to be placed in handcuffs for both Tammy’s and the officers’ safety. As Tammy is in handcuffs and leaning on the patrol car, the assisting officer is running her identification card through the Department of Motor Vehicle database. This will to take some time because Tammy is from Washington State and not from Florida. The Miami-Dade Police Department has to contact the Department of Motor Vehicles in Yakima Washington to verify Tammy’s identification.Communication Methods One communication method between each officer and the Miami-Dade Police Department is the walkie-talkie. Officers are linked through a radio frequency to the police department’s dispatcher. The second method is the use of the laptop computer, but Tammy and Bob are not Florida residences. The computer’s database in the patrol car may be limited to specific types of information. If the computer has a malfunction the best way to confirm information is through the local dispatcher. The third method of communication between the officers and the Miami-Dade Police Department is the Automated Fingerprinting System. The police officer is using Cross Match Technologies’ MV-5 Mobile Wireless Capture Device† (Foster, 2005, P. 128). When Bobs fingerprint is scanned his criminal history comes to light. Tammy’s fingerprint is also scanned and the results show no criminal history. The fingerprint also confirmed Tammy’s identification. Bob is arrested because of some information on the vehicle from the Department of Motor Vehicle shows that the car was stolen. Tammy is arrested for the suspicion of auto theft. Once at the Miami-Dade police station Tammy and Bob are put into different rooms.The arresting officer wants to look into Bob’s criminal past a little deeper. Collecting and Analyzing the Information from California to Florida Knowing that Bob is from California, the officer taps into the National Law Enforcement Telecommunication System (NLETS). Acc ording to (Dempsey, n. d. P. 101) this system is â€Å"linked to all the states and many federal agencies together for the exchange of criminal justice information. † The officer can obtain information on the vehicle, Bob’s driver’s license, criminal record, prison information, and parole information.Even though the officer has enough information needed to arrest Bob. The officer wants to cross reference the information with other systems to make sure the information is correct. The second system the officer taps into is the Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) in California. The DMV record shows that the silver blazer license plate 448 UZO is stolen. The record shows the vehicle was reported stolen on August 12th 2006 at 3:00 a. m. The officer calls the San Diego Police Department and talks to the officer who wrote the auto theft report. The officer is told that the blazer is in the impound yard in Miami Florida.The officer in San Diego updates the report to refle ct that the vehicle is found and inquires the officer in Miami about information on a 9mm handgun. The officer in Miami does not know anything about a firearm but remembers that the blazer was never searched. The 9mm handgun and the blazer are registered to a Linda Andersen. The California police officer informs the officer in Miami that the blazer was involved in a robbery with a firearm and will fax the report right away and that Bob is on parole. The third system that the officer taps into is the National Crime Information System (NCIC).According to (The FBI Federal Bureau Investigation, n. d. P. 1) â€Å"The NCIC database has 19 files† to choose from. The two files of interest are the vehicle file and the gun file. When the fax comes in from California, the officer cross references the 9mm handgun and the blazer. The information from the NCIC also shows that the 9mm handgun and blazer are both registered to Linda Andersen. The gun file shows where she bought the firearm a nd that she has no criminal record. With everything cross referenced and copies of all information collected, it is time to talk to Bob.Uncle Bob Confesses The police officer walks into the room to talk to Bob. All the information that was collected from the NCIC, FBI, and the San Diego Police Department is true. Bob confirms stealing the blazer and the handgun. Bob also admits to the robbery with a firearm and the parole violation. Bob tells the police officer that the 9mm handgun is in a little compartment on the driver side in the back of the blazer. Bob also ensures the officers that Tammy was in no way involved nor had knowledge of the stolen car or the robbery.Bob explains that he just wanted Tammy to take the trip with him to get to know her. The police officer explains to Bob the seriousness of involving Tammy in this trip and has Bob write down his confession. The officer also explains to Bob that California police is asking for extradition back to California on the parole violation. The officer leaves the room to go talk to Tammy. Officer explanation to Tammy and Bob’s Charges Tammy has no idea why Bob is arrested. The officer explains that the car was stolen and that Bob is linked to a robbery with a firearm that occurred August 12th 2006 at 3:00 a. . Tammy cannot believe what she is hearing. Tammy tells the officer that her flight on this day did not arrive until 6:00 p. m. Tammy thought that Bob was done living a criminal life. The officer believes that Tammy did not have anything to do with the crimes committed. The officer explains to Tammy that she is free to leave but Bob has to stay in custody and wait for extradition back to California. The officer also explains to Tammy that Bob will be charged with theft of a vehicle, a parole violation, and a robbery with a firearm by the state of California.Bobs extradition is set for August 23rd 2006. Bob is back in California by August 30th 2006 and his trial is set for September 10th 2006. Mean while, Tammy has flown home without incident. Day of Trial The day of the trial has come. The judge reads the charges of grand theft, violating parole, and robbery with a firearm. Bob pleads guilty to all charges and is sentenced to 25 years back in the San Quentin Penitentiary. Bob receives five years for grand theft, 10 years to finish his last conviction term, and 10 years for the robbery with a firearm.Bob and Tammy never talk again because Tammy feels that she cannot trust her uncle any more. Bob writes a letter to Tammy to apologize, but Tammy burned it. Conclusion In conclusion, most technologies overlap. With the use of index cards, computers cross reference information so law enforcement saves time by not having to search for files individually. The Miami-Dade Police Department cross referenced a large amount of information just to make sure the information provided to them by the state of California was accurate and correct.Without the use of different agencies being able to communicate with each other, criminals would have an easier time hiding from law enforcement. To this day Uncle Bob is still in prison and Tammy is continuing her education. References Dempsey, J. X. (n. d. ). Overview of Current Criminal Justice Information Systems. Retrieved from http://www. cdt. org Foster, R. E. (2005). Police technology (1st ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/ Prentice Hall. The FBI Federal Bureau Investigation. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www. fbi. gov/about-us/cjis/ncic

Kinship Organizations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kinship Organizations - Essay Example They place in-laws in similar groups as consanguineal family members, though appropriate names can be prearranged to them. Preferably, husbands and wives are connected to each other as family, although it can be in a classificatory manner rather than actual kinship (Williams, 1981). Secondly, indigenous Australia uses classificatory relationship. For instance, if a man talks to another gentleman with a particular kind word he will use the same kind word for his real brother. A kinfolk term used to a lady will also pertain to all her real sisters. This arrangement is an official construction, in the execution of it in real cases differences are identified and in practice the correspondence is hardly ever exact or absolute, at least as it regards grownups. Thirdly, they regard some associations to be more requisite than others. This is the phenomenon with similar sex siblings. Difference is in the lowest amount - although brothers contend for the same females, and, this condition is worsened in many fields by the levirate (The inheritance of a widow to her deceased spouses younger brother). They customize them by common spiritual interests that are of overriding concern. Sisters are frequently close allies, and, this is strengthened when they are married to the same husband. Opposition for lovers is not manifest between sisters, because they can have the same companion. A gentleman can have as many wives if he wants. In polygamous relationships, there is only one man. As a consequence, rivalry is more among men. Children of similar sex siblings are grouped together, while different sex siblings are differentiated by dissimilar terms (Miller, Vandome, McBrewster, 2010). Fourthly, a spouse’s opposite sex siblings is an addition to the sibling association. This position entails special obligations and tasks in almost all Aboriginal communities that could be joined with evasion taboos. In