Relationships with Children Essay

Unit aim This unit provides the knowledge and understanding which underpins effective communication and professional relationships with children, young people and adults Unit introduction Successful relationships have a positive effect on learning and behaviour. Being listened to and responded to by trusting adults encourages active engagement by children and young people and supports the development of curiosity, creativity and resilience, which are key characteristics of effective learning. Adults who demonstrate mutual respect, collaboration and negotiation are positive role models who have a significant impact on the behaviour of children and young people. Integral to building and maintaining positive relationships are effective communication skills. It is also essential for those working in support roles in schools to know the  legislation and policies and procedures for confidentiality and sharing information. This unit provides the essential knowledge and understanding required for working in support roles in schools. Learners will examine the principles of building positive relationships with children, young people and adults. This includes considering reasons why effective communication is important and the effect of social, professional and cultural contexts on communication. Communication difficulties are examined and learners find out how to adapt communication to meet individual needs including how to deal with disagreements with children, young people and adults are studied. The legislation, policies and procedures relating to confidentiality are examined and why children, young people and adults need reassurance about confidentiality are studied. Learners will also consider situations where confidentiality must be breached. This unit applies to all support staff roles in schools and is particularly suitable for those preparing for working in schools and those new to working in schools, including parent-helpers and other volunteers. Learning outcomes and assessment criteria In order to pass this unit, the evidence that the learner presents for assessment needs to demonstrate that they can meet all the learning outcomes for the unit. The assessment criteria determine the standard required to achieve the unit. On completion of this unit a learner should: Understand the principles of developing positive relationships with children, young people and adults How communication supports positive relationships: benefits eg shows respect for individual, values diversity, builds trust, demonstrates genuine interest, respects privacy, encourages autonomy, supports learning, enables effective teamwork, enables negotiation, reinforces self-esteem Principles of relationship building: ways to build relationships eg recognise the uniqueness of everyone as an individual, honesty, dependability, integrity, confidentiality; importance of relationships for learning; know role and responsibilities, how own role relates to colleagues; respect the skills and expertise of others; contribution to effective teamwork; follow organisations expectations and procedures for good working relationships; communicate effectively eg keep colleagues informed, use agreed lines of communication, maintain confidentiality; know own role in relation to parents; differences between professional and personal relationships; contribute to Every Child Matters Outcomes Effect of social, professional and cultural contexts on relationships and communication: eg power relationships, cultural expectations, social differences, prejudice, pre-conception, stereotyping Understand how to communicate with children, young people and adults Skills for communication: verbal skills eg form and tone of expression, questioning, confirming, reflecting; clarifying meaning, encouraging contributions from others, offer choices; non-verbal skills and behaviour eg eye contact, facial expressions, body movement, posture, gesture, muscle tension, touch, proximity, orientation, facial expressions, gestures, active listening; importance of contact and cultural differences in interpretation of non-verbal communications; empathy eg responding to emotional state Adapting communication: ways eg language appropriate, meaning/message, concentrate on one issue at a time, do not give mixed messages, match words to body language, open questions, active listening, encourage discussion and debate; contexts eg hearing difficulties, children with English as an additional Language (EAL), promote thinking and talking in first languages to support understanding, group EAL learners who share the same home language Differences: context eg communication formal, informal, form of address; type of communication eg verbal, language, non-verbal, orientation, confidentiality Adapting communication: use of clear speech and plain  language; different needs eg EAL, hearing difficulty, visual impairment; adaptations eg translator/ interpreter, quiet room, hearing loop, signing, Braille  Managing disagreements: behaviours eg keep calm, encourage individuals to articulate their point of view, find common ground, negotiate a compromise, win-win solutions, support children and young people to deal with disagreements, follow school policy and procedures for behaviour and reporting, restorative justice Understand legislation, policies and procedures for confidentiality and sharing information, including data protection Legislation, policies and procedures: range eg for home country, human rights eg Human Rights Act 1998, Human Rights Act 2004, for safeguarding children eg Children Act 1989, Children Act 2004, relating to freedom of information eg Data Protection Act, Every Child Matters, policies and procedures in own organisation Reassuring about confidentiality: aspects eg information shared on need to know basis, human right for privacy, protecting information when using social networking sites, buying online, using a mobile phone, procedure in own organisation, whistle-blowing Essential guidance for tutors Delivery This unit should be delivered through a combination of tutor input and active learning experiences. DVDs and case studies will give learners opportunities to link theory to practice. Role play enables learners to develop and practise their interpersonal and communication skills. Discussions, peer observations and peer assessment support assessment for learning and contribute to an understanding of the skills required for effective practice. Learners should also be encouraged to demonstrate an awareness of the importance of communication skills in addressing issues of equality, diversity, and the rights and responsibilities of children and young people. At this level the focus needs to be on understanding the significance of positive relationships in relation to the wellbeing and learning of children and young people and exploring how effective communication enables this. The Emphasis needs to be on understanding the behaviour and communication skills required to develop and maintain positive relationships with children, young people and adults and to provide positive role models. Learners should be introduced to why effective communication is important for establishing and maintaining positive relationships with children, young people and adults. How positive relationships enhance self-esteem and encourage learning could be explored through relevant research. The impact of social, professional and cultural contexts on relationships and communication should also be explored. It is essential that learners understand the communication skills needed to establish and maintain relationships. Learners need to explore ways to meet the communication needs of individuals by adapting communication for different ages and stages of development and for different contexts. Learners should be introduced to the current national legislation for confidentiality and data protection which can be accessed from relevant  government department websites. They should have the opportunity to look at a range of school policies and procedures for confidentiality and data protection and consider how these may impact on working practices. It is essential that learners know the situations when confidentiality must be breached to safeguard children and young people. Learners should be encouraged to share their experience of working in schools through employment, as a parent-helper or work experience. Assessment This is a knowledge-based unit. Evidence from workplace performance is not required. Suggested assessment activities Assessment will be through tasks, projects and other activities completed individually to meet the assessment criteria. Learners should draw on any relevant practical experience of working in schools but will not be assessed directly on workplace performance. For learning outcomes 1 and 2, learners could research and produce a guidance document to use for the induction of new support workers in school to help them understand the principles of developing positive relationships with children and, young people and adults and the skills they need to communicate effectively. Case studies may be used to support explanations. The document needs to include why effective communication is important for developing relationships, the principles of relationship building, explanations of how social, professional and cultural contexts impact on relationships and communications, clarification of the skills required for effective communication, how to adapt communication to meet the needs of  individuals and in different contexts and how to manage disagreements with children, young people and adults, explaining reasons for responses. For learning outcome 3, learners could produce a reference document for all school staff giving details about confidentiality and data protection to include legislation relating to confidentiality and data protection, school procedures for confidentiality and data protection, reasons why it is important to reassure children, young people and adults about confidentiality and why confidentiality may need to be breached. Essential resources Learners will need access to legislation for the relevant home nation and examples of school policies and procedures for confidentiality and data protection. Indicative resource materials Textbooks Bentham S – A Teaching Assistant’s Guide to Child Development and Psychology in the Classroom (Routledge, 2003) ISBN 9780415311083 Blake S, Bird J & Gerlach S – Promoting Emotional and Social Development in Schools: A Practical Guide (Sage Publications, 2007) ISBN 9781412907316 Burnham L – S/NVQ Level 2 Teaching Assistant’s Handbook: Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools, 2nd Edition (Heinemann, 2008) ISBN 9780435449308 Burnham L – Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools (Primary) (Heinemann, 2010) ISBN 9780435032043 Burnham L – Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools (Secondary) (Heinemann, 2010) ISBN 9780435032050 Dunhill A, Elliott B & Shaw A– Effective Communication and Engagement with Children and Young People, their Families and Carers (Creating Integrated Services) (Learning Matters, 2009) ISBN 9781844452651 Foley P & Leverett S – Connecting with Children: Developing Working Relationships (The Policy Press, 2008) ISBN 9781847420589 Kamen T – Teaching Assistant’s Handbook: NVQ and SVQ Levels 2 & 3, 2nd Edition (Hodder Education, 2008) ISBN 9780340959381 Riley P – Attachment Theory and the Teacher-student Relationship (Routledge, 2010) ISBN 9780415562621 Journals Times Education Supplement (TES) 42 BA029026 – Specification – Edexcel Level 3 Award/Certificate/Diploma specialist qualifications in Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools (QCF) – Issue 2 – June 2011  © Edexcel Limited 2011 Websites www.education.gov.uk/ Department for Education www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/ Yourrightsandresponsibilities Directgov www.nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/ earlyyears The National Strategies www.tda.gov.uk The Training and Development Agency for Schools www.teachers.tv Teachers TV www.teachernet.gov.uk Teachernet BA029026 – Specification – Edexcel Level 3 Award/Certificate/Diploma specialist qualifications in Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools (QCF) – Issue 2 – June 2011  © Edexcel Limited 2011

Working Capital Management of Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh

Working capital management of Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh Limited (HCBL) Executive Summary: In this report we have presented the overall working capital management of Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh Limited (HCBL). We have gather maximum information from the annual reports and by taking interview of Board of Director, M. Abul Hashem; Company Secretary. In this report we have tried to match the terms and conditions that we learned in FIN340 with HCBL’s working capital management. We have done financial analysis and gave recommendation.Company Overview: Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh is one the largest producers of quality cement in Bangladesh. Heidelberg Cement Group from Germany, one of the world’s leaders in construction and building material with operations in more than 50 countries, owns 61% shares of the company. In 1998 Heidelberg Cement Group established its presence in Bangladesh by setting up a floating terminal with on board bagging facilities in the port of Chitta gong and by distributing the cement to the key markets of Dhaka and Chittagong.In 1999 the group further strengthened its position in Bangladesh and built a greenfield manufacturing plant near Dhaka namely â€Å"Scancement International Limited† with an installed capacity of 0. 750 million tons per year. In 2000 Heidelberg Cement group also bought a minority position in Chittagong based company namely â€Å"Chittagong Cement Clinker Griding Co. Limited (CCCGCL)† quickly followed by the acquisition of a in controlling stake. The plant in Chittagong has an installed capacity of 0. 7 million ton per year. In 2003, the two companies were amalgamated and the company’s name was changed to Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh Limited.Corporate Mission: The Corporate Image : Building worldwide growth by building a better world. Business Culture : Building on local responsibility for international success Employee Policy : Building our business on the knowledge of our people Mar ket Strategy : Building our growth on a solid base of earnings Customer Philosophy : Building customer satisfaction Quality Standard : Building on quality products to build reputation Commitment to Innovation : Building on new technologies determines our future successBrief History Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh Limited meets 13% of the Bangladesh demand for cement from two plants located at Dhaka & Chittagong. Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh Limited employs 260 people across the country. The company with 1. 5 million tones annual cement production has become a major force in the Bangladesh Cement industry over the last eight years. In Bangladesh, Heidelberg group is one of the largest foreign investors having an investment of 100 million US$ with more than 260 employees working round the clock to materialize the mission of this great global company.By satisfying the needs and aspirations of its customers, employees, shareholders and the wider community, the company is able to maintain i ts position of strength as a sustainable cement provider without compromising commitment to long term stability and environmental responsibility. Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh Limited is a sister concern of Heidelberg Cement Group. Environmental Policy Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh Limited Protection of the environment is an integral part of Heidelberg Cement Group’s strategy. As natural resources are the basis of cement, measures for sustainable environmental care are adopted in all our operations.In Bangladesh, our policy is to produce high quality cement, optimize operations to save on natural resources and prevent pollution in order to create a cleaner and safer environment. Products & Innovation Portland Composite Cement (PCC) As part of its relentless pursuit for innovation and constant drive to improve quality, HeidelbergCement has introduced Portland Composite Cement (PCC) during 2003. Absorbing European Norms in cement producing made HeidelbergCement Bangladesh Ltd. th e pioneer in this sector. Now-a-days all the cement factories of Bangladesh are producing cement as per European Norm.The category Portland Composite Cement (CEM II) is the market leader in Europe. Cement produced according to the BDS EN ScanCement and RubyCement are designed to achieve the best characteristics for its customers; this result is achieved by design using clinker and high quality other constituents. PCC has the optimum of: Durability, Long-term strength and workability. ScanCement and RubyCement are produced according to the European norms BDS EN 197-1:2003. Characteristics of ScanCement / RubyCement: Higher Strength ScanCement and RubyCement have higher long-term strength than a standard Portland Cement (OPC).The slag part in the design contributes that the gap in long-term strength with OPC is widening as time progresses. Higher Durability The design of ScanCement and RubyCement increases the density of concrete (lower permeability). Smaller voids are the effect of t he reaction between the clinker and the slag. This density contributes to the durability and lifetime of the construction. Better Workability To improve the quality of plaster and masonry work Limestone is added to the design of ScanCement and RubyCement. This improves strongly the workability of the concrete. Plastering will look smoother, better and more beautiful.The concrete is easier to use. Other Improvements On top of the above-mentioned improvements ScanCement and RubyCement reduces thermal cracking. Due to the slag in the design less heat is generated which reduces the risk of thermal cracks. Furthermore our brands use less water to achieve the required workability. This contributes to the strength and quality of the construction. Daily Cash Inflow and Cash Outflow: Here we have presented the daily cash inflow and outflow of HCBL. 200820072006 Cash received from customers6,332,191,0005,573,231,0004,963,425,000 Cash received from other operating income84,205,00049,963,00014, 630,000Cash Inflow throughout the year6,416,396,000. 00 5,623,194,000. 00 4,978,055,000. 00 Daily Cash Inflow17,579,167. 12 15,406,010. 96 13,638,506. 85 200820072006 Payment for financial expense(68,293,000)(55,096,000)(96,760,000) Income tax paid(206,802,000)(96,947,000)(35,495,000) Cash paid to suppliers(5,480,284,000)(3,835,873,000)(3,334,740,000) Cash paid for operating expenses(628,326,000)(507,571,000)(501,761,000) Cash outflow through out the year(6,383,702,992. 00)(4,495,484,993. 00)(3,968,753,994. 00) Daily Cash outflow(17,489,597. 24)(12,316,397. 24)(10,873,298. 1) Net Daily Cash Inflow89,569. 883,089,613. 722,765,208. 24 Cash inflows and outflows are not perfectly synchronized. Here we have net cash inflows in 3 years; it shows that HCBL had sufficient money supply to finance its operation efficiently. Changes in Short Term Loan Account: The HCBL don’t have any marketable securities account in balance sheet. In 2006 the company has a short term loan of 467884000 a nd in 2007 & 2008 the company has short term loans of 654441000 & 829715000. From 2006 to 2007 there is an increase in Short term loan account of tk. 186557000.And from 2007 to 2008 the short term loan has increase by Tk. 175274000. Over the period the short term loan has increased over the period. The loans were mainly taken from their sister concern Meghna Energy Limited. Seasonality impact in Cash Inflow and Cash Outflow: Seasonality Variations in Cash flows from sales: Highest sales: We have come to know from our interview that there is seasonality is present in Heidelberg cement. Their peak in sales and variation in cash flow is approximately quarterly basis. It has peak of the sales during January to March. In this time they have to maintain large inventory.At these time their sales increase, as a result gross profit and revenue increase and cash inflow also increases in this 1st quarter. They have also good sales from October to April. Normal cash inflow comes during this tim e. From May to September their sales usually decrease because of rainy season. Cash Outflow: When sales increase marketing and transportation expenses increase. As a result, cash outflow increases at this time. As raw materials are mainly imported from there inter company trade that’s why they don’t have to pay immediately a huge money when they import RM. They get a flexible credit term.Geographical Spread and Customers: Heidelberg Cement has divided their business in 6 divisions in Bangladesh. They have two main branches in Dhaka and Chittagong. They have also sales agents in other four divisions. But most of the sales generate from Dhaka and Chittagong divisions. Then Sylhet and sales in other 3 divisions are approximately same. They do not have any physical export of goods. If they sell goods to EPZ area and if they get paid in dollars, this is termed as export. The over all market share of Heidelberg Cement is 13%. The industry saturated. Still they have chance to gather more market share in the industry.They are facing some restriction because they are multinational company. They have 3 types of customers: 1. Dealers 2. Corporate customers (e. g. developers, contractors) 3. Government projects (e. g. Mohakhali Flyover, Lalon Shah Bridge, Karnafuli Bridge, Banani Bridge) Except these they have also very few retailers who are very close to them. But usually they do not deal with retailers. Collection Procedure: Checks/pay order: Most of the time, they receive payments through checks. They also receive payments by pay order which is very limited. Generally, they do not allow any other ways of payments.They don’t have any cash transaction. Collection Points , Concentration Banks, Deposit banks, Lock Box: There are collection points. The customers pay through the local branches of Dhaka Bank, Dutch Bangla Bank and Marcentile Bank. These banks work as collection points. As these local banks have lots of branches in Bangladesh it helps a lo t in collection process. Through the online banking system the money from these local Banks are easily accessible from the principal branch. Then Heidelberg cement collects money from these banks and deposited in the Standard Charted Bank and Citi N.A bank. 95% of collected money is deposited in Standard Charted Bank and rest of the 5% is deposited in City N. A. bank are. Here Standard Charted Bank and Citi N. A. bank are used as concentration banks. They transfer the money from the collection bank at the end of the month whether the money is collected at 1st week of the month. Because they have ample money in hand they are lazy to transfer the money at concentration banks. But they are very efficient in collecting the money from customers in due date. Because of having no lockbox system in Bangladesh, they do not use lockbox system.As there group policy they have restriction on depositing money in local banks. The local banks are usually responsible for collecting payments. Cost: I n standard chartered and Citi N. A the service charge is little higher than the service charge taken by other banks. Banks are responsible for disbursing payments, handling LC, payment of salary etc. There is very low risk, because they follow some strict laws like: †¢They do not give dealership without bank guarantee. †¢They follow conservative credit policy. †¢They encourage cash sales. On an average their credit term is of 18-20 days.In government projects their credit term is usually flexible. Cash Disbursement Procedure: Suppliers: There are mainly two groups who receive money from the Heidelberg cement. One is the Raw material suppliers and then another is the suppliers of different utilities. The raw material suppliers are mainly the subsidiary of Heidelberg Group. Generally they take raw materials from Indo Cement; Indonesia, Heidelberg Cement; India and Heidelberg Cement; Japan. Payment Methods, Disbursement Banks: They are mainly importing raw materials. So they pay through LC. They do not have any cash payments.They pay through Standard Charted Bank. The Standard Charted Bank works as disbursement bank and processes all the formalities. Sometimes Citi N. A also works as a disbursement bank. Authorization: They follow centralized Disbursement policy. All checks are signed in the Head quarter. Payments are made through mainly finance department. If the payment is less than $6 million, it needs the joint signature of head of finance department and in group B consist of three directors from them any one have to sign. But if payments exceed $6 million it needs joint signature of finance department and Manager Director.Float: Although directly they do not take the help of floating, sometimes they try to write check on Wednesday/Thursday. As a result, payments can not be transferred to suppliers Banks before Sunday. In directly they are taking the advantage of inefficient banking system in Bangladesh. Credit Policy: Normally they have a cons ervative credit policy. They are not willing to flexible their credit policies to increase their sales & revenue. They cannot provide smooth credit policy, because as a MNC they cannot collect payments by pressure. Also they have to maintain some Government rules and regulations.They usually emphasize on quality, as a result they maintain premium price. They have to go by the law. That’s why they are not investing that much in A/R. They are not willing to increase the risk. When collecting payments, they give two warnings after exceeding the credit limit. If they fail to collect payment despite these, then they realize the bank guarantee. They provide up to 60 => days of credit limit to Government Projects, 30 days to corporate customers. But they maintain more strict credit policy to the dealers, because of reliability. They give credit to the dealers only if they can give bank guarantee.Only to the renowned developer’s they sale on credit. They have credit term on av erage of 18-20 days. Working Capital Needs: They are very efficient in cash management. That is why they have enough cash to finance working capital. Also they have huge idle money. They cannot deposit all portions of money in banks. As a result, they finance the working capital requirements by internal sources. Sometimes they also take loan from the subsidiaries of Heidelberg group. They took loan from Meghna Energy Limited which is the subsidiary of Heidelberg group too. But at resent (2009-2010) they are not taking any short term loan. As they are multinational company they can not remit money in parent company without the help of dividends. So every year they are having huge retained earnings in their account. With that money they are financing their short term needs. Also with the help of high tech softwares they had become more efficient in managing the business. They are remitting money as technical know how fees which is 3% of prior years net sales. Heidelberg group helps a lot to their subsidiary in terms of technology, experience etc.As they are more capable of internal financing in 2008 they don’t have any long-term loans. Collection Method (#9): HCBL has some Paper information flow attached to invoice. This attachment contains the Order size, order no, time of delivery and the date of payment. The payment is made to the Collection Bank and the dealers get the receipt from the bank. Because the checks are account payee checks, so they can easily track which customer paid the payment. The company by the time get knows about the payment by ERP software which is connected with Banks.The bank process the payment system and it takes a little time for the company to get notified and deposited because all party are connected through ERP software. Bank processing fees are the cost involved in this Process. If the payment is not made by the dealers they realized the bank guarantee after giving two warnings. Basically Credit policy for Government proje cts are flexible than the usual customers. Electronic Method for Managing HCBL: ERP: Heidelberg Cement Bangladesh Ltd. (HCBL) use an Enterprise application software named Enterprise Resource Planning(ERP) which has a market price of almost Tk. 0,000,000-Tk. 30,000,000 (2-3 crore TK. ). They have got this software in one sense free initially. But they are paying off these fees as â€Å"technical r knowhow fees† in every year which is 3% of prior years net sal . This software Provide a single information system for organization-wide coordination and integration of key business processes. This is a competitive advantage for Heidelberg cement. ERP connects all key business process (e. g. – manufacturing and production, accounting and finance, human resources, sales and marketing) and connects the suppliers & Dealers together in a single place.By this all department can share information which helps business increase efficiency or evaluates their output. 1. ERP also enables to Ordering equipment, preparing inventory, sending them to sites, activating them followed by routine maintenance is a chain of daunting tasks. If there is a missing link in this extremely complex process, they will be out of business in the fiercely competitive market. Earlier it took nearly thirty minutes to generate a purchase order but now it takes a few seconds. The entire process is flawless and tamperproof as a robust computer controls it centrally.Heidelberg Cement has deployed two such servers in different locations to ensure that one takes over in case the other computer fails. They can track every employee’s output and assess them accordingly. It perfects the evaluation process of the company’s human capital. By using ERP, Efficiency of Heidelberg’s employees increased 99 percent. ERP maximize profit and minimize costs, while providing superior service to its customers. Advantages of ERP: †¢ERP is software which integrates all functionalities o f the organization in a single database.It streamlines all the business processes and gives desired result on a click of a button. †¢ERP software incorporates a large amount of industry specific business functionalities which will ensure less customization or sometime no customization (except reports) to make the package suitable to your business operations. †¢Most important advantage of ERP software is integration of all the business solution in a single platform, which reduces unnecessary paper work, documentation, repeated entry, cycle time etc. The software also comes with its framework of upgrades to changing technologies. In the ERP software business functionalities and operating processes are built into standard software codes, thus it require lesser time to understand process related issue of implementation and gives industry specific best practices. †¢ERP can be useful is order tracking. When a company receives orders for a product, being able to properly tra ck the orders can allow the company to get detailed information on their customers and marketing strategies. If different software packages are being used, this data may not be consistent. †¢ERP software automates the business processes and also forces its own logic (industry specific) on the business. Accounting applications is another advantage of ERP. It can integrate the costing, profit, and revenue information of sales that are made etc. Other Advantages : †¢Speeding up the whole manufacturing process †¢Better and systematic inventory handling with ABC analysis †¢WIP (work in progress) control †¢Easy project management †¢Accessing the status of the goods on a click of a button †¢Fast transmit commodities through online transactions †¢Fastens the creation of reports †¢Reduce paper works and repeated entry †¢Quick processing of information †¢Serving the customer efficiently in time †¢Solve the customer problem quickly In formation based decision †¢Better finance reports †¢Better supply chain management †¢Better vendor management †¢Reduce process cycle time Disadvantages of ERP: †¢Perhaps one of the biggest disadvantages to this technology is the cost. As the company is an MNC they get this software for free. They are paying off this cost as â€Å"Technical Knowhow Fees† throughout the years. †¢Expert needed to run the ERP system. The employees must be continually trained on how to use it, and it is also important for companies to make sure the integrity of the data is protected. The success of the system is fully dependent on how the workers utilize it. Even if a company has enough money to implement ERP, they may not be able to successfully use it if they do not have enough money to train their workers on the process of using it. †¢One of the biggest problems with ERP is that it is hard to customize. Very few companies can effectively use ERP right out of t he box. It must be modified to suit their needs, and this process can be both expensive and tedious. †¢Most ERP vendors will not allow the structure of the software to be altered. ERP vendors may charge additional license fees, putting a strain on companies that do not have enough resources to pay for them.The technical support of ERP departments has been questioned, and a number of problems could arise due to security, since corporate representatives must give sensitive information to the tech support department. ERP inventory management: ERP inventory management handles everything from ordering, physical inventory count, scheduling, shipping, receiving, purchasing, and supply chain planning. Changes in inventory are automatically updated. It no longer takes hours (sometimes up to 24) before the changes are recorded. This helps inventory management employees of HCBL to be able to see if an item is currently in stock.Faster service means better customer service. HCBL ERP manage ment uses bar codes to keep up with inventory items. This makes tracking stock much easier. As the bar-coded items leave inventory, they get scanned and their product information is entered into the ERP inventory management system. Placing bar code labels on stock helps HCBL save money because it keeps the list of stock updated. Employees can easily see when certain quantities are low and need to be re-stocked. Customer service also benefits from this because businesses and customers can see what products are immediately available.Advantages : ERP inventory management has many advantages. The main advantage for a company is that the ERP system is company-wide and involves only one software system. Some other advantages include: †¢Proper communication between different areas. †¢Tracking of orders from the time the order was received to its delivery. †¢Keeping up with the revenue cycle from when the invoice is issue through when the payment is received. †¢Provides a ‘top down’ overview of the workings of a company. †¢Reduces the risk of loss of information †¢Sets up a form of security to protect against theft from outside or within a company.Disadvantages : Despite the advantages HCBL receive from using ERP inventory management, there are also some problems with it. Most of these disadvantages stem from inadequately trained employees as well as compromised data. But there are other concerns that can arise from this type of system. †¢Reformatting a business to make it more compatible with an ERP system and thus conform it to industry standards may cause a loss of advantage over the competition. †¢By creating a company-wide system that connects all areas, it makes it hard to figure out accountability. Problems that may arise in one area could mistakenly be blamed on a different area. Not all departments in a company are willing to share information. This withholding of sensitive data can interrupt the workflow. †¢ERP inventory management systems may to too complex for the needs of a company. Cash Flow Timeline: Here we have showed the cash flow timeline of HCBL of 2006,2007,2008 Financial Analysis: Financial analysis of Heidelberg Cement Ltd. Liquidity Ratio200620072008 NWC to assets-0. 050. 010. 11 current ratio0. 871. 031. 27 quick ratio0. 480. 710. 66 cash ratio0. 060. 400. 32 interval measure851. 401637. 281499. 92 CCC-1. 26-17. 9936. 53 Days Inventory held57. 5256. 03103. 14 DSO37. 8037. 5635. 02 Operating Cycle95. 293. 59138. 16 DPO96. 59111. 57101. 63 NWC-208822000. 0064703000. 00638679000. 00 NLB46997000. 00800973000. 00768453000. 00 CLI27. 5639. 40 Efficiency Ratio Total asset turnover1. 211. 091. 08 NWC turnover-23. 9686. 889. 97 Inventory turnover6. 356. 513. 54 Day’s sales in inventory57. 5256. 03103. 14 AVG collection period37. 837. 5635. 02 Profitability ratio net profit margin0. 10. 110. 09 ROA0. 130. 120. 1 ROE0. 220. 220. 18 payout ratio0. 170. 230. 31 Market V alue Ratio price earning ratio6. 6810. 9511. 58 Earning per share96. 92110104. 86 From 2006 to 2007 their operating cycle decreased and DPO increased significantly.When their DPO was increasing it does not create any problem in relation with the suppliers. Because the suppliers are mainly the subsidiary of the hiedelberg group. So they got advantage in those years. And that is why the company’s CCC decreased in 2007. In 2006 and 2007 the company’s CCC were negative and it was -1. 26 and -17. 99 days respectively, that means the company doesn’t need any external financing. They were very efficient in managing the cash. So that without investing in Inventories and A/R they were efficiently running the operation. Although they had sufficient cash in their hand.From2007-2008 the company’s Operating cycle increased significantly and DPO decreased slightly. As a result in 2008 the company’s CCC increased to 36. 53 days. This increase was a result of a hi gh Days inventory Held (103. 14 days). In 2008 they brought a very high amount of inventory from their sister concern company from Indonesia named Indocement. so the company need financing from somewhere. They have sufficient amount of cash and from that liquid cash the company was financing their operation. They don’t need any external financing for that time lag. They mostly depend on internal financing.As they are subsidiary of Heidelberg group they get lots of facilities in many areas. This is their competitive advantage. By net liquid balance we can cover the working capital requirements. As past years shows that the company’s NLB is growing, so it is a good sign for the company to run its day to day business. For many years they were not facing any kind of liquidity problem. In 2007-2008 the CLI was increasing. And it is positive number. CLI represents the Cash against to cover it’s the current liabilities. The CLI for past year shows that the company has high CLI; this means the company has ample cash to cover its current debts.The company has a positive and a high amount of net working capital. This means some of Company’s Current assets were financed by the long term sources of fund. Here the company has not that much long term loan in 2006-2007 period compared to its short term loan and there were no long term loan in 2008, they paid off all of their long term loans in 2008. The Excess liquidity of the company was financing their day to day business. From the time period of 2006 to 2008 the company’s current ratio has improved over the period And the company’s quick ratio improved from 2006 to 2007.Total asset turnover, NWC turnover and inventory turnover is on average much better and Day’s sales in inventory is acceptable. Average collection period is lower which is a good indicator for the company. Therefore, the efficiency level of the company is really good. Profit margin, ROA and ROE tells that, t his is a dream company at cement sector. All these three ratios are high over the period. Payout ratio tells that the company does give regular dividend. For this company, P/E ratio is very much high compare to its industry. It has also a high EPS.Overall, the company has a good market book ratios and it indicates that investors are very much interested to invest to this firm. It is the highest valued share than any other company in the cement industry. We take sales growth rate as the growth rate. Company’s growth rate, 13% is much lowers the industry growth rate, 47. 84%. It proves that other companies are capturing the growing market. Free cash flow of the company is getting higher and higher day by day, so they have enough free cash to invest and meeting current liability. HCBL’s cash flow from operation is also impressive.Problems and Recommendation: This problems and recommendations are based on the statements of year ended 2006, 2007 and 2008. At present 2009 th ey have done some improvements. Too much idle cash : They have too much idle cash because of their efficiency and working capital management, conservative collection procedure and mainly they are remitting less money in parent company through dividends. They were keeping lots of retained earnings in Bangladesh and not investing in new project. Also in 2008 they had decrease in net cash flow but because of opening balance in cash the closing balance showed a huge number.This proves that they had huge idle cash. The analysis will show the more clear picture. 200620072008Average Net cash (decrease) / increase during th eyear71,339,000759,976,000(82,749,000) Opening Balance19,888,00091,227,000851,203,000 Closing Balance91,227,000851,203,000768,454,000 Number of shares5,381,2955,650,3605,650,360 EPS97110105 TOTAL CASH AVAILABLE PER SHARE16. 95150. 65136. 00 Cash Dividend per share162533 Average Net Cash Remain After Dividend per share0. 95125. 65103. 0077 Cash Remain After Dividend512627 6709944000581992120432354132 Net cash remain per share after EPS81857279 Cash remain after EPS435884914. 480280600406825920440997145 This analysis clearly shows that on an average this company retained 77 taka per share per year in this 3 years. On an average they have sufficient cash per year 432354132 Taka. They should invest this huge idle fund in any value added project or if there is no any scope they can remit this money by giving more cash dividends. By giving cash dividend more they can add more value to their parent company. In 2010 they have declared that they are using their own fund of Tk. 1260 million to expand their production by double in chittagong factory. Aggressive Marketing and Market share :The market is saturated and still HCBL has chance to increase their market share. Because local cement companies are growing day by day because of low pricing. HCBL stands on high quality and price leadership. They can do more aggressive marketing to increase their sales and increase market share. Conservative Credit Policy : HCBL’s credit policy is not very flexible. They don’t encourage credit sales to increase their sales. They don’t want to increase the risk of credit. As they are MNC and face legal bindings in collecting if customers don’t pay. They have huge idle fund to finance their A/R but they are not doing this.In this saturated market they have the scope to increase sales but they are not attempting for it. They are not willing to take risk. But in business you have to take risk and HIGH RISK means HIGH CHANCE OF RETURN. They should make more flexible credit policy to increase their sales and to gain more market share. By increasing sales they can also remit more money by â€Å"Tech know how fee† Other Recommendations: †¢They can give more focus on Ruby cement. They are giving mainly focus on Scan cement. †¢They can do more CSR activities as they have ample money. This CSR activities will increase their goodwill. They can train more their maximum employees to operate the ERP software to smoothing the process more. †¢They can give all the employees the option of PROFIT SHARING this will motivate the employees to work hard. Secrecy of Price Sensitive Information: When we took the interview at April 12, 2010 from one of their employees we came to know that their EPS of 2009 is Tk. 151. 00 and cash dividend would be 38%. Although board meeting held at April 13, 2010 and the price sensitive information published in DSE website at April 15, 2010. If the employees declared this kind of information before Board meeting it’s illegal and unethical.The employees should not publish price sensitive information privately before it published publicly. Why Not Recommendation About High Inventory In 2008 : In normal view one will recommend at 2008 that why they stocked huge inventory and which in turn cost them less CFFO and net decrease in cash . They had huge idle balance thatà ¢â‚¬â„¢s why they stocked inventory. But the real reason is opened at 2010. Cement industry was in recession in 2008. Also Heidelberg Group faced Recession in 2008. But HCBL did not face any recession in 2008. where in this industry other firms showed a huge decrease in EPS.But they maintained EPS of 105, which is extraordinary. They import RM from their sister concern at a cheap rate. That’s why they maintained a high EPS . The Cement industry at 2008 perfectly anticipated that the price of RM will go up in 2009. that’s why many company stocked inventory in 2008 also HCBL did this. We can prove our argument by that in 2009 most cement producers EPS has increased by almost 400% and HCBL’s EPS also increased in 2009. In this saturated market wvery company can not make huge profit than previous year only by selling more cement. This EPS also the result of stocked inventory in 2008.That’s why we did not recommend to reduce inventory in 2008. Conclusion: HCBL is doing well in working capital management but they have huge idle money that’s why they are not giving that much of emphasis in managing their capital more efficiently. As they are the subsidiary of Heidelberg group they maintain maximum modern policy of collecting and disbursing cash. They get many competitive advantages as Heidelberg group helps them a lot with technology. They mainly trade with their sister concerns. HCBL is the leading company in the cement industry. But they have to think about managing the idle money to add value to HCBL.

Sudan's Political Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sudan's Political Development - Essay Example As an outcome of the civil wars of many years, Sudan split into two separate countries north and south as a peaceful process. The people of Sudan did not only undergo the drastic impacts of the wars but the social and economic development of the country also collapsed. Moreover, the history of Sudan exposes the fact that Sudan has come under experience more years of violence than that of peace, harmony and tranquility (Levy & Latif, pp. 7-30). Throughout the epoch of the pre-colonial times, Sudan did not socially, politically, economically and politically came under amalgamation into a spatial system. In addition, independent kingdoms and sultanates have been the key features that had their own distinct territorial or colonial boundaries. Few of the socio-political and economic bodies that incorporate Funj Kingdom and Darfur Sultanate have been very substantial and crucial for Sudan in fabricating their spatial system as a strong economic, social, and political constitute. Moreover, the kingdom practiced the Islamic and Arabic culture and civilizations for which they have had been prominent in the history of Sudan. ... ntry has come under division between two heritages: The Arab heritage that covered the northern portion of Sudan and the African heritage that refers to the southern region. Sudan is a country with a very diverse population due to its two different legacies where the natives belong to different ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious, and social background. This diversity amongst the people emerged in to economic disparity and disproportion that formed the matter of subject into economic instabilities and gave rise to the variations in the political history of the country (Suleiman, pp. 255-260). The records of the past of Sudan provide with the evidence that two colonial administrations that is Egypt and Britain has jointly governed and ruled over Sudan. The colonial supervision that was mutually ruled came under the verdict as condominium government. The racial or cultural issues that came under disputes in all the British African colonies during the colonial period, postcolonial p eriod until the twenty first century came under the direct influence by the system of British government. The Egyptians rule over Sudan was a part of the cooperative and combined authority that came under condominium. According to the records, even though Egypt was pleased with the Britain’s contribution in the re-conquest of Sudan, yet the harmony became unsuccessful in elucidating the relationship between the two powers in Sudan (Bell, pp. 10-20). The correlation and affiliation with Egypt is another significant aspect that played a crucial role in shaping and the progression of Sudan. The invasion of Sudan by the Egyptian army in the early years of the nineteenth century initiated the relationship between the two countries. However, the augmented control of Egypt over Sudan for more

Business plan for mobile convenience store Coursework

Business plan for mobile convenience store - Coursework Example However, due to its projected expansive nature, the business will cover regions such as Al Falah, Al Shamkha and Yas. The business will be expected to expand outside Abu Dhabi Emirate in future catering to embrace domestic customers. Mobile Baqala is a convenient retail store that provides merchandising business to retailers at convenience location without been required to go for long distances to find physical markets for goods and services that they need. The business is mainly designed to stock a variety of consumable items such as soft drinks eggs and milk amongst other products that are used by customers on a daily basis. It has been pointed out that most families experience difficulties in accessing basic commodities especially in areas such as Al shamka thus the need for such kind of a business. Apparently, majority of societal members have had problems in making their daily purchases of consumable items especially around Al Falah, Al Shamkha and Yas. As such, the population has agreed that such areas are of high suitability for the store and more perfect to stock a variety of both local and imported produce. Mobile Bagala is meant to operate as mobile store within the United Arab Emirates and some parts of Abu Dhabi as a grocery revolutionary storey that moves like a mobile unit in different locations. The business is planned to be unique in nature with effective and efficient design serving both local population and visitors. Having embraced a strategy to serve customers around the clock, the business is projected to achieve its objective as the future leading grocer in the United Arab Emirates serving the Arab population with a consistent supply of daily consumables. Besides, the business is designed with an initiative that would ensure consistency in supply of products to customers while creating job openings around its trading zones. Having engaged the

Generation of Electricity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Generation of Electricity - Assignment Example However, the PVs may also be ustilised in the production of alternating current when appropriate appliances are utilised. According to Knier (2002), photovoltaics uses the atomic level to convert light directlt into the generation of electricity. These involve using materials that can absorb light photons and later release electrons, such materials are said to have photoelectric effect. The capturing of the electrons produced by the photoelectric effects helps in the generation of electricity. According to the diagram above, rays from the sun are tapped by the photovoltaic cells. A common photovoltaic cell is a silicon cell that consist of N-type and P-type silicon. Thses silicon are located at the top most part of the material. The generation of electric field takes place at the upper part of the cells where the two silicons are situated. They comes into contact with the junction of the materials (referred to as P-N junction) (McNichol, 2006; Bazilian et al., 2013). The sunlight strikes the electric filed to induce motion of the electron that results in the flow of current. The size of the surface area of the PV cell determines the amount of electricity generated. The intensity of the rays from the sun also affects the amount of current generated. The larger the size of PV cells and the more intense the rays, the higher the amount of electrons generated hence increased electric supply. For instance a cell with an area of 150 cm^2 will generate 2 watts power. When a solar panel is exposed in the sunlight as shown in the diagram below, it will generate electricity that can be measured. The voltage produced is around 100volts on a single day when there is optimal sunshine. This can be stored on batteries arranged in series as shown in the diagram below. The results of such a strategy depends on the size of the panel and the amount of sunshine ( Knier, 2002; Wolfgang, 2013). Primary batteries are cheap because

The Most Effective Government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Most Effective Government - Essay Example The most effective government fulfills its purpose. As it has been stated, â€Å"government exists to control: to govern means ‘to control’† (Janda et al, n.d; p.9). At first glance all governments seem to fit this definition. However, additional considerations must be given to determine if a government is truly effective. If the government only exists to enforce control over society, then people have little reason to submit themselves to being ruled. Government must offer benefits to society in order for it to truly fulfill its purpose. It has been reported that, â€Å"throughout history, government has served two major purposes: maintaining order (preserving life and protecting property) and providing public goods. More recently, some governments have pursued a third purpose, promoting equality, which is more controversial† (Janda et al. n.d; p.9). The purpose of government as so described can be used to determine if a government is effective. Therefore, effective government will be successful in fulfilling all of its purpose as has been described. Democracy can be considered the most effective government because it is most successful in maintaining order, providing public goods, and promoting equality. The Ability to Maintaining Order Communism is marked by a â€Å"disappearance of civil, political, and economic rights† (Sanchez 2010:p.1). People that live in such countries are not free. Having no rights, they become ordinary gears in the clockwork of society. By this it would seem that communism is a form of government that is the most effective in maintaining order. Yet, where there is order there should also be peace. Where people are oppressed, there are limits to their peace. Due to the oppression that is characteristic of communist governments a government which offers more liberty better fulfils this requirement. As it has been stated, â€Å"A free society requires a citizenry that is capable of taking personal responsibility for bettering their lot, and voluntarily promoting and protecting public goods such as education, health, public order, peace, and justice† (Thunder, 2009). According to this statement democracy, with its promotion of free society is better equipped to fulfill the require ment of maintaining order by design. The maintenance of this government requires the existence of public order and peace. Such is not the case with communism. Providing Public Goods Communist countries demand work from their citizens. Many have laws that call for the imprisonment of any citizen who fails to maintain a job. The people’s work may aid in the continuation of existence and maintenance of their countries, but there is much lacking in the governmental provision of public goods. It has been reported of communist North Korea that â€Å"due to the nature of it being a tightly controlled police State, very little information leaves the country about the daily life of those who live there† (International Christian Concern 2010). Communist governments maintain a tight grip on the lives of their people. To the communist government, whatever provisions they allot the people are sufficient. However, it is clear that this government fails to supply adequate public good s to its people. In fact, communist governments have been identified as purposefully oppressing their people in order to further their own interests. It has been told that, â€Å"†¦North Korea seems confident its long-suffering people –battered by famine, floods, and economic mismanagement – will continue to suffer in silence† (Magnier 2006). Having failed to provide for the people adequately, democracy has won over communism in fulfilling the purpose of government. While poverty may be found in democratic countries such as America,

Increasing investment attractiveness of CIS countries Research Paper

Increasing investment attractiveness of CIS countries - Research Paper Example As compared to the Baltic and Eastern European nations, the CIS countries experience serious economic crisis and gradual growth in restructuring the productive framework in the respective countries; resulting in the need for increased investments (Shiellis, 2003). The significance of the investments can extend to close the investment gap because of insufficient savings. The external factors that are increased investments include the transfer of managerial skills, technology, processing of information, and a proficient knowledge of sales and marketing.The dissolution of central planning created a market of 100 million consumers in Eastern Europe and 300 million in the successor countries to the USSR. Phyllis says that among the CIS, Russia is having the highest population and several states advocated to embrace the policy of free trade, which permitted imported commodities to meet the local demand. As a result, the imported commodities become wide during the first years of change as t he people used their savings in buying the western goods and services. Due to the economic crisis and escalating inflation rate immediately after the transition, there was a significant decrease in the savings and lowered incomes resulting in the inability for the local consumers to purchase the western products. On the contrary, foreign investors in Eastern Europe privatized the firms from the government and already began to restructure the industries with the objective of increasing the local production.

Different Points of View of Vietnam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Different Points of View of Vietnam - Essay Example Different documents on Vietnam from 1945 when it gained independence from the French through the early 1970s shows different points of view regarding decolonization, national, liberation, and global cold war standoffs. It is imperative to note that â€Å"as decolonization coincided with the Cold War, the two global phenomena had a close and interrelated history, with each influencing the context and character of the other† Nelson and Ellenberger, 427). â€Å"In September 1945, the same month that World War II officially ended, Ho Chi Minh (1890-1969) declared both Vietnamese independence and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam† (Nelson and Ellenberger, 447). Vietnam gained its independence in 1945. However, the French did not recognize that they had lost Vietnam as one of the colonies. This was not until 1954 when the French fully withdrew from Vietnam. In the early 1940s, Japanese were gaining more superiority in Vietnam than the French (Lawrence). When the people of Vietnam gained independence in 1945, this was confusing since it was not clear whether they had gained independence from the Japanese or the French. This is what eventually made the French not to accept that their rule in Vietnam had been withdrawn until in 1954 when they fully withdrew (Heiss, 25). The people of Vietnam were highly mobilized in 1945 when the declaration of independence was passed. This motivated them to engage in postwar aimed at driving the French home. Guerilla warfare was the only tactic that could work because the French had comparatively stronger military troops together with superior weapons. By 1954, there were many people who had been killed including French and Vietnamese. Decolonization shifted the war from the French to South Vietnam. The dreams of the people had not yet been achieved.  

Tax Planning And Tax Avoidance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Tax Planning And Tax Avoidance - Essay Example Taxation is a major tool to drive the economics in the certain direction. Young and Guenther studied the relationship in the context of the mobility of capital in international level and Sun studied the efficiency of capital allocation. However, all these require that the financial reporting to be reliable, accurate, transparent, comparable and true representative of business conditions. International Financial Reporting Standards is mandated to be adopted as the financial reporting system in the EU countries for the listing companies. Barth, Landsman, & Lang and others have reported an improvement in the accounting information with the adoption of IFRS. Samuel, & Obiamaka in a paper stated that IFRS system of accounting as the base for tax will drive the tax accounting to generate the real economic value of the company. This provides greater opportunity to explore the real taxable income for the company. Use of IFRS increases the chances of them being listed in other countries. Use of the comparable system of IFRS across the broad would reduce the chances of measures taken by the company for tax avoidance to be overlooked. Another argument in favor of the adoption of IFRS states that it would result in the increased involvement of audit committee in addition to the other level of management. This will increase the double check facility for the audit committee as companies will not be available with an opportunity to avoid tax by claiming that reporting of a transaction is in accordance with the rules.

Performance Management in a Human Resources Framework Essay Example for Free

Performance Management in a Human Resources Framework Essay Performance Management in a Human Resources Framework Introduction The purpose of this assignment to is to consider Performance Management in a Human Resources Framework. Firstly, the assignment will look at the concept of ‘Human Resources Management’ as a holistic strategic approach to managing the relationship between employer and employee that goes beyond the bounds of mere ‘Personnel Management’. Secondly, in light of the statement from Cooke and Armstrong (1990, cited in Rudman, 2002) that â€Å"Human resources strategies exist to ensure that the culture, values and structure of the organisation and the quality, motivation and commitment of its members contribute fully to the achievement of its objectives† (p. 7), I will examine the extent to which my school’s performance appraisal and professional development policy and practice fit into a human resources framework. Lastly, these examples will be used to identify some of the potential and pitfalls of performance appraisal and professional development for an educational organisation. Human Resources Management – a holistic approach Human resource management (HRM) can be viewed as a holistic approach to managing the relationships in an organisation between the employer and employee. Rudman’s (2002) definition of HRM implies this holistic approach, in that HRM â€Å"covers all the concepts, strategies, policies and practices which organisations use to manage and develop the people who work for them† (p. 3). Several authors (Macky Johnson 2000; McGraw, 1997; Rudman, 2002; Smith, 1998) acknowledge that HRM is the strategic and coherent approach to the management of an organisations most valued assets the people working there who individually and collectively contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the organisation. The terms ‘human resource management’ (HRM), ‘human resources’ (HR) and even ‘strategic human resource management’ (SHRM) have largely replaced the term personnel management as a description of the processes involved in managing people in organisations during the decades of the 1980s and 1990s (McGraw, 1997; Rudman, 2002). â€Å"People have been making personnel decisions since the earliest of times† (Rudman, 2002, p. 2), however, from a historical perspective, the modern form of personnel management was founded from the time of the industrial revolution on two main beliefs: 1) the employer’s concern for the welfare of its workers, and 2) the organisation’s need for control (Rudman, 2002). Over the last century personnel management evolved through the changing responses between these two beliefs and altered because of influences through scientific management, the industrial welfare and human relations movements, the developm ent of trade unions and collective bargaining, and the growth of employment-related legislation (Rudman, 2002). Today, personnel management is associated with the functional aspects of people in organisations, whereas HRM is associated with the strategic aspects of people in organisations (Rudman, 2002). In practice the distinction between Personnel and Human Resource Management is often blurred because organisations need both function and strategic direction for managing and developing people (McGraw, 1997). Personnel management (PM) is therefore often used to describe the work related with administering policies and procedures for staff appointments, salaries, training and other employer/employee interactions.

Gender Stereotypes in Advertising

Gender Stereotypes in Advertising The term gender stereotype is used to denote a set of beliefs held about the characteristics, traits, behaviours and roles that, within a specific culture, are considered socially appropriate for men and women. This advertisement for Gardenburgers found in the August 1997 edition of the American magazine Vegetarian Times is reminiscent of the advertising of the 1950s. In this post World War II era, gender stereotyping was common in advertising. The emphasis was on male superiority and feminine domesticity and submissiveness. These stereotypes restricted men and woman to predetermined roles. Roles which, especially for women, were often degrading and humiliating. Far from reinforcing the stereotypical gender representations of men and women during this era, this advertisement is, in fact, portraying the antithesis of these traditional stereotypes. It denounces the stereotype of the ideal woman of the 1950s, whose whole identity revolved around her house, her husband and her appearance. This advertisement turns the tables on man. It emasculates him and creates a sad little life for him in which, just like the women of the 1950s, he subordinates his interests to those of his wife. The hidden intent of this advertisement is to show that just as we should not accept how media constructs and reinforces traditional ideas about women and femininity and men and masculinity, we should not accept that the backyard barbecue is only complete with a traditional meat burger. Just as it is about time that the traditional gender stereotype that empowered men be replaced by a new gender stereotype that empowers women, it is about time that the traditional all American, all meat burger be replaced by the all natural, all vegetable Gardenburger. This advertisement is a satirical look at gender stereotyping. The play on gender stereotypes, the reversal of gender roles is seen in the image used, the headline and the content of the copy. The stereotypical American Dream, created in the 1950s, was to marry the perfect someone, to have a house in the suburbs complete with a white picket fence, an average 2.2 children, a dog and a cat, and to spend weekends in the backyard barbecuing. The image in the advertisement is intended to depict this American dream. You can almost see the white picket fence. While the proverbial man of the 1950s was bringing home the bacon, his wife was cooking it. The stereotypes in advertising in the 1950s limited the role of the woman. She was portrayed as the caring mother, the serving housewife, eager to please, without looking too intelligent. She was pretty and powerless, and she was usually placed in a subordinate position to her husband. However, in this image the stereotypical gender roles have been reversed. It is the man that has been domesticated. He is weak and innocent. With a humbly, obedient, closed mouthed, little smile on his face his ultimate goal is to be a good husband. His place is in the home, cooking and cleaning for his family. The woman, on the other hand, is displaying more active behaviour, a confident, opened mouthed smile and wave of the hand, she is exercising more authority. As if having an authoritarian wife is not emasculating enough, he is portrayed carrying a cooking utensil. All he is missing is his pinny. The theme of advertising in the 1950s was one of contentment and complacency. Despite the degrading portrayal of women, and the disrespectful tone of many of the advertisements, the image conveyed was one of the perfect all American family where both mummy and daddy were happy in the roles society had assigned them. In this advertisement, the headline Fred and Fran are so happy is parodying this idea. Satire is used here to show us that, in fact, in all is not well in the world, the line is even repeated at the end of the copy to highlight this contradiction. Even if [t]hey are having a BBQ, Fred and Fran should not be happy in an environment where gender inequalities exist. Just as the consumer should not be happy in an environment where animals are not respected, especially when meatless Gardenburgers are available wherever frozen foods are sold. Finally, the content of the copy in this advertisement continues the satirical look at the gender inequality of advertising in the 1950s, where women were portrayed as stupid and infantile, men as dominant and macho. The copy in this advertisement is a far cry from the 1950s the foot is now on the other shoe. According to our modern day susceptibility, the tone of the copy is actually quite condescending and offensive. However, just as the women in advertising in the 1950s were more like objects to be looked at, rather than intelligent people to be talked to, in this advertisement it is the mans turn to be dumbed down. How, if he is considered too stupid to hold a job, is poor Fred expected to understand that it is possible to have burgers with no meat? From her position as provider, protector, and boss of the home Fran tells him to shut up and eat it already and in his role as the perfect, submissive husband, always wanting to please his wife Fred always listens to Fran/He eats and eats and eats. The colour and bold type in the first line of the copy Fred lights the fire! Fran claps her hands! continues this idea of gender inequality. Fran condescendingly claps her hand as she is so amazed that Fred can actually light a fire. This advertisement is trying to counter stereotyping by using satire to ridicule the stereotypes that are so prevalent in advertising. Media uses stereotypes as a quick way of getting an audience to understand a person or a group of people based on their class, race, gender, social class and/or occupation. However, by doing so they maintain social prejudices and inequalities. The Gardenburger advertisement wants to open the consumers eyes to the dangers of stereotyping. The advertisers hope that by using satire, irony, ridicule and exaggeration consumers will question stereotypes in advertising and think about healthy alternative advertisements that promote fairness and equality. Just as they are proposing a healthy alternative to the traditional all meat burger, which for decades the food industry has encouraged us to eat despite the dangers for our health. Reference Wholesome Hearty Food, Inc. (1997, August). Gardenburgers. Vegetarian Times, p. 97

The Symbolism of Colors in The Great Gatsby :: F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

There a several colors used for symbolism in the novel â€Å"The Great Gatsby†. For example the colors BLUE, GREEN, WHITE and YELLOW are used throughout the book. The first time Nick Carraway meets his cousin Daisy Buchanan at Tom’s and Daisy’s home, she was dressed totally in white. So as the house and its furnishings are also tuned in light shades. This fact might be interpreted as: beauty, cleanliness, wealth, innocence, virginity and also laziness. Daisy’s color is white, she wears white dresses and recalls her â€Å"white girlhood†, and this use of color helps her to characterize her as the unattainable â€Å"enchanted princess† who becomes incarnate as Gatsby’ s dream (p.21, l.8-9). The use of a green light at the end of a landing stage to signal a romantic reunion, is intriguingly similar to the green light at the end of Daisy’s Buchanan’ s dock, which becomes key image in â€Å"The Great Gatsby†. The initial appearance of the green light occurs when Carraway sees Gatsby for the first time, standing in front of his mansion and stretching out his arms to ‘a single green light, minute and far away that might have been the end of dock’ (p.22, l 31-33). The light has become, for Gatsby, the symbol of a reunion with Daisy. Green is very significantly associated with both the green light and the â€Å"green breast of the new world†, uniting the hope and promise of Gatsby’ s dream with that of America itself. The color green is traditionally associated with spring, hope and youth. The color blue in â€Å"The Great Gatsby† represents hope for the future. It represents a lost time, a pure color that is overly displayed, a pure color in the valley of ashes. T.J. Eckleburg's eyes are blue, perhaps symbolizing a higher world from which God looks down upon the scene. Tom's car being blue may even represent the relationship between Tom and Daisy, (being unhappy), based on money and not love. Blue also represents fantasy, and is a symbol of a different world. As Gatsby' s lawn is blue, his house is a place where people can go to get away from reality. His parties are out of touch with the real world,

Loyalty Of Employee :: essays research papers

Different cultures place varying values on loyalty to the employer. In some countries, most notably in Asia, there is a high degree of loyalty to one company. However, in most European countries and the United States, loyalty at ones employer is not highly values; instead it is considered more rational and reasonable for an employee to change jobs whenever it is warranted to achieve the optimal overall career. Both of these positions have advantages and disadvantages. In cultures that value loyalty to the employer, a kind of family relationship seems to develop between employer and employee. It is a reciprocal arrangement, which the employer is concerned with assisting the employee to develop to his or her full potential and the employee is concerned about optimizing the welfare of the company. The negative aspect to absolute loyalty to one company is that an employee may stay in one job that he or she has outgrow and may miss out on opportunities to develop in new directions. From the employer’s point of view, the employee may be burdened with employees whose skills no longer match the needs of the company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In cultures in which it is quite acceptable to change jobs every few years, employees can build the career they choose for themselves. They can stay with one company as long as it is mutually beneficial to the company and employee. As long as good relationship exists and the employee’s career is advancing at an acceptable pace, the employee can remain with a company. But at any time the employee is free to move to another company, perhaps to achieve a higher position, to move to a new area, or to find anew situation that is more suitable for his or her personality.

Handmaids Tale :: essays papers

Handmaids Tale In the course Y2k and The End of The World, we've studied apocalyptic themes, eschatology, and for some, teleology. Apocalypse, which is to unveil or reveal, eschatology, which is a concept of the end, and teleology, the end or purpose to which we are drawn, are all themes used in Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. The book is apocalyptic in that it revolves around dystopian ideals. Atwood creates a world in which worst-case scenarios take control and optimistic viewpoints and positive attitudes disappear. It has been said about this book that Atwood's writing echoes numerous motifs and literary devices, such as in Huxley's creation of a drug-calmed society, her characters awaiting execution seem tranquilized by pills or shots. Atwood's Book has also been compared to other novels like it, such as Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, Burgess' A Clockwork Orange, and the most obvious, Orwell's 1984. These books have many things in common, including the perversion of science and technology as a major determinant of society's function and control. Like most dystopian novels, The Handmaid's Tale includes the oppression of society, mainly women in this example, the prevention of advancement of thought and intelligence, and an overwhelming sense of government involvement and interference. The Apocalyptic themes and situations found in Atwood's fictional city of Gilead focus around the mistreatment of all females. Women in this city, set 200 years in the future, have no rights, and get little respect. The rule by way of theocracy in Gilead also adds to the sense of regression and hopelessness in the future. The way babies are brought into the world, only through pregnant handmaids, the idea of a black market for things considered luxuries and privileges all add to the fact that society in this novel is in a desperate state of disrepair. Other Apocalyptic themes found in the book can be compared to sections of the bible, particularly the Old Testament. The Handmaid's Tale has many elements of social decline written into its plot. From the way women are mistreated to the way corruption and evil have infiltrated the government and army, to the way the black market plays a key role in many people's lives causing a majority of society to become criminals makes it clear how social decline plays a key role in the book.

The Importance of Securing equipmen Essay

The ability to be accountable of army equipment is a task given to all Service members. It starts when we first enter basic training. We receive our first issued items from CIF in order to complete all of our task during basic training. We are responsible to inventory and maintain our gear until we are finished with basic training. It is expected that we turn in item that were received in a clean and serviceable condition. After Basic training we move on to AIT and later to our first Unit. As we progress with our military career we become responsible for more gear. Our Platoon leaders and commanders entrust us with more sensitive as we sign not just for our personal gear. We sign for radios, vehicle, Blue Force Trackers and many other items that cannot fall into the hands of the enemy. The loss of any equipment is costly, not only does it cost money but it take time away from the mission while you are waiting for much needed gear. The inability to maintain your equipment potential causes a mission failure or missing a movement. The best method to keep equipment secure is to always have it on your person. The problem with this method is it’s not always possible. Caring around everything would be a very tedious and inefficient process. The next best method is to keep your equipment under lock and key. Keeping that in mind the equipment should be left in a place where security is in place to guard those items. Of course some item will need different levels of security such as weapons. The loss of any equipment can lead to a loss in operational security. You don’t want information much less equipment to fall into enemy hands. This could potentially lead to a loss of life.

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 34

Chapter 34 Hell Breaks Loose A wave of anxiety washed over Jody as she woke up. â€Å"Tommy,† she called. She leaped out of bed and went into the living area, not stopping to turn on the light. â€Å"Tommy?† The loft was quiet. She checked the answering machine: no messages. I'm not going to do this again, she thought. I can't handle another night of worrying. She'd cleaned up the mess from the police search the night before, put lemon oil on the wood, scrubbed out the sinks and the tubs, and watched cable TV until dawn. All the time she thought about what Tommy had said about sharing, about being with someone who could understand what you saw and how you felt. She wanted that. She wanted someone who could run the night with her, someone who could hear the buildings breathe and watch the sidewalks glow with heat just after sundown. But she wanted Tommy. She wanted love. She wanted the blood-high and she wanted sex that touched her heart. She wanted excitement and she wanted security. She wanted to be part of the crowd, but she wanted to be an individual. She wanted to be human, but she wanted the strength, the senses, and the mental acuity of the vampire. She wanted it all. What if I had a choice, she thought, if that medical student could cure me, would I go back to being human? It would mean that Tommy and I could stay together, but he would never know the feeling of being a god, and neither would I. Never again. So I leave; what then? I'm alone. More alone than I've ever been. I hate being alone. She stopped pacing and went to the window. The cop from the night before was out there, sitting in a brown Dodge, watching. The other cop had followed Tommy. â€Å"Tommy, you jerk. Call me.† The cop would know where Tommy was. But how to get him to tell? Seduce him? Use the Vulcan nerve pinch? Sleeper hold? Maybe I should just go up there and knock on the door, Rivera thought. â€Å"Inspector Alphonse Rivera, San Francisco PD. If you have a few minutes, I'd like to talk to you about being dead. How was it? Who did it? Did it piss you off?† He adjusted himself in the car seat and took a sip from his coffee. He was trying to pace his smoking. No more than four cigarettes an hour. He was in his forties now and he couldn't handle the four-pack-a-night stakeouts – going home with his throat raw, his lungs seared, and a vicious ache in his sinuses. He checked his watch to see if enough time had passed since he'd last lit up. Almost. He rolled down the car window and something caught him by the throat, cutting off his breath. He dropped his coffee, feeling the scald in his lap as he reached in his jacket for his gun. Something caught his hand and held it like a bear trap. The hand on his throat relaxed a bit and he sucked in a short breath. He tried to turn his head and the clamp on his throat cut off his breath again. A pretty face came through the window. â€Å"Hi,† Jody said. She loosened her grip on his throat a degree. â€Å"Hi,† Rivera croaked. â€Å"Feel the grip on your wrist?† Rivera felt the bear trap on his wrist tighten, his hand went numb, and his whole arm lit up with pain. â€Å"Yes!† â€Å"Okay,† Jody said. â€Å"I'm pretty sure I can crush your windpipe before you could move, but I wanted you to be sure too. You sure?† Rivera tried to nod. â€Å"Good. Your partner followed Tommy last night. Do you know where they are now?† Again Rivera attempted to nod. On the seat next to him, the cell phone chirped. She released his arm, snatched the gun out of his shoulder holster, flipped off the safety, and pointed it at his head, all before he could draw a single breath. â€Å"Take me there,† she said. Elijah Ben Sapir watched the red dots moving around on the video screen above his face. He had awakened feeling gleeful about killing the fledgling's toy boy, then he saw that his home had been invaded. He was hit with an emotion so rare it took him a while to recognize it. Fear. It had been a long time since he'd been afraid. It felt good. The dots on the screen were moving around on the stern of the boat, scrambling in and out of the main cabin above. Every few seconds a dot would disappear off the screen, then reappear. They were getting in and out of a raft at the stern. The vampire reached up and flipped a series of toggle switches. The big diesels on either side of his vault roared to life. Another toggle and an electric winch began grinding in the anchor. â€Å"Move, move, move!† Tommy shouted into the cabin. â€Å"The engines started.† Barry came through the hatch carrying a bronze statue of a ballerina. Tommy waited at the stern of the yacht with Drew. Troy Lee, Lash, Jeff, Glint, and the Emperor and his troops were already in the raft, trying to find room to move around the paintings and statues. â€Å"Over,† Tommy said, taking the statue from Barry as the squat diver went over the side into the arms of the waiting Animals, almost capsizing the raft. Tommy threw the statue down to the Emperor, who caught it and went to the floor of the raft with its weight. Tommy threw a leg over the railing, and looked back. â€Å"Light it, Drew. Now!† Drew bent and held his lighter to the end of a wax-coated strip of cloth that ran across the stern deck and through the hatch to the main cabin. He watched the flame follow the trail for a few feet, then stood and joined Tommy at the rail. â€Å"It's going.† They went over the rail backward and the Animals obliged them by stepping aside and letting them both hit the floor of the raft unimpeded. The raft lurched and righted itself. Tommy fought for breath to give a command. â€Å"Paddle, men!† the Emperor shouted. The Animals began to beat the water with their paddles. There was a loud clunking noise from the yacht as the transmission engaged and the raft was rocked as the twin screws engaged and began pushing the yacht away from them. â€Å"Rivera,† Rivera said into the cell phone. â€Å"The yacht is moving,† Cavuto said. â€Å"I think I just aided these guys in looting it.† He unzipped a leather case on the car seat, revealing a huge chrome-plated automatic pistol, a Desert Eagle.50-caliber. It fired bullets roughly the weight of a small dog and kicked like a jackhammer. One shot could reduce a cinder block to gravel. â€Å"I'm on my way,† Rivera said. â€Å"What about the girl?† Cavuto slammed a clip into the Desert Eagle, dropped another one into his jacket pocket. â€Å"She's – she'll be fine. I'm at Van Ness and Lombard. I'll be there in about three minutes. Don't call in backup.† â€Å"I'm not – oh Jesus Christ!† â€Å"What?† â€Å"The fucking thing just blew up.† A fountain of flame shot from the stern of the Sanguine II, a second passed, and the rest of the yacht disappeared in a cloud of flame that rose into the sky above her. She had cleared the breakwater and was perhaps three hundred yards out into the bay when the fuse reached Drew's incendiary cocktail. The raft had just made the dock when the explosion went off. Tommy leaped onto the dock and watched the mushroom cloud dissipate. The shock wave rolled in and Tommy reached back to the raft and caught the Emperor before he went into the water. Debris rained down around them. A pool of fire and unexploded diesel fuel spread out across the water, illuminating the whole area with a dancing bright orange. â€Å"Is this a party boat, or what?† Drew shouted. The Animals scrambled out of the raft onto the dock and began handing up the objets d'art. Tommy stood aside and watched the burn. Bummer cowered in the Emperor's arms. â€Å"Do you think we got him?† Jeff handed the Degas ballerina to Troy and looked over his shoulder. â€Å"Fucking A, we got him. Nice mix, Drew.† Drew took a bow and almost went over the edge of the dock. The Emperor said. â€Å"I can't help but think that the explosion may have attracted the attention of the authorities, gentlemen. I would recommend a speedy retreat.† Drew looked at the burning slick. â€Å"I wish I had some acid. This would be great on acid.† Jeff jumped down into the raft and handed up the last painting, the Miro. He looked past Troy Lee, who was wrestling up the heavy frame, and said, â€Å"Whoops.† â€Å"What?† Troy said. Jeff nodded past him and the Animals turned around. Cavuto had a very large, very shiny pistol pointed at them. â€Å"No one move!† They didn't. The spearguns were stacked on the dock. Glint held the shotgun loosely at his side as he prayed. He dropped it. â€Å"Drop it,† Cavuto said. â€Å"I did,† said Clint. â€Å"That's true, he did,† Tommy said. â€Å"And before you asked. He should get extra credit for that.† Cavuto motioned with the pistol. â€Å"Everybody down. On your faces. Now!† The Animals dropped. Lazarus barked. The Emperor stepped forward. â€Å"Officer, these young men have – â€Å" â€Å"Now!† Cavuto screamed. The Emperor dropped to the dock with the Animals. The screens went dark an instant before he was slammed against the side of the vault. He tumbled inside, feeling his flesh burn on the steel with every turn. The vault glowed red with the heat and had filled with smoke from the seared wires and the vampire's clothing. After a few seconds the tumbling stopped. The vampire was jammed into one end of the vault, his face against his knees. His skin was stinging and he tried to will it to heal, but it had been days since he had fed, so the healing came slowly. He located the lid by finding the smashed CRT and radar screens. Salt water sprayed in a fine mist from behind the screens. He pushed on the lid but it didn't move. He felt for the latches and released them, then heaved against the lid with force that would have crumpled a car fender, yet the lid stayed fast. The heat of the explosion had welded it shut. I should have killed him last week, the vampire thought. This is what I get for indulging my pleasures. He reached into the broken CRT, looking for the source of the spraying water, then concentrated his will and went to mist. The transition was slow, weak as he was, but when he had finally lost his solid form he followed the path of the water and wormed his way through the pinhole to the open ocean. The vault lay on the bottom in a hundred and twenty feet of water and as soon as the vampire escaped, the pressure of four atmospheres condensed him to his solid shape. He tried to force himself to mist, failed, then swam toward the orange glow at the surface, thinking, The boy dies first, then a new suit. He broke the surface in the midst of the flame slick, then scissor-kicked hard enough to bring himself completely out of the water and tried to go to mist. His limbs dissolved in the air, their vapor whipped by the flame and standing out white in the rolling black diesel smoke, but he could not hold. He fell back into the water, followed by a vortex of vapor that condensed back to solid form under water. Frustrated and angry, he began the swim around the breakwater toward the yacht club. Cavuto panned the Desert Eagle back and forth across the heads of the prostrated Animals as he moved forward to get their weapons. Lazarus growled and backed away as the big cop approached. Sirens sounded in the distance. Crew members and yacht owners were popping out of the hatches of nearby yachts like curious prairie dogs. â€Å"Inside!† Cavuto shouted, and the yachters ducked for cover. Cavuto heard footsteps on the dock behind him and swung quickly around. The gate guard, looking down the cavelike barrel of the Eagle, stopped as if he'd hit a force field. Cavuto swung back to cover the Animals. Over his shoulder Cavuto said, â€Å"Go back to the gate and call nine-one-one. Tell them to send me some backup.† â€Å"Right,† the guard said. â€Å"All right, scumbags, you're under arrest. And if any of you even twitches, I'll turn you into a red stain. You have the right†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The vampire came out of the water like a wet comet and landed on the dock behind the Animals. He was burned black and his clothes hung in sooty shreds. Cavuto fired without thinking and missed. The vampire looked up long enough to grin at him, then reached down and snatched Tommy by the back of his shirt and yanked him up like a rag doll. Cavuto aimed and fired again. The second shot hit the vampire in the thigh, taking out a three-inch chuck of flesh. The vampire dropped Tommy, turned on Cavuto, and leaped. The third bullet caught the vampire in the abdomen, the impact spraying flesh and spinning him in the air like a football. He landed in a heap at Cavuto's feet. The big cop tried to back away to get another shot off, but before he could aim, the vampire snatched the gun out of his hand, taking most of the skin off his trigger finger. He leaped backward, clawing inside his jacket for his detective special as the vampire tossed the Desert Eagle over his shoulder and climbed to his feet. â€Å"You are a dead man,† he growled. Cavuto watched the gaping wounds in the vampire's leg and stomach pulsing, bubbling, and filling with smoke. He caught the butt of his revolver just as the vampire leaped, his fingers outstretched to drive into Cavuto's chest. Cavuto ducked, heard a hiss and a loud thunk, and looked up, amazed that he was still alive. The vampire had stopped an inch from him. A gleaming spear through his leg had pinned him to the dock. The black kid stood a few yards away, a gas-powered speargun in hand. The vampire wrenched himself around and clawed at the spear. Cavuto yanked out his gun, but with his damaged finger he ended up flinging it off the dock. He heard the sound of tires behind him, then a car coming down the dock. A second spear thunked through the vampire's shoulder. Tommy threw the speargun aside. The Animals were all on their feet. â€Å"Troy, throw me the sword!† Troy Lee picked up the fighting sword from the deck and threw it at Tommy. Tommy sidestepped; the sword whizzed by him and clattered on the dock near Cavuto, who was standing motionless, stunned at almost seeing his own death. â€Å"Handle first, you doofus,† Tommy said as he ran after the sword. The vampire yanked the spear out of his shoulder and reached for the one in his leg. The Emperor picked up his wooden sword from the deck and charged the vampire. Lash caught him by the collar, yanking him aside as Barry fired a third spear, hitting the vampire in the hip. Jeff let go with a blast from the shotgun. The vampire jerked with the impact of the shot and screamed. Tommy dived for the fighting sword at Cavuto's feet. The big cop lifted him to his feet. â€Å"Thanks,† Tommy said. â€Å"You're welcome,† Cavuto said. â€Å"I didn't kill those people.† â€Å"I'm figuring that out,† Cavuto said. A brown car skidded to a stop on the dock. Tommy looked up for an instant, then turned and headed toward the vampire, who was clawing at the spear in his leg. His wounds bubbled and seethed with vapor; his body was trying to heal even as new damage was inflicted on it. Tommy raised the sword over the vampire's head and closed his eyes. â€Å"No!† It was Jody's voice. Tommy opened his eyes. Jody was on her knees, shielding the vampire, who had given up the struggle and was waiting for the final blow. â€Å"No,† Jody said. â€Å"Don't kill him.† Tommy lowered the sword. Jody looked at Jeff, who still held the shotgun. â€Å"No,† she said. Jeff looked at Tommy, who nodded. Jeff lowered the shotgun. â€Å"Kill the fiend, now!† cried the Emperor, still struggling against Lash's hold on his coat. â€Å"No,† Jody said. She pulled the spear out of the vampire's leg and he screamed. She patted his head. â€Å"One more,† she said quietly. She yanked the spear out of his hip and he gasped. Jody propped the vampire up on her lap. The Animals and Cavuto stood watching, not sure what to do. Clint prayed quietly, barely audible over the approaching siren. â€Å"Blood,† the vampire said. He looked into Jody's eyes. â€Å"Yours.† â€Å"Give me that sword, Tommy.† Jody said. He hesitated and raised the sword to strike. â€Å"No!† She covered the vampire with her body. â€Å"But Jody, he's killed people.† â€Å"You don't know anything, Tommy. They were all going to die anyway.† â€Å"Get out of the way.† Jody turned to Cavuto. â€Å"Tell him. All the victims were terminally ill, weren't they?† Cavuto nodded. â€Å"The coroner said that none of them had more than a few months.† Tommy was almost in tears. â€Å"He killed Simon.† â€Å"Simon had AIDS, Tommy.† â€Å"No way. Not Simon. Simon was the animal of the Animals.† â€Å"He was hiding it from you guys. He was scared to death. Now, please, give me the sword.† â€Å"No, get out of the way.† Tommy reared back for the killing blow. He felt a hand on his shoulder, then another one catch his sword arm and pull it down. He looked around to see the Emperor. â€Å"Let him go, son. The measure of a man's power is the depth of his mercy. Give me the sword. The killing is over.† The Emperor worked the sword out of Tommy's grip and handed it to Jody. She took it, ran the blade across her wrist, then held the wound to the vampire's mouth. He took her arm in his hands and drank. Jody looked at Cavuto. â€Å"Your partner is handcuffed to the wheel of the car. Get him and walk away before anyone else gets here. I need the car. I don't want to be followed either.† Cavuto dropped back into cop mode. â€Å"Bullshit.† â€Å"Go get your partner and go. Do you want to explain this?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"All this.† Jody pulled her arm out of the vampire's mouth and gestured around the dock. â€Å"Look, the murders will stop. I promise. We're leaving and we're never coming back. So let it drop. And leave Tommy and these guys alone.† â€Å"Or what?† Cavuto said. Jody cradled the old vampire and lifted him as she stood up. â€Å"Or we'll come back.† She carried the vampire to the cruiser and put him in the back seat and crawled in with him. Rivera was sitting in the front seat. Cavuto came to the side of the car and handed his handcuff key through the window to Rivera. â€Å"I told you,† Rivera said. Cavuto nodded. â€Å"We're fucked, you know? We have to let them go.† Rivera unlocked the handcuffs and got out of the car. He stood next to Cavuto, not sure what to do next. Jody stuck her head out the back window of the cruiser. â€Å"Come on, Tommy, you drive.† Tommy turned to the Emperor, who nodded for him to go, then to the Animals. â€Å"You guys, get that stuff off the dock. In Troy's car. Get out of here. I'll call you at the store tomorrow.† Tommy shrugged, got in the car, and started it. â€Å"What now?† â€Å"To the loft, Tommy. He needs a dark place to heal.† â€Å"I'm not comfortable with this, Jody. I want you to know that. I'd like to know what your relationship is to this guy.† The vampire moaned. â€Å"Drive,† she said. They pulled off the dock, leaving the Animals scrambling around collecting the art and the two policemen staring at them in amazement. She said, â€Å"I love you, Tommy, but I need someone who's like me. Someone who understands. You know how that is, right?† â€Å"So you run off with the first rich older guy that comes along?† â€Å"He's the only one, Tommy.† She stroked the vampire's burned hair. â€Å"I don't have any choice. I hate being alone. And if he died, then I'd never know about what I am.† â€Å"So you two are going away? You're leaving me?† â€Å"I wish I could think of some other way. I'm sorry.† â€Å"I knew you'd break my heart.†