Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Burberry Case Study Essay

1. The Burberry brand has be come an image of both extravagance and strength. The brand has been repositioned to a specialty showcase between bleeding edge design clothing, as Armani, and exemplary style attire, similar to Polo Ralph Lauren. Burberry has likewise exceeded expectations in the extras advertise, situating itself between the Coach and Gucci brands. Burberry wouldn't like to be bleeding edge style and simultaneously, wouldn't like to be seen as only great, as this market is now soaked with different brands. Burberry speaks to â€Å"accessible luxury†, which means they were stylish, yet in addition useful. Burberry’s serious position is supportable over the long haul giving that the business itself stays stable. Burberry’s contenders, as Ralph Lauren, have demonstrated that they can keep up their situation over the long haul in both low-end customary and top of the line design advertises so I trust Burberry has the capacity to do likewise. Burberry kee ps up its situation of popular and useful. On the off chance that they can do this, the hindrance to section for this specialty ought to remain unreasonably high for contenders to enter. 2. Since her landing in Burberry, Rose Marie Bravo set out to make Burberry â€Å"great from a worldwide perspective†. She endeavored to do this by actualizing different key changes to the Burberry brand. These progressions incorporate repositioning the brand, refreshing the product offering, setting up leader stores, extending the brand portfolio, and advancing the new brand picture. Bravo had the option to reposition the Burberry brand into the class of extravagance brand. She did as such by filling an unfilled hole in the market, between that of great design and forefront style. The objective of this change was to pull in more youthful clients while holding their center client base. While repositioning a brand is consistently unsafe, finding a specialty showcase and not straightforwardly rivaling these other extravagance brands helped Burberry to limit a portion of the hazard from the change. Burberry likewise constrained hazard by obliging both style and capacity. The following change that Bravo made was to refresh the product offering. Bravo and her group radically cut the quantity of items from 100,000 to 24,000, killing obsolete plans and making a reliable look over the entirety of their items. They started to group their items into two separate classes: progression or style situated. The progression items, for example, the great channel coat, were required to have an actual existence cycle that lastedâ over various years. The style arranged items were intended to respond to the most up to date design patterns and ordinarily just had an occasional life cycle. These progressions fundamentally decreased the danger of the Burberry change. Burberry had three essential assortments: womenswear, menswear, and extras. The womenswear line extended from its customary spotlight on winter and fall season to incorporate clothing for the spring and summers seasons also, speaking to a more extensive scope of clients. The meanswear assortment was very â€Å"cross-generational†, spreading over from youthful urban experts to more established, great men. The frill assortment was not as style situated and furthermore didn't need to suit distinctive size varieties, so along these lines it created less hazard than the attire assortments. The foundation of lead stores has likewise assisted with limiting danger by going about as a proving ground for new ideas and plans before they are circulated to a more extensive market. Likewise, Burberry has kept up a solid vision and predictable voice, which has built up it’s brand picture and keep up its image validity. By growing the brand portfolio from simply the company’s center name, Burberry London, into the very good quality with it’s Prorsum name, Burberry had the option to fortify it’s new situating in the extravagance advertise. Venturing into this market accompanies included hazard, given the unpredictability of the very good quality design advertise. The Prorsum name can alleviate a portion of this hazard by giving Burberry a â€Å"laboratory for ideas† that they can execute into different territories of their business. Burberry was likewise ready to moderate the danger of the change by effectively advancing it’s new brand picture. Burberry had the option to depict itself as a legacy brand while simultaneously connecting itself with a trendier, increasingly present day look.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Principle, Principal

Standard, Principal Standard, Principal Standard, Principal By Sharon Standard and chief are handily befuddled. It doesnt help that they are homophones, which implies they sound the same. Heres a manual for what they mean and how you can reveal to them separated. Standard The word guideline implies a norm, a law or a standard. This implies you can have: the standards of financial aspects, which are the laws that administer monetary hypothesis moral standards, which are the guidelines and principles that oversee your conduct Head The word chief as a rule alludes to an individual. Recollect that it finishes in buddy, which is an individual. A chief can be: the leader of a school the leader of an association the principle individual associated with an agreement or monetary arrangement Assembling It All On the off chance that you recollect that chief is an individual, at that point you can without much of a stretch understand this sentence: The chief showed us the primary rule of social duty. Need to improve your English in a short time a day? Get a membership and begin getting our composing tips and activities day by day! Continue learning! Peruse the Misused Words classification, check our mainstream posts, or pick a related post below:Congratulations on or for?In Search of a 4-Dot EllipsisTypes of Plots

Friday, August 14, 2020

Zimbardos Stanford Prison Experiment

Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment Theories Behavioral Psychology Print The Stanford Prison Experiment By Kendra Cherry facebook twitter Kendra Cherry, MS, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Learn about our editorial policy Kendra Cherry Updated on October 25, 2019 Darrin Klimek / Getty Images More in Theories Behavioral Psychology Cognitive Psychology Developmental Psychology Personality Psychology Social Psychology Biological Psychology Psychosocial Psychology In This Article Table of Contents Expand Participants Setting and Procedure Results Criticism View All Back To Top In 1971, psychologist Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues set out to create an experiment that looked at the impact of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. Known as the Stanford Prison Experiment, the study went on to become one of the best-known in psychologys history. Zimbardo, a former classmate of Stanley Milgram (who is best known for his famous obedience experiment, was interested in expanding upon Milgrams research. He wanted to investigate further the impact of situational variables on human behavior. The researchers wanted to know how the participants would react when placed in a simulated prison environment. Suppose you had only kids who were normally healthy, psychologically and physically, and they knew they would be going into a prison-like environment and that some of their civil rights would be sacrificed. Would those good people, put in that bad, evil placeâ€"would their goodness triumph? said Zimbardo in one interview.?? The Participants The researchers set up a mock prison in the basement of Stanford Universitys psychology building and then selected 24 undergraduate students to play the roles of both prisoners and guards. The participants were chosen from a larger group of 70 volunteers because they had no criminal background, lacked psychological issues, and had no significant medical conditions. The volunteers agreed to participate during a one to two-week period in exchange for $15 a day. The Setting and Procedures The simulated prison included three six by nine-foot prison cells. Each cell held three prisoners and included three cots. Other rooms across from the cells were utilized for the jail guards and warden. One tiny space was designated as the solitary confinement room, and yet another small room served as the prison yard. The 24 volunteers were then randomly assigned to either the prisoner group or the guard group. Prisoners were to remain in the mock prison 24-hours a day during the study. Guards were assigned to work in three-man teams for eight-hour shifts. After each shift, guards were allowed to return to their homes until their next shift. Researchers were able to observe the behavior of the prisoners and guards using hidden cameras and microphones. Results of the Stanford Prison Experiment While the Stanford Prison Experiment was originally slated to last 14 days, it had to be stopped after just six due to what was happening to the student participants. The guards became abusive, and the prisoners began to show signs of extreme stress and anxiety. While the prisoners and guards were allowed to interact in any way they wanted, the interactions were hostile or even dehumanizing. The guards began to behave in ways that were aggressive and abusive toward the prisoners while the prisoners became passive and depressed. Five of the prisoners began to experience severe negative emotions, including crying and acute anxiety and had to be released from the study early. Even the researchers themselves began to lose sight of the reality of the situation. Zimbardo, who acted as the prison warden, overlooked the abusive behavior of the jail guards until graduate student Christina Maslach voiced objections to the conditions in the simulated prison and the morality of continuing the experiment. Only a few people were able to resist the situational temptations to yield to power and dominance while maintaining some semblance of morality and decency; obviously, I was not among that noble class, Zimbardo later wrote in his book The Lucifer Effect.?? What Do the Results of the Stanford Prison Experiment Mean? According to Zimbardo and his colleagues, the Stanford Prison Experiment demonstrates the powerful role that the situation can play in human behavior. Because the guards were placed in a position of power, they began to behave in ways they would not usually act in their everyday lives or other situations. The prisoners, placed in a situation where they had no real control, became passive and depressed. Criticisms of the Stanford Prison Experiment The Stanford Prison Experiment is frequently cited as an example of unethical research. The experiment could not be replicated by researchers today because it fails to meet the standards established by numerous ethical codes, including the Ethics Code of the American Psychological Association. Zimbardo acknowledges the ethical problems with the study, suggesting that although we ended the study a week earlier than planned, we did not end it soon enough.?? Other critics suggest that the study lacks generalizability due to a variety of factors. The unrepresentative sample of participants (mostly white and middle-class males) makes it difficult to apply the results to a wider population. The study is also criticized for its lack of ecological validity. While the researchers did their best to recreate a prison setting, it is simply not possible to perfectly mimic all of the environmental and situational variables of prison life. Despite some of the criticism, the Stanford Prison Experiment remains an important study in our understanding of how the situation can influence human behavior. The study recently garnered attention after reports of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuses in Iraq became known. Many people, including Zimbardo himself, suggest that the abuses at Abu Ghraib might be real-world examples of the same results observed in Zimbardos experiment. The Stanford Prison Experiment: 40 Years Later In 2011, the Stanford Alumni Magazine featured a fascinating retrospective of the famous Stanford Prison Experiment in honor of the experiment’s 40th anniversary. The article contained interviews with several people involved in the experiment, including Zimbardo and other researchers as well as some of the participants in the study.?? Richard Yacco was one of the prisoners in the experiment and now works as a public school teacher. He offered some interesting insights into his experience: One thing that I thought was interesting about the experiment was whether, if you believe society has assigned you a role, do you then assume the characteristics of that role? I teach at an inner-city high school in Oakland. These kids dont have to go through experiments to witness horrible things. But what frustrates my colleagues and me is that we are creating great opportunities for these kids, we offer great support for them, why are they not taking advantage of it? Why are they dropping out of school? Why are they coming to school unprepared? I think a big reason is what the prison study showsâ€"they fall into the role their society has made for them.Participating in the Stanford Prison Experiment is something I can use and share with students. This was one week of my life when I was a teenager and yet here it is, 40 years later, and its still something that had enough of an impact on society that people are still interested in it. You never know what youre going to get involved in that will turn out to be a defining moment in your life. In 2015, the experiment became the topic of a feature film titled The Stanford Prison Experiment that dramatized the events of the 1971 study.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Customer Cost, Quality And Time Specifications Are Met

1 - Describe how you can ensure customer cost, quality and time specifications are met. Answer: Customer cost, Quality, and time are three components that add value to the product/services at Swaggies. Value of products/services associated with the process, system or service and relies on the organization’s capability to meet the cost, time and quality provisions of the customer. †¢ Quality: Swaggies customers expect to receive high-quality goods or service, therefore Quality of Products at Swaggies always mention characteristics of product, its ability to satisfy the purpose for which it was made. They always receive correct and clear descriptions and assembly instructions with the product. †¢ Cost: Swaggies customers expect to receive the cost of the product/services parallel to its quality therefore, cost of the Swaggies products/services always correspond with its quality. They fulfill the customer expectation of realistic and competitive prices, correct pricing information in comparison with market. †¢ Time: Swaggies customers expect the products/services delivered on time, therefore Customers receive the Swaggies products/services on time with additional services like a reminder that their product has been dispatched for delivery. Also confirmation of delivery once it is delivered. Key to meet the requirements of quality, cost and time at Swaggies is to †¢ Manage the promises †¢ Understand and fulfill the customers’ expectations of products/services †¢ Never doShow MoreRelatedQuestions On The Essential Software Requirement1424 Words   |  6 PagesChapter 1 - The Essential Software Requirement The IEEE definitions of requirement: A condition or capability that must be met or possessed by a system or system component to satisfy a contract, standard, specification, or other formally imposed document. 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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Host Chapter 44 Healed Free Essays

â€Å"Wanda†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"We don’t have time. I’d do it myself, but I can’t get the angle right. There’s no other way. We will write a custom essay sample on The Host Chapter 44: Healed or any similar topic only for you Order Now † â€Å"I don’t think I can†¦ do it.† â€Å"For Jamie, even?† I pushed the good side of my face as hard as I could against the headrest of the passenger seat and closed my eyes. Jared was holding the rough fist-sized stone I’d found. He’d been weighing it in his hand for five minutes. â€Å"You just have to get the first few layers of skin off. Just hide the scar, that’s all. C’mon, Jared, we have to hurry. Jamie†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Tell him I said to do it now. And make it a good one. â€Å"Mel says do it now. And make sure you do it hard enough. Get it all the first time.† Silence. â€Å"Do it, Jared!† He took a deep breath, a gasp. I felt the air move and squeezed my eyes tighter. It made a squishing sound and a thud-that was the first thing I noticed-and then the shock of the blow wore off, and I felt it, too. â€Å"Ungh,† I groaned. I hadn’t meant to make any sound. I knew that would make it worse for him. But so much was involuntary with this body. Tears sprang up in my eyes, and I coughed to hide a sob. My head rang, vibrated in aftershock. â€Å"Wanda? Mel? I’m sorry!† His arms wrapped around us, pulled us into his chest. â€Å"‘S okay,† I whimpered. â€Å"We’re okay. Did you get it all?† His hand touched my chin, turned my head. â€Å"Ahh,† he gasped, sickened. â€Å"I took half your face off. I’m so sorry.† â€Å"No, that’s good. That’s good. Let’s go.† â€Å"Right.† His voice was still weak, but he leaned me back into my seat, settling me carefully, and then the car rumbled beneath us. Ice-cold air blew in my face, shocking me, stinging my raw cheek. I’d forgotten what air-conditioning felt like. I opened my eyes. We were driving down a smooth wash-smoother than it should have been, carefully altered to be this way. It snaked away from us, coiling around the brush. I couldn’t see very far ahead. I pulled the visor down and flipped open the mirror. In the shadowy moonlight, my face was black and white. Black all across the right side, oozing down my chin, dripping across my neck, and seeping into the collar of my new, clean shirt. My stomach heaved. â€Å"Good job,† I whispered. â€Å"How much pain are you in?† â€Å"Not much,† I lied. â€Å"Anyway, it won’t hurt much longer. How far are we from Tucson?† Just then, we reached pavement. Funny how the sight of it made my heart race in panic. Jared stopped, keeping the car hidden in the brush. He got out and removed the tarps and chains from the bumper, putting them in the trunk. He got back in and eased the car forward, checking carefully to make sure the highway was empty. He reached for the headlights. â€Å"Wait,† I whispered. I couldn’t speak louder. I felt so exposed here. â€Å"Let me drive.† He looked at me. â€Å"It can’t look like I walked to the hospital like this. Too many questions. I have to drive. You hide in the back and tell me where to go. Is there something you can hide under?† â€Å"Okay,† he said slowly. He put the car into reverse and pulled it back into the deeper brush. â€Å"Okay. I’ll hide. But if you take us somewhere I don’t tell you to go†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Oh! Melanie was stung by his doubt, as was I. My voice was flat. â€Å"Shoot me.† He didn’t answer. He got out, leaving the engine running. I slid across the cup holders into his seat. I heard the trunk slam. Jared climbed into the backseat, a thick plaid blanket under his arm. â€Å"Turn right at the road,† he said. The car was an automatic, but it had been a long time and I was unsure behind the wheel. I moved ahead carefully, pleased to find that I remembered how to drive. The highway was still empty. I pulled out onto the road, my heart reacting to the open space again. â€Å"Lights,† Jared said. His voice came from low on the bench. I searched till I found the switch, then flicked them on. They seemed horribly bright. We weren’t far from Tucson -I could see a yellowish glow of color against the sky. The lights of the city ahead. â€Å"You could drive a little faster.† â€Å"I’m right at the limit,† I protested. He paused for a second. â€Å"Souls don’t speed?† I laughed. The sound was only a tad hysterical. â€Å"We obey all laws, traffic laws included.† The lights became more than a glow-they turned into individual points of brightness. Green signs informed me of my exit options. † Take Ina Road.† I followed his instructions. He kept his voice low, though, enclosed as we were, we could both have shouted. It was hard to be in this unfamiliar city. To see houses and apartments and stores with signs lit up. To know I was surrounded, outnumbered. I imagined what it must feel like for Jared. His voice was remarkably calm. But he’d done this before, many times. Other cars were on the road now. When their lights washed my windshield, I cringed in terror. Don’t fall apart now, Wanda. You have to be strong for Jamie. This won’t work if you can’t do that. I can. I can do it. I concentrated on Jamie, and my hands were steadier on the wheel. Jared directed me through the mostly sleeping city. The Healing facility was just a small place. It must have been a medical building once-doctors’ offices, rather than an actual hospital. The lights were bright through most of the windows, through the glass front. I could see a woman behind a greeting desk. She didn’t look up at my headlights. I drove to the darkest corner of the parking lot. I slid my arms through the straps of the backpack. It wasn’t new, but it was in good shape. Perfect. There was just one more thing to do. â€Å"Quick, give me the knife.† â€Å"Wanda†¦ I know you love Jamie, but I really don’t think you could use it. You’re not a fighter.† â€Å"Not for them, Jared. I need a wound.† He gasped. â€Å"You have a wound. That’s enough!† â€Å"I need one like Jamie’s. I don’t know enough about Healing. I have to see exactly what to do. I would have done it before, but I wasn’t sure I’d be able to drive.† â€Å"No. Not again.† â€Å"Give it to me now. Someone will notice if I don’t go inside soon.† Jared thought it through quickly. He was the best, as Jeb had said, because he could see what had to be done and do it fast. I heard the steely sound of the knife coming out of the sheath. â€Å"Be very careful. Not too deep.† â€Å"You want to do it?† He inhaled sharply. â€Å"No.† â€Å"Okay.† I took the ugly knife. It had a heavy handle and was very sharp; it came to a tapered point at the tip. I didn’t let myself think about it. I didn’t want to give myself a chance to be a coward. The arm, not the leg-that’s all I paused to decide. My knees were scarred. I didn’t want to have to hide that, too. I held my left arm out; my hand was shaking. I braced it against the door and then twisted my head so that I could bite down on the headrest. I held the knife’s handle awkwardly but tightly in my right hand. I pressed the point against the skin of my forearm so I wouldn’t miss. Then I closed my eyes. Jared was breathing too hard. I had to be fast or he would stop me. Just pretend it’s a shovel opening the ground, I told myself. I jammed the knife into my arm. The headrest muffled my scream, but it was still too loud. The knife fell from my hand-jerking sickeningly out from the muscle-and then clunked against the floor. â€Å"Wanda!† Jared rasped. I couldn’t answer yet. I tried to choke back the other screams I felt coming. I’d been right not to do this before driving. â€Å"Let me see!† â€Å"Stay there,† I gasped. â€Å"Don’t move.† I heard the blanket rustling behind me despite my warning. I pulled my left arm against my body and yanked the door open with my right hand. Jared’s hand brushed my back as I half fell out the door. It wasn’t a restraint. It was comfort. â€Å"I’ll be right back,† I coughed out, and then I kicked the door shut behind me. I stumbled across the lot, fighting nausea and panic. They seemed to balance each other out-one keeping the other from taking control of my body. The pain wasn’t too bad-or rather, I couldn’t feel it as much anymore. I was going into shock. Too many kinds of pain, too close together. Hot liquid rolled down my fingers and dripped to the pavement. I wondered if I could move those fingers. I was afraid to try. The woman behind the reception desk-middle-aged, with dark chocolate skin and a few silver threads in her black hair-jumped to her feet when I lurched through the automatic doors. â€Å"Oh, no! Oh, dear!† She grabbed a microphone, and her next words echoed from the ceiling, magnified. â€Å"Healer Knits! I need you in reception! This is an emergency!† â€Å"No.† I tried to speak calmly, but I swayed in place. â€Å"I’m okay. Just an accident.† She put the microphone down and hurried around to where I stood swaying. Her arm went around my waist. â€Å"Oh, honey, what happened to you?† â€Å"So careless,† I muttered. â€Å"I was hiking†¦ I fell down the rocks. I was†¦ cleaning up after dinner. A knife was in my hand†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My hesitations seemed like part of the shock to her. She didn’t look at me with suspicion-or humor, the way Ian sometimes did when I lied. Only concern. â€Å"You poor dear! What’s your name?† â€Å"Glass Spires,† I told her, using the rather generic name of a herd member from my time with the Bears. â€Å"Okay, Glass Spires. Here comes the Healer. You’ll be fine in just a moment.† I didn’t feel panicked at all anymore. The kindly woman patted my back. So gentle, so caring. She would never harm me. The Healer was a young woman. Her hair, skin, and eyes were all a similar shade of light brown. It made her unusual looking-monochromatic. She wore tan scrubs that only added to that impression. â€Å"Wow,† she said. â€Å"I’m Healer Knits Fire. I’ll get you fixed up directly. What happened?† I told my story again as the two women led me down a hallway and then through the very first door. They had me lie down on the paper-covered bed. The room was familiar. I’d been in only one place like this, but Melanie’s childhood was full of such memories. The short row of double cabinets, the sink where the Healer was washing her hands, the bright, clean white walls†¦ â€Å"First things first,† Knits Fire said cheerfully. She pulled a cabinet open. I tried to focus my eyes, knowing this was important. The cabinet was full of rows and rows of stacked white cylinders. She took one down, reaching for it without searching; she knew what she wanted. The small container had a label, but I couldn’t read it. â€Å"A little no pain should help, don’t you think?† I saw the label again as she twisted the lid off. Two short words. No Pain? Was that what it said? â€Å"Open your mouth, Glass Spires.† I obeyed. She took a small, thin square-it looked like tissue paper-and laid it on my tongue. It dissolved at once. There was no flavor. I swallowed automatically. â€Å"Better?† the Healer asked. And it was. Already. My my head was clear-I could concentrate without difficulty. The pain had melted away with the tiny square. Disappeared. I blinked, shocked. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"I know you feel fine now, but please don’t move. Your injuries are not treated yet.† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"Cerulean, could you get us some water? Her mouth seems dry.† â€Å"At once, Healer Knits.† The older woman left the room. The Healer turned back to her cabinets, opening a different one this time. This, too, was filled with white containers. â€Å"Here we are.† She pulled one from the top of a stack, then took another from the other side. Almost as if she were trying to help me fulfill my mission, she listed the names as she reached for them. â€Å"Clean-inside and out†¦ Heal†¦ Seal†¦ And where is†¦ ah, Smooth. Don’t want a scar on that pretty face, do we?† â€Å"Ah†¦ no.† â€Å"Don’t worry. You’ll be perfect again.† â€Å"Thank you.† â€Å"You’re very welcome.† She leaned over me with another white cylinder. The top of this one came off with a pop, and there was an aerosol spray nozzle underneath. She sprayed my forearm first, coating the wound with clear, odorless mist. â€Å"Healing must be a fulfilling profession.† My voice sounded just right. Interested, but not unduly so. â€Å"I haven’t been in a Healing facility since insertion. This is very interesting.† â€Å"Yes, I like it.† She started spraying my face. â€Å"What are you doing now?† She smiled. I guessed that I was not the first curious soul. â€Å"This is Clean. It will make sure nothing foreign stays in the wound. It kills off any of the microbes that might infect the wound.† â€Å"Clean,† I repeated to myself. â€Å"And the Inside Clean, just in case anything has snuck into your system. Inhale this, please.† She had a different white cylinder in her hand, a thinner bottle with a pump rather than an aerosol top. She puffed a cloud of mist into the air above my face. I sucked in a breath. The mist tasted like mint. â€Å"And this is Heal,† Knits Fire continued, twisting the cap off the next canister, revealing a small pouring spout. â€Å"It encourages your tissues to rejoin, to grow the way they should.† She dribbled a tiny bit of the clear liquid into the wide cut on my arm, then she pushed the edges of the wound together. I could feel her touch, but there was no pain. â€Å"I’ll seal this up before I move on.† She opened another container, this one a pliable tube, and then squeezed out a line of thick, clear jelly onto her finger. â€Å"Like glue,† she told me. â€Å"It holds everything together and lets the Heal do its job.† She wiped it over my arm in one swift pass. â€Å"Okay, you can move that now. Your arm is fine.† I held it up to look. A faint pink line was visible under the shiny gel. The blood was still wet on my arm, but there was no source anymore. As I watched, the Healer cleaned my skin with one quick pass of a damp towel. â€Å"Turn your face this way, please. Hmm, you must have hit those rocks just exactly wrong. What a mess.† â€Å"Yes. It was a bad fall.† â€Å"Well, thank goodness you were able to drive yourself here.† She was lightly dripping Heal onto my cheek, smearing it with the tips of her fingers. â€Å"Ah, I love to watch it work. Looks much better already. Okay†¦ around the edges.† She smiled to herself. â€Å"Maybe one more coat. I want this to be erased.† She worked for a minute longer. â€Å"Very nice.† â€Å"Here’s some water,† the older woman said as she came through the door. â€Å"Thank you, Cerulean.† â€Å"Let me know if you need anything more. I’ll be up front.† â€Å"Thanks.† Cerulean left. I wondered if she was from the Flower Planet. Blue flowers were rare-one might take a name from that. â€Å"You can sit now. How do you feel?† I pulled myself up. â€Å"Perfect.† It was true. I hadn’t felt so healthy in a long time. The sharp shift from pain to ease made the sensation more powerful. â€Å"That’s just how it should be. Okay, let’s dust on a little Smooth.† She twisted the last cylinder’s top and shook an iridescent powder into her hand. She patted it into my cheek, then patted another handful onto my arm. â€Å"You’ll always have a small line on your arm,† she said apologetically. â€Å"Like your neck. A deep wound†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She shrugged. Absentmindedly, she brushed the hair back from my neck and examined the scar. â€Å"This was nicely done. Who was your Healer?† â€Å"Um†¦ Faces Sunward,† I said, pulling the name from one of my old students. â€Å"I was in†¦ Eureka, Montana. I didn’t like the cold. I moved south.† So many lies. I felt a twist of anxiety in my stomach. â€Å"I started out in Maine,† she said, not noticing anything amiss in my voice. As she spoke, she cleaned the blood from my neck. â€Å"It was too cold for me, too. What’s your Calling?† â€Å"Um†¦ I serve food. In a Mexican restaurant in†¦ Phoenix. I like spicy food.† â€Å"Me, too.† She wasn’t looking at me funny. She was wiping my cheek now. â€Å"Very nice. No worries, Glass Spires. Your face looks great.† â€Å"Thank you, Healer.† â€Å"Of course. Would you like some water?† â€Å"Yes, please.† I kept a grip on myself. It wouldn’t do to bolt the glass down the way I wanted to. I wasn’t able to stop myself from finishing it all, though. It tasted too good. â€Å"Would you like more?† â€Å"I†¦ yes, that would be nice. Thank you.† â€Å"I’ll be right back.† The second she was out the door, I slid off the mattress. The paper crackled, freezing me in place. She didn’t dart back in. I had only seconds. It had taken Cerulean a few minutes to get the water. Maybe it would take the Healer just as long. Maybe the cool, pure water was far away from this room. Maybe. I ripped the pack off my shoulders and wrenched the drawstrings open. I started with the second cabinet. There was the stacked column of Heal. I grabbed the whole column and let it clatter quietly into the bottom of my pack. What would I say if she caught me? What lie could I tell? I took the two kinds of Clean next, from the first cabinet. There was a second stack behind the first of each, and I took half of those, too. Then the No Pain, both stacks of that. I was about to turn back for the Seal, when the label of the next row of cylinders caught my attention. Cool. For fevers? There were no instructions, just the label. I took the stack. Nothing here would hurt a human body. I was sure of that. I grabbed all the Seal and two cans of Smooth. I couldn’t press my luck any further. I closed the cabinets quietly and threw my arms through the straps of the pack. I leaned against the mattress, making another crackle. I tried to look relaxed. She didn’t come back. I checked the clock. It had been one minute. How far away was the water? Two minutes. Three minutes. Had my lies been as obvious to her as they were to me? Sweat started to dew up on my forehead. I wiped it away quickly. What if she brought back a Seeker? I thought of the small pill in my pocket, and my hands shook. I could do it, though. For Jamie. I heard quiet footsteps then, two sets, coming down the hall. How to cite The Host Chapter 44: Healed, Essay examples

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Client Risk Profile

Question: Write a report onClient Risk Profile. Answer: We have been appointed as an auditor of Performance Sports Group Ltd for the year ended May 31, 2016. In order to express an opinion on the true fair view of the financial statements, it is the prerequisite to have an understanding of the internal and external environment of the business entity under the audit. Performance Sports Group Ltd. is a top manufacturer of sports equipment for ice hockey, roller hockey, lacrosse, baseball and softball. The products of the company are available in over 45 countries through a network of more than 7,000 retail locations and over 60 distributors. The company is a world leader and renowned brand in hockey. The products manufactured are marketed under the brand name of BAUER, MISSION, MAVERIK, CASCADE, INARIA, COMBAT and EASTON. The products manufactured are distributed throughout the world. The main focus of the company is to build up a leading position in the world through acquiring major market share in all the product categories. Therefore, t he company operates in a highly competitive environment with diversified products manufactured by it, creating a high inherent risk to the auditor.The Board of Directors consists of eight directors, namely, Bernard McDonell, Karyn O. Barsa, Joan Dea, Dan Friedberg, C. Michael Jacobi, Harlan Kent, Matthew M. Mannelly and Bob Nicholson. The Company has constituted Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee and Risk Committee. The Audit Committee comprises of Bernard McDonell, Joan Dea, C. Michael Jacobi. The Compensation Committee comprises of Karyn O. Barsa, Dan Friedberg and Bob Nicholson. The Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee comprises of Dan Friedberg, C. Michael Jacobi, Matthew M. Mannelly and Bob Nicholson. The Risk Committee comprises of Karyn O. Barsa, Joan Dea and Matthew M. Mannelly.The executive panel of the company consists of highly experienced and dedicated personnel with a success past track in the field of marketi ng products, integrating strategic acquisitions and planning and implementation of growth strategies. The top level employee turnover is very low which can be noticed by the fact that the executives have been working with the company since an average of ten years. The executive panel comprises of Harlen Kent (Chief Executive Officer, Director), Amir Rosenthal (President, PSG Brands), Mark Vendetti (Executive Vice-President/ Chief Financial Officer), Angela Bass (Executive Vice-President, Global Human Resources), Paul Dachsteiner (Vice President of Information Services), Paul Gibson (Executive Vice President, Chief Supply Chain Officer), Todd Harman (Executive Vice President of Baseball/ Softball), Troy Mohns (Executive Vice President, New Business Development Corporate Strategy)Matt Smith (Executive Vice President, Marketing) and Michael J. Wall (Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary).The Board of Directors of the company thinks good corporate governance to be the essential part for the smooth functioning of the company and increase in shareholders value in the long run. The company is dedicated to provide fair and timely information in the form of compliance with the corporate governance standards of United States and Canadian securities regulators, the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange.The business strategy of the company is to manufacture, develop and deliver quality products that improve the performance of athletes. The company aims to increase the net revenue and also the net profit margin through reducing the costs and increasing the overall efficiency throughout all the processes, namely, supply, manufacturing and distribution. The following are the strategies that had been formed by the company in order to deliver net revenue growth:1. Increase Ice and Roller Hockey Share;2. Leverage Cost Leadership to increase Profitability;3. Target Emerging and Underdeveloped Consumer Segments;4. Grow Apparel Across all Sports Categories;5. Capitalize on the rapidly growing lacrosse market;6. Pursue Strategic Acquisition.Therefore, from the understanding that we have gathered so far of the business environment of the entity, it can be said that the risk profile of the company is high as the company deals in a number of products worldwide, it operates in a highly competitive environment which can lead to material misstatement of financial statements. The company operates in an industry where there are rapid changes and a need to maintain pace with the changing environment in order to preserve the current position and grab future growth opportunities. Further, the company deals worldwide and therefore have foreign exchange exposure. The company have various brands and a wide marketing channel through which the distribution of products takes place. Hence, there are a number of areas that needs to be considered while planning the audit of the entity as the inherent risk involved and assessed throug h the understanding of the internal and external environment of the entity is very high. But, on the other hand, the entity has good corporate governance, code of ethics and being regular in the compliances, which marks that there is a nice control mechanism operating in the organisation. Hence, the control risk involved in the audit of the entity is low. Therefore, it can be concluded from the analysis of the inherent and the control risk that the risk of material misstatement involved is average. Analytical Procedures During the planning stage, the analytical procedures are undertaken in order to understand the financial position of the entity and analyze the issues (in case any) for the adverse variance from industry averages. Also, it helps to compute the overall audit risk involved through the analysis of the data. The data considered while the analysis has been taken from the quarterly results for the quarter ended August, 2015, November, 2015 and February, 2016.The reported revenue for the quarter ended August, 2015, November, 2015 and February, 2016 were $175, $153 and $126.1 respectively. During all the three quarters, there had been unfavourable foreign currency impact over the revenue, which had, however been at a diminishing rate. The total reported revenue of the company in its quarterly report is allocated to Canada, United States and rest of the world. As per the comparative information of the company (period over period), the revenue growth rate of the company had reduced except for in quarter ended August, 2015 for revenue from United States. Moreover, the revenue during the said period has also reduced. Secondly, as a percentage of revenue, currency neutral gross profit increased to 33.9% for the nine month period ended 29 February, 2016 from 32.0% in the nine month period ended 28 February, 2015. Including the impact of foreign exchange, the gross profit margin for the nine months ended February, 2016 decreased from 32.0% to 29.5% as compared with the corresponding period of the previous year. The same has been due to the decrease in revenue along with the increase in selling, general and administrative expenses from 21.5% to 29.5% and research and development expenses from 3.6% to 4.1% (as per period over period comparison). However the Industrial Average Gross Margin for the Quarter ending, 29 February, 2016 is 40.82% which is far more than the Gross profit of the Company i.e. 33.9%.Further, the Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization also decreased from 15.5% to 4.6% for the nine months ended February, 2016 compared to February, 2015. The EBITDA margin of the Industry for the Quarter ended February, 2016 is 10.65% as compared to 4.6% of the company. The results have decreased significantly during the period.The leverage ratio as on 29 February, 2016 was 10.98, excluding the impact of foreign exchange on the Companys trailing twelve month EBITDA, the Leverage Ratio was 5.72. While the Industrial Leverage ratio for the quarter ending 29 February, 2016 is 2.6. therefore concluding that the leverage ratio of the company is muvh higher as compared to the Industrial average. The closing cash balance as on 29 February, 2016 was $2.5. The management believes that the ongoing operations and resultant cash flows along with the cash reserves would provide sufficient liquidity to the business operations.The cost of goods sold during the nine month ended February 29, 2016 decreased by $24.6 million or 7.1% to $320.4 million. This has been primarily due to the decrease in revenue, lower Hockey product costs driven by productivity and sourcing initiatives in connection with the previously announced five-year supply chain initiative, reduction in commodity-related factory input costs from Asian vendors, lower non-cash charges to cost of goods sold. The decrease was excluding the impact of foreign exchange. The negative EPS calculated after adjustment of impact of foreign exchange for the nine month period ended 29 February, 2016 was $0.06. This signifies that the return to the shareholders of the company has decreased, as the comparative EPS for the period of previous year reported a positive earning per share of $0.84.The analytical procedures applied and mentioned here above had helped us to form a more informed understanding about the workings and the environment of the entity. The company has diverse revenue sources, in terms of geographic segments and business segment (product-wise). Further, being a company operating in different countries, the company is exposed to foreign currency fluctuations which may lead to material misstatements. Further, the areas to be emphasised are revenue, cost of goods sold, foreign fluctuations and debts due. Audit Risk The financial statements are very much important to both the internal and external users. They exhibits the performance of the company as well as helps the users to take decisions make investments and other decisions. Therefore, it becomes very much necessary that the financial statements be free from material misstatement and gives a true and fair view of the operating results during the period and of the assets and liabilities as on the reporting date. This signifies the role and importance of auditors opinion thereon.Audit Risk refers to the risk that the auditor may issue an inappropriate opinion on the financial statements. The overall audit risk is a product of inherent risk, control risk (collectively known as risk of material misstatement) and detection risk. Where the risk of material misstatement is high, the detection risk is set to low, in order to minimize the overall audit risk and vice versa. Inherent Risk Inherent Risk is the susceptibility of assertion the financial transactions, i.e., account balnce, class of transactions and disclosure, which may be single or collectively materially misstated, where there are no controls set by the management. In other words, the auditor computes the inherent risk through the analysis of the business environment in which the organization operates and estimates the inherent risk to be the risk to form an opinion in such an environment, without considering the controls that are in place.In the case of Performance Sports Group, the inherent risk involved is high. The company operates in a highly dynamic environment prone to a number of changes, both in the internal as well as external environment. Business Acquisitions During the year ended, the company, through its wholly owned subsidiary acquired Easten Hockey Holdings, Inc. The purchase consideration for the acquisition was agreed at $5,585 to be paid in cash. The company had financed the acquisition through additional borrowing. The acquisition had resulted in gain on bargain amounting to $987. Assessment of inherent risk in business acquisition is high as the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed along with the gain arising due to the acquisition requires high consideration in order to check whether any misstatement exists.Trade ReceivablesThe company had recorded expense on account of bad debts of $24,203 in the nine months ended February, 2016. The bad debt included receivable from a U.S. national sporting goods retailer and an internet baseball retailer. This shows that attention should be paid while the audit of trade receivables and bad debts.Impairment of Intangible AssetsThe company has recorded impairment on trade names and trade marks, purchased technology, customer relationships and goodwill. The total impairment recorded was for $145,112 during the nine months ended February 29, 2016. We should while performing audit procedures over the assets, check the method adopted by the management while computing and recording impairment of assets.Other Non-Current AssetsDuring the year, the company purchased non-controlling interest in Cocona, Inc. and in Q30 Sports Science. Both the investments are accounted at cost. Therefore, attention is needed to be paid on as to the valuation of these investments and their accounting.Discontinued OperationsDuring the year, the company discontinued distribution operations at its distribution facility in Mississaunga, Ontario resulting in termination of around 56 employees. It pose inherent risk over the going concern of the entity and also consideration is needed to be paid to the factors behind and the financial impacts of the discontinuation. It must be ensured that the mana gements decision should be in the interest of the stakeholders.Control RiskControl risk is the risk that the management would not be able to place sufficient and appropriate controls over the inherent risk and that it would result into errors of frauds that may singly or collectively consequent to misstatement of financial statements. In Performance Sports Group, the management is experienced and reliable, also there exists a code of ethics which decreases the control risk. However, through analysis of decreasing revenue and increasing bad debts, the control risk seems to be high as the management is unable to realize its receivables and also the turnover of the company is diminishing continuously, quarter to quarter.Detection RiskDetection risk is the risk that the auditor might fail to identify any error or fraud present in any financial assertion, which may lead to material misstatement in the financial statement. In order to express opinion on the financial statements, it is nee ded that the detection risk should be set at low as the risk of material misstatement of the business is high. It means that the there should be sufficient and appropriate audit evidences to support the opinion. Also, there is need to apply substantive audit procedures.Overall Planning Materiality (Refer Appendice II)The determination of planning materiality is a matter of professional judgement based on the risks involved in the audit and the percerption as to whether the transaction or class of transactions would have any impact over the financial decisions of the users of the financial statements. Any transaction is said to be materially misstated when such errors or frauds, individually or collectively can influence the decision of the stakeholders. Further, while planning materiality, we had considered the environment of the company and the factors that would effect the stakeholders decision making.We have planned materiality on the basis of materiality range (upper range for h igh and lower range to low) for four different categories. As per our belief, we have taken Net Profit Before Taxes to be the most suitable category, as it provides information about the performance and operations of the company. Revenue and Collection Performance Sports Group Ltd. operates throughout the world, especially in Canada and U.S. The company, further operates in different products, especially in Hockey and Baseball/ Softball. As mentioned in the analytical procedures, the revenue of the company is decreasing. The key audit issue is to identify any potential fraud as the total revenue transactions is significant and material. It should be ensured where sampling is adopted in case of vouching of invoices issue, the sample size should be appropriate and proper technique should be adopted. Further, it should be noticed that the invoices are consecutively numbered and serially arranged. We plan to have a proper understanding of the invoicing mechanism of the company and the controls established by the management to regulate the issue of invoice to the clients. There should be proper authority under which any invoice is issued. Further, it had been noticed that there had been bad debts to the entity during the year. It should be examined that there exists proper controls for evaluation of clients before making sales and also that proper realization methods have been practiced by the management to avoid the write-offs. Human Resource The company has recently discontinued distribution operation in Mississaunga, Ontario, which had resulted into termination of around 56 employees. We should verify that the number of employees reported to be terminated by the company is correct and that the full and final settlement made to them is as per the companys practices or in terms with the contract of employment with the personnel. Further, the company has adopted Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan under which the employees are granted nonqualified stock options, incentive stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stocks, restricted stock units, deffered stock units, other stock based awards, and performance compensation awards. Under the plan, the company grant awards to its employees, non-employees, directors and its affiliates. Therefore, as an auditor it is needed to check the grants recorded by the company. Further, the valuation assumptions involved in the accounting of the same should be verified. Strategic Acquisitions The company had acquired all the assets and certain liabilities of a company through its wholly owned subsidiary during the year under audit. Also, the company has acquired non-controlling rights in two companies. The acquisition resulted in gain which has been recorded in the intangible assets of the company and the purchase of non-controlling interest is recorded at cost. It is needful to apply substantive procedures for the physical verification and valuations of the assets and liabilities involved under the acquisitions. Contingent Liabilities Legal Proceeding Pursuant to acquisition of Kohelberg Sports Group Inc. in 2008, a contingency to pay Nike, Inc. exists based on qualifying exit event. However, the management had determined that no exit event had occurred. We need to verify the same through taking additional management representations and other audit procedures.Further, various legal proceedings stands pending against the company involving contractual and employment relationships, product liability claims, trademark rights, etc. On March 18, 2016, a class action securities fraud complaint was filed by Brian Apel, individually and on behalf of all others, against the company seeking unspecified damages, as well as costs, attorneys fees, and other unspecified relief. External confirmation relaing to all the pending legal proceedings against the company for the status and assumed future monetary outflow in case the contingency occurs by the legal professional of the company is seeked to confirm that the information provided by the comp any is true and no other material information is concealed.