Market Analysis of Tesco

Market Analysis of Tesco Tesco is the worlds 3rd largest retailer and the UK retail sector leader. Its primary activity is based in the United Kingdom and the company is expanding into international markets, which are China, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Republic of Ireland, India, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, Slovakia, South Korea, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States. The companys group sale in 2010 was  £62.5 billion in which the operational profit accounted for  £3.5 billion. Currently, the company finally becomes the most profitable online grocery retailer in the world, and more than half of the companys group selling space is outside the United Kingdom. The most attractive recent news about Tesco is its new CEO, Philip Clark, succeed Sir Terry as the retail giants boss on 2 March 2011. Within the same week, two pieces of news about Tescos further pushing forward in Southeast China and northern California were also announced respectively, which might lead to investors guess about whether this new boss, who was Tescos head of international and IT business, will take a more aggressive strategy for its international market. As we can see from the companys market performance, the future of its international expansion is still full of uncertainty. The core UK food retailing segment still keeps 30% market share, however, the sales growth rate fell to a historically low level. The Christmas sales, especially non-food sales, in UK and Europe were negatively impacted by the bad weather last winter. The expansion in US market, which is loss making, was suspended in the past year and now, as the company announced, is restarted. The companys ope ration and expansion is Asia seems promising, with high sales growth rates and fast new-stores-opening speed. The companys stock underperformed the FTSE 100 Index in the past year and keeps going down from the beginning of the year. In fact, all the five retailers we choose, most of which are the worlds largest, do not have satisfying stock performance recently. Bad news about the price rise from the suppliers side came this week bringing down the whole industrys price. The current price of Tesco goes lower than our estimates and hits the bottom of the year. From January 2011, the companys price decreased by a historically 10.58%. Investors worries about the current economic situation would be the main cause the sectors underperformance. We expect an underlying earnings growth and hence a price growth of Tesco in a long-term perspective based on our forecast. The value of company will go up with the recovery of the economy, which is the external factor, and the growing internal operational performance. Therefore, we recommend a short term hold and long term buy. Geographical Analysis Data source: Corporate Christmas sales reportThe latest supermarket giant Tescos 12-week total sales growth was 4.3% with the impressive double-digit growth in food segment. Giant player Tesco achieved positive strong performance in every business operation including food, non-food, and Tesco direct even though an unpleasant cold and wet weather especially adverse condition of snow over Christmas made things difficult not only for Tesco, but also its local crucial competitors like Sainsbury, Asda, and Morrison, Tescos operation and management were still well managed. It is undeniably that Tesco enjoyed an increase of like-for-like (LFL) sales compared to previous year; however, the rise in sales growth was inevitably suffering from the lift of petrol prices and the rise in VAT implying negative volumes if we assume progressive food inflation, which later may impede the stores growing space in the UK market. Yet, the true story that people have to eat and the evidence of the top-line growth grants the UK operators to provide both defensive and growth characteristics to have more rooms of new spaces, develop product mix, and enhance continuing productivity improvement. Hence, giant supermarket like Tesco cannot just stop expanding business and market share, and as an efficient strong retailer, growing the revenue cost-effectively and profitably is far more important than winning the highest market share, Europe: First time showing all positive LFL sales Tesco operates in the Republic of Ireland, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Turkey, listed in descending revenues according to 2010 Annual reports. Although the customer expenditure suffers heavily from the recession, we have seen a solid sign of recovery in sales and profits in Europe. Shown in the Q3 report, till 27th November 2010, the performance of Tesco improves with sales up by 7.6%; compared to 6.4% from Q2 figures (Actual rates Ex. Petrol). Like-for-like sales achieve a growth at 3.6% (Ex. Petrol), which is 0.5% more than the last quarter, probably because of a strong improvement in Hungary and Turkey. Particularly in the third quarter, all European businesses succeed in acquiring positive like-for-like sales for the first time in three years. Thus we expect a continuing increasing trend in this region as the economies are slowly improving. The main approach using by Tesco is to invest in new selling space. The company plans to double the space by 2014/15 to 4.1m sq meters. Part of the ambitious opening programme, Tesco has acquired 128 convenience stores in Czech Republic on 23rd December 2010, making the market share stable at 9%, which is the second position overall. Next we could expect this world leading retailer would push its plan further and expand its online models more in Europe. In the non-food sector, Tesco is leading the clothing market. Building on the FF brand, it opened up its own FF Blue and FF Basics in Central Europe. Tesco sold 68milions FF items in this area and the clothing sales of the Tesco increased by 12% in 2010. Like-for-like clothing sales are also up by 14%. US: When will Fresh Easy be profitable? One of the key decisions for Tescos new CEO, Mr Clarke, will be deciding whether to continue with the Fresh Easy chain, which made a loss of  £165m ($269m) last year. Fresh Easy is designed as a small and convenient fresh food seller and this is its fourth year in the US. This totally different business format was criticized for would not meet US consumes habits when it was launched. Anyway, we think Tesco was extremely unlucky to enter US market before its economy fell into the worst recession since the 1930s. The sales are growing at a promising rate over 38.5% in the third quarter 2010/11 which were mostly contributed from the Thanksgiving holiday. And during the Christmas and New Year holiday it grew up by 36.9%. However, Fresh Easy still made a loss of  £165m in 2009/2010 and a similar or larger loss would probably be made in 2010/2011. Tescos management predicts that it will reach profitability in 2012/2013. But this prediction is questionable since we did not see any signs that promise the profit. Even the US market leader, Wal-mart, had a historically rapid decrease in its sales growth rate in 2009/2010. The company mothballed 13 stores last year, primarily in Arizona and Nevada, hit by the US housing market downturn. The expansion of Fresh Easy was slow down in the last year, and under-utilised capacity still charged large amount of expenditure of the business. The latest news on Fresh Easys website said 10 new stores will be open before the end of April in northern California, which indicates the company starts to push ahead the expansion again. Asia: Key focus for the international expansion Tesco has its Asian business mainly in South Korea, Thailand, China, Malaysia, Japan and India with 1300 stores. Remarkable performance has been shown in the Asian markets driven by opening new stores and due to its constant progress for the growth of powerful brands in Asian markets. The profits in 2010/2011 have drastically increased by 24% with margin strengthening of 6.1%. The sales growth in the Asian Markets in the year 2010/2011 was 23.4%. This substantial growth was mainly due to the investments that were made during the recession period and are paying off as the economies of these nations are improving. Due to the unseasonably warm temperature in the Northern Asia, the LFL sales of Tesco have been 4.3% which is a little lower than 5% in second quarter. It has been able to grow its business by expanding its club card and other retail business in these nations. Amongst these countries, South Korea has turned out to be the most productive, with an organic sales growth of 23.3%, like for like sales of 3.2% and profits up 50.9%. China is considered as epoch-making opportunity for future. The performance of Tesco in other countries like Thailand, Malaysia and India has also been fairly good as the sales have increased in these countries in spite of the political uncertainty and sharp recession in 2009. Asian markets will continue to be key focus for the international expansion of Tesco as they offer a significant long term opportunity. Tesco plans to open new space of 4.9 m sq ft (excluding shopping malls) by next year and build 80 shopping malls by the end of 2015. While theJapan quake might suspend the companys expansion in Japan market which Tesco just entered 4 years ago and counts 5% of its Asian sales in 2010. Porters Five Forces Industry Competition Position Average Score: 3+ Threat of New Entrants 3+ High level of entry in retailing industry: although easy for independent retailers, quite difficult for big chain stores. Abundant capital needed for human resources and storage costs; long time devoted to establishing brand and relationship with suppliers. Power of Suppliers 2- Little power for retailing industry: presence of rich substitutes and suppliers; but suppliers may gain powers during special periods due to unexpected bad weather or new launching government policies. Power of buyers 2+ Although customers bargain power in the store is low, they can easily change among retailers to without any switch costs. The customer loyalty is low. The high price sensitive drives customers to seek for promotions and price reductions. Availability of Substitutes 4+ What one store offers you will likely find at another store. Retailers offering products that are unique have a distinct or absolute advantage over their competitors. Competitive of Rivalry 4+ Competition among the main players in retail industry is aggressive and rational. Promotional activity and new space expansion are growing at a historical rate to gain more market share. But the possibility of an irrational price war is low. *Scoring range 1-5 (high score is good) Plus = getting better; Minus = getting worse* SWOT A We expect the sales growth rate to go up based on the assumption that the worlds economy will recover in the near future, and the VAT and food price inflation will keep around current level. Cost of goods sold as a % of sales is decreasing during the last five years, so we estimate that the trend will continue in the future. On the other hand, Tesco provides more price reduction and promotion now, especially when the competition with Asda in terms of price is going on, so the decrease of cost of good sold rate will not be too large. Depreciation to sales is around 2% in past years. Since the expansion of the company is pushed forward in the US and Asian market, the fixed assets will grow up as well. We forecast the depreciation will go up with the expansion, too. And in 2010 year, some properties bought in the US were idle since the company suspended its expansion in the US market, so the depreciation to sales in 2010 will be higher than usual. Because selling is essential to retail industry and promotion reached in a historical high level as Wall Street Journal reported, we estimate SGA expense will increase as a percentage of sales. We forecast that the EBIT to sales will increase very slowly because of the growing depreciation cost and SGA expense. Therefore, the Net Margin may stay steady or go down marginally based on the increased interest expanse from the higher leverage level and the higher tax. The company expanded its assets significantly in 2008/09 and then suspended the expansion in 2009/10, especially in terms of current assets. According to the recent news, Tesco pushes further into China and US market this year, therefore, we expect the amount of assets will be enlarged. And non-current assets grow as a percentage of total assets. Working capital is calculated by current assets minus current liabilities. The change of working capital in future is at the historical average rate of 6.48%. Standard Ratios Residual Income Model We employ residual income model (RI) to value Tesco. With residual income model, the value of equity is forecasted to be approximately GBP 46 billion with the price target of GBP 5.77. The cost of equity is used in the model rather than the group WACC since we base on the net income. The cost of equity is derived from assessing the groups exposure by running the regression to obtain the groups beta. FTSE all share is used as a market proxy and US 3-month T-Bill yield is taken as risk-free rate in the regression. Our estimation of the groups cost of equity currently is 11.64%. The growth of income is assumed to be constant over the long period at 9.5%. However, the sensitivity analysis is provided for different percentages of cost of equity and growth rates. Discounted Cash Flow Model Using DCF model, we assume a terminal growth rate at 8% and cost of equity at 11.64%. Net debt will decrease based on Tescos current strategy to adjust its leverage, while net non-current assets will rapidly grow because of the international expansion strategy. Multiples Valuation Model There we use P/E as the multiple to estimate the prices of Tesco and its four peers. The expected earnings are obtained from Thomson One Banker. Expected earnings, expected value and number of shares outstanding are presented in millions. The expected value is calculated by timing peer average P/E with expected earnings

Total Quality Management Techniques

Total Quality Management Techniques Total quality management (TQM) principles and techniques are now a days well accepted part of almost every managers tool kit (Dow et al., 1999). According to Powell (1995), most large firms have adopted TQM in some form, and official quality awards are a badge of honour whether a company is operating in Japan, the USA, Europe, or Australia. Implementing TQM is a major organizational change that requires a transformation in the organizations culture, processes, strategic priorities, and beliefs, among others. Quality: Different people have different definitions of quality but they all have the same central theme. According to (Text book), Quality is consistent conformance to customers expectations. Some refer to quality as fitness for use and other calls it as conformance of requirement. According to American Society for Quality, Quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bears on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs. However, quality doesnt have a single perspective and is different for the customers of any product and service and for the producers of that good or service. In the Operations view, targeting quality is to undertake operations to produce outcomes which are in line with the specifications defined through processes that are designed and controlled to maintain consistency in the specified production and above all, that the Customers Expectations are met through the produced good or service. In customers view, quality has no single definition for all customers. It depends on how they perceive it. Hence, quality is referred to as customers perception and expectation about different values of a single product or service. Following are the different dimensions of any product or service: Performance Main characteristics of a product/service Special Features Extra characteristics Conformance How well a product/service corresponds to the customers expectation Reliability Consistency of performance Durability Useful life of a product/service Perceived Quality Indirect evaluation of quality (e.g. reputation) After Sales Service Handling of complaints and requests for information THE DIMENSIONS OF QUALITY (Stevenson, 1999) The Quality Costs The cost of quality is a balance of the cost of assurance of quality against the costs associated with shortcomings resulting in the lack of quality. An attempt to minimize the total quality costs is mere balancing of the four components of quality cost: prevention: incurred to prevent quality problems, appraisal: associated with controlling quality to check whether problems have occurred or not, internal failures: associated with errors dealt with inside of operations and external failures: associated with errors or problems going out of the operation to a customer.(Text Book) The variations within the individual quality cost categories are secondary in importance compared to their combined effect on the overall total quality cost. The quality cost concept is an effective tool that can be used to express the value of the quality aspects of the operation in terms of money so that monitoring and analysis of investments and savings in that area can be readily evaluated using the language of business: money. (George P. Laszlo) Prevention is the important influence more than inspection, according to a rule of thumb, for every dollar spent in prevention; a company can save $10 in failure and appraisal costs. (Chase, Aquilano and Jacobs, 1998) Consequences of Poor Quality Quality has been recognised as the key ingredient for success in business and has been focused upon intensely so as to match the pace of the contemporary market growth and the subsequent competition in it. Production of good or service with the required quality is possible only through properly managed production process, whose vital part is to ensure the satisfactory quality assurance. However, in case this vital part fails to contribute its role effectively, processes produce outcomes with poor quality. Poor quality products may disappoint the buyer and result in the customer migration. Buying a product and finding it below expectations will make buyer not to buy the same product again. In fact, the chances that the buyer will buy any other product from the company are also low. Poor quality affects the overall costs associated with that product. The failure cost increases as poor quality product is repaired, replaced or made new. The cost associated with the reimbursements and waste materials increases the overall variable production costs and hence profit margins and contribution. As a consequence of the cost increase, companies alter the price levels. ( Begg Ward) However, spending enough prevention cost at first place, the economic turbulence in the market can be avoided. More than all, poor quality damages the image and reputation of the company among the customer base. The famous example of Mercedes, launching A-class car without noticing its faulty design, showed the sensitivity of the relation between reputation of a company with the quality of its products. ( Topfer,1997) As the repairs or rectification of any faulty product demands for more efforts, the overall productivity of the firm is also affected by the poor quality outcomes. Also, the Consumer and Product Safety Act of 1972 makes firms liable for damages caused by the products or services, which do not fulfil the standards set and enforced by the act. (Heizer and Render, 2000) What is TQM? The concept of TQM (Total Quality Management) is generally understood, and often also described, as some form of management philosophy based in a number of core values, such as customer focus, continuous improvement, process orientation, everybodys commitment, fast response, result orientation and learn from others. (Ulrika Hellsten and Bengt Klefsjo, emerald). All these core values collectively are nothing but quality improvement. Hence, TQM is best thought of as a philosophy of how to approach the organization of quality improvement. (Text Book) TQM philosophy stresses the Total of TQM. Putting quality or improvement at the heart of everything and including all activities within an operation, TQM aims at participation of all the members in organization targeting long-run success through customer satisfaction, and benefits to all members of the organization and to society. TQM and the Quality Gurus Although the quality gurus seem to be recommending different solutions to bringing about improvement, they are all talking the same language but they use different dialects.(Text book). Each Guru stressed a different set of issues, which catalysed the transition from TQM concept to operations improvement. It is believed that Japanese were the first to introduce the concept and implemented it on a wide scale and subsequently popularized the term Total Quality Management. Few of the popular contributors and their philosophies about TQM are briefly described. A. Feigenbaum stressed on the integration of quality development, quality maintenance and quality improvement efforts of the various groups in an organization so as to enable production and service at the most economical levels which allow for full customer satisfaction.( Text book) W.E.Demings basic philosophy is that quality and productivity increase as process variability (the unpredictability of the process) decreases. In his 14 points for quality improvement, he emphasizes the need for statistical control methods, participation, education, openness and purposeful improvement.(Text book) J.M. Juran was concerned about management responsibility for quality and he focussed on user based approach in defining the specifications of the products. TQM as an extension of previous practice. Quality is explained with a different perspective in contemporary organizations in comparison to traditional organizations. The new perspective suggests that from narrow, manufacturing-based discipline, quality has transited to a corporate emphasis and is applicable to each business function and every employee with broader implications for management. The evolution of quality management has reached a point where quality is being viewed as a basis for competition. Total quality management can be viewed as a natural extension of earlier approaches to quality Management. Earlier quality was achieved by inspection and screening out defects before they were noticed by customers. The quality control (QC) concept introduced the concept of treating the quality problems. Quality assurance (QA) widened the responsibility for quality to include functions other than direct operations and made use of statistical quality techniques. TQM added few more factors or themes into it. The first and the key element of TQM is that organizations should see the product or its value and quality from customers point of view in a process of setting its specifications, designing and actual production. In these days, rapidly changing trends, technologies and preferences are collectively making the process of realizing customers expectations a critical, time taking and expensive process for contemporary organizations. Another powerful aspect of TQM is the concept of Internal and External customers which suggests the inclusion of all the parts of organization. Delivering the goods and services with a level of quality within the organization considering everyone as customer ensures the delivery of the final product to the external customer to be of required level of expectations and quality. Several companies are adopting the internal customer concept in their operations. Hewlett-Packard, the information systems company, was one of the first to make a success of the internal-customer concept in its operations. (Text Book) The concept of never ending improvement makes TQM an even better tool for improvement. The reputation and business of any company runs on quality of its product. However, with increasing pace of advancement and research, one level of quality doesnt reflect the same value to customers in very short time. So, implementing continuous improvement concept keeps the organization in the competition. Quality programs like zero-defects, which aims at performing right at the first time, and six sigma, which is intended to keep the error rate of about 3 defectives per million units, are also used to describe the continuous improvement efforts. (Stevenson, 1996 Blackboard) TQM Cost Model Quality Systems and Procedures Very often people are prevented from making improvements by the organizations systems and procedures. Indeed, there is a belief that direct operators can correct, at the most, only 15 per cent of quality problems; the other 85 per cent are managements responsibility because they are due to the system or the lack of one. (Text Book) This calls for a properly defined Quality management system which should cover all facets of the organizations operations. ISO 9000 series is a set of worldwide standards that draws the common requirements for quality management systems for all organization and provides a framework for quality assurance. The registration process involves a third party evaluation and regular audits to ensure the system doesnt deteriorate. (Text Book). ISO 9000 registration is an effective element for organizations to have an edge over those which doesnt hold the registration. Customers, these days, are very well aware of these standards and gain confidence, in terms of assured quality, in any company if it is ISO 9000 recommended. Surely, organizations and customers, both are benefitted. However, on the other hand, those contemporary organizations which still havent achieved the ISO 9000 have to somehow, undertake the time and cost consuming implementation of these set of quality measures to sustain in the highly competitive era. Implementation of TQM While implementing TQM, organizations should not forget that firms will have different needs and thus TQM must be specially customised to the circumstances of the organization. (Slack, Chambers and Johnston; 2001). Also, TQM involves all aspects of the firm and unless its significance is fully understood by everybody, its implementation will fail. (N.N., 2000b Blackboard). The successful implementation of TQM should focus on following factors. Factor 1: Top management commitment: The degree of visibility and support that management takes in implementing a total quality environment is critical to the success of TQM implementation (Deming, 1982; Juran and Gryna 1980). Management should plan to reduce traditionally structured operational levels and unnecessary positions. For example, spot checking can be implemented instead of hiring a supervisor for this job. Simplifying the organization will lead to the establishment of an infrastructure of integrated business functions participating as a team and supporting the strategic vision of the company. (Jaideep Motwani) Factor 2: Quality measurement and benchmarking: Most authors endorse a zero defect and a do it right the first time attitude towards the quality program. Measurement techniques should include monitoring supplier quality levels, utilizing SPC (Statistical Process Control) to reduce process variability, and calculating the cost of quality (Ahire et al., 1996; Powell, 1995; Hardie, 1998). Factor 3: Process management: This factor emphasizes adding value to processes, increasing quality levels, and raising productivity per employee. The concept of Continuous improvement discussed earlier, has to be implemented for assurance. The other tactics can be reducing the operator material handling duties, achieving a compact process flow or implementation of quality circles. Factor 4: Product design: The study of quality performance commence from the product design stage, when everything is in flux. A range of possibilities exist at this stage about the material to be used, specifications, vendors etc. Hence, at this critical point, customers expectations should be clear. Factor 5: Employee training: Employees should be trained and oriented to the overall gaols of the company, the commitments to successfully utilizing the TQM methodology and to be an effective team member. There are techniques for staff to learn as well, of course, but the purpose of the techniques is solely to work towards the basic objective the elimination of errors. (Text Book) Factor 7: Customer involvement and satisfaction: When considering customers, internal and external customers are addressed. Internal customers should undertake timely and dependable deliveries, continuously improve and self-implement solutions. An external customer service program should include providing customers with timely information and quick responsiveness to complaints, and maintaining a corporate goal to reduce the quantity of questions or complaints while recognizing all successful efforts by employees in providing outstanding service (Kasul and Motwani, 1995b). Reasons of TQM failure: Organizations often do not understand the depth of implementing TQM. The weak commitment results in ineffective value setting in the organization. A blind pursuit of TQM, which doesnt integrate quality into strategy, will draw an organisations attention away from the real important issues like customer focus and never ending improvement and thus TQM, considered a short-term investment, will certainly fail. (Reid and Sanders, 2002 and Stevenson, 1999). At the same time, expecting a radical change or a quick fix by mere implementing it results in the failures. Managers take issues for granted after implementing TQM; creating an absence of good decision making skills which leads to the TQM failures. Another reason is the ambiguity in the roles for making change, undertaking quality measures and eliminating errors in an organisation after implementing TQM. Top management may believe that identification and eliminations of errors has to be processed at operations level, however, operation workers may not take extra responsibility and can develop a perception that improvement measures are burdening them which can lead to lack in belief and commitment and eventual failure. Lack Employees Commitment As discussed earlier, training is an important part of the TQM implementation process. Training the employees doesnt only points to the operations training but also the attitude training as well. Absence or lack of employee training can be a reason of failure. TQM demands for the complete awareness and participation at every level of the organization.(Text Book) Unless, employees develop a commitment level at which they perceive organizational goals as their own, they cannot work to their full potential. However, spending adequate amount on conducting trainings can be a key for the desired outcome. Lack of organizations communication system and function is also a cause for the failure of TQM in an organization. The varied information regarding TQM as a result of lack of co-ordination between different departments may not satisfy the questions of workforce and hence create a loss of ideas which may have developed with proper information in the flow. Absence of proper review technique to check the effectiveness of the quality system is a major cause for failure. Organizations fail to find the cause for defects in products or procedures on implementation of TQM. It may be due to the wrong techniques being used to review or ineffective business process adopted.

The School of Athens Essay -- essays research papers fc

Biography of Raphael â€Å"While we may term other works paintings, those of Raphael are living things; the flesh palpitates, the breath comes and goes, every organ lives, life pulsates everywhere.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   -- Vasari Raphael was born Raffaello Santi or Raffaello Sanzio in Urbino on April 6, 1483, and received his early training in art from his father, the painter Giovanni Santi. In 1499 he went to Perugia, in Umbria, and became a student and assistant of the painter Perugino. Raphael imitated his master closely; their paintings of this period are executed in styles so similar that art historians have found it difficult to determine which were painted by Raphael. In 1504 Raphael moved to Florence, where he studied the work of such established painters of the time as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, learning their methods of representing the play of light and shade, anatomy, and dramatic action. In 1508 Raphael was called to Rome by Pope Julius II and commissioned to execute frescoes in four small stanze, or rooms, of the Vatican Palace. The second Vatican chamber, the Stanza d'Eliodoro, painted with the aid of Raphael's assistants, contains scenes representing the triumph of the Roman Catholic church over its enemies. After the death of Pope Julius II in 1513, and the accession of Leo X, Raphael's influence and responsibilities increased. He was made chief architect of Saint Peter's Basilica in 1514, and a year later was appointed director of all the excavations of antiquities in and near Rome. Raphael died in Rome on his 37th birthday, April 6, 1520. School of Athens Brief History: Raphael painted the School of Athens from-1510 – 1512. He was commissioned by pope Julius II, with the recommendation of Donato Bramante, the pope’s architect, to work in the Vatican. His first work the School of Athens was loved so much by the pope that he commissioned Raphael to paint the entire papal suite. In the School of Athens, philosophers and intellects from different time periods are arranged as students in a school or academy where everyone is learning off each other. The Stanza della Segnatura was to be Julius’ library which would house a small collection of books intended for his personal use. The walls of the first ... ...Inc., Publishers  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Yale University Press New York, 1967  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  New Haven & London, 1983 â€Å"The Vatican†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Art in Renaissance Italy† Daley, John  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paoletti, John T. and Radke, Gary M. The Metropolitan Museum of Art  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers New York, 1975  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  New York, 1997

Compensation Act 2006 Essay -- Negligence

Negligence as a tort is defined as a breach of a legal duty to take care which results in damage to the claimant. It has been established that in order to raise liability and succeed in negligence claim, the claimant must show that the defendant owes him a duty of care, that this duty has been breached, and that he suffered damage or loss which is within the scope of the duty. However, the question of whether a breach of a duty of care has occurred, involves two elements: how much care is required to be taken (in other words; the standard of care) and whether that care has been taken. It is worth mentioning that the standard of care in negligence is objective , as held in Nettleship v Watson , in which the conduct of the defendant was examined. The situation, however, was not that clear. Under Caparo test , the courts will take into account in determining duty of care; foreseeability of harm, proximity, and whether imposing a duty would be fair, just, and reasonable. Relatively, it can be said that s.1 of the Compensation Acts 2006, revolves around similar principles of those mentioned in Caparo test. In fact, the courts are invited under section 1 (but not obliged) to take into account the impact of decisions they make on standard of care. Furthermore, in deciding whether the defendant have taken necessary steps to meet the standard of care, the courts are invited to examine whether those steps would prevent desirable activities from taking place, and discourage people from undertaking functions in connection with the activity. The question arises here, however, on whether Judges had such discretion before the Act while deciding on standard of care. The answer lies in the explanatory notes of the Act, which declare... ...ckman [1990] 2 AC Miller v. Jackson [1977] QB 966, CA Robinson v Post Office [1974] 1 WLR 1176 Overseas Tankship (UK) Ltd v Miller Steamship Co Pty, The Wagon Mound (No 2 ) [1967] 1 AC 617 Nettleship v Weston [1971] 2 QB McHale v Watson [1966] CLR 199 Bolton v. Stone [1951] AC 850, HL Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 Website End compensation culture – Blair accessed 7th January 2011 Compensation culture accessed 7th January 2011 (Claire Mckenney), ‘Questioning the claims culture’ (2004) accessed 7th January 2011 Compensation Act 2006 Explanatory Notes accessed 7th January 2011

Diagram of Generic Academic Performance Monitoring System Essay

Figure 2.0: Context Diagram of Generic Academic Performance Monitoring System The figure 2.0 represents the two (2) users of the Generic Academic Performance Monitoring System namely the Administrator and the Professor. The Administrator entity shows the capability to access the system; manage account by modifying account’s profile; managing member’s account such as creating new user profile and updating user profile; importing student list; creation of grade criteria; generating students grade report and updating website contents. The Professor entity shows the capability on accessing the system; managing account profile; importing student list; defining grade template for grading computation and generating student’s grade. Figure 3.0: First Entry Level Data Flow Diagram of Administrator’s Capabilities The figure 3.0 represents the First Entry Level Data Flow Diagram of the Administrator upon successfully logging-in into the Generic Academic Performance Monitoring System. He/she has the capabilities to manage modules such as handling member’s account, importing students list, creation of grade criteria, grade computation and updating website contents Figure 3.1: Second Entry Level Data Flow Diagram on Managing Account for Administrator The figure 3.1 shows the Second Entry Level Data Flow Diagram of the Administrator on managing members account wherein he/she has the capability to create account’s profile for new professor or associate. He/she also capable on updating existing member account. Figure 3.2: Second Entry Level Data Flow Diagram on Import Student List, Create Criteria, Grading and Website Modules for Administrator Figure 3.2 shows the continuation of the Second Entry Level Data Flow Diagram of the Administrator. Upon successfully accessing the system, he/she has the capability to import students list and create criteria template to be use for the student’s grade computations. The Administrator also has the  capibility to change or update website contents from client’s discretion. Figure 4.0: First Entry Level Data Flow Diagram for Professor’s Capabilities In the Figure 4.0 shown above, it represents the First Entry Level Data Flow Diagram of Professor in the Generic Academic Performance Monitoring System. Same with the Administrator user, the Professor also have the capabilities to update own account profile, import student lists and generate student’s grade summary. Figure 4.1: Second Entry Level Data Flow Diagram on Managing Account, Import Student Lists and Compute Grade Modules for Professor Figure 4.1 shown above presents the Second Entry Level Data Flow Diagram of the Professor upon successfully logging-in into the system. Same with the Administrator user, the Professor is also capable on modifying and updating account profile; importing student list; defining grade criteria template and generate grade summary of students.

Solving Proportions

A comparison of two numbers is referred to as a ratio, similar to fractions that can be reduced to lowest terms and then converted into a ratio of integers. Ratios allow one to compare sizes of two quantities and unit measurements. Any statement expressing the equality of two ratios is known as a proportion, which is used in numerous formulas in today’s real world settings and applications. Using proportions is an effective way to find solutions by using the extreme means property or cross-multiplying. Extreme means property is simply the end result of the product of the extremes equaling the products of the means.Cross-multiplying is a short cut in proportions providing it is a faster way to solutions rather than multiplying each side of the rational expression equation by the LCD. Applications of rational expressions involving formulas include finding the equation of a line, distance, rate, time, uniform motion, and work problems. Proportions are used on a daily basis withou t even one realizing it by comparing measurements, unit pricing, driving distances, and calculating populations and wildlife on a daily basis to find a solution.For example, I will be using the extreme means property to estimate bear population in Keweenaw Peninsula. I was asked to solve problem #56, on page 437 of Elementary and intermediate algebra, (Dugopolski, M. , 2012) which states, that conservationists captured, tagged, and released 50 bears. Over a one-year period, a random sample of 100 bears included only 2 tagged bears in Keweenaw Peninsula. To calculate the proportion, it will allow me to expect the ratio of bears that were originally tagged to the whole population is equal to the ratio of the returning bears totaling 100 but only 2 tagged bears to the size of the sample.The variable â€Å"b† for bears is applied, then followed by cross-multiplying the extremes and means to the proper set up of the proportion to find the solution. The two ratios are as follows: 5 0/b = the originally tagged bears to the whole population and 2/100 = the recaptured bears to the sample size. The means are 2 and b and the extremes are 50 and 100. 50 = 2 b 100Correct setup of proportion. 5,000 = 2b cross multiply the means (2*b) and the extremes (50*100) 2 2followed by division of 2. 2,500 Answer after division was carried out.x = 2, 500 The estimated number of bears in Keweenaw Peninsula. Continuing onto the second assignment involving proportions, the following equation must be solved for y. Since there are single fractions (also referred to as ratios) on both sides of the equation, the extreme means property will be used again in this proportion. y – 1 = -3 x + 3 4Written as an equation; solving for y. 4(y – 1) = -3x(x + 3)Cross multiplying was done. 4y – 1 + 4 = -3x +3 +3Distribute 4 on left side and 3 on the right side. y = -3x -3 + 1 Add 1 to both sides.4y = 2x -5Last step, 4 is divided on both sides. 4 4 y = -3 4 Linear equation in the form of y = mx + b and with a slope of -3/4. Taking notice that the slope of -3/4, is the same number as the number on the right hand side of the previous equation. I must continue trying another method but still use the extreme means property and try another method to see if I get a different solution. This may be an extraneous solution that I may come upon considering if the solution does not satisfy the rational expression.y – 1 = -3O riginal equation. x – 3 4 y – 1 = -3 Distribute (x-3) on both sides and multiply. x – 3 4 (x – 3)Cancel out common factors which eliminates denominator on left. y – 1 + 1 = -3x – 3 +1 To isolate y, 1 is added to both sides. Cancel common factors. y = -3 x -1 4Equation complete and simplified. For this equation, I could have multiplied the LCD to both sides, but I found the extreme means property was an efficient shortcut. Cross- multiplying allowed me to eliminate the fractions and have the same endi ng result.We can now consider this an extraneous solution because the number showing as the solution but causes zero (0) in the denominator. As rational expressions can be tricky when there is a variable involved in the denominator so caution must be adhered. The use of proportions is everyday life and real world settings and applications are used without one even realizing it. While proportions can determine a solution whether it be driving distance, estimated population count, unit measuring, gas mileage, or to estimate an average time for a job to be completed, it is a necessary tool that is used in many ways.The ratios that build the proportion can be easily solved by cross- multiplying the extremes and means in a fast and effective way. The wildlife can be assured that their tags will be calculated with an accurate solution for any conservationist inquiring about a certain species. So the next time you find yourself comparing two quantities, deciding the average time for a spec ific job, or determining how many miles you can go on a half of tank of gas on your next road trip, remember you are actually calculating proportions!

Mobs, Mobs, Mobs Essay

Mob mentality is a term used to describe a unique behavioral characteristic that develops when people are in a large group. It is often viewed as a negative sense but it can also be a positive sense. When people in our society today hear the word â€Å"mob† they think of an aggressive chaotic group of people fight or doing something with little to no reason. The mobs we have today has the same effect of what people think but it has become thoroughly worse. The factors of mob mentality leaves our society dumbfounded when it acts with alienation and animosity controlling us like a plague. The aspects of mob mentality comes in numbers which leaves us drowning not knowing what and how to react. Two main aspects that play a role in mobs are the overpowering anonymity that exists within a mob and the allotment of responsibility of the group’s behavior. These factors sometimes conceive a person’s belief that they can act a certain way within the group and not have the same consequence as what he or she would of faced if they did it on their own. For instance, if a person is in a mob that is causing havoc in a building, that person might believe that there would be less of a chance that they would get caught if they were alone, because it would be difficult for authorities to identify every person who was involved. They would also feel less guilt because of the many who did the same. Another factor in mob mentality is the greater sense of confusion or panic that would abrupt in a large riot. A perfect example is shown in most disastrous movies like 2012 or I Am Legend when large groups of people suddenly begin running in one direction. Although many people might not know why this would be happening, they see them and abruptly without warning begin running in that direction too. In severe events, the urge to run and panic spreads through everyone’s mind like a pandemic creating some sort of crowd delirium. Even for something that isn’t as chaotic like Black Friday when people see that a 60†³ HD LCD Samsung TV for sale at the price of $400, once they’re released its monkey see monkey do, some guy runs and the rest follows. Everyone has that moment when one of these events happened, threes also the voice in your head leaching adrenaline through your body telling  you run run run! Mob mentality plays a role in plays and concerts that were the â€Å"best.† Three people would stand up applauding and screaming like mad men. Then maybe a few others would join them. Some would look around uncomfortably , scanning the crowd, deciding if it was alright to start clapping. Our brains are wired to follow the crowd which afflicts damage to our society greatly and creating indecisive entities in everyone’s heads. There is a little more insight to show why people will react in ways that rebel against their regular morals and beliefs. â€Å"When people are part of a group they can deindividuate, (lose their self awareness and sense of individuality), and get caught up in the emotional excitement and indulge in behaviors they would not engage in alone† (Page 1). They may not feel that they are the ones responsible for their act of violence as they continue to do so as â€Å"the group’s†. The larger the mob, the more our society can lose self awareness as a whole or one’s self.