What Happened in Enron Essay Example

What Happened in Enron Paper What happened In Enron and Arthur Andersen? United States seventh largest company Enron, with the slogan Ask Why was admired for Its innovation, but it all ended up In bankruptcy and criminal matters. The company filed for bankruptcy in December 2001. This was one of the worlds biggest corporate scandals In history. Aquas seventh largest firm had In over sixteen years increased its assets from 10 billion to 70 billion US. Dollars, and was by the stock market analysts from Wall Street hailed as the new economy model. Five years in a row, readers of Fortune magazine appointed Enron as The most innovative company in America. The companys director and founder (in 1985) was Kenneth Lay, who was the future business Idol. In his holidays, he played golf with former President Clinton while he made Enron the largest contributor to George W. Bushs career as Texas governor, and not least as U. S. President. As a former employee of the now defunct U. S. Deader energy commission, Acting Deputy Minister of Energy compared the Interior and economist for the Pentagon during the Vietnam War had Lay conditions for developing Its business In light of a lattice concept: aggressive deregulation, the removal of all regulatory and legal obstacles for appropriation and monopoly profits. Enron was dealing with natural gas. As oil prices fell during the ass, and natural gas (which had flourished in the wake of the oil crisis) was again threatened by falling oil prices, Lay found out that deregulation was the answer. We will write a custom essay sample on What Happened in Enron specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on What Happened in Enron specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on What Happened in Enron specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Large customers would no longer be bound by agreements with local, often public energy facilities, but could buy directly from producers, which in turn should have access to the pipe and conduit systems. Public monopolies were broken. Lay went directly to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FARCE) and got the rules repealed. The result was more volatile energy prices. Now, Lay got his most innovative idea: to make natural gas and energy commodities in line with all other mass production. Natural gas was now controlled by electricity supply and the electricity market was deregulated to a large wholesale market. Lay went directly to the U. S. Congress, and Congress changed the rules. In 1994 Enron began trading with electricity next to the natural gas, where It became the largest supplier in the U. S. And in England. In 1997 it was also Americas largest electricity trading, as did the rear of public electricity companies, as the federal SPA. The U. S. Energy deregulation model became a global model. In country after country it was being Introduced. In 2001 , ten company only Ana 24 cays to go Dandruff Ana turned out to consist AT hot air. Investors lost everything. 20,000 employees lost their Jobs, health insurance and retirement savings, while managers such as Ken Lay and Jeffrey Killing walked out with nearly one billion U. S. Dollars. The senior people in the company had earned nearly 1 billion U. S. Dollars from the sale of company shares over the last two years. The founder and leader of the firm, Kenneth Lay, earned 123 million U. S. Lars in 2000 and 25 million in 2001 and then sold his Enron shares before the collapse and had a great profit out of it. At the same time he urged employees to buy shares, which would soon prove to be worthless, while he told them third quarter looks to be super, and predicted that its value would increase by 800% or more in Over the next decade. Employees would not touch the shares they had in the company, and many whose retirement savings we re ever $ 1 million worth in August 2001, were left with a life savings of only $ 4000 at Christmas 2,001 the. Many companies are working hard to develop a corporate culture and employee loyalty. This was obviously not the case with Enron. Thousands of workers ended up with an empty bank account and an uncertain future, this was the only reward for believing that they were part of a team. It is these experiences that will clearly show that the working class and the ruling class do not have common interests, no matter what the capitalists say otherwise! Unfortunately, the loss of Jobs in Enron will not be he last in the current economic crisis. Many other traditional companies such as Ford and Boeing have already announced major layoffs. Thats life under a system that puts profits before people. Enrons biggest mistake was their pride. In addition arrogance, intolerance and greed. People were blinded by greed. They could not see the dangers, said the former staff lawyer, Amanda Martin. Arrogance, intolerance and greed does not necessarily lead to fraud and embezzlement. But it did with Enrons management, and this lack of morality and common decency filtered down through the organization. The story of Enron started in 1985 in the U. S. IL capital, Houston, as director Kenneth Lay leaves the local Houston Natural Gas merged with a Nebraska-based company International North in the new company Enron to include to do business with 60,000 kilometers of natural gas pipelines in the U. S.. In record time, Enron is with wealth of buying U. S. Largest supplier of natural gas and power and from its impassions headquarters in a skyscra per in Houston a model around the world for how we should privative energy. Quarter after quarter, Enron comes with impressive cords, and the already gilded shareholders can only smile when the IT bubble burst in 2000. They are in tomorrows safest money machine But there are already starting to get cracks in the glass buildings glistening facade. T Tanat Enron should sell bandwidth in line with other groceries. Enron entered into a collaboration with video rental company Blockbuster to supply video on demand. The stock exchange cheered, and Enrons price rose 34 percent in two days. The problem was that the technology was never developed, and the agreement fell to the floor after a few months. But with the mark-to-market principle, one could record 53 million U. S. Dollars on a contract that had not brought a crown. The same was true for many of Enrons other activities around the world. Most gave either no profits or even losses, but the presumed earnings were already booked. And Enrons price rose and rose. As it turns out not to be enough, in 1999, Kenneth Lay gives COOP Fast authorization, at its own expense, with a stripe of Americas most respected financial houses to create a pair of funds. The task is to do business with Enron, so the turnover and the counting earnings can be kept up, and Fast also creates yet more sinister foundations and companies, where he parked Enrons worst deals. There is rejoicing at management of Enron, as power-hungry California the same year opened a vigorous appropriation of its energy market. It offers new opportunities for creative outlets, because Enron peoples better than the officials are able to maneuver at the intricate set of rules. Enron also begins massive online trading speculation in future energy prices to be sold free bandwidth on the internet and here is even a market for speculation in the weather. One of the few areas where Enron really made any money was in California. In 1997, Enron acquired Portland General, and gained access to Californians deregulated electricity market. The recipe for enormous profit was simple. The price of a commodity rises if demand exceeds supply. Enron reduced supply of electricity. This made the price of electricity rise, some days with 3-400 percent. The result of this attempt at a free energy market was that California was hit by power cut in the middle of winter, when electricity demand is lowest. Energy crisis cost the California taxpayers 30 billion dollars, while the electricity cuts earned two billion U. S. Dollars to Enron. But even this golden egg in length could not save Enron. Stock market analysts on Wall Street believed in everything Enron executives told them about Enrons huge profits now and in the future, until the reporter Bethink McLean in an article in Fortune in March 2001 questioned Enrons economic status with the simple question that no one could really answer How does Enron make money? Less than a year after, the house of cards fell together and pulled Americas oldest counting Tell Arthur Andersen Ana Its employees In ten Tall. President Bush said he would be entrepreneurial president. It surely was, but the company was Enron. He created the same alternate reality, the same bubble of hot air. But ultimately dotted the real reality bubble. As commentator Harold Emerson put it: When historians at a time, looking back at the Bush administration, it will give them headaches trying to figure out how a president could do so consistently fail out of so many cases especially considering that many of the cases was his own initiative. Ironically, Enron had the slogan Ask Why, but it did not seem serious until February 2001 when a Journalist at the business magazine Fortune, Bethink McLean, full of wonder analyzed where the glossy annual reports information on Enrons alleged revenue came from. The article was met with attempts at ridicule from Enron, but suddenly a woolly explanation of the company was released, and then finally began a barrage of questions. In October, Enron submitted an accounting of one billion deficit, and in November the company added that there had been an accounting fraud for billions in five years t took only 24 days before the bankruptcy was a fact. There was wealth of reports on how senior management staff in the last few months had sold Enron shares for astronomical sums to avoid personal losses. In the meanwhile, they recommended others to buy. So bankruptcy was also a criminal, and dozens of people began to talk about how they had long wondered what they really even contributed to, but not dared to ask why, because they had been afraid of the answers. In 2004, Fast, who had cooperated with the authorities on the investigation of the case, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and a fine of 140 million. R The others were Lay and Killing, who both declared their innocence to the very end, convicted of fraud. What happened in Arthur Andersen? Auditing firm Arthur Andersen was sued and convicted in 2002 for destruction of evidence concerning the fraud-hit energy firm Enron. Andersen shredded Enron documents, and prosecutors said it was to hide complicity in fraud. Arthur Andersen defended themselves by saying that the documents were irrelevant material of a type which were routinely destroyed. The head of Andersens Enron team, David Duncan, pleaded guilty and cooperated let attenuators In ten case galls t Nils 010 Tell. U. S. Supreme Court this week cited with regard to the Jury not sufficiently had taken a position on whether the document was scrapping with criminal intent. Andersen was Enrons auditor general, while other firms revised parts of the company. Among other things, was not Andersen auditor on the so-called partnerships that Enron used to hide its debt and how much of the fraud took place. When the Arthur Andersen fraud was revealed, it led to the break-up of the firm and to the following assessment by the Powers Committee: The evidence available to us suggests that Andersen did not fulfill its professional responsibilities in connection with its audits of Enrons financial statements, or its obligation to bring to the attention of Enrons Board (or the Audit and Compliance Committee) concerns about Enrons internal contracts over the related-party transactions. The deception was initially made possible by a grip that by the rest of the financial world was regarded as brilliant. Enron was permitted to use the accounting principle of mark-to-market, which means you can book future profits on the same day a trade s concluded, regardless of how little there since comes in. Externally, Enrons profits could then be what Enron said it was. It gave great opportunities for manipulation of accounts. Lessons from the rise and fall of Arthur Andersen and Enron Even if many have tried, capitalism is not so easy to keep under control. The Enron collapse is not the only scandal we have seen so far in capitalism and it is most likely not be the last one. Enron has given $1. 9 million to the national political parties, more than three quarters of it to the Republicans. It has spent additional millions on political antedates, so that two-thirds of our national legislators have benefited from Enron largesse to their campaigns. These same millions have given Enron access to the most respected politicians in America. Kenneth Lay had private meetings with Cheney to tell him what the nations energy policy should be. He submitted a list of names of who should be appointed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. This is Just one of the lobbying example of many. We must take the big money influence out of politics. We also have the investors, who, like many other investors, were too mesmerisms by he promise of free money to actually examine Enrons cash flow statements before handing over their hard-earned cash. The stock market has a way of giving investors exactly want teeny deserve, anon when get-roll-quickly Investors Tallow ten palace AT so- called financial analysts who give BUY ratings on companies they dont even understand, what they might get is bankruptcy. Too many investors think the stock market is a giant take-away table of money. They underestimate risk and overestimate the potential for gain. Another lesson would be that the governments cannot deregulate everything. Most likely, businessmen will act in their own interest instead of listening to the public and what they want. The most important lesson would be that the relentless pursuit for profit is a major issue in our economic model. It can easily get out of control and people will get hurt. Additionally, regulations concerning subsidiaries and corporate spin-offs should be amended so that they the relations between parent and subsidiary are transparent and reflect the actual ownership position of the parent company. These are only few of the lessons learned from Enron, but with such a big disaster eke Enron, there are endless lessons to be learned.

Chinese Culture, Ethnicity and Religion essays

Chinese Culture, Ethnicity and Religion essays The word "culture" is defined as "a collective programming of the mind or a fixed of moral beliefs, values, attitudes, and behaviors that are shared by a group of people and distinguishes the group members from others." Further, in the course book it provides an educative definition of culture as the whole complex that includes knowledge, belief, arts, morals, custom, law, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by human beings as a member a specific community. In addition, it explains the entire nature of culture, for example, it gives that culture is symbolic thus; it is unique and crucial to humans beings as well as to their general cultural learning. Hence, cultural symbols are majorly linguistic, verbal, and non-verbal as well as have a proper complexity of language. Inclusion, a group of persons, can exist in the same world but practice different cultures (Kottak). However, this gives an illustrative reason that China as an extremely large country has a customs and tradi tions that vary by geography and general ethnicity. The Chinese language has seven major collections of the jargons that have their variation, for instance, the Mandarin jargons spoken by the majority of the entire population, followed by Wu then Yue that is immediately followed by Xiang, Min, Hakka then lastly the Gan that occupies only two percent. In addition, the Chinese jargoned complex is entirely analogous to the Romance language community. However, the official national language of the Chinese culture is known as the Putonghua that is majorly spoken by the Mandarin in the capital. Further, most of the Chinese populations are also well conversant and fluent in English (Guillain). On the other hand, the food aspect of Chinese life is also influenced by geographical distribution as well as the entire ethnic diversity. The main popular cooking styles in China are Cantonese that contain all the stir-fried dishes, the Szechuan that over-rel...

Service Learning Assigment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Service Learning Assigment - Essay Example The labor involved is what really opens up the mind and heart so the true meaning of stewardship can be revealed. The Arlington Chinese Church is a Christian organization that serves the spiritual needs of the Chinese community in Arlington and beyond. In addition to these spiritual needs, the Arlington Chinese Church works to provide cultural understanding, educational opportunity for Mandarin speakers and childcare services. The organization of the church centers on Pastor Leung and his wife Grace. Assisting them in their work is Brenda Bateman, Jason Tsai and Grace Lau. This core group of staff works together to meet the missions of the church. Most members of the church are Mandarin Chinese immigrants that have converted to Christianity. They are adjusting to their place in American society as immigrants and adjusting to the teachings of a new religion. The Arlington Chinese Church is a missionary minded organization. They take the mandate given to disciples to go into the entire world to spread the Gospel very seriously. The have a number of outreach programs to the Chinese community in and around Arlington as well as missions they support in several countries. All of this results in an influx of new immigrants and Christians into the church on a regular basis. New converts need to have the gospel shared with them in a simple, straightforward manner. Their spiritual needs must be met with exceedingly great compassion because there is much for them to learn about their new country and their new religion. After meeting with Reverend Leung and Brenda Bateman, the staff felt that I could best help meet the needs of the church in two areas. One area was working with the children in the daycare center. Another area was in the food service for some of our cultural meetings. Serving in these two areas helped me to more fully understand the true meaning of selfless service and

Violence Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Violence - Research Paper Example The result of this force is death, injury or psychological harm (Krug & WHO, 2002). This definition indicates the mental shape of the perpetrator of violence against the victim be it their own self or another person. The army personnel are exposed to traumatizing experiences during war time. This makes them develop violent tendencies. In 2009, the United States Army documented that the suicide rates in the army had risen fourth year in a row as of 2008 (Finkel, 2011). This was especially high in the marines and the army. The statistics paint a grim picture of the situation that the soldiers find themselves in. They are exposed to death, both of their friends, as well as of the enemy. This is bound to leave a mark on them. One that is difficult to eliminate. This thus causes them to commit suicide as a possible way of exorcising the emotions haunting them. For example, in 1990, the prevalence of spousal violence was at a rate of 19 for every 1000 military families. This further rose to 26 in every 1000 couples, in 1996, but fell to 13 in every 1000 couples in 2004 (Karmen, 2013). According to Karmen, the things may seem to be improving in the army, but these statistics point to a worrying trend as the civilian population has a considerably lower rate of 3 in every 1000 married couples. These figures according to Karmen may be even higher as these are only reflecting the legal spouses who live within the army bases. As for those living off-base, the figures are not collected well thus there is no comprehensive record taking. In 2011, the CDC reported that women sustained 2 million injuries from intimate partners. This means that as of that year, violence was affecting women in very high rates. According to the CDC, the total social costs from violence amounted to between 5 and 10 billion dollars. The victims of violence who were recovering lost about 8 million paid working days,

MGMT402 U 5 DB2 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MGMT402 U 5 DB2 - Research Paper Example When a person uses this information to judge an individual based on the analysis of the group’s information, then it can be called statistical discrimination. Unconscious bias takes place when an employer takes perceived notions about a specific group of people and makes use of the notions to influence decisions. These two sorts of discrimination show similarity in that they are both involuntary means of discrimination. Statistical information is presumed to be factual, but they should not be used as determinants of hiring practices. The information used in unconscious bias in the society is in the form of societal influences and personal experiences (Delahaunty, &Foote, 2011). Both theories do not support the need for antidiscrimination laws and policies. This is because they are based on assumptions that discrimination is a function of psychological processes. The support of antidiscrimination laws and policies requires the defense of the principles that are normative and which justify the application of the laws to the forms of discrimination. The law has raised standards aimed at the elimination of discrimination at work (Delahaunty, &Foote, 2011). This has created an impact towards reduction of discrimination determined by psychological processes. New antidiscrimination laws have provided an attitude in the minds of both employers and employees. The distance in power at the workplace instills fear of the minority groups who fear losing their jobs, hence do not report any form of discrimination. Antidiscrimination laws based on religious beliefs are not relevant to the current times. The laws provide that certain members should not attend work on certain days for them to worship. Most of the employees take advantage of their employers, in that, they neither attend work nor attend worship meetings. Most of the employees use their time to unwind. Current exemptions for such employees based on religion are arbitrary and outdated. Nobody

Small Business Development Reflective Report

Small Business Development Reflective Report Kids Club Day Care Centre is a partnership venture consisting of four partners who are also responsible in the running of the centre. Alongside the partners; the outlet managers, matron, chefs and child care specialists help in the centres day to day operations. The centres main objective is to cater to the need for professional child care facility among the upper middle and upper class income earners. Since families in this particular income bracket depend on two incomes, that is, both parents working, child care is a major concern among them. The venture also targets housewives who although do not work, still want to send their children to such a center for their childs betterment. The centre rose due to the partners passion alongside each partners qualifications and expertise. The aim was to target a niche market with a high potential for growth and profits together with a high return on investment. By targeting the niche, we limited the number of children we could accommodate at the centre thus delivering quality service to each and every child present at the centre. Looking at the market trend in this particular industry, we established problems facing both working parents and non-working parents and hence, filled the gap in the marketplace. TEAMWORK The partners carry vast experience and expertise in their respected fields of nursing, accountancy, social welfare and administration. Other staffs at the centre include, outlet managers who manage the day to day running of the centre. Child care specialists take care of the childrens needs at the centre. The chef will be in charge of the food cooked at the centre for the children. Our main objective is to capture the needs of such parents who are worried about their children while they are at work and also those who opt for a brighter foundation for their children before they start going to schools. All the members at the centre play different roles in the running of the centre. Each and every staff has different knowledge and skills hence, delivering specialized services. As a qualified nurse, the role I play in the organization is taking precautions for the safety and health of the children who come to the centre and to make sure that the centres environment is safe for children especially those who have allergies. The major part I played in the business plan was the critical analysis of the industry and competitors together with a simple yet resourceful marketing plan. I also contributed to the financials. Ivana Mboya brings with her a vast experience in the field of administration and therefore she is responsible with the administrative operations in the business. The part played by her in the making of the business plan was the management team and the description of the business as a whole and also contributed in the financials. Bariki Joseph, who is an accountant by profession, brings with him a vast experience in the related field and he dealt mainly with the financial plan and the operations plan. Lutengamaso Ngaponda, a social welfare officer by profession, he contributed to the financial analysis as well. The four partners together identified the critical risk factors facing kids club day care centre. Although each one of us dealt mainly with a particular part, at the end we all worked together in all the aspects of the business plan. The Advisory board consists of ; the Head of Legal Services at the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, an external Auditor and the Chief Pediatrician from the Muhimbili National Hospital. The board utilizes the services of Ringo Co. Associates for all its legal consultations. The advisory board assists the board of directors in crucial decision making and contributes to the goodwill of the business by the means of signaling, that is, their presence in the centres advisory board helps to build confidence and a sense of loyalty towards the centre amongst the people and society. The centre has outsourced its cleaning services to professional cleaners. Since cleanliness is a major concern, leaving it on the professionals to do what they are best in, helps to get a desired result. The partnership was formed as a result of similar interests and expertise possessed by each and every partner in various fields. The team work has gained goodwill for the centre in the market as a result of efficient services offered. Our team is well qualified and knowledgeable on various issues therefore, contributing to the growth of the centre. Working together in a team has taught us how important communication is and that multicultural teams prove to be more beneficial since the ideas aired come from a diversified cultural background of each and every member of the team. PROCESS OF IDEA INITIATION The ideas were proposed by the partners followed by a session of brainstorming the pros and cons of each. Moreover a thorough feasibility analysis for the proposed ideas was conducted which identified the target market, capital investment and rate of return, growth potential and competition, thus the best viable idea was selected. The ideas proposed were that of a waste recycling company, laundry service for University students living in hostels and a day care centre. After the feasibility analysis, the idea of opening a day care centre proved to be the most viable. Together with that, the partners had the passion to work on such a project because of its newness in the market. There existed a gap in the marketplace where such a centre could prosper. The opportunity existed for a full fledged day care centre which would not be anything like the pre-schools. Competition was spotted to be low, because there did not exist any direct competitors; however, there is a high risk that in the near future the indirect competitors can turn to become direct competition to the centre. If such circumstance arises, there would be stiff competition. Although, I believe a competition should exist in order to motivate the organization to work even harder towards its growth. According to my view, the rate of return would be high because of the existence of such a novel centre in the market. Kids club had the first mover advantage, hence creating customer loyalty and brand recognition. After having identified the most viable idea out of the ideas proposed, the resources needed to open a day care centre were recognized and this made us comprehend that each one of us had the expertise to open such a centre. INDUSTRY AND COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS Firstly, by studying the market while we were looking for ideas, it came to our knowledge that there are a number of working mothers who unwillingly leave their kids with maids and relatives so that they could earn money and support the family, that is because families are becoming more dependant on two incomes. This was our best idea, since together with gaining financial rewards; we also wanted to open such a business that would have a realistic market and opportunity. Hence, the day care centre was the opportunity that we had to embark upon so as to fill the market gap. Thus, the solution to this opportunity recognition was to provide a service that is most wanted in the market to serve the society. Hence, it was the right time to realistically enter the market because the window of opportunity was open. I believe we have identified the right industry to be in. We tried to fill the gap after noticing that the demand of working mothers who are the important niche within our target market of upper middle and upper class income earners, were not being fully satisfied. This together with being the first mover created a competitive advantage for us and proved to give greater rewards. Although the magnitude of our centre is small, it has a vast growth potential. The services that we provide are of much importance to our customers, as it is directly connected to the future and safety of their young children. The identification of the industry was correct because it is not overcrowded with competition, has greater financial rewards and a high growth rate. The gaps identified in the marketing plan may be because of lack of vigorous marketing analysis. We might have failed to reach to our target market, who works far from the industrial and central business district. Currently, we dont face any direct competition, although, there exists a powerful competition from indirect competitors who are the existing pre-schools in town. This could be very risky because it would be convenient for parents to send their toddlers to the same pre-schools their slightly older kids go to. Competitive intelligence which was collected in an ethical way was of great help to the establishment of our centre. This was done by surveying, asking employees of pre-schools and friends whose children attend the pre-schools. We may have overlooked the possibility of individuals giving out day care facilities from their homes at a very small scale. They can be direct competitors to our centre and failing to identify them might have an adverse effect on our financial projections. PRESENTATION EXPERIENCE The importance of presenting the business plan rather than just submitting paper documents is that it encourages the potential investor to invest in the project. It is more appealing to the investor when the entrepreneur presents the plan rather than the investor just reading the documents. This is because, the investor can ask questions and get answers right away. Also, by presenting the business plan, the entrepreneur can show his/her passion and abilities together with the knowledge he/she has and thus gaining a sense of trust from the potential investor. This is because when then business plan is presented to potential investors, suppliers and business partners; they get a good picture of how the plan will be realistic, and how it will grow and achieve its objectives. Also, it shows how passionate one is about his/her project. By presenting the business plan to the panel, I have learnt how to make a presentation which is informative yet short, that will attract the potential investors to invest in the project. Presenting the plan has given me a deeper insight about the plan and improved my communication skills. It has given me a valuable experience and enhanced my public speaking skills especially while answering questions that were asked by the panel, which in future could be asked by potential investors. ALTERNATIVE SCENARIO We have projected the growth of the business plan with the availability of knowledge, skills and experience that the partners possess and the attractiveness of the industry we are intending to enter. Talking about the present scenario, the projections are quite optimistic and this could be a risk to the plan since the optimistic projections show only the high pace of growth of the business and its high return on investment. This is because we have neglected the future market conditions and future and present direct competitors. We havent considered alternative growth trajectories in our plan because we believe to continue growing in this very pace in order to accomplish our goals. This is mainly possible because of the first mover advantage that we acquired. USEFULNESS OF THE BUSINESS PLAN The environment and the industry trends together with the market conditions tend to change because of a number of reasons. Therefore, the original plan would be used as a reference showing what the initial business proposal was, and to provide guidance to the business towards its growth as it will ascertain both the internal and external business environment. Internally, the plan will help to identify approaches that should be taken into consideration in order to implement the firms strategies for future growth prospects and externally it will help to attract both, potential investors to invest in our business and suppliers who are willing to work with us. Furthermore, the original plan will help us to determine how future competition should be faced using the resources available and the services offered. The plan will also be used to ensure that the objectives outlined initially are still being trailed. Also, the plan will help the business to grow in terms of size and quality by offering more services and improving the quality of services offered. The part of reality that has out-grown the plan is the incoming of new government rules and regulations such as policy change and format of running the centre will result in higher cost of operating the firm. The centre will face other problems like increased insurance to ensure the safety of the children. The bombarded recession in our day to day lives can also stray the parents from sending their children to day care centers while they could do it themselves. The change in the time value of money and spending power can be one of the important realities that has out-grown the plan because, if the prices of basic commodities increase, parents who have more than one child between our target age, will be discouraged to send their children to the centre since a large portion of their income would be spent in purchasing the essential commodities. Currency fluctuations can hinder growth, since our target market of upper middle class and upper class income earners, mostly get paid in foreign currency and if there is a fluctuation in the price of the currency it will directly affect the buying power, if the exchange rate is high than more money will be exchanged and less will be accrued in return. Our business plan limits the growth of the business in the following facets: There is a high threat that the existing pre-schools introduce the same day care services. Rise in the price of childrens milk and utilities. Governments may introduce regulations for day care centres in the future in terms of childrens health and safety and the environment as a whole. The optimistic projections of the sales show the good financial position, a slight change in the market condition in terms of price and demand will have a greater effect in the financial position of the business, this is a situation that is very crucial and plays an important role in limiting the business growth. The following are the facets in which the business plan contributes towards the growth of the business: We are catering for the demand that is being faced by most of the families. Hence, rapid growth of the business. The experience and expertise that the management teams possesses and the goodwill created by the advisory board. To sum it up, the management team together with the advisory board creates goodwill for the business thus, attracting more customers and creating brand recognition. OTHER AREAS Elements of the plan can be improved in order to get a more realistic picture of the business. Objectives and goals should be emphasized for a rapid growth of the business in the future against its competitors. Since the plan only identifies the risk faced by the business, it should also include ways in which risks will be assessed and relevant measures taken to eliminate them. Risks which will be encountered by the centre are the financial risks, operational risks, management risks and also marketing risks. Hence the plan itself should include barriers that would prevent the risks from encumbering the growth of the business, regardless of the competition that would become more intense with time and the inadequacy of cash flows to meet financial debts. The exit strategy should be clearly mentioned in the plan, because it is very crucial to outline the strategy that would be taken in case the business fails or the partners are unable to run it. CONCLUSION The competence of the team work was commendable, each one of us put in an effort towards writing the plan. This created goodwill for the business in the market. The expertise that each of the partners have, plays an important role in delivering the services in a healthy and safety environment together with running the organization ethically without committing any fraud. We have identified the right gap in the marketplace and taken the opportunity and turned it into a realistic business, this was mostly possible because the window of opportunity for such a centre was open. The industry that we have indentified is attractive with a strong demand and low supply, showing high growth prospects despite of the existing and future potential competitors. Lastly, our business plan will be updated on regular basis for it to be up to date according to the changing time and market. Financial projections will be made in order to keep the staffs and management team motivated to work even harder to achieve the objectives set.

Summary and Analysis of The Reeves Tale Essay -- Canterbury Tales The

Summary and Analysis of The Reeve's Tale Prologue to the Reeve's Tale: The reactions of the crowd to the Miller's Tale were mixed, although many laughed. Only Oswald, the elderly Reeve was offended. He claims that with age the qualities of boasting, lying, anger and covetousness fade away. He vows to repay the Miller's Tale. Analysis The prologue to the Reeve's Tale continues the pattern established with the prologue to the Miller's Tale. Just as the Miller told his tale as a reaction to the Knight's tale, the Reeve vows to tell a tale as a reaction to what the Miller has told, offended by his satiric description of aged carpenter in comparison to the younger characters of the Miller's Tale. He believes that the Miller's Tale was an attack on him, and will so tell a tale that is an attack on the Miller. The Reeve's Tale: At Trumpington, near Cambridge, there is a brook where nearby stands a mill. There is a miller who lived there once who wore ostentatious clothing and could play the bagpipe, wrestle and fish. He always had a knife with him, and had a round face and flattened nose. His name was Simon, and nicknamed Symkyn. His wife came from a noble family; her father was the parson. Symkyn was a jealous man and his wife pretentious. They had a daughter who was now twenty and a toddler. The miller was dishonest in his business dealings. He cheated the college worst of all, and stole meal and corn from the dying steward of Cambridge. Two students, John and Aleyn, received permission from the provost to see the corn ground at the mill. Aleyn tells Symkyn that he is there to ground the corn and bring it back, since the sick steward cannot. While they ground the corn, Symkyn found the students' horse and set it loo... ...n this distinction is minor. Although they are students, they come from the more rustic northern area of England and show little of the savvy that Nicholas displayed in the previous tale. They are cheated out of their corn and lose their horse through the miller's deception. When they seduce the miller's wife and daughter, they do so merely out of opportunity and jealousy, and their actions seem to be little better than rape. The two students even lack that measure of lust that is present in the Miller's Tale and which might make the characters more sympathetic. In the end, most of the characters suffer some physical injury, but most of all the miller. For deceiving the students he found himself cuckolded, his daughter deflowered, and himself robbed and severely wounded. Even the means by which he is wounded is comic  ­ his wife conks him on the head with his staff.