Information systems role in Ernest and Young's on-line consulting Essay

Information systems role in Ernest and Young's on-line consulting service - Essay Example It was later converted in to a pay and use to web users for accessing all the consulting strength of E&Y (Webizus 2003). Business models have taken on greater importance recently as a form of intellectual property that can be protected with a patent registration (Rappa 2006). In this case, the tax-payer (the consumer) is helped by the model called 'Consumer Direct'- transactions involving products, services, or information between businesses and consumers, here the expert consultants enrolled with Ernest & Young, and the client company's employees; the product - tax-management solutions (Adapted from IBM 1996). The tool used here are the Decision-support systems - interactive computer-based tools used since the 1960s by decision-makers to help answer questions, solve problems and support or refute conclusions (Hall 2005). The advantages of 'Distance Consulting' involved in this model, in this case study of Ernst & Young may be listed as follows: a) The cost: They are more economical. b) A large resource base like panel of direct access to E&Y's national network of tax specialists, FAQs, self-educating information tools to decide on the right solution. c) The guaranteed rapid turnaround and the get-back time. d) Ernie's email consulting helps clients' articulate problems when they write to consulting firms thus leading to faster solutions. Disadvantages include a) May be perceived as too impersonal in a business based on relationship and trust. b) Developed to answer technical tax questions with a limited scope. c) Some large-scale consultations which involve handling large data-base systems, still require on-site assessments for best results. d) Possibility of servicing unknown clients, and risk of oversight of information leading to inappropriate conclusions, very high (Millard 1999). Discuss Knowledge management systems and decision support systems. How are these ideas related to Ernie and Tax Advisor The definition of Knowledge is given as "a function of information, culture, and skills" (Rampersad, 2002).The storing and sharing of such information and acquired knowledge to benefit all the members of the organization paved way for Knowledge Management. In the 1990s, E&Y created three knowledge centers, with three goals: the Center for Business Innovation for creating new knowledge through research, the Center for Business Technology for the use of existing knowledge to create predefined methods and automated tools, and the Center for Business Knowledge for gathering and storing E&Y's internal and external knowledge and information resources. The services included a library, a call centre for answering consultant requests, and a database of consultant skills (NHS 2005). Interactive information systems using data and models to help managers analyze semi-structured problems were developed in the 1970s. These diverse systems were all called Decision Support Systems. In the 80s Executive Information Systems (EIS) was born, from single user model-driven Decision Support systems and improved relational database products (Power 2003). And in the 1990s, data warehousing and On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) started expanding the domain of EIS and defined a broader category of Data-Driven DSS (cf., Dhar and Stein, 1997). E&Y started in 1996 On-Line

Issues, concerns, and challenges in environmental adjucation in the philippine court system Essay Example for Free

Issues, concerns, and challenges in environmental adjucation in the philippine court system Essay Introduction The court system is an integral part of environmental enforcement in the Philippines and has made many important contributions to the field. However, environmental cases do not always progress smoothly through the judicial system. This paper is intended to identify important legal issues in the judicial system that affect or limit environmental adjudication. 2 The issues are divided between access to and competency of justice, and legal procedures. While many of these issues could be analyzed further, this paper will highlight the ones to which attention should be paid in any more comprehensive study of Philippine environmental case law. 3 This paper will also use examples and case studies from the United States to illustrate important legal points, since the U. S. and Philippines have similar legal systems. II. Issues A. Legal Procedure and Rules of the Court Because of their unique and complex nature, environmental cases are sometimes hindered by legal mechanisms and rules of procedure designed for non-environmental cases. These include rules on standing and class action suits that often do not take into account the fact that environmental damage impacts all citizens. Furthermore, the nature and science of environmental violations often means that statutes of limitations, evidentiary rules, and burdens of proof are not suitable. Some of these issues can be handled internally by the judicial system by instructing lower courts to apply rules liberally. The impact of all of these issues, and how many actually present problems for plaintiffs, is crucial. 1. Standing of Plaintiffs and Citizens Suits In environmental cases, a plaintiff may not necessarily be legally injured in the traditional sense by an act of environ-mental destruction to impair his livelihood. For example, plaintiffs cannot recover damages for fish killed by pollution because they lack standing, despite the obvious economic loss they suffered. 4 While the destruction of natural aesthetic beauty is a moral outrage that indirectly harms all citizens, under traditional legal standing person no would have standing to sue. 5 Furthermore, environmental laws are designed to prevent catastrophic harm that is often not imminent or contained to one geographic area, as opposed to the narrow, immediate harms that provide the basis of most standing requirements. 6 Strict rulings on standing could stifle environmental enforcement, especially since the Philippines lacks sufficient enforcement capacity and personnel. The Philippine Supreme Court has held that standing requires: Such personal stake in the outcome of the controversy as to assure that concrete adverseness which sharpens the presentation of issues upon which the court depends for illumination of difficult constitutional questions. 7 The plaintiff himself must have some cognizable and redressable injury. Litigating for a general public interest, or â€Å"mere invocation†¦ of [plaintiff’s] duty to preserve the rule of law†¦ is not sufficient to clothe it with standing†¦. †8 However, the standing requirement is considered a technicality that courts may waive if the case concerns a â€Å"paramount public interest. †9 In its dictum in Oposa v. Factorum, the Court said that children might even have intergenerational standing to sue to prevent the destruction of forests for future generations. 10 There are questions as to the strength of these to reduce the standing threshold for environmental plaintiffs. While courts may waive technical standing provisions when a case deals with a paramount public interest, it is not required to do so. 11 Furthermore, judges may reasonably differ on what constitutes a â€Å"paramount public interest† since there is no overriding theme o define it. For example, in Kilosbayan, the Court found that determining the legality of an online lottery system fell within this definition, whereas in Integrated Bar, it held that determining whether deploying marines for crime deterrence violates the Constitution does not. 12 The Court did reduce some of this ambiguity in Oposa by declaring that the right to a balanced and healthful ecology concerns nothing less than self-preservation and self-perpetuation, presumably a â€Å"paramount public interest. †13 However, because the Court’s discussion on standing in Oposa was dictum, neither this claim nor the right to intergenerational standing is binding law upon the lower courts. 14 Without further guidance from the Court, it is likely that many lower court judges would be reluctant to act boldly by declaring that a particular issue is a â€Å"paramount public interest† and would deny standing. Congress tried to reduce the standing threshold with citizen suit provisions in environmental statutes, but these have been of limited use thus far. First, only the Philippine Clean Air and Ecological Solid Waste Management Acts contain citizen suit provisions;15 notably, the Philippine Clean Water Act, enacted after these two laws, does not. 16 Second, citizens still bear the risk of paying a winning defendant’s attorney’s fees, which could be costly enough to discourage even valid suits. Most importantly, these suits are still subject to the â€Å"actual controversy† requirement of the Constitution. 17 What this means in the context of citizen suits has not yet been heavily litigated in the Philippines. However, lower court judges often require plaintiffs to show actual injury in the narrow or traditional legal sense. 18 Likewise, when prosecutors deputize citizens to enforce a suit, judges sometimes insist that such deputization is only valid for a single case or even invalid under the Rules of the Court. 19 As a result, citizens suit provisions have been largely unused. 20 Standing under environmental laws is hotly contested in the U. S. 21 The U. S. has put citizens’ suit provisions into almost all of its environmental laws. 22 Plaintiffs are required to show 1) an injury in fact, 2) causation between the injury and the defendant’s actions, and 3) redressability in court. 23 NGOs can sue upon a showing that any of their members would have had standing to sue. 24 The focus is not on the injury to the environment, but rather the injury to the plaintiff or NGO representing him. However, the injury can be economic or non-pecuniary, including aesthetic or recreational value. 25 The Court also held that civil penalties payable to the U. S. Treasury serve as redress as they deter polluters. 26 Causation is often the more difficult element to prove, which will be discussed below in  § 4. In New Zealand, the Environment Court has taken a more radical approach. It has eliminated formal standing provisions, requiring only that a plaintiff have a greater interest than the public generally in a controversy or that he represents a relevant public interest. 27 This makes citizen enforcement very easy. However, one might also be concerned about whether this would overburden the court; granting standing is a fine balance between permitting valid environmental claims and risking frivolous litigation. 2. Class Actions and Large Number of Plaintiffs As the notorious mudslide at Ormoc in 1991 and Marcopper mine tailings in Marinduque show, injuries from environmental damage can be grave, costly, and affect a huge number of persons. 28 Even in less publicized events, the number of injured persons may often make individual litigation burdensome and complex. Furthermore, some members of an injured class may be too poor to prosecute their claims individually. Class action suits can facilitate litigation of such situations by providing for: [T]he protection of the defendant from inconsistent obligations, the protection of the interests of absentees, the provision of a convenient and economical means for disposing of similar lawsuits, and the facilitation of the spreading of litigation costs among numerous litigants with similar claims. 29 Other studies have shown that class action suits can provide important social benefits and encourage citizen enforcement to supplement agency regulation. 30 Class actions may the discourage attorney disloyalty that encourages lawyers to plea bargain for less than the actual injury. As happened in the Chinese poachers case in Palawan, lawyers or prosecutors may not seek full compensation for the damage caused because they have an incentive to expend less time and money on a small case. 31 However, because class actions provide aggregate incentives for lawyers, and fees and settlements undergo higher judicial scrutiny, such â€Å"disloyal† settlements are less likely to occur. 32 While the Philippine Rules of the Court provide for class action suits,33 judges will sometimes be reluctant to certify classes and instead treat the injuries of plaintiffs as separate, despite any common questions of law or fact. In Newsweek, Inc. v. IAC, the Supreme Court ruled that a defamatory remark directed at 8,500 sugar planters do not necessarily apply to every individual in a group, and therefore are not actionable as a class action. 34 Likewise, a judge might refuse to certify a class of pollution victims because they suffer different types of physical injuries, even if the source was the same pollution. In a more litigated legal system, there would be more case law to guide judges on the appropriateness of class actions. However, in the Philippines, this does not yet exist. Add to this the high cost for lawyers, and class actions become even less feasible for most Philippine plaintiffs. 35 In the U. S. , it is much easier to litigate environmental class action suits. The Supreme Court has clearly instructed courts to construe its class action rules liberally and encourage class action suits. 36 This limits judicial discretion in refusing to certify classes to only extreme situations. Furthermore, the rules allow plaintiffs to join by default rather than affirmatively. 37 For environmental cases, the courts will look at the potential number of plaintiffs or the size of the estimated areas that a pollutant has infected to see if plaintiffs have met the numerosity requirement, but they are not required to meet a certain minimum number. 38 For the Philippines, which, unlike the U. S. , has too few environmental class action suits, adopting some of these mechanisms may create a more efficient adjudication process for plaintiffs, defendants, and the courts. 3. Statute of Limitations and Delayed Injuries Unlike a traditional tort or crime, many environmental injuries are not discrete events but only manifest themselves after many years. Pollutants may build up in soils, waters, or human bodies for years without reaching a dangerous level. Cleanup of such sites can take even longer. For example, when the U. S. military left Subic Bay in 1992, it left behind hazardous waste sites with contaminated water that continue to poison the land over a decade later. 39 However, for environmental torts, the statute of limitations is four years, a relatively brief time. This could preclude the litigation of injuries from pollutants with an onset delayed for many years. Thus far statutes of limitation issues have not been a significant factor in environmental litigation. The Philippine Supreme Court addresses similar problems in other fields of law with the discovery rule, allowing the statute of limitations to run when the plaintiff actually or should reasonably have discovered the injury. 40 However, as the courts handle more brown environment cases, it will have to address the tensions between punishing past violators and protecting defendants from time-barred claims. 41 U. S. courts have adopted the due diligence discovery rule, particularly for Clean Water Act and wetlands violations. Because immediate detection of pollution or illegal fill into a wetlands is almost impossible, applying a statute of limitations strictly would defeat the remedial purpose of the act. 42 Courts try to effectuate the Congressional purpose of the statute with the due diligence discovery rule and giving the government a chance to file action against the polluter once the violation is reported to the EPA. 43 Some courts44 realize that a statute of limitation may be inappropriate for cases when pollution continues to cause problems over time. These courts argue that a: Defendants unpermitted discharge of dredged or fill materials into wetlands on the site is a continuing violation for as long as the fill remains. Accordingly, the five-year statute of limitations †¦ has not yet begun to run. 45 The statute of limitation will not run for as long as the pollution remains. Many courts will also treat common law tort nuisances as continuing violations. 46 This approach has the added benefit of allowing the government to fine violators for each day the pollution remains, capturing the more of the costs of environmental destruction. 47 Much of U. S. case law regarding the effect of statutes of limitations on environmental issues comes from ambiguities in the statute of limitation for complex processes, particularly the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), or Superfund law. 48 Because Congress anticipated the complexity and long-term nature of site cleanups, it structured the statute of limitations in a flexible manner, allowing the court hear an initial cost recovery action prior to issuing a declaratory judgment to avoid letting the statute run. It also allows the plaintiff to file subsequent cost-recovery actions to recapture further response costs incurred at the site. 49 However, the law’s different statutes of limitation for remedial and removal actions phases of the cleanup has led to confusion over how the phases are defined. Courts often defer to EPA determinations in characterizing the type of action due to its technical expertise, rather than making that judgment itself. 50 4. Meeting the Burden of Proof In environmental cases, there may be no line of direct evidence from the perpetrator to the harm. In pollution cases it is often impossible to prove that the plaintiff’s harm was caused by his exposure to the toxic material. 51 For example, if several factories dump pollution into Manila Bay, it is impossible to determine which caused a particular environmental harm. Furthermore, the courts cannot expect absolute scientific certainty on the effects of a health risk such as electro-magnetic fields from power cables. 52 Given these problems, the traditional burden of proof standards, preponderance for civil cases and beyond a reasonable doubt for criminal,53 may prove to be prohibitively high. Philippine courts employ liability-shifting mechanisms to manage this difficulty in environmental cases. For example, pursuant to the Fisheries Code, courts use reverse burden of proof to place the burden of exculpation on defendants found with high-explosive or cyanide fishing gear. 54 Furthermore, the courts have begun to experiment with the precautionary principle, placing the constitutional rights to health and safety above development. 55 The courts also employs res ipsa loquitor in tort suits,56 although this has not been a prominent feature of environmental litigation. Plaintiffs may also hold multiple defendants jointly and severally liable for an act of environmental destruction that cannot be traced to a single defendant company, such as the pollution in Manila Bay. 57 Until recently, Philippine lawmakers did not see a need to introduce a strict liability58 regime into environmental laws. 59 Strict liability was employed in other fields, but not environ-mental laws. More recent anti-pollution laws such as the Clean Air and Solid Waste Management Acts establish that a violation of the standard is actionable through citizen suits. 60 In U. S. , because of its common law tradition, courts are more willing to employ strict liability. Generally, when a defendant, â€Å"though without fault, has engaged in [a] perilous activity †¦, there is no justification for relieving it of liability. †61 Such â€Å"perilous activities† include operating explosives, nuclear energy, hydropower, fire, high-energy explosives, poisons, and other extremely hazardous materials. 62 For citizens suits under environmental statutes, plaintiffs need only show that the law was violated, not prove fault or any actual or threatened harm, without regard to mens rea. 63 When it is impossible to determine the proportion of fault of a large number of defendants, U. S. courts may approximate fault through other indicators, including market share and production output. For example, in Hymowitz v. Eli Lilly ; Co. , the New York Court of Appeals calculated the size of each defendant drug company’s market share for DES to determine their fault in the injuries caused by the drug. 64 This also allows courts to address injuries sustained in the past by approximating past fault through data available in the present. The Environment Court in New Zealand has adopted an even more radical approach and done away with formal burdens of proof. It focuses instead on obtaining the best possible evidence for a case. This makes it easier for plaintiffs appealing to the court to dislodge an unfavorable opinion from a lower court. 65 While the Philippine Supreme Court may not wish to go this far, the court could more strict liability for hazardous materials and market share liability tools. 5. Damages and Remedies Even if a plaintiff wins damages from a defendant, if the defendant keeps polluting or cutting trees, the damage will continue. 66 In the Philippines, this is particularly problematic as the fines and penalties imposed under law are often not enough to change a company’s behavior. In order to encourage development, Congress prohibited temporary restraining orders against government projects. 67 Since government infrastructure projects can cause massive damage to ecosystems, this prohibition is significant. Some courts try to avoid this loophole by claiming that the prohibition cannot violate a person’s constitutional right to health or safety. 68 The extent of this loophole is unclear. Finally, even if a plaintiff or prosecution wins its case, most of the time the true costs of the defendant’s actions will not be reflected in the award. Damages in civil cases and punishments in criminal cases generally capture the costs of any suffering caused to humans, not animals or plants. While some settlements may include forcing a defendant to install pollution-control equipment or contribute money to conservation programs, this still likely does not recoup the full extent of damage to the environment. It is difficult to regenerate natural forest, coral reefs, or populations of endangered animals. The judicial system does not have much power to remedy this problem. The decision on the purpose of environmental laws and how much plaintiffs recover is for the Congress. However, it is important for judges to understand that environmental cases deal with only a fraction of the true costs of environmental damage. This may convince some judges to be more sympathetic toward environmental cases. While punishments for defendants may seem exorbitant, understanding the unaccounted costs of environmental damage puts these into perspective. B. Access to and Competency of Justice Aside from the legal issues described above, in any country, there are a host of practical and logistical issues that impede the judicial system’s ability to handle environmental cases. This includes the lack of financial resources of plaintiffs, particularly in poorer parts of the Philippines. Plaintiffs and their lawyers must also feel safe from physical and financial harassment while litigating their case. On the other hand, both courts and lawyers are often unfamiliar with environmental laws and science, limiting their ability to adjudicate in the field. Finally, court dockets are often congested, and environmental cases are not given priority. The judicial system’s role in addressing these issues ranges from fairly involved to almost no role. Yet, in attempting to understand environmental adjudication in the Philippines, it is crucial to recognize the role these practical realities play. 1. Financial Costs of Adjudication In any legal system, filing and litigating a case takes an enormous amount of time and money. Philippine courts impose a filing and transcript fee, although these are waived for citizens suits. Reflecting on his experiences, famous environmental attorney Antonio Oposa suggested that these costs were the greatest inhibitions for most plaintiffs. 69 Furthermore, for injunctive remedies, plaintiffs must post a bond to cover the defendant’s potential damages, which may be too large for a poor plaintiff with livestock and property as his only assets. 70 Most Philippine lawyers do not use a contingency fee system, so plaintiffs must be able to pay for legal services up front and over the lengthy litigation process. 71 On top of this, there is the risk of financially crushing harassment suits from defendants, or Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP). Even the logistics of feeding and housing witnesses, and their lost time from work, poses significant problems for predominantly poorer plaintiffs. In the U. S. , NGOs often receive enough donations to allow them to engage in litigation and have staff lawyers. More importantly, plaintiffs’ attorneys often work on a contingency basis, allowing poorer plaintiffs to avoid large financial risk. Furthermore, NGOs and environmental groups seeking injunctive remedies are often required only to pay a nominal bond or may be exempted completely. 72 While some might worry this makes litigation in the U. S. too easy, it drastically improves poor people’s access to justice. Pursuant to the Constitution’s emphasis on the poor, the Supreme Court of the Philippines has taken some efforts to alleviate this problem. Poorer plaintiffs are exempted from paying docket, transcript, and other fees and are granted free legal counsel. Furthermore, the Court provides an annual grant to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ Free Legal Aid Program. 73 However, not all environmental plaintiffs qualify as poor, particularly NGOs, even though they often have limited financial resources. Furthermore, even though the amount of the bond is under the discretion of the judge, judges are reluctant to do this because they worry about being accused of abusing their discretion. 74 2. Harassment of Plaintiffs and Lawyers Because of the high stakes involved in environmental cases, defendants may go to extraordinary means to intimidate and harass plaintiffs and their lawyers. It is not uncommon for defendants to lodge harassment or SLAPP suits against environmental plaintiffs or DENR prosecutors to attempt to force them to drop their charges. 75 Enforcers who confiscate the equipment of criminals are often sued for robbery. 76 Some defendants take even more extreme means such as physical violence or even murder. 77 Such dangers were recently illustrated by the murder of environmental advocate Elpidio de la Victoria and death threats against attorney Oposa. 78 This makes lawyers unwilling to take on difficult environmental cases. To stifle SLAPP suits, the courts should promptly apply the anti-SLAPP provisions in the Philippine Clean Air and Ecological Solid Waste Management Acts when applicable. 79 This means dismissing any harassment suits as quickly as possible. However, plaintiffs relying on other laws have less protection. 80 Congress must expand the use of anti-SLAPP provisions to other environmental laws. Furthermore, law enforcement must vigorously prosecute any defendants who resort to violence. In short, to facilitate environmental cases, the court must protect the ones bringing the cases. 3. Technical Knowledge Among Judges and Attorneys Judges must decide questions of science as well as law in order to dispose of most environmental cases. This is particularly true for brown issues, which involve uncertain science regarding the exact effects of a pollutant. In the U. S. , scientific understanding of pollutants led to new classes of trespass and tort suits that held emitters liable for their actions. 81 However, both sides in a case will try to use any scientific uncertainty to their advantage, or even create scientific uncertainty even when it does not exist in order to confuse the court. Judges must understand what scientific evidence should be admitted and what is not valid. 82 Judges and lawyers need to understand the science well enough to determine which arguments are unfounded and which are plausible. Because general the courts have general jurisdiction and are not specialized in environmental issues, this problem will have to be addressed by providing judges and lawyers with supplemental training in environmental sciences and law. PHILJA and other organizations are already successfully doing this. 83 Eventually, however, this problem may be resolved through a change in the adjudication system. If the Philippines moves toward environmental courts or administrative adjudication84 (as is being considered), judges would be trained specifically to handle environmental cases. 4. Obtaining and Preserving Evidence For green issues, preserving evidence may be difficult. After an illegal logger or fisher is captured, DENR can confiscate the logs and fish. These goods rot or deteriorate over time. Proper procedure requires taking pictures of the logs and fish for admission into court. Specially trained fish examiners prepare reports on the cause of death of fish. When done correctly, this preserves the evidence for use at court. However, some areas may not have fish examiners on hand or the prosecution may not properly prepare the pictures for admissible evidence. It is not uncommon for custodians of the confiscated items to lose track of them over time. Because cases take so long in the court system, this can be a real problem. 85 It is also difficult for enforcement agents to find and confiscate the equipment and vehicles used in environmental crimes, as the boats and trucks perpetrators use are highly mobile. Despite the inconvenience it may cause defendants, such equipment must be held as evidence and to prevent further environmental damage. The accused, or unindicted conspirators, will often petition for the release of their equipment. 86 Unfortunately, sympathetic lower court judges may sometimes grant these requests, despite the contravening case law. 87 Moreover, prosecutors must have the vehicles stored in a safe area despite the lack of storage space. Finally, it is important for enforcers to determine the location of violators, particularly close to the boundaries of natural parks. Community enforcers may not be trained in determining the exact location of where they apprehended the violators. Wealthier units can use GPS, but often the location of apprehension is disputed. 88 Any doubt in this area can destroy the prosecution’s case. 5. Docket Congestion In many countries, including the Philippines, courts are overburdened with cases. Yet, the Philippines’ forests and animals are already disappearing quickly. Irreversible damage to ecosystems can occur much more quickly than the many years it may take the court system to resolve a case. As Prof. La Vina noted, the environment cannot wait for the court system. 89 According to Justice Nazario, the Philippines needs over 300 trial court judges to fill the vacancies and resolve pending cases. 90 Low pay discourages the few who are qualified. Many of these vacancies are in remote parts of the country, such as Nueva Ecija, Occidental Mindoro, and Surigao Norte, where much of the fishing and forestry violations occur. Furthermore, the Supreme Court is burdened by the large amount of cases granted review each year, including the automatic review for death penalty cases. 91 Given this burdensome congestion, environmental cases are not given any special treatment on their own merits. Criminal environmental cases may be somewhat more expedited because they involve criminal punishments, but most judges and lawyers show no urgency with regard to environmental cases. 92 The Supreme Court attempted to alleviate this problem with Administrative Order No. 150B-93, setting up special courts to handle illegal logging, but these remain underutilized. 93 Until cases can move through the court system more quickly, the enforcement of environmental law will be delayed. III. Conclusion This paper has highlighted important legal and practical issues preventing efficient adjudication of environmental cases in the Philippines. However, due to logistical and budgetary constraints, this paper focused mostly on case law from the Supreme Court and the personal experiences of lawyers. In order to fully understand environmental adjudication throughout the court system, further research should ideally analyze environmental cases from all Municipal and Regional Trial Courts, Courts of Appeal, and the Supreme Court. It is important to see how cases area actually treated, particularly with respect to the issues examined in this paper. Furthermore, there may be important regional variations, particularly between areas with more natural resources and more urban areas. Even before such a study is undertaken, the courts can apply several lessons from this paper in the near future. First, while the courts have already taken commendable steps to waive filing fees and other costs for paupers, as mentioned above the definition of pauper may be under inclusive by not including NGOs. The courts should consider other definitions to reflect the realities of environmental NGOs. 94 Second, the Supreme Court should instruct the courts to dismiss SLAPP suits expeditiously. While the natural resource laws may not have anti-SLAPP provisions, Congress clearly did not intend to encourage such suits and there is nothing legally preventing the courts from dismissing them faster. Finally, the courts can address standing for citizens and class action suits. In particular, it should set out a clear position on standing in environmental cases. Other challenges will require long-term planning for the courts. Reducing the docket congestion is critical to expedite justice, although doing this will likely take years and require more judges. Likewise, the ongoing effort to train judges and lawyers in environmental law and science must continue, particularly as new judges and lawyers enter the judicial system. The courts should also familiarize themselves with the legal mechanisms available to them, particularly in shifting the burden of proof. However, this will be most useful in pollution cases as they become more common in the future. Ultimately, the challenges described above will require multifaceted solutions from various stakeholders in the Philippine legal system. For example, Congress must work to improve standing and citizens suit provisions in other environmental laws. To reduce the financial risk of brining a suit, law firms could move toward a contingency fee system. Furthermore, it is the responsibility of DENR and environmental agencies to ensure that evidence is properly recorded and preserved. Finally, as the Philippine grows and wealth spreads, more plaintiffs will be able to undergo the financial costs of adjudication. Eventually, the best solution to these challenges may come not from within the courts but from a new adjudication system. The U. S. has worked successfully with administrative adjudication for environmental issues in the EPA and Department of Interior. Other countries have set up independent environment courts. Based on the results of further studies and the needs of the country, the Philippines may move to adopt one of these models. This would allow expert adjudicators to handle cases under rules that make sense for environmental issues. Finally, it is important for judges at all levels of the judicial system to understand the severity of environmental degradation in the Philippines. The only redress environmental plaintiffs or prosecutors may have is in their court. Thus, they should not be reluctant to grant standing or award large damages, when appropriate, because doing so will ensure that both humans and the environment have their proper day in court.

Annual marketing plan of general motors

Annual marketing plan of general motors An annual marketing plan is a powerful management tool for business organizations targeting to strengthen their market positions. The plan provides a guide on all marketing activities for an entire financial year. A good marketing plan is obtained from a strategic marketing study and research based on a particular organization. In this essay, we focus on General Motors Companys annual marketing plan which contains its situation analysis, marketing objectives, strategies, tactics, financial considerations and a timetable for implementation. A situation analysis provides a general understanding of General Motors internal and external business environments (Brown Ph D Brown, 2008). This is the analysis of the company, customers, collaborators, competitors and the climate (NetMBA.com, 2010). The company is one of the worlds largest automaker with several years of experience and operating in over 157 countries in the world and has its headquarters in Detroit. It sells and services vehicles through several known brands such as Chevrolet and FAW among others. The company is well known brand name in the competitive automotive industry and uses the latest technology in managing its entire marketing network all over the world. The companys culture is to produce and sell high quality vehicles and services to the entire world. Moreover, greatest goal is to retain all its customers for the future service provision. In addition, the company has a diverse supplier base which provides quality raw materials for its production process. The supplier diversity ensures that the company gets the best for its investments which go a long way in customer satisfaction (General Motors, 2010). The company has a very huge world market with broad customer base which is being targeted by its marketing plan. These customers are provided with timely discounts on vehicle sales as well as services which motivate them thus increasing purchases. Also, the company is in a very competitive automotive industry facing actual threat from existing players such as Toyota and other potential new entrants. Currently, the Worlds political and regulatory environment is stable and favors the company good performance. On the other hand, the economic environment is still recovering from recession which decreased customers purchasing power. However, the new technology and the social environment are good for the companys marketing strategies (General Motors, 2010). The marketing objectives of General Motors include the recovering the lost market share by the end of the year. This is because recently the company lost United States market share to Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. The second company objective is to increase its annual sales revenue by over 30 %. This is to recover from its fall of light-vehicle sales by 5.7 % and also to counter Ford and Toyota sales which have soared over 30 % respectively (Bloomberg, 2010). Another marketing strategy is to position itself in the market for easy and quick introduction of new innovative products and services throughout the year. This is because the company uses its innovative strategies to meet dynamic customer demands for automotives which require appropriate marketing plan. Moreover, the company aims to improve its corporate image throughout the year as well as raise public awareness of all its automotive models and services (Berry Wilson, 2000). The company marketing strategies will include; advertising, sales promotion, publicity and direct marketing. The advertisements will entail the paid spaces and airtime on the broadcast and print media. Moreover, the outdoor advertisements with huge pictures of the model vehicles could attract new and existing customers. The sales promotion involves the use of incentives and offers that encourage the population to purchase its products and services at specific times. The publicity is that awareness created by the information and opinion carried by third parties about the companys automotives and services. The direct marketing involves the personal presentation to customers or prospective buyers on the vehicle performances and services offered. This direct marketing can be done through any convenient mode of correspondence between the company employees and the target customers (Mullin Cummins, 2008). The tactics to be employed by the company are aimed at maximizing the achievement of specific marketing objectives through particular strategies. The major tactic is for the company to engage integrated marketing which utilizes the four strategic marketing tools in a balanced way to achieve its objectives. For instance, General Motors is an industrial company and as such most emphasis should be put on direct marketing. In addition, the company will select specific periods within the year to carry out sales promotion aimed at acquiring short term sales targets. Moreover, the advertisement strategy is worth monitoring so as to use the most appropriate advertisement media such as the internet, newspaper or broadcast. Furthermore, the publicity tool will constantly be in use when the company offers good products and services to third parties who in turn speak about the company thus achieving indirect marketing (Mullin Cummins, 2008). The financial consideration for the companys marketing plan is to ensure that the benefits value exceed the marketing expenses. The marketing expenses will be monitored throughout the entire year to avoid any budget variances. The marketing plan affects the sales, cost of sales and the marketing expenses all of which directly affects profitability and cash flow. Therefore financial consideration is very important for any effective marketing plan (Berry Wilson, 2000). The timetable of implementation of this marketing plan begins immediately and will run through the entire financial year. The various marketing strategies and tools will be used appropriately at different times and sometimes blended to achieve maximum objectives. The final marketing report will be prepared at the end of the year for the appraisal purposes. This final report will be used further in the preparation of the next annual marketing plan. In conclusion, an annual marketing plan is a crucial management tool that is used by General Motors to achieve their management objectives.

Capital in the Market and Economy :: essays research papers

Capital is considered anything that helps enable us to reach our goals, while improving the efficiency of goods and services that we use or produce. Capital is one of the main attributes of improvement. Capital can be almost anything, it can be mental (such as education or training), material (such as a computer or a machine) or it can be money. Capital is invested in a good or service to increase efficiency in production, to increase output and as to increase overall consumer benefit and satisfaction. Capital is a major part of markets and the economy. In order to keep investing capital, there are times where consumption levels need to be decreased in order to collect, or save up, more capital. When you open a savings account, the interest that you earn is actually paid by businesses that have been using your money as capital. You may have given up a monthly shopping spree to save your money. While you are saving, someone is paying interest (your capital) on the money you saved, because they have borrowed it to pay for capital investments such as land, a building, machinery, etc. in order to improve their overall production. If we look at capital in a working environment, we see that when we increase capital goods for workers, they can be more productive. This works up to a point. The law of diminishing returns declares that a general increase in output occurs when capital goods per worker increase, but there comes a point where each increase in capital goods produces a lesser impact on output. At this point, the number of human capital (workers) needs to be increased to utilize the capital goods already in place and continue to improve efficiency. An example of this is the clichà © â€Å"too many cooks in the kitchen†. If you have too many cooks, you need to increase the pots and ingredients. When you increase the pots and ingredients, the cooks are able to work more efficiently and also produce more. When you get too many pots and ingredients, and the cooks are running back and forth, efficiency is decreased. You may still be getting more produced, but not at the same rate when each cook had th eir own pot and ingredients. At this point, you need to bring in more cooks (human capital) to again increase production efficiency and output. The same holds true for capital markets and the economy.

Ocean Manufacturing Inc

Identify two facts from the case that you found particularly interesting (this can be anything- it doesn't have to be directly accounting-related! ). The first situation that I found interesting is that Most of the ratios of Ocean Manufacturing are lower than the industry. So as auditors should figure out the reason behind this. The second situation is that the auditor turnover high. In twelve years they had three auditors.It is a major problem as why ocean manufacturing hanged it auditors rapidly at such short period of time. As an auditor I should look into the matter more closely. 2. If applicable, what Professional Standards were violated in this case? Cite either CASE standards or Rules of Professional Conduct. You may want to research the standards in your text, Handbook, or online. N/A 3. Assume you are working as an auditor in public accounting. Name one lesson tattoo could learn from this case. Ocean Manufacturing executives are very aggressive.If they are taken as a client I would be careful. They tried to manipulate their yearned accruals to meet requirement of Creditors. As they are planning to offer PIP they might want to do it again. As an auditor I learnt that I should take account of past behaviors and future intension when I am auditing a client. 4. As we all know, hindsight is 20/20. For cases where the client committed fraud, are there any â€Å"red flags† the auditor overlooked that might have allowed them to uncover the fraud sooner?

Smythson of Bond Street Brand Positioning

Smythson of Bond Street is a British luxury leather goods and personalized stationery brand. It is a synonym of exclusivity, discreet good taste, elegance, and British heritage. It was founded in 1887 in London and ever since, the brand has received clients such as the Queen Victoria, the Royal Family, Grace Kelly, and Madonna. Besides that, Smythson is positioned as the â€Å"British Hermes† according to its current CEO Andy Janowski; whom along with the new Design Director Rory O’ Honlon wants to consolidate the brand as an â€Å"iconic British luxury leather goods brand†.They want to raise their global awareness and the brand’s image by highlighting Smythson’s expression of contemporary classicism, its 125 year heritage, and unique craftsmanship. Smythson offers a variety of luxury leather goods such as handbags, clutches, wallets, travel accessories, books and diaries, home accessories, covers for high-tech tools, and high-end stationery; all pr oducts with minimalist designs that fit Smythson’s aesthetics.Plus, customers customizing and engraving options go from gold stamped initials to personalized motifs and monograms. Furthermore, the brand appeals to high-end customers both men and women looking for exclusive, high quality, detailed leather accessories, who value first class stationery and paper goods. On the other hand, possible competitors for Smythson are Luxury brands such as Burberry and Gucci. First, Burberry is also a British luxury brand that wants to penetrate the market by highlighting their British Heritage.Unlike Smythson, Burberry has a ready-to-wear line and it does not carry stationery goods. Second, another competitor could be the Italian brand Gucci, because it also sells luxury leather goods but the brand images are different. Gucci appeals more to customers looking for sexy, glamorous, and extravagant goods, while Smythson is targeted towards a more conservative, classic, yet fashionable custo mer.

Hazard Mitigation essays

Hazard Mitigation essays This project discusses the topics of hazard mitigation, what it is and its importance, the difference between structural and non-structural mitigation strategies, and the hazard planning process. As the cost of disasters rise, it is more apparent that pre-disaster actions must be implemented to reduce the amount of devastation to a local or state community. These pre-disaster actions fall into the meaning of mitigation. Mitigation is defined as "sustained actions taken to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to people and property from hazards and their effects" (IS 393, pg 1-2). There are four phases of Emergency Management: Preparedness, Response, Recovery, and Mitigation. The overall end goal of mitigation is to reduce risk. The success of the mitigation efforts will decrease the requirements, the impact, and the expense of a hazardous event. The Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 requires communities and states to develop a hazard mitigation plan. This plan must be approved and in place before any post-disaster funds are administered (FEMA 364, p.11). To reduce risk you must find out what hazards are in the community. This starts the process of mitigation. There are three phases of hazard mitigation: Hazard Identification - Identify "all of the hazards that potentially threaten a community" (IS 393, p. 1-5). Hazard Analysis - Analyze each hazard individually to determine the degree of threat that is posed by each. Strategy Preparation - Identify mitigation priorities and mitigation measures to address these priorities. Determine resources needed to implement these measures and identify potential sources for technical and financial assistance. "Hazard mitigation is the only phase of emergency management specifically dedicated to breaking the cycle of damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage" (FEMA 364, p.11). Examples of mitigation are land use planning, adoption of building codes, and elev...

TECHNOLOGY CHANGING POLITICAL DYNAMICS essays

TECHNOLOGY CHANGING POLITICAL DYNAMICS essays TECHNOLOGY CHANGING POLITICAL DYNAMICS "People Power II" as the events of January 17 to 20 are now called was different from first "People Power" in February 1986 in three key ways. First, "People Power I" resulted from manipulation of vote counting in the snap elections and triggered by a military faction that was forced to come out in the open after its coup plot was discovered, while "People Power II" resulted from a series of allegations of massive graft on the part of a president and triggered by perceived collusion among 11 Estrada administration-aligned senators to silence a move to present key evidence in the impeachment case. Second, it took almost two decades for civil society to respond forcefully to allegations of massive graft and corruption, human rights violations and a number of other crimes before "People Power I" erupted; and only a little less than three years for the same society to depose a leader who was perceived to be aping the object of hate of the first revolt. The third distinction, however, is a first in Philippine maybe even Asian and world revolutionary history: "People Power II" showed the power of the Internet and mobile communications technology not to mention broadcast media not only to shape public opinion but also to mobilize civil society when push came to a shove. Indeed, "People Power II" demonstrated how the Filipinos used these new technologies to topple an impeached official when the constitutionally prescribed impeachment process bogged down. True, the indispensable ingredient of an irate public pushed to the wall cannot be ignored in the equation. But the fact is it would have taken longer to mobilize people who were otherwise not included in the organized opposition had it not been for new technologies at the ready disposal of the man of the street. And in intense situations like the events that unfolded in those fateful five days of January, a few...

Managing Creativity for Marketing and Advertising Essay

Managing Creativity for Marketing and Advertising - Essay Example Beem (2010) reckons that if carefully prepared and properly executed, co-branding is one of the best strategies that can be used to penetrate markets, survive financial down times and even grow. Taking the strongest elements of one brand and combining these with the best complementary brands to create a new product can in fact lead to the potential worth of the new product being greater than that of the sum of the two products (synergy). Gap Clothing and Apple I-pod The two brands chosen for co-branding in this case are GAP - a popular brand from the apparel industry, and Apple - one of the most popular brands in the music/technology industry. To make the new product, GAP’s hoodies and Apple’s iPod will be combined to create clothing from GAP that encompasses Apple’s slogan and promotes the values that Apple stands for. The new product is to take advantage of the position of the two in their specific markets and further strengthen their image of being trendy and cool. Visual of the New Product: The Techno Hoodie The form of presentation of the co-branded product will be a techno hoodie. A hoodie is a sweatshirt characteristic of a hood and is regarded as the most important cultural product of the Western world in the 20th Century. McCartney (2008) contends that hoodies are the only commodity the current generation will be remembered with, and given the popularity of the hoodie; it is difficult to argue against this. It is urban apparel, often made of cotton or poly-blend and is usually in the form of a zipper-front or pullover (Kayne 2011). Hoodies are regarded as unique urban clothes, forming the fashion statements of many people. The new product will be a representative of a one-of–a-kind style and will bear screen-printed designs on its back as are popular with many people. The techno hoodie will come in two types: 1. A pullover hoodie, which will have one single, large pocket in the front 2. A zipped hoodie: which will have a zip per dividing the front and the pocket into two Instead of the usual material or poly-blend material strings, the drawstrings of the hoodies are going to be high-quality iPod headphones, a design that will be unique and trendy. The pockets will be designed to be holding the iPods among other things. The hoodies will be designed in different colors to match with the range of colors the iPod comes in. The designs on the hoodies will include the two logos; GAP and Apple written either as graffiti or just plain, alongside decorations regarded as cool including elements of anime and pop culture. Creation of a Brand Image Techno hoodies are the next-best-thing in the apparel market with a promise to be fashionable into the future. A combination of the high level of comfort, capacity to hold the iPod and an image of being cool and trendy and subscribing to pop culture results in a scenario in which techno hoodies are going to be massively popular into the future. â€Å"The market for this item should be huge as anyone who likes taking walks, working out, or most young adults will love these† (TEP 2011). Such reviews indicate that techno hoodies are not only a hit now but also what can be termed as â€Å"futuristic clothing†. Therefore the two brands will collaborate to make clothing that accommodates the vast music collection of the youth. GAP will provide the trendiest, top-notch

Zatwsho LLC Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Zatwsho LLC - Case Study Example The report also discusses about the kind of ownership that family business should have. Target market of the product has also been defined along with a memo to promote the company’s offerings in a better way. In the end of the report, recommendations have been given to improve the website of Zatswho. QUESTION # 1: Tips for Making Family Business Successful: There are several things that are to be considered in order to make a family business successful. One of the main tips to make a family business successful is that the roles and responsibilities of the partners or family members should be clearly defined and every family member should know what their responsibilities are and what they are supposed to do. Pitfalls That Should Be Avoided To Make Family Business Successful: It is important for every business to grow with the passage of time and in a family business, a stage comes when the growth of the business becomes static and at this point of time it is important to seek a dvices from outside advisors or people who are not in the family so that the business could have some fresh ideas and it could start growing again. QUESTION # 2: Because there are two people involved in the business therefore it is recommended to have a partnership rather than sole proprietor. As the business would be a partnership therefore the agreement of both Cooper and Schwinoff would be required while taking important decisions. QUESTION # 3: The target market of Zatswho would be parents and grandparents as they would be using these cards to teach their kids about their family members. However other target markets of the product could be day care centers and schools as they could use these cards to make kids recognize different important personalities and even cartoon characters. Along with this the target market of the company also includes the fundraising organizations, special needs children, and adults with the problem of memory loss. QUESTION # 4: Zatswho LLC January 20, 2012 To: Cooper and Schwinoff From: Subject: Proposing Guerrilla Marketing Strategy for Zatswho LLC Guerrilla marketing strategy has become important for the businesses in this highly competitive world, especially for the businesses which are targeting specific and small market segments (Levinson, 2007), as in the case of Zatswho. The company is mainly targeting the grandparents and parents who like to play with their grandchildren and children and the same time wants to increase the memory of the children. Apart from this other target markets include children with special needs, day care centers, schools, fundraising organizations, and seniors with the problem of memory loss. In order to capture the target markets and attract them it is essential for the company to come up with some unique and out of box marketing strategies. The company can go for price discount and cheaper goods strategy, as the target market will not be willing to spend much on such playing items. This strategy of price discount can be supported by different limited time promotional activities like: Placing colorful sticky notes consisting information about the game in the children stores and shops. Holding competition through social media for suggesting best game which can be played using these cards. Different posters can be placed at schools, day care centers, and playing grounds in order to attract more market. Hold different competitions at shopping malls, schools, and playing grounds in which judging the children on the ability of their quickly identifying the pictures. Partnership with some chocolate or confectionary company and come up with special packages. All these promotional acti

Marketing Plan for Sustainable Boosting Of Hollywood Movies in China Dissertation

Marketing Plan for Sustainable Boosting Of Hollywood Movies in China - Dissertation Example The primary market for the distribution of the Hollywood movies is mostly the western markets and the primary target audience was also considered western in nature. With the evolution of technology and the growth of demand for Western lifestyle, more and more consumers across the world, mostly from developing nations of Asia are interested in being the consumers and the audience of high class Hollywood movies. The evolution of consumer taste along with the growing economic prosperity is the emerging markets like China and India are providing a significant rise in disposable income as well as a change in consumer behavior in regards to the demand for Hollywood movies. The Chinese market is considered as a very hot profile market in the Asian region. Faced with a crisis scenario for the shortfall of demand in the domestic Western markets as the effects of economic crisis in the Western world, is increasingly having an impact on the consumer behavior of the western masses, the Hollywood movies are increasingly looking forward to the internationally emerging markets for the Asian countries like China and India for their marketing and distribution in order to boost up their sales and revenue generation from the movies. In order to tap the opportunity arising out of the demand for western made Hollywood movies, this particular marketing plan is being designed to create the ground for Hollywood movies in the Chinese markets for the purpose of maintaining a steady flow of international demand. This will also help for an increase in ticket sales for the western movies in the Chinese markets. The marketing plan comprises of objectives of the marketing plan, an analysis of the business environment from legal, political, social and economic dimensions as well as internal and external analysis. The marketing plan also comprises the process of conducting a primary market research in order to gather first hand consumer insights directly from the market and understand the tast e, preference and choice of movies existent among the Chinese consumers. In the next steps, the marketing plan moves on to cover the marketing strategies like segmentation, targeting and positioning of the movies produced and marketed by Hollywood. The dimensions of the 4P’s of marketing as well as the various implications and conclusions are also taken in to account in the process of creation of the marketing plan in order to enhance the prospect of increased ticket sales and revenue generation for the Hollywood movies distributed in China. Introduction Technology is an ever evolving scientific invention as well as concept of mankind and with the passage of time, the focus of scientists over the years, has always been to develop a more advanced form of technology that will facilitate human interaction and lifestyle in a more efficient manner. This has resulted to the world of today, which has become a highly connected one. Due to the rapid advancement of networking technolog y since the 1990’s along with the high penetration of internet around the year

Safeway Inc Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Safeway Inc - Assignment Example In addition, they were affected since their target and loyal consumers no longer possess a large pool of any discretionary income affecting the overall demand thus revenue. Politically, the external environment that Safeway Inc. operates was significantly affected. During this crisis the Fed set tough laws and regulations concerning credit and lending to help the economy pull through. These monetary policies by the government never favored investment and plough of capital to the key sectors of growth of the company such as the necessity retail products. These further weakened the company’s competitiveness since this is an environment beyond the control of the company. Financial crisis directly affects the revenue obtainable by the company. Due to the financial crisis of 2008-2009, the company had to rethink on its social responsibility to boost sells. Prior to the crisis, the company was involved in various social participation such as charity events that help improve their relationship with the customers they serve. The company had to lower its active role in social participation and societal charity. This affected their eventual competitiveness after the

Letter (Inclusive Classroom) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Letter (Inclusive Classroom) - Essay Example They should be recognized, in a positive manner, for their contributions no matter how big or mall these contributions may be. Students will feel accepted and comfortable at all times within the confines of my classroom. Differences, include, and respect all students be they gifted or categorically disabled. I will stress and enforce the importance of this acceptance and inclusion to all of my students. I will expect that these students will then, in turn, demonstrate theses actions to their peers. The classroom is a place for growing and learning and this place and this should be filled with respect, comfort, and understanding at all times. This will ensure that each student is provided with the best learning environment they could possible have. I will understand that students work in different modes and levels, learn at different interests, come from different backgrounds, and possess different abilities. I will stress group work with individual attention. I believe that it is important to work together, learn about your peers, and learn from your peers. When addressing my students or preparing lesson plans I will always take into consideration the diversities within my classroom. I will be sure to include every student. No student will be left behind, struggling to comprehend or act on what I have said. I will be sure to include many formats, choices, aids, manipulations, and technologies within my classroom to ensure that learning is accessed by all of the students. I will provide viable options and accommodations to address the many unique ways of learning and understanding. I will also be prepared to modify parts of the curriculum for individual students, who may be gifted or in need, so that they too gain from classroom activities and

Major Middle East Events of 1978-1979 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Major Middle East Events of 1978-1979 - Essay Example According to this religious groups, the Jews living in the Soviet Union had the right to move back to their country of ancestral origin, especially given that most countries. From a religious perspective, the three religions have a common origin, also from the region around Israel and Palestine, and thus it could have been their religious role to support the emigration of the Soviet Jews to Palestine. During the same period, most actions by governments were against human rights. The Muslims in Saudi Arabia were even against the act of the Saudi royal family. The Christians were in support of the Jews since almost all Christian nations led by the US were for the move against the Soviet Union’s banning of the emigration of Jews to Palestine. It was felt by these three groups that the Soviet Jews had the right to emigrate from the Soviet Union if they chose to do so. Uniting for a common goal was the only way to defeat the Soviet Union, which was one of the top world super powers by that

Safeway Inc Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Safeway Inc - Assignment Example In addition, they were affected since their target and loyal consumers no longer possess a large pool of any discretionary income affecting the overall demand thus revenue. Politically, the external environment that Safeway Inc. operates was significantly affected. During this crisis the Fed set tough laws and regulations concerning credit and lending to help the economy pull through. These monetary policies by the government never favored investment and plough of capital to the key sectors of growth of the company such as the necessity retail products. These further weakened the company’s competitiveness since this is an environment beyond the control of the company. Financial crisis directly affects the revenue obtainable by the company. Due to the financial crisis of 2008-2009, the company had to rethink on its social responsibility to boost sells. Prior to the crisis, the company was involved in various social participation such as charity events that help improve their relationship with the customers they serve. The company had to lower its active role in social participation and societal charity. This affected their eventual competitiveness after the

Major Middle East Events of 1978-1979 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Major Middle East Events of 1978-1979 - Essay Example According to this religious groups, the Jews living in the Soviet Union had the right to move back to their country of ancestral origin, especially given that most countries. From a religious perspective, the three religions have a common origin, also from the region around Israel and Palestine, and thus it could have been their religious role to support the emigration of the Soviet Jews to Palestine. During the same period, most actions by governments were against human rights. The Muslims in Saudi Arabia were even against the act of the Saudi royal family. The Christians were in support of the Jews since almost all Christian nations led by the US were for the move against the Soviet Union’s banning of the emigration of Jews to Palestine. It was felt by these three groups that the Soviet Jews had the right to emigrate from the Soviet Union if they chose to do so. Uniting for a common goal was the only way to defeat the Soviet Union, which was one of the top world super powers by that

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 †A Book Analysis Essay Example for Free

Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 – A Book Analysis Essay In his book, Fahrenheit 451, author Ray Bradbury highlights the power and importance of obtaining knowledge through books but decries the impact that technological innovations, particularly the television, pose in stifling intellectual and creative development. As a science fiction book that was first printed in 1953, many readers particularly literary critics and students correlate the book to state censorship and subsequent cultural decay presaging the eras following the book’s publication. Indeed, it can be easily gleaned from the main character’s occupation as a book-burning fireman that the book burning per se may be emblematic of   a common situation that most societies have found themselves grappling with – specific stages in nations’ histories whereby basic inalienable rights and freedoms were suppressed. Literary censorship, in particular, has been a recurring theme in many great works of literature. In real life, censorship is something that most governments have resorted to for varied reasons other than as a means of quelling what they categorize as rebellion or insurrection, and in almost every instance, books that echo the sentiments of many great nationalists or radical-thinking individuals have borne the brunt of censorship laws. Some analysts point out that in Ray Bradbury’s book, Fahrenheit 451, â€Å"The book burning is not a government mandated censorship Instead, it is a society-built degradation of the written word. Society has rejected the black and white messages bound in leather and paper† (Przybyszewski).   The author himself does not dispute this observation. Whether it is art imitating reality or the other way around, Fahrenheit 451 is a successful attempt in making readers including those who got to read the book generations after its initial publication ponder on key social and political issues like censorship, even if the author himself had clarified that his novel â€Å"is actually about how television destroys interest in reading literature† (Oleck, par. 1). A lover of the written word, Ray Bradbury hails from humble beginnings in Illinois, which set the stage for his profound yet realistic insights, searing views and cunning overall approach to his subject matter. He was born on August 22, 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois; studied in a Los Angeles High School in 1938, and furthered his education by working nights in the library and pounding away at   typewriter keys and selling newspapers in Los Angeles by day (â€Å"Ray Bradbury Biography†).   It can be noted that Fahrenheit 451, in many ways, pays homage to Bradbury’s Waukegan hometown.   It is in this locality that he developed an enormous and lasting appetite for books and a love for libraries, something which is continually described in his book. As Bradbury himself narrates: From the time I was 9 up through my teens I spent at least two nights a week in the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   town library in Waukegan, Ill. In the summer months, there was hardly a day I could   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   not be found lurking about the stacks, smelling the books like imported spices, drunk   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   on them even before I read them (Moran). Based on the author’s personal narrative, one clearly sees how he obtained the characteristic ease in describing to readers a well-stacked library, and how he skillfully let some of his characters express forceful sentiments about books not just as a storehouse of knowledge and cultural heritage of nations, but as instruments to guide man in living and making decisions about the future. Ray Bradbury’s Waukegan roots likewise armed him with first-hand knowledge and distinct style of writing about a specific subject matter as firefighters. As another writer gathering from Ray Bradbury’s musings in writing Fahrenheit 451: Bradburys wary respect for fire can be traced back to his Waukegan youth, where he   Ã‚  Ã‚   would pass the firehouse on his way to and from the Carnegie Library and end up   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   writing down his descriptions (Moran). Ray Bradbury’s remarkable style is indeed something which has not escaped discerning book readers and analysts. â€Å"While a lesser writer would have to content himself with beating the reader over the head with description and exposition, Bradbury is able to make his nightmare world real with economy and subtlety. The horror never grabs you by the throat as in a Stephen King novel; instead it creeps into your soul almost unnoticed† (Wright). Content-wise, what American writer Ray Bradbury sought to impress on his readers is the fact that humanity stands to be strangled by the very forces – or trappings of modern living   that had originally been conceived to make life better. Bradbury makes a very good point in singling out television as the piece of equipment that most people have been overly relying on, and it comes at a very huge price: a stifled intellectual development. Indeed, of all the new modern conveniences or gadgetry the world has ever seen, one medium of communications which remains all-powerful or influential to minds and attitudes of people of all ages is the television. It is evident that Bradbury possessed remarkable foresight in ascertaining early on that people are bound to be enslaved. One of many insightful reviews about Ray Bradbury and his book states: Bradburys novel — or novella, really — is an inspired criticism of what we now call   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   the information society, and the yawning chasm it is creating in our collective soul.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In it he managed to predict with frightening accuracy such current social pathologies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   as the dumbing down of popular entertainment and education, our growing addiction   Ã‚  Ã‚   to empty sensory stimulation, the rise of random violence among youth, the increasing anomie and alienation among everyone (Wright). Indeed, it takes a meticulous eye attuned to his surroundings for a writer to realistically depict current real-life situations as well as future scenarios. One important point that Ray Bradbury stressed in Fahrenheit 451 is that most of the time, people’s enslavement, whether by societal forces or modern technological advances, do occur from their own volition or free will. â€Å"It’s ordinary people who turn away from reading and the habits of thought and reflection it encourages. When the government starts actively censoring information, most people don’t even bat an eye† (Bradbury 183). It is true, of course, that in the present society, there are many cases of jaded individuals – especially ordinary citizens who wield little or no power to go against the powers-that-be – who initially protest but end up allowing circumstances like government   restraints on media/information to prevail or take place.   It is, however, an inescapable fact that many freedoms, like free speech and expression of ideas through books, are not absolute. This is something that advocates of censorship keep harping on. Introspection will show that in many ways, people, during these increasingly complex times and informational bombardment, do succumb or let government impose controls as the latter may deem morally and socially and politically fit. In doing so, it becomes a clear case of the antagonist turning into an ally. In societies which do a good job of balancing interests and rights, this may be permissible. There are, however, exceptions to the rule. There are people may rant and do nothing, but there are some individuals who even band together to form a coalition or cause-oriented group/association to bat for what they perceive as just. To their minds, the words of 18th century political theorist and philosopher Edmund Burke, of letting evil triumph if good men do nothing, may be ringing loud and clear. Reverting to the other main issue tackled by the book, which is the tendency of people to allow themselves to be enslaved by new technology and turn away from the many virtues of reading books, this is a universal problem pervading modern societies today. Ray Bradbury may have crafted decades ago a concise book about a dystopian society, but its message reverberates up to the present age, when gadget-toting new generations turn to books only when school requires them to, or when a bestselling book-turned-movie or escapist adult novels catch their fancy. In effect, the firemen’s task of burning books in the novel is actually a metaphor for the way a society’s citizens allow themselves, or their knowledge and future, to be stunted.   â€Å"The firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord† (Bradbury 87).

The Age of Innocence | Analysis

The Age of Innocence | Analysis The Age of Innocence is the novel of Edith Whartons maturity in which she contemplates the New York of her youth, a society now extinct and even then under threat. She was born in 1862 into the exclusive, entrenched and apparently immutable world of wealthy New York families. It was a world of structured leisure, in which attendance at balls and dinners passed for occupation, in which the women devoted themselves to dress and to the maintenance of family and system and the men kept a watchful eye on the financial underpinning that made the whole process possible. It was a complacent and philistine world, but one with inflexible standards. These standards and any offences against it lies at the heart of The Age of Innocence; the sexual passion between Newland Archer, a married man, and Ellen Olenski, nonconformist and separated from her husband, threatens conventional mores and family security; the financial irregularities of Julius Beaufort require that he and his wife be ejected fro m society before they corrupt its most cherished integrities. The form of the novel allows its author to examine, with the wisdom of hindsight, a world which was in the process of breaking up when she was a girl, and which she herself rejected in any case. She wrote with the enclyclopedic knowledge of an insider with the accuracy and selective power of a fine novelist and the detachment of a highly intelligent social and historical observer. From the opening pages of the Age of Innocence, when Newland Archer attends the opera at the Academy of music in New York, we see through his eyes the stage and the cast of the book. Her selection of points of view: of the two central figures, Newland and Ellen Olenski, with whom he falls fatally in love, only Newland is allowed a voice; Ellen is always seen through his eyes and those of others, and is thus given a detachment which makes her both slightly mysterious and strengthens her role as the novels catalyst. Newland, on the other hand, by being given absolute definition of thought and action, is laid out for inspection and judgement; he has the vulnerability of exposure, while Ellen is left with privacy and silence. One is ultimately trapped by custom and circumstance, and the other a free spirit, harbinger of the future. As the novel begins, Newland is about to announce his engagement to May Welland, a conventional alliance with a beautiful girl from a suitable family. He loves her, but sees her, even at this early stage, with a clarity that is prescient: when he had gone the brief round of her he returned discouraged by the thought that all this frankness and innocence were only an artificial product. May, indeed, can be seen as embodying in her personality all the rigidity and implacable self-righteousness of the society itself A KIND OF INNOCENCE, but a dangerous and eventually self-destructive innocence. The novel falls naturally into two halves, before and after the marriage, and it is in the second half that we see the characters of the book Newland and May mature and conflict. In the first part of the book, Newland is allowed to appear as somewhat innocent himself, more sophisticated of course than his financà ©e because he is a man and has been permitted both emotional experiences (he has had a brief affair with a married woman) and an intellectual range not available at the time to a young woman, but nevertheless conditioned and relatively unquestioning. He views the New York of his birth and upbringing with a degree of affectionate impatience. He bows to the dictates of convention silver-backed brushed with his monogram in blue enamel to part his hair never appearing in society without a flower in his buttonhole and accepts a world in which people move in an atmosphere of faint implications and pale delicacies. But at the same time, he is capable of criticism and rebellion, and it is in the second half of the novel that we see this capacity fanned into active life by his feelings for Ellen Olenski and his assessment and understanding of her situation and what is that is being done to her by the tribe. Newlands TRAGEDY is that in the last resort he is unable to obey his own instincts: nurture triumphs over nature. May is a more interesting character than she immediately appears; towards the end of the novel she appears to be anything but innocent. Ellen Olenski is her cousin, returned from Europe to the family fold after the collapse of a disasterous marriage to a philandering Polish count. May, initially, has been graciously kind to her and has encouraged Newlands friendly support and advice over Ellens complex and precarious situation: should she divorce her husband? But in the months after the marriage the passion between Newland and Ellen has become apparent to May (even though they dont seem to meet very much in the novel). We never know quite how but must assume that May is more astute and observant than she has appeared. With stealthy adroitness, she moves to save her marriage and avert the threat to social tranquility the outsider cannot be allowed to strike at the heart of all that is sacrosanct and must be ejected. The family tacitly close ranks around May, and Ellen is put under subtle pressure to return to Europe. In the final scenes, Newland realizes what is happening but he is mute and helpless because there is nothing he can do about it because to protest would be to betray himself and Ellen, who is the challenge and the threat to the status quo. She fascinates the men and repels the women by her cosmopolitanism, her taste for literature and art, her cooly amused view (almost flippant attitude) of the world of her childhood: Im sure Im dead and buried, and this dear old place is heaven, she says to Newland at their first meeting, and from that moment he is doomed. From the start, it appears she has decided to have him, judging by her offhand and unconventional assumption that he will visit her. The whole situation is very ambiguous because we as the reader are not privy to her thoughts and true intentions. Ellens family stands behind her at first and as a last resort they solicit the help of the almost fossilized and aristocratic van der Leydens, to ensure her acceptance. But Ellen is fatally tainted: although Ellen is the one who is the innocent party in her failed marriage (her husband, the Count had eyes with a lot of lashes [to lash = discard his eyes roamed] and when he wasnt chasing the women he was collecting china [china plate = mates] and paying any price for both [meaning he was a philanderer with both women and men and paid them handsomely as well], she is polluted there are even unconfirmed rumors that she has consoled herself. The double standards on which that society functioned becomes most apparent here: a woman must be blameless but a blind eye is turned on male sexual indulgence. Initial sympathy eventually turns to suspicion and then to rejection as it is realized that she is not going to conform that she is no longer one of them due to her freedom of mind and of spirit that is unacceptable in a woman. Ellen emerges as the victor, escaping to the freedom of a more expansive and imaginative society. The price she pays is her relationship with Newland Archer. Newland, Ellen and May are products of their time; whatever their instincts and their inclinations, they are obliged to obey its dictation. The author singles our Sillerton Jackson and Lawrence Lefferts, authorities respectively on family and on form. The unexpected ending is neither tragic nor happy. Archer has no hinders towards being with Ellen now, but chooses to keep her as a memory like a relic in a small dim chapel. She is now significantly older and perhaps does not want to be confronted with reality. She is simply a regret of his youth. Wharton frustrates the reader with this ending, and even with Archers and Ellens frustrated love. One of the central themes in The Age of Innocence is the struggle the individual has with his/her own desires and the dictates of the moral codes and manners of the group of which one belongs. Several times, both Archer and Ellen are expected to sacrifice their own desires for what the family and societal desires and expectations. A profound sense of irony is experienced in reading The Age of Innocence. The hypocrisy demonstrated by so many characters in the book, not least by the character of society, leads one to believe that Wharton must have had a facetious undertone when giving the title of the book. Also, Whartons style, with so many details that have meaning, such as the raised eyebrow or a meaningful glance, communicates that many details have crucial significance, which came well to pass in the filming of the novel as well. The problems with making a film from an existing novel are many; films can use visual images to their advantage, whereas un-illustrated books cannot. The verbal nuances in the text get lost when being translated to film. A world of meaning in a glance, carefully analyzed by Wharton in the text, gets lost in its translation to film. Details of fashion in the text go unnoticed by modern readers. Scorsese dealt with this issue by having a voice-over narrator, telling us the details about things that were necessary to comprehend the story and the various scenes in it. Summary of articles: I read the introduction to the book and I think I saw it as a background to the story but did not summarize the introduction itself. I used the information, at the back of my mind, while reading the book and taking notes. Perhaps it would have been better not to read the introduction first, but only after reading the novel itself. Pamela Knights Forms of Disembodiment: The Social Subject in the Age of Innocence There were many different subjects dealt with in this article, but the part of it which most appealed to me (and which I believe I have use for in other areas of study) was the overall psychological and anthropological analysis of the novel. The quote that sums it up: Any observation about an individual character about his or her consciousness, emotions, body, history, or language also entangles us in the collective experience of the group, expressed in the welter of trifles, the matrix of social knowledge, within and out of which Whartons subjects are composed where and how that entanglement extends is one of the novels questions. Nancy Bentley Hunting for the Real: Wharton and the Science of Manners The quote that sums this article is: The gap between reputation and reality here is provocative, for it hints at the complexity of Whartons relation to her cultural context and to the changing concept of culture itself, the subject at the heart of her fiction. And the historical turn to primitivism. This article is an analysis of Whartons style and the authors relationship to her work and her use of symbolism. Lawrence S. Friedman: The Cinema of Martin Scorsese This article discusses the irony in the novel and Scorseses interpretation of Wharton in two scenes and focuses on the frustration of unconsummated desire. Brigitte Peucker Scorseses Age of Innocence: Adaptation and Intermediality This article deals with film understood as a medium in which different representational systems specifically those of painting and writing both collide and replace one another, but are always supplemental to each other . This makes film a medium congenial to the artistic concerns of Wharton (who was not particularly positive to film), because her work is very visual and multi-layered both imaginistic and verbal. The adaptation of this work was particularly challenging because of the aspect of being multi-layered and it was difficult to translate one medium to another.

Starbucks Corporation :: essays research papers

Starbucks Corporation CASE ANALYSIS FOR STARBUCKS CORPORATION I. Case Profile/ Company History Three Seattle entrepreneurs started the Starbucks Corporation in 1971. Their prime product was the selling of whole bean coffee in one Seattle store. By 1982, this business had grown tremendously into five stores selling the coffee beans, a roasting facility, and a wholesale business for local restaurants. Howard Schultz, a marketer, was recruited to be the manager of retail and marketing. He brought new ideas to the owners, but was turned down. Schultz in turn opened his own coffee bar in 1986 based on Italian coffee cafes, selling brewed Starbucks coffee. By 1987, Schultz had expanded to three coffee bars and bought Starbucks from the original owners for $4 million. He changed the name of his coffee bars from Il Giornale to Starbucks. His intention for the company was to grow slowly with a very solid foundation. He wanted to create a top-notch management by wooing top executives from other well-known corporations. For the first two years, Starbucks losses doubled as overhead and op erating expenses increased with Starbucks’ expansion. Schultz stood his ground and did not sacrifice long term integrity and values for short-term profit. By 1991, Starbucks’ sales increased by 84% and the company was out of debt. Starbucks grew to 26 stores by 1988. By 1996 it grew to 870 stores with plans to open 2000 stores by the year 2000. II. Situational Analysis Strategic Analysis Business Level-Strategy: The business strategy of Starbucks’ is identical to the corporate level strategy since the company is a single business company, focusing on only coffee-related products and retail stores. Corporate Level-Strategy: Starbucks corporate strategy has been to establish itself as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world, while maintaining their uncompromised principles as the grow. The firm principles of the company are seen with its maintenance of a great and proven work environment for every staff member in its retail stores. It upholds diversity and promises the highest standards for its products. The company satisfies customers and gives back to the community and the environment. Also, Starbucks persists to be profitable and it is. They live by a strict, slow growth policy completely dominating a market before setting its sights further abroad. This strategy has gained them the advantage of being one of the fastest growing companies in the country. Structure and Control Systems: Starbucks believes that their employees are one of their important assets in that their only sustainable advantage is the quality of their workforce.

Hawthorne?s Symbolism In The House Of Seven Gables Essay examples -- e

American Literature reflects life, and the struggles that we face during our existence. The great authors of our time incorporate life’s problems into their literature directly and indirectly. The stories themselves bluntly tell us a story, however, an author also uses symbols to relay to us his message in a more subtle manner. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book The House of Seven Gable’s symbolism is eloquently used to enhance the story being told, by giving us a deeper insight into the author’s intentions in writing the story. The book begins by describing the most obvious symbol of the house itself. The house itself takes on human like characteristics as it is being described by Hawthorne in the opening chapters. The house is described as "breathing through the spiracles of one great chimney"(Hawthorne 7). Hawthorne uses descriptive lines like this to turn the house into a symbol of the lives that have passed through its halls. The house takes on a persona of a living creature that exists and influences the lives of everybody who enters through its doors. (Colacurcio 113) "So much of mankind’s varied experience had passed there - so much had been suffered, and something, too, enjoyed - that the very timbers were oozy, as with the moisture of a heart." (Hawthorne 27). Hawthorne turns the house into a symbol of the collection of all the hearts that were darkened by the house. "It was itself like a great human heart, with a life of its own, and full of rich and somber reminiscences" (Hawthorne 27). Evert Augustus Duyckinck agrees that "The chief perhaps, of the dramatis personae, is the house itself. From its turrets to its kitchen, in every nook and recess without and within, it is alive and vital." (Hawthorne 352) Duyckinck feels that the house is meant to be used as a symbol of an actual character, "Truly it is an actor in the scene"(Hawthorne 352). This turns the house into an interesting, but still depressing place that darkens the book in many ways. Hawthorne means for the house’s gloomy atmosphere to symbolize many things in his book. The house also is used to symbolize a prison that has darkened the lives of its inmates forever. The house is a prison because it prevents its inhabitants form truly enjoying any freedom. The inhabitants try to escape from their incarceration twice. Initially, as Phoebe and C... .... Hawthorne meant to not only entertain with his writings, but also to inform if possible. This explains the extensive use of symbolism in his work. Overall, Hawthorne did not just write a story, he wrote a classic that has stood the test of time. Works Cited Abel, Darrel. The Moral Picturesque: Studies in Hawthorne’s Fiction. Indiana: Purdue UP, 1988. Arac, Jonathan. "The House and the Railroad: Dombey and Son and The House of the Seven Gables." The New England Quarterly volume LI (1978) : 3 - 22. Colacurcio, Michael. "The Sense of an Author: The Familiar Life and Strange Imaginings of Nathaniel Hawthorne." ESQ 103 (1981) : 113. Crowley, Donald. Hawthorne: The Critical Heritage. London: W & J Mackay Co. Ltd., 1970. Erlich, Gloria. Family Themes and Hawthorne’s Fiction: The Tenacious Web. New Jersey: Rutgers UP, 1984. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The House of Seven Gables: An Authoritative Text Backgrounds and Sources Essays in Criticism. Ed. Seymour Gross. New York: W W Norton & Co.,1967. Kaul, A., ed. Hawthorne: A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey : Prentice - Hall Inc., 1966. Rountree, Thomas, ed. Critics on Hawthorne. Florida: U of Miami P, 1972.

Bugatti Veyron Essay

The Bugatti Veyron is a mid-engined car. The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal production car in the world, with a top speed of 431 km/h. The original version has a top speed of 408.00 km/h. Designed and developed by Volkswagen Group and produced by Bugatti Automobiles SAS at their headquarters in Chà ¢teau Saint Jean in Molsheim (Alsace, France), the Veyron’s chief designer was Hartmut Warkuss, and the exterior was designed by Jozef Kabaň of Volkswagen, And much of the engineering work being conducted under the guidance of Bugatti Engineering chief Wolfgang Schreiber. Though commissioned by Volkswagen, this car is only sold through the Bugatti manufacturers and cannot be found at any Volkswagen dealer. The car is named after French racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti company. The â€Å"16.4† refers to 16 cylinders and 4 turbochargers. The Veyron features an 8.0 litre, quad-turbocharged, W16 cylinder engine, equivalent to two narrow-angle V8 engines . Each cylinder has four valves for a total of sixty four; the engine is fed by four turbochargers. According to Volkswagen Group, the Veyron engine produces 1,001 metric horsepower of motive power, and generates 1,250 N-m of torque while super sport edition produces 1,200 metric horsepower and torque of 1,500 N ·m and has a revised aerodynamic package. The transmission is a dual-clutch direct-shift gearbox ,computer-controlled ,automatic with seven gear ratios and a shift time of less than 150 milliseconds, built by Ricardo of England. The Veyron can be driven in either semi- or fully automatic mode. A replacement transmission for the Veyron costs just over US$120,000. It also has permanent four wheel drive. It uses special Michelin PAX run-flat tyres, designed specifically to accommodate the Veyron’s top speed, which cost US$25,000 per set. The tyres can be removed from the rims only in France, a service which costs US$70,000 The total engine in actual produces 3600 hp of which only 1/3rd is used for running the car and the remaining is in the form of heat. The Bugatti Veyron has a total of ten radiators. Top speed On 4 July 2010, Bugatti’s official test driver Pierre Henri Raphanel piloted the Super Sport edition and was clocked at an average of 431.072 km/h on the Volkswagen Group’s private Ehra-Lessien test track to establish the car’s top speed With representatives of the Guinness Book of Records on hand taking back the title from the SSC Ultimate Aero TT as the fastest production vehicle. All production models will be electronically limited to 415 km/h to protect the tyres. German inspection officials recorded an average top speed of the EB 16.4 version of 408.47 km/h during test sessions on the Ehra-Lessien test track on 19 April 2005. This top speed was verified by James May on Top Gear in November 2006, again at Volkswagen Group’s private Ehra-Lessien test track. When the car reaches 220 km/h, hydraulics lower the car until it has a ground clearance of about 9 cm (3.5 in). At the same time, the wing and spoiler deploy. In this handling mode the wing provides 3,425 Newton’s of down force, holding the car to the road. For top speed mode the driver must, while at rest, toggle a special top speed key to the left of the driver’s seat called as â€Å" second ignition† to unlock limiter of 350km/h.The rear spoiler retracts and angle of rear wing to horizontal is modified into 2 °, the front air diffusers shut, and normal 12.5 cm (4.9 in) ground clearance(i.e. Height from the ground ) drops to 6.5 cm (2.6 in). The Veyron’s brakes use cross drilled, radially vented carbon fibre reinforced silicon carbide (C/SiC) composite discs, manufactured by SGL Carbon, which have a much greater resistance to brake fade when compared with conventional cast iron discs. Bugatti claims maximum deceleration of 12.747 m/s2 on road tyres. At speeds above 200 km/h , the rear wing also acts as an airbrake, snapping to a 55 ° angle in 0.4 seconds once brakes are applied, providing an additional 6.66 m/s2 of deceleration equivalent to the stopping power of an ordinary hatchback. Bugatti claims the Veyron will brake from 400 km/h to a standstill in less than 10 seconds, though distance covered in this time will be half of a kilometre (third of a mile).