Five forces Analysis of Two-wheeler industry Essay

As shown above, the business model is formulated as input ïÆ'   process ïÆ'   output. For a two wheeler industry, The inputs to the OEM constitutes of 1. Import of parts: the basic ingredients for model building are the parts such as drive chains, engines, components, transmissions etc. 2. Auto Component Manufacturer: There are 300+ players in the industry which manufacture auto parts components and perform tasks such as castings, forgings, tires etc 3. Raw material Supplier: This forms the initial requirement for the development of any vehicle. The raw material of which it is composed of consists of sheet metal, aluminium etc. The processing involves: 1. Manufacturer Original Equipment Manufacturer(OEM): The industry is highly concentrated with 3 players constituting 80% of the market share, namely Hero Moto, Bajaj Auto & Honda Motors. This industry has a turnover of 55K Cr by producing over 13.33mn units in the FY 2011. 2. Dealership Network Dealer: In the Indian domestic market, the dealer are numbered over 2000 Sub- Dealer: The sub dealers, also known as the touch points are over 12000. This dealership network forms the competitive advantage of a company in the market Service Centers: These provide after sales service for the two wheeler industry and form the part of maintenance and helps in building customer loyalty. The output part of the business model comprises of 1. Domestic Customers: There is a low penetration in the domestic market with coverage in rural market as low as 7%. 2. International Customers: The major markets for two wheelers are Africa, Latin America & South East Asia INDUSTRY ANALYSIS The industry is highly concentrated and there is a strong foothold by 3 major players in the industry namely Hero Moto constituting 39% of the market share, Bajaj Auto constituting 27% of the market share and finally Honda Motors with 14% market share. So, these 3 major players sum to 80% of the total industry market share. The Indian Auto sector had a volume growth of 13% CAGR over the last 5 years- Driven by two wheelers which account for 80% of the total volumes Two wheeler sales reached INR 55K Cr and volumes reached 13.3 mn units clocking a CAGR of 15% and 13% respectively over 2006-2011. This works to an average realization – Rs 42000 or 1.2x the real per capita GDP of India. Domestic volume growth has been strong over the past five years growing at 11% CAGR Exports have been a significant factor to contribute to overall volumes with a growth of 27% CAGR over the last 5 years. Year to date, the volume sales growth in two wheelers has surpassed all other automobile segments. FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS What is it? Five Forces Analysis is a tool that enables managers to study the key factors in an industry envi ­ronment that shape that nature of competition: (1) rivalry among current competitors, (2) threat of new entrants, (3) substitutes and complements, (4) power of suppliers, and (5) power of buyers. When do we use it? In a strategic analysis, Five Forces Analysis is an excellent method to help you analyze how competi ­tive forces shape an industry in order to adapt or influence the nature of competition. Collectively, the Five Forces determine the attractiveness of an industry, its profit potential, and the ease and attractiveness of mobility from one strategic position to another. Because  of this, the analysis is useful when firms are making decisions about entry or exit from an industry as well as to identify major threats and opportunities in an industry. Why do we use it? This analysis was originally developed by Michael Porter, a Harvard professor and a noted author ­ity on strategy. While all firms operate in a broad socioeconomic environment that includes legal, social, environmental, and economic factors, firms also operate in a more immediate competitive environment. The structure of this competitive environment determines both the overall attractive ­ness of an industry and helps identify opportunities to favorably position a firm within an industry. Porter identified five primary forces that determine the competitive environment: (1) rivalry among current competitors, (2) threat of new entrants, (3) substitutes and complements, (4) power of sup ­pliers, and (5) power of buyers. 1. Rivalry Among the direct and obvious forces in the industry, existing competitors must first deal with one another. When organizations compete for the same customers and try to win market share at the others’ expense, all must react to and anticipate their competi ­tors’ actions. 2. Threat of Entrants New entrants into an industry compete with established companies placing downward pressure on prices and ultimately profits. In the last century, Japanese automobile manufacturers Toyota, Honda, and Nissan represented formidable new entrants to the U.S. market, threatening the market position of established U.S. players GM, Ford, and Chrysler. The existence of substantial barriers to entry helps protect the profit potential of existing firms and makes an industry more attractive. 3. Substitutes and Complements Besides firms that directly compete, other firms can affect industry dynamics by providing substitute products or services that are functionally similar (i.e., accomplishing the same goal) but technically different. The existence of substitutes threatens demand in the industry and puts downward pressure on prices and margins. While substitutes are a potential threat, a complement is a potential opportunity because customers buy more of a given  product if they also demand more of the complementary product. For example, iTunes was established as an important complement to Apple’s iPod, and now the firm has leveraged connections among its suite of products including iPhone, iPad, and the like. 4. Power of Suppliers Suppliers provide resources in the form of people, raw materials, com ­ponents, information, and financing. Suppliers are important because they can dictate the nature of exchange and the potential value created farther up the chain toward buyers. Suppliers with greater power can negotiate better prices squeezing the margins of down ­stream buyers. 5. Power of Buyers Buyers in an industry may include end consumers, but frequently the term refers to distributors, retailers, and other intermediaries. Like suppliers, buyers may have important bargaining powers that dictate the means of exchange in a transaction. According to Porter, successful managers do more than simply react to this environment; they act in ways that actually shape or â€Å"enact† the organization’s competitive environment. For example, a firm’s introduction of substitute products or services can have a substantial influence over the competitive environment, and in turn this may have a direct impact on the attractiveness of an industry, its potential profitability, and competitive dynamics. I. Bargaining power of buyers: High Who are the buyers of this industry: Individual customers who purchase and use two wheelers for the purpose of transportation. This category of customers considers two wheelers as a necessity than a luxury. In a developing country like India, especially in tier 2 and tier 3 cities, two wheelers are extremely popular amongst families and students. Scooters are considered to be utility vehicles transporting a family of 2-3 at a time and providing good mileage. Bikes on the other hand come in a variety of segments. They can cost less, acting as utility vehicles. They can be costing very high, acting as luxury products for their owners. The  following points can be aggregated to determine the relative bargaining power of buyers against the automobile manufacturing firms. The bargaining power in this case would mean to what extent the buyers can negotiate prices of the two wheelers. This buying power would determine the market price of the two wheelers in the long run. It also indicates the intensity of rivalry amongst the existing firms in the market. Product Differentiation: Low The features in two-wheelers produced by the Indian manufacturers like Bajaj, Honda, TVS etc. are very close to each other. These features include appearance, Price, Quality and other functional features. This implies that: The buyers can shift from one product to another, as they do not have affinity for any specific product Information Availability: High High availability of information over the internet, leads to higher bargaining power with the buyer to compare the various features and price of products thus leading to lower bargaining power with the manufacturing firms. Type of Economy: Developing India being a Developing economy, is a big hub for two wheeler manufacturers. A two wheeler is a necessity in small towns even today. The large number of customers lowers their bargaining power to some extent. However, this is offset by the large number of suppliers. This is good news for the automobile firms as their product is going to remain in demand for a while at least and they don’t have to worry about declining sales for some time in India. Number of Suppliers: High The number of companies manufacturing automobiles is high in India. With each major player opening showrooms in not only Tier I but II and III cities, the consumers have a wide variety of options to choose from. The number of buyers and sellers in market is high. These two effects offset each other. This implies that: The bargaining power of consumers is high because of this effect as the consumers have the option of going to another brand if they do not like the functional features or price of one brand. In case of utility  vehicles manufacturing category, Rohtak alone has two showrooms of the major players in the market. This implies an empowered consumer. Switching Cost: Moderate The switching costs are higher than FMCG goods however are low compared to many other high involvement products. A basic two wheeler starts from about Rs 40,000. This cost maybe high for some people and not so significant for others. However as two wheelers hardly have any associated products, which would require compatibility with the product, the switching cost is low. Also due to a well-established second hand market in India, the vehicles can be easily resold these days. This also covers up for the switching costs to some extent. II. Bargaining Power of the Supplier : LOW Organizations would be at a disadvantage if their suppliers are powerful. They should preferably not be dependent on any supplier. Now suppliers can be powerful if the number of firms providing thie particular service or product are few in number( eg. A monopoly, oligopoly).The number of the firms determine their bargaining power. The power gets by the increase in existence of switching costs for the various firms. Moreover, firms in an industry have power if they have many alternative sources of supply or if they have a credible threat of integrating backward to provide their own sources of supply. So even supply chain management is particularly important in industries where the potential power of suppliers is high. Now, for a 2 wheeler Industry there would be various suppliers which can be broadly classified into 4 broad categories:- 1)Steel industry 2)Tyre industry 3)Auto components industry 4) Battery industry Steel Industry The 2 wheeler industry in India mostly imports all the automotive steel. Around 65% of the steel is imported for automobiles. The cheap import duty helps the 2 wheeler industry to import high quality steel. So the prices of  steel is determined by mostly international markets, so the bargaining possibility is less for the steel suppliers. Demand for automotive steel such as inner components and outer body parts comprises just 7-8 million tonnes (mt) a year out of India’s total production of about 78 mt, but is growing at 10-20% a year even as overall demand growth lags economic growth. The companies in India which develop automotive steel have now decided to expand in this area and many companies have entered into joint ventures with various international companies like Sumitomo + Bhushan Steels, Jfe+jsw, Tata+Nippon joint ventures. So the 2 wheeler industry has a lot of vendors both nationally and internationally to choose from. Thus, the bargaining power of the supplier is low. Auto components and Battery Industry Both the Auto Components industry and the Battery industry in India are highly fragmented .There suppliers highly outnumber the 2 wheeler companies. Examples of a few companies which provide auto components in the automobile industry are Rico Auto Industries Ltd, JBM Group, Sona Koyo Steering Systems and Lumax Industries, Indication Instruments Ltd Aisin Seiki Co.,BorgWarner,Continental, Delphi, Denso Corporation, Eaton, FAG, Faurecia, GKN,Honda Foundry Co. Ltd., Honeywell,Knorr Bremse, Koyo,Magna,Magneti Marelli, Mando Corporation, Meritor,Mitsuba Corporation, NHK Spring,Robert Bosch,Showa Corporation, Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Toyoda Gosei, USHIN, Valeo, Visteon,Yazaki and many more. Amaron ,exide,luminous,kaycee ,sumangal,action,tata batteries are just a few examples of the Battery Companies in India.Thus, since the number of suppliers is huge the bargaining power they enjoy is low. Tyre Industry It can be clearly seen in the pie chart below that for tyre industry in India, 53% of the tyre consumption is by the 2 wheeler industry. The benefits are given to them as they are buying in bulk and the relation gives the tyre firms a strong brand association. At present there are 40 listed companies in the tyre sector in India.Major players are MRF, JK Tyres, and Apollo Tyres & CEAT, which account for 63 per  cent of the organized tyre market. The other key players include Modi Rubber, Kesoram Industriesand Goodyear India, with 11 per cent, 7 per cent and 6 per cent share respectively. Dunlop,Falcon, Tyre Corporation of India Limited (TCIL), TVS-Srichakra, Metro Tyres and Balkrishna Tyres are some of the other significant players in the industry. Thus , with so many players in the market and also with the power to give tyre companies brand association, the 2 wheeler industry is at a huge advantage and the bargaining power of the tyre suppliers is low. III. Threats of Substitutes : LOW Number of Substitutes: High Substitutes can be cars, electrical vehicles, public transport and rickshaw/taxi. There are many players in the market for four-wheelers. Also, in metros and some of the tier-II cities, public transport facility is quite good. Thus, this can be a negative factor for two-wheeler industry. But two-wheeler may be a better option for 2 people in the same price range. Flexibility is also high compared to public transport. These facts nullify the negative effect of this factor. Public Transport Infrastructure: Moderate As of today, public transport is not very well developed in India but its developing day by day. In tier-1 cities, people have started preferring public transportation for routine tasks but people in other regions don’t have an option. Scope of Differentiation: High There is a high scope of innovation in this industry as the technologies are ever changing. Customization according to the customer needs is important and attracts consumers’ attention towards one vehicle from another. Lifestyle in India: Changing Common Man’s lifestyle is changing in India and number of people working in a family are increasing. Most of them prefer one vehicle per head to commute. For a middle class family, two wheeler is the only feasible option in such cases looking at its flexibility and affordability. Thus, changing lifestyle  is a positive sign for this industry. Cost of Switching to Substitutes: High People switch to substitutes for a reason. Given below are some of the reasons why people switch to substitutes. Cars: Comfort, status Symbol, safety Public Vehicles : Affordability, Safety, Cost, Pollution, Time saving Electrical Vehicles: Environmental friendly, Maintenance cost Here is the negative side of switching to substitutes. Public transport vehicles are not readily available for transportation within the city/town/village except in a few cities in India. For the regions where public transports are not available, only four-wheeler or electrical vehicles remains the substitute to a two-wheeler. Electrical vehicles at present not competitive with respect to present petrol running vehicles. No established player is offering Electrical vehicles. Switching cost from a two-wheeler to a four-wheeler is quite high as investment will be needed to switch the product. Also running cost is more for a four wheeler. The above table shows the calculation of running cost of a two-wheeler and a four-wheeler per km. The numbers are rationally assumed for reaching to quantified figures. As we can see from above calculations, running cost of a four-wheeler is almost 3.5 times more than that of a two-wheeler. Thus, we conclude that the cost of switching to substitutes is LOW in the case of two-wheelers. Seeing all the five factors contributing to Threats of Substitutes, it can be safely concluded that this threat is LOW. Lower running costs, higher addressable market and lack of public transport make two wheeler industry attractive. IV. Threat of New Entrants : MODERATE-WEAK Capital requirements: Moderate High capital requirements mean a company must spend a lot of money in order to compete in the market. The investment made by the company depends upon the type of expansion. High capital requirements positively affect 2 Wheeler Industry India. â€Å"High Capital Requirements (2 Wheeler Industry India)† is an easy qualitative factor to overcome, so the investment will not have to spend much time trying to overcome this issue. Easy to overcome this disadvantage High sunk costs High sunk costs make it difficult for a competitor to enter a new market, because they have to commit money up front with no guarantee of returns in the end. High sunk costs positively affect 2 Wheeler Industry India. This statement will have a short-term positive impact on this entity, which adds to its value. â€Å"High Sunk Costs Limit Competition (2 Wheeler Industry India)† will have a long-term negative impact on this entity, which subtracts from the entity’s value. â€Å"High Sunk Costs Limit Competition (2 Wheeler Industry  India)† is an easy qualitative factor to overcome, so the investment will not have to spend much time trying to overcome this issue. 5 Forces analysis: High negative impact in the long run High positive impact in the short run Easy to overcome this disadvantage Strong brands If strong brands are critical to compete, then new competitors will have to improve their brand value in order to effectively compete. Strong brands positively affect Two Wheeler Industry India. The 3 major players contribute to 80% of the market share Hero Moto, Bajaj Auto, Honda Motors. Advanced technologies Advanced technologies make it difficult for new competitors to enter the market because they have to develop those technologies before effectively competing. The requirement for advanced technologies positively affects Two Wheeler Industry India. Economies of scale Economies of scale help producers to lower their cost by producing the next unit of output at lower costs. When new competitors enter the market, they will have a higher cost of production, because they have smaller economies of scale. Economies of scale positively affect Two Wheeler Industry India.†Industry Requires Economies of Scale (Automobile Industry India)† has a significant impact, so an analyst should put more weight into it. â€Å"Industry Requires Economies of Scale (Two Wheeler Industry India)† will have a long-term negative impact on this entity, which subtracts from the entity’s value. This force has significant impact High negative impact in long run Patents Patents that cover vital technologies make it difficult for new competitors, because the best methods are patented. Patents positively affect Two Wheeler Industry India. Customer Loyalty It takes time and money to build a brand. When companies need to spend resources building a brand, they have fewer resources to compete in the marketplace. These costs positively affect Two Wheeler Industry India. High learning curves When the learning curve is high, new competitors must spend time and money studying the market before they can effectively compete. High learning curves positively affect profits for industry. High switching costs High switching costs make it difficult for customers to change which products they normally purchase, due to costs. High switching costs positively affect Two Wheeler Industry India. High Switching Costs for Customers has a significant impact, so an analyst should put more weight into it.†High Switching Costs for Customers will have a long-term positive impact on this entity, which adds to its value. This statement will have a short-term positive impact on this entity, which adds to its value. This force has significant impact High positive impact in long run High positive impact in short run Strong distribution networks Weak distribution networks mean goods are more expensive to move around and some goods don’t get to the end customer. The expense of building a strong distribution network positively affects Two Wheeler Industry India. â€Å"Strong Distribution Network Required † has a significant impact, so an analyst should put more weight into it. â€Å"Strong Distribution Network Required – Two Wheeler Industry India† will have a long-term positive impact on this entity, which adds to its value. â€Å"Strong Distribution Network Required – Two Wheeler Industry India† is a difficult qualitative factor to defend, so competing institutions will have an easy time overcoming it. This force has significant impact High positive impact in long run Difficult to defend advantage High entry barriers When barriers are high, it is more difficult for new competitors to enter the market. High entry barriers positively affect profits for Two Wheeler Industry India. So to sum it all, for the two wheeler industry the threat of new entrants is moderate to weak. INTENSITY OF RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS : MODERATE Among the direct and obvious forces in the automobile industry, existing competitors must first deal with one another. When organizations compete for the same customers and try to win market share at the others’ expense, all must react to and anticipate their competitors’ actions. There are 3 main factors along which the intensity of rivalry amongst existing players in the automobile industry have been identified 1. Number Of Competitors:- The number of competitors within an industry is a direct correlation to the intensity of competition, all else being equal. The industry concentration was studied using Hirschman-Herfindahl Index. The data for studying HHI was obtained from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. Yearly sales volume data for various brands of two-wheelers in the three segments were obtained for the period 2008- 2012 and was computed. The above figure shows that the 2 Wheeler Industry is oligopolistic in nature and there is less competition even after deregulation of the Indian Economy. The Motorcycle segment is characterised by a few large players who have established their presence. The leading player is Honda Motorcycles with almost 50% market share. The Moped industry is a monopoly and TVS is the only player which has been able to capture the entire market. The scooter industry has crossed the shakeout phase post 2004 when the Activa type models were being imitated by all major players across the segments. This too has a HHI of .309 indicating less competition. 2. Incentive to Fight:- The incentive to fight is primarily related to finding out how competitors  fix prices i.e whether they engage in price wars, or engage in aggressive activities with the aim of increasing market share. This shall further be explored among 3 other parameters. A. Growth In Automobile Industry There has been substantial growth in the automobile industry in India and it has already crossed the 25 Billion Rupee mark and has had a 13.7% CAGR over the past 5 years. Over the medium term, the 2W industry is expected to report a volume CAGR of 9-11% to reach a size of 24-26 million units by 2016-17. This will be due to the (a) favourable demographic profile, (b) increasing personal income as well as (c) moderate penetration in relation to other Emerging Markets. Therefore there is substantial opportunity for growth leading to less competition. B. Demand – Supply Gap Most two wheeler have idle capacity as the supply exceeds demand. Moreover as many players are planning to increase manufacturing operations, it is estimated that the total supply will exceed demand by almost 15 to 20%. This problem has been compounded by the fact that foreign entrants are planning to enter India as growth in European and American markets have stagnated. This will lead to more competition. C. Nature of Demand The nature of demand is highly cyclical in nature. In times of high growth in the Indian Economy there is corresponding revenue growth for all 2 wheeler companies. This can be seen more from the growth of the 2 Wheeler Industry during recession which slowed substantially. In fact the motorcycles segment had dipped to negative growth during that period. Our group believes that after evaluating the three factors, there will soon be a tendency for the firms to engage in fierce competition as the stakes are increased manifold. This will ultimately lead to more competition for existing players and international players who are thinking of venturing into the industry. 3. Coordination between competitors According to the Indian Constitution, â€Å"The Competition Act, 2002, as amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007, follows the philosophy of modern competition laws. The Act prohibits anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position by enterprises and regulates combinations (acquisition, acquiring of control and Merger and Acquisition), which causes or likely to cause an appreciable adverse effect on competition within India† which prevents firms from colluding implicitly or explicitly colluding. Till now there has been no tendency amongst firms of colluding, hence the market is still competitive in terms of the coordination between competitors. Considering all the factors, the competitive landscape within the industry is still not yet clearly defined. Even though firms are capacity constrained, there is still ample room for growth. Therefore our group believes that the competition is still low. The way ahead With consumers becoming increasingly aware about products and buyer power increasing, the manufacturers will have to differentiate their products. Then comes the era of green vehicles which will be powered by battery or green fuels and will provide mileage of 100 km/Rs 8. The relationship between suppliers and manufacturers is nasty at this point of time. It needs to be reworked. This will provide room for improved consumer feedback mechanism which will lead to improved product for consumers The projected sales of two wheelers in India in FY15 are 18MN. There is scope in the unisex category of scooters as already there are plenty of motorbike owners in the country. Companies could leverage on that. Another scope is there in rural areas and tier II, III cities. This market is relatively untouched by two wheeler marketers and hence this should be explored and custom made vehicles should be designed for people residing in these areas. Since the purchasing capacity of these people is low it should be kept in mind while making utility products for them.

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A Bird came down the  walk WRITTEN BY EMILY DICKINSON A Bird came down the walk Background †¢ Dickinson liked to write about small moments in life. †¢ She liked to write about moments between people and animals. Poem Stanza one †¢ From the first line we have the animal world entering the human world. The bird is oblivious to the presence of Dickinson. She watches on as the bird eats a worm. The use of the word ‘fellow’ is suggested to show how impolite this act is but it is only used as an element of humour. Dickinson finds this both fascinating and playful. Stanza two Dickinson continues the observation and continues to run with the gentleman theme and gives the bird an element of grace. By mentioning ‘Dew’ Dickinson shows how closely she is watching the bird as if under a microscope seeing all the minute elements perfectly. Stanza three †¢ There is a change in this stanza as the bird moves from one of grace and poise to one of caution as if it is watchful of possible threats. Even during this time of caution the bird manages to remain beautiful ‘Velvet Head’. Stanza four †¢ In this stanza the word cautious refers to both speaker and bird. While Dickinson tries to bridge the gap between man and animal the bird flying away shows that this will not happen. The bird’s flight is not shown as one of terror but rather with elegance as the bird retains its beauty. Stanza five †¢ This beauteous flight continues into stanza five. This flight is shown to be graceful and noiseless. By showing it this way Dickinson shows that the bird is graceful and is a natural part of this world disturbing nothing. She emphasises this by comparing it to more of nature’s creations. Points to note †¢ Expressing the beauty of nature †¢ Positive poem †¢ Use of imagery and punctuation key

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Ethics and the college Student - Essay Example These resources are used to enhance and promote conversations and curricula on issues relating to ethics designed for college students, staff, and even the administration. Among the code of ethics include integrity which is to be present in any manner of relationship. Moreover, must treat others in respect, fairness and honesty. Competence is paramount any college for it to realize its educational objectives. Students in any college are to ensure equality and acceptance so as to prevent harassment, discrimination, and intimidation. Finally, it is honor and trust in all academic assignments thus avoiding plagiarism in any given assignment. Discussion A code of ethics must be there in colleges so as to curb cheating and related vices. Cheating is an epidemic in most of the colleges as it affects almost fifty percent of the total student population. The code of ethics is affected by the social characteristics and demographics of students like sex, age, levels of test anxiety, academic s tanding, and internal social control. Thee factors have been found to contribute to cheating in colleges which is unethical (Loveland & Rayna, 2000). This is because many students have rationalized their behavior in cheating and they do so without having to challenge the norm of honesty that is required. Most of the commonly cited technique they use is the denial of responsibility. In addition they use the neutralization technique of appealing to the higher loyalties. Here, they have been arguing that it is more vital to aide a friend than to avoid cheating which quite unethical. By the students recognizing and accepting cheating as a very undesirable behavior but nonetheless they see it as an excuse under certain circumstances thus the presence of situational ethics. To some students cheating is planned, expected and their opinion it is rewarded by good grades. This leaves the ethics and internalized control of the student as a barrier to cheating (Corll, 2007). However, the neutra lizing attitude gives the students the green light to side step issues of guilt and ethics and going ahead to place the blame for their behavior on another front. This concept of neutralization in relation to the ethics of college students permits them to state that cheating is wrong but to some extent in special circumstances it is acceptable, and even necessary. David Matza and Gresham Sykes (1957) are the first who developed the concept of neutralization so as to explain the concept of delinquent behavior. They explained the expression of delinquent behavior through the process of situationally defining deviant behavior in this case the college students through naturalization justify the violation of accepted behavior (Labeff et al, 2010). Plagiarism is considered as an act of dishonesty in academic spheres whereby a person takes the work of others and presents them as his or her own without proper attribution. Plagiarism can have numerous effects on both the student and the educ ational sector as a whole. Plagiarism leads to the student failing to develop sharp critical thinking skills which are paramount in any learning process. Also, it damages the relationship between the students and teachers by eroding their mutual trust and the students who legitimately earn their grades. Plagiarism can lead to loss of a degree or a job. This includes the college students, the college faculty members who may plagiarize the work of other scholars, and finally professors who face

An Analysis of Tools for Evaluating HR Effectiveness Research Paper

An Analysis of Tools for Evaluating HR Effectiveness - Research Paper Example Human resource management is a practice within an organization that is responsible for the recruitment, selection, training, empowerment, compensated and looking after the overall welfare of organization’s employees.For an organization’s activities to be carried out effectively and efficiently, an organization should have competent employees. The human resource manager is the one who carries out human resource management practice. He should therefore have plans in place to ensure the organization acquires the most competent employees in the market (Peter 12). This can be achieved through the development of an effective recruitment and selection plan. Through effective human resource management, organization’s employees are satisfied with the compensations they are given. This is due to the fact that the human resource manager keeps on reviewing the organization’s remuneration system so as to keep on making adjustments that will enable employees earn well i n order to cope with the changing standards of living.Human resource management is concerned with motivating organization’s employees in a way that they will be able to produce outstanding outputs. The human resource manager since is the one who is responsible for this has to ensure that a good working environment exist. Employee retention- Each and every business organization aims to retain its competent employees so that they can keep on contributing tirelessly to the success of the organization in terms of its performance.

Divorce Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Divorce - Research Paper Example Psychologists have extensively researched on the effects that divorce has on children and evidence converges at the point that it ultimately leads to the deterioration of their mental health even adulthood. In this paper I will be arguing and justifying why the procedure of divorce is harmful in terms of impact especially on the moral status and ultimate behavior of the children who suffer it. Divorce has a tremendous negative effect not only the children but also the separating parents and ultimately society as it alters the family structure. Children may suffer the inevitable feeling of inadequacy, having to start a new life in a very unstable single parent family, and deprivation that may lead them to resent. Aggression and mood problems may be some of the behavior changes that the affected children develop as they adjust to the new order. A wide body of research has shown that those children who are brought up in stable families with both parents present show stability and good behavior as compared to their counterparts who encounter divorce. Children who have suffered divorce in their lives are prone to delinquency and aggression. This is because these children go through a very intense period of loss and are subjected to tremendous, unexpected and inevitable changes when parents divorce and separate. There is no doubt most of the impacts of divorce are extremely det rimental to our society and as such there is need for deliberate efforts at curbing its growing popularity. The family which is society’s basic building is worst affected by divorce. The relationship between the parent and child will never be same again after a divorce occurs. In fact, following the divorce and ultimate separation of the couple, another form of divorce inevitably occurs which involves the separation of children from their parents.

Clinical diversity analysis on a nursing subject Essay

Clinical diversity analysis on a nursing subject - Essay Example With this in mind, it is necessary that nursing students equip themselves both theoretically and in practice. A nurse must be thorough in all aspects of health care because a patient’s recovery rests on their hands. In the field of nursing, care has its provisions in various settings; it mainly depends on the convenience of the patient and the availability of resources with the inclusion of the population demand. This paper is centred on reflection in consideration to my learning experiences as the semester comes to a close. The purpose of reflecting is to identify how far I have come in as far as training and knowledge in this chosen field is concerned. There are difficulties and obstacles I have had to overcome for me to pass the qualification necessary to proceed with my training. This paper will be looking into reflection upon the topic; what learning and practice experiences did I expect before embarking on my second year? What was the outcome of the topic, learning and practice? The paper will also feature the various challenges and barriers faced during the course of the semester as well as the outcome of such adversity; how does such challenges influence my continuing professional development as I pass on to the next year of training and in my nursing career in general? During the semester, the lecturer involved the students in rigorous learning activities in a bid to make the learning experience enjoyable and friendlier to the students. For instance, the lecturer made use of tutorials which were made available to the students. Tutorials were a great way of giving the students a chance to learn on their own. When students learn on their own they develop a better understanding of the patient. Additionally it challenges the student to think harder while also giving an opportunity for the student to conduct research on the given topic to enhance

Cost Accounting Essay Example for Free

Cost Accounting Essay Questions arise as to why ABC implementation is successful in certain companies and fails in others. Based on the contingency theory, researchers have argued that the reasons for different degrees of ABC success could be due to the different contextual factors faced by each firm. These have led researchers to recognize assessing factors that influence ABC success implementation as an important research area. The following are among the research that have been carried out to examine factors that influence ABC success: Anderson [18]; Shield [3]; McGowan and Klammer [19]; Krumwiede [20]; and Anderson and Young [21] This article has two main objectives; the first objective is to identify research gaps based on the revision of previous research and the second objective is to propose theoretical research framework for current research. This article is organized as follows: Section II presents a discussion of selected articles related to factors influencing ABC implementation and gaps or limitations of previous studies and suggestions for current research are stated in the section III and IV. The framework for current research is provided in section V, Section VI defines each research variable and the final section presents the conclusion. II. PREVIOUS RESEARCH In this section, selected ABC implementation empirical 144 Abstract—In today’s advanced manufacturing and competitive environment, accurate costing information is crucial for all the kinds of businesses, such as manufacturing firms, merchandizing firms, and service firms. Argued to be superior to the traditional volume-based costing system, Activity-Based Costing system (ABC) has increasingly attracted the attention of practitioners and researchers alike as one of the strategic tools to aid managers for better decision making. The benefits of ABC system and its impacts on companies’ performance have motivated numerous empirical studies on ABC system and it is considered as one of the most-researched management accounting areas in developed countries. Previous research on ABC have examined pertinent issues related to ABC implementation such as the levels of ABC adoption in various countries, the reasons for implementing ABC, the problems related to ABC and the critical success factors influencing ABC. This paper reviews the research on ABC carried out within the last decade, from 1995-2008, and from the review research gaps are identified. Specifically, this paper examines the selection of factors influencing successful ABC implementation, variables used by previous research and the definitions and operationalization of the variables. The review reveals that past research concentrated mainly on behavioral, organizational, and technical variables as the main determinants of ABC success but very little research have been done to examine the roles of organizational culture and structure. Based on the research gaps identified, a research framework for future research is provided. Index Terms—Advanced Manufacturing Activity-Based Costing, ABC Success Environment, I. INTRODUCTION In today’s competitive and continually changing business environment, firms need to be vigilant of the impacts of the changes in the business environment and devise appropriate strategies to survive and prosper. Advancements in manufacturing and communication technologies have drastically changed the ways businesses conduct their activities. Adoption of advanced manufacturing technologies such as robotics and computerized manufacturing have resulted in significant changes in the manufacturing cost structure which have led academics and practitioners to argue that the traditional costing methods are no longer sufficient within this new manufacturing environment [1] (Johnson and Kaplan, 1987). This had resulted in the change from the traditional volume-based cost model to new costing methods such as Activity Based Costing (ABC) [2]. Due to its ability in providing more accurate costing information and enhancing firms’ performance, ABC is International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2010 2010-023X studies, which spanned 1995-2008 periods, were collected from four prominent refereed accounting research journals, in management accounting field: Journal of Management Accounting Research, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Management Accounting Research and British Accounting Review. Factors used by previous research to investigate the effect on ABC success implementation are summarized, and stage of ABC implementation also is outlined. A. Technical Variables Early studies of ABC adoption and implementation undertaken by previous researchers concentrated on technical factors, such as identification of main activities, selection of cost drivers, problem in accumulating cost data. Example of these research are Cooper [9], Morrow and Connelly [22]. However, technical factors alone may not be adequate to explain the factors influencing ABC success implementation. Cooper et al. [23] argued that the key problem during ABC implementation stage is that companies only focus on technical factors. They suggested that to make ABC implementation more effective, non-technical factors such as involvement of non-accounting in ABC implementation process, top management championship, adequate training program to employees about the objectives and benefits of ABC should be emphasized as well. Similar opinions were expressed by Shield [3] and Shields and McEwen [14]. Shield (1995) found no significant relationship between technical factors and ABC success. Shields and McEwen [14] also highlighted that sole emphasis on the architectural and software design of ABC systems leads to the failure of ABC implementation. Therefore many researchers have suggested that new variables should be considered to investigate factors influencing ABC success. B. Contextual, Behavioral and Organizational Variables Recognizing the research gaps in identifying factors that may affect ABC success, academicians shifted their focuses from technical factors to other variables, such as contextual, behavioral and organizational, culture, as well as organizational structure. Anderson [18] conducted a longitudinal investigation of ABC process in General Motor (GM) from a period of 1986 to 1993. In his research, he examined the effects of organizational variables and contextual variables, and segmented ABC implementation into four major stages, initiation, adoption, adaptation and acceptance. He found that organizational factors, such as top management support and training for the ABC system affected various stages of ABC significantly, while contextual variables, such as competition, relevance to managers’ decisions and compatibility with existing systems produced different degree of impact on different stages of ABC. Shield [3] examined the relationships between diversity of behavioral, organizational and technical factors and the success of ABC implementation. She employed Shield and Young’s [24] framework and summarized behavioral and organizational variables as top management support, adequate resources, training, link ABC system to performance evaluation and compensation, non-accounting ownership, link ABC to competitive strategies as well as clarity of ABC objectives. She found that top management support, linkage to quality initiatives and to personal performance measure (pay/appraisal), implementation of training and resource adequacy were the significant predictors in explaining ABC success. She also found that technical variables were not associated with ABC success. Shield’s findings are supported by other researchers, such as Shield and McEwen [14], who argued that a significant cause for unsuccessful implementations of ABC of several companies could be due to the emphasis of architectural and software design of the ABC system and less attention given to behavioral and organizational issues, which were identified by Shield [3]. Krumwiede and Roth [25] also stated that barriers of ABC implementation can be overcome if firms could give importance to behavioral and rganizational variables identified by Shield [3]. Similarly, Norris [26] agreed with Shield’s [3] findings that the association between ABC success and behavioral and organizational variables is stronger than with technical variables. She further highlighted that the impact of behavioral, organizational and technical should be focused at individual level. McGowan and Klammer [19] conducted a survey of 53 employees from 4 targeted sites in the U. S. o examine whether employees’ satisfaction levels are associated with ABC implementation by They also measured their perceptions of the factors associated with the degree of satisfaction, such as top management support; the degree of involvement in the implementation process; objectives clearly stated; objectives shared; training; linkage to performance evaluation system; adequate resources; information quality and preparer over user. Their results indicated that employees’ satisfaction with ABC implementation was positively related with clarity of objectives and quality of ABC information. Gosselin [15] carried out a survey of 161 Canadian manufacturing companies to examine the effects of strategic posture and organizational structure on adoption and implementation of general forms of Activity-based costing. He segmented the ABC implementation stage into adoption and implementation. The research findings showed that a prospector strategy was associated with manager decision to adopt ABC, while centralization and formalization were significantly associated with ABC success implementation. Krumwiede [20] surveyed U. S manufacturing firms to study how contextual factors, such as the potential for cost distortion or size of firms; organizational factors, such as top management support, training or non-accounting ownership, affect each stage of ABC implementation process. His findings showed that the different factors affected the various stages of implementation of ABC and the degree of importance of each factor varies according to the stage of implementation. Contextual factors, such as usefulness of cost information, IT existence, less task uncertainty and large organizations were related to ABC adoption. Moreover, organizational factors, such as top management support, non-accounting ownership, and implementation training affect ABC success implementation. 145 International Journal of Trade, Economics and Finance, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 2010 2010-023X In another study by Anderson and Young [21], the relationship between organizational and contextual variables, such as organizational structures, task characteristics, management support, information technology and ABC success was examined. The result confirmed the importance of organizational factors (top management support and adequacy resources) during the ABC implementation stage. In South Africa, Sartorius et al. [27] carried out a mail survey to investigate the effect of organizational factors such as top management, adequate resources, coherence with organizational goals and strategy on ABC success. They found top management support and resources were the crucial factors in explaining ABC success. In the UK, Innes and Mitchell [4] and [12] surveyed the extent of ABC adoption among largest firms. The study aimed to find out factors influencing ABC success by using behavioral and organizational variables, and it was found that top management influenced ABC success significantly. In another study conducted by Khalid [28] using a questionnaire survey among the largest 100 firms in Saudi Arabia, ABC adoption was found to be positively related to diversity of products. In Malaysia, Ruhanita et al. [29] conducted a mail survey and a case study to examine that factors influencing ABC success, especially at adoption stage. They found the significant factors were cost distortion, decision usefulness, information technology and organizational factors. In addition, the findings showed that decision usefulness, top management support, link ABC to performance measure and compensation influenced the ABC success adoption significantly. A case study of one Chinese manufacturing firm was carried by Lana and Fei [30] in China. Their research aimed to examine some key success factors pertinent to ABC implementation within Chinese organizational and cultural setting. The research findings showed that top management support, hierarchical and communication structure and high proportion of dedicated professionals were the significant factors in determining ABC success implementation. Majid et al. [7] used a case study approach to describe the process of ABC implementation in a Malaysian service company and a Malaysian manufacturing company. In this research, they categorized ABC implementation into initiation and adoption, design, implementation and use of information. The purpose of the research was to find out the problems faced during ABC implementation, He found that the factors determining ABC success were top management support, suitable ABC software, and finally, ensuring that all affected employees understand and participate in the ABC implementation stage. And they also found that at different stages of ABC, the dominant factors influencing ABC success were also different. Colin et al. [31] adopted behavioral and organizational factors summarized by Shield (1995) to examine factors influencing the adoption and degree of success of ABC systems and determinants of that success. In their research, the targeted research population was manufacturing and service firms in the UK. They found that top management support, non-accounting ownership, adequate training provided to ABC determined the ABC success. Besides behavioral, organizational and technical variable, some researchers also indicated that the dimensions of national cultures could affect the level of ABC success [32, 33]. Brewer [32] used Hofstede’s taxonomy of work-related cultural values to examine the relationship between national culture and Activity-Based Costing system. In the study, Hofstede [34]’s work was applied to the case of Harris Semiconductor (HS), which has implemented ABC at plants in Malaysia and the USA. The results showed that the level of ABC success in Malaysia was higher than that of U. S due to high-power-distance and collectivist cultures in Malaysia. In addition, Supitcha and Frederick [33] also included national culture’s dimension into framework in a case study of one Thai state-owned enterprise’s budgeting system. They found that due to cultural differences, modifications were required when the organizations in Thailand tried to implement ABC system in Thai environment. Apart from national culture, corporate culture factors were also tested by prior research. Baird, Harrison and Reeve [17] conducted a study to investigate the relationship between the extent of ABC adoption and the organizational variables of size and decision usefulness of cost information and business unit culture. In their research, data were collected by a mail survey questionnaire and samples were randomly selected from business units in Australia. The research finding showed significant relationships between ABC adoption and decision usefulness, cultural dimensions of outcome orientation and tight verse loose control. Baird, Harrison and Reeve [16] examined the relationship between success of activity management practices and organizational factors (top management support, training, link to performance evaluation and compensation, and link to quality initiatives), and organizational culture (outcome orientation, team orientation, attention to detail, as well as innovation). They adopted a survey questionnaire method on randomly chosen business units in Australia. The findings showed that two organizational factors (top management support, link to quality initiatives) explained the variations in success of activity management practices, such as ABC, and outcome orientation and attention to detail of organizational culture were associated with ABC success. They also stressed that compared with organizational culture, organizational factors had stronger associations with the ABC.

Development of Electronic Government Policy

Development of Electronic Government Policy 1. INTRODUCTION This paper discusses policy implementation in order to explain the development of electronic government policy in the Local Government in Great Britain. In order to do this, the paper firstly provides a brief description of electronic government. This is followed by a discussion of policy implementations and its relevance in local government to e-government, as well as the analysis of the key features and roles of implementation. Finally, the paper discusses British effort to implement e-government at the local level. 2. E-GOVERNMENT E-government is a notion that has revolutionised bureaucracy and the way governments function in the twenty first century. E-Government is an approach dealing with the development of online services such as e-tax. E-government is also responsible for many innovations and improvements in the early years such as e-transportation and e-health. There are clear associations between the goals of the modernisation agenda and that of the electronic government agenda. For example, within an expected national policy for electronic government in England, the term electronic government is currently described as â€Å"exploiting the power of information and communications technology to help transform the accessibility, quality and cost-effectiveness of public services, and to help revitalise the relationship between customers and citizens and public bodies who work on their behalf† (Local Government Association 2002:XXX). 3. POLICY IMPLEMENTATION AND ITS RELEVANCE It has been claimed that the implementation of local e-government is perhaps the most diverse and complex change programme ever undertaken by local government (The Economist 2006). The process touches all public services, from social services to housing and from education to street cleansing, and every single department of local government. As a plan for change, it entails innovations in structures, processes, working practices and corporate cultures. Therefore, it has an effect on everybody who is a part of the local government including elected members, staff, citizens and local businesses. Furthermore, local electronic government is not just a matter for local authorities, as it extends to a wide range of other local agencies. This necessitates the general partnership and successful management. The transformation from plan to implementation entails the organisation of capital, and current effort in processual studies of change have accentuated on the administration of organisational politics and the implementation of power. Resources not only include money, staff time and technological infrastructure, but also leadership, relevant skills and competencies (McLoughlin Cornford 2006). 4. KEY FEATURES AND ROLES The attainment of e-government is of strategic importance for local governments. According to Murray (2005), the key features for implementing electronic government are informatics planning, informatics management, informatics development, customer chain, internal value chain, supply chain and electronic community. Informatics planning considers information audit and standardisation, process mapping and design, authority strategy and modernisation, informatics strategy, risk assessment and cost–benefit analysis. Informatics management considers the management matters that are important for the execution of the electronic government agenda, including electronic championing, the form of electronic government organisation and the nature of any benchmarking exercise conducted or planned. Informatics development reflects on the existence of a clear plan for improvement. It does this by reflection on resource matters and whether an audit of appropriate skills had been performed. Key enablers for sustaining the customer chain consist of customer relationship management, the state of the citizen WWW site, examination of whether electronic democracy has been considered and what attention has been paid to the provision of the full range of future access mechanisms and channels. Internal value chain refers to the state of the current information systems. In regards to information systems architecture the apprehension is with the integration and interoperability of information systems as well as the integration with external standards and systems. Considering IT architecture, the significant technology enablers are knowledge management, document management, content management and intranets. Enablers for the supply chain contain the existence of any extranets, evidence of tale working and plans for the implementation of electronic procurement. Electronic community pays attention to the degree to which stakeholders have provided advice on electronic service delivery as well as the form of business planning employed and the existence of any form of electronic community strategy. 5. IMPLEMENTATION OF E-GOVERNMENT IN BRITAIN The current e-government strategy in Britain is based upon e-government targets set in the 1999 Modernising Government White Paper. At the heart of this strategy is the belief that government services should be available continuously and not just during conventional working hours. Consequently, the White Paper established targets that 50 per cent of dealings with the public sector should be capable of electronic delivery by 2005 and 100 per cent by 2008 (Cabinet Office 1999). These targets were revised by a subsequent strategy statement from the newly created OeE to involve 50 per cent by 2002 and 100 per cent by 2005 (Office of the e-Envoy 2000). The targets are not restricted to central government departments or agencies but cover the entire public sector, including local authorities. Indeed, as the primary location of most day-to-day services, local government is seen as being central to the delivery of the information age strategy. According to Eiffert and Puschel (2004), the num ber of transactions involved in local government vastly exceeds those of the rest of central government put together. Informatics Planning â€Å"Some connection between their electronic government strategy and aspects of their modernisation agenda had been made by most authorities in Britain, however, there was surprisingly little evidence within the statements of the re-engineering of any current processes† (Barry 2004:37). There was little evidence of process mapping and redesign besides the general consideration of process changes required at the customer interface, apart from the general claim that electronic government change is organisational change. British local governments claimed to have an ICT strategy in place, but many acknowledged that it needed updating in the light of electronic government and needed to be more closely aligned with their electronic government strategy (Barry 2004). An initial cost–benefit analysis was also attempted, however a thorough assessment still had to be conducted by the majority of authorities. Financial analyses were also conducted, and findings were that cost sav ings were unlikely in the short term and cost neutrality was the medium-term goal for their authority. According to Barry (2004), most of the benefits of electronic government were likely to be intangible. Furthermore, the issue was also placed on inadequate resources, needed culture change within authorities and low-uptake of services as priority issues to be addressed. Informatics Management The council leader and the chief executive have been appointed by a significant proportion of the authorities in Britain as authority electronic champions. However, a variable level of support appeared for the electronic government agenda among elected members. â€Å"The general assessment seemed to be that, while a proportion of council members were interested and enthusiastic about electronic government, a substantial proportion of most council’s elected members had yet to be convinced of the case for electronic government† (Barry 2004:38). Specific structures for implementing the electronic agenda have been created, and electronic government officers for overseeing the strategy have been appointed by some governments. Most governments were only in the early stages of benchmarking their electronic service delivery and those that had completed this exercise placed their existing level of electronic service delivery in the lower quartile. Many local governments were re- using existing structures for implementing electronic government. Informatics Development Most governments in Britain had created development plans that had clearly evolved from their existing informatics infrastructure. Some authorities had aspired to consider more radical and aspirational solutions for the longer term future based on some early piloting of key technologies. Most authorities have also seen adequate resourcing for electronic government as a crucial issue. â€Å"Estimates from authorities regarding the investment required for the Welsh region for implementing the electronic local government agenda fully ranged from  £20 million to  £200 million† (Barry, 2004:39). Many of them have been actively looking towards various forms of external funding in order to finance critical components of their electronic government agenda. According to Barry (2004), one important aspect that was poorly addressed in most Implementing Electronic Government statements was the degree to which authorities believed they had the sufficient internal skills base required f or implementing the electronic government agenda effectively over the long term. The Customer Chain â€Å"Most of the planning within authorities in Britain appeared to be devoted to enhancing the customer chain† (Barry 2004:39). There was a need to re-engineer access to government services by using multiple access contact centres which are supported by sophisticated customer relationship management systems. This innovation was seen as particularly difficult for the smaller authorities, and in Wales for example, only one authority appeared to be well advanced in this area. In terms of the Society of Information Technology Manager’s four-point scale of categories (promotional, content, content plus and transactional) most authority WWW sites were currently content. The aspiration amongst most authorities was for fully transactional WWW sites, however only some authorities were using such technologies for facilitating interaction between, for instance, councillor and citizen. The Internal Value Chain â€Å"In discussions with the authorities it appeared that the enablement of the internal value chain of authorities was at a much more advanced stage than the enablement of the customer and supply chains† (Barry 2004:41). However, there was little description of the state of the back-end infrastructure and the integration and inter-operability of back-end systems in the Implementing Electronic Government statements themselves. There was also little allusion to plans for front-end/back-end systems integration in most authorities. â€Å"Most authorities seemed to be using basic technologies such as electronic mail to good effect internally, many had intranets and many had upgraded their internal communications infrastructure. However, the use of technologies such as content, document and knowledge management was variable† (Performance and Innovation Unit 2000). Furthermore, many authorities expressed concern over the increasing costs and unclear benefits of document mana gement systems. The Supply Chain Supply chain has been the least enabled theme within British authorities, even though in the private sector, electronic enablement of the supply chain was seen as critical to modernisation. Some authorities were piloting aspects of electronic procurement, but few authorities had a clear strategy in this area. Most also did not appear to be using extranets in any serious way and tele-working was being piloted only by a minority. The Community Chain The issue of the electronic community was treated differently amongst the governments. A minority of the governments oriented their entire electronic government strategy around the key idea of partnerships with the community, the community information plan was the electronic government plan in such authorities. â€Å"In the majority of the authorities, however, the electronic community was placed as one but not the only issue in their electronic Evaluating electronic local government in the UK 145 government strategy. Most authorities had consulted on electronic service delivery and, as a result, predicted low uptake of such services in the short to medium term† (Barry 2004:44). 6. CONCLUSION Local e-government in England is a hugely complex change programme that takes in almost every aspect of local government and almost everyone involved. The scale of the transformation which is envisaged, and the timescale in which it is expected to be achieved, are both highly ambitious. It is only by understanding this transformation as a both an organisational and socio-technical phenomenon and developing management practices appropriate to the emergent and on-going character of the change required, that many of the goals of e-government are likely to be realised. The effective implementation of e-government requires that the many resource gaps that exist in relation to appropriate leadership, change and project management skills are filled. Bibliography Barry, James (2006), â€Å"E-government† Unwin, London. Cabinet Office (1999) â€Å"Modernising Government†, Cm. 4310, London Stationary Office Eiffert, M. and Puschel, J. 2004, â€Å"National Electronic Government (eds)†. London : Routledge, 2004. Local Government Association (2002), â€Å"Towards a National Strategy for Local E-Government†, Local Government Association, London. McLoughlin, I. and Cornford, J. (2006), â€Å"Transformational Change in the local State? Enacting e-government in English local authorities† Journal of Management and Organisation, v12.n3, pp195(14). Murray, Smith, (2005), Implementation Strategies for E-government: A stakeholder Analysis Approach†, Centre for Innovation and Structural change, NUI, Galway, Ireland Office of the eEnvoy. (2000). www.archive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/e-envoy Performance and Innovation Unit(2000): â€Å"E-government, 2000, Electronic government services for the 21st century. The Economist (2006), â€Å"Britain: The world in a website; E-government†, London March 11 2006 v378.n8468, pp32.

The City Of La-la-land Essay example -- Los Angeles, California

The old building. Created out of wood, bricks and stone. Remembers the forest that became a field that became a city. Remembers every moment, every story, that it was told. Listen to the old building. Listen to the tales, that are recorded in the walls. To the stories trapped in the bricks. It has much to say. Much to show. Los Angeles: the city of illusions,fakes, fantasies, and dreamers. The building in Los Angeles resemble the different ethnic people who live in this strange city, they are Unique and Imaginative. Much of the buildings located in Los Angeles are constructed to look contemporary, bizarre, and/or shaped to resemble something entirely different, for example a cupcake. The buildings, like some of the people who inhabit the city of Los Angeles, are there to entertain the audience. Each unique building represents bits and pieces of what Los Angeles is. However, which one reveals what Los Angeles is known for? What represents the immense amount of culture, the beautiful (fake) people, the expensive taste, and the eccentric architecture. Which building shows a city constructed out of people’s dreams. The Fowler Museum, Griffith Observatory, The Staples Center, Bradbury Building, Stahl House, and Grauman’s Chinese Theater; all capture the image that Los Angeles shows. Hundreds of thousands of Hollywood's most famous celebrities have graced the halls of the Chinese Theatre, at movie premieres and ceremonies. In the Book Hollywood Cinema written by Richard Maltby, he saysâ€Å"it was once stated ‘To visit Los Angeles and not see the Chinese Theater is like visiting China and not seeing the Great Wall’ [Grauman’s] Chinese Theater has been a part of Los Angeles history for over seventy five years†. The Chinese Theater, in Holl... ...From the movies that are shown, to famous cemented handprints of celebrities, to the building itself, shows how this city has been constructed out of dreams, illusion, and fantasy. The pictures, movies and celebrities-that were produced by the media, and shown in the Grauman’s Chinese Theater- made people start thinking,acting and looking a different way. The media drilled into the populations mind that the civilians of Los Angeles should be like the people the had created in their work. The media created the perfect guideline of what every person in this city should have, should look, and act like, creating the beautiful fake people we have today. The Grauman’ Chinese Theater best captures Los Angeles. It Shows exactly what the city and the people of Los Angeles is, a perfect movie. â€Å"La-la-land: A place or state that is out of touch with reality.† (dictionary.com)

Epic of Gilgamesh Essay - Desperate Search for Immortality :: Epic Gilgamesh essays

Desperate Search for Immortality in the Epic of Gilgamesh The search for immortality seems to be an obsession for many men and women all throughout history. In the Epic of Gilgamesh a man investigates the possibility of immortality following the saddening death of his friend, his brother Enkidu. That man, Gilgamesh, feeling the fear of the possibility of his own mortality which was before unrealized before the death of Enkidu, searches for a way to preserve himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is it truly that Gilgamesh searches for a physical immortality or more of a spiritual immortality? Gilgamesh wishes to give the flower of immortality to the elders of the city to rejuvenate them and return the youth to the kingdom of Uruk. This show of selflessness and concern for his people is a sight that might not have been seen a short while before his meeting with Enkidu and his influence on Gilgamesh which changed his view of life. Gilgamesh clearly tries in the end to restore the youth to the elders for the purpose of keeping the memory of not only himself but also Enkidu alive. As long as your culture and relatives survive so do you. Every relative has a piece of you carried along with them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Why didn’t Gilgamesh just eat the plant and live as an immortal? Perhaps it was because if he were to eat the plant he would become a lonely king who just would become more and more saddened by his people whom he loved die over and over again and only he would remain. His close friend, Enkidu, was gone.   His father warnied him of the loneliness - perhaps this convinced Gilgamesh of his course of action.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gilgamesh has been through many adventures and he gained wisdom to go along with his god like physical powers. Gilgamesh learns that the greatest type of immortality is the noncorporeal. The worth of a man's life is many times said to be measured by the things he has done and the legacy that he has left behind. After realizing that he was not a god-man, Gilgamesh understood that the real glory is in the deeds you have done and the people you have affected in good ways over your life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many ancient peoples had stories with morals to them. The Epic of Gilgamesh clearly promotes the moral feelings of the time.

Internal Controls and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 Essay examples --

In order to be successful in business, a company must be able to track their assets. This tracking system is typically done by a bookkeeper and must be reliable in order to be effective. The way a company ensures their financial records are reliable is by setting up a system of internal controls. Internal controls allow a company to protect its assets from fraud and theft as well as ensuring records are kept accurately by reducing errors and irregularities (Keisco, Kimmel and Weygandt, 2008). Internal controls work by assigning responsibility, separating duties to provide checks and balances, hiring an independent verification agent and through the use of technology and physical controls. In many instances, internal controls are required and overseen by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Assignment of responsibility for certain functions of the bookkeeping and accounting process ensures that when a problem occurs a specific person is accountable. This, in turn, provides an incentive to that person to do their job correctly because any issue or problem will be their sole responsibility. Splitting duties has a similar impact on employees. By providing a system of checks and balances, i.e. one person keeps the records while another keeps the assets, the chance for fraud is greatly decrease and honest mistakes are easily caught. There are many physical, mechanical and electronic controls that provide further safety for a company’s assets. These include passwords, safes, alarms, security cameras, time clocks and locks (Kiesco et.al, 2008). The use of an auditor or other third party to independently verify the bookkeeping and accounting procedures performed by employees adds another layer of safeguarding to a company’s inter... ... track the error to the fraudulent employee. In conclusion, internal controls include separation of duties, assignment of responsibilities, third-party verification and the use of mechanical and physical controls. In and of themselves, these tactics stop and prevent much abuse of the bookkeeping and accounting systems. The addition of Sarbanes-Oxley requirements in 2002 require that a company enact internal controls and assign responsibility of the control system to executives and directors, further providing insurance that financial reporting is accurate. Without this insurance that reports are accurate, company stock will fall and investors will be lost. Even with intrinsic limitations, the positive aspects of good internal controls far outweigh the negative implications. Good internal controls equal accurate financial records and future company success.

“Of Mice and Men” during the 1930’s Essay

John Steinbeck wrote â€Å"Of Mice and Men† during the 1930’s when the Great Depression would’ve started. The dustbowl was wiping off all the good soil so all the farmers lost there jobs and they lost all their money. Also loads of people lost money in the Wall Street Crash when the stock market crashed. Many men had the dream like George and Lennie and work like them so they can get their fifty bucks or work up a stake to buy some land of their own. Many people were racist so Crooks had a very hard life even though he had nothing different about him but his skin colour. Also he is a cripple so he can’t do too much work except tend the horses. Candy is a bit the same because he has a busted hand and got a bit of compensation but nobody else would employ him so he has to stay there. Lennie is really dumb and even though he is strong no one would employ him because of his intelligence. He is lucky that he has George because it was George that would have probably got him the job. George is a very intelligent person who is a hard worker but can never live the life he wants to because Lennie keeps ruining it. Slim is a very good worker and is very efficient and is essential to the ranch. He is the only one who can speak to Curley’s wife and get away with it. â€Å"This is just a nigger talking’, and a busted back nigger. So it don’t mean nothing, see?† this shows how disrespectful Curley’s wife and other people can be to Crooks. Crooks are portrayed in the book as a black, enabled person who is beaten and tortured for fun. He has only a few human rights like being able to live and do what he wants to a certain extent but is beaten by the boss when it’s not even his fought and he is used for games. Just like when they set dogs on a bear even though the bear is chained up, one of the workers will have his hands or legs tied together so that poor old Crooks has a chance. Crooks is always mentioned by the Boss and the workers as the nigger, a bit like an animal, like you call a dog, dog when talking about it, they do the same to Crooks. They treat him like an animal. Smitty was the guy that had the fight with Crooks but lost. He said â€Å"If he coulda used his feet, Smitty says he woulda got the nigger† which proves the point that he was treated like a game. Crooks will never fit in the 1930’s because of all the racism with the KKK. He is also enabled so he has got two main problems with him that is why he is pushed around and beaten. Crooks is placed in the novel by Steinbeck to show another aspect of how not being strong, young, male and intelligent can cause loneliness and discrepancy about whether they can really enjoy themselves without a little bit of help. Crooks don’t like white folk as we see when Lennie goes into his room. He says â€Å"You got no right coming into my room† Crooks tries to get back at Lennie for him not being able to go into the Bunkhouse. He wants to make Lennie feel left out by saying things like â€Å"Sometimes he talks, and you don’t know what the hell he’s talkin’ about?† shows this in a way that Lennie doesn’t understand. Lennie is probably cautious of that because it’s true, he then tries to scare Lennie by saying â€Å"What would you do if George don’t come back tonight?† and Lennie gets all worried and scared. In the end Crooks stops doing it because he wants someone to talk to. He tries to act normal but his anger is let out he complains how â€Å"Books don’t keep a man company. They gotta have a person to talk to or they will go mad† shows this, he can’t control himself. He portrays a lonely man with no friends or anyone to talk to and it isn’t his thought. He is like an untouchable. The other characters in the book which are marginalized are people like Lennie, Curley’s wife and Candy. Lennie is marginalized because even though he is young and strong he is so dumb. People realize he’s so dumb they even play tricks on him, like when George is talking to Slim he says â€Å"He was so dumb one time I told him to jump into the water, he jus’ jumped and when we pulled him out he was so God damn grateful he was being all kind again† proves this, Lennie being so dumb must make it hard for George or anybody to have a real conversation with. Candy is left aside because he is unable to work properly because of an accident when he got his hand caught in a machine. Even though his $250 compensation he can’t move on with his life or move away so he has to stay at the ranch. You can tell that he’s lonely because when he over hears Lennie and George talking about their special little place their getting he jumps at the opportunity and says â€Å"How much do they want for that place?† shows that Candy is very interested in the farm. He even offers them every last cent he has to go with them and his will, will be left to them. He says he can’t wait and is thoroughly excited. He is just a useless old man, just like his dog a waste of space but seems very wise because he tells George and Lennie how he can cook, clean and wash and even tend chickens so he advertises himself as a slave just to get out of the ranch. Curley’s wife doesn’t fit in with everybody else because of her sex. There are no other women on the ranch so she has no one to talk to when all the men go out to work. This is why she always tarts herself. She just wants to be noticed a lot of the men say â€Å"You have Curley to talk to† but she just replies â€Å"all Curley talks about is how he’s gonna get some guy and lead with his left† so she shows that marrying Curley was a big mistake. She must have been drunk or just been let down and grabbed whatever she could. You can tell she is lonely because of the way she always asks â€Å"Have you seen Curley?† and trying to get noticed. She is a perfect example of Steinbeck using her character to show loneliness when she says â€Å"Standing here with a bunch of Bindle stiffs† and then says â€Å"and likin† shows that she shouldn’t really have to stay there and talk to them because she is young and beautiful but because she is a woman she can’t go out with the men. Curley’s wife is very different from many other people and the opposite to Curley because she wants to be Lennie’s friend. None of the other men implied that they don’t want to be friends with Lennie but you don’t hear in the book many other people talking to him except for George. This is because Curley’s wife knows that Lennie is interested in her because when they first met he â€Å"wouldn’t move his eyes away from her† and unbeknown to Curley’s wife Lennie says â€Å"She’s Purdy† and Curley’s wife tries to exploit this feeling by saying hello to him every time she sees him and lets Lennie stroke her hair not realising that it would cause her death. In the book Steinbeck makes most of the characters that do have the characteristics of being young, white, male and strong to succeed in the world like George and Slim. This because Steinbeck wanted to show the World that anyone not in that category would not survive like Lennie and Curley’s wife. He believed that this was realistic and that his book could have been a true story. George and Slim, these type of people would have survived because of the fact that they would have become so vital to the ranch, Slim already has. George will definitely become like slim because he is a good worker; he is strong, white and male but is also very intelligent so he knows where to be careful. You can tell that Slim is vital because Candy says â€Å"She’s been giving him the eye† and then says â€Å"if anyone can mess with Curley’s wife its Slim because he’s so damn good at his job† which shows that any other person messing with Curley’s wife, Curl ey would try to pick a fight with but he knows that the boss wont like that because of how essential he is to the ranch. George will become this way unless he moves because he has already shown a lot of his intelligence by saying to Lennie â€Å"don’t say anything† and how he explains to the boss when they first meet â€Å"He isn’t the smartest guy but he can sure back a packet of Barley quick† showing that he tells the boss about Lennie’s bad points but then over emphasized about his good points. He is also very smart right at the start when he says â€Å"Were gonna sleep here because I got a reason† and the reason is because he knows that if he goes tonight he’ll have to get up tomorrow and go to work when he can just stay here. Lennie doesn’t realise this and asks why. George knows better than to tell him the truth because he knows that Lennie might let it slip to the boss and he doesn’t want that so he says â€Å"I just like this spot† and Lennie doesn’t seem to care and just carries on getting fire work. To conclude this essay Crooks was placed in the book to show how bad racism is and to show how he was treated. Lennie, Candy and Curley’s wife are put in to show that if you’re not white, male, intelligent and strong you won’t be able to survive. Lennie got killed by George, Candy will die shortly because of his age but Crooks he will survive but with a wretched life of racism and it probably will not get any better in his life. The people that do survive are characters like Slim and George and they survive because they are fit into the elite category of being string, intelligent, white and male. Soon George will become indispensable to the Ranch just like Slim who â€Å"Is so God damn good at his job† unless of course they want to move, but where ever those two go, they will become very good at what they do. George’s whole life awaits him now because he hasn’t got Lennie to mess up things and can do what he wants like he says â€Å"I could go into town and buy a gallon of whisky and sit and play pool or visit a whore house. But I’m stuck with you† so really he should do a lot better without Lennie.

Summary of Globalization

* Review Gail Wyatt's research on heterosexual's Black women's sexual experience (notes from slides). * According to the article â€Å"Married to the Holy Spirit† and class notes what are some potential consequences for attempting to maintain a faith-based abstinence life style? * What are some of the characteristics of different gender presentations of Black lesbians (e. g. , â€Å"femmes†, â€Å"studs†). * Identify the ways that Black lesbians deal with sexual prejudice in their lives (article: â€Å"It ain't all as bad as it may seem†). * Define â€Å"sexual concurrency. How does it influence male-female relationships and rates of HIV. Black motherhood * According to Chaney, how do Black women define â€Å"womanhood? † * How do parents, peers, healthcare workers, and the media influence Black women's sexual practices and attitudes toward delaying early pregnancy as they pursue their education (Dilworth article). * How has Black women's reproduction been controlled throughout history (Flavin article and notes). * Identify some specific socialization messages that Black women give to their daughters (Thomas article). Community Violence/Homicide Review the statists on community violence and homicide. What are some specific types of homicide? * What community characteristics increase the probability of community violence? * Discuss at least 3 different factors (they could be historical, social, or economic) that make Black women more vulnerable to violence or make it more difficult for them to recover. * Explain Black mothers' cognitive process and ways of finding meaning after the loss of a child to homicide. * What are some ways that Black women coping with community violence in housing projects. Sexual Assault/Intimate Partner Violence * According to a Black feminist perspective, what factors do researchers consider when explaining intimate partner violence (Potter article). * What are some factors that make the recovery process more challenging for Black victims of sexual harassment? * Regarding sexual assault, identify the characteristics of survivors and their assault, risk factors, and physical and mental health consequences. What are some culturally sensitive responses to treating Black survivors?

Impact of nitrogen and phosphorous inputs on water quality Essay

Both Nitrogen and Phosphorous are necessary in agriculture for a farmer to achieve optimum yields in most crops, they have to use fertilizer which often contains either nitrogen or phosphorous. Despite their importance, these elements in excess can affect the environment adversely. Eutrophication is enhanced when nitrogen and phosphorous are in excess in surface waters and where nitrogen is in excess in ground water. (www. soil. ncsu. edu/) Nitrogen makes up about 78 percent of the gases in the atmosphere. A major constituent of proteins it is abundant in most living things. Nitrogen gas (N2), nitrate (NO3), nitrite (NO2) and ammonia NH3 are the common forms in which in organic nitrogen exists. Organic nitrogen exists in proteins. (http://kywater. org/). Compounds that contain nitrogen are found in water bodies such as reservoirs, streams and rivers. There are various routes by which nitrogen enters water bodies. These include wastewater (municipal and industrial), animal wastes such as bird wastes and wastes of fish, septic tanks and runoff from fields and lawns that have been fertilized. In certain parts of the United States, especially the northeast, some forms of nitrogen are deposited through acid rain (Baird, 1990). Nitrites are then converted to nitrates by bacteria, a process that uses up oxygen. (http://kywater. org). Surface and subsurface drainage are some of the ways through which nitrogen from fertilizers enter streams. When there is heavy rainfall following surface application of nitrogen fertilizers, most of the nitrogen is lost and even more is lost if the area is sloppy. When the fertilizer is mixed with soil the runoff is decreased. However, the loss of nitrogen becomes substantial when heavy rainfall causes soil erosion and movement of debris. The highly soluble nature of nitrogen makes it be absorbed easily into the soil when it rains heavily. Findings from research studies show that leaching does contribute to the presence of nitrates in groundwater. This however does not cause much contamination since the concentrations of nitrogen do not reach high enough levels. The crop uses up to 50 percent of the applied nitrogen leaving about 30 percent to 50 percent available for leaching. This, from a study done on North Carolina soils leads to leaching to a level of only two feet where there was 3 inches of percolated water (Baird, 1990). Eutrophication is a slow process whereby streams and lakes are enriched with natural nutrients. This process leads to the accelerated ‘aging’ of lakes and reservoirs. Eutrophication generally means excess growth of algae. The growth and decomposition of algae causes depletion of oxygen available in water. Nitrogen has a fertilizing effect in algae and other plankton which are food to other organisms in water such as fish and invertebrates. Overproduction and decomposition of these plankton uses up oxygen, meaning that other oxygen-dependent animals have inadequate oxygen which leads to their death. (http://kywater. org/). In addition to using up oxygen excessively, the overgrowth of algae and other plankton can lead to clogging up of water systems such that water flow is inhibited. This is especially common at points of water intakes. A lot of sea plants also block light from reaching the deeper waters (http://ga. water. usgs. gov/). This has the effect of compromising respiration for aquatic invertebrates and fish, making the death of animals and plant inevitable. High concentrations of nitrites produce a condition called brown blood disease which is fatal to fish. (http://kywater. org/). Eventually diversity of animal and plant life is lost. The death of fish results in offensive odours, and affects the water such that it cannot be used for recreative purposes like swimming, boating and fishing. Mueller and Helsel conducted a study of 12,000 ground water samples and approximately 22,000 samples of surface water at over 300 sites. The samples were collected within NAWQA study units. They report that the concentrations of nutrients in water have a close relationship to how land is used upstream or in the area that overlies a ground water aquifer. According to the analysis there were higher concentrations of nitrates in groundwater than surface water bodies. The regions with the highest concentration were the Northeast, the Great Plains and areas along the West Coast (Mueller and Helsel, 1996). Agricultural areas have a higher likelihood of having water with increased concentrations of nitrates. Research shows that public-supply wells and domestic supply wells outside areas where land is used for agriculture generally have lower concentrations of nitrates compared to wells in agricultural areas. On the other hand, urban areas have higher concentrations of Ammonia and phosphorous in surface water (Mueller and Helsel, 196). For water to be considered safe for domestic water supply, nitrates or nitrite level should be below 10mg/L. (United States Public Health Service). Nitrites undergo a direct reaction with haemoglobin in humans and warm-blooded animals leading to the formation of methemoglobin. This compound leads to decreased ability of red cells to transport oxygen. The most affected by this inability are infants less than three months because the babies develop methemoglobinaemia (blue baby disease. (http://kywater. org/ww/ramp/rmnox. htm). Due to this reason, when nitrates levels exceed 1. 0mg/L, the water should not be used to feed babies. In older people high nitrate levels cause disturbances in the digestion system. (http://kywater. org/). Phosphorous is a naturally occurring element that can be found in rocks and mineral deposits. Phosphate ions are soluble in water and are released when rock undergoes the weathering process. Phosphates have three forms of existence, metaphosphate, orthophosphate and organic phosphate. Orthophosphate is mainly produced by natural processed but there are man-made sources that produce orthophosphate. These include untreated sewage and partially treated sewage, use of certain fertilizers and runoff from sites where the main land use is agriculture. Metaphosphate or polyphosphate are used in treatment of detergents and boiler waters. When in water metaphosphate changes to orthophosphate and it can be used up by plants in this form. Organic phosphate occurs tied to organic material like plant tissue or waste solids. When decomposition occurs organic phosphate is converted to orthophosphate (www. water-research. net/phosphate. htm). Phosphorous is necessary for animal and plant growth and acts as a growth limiting nutrient in lake ecosystems. Well-oxygenated waters have low amounts of phosphates. Phosphate undergoes a complex process of uptake and mineralization to be retained in the soil, unlike the nitrogen cycle which is simpler. Soluble phosphate is incorporated by plants and animals in their biological systems to form compounds like ATP, DNA and RNA. ATP is necessary for energy production via the Kreb’s cycle while DNA and RNA have genetic importance. Phosphorous is therefore necessary for photosynthesis to occur (www. water-research. net/) Phosphates enhance growth of aquatic plants which are the food source for other organisms. Increased production of plankton result in an initial increase in population of fish and the entire biological system of the water body. This however has an adverse effect because as the phosphate levels build-up the process by which the water ecosystem is aging is speeded up leading to an imbalance of nutrients where production begins to exceed consumption. Phosphates like nitrates also cause eutrophication resulting in more plants than can be consumed by the system. The result is anoxic waters, presence of algal blooms that are toxic and a reduction in biodiversity as well as destruction of food supply and habitat. (www. water-research. net) Eutrophication is an issue that compromises water quality and has received much attention since 1980 when there was extensive occurrence of blue-green algae in fresh water systems. These blue-green algae (cyanobacteria) sometimes produce toxins that cause harm to human beings and farm animals. Poor conditions resulting from eutrophication have been noted in eastern North Carolina in the Chowan, Neuse and Pamlico River systems (Baird, 1990). Water that has very high levels of phosphates causes digestive problems to people. The negative effect of high levels of phosphate then is more indirect to humans but has a bigger impact because by altering the environment and destroying habitats the destruction caused is much harder to reverse. A compound like nitrates dissolves in water and moves in water in surface streams and ground water. Most forms of phosphorous, however, are transported together with soil that has undergone erosion especially when runoff is high flowing precipitation and irrigation. This is because instead of dissolving they attach themselves to soil particles. As such phosphorous is more likely to contaminate surface water rather than ground water (USGS, Circular1225, 2007). Findings from a USGS report indicate that phosphorous has a greater effect in causing eutrophication with 0.1mg/L of phosphorous being sufficient to cause excessive growth of aquatic plants (USGS, Circular 1225, 2007). In urban areas, the most significant point sources are urban streams which have discharged from wastewater treatment plants. A report of the US Geological service indicates that the streams in the semiarid western and south-western cities coupled with those in urban areas on the East had high levels of phosphorous (USGS, Circular1225). Recent research shows that phosphorous can travel with ground-water flows. The study was conducted in Cape Cod, Massachusetts where there has been contamination of the groundwater with phosphorous, an unlikely thing since most scientists generally believe that phosphorous is not transferable via groundwater (McCob et al, 2003; Stollenwerk, 1996). The main factors influencing vulnerability to contamination are the type of soils and slope of land. These two factors determine how fast and how much runoff there will be. Areas with steep slopes, poorly drained clay soils and little vegetation have higher likelihood of contamination of their surface waters. In urban centres, pavements and drains made of tile cause acceleration of flow of streams. Ground water on the other hand has a high chance of contamination if the soils drain well and the subsurface material is highly permeable. Some practices of crop-management designed to decrease sediment flow may increase infiltration leading to greater contamination of groundwater (USGS, Circular, 1225). To reduce the impact of phosphorous and nitrogen in water quality, strategies need to be employed that reduce the use of chemicals and alter transportation of the hydrologic system (USGS). In planning these strategies consideration of watersheds, patterns of land use and the differences in vulnerability to contamination in various areas should be foremost to ensure that whatever interventions are put in place are effective. References Baird J (1990) Nitrogen management and water quality retrieved from www. soil. ncsu. edu/publications/soilfacts/AG-439-02 Harvard, Olson and Cooke, 1999, Impact of soil phosphorous loading on Water Quality in Alberta, Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development. McCob T D, Leblanc DR, Watter DA, Hess KN Kent DB and Smith RL 2003, Phosphorous in a Ground-water contaminant Plume Discharging to Ashumet Pond, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 1999: US Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 02-4306, 70p Mueller D K and Helser D R, Nutrients in the Nation’s water-Too much of a Good Thing? National Water-Quality Assessment Program USGS, retrieved from http://water. usgs. gov/nawqa/CIRC-1136. html National findings and their implications for water policies and strategies, USGS, Circular 1225, retrieved from http://pubs.usgs. gov/circ/circ1225/html/nawqafind. htm/. Nitrogen and water quality retrieved from http://kywater. org/ww/ramp/rmnox-htm Stollenwerk K-G 1996, Simulation of phosphate transport in sewage-contaminated groundwater, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Applied Geochemistry, V. 11. no 1-2 pp 317-324 The effects of urbanization and agriculture on water quality: Nitrogen retrieved from http://ga. water. usgs. gov/edu/urbannitrogen. html Total phosphorous and Phosphate impact in surface waters Wilkes University, Environmental. Engineering and Earth Science retrieved from www.water. research. net/phosphate. htm Water-quality patterns in agricultural areas, USGS, Circular 1225 retrieved from http://pubs. usgs. gov/circ/circ1225/html/wq-agri. htm/ Water-quality patterns in urban areas, United States Geological Society, retrieved from http://pubs. usgs. gov/circ/circ1225/html/wq-urban. htm/ Water-quality patterns in areas with mixed hand use and a range of hydrologic and environmental settings, USGS, Circular 1225 retrieved from http://pubs. usgs. gov/circ/circ1225/html/wq-hydro. htm/.