Literature on HSBC Essay

Legacy HSBC Group. HSBC Bank is a key component of the HSBC group which was specifically established for trading with India and China in the hey days of the British Raj in 1865, after a necessity for the same was felt by Thomas Sutherland who identified that Hong Kong lacked local banking facilities. The bank has been primarily dominant in the Asia Pacific region and has pioneered modern banking facilities in these areas. It is now seen to take up its earlier mantle and is creating a new wave of modernised banking in the emerging economies of East and South East Asia. Based in London and with operations around the world, HSBC Holdings plc is reported to be the biggest bank and financial services banking company in the World with operations around the World in 9,500 offices and presence in 80 countries across the globe. Its share holders are said to be spread in 100 countries. HSBC Personal Banking. HSBC has a number of progressive personal banking schemes as it calls itself the Worlds local bank. (Express Banking, 2006). Some of the initiatives it has are schemes such as express banking which is designed to save time. This includes paying a bill online, thereby encouraging internet banking, use of cash machines and mobile phone top ups. (Express Banking, 2006). The bank is also extensively offering gifts for such schemes to include attractive offers as a 42 inch Phillips Plasma television for using its cash machines. (Express Banking, 2006). Its personal insurance services are similarly attempting to induce customers to go online. Thus a 10 percent discount is offered when a person buys on line car insurance. The no claims discount limit has also been raised to 70 % and there is a monthly installment option which has also been included. (Car, 2006). It has also services which can be availed by customers by providing prior intimation of their renewal dates to the bank and once again are provided attractive prizes for the same. The mortgage services offered by HSBC are also very innovative and provide not just for a loan but complete services such as mortgage offers, choices for repayments, varied interest rate option and tailoring these to the prices. (Mortgage, 2006). There are separate services on offer to first time buyers who can also remortgage as well as use the home to borrow more. Similarly the home insurance features also offer very heavy discounts for switching to HSBC Home Insurance, promise to settle claims over the phone without completion of forms and provide for replacements. HSBC Business Banking. HSBC business banking facilities are also unique. It has 12 months free banking facility extended to a current account holder which provides for borrowing at fixed rates large sums up to ?25,000. The service also includes foreign exchange rates for foreign currency payments for HSBC net customers, provides for management of trading in China and a commercial card enables a 56 days interest free credit. Banking for business is carried out through the commercial centres which provide multiple facilities to customers. For business there are other factilities that are being provided such as business internet banking as well as HSBCnet which provides larger companies with a complete range of services on the internet including invoice finance. There are a wide range of business insurance packages that have been made available by the bank, to include virtually all the possible contingencies for which insurance is required by business such as small business for turnover less than ? 1 million or less than 10 employees, commercial packaged insurance, customer packaged insurance, business car insurance and keyman insurance for prinicpals. The insurance package also covers share holders and partners, professional indemnity and trade credit. (Insurance, 2006). International Business Banking. The international services provided by the Bank include import and export bills clearance, guarantees and documentary credit. The Bank also provides many other forms of assistance to businesses to include opening of a business overseas. (International, 2006). The debit and credit card processing facilities include acceptance of debit and credit card at the place of work, over the internet, by mail order, fax or even on telephone. The finance and loans services being provided to the business by HSBC includes flexible overdraft, cash against invoices, protection against bad debts, small business loans at fixed interest rates upto ? 25000, flexible loans, financing of commercial properties, equipment, mortgages, vehicles and so on. Business managers are also provided with cash flow management services and fixed bond rates on high interest Deposit Bonds over ? 5,000. HSBCnet is an advanced service provided for businesses which enable these to carry out futuristic online banking. This is considered ideal for small businesses who do not want to invest in an internal financial management organisation. Thus it provides tools such as cash management, reporting and trading along with analytics and research. (hsbcnet, 2006). The customers are continually provided high quality services on HSBCnet such as management of foreign currency transactions as easy as domestic transaction, payments and account transfers at par with operations of a domestic account. The basic advantage provided is that a customer does not have to change his platform to access different types of services. Chapter 4 – Findings Findings are derived from qualitative and quantitative analysis. Data analysis is meant to calculate â€Å"correlations† between variables. The intention is to find relations among the variables. Correlation is a measure of the degree of linear relationship between two variables. A positive correlation occurs when both variables either increase or decrease. Negative correlation occurs, when one variable increases and the other decreases. The detailed findings of the primary and secondary research carried out based on qualitative and quantitative collation are as per succeeding paragraphs.

Company Overview of Domestic Direct Competitors of Sime Darby

COMPANY OVERVIEW OF DOMESTIC DIRECT COMPETITORS OF SIME DARBY (GENTING BERHAD) Genting Berhad (Genting), a holding company for the Genting Group, operates resorts, casino and plantations. It also develops properties, manufactures paper and generates electricity. The company primarily operates in Malaysia. It is headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and employs 36,000people. The company recorded revenues of MYR6,943. 8 million (approximately $1,968. 3 million) during the fiscal year ended December 2006, an increase of 27. 3% over 2005. The operating profit of the company was MYR3,124. million (approximately $885. 7 million) during fiscal year 2006, an increase of 22. 7% over 2005. The net profit was MYR2,242. 5 million in fiscal year 2006, an increase of 23. 8%over 2005. SWOT ANALYSIS Genting is the management and investment holding company of Genting Group. Through its subsidiaries, the company provides leisure and hospitality, cruise and entertainment businesses. Genting also oper ates plantations, develops and manages property, power generation, manufactures and trades paper, explores oil and gas and provides tours and travel related services.The continued success of its leisure and hospitality business, driven by a strong performance from Genting Highlands Resort and its gaming business, has improved overall revenue and profit growth for the company. However, regional competition from new leisure attractions such as Disneyland and Macau's strong position in the gaming business could weaken the company's leisure and hospitality business. Strengths †¢Diverse business portfolio †¢Strong leisure and hospitality division †¢Strong performance of oil and gasWeaknesses Weak performance of property and manufacturing divisions †¢Weak returns Opportunities †¢Growing wealth of Asian population †¢Government initiatives to promote Malaysia †¢Strong outlook for China’s energy sector †¢Rising demand for biodieselThreats †¢Intense competition †¢Natural disasters and epidemics †¢Weakening demand for residential housing STRENGTHS †¢Diverse business portfolio Genting has a diversified business portfolio, which includes the management of casinos and resorts, plantations, property development, paper manufacturing and power generation.Aided by strong growth in most of its business divisions in fiscal year 2006, Genting managed to record an increase of 27. 3% in its revenues over fiscal year 2005. The revenues from leisure and hospitality division increased 20. 9%; power 89. 1%; plantation 10%;and oil and gas 19. 8%. The company is not overly dependent on any one product or business division. Its diversified business portfolio protects it from downturns in any particular division and reduces business risk. †¢Strong leisure and hospitality division The company's leisure and hospitality division has continuously contributed the highest revenues for Genting.The leisure and hospitality divis ion operates the company's hotel, gaming and entertainment businesses. In fiscal year 2006, the division recorded revenues of MYR4,286. 9 million(approximately $1,215. 2 million), contributing 61. 7% to the company's revenues. This increase is mainly due to the higher volume of business from Genting Highlands Resort. For the period 2002-2006, the leisure and hospitality division grew at a CAGR of 12%. The division's strong performance is attributed to the overall success of the company's theme resorts which are becoming Malaysia’s leading tourist destinations.The company's gaming business, which operates its casinos both locally and internationally, has also posted strong results in recent years. Strong performance from the leisure and hospitality division has improved overall revenue and profit growth for Genting. †¢Strong performance of oil and gas Revenues for the oil and gas division of Genting have consistently improved in recent years. Although the division contrib uted just 2% to Genting’s revenues in fiscal year 2006, it recorded revenues of MYR141. 3 million (approximately $40. 1 million), a 19. % increase over the previous year. From 2002-2006, the oil and gas division grew at a CAGR of 29%. The phenomenal success of the division is attributed to significantly higher oil prices and increased production. Genting expects an even stronger growth for the oil and gas division in the future from increased oil production in Muturi (Indonesia) and China. WEAKNESS †¢Weak performance of property and manufacturing divisions Despite an increase of 7. 7% in fiscal year 2006, the property division's revenues have been volatile over the recent years.For the period 2003-2006, the division's CAGR was -6%, the lowest among all the company's business divisions. Despite a 6% increase in revenues, the manufacturing division's profit before tax declined 44% in fiscal 2006 over the previous year. Weak performance of these divisions would affect the o verall growth of the company. †¢Weak returns Genting has recorded weak returns in the last few years. Its return on investments and return on equity for trailing twelve months (TTM) December 2006 were 10. 2% and 13. 5%, respectively, lower than the industry averages of 10. % and 16. 8% for the same period. Weak returns reflect the inability of the management to deploy assets in profitable avenues, and this could result in decreasing investor confidence. OPPORTUNITIES †¢Growing wealth of Asian population Strong economic growth is expected to improve the spending habits of leisure travellers in the Asian region. A number of Asian countries are expected to record a significant CAGR in GDP per capita in the next five years, including: China (10. 1%), India (8. 1%), Thailand (7%), Singapore and Malaysia(6. 6%).Consequently, disposable income in these countries is expected to grow in the next five years. India’s disposable income records the highest CAGR of 11. 1%, Thaila nd, 8. 4%, China, 8. 1%,Malaysia, 5. 5% and Singapore, 5. 3%. Genting's foreign visitors mostly come from these countries. As such, the company stands to profit from the improving economic conditions of these markets. Rising income levels will increase demand for leisure and hospitality services. †¢Government initiatives to promote Malaysia The importance of tourism to the Malaysian economy has grown considerably in recent years.The joint efforts of Malaysia’s Tourism Ministry and Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB) to stimulate tourism activities are expected to result in higher tourist arrivals in Malaysia. The MTPB hosts trade, tourism and consumer fairs around the world to promote the country’s culture and tourist attractions. In fiscal year 2005, there were a total of about 15. 8 million international arrivals in Malaysia. Annual targets announced under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (2006-2010) include an increase in international arrivals from 17. 3 million in 2006 to 20 million by 2010.In addition, the Malaysian government recently announced a five-day work week for civil servants, which translate to a greater number of holidays available for Malaysians. Also, the presence of low-fare air travel will boost the leisure and tourism industry in Malaysia. This positive outlook of Malaysian tourism presents the company with growth opportunities. †¢Strong outlook for China’s energy sector Demand for worldwide energy is expected to report strong growth until 2025. Energy demand from China is expected to grow by an average of 3. 2% annually until 2025, to reach a volume of 14. 2million barrels per day (bbl/d).Genting has consistently expanded its oil and gas assets including the acquisition of four power plants in China. China is the world's second largest consumer of petroleum products and the company stands to benefit from the growth in China’s energy sector. †¢Rising demand for biodiesel The European Union has a targe t of replacing 5. 75% of diesel with renewable sources by 2010. In view of this growing European demand for bio fuels, the Malaysian government is encouraging the use of palm oil to the production of biodiesel. The country is also preparing to change from diesel to bio-fuels in the near future.It has stipulated that from 2007, all diesel sold in Malaysia must contain5% palm oil. The plantation division of Genting is involved mainly in oil palm plantations, palm oil milling and related activities. It could therefore take advantage of the new opportunity to improve its revenue growth. THREATS †¢Intense competition Genting's leisure and hospitality division is expected to face stiff competition from new leisure attractions in Asia. Disneyland Hong Kong, which opened in September 2005, has emerged as a key competitor The Disneyland attracted approximately 5. million visitors in its first year of operation and is expected to increase to about 10 million annually. Genting is also fac ing competition from casinos in Macau. Macau has at least fourteen casinos, of which the biggest is the Casino Lisboa. Four casino resorts are scheduled to be launched in the next few years in Macau. Disneyland Hong Kong and casinos in Macau could draw tourists away from Genting's leisure and hospitality locations, which would reduce revenue growth. †¢Natural disasters and epidemics The leisure and hospitality is vulnerable to natural disasters and epidemics.In 2003, the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) adversely affected the Star Cruises operation. Star Cruises was also badly affected by the tsunami in 2004. In 2005-2006, outbreak of bird flu affected the leisure and travel industry including cruises. Natural disasters and outbreak of epidemics such as SARS and bird flu in the future could reduce tourist traffic to resorts, casinos and cruise ships of Genting, which would pull revenue growth down. †¢Weakening demand for residential housing Demand for r esidential properties in Malaysia is weakening.Demand for housing in 2006 was lower than 2005. Moreover, the Malaysian GDP growth for 2007 is expected to be 5. 0% down from 5. 8%in 2006 which could have a corresponding effect on Malaysian housing. The company has a significant presence in residential housing. It has recently launched two residential properties: Asiatic Cheng Perdana and Asiatic Indahpura. Excess supply in the Malaysian residential property market and the consequent fall in property prices would negatively impact the performance of Genting's property division.

The Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance and Octopus Card System ÂÂ

The Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance and Octopus Card System  Ã‚   Lam Ka Chun 3035069794 The University of Hong Kong CCST9029 Cyberspace Crime: Technology and Ethics Dr. K. P. Chow Ms. Chan Vivien Pui Shan Abstract This article is about the leakage of data of the Octopus card company. In 2010 , Octopus sold the information of their clients to 6 companies for promotion and made a profit of 44 million Hong Kong dollars over 4. 5 years . In view of the case of Octopus case, this article will go through three part to study it : technical aspect, ethical aspect and legal aspect.It will also suggest feasible suggestions. The dis-honest company led a leakage of personal data: Octopus Card Company Introduction of Octopus card company According to the statistics, 95% of those between the ages of 16 and 65 have an Octopus and Octopus processes over 12 million transactions a day. The card is accepted by more than 100 transportation service providers and 160 retailers, including 7-Eleven, St arbucks, and Park & Shop. It can also be used at pay phones, photo booths, and parking garages. This reveals that the octopus is commonly and widely used.Also implied that the leakage of personal data influences a lot of people. Technical Issue In terms of technical Issue, Octopus card is a rechargeable contactless stored value smart card used widely in transportation and retail business. How can it transfer the money without contact? It is because it used the technique of Radio  Frequency  Identification (RFID). We will go into deeper of the RFID. RFID is the use of a wireless non-contact system that uses radio-frequency electromagnetic fields to transfer data from a tag attached to an object, for the purposes of automatic identification and tracking.The Octopus card requires no battery and are powered and read at short ranges via magnetic fields (electromagnetic induction). The tag contains electronically stored information which can be read from up to several meters (yards) a way. Unlike a bar code, the tag does not need to be within line of sight of the reader and may be embedded in the tracked object. RFID tags are also used in many industries. An RFID tag attached to an automobile during production can be used to track its progress through the assembly line.Pharmaceuticals can be tracked through warehouses. Livestock and pets may have tags injected, allowing positive identification of the animal. Ethical Issue In terms of the ethical issue, there are a few points we would like to discuss. Firstly it is whether there is too much personal information required in the client agreement. The Octopus Company was questioned about if the personal information required on the client agreement was too much. The complainer claimed that the necessary information required by the scheme is actually just name and Octopus card number.Also, the client agreement was not user-friendly, because the text was too small, almost unreadable and the whole statement is too long a nd clumsy. But on the other hand, nowadays Hong Kong citizen are easily give out their information without knowing how the information will be used. The awareness of protection their personal data is too weak. It's always customers' duty to read the whole statement no matter how not user-friendly it is because it should be themselves to protect their own privacy. Legal Issue The Octopus Card Company has actually sued the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.The company collected excessive personal data for the purpose of customer authentication and it failed to take all reasonably practicable steps to ensure that the applicants were explicitly informed of the classes of persons to whom the data may be transferred. Also, the company shared member's personal data with third parties for monetary gains without their consent. The provision of data for monetary gain was not expressly stated in the Terms and Condition. This incident has actually highlighted the inadequacies of the present Ord inance as public expectation in data privacy raises, especially those in conjunction with business activities.Therefore, the government has amended the ordinance in 2012 to protect data users' right. Six data protection principles: Principle 1 – purpose and manner of collection of personal data Principle 2 – accuracy and duration of retention of personal data Principle 3 – use of personal data Principle 4 – security of personal data Principle 5 – information to be generally available Principle 6 – access to personal data DPP1 and DPP3 are violated. Since the octopus company sold the data of their clients, the purpose of collection of personal data is different from what the pubic thought about.Also, there is no direct related to octopus system when the data is used. Therefore, use of personal data is also violated. Suggestion There are four suggestions which can help protecting personal data. First and foremost, due to the little attention t o protect their own information of the citizen, the government should educate the citizen to build up the idea of protecting personal data. Second, improvements can be made in the security and privacy systems of companies to ensure low unintended data leakage. Third, government should make the rule stricter and clearer in order not to let the companies escape the law.Forth, set up a department to investigate among the all the companies to check whether there is similar issue happened. In conclusion, it is a fact that once our personal data has been leaked, it is not possible to stop the spreading of the data. It is both, companies, government and citizens’ responsibilities to protect our personal data. Reference Websites: http://healthymethod. blogspot. hk/2011/06/octopus-card-scandal. html http://www. cdeclips. com/en/hongkong/fullstory. html? id=49560 http://www. octopus. com. k/octopus-for-businesses/benefits-for-your-business/en/index. html A video of RFID PDPO Newspaper s: The Standard, ‘Legco probe alert in Octopus data row’ 2/8/2010 The Standard, ‘Octopus chief tight-lipped as public says time to go’ 4/8/2010 Articles: Richard MacManus (2 September 2009). â€Å"Hong Kong's Octopus Card: Utility Outweighs Privacy Concerns†.

QI IV IMPLEMENTING AND REVISING Research Proposal

QI IV IMPLEMENTING AND REVISING - Research Proposal Example In addition, strategic planning of implementation can bring great change in any given organization. It clearly shows the missions and goals to be achieved by the organization. In order to plan an effective implantation process; one should ensure that there is active support from the board of executive, effective communication, and employee involvement (Gorman, 2001). The board of directors provides quality leadership for the QI process. It reviews, evaluates and puts in place the quality improvement services. The team also helps in supporting and directing the implementation of enhanced quality activities in the program. Successful planning implementation calls for extensive commitments from the board of directors and senior managers. The executive committee has a crucial role to play during the process. For instance, they must guide, support, monitor and live to the outcomes of the process, failure to this, the strategic process will simply be unsuccessful. Without extra commitment of the organization’s executives, the participants are likely to feel misled and unsatisfied with the results. Senior executive should draw a clear vision and mission for the planning implementation process. In addition, they should taint a picture to show the expected out comes. The executive can also appoint a leader such as an executive champion to ‘’own â€Å"the strategic process. Executives should sponsor some portions that involve the process. They become an involved participant that enables them to interact with other members of the organization. Executive leadership should steer up the committee, planning team and leadership group. They develop a performance plan within the management to reinforce, and communicate a structure that enhances the delivery and accomplishment of the planning goals. The quality improvement committee comprises of a wide range of health practitioners such as network physicians and the psychiatric health workers. It develops and comments the quality improving plan. It identifies opportunities for enhancement, outlines performance goals and guides the quality interventions. The committee is responsible for approving and updating the time plan. Subsequently, the committee carries out the quality evaluation process, analyzes, and summarizes work done within a given time span. It is evident that the committee monitors health activities and creates a work plan for each activity and the people responsible. In addition, it reports to the board of directors on the quality improvement services on a regular basis (Breen, et.al, 2010). Thirdly, improving the quality of a medical program requires the mobilization of medical staff. They should be equipped with enough technical expertise in Quality improvement methods and tools. Medical staff in a quality improvement program includes the medical clinicians, laboratory technicians, and pharmacists. Quality services of a medical staff improve the services of Services of a ny medical program. Clinicians ensure that patients receive quality medical care. They also ensure that all patients/clients receive their medical prescription according to the doctor’s prescription. They coordinate quality care by ensuring that all the equipment’s needed during medical services are readily available. Extensive involvement of the medical staff enhances the effectiveness of quality improving strategies. Furthermore, the participation of senior physicians should

Illegal Immigration Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Illegal Immigration - Term Paper Example Certain individuals may be interested in settling within the US just so that they could benefit from the health and social facilities in the country. The essay shall look at the reality of free riders and how this is linked to illegal immigration. Some individuals argue that illegal immigration is becoming a very serious problem in the US. Some of them attribute this to the open border policies that the US has adopted. Others claim that the real reason why illegal immigrants enter the US is so that they could use up the country's resources and then leave it for dead. (Beck 94) These proponents assert that these immigrants have no intention of ever becoming US citizens or upholding the law. Instead, they enter the country to access easily available employment opportunities. Usually, these people come into the country so that they can offer cheap labor for those respective industries or people that need them. In fact, a number of immigrants enter the country in order to pack industry products or do such duties. (Shapiro A8) These proponents also believe that all the latter micro-economic arguments do not hold much water. According to them there is a need to revise the country's immigration laws because of the fact that citizenship is worth very little to these people. Most of them may be merely interested in getting whatever little they can and then send it back to their own countries. Since such individuals are not well documented, then they are usually not obliged to respect the constitution as much as other groups do. (Shapiro A8) Proponents of this argument also claim that many illegal immigrants do not play by the rules. Since they are not US citizens, then they are not required to contribute directly to the country. Additionally, most of them may not offer their services for the betterment of the US. This school of thought also puts forward the fact that many illegal immigrants are actually flooding the country and causing situations in which locals are running out of work. The following industries heavily rely on illegal immigration The restaurant industry Housekeeping Construction Truck driving etc These proponents argue that illegal immigrants who are coming in for a free ride (through the social amenities in the country) are actually harming locals who may be required to pay their dues while at the same time compete with some of these illegal immigrants. Proponents of these ideas cite a series of statistics to support their claim. For instance, in the New York Times, it was stated that illegal immigrants who enter the country for a free ride are actually ruining the opportunities for other types of workers especially those ones who may not be illegal. It has been shown that most janitors in Los Angeles get close to nine dollars per hours; in other parts of the country, it could be slightly higher but not so far from this figure. What has happened is that some of these illegal immigrants have ended up dominating the profession. Most employers these days prefer using such illegal immigrants because they are sure that they will save up on substantial wage costs. However, the overall effect of this rush towards illegal immigrants

Matrices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Matrices - Essay Example It remains to determine if any of the 33 sub matrices of the augmented matrix (B) have a non – zero determinant. For example in a square sub matrix of order 33 of [B], namely, These system of equations are inconsistent, because the rank of the coefficient matrix [A] in which det(D) = 0. Moreover, a 3rd order square sub matrices of [B], namely, , and are such that their corresponding determinants are zero. In other words, all the 3rd order square sub matrices of the augmented matrix [B] have a zero determinant. Therefore, the rank of the augmented matrix [B] is less than 3. Since, there exists a 2nd order square sub matrix of matrix [B], such that det(H) = -120≠ 0, the rank of the augmented matrix [B] is 2. The rank of the coefficient matrix [A], whereis to be determined. Det(A) = 0. Hence, the rank of the coefficient matrix [A] is less than 3. is a square sub matrix of matrix [A] and det (J) = -3 ï‚ ¹ 0. Therefore, the rank of the coefficient matrix [A] is 2. Hence, rank of the coefficient matrix [A] = rank of the augmented matrix [B], accordingly the system of equations given by [A] [X] = [B] is consistent. Nevertheless, the rank of the coefficient matrix [A] = rank of the augmented matrix [B] < 3, therefore there are only 2 constraints; consequently, these equations have infinitely many

International Arbitration Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International Arbitration - Research Paper Example It is not a surprise that the research compares the two, though they are more of a single state, China and Hong Kong have different ways of tackling international cases and in this research states the differences and similarities, the advantages and disadvantages that arise because of those differences and similarities. In Hong Kong, the court ensures minimum interference in international arbitration and everything to do with supervising legal matters of international arbitration is done by the Hong Kong International Arbitration Center and the other bodies within it. The company took over all the responsibilities in international arbitration that would have been carried out by the Hong Kong court. The case is different for China where the People's court is also in part responsible for dealing with international arbitration though it also has an independent body with which it works. So this is meant to give all these details and come up with the best means of court's involvement in international arbitration and cases of the like. Research results will be based on the literature that is available about the two states but also on the answers and responses that will be received from the interviews and questionnaires that will be distributed. This research is meant to explain China's and Hong Kong's courts' supervision and assistance in internationa... The research will also try to compare the local arbitration procedures to international procedures in order to assist in getting a difference between the procedures of handling local cases and those of handling international cases. The research aims at pointing out areas that need improvement and therefore come up with suggestions to improve the Chinese court's involvement in international arbitration as compared to Hong Kong's. The Objective of the Research With detailed information on the involvement of the court of the people's republic of China in international arbitration, this research will also bring to light the position of Hong Kong's court in international arbitration. Just as for the people's republic of China so shall it be for Hong Kong, the research seeks to find out Hong Kong's courts involvement in terms of supervision and assistance in international arbitration. From the findings a comparison will be made of the two involvements i.e. the involvement of the court of People's Republic of China in international arbitration and the involvement of the Hong Kong court in supervising international arbitration. Therefore the main objective of this research is to compare the involvement of the two courts in international arbitration, analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the degree of the court's involvement in international arbitration and from these come up with suggestions on what the court could do to improve international arbitration. Both for the people's republic of China and for Hong Kong. The Scope of the Research The scope of the study will be the court of the People's Republic of China and the Hong

Who were the Neanderthals, and what caused their extinction Did they Essay

Who were the Neanderthals, and what caused their extinction Did they influence Homo sapiens, either genetically or culturally - Essay Example Also, These Neanderthals are also genetically associated with the â€Å"Anatomically Modern Humans (AMH)† by some anthropologists based on genetic and cultural evidence, while there is still an ongoing debate about the conformity of the proposition. Anatomically modern humans are the most immediate ancestors of the humans, and possibilities of interbreeding amongst the species are still being investigated. However, scientific study of genetics indicates that humans and Neanderthals have only been found to have ancestral connections about 550,000 years ago. However studying evolution from a cultural perspective indicates a strong sense of connection between early humans and the Neanderthals. These species, the Neanderthals were first discovered in 1829. In 1856, when Neanderthal specimen was found in a cave in Germany the scientists were amazed at the discovery as it was very unique and distinctive from other fossils previously been found, as the skull was oval in shape with th ick and strong bones along with a retreating forehead (Delson 2006). The name Homo Neanderthals was suggested to these unknown species by the geologist William King in 1864 when these were found in the Neander valley in Germany (Jordan 1999). However, after a lot of research the scientists were able to discover the fact that the species discovered in 1829 were the same as these found later. Neanderthals had a strong body built with a heavy structure and a shorter height, ideal to absorb more heat so that they can survive in cold climates. Sexual dimorphism between both genders was comparatively unclear. To shed light on the causes of extinction associated with the Neanderthals, it is first crucial to study their modes of survival and their lifestyles. These species relied on the plants to acquire nutrition for their survival. However, due to the colder climates that they had to face, possibilities are that the plant supplies would have adequately dropped during the winters. Due to t his factor they had to diversify their food sources including meat in their diet to fulfill their nutritious requirements (Shipmen 2008). Anthropological remains like sharpened tools for cutting and ripping away meat preys indicate that these species were seasonal meat hunters. Moreover, when scientists studied the plaque over the teeth of the remains, they even found out that these species incorporates mollusks, sharks and other marine species as their diets. Amongst other anthropological evidences, a flake tool sophisticated in its built was also found which was made after breaking off the stones from the surfaces, though it wasn’t as complex as those tools found amongst other ancestral species associated with humans. Moreover, having studied the anatomy of their bodies, it was concluded that their arms were rather asymmetric which are indicative of the fact that they used thrusting techniques to capture preys, which means that they utilized larger animals for consumption. Along with these remains, other significant discoveries were the needle like tools which can be used for sewing garments to wear. Moreover, Neanderthals are also found to have used fire for various purposes. Thorough analysis of the locales draws attention towards shallow pits along with other even shallower grave like structures. This indicates that these people used to bury the dead into graves and hold funerals to carry these events. The settings also reflect that these species used to live in a nuclear family setup while some instances indicate social gatherings and events to be a part of their lives as well.

Management accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Management accounting - Essay Example It may be noted that the financial tool of ratio analysis has been used to make comments and comparisons between the two companies over their financial position and performance. During 2007 Intercontinental has not effectively improved upon its profitability performances in 2006. In fact it has maintained more or less the same level of profitability as was in 2006.The increases in profitability ratios in net profit and return on equity are deceptive. ROE has increased manifolds because capital employed has been reduced tremendously from $686m to mere $49m. Otherwise gross profit ratio that shows the real operative efficiency of the entity has dwindled and remained at almost the same level. Increase in return on capital employed is marginal. The overall efficiency on operational profitability has not improved. The profitability performance of Peel Hotels in 2007 has also gone down when compared with 2006. Gross profits and ROCE that show operational efficiency has shown declined performances. On the hand ROE, return on assets, net profit ratios that are affected by factors other than operation performances have shown increased performances. The result is that company has not improved upon its real profitability but shown efficiency only to attract investors and other interested users of financial statements. Both companies are facing liquidity crunch as reflected from their current and quick ratios. Both ratios are lower than the standards required to maintain optimum level of liquidity. The liquidity status is critical in both the years for each of the companies. The companies have to take some extraordinary steps to improve liquidity; otherwise both companies are facing the danger of short term insolvency. Intercontinental has low inventory turnover but it at least has maintained the same performance in 2007 as was in 2006. The company has shown improvement in collection of debtors but

Fast Food and Natural Food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fast Food and Natural Food - Essay Example Sometimes processed vegetarian in packaged form is not good for well-being as they have many harmful chemical which is difficult to digest. Schlosser correctly finds that obesity rate is highest in USA than any other nation among first world. Around fifty percent of grown up Americans and about twenty five percent of American kids are in the category of either obese or overweight. This proportion has grown very rapidly in last ten years as it is almost twice the obesity rate in comparison to last part of 1970s. Steffen(2008) said in "Burgers, fries, diet soda: metabolic syndrome blue-plate special" published by American Heart Association rapid access journal report , "Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of cardiovascular disease and diabetes risk factors including elevated waist circumference, high blood pressure, elevated triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL or "good") cholesterol and high fasting glucose levels. The presence of three or more of the factors increases a person's risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Independent research project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Independent research project - Essay Example There are 41 languages represented in the school and the attainment of pupils on entry is very low compared with national levels, with many pupils speaking little or no English. In addition, the percentage of pupils who have learning difficulties is similar to the figures found nationally. The school offers a wide range of before- and after-school activities for pupils, their parents and the local community. The purpose of this study is to identify an area of development on attendance and punctuality of the school as they have problems with it. According to Ofsteds report dated 2004, the Dormers Wells Infants School, it contains school complaints where actions were not required. Following school representation, Ofsted decided to publish informations relating to complaints on September 1, 2006 where actions were required by Ofsted and the school. Even if there were several complaints, they did not require any action. This responsibility to give true and up to date information was changed in January 2009. The main concern of primary school teachers is the issue of pupils taking holiday during school time. The staff were confused as to when holiday time should be authorised and when it should not be authorised. In both authorities, different practices were followed. The ones interviewed believe that Circular 3/99 be rewritten, simplified and be more user friendly for better local clarification. In primary schools, everyday attendance is checked then at the end of school term, a certificate of full attendance is awarded. Teachers are also involved in visiting homes of pupils who got absent on the first day. Some teachers are confused about authorising unauthorised absence issue. All the staff did not believe that attendance should be a part of the work load agenda but they should be involved in registration process as part of their duty of care and pastoral support of pupils and parents. However, both heads and teachers worry that too little information was being shared by school and their local social services and health departments and other local services agencies (ex: Connexions, YOT providers), that has implication for Every Child Matters (Dfes, 2003). METHODOLOGY The method I used to gather data from parents regarding attendance and punctuality is give questionnaires to parents because I found this method more convenient. The significance of this method is that the researcher and respondent should not in any way have any personal involvement. They have to maintain a social distance. (Research Method p 2) Advantages of using questionnaires are: 1. Questionnaires are more objective because responses are gathered in a standardised way. 2. Informations are relatively quick to collect using a questionnaire but in some instances they can take a long time designing and analysing. 3. Information can be gathered from a large portion of a group. Returns from questionnaires are usually low and this is not often realised. But return rates can be improved if the questionnaire is delivered and responded to on time. Disadvantages of questionnaires: 1. Like the many evaluation methods, questionnaires are given after the event, so participants may forget some important issues. 2. Questionnaires a

Segment and Profiling Examples Essay Example for Free

Segment and Profiling Examples Essay * CARL’S JR. The brand continues its growth with an emphasis on quality, service and cleanliness, pioneering concepts such as partial table service and self-serve beverage bars. The introduction of the signature Six Dollar Burgerâ„ ¢ in 2001 marks the latest Carls Jr. ® advance in the quick-service industry, confirming the chains constant emphasis on product innovation and representing a desire to satisfy the tastes of young, hungry consumers. Who: male and female consumers between the ages of 18 – 25 with an average education level of a high school graduate or higher and a income level of 000 000. This also includes family consumers who typically consist of married or single parents with 1- 4 stay at home children and roughly $1300 of disposable income that is usually spent at QSR’s. Common lifestyle characteristics include parents who work full time and who are not always able to prepare a meal for their family, households where 3 of the four people in a typical family do not know how to cook, consumers who spend 71% of their time or more outside the house, consumers who spend a majority of their time in busy high traffic districts of the city and teenagers between the age of 15 – 19 who work full or part time jobs and or go to school full time. Consumers in this target market regularly make purchases at QSR’s 1 – 2 times a week and expect healthier more nutritious meal options such as specialty salads, deli style sandwiches and grilled chicken sandwiches. What: The overall nature of the message would be image intensive with a majority of advertisements directed toward tv, print (including coupons etc.) and internet banners/stream videos. Where: The target market exists mainly in suburban areas, high traffic business districts and in some rural areas of Canada. The weight of the media funding would be allocated primarily based on this info and population patterns. When: Since a majority of ads will be spent on tv, commercials would be aired Monday to Friday from 3pm to 10:30pm, playing 3, 40 second commercials in an hour. On weekends commercials would air from 11:00am to 10:00pm, 2 times an hour. How: By using the profile-matching strategy in all chosen forms of media Carl’s Jr. would be able to achieve the desired regional coverage needed to successfully launch into the Canadian market. This effort combined with ‘skip’ schedule advertising will generate awareness, interest and trial purchase Endorsements is a technique that Carl’s Jr. has already used somewhat successfully and could continue to do so by getting endorsements from celebrities that would be easily recognized and accepted by the target audience. This would include Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Alba and Sarah Jessica Parker who could add to the presentation with sexually blatant appeals that could be easily â€Å"confused† with benefits of the product. Such as an ad where one of the above celebrities would mention how they have met someone who gives them everything they want and keeps them satisfied with his â€Å"big†¦., thick†¦., so large I can barely get both hands on it†¦..†, these references would of course be toward Carl’s Jr. and the size of their new ‘Six Dollar’ Jalapeà ±o burger. Shaquille O’Neal, and Kobe Bryant could also be used to target the segment of customers who may be more influenced by the endorsements of professional athletes and their reference to the amount of meat found in the premier burger. With this type of commercial we would also introduce taglines and slogans to complete the message. For the ad endorsed by an attractive female celebrity the tagline would be â€Å"If we can get her this HOT, imagine what we can do for you.† this would introduce the Jalapeà ±o burger as a spicy meal to consumers who prefer a ‘kick’ to their food. The slogan used for the entire advertising campaign would be â€Å"We’re new. We’re more. And we can make it HOT.† * BROTHER’S BURGER Brothers Burger is a fast-casual restaurant that now has a total of 18 branches— six franchised and 12 company-owned — in Metro Manila, Baguio City, Cebu City. â€Å"We wanted to give the market good comfort good,† says Martin, the company’s vice president for business development and marketing. But it was Quito, a California-trained chef, who brought up the idea of selling a premium burger. To bring this idea to life, DJ and Martin quit their jobs to help Quito. Their burgers are all quite big and charbroiled a lot of health conscious people who order this if they are craving for burgers. * BURGER MACHINE BURGER MACHINE IS THE MARKET LEADER OF THE BURGER-ON-WHEELS SEGMENT OF THE FAST FOOD INDUSTRIES IN THE PHILIPPINES OPERATED BY FRANCHISEES NATIONWIDE. Burger Machine is the market leader of the burger-on-wheels segment of Philippines Food Industry. To simply put it, Burger Machine is the National Burger Stand of the Philippines. 🙂 (Among the other famous burger stands in the Philippines are: Angels Burger, Scott Burger Buy 1 Take 1 Burgers, etc). Burger Machine is not the resto type, it has been consistent in identifying itself as the-burger-next-door; you can see it everywhere, in every block, and in every corner possible. It is open 24 hours, the reason why it earned its name the burger that never sleeps. * McDonalds McDonalds has segmented their products according to bases of Demographic, Psychographic and Behavioral. They have segmented their products and positioned their products according to kids, students and family. But they haven’t segmented their products according to Adult target group. And also haven’t started segmented related to breakfast in every outlet. * Happy Meal for Kids. Playing area for Kids Music and Dance floor for youth. Toddler zone -an active play environment with age-appropriate games that develop physical coordination and social skills. Active zone-designed for children aged four to eight that promotes physical fitness through fun play Sports Zone-a series of sports-oriented activities to promote aerobic exercise for children aged nine to 11 Parent Zone-features seating and provides a monitoring area for their children; and the Dining Area which allows family to eat. Geographical segmentation From geographical segmentation above we can see that McDonald offered their services based on certain country basic food. Demographic/psychographic segmentation Demographic segmentation divides the market into groups based on variables like gender, age, nationality, religion, family life cycle and family size. McDonald offered their services by segmented their customer based on age, religion and family life cycle McDonald segmented their product based on customer’s religion To offer the best services McDonald still concern about variations due to differing tastes and cultural issues for their customer over the world. For example: ‘Demographic segmentation divides the market In Malaysia, In Muslim country like Malaysia pork is not due to Muslim dietary laws, the hamburger is called beef burger avoiding the word â€Å"ham† (McDonald Malaysia). Additionally, in North African Morocco as well as other Muslim countries, all meats is slaughtered in the halal method and labeled as such. On The other hand, In Israel, kosher dietary laws forbid the mixture of the meat and the dairy product, because of this, cheeseburger are not popular. McDonald runs kosher restaurants in Jerusalem and in Buenos Aires (Gurdian Unlimited, 2007), Argentina and offer a â€Å"Passover bun† (only in Israel) for the eighty day period in which practicing Jews abstains from leavened bread. Contrary, â€Å"Veggie burger† are offered wherever there is significant demand, including India and much Western Europe, but McDonald rarely certificate it product as vegetarian. Indeed, McDonald’s was subject to high profile lawsuit and eventually forced to apologized for using small beef in the preparation of fries marketed as cooked in 100% vegetable oil. While in the liberal countries like The United States McDonald offer any kinds of food which one of it not available in other countries such as, hamburger, big n tasty, crispy chicken mCclub, McRib Jr, bacon egg and cheese bagel, BBQ bacon chicken mCgrill and cherry pie. (Bizjournal strictly business, strictly local, 2001) Behavioral segmentation Behavioral segmentation focuses on dividing consumer based on their knowledge, attitudes, uses, benefits sought, or responses to company’s product (McNamee McDonnell, 1995). One of the best form of segmentation is to divided buyers according to the different benefits that they want to get by purchasing the product. Usually, people who look for in their product class or look for each benefit. For example, McDonald provide McDelivery for 24 hour, this the only one delivery service that not stop even once in a while a day by just call it and order, after that within a minute it comes to your place with the food that still hot and fresh. For example, they who are working until late night in the office or they who are not sleep at night, they use this service to feed them because not all McDonald restaurants is open for 24 hour, certain McDonald restaurant only open until 2 am in the morning, for customer who look for each benefit they will just call McDelivery to send what they order rather than comedown directly to McDonald’s restaurant. McDonald segmented McDelivery menu based on the time that customer order: ∙ Breakfast extra value meals: bagel with omelet, big breakfast, hotcakes with sausage, hotcakes, sausage mCmuffin, egg muffin, fillet-o-fish, hashbrown. Happy Meal breakfast includes free toy: 2pc breakfast hotcakes. ∙ Lunch/Dinner/supper: big mag, double cheeseburger, fillet-o-fish, mcwings, French fries, mCchicken, mCspicy, grilled chicken foldover. Happy Meal lunch/dinner/supper includes free toy: chicken mCnugget, grilled chicken bun, chicken mCnugget. ∙ Sides: French fries, corn cup, apple dippers. ∙ Beverages: mCcafe cappuccino, mCcafe latte, mCcafe long black, coke/ coke light, sprite, ice lemon tea, jasmine green tea, 100% pure orange juice, limeade, iced milo, evian, fresh milk, hot chocolateor tea, hot milo. ∙ Dessert: McFlurry, sundae, apple pie. (McDelivery, 2006) McDelivery menu by McDonald (2006).. According to the data above, we can see that McDonald segmented their McDelivery menu based on how customers considering each benefit. Another behavioral segmentation in McDonald that we can guess is they proudly Big Mac, we can measure how customer is loyal to this McDonald’s product. In my opinion, Big Mac is one of popular burger in the world everybody knew it, know what it calls, know how to get it and know how it tastes. Year to year the sales of Big Mac keep on steadily and it is never drop under what we are predicted. On the other hand it sales also never suddenly totally increased, it is one of the evidence that Big Mac is reputable in common meanings it well-know because of it big size of burger under the brand of McDonald which all the people knows how it fast food feeder popular but it do not mean that this Big Mac do not have competitor. Nowadays, there is a lot of fast food feeder that serve any kind of burger with tempting taste and affordable price, this is what people said â€Å"the taste balance with the quality† which the brand is Burger King with their lot of menu choices and MOS burger that now serving their burger not with bread rather than rice, so many unique and unimagined ideas about how people create an interesting food and take business burger seriously. The reasons why this three brand of burger consume by community is because they all concern for the word halal kosher, they also know how to compete by creating the best test and design the appearances of burger until it brings kind of history to our life. Additionally, it also because of their good marketing which know how they persuade people and how they advertise their burger by make it commercial break that published in television, advertise their burger in big billboard, put their poster in bus until send their discount coupon (direct mai l) to public.

The Maesrsk Line Company

The Maesrsk Line Company The Maesrsk Line Company is the global containerized division of the A.P. Moller. The company delivers its services across the world through ocean transportation services. They built their vision and their mission from a strong constant care, heritage of uprightness, and innovation, and this vision has made a path for their business operations since Maersk lines first vessel sailed in 1904. The focus and commitment to this vision made them able to expand the business and become largest ocean carrier of the world. And they are constantly recognized as the most reliable container shipping company. A.P. Moller Maersk Group headquarters at the waterfront in Copenhagen, Denmark The fleet of the maersk line is consist of more than 600 vessels and the total number of containers is more than 3,800,000 TEU*. This shows a comprehensive and reliable coverage worldwide. Maesks Lines Philosophy: We share the same values and principles of business with the maesks line group to be a known, highly respected and world-class group. The founder Mr. A.P. Moller wrote Loss should not hit us, and constant care is needed for it. These words are highly followed and having deep meaning at the company. Word constant care is highly focused on the safety and good health of the employees and others in the industry and environment around them. Our Values: The core values of the Maersk line group are the demonstration n of constant care, regard for our employees, humbleness and uprightness and the protection of the name of the company. The success lies in the fulfillment of these values while carrying out the business. Our business principles: The maersk fundamental business principles is comprises of how do we conduct our business, these principles are applicable on national as well as international legislation. Environment: Our constant care also revolves around the protection of environment. We maximize the use of the resources and handle the waste. The policy regarding environmental protection is we focus on the protection of the environment and environmental consideration is our first priority in conducting our business. Our mission: We provide opportunities in global commerce. Company facts and information: Maersk Line is the leading container shipping company all over the world. It has more than 600 vessels and more than 3, 800, 0000 (a container is 20 feet long). It shows the comprehensive and reliable coverage all over the world. http://www.maerskline.com/globalimage/?path=/media_room/company001 What is container shipping? Containerization, it is large and worldwide system of intermodal cargo transport by using standardized containers. This can be sealed and reloaded onto container ships, trucks and planes, railroad cars. Before the containers were introduced, it was time consuming and expensive to handle the cargo for sea transportation. The containers have brought change in that and it made transport easier and affordable than ever before. All the types of commodities and the type of goods can be carried and loaded in the box; as a result the modernized container shipping has changed the ways of transportation around the world and played a vital role in globalization. Sustainability: Since it is a biggest shipping line in the world, Maersk Line plays a vital role in facilitating efficient and reliable supply chains for many companies. It is recognized that the position of maersk line as an enabler of global trade have brought great opportunities. Global trade of manufactured goods has increased over 100 times, from 95 billion USD to 12 trillion in the last 5 decades. Today 90% of global trade is done through ocean transport and containerization have played very important role in this development. Awards and Recognition: Maersk Line wins Shipping Company of the Year award in the Middle East 14 December 2012 Maersk Line takes home two Global Freight Awards 26 November 2012 Maersk Line wins Lloyds List Environment Award for the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent 19 October 2012 Maersk Line wins Clean Excellence Award 25 September 2012 Maersk Line wins Social Media Campaign of the Year Award 17 September 2012 Maersk Line wins 2012 Best Global Shipping Line Award 7 June 2012 Maersk Lines à gnes Hernà ¡d wins Best Young Manager of the Year 20 February 2012 Maersk Line Wins Shipping Line of the Year Award 1 December 2011 Maersk Line wins two awards at AFSCA 2011 Maersk wins European Business Award 2010 Maersk Line Best Global Shipping Line, Best Shipping Line for Asia-Europe, and Best Green Service Provider Shipping Line 2009. Maersk Line awarded Container Shipping Line of the Year 2007 Maersk Line wins Best Global Shipping Line 2006 Maersk Sealand named Best global shipping line 2005 Best Global Shipping Line award 2004 HR Processes: Recruitment and selection at Maersk Line: Maersk Line strictly follows the Equal employment opportunity Law while hiring candidates for a particular department. They make sure no discrimination take place throughout the procedure of hiring an employee. The advantage of strictly following such law is that Maersk Line never face any problem pertaining to legal complexities and law suits regarding the hiring of candidates. The recruitment process starts with the submission of online application by a candidate and a confirmation pop-up appears on the screen. A reply will be sent within few days so that the applications can be reviewed carefully. Applications are reviewed on the basis of some standard tools so that company can make it sure that a candidate is eligible for giving interviews. The mediums of recruitment which they prefer are: Employment Agencies: These agencies make links between the employers and employees. Internet: The advertisements on different job websites, which capture the a huge pool of candidates who can apply in the company to get the job they are capable for. Employee Referrals Its an internal recruiting method which identifies their potential candidates from the existing workforces social networks. This scheme encourages existing employees to choose the suitable candidate for a particular job from their social networks. A referral bonus is given to referring employee as a reward. It is the most efficient and cost effective method for recruitment. Announcement on the official website They Announce the new jobs on their official website i.e. www.maerskline.com. Website has the particular portion of vacancies and the whole process of how to apply is mentioned. Evaluation of internal labor supply They prefer Internal Labor Supply over External: Those positions which are at higher levels and become vacant due to transfers, deaths, demotions and promotions, are filled by the internal employees who are already familiar with the required managerial roles and responsibilities of those positions. These positions are then posted on the notice boards throughout the PSO offices and are also posted on a software device that is displayed on almost every computer desktop at PSO offices. The interested employees are screened, interviewed and positioned. The criteria of selecting the internal employee depend on requirements of the qualification, age and experience recommended by the line manager Selecting and interviewing Process: Selection process: Advertise Test 1st Interview 2nd Interview HIRE There is a predetermined criterion for hiring of candidates, which includes Logical and personality Test It is the standardized instruments of testing individuals character of psychological makeup. It also reveals the aspects of how logical the candidate is. These tests play an important role in making the selection process easier. Behavioral Interviews These interviews discover the behavior of an interviewee. It reveals that how an interviewee acted in particular situation faced in the past. And it will predict that how he or she will act in the future. In traditional interviews there is a series of question asked, that has the straight forward answers Like what challenges did you face? How did u handle them? Or what are your strengths and weaknesses?But in the behavioral interviews questions are more pointed and more specific than questions in the traditional interview. Like describe any example of a goal reached by you and how did you achieved it? or how did you work effectively when you were under pressure? In order to get selected, candidates must fulfill the criteria they are tested upon. English Grammar: English comprehension Basic Mathematics: Identification of Resources required in particular Department: Need Analysis Departmental Goals Organizational Goals Interviewing Process: Two structured interviews are generally conducted of a candidate at Maersk Line. The first interview is conducted by Human Resources which are focused on the candidates personal skills and capabilities. They use online or hard copy assessment tools to try to form an objective picture of candidates personal characteristics and logical capabilities and a feedback is provided as a part of the process. The second interview is normally conducted by the hiring manager who makes the final hiring decisions and focuses on the specific qualities and skills which are required for the particular job. The whole recruitment process usually takes 4 to 6 weeks; it could be vary depending on the locations. Orientation and Trainings: Training and development is a continuous process, and is designed to bring about a change in attitude of employees with respect to the job they are doing, the people around them, the new procedures, the new techniques and skills that they can use. It is also to make them more conscious of their responsibilities and how to perform them effectively. Therefore, all training is planned and coordinated in a systematic manner by the company, in term so identifying following needs and the skills required in the company. The training and skill development efforts are not confined to a formal class room course but extended in all directions, hence, helping to improve the productivity of employees by imparting useful knowledge and training in the areas, which are neglected, and to add up to the most of their strengths. The growth of the employees is not only a short term vision of enhancing inputs through skills based on training but also an effort for the long term development of employees by education and planned management development inputs. Types of Training at Maersk Line: Orientation Program: Newly inducted employees are given a short orientation course to familiarize them with the company, organizational functions, activities, policies, procedures and programs. This type of training program may be arranged on individual basis or group class room training, depending on number of participants available. The duration and contents of the course is determined to meet the needs of individual concerned in consultation with respective departmental heads. Depending on the type of job, newly hired employees, as well as the promotes assigned to new field of activities, are given on the job training for a period ranging from one week to four weeks, as may be deemed necessary. They make sure that people are empowered to do their job well Indoor simulators: Job knowledge is an essential part of everyones responsibility in any position. Since technology, methodology, processes are changing at a fast pace, it is imperative that employees should learn new skills and techniques through specialized and technical courses organized within the company. Seminars and constructive discussion groups: seminars are conducted to spread the awareness regarding different programs plus it provides a platform for the employer and the employees to socialize. Group case studies play an important role in a constructive discussion between the employees. Practical exposure and experiences: As a trainee in their company an employee will be given a responsibility from day 1 and will be provided with a proper toolkit enabling him to experience a real job. The Maersk group runs a trainee program which provides opportunities to get solid and a broad shipping knowledge. The applicants will be the part of business represented in many countries they are looking for energetic, passionate about shipping and eager to learn individuals who can apply as a Chartering or Operation Trainee in this program. Chartering Trainee: as a chartering trainee, he or she will be responsible for fixing the vessels and cargos. You are to ensure that the vessels sail with the right cargo. Operation Trainee: as an operation trainee employee will be responsible to make sure that the operations of vessels are efficient and safe. And will have to perform following tasks. Issuing voyage instructions Appointing agents Planning bunkering Market voyage analysis Handling insurance and legal matters The trainee will have a broad network of stakeholders including agents, ship managers, port captains and charters. Performance Management: To maintain a sustainable Performance of an employee, Maersk Human resource management measures some of the main factors which has a high impact on employees performances. Work output Personal Competency Goals achieved Performance appraisal Methods at Maersk Line: HR managers should be very careful while selecting methodology used to measure performance of an individual. Maersk Line uses the following methods. MBO Each employee is assign with the specific tasks and goals, and then the progress of those goals is reviewed periodically. Goal setting is done by mainly focusing on the Organizational goals. Secondly the departmental goals are assigned to different departments working in the company, then these goals are discussed with the employees and employees get to know what is expected from them, which defines their individual goals. Finally the progress of these goals is reviewed and employees receive feedbacks. Paired ranking method ranking employees by making a chart of all possible pairs of the employees for each trait and indicating which one is the better employee of the pair. Forced distribution method similar to grading on curve; predetermined percentages of rates are placed in various performance categories. Example: 15% high performers 20% high-average performers 30% average performers 20% low-average performers 15% low performers Goals achieved The process starts when HR throws performance appraisal forms to different departments. This appraisal form has two sides: Employee Development Report-1 (EDR1) Employee Development Report-2 (EDR2) EDR-1 In EDR1 employee he identifies the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), the employees themselves set the objectives and targets for the following year. EDR-2 In EDR2 it is the line manager who rates the employee performance by quoting significant performance achievements and deficiencies for the past year. He indicates what development and training will employee need in the future according to the highlighted areas in the current year. When both of them end up the negotiation then the appraisal form is sent to HR department for further follow up of the respective training or development arrangements. This way the Performance appraisal system reaches to end. These performance appraisal methods are very useful in order to maintain competition and for employees to focus on Key performance indicators (KPIs). And the results extracted from these methods become the basis of promotion, rewards, incentives, bonuses, or layoff and punishment for an employee. Compensation Benefits: Since the Maersk line is very careful in maintaining the equality among their employees, they never face any equity issue. The wages and salaries are set on the basis of employees Education Experience Market conditions Human capabilities The pay raise is given to an employee on the yearly basis. Maersk line negotiate the salary with a candidate on his own terms and conditions only when the job is highly skilled, when company wants to retain its loyal employee and when an employee is an exceptional performer. Career Development at Maersk Line: Maersk line is highly involved in investment in training and education. Over the years A.P. Moller maersk group has its own training system which is implemented over the years and constantly updated. And it is directed towards meeting the global and international organizations particular requirement. Their experience shows that the employee cannot be evaluated solely on the basis of written applications and the examination results. It is essential that the personal impression of the individual behind the papers should be evaluated. Everybody who is formally eligible and has the qualification required for the certain position, can expect to be invited for the interview with Human Resource Department at Maersk line. Maersk Line believes that career development is one of the most important steps in maintaining organizational performance. Maersk Line always helps its employees to build their career and achieve their personal goals by giving their best. And contribution which is made by the company is: Job enlargement Job Rotation Career Path Defined It is important to recognize when the employee is ready for promotion, because if an employee will not be promoted at the right time he might get demotivated. Maersk line recognize such employees when there is availability of position and employees exhibition of competencies for performance in the new role. In case, when the employee leaves the organization when his/her promotion plan is ready, the HR gives someone else dual responsibilities for the time being. PROBLEMS: There are number of potential drawbacks in different stages. One of the greatest concerns regarding relying too much on employee referrals could become the reason of limited diversity at workplace. Hiring from the same existing networks may bound a company to capture diverse pool of candidate, it is good for reducing cost expenditure but on the other hand it could become the big hurdle for the company if the company is relying on such method too heavily. This simple method could have many risks, e.g. when there is a need to fill particular Job the simple question is asked from the existing employees i.e. Is there anyone in your mind who can fill this Job? In response to this question employees may think of the potential benefits for their close ones in their network, rather than thinking constructively for the organization. It is not necessary that every time a new employee comes in through reference is beneficial for the company, it carries risks with it, it could take time to measure his/her effectiveness, and if the new employee is not prod uctive, eventually it will increase the cost of the company and employee will become the liability on the company. Solution: There is certain planning and strategies which can save the company from these problems Communicate the benefits to employees for the successful referrals; give them rewards, incentives and bonuses for the successful referral. This strategy can change the way employees think when they are asked to bring the best candidate for the particular job, now they will think of the best candidate in their mind, who will serve the company most efficiently and effectively. The reward amount should be sufficient enough to motivate the employees who make referrals but not too much that may lead them to make referrals of unqualified candidates. The bonuses should be given in installments because the effectiveness of the new employee cannot be measured in few days, it may take time. In order to be safe from a big loss company should make payments of bonuses in installments. The company may limit the number of bonus qualifying referrals that is made by each employee per year. This will reduce the number of employee referrals per year. The mandatory qualification and specifications should be clearly mentioned and delivered to the employees who make referrals. It will reduce the risk of getting unqualified employees. All the requests for employee referrals should be added to the pool of the candidates. Problem: 3 The advertisement for the Job which is offered by the company is very much important in order to gather a better pool of candidates. Maersk Line is highly dependent on the internet as medium of advertisement for the jobs. They dont prefer NEWSPAPER for the advertisement of their Jobs; as a result they are missing a large number of candidates who prefer Newspapers to find jobs. Solution: In order to get better employees a company must have a large pool of candidate so that it can be used for hiring employees when there is a need to fill the job in emergency. Newspaper plays an important role in spreading awareness among public. Since its an oldest and most popular medium of advertisements civilized and educated people read newspaper as a matter of habit in all over the world. Therefore it has a wide and general appeal. The message can reach a large number of audiences quickly. Choosing the best newspaper is also important, so the Maersk line can improve its pool of candidates by spreading word through Newspaper. Problem: 4 When we asked them; Has it ever happened that an employee might have left the Organization due to some reason; while the HR had plans for his promotion ready? Yes No They chose YES, And then we asked the next question; With Reference to the above scenario, what did the HR do? (If the above Question is answered as a NO, then suppose a scenario with the above details answer this question, what would the HR do?) Promote an immediate subordinate Bring in a Contingent Employee Give someone dual responsibilities for the time being Hire an individual from a pool of already collected CVs. They chose the third option which is Give someone dual responsibilities for the time being It may create a problem we identified, because in case of fulfillment of the job which has been left empty by the previous employee due to any reason, Maersk Line shifts the tasks to other employees. This creates a burden on them. Assigning dual responsibilities to an employee may become the reason of his/her demotivation. The workload given to someone more than his/her capacity may push them towards demotivation. As a result that employee may leave the Job which actually creates a problem for the company. Solution: It is normal that when employees get better options and more secured jobs they switch their jobs. If we see the answer of first question we asked, it shows that maersk line has issues with their employees regarding their promotions. The timing of the promoting employees is not accurate, that is why it leads employees to leave the job right before the promotion. The main problem is to put dual responsibilities on existing employee rather than promoting him/her to that post. The Maersk line lacks the succession planning; they prefer distributing the responsibilities instead of immediate fulfillment of the empty position. Because it is the best time to get benefit, by promoting the employees to fill the job and if the company doesnt find any potential candidate among the existing employees who can fill the post, then they should focus on the pool of the candidates. It ensures that the collected CVs are not useless PROBLEM: 5 Maersk Line doesnt have any well defined strategy to retain their employees who are really important for the companys growth. It usually happens in Maersk Line that employees leave the organization due to some reason; while the HR had plans for their promotion ready. Recruitment is an expensive process, and when employees leave the jobs it is actually a loss in the cost incurred in the recruitment process. SOLUTION: Hiring employees is an important stage but to keep them in your organization is also very important to be safe from the high employee turnover costs. In order to retain the employees, maersk line should create some tactics to retain their employees. These tactics may include: Offering competitive benefits: Providing your employees life insurance, health insurance and a retirement savings Give rewards and incentives Provide some small perks: Conduct stay interviews in addition to exit interviews Promote whenever possible Create open communication Get managers involved:

Types of Foundations, Building Frames and Partitions

Types of Foundations, Building Frames and Partitions TASK 1.1 Alternative sub-structure solutions: In any building the superstructure, substructure (foundations) and the supporting soil acts in a coordinated way to give structural stability. Therefore the foundations act as connection between superstructure and the ground. Successful foundations should be: Foundations must be at minimum depth and size without exceeding the allowable bearing capacity of the soil. They must be strong enough to provide stability to the supporting structure. They must be able to withstand natural ground movements from corrosive chemicals, frost, moisture and heat. They must be economical and sustainable. For our Englemere Village project we used Strip and Pad foundations. Foundations can be classified as: Shallow Foundations Strip Foundations Traditional Strip Foundations Trench fill Foundations Combined- Stepped Foundations Pad Foundations Rafts Pier and Beam Foundations Deep Foundations Piled Foundations Displacement Piles Replacement Piles Shallow Foundations The foundations which are placed beneath the lowest part of the structure and near to the ground level are shallow foundations. Strip Foundations Strip foundations are the most common foundations used in construction, it is a strip of concrete running under all load bearing walls. The depth and the width of the strip foundations depends on the nature of the soil and superstructure load, they can be 500-700 mm wide and as deep as per the nature of the soil/ground. Strip foundations can be either traditional strip or trench fill and both can be stepped. Traditional Strip Foundations Strip foundations are used where soil has good bearing capacity. Load is transmitted at 45 degrees angle from the base of the wall. The width of strip foundation is three times the width of the wall. Thickness should be at least 150 mm, but 300 mm is most commonly used. Depth should be 450 mm minimum measured from finished ground level to protect from frost attack. See Appendix 1. Trench fill Foundations Trench fill is quicker and more cost effective than traditional strip. The thickness should not be less than 500 mm and should finish 150 mm below ground level. Trench should be dug to a depth where subsoil provides sufficient load bearing capacity, usually it is 1m deep. See Appendix 2. Stepped Foundations Stepped foundations are used on sloping sites. As top of foundation has to be level and on slopping sites foundations can end up too deep. Stepped foundations reduce the amount of excavating and cost. The step should not be bigger than the thickness of foundation and should work with heights of the bricks. Overlap should be at least twice the height of the step. Raft foundations Reinforced concrete raft is used when bearing capacity of soil is low. It spreads the load from structure over a large area. Reduces the amount of excavating. Concrete raft is usually at least 150 mm thick. Sometimes the raft is thickened under load bearing walls. See appendix 3. Pad foundations Pad foundations are used when isolated loads need to be supported, spreading the load to the ground below. They are used for columns or framed buildings. Pad foundations are constructed from reinforced concrete. See Appendix 4. Pier and beam foundations Pier and beam foundations are made from brick, block or timber piers on concrete pads. Beams sit on the piers and are usually raised above the ground to create a crawl space underneath. Pier and beam is a cost effective foundation for smaller buildings. See appendix 5. Deep Foundations The foundations that are constructed below ground level while using artificial arrangements such as piles can be termed as deep foundations. Pile foundations Pile foundations are used to transfer load of superstructure through weak soil onto strong soil or rock. Piles can be displacement or replacement. Pile caps or beams sit on top of the piles. See appendix 6. Displacement piles are driven into the ground by pushing the soil out of the way. They are friction piles. This method is very noisy and vibrating. But there is no soil to be removed from site. One of displacement methods is helical screw piling. A helical pile consists of a galvanised steel shaft onto which is welded a series of circular steel plates. They are power drilled in to the ground. Advantages are: fast installation, vibration and noise free, sustainability (can be removed and reused). Replacement piles remove soil and replaces with reinforced concrete. They are end bearing piles. All soil needs to be removed from site but it is less vibrating and noisy than displacement pilling. Causes of Foundation Failure Failure in transferring the load between superstructure and soil can lead to building movement and cracking, but failure of foundations cannot be held alone responsible for cracking there can be other reasons for these kind of damages. Seasonal movements, chemical attack, building alterations, trees, soil creep and variable ground conditions are few causes of foundation failures. Alternative systems for structures, envelope and roof coverings Constructed structures start with architectural and engineering plans, however all structures follow basic design steps as follows; Preparing the site Installing foundations Building the framework Enclosing the structure Finishing the exterior and interior Completing the site Building the Framework The framework depends on the foundations as foundations provide base for building the framework. Floors, interior and exterior walls, ceilings and roof are included in the building process of framework. Therefore framework provides a rigid shape and structure to the buildings. Brick and block is a traditional method of building. Brick and block houses use a cavity wall construction with a gap filled with insulation. These walls are load bearing, they support floor joist and roof. In MMC (modern method of construction) systems for structures framing process is mostly done offsite and are only erected on site. MMC system provides much quicker way of building. There are different types of frames as listed below are used in MMC systems for structures. Steel frame Timber frame Portal frame Concrete frame Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs) Insulated Concrete Framework (ICF) Steel frame Steel frame construction is a quick way of building as all the parts are manufactured offsite. It is a lightweight structure compared to traditional masonry or block work. Steel frame can be used from domestic housing to really tall skyscrapers and it is a sustainable way of building as steel can be recycled many times. The skeleton is formed from vertical steel columns and horizontal I beams. All the loads are transferred to foundation through columns. Timber frame Timber frame panelling system is another fast construction method used in domestic housing. All panels and roof trusses are made offsite and erected on site in a number of days. It has 30% shorter building times than brick and block. This means the house is water tight more quickly and other trades can start work sooner. Timber frame has higher insulation properties than brick and block. Portal frame Portal frames are used for a single storey construction which requires a large floor space for example: warehouse, factories or supermarkets. It has no intermediate columns that mean large open space areas can be created within the structure. It is manufactured offsite – fast construction. Concrete frame RC (reinforced concrete) frame is a very common type of building. The skeleton is made out of vertical columns, horizontal beams and slab in between. Concrete is cast into formwork. SIP (structural insulated panels) SIPS have very good insulation value and structural strength. SIPS panels can be used in walls, floors and roofs for domestic, industrial and other constructions. SIPS are made from Polystyrene (EPS) sandwiched between two Oriented Strand Boards (OSB) making them lightweight and quick to erect by interlocking them together. ICF (Insulated Concrete Framework) ICF involves building a site with laying a series of hollow blocks, made up of expanded polystyrene (EPS) and then are pumped with ready-mixed concrete. EPS provides a high insulation wrapping around the concrete once the structure is finished. This framing system not only provides speedy construction but also it gives a protection against sudden climatic changes. Although adopting ICF will cost higher than an average timber frame build but it can provide reduced construction times and lower energy bills. Thin Joint Thin joint provides improved thermal performance and building accuracy over conventional brick and block construction. The structures are made with large aircrete block and quick drying mortar. 75% less mortar is used. This thin joint framing can be erected in no time, furthermore it provides a stability to the overall structure and an adaptation to extend the building at later date. The MMC building systems are used in order to save construction time and the cost of the construction but they must be used after reviewing the local construction laws and other weather conditions. Building Envelope The building envelope acts as a physical separator between an exterior and interior environment, therefore it can be termed as the building enclosure. It provides a shell to maintain an indoor environment of any building, it also helps in facilitating the climate control. Building envelope is exterior skin of the building that separates interior from exterior. It protects building from rain, wind and sun. Envelope includes external walls and roofs. External walls used in an envelope can be classified as follows Cavity Walls Stone cladding Load bearing stone masonry walls Glazed concrete blocks Wood cladding External walls in making an envelope must provide the bearing, insulation and shape to the building. To give more insulation to the external walls they must have insulating fillings, separate insulating layer and air insulating layer. Roof coverings Roof covering must bear the following functions; Protection of the building against rainfall, snowfall etc and other weather conditions. Protection against cold, heat, overheating, wind and noise. Protection against fire. To cover all these protections roof covering must have the following items in its architectural design Water proofing insulation Thermal insulation Wind stability Sound insulation Roofs are divided into Flat and Pitched. Flat roofs could be: Ash felt, felt, EDPM, Fibre glass, glass. Pitched roofs could be: lean to, couple, purlin, mansard, trussed, hipped, trussed rafter, attic truss. MMC alternatives for partition walls Partitions are the vertical walls or panels that are used to divide portions of the building and they can be classified as load bearing or non-load bearing. Traditionally timber was used as partitions but with the advancement in construction methods and the use of light weight partitioning and light weight insulation block, its use as a partition is decreasing significantly. Partitions can be constructed using various materials, but the most common types of partitions are: Timber Stud Partitions. Metal Stud or Dry wall Partitions. Glass Partitions. Sliding Partitions Room dividers Re-locatable office Partitions Timber Stud Partition Timber stud partitions are non-load bearing and light weight partitions. Timber stud partitions consist of wooden framework between horizontal head and sole pieces at the top and bottom of the framework and a series of uprights called studs holding the whole framework. The noggings are intermediate stiffening material placed between the studs to ensure the overall stability of the framework. Timber frame partitions are formed with butt joints or framing anchors to significantly facilitate the low labour cost and speed of erection. Plasterboard is usually used as a covering material for timber partitions. Metal Stud or Dry wall Partitions Metal stud partitions are non-load bearing partitions consisting of a metal studding framework. This metal studding makes the partitions light weight but comparatively strong and stable than timber stud partitions. They can be covered with ordinary plasterboards or special fire resistant sheets, which on final sealing can make these partitions sound proof as well as fire resistant. Metal stud partitions are quick and easy to erect, they are cost effective, sustainable for all types of buildings and they are available in variety of finishes. Due to these strong characteristics metal stud partitions are mostly used in public buildings and hospitals. The metal studs are manufactured from galvanised steel sheet folded into various shaped sections which slot into each other. The sections are produced in various lengths ranging from 2.4 m to 6 m in length and widths ranging from 50 mm to 146 mm. Glass partitions Glass fulfils an important role in creating divisions between indoors and out as well as between individual interior spaces. The technical advances in the material mean that it is suitable for a wider range of applications than ever before. †¢ Double single glazed options †¢ Excellent acoustic performance up to 47db (Rw) †¢ Attractive and Stylish †¢ Full range of manifestation options †¢ Wide range of profile colours †¢ 10mm and 12mm glazing †¢ Option of standard height or full height doors Single glazing can be used where clean lines and an aesthetically pleasing design are essential. The partitioning is designed with the minimum amount of framework to give a frameless appearance. To maintain the open feel of the office environment frameless doors or framed glass doors are fitted within the system using floor pivots and patch fittings or floor springs if required. Where desired or in order to comply with building regulations, fully glazed panels have manifestation film applied to them. These can be used to simply highlight the presence of the partitions, create individual designs or incorporate company logos using either 10/12mm toughened glass depending on the height of the partition, glazing is achieved with the use of clear glazing gaskets that remove the need for silicone around the perimeter of the system. Vertical silicone joints maintain the visual simplicity of the product or clear plastic jointing sections to provide dry joints between glass panels. Appendix 1 Traditional strip foundations Appendix 2 Trench fill foundations Appendix 3 Raft foundations Appendix 4 Pad foundations Appendix 5 Pier and beam foundations Appendix 6 Pile foundations

A Little Bit About Einstein Essay -- essays research papers fc

Albert Einstein is known as one of the greatest scientists of all time. He has propose many great theories like the Special Theory of Relativity, the Theory of General Relativity, and E=mc2. (Einstein is famous for these theories along with his help in developing the laser.) He also influences many other scientists in the study of quantum theory and the cosmos. Know one really will ever understand what went on in this man&#8217;s mind but he was defiantly one of the greatest men of all times. The following is a description of this great scientist. Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1879. He was born to Herman and Pauline Einstein, middle class German Jews. Einstein was a very bright child; a magnetic compass sparked his interest in the natural world, at the young age of four. Einstein began his formal education at a school in Ulm. Contrary to what you would think Albert hated formal schooling. He often did poorly in subjects such as Geography, Language, and History, but excelled in Mathematics and Science. He generally did his real studies at home where he concentrated on physics, mathematics, and philosophy. One year one of Einstein&#8217;s teachers suggested that he leave school, so at mid-term the 15 year old boy quit school. Einstein then moved to Italy to help his father in business. In 1895, he failed the entrance exam for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. They suggested that he studied at a Swiss school in Aarau. There he studied theories of electromagnetism, by James Clark Maxwell. At the age of 16, he wrote an essay on why he would like to study theoretical math or physics. He stated, "All above it is my individual disposition for abstract and mathematical thought, my lack of imagination in practical talent. My inclination s have also led me to resolve that is quite natural; one always likes to do things which one has talent. And there is a certain independence in the scientific profession which greatly pleases me." He graduated from the Swiss school, in 1896 at 17 years old. Then he was then accepted to the Institute of Technology in Zurich. This is where he met his first wife, Melvia Merich; she was the only girl in his physics class. They had a daughter, Lieserl, together who was given up for adoption and never see or heard of again. Th... ...es were confiscated by the Nazi government, The Nazi&#8217;s put Einstein at the top of the list of people stripped of their German citizenship. Einstein moved to the United States to escape the Nazi Germany, and also settled in Princeton New Jersey with Elsa. After World War II began Einstein urged President Roosevelt, after a series of letters, to push the study of nuclear war power and its effects. He was informed that Nazi Germany had the intelligence to create nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Einstein then became a United States citizen, he also remained a Swiss Citizen. He remained in the United States until his death in 1955. Einstein died of heart failure on April 16th in Princeton New Jersey. Einstein the was one the greatest scientists of all time, he discovered theories no one else ever even thought of, and created a completely different way to look at the natural world. Bibliography http//:www.alp.org/history/einsteinearly1.htm http://www.groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/mathematicians/Einstein.html http://library.advanced.org/11924/einstieninfo.html Encyclopedia Britannica On Line World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia CD-ROM A Little Bit About Einstein Essay -- essays research papers fc Albert Einstein is known as one of the greatest scientists of all time. He has propose many great theories like the Special Theory of Relativity, the Theory of General Relativity, and E=mc2. (Einstein is famous for these theories along with his help in developing the laser.) He also influences many other scientists in the study of quantum theory and the cosmos. Know one really will ever understand what went on in this man&#8217;s mind but he was defiantly one of the greatest men of all times. The following is a description of this great scientist. Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany on March 14, 1879. He was born to Herman and Pauline Einstein, middle class German Jews. Einstein was a very bright child; a magnetic compass sparked his interest in the natural world, at the young age of four. Einstein began his formal education at a school in Ulm. Contrary to what you would think Albert hated formal schooling. He often did poorly in subjects such as Geography, Language, and History, but excelled in Mathematics and Science. He generally did his real studies at home where he concentrated on physics, mathematics, and philosophy. One year one of Einstein&#8217;s teachers suggested that he leave school, so at mid-term the 15 year old boy quit school. Einstein then moved to Italy to help his father in business. In 1895, he failed the entrance exam for the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. They suggested that he studied at a Swiss school in Aarau. There he studied theories of electromagnetism, by James Clark Maxwell. At the age of 16, he wrote an essay on why he would like to study theoretical math or physics. He stated, "All above it is my individual disposition for abstract and mathematical thought, my lack of imagination in practical talent. My inclination s have also led me to resolve that is quite natural; one always likes to do things which one has talent. And there is a certain independence in the scientific profession which greatly pleases me." He graduated from the Swiss school, in 1896 at 17 years old. Then he was then accepted to the Institute of Technology in Zurich. This is where he met his first wife, Melvia Merich; she was the only girl in his physics class. They had a daughter, Lieserl, together who was given up for adoption and never see or heard of again. Th... ...es were confiscated by the Nazi government, The Nazi&#8217;s put Einstein at the top of the list of people stripped of their German citizenship. Einstein moved to the United States to escape the Nazi Germany, and also settled in Princeton New Jersey with Elsa. After World War II began Einstein urged President Roosevelt, after a series of letters, to push the study of nuclear war power and its effects. He was informed that Nazi Germany had the intelligence to create nuclear weapons of mass destruction. Einstein then became a United States citizen, he also remained a Swiss Citizen. He remained in the United States until his death in 1955. Einstein died of heart failure on April 16th in Princeton New Jersey. Einstein the was one the greatest scientists of all time, he discovered theories no one else ever even thought of, and created a completely different way to look at the natural world. Bibliography http//:www.alp.org/history/einsteinearly1.htm http://www.groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/mathematicians/Einstein.html http://library.advanced.org/11924/einstieninfo.html Encyclopedia Britannica On Line World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia CD-ROM