Trademark laws in the United Arab Emirates Research Paper

Trademark laws in the United Arab Emirates - Research Paper Example The symbol trademark of this company that indentifies its products is swoosh, which is a trademark that ranks as one of the best, among the most recognized and popular logo in the world. The symbol of trademark was designed in 1972, after the owner of the company, which was then known as the Blue Ribbon Sports, required a symbol that would effectively indentify his products, and thus serve to allow him more of inventory control. Thus, the symbol was designed to represent one of the wings of the Greek goddess of victory, called the Nike. This goddess served as a great inspiration to the ancient Greek warriors, granting them courage and strength to gain victory in the battles (Coleman, 19). Thus, this symbol was designed to represent the products of this company, signifying winning, achievement, as well as excellence (Smith, 6). This did tally very well with the image that the ancient Greek Goddess Nike was associated with; commonly having the then Greek warriors, believe and attest to the fact that when they went to a war and won, then they said it is Nike. Thus, swoosh, previously referred, as the stripe became a symbol of victory, which is evident of the company’s brand worldwide. The owner desired a symbol that would show an element of movement, which is represented by swoosh, a symbol of progressive growth and achievement (Coleman, 22). The symbol was registered in 1995 as the trademark for the Nike Inc., and, is solely responsible for the successful brand identification and success. The rules governing Nike and its use of swoosh trademark applies inform of regulations, that restricts any use of its trade name or the logo for any commercial purpose, other than for placing an order or purchase of the Nike products. Under the copyright regulation rules of this company, anybody is prohibited from modifying, copying, or reproducing the company’s trade name or logo to represent any other product that is not a brand of this company (Smith, 7). Anothe r of the regulation guiding the company’s use of the logo and its trade name is the fact that the company has issued a warning that any order placed with the company can be cancelled at any point. This can happen even after the order has been confirmed, should such an order placement be deemed inappropriate or as an attempt to tamper with the trademark rights of the company (Coleman, 25). An indemnification is issuable to the buyer whose order has been cancelled. The trademark laws in the UAE do not just protect the logo or the trade name. They are attached to the product or services the trademark represents (Ashour, 10). Some example of trademark laws include such laws as prohibits any mark that violates public morals. Symbols of a pure religious nature are also prohibited from being applied as trademarks (Smith, 8). Such laws are relevant and appropriate to preserve the morals of the society, while avoiding confusion with marks of religious entities. However, the restrictio n on the registration of a translation of a previous trademark should be removed, to allow for the improvements of logos and trademarks by commercial entities. Any infringement of the rights of the com

The Efficient Market Hypothesis Essay Example for Free

The Efficient Market Hypothesis Essay In modern financial economics, one of the most essential constructions , which plays a significant role in financing strategy, is efficient market hypothesis (henceforth EMH). Despite the fact that its first theoretical formulation, which was founded by Paul Samuelson in 1960s, is almost five decades old, numerous academic studies have been conducted about it (Alajbeg, Bubas Sonje, 2012). According to Alajbeg et al. (2012), in the middle of 1960s market efficiency was defined by Samuelson as the existence of a complete competition in a market, albeit under an assumption that all participants have equally the same opportunity to access the available information. Furthermore, Fama (1965) cited in Alajbeg et al. (2012) attempts to show the EMH empirically. This essay will try to critically debate all the forms of efficiency and give sensible evidence why most of the forms seem to be illogical in the current economic situations. It will start by introducing how to recognise efficiency and what are the forms of the EMH, following by testing each form in today’s economic circumstances with presenting coherent arguments. Damodaran (2001) points out that market efficiency is distinguished by three different measurements. First is considering the amount and the distance of diverting price from real value in the market. The second measure is by looking at the pace and the quantity of adapting prices to new information which come to the market. Finally, it is measured by determining the possibility of usual gaining higher profits by some investors in the market while they may expose the same rate of risk that other investors reveal. Generally, economists have divided the EMH into three main forms based on the type of the information reflected in security prices. The first type of the EMH is weak form. In this form of efficiency, the only information depending on is the past prices information. However, any other available stock information seems to be invaluable in these markets. As Hillier, Ross, Westerfield, Jaffe Jordan (2010) state no information, apart from the historical prices, is relied on by the investors in the weak form efficiency. In the light of this, a capital market is considered to be w eakly efficient when it contains price information about the past share prices. Hillier et al. (2010) also confirm that predating strategy is unlikely to be able to produce returns in the market operations. Put another way, information for future is not predicted in this form of efficiency. This seems to be a possible reason why these markets are called weak efficiency. The second type of the market efficiency is semi-strong form. According to Ross, Westerfield Jordan (1993), the semi-strong efficiency is the most controversial form among all the three forms. From this perspective, Ross et al. (1993) mention the reason why this form in the markets is more controversial than the other forms is that it warns an expert, who analysis financial information in order to find mis-priced stock, to not waste time in analysing some possibly useless information, for instance, financial statement information because this information is already included in the current stock prices. Brealey, Myers Allen (2011) maintain that in these markets, prices rapidly incorporate whole publicly available information, such as last quarters earning declaration, a proposal of unifying other companies and an unfamiliar matter of stock. In the light of this finding, it can be said that the semi-stro ng market efficiency rely on both historical and public information at the same time (Brealey, Myers Allen, 2008). Strong form efficiency is the final form of efficiency. Ross et al. (1993) emphasise all types of information, either public or private, are more likely to be incorporated in the stock market prices when the market is efficiently strong. Additionally, in this kind of market, it is impossible to determine any incomparable investors who are able continually to vanquish the market (Brealey et al., 2011). Expressed differently, strong competition is highly considered among the investors of the strong market efficiency. Therefore, the crucial investors may not be able to keep their high position in the long-term. According to Brealey et al. (2011), since Maurice Kendall published his controversial paper in 1953 on the behavior of stock prices, a significant amount of financial research has been done to test the EMH. In the light of that background information, both supporting and disapproval evidence has extended to each of the three forms weak, semi-strong and strong. Firstly, in order to test the weak form of this hypothesis, Brealey et al. (2011) evaluate the profitability of some trading rules which is utilised by investors who seek to determine patterns in security prices. Hillier et al. (2010) claim although the share price movements are random, investors tend to notice patterns. However, the existence of patterns in the past price data, which is the main information in weak form efficiency, seems to be unreal, according to Hillier et al. (2010). As an example, Hillier et al. (2010) illustrate the participation between Shell transport and Royal Dutch Petroleum, which randomness is highly predicted instead of pattern in their stock price. Then Brealey et al. (2011:352) demonstrate ‘‘since both companies participated in the same underlying cash flows in 2005, it would be expected the stock prices to have moved in exact lockstep, while the real price of the tow shares sometimes diverged substantially’’. Therefore, Hillier et al. (2010) confirm that the security choices based on patterns of historical price changes would not be as acceptable as random choice. As a consequence of this evidence, it can be assumed that the weak form efficiency seems to be a meaningful form in the new economic environment. Secondly, in examining the semi-strong efficiency, the speed of reacting security prices towards announcements is measured (Brealey et al., 2011). According to this form of efficiency, previous price information would not have any influence on present actual return because this form implies that in an efficient market, historical information has merely reflected in the current prices (Hillier et al., 2010). Whereas, in many empirical cases past information impacts on stock prices. For example, Hillier et al. (2010) highlight the global credit crisis of 2008 which firstly started only from the British bank Northern Rock. Then it slowly continued and cover some other banks, such as, Bear Stearn, the US investment bank, HBOS and Lehmann Brothers. Hillier et al. (2010) also state that it had not stopped unless the short selling would have been temporarily avoided by the US and UK governments. From the light of this empirical circumstance, the semi-strong efficiency is probably no longer a sensible form in todays economy because the standard test requirement, which economists follow , may not be reflected in it. Finally, In terms of testing the strong form efficiency, Brealey et al. (2008) point out that the performance of the managers in the markets is depended on. Hillier et al. (2010) imply that it is more likely to profit from a personal information which the other investors do not have in the market, whilst in the strong efficient market it is unlikely to be profited from this information by their owners. Further to this, Brealey et al. (2011) claims that it is probably more common that a particular manager in a market, who is more clever than the others, could make superior profits. This seems to be an appropriate evidence against the EMH in the case of strong form. Similarly, Damondaran (2001) points out that some investors can earn more profit than the others whilst they have the same chance of risk. Brealey et al. (2011) take a large sample of the US companies in order to test the proportion of annual profits among them from 1926 to 2008. Brealey et al. (2011:349) prove ‘‘since 1926 the stock of the firms with the lowest market capitalizations have performed substantially better than those with the highest capitalizations’’. In the same way, Alajbeg et al. (2012) criticise the EMH because of the effectiveness of some anomalies in the market, for example, January effect, weekend effect and momentum effect. As a result of the aforementioned arguments, it can be argued that the strong market efficiency does not make sense in the current economic situations because of the possibility of out-performance in the market. In addition, the EMH has faced many criticisms. For example, Brealey et al. (2011) mention a stock market bubble in property prices in the US. In a way, the price has almost doubled by 2005. Nevertheless, the EMH considers that prices always equal to the values inside the efficient markets (Brealey et al., 2011). This can also be noticed as an evidence against the EMH. In conclusion, the participants mostly try to exploit each single discovered mis-pricing in the stock market. This competition results in market efficiency (Brealey et al., 2008). There are three forms of efficiency: weak, semi-strong and strong. The weak form efficiency seems to be significant in todays economy because it considers that prices are random and that is proved in the empirical situations. However, the strong form is generally considered to be meaningless because of the out-performance which can be executed by some investors. Similarly, the semi-strong form may be seen as an insensible form of the EMH in the current economy. This form is unlikely to provide the common test demands when it tests to find how rapidly prices respond to the new information. Furthermore, there are many debates about the EMH in empirical situations because of occurring some bubbles and crisis. Apparently, there are considerable arguments about market efficiency along the history of the capital market. Nonetheless, financial market efficiency is constantly under debate. In other words, it is still a challenging issue in the current financial economics (Alajbeg et al., 2012). References: * Alejbeg, D., Bubas, Z. And Sonje, V. (2012)The efficient market hypothesis: problems with interpretations of empirical tests. Financial Theory and Practice. Available at: http://core.kmi.open.ac.uk (Accessed at 17th August 2012). * Brealey, A., Myers, C. And Allen, F. (2011) Principles of Corporate Finance (global edition). New York. Mcraw Hill/Irwin. * Brealey, A., Myers, C. And Allen, F. (2008) Principles of Corporate Finance (nine edition). New York. Mcraw Hill/Irwin. * Damodaran, A. (2001) Corporate Finance: theory and practice. Second edition. United States. John Willey Sons, Inc. * Hillier, D., Ross, S., Westerfield, R., Jaffe, J. And Jordan, B. (2010) Corporate Finance. Mcraw-Hill. * Ross, S., Westerfield, R. And Jordan, B. (1993) Fundamentals of Corporate Finance (second edition). Boston. Irwin Inc.

Role of Politics in Police Decision Making

Role of Politics in Police Decision Making Should politics play a role in police administration decision making? This question has evolved over the years. Both concepts are interrelated but separate entities and yet they overlap in purpose. The term politics can mean a range of things depending on perspective and the situation. In terms of police politics the meaning of politics depends on the particular law enforcement organization or the size of the administration. In general, the term politics refers to the processes involved in governing a country or organization. Police administration â€Å"administration activities that control, direct, and coordinate police personnel, resources and activities in the service of crime prevention, apprehension of criminals, the recovery of stolen property and the performance of a variety of regulatory and helping services† (Schmalleger 97). Police administration is the delicate management and ethical leadership of a law enforcement organization. Administration involves selection and hire of officers and support staff, policy’s, relationships with the community, stress and health management, working with fellow agencies, and dealing with the political aspects of each. Politics and policing have evolved over the past century and a half from four main eras in American Policing. The Political Era, reform Era, Community Era, and the New Era. The Political Era occurred between 1840 and 1930 and was marked by a drastic changes in social order and by law enforcement doing the bidding of politicians. The Reform Era occurred between 1930 and the 1970s was known for traditional crime fighting and the removal of politics from law enforcement and from police being the lap dogs of the political elite. The Community Era occurred between 1970s and present day and it focused on community involvement in law enforcement. Finally the New Era overlaps with the Community Era between 2001 and present day focuses on large scale threats involving terrorism and political campaigns on mass surveillance (Schmalleger 100-101). Decision making is a main component of being an elected official or police chief and understanding the politics of the community is part of making the correct decisions. This due mainly to the how the leadership of city’s are structured. Society elects congressman, mayors and other political figures to create and put in place laws and policy’s to maintain order and make sure that public money is well spent in the process. One of the purposes of the law enforcement is to make sure those laws and policy’s are followed. Harold Lasswell defined politics as who gets what, when and how (Schaefer 196). Politics involves the controlling of power and with that power comes control and influence over people and organizations. Society often debates the approach of more police or less police. The deployment of more officers into high crime areas is a common political move. There are two main divisions of police politics personal politics and community politics. Personal politics deals mainly with internal influences in the law enforcement organization such as who gets promoted and why. The second is community politics which deals directly with the external control and delegation of the department. A fundamental value of our society is that policing should be subject to and under some control of the public. (Alpert, Dunham 96). Since the management above the Police Chief is generally the Mayor and city council both are involved in making decisions. The mayor of a city or town is elected by the community. The mayor then hires an impartial, outside firm, to interview and then hire the Chief of Police when the position is vacant. Below the Chief of Police in the chain if command is a deputy chief and various captains, in charge of patrol officers. A Police Chiefs actions are directly scrutinized by the mayor. Modern policing combines the local community and police officers into community policing. The purpose is to combine resources to combat and prevent crime and increase the level of everyday life. Many of these changes are are in response to community’s greater involvement in the political arena and the louder voicing of concerns (Carter 7). The internet has played a large part in these movements largely in part due to social media. People are able to voice a concern, spread an agenda, and even display police brutality throughout the world. A witness to a crime or abuse of power that can upload a video to Youtube for the whole world to see, brings a lot of attention to issues in the past might have been kept quiet or covered up. Most non-specific crimes occur without regard to race, ethnicity, age, gender or lifestyle and because crime is one political factor that everyone can agree on, many cities will spend money for crime prevention and incarceration even with tight budgets (Carter 8). If the mayor or campaigning politician of a city says that taxes need to be raised to hire more officers, or pay for equipment, its an easier sell than saying taxes need to be raised to decorate a city, or build a new stadium. In such a situation the tax raise would gain support, even if after the fact the money is used elsewhere, often the pockets of the political elite. Society is more likely to pay attention to a car accident or shooting as opposed to a rare bird flying over head. Violent crimes stand out, and that leads to more media exposure and curiosity. This also gives politicians more speaking ammunition for various political initiatives that are supposed to modify crime rates in some fashion. Politicians use community policing as another means to relate to their constituents, because by supporting various anti crime initiatives they are able to bond with the community, whether they actually are apart of the community or not. Its simply another measure to become elected and gain power. Political campaigns often use the guise of a new approach(s) on crime to gain support by promising to provide better services to the publicincreasing the quality of life (Carter 10). This is not to say that a politicians proposal isnt valid, but certainly if the approach doesnt succeed, their support will drop, and all that will be achieved is a politicians appointment, and subsequent battle for reelection against someone with similar promises. The police administration cant just make decisions that they feel are best without the taking into account the political views of the community. When or if they do they are either overridden by powers higher up, or state attorneys refuse to prosecute or simply override their decisions. Since political views and police administration are directly intertwined one will have an affect on the other. If a police administration failed to act or respond to a crime or issue under their purview, there would be a backlash from the community. Without political support, law enforcement decisions would fall flat. Decision making in police organizations is a tedious, often politically motivated and a very complicated process. The reasoning behind decisions must be sound and rational and free of bias. Whenever a decision in law enforcement administration is made, the chief or top level management has to be aware of different points of view, if the choice being made intuition or emotional feelings, w hat the ramifications will be, what will be accomplished. (Morreale 2) One of the most politically polarizing issues in recent years, and best examples of politics and police administration clashing, has been the New York Citys Stop and Frisk policy. The stop and frisk policy involves randomly detaining individuals, the majority of which are of non-Caucasian ethnic descent, on the street while police search them for contraband such as drugs and weapons. The NYC police department engages in the stop and frisk tactics without any legal motivation, such as genuine suspicion of committing a crime, but that is part of the problem (Peltz). The law allows police to engage in these tactics simply by believing someone has or will commit a crime, but that doesnt meet probable cause standards and â€Å"88 percent of the stops resulted in neither arrests nor tickets† (Peltz). Even if the political reason behind the crime was well intended, it has been used to racial profile people that haven’t committed crimes. This is an example of policing and polit ics that don’t mix because the practice was encouraged and set up by the mayor and carried out by police and in this particular case both sides were wrong since its an abuse of power on both sides. Generally it is against the code of a city or town to advertise or do campaign work of any type while on duty. Take a patrol officer for example, if he was campaigning while on duty, he wouldn’t be serving or protecting. Hed be using city taxes which pay for his salary to promote or bash a particular campaign. This behavior would should a bias for or against a candidate and would look as if the city supported that officers political views. An officer is certainly allowed to campaign while off duty, on his or her own time, as long as it does not breach a code of professionalism. Even when political campaigning is carried out while off duty there can be professional repercussions for an individuals beliefs and objectives. A couple examples of political campaigns and the retaliation suffered is apparent in the following stories. In Missoula County located in Montana, a $120,000 settlement was reached in favor of sheriff’s deputies who alleged retaliation because of their plans to run for sheriff and under sheriff. Detective Sgt. T.J. McDermott and running mate Detective Jason Johnson were subjected to a hostile working environment simply because of their campaign objectives (Haake). In another case in Cook County, Illinois, a $2.4 million lawsuit was settled between 21 deputies. The 21 deputies brought the lawsuit against Tom Dart because they were unfairly treated and even denied promotions when they backed his political opponent when he was running [for] sheriff in 2006 (Sun Times Media). Ideally politics shouldnt play a roll in police administration, but more often than not they do because its simply unavoidable. You cant really ever separate an elected or appointed official from the political machine because part of their position requires the taking of sides and support of an agenda. The sensitive nature of balancing the needs and values of a small community, city or large metropolis are always in flux. What was needed five, ten, or fifteen years ago may not work in todays society. Whats needed in a particular area of the community or by a particular culture may be different than what is required by others. Society evolves and changes and so do the types of crimes committed within them. The political landscape and the police administration must adapt to meet the needs of the ever changing people for which they serve. Works Cited Schmalleger, Frank. Criminal Justice: A Brief Introduction. 9th ed. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2012. Print. Schaefer, Richard T. Sociology Matters. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print. Reed, Wilson Edward. The Politics of Community Policing: The Case of Seattle. New York: Garland Pub., 1999. Print. Alpert, Geoffrey P., Roger G. Dunham, and Meghan S. Stroshine. Policing: Continuity and Change. Long Grove, IL: Waveland, 2006. Print. Haake, Kathryn. Missoula County Pays $120K to 2 Deputies in Discrimination Settlement. Missoulian.com. Http://missoulian.com/, 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. http://missoulian.com/news/local/missoula-county-pays-k-to-deputies-in-discrimination- settlement/article_d28b2df4-9a9b-11e3-9fc4-0019bb2963f4.html>. Cook County to Settle Deputies Suit vs. Sheriff Tom Dart for $2.4M.89 WLS, Chicagos Talk Leader. Sun-Times Media, LLC, 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2014. http://www.wlsam.com/common/page.php?pt=Cook+County+to+settle+deputies %27+suit+vs.+Sheriff+Tom+Dart+for+%242.4Mid=85483is_corp=0>. Mahr, Joe, and Christy Gutowski. 7 DuPage Deputies Sue Sheriff, Alleging Retaliation.Chicago Tribune. N.p., 22 Nov. 2013. Web. 27 Feb. 2014. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-11-22/news/ct-dupage-sheriff-lawsuit-met- 1122-20131122_1_federal-lawsuit-16-year-sheriff-john-zaruba>. CARTER, DAVID L. POLITICS AND COMMUNITY POLICING: VARIABLES OF CHANGE THE POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT. JSTOR. Southern Public Administration Education Foundation, Inc. (SPAEF), 1995. Web. 01 Mar. 2014. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40861642>. Morreale, Stephen A. Join Academia.edu Share Your Research with the World.Elements of Decision-making in Police Organizations. Stephen A. Morreale, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. http://www.academia.edu/778699/Elements_of_Decision- making_in_Police_Organizations>. Peltz, Jennifer. NYC Stop-And-Frisk Controversy.The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 16 Oct. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/16/nyc-stop-and-frisk-a-decade-rising- numbers_n_1970951.html>.

The Rime Of The Ancient Marine :: essays research papers

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner The Mariner is not in the hands of a merciful God because his agony always returns. He asks for forgiveness of his agony but still after he tells his tale the agony returns at random times. A merciful God would grant permanent mercy. For all, the Mariner has been through death and hardship of his crew because of the killing of the albatross. The thought of his crime is enough agony but the Mariner's agony returns until he has to relive the tragedy of the killing of his crew by telling his tale to another person. The fact that the agony always returns is particularly horrible about the Mariner's punishment because no matter how hard he tries or how much he prays his sin is carried along within him. The pain of his sin goes away right after he tells his tale but it returns shortly afterwards. The Mariner says that, after telling the Hermit his story, 'Since then, at an uncertain hour that agony returns.'; Since the first time the Mariner confessed his crime to the Hermit at an inconsistent hour God reminds the Mariner of the sin he has committed by piercing his heart with agonizing pain. He tells the Wedding Guest that, until he tells his story, 'The heart within me burns.'; This is God's way of expressing his anger to the Mariner for the curse he put on his crew when he killed the Albatross. God makes sure that the Mariner has and will fell agony, that the agony will always return, and that the agony will return at an unsure hour each day which causes the Mariner to relive his tale and to liv e in agony for the rest of his life. The Mariner is granted relief from his agony by telling his tale which releases his agony for a short while. The Mariner is telling the Wedding Guest why he must continue to tell his tale, 'Which forced me to begin my tale; And then it left me free.'; God has granted him the power to tell his tale which sets him free for a short while. Maybe God is merciful for letting him tell his tale but his agony always returns. He can't enjoy his little time of freedom because he is uncertain when the pain will return again. The Mariner travels, looking for the right person to tell his tale to, the face which relieves his agony and lets him feel free.

Unit 1 Assignment 1 Windows 2008 Network Services

Unit 1 – Assignment 1 – Windows 2008 Network Services If you have a routed local area network and high-speed links that are fairly reliable, you might be able to use one DNS server for a larger, multiple sub-netted network area. If you have a high number of client nodes on a single subnet design, you might want to add more than one DNS server to the subnet to provide backup and failover if the preferred DNS server stops responding.When determining the number of DNS servers you need to use, assess the effect of zone transfers and DNS query traffic on slower links in your network. Although DNS is designed to help reduce broadcast traffic between local subnets, it does create some traffic between servers and clients that should be reviewed, particularly when used in complexly routed LAN or WAN environments. Consider the effects of zone transfer over slower speed links, like those typically used for a wide area network (WAN) connection.Windows 7 Check Your UnderstandingAlth ough the DNS Server service supports incremental zone transfers and DNS clients and servers can cache recently used names, traffic considerations are sometimes still an issue, particularly when DHCP leases are shortened and, as a result, dynamic updates in DNS are performed more frequently. One option for dealing with remote locations on WAN links is to set up a DNS server at these locations to provide caching-only DNS service. With most installations, you should have at least two server computers hosting each of your DNS zones for fault tolerance.DNS was designed to have two servers for each zone, one as a primary server and the other as a backup or secondary server. When making any final determinations about the number of servers to use, first assess the level of fault tolerance you need for your network. Because there is no fixed limit to the maximum number of clients a DHCP server can service or to the number of scopes you can create on a DHCP server, the primary factors to cons ider when you determine the number of DHCP servers to use are network architecture and server hardware.For example, in a single subnet environment, only one DHCP server is necessary, although you may want to use two servers or deploy a DHCP server cluster for increased fault tolerance. In multiple subnet environments, routers must forward DHCP messages between subnets, so router performance can affect your DHCP service. In both cases, DHCP server hardware affects service to clients.

The Body Shop International Essay Example

The Body Shop International Essay Example The Body Shop International Paper The Body Shop International Paper The Body Shop International presents the case of a company whose business model strength initially relied on its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), but that afterwards faced problems and challenges, due to mismanagement of internal resources, stakeholders conflicts, and the unawareness of external changes. The model created advantages but also limited growth, as the organization was not prepared for expansion due to the lack of corporate structure required for a global strategy. Anita Roddick believes in the power of businesses and in the use of success as a force of social change, therefore Body initial mission was to make profit with principles, that is, being especially responsible for employees, society, Third World development and the environment. This innovative, radical and daring approach became Body Shops competitive advantage (Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility); and according to this strategy defined a unique marketing approach: desirable and environmental products, moderated prices and relaxed shop environment in order to attract and educate customers (humanistic, environmental conscious). CSR pay offs to Body Shop were clearly appreciated through the 80s when it grew 50% yearly; media attention and customer awareness resulted in boost sales, shop openings, increases in stock value, etc. Exhibit 1 shows Body Shops stakeholders and the strategic outcome or value created by the companys CSR behavior by means of the centrality, specificity, voluntarism and visibility of its actions. Special emphasis and success were obtained in the Visibility dimension, as Body Shop was not always able to practice its social vision, but always was very good at promoting it. Anita is a great PR (loud and quotable) and during her management always made sure the firm gained recognition from internal and external stakeholders. Other keys for Body Shops success were Anitas leadership, charisma, influence and management style; very convenient for an Entrepreneurship venture. She created a corporate culture based on communication, informality and break the rules mentality that resulted in employees loyalty, commitment and productivity. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the 90s Body Shop seemed to have lost its magic growth formula. The main problems faced by the company were its inability to align and prioritize stakeholders interests, as well as its lack of agility and flexibility to evolve and adapt to external changes. One of the main causes was the companys low Proactivity. An initial opportunity was pursued by Body Shop due to its leader believes, vision, anecdotic and lucky events, but afterwards the company was never able to plan its behavior in anticipation of emerging trends and threats (competition, globalization, expansion) and therefore leverage its first mover advantage in the CSR field. Body Shops principal conflict of interest was with Franchises, one of its main partners and stakeholders. The company adopted this model of expansion which was initially appropriate due to its low risk (self financing), but failed in improving and controlling the network. Headquarters was not capable of implementing a control system over franchises, critical during an expansion stage, although a strict and time consuming selection was made. Some franchises were becoming unhappy, not aligned with the companys principles and unmotivated with the business and the concept. Some expressed concern about Anitas ethical and political blowups, but the bottom line was they were not profitable and felt they didnt received support and attention from headquarters. This was especially the case of independent franchises, which to date still represent 29% of the shops, who complained they were discriminated in favor of company owned ones. Body Shop is subcontracting its main asset (relationship with customers) to franchises, so they must align them. They contribute with important start up investments and royalties (5%), as well as with their knowledge and expertise about customers and markets. Vertical integration (buying back unmotivated franchises) is an alternative, but the basic problem will not be solved until they can regain control over the network and exercise legitimate authority over them, by means of implementing rules, standards, and hierarchies (Bureaucracy). Conflicts also started with other stakeholders, such as customers, investors, and even employees (complacency), mainly due to Anitas increasingly political actions. Body Shops brand and image started to deteriorate as consequence of public debates about the companys 100% natural products, best practices, thirst for publicity, hypocritical attitude and populist campaigning. That is, the companys real CSR intentions were questioned and there was a tendency to believe Body Shop expressed social concern just for selling. Potentially, customers could be lost and sales affected, as well as shareholders interests in terms of value creation (dividends, capital gains). Anita was over focusing on social activism and was indifferent to businesses bottom line: Profitability. Some of the key issues not addressed correctly by the company were their unawareness of industry changes and competitors reaction, as well as their failure in preparing an international expansion. Premium competitors such as Aveda, Lush and Origins began offering natural products, exercising pressure over Body Shop, who was not successfully innovating anymore and whose products were starting to be perceived as low end with premium price. The companys decision to expand internationally was a sensible one due to economies of scale (it was depending to much on the UK) and scope and to position itself as a global player in the cosmetic industry with the best CSR practices. However, they neither performed detailed market researches nor prepared the organizations structure for such an expansion. The U. S. market was a different one, with a diverse consumer base less concerned with environmental issues but product and price driven, less brand loyal and in where there was a tough competition, especially through advertisement; a bigger and less controllable market with few common characteristics with the English one. The Body Shop has two alternatives for international expansion: full penetration in the U. S. market with previous market segmentation, offering tailored products and services through convenient channels (gain support and capture malls) or a strategy of light penetration in the U. S. combined with focus in other potential foreign ventures, although not with the same size as the American one (Asia Pacific, Continental Europe, etc). In each case, Body Shop must train intensively to local staff, keep their values, refine their marketing strategy locally (strong advertisement in U. S. arket for example), meet local regulatory demands and continuously monitor and control implementations. In order to successfully transit to the next stage of its organizational life cycle, the Collective Stage, Body Shop should have changed its Roddicks centered organization, in were decision making was only a matter of its leaders. An informal organization was suitable when having few shops; size increase and global expansion demands a formal organization with defined control systems, strict acc ountability, increased bureaucracy and suitable information technology for information flow. A regional structure with decentralized decision making is necessary for gaining international advantage by means of national responsiveness (Multinational Corporation) and future global integration (Global Corporation). Knowledge transfer, headquarters planning, formalization and global teams coordination are key elements. Finally, leadership changes are necessary in order to avoid the organization dependency on Anita and to bring refreshing ideas and industrys best practices. Once a company is public, it needs to operate in its shareholders benefit, so focus should be profits over passion, and agency problems should be avoided, although founders legacy and best practices should be kept. Adrian Bellamy, an ex director who entered the company through a joint venture, is the actual CEO of the Body Shop, after the Roddicks stepped down due to investor pressures. Actually Anita is a consultant, and Bellamy should use Anitas knowledge and expertise in marketing and product development issues in favor of the company; let her continue travel and innovate! Body Shop should maintain its CSR advantage but also refocus its efforts in product development and retailing (franchises), taking into account characteristics of individual markets (adaptive vs. global). Cost reductions, new product launches and packaging, extension of successful ranges, promotions, refreshing store formats, new channels of distribution (Internet), I/T systems support (actually implementing SAP), are some suggested actions in order to re position the brand as one offering credible products at affordable prices. Will Body Shop achieve Sustainable Growth? Anitas legacy (CSR, innovation), together with good business management could make the company return to the success path. Although managing stakeholders relationships is not an easy and straightforward task, the company has still an important network of key partners (franchises) and a brand with global reach, within a sector (personal care) with potential and in were there are still opportunities for expansion.

How to Write and Structure a Persuasive Speech

How to Write and Structure a Persuasive Speech The purpose of a persuasive speech is to convince your audience to agree with an idea or opinion that you present. First, youll need to choose a side on a controversial topic, then you will write a speech to explain your position, and convince the audience to agree with you. You can produce an effective persuasive speech if you structure your argument as a solution to a problem. Your first job as a speaker is to convince your audience that a particular problem is important to them, and then you must convince them that you have the solution to make things better. Note: You dont have to address a real problem. Any need can work as the problem. For example, you could consider the lack of a pet, the need to wash ones hands, or the need to pick a particular sport to play as the problem. As an example, lets imagine that you have chosen Getting Up Early as your persuasion topic. Your goal will be to persuade classmates to get themselves out of bed an hour earlier every morning. In this instance, the problem could be summed up as morning chaos. A standard speech format has an introduction with a great hook statement, three main points, and a summary. Your persuasive speech will be a tailored version of this format. Before you write the text of your speech, you should sketch an outline that includes your hook statement and three main points. Writing the Text The introduction of your speech must be compelling because your audience will make up their minds within a few minutes whether or not they are interested in your topic. Before you write the full body you should come up with a greeting. Your greeting can be as simple as Good morning everyone. My name is Frank. After your greeting, you will offer a hook to capture attention. A hook sentence for the morning chaos speech could be a question: How many times have you been late for school?Does your day begin with shouts and arguments?Have you ever missed the bus? Or your hook could be a statistic or surprising statement: More than 50 percent of high school students skip breakfast because they just dont have time to eat.Tardy kids drop out of school more often than punctual kids. Once you have the attention of your audience, follow through to define the topic/problem and introduce your solution. Heres an example of what you might have so far: Good afternoon, class. Some of you know me, but some of you may not. My name is Frank Godfrey, and I have a question for you. Does your day begin with shouts and arguments? Do you go to school in a bad mood because youve been yelled at, or because you argued with your parent? The chaos you experience in the morning can bring you down and affect your performance at school. Add the solution: You can improve your mood and your school performance by adding more time to your morning schedule. You can accomplish this by setting your alarm clock to go off one hour earlier. Your next task will be to write the body, which will contain the three main points youve come up with to argue your position. Each point will be followed by supporting evidence or anecdotes, and each body paragraph will need to end with a transition statement that leads to the next segment. Here is a sample of three main statements: Bad moods caused by morning chaos will affect your workday performance.If you skip breakfast to buy time, youre making a harmful health decision.(Ending on a cheerful note) Youll enjoy a boost to your self-esteem when you reduce the morning chaos. After you write three body paragraphs with strong transition statements that make your speech flow, you are ready to work on your summary. Your summary will re-emphasize your argument and restate your points in slightly different language. This can be a little tricky. You dont want to sound repetitive but will need to repeat what you have said. Find a way to reword the same main points. Finally, you must make sure to write a clear final sentence or passage to keep yourself from stammering at the end or fading off in an awkward moment. A few examples of graceful exits: We all like to sleep. Its hard to get up some mornings, but rest assured that the reward is well worth the effort.If you follow these guidelines and make the effort to get up a little bit earlier every day, youll reap rewards in your home life and on your report card. Tips for Writing Your Speech Dont be confrontational in your argument. You dont need to put down the other side; just convince your audience that your position is correct by using positive assertions.Use simple statistics. Dont overwhelm your audience with confusing numbers.Dont complicate your speech by going outside the standard three points format. While it might seem simplistic, it is a tried and true method for presenting to an audience who is listening as opposed to reading.