The Truth About Rejection Letters and How to Deal with Them

Laying face down on the bedroom floor, you probably felt like this it it. This was the moment your whole life would crash and burn. All the years in English would have been a waste because of this exact moment. Nothing good would ever come again. Ahh writer’s block. The prompt was like a field of daisies and you were just standing there, unable to move, unable to run through, unable to free your mind and thoughts. You could just imagine your editor’s face, Patiently waiting for the email that would reveal your prolonged words. But there was nothing written down. Not even a byline. Am I right? It was probably a very long moment of weakness- By long I mean by the time You were done it was 7 am-   but eventually you told yourself to get together, put in your headphones, played Mozart, and just wrote and wrote and wrote. The writers block was only temporary because now all of a sudden You felt inspired. Was it Mozart or was it the fact that it was 2 in the morning and You were beyond sleep deprived and just needed something written? Words just poured on the paper like never before, wanting an escape from the monster that was the pen. You felt amazing. Now you had met the deadline and you couldn't wait for your editor to read your story. You had a feeling she/he would love it. You even went out to celebrate with a few friends. Brunch at the Pearl, and lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. You relaxed, knowing you were stress free. And then as if you were dying to bring stress upon myself, You checked those unopened emails. And there it was. Your eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing. Your insides felt so heavy. Your first rejection letter. I know writers are suppose to be used to this because apparently it will happen a lot, but You just felt so empty, like your words weren't good enough. This, truth be told, hurt. You then looked up so many self help articles on dealing with rejection letters thinking Maybe someone else's words could ma ke you feel better. If this was my reaction of my first rejection letter, I'm in for a long ride, you thought. But It didn't have to be. This could be a lesson. Maybe next time You shouldn't procrastinate or only send in your absolute best work even if someone else doesn't think so. Your writing is bound to reach somebody. If somebody else can be positively affected by your writing, then that's all that matters. After all why do we write? To educate, inform, and entertain. So yes, You did take the rejection letter to heart, but no, You did not and will not   let it stop me from doing what You love.

The Cost Of College Is Becoming Outrageous - 1325 Words

The cost of college is becoming outrageous because they are rising tuition, trying to make their campus more appealing to the students that attend as well as incoming students, and government loans have astronomical interest rates. Students are having to come up with all of the money themselves. It is hurting the students after they graduate because they are in so much debt before they even start their career. Some students wonder if going to college is worth it or if finishing high school would be enough for them. The amount of debt students are accumulating by going to college makes others wonder if they want to start a career already thousands of dollars in debt. Going to college may seem like a no brainer for some, but others struggle with the thought of â€Å"being in the red† right out of college and trying to find a high paying job that will help them pay back their loans and borrowed money, especially in the economy now. Colleges are raising tuition for a variety of reasons. Some colleges think that spending millions and millions of dollars on recreational activities to make the college more appealing to students is worth raising the tuition, while others give their administration and college presidents a big salary. Because there are so many factors that go into a college tuition and fees, many students do not actually think about where all of their money is going. If students were to look at what is taking their money, they might think twice about going to thatShow MoreRelatedCauses Of Student Debt902 Words   |  4 Pagesincrease in student debt is caused by a combination of factors including rising tuition, decreases in government funding, the shift to student loans, and increases in the overall costs of college. Unsurprisingly, the cost of college tuition has skyrocketed in recent years, contributing to rising student debt. Rising tuition costs are making this debt problem extremely worse: â€Å"The average list price for tuition and fees has risen 114 percent, to $9,410 in inflation-adjusted dollars, over the past 20 years†Read MoreFinancial Aid : Scholarships Or Any Other Helpful Programs That May Be Affordable1014 Words   |  5 Pagesis to require school accreditors collect on how well colleges do their jobs. With every single dime college students are paying for their tuition, you will more likely think they will get a major education and be able to find a job after graduation but it s not always the case. Colleges are more focused about getting teens to come to their school and yes they are providing them with a valuable education. Colleges are starting to use college tuition to upgrade their school, instead of providingRead MoreCollege Athletes Should Not Be Paid945 Words   |  4 PagesThe word â€Å"college† is defined by Dictionay.com (2014) as â€Å"an indepdant institution of higher learning†. 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In the US the bottom 40 percent of income earners in the United States now collectively own less than 1 percent of the nation’s wealth, and College tuition has risen 10 times faster than the median family income. These are just a few issues that my generation, and more to come will face. My dream requires fair access to jobs and educational opportunitiesRead MoreRising College Tuition1114 Words   |  4 PagesTuition on the Rise: A Cause of Turmoil Today colleges are growing more and more necessary for attaining a solid path towards a successful career, yet the rapidly increasing cost of tuition is driving students away from their dream of attending college, due to the preposterous amount of money that is now being demanded by colleges across the nation and world as a whole. It is sad to see students being turned away from a successful future due to the money-hungry nature of the universities that dotRead MoreIncome Share Agreements ( Isa )1169 Words   |  5 PagesD. Income-Share Agreements (ISA) With student loan debt becoming increasingly worse year after year, new and potentially better avenues for students to finance a college education are emerging onto the market. In particular, income-share agreements (ISA) have appeared on the scene for a few years now, but not have attempted to modernize the way students pay for college. The big take away from ISA’s is the shift of financial risk from the student to the investor, unlike the traditional governmentRead MoreGreek Organizations And Hazing Rituals1342 Words   |  6 Pagesorganizations have their houses on campus. The controversy comes from these organizations getting away with the harmful actions and universities not taking action. Are these rituals ethical or not? Greek Organizations have been an influence of college life for many years. Typically there are two sections of the Greek System, social organizations and the profession organizations. Along with the parties and alcohol that is associated with Greek Organizations, they do many other more positive thingsRead MoreCelebrities Extravagant Spending Styles1297 Words   |  5 Pagesgiven to just rappers, actors, and sports players, but to individuals you have career achievement with a wide range of fan base. Celebrities, with their extravagant life and money, are able to spend lavishly and freely on anything they please. These outrageous spending habits, whether it’s what or how, celebrities’ use their money is ridiculous. Nonetheless I would change the way money is used my celebrities to better our economy and our people. Majority of the celebrities such as: rappers, singers

Piaget and Vygotsky The Psychology of Cognitive Development

This essay concerns the psychology of cognitive development. Cognitive development can be explained in terms of the acquisition, construction and progressive change in thought processes such as memory, problem-solving and decision-making that occurs from childhood to adulthood (in Smith, P.K., Cowie, H Blades, M. 2003). Major pioneers in this area and whose work has been the foundation of much research in cognitive psychology are among Jean Piaget’s (1926) and Lev Vygotksy’s (1978). A common understanding between the two rest on the idea that cognitive development in children occurs through stages, however, their approach in identifying these stages highly differ (in Smith P.K. et al., 2003). Piaget’s account of cognitive development†¦show more content†¦They are; sensorimotor, pre-operational, concrete and formal (in Passer, M. et al., 2009). The sensorimotor occurs from birth up to two years old. Social interactions and the environment play a prominent role in the developing infant. The infant has the ability to form an understanding of reality and is successfully able to differentiate from itself and objects. The infant also achieves object permanence in which they realise that the existence of objects continues although it may not be visually presented to them (in Smith P.K. et al., 2003). The pre-operational stage occurs between ages 2 to 4. The child is preoccupied with language and associating objects with certain images, symbols and words as the classification of objects is made easier this way. Since children are unable to conceptualize abstractly, Piaget explained this in terms of their egocentric thoughts, the idea that the child is seeing a world of its own thus having difficulty in seeing the viewpoint of others effectively (in Smith P.K. et al., 2003). The concrete operational stage occurs between 7 to 11 years. Piaget contended that children’s abstract thinking is now limited thus being able to think logically about objects which in turn enables abilities of reversibility and conservation (in Smith P.K. et al.,Show MoreRelatedA Study on Cognitive Psychology650 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿Introduction Cognitive psychology studies the mental processes that permit humans to perceive, remember, learn, and think. Cognitive psychology is subsumed under the broad field of cognitive science, which includes disciplines such as linguistics, philosophy, and neuroscience. (Allport, 1985). Cognitive psychologists study human memory, attention, perception, intelligence, problem-solving, decision-making, judgment, and language acquisition (Cherry, 2011). Among these several topics, the emphasisRead MoreWgu Fht Task 11675 Words   |  7 PagesShepherd Human Development and Learning - FHT4 Western Governors University Student ID 259630 FHT4 - Task 1 Cognitive Development refers to the construction of the thought process that includes problem solving, remembering and the ability to make decisions, from childhood up to the adulthood stage. Cognitive/Intellectual Development is the ability to learn, reason, and analyze the fact that a process begins from infancy and progresses as the individual (Educational Psychology). Cognitive DevelopmentRead MoreOutline the main similarities and differences between Piaget‚Äà ´s and Vygotsky‚Äà ´s explanations for cognitive development in children1702 Words   |  7 Pagesexplanations for cognitive development in children. Piaget and Vygotsky were both, looking into the same period of cognitive development in infants and children and sharing the same basic concerns. 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Jean Piaget’s influence on the Development of Constructivism A Brief Biography Piaget is a well-knownRead MoreCompare and contrast Piaget‚Äà ´s and Vygotsky‚Äà ´s theories of cognitive development in children1274 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Compare and contrast Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories of cognitive development in children. This essay will compare Piaget’s and Vygotsky’s theories of cognitive development in children. Also, show the differences between the two psychologist’s theories. Thus, by showing their similarities like in language and adaptation theories. Further, differences like Piaget’s theory on cognitive developmental stages and the schemas which are build to learn or accommodate new words or things. 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I will look into the weaknesses and strengths of the theories with supporting evidence and also the similarities and the differences of the two theories. Piaget believed that children develop through theRead MoreSimilarities Between Piaget And Vygotsky And Cognitive Development953 Words   |  4 Pagesa remarkable influence on development and learning. Second, this essay will examine Piaget and Vygotsky’s background, each hypothesis as it relates to cognitive development and education, the similarities and differences, the impact of having better insight into and understanding the concept of learning. Developmental science involves looking at the entire realm of human thought, behavior, and expression (Steinberg, Bornstein, Vandell Rook, 2011). 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A Brief Summary of the Theories of Piaget and Vygotsky Piaget’s theory of development is based on four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational stage. Piaget believed development was

Zara case free essay sample

Inditex, founded by Amancio Ortega, operates six different chains: Zara, Massimo Dutti, PullBear, Bershka, Stradivarius, and Oysho. Zara is a leading apparel chain with major dominance in Spain. Zara being responsible for around 80% of Inditex’s gross profits is critical for Inditex’s growth. Currently, Zara is facing a convoluted problem of growth expansion both within and outside Spain. Within Spain, growth options for Zara seem limited owing to the already saturated market. Zara however has placed its foot in the Italian market (which it finds particularly lucrative owing to the fashion-forward Italian market) through a joint venture with Percassi and plans to add around 70 stores in the next decade. Other options for entry could be USA, Asia and other parts of Europe. The analyses focus on Zara’s business model and competitive advantages and depicts how it impact’s Zara’s growth. Vertical integration, delayed production, just-in-time manufacturing, and proactive design teams are some of the key features in Zara’s business model which makes Zara a competitive brand. With such peculiarities in its business model Zara has been able to maintain low failure rates as well as manage high operating efficiencies as compared to some of its competitors in Spain. Harnessing the Quick Response (QR) technique quite remarkably, Zara has drastically reduced its cycle times with minimal bullwhip effects. As a global apparel firm, Inditex’s main development strategy for international expansion is to become the sole or majority shareholder. However, for small or culturally different markets, it extended franchising agreements to leading local retail companies. For countries with large barriers to entry and an appealing customer base, Inditex created joint ventures with the possibility of later buying out its partner. Despite the different approaches used to enter into the international market, Zara has shown that there is no impediment to sharing a single fashion culture. It can be concluded that, with such valuable set of resources and capabilities which Zara possesses, it makes sense to grow into markets in which Zara can exploit its capabilities to the fullest. The move into the Italian market fits perfectly into Zara’s paradigm of effective Quick Response and is a laudable one. Also, entry into United States of America should rather be avoided at this stage as the American market is relatively backward as compared to fashion and Zara won’t be able to do justice to its capabilities as they could be rendered useless. Thus in order to undergo a sustainable growth, Zara should focus on partnering in geographies where its capabilities are complemented. Introduction In general, fashion apparel has highly volatile demand with high margins for the ‘in demand’ fashion products and heavy markdowns for ‘out of demand’ (outdated) products. Life cycles are short and unpredictable. It is a very tough job to predict what will be in trend and its demand. On the scale of functional-innovation products, fashion apparel is clearly on innovation end of spectrum. For an innovative product like fashion clothing, it is very important to provide the correct product variety not in terms of the number of options but more so in terms of the correct fashion. The efficiency considerations of the physical function are secondary to the above. Suppliers need to be chosen for their speed and flexibility and not just costs. It is important to decide where to position inventory in the supply chain to hedge against changing tastes and obsolescence. Reaction time to changes in demand pattern has to be swift. The correct response to an innovative product is therefore a responsive supply chain. The fashion apparel however also has the added dimension of being highly labour Demand Uncertainty Low High intensive especially when it comes to stitching. As per Lee’s Supply Low Zara framework, the demand is uncertain but supply is largely Uncertainty High certain and there is little variation to be expected in the supply of commodities like zippers, undyed cloth and buttons. Zara’s business model Zara’s business model is unique. In this analysis we tried to bring together the different features that actually make their business model unique. Distinctive Features of Zara’s business model 1. Just-in-time manufacturing system: Zara invested heavily in manufacturing logistics and IT and focused on development of internal manufacturing system for its fashion-sensitive products (40%). It also went for vertical integration of its production which helped it to supply new designs in about 4-5 weeks and restocking within 2 weeks. This was much better than industry standard of 6 months for design and 3 months for manufacturing. (Pg 9) 2. Delayed production: Since it has very less cycle time, Zara is able to delay much of its design, purchase and production decisions till the season has started as compared to traditional retailers. This way it is able to adjust to the latest trends of the season and come out with better suited products (Pg 9 and Exhibit 13 More about this in ‘vertical integration’ section) 3. Selling, General and Administrative Expenses: Zara’s SGA costs amount to only 20% of revenues whereas others maintain relatively higher costs. The only competitor to have cycle times close to Zara, i. e. , World Co. , has 40% of revenues allocated to these costs. 4. Design: Designers, product development personnel and store managers work in great coordination with each other. The Zara’s design teams continuously track customer preferences and use this information about sales potential based on a consumption information system to transmit repeat orders and new designs to internal and external suppliers. The design teams are bridged merchandising and the back end of the production process. Out of all designs, only those designs went into production for which consumer responses were positive. This way failure rates for the products was as low as 1% as compared to industry standard of 10%. (Pg 10) 5. Distribution: Zara followed its own centralized distribution system with main 400,000 m2 facility in Artexico and smaller satellite centres in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. Zara has also started to schedule shipments by time zone. Due to one single location of centralized distribution facility, Zara faced diseconomies of scale. Hence it opened another facility near Madrid with well connected air, rail and road networks. (Pg 11-12) 6. Merchandising and media advertising: Zara with its high turnaround created a feel of freshness and scarcity in the stock material. This lures customers to buy at the earliest possible. This also results in low marked down inventory (for Zara it was around 15-20% as compared to European average of 3040%). Also much of the focus was given on the ambience of the stores. Stores were chosen in prime locations and were refurbished every 3-4 years to give new and fresh look. Zara also spent just 0. 3% of its revenues on media advertising as compared to 3-4% by others. This was done so as to create an atmosphere of exclusivity in the market and to avoid overexposure. (Pg 13-14) 7. Pricing: Prices, determined centrally, were lower than competitor’s for comparable products in the market. They were able to maintain this competitive edge in the market and have good percentage margins as they had efficiencies in the supply chain and their marketing and markdown requirements were low. 8. International market: Zara had rapid expansion during the period 1999-2001 wherein it opened chains in 24 countries as compared one country per year from 1992 to 1997. In comparison, HM added just 8 countries from 1980s to 2001. Zara laid focus on market costs rather than own costs for forecasting the prices in a particular market in consideration. This gave them a better idea of the issues and potential in the local markets and they were able to assess market profitability better than their competitors. For market entry, Zara initially used company-owned stores only but as the business expanded with limited resources, it also used the other two modes of expansion, i. e. , joint ventures and franchises. While franchises were used in less risky countries, JVs were used in the markets where barriers to entry were higher. (Pg 15) 9. Marketing: In general, all the countries had similar business arrangements but few local variations were allowed to capture regional aspirations. Zara opened first flagship store in a country and after gaining some experience expanded its span in that country and nearby countries. The international pricing differed from country to country based on the brand positioning and people’s capacity to buy in that country. This way, Zara was able to maximize its profitability while targeting correct market segments. (Pg 17-18) Comparing Zara with the average retailer with similar prices From exhibit 5 we can see that Zara and HM have comparable prices (Appendix B has detailed calculations) Comparing Zara one-on-one with HM, we can infer following points: a. Although asset turnover of HM is higher than Zara, Zara has higher sales to current assets ratio. This implies that Zara has highly mobile revenue system and it is efficient in utilizing its assets to generate revenues. The reason for low asset turnover is that HM outsources its entire production and therefore has much lower level of fixed Metric HM Inditex Zara assets. Asset turnover 2. 0 1. 2 1. 2 Sales to current assets ratio 2. 9 3. 8 3. 8 b. Similarly, though ROA of HM is higher than Zara, Zara is much higher than HM in ROA 18. 9 13. 1 15. 5 terms of operating and net margins. This Operating margins 13. 8 21. 7 21. 7 indicates that Zara’s process in much more Net margins 9. 7 10. 5 12. 4 Average Sales / store 5. 5 2. 5 4. 9 efficient than HM’s. -3 Average Sales / square metre (*10 ) 4. 61 4. 92 9. 51 c. Due to large sizes of the stores of HM, average sales/store is higher for them but if we look at average sales/ square metres Zara again takes a lead over HM. From the above points, we can easily conclude that Zara is more operationally efficient than its competitor in similar price category. Comparing the average retailer and Zara on the basis of sales price, manufacturing costs, advertising nd mark downs: Manufacturing Costs: From Exhibit 3, Zara’s cost of manufacturing is 20% more than Asia (=1. 2*29. 09=34. 9). Zara manufactures 40% in house, another 40% in Europe and 20% in Asia. The manufacturing mix of the average retailer varies around 0 to 40% in Europe and rest from Asia. Media Advertising Costs: Only 0. 3% of Zara’s revenue is spent on media advertising compared with 3%-4% for most speciality retailers. Advertising is limited to the start of sales period at the end of the season in the case of Zara. Items % for Zara Amount % for Others Amount Manufactured in Spain 40% 42. 24 0% 42. 24 Manufactured in Asia 20% 29. 09 50% 29. 09 Manufactured in Europe and North America 40% 34. 91 50% 34. 91 Weighted average 36. 68 32. 00 Sales Price (twice the manufacturing cost) 73. 35 73. 35 Advertising Costs 0. 30% 0. 22 3% 2. 20 SGA Costs 20% 14. 67 30% 22. 01 Profit 21. 79 17. 15 We can see that in the case Zara is profitable on a per item basis. Quick Response Policy QR policy is targeted towards improving coordination between retailing and manufacturing arms of the firm. The increased flexibility to market condition changes made QR policy the most sought after one in the apparel industry exposed to dynamic market conditions. The reduction in cycle time by implementing QR was tremendous. However certain geographical, functional and organisational changes were very much essential for harnessing QR which could help retailer forecast better, reorder frequently and probe the market. The table below depicts the how Zara undertook the changes as compared to World Co. Japan. Zara ? Integrated backward into domestic manufacturing ? Creative product development team which interacted with people across departments (sales, stores) frequently thus relying on high frequency information ? Proactive participation in study of customer demand through the information system present. ? Limited volumes of products (small) presented to customers to gauge preferences and use that information for bringing about changes if any in the subsequent batches. ? Product development personnel chosen from the country where they had to interact with stores. Impact: ? High flexibility in the supply chain ? Failure rates on new products for Zara were 1% as compared to 10% for the sector World Co. Japan ? Integrated backward into domestic manufacturing. ? Low emphasis on design. ? Japanese market relatively depressed than Europe hence probably there was less incentive to implement QR. Impact: ? Unnecessary administrative expenses impacting its revenues badly. ? Diminished net margins (2% of sales) as compared to Zara (10% of sales) Thus, it is evident that Zara’s proactive cross-functional working and effective use of high frequency information translating into reduced failure rates and posed a high competitive advantage. Vertical Integration Apparel industry is a characterized by a buyer-driven supply chain which needs to be more vertically integrated than producer-driven chains, because producer-driven chains are dominated by upstream manufacturers. However in apparel industry the downstream retailers play a very significant role. Zara is a vertically integrated company that owns different levels of the supply chain. From manufacturing to warehouse to retail outlets, Zara owns all of these different entities. This allows Zara to globally optimize instead of locally. This type of centralized decision making reduces the bullwhip effect on the overall supply chain. Information is also centralized allowing permeability amongst the different layers in the supply chain. Vertical integration is necessary for Zara if it wishes to continue with its highly responsive supply chain. (There is however an alternative of locking in highly trustworthy suppliers who can provide similar services. ) The efficient interactions between the retailing and the manufacturing arms (necessary for QR) have been possible for Zara because of its vertical integration. Because of the vertically integrated structure and one firm model they were able to carry out geographical, organizational and functional changes and were able to bring down the lead time from 6 months to about 6 weeks (Exhibit 4). Zara placed more emphasis on using backward vertical integration to be a very quick fashion follower. They were able to start with a new design and have finished goods in stores within 4 to 5 weeks and in 2 weeks for modifications (or restocking) of existing products. In comparison, the traditional industry model involved long cycles of up to 6 months for designing and 3 months for manufacturing. The shorter cycle time reduced the working capital intensity and facilitated continuous generation of new merchandise. It also allowed them to commit to bulk of its product line for a season much later than competitors (which was one of the main problems of the Sports Obermeyer Case). Thus, Zara undertook 35% of product design and purchases of raw material, 40%–50% of the purchases of finished products from external suppliers, and 85% of the in-house production after the season had started, compared with only 0%–20% in the case of traditional retailers (Pg 9). However, Zara’s vertical integration strategy is not entirely without its drawbacks. With having only few manufacturing facilities, Zara is unable to take advantage of economies of scale in order to produce a large amount of apparel for a relatively cheap unit price. Also, with Zara’s high replenishment rate of store selections, it needs to invest in highly flexible machinery and very skilled workforce in order to produce apparel in a quick and efficient manner. Production costs (machinery and labor) are relatively high for Zara’s supply chain compared to their competitors. Challenges Manufacturing and warehouse locations: Zara’s faces competition in its home market largely from HM which competes with Zara by providing lower prices with lesser variation. One of the biggest challenges for Zara is that they have concentrated everything right from their central warehouse, headquarters and factories in a corner of Europe in Galicia, Spain. This means that their costs and prices steadily increase as Zara moves further into Europe. Supporting this argument (Exhibit 15) the price of a Zara shirt shoots to 1. 5 times by the time it reached north Europe or Denmark. Germans are stated as being highly price conscious customers. A new firm in fashion apparel can utilize Germany as a base; follow Zara’s strategy of rapidly adapting to fashions and beat Zara heavily on prices. Germans are expensive as a labour force but one can then utilize cheaper locations in Eastern Europe like Poland which though not specified but are bound to be cheaper. This issue is also seen in Japan where they are bringing manufactured items from Spain even though China is next door and is a very low cost location. In any future expansion, they should look at setting up other hubs both within and outside Europe. Aggregation and transportation costs: Another problem is that they ship every item and receive all deliveries in their central warehouse in Arteixo. No strategy for bundling together demanded items has been described and with store deliveries every two weeks, transport costs will shoot up as distance increases making expansion of Zara unprofitable. Expansion into new markets is needed if Zara wishes to achieve the 20% revenue growth rate as the Spanish market which Zara is expected to dominate based on its location advantage, will saturate soon (HM could hit a high of 10% only in Sweden before declining). To achieve profitable revenue growth in other future hubs, Zara needs to recreate its Galician hub in other locations or break down the hub strategy and spread out production and distribution. Recommendations Inditex should focus its energy on its current chains, specifically Zara since this chain in particular is responsible for much of Inditex’s success. The move into the Italian market fits perfectly into Zara’s paradigm of effective Quick Response and is a laudable one. Also, entry into United States of America should rather be avoided at this stage as the American market is relatively backward as compared to fashion and Zara won’t be able to do justice to its capabilities as they could be rendered useless. Thus in order to undergo a sustainable growth, Zara should focus on partnering in geographies where its capabilities are complemented. Zara should also consider decentralising its manufacturing facility to locations located optimally from its new markets and consider places with low cost of manufacturing and labour (China and South Asia for Asian and European markets and Mexico for US market – if Inditex wants to still move into US market). Appendix 1: Apparel value chain (Source: Appelbaum and Gereffi (1994)) Appendix B: Detailed Computations HM Inditex Zara Gap Benetton Net Operating Revenues 4269. 0 3250. 0 2477. 0 15559. 0 2098. 0 COGS 2064. 0 1563. 0 1191. 2 10904. 0 1189. 0 Gross Margin 2205. 0 1687. 0 1285. 8 4656. 0 909. 0 Operating Expenses 1615. 0 982. 0 748. 4 4276. 0 624. 0 Operating Profits 590. 0 705. 0 537. 3 379. 0 286. 0 Non-operating Expenses -28. 0 209. 0 96. 3 108. 0 43. 0 Pre-tax Income 618. 0 496. 0 441. 0 272. 0 243. 0 Income Tax 206. 0 150. 0 133. 4 280. 0 92. 0 Minority Interests 0. 0 5. 0 0. 0 2. 0 Net Income 412. 0 341. 0 307. 6 -9. 0 148. 0 Current Assets 1468. 0 854. 0 650. 9 1468. 0 1558. 0 Assets 2183. 0 2605. 0 1985. 4 8566. 0 2821. 0 No. of stores 771. 0 1284. 0 507. 0 3097. 0 5456. 0 Avg. Store size in sq. mt. 1201. 0 514. 0 514. 0 632. 0 279. 0 Asset turnover 2. 0 1. 2 1. 2 1. 8 0. 7 Sales to current assets ratio 2. 9 3. 8 3. 8 10. 6 1. 3 ROA 18. 9 13. 1 15. 5 -0. 1 5. 2 Operating margins 13. 8 21. 7 21. 7 2. 4 13. 6 Net margins 9. 7 10. 5 12. 4 -0. 1 7. 1 Average Sales / store 5. 5 2. 5 4. 9 5. 0 0. 4 Average Sales / square metre (* 10^(-3)) 4. 61 4. 92 9. 51 7. 95 1. 38 Ratio of revenues Ratio of revenues

The Shadow of the Gods Review Essay Example

The Shadow of the Gods Review Paper Essay on The Shadow of the Gods It should probably start with the fact that this author I am very impressed. He captivates and amazes plot intrigue and beauty of his verbal incarnations, he and his original philosophy. In his books, there is a certain ease and unobtrusiveness. You do not just read the book, you mean it literally swallow. His characters often say and think about quite banal and obvious things, but it is all so simple, understandable and easily, as if it were your own thoughts In Werber has a special talent -. It forces the reader to think about their lives, but to think with this is much wider than usual to think abstractly. And I thought born of a sudden and they are so obvious as if you recall what was once forgotten, or seemed to think about something before, and still could not form and finish your thought, and now Why is it and what! I had been thinking ?! Yes, Werber is a This is certainly not the first book Saga of the gods, which I read, I read them all, so there is something to compare. And with all my love for the author, I can not say that I like this book very much and I liked from her in delight. No, this is not. Perhaps partly because I had grown accustomed to the author and his heroes and now they do not plunge me into a frenzied enthusiasm as before. Previous books definitely liked more. The plot is still interesting, inconsistencies in it is still there, but much more in the breath of the gods is that for which we love Werber. We will write a custom essay sample on The Shadow of the Gods Review specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Shadow of the Gods Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Shadow of the Gods Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer And if someone had read the earlier books so far doubts whether this reading, I would say: Yes, to read, to read of course!

Payroll System Documentation Essays

Payroll System Documentation Essays Payroll System Documentation Essay Payroll System Documentation Essay Information Technology is the study, design, development, implementation and support management of information system. It helps to produce, manipulate, store, communicate and/ or disseminate information. We used the term information technology or IT to refer to an entire industry. In actuality, information technology is the use of computers and software to manage information. In some companies, this is referred to as Management Information Services (or MIS) or simply as Information Services (or IS). The information technology department of a large company could be responsible for storing, protecting processing, transmitting and retrieving the information as necessary. Nowadays all establishment are becoming modernized, they use modern technologies to make their transaction fast, easy and accurate in order to avoid waste of time and for the sake of safety and security. It also helps human to solve and understand complex problem and analysis such as computational need of human. Especially the business establishment or corporation processing data and transaction. The success or failure of an organization in today’s highly competitive and technological business world depends on how they manage to streamline. The flow of information between their department and outside the world. Implementing a system make their transactions easy and accurate and to secure their files and data. There are different system that used by the company and other establishment; such as Inventory System which is an integrated package of software and hardware used in any business sectors to monitor the quantity, location and status of their income regarding on their products going in and out. Enrollment system is the system in a school when a student is enrolling for a specific course the school requires all the necessary information of the enrollee. Library System is a system of coding and organizing library materials (books, serials, audiovisual materials, computer files, maps, manuscripts) according to their subject and allocating a call number to that information resource and the example of complex transaction is the Payroll System which it is critical business operation dealing with numerous accounts and produce plenty and confidential files. Payroll is a financial statement that shows the total amount of money paid to the people by a particular company. It’s an accounting system that calculates the amount due to employee’s salary after the necessary deduction. It is also generating a statement of amounts to be paid to employees. It is also amount of money a company, business and establishment pay its employee at any given time. In order to pay their employees for services rendered, employers performs payroll processing which must be done in timely and accurate manner to ensure that employees receive their salary. Payroll System is system used in a series of accounting transactions dealing with the process of paying employees for services rendered, after processing of the various requirements for withholding of money from the employee for payment of payroll taxes, insurance premiums, employee benefits, garnishments and other deductions. It is use in order to make the payroll transactions fast, convenient and make data and confidential files secure. Using a manual payroll procedure can’t secure data especially for those confidential files for payroll. A manual payroll system is done by hand. This means that all wages calculations are performed on paper. An advantage using of manual payroll is that it costs very little to use. However it takes a lot of time and energy to do manual payroll processing. Using a computerized payroll system is much quicker than a manual payroll. It reduces the amount of paperwork to be filed, as most of the payroll information can be store in the system. It will not only provide an accurate calculation and fast process of payroll transaction but it will also secure data through security implementation and accordingly arrange file provided by a well designed database. A database is where you are storing your files and data for its security. It is more widely used by all users that have a computerized system by different sectors. And a Database Management System is software who operates database providing storage, access, security back-up and other facilities. The implementation of this proposed system is a great help for the Holy Child College of Information Technology Inc. especially to their HR Department, Accounting Department and as well as Finance Office. They lessen their job and they can manage their payroll processing accurately. PROJECT CONTEXT The Holy Child College of Information Technology Inc. located at Allah Valley Drive, Surallah South Cotabato was on its eight years operation. The school in the municipality of Surallah offered a Technical and Collegiate courses. The said institution was lack of facilities such as any computerized system had not been implemented. The said school wishes to utilize an existing hardware and software as soon as possible. As a pioneering graduating student for the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology we are tasked to develop a propose system as part of our Capstone Project. We found out that the main problem of the said institution is difficult to process payroll transactions because of their manual payroll procedure that takes a long time to finish their task due to many steps and processes to undergo. Other problems we found out are as follows: Hard in processing payroll slip and payroll form Difficulty in calculating the wages. Too much time consumption. Misplaced some employee data with plenty assigned to the bookkeeper with cause’s inconvenience to their services Files are not totally secured and there is a possibility that the files might be lost. Delay in releasing employee salary On their procedure, it will need more time and manpower to complete the payroll processing. In this problem we are implementing a Computerized Payroll System for the Holy Child College of Information Technology Inc. to minimize the effort of the bookkeeper to make an efficient and accurate computation of payroll to create a well designed database and to implement strong security of the system for data secrecy. This proposed system is a great help to the accounting section of the Holy Child College of Information Technology Inc. especially to the Bookkeeper and Finance Office of the said school. It will help to lessen time and effort of the Bookkeeper in filing all employee records and files as well as to the Accounting Department in preparing payments of the employees. This proposed system can accommodate and produce a paperless environment. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The purposed of this study is to propose a Computerized Payroll System for Holy Child College of Information Technology Inc. We found out that this school had no any Computerized System since it was started its operation that’s why we choose to implement a Computerized Payroll System for the said institution. To have a Computerized Payroll System could easily to generate and calculate all information regarding the payroll transactions it’s reason that the said institution needs a reliable, effective and easy- to- use payroll system in order to make their task faster and easier without any hassle. This Computerized Payroll System we implementing for Holy Child College of Information Technology Inc. could encompass every employee of a company who receive a regular wage or other compensation. To provide an accurate calculation and fast processing of a payroll transactions. To help the said institution to comply the timely payment of the wages and salaries for the employee. To secure the employee files by using a database where to store all data regarding to the payroll and to have security for their data secrecy. DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY This proposed Computerized Payroll System allows to process and issue employee print out report for their Pay Slip and Payroll Statement. It will compute wages and deductions and enter data into a well designed database for its security. It will record all employee information such as transfer and resignations in order to maintain and update payroll records. It will help to lessen time and effort of the Bookkeeper in Accounting Department in preparing payments of the employee. This proposed system will lessen their job and they can manage their payroll processing accurately. SCOPE OF THE SYSTEM This study is designed to develop a Computerize Payroll System for the Holy Child College of Information Technology Inc. It covers the process of preparing Pay Slip of each employee. The system is designed to compute for the income of an employee whether regular or contractual. It is also developed with features used to provide ease in searching and updating records such as search, add, edit and delete. It will compute for the total net income of an employee by adding the bonuses to the gross income and deducting the taxes and fees from the gross income. It will keep the records safety and computing the exact wages of each employee, including the stored report list of employee such as hourly or weekly basis salary, net pay, overtime and some deductions including PHILHEALTH, SSS, Cash Advances and others. LIMITATIONS OF THE SYSTEM This proposed Computerize Payroll System for the Holy Child College of Information Technology Inc. can only provide the print out report for the Pay Slip and Payroll Statement for the employee. It has a security feature where only an authorize personnel are allowed to access the system which therefore guarantees company employees the reliability that they desire. The system is limited to designated officials in the Payroll department since it will incorporate a security measure. The Payroll Administrator only has a responsible for adding new employees, updating employee’s records and changing all employee information. OBJECTIVES This proposed system is designed to provide a fast and reliable automated solution for the recording and processing of the salary of an employee. The main objectives of this research are to develop a Computerize Payroll system for Holy Child College of Information Technology Inc. To prepare a detailed salary records of all employees in an institution. To generate Pay Slips through the calculation of salary and to ensure the proper use of manpower. The specific concern of this system are as follows: To minimize the effort of the Bookkeeper in processing and preparing the payments of an employee. To lessen the hassle in manually computing an employees net income. To ensure that employees are paid, contractual obligations are met and taxed and other withholding duties are upheld. To provide ease, lessen the possible errors and produce faster results. To determine whether an employee is a regular, fulltime or part time since a egular employee or full time employee has a different computation than that which is casual or contractual. To ensures quick and accurate computation of a certain employees monthly salary, hourly or weekly salary depending on factors such as basic pay, benefits, bonuses, taxes, exemptions as well as other compensations and deductions Fast, accurate and reliable results are going to be produce by this system ther efore proving it to be effective enough to meet the company’s needs regarding the Payroll System. Technical Background Through hard work and tough research and having enough knowledge, we come up to a conclusion that our study is technically feasible. The user of the system can maintain, operate the system easily and back up files such as payroll report and other cash transaction. Hardware Specification: ITEM/PART SPECIFICATION MonitorAOC 15† PrinterEpson LX-300+11 AVRUltra Power 300-220 v Black CD-ROM DriveLG ProcessorL775 Pentium D 3. 06 GHz MouseGenius Ps2 Hard DiskSeagate 80G IDE KeyboardAsus P458X MotherboardMB S940 AM2 MemoryDDR-1GB PC-400 Kingston Software Specification: Microsoft Windows XP Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 OPERATIONAL The Holy Child College of Information Technology Inc. Payroll System will be used by the HR Department and Finance Office once it will be installed. Payroll System will be operated by the HR personnel. The benefit will always goes to the departments and to the employees as well. We also make sure that the system is easy to use and user fri endly. ECONOMICAL Estimated cost of the Proposed Hardware and Software. Hardware ITEM/PART SPECIFICATION AMOUNT MonitorAOC 15†6,500 PrinterEpson LX-300+112,800 AVRUltra Power 300-220 v Black400 CD-ROM DriveLG2,500 ProcessorL775 Pentium D 3. 06 GHz9,295 MouseGenius Ps2450 Hard DiskSeagate 80G IDE5,400 KeyboardAsus P458X950 MotherboardMB S940 AM22,500 MemoryDDR-1GB PC-400 Kingston1,460 TOTAL 32,255php Software Microsoft Windows XP(Licensed)5,500 Microsoft SQL Server(Licensed)5,000 Microsoft Visual Studio 2005(Licensed)5,500 TOTAL 32,255 php LOCAL RELATED LITERATURE Cagayan de Oro City Hall Computerized Payroll System The City Accounting Department has introduced an upgraded computerized ayroll system for permanent employees in a bid to improve its services and maximize resources. This project, which was conceived two years ago, basically aims to improve our services particularly in the processing of payrolls for permanent employees, City Accountant Wilma Polley-Rugay told payroll in-charge of the different departments and offices at City Hall during a briefing and orientation on the concept of the one-month payroll system held Friday last week at the City Council session hall in Cagayan de Oro City. With the added features of the new computerized payroll system, Rugay said the preparation, processing and payment of payroll system to permanent employees would be hastened and fast-tracked. Adopting of the one-month payroll system is also beneficial, not only to the City Accounting Department, but also to the payroll-in-charge as it would save time, energy and resources. Employees who handle payroll preparation and processing can now attend to other office needs and concerns as the new payroll system will lessen their workload, she added. Under the new payroll system, preparation and processing of payroll, which reflects the accrued, amount payable every 15th and 30th day of the month, done only once. Unlike the time-consuming old payroll system, preparation and processing of payroll is done twice a month covering the first half and second half of the month. (www. sunstar. com. ph) Computerized Payroll System of Department of Health (DOH) The Computerized Payroll System is a window based program especially designed to facilitate and simplify the monthly preparation of general payroll and related reports such as Standard computerized payroll system for use in all DOH offices, Allows faster and more accurate computation of monthly gross income, deductions and net salary, Faster and less-resource-consuming generation of General Payroll and other payroll related reports, Security and integrity of payroll data and information. The Features of computerized payroll system of DOH are Graphical User Interface, Interactive and menu-driven program, Systematic maintenance and retrieval of employee records, Flexible as it provides options to include additional fields for other compensation and deductions unique to an office or unit, Automatic omputation of monthly net income, GSIS, PAG-IBIG, Withholding Tax and other deductions, Y2K compliant, Fast and easy generation of the General Payroll and all other payroll related reports which include Monthly reports like GSIS and PAG-IBIG remittances, Denominations Report and Leave Credits Report and annual Year-end Tax Reports, Password security to ensure the integrity of data. General payroll reports such as Payroll Summary sheet, Pay slip, Leave Credits Report, Withholding Tax Statement (W-2), BIR Remittance Reports, GSIS Remittance Reports, PAG-IBIG Remittance Reports, Other User-defined Reports (PERA, ACA, PNB, etc.. ). (www2. doh. gov. ph) The proponents learned from this study that the Cagayan de oro and Department of Health has its own database for their employees. They stored the information of the employees to the database that represent each employee’s records as a separate persistent object. FOREIGN RELATED LITERATURE Titus Information Payroll System A Payroll System designed to produce payroll checks with appropriate withholdings, benefits, allowances, and deductions for employees in multiple companies, departments, and/or sub-departments. It has been designed to handle up to 1,000,000 employees in 100 companies, 1,000 departments in each company, and 36 sub-departments in each department. Some of the features and benefits of the Payroll System are multiple cost centers for payroll reporting, will handle special non-taxable benefits for ministers, flexible withholding capability, ability to split payroll expense between different cost centers, complete governmental reporting; FICA, FUTA, SUTA, Workmans Compensation, W-2s, and 1099s, Payroll check reversal, One check capability, Salaried, hourly, and contract employees in the same payroll run, Combined processing for weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, or monthly, Taxable and non-taxable benefits and deductions, Multiple hourly rates for each employee, General ledger interface, Check list UFD file for check reconciliation, Extensive personnel information for each employee, Accrual of sick, vacation, and holiday hours, Flexible federal, state, and local taxation, Multiple company, department, and sub-department capability, Flexible benefit and deduction capability, Easy federal, state, and local tax table maintenance, Split income over multiple companies, departments, sub-departments, Payroll accrual/reversal capabilities, Time card data entry function, Special message function for printing on check stubs. (Www. titusinformationsystems. com) Canadian Payroll System Sage Accpac Canadian Payroll is a flexible module that gives you complete control over employee earnings and benefits, special payroll situations and government reporting, ensuring that your companys payroll requirements and personnel policies are accurate to the penny. You can enter or import timecards, enter after-the-fact paycheques, run automatic calculations or even combine all three methods to get your pay data into the system and your paycheques deployed on time. Payroll handles all pay frequencies; multiple work states; unlimited earnings, deductions, benefits and taxes; and other pay factors such as expense reimbursements, accruals and advances. (www. 2020software. com) CONCLUSION

Corruption and Strip Searching Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Corruption and Strip Searching - Assignment Example Testimony by former officer Rafael Perez played a pivotal role in highlighting such level of corruption and cops brutality. This incident has brought LAPD a lot of shame and ignominy. The collusion has shattered the model of police force. People have lost faith in it. It would take a lot of time to restructure the entire police department and rebuild the trust of people. Strip searching has evolved more and more as time as coagulated. The most highlighted place of strip searches is airports. Leading the group are the police officers from the anti narcotics department. They are more on the look out as carrying drugs is a serious offense. The strip searches is one of the way to catch an offender red handed. In a way it is right. Every country has certain rules and regulations and one has to abide by them. It's the culture that cannot be ignored. Dubai is one such city which is known for carrying out such strip searches. It has very strict norms to prevent to prevent the entry of drugs on its soil. But at times people have been victimised under strip searches. One such victim shared her grief "I was forced down to strip to get rid of my nipple ring which could be ignored after looking in the metal detector". The Victim has registered a case against the police official for mental and physical trauma inflicted upon her under the hood of investigation.