The Criminal Justice Satisfaction Survey Assignment

The Criminal Justice Satisfaction Survey - Assignment Example In the 2011/2012 report, 70.625 % of the respondent felt satisfied with the criminal justice system as compared with 65.3% in the year 2008/2009 survey. Introduction Public confidence and perception of criminal justice system are fundamental in the administration of justice in any country. The system relies on the participation of witnesses and victims for successful operation. Bad perception of criminal justice system by both victims and witnesses leads to low involvement with the process of delivering justice to people (American Bar Association, 2007). It also results into disrespect of court pronouncement and rulings a threat to stability. The dissatisfaction is central to many studies conducted on the criminal justice system. In Northern Island the monitoring of bridging the gap in criminal justice strategy began in 2007 with Witness and Victim Survey. By using the findings of these annual surveys, this country aimed at improving their criminal justice system to meet the needs of its citizens. Today, countries such as United States of America, United Kingdom and Australia conduct similar studies on regular basis. These studies contribute to the development of better methods of measuring and evaluating the public attitudes towards courts, law enforcers and correctional facilities. The general findings of most surveys is that public satisfaction level declines from law enforcers to courts and finally to prisons. Meaning, the public view the stakeholders in the system as individual components. However, the Northern Ireland survey established an interesting finding which does not support this position. The satisfaction level with the services of criminal justice staff was 82.5%, which is the highest in among the four indicator scores. Surprisingly, the police, judges and the probation officers fall under the staff within the justice department. This leads to a conclusion, that it is the structures within the system rather than the people which derail the public confidence. The score on information flow is the lowest despite the fact that the victims and witnesses needs to know the progress of their cases in time. The sharing of information promotes accountability, good governance and transparency in criminal justice system (Worrall &Nugent, 2008). Summary of the Survey The Witness Victim Survey 2011/2012 aimed at measuring the satisfaction level the people who came into contact with the criminal justice system. These were the witnesses and victims who had cases dated January to June 2011. The IPSOS MORI used the data from the Public Prosecution Services (PPS) record to come of with 6359 expected participants. However, a 1000 witnesses and victims participated in the survey conducted from November 9 to December 11, 2011 through Out of this number only 1000 people got the opportunity for the interview conducted through Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing. The percentages of witnesses and victims were 49% and 51% respectively and were p eople age 18 years and above. The scores were from 1 to 7 where representing complete dissatisfaction and satisfaction respectively. The respondents awarded scores on the four questions administered to them by the interviewer. Data Set Key Score Meaning 1 Completely Satisfied 2

Environmental Problems and Solutions Case Study

Environmental Problems and Solutions - Case Study Example Whenever more energy has been trapped than needed, it effect can increase the climate of the earth. There are certain reasons because of which these gases trap more energy than needed. Nature has kept the atmosphere in such a balance that any meddling in its route or cycle may harm the entire cycle. The present atmosphere of our planet is according to needs of human body. But time and again man has meddled with this cycle. The excessive use of explosives either during the war or on testing basis is the basic reason for the increase in global atmosphere. The explosives used in the wars carry dangerously poisonous and hot gases that mix with the greenhouse gases 2and result in the trap of more heat than needed. Similarly, the factories emit poisonous gases. Here the developed countries like USA and EU are the greater contributors, because they have more factories than the rest of the world. The underdeveloped countries are also adding to this global warming because the vehicles used are normally so deplorably in a bad condition that they emit many times more poisonous smoke than the normal order. These haphazard practices of human beings are resulting in certain damages to the natural cycle of life. The global temperature has been changed rapidly. ... The ecosystem of our planet is also getting becoming chaotic, because of the human folly. This folly creates a vicious circle, where each problem exacerbates other problems which feedbacks into each other. A recent research of population trends, climate change, increasing pollution and emerging diseases found that 40 percent of deaths in the world could be attributed to environmental factors. Actually the ecosystem3 has been set in such a way that every species depends on the other. If one gets disturbed or destroyed, the other will definitely suffer. Sometimes even the entire species are wiped out because of certain human irregularities and indiscipline. The ozone layer is also getting damaged day by day. The destruction of ozone layer is also increasing the UV-radiation, that combined with higher ocean temperature, cause the reduction in carbon dioxide trapping mechanism of the oceanic phytoplankton biomass ,which adds to global warming process. When the warming reaches a certain level, it releases huge amounts of greenhouse gasses trapped in the permafrost. This enhances the global warming, and the polar destruction of ozone, and so on. Global warming also results in the rise of sea level. The general scientific law that liquid expands on heating is quite applicable to the rise in sea level. When the seawater gets warm, its level rises 4resulting in irreparable loss and damage to the land. Many islands disappear completely. Millions dollars worth property and business is obliterated in a few seconds. History is witness to the fact that more people have died by the after effects of the natural catastrophe than the catastrophe itself. Floods and

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, Indias largest pharmaceutical company, is an integrated, research based, international pharmaceutical company, producing a wide range of quality, affordable generic medicines, trusted by healthcare professionals and patients across geographies. Ranked 8th amongst the global generic pharmaceutical companies, Ranbaxy today has a presence in 23 of the top 25 pharmaceutical markets of the world. The Company has a global footprint in 49 countries, world-class manufacturing facilities in 11 countries and serves customers in over 125 countries. In June 2008, Ranbaxy entered into an alliance with one of the largest Japanese innovator companies, Daiichi Sankyo Company Ltd., to create an innovator and generic pharmaceutical powerhouse. The combined entity now ranks among the top 15 pharmaceutical companies, globally. The transformational deal will place Ranbaxy in a higher growth trajectory and it will emerge stronger in terms of its global reach and in its capabilities in drug development and manufacturing. Financials Ranbaxy was incorporated in 1961 and went public in 1973. For the year 2008, the Company recorded Global Sales of US $ 1,682 Mn, reflecting a growth of 4%. The Company has a balanced mix of revenues from emerging and developed markets that contribute 54% and 39% respectively. In 2008, North America, the Companys largest market contributed sales of US $ 449 Mn, followed by Europe garnering US $ 330 Mn. Business in Asia is going strong with India clocking sales of around US $ 300 Mn with market leadership in several business segments, backed by strong brand-building skills. Products Using the finest RD and Manufacturing facilities, Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited manufacture and markets generic pharmaceuticals, value added generic pharmaceuticals, branded generics, active Pharmaceuticals (API) and intermediates. The Company remains focused on ascending the value chain in the marketing of pharmaceutical substances and is determined to bring in increased revenues from dosage forms sales. Ranbaxys diverse product basket of over 5,000 SKUs available in over 125 countries worldwide, encompasses a wide therapeutic mix covering a majority of the chronic and acute segments. Healthcare trends project that the chronic treatment segments will outpace the acute treatment segments, primarily driven by a growing aging population and dominance of lifestyle diseases. Our robust performance in Cardiovasculars, Central Nervous System, Respiratory, Dermatology, Orthopedics, Nutritionals and Urology segments, clearly indicates that the Company has strengthened its presence in the fast-growing chronic and lifestyle disease segments. Introduction to the industry The Indian pharmaceutical industry currently tops the chart amongst Indias science-based industries with wide ranging capabilities in the complex field of drug manufacture and technology. A highly organized sector, the Indian pharmaceutical industry is estimated to be worth $ 4.5 billion, growing at about 8 to 9 percent annually. It ranks very high amongst all the third world countries, in terms of technology, quality and the vast range of medicines that are manufactured. It ranges from simple headache pills to sophisticated antibiotics and complex cardiac compounds; almost every type of medicine is now made in the Indian pharmaceutical industry. The Indian pharmaceutical sector is highly fragmented with more than 20,000 registered units. It has expanded drastically in the last two decades. The Pharmaceutical and Chemical industry in India is an extremely fragmented market with severe price competition and government price control. The Pharmaceutical industry in India meets around 70% of the countrys demand for bulk drugs, drug intermediates, pharmaceutical formulations, chemicals, tablets, capsules, orals and injectibles. There are approximately 250 large units and about 8000 Small Scale Units, which form the core of the pharmaceutical industry in India (including 5 Central Public Sector Units). Company analysis:-Key Strengths Company growing faster than the market. One of the largest distribution networks that comprises 2500+ skilled field force. Dedicated task forces for specialized chronic therapies A strong player in the NDDS segment. Key brands include Cifran OD (Ciprofloxacin), Zanocin OD (Ofloxacin) Sporidex AF (Cephalexin) Strong brand building capabilities, reflected in the fact that around 20 brands feature in the Top-300 brands of the Industry list. Leading brands are Sporidex (Cephalexin), Cifran (Ciprofloxacin), Mox (Amoxycillin), Zanocin (Ofloxacin) Volini (Diclofenac) A well-built customer interface, with one of the highest customer coverage across India, and an excellent franchise with both Generalists Specialists. This is proven by Ranbaxy Indias Corporate Image being perceived as Best-in-Class by customers (source: AC Nielsen ORG MARG Report, June 2004) Great emphasis is placed on Knowledge Management and Medico-marketing initiatives such as Advisory Board Meetings, Post Marketing Surveillance Studies and Continuous Medical Education programs. These have resulted in an excellent customer relationship with the medical fraternity. More than 2000 interface programs (Symposia, CMEs) are conducted and about 20 Clinical Papers published annually With a futuristic approach, the India operations attempt to capitalize on the fast- emerging, high-growth segments with innovative products and services: A slew of products have been launched in the Dermatology segment: Suncross (Sunscreen lotion), Sotret (Isotretnoin), Eflora (Eflornithine). Anti-diabetic franchise has been further consolidated with launch of Insucare (Insulin) with an innovative delivery mechanism Controlled Insulin Logistics This ensures that the cold chain, vital for product efficacy, is maintained. Dividend Payout Analysis:- Indicates the proportion of earnings that are used to pay dividends to shareholders. Ranbaxy laboratories dividend payout ratio is comparative reduced from the previous days, in other words they pay a dividend to its shareholders. This is the case for most high growth firms; their profits are better spent by reinvesting in the firms activities rather than as a cash payout to shareholders. In fact a majority of corporations have elected to pay out less of their earnings as dividends, perhaps because corporate rates of return on reinvested capital are higher these days, but it could also be that dividends are doubly taxed in some jurisdictions. The DPR measures what a companys pays out to Investors in the form of dividends, in this year dividends are not paid to the share holders. As per the data the DPR is comes to 60.06 from 94. Return on Equity Analysis: Sometimes ROE is referred to as Stockholders return on investment, it tells the rate that shareholders are earning on their shares. Ranbaxy laboratories are earning a very respectable growth rate on shareholders equity. Companies that generate high returns relative to their shareholders equity are companies that pay their shareholders off handsomely, creating substantial assets for each money invested. These businesses are more than likely self-funding companies that require no additional debt or equity investments.Return on net worth or equity (ROE) is a second useful profitability ratio. If we are getting from investing our own money in the business. If this return is less than the return we could obtain from an equal or less risky investment, then there is a good economic argument that we should leave farming and invest elsewhere. In the case of Ranbaxy laboratories, the ROE is not as good or at their esteemed level because of the earning of the company. The revenue or profit is g enerated in the current financial year is in the diminishing level EPS Analysis: The earnings per share ratio are mainly useful for companies with publicly traded shares. Most companies will quote the earnings per share in their financial statements saving you from having to calculate it yourself. By itself, EPS doesnt really tell you a whole lot. But if you compare it to the EPS from a previous quarter or year it indicates the rate of growth at companies earnings are growing (on a per share basis). Ranbaxy laboratories EPS have decreased almost 16.56 to -24.85 since last year; it is not an excellent growth rate for the company. Some analysts like to use â€Å"projected† EPS to analyze a stocks current value in respect to these estimates. Share Market Analysis: Ranbaxy Labs good for long term investment. There are some issues which are a big concern for the company, however, as the stock markets will stabilize, the Ranbaxy stock will also bounce back. Ranbaxy Labs has shown decent growth in the past five years. The company has presence in all major markets across the world. The stock used to be a safe bet for last many years. Things havent changed in terms of the business of the company; however, much has changed in the stock markets. Investors are worried about the future of the company. And they have a reason to worry; the stock hasnt offered the returns everyone expected. The results may be announced by the end of this month and long investors can think of entering the stock at lower levels. Stock Watch expects the stock to touch 350 400 levels within a year. The target has been estimated after evaluation of various factors including the business model; US market status and company valuations. The recent fall in the stock price is mainly due to bad news about the company in recent times. Things should start improving after three months as the stock bottoms out. Cash rich Japanese parent will support Ranbaxy and the company will offer decent returns. Investors can start accumulating the stock in range Rs 200 220. The rate RLL Sell/Medium Risk (3M) with a target price of Rs357.40. I expect the stocks valuations to move in line with the sentiment toward the sector, key to which are price expectations, progress on deregulation, and government decisions on the taxation part of the pharma industry. Analysis about the overall management of the company:- 2Q09 turns into profit, guidance maintained: Ranbaxys 2Q09 net profit of Rs6.93bn includes pre-tax gain of Rs8.1bn on hedges and Rs1.9bn on loans. Excluding these adjusted net profit is c. Rs370mn (company estimate of Rs633m) cf. our estimated loss of Rs230mn. Sales were higher at Rs17.9bn (our estimate Rs16.5bn) due to better performance in India and US. EBITDA margin reported at c.7% includes operational forex gain of Rs716mn, termination amount paid to Mr. Singh (Rs480m) and income from settlement with Teva Rs550m. Company has maintained its guidance of no profits for CY09. Sales trend unchanged: Sales decline 2% YoY in Re terms, 16% in $. US, EU, CIS and Brazil are down in $ terms. India grew at 21% in Re terms on back of 28 new product launches and tender sales. Newly acquired brands from Ochoa in pain and dermatology segment (full year sales of c.Rs300m) have not contributed yet. Growth across markets in constant currency is similar to 1Q09 YoY trend due to inventory de-stocking. US beat our expectation due to sumatriptan contribution. Mgt guided to a run-rate of $50m for US for 2H09. Costs are still high: 2Q09 cost of sales as % to sales at 62.4% is much higher than estimated and 58.6% seen in 1Q09. This could be due to ongoing overheads at Poanta without revenue contribution. SGA expenses ex-termination amount are in line with estimate. One major issue in mind of investors in the exit of promoters. Promoters have sold their stake to Pharmaceutical major Daiichi from Japan. Technical experts believe the issues in US markets and pending litigations are behind the promoters exit. The future of Ranbaxy will now depend on the plans Japanese company has for Ranbaxy. The parent company hasnt given any solid statement about the future plans for Ranbaxy. Once the announcements are made, investor sentiment will turn positive. Industry analysis: Porter 5 force model Todays business environment is extremely competitive and in economics parlance where perfect competition exists, the profits of the firms operating in that industry will become zero. However, this is not possible because, firstly no company is a price taker (i.e. no company will operate where profits are zero). Secondly, they strive to create a competitive advantage to thrive in the competitive scenario. Michael Porter, considered to be one of the foremost gurus of management, developed the famous five-force model, which influences an industry. Industry competition Pharma industry is one of the most competitive industries in the country with as many as 10,000 different players fighting for the same pie. The rivalry in the industry can be gauged from the fact that the top player in the country has only 6% market share, and the top five players together have about 18% market share. Many smaller players that are focused on a particular region have a better hang of the distribution channel, making it easier to succeed, albeit in a limited way. An important fact is that pharmacy is a stable market and its growth rate generally tracks the economic growth of the country with some multiple (1.2 times average in India). The product differentiation is one key factor, which gives competitive advantage to the firms in any industry. However, in pharmacy industry product differentiation is not possible since India has followed process patents till date, with laws favoring imitators. Going forward, we foresee increasing competition in the industry but the form of competition will be different. Economies of scale will play an important part too. Last but not the least, in a vast country of Indias size, government too will have bigger role to play. Bargaining power of buyers The unique feature of pharmacy industry is that the end user of the product is different from the influencer (read doctor). The consumer has no choice but to buy what doctor says. However, when we look at the buyers power, we look at the influence they have on the prices of the product. Bargaining power of suppliers The pharmacy industry depends upon several organic chemicals. The chemical industry is again very competitive and fragmented. The suppliers have very low bargaining power and the companies in the pharma industry can switch from their suppliers without incurring a very high cost. Companies like Orchid Chemicals and Sashun Chemicals were basically chemical companies, who turned themselves into pharmaceutical companies. Barriers to entry Pharma industry is one of the most easily accessible industries for an entrepreneur in India. The capital requirement for the industry is very low; creating a regional distribution network is easy, since the point of sales is restricted in this industry in India. The barriers to entry will increase going forward. The change in the patent regime will see new proprietary products coming up, making imitation difficult. The players with huge capacity will be able to influence substantial power on the fringe players by their aggressive pricing which will create hindrance for the smaller players. Threat of substitutes One of the key reasons for high competitiveness in the industry is that as an ongoing concern, pharma industry seems to have an infinite future. In the Indian context, companies like Cipla and Glaxo are likely to be key players. Though consolidation within the current big names is not ruled out. Smaller fringe players, who have no differentiating strengths, are likely to either be acquired or cease to exist. Economic analysis:- Monetary policy affected pharma industry:-The excise duty reduction on pharmaceuticals is unlikely to have any effect on the prices of medicines as the government has, in a parallel move, decided to cut the abatement rate for calculation of MRP based excise duty on pharmaceuticals. The Finance Ministry, in a move to rationalize abatement rates, has brought down the 42.5 per cent abatement enjoyed by the drugs industry to 35 per cent. Almost all domestic majors such as Ranbaxy, Dr Reddys and Cipla and multinationals like GSK and Johnson and Johnson have either own units in hill states, or rely on contract manufacturers in the hill states for production for the domestic market. Budget: THE BUDGET presented by Finance Minister has brought cheers for pharmaceutical companies. In the current financial year excise duty of 4 per cent has been retained while custom duty has been lowered on some vital life saving drugs and heart contrivances. The present budget has made an important provision to reduce custom duty from 10 per cent to 5 per cent on medicines and bulk drugs and 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent on life saving devices particularly related to cardiac diseases. With reduction in custom duty on certain selected life saving drugs, the prices of 9 particular drugs that are used for the treatment of fatal ailments namely cancer, HIV,hepatiits b are expected to be slashed. In addition to this, the prices of two vital heart devices are also expected to come down. MD of Ranbaxy laboratories also sounded positive with the provisions for Pharma Company in the new budget, he said, Though there were no big moves for pharma, increased government spending on healthcare will have a positive impact. Extension for scope of provisions relating to weighed deduction of 150 per cent on expenditure incurred on in house RD to all manufacturing business is a positive move. Role of Pharmaceutical Industry in India GDP-Facts The Pharmaceutical Industry in India is one of the largest in the world It ranks 4th in the world, pertaining to the volume of sales The estimated worth of the Indian Pharmaceutical Industry is US$ 6 billion The growth rate of the industry is 13% per year The Pharma Industry in India produces around 20% to 24% of the global generic drugs The Indian Pharma sector leads the science-based industries in the country Around 40% of the total pharmaceutical produce is exported The Indian Pharma Industry includes small scaled, medium scaled, large scaled players, which totals nearly 300 different companies There are several other small units operating in the domestic sector As per the present growth rate, the Indian Pharma Industry is expected to be a US$ 20 billion industry by the year 2015 With the large concentration of multinational pharmaceutical companies in India, it becomes easier to attract foreign direct investments The Pharma industry in India is one of the major foreign direct investments encouraging sectors Foreign direct investment:-The Indian pharmaceutical industry has been a successful player in global markets over the last couple of decades. Along with sectors like software and autoauxiliaries, it has spearheaded Indias progress in knowledge intensive and technologically sophisticated markets (Ramachandran et. al, 2006). It contributes to 8% of world production by volume and 1.5% by value (Aggarwal, 2004). It is a highly fragmented industry with more than 20,000 registered units (Indian Pharmaceutical Industry: An Overview, n.d.). It is becoming a major force in outsourced clinical research and has almost 74 U.S. FDA approved manufacturing facilities, the most for any country outside the US (Pharmaceuticals in India. BIBLIOGRAPHY: www.ranbaxy.com www.moneyrediff.com www.moneycontrol.com www.myiris.com Investment and portfolio analysis; third edition, Prasana Chandra

The Character of the Hitchhiker in The Hitchhiker by Roald Dahl Essay

'The Hitchhiker' by Roald Dahl is a short story that involves an interesting character. The writer makes this character very realistic. When I read this story I found the character had many good points but also many bad points. 'The Hitchhiker' by Roald Dahl is about the writer who has a brand new car. The writer heads to London in his new car. On the way, he picks up a hitchhiker. The hitchhiker is going to the horse racing. When their driving on the road, the hitchhiker encourages the writer to go faster and faster. They are then stopped by the police. The Policeman gives the writer a speeding ticket. The Policeman writes their names in his book. The hitchhiker then steals the books, so there?s no evidence for the speeding. The hitchhiker in this story, is a very unique and easily imagined character. This unique character has many characteristics. As the writer picks up the hitchhiker in the story, Dahl describes him very well. When I read this I thought negative thoughts about him. He had an unpleasant appearance. ? He was a small ratty-faced man with grey teeth? That line gave me a clear picture of him. The reason why he gave me negative thoughts is because rats are sneaky, annoying, evil rodents, so I compared that to him. After that Dahl had more unpleasant remarks about the hitchhiker, ?his eyes were dark and quick and clever, like a rat?s eyes, and his ears were slightly pointed at the top?, This gave me a better idea of what he looked like. ? A greyish - coloured jacket with enormous pockets?, when I read that line I thought immediately that he was a pickpocket, ?enormous pockets?. Dahl did write something positive about his appearance. In contrast to his awful appearance, the writer notices som ething pleasant ... ...lversmith. Reading through the evidence of him being skilful, I?m not sure sure if I should trust him or not. The hitchhiker may be skilful at what he does, but he?s still a criminal at the end of the day. Knowing the hitchhiker has an unpleasant appearance, strong opinions, clever knowledge, being perceptive and very skilful. I?m not sure if I should admire the hitchhiker or not. There are some good points about the character. He steals from the rich not from the poor. He also stole the policeman?s books. On the other hand, he takes the writer?s stuff firstly and he takes money from other people. At a push I think he?s a good character because everything he does he still helps the writer out at the end. Reading through the story again. I find Dahl is a great creative writer. He makes you understand the character really well. The Character of the Hitchhiker in The Hitchhiker by Roald Dahl Essay 'The Hitchhiker' by Roald Dahl is a short story that involves an interesting character. The writer makes this character very realistic. When I read this story I found the character had many good points but also many bad points. 'The Hitchhiker' by Roald Dahl is about the writer who has a brand new car. The writer heads to London in his new car. On the way, he picks up a hitchhiker. The hitchhiker is going to the horse racing. When their driving on the road, the hitchhiker encourages the writer to go faster and faster. They are then stopped by the police. The Policeman gives the writer a speeding ticket. The Policeman writes their names in his book. The hitchhiker then steals the books, so there?s no evidence for the speeding. The hitchhiker in this story, is a very unique and easily imagined character. This unique character has many characteristics. As the writer picks up the hitchhiker in the story, Dahl describes him very well. When I read this I thought negative thoughts about him. He had an unpleasant appearance. ? He was a small ratty-faced man with grey teeth? That line gave me a clear picture of him. The reason why he gave me negative thoughts is because rats are sneaky, annoying, evil rodents, so I compared that to him. After that Dahl had more unpleasant remarks about the hitchhiker, ?his eyes were dark and quick and clever, like a rat?s eyes, and his ears were slightly pointed at the top?, This gave me a better idea of what he looked like. ? A greyish - coloured jacket with enormous pockets?, when I read that line I thought immediately that he was a pickpocket, ?enormous pockets?. Dahl did write something positive about his appearance. In contrast to his awful appearance, the writer notices som ething pleasant ... ...lversmith. Reading through the evidence of him being skilful, I?m not sure sure if I should trust him or not. The hitchhiker may be skilful at what he does, but he?s still a criminal at the end of the day. Knowing the hitchhiker has an unpleasant appearance, strong opinions, clever knowledge, being perceptive and very skilful. I?m not sure if I should admire the hitchhiker or not. There are some good points about the character. He steals from the rich not from the poor. He also stole the policeman?s books. On the other hand, he takes the writer?s stuff firstly and he takes money from other people. At a push I think he?s a good character because everything he does he still helps the writer out at the end. Reading through the story again. I find Dahl is a great creative writer. He makes you understand the character really well.

Effectiveness Of Leadership At Mcdonalds Management Essay Essay

I had the opportunity of working at a McDonald’s chain of restaurants after completion of my undergraduate studies. I was able to observe the role played by members of a team, their team work and leadership of the Manager of the restaurant. I would like to analyse the leadership styles practiced, evaluate the effectiveness of leadership at McDonald’s restaurant and make recommendations indicating how leadership and team work can go hand in hand to improve the performance of the organisation. The first McDonald’s opened its doors to customers in the UK in 1974. Currently, over 2. 5 million people in the UK place their trust in McDonald, expecting that the multinational would provide them with food of a high standard, quick service and value for money. Models and theories that will be discussed in the later portions of this essay are Adair’s Leadership Model and Maslow’s theory of hierarchy which will be applied to McDonald’s. Leadership styles such as autocratic, democratic and persuasive are also discussed to find out which of the three is the ideal model for McDonald’s. A team is a collection of individuals who are interdependent in their tasks, who share responsibility for outcomes, who see themselves and who are seen by others as an intact social entity embedded in one or more larger social systems (for example, business unit or the corporation), and who manage their relationships across organisational boundaries (Susan Cohen and Diane Bailey, 1997). A team is defined as a small number of people, with a set of performance goals, who have a commitment to a common purpose and an approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable (Katzenbach & Smith 1993). There are several factors that influence the success of a team. Team members must have the required skills and attitudes and must create an ambience in which everyone can work with devotion. There should be transparency within the team which is possible if there is effective system of communication between all members. All members of the team must have set responsibilities and must be aware of what is expected from them. In this way all members of the team will be accountable. All members must have harmonising skills and must coordinate among themselves to eliminate any uncertainties or reservations. Members of a team must genuinely appreciate the efforts of fellow members. An effective leader is one who does the right things. Leaders can effectively develop and lead teams if they have the ability to create and communicate a vision what the organization should be. They should have the ability to communicate with and gain the support of all team members. They should have the perseverance to head in the desired direction under bad conditions and create the suitable culture to obtain the needed results. Levine, R. (2000) is of the opinion that leaders need to focus on moving people and organisations forward by increasing the competency of staff and the co-operation of teams in order to improve the organisation. Leadership is related to motivation, interpersonal behaviour and the process of communication. Leadership is important in attempting to reduce employee dissatisfaction (Crow M. 995). The responsibilities of the Restaurant Manager or the team leader at McDonald’s are to set targets, plan budgets, maintain and control stock, recruit, train and motivate a team, create and drive marketing campaigns and build and foster customer relations. Leaders ate McDonald’s restaurants do not lay down any fixed rules on how quickly individuals of a team can progress. Opportunities are given to team members to become managers if they perform well. For this to happen, the crew member must contribute to the success of the team. The management style adopted by team leaders at McDonald’s is to create outlets which are fun places to work. This is called â€Å"team-building†. Leaders at McDonald’s foster accountability and understand the social responsibility culture and incorporate these activities into their businesses. In fact the team leaders have all the characteristics that were used by Stogdill (1950) to define leadership. The characteristic include: traits, behaviour, influence, interaction patterns, role relationships and occupation of an administrative position; articulating visions (e. g.  Bill Gates), embodying values and creating environment for the things that can be accomplished; entities that perform one or more acts of leading; the ability to affect human behaviour so as to accomplish a mission and Influencing a group of people to move towards its goal setting or goal achievement. (Stogdill, 1950) The McDonalds Model is that of Adair’s Model which is called action-centred leadership. This is a constructive model according to which the leader inspires others by their own enthusiasm, commitment and the ability to communicate enthusiasm to people (Adair, 1993). Teams were developed by team leaders so that a common task could be accomplished. Adair (1993) identifies three different approaches to leadership which can be called leadership functions (1) accomplishing the task, (2) maintaining the team and (3) meeting the individual needs of the team members. Adair believes that leaders are not born but emerge from situations. The leader who emerges can adopt any ‘style of leadership’ that warrants the situation. According to Adair a leader is one who has certain innate characteristics which are required to perform his/her role. A leader according to him must have personality and character. Adair quotes Harold Macmillian, â€Å"that a man who trusts nobody is apt to be the kind of man that nobody trusts†. His leader must have integrity, a wholeness and a moral sense. According to Adair, the three functions of meeting the demands of the task, maintaining the team and meeting the needs of individual team members must be kept in balance and none of them should be neglected. The team leader areas of responsibility must include qualities and competencies such as (a) to behave with the highest level of authenticity and integrity by building a trusting relationship with all team members; (b) to be committed fully to the development of the team; (c) to be open and communicate, but must practice good listening skills; (d) be willing to share perceptions, assumptions and views openly with team members; and (e) to allow team members to work independently but in a self-organised manner. Team leaders must take time required to do the work and support team’s efforts and also reflect on its actions. They must maintain and practice accountability and at the same time have a good working relationship with the team members. They should always be ready to monitor and evaluate how the team functions. They should clearly state the purpose of work without being ambiguous or complex. They must try to experiment and share experiences without blame. They should also provide coaching and mentoring support to the team (Barry Stevenson, 2004). The organizational structure of McDonald’s Corporation is centralised but that of its retail outlets is different. In McDonald’s outlets the employees work as a team to ensure that customers’ requirements are taken care of in a short period of time. Besides the manager the rest are all attendants who take orders and deliver as fast as they can. There is division of labour among members of the organisation, and the co-ordination of their activities are directed towards the goals and objectives of the organisation. Structure is the pattern of relationships among positions in the organisation and among members of the organisation. Structure makes possible the application of the process of management and creates a framework of order and command through which the activities of the organisation can be planned, organised, directed and controlled. Structure defines tasks and responsibilities, work roles and relationships, and channels of communication (Mullins and Laurie. J, 2008). At McDonald’s the span of control of the manager is narrow. The span of control refers to the number of subordinates working under the supervisor. So if there are five subordinates working under the supervisor or manager, the span of control is five. If the span of control is narrow there are certain advantages (Jenkins and Tessa, 2000). One of the merits is that there is tight control over subordinates and the manager is able to closely supervise the daily operations resulting in better co-ordination. Managers have time to think and plan and they are not burdened with too many problems. A narrow span of control reduces delegation and managers are able to do more work. On the contrary, a flat organisation implies a wide span of control. Theorists are of the opinion that tall organisation structures are inefficient, despite the advantage of a narrow span of control (Robbins, Stephen P, 2007). One can learn to use leadership approaches to develop high-performing teams and individuals at McDonalds. Team leaders were aware of the importance of team building and used suitable tools and techniques to help teams reach their full potential. McDonalds Crew Members are responsible for customer service, food preparation and cleanliness and hygiene. Crew members will be asked to work in any of these areas depending on the individual’s preferences. I worked as a Customer Service Crew member and my job entailed taking orders and delivering meals to customers at the counter. I learnt to be courteous and polite as I was responsible for maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction. The responsibility of the Food Preparation Crew Members was to prepare and cook McDonald’s menu. The teams are self managed and all team or crew member works with team spirit. There is a sense of respect for each other. However it can be said that most crew members do not understand the organisation strategy as they do not have access to this information. The communication between crew members is informal which enables every individual to maintain good harmony within retail outlets. The crew members at McDonald’s are committed because their needs are met by the team leadership. The leadership has developed an ideal and committed team which can be easily motivated. A committed and motivated team is always successful. Larson and LaFasto (1989) studied to understand the characteristics of successful teams and found that all the highly effective teams always had the characteristics such as a clear, elevating goal, a result-driven structure, competent team members, unified commitment, a collaborative climate, standards of excellence external support and recognition as well as principled leadership (Larson and LaFasto, 1989). From this finding it is evident that effective teamwork has a strong relationship with motivation. According to Maslow’s theory the hierarchy of human needs are classified into five levels. This theory advocates that the higher level needs of an individual will become motivating factors only when the lower level ones are satisfied. The five levels starting from the lowest hierarchy to the highest level, are: Physiological – At McDonald’s the motivating factors of the crew members are salary, over time, daily lunch/meal and transportation facilities. Safety – The next important factor is safety which includes elements such as job security, medical insurance and sick leave. Social – There is very good interaction among crew members and customers. This has resulted in excellent teamwork. Self-esteem – Crew members are motivated as the team leader/manager has full confidence in their abilities. They have reputation because of the McDonald’s brand equity. They are recognised and appreciated by fellow colleagues, subordinates, and supervisors. Self-actualization – The crew member reach their full potential when all his needs are taken care off (Maslow, 1987). The disadvantage that I observed was that subordinates are unable to make any decision. They have to always obey and listen to the orders of the manager. However the crew members (team members) had flexible schedules. There were team members from various parts of the world working together. They had different backgrounds and different interests and all worked together to make an ideal work force. In fact there was diversity. I would like to now give a detailed account of my observations on leadership styles and its impact on teamwork in McDonald’s restaurants. The leadership style practised in McDonald’s restaurants is autocratic and therefore crew members are not involved in any decision making. It is also a fact that suggestions from crew members are not welcomed as most of them are new. Crew members are young and work in these restaurants during summer vacations and therefore cannot offer ideas to the leader. Crew members are young and therefore motivated if they are paid wages on time and given extra benefits such as lunch and transportation. This motivates the crew to work in spite of the autocratic leadership. Autocratic style of leadership doesn’t fulfil the self esteem requirements reflected in Maslow’s hierarchy. However at McDonald’s crew members get self respect and also respect each other. McDonald’s will not adopt another style of leadership as the management fears that a persuasive or democratic style will not deliver the goods, viz. , delivering quality food on time to its customers. I would like to compare persuasive and democratic styles of leadership with that of autocratic leadership before arriving at a conclusion: which one of the three styles will ideally suit McDonald’s and at the same time have an impact on team work. Persuasion is one of the requisites of all leaders by which act they can move people toward a new situation. Persuasion does not include rational arguments. A leader can use persuasion as a tactic to gain the support of diverse groups of people using basic human emotions. It is normal that persuasive strategies may provoke team members and some of them may oppose ideas or suggestions. The democratic leadership style or participative style encourages employees to be a part of the decision making allowing more participation of teams in the decision making process.

The Kantian View of Animal Ethics

Kant’s Ethics of Metaphysics: A Response To the Charge of Speciesism I. In this paper I will present the charge of speciesism contended by many animal right’s activists. I will attempt to substantiate Immanuel Kant’s view on animal morality and justify how his philosophy is not in violation of speciesism. Furthermore, I will explain how the Kantian view still grants animals some moral consideration through the designation of â€Å"indirect duties†. Lastly, I will present a difficulty with accepting the Kantian view of â€Å"indirect duties† towards animals.Moral quandaries regarding animals are still demanding the attention of many philosophers as they attempt to modify and inspect the relationship between morality and social policy. Contemporary applications of this issue can range from experimentations on animals for developing medicines (or even cosmetics) to whether human beings should avoid eating animal-based foods. There is a vast spectrum of moral issues that arise with respect to animals. However, most of the morally questionable situations are contingent on one fundamental question: do animals even have moral rights?And if so, to what extent? Although animal moral considerability has peaked the interest of many contemporary philosophers, such as James Rachels and Peter Singer, the question is really an age-old question that can be traced back to Plato and Aristotle. Immanuel Kant has probed the question of whether an animal has moral considerability. Kant continuously makes the distinction between humans and animals throughout his best-known contributions to moral philosophy.Therefore, I will address and present the counter-argument to the charge of speciesism, one of critical arguments of the animal rights movement, through a Kantian lens. II. One of the prevailing charges on humanity proposed by champions of animal rights is that humans act in violation of ‘speciesism’. The term, first coined by psycho logist Richard Ryder in 1973, is used to describe an arbitrary bias that humans have towards their own species (Homo sapiens).The argument is as follows: to assign primacy to humans by considering only a human to be within the system of morality is similar to other types of discrimination, such as racism and sexism. Just as in racism and sexism the dominating force arbitrarily assumes itself as the normative ideal, in this case whites or males respectively, so too human beings arbitrarily assume themselves as the ideal and to be the only species deserving of morality. Therefore, because there is no legitimate basis for this distinction, other species of animals should be equally included within the system of morality.Ryder believes that those in violation of speciesism â€Å"overlook and underestimate the similarities between the discriminator (humans) and those discriminated against (animals or any other species). † His argument assumes that most animals are fundamentally th e same. Of course those who charge humanity to be guilty of ‘speciesism’ acknowledge that there are obvious differences between humans and non-humans. They just believe these differences to be irrelevant for delineating the scope of a moral system. Man’s higher intelligence, being the most conspicuous difference, should have no authority on morality.If intelligence were the decisive factor then it would follow that people who are intellectually superior should be treated with superior moral standards. Moreover, some apes could potentially have more intelligence than a human if the human was insane or otherwise intellectually compromised. Thus, although intelligence is the distinguishing factor between most human beings and non-humans, it cannot be the sole criterion for defining a moral system . III. It would appear that aside from intelligence (that has no moral bearing) there is no fundamental quality that separates humans and non-humans.Therefore, animals real ly should be treated with equal moral standards, and those who do not equate moral rights are guilty of speciesism. Philosopher Michael Pollan challenges Kant with being in violation of arbitrary discrimination of animals; â€Å"none of these (Kant’s) argument evade the charge of speciesism† (pg 439 Vice and Virtue). So we are left with the daunting question: is there any validity to Pollan’s claim? At first it would appear that Kant presupposes human beings as the only species worthy of morality without giving any explanatory criterion. Kant evelops one of his foundational doctrines called â€Å"The Categorical Imperative†, which can be summarized in the following sentence: â€Å"Act in such a way that you treat humanity in such a way, whether in ourselves or in others, as an end in itself† (Groundwork II). It seems that Kant believes that human beings bar none deserve what he calls ‘respect’ or what we are calling moral consideration . However, after a closer examination it becomes apparent that Kant is not guilty of speciesism at all. In a remarkably similar excerpt Kant says, â€Å"as rational beings, we must always at the same time be valued as ends (pg 239 4:430).It is almost as if Kant just substituted the phrase humanity with rational beings. When both excerpts are read in conjunction it becomes apparent that Kant includes human beings into his moral system not because of an arbitrary nepotism towards his own kind (homo sapiens) but because of a human being’s attribute of rationality. In other words, Kant’s criterion for moral considerability is rationality and not intelligence. When Kant says to treat humanity in such a way, he is referring to a human’s rational nature, which happens to be the unique quality of human beings and is thus presented as rationality’s synonym.According to Kant, rationality is not the same as intelligence and is what makes human beings worthy of mora l consideration and animals unworthy. Rationality is the ability to be governed autonomously and make advised decisions of what is right and wrong. It is not the ability to display reasoning skills. Therefore, a being, such as a chimpanzee with excellent cognitive abilities, cannot exercise rationality, which is Kant’s basis for morality. Human beings, on the other hand, belong to a ‘Kingdom of Ends’, where moral laws are meticulously chosen by each individual.This capability to discern and choose which laws have absolute moral worth binds all human beings in a cohesive moral community. Each member of this community has the authority to legislate and decide which laws are unconditional and then subsequently act in accordance with those laws. Not even the highest functioning chimpanzee has the capability to decide whether an action can be universally applied. Nor can a chimpanzee mull over the question â€Å"what ought I do? †. Thus it follows that a person only has obligations towards other beings that can obligate themselves, or act rationally.Kant chose rationality as the marker that defines the line of required morality because of its pureness. Rational knowledge is not influenced by history, anthropology or psychology. It is not qualified by emotion. Other potential values, such as intelligence, have the possibility of being used immorally; â€Å"Intelligence and wit are doubtless in many respects good and desirable but they can also become extremely harmful if the will†¦is not good (pg 231). † Consequently, a being’s rationality, the ability to decide whether an action is ‘good’ universally, is the only incorruptible value that could define the scope of morality..Now that it is clear that Kant is not guilty of speciesism, since his moral system is predicated on the standard of rationality, one can still ask how Kantian Ethics views animals. Kantian Ethics prescribes indirect duties towards animals . This means that it is wrong to act maliciously towards animals because it will damage a person’s sympathies. Damaging ones sympathies will inevitability lead to a failure of ones duties to others. On the one hand, animals cannot be granted direct duties, for they lack rationality. Their moral value is categorized in a sort of limbo between inanimate objects and human beings.On a practical level, a Kantian might perform the same actions towards animals as a Utilitarian would. But Kantian Ethics is problematic for many philosophers, at least in theory. Christina Hoff offers an example where a â€Å"kind† man spends his life fulfilling his duties to himself and towards other human beings except he secretly burns stray dogs to death. Despite how disturbing and wrong this seems, Kantian ethics does not consider this man as having committed any wrongful action in and of itself. The suffering of the dogs is only problematic as it affects our duties to rational beings.It is difficult to challenge the Kantian view of animals on philosophical grounds. The Kantian moral system is consistent in that it is rooted in the assumption that rationality alone has absolute moral value. To challenge this assumption would involve dismantling Kant’s entire moral system by showing why rationality is inadequate as the supreme value. When Kant is concerned with damaging our sympathies he is only concerned in so far as sympathies ability to promote rationality and the ability to fulfill ones duties. He does not award sympathy any independent value.Yet, to allow, even if just in theory, the scenario of the man burning dogs seems against common morality. To be indifferent to an animals suffering is intuitively immoral. An animal rights champion would be more likely do adopt a Utilitarian view, which incorporates suffering into the fabric of its moral system. IV. Consequently, Kant can evade attempts to label him guilty of speciesism. Kantian ethics does have a crite rion that differentiates humans and non-humans. With rationality as its hallmark, Kantian Ethics views animals as deserving of only indirect moral considerability.As Christine Korsgaard explains in her essay Kantian Ethics and Our Duties to Animals, â€Å"moral laws may be viewed as the laws legislated by all rational beings in the Kingdom of Ends (pg 5) Animals incidentally do not share this capacity for rationality. But if they did, they would surely be included. Interestingly, when referring to animals he ambiguously labels them as a human being’s analogue. Perhaps Kant was identifying that animals have similar qualities such as intelligence that link us together. But animals are analogues and not exactly similar.As such, Kant grants animals some moral considerabilitiy, through indirect duties, but not equal moral considerability. A being earns moral considerability only through the capacity to implement the Categorical Imperative and exercise an autonomous level of cogni tion, not through reasoning skills or mathematical abilities. Therefore, animals rightfully have moral limitations. Works Cited: 1)Ryder, Richard. â€Å"Richard Ryder: All Beings That Feel Pain Deserve Human Rights | World News | The Guardian. † Latest News, Sport and Comment from the Guardian | The Guardian. Web. 27 Dec. 2011. 2)Kant, Immanuel, and H. J. Paton. Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals. New York: Harper & Row, 1964. Print. 3)Sommers, Christina, Frederic Tamler Sommers. Vice and Virtue in Everyday Life. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2003. Print 4)Korsgaard, Christine M. â€Å"Fellow Creatures: Kantian Ethics and Our Duties to Animals. † Www. Tannerlectures. utah. edu. University of Utah Press Volume 25/26. Web Author’s personal website 5)Sebo, Jeff. â€Å"A Critique of the Kantian Theory of Indirect Moral Duties to Animals. † Animal Liberation Philosophy and Policy Journal Volume II Pp. 1-14, 2004. Web.

Expedient vs. Expeditious

Expedient vs. Expeditious â€Å"Expedient† vs. â€Å"Expeditious† â€Å"Expedient† vs. â€Å"Expeditious† By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between expedient and expeditious? The words were originally synonymous, but their meanings diverged long ago, and the distinction is small but significant. Both words derive from the Latin term expedire, which means â€Å"disengage† or â€Å"prepare.† (The literal meaning is â€Å"free the feet.†) As you may have guessed, that’s also the source of expedition, in the original sense of â€Å"journey† and the associated meaning of â€Å"those on a journey.† (The adjective form is expeditionary.) From expedire came the word expedite, meaning â€Å"dispatch or issue,† â€Å"do promptly,† or â€Å"speed up.† (Expediate is an unnecessary variant.) Two adjectives developed from this term: Expeditious originally meant â€Å"fitting† or â€Å"useful,† but it later acquired the sense of â€Å"promptly efficient† and lost its original meaning, which expedient retains. Expedient has two connotations, once neutral and the other more common slightly pejorative: Something that is expedient may be suitable, but the word more likely reflects what is done out of self-interest or because it is most convenient rather than the best solution. The adverbial form of expedient is expediently; the noun forms are expedience and, better, expediency. The adverbial form of expeditious is expeditiously, and the noun form is expeditiousness. The unrelated word expeditation (the verb form is expeditate) is closer to the literal meaning of the Latin source; it means to declaw a dog or remove the pads of its feet to deter it from chasing animals the word is therefore almost an antonym of expedite and I hope it’s obsolete. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely?Driver License vs. Driver’s LicenseParataxis and Hypotaxis

Quotes From The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin

Quotes From 'The Story of an Hour' by Kate Chopin The Story of An Hour is a fascinating read with a surprise ending that takes readers far from Mrs. Mallards initial reaction to tragic news. In her short story, Kate Chopin dramatizes the story of a wife who discovers the truth about her husbands death. News of Death Knowing that Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with a heart trouble, great care was taken to break to her as gently as possible the news of her husbands death. When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone. She would have no one follow her. There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name. But she felt it, creeping out of the sky, reaching toward her through the sounds, the scents, the color that filled the air. Unexpected Joy She said it over and over under her breath: free, free, free! The vacant stare and the look of terror that had followed, it went from her eyes. They stayed keen and bright. Her pulses beat fast, and the coursing blood warmed and relaxed every inch of her body. She saw beyond that bitter moment a long procession of years to come that would belong to her absolutely. And she opened and spread her arms out to them in welcome. There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to impose a private will upon a fellow-creature. And yet she had loved him - sometimes. Often she had not. End of The Story of an Hour Quotes She breathed a quick prayer that life might be long. It was only yesterday she had thought with a shudder that life might be long. When the doctors came they said she had died of heart disease - of joy that kills.

Funny Alan Partridge Quotes

Funny Alan Partridge Quotes Each Alan Partridge quote on this page is unlike anything you have ever read before. The humor is off-beat, and you will have to spend some time getting used to it. But, Alan Partridge has a cult following, and as they say, a million Britishers cannot be wrong! Quotes About Wine and Food All this wine nonsense! You get all these wine people, dont you? Wine this, wine that. Lets have a bit of red, lets have a bit of white. Ooh, thats a snazzy bouquet. Oh, this smells of, I dont know, basil. Sometimes you just want to say, sod all this wine, just give me a pint of, mineral water. And, can I have the same, please? But with different shaped pasta. What do you call those pasta in bows? Like a bow-tie, but miniature? Like an action man bow-tie. Can I just shock you? I like wine. Despite what I just said earlier. At any one time, I have nine bottles of wine in my house. Zingers and One Liners Electrolysis. For hair removal... and... dissidents. BANG! Im James Bond. You make pigs smoke! Ha ha ha ha ha. Youve got to laugh when you fall off a sofa! Bloody Sofa. Classic Conversation to Lynn about Dan Dans a fantastic man! He really is. I was talking to him early and he asked me what kind of phone I had and I said a Motorola Timeport. And he said, thats saaad, you wanna upgrade. I said, so do you- to a new face. He nearly soiled himself! He said he was laughing so hard he had Kenco coming out of his nostrils, and that made me laugh. But...my nostrils were clear. More Funny Quotes Do you know what this bathroom says to me? Aqua. Which is French for water. Its like being inside an enormous Foxs Glacier Mint. Which, again, to me is a bonus. Guide dogs for the blind. Its cruel really, isnt it? Getting a dog to lead a man round all day. Not fair on either of them. Hello is that Currys? Id like to place an order for two supplementary, auxiliary speakers, to go with my Midi Hi-Fi system, apropos achieving surround sound. Apropos...its Latin. You got to have a basic grasp of Latin if youre working in..Currys. Oh  , youve got them excellent, one last thing, what time do you knock-off? Fancy going for a drink? No? Sorry, just thought Id ask. I do like that toilet. Its very futuristic, isnt it? Very, sort of, high-tech, space age. I can imagine Buck Rogers taking a dump on that. In the twenty-first century. Can I, have a go?

Final Strategic Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Final Strategic Plan - Research Paper Example The company should ensure that production of customized soft drinks is according to customers’ remarks and interests (Morris, Honeycutt & Pitt, 2001). For example, an effective tactic is to launch a commentary channel program that allows customers to give comments. Another strategic plan is to establish the business to countries globally, and consider the diverse cultural practices of each race. For a successful business operation, Doll Beverage Company will have to launch an effectual program dealing with social concerns. Lastly, coming up with a policy that controls the behavior and relations of the organizations’ personas to clients ensures that professionalism is maintained during business operations (Morris, Honeycutt & Pitt, 2001). Doll’s beverage Company should use its strength of being new in the market to begin a program that deals with marketing and attracting innovators. The strategy will assist the company to develop and acquire new customers. Example s of other marketing stratagem and tactics that Dolls Beverage Company can implement are establishing; higher returns on invested capital and an attractive economic value added (EVA) performance. Moreover, it ought to establish; lower costs compared to key rivals and competitors in the market, and higher levels of customer satisfaction than competitors (Morris, Honeycutt & Pitt, 2001). ... A further marketing and information technology strategy and the scheme is the use video conferencing. The tactic is used in organizations commonly because of its efficiency and speed to a large group of people. Clients and personalities of an organization can transmit information quickly and easily, hence making business operation valuable (Morris, Honeycutt & Pitt, 2001). Section 2 Firstly, the methods that Doll Company can use to monitor and control proposed strategic plan include escalating its revenue sales in order to improve the overall income. For example, the management of the organization can set a target of increasing their revenues by 15% each year. This step will make Doll Beverage Company improve its increased income by an outstanding 7%; hence maximizing and improving the worth of the shareholder. Consequently, the organization increases its overall financial constancy since it will have many interested shareholders who would assist in completing the organizationâ€℠¢s programs and projects. Secondly, the next step is to improve their market share is a significant factor that monitors and controls proposed strategic plan and advance organizational objectives financially. The fact that the company is new in the business world gives it opportunities of succeeding both in home and foreign countries exceptionally. For example, Dolls Company can set an objective of increasing and improving the market share by a range of 15% annually by initiating new outlets in the five jurisdictions every year, since their accessibility to the more clients will be achieved by implementing the method. Lastly, the method Dolls Beverage Company that can be used to

HIV Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

HIV - Essay Example al., 2005). That notwithstanding, the assertion that HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders afflicts even those HIV patients whose immunological and virological status is high is not entirely true. The effects of these disorders and all other concomitant consequences differ among patients based on their immunity (Sanmarti et. al., 2014). It is optimistic for the article to state that the adverse health effects of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders can still help in the study of HIV-related brain injury. Lewis et. al. (2009) agrees with this claim asserting that neuropsychological tests have not been able to study all brain injuries. There is a need for standardization and homogenization of neurocognitive tests and the exposition of this need is a unique contribution of this article (Eden et. al., 2010). Finally, the suggestion that there is a need to determine the individual contribution of individual comorbidities to the development of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders is insightful (Letendre et. al., 2004). The knowledge of the contribution of individual comorbidities can help design treatments that can help prevent escalation into these disorders. Eden A., Fuchs, D., Hagberg, L., Nilsson, S., Spudich, S., Svennerholm, B., Price, R.W. & Gisslà ©n, M. (2010). HIV-1viral escape in cerebrospinal fluid of subjects on suppressive antiretroviral treatment. J Infect Dis, 202:1819 – 1825. Letendre, S.L., McCutchan, J.A., Childers, M.E., Woods, S.P., Lazzaretto, D., Heaton, R.K., Grant, I., Ellis, R.J., HNRC Group. (2004). Enhancing antiretroviral therapy for human immunodeficiency virus cognitive disorders. Ann Neurol,56:416– 423. Mellgren, A., Antinori, A., Cinque, P., Price, R.W., Eggers, C., Hagberg, L. & Gisslà ©n M. (2005). Cerebrospinal fluid HIV-1 infection usually responds well to antiretroviral treatment. Antivir Ther,10:701–

Death Penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Death Penalty - Essay Example While some arguments are about moral judgments, others are disagreements about empirical trends, such as whether the death penalty is a more effective deterrent than life imprisonment. Ethical debate of the death penalty can be split into two main philosophical contexts, a deontological (a priori) context and a consequentiality context. A priori argument can be further subcategorized into a right argument and a virtue argument. Legal debate also generally falls into prior argument based on legal text. Consequentiality argument can be largely reduced to utilitarian formula through what amount to costs or benefits of the death penalty in terms of human lives and welfare. The deontological objection to the death penalty asserts that the death penalty is totally not correct by its nature, mostly due to the fact that it amounts to the violation of the right to life, which should be universal. In philosophical debate, however, the virtue school tends to argue that the death penalty is also "wrong" on the ground that the process is cruel and inhumane. It brutalizes the society at large and desensitizes and dehumanizes participants of the judicial process. In particular, it extinguishes the possibility of rehabilitation and redemption of the perpetrator(s). Deon tic justification to the death penalty, on the other hand, argues that the death penalty is "right" by nature, mostly on the ground that retribution against the violator of another life or liberty is "just". It naturally follows that not applying death penalty to heinous murder would be unjust. In the context of virtue, they point out that without proper retribution, the judicial system further brutalizes the victim or victim's family and friends, which amounts to secondary victimization. Moreover, the judicial process which applies the death penalty reinforces the sense of justice among participants as well as the citizens as a whole, and might even provide incentive for the perpetrator to own up to their crim e. Many argue that there are advantages of looking at capital punishment from a utilitarian perspective, that is, one which looks at costs and benefits for human welfare. The deontological debate helps to clarify the respective positions of the debate, but offers no way to reach consensus because each argument stands on different a priori ground. Similarly, legal argument can clarify a priori legal or constitutional grounds of the death penalty. However, it offers no insight over whether such law or constitutional clause can be justified on its merit. A utilitarian approach is attractive because the issue is more easily resolved through the examination of empirical evidence, such as evidence about the penalty's effectiveness as a deterrent. Opponents of the utilitarian approach argue that it is flawed for the very reason that it does not take into consideration the complicating ideas which deontology considers, such as the right to life or just retribution. The death penalty is often opposed on the grounds that, because every criminal justice system is fallible, innocent people will inevitably be executed by mistake, and the death penalty is both irreversible and more severe than lesser punishments. The supporters of the death penalty point out that lesser punishments, including life imprisonment, can also be imposed in error and incarceration is also irreversible if the innocent dies in prison. Moreover, whether money is an acceptable compensation for long period of incarceration is a matter of

Building Successful Brand of Toyota Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Building Successful Brand of Toyota - Essay Example This paper illustrates that Toyota recognizes the difference between product marketing alone and actual investment in the creation of a company brand. Indeed, Toyota seems to understand and appreciate the value of forming a corporate framework that facilitates the consumer’s preference for its products. As noted, the company faces fierce competition from other brands for the global market, which has meant that Toyota needed to reposition itself using contemporary means to stay ahead of the competition, at which they succeeded. Toyota Motors is responsible for total quality management or TQM, receiving numerous awards for quality management, such as the Japan Quality Control Award and the Deming Application Prize. The TQM strategy at Toyota is based on the Kaizen or customer first concept that stands for continuous improvement, as well as total participation that refers to input and involvement of all its workers. The Creative Idea Suggestion System, for example, seeks to encou rage and support employees in contributing effectively to quality development at the company. The Toyota’s production System has also resulted in quality improvement for work and products. In addition, the Toyota Way, established in 2001, is composed of continuous improvement, also referred to as Kaizen, which strives eliminate overproduction and waste, as well as to allow employees to suggest appropriate changes. Other techniques under Kaizen include eliminating employee fears to report issues, eliminating mistakes through a root cause analysis, eliminating transport and mistakes, creating a satisfying relationship with customers, and using mathematical and intellectual rationalization to create long-term solutions. Integrated marketing communications have been defined as a planning process that is designed to make sure that the customer receives brand contacts for a service, product, or organization that relevant and consistent over time to that customer.

Walmart Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Walmart Company - Research Paper Example While the Walmart itself denies most of these charges, it does agree that these unethical practices may be happening at the store level without the knowledge of the top management. However, Walmart continues to prevent unionization of its workers which means that the employees are more vulnerable than employees of other organizations (Paul, 2012). Walmart is also found to discriminate against female workers as it follows an implicit policy of hiring mostly male workers (Kampf, 2007). However, I think the discrimination is more within the store where the female employees may be given lesser salaries and incentives and where they may not be given any opportunities to get promoted or move ahead in their careers. There have been several cases of sexual discrimination against the company which indicates that this discrimination is a fact. In fact, there is a class action suit pending related to sexual discrimination based on statistics and data collected from Walmart’s stores world wide, and this could result in billions of dollars of money lost for the company. The only answer that Walmart seems to have is that again, the top management was not aware of any discriminatory practices that may be happening at the store level. However, by simply stating that the top management was not aware of the unethical practices at the store level, the top management should not be allowed to shun responsibility. In fact, by stating that the top management is unaware of what happens at the store level.

Child Pornography, an International Perspective Essay

Child Pornography, an International Perspective - Essay Example This paper further denotes that the development of technology, especially in video and computer technology has accelerated the growth of child pornography. In defining the term child pornography, this paper denotes that different countries have their own criteria of defining it. A contributing factor to the disparities in the definition of Child pornography is the standards set for defining a child. For instance, UNCRC defines a child as an individual aged 18 years and below. The paper has managed to give the definition of child pornography as the reproduction of a sexually explicit image of a child. It also distinguishes child erotica, from child pornography. It defines child erotica as materials that aid in child pornography, such as toys, sexually implicit manuals, and children clothing’s. This paper identifies boys and girls, irrespective of their ages as the victims of child pornography. According to this paper, a large percentage of children exploited through child porno graphy are male. Most of these children are poor and disabled, making them vulnerable to the exploitations. People who exploit children in a sexual manner come from the larger community, and influential members of the society are included. Most of these people are pedophiles, and they are always heterosexual. They are always attracted to any aspects of child pornography, from their production, to consumption. This problem is accelerated by the emergence of technology, especially in video technology, computers, and the internet. Computer system has made it possible for pedophiles to hunt their victims through social sites such as inter relay chat. This paper identifies countries where child pornography flourished, and it identifies countries such as Japan, United States of America, Holland, and Sweden as the main centers of the production of child pornographic materials. It denotes that tourism also played a major role in enhancing child pornography, and this is with the emergence of sex tourism. Most victims of sex tourism were found in third world countries such as Thailand. According to this paper, there are various uses of child pornography, and they are; I. To sexually arouse and gratify the offender. II. To justify and validate the pornographic behavior. III. To sexually seduce the child. IV. To preserve the child age of sexual preference. V. To blackmail the child in order to keep him or her quiet on the sexual experiences he or she has passed through. VI. For business purposes. VII. As a method of building trust with other sexual offenders. VIII. In order to gain access to other pornographic markets. On this basis therefore, child pornography contributes to a large extent to the exploitation and molestation of children. However, the paper denotes that this statement can be debated further. Child pornography can affect a child in two ways, namely through exposure to the pornography itself, and through filming of the child. Child pornography, affects the behavior of children in regard to their sexual believes, violence and force. They portray emotional withdrawal, anxiety and fear, and mood swings. These children are also at risk of becoming pedophiles, and sexual perpetrators at their adult hood. Because of these negative impacts of child porno

Walmart Company Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Walmart Company - Research Paper Example While the Walmart itself denies most of these charges, it does agree that these unethical practices may be happening at the store level without the knowledge of the top management. However, Walmart continues to prevent unionization of its workers which means that the employees are more vulnerable than employees of other organizations (Paul, 2012). Walmart is also found to discriminate against female workers as it follows an implicit policy of hiring mostly male workers (Kampf, 2007). However, I think the discrimination is more within the store where the female employees may be given lesser salaries and incentives and where they may not be given any opportunities to get promoted or move ahead in their careers. There have been several cases of sexual discrimination against the company which indicates that this discrimination is a fact. In fact, there is a class action suit pending related to sexual discrimination based on statistics and data collected from Walmart’s stores world wide, and this could result in billions of dollars of money lost for the company. The only answer that Walmart seems to have is that again, the top management was not aware of any discriminatory practices that may be happening at the store level. However, by simply stating that the top management was not aware of the unethical practices at the store level, the top management should not be allowed to shun responsibility. In fact, by stating that the top management is unaware of what happens at the store level.

Industrial revoloution Essay Example for Free

Industrial revoloution Essay How bad were the living conditions for the poor in the newly industrialised towns and cities of the 1840s In the 1840s, there was a lot of pollution, and there was little regulation of what was put into the river or the air. The houses for 1840s workers were built very poorly. They were usually made by the factory owners at minimum cost. They were made either one brick, or half a brick thick, and only consisted of one room. There were no indoor lavatories, therefore the workers were left with only two ways to go to the toilet. The first way was to walk up the road and use the toilets at either end of the blocks. Once there they would deposit their body waste into the cess pool via a wooden bench. Flies lived on the walls of the cess pool. They were nourished by the molecules of excretion in the air. There toilets would be shared by as many as 160 people, sometimes more. The cess pool would empty itself into the river, but sometimes market gardeners who would go down into the cess pit to use the filth inside as fertiliser for their garden. Occasionally, young children would drop into the cess pit, never to be seen again. The second way of going to the toilet was to simply do it out of a window. The body waste which was left on the streets was called night mud. Sometimes when it rained, the night mud would slip underneath your door and end up in your house. Sometimes the night mud would be placed in your house on purpose by people being malicious. People did not have the type of water supply we have today. They did not have instant running water in their houses, instead they had to collect their water from standpipes in the street. These standpipes had clean water which could be pumped out, as it wasnt safe to drink from the river, but water only came to a street, via these standpipes, every other day. Yet, there were also water seller who would sell bottles of supposedly, clean water, although no one ever found out where the water came from. People in the 1840s were afraid to leave their houses for an extended period  of time. The reason for this is that as soon as you leave you house for over a day, it would be used as a toilet. This meant that people who got new jobs in factories would have to clean out there new houses of all of the muck left there by their fellow workers. In the 1840s, living conditions were much worse than nowadays, due to the lack of both appropriate sanitary provisions and constant running water, but people of 1840s would have found those conditions normal. What we think of as clean would have probably been considered impossible in those days.

Forensic Analysis Of A Playstation 3 Console Information Technology Essay

Forensic Analysis Of A Playstation 3 Console Information Technology Essay researching all the information that is available to me about the playstation 3 gaming system, from what the console connects to, the file structure of the hard disk, what features the system has e.g. internet, chat, email, online gaming. The deliverable that will be present at the end of this would be detailed research about the gaming system with everything that is needed to know to progress with the project. 2.2 Analysis the objective that I have for my analysis is to perform all the tasks that I have talked about (playing online games etc) then after each of these stages will then make an image of the hard disk of the system and look at the image in FTK to see if any changes have been made to the disk after the task has been completed. To illustrate an example of this would be to start a chat message with someone, then turn off the system remove the hard disk, image the hard disk, then load the image into FTK and look to see if any traces of the chat are present on the hard disk (date/time stamps). When writing up the findings of the investigation a document will be presented with all the processes went through, what tools used. The deliverable that I expect to have at the end of this objective would be disk images of the various tasks with a detailed report of my findings and a document showing all processes and tools used, and also a set of guidelines of how I found the evidence on t he system. If no evidence can be found on the HDD of the console then other areas of analysis will have to be explored from using different tools such as scalpel and photorec and also using different types of hardware like Bus Doctor. 2.3 Evaluation the objective for the evaluation is to forensically wipe the hard disk to the Playstation 3 system that was used, then giving this along with my guidelines and tasks completed to another person. The other person will go ahead and complete the series of tasks that were previously performed on the system, follow the guidelines and see if the they can find the same evidence as previously found, if the person can find the evidence that is in my guidelines then this proves that the guidelines created are correct. The deliverable at the end of this objective would be the test data of the other person which will then be written up, to show whether my guidelines are correct/incorrect. 3. Why gaming systems are an issue. In the recent years games systems have evolved immensely allowing the gamer to experience more realistic graphics and sound quality. This is because the systems have been updated to such a high standard some of what like a standalone computer, giving the user a lot more gigabyte/terabyte storage space, because of this the user has more room to store data on the disk whether it be images, videos or music. In relation to this the old Ps3 systems that were first released had the option to add another OS (operating system) on the hard drive so you could have Linux running on the system this means that the system can be used as a normal machine, Sony have no disabled this feature on the most current firmware of the console. A news report that was found on the ABC news website (http://abcnews.go.com/technology/story?id=7009977page=1) describes of how a user used his Playstation 3 system to get a young girl aged 11 to send dirty pictures of herself from her Playstation to his. It also says how the criminal threw his computer out as he didnt need it anymore. Using this example that has been found shows how criminals are adapting to the new technology and using it to their advantage to commit crimes. The growth of these gaming consoles means that they are more like a standalone computer coming standard with massive hard drives and encryption on the disks meaning that as forensics examiners it makes it harder to retrieve data from some of these devices and takes longer for the imaging process to complete. In regard to a forensic examiner the game systems are a big problem because the development of the consoles have evolved over the years and now contain multiple CPUs and graphics cards, and with the onboard storage that the same of a desktop computer users are able to save their pictures, music and video to these devices. Also using the features of the console from downloading and install the most current firmware and streaming media from a different network location. With the Playstation 3 you create a user/s for use with machine, so when the system is turned on it asks which user you would like to sign in as. With relation to the Xbox 360 console where hacking communities have found loopholes which allow the Xbox console to run unsigned code which means that the Linux OS can be booted up onto the machine allowing this console to be used just like a desktop PC. If Linux can be booted up onto the machine then this means it could be used for illegal usage example (file storage), although the first release of the Playstation 3 allowed this feature Sony have now stopped the boot of Linux and other Operating systems on its machines, but if a hack or loophole was found in their security then this would mean that this system could be used for malicious ways just like and Xbox or standalone PC. A post from January 26th, 2010 explains how hacker George Hotz has hacked the PS3 he revealed on his blog that he has achieved read/write access to the entire system memory and HV level access to the processor. If this is true then this means that the playstation can be used to run unsigned code and other o perating systems can be loaded onto the device, meaning that full desktop usage can be applied storing all kinds of information on the system. Also the Jailbreak that was leaked online was able to fool the system into thinking that a game was being played from a Blu-ray disc, but it was actually playing from the HDD, this could only be the start, people are making small but beneficial steps into fully hacking the Playstation 3 console. 4. Research 4.1 About the Playstation 3 The project that will be created will be about the analysis of the hard disk drive of a Playstation 3 console which is the most up to date console alongside the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii. The Sony Playstation which is the next step in the gaming world provides the gamer with a new console to experience the most up to date graphics and high definition games and movies with the help of the consoles Blu ray drive. Since the console release in November 2006 the unit has sold over 38.1 million worldwide according to (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/ps3-has-sold-38-1m-units-worldwide). Since the release of the console there have been many different models of the system from USB ports, Flash card readers and hard drive support, this means that the system and its components are always changing. All the games and movies that the console play are in the format of Blu ray this mean that the content that you are playing or watching are in the high definition format giving a more crystal clear picture and sound. 4.2 Online gaming. DSCI0056.JPG FIGURE 1 Picture of Playstation Store menu. The Playstaion 3 system offers the use of the internet whether it is a wired or wireless connection, because of this it is giving the user full access to the World Wide Web meaning they can access all the information that they would access on a standalone computer from social networking sites, videos, pictures etc. While playing games on the console you have the option on many games to play online this gives the user the capability to play the game of choice with other users of the game all over the world. To be able to do this you need to have a multiplayer capable of online game play, you must also have a Playstation network account which will give you access to other users and also need the Playstation to be connected to the wired/wireless internet. You can also create a Playstation network account where users are able to play online games with any person/s all over the world, they can add buddies and stay in close contact with the people they meet online either by email or chat. Because of the email and chat facilities available on the console it is just like a social networking site where people are able to exchange information with each other and possible pictures and other bits of material that can be deemed as illegal or offensive. The console also comes with full internet access via the browser the user can access any website that he/she wishes from the console and even downloading images, videos to the consoles hard disk drive. 4.3 The Hard disk. The hard disk in the Playstation 3 can come in various sizes from 40gb all the way up to a massive 320gb (factory), but there is an option to easily remove and replace the hard disk of the system, this can be done by purchasing a 2.5 5400rpm SATA hard drive which is the same hard disk used in laptop computers. To replace the hard drive of the system photocopies of the instruction manual are below. img013.jpg img014.jpg img015.jpg After these steps have been completed you then have a new HDD in your system whether it is a higher or lower capacity. Because the hard disk of the console is the same as the ones that they store in laptop computers the capacity of these disks can be great allowing a great deal of information such as images, videos or music to be stored on the disk to view with the console. A website was found (http://dcemu.co.uk/psgroove-payload-released-that-decrypts-firmware-files-by-graf_chokolo-346424.html) Where Graf_Chokolo has released a version of PSGroove payload, this allows the developers to see full details of the PS3 system firmware complete with decrypted contents. Graf_Chokolo goes onto to explain how to put the source code onto the system, he goes onto explain that my payload has two stages. The 1st stage is actually a PSGroove payload, which initializes the gelic device and allocates memory needed for the 2nd stage. Compile the 1st stage binary, convert it to C hex array and replace the PSGroove payload. (Appendix 16) Graf_Chokolo goes on to explain the second stage, this stage decrypts the CORE_OS_PACKAGE.pkg from a PUP file, it then runs some isolated SPU module or dumps FLASH, the binary of the file is then sent over the Ethernet with sendfile. The 1st stage receives the data and then stores it in a memory region of size 64kb, after the upload is complete, the 1st stage code jumps to the 2nd stage code and executes it. (Appendix 16) Another piece of information from this website is to be able to decrypt packages from a PUP file, first you need to extract a revoke list for the packages from PUP file 3.41 e.g. (RL_FOR_PACKAGE.pkg), then extract it convert it to C hex array and paste it into rvk_pkg_341.c. (Appendix 16) 4.4 Playstation 3 system updates With the use of the internet in the Playstation there is an option to keep the software of the system up to date this will provide you with the latest security updates, parental controls and the display options. By updating to the latest update you will enhance what the console is capable of. If you would like to find out the current software that your system is currently running you go to the settings category and then from there select system settings then system information within this the current system software will be displayed. You can update the current software of the system in a number of ways this is shown by the following methods. System update if the ps3 is connected to the internet got to settings then system update then click update via the internet the console will then check to see if there is an update available for the console if there is an update available it will download and install the update for you. There is also another option to update via the pc this is done by visiting the website eu.playstation.com you then follow the on screen instructions to download to the pc. After the download has finished you will then need to save the update to a ps3 compatible device either a memory stick/duo, USB drive or even a PSP console. Before putting the update into the system you will have to create a folder called PS3 then a folder called UPDATE once it has then been connected to the system you then navigate to system update then update via storage media. By allowing or accepting the system update new security can be put in place on the system, because Sony regularly release new firmware updates for the console the security of the device is constantly being updated. 4.5 Specifications Below are the specifications of the Playstation console. CPU Cell Broadband Engine GPU RSX Audio Output LPCM 7.1ch, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby True HD, DTS, DTS-HD, AAC Memory 256MB XDR Main RAM, 256MB GDDR3 VRAM Hard disk 2.5 serial ATA 320GB Inputs/Outputs Hi-speed USB, USB 2.0 Networking Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 100BASE-T) x 1 IEEE 802.11 b/g Bluetooth 2.0 (EDR) Controller Wireless controller Bluetooth Resolution 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 576p, 576i HDMI OUT connector 1 AV MILTI OUT connector 1 DIGITAL OUT connector 1 BD/DVD/CD drive Read rate BD x 2 (BD-ROM) DVD x 8 (DVD-ROM) CD x 24 (CD-ROM) Power AC 200 -240 v, 50 / 60 HHHHz Power consumption Approx 230w External Dimensions Approx 290 x 65 x 290mm Mass Approx 3.0kg Operating temperature 5 35 degrees The Playstation 3 Console also includes RSA BSAFE Cryptographic software from RSA security Inc. RSA BSAFE software provides the security functionality necessary to allow developers to meet the stringent FIPS 140 and Suite Requirements for offering products to the U.S. government agencies. (Appendix 18) Many leading companies including Adobe, Oracle, Hypercom, Skyworks, Sony and Nintendo rely on RSA BSAFE software to provide the foundational security functionality by their respective software and device applications. (Appendix 18) RSA security protects the integrity and confidentiality of information throughout his lifecycle, RSA offers industry leading solutions in identity assurance and access control, encryption key management, compliance and security information management and fraud protection. (Appendix 18) http://www.rsa.com/node.aspx?id=1204 4.6 File Sharing The Playstation 3 console also allows the ability for you to share files via the console and your desktop computer, to be able to do this you need to make sure that both your computer and console are connected to the same network. If you would like to stream all the media from your windows media player like music, videos and pictures. You can do this by going into tools and options of windows media player and selecting library, then configure sharing you then check the box that says share my media to and your Playstation 3 will be in the list. In the settings tab of this you can then select which media that you wish to share music, pictures, video you then click ok. If you then turn on the console you will then see thumbnails of the compatible media that can be played on the system. http://www.wirelesshdadapter.com/wp-content/uploads/Media%20Server%20Ps3%20Software_2.jpg (Appendix 17) 4.7 previous work While completing research to find out if any other analysis of the Playstation console was carried out a paper was found published by the University of Central Florida where they conducted a Forensic Analysis of a Sony Playstation 3 Console, where they conducted a number of tests on the machine to see if any of the data could be extracted from the console. The tests that they completed where the following; An encryption test this test was to determine if it was possible to locate a picture once it had been copied to the console. The steps they took in completing this were to copy a image to a removable media, then plug this into the console and copy the image to the hard drive of the system, shut the console down and the image the hard drive. The next stage was to analyse the hard drive in FTK using its use of a data carving feature to see if the picture could be carved out of the image, although stated that FTK was unsuccessful in identifying files and folders on the partition (Appendix 6), even though only one tool was used while completing this task if other tools were used then maybe a different outcome would be found the tools that could be used alongside FTK to find the image could be scalpel or Photorec which are both data carving tools. The paper also talks about a write blocker test, where the hard drive was placed behind a write blocker before connecting the hard disk to the console, the consoles hard disk was then removed then placed behind a write blocker, then plugged into the console, the console was then turned on and they found that the console would power up but not boot up, by replacing the write blocker with a bridge the console was to power and boot up as normal. (Appendix 6) The test result then explains that the console must be able to write to the hard drive before it will boot up, though it also shows that the hard drive does not have to be directly connected to the console (Appendix 6) regarding the result of this test a write blocker cannot be placed between the hard drive and the console or the console will not boot up. Although many other tests were performed on the console all the test results were inconclusive or negative form this paper, they concluded in the end that Sony has successfully locked-down the PS3 By using other tools that are an alternative to FTK, these tools might be able to identify something that FTK is unable to do thus providing more information to data on the HDD of the console. Another paper called Xbox 360: A digital forensic investigation of the hard disk drive (Appendix 4) was written with details and findings of the hard disk drive of the Xbox 360, where a USB drive was plugged into the machine and using Bus Doctor to analyse what was being written between the Xbox console are the hard disk drive. And states that it is seamless and not as intrusive as mod chipping or installing other operating systems (Appendix 4). This method could be applied to the Playstation 3 console to see what is being written between the console and the hard disk drive of the Sony console. 4.8 Playstation 3 security architecture A pdf file was found that detailed the security architecture of the Playstation console, http://www.ps3news.com/PS3-Dev/playstation-3-security-architecture-pdf-released/ , the paper details that the system controller for the console if CXD2973GB and this is the hardware that is responsible for powering up the CBEA processor and it is directly connected via BIO/IF hardware bus. The console also contains a secure boot the secure boot of the CBEA includes random selected SPE in order to avoid sniffing per boot, a fake encryption/decryption state in all other SPE during secure boot to add fake sequence, a root key which is used to then decrypt the key vault and or the boot code (Appendix 15). The key vault of the Playstation 3 is an encrypted file containing all the keys to trust devices and processes, hard disk AES keys (Appendix 15). 5. Summary The research that has taken place shows all the relevant information about the Playstation 3 console, explaining what the machine allows you to do and how to update the firmware of the system. Although the system seems to be very secure, the images taken will be analysed to see if any relevant data can be taken from the disk these will be the objectives previously proposed, failing finding anything on the images of the HDD the console will be connected up to Bus Doctor a protocol analyser to see what is happening when the system is booted up and what data can be captured. Although a paper has been written on the analysis of the Playstation 3 console (appendix 6) new hardware and software have come to market since the paper was written in 2009, the PS3 Jailbreak has made its way by being able to run unsigned code on the console and giving the user power to copy games to the hard drive of the console. 6. Future Work/Where next After and image of the Playstation HDD was taken, it was then loaded into FTK forensic toolkit where the contents of the disk was looked at. After loading it into the software immediately it could be noticed that the hard disk was encrypted, searches were completed to see if any string of text and data carved items could be found on the disk the result was negative. More images of the hard disk will be taken when performing tasks then loaded into the FTK toolkit program if no strings of text can be found another approach will have to take place, the use of other programs that are available Scalpel and Photorec can be used to identify any interesting information on the HDD of the console. Another approach would be to try and capture what is going on with the system when it is booted up because the encryption must be deactivated when the system is booted up to allow the system access to the hard disk. The other data carving tools that could be used in combination with FTK will be scalpel and photorec. Scalpel which reads the database of the header and the footer definitions and extracts matching files from a set of image files or raw device. Scalpel will carve files from FATx, NTFS, ext2/3 or raw partitions. (Appendix 12) Photorec which is a data recovery tool to recover lost files on hard disks and other media, Photorec ignores the file system of the media and goes after the underlying data, so the software will still work if the medias file system has been severely damaged or reformatted.(Appendix 13). Bus Doctor which allows to capture what is being called/written to the hard disk when the console has been turned on this can provide good information to find out what is happening when the console is turned on. during the research a website was found that describes how the psjailbreak now supports 3.42 and 3.50, which allows the user to run unapproved content on the system (pirated games), and also allows for the running of the Linux OS on the system. They sister site of this company (www.psdowngrade.com) allows the downgrading of the firmware of the system, if the psjailbreak is applied to the console maybe the decryption key can be found and then lead to the decryption of the HDD of the system. This could be done by plugging in the psjailbreak and finding out what calls it makes to the system and possibly the decryption can be found from this method. Another method would be to connect the Playstation system up to a protocol analyser (busdoctor) this will capture what data is written when the system is booted up.