Launching Brazilian Carnival Coffee in the USA Term Paper

Launching Brazilian Carnival Coffee in the USA - Term Paper Example Talking in more broader terms, it can be said that from the benefits point of view, right from the early days of this decade, there has been a tremendous boom in technology with the evolution and widespread diffusion of internet connectivity which has significantly helped in the process of eliminating the difference arising from geographical barriers as well as regional time differences. This has automatically led to the rise in competition in various market places around the world, since the countries have become easily available to operate and work with, because of the high level of secured connectivity provided through the usage of various technological devices connected through the internet. On the challenge perspective, it can be said that due to the ease of access to various countries around the globe, business organizations of various countries around the world are focusing on the process of expanding their business processes around the world and thereby achieve significant gr owth in the business process. Talking in that particular aspect, it can be said that the increasing interest of various multinational organizations around the world to enter in newer markets which provides significant growth potential in future is resulting to the opening of various markets by the process of lowering of interest rates, which is helping in attracting foreign investments in the emerging and newer markets. This factor along with various other economical, social and physical factors which are focused in the process of attracting investments is playing a direct role in the rise of challenges for operating in new environments and markets. While talking about entering new markets, it can be said that there is a culture factor that plays a major role in the process of determining the probability of success for a product in a particular market. Talking from the culture point of view, it can be said that as a result of the prolonged economic crisis of the West, which continue s to hamper the economic prospects of US by the process of slowing of demand of products and services, the population of the US is focusing on working overtime as well as balancing multiple jobs in an attempt to manage their cost expenses as well as maintain their lifestyle in these challenging times (*). As a natural fact, the population of US is highly dependent on a stimulating drink, which will help them in giving more output, and thereby will be ability to increase individual productivity. From the statistical aspect, it can be said that the US has a population of over 313,000,000 (Cia.gov, 2012). Talking in terms of defining coffee consumption trends in the US, it can be said that over 50% of the entire population of US are dependent on some variants of coffee, which makes up an essential part of their daily life (Harvard School of Public Health, 2009). The coffee consumption in the US has increased over 7% on a year on year basis in the year 2012 (ncausa.org b, 2012). Apart f rom the realization of the various health related benefits that coffee consumers gets, the increase in coffee consumption in the US market can be further attached to the process of increased coffee intake of coffee consumers belonging to the Hispanic communities of the US (ncausa a.org, 2012). Analyzing the country in terms of customs laws that will be applicable for the purpose of importing and international sourcing of coffee in the US, it can

Conflict And Functionalist Theories In Religion Sociology Essay

Conflict And Functionalist Theories In Religion Sociology Essay The difference between conflict and functionalist theories on religion are: *Conflict theory refers to religion as the sigh of the oppressed creature, the sentiment of a heartless world, and the soul of the soulless condition. It is the opium of the people. Functionalism is a structural-consensus perspective that views society as a system. As its name implies this theory seeks to define the separate institutions of society in terms of how they function to maintain the social system. It should be noted that sociological research into religion does not attempt to reveal the mysteries of the supernatural, however whilst seeking to understand the role of religion within society some theorists have been drawn to rather unfaithful conclusions. Emile Durkheim, the founding father of functionalism, claimed that all societies divide the world into the sacred and the profane. He observed that even seemingly ordinary objects, for instance a wooden cross, could provoke deep emotions, though they held no intrinsic power. For Durkheim the significance of such objects was symbolic, and for Durkheim the wooden cross did not represent sacrifice and eternal salvation, as with all religious iconography it represented the collective conscience, the shared set of beliefs that bind society together. One common way to define religion is to focus on what are known as functional definitions: these are definitions which emphasize the way religion operates in human lives. When constructing a functional definition is to ask what a religion does usually psychologically or socially. Functional definitions are so common that most academic definitions of religion can be categorized as either psychological or sociological in nature. Psychological definitions focus upon the ways in which religion plays a role in the mental, emotional, and psychological lives of believers. Sometimes this is described in a positive way (for example as a means of preserving mental health in a chaotic world) and sometimes in a negative way (for example as with Freuds explanation of religion as a type of neurosis). Functionalists argue that the role of religion is to preserve the status quo rather than to promote social change. They agree that religion is a beneficial conservative force because it maintains consensus, binds people together and promotes social order. They however see it as having a positive influence, whereas the Marxist view is somewhat more negative in its outlook. (Especially when looking at social change) It is impossible to see how religion can be functioning to socialise the majority of societies members into morality, and integration in the 21st century, when only a minority of people attend church and of course when some of the attendees these days engage in anti moral and antisocial behaviour and to a large extent sizeable percentage of people especially the young teens are been exposed to some of these moral dangers. Having said this, it could be observed that functionalists tend to neglect the areas in which religion has been dysfunctional for society for example in Northern Ireland and Bosnia, religious divisions have caused disruption and conflict rather than promoted social order. Another pertinent point that can be argued is that the post modernist believes that the old sociological searches for the grand explanations of social behaviour and values are pointless. They believe there are no absolute truths, and values in society are only relative ones, this is due to the fact that society is more fragmented due to modernisation, and there are also various ideologies to choose from. Along with this added choice non-traditional beliefs and behaviours are being adopted. People now select their beliefs like they select lifestyles and leisure activities, a good example is the concept of consumerism. This shift away from the traditional has a huge impact on religion according to postmodernists. Religion no longer holds the role of promoting social solidarity and social order that the functionalists argue to be the case. Instead religion has become a personalised entity; it has become pick and mix in a sense. People are becoming more aware and open to new ideas; this could explain the growth in new religious movements. Religion has to shift according to the needs of the people in different social contexts. Theologically, from the bible for instance God recommended in the institution of marriage a unique and acceptable union between a man and a woman in the book of Genesis which has serve as a standard for a while in some part of the world but as a result of man insatiable quest for new ideas, experience and adventure we now have what we call gay marriage which many countries are now institutionalised and drafted into the constitutional right of the citizenry. Undoubtedly, religion had a prominent position in early functionalism. According to Comte, the macrofunctionalist, it prompted simple folk to serve unseen purposes that even clever scholars could barely detect. Durkheim (1912) proposed that religion sacralised social life itself and, because the perspective of society was implicit in all cognition, religion thus served as the foundation of all knowledge. The micro functionalist Malinowski (1948 [1925]) observed that religion established, fixed, and enhanced individual attitudes that were valuable to the collective existence and survival of societies-attitudes such as reverence for tradition, harmony with the environment, and courage in the struggle with difficulties and at the prospect of death. However, many of these functions that used to be the hallmark of religion could no longer uphold the central pillar of the society canon that seems to be falling apart or perhaps, eroding. The Irish society can be cited as an example of a dedicated religious state for many decades, which as a result serve as a way of modelling and tailoring people in a particular direction of social values and norms but unfortunately in todays world all of these norms and values are eroding speedily and consequently peoples way is now perverse, the act of terrorism is now a lifestyle, statistic has revealed alarming rate of people committing or about to commit suicide due to issues related to emotion stress and financial issues just to mention a few, basically these are some of the hole that religion used to fill perfectly in the heart of people. Edit- Nevertheless, it is also true that from the fundamental perspective that religion could relieve social anxiety, that it could provide a sense of security when people are faced with uncontrollable situations. Malinowski observed that when the islanders fished in the calm lagoon, no religious practice was attached, however when faced with the perils of fishing in the open ocean, religious rituals were always performed. In this way, Malinowski believed humans could exert a perceived control over a world in which they held no significant, individual, power. Apparently, this is not really the case anymore why because the greatest problem of insecurity that is most imminent all over the world now can be traced to the fragmented religion sect been propagated Islamic fundamentalist which has changed the world order and shaped how we lived our lives tremendously and consequently create a tense and uneasy atmosphere rather than the secure, hopeful and serene expectations postulated by functionalist school of thoughts. Perhaps the most extreme functionalist assessment of religion has been put forward by the American sociologist Robert Bellah. Bellah has fused Parsons argument that America derives its values from Protestantism and added that to Durkheims belief that the worship of god is the disguised worship of society creating the concept of a civil religion. Bellah believes that what unifies Americans, whichever religion they may be is an overarching civil religion; a faith in Americanism and not necessarily need not contain supernatural belief, Bellah maintains that in America it does. For instance God Bless America is a common phrase, American Presidents swear an oath before god and American currency pronounces to the world In God We Trust. However this god is not the god of any particular creed but a god of America. In this respect faith in America unites all the American peoples. CONCUSION In analyzing religion, functionalists argue that religions serve a number of functions, such as: they preserve and integrate society, create communities of believers, promote social control, provide answers to ultimate questions, provide us with rites of passage, and cultivate social change. Religions may also be dysfunctional in some respects. The conflict perspective suggests that religion is a tool used by the elite to subjugate the masses. The functionalist and conflict perspectives have a number of practical applications, such as providing a link to the understanding of an entire culture and learning much about a particular community. Not least Durkheims prediction of the cult of man. Certainly modern religious phenomena such as having a personal relationship with Jesus , religious trends such as Wicca or even the rise of the tele-evangelist are evidence that religion is becoming less social and more personal. Whether this is mere coincidence or proof of Durkheims prediction is at the very least debatable, but surely it is the human ability to question and wonder that initially gave rise to religion. Apparently, in the times past religion as the functionalist postulated as served as a unifying factor, dictator of status quo, canon of values, bind people together, promote social order and so on in many society but things are changing fast, religion has become so fragmented not only to the extent of eroding the social values that it stood for in the hands of radical fundamentalists to perpetrate terror in the name of religion but it has also facilitate uncountable exposure of people especially the young teens who are vulnerable to diverse moral dangers, the rapid cases of paedophiles across the western hemisphere is a good example. Basically, vast majority of people have lost faith and hope in what used to be a unifying force in the society, people have been wounded both emotionally and psychologically. Rather than binding people together and promoting social order, religion has left more people in a state of disillusioned. It can be aptly concluded that universal functional need can neither be served by religion nor can religion be the sole survival and sustainers of any system in a modern society as once believed by the functionalist scholars. People now have individualistic adorement as against the universal religion that used to determine the way be think, react and live in term of our value system an d one of such things is sport specifically football which has suddenly turned to some kind of god. Obviously, there is a paradign shift from the old values that used to hold any societal system together from the functionalist view to the modernistic era where technology and other things now determines value system.

The Night Of The Hunter: The Preacher Essay -- essays research papers

The Night of the Hunter: The Preacher   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When describing the preacher, John says, â€Å"His name is Harry Powell. But the names of his fingers are E and V and O and L and E and T and A and H and that story he tells about one hand being Hate and the other hand being Love is a lie because they are both hate and to watch them moving scares me worse than shadows, worse than the wind.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This description shows the absolute essence of the preacher's character in Davis Grubb's The Night of the Hunter. The preacher's real intentions are the hate of the left hand, and he rationalizes his evil through the false facade of the love of the right hand. Even though he may appear good and holy to some people, throughout the novel, he still has evil motives towards virtually everyone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In one of the preacher's dreams while he is in prison, he recalls an incident in which he rationalized an evil act by claiming it was God's will. After being solicited by a prostitute in Charleston, West Virginia, with the intention of killing her because of her â€Å"unholy† vocation, he takes her up to a room to murder her. Just as he is about to whip out the switchblade and fulfill his holy mission, he suddenly hears â€Å"God's† voice telling him not to bother because â€Å"there were too many of them.† At the moment when this revelation takes place, the woman of the night sees the preacher in the midst of taking out the knife, and she screa...

Microchips Essay

A human microchip is an integrated circuit device that is the size of a grain of rice implanted under the human skin. These implants are used for information storage, such as personal identification and medical history. They also have a GPS integrated that makes possible for individuals to be physically located when enable. People are uncertain if a microchip would be a good idea; the truth is that many people would benefit from this new technology. Humans should consider the microchip implant as a new form of protection. Microchips can help find lost or abducted children. Many children are abducted throughout the world and many are never found. Having a microchip in children arms can give parents peace and feeling of security. Imagine a child was abducted by a complete stranger and took off far from their home; instead of going to the police and filling a missing child report or sending out an Amber Alert, it would be much easier to just look at a computer or cellphone and let the police know the exact location of the child. In addition, the agony and sadness of not knowing children locations will be over. Some children incline to falsify their whereabouts when parents ask. The microchip can resolve that problem and parents would immediately know if their children are saying the truth or not. It can also prevent children from meeting with the wrong, not well behave people. Having control of children is the main responsibility of parents and the implant will ease this assignment. Finding lost or abduc ted children is one of the great features of the microchip. Microchips can save medical information. The microchip facilitates medical history to doctors in seconds. With this information, health professionals immediately will know the person background such as allergies, and illness they suffer. Having this information so quickly will permit doctors to prescribe procedures and right treatments faster. The microchip in humans will highly protect and save lives. For instance, a person was in a serious car accident and lost consciousness and the rescuers are not sure what allergies or other problems the person has. However, if that person had a microchip in his/her arm would be easier for paramedics because they will  scan the implant and the medical information from that person would appear in a computer. In addition, patients with Alzheimer’s disease can benefit for this new technology too. Since this patients don not remember much about themselves caregivers can take advantage of the implant and determine the right healthcare action for them. Storing medical information is the main function of the microchip. Some people believe that the microchip will not stop a child from being abducted. It is true that criminals will not stop their evil intentions just because the child happen to have a microchip in the arm; however, if abductors do not know about the existence of it, the child has more chances of walking out of that experience earlier than using just the police enforcement. Other people disagree that regardless if they can find the child, a crime has been committed and more than likely, the child is dead. In many of the situations when a child is abducted for a long period, this statement would be true; however, if the microchip is in the child arm they could be found either alive or dead, given ease to the families that the child was found. Some people also believe that the implant violates children privacy. Children are humans and have the right of privacy and freedom; nevertheless, parents are responsible legally and morally for children given them the right of knowing where and wh at are they doing. A microchip implant is something humans should consider for their own protection. These implants can make life easier and save them. Parents would feel safer if their children wear a microchip because they can localize them in minutes. The microchip would help healthcare professionals to save a person life much easier as it stores people’s medical records. Even though, some people disagree with the implant idea in humans because violates privacy, the pros outweigh the cons making life much enjoyable for all. People should not reject protection just because they think it can compromise their freedom.

Cost and Price Analysis

Cost and Price Analysis Instructor:Name: Class:Finance 230Date: Period:Results: 1)Why is it important for the government to exercise good fiscal judgment when spending funds? Government employees are held responsible for use of good judgment so those excessive prices are not paid. 2)List and describe four types of market based pricing. Be sure to provide at least one (1) example of each type. Competitive Offers – response to solicitation encouraging competing offers Established Catalog Price – Published by the seller in a regularly maintained catalog or price list Established Market Price – substantiated from sources independent of the seller: and are current sales prices established in the normal course of trade between buyers and sellers free to bargain in the market place. Established by Law or Regulation – customers are consistently impacted by the established prices. )List 3 reasons that government buyers have significant advantages in getting fair and reasonable prices. The government is the only buyer – which has a strong negotiating position on pricing. High volume purchase – suppliers like to deal with high volume buyers and are inclined to give better prices to such buyers. Anit-Deficiency Act – requires the government agencies have the money to pay for the contract work before signing the contract. 4)Compare and contrast cost, price and profit. Price refers to the amount of money that consumers have to give up to acquire goods or service. Profit is what ever monetary amount is left after all cost has been paid. 5)List and explain the two acceptable procedures for obtaining competitive prices. Sealed Bidding – A process by which government needs are made known by a solicitation called and Invitation for Bids (IFB). Negotiation is the contracting method that ma be used when sealed bidding is inappropriate. Competitive Proposals A process by which government needs are made known by a solicitation called a Request for Quotation (RFQ) 6)Compare and contrast cost and financial accounting. List two (2) examples each of conditions that warrant the use of cost and financial accounting procedures. Cost accounting – is a procedure which enables firms to keep track of the costs that apply to each individual contract or major task they under take. Ex cost acct. – estimate the cost of work before actually undertaking it. Financial accounting – is the accumulation of information that enables the firm to know how much total cost and profit they made in a particular period of time. Ex. 7)What are the three major classifications of costs? Reasonable, allowable, and allocable cost Variable fixed, and semi-variable cost Direct and indirect cost 8)Compare direct and indirect costs. Direct cost – direct labor, direct materials, and some other costs specifically associated with particular contracts are classified as direct costs. Indirect cost – are any cost that are not direct. Cost that apply across the board to large parts not conveniently chargeable to one particular contract. How does the government contracting officer ensure the costs are reasonable, allowable and allocable? Reasonable Cost – in its nature and amount, it does not exceed that which would be incurred by a prudent person in the conduct of a competitive business. Allowable Cost – allowability of a particular cost under cost principles must be determine using FAR Part 3. Each principle is based on laws and policies. The decision for determing allowable of a particular cost rest with the Contracting Officer. Allocable Costs – alloacable if I is assignable or chargeable to one or more cost objectives on the basis of relative benefits received or other equitable relationship. )When may certified cost or pricing data be required? The head of an agency shall require offerors, contractors, and subcontractors to make cost or pricing data available as follows: An offeror for a prime contract entered into using procedures other than sealed-bid procedures shall be required to submit cost or pricing data before the award of a contract if— in the case of a prime contract, the price of the contract to the is expected to exceed $500,000; and in the case of a prime contract entered into on or before, the price of the contract to the United States is expected to exceed $100,000. n the case of a change or modification made to a prime contract referred to in subparagraph the price adjustment is expected to exceed $500,000; in the case of a change or modification, to a prime contract that was entered , the price adjustment is expected to exceed $500,000; and in the case of a change or modification not covered by clause (i) or (ii), the price adjustment is expected to exceed $100,000. 10)If the government were to determine that significant overpricing occurred because of defective cost or pricing data, what options may the contracting officer explore prior to award? What may the contracting officer consider after award? The Truth in Negoatation Act – an examination of defective pricing in government contracting 11)Explain the level of importance associated with the detailed analysis of direct labor costs when determining a fixed-price contract. Price analysis shall be used when cost or pricing data are not required in determining the reasonableness of the prime contract price. Some firm-fixed-price contracts may entail substantially less cost risk than that of direct costs, such as material and labor, and associated indirect costs. 2)When determining proposed hourly wage rates, list three (3) options an offeror explore. Plantwide rate, Departmental Rate, and Rates by Labor Category 13)List, in comparison, what process improvements benefits realized from the learning curve and improvement curve. What are the expectations of each curve? Theroy called learning curve because it is belived thath learning workers caused most of the time saving, Studies showed that other factors, such as equipment and set-up improvements, also help reduce unit production time. It is called various names improvement curve, experience curve and time reduction curve. 14)How does a company effectively manage the overhead expense? What are the typical expenses included in overhead? Overhead expenses are those production and nonproduction costs not readily traceable to specific jobs or processes. Overhead expenses encompass three general areas: indirect materials, indirect labor, and all other miscellaneous production expenses, such as taxes, insurance, depreciation, supplies, utilities, and repairs. Therefore, overhead expense is part of the total costs of maintaining and staffing a business. 15)Categorize the following expenses as either Overhead or General & Administrative: a. Lease b. Entertainment Expense c. Travel Expense d. Payroll Expense e. Marketing Expense f. Mileage g. Professional Development h. Utilities i. Communications Expense j. Goodwill k. Research and Development Costs l. Taxes m. Patent Costs n. Bad Debts o. Lobbying and other Political Costs 16)The scrap allowance includes spoilage and shrinkage. List two (2) similarities and differences between the three categories. Scrape allowance is extra amount of material or parts required to be sure that enough material will be avaible to make the final product. Scrap is unadvoidable. Spoilage is a different from scrape because it is the direct result of someone making a mistake or a machine getting out of adjustment or a similar problem. Shrinkage is another factor. This can be the result of nature. 17)Explain the following concepts: a. Underabsorption under absorption is when the actual budgeted overhead is less than the planned overhead b. Overabsorption Occurrence of credit balance in factory-overhead account, resulting from excess of overhead applied to work-in-process inventory over the amount of overhead actually incurred. c. Exact Absorption The chances of absorbing the exact actual amount of overhead by a series of many customer billings throughout the year are nil. 18)Describe the following methods in conducting price analysis: a. Comparison of proposed prices received in response to the solicitation These methods consist of comparing offered prices to each other to decide which are reasonable b. Comparison of prior proposed prices and contract prices with current proposed prices Method most frequently used for government price analysis when agency has had a history of contracting for the same products or services. c. Comparison with competitive published price lists Catalogs are recognized as fairly reliable guides on current prices being paid by consumers in general. Established catalog or market price. The price paid for commercial items prices for items sold in substantial. Established catalog price, Established market price, and Price paid for Commercial items. . Visual Analysis FAR 5. 404-1(b) (4) says value analysis can give insight into the relative worth of a product, and government may use it in conjunction with other price analysis techniques. 20)Facilities cost of capital is allowable if the contractor's have which of the following: (a) Capital investment is measured, allocated to contracts and cost as required by CAS 414 (b) Contractor has adequate records to sho w compliance with CAS 414 (c) Estimated facilities capital cost of money is specifically proposed for the contract under which it is claimed (d) All of the above 1) Compare and contrast Distributed Facilities and Undistributed Facilities. Distributed facilities are those that are clearly and directly assigned to specific overhead or G accounts. Undistribute Facilities are facilities capital costs incurred for more than one indirect cost pool. The cost of these facilities must be allocated to the indirect cost pools that bebefit from them. 22) Facilities capital cost of money is an a. Allocatable cost b. Allowable cost c. Variable cost d. Imputed cost e. Both b and d 23). What does the acronym CASB mean in Facilities Capital Cost of Money a, Capital Accounting System Branch b. Cost Accounting Standards Board c. Cost Analysis Standards Board d. Both a & b 24) Which form is used to calculate the capital cost of money: a. Form CASB-CMF b. DD 1861 c. SF 182 d. All of the above. 25) In which (1) one of the three ways can a contract auditor assist the contracting officer in contract pricing? Reviewing and evaluating proposed or incurred costs 26) Contracting Officers will often ascertain that the contractor’s accounting system meets this requirement by commissioning a ______________________? Pre-award Survey of Prospective Contractor Accounting System ( PSPCAS) 27) Contract auditor is called on by a contracting officer to determine if the prospective contract meets what? Responsible financial capability standard of FAR 9. 104-1 28) What unsupported costs are proposed or incurred costs on which the auditor is unable to render an opinion? Regarding reasonable, allowability, or allocability. 29) What does the acronym DCAA mean? Defense contract Audit Agency 30) What is the total Cost Approach? How is it used? It shows all cost incurred in the original contract estimate and were the attributes to the contract were changed. It shows the government at fault and recognizes that neither the contractor nor any third party is at fault. 31) List the two principles that prevail in measuring equitable adjustment. Some cost impact must result from the contract change The contract and government are to remain whole. 32) Why is there a format for submitting proposals for equitable adjustments and when is it used. This formal procedures is a methodical way o document the calculation of the equitable adjustment. When contractors submit certified cost or pricing data if the expected value of the contract modification exceeds $650,00. 00. 33) What is the name of the formula that is widely used when computing unabsorbed overhead resulting from government caused delays? Eichleay Formula 34) How can contractors segregate the cost of performing changed work? They usually assign specials accounting codes to the transactions attributed to the changed work. 35) What is the main misconception about profit and fee? Negotiated profit or fee is what the contractor will actually get. 6) What three major requirements must government contracting officers adhere to according to the Contracting Officer Responsibilities (FAR 15. 404-4)? Profit fee Pre-negotiation objective, Facilities Capital Cost of Money, Statutory Limitations of Prices or Fees 37) Name six major factors bearing on profit levels for government contracts. Contractor Effort, Contract cost rack, Federal Socioeconomic programs, Capital Investmen ts, Cost Control and other Past Accomplishments, Independent Development. 38) What is the general approach used by all the structured profit systems. The structured profit systems establish a total profit objective by adding profit increments for various major cost inputs and for other contract factors. 39) What are the major categories listed under the approach of Profit Determination – Overhead? High skill supervision, clerical and support, depreciation or rent (complex) depreciation or rent (routine), fringe benefits administrative, routine expense, and total overhead costs. 40) List three important factors that every business must consider before doing business with the government.