Finding Conditions for Factor Returns and Scale Returns

A factor return is the return attributable to a particular common factor, or an element that influences many assets which can include factors like market capitalization, dividend yield, and risk indices, to name a few. Returns to scale, on the other hand, refer to what happens as the scale of production increases over the long term as all inputs are variable. In other words, scale returns represent the change in output from a proportionate increase in all inputs. To put these concepts into play, lets take a look at a production function with a factor returns and scale returns practice problem. Factor Returns and Returns to Scale Economics Practice Problem Consider the production function Q KaLb. As an economics student, you may be asked to find conditions on a and b such that the production function exhibits decreasing returns to each factor, but increasing returns to scale. Lets look at how you might approach this. Recall that in the article Increasing, Decreasing, and Constant Returns to Scale that we can easily answer these factor returns and scale returns questions by simply doubling the necessary factors and doing some simple substitutions. Increasing Returns to Scale Increasing returns to scale would be when we double all factors and production more than doubles. In our example we have two factors K and L, so well double K and L and see what happens: Q KaLb Now lets double all our factors, and call this new production function Q Q (2K)a(2L)b Rearranging leads to: Q 2abKaLb Now we can substitute back in our original production function, Q: Q 2abQ To get Q 2Q, we need 2(ab) 2. This occurs when a b 1. As long as ab 1, we will have increasing returns to scale. Decreasing Returns to Each Factor But per our practice problem, we also need decreasing returns to scale in each factor. Decreasing returns for each factor occurs when we double only one factor, and the output less than doubles. Lets try it first for K using the original production function: Q KaLb Now lets double K, and call this new production function Q Q (2K)aLb Rearranging leads to: Q 2aKaLb Now we can substitute back in our original production function, Q: Q 2aQ To get 2Q Q (since we want decreasing returns for this factor), we need 2 2a. This occurs when 1 a. The math is similar for factor L when considering the original production function: Q KaLb Now lets double L, and call this new production function Q Q Ka(2L)b Rearranging leads to: Q 2bKaLb Now we can substitute back in our original production function, Q: Q 2bQ To get 2Q Q (since we want decreasing returns for this factor), we need 2 2a. This occurs when 1 b. Conclusions and Answer So there are your conditions. You need ab 1, 1 a, and 1 b in order to exhibit decreasing returns to each factor of the function, but increasing returns to scale. By doubling factors, we can easily create conditions where we have increasing returns to scale overall, but decreasing returns to scale in each factor. More Practice Problems for Econ Students: Elasticity of Demand Practice ProblemAggregate Demand Aggregate Supply Practice Problem

Apartheid in South Africa - 1656 Words

During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. -- Nelson Mandela -- 20 April 1964. Rivonia trial Historical Background South Africa is a land of abundant natural resources, mild climate, and fertile lands. Their resources range from diamond and gold to platinum and their land is fertile enough to feed the rest of the world if cultivated intensively. Yet many†¦show more content†¦If Blacks were caught with family members who did not have the permission to be in the area, they were arrested and imprisoned, once spotted by the inspectors. The Population Registration Act, also in 1950, required that all Africans were classified into three categories according to race. These were Black, Colored, or White, and the government made these classifications according to a person’s habits, education, appearance, and manner. Rules were given according to race and had to be followed to prevent dire consequences. The Bantu Authorities Act, 1951, assigned all Africans to their native land. This stole power away from the Africans, and instead allowed them to vote solely within their homeland. This allowed the denationalization of Africans possible. The Bantu Education Act applied apartheid to the educational system. The education of Whites, Blacks, and Colored was separately administered and financed. The Abolition of Passes and Coordination of Documents Act, 1952, required all Africans to carry a pass-book, similar to a passport. The pass-book contained all personal information, such as name, photograph of holder, fingerprints, and also gave a detailed explanation on where a person could be employed, and their performance at work. If Africans did not obey the rules, they were kicked out from the area, and their crime would be reported in their pass-books. The penalty for not carrying the book at all times was also severe, rangingShow MoreRelatedThe Apartheid Of South Africa1174 Words   |  5 PagesSome periods in human history are simply shameful. The period of apartheid policy in South Africa was one of these times. Apartheid featured a rebirth of racist legislature in South Africa from the 1950s to the 1990s. Essentially, these laws treated people who were not white as completely separate from society; the term apartheid literally means â€Å"apartness.† The nation al legislature in South Africa wanted to suppress blacks and ensure a white supremacy in the government. Basically, politicalRead MoreSouth Africa Apartheid And Oppression1695 Words   |  7 Pages South Africa Apartheid (oppression) Oppression is at the root of many of the most serious, enduring conflicts in the world today. Racial and religious conflicts; conflicts between dictatorial governments and their citizens; the battle between the sexes; conflicts between management and labor; and conflicts between heterosexuals and homosexuals all stem, in whole or in part, to oppression. It’s similar to an article in south africa that people have with racial segregationRead MoreApartheid and The Future of South Africa in Cry, The Beloved Country1044 Words   |  5 Pagesall characters from Alan Paton’s book, Cry, The Beloved Country, are used to share Paton’s points of view on the future of South Africa and the apartheid. Paton uses these characters to represent specific views; Arthur expresses clearly that the apartheid isn’t the right way to progress as a country, Napoleon exemplifies how Paton thinks people should take the anti-apartheid effort, and Msimangu explicitly expresses Patonâ €™s ideas of an ideal leader. Arthur Jarvis was the son of James Jarvis, anRead MoreEssay on South Africa Under Apartheid: A Totalitarian State1356 Words   |  6 PagesDuring the Apartheid Era, there emerged from South Africa cases of gross human rights abuse, racism, police brutality and general mistreatment of the non-white population. Excluding the fact that South Africa was never ruled by a dictator, it can be argued that some of these features were totalitarian and that South Africa was, to a certain extent, a totalitarian state under Apartheid. This discussion will analyse the totalitarian features that were apparent during Apartheid, and will be structuredRead MoreTo What Extent Did The Collapse Of Apartheid South Africa ( 1991 ) Really Bring About Change For The Bantu Population1458 Words   |  6 PagesTo what extent did the collapse of Apartheid in South Africa (1991) really bring about change for the Bantu population? The collapse of Apartheid in South Africa (1991) brought only a small amount of change for the Bantu population. South still faces racism in society, due to the continual domination by the â€Å"white† population with race interaction limited to the false â€Å"rainbow† television campaigns and promotional Africa strategies. At the close of Apartheid, a number of false statements were usedRead MoreHow and why did the apartheid system come into existence in South Africa and how was its existence maintained and enforced for so long?1593 Words   |  7 PagesThe term apartheid was one of the most politically charged words in the second half of the 20th century, and still remains notorious today. Apartheid translated from Afrikaans means separateness or apartness. However when the National Party came to power in South Africa in 1948, it took on a much more sinister meaning and today is associated with racial and ethnic discrimination. The roots of apartheid stem deep into South African history. It started way back during European settlement, andRead MoreApartheid in South Africa1118 Words   |  5 PagesApartheid In South Africa APARTHEID Apartheid is the political policy of racial segregation. In Afrikaans, it means apartness, and it was pioneered in 1948 by the South African National Party when it came to power. Not only did apartheid separate whites from non-whites, it also segregated the Blacks (Africans) from the Coloureds (Indians, Asians). All things such as jobs, schools, railway stations, beaches, park benches, public toilets and even parliament. Apartheid alsoRead MoreThe Apartheid Of South Africa1159 Words   |  5 PagesDuring the year of 1948, the lives of south Africans changed forever. The National Party, which was an all-white government, gained power and created hell for non-white citizens, their goal was to have white people continue to dominate the country and to keep each race separated from each other; even though at the time whites were only 20% of the population. The apartheid, which literally means â€Å"apartness† lasted until 1991, and during this time many acts were passed. One being that â€Å"non-white AfricansRead MoreThe Apartheid Of South Africa Essay1742 Words   |  7 PagesNelson Mandela and protesters during South Africa s journey away from apartheid. It’s a curious ponder, in fact, that America’s and South Africa’s ascents from racial discrimination were possibly involved with each other. However, while the world may be convinced the nation is out of racist dep ths, evidence displays the rise from discrimination in South Africa is undeniably incomplete. There is a dangerous and unresolved influence of apartheid in South Africa today. After World War 2 was won byRead MoreThe Apartheid Of South Africa1333 Words   |  6 Pageshistory of South Africa all we could see is racial discrimination. Africa was all in control of Whites till 1994. South Africa got free from racial discrimination when Nelson Mandela took a step became the first black prime minister of South Africa. Contemporary South Africa is now economically strong and it is completely a racial free state. The contemporary South Africa is now in race with every state in every field. Before 1994 South Africa was completely under control of Apartheid. WHO IS APARTHEID

Business Plan for Car Wash Busy Bee Car Centre

Question: Describe about the Business Plan for Busy Bee Car Wash Centre? Answer: Executive Summary Busy Bee Car Centre is a well established car serving business in town and it has a plan to serve the people with hand car wash and detailing in Bronte as there is not any specific business that offer such business in that location. The company will provide different range of service to customers related to cars or vehicles. On the other hand, the particular study has focused on conducting industry analysis by using Porters five forces model. Moreover, the business focused on the sales and revenue that they can generate in the period of five years from the proposed business. The market analysis has been conducted to know the feasibility of the selected market for running the business of hand car wash and detailing. The market segmentation has been done to target the potential customer that can increase the earnings and sales of the business. The marketing plan has been outlined and also the company structure to have clear idea about the management of Busy Bee Car Centre. Further, ope rational plan has been mentioned followed by financial projections taking account of income statement, balance sheet, cash flow and loan. Company Description Busy Bee Car Centre is a well known hand car wash which is located in Bronte, Sydney, Australia. The car wash business will be effectively involved in the business of car repair for over 12 years. Therefore, in order to penetrate in the market, the owner that is John Hayden has decided to enter into the car washing zone and detailing to provide better service to customers in maintaining their vehicles. It has also been seen that since past three years the profit of the business is decreasing which is affecting the business and growth. Moreover, the competitors have risen in that area which is one of the reasons that Busy Bee has decided to start hand car wash business for gaining competitive edge. Busy Bee will be engaged in delivering services such as interior car cleaning, exterior car cleaning and detailing. The owner has such taken decision as there are no any true rivals that provide superior quality service at affordable price. Therefore, entering into the new business will not help in increasing profit margin but also increase in the market share (Abrams, 2010). 1.1 Objectives of Busy Bee Car Centre To gain high profit margin and revenue To be regarded as a best car wash and detail service business in Bronte To provide quality service at reasonable cost to customers To expand business in two location after successful year To engage productive and efficient employees 1.2 Mission of Busy Bee Car Centre The mission of Busy Bee is to deliver superior and excellent washing and detail service all the time to the car owners. The employees will be treated with respect and dignity in order to provide productive customer service. 2. Industry Analysis The service of Car Wash and Detailing in Australia has seen a significant growth in last five years which is helping the car wash business to generate better income and profit. However, in spite of growth in the service, the market share has not been up to the mark but instead there is predication by market analyst that higher revenue will be generated along with market share in coming three to four years. On the other hand, it is evident that sale of the car has tremendously increased over the years and due to pollution people are not able to clean their car by their own (Bird, 2010). Moreover, they do not know the right technique to wash and detail the car. Therefore, there is huge opportunity for the Busy Bee Car Centre to provide service with car washing and detailing. Apart from that, it has also been known, since 1999, the car washing business has shown reasonable growth in comparison to home wash. Years Car Wash Home Wash 1999 55.1% 44.5% 2002 57.0% 43.0% 2005 62.0% 38.0% 2008 65.6% 34.4% 2011 71.3% 31.8% Table 1: Comparison in growth of car wash service with home wash Figure1: Car Wash and Home Wash Growth It can be understood from the above figure that Car Wash and Detailing service industry is growing at a good pace in Australia and it provide number of opportunity to the people to have a car wash business and earn a reasonable profit margin. The particular industry can be further understood by Porters Five Forces Model. Industry Rivalry: The intense competition in the industry can pose significant challenges to the business. However, Busy Bee Car Centre has found that in the selected location there are no true competitors that can pose threat to their car wash and detail service business. Apart from that, it has been also taken in account that presence of small competitors that hold automatic car wash machine can disturb the operation and their growth (Finch, 2010). Therefore, in order to be ahead, Busy Bee may have to provide timely and quick service with high quality. Threat of substitutes: As the owner of the Busy Bee Car Centre decided to clean the car manually than the presence of automatic car washing machine by small business in the area can take away the opportunity of Busy Bee to earn higher profit or price rising ability (Boone, 2012). Thus, Busy Bee has to remain aware about such substitute in order to conduct their operation in effective way. Bargaining power of buyers: The availability of many car washing centres can provide power to the buyers to have their impact on the prices (Dess, 2012). However, it is known that there is no or less car washing and detailing service in Bronte which means that buyers may not have advantage to negotiate on the price that will be charged for the provided service. Therefore, it is a positive sign for Busy Bee to fix the price for service that can not only help in increasing profit margin but also will help in increasing customer circle. Bargaining power of suppliers: If suppliers have the bargaining power than it can lower down the profit level of any business. Therefore, it has been seen that as the Busy Bee business is in the market for over long time thus, they have better relationship with the suppliers for receiving car equipments, cleaning materials, etc (Gandellini, Pezzi and Venanzi, 2012). Thus, it can be understood that Busy Bee does not have to worry about the suppliers. Moreover, the business has to provide right pay to the suppliers in order to gain higher benefit from them. Barriers to entry: It is evident that the rise in the industry of cash wash and detailing has provided large benefit to the business owner or sole proprietors to enter into the particular industry as the industry ensure good return on investment (Marburger, 2012). Therefore, it can be a possible threat for Busy Bee in future. Therefore, Busy Bee may have to continuously upgrade their service so that they can hold their loyal customers and market with higher efficiency. 3. Market Analysis The owner of Busy Bee has counted on Bronte for starting the proposed business as the selected market will ensure large benefit for the success of the business. Moreover, in the selected location, around 42% of the households earn approx $73000 annually. Therefore, many people in that location owns car and also lease cars and they have great value for their cars and its look. 3.1. Market Segmentation Busy Bee Car Centre divides their customers on the basis of car ownership. Further, in order more clear picture, the market has been segmented as: Owners of new car: The people that owns a brand new car mostly likes to have a hand car washing service. Therefore, in Bronte, there are about 33% of people that has brand new cars. Thus, in order to maintain the look and details of the car, the owners will prefer to visit the Busy Bee for hand car washing instead of going for machine car washing (Tsiotsou and Goldsmith, 2012). Owners of older luxury Cars: This particular group of people has been targeted as they can be holding high end luxury cars from many years or they may not be able to pay for the expenses of latest luxury cars (Mooradian, Matzler and Ring, 2012). Therefore, in order to keep their cars in good condition and look, the owners may take their cars to Busy Bee for washing and detailing so that they can have relaxed driving and feel good about their vehicles. Owners of sport car: The owner of sport cars normally belongs to middle age or younger group people and they want to keep their car brand new as the costs of sports car are too expensive. Therefore, in order to maintain the shine and details, the owners may prefer to have hand car washing and cleaning as they have a view that machine car wash can scratch their car which will be costly for them to maintain it further. Lifetime Owners: It has been known that many people possess cars for more than five years and women are most in owning cars for such long period (Hughes, 2012). Thus, they are connected as a friend with their cars and also it may be difficult for them to own a new car. Therefore, they may prefer to bring their vehicles to Busy Bee occasionally so that they can keep their car dirt free and presentable look. Dealerships: The used and new car dealership can be effective for the Busy Bee to generate better profit and earnings from the car dealerships. It has been studied that within three and half miles of selected location, there are six car dealerships and they usually prefers outside car wash services for detailing the cars before it can be taken up for the sale purpose (Gandellini, Pezzi and Venanzi, 2012). Thus, it is an advantageous for the Busy Bee Car Centre to build strong relationship with car dealerships so that many cars can be brought into the car station for hand washing and detailing. Local Businesses: It has been found by the marketer of Busy Bee that there are some local businesses that hold small vans and fleets of cars. Therefore, focus is also on that group as they seek cleaning of their vehicles in order to maintain the image of their business (Nielsen, 2011). Moreover, the local businesses looks for cost effective therefore, Busy Bee will offer them service at reasonable cost so that they visit on regular basis. Options Car Owners New Car Owners 33% Sports Car Owners 12% Older Luxury Car Owners 35% Lifetime Owners 39% Used and New car Dealership 5% Table 2: Market Analysis of Car Owners Figure 2: Market Analysis of Bronte 4. Marketing Plan In order to generate higher benefit from the proposed business, the owner of Busy Bee has to build effective marketing plan. Situation Analysis: SWOT analysis is effective for understanding the current situation. The strength of Busy Bee is there long association with their car service business whereas there weakness is low market share (Nielsen, 2011). On the other hand, Busy Bee has opportunity to serve the people with hand car wash and detailing service in Bronte as such service is very negligible in that area. The possible threats are small business that offers automatic car wash service. Overall, the market of Bronte will be beneficial in gaining targeted customers (Pandey, 2012). Pricing Strategy: Busy Bee has to align the strategy of pricing and positioning in order to gain higher benefit from the market. The price should not be charged too low as it may dissuade the customers and not also too high as customers may not turn up for the service (Liozu and Hinterhuber, 2012). Therefore, the business may need to charge price as per the competitive price so that customer do not feel cheated. Moreover, it can help Busy Bee to position them strongly in the market. Forecasting Sale: The management of Busy Bee has to predict the sale that can be generated from the hand car wash and detail service from Bronte. The forecasting will help in preparing the budget that will be required for financing and arranging personnel that can provide best service to arriving customers (KumarSharma and Sharma, 2012). It has been assumed that Busy Bee will be able to make sale of total $200500 in first year which will gradually improve in next year. Service Year1 Year 2 Year 3 Full Wash 22% 31% 35% Interior Clean 8% 13% 18% Exterior Wash 17% 26% 30% Business Fleet Washes 11% 16% 19% End User Detail 12% 24% 27% Car Dealership Detail 30% 36% 42% Table 3: Sales Forecast in three consecutive years Promotion: On the other hand, in order to reach out to large customer group, Busy Bee has to adopt effective promotion technique. The business can use placing banners and hoardings at different places of Bronte so that most of the customers can become aware about the Busy Bee and its services. This will help in promoting the business and it will also help in increasing sales and generating expected sales and income (Melanthiou, 2012). Engaging Employee: Busy Bee may need to hire people that are capable and efficient enough to provide service of hand car wash and detailing to the customers. The efficient employee will help in growing the business (Furnham, 2012). Therefore, for each service the management of the company can hire different personnel so that quick service can be delivered with quality. Service No. Of Employees Full Wash 5 Interior Clean 3 Exterior Wash 2 Business Fleet Washes 2 End User Detail 3 Car Dealership Detail 6 Table 4: Engagement of Employee with services 5. Management Team and Company Structure It is known that car washing normally considered as seasonal business which has a high peak during the warm summer month. Therefore, Busy Bee Car Centre will be requiring both part time and temporary team for the managing the operations of hand car wash and detailing. Apart from that, company will be focusing on hiring five full time cash wash service and around three detail specialist so that best and quality service can be provided to the customers (Heagney, 2012). On the other hand, the two full time car wash specialists will be hired so that they can monitor the work of other workers so that they can provide assistance and training to improve their performance and service. The car wash specialist provides training to workers on used or old cars so that they may know which corner to clean and which part they should avoid (Hajro, 2012). Apart from that, the company will appoint one administrative assistant that will help and assist the owner of Busy Bee with the paperwork and the a ppointed person will act as a receptionist to provide details to the customers about the services and charges. Figure 3: Company Structure of Busy Bee Car Centre 6. Operation Plan Location: Busy Bee Car Centre will be located at the centre of Bronte so that it can be easily accessed by the customers and they do not find any difficulty. Moreover, the sign board will be placed so that customers can know the location of the company (Lambin and Schuiling, 2012). On the other hand, the building for operation will have the capacity to clean about four cars at one time which will provide quick service to the car owners. Supply and Inventory Management: In order to place all the required resources and equipment for cleaning and detailing the cars, the company has to arrange materials via suppliers so that the business does not fall short. The resources such as water spray gun, speedway car cleaning, car wash pipe, microfiber car duster, etc can be arranged in required quantity by the suppliers (Mackay and Wilmshurst, 2012). Therefore, having strong bonding with suppliers can help company to negotiate. On the other hand, the business may need to remove that entire inventory that is unproductive or that can affect sales. Hiring Efficient Employee: The different worker has to take up assigned role so that work can be aligned. The car washers has to completely involve in washing car only whereas detail specialist has to be involved only in car detailing work in order to provide satisfactory service to customers (McDaniel and Gates, 2012). On the other hand, accountant to be involved in accounting work and administrative staff has to be involved with their part. Therefore, higher productivity can be generated and better working environment can be developed. Set Timelines: The management of Busy Bee has to set time for each group member to clean and wash the car within the specified time. Therefore, for one car time can be fixed to maximum 30 minutes. On the other hand, for detailing part, time can be approx 1 hour if there is no any big issue and if there is then time can be extended. Therefore, it makes the employees to remain focus and concentrate on work for higher productivity (Melanthiou, 2012). Set Performance Indicators: The management many need to set performance indicators so that performance of the employees can be assessed along with overall performance of the Busy Bee. Therefore, for hand car wash and detailing work, the management can allot 15 cars that need to be cleaned by the workers (Mooradian, Matzler and Ring, 2012). On the other hand, fixing monthly sales target will be good indicator to measure the performance of the Busy Bee Car Centre. 7. Product Design and Development Plan Stages Month 1 Month 2 Month 2-3 Month 4 Month 4-5 Month 6 Follow up on press release Press Release Distribution of flyers Commencement for business Hiring of administrative staff Hiring of staff for car wash service Converting Premises Signing of Rental Contract Completion of Business Plan Table 5: Product/Business Design Plan Stages Week 1 Week 2-4 Week 5 Week 5-6 Week 7 Week 8 Idea Generation Idea Screening Concept Development and Testing Market Strategy Development Business Analysis Test Marketing Commercialization Table 6: Product Development Plan 8. Financial Projections 8.1 Profit and Loss Projections Year-by-year profit and loss assumptions Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Annual cumulative price (revenue) increase - 2.00% 3.50% 4.00% 6.00% Annual cumulative inflation (expense) increase - 2.00% 3.50% 4.00% 6.00% Interest rate on ending cash balance 0.50% 0.50% 0.50% 0.50% 0.50% Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Revenue Gross revenue $2,00,500 $2,04,510 $2,11,668 $2,20,135 $2,33,343 Cost of goods sold 17,300 17,646 18,264 18,994 20,134 Gross margin $1,83,200 $1,86,864 $1,93,404 $2,01,140 $2,13,209 Other revenue [source] $0 $0 $10,000 $0 $0 Interest income $1,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 Total revenue $1,84,200 $1,86,864 $2,03,404 $2,01,140 $2,13,209 Operating expenses Sales and marketing $25,000 $25,500 $26,393 $27,448 $29,095 Payroll and payroll taxes 32,000 $32,640 $33,782 $35,134 $37,242 Depreciation 27,000 30,192 30,636 30,784 31,376 Insurance 23,000 $23,460 $24,281 $25,252 $26,767 Maintenance, repair, and overhaul 10,000 10,710 10,868 10,920 11,130 Utilities 12,000 $12,240 $12,668 $13,175 $13,966 Property taxes 15,000 $15,300 $15,836 $16,469 $17,457 Administrative fees 14,500 $14,790 $15,308 $15,920 $16,875 Other 3,000 $3,060 $3,167 $3,294 $3,491 Total operating expenses $1,61,500 $1,67,892 $1,72,938 $1,78,396 $1,87,400 Operating income $22,700 $18,972 $30,466 $22,744 $25,809 Interest expense on long-term debt 3,433 2,740 2,013 1,250 449 Operating income before other items $19,267 $16,232 $28,453 $21,494 $25,360 Loss (gain) on sale of assets 0 0 1,000 0 0 Other unusual expenses (income) 0 0 0 0 0 Earnings before taxes $19,267 $16,232 $29,453 $21,494 $25,360 Taxes on income 5,780 4,870 8,836 6,448 7,608 Net income (loss) $13,487 $11,362 $20,617 $15,046 $17,752 8.2 Balance Sheet Assets Initial balance Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Cash and short-term investments $30,500 $81,142 $1,32,378 $1,69,554 $2,15,367 $2,65,752 Accounts receivable 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 Total inventory 23,500 23,500 23,500 23,500 23,500 23,500 Prepaid expenses 0 0 0 0 0 0 Deferred income tax 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other current assets 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 5,000 Total current assets $61,500 $1,12,142 $1,63,378 $2,00,554 $2,46,367 $2,96,752 Buildings $78,000 $78,000 $78,000 $78,000 $78,000 $78,000 Land 86,000 86,000 86,000 86,000 86,000 86,000 Capital improvements 0 0 0 0 0 0 Machinery and equipment 70,000 70,000 70,000 70,000 70,000 70,000 Less: Accumulated depreciation expense 0 27,000 57,192 87,828 1,18,612 1,49,988 Net property/equipment $2,34,000 $2,07,000 $1,76,808 $1,46,172 $1,15,388 $84,012 Goodwill $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Deferred income tax 0 0 0 0 0 0 Long-term investments 0 0 0 0 0 0 Deposits 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other long-term assets 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total assets $2,95,500 $3,19,142 $3,40,186 $3,46,726 $3,61,755 $3,80,764 Liabilities Initial balance Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Accounts payable $2,500 $2,500 $3,000 $3,000 $1,500 $1,500 Accrued expenses 0 0 0 0 0 0 Notes payable/short-term debt 0 0 0 0 0 0 Capital leases 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other current liabilities 100 100 100 100 100 100 Total current liabilities $2,600 $2,600 $3,100 $3,100 $1,600 $1,600 Long-term debt from loan payment calculator $63,000 $56,655 $50,310 $35,440 $16,933 $0 Other long-term debt $81,000 $97,500 $1,13,027 $1,14,820 $1,34,810 $1,53,000 Total debt $1,46,600 $1,56,755 $1,66,437 $1,53,360 $1,53,343 $1,54,600 Other liabilities 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total liabilities $65,600 $59,255 $53,410 $38,540 $18,533 $1,600 Equity Initial balance Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Owner's equity (common) $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 $50,000 Paid-in capital 2,50,000 2,50,000 2,50,000 2,50,000 2,50,000 2,50,000 Preferred equity 0 0 0 0 0 0 Retained earnings 0 13,487 24,849 45,466 60,512 78,264 Total equity $3,00,000 $3,13,487 $3,24,849 $3,45,466 $3,60,512 $3,78,264 Total liabilities and equity $3,65,600 $3,72,742 $3,78,259 $3,84,006 $3,79,045 $3,79,864 8.3 Cash Flow Projections Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Total Operating activities Net income $13,487 $11,362 $20,617 $15,046 $17,752 $78,264 Depreciation 27,000 30,192 30,636 30,784 31,376 1,49,988 Accounts receivable 0 0 0 0 0 0 Inventories 0 0 0 0 0 0 Accounts payable 0 500 0 -1,500 0 -1,000 Amortization 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other liabilities 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other operating cash flow items 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total operating activities $40,487 $42,054 $51,253 $44,330 $49,128 $2,27,252 Investing activities Capital expenditures $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 Acquisition of business 0 0 0 0 0 0 Sale of fixed assets $0 $0 ($1,000) $0 $0 -1,000 Other investing cash flow items 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total investing activities $0 $0 ($1,000) $0 $0 ($1,000) Financing activities Long-term debt/financing $10,155 $9,182 ($13,077) $1,483 $1,257 $9,000 Preferred stock 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total cash dividends paid 0 0 0 0 0 0 Common stock 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other financing cash flow items 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total financing activities $10,155 $9,182 ($13,077) $1,483 $1,257 $9,000 Cumulative cash flow $50,642 $51,236 $37,176 $45,813 $50,385 $2,35,252 Beginning cash balance $30,500 $81,142 $1,32,378 $1,69,554 $2,15,367 Ending cash balance $81,142 $1,32,378 $1,69,554 $2,15,367 $2,65,752 8.4 Loan Payment Annual interest rate 5.0% Monthly rate 0.41% Loan amount $76,500 Term of loan (months) 60 Payment ($1,439.76) 1 $76,500 ($1,128) ($312) ($1,440) 2 75,372 -1,133 -307 ($1,440) 3 74,239 -1,137 -302 ($1,440) 4 73,102 -1,142 -298 ($1,440) 5 71,960 -1,147 -293 ($1,440) 6 70,813 -1,151 -289 ($1,440) 7 69,662 -1,156 -284 ($1,440) 8 68,506 -1,161 -279 ($1,440) 9 67,346 -1,165 -274 ($1,440) 10 66,180 -1,170 -270 ($1,440) 11 65,010 -1,175 -265 ($1,440) 12 63,835 -1,180 -260 ($1,440) 13 62,655 -1,184 -255 ($1,440) 14 61,471 -1,189 -250 ($1,440) 15 60,282 -1,194 -246 ($1,440) 16 59,087 -1,199 -241 ($1,440) 17 57,888 -1,204 -236 ($1,440) 18 56,685 -1,209 -231 ($1,440) 19 55,476 -1,214 -226 ($1,440) 20 54,262 -1,219 -221 ($1,440) 21 53,043 -1,224 -216 ($1,440) 22 51,820 -1,229 -211 ($1,440) 23 50,591 -1,234 -206 ($1,440) 24 49,357 -1,239 -201 ($1,440) 25 48,119 -1,244 -196 ($1,440) 26 46,875 -1,249 -191 ($1,440) 27 45,626 -1,254 -186 ($1,440) 28 44,372 -1,259 -181 ($1,440) 29 43,113 -1,264 -176 ($1,440) 30 41,849 -1,269 -170 ($1,440) 31 40,580 -1,274 -165 ($1,440) 32 39,305 -1,280 -160 ($1,440) 33 38,026 -1,285 -155 ($1,440) 34 36,741 -1,290 -150 ($1,440) 35 35,451 -1,295 -144 ($1,440) 36 34,156 -1,301 -139 ($1,440) 37 32,855 -1,306 -134 ($1,440) 38 31,549 -1,311 -129 ($1,440) 39 30,238 -1,317 -123 ($1,440) 40 28,921 -1,322 -118 ($1,440) 41 27,599 -1,327 -112 ($1,440) 42 26,272 -1,333 -107 ($1,440) 43 24,939 -1,338 -102 ($1,440) 44 23,601 -1,344 -96 ($1,440) 45 22,258 -1,349 -91 ($1,440) 46 20,908 -1,355 -85 ($1,440) 47 19,554 -1,360 -80 ($1,440) 48 18,194 -1,366 -74 ($1,440) 49 16,828 -1,371 -69 ($1,440) 50 15,457 -1,377 -63 ($1,440) 51 14,080 -1,382 -57 ($1,440) 52 12,698 -1,388 -52 ($1,440) 53 11,310 -1,394 -46 ($1,440) 54 9,916 -1,399 -40 ($1,440) 55 8,517 -1,405 -35 ($1,440) 56 7,112 -1,411 -29 ($1,440) 57 5,701 -1,417 -23 ($1,440) 58 4,284 -1,422 -17 ($1,440) 59 2,862 -1,428 -12 ($1,440) 60 1,434 -1,434 -6 ($1,440) 61 0 0 -0 $0 62 0 0 -0 $0 63 0 0 -0 $0 References Abrams, R. (2010). Successful business plan. Palo Alto, Calif.: The Planning Shop. Bird, P. (2010). Write the perfect business plan. London: Teach Yourself. Boone, L. (2012). Contemporary marketing, 2013 update. [s.l.]: Cengage learning custom p. Brennan, R. and Brennan, R. (2008). Contemporary strategic marketing. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Cones, J. (2010). Business plans for filmmakers. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. Dess, G. (2012). Strategic management. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Finch, B. (2010). How to write a business plan. London: Kogan Page. Furnham, A. (2012). The engaging manager. New York: Macmillan. Gandellini, G., Pezzi, A. and Venanzi, D. (2012). Strategy for Action - I. Milano: Springer Milan. Hajro, A. (2012). Multinational Teams: How Team Interactions Mediate Between Cultural Differences and Team Performance. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2012(1), pp.1-1. Heagney, J. (2012). Fundamentals of project management. New York: American Management Association. Hughes, A. (2012). Strategic database marketing. New York: McGraw-Hill. KumarSharma, S. and Sharma, V. (2012). Comparative Analysis of Machine Learning Techniques in Sale Forecasting. International Journal of Computer Applications, 53(6), pp.51-54. Lambin, J. and Schuiling, I. (2012). Market-driven management. Houndmills, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Liozu, S. and Hinterhuber, A. (2012). Industrial product pricing: a value based approach. Journal of Business Strategy, 33(4), pp.28-39. Mackay, A. and Wilmshurst, J. (2012). Fundamentals and Practice of Marketing. Hoboken: Taylor Francis. Marburger, D. (2012). How strong is your firm's competitive advantage?. [New York, N.Y.] (222 East 46th Street, New York, NY 10017): Business Expert Press. McDaniel, C. and Gates, R. (2012). Marketing research essentials. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Melanthiou, Y. (2012). Marketing Communication of Brands and Products in the New Era. Journal of Promotion Management, 18(3), pp.275-277. Mooradian, T., Matzler, K. and Ring, L. (2012). Strategic marketing. Boston, MA: Pearson Prentice Hall. Nielsen, S. (2011). Three faces of political marketing strategy. J. Public Affairs, 12(4), pp.293-302. Pandey, A. (2012). Optimising online marketing resources: SEO strategy. International Journal of Technology Marketing, 7(3), p.267. Tsiotsou, R. and Goldsmith, R. (2012). Strategic marketing in tourism services. Bingley: Emerald.

Cultural Observation free essay sample

Cultural Observation Culture is the sum total of learned beliefs, values, and customs in which a people of a particular society live. Culture is dynamic and always changing but retains patterns that form its basic infrastructure. Many aspects of a people’s society make up one’s culture including religion, economy, language, politics, etc. Cultures are not finite and in many instances have there own number of sub cultures within them. This variation among cultures brings about man consequences between populations, which can be positive or negative. I have been given the task to use participant observation in order to form a complete report on the daily social interactions of humans in the Saint Louis area. The location I chose is in the middle of a higher learning environment known as a college campus. The area lies in the middle of the campus and has a large structure with a device that measures and tracks time. It is a frequently used path by the students of the campus, which allows for many social observations to be made. As stated earlier the space is a walking highway for students with the most traffic-taking place in the morning at the end of each hour for a period of about ten minutes. The pathway is a large round a bout that circles around the clock tower structure with 4 perpendicular paths continuing off from the circle. I sat on a large concrete staircase that overlooks the circle, for my observations. I sat for one and a half hours observing the following. For the duration of my observation, which began at 11:00am I had many people sitting on the stair case fixture in front of me. At one point there were a total of 23 people sitting on the concrete stairs. These 23 people were paired off in groups of no more than 6. When the time came closer to the end of the hour, there was a dramatic increase in traffic flow around the clock structure. Many of the people walked at a steady pace and seemed to have been walking solo. Some people walked in groups but if it was a group of more than one the majority walked in pairs. As the new hour began the traffic flow dramatically dropped. The make up of the study population varied in many categories. The ages of the people were predominantly that of 18-21 year olds, with occasional middle-aged people and young professionals. During the rush of traffic it seemed to have a larger population of females than males walking through the area. This was also found for the people who chose to sit on the concrete stairs. Of the people who sat down, 15 of them were female and the rest male. During the rush I noticed many different ethnicities that ranged from Caucasian white, to Asian, to Middle Eastern, and African American. Disregarding race, a pattern among the people arose during observation. The females leaned towards wearing more high cost garments than the males did. This related to the observation that many women seemed to be of high economic status in comparison to males. In regards to discernable space I found that females were much more prone to putting minimal space between themselves when interacting. Males seemed to keep a good distance from each other while interacting. For the majority, during the rush of walking traffic, people followed the rule of walking to there right while entering the circle even though this rule was not stated on any sign that I could see. Some people were more aggressive in there walking patterns and people on bicycle contraptions were permitted the right of way in most occasions. Physical interactions were most abundant among females and males who interacted. Males who were walking with a female had less space between them than males who were walking with another male. People sitting on the stairs would occasional engage in physical contact with the highest percentage of outcomes being a laugh following the physical touch. Overall I noticed a pattern that people of the same â€Å"race† for the majority stuck together, giving the impression of subcultures with in the population. Given the location, I concluded that the reason for all the people in the walking rush had the shared commitment of attending classes for learning purposes. For the people who sat down on the stairs it was much harder to find a reason for there public social interaction. The weather was optimal that day which would most likely attract such a leisurely activity response. The population was visually extremely diverse but some common trends were found that differentiated people. The most apparent difference was that of the nature of the people of Asian descent. They more than anyone kept to there own group and clearly spoke a different language than the rest of the population. This could be a barrier between them and the rest of the people who seem to speech the dominant language of the area. From my observations I have been able to determine many things about the population of Saint Louis. More research must be done especially with people of different ages in order to get a more accurate picture of how people in Saint Louis behave but from my observations many patterns stuck out among people from ages 18-21. One of the most puzzling aspects was the wearing of a garment on the top of a person’s head. I could not find a distinct pattern as to what type of people or what situations these head garments were supposed to be for. The only practical usage I came up with was the use of it to keep the sun of their eyes, but many did not use it for this purpose. If it pertains to simply a fashion accessory it would appear to be more common among younger male populations. Another observation was the commonality of wearing t-shirts or other garments that either said Saint Louis University or Saint Louis in some form. From this I have determined that people are proud of the organizations and areas they have some sort of investment in. This also led me to believe that people use their garments to communicate subtly to other people certain information about themselves. A majority of garments worn had some form of there language written on them. Overall more research must be done on the human race to cross-reference these ideas. It is obvious that culture is dynamic and works on several different levels in this complex society of people. Simply observing can tells us many things about there culture but will only get us so far. We must make plans to immerse ourselves in there actual culture to truly get an accurate picture of what it means to be part of Saint Louis, and ultimately, what it means to be human.

MATERIAL SOCIETY, MATERIAL THOUGHTS Ever Since Midas Lust For Gold, It

MATERIAL SOCIETY, MATERIAL THOUGHTS Ever since Midas' lust for gold, it appears to be that man has acquired a greed and appetite for wealth. Juana, the Priest, and the doctor have all undergone a change due to money. They are all affected by their hunger for wealth and inturn are the base for their own destruction, and the destruction of society. Steinbeck's "The Pearl" is a study of man's self destruction through greed. Juana, the faithful wife of Kino, a paltry peasant man, had lived a spiritual life for what had seemed like as long as she could remember. When her son Coyito fell ill from the bite of a scorpion, she eagerly turned towards the spiritual aspects of life. Beginning to pray for her son's endangered life. The doctor who had resided in the upper-class section of the town, refused to assistant the child, turning them away when they arrived at the door. Lastly they turned to the sea to seek their fortune. When Juana set sight on the "Pearl of The World." she felt as though all her prayers had been answered, if she could have foreseen the future what she would have seen would have been a mirror image of her reality. Juana's husband was caught in a twisted realm of mirrors, and they were all shattering one by one. In the night he heard a "sound so soft that it might have been simply a thought..." and quickly attacked the trespasser. This is where the problems for Juana and her family began. The fear that had mounted in Kino's body had taken control over his actions. Soon even Juana who had always had faith in her husband, had doubted him greatly. "It will destroy us all" she yelled as her attempt to rid the family of the pearl had failed. Kino had not listened however, and soon Juana began to lose her spiritual side and for a long time she had forgotten her prayers that had at once meant so much to her. She had tried to help Kino before to much trouble had aroused, only to discover that she was not competent enough to help. A hypocrathic oath is said before each medical student is granted a Doctors degree. In the oath they swear to aid the ill, and cure the injured. In the village of La Paz there lived a doctor who had earned his wealth by helping those that were ill and could afford his services. Not once in his long career would he have dared refuse to aid a wealthy lawyer or noblemen. However when Kino and the group of money hungry peasants arrived at his door with a poisoned child he had refused them entry saying "Have I nothing better to do than cure insect bites for `little Indians'? I am a doctor, not a veterinary." for the doctor had known that the peasants hadn't any money. He had been to Paris and had enjoyed the splendors of the world, and therefore he wouldn't be seen dealing with the less fortunate as he knew that the less fortunate would surely always be just that-less fortunate. However it seemed that he had been stereotypical of the less fortunate, as he soon discovered when hearing of a great pearl disco vered by the peasants who had knocked upon his door earlier that day. A hunger for wealth was what pushed him to visit the peasants house and aid their destitute son. However he had already ended Coyito's life without knowing he'd done so, for if he had administered aid to Coyito when they were first at the doctors door, Kino would have no reason to seek his fortune in the ocean, and would not be led down the road to hardships. One might think that a doctor, one who has the image of being passive, and caring should not stoop to such a level. When one is down on their luck, chances are they will turn to superstition in hope to acquire what it is that they would want to achieve. A good example of this would be a good luck charm such as a rabbit's foot. In La Paz the peasants were uneducated and

The life of Jane Alexander

The life of Jane Alexander Jane Alexander was born in Johannesburg in 1959. From a very young age she started showing great artistic talent, and is now one of South Africa's most acknowledged sculptors. She studied at the University of Witwatersrand and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art degree in 1982. That same year, she was the winner of the National Fine Arts Student Competition as well as the Martienssen Student Prize. In 1988 she completed her Masters in Fine Art. She had initially started her degree majoring in painting, but eventually changed to sculpture as she found it much more appealing and realized that she was more suited to it. At university, Alexander was exposed to information about the political situation in South Africa through students' underground organizations and activities, and this contributed greatly to her work.When growing up in the suburbs, Alexander had been shielded from everyday police- and street violence.Alexander gets in on the ActHowever, when she moved to city of Braam fontein in order to be closer to her university, she was faced with reality and was directly confronted with these aspects of society. At the same time, the political situation in the 1970's was changing, and black consciousness had become very noticeable - the 1976 Soweto uprising had been an eye-opener for many people. Despite the fact that Alexander, herself, was not politically active and did not contribute to the struggle in any way, her work was extremely influenced by the socio-political situation in South Africa at the time. Her work clearly responds to the violence in South Africa during these years, and because of this she is seen as one of West Coast African Angel, '85 the most important artists of the Resistance.After completing her degree, Alexander went to a school in Rehoboth, Namibia to teach English. She now lives...

The Power of the President Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Power of the President - Assignment Example It changed the way people interacted with their leader and continues to do so to this day. 2. Following the devastation of the Second World War, much of the global economy lay in total ruin. Old orders, ways of thinking, and systems had vanished into rubble and smoke. Many people lived lives of total despair. However, there were a number of brave men and women who decided to look at this crisis as an opportunity and to fashion something new out of the mess. The most important change to make involved the world economic system. And so the Bretton Woods regime was founded on July 1944, in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States, by the delegations of the 44 Allied nations with the intent of creating a new financial and economic order, due to the shift of power occurred as a result of the Second World War. The Bretton Woods regime was a result of the events which affected the world economy and political system, starting from the great Depression to the rise of Nationalist dictatorships and finally the Second World War; its declared objective was to ensure prosperity to al l nations, so conflict would never occur again. This foreign policy achievement gave the President of the United States a great deal of power over the world

Contrast Safety in MRI Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Contrast Safety in MRI - Essay Example It is a Phase III study and has been done at multiple locations using a double blind procedure, where the interpretation was done by two independent readers who had access only to the images obtained. According to the authors this study is the first of its kind as it was performed as a multicenter study at twelve centers in seven different locations in Europe and on three different kinds of imaging equipment from different manufacturers. The concept of single and triple rate of dosage has also been evaluated for the first time. A wide variety of statistical tools and software have been used which have yielded significant results. 105 patients were chosen for the trial and divided into two groups. At the initiation of the trial only 80 were short listed. 43 of them (81%) were chosen for the single-dose group I (0.1mmol/Kg body weight) and 37 (71%) for the triple-dose group II (0.3 mmol/Kg). All these patients had a history of ischemic and coronary heart disease, thrombosis, arterial hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and/or diabetes mellitus. The results of MRA of these two groups administered two different doses of Gadodiamide were compared with those of digital subtraction angiography (DSA). The main effectiveness parameter for comparison of the two dose groups analyzed was the contrast index (CIx), which was calculated from the signal intensities measured in the regions of interest in the abdominal aorta at the aortic bifurcation and 2 cm proximal and 2 cm distal to the main stenosis. The difference in degree of stenosis was analyzed overall and for three categories. Category I consisted of stenosis of 69% or less; category II, stenosis between 70% and 99%; and category III, occlusions. The independent investigators compared the pre contrast MR angiographic, post contrast MR angiographic, and DSA data Post contrast MR angiography resulted in a diagnosis modification in 70% and 72% of

Discussion a solution to the problem of the abortion Essay

Discussion a solution to the problem of the abortion - Essay Example However, some among them approve of abortions in cases of incest and rape, taking into account the psychological trauma and future inconveniences that the victims have to face. But many of them think that abortion cannot a real solution to such situations, and can only increase the difficulties for those who feel guilty and paranoid after abortion. According to them, life is the most valuable element that we have to take into account in such situations, and not the ever-changing psychological states of people. The group that argues that abortions should be legalized believes that it must ultimately be the choice of the woman to have abortion or not. The idea that abortion becomes a necessity to only those who are sex assault victims is contested by them, with data that proves that in most cases, failed contraceptives and other personal choices related to the maturity of the woman and family structure are the strongest reasons for abortion. If a woman is determines that she could not manage to raise a child, she should be given the basic human freedom to get rid of the fetus before it grows to a child. There may be risks involved in repeated abortions, which could be discouraged with proper counseling from health professionals. Legalization of abortion with strict guidelines which would determine the genuineness of the person who requests it could be the only solution to the problem. Hasty and uninformed abortions could be discouraged. There could be a team of people who explain for the psychological aspected involved o the concerned person. Moreover, health professionals could be given an opportunity to research the valid reasons for an abortion before it is done. They may ask the person who needs it to give valid reasons, and prove that she would be able to handle it psychologically. Denying a woman the right to choose when she could or could not have a child will violate human

Union Bank Of India

Union Bank Of India INTRODUCTION: Union Bank Of India Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, inaugrated the Union Bank Of India on November 11, 1919. It covers all the sectors of the society, be it agriculture, industry, trade and commerce, services or infrastructure, the bank plays a major role in rendering services to the financial needs of every section. Apart from this, the bank also extended financial support to educational, housing and trade sector. In 1947, the bank had only 4 branches which include 3 in Mumbai and 1 in Saurashtra. The bank was nationalised in 1969 and at time of nationalisation the bank had total 240 branches all over India. In June 2000, Union Bank acquired Bank of America’s highly profitable operations in Pakistan and went on to become one of the largest private commercial banks. The acquisition added a new dimension to Union Bank’s business and enhanced its customer base, deposits, and loan portfolio quality. This acquisition also enhanced Union Bank’s corporate image in the domestic financial market. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES OFFERED BY UNION BANK: Deposits Account: Cumulative Deposit Scheme Deposit Reinvestment Certificate Union Flexi-Deposit Union Insured Recurring Deposit Union 94 Months Double Scheme Monthly Income Scheme Tax Exemption Deposits Union Float Deposits Union Unfixed Deposits For NRI FCNR (B) Foreign Currency Deposit RFC Customer Relationship Management CRM (customer relationship management) is an information industry term for methodologies, software, and usually Internet capabilities that help an enterprise manage customer relationships in an organized way. It happens by maintaining and updating the contacts of customer. This is for the: 1. Existing customers 2. Prospective customers For example, an enterprise might build a databaseabout its customers that described relationships in sufficient detail so that management, salespeople, people providing service, and perhaps the customer directly could access information, match customer needs with product plans and offerings, remind customers of service requirements, know what other products a customer had purchased, and so forth. It consists of the following: Helping an enterprise to enable its marketing departments to identify and target their best customers, manage marketing campaigns and generate quality leads for the sales team. Assessing the organization to improve telesales, account, and sales management by optimizing information shared by multiple employees, and streamlining existing processes (for example, taking orders using mobile devices) Allowing the formation of individualized relationships with customers, with the aim of improving customer satisfaction and maximizing profits; identifying the most profitable customers and providing them the highest level of service. Providing employees with the information and processes necessary to know their customers, understand and identify customer needs and effectively build relationships between the company, its customer base, and distribution partners. CRM Strategies Adopted By Union Bank of India Nowadays, many businesses such as banks, insurance companies, and other service providers realize the importance of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and its potential to help them acquire new customers retain existing ones and maximize their lifetime value. At this point, close relationship with customers will require a strong coordination between IT and marketing departments to provide a long-term retention of selected customers. Union Bank aims to increase customer profitability with any customer retention. It is a sound business strategy to identify the banks most profitable customers and prospects, and devotes time and attention to expanding account relationships with those customers through individualized marketing, pricing, discretionary decision making. According to Union Bank of India having and acting upon deeper knowledge about the customer, ensure that the customer such as how to fund the customer, get to know the customer, keep in tough with the customer, ensure that the customer gets what he wishes from service provider and understand when they are not satisfied and might leave the service provider and act accordingly. Union Bank of India has a database of its customers and informs them about the various schemes offered by the bank. The bank has a suggestion box in which customers of the bank can give their views and suggestions. The bank also has a helping desk where the customers can ask their queries. This is a very good strategy to retain the customer. The bank provides the information to its customers about any change in the interest rate of advances. They attend all the customers who are present in the bank, so that they do not feel neglected and not switch to any other bank. CRM Strategy of Public Sector Banks Public sector CRM strategy must be aligned to the organization’s purpose in order to realize a sustained achievement of CRM objectives and successful customer relationships. While CRM strategies differ among implementers, the most successful strategies have several criteria in common. Alignment between the organization’s mission and the CRM strategy; a good strategy is a direct reflection of the mission and supports the mission in direct, clear and easy to understand terms. Strategies must be customer focused; they speak to the positioning and evolvement of the customer relationship. CRM strategies require executive sponsorship and complete buy in; the rank and file take their queues from the executive team so the executives must visibly, vocally and actively sponsor the CRM strategy for it to be successful. Strategies are an iterative process; as the the organization evolves so to will the CRM strategy. They mainly focus on the following: To win back or save customers To attract new and potential customers To create loyalty among existing customers and To up sell or offer cross services. CONCLUSION CRM in banking industry entirely different from other sectors, because banking industry purely related to financial services, which needs to create the trust among the people. Establishing customer care support during on and off official hours, making timely information about interest payments, maturity of time deposit, issuing credit and debit cum ATM card, creating awareness regarding online and e-banking, adopting mobile request etc are required to keep regular relationship with customers. The present day CRM includes developing customer base. The bank has to pay adequate attention to increase customer base by all means, it is possible if the performance is at satisfactory level, the existing clients can recommend others to have banking connection with the bank he is operating. Hence asking reference from the existing customers can develop their client base. If the base increased, the profitability is also increase. Hence the bank has to implement lot of innovative CRM to capture and retain the customers.There is a shift from bank centric activities to customer centric activities are opted. The private sector banks in India deployed much innovative strategies to attract new customers and to retain existing customers. CRM in banking sector is still in evolutionary stage, it is the time for taking ideas from customers to enrich its service. The use of CRM in banking has gained importance with the aggressive strategies for customer acquisition and retention being employed by the bank in todays competitive milieu. This has resulted in the adoption of various CRM initiatives by these banks. Private Sector Banks have been able to implement the CRM practices more effectively as compared to the Public Sector on the basis of of the service quality level being provided by these banks.

Poetry :: Poem to a friend

To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph In the poem "To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph", Anne Sexton alludes to the flight of Icarus and Daedalus and to "To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Nothing" to convey a message to a friend. I think this poem was written to reassure a friend that what she did was the right thing. Perhaps a father figure of the friend advised her to do something and she defied him, making herself feel worried that she did the wrong thing. William Butler Yeats once wrote a poem titled "To a Friend Whose Work has Come to Nothing". It was a poem believed to be written to reassure a friend that what she ended up doing was a noble thing even though in reality she failed her original task. The title of Sexton's poem is an obvious allusion to Yeats' poem. Sexton changed "Nothing" to "Triumph" in her title. Sexton's friend must have been a fellow poet to be able to catch the allusion to Yeats' poem. I believe she wanted her friend to know that what she did was the right thing. Perhaps she compared her friend to Yeats' friend. Sexton wrote "Think of the difference it made!" referring to Icarus' flight. She might have wanted her friend to realize a difference her defying her father made. The final line of the poem has a comparably different tone than the first 13 lines. The last line, "See him acclaiming the sun and come plunging down while his sensible daddy goes straight into town.", seems more mocking of Daedalus' flight. It seems that Sexton feels that Daedalus' flight was a wasted chance and was in no way adventurous. She might also be comparing her friend to Icarus, seeing as he too failed his initial task but accomplished something greater on a global scale. I believe Sexton thought that Icarus' flight was not foolish or a failure, but adventurous and a great personal success, even though his satisfaction and personal glory was short-lived.

Martha?S Vineyard – Labov

1. 0  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Introduction 1. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Martha? s Vineyard – where old traditions are still of value Martha? s Vineyard is a small island located south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts, USA. The island has a permanent population of about 6000 inhabitants. It is separated from the mainland by the Atlantic Ocean and there are no big businesses or any McDonald to be found on the island. Here, life is not as hectic as on the mainland and old traditions are still of value. The inhabitants have a way of showing their connection and dedication to their homeland, which is also a way of identifying themselves.This term paper will be about sound changes in connection with social identity. I will examine the innovative study of language variation and change in the islands community, observed and examined by William Labov (1963). I will analyze and discuss the study made by Labov. Labov? s study is based on the characteristic sound pattern discovered while listening to the inhabitants of Martha? s Vineyard. This sound change has a focus on the centralization of diphthongs. Centralization is the phonological change in which a vowel becomes more central than normal (Lawrence Trask 2000 : 53).Diphthong is a vowel sound which is pronounced by quickly moving from one vowel position to another (Deckert, Vickers 2011 : 33). The sound changes made by inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard, observed by Labov were: /ay/ as in fight, right and sight and /aw/ as in loud and about. Labov? s observations exposed that the centralized diphthongs only occurred in a particular linguistic context. Some groups used the sound change more than others. The group of fishermen was among these. Labov also observed that some inhabitants purposely did not pronounce the diphthongs differently to people from the mainland.Having looked at different social factors, as for example, age, ethnic group and occupation it became obvious that the attitude towards the island was an essential aspect to explain this phenomenon. The decision whether or not to use the island or the mainland pronunciation depended the attitude towards Martha’s Vineyard, whether or not being positive or negative. Labov named this phenomenon â€Å"island identity† (1963). To understand what â€Å"island identity† is it is important to define the term â€Å"identity†. What is identity and how do we identify ourselves?Can there be a connection between identity and speech? In this term paper I will attempt to answer these questions. 2. 0 The study, sociolinguistic pattern and meaning 2. 1 Background knowledge Martha’s Vineyard is divided into two parts, which are the up-island and the down-island. By the time Labov made this study, the island had approximately 6000 inhabitants. The majority lived in an area of the down-island which contains of three small towns, called Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs and Edgartown. The remaining inhabitants lived in the rur al up-island area with only a few villages (Labov 1972: 5).The inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard were divided into four major ethnic groups. The main group was the descendants of old families with English origin. The second major group was descendants of Portuguese origin who migrated from the Azores and the Cap Verde Islands. The third group was descendants of remnant native Americans. The last group consists of inhabitants of various origins, who were of no relevance for this study (Labov 1972: 6). Another group became relevant for this study. This was the group of summer visitors who came in large groups in June and July.There would be around 42. 000 visitors on the island every summer (Labov 1972: 6). It could be a possibility that the summer visitors brought the sound change from the mainland to the island, which would mean that this group would have the major influence on the pronunciation of the diphthongs /ay/ and /aw/ but it becomes clear that the influence of visitor s are not as obvious as it might seem, since Labov only mentioned that this group had an indirect influence. To clarify this, it is essential to have a look at the economic situation of the island.In 1960 Martha's Vineyard was the poorest of all countries of Massachusetts and this was not only due to the high unemployment rate in Massachusetts back then (Labov 1972: 27). The islands? major industry was the fishing industry on the up-island. The large-scale of fishing went out of New Bedford on the Grand Banks and as a result it became harder to keep this industry going (Labov 1972: 27). It became almost impossible for the fishermen to make a living from their wages and their families became dependent on two earnings. Another problem forced the economic and psychological pressure.Convenience goods were at a very high price (Labov 1972: 28) and the goods were brought on the island with ferry from the mainland. This transport was expensive and permitted the salesmen to expand the price s of their goods. Some would say that the constantly growing tourism came as a blessing for the inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard, but at the same time it also became a curse, especially for the fishermen who felt very connected to the island and the traditions connected to it. For them it was difficult to accept the increasing dependence on tourism.The following observations and results are of importance in order to understand the connection between the above mentioned background information and the language variation in this study. 2. 2 Accomplishment by Labov and its meaning for the inhabitants In 1963, as the study of Martha’s Vineyard was relized, Labov observed a striking way of pronouncing words such a fight, right and sight, and words such as loud and about. This striking ways of pronunciation clearly diverged from the near parts of the mainland (Meyerhoff 2006: 16f. ). The inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard pronounced the diphthongs /ay/ and /aw/ in a more entral position which is a phonological change termed centralization. In order to figure out why many inhabitants used the centralized diphthongs, Labov deliberated an interview schedule in which /ay/ and /aw/ frequently occurred (Labov 1972: 12). Here Labov did not only put his focus on the linguistic aspect but on the social aspect as well. This means that Labov did not only put focus on the language but furthermore he wanted to examine the reasons for this sound change and in which way it was used in a social context and by whom. Why did some speakers use the centralized diphthongs more than others?This is why this study by Labov is not just of study of linguistics but also counts as a sociolinguistic study (Deckert, Vickers 2011: 1). Labov started asking inhabitants questions concerning their lives on the island. He also recorded them while they were reading lists of words naturally containing /ay/ and /aw/ sounds out loud (Meyerhoff 2006: 17). He interviewed 69 inhabitants of different ages, occupation, ethnic groups and from different geographical distribution. The table underneath is taken from Labov? s study and shows age levels and numbers of inhabitants using the centralized vowels /ay/ and /aw/:Table 1 (Labov 1972: 22) |age |(ay) |(aw) | |75- |25 |22 | |61-75 |35 |37 | |46-60 |62 |44 | |31-45 |81 |88 | |14-30 |37 |46 | Having a look at this table, it appears that inhabitants from the age of thirty-one up to age forty-five frequently tended to centralize the diphthongs. However, inhabitants younger than thirty-one and older than forty-five, did not have a high use of the centralized diphthongs.This means that the sound change could not only be dependent on the age of inhabitants being interviewed. Therefore Labov focused on other social factors which might have an effect on the production of this sound change. He interviewed inhabitants from different parts of residence, hereby people form the up-island as well as people living at the down-island. T he statistics shown below demonstrates different cities on Martha’s Vineyard. It also shows the numbers of inhabitants from these cities using the centralized diphthongs: Table 2 (Labov 1972: 25)    |(ay) |(aw) | |Down-island |35 |33 | |Edgartown |48 |55 | |Oak |33 |10 | |Bluffs  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   | | | |Vineyard Haven  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   |24 |33 | |Up-island  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     |61 |66 | |Oak |71 |99 | |Bluffs  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   | | | |N. 35 |13 | |Tisbury  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   | | | |West Tisbury  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   |51 |51 | |Chilmark  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   |100 |81 | |Gay Head  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  |51 |81 | This t able clearly shows that the inhabitants living on the up-island used the sound change more frequently than inhabitants living on the down-island, especially the inhabitants of the town Chilmark. In Chilmark they were shown o have a unique tendency of centralized diphthongs. The up-island was more of a rural area and it was known for its fishing industry. Most fishermen were living and working in Chilmark. The following table shows the centralization by the different occupational groups observed by Labov. . Table 3 (Labov 1972: 26) |   |(ay) |(aw) | |Fishermen |100 |79 | |Farmers |32 |22 | |Others |41 |57 |According to this table which shows the usage of centralized diphthong by fishermen, farmers and other occupations, shows it becomes clear that the fishermen were the one group who most frequently made use of centralization. Some of the farmers and people of other occupations also used this sound change but their numbers were strikingly low compared to the numbers of fishermen us ing the centralization. When comparing the results of all three tables it becomes obvious that the Chilmark fishermen in the middle working age level were using the centralization more frequently than any other groups on the island.However, hereby it is still not revealed why this group of inhabitants at this age and living and working in that one place where the fishing industry still played a big role in the island economy (Labov 1972: 29), were using the sound change more frequently than the other groups of inhabitants. It is central to understand the meaning and importance of the fishing industry for the inhabitants and the island itself to fully understand the interaction of social and linguistic patterns. Most of the fishermen from Chilmark felt deeply connected to the island since most of them were descendants of the old families (Labov 1972: 28).The fishing industry used to be a major part of the economy, before the large-scale fishing went out of New Bedford on the Grand Ba nks (Labov 1972: 27). The fishermen were proud to be independent, to stand on their own feet and earn their living with their own bare hands. Fishing was an old tradition on this island (Labov 1972: 29) but as an ever-growing number of summer visitors came to the island a big part of the fishing industry moved away and the inhabitants became forced to be more dependent on tourism. Chilmark changed from the traditional fishing industry to modern tourism.Many of the inhabitants accepted but the fishermen had a hard time acknowledging this change (Labov 1972: 28). They made their living from fishing. For these men fishing was not just a job, but it was also a way of living and an old tradition they did not want to give up. Two brothers from Edgartown which were also fishermen were among the interviewed. They both had a tendency to centralize the diphthongs very frequently (Labov 1972: 30). These two brothers were the last decendants from the old families (Labov 1972: 30).If they were t o leave the island, there would be no descendant left in Edgartown and there would be no one to keep up the traditions of the old families. These two brothers are another example that clarifies the importance of the fishing industry. It also clarifies that the Chilmark fishermen as well as the fishermen from Edgartown shared social orientation. They felt deeply connected to the island which was their home. For this reason they also both shared an aversion to the many summer visitors. The summer visitors would invade the cities of Martha’s Vineyard, and thereby the growing tourism would invade ajor a part in the economy. Though many of the inhabitants appreciate the tourism, the fishermen suffered more and more under economic as well as psychological pressure (Labov 1972: 28). The dependence on summer visitors grew and thereby the independence of the fishermen was reduced. The more inhabitants lived a traditional way of life the more they used the centralization. This fact dem onstrates the relationship to the diphthong centralization and the social orientation. Labov learned that another social factor had an outstanding influence on the sound change.He observed attitude towards the island, whether it was positive or negative, was of reason for the usage of this sound change. Labov found out that high school students and their use of the centralization depended on their plan whether or not to stay on the island. He therefore interviewed students from Martha's Vineyard Regional High School. The students who wanted to stay on the island showed a much higher use of the centralized diphthongs than the students who wanted to leave the island after finishing school (Labov 1972: 32).Not only inhabitants from the old families had a high use of the centralization, but Portuguese at the age of thirty-one to forty-five revealed to have a very high use of the sound change in comparison to the other age groups (Labov 1972: 26). The Portuguese of this age group belonge d to the third and fourth generation. This generation was the first one which had entirely adopted the ways of life on the island (Labov 1972: 33). They too felt deeply connected to the island, their home.The middle aged Portuguese showed a higher use of centralization than the younger Portuguese, even though the younger Portuguese showed a higher centralization than the young inhabitants with English origin (Labov 1972: 26). This phenomenon can be explained by the attitude towards the island. Most of the young inhabitants with English origin wanted to leave the island opposed to the majority of the young Portuguese who wanted to stay on the island (Labov 1972: 26). This proves that social attitude towards Martha’s Vineyard was to blame for the use of the centralization.In relation to the social attitude the term â€Å"island identity† becomes important. To fully understand this term it is important to explain what â€Å"identity† really means. To define what â €Å"identity† really is, is easier said than done. Identity can be a name of a person but it can also be a way of behaving or other details like gestures or mimics. In Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English by Langenscheidt, there are more than a few explanations. For example: â€Å"The qualities and attitudes that a person or a group of people have, that make them different from other people† (Langenscheidt 2006: 805).The term â€Å"national/cultural/social identity† is listed in this dictionary as well and is defined as â€Å"a strong feeling of belonging to particular group, race, etc. † (Langenscheidt 2006: 805). After having studied Labov`s observations, his results and defining the term identity, it becomes clear that the inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard used the sound change to identify themselves. They created an access to their identity with the help of language, and used the centralization as a way to differentiate themselves from sum mer visitors. This strong bond to their home, the island, is termed by Labov as â€Å"island identity†. Island identity† describes the use of the centralization as an expression of the strong connection, the inhabitant? s ancestry and their home land. Inhabitants who used this sound change also revealed their attitude and connection to the island. The ones using the sound change were the ones who felt deeply connected and identified themselves with the island. Thereby the sound change became an indicator of the inhabitant's attitude. The inhabitants who showed a negative attitude towards the island the ones who did not feel connected to it and wanted to leave, did not use this centralization.They simply did not identify themselves with the island. On behalf of those inhabitants who had a positive attitude towards the island the language variant hold prestige. For some inhabitants the sound change had a higher status than for others, although the speakers were not always aware of the importance of the sound change. This is the reason why there are two types of prestige which are termed overt and covert prestige (Meyerhoff 2006: 37). Overt prestige is linked with language variants that speakers use for special reasons.The speakers using the overt prestige have the motive of sounding, for example, politer or even more educated, which means that they obviously are aware of using that variant (Meyerhoff 2006: 37). For the inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard the covert prestige played a central role. The speakers who were using the centralization did not want to sound nicer or better than other people on the island. This pronunciation was not the standard or the general norm but it was based on group identity and the way the inhabitants differentiated themselves from other inhabitants and summer visitors. 3. 0 ConclusionThrough the study of Labov, he demonstrated that social factors play a role in how people speak and he also clarified the deep soci al function language has to define sn identity. Labov? s study was of importance for the social linguistic. The centralized diphthongs observed by Labov were most frequently used by the thirty-one up to forty-five age group and was typically observed used by people who lived and worked on the island, who felt deeply connected to the island. The connection between the positive attitude towards life on the island and the usage of centralization was outstanding.The inhabitants who lived a traditional way of life, had the highest degree of centralization. Since being a fisherman was a traditional occupation, this means that the main part of the inhabitants on the up-island had a higher use of the sound change since that was the place where the fishing industry was based. The down-island was the area where less people were using the centralization. It consist of small towns and these towns were the attraction for the increasing number of summer visitors.Consequently, it can be said that the centralization is an indicator of solidarity. A way of showing where you belong and that you are proud of your home and its traditions. For the inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard it was also a way to oppose to the people of the mainland and the new service economy. This sound change made them stand out. By centralizing the diphthongs the inhabitants of island created a way to connect their social identity to language. The language functions as a tool to stick out of the crowd. It is as a reminder of their roots. . 0 Bibliography Deckert, Sharon K. ; Vickers, Caroline H. An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. 2011. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. Labov, William. Sociolinguistic Patterns. 1972. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Langenscheidt. Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. 2006 Meyerhoff, Miriam. Introducing Sociolinguistics. 2006. Abingdon: Routledge Trask, Robert Lawrence. The Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics. 2 000. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press Ltd

Futuristic Architecture An Overview

Futuristic Architecture An Overview Introduction Architecture is the discipline concerned with the design of buildings and cities. Architects make use of their professional skills to create buildings and spaces that can be utilized for various purposes. The field of architecture has witnessed significant changes over the centuries. Architects have adjusted their practices, form and material to take advantage of the technologies of the time. Even so, architects generally rely on history with the contemporary buildings having many features or styles from the old era.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Futuristic Architecture: An Overview specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More A unique form of architecture, which emerged in the early 20th century, is futuristic architecture. This form of architecture represented a major deviation from the traditional architecture since it was strongly anti-historical and placed a great emphasis on technology and modernism. Advoc ates of futuristic architecture declare that this art form will positively affect society. They argue that in an era of diminishing resources and advancing of technology, futuristic architecture will improve building design efficiency. In spite of these positive impacts of futuristic architecture, it is considered by many to be an irrational type of art. This paper will set out to provide an informative overview of futuristic architecture and then proceed to highlight why it is considered an irrational type of art. Emergence of Futuristic Architecture The futurist movement emerged as a revolutionary concept that sort to deviate from the traditions and instead focus on technological development and daring experimentation. This movement was inspired by the great fascination with machines that the pioneers of the movement had. Daidalos reveals that the accuracy and speed of machines led to a cult of the machine age in the early 20th century (32). Artists therefore sort to incorporate t he aspects of the machine into building designs. Futuristic architecture can trace its beginnings to the Italian artist, Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, who began the futuristic movement through the publication of his Futurist Manifesto in 1909. Marinetti advocated a move away from tradition and an embracing of modernity (Jensen 36). The movement started by Marinetti in Italy had a significant following of architects, artists, and engineers. The Movement’s Philosophy Futurism was based on the philosophy of modernism and a freedom of expression. It is strongly against sentimentalism and history and therefore adopts an opposing view of the past. Futuristic Architecture fights against the sentimentalism of the romantic era and embraces originality (Coleman 315). The futurism manifesto explicitly calls for the destruction of the adoration of the past or the obsession with history. Instead, technology and modernity should be exalted in place of the past (Ialongo 440). Since futurism is not restricted by the historical views, it allows a wider spatial thought for design. Architects are therefore able to come up with ideas that merge science and design. Advocates of this form of art claim that it will shape modern architecture and design in a wholly different manner. By accommodating bold imagination, futuristic architecture will allow artists to create forms that embrace ideas of science, technology and modernity.Advertising Looking for article on architecture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Key Figures in Futuristic Architecture The first key figure in futuristic architecture is the Italian Artist Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. Ialongo refers to Marinetti as the leader of Futurism and credits him for the movement’s early expansion throughout Italy and Europe (393). Marinetti founded the futuristic movement and published its manifesto in a popular magazine of the time. This exposed the concept of futurism to the wider public leading to significant attention by many artists and architects. The new concept advanced by Marinetti was characterized as a dynamic, energetic and radical movement that wholeheartedly embraced the modern and fought against the past. The Italian architect, Antonio SantElia is credited with having created the first elaborate set of futuristic designs. His drawings were of a futuristic city, which was highly mechanized and modern. It had visionary features such as aerial walkways and huge monolithic skyscrapers. SantElia was killed in 1916 while fighting in the First World War. His proposed futuristic designs were therefore never built and most were only exhibited in galleries. However, the clarity and authenticity of SantElias work exemplified the originality and boldness that the futurist movement wanted to promote (Coleman 316). For this reason, Sant’Elia’s work became a source of great inspiration for futurists. Architects all over Eu rope held his drawings in high regard and futurists consider his work the earliest example of futuristic architecture. The Italian architect Angiolo Mazzoni made significant contributions to futuristic architecture. After joining the futurist movement in 1933, Mazzoni designed a number of original and futuristic buildings in Italy (Jensen 40). One of the most notable works by Mazzoni is the heating plant and main controls cabin at Santa Maria Novella railway station. For its time, this technical facilities building was a masterpiece and ahead of its time. Mazzoni’s design was functional, complex, and highly efficient. It exemplified the ideals of futurism and therefore inspired futuristic designers for decades. Evolution of Futuristic Architecture Technology plays a central role in futuristic architecture. Leuth declares that technology as the vehicle of Utopia will supply the building blocks for the futuristic structures (319). It can therefore be expected that futuristic ar chitecture should change with changes as technological advances are made. Futurism began with the machine age where the futurists exalted the machine and its inherent attributes such as speed and sleekness.Advertising We will write a custom article sample on Futuristic Architecture: An Overview specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Since its beginning in 1909, Futuristic architecture has undergone some significant evolutions. The first major evolution was after the Second World War. In this period, the world was introduced to the atomic bomb and before long, the Space Race between the US and the USSR was in progress. Futuristic architecture was therefore inspired by these two technologies. The designs made by architects who subscribed to futuristic concept in this era were greatly influenced by space and the atomic bomb (Leuth 320). The post WWII era was followed by the post-modern futurism era, which started from the 1960s. Prominent fut uristic architects such as Yona Friedmans and Arata Isozaki created impressive designs that were utopian. Arata Isozaki created the design for a space city in 1960 while Yona Friedman proposed a spatial city above Paris in 1963 (Daidalos 33). Over the decades, futuristic architecture evolved to focus on using innovative technology to create structures that were efficient and modern. Present day futuristic designs address issues such as climate change and resource limitation. They often accomplish this by proposing mega-structures that are built with sustainability in mind. Why Futuristic Architecture is an Irrational Type of Art Futurism seeks to replace human art form with non-human products. Cottom elaborates that for futurists, all nuances of the past such as sentimental love, museums, and libraries must be abolished and replaced with machines (87). The founder of futurism, Tommaso Marinetti, contends that the goal of this concept is â€Å"to create ‘non-human’ poet ry, as well as other arts foreign to humanity, by way of transformations that would follow from the mechanization of humans† (Cottom 87). Due to the rejection of history, futuristic architecture tries to create designs in an entirely different manner. For the futuristic architect, originality and detachment from the past is desirable (Coleman 344). In an attempt to fulfill this core component of futurism, architects create fresh designs that tend to be obscure or and lacking in aesthetic value. Rational art relies heavily on historical forms and human emotions. Artists are encouraged to study historical material and use this as inspiration for their own works. Most of the futuristic proposals by architects are based on technologies that do not exist. There are therefore more of a fantasy since the technology that would be needed to implement them might never be developed. Bradley admits that most artists make architectural proposals that can be viewed as science fiction due to their fantastical elements (45). To support their fantastical visions of futuristic houses and super cities, some artists point out that while internal combustion engines and coal-powered factories were not present 250 years ago, the two are not family technologies that have transformed the world (Bradley 45).Advertising Looking for article on architecture? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is therefore plausible that humankind will develop the sweeping technological changes that will make the fantastical visions by todays artists realizable. While technological progress is assured, it is not possible for architects to accurately predict the path that this progress will take. Creating a design that is based on technology that might never be developed is irrational. Futuristic architecture is not always able to transform the futurist visions presented by artists into bold urban forms. As noted, futurism requires architects to come up with bold and revolutionary designs. These designs are functional in nature and often have a modern aesthetic appeal. However, in most cases the forms proposed are novel and exciting but impossible to implement (Coleman 344). The bold and often provocative ideas presented by futuristic architecture only exist as hypothetical designs. As such, while they do offer inspiring visions of a glamorous future, the designs cannot be realized at t he present time. A significant shortcoming of futuristic architecture is that it is too general in nature. Futurists present a vague idea of the forms that architects should create. Futurism provides broad terms such as emphasis of technology, reinforcement of original behavior, and destruction of sentimentalism and history (Bradley 46). However, no specific means of achieving these lofty ideals are provided. Without the availability of a clear means for achieving futurism, architects are often unable to create the dynamic and energetic art forms. Conclusion This paper set out to provide an overview of futuristic architecture and discuss by it is an irrational form or art. It began by acknowledging the significance of architecture and how this discipline has changed with technological progress by humans. It then traced the beginning of futuristic architecture in Italy under Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. The paper has shown that futurism seeks to transform futurist visions into bold urb an forms that are characterized by great imagination and a deviation from the past. A review of the most influential futuristic artists has been given and their contributions illustrated. The paper has then elaborated on why futuristic architecture is an irrational type of art. It has shown that while some futuristic designs are based on existing technologies, most of the novel designs are based on technology that is yet to be developed making them fantastical. Futuristic architecture plays a role by giving architects the chance to present their utopian visions. However, these visions are hardly ever realized and they only remain to be inspirations for other architects and designers. Bradley, John. â€Å"The Urban Remodeler.† Popular Science 277.1 (2010): 45-47. Web. Coleman, Nathaniel. â€Å"Utopic Pedagogies: Alternatives to Degenerate Architecture.† Utopian Studies 23.2 (2012): 314-354. Web. Cottom, Daniel. â€Å"Futurism, Nietzsche, and the Misanthropy of Art.â⠂¬  Common Knowledge 13.1 (2007): 87-97. Web. Daidalos, Bosman. â€Å"Form Follows Function.† Berlin Architectural Journal 74.1 (2000): 30-37. Web. Ialongo, Ernest. â€Å"Filippo Tommaso Marinetti: the Futurist as Fascist, 1929-1937.† Journal of Modern Italian Studies 18.4 (2013): 393-41. Web. Jensen, Richard. â€Å"Futurism and Fascism.† History Today 45.11 (2000): 35-42. Web. Leuth, Gabriele. Architecture in the Twentieth Century. Vienna: Taschen, 2001. Print.