Endangered African Wildlife Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Endangered African Wildlife - Research Paper Example There are so many factors that are causing wildlife extinction in the African continent. Rapid human population growth, unsustainable use of wildlife resources, lack of local support for conservation policies, inadequate government funds allocation for enforcement policies against illegal activities, commercialization, and so on are few of the reasons that are endangering African wildlife. So, the central issue of endangerment of wildlife species in the African environment and its causal factors is discussed. Furthermore, the impacts of habitat loss, over-exploitation, and poaching of the endangered species along with its conservation measures are also analyzed. Africa is a continent rich in biodiversity because it harbors thousands of species of flora and fauna. â€Å"Africa is home to some one quarter of the world’s 4,700 mammal species, including 79 species of antelope. It also has more than 2,000 species of birds – one fifth of the world’s total – and at least 2,000 species of fish, alongside 950 amphibian species†.1 The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has over 2 million km of protected eco-regions mainly for their biodiversity values. These eco-regions include the Savannah habitats, Ethiopian montane forests, Western Guinean lowland forests, the succulent Karoo and Bioko area. According to the Red List categorization of IUCN, some of the endangered species of Africa include the Giant Golden Mole, white-tailed Rat, Riverine Rabbit, African Wild Dog, and Mountain Zebra. Threats of wildlife species extinction continue to increase, despite global measures to reduce the impact of the external pressures. It is estimated that among â€Å"the 44,838 species included in the 2008 IUCN Red List database, about 17,000 (38%) are threatened with extinction†.2 Killing and exploitation of these wildlife species and importantly habitat loss are the major reasons for the increase in endangered species count. The

Marx Misses the Point Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marx Misses the Point - Essay Example Precisely so: that is just what we intend" (Marx 337). For the purposes of this paper, Marx misses the point on three levels. His reduction of complex economic relationships into two broad categories is an oversimplification that is as inaccurate as his proposed solution is feckless. His assertion that free trade is tantamount to exploitation is misguided and has no basis in fact. Finally, the presentation of communism as the panacea for all the ills of industrial society is nave; in fact, once Marx's scheme is brought from ideology into practice the result is that communism and the state simply become a replacement of one type of repression for another. Communism, when applied to the lives of real people, ironically becomes his decried bourgeoisie in a different cloak. Through oversimplification, inaccuracy, and flawed methodology, Marx misses the point; individual freedom. Marx frames his initial assertion for the two class distinctions in terms of time. He avers that "[o]ur epoch, the epoch of the bourgeoisie, possesses, however, this distinctive feature; it has simplified the class antagonisms" (322). Had he had the ability to project forward in time, beyond his epoch, he would see the colossal failures within the practical application of his ideas. That sort of time projection being impossible for him, however, let's examine his initial, basic assertion: "Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat" (Marx 322). Anytime broad generalizations are used to describe complex situations, inaccuracy is the result; particularly with subjects as convoluted as economy and politics. For Marx, there is a ruling class of people and institutions who have capital and power. This group, in his mind, is exercising exploitation and control over the masses . On the other side of his equation, lie the disenfranchised workers who are the grist for the industrial mill. For Marx, these two are diametrically opposed to each other and are hostile. The problem with his approach, like any person who thinks in terms of black vs. white, is that it is too simplistic. There are shades of grey within the groups that his dual class approach does not accommodate. An organized, funded, and complete "bourgeoisies" does not exist; nor does a suppressed, victimized, and grouped "proletariat." There certainly are capitalized entities that take advantage of laborers. That fact notwithstanding, there are also many industrial operations that function in partnership with labor to harmoniously provide goods and services to society while maintaining a happy and healthy workforce. These are symbiotic relationships where no hostility exists. It is within the context of individual freedom that these beneficial relationships exist. Marx, however, takes issue with that freedom, turning it into something evil. In practical application, the term bourgeoisie simply becomes a label applied to a person or company that displeases the labeler. Exploitation Marx's propensity for negative labeling does not stop with grouped classes, but also extends to the commercial activity of society. He sees

College Athletes Essay Example for Free

College Athletes Essay For the longest time the NCAA was never a multi-billion dollar industry; many years they did not make half of that. Many big colleges had budgets that would make teams such as Alabama, Georgia, Miami, Oregon, Etc. laugh about what they were able to provide for sports. There have been questions for years about whether a college athlete should be paid or not and if athletes deserve to be paid for what they do at that level, after already being paid to go to school there, for most of the players. When athletes go to college they still put themselves in the same physical danger as a professional athlete does. The NCAA alone is a multi-billion dollar industry that generated over 845 billion dollars last year in 2011. Facts have shown that college athletes in the NCAA, on an annual salary, make zero dollars; however, it is a blessing that they are going to school for free. This business is that they get all the work done and the business they want to come in and basically the NCAA athletes work for free. Having a scholarship and having their education paid for is something great but the money they get for school is not the only money they need for the bumpy road to their profession. The billions of dollars that is received annually is nowhere close to being equitable to just a bachelor’s degree. What the student athletes are earning is a big slice of heaven to some students and their families of course, but it showed accumulate to something higher than that degree of college education. â€Å"The NCAA has been historically stubborn over changing its ways to adapt to the times. But lately, even NCAA President Mark Emmert has conceded that it may be time for college players in big money sports to start getting a cash stipend amounting to as much as a few thousand dollars per year. † (Blake Baxter, Eureka College) At least the president of the NCAA has been admiring the idea of giving money to the players and helping them through their college years. Being an athlete in college is having a job, and their job is to bust their butts at practice, come to play on game day, and repeat that cycle, with no pay. Many athletes with their schedules do not have time to make themselves meals, so they have to buy food or they drive to places where they could get it- which costs money in gas. Football and basketball at the Division One level have been the biggest suppliers of money because many of their revenues. These two sports have evolved to the level that coaches and universities are making staggering amounts of money off of the talent of their student-athletes. With the amount of money coaches and schools make, the athletes should be able to get paid for their hard work, all the pain that they put their bodies through, the countless hours of practice workouts, and classes. Surely they need to be paid for putting it all on the line. Argument #2 Many college athletes make decisions that will change their lives- such as Trent Richardson, who played for University Of Alabama. Richardson had to deal with the decision of having to raise two children while being a full time college athlete. When all this was going on, Richardson had no income what so ever, no time, and was dedicated to the football program at U of A. Richardson brought publicity to his school and to other athletes with children that they were trying to raise. While Richardson was at school playing, his two daughters would be at home with their mother watching their daddy play and kissing the screen when he would appear. Hes a big strong guy, hes hitting everybody in practice. And when hes around his kids, hes a completely different person, running back Eddie Lacy said. Hes real sweet. Hes a good father. With all the strength he shows on the field and the sweetness he shares with his daughter, and the hard work he and others put out, they still earn zero dollars each year. It shows and tells all the time- he puts in time and effort to make it in life and take care of his girls Its a level of maturity you dont normally find among guys his age, running backs coach Burton Burns said. They are a priority for him. He has a tough schedule with school and football, but he is going to find time to spend with those girls. That level of maturity should never be second guessed and overlooked to give certain players money to get through school and help raise their family like in Richardsons situation. He is basically working a full time job, going to school, and playing football for Coach Saben. He needs to get what he earns, which would be a little salary. A father and athlete that could say this I dont want them to struggle like I did, to go through the stuff I had to go through, Richardson said. Thats really motivated me on the field. Because when I play with my girls on my mind, I feel like nobody can stop me. Richardson is not the only struggling college athlete. There are a lot of other teams in college that have athletes that participate in the games and practices but do not get any profit from their hard work and dedication. Argument #3 Eric LeGrand, the former Rutgers University football player who was paralyzed from the neck down during a 2010 game, GIving the same effort that each professional athlete makes each game day. Players putting their bodies in this physical danger, and only getting a certain degree when graduating after four years of college. LeGrand the Big Defensive Lineman was on kick off team running down the field trying to make a tackle, and when hitting a player he fell to the ground and was motionless; it was devastating. â€Å"The way Eric lives his life epitomizes what we are looking for in Buccaneer Men,† Schiano said. If the NCAA would recognize the effort and the danger these athletes are put in, they would be generous and give college athletes a little salary. Players like LeGrand are why i stand behind the decision to pay the players a little profit of what they help make. Without all of these amazing athletes i dont beleive the schools would encounter most of the money they make as a university or college. NOt just football, other sports bring in huge amounts of money from ticket sales, team apparel sales, etc. College Athletes are the epitome of where all the money comes from and deserve more then a bachelor degree, and deserve a little allowance for all their hardwork, bringing in a lot of the income. Works cited http://usatoday30. usatoday. com/sports/college/football/acc/story/2012-01-08/tough-guy-richardson-softens-up-as-a-dad/52458854/1 http://www. cbssports. com/collegefootball/story/21575106/if-college-athletes-really-owe-schools-money-then-they-must-be-paid

Summary of Chua Essay Example for Free

Summary of Chua Essay To change the emphasis of mainstream accounting research from hypothetico-deductivism and technical control assumptions to alternative views and obtain a fundamentally different and potentially rich research insights. Aim 1. To enable accounting researchers to self-reflect on the dominant assumptions that they share and, more importantly, the consequence of adopting this position. a. Limited the types of problems studied b. The use of research methods c. The possible research insights that could be obtained Author believes that such limitations can only become clear when they are exposed to the challenge of alternative world-views 2. To introduce such alternative set of assumptions, illustrate how they change both problem definition and solution, and offer research which is fundamentally different from that currently prevailing. 3. To argue that, not only are these alternative world-views different, they can potentially enrich and extend our understanding of accounting. Authors intended audience Positivist researchers, Public, Professionals, academics, All researchers Arguments presented to support main point Recent classifications of accounting perspectives Cooper (19830 ad Hopper ad Powel (1985) rely on the sociological work of Burrell and Morgan (1979) * Classification of accounting literature: 1. social sciences – includes assumptions about: * ontology of the social world (realism v. nominalism) * epistemology (positivism v. anti-positivism) * human nature (determinism v. voluntarism) * methodology (nomothetic v. ideographic) 2. society – characterizes it as orderly or subject to fundamental conflict Burell and Morgan (1979) Four paradigms used to classify accounting theories * Functionalist * Interpretive * Radical humanist Radical structuralist Problems persisted so accounting perspectives are differentiated with reference to underlying assumptions about knowledge, the empirical phenomena under study, and the relationship between theory and the practical world of human affairs. A classification of assumptions â€Å"knowledge is produced by people, for people, and is about people and their social and physical environm ent† Beliefs about knowledge Epistemological assumptions * Decide what to count about acceptable truth by specifying the criteria and process of assessing truth claims * E. . an epistemological assumption might state that a theory is considered true if it is repeatedly not falsifiable by empirical events Methodological assumptions * Indicate that research methods deemed appropriate for the gathering of valid evidence. * E. g. large-scale sample surveys or laboratory experiments that are â€Å"statistically sound† may be considered acceptable research methods. Both sets of assumptions are closely related. What is a â€Å"correct† research method will depend on how truth is defined. Belief about physical and social reality Ontology Object of Study * People may be viewed as identical to physical objects and be studied in the same manner * Criticism: people cannot be treated as natural scientific objects because they are self-interpretive beings who create the structures around them (Habermas, (1978) and winch (1958)) How people relate to one another and society as a whole * Every social theory makes assumptions about the nature of human society-is it, for example full of conflict or essentially stable and orderly Relationship between theory and practice Questions Purpose of knowledge in the world of practice, How may it be employed to better people’s welfare * Theory may be related to practice in several ways, each representing a particular value position on the part of the scientist (Fay (1975)). Unlike Burell and Morgan, this set of assumptions is used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of alternative perspectives in accounting. This is not an attempt to describe world-views in a value-free, non-evaluatory language

tragoed Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex) - The Archetypal Tragic Man Ess

Free Oedipus the King Essays: The Archetypal Tragic Man According to Greek mythology, the Sphinx, a creature that is part woman, part bird, and part lion, caused famine and disease in Thebes that could be ended only when someone solved her riddle.   Oedipus traveled to Thebes and answered the riddle correctly.   The citizens of Thebes consider him a hero because he restored harmony to their kingdom.   Sophocles alludes to the riddle of the Sphinx several times in his play, Oedipus Rex.   Since the riddle is a metaphor for Oedipus' life, it is ironic that he was able to answer the question.   His revelation of the riddle of the Sphinx further supports the perspective of Oedipus as the archetypal tragic man. The sphinx asks, "What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, and three legs at night?"   Oedipus correctly answers "man", saving Thebes from the terrible drought and disease brought about by the horrible creature.   The different times of day mentioned in the question actually represent different stages in life.   In the morning, or childhood, humans crawl on ...

The Origins and Purpose of the Goblin Queen in George MacDonald´s the P

The Origins and Purpose of the Goblin Queen in George MacDonald ´s the Princess and the Goblin Whatever the purpose of a story may be, whether the tale is a philosophical, moralizing or merely entertaining one, an assortment of characters with sufficient depth, notability and believability is vital to shoulder the burden of the author’s intent. George MacDonald, in one of his most famous novels, The Princess and the Goblin, displays an acute awareness of this fact, presenting us with some of the most colorful and unforgettable characters seen in children’s literature. When considering the exceptional imagination MacDonald infused into his story and characters, it is little wonder that The Princess and the Goblin is considered to be one of the pioneering novels that gave birth to the immense genre of modern fantasy. Of the two worlds introduced to us by MacDonald in his novel, that of the surface world, a land of sunlight, castles upon rolling hills, and princesses, and that of the underworld, a realm of darkness, stone, and, of course, goblins, it is definitely the latter that is more bereft of significant characters. On the surface, Lootie, Curdie, Princess Irene and her mysterious, powerful grandmother are all key characters with a prominent role in advancing the plot, yet in the dark goblin world, we are given an impression of a teeming, faceless mass of bizarre creatures, with no real sense of individualism. Of the few underworld characters we do meet, the goblin queen is the most prominent, and indeed, she is one of the memorable and distinctive characters in the entire novel. Her impact on the reader is greater reinforced by her embodiment of many elements of folklore and fairytale on top of the already ancient t... ...ons that MacDonald collected, converged, and ultimately made his own. Or perhaps she represented for MacDonald some female presence in his own life, an overaggressive figure deserving of the author’s fearsome representation in his novel. This remains unknown, but the goblin queen nevertheless represents one of the few truly menacing figures in the story; despite many goblins, also presumably the king and his son, we do not feel that the goblin threat has been truly removed until we see her lifeless form, and, with relief, bid her farewell, as Hamlet once said: â€Å"Wretched Queen, adieu!† Works Cited Keightley, Thomas. Fairy Mythology. New York: AMS press, 1968. MacDonald, George. The Princess and the Goblin. New York: Dell Publishing, 1986. Mark Morris. Of Goblins and Dwarves. 5 Nov. 2002 < http://www.humanities.ualberta.ca/mmorris/388/goblins.htm/>. The Origins and Purpose of the Goblin Queen in George MacDonald ´s the P The Origins and Purpose of the Goblin Queen in George MacDonald ´s the Princess and the Goblin Whatever the purpose of a story may be, whether the tale is a philosophical, moralizing or merely entertaining one, an assortment of characters with sufficient depth, notability and believability is vital to shoulder the burden of the author’s intent. George MacDonald, in one of his most famous novels, The Princess and the Goblin, displays an acute awareness of this fact, presenting us with some of the most colorful and unforgettable characters seen in children’s literature. When considering the exceptional imagination MacDonald infused into his story and characters, it is little wonder that The Princess and the Goblin is considered to be one of the pioneering novels that gave birth to the immense genre of modern fantasy. Of the two worlds introduced to us by MacDonald in his novel, that of the surface world, a land of sunlight, castles upon rolling hills, and princesses, and that of the underworld, a realm of darkness, stone, and, of course, goblins, it is definitely the latter that is more bereft of significant characters. On the surface, Lootie, Curdie, Princess Irene and her mysterious, powerful grandmother are all key characters with a prominent role in advancing the plot, yet in the dark goblin world, we are given an impression of a teeming, faceless mass of bizarre creatures, with no real sense of individualism. Of the few underworld characters we do meet, the goblin queen is the most prominent, and indeed, she is one of the memorable and distinctive characters in the entire novel. Her impact on the reader is greater reinforced by her embodiment of many elements of folklore and fairytale on top of the already ancient t... ...ons that MacDonald collected, converged, and ultimately made his own. Or perhaps she represented for MacDonald some female presence in his own life, an overaggressive figure deserving of the author’s fearsome representation in his novel. This remains unknown, but the goblin queen nevertheless represents one of the few truly menacing figures in the story; despite many goblins, also presumably the king and his son, we do not feel that the goblin threat has been truly removed until we see her lifeless form, and, with relief, bid her farewell, as Hamlet once said: â€Å"Wretched Queen, adieu!† Works Cited Keightley, Thomas. Fairy Mythology. New York: AMS press, 1968. MacDonald, George. The Princess and the Goblin. New York: Dell Publishing, 1986. Mark Morris. Of Goblins and Dwarves. 5 Nov. 2002 < http://www.humanities.ualberta.ca/mmorris/388/goblins.htm/>.

HOSP 310 Week 5 Internet Exercises Essay

a) One of the trends that are occurring in the hotel industry is the increase in construction in certain pipelines and areas. The Spanish influenced countries of Latin America and South America are seeing the largest increase. The increased interest in the Hispanic culture by society is driving many consumers to want to escape to the sandy beaches and the tropical oasis. The other trend is the decrease in the African and the Middle Eastern Pipelines. Much of this can be contributed to the political unrest in these countries that is covered by the media. While many still want to go on vacations to their holy lands for religious purposes or visit many ancient areas of art and documented history not many consumers are wanted to travel with young children to these areas due to the unrest and military presence and rather are looking for rest and relaxation rather than additional intellect and experience. b) Based on the headlines and the articles on Hotel Online I have found a trend to be the renovations of hotels that have been long standing. The renovations of these hotels are focused on the consumer and the upgrades to the lifestyle changes and health and environmental awareness across the world. Many hotels are going green and adding markets or dining options that are also green and health conscious. This is important as the world begins to become more aware environmentally of what the waste is doing to the planet that we want to have around for our children many more people are recycling and finding innovative ways to reuse and cut back. A more health conscious society is also moving toward eating foods that are not processed and are not filled with fillers and pesticides trying to increase the longevity of life. Consumers are looking for options that can meet both of these needs. Many hotel chains are going through multi-million dollar renovations to make the upgrades and meet the needs of the social empire that influences cultures all over the world. Exercise #2 a) Each of the 3 sites has similarities such as a lit of their properties, information for investors as well as the company history or mission statement. The differences start with Starwood that offers very detailed as well as list and map views of the properties as well as photos of the individual properties. Host hotels have a place for news releases about information from within the company. The FelCor Lodge Trust is different as it lists the hotels that the company has on the market for sale. b) Starwood – Target market is the well rounded and has a hotel for every one and every amenity such as pets, conventions, and weddings so that the most diverse of people are collectively attracted to their properties both domestically and internationally. Host Hotels – Target market is both for the wealthy and socially connected since names as the Four Seasons, Hilton, and Ritz Carlton are among the properties they own. The target market of the wealthy open likes to mix business trips with pleasure and their properties seem to be able to accommodate both. FelCor Lodging Trust- Target Market is the vacationing family that wants to be centrally located in the city they are traveling to or visiting. Many of the properties are also located within the airport so they make it easy for family to not have to travel far from the airport for their accommodations. All of their properties are within the US except for one in Canada. c) Starwood – Westin, Sheraton, Four Points by Sheraton, W Hotels, St Regis, The luxury Collection, Element Hotels, Hilton Worldwide. Host Hotels- Ritz Carlton, Four Seasons, Marriott, Sheraton, Hilton, Hyatt, W Hotels. FelCor- Embassy Suites, Wyndam, Sheraton, Double Tree, Hilton. d) Starwood is a paperclip REIT which is different from the standard REIT. In each case, the idea is to maximize the tax advantages inherent in real estate investment trusts, or REIT’s, while allowing the company to operate properties that such trusts normally cannot run. The paper-clip structure is very similar to spin-offs of operating companies. Although the stock in the two companies is not traded in tandem (or stapled), the economics of both businesses are closely linked, or â€Å"paper clipped,† due to an intercompany agreement between the REIT and the operating company. In other words, shareholders who wish to capture the combined economics of the distinct companies can acquire shares in each company and paper clips them together. Chapter 12: Exercise #1 a) Both of the sites have their rewards programs for returning guests as a highlight to win continued business. They further compete by making it clear on their websites with photos and labels as well easy navigation and online booking that they have options and are here to accommodate the needs of any consumer whether it be business or pleasure, short term or long-term stays, and their presence throughout the world. b) Both sites offer franchise information however in my opinion Wyndam has a more comprehensive and easily navigated information site with tabs. This information is slightly generalized as they have many different brands. Before you get specific information form Choice Hotels you have to choose your brand and location which may not be decided upon and may change from location to location. I think that the support services and the FAQ from Wyndam is more inclusive of what to expect. Choice Hotels wants you to email them for additional info and many people who are interested may just be looking for upfront costs and other items without having to email the company. Exercise #2 a) The 3 hotels compete for the same target population but each configures a different marketing style. The Four Seasons focuses on the location of the hotel and the beauty of the city in which it is located so it is attraction based. The Ritz Carlton website focuses on the room amenities and what you will experience inside the room for the duration of the stay and highlights that in scrolling photos. Rosewood highlights a full screen picture that is very different from most websites and the actual background of the site is the photo that changes with different cultural experiences that you could have as a guest at the resort in that country. b) In my opinion the hotel with the best marketing strategy is Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. This is because as the website features the different locations you see photos of actual people interacting with another from that particular region or culture. You see â€Å"yourself† in the eyes of the people who are living the experiences captured. This is very effective as it is assumed the room with be gorgeous and the amenities top notch so why not showcase the experience the guest can choose to have. c) These hotels cater to the wealthy and the people who do not look at the price of the stay but rather the experience the stay will give them and the social status of the location as well. These hotels are large and expensive as well as the contemporary dà ©cor and the sought after privacy that the guest will get. The Choice and Cendant hotel groups market their price on price and breakfast as well as comfort ability and internet amenities as they are serving the population of business personnel and families who will most likely spend most of their time out of the room at local attractions rather than entertaining in their own suite as is possible with the luxurious facilities.

Proton Vehicles

1. Background of the Company It all began in 1979 when Malaysia’s Father of Modernisation, Tun Mahathir Mohamad, mooted the idea of establishing an automotive assembling and manufacturing industry in our country. It was Tun Mahathir’s dream to accelerate Malaysia’s industrialisation capabilities to match those of developed nations. His dream became one step closer to reality when the Cabinet approved the National Car Project in 1982. The dream was fulfilled when PROTON was officially incorporated on May 7, 1983. Our very first model, the Proton Saga was commercially launched on July 9, 1985.The name â€Å"Saga† was chosen by Ismail Jaafar a retired military soldier and derived from â€Å"saga† (Adenantherapavonlna) a type of seed commonly found in Malaysia. The first new market for the Proton Saga was Singapore, right across the Straits of Johor. In 1986, barely a year after the first car was launched, celebrated the official rollout of the 10000th Proton Saga. The following year, launched the Proton Saga 1. 5l saloon and Aeroback models. By then, over 50,000 units of the Proton Saga had been produced and sold in Bangladesh, Brunie, New Zealand, Malta and Sri Lanka.Soon after, PROTON cars were distributed in the United Kingdom. In 1988, PROTON debuted at the British International Motorshow, walking away successfully with three prestigious awards for quality, coachwork and ergonomics. PROTON progressed towards in-house engine operations in 1989. In quest to upgrade our technological prowess, a Transmission Assembly Plant was also set up in Shah Alam. In 1996, 1 millionth car was produced. This achievement was buoyed by several significant new model launches including the Proton Tiara, Proton Wira 2. Diesel and the two-door Proton Putra, in addition to existing line up of the Proton Wira, Proton Satria and Proton Perdana. In the same year, acquired a controlling stake in Group Lotus. Even as the new millennium dawned, PROTON sho wed no signs of slowing down. In 2000, unveiled prototype CamPro engine at the Lotus factory in Norwich, United Kingdom. The CamPro engine is aimed to show PROTON’s ability to make their own engines that produce good power output and meet newer emission standards. In 2009, PROTON EdarSdn. Bhd. nd EdaranOtomobilNasionalBerhad entered into a new Master Dealership Agreement to rationalise the sales and services network of vehicles, to ensure a more efficient nationwide distribution system. In January 2010, Petronas became official sole lubricant supplier, in a 10 year agreement that covers all markets in which cars are sold. In 2008, launched the latest iteration of PROTON logo, in conjunction with the rollout of 3 millionth cars. PROTON top mark retained its diamond shape although the tiger motif and colour scheme were changed to reflect the PROTON’s new direction.To further cement successes, launched new production models including the new Saga, Waja CPS, Gen 2 CPS and the Persona Special Edition. PROTON brand is the most valuable asset for all the companies in PROTON group. It embodies a unique set of perceptions about products and services that are triggered in the minds of our public by how others judge what we do, how we behave and what we say. 1. Proton Ideology Audacious Goal – Driving Malaysia’s transformation into a global leader in technology and quality. Vivid Description – Deliver innovative and superior quality products and services.PROTON brands inspire confidence and pride. Purpose – Passionate group of people working together, creating exhilarating products and services for global markets, synonymous with great styling, innovation and leading technology. 2. Proton Core Values Each PROTON employee practices in the Company’s shared values to guide their behaviour with each other and PROTON customers. These precious values form the foundation of how they work and conduct business as follows: Quality à ¢â‚¬â€œ Ensure continuous quality improvements for customers by delivering products that are positively conceptualised and manufactured.Customer Focus – Customers remain priority at PROTON. PROTON deliver on promises to customers’ satisfaction. Innovation – Challenge the convention, always seeking new and better ways to do things. View changes as opportunities. Teamwork – PROTON trust, respect and share knowledge to foster teamwork at the workplace. Speed – PROTON have a ‘can-do’ attitude and will not rest until the problem is solved. – PROTON have an inherent sense of urgency in everything PROTON do. Caring – As a responsible corporate citizen, PROTON invest in safety, health and the environment. Honesty Let’s be transparent and take responsibility for own actions. 3. Proton Vision Proton strives to become a successful Malaysian Automotive Manufacturer globally by being customer oriented and producing competitivel y priced and innovative quality products. Since inception, PROTON have gained a significant international presence bringing PROTON to 27 countries across South-East Asia to the Middle-East, China, South Africa, Australia and the United Kingdom. Over the years PROTON have increased cost-efficiency, realibility and quality through the use of automation and robotics in manufacturing processes.The launch of Research and Development facilities has contributed a most critical activity, innovation in design and creative engineering methods. Consumers can now expect PROTON to deliver more unique, stylish and attractively priced cars. 4. The Proton Personality PROTON have challenging but unique opportunities to change people’s perceptions of what stand for by asserting a clear brand personality founded on a set of brand attributes that should guide all our activities and communications. Proud – Although relatively brief, PROTON company history is one of the remarkable achieveme nts of which PROTON proud.In PROTON pride lies the vital energy that drives us forward and forces PROTON to take on new challenges. Reliable – PROTON committed to providing quality products and services. More important, however is receiving recognition for such quality from customers, business associates and shareholders who need to trust our ability to deliver on PROTON promise of quality Innovative – PROTON ability to innovate is also geared at developing collaborative relationships with other national projects to assist in the development of indigenous products able to compete in the international markets.Knowledgeable – PROTON is committed to the acquisition of intellectual capability in design and technology, which will propel the nation to achieve the status of an industrialised nation. Caring – PROTON responsible corporate citizen, commited to building a friendly organisation centred on personal touch and sensitivity to customers’ needs, wit h clear communications leading to mutual understanding. 2. Consumer Behaviour of the Target Market: Proton Holding Berhad 1. Definition on Consumer BehaviourConsumer behaviour is the study of how individuals, groups, and organizations select, buy, use, and dispose of goods, services, ideas or experiences to satisfy their needs and wants. Consumers are exposed to a myriad of marketing and other external stimuli on a daily basis for which the marketer has to consider consumer characteristics and consumer psychology to successfully position a product or service. Consumer characteristics include; culture, social and personal factors and consumer psychology include motivation, perception, learning and memory. . Consumer Behaviour on Proton Research conducted by Hossein Nezakati1*, KemOon Kok2 and Omid Asgari3 Department of Management and Marketing, Faculty of Economics & Management, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) MBA student, Graduate school of Management (GSM), Universiti Putra Malaysi a (UPM) Founder & CEO, Delta Consulting Group (DCG), Tehran, Iran. The title of research is Do Consumer based-factors influence consumer buying behavior in automotive industry? (Malaysia Evidence). 3. Research MethodUsing primary and secondary data as well as sampling technique. The target population on this study consists of consumers from region of Klang Valley. Most of the respondents were Malay where contributing 98 respondents, followed by Chinese were 56 respondents, Indian were 35 respondents and others races were 21 respondents. Majority of the respondents were aged 18 to 28 years old and most of them in the highest education level were bachelor degree. Some of the respondents were still student where they are attending class as part-time students.The income level, some of the respondents were below RM1,800 but most of the respondents were average monthly income were RM1,800 to RM3,000. From the reliability results, it was found that majority respondents was beliefs them sel f about the quality of the car before they made decision to purchase. Factors influencing consumer behavior on local car like Proton are as follows:- a) Price consciousness- consumers will enormous search information and see the financial performance before acquiring automobile. ) Value consciousness- consumers seems to be equivalently beliefs them self regarding perceptive of the import car, meaning that they purchase car based on the experience from the past where they belief which car will suitable for them. They also act like a consumer seeker whereby they will keep forward looking for the new design of the imported car. Some of the consumer beliefs which car they are prefer to drive and which car they are not prefer or dislike. ) Price-quality inference – Most of the respondent believed that imported car were made by high quality material in term of interior design, more quality in term of engine performance and also more towards science and technology. In this results s how that Malaysia consumers are concern on the value that they receive when they purchase imported car. To be intention to purchase imported car, they will consider how far the price and quality they concern. d) Risk Awareness- In this study, we also found that most of the respondent beliefs that imported car were more safety to drive due to test safety before launching new model.Other than that, they also believe imported car were made by high quality material in term of interior design, more quality in term of engine performance and also more towards science and technology. To successfully compete in the Malaysia and international market, PROTON must emphasize the quality of the products in order to gain competitive advantages in the market. PROTON and its group of companies must remember quality is the factors that will influences consumer’s beliefs and also will influence the intention to purchase.PROTON is also should increase their product quality in order to increase t he consumer’s beliefs about the products by maintaining the quality to gain competitive advantage. 4. SWOT Analysis On Proton The SWOT analysis is an extremely useful tool for understanding and decision. The SWOT analysis is an extremely useful tool for understanding and decision-making for all sorts of situations in business and organizations. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.The SWOT analysis headings provide a good framework for reviewing strategy, position and direction of a company or business proposition, or any other idea. Use SWOT analysis for business planning, strategic planning, competitor evaluation, marketing, business and product development and research reports. To enable this to happen cleanly and clearly, and from a logical point of view anyway when completing a SWOT analysis in most business and marketing situations, Strengths and Weaknesses are regarded distinctly as internal factors, whereas Opportunities and Threats are regarded distinctly as external factors. Strengths |Weaknesses | |Strong brand image |Concentrated Operations | |Received various 8 awards, recently, i. eFrost & Sullivan Malaysia |Although Proton has expended to other international regions, it| |Excellence Awards 2011. (Value-for-Money Car of the Year (1. L and |still depends on the Malaysia market for majority of its | |above), Auto Industry Awards 2011, â€Å"Best People’s Car† for the Saga FL |revenue. | |andâ€Å"Best Value-for-Money Family Car† for the Inspira. | | | |Declining profit trend | |Strong recognition |PBT declined by 17% for FY2011.These mainly due to economic | |Gives it competitive advantage compared to its other competitors. |slowing down and increase in its production cost. | | | | |Strong focus on R & D |Marginal increase in revenue | |PROTON TechnologyAdvisory Council (PTAC) in 2011 and PROTON Technology |Sales increased by marginally at 9% for FY2011.This | |roadmap (PTR) serves as a blueprint for the Company in shaping PROTON’s |performance was the result of encouraging sales recorded by the| |car of the future. |three core models – the Saga, Persona and Exora. This is | | |forcing PROTON to rethink its strategy to optimize plant | |Strong management team |utilization and if possible minimize additional required | |Had strong management in terms of qualifications and leadership, lead by |investment. |Dato’ Sri Haji Syed ZainalAbidin B Syed Mohamed Tahir. Most of the | | |directors have collectively 25 to 40 years of experience in their |Declining market shares | |respective field. |Proton also arrested the decline at 24% in 2010 and gradually | | |increased the same to just below 30% for FY 2011. |Encouraging continuous learning | | |PROTON Critical Mass Scheme-increasing the ratio of PhD and Master | | |Holders in the company. | | | | |Various types of models | | |Through the years the PROTON Group has collectively realized ove r 24 | | |various models. | | | | |Strong staff strength | | |Total staff strength close to 12,000 employees | | |Worldwide. | | | | |Strong cashflows | | |PROTON’s cash and cash equivalentsare maintained above the RM1 billion. | |Opportunities |Threats | |Strategic alliance |Intense Competition | |Entering into strategic agreements, acquiring assets or organizations to |Proton faces intense competition from local manufacturer | |further strengthen its position in the industry. . e Lotus Engineering |i. ePerodua as well as international manufacturer, i. eToyata and| | |Honda, which customers’ perceive better value for their money | |Collaboration with other country |in terms of quality and safety. | |Iran SAIPA, Iran to explore Iran and Middle East market. | | | | |Strong government support |Economic slowing down and volatile global market | |In 2009-Second Stimulus Plan. Current global economies slow down and the uncertainties that | |2010- Economic & Gove rnment Transformation program and 10th Malaysia Plan|currently prevail, especially in Europe, Japan and the USA. | |and attractive loan package. This shows government participations on the | | |growth and sustainability of PROTON. Other country rules and regulation | | |Proton has to abide with the other countries’ regulation in | |Accelerate Strategy into China market |order to penetrate the market. | |PROTON will upgrade the current Representative Office in Hangzhou, | | |Zhejiang Province to a Wholly Owned Foreign Entity (WOFE) in Shanghai |Increase fuel price | |which will be operational by end 2011. The automotive industry is highly affected by fluctuation in | |WOFE will allow PROTON to conduct business and pursue new opportunities |the fuel price. When the fuel price increases significantly | |in China. |people would choose other economical public transport i. e train| | |and monorail/LRT. |Technology transfer | | |PROTON has worked on a feasibility study programme with King Abdulaziz | | |City for Science and Technology (KACST), to develop the plan to achieve | | |full automotive development and manufacturing capability in the Kingdom | | |of | | |Saudi Arabia. | | 3. Situational Analysis 1. Basis of Segmentation A market segment consists of a group of customers who share a similar set of needs and wants. The marketer’s task is to identify the appropriate number and nature of market segments and decide which one(s) to target.They are researcher define segments by looking at descriptive characteristics such as geographic, demographic, and psychographic. Other researchers try to define segments by looking at behavioral considerations, such as consumer responses to benefits, usage occasions, or brands. The major segmentation variables are geographic, demographic, psychographic, and behavioral segmentation. a) Geographic Segmentation Geographic segmentation divides the market into geographical units such as nations, states, regions, counties, cities, or neighborhoods. The company can operate in one or a few areas, or it can operate in all but pay attention to local variations.In that way it can tailor marketing programs to the needs and wants of local customer groups in trading areas, neighborhoods, even individual stores. In a growing trend called grassroots marketing, such activities concentrate on getting as close and personally relevant to individual customers as possible. b) Demographic Segmentation In demographic segmentation, we divide the market on variables such as age, family size, family life cycle, gender, income, occupation, education, religion, race, generation, nationality, and social class. One reason demographic variables are so popular with marketers is that they’re often associated with consumer needs and wants. Another is that they’re easy to measure.Even when we describe the target market in non-demographic terms (say, by personality type), we may need the link back to demogra phic characteristics in order to estimate the size of the market and the media we should use to reach it efficiently. c) Psychographic Segmentation Psychographics is the science of using psychology and demographics to better understand consumers. In psychographic segmentation, buyers are divided into different groups on the basis of psychological/personality traits, lifestyle, or values. People within the same demographic group can exhibit very different psychographic profiles. One of the most popular commercially available classification systems based on psychographic measurements is Strategic Business Insight’s (SBI) VALSâ„ ¢ framework. d) Behavioral SegmentationIn behavioral segmentation, marketers divide buyers into groups on the basis of their knowledge of, attitude toward, use of, or response to a product. Below are the criteria to evaluate market segments: a) Identifiable The differentiating attributes of the segments must be measurable so that they can be identifie d b) Accessible The segments must be reachable through communication and distribution channels c) Substantial The segments should be sufficiently large to justify the resources required to target them d) Unique needs In order to justify separate offerings, the segments must respond differently to the different marketing mixes e) DurableThe segments should be relatively stable to minimize the cost of frequent changes An ideal market segment meets all of the following criteria: a) It is internally homogeneous means the potential customers in the same segment prefer the same product qualities b) It is externally heterogeneous means the potential customers from different segments have basically different quality preferences c) It responds similarly to a market stimulus d) It can be cost-efficiently reached by market intervention. Proton Holdings Berhad (Proton) uses demographic segmentation as their market segmentation a) Age Consumer needs and wants change with age. The marketing mix m ay therefore need to be adapted depending on which age segment or segments are being targeted. Proton Holdings Berhad (Proton) is targeting their customer age ranging from 18 years onwards.It is due to the affordable price, variety of car models such as Proton Exora, Proton Saga FL, Proton Persona, Proton R3 Satria Neo, and Proton Inspira, variety of promotional installment package offered by Proton Edar as a Proton dealer. Basically Proton cars model are suitable for teenagers to an adult. b) Gender It involves dividing a market into different groups based on sex. Proton realizes that the purchasing power of women and men nearly the same. All the marketing campaigns through motorsport exhibition and advertisement done via media electronic, such as television, radio and internet had attract both gender, women and men to purchase Proton cars. With the attractive interior design, up-to-date technology such as GPS navigator install at Proton Exora and variety color schemes had attract both gender to purchase.Besides that Proton emphasize on safety factors of their car manufacture which is desired to market their cars to women, as well as men. c) Family Size For Proton Saga and Proton Satria Neo model, the car model is suitable for small family size whereby the family consist of 2 adults and 2 children. For medium size family whereby the family member consist 4 to 5 members, Proton Persona is suitable for them and for big family size whereby it consist of 6 to 8 members in the family, Proton Exora is suitable for them. d) Life Cycle Stage Market can de divided into different groups based on customer life-cycle. People change the goods and services they want and need over their lifetime.Life cycle stage of customer can be categorized as: †¢ Bachelor Stage whereby the customer is young, still single and not living with their parents. Most of them just finished studied either at university, college or school leaver †¢ Newly Married Couples whereby they stil l young with no children and just enter marriage life †¢ Married couples with dependent children †¢ Married couples with no children living with them †¢ Married couples and they had retired with no children living with them †¢ They had retired and still unmarried Proton car’s model is suitable for every life cycle either the customer is bachelor or an adult or the customer had retired. Their car model can cater every life stage needs and wants.For example, Proton Gen-2 had a modern design, masculine and sporty character in term of design and interior styling and also performance. The car is suitable for bachelor stage and newly married couple who loves very particular about style. Proton Exora is suitable for consumer who has a family member with size of 3 to 6 members. The price of the car is affordable and competitive. Besides that Proton Exora is also suitable for retiree. a) Generation Proton car’s model has been in the automotive sector for 25 years. Proton Holdings Berhad (Proton) has produced over a dozen car models to date that have sold more than 3 million units and has exported to more than 25 countries. Proton Saga was the first Proton model.It rolled off the Shah Alam assembly line for the first time in September 1985. The 100,000th Proton Saga was produced in January 1989. The second proton’s car model is Proton Wira which was produced in the year 1993 followed by Proton Satria in the year 1995, Proton Putra in the year 1995, Proton Perdana in the year 1995, Proton Tiarain the year 1996 t, Proton Perdana V6 in the year 1999, Proton Juara in the year 2001, Proton Waja in the year 2000, Proton Arena in the year 2002, Proton Gen-2 in the year 2004, Proton Savvyin the year 2005, Proton Satria Neo in the year 2006, Proton Personain the year 2007, Proton Saga FL in the year 2008 and Proton Inspira in the year 2010.Until today, Proton car’s model still in demand with new development of the car design, up-to -date technology and car features. According to Dato’ Sri Haji Syed ZainalAbidin Syed Mohamed Tahir, Group Managing Director of PROTON Holdings Berhad during the launching Proton Saga FL 1. 6 on 25th May 2011 said that the Proton Saga FL is suitable for younger generation of purchaser and car owner because the car has more attractive design, affordable price, cost-effective and powerful alternative. b) Income Income segmentation involves dividing a market into different income groups. Marketers of products and services found that income segmentation very useful. Companies with luxury goods and convenience services target well off consumers.Income segmentation is also used to identify and target lower-income groups, so that they can be approached with appropriate products, prices and distribution outlets. Proton Holdings Berhad (Proton) targeted their customer with monthly salary of RM 2,000 and above. The price of the car is affordable and value for money. Proton model is tar geted for people who just enter the working world whereby they need car as a mode of transportation beside public transport such as public bus, taxi, Putra LRT, Commuter or Star LRT. Below is the price of Proton’s car models. |Proton Car Model |Price Starting From | |Proton Exora |RM 59. 48 | |Proton Inspira |RM 78,549 | |Proton Gen-2 |RM 54,538 | |Proton Persona |RM 46,499 | |Proton Saga FLX |RM 38,148 | |Proton Satria Neo |RM 57,313 | |Proton R3 Satria Neo |RM 79,797 | |Proton Savvy |RM 39,693. 68 | |Proton Waja |RM 56,888 | (Souces :www. proton-edar. com. my) c) Life Style It involves classifying people according to their values, beliefs, opinions, and interests. There is no one standardized lifestyle segmentation model.Market research firms and advertising agencies are constantly devising new categories, which will best help target possible consumers of their client’s products. As for Proton’s customer, each of their car models is targeted to different life style of customer. For example, Proton Satria Neo is suitable for your generation who love style and sporty looks. The had an interactive interior design and built-in technology that attract young generation especially college and university student to owned it. d) Social Class Is the single most used variable for research purposes, and divides the population into groups based on their type of occupation as such it can be seen as a socio-economic scale.Description of occupation can be categorized into: †¢ Higher managerial, administrative or professional †¢ Intermediate managerial, administrative or professional †¢ Supervisory, clerical, junior administrative or professional †¢ Skilled manual workers †¢ Semi and unskilled manual workers †¢ State pensioners with no other income, widows, casual and lowest grade earners As for Proton Holdings Berhad (Proton), they will not separate their car model purchaser according to social class. The mos t important element in buying the proton car model is the affordability of the customer to pay down payment and monthly installment. e) Religion Malaysia is multicultural and multiconfessional. The dominant religion in Malaysia is Islam. The large Chinese population in Malaysia practices a mix of beliefs, with influences from traditional Chinese religions such as Buddhism and Daoism.Hinduism is practiced by the majority of Malaysian Indians. Christianity has established itself in some communities, especially in East Malaysia. It is not tied to any specific ethnic group. Other religions, such as the Baha'i Faith and Sikhism also have adherents in Malaysia. All the world's major religions have substantial representation in Malaysia. The Population and Housing Census 2010 figures show approximately these proportions of the population following these religions: †¢ 61. 3% Islam †¢ 19. 8% Buddhism †¢ 9. 2% Christianity †¢ 6. 3% Hinduism †¢ 1. 3% Confucianism, Taoi sm and other traditional Chinese religions †¢ 0. 7% Atheist †¢ 1. % Other religions or no information The majority of Malaysian Malay people are Muslim. Most Malaysian Chinese follow a combination of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and ancestor-worship. Statistics from the 2010 Census indicate that 83. 6% of Malaysia's ethnic Chinese identify as Buddhist, with significant numbers of adherents following Taoism (3. 4%) and Christianity (11. 1%). Christianity is the predominant religion of the non-Malay Bumiputra community (46. 5%) with an additional 40. 4% identifying as Muslims. Many indigenous tribes of East Malaysia have converted to Christianity, although Christianity has made fewer inroads into Peninsular Malaysia.Proton car model is suitable for all religion. There is separation between religions in order to own the car. The most important element to purchase the car is the affordability and the interest of the features of the Proton car’s model. f) Education Lev el of education that purchase proton’s car can be categorized as customer who had obtain education until secondary school and who had obtain tertiary education in universities or colleges. Basically customers with tertiary education are more detailed in analyzing the car model from the car design, car features, the function of the car and the technology installed in the car. Usually the will study before deciding to purchase the car.Basically Proton car’s is suitable for everybody either the customer is educated or just finished the secondary school level such SijilPelajaran Malaysia. The car’s model has not separated in term of level of education. The most important things in purchasing the Proton car’s model is knowing to read and write. It is because the manual book will be given to all customer in order for them to know more about the car’s model such as the technology built-in, features and the function of the car. g) Ethnicity The population of Malaysia consists of four main ethnic groups which are malays, chinese, Indians and other ethnic group in Sabah and Sarawak.Malays and other indigenous groups are known as Bumiputras. Non-Malay indigenous tribes constitute about half of Sarawak's residents; the largest indigenous group consists of the Sea Dayaks, or Ibans, followed by the Land Dayaks, or Bidayuh. The majority of Sabah's population consists of indigenous peoples, principally Kadazans, Bajaus, and Muruts. The balance is dominated by Chinese. Basically as for Proton Holdings Berhad (Proton), ethnic will not play an important role in targeting purchaser of proton car. Every ethnic group in Malaysia has the opportunity to purchase proton car models regardless where they come from in the state in Malaysia.The most important thing is they attract to the design, features and the technology built-in to the car. 2. Target Market The target market is the part of the qualified available market the company decides to pursue. The Malaysian automotive market is certainly one of the more significant markets in Asia Pacific. It is estimated that over 21. 25 million vehicles have been registered in Malaysia to date with every 3 in 10 Malaysians owning a vehicle. Uniquely, Malaysia is one of the few countries in Asia Pacific  to have its own national carmakers, further adding spice and flavour to this market. Malaysia is also one of the few right- hand- drive ( RHD ) markets in the world.The Top 50 best selling cars in Malaysia for the year of 2011 ( Up until October 2011 ) |Rank |Car |Total sold | |1 |PeroduaMyvi |65,783 | |2 |Proton Saga |63,615 | |3 |Perodua Viva |49,636 | |4 |Proton Persona |40,666 | |5 |PeroduaAlza |30,398 | |6 |Toyota Vios |25,485 | |7 |Proton Exora |18,165 | |8 Toyota Hilux |18,015 | |9 |Nissan Grand Livina |10,620 | |10 |Honda City |10,470 | |11 |Proton Inspira |8,028 | |12 |Mitsubishi Triton |6,974 | |13 |Toyota Camry |6,679 | |14 |Toyota Avanza |6,660 | |15 |Honda Civic |6,121 | | 16 |Toyota Corolla Altis |5,178 | |17 |Isuzu D-MAX |4,871 | |18 |Naza ( Kia ) Forte |4,783 | |19 |Honda Insight |4,085 | |20 |Honda Accord |4,058 | |21 |Honda CR-V |4,007 | |22 |Suzuki Swift |3,962 | |23 |Nissan Teana |3,876 | |24 |Ford Fiesta |3,753 | |25 |Toyota Innova |3,735 | |26 |Proton Satria Neo |3,367 | |27 |Nissan Navara |3,122 | |28 |Hyundai Sonata |2,605 | |29 |Nissan Sylphy |2,385 | |30 |CheryEastar |2,251 | |31 |Proton Waja |2,159 | |32 |Hyundai i10 |2,115 | |33 |Toyota Rush |1,988 | |34 |Ford Ranger |1,900 | |35 |Mercedes- Benz E- Class 1,857 | |36 |Mercedes- Benz C- Class |1,823 | |37 |Hyundai Tucson |1,757 | |38 |Peugeot 308 |1,732 | |39 |BMW 5- Series F10 |1,723 | |40 |Toyota Prius |1,640 | |41 |Volkswagen Golf TSI |1,633 | |42 |Mazda 2 |1,591 | |43 |Naza ( Kia ) Citra |1,575 | |44 |Mazda 3 |1,555 | |45 |Toyota Hiace |1,550 | |46 |BMW 3- Series Sedan |1,513 | |47 |Nissan Urvan |1,447 | |48 |Toyota Fortuner |1,376 | |49 |Volkswagen Polo TSI |1,298 | |50 |Peugeot 207 Sedan |1,282 | Source: Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) 3. Target market for Proton Holdings Berhad The Proton Persona had won the Frost & Sullivan for the Best Value of Monet Car of Year 2011 with total sales of 4,000 units per month. For the year 2011, there are 156,487 units of Proton Persona already on the road.Proton Persona is one of the top selling cars in the domestic market. According to the Dato’ Sri Haji Syed ZainalAbidin, Proton Holdings Berhad (Proton) competition is in the domestic market is so competitive. Proton is trying to take advantage these opportunities by introducing variety of new Proton car’s model in order to give variety of Proton cars for their customer to choose. In Malaysia, PROTON ranked second in terms of market share at 26%. With proper sales and marketing strategy combined with product launches of the Exora MC, Saga FL and Inspira, the performance in FY 10/11 was 3% higher at 162,012 units compared to 157,170 units in FY09/10.The launch of the latest addition, Proton Inspira, to the family, has allowed PROTON to capture more customers from different segments. The new sporty sedan contributed 6% to our monthly sales, the fourth largest contributor after the Saga, Persona and Neo. Saga remained the strongest contributor making up 45% of sales, continuing this multi award winning car’s reign as the most preferred amongst PROTON models especially after the introduction of the Saga FL. The introduction of Exora MC has also enabled PROTON to maintain their MPV sales performance while offering their customers a fresher look and feel. Besides that PROTON also had export their car to the international market such as China, Australia and Middle East Region.For the year 2011, the five top performing markets were Thailand, Australia, Indonesia, Egypt and Syria. In Thailand, Proton models were gaining higher acceptance gauging from various feedback from the customers, dealers, motorshows and mass media. The Exora received accolades as one of the Top Ten Passenger Cars 2010 in the Bangkok Post. The introduction of Saga FL and improvement initiatives at dealer network will be a hopeful stream for PROTON to achieve greater success. In Indonesia, PROTON has established itself as the 12th top brand in the market and managed to increase volume by 23% in 2010, in which the Exora has again been the best selling model and has remained the core product for PROTON Indonesia.With the current outlook and barring any unforeseen circumstances, PT PEI is expected to perform better in the new fiscal year. In 2010 China continued to record robust growth with 18. 1 million vehicles sold which represent a 33% increase over 2009. The growth was mainly powered by favorable government incentives, urban economic development and China’s stimulus package to boost the economy. PROTON expect China’s long-term growth to remain intact and continue in the next few years due to the current low motorization r ate and buoyant economy. CAAM (China Association of Automotive Manufacturers) expects China’s TIV to reach 20 million units in 2011.To accelerate PROTON’s strategy into China and serve the market better, PROTON will upgrade the current Representative Office in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province to a Wholly Owned Foreign Entity (WOFE) in Shanghai which will be operational by end 2011. The WOFE will allow PROTON to conduct business and pursue new opportunities in China. The Satria Neo, Artiga Concept Car and Lotus Europa were displayed during the Shanghai Motor Show in April 2011 to enable PROTON to gauge market acceptance and pursue future opportunities for these products. Currently, PROTON cars are being sold under the Youngman brand through 100 appointed dealers throughout China.Thailand’s automotive industry in 2010 showed a significant increase of 46% against 2009 despite domestic political instability. The remarkable growth in the Thai automotive industry is due in part to the reduction in excise duties for small passenger cars. This reduced the prices of cars and the added advantage of credit availability was instrumental in increasing demand. The rise in petroleum prices did little to dampen the automotive market growth in Thailand. PROTON continues to make headway in the Thai market with our strategy of practical designs at affordable prices. The Proton Exora which was introduced in December 2009 was voted as a Top 10 model by Bangkok Post for the year 2010.In 2010 PROTON also saw the introduction of Saga FL in the market, competing heads on with Eco cars. Currently, through PROTON Thailand distributor, Phranakorn Auto Sales Co. Ltd (PAS), PROTON has a network of 40 dealers (all 3S outlets) throughout Thailand. The current in service models consist of Savvy, Saga FL, Neo, Neo CPS, Gen. 2, Persona and Exora. PT Proton Edar Indonesia (PT PEI) was established on 16 August 2002 but commenced full operations on 16 March 2007, as part of PROTONà ¢â‚¬â„¢s brand expansion and AMLO strategies to spread out its presence intensely and dynamically. PT PEI till end 2010 offered the Indonesian market seven attractive models to target the different segments.The models are Savvy, launched in July 2007, that received 2 Awards for Best City Car from Majalah Mobil Motor and Auto Bild Indonesia; the Gen. 2 and Neo (also launched in 2007), with the more sporty and stylish outlook within the hatchback categories and not forgetting the highly comfortable and functional mini sedan class, the Gen. 2 Persona, and Waja (launched July 2007) and the Saga (launched March 2009). Saga has won the â€Å"2009 Best Budget Sedan†, awarded by Indonesia Otomotif Awards. In a country where there is a large preference for MPVs, the Proton Exora gathered the most accolades. This model has become the biggest sales contributor to PT PEI since its launch and debut at the Indonesian International Motor Show in 2009.Exora has been awarded by Indonesia Otom otif Awards the â€Å"2011 Best Budget MPV†. On the dealer network aspect as of 31st March 2011, PT PEI has appointed 17 sales outlets and 30 after-sales service centres or authorized workshops throughout Indonesia and PT. PEI is looking at expanding its sales coverage to 25 outlets in FY 2011/2012. Over this period the Australian industry volume increased by 10. 5% compared to the previous year. Improved economic conditions and heavy promotion by industry competitors lead to an overall volume of 1. 035 million sales. The sales result was the second highest annual volume recorded in the Australian market. Proton Cars Australia recorded a 16. % increase in sales on the back of the improved trading environment. The main sales increase came from the successful launch of the S16 (Saga) which was overwhelmingly accepted by the Australian public 4. Proton Financial Aspects | |2007 |2008 |2009 |2010 |2011 | |Revenue |4687. 3 |5621. 6 |6486. 6 |8226. 9 |8969. 9 | |Profit/(Loss) bef ore taxation |-618. 1 |144. 3 |-319. 2 |260. 9 |214. | |Profit/(Loss) after taxation |-589. 5 |184. 6 |-301. 8 |218. 9 |155. 6 | |Retained earnings attributable to shareholders |4319. 2 |4476. 2 |4174. 5 |4372. 8 |4526. 4 | |Dividend paid |-27. 5 |- |-20. 6 |- |-82. 4 | |Retained earnings carried forward |4291. 7 |4476. 2 |4153. 9 |4372. 8 |4444 | Table 1. 1 Table of Financial Summary & Highlights [pic] Graph 1. 1 Graph of Sales in 5 years [pic] Graph 1. Graph of Net Income/Loss in 5 years In the financial year 2007, the weakened industry state of affairs and the cumulative impact of various legacy issues had adversely affected PROTON during the financial year under review. Domestic sales volume for the period declined by 46. 8% to 88,635 units in comparison to the 166,656 units recorded in the previous financial year. PROTON's market share in Malaysia also declined to 29. 7% during the financial year compared to 39. 1% in the previous year, due to persistent competitive pressures w ithin the automotive sector. Such conditions and circumstances have led PROTON to a net loss after tax of RM590 million on a turnover of RM4. billion, as compared to the previous year's results of a net profit after tax of RM46 million on a turnover of RM7. 8 billion. The Group's losses for this financial year were also accentuated by various provisions, which included right-sizing costs incurred by a foreign subsidiary, higher component and raw material costs as well as the impact of legacy issues such as additional expenditure recognized in respect of vendor claims for previous years' project development costs and settlement of onerous contractual obligations previously committed. In addition, accounting adjustments to PROTON's deferred tax assets also adversely impacted the financial results. Accordingly, for the financial year ended 31 March 2009, PROTON recorded a loss after tax of RM301. million albeit on the back of improved revenue of RM6. 5 billion. This decline was largely due to the one-off exceptional provision for the impairment of property, plant and equipment and inventory write-down for certain models impacted by declining demand. Additionally, PROTON’s financial performance for the second half of the financial year was also adversely affected by the accelerated amortization of dies and jigs for certain models as well as higher commodity prices, increased costs of components and raw materials which arose from higher foreign currency exchange rates, particularly, the Japanese Yen and the US Dollar, coupled with allowance for doubtful debts.During the financial year 2011, the Group recorded a net profit of RM156 million (2010: RM219 million) which was lower than the previous financial year. The decrease was substantially due to higher losses from Lotus Group International Limited (‘LGIL’) whilst better contribution from the Proton cars business partly offset the decline. Growth in domestic sales volume, as well as introduction of models with better profit margins mainly accounted for the improved performance of Proton cars. In line with its transformation plans, LGIL incurred higher branding, marketing and restructuring costs in the rebuilding of the brand and improving production capabilities respectively. PROTON ranked second in terms of market share at 26%.With proper sales and marketing strategy combined with product launches of the Exora MC, Saga FL and Inspira, the performance in FY 10/11 was 3% higher at 162,012 units compared to 157,170 units in FY09/10. In terms of Service Marketing, more intense activities are being carried out to capture the â€Å"after warranty† customers in order to promote their visits to Proton EdarSdnBhd (PESB) service centres. Better values for money packages have been introduced to boost the said segment. In addition, tactical campaigns are also implemented every quarter to induce the element of surprise and enhance a ‘feel good’ sentiment among our customers. 5. Marketing Mix StrategiesIn Malaysia for the last 10 years, the car industry was practically taken over by Proton brand. 70 percent of vehicle sold are Proton sales. Some 25 other manufacturers compete for the remaining 30 percent. The previous best selling car like Nissan Sunny was totally wipe out almost overnight since Proton huge takeover in market sales more than 10 years ago. A marketing mix consists of four items or the four basic marketing mix tools that is product, price, place and promotion. This tools make up the marketing or advertising programs a company uses to entice consumers into purchasing specific types of products. Successful strategies typically maximize each piece of the marketing mix.Many people think a product is tangible, but a product is anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a want or need, including physical goods, services, experiences, events, person, places, properties, organizations, information and ideas, (Kotler , 2012). In PROTONcontex, product refers to cars that Proton produce like Proton Saga, Proton Iswara, Proton Wira, Proton Satria, Proton Perdana, Proton Tiara, Proton Putra, Proton Savvy, Proton Gen2, Proton Persona, Proton Exora and Proton Inspira. PROTON offer unquestionably the best warranty package of any manufacturer and the most important part being the power train warranty, which guarantees the engine and transmission assemblies against failure for six years.The PROTON Invention and Innovation Competition (PICC) which was established in 2009 is an annual events which enables PROTON staff to generate new ideas and interest in creating next generation cars and also for employee to feel that their ideas and contribution are valued by the company. In marketing mix, price is the amount of money charged for each item. Before the product is developed, the marketing strategy is formulated, including target market selection and product positioning. There usually is a tradeoff between product qua lity and price, so price is an important variable in positioning. Because of inherent tradeoffs between marketing mixelements, pricing will depend on other product, distribution and promotion decisions.PROTON car has varieties types of car price according to their models offered. Generally consumers feel that the prices of PROTON’s products are affordable as compared with other brands in the category with which it compete. Pricing for PROTON car will eventually affects other marketing mix elements such as product features, distribution channel decisions and the aggressively promotion held nationwide. Place is the location at which customer purchases the product, including stores and websites. Proton has two distribution channels which are PROTON EDAR and EON. With this two distribution channels all prospect customer can easily accessible as it can be reached in all major towns in Malaysia.Besides that PROTON also opened a branch at another countries like China, Thailand, Indo nesia, Singapore, Australia and United Kingdom. China In 2010, China continued to record robust growth with 18. 1 million vehicles sold which represent 33% increase over 2009. The growth was mainly powered by favourable government incentives, urban economic development and China’s stimulus package to boost the economy. PROTON expect China’s long term growth to remain intact and continue in the next few years due to the current low motorisation rate and buoyant economy. CAAM (China Association of Automotive Manufacturers) expects China’s TIV to reach 20 milion units in 2011. Thailand PROTON continues to make headway in the Thai market with strategy of practical design at affordable prices.The Proton Exora which was introduced in December 2009 was voted as a Top 10 model by Bangkok Post for the year 2010. In 2010, PROTON also saw the introduction of Saga FL in the market, competing heads on with Eco cars. Currently, through PROTON Thailand distributor, Phranakorn Auto Sales Co. , Ltd (PAS), PROTON has network of 40 dealers (all 3S outlets) throughout Thailand. Indonesia PT Proton Edar Indonesia (PT PEI) was established on 16 August 2002 but commenced full operations on 16 March 2007, as part of PROTON’s brand expansion and AMLO strategies to spread out its presence intensely and dynamically. PT PEI till end 2010 offered the Indonesian market seven attractive models to target the different segments.The models are Savvy, launched in July 2007, that received 2 Awards for Best City Car from Majalah Mobil Motor and Auto Bild Indonesia, the Gen-2 and Neo also launched in 2007 with the more sporty and stylish outlook within the hatchback categories and not forgetting the highly comfortable and functional mini sedan class, the Gen-2, Persona and Waja launched July 2007 and the Saga launched March 2009. Saga has won the â€Å"2009 Best Budget Sedan† awarded by Indonesia Otomotif Awards. Singapore The new car market in Singapore is regul ated by the Certificate of Entitlement quota (CEO) which is issue by the Land Transport Authority (LTA). TIV has consistently outgrown the road space development which leads the LTA to introduce a drastic change in the formulation of quota supply.This new measure has created a drastic decline of quota supply and as a S$18,502 to S$47,604) within the year 2010 which is a ten year record high. Australia Over this period the Australian industry volume increased by 10. 5% compared to the previous year. Improved economic conditions and heavy promotion by industry competitors lead to an overall volume of 1. 035 million sales. The sales result was the second highest annual volume recorded in the Australian market. PROTON Cars Australia recorded a 16. 1% increase in sales on the back of the improved trading environment. The main sales increase came from the successful launch of the S16 (Saga) which was overwhelmingly accepted by the Australian public. United KingdomThe retail buyer segment saw a 7% decrease in sales and this would have been significantly lower had it not been supported by the government scrappage scheme which ended in the first half of 2010. High fuel prices and economic factors drove demand for smaller more fuel-efficient cars, with â€Å"B† segment (Supermini) vehicles accounting for 37% market share and diesel vehicles increased consumer demand for these models. Promotion is the communication method companies use to inform customers about goods and services. The very first promotion Proton used was to organize the car naming contest, and it was from here that a certain brand belonging patriotism towards Proton SAGA name was instill among Malaysian.The government itself also relentlessly pursue the promotion of Proton car on a nationwide scale with the Prime Minister launching almost every new model category in the Proton car lineage. This itself has been widely covered in all major newspaper for the benefit of market brand awareness. As in r ecently the Prime Minister as a prime mover in promoting PROTON cars have launched numerous world events namely the World Cup Golf ’99, and Le Tour De Langkawi, awarding a Proton car to its winners. The recent achievement of Malaysian athletes who had set and broken records in Kuala Lumpur 98XVI Commonwealth Games was also not forgotten, as the athletes were each awarded a Proton PERDANA.Besides this Proton through its marketing arm EON, have also been sponsoring world events to promote the car namely, FIFA/Coca Cola IXth World Youth Club, 34th International Youth Skill Olympics, Motor Rallying Activities and the Malaysia Thomas Cup team to restore the badminton glory. These intensive promotions especially at world function have nevertheless promoted Proton Proton cars to a vast majority of people in Malaysia as well as overseas. Marketing mix strategies concern either one item or the entire group. For example, product strategies may consist of selling brand new items or subs tituting goods for item already in the market. Prices can be extremely high to create a sense of exclusiveness or inexpensive. The place may be in-store or at special location, with wide ranging promotion using multiple methods. All four pieces of the marketing mix helps companies set the price for their goods and services.In economic term, the best price is at equilibrium, or the price at which consumers will buy the most products and the company will make the most profit. 6. Forecasting for the Near Future To say that a lot has happened recently to the world of automotive marketing and CRM would be an understatement. Since the days when marketing managers were schooled in the marketing mix of the four â€Å"Ps† — Product, Price, Place and Promotion — practitioners have applied these fundamentals in time- and battle-tested ways, ever honing their craft. Marketing as we have known it is undergoing a radical transformation as the internet plays an ever-increasing role in consumers' lives. For consumers, the internet has become the primary research tool used to determine the best car to purchase.And for Proton, it is now the path to reach and learn from these consumers — providing automotive professionals with a vastly better way to quantify and qualify the most important aspects of consumer attitudes, shopping behaviors, vehicle demand and the conversion of demand to sales. The internet has enabled customer acquisition techniques and efficiencies that were never before possible. Furthermore, it has enhanced the quality of intelligence and accelerated its availability. Given the power that these changes have ushered in, we can no longer rely on the traditional â€Å"P's†, lest we fall victim to what marketing guru Ted Levitt referred to as â€Å"marketing myopia. † The fundamentals are no longer adequate to effectively win and keep consumers and, as such, a powerful new entrant — a fifth ‘P' — has eme rged in the marketing model: Process.Process calls for grounding tactical and strategic marketing decisions in the insights that can be drawn from online consumer data and leveraged across the predecessor Ps. With Process, online data regarding consumer preferences and shopping behavior is used to precisely pinpoint, measure and analyze consumer activity and build more effective marketing programs that cost-effectively increase sales and profit per vehicle. With more than two-thirds of new vehicle buyers going online to research purchases before buying a new vehicle, insights derived from these data can be used to develop highly customized marketing programs geared toward consumers' specific purchasing behavior.In short, Process, powered by online data, enables companies to quickly optimize the return on their marketing investments and drive overall marketing efficiency. It is no longer enough to place a product and price and promote it; instead, marketers must ‘connect the do ts' and utilize data to its fullest advantage to transform the way they identify and reach potential buyers. There

Agricultural enterprises seeking to employ management accounting techniques Essay

Yes. I think the case study with its proposed solutions would be useful to the agricultural enterprises seeking to employ management accounting techniques. It is because the study adopts the activity-based method of costing product and cost allocations. Activities are the main focus on activity-based costing. The main theory in ABC is that overhead costs are originated by an array of movements, and those different products make use of these activities in a heterogeneous way. Costing the activity is normally an in-between step in the distribution of overhead costs to products, to acquire more precise product cost information. However, occasionally the activity itself is the cost object of interest. Like for example, manager of a company might desire to know how much the company spends to acquire their raw materials, as input in a sourcing judgment. The activity of acquiring the raw materials incurs costs associated with negotiating prices with suppliers, issuing purchase orders, receiving fabric, inspecting fabric, and processing payments and returns. The steps to product costing are: 1) Identify the cost; 2) Identify the direct costs associated with the cost object; 3) Identify overhead costs; 4) Select the cost allocation base for assigning overhead costs to the cost object; and 5) Develop the overhead rate per unit for allocating overhead to the cost object. ABC improves steps #3 and #4 dividing large heterogeneous cost groups into multiple smaller, homogeneous cost groups. ABC then tries to choose, as the cost allocation base for each overhead cost pool, a cost driver that best takes hold the cause and effect relationship between the cost object and the incurrence of overhead costs. Usually the best cost driver is a non-financial variable. ABC can moderately turn out to be elaborate. For example, it is frequently helpful to use a two-stage allocation method whereby overhead costs are allocated to intermediate cost groups in the first phase, and then allocated from these intermediate cost groups to products in the second phase. Intermediate step is useful because it permits the introduction of multiple cost drivers for a single overhead cost item. Cost pools are usually established for each level in a hierarchy of costs in an activity-based costing. The following cost hierarchy is commonly identified for manufacturing firms: Unit-level costs. These costs change in a more-or-less linear manner with the number of units produced for any given product. For example, fabric and thread are unit-level costs for a clothing manufacturer; if the company would like to increase production by 100%, it will need twice as much fabric and thread. Batch-level costs. These costs change in a more-or-less linear mode with the number of batches run. Machine setup costs are regularly batch-level costs. The time needed to prepare a machine to run one batch of product is usually independent of the number of units in the batch; the same time required in preparing the machine to run a batch of 100 units as a batch of 50 units. Consequently, batch level costs do not necessarily differ in a linear way with the number of units processed. Product-level costs: These costs are regularly fixed and direct with respect to a given product. An example is the salary of a product manager with responsibility for only one product. The product manager’s salary is a fixed cost to the company for a wide range of production volume levels. However, if the company removes the product totally, the product manager is not anymore needed. Facility-level costs. These costs are usually fixed and direct with respect to the facility. An example is property taxes on the facility, or the salaries of front office personnel such as the receptionist and office manager. ABC provides more exact product cost information because traditional costing systems commonly distribute all overhead, including batch-level overhead, using an allocation base that is suitable only for unit-level costs. The traditional costing system distributes all overhead based on number of units produced. ABC method clearly identifies the cost  hierarchy would correct this problem. ABC could be effectively applied in merchandising and service companies as well as manufacturing firms. Although, originally ABC is attributed to manufacturing companies in the 1980s, by then hospitals were already allocating overhead costs to departments and then to patient services using methods comparable to ABC. Implementations of relatively sophisticated allocation processes were required in hospitals to comply with Medicare reimbursement rules. Other non-manufacturing industries that have benefited from ABC include financial services firms and retailers. 2. If the Farm Council Case did not use Activity Based Costing, identify several dysfunctional decisions that could be made using traditional cost allocation. Which solution do you prefer, the initial or alternative solution proposed in the case? Unlike ABC, the traditional costing system distributes all overhead based on number of units produced which resulted to inappropriate identification of the cost hierarchy. Thus product costing and pricing is not at all very precise and effective.

A number of factors disqualified the ‘deserted wife’s equity’ from recognition as a property right in National Provincial Bank Ltd v Ainsworth [1965] AC 1175:

Introduction I suggest you look at the developing concepts of fairness, because this is why the MHA 1967 was developed. Proprietary Estoppel for cohabitees is becoming less prevalent due to the decisions in family home trust. Thus, fairness is at the centre of the approach, except the clear provision of a proprietary interest is necessary and not merely the provision of a roof over the other’s head. This is common to Ainsworth, proprietary estoppel and the family home constructive trust. The rationale is that it would not be fair to impose a proprietary right without a proprietary intention. The case of National Provincial Bank Ltd v Ainsworth [1965] AC 1175 holds a limited approach to understanding non-occupier’s rights in property. National Provincial Bank Ltd v Ainsworth held that the common law right for the husband to provide a roof over the head of the deserted wife was merely in personam. This means selling the property to a third party will allow the husband to avoid his obligation to his deserted wife It is important to note that it predates the Matrimonial Homes Act 1967 (MHA 1967). The MHA 1967was developed to remedy the flaw in National Provincial Bank Ltd v Ainsworth, which indicates that the legislature recognised that the existing law with respect to deserted wife’s equity and its enforceability against third parties was manifestly unfair. The law on proprietary estoppel provides that the third party find their rights will be interfered with. The elements of proprietary estoppel can result in an in personam right defeating an in rem right if the following element is fulfilled: Reasonable belief that the person will have interest in property Acts reasonably in reliance Gillet v Holt This is illustrated in a number of cases that have expressed that the main factor is that there is a clear expression of a proprietary right in the property (Thorner v Major [2009] UKHL 18). The case of Walsh v Singh [2010] 1 FLR 1658 held that conduct plus detriment is not enough is not enough to allow a claim for proprietary estoppel. In addition, the case of Negus v Bahouse [2008] 1 FCR 768 held that statement to provide a roof over the individual’s head or a determination to move in is not enough to allow a claim for proprietary estoppel. The Negus v Bahouse Case is, in part, applies the same formulaic approach, as The implication is that there has to be a clear expression of a proprietary right, in order for proprietary estoppel to be used. There are a series of cases on the constructive family home trust, which may change the goal posts on what an expression of a proprietary right when it comes to a spousal/partner interest. These cases are Oxley v Hiscock [2004] EWCA Civ 546, which identified that in family relationship there is an obligation to ensure that there is fairness in the rights of a non-property owning spouse/partner. In these cases the use of the constructive trust would be better for the family member who has relied on a property right inferred by the property owning spouse/partner ( The â€Å"deserted wife† (partner) has to show that she â€Å"has any interest in it [the property] at all† (Stack v Dowden at 56). This means the intention is imputed through the relationship (i.e. relationship plus contribution = share in the property). Thus, both proprietary estoppel and the family home constructive trust has move away from the in personam right not trumping an in rem right. However, for this to work there has to be a clear expression of a proprietary interest and not merely providing a roof over the individual’s head (Negus v Bahouse cf. National Provincial Bank Ltd v Ainsworth for similarity). The impact of the fairness rulings in Oxley v Hiscock. Stock v Dowden and Jones v Kernott may change the mere expression argument if the nature of the relationship imputes an assumption of a proprietary right. Thus, potentially the obligation to provide a roof over the head of the other party is sufficient. Additional References to Consider on top of Proprietary Estoppel: Baroness Deech, ‘Cohabitation’ [2010] Family Law 39 Fretwell, K â€Å"Fairness is what justice really is: Kernott v Jones in the Supreme Court† (2011) Family Law 41(7) Hayward, AP â€Å"Family Property and the Process of Familialization of Property Law† (2012) Child and Family Law Quarterly 24(3) McGhee, M â€Å"Shifting the Scales of Social Justice in the Cohabitation Context: The Juridical Basis for the Varying of interests in Residential Property† (2012) Oxford University Law Journal 1(19) Mee, J â€Å"Burns v Burns: The Villain of the Piece?† in Probert, R, Herring, J and Gilmore, S Landmark Cases in Family Law (Hart, 2011) Mee, J â€Å"Ambulation, Severance and the Common Intention Constructive Trust† (2012) Law Quarterly Review 128(500) Miles, J â€Å"Charman v Charman (No 4) [2007] EWCA Civ 503 – making sense of need compensation and equal sharing after Millar: MacFarlane† (2008) Child and Family Law Quarterly 20(376) Pawlowski, M â€Å"Joint ownership and the family home† (2011) Property Law Review, 1(68) Probert, R â€Å"Cohabitation: Current Legal Solutions† (2009) Current Legal Problems 62(1) Probert, R â€Å"Cohabitation in Twentieth Century England and Wales† (2004) Law and Policy 26(1) Smithdale, J â€Å"Inference, Imputation, or BothConfusion Persists over Beneficial Interests in the Family Home† (2011) CSLR 74, p 79

Literature Review Essays

Literature Review Essays Literature Review Essay Literature Review Essay This review covers reading as a subject generally and also in L 2 environment. It further considers the various models of reading propounded by researchers and authors.   It also takes a look at differences between a reading strategy and a reading skill. It then outlines and classifies the various learning strategies in use. Specifically, it reviews strategies for reading, pre-reading, while reading and post-reading. It also delves into the strategies good readers use to get by. It further reviews available literature on strategic reading and teaching of reading strategies. The last segment of the review is devoted to difficulties encountered in teaching reading strategies.1.0 Reading:Reading as a subject has been defined in several ways by different people and organizations. WorldNet (2007) has defined reading in seven distinct ways. Two of the definitions relevant to our subject matter are given below:-a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reading is the â€Å" cogn itive process of understanding a written linguistic message†b.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reading is a â€Å" mental representation of the meaning or significance of something†According to the Encyclopaedia, an adult reader can read and understand between 200 -1000 words per minute. Catherine Walter (2003), on the other hand, has given 300 words per minute as the optimal rate for processing prose. She added that for fluent adult readers, this rate is constant, regardless of whether the text was difficult or not.   Generally for young readers, the ability of one to read often depends on the rate of fixation of one’s eye on the words being read and also the difficulty of the material being. Reading is a core subject given greater emphasis in most schools throughout the world.2.0     Models of Reading:Two kinds (models) of processing are distinguishable in reading. These are the bottom-up processes and the Top-down processes. The former involves those that take in st imuli from the outside world in the form of letters and words for reading. Adherents of this theory (bottom up processing) focus on how readers extract information from the printed page. Whereas the latter, the uptake of information is guided by an individual’s prior knowledge and expectations. Proponents of this theory posits that readers form hypothesis about which words they would encounter and take in only enough visual information to test their hypothesis.   Acceptance or rejection of a given text is based primarily on what their formed hypothesis is all about. If the formed hypothesis is consistent with what has been read the material is readily accepted. On the other hand, if the read material is not in congruent, the material may be rejected. In practice, she added that, both processes (bottom-up and top-down) are tapped into to facilitate accurate and rapid processing of information.3.0     Reading in second language (L2):Studies undertaken by Schoonen, Hulstij n and Bosser (1998) on Dutch learners of the English language revealed that as proficiency grew, meta-cognitive knowledge contributed to a greater extent to reading comprehension skill acquisition. They further added that knowledge of textual characteristics and reading strategies played greater role in supporting the comprehension gained from reading. Sheory Mokhtari (2001) called their tool the â€Å"Survey of Reading Strategies† (SORS). In one of their studies, they assessed the differences in reading strategies between native speakers (US) and non-native speakers of English. The study revealed that ESL students reported a higher usage of strategies to get by than their US counterparts. Also, the ESL students reported using a greater number of supportive reading strategies. As an entire group, however, the study showed no significant gender differences. On the other hand, the female ESL students admitted using the strategy of underlining information in the text more their male colleagues (ESL students). Interestingly, students who gave themselves higher scores for reading ability also reported using a higher frequency of reading strategies than those readers who gave themselves a lower rating.Catherine Walter (2003) has pointed out that less skilled L2 readers do not necessarily have fewer strategies than skilled readers, but that they are less able to choose the most appropriate strategy for the problem at hand. On the basis of this knowledge, this author counselled teachers to help learners become aware of the strategies they use sometimes unknowingly when reading as well as other strategies available to them and how these strategies can be used selectively. From this account, we can learn that the problem with L2 readers are not so much about the lack of knowledge of reading strategies   but more importantly the ability to apply the most appropriate reading strategy for a given problem.   According to Catherine Walter (2003) several studies in volving L2 students have confirmed that those of them who engaged in extensive reading over a period of time showed significantly more improvement in L2 writing skills than the control groups, who did not practice extensive reading of any kind. She attributed this effect to the unconscious acquisition of the rhetorical conventions of L2 written genres.4.0     Reading Strategy   versus   Skill:Reading strategy is the plan the reader adopts to accomplish a given reading goal. Reading skills, on the other hand, is the reading ability acquired that enables the reader achieves a given reading goal. There are four strategies of reading a material effectively. First, they change their reading speed depending on the difficulty of the material. Secondly, they show a greater tendency to re-read the material, especially when the reading material is considered â€Å"hard†. Thirdly, good readers set for themselves a definite purpose for reading a given material. Fourthly, they ask themselves questions as they read the material. These strategies enable them to look for definite answers from the given text. Furthermore, it also increases their concentration and ability to draw meaning from the material read. They endeavour to visualize what the author is seeking to convey to them from the reading material.What separates good or successful readers from the poor ones often lies in the ability of the former to solve problems that relate to (a) difficult words (b) distractions (c) disagreements with the author (d) nervousness (e) lack of prior knowledge of the subject matter being read and (f) lack of definite purpose.With regards to difficult words, good readers try to re-read the previous sentence before them or try to substitute them to gain comprehension. Another means they employ to overcome difficult vocabulary is to write it down and find its meaning, as writing itself is a good way for recalling information read.The internet has become part and parcel of t he daily lives of many persons including L2 readers. Recognizing the increasing importance this information and communication medium plays in the lives of L2 readers, Anderson (2003) carried out a study to find out (a) The online reading strategies employed by second language readers. (b) Whether online reading strategies of English as a second language readers (ESL) differ from English as a foreign language reader (EFL). He found the under listed as the top twelve reading strategies most widely used. Of these strategies, eight (67 percent) were problem-solving ones, whilst the other four (33 percent) were global reading strategies.(a)   I try to get back on track when I lose concentration (problem-solving strategy).(b) When on-line text becomes difficult, I pay closer attention to what I am reading (problem-solving strategy).(c) I read slowly and carefully to make sure I understand what I am reading online (problem-solving strategy)(d) When I read online, I guess the meaning of u nknown words or phrases (problem-solving strategy)(e) I try to guess what the content of the online text is about when I read (Global strategy(f) I think about what I know to help me understand what I read online (Global strategy(g) I can distinguish between fact and opinion in online texts (Problem-solving strategy(h) I try to picture or visualize information to help me remember what I read online (Problem-solving strategy)(I) When reading online, I decide what to read closely and what to ignore (Global strategy)(j) I adjust my reading online (Problem-solving strategy)(k) I scan the online text to get a basic idea of whether it will serve my purposes before choosing to read it (Global strategy).This research worker also found that the only significant difference between EFL and ESL readers were in the use of problem-solving strategies. The former group reported a higher use of problem-solving strategies than their counterparts. The predominant reason assigned to these findings was that the differences between ERL and ESL learning environments were diminishing with the advent of the internet, the increased use of Radio, television and other information and communication technologies.5.0 Classification of learning strategies:Cohen (1996) has drawn attention to the fact that the differences in criteria of classification often cause inconsistencies and mismatches across existing taxonomies and other categorizations. According to Cohen (1996) some strategies are behavioural and can be directly observed, whereas others are mental and behavioural but which are not observable. There are other learning strategies that are purely mental. He also added that another approach by which learning strategies can be classified is to label them as belonging to ‘successful’ or ‘unsuccessful’ learners. Strategies are also distinguishable from one another according to whether they are cognitive, meta-cognitive, affective or social.6.0 Strategic Reading:St rategic reading simply means purposeful reading. This is the reading in which the reader adjusts his reading to a specific purpose he has in mind. He uses a variety of strategies and skills to pawn out meaning from what he is being read. According to Eduplace (2007) a strategy is a plan selected deliberately by the reader to accomplish a specific goal or complete a given task. When narrowed to the subject of reading, it means having a deliberate plan to accomplish a specific reading goal. When a reader or student is capable in selecting the use of strategy unconsciously, he achieves expertise in using that strategy (Eduplace, 2007). Apart from strategies, Eduplace (2007) affirms that expert readers use a number of comprehension and study skills to grasp meaning from the material being read. Research has shown that readers develop reading skills and strategies 7.0 Teaching reading Strategy:Reading strategies can be taught and learnt. When reading strategies are well grasped by the st udent or reader, they are able to draw meaning from what they read quickly. Reading in this wise become profitable. What sets good readers apart from poor ones are the strategies they adopt before, during and after reading. Whereas poor readers start reading without giving forethought to the reading process and topic, good readers make a deliberate effort to build their own prior knowledge about the topic. Zimmermann and Hutchins (2003) have identified seven strategies used by good readers to unlock meaning from a given text. These are: (a) They create mental images and also become emotionally involved with what they read (b) They use their relevant prior knowledge before, during and after reading to enhance their understanding of what they have read (c) They ask relevant questions to clarify meaning and also pay particular attention to what is important (d)They identify key ideas or themes as they read (f) They also synthesis information (g) They use fix-up strategies such as re-re ading, skipping ahead, asking questions, using a dictionary. These authors further pointed out that good readers use the same strategies whether they reading ‘soft’ material such as a magazine or a ‘hard’ text such as textbook. The goal of all reading instruction therefore is to help the student overcome reading difficulties and ultimately become expert readers. By becoming expert readers, it enables the student achieve independence and use the literacy for life-long learning. Taberski (2000) has described the strategies for teaching reading in primary schools. He presented a material organized around a series of interconnected interactions with the learner as assessment, demonstration, practice and response. He outlined the role of the teacher in this approach, how to set up the classroom environment, how to assess reading and also showed how effective strategies and skills could be demonstrated.8.0   Difficulties in   teaching reading strategies:Many researchers and authors have acknowledged the difficulties in teaching reading strategies (Anderson, 1999; Beers, 2003). Bereiter and Bird (1985) reported that analysis of protocols from adults thinking aloud while reading identified four potentially teachable strategies. This study involved eighty students in grades seven and eight. They found that neither strategy modelling and practice alone, nor question and answer comprehension activities were effective. They confirmed that even in the successful group, instruction was effective with only three of the strategies. Recounting her own trials and tribulations when helping seventh grade students to learn to read, Beers (2003) considered the difficulties involved in teaching reading strategies to students or pupils. She pointed out that even with high-quality reading instruction in the early grades, it is necessary for middle and high school teachers to help students refine, practice and in some cases, develop the skills of readers.A ccording to Anderson (1999) developing a personal philosophy of teaching can be difficult to many a teacher, if not totally elusive. He offered help with a philosophy built around the word ACTIVE, which serves as the organizing mnemonic. ACTIVE consists of the first letters of six of the eight elements of this approach as: A – Activate prior knowledge C – Cultivate vocabulary T – Teach for comprehension I – Increase reading rate V – Verify reading strategies E – Evaluate progress.The last two elements are: Consider the role of motivation and select the appropriate materials. Clearly, teachers that adopt this procedure can overcome some of the difficulties encountered in teaching reading strategies.Difficulties in teaching reading strategies can be traced to two sources, namely from the teachers’ end in impacting the knowledge in a manner that is easily understandable to the student and also from the student’s end in grasping th e knowledge being impacted. Clay (1985) has outlined ways and means by which reading difficulties of such students or pupils can be detected early and helped. She counselled that through systematic observation of reading behaviours and reading recovery procedures, such children could be helped with their reading problems. Hatcher, Hulme and Ellis (1994) reported of a study involving children experiencing difficulties in the early stages. They divided these seven year old poor readers into four groups and assigned them to one of three experimental teaching conditions such as (a) Reading with phonology (b) Reading alone (c) Phonology alone and (d) A control. They found that although the phonology alone group showed most improvement on phonological tasks, the reading with phonology group made most progress in reading. They concluded from the findings that interventions to boost phonological skills should be integrated with the teaching of reading if they are to be maximally effective i n improving literacy skills.