How I Got To Where I Am Today free essay sample

My name is Cam, in 2010 1 was only 13 years old growing up in the city of Detroit Michigan. Life was hard for my family, dad had a minimum wage job at the car factory while my mom was going through a recovery treatment for her crack addiction. Had 2 sisters, 11 and 9 years old. We lived in an apartment complex with at least 20 apartments and a swimming pool in the middle, it was the most broken down building ever built in 1973. I had a small circle of friends Kevin, Desman, Marquis, Mark and Jimmy.After school all we did was go to the YMCA across from the C.V. 2 blocks down from school and nag out in the lobby, always spitting bars practicing at least 3 hours a day every day since 2008. Out Of all Of us I was the best, I had the Rhymes that turn your mind to stone. Kevin always competed with me for who was the best, him and I always rap battled but 2/3 times I came out on top. We will write a custom essay sample on How I Got To Where I Am Today or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page There were also these kids that made a gang called Pop$Ted, they were the biggest wannabes in school. They tried to rap and spit better bars than I did, but once it came to free-styling, was merely impeccable.As time went by we each got better and better, by 2013 1 was now 16. My mom was working in Wall-Mart and dad was promoted to factory manager, life was looking good as far as getting fed and buying clothes. At my school, rapping was a corona interest among all the young and old high school students. Every 3 years SST. Bishops secondary high school held a singing competition at the end of May, this was the final year I could enter since graduates cant. Its also county wide (the whole city) anyone from grades 7-12 could enter with any style of singing. The grand prize was 45,000$, the competition fee was 50$ per person and sickest were sold for 1 5$ each, there were about 2,000 people that attended to win, the audience was at least 10,000 people. This all went down behind the school since there were so many people. Right now it was mid-February, my friend Jimmys friend Kindlier had a dad that knew some people in the local music industry. He was aware of my ability and thought I had great potential, great free styling was very hard to come by. Mr.. Jordan (Snickers dads associate) entered me in a small local rap battle which was in the most ghetto part of town. With people ranging from 18-40, was so young and frail ad to keep protection with me in this dangerous area. So it was the first round of the battle, there was a bracket for the match. I was paired up against a rapper by the name of ETC-9000, it was his turn first. He got a lot of claps and whistling honestly he wasnt half bad. When I stepped up to the microphone, the audience was in complete and utter silence probably due to my size and age. I started off slow then ended with at least a quatrain in my stanza/verse twice! Burning him and his existence.The crowd went wild, easily the most satisfying moment of my entire life. ETC-9000 was so moved by this moment he walked off the stage with his head down and sunglasses on, getting booed at constantly. After a long 2 hours of 4 rounds and watching other people, finally made the final round. I was against a man they called Slim Shady. This man was 62, frail, white, with bleach blonde hair. Went first starting off very fast and ending with 6 long traces. He easily beat me without a sweat on his back, He spit 6 quatrains within the time it took me to spit 3 traces. He won the main prize of 2,000$ while I got nothing. I mourned for a ewe days, knowing had to increase my vocabulary and practice rhyming with new schemes and techniques. My daily routine of rapping with my friends was on and off since I was studying the dictionary and reading lots of books. When did rap with my circle, they started noticing obvious improvement because I was actually trying now. Since there werent many rap battles with prizes in the area had to stay looked until the school competition. Around May 23rd I was prepping my final freestyle for the competition which was in 4 days, I thought it was the most perfect song Ive ever written.

Voluntary Corporate Governance Structure †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Voluntary Corporate Governance Structure. Answer: Introduction: The sale of shares in Jefferies Industries Limited conducted on 28 April 1995 was held to be in contravention of section 995 and 998 of the Corporations Act. The appellant, Fame, preferred an appeal against this finding and pleaded to set aside the order. ASC contended that the findings were relevant and that other share transactions conducted by Fame in Jefferies contravened section 995 and 998 of the Corporations Law. As per the facts of the case, Jefferies is a public company, shares are listed on the Stock Exchange, and appellant had all its shares held in Jefferies. Mr. J F OHalloran exercises control over the Fame and was director of the Jefferies formerly. The sale of the shares was conducted in the manner in which Stock Exchange Automated Trading System (SEATS) operates. As per the SEATS system, if Fame wishes to sell shares in Jefferies, it is important that bids are accepted in the sequence mentioned in the evidence. The transaction of shares that was held on 28 April gave rise to several disputes among various persons with respect to the significance of such transactions regarding the conversion of the preference shares. The appellate court was required to determine the primary issue whether sales of 20000 shares of Jefferies at 14c and 74000 shares of Jefferies at 13c were in contravention of section 995 and 998 of the Corporations Law. The appellant was held to have committed a breach of section 998 and 995 of the Act while selling the shares of Jefferies. According to section 998(1) of the Corporations Act, any person is forbidden from creating or acting with an intention or any such conduct is likely to create any false or misleading appearance with respect to the market for the price of or for any securities. This provision is a counterpart of section 124 of the present Australian statute of Securities Industry Act 1980 (Cth) and section 70 of the Securities Industry Act 1970 (NSW) and section 9 (a) (i) and 10 (b) of the Securities Exchange Act 1934 (USA) and Rule 10b-5 that was incorporated in pursuant of section 10(b). According to section 995 of the Corporations law states that no person is permitted to engage in conduct that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive while dealing in securities (Coffee, Sale Henderson, 2015). This provision was incorporated having regard to section 52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth). The primary objective behind the incorporation of this provision was simple and rational as the legislature believed that section 52 is applicable to several cases with respect to securities, hence there should be a similar provision that shall deal with cases involving conduct of the parties engaged in securities. In this case, the conduct of the appellant, Fame, with respect to sales of shares in Jefferies was held to be misleading and deceptive towards the third parties. Critical analysis of the decision Mr. O Halloran adduced evidence for justifying his conduct while placing orders on 28 April, that he was under the pressure of obtaining quick cash for the purpose of fulfilling his financial commitments (Sealy Worthington, 2013). The court did not consider his contention and did not rely on his evidence. As per the findings of Cohen J with respect to the evidence adduced by Mr. OHalloran, he was not under any financial pressure and that he had sufficient money to pay off any urgent debts. This establishes the fact that OHalloran did not have any need to obtain quick cash and deliberately sold the last 94000 shares on 28 April at a price that was lower than the former sale price. His conduct reveals that he intentionally created an artificially low figure for conversion calculation that were made in respect of preference shares. The appellant argued that his conduct cannot be held as misleading and that he was not engaged in any form of manipulative conduct. He further argued that on 28 April he had an intention to take the advantage of and grab the opportunity available in the market situation. However, such situation did not result from any form of collusion between the appellant and any other person (Hannigan, 2015). The appellant agreed to the fact that he acted in his own interest and wanted to obtain financial benefits. The appellant acknowledged that he went accepted the various offers to purchase shares in Jefferies that had been placed in the market before 28 April and were still in place. The appellant went into the market before the close of trading on 28 April and cleared all the current offers that were available to purchase the shares at the current offer prices. As discussed above that section 998 of the Corporation law forbids a person from creating anything in market that is false or misleading in its appearance for the sake of price of any securities, the appellant contends that his conduct does not amounts to any misleading or false appearance. In this context, the court referred to North v Marra Development Ltd [1981] HCA 68; [1981] 148 CLR 42 to explain the purpose of section 998 of the Corporations Act. The case dealt with section 70 of the Securities Industry Act 1970 (NSW), which aims at safeguarding the securities market against activities that would lead to managed or artificial manipulation (French et al., 2014). The section aims at ensuring that the market signifies the forced of genuine demand and supply. The phrase genuine supply and demand exclude s any buyers and sellers who conduct transactions for the purpose of maintaining or setting the market price. The closing statement with respect to the phrase genuine supply and demand is applicable to the issue raised in the present case. The court opined that section 998 aims at protecting the integrity of the share market and that while demonstrating the interactions of supply and demand forces, it may become subjected to various imperfections including mismatches of information, thus, destroying its integrity (Miglani, Ahmed Henry, 2015). Moreover, the conduct of the seller who trades shares, calculating effect sales at the lowest instead of highest obtainable price with a view to avert the chance of other purchasers bidding up the price, signifies both the effect and purpose of creating an artificial market and price. As was contended by Fame that there was no collusion when he went to the market immediately before the closing of trading on 28 April, was not taken into consideration. This is because, the court was of opinion that there is a distinction between the individual buyers and the market who had the opportunity to make current bids immediately before the close of trading on 28 April. This establishes that the impact of Fames conduct on the market with respect to the shares in Jefferies and the market price was not at all incidental. This further establishes the fact that primary object of Fames conduct was to influence the market price on 28 April 1995. Now, with respect to section 995 of the Corporations Law, which prohibits a person from engaging into any, conduct that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to mislead or deceive, and the present case states that Cameron securities and James Capel, the third parties were not mislead or deceived. Further, they did not make any compliant about the conduct of the appellant, Fame. The offer made to sell shares to James Capel and Cameron securities rather their acceptance to the offers made to purchase the shares and neither the sale nor purchasing contract that was made in isolation between them and the appellant amounted to any deceptive or misleading conduct. They had the intention to have legal effect, which all the parties dealing with the securities market usually wish to achieve (Chitimira, 2015). Nevertheless, the conduct of Fame with respect to the connection with the sales shall amount to misleading or deceptive conduct that intended to deceive or mislead the third parties who were interested in the share market in Jefferies. This is because the third parties were misled to presume that market prices demonstrated the genuine interaction of forces supply and demand and that they did not have any reason to expect that the seller was seeking to sell off the shares to the lowest bidders and eliminate any possibility of emergence of higher bidder. This establishes the fact that the appellant had failed to comply with section 995 of the Corporations law, by engaging into a deceptive or a misleading conduct while dealing in securities. The findings made with respect to the contravention of section 995 were held correct (Bromberg, Gilligan Ramsay, 2016). Dissenting Judgment However, in a dissenting judgment, Priestly JA was of the opinion that the appellant did not exhibit any conduct that was misleading or deceptive and merely sold shares for prices offered to any holder of the shares who wished to sell them off at such prices. The appellant did nothing more than accepting the offers made as per the rules of the market to purchase the Jefferies shares at the stipulated prices (Grinblatt Titman, 2016). Further, the knowledge situation regarding the conversion of the preference shares was publicly available, independently of the appellant. The appellant was merely acting to obtain a financially advantageous position using the available information and sold shares as per the market procedures. While the appellant was acting to achieve financial advantage, had no intention to cause any misleading or deceptive appearance in relation to the market or for the prices of the shares to the disadvantage of Jefferies. The appellant had the intention to close the market price to his advantage. The conduct of the appellant does not establish the fact that he was engaged in any conduct that was misleading or deceptive in appearance and the impact of the conduct of the appellant is reflected from what actually happened in the securities market. The circumstances that arose on 28 April when the appellant sold his shares were not foreseeable by the Jefferies and resulted to the disadvantage of Jefferies. On the contrary, Jefferies created a market environment, which lead the market procedure and had fallen into its own pit. In other words, Jefferies made rules regarding the converting shares and the appellant merely took advantage which any reasonable person in position of the appellant who held 170000 shares in Jefferies, would have exhibited the same conduct. The appellant had taken full advantage of an advantageous situation (Cumming, Dannhauser Johan, 2015). It is difficult to believe how the appellant who did not do more than selling shares according to the market procedures. The appellant followed procedures without engaging into collusion or any connivance, hence it cannot be established that the appellant has been engaged in any form of collusion or any deceptive conduct. The motivation of the appellant is the only factor that could be used against the appellant otherwise, there are no instances that could establish that the appellant was engaged in any deceptive or misleading conduct. The action or conduct of the appellant does not establish the fact that the appellant had contravened sections 995 and 988 of the Corporations Law. Any other form of conclusion may be concluded with respect to the appellants sale of shares in relation to the twenty-six and eight cents and twenty-five cents. However, these sales were not considered to be in contravention of section 959 and 988 of the Corporation law. It is also very difficult to understand how at one point of time a seller is allowed to accept lawful standing offers at twenty-five cents and the same seller is prohibited to accept another offer at thirteen cents. Hence, the appeal should be upheld with costs (Huang Howson, 2017). Impact of the decision According to the Corporations Act, the directors are required to act in the best interest of the company and in the event of conflict between the personal interest and the interest of the company; the directors are required to give more priority to the interest of the company. They are under statutory obligation to act in good faith and exercise due care and diligence while carrying out business operations (Aobdia Shroff, 2017). In order to determine whether the directors are discharging their responsibilities with care and diligence, any reasonable person should be exercising such care and diligence in the same position under same circumstances. As discussed in the present case, it is imperative for the corporations to ensure that the business operations or the directors of the company are not engaged in any conduct that is misleading or deceptive or is likely to deceive or mislead third parties. Reference list Aitken, M. J., Harris, F. H. D. B., Ji, S. (2015). A worldwide examination of exchange market quality: Greater integrity increases market efficiency.Journal of Business Ethics,132(1), 147-170. Aobdia, D., Shroff, N. (2017). Regulatory oversight and auditor market share.Journal of Accounting and Economics,63(2), 262-287. Austin, J. E. (2016). When Insider Trading and Market Manipulation Cross Jurisdictions: What Are the Challenges For Securities Regulators and How Can They Best Preserve the Integrity of Markets?. Bird, H. L., Gilligan, G., Godwin, A., Hedges, J., Ramsay, I. (2016). An Empirical Analysis of the Use of Enforceable Undertakings by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission between 1 July 1998 and 31 December 2015. Britt III, T. M., Mak, S., Knight, L., Rozsa, J. (2013). International Securities and Capital Markets.Int'l Law.,47, 259. Bromberg, L., Gilligan, G., Ramsay, I. (2016). Enforcement of Financial Market Manipulation Laws: An International Comparison of Sanctions. Chitimira, H. (2015). The Regulation of Markert Manipulation in Australia: A Historical Cmparative Perspective [2015] PER 14.REGULATION,18(2), 1727-3781. Chitimira, H. (2015). The regulation of market manipulation in Australia: A historical comparative perspective.PER: Potchefstroomse Elektroniese Regsblad,18(2), 112-148. Coffee Jr, J. C., Sale, H., Henderson, M. T. (2015). Securities regulation: Cases and materials. Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) Cumming, D., Dannhauser, R., Johan, S. (2015). Financial market misconduct and agency conflicts: A synthesis and future directions.Journal of Corporate Finance,34, 150-168. Cumming, D., Dannhauser, R., Johan, S. (2015). Financial market misconduct and agency conflicts: A synthesis and future directions.Journal of Corporate Finance,34, 150-168. FAME DECORATOR AGENCIES PTY LIMITED v JEFFRIES INDUSTRIES LTD ORS, Supreme Court of New South Wales, Court of Appeal, [08 May 1998] French, D., Mayson, S., Mayson, S. W., Ryan, C. (2014).Mayson, French Ryan on company law. Oxford University Press, USA. Gitman, L. J., Juchau, R., Flanagan, J. (2015).Principles of managerial finance. Pearson Higher Education AU. Grinblatt, M., Titman, S. (2016).Financial markets corporate strategy. Hannigan, B. (2015).Company law. Oxford University Press, USA. Hanrahan, P. F., Ramsay, I., Stapledon, G. P. (2013). Commercial applications of company law. He, W. P., Lepone, A. (2014). Determinants of liquidity and execution probability in exchange operated dark pool: Evidence from the Australian Securities Exchange.Pacific-Basin Finance Journal,30, 1-16. Huang, R. H., Howson, N. C. (Eds.). (2017).Enforcement of Corporate and Securities Law. Cambridge University Press. Miglani, S., Ahmed, K., Henry, D. (2015). Voluntary corporate governance structure and financial distress: Evidence from Australia.Journal of Contemporary Accounting Economics,11(1), 18-30. North v Marra Developments Ltd[1981] HCA 68;(1981) 148 CLR 42 Sealy, L., Worthington, S. (2013).Sealy Worthington's Cases and Materials in Company Law. Oxford University Press. Securities Industry Act 1970 (NSW)

Lizards Evolution From Snakes Essays - Snake, Lizard, Monitor

Lizards Evolution From Snakes Many millions of years the planet was dominated by lizards great and small. It was a place ruled by the laws of natural selection where the only way to survive was to be able to defend yourself with what you had. It was a constant struggle for food, shelter, and supremacy. It was about survival of the fittest, because only if you were best suited to your environment would you have a chance at living to reproduce. Sometimes adapting to one's environment could create a whole new species altogether. During the time when dinosaurs walked the earth smaller lizards had to be creative to insure their survival. The dinosaurs, because of their size where the bullies of the earth. If lizards wanted food they had to some how sneak around the big dinosaurs in order to avoid becoming food themselves. A species of lizard known as the Ear-less Monitor seemed very well adapted to counteract this problem. Their eyes had a clear protective lens which allowed them to go into the water in search of food and bypass the land roaming dinosaurs all together. One major problem soon faced the Ear-less Monitors in their quest for nourishment. It seemed that the sea dwelling creatures had begun to catch on to the fact that these lizards were invading their territory for food. The sea dwellers reacted by praying on the lizards who came into the water to eat. After many deaths at sea one smart little Ear-less Monitor decided to try another approach at obtaining food. This particular Monitor was picked on by all of the other Monitors because he and his family had arms and legs that were shorter and smaller than everyone else's. The would tease him and his family saying that their gene pool had little genetic variation. But he did not let that get him down. He figured that with his stubby arms and legs that he could burrow under ground to find food. He used his clear protective lenses over his eyes to keep out dirt and rocks. He was sure that he could find some delicious earthworms and other things to feed himself. It was like an all you can eat buffet until all of the other short armed Monitors got the word. The short armed Monitors lived happily under ground while the rest of the species quickly died off. Over time genetic mutations occurred which eventually left the Monitors with no limbs at all. They just had long slender bodies which enabled them to burrow easily and quickly. In order to forget about the torment that their ancestors had been subjected to by the long armed Monitors the group decided to be known from that point on as snakes. The snakes soon decided to give life on Earth's surface another chance because now they were much quicker than the dinosaurs who had devoured the Monitors. They adapted to their new environment quickly with a leg-less mode of locomotion. Over time they evolved and developed more defense mechanisms to become the Snakes we know them as today. Many millions of years ago the planet was dominated by lizards great and small. It was a place ruled by the laws of natural selection where the only way to survive was to be able to defend yourself with what you had. It was a constant struggle for food, shelter, and supremacy. It was about survival of the fittest, because only if you were best suited to your environment would you have a chance at living to reproduce. Sometimes adapting to one's environment could create a whole new species altogether. During the time when dinosaurs walked the earth smaller lizards had to be creative to insure their survival. The dinosaurs, because of their size where the bullies of the earth. If lizards wanted food they had to some how sneak around the big dinosaurs in order to avoid becoming food themselves. A species of lizard known as the Ear-less Monitor seemed very well adapted to counteract this problem. Their eyes had a clear protective lens, which allowed them to go into the water in search of food and bypass the land. Roaming dinosaurs all together. One major problem soon faced the Ear-less Monitors in their quest for nourishment. It seemed that the sea dwelling creatures had begun to catch on to the fact that these lizards were invading their territory for food. The sea dwellers reacted by praying on the lizards who came into the water to eat. After many

Enigmas, Puzzles, and Riddles

Enigmas, Puzzles, and Riddles Enigmas, Puzzles, and Riddles Enigmas, Puzzles, and Riddles By Maeve Maddox On the day of the Iowa Caucus, pollster Ann Selzer made the following comment about Donald Trump: He’s just this riddle inside a puzzle. I immediately thought of Winston Churchill’s oft-repeated comment about Russia at the beginning of World War II: a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. I couldn’t help wondering if Ms. Selzer chose the word puzzle because she felt that the general American public in 2016 were less likely to understand the word enigma than a general British public in 1939. But, I’m probably being uncharitable. Puzzle is a valid synonym for enigma, although not nearly as classy. Enigma is from Latin aenigma, â€Å"a riddle or a mystery.† The Latin noun is from a Greek verb meaning, â€Å"to speak allusively or obscurely.† Riddle is a word inherited from German. In Old English, riddle was the usual English translation of Latin aenigma and referred to what modern speakers, especially children, mean by riddle: â€Å"a question or statement intentionally phrased to require ingenuity in ascertaining its answer or meaning. For example, â€Å"How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb?† Puzzle is of unknown origin. Its earliest English use was as a verb meaning, â€Å"to cause a person to be at a loss what to do; to create difficulties for someone.† The verb came to have several meanings, including these: to cause someone to feel confused because they cannot understand something. to perplex or bewilder the brain. to be at a loss how to act or decide to search in a bewildered or perplexed way The noun puzzle is derived from the verb and means â€Å"a perplexing question or a difficult problem.† It can also signify â€Å"a person who is difficult to understand.† Note: Selzer’s remark referred not so much to the man, but to his apparently inexplicable popularity with â€Å"moderate and mainstream† Republicans as well as with extremists. English has numerous words to convey something that is baffling or mentally challenging. Here are some others: mystery conundrum paradox quandary brainteaser Most are near synonyms. All imply something baffling or challenging, but they carry different connotations. A mystery invites speculation. A conundrum, like a riddle, is often phrased as a question. The answer usually involves a play on words or a twist in thinking. For example: What is greater than God, more evil than the devil, the poor have it, the rich need it, and if you eat it, youll die? (Answer: Nothing) A paradox seems absurd, but in reality expresses a certain truth. For example, â€Å"Youth is wasted on the young.† A quandary is a state of extreme perplexity. A person or a group is said to be â€Å"in a quandary,† as in this headline from The Gaffney Ledger: â€Å"Council still in a quandary over healthcare insurance.† Of the three words in the title of this post, puzzle is most frequent in a Google search (296,000,000), riddle next (140,200,000), and enigma last (64,400,000). The figure for enigma is no doubt inflated because of the popularity of the word in the entertainment industry. References to the German â€Å"enigma machine† probably also account for some of the results. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:4 Types of Gerunds and Gerund Phrases"Have" vs "Having" in Certain ExpressionsWood vs. Wooden

Banking Management in terms of Economic concepts Research Paper

Banking Management in terms of Economic concepts - Research Paper Example The important products are securities (bond) and mortgage services. About the bond, ADCB transacts the bond to get revenue. The bank buys and sells the bond in both primary markets (debt securities are issued and sold to borrowers to lenders) and in a secondary market (ADCB firm buys and sells previously issued debt securities-bond). The ADBC launched the 600 million five-year bond on September priced at 87.5 basis point. Over 1.5 billion investors placed their order just in one day after its launch as compared to initial basis points of 95 bps. On the hand, the ADBC offers mortgage services which have attractive interest rates. Their mortgage packages are attractive as local experts assist people to avoid common pitfalls. Their experts also offer professional consultants to guide people through the whole process. In addition, ADCB offers options between Islamic and Conventional Home Finance. Quite interestingly is the repayment period, (up to 25 years) which is rank as the best in U AE. The people pay less based on their ability. The mortgage amount is up to 80 percent of the property value. The bank also offers options between competitive interest rates and relaxing re-payment. The monthly installments are as low as AED 5,275 with 0% early settlement fees. EMI is based on 3.99% (per AED Million for 25 years tenure). Emi is fixed for the first year only followed by campaign rates. One of the opportunity cost ADCB faces is either to sale locally or expand its branches overseas.

A critical evaluation of the role of leadership in managing people in Essay

A critical evaluation of the role of leadership in managing people in sport and leisure organisations - Essay Example To expand the competitive market it is needed to apply the effective management principles for the management of people. The reasons behind the success of football clubs in India are the worldwide fans and the advance technology in broadcasting the football game all over India. To increase the awareness among the customers and meeting their expectations, funds should be available to run the industry and attract the commercial sector investors. Human resource managers are facing the challenges to meet the rising expectation of the customers and providing them services in order to exist in the competitive market. The sport and leisure industry will enjoy the competitive advantage only when it is the only one, which can meet the customer expectations, improving the quality, and creating awareness on consumer rights (Robinson, 2005, p.1-2). As the trends are changing, Human Resource Management processes the changes in the organisation structure, systems and cost reduction programs. Manag ing the people in the sport organisation helps the manager to acquire the skills and to be a good leader to help the new talents face the challenges in sport and leisure sectors. The sport and leisure industry will enjoy the competitive advantage only when it is the only one, which can meet the customer expectations, improving the quality, and creating awareness on consumer rights (Wolsey, Minten & Abrams, 2011). The leaders in the sports industry have to face lot of challenges in leading his team to reach the goal. A good leader is needed, who is confident enough to lead his team and encourage them to achieve the goal. In sports industry, a leader will be the one who is providing direction, encouragement and authority to evoke desired behaviours. For example, in the Minnesota Timberwolves organisation, like many sports organisations, the leader will play his role in catalysing the learning process among the followers, as well as creating environment

The Readymade Garments Industry Of Bangladesh

The Readymade Garments Industry Of Bangladesh The readymade garments industry of Bangladesh is the fastest growing export oriented industry of the country. Starting in late seventies, the ready made garment industry of Bangladesh now accounts for over 64% of the countrys total export earning. A close look at the composition of RMG export of Bangladesh over the last two decades reveals that the woven garments sub-sector constituted the lions share. In fact, the beginning of the development of RMG sector started with woven garments in 1985. In the first half the 90s, the share of woven garments was above 80%. However, the share gradually started to decline to about 70% in five years late and to 62% in 2004 and to 38.80% in 2005-2006 (Export Promotion Bureau Bangladesh, 2006). In addition, compared to its double-digit growth in the 90s, the woven garments export grew only about 8% in 2000. Such a declining growth rate and a steep decline of the share of woven garments export in the total RMG export makes it urgent to re-evaluate the status of the sector of Bangladesh vis-Ã  -vis with that of the competing countries. Moreover, with the dominance of the proponents of free market economy, some changes are taking place in the global trade regulations affecting the readymade gar ments sector of Bangladesh in general. One example of such change is the phasing out of the apparel quota on December 31, 2004. Under these circumstances, it is imperative to assess the competitiveness of the woven garments sector of Bangladesh in the global market place. Hence the researcher studied the overall woven garment industry in group and this study analyzes the woven garments industry competitiveness of a single organization from strategic management perspectives. 1.2 Rational of the Study The objectives of the enterprise analysis are the following. To identify the vision, mission, objectives, and values of the company. To identify the process of crafting and executive strategy. To analyze the companys resources and competitive position. To find out the application of the five generic competitive strategies. To find out the application of various complementary strategic options. To find out the fit of the strategies to the company and the industry situations. To identify various diversification strategies. To find out the application of ethics and corporate social responsibility. To identify the leadership styles and corporate culture. 1.3 Scope of the Study The study has some boundaries. The following points delineate those boundaries. Because of the highly fragmented nature of the industry even in the domestic market (with about 400 woven producers present in different parts of the woven garments value chain), aggregation of enterprises could not be provided. Rather, a whole view point of the enterprise has been taken. This limits the researchers of this study not to use financial aggregation as well since only a few woven garments industries (not more than 5) are enlisted with the stock exchange. The analysis has been confined to the key markets of the woven markets. The markets where Bangladesh occasionally exports or where the amount of export is very small, those markets are excluded from the scope of the study. 1.4 Methodology 1.4.1 Research design The study, given the nature of the objectives, has a descriptive research design. Since this study is going to be one of the earliest studies with similar objectives about the woven garments sector, the research would be of reporting kind. According to Cooper and Schindler (2003), at the very elementary level a reporting study is done to provide an account, or to make a summation of data, or to generate some statistics. They have also argued that a reporting study requires very little inference. However, the current study answers what and why of Macro environment, industry and competitive conditions, and thus, requires a great deal of inference. Hence, the current study would be more appropriately termed as a descriptive study. Therefore, the research design for the study is descriptive research design. 1.4.2 Data collection 1.4.2.1 Primary sources The researchers collected the enterprise data organizing and a number of key informant interviews (KII) with the key persons in Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. as I have selected this organization for the enterprise analysis. Due to time limitation, the participants were chosen through personal contacts and participants willingness to participate in the discussion. The key informants considered were senior managers of the selected organization and a few bankers related to the organization. 1.4.2.2 Key Informant Interview The researcher will select at least 7 owners or managers to interview as key informants. This interview will focus on the enterprise level information like the vision, mission, objective, current performance in both local and international markets, the competitors in both markets, products and so on. 1.4.2.3 Secondary sources The researchers have explored the following secondary sources to meet the objectives of the report. Data inventory of Bangladesh Export Promotion Bureau Bangladesh (EPB) relating to readymade garments export. Data inventory of Bangladesh Garments Manufactures and Exporters Association (BGMEA) On-line news archive of newspapers and news agencies home and abroad Annual report of the company Books and journals at the library of Institute of Business Administration and University Press Limited 1.5 Limitations of the Study The current study is limited by a number of factors. First, the participants for KII have been chosen conveniently. Second, the list of questions KII has been developed from the scratch by the researchers themselves. However, these limitations are not likely to invalidate the conclusions. The reasons are the following. First, the researchers will depend on both primary and secondary sources. Second, the primary sources have been bifurcated into managers of woven garments companies in Bangladesh. Third, the list of questions has been checked for recasting by the instructor of the course. The refinement of the list of questions following the suggestions of such an expert enhances the relevance and reliability of the questions asked. Hence, these two approaches ensure cross-validation of information needed to fulfill the objectives of the report. Strategic Planning process for Rahim Textiles Limited Mission and Goal SWOT External Analysis: Opportunities and Threats Internal Analysis: Strengths and Weakness Functional Level Strategy Business Level Strategy Global Strategy Corporate Level Strategy Corporate Performance, Governance and Ethics Implementing Strategy in a Single Industry Strategy Formulation Implementing Strategy across Industries and Countries 2.0 Company Profile 2.1 Vision The vision statement of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd is to create added value to the common wealth and to benefit the society. From the discussion with company managers, the researcher revealed that by the above stated vision statement they want to mean to improve the well being of valued equity holders, investors, employees and members of the society without interrupting or disordering the universal socio-ecological-economic position and the process of human civilization leading to peaceful co-existence of all the living beings. The vision statement of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. lacks the important characteristics of a vision statement. First of all, from the vision the kind of company cannot be identified. It is too much generic and fails to identify the business or industry to which it is supposed to apply. This vision can be applied to companies of any kind of industry. Secondly, the vision statement is not focused to provide managers with guidance in making decisions and allocating resources. The vision is also bland and lacks motivational power. Finally, the vision statement of the company is vague in meaning; no concrete objective is mentioned in the vision. 2.2 Mission Realize the vision; the mission of the company is to play a leading roll in export oriented textile sector through reasonable application of Knowledge and Skills. This mission is also very weak in meaning. There is no description of the companys present business scope and purpose in the vision statement. 2.3 objectives The objective Rahim Textile Mills Ltd is to maximize our productivity on strict ethical standards at minimum cost to ensure optimum growth of wealth of the company. This is basically falls in the type of strategic objective. Since the company is making profit satisfactorily and the existing financial condition is healthy enough, they are concentrating on the strategic objective. 2.4 History Rahim Textile Mills Ltd started its journey in 31 December, 1981. The company commenced production in the year of 1987. Initially the company was producing only woven garments, afterwards with the expansion strategy the company built its capacity in both woven and knit sector as well as in dyeing. They already established huge factory at shafipur, Kaliakar and Gazipur, all outside but very much near to the capital city. The company has four sister concerns. They are as follows: Malek Spinning Mills Ltd. Knit Asia Ltd. New Asia Ltd. Salek Textile Ltd. Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. enlisted in Dhaka stock exchange on 29 March, 1988. 2.5 Products The main woven products of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd are shirts, trousers, hats and jackets, mostly made from cotton. Recently the company are enlarging its product width and producing inner wears for different worldwide famous brands. On the other hand, the company also produces knit garments products, e.g. sweaters and socks. Products Cotton products Shirts, trousers, hats and jackets Knit garments products Sweaters and socks 2.6 Export Volume and Destination As we discussed with the key persons of the company, the informants were declined to disclose the exact quantity of exports from their production, but they mentioned the proportion of export to total production. They mentioned that the company exports about 92% of its products. Most of the export is sent to USA as well as the other major portion in EU countries. From figure 2.3, it can be concluded that earning per share of the company is consistent and higher in the last year. In the last year Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. diversified its business in knitting sector and the result is increased earning per share in the last year. 3.0 Internal Analysis 3.1 Core competencies By the definition of core competence, it is a competitively important activity that a company performs better than other internal activities. In case of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. its core competence is the quality of its products. In production the company has been using its highly experienced and skilled professional in its manufacturing process. Therefore it already gained loyalty from its buyers. The company not only concentrates in quality, but also maintains the cost of the product so that the cost becomes competitive among the rivalry in the industry. 3.2 Distinctive competencies From literature, distinctive competence is a competitively valuable activity that a company performs better than its rivals. The researchers tried to identify distinctive competence of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. through key informant interview with the top level managers of the company. But from the response of the KII participants, it has been revealed that the company has no distinctive competence to attract the vigorous buyers in the market. 3.3 Key resources Key resource strengths of a company generally form the cornerstones of strategy and make the company competitive in the industry. From the KII with the top level managers of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. the researcher identified that key resources of the company are: Highly experienced professional Better technology Better market access 3.4 SWOT Analysis In order to accomplish SWOT analysis the researcher followed the steps below. Figure 3.2: Steps of SWOT analysis. 3.4.1 Resource strength and competitive capabilities From primary data of KII and secondary data, the researchers identified the following resource strength and competitive capabilities. Highly experienced and skilled workforce as its intellectual capital relative to rivals which provides the company learning and experience curve advantages. Better product quality compared to the medium size competitive rivals Better customer base as compared to the small garments companies Technology is on average updated, but not like that of Square textile or Bex-tex Capacity is well-matched with its production volume. 3.4.2 Resource weaknesses and competitive deficiencies Potential resource weaknesses and competitive deficiencies of the company, as identified by the researcher, are mentioned below. The company has no clear strategic vision to direct the company towards specific targets Behind rivals is using e-commerce for their promotion purpose whereas the company even has no website for the convenience of information gathering by the foreign buyers. Its product line is narrow compared to the other rivals in the industry. It has no brand image in local market and very weak influence of brand in the global market, only with the selected suppliers. Long lead time is another crucial factor for which the foreign buyers are declined to buy its products. 3.4.3 Market opportunities Although Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. had been running their business in woven sector only, they are now expanding their business horizon in the knit sector also. The company realized that its skilled and experienced workforce can be utilized in the knit sector effectively and efficiently. We foresee a brighter future for us. Print and dyeing orders shall increase overall. We must continue to strive to achieve more orders which shall ensure greater progress and prosperity. It has become essential for us to embark upon capacity enhancement and balancing of our dyeing printing machineries urgently to meet the stringent quality assurances imposed by the buyers. We need to improve labor productivity and consistency in quality. We will face tougher competition both from within and outside. We need to resolve issues related to bond and customs to ensure faster disposal of imported raw materials. We need to work extensively and pursue the government to have provision of subsidy and other incen tives at different stages of production and process to remain competitive in the international market. The concerted and coordinated efforts will ensure higher production, better quality to make the production year 2007-2008 the year of greater progress and prosperity. 3.4.4 Threats to the future profitability Day by day the strong rivals are capturing the markets available to the industry in Bangladesh. Another threat is coming from technological change. Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. is not large enough to regularly update its technology to compete with other key rivals and so losing market share gradually. Besides, the company is facing cost cut competition from the rivals. 3.5 Prices and costs competitiveness The rise in the price of chemicals and dyes by over 30% also affected the order acceptance and overall production. Exporting countries of dyes, Chemicals and Colors especially China, India increased their prices making the market very competitive and difficult. Buyers took advantage of the competition amongst similar dyeing printing Factories and offered lower price. Despite such a situation we could improve both export and local market prices. Dearth of the trained manpower had led to poor labor productivity and inconsistency in the quality of textile products. 3.6 Business model A companys business model relates to whether the revenue-cost-profit economics of its strategy demonstrate the viability of the business enterprise as a whole. In case of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. business model of the company is not only viable but also it shows its success in many consecutive year as the company is making huge amount of profit regularly. The business model of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. is a proven model which ensures the companys viability in the market for a long period- from 1986. 3.7 Value chain of the company The value chain of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. is similar to the following value chain model. Absent Figure 3.3: Value chain model for Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. On the value chain model, Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. lacks efficiency in sales and marketing. Therefore the company is loosing market share to the competitive rivals. Also there is no R D department in the company. This is why they are lacking in product innovation and product differentiation. 3.8 Dimensions of organizational culture Culture of an organization consists of the characteristics as described in the following figure. Figure 8.1: dimensions of organizational culture From the perspective of the woven garments industry in Bangladesh, most of the employees in the industry come from inferior background in terms of both academic and social status. Almost all the workers educational background is either SSC or below SSC. They are mostly unaware about the culture of the organization. Even the managers are very little concerned about the culture of their organization. From our focus group discussion, the discussants give importance on the following characteristics of organizational culture: Aggressiveness The managers are aggressive with their workers rather than easygoing. The managers always give pressure to the workers about their performance. Even a worker is performing satisfactorily; she or he is not given any kind of motivational incentive or compliments to continue his performance. Team orientation In this industry team orientation among the employees is nearly absent. The managers, in most of the cases being unaware about synergy, do not bother about the performance of team, rather always prefer individual performance. People orientation People orientation reflects the degree to which the management decisions take into consideration the effect of outcomes on people within the organization. By definition and comments of the discussants of FGD, this characteristic of organizational culture is rarely practiced by the managers in planning, design and implementation of production. Outcome orientation Outcome orientation measures the degree to which management focuses on results or outcomes rather than on the techniques and processes used to achieve those outcomes. In most of the woven garment industry the production managers are outcome oriented. They attach importance to the quality of the products rather than their production process and technology used in production. Attention to detail Attention to detail is the degree to which employees are expected to exhibit precision, analysis, and attention to detail. Since most of the workers in the garment industry are unskilled and even they are not provided any kind of training, they must follow the guidelines of their work literally as mentioned by the managers. 4. External Analysis 4.1 Competitor Analysis Major competitors of the Rahim Textile Limited is given below Monno fabric, Babylon Garments, Desh garments and Viella-tex Square Textile Mills Beximco Textiles The factors of similarity are mostly activism in marketing and selling, availability of local raw materials, delivery reliability, and level of backward linkage. 4.2 Competitive Positioning In order to identify the competitive position of the company, the researcher used strategic group mapping considering the selected 7 companies by the group. In strategic group mapping researchers has given importance to the cost of the products, product quality, active marketing, lead time, delivery time, and export quantity. The figure above shows that Monno fabric, Rahim textile, Babylon Garments, Desh garments and Viella-tex have similar ranking on the basis of the two attributes. All these five companies have higher quality while they are low in price. So, these five companies emerge as a strategic group. On the other hand, Square and Bex-tex have average performance on each of the considered factors of the mapping and hence, they can be said to fall in the same group. 4.3 Textile Industry: The textile industry in Bangladesh occupies a prominent position within the countrys industrial structure. It is the largest manufacturing sector, providing jobs for some 50% of the total industrial workforce and contributing 9.5% of the countrys GDP. Also, it accounts for almost 77% of total exports, making it Bangladeshs leading foreign exchange earner. In the early 1980s exports were dominated by jute while garment sales were insignificant. But today garment exports are by far the leading export category. In 2001/02 the clothing sector generated as much as US$4.58 bl in foreign exchange. The industry benefits from special access to markets in the EU, Canada, Norway and Japan. Because Bangladesh is a least developed country, its textile and clothing exports enter these countries quota-free and duty-free. This concession, together with low labour costs, provides the garment sector with a strong competitive advantage. But in order to produce garments for export, the sector has to purchase a large share of its yarn and fabric needs from abroad, especially woven fabrics. Few local textile firms are able to produce materials of the required quality or in adequate quantities. The Bangladeshi government is attempting to remedy this situation. To reduce the countrys import bill, it is offering tax concessions and incentives aimed at encouraging investors to develop the necessary backward linkages. Profitability of a market/industry depends on strength of five threats to profitability: 4.4 Porters Five Factor Analysis: 4.5 Industry life cycle Analysis: A useful tool for analyzing the effects of industry evolution on competitive forces is the industry life model, which identifies five sequential stages in the evolution of an industry that lead to five distinct kinds of industry environment: embryonic, growth, stakeout, mature and decline. Embryonic Shakeout Decline Maturity Growth Textiles industry is at maturity stage in the industrial product life cycle stage. 5.0. Strategy Analysis 5.1 Generic Competitive Strategy A competitive strategy concerns the specifics of managements game plan for competing successfully and achieving a competitive edge over rivals. A company achieves competitive advantages whenever it has some type of edge over rivals in attracting buyers and coping with competitive forces. There are countless variations in the competitive strategies that companies employ. Mainly because each companys strategic approach entails custom-designed actions to fit its own circumstances and industry environment. The mostly used five competitive strategies are shown in the following figure: Figure 4.1: Five generic competitive strategies 5.2 Low-cost provider strategy Among the five mentioned competitive strategies, Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. achieve overall low-cost provider strategy. The company is the lowest cost provider rather than just being one of perhaps several competitors with comparatively low costs. The companys strategic target is meaningfully lower costs than rivals but not necessarily the absolute lowest possible cost. 5.3 Fitness of the strategy Ready made garment industry is moving very fast, new competitors are emerging in the market frequently; growth rate is decreasing year after year. To cope with changes Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. must tailor its strategy so that the company can become profitable and competitive to surrounding rivalry establishing a distinctive competence. 5.4 Strategies for entering the market More and more companies are finding themselves in industry situations characterized by rapid technological change short product cycles because of entry of important and fast-evolving customer requirements and expectations -all occurring at once. Due to the entrance of new competitors the market for Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. is shrinking. To compete with these fast moving changes, this company has to be technologically sound, product innovative to attract the change-demanding customer and product diversification. 5.5 Strategies for coping with rapid changes It is very important to understand the key driving forces of an industry to decide upon the strategy of any company inside the industry. By searching the internet, reviewing related literatures, implementing key informant technique, and by organizing focused group discussion the following key forces have been identified. Growing use of internet technology and applications Increasing globalization Changes in the buyers requirements Changes in cost and efficiency Changes in global regulations in the textiles and apparels industry In Bangladesh internet technology and web applications play a vital role in establishing collaboration between importers and buyers abroad. Exporters communicate with Importers though internet where buyers put their proposal and ask for bidding. Prospective sellers bid through the internet and the lowest bidder is rewarded with sales contract This is how internet technology acts as a bridge in connecting business people across different parts of the world. In domestic market there is no such seller who uses websites as a part of their supply chain. Amazon uses website as a competitive tool in gaining customers. But such facilities havent yet gained prominence in a developing country like Bangladesh. So Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. can take an initiative eto develop website for buyers and suppliers. The overall global trade is increasing phenomenally every year and after. In business the process of going global is largely marked by increasing volume of export and import and greater number of licensing, franchising, strategic alliances, joint venture and setting up of foreign subsidiaries by business houses. Thomas Friedman while describing the trend of globalization summed it up in one sentence that globalization is farther, faster, cheaper, and deeper.(Hossain and Sandhir 2004) Key informant interviews reveal that trade liberalization has made it much easier for entering into new market and carry out manufacturing activities by out sourcing them. Brands like Reebok, Marks Spencer, Denim, Wall Mart, Levies, Nike etc. out source their manufacturing activities to countries like Bangladesh where they can get value chain activities done cheaper than any other part of the world. Although the ready made garment sector is not so much speedy changing, it has to be proactive about the market demand and thereby make itself prepared for the market demand. Other option is the company can react with the change. Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. is considering the latter approach. It is reacting with the changes. When the other companies are fighting to reduce lead time and improve delivery time, this company also trying to walk in the same way. The company is trying to incorporate new technology for its production process. 5.6 Strategies for sustaining rapid company growth As Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. is medium size company in the woven sector industry in Bangladesh, the company is following horizon 1: short-jump for sustaining rapid company growth. By this technique, the company is adding new items to the companys present product line, expanding into new geographic areas where the company does not yet have a market presence and launching offensives to take market share away from rivals. The objective of this short jump is to capitalize fully on whatever growth potential exists in the companys present business arenas. The sustainability of exports of woven garments in Bangladesh remains under question as the sector lacks backward linkages far from the requirements. At present, around 20 to 25 per cent of the raw materials required for the woven garments are supplied domestically whereas the same for the kit garment is 75 to 80 per cent. The manufacturers depend on the international market for the rest of the raw materials required for both the sectors. Given the pattern of growing demand for TC in the international market and the increasing competitiveness from the major exporting countries it would be difficult for Bangladesh to stand in the competition with her limited supply-side capacity. Bangladesh may supper a serious setback in outsourcing raw materials from the international market. 5.7 Diversification Strategy The big risk of a single-business company is having all of rhe firms eggs in one industry basket. If the market is eroded by the appearance of new technologies, new products, or fast-shifting buyer preference, then a companys prospects can quickly dim. For these reasons the company takes diversification strategy to broaden its business horizon. In the researchers case analysis, Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. has also realized the risk of single-business Company and also realized that the existing potential resources can be utilized efficiently if the business is broadened with the similar sectors. From this view point, Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. has extended its business in knitting sector as well as spinning. 5.8 Strategies for entering new businesses From the view point of input side, Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. considered the following factors in expanding its business horizon in new businesses. Existing technologies and expertise complement to the expanded business Existing competencies and capabilities are same valuable competitive assets for the expanded business New business in spinning and knitting is closely related to existing woven garments and so opens new avenues for reduction of cost The existing suppliers expanded their supply in spinning and knitting raw materials as well as buyers demanding products of knitting garments. Besides the management of Rahim Textile Mills Ltd. has thought about the outcome and the benefit of shareholders so that value is added to them.. There were three different choices for the company to diversify in the new business. The choices are as follows: Acquisition of an existing business