Sundiata Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sundiata - Essay Example Therefore, the study of myths and their interrelationship with the real-life is of the paramount importance for the deeper understanding of the very nature of any human society. As a perfect example for this purpose we may investigate the book written by D. T. Niane "Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali", which is one of the most well-known traditional narratives of West Africa that provides an account of Sundiata Keita, a historical heroic figure renowned as the founder of the Mali Empire. This book contains important insights into the mythical component of the human perception of history, and exposes the intimate connection that the present always has with the past. Let us take a closer look at this narrative and examine the function of memory as the bridge connecting heroes of the book with the world they live in. Among the numerous personages of the epic, the story of the relationship between the great king of Mali Sundiata and his griot Balla Fasseke takes perhaps the central place in terms of its importance for the whole narrative. Griots can be seen as professional storytellers and public speakers, but the significance of their social role was much deeper in the African societies than it could seem from this superficial description. On the most fundamental level, a griot was perceived as the vessel of historical memory of a social group. Every king had a griot beside him whose task was to instruct his patron in such a way as to procure the inheritance of traditions of ancestors. Therefore, griots role was naturally wide-ranging, as they were speaking for their kings, were tutoring their children, and in this way aimed to ". . . bring to life the deeds and exploits of kings for younger generations" (Niane, 1995, p.1). By the way, to prove that griots could rely on orally transmitted tradit ions we may for instance consider such a stable phenomenon as proverbs, which are referred to in the narrative in the following way: "Mens wisdom is contained in proverbs, and when children wield proverbs it is a sign that they have profited from adult company" (Niane, 1995, p.29). In the full accordance with the elevated status of griots, Balla Fasseke becomes a close tutor of the prospective king Sundiata yet from his early childhood. Balla educates and instructs Sundiata on the rules of behavior, so that ". . . between his mother and the griot, the child got to know all that needed to be known" (Niane, 1995, p.23). Thus, from the very beginning of the story of Sundiata the role of his guardian angel is assigned to Balla. In his turn, Balla was very devoted to his patron, which can be seen from his faithfulness to Sundiata even during his exile at the court of a powerful sorcerer king Soumaoro. But for Sundiata the absence of the griot does not simply mean the loss of a counselor, but in essence signifies the disconnection of Sundiata from the memory of his ancestors. Such a deprivation of him of the link with the mythical ancestors is the sufficient reason even for war, and in the narrative one of the first signs of the imminent war between Sundiata and Soum aoro is symbolized by the proclamation of Balla Fasseke by Soumaoro as of his new griot. At the same time, the respect that Soumaoro had for Balla proves that the memory of the past is indispensable for all, including such a seemingly powerful personage as the sorcerer

Marketing Plan For Fragrance Direct Marketing Essay

Marketing Plan For Fragrance Direct Marketing Essay Fragrance Direct is a toiletries retailer who sells branded, discounted perfumes, aftershaves, cosmetics,hair care, skincare, cosmetics and beauty products. This report investigates and discusses the Fragrance Directs current marketing situation in an intensively competitive marketplace and to prepare an appropriate two-year marketing plan which could lead the company to increase its market share. The report was prepared after critically considering all marketing theories and tactics in context of Fragrance Direct like e-business strategies, product development, marketing decision making and organizational strategy, marketing segmentation and positioning, SOSTAC planning model etc. A projected budget was prepared and justified for the projected marketing plan. Marketing plan Regardless of types of business, any business needs a concrete marketing plan if they were to succeed. Brassington Pettit (2006) define, Marketing plan is a detailed, written statement specifying target markets, marketing programmes, responsibilities, timescales and resources to be used, within defined budgets. A two-year marketing plan is made for Fragrance Direct which could aim to help them to achieve a growth in market share. SOSTAC planning model Many approaches can be used to make a marketing plan. SOSTAC planning model is the one which includes all essential marketing plan and it is the most useful one. Here I used Smiths (1997, pp 32) SOSTAC planning model to make a two-year strategic marketing plan for Fragrance Direct: S- Situation Analysis (where are we now?) At present, direct selling businesses are booming due to increased home broadband services. The case suggests that Fragrance Direct is one of a number of specialist internet-based retailers at the moment. Their strength is they can sell products cheaper than any other competitors who trade through physical stores. According to their website, they are able to offer highly competitive prices and this is done by keeping overheads low. There is no shop, no middlemen as they supply their products directly to the customer ( Fragrance Direct, 2009). So the company is in a good shape and has the ability to grow even further. O-Objectives (where do we want to go?) Though the company has been growing rapidly but according to the case scenerio in order to achieve their medium-term growth targets they need a major push to broaden their customer base and increase market share. There is opportunity for the company to do that. So the key objectives Fragrance Directs management should adopt right now are to target new segment while maintaining existing products portfolio and develop new products for the targeted segments. This way they can manage to retain the present market share as well as there is possibility to increase their customer base with the help of launched products. S-Strategy (how do we want to go there?) Selecting the correct segment and correct proposition is the key to success. Kotler Armstrong (2006) point out that the market consists of many types of customers, products and need. The marketer has to determine which segments offer the best opportunity for achieving company objectives. Traditionally Fragrance Direct have not focused in male grooming audience yet although the case report suggests mens fragrace market is worth over 500 million US dollars and the demand is steadily increasing. So as an existing market player this the segment where Fragrance Direct should exploit if they want to increase their market share. Most of the existing toiletries market players targeted young man while the report indicates this segment is declining. On the other hand older segment is increasing so Fragrance Direct should target this segment with widen products base. Market segmentation is important for any company like Fragment Direct as it helps to target its marketing mix more closely and p recisely. T-Tactics (the details of strategy) Tactics tend to be short term and flexible, whereas strategy is longer term and more enduring. When strategy is agreed the next job for marketers to develop tactics. Smith Chaffey, (2005) hinted that E-marketing tactics focuses on deciding the optimum marketing mix (pp 338). Marketing mix The marketing mix concept is one of the core concepts for marketing. 7Ps framework for marketing has achieved high degree of acceptance. Armstrong Kotler (2007) define A marketing mix is the set of controllable, tactical marketing tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. Here, the 7Ps marketing mix tactic has been discussed in context of Fragrance direct: 1. Product: Products should be developed in accordance with customer demand and developed products should meet the need of targeted segment of the market. At present the male grooming product market is confined with aftershave fragrances and a limited range of hair care products. So there is scope to broaden the sell of different others new products like mens bath and body, mens skin care, mens sun care, mens accessory etc. as the demand is consistently increasing. 2. Price: When determining the price it is important to remember that whether customers are willing to pay the price or not; they have the ability or not. Wrong pricing could lead the market failure. According the companys website their one of the aims is To keep prices as low as possible to make high street shopping a thing of the past. However they are under intense compitition from traditional sellers lke chains of chemists (pharmacists, drugstore) and supermarket chains who have started selling health and beauty products thorough their physical stores as well as through internet and they are capable to offer cheaper price. So new products should be priced as cheap as as possible as a penetrating price while continue to offer existing cheap price for others products. 3. Place: The place is where customers buy the product. For Fragrance Direct place is internet from where customers by their products. Products must be delivered in right time, and in the right quantity in order to maintain the highest level of customer satisfaction. Fragrance Direct aims to make shopping online quick, easy and convenient and to provide an excellent level of customer service. They also aim to make their site fun, interesting with bargains and a range of products (Fragrance Direct, 2009). To mainten these services storage, inventories and distribution should be maintained appropriately. 4. Promotion: Through promotion activities a company delivers messages to its cusomers about the products, brands using variety of media and communication tools. Smith Chaffey (2005) suggests that the ten promotional mix (advertising, selling, sales promotion, PR, sponsorship, direct mail, exhibitions, merchandising, packing and word of mouth) -can be used to communicate or promote in the online or offline world (pp 54). Fragrance Direct should use all of these means to fulfill their mission-To be the first name you think of when buying fragrance and cosmetics on the internet. The case article suggests that male style magazines such as GQ, FHM and Loaded have huge impact on male in the UK so they should specially promote the site with those magazines. 5. People: We could assume the online business as service marketing. In service marketing people or staff is a very important part of marketing mix. The challenge for Fragrant Direct is to continue recruiting right people, train them and reward them appropriately. 6. Process: Process in a web-based company includes internal and external process as well as transactions, internal communications etc which are necessary to run a business. All processes have to be executed excellently to make the business a success. Fragrance Direct must keep an efficient process by keeping site updated to indicate if any number in stock changed, product specification, price change, dealing with customers e-mail enquiries, product dispatch etc. 7. Physical evidence: In an online business, the quality of the site is the physical evidence (Smith Chaffey; 2005, pp. 66). Normally customers buy intangible services from Fragrance Direct through their site so there is an amount of uncertainty in the process. So Fragrance Direct must ensure customers buying the services must meets acceptable standards of speed and ease of use. A- Action (or implementations-putting the plans to work) Smith Chaffey (2005) states that action stage reveals the details of tactics. Actions implement the tactics. Any kind of project action plan can be used like critical patch or Grant chart. Following is the Grant chart which reflects a two-year action plan for Fragrance Direct: Table 1. Grant chart for Fragrance Direct Activity April 2009 June 2009 July 2009 Dec 2009 Jan 2010 March 2010 April 2010 September 2010 Oct. 2010 Dec. 2010 Jan 2010 March 2011 Get approval for new product development Product development Build information/brochure Run banner campaign on website Offline press launch of new products Website update C- Control (measurement, monitoring, reviewing and modifying). In any marketing planning, details should be added about how the plan would be monitored, measured and controlled. If any components of the plan are not working it should be reviewed, modified if necessary even should be stopped. The following diagram shows a two-year Control system for Fragrance Direct: Table 2. Model of Control systems for Fragrance Direct (two-years) Quantified objectives Means of measuring Frequency of measurement (quarterly) Accountability Cost Action (Who needs to be alerted?) Building information/brochure June 2009 Marketing executive  £2000 Marketing executive à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Sept. 2009 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Dec. 2009 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. March 2010 June 2010 Sept. 2010 Dec. 2009 March 2011 The 3Ms In any marketing plan all company resources required to be included. Smith Taylor (1997) state that the three resources, 3Ms, cover: 1. Men/Women (the human resources) Skilled professionals (men/women) need to brought in to make the organization run as well as existing human resources need to be retained with training, rewarding. However it was discussed before in the marketing mix people section. 2. Money (budget) 3. Minutes (time) These two points are discussed in the later section. Timeframe Any e-marketing plan must contain timescales, schedules and deadlines. It must take time for Fragrance Direct to analyze their recent market situation, targeting, segmentation, new product development, promotion campaign etc. So everything should be done according to timeframe as time seems often the most tight of the resources. Without a proper timeframe the marketing plan may get uncontrollable. There is a time frame for fragrance Direct: Table 3. Timeframe Activity Timing Market research 6 month Product development 3 month à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Projected budget An adequate budget is required in order to achieve the plan. Like any other retailer Fragrance Direct now have to face the tough competition from competitors. Retailers are cutting prices in a desperate bid to sell their goods. A research by Ramasesham (2000) found that even prices are cut to a level where extra sales are made at a tiny gross margin. At the same time retailers are facing cost rises which are in many cases higher than the rise in selling prices. The following projected budget is made according to Ramasesham (2000) research where he investigated from marketing budget how much money should be spent in different marketing activities e.g. 33% of total marketing budget should be spent for advertising and so on. Table 4. Projected marketing budget Item of Percentage of total marketing expenditure accounted for by item Advertising 33 Promotion 15 Personal selling 28 Storage 2 Order filling 4 Delivery 2 Clerical sales, accounting 5 General and administrative 5 Research 1 Credit 1 Others 4 Total 100 Recommendations conclusion Fragrance direct is a successful company who posseses the ability to offer products at great prices, whilst still concentrating on a high level of service. So it is possible for them to out perform their rival and increase market share if they have been able to follow a perfect strategic marketing plan. It is strongly recommended that they strictly follow the suggested two-year strategic marketing paln in accordane with tight controlling measures. It is also recommened that this is the time to concentratte on suggested marketing segment, penetrate the market with new developed products and apprppriate marketing mix. References Armstrong, G. Kotler, P. (2007) Marketing: An introduction. New Jersey, USA: Pearson Prentice Hall Brassington, F. Pettitt, S. (2006) Principles of Marketing. 4th edition. England: Pearson Education Limited Fragrance Direct (2009) About Us [online] http://www.fragrancedirect.co.uk/Customer-Services/About-Us/page/aboutus [accessed 9 April, 2009] Kotler, P. Armstrong, G. (2006) Principles of Marketing. 11th edition. New Jersey, USA: Pearson Prentice Hall Ramasesham, B. (2000) Research Note: Marketing Budgeting Practices of Retailers Retailers Marketing Budgeting. Smith, P. R. Chaffey, D. (2005) e Marketing eXcellence. 2nd edition. Oxford, England: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann Smith, P. R. Taylor, J. (1997) Marketing Communications. 4th edition. London: Kogan Page

Anne Frank :: essays research papers

Anne Frank was a German-Jewish diarist. She was known for the diary she wrote while hiding from anti-Jewish persecution in Amsterdam during World War II. Her diary describes with wisdom and humor the two difficult years she spent in seclusion before her tragic death at the age of 15. Since it was first published in 1947, her diary has appeared in more than 50 languages. Perhaps more than any other figure, Anne Frank gave a human face to the victims of the Holocaust. Annelies Marie Frank was born on June 12, 1929, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Because of their Jewish faith, Anne Frank and her family fled Nazi Germany for the Netherlands in 1933 to avoid persecution. After Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1942, the family spent two years living in a small hidden room in Amsterdam in order to elude capture by Nazi occupation forces. They were discovered in 1944 and arrested. Anne was sent to a concentration camp, where she died the following year. Her famous diary of the two years she spent in hiding was later found in the room where she and her family had lived. Anne’s father, Otto, had taken the family to Amsterdam, where he had established a small food products business. When Germany invaded The Netherlands in 1940, the Franks once again became subject to escalating anti-Semitic persecution. In 1941 Anne was required to transfer from a public school to a Jewish school. Secretly, Otto Frank prepared a hiding place by sealing off several rooms at the rear of his Amsterdam office building. A swinging bookcase hid the rooms Frank concealed. In June 1942 Anne received a diary for her 13th birthday. She began to write down her thoughts and experiences in the form of letters to an imaginary friend. One month later the Franks went into hiding in the office building. For the next two years the Frank family shared cramped quarters with four other Jewish people. In the ending the people she lived with were the ones that published her diary. Over the time of 25 months, Anne recorded her experiences while hiding from German troops. Her diary describes the fears and emotional conflicts of people crowded together in secrecy. The diary also had its good times apart from its bad such as funny and memorable moments. These include birthday celebrations and Anne’s first experience with falling in love.

Orruption in Primary Education in Bangladesh Essay

Introduction The adult literacy rate is 51 percent The average number of teacher per primary school is only 4 Average number of students per primary school is 273 The primary teacher-student ratio is 67:1 Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2 Development in Primary Education Adoption of an education policy in 2000 Five-year cycle to an eight-year cycle by 2010 Free and compulsory primary education for all children; Free education for girls up to grade eight; Free books for all children at primary level; 3 Development in Primary Education A food-for-education programme Primary Education Stipend Programme (PESP) Creation of a separate Primary and Mass Education Division (PMED) A proliferation of non-formal education programme by NGOs, and 4 Achievements in Primary Education Net enrolment rate has reached 80 percent Over 70 percent of the students now complete the five-year primary cycle 60 percent are present in school on an average day Source: Campaign for Popular Education & The University Press Ltd. 5 State of Corruption, Mismanagement and Irregularities in Primary Education All these programmes are infested with endless flaws and irregularities. TIB Household Corruption Survey identified the education sector as fifth corrupt sectors (2002) TIB Corruption Database identified the education sector as the third most corrupt sectors (2004) TIB and Committees of Concerned Citizens (CCCs) conducted a Report Card Survey in the primary education to identify the gaps and flaws in our basic education level as well as to locate and dispose of corruption. 6 Committees of Concerned Citizens (CCCs) TIB developed six Committees of Concerned Citizens (CCCs) Mymensingh Kishoregonj Nalitalari Madhupur Muktagacha, Jamalpur The main objective of the formation of the CCCs is to create local groups which would serve as local lobbyists seeking to curb corruption, instigate reform and promote integrity in the public service delivery system. 7 Sources of Data Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey, TIB (2001) Report card survey is a simple approach for organizing public feed back Report Cards are designed to assess the nature, types, extent and implications of corruption, and at the same time facilitate stakeholders participatory movement for improving the quality of service in the sector. 8 Name of Areas and number of different respondents for the Report Card Survey (2001) Respondents Area Mymensingh Muktagachha Jamalpur Kishoregonj Nalitabari Madhupur Gouripur Sharishabar Total Headmaster 23 25 20 21 19 20 21 22 171 Student 115 124 120 120 120 120 113 134 966 Guardian 115 124 120 120 120 120 113 134 966 Total 253 273 260 261 259 260 247 290 2103 9 Sources of Data Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey, TIB (2002) Information from 3030 Households Corruption Database: TIB (2004) Information from 26 Dailies Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey, TIB (2005) Information from 3000 Households Quality with Equity: The Primary Education Agenda, Campaign for Popular Education Bangladesh (2005) 8212 Respondents 10 Corruption in admission in primary education TIB Report card Survey (2001) shows that 6. 52% of the primary students paid Tk 63/- on average as admission fees . TIB Household Corruption Survey (2005) showed that 40% primary students had to pay 209 taka as admission fees 11 Irregular subscription/fees TIB Report Card Survey (2001) revealed that each student of primary schools had to pay 47 taka on average subscription for at least nine purposes which is illegal TIB Household Corruption Survey (2005) revealed that each student of primary schools had to pay 58 taka on average subscription for at least nine purposes which is illegal 12 Percentage of students who paid illegal fees 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0. Sp or ts Bo ok s rit ua ls m ot io n ex am ex ta in m lE po se s th er pu r am . xa en t En te r Pr om 2n d Re lig io us m 1s tT er Te Fi na rm 2001 2005 Source Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey (2001) Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005) O 13 Amount of average illegal fess 2001 30 27 24 21 18 15 12 9 6 3 0 m ion ok s . ex am or ts t en ls r it ua us io O th er inm lE Bo ex Sp os es pu rp am xa ot om Pr te En 2005 er m Fi na tT Te rm rta 1s d 2n Source Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey (2001) Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005). Re l ig 14 Corruption in Food for Education Program 16 % of the cases the criterion was not observed 15. 5% of the students paid on an average Taka 32 to be included in the programme Subscription was collected by teachers, Dealers and from Others On average every student received 2. 47 Kgs food grain less every time Missing 1241 tons of food grain in 8 Upazillas equivalent to 12 million taka (1USD=52 taka) Source: Corruption in Primary Education:A Report Card Survey (2001) 15 Primary Education Stipend Programme (PESP). Started from July 2002 substituting the former Food for Education Programme (FFE). Aim of attracting and keeping more children, especially of the poor Forty percent of the students in rural area are eligible to receive Tk 100 stipend per month Identification of 40 percent of pupil enrolled in grades 1-5 from the poorest households by School Management Committee (SMC) To remain eligible for the monthly stipend, a student has to attain minimum 40 percent marks in term examinations and have 85 percent monthly class attendance. 16 Corruption in Primary Education Stipend Programme (PESP). Over two-thirds of the children from the poorest category were not selected to be recipients of stipend; 27 percent of children from affluent households received the stipend 32. 4% primary school students who have been enrolled for stipend had to pay 40 taka for their enrolment 46 percent of the stipend holders did not receive the full amount of stipend Source Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005) Source: Campaign for Popular Education & The University Press Ltd. 17 Corruption in Upazilla Primary Education Offices 34% of the responding headmasters said that bribes are occasionally required to be paid 13% said that they have to do so every time. Source: Corruption in Primary Education:A Report Card Survey (2001) 18 Consequences of corruption Concerned officials of primary education collected 19. 85 million taka (1USD=52 taka) as illegal subscription from 8 areas (out of 500 areas). Concerned primary education officials collected 546 million taka (1USD=60 taka) as illegal fees from all over Bangladesh Concerned PESP officials collected 25 million taka from primary students to enroll them in the PESP from all over Bangladesh . Source Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey (2001) Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005) 19 Perpetrators of Corruption 1. Teachers 2. Food dealers 3. Management committee of institutions 4. Employees of institutions Source Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey (2001) Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005) 20 Causes of corruption 1. Absence of accountability 2. Discretionary power 3. Lack of transparency 4. Monopoly power 5. Influence of powerful people Source Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2002) 21 The objectives of CCCs advocacy activities on Primary Education. Ensuring quality education in all classrooms implying that there shall remain no room for pursuing any kind of ill motives for personal gain of any concerned party; Promoting collection of reasonable and standard fees in all primary schools; Ensuring that schools keep proper record of official fund collection and expenditure; Promoting the effectiveness of School Management Committees (SMC) and the Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) to work as watchdog bodies for the betterment of local-level education; Suggesting strategies for meaningfully reducing the rate of dropouts. 22. TIB initiatives to curb corruption from Primary education: Success of CCCs The advocacy undertaken by CCCs for achieving the above objectives are at three level; Firstly, the CCCs are working to increase mass people through mobile theatres, mothers’ gathering and parents-teachers gathering etc. Secondly, the CCCs are trying to build coalition with School Management Committee (SMC), Upazilla Education Committee, and with the Civil Society. Finally, the CCCs are working with the concerned officials including Upazilla Education Offices, District Education Offices, Upazilla and District administrations etc. 23 TIB initiatives to curb corruption from Primary education: Success of CCCs Most of the upazilla primary education offices have taken initiatives for curbing corruption in their offices. As a result, corruption has somewhat reduced in the offices of the upazilla primary education offices. A number of teachers informed the CCCs that they are not giving bribes in the education office for their services. Because of CCC advocacy, a number of education offices decided on a fixed amount of fees for various purposes. The teachers are no longer collecting illegal fees from the students. 24 TIB initiatives to curb corruption from Primary education: Success of CCCs The CCCs have been invited by the Upazilla Education offices to participate in preparing yearly plan. The concerned education officials have requested the CCCs to help them to form the School Management Committee (SMC); The CCCs obtained formal consent to work with two Primary Schools for turning them into â€Å"Islands of Integrity† in each area; Many facets of the local education system appeared to have acted on the CCC-designed recommendations. 25 TIB initiatives to curb corruption from Primary education: Success of CCCs TIB’s suggestions, voiced via CCCs, were taken seriously and changes to record-keeping systems were made as per CCC recommendations; the CCCs had 15 specific reform-oriented recommendations; CCCs have been successful in persuading school authorities to clearly specify the school tuition fees, the rate of stipends, and supplying books on time, at no extra cost to guardians. It was made clear that the CCCs would continue to act as watchdogs for ensuring transparency and accountability; 26 Further Information Md. Sydur Rahman Molla Senior Programme Officer Research Department Transparency International Bangladesh Progress Tower (5th Floor), H # 01, R # 23, Gulshan –1, Dhaka –1212 PH: 880 2 9884811, 8826036, Fax: 880 2 9884811 Email: srmolla@ti-bangladesh. org Web: www. ti-bangladesh. org 27 Thanks 28.

Callaway Golf Company- Manufacturing Inventory

Answers to Case 6: Callaway Golf Company-Manufacturing Inventory. a. The costs expected to be in the raw materials inventory are: costs of materials such as wood, iron, plastic and/or optic fiber that have yet to be placed in production. The costs expected to be in the work in process inventory are the cost of materials placed in production plus the labor and allocated overhead utilized so far. The costs expected to be in the finish goods inventory are the materials, labor and allocated overhead incurred to make the finished products on hand. b.Inventories are net of an estimated allowance for obsolete or unmarketable inventory. c. i. The Reserve for obsolete inventories’ account does not appear on Callaway’s financial statements because it has already been subtracted off the inventory account. The gross amount of inventory at the end of 2006 is $247,795. 00, and at the end of 2007 is $232,872. 00 Of the $20,129. 00 of reserve for obsolete inventory, $6,537. 90, is attr ibutable to raw materials inventory, 154. 99 is attributable to work-in-process inventory, and $13,436. 11 to finished goods inventory. d.JE to record activity in reserve for obsolete inventory during 2007 (in thousands) Cost of Sales$ 12,182. 00 Provision for obsolete inventory12,182. 00 Provision for obsolete inventory 9,368. 00 Inventory 9,368. 00 e. i. The cost of finished goods sold in 2007 was $619,186. 00 The cost of finished goods transferred from work-in-process in 2007 was$247,109 iii. The cost of raw materials transferred to work-in-process in 2007 was $90,982. 00 The cost of raw materials purchased during 2007 was $87,369. 00 v. The amount of cash disbursed for raw-material purchases during 2007 was $54,350. 00. ($95,297. 00-$40,947. 00) Read also: Advantages and Disadvantages of Administrative Management