Company Law Essay Example for Free

Company Law Essay It has been a long established principle of Company Law that the corporate personality is a separate legal entity distinct from its members. (Salomon v Salomon Co. (1897) However, there are circumstances in which the courts might find it appropriate to dispense with this principle and ignore the principle of separate corporate personality by ‘lifting the corporate veil’ so to speak. Yet, the courts have not been as prepared to pierce the veil of the corporation as they have been to protect it. Salomon v Salomon Co. gave birth to the separate legal personality of the corporation. In this case, Mr. Salomon, who was conducting business as a leather merchant formed a company which he called Salomon Co. Ltd in 1892. His shares were distributed among his wife and children, each of whom held one share each, for Mr. Salomon. This was necessary at the time because the law requires that the company consist of at least seven shareholders. It is also important to note that Mr. Salomon was the managing director of the company. (1897) Salomon Co. Ltd. purchased the leather business which Mr. Salomon estimated to be worth 39,000 pounds. Mr. Salomon based this valuation on his view that the business was bound to be a success rather than the actual value at the time of purchase. The funds were paid as follows: 1) 10,000 pounds worth of debenture stocks leaving a charge over all of the assets of the company and 2) 20,000 pounds in 1 pound shares and 9,000 pounds in cash. At this juncture, Mr. Salomon paid off all of the creditors of the business. As a result, Mr. Salomon held 20,001 shares in Salomon Co. Ltd. and his wife and kids held the remaining 6 shares. Also, as a result of the debenture, Mr. Salomon was a secured creditor of the company. (Salomon Salomon Co. Ltd. 1897) The leather business floundered and within a year Mr. Salomon ended up selling all of his debentures so as to salvage the business. This did not work out the way Mr. Salomon planned and the company was unable to pay its debts and consequently went into insolvent liquidation. The company’s liquidator alleged that Salomon Co. Ltd. was nothing but a sham serving as an agent for Mr. Salomon. Therefore Mr. Salomon should be held personally liable for the company’s debts. The Court of Appeal agreed with this finding and held that a company’s shareholders were required to be a bona fide organization with the intention of going into business rather than just for the purpose of meeting the statutory provisions for the number of shareholders. (Salomon Salomon Co. Ltd. 1897) The House of Lords reversed the decision of the Court of Appeal holding as follows:- 1) It was not relevant for the purposes of determining the genuineness of a company’s formation that some shareholders were holding shares for the purpose of forming the company pursuant to relevant statutory provisions. In fact, it was perfectly legal for the procedure for registration to be used by a person for the purpose of conducting a one-man business enterprise. 2) Moreover, a company that was formed pursuant to the regulations provided in the Companies Acts is a separate legal person and was not therefore an agent or trustee for the controller. Therefore the company’s debts were its own and were not the debts of its members. The liability of the members would be limited in proportion to the shares that they each held. (Salomon Salomon Co.  Ltd. 1897) Salomon v Salomon Co. Ltd. has stood up well against the test of time. In Macaura v Northern Assurance Co. [1925] AC 619 the House of Lords held that in the same way that the company’s liabilities are the company’s and the shareholders, the assets are also the company’s rather than the shareholders. (Macaura v Northern Assurance Co. [1925]) In Barings Plc (In Liquidation v Coopers Lybrand (No. 4) [2002] 2 BCLC 364 a parent company suffered a loss as a consequence of the loss incurred by one of its subsidiaries. It was held that the subsidiary was the proper party to commence an action in respect of the loss. This rationale followed the rationale in Salomon v Salomon Co. Vis-a-vis the loss was that of the subsidiary and was therefore that company’s liability rather than the parent company’s liability. The subsidiary was a separate legal entity from its parent company. (2002 p 364) This ruling was closely followed in both Gile v Rhind [2003] as well as Shaker v Al-Bedrawi {2003]. In Re Southard Co Ltd Templeton [1979] 3 ALL ER 556 at 565 LJ said that A parent company may spawn a number of subsidiary companies, all controlled directly or indirectly by shareholders of the parent company. If one of the subsidiary companies, to change the metaphor, turns out to be the runt of the litter and declines into insolvency to the dismay of its creditors, the parent company and other subsidiary companies prosper to the joy of the shareholders without any liability for the debts of the insolvent subsidiary. ’(Re Southard Co Ltd Templeton [1979] 3 ALL ER 556 at 565) Lee v Lee’s Air Farming, a New Zealand case, is another good example of the court’s reluctance to pierce the corporate veil. In this case, in 1954 Lee started a company called Lee’s Air Farming Limited. Lee owned all of the shares of the company and was the company’s Governing Director. In addition, Lee worked for the company as its chief pilot. He died in a plane crash while flying the company plane and his wife tried to claim damages via the company’s insurance scheme under the Workers’ Compensation Act. (Lee v Lee’s Air Farming [1961]) The New Zealand Court of Appeal rejected the widow’s claim that Lee was a worker within the meaning of the Workers’ Compensation Act and the case went to the Privy Council. The Privy Council found that Lee’s Air Farming Limited was an entirely different legal entity from Lee and legal relationships between the two were perfectly permissible. Moreover, the Privy Council found that Lee, as Governing Director could indeed give order to himself in his capacity as chief pilot. Therefore a master/servant relationship did exist between the two and Lee was in that respect a ‘worker’ within the meaning of the Act. Indeed, as seen in the cases discussed above the courts aggressively protect the separate legal identity of the corporate citizen. However, there have been legislative intervention whereby specific situations have been defined where it would be appropriate to pierce the corporate veil. For example Sections 213 and 214 of the Insolvency Acts make it possible for the lifting of the corporate veil in cases of fraud and wrongful dealing. (The Insolvency Act 1986 Sections 213 and 214) Section 213 is often referred to as the ‘fraudulent trading’ provision. (Dignam Lowry 2006 Ch. ) This section arises if the court is satisfied that company carried on any of its business ventures with the intention of defrauding the company’s creditors or the creditors of anyone else. Section 213 will also arise if the court finds that the company acted for any other fraudulent reason and persons involved in those fraudulent ventures can be found liable for the company’s debts. In order to satisfy the court of the existence of fraud Section 213 requires proof of ‘actual dishonesty, involving, according to current notions of fair trading among commercial men, real moral blame’. The . Section 214 does not impose as onerous a burden or standard as does Section 213. It is not necessary to prove an intention to defraud. Section 214 applies to the period just before a company begins winding up procedures. Section 214 arises when the court is satisfied that the directors either knew or ought to have known that the company was becoming insolvent and continued to trade anyway. The director can be liable for the company’s debts in these instances. (The Insolvency Act 1986 Section 214) Section 227 of the Companies Act 1985 makes further provision for lifting the veil of the corporation. This section arises in instances where it is necessary to require the production of group members or group accounts to verify whether or not a subsidiary’s financial activity is that of the holding company. (Companies Act 1985 Section 227) The judiciary has also demonstrated a will to lift the corporate veil whenever the ends of justice desire it to be done. The circumstances in which the court will ignore the corporate veil are ill-defined and the impression is that these circumstances are developed on a case by case basis. Professor Gower said that ‘challenges to the doctrines of separate legal personality and limited liability at common law tend to raise more fundamental challenges to these doctrines, because they are formulated on the basis of general reasons for not applying them, such as fraud, the company being a sham or facade, that the company is the agent of the shareholder, that the companies are part of a single economic unit or even that the interests of justice require this result. ’ (Davies 2003 p 184) Adams v Cape Industries Plc [1990] Ch 433 is viewed by Gower and Davies as the leading case on the exceptions to the corporate veil. In the case the Court of Appeal said that it is not satisfied that the ‘court is entitled to lift the corporate veil as against a defendant company which is a member of a corporate group’ merely on the grounds that the company was used to shield a member of that group from future liabilities of the company. As a matter of fact, the Court of Appeal maintained that this was a legal right by adding ‘whether or not this is desirable, the right to use a corporate structure in this manner is inherent in our corporate law. ’(Adams v Cape Industries Plc [1990] Ch 433) The courts tend to be rather inconsistent with its position on the grounds upon which it will displace the laws protecting the corporate veil. While Adams v Cape Industries Plc was very strict in its position in favor of safeguarding the corporate veil, the House of Lords was rather liberal in DHN Food Distributors Ltd v Tower Hamlets London Borough Council [1976] 1 WLR 852. In the latter case Lord Denning speaking of a parent company and its subsidiary holdings said, ‘these subsidiaries are bound hand and foot to the parent company and must do just what the parent company says’. He went on to say ‘this group is virtually the same as a partnership in which all the three companies are partners. They should not be treated separately so as to be defeated on a technical point’. (DHN Food Distributors Ltd v Tower Hamlets London Borough Council [1976] 1 WLR 852) It wasn’t long before the courts departed from the position taken by Lord Denning. Woolfson v Strathclyde R. C [1978] SLT 159 the House of Lords took issue with Denning’s view on the nature of holding companies and the groups under them. The Lords maintained that the corporate veil would not be displaced unless it was shown that the company was a facade. (Woolfson v Strathclyde R. C [1978] SLT 159) In Trustor AB v Smallbone (No. 2) [2001] 1 WLR 1177 the court was adamant that the corporate veil would only be lifted in three circumstances. They were, 1) if the court was satisfied on the evidence that the company was a mere sham or facade, 2) the company itself was involved in some impropriety or 3) where the interest of justice required it. (Trustor AB v Smallbone (No. ) [2001] 1 WLR 1177) Earlier cases identified appropriate circumstances where the court might find that a company was indeed a facade. In Gilford Motor Company Ltd. v Horne [1933] Ch 985 the court found that the company was a facade. In this case an employee bound by a covenant not to solicit the business of his employers, left his employment and set up a company which he used to breach the covenant. The employee argued that while he was bound by the covenant, the company was not. (Gilford Motor Company Ltd. v Horne [1933] Ch 985) In another case the defendant signed an estate contract with the plaintiff for the sale of realty to him. The defendant changed his mind and formed a company, transferring the realty to the company. He claimed that he was no longer the owner of realty and therefore no bound to the terms of the estate contract. The court found that the company was a mere facade for the defendant and he was ordered to sell the realty as per the estate contract. (Jones v Lipman [1962] 1 WLR 832) The Court of Appeal identified three instances in which it would be appropriate for the corporate veil to be lifted. The court said, ‘save in cases which turn on the wording of particular statutes or contracts, the court is not free to disregard the principle of Salomon v A. Salomon Co Ltd [1897] AC 22 merely because it considers that justice so requires. Our law, for better or worse, recognises the creation of subsidiary companies, which though in one sense the creatures of their parent companies, will nevertheless under the general law fall to be treated as separate legal entities with all the rights and liabilities which would normally attach to separate legal entities. (Adams v Cape Industries Plc [1990] Ch 433) Adams has effectively narrowed the circumstances in which the courts will intervene and lift the corporate veil. This is unfortunate since changing times together with the complex development of both the corporate structure and company law, the Salomon v Salomon Co. rule is in reality perhaps out of place today. (Gallagher Zeigler 1990) Although there have been times when the courts have shifted away from this ruling it remains the poster child for the criteria to be met when determining whether or not to life the veil of the corporation. The prevailing attitude is to safeguard against lifting the corporate veil. Question 2b) The doctrine of majority rule has been a long established principle of Company Law within the English Legal System and makes it difficult for minority shareholders to take legal action in respect of majority shareholder improprieties. That said, Rebecca as a minority shareholder is protected to a limited extent by the provisions of Section 459(1) of the Companies Act 1985. The development of the common law doctrine of majority rule was enunciated in Foss v Harbottle. The rationale behind Foss was that any difficulties within the structure of the company ought to be dealt in the general meetings of the company by ratification by the majority shareholders. The prevailing attitude of the courts was one of nonintervention. It would only step in if it was for the purpose of dissolving the business. The facts of Foss v Harbottle reveal that in 1835 a company, Victoria Park Company purchased land in the Manchester primarily for residential purposes. Thomas Harbottle, a director of Victoria Park Company had purchased the property and resold it to Victoria Park Company who eventually developed the property. Richard Foss and Edward Turton, shareholders of Victoria Park Company brought an action against Thomas Harbottle alleging breach of fiduciary duties in that he sold the property to the company at an inflated price. Turton and Foss also claimed that, acting outside of their powers as directors the directors had burrowed funds in the name of the company. The court held that plaintiffs had no locus standi, and that they were required to have obtained the company’s approval to commence legal action. This approval is properly obtained by virtue of a general meeting. In Foss v Harbottle, Wigram VC explained that ‘the corporation should sue in its own name and in its corporate character, or in the name of someone whom the law has appointed to be its representative. ’ It would therefore only be permissible in exceptional cases of serious abuse that minority shareholders could sue the company as a defendant. This explains the relatively strict approach adopted by the courts in deciding representative forms of actions in the guise of minority shareholder oppression. Jenkins LJ in Edwards v Halliwell explained the justification of the majority rule doctrine in Foss v Harbottle when he said ‘the rule in Foss v Harbottle, as I understand it, comes to no more than this. First, the proper plaintiff in an action in respect of a wrong alleged to be done to a company or association of persons is prima facie the company or the association of persons itself. Secondly, where the alleged wrong is a transaction which might be made binding on the company or association and on all its members by a simple majority of the members, no individual member of the company is allowed to maintain an action in respect of that matter for the simple reason that, if a mere majority of the members of the company or association is in favour of what has been done, then cadit quaestio’. This is where Section 459(1) of the Companies Act 1985 is important to Rebecca in respect of what appears to be ‘insider dealing’, mismanagement and perhaps even fraud. Section 459(1) of the Companies Act 1985 provides as follows:- Any member of a company may apply to the Court by petition for an order under this section on the grounds that the affairs of the company are being or have been conducted in a manner which is unfairly prejudicial to some part of the members (including at least himself) or that any actual or proposed act of omission of the company (including an act of omission on its behalf) is or would be so prejudicial. ’ David Partington, notes rather bluntly, that the discretion contained in Section 459 is very broad and perhaps infinite. ‘The breadth of s. 459 means that there must be an infinite range of situations in which it may be employed. Partington goes on to say that the courts have been extremely flexible in their application of the term ‘unfairly prejudicial. ’ The test for ascertaining whether or not conduct is ‘unfairly prejudicial’ is an objective test rather than a subjective one. The defendant’s motives are often times not of paramount importance to the courts. In Re Bovey Hotel Ventures Ltd. it was held that ‘the test . is whether a reasonable bystander observing the consequences of (the defendants) conduct would regard it as having unfairly prejudiced the petitioners interests. The remedies are no longer limited to ‘winding up’ procedures and this of course explains the wider discretion for commencing an action by minority shareholders. Among the remedies available are, rectification, injunctive or ‘buyout relief. ’ By virtue of ‘buyout’ relief, the court makes an order requiring the company to purchase the shares of the petitioning minority shareholders. This is perhaps the best course for Rebecca to follow. She might not wish to remain a part of a company in which she has all but lost faith in. Re Sam Weller Sons Ltd. rovides some useful guidance as to the kind of conduct that might amount to ‘unfairly prejudicial’ within the meaning of the 1985 Act as amended. For example, failing to pay a dividend in the absence of a sound commercial explanation for such a failure amounts to ‘unfairly prejudicial’ conduct’. In Sam Weller’s case the dividend had already been covered 14 times with the company declaring it for the past consecutive 37 years. In interlocutory proceedings, Gibson LJ denied the company’s application to strike out the petitioner’s claim noting that the company had a case to answer.

Business overview of Regent Seven Seas Cruises

Business overview of Regent Seven Seas Cruises Regent Seven Seas Cruises is an organization engaged in the cruise activities that was established in 1994, based in Genova, Italy. Currently, the liner operates three small size cruise ships including one expedition vessel, namely (1) the M/V Seven Seas Voyager, the (2) M/V Seven Seas Mariner, (3) the M/V Seven Seas Navigator and the (4) the Seven Seas Defender (expedition vessel). Regent Seven Seas Cruises have recently announced the addition of one more small size cruise ship which is scheduled to join the fleet in mid 2012. The cruise line operator is competing in the upscale, luxurious segment of the cruise industry and is offering cruises to more than 400 destinations around the world (RSSC.com, 2010). Regent Seven Seas Cruises vessels carry between 500 and 700 guests (depending on the vessels size) and all guests are accommodated in luxurious exterior suites with balconies. By offering an all inclusive experience and maintaining the crew to guest ratio between 1 to 1 or 1,3 (C ruise Luxury.com, 2010), the company has been nominated with numerous international awards by prestigious organizations and magazines such as the Conte Nast Traveler and the American Association of Hospitality Sciences, with the most recent awards that came in for 2010, (1) The International Star Award, (2) The Worlds Best Small Ship Cruise Line Award, (3)The Best Cruise Line Award, (4) The Favorite Cruise Company Award, (5) The Best Luxury Cruise Line Award, (6) The Best Premium Cruise Line Award, (7) The Six Stars Plus Award, (8) The Star luxury Cruise Award, (9) The Best Luxury Cruise Operator Award, (10) The Best Small Specialty/Cruise Company Award and (11) The Africas Leading Cruise Line Award (RSSC, 2010). The Author through this marketing plan conducts a situational analysis of Regent Seven Seas Cruises and moreover analyzes the liners Marketing Strategies, Financials and Controls that will consequently be the Key Success Factors for establishing the liner as the dominant cr uise line in the upscale market of the cruise industry. Situational Analysis In this Chapter the Author will conduct a situational analysis of Regent Seven Seas Cruises and more particularly will analyze (1) the market demographics, (2) the market needs, (3) the market trends and (4) the market growth. Market Summary Targer Markets The markets that Regent Seven Seas Cruises is targeting are the following: Luxurious Cruising Segment Premium Cruising Segment Luxurious Expedition Cruising Segment Market Demographics Geographics Regent Seven Seas Cruises has no preset geographic target area. The liner strategically deploys its vessels around the world and thereby is offering its customers several embarkation options between international ports of calls. That being said, the corporation is able to cater international customers across the globe. Luxurious vessels total passenger capacity is accounted for 22,355 berths, which is approximately the 5% of the world wide total cruise ship capacity. Luxurious cruise line operators during 2010 carried a 5,2% of the total passenger capacity that is approximately 1 million people. This number subsequently represents the population that Regent Seven Seas Cruises is targeting (Cruise Market Watch, 2010). It is interesting to mention that Regent Seven Seas Cruises with a total births count of 2028, carried approximately 90,000 guests onboard their six cruise ships during 2010. In other words this is a 9% market share of the luxurious cruise segment. Demographics Regent Seven Seas Cruises guests are equally distributed between males and females. The average age of Regent Seven Seas Cruises guests is 55+ however this percentage drops to 40 during Caribbean European seasons (RSSC, 2010). The average annual income of Regent Seven Seas Cruises guests is 389,000USD and net worth 4,9USD million (RSSC, 2010). An average of 58% of Regent Seven Seas Cruises guests come from North America, a 29% from the European Union, a 4% from South America, a 2% from South East Asia and the remaining 7% from Other areas (RSSC, 2010). 40% of brand new to Regent Seven Seas Cruises guests have never cruised before and have stated that would definitely repeat a Regent Seven Seas Cruise (RSSC, 2010). Behavior Factors Regent Seven Seas Cruises guests are typically well traveled, highly educated and elegant. They are looking for luxury, attention to detail, pampering comfort. They account quality and value over price and they are mostly interesting in enjoying the onboard cruise experience while developing new friendships. Market Needs Regent Seven Seas Cruises is providing an all inclusive experience onboard luxurious cruise vessels and seeks to fulfill the following crucial points that are critical for the customers satisfaction: High quality cuisine: Regent Seven Seas Cruises is famous for the top quality cuisine onboard their vessels. Regent Seven Seas Cruises constantly develops its high quality cuisine by contracting well known internationally recognized master chefs who are committed to prepare the finest dishes afloat. The top notch cuisine that Regent Seven Seas Cruises sustains has proven to be a crucial factor for the liners success and enables the liner in achieving total guest satisfaction. Strategically deployed itineraries: Regent Seven Seas Cruises is considered an innovator in masterminding itineraries as well as introducing new destinations that have never been visited by other cruise vessels. That is a major reason that guests are sailing onboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises vessels. High quality of service: Another advantage that the organization is sustaining is a wide pool of experienced and well trained service crew members. Those employees are eager to provide their guests unmatched service and have greatly contributed in the organizations total success. A major reason that customers remain loyal to the brand is the excellent and yet intimate services that are being provided while onboard Regent Seven Seas Cruises vessels. Market Trends The intense competition in the cruise industry is merely initiated due to the constantly changing trends. Every year innovating products appear in the market place, which are setting new barriers and thus making the completion fiercer. According to Andrew Adam Newman (2010) a new trend in the cruise industry, based on extensive research, is that nowadays guests are willing to travel alone as they are more eager to develop new friendships with their fellow cruisers. This new revolutionary trend will ultimately reorganize the cruise market, as organizations up to now were marketing their products based on the traditional travelling settings such as couples, families or groups. Another trend, according to S. Soriani, S. Bertazzon, F. Di Cesare and G. Rech (2009) is that cruising in the Mediterranean market has been gaining popularity the past few years and is currently ranking as the second largest destination in the world, following the Caribbean Isles. Regent Seven Seas Cruises will d istinguish itself by emphasizing in the needs of the single guests who are willing to travel alone and will tailor packages with reduced prices. Moreover the liner will introduce onboard entertainment programs that will aim to bring all singles together with an eye towards assisting the single guests in developing new friendships. At this point Regent Seven Seas Cruises will be unable to deploy additional vessels in the blooming Mediterranean Sea market, as the liner has released its 2011 2012 voyage itineraries and several guests have pre-booked their cruises. Market Growth The cruise industry is a constantly growing industry and cruise experts have reported that during 2010 the industry will hit a top record in terms of passengers carried onboard cruise ships. Considering the adversarial period that has devastated the global economy, the cruise industry keeps growing with a rate of about 7% every year. That is merely an outcome of the high value of cruising, as it has been proved by several scientific researches. The Cruise Line International Association (2010) recently stated that Unlike many other industries, cruising, with an impressive history of recession-resistance, had several advantages. These include vessel mobility and redeployment, ability to quickly adapt to change, effective expense management and, above all, a product with the highest perceived value for money spent. According to a research conducted by the Cruise Market Watch (2010) the luxurious segment of the cruise industry, which is the segment that Regent Seven Seas Cruises competes in, is expected to encounter a 30% increase in passenger capacity from 2008 to 2011. This major finding clearly indicates the increasing demand for passengers to travel on luxurious cruises. SWOT Analysis In the following section, the Author will illustrate the key strengths and weaknesses within Regent Seven Seas Cruises and will further analyse the opportunities and threats associated with the liner. Competition The contenders of the luxurious cruise segment are: Silversea Cruises, Crystal Cruise Line, Cunard Cruise Line, Seaborne Cruise Line, Windstar Cruise Line, Seadream Yachts Line and Paul Gauguin Cruises. The two main competitors of Regent Seven Seas Cruises are (a) the Silversea Cruise Line (b) the Seaborne Cruise Line which was recently acquired by Carnival Corporation PLC. Both competitors offer very similar products and aim into providing superior customer service. Both liners have followed cutting costs strategies which is a customer related disadvantage. The mentioned strategies that the Regent Seven Seas Cruises competitors chose to follow have resulted in a slight turnover of their loyal guests. Regent Seven Seas Cruises, with the proposed marketing plan, will aim and acquire those dissatisfied guests, while ensuring that costs are maintained in appropriate levels and the guest satisfaction remains unaltered. Product Offering According to an article n.d. (2010) Successful products are the key to market leadership and top-line financial growth. Unite your enterprise around product and process innovation. Unleash the hidden power within your product lifecycle by transforming your process of innovation. Regent Seven Seas Cruises has been always regarded as a product innovator in the cruise industry and it is proud to state that every single voyage marketed is a unique masterpiece (RSSC, 2010). Enhanced by partnerships with other luxurious brands the product has gained popularity over the years. Regent Seven Seas Cruises currently offers two products, that is (a) Luxurious Cruises and (b) Luxurious Expedition Cruises. Both products share attributes, such as an all inclusive experience, 21 days menu circle, high standards amenities, exterior suites with balconies and the highest ratio space to guest than any other cruise line including mega ships (World Choice Cruise Club, n.d). Furthermore, the expedition bra nd extension of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, is a strong product for the category and is dominating that segment. Regent Seven Seas Cruises, with an eye towards increasing bookings and thus revenues profits, will further amend its products by introducing the following: Onboard credit of 1000USD for each suite Non refundable, only for onboard spending. Reduced fares for air travel arrangements. Complimentary excursions while the vessels are in port (3 to 5 tours) Future cruises booked onboard will be reduced (by 30% to 70%). This will be examined in a case by case basis. Butler services for all guests as opposed to the current setting that only the owners Royal suites guests receive the mentioned service. Custom made voyages. Even though the liner has pre-set voyages, it will allow the guests to custom make their own cruise by choosing their embarkation port and their disembarkation port without being necessarily the ones advertised. That being said, guest will be able to embark ex. in the second day of the cruise and disembark ex. in the 5 day of the next cruise. The liner will introduce the above product enhancements considering the adversarial period that the cruise industry is currently encountering. Undoubtedly, the liner aims to provide the highest product value for money to its future guests, while reflecting flexibility and maintaining style and quality. Keys to Success Regent Seven Seas Cruises keys to success are: Innovation Attention to detail Custom made voyages Doing the extra mile Thriving for product improvement Pay attention to what the customer says Human capital commitment to the brand Personalized intimate service style Critical Issues Regent Seven Seas Cruises while aiming to increase bookings is conscious regarding keeping the product quality as original as possible, in accordance with the liners philosophy and core values. Unequivocally, a judgmental issue, as the liner sustains the biggest loyal customer base of the segment. Moreover, as revealed by extensive research, there is physical evidence that the customer demand for the product has been increasing thus Regent Seven Seas Cruises is aiming to increase its births count with an eye towards sustaining the almost 10% market share. The liner faces liquidity issues hence this is a major factor that should be attended as it will affect the liners future plans in raising capital for future projects. This can set the liner unable to anticipate with the future trends of the booming segment. The liner has maintained a respected profile towards its money lending institutions. Going forward with the future projects, the liner will need the support of such institutions . Nevertheless, due to the current economic situation and considering the liners liquidity issues, the liner might be forced to offer shares of the future projects to its lenders. Marketing Strategy According to Varadarajan, Rajan (2010) At the broadest level, marketing strategy can be defined as an organizations integrated pattern of decisions that specify its crucial choices concerning products, markets, marketing activities and marketing resources in the creation, communication and/or delivery of products that offer value to customers in exchanges with the organization and thereby enables the organization to achieve specific objectives. That said, in this chapter the Author will describe Regent Seven Seas Cruises Marketing Strategy by further analyzing the organizations (1) Mission, (2) Marketing Objectives, (3) Financial Objectives, (4) Target Markets, (5) Positioning, (6) Strategies, (7) Marketing Mix and Marketing Research. Mission Regent Seven Seas Cruises mission is to provide an unforgettable, experience to its guests while ensuring that sustains its leadership position the luxurious cruise segment. Furthermore the liner aims through its top quality product to attract more customers while ensuring that the loyal ones will return. The liner is committed To Elegance, Luxury and Gracious Hospitality (RSSC, 2010) and thrives to achieve perfection by being faultless. Marketing Objectives Regent Seven Seas Cruises marketing objectives are the following: Increase bookings by 15% during 2011 Maintain and expand the companys award winning profile Decrease advertising costs by 7% Financial Objectives Regent Seven Seas Cruises financial objectives are the following: Solving its liquidity issues by following clear cut/ cost efficient strategies Increase profits by 7% during 2011 Raise capital to finance a new building in 2012 Increase in onboard revenue through cross-department advertising Target Markets As discussed in chapter 1 the markets that Regent Seven Seas cruises is targeting are the following: Luxurious Cruise Industry Segment Premium Cruise Industry Segment Luxurious Expedition Cruise Industry Segment Even though Regent Seven Seas Cruises is competing in the luxurious segments of the industry will be making efforts to attract premium cruise line guests. With the proposed product amendments as explained above the product, even though luxurious will be affordable and more appealing to guests who are not willing to spend enormous amounts of money. While considering the all-inclusive experience that the liner offers, the suggested free shore excursions, shipboard credits, custom made voyages, butler services for all and the air-sea travel packages the liner will be able to attract guest from both luxurious premium cruise industry segments. Positioning Regent Seven Seas Cruises will position its redefined product between two categories, that is the Luxurious Premium cruise segments. Arguably, the product offered to the premium segment will be considered as expensive in comparison to the segments standards, nevertheless Regent Seven Seas Cruises marketing campaign will aim to illustrate the major renovations that the product encountered, thus gained value and could be now seen as an affordable luxury. Strategies The liner will position its products in the upscale market segments by seeking cost efficient strategies. This can be achieved by minimizing operating costs. The liner will strategically deploy its vessels around the world and will plan itineraries that are fuel efficient. Furthermore with unionized contracts and by outsourcing its human resources department the liner will aim to contract low-cost services employees from South East Asian countries who are famous for their superior abilities in service and eagerness to please the guests. Additionally, the liner will maintain its tradition of contracting European Officers who will carry the message of the liners European heritage and elegance. The outcome of the cost efficient strategy is projected to save over 10 million USD within the next six quarters. The liner will invest in its website by introducing a more user-friendly environment. Guests will be able to receive information about Regent Seven Seas Cruises travels and will be ab le to take a virtual tour of the various suite categories. The liner will further offer an online booking option where guests will be able to pre arrange their dining venues, their spa appointments and pre book their shore excursions. Lastly, the liner will market its newly shaped product through online, magazine and television advertisements by illustrating the advantages of a small luxurious cruise vessel. The liner recently contracted the famous Italian ex. actress/ model Isabella Rossellini. The model will serve as Regent Seven Seas Cruises ambassador and will be featuring in the new 200 page brochure (atlas) named Regent Seven Seas Cruises: Infinite Possibilities. This will be done in an attempt to emphasize in the elegance and sophistication of Regent Seven Seas Cruises by exposing the same physical characteristics that derive from the actress/ model. The brochure will be distributed to Regent Seven seas Cruises sailing partners agencies as well as to guests who have sailed w ith Regent Seven Seas Cruises in the past. The advertizing campaign the restructuring of the website are expected to cost 6 million USD. Marketing Mix According to Walter van Waterschoot Christophe Van den Bulte (1992)Of the many marketing mix schemata proposed, only McCarthys has survived and it has become the dominant design or received view. His 4P formula discerned four classes: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion, Promotion itself being split into advertising, personal selling, publicity (in the sense of free advertising), and sales promotion. The Regent Seven seas Cruises marketing mix is reflecting the following approaches according to the 4ps of marketing mix: Price: Pricing, in the cruise industry is competition based. Zeithaml, Bitner Gremler (2006) state that the approach is focusing in the prices that other firms are charging in the same market. Thus does not always imply that companies will be charging identical rates for their products or services. The competitors prices are used as a base and the company in order to price the products accordingly. The approach bares several challenges including the difficulty of small organization to make high margins. Nevertheless, Regent Seven Seas Cruises will be following the competition based pricing for the next 2 years, when the economy is expected to start its recovery. The main objective of the liner is to keep the vessels running in full capacity, thus making onboard revenues while covering operating costs. Product: The term product refers to the services provided by Regent Seven Seas Cruises. The services provided with the redefined product that Regent Seven Seas Cruises will market will reflect an innovating package, with many free amenities including 1000USD shipboard credit, several free shore excursions, discounts for future cruises and reduced air fares. Place: Regent Seven Seas Cruises is working towards re engineering its distribution channels. Currently, several contracts with travel agencies are being reviewed by aiming to support the redefined product. Regent Seven Seas Cruises aims to achieve excellence in the pre-cruise as well as past-cruise experience. Cruise experts state that the pre and past cruise experience is essential in achieving the total guest satisfaction. Thus travel agents play a catalytic role in it. Contracting reliable agents thus strengthening the distribution channels, the product will establish its position in the desired markets. Promotion: Regent Seven Seas Cruises will use several methods for successfully advertizing the product. Sales promotions, public relations and publicity will play a decisive role. Moreover, Regent Seven Seas Cruises will continue to pursuit excellence and thus keep receiving international awards which is the ultimate publicity that a liner can build on its marketing efforts. Marketing Research An advantage of the cruise business which has assisted the industry to remain healthy during turbulent periods such as the current economic situation is the services of CLIA (the cruise line international association) and is its commitment to ensure healthy competition. The association undertakes several researches/ surveys and publishes the invaluable findings to its members. Moreover the association exists to promote a safer industry and a healthy cruise vessel environment, while providing training for its travel agency members, and advertising the enhanced value, quality and unique experience of the cruise vacations. That being said, Regent Seven Seas Cruises as an active member of the association enjoys the luxury of this free marketing research. Nevertheless, the liner is an advocate of constant thriving for product improvement thus conducts its own research through surveying its customer base. The extensive valuable feedback that is given on a cruise by cruise basis, has enable d the liner to come up with the innovations that were discussed in the Product Offering point 1.4. Financials In this chapter the Author will describe the Financials of Regent Seven Seas Cruises. More specifically the Author will discuss the organizations Break Even analysis, Sales Forecast and Expenses Forecast and indicate how those activities reflect on Regent Seven Seas Cruises marketing plan. Break Even analysis The liner currently aims to 58% capacity in order to break even with the current services offered. In other words that is 1176 guests who are booked for an average price of 1000USD PPD (per person daily). In order to conduct a break even analysis for the redefined product we need to consider the additional costs that are associated with the project. The variable costs, are expected to encounter a substantial increase with the addition of the shipboard credits, partnerships with airlines/travel agencies as well as the free tours that will be offered. That being said after the introduction of the product the liner should be aiming to a higher number of bookings. The precise number will be determined following the analysis. The total cost of the shipboard credits is expected to range between 22m and 25m USD on a yearly basis and the cost of the free tours is expected to range between 10.5m to 12m on a yearly basis. Additionally, the essential contracts with airlines and travel agencies which are going to play a crucial role in the pre / post cruise experience are budgeted for 5m USD per year. The organizations current operating costs are 429m USD and will reach 471m USD with the addition of the extra costs. That being said the liner should aim to increase its daily pax count by 115 guests per day. This number represents an additional 5.6% to what the liner was breaking even in the past. Nonetheless, the product is expected to gain an invaluable popularity. Sales Forecast The organization feels that the newly defined product will play a catalytic role in resolving its liquidity issues thus sales will positively impact the organizations financial health. The organization will widen its horizons with its product by aiming to a broader audience hence bookings are expected to encounter a more than 20% increase. Expenses Forecast Table 4 summarizes the expenses forecast from 2008 to 2012. Undoubtedly, the organization in 2010 faced the most turbulent period of the past decade. The combination of financing the new project, the out of line expenses and the declining bookings forced the organization to report the greatest revenue dilution of its history. By focusing in cutting unnecessary costs the company aims to stop the cash haemorrhage. More over the new product will push the liner towards a fast financial recovery. Controls In this chapter the Author will discuss the controls of Regent Seven Seas Cruises. That will enable the organization to achieve the desired level of success of the new product. More specifically the Author will discuss the Implementation, the marketing organization and the contingency plan. Implementation Regent Seven Seas Cruises aims to implement the product in 4 steps. The first step includes sharing in house information. Employees will go through onboard/shore side training programs with an eye towards grasping the new product concept. Step two will include the review of the newly made partnerships. The liner should be 100% sure that the travel agencies will be able to support the product. Step three is the advertising. A big task that will be undertaken by BBDO one of the best advertising agencies in the world. Once everything is set, step four is the official offering of the new product. Each of those 4 steps will be a milestone for the Liner. The full implementation is expected to be completed by the end of the 1st quarter of 2011. Freedman (2003) says that The genius is in the implementation thus the liner will ensure that follows those steps accordingly with an eye towards a successful execution. Marketing Organization The organization that will be responsible for undertaking the heavy task of marketing will be BBDO. The mentioned organization has been a part in the success of Regent Seven Seas Cruises, as has been responsible for the liners past marketing campaigns. Contingency Plan Regent Seven Seas Cruises cannot afford not to succeed with the new product. Unfortunately, the high operating costs and other expenses have affected the financial health of the organization. Nevertheless, the liner is facing several other threads from the environment that operates. The recent mergers of its competitors are rather threatening and have made the competition in the luxurious segment very fierce. One of the greatest risks is visibility. The liner operates a small number of sea going vessels thus is not as visible in the market place as other liners are. That being said, the liner will invest on marketing campaigns which will enhance the organizations issue of visibility that faces. When worst comes to worst, the organization will be forced to liquidate the expedition part of its fleet. The mentioned brand extension, has enabled the liner to acquire new customers and is dominating the luxurious expedition segment of the industry. Nevertheless this brand extension has not been profitable as of yet. The last risk that should be taken at this time is to sustain extensions that are contributing in setting the organization financially weak. Regent Seven Seas Cruises (2010) Home [online] Available from: http://www.rssc.com/default.aspx (Accessed: 03 Jan 2011) Regent Seven Seas Cruises (2010) Destinations [online] Available from: http://www.rssc.com/destinations/ (Accessed: 03 Jan 2011) Regent Seven Seas Cruises (2010) News [online] Available from: http://www.rssc.com/news/ (Accessed: 03 Jan 2011) Cruise in Luxury (2010) Regent Seven Seas Cruises [online] Available from http://www.cruiseinluxury.co.uk/regent-seven-seas-cruises/index.html (Accessed: 03 Jan 2011) Cruise Industry Wire (2008) Articles [online] Available from: http://www.cruiseindustrywire.com/article43245.html (Accessed: 14 Dec 2010) Cruise Market Watch (2008) Luxurious Segment Growth [online] Available from: http://www.cruisemarketwatch.com/blog1/articles/luxurious-growth-in-the-cruise-segment/ (Accessed: 14 Dec 2010) Cruise Market Watch (2009) Regent Seven Seas Cruises [online] Available from http://www.cruisemarketwatch.com/blog1/ (Accessed: 03 Jan 2011) http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=1hid=5sid=9eed1ade-9bcd-4d5c-bf5a-c992b40eefd7%40sessionmgr13 Andrew Adam Newman (2010) The Power of One [online] Available from: http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/eds/detail?hid=3sid=6a4fd10c-22ba-469a-88a1-110da19c8b75%40sessionmgr14vid=1bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=buhAN=49489874 (Accessed: 17 Dec 2010) S. Soriani, S. Bertazzonz, F. Di Cesare and G. Rech (2009) Cruising in the Mediterranean [online] Available from: http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?hid=3sid=27133875-83d1-4d9f-ae0b-a666dd0ff37a%40sessionmgr14vid=1 (Accessed: 17 Dec 2010) World Choice Cruise (2010) Cruise Lines; Regent Seven Seas [online] Available from: http://www.worldchoicecruise.co.uk/cruise-lines/regent-seven-seas-cruises/ (Accessed: 03 Jan 2011) Regent Seven Seas Cruises (2010) All Inclusive Value [online] Available from: http://www.rssc.com/regentexclusives/allinclusive.aspx (Accessed: 03 Jan 2011) Siemens (2010) Automation [online] Available from: http://www.plm.automation.siemens.com/en_us/Images/10737_tcm1023-3524.pdf (Accessed: 19 Dec 2010) Varadarajan, Rajan (2010) Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science [online] Available from: http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/eds/detail?hid=3sid=7b4fb127-16ad-4fb8-a8df-dbd3b791447b%40sessionmgr14vid=1bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=buhAN=48537001 (Accessed: 19 Dec 2010) Walter van Waterschoot Christophe Van den Bulte (1992)The 4P Classification of the Marketing Mix Revisited [online] Available from: http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?hid=4sid=167615d0-747a-44ff-8793-85f0cc132807%40sessionmgr10vid=1 (Accessed: 20 Dec 2010) Bitner, M. J. Grembler, D. D. Zeithanl, V. A. (2006) Services Marketing; I

Financial liberalisation

Financial liberalisation Financial Liberalisation refers to deregulation of domestic financial market and liberalisation of the capital account that implies removing the ceiling on interest rates. When it is in a liberalised system the competition between the different lending institutions for the deposits will increase interest rates on deposits which will increase the deposits. The availability of credit will increase and this will cause an increase in investment growth. The stages of growth increases activity in the financial markets that makes the introduction and the development of financial institutions. It is argued that financial institutions, by gathering and evaluating information from borrowers, allow the allocation of funds for investment plans to become more efficient and therefore encourage growth and investment. Banks have a role in the process of development. These banks gives the chance for individuals to hold their savings in the form of deposits, so lowing the need to hold them in the form of illiquid unproductive tangible assets, as this increases liquidity in the economy. Banks could use the deposits to invest such as currency and capital etc. While an individuals need for liquidity remains unpredictable, banks, by law of large numbers, face a predictable demand for deposit withdrawals, and this in turn allows banks to invest funds more efficiently. The rate of growth reacts positively to the interest rate but investment reacts negatively to the interest rate. Higher interest rate discourage low return investment, investors will be induced to undertake high return investments, thereby bringing efficiency to investment, which in turn will improve the growth rate to a greater extent than that which is possible under financial repression. Interest rate does not affect of saving indirectly but it is instead a role of income. The relationship linking the availability of credit and investment growth can be about interest rates which play a role more in particular, lenders and borrowers. The theory is they can be sure about the loans being repaid. The problem is that borrowers can not guarantee their repayments. With this in mind uncertainty enters into the equation in to the loan repayment so lender take measures in case borrowers plans are unsuccessful and lenders try not to lose their loan capital. So in order to cover this they use the credit standard in the loan calculation. For borrowers that mean they will have to be able get the credit standard in order to receive a loan. If liberalisation happened and the reason was a rise in interest rate this will increase the deposit and increases in the availability of credit. But a rise in deposit will affect the loan rate by increasing but in relation with the size of the loan cause increase in the repayment rate. So credit standard is set on size of the loan and when interest rate increases it does not cover the banks loan capital. So if banks would want to be covered by the credit standard they like to have zero credit risk. To achieve this they would increase the credit standard to make sure that they zero credit risk. This will mean that borrower would take a large amount or unable to meet the demand they will not be allowed the loan. This means an increase in the availability of credit will not guarantee access to the loan market. When interest rates increases, investors who want to get high returns will be attain less than they paid for and they will lose if they sell. Therefore they do not sell. Investors who invest large amount take advantage of high interest rate; these investors have a high credit risk. So the greater flow of credit makes share prices to increase and they higher profits because of the price increase. Since profit from the acquisition and the sale of shares rises, loan capital will be further attracted to the stock market, so it increases the stock market activity. This introduces the possibility of attracting a substantial portion of the loan capital to move different parts of the economy in favour of financial assets. This evidently raises a concern about the efficiency gain by means of liberalisation. In this process them return on loans will no longer be linked with the yield from shares; rather it will be inter-locked with the return from the expected change in share prices when economic activities are falling. If bad news spread that will decrease share prices. So investors will not make profit from the change in share prices. Therefore investors will find it hard to keep their debt in order. This is where a serious problem arises, and that is, if the actual price falls short of the expected price and so borrowers wont be able to keep their word that they gave to banks. In this problem arises because the banks cannot maintain their credit standard requirements for these borrowers. In other words, banks have advanced loans which exceed the aggregate value of the borrowers assets. Thus the core problem lies with banks needing to take high level of credit risk from large loans because of liberalisation. As said before any bad news that will cause banks a lot of problem and this will lead to a financial crisis. Because of this reason the crisis happens since most of loans had high levels of credit risk. The credit crunch is what economist use it means a shortage of funds for lending, which reduce the availability of loans. The credit crunch can happen for several reasons because of a shape rise in interest rates and the government has direct money controls and also funds decreasing in the capital markets. The latest credit crunch happened because of a sudden increase in defaults on subprime mortgages. The Credit crunch started in United States and eventually spread across the world. The mortgage lenders sold lots of mortgages to customers who have low income and who are first time buyers and have not got a good credit rating these customers are the called subprime borrowers. They thought that house market would boom and mortgages still reasonable but they were lax lending of mortgages to subprime borrowers. The reason they were lax is because mortgage brokers got paid to sell mortgages. These cause for more mortgages to be sold, even though it was expensive and high risk of default. Mortgages companies wanted to make more money on the subprime mortgages and they put the debt into a package and sold it to other companies. This is how it turned globally because of â€Å"package sub-prime home loans into mortgage-backed securities known as CDOs (collateralised debt obligations).† [timesonlinea. 24 Feb. 2010]. They sold it to hedge funds and investment banks because they thought they would get high returns on it. They tried to spread the risk but made the situation worst. The rating agencies gave subprime mortgages a low risk rating but they are very high risk rating and this got transferred to the lenders. In the balance sheets the risk would not be shown. â€Å"Many of these mortgages had an introductory period of 1-2 years of very low interest rates. At the end of this period, interest rates increased.† [mortgagesguideuka, 24 Feb. 2010]. So this cause mortgages repayment to become expensive after the introductory period because interest rate increased from inflation. Also â€Å"Homeowners also faced lower disposable income because of rising health care costs, rising petrol prices and rising food prices.† [mortgagesguideukb, 24 Feb. 2010]. Homeowners found it difficult to hold their houses because it was getting repossess. Many Homeowners were not able to repay the mortgage payments and so this caused an increase in default on their loans. Because of the defaults it was one of the main reasons of the end of housing boom in the US. With housing prices falling this caused further problems with mortgages. â€Å"For example, people with 100% mortgages now faced negative equity. It also meant that the loans were no longer secured. If people did default, the bank couldnt guarantee to recoup the initial loan.† [mortgagesguideukc, 24 Feb. 2010]. Many US mortgages companies went bust because of the increase in defaults but mortgage lender were not only to suffer as banks lost money in mortgage debt because of the package they got from US mortgage companies. Now Banks had to write off big losses and made them unwilling to lend, mostly in the subprime sector. This was a domino effect and the affect the rest of the world for borrowing money and raising funds. â€Å"For example, biotech companies rely on ‘high risk investment and are now struggling to get enough funds.† [mortgagesguideukd, 24 Feb. 2010]. Since the borrowing was restricted this also affected the economy with a recession very likely especially in US. But In UK mortgage lender were more controlled in lending than the US. . In the UK many problems occurred with Northern Rock who invested in subprime mortgages. â€Å"Northern rock had a high % of risky loans, but, also had the highest % of loans financed through reselling in the capital markets. When the subprime crisis hit, Northern Rock could no longer raise enough funds in the usual capital market. It was left with a shortfall and eventually had to make the humiliating step to asking the Bank of England for emergency funds. Because the Bank asked for emergency funds, this caused its customers to worry and start to withdraw savings (even though savings werent directly affected).† [mortgagesguideuke, 24 Feb. 2010]. Also another banks HBOS having the same situation. This shows that word and mouth can cause total panic in short amount of time. The events in the US caused the same problems in the UK with mortgages being expensive and the market drying up and with high risk mortgages taken away. This cause house prices to fall and homeowner facing negative equity so they default on loan, which makes bank lose more money. For example â€Å"Bradford Bingley was nationalised because it couldnt raise enough finance. The BB had specialised in buy to let loans, which are particularly susceptible to falling house prices.† [mortgagesguideukf, 24 Feb. 2010]. This credit crunch may last for a while because house price in the US as well as UK is still going down which makes mortgage loans under valued. Also interest rates are soaring especially when the homeowner finish their inductor periods. If a recession happens in US it could make more bad loans. It will be hard to get more confidence in the financial markets. In conclusion credit crunch could have been avoided if banks had a tighter restriction on access to loans, especially in the US and making sure no bad news circulates as this make people panic and making the situation worst. As for financial liberalisation it is important to introduce an interest rate ceiling on deposit rates to reduce excessive competition among lending institutions for depositors, which may minimize the possibility of financial crisis. Bibliography Books Lecture notes Basu.S. Financial Liberalisation and Intervention: A New Analysis of Credit Rationing Peter Howells and Keith Bain. (2008) The Economics of Money, Banking and finance A European text Fourth edition, Essex, Pearson limited Web Page E. Murat Ucer. Notes on Financial Liberalization, [online] Available from: http://www.econ.chula.ac.th/about/member/sothitorn/liberalization_1.pdf [Accessed 24 Feb 2010] David Budworth, The credit crunch explained, [online] Available from:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/money/reader_guides/article4530072.ece [Accessed 24 Feb 2010] Credit crunch explained, [online] Available http://www.mortgageguideuk.co.uk/blog/debt/credit-crunch-explained/ [Accessed 24 Feb 2010] John Abbey, The credit crunch explained, [online] Available http://www.johnabbey.co.uk/wsb4919660101/creditcrunch.html [Accessed 24 Feb 2010]

Imagery in Lycidas Essay -- Poetry John Milton

Imagery in "Lycidas" "Lycidas," a poem written by John Milton as a memorial to Edward King, a classmate at Cambridge, reflects Milton's reverence for nature, his admiration of Greek Mythology, and his deeply ingrained Christian belief system. In "Lycidas," Milton combines powerful images from nature and Greek Mythology along with Biblical references in order to ease the pain associated with the premature death of King. King drowns at sea in the prime of his life and Milton is left to make sense of this tragedy. Milton not only mourns the loss of a friend; he is also forced to face his own mortality. Milton questions the significance of writing poetry when he will inevitably die. Milton copes with the subject of death by insisting on the glory of a Christian life and the promise of rebirth into the joyous spiritual world of heaven after death. Milton begins "Lycidas" by introducing Mythical imagery. Milton writes, "Yet once more, O ye Laurels, and once more/ Ye Myrtles brown, with Ivy never sear" (1-2). In the poem Laurels refers to the crown of poetry given by Apollo, while myrtle refers to the Greek goddess Venus, and Ivy to the god Bacchus. Then Milton introduces powerful symbolism derived from nature. He writes, " I com to pluck your Berries harsh and crude, / And with forc'd finger rude, (3-4). Milton is first alluding to the forced and premature writing of his poetry in the memorial to his classmate Edward King. Secondly, he is perhaps alluding to the premature and violent death of his classmate. In the passage King is the "Berrie" that has been "plucked" before it is ripe or mature. The "Berrie" (King) is "plucked" with "forc'd finger rude," which suggest some degree of violence in his death. It seems that this passa... ... in the glory of heaven. King's spirit will live on. King is the, "Genius of the shore" (184). In "Lycidas" Milton speaks through many voices. From Greek Gods to Biblical figures, Milton shields his voice and personifies these figures who address the subject of death in a less worldly language. This method of writing not only demonstrates Milton's broad education, it also serves to lighten a heavy subject. Shielded by Mythology and motivated by the optimism of Christianity, one can approach the subject of mortality with hope and give meaning to life. Without hope this subject would most likely force the reader to spiral down into deep despair. Bibliography Flannagan, Roy. Ed. The Riverside Milton. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. Harmon, William, and C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. New Jersey: Prentice Hall , 2000.

Journalism Essay -- Communication, News Stories, Newspaper

Journalism has become a job carrying enormous personal rewards. Indeed, it is difficult, chalenging (e.g. physically, emotionally, ethically, politically), yet again - it is fun. Journalism requires mastering a multiple range of knowledge and skills (Hicks: 2008; Brighton: 2007; Randall: 2007). This essay has the task to identify the key sources and methods I have used gathering information for my 332MC News and Features (aka. 332MC) articles portfolio, as well as give a comment to what I have learned working individually and collectively in teams in the various project tasks through this module. A critical discussion on various journalism issues, such as news values, objectivity, sources, identifying a readership, interviewing techniques and information gathering will be included (Machin: 2006: Allan: 2005). In order to build on my skills and theoretical knowledge developed through my practice in years one and two of this course, this year I tried to develop my awarness of the concept of researching and presenting news and feature arcicles in print. As McQuail says 'journalism is not produced in vacuum' (in an analogy borrowed from Harcup: 2004), but a product developed within a range structural factors and influences, as well as law constraints and market forces (Allan: 2005; Shoemaker: 2006; Machin: 2006). To begin with, one of the first and most important things I improved this year was the quality of research and the use of primary sources as a basis for my articles. People, places or organisations - these are the most vitabal part of the journalism practice (Machin: 2006; Brighton: 2007). Tony Harcup suggests that sources are where 'potential news stories originate' (Harcup: 2004: 44). 'News is what an authorit... ... finding news sotries could also be charity societies, community groups, regulatory bodies, pubs, noticeboards, news releases, hospitals, council departments, etc. Information is everywhere, all a journalists have to do is go, get it and transform it into their own 'masterpiece'(Harcup: 2004; Hicks: 2008; Shoemaker: 2006; Cole: 2010). To me, journalism seems to be one of the most exciting jobs in this world. When working as a journalist you get the chance to meet powerful, interesting and ispiring people, heroes, vilians and celebrities. Journalists indeed inform the society about itself and are concerned with 'making public that which would otherwise be private' (Harcup: 2004: 2). This profession gives a chance to be one of the first to know something and to tell the world, as well as an opportunity to indulge one's passion for writing, travel and knowledge. Journalism Essay -- Communication, News Stories, Newspaper Journalism has become a job carrying enormous personal rewards. Indeed, it is difficult, chalenging (e.g. physically, emotionally, ethically, politically), yet again - it is fun. Journalism requires mastering a multiple range of knowledge and skills (Hicks: 2008; Brighton: 2007; Randall: 2007). This essay has the task to identify the key sources and methods I have used gathering information for my 332MC News and Features (aka. 332MC) articles portfolio, as well as give a comment to what I have learned working individually and collectively in teams in the various project tasks through this module. A critical discussion on various journalism issues, such as news values, objectivity, sources, identifying a readership, interviewing techniques and information gathering will be included (Machin: 2006: Allan: 2005). In order to build on my skills and theoretical knowledge developed through my practice in years one and two of this course, this year I tried to develop my awarness of the concept of researching and presenting news and feature arcicles in print. As McQuail says 'journalism is not produced in vacuum' (in an analogy borrowed from Harcup: 2004), but a product developed within a range structural factors and influences, as well as law constraints and market forces (Allan: 2005; Shoemaker: 2006; Machin: 2006). To begin with, one of the first and most important things I improved this year was the quality of research and the use of primary sources as a basis for my articles. People, places or organisations - these are the most vitabal part of the journalism practice (Machin: 2006; Brighton: 2007). Tony Harcup suggests that sources are where 'potential news stories originate' (Harcup: 2004: 44). 'News is what an authorit... ... finding news sotries could also be charity societies, community groups, regulatory bodies, pubs, noticeboards, news releases, hospitals, council departments, etc. Information is everywhere, all a journalists have to do is go, get it and transform it into their own 'masterpiece'(Harcup: 2004; Hicks: 2008; Shoemaker: 2006; Cole: 2010). To me, journalism seems to be one of the most exciting jobs in this world. When working as a journalist you get the chance to meet powerful, interesting and ispiring people, heroes, vilians and celebrities. Journalists indeed inform the society about itself and are concerned with 'making public that which would otherwise be private' (Harcup: 2004: 2). This profession gives a chance to be one of the first to know something and to tell the world, as well as an opportunity to indulge one's passion for writing, travel and knowledge.

Hacking and Countermeasures: Controls

Aim Higher College needs to ensure the safety of all its information. Recently we have seen suspicious and careless activity in the research data center. Data center technicians have reported lights left on, doors left open, successful logins to the research database, as well as login attempts in the backup business database after normal hours of operation. Because this is also the backup for our business information we need to keep this area as secure as possible.In order maintain control over who has access to what in the center we need first ensure that only those that need access to the center are granted the appropriate permissions to the areas that they need. The revolving door should only allow one person through at a time, this will help to prevent someone without access from slipping by with some one that does have access or allow a person with access giving access to some that is not authorized in the build. This will be done with a using simple radio frequency identificati on (RFID) cards for the initial access to the building’s lobby.Both entry and exit will require that the card be read so that a log of who enters and leaves the building can be kept. Entry to the staff offices will simply be with a RFID card reader. With these cards, we can select what areas they have access to according to their needs. The front double doors and access to the receiving area can only be opened from the inside of the building. By allowing one-way access we ensure that hacking of the reader is not possible. Biometric scanners should be used for all sensitive areas as a second method to prevent card cloning. Those that have access to sensitive areas or doors that can allow more than one person through such as the shipping area and front double doors will be issued a Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards. These card work with the biometric scans. When the card is scanned it relays to  the biometric scanner the information that the scanner will need to make the identification.This means that even if the card’s RFID is cloned as soon as it is read it would be denied because the biometric information is not there. The biometric that we should use is an iris scanner. Rather than hand dimensions that can change or fingerprints. Fingerprints are easy to fool, if the finger is dry the scan may not read correctly, the maintenance if high as the sensor must be cleaned, impurities on the hand or air can give false readings, and lastly to prevent the spread of disease. Iris scanners do not require physical contact, eyeglasses, and contracts normally do not disrupt the reading.To make things easier the iris scanning is much faster. The iris can be scanned as the person is walking up and then compared to the card when the PIV is read . In addition, it is my recommendation that the datacenter be physically separated between the backup site and the research site. This will allow students and staff to gain access to the research center but no t the backup center. Only those that need to have access to the business side backup will be required to use biometrics and a PIV card. All servers will be locked in cabinets for the protection of the severs and SANs that are on site.This will deter theft of any equipment that might contain information. Security cameras will be used to monitor all access and movement within the building. Thirteen stationary static cameras will need to be in use to watch all hallways, doors, and the datacenters. Two motion detecting pan / tilt / zoom (PTZ) cameras will be paced in the center of the data centers (one in each) to follow and watch the activity of persons entering. This should be accompanied with a security system that monitors movement, doors and windows. The diagrams below show the position of the cameras and access control equipment and measures that are recommended.In the event of a power outage, it is highly recommended there is enough UPS in place for at least 15 minutes to allow f or proper shut down. Preferable would be to have a backup generator so that information can be saved and moved to another site or to maintain functionality until the power comes back on. Protection of the systems will consist of the floor being raised by at least eight inches from the ground and an automatic pump system in place to mitigate flooding. Because there are people working in these areas  we need to ensure that we have an adequate fire suppression and we need to keep in mind the equipment that is in the room.The recommendation here is to use an waterless fire suppression. While it may not be as cheap as using water, the damage of having a water system in the area will be much more expensive. Waterless systems work by lowering the oxygen in the area to a point that the fire cannot continue combustion without the harmful effects to persons like Halon or CO2. The have been proven to put out fires faster without any damage people. This will give all persons enough time to ev acuate calmly in case of fire . Water systems only help in containing the fire until fire fighters can arrive, in the meantime, we are causing damage to our own equipment They cost of the damage would be in the millions to replace servers and other equipment.The estimated time after a fire with a water system is approximately one month if data can be recovered. Not that we have the physical aspect of the data centered covered we need to look at the technical or logical side of protecting the information. Safeguarding the confidentiality, integrity, accessibility, and the non-repudiation (CIA) is vital. As stated before an IDS and IPS will be put in to place to watch the system at all times to report and mitigate if not stop unauthorized activity to the business backup and research databases. This will help with monitoring the network and see what and where unauthorized traffic and attempts are coming from. Anti-virus and anti-malware programs will be installed on all systems in both databases to protect the information and programs.Firewall implementation between the networks is necessary to keep unauthorized attempts from getting in to the business side of the database. All information will be encrypted so that if the data is or any hardware is stolen then the information be more difficult to read and will hopefully discourage the thief. To prevent a brute force attack through a console connection after 3 attempts at a password the system will lock down that port and a flag will be sent to the data center technician on duty.To ensure that the person that is attempting to gain access to the server through a console connection a token that generates a random alphanumeric code will be used. As we all know people are where we see the biggest problems in security breaches and problems on any computer or network system. People need to understand what they are allowed and not allowed to do, this is where policies, procedures, and training come in to play. By  impl ementing policies that use best practices, such as an acceptable use policy for all staff and students, we make it known what they are allowed to do, and what the consequences are should they choose to ignore the rules.Training all staff and students on security awareness is something that is necessary so that people to go or do things that can jeopardize the network. Making sure that procedures are documented help if there is a problem that can arise again, this reduces down time should the problem return. Making sure that a disaster recovery plan (DRP) is in place, practiced and trained on regularly. This is critical to make sure that down time is as minimal as possible. The separation of duties helps to break up the processes involved to complete a task prevents one individual from having total control over the whole system.Each person or team is responsible for his or her area only and if required forces collusion so that someone else is needed to meet the end goal. It acts like a checks and balance. With these policies in place we need to ensure that they stay current with or business continuity plan and the goal of our mission statement. This will be accomplished by security reviews and audits. This helps to ensure we do not get complacent as well. Performance evaluations help with ensuring that all staff is at their peak performance. Here is where performance correction for both junior and senior members comes in to play. We always need to keep even our staff up to date and fine-tuned to keep one-step ahead. Background checks from time to time are a good way of making she that all employees are acting honestly.There by safeguarding from any circumstance outside of work, that would lead one to perform maliciously with in work for a personal gain. Required vacations will help with employees with being overwrought with situations at work. As people, we need to step back, rest, and regain focus. Forcing staff to take vacations helps this happen. Finally, ro tation of duties helps to make the team come to a better understanding of the network as a whole. This allows all members to be cross platform trained, which helps when someone is sick, on required vacation, or a team is short from termination. Aim higher college has come a long way in the two months now that security is serious concern.If we work together then we can make this college one that students and faculty feel safe coming to, to learn and teach. With colleges competing with online schools and courses, our information system needs to be at its most secure and best  performance to keep pulling students in. These controls are just an insight as to the recommendations that looked at seriously and deeply considered to make sure that Aim Higher College stays at the top.

Charles Dickens – Pip’s problems come from arrogance

Charles Dickens' Great Expectations is the tale of one character's troubled journey of self delusion in the pursuit of false ideals. Pip, the book's protagonist, is a morally good and honest boy corrupted by the glitz and glamour of nineteenth century bourgeois society. Although Pip's arrogance and pretentiousness ultimately creates a great deal of problems for him, it would be inaccurate to claim that they are the central causes of Pip's troubles. Instead it is the lack of affirmation and self-worth he experiences in his early childhood that instigates his downward spiral of morality and must be blamed for the cause of his problems. Fortunately, Pip is able to eventually realize the nobility of humble characters such as Joe and understand the importance of values such as compassion in gaining true gentility. Primarily, Pip's lack of self-confidence and lowly impression of himself are the most notable aspects of his early childhood. Under the tyranny of Mrs Joe, Pip is constantly made to feel inferior and has his self-esteem destroyed with snipes such as â€Å"in a low reproachful voice (she said) â€Å"Do you hear that? Be grateful. â€Å". Not only is he physically abused in the household having been â€Å"brought up by hand† but also there is clearly a lack of adequate love and affirmation in his childhood years, reinforced with the absence of a mother and father. Though Pip is able to find some refuge in his friend and father figure Joe, it seems hardly enough to build his self-worth. As well as this, he must contend with the obnoxious and overtly pretentious Mr Pumblechook. The Christmas dinner scene in which Pip is constantly patronized by the mean-spirited adults in his life is almost a parody of disparagement. Harbouring this sense of inferiority, Pip's visit to Satis House evokes in him the fantasy of reinvention that ultimately brings about his downfall. The supercilious Estella, encouraged by Miss Havisham, mocks Pip's â€Å"coarse and common† ways, further playing on his lack of self-worth and eating away at his self-confidence. The highly impressionable young boy, fuelled by this inferiority, sees the glamour of Satis House as his only chance of ‘bettering' himself. It is here he forms the illusion that becoming a gentleman consists of merely assuming the outward trappings of gentility – an illusion that will ultimately create a great deal of trouble for him. He is caught up in the allure of Estella's beauty and her lifestyle, yet fails to see that beneath this exterior lies a loveless and heartless world. Therefore it is Pip's dissatisfaction with himself combined with the influence of his visit to Satis House that is the fundamental source of his problems. This being said, once he is given the financial means to live out this fantasy his priggish arrogance further distances him from his true and honest childhood values. Debt, bad company and a wasteful lifestyle are the troubles that come with his obsession to uphold the gentlemanly faiade he has created. Most notably, his pretentious treatment of Joe, â€Å"If I could have paid money to keep him away I would have paid it,† denize him association with this noble character and in turn denize him the ability to realize the importance of the values he stands for. Likewise there is the manner in which he patronizes Biddy â€Å"You never had a chance before you came here, and see how improved you are! † The rejection of these noble characters prevents him from being able to gaining true ‘gentility'. As Pip himself incredulously states after helping Herbert â€Å"to think, that my expectations had done some good to somebody,† for his expectations combined with his arrogance had succeeded only in creating problems for him. While Pip's ability to learn the importance of humility is vital to his redemption, it is his return to compassion and good heartedness that rescues him and allows him to become a better person. Although initially Pip's motives for protecting Magwitch are entirely selfish, attempting to maintain his own credibility in London, he begins to develop a sense of concern for the old man, as his childhood value of compassion is gradually reinstated. This compassion becomes the first step towards obtaining true gentility. From there the loss of his fortune and his symbolic illness in which Joe appears selflessly nursing him back to health and paying off his debts provides Pip with a vital lesson in fellow feeling. Pip can finally understand the nobility of characters such as Joe, Biddy, Clara and Wemmick (Walworth). He embraces the simple lives of these characters and also learns humility, by leaving to work for Herbert in Egypt, living an earnest and hardworking life. After years of such a humble lifestyle, Dickens rewards his protagonist with the love of Estella, who has likewise come to understand the importance of â€Å"a good Christian Heart. Therefore, the central cause of Pip's problems was clearly the result of years of self dissatisfaction caused by a lack of love and affirmation. This self-worth was dealt a mortal blow upon his arrival at Satis House, the consequence being Pip's fantasy of re-invention that ultimately leads him to much of the troubles in his life. His boorish arrogance mana ges to create further problems for him and it is not until his rediscovery of the importance of compassion and fellow feeling that he is able to become a true gentlemen.