Effects of Federal Mandates on Intergovernmental Relations Essay Example for Free

Effects of Federal Mandates on Intergovernmental Relations Essay Public Policy making is a central task of the Government. There has been concerns regarding the influence federal mandate on intergovernmental relations. In order to understand and evaluate these influences we will discuss the influence of the intergovernmental lobby over the Medicaid program. We will also analyze the importance of interest alignment between the federal and states Governments and auditing transparency in order to ensure smooth working of these public programs. Medicaid is the health insurance program that is administered by the states and funded jointly by federal and state governments (Weissert 1992). The Medicaid has an important place in the history of medical treatment in the U. S. An organisation noble in conception has two dimensions to put up with. The dual dimension challenges are to cope up with the changing needs of patients with ever increasing costs due to advances in medical knowledge, medicines and technology. From the other side the pressure is to find solutions in the restricted budget and to handle the changing political pressures. From its beginning the Medicaid gone through many reforms. Researchers have identified few challenges facing Medicaid in order to cater the needs of the patients. They are keeping it clear to engage service users in decisions or engaging the wider public. Secondly to develop a link between the public and the health system. Third, Quick solutions through open discussions. The fourth is to take a long run at this. Finally, achieving above goals and much more from the Medicaid by engaging users and patients in the decision making process. The last few decades have seen a major change in the Primary care requirements, increase in the ageing population, widespread of chronic diseases, increase in the patient’s awareness, and greater accountability due to increased exposure (Coote, 2005). This has created a paradigm shift in the requirements of patients. The increasing trend of client centred services has made it important for the Medicaid to find ways to provide rapid and easy to access primary care to the patients. According to the Department of Health change plan the vision of change in Medicaid should be directed towards the needs of the patients rather than the service providers. In order to undertake the change process effectively the professional role of the NHS staff should also be transformed. These steps towards modernisation were indicated: ) Adoption of change by the Medicaid staff. 2) Government’s role in getting rid of barriers in the way to change. 3) The method for education and training should also be restructured. Since the Medicaid program is undertaken with the combine efforts of the federal and state governments it can clearly provide the picture of the influence of states in intergovernmental relations. The administration of the Medicaid program provides the state governments with experience, management abilities and the information of the important aspects of effectiveness of such programs for low-income group. Both the federal and state governments fund the Program. It is often the case that there is vast difference in the goals of both state and federal governments. In order to justify the expenses it is mandatory for the federal government to undertake audit programs (Anton 1997). The process of testifying Medicaid program has always remained controversial as it has been noticed many times that state agency faces lesser criticism while warranting on the Medicaid program. This has remained a moot issue between the state and federal governments as often conflict arises on the same issue between the two government levels. A lack of collective action has been felt between both the federal and state level governments. The situation seems to threaten the federalism. State governments have the expertise to undertake analysis and suggest improvement measures but these expertise are not used to promote intergovernmental relations hence adversely effecting the potential program improvements. Both the state and federal governments at a set rate fund the cost for the Medicaid program. It has been observed that the governments of different states keep on experimenting with different payments mechanisms mostly aimed at reducing their cost through transferring their the cost of the program to the federal treasury (Weissert and Weissert 2006). The states use different funding processes in order to draw down funds from the central government without spending their own funds. One such way is to increase the payment rate for the eligibility of public care providers. This higher payment rate in turn gives rise to the share of the federal government. The state governments get back the portion of the surplus through tax imposition or voluntary contributions. Although many states use this surplus amount in the provision of other public facilities to the people but still there has been doubts regarding the proper and transparent use of these funds. States use two such programs: Under disproportionate share hospital payments (DSH payments) program the state governments provides higher amounts of funds to public hospitals and community health centers which serve people from low income group. Through the Upper payment limits (UPL) states reimburse some of these providers up to the highest Medicaid reimbursement rate (Weissert and Weissert 2006: 267). These programs are implemented to cover the costs of care provision to low-income Medicaid and uninsured patients. The states use intergovernmental transfers (IGTs) to transfer back the funds at the different levels of government. The reliability of these (IGTs) as the evidence of payment recycling is suspicious. Although it is through the federalism the possibilities for acquiring information regarding the policies increases because of the improved chances of experimentation due to decentralization but on the other hand it is also federalism which acts as a constraint to undertake measures according to that information. The higher degree of discord between the federal and state level governments’ results in shape of the wastage of the state potential which can be used for the well being of the nation at federal level. This is what we call the â€Å"failure of federalism,† where the state level expertise are not acknowledge in national policymaking.

Analysis of the Human Rights Act, 1998

Analysis of the Human Rights Act, 1998 Human Rights Law ‘Despite the Human Rights Act 1998, the courts have failed appropriately to limit the scope for the exercise of breach of the peace powers.’ The Human Rights Act 1998 received royal assent on November 9, 1998 and came into force on October 2, 2000. The objective of said Act was to harmonize the domestic law of the United Kingdom with the European Convention on Human Rights. To reaffirm the commitment of the UK to human rights and civil liberties, it is now possible under the said Act to file a claim for violation of the ECHR without going to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. Says Weinstein: This ability to transcend national law, and to compel revision of such law to comport with rights guaranteed by the European Convention in a broad range of areas, most often within the exclusive purview of national and local courts, is of historic note. Generally, nation states have been the final arbiters of most issues affecting their citizenry and within their borders. By treaty, the signatory nations of Europe have granted the ECHR binding authority to decide cases affecting their citizenry and other persons subject to their authority. In instances where state law is found inconsistent with an ECHR judgment, the nation at issue is obliged to amend its national law to comport with the ECHR decision. These cases illustrate the concept of what is increasingly being referred to as an evolving European supranational identity. The ECHR grants jurisdiction to any individual, non-governmental organization, or group claiming be a victim of a violation of the European Convention by a ECHR signatory nation, and to bring cases before it, as does, in applicable cases, the European Court of Justice (the ECJ), the court of the European Union, based in Luxembourg. Equally important, it prohibits any public body from behaving in a manner that is incompatible with any of the rights guaranteed under the ECHR. The Human Rights Act has gone a long way in limiting arbitrary actions from public bodies, in particular, police officers. It cannot be denied, however, that the laws on â€Å"breach of the peace† grant have historically been so vast in scope that in some occasions, human rights violations arise. The definition of â€Å"breach of the peace† (also known as breach of the Queen’s peace) has been discussed in the Court of Appeal decision of Howell, where it was stated as follows: We are emboldened to say that there is a breach of the peace whenever harm is actually done or is likely to be done to a person or in his presence his property or a person is in fear of being so harmed through an assault, an affray, a riot, unlawful assembly or other disturbance. It used to be that the prospect of violence alone would not be enough to be considered a â€Å"breach of the peace†, as in the comment of Farqhuarson LJ that â€Å"The act which puts someone in fear of violence taking place entitles a police officerto detain the actor but it is not a breach of the peace, for the violence has not yet occurred.† There has been scant support for this view, such that in the present time, â€Å"breach of the peace† also embraces â€Å"behaviour likely to cause a violent reaction†, even if such behaviour is not of itself violent. The policy of the law has been recently discussed in the case of Humberside Police v. McQuade, where it was held that: â€Å"the policy of the law relating to arrest for breach of the peace is plain enough. Its purpose is to deal with emergencies. The power of arrest may be exercised without a warrant and belongs to the ordinary citizen as much as to the constable.† In a handful of cases, the European Court of Human Rights has found that there is no contradiction between the concept and the Human Rights act of 1998. The most cited case is the case of McLeod v. United Kingdom , where the Court held as follows: â€Å"The concept of breach of the peace has been clarified by the English courts over the last two decades, to the extent that it is now sufficiently established that a breach of the peace is committed only when an individual causes harm, or appears likely to cause harm, to persons or property, or acts in a manner the natural consequence of which would be to provoke violence in others.† There are several powers that underlie a â€Å"breach of the peace†. The first power is the power of arrest. In Howell the conditions for making an arrest on this basis were laid down, to wit – â€Å"Where: (1) a breach of the peace is committed in the presence of a person making the arrest or (2) the arrestor believes that such a breach will be committed in the immediate future by the person arrested although he has not yet committed any breach or (3) where a breach has been committed and it is reasonably believed that a renewal of it is threatened.† Another power is the power to enter premises. The leading case for this is the case of Thomas v. Sawkins which involved a meeting to protest the Inciting to Disaffection Bill. Wary that seditious and inflammatory statements would be made, the policemen stormed in and attended the meeting, even though they were aware that they were unwelcome. In a unanimous decision, the Court ruled that the presence of the police officers was lawful. Stone explains why this is an alarming prospect: A point of uncertainty, however, arose from the fact that the meeting took place on private premises. Did the power of entry recognised in the case only apply to meetings to which the public were invited, or are the police entitled to enter any premises on which a breach of the peace is occurring or is likely to occur? The judges in Thomas v Sawkins appeared to attach importance to the fact that they were dealing with a public meeting, but the general law of trespass makes no distinction of this kind. If those attending a public meeting on private premises do so on the basis of a licence from the occupier, then that licence may be withdrawn, from the police as much as anyone else. If the police have the power to override the withdrawal of a licence, then there seems no reason why that power should not exist on all occasions. The result is that Thomas v Sawkins had the effect of giving the police a power to enter any premises to prevent or deal with a breach of the peace. Another power police officers have is the power to control/restrict/compel an individual’s movement. The seminal case for this is the case of Moss v McLachlan , which involved militant striking miners prevented by policemen from joining the ranks of more â€Å"moderate† miners. The Court upheld the actions of the law enforcement agents, saying as follows: â€Å"If the police feared that a convoy of cars travelling towards a working coal field bearing banners and broadcasting, by sight or sound, hostility or threats towards working miners might cause a violent episode, they would be justified in halting the convoy to enquire into its destination and purpose. If, on stopping the vehicles, the police were satisfied that there was a real possibility of the occupants causing a breach of the peace one-and-a-half miles away, a journey of less than five minutes by car, then in our judgment it would be their duty to prevent the convoy from proceeding further and they have the power to do so.† There are many human rights issues that are affected by an overly-broad interpretation of â€Å"breach of the peace.† The first principle that they may invoke is the principle regarding Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion which is enshrined in Article 9. There is no dearth of cases that they may cite in order to support their position. For example, in the case of Arrowsmith v. United Kingdom, it was stated this right refers to acts that are an expression of a religion or belief. This right was raised before the ECHR for a variety of reasons, such as employment and prisoners’ rights. While certainly, the courts have taken quite a restrictive approach in applying the provision and granting relief under it, it has been restrictive when the acts sought to be justified are acts that are patently illegal and morally wrong, such as assisted suicide or the distribution of cannabis. These acts cannot be compared to the simple act of dancing or organizing. The dangers of cannabis and euthanasia simply cannot compare to the conjectured danger in the case at hand, and thus, the latter should fall under the ambit of freedom of religion. There is also the freedom of assembly and association argument (Article 11) that may be raised. Aside from imposing a negative obligation on law enforcement agents not trample on protected rights, they must secure the effective enjoyment of these rights. In the case of Plattform ‘Arzte fur das Leben v. Austria the ECHR held that â€Å"Genuine effective freedom of peaceful assembly cannot be reduced to a mere duty on the part of the state not to interfere†¦ Article 11 sometimes requires positive measures to be taken, even in the sphere of relations between individuals, if need be.† Freedom of Expression which may be found in Article 10, can likewise be cited. There can be no doubt that freedom of expression is of paramount importance. While the right to free speech is a crystallized principle that has been place almost since the beginning of time, enjoying a cherished position in the bill of rights of virtually all civilized legal systems, the interpretation of what constitutes free and protected speech still has yet to be perfectly refined. This provision has been invoked many times over in the course of history, whether within the European Union or outside, successfully and unsuccessfully; and Courts have had many opportunities to set standards and devise guidelines to determine if the speech in question should be protected or not. It is important to note that Article 10 protects not merely the substance of the idea but also the form that they are conveyed. This was the ruling in the case of Oberschlick v. Austria and it could be applied here. The form of the expression should also be considered protected speech. This is bolstered by the fact that in the case of Stevens v. United Kingdom, the concept of expression covers even â€Å"actions†. It becomes more difficult when the right to free speech competes with another right, in this case, the right of the public to order, or to put it more classically, the right of the Queen to her peace. In â€Å"easy† cases, all that should be done is look through jurisprudence until one finds the applicable case with similar facts. In â€Å"hard† cases with novel facts, the role of the judge becomes infinitely more difficult. The boundaries are ever-shifting; and internally, the judge will be trying not only to apply the law, but to subject the text or speech in question to her own subjective inquiry in order to determine the intent of the message-bearer and what the material was trying to say. Social and political values inevitably come to the fore. To quote legal writer Thomas Streeter, â€Å"It is in the character of language, in other words, that a judge will never be able to look at the text of the Bill of Rights and legal precedents to decide whether or not flag b urning is protected by the First Amendment; he will always in one way or another be forced to make a choice about whether or not he thinks it should be protected, and will always be faced with the possibility that a reasonable person could plausibly disagree.† What distinguishes the area on free speech from other â€Å"legally-indeterminate† areas is that it is inextricably intertwined with and largely dependent on language which, as many eminent linguists have said, is arbitrary in the sense that meanings cannot be derived from anything logically-inherent in the words. These meanings are merely â€Å"assigned meanings† born of the collective experiences of people in a community and this system of interpretation is never static. As stated by Streeter, â€Å"Aside from language in general and perhaps some very deep-level aspects of syntax, there is very little that is universal, neutral, or mechanical about human languages.† Another issue is the right to due process. Legal systems in the civilized world – whether in civil or common law jurisdictions have, at least in theory, given primacy to the rights of the accused, understanding that ambiguity should be resolved in his or her favor. This, however, does not mean that one must let down his or her vigilance and stop guarding against possible infringement of constitutional guarantees by overzealous judges, particularly at a time when human rights advocacy for the accused has been made unpopular by the rising rate of crime. It used to be that the primacy of the State is the core principle of the international legal regime as it is traditionally known. This, however, has been challenged by the alarming rise of state-sponsored human rights violations that has prodded the community of nations to recognize that its more pressing duty is to protect the individual from systemic and institutional atrocity, even at the expense of its legal fictions. To quote from Hersch Lauterpacht, in his article International Law and Human Rights, An international legal system which aims at effectively safeguarding human freedom in all its aspects is no longer an abstraction. It is as real as man’s interest in the guarantee and the preservation of his inalienable rights as a rational and moral being. International law, which has excelled in punctilious insistence on the respect owed by one sovereign State to another, henceforth acknowledges the sovereignty of man. For fundamental human rights are superior to the law of the sovereign State. This is the raison d’etre behind the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights which entered into force in 1966 and the Human Rights Act of 1998. State parties were cognizant of the need to protect civil and political rights of citizens from possible encroachment by the state. The ICCPR explicitly declares: â€Å"No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.† It is undeniable that this includes protection of citizens from agents of the state such as members of the police force. And yet, we see how police officers routinely violate the human rights of those they apprehend. The implicit message is that these are criminals anyway – thugs, petty thieves, gangsters, punks, drug addicts, alcoholics – and they are doing society a favor by treating them brusquely. An oft-heard justification is that you cannot treat hardened criminals with kid gloves or you will be perpetrating crime even further. However, it cannot be gainsaid that the legal restrictions on evidence make police brutality inimical to law enforcement, rather than the opposite. Given the propensity of law enforcement agents to manhandle an accused or use unnecessary force to restrain and subdue him, they should be taught that such behavior only bolsters crime instead of eliminating it. First: it emboldens criminals to seek revenge and go on â€Å"vendetta killings† and perpetuates a vicious cycle of crime that exacerbates the situation even further. Second: evidence procured by vi rtue of such rough manhandling will not be admissible in evidence and the criminal they seek to put behind bars will be allowed to go back to the streets. Most importantly, however, even hardened criminals are covered by the human rights guarantees in the Constitution and in human rights conventions. Human rights are inalienable and imprescriptible, and they apply to everyone. But perhaps the most recent caselaw on breach of the peace with respect to the concept of human rights is the recently concluded Fairford Coach Action where the police detained 120 protesters on their way to an anti-war demonstration in Gloucestershire. The Public Order and Criminal Justice Act was used by the policemen. The Law Lords eventually ruled in favour of the protesters. In 2004, it made this crucial point: The rights to freedom of expression, and assembly and association, which are protected by Articles 10 and 11 of the ECHR respectively, are of the greatest importance to the proper functioning of any democracy. Any intrusion upon the rights, either by the developing common law or by the intervention of statute law, has to be jealously scrutinised. In conclusion, while certainly there are significant inroads brought about by the Human Rights Act of 1998, these still must be reckoned with the laws on breach of the peace. It is the duty of the courts and of every citizen to be vigilant against encroachments by police officers. The law is there to provide refuge, but education and awareness are primary.   Bibliography Hoffman, D. Rowe, J. (2003). Human Rights in the UK: An Introduction to the Human Rights Act 1998. London: Pearson Longman. Lauterpacht, Hersch. 1950. International Law and Human Rights. Connecticut: Archon Books. Stone, R. (2001) Breach of the Peace: The Case for Abolition. 2 Web. JCLI. Streeter, T. (1995) Some Thoughts on Free Speech, Language and the Rule of Law. In Jensen, R. and Allen, D. (Eds.) Freeing the First Amendment: Critical Perspectives on Freedom of Expression.31-53. New York University Press. Weinstein, B. â€Å"Recent Decisions from the European Court of Human Rights.† American Society of International Law. May 2000. visited 21 January 2007. http://www.asil.org/insights/insigh45.htm

A Wish of Rain :: Essays Papers

A Wish of Rain "Close your eyes and imagine," he told us. "Imagine it is late at night. A train pulls up to the place where you are standing. The doors open and the hundreds of people who were standing inside begin to jump down. A young Jewish boy of sixteen and his family are among this tired, hungry, beaten crowd. Eventually, they are separated into two lines; the boy and his father are pushed into one line, his mother and sister into the other. Then they are marched off into the night. "I was never to see my mother and sister again. I was in the line to live." The speaker, a survivor of the Holocaust, told his story and many more one bright, warm summer day at Birkenau, a concentration camp in Poland. His audience of American students listened enthralled and horrified as he told of his struggles to stay alive in the camp during World War II, the struggles of six million Jews caught up in the terror. I remember wishing it would rain. That day at Birkenau held no warmth or brightness. It was a day of realizations and acceptances. In a way, it marked a passage from innocence and naivety to a greater understanding of human nature. For me, there were no more denials. I had always known about the Holocaust, even before I took the literature course that would bring me to Poland, yet deep-down I could never truly accept it. I found it difficult to believe that one man in his hatred of all that was good and decent could condemn a people to death or that a nation could stand blindly by and let it happen. I wanted to believe in human compassion and understanding. Thus, it was easy to pretend that the stories were exaggerated or sensationalized. Now, I feel as though I know too much. I never thought I could get so emotionally involved, but after living closely with it for three weeks, I could not help but become involved. It became increasingly more difficult to deny or to remain detached once the truth began to unfold. I did not like the feelings it evoked in me or the unanswered questions it left me with. My mind balked. Yet, to run my hand over the wooden bunks in the barracks, to walk on the same hard-packed earth, to look out over barbed-wire fences and empty guard towers and just to know that I stood in the spot where they breathed their last, I believed.

Crime Prevention Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"Kids Being Charged with Felonies†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A felony is a crime in which the convicted may receive more than a year in prison for their actions. The paper that you are about to read is going to explore some of the issues about kids being charged with felonies. We will also examine some of the issues of how this is portrayed in our news media today. Furthermore, I will offer my opinion, on how kids being charged with felonies could be a positive step in the right direction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is real that in America today we have asked our kids to grow up at an alarming rate. There has been no other time in history that children are asked to be mature enough to handle adult situations with regularity. Many of the past generations just did what their parents told them to do. Mow the lawn, clean their bedroom, and maybe some household chores and so on. In today’s society we’re asking our youth to watch their younger siblings. We also ask them to use potentially dangerous technology at a mature level. Keep in mind that some adults can’t even use technology responsibly! Since we want them to grow up quickly we have to expect that they are going to make adult mistakes especially with the actual maturity level. Is it safe to say that some kids do something that wasn’t meant to be so harmful, and as it would turn out be so detrimental to their lives? When they do make a mistake should we give them adult punishments?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I start in Atlanta, Georgia where two girls baked a cake with glue in the batter and fed it to their fellow classmates. The two thirteen yr. old girls could be charged with up to twelve counts of assault. (CNN 11-19-04) It is situations like this were two girls could be in jail for a long time just because they were trying to pull off a prank.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Santee, California Charles Andre Williams, a student that was made fun of on a frequent basis brings a gun to school and gets off thirty rounds. The result was a death of another student. Williams had told several people the weekend before including an adult that he was planning to kill someone at school, but no one took him seriously. (CNN 3-8-2001) Again we ask students to make mature decisions, but it isn’t what we had in mind. The number of stories goes on and on including the King brothers who killed... ... juveniles. Hopefully someday we will come up with a positive solution that works. Until that day we can only hope that the fast maturing children of the world will mature enough to understand that nobody can just do whatever they want. There will always be consequences.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Reference   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Legon, Jeordan â€Å"Student hacks school, erases class files†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CNN-6/11/2003   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Girls charged over sickening cake†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CNN-11/19/2004   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"An epidemic of violence†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CNN-3/8/2001   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   â€Å"King Brothers get reduced jail sentences†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CNN-11/14/2002   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"School Shooting suspect to face attempted murder charge†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  CNN-3/23/2001

Brita Products Company Essay

1.To what do you contribute Brita’s success?The success of Brita in the USA market is due on the one hand to attributes of the core product and on the other hand to factors related to the market environment and successful marketing. †¢Attributes of the core productThe pitcher itself had the following benefits: it reduced chlorine and odors, it made water to taste better, it was extracting heavy metals from the water and the water was not depositing salts/sediment when boiled. †¢Market environmentInitially, there was no major concern to the consumers about filtering the tap water. However, the sensitivity that people showed about some health problems and/or accidents that rose during the decade of 1990, aided by significant publicity of these health problems, assisted Brita to easily increase brand awareness to the consumers and create a significant market. Moreover a lot of people perceived Brita filter as a present for their friends. †¢Successful marketingBrita pitcher was a technologically advanced product made from a well known German producer of industrial and consumer water filtration products, characteristics which made it attractive to Clorox who had significant marketing experience and distribution channels in the US. Clorox, which obtained the license from Brita GmbH to set up a subsidiary in USA, knows very well the specific market as it was a major manufacturer and marketer of home products with $3.9 billion dollars of sales in 1998. Clorox provided the support for Brita: capital for 4 years, the desired know how and leadership, as expressed by the insistence and personal involvement of Mr. Couric. Furthermore, Brita was the first very successful system of water filter, which created the home water purification industry. In the distribution area, Brita USA has achieved dominant position in most of the outlets and department stores in the market covering all five possible channels of distribution (Department stores, Mass merchandisers, Grocery stores, Club stores, Drug stores). Another important element that contributed to Brita’s success is the different pricing policy set according to the POS outlet. This means that the company could satisfy its consumers according to different needs and habits. Last, but probably the most successful decision was the great taste positioning concept that helped Brita to market the pitchers with a clear promotion and advertising strategy boosting its sales, as there was no other competitor with such a strong image. 2.What are Clorox’s marketing assets going forward? Can you comment on their positioning choices?Marketing assetsThe Clorox company for the first four years faced real problems to launch the pitcher in the market. After the four years the company managed to create a strong image and build strong brand equity. These assets of the Brita’s pitcher are revealed through the following facts:First of all Brita company is a strong brand name in the market of water purification system. This functions as an asset to support and boost the sales of Brita’s pitcher (or any other water purification system), as there is high degree of brand awareness. Also, by the year 1999 Clorox had created with the Brita pitcher a significant home water purification industry worth of $350 million at retail and was holding about 70% of revenue share or about $250 million, being a market leader. Furthermore there is a strong customer base who will buy new filters for the next years (80% of the buyers who have tried the pitcher were still using it a year later and they were re-buying extra filters of about 2.5 pieces per year). Furthermore, from the Lifetime Value of a Customer (LVC) analysis shown in the next question (No 3), it is obvious that filters contribute  significantly to the profitability of this product. All these details above are showing to us that the Brita company has significant assets (brand equity, loyalty, awareness, being a market leader, having a strong customer base of people who buy filters) for going forward with any clear strategy. Positioning choicesAt the beginning Brita company positioned the pitcher as a purification system providing water of unique taste. They positioned most on this benefit for 3 reasons:a) Surveys showed that taste means health, b) whole bottled water industry had been built without reference to health and c) Brita wanted to develop an unbeatable position (â€Å"be at the top of the mountain†) which would not be possible by positioning on how much of some impurity is removed. We believe that Clorox made an important decision for the promotion and advertising campaign under the idea of taste (â€Å"great tasting water†, â€Å"clear, fresh, wonderful†) because it was also consistent with the attributes of the core product (water indeed tasted better after filtration with a Brita pitcher). Brita stuck on one USP and promoting as taste as one central benefit avoiding a confused or doubtful positioning strategy which would lose the attention of the consumers. The choice that Brita did not make was focusing on health. Filters decrease health hazards by low quality tap water (even if not all dangers are eliminated). The publicity given to health problems due to water could easily serve to strengthen Brita’s position. Health is PUR’s choice for positioning their faucet mounted system, which is not quite a head-on attack, since they would attempt to occupy a different position in the mind of the consumers. 3.What is the lifetime value of a customer with a pitcher? How does it compare with that of a customer with a faucet mounted system? Does their  Ã¢â‚¬Å"bogo† promotion make sense?According to Gupta and Lehmann, Lifetime Value Of a Customer (LVOC) is:LVOC = m r/(1+i-r), where m=margin, i=cost of capital and r=retention rate. Since cost of capital is not mentioned in the case study, we assumed a value of:0% for simplification purposesand a scenario with:3% which can be considered closer to real valuesA hypothesis with cost of capital 0Under this scenario, with r=0.8 (80% yearly retention rate) and i=0, the ratio r/(1+i-r) is equal to 4. From the case study (p.18) the gross margin for the pitcher is 7,36, while gross margin for the filters is 2,05. 1a. The lifetime value of a customer with a pitcher system is the following:LVOCpitcher system= LVOC from pitcher + LVOC from filters== margin from pitcher + 4*margin of filters*2,5 filters/y==7.36+4*2.05*2.5=$27.86So, we can see that Brita is going to receive $27.86 from one customer for the lifetime period of a customer with a pitcher. 2a. At this point we examine the lifetime value of a customer with a mounted faucet in two different models:(i)Best scenario: pricing at $40 and retention at 80% (same as for pitchers)(ii)Worst scenario: pricing at $35 and retention rate of 80%Cost as mentioned in the case study is taken as $15. We have also assumed that Brita will keep on filters for faucet-mounted the same margin as in filters for pitchers. i.(40-15)=25+4*2.05*3=$49.8*LVOCfaucet=ii.(35-15)=20+1*2.05*3=$26.15*The worst scenario of the faucet production for Brita is that it is going to receive $26.15 from the lifetime value period of one consumer and the best scenario reveals that Brita is going to receive $49.8 for the same period. If we compare the worst scenario of (2aii) with 1a we see that the two amounts are close but pitcher systems have higher LVOC ( LVOCfaucet is $26.15 while current LVOCpitcher is $27.9) and in case of (2ai) there will possibly be significantly higher profits by the faucet ($49.8) in comparison with the pitcher system ($27.9). Using the lifetime values of the pitcher and faucet filter, we can conclude that if Brita is going to enter the market of faucet filters, it will receive higher margins of profits by 78% if all goes well, while even in a bad scenario it would lose 6,5% of its margin. A hypothesis with cost of capital of 3%1b.Similarly, the case when cost of capital is considered to be 3% and all other things unchanged, then our calculations will be:LVOCpitcher= 7.36+3.45*2.05*2.5=$25.04a.(40-15)=25+3.5*2.05*3=$46.52**2b.LVOCfaucet=b.(35-15)=20+0.94*2.05*3=$25.78**. As we can conclude from the above calculations the profit Brita is going to receive according to LVOC of pitcher and LVOC of faucet are close to those of the 1st hypothesis. In the best scenario there can be significant profit from the faucet. In the worst case, the faucet remains (even marginally) higher since the higher price of the faucet brings most of the benefit of the LVOC in the beginning (when the system is sold). An important element in the calculations above was the hypothesis that filters will be priced to provide the same margin of $2.05. BOGOThe amount of money Brita is going to receive it is based to the following hypothesis:†¢Retention rate would be the same as for the pitcher. †¢The consumers will use the second filter as the first, replacing filters at the same rate. †¢There was no cannibalization of the market. †¢COGS per pitcher is shown to be $7,8 at p.18 of the case study†¢Cost of capital is also taken at 0% for simplicity reasons. LVOCbogo= 4*2.05*2.5-7.80=$12.7Brita hopes to receive an extra amount of money of about $12.7 from the jag is going to give it as a present. If the conditions / hypothesis presented above are true, then the BOGO promotion did indeed make sense. Bibliography: KOTLER R. – KELLER K, MARKETING MANAGEMENT 11TH EDITION, PRENTICE HALL 2005

Public bank management Essay

1.Introductions The model of the Five Competitive Forces was developed by Michael E. Porter that becomes an important tool for analysing an organizations industry structure instrategic processes. This model is applicable to the banking industry. Public Bank do compete with the other financial institution in Malaysia, however they also must cooperate with one another in many respects. There is an underlying problem which is the banks in Malaysia are so similar that there is essentially nothing one of them can do that the others cannot easily duplicate 2. Five Forces Analysis a. Threats of new entrants Malaysia has not put a barrier to entry for any financial institution manly banks in Malaysia, thus making it easy for any financial institution to penetrate into the industry. b. Bargaining power of suppliers a bank has three suppliers of its product, money: 1. Its depositors has no bargaining power whatever in reality. If they make time deposits the bank will set the price or interest rate it will pay. 2. The credit market the credit market as a source of supply of the raw material, money, is open to all at all time if they are qualified participants. The source of supply can be argued to be infinite. 3. The central bank The Central bank is effectively the resource of last resort. Apparently, at least for the moment, it will continue to supply liquidity to the banking system in virtually unlimited quantities at very reasonable cost. c. Bargaining power of buyers In the banking industry, customer have has very limited bargaining power. However the customers may option in changing to other banks that they think is offering a better offer than Public Bank. c. Threat of substitute product For the most part there is no real threat of substitute products in the banking industry. However there probably will be continues evolution of  products from paper to electronic in coming years. This is an area of potential competition for whomever banks that choose to use it in their services. d. Rivalry among competitors Generally all banks offer somewhat the same products and services to their customers, thus there is not much differentiation between Public Banks and the other competitors. This is making the competition much higher. Public Bank is actually ranked as the top banks earners in Malaysia in 2009 alongside with Maybank, Bumiputra Commerce, RHB Capital and Hong Leong Bank. 3. Table 1: Method used to identify opportunity and threat for Public Bank using external environment factors and industrial environment factors.(Factors under industry environment are derived from Porters Five Forces). 4. Opportunities 1. Economic growth Malaysia had definitely have been more economically stable and improving, thus financial institution such as Public Bank are needed to aid the overall development of the country. 2. Government policy Encouraging borrowings, loans, investment and consumption demand. 3. Awards and accolades Through recognition, Public Bank can project a positive image to their customers 4. Market share Public Bank has the highest market share for the private sector unit trust business, thus having a larger customer base. 5.  Low switching cost Nowadays it is easy for any customer to switch to other banks with just a click away, making the switching cost to be faster and cheaper, making it easy for the customers to switch to Public Bank. 5. Threats 1. Substitute product/service are available There is a potential competition to whomever banks that choose to upgrade their product and services to cater to their customers need. Maybank for example provide a customer friendly interface through their website www.maybank2u.com, and it became the most visited website in Malaysia. 2.Substitute performance Maybank, Bumiputra Commerce, RHB Capital and Hong Leong Bank are Public Bank competitors and each is recognized for their performance. This will make the competition even higher. 3. Customer switching cost Other than being an opportunity, switching cost can also be a threat for Public Bank as the customers can also easily switch to other financial institution. 4. Government legal& barriers There are no barriers that the government put for any legal financial institution to enter in the industry, making any new entrants penetrate into the market share easily. 5. Exit barriers High exit barriers in the industry are making the competition between Public Bank and the other competitors are even higher. 6. Conclusion Porter Five Forces Model are used to identify how the forces affect the attractiveness and profitability of Public Bank, and through this forces, the factors that influence these forces are used in the table 1, to identify Public Bank opportunities and threats. By identifying Public Banks industry environment, the company can improve and sustain their product and services for their customer, ultimately improving their performance.

Mathematics.Games for drill and practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Mathematics.Games for drill and practice - Essay Example Since 1989, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics has developed standards for Mathematics in the schools. Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 are included in these standards that relate to instruction, classroom materials, and student evaluation.The NCTM standards are more specific and detailed models of teaching procedures. The NCTM standards describe specific ways base ten blocks and other manipulative can be used to help students understand the certain concepts within the standards. In this essay four different activities are described.In this particular game each student begins with 20 fish out of water. Each player rolls a die and counts out that many fish to return to the fish bowl. The first player to return all 20 of his/her fish to the bowl wins the game. The materials used are foam fish cutouts and a plastic bowl for a more realistic version of the game or download the directions, game mat and center icons for Fish out of Water.This game is designed especially for t he pre-kindergarten kids who are very new to numbers and help children understand basic number concepts thus helping them to develop the number sense of basic counting. Also, the activity enhances the kid's ability to recognize the numbers better and remember them for a longer period of time.The set of instructions given for this game are very simple and easy to comprehend for the kids who are just learning to recognize the numbers. For example the instructor can show a video of the activity and then play with the help of the instructor and finally let them play on their own. The second activity is called Addition Top-It: This game can be played by two to three players and the materials required are: a set of number cards with four cards each of the numbers 0-10, a penny which is optional in the game. A player shuffles the cards and places the deck number-side down on the playing surface. Each player turns over two cards and calls out their sum. The player with the highest sum wins the round and takes all the cards. In the case of a tie, each player turns over two more cards and calls out their sum. The player with the highest sum then takes all the cards from both plays. Play ends when not enough cards are left for each player to have another turn. The player with the most cards wins the game. There is an option available with the game which allows the children to toss a penny to determine whether the player with the most or the fewest cards wins. The other variations are also available with this game are as follows: 1. Use a set of double-nine dominoes instead of a set of number cards to generate addition problems then place the dominoes facedown on the playing surface. Each player turns over a domino and calls out the sum of the dots on the two halves. The winner of a round takes all the dominoes then in play. 2. To practice addition with three addends, use three cards and play the same as described above. This game is suited for the students in grade one where they begin to learn the basic concept of addition, subtraction, multiplication etc. The number sense that the player is the addition of numbers which is the second step after the children can recognize the basic numbers and are ready to do more complex activities with the numbers. Also, by practicing these kind of exercises skills like calculator skills, money exchange and shopping skills, logic, geometric intuition, and intuition about probability and chance because many games involve numbers that are generated randomly are reinforced within the children. The instructions given at this level are easy and simple and also less as compared to the instructions given for the first activity as the understanding of the children increase. For example the teacher can display the video of the game and then allow them to take drills of the activity according to the comfort of the students like practicing it during breaks or