Exxon Mobil Resources and Capabilities Essay

Mobile is one of the most successful companies in the oil and energy industries today. But what makes them so successful? In an effort to answer this question, a thorough internal investigation can be helpful in determining what aspects of this company are making it an industry leader. Two aspects of this internal analysis of Exxon Mobile are the company’s resources and capabilities. Resources One of the most reputable resources that Exxon Mobil has today is a strong brand name. Exxon Mobil operates all over the world and is recognized in every part of the world (Datamonitor, 2008). When people all over the world know who a company is, what they do, and where they are located, the company gains a unique competitive advantage over the rest of the industry. A good way to analyze this resource is to use the VRINE Model (Strategic Management, 2007). This breaks down in order to analyze its value, rarity, inimitability, and exploitability. For this resource I’ll start by assessing its value. The question that must be answered is, â€Å"does this resource allow the firm to meet market demand or protect the firm from market uncertainties? † (Strategic Management, 2007). In the case of the brand name resource, I believe that it gives them ample protection against uncertainty and enables them to compete, if not lead, in the industry. Exxon operates in over 200 countries around the world (Datamonitor, 2008) The fact that this company is present all over the world, and not many other industry competitors operate in so many different regions, proves that this particular resource is very valuable to the company. If a company can possess something that another company cannot, value is inevitably created for that resource. This resource also protects them from uncertainty because this brand is already established itself within the market and can thrive in it without too much concern about the well being of the company, thus limiting some uncertainty. Next in the VRINE model is assessment of its rarity. Do any other companies possess such worldwide recognition as Exxon Mobil’s brand name can bring? There are some companies that have come close in competing with Exxon Mobil, such as ConnocoPhillips and Chevron, but none can compare with the unique profitability and opportunities that the name Exxon can bring to a region. The name is undoubtedly trusted throughout the world and rarely rivaled. Those aspects of the brand name recognition make this brand name a rarity. The next step in the VRINE model is to assess the inimitability. To assess this, the question of can competitors â€Å"acquire the valuable and rare resource quickly, or will they face a cost disadvantage in doing so? † (Strategic Management, 2007). The simple fact that the Exxon Mobil name is trademarked and registered makes it impossible for any other company to replicate its name. Also it would cost a substantial amount to buy out the company and gain its name. This alone makes the brand name inimitable. Now assessment of the nonsubstitutability is needed. The question arises, â€Å"is there protection against ready substitutes? † (Strategic Management, 2007). For Exxon, their name reputation is one that substitutes have a very difficult time matching. Exxon is leading the industry and continues to be a leader of almost every aspect of the industry today. Though substitutes are present in the industry, none can surpass the reputation of Exxon Mobil. The final step in the VRINE Model is to assess the resource’s exploitability. The question to answer is, can the firm â€Å" nurture and take advantage of the resources and capabilities that it possesses? † (Strategic Management, 2007). For Exxon, they can bring the company anywhere in the world and use the recognizable name to establish credibility and power in that region. This gives the company a considerable advantage when it comes to exploiting its brand name to establish the company around the world. After analyzing the resource using the VRINE Model, all aspects of the model have been met, so it is safe to say that this resource can give them a competitive advantage among its competitors. Another important resource that Exxon possesses is the presence of human expertise capital throughout the company (Datamoitor, 2008). Exxon employs many scientists and engineers that are researching and finding new ways to gain access to more energy resources and make the new innovations less harmful to the environment (Annual Report, 2007). This human capital has proven to be a very important resource for the company as shown by their development of new ways to increase liquid natural gas supplies and â€Å"enhancing heavy oil recovery† (Annual Report, 2007). Using the VRINE model again, I will assess this resource. In analyzing the value of the human expertise capital, again we must consider whether this resource helps the company meet market demand and can eliminate some uncertainty. In this case, I believe that the unique research department that houses these scientists and engineers is one that gives the company a great capability to compete in the market, and even excel within the industry. I believe it also eliminates some uncertainty because while the company is researching and developing cutting edge technology, it keeps them knowledgeable about all the new innovations and ideas that are throughout the industry. This makes the resource very valuable. Next, the rarity of the resource must be analyzed. I believe that this resource is rare because of the entire department (the Upstream Research Center) within the company devoted to letting these scientists and engineers use their knowledge to propel the company into the future (Annual Report, 2007). Some companies have R & D departments, but they don’t posses the funding for such expertise and capabilities within these departments like Exxon has in its Upstream Research Center (Annual Report, 2007). This makes the breadth of their scientists and engineers and rare resource among it competitors. Following the VRINE Model, inimitability is the next aspect to analyze. I believe that it would be very difficult for any company to gain the human expertise capital that Exxon has. Exxon pays particular attention to its scientists and engineers by providing opportunities to use their knowledge to help solve every day problems that the company is facing. Many of these scientists and engineers had PhDs in their respective fields, thus making their ideas more credible and valuable to the company (Annual Report, 2007). This make the human expertise capital an inimitable resource because it makes it hard for other companies to replicate the magnitude of the distinguished human capital that Exxon possesses. The next step in the VRINE Model is nonsubstitutability. It would be nearly impossible for a competing company to substitute an equally effective team of engineers and scientists. The cost would be too great for the company. Exxon is leading the way in Research and Development trends, and substitutes for the quality of employees that Exxon has would be very difficult for other companies, making the nonsubstitutability of Exxon’s human capital very high. The final step is to analyze the exploitability of the human expertise capital. Exxon has proven that the expertise that is present can be exploited to develop new and innovative ideas that help Exxon maintain as an industry leader. One example of the result of this exploitation is the development of Metallyte UBW-ES, which is a new polypropylene film for packaging that has unprecedented sealing power (Datamonitor, 2008). This example proves that the exploitability of this human expertise capital makes this resource a valuable asset to the company. After analysis of the human expertise capital resource using the VRINE Model, it can be said that this resource gives Exxon Mobil a competitive advantage in the industry. Capabilities After assessing the resources that Exxon has available to them, it is now easier to illustrate what Exxon’s capabilities are because of the acquisition and ownership of these resources. One of Exxon’s important capabilities is their extensive research and development capabilities. Exxon’s research and development capabilities are very dynamic in the sense that as new energy conservation and developments arise, they can adapt their research and development departments to meet the new technologies and innovations. Their research and development capabilities go insofar as to â€Å"improve existing products, and enhance service† (Datamonitor, 2008). Using the VRINE Model again, it can be easy to see if this capability really gives Exxon a considerable competitive advantage. First we have to look at the value of this capability. Exxon has utilized the company’s valuable resource of human expertise capital do help head the research for new improvements and innovations that help lead the way for Exxon to grow (Annual Report, 2007). One such innovation is the development of Enable mPE, which has â€Å"substantially reduced waste and energy consumption across a wide variety of film applications† (Datamonitor, 2008). This capability allows them compete within the market and gain headway in developing potentially high profit innovations, thus giving value to their research and development capability. Next the rarity needs to be assessed. Though almost all of Exxon’s competitors have research and development departments, none have invested the amount that Exxon has. Also there are only a handful of top competitors within the energy industry so that alone makes Exxon’s R & D department rare. In fiscal year 2007, Exxon invested $814 million in R & D. Though the idea of an R & D department is not a rarity in its own right, the amount invested and products produced because of their extensive R & D work makes this a rare capability among its competitors. The next assessment in the VRINE Model is the inimitability of this capability. As mentioned before many other companies have a R & D department, but not to the extent that Exxon’s is being funded and operated. In the past 5 years, Exxon has invested upwards of $3. 5 billion in research and development alone (Annual Report, 2007). Very few of Exxon’s competitors can match that without having an almost impossible financial obligation afterward. That is one feat that few companies can imitate. The next step is to analyze its nonsubstitutability.

Charles the Great

Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great, became the undisputed ruler of Western Europe, â€Å"By the sword and the cross.† (Compton†s 346) As Western Europe was deteriorating Charlemagne was crowned the privilege of being joint king of the Franks in 768 A.D. People of Western Europe, excluding the church followers, had all but forgotten the great gifts of education and arts that they had possessed at one time. Charlemagne solidly defeated barbarians and kings in identical fashion during his reign. Using the re-establishment of education and order, Charlemagne was able to save many political rights and restore culture in Western Europe. Charlemagne was born in 742 A.D., to a very famous and well-known family. Charlemagne†s grandfather was Charles Martel, the man who was responsible for the defeat of the Saracens. Charlemagne was also the eldest son of Bertrade (also known as Bertha Greatfoot) and Pepin the Short, the first to become king of the Franks. With the almost full extinction of schools in the 8th century, many historians say that Charlemagne received very little education, but did learn the art of reading from Bertrade. The one thing that kept Charlemagne motivated throughout his entire life was his deep devotion to the church. Charlemagne was a tall young man with light blond hair, and was described by his secretary as, â€Å"face laughing and merry. . . his appearance was always stately and dignified.† (World book 452) Charlemagne had great wit, but was stern at times. He had simple and moderate tastes; he enjoyed hunting, riding and swimming. Charlemagne had a large wardrobe with many Frankish dresses, linen shirts and breeches, silk-fringed tunics, hoses wrapped with bands, and for the winter he had coats made of otter or marten skins. Charlemagne asked his people to improve their lifestyles, but he divorced two of his four fives without any given cause. In 768 A.D., Charlemagne at the age of 26, along with his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom of Franks. However, in 771 A.D. Carloman died, making Charlemagne the sole ruler of the kingdom. At this time the northern part of Europe was out of order and unruly. In the south, the Roman Catholic Church was asserting itself alongside the Lombard kingdom in Italy. While in Charlemagne†s own kingdom, the people were becoming and acting as barbarians and neglecting education and faith. But Charlemagne was determined to make his kingdom as strong as possible. In 772 A.D., Charlemagne put forth a 30-year campaign to conquer and Christianize the extremely mighty Saxons in the north. He charged over the Avars, a large tribe on the Danube. He forced the Bavarians to surrender to him. When possible Charlemagne attempted to settle his conflicts peacefully. However, he was forced to use brute in some situations. For instance, Charlemagne offered to pay Desiderius for the return of lands to the pope, but after Desiderius refused, Charlemagne seized the kingdom of Desiderius and restored the Papal States. The most important aspect of Charlemagne†s conquests was his uncanny ability to organize. Charlemagne sent out more than 50 military missions during his time in power and he led the missions as commander more than half of the time. He was able to lead his troops through vast lands in unprecedented times, but his every move was planned ahead of time. Before every crusade, he informed all those involved the number of men needed, the weapons required, and he even went as far as to tell what should be in the supply wagons. These tactics were later studied and used by another great man, Napoleon. One of the smallest campaigns undertaken by Charlemagne became on of the most well known. In 778 A.D., Charlemagne led his troops into Spain and laid an attack on Saragossa. The movement failed and upon their recoil they were attacked from the rear and Count Roland one of the leaders of the group was killed in that battle. Roland went on to become a hero in medieval songs. By 800 A.D. Charlemagne was the sole ruler of Western Europe. His immense kingdom included what are now France, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands. It also covered half of present-day Italy and Germany, part of Austria, and the Spanish March. This Spanish March stretched to the Ebro River. Through his establishment of a single government over the entire Western Europe, Charlemagne re-established much of the old Roman Empire, which paved the way for the progress of present-day Europe. It was on Christmas Day in 800 A.D. that while praying in St. Peter†s in Rome, Pope Leo III approached Charlemagne with a golden crown and placed it on the head of the king. The crowd in the church shouted concurrently, â€Å"To Charles the August, crowned by God, great and pacific emperor, long life and victory!† (Compton†s 347) It is said that Charlemagne was surprised by what happened and stated that he would not have come into the church had he known the pope†s plan. However, other historians say that the pope would not have gambled doing what he did without Charlemagne†s knowing about it. (Compton†s 347) Charlemagne was a very noble man and he had great compassion for the peasant people and had a belief that that government was in place to benefit those that it governed. When Charlemagne came into power many of the people working under him were very careless and sometimes unfair. To change the ways of these people Charlemagne expanded their work, wrote down everything they did and forced them to work in groups of people. This helped those lacking in their work effort to restore some law and order. Two times a year Charlemagne would summon the leading man in the kingdom to talk about the happenings going around. Charlemagne always had the final word in everything including church matters. Charlemagne was determined in establishing improvement in lives of his people. By setting up money values he encouraged trade, he attempted to build a Rhine-Danube canal, and gave advice on different farming techniques. Charlemagne preached the most on education and Christianity to his people. He was responsible for the restoration of Palace School at Aachen, his capital. He also set up other schools for noble boys as well as peasants. Charlemagne was very devoted to education and he never stopped studying himself. He brought in scholars of many languages to his courts. He learned to read in Latin, some Greek, however, he was not too keen of mastering writing. During his dinners, he preferred to have men reading books to him rather than having jesters performing. For his churches, Charlemagne sent his monks to Rome to learn to sing. For his art collections, Charlemagne brought some valuable pieces from Italy. In the cathedral at Aachen there is a large monument, which stands in loyalty to Charlemagne for his religious devotion. Charlemagne built and was buried in the cathedral in Aachen. At the time of Charlemagne†s death in 814 A.D. only one of his three sons, Louis, was alive. Louis had a weak ruling after his father, which brought on many civil wars and rebellions. Charlemagne brought back order to Western Europe; he led his people to many victories and was responsible for the rise of Western Europe. Charles the Great Charles the Great, or Charlemagne as he is more commonly known, was born a Frank, a member of the Carolingian bloodline. He was born in 742, the illegitimate son of Pepin III and an Austrasian noblewoman. He served as the king of the Franks from 771-814, and during that time, during a campaign that lasted nearly 30 years, extended his rule through Western Europe. In the year 800, on Christmas Day, he was crowned Emperor of the West by Pope Leo, and he served as such until his death fourteen years later. Upon his father’s death in 768, Charlemagne and his brother Carloman inherited joint ruler hip of Francia.However, his brother died three years later, and Charlemagne exiled his family and claimed sole rulership. While he was one of a line of what became known as warrior chiefs, he strived to stretch past that with his broader mind that craved contact with â€Å"men of religion, learning and culture, not just as officials who could help him run his empire, but for themselves. † It was his belief in God that helped to make him such a formidable leader, and kept him focused on his objectives with the determination and faith that would help him to become a legend.The year after Carloman’s death found Charlemagne engaged in the Saxon Wars. The relationship between the Franks and the Saxons had long been tense, with the Saxons periodically attempting to expand to accommodate an ever growing population in finding more hospitable lands to inhabit. Border clashes were common, with peace in between being tenuous and short-lived. What also added to the tension was the fact that the Saxons believed in pagan gods, which inevitably added more tension with the Christian Franks. Biography Page 2 of 5 Charlemagne’s first action against the Saxons was to take on both military andreligious connotations. He marched his army into Saxony and captured the castle of Eresberg and then traveled further to destroy a Saxon idol known as the Irminsul, which was a giant tree trunk that was considered a shrine, believed to be one of the pillars of heaven. It was considered to ensure the protection of the gods, and it was considered a demonstration of defiance to the Franks. Thus, by striking in such a way, Charlemagne made a strong statement about his determination to strike both at the Saxon people and at their religion, which is something that he considered to be his duty as a Christian.Following this blow to the Saxons, Charlemagne was called in by Pope Hadrian I to help defuse a situation with Lombardy. There had long been conflict between them, and so Charlemagne decided to put an end to it once and for all, marching his army in autumn of 773, making haste to cross the Alps before it started to snow. He divided his army in two, sending each in different directions. Desiderius, the Lombardy leader, could not split his smaller forces to meet both sections of the Frankish forces, and so he was forced to withdraw back to his capital.Charles and his army followed and laid siege, and, much to Desiderius’ surprise, he settled his troops in for the winter instead of falling back. This time demonstrated the true leadership abilities of Charlemagne. His men were far from home, and forced to fight in inhospitable conditions. But they remained loyal and followed their king, remaining there through spring of 774. However, those in Parvia suffered more than those involved in the siege, hunger and disease rampaging them. Desiderius stubbornly held strong against them until midsummer of that year, whenBiography Page 3 of 5 he finally had to sue for peace. Charlemagne, instead of demanding tribute from Desiderius, instead took the Iron Crown of Lombardy, and sent the Lombardy ruler and his family back to Francia as prisoners. With that, Charlemagne increased the size of his empire, becoming King of Lombardy as well as King of Francia. A large part of Charlemagne’s rule was that of protector of the Church. He did this not only out of loyalty to the Church and the pope, but also because he needed the support of the Christians.The support of the Church took him farther than he might otherwise have gone, helping to instill a loyalty of him into the people, particularly the nobles. However, he made it rather clear that he would not allow the pope any political power, nor would he allow him to dictate his will upon Charlemagne. The king had his own plans, and he was not to be foiled by anyone who might want to interfere, including the pope himself. Charlemagne would once again become involved in a campaign against the Saxons, and he decided that he must find a long-term solution to the problem.He had to confront the problem of a â€Å"war on several fronts and the concomitant drain it imposed on the nation’s resources. † However, he set goals for himself, and he committed himself to achieving those goals, which kept him in conflict with the Saxons until 785. It was slow going, as he wou ld advance into Saxon territory and take land and hostages, but the agreements that came from this were broken by the Saxons as winter came along, and they would regain some of the ground that they lost. However, they were not to regain it all, and so slowly Charlemagne gained more and more of their territory, advancing hisBiography Page 4 of 5 own borders. He garrisoned territory that was taken, and he left clergy with these garrisons to help advance the Christian religion as well. It became clear during these wars that the only acceptable outcome to staunch the flow of hostility and war from the Saxons was complete and total victory. In 782, Charlemagne added new laws and restrictions to what were already imposed upon the Saxon people, focusing again on conversion and attempting to force the new converts however he could to not reneging on their conversions and instead seeking penance for their misdeeds.The laws against crimes against Christians incurred penalties of death, and th e people were expected to supply both land and slave labor to the churches. At first, the results were not as Charlemagne wished. As he was elsewhere, a revolt broke out after Saxon forces killed twenty of Francia’s leading noblemen. When Charlemagne heard this, he marched east with his troops with such ferocity that the Saxons exiled Widukind, who was the leader of the revolt, and handed 4,500 men over to Charlemagne.Each of these was beheaded in a demonstration of Charlemagne’s anger. The knowledge that, so long as Widukind was a heroic figure for the Saxon people, he could not have complete victory, led Charlemagne to offer peace to him as well as gifts and a promise of pardon. There was also the possibility of an official position in Francia as well, and so Widukind accepted baptism and peace with his long-time enemy, and this ended the first phase of the Saxon wars. The next years saw the conquering of Bavaria and a renewal of the Saxon wars.The peace with the Sax ons lasted ten years, and then the Saxons once again started to show defiance to Charlemagne’s rule. His empire continued to grow, however, and â€Å"was Biography Page 6 of 5 bounded almost entirely by sea and neutralized marches. † Despite this success, he was never able to completely bring all of his empire under one system of legislation, which was a large failure for the emperor. It was in 800 that Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as emperor.After gaining this role, he worked to educate himself, learning to read Latin and Greek, although writing eluded him. He attempted to better educate himself, and also worked to better the lives of his subjects, including working on an improvement in commerce. Russell describes him as â€Å"the pioneer of the Middle Ages and the world is indebted to him for invaluable improvements in the manner and ways of exchange. † He made a point of reforming the monetary system and also worked to introduce universal coinage.While Ch arlemagne will always be known as an impressive military leader, his influence goes far beyond that. His dedication to his religion was a key part of his life, as was his insistence on bettering the education of both himself and the clergy. He promoted â€Å"the spread of a competence in written Latin among the clergy,† believing that social reform would not work if the clergy were illiterate. All of these things together contributed to Charlemagne becoming one of the most renowned and respected leaders in history.Leaders from generations after, all over the world, would work to learn from his example and attempt to mirror his many successes in their own times, using his failures as well to help guide them. Very few leaders had the prowess in so many ways that Charlemagne did, and it was perhaps the fact that he was so well-rounded in his achievements that make his legacy so great. Works Cited Heer, Friedrich. Charlemagne and His World. New York: Macmillan Publishing Col, Inc . , 1975. Russell, Charles Edward. Charlemagne: First of the Moderns. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1930. Wilson, Derek. Charlemagne. New York: Doubleday, 2006.

Writing Assignment Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Writing Assignment - Article Example Disaster experts have developed better ways of detecting disasters and disseminating information about impending disasters promptly. Weather forecast has made it possible for experts to speculate risk of tornadoes and hurricanes. People should heed this information and act appropriately. Even so, disasters like fires and terrorist attacks strike unexpectedly. Rescorla had indicated his fears about a possible terrorist attack on the Trade Center, and they materialized when Ramzi blasted explosives right at the center’s parking garage. Circumspection may cost us resources, but it is worthwhile (Wiseman 25). Building a strong disaster personality would need exercising the brain. Fear paralyses individuals during disasters and makes people not to be able to act appropriately. Extreme fear will make an individual to stop and wait for help from outside. Had Kent HÃ ¤rstedt let fear take the better of him, he would probably not have lived to tell the story. People should not frown at fire drills. Instead, fire drills should help condition our minds for appropriate reaction in the time of disaster (Lee 18). Many got annoyed at Rescorla’s efforts at training his employees using fire drills. It is not a wonder that many of his employees made it out of the Trade Center safely when 9/11 struck. Amanda has underscored the importance of leadership in situations of disasters. Leadership should help instill discipline so that some are not run over and others do not act selfishly. The Beverly fire is a classic case of the benefit of leadership in a disaster scene. People need to know what section of a disaster scene to go to and which to avoid (Wiseman 25). People should learn to respect the leadership during disaster. Also, people should domesticate leadership at an individual level so as to make it easy for disaster response efforts to work

Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Finance - Essay Example Gitman(2005) in these words â€Å"A firm’s ability to satisfy its short term obligations as they come due†(p.58). It is one of the most important financial indicators of a firm. A firm which will not be able to satisfy its short term obligations will neither be able to satisfy its long term obligations/debts nor will be able to satisfy its stockholders. Time series analysis of Jool’s Product division shows unfavorable results, as out of five indicators four are showing negative results. Although current assets have increased in 2009 as compared to 2008 but increase in current liabilities is more as compared to current assets so division’s liquidity has decreased. Increase in inventory turnover shows that division is now more efficient in selling its inventory. While increase in debtor’s days shows that firm making more credit sales now and is inefficient in collecting its receivables and indicates that money is tied up in debtors. Decrease in credit or’s days shows that division’s credibility has decreased and its suppliers are allowing it less time to pay them back. Division should take immediate actions to decrease its current liabilities which will not only increase its liquidity but will also increase its credibility in front of its suppliers and other stakeholders. Moreover firm should adapt any mechanism to quickly collect its receivables. Asset turnover shows that division has ratio of 1.06 in 2009 which is higher than that in 2008 because the assets have increased but sales has also increased by a greater percentage. It shows that division is more quick in concerting its assets into sales now. Profitability analysis of the Jool’s Products division shows very favorable results as all of the profit indicators are showing highly favorable results which are not only good for division but will also contribute in overall profitability of Jools. But although the division is profitable but management should fix the problem of increasing current liabilities and should control operating expenses and receivables as it said by Gibson â€Å" Even a very profitable entity will find itself bankrupt if it fails to meet its obligations to short term creditors†.(p.253) Kitchen Division Category Ratio 2009 2008 Result Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio 2.02 0.4 Favorable Quick Ratio 0.99 0.78 Favorable Stock Turnover 60.74 49.87 Favorable Debtor Days 15.52 18.17 Favorable Creditors Days 10.22 12.01 Unfavorable Efficiency Ratios Asset Turnover 2.20 2.33 Unfavorable Net working Capital Turnover 10.13 13.67 Unfavorable Profitability Ratios Net Profit Margin 3.51% 3.27% Favorable Operating Profit Margin 3.88% 3.61% Favorable Return on Assets 7.71% 7.62% Favorable Return on Equity 11.77% 11.90% Unfavorable Critical Analysis:- Time series analysis of Jool’s Kitchen Division’s liquidity shows favorable results. Division has a healthy short term obligations fulfilling ability. Inventory is efficiently sold, less credit sales are allowed and receivables are quickly collected. But in spite of its good liquidity conditions creditors are still allowing less time to pay back which is a matter of concern for management. Efficiency analysis of the

Unfunded Educational Mandates and how they creat Non-Market Failures Research Paper

Unfunded Educational Mandates and how they creat Non-Market Failures - Research Paper Example Over the years, significant mandates have been put forth in relation to employment, persons with disabilities, water and air pollution, and equal opportunities in education. The debate on mandates have been long-standing historically primarily due to the implied fiscal responsibilities impinged on local districts. Redistribution of state funds becomes necessary to allocate budget for federal mandates. There are other non-fiscal consequences of mandates as well. With federal mandates, a generic solution is provided for highly sensitive issues underplaying the diversity factor in each state or locality. â€Å"The initiative of state and local governments to pioneer innovative approaches is undermined as a result† (Posner, 1998, p. 6). However, despite these continuing issues, mandates have proven resilient since inception, and policy makers [i.e. Congress] remain positive on their position in creating federal mandates. The first major wave of federal mandates happened between 1960’s and 1970’s which included essential issues such as environment, civil rights, and education (Posner, 1998). Specifically, in the mid-1960’s, the state government increased its authority and intervention in education. As pointed out by Fusarelli (2009), â€Å"a crucial reason for a fundamental shift in the state education role is the widespread loss of confidence in local educators and their communities† (p. ix). In 1983, the loss of confidence in local education revolved around children with special needs. In recent times, the No Child Left Behind Policy (NCLB) became the driving force behind an increase in the state-mandated laws in education. Perhaps one of the more formidable issues emphasized by individuals advocating against state-mandated laws, especially in education, is funding. Most, if not all, mandates come with price tags that become additional budgetary burdens for local districts. Sink (2010) borrows the

Law victims and criminal justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Law victims and criminal justice - Essay Example Although the courts serve as decentralised, semi-autonomous groupings of legal professionals, but that does not mean that victim support groups give up in confronting difficulties in predicting how they will follow a new law (Candace, 1993, p. 2). Victim support is criticised for it wishes to monopolise its' services provided to the nation. It is also said that this department is unable to tackle the problems of all of its victims (Duckett, 2003, p. 248). No doubt victim's expectations from the support departments and trial proceedings is to acquire justice while prosecuting and punishing offenders, but that does not mean that victim's sufferings should not be analysed in material form. Victims support organisations (VSO), groups and legal proceedings instead of claiming complete restitution for victim often seek justice alone. VSO does not consider reconciliation and mediation programs as alternatives to criminal punishment; therefore offenders' financial accounts are left untouched. VSOs does not support victim compensation programs, therefore victims who are ineligible for restitution through no fault of their own could be reimbursed at the same level, with their reimbursements paid from a pool of frees or restitution overages. VSOs go through the following processes while fighting for its' victim's justice. Methodological Issues: VSOs seeks evidence, including that from recorded crime, crime surveys, records of convicted offenders, accounts of emotional responses to crime, etc., on a socially constructed basis. Therefore what VSOs concentrate is the data on crime that reflects the way crime has been assembled and taken place. There is no concern about the improperly collected information that reveals the crime scene. However, the VSO team is criticized for working in the following way: Crime Scene Investigation: The VSO is quite popular in taking decisions whether or not to investigate the location of the criminal offense. In some 'incidents' VSOs are right in predicting that a crime has indeed been committed and it is a 'crime scene'. However, in many situations it is observed that VSOs fail to predict the seriousness of the crime and does not consider that one of the initial and primary tasks of the crime scene investigator is to determine whether or not a crime has been committed. In this context the blame must not be put on to VSOs alone as in many European countries including UK, National training centers only conduct short courses for creating Victim support officers and team. Resources, instead of basing on the complexity and seriousness of the alleged incident are dependant on their officers' decision. Crime scene is not analysed on the basis of its full potential. This is true as in many cases it is seen that the police, the field scientist, the laboratory scientist and the prosecutor instead of joining together to produce a set of facts that make it unreasonable to believe any conclusion other than the one the facts support, are giving individual facts. Therefore, the facts taken individually are not exposed to reasonable doubts, helpful in solving the crime.

Financial Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Financial Planning - Essay Example There may be some additional cost attached with the purchasing of house is that cost of furniture fixture, electricity cost, maintenance cost and cost of decorating the house. The use of credit card incurs some cost as interest rate. As the interest rate in the credit card is very high like interest rate on the credit card of Shawn is 18% and Mary is 15%. The use of other means of payment like cash payment reduces such costs involved. Thus, they need to reduce the usage of credit cards in borrowing goods and services because the high rate of interest leads to increase in their expenses in the income expenditure statement. For this reason, if they reduce the usage of credit cards then they will be able to save the amount of interest. Shawn wants to sell off his truck any buy something new. From the primary consideration of buying vehicles, it can be said that buying new vehicles is always good though it costs high but the quality of the vehicle is brand new and Shawn can easily repair or maintain the car from the company service center if it’s new. However, if he wants to buy a used vehicle then the cost will be low as after one-year usage of any vehicle, its cost decreases. However, here he needs to consider two things- one is that the age of the vehicle. He should not purchase too old vehicle, which is having low cost because it might not be in a good condition. Second is that only age of the vehicle cannot be the measurement factor for the condition of the vehicle depends on the Km. it has run and depending on the miles or Km it can be decided that whether the vehicle is in good condition or not. Some other consideration in the purchase of a used truck is the property transfer cost and the service it w ould incur to make the used truck running and in a good condition. If the costs involved are much larger or near to the cost of a new truck, he would purchase the new one. Nevertheless, buying an old truck