Case #1 Cca (Board of Directors) Free Essays

BUSN7045: Corporate Governance Case Study 1 Jiachen Lyu u5264027 1 Evaluation of the Board of Directors of Coca-Cola Amatil Jiachen Lyu Student ID: u5264027 1. Basic analysis – a macro perspective From the publicly open information, the member composition of the Board Of Directors (BOD) of Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA) can be summarised as the following table (Table 1- 1). It can be easily seen that non-executive directors account for the majority of the board. We will write a custom essay sample on Case #1: Cca (Board of Directors) or any similar topic only for you Order Now According to Tricker (1994), this particular composition is of a typical American kind, which is specifically designed to emphasis the independence among members in the board and their loyalty to the shareholders. Table 1-1 Composition of Board of Directors Compan y Name Total direc tor No. Executi ve director Nonexecuti ve directo r Composition of non-executive directors Exper t direct ors Chairma n of other compani es Investment agency representati ves Individu al investor s Coca- Cola Amatil 9 1 8 8 2 3 0 However, it is worth noting that this particular formation is a result of the highly developed American capital market. In such a market, the frequency of hostile takeover is so common a market phenomenon that masks the lack of BOD’s function. In American companies’ management practice, people focus more on centralisation and expert system, which reduces the importance of executive directors. Comparing with the U. S. , both the turnover of Australian stock market and the frequency of hostile takeover are low, which posts a shadow on the adaption of Cola’s American empirical practice into Australia. 2. Focus on non-executive directors The non-executive directors are directors who are employed from the outside. They are normally specialist in areas such as strategic management, finance, investment, legal and public relation. In order to better fulfil the duties of a BOD, National Association of Corporate Directors Blue Ribbon Commission emphasises that each director should contribute his knowledge in at least a field listed below: (1) accounting and finance, (2) judgment, (3) management skills, (4) crisis response, (5) industrial knowledge, (6) experience in international markets, (7) leadership, and (8) strategic vision. According to this point of BUSN7045: Corporate Governance Case Study 1 Jiachen Lyu u5264027 2 view, it can be analysed from the information available on the CCA’s website as Table 2-1: Table 2-1 Appraisal of CCA’s non-executive directors D. G . I. A . C. B . A. F . M. J . G. K . W. K. D. M . Judgment Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Management skills Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Crisis Response Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Industrial Knowledge N N N Y Y Y N N Experience in the international market N N N Y Y Y N N Leadership Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Strategic vision Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Abbreviation: David Gonski (D. G. ), Ilana Atlas (I. A. ), Catherine Brenner (C. B. ), Anthony Froggatt (A. F. ), Martin Jansen (M. J. ), Geoffrey Kelly (G. K. ), Wal King (W. K. ), David Meiklejohn (D. K. ). From Table 2-1, it is clear that some finance and law background non-executive directors (i. e. D. G. and I. A. ) lack of knowledge in beverage industry and have little experience in international markets. When they were facing situations that need industrial judgement and global vision, the limit of their knowledge would be likely to hurt the interest of shareholders. Most non-executive directors, due to their insufficient knowledge about the inner working of the company, tend to rely on financial criteria rather than innovation criteria to evaluate the long-term management of the enterprise, which may lead to short-sighted decisions and further hurt the goodwill and innovation of CCA. Furthermore, most aforementioned non-executive directors are quite busy as they may be managers of other companies or partners of investment banks, they therefore do not have sufficient time to collect detailed management information about CCA. Consequently, the most probable channel of their source of CCA’s information is from the managers. Ironically, while the purpose of establishing a BOD is to solve principleagent problems between the ownership and management, the possible information asymmetry between manager and BOD (thanks to the large proportion of busy nonexecutive directors) may result this vehicle into null. From a strategic perspective, on the other hand, all these non-executive directors as experts in finance, investment, legal issues and science have long term experience, most of whom are over 50 year’s old. They can provide more specific knowledge and advice in terms of strategic management. This is the positive effect of having eight nonexecutive directors in the BOD of CCA. References: Bol Tricker. , Corporate Governance, An International View, p. 20, Prentice Hall, 1994. How to cite Case #1: Cca (Board of Directors), Papers

Project Management Developing Social Media

Question: Discuss about the Project Management for Developing Social Media. Answer: Introduction The project requirement document is developed for the social media strategy. Hence the document consists of all the requirements that are associated with the social media strategy. Social media strategy is one of the important aspects of developing an online community for achieving a specific goal and objective of building a knowledge base for the specific domain. The project needs to explore all the requirements associated with right from defining the objective of the project till, the submission of the final report of it. Hence, it becomes quite important to understand all the stages and phases of developing the social network and making the users or subscribers to involve in the same (Evans, 2012). The team has to engage the participants or end users, after endorsing the pages for each of them and assigning the administrative privileges for them. The targeted users are to be from engineering, science and high and geographically from US, UK and Australia. However, the site has to be developed with the major target within the nation. The project has been undertaken by ADTC Technologies for the project sponsor, Australia Technology and Management College(Ferrell Hartline, 2011). Aim The aim of the project requirement document of a social media strategy is to identify and present all the requirements to build a social media strategy as well as the promotion of the App developed for the debate by the science, engineering and high school. Here, all the students are to be networked with their profiles and provide the necessary privileges to participate in the discussion. The strategy includes development of three forums, for engineering, science and high school students. In addition to them, the interested outside participants should get the opportunity and privileges to post their views and opinions on the forums. The three forums to be developed are the engineering forum, high school forum and science forum (Zhang, 2013). Objective The following are the specific objectives of the social media strategy project. Developing three forums, engineering forum, science forum and high school forum. Promote the three forums and pages with three targeted countries, US, UK and Australia Get the targeted number of likes for each page developed Engage the end-users consistently on all the pages (Too Weaver, 2014) Problem Statement The increased competition in every field and business leaves every business and organization a challenge of attracting and retaining their customers, to prosper in the business and increase the profits. Eventually, the current interest of every business is to increase the visibility of the brand and their product, by developing a profile in the social media and increase the visibility, attract and engage their customers, all towards the satisfaction of the customers (Pasquier Villeneuve, 2014). Eventually, the problem statement challenges the businesses and organizations with the following questions. How to attract and retain the customers? How to engage and lengthen the engagement of the customers? How to gain positive feedback from the customers, with likes, comments and shares? (Pasquier Villeneuve, 2014) Theories Both the micro theories and macro theories are considered for the development of the framework of developing the project requirement document as well as the entire project. The framework for the development of the PRD and the project is as the following step by step process (Valvadia et al., 2014). Exploring the Key Factors for the Project First of everything, exploration of the technical aspects is done to develop the social media strategy and implement the same. The first key factor is the application domain, which is associated with the operating system with which it is compatible and useful. In fact, it should work independently as a virtual space. So, the sponsor or the owner of the project, ATMC has to develop an application domain. Then the properties are to be developed specific to the requirement and objective of the project, for assigning the privileges to the privileged and restricting the privileges to the users, for whom these privileges are not required (Linton, 2012). The second key factor is the people and users going to be involved in the forums and domain. The major targeted audience of the project are engineering, science and high school candidates Albarran (2013). It is important to investigate and explore the targeted audience so that their characteristics are better explored and understood and the respective development of the privileges and elements in the forum can be built and developed (Miletsky Hand, 2011). The third key factor is the organization system. Though the organization has been structured to a framework right from founding the company till the date, it is important to build a compatible system and get agreement to follow by all the stakeholders of the project (Chernev, 2012). It can be done in any of two ways. Either the present system is acknowledged and agreed to follow by all the stakeholders or new system can be developed to follow till the tenure of the project (Albarran, 2013). The stifling structure framework can be considered by the strategic managers of the project in the organization. The system to consider has also has to consider the business processes practised by the organization. So, unscalable processes can be used for the business processes (Evans, 2012). The following key factor is the process to follow to develop the entire project. The process is very important for the development of the forums and apps. The detailed processes are to be developed by imagining and experiencing the entire project right from the scratch to the end (Ferrell Hartline, 2011). The total process of developing the technical system is followed with the following steps. Evaluation of the detailed mission and vision of the organization, before initiating the project. Evolution and establishment of the objectives of the project and linking the objectives with the mission and vision of the organization. Understanding the stakeholders of the project and exploring the behaviour and interests of the customers, who are targeted. Exploring and understanding the nature and level of competition in the contemporary social media, so that each of the step to be developed accordingly. Pollack and Adler (2015) Methodology The project requirement document and the entire project have been developed in a structured way and methodology. Pemsel,and Wiewiora (2013). According to Pemsel and WEiewiora (2013), natural resources can be saved from wastage, by adopting the advanced technology optimally and prevent the wastage. The methodology has been adopted to complete the project successfully and help growing and developing the organization. The total methodology has been implemented as in the following stages. Initial Stage According to Pemsel and Wiewiora (2013), the requirements of the technology required should be gathered similar to the ways the goals of the project of the organization. In this initial stage, all the possible resources available from the organization are explored and identified, after recongizign the needs and wants for the project. During this stage, there is more of exploration of the organization and its technical advancement and availability of the technical and human resources for the development of the App and social media strategy Pemsel Wiewiora, 2013) Preparation Stage During the stage of preparation the project includes various tasks such as identification and emphasising the objective to all the stakeholders of the project. The governance would then established to ensure that the entire process is going smooth and in control. Identifying and analysing the stakeholders would be included in this stage. The right and appropriate technology needed for the development of the App is explored in this stage. After ever resource and stakeholder is ready, the plan for the project is developed. Finally the program to execute would then be established to proceed with the following stage (Klien, 2012). Development Stage During the development stage, all the resources that are explored and identified within the organization are allocated optimally to develop and achieve the final objective of the project. Here, the operational process is more associated and stands as crucial for the success of the project and thereby the organization. During this development stage, all the necessary requirements of the technology are explored (Pollack Adler, 2015) Execution Stage The execution stage is a vital and challenging stage, as it stands as a service delivery procedure that defines the success of the project and reputation of the organization Kerzner (2013). Execution is the final stage of the task of project, in which the social media policies will get implemented the yield the results to achieve the objectives. It defines the overall performance and results of the social media strategy and the results would be lasting long, when executed in the right ways (Ramasesh and Browning, 2014). The team and management of the project is responsible for the development of the App and the development of the social media strategy. It needs a definite research methodology for the overall business process. The company has to be formed as a group on a social media platform, like pinterest, facebook, twitter and several other social media networking sites. The team of the project needs to run many campaigns, so that the results of the divided tasks of the campaign can be shared through the social media group. Eventually, the team or group will be accountable to develop the app and social media strategy. The project needs to develop a methodology that is comprehensive that fulfil the objectives of the present project and mission and vision of the organization. In this context, demand metric methodologies can be more appropriate to follow (Klein, 2012). In this methodology the evaluation of the vision and values of the company are to be evaluated. The process would also then include the situation analysis and objectives examination of the visibility. Then the social media marketing strategy would then be assessed and applied to achieve the objective successfully and obtain successful launch of the App. There can also be an alternative methodology to follow, which is mixed method approach (Kotler Keller, 2012). Data Collection All the necessary data is collected for the development of the project requirement document for the development of the app and its associated social development strategy to promote the App and make it reach to the intended audience and customers. Internet has been used extensively for the collection of the data for developing the App and social media strategy to promote the App (Pasquier Villeneuve, 2012). The data is basically extracted from internet for the following data. Complete benefits of the App Developmental procedures for the App Advanced and potential social media networking sites Establishing the profiles and forums for the interaction Assigning the characteristics for the forums and App User access control for the forums and Apps All the possible ways and social media strategy to promote the App and forums Increasing the stakeholders and end user engagement in the forums and App All the resources are taken from the authenticated resources, such as Wikipedia, research gate, Google scholars etc., so that there would be no conflict or deviation of the project. Data is also collected from the online research surveys conducted by the practitioners of communication. The online research can be conducted by framing the questionnaire regarding the opinions about launching the App. Since the targeted customers are from the three geographical locations, US, UK and Australia, the census details of the UK, US and Australia are to be explored. This data can be used to send the emails to the targeted customers in US, UK and Australia. Public Relations Institute in the respective countries are to be contacted for the data that is potential for the survey and further use of the audience and targeted customers of the project. The data of the respondents is collected by using the non-probability based sampling method (Malhotra, 2012). Analysis Techniques The entire data collected has been distributed to the stakeholders, by filtering according to the need and based on the allocation of the tasks and activities with respect to the project. Each of the section of the data has been well analysed by the respective stakeholders. In turn, all the stakeholders, in groups, had discussion with the project manager, about how the data is analysed and the strategies they have developed to perform their tasks, based on the roles assigned to them (McDaniel Gates, 2012). The data collected is analysed against the scientific theories, both micro and macro theories. The micro theories covered are the social exchange theory, social penetration theory and the macro theories, social network analysis, McLuhans media theory and Pseudo theories. Finally, the entire pieced of data organized by the stakeholders and shared with the project manager has been discussed among all the stakeholders to develop the final data and program to develop the App and develop the social media strategy to promote the App (McDaniel Gates, 2012).. Proposed Artefact The artefacts are proposed for the interface and design procedures for the social media strategy Ahlemann et al. (2013). The artefact is also proposed for the research procedures, considering and emphasizing both the internal environment and external environment Heagney (2012). Here, meta artefacts are developed based on the assumption of the facts, rather than on the practical theories (Verzuh, 2015) The artifacts proposed are well influenced by the Graphical User Interface and Desktop Metaphor for human machine interaction. (Morris, 2013) Artefact Development Plan Before developing the artefacts, certain attributes are considered for the social media strategy. The other vital considerations are the social media marketing policies. The important policies that are taken into consideration for the social media strategy are nature of the business, recent trends in the contemporary market, economic condition, recognition of the organizations need (Shields Rangarajan, 2013). The nature of business plays a vital role in the entire development and establishment of the artefacts, as every business is unique and the respective functions are unique, though they match at the macro level for similar businesses. So, the policies are to be determined and considered according to the IT business, as the development of the App and promotion are the activities of information technology. The recent trends in the market are the second consideration of the policies, since the thought process and behavioural and responsive aspects of the present generations of the end users are vital and play vital role in the determination of the functions and features of the product, App and social media strategy. Recognition of the need of the organization has to be considered, since the specific need, such as profit, growth, reputation, dominance, monopoly or similar need becomes the basic motivating factor for the entire project. Finally economic condition is an important aspect tha t defines and determines the behaviour and response of the end user to the participation in the forum and usage of the App. The economic condition is a clear indication of how much the cost of entrance, usage and engagement of the product are to be determined (Shields Rangarajan, 2013). The artefacts development has been planned to execute the entire pre-defined program, by applying the attributes and the social media marketing policies. Since every artifact is unique and needs to be taken care and established exclusively, by the stakeholders, who have defined them Lock (2014). Conclusion The social media strategy project requirement document is developed to collect and organize the requirements needed to develop the project. The project has been undertaken by ADTC solutions for the Australian Technical Management College. The report has been developed with the aim and objective of developing the document with the requirements of the project with the objectives of developing the forums, App, promoting the forums and App, get more followers and end users and finally engage the end users of the forums, for longer period of time. The problem statements are defined to come up with the solutions and data. The challenges that considered as opportunities are the how to attract and retain the customers, engage and lengthen the engagement of the customers, getting the positive feedback from the customers with likes. The project report has explore the scientific theories like macro theories and micro theories and developed the frameworks, by considering three major key factors of the project. Finally, the total process of technical process to implement the project has been developed. The methodology has been used to explore the resources in the organization and also make them utilize optimally. The methodology is implemented in various stages, initial stage, preparation stage, development stage and execution stage. The data has been majorly collected from the internet and the data has been distributed to all the stakeholders, as per the roles assigned to them. The data is analysed individually as well as altogether, so that the data is used for the program. The artefacts are prosed based on the uniqueness and implementation of the project and then it is proposed accordingly. Finally, the artefact development plan is developed based on the attributes and policies of the social media marketing. References Albarran, A. (2013).Management of electronic and digital media. Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Chernev, A. (2012).Strategic marketing management. [Chicago, Ill.]: Cerebellum Press. Evans, D. (2012).Social media marketing. Indianapolis, Ind.: Wiley. Ferrell, O. Hartline, M. (2011).Marketing management strategies. Australia: South-Western, Cengage Learning. Heagney, J. (2012). Fundamentals of project management. AMACOM Div American Mgmt Assn. Kerzner, H. R. (2013). Project management: a systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling. John Wiley Sons. Klein, S. (2012).Action research methods. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Linton, I. (2012).Taking technology to the market. Farnham: Ashgate Publishing Ltd. Lock, M. D. (2014). The essentials of project management. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. Malhotra, N. (2012).Basic marketing research. Boston: Pearson. McDaniel, C. Gates, R. (2012).Marketing research essentials. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Miletsky, J. Hand, M. (2011).Perspectives on marketing. [Boston]: [Course Technology]. Morris, P. W. (2013).Reconstructing project management. John Wiley Sons. Nightingale, V. (2011).The handbook of media audiences. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell. Pasquier, M. Villeneuve, J. (2012).Marketing management and communications in the public sector. New York: Routledge. Pemsel, S., Wiewiora, A. (2013). Project management office a knowledge broker in project-based organisations. International Journal of Project Management, 31(1), 31-42. Phillips, J. (2013).PMP, Project Management Professional (Certification Study Guides). Pollack, J., Adler, D. (2015). Emergent trends and passing fads in project management research: A scientometric analysis of changes in the field. International Journal of Project Management, 33(1), 236-248. Ramasesh, R. V., Browning, T. R. (2014). A conceptual framework for tackling knowable unknown unknowns in project management. Journal of Operations Management, 32(4), 190-204. Ryan, D. Jones, C. (2012).Understanding digital marketing. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page. Shields, P. M., Rangarajan, N. (2013). A playbook for research methods: Integrating conceptual frameworks and project management. New Forums Press. Too, E. G., Weaver, P. (2014). The management of project management: A conceptual framework for project governance. International Journal of Project Management, 32(8), 1382-1394. Valdivia, A., Nerone, J., Mayer, V., Mazzarella, S., Parameswaran, R., Scharrer, E. et al.(2014) The international encyclopedia of media studies. Verzuh, E. (2015). The fast forward MBA in project management. John Wiley Sons. Weinstein, A. (2014).Marketing. London: Routledge. Young, T. L. (2013). Successful project management (Vol. 52). Kogan Page Publishers. Zhang, K. (2013).Big social media data mining for marketing intelligence.

Multimedia Marketing Campaign

Lewis Surname Meaning & Origin

Lewis Surname Meaning & Origin The Lewis surname is generally derived from the Germanic given name Lewis (Lowis, Lodovicus), meaning reknowned, famous battle, from the Germanic elements hlod ‘fame’ wig ‘war.’ In Wales, the Lewis surname may have derived from an Anglicized form of the personal name Llywelyn. As an Irish or Scottish surname, Lewis can be an Anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Lughaidh, meaning son of Lughaidh, derived from Lugh brightness. Lewis is also a common Americanization of several similar sounding Jewish surnames, such as Levy and Lewin. Lewis is the 26th most popular surname in the United States and the 21st most common surname in England. Surname Origin: English Alternate Surname Spellings: LOUIS, LOUYS Famous People with the Surname LEWIS: Edna Lewis - Gourmet chef and cookbook authorEdmonia Lewis - African American and Native American female sculptorCarl Lewis - Olympic track and field athleteMeriwether Lewis - one half of the legendary Lewis Clark expedition to the Pacific Ocean, along with William Clark.C.S. Lewis - author of the popular Narnia series of childrens books. Genealogy Resources for the Surname LEWIS: 100 Most Common U.S. Surnames Their MeaningsSmith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census? LEWIS Surname DNA ProjectExplore family histories and/or submit your DNA to help unravel the various Lewis family lines. Lewis Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Lewis surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Lewis query. FamilySearch - LEWIS GenealogyFind records, queries, and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Lewis surname and its variations. LEWIS Surname Family Mailing ListsRootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Lewis surname. Cousin Connect - LEWIS Genealogy QueriesRead or post genealogy queries for the surname Lewis, and sign up for free notification when new Lewis queries are added. DistantCousin.com - LEWIS Genealogy Family HistoryFree databases and genealogy links for the last name Lewis. Looking for the meaning of a given name? Check out First Name Meanings Cant find your last name listed? Suggest a surname to be added to the Glossary of Surname Meanings Origins. Source Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, 2005. Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Avotaynu, 2004. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Impact of Bankers Bonuses on the Economy Research Paper

Impact of Bankers Bonuses on the Economy - Research Paper Example A qualitative analysis would be conducted in order to accomplish the objectives of this research study, for which both primary as well as secondary data would be collected. The secondary data would be collected through authentic print as well as online sources, while for collecting primary data; a focus group interview would be conducted among 10 respondents.The spectacular collapse of financial institutions and banks has raised questions that link the bank executives and the payments that they received for their performance. Thomas Philippon and Ariell Reshef in their research report had mentioned that in the year 2000, the salary that the executives received in the banking sector were augmented by about 40 percent, in spite of having the same qualification (Fox, 2009). They were also offered stocks and other equity options in order to avoid their practice of short-termism. It was found that the level of pay of the executives increased dramatically in comparison to the non-executive s (The Independent, 2009). Standard & Poor 500 stated that the average total pay of the CEOs has increased to 10.5 million during the year 2008 from $850,000 in the 1970s. 1.2 Research Problem The research problem revolves around bankers’ bonus and its effect on the economy. This is because it was found that even during the economic crisis when the banks were collapsing, their bankers were receiving the hefty bonus for their performance, which is an underlying cause of financial crisis. 1.3 Research Aim and Objective The aim of this research paper is to identify the relationship between bankers’ bonus and the global economy. In order to fulfill this aim, the objective of the researcher would be to analyze the payment structure in the banking sector, which also includes the bonus. Secondly, the cause and effect of bonus payment on the financial status of the banks during the financial crisis would be also examined. Thirdly, the issues would be identified in order to pre sent the wrong practices if any in this regard. 1.4 Research Questions The research questions have been formulated in line with the aims and objectives of this research study; they are stated below: Q1: Did the bankers receive a bonus during the financial downturn? If yes, then how much? Q2: What was the financial status of the banks which distributed bonus to its executives? Q3: What payment of bonus to bankers an underlying reason which added to the financial crisis?   Bankers’ bonuses are awarded to the workers in the banking and finance industry, which was traditionally paid at the end of the year with the intention of rewarding employees. This was a way to appreciate their contribution to the growth and development of the organization. However, the present scenario of bankers’ bonus can be better explained through Peter Ducker’s words. He stated that when the bosses themselves get over indulged in the corporate trough, they tend to lose respect in the org anization.  Ã‚  

Advantages and disadvantages of alternative dispute resolution over Assignment

Advantages and disadvantages of alternative dispute resolution over litigation in international business - Assignment Example According to the American Bar Association, ADR is an â€Å"an array of non-binding and binding dispute resolution methods that entail the application of third-party neutrals to help the parties in contract controversies through a systematic settlement process† (ABA, 1999).2 Similarly the United States Code in section 571 explains that ADR comprises of the following aspects, conciliation, facilitation, mediation, fact-finding, mini-trials, arbitration and ombudsmen, the above aspects can be combined in ADR. As noted by Shamir ADR is applied in different civil law policy situations, and not just in global Institutionalized in a lot of court systems and justice systems around the world.3 Though ADR is accepted by globally, it has some disadvantages, thus this paper aims at examining the advantages of ADR over litigation. For clarity of the issue, the paper will begin by giving an overview of the concept of ADR. Use and Cost of litigation According to Nolan-Haley litigation has be en mostly used as a traditional way of resolving disputes, whether they are local or international business transactions.4 Prior to the introduction and development of ADR process such as arbitration, the only formal method or resolving disputes between two or more parties was litigation. In the same way equity was introduced in the English legal justice system which came in stages to control the ruthlessness and inflexibility of the common law, is the way ADR was introduced to control litigation. Litigation is a costly process for businesses, particularly in cases that involve significant issues such as patent, infringement, breach of important business contracts, antitrust laws and securities. In these cases, a lot of money could be lost by a company. For example Real Networks Inc, a public traded company in its 2004 annual press report indicated that it has used about 15,000,000 in only one antitrust litigation case.5 This goes on to show how costly litigation is, and this aspect of court cases is well known to companies. It is because of such cases that ADR methods have become more popular as a way of resolving disputes. Indeed, records from the American Arbitration Association indicated that in 2005 alone, the number of cases forward to the body was 142,000, an increase from 159,000 recorded in 2004. However, the most common ADR method used to resolve disputes is arbitration, which in the past ten years has been highly used by various companies in resolving their disputes. Shamir explains that, the high costs of litigations are caused by the long duration related with litigation. In many cases, litigation goes on for years before a conclusion is made.6 This occurs owing to the slow system of the courts and judges in completing cases and the many adjournments made. Therefore as the cases drags on, the costs also keeps increasing. In other cases, the net expenses of litigation can be impacted by other factors like the sum of money under dispute, the nature of the legal representative , the nature of the dispute (if its local or international) and the length of case. This means that the total cost of the litigation can not be predicated correctly and this makes budgeting for such a litigation to be a tough call. A good example is a case that involved AMOCO CATs7, which ended up as a high profile case. The amount of money spend on that case from the time the case started to the end of the case was 12 million pounds. Again, in another case of Amoco V. British American Offshore, the legal expenses of that case stood

Software Development, QA, Anti-Piracy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Software Development, QA, Anti-Piracy - Essay Example al havoc upon corporate entities, the strategies which companies employ for both the design and implementation of their corporate policies are of singular importance. Referring to both theory and practice, this essay will investigate the strategies companies utilize for the design and implementation of their security policies. Todorov (2007) highlights the imperatives of implementing physical security policies. Even while conceding to the importance of automated, computer-mediated security systems, Todorov (2007) contends that the importance of physically securing sensitive sites within a company cannot be overlooked. Concurring, Fernandez and Sinibaldi (2003) explain that the securitization of sensitive physical sites within a corporate structure is comprised of four principle components. First is the management of physical locations, whereby the access control system policy should be designed and implemented with the purpose of controlling access to locations/sites. Second is the control of who may access a restricted room. As different types of employees may have access to different areas/sites within the company, it is necessary to implement an authentication and authorization role-based access control system. The said role-based access control system does not simply identify who may and may not acces s particular sites but keeps logs with appropriate auditing facilities of the employees who entered each room at any particular time and date. Thirdly is the design and implementation of application interfaces which allow administrators to create new permissions, users and locations which, in turn, would allow supervisors to generate audit reports to survey access to rooms and to allow users to change passwords, among others (Fernandez and Sinibaldi, 2003). The often technology mediated securitization of access to physical sites is dictated by the imperatives of ensuring that no unauthorized persons are able to gain access to sensitive data or, indeed,