Virtuoso Teams Essay Example for Free

Virtuoso Teams Essay In a day-by-day shrinking world where new organizations are popping up like mushrooms on a wet forest floor, what can be the one factor that sets you apart from the rest? The common answers would be better technology, brilliant strategies, great work atmospheres and many other such options. While one can’t deny the importance of all this, isn’t it obvious that every business unit on the planet is aware of these factors and trying in their own way to improve upon them. In a world where complex and intricately-woven ideas generally sound â€Å"smarter† it is often a simple and honest idea that does the trick. While thinking of better ways of resource utilization and profit maximization, we often end up overlooking the most conveniently available resource available to us- the â€Å"human resource†. While human capital management and human resource development (HRD) may now sound like run-of-the-mill terms, companies can take these concepts beyond their conventional boundaries to chart new stories of success. â€Å"Virtuoso teams† are the call of the future. When big, discontinuous change is required, a different sort of team and leadership is needed. These Virtuoso Teams make the difference between real success and just achieving another modest result. What are these â€Å"virtuoso teams†? Are they the proverbial genies from an Arabian Nights story that can make all our problems disappear? Well, not quite so fantastic but somewhat equally efficient, these teams are an elite squad- Revolutionaries that are catalysts for big change. They are utterly unique in the ambitiousness of their goals, the intensity of their conversations, the degree of their esprit, and the extraordinary results they deliver. Not bound by the usual rules of the game, these teams comprising of brilliant individuals working together and yet always competing with one another are dynamic and charismatic in their approach. In a world where there is no dearth of talent or skill, the star achievers are no more content with their accomplishments. There is always a hunger for more. Self-actualization needs makes a majority of workers hop jobs in the search for better prospects. The talent-drain problem is one of the major causes of concern in all major companies. A great idea would be to group such star achievers in teams and put before them the toughest challenges whereby they can not only use their exceptional individual skills but also collaborate for doing something truly remarkable. Traditionalists criticize such teams branding them â€Å"too risky, too temperamental, too ego-centric, and too difficult to control†. But they forget an important fact, the innovators and change agents in today’s world are individuals with these very same characteristics. What if Mark Zuckerberg and his team of innovators had preferred â€Å"playing it safe† instead of charging ahead with their self-belief. The world never would have shrunk so close as it has through â€Å"FACEBOOK†. We may call people like Zuckerberg mavericks and temperamental even ego-centric but who can deny that feeding one’s ego is what actually keeps the crà ¨me-de-la-crà ¨me striving for continued excellence. Virtuoso Teams tell some of the most compelling and wide-ranging stories of remarkable team leadership ever assembled. These teams are intense and intimate. They assume that their customers are every bit as smart and sophisticated as they are, so they don’t cater to a stereotypical â€Å"average.† Leaders of virtuoso teams put a premium on great collaboration—and they’re not afraid to encourage creative confrontation to get it. Top companies are realizing that such teams not only engage some brilliant minds in realizing their true potential but help the company as a whole do much better. Other employees are motivated and work harder to be a part of this elite team, top management can delegate responsibilities to these teams and be sure of effective solutions and the team members have what they crave for most- jobs that challenge them to keep doing their best. The future of business enterprises can be defined through proper handling of these virtuoso teams.

Flaws in the Efficient Market Theory :: Economy

Flaws in the Efficient Market Theory According to the Efficient Market Theory, it should be extremely difficult for an investor to develop a "system" that consistently selects stocks that exhibit higher than normal returns over a period of time. It should also not be possible for a company to "cook the books" to misrepresent the value of stocks and bonds. An analysis of current literature, however, indicates that companies can and do "beat the system" and manipulate information to make stocks appear to perform above average. An understanding of the underlying inefficient "human" factors in the market equation is necessary in order to account for the flaw in Efficient Market Theory. Efficient Market Theory: A Contradiction of Terms Efficient Market Theory (EMT) is based on the premise that, given the efficiency of information technology and market dynamics, the value of the normal investment stock at any given time accurately reflects the real value of that stock. The price for a stock reflects its actual underlying value, financial managers cannot time stock and bond sales to take advantage of "insider" information, sales of stocks and bonds will not depress prices, and companies cannot "cook the books" to artificially manipulate stock and bond prices. However, information technology and market dynamics are based upon the workings of ordinary people and diverse organizations, neither of which are arguably efficient nor consistent. Therefore, we have the basic contradiction of EMT: How can a theory based on objective mechanical efficiency hold up when applied to subjective human inefficiency? As a case in point, America Online (AOL) offers a classic example of how investors can be misled by a company that uses the market system against itself. AOL, up until early November of this year, used an accounting system that effectively "cooked their books" and provided misleading figures on the company's performance. Instead of accounting for its promotion expenses and costs as a regular expense, as normal companies do, AOL spread them over two years. This let AOL report annual profits based on revenue figures derived from denying actual expenses (as cited in Newsweek, November 11 edition). By deferring those costs, AOL over the years reported profits $385 million greater than they would otherwise have been. The company then used these non-existent profits to promote itself as a money-making opportunity for both stockholders and potential investors, artificially increasing its stock prices. This accounting practice is perfectly legal, but the information was kept private for over two years. The company has recently announced that, effective immediately, promotion expenses will be charged to earnings as the expenses are incurred, the way a normal company does. AOL will also take a one-time special charge of $385 million for the

Jolli Bee Case study Essay

In 1975 Jollibee Food Corporation began as an ice cream parlor and was run by the Chinese-Filipino Tan family. After the oil crisis in 1977 Tony Tan Caktiong (TTC) expected the ice cream prices to soar. The consequence of this incident was, that the family diversified into a home-style Philippine hamburger, which was quickly desired by the customers. As a result of the big success the family opened five stores in Manila, where the family incorporated as Jollibee Foods Corporation. When McDonald’s entered the Philippine market in 1981 Jollibee had to face his first serious challenge. With already 11 in their back Jollibee was fearless and confident. Moreover Philippine customers preferred the spicy taste of their hamburgers. Nevertheless McDonald’s, who spent a lot of money in advertising, quickly exceeded Jollibee’s sales per store. The company was named after TTC’s vision where employees work efficiently and cheerfully, like bees. Through a well-developed operations management Jollibee was able to offer a consistent and efficient service and quality food. Consequently the family expanded rapidly throughout the Philippines financing all growth internally until 1993. At the end of 1993 the Jollibee Foods Corporation had a total of 124 stores with a total sales volume of 3.386 millions of pesos (see Exhibit 1). Year Total Sales (millions of pesos) Total Stores at the End of the Year Company-Owned Stores Franchises 1975 NA 2 2 0 1980 NA 7 4 3 1985 174 28 10 18 1990 1,229 65 12 54 1991 1,744 99 21 80 1992 2,644 112 25 89 1993 3,386 124 30 96 1994 4,044 148 44 106 1995 5,118 166 55 113 1996 6,588 205 84 124 1997 (projected) 7,778 223 96 134 NA = not available Exzhibit : Jollibee Philippines Growth 1975 – 1997 (Bartlett and Beamish, 2011, p. 35). Although Jollibee went public in 1993 the Tan family retained the majority ownership and kept on controlling Jollibee. BACKGROUND After the big success against McDonald’s people started approaching TTC for franchise rights. That’s why Jollibee slowly began to enter the foreign markets with investments in Singapore. With the help of friends Jollibee started a partnership with a local manager and five Philippine-Chinese investors. Soon the relationship between Jollibee and the local manager started to worsen. Therefore the franchise agreement was revoked and shut  down in 1986. Jollibee kept on moving offshore and started joint ventures in Taiwan and Brunei as well as an own store in Indonesia in the late 1980s. Because of several mistakes Jollibee was unsuccessful in every market besides Brunei. Nevertheless Jollibee decided to continue entering foreign countries. For that reason in 1994 an International Division was created with Tony Kitchner selected as Vice-president. He started expanding quickly while he was differentiating the International Division from the Philippine part. Moreover Kitchner tried to create a more formal culture for the division with a strategy, which had two main themes – â€Å"targeting expats† and â€Å"planting the flag†. Soon he remarked that the Middle East, Hong Kong, Guam and other Asian Territories would provide a good market for Jollibee since many Filipinos live there. The other strategy said, that a company always has a first mover advantage. So Jollibee started to plant the flag in countries where there was no or little competition. Jollibee expanded quickly – by 1997 Jollibee had 223 stores (see Exhibit 1). But this rapid growth also had the consequences that there was not enough advertising budget. With the growth of the international business the relation between the International Division and the Philippine organization started to struggle. That’s why in 1996 TTC realized that the Kitchner’s strategy was costing heavily and decided not to keep on supporting Kitchner. Because of that Kitchner left Jollibee in 1997 while TTC shrank the International Division’s staff from 32 to 14 (Bartlett and Beamish, 2011, p. 48). INTERNAL ANALYSIS 1 Current Situation Today Jollibee is the largest fast food chain in the Philippines, operating more than 750 stores (Jollibee, 2013). It is mainly operating on its domestic home-market where it is a dominant market leader. Moreover the company currently has more than 80 stores outside the Philippines – USA (26), Vietnam (32), Brunei (11), Jeddah (7), Qatar, Hong Kong, and Kuwait (1 each). Jollibee obviously want to grow fast and become international. For further investments Jollibee has to find out what went wrong during their first years, where foreign markets couldn’t be reached successful. Additionally Jollibee has to question if Jollibee still can be mainly family-run as their company grows very fast. 2 Strength Financial situation and leadership in local market: As already mentioned, Jollibee is the biggest fast food chain in the Philippines and owns the leadership in their local market. With over 750 stores worldwide Jollibee has strong financial resources with an operating margin of approximately 7% (net income). Although competitors like McDonald’s have two-digit margins (Google finance – McDonald’s Corporation, 2013) Jollibee shows a static growth. Their net income nearly tripled between 1992 and 1996. Moreover Jollibee Foods Corp. joined the ranks of Forbes Magazine’s top 50 Asian companies this year based on financial track records (GMANETWORK, 2013). Furthermore Jollibee’s assets seem to be bound long-term in property and inventory. Operations management capability Jollibee is a family-run business. Although there was an IPO in 1993 the Tan family still controls the business. Nevertheless they hired external managers in areas where they weren’t familiar with and local knowledge was needed, e.g. the international business. Another aspect is, that the share of own stores is relatively high – with about 40% while competitors like McDonald’s only own 20% of their stores (McDonald’s, 2013). Normally own stores demand a much higher investment than franchise stores while having a much higher financial risk of failure. Besides that the company is capable of serving good, fresh and healthy food for low prices. Key to this affordable price is a well-developed operations management. Diversity in product offering Another huge strength of Jollibee Foods Corp. is its diversity in products which is bigger than most of their competitors. Moreover, the acquisition of Greenwich Pizza and the joint venture with Deli France even increased their product margin. Company philosophy The next big strength of Jollibee Foods Corp. is their company philosophy, which was set after TTC’s vision. The so-called â€Å"Five F’s† contain â€Å"flavorful food†, â€Å"friendliness†, â€Å"fun† â€Å"family† and â€Å"flexibility†. Flavorful food: As already mentioned, Jollibee places special emphasis on good, healthy and flavorful food. The other four F’s aim to give the customer a nice stay and a nice atmosphere with their family where they can join their meal. 3 4 Weaknesses Expansion of business in international markets As already mentioned the first moves to foreign markets failed. Due to several mistakes Jollibee had to close their stores after a couple of years. The management made huge errors when they cooperated with local manager, which didn’t follow the company’s philosophy. Jollibee should have controlled the manager from the beginning and maybe they had to show them their operational management skills to fulfill their requirements, e.g. with a training or instruction. Additionally the communication within the organization has to approve so that problems between the two divisions can be minimized. Dependence on Filipinos Another weakness of Jollibee is their dependence on Filipinos. Instead of addressing to people from all walks they try to force themselves to just serve Filipinos. With a well managed marketing addressed to other citizens the demand after Jollibee products could increase and maybe lead to a expansion towards Europe. Moreover they could start promotional campaigns where Jollibee is presented as a global brand. Bias towards friends Jollibee Foods Corp. has a strong bias towards friend and relatives while selecting local franchise partners. This often led to problems. They should select their partners after their attitude to work and capability instead of friendship. EXTERNAL ANALYSIS 5 Opportunities Widen product range As previously mentioned the product range and taste of Jollibee differs from  competitors like Burger King and McDonald’s due to its Philippine origin. This is not only a chance, but also a risk at the same time. The special taste gives Jollibee the chance, that customers prefer their food. Also Jollibee should show that they only serve quality food while the price is still affordable. With a well-planned marketing campaign they could reach a competitive advantage. Otherwise Jollibee runs danger to lose the competition because of the far bigger marketing budgets and brand recognition of the established burger chains, as they face this problem in Hong Kong and California. Furthermore they could widen their product range to address people from other countries. Another option would be to include more local food items to target more mainstream American people. But as Tony Kitchner already failed with the â€Å"Jollimeal†, which is modifier for each country this has to be planned exactly. If something like that will be used again, a better communication to the customers is necessary. Untapped locations Location management is a key to success in the fast-food industry, as the number of customers increase with a well-located restaurant. That’s why another opportunity is, that the â€Å"plant the flag† strategy should be reused, but in a slightly smaller scale. Jollibee should watch out for untapped locations with fewer or negligible competition to save the first mover’s advantage or just to acquire new customers. Another option is to hire local people to get local knowledge. But in order to stay successful in foreign countries, Jollibee has to at least run 60 restaurants with a turnover of minimum 800.000 US-Dollars each. 6 7 Threats Competition One of the biggest threats and problems of Jollibee Foods Corp. is the huge amount of competitors. Moreover, these competitors, e.g. Burger King or McDonald’s, have a established brand and are well known Other At last there are several other little threats that could get problematic for Jollibee. Since the downturn in economy many people have to eat at home, because they cannot afford the costs of going out with the whole family. Another aspects are the rising operational costs, e.g. power or labor. With static increasing operational costs the profit decreased so that Jollibee will be forced to raise the food prices. Since people try to live healthier their dining habits could change, so that people could prefer dining than fast food. RECOMMENDATIONS This analysis makes one thing clear: Opening over 150 stores within 10 years is beyond the organizational and financial capabilities of Jollibee. It should grow slower and concentrate on every store opening so that it is able to generate income very quick and be able to pay back debts. Another big question is, if Jollibee is able to address to non-Philippine expats without or with less modifications. The suggestions for this three selected markets are as following: Hong Kong and the United States (California) both are huge but highly competed markets. The advantage of California is that there is a big community of immigrants as well as a big community of Philippine expats, who are the main group addressed by Jollibee. Moreover the Americans like fast food and probably like the regular Jollibee menu. However the Chinese market needs high entry costs since the demanded modifications are very high, although the customer acceptance is not guaranteed. As mentioned before, Jollibee should concentrate on few stores. That’s why it would not make any sense to enter both markets, as the financial situation is too bad. Because of a wider range of communities as well as fewer modification costs, Jollibee should try to compete on the U.S. market. Though the market in Papua New Guinea may be entered on a basis as a test, since there are only few fast food companies to compete with. Additionally, the entry costs are low. Although it is not guaranteed that the fast food will be accepted on this virgin market, the risk for a fast expansion is too high. As Bartlett and Beamish state, the so-called â€Å"Global mentality† is a key factor for the fast food industry to get successful (Bartlett and Beamish, 2011, p. 12). REFERENCES Bartlett, Christpher A., Beamish, Paul W. Transnational Management – Text, Cases, and Readings in Cross-Border Management. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2011. Print. McDonald’s. Our company. Retrieved September 14th, 2013, from: http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/our_company.html Google Finance – McDonald’s Corportion (2013, September 13). Retrieved September 14th, 2013, from: http://www.google.com/finance?cid=22568 Jollibee – About us. Retrieved September 14th From: http://www.jollibee.com.ph/about-us GMANETWORK – Jollibee, Ayala Corp., Alliance Global among Forbes’ ‘Fab 50’ Asian firms . Retrieved September 14th From: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/324133/economy/companies/jollibee-ayala-corp-alliance-global-among-forbes-fab-50-asian-firms

The Beautiful and Damned Quotes

The Beautiful and Damned is the second novel, published by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The book is about Anthony Patch, a socialite during the 1920s Jazz Age. Here are quotes from the famous classic. The Beautiful and Damned Quotes The victor belongs to the spoils. In 1913, when Anthony Patch was twenty-five, two years were already gone since irony, the Holy Ghost of this later day, had, theoretically at least, descended upon him. As you first see him he wonders frequently whether he is not without honor and slightly mad, a shameful and obscene thinness glistening on the surface of the world like oil on a clean pond, these occasions being varied, of course, with those in which he thinks himself rather an exceptional young man, thoroughly sophisticated, well adjusted to his environment, and somewhat more significant than anyone else he knows. This was his healthy state and it made him cheerful, pleasant, and very attractive to intelligent men and to all women. In this state, he considered that he would one day accomplish some quiet subtle thing that the elect would deem worthy and, passing on, would join the dimmer stars in a nebulous, indeterminate heaven half-way between death and immortality. Until the time came for this effort he would be Anthony Patch - not a portrait of a man but a distinct and dynamic personality, opinionated, contemptuous, functioning from within outward - a man who was aware that there could be no honor and yet had honor, who knew the sophistry of courage and yet was brave. To Anthony life was a struggle against death, that waited at every corner. It was as a concession to his hypochondriacal imagination that he formed the habit of reading in bed - it soothed him. He read until he was tired and often fell asleep with the lights still on. Curiously enough he found in senior year that he had acquired a position in his class. He learned that he was looked upon as a rather romantic figure, a scholar, a recluse, a tower of erudition. This amused him but secretly pleased him - he began going out, at first a little and then a great deal. Once upon a time all the men of mind and genius in the world became of one belief that is to say, of no belief. But it wearied them to think that within a few years after their death many cults and systems and prognostications would be ascribed to them which they had never meditated nor intended. Lets join together and make a great book that will last forever to mock the credulity of man. Lets persuade our more erotic poets to write about the delights of the flesh, and induce some of our robust journalists to contribute stories of famous amours. Well include all the most preposterous old wives tales now current. Well choose the keenest satirist alive to compile a deity from all the deities worshipped by mankind, a deity who will be more magnificent than any of them, and yet so weakly human that hell become a byword for laughter the world over and well ascribe to him all sorts of jokes and vanities and rages, in which hell be supposed to indulge for his own diversion, so that the people will read our book and ponder it, and therell be no more nonsense in the world. Finally, let us take care that the book possesses all the virtues of style, so that it may last forever as a witness to our profound skepticism and our universal irony. So the men did, and they died. But the book lived always, so beautifully had it been written, and so astounding the quality of imagination with which these men of mind and genius had endowed it. They had neglected to give it a name, but after they were dead it became known as the Bible.

Critique Of Fat And Happy - 917 Words

Critique of â€Å"Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance† The pressure to lose weight in today’s society constrains the personality and health of overweight people while essentially increasing the weight of those who experience these pressures (Worley 163-167). So reasons Mary Ray Worley in her article, â€Å"Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance.† Using personal experiences as well as a small number of facts, Worley disputes the reason overweight people struggle as they attempt to contribute to society (163-167). In the beginning of her article she references her membership in NAAFA, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, in order to convey the possibilities to advance humanity when society abandons judgement based on size (163-164). The association holds a conference every year, and Worley continually refers to the atmosphere at the convention as â€Å"another planet,† suggesting that the scarcity of judgment during the convention differs significantly from her everyday experiences (163-164, 167). Applying her encounters to all people of her weight category, she declares that even doctors blame the majority of sicknesses on weight (165). She also proclaims that people should not diet and exercise in order to lose weight, as this triggers loss of motivation without results, but to improve their attitude and mood (166). Referencing Dr. Diane Budd from the convention, she states that attempts to lose weight cause â€Å"lasting harmful effects on one’s appetite,Show MoreRelatedCritique on Fat and Happy Essay875 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Savannah Masters Mrs. Williamson W131 23 September, 2014 Fat and Happy? Critique In the article â€Å"Fat and Happy?†, Hillel Schwartz questions why society views fat people as pathetic and unacceptable. He argues that if it were not for â€Å"fellow citizens† (179) mocking and scorning them for being fat, they would be perfectly content with themselves. As well as stating that many people discriminate toward fat people, Schwartz also points out that physicians are giving facts about obesity that areRead MoreCritique of Mary Worleys Article: Fat and Happy Essay997 Words   |  4 Pagesoverwhelming from media and doctors. Mary Ray Worley, a member of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA), believes that modern day society is completely intolerant of obesity so much as to say that they would rather die or cut off a limb than be fat (492). She has made it a priority to convince Americans to accept obesity which she fights for in her essay, Fat and Happy: In Defense of Fat Acceptance. She believes that people should not be ashame d of their bodies, or try to change themRead MoreAnalysis Of Sartre s The Wall870 Words   |  4 Pagesthe story is about the last night of 3 prisoners awaiting their death sentence. The short story does not focus on the details of the War, instead it deeply examines the most fundament element and result of the War: death. Consequently, Sartre’s critique of the nature of the universe and nature of man is viewed through the lens of one who is anticipating death. In The Wall Sartre makes an indirect comment about happiness by depicting the void of happiness that can reside in the anticipation of deathRead MoreProposal for Research on Fast Foods Essay912 Words   |  4 Pagespounds more than they should. Schlosser comments that No other nation in history has gotten so fat so fast. In simple terms, Schlosser argues, when people eat more and move less, they get fat. In North America, people have become increasingly sedentary and consume more restaurant meals, including fast fo od. As people eat more food outside the home, they consume more calories, less fiber, and more fat. We propose some changes in the fast food industry to reduce rates of obesity and improve overallRead MoreExample Art Gallery Report Essay776 Words   |  4 PagesEXAMPLE ART GALLERY REPORT! Portrait 1 My first portrait I am going to going to critique is a oil on canvas piece by Scott Jones B. This first portrait I am going to critique is called going on four. The first thing you immediately see about the piece is the scantily clad cartoonish bee looking character set in the foreground .The piece is of a bee looking character set in the middle of theRead More`` Barbie Doll `` By Marge Percy905 Words   |  4 Pagesundergo plastic surgery to fix her â€Å"big nose† and â€Å"fat legs†. Unfortunately she ended up dying in her struggle to meet the standard that the media has placed on her at an exceptionally young age. Her untimely death is a symbol and the theme of the poem that these women will work themselves to death to meet societies demands and most of the time it is all for nothing. All this women wanted was people to accept the way she looked and not critiqu e her looks and it was not until her funeral day, whenRead MoreFight Club By David Fincher1041 Words   |  5 Pagesand perfection. As he became a slave of common franchises around him, the narrator strived to get it all. However, no matter how many things he bought, never had he achieved the definition of satisfaction. People rely on profit and possessions to be happy, but does it really help? Fight Club carries philosophical messages about money and materialism to the capitalist society in order to wake up and realize that those objects are not the key to happiness. Once the narrator bought one item from the IKEARead MoreEthical Theories And Principles Of The Ethics1576 Words   |  7 Pagesand if this produces an impossible world or some kind of contradiction then our action is wrong. The first question is that stems from the first step is, â€Å"What would happen if everyone did this?† Essentially, an action is right if you would still be happy if everyone else in the world did this. To better understand, here are a few examples of this premise. When deciding whether or not it is morally correct to lie one would go through a thought process similar to the following: We should not lie becauseRead MoreA Rose for Emily by William Faulkner1250 Words   |  5 Pagescrafting the characters in the story, Faulkner is able to critique the typical southern view of African-Americans as well as demonstrate the unwillingness of the older generations to transform their rules and ideals to match the change of society that came with the younger gene ration. Throughout the story, Faulkner uses stereotypical behaviors present in Southern culture, such as class structure and racism, in order to demonstrate and critique the prejudice occurring in Southern society. From the veryRead MoreThe Effects Of Media On The Media1466 Words   |  6 Pagescome from letting advertisements guide one’s judgement, sometimes false advertisements can have a negative impact on how a woman perceives herself. People in charge of commercials, magazines, and other ads distort their publications in ways that critique someone’s physical appearance, otherwise known as body shaming. The body shaming done by the media today can lead a woman to not only a mental illness or an eating disorder, but can also lead to a sense of body dissatisfaction. Though many women

Senioritis High School and Marking Period - 1362 Words

Josh Springer Professor Condor English 101 4 September 2013 Senior Year Struggles Senioritis is a common term frequently used to describe the typical behavior of a senior in high school. This term stands for the typical laziness seniors get accustomed to during their last year of high school, and it is a terrible habit. Most seniors display some form of this laziness, and it typically still does not affect students too much. However, for some people with severe traits of senioritis, it can be a life changing habit that can change their academic future and even their life. I happen to be one of those few people who had it brutally affect my life. Senioritis got the best of me in high school and it has affected me ever since. The†¦show more content†¦However, when I got mine back it was a flat out zero, and after class he pulled me aside. In short, Mr. Grove told me that I basically need to get almost all the points remaining in the school year just to pass the class. If I would fail, I would not be able to graduate considering four En glish credits are mandatory. At that moment I experienced a moment of shock I have never quite experienced before. I had an immediate sense of stupidity. I questioned it. For lack of a better term, I felt like a complete moron. I was so down on myself and all night I thought about what I got myself into. How I was going to get out of this was beyond me and I was lost and hopeless about what to do. I continued to be sad and depressed for a while. My life went from fun to complete misery. Through the sadness, I had to get moving on climbing out of the hole so I could graduate and pass. It is a lot easier said than done, that is for sure. My parents got involved, as well as my guidance counselor to help straighten things out. I set up a game plan of homework every night specifically for English, so I could get all the points I needed. Also, my mother and counselor advised I go see a psychologist who could help me out with my feelings of hopelessness and having someone unbiased to talk to. Everyday turned into a new struggle and my life was a day by day slow process to get out of this seniorShow MoreRelatedEssay about Using Positive Peer Pressure1839 Words   |  8 PagesValedictorian. Striving to do good in school was not something that I learned to do for myself; it was something that I did to compete with my best friends. Since ninth grade, Lettie was number one in our class. Her GPA was so high that there wasn’t much real competition with her. Everyone knew that she would be our Valedictorian. My other friends also started off to a great start with their class ranks. They seemed to finish out the top ten. During their worst marking period, they would peak at fifteen,

Contract Law Materials and Text Catherine

Question: Discuss about the Contract Law and Materials and Text Catherine. Answer: Introduction: Under the contract law, it has been provided that certain elements should be present in an agreement so that the agreement can be termed as an agreement enforceable by law or in other words, a valid contract. Therefore, in a valid contract, one party should make an offer, such offer should be accepted by the party to whom the offer was made, it should be supported by lawful consideration. Another requirement is that at the time of entering into the agreement, it should be the intention of the parties to create a legal relationship. This means that the parties should have the intention that the demand created by them should be enforceable by law. It is also necessary in this case for the parties to have the capacity to produce a valid contract. According to the first requirement, an offer has to be made (Atiyah, 1990). In this context, it is worth mentioning that an offer is different from a mere invitation to treat. Whereas if accepted, the outcome of offer is a valid contract, provi ded the other elements are present, an invitation to treat this merely made for the purpose of inviting offers from the other parties. The law of contract also requires that the offeree should accept the offer exactly in the same way. Hence, the law requires that the acceptance should be the major image of the offer. But if, while accepting the offer, the party has introduced new terms, the acceptance is not valid. In such a case, it is considered as a counter offer. In the same way, one such element is consideration that should be present in every valid contract. Due to this reason, a contract cannot be enforced by the law if consideration is not present. But in this context, it has been stated that it is not necessary that the consideration should be adequate or commercially realistic and similarly does not necessary to be expressed in monetary terms, the only requirement is that the consideration should be "sufficient". In the present research paper, it will be evaluated if the a bove statement is true. For this purpose, the relevant cases will also be explored and similarly the difference that exists between adequacy and sufficiency in terms of consideration will also be evaluated (Craswell and Schwartz, eds 1994). Before proceeding further it becomes important to discuss the meaning of the term consideration under the contract law. As mentioned above, consideration is essential in every lawful contract. This requirement has been introduced by the law contract for two purposes. The first purpose concerns the evidence for establishing the occurrence of a lawful contract among the parties. Hence, the requirement of consideration helps in evading the frauds that would otherwise happen if it becomes difficult to enforce oral promises. The other reason behind the need for consideration in a contract plays a deliberative role (McKendrick, 2009). Without this requirement, even informal statements made in routine life will also be enforceable under the law. Therefore, the need for the presence of consideration in a contract helps in establishing a distinction amid the informal statements and the statements that public intended to be enforceable by the law. Hence, this requirement helps in making sure t hat the people are not overly defensive while they are dealing with routine matters (Beale, ed. 2002). Similarly, the need for the presence of consideration also helps in making sure that the courts do not have to face a large number of unsubstantial cases related with the law contract. In this context, according to the law contract, the consideration can be mentioned as the act of the forbearance or the price that needs to be paid by one party to the other in lieu of the promise made by such a party (Carter and Harland, 2002). It is worth mentioning at this point that the lock onto it provides that consideration can be executed or executory but under the law, passed consideration is not treated as valid. The law requires that the promisee should supply the consideration but it is not necessary that the consideration also move in favor of the promisor. Consequently, it is necessary that one party should supply the consideration but it is not required that the consideration should be provided to the other. The result is that the consideration that has been provided to third parties also valid. Another important principle that is related with consideration provides that while it is necessary that the consideration ought to be sufficient but it is not required under the law contract that it should also be adequate (Collins, 2003). In order to evaluate the accuracy of the above-mentioned statement regarding consideration, the next step is to discuss the meaning of the term adequacy of consideration. It is worth mentioning at this point that generally adequacy and sufficiency of consideration are treated to be having the same meaning. The result is that these two terms are generally used interchangeably. It is generally believed that the terms adequate consideration and sufficient consideration have the same meaning. However, the law of contract provides that the terms adequate consideration and sufficient consideration have different meanings under the law of contract (Peel and Treitel, 2011). Usually adequate consideration concerns the circumstances where the person had paid the price for the subject matter of the contract by surprise is not in proportion to the value of the object. For instance if A had entered into a contract with B according to which, B is going to sell this car to A for one dollar only, it cannot be said that adequate consideration is present. However in such cases, the contract law provides that they were the predicate consideration has not been supplied by a party to the contract, such a position does not have any impact on the validity of the contract. There are only certain circumstances where a party may plead the inadequacy of consideration for establishing that the contract was the result of force/fraud/duress (Elliot and Quinn, 2005). It is clear that even if adequate consideration is not present, it will not affect the validity of the contract. It has been stated by Manners LC in Grogan v Cooke (1812) that if a fair and bona fide consideration is present, the court will not look into the consideration minutely for seeing if full and ample consideration has been supplied or not. It appears that the decision of the courts that they will not evaluate the issue of the adequacy of consideration is correct. The first reason is that it is nearly impractical that the courts will have to examine adequacy of consideration. Similarly it will also be outside the resources of the courts to find if adequate consideration has been supplied by the parties in each and every contract. A difference is present between adequate consideration and sufficient consideration. The courts have considered that sufficient consideration has been supplied if the consideration has some economic value. Other than this condition of some economic value, it is also necessary that the consideration ought to be something that is recognized by law. In this way only a lawful consideration is treated as a valid consideration under the law. There are several cases in which the courts have arrived at the conclusion that the consideration was insufficient because in these cases, there was no economic value of the consideration. Consequently, things like moral duty, natural love and affection etc. are not treated by the law as having some economic value. Hence these are not treated as sufficient consideration. The consideration is not treated by the courts as sufficient if the party that has provided the consideration was already under a legal obligation to do the act. In such cases also, the court will arrive at the conclusion that the consideration is not sufficient. In view of these rules regarding sufficiency of consideration, the consideration will be treated as insufficient if the party that has provided the consideration has only performed the duties that it was already under a legal obligation to perform. The law also provides that the consideration will not be sufficient when any public duty was imposed on the party that has provided such a consideration. An illustration of the situation can be given in Collins v Godefroy (1831). In this case, a party got a subpoena which required a party to appear in a civil case and provide evidence. Later on the other party made a promise to pay six guineas if the party appeared i in accordance with the subpoena. Accordingly, the party appeared but the other party declined to give six guineas. The issue before the court was to see if adequate consideration has been supplied in this case and therefore the promise to pay six guineas can be enforced against the other party. However the decision of the court was that the other party was already required by the law to give evidence as a result of the subpoena issued to it. Thus, as a result of the fact that the party was already required by the law to appear in the court and give evidence, this act was not considered by the court as sufficient consideration. The issue regarding the sufficiency of consideration might also occur when a party is already required under an previous contract, concluded among the same parties, to perform certain duties. Consequently, in such cases, it needs to be decided if the promise made by the plaintiff, according to which the plaintiff agreed to fulfill the promise made in an earlier contract, can be treated as sufficient consideration. The cause is that in such cases also, the plaintiff is only trying to fulfill an obligation that was already enforced on the plaintiff. The issue in Stilk v Myrick (1809) was if the sailors have provided sufficient consideration when they agreed to perform the duties of the two deserters. The reason was that the sailors were already bound by a contract with the owners of the ship which provided that they will do everything that needs to be done in an emergency to bring the ship to the port. The result was that even if a promise has been made by the captain of the ship to pay the wages of the two deserters to the rest of the crew members but the court stated that this promise was not unforeseeable. The reasoning of the court was that the rest of the crew members were already required by their contract with the ship owners to perform all the duties that have been mentioned in the original contract. Therefore, it was the opinion of the court that by performing the duties of the two deserters, it cannot be said that the other crew members have provided sufficient consideration. Therefore, the promise to give the wages of the two deserters to the crew members cannot be enforced by the law. Williams v Roffey Bros Nicholls (Contractors) Ltd.(1989) also provides an example of such a situation. In this case, Roffey Brothers had contracted with a housing society to refurbish 27 flats. For this purpose they made a contract with carpenters, Lester Williams. After some time, Williams faced financial problems as the price decided in the contract was too low. Roffey Brothers wanted that the flats should be completed on time as there was a penalty clause in their contract with the housing society. Under these circumstances, they agreed to pay extra amount to Williams but later on they refuse to pay this amount. The court stated that sufficient consideration was present because Roffey Bros have achieved a practical benefit to him from the completion of work on time. Another significant example regarding sufficient consideration was provided in Chappell v Nestl Co. Ltd. (1959). In this case it was reaffirmed that consideration should be sufficient even if it is not adequate. The court stated that even empty wrappers of chocolate bar can be treated as adequate consideration. In view of the provisions of contract law related with consideration and the important decisions of the court regarding this matter, it can be stated that the statement is accurate that the consideration needs to be adequate even if it is not sufficient. A court will not look into the matter of adequacy of consideration. Similarly, it is not for the court to determine if a fair price has been paid to the other party under a contract or not. This issue has to be decided by the parties themselves. The courts are only concerned with the fact if the consideration provided under the contract has some economic value or not. References Atiyah, P.S. (1990) Essays on Contract, Oxford University Press, New York Beale, H. (ed.) (2002) Cases, Materials and Text on Contract Law (Hart Publishing, Oxford Carter, J.W. and Harland, D.J. (2002) Contract Law in Australia, 4th Edition, (Butterworths, Australia Collins, H. (2003) The Law of Contract, 4th Edition, Butterworths London Craswell, R. and Schwartz, A. (eds) (1994) Foundations of Contract Law (Oxford University Press, Oxford Elliot, Catherine and Frances Quinn, (2005) Contract Law, 5th Edition, Pearson Education Ltd. McKendrick, E. 2009Contract Law8th edn Palgrave Peel E and Treitel,G.H. 2011, Treitel on the Law of Contract,13th edn Sweet and Maxwell ChappellCo Ltd v Nestle Co Ltd [1959] UKHL 1 Collins v Godefroy (1831) 1 B Ad 950 Grogan v. Cooke (1812) 2 Ball B 230 Stilk v Myrick [1809] EWHC KB J58 Williams v Roffey Bros Nicholls (Contractors) Ltd [1989] EWCA Civ 5