gaurdian angels Essay Example

gaurdian angels Paper Dorothea Tanning was born August 25, 1910 in Galesburg Illinois.She was an artist from a very young age, showing interest in her free time, as she workedfirst in a library, then doing school publications, and finally a booth at Chicagos World Fair in 1931.She moved to New York and found work as a freelance commercial artist.By 1936, her career had begun, discovering dada and surrealism at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.In 1946, she painted Guardian Angels In an iconographic analysis of a Tanning painting, the viewer is easily lost in the surrealism; I am no exception.The surrealism of her pieces has left me with more questions than answers, but some conclusions can be drawn through a formal analysis, and educated guesses.When I tried to understand Tannings intent from my normal point of view, I only noticed how it was unlike reality, a dream.I hardly can understand my own dreams, much less someone elses , so I changed my point of view.I attempted to enter Tannings realm of expr ession.Inside I found the depth of Tannings perception, a work of detailed symbols and emotion. Thefirst thing I noticed in Guardian Angels was the overall feeling I got from the painting.I noticed its overall coldness and solitude.I believe this was the general intent Tanning had when she made the background blue and green; the top of the painting is the background, resembling ice creeping forward like a glacier of sheets over the beds.This creates such a cold, lonely overtone that Tanning probably felt as she painted The Guardian Angels.If I look deep into the image, as though I were standing on the sheets, I can see the coldness surrounding me with nowhere to run, the next in line to be carried off.This effect was reached deliberately by Tanning, with her use of lighting on the sheets. The blackness on the background on the right creates a sense that t

Essay on Bambi

Essay on Bambi Essay on Bambi Essay on BambiThe scene begins with the owl falling asleep and ends up with the squirrel waking up and looking back down on the owl. The owl symbolizes the night life of the nature. The owl is sleepy and falls asleep immediately just as it stops and sits on the trunk of the tree. The owl is also a symbol of wisdom which though is not always awaken that gives possible implications to the awareness of characters of the film and their ability to stay sober and awaken all the time.Steadily the camera moves upward and shows the squirrel which wakens up just as soon as the owl falls asleep. The scene implies the awakening of the nature with the awakening of the squirrel. The squirrel is vivid and active in contrast to the slow and sleepy owl. In such a way, the contrast between two types of characters clearly shows the contrast between the active and vivid squirrel and the slow, passive and sleepy owl.The meaning of the scene is quite symbolic because the transition from sleep to awakening and vice versa implies the unstoppable lifecycle which continues on and on day and night regardless of the change in the physical environment. As the owl falls asleep, the life does not stop. On the contrary, the squirrel wakes up and starts a new active life, when the owl is just sleeping being tired after the night.In such a way, the scene reveals the unstoppable lifecycle and the contrasting lifestyle of the characters depicted in the film in the particular scene.

Ratio Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Ratio Analysis - Essay Example They are of interest to the creditors to determine the firm’s ability to meet its short term financial obligations. So far the liquidity ratio of the company indicates that the liquid assets of the company are higher compared to its own average, meaning that the company as assets that can be easily be converted to cash. The indication of good liquidity ratio reduces the worry of the creditors since the business is at a position to easily pay its short term liabilities. Profitability ratios concentrate on the major areas such as asset turnover, profit margin, return on assets, and return on common shareholder’s equity. Profitability ratios are used by investors to measure the management effectiveness as shown by returns generated by the profit margin (Weygandt et al, 2010, p 723). The company’s ROE has been registering a slight decrease, from 17% in 2009 to 15% in 2011, meaning that the company is earning less returns on its capital. As calculated the highest profit margin is 4.97% in 2011 which is low, meaning that the business is not that profitable. The solvency ratio of the company is based on debts to total assets and times interest earned. It is used by shareholders and potential investors to determine financial risk of the business. When calculated in 2011 debt to total assets is 23.33% which gives a healthy indication of the company’s performance. During the same year the times interest was 8.3% which backs the claims o f the company’s financial healthiness. Therefore from the solvency ratios the management can learn that the company is capable of paying back its long term obligations (Weygandt et al, 2010, p

A number of issues that relate to health promotion Essay

A number of issues that relate to health promotion - Essay Example It occurs after the situation usually demanding time commitment which is often a challenge. The two types of practices differ in terms of when they occur. There are several models that have been developed to describe the reflective practice; among these is the Gibbs model (1988) where an individual describes what happened after an experience and looks into the feelings involved in the situation. After which, one evaluates whether the experience was good or bad and makes an analysis of the sense of the situation before concluding on the varied actions they could have taken. Following this, an individual develops an action plan by considering what they will do if the same situation came up again. This model differs slightly to the Atkins and Murphy’s model (1994) where an individual is aware of a situation which they try to describe including thoughts and feelings. They then engage in an analysis of the thoughts and feelings that relate to the situation by identifying the challe nges and exploring alternatives. An evaluation of the relevance of the knowledge by asking if resolving the problem would help and the completeness of the use of knowledge follows. After which an individual identifies the lessons learnt from the experience. I would opt for the Atkins and Murphy model because, it offers a prior evaluation to a situation where one analyses a new experience and indulges their thoughts and feelings by considering the challenges that relate to the situation and exploring alternatives before engaging in the resolution of the problem. It also provides for the identification of lessons learnt from the experience. Task 2 There are a number of areas that have been identified as successful in... This paper focuses on a number of issues that relate to health promotion. The World Health Organization refers to health promotion as the process of increasing health control by an individual. According to the Lalonde Report from Canada, health promotion is a science of helping people change their lifestyles to move toward optimal health. This concept focuses not only on individuals but also on a wide range of ecological and social interventions. Deteriorating health seems to be a worldwide concern. Majority of individuals tend to neglect their health until it is late to make amends. Few people go for screening services to enable them detect chronic diseases in their early stages, ignoring the idea that prevention is better than cure. This could be partly because of high charges or inaccessibility of the services. A number of scholars have attempted to find ways of promoting health. In Australia, schools are being advised to adapt a vegetable and fruit policy, nurses are requested to take up a responsibility in advising individuals on tobacco smoking. Various approaches have been designed to explain adaptation processes by individuals like the Gibbs and Atkins & Murphy models as well as campaigns are being identified to help promote health. Health promotion projects like the Cervical screen Singapore connotes a cervical cancer screen usually conducted nationwide to women aged 25 once every three years.

Social Media and Psychological Disorders

Social Media and Psychological Disorders Topic: Social media is a perfect environment to promote appearance concerns and eating disorders. It has long been known that exposure to traditional types of media, such as magazines, movies, and television, can increase body image concerns in youths (Tiggermann & McGill, 2004; Tiggermann & Polivy, 2010). Given that young people are now turning to Internet sources rather than print media, the potential impact of social media on body confidence should not be overlooked. In this essay, I would argue that social media has a negative influence on body image concerns and can lead to detrimental consequences.   Much research has indicated that mass media is considered the most influential and pervasive cause of body dissatisfaction (Thompson, Heingberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1999; Tiggermann, 2011). Internalisation of body perfect ideas and the stereotypes about body size begins when girls are as young as 3 years-old. It begins with baby girls exposure to mass communicated images of Barbie dolls, then moves to television advertisements and programs that celebrate ultra-thin models. It then culminates in early adulthood with appearance-focused conversations, fashion-focused stories, and picture-sharing on social networking websites. These factors have been found to promote unattainable beauty ideals of often photo-shopped women who are usually young, have a perfect body ratio and are incredibly thin. Although traditional media are still widely consumed, new forms of media or the Internet are being increasingly accessed. As of June 2017, approximately 52% of the world’s population has access to the Internet (Internet World Stats, 2017). Recent studies show that, as in traditional media, there are many places on the Internet that promote the stereotypical ideals of feminine beauty. For example, an analysis of advertisements aimed at adolescents on the Internet indicates that most figures used in the advertisements were young, thin, and attractive females (Slater, Tiggermann, Hawkins, & Werchon, 2011). Additionally, Tiggermann and her co-researchers found that Internet usage was related to greater internalization of thin-ideal, appearance comparison, body dissatisfaction, and the drive for thinness (Tiggermann & Miller, 2010). Associated with the rise of the Internet are Social Networking Sites (SNSs). As of June 2017, there are 2.46 billion social media users around the globe, and 71 percent of internet users were also social network users (Statista, 2017). Social media sites differ from the traditional mass media in several ways. First of all, a large proportion of social networking sites are peer-generated, which means users are simultaneously information sources and receivers. Second, by affording users the ability to shape, customise and direct online interactions, contemporary media transforms what were once passive receivers of the formerly popular mass media, into full-fledged communicators, with self-efficacy, and personal agency. Third, social media are more personal than conventional impersonal mass media. Users can bond with each other using technology, and content can revolve around the self. Fourth, social media are interpersonally rich tools that offer graphics apps, videos, and transformative multi-media cues that give the feeling of presence, lending the opportunity to transport individuals to psychologically involving domains that can encourage suspension of belief and attitude change. Finally, while mass media has a large heterogeneous audience, social media sites cater to communities of individuals with the same interests, ideas, and opinions. They are fundamentally media of ones peers. An amount of research on sociocultural factors and body image has emphasised the role of social comparisons in explaining media effects on body image concerns (Thompson et al. 1999). According to social comparison theory, people find it diagnostic and functional to compare themselves to others, especially to those who have similar attributes that are central to their definition of self. This has important implications for the effects of social media. Aforementioned, social media are the domain of peers, and peer comparisons are greatly salient to adolescents. In addition, upward social comparisons with attractive peers can actually lead to more negative self-attractiveness ratings than comparisons with attractive models in advertisements, who are less similar and in a less diagnostic comparison group. Social media are full of pictures of peers and create a favourable environment for social comparisons. Negative comparisons can be particularly likely on social media when young women c ompare their pictures with peers without knowing that those photographs might be digitally edited. More specifically, one experimental study indicates that upward social comparison can occur with social media profiles. Both male and female participants reported negative emotional states and showed some signs of body dissatisfaction when they viewed profiles with physically attractive photographs, meanwhile, those who viewed unattractive users profile pictures reported less negative emotional states (Hafekamp & Krà £mer, 2011). Previous studies show that exposure to peers who closely match the thin ideal has been found to increase body dissatisfaction in women (Krones, Stice, Batres, & Orjada, 2005). It is also interesting to note that comparisons to peers and models can lead to different results in regard to womens body image concerns. The reason is the appearance of peers seems to be more realistic and attainable than the appearance of models or celebrities because peers often have the same resources and lifestyle to oneself. In addition, in social media contexts, peers are not the only targets of social comparisons but online models or celebrities are as well. Beautiful pictures of models and celebrities are shared and posted on many social platforms such as Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. They are usually airbrushed to remove any flaws and this, in combination with the efforts of professional staff (such as hairstylist, make-up artists, photographers, etc) ensures that there is a huge gap between what is thought of beautiful and what can be attainable. We are aspiring to an ideal that does not exist, when constantly exposed to images of unrealistic men and women that have been digitally constructed.   When we look at the negative influences of social media on body image concerns, exposure is not the only factor, we also need to look at the ways in which social media is used. Using social networking sites is far different than passive exposure to traditional mass media. It is an interactive process, users are capable of creating and presenting their own media content while also viewing content created by others. A classic perspective of mass communication is uses and gratifications. It indicates that individuals use media to satisfy needs, seeking gratifications to fulfil motives and deriving gratifications from media use that can be both psychologically functional or dysfunctional (Rubin 2009). When applied to social media and body image concern, it suggests that individuals who are vulnerable to body image disturbances will seek gratification from social media. Young people who have low self-esteem and high thin-ideal internalisation are likely to seek gratification from social media. They may check their profile pictures online to satisfy reassurance needs, spending a considerable amount of time looking and comparing their pictures to those of their less attractive peers to validate their appearance, or sharing pictures of celebrities and models to ritualistically escape appearance-related personal distress. By doing this, they try to satisfy psychological appearance-gratifying needs and convince themselves they fit the thin-ideal of others. Eventually, young people usually end up feeling disappointed and hurt because the ultimate satisfaction of these needs cannot come from external sources but can only be found internally. Social media also unabashedly promote anorexic and bulimic lifestyles through a lot of pro-anorexia or pro-ana and pro-bulimia (pro-mia) Websites (Levine and Chapman 2011). Nowadays, there are many websites that devoted to promoting pro-anorexic ideals. They usually contain positive represent of an anorexic lifestyle; religiously-based metaphors; and more than 10 core themes, for example, perfection (the norms linking thinness with perfection), transformation (eating disorders can transform a person from ugly and fat to thin and beautiful), and success (the association of success with strength and ability to keep the weight off). In addition, Healthy Living blogs promote the image of thin appearance and deliver disordered nutritional messages, and also containing self-objectifying messages about women (Boepple and Thompson 2013). Two experiments indicate that exposure to pro-ana Websites exerts a number of negative influences, such as lower self-esteem, and decreased perceived attrac tiveness of oneself (Bardone-Cone and Cass 2007). Pro-mia Websites can also have harmful effects for young women (Levine and Chapman 2011). In conclusion, traditional media has long been known for its negative influence on body image concerns and behaviours through the promotion of body perfect ideals, but there are far fewer studies on the detrimental impacts of social media. In this essay, I argue that social media provides a perfect environment for negative social comparisons and gratification that could lead to appearance concerns and eating disorders amongst users. References Bardone-Cone, A. M., & Cass, K. M. (2007). What does viewing a proanorexia website do? An experimental examination of website exposure and moderating effects. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 40, 537–548. doi:10.1002/eat Boepple, L., & Thompson, J. K. (2013). A content analysis of healthy living blogs: Evidence of content thematically consistent with dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 47, 362–367. doi:10.1002/eat.22244. Dittmar, H., Halliwell, E., & Ive, S. (2006). Does Barbie make girls want to be thin? The effect of experimental exposure to images of dolls on the body image of 5–8-year-old girls. Developmental Psychology, 42, 283-292. Dittmar, H. (2009). How Do â€Å"Body Perfect† Ideals in the Media Have a Negative Impact on Body Image and Behaviors? Factors and Processes Related to Self and Identity. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 28(1), 1-8. doi:10.1521/jscp.2009.28.1.1 Fardouly, J., Diedrichs, P. C., Vartanian, L. R., & Halliwell, E. (2015). Social comparisons on social media: The impact of Facebook on young womens body image concerns and mood. BodyImage, 13(SupplementC), 38-45. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bodyim.2014.12.002 Ferguson, C. J., Muà ±oz, M. E., Garza, A., & Galindo, M. (2014). Concurrent and Prospective Analyses of Peer, Television and Social Media Influences on Body Dissatisfaction, Eating Disorder Symptoms and Life Satisfaction in Adolescent Girls. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(1), 1-14. doi:10.1007/s10964-012-9898-9 Haferkamp, N., & Kramer, N. C. (2011). Social comparison 2.0: examining the effects of online profiles on social-networking sites. Cyberpsychol Behav Soc Netw, 14(5), 309-314. doi:10.1089/cyber.2010.0120 Internet World Stats (2017). World Internet Users Statistics and 2017 World Population Stats. Retrieved: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm Kim, J. W., & Chock, T. M. (2015). Body image 2.0: Associations between social grooming on Facebook and body image concerns. Computers in Human Behavior, 48(Supplement C), 331-339. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.01.009 Krones, P. G., Stice, E., Batres, C., & Orjada, K. (2005). In vivo social comparison to a thin-ideal peer promotes body dissatisfaction: a randomized experiment. Int J Eat Disord, 38(2), 134-142. doi:10.1002/eat.20171 Levine, M. P., & Chapman, K. (2011). Media influences on body image. In T. F. Cash & L. Smolak (Eds.), Body image: A handbook of science, practice, and    prevention (2nd ed., pp. 101–109). New York: Guilford Press. Perloff, R. M. (2014). Social Media Effects on Young Women’s Body Image Concerns: Theoretical Perspectives and an Agenda for Research. Sex Roles, 71(11), 363-377. doi:10.1007/s11199-014-0384-6 Rubin, A. M. (2009). Uses-and-gratifications perspective on media effects. In J. Bryant   Ã‚   & M.    B. Oliver (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research (3rd ed., pp. 165–184). New York: Routledge. Slater, A., Tiggemann, M., Hawkins, K., & Werchon, D. (2011). Just One Click: A Content Analysis of Advertisements on Teen Web Sites. Journal of Adolescent Health, 50(4), 339-345. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.08.003 Statista (2017). Number of social media users worldwide 2010-2021. Retrieved 30/10/17 from: https://www.statista.com/statistics/278414/number-of-worldwide-social-network-users/ Thompson, J. K., Heinberg, L. J., Altabe, M., & Tantleff-Dunn, S. (1999). Exacting beauty: Theory, assessment, and treatment of body image disturbance. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Tiggemann, M. (2011). Sociocultural perspectives on human appearance and body image. In T. F. Cash & L. Smolak (Eds.), Body image: A handbook of science, practice, and prevention (2nd ed., pp. 12–19). New York: Guilford Press Tiggemann, M., Polivy, J., & Hargreaves, D. (2009). The processing of thin ideals in fashion magazines: A source of social comparison or fantasy? Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 28, 73-93. Tiggemann, M., & McGill, B. (2004). The Role of Social Comparison in the Effect of Magazine Advertisements on Womens Mood and Body Dissatisfaction. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23(1), 23-44. doi:10.1521/jscp.23.1.23.26991

Detriment of PSA Screening Essay -- Medical Research

Arguably the most essential and indispensable aspect of life is the attainment and preservation of good health. Individuals with health-related complications are often prevented from leading what many would consider to be a normal lifestyle. One of the several ailments that impedes typical human functioning is prostate cancer. The community of experts and professionals who have dedicated their lives to this field of study are, at this time, engaged in a substantive yet divisive and strongly opinionated dispute regarding a test considered by some to aid in the detection of this cancer. This highly scrutinized test is known as the prostate-specific antigen test, more commonly referred to as the PSA test. In the United States and more broadly the world today, the prostate-specific antigen test yields little or no positive results while having the potential to generate damage and destruction and, therefore, should not be administered on a regular basis as a means of detecting this form o f malignancy. Cancer of the prostate has retained its place as the leading source of cancer apart from the melanomas and carcinomas of the skin. In addition, this disease is the second leading killer among men in the United States that pass away due to cancer.1(p164) What then is the reason for such a polarized dialogue concerning a simple diagnostic tool that is relatively painless and noninvasive? The discussion on this issue, although simmering throughout the scientific and medical fraternity for a lengthy period of time, was in fact brought to a boil and to the forefront of the news in October of 2011 when a group known as the United States Preventative Services Task Force released their findings on the issue. The USPSTF report, considered to be... ...versy reignites ‘over-screening’ debate. PBS News Hour Website. 2011. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2011/10/psa-testing-controversy-reignites-over-screening-debate.html Accessed March 13, 2012. 4. Parker-Pope T. Prostate cancer screening shows no benefit. New York Times Online. 2012. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/06/embargoed-no-benefit-from-prostate-cancer-screening/ Accessed March 13, 2012. 5. Cauley DH. Chapter 150. Prostate Cancer. In: Schwinghammer TL, Koehler JM, eds. Pharmacotherapy Casebook: A Patient-Focused Approach. 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2011. http://www.accesspharmacy.com/content.aspx?aID=55624057. Accessed March 13, 2012. 6. Allan GM, Chetner M, Venner P, et al. Furthering the prostate cancer screening debate (prostate cancer specific mortality and associated risks). Can Urol Assoc J. 2011; 5(6):416-421. DOI: 10.5489/cuaj.11063

Issues Identified Essay

1) The first issue of the case is whether Harry Hepburn, the president of Southern California Division of Robinson Brothers Homes should make the projection on the specific project more optimistic or not. By making the revenue forecasts more optimistic, the most likely outcome is that the project will be undertaken and his team of employees will keep their position. Otherwise, at the current estimated return projections, the project is expected to be declined, and Harry’s team will be partially laid off in accordance with the Robinson Brothers Homes plan on cutting costs as the company faces the slowing down market and decreased profitability. 2) The second issue of the case is to evaluate what can be done to either decrease the required IRR benchmark related to this project or to increase the expected IRR of the project. Due to decreasing margins on their recent construction projects RBH needs a project to bring their revenues and profits up for the upcoming years. RBH’s Southern California division (one of 15) and its VP Michael Borland have come up with a prospective project â€Å"The Platinum Pointe Land Deal† which has potentials to increase profits and revenues. The issue with it remains is that the project has a IRR of 21 and for a project like this Michael Borland and his division has calculated a required IRR of 24.5. Issue Prioritization: Both issue seem to be equally important, however it seems that IRR issue should be attempted to be resolved first: if the required IRR can be lowered without making the forecast too optimistic, Harry will not need to solve this difficult ethical dilemma at this moment. Alternative Generation: * Increase IRR * Decrease required IRR (risk) * Don’t’ change Ethical Problem: 1. Harry submits the forecast as planned. Consequences: project will be rejected and the division will be downsized 2. Harry makes the forecast more optimistic. Consequences: Project gets funded and employee layoff could be averted. RBH would lose credibility with joint venture partner if the project earns less  than the forecast. And some problems in ethical position. Evaluation of Alternatives: Way to increase IRR/decrease required IRR: [As Harry directly supervises the executives and the issue is about financial returns, the results control is the most appropriate for this issue.] 1) Let VPs know about the problem and the fact that this project is critical for the continuity of the division as is. VPs are: Operations, Sales and Marketing, Land Development, Land Acquisition, and Accounting. This understanding will help to establish the link between performance and compensation. 2) Together, they should come up with ideas and set specific goals for increasing IRR and/or lowering risk of the project in their functional areas. The targets set for VPs should be aligned with their functional areas/responsibilities as much as possible. If some targets involve more than one area, they should know specifically with whom should they cooperate to achieve success on that mutual goal. The idea behind it is that VPs should know specifically how can they influence the project’s IRR and risk, so they would feel responsibili ty and ability to influence and achieve their own specific targets. Second, the goals have to be as specific as possible, so that VPs would know how much more effort should they put to succeed. Specific possible solutions: * By not making the purchase (investment) until all political issues are resolved (June 2007 is the expected date), the political risk can be decreased to minimum saving 1.5% in required IRR. * With the appropriate goals and strict incentives are set for VPs as discussed above, the risks in development, market, and financial areas may be reduced by further cumulative 1.5%. Measures to be taken may include: hedging the interest rate risk with derivatives (financial), making early sales (market), securitization of debt (financial), overseeing the construction process thoroughly to ensure its timeliness (development), etc. It is important that other projects of this division, which are currently under way, would not be neglected or paid less attention to. They are also crucial for the division’s success (637 homes in 2006 and $235 in revenue). Harry should oversee their work in order to ensure that no risk manipulation and  unjustified assumptions/forecasts take place. Ethical issue [There are really no alternatives for this issue – there is only a question: â€Å"Should Harry stretch the forecast a bit or should not?†] * Harry’s action of making the forecast a bit too optimistic will not be left unnoticed by VPs. As a result, they may begin making dishonest acts on their own in the future acting on the example set by the president. (The cultural control may get broken.) * The management owns the fiduciary duty to its shareholders, as it is trusted with assets to manage. Shareholders interests should be put ahead of their own. According to the stockholder ethical model, the maximization of shareholders’ profit/wealth is of utmost importance. * Southern California Division of RBH represents a large portion of company’s business: in 2006 it is projected to sell 637 homes, while 2000 were built by RBH in total. Thus, the failure in this division may cause the financial difficulties on the company-wide level affecting other employees as well. According to the stakeholder ethical model, the acceptance of the project of higher risk would also be unethical. * If they accept, then in case of the unfavourable scenario, the company is likely to sell this project at a larger loss, as other development companies are likely to employ the similar IRR model for determining projects’ NPVs. Possible conclusion: in this case, under both stockholder and stakeholder ethical models, the project with the higher risk than required should not be accepted. Recommendation Decrease IRR. Implementation Issues Move discussion of incentives part from alternatives evaluation to here. * additional discussion on ethics (evaluation of alternatives) * additional discussion on IRR ((evaluation of alternatives) * implementation details Kurt: 1. Introduction: RBH is a medium-sized homebuilder. The company built single- family and higher-density homes, such as townhouses and condominiums. Its headquarters staff located in Denver, Colorado, and 15 divisions located in most of the metropolitan areas. 2. Problem Statement and Analysis: The market of the Southern California Division served had slowed, the division has to make price concessions in order to sell its homes. However, the construction costs were continuing to rise. Action controls: reduce cost , budgets , review and approval Harry wants to do the project (Platinum Pointe) which promises to provide over $100 million in revenue and nearly $ 14 million in profits in the 2008-11 time period. But the IRR of the project is only 21%, which is below the minimum required for a project with this level of risk – 24.5% ————————————————- The stock price had declined almost 50% from the all- time peak in 2005. POSSIBLE ADVICE Each division was self-contained, with its own construction supervision, customer care, purchasing, sales and marketing, land development, land acquisition, and accounting staffs. ————————————————- Redundancy : Assigning more people to a task than necessary The lag between acquisition of the land and sale of the final house built was three- five years. Reduce the business cycle The homes will be built in two formats: a triplex townhome and a six- plex cluster home, but the format had not been previously offered in Southern California. The residents of Southern California may not accept these kinds of formats. Harry and Michael want to lower the required IRR or to raise the projected IRR to ensure that the project would be approved. Personnel controlsï ¼Å¡have a conscience that leads them to do what is right find self-satisfaction when they do a good job and see their organization succeed Ethics and morality Annie: Background: RBH builds single-family and higher-density homes, such as townhouses and condominiums. RBH often had to make significant price concessions and construction costs were continuing to rise. The stock price had declined  almost 50% from the all-time peak in 2005. Because the homebuilding started slowdown in early 2006, so finances were expected to be much tighter in 2007. Harry, the president resisted the idea of downsizing of the division in 2007 and wanted to keep employee team intact. RBH spends considerable effort in preparing formal land acquisition proposal, which examines the proposed building project from housing development type, construction challenges and costs, marketing prospects, and environmental concern. The Platinum Pointe deal is a large one that would bring in considerable revenue and profits in the 2008-2011 time periods. Issues: 1. Modification of risk rating procedure RBH’s procedure requires the identification of risk in four areas: political, development, market, and financial. The risk of each project in each of these four areas must be rated as low, moderate or high. The higher a project’s IRR, the more desirable it is to undertake the project. Michael was disappointed about the Platinum Point site project because the IRR was only 21%, while the minimum required IRR for a project of this risk should be 24.5% (3.5% variance). The problem of existing risk rating procedure? How to assess the risk rating? By who? Recommendation? 2. Joint venture with other homebuilding company Advantages and disadvantages Recommendation? 3. Ethical problem- Harry contemplates preparing projects that were a little too optimistic to ensure that the project would be approved. Harry tries to disclose the degree of optimism in the forecasts or acting in a less than honest way. If Harry doing so, who will be harmed or put at risk? Waleed Issue: Due to decreasing margins on their recent construction projects RBH needs a project to bring their revenues and profits up for the upcoming years. RBH’s Southern California division (one of 15) and its VP Michael Borland have come up with a prospective project â€Å"The Platinum Pointe Land Deal† which has  potentials to increase profits and revenues. The issue with it remains is that the project has a IRR of 21 and for a project like this Michael Borland and his division has calculated a required IRR of 24.5. Possible ways to remedy this specific issue can be as follows: Solution: Increase IRR of â€Å"The Platinum Pointe Land Deal†: 1. Since the recent environment factors are forcing of margins to decline RBH may need to adapt to this situation just to have this â€Å"The Platinum Pointe Land Deal† approved. One factor identified out of the assumptions in Exhibit 3 – Purchasing Section is to allow more profit participation for the seller Jackson Development company. Currently set up as 50% share above a net 9% profit for the project. Giving the Jackson Development company a share of 52-54% above the 9% net profit will increase the â€Å"The Platinum Pointe Land Deal† overall IRR from 21% to closer to the required 24.5% (how by giving up profit will their IRR increase?) 2. Although the Southern California division is large for RBH but their overall exposure and knowledge in the area can be limited. For example, the market demand for the house structures (condo’s. Detached, semi-detached etc.) or even the market demand for amenities included (backyards, parks, garages, driveways etc..) is all the information that a local company native of Southern California will have better information of and RBH is disadvantaged to that. So the solution here is to consider a Merger and Acquisitions approach to hedge this information risk and to also expand the company as a whole. The project is large enough to justify such as move for RBH. This in fact will increase the 3 factor of IRR calculations the â€Å"Market† seen in Exhibit 3. As a result the â€Å"The Platinum Pointe Land Deal† IRR will increase bringing it closer the required 24.5%.