Compare the ways in which language is used for effect in the two texts. Give some examples and analyse the effects Essay

The two sources that I am going to compare are Source 3 and Source 2. Source 2 is an article aimed for anyone who is interested in swimming or even people who like to read about incredible accomplishments made by other people. The text is formal and is about Philippe Croizon who in 2 years learnt to swim without his limbs. He lost of all of his limbs in 1994 while he was removing a television aerial from a roof and it hit a power line. However source 3 is a book extract aimed at adults who like reading about geography in general. The text is formal and is about Christopher Ondaatje who crosses part of Lake Victoria. On his journey there he talks about the spectacular sunrise he sees behind Mwanza. He also talks about the experience with ferry rides and the past experience about one of those ferries going down just outside Mwanza and that people were killed. In comparison with source 3, source 2 is a happier and also more exciting and the reader feels more drawn to the fact that after 16 years after losing all of his limbs, Philippe Croizon crosses Channel than the fact that in source 3 the story is taken more calmly and less exciting to be taking a ferry across the lake. Furthermore, in source 2 the contrast between the fact that the man, 2 years ago â€Å"could barely swim at all† and him saying after the channel swim â€Å"I did it. I’m so happy† is evocative. Moreover, this shows that despite the fact that he lost all of his limbs, he could still do something incredible which occurs at the beginning of the article, engaging the reader and setting a tone of excitement and most of all pride. However in source 3, there are only a few evocative moments in the extract – â€Å"the fish eagles screeched their mocking cry†, â€Å"spectacular sunrise†. However none of which express excitement or pride. The difference in language used for effect is that in source 3, short sentences are employed to enhance meaning and effect: â€Å"an idyllic spot†, â€Å"no other sounds†, â€Å"spectacular sunrise†, the alliteration of the ‘s’ add an emphasis to the experience of them looking at the sunrise and the reader is able to emphasise with them. However in source 2, the language used is that alliteration occurs with â€Å"treacherous tides† â€Å"sofa sportsman† for emphasis –just like in source 3, and engagement. Moreover, the similarities between these 2 sources is that they both have an element of drama in the texts. In source 3, we are left with not knowing if they make it across the lake in the ferry because â€Å"a year earlier, one of these ferries went down just outside Mwanza, and people were killed† this makes the reader shocked and eager to carry on reading. However in source 2, the element of drama is when the text explains how the man lost all of his limbs, â€Å"Mr Croizon’s legs and lower arms were amputated after he suffered a calamitous electric shock while removing a television aerial from a roof in 1994 when it hit a power line†. This leaves the reader with the unanswered question of how did he manage to do it, which leads into wanting to read the rest of the text. The language used in both texts is formal. The reader is able to read with ease as the texts are informative. In source 2 – â€Å"an average channel swimmer takes around eight hours†, â€Å"21 miles from Folkestone to the French coast†. In source 3 – â€Å"Mwanza, a vibrant African city†, â€Å"the people pressed up against the front of the ferry, along the sides and against the rails†

Legalized Red Light District in Canada

They say that prostitution is perhaps the oldest profession in the world. Ancient books, including the Bible, provide account of different activities pertaining to prostitutes.Whether in the setting of religious practices or in social contexts, prostitution appears to be a part of the lives of men and women in all places and in different times throughout history. In developing countries as well as in developed countries, there are red light districts.Although the laws of most countries prohibit prostitution, probably because of the influence of the Judeo-Christian tradition, it is an open secret that these red light districts continue their operations. Some countries, however, such as the Netherlands and Thailand, have implemented a rather unconventional approach to the issue and that is to legalize prostitution.A number of interesting issues arise out of this. From a policy standpoint, is it better to legalize prostitution since its existence in the society cannot be denied by peopl e? If so, what are the implications on this on the values of the society?Does it matter if the issue is brought out into the open? On a cursory glance at the issue, with legalization, the government can help ensure that women working as prostitutes are free from sexually transmitted disease, thereby protecting both men and women from these illnesses.Likewise, the government can help regulate the number of prostitution centers operating in any given city and there will be a better reckoning of the number of prostitutes serving in the country.On the other hand, there might be important implications of this policy on several institutions of the society, not the least on marriage and the family. Likewise, there are religions who feel strongly against prostitution—legal or otherwise. Given these concerns, which course of action should governments take?This paper looks at the issue in broader terms by looking at the pros and cons of the legalization of prostitution and a red light district. The experiences of the countries that legalized prostitution will also be looked at such as Thailand, the Netherlands, and Germany. Through this, there will be a grounded view on the matter. It will also explore the matter of legalizing prostitution in Canada while taking into account the legal, social, and cultural impacts of this kind of policy.Legalized Prostitution: the ProsProstitution, in itself, is already a very contentious issue. The issue of legalizing it and decriminalizing it is also a contentious one, especially for organizations, even religious denominations, and individuals advocating for women’s rights. The issue itself is complex and requires careful analysis if any given society were to make a stand regarding legalizing prostitution.Several countries have already legalized prostitution. The examples of these countries are the Netherlands, some states in Australia, New Zealand, Nevada, and Switzerland. In the United Kingdom, prostitution in itself i s not illegal but there are several activities associated with it that are considered illegal. In these countries, prostitution is regulated and the governments constantly monitor people whose professions are in this area.There are also countries where prostitution is technically illegal but is allowed to flourish perhaps because of economic considerations and the poverty of people who are living in these countries (Farley, 2003).The most prominent reasons used as basis in legalizing prostitution is that it is impossible to eliminate and will only continue underground if left unchecked. Instead of letting people deal with prostitution underground, they decided to bring it out to the open so that the governments can regulate it better and prevent the occurrence or sexually transmitted diseases.Moreover, legalizing prostitution also limits sexual slavery and wresting the control away from criminal organizations promoting prostitution. This way, the government is able to generate addit ional revenue from it as well. In some instances, legalizing prostitution may also lead to greater sensitivity to the health of sex workers and their working condition, which are usually not the best of conditions.With this approach, the governments seek to take away the bond connecting prostitution and crime (Armentano, 1993).Paul Armentano (1993) presents several interesting arguments regarding the legalization of prostitution all over the world. In his article posted at the Freedom Daily, he says that prostitution can be seen in terms of ownership of people’s bodies who have the right to do what they want with it, including its sale for the purposes of sex.He also argues that thousands of American women make their living by engaging in sex work. These women have a steady flow of customers. The trouble, however, is that having sex with a prostitute is a sure way of contracting HIV and AIDS.Armentano (1993) also makes a case for better use of government funds. Instead of usi ng public funds for the crusade against prostitution, the government can redirect these funds for other more worthy spending. This money, instead, can be used to protect the public against criminals and help build infrastructures for people to enjoy. Besides, whatever war is being waged against prostitution is unlikely to win because prostitution is an enduring profession.

MACRO AND MICRO ECONOMICS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MACRO AND MICRO ECONOMICS - Assignment Example During their climax, copper was very costly in the global markets to an extent some coins made of copper were more worth than their face value. The following discussion will address the trends in the global markets of copper, their distribution and demand and ways in which the government can influence the price, demand and supply of copper. The Main Economic Trends and Features of the World Copper Market During the Period 2007-11 The United States local production and use of copper has slightly gone high in 2011 to a figure of about 1.1 million tons raising its value to approximately $ 10 billion. Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona in the ascending order of production contribute over 99% of the local mine manufacture. Copper that was refined used about 30 mills of brass, 15 mills of rod and 500 foundries and sundry end users. Copper and its alloys were consumed in the building infrastructure where about 45% were used in electronic goods, 23 % consumed in the equipment of t ransport, 12 % consumed in general products similar to the consumer goods while the industrial ware used about 8% (Ho & Yi, 2008: 538). Between the years 2007-2011 the unproduced import sources from Chile was approximately 42 %, the Canadian was about 33 %, Peru amounted to 13% while Mexico had 6 % . The unwrought copper imports comprised of 83% of the refined copper. There has been an upward trend in the prices of refined copper in the second of half of 2010 with the ending year price according to London Metal exchange reaching a record high of $ 4.44 per every pound of copper (Botchway, 2011: 355). Even though the prices have been fluctuating considerably, the price of copper has remained over $ 4 per every pound throughout August 2011 with a record high price by LME going way up to $ 4.60 per pound in February 2011. In the month of September 2011, in reaction to the crisis regarding the impact on the demand of copper from the increasing debt in the European Union and the slowing development policies in the Chinese republic, the spot price fell acutely to about $ 3.16 per every pound in the course of week 1 which was the least since 2010 July (Gleich, Ayres & Go?Ssling-Reisemann, 2010: 121). The Factors Which Led To Change in the Demand for Copper during 2007-11 However, in September, the global copper research group predicted that the world’s refined demand of copper in 2011 would go beyond the production of refined copper by approximately 200,000 tons which would elongate the deficit production that occurred in 2010 as predicaments of operations and labor unrest inclusive of the strikes in Chile and Indonesia. This would continue to strain the global output of copper mine. The global demand, consumption and production of refined copper was estimated to go high by 1.5% and 2.3% by 2011 (ILOTTMMOTCM, 2008: 14). The production in the U.S mine went up abet in 2011 as restoration of mine restrain instigated at year end 2008 were majorly counterbalanced b y a less Ore Grades at a chief producer. The production at the electrolyte refinery went down due to closure of the refinery that was experienced in 2010 that eventually treated trade in anode and to less local output of smelter, the latter leading to a high degree of exports. The Copper mine production in the United States was projected to increase by over 100,000 tons in 2012, fundamentally because of the increasing refurbishment of cut downs. The local consumption of refined copper was close to unvaried in the year 2011 (Geological Survey, 2011: 21). Moreover the boom in the construction sector in China has also granted the consumers an insatiable

International business Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

International business - Literature review Example These capabilities have changed the potentials open to the multinational firm in the strategic management of its businesses. This review of literature explores the implications of international business strategy within the context of Nokia Corporation, a multinational corporation which has seen phenomenal growth but an almost rapid decline in the last decade. Its business is situated in the digital mobile telecommunications industry, which is characterized by rapid technological innovation and intense international competition. Inquiry into the interplay of environmental changes and the corresponding positioning of the multinational corporation against its competitors may yield new insights into the strategic management of international businesses not encountered in localized businesses. 2. International Business Strategy To better understand the implications of the published reports and literature on Nokia’s global strategy and its local strategy in China, a brief survey of t he existing theoretical discussion on international business strategy is warranted. ... The word international which encompasses these concepts pertains to activities that cross the borders between nation-states; nation-states here is a combination of nation qualified by its country-level economic and sociocultural variables, and state which refers to the political attributes such as national sovereignty and national laws (p. 55). Given this starting point, international management is taken to mean â€Å"the process of planning, organizing, directing and controlling the organization, which individuals (managers) use to achieve an organization’s goals, when the organization is involved in cross-border activities or functions outside its nation-state† (Eden, et al., 2011, p. 56). Likewise, international business may be defined as â€Å"business that crosses national borders, that is, it includes the comparative study of business as an organizational form in different countries, cross-border activities of businesses, and interactions of business with the int ernational environment† (Eden, et al., 2011, p. 58). International business may be differentiated from international management in the sense that international business refers to organizations pursuing a specified goal through a cross-border undertaking for profit, while international management is the process of stewardship over an organization involved in cross-border activities, whether for profit or not, for as long as the goals are met. Finally, international strategy is the field of management that deals with â€Å"the major intended and emergent initiatives, including cross-border initiatives, taken by general managers on behalf of owners, involving utilization of domestic and/or foreign resources to enhance the performance of firms in the international environment† (Nag, et al., 2007,

Ijarah Contracts Used By Islamic Financial Institutions Essay

Ijarah Contracts Used By Islamic Financial Institutions - Essay Example It assists in strengthening the financial system of the country. The stronger the economy the stronger the country is. There are two kinds of banking systems and they are Islamic banking and the Conventional banking. Islamic banking is significantly different from conventional banking, and some of the differences are discussed in this essay. This report talks about an important feature in banking system i.e. lease. In conventional banks, it is referred to as conventional lease; and in Islamic bank, the lease is known as Ijarah. â€Å"Ijarah derives from the root word ajar a – to recompense, compensate or give a consideration and return. Ajr refers to a worker’s wage, and ujra h to rental payment.† (Kamali n.d.). Ijarah is a Shariah compliant alternative to Conventional lease. Through these two kinds of lease, bank performs as a Lessor and the individual to whom the asset is leased acts as a Lessee. The bank insists the lessee to pay an amount monthly for the use of the asset. The rights of the asset remains with the bank, and only the privileges of use are transferred to the lessee. 2. Types of Ijarah Contracts Used By Islamic Financial Institutions: 2.1 Simple Ijarah (similar to an Operating Lease) In a business world marred by financial uncertainties and increasing costs of operations, Ijarah loans are broadly considered as the safest, easiest, and the most efficient means to finance production procedures. Like all the other forms of Islamic financing, Ijarah too is rooted in the sound economic main attitude laid down by the Sharia. There are different types of Ijarah, each matched to the specific needs of the parties involved in the agreement. â€Å"The two most popular forms of Ijarah loans are the Simple Ijarah or Ijarah as an operating lease and Ijarah thumma al-bai or Ijarah as a financial lease. The distinguishing feature of Ijarah as an operating lease is that the lease contract is not associated with a purchase agreement.† (All About Ijara as an Operating Lease 2005). The following are some of the features of Ijarah as an operating lease: The whole price of the asset, or the part of property specified in the contract is not amortized through the main leasing tenure. The lessee can get out of the contract, that is, stop the Ijarah as an operating lease agreement anytime the lessee wishes to. On the other hand, the lessee should provide a notice prior to doing so. The real ownership of the piece of property or assets mentioned in the agreement is retained by the lessor. This agreement is executed irrespective of the quantity of payment the lessee has tendered, and that identifies the lessor’s insistence to bear every responsibility and risk connected with the ownership. In Ijarah as an operating lease, permits a part of the property to be returned to the lessor at the end of the leasing tenure. The lessor, which can be a bank or any other financial organization, can again lease the property, if i t is a functioning unit, to a different person or business unit. 2.2 Ijarah Muntahia Bittamleek (similar to a Financing Lease) Ijarah Muntahia Bittamleek is an Ijarah dealing, in which the possession of the subject asset can be relocated to the lessee after the lease term. Ijarah and Ijarah Muntahia Bittamleek are by nature mere leasing contracts, in which the subject issue is the usufruct of the property; and not the quantity of cash, as in the case of a finance lease. In other words, it is not a financing deal, and instead, it is an alternative to financing

Tell us about a time when you failed. How did you react What, if Personal Statement

Tell us about a time when you failed. How did you react What, if anything, did you learn - Personal Statement Example I was absent for a week in October. This put me behind in all of my studies. I found that all my grades had slipped to low Cs. My Algebra II class was also a struggle. My teacher was from Africa. This was his first math class in the United States. His teaching style did not reach me or many of my fellow students. I was determined to get back on track. My determination raised my grades to Bs, except in Algebra II, by December. At the end of the year I received two Bs and As in the rest of my classes. The lesson I learned was to not exceed my limitations. My other classmates might be able to double up, but I needed to focus on quality not quantity. I also learned life does not always go as planned. If I had not contracted the Swine Flu or had a math teacher from Africa, I might have made straight As. However, I did have the Swine Flu and a teacher from Africa. It is important to not over extend myself. I do not regret my sophomore year. That year I pushed myself beyond my limitations. Although I see it as a failure due to my grades, the lesson learned was well worth the experience. I now focus on the quality of my work instead of over extending

Economic Policy Recommendarion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Economic Policy Recommendarion - Research Paper Example Relative poverty on the other hand, refers to the economic inequality that is experienced in a particular society. In the early times, poverty was a common social problem not only for the developing countries but also for the currently developed nations. The increased poverty level was not only due to insufficient and inadequate methods but also it was largely caused by the low demand of the products thus causing low production in the factories. Absolute and relative poverty are measured in different ways. According to the World Bank, $1.25 per day is the threshold for measuring absolute poverty. However, the threshold has been controversial based on the various thresholds used by some countries. For example, in 2010, the US maintained its threshold at $15.15 per day while China placed its threshold for absolute poverty at $ 0.55 per day (Banerjee and Esther, 2011). During the same year, India maintained that its threshold was standing at US$ 1.0 per day. On its part, relative povert y is depicted by the level of income inequality. It is measured by the percentage of individuals with income that is less than the median income. This paper seeks to discuss the impact of poverty and give policy recommendation on how this social problem can be solved using an economic policy. Impacts of poverty to society Poverty affects a society in different ways. One of the key effects is hunger. Due to lack of adequate funds to purchase food produce as well as lack of sufficient factors of production that includes land, labor, entrepreneurship and capital as a result of poverty, members of the society experience reduced food. The problem of hunger especially in some African countries results to illnesses that are caused by lack of vital nutrients for body growth. Another impact of poverty is unemployment. Despite the increase in population, poor countries have not adequate financial resources to initiate investment that acts as major sources of employment. As a result, high perc entage of the members of the society remains jobless thus leading to low households income and low purchasing power (Babb, 2009). Similarly, due to low income that the poor families are get either monthly or annually, they do not see the need for education. They in most cases use their low income to purchase cheap food products. As a result of lack of adequate education, and vital skills, the poor members of the society are not eligible to be employed thus raising the level of unemployment in a country. Poverty causes discrimination within a society. For example, due to their strong financial position, high income earners segregates their poor counterparts both in schools, hospitals and even in making decisions that affects the entire society. On their part, the poor individuals experiences low self esteem and inferior aspects that deteriorates their condition (Kerbo, 2006). Based on the increased cases of illnesses among the poor countries, the governments incur high costs in the f orm of low productivity and high financial expenditure on health care. Ultimately, such governments have to seek for grants from other countries or by increasing domestic taxes thus exerting more pressure on their economy. An economic policy solution to the poverty problem Based on the negative implications of poverty to the society and to a country as a whole, it is fundamental for

MGMT499 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MGMT499 - Essay Example In terms of legal environment, strict environmental legislation results into higher costs for both discount retailers. This factor even encompasses rising awareness amongst customers which increases costs for retailers such as Walmart and Target who follows green movement (Zentes, Morschett & Klein, 2012, pp.102-103). On the other hand social environment comprise of varying income levels of customers which give an opportunity to both the retailers in relation to lowering prices and acquiring large market share. The culture prevailing in Walmart is to work in collaboration and increase efficiency of the overall team. They even focus on reducing overhead expense so that better prices can be offered to customers. The performance rate of Walmart is higher in comparison to other retailers and hence it ranks as topmost retailer across the globe. On the contrary Target has a performance ratio lower than Walmart and occupies second position amongst all discount retailers based in America. Its low performance is due to limited product range being offered in all its retail stores. However the company culture is similar to that of Walmart where team members are considered to be an integral part of the system. The promotion policies of Walmart are such that it gives more emphasis on increasing responsibilities and retaining experienced workers in the system. There were 170,000 promoted by the company in previous year with more benefits and higher pay scale. These policies are based on average performance of employees and impact of their respective performance in growth and success of the company. On the other hand Target has a different set of promotion policies as it focuses on time period which has been spent by an employee with the organization. Promotion in this company is given to those employees who possess more experience in comparison to other individuals. However the promotional benefits are similar to that of Walmart. Walmart is a big retail

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Business - Essay Example In addition, he terminated a central IT steering committee and replaced it with another new structure that pushed IT investment decisions to the line organizations. However, these operations were coordinated by the centralized IT organization. A web based service system (Cisco.com) was the primary style in use at the network level so as to spread company’s operations all across the globe. At the data level, the company employed a client-funded-project (CFP) system. This system mainly strengthened each function to control its own IT budgets. The company’s IT department enabled easy integration with acquired business organizations. To conclude, Cisco spent whatever needed on IT aiming at the operational efficiency of the organization. 2. Cisco faced many difficulties with its internal IT by 2001. The September 11 terrorist attacks and resultant internet bubble burst greatly added to the technology failure in Cisco. Lack of common order-status tool was the man issue that c aused severe issues with Cisco’s internal IT. Although, the company had nine different order-status tools at the end of 2001, none of them were providing the desired outcomes. Therefore, the company pumped more and more money toward the development of such customized tools. However, it was necessary to have some efficient customized tools so as to instantaneously check the order-status while interacting with the customers. Therefore, each company business leader separately paid to get some efficient tools that looked up data about customer orders. â€Å"As a result, each of the tools pulled data from different sources that used different definitions for key terms† (Mac Fee et al, 4). This situation caused some confusion in the organization since the multiple databases created conflicts in order-status reports. It was also observed that IT decisions were made without practicing centralized group checking for conflicts and redundancies. Similarly, lack of centralized pla nning was another major problem that had intensified Cisco’s internal IT difficulties. In the case of ERP system also, many groups had built specialized tools. Hence, the Cisco faced many difficulties to upgrade a newer version of the ERP system as it necessitated the disablement of a number of custom interfaces. As a result, the ERP system did not help more in this situation. 3. The Business Process Operating Committee (BPOC) was a cross functional decision making group established by Cisco in late 2002. This committee included major persons at the helm of affairs of the Cisco. The major objective of this group was to set and drive corporate priorities for the company. The BPOC management team mainly focused on its enterprise-wide productivity. As stated in the given case (7), so as to facilitate this function, the BPOC’s leadership dealt with formulation of key operational policy decisions, alignment of similar initiatives across the company, development of Ciscoâ₠¬â„¢s corporate business process framework, and enforcement of decisions with attention to execution and accountability. It must be noted that the BPOC was not established for funding the economic operations of Cisco. On the other hand, its main intention was to provide effective recommendations for the Cisco’s management regarding the company’s IT spending. The BPOC had a precise authority over the company operations since it dealt with projects that were

Analyzing a Written Essay Essay Example for Free

Analyzing a Written Essay Essay The two essays that I read were â€Å"A Soul as Free as the Air: About Lucy Stone† and, â€Å"How to succeed as an Online Student†. The four types of essay organization discussed in the course readings were; 1. Topic: This development organizes information about the topic in the most logical way. 2. Time order: It is using sequential order to write an essay. It organizes the information from one time period to another. 3. Space order: This deals with location of people, places or things. 4. Informative process: This is written in a step-by-step arrangement in their natural occurring order. The characteristics that make these essays expository, is that it has facts to inform about the topic. It is used in facts form and not biased.  What distinguishes space organization from time organization or informative-process organization in an essay is that Space order deals with location, Time organization refers to placing information in chronological order by date or a specific time, and Informative essay would be one that takes on a step-by-step process. The organization of each essay help the reader understand the subject matter of that essay in the essay â€Å"How to Succeed as Online Student†, it list steps to teach online students what it takes to be successful in an online atmosphere. The reader understands you must follow these steps to succeed. On the essay, â€Å"A Soul as Free as the Air: About Lucy Stone† it helped to learn about Lucy Stone, it showed the order of her achievements. On the essays that I read, the one that has the most effective organi zation was â€Å"A Souls as Free as the Air: About Lucy Stone†. I chose this essay, because it was organized from the beginning to the end, it was in the order of each of her achievements. A different type of organizational style for â€Å"How to Succeed as Online Student† if you change it to a time order or space order, then it would confuse some of the online students. The main part would be lost in the reading. It would definitely have students wanting to go to class instead of online, so the teacher could clarify things. The type of essay organization that is more suitable for my essay topic on â€Å"Warming Global; Drought,† would be Time Order, due to the heat and water levels at the time.

Report on setting up a mcdonalds franchise in UK

Report on setting up a mcdonalds franchise in UK McDonalds has been proved as successful business through the globe for quite some time now. This report aims at exploring the business potential in setting up a McDonald franchise by researching into its franchise structure. It gives information about the terms and conditions for becoming the McDonalds franchise along with the brief history of its business. It focuses on the strength and weakness of the business and discusses the macro environmental factors that may affect the franchise business. I had further focused on any problem that may arise during the functioning of the franchise and performed a VRIO analysis to check the sustainability of the business. The report end with a brief conclusion about the entire report suggestion whether it is beneficial to go ahead with the project. Introduction The fast food business is fast growing business in the UK and when talking about fast food most often the first name comes to the mind is the McDonalds. It has been a very successful business in its category for a long time now. This report discusses about setting up a franchise of McDonalds in UK and the pro and cons of owning a McDonald franchise. McDonalds has been making profits and is growing even in the current economic downturn. The figure below shows the growth of McDonald over the last year. Figure: McDonalds Historical stock chart (advfn.com, 2010) The above figure shows clear growth of the company selected to invest in getting franchise for. The growth also triggered an interest in researching for getting an franchise for McDonald and get good returns on the investment. This section is divided in to two where the first give a brief account of McDonalds business history while the later discusses the terms and condition for setting up a franchise. The data collection is majorly done from the McDonalds cooperate and associate websites. The later sections discuss the SWOT analysis and the VRIO and finally the report concludes with conclusion and recommendations. McDonalds brief history McDonalds was started by the Dick and Mac McDonald in 1940 in San Bernandino in California. It was a typical drive-in featuring a large menu and car hop services. It started as a barbeque restaurant but in 1948 the actual McDonalds was launched when McDonald brothers shut their restaurant for alterations. The menu was reduced to nine items and staple of the menu was the 15 cent hamburger. Within a year the potato chips were replaced by the world famous French fries. Through its history McDonalds kept on evolving and capturing the expectations of its customers. In 1954 a multi-mixer salesman Ray Kroc met Mc brother to sell his mixers but was fascinated by the operations. The following year in 1955 he opened the first franchise of McDonalds in Des Plaines, Illinois and by 1965 there were over 700 McDonalds restaurant through out United States. In 1958 McDonalds sold its 100 millionth hamburger and by 1959 the 100th McDonald restaurant was opened. In 1965 McDonald celebrated its 10th an niversary with its first public stock offering at $22.5 per share. 1966 saw the first TV commercial of McDonald featuring Ronald McDonald who became an instant hit. In 1967 first McDonald restaurant opened in Canada and Puerto Rico and at present it is having its presence in 118 countries. Over time McDonald kept launching products that gain individual brand images like the Big Mac, quarter pounder and happy meal. The first McDonalds restaurant in Britain opened in Woolwich, south-east London, in 1974 (mcspotlight.org, 2010). In 1978 5000th restaurant was opened in Japan and two years later it celebrated its 25th anniversary. In 1996 McDonald went online as its internet site macdonald.com was launched. McDonald has been evolving rapid in terms of product, technology and organisational strength over the years. McDonald Franchise operation The fast food industry has grown many folds in recent years with many new international and local chains competing with each other. Operating a fast food restaurant has many factors to be considered right from its competitors to the demographics and socio- cultural factors concerning its customers. In case of McDonalds the big brand name and massive advertising may help running the franchise but the most important is obtaining a franchise license. McDonalds people are very concerned about their customers and therefore very careful about whom they choose to serve their customers. The financial terms and conditions involving a McDonald franchise are as follows; The typical cost for owning a McDonalds restaurant ranges from  £125,000 to  £325,000. The investor are required to provide at least 25% of the value as unencumbered funds, the remaining 75% can be funded through a bank loan with favourable funding terms (mcdonalds.co.uk, 2010). Theres also a one-off franchise fee of  £30,000 and a training deposit of  £5,000 which is refunded when you complete your training (mcdonalds.co.uk, 2010). There are also ongoing fees. These include: Monthly rent on the premises, based on sales and profitability (usually ranging from 10% to 15%) Service Fee for use of the McDonalds system 5% of sales Contribution to the national marketing spend, currently 4.5% (mcdonalds.co.uk, 2010). And the returns? Cashflow (before debt repayment) typically ranges from  £95,000 to  £200,000 per year for each restaurant but this isnt guaranteed: it could be more, it could be less (mcdonalds.co.uk, 2010). Apart from the above terms and conditions the common questions arise about the benefit the investors get. The investors get equipment and license to operate from a location for a fix term and investors buy the profitability of the business. The McDonalds management expect its franchise owners to actively participate in the daily business of the restaurant and the franchise owners are not allowed to sell their ownership to other person without the managements permission. SWOT Analysis of McDonalds McDonalds has been a successfully evolving business since 1955 and almost half of the top corporate staff employees started as a restaurant level employee. Fortune Magazine 2005 listed McDonalds as the Best Place to Work for Minorities.(McDonalds fact sheet, 2007) The franchise owners and their staff are also required to undergo training in McDonalds. Moreover it invests around a billion USD in training its staff every year. Strengths McDonalds was ranked number one in Fortune Magazines 2008 list of most admired food service companies. One of the worlds most recognizable logos (the Golden Arches) and spokes character (Ronald McDonald the clown). Attractive McDonalds packaging are so popular among the children that according to the Packard Childrens Hospitals Centre research concluded that children age 3 to 5 prefer food given in McDonald packaging over the food without packaging. McDonalds bears a high corporate social responsibility value. They own Ronald McDonald House facilities providing very low cost room and board, food and sibling support for families with children needing extensive hospital care.They also sponsor Olympic athletes and local teams. It is global company that operates more than 23,500 restaurants in 118 countries. Their diversified presence gives them the ability to withstand economic fluctuations which are localized by country. They are very good in adapting to local cultural appeal and requirements. For example, they dont sell beef products in India and facilitate separate entranceto male and females in Middle East, as well serving Halal meat in Muslim dominated regions in UK as well. They are globally present in all major airports, and cities, along the highways, tourist locations, theme parks and inside shopping mall. Locations are selected with careful consideration and selecting the busiest locations possible. They have an efficient, assembly line style of food preparation. In addition they have a systemization and duplication of all their food prep processes in every restaurant (marketingteacher.com, 2010). McDonalds ensures strict compliance with the food quality used in its restaurants and invest producing fresh farm products. The external products used by McDonalds like cheese, yogurt, mayo etc are from top brands who ensure strict quality measures like Kraft Cheese, Nestle Chocolate, Dasani Water, Newmans Own Salad Dressings, Heinz Ketchup, Minute Maid Juice. McDonalds pioneered the provision of printed nutrition fact of its products on its packages. McDonalds offers salads, fruit, roasted chicken, bottled water and other low fat and calorie conscious alternatives. McDonalds has grown into a very big and trustworthy brand worldwide and especially in UK and US so opening a franchise in UK comes with the added advantage of the brand name which help getting the customers easily. McDonalds invests a large amount in advertising in print and motion media thus making life easier for its franchise. Weaknesses McDonalds venture into pizza making failed badly affecting their ability to compete with fast food pizza chains. They have yet to capitalize on the trend towards organic foods. McDonalds have problems with fluctuations in operating and net profits which ultimately impact investor relations. From the perspective of franchisee the problem they have to face is that they cannot use their owned property to run a franchise if it nota site of interest to McDonalds. In that case they have to bear an additional sum for renting place offered by McDonalds. Opportunities The current UK generation is more attracted towards healty or low calorie food thus McDonalds has a very good chance introduce healthy or low calorie hamburgers. Provide optional allergen free food items, such as gluten free and peanut free. It has a great scope in introduce hot beverages along with healthy breakfast option helping it compete with coffee shops and other fast food restaurants. Threats Their marketing to children often attracts criticism from parent advocate groups questioning their ethics. In Britain, McDonalds has infamously registered itself in to the record books for fighting the longest-ever libel suit in the country (mcspotlight.org, 2010). High food safety standards need to be maintained even a small contamination issue can land them in trouble. The other threats are from major international fast food restaurant chains like KFC, Burger King and Subway etc. Apart from the big names it faces potential threat from the local fried chicken chains. In order to decide on investing in the franchise a VRIO analysis of McDonald is done in the next section to test the sustainability of the venture. VRIO Analysis for McDonald franchise in UK VRIO stands for Value, rarity, Imitability and organisational support where Value is the firm ability to neutralise external threats using resources and capabilities. Rarity is control if resources in the hands of few while imitability is the difficulty to imitate in any way. Value: Mc Donald hold a high value in accordance to its brand image and exploitation of the available resources which had helped it evolved successfully for more than five decades. Rarity: The utility of the resource may be franchise oriented and spread through its breadth but the main control still remains in the hands of the top 50 management authorities. The franchisee has to follow the company rules strict to run a franchise of McDonalds. Imitability: McDonald may not be difficult to imitate in aspect of the product but its functionality is very difficult to achieve. Organisation support: McDonalds is always ready to exploit new resource and evolve and the organisation structure is well organised and provides a good support to its franchise operations. Value Rarity Imitability Organization Competitive implications Network infrastructure Yes Yes No Yes Temporary competitive advantage Diversified revenue base Yes Yes No Yes Temporary competitive advantage Leading market position Yes Yes Yes Yes Sustained competitive advantage The VRIO framework of McDonalds Looking at the above VRIO frame it can be said that McDonald has a sustainable competitive advantage and thus it seem to be vice decision to invest in the project. Conclusion The report deals with the franchise operation of McDonald and UK was selected as the location for the franchise. UK was selected on basis of the brand image and success of the franchise network of McDonalds. It has a very good customer base in UK which are very loyal as well. McDonald has good organisational support to its franchise in terms of training and publicity. It also operates a centralized recruitment drive which helps the franchise to get desired employees without having a headache to hunt for them. The SWOT analysis reveals a large number of strengths as well good opportunities to work on thus large scope to increase profitability. The VRIO analysis also indicates a competitive sustainability thus it is recommended to invest in the project.