How to Make a Crystal Skull

Learn how to make your own crystal skull, for Halloween, Day of the Dead, or just decorating your space. Its an easy crystal-growing project that produces an interesting conversation piece. Crystal Skull Materials We chose borax to grow the crystal skull, but you could use any crystal recipe. One interesting option might be to grow a sugar crystal skull and place it in a punch bowl. BoraxBoiling waterSmall paper skull (I got mine at Michaels craft store)Bowl deep enough to hold ​the  skull Crystallize the Skull Make sure the bowl is deep enough to hold the skull.Pour boiling or very hot water into the bowl.Stir in borax until it stops dissolving. This project looks cool with clear crystals, but if you like, you can add food coloring to color the crystals of the skull.Place the skull in the bowl of crystal growing solution. Paper or cardboard skulls take a while to absorb the liquid, so the skull may float for a while. This is fine and usually resolves on its own, but you can weight down the skull with a glass or another bowl if it bobs up too much. Another option is to turn the skull periodically to make sure all surfaces get exposed to the liquid.Check the progress of crystal growth every couple of hours. You should have a nice crop of crystals within an hour to overnight, depending on how saturated your solution was and how quickly it cooled. When you are satisfied with the crystals, remove the skull and place it on a paper towel to dry.If you want even more crystals on the skull, take th e crystal skull and place it in a fresh solution to get a second layer of crystal growth. Make sure the new solution is saturated (no more borax will dissolve) or youll risk dissolving some crystals rather than growing more.

Ethnography Report Eskimo, People Of The Seal - 2002 Words

Ethnography Report: The Eskimo, People of the Seal Introduction: The Netsilik are an indigenous community that are descendants of the Thule culture, they reside North of Hudson Bay, just above the Arctic circle. They call themselves the Netsilik or â€Å"people of the seal† because of their unusual diet (Young, 1970). In his video Young states that, â€Å"The winter months for the Netsilik people starts in September and last right up until June, during these months the temperatures can range anywhere from 30-50 degrees below 0† (1970). During the 2-3 months of warmer weather, â€Å"the summer tundra remains wet, since permafrost not far below the surface prevents drainage† (Netsilik, n.d). This causes the Netsilik to migrate frequently. Their first encounter of non-natives was in 1890, a meeting that was brief but would provoke further meetings until the twentieth century. Interaction with other civilizations would only prove to advance their own, for neighboring communities like the Iglulik introduced them to more advanced weaponry like the rifle which eventually replaced their standard harpoon; thus making hunting much easier. Later on in 1920, trading posts were established, this completely changed their economy, for instead of white fox fur trapping and trade, the Netsilik now would trade for additional items made by non-natives, including woolen clothing, tobacco, steel traps, fishing nets, canoes, tea, and canvas tents (Netsilik, n.d). Adding these trading posts not only shows how

Discussing My Health Record for Electronic Medium- myassignmenthelp

Question: Write about theDiscussing My Health Recordfor Electronic Medium. Answer: My health Record (MHR) problems: MHR has multiple capabilities and even offers multiple benefits, however, there are problems that are preventing healthcare units from adopting the services of the talked about services. One of the most significant challenges offered by the subject is the high cost involved in the process. The discussed technology cannot be fitted in the existing infrastructure of the healthcare units without the assistance of new equipment (Wu et al., 2013). The implementation requires new equipment along with the skills to operate the technology and cloud services to store and share the data which can cost a lot. Additionally, conversion of the patients data from paper format to the e-data is a time consuming and lengthy process that proves to be hectic for the healthcare units. The papers documents can be organised easily as per the level of importance. However, the same cannot be said about the e-data because not everyone is friendly with the computing processes and they may find the process conf using (Nazi, 2014). The conversion of the data to the electronic medium is not enough as it is a repetitive process because the data of the patient needs to be regularly updated that is hectic for the experts and their associates. However, the most significant challenge with the system is the perception of the people. The people feel that storing their data over the network may risk their privacy and hence are afraid of storing their data and in-process denies to associate with the MHR. MHR Capabilities: The subject of the topic is of great assistance in multiple areas of the healthcare industry. It is capable of storing and sharing of the patients clinical data electronically that can be used in the dire situations. However, storing data raises the concern of cyber-attacks for which the considered system is prepared. The data stored or shared by the MHR are kept encrypted to prevent any trespassing and can only be accessed with proper authentication (Druss et al., 2014). In-process of storing the data electronically, it even prevents any degradation of the documents that is possible with storing the paper data. The data being stored electronically offers additional capability of covering vast domain to the patient for medical assistance. The patient in dire situations can share their data with the medical experts that can be of great assistance from any part of the country with only a network connection and proper authentication. The talked about situation of sharing data electronic ally from any location even makes the subject capable of a program called e-medication. E-medication is the process where the medical experts can recommend the medicines and their doses to the patients electronically by evaluating their previous medical records. The considered subject even offers its assistance to the healthcare units by programmes such as eHRP (e-health reference program) where the healthcare practitioners can measure and enhance their skills ("eHealth Reference Platform - Australian Digital Health Agency", 2018). The discussed system is even capable of assisting in healthcare operations such as managing the supply chain and inventory. MHR Benefits: The discussion made above shows the challenges offered by the subject and the capabilities it possesses. However, the subject even offers multiple benefits one of such benefits is effective caring for the patients. Effective caring of the patients is enabled due to reduction of time consumed in evaluating the documents and running from one department to other which are now available on the system thanks to the subject (Woods et al., 2013). Additionally, the departments can communicate electronically from their respective places and utilise that time in caring and cure the patient. The implementation of the subject may be costly, however, after the implementation, it saves sufficient money. From stationary to transportation along with mailing costs and others multiple areas get cost efficiency on associating with the system. The data is stored in cloud which even saves physical space for the organisation, and the data are continuously updated which reduces the hassle in maintain the r ecords in shelves. As stated in the earlier statement the data are stored electronically which makes it long lasting and maintenance free. Through the electronic medium, the patients and healthcare units can access the data at any instance and any place which will significantly benefit in dire situations (Turvey et al., 2012). Additionally, the experts can offer medication recommendation electronically, in case they cannot reach the patient physically which can prove to be life-saving. Hence, in conclusion, it can be stated that the discussed technology is a must-have technology for the people as it can prove to be lifesaving at times. References: Druss, B. G., Ji, X., Glick, G., von Esenwein, S. A. (2014). Randomized trial of an electronic personal health record for patients with serious mental illnesses.American Journal of Psychiatry,171(3), 360-368. eHealth Reference Platform - Australian Digital Health Agency. (2018).Digitalhealth.gov.au. Retrieved 11 March 2018, from https://www.digitalhealth.gov.au/get-started-with-digital-health/what-is-digital-health/features-of-the-my-health-record-system/ehealth-reference-platform Nazi, K. M. (2013). The personal health record paradox: health care professionals perspectives and the information ecology of personal health record systems in organizational and clinical settings.Journal of medical Internet research,15(4). Turvey, C. L., Zulman, D. M., Nazi, K. M., Wakefield, B. J., Woods, S. S., Hogan, T. P., ... McInnes, K. (2012). Transfer of information from personal health records: A survey of veterans using My Health e Vet.Telemedicine and e-Health,18(2), 109-114. Woods, S. S., Schwartz, E., Tuepker, A., Press, N. A., Nazi, K. M., Turvey, C. L., Nichol, W. P. (2013). Patient experiences with full electronic access to health records and clinical notes through the My HealtheVet Personal Health Record Pilot: qualitative study.Journal of medical Internet research,15(3). Wu, A. W., Kharrazi, H., Boulware, L. E., Snyder, C. F. (2013). Measure once, cut twiceadding patient-reported outcome measures to the electronic health record for comparative effectiveness research.Journal of clinical epidemiology,66(8), S12-S20.

A Red Spot Commentary Essay Example For Students

A Red Spot Commentary Essay The passage under consideration is Rabia Raihanes A Red Spot from the collection of short stories Sardines and Oranges, commencing To join the girls in their afternoon play and ending staring hard at a red spot on the tiled floor. The story consists of a young girls metamorphosis into a woman, and as she matured, she realizes the true meaning of being a woman in her culture and began her struggle of resistance of being a slave. The story is narrated through a young girls view as she undertakes both physical and mental transition from a girl to a woman; and it is through that view, Rabia precisely captures the essence of the sexual unjust that exists in the Muslin culture and boldly revealed it to the readers. Stylistically Rabia Raihanes utilization of an impassioned third person narration with along with a very interesting use of fragmented structure and syntax lively illustrates a Muslin girls journey of becoming a woman. The story began with a light and carefree writing style with general vocabularies and excessive details. When the protagonist first hears the news of the marriage, she is surprised but she completely forgotten about the matter.(A Red Spot paragraph 4) She did thought about the significance of the event, but it was later that she realizes the more profound meaning behind it. She remembered the story of the Policemans daughter who lost her virginity before marriage. She also recalled the consequences of her act: she had to willingly suffer as a lowly slave bearing disgrace, and that is when the protagonist started her rebalance: I dont want to get married. I really dont.This impactful conversation between the mother and the daughter reveals what many young women hold dear: Freedom. She will become a slave to the society if she looses her virginity before marriage but even if she keeps it until her marriage, she will still become a slave; an honorable slave, but a slave non the less. This paradox torments the protagonist as she sought a way out, but there is none. The lowly status of women has already been deeply entrenched into the society; puberty for girls has turned bitter into a death-sentence they cannot escape. Rabia Raihane accurately captures the existence of the sexual prejudice in Muslin culture. As a woman, you can never escape the claws of slavery; the practice is so entrenched into the society that it can never be altered. Rabia reveals that with the reaction of the protagonists mother towards her daughters rebellion:  My answer seemed to stun her and she sat there brooding.  Then I heard her say in an aggrieved voice:  Why would you do that?  (A Red Spot paragraph 21)  The protagonists rebellion has set her mother into brooding, she remembers herself in the same situation. Why would you do that? she asked, but the use of aggrieved has already show that she already knows the answer to this, she was also a young girl once, she also desired for liberty, but the culture convention forbids it for her, and the cycle continues. Rabia Raihanes use of third-person narration expertly captures the emotion of a woman-to-be towards slavery and her futile attempts to break free of the system. Furthermore, her fragmented and timeless narration and the structure of the story effectively impacts the readers: first the protagonist knows about the news of her marriage, then the story leaps and describe how she suddenly realizes the world is not the same for her anymore. Her mind began to battle, jumping from a story of the policemans daughter, to her own memories regarding virginity, and finally, she confronts her mother. The plot of the story was confusing at the start but it all made sense in the end and thats when the story makes its impact.  In conclusion, this passage effectively serves as a lively narration for the protagonists transition from a young girl to a woman which Rabia Raihane exploits to reveal the sexual prejudice that exist in the Muslin culture. Through the protagonists attempt to break free of slavery, Rabia is conveying the desire for freedom of the women. Rabias skillful use of interesting structure and excessive information makes A Red Spot an entertaining novel.

National Discipline Awardee free essay sample

â€Å"A person is not measured by his accomplishments or possessions, but how he deals with people and how deep his relationship with God is. † Young as I am, I have been taught by my God fearing parents to value everything – big or small – that we have. I am not from a prestigious clan or a well-off family but I feel privileged because I was able to see life more meaningful and worth living. It’s all because of my loved-ones that keeps me going. Amid the crucial days that come my way, I would be standing there because I believe that tests won’t be given to me if I cannot surpass them. Being chosen as a National Discipline Awardee is another challenge for me. Challenge because I have to prove everybody that I deserve that award. Nevertheless, they would probably look at me with their eyes stick on everything that I will do and on decisions that I will make. We will write a custom essay sample on National Discipline Awardee or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page But, I don’t mind them. I have nothing to do. I just have to be myself. I don’t have to be somebody else just to please everybody. I am confident that what I have right now is the fruit of what my parents taught me ever since childhood. The virtues that they implanted in my heart helped me a lot in achieving my goals and dreams. And now, it’s my turn to give them something that they can be proud of. This award would definitely give them so much joy. And as for me, it’s indeed an honor. But I know, it doesn’t stop there, it is better if I could share something for our society especially for the youth. I have often wondered how some of our youth today were greatly influenced by the modern trend. Some lives have gone astray and dreams of a good future vanished. All because of the bad vices that they have been practicing which they learned from the BAD influences in our environment. My heart bleeds every time I will see parents working so hard just to give their child all the things they need. Yet, their deeds often neglected. I guess, what is lacking, is the discipline in our youth sector. Our teachers never failed to remind us that resorting to drugs, alcohol, premarital sex and other form of vices is an immoral act or habit. And this will definitely ruin their lives and bring nothing but trouble. So instead of doing so, I learned to respect y God-given life, and nurture the talents that I have. â€Å"Discipline† of the youth, is what we need, and that is being pure in thoughts, in words and in deeds. It has been said that you may whatever you resolve to be. You must be determined to be something in the world, and you will be someone or something. â€Å"I cannot† never accomplished anything. â€Å"I’ll try† has wrought wonders. Opportunities – that would direct my lives, trials – that would teach me lessons, and decision-making – where I can apply all lessons I’ve learned from my daily experiences, will always be just around the corner, playing a vital part in my personal life. But what really matters, is that I know I have this determination and will to overcome difficulties and hardships. I may not be from a well-off family nor has deformity in my physical aspect; I believe I would never get tired of trying and trying again. For it is only in the minds of my detractors that I can’t do it. Failure is not a hindrance for me to stop believing and dreaming rather I make it an inspiration for me to try and strive my best even more and have enough perseverance to attain success. Lastly, I learned to think less of myself. I found out that there should be selflessness and diminish in my heart selfishness. For I believe that it is only through selfless love that I can find true happiness. Reaching out for others especially in the needs of time and sacrificing my personal advantages or desires for the good of the masses gives me fulfillment in my heart. Sharing my time, talents as well as blessings with my brothers and sisters is the best way to say â€Å"Thank you† to God. Above all this, I would like to put emphasis that being a good role model for my fellow youth is simply what I can do to make this country a better place to live in.

Sperm Whale Facts (Cachalot)

Sperm Whale Facts (Cachalot) The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the worlds largest toothed predator and loudest animal. The whales common name is the shortened form of spermaceti whale, and refers to the oily fluid found in the animals head, which was originally mistaken for whale semen. The cetaceans other common name is cachalot, which derives from an ancient French word for big teeth. Sperm whales do have large teeth, each weighing up to 2.2 pounds, but they dont actually use them for eating. Fast Facts: Sperm Whale Scientific Name: Physeter macrocephalusCommon Names: Sperm whale, cachalotBasic Animal Group: MammalSize: 36-52 feetWeight: 15-45 tonsLifespan: 70 yearsDiet: CarnivoreHabitat: Oceans worldwidePopulation: UnknownConservation Status: Vulnerable Description Sperm whales are easily recognized by their distinctive shape, their flukes (tail lobes), and blow pattern. The whale has a large rectangular head with narrow jaw, raised ridges on its back instead of dorsal fins, and huge triangular flukes. It has an S-shaped blowhole set toward the front, left side of its head that blows a forward-angled spray when the whale breathes. The species displays a high degree of sexual dimorphism. While males and females are the same size at birth, mature males are 30-50% longer and up to three times more massive than adult females. On average, males are about 52 feet in length and weigh 45 tons, while females are 36 feet in length and weigh 15 tons. However, there are documented reports of males measuring 67 feet long and weighing 63 tons and claims of males reaching 80 feet in length. While most large whales have smooth skin, sperm whale skin is wrinkled. Usually it is gray in color, but there are albino sperm whales. Sperm whales have the largest brains of any animals, either living or extinct. On average, the brain weighs about 17 pounds. Like other toothed whales, the sperm whale can retract or protrude its eyes. The whales communicate using vocalization and echolocation. Sperm whales are the loudest animals on Earth, capable of producing sounds as loud as 230 decibels. The sperm whales head contains the spermaceti organ which produces a waxy fluid called spermaceti or sperm oil. Studies indicate spermaceti helps the animal generate and focus sound, may facilitate ramming combat, and could serve a function during whale diving. While whales vomit most undigestible matter, some squid beaks make it to the intestine and cause irritation. The whale produces ambergris in response, much like oysters synthesize pearls. Sperm whales have distinctive triangular flukes. georgeclerk / Getty Images Habitat and Distribution Sperm whales live in oceans around the world. They prefer ice-free water that is over 3300 feet deep but will venture close to shore. Only males frequent the polar regions. The species is not found in the Black Sea. It appears to be locally extinct off the coast of southern Australia. Diet Sperm whales are carnivores that primarily hunt squid, but also eat octopuses, fish, and bioluminescent tunicates. The whales have excellent vision and may hunt by watching the water above them for squid silhouettes or by detecting bioluminescence. They can dive for over an hour and at depths up to 6600 feet in search of food, using echolocation to map their surroundings in the dark. Aside from humans, the only significant sperm whale predator is the orca. Behavior Pods of sperm whales sleep at night. The whales position themselves vertically with their heads near the surface. Mature males form bachelor groups or live solitary lives except for mating. Females group with other females and their young. Reproduction and Offspring Females become sexually mature around 9 years of age, while males mature at 18 years. Males fight with other males for mating rights, probably using teeth and ramming competitors. The pair separate after mating, with males providing no care to offspring. After 14 to 16 months gestation, the female gives birth to a single calf. The newborn is about 13 feet long and weighs over one ton. Pod members cooperate to protect calves. Calves typically nurse for 19 to 42 months, sometimes from females besides their mothers. After reaching maturity, females give birth just once every 4 to 20 years. The oldest recorded pregnant female was 41 years old. Sperm whales may live over 70 years. Female sperm whales care for other calves within the pod. by wildestanimal / Getty Images Conservation Status The IUCN classifies the sperm whale conservation status as vulnerable, while the United States Endangered Species Act lists it as endangered. Sperm whales are listed on Appendix I and Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). Numerous other agreements also protect the whales throughout much of their range. Sperm whales reproduce slowly and are widely distributed, so the total population size and population trend are unknown. Some researchers estimate there may be hundreds of thousands of sperm whales. Threats While largely protected worldwide, Japan continues to take some sperm whales. However, the species greatest threats are ship collisions and entanglement in fishing nets. Sperm whales may also be at risk from chemical pollution, noise pollution, and debris such as plastic. Sperm Whales and Humans The sperm whale is featured in Jules Vernes Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and in Herman Melvilles Moby-Dick, which is based on the true story of the sinking of the whaleship Essex in 1820. While sperm whales do not hunt humans, its theoretically possible a person could be eaten. There is one story of a sailor swallowed by a sperm whale in the early 1900s and surviving the experience. Sperm whale teeth remain important cultural objects in the Pacific islands. While sperm oil use has fallen out of vogue, ambergris may still be used as a perfume fixative. Today, sperm whales are a source of ecotourism income for whale watching off the coasts of Norway, New Zealand, the Azores, and Dominica. Sources Clarke, M.R. Function of the Spermaceti Organ of the Sperm Whale. Nature. 228 (5274): 873–874, November, 1970. doi:10.1038/228873a0Fristrup, K. M. and G. R. Harbison. How do sperm whales catch squids?. Marine Mammal Science. 18 (1): 42–54, 2002. doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2002.tb01017.xMead, J.G. and R. L. Brownell, Jr. Order Cetacea. In Wilson, D.E.; Reeder, D.M (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. 2005. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0.  Taylor, B.L., Baird, R., Barlow, J., Dawson, S.M., Ford, J., Mead, J.G., Notarbartolo di Sciara, G., Wade, P. Pitman, R.L. Physeter macrocephalus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2008: e.T41755A10554884. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T41755A10554884.enWhitehead, H. and L. Weilgart. The Sperm Whale. In Mann, J.; Connor, R.; Tyack, P. Whitehead, H. (eds.). Cetacean Societies. The University of Chicago Press. 2000. ISBN 978-0-226-50341-7.

Workplace Policy Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Workplace Policy Project - Research Paper Example The above policies only apply to customers in the United States. International Privacy Policies exist for customers outside the United States which are dependent on the laws of the country that govern their relationship with Wells Fargo This policy describes how the company utilizes and protects the customers’ information. The privacy of an individual, to a large extent, determines the customer service provided by the company. This policy was aimed at protecting information pertaining to individuals’ business accounts, loans, leasing and sales programs among others. The company determines how they share the personal information of its customers and whether the customers can limit the sharing and are required to inform their customers on how they go about it. The type of information being referred to here is the social security number and employment information, account balances and history of transactions and the credit and investment history. Some of the reasons the company may choose to share customer information include: For trust accounts in which the trustee happens to be Wells Fargo, there are special rules of confidentiality under which these accounts are protected. This kind of information needs specific consent before it can be shared for market purposes. Wells Fargo gives provisions for their customers to limit sharing of information. To protect the customers’ personal information from any form of unauthorized access, the company uses security measures that are required to be in compliance with federal law. Some of these measures include computer safeguards to prevent computer hacking and securing files and buildings. To cater to visitors, Wells Fargo provides various demos designed to help customers make the right financial decisions in selecting the products and services the customers need. It has applications to enable the customers to generate ‘what if’ scenarios to determine whether they

Services Marketing (encounter experiences) Essay

Services Marketing (encounter experiences) - Essay Example The aspect of degree of satisfaction as well as dissatisfaction is yet another problem that crops us in this regard. However, the measurement scales provided in the Annexure that details the experiences gives us a relatively better view into how satisfactory or for that matter dissatisfactory these experiences have been. In this regard, it should be mentioned at the very outset that service encounters refer to the customer’s most vivid impression of the service (Ziathaml, Bitner, Gremler & Pandit, 2011). Thus the report starts analyzing these experiences or to be more specific the service encounters from various managerial frameworks available to us as well as make comments on the degree of satisfaction or dissatisfaction it caused to the customers availing the service. Satisfactory Satisfactory experiences in terms of service encounters refer to those encounters of availing services that result in meeting the moot objective of the demand. However, nowadays, more and more serv ice sector firms are tending towards providing a more wholesome service experience to their clients and customers. In this regard, Clow and Kurtz (2003) have been of the opinion that satisfaction or dissatisfaction is known to be an episodic measure in that it normally relates to the last service experience. Thus, service quality becomes increasingly important an aspect from the point of view of services marketing as well as management of services as a whole. So far as the satisfactory service experiences are concerned, the present report presents six favorable or for that matter satisfactory service experiences are concerned, these focus on the aspects of favorable experiences that lead to repeat purchases or to be more specific result in customer loyalty. The first satisfactory service experience has been experienced has been in a cirque named Cirque de Soleil in London in the Royal Albert Hall. In spite of much hype as well as a long queue in front of the ticket counter along wit h the other encumbrances that any hyped show comes with, the cirque lived up to its expectations and thus customers left the hall satisfied. Of course, in terms of analysis, satisfaction in this case is due to the level of perfection that the show had attained given that the organizers had kept note of every minute detail thereby bringing parity as well as that they had taken care of the details of the service thereby referring to the impeccable service blueprint that they had put in action. Also, though the food has not been as exemplary as the other aspects have been, everything else has been just perfect thereby leading to an overall satisfactory service experience for the audience or for that matter, customers in this case. In this regard, a service blueprint refers to a graphic representation of the essential components of the service both front stage as well back stage (Fisk, Grove & John, 2008). In terms of the quality of food not being up to the mark, the concept of zone of tolerance comes into the picture. The food not being of the highest quality seemed to be well within the zone of tolerance and thus the customers were still happy with the overall

Reading can be seen as an interactive process between a reader and a Essay

Reading can be seen as an interactive process between a reader and a text which leads to automatically on reading fluency. In - Essay Example This involves three phase process which consists of translating writings into a sound and then into a meaning. The silent symbols acquired through vision need to be transformed correctly to their expected meaning (Wolf, Bowers & Biddle, 2000). This is the first skill that a reader should possess. In order to read appropriately, the reader should be able to translate the symbols into words very fast because reading is handled by short memory in the brain (Diane, 1997). This makes the reader make a phrase. A group of meaningful phrases make sentences which forms an idea. Cognitive limitations cause difficulty in reading as readers translate sight to words much slowly which may make it difficult to produce the desired meaning (Diane, 1997). The reader should be able to detect and isolate basic sound units. This helps the readers to know phonemes associated with certain letters or words (Adams, 1994). They should tell clearly which letter, group of letters or words produce a certain phon eme. This ability tells how easily a learner can read (Adams, 1994). For the readers to appreciate and work with phonemes appropriately they should understand that their language can be broken down in to phonemes. This leads to easy integration of the senses and sound which is a key in the reading process (Walker, 2003). Sight is the sense that is widely applied in the reading process. ... This entails moving from left to right and following a sentence at a time (Stothard, 1994). Reading is difficult for someone who finds it hard to apply sequence appropriately because there is definitely a problem of converting symbols from one form to another correctly and with the desired speed (Walker, 2003). Using valid examples, briefly explain what guided and free writing tasks are. In writing, both free and guided writing are important in developing writing skills among the learners (Rivers, 1968). Guided writing is a form of writing whereby the instructors or the teachers help learners to write (Lori, 2007). This entails showing learners how to start writing, draft a text, revise a text and correct mistakes. The instructor aids the writing process by giving the writers the basis of writing as well as correcting them so as to write the way he/she expects (Lori, 2007). There are varieties of materials that help the learners to write. The instructor provides a material to guide i n writing. This may include dictating repeatedly what the writers are going to write (Myles, 2002). The instructor may also give material that the learners are going to copy. This form of writing also entails instructors going around the class to individual student or to group of students telling them how and what to write as well as correcting them repeatedly whenever they make mistakes (Myles, 2002). The instructor may also give graphics or video clips to guide the learners write. Learners in this case are required to write what they have already encountered. For instance they can be required to write about a story they have already read. They can as well be required to write a story based on a scene of a movie they have watched (Myles, 2002). The

Issues of SME Entrepreneurs and Investment Aspects

Issues of SME Entrepreneurs and Investment Aspects Introduction Start-Up Entrepreneurs who wish to transform their business dreams into reality will one way or another reach out for the external finance. Many new entrepreneurial start-up businesses do not obtain start-up financing (Gruber, 2004; Mason Harrison, 2004b). Private individual investors with a high net worth, known as business angels, represent the largest source of start-up financing for new entrepreneurial businesses (Aernoudt, 2005a). Establishment of new businesses is vital to the development and growth of the countrys economy (Reynolds et al., 2003). Since the first publication on a business angel was published by (Wetel, 1981), many authors have researched on the informal investment market and studied closely monitoring business angels characteristics, investment criteria and issues related to an investment. According to (Masons Harrison, 2000), it is cited that over the past generations many researches have been carried out in different countries and compared with each other. This dissertation will discuss about the mind of an investor and how they operate in terms of investing their financial assets in a start-up business they believe in succeeding. The main reason is to broaden our understanding of investment aspects of a business angel and how an entrepreneur should respond to it. To find out information sources on business start-ups, refer (Appendix 1). Problem Discussions Many business entrepreneurs do not have the luxury of initial capital thats needed to start-up a new business as it requires a vast amount of finance equity (Clarke, 2005; Sohl, 2006). How do entrepreneurs find the initial capital and which investor will trust the business ideas and fund the company? What is the difference between a good investment and a poor decision? What are the requirements of a business angel? These are the main issues SME business starters go through in the initial stages of a business (Wiltbank Boeker, 2007). The answers for all these issues vary depending on several criteria. For example, it could vary due to the type of the business the entrepreneur wish to start, the capacity of the risk involved, the return of investment period and especially the preference of the entrepreneur working alone or with the influence of the investor (Kaplan Schoar, 2005). The dissertation tries to reach active business angels view points on the issues of SME entrepreneurs and investment aspects. The researcher is confident that this thesis will benefit both the business angels and entrepreneurs. Introduction Of The Research Subjects According to a survey conducted by the (EIRO), the governments Bolton Committee in its 1971 report clarified that there is no single definition to explain Small to medium enterprises because of the wide diversity of businesses that operate in the United Kingdom. The report also explained that small to medium business varies according to the type of sector it operates. However section 249 of the Companies act of 1985 affirms that a small company will have to attribute at least two of the following characteristics; Turnover less than GBP 2.8 million Total balance sheet less than GBP 1.4 million Employees less than 50 And a medium sized entrepreneur should operate under the following regulations; Turnover less than GBP 11.2 million Total balance sheet less than GBP 5.6 million Employees less than 250 However in real practice, business functions that operate under small to medium terms, take on a range of working definitions depending on their business objectives (Leedy Ormfod, 2001). EIRO European Industrial Relations Observatory Formal And Informal Venture Capitalists Venture Capital is also known as risk investment (Langberg, 2004). Risk investment is invested as shares and the financier expects a superior â€Å"rate of return to recompense for the amount of risk invested (Kelly Hay, 2003). There are 2 main types of venture financing in the UK and they are; formal venture capitalists (large financial institutions) and informal venture capitalists (wealthy private investors commonly known as business angels). The UK Formal Venture capitalism began in the 18th century (Harding Bosma, 2007). During that time Entrepreneurs found affluent individuals to get support for their new businesses. This informal tradition of funding eventually formed a business trade by a number of venture capital firms created by many wealthy. Currently there are over 120 venture capital establishments in the UK, which fund billions of cash annually to the UK SME market (Frielinghaus et al., 2005). Informal venture capitalists are mainly recognized as Business Angels who are wealthy individuals with a high class reputation of managing well run businesses (Masson Harrison, 2004). As investors business angels bare a larger risk than venture capital firms as they have to be liable for the loss of the investment incase the business they invest lose out. On the other hand venture capital firms have many investors who can be hand in hand to one another in a bad situation (Masson Harrison, 2004). Business angels are more common in UK where they tend to invest more on SME businesses where banks and venture capital firms decide not to, which will be further discussed under evidence analysis (Madill et al., 2005). Business angels tend to be get more closer to the entrepreneur with a higher level of involvement in the firms operations, which shows that their choice of target firms are somewhat different than venture capital firms requirements and business angels investment decisions are made solely on the basis of the relationship between the entrepreneur and the investor (Masson Harrison, 2002). Although entrepreneurs could use formal informal investors at different stages in the business as shown in the (figure 1), it shows where business angels are needed where we will further discuss later on (Aernoudt, R., 1999). Figure 1: Financial sources and their involving stages Source: (VENTURE CAPITAL, 1999, VOL. 1, NO. 2, 187 – 195) Objectives Understand a business angel, an entrepreneur and their relationship in a SME start-up businesses in UK Identify detailed requirements of business angels when it comes to an investment Determine how different countries cultures undertake investments Literature Review This literature review is concerned about the academic groundwork of the research objectives which inquires about investment categories business angels tend to invest in a small to medium sized business sector. It also looks at how different authors have elucidated about the investment natures of different countries like New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden etc. In order to give a clear structure of this academic review, it will be categorized into subsections to converse different authors views about the research objectives. First the review will discuss about the academic Theories of investments. Then it looks at Business angels and entrepreneurs in the UK. Finally the review will investigate different countries nature of investments in their own markets. 2.1 Theories of Investment There are several investment theories defined and compared by many authors. This thesis mainly focuses on informal investors who wish to invest on SME start-up businesses. Although Stock market related investment theories are irrelevant for our objectives it will be impolite to ignore discussing all investment theories. Therefore lets investigate the theories and in the later chapters discuss the practical concepts (evidence) used currently by successful investors. Among the following theories, Efficient Market Theory will be related to investment in stock listed companies and â€Å"principal-agent, prisoners dilemma framework resource based theory† will be about business angels investing in SME businesses. 2.1.1 Efficient Market Theory (EMT) According to (Burton Malkiel, 1973), the stock values that show in the stock market almost define where the company is in its territory and how well it performs compared to its competitors. He suggests that stock prices may not always be accurate but it can be correct most of the time. On the other hand few business managers disagree, explaining that there companys values are priced unfairly and stock prices do not accurately replicate the performance of their companies (Burton Malkiel, 1973). The following discussion will communicate what efficient market theory is about and explore the arguments against it. According to (Michael Firth, 1975), it is stated that there were many academic researches carried out to monitor the share price behavior by investment advisory firms and investors to obtain profitable investment strategies. What is EMT or EMH? (Burton Malkiel, 1973) explained that Efficient Market Theory (EMT) is also known as Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) on a more technical term. This theory is a method of defining how stock values behave the way they do in terms of investment decisions. (Eugene Fama, 1965) later categorized EMH into three sub assumptions and they are as follows; 1. Weak form (EMH) This method assumes that current stock values replicate all past information about the specific company such as performance measurements, returns etc. By analyzing the stocks price chart, it can help the investors verify as to what the future holds for the companys stock values (Eugene Fama, 1965). 2. Semi strong (EMH) The assumption built on this method is that all the publicly available information and historical information replicates the values of a companys stock prices in the market. So the investors could gain more knowledge and confidence through a companys financial statements and recent developments. It will enable the investors to judge the company future performance (Eugene Fama, 1965). 3. Strong form (EMH) This method expressed that, other than publicly available information, the investors get an inside look into the company which largely reflects the stock value (Eugene Fama, 1965). Principal Agent Theory In general terms Principal Agent theory is defined as a business management framework to observe the behavior between employer contractor or employer employees (Spence and Zeckhauser, 1971; Ross, 1973). So here this theory can be applied to the business angel entrepreneur relationship and discuss its implication on the investment process (Jenson and Meckling, 1976; Harris and Raviv, 1978). In the corporate business, the principal (Business angel) usually appoints the agent (manager) or else make sure the entrepreneur works according to the principals ideas in the business (Jenson and Meckling, 1976). The principal usually make sure that the agents business intentions are as similar to him/her (www.financemind.com). In other words, the principal wishes to make sure that the business runs well and succeed the way he/she believes best (Eisenhardt, 1989). But on the other hand, over an informational advantage the agent could think otherwise for the business. This is where the problem of shared risks arises as (Eisenhardt, 1989) explains, where the Investor (principal) and the agent (manager) could end up having different opinions towards the business. The agency theory is widely used in venture capitalism (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000a). Having conflicts due to differences in interests, it is essential to minimize these risks as (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000b) agrees with Eisenhardt. To reduce these risks investors make sure that they actively monitor the companies they invest and build a better and close relationship with each other (Busenitz, Fiet Moesel, 2004). According to (Sweeting Wong, 1997), using a principal agent theory to evaluate a business angel investment is not highly recommended anymore. It is much better to have a mutually agreed relationship. The agency theory shows that money motivates both the principal and the agent (Busenitz, Fiet Moesel, 2004). But financial motivations or economic factors do not relate business angels relationship with the entrepreneur in this theory (Wijbenga et al., 2003). Prisoners Dilemma Framework (PDF) This is yet another theory that can be used in an investment study. In this framework there can be either a conflict or a development between the two parties involved (Cable Shane, 1997). In this theory, both parties can either go in their separate interests and gain a certain pay off or co-operate with each other and achieve a higher pay off (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000). The prisoners dilemma framework promises better fitting for the business angels and the entrepreneurs because it does not presume a hierarchical relationship between the two parties (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000; Cable Shane, 1997). Still the PDF theory only focuses on the investor – entrepreneur relationship and not any of the business angel investment activities or impacts. It concludes that the theory is not suitable enough to define a business angel entrepreneur relationship (Cable Shane, 1997). Resource Based Theory The resource based theory has many influences on the entrepreneurship. Business angels can contribute many resources other than cash it self. According to Freear, Sohl and Wetzet (2002), angel investors can contribute five types of resources to an entrepreneur: Human, physical, social, organizational financial. Human capital can be taken as angel investors contribution of business knowledge, skills and business experience to the firm (Erikson Nerdrum, 2001a). Social capital can be gained when business angels provide their business contacts (Angel networks). By this, the entrepreneur has the opportunity to meet other investors and extend the funding possibilities to the business. Physical resources can be machines or factories and organizational capital can be described as the influence and advice the investors can give for the business for an example making the business improve on its experience (Erikson Nerdrum, 2001b). Financial capital consists of the funding provided in the beginning of the start-up phase (Cassar, 2003). By far this presumed to be the best suited theory to define a relationship between a Business angel and an Entrepreneur where all aspects are covered (Rose, 2005). Summary Of Theories Looking back at the efficient market theory, Agency theory, Prisoners dilemma framework and Resource based theory; it seems to be that the â€Å"Resource based theory† is the most suitable theoretical framework for the Business angel investments. However the Resource based theory has to be amended with few assumptions: Human capital should be taken as the (knowledge, skills business experience) investors contribute with (Ardichvili et al. (2002). Although we discussed the above theories, many researchers have described and tried to apply other similar theories to the investor investee relationship [Example: Procedural Justice (Busenitz, Fiet Moesel, 2004), learning and knowledge-based view (De Clercq Sapienza, 2002), resource exchange theory (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin Welbourne, 1990)]. All the investment theories have a common characteristic that have only a few relevant investment features in them to the investor-investee concept. To make it applicable for the Business angels and entrepreneurs all these theories should have few amendments and adaptations (Sapienza, Manigart Vermeir, 1996). Small And Medium Enterprise (SME) William Kendall, the Chief Executive of Whole Earth Ltd stated, â€Å"SME business is a fantastic place to work. You have to think innovatively to be an entrepreneur. Its thrilling and its enjoyable.† According to (European Industrial Relations Observatory) there is no general definition for SME. But the (Governments Bolton Committee, 1971) cited that the characteristic of a SME firm is a self-sufficient business being owned by a single owner with a small market share. The report also stated that the size of the SME changes in different industries. Although it is hard to give one specific definition for SMEs, it can be measured and classified by numbers (employees revenue rates). The defining measurements are as follows: Definitions: (The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform – BERR, UK) has defined SME with 3 types of measurements and those are based on amount of employees: Micro firms: 0-9 employees; Small firms: 0-49 employees and Medium firms: 50-249. The (European Commission) changed the definition of the SME to increase the partnerships and innovations. The definition which took affect on 2005 is: â€Å" A Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprise (SME) is made up of firms which employ less than 250 employees and have yearly revenue less than 50 million euro†. Importance Of SME In The Uk The country has raised the level of growth productivity in the last era reducing the competition gap between other countries like US, France Germany (BERR, 2008). Currently UK is reacting well to the global prospects and challenges. The growth of the SME market increases each year promising to boost the economy of the country. According to (European Business Angels Network (2007) Dissemination Report on the Potential for Business Angels Investment and Networks in Europe), the employment and annual revenue contribution of the SME industry as a whole is more than 50 percent of the total. The UK government provides necessary support for people to step up and start their innovative business to increase the competition level of the country (www.berr.gov.uk). The Entrepreneur Earlier it was discussed that previously recognized agency theories explains that the investor, ensuring a healthy relationship is highly regarded as a successful investment aspect in an investment (Kelly Hay, 2003). Therefore exploring more about what authors have studied about entrepreneurs and investors is vital. The difference between a formal venture capitalist and a business angel is that a venture capitalist invests looking at the company and its ability to perform (Schramm, 2004). On the other hand the business angel focuses mostly on the entrepreneur to make sure there can be a good business relationship (Mark and Robinson 2000, p138). The entrepreneur is the only key to get the funding needed for a start-up business. As an entrepreneur, it is vital to gain the investors trust and confidence in the business idea. According to (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000, p123), it is cited that during a business start-up there is a high percentage of entrepreneurs failing to make good management decisions in the initial stages. It is very sensible for an entrepreneur to seek a business angel as they pay special interest on the business they invest in with all their resources including non-financial contributions. It could help fill all the management weaknesses of an initial stage of the business and sav e huge amounts of consulting and managerial costs (Mason and Stark, 2004). Entrepreneur Evaluation (Osnabrugge Robinson, 2000) had explained that entrepreneurs should be aware that the investor not only pays attention on the business proposition but also the entrepreneur himself to ensure the safety, confidence, enthusiasm and the ability to depend on the entrepreneur. Trust is something investors work hard to find in an entrepreneur, because they invest large amounts of financial resources on a person they met in a short period of time (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000, p125). According to a study conducted by Stedler and Peters; entrepreneurs capability to convince the business angel to invest is very important and showed that 81% of business angels has expressed that a positive first impression established in the first meeting as important (Stedler and Peters, 2000). When it comes to angel investment decisions being made, business angels need to ensure that the entrepreneur should be a proficient manager (Gerald and Joel, 2000). Loyalty, leadership, reliability and personality are important characteristics that angel investors look into when they evaluate entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur should be able to have those qualities to gain an influence of the investor (Aernoudt 1999 Sappa 2006). The characteristics that separate a good ownership from a poor is, that if the entrepreneur is able to establish trust and leadership skills with confidence and make the employees follow him/her (Micah Baldwin 2007). Investors find it comforting to know that the entrepreneurs have invested partly on the business before seeking external investment. This gives the investor the idea that the entrepreneur has given all the effort in the involvement of the process and that the financial value of the business is appreciated (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000, p127). According to (Sappa 2006), business angels take lots of time and effort into finding out background information on the entrepreneur to ensure that the owner has the right expertise to manage the business he proposes. (Haines and Riding 1998) corroborates furthermore by adding that the entrepreneur sharing his/her previous business experiences and being much more practical about the business brings more information and confidence to the investor. Finally all the above characteristics that were discussed are very important for a new start-up entrepreneur to influence investments from professional business angels. Business Angels As we have gone through the theories of business angels it is important to know who business angels are in the minds of researchers. A business angel is a highly prosperous individual who can be a business person and willing to invest part of his/hers finance on a promising entrepreneur who has a potential to succeed (Isakssin 2000, Helle 2004). According to (Harrison Manson, 1999), there are three eras of business angel researches conducted in the investment business: First era of business angel research was conducted by United States of America in early 1980s. Authors like; (Landstrom, 1993) from Sweden and (Harrison Manson, 1992) from United Kingdom repeated the same work by giving out similar results. In this era it was solely concentrated on business angels thoughts, activities and characteristics (Freear, Sohl Wetzel, 2002). Second era enabled researchers to go deep into business angels by investigating their post investment involvements. Theory building up and applying for business angels began in this era. Although there were theories built for business angels, it wasnt developed enough to be completely suitable for the activities of angel investors (Connolly et al., 2006). Third era will be the era about the future researches of business angels. There were many faults in the previous researches done and they need to be taken in a new direction to make sure the researches investigated will produce good results (Arenius Minniti, 2005). This would finally make us understand the minds of business angels and match the Business angel – Entrepreneur relationship under changing economy, culture competition (Connolly, OGorman Bogue, 2006). By the help of (Harrison Mason) Swedish researchers like (Sorheim 2005) will enable to investigate on the changing environment of Business angels. This also mean that the theories being found in the previous eras could finally be developed enough to apply on the business angels current investment methods and get positive results (Gompers Lerner, 2007). Characteristics Of Business Angels Almost all the business angels who actively invest on new businesses have few common characteristics. They all have the main motive to increase the potential of their financial capital (Duxbary, Haines Riding 1996). But (Landstrom 1993, Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000) explained that all business angels should not be profiled in a similar way because cultures and person to person could make them different to each others ways in terms of making a personal investment decision. Although there could be many differences between business angels, (Osnabrugge and Robinson, 2000) also stated that there are general motives behind all business angels when it comes to a certain result they expect out of an investment. When Venture capitalists and business angels are taken together it is wide clear that Business angels are individuals who prefer to invest less financial capital than of the formal investors who invest large amounts. Business angels also prefer to invest their money mainly on initial stages of a business (Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000). When it comes to formal investors, they are selective in industries they invest on depending on a lot of information and research. But the Business angels invest on the entrepreneur regardless of what industry sector the business idea would succeed on. They do little research on the industry but heavy research on the entrepreneur they expect to build a trust worthy relationship, because they depend on the entrepreneur mu ch more than the venture capitalists that only rely on the market and the performance of the company (Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000, p63). Furthermore a research conducted in the Norwegian angel market and studies conducted in the US have identified several angel categories. There could be cultural and economical differences among countries like (UK, Sweden Singapore) but angel investors do have likely investment standards in those countries (Landstrom 1993). (Freeny, Haines Riding 1998) explained that the markets which business angels are currently active are where they are wiling to invest more on. There could be many differences in Business angels personalities and points of views of the whole investment process. There are studies that showed the â€Å"most regular business angel†. It is stated that the age, where successful individuals decide to invest their money on a business is when they get to their 50s. This shows that it is almost a retirement phase from a business point of view. This can be confirmed by a research carried out in Germany where it stated that 95% of BAs were male individuals, 56% were directors or owners of their businesses and 17% were individuals who were in the director board on other organizations (Stedler Peters, 2003). Even (Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000, p156) supported Stedler and Peters by explaining that the individuals were in director posts and had good business experiences before they decide to move on into personal investments. Most business angels involve themselves heavily during the initial stages of start-up businesses. They wish to invest near to their homes to make sure of convenience. And Business angels are well educated, wealthy beyond a certain average and expect to have a good life with their feet up on a desk holding a glass of wine, which we all hope to achieve one fine day (Freeny, Haines Riding 1998). Although this thesis aims to look at the characteristics of UK business angels, it was clear by all previous studies that there are common statistics about their decisions and behaviors. This tells us that, UK angel investors too are not far from what was described before in the theories. Still it is important to point out few common characteristics of UK business angels; Common Characteristics Of UK Business Angels According to (Ardichvili et al., 2002), Business angels in the UK have been or still are active business owners. They invest in more similar markets to what they are operating in, which saves them a lot of time trying to understand the market and the operations. Like all business angels, UK investors are highly motivated by the return of their investments and the effort (non financial motives) they have put in to the start-up business. They do enjoy being a part of a new business hoping to succeed for the better part of the community and the country (Landstrom 1993). Furthermore UK business angels prefers and makes sure they invest on new businesses that they could visit regularly, which means they invest in promising firms which will locate geographically near to where they reside (Ardichvili et al., 2002). BAs would rather invest in firms within their residing area, than investing in a location where they find it hard to meet the entrepreneur even though it would double their investments (Harrison, Mason Robson, 2003). Most British angels prefer their entrepreneurs operate within 100 miles of their homes although investors who invested on technological businesses are willing to travel long distances (www.bbaa.org.uk). According to Mason, British angels mostly prefer to invest on small businesses during its initial stages where it is not too late to put in not just their finance sources but their advice and experience to get things on the right track. This, in a way gives them satisfaction of being a part of a promising business (Mason, 2002). After going through the common characteristics of British Angel Investors, it is quite clear that there isnt a major difference compared with the international countries like Sweden and Denmark which will be discussed later. We discussed about Business angels and it is vital to know the categories of their investments. Investment Aspects Of A Business Angel One of the objectives of this thesis is to find out how Business angels in UK and other similar countries decide to invest on a certain investment they find it promising. An investor looking for good reasons to decide on an investment is known as Investment Aspects or Investment Criteria (Landstrom, 1993). It is a way of evaluating the business and the entrepreneur to ensure the security and the profitability of the business proposal. According to the venture capitalism and angel investment comparison carried out by (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000), it revealed that although there were similarities among their attributes in their investment standards there were a certain amount of dissimilarities which makes business angels favorites for a new start up business. For an example, venture capitalists are prepared to invest almost in all stages of a business and therefore they look into all the past and probable financial records of the company. On the other hand the business angels much prefer to invest on a start-up phase of a new business where past financial experiences are not so important to them (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000). Most business angels give similar priorities to investment aspects, when it comes to making a decision. With much researches conducted over the past years (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000) has come up with a selected summary that illustrates the criteria of an investment. The following (Table 1) of twenty-five selective factors are prioritized by well known angel investors; Priority order Priority factors for an investment 1 passion of the industrialist 2 Dependability of the industrialist 3 Sales prospective of the product 4 proficiency of the industrialist 5 Entrepreneur(s) first impression 6 Development prospective of the market 7 Quality of the product 8 Benefits Issues of SME Entrepreneurs and Investment Aspects Issues of SME Entrepreneurs and Investment Aspects Introduction Start-Up Entrepreneurs who wish to transform their business dreams into reality will one way or another reach out for the external finance. Many new entrepreneurial start-up businesses do not obtain start-up financing (Gruber, 2004; Mason Harrison, 2004b). Private individual investors with a high net worth, known as business angels, represent the largest source of start-up financing for new entrepreneurial businesses (Aernoudt, 2005a). Establishment of new businesses is vital to the development and growth of the countrys economy (Reynolds et al., 2003). Since the first publication on a business angel was published by (Wetel, 1981), many authors have researched on the informal investment market and studied closely monitoring business angels characteristics, investment criteria and issues related to an investment. According to (Masons Harrison, 2000), it is cited that over the past generations many researches have been carried out in different countries and compared with each other. This dissertation will discuss about the mind of an investor and how they operate in terms of investing their financial assets in a start-up business they believe in succeeding. The main reason is to broaden our understanding of investment aspects of a business angel and how an entrepreneur should respond to it. To find out information sources on business start-ups, refer (Appendix 1). Problem Discussions Many business entrepreneurs do not have the luxury of initial capital thats needed to start-up a new business as it requires a vast amount of finance equity (Clarke, 2005; Sohl, 2006). How do entrepreneurs find the initial capital and which investor will trust the business ideas and fund the company? What is the difference between a good investment and a poor decision? What are the requirements of a business angel? These are the main issues SME business starters go through in the initial stages of a business (Wiltbank Boeker, 2007). The answers for all these issues vary depending on several criteria. For example, it could vary due to the type of the business the entrepreneur wish to start, the capacity of the risk involved, the return of investment period and especially the preference of the entrepreneur working alone or with the influence of the investor (Kaplan Schoar, 2005). The dissertation tries to reach active business angels view points on the issues of SME entrepreneurs and investment aspects. The researcher is confident that this thesis will benefit both the business angels and entrepreneurs. Introduction Of The Research Subjects According to a survey conducted by the (EIRO), the governments Bolton Committee in its 1971 report clarified that there is no single definition to explain Small to medium enterprises because of the wide diversity of businesses that operate in the United Kingdom. The report also explained that small to medium business varies according to the type of sector it operates. However section 249 of the Companies act of 1985 affirms that a small company will have to attribute at least two of the following characteristics; Turnover less than GBP 2.8 million Total balance sheet less than GBP 1.4 million Employees less than 50 And a medium sized entrepreneur should operate under the following regulations; Turnover less than GBP 11.2 million Total balance sheet less than GBP 5.6 million Employees less than 250 However in real practice, business functions that operate under small to medium terms, take on a range of working definitions depending on their business objectives (Leedy Ormfod, 2001). EIRO European Industrial Relations Observatory Formal And Informal Venture Capitalists Venture Capital is also known as risk investment (Langberg, 2004). Risk investment is invested as shares and the financier expects a superior â€Å"rate of return to recompense for the amount of risk invested (Kelly Hay, 2003). There are 2 main types of venture financing in the UK and they are; formal venture capitalists (large financial institutions) and informal venture capitalists (wealthy private investors commonly known as business angels). The UK Formal Venture capitalism began in the 18th century (Harding Bosma, 2007). During that time Entrepreneurs found affluent individuals to get support for their new businesses. This informal tradition of funding eventually formed a business trade by a number of venture capital firms created by many wealthy. Currently there are over 120 venture capital establishments in the UK, which fund billions of cash annually to the UK SME market (Frielinghaus et al., 2005). Informal venture capitalists are mainly recognized as Business Angels who are wealthy individuals with a high class reputation of managing well run businesses (Masson Harrison, 2004). As investors business angels bare a larger risk than venture capital firms as they have to be liable for the loss of the investment incase the business they invest lose out. On the other hand venture capital firms have many investors who can be hand in hand to one another in a bad situation (Masson Harrison, 2004). Business angels are more common in UK where they tend to invest more on SME businesses where banks and venture capital firms decide not to, which will be further discussed under evidence analysis (Madill et al., 2005). Business angels tend to be get more closer to the entrepreneur with a higher level of involvement in the firms operations, which shows that their choice of target firms are somewhat different than venture capital firms requirements and business angels investment decisions are made solely on the basis of the relationship between the entrepreneur and the investor (Masson Harrison, 2002). Although entrepreneurs could use formal informal investors at different stages in the business as shown in the (figure 1), it shows where business angels are needed where we will further discuss later on (Aernoudt, R., 1999). Figure 1: Financial sources and their involving stages Source: (VENTURE CAPITAL, 1999, VOL. 1, NO. 2, 187 – 195) Objectives Understand a business angel, an entrepreneur and their relationship in a SME start-up businesses in UK Identify detailed requirements of business angels when it comes to an investment Determine how different countries cultures undertake investments Literature Review This literature review is concerned about the academic groundwork of the research objectives which inquires about investment categories business angels tend to invest in a small to medium sized business sector. It also looks at how different authors have elucidated about the investment natures of different countries like New Zealand, Denmark, Sweden etc. In order to give a clear structure of this academic review, it will be categorized into subsections to converse different authors views about the research objectives. First the review will discuss about the academic Theories of investments. Then it looks at Business angels and entrepreneurs in the UK. Finally the review will investigate different countries nature of investments in their own markets. 2.1 Theories of Investment There are several investment theories defined and compared by many authors. This thesis mainly focuses on informal investors who wish to invest on SME start-up businesses. Although Stock market related investment theories are irrelevant for our objectives it will be impolite to ignore discussing all investment theories. Therefore lets investigate the theories and in the later chapters discuss the practical concepts (evidence) used currently by successful investors. Among the following theories, Efficient Market Theory will be related to investment in stock listed companies and â€Å"principal-agent, prisoners dilemma framework resource based theory† will be about business angels investing in SME businesses. 2.1.1 Efficient Market Theory (EMT) According to (Burton Malkiel, 1973), the stock values that show in the stock market almost define where the company is in its territory and how well it performs compared to its competitors. He suggests that stock prices may not always be accurate but it can be correct most of the time. On the other hand few business managers disagree, explaining that there companys values are priced unfairly and stock prices do not accurately replicate the performance of their companies (Burton Malkiel, 1973). The following discussion will communicate what efficient market theory is about and explore the arguments against it. According to (Michael Firth, 1975), it is stated that there were many academic researches carried out to monitor the share price behavior by investment advisory firms and investors to obtain profitable investment strategies. What is EMT or EMH? (Burton Malkiel, 1973) explained that Efficient Market Theory (EMT) is also known as Efficient Market Hypothesis (EMH) on a more technical term. This theory is a method of defining how stock values behave the way they do in terms of investment decisions. (Eugene Fama, 1965) later categorized EMH into three sub assumptions and they are as follows; 1. Weak form (EMH) This method assumes that current stock values replicate all past information about the specific company such as performance measurements, returns etc. By analyzing the stocks price chart, it can help the investors verify as to what the future holds for the companys stock values (Eugene Fama, 1965). 2. Semi strong (EMH) The assumption built on this method is that all the publicly available information and historical information replicates the values of a companys stock prices in the market. So the investors could gain more knowledge and confidence through a companys financial statements and recent developments. It will enable the investors to judge the company future performance (Eugene Fama, 1965). 3. Strong form (EMH) This method expressed that, other than publicly available information, the investors get an inside look into the company which largely reflects the stock value (Eugene Fama, 1965). Principal Agent Theory In general terms Principal Agent theory is defined as a business management framework to observe the behavior between employer contractor or employer employees (Spence and Zeckhauser, 1971; Ross, 1973). So here this theory can be applied to the business angel entrepreneur relationship and discuss its implication on the investment process (Jenson and Meckling, 1976; Harris and Raviv, 1978). In the corporate business, the principal (Business angel) usually appoints the agent (manager) or else make sure the entrepreneur works according to the principals ideas in the business (Jenson and Meckling, 1976). The principal usually make sure that the agents business intentions are as similar to him/her (www.financemind.com). In other words, the principal wishes to make sure that the business runs well and succeed the way he/she believes best (Eisenhardt, 1989). But on the other hand, over an informational advantage the agent could think otherwise for the business. This is where the problem of shared risks arises as (Eisenhardt, 1989) explains, where the Investor (principal) and the agent (manager) could end up having different opinions towards the business. The agency theory is widely used in venture capitalism (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000a). Having conflicts due to differences in interests, it is essential to minimize these risks as (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000b) agrees with Eisenhardt. To reduce these risks investors make sure that they actively monitor the companies they invest and build a better and close relationship with each other (Busenitz, Fiet Moesel, 2004). According to (Sweeting Wong, 1997), using a principal agent theory to evaluate a business angel investment is not highly recommended anymore. It is much better to have a mutually agreed relationship. The agency theory shows that money motivates both the principal and the agent (Busenitz, Fiet Moesel, 2004). But financial motivations or economic factors do not relate business angels relationship with the entrepreneur in this theory (Wijbenga et al., 2003). Prisoners Dilemma Framework (PDF) This is yet another theory that can be used in an investment study. In this framework there can be either a conflict or a development between the two parties involved (Cable Shane, 1997). In this theory, both parties can either go in their separate interests and gain a certain pay off or co-operate with each other and achieve a higher pay off (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000). The prisoners dilemma framework promises better fitting for the business angels and the entrepreneurs because it does not presume a hierarchical relationship between the two parties (Bruton, Fried Hisrich, 2000; Cable Shane, 1997). Still the PDF theory only focuses on the investor – entrepreneur relationship and not any of the business angel investment activities or impacts. It concludes that the theory is not suitable enough to define a business angel entrepreneur relationship (Cable Shane, 1997). Resource Based Theory The resource based theory has many influences on the entrepreneurship. Business angels can contribute many resources other than cash it self. According to Freear, Sohl and Wetzet (2002), angel investors can contribute five types of resources to an entrepreneur: Human, physical, social, organizational financial. Human capital can be taken as angel investors contribution of business knowledge, skills and business experience to the firm (Erikson Nerdrum, 2001a). Social capital can be gained when business angels provide their business contacts (Angel networks). By this, the entrepreneur has the opportunity to meet other investors and extend the funding possibilities to the business. Physical resources can be machines or factories and organizational capital can be described as the influence and advice the investors can give for the business for an example making the business improve on its experience (Erikson Nerdrum, 2001b). Financial capital consists of the funding provided in the beginning of the start-up phase (Cassar, 2003). By far this presumed to be the best suited theory to define a relationship between a Business angel and an Entrepreneur where all aspects are covered (Rose, 2005). Summary Of Theories Looking back at the efficient market theory, Agency theory, Prisoners dilemma framework and Resource based theory; it seems to be that the â€Å"Resource based theory† is the most suitable theoretical framework for the Business angel investments. However the Resource based theory has to be amended with few assumptions: Human capital should be taken as the (knowledge, skills business experience) investors contribute with (Ardichvili et al. (2002). Although we discussed the above theories, many researchers have described and tried to apply other similar theories to the investor investee relationship [Example: Procedural Justice (Busenitz, Fiet Moesel, 2004), learning and knowledge-based view (De Clercq Sapienza, 2002), resource exchange theory (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin Welbourne, 1990)]. All the investment theories have a common characteristic that have only a few relevant investment features in them to the investor-investee concept. To make it applicable for the Business angels and entrepreneurs all these theories should have few amendments and adaptations (Sapienza, Manigart Vermeir, 1996). Small And Medium Enterprise (SME) William Kendall, the Chief Executive of Whole Earth Ltd stated, â€Å"SME business is a fantastic place to work. You have to think innovatively to be an entrepreneur. Its thrilling and its enjoyable.† According to (European Industrial Relations Observatory) there is no general definition for SME. But the (Governments Bolton Committee, 1971) cited that the characteristic of a SME firm is a self-sufficient business being owned by a single owner with a small market share. The report also stated that the size of the SME changes in different industries. Although it is hard to give one specific definition for SMEs, it can be measured and classified by numbers (employees revenue rates). The defining measurements are as follows: Definitions: (The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform – BERR, UK) has defined SME with 3 types of measurements and those are based on amount of employees: Micro firms: 0-9 employees; Small firms: 0-49 employees and Medium firms: 50-249. The (European Commission) changed the definition of the SME to increase the partnerships and innovations. The definition which took affect on 2005 is: â€Å" A Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprise (SME) is made up of firms which employ less than 250 employees and have yearly revenue less than 50 million euro†. Importance Of SME In The Uk The country has raised the level of growth productivity in the last era reducing the competition gap between other countries like US, France Germany (BERR, 2008). Currently UK is reacting well to the global prospects and challenges. The growth of the SME market increases each year promising to boost the economy of the country. According to (European Business Angels Network (2007) Dissemination Report on the Potential for Business Angels Investment and Networks in Europe), the employment and annual revenue contribution of the SME industry as a whole is more than 50 percent of the total. The UK government provides necessary support for people to step up and start their innovative business to increase the competition level of the country (www.berr.gov.uk). The Entrepreneur Earlier it was discussed that previously recognized agency theories explains that the investor, ensuring a healthy relationship is highly regarded as a successful investment aspect in an investment (Kelly Hay, 2003). Therefore exploring more about what authors have studied about entrepreneurs and investors is vital. The difference between a formal venture capitalist and a business angel is that a venture capitalist invests looking at the company and its ability to perform (Schramm, 2004). On the other hand the business angel focuses mostly on the entrepreneur to make sure there can be a good business relationship (Mark and Robinson 2000, p138). The entrepreneur is the only key to get the funding needed for a start-up business. As an entrepreneur, it is vital to gain the investors trust and confidence in the business idea. According to (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000, p123), it is cited that during a business start-up there is a high percentage of entrepreneurs failing to make good management decisions in the initial stages. It is very sensible for an entrepreneur to seek a business angel as they pay special interest on the business they invest in with all their resources including non-financial contributions. It could help fill all the management weaknesses of an initial stage of the business and sav e huge amounts of consulting and managerial costs (Mason and Stark, 2004). Entrepreneur Evaluation (Osnabrugge Robinson, 2000) had explained that entrepreneurs should be aware that the investor not only pays attention on the business proposition but also the entrepreneur himself to ensure the safety, confidence, enthusiasm and the ability to depend on the entrepreneur. Trust is something investors work hard to find in an entrepreneur, because they invest large amounts of financial resources on a person they met in a short period of time (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000, p125). According to a study conducted by Stedler and Peters; entrepreneurs capability to convince the business angel to invest is very important and showed that 81% of business angels has expressed that a positive first impression established in the first meeting as important (Stedler and Peters, 2000). When it comes to angel investment decisions being made, business angels need to ensure that the entrepreneur should be a proficient manager (Gerald and Joel, 2000). Loyalty, leadership, reliability and personality are important characteristics that angel investors look into when they evaluate entrepreneurs. An entrepreneur should be able to have those qualities to gain an influence of the investor (Aernoudt 1999 Sappa 2006). The characteristics that separate a good ownership from a poor is, that if the entrepreneur is able to establish trust and leadership skills with confidence and make the employees follow him/her (Micah Baldwin 2007). Investors find it comforting to know that the entrepreneurs have invested partly on the business before seeking external investment. This gives the investor the idea that the entrepreneur has given all the effort in the involvement of the process and that the financial value of the business is appreciated (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000, p127). According to (Sappa 2006), business angels take lots of time and effort into finding out background information on the entrepreneur to ensure that the owner has the right expertise to manage the business he proposes. (Haines and Riding 1998) corroborates furthermore by adding that the entrepreneur sharing his/her previous business experiences and being much more practical about the business brings more information and confidence to the investor. Finally all the above characteristics that were discussed are very important for a new start-up entrepreneur to influence investments from professional business angels. Business Angels As we have gone through the theories of business angels it is important to know who business angels are in the minds of researchers. A business angel is a highly prosperous individual who can be a business person and willing to invest part of his/hers finance on a promising entrepreneur who has a potential to succeed (Isakssin 2000, Helle 2004). According to (Harrison Manson, 1999), there are three eras of business angel researches conducted in the investment business: First era of business angel research was conducted by United States of America in early 1980s. Authors like; (Landstrom, 1993) from Sweden and (Harrison Manson, 1992) from United Kingdom repeated the same work by giving out similar results. In this era it was solely concentrated on business angels thoughts, activities and characteristics (Freear, Sohl Wetzel, 2002). Second era enabled researchers to go deep into business angels by investigating their post investment involvements. Theory building up and applying for business angels began in this era. Although there were theories built for business angels, it wasnt developed enough to be completely suitable for the activities of angel investors (Connolly et al., 2006). Third era will be the era about the future researches of business angels. There were many faults in the previous researches done and they need to be taken in a new direction to make sure the researches investigated will produce good results (Arenius Minniti, 2005). This would finally make us understand the minds of business angels and match the Business angel – Entrepreneur relationship under changing economy, culture competition (Connolly, OGorman Bogue, 2006). By the help of (Harrison Mason) Swedish researchers like (Sorheim 2005) will enable to investigate on the changing environment of Business angels. This also mean that the theories being found in the previous eras could finally be developed enough to apply on the business angels current investment methods and get positive results (Gompers Lerner, 2007). Characteristics Of Business Angels Almost all the business angels who actively invest on new businesses have few common characteristics. They all have the main motive to increase the potential of their financial capital (Duxbary, Haines Riding 1996). But (Landstrom 1993, Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000) explained that all business angels should not be profiled in a similar way because cultures and person to person could make them different to each others ways in terms of making a personal investment decision. Although there could be many differences between business angels, (Osnabrugge and Robinson, 2000) also stated that there are general motives behind all business angels when it comes to a certain result they expect out of an investment. When Venture capitalists and business angels are taken together it is wide clear that Business angels are individuals who prefer to invest less financial capital than of the formal investors who invest large amounts. Business angels also prefer to invest their money mainly on initial stages of a business (Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000). When it comes to formal investors, they are selective in industries they invest on depending on a lot of information and research. But the Business angels invest on the entrepreneur regardless of what industry sector the business idea would succeed on. They do little research on the industry but heavy research on the entrepreneur they expect to build a trust worthy relationship, because they depend on the entrepreneur mu ch more than the venture capitalists that only rely on the market and the performance of the company (Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000, p63). Furthermore a research conducted in the Norwegian angel market and studies conducted in the US have identified several angel categories. There could be cultural and economical differences among countries like (UK, Sweden Singapore) but angel investors do have likely investment standards in those countries (Landstrom 1993). (Freeny, Haines Riding 1998) explained that the markets which business angels are currently active are where they are wiling to invest more on. There could be many differences in Business angels personalities and points of views of the whole investment process. There are studies that showed the â€Å"most regular business angel†. It is stated that the age, where successful individuals decide to invest their money on a business is when they get to their 50s. This shows that it is almost a retirement phase from a business point of view. This can be confirmed by a research carried out in Germany where it stated that 95% of BAs were male individuals, 56% were directors or owners of their businesses and 17% were individuals who were in the director board on other organizations (Stedler Peters, 2003). Even (Osnabrugge and Robinson 2000, p156) supported Stedler and Peters by explaining that the individuals were in director posts and had good business experiences before they decide to move on into personal investments. Most business angels involve themselves heavily during the initial stages of start-up businesses. They wish to invest near to their homes to make sure of convenience. And Business angels are well educated, wealthy beyond a certain average and expect to have a good life with their feet up on a desk holding a glass of wine, which we all hope to achieve one fine day (Freeny, Haines Riding 1998). Although this thesis aims to look at the characteristics of UK business angels, it was clear by all previous studies that there are common statistics about their decisions and behaviors. This tells us that, UK angel investors too are not far from what was described before in the theories. Still it is important to point out few common characteristics of UK business angels; Common Characteristics Of UK Business Angels According to (Ardichvili et al., 2002), Business angels in the UK have been or still are active business owners. They invest in more similar markets to what they are operating in, which saves them a lot of time trying to understand the market and the operations. Like all business angels, UK investors are highly motivated by the return of their investments and the effort (non financial motives) they have put in to the start-up business. They do enjoy being a part of a new business hoping to succeed for the better part of the community and the country (Landstrom 1993). Furthermore UK business angels prefers and makes sure they invest on new businesses that they could visit regularly, which means they invest in promising firms which will locate geographically near to where they reside (Ardichvili et al., 2002). BAs would rather invest in firms within their residing area, than investing in a location where they find it hard to meet the entrepreneur even though it would double their investments (Harrison, Mason Robson, 2003). Most British angels prefer their entrepreneurs operate within 100 miles of their homes although investors who invested on technological businesses are willing to travel long distances (www.bbaa.org.uk). According to Mason, British angels mostly prefer to invest on small businesses during its initial stages where it is not too late to put in not just their finance sources but their advice and experience to get things on the right track. This, in a way gives them satisfaction of being a part of a promising business (Mason, 2002). After going through the common characteristics of British Angel Investors, it is quite clear that there isnt a major difference compared with the international countries like Sweden and Denmark which will be discussed later. We discussed about Business angels and it is vital to know the categories of their investments. Investment Aspects Of A Business Angel One of the objectives of this thesis is to find out how Business angels in UK and other similar countries decide to invest on a certain investment they find it promising. An investor looking for good reasons to decide on an investment is known as Investment Aspects or Investment Criteria (Landstrom, 1993). It is a way of evaluating the business and the entrepreneur to ensure the security and the profitability of the business proposal. According to the venture capitalism and angel investment comparison carried out by (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000), it revealed that although there were similarities among their attributes in their investment standards there were a certain amount of dissimilarities which makes business angels favorites for a new start up business. For an example, venture capitalists are prepared to invest almost in all stages of a business and therefore they look into all the past and probable financial records of the company. On the other hand the business angels much prefer to invest on a start-up phase of a new business where past financial experiences are not so important to them (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000). Most business angels give similar priorities to investment aspects, when it comes to making a decision. With much researches conducted over the past years (Osnabrugge Robinson 2000) has come up with a selected summary that illustrates the criteria of an investment. The following (Table 1) of twenty-five selective factors are prioritized by well known angel investors; Priority order Priority factors for an investment 1 passion of the industrialist 2 Dependability of the industrialist 3 Sales prospective of the product 4 proficiency of the industrialist 5 Entrepreneur(s) first impression 6 Development prospective of the market 7 Quality of the product 8 Benefits

Marilyn Hackers Mother-Daughter Relationship Exposed in Selected Poems

Marilyn Hacker's Mother-Daughter Relationship Exposed in Selected Poems 1965-1990 If Selected Poems 1965-1990 can be taken as an evenly representative sample of Marilyn Hacker's work, motherhood does not seem to be the single central focus of her life or her work. Hacker has quite a few poems about or for her daughter Iva, and Iva is mentioned in many other poems, yet much of Hacker's work focuses on other aspects of her life and interests. The fact that Hacker does not focus exclusively on her motherhood seems important in and of itself. Though I don't think that we get the opportunity, through these poems, to judge whether or not Hacker is a "good mother," I would say that her apparent ability to be simultaneously a mother and an artist and a lover and a daughter makes her a healthy, balanced individual and thus a good role model for her daughter. As illustration of my idea of Hacker's space for mothering, in "La Fontaine de Vaucluse" appear the following lines (p. 116) referring to Iva: Sometimes she still swims at my center; sometimes she is a four-year-old an ocean...

Edward Marshall Boehm, Inc Essay

Edward Marshall Boehm, Inc. is a company that produces unique and high quality porcelain products mainly focusing on birds, flowers, and wildlife. The objective of the company is to raise awareness of Mr. Boehm’s artist talent, create appreciation and protection for threatened and vanishing species. Meanwhile, Mr. Boehm wants to build a business that could make them wealthy. There are two main problems facing by the company. First, the process of making these porcelain products is complicated and required elaborate technical skills, the company does not have enough skilled staffs and producing power to meet the demand from the market. Second, the company lacks of enough distribution channels to raise awareness of its brand and the uniqueness of its products. At the current stage, the company has three series of porcelain in its product lines, which are priced from $100 to over $20,000. Each piece of porcelain sculpture requires a 52-step process. Some of products are sold out for years in advance, and it is difficult to anticipate which pieces might achieve this distinction. In addition, the company has only one distributor, Minton China, to distribute its products to some 175 retail outlets in the United States. The company can try to reduce costs by using other materials at a lower cost, developing a faster production process, but the bottom line is since the most competitive advantage of the company is the uniqueness and high quality of the product, the company should preserve its quality instead of using cheaper materials or faster production time that may violates the value of its products. In order to continue the business in the long run, the company should adapt the following changes. First, the company should hire more staffs and train them to produce the products in order to increase production of lower priced products. Meanwhile, it should find more distributors to raise awareness of the company, and supply them only with the lower priced products. Second, the company can open its own local stores that provide medium and high price range products. In addition, as for the most valuable piece, the company should put it on auctions that mainly focus on customers like museums and private collectors. Case 2 – Edward Marshall Boehm, Inc. 1. Analyze the firms goals and objectives Goal: Make the world aware of Mr. Boehm’s artistic talent, to help world wildlife causes by creating appreciation and protection for threatened species, and to build a continuing business that could make them comfortably wealthy, perhaps millionaires. No one goal has grater precedence over the others. Strategic objective: The case does not tell a lot about strategic objectives that are specific and cover a well-defined time frame. 2. Analyze the external environment The case does not talk a lot about the external environment, but it could be very useful for Boehm to make an analyze of the general environment (demographic, sociocultural, political/legal, technological, economic and global.). Also the competitive environment is very important. That kind of information will give them a better opportunity to make a good firm strategy. 3. Analyze the internal environment What is adding value to the firm?: The company’s big knowledge about have to make porcelain that is very technical as well as artistic challenge to make. 4. Assess the firms intellectual assets Human Capital: Edward Marshall Boehm is the man behind the porcelain. He has the knowledge to make it and the love to the nature which inspires him in his work. This and the special hard paste porcelain make the company unique and give the company a big competitive advantage. The company should be aware of not only having tacit knowledge where Edward Marshall Boehm have all the knowledge but instead share the knowledge in the company. 5. Analyze the business level strategy Competitive strategy: The company follows the competitive strategy called focus (differentiation) because they sell to a particular segment only and not the whole industry. They are also selling a unique product.