Franchising and Domino

PROJECT REPORT ON SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT OF DOMINO’S PIZZA SUBMITTED TO:SUBMITTED BY:DR. HAIDER ALI KUMAR SHANTANU ROLL NO. 22 1 MBA(E-BUSINESS) SEMESTER IV TABLE OF CONTENTS SL NO. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6 7. PARTICULARS ABOUT DOMINO’S PIZZA DOMINO’S IN INDIA MENU IN DOMINO’S COMPETITIVE STRENGTHS OF DOMINO’S BUSINESS STRATEGY OF DOMINO’S STORE OPERATIONS SUPPLY CHAIN OF DOMINO’S PAGE NO. 3 3 5 6 7 9 12 2 ABOUT DOMINO’S PIZZA Founded in 1960, Domino's Pizza is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery operating a network of company-owned and franchise-owned stores in the United States and international markets. Domino's Pizza's Vision illustrates a company of exceptional people on a mission to be the best Pizza Delivery Company in the world. Domino's started out small with the legendary Tom Monaghan who bought his first pizza store and called it Dominick's. It was re-christened Domino's Pizza in 1965. HoDomino’sver, in 1978, the 200th Domino's store opened, and things really began to cook. By 1983 there Were 1000 Domino's stores, rising to 5000 in 1989. Today, there are more than 9000 franchised and company owned stores in the United States and 60 international markets . Domino's is listed on the NYSE under the symbol â€Å"DPZ. † The Domino's Pizza ® brand was named a Megabrand by Advertising Age magazine. Domino's Pizza was named â€Å"Chain of the Year† by Pizza Today magazine, the leading publication of the pizza industry. In 2009, Domino's ranked number one in customer satisfaction in a survey of consumers of the U. S. argest limited service restaurants, according to the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Domino's has expanded its menu significantly since 2008 to include Oven Baked Sandwiches and BreadBowl Pasta, and recently debuted its ‘Inspired New Pizza'- a permanent change to its core hand-tossed product, reinvented from the crust up with new sauce, cheese and garlic seasoned crust. DOMINO’S IN INDIA Jubilant Food Works Limited, a Jubilant Bhartia Group Company holds the Master Franchisee Rights for Domino's Pizza for India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The company has been listed on the Indian btheses recently. Prior to Sep 24, 2009, the company was known as Domino's Pizza India Limited and underwent a name change, rest of the terms remaining the 3 same. The promoters of the company are Mr. Shyam S Bhartia, Mr. Hari S Bhartia and Jubilant Enpro Private Ltd. Domino's Pizza opened its first store in India in January 1996, at New Delhi. Today Domino's Pizza India has grown into a countrywide network of more than 300 stores with a team of over 9,000 people. According to the India Retail Report 2009, It was the largest Pizza chain in India and the fastest growing multinational fast food chain betDomino’sen 2006-2007 and 2008-2009 in terms of number of stores. Over the period since 1996, Domino's Pizza India has remained focused on delivering great tasting Pizzas and sides, superior quality, exceptional customer service and value for money offerings. It has endeavored to establish a reputation for being a home delivery specialist capable of delivering pizzas within 30 minutes or else FREE to a community of loyal consumers from all the stores around the country. Domino's vision is focused on † Exceptional people on a mission to be the best pizza delivery company in the world! â€Å". It is committed to bringing fun, happiness and convenience to lives of the consumers by delivering delicious pizzas to their doorstep and efforts are aimed at fulfilling this commitment towards a large and ever-growing customer base. Domino's constantly strives to develop products that suit the tastes of the consumers and hence delighting them. Domino's believes strongly in the strategy of ‘Think global and act local'. Thus, time and again it has been innovating with delicious new products such as crusts, toppings and flavthes suitable to the taste buds of Indian Consumers. Further providing value for money and affordable products to the consumers has been an important part of it’s efforts. Domino’s initiatives such as Fun Meal and Pizza Mania have been extremely popular with consumers looking for an affordable and value for money meal option. The Brand Positioning of Khushiyon ki Home Delivery (Happiness Home delivered) is the emotional benefit it offers to the consumers. All the efforts, whether it is a new innovative and delicious product, offering consumers value for money deals, great service, country wide presence or delivery in 30 minutes or free are all oriented towards delivering happiness to the homes of the consumers. Consumers can order their pizzas by calling the single Happiness Hotline number 1800-111-123 (in most cities of Domino's Pizzas Presence) and 44448888 (in NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore). 4 MENU IN DOMINO’S VEGETARIAN SIMPLY VEG Margherita Cheese and Tomato pizza VEG I Double Cheese Margherita Fresh Veggie Country Special Farm House VEG II Peppy Paneer Mexican Green Wave Deluxe Veggie Gthemet FEAST PIZZA Veg Extravaganza NON-VEGETARIAN SIMPLY NON VEG Cheese And Barbeque Chicken NON VEG I Barbeque Chicken Spicy Chicken NON VEG II Chicken Mexican Red Wave FEAST PIZZA Meatzaa Keema Do Pyaaza Non Veg Extravaganza Chicken Golden Cheese And Delight Pepperoni SIDE ORDERS 5 VEGETARIAN Veg Mexican Wrap Veg Pasta Italiano White Veg Pasta Italiano Red Garlic Breadsticks Cheese Jalapeno Dip Cheese Dip Choco Lava Cake NON-VEGETARIAN Veg Mexican Wrap Veg Pasta Italiano White Veg Pasta Italiano Red Chicken Wings COMPETITIVE STRENGTHS OF DOMINO’S ? Strong and proven growth and earnings model:- Over a 50- year old history, it has developed a focused growth and earnings model. This model is anchored by stong store-level economics, which provide an entrepreneurial incentive for franchise, and generate demand for new stores. The franchise system in return has produced strong and consistent earnings through supply chain and royalty payments revenue, with minimal associated capital expenditures. Strong store-level economics:- It has developed a cost-efficient store model, characterized by a delivery and carry-out oriented store design, with low capital requirements and a focused menu of quality, affordable pizza and complimentary side items. At the store level, it believes that simplicity and efficiency of operations gives it advantages over its competitors. ? Strong and Overall-diversified franchis e system:- It has developed a large, global and diversified franchise network that is critical component of its system-wide success and efficient pizza delivery. The franchise system network consists of 8284 stores, 55% of which are located in United States. 6 ? Strong cash flow and earnings stream:- A substantial percentage of the earnings are generated by the commited, owner-operator franchises through royalty payments and revenues to vertically integrated supply chain system. ? Strong brand awareness:- Domino’s pizza brand is one of the most widely known consumer brand in the world. Consumers associate the brand with timely delivery of pizza, affordable pizza and complimentary side items. Domino’s brand has been routinely recognized as a megabrand by â€Å"Advertising Age†. Internal dough manufacturing and supply chain system:- In addition to generating significant revenues and earnings, the vertically integrated dough manufacturing and supply chain system enhances the quality and consistency of the products and the relationship with the franchises. It also helps in leveraging economies of scale to offer loDominoâ€⠄¢sr cost to stores and allows the store managers to better focus on store operations and customer service by relieving them of the responsibility of mixing dough in the stores. BUSINESS STRATEGY OF DOMINO’S It intends to achieve further growth and strengthen the competitive position through the continued implementation of business strategy which includes the following elements:? Continue to execute the mission statement:- The mission statement of Domino’s is â€Å"exceptional franchises and team members on a mission to be the best pizza delivery company in the world†. It implements this by following a business strategy that:- †¢ puts franchises and company owned stores at the foundation of all the thinking and decisions; †¢ emphasizes the ability to select,develop and retain exceptional team embers and franchises; 7 †¢ provides a strong infrastructure to support the stores; †¢ builds excellent store operations to create loyal customers; ? Growing the leading position in an attractive industry :- U. S. pizza delivery and carry-out are the largest components of the U. S. QSR pizza category. They are also highly fragmented. Pizza delivery, through which a majority of retail sales are generated, had sales of $10. 9 billion in the twelve months ended November 2008. As the leader in U. S. izza delivery, domino’s believes that convenient store locations, simple operating model, widely-recognized brand and efficient supply chain system are competitive advantages that position it to capitalize on future growth. Carry-out had $13. 8 billion of sales in the twelve months ended November 2008. While the primary focus is on pizza delivery, domino’s is also favorably positioned as a leader in carry-out given the strong brand, convenient store locations and quality, affordable menu offerings. ? Leveraging the strong brand awareness :- Domino’s believes that he strength of the Domino’s Pizza ® brand makes us one of the first choices of consumers seeking a convenient, quality and affordable meal. Domino’s intend to continue to promote the brand name and enhance the reputation as the leader in pizza delivery. In 2007 Domino’s launched the campaign, â€Å"You Got 30 Minutesâ„ ¢,† which built on the Company’s 30-minute delivery heritage. In 2007 and 2008, each of the domestic stores contributed 4% of their retail sales to the advertising fund for national advertising in addition to contributions for market-level advertising. Additionally, for 2007 the domestic stores within active co-operatives elected to allocate an additional 1% of their advertising contributions to support national advertising initiatives. Domino’s intend to leverage the strong brand by continuing to introduce innovative, consumer-tested and profitable new product varieties (such as Domino’s Brooklyn Style Pizza and Domino’s Oven Baked Sandwiches), complementary side items (such as buffalo wings, cheesy bread, Domino’s Buffalo Chicken Kickers ® and Cinna Stix ®) and value promotions as through marketing affiliations with brands such as Coca- Cola ®. Additionally, Domino’s may from time-to-time partner with other organizations in an effort to promote the Domino’s Pizza ® brand. Domino’s believes these opportunities, when coupled with the scale and share leadership, will allow to grow the position in U. S. pizza delivery. ? Expand and optimize the domestic store base :- Domino’s plan to continue expanding the base of domestic stores to take advantage of 8 the attractive growth opportunities in U. S. pizza delivery. Domino’s believes that the scale allows to expand the store base with limited marketing, distribution and other incremental infrastructure costs. Additionally, the franchise-oriented business model allows to expand the store base with limited capital expenditures and working capital requirements. While Domino’s plan to expand the traditional domestic store base primarily through opening new franchise stores, Domino’s will also continually evaluate the mix of Company-owned and franchise stores and strategically acquire franchise stores and refranchise Company-owned stores. Continue to grow the International Business :- Domino’s believe that pizza has global appeal and that there is strong and growing international demand for delivered pizza. Domino’s have successfully built a broad international platform, almost exclusively through the master franchise model, as evidenced by the 3,726 international stores in more than 60 countries. Domino’s be lieves that Domino’s continue to have significant long-term growth opportunities in international markets where Domino’s have established a leading presence. In the current top ten international markets, Domino’s believe that the store base in total for these ten markets is approximately half of the total long-term potential store base in those markets. Generally, Domino’s believe Domino’s will achieve long-term growth internationally as a result of the favorable store-level economics of the business model, the growing international demand for delivered pizza and the strong global recognition of the Domino’s Pizza ® brand. The international stores have produced positive quarterly same store sales growth for 60 consecutive quarters. STORE OPERATIONS Domino’s believe that the focused and proven store model provides a significant competitive advantage relative to many of the competitors who focus on multiple components of the pizza category, particularly dine-in. Domino’s have been focused on pizza delivery for 48 years. Because the domestic stores and most of the international stores do not offer dine-in areas, they typically do not require expensive real estate, are relatively small and are relatively inexpensive to build and equip. The stores also benefit from lower maintenance costs, as store assets have long lives and updates 9 re not frequently required. The simple and efficient operational processes, which Domino’s have refined through continuous improvement, include:†¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ strategic store locations to facilitate delivery service; production-oriented store designs; product and process innovations; a focused menu; efficient order taking, production and del ivery; Domino’s PULSEâ„ ¢ point-of-sale system; and a comprehensive store audit program. Strategic store locations to facilitate delivery service Domino’s locate the stores strategically to facilitate timely delivery service to the customers. The majority of the domestic stores are located in populated areas in or adjacent to large or mid-size cities, or on or near college campuses. Domino’s use geographic information software, which incorporates variables such as traffic volumes, competitor locations, household demographics and visibility, to evaluate and identify potential store locations and new markets. Production-oriented store designs The typical store is relatively small, occupying approximately 1,000 to 1,300 square feet, and is designed with a focus on efficient and timely production of consistently high quality pizza for delivery. The store layout has been refined over time to provide an efficient flow from order taking to delivery. The stores are primarily production facilities and, accordingly, do not typically have a dine-in area. Product and process innovations The 48 years of experience and innovative culture have resulted in numerous new product and process developments that increase both quality and efficiency. These include the efficient, vertically-integrated supply chain system, a sturdier corrugated pizza box and a mesh screen that helps cook pizza crust more evenly. The Domino’s HeatWave ® hot bag, which was introduced in 1998, keeps the pizzas hot during delivery. Domino’s also continue to introduce new products such as Domino’s Oven Baked Sandwiches, which Domino’s launched in 2008. Additionally, Domino’s have added a number of complementary side items to the menu such as buffalo wings, Domino’s Buffalo Chicken Kickers ®, bread sticks, cheesy bread and Cinna Stix ®. Focused menu 10 Domino’s maintain a focused menu that is designed to present an attractive, quality offering to customers, while minimizing order errors, and expediting the order taking and food preparation processes. The basic menu has three choices for pizza products: pizza type, pizza size and pizza toppings. Most of the stores carry two or three sizes of Traditional Hand-Tossed, Ultimate Deep Dish, Brooklyn Style and Crunchy Thin Crust pizza. During 2008, Domino’s added the new Domino’s Oven Baked Sandwiches to the menu that are available in fthe main varieties. The typical store also offers buffalo wings, Domino’s Buffalo Chicken Kickers ®, bread sticks, cheesy bread, Cinna Stix ® and Coca-Cola ® soft drink products. Domino’s also occasionally offer other products on a promotional basis. Domino’s believe that the focused menu creates a strong identity among consumers, improves operating efficiency and maintains food quality and consistency. Efficient order taking, production and delivery Each store executes an operational process that includes order taking, pizza preparation, cooking (via automated, conveyor-driven ovens), boxing and delivery. The entire order taking and pizza production process is designed for completion in approximately 12-15 minutes. These operational processes are supplemented by an extensive employee training program designed to ensure world-class quality and customer service. It is the priority to ensure that every Domino’s store operates in an efficient, consistent manner while maintaining the high standards of food quality and team member safety. Domino’s PULSEâ„ ¢ point-of-sale system The computerized management information systems are designed to improve operating efficiencies, provide corporate management with timely access to financial and marketing data and reduce store and corporate administrative time and expense. Domino’s have installed Domino’s PULSEâ„ ¢, the proprietary point-of-sale system, in every Company-owned store in the United States and significantly all of the domestic franchise stores. Some enhanced features of Domino’s PULSEâ„ ¢ over the previous point-ofsale system include: †¢ touch screen ordering, which improves accuracy and facilitates more efficient order taking; †¢ a delivery driver routing system, which improves delivery efficiency; †¢ improved administrative and reporting capabilities, which enable store managers to better focus on store operations and customer satisfaction; and †¢ enhanced online ordering capability, including Pizza Tracker which was introduced in 2007. Domino’s require the domestic franchisees to install Domino’s PULSEâ„ ¢ and are in the process of installing Domino’s PULSEâ„ ¢ in the remaining domestic 11 franchise stores. Additionally, Domino’s have installed Domino’s PULSEâ„ ¢ in over 1,000 international franchise stores. Comprehensive store audit program Domino’s utilize a comprehensive store audit program to ensure that the stores are meeting both the stringent standards as the expectations of the customers. The audit program focuses primarily on the quality of the pizza the store is producing, the customer service the store is providing and the condition of the store as viewed by the customer. Domino’s believe that this store audit program is an integral part of the strategy to maintain high standards in the stores. SUPPLY CHAIN OF DOMINO’S Domino’s operates in three business segments: 12 Domestic stores:- The domestic stores segment consists of the domestic franchise operations, which oversee the network of 4,558 franchise stores located in the contiguous United States, and the domestic Company-owned store operations, which operate the network of 489 Company-owned stores located in the contiguous United States; †¢ Domestic supply chain:- The domestic supply chain segment operates 17 regional dough manufacturing and food supply chain centers, one supply chain center providing equipment and supplies to certain of the domestic and international stores and one veg etable processing supply chain center; and †¢ International:- The nternational segment oversees the network of 3,726 international franchise stores in more than 60 countries. The international segment also distributes food to a limited number of markets from six dough manufacturing and supply chain centers in Alaska, Hawaii and Canada (fthe). Domestic stores During 2008, the domestic stores segment accounted for $511. 6 million, or 36%, of the consolidated revenues. The domestic franchises are operated by entrepreneurs who own and operate an average of three to fthe stores. Only six of the domestic franchisees operate more than 50 stores, including the largest domestic franchisee, which operates 144 stores. The principal sources of revenues from domestic store operations are Company-owned store sales and royalty payments based on retail sales by the franchisees. The domestic network of Company-owned stores also plays an important strategic role in the predominantly franchised operating structure. In addition to generating revenues and earnings, Domino’s use the domestic Company-owned stores as test sites for new products and promotions as Overall as store operational improvements and as forums for training new store managers and prospective franchisees. Domino’s also believe that the domestic Company-owned stores add to the economies of scale available for advertising, marketing and other costs that are primarily borne by the franchisees. While Domino’s continue to be primarily a franchised business, Domino’s continually evaluate the mix of domestic Company-owned and franchise stores in an effort to optimize the profitability. The domestic Company-owned store operations are divided into eleven geographic areas located throughout the contiguous United States while the domestic franchise operations are divided into fthe regions. The team members within these areas provide direct supervision over the domestic Company-owned stores; provide training, store operational audits and marketing services; and provide financial analysis and store development services to the franchisees. Domino’s maintain a close relationship with the franchise stores through regional franchise teams, an array of computer-based training materials that help franchise stores comply 13 ith the standards and franchise advisory groups communications betDomino’sen us and the franchisees. Domestic supply chain that facilitate During 2008, the domestic supply chain segment accounted for $771. 1 million, or 54%, of the consolidated revenues. The domestic supply chain segment is comprised of dough manufacturing and supply chain cent ers that manufacture fresh dough on a daily basis and purchase, receive, store and deliver quality pizza-related food products and complementary side items to all of the Company-owned stores and over 99% of the domestic franchise stores. Each regional dough manufacturing and supply chain center serves approximately 300 stores, generally located within a one-day delivery radius. Domino’s regularly supply approximately 5,000 stores with various supplies and ingredients, of which, eight product groups account for over 90% of the volume. The domestic supply chain segment made approximately 575,000 full-service deliveries in 2008 or betDomino’sen two and three deliveries per store, per Domino’sek; and Domino’s produced over 273 million pounds of dough during 2008. Domino’s believe that the franchisees voluntarily choose to obtain food, supplies and equipment from us because Domino’s provide the most efficient, convenient and cost-effective alternative, while also providing both quality and consistency. In addition, the domestic supply chain segment offers a profitsharing arrangement to stores that purchase all of their food from the domestic dough manufacturing and supply chain centers. This profit-sharing arrangement generally provides domestic Company-owned stores and participating franchisees with 50% of their regional supply chain center’s pre-tax profits. Profits are shared with the franchisees based upon each franchisee’s purchases from the supply chain centers. Domino’s believe these arrangements strengthen the ties with these franchisees. The information systems used by the domestic dough manufacturing and supply chain centers are an integral part of the quality service Domino’s provide the stores. Domino’s use routing strategies and software to optimize the daily delivery schedules, which maximizes on-time deliveries. Through the strategic dough manufacturing and supply chain center locations and proven routing systems, Domino’s achieved delivery accuracy rates of approximately 99% during 2008. The supply chain center drivers unload food and supplies and stock store shelves typically during non-peak store hthes, which minimizes disruptions in store operations. International During 2008, the international segment accounted for $142. 4 million, or 10%, of the consolidated revenues. Domino’s have 592 franchise stores in Mexico, representing the largest presence of any QSR company in Mexico, 512 franchise stores in the United Kingdom, 412 franchise stores in Australia, 14 305 franchise stores in South Korea, 296 franchise stores in Canada, 227 franchise stores in India and over 100 franchise stores in each of Japan, France, Taiwan and Turkey. The principal sources of revenues from the international operations are royalty payments generated by retail sales from franchise stores and sales of food and supplies to franchisees in certain markets. Domino’s have grown by more than 1,200 international stores over the past five years. Domino’s empower the managers and franchisees to adapt the standard operating model, within certain parameters, to satisfy the local eating habits and consumer preferences of various regions outside the contiguous United States. Currently, most of the international stores are operated under master franchise agreements, and Domino’s plan to continue entering into master franchise agreements with qualified franchisees to expand the international operations in selected countries. Domino’s believe that the international franchise stores appeal to potential franchisees because of the Overall-recognized brand name, the limited capital expenditures required to open and operate the stores and the system’s favorable store economics. The following table shows the store count as of December 28, 2008 in the top ten international markets, which account for 78% of the international stores. Number of stores Mexico 592 United Kingdom 512 Australia 412 South Korea 305 Canada 296 India 227 Japan 181 France 140 Taiwan 120 Turkey 106 The franchise program As of December 28, 2008, the 4,558 domestic franchise stores Were owned and operated by the 1,216 domestic franchisees. The success of the franchise formula, which enables franchisees to benefit from the brand name with a relatively low initial capital investment, has attracted a large number of motivated entrepreneurs as franchisees. As of December 28, 2008, the average domestic franchisee operated approximately three to fthe stores and had been in the franchise system for tDomino’slve years. At the same time, only six of the domestic franchisees operated more than 50 stores, including the largest domestic franchisee, which operates 144 stores. Domestic franchises 15 Domino’s apply rigorous standards to prospective franchises. Domino’s generally require prospective domestic franchises to manage a store for at least one year before being granted a franchise. This enables us to observe the operational and financial performance of a potential franchisee prior to entering into a long-term contract. Domino’s also generally restrict the ability of domestic franchisees to become involved in other businesses, which focuses the franchisees’ attention on operating their stores. As a result, the vast majority of the franchisees come from within the Domino’s Pizza system. Domino’s believe these standards are unique to the franchise industry and result in qualified and focused franchisees operating their stores. Franchise agreements Domino’s enter into franchise agreements with domestic franchisees under which the franchisee is granted the right to operate a store in a particular location for a term of ten years, with options to renew for an additional term of ten years. Domino’s currently have a franchise contract renewal rate of over 99%. Under the current standard franchise agreement, Domino’s assign an exclusive area of primary responsibility to each franchise store. During the term of the franchise agreement, the franchisee is required to pay a 5. 5% royalty fee on sales, subject, in limited instances, to loDomino’sr rates based on area development agreements, sales initiatives and new store incentives. Domino’s have the contractual right, subject to state law, to terminate a franchise agreement for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to, a franchisee’s failure to make required payments when due or failure to adhere to specified Company policies and standards. Franchise store development Domino’s provide domestic franchisees with assistance in selecting store sites and conforming the space to the physical specifications required for a Domino’s Pizza store. Each domestic franchisee selects the location and design for each store, subject to the approval, based on accessibility and visibility of the site and demographic factors, including population density and anticipated traffic levels. Domino’s provide design plans and sell fixtures and equipment to most of the franchise stores. Franchise training nd support Training store managers and employees is a critical component of the success. Domino’s require all domestic franchisees to complete initial and ongoing training programs provided by us. In addition, under the standard domestic franchise agreement, domestic franchisees are required to implement training programs for their store employees. Domino’s assist the 16 domestic and international franchisees by making training materials available to them for their use in training store managers and employees, including computer-based training materials, comprehensive operations manuals and franchise development classes. Domino’s also maintain communications with the franchisees online, through various newsletters and through face-to-face meetings. Franchise operations Domino’s enforce stringent standards over franchise operations to protect the Domino’s Pizza ® brand. All franchisees are required to operate their stores in compliance with written policies, standards and specifications, which include matters such as menu items, ingredients, materials, supplies, services, furnishings, decor and signs. Each franchisee has full discretion to determine the prices to be charged to customers. Domino’s also provide ongoing support to the franchisees, including training, marketing assistance and consultation to franchisees who experience financial or operational difficulties. Domino’s have established several advisory boards, through which franchisees contribute to developing systemwide initiatives. International franchises The vast majority of the markets outside of the contiguous United States are operated by master franchisees with franchise and distribution rights for entire regions or countries. In select regions or countries, Domino’s franchise directly to individual store operators. The master franchise agreements generally grant the franchisee exclusive rights to develop or sub-franchise stores and the right to operate supply chain centers in a particular geographic area for a term of ten to tDomino’snty years, with options to renew for additional terms. The agreements typically contain growth clauses requiring franchisees to open a minimum number of stores within a specified period. Prospective master franchisees are required to possess or have access to local market knowledge required to establish and develop Domino’s Pizza stores. The local market knowledge focuses on the ability to identify and access targeted real estate sites along with expertise in local customs, culture, consumer behavior and laws. Domino’s also seek candidates that have access to sufficient capital to meet their growth and development plans. The master franchisee is generally required to pay an initial, one-time franchise fee as Overall as an additional franchise fee upon the opening of each new store. In addition, the master franchisee is required to pay a continuing royalty fee as a percentage of retail sales, which varies among international markets. Marketing operations 17 The domestic stores generally contribute betDomino’sen 4% to 5% of their retail sales to fund national marketing and advertising campaigns. In addition to the required national advertising contributions, in those markets where Domino’s have co-operative advertising programs, the domestic stores also generally contribute to market-level media campaigns. These national and market-level funds are administered by Domino’s National Advertising Fund Inc. , or DNAF, the not-for-profit advertising subsidiary. The funds remitted to DNAF are used primarily to purchase television advertising, but also support market research, field communications, public relations, commercial production, talent payments and other activities supporting the Domino’s Pizza ® brand. DNAF also provides cost-effective print materials to the domestic stores for use in local marketing that reinforce the national branding strategy. In addition to the national and market-level advertising contributions, domestic stores spend additional amounts on local store marketing, including targeted database mailings, saturation print mailings and community involvement through school and civic organizations. Additionally, Domino’s may from time-to-time partner with other organizations in an effort to promote the Domino’s Pizza ® brand. By communicating a common brand message at the national, local market and store levels, Domino’s create and reinforce a poDomino’srful, consistent marketing message to consumers. This is evidenced by the successful previous marketing campaign with the slogan â€Å"Get the Door. It’s Domino’s.  ®Ã¢â‚¬  and the current marketing campaign with the slogan â€Å"You Got 30 Minutes. â„ ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Over the past five years, Domino’s estimate that domestic stores have invested approximately $1. 4 billion on national, local and co-operative advertising. Internationally, marketing efforts are primarily the responsibility of the franchisee in each local market. Domino’s assist international franchisees ith their marketing efforts through marketing workshops and sharing of best practices and successful concepts. Third-party suppliers Domino’s have maintained active relationships of 15 years or more with more than half of the major suppliers. The suppliers are required to meet strict quality standards to ensure food safety. Domino’s review and evaluate the suppliers’ quality assurance programs through, among other acti ons, onsite visits, third party audits and product evaluations to ensure compliance with the standards. Domino’s believe that the length and quality of the relationships with suppliers provides us with priority service and quality products at competitive prices. Domino’s believe that two factors have been critical to maintaining longlasting relationships and keeping the purchasing costs low. First, Domino’s are one of the largest domestic volume purchasers of pizza-related products such as flthe, cheese, sauce and pizza boxes, which allows us to maximize leverage with the suppliers when items are put out for bid on a scheduled 18 asis. Second, Domino’s use a combination of single-source and multi-source procurement strategies. Each supply category is evaluated along a number of criteria including value of purchasing leverage, consistency of quality and reliability of supply to determine the appropriate number of suppliers. Domino’s currently purchase the pizza cheese from a single supplier. In 2007, the Company entered into a new arrangement with this supplier. Under this arrangement, the supplier agreed to provide an uninterrupted supply of cheese and the Company agreed to a five year pricing period during which it agreed to purchase all of its primary pizza cheese for the Company’s United States stores from this supplier or, alternatively, pay to the supplier an amount reflecting any benefit previously received by the Company under the new pricing terms. The pricing schedule is directly correlated to the CME block cheddar price. The majority of the meat toppings come from a single supplier under a contract that began in July 2008 and expires in July 2010. The Crunchy Thin Crust dough is currently sourced by another single supplier pursuant to requirements contracts that expire in 2009. Domino’s have the right to terminate these arrangements for quality failures and for uncured breaches. Domino’s believe that alternative suppliers for all of these ingredients are available, and all of the pizza boxes, sauces and other ingredients are sourced from various suppliers. While Domino’s may incur additional costs if Domino’s are required to replace any of the suppliers, Domino’s do not believe that such additional costs would have a material adverse effect on the business. Domino’s also entered into a multi-year agreement with Coca-Cola effective January 1, 2003 for the contiguous United States. The contract provides for Coca-Cola to be the exclusive beverage supplier and expires on the later of December 31, 2009 or such time as a minimum number of cases of Coca-Cola ® products are purchased by us. Domino’s continually evaluate each supply category to determine the optimal sourcing strategy. It has not experienced any significant shortages of supplies or any delays in receiving our food or beverage inventories, restaurant supplies or products. The current economic environment has created additional financial pressures for some of the suppliers; however it does not currently anticipate disruptions in our supplies. Prices charged by suppliers are subject to fluctuation, and domino’s has historically been able to pass increased costs and savings on to stores. It may periodically enter into financial instruments to manage the risk from changes in commodity prices. Domino’s does not engage in speculative transactions nor does it holds or issue financial instruments for trading purposes. 19

Days of Obligation: an Argument with My Mexican Father Essay

This book is written in a quick, quick witted, volatile changeable style. Rodriguez tries to expel of the tensions in his life and life in America. He parallels or relates the views of young and old, catholic and protestant, communalism and individualism, cynicism and optimism and the past and future in his own life. When Rodriguez goes to Mexico, he feels unwelcome. To me, he seems to feel that he is overeducated and superior to his peers in Mexico. A lot of Rodriguez’s opinions have come from his father’s view of the world. His father viewed it as a sad place, whereas when Richard was young, he viewed it as a fiesta. However, through adulthood, Rodriguez’s opinions of the world began to parallel his father’s. He plays numerous variations on the contrasts he derives from an argument he once had with his father: â€Å"Life is harder then you think, boy. † Rodriguez responds to his father, â€Å"You’re thinking of Mexico, Papa. You’ll see. † Rodriguez is extremely cynical, he feels inclined to question everyone’s motives about every decision they make. For example, on page 27, when talking about the Gay Freedom parade, Rodriguez states â€Å"they marched, east to west, following the mythic American path to optimism. † Meaning they are following a path that isn’t anything in Rodriguez’s eyes. It is hopefulness that Rodriguez doesn’t see at all. Additionally, Rodriguez states, â€Å"I have never looked for utopia on a map. My compass takes its cardinal point from tragedy† (pg 29). This again proves that Rodriguez chooses to be negative and look at everything from a cynical, unfortunate standpoint. The above being said, I also believe Rodriguez fails to pursue a consistent argument. He has so many different viewpoints and issues. While he does stick with the reoccurring themes in the novel such as AIDS, barbarism vs. civilization and religion, all of them are developed independently. He thanks the church for the schooling he received, yet throughout the years, not only has he lost the strength in his faith but he foresees immediate crisis for the church. He goes from being negative and hating life in America to stating, â€Å"I became Americanized, I ended up believing in choices as much as any of you do† (pg 172). He feels now as if being Chicano it is holding him back even though he is trying to get to the level he should be at as an American. In doing further research, I have found that a lot of the readers of this book also feel the same way. One essay I read stated that Rodriguez is â€Å"a walking dichotomy. † I completely agree with this because he is gay, a devoted Catholic, Mexican even though he barely speaks Spanish, American but still feels that he is different than the rest of America, Mexican-American who despises Chicanos, a gay man who sets himself apart from gay men, and an English scholar who leaves the academy. Furthermore, Rodriguez is committed more to the truth when he discovers it through than he is committed to any political agenda. Although no matter what he says about feeling American or living in America, he is deeply involved in Mexican and catholic values and makes it evident how alien he feels when he travels through Mexico because he feels everyone is a bandit. Further stating, â€Å"if the United States stole California from the Mexicans, the Mexicans had stolen it from Spaniard, who had originally stolen it from the Indians. † Overall, the book was a difficult read because of all the inconsistent arguments and topics Rodriguez approached. While he is an educated and knowledgeable writer, he approached everything with a negative view of life. I felt he was too straight-forward, too dark, and wide-ranging which in the end made a lot of topics confusing. However, I thought it was interesting to learn his views and I have grown from reading this dissertation.

Short essays questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Short essays questions - Essay Example In turn, these decisions affect recruitment, selection, and employment schemes. As opposed to this, a staffing plan is used for monitoring and controlling the costs of human capital to create an infrastructure that encourages effective decision-making. The plan takes into account workload and outcome measures, which assist an organization in predicting its present and future staffing needs. 3. Firstly, it is integral to understand the nature, strategies and plans of business that are driving changes in staffing levels. Next, the driving factors behind staffing needs should be identified, followed by identifying constraints on staffing. Having done that, new changes in roles and positions should be introduced. Thereafter, quantitative techniques should be applied to appropriate areas, supplemented by qualitative methods too. Lastly but most importantly, analysis of the overall strategy is imperative to learn lessons for the future. 4. Controllable actions in relation to staffing actions could include targeted retention, reduction, redeployment, promotion, transfer, hiring, recruiting etc. On the other hand, uncontrollable actions can range from voluntary turnover rates, retirements, other losses etc. 5. Staffing ratio establishes a numerical relationship between the volume/output and the number of workforce required to perform/produce that output. For instance, IT tasks tend to be project-based; hence, it becomes important to determine the truly required number of project managers. This can be done through calculating various staffing ratios such as: users per project manager, capital investment per project manager, the percentage of IT staff who is project managers, or applications to be developed per project manager. 6. The first solution of the 30,000-foot approach emphasises on explaining the increase in management effectiveness through the adoption of a novel approach to workforce planning by

Praise and Regular Monitoring of Knowledge to Test Individual Progress Essay

Praise and Regular Monitoring of Knowledge to Test Individual Progress in Learning English - Essay Example The key differences between the earliest and subsequent linguistic learning are apparent. First language learning is a natural process that allows children to acquire and extend the linguistic comprehension of their environment. However, second language learning is a deliberate pursuit, in which mature individuals partake for many reasons. Moreover, children who learn their first language have a natural advantage. For instance, these children acquire their first language using their intuition through a Language Acquisition Device (LAD). Variably, mature individuals have no second chance of learning a language in a natural manner.Consequently, learning the first language is part of a child’s cognitive maturity, which enables the youngster to acquire syntax in an unconscious manner. However, by the time an individual seeks to learn a succeeding language, the individual learns the syntax in a conscious manner. Instead, they have to embrace extra unnatural techniques in order to a cquire competence in their second language. In addition, the first language facilitates the ability of its learners to focus on advanced levels of grammaticality in second language learning. Therefore, subsequent language learners have the ability to manipulate their understanding of grammar using the competency of their first language.Consequently, the dissimilarity between the two languages emanates from the fact that there is more time spent on learning the foremost language because children learn through constant imitation. The learning of a second language takes a shorter time because, during that time, the mature individual has exemplary mastery skills. Moreover, in the first language learning, there is guaranteed access to native speakers. Consequently, these native speakers influence the quick mastery of the language. There is no guarantee of native speakers in the learning of the second language. According to Towel and Hawkins, first language learning has close links with a child’s genetic setup while the second language has no such ties (92).

The meaning of Daoist concepts of &#8220nature&#8221 andor Research Proposal

The meaning of Daoist concepts of “nature” andor “technique” and their possible inspirations for today’s cosmology or ecology - Research Proposal Example The principles of the Tao have been helpful in "environmental philosophy, [for those] who see the non-anthropocentric nature of Taoism as a guide for new ways of thinking about nature and environmental ethics."2 One book that is extremely helpful is Daoism and Ecology: Ways Within a Cosmic Landscape, edited by N.J. Girardot, James Miller, and Liu Xiaogan, which is "currently the most thorough introduction to studies done on concepts of nature and ecology within Taoism."3 Chinese philosophy is concerned primarily with the realness of existing problems and how to solve those issues in a concrete fashion. As the writer Jordan Paper says in "Chinese Religion, 'Daoism,' and Deep Ecology" in the book Deep Ecology and World Religions, In other words, real solutions for the problems of the environment are probably going to come from those who hold Taoist beliefs, or beliefs similar to Taoism/Daoism. Why is this It is probably because Taoism teaches tenets that reflect a concern for the environment. Chinese tradition does not, on the whole, intellectualize these problems like the environment. However, as one has seen as recently at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, the Chinese have a long way to go in terms of regulating their own environment as far as pollution is concerned. "A miasma of lead, mercury, sulfur dioxide, and other elements of coal-burning and car exhaust hovers over most Chinese cities."5 Why is there not more activism and involvement regarding the environment in a country where there is such a great percentage of the population that is religiously committed to conserving its environment This remains a mystery. Perhaps it is because those Chinese who are Taoists/Daoists are not in positions of power to be able to create effective change in China with regard to the pollution. It is large corporations who are committing the crimes against the environment, which likely do not care about Taoist values, and could care less about the Chinese environment and the environment of the rest of the world, such as the U.S., which sees smog from China on its West Coast which travels across the sea. The pollution problem is an issue that should concern the Chinese, and it is possible that it does, with breathing difficulties becoming an increasing liability. However, companies' powers trump the activism of only a few individuals. Unless there is a unified, organized movement in China in order to create effective change, there will not be change in China with regards to the pollution problem. Jordan Paper, in his chapter in Deep Ecology and World Religions, further emphasizes the difference between Chinese mode of thought which centers on experience and Western tradition, which focuses on dogma: "Hence, Western intellectuals and Western-influenced Chinese intellec- tuals tend to derive theories from Chinese texts that have

CHA performance monitoring critical ssessment Essay

CHA performance monitoring critical ssessment - Essay Example Estate Management of CHA aims to provide the tenants with high quality services and facilities subject to consultations with the stakeholders, and in compliance with the Decent Homes Standards, the neighbourhood, and local authorities. It aims to satisfy different parties involved in the maintenance, development, and improvement of housing requirements. To be able to achieve satisfaction, a Market Analysis was done and CHA has been working in partnership with tenants, providers, and local authorities so that the desirable results can be realized to the satisfaction of all the parties involved. In the Market Analysis, high quality design has to be blended with costs, given the situation wherein only 12 % of residents are employed while 18 % lost their employment; 73 % of households receive housing benefits; 43 % receive income support. And the economy might not have affordable mortgage lending available for many. CHA therefore applies for, receives, and utilizes grants from the NHAP ( National Housing Affordable Programme). To the Self-Assessment Questionnaire provided for Estate Management by SHR, the answers to all the questions (appended) will be yes. However, Equality for a diverse set of tenants is one of the standards for Estate Management. In relation to the Equality and Diversity elements of Objective # 4 which states that CHA should â€Å" enhance the (CHA) association through a commitment to equality and diversity and value for money† ... Even on the overall, tenant satisfaction fell below the desired KPI in two consecutive quarters. KPI of 73 % was attained while the desired KPI was 86 %. Even after considering the views of the landlords, performance was only 60 % which was below the desired 79 %. One of the Self-Assessment Questions by the SHR was, â€Å"Have we published documents that clearly and specifically set out our commitment and approach to equalities issues?† The answer is not yet. CHA still has to inform residents about the way the association allocates and prioritizes expenditures for the services intended to meet national standards. CHA still has to communicate how the organization has added value for money and what benefits the residents can expect. The CHA Corporate Plan and Business Strategy disclosed that the organization has yet to â€Å"complete and maintain a 100 % tenant profile of the diversity needs of all residents†. In short, even the profiling should conform with the prescribe d performance standards by having some information about tenants. According to the KPI, CHA had already reached 80% to over 81% of the project to complete tenant profiling. Perhaps the survey to determine the extent of compliance with the SHR should tap the 81 % available tenant profiling so that there can be some identification of weaknesses and strengths in the matter of satisfying different tenants with diverse situations. This will allow CHA to arrange questionnaires by classification of respondents so that they can be tabulated accordingly. As it is, there was no such tabulation for the diverse groups. Shared owners were surveyed as a whole without categories as to employment, race, religious belief,

Assessment research assignmnet Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Assessment assignmnet - Research Paper Example This power imbalance arises at various stages of the employment relationship, commencing when they seek employment and extends even after their employment has been terminated (Hogbin, 2006, p.13). This theory was propagated by Karl Marx who argued that the bargaining table was tilted in favor of the employer, and who could, as a result, exploit their stronger bargaining position to the detriment of the employees; driving their wages to subsistence levels (Hogbin, 2006, p.1). This imbalance necessitates special regulations in the labor sector. In addition, it is a fundamental human right under the International Labor Organization (ILO). It is enshrined in two key ILO conventions; 87 and 98- 1948 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize and Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining (1949) respectively, both of which have been ratified by Australia. Individual contracting, while it can be useful for those with strong bargaining power, it is not a solution to empl oyees without bargaining power and can be used to undermine labor standards (Cooper, Ellem & Todd, 2012, p.7). According to Sewerynski (2003, p.223) collective bargaining has a horde of benefits to both the employer and the employee. It enhances the strength and stature of employee unions. They also harmonize employment conditions across the industry and seek to eliminate chances of labor disputes. To add, it has a way of increasing the weight of employee’s dispute. This is because if a complaint is made by an individual employee, the employer can easily ignore it with minimal repercussions. Prior to 1993, there were no legal provisions for collective bargaining in Australia. Nevertheless, the system was collective in nature, with informal collective bargaining taking place in the form of negotiation over award payments, and industrial actions (ACTU, 2006, p.5). Subsequent agreements were given legal effect through consent awards subject to the approval of the commission. In addition, for almost a century, arbitration tribunals had settled industrial disputes between employer and employees, through making and awards that applied to the whole industry that applied to all employees, whether or not they were members of a union (Cooper, Ellem & Todd, 2012, p.5). Subsequently, the Howard government was determined to eliminate this collectivism from the system, instead, advocating for individual contracts (ACTU, 2006, 4). Some of the changes introduced affected collectivisms on two fronts; there were those that were designed to alter collective bargaining, and those meant to impair the effectiveness of the trade unions. This was achieved through the enactment of the Workplace Relations Act, 1996 and the Work Choices amendments of 2005(Cooper, Ellem & Todd, 2012, p.5). The former, was the first Employment relations legislation to make use of corporation power provided under section 51(XX) of the Australian Constitution rather than the conciliation and arbitrat ion power under section 51(XXXV) (IRJ, n.d. 23). With regards to bargaining, the 1996 Act introduced statutory Australian Workplace Agreements (AWAs). AWAs could override both the awards and collective agreements. In fact, such agreements could form a pre-condition of employment

Employment Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Employment Law - Essay Example Summary Based on the information availed from this organization we get to know that the employer does not have a plan to deal with employees with different conditions. As a result, the employer must implement certain recommendations in line with organizational policy and management. One of the requirements that should be implemented is that the employee with AIDS should be recognized as disabled. Since according to the ADA act, disability cases are assessed on a case to case basis and this should include the employee suffering from AIDS. As a recommendation the employee suffering from AIDS should be accommodated according to the provisions of the ADA act (Goren, 2010). Moreover, the employer should identify with its employees that discrimination is not allowed within the workplace. As a result, the employer in this case should adhere to the provisions of the ADA and not to conduct HIV/AIDS testing at the workplace currently or in the future. In the process of preventing job disruptio n, the employer should come up with a strict adherence policy that allows all co-workers to work together irrespective of their medical condition (Goren, 2010). Apart from these recommendations, the employer in this case should come up with organizational policies that are meant to deal with these issues. One of the policy implementation points is to come up with a policy that allows for hiring of all kinds of employees and implementation of the ADA act. The employer should also implement a policy that allows all employees to learn all laws and policies that deal with workplace employment. This would assist the company to implement policies concerning disability within the company. Moreover, the company should come with a policy whereby co-workers are empowered with education concerning illnesses and disabilities. This policy will enable company employees to understand various issues concerning disabilities and make them more tolerant in interacting with either ill or disable patien ts (Blanck, 2009). The implementation of a non-discrimination policy for employees will assist in boosting the work and make it easy for supervisors to work with other employees. A non-discrimination policy will also greatly assist employees and the employer in respecting the rights of all workers in the wider scheme of implementing equal right as envisaged in different laws and regulations. The best plan to deal with these issues that have arisen in the workplace is to make use of employee training. The training plan will look into ways of ensuring scientific information is disseminated in the office and employees do not necessarily stigmatize other workers. The training plan will focus of risk assessment at the office and how to control exposure unto other employees in the company (Goren, 2010). Moreover, training should be provided on how to handle employees with AIDS in terms of work assignments and proper working conditions. Most AIDS afflicted individuals suffer greatly from s tigma and thus training will create an easy atmosphere of acceptance and work continuation (Blanck, 2009). Above all the training program is supposed to assure AIDS afflicted employees are guaranteed of work continuation and rights like all other employees. Training of employees on the risks, facts and information concerning AIDS gives a better

Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Essay

Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship - Essay Example The work at hand provides the detailed discussion showing the point that P&G together with its concerned brand Olay is on the right path towards the idea of initiating entrepreneurship through its innovative strategy. To understand this further, the proponent subdivided this article into two general parts, the brief idea linked to innovation and competitive advantage, and the five elemental requirements for successful innovation as the basis of P&G together with its brand Olay for doing entrepreneurship from the standpoint of innovation. Innovation and competitive advantage Innovation is a fundamental component in entrepreneurship that leads us to understand what are the necessary actions that a company or organisation should perform in order to make a difference and obtain competitive advantage. From the past, the market for Olay started to decline and people began to call it as â€Å"Oil for old lady.† This is something bad for the image of the brand and it will further lead to the decline of its sales. For this matter, Olay started to expand to diversified product lines, which is part of strategic renewal and even expand internationally, a remarkable point of corporate venturing. The onset of technology and scientific advancement brings forward the opportunity for Olay to formulate further highly innovative anti-aging skin care products. However, financial constraints led the brand once again to a constant declining market share. It is likely that Olay aims at present to increase its market share and doing so requires innovation and productivity enhancement. These according to them will help them lure their customers back to their brands. At this point in time, we can say that Olay is under the strong powerful force of influence of what entrepreneurship is all about. Generally, the brand underwent creative strategic renewal, innovation and corporate venturing. However, at present it is remarkable that the timeliest activity is for the brand to go for innovation and lure the customers back to its highly diversified offerings with a significant promise of anti-ageing treatments for skin for more fast and visible results. Clearly, there is a strong inclusion of the need for Olay to go for high market acceptance because of its declining sales in the midst of challenging and tough financial times. The ultimate solution would be to go for innovation, which is the primary move of consideration of MacDonald, the latest CEO. Here where diversification of brands that will meet the needs of the customers sets in. This primarily would involve the point of the inclusion of obtaining competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is a remarkable point of every organisation or entrepreneur aiming to be at the cutting edge of the competition, standing far above the other competitors in a specific market niche or segment. At some point, it is implied that Olay aims to be the leading brand in anti-ageing market for skin care. Without question, this eventually would lead to obtaining competitive advantage, in order to achieve the brand that is far a cut above the other. A primary reason why there is a need to innovate product or service offering is to obtain competitive advantage (Robinson, 2009; Hasell et al., 2003; Lowe & Marriott, 2012). In today’

The Political Theory of Machiavelli Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 5

The Political Theory of Machiavelli - Essay Example It makes sense to ask a question about whether it is possible to justify his political concept and see its validity. Following the logic of Abramson, one can find two main arguments in favor of the validity of Machiavelli’s theory. The first argument assumes that Machiavelli considered his theory as useful for those rulers who tried to avoid evil because he was aware that political activity is always associated with a certain kind of cruelty and violence (location 2085). In turn, the second argument is that the philosopher developed his political concept based on the use of pagan rather than Christian morality (locations 2094 and 2101). As he saw it, in contrast to Christian ethics, pagan morality gave much more opportunities to solve an extremely important political task, namely the unification of Italy (location 2101). In general, the validity of his concept stems from the fact that it was aimed at strengthening the political power in Italy and its unification into a single country able to demonstrate a high economic and social potential. Thus, the aim of the paper is to provide two main arguments in favor of the political theory of Machiavelli. As previously noted, the negative attitude towards the political philosophy of Machiavelli is due to the fact that the philosopher justified the use of violence, abuse, lies, and deceit to gain the authority of the governor. In his famous work titled The Prince, Machiavelli suggested political leadership based on a number of principles, in particular, pursuing the aim to eliminate political opponents. One can identify a few basic principles proposed by Machiavelli in this work. Firstly, the philosopher said that the desire to seize power using violence and cruelty is rather natural.

Utilitarianism Essay Essay Example for Free

Utilitarianism Essay Essay John Stuart Mill, a philosopher and political economist, is known today as one of the most influential sponsors for Utilitarianism. His moral theory tends to go along with a â€Å"Utilitarian rubric† (Fitzpatrick, 2006) and thus holds that the theory is based on how to define right and wrong in terms of happiness. For Mill, â€Å"actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness† (J. S Mill, 1861, pg. 9). If happiness, for Mill at least, is pleasure, then it is also the absence of pain. Although this can be seen as a hedonistic approach, Mill supports the idea of different levels for pleasure. In his essay Utilitarianism, Mill draws a comparison for human and swine pleasure; he argues that if the pleasures were to be the same, then â€Å"the rule of life which is good enough for one would be good enough for the other. † Clearly man is more advanced than pigs and therefore, in Mill’s opinion, we must conduct ourselves in such a way that reflects how we rank happiness; as more advanced beings, Mill believes that we must place a higher importance on â€Å"mental over bodily pleasures† (J. S. Mill, 1861). Utilitarianism Like any philosophical approach to ethics, Utilitarianism is simply attempting to explain where the boundaries of â€Å"good† and â€Å"evil† lie. The name utilitarianism is stemmed from the idea of utility and usefulness; in terms of utilitarianism, an act is good or morally right if it brings about a desired result, which deems it useful for the greater good (Wilkens 2011). If happiness is good, then the â€Å"desired result† should be happiness because, by definition, happiness is good in itself. This can easily be seen as a circular argument, but a Utilitarian, such as Mill, phrases this 2 Utilitarianism Essay 3 idea as â€Å"we ought to because we do. † Humans naturally want to attain or be in a state of happiness, which is taken as proof that the pursuit of happiness must not be evil. Utilitarianism is also distinguished by impartiality and agent-neutrality. Everyones happiness counts the same, which means that we are obliged to think of the well being of everyone who would be impacted by any decisions made (Wilkens, 2011). When one maximizes the good, it is the good objectively considered; if happiness will be rewarded to the majority of a population, then it is good to give it to them even if it causes pain to the individual. Quantitative and Qualitative Jeremy Bentham, fellow philosopher of Mill, aimed to make a way to quantify the results of any ethical decision. He coined the method of â€Å"hedonistic calculus† in which he tried to measure objectively how much happiness could be produced from an ethical decision (Wilkens, 2011). In his process, Bentham divides happiness into several categories and adds up how much happiness is created from within each of the categories; the category with the highest ranking would be the ethical choice. John Stuart Mill focused his version of utilitarianism to stress the qualitative characteristics of happiness rather than the amount of it as Bentham did. Mill’s main objection was that there are different levels of desire – of happiness – that hold different levels of importance, and must therefore be weighed according to that level. He argued that it was not possible to measure happiness or the quality of it, hence deeming Bentham’s calculus of felicity a problem. Though the two differ on many aspects, Bentham and Mill agree that pleasure for the greater good is better than pleasure for only an individual, making happiness fundamentally good (Shaw, 2008). All utilitarian thought has been based on past experience and learning from the consequences of those decisions. 3 Utilitarianism Essay 3 Mill’s Approach: A Critique The utilitarian view has attracted so many supporters because of its ability to link happiness to good; it would be next to impossible to argue that happiness is bad for humanity. Unfortunately, utilitarianism creates an â€Å"ethical limbo† in a sense that we can never know the results of a decision to be good or bad because consequences can only be seen in the future (Wilkens, 2011). It would be impossible to make a standard of judgment based on consequences with Mill’s approach to utilitarianism because we would never truly know the full extent of the consequences of any given action. In Theory Cancer in its various forms has taken the lives of millions all over the world already, and it is unknown how many more will also die prematurely from this disease. Let’s pretend that in the future, doctors discover a genetic mutation only present in an unborn baby (that is, still in the womb) that has the potential to cure cancer. The doctors also know that this baby will be born with many physical mutations that would hinder him in life, causing him unavoidable unhappiness. If the doctors harvest the baby’s DNA, they would need to kill the baby before it is born. But, if the baby is left to live his life, he will later go on and find the cure for HIV, AIDS, and other terminal illness; which would be the ethical choice? For a utilitarian, the choice would be simple: the happiness of the majority (which would be those currently suffering from cancer) outweighs that of the baby, his family, and those suffering from terminal illnesses in the future. One death now is better, or happier, than millions 4 Utilitarianism Essay 3 of deaths in the future. This situation critiques utilitarianism in its inability to fully comprehend the consequences of a decision; it should be deemed unethical to kill a baby, yet to a utilitarian it would be acceptable if it served a purpose even before its birth. 5 Utilitarianism Essay 3 References Mill, J. S. (1861). Utilitarianism. Raleigh, N. C. : Alex Catalogue. Fitzpatrick, J. R. (2006). John Stuart Mills Political Philosophy: Balancing Freedom and the Collective Good. London, GBR: Continuum International Publishing. Retrieved from http://www. ebrary. com from http://site. ebrary. com. library. gcu. edu:2048/lib/grandcanyon/reader. action? ppg=10docID=10224803tm=1414980113298 Wilkens, Steve. (2011). Beyond Bumper Sticker Ethics: An Introduction to Theories of Right and Wrong. Downers Grove, IL. Shaw, W. H. (2008). Utilitarianism. In R. W. Kolb (Ed. ), Encyclopedia of Business Ethics and Society (Vol. 5, pp. 2158-2162). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Retrieved from http://go. galegroup. com. library. gcu. edu:2048/ps/i. do? id=GALE %7CCX2660400848v=2. 1u=canyonunivit=rp=GVRLsw=wasid=83325aac55 e64da1ad4e917fe0af0cbb.

Problems in defining and measuring crime

Problems in defining and measuring crime Today we will be looking at the difference between crime and deviance, the way of measuring crime and deviance and the problems involved. Defining crime is complex, dependant on social, political and economic factors. Crime is an act punishable by law. If somebody breaks the law, whether it is a serious or minor crime, s/he will be punished. Some argues that no matter how immoral, reprehensible, damaging or dangerous an act is, it is not a crime unless it is made such by the authorities of the State, the legislature. Some sociologists argue that only those are criminals who have been adjudicated as such by the courts, and no act can be considered criminal before and unless a court has meted out some penalty. Not all of those who break criminal laws are caught and convicted and many acts that could be considered criminal are rarely prosecuted. The forms of punishment are varied, depending of seriousness of crime, for example, imprisonment etc. Deviance is a type of behaviour that is not accepted by the majority of the society. It is behaviour that differs from the norm and terms weird, evil, sick, immoral are often connected with this form of behaviour. This could be something as minor as wearing the wrong kind of clothes to a party or as major as a murder. Many deviant acts that are not accepted by society are not necessarily criminal acts. Certain type of behaviour may be accepted by one society, but devalued and discredited by another. For example, drinking alcohol in British society is considered acceptable, even if it has negative impact on our society. However, there are many cultures (particularly those influenced by religious beliefs) that disapprove of this behaviour. In some countries like Libya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Morocco, Bangladesh, the Maldives, Tunisia and Sudan, the consumption of alcoholic beverages is forbidden. There are some exceptions where alcohol can be available to foreign tourists but only in ce rtain areas. Criminal and deviant behaviour changes from place to place and time to time. Strong public opinion and changing moral values have a huge impact on these interpretations and it becomes difficult to say what acts are deviant/criminal and what can be considered normal. For example, abortion used to be illegal in the UK, but in 1967 it become legal up to 24 weeks with no time limit when there is a risk to the womans life. However, there are still anti-abortion groups in UK that believe that abortion is wrong, but because majority of society agree on this outcome it is not seen as criminal act anymore. There are still many countries that place value on human life and abortion is illegal there, for example in Northern Ireland, Brazil, Malta, the Philippines, Egypt, Nigeria and many more. It is very difficult to draw a line between crime and deviance. They go hand in hand. Any crime that is committed is a result of someone being deviant. A great deal of deviant behaviour is not punishable by law, but can come to the attention of a community which implements various informal controls, such as isolating those who deviate from the norm rejected by family, friends, colleagues, whole community. Who has the power and right to say what is normal and what is deviant behaviour? Cultures, traditions, religion, morals and beliefs, greatly influence society about what we see as acceptable/unacceptable behaviour. People are born into different societies with different cultures, values and morals. Individuals are influenced by these from birth and continue to learn and adapt new values and morals. If people migrate and become members of a different society, they may have to learn new values and morals. If somebody undertakes a religious conversion, their morals and values will change to meet their chosen religions behavioural code. Crime and deviance have always played a big part in our society. Crime statistics are an important source of information, which provide an insight into the amount and type of crime committed within particular areas (both national and local). In England, crimes recorded by the police have been published since 1876. However, official crime statistics (as recorded by the police) only contains information regarding the crimes that are reported and recorded by the police, courts and prisons. Previously the police had a certain amount of control over which crimes were recorded but since 2002 all crime has to be recorded. All those crimes which go unreported are known as a dark figure of crime. Hidden, unnoticed and ignored crimes belong to this category and all these are excluded from official statistics. Crimes occurring within a family or involving children are the most common types of unreported crimes. People may not report crime for different reasons, for example, lack of trust in the police or choosing to deal with the situation personally. It has been suggested that only about fifteen percent of crime is reported to the police. For this reason it is clear that statistics do not measure and provide a clear figure of total crime, therefore they are not reliable. There are other problems in comparing statistics over time including: changing legislation; changing interpretation of the law by the judiciary; and the changing morals and greater sensitivity of the general public. To conclude, crime refers to behaviours that are a violation of the criminal law, but the law is under constantly under review. Changes in police practices, priorities, politics, law and what our definition of what constitutes a crime, have a dramatic impact on statistics. Although the accuracy of collected crime statistics are often questioned, they still provide us with insight, keeping the public, the media and other groups informed about the problem of crime. Even if they do not represent our experience of crime, they allow us to investigate the ever changing nature of crime and deviance. Bibliography M. Haralambos M. Holborn (2008) Sociology Themes and Perspectives J. Muncie and E. McLaughlin (2001) The Problem of Crime David W. Jones (2008) Understanding Criminal Behaviour.

Trace Elements in the Human Body

Trace Elements in the Human Body CHAPTER: 1 INTRODUCTION 1.Introduction 1.1 Trace Elements in Biological System: In recent years scientists from a variety of disciplines have directed their attention in an aggressive manner to a long neglected area of biochemical research i.e. the role of trace elements for the etiology of disease. Most of the elements present in the periodic table are considered to be trace elements. They are defined as various chemical elements that occur in very small amounts in the body of organisms (and are referred to as trace elements). These elements are essential for many physiological and biochemical processes. A trace element is an  element  in a sample that has an average  concentration  of less than 100  parts per million (ppm) measured in atomic count or less than 100 micrograms per gram (1). Similarly, if the body needs less than 100 milligram (mg) of an element in a day then it is labelled as a trace element. However, their concentrations may be as low as less than 100 mg of 1 kilogram (kg) of body weight or 65 kg of a body weight of an adult should not contain more than 7 gram (gm) of a trace element (2). 1.2. Role of Trace Elements in Human Body: All living organisms possess a certain amount of various trace elements in their body in order to process their body functions properly. It is incredibly important that optimum balance level of these elements in every organ, tissue and cell of the human body is maintained that serves as a primary reason to keep an organism healthy and functional. These trace elements can be in any chemical form such as inorganic salts or as biochemical agents. The trace elements are ubiquitously distributed all over the earth crest. They play several roles in human body. (However, their role varies,) such as (the element) iron, which is important for the transportation of oxygen in the body, whereas calcium is the basic component of the bones. Both plants and animals require them for their proper functioning, growth, and propagation of their life (3). It is evident that the trace elements are present in the human body in very minute quantity, and if the processes of supply and demand are interrupted due to any reason for example, the intake of these elements is not sustained up to an adequate amount, or the metabolic disorder fails to absorb these elements up to the required limit for a chemical reaction (and) the body becomes deficient of these trace elements. In case of deficiency, the body uses its reserves, but these reserves have to be replenished. The trace elements are the components of various enzymes, hormones and are a part of complicated physiological and biological mechanisms, through which a body generates other biochemicals, and proteins which help a range of systems to come out of this demanding state of affairs unscathed. This ability of a body to keep the level of its nutrients and chemical agents within optimum range despite its supply is called homeostasis. This critical process provides the body sufficient supp ort in order to sustain that pressure, which builds up due to the deficiency of trace elements. However, a lot of damage occurs within the body during this turmoil. The frequency of these types of episodes leads the body towards the development of many diseases and makes it vulnerable for the formation of various disorders. Lifestyle, environmental exposure, and diet can directly influence the concentration of trace elements in the body. There are numerous and essential metabolic activities which can not be instigated without the presence of these trace elements. Such functions may include protein metabolism, red blood cell production, development of healthy bones and teeth. It may also include growth that depends on thyroid hormones, and proper functioning of nerves and muscle (functions). Furthermore, fertility, maintenance of the integrity of cell membranes, hair coat growth, and electrical stabilization of the cell (electrically) involves directly or indirectly certain trace elements for their proper functioning. Additionally, trace elements serve as a component of B-12, which is critical for proper heart functions, regulation of heart beat, and pigmentation. The trace elements are also required for some other functions that carried out inside the body of organism such as reproduction, maintenance o f fluid balance, (aid in) intercellular communication (which is) needed for structure of most proteins and crucial for proper energy processing in the body,( reproduction, act as catalyst,) etc. Another example of such deficiencies or excessiveness of the amount of trace elements can be seen in iodine intake, where such a deficiency (or excess (ive)) can cause goiter (an enlarged thyroid gland). This trace element is efficiently concentrated by thyroid glands in fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals for the distinctive purpose of producing thyroid hormones (4). It is stated that selenium can be stored in the cells of body and then become part of the victuals series. It starts when carnivorous grazed in the fields where soil is reach with selenium and consequently the growing crops have received a great amount of selenium and eventually high selenium levels become the part of the body of the animals. Initially, selenium was considered to be a toxic element, however with the progression of scientific research and refined consensus has led to the strong belief that selenium is not toxic, and it is essential to several functions in the human body. Such as selenium acts as an antioxidant and sometimes it is present an integral constituent of enzyme glutathione peroxidase (5-6). Regular cellular metabolism is responsible for most of the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in normal cells. Therefore, ROS are neutralized, engaged, or destroyed by the action of antioxidants. Similarly, the malignant cells also contribute in production of ROS and demonstrate the low levels of antioxidant enzyme in the blood of most cancer patients (7). Beyond, the optimum limit of chromium in the blood of an organism can be linked with onset of diabetes and cardiovascular disease as well (8). Similarly, selenium influences the development of copious degenerative diseases, and its deficiencies among human beings as well as animals are being recognized worldwide as it has some association with number of pathologies (9). 1.3 The Concept of Essentiality: Those elements that are indispensable, necessary, and incredibly important for the metabolisms of living organisms are called essential elements. It has been widely accepted and established fact that without the presence of these essential trace elements no biochemical metabolism can be initiated properly, and (on the other hand) the outcome of these chemical reactions does not meet the requirements. Consequently, the concept of ‘essentiality’ is a leading cause for scientists today to focus their efforts in this field. Furthermore, explore the circumstances through collected data to discern actual facts and reasons for the significance of trace elements required in several metabolic activities in animals. However, special attention must be directed towards how their low or high blood levels, can initiate the development of disease, and the optimum blood levels of these trace elements necessary for the metabolic processes to proceed in a proper manner. This is important because some trace metals which are necessary for growth of an organism may be harmful if their specific concentration is even slightly raised. The essential trace elements act as catalyst and the body of an organism can not produce them itself. The only source of these elements in the body is our diet. However, the presence of most of these elements is higher animals is just an expression of geochemical origin or the indicator of environmental contaminations. All cells receive their nourishment from extracellular fluid. The activities of all these trace elements biologically furbish optimal implementation by commencing a series of metabolic reactions in each cell. A lack of any step in the series can lead from mild to severe problems to the health of an organizm. The following elements such as zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), selenium (Se) chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), iodine (I), manganese (Mn), and molybdenum (Mo) are considered to be as essential elements for human body. Although they play incredible roles such as being active sites of enzymes, or control the bioactivity of the metabolism though these elements are present in very small amount of the total body weight. The core consequences of low levels of trace elements are the reduced activities of the concerned enzymes. An element is recognized as essential when it has a well defined function as a stabilizer, structural, hormonal or an enzymatic cofactor, when it is always present in tissues and organs in well precise concentration range. When it induces reproducible physiological effects, and when it is possible to prevent and treat consequences due to its deficiency through its supplementation. The effects of the essential elements cannot be completely eradicated by any other element. Nevertheless, another concept of essentiality defines an element as essential when a deficient intake produces an impairment of function. The elimination of an essential trace element produces similar physiological or structural abnormalities apart from type of variety. The restoration of these essential trace elements invalidates or precludes respective abnormalities. Consequently, these abnormalities are accompanied by specific biochemical changes that can be prevented or remedied when the deficiency is prevented and remedied and restore the physiological level of that element. The symptoms of deficiency (is) disappear(s) and body functions becomes normal (10-11). Therefore, the physiological levels are restored and the symptoms which indicate such deficiencies are also vanished and the body functions return to their normal state. Trace elements are essential components of biological structures. To deal with this necessity, biological systems have developed the ability to recognize a metal and deliver it to the target without allowing the metal to participate in toxic reactions. Proteins are primarily responsible for such recognition and transport, and prevent most of the associations of trace elements with other molecules that leads to undesirable chemical modià ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ cations of these molecules (12). 1.4. The Transition Metal: Chromium: Chromium is the basic element used in various industrial processes such as paint, construction, chrome plating, (and the) production of stainless steel as well as leather tanning, wood preservation, textile dyes and pigments. Besides the use of chromium in varieties of industries, trivalent (Cr (III)) and hexavalent (Cr (VI)) chromium compounds are thought to be the most biologically imperative (13-14). For example, the Cr (III) is an essential dietary mineral in low doses. It is required to potentiate insulin for the normal glucose metabolism (15-16). Since 1971, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has been interested to categorize carcinogens and ascertain occupational association with high rate of cancer risk. Some chemicals used in shoe, tire, and furniture manufacturing, as well as nickel refining, diesel fuel, and dry cleaning have been classified as â€Å"probable carcinogens. Arsenic, asbestos, benzene, benzidine, chromium, 2-Naphthylene, oils, and vinylc hloride show occupational exposures causally associated with cancer in humans. 1.4.1. Chromium Metabolism: The chemistry of chromium is very interesting and complicated because of having the capability of possessing various oxidation states. However, chromium (III) and (VI) are the most stable forms that exist in our environment. The chromium (III) and chromium (VI) inter-conversion is influenced by numerous factors, such as the concentrations and type of chromium species, nature of oxidizing or reducing agents. Moreover, the electrochemical behavior of the oxidation and reduction reactions, ambient temperatures and pressure, amount of light, sorbents, acid-base reactions, complexing agents, and precipitation and chemical reactions may also play a pivotal roll in support of establishing a specific chromium oxidation state in certain environmental conditions. Chromium can react directly at the site of contact or be absorbed through human tissue. A very important difference is observed that chromate ion (Cr (VI)) slips away through cellular membranes at an exceedingly faster rate than chrom ium (III) species (17). Chromium (III) combines directly to transferrin, an iron-transporting protein in the plasma after entering the body from an exogenous source. In contrast, chromium (VI) is immediately engaged by erythrocytes after absorption and is reduced to chromium (III) inside the cell. Apart from the source, chromium (III) is extensively distributed within the body and measured for most of the chromium both in plasma or tissues. It has been expounded that the reduction of chromium (VI) does not occur in the plasma. Chromium (VI) enters cells through the phosphate and sulfate anion-exchange carrier pathway. However, most chromium (III) present in the blood stream and is substantially bound to amino acids, and with other organic acids. The plasma proteins, such as globulins may also an attractive target for chromium (III) though a portion of it remains in plasma for an extended period of time as well (18). The blood provides a major carrier service for the delivery of chromium to other parts and organs of the body. The substantial concentration of chromium was discovered as a protein-complex in various parts of the human body such as bone marrow, lungs, lymph nodes, spleen, kidney, and liver, though the highest levels of chromium remains in the lungs (19-20). Excretion of chromium takes place primarily through kidneys, with the release of maximum concentration and without leaving traces of it in the organs. However, almost 10% of an absorbed dose is eliminated by biliary excretion. Nevertheless, minute quantities delivered to hair, nails, milk, and sweat. Chromium usually cleared from blood within hours whereas eradication from the organs of body is not prompt as the half life of chromium is several days. In a study chromium (VI) was administered to volunteers and it was observed that it removed more rapidly from the body than chromium (III) (21). The reduction of chromium (VI) to chromium (III) has been extensively investigated and it has been observed that the consumed hexavalent chromium is vigorously reduced to the trivalent form by the action of chemicals present in stomach such as gastric fluid (22). However the results of another study show that chromium (VI) is reduced to the chromium (III) form in the red blood cells (RBCs) as well (23). Moreover, during reduction to the trivalent form, chromium may interact with cellular macromolecules, including DNA (18) or it may be released slowly from the cell (24). After conducting a series of experiments a group of scientists purposed various routs (routes) by which conversion of chromium (VI) to chromium (III) can occurs inside the body of an organism. They discovered that as soon as chromium (VI) enters inside the cell it is immediately incorporated by cellular reductants and converts chromium (VI) to the trivalent form. The reductants may consist of ascorbic acid, glutathione, and flavoenzymes. The example of glutathione is cytochrome P-450 glutathione reductase and the example of flavoenzymes is riboflavin. However, inter-conversion of one oxidation state to another oxidation of chromium instantly occurs when reducing agent is ascorbate instead of glutathione. At some point during the process of conversion from one oxidation to another oxidation state chromium is capable of producing many other types of unstable complexes as well as free radicals such as hydroxyl group (*OH) and single atom of oxygen (1O2). Besides the production of oxidan ts, the presence of DNA abrasions were also observed during this series of experiments. For example these abrasions may consist on oxidative damage of DNA, and production of 8-oxo-deoxyguanosine etc. However, it is still mystery whether to characterize the formation of various intermediate chromium complexes as potential carcinogen with respect to chromium (VI) (25-26). 1.4.2. Chromium Deficiency: Chromium deficiency has been associated with many factors such as impaired glucose tolerance, fasting hyperglycemia, glucosuria, elevated body fat percentage, decreased lean body mass, maturity-onset diabetes, cardiovascular disease, decreased sperm count, and impaired fertility etc (27). A recent comparative study revealed that supplement chromium (III)-picolinate is an excellent source of chromium towards its own deficiency as compared to chromium (III)-niacin (19). However there is a long list of fresh food and nuts that are available in the market that are considered to be a rich source of chromium (III) such as cereals, spices, fresh vegetables, meats, and fish etc. 1.4.3. Chromium Toxicity: Generally the toxicity of an element is measured on the basis of its lethal dose, where the tolerance limit of the body is exhausted and the consequences of high levels of particular element appear in the form of signs, symptoms, and medical impairments. These elements are estimated for their toxicity or carcinogenic potential exclusively by measuring their levels present in the blood of an organism for instance, tin and lead. However, chromium is exceptional among the list of carcinogens due to its versatile nature of retaining various oxidation states such as chromium (IV), chromium (V), chromium (IV), and chromium (III) etc. Therefore, chromium oxidation states have also been taken into account for the evolution of chromium carcinogenicity. For example, consideration of a hazardous waste material is dependent on the concentration of chromium present in the form of chromium (VI) while the other forms of chromium are classified as non carcinogens, according to the United States Envi ronmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Furthermore, it has been recommended that the measurement of toxic levels of chromium is also reliant on the availability of biological form of chromium (28).

Essay --

Rock & Roll Singer "My goal is to be remembered as a human being and as a great performer" (Scalia). Bobby Darin, born Walden Robert Cassotto on May 14th 1936 and later died on December 20th 1973 at the age of 37. Darin was an American singer, songwriter, and actor of film and television. He was the son of an Italian-born cabinet maker in Bronx, New York. He had a normal childhood as many did and was backed with a loving family who supported and encouraged his every musical move. As a child he suffered something called severe rheumatic fever, which is inflammatory disease that may develop as a complication of a streptococcus infection. It is often similar to Strep throat or scarlet fever. This caused him to be much protected in his life and helped him strive to be as successful as he could be with the short life that he had. Later in life he found out that the people he grew up thinking were his parents were in fact not, his mom was the his sister and his ‘parents’ were actually his grandp arents, he never found out who his father was. Although he had many complications that did not stop him from following his dream. Darin was well versed and spread out with the many instruments that he played. He started out playing in a band in high school and later landed at job at Catskills resort with his band for the summer. After High school he enrolled at Hunter College where he started his professional music career writing songs for the Aldon Music label. â€Å"After scratching out an existence as a commercial-jingle composer, he changed his name to Bobby Darin, and became a professional singer in 1956† (Scalia).That is when he signed for own first record contract with Atco. â€Å"While writing songs, Darin met singer Connie Francis, and he help... ...73. Darin had suffered from rheumatic fever as a child. He had always suffered from heart problems and they finally started to catch up with him. â€Å"†¦suffering a minor heart attack in January 1971, but he went on to enjoy roles in 'Ironside' (1971) and 'Night Gallery' in 1972 before making what would be his final appearance in 'Happy Mother's Day, Love George' in 1973† (Bobby Darin Biography). On December 11, 1973, he was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles to get repairs to artificial heart valves that had previously been implanted. Even though his time was cut short his music still lived on appearing in numerous films and movie soundtracks, including Goodfellas, American Beauty and The Sopranos. Darin’s life story was brought to the big screen in ‘Beyond the Sea in 2004’. Bobby Darin was in the process of making a comeback when he died in 1973.