Analysis of Earthwear financial statement audit Essay

Analysis of Earthwear financial statement audit - Essay Example The entities major liabilities are accounts payable and liabilities which accrue. The entity has no potential parties who are related to it. Other uses its credit to be able to meet all the normal financing duties. The company accounting financial condition and position is stable and good. There are no individual significant events and any transactions such as those of acquisitions or selling off subsidiaries entities or product line during the financial year. The entity does not have any key contingencies and uncertainties. The firm's business is seasonal and most of the company sales and profits are normally realized during each fourth of the quarter. The regulation in the environment does not expose the firm to any risk neither does the legal and political environment and social factors. Earthwears closest competitors include Patagonia Timberland and Eddie. The firm has enough suppliers hence no single supply can affect the operations of the company. What interests customers alway s keeps on changing hence the firm needs to stay competitive and respond to the demands that keeps on changing like responding to changes in technology. The entity makes use of the accounting principles. No one single individual or individuals is allowed to dominate management and decisions. Decision making is well guided by the organizational structure. ... The management is always responsive to all the recommendations from the auditor. Company policies regarding matters like acceptable business activities conflicts of all interests and conduct are established effectively. Management provides a code of ethics which guide what is right and wrong all dealings with customers are based on principle of honesty. All controls are documented by the management the company maintains an informal job description as well as formal containing the roles of each job. grwdThe management always determines the required skills and expertise needed for each role. And makes sure to proof this with evidence from employees. The management is only motivated to maximize the wealth f the shareholders and not to engage in any activities that may be fraudulent. The management shows and communicates all information regarding internal control and in the process of financial reporting non-financial management do not have excessive participation in the selection of the accounting principles or in the determination of estimates. Financial ratio analysis for Earth wears clothiers. Short-term liquidity ratios The liquidity ratios indicate the liquidity position of a company. They measure the ability of a company to meet its current liabilities as they fall due. Current ratios measure current assets against current liabilities this ratio must be 2:1 in the normal situation. But this ratio may be different for different firms. Other clothiers have a current ratio of 2.17 in 2012 unedited higher than the previous years this shows that either there was a misstatement which occurred because of overstating of revenues or

Ad Hope on Identity Essay Example for Free

Ad Hope on Identity Essay Identity, defined as the sense of self, providing sameness and continuity in personality over time and sometimes disturbed in mental illnesses, is a concept frequently explored by Australian poet and essayist Alec Derwent Hope. This is evident in the poems Australia and The Explorers where Hope utilises a number of literary techniques, primarily metaphorical language, to express his understanding of and critiques the nature of identity. Australia is Hopes criticism of Australian society in general and Australia itself. The first five stanzas are spent describing Australia in an extremely negative manner, where Australia is said to be a ‘nation of trees, drab green and desolate grey’, a country that is past the age of celebration. Having lived in both Australia and Europe while on a university scholarship, Hope is able to describe Europe as a ‘lush jungle of modern thought’ and gives us a brief comparison of the two countries. See more: Basic Economic problem of Scarcity Essay Australia revolves around Hopes idea of Australia being too Eurocentric and that Australia should cultivate its own identity rather than mimicking our mother country. This suggests that as individuals, our identities are largely influenced by our parents but instead of simply mirroring them, we should establish our own sense of identity. Hope also describes Australia as ‘a breast still tender but within the womb is dry’, comparing Australia to an older woman who can no longer bare children, implying that externally, we may still seem fruitful and fresh with the opposite being internally. This metaphor of Australia may be referring to the fact that identity does not exist on its own, but as two, as an internal and external identity. The title of the poem ‘The Explorers’ refers to the girls and women journeying through the threatening landscape that is our world. Written in 1939 during a time where women were still seen as weak and inferior to men, Hope further emphasises the fact that both an internal and external identity exists. This can be seen in the poem where Hope writes ‘all those nice young girls, so properly brought up’ showing how on the exterior, women appear to be pure, innocent and polite. This shows how our external identity is shaped and manipulated by society’s expectations and that in order to satisfy these expectations our identities are split into two. The main idea of this poem is how influential and manipulative society can be and is portrayed in this poem as ‘enormous jungles full of eyes and fears’.

Analysis of William Blakes Poem London Essay -- William Blake London

Analysis of William Blake's Poem London London by William Blake is a poem characterised by its dark and overbearing tone. It is a glimpse at a period of England's history (particularly London) during war and poverty, experienced by the narrator as he walks through the streets. Using personification it draws a great human aspect to its representation of thoughts and beliefs of the narrator. The author uses a rhyme scheme that mirrors the pace of walking. The pace is moderate using an octameter meter, and each stressed syllable is like each footfall of the narrator. As he walks through the streets near the River Thames, he notices the common distress in the faces of the people he passes along the way. The author uses alliteration in line four, 'marks', 'weakness' and 'woe'. It draws emphasis on the feeling of severity and the widespread effect on these people. The narrator starts to envision that the people around him are all chained in "manacles". They are enslaved by the country and disastrous world they live in. Their fears, curses "ban" and cries of their current state are shared. The word â€Å"mind-forg'd† gives one the feeling that these people's minds have formed these "shackles" that inhibit them. The author states this by starting lines five to seven with "In every", and repeating the word "every". He emphasises the fact that every man, woman and child is affected by this shared state. Personification in the words "Man" and "Infant" draws importance to the gene...

Comparing Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth

Question 3 Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass two inspirational black figures in black history were very atypical from their fellow slaves. Both figures were disrespected then and even more respected today. There were plenty of trial and tribulations throughout their lives but they preserved to become the icons they are today. For many reasons we can see how they are atypical from there fellow slaves and how we should be thankful for our freedom and take advantage of opportunities just like they did. Sojourner Truth, one of the elite black females in women history is atypical of her slaves because her name alone is still being discuss in today’s society. By changing in her name to Sojourner Truth, her name alone is atypical from the rest of her fellow slaves. It has tremendous meaning because she felt as one of God’s children her words were very moving, powerful and truthful. Another example is that Sojourner Truth stood at 6’0 tall, that’s extremely tall for a woman, and with this height she created a dominant presents. Born a slave, Sojourner Truth couldn’t read and write like most slaves, but her strong mindset and her perseverance were acknowledged early. Only a select few of slaves had a heart of a champion, but Truth’s willingness to stand for what she believed in and what was right ultimately gave her the recognition she proudly deserves. She was involved in many organizations from women’s rights to being a New York Perfectionists (Anthology of African American Literature pg 112). On her quest for women rights, her best well known speech was he â€Å"Address to the Ohio Women’s Right Convention†. This powerful speech moved plenty of African American women to push for equal rights among their gender. Truth was a strong, proud black woman and with amazing antics as such, we can see why she was atypical from her fellow slaves. As much as Sojourner Truth was such of an importance to slavery and women rights, Frederick Douglass had more of an impact in his success of abolition slavery. With a contribution that big we can all see why Frederick Douglass was atypical from his fellow slaves. Just like Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass already stood out from the rest of his fellow slaves at a height of 6’4. Frederick Douglass ability to read and write is unbelievable feat by itself but his persuasion with his words was powerful and influential. His demeanor commanded everyone’s attention and when he spoke all eyes were on Douglass. His willingness to show other slaves how to read and write is only part of his determination that is shown. Escaping from slavery and providing for his family shows great determination and pride within himself. His knowledge about slavery, the analogy used in speeches made Frederick Douglass one of the most important figures in history. As Arabram Lincoln asks Frederick Douglass to come to the white House to help Lincoln with his candidacy, shows the impact Douglass has on political views in this era. A gesture so big shouldn’t go unnoticed in history. Also it shouldn’t go unnoticed because a white man is asking for help from a black man to keep his presidency intact. Therefore is goes to show how important Frederick Douglass was and shows that he’s very atypical from his fellow slaves. These powerful figures had outstanding contributions to everything we are allowed to do today for example women voting, equal opportunity and the right to make a difference if you truly worked hard at it. Sojourner Truth was important figure to women without a shout of doubt. Frederick Douglass covered all aspect of justices for blacks

Macbeth Retold Essay

It feels strange running into something that everyone else is running out of, it’s my second time today. I can’t explain the thrill of running into the blaze, for some it’s just a career but for me it’s my passion. As I reached the top of the burning stairs I looked out the window to see Don with his back against the truck again, he was just standing there watching whilst men are in that house risking their lives to save others. It angers me so much to know that his name will be on the front page tomorrow for what I’ve done again. When we got back to the station the others applauded Don as he walked in and exclaimed â€Å"another fire stopped and 3 lives saved† me and Benji couldn’t bear to watch him take the glory for what we had done, so we went outside to take a breather and collect the post. Whilst we were out there we met the postman, he was standing there as if he was waiting for us, me and Benji exchanged a confused glance and then I said hello, he muttered â€Å"you’ll be station manager son† â€Å"sorry? † I said â€Å"and station commander† he replied â€Å"it’s as if I can tell the future! he laughed as he turned to walk away â€Å"what about me then eh? † shouted Benji shouted after the postman â€Å"it’ll be your sons and his sons and his sons and his sons† the postman sang as he skipped away. Benji and I couldn’t help but burst into laughter, at least it had lightened our mood after Don’s little display inside. That night I told Beth all about what Don has been doing and how he has been taking all the credit lately, I just wanted to vent to her but she got so much angrier than I had expected and told me that I should get rid of him by killing him! I want him gone and I want the praise but is this too extreme? She went on to tell me that if I didn’t do it I’d be a coward and there’s no point in me going back to the fire station at all, I can’t imagine not going back into a fire ever again. I’ve realised I have to do this. I told Beth I agree and she had a plan already. I’m going to kill him in the old house on foster street on Tuesday night when we go there for a risk assessment, Beth told me it would be perfect and no one will know I had anything to do with it; I’ll set the place alight and blame it on the squatters there.

Voyages Soleil

Voyages Soleil The key decision and the risks facing the company Voyages Soleil, Inc. (VS) The key decision faced by the company (Voyages Soleil, Inc.) is how to embrace international foreign exchange rates against the Canadian dollar despite the looming financial challenges. The value of US$ against the Canadian dollar has been fluctuating considerably. The company might operate at a loss when it books hotels in other countries using US$ as the standard currency for payments. Evidently, international hotels prefer payments in US$ but not Cdn$.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Voyages Soleil specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to the case provided, the company (VS) had been hit adversely by the economic downturns and insecurity factors following the incident of September 11, 2001, in US. Issues of insecurity and travel cancellation played credible roles in the company’s decision making provisions. Precisely, the key decision is how to approach the foreign exchange risks following the then economic hitches. The risks facing the company incorporate fluctuating exchange rates between US$ and Canadian dollar. Additionally, economic plunge and decline in the travelling trends following the U.S.’s terrorist attack on 11/9/2001 are other risks faced by VS. Concurrently, hiked competition among the remaining Quebec tour operators and other players in the industry forms a considerable risk. Stakeholders in this situation Stakeholders in this situation incorporate VS Inc. (as a tour operator), suppliers to the company, clients, airline corporations, foreign exchange markets, other tour operators, international hotels, and other significant parties. Precisely, the stakeholders of this situation are numerous. They range from the travel industry players to the government agencies handling security concerns. The future of the Canadian travel industry and the Canadian currency at this stage (case d ate) The future of the Canadian travel industry is stunning. It is evident that the industry has been growing tremendously in the recent past despite the mentioned challenges. From the case study provided, it has restored its stability after the incidence of 9/11/2001, which created instability in the industry due to insecurity concerns. This is a crucial provision when considered critically in regard to the fates of the Canadian travel industry. Internationalisation of various organisational activities and stabilization of foreign exchange provisions have contributed to the recent growth of the industry. Additionally, the Canadian dollar has been stabilising against the US$. This will curb the risks faced when dealing with international exchange rates. Additionally, the Canadian travel operators can easily transact or pay their clients in US$ minus making considerable losses.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your fi rst paper with 15% OFF Learn More Options available to the company and the consequences VS Inc. is considering various options so as to handle the current situation critically. Firstly, it considers waiting until October to exchange the Canadian dollar at the then prevailing rates. This option is risky in case the exchange rates between US$ and Canadian dollar destabilises to the negative. Additionally, it is not possible to predict the situation as evident in the case study provided. The second option is to employ forward contracts for the entire payables. The consequence of this option is unpredictability in the US$ values. The third option is to buy (using borrowed Canadian dollars) US$ as at April 1, 2002 and trade them 6 months later. Consequences of this option incorporate the unpredictability of the situation. The company might gain or lose money in the coming 6 months.. Recommendable actions It is recommendable for the company to borrow Canadian dollars. It c an then buy US dollars and trade them later at the prevailing rates. The borrowing rates will allow the company to regain its capital and remain with some money to cater for the foreign exchange risks experienced in the industry.

the semeotics of utopianism essays

the semeotics of utopianism essays National Lampoons European Vacation(1985),though almost certainly produced as "pure entertainment" in Richard Dyers sense of the term, presents to the careful reader much more than simply ninety-five minutes of farce. Underlying nearly every scene and every characters motivations are cultural stereotypes and assumptions intended to go unnoticed within the text. In fact, this hidden underpinning is essential for the text to function as "pure entertainment" for readers, so that the more or less accepted cultural norms themselves are not at issue, but rather how the characters in the text act within them. By consciously identifying these norms, stereotypes and assumptions, however, we can catch a glimpse of the cultural milieu in which the text was produced. Although Dyers theory of entertainment as utopia is integral to an examination of European Vacation, it must be viewed using a primarily semiotic approach in order to expose the texts cultural subconscious. While the sign "Europe" usually denotes a geographical area, it is full of connotations for the main characters, the Griswald family. When the family wins an all-expenses-paid trip to Europe, each family member, with one exception, has a utopian fantasy of what "Europe" connotes to him or her. (Audrey has a decidedly dystopian fantasy about her upcoming trip, but it is no less a function of the texts cultural milieu than the utopian ones.) The unspoken stereotypes, assumptions and norms in each characters fantasy not only provide the motivations for each characters actions, they also structure the plot as a whole. The fantasy scene takes place in dream-like sequences while the family is flying to Europe, beginning with Ellens (Mrs. Griswalds) fantasy. Ellens fantasy. Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles, and Princess Diana are standing in a receiving line at a royal ball. Theyre apparently very bored, since th...

3 Cases of Faulty Organization of In-Line Lists

3 Cases of Faulty Organization of In-Line Lists 3 Cases of Faulty Organization of In-Line Lists 3 Cases of Faulty Organization of In-Line Lists By Mark Nichol An in-line list is a list of related words or phrases within a sentence, as opposed to a vertical list, the items of which are formatted on separate lines, often highlighted by a number or a bullet. Often, writers mistakenly organize in-line lists, erroneously assuming that an additional but syntactically distinct item is part of the list and inserting or omitting conjunctions (usually and or or) or punctuation incorrectly as a result. Each example below illustrates a variation on this theme, and each is followed by a discussion and a revision. 1. Professor Smith’s comments are utterly reprehensible, deeply disturbing, and do not in any way reflect the values of the university. Because the phrase beginning with do has its own verb, it is not part of a list beginning with â€Å"utterly reprehensible† and continuing with â€Å"deeply disturbing,† so those two phrases should be linked with a conjunction, and the commas that follow them must be omitted: â€Å"Professor Smith’s comments are utterly reprehensible and deeply disturbing and do not in any way reflect the values of the university.† 2. Thousands of the organization’s workers face resistance, fear- and terrorists- as they try to eradicate the crippling disease. Similarly, the parenthetical phrase â€Å"and terrorists† is not part of a list that also includes resistance and fear; those two terms constitute the list, and â€Å"and terrorists† is distinct, so the treatment of the list must be revised: â€Å"Thousands of the organization’s workers face resistance and fear- and terrorists- as they try to eradicate the crippling disease.† 3. Traditional financial institutions have significantly enhanced their risk and compliance programs by increasing resources, clarifying roles and responsibilities across the three lines of defense, upgrading their governance frameworks, as well as maintaining higher levels of capital. â€Å"Maintaining higher levels of capital† is not part of the list in this sentence- â€Å"as well as† marks the phrase consisting of those eight words as a distinct appendage tacked onto the main clause- so the final item in the list must be preceded by a conjunction: â€Å"Traditional financial institutions have significantly enhanced their risk and compliance programs by increasing resources, clarifying roles and responsibilities across the three lines of defense, and upgrading their governance frameworks, as well as maintaining higher levels of capital.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Passed vs Past30 Baseball Idioms10 Humorous, Derisive, or Slang Synonyms for â€Å"Leader† or â€Å"Official†

HUMAN RESOURCES IN ACTION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

HUMAN RESOURCES IN ACTION - Essay Example None of them have simply listed the positions. After clicking on the links provided by the companies, it is possible to find details about the jobs. Marriot has summarized the job position alone (Marriot International 3). It has not given additional information about the skills or qualifications needed to do the job. One is expected to deduce that from the description. Conversely, Kimpton has taken the time to outline all the duties and responsibilities, skills as well as the experience required to perform the job (Kimpton Hotels 2). The company has also outlined some of the objectives against which the applicant will work towards. Marriot may have refrained from including this information because the job is of a lower skill and will only be done part time. Regardless of these circumstances, an applicant would still want to know what would make them stand apart. What the sites do well Marriott.com has done a good job of identifying the job location. It has placed a map beside the job description so as eliminate any ambiguities. The organization has also clearly outlined the typical routines required to take on the role of a guest service representative. On the other hand, Kimpton did exceptionally well in describing the work environment of the company as well as the duties and experience of the employee. The fact that it had headings in the job positing was quite helpful. Both sites were moderately easy to navigate. One had to type in the nature of job that one requires in a search box before one could get responses. This process may sometimes waste time. Recommendation Good job postings ought to have clear headings. Marriot International hotel called their room attendants guest service representatives. Job seekers may not understand this title; it would have been better to use the generic name. Both organizations did not clarify the amount of time that one would spend performing certain duties as some could have more weight than others. In the future, it would be better to rank these duties in terms of percentages. Kimpton clarified issues about benefits but Marriot did not, yet this could be a deal breaker. Future job descriptions for Marriot should be more than a list of responsibilities for the said persons. They should include more information about job priorities, the work environment and many more features. B) Selection Three different methods Based on the job description for the general assistant manager Poste Brasserie Restaurant in Washington DC, it is possible to use the following methods of recruitment: job advertisements in newspapers or the internet, a recruitment agency, or a personal recommendation. Personal recommendations may come from one’s colleagues or peers in the same industry. Usually, referrals work best for organizations that are trying to save money as they will not have to place expensive advertisements on newspapers or the like. Furthermore, they usually come from a trustworthy person who has knowledge and experience in the industry. Conversely, they may narrow down the candidate's job pool to simply one person. Organizations may miss out on highly talented and useful individuals who were not recommended by the concerned person. Alternatively, a referral may be biased towards the applicants, especially if the referee and referrer are related. Online and newspaper advertisements may also be another way of recruiting a general assistant restaurant manager. These could be slightly costly as the organization has to

Racial Profiling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Racial Profiling - Essay Example More recently the word racial profiling has been attached to that activity. The thought is to single out blacks and other racial groups in a hope of preventing crime. It later became an accepted practice and racial profiling was actually invested in by some police agencies. It did not become a cause for alarm until around 2002 when the first legal suits were perused by those who felt they had been discriminated against. This led to the need to take a second look at the practice. With all of the legal action that was taking place came the outrage of citizens who believed that minorities were being treated badly by police. This led to police keeping track of the race of people that they pulled over. Study of that data showed that truly there was a problem. Further study by others followed, including the study done by George Higgins and team (2009) on the influence of race in traffic stops. "By the time police Sgt. Robert Motyka responds to the disturbance call at a local hospital emergency room, the man at the reception counter is clearly agitated. His speech is unintelligible. He becomes frantic as the officer slowly approaches, urging him to calm down. In a blur of flailing arms, the man reaches for something in his back pocket. Motyka has no time to consider the possible consequences of one of the most potentially combustible scenarios in America: a confrontation between a black man and a white officer. When the man pulls a knife and lunges forward, Motyka drops him with four quick pops from his 9mm Beretta. But there will be no public second-guessing of the 13 year veteran's actions. In this case, Motyka was reacting to a large-screen video simulation."(Johnson, 2009). This department has a shooting range realistic demo that allows decision making to take place in a few seconds just like on the street. What can be done to improve the racial profiling that is built into police business today This is a possible partial solution. The rest is cultural training that needs to take place in the departments. People somehow feel more threatened when a couple of black students are standing on a corner than white students. Is the dress or is it lack of cultural understanding. Fear comes from lack of understanding and fear leads to wrong decision. Conclusion In conclusion, racial profiling is unfortunately a part of our culture, not just that of the police department. To overcome it, we must overcome our lack of understanding of the other culture. This is happening at some level although it still has a long way to go. In the meantime, like the simulations above practice at a better response is important. Is there ever a time when racial profiling is ok. This writer says probably not, while you are watching the black guy in the car, the white guy will shoot you. When it comes to doing police work all suspects deserve suspicion. References Higgins, G., Gabbidon, S., Gennary, V., Exploring the influence of race relations And public safety concerns on public support for racial profiling during traffic stops. Journal of Police Science and Management. Vol. 12. 1 Johnson, Kevin (2009). In a switch, police invite scrutiny of racial profiling USA Today. Retrieved

Recycled Toothbrushes Make Sense Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Recycled Toothbrushes Make Sense - Essay Example Secondly, some people usually do not prefer to use toothbrushes made out of recycled stuff, perhaps because of the reasons of hygiene and the sense of aversion associated with toothbrushes made out of recycled plastic. Recycline could enhance the conversion rate to its toothbrushes by telling its customers that they are made of food grade recycled plastic originating from the yogurt packaging of a credible food company like Stonyfield Farm. Besides Stonyfield is an already established brand. Recycline’s association with it will definitely add to its brand value. 2. Hudson is already procuring the raw material from Stonyfield Farm. It could place the advertisements at the stores selling Stonyfield products with catchy slogans like â€Å"Waste nothing, go green, and let your yogurt container be your toothbrush.† If Stonyfield Farm allows Hudson to do so, he could easily convert a big segment of Stonyfield’s customers to its products, without making significant investments. Stonyfield Farm also stands to gain from this move, as it will strengthen its green credentials. Perhaps Stonyfield may agree to share the advertising costs or carry the Recycline logo on its product packaging. In the current times, a new lifestyle has emerged that aims at responsible consumption. Recycline can associate with and participate in the activities of organizations and institutions that work on environmental protection and enjoy a good following and brand awareness. By associating with such organizations, Hudson can aim to convert a good chunk of their followers to its products. Besides, being perceived as associated with green organizations will provide Hudson with ample free publicity and bolster the public perception of its products. 3. Recycling is not merely about using recycled raw materials to cut costs, but an emerging way of life. This

Technology and its effect on human freedom and happiness in society Essay

Technology and its effect on human freedom and happiness in society - Essay Example In most criterions, one would think that the Americans are happier now than they were in Middle of the 19th era. Oddly, however, if you asked Americans how exultant they are currently, you will discover that they are no better off than they were during 1946. This paper will discuss Technology its effect on human freedom and happiness in society. In attempting to decode how technology influences the well-being of a person, it is crucial to look at two things. Do better and more technology make individuals happy? Secondly, there exists something inherently uneven about people explanations of their individual states of mentality (Dick 32). Forget folks’ uncertainty concerning what will render them happy in the coming; can we trust that persons know what render them happy currently? Most sincerely, reflecting on technology is tough because persons adapt so rapidly to available technologies. Someone in 1870 would have been happier if she or he could had possessed a car that gave hi m or her freedom to voyage a great distance in a day at a relative cost. Today, however, people are not so thrilled about planes, cars and telephones. People recognize their use; however, they are likewise sources of stress and frustrations. For instance, a lottery winner is very, very happy when he or she wins, but after a while, that feeling of euphoria disappears. This is the same with technology that no matter how dramatic a fresh innovation is, people will eventually take it for granted. In the technological world, when the things become mundane or stop operating efficiently, people get frustrated (Postman 54). Does our swift incorporation of technological development denote that technology makes no change? No. It merely makes the issue of technological effect, for ill and good, more complex (Putnam 46). Beginning with the disadvantage: There are particular ways where technology renders life evidently worse. Traffic jams, telemarketing, and identity embezzlement all suggest the mselves (Kraut et al. 13). These phenomena make persons consciously unhappy. Nevertheless, for the great part, modern criticizers of technology have not focused very much in particular - the effect of technology on humanity. However, those criticizers have put out two seemingly opposed po ­sitions that nonetheless disclose a common cynicism about individuals’ ability to utilize technology towards their personal ends. The first opinion, seen in the books of Dick Philip K., is that technology development is steering to a constantly more controlled, rigid, soulless community, where it is simpler for persons to be monitored and manipu ­lated. The second view that has been thoroughly articu ­lated in hard covers of Putnam Robert Bowling Alone (pg. 44) and Postman Neil Amusing Ourselves to Death (pg. 55), is that technology remains crucial to the swelling privatization of experience that is in turn designing a fragmented, disordered society. A society where traditional relati ons are tougher to sustain, the community is gradually becoming an illusion, and folks’ relationships to one another, arbitrated as they regularly are by technologies, grow progressively tenuous. There is evidently an explanation to both opinions. Privacy has increasingly grown fragile in a globe of connected databases. In most workplaces, technologies such as keystroke observation

Recommendation Memo Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Recommendation Memo - Research Paper Example The gaming consoles are judged on five different criterions based on the information extracted from user reviews from cnet.com, the gaming console's respective websites and from the general public opinion and perception of the brands. The five criterions are Nintendo has always been in the background when it comes to hi-tech graphics machine. Nintendo Wii is an obvious exception to the case as this console tries its level best to compete with the best (Play Station and XBOX). It is sleekest console out there (about the size of three DVD covers), and comes in an iPOD white color. Although it's processing powers aren't that high, an internal storage of 512mb allows the user to store plenty of saved games and other data. And if that's not enough, Wii comes with a standard Secure Digital card slot for additional space. The exclusive feature of Wii Console is its motion sensor remote controller. This new generation device features in most of the games and especially is used in inbuilt Sports game. The remote control like controller has a fewer buttons than its competitors game pads, however, it can be held vertically like a sword or a tennis racket or horizontally like a wheel for further user involvement in the game. Wii's navigational syst em is done via the Wii Channels that uses the WiiConnect24's always-on design used to view weather forecasts, news, messages and even photos and listen to MP3s. The console also allows games of previous Nintendo's game console (GameCube) to work. XBOX 360 Microsoft has been competing with Sony for the top position in the gaming console industry. With the launch of XBOX 360, Microsoft thought that the fight was over. The XBOX 360 premium edition is fully packed with key accessories like a wireless game controller, a communications headset for XBOX Live, a component A/V cable, an Ethernet networking cable, and most importantly a whopping 20GB hard drive. All the games on XBOX 360 are compatible with HDTVs and all the old games are compatible to be played on thi s new edition. The exclusive feature of XBOX Live allows the user to connect to the internet and compete online with friends. Movies can be downloaded or rented, demos can be downloaded and played for free and users can buy items from the XBOX Live Marketplace. The intrinsic graphics and high resolution provide the user with intense gaming experience and the high number of games circulating in the market adds to the user likeness. With the CD/DVD compatibility the users can rip s ongs to the hard disk and use it for any of the games. Although it does not support the Blu-ray format, the system is a success with all the current accessories. PlayStation 3 Sony's PlayStation 3 was the most hyped about gaming console and it boasted of graphics seen never before. Being the market leader in the industry, PlayStation clearly had to come up with the goods and it pretty much has. Like the PS2 concept raised the DVD standard, PS3 raises the standard by including the Blu-ray disks that have a max capacity of 50GBs currently. This allows the games to bigger, better and more

Technology and its effect on human freedom and happiness in society Essay

Technology and its effect on human freedom and happiness in society - Essay Example In most criterions, one would think that the Americans are happier now than they were in Middle of the 19th era. Oddly, however, if you asked Americans how exultant they are currently, you will discover that they are no better off than they were during 1946. This paper will discuss Technology its effect on human freedom and happiness in society. In attempting to decode how technology influences the well-being of a person, it is crucial to look at two things. Do better and more technology make individuals happy? Secondly, there exists something inherently uneven about people explanations of their individual states of mentality (Dick 32). Forget folks’ uncertainty concerning what will render them happy in the coming; can we trust that persons know what render them happy currently? Most sincerely, reflecting on technology is tough because persons adapt so rapidly to available technologies. Someone in 1870 would have been happier if she or he could had possessed a car that gave hi m or her freedom to voyage a great distance in a day at a relative cost. Today, however, people are not so thrilled about planes, cars and telephones. People recognize their use; however, they are likewise sources of stress and frustrations. For instance, a lottery winner is very, very happy when he or she wins, but after a while, that feeling of euphoria disappears. This is the same with technology that no matter how dramatic a fresh innovation is, people will eventually take it for granted. In the technological world, when the things become mundane or stop operating efficiently, people get frustrated (Postman 54). Does our swift incorporation of technological development denote that technology makes no change? No. It merely makes the issue of technological effect, for ill and good, more complex (Putnam 46). Beginning with the disadvantage: There are particular ways where technology renders life evidently worse. Traffic jams, telemarketing, and identity embezzlement all suggest the mselves (Kraut et al. 13). These phenomena make persons consciously unhappy. Nevertheless, for the great part, modern criticizers of technology have not focused very much in particular - the effect of technology on humanity. However, those criticizers have put out two seemingly opposed po ­sitions that nonetheless disclose a common cynicism about individuals’ ability to utilize technology towards their personal ends. The first opinion, seen in the books of Dick Philip K., is that technology development is steering to a constantly more controlled, rigid, soulless community, where it is simpler for persons to be monitored and manipu ­lated. The second view that has been thoroughly articu ­lated in hard covers of Putnam Robert Bowling Alone (pg. 44) and Postman Neil Amusing Ourselves to Death (pg. 55), is that technology remains crucial to the swelling privatization of experience that is in turn designing a fragmented, disordered society. A society where traditional relati ons are tougher to sustain, the community is gradually becoming an illusion, and folks’ relationships to one another, arbitrated as they regularly are by technologies, grow progressively tenuous. There is evidently an explanation to both opinions. Privacy has increasingly grown fragile in a globe of connected databases. In most workplaces, technologies such as keystroke observation

Protein Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Protein Research - Essay Example they protect the body against bacteria and viruses by immobilizing antibodies that are immediately destroyed by the white blood cells(Whitford, 2005). Contractile proteins such as actin and myosin are responsible for the movement of the body cells through muscle contraction and movement. Enzymes are another category of proteins, and they are responsible for the facilitation of biochemical reactions whereby they speed up the reactions. Proteins of this kind are mainly involved in the digestive system, e.g., the lactase for sugar breakdown and the pepsin for protein breakdown. Another category of proteins is the hormonal proteins which are messenger proteins that help in the coordination of bodily activities(Creighton, 2010). The most common hormonal protein is insulin that controls the blood sugar levels in the body(Creighton, 2010). Other hormonal proteins are oxytocin and somatotropin which stimulate childbirth and protein production in muscle cells respectively. Structural proteins are fibrous and stingy in nature, and they play the role of provision of support to the body cells. An example of structural proteins is the keratins that give strength to protective covering such as hair. Proteins involved in the storage of amino acids such as ovalbumin and casein are categorized as storage proteins(Whitford, 2005). Some proteins such as the hemoglobin and the cytochromes are involved in transportation of molecules around the body, and they fall in the category of transport protein. Proteins are formed by combination of organic compounds called amino acids and they are the building blocks of life. Whereas proteins are digested, amino acids left and the body utilizes them to break down food, grow, produce energy and repair body tissues. Amino acids are classified into three groups namely the essential amino acids, non-essential amino acids and conditional amino acids(Creighton, 2010). The body contains nine essential amino acids, and they are unique since the body

Higher education Essay Example for Free

Higher education Essay †¢It still wouldn’t be free just a redistribution of who is paying †¢Doesn’t address the main issue of the high price and what is the cause. State budget cuts are mainly to blame †¢How many countries do free college. †¢Make student loans easier to obtain, and with more time to pay back, and lower interest rate. †¢the second big problem, however, is that I think we should get more cynical than Bruenig does. If the level of subsidy were increased enough to eliminate tuition, the faculty and administrators of public universities would still thirst for more money. A logical place to raise the money would be—tuition. After all, a college degree is a valuable commodity. And the kids in college are mostly from families with above-average incomes. Having eliminated tuition, the tuition would simply come back. In exchange, youd get more tenure-track faculty, more administrators, more weird perks for university presidents, nicer facilities, etc. †¢there is already a cheaper option community college. †¢it forces the students to obtain higher grades in high school for a possible scholarship option †¢But I think we should loop this back around to where we started. I agree with Bady that theres an important sense in which the best-known public institutions of higher education arent public. But it isnt that they arent free. National Parks arent free. But theyre still public institutions. Because theyre open to the public. Community colleges are also open to the public. But schools that only let you in if you have high SAT scores—whoever owns them and whatever they charge—arent public in this sense. And in a world where the cost of financing health care and retirement for an aging society is pressuring public budgets, Id make them stand behind other more broadly public forms of education for money.

The causes of global warming

The causes of global warming Introduction: With the rapid development of economy, the issue of the causes of global warming has been brought into public focus. The reason is that global warming results an increase in the average temperature of the earths atmosphere, which effects humans living, animals living, and plants growth. However, most of people state that the most significant reason of the cause of global warming is a natural phenomenon. As a matter of fact, it is modern anthropogenic global warming. In this research paper, I intend to research this thorny topic from five aspects. There are population, eating meat, pets, forest destruction, and air pollution. In addition to examining causes, I will also consider some briefness of the effects of the global warming. First of all, I want to begin my research paper with three definitions of the key ward â€Å"global warming†. I will provide a brief description of the causes of global warming. Definition: First of all, according to my research paper topic â€Å"the causes of global warming†. I want to begin with the keyword â€Å"global warming†. It means â€Å"an increase in the earths atmospheric and oceanic temperatures† (Merriam-Websters Online Dictionary). Therefore, when people talk â€Å"global warming,† it is a fact that people are living in a earth where the temperature is becoming higher and higher. The cause of global warming refers to the global temperature increasing. The cause global warming is mainly due to human beings in nearly a century, using a lot of fossil fuels (such as coal and oil), discharging large amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, leading global warming. The consequences of global warming will lead to a global redistribution of precipitation, melting glaciers and permafrost, and rising sea levels. Not only global warming endangers the balance of natural ecosystems, but also it threatens human food supply and living envir onment (Rationalwiki). From internet, I also get some specific definitions. The online dictionary says that global warming is â€Å"an increase in the earths average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect† (dictionary.com). In other sources, Wikipedia claims that global warming is â€Å"the increase in the average temperature of the Earths near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation† (Wikipedia). In other words, the situation means that people are living in a place where the temperature of the Earths near-surface air and oceans is raising constantly and the different species are continually decreasing. That is a very critical condition that people in face ,because human can not live in that high temperature and the resources of humans living are reducing in that situation. Description of the causes of global warming People have paid most attention on the different explanation of the causes of global warming, at the same time it raises the debate on the political and economic. Global warming is caused by many things. The causes are split up into two groups, man-made or anthropogenic causes, and natural causes. â€Å"The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century was caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases resulting from human activity such as fossil fuel burning deforestation† (Wikipedia). From this section, it is no exaggeration to say that the most important reasons for this situation people who be confronted with global warming is resulted from human themselves. â€Å"Human activity since the Industrial Revolution has increased the smount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radiative forcing from CO2, methane, tropospheric ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. The concentrations of CO2 and methane have increased by 36% and 148% respectively since the mid-1700s† (Wikipedia). From this definition, we can simply understand the causes of global warming. The source of global warming is from the CO2 of the air and fossil fuel burning has produced about three-quarters of the increase in CO2 from human activity over the past 20 years, however most of the rest is due to deforestation. Most of scientists believe that a large number of emissions of greenhouse gases caused by increased greenhouse effect may be the basic causes of global warming. The Causes of Global Warming Now I will discuss the causes of global warming, there are five causes of global warming: 1) population (The Canadian Press,2009 and CBC News); 2) eating meat (Juliette Jowit, environment editor The Observer, Sunday 7 September 2008); 3) pets (Cathal Kelly Feature writer); 4) forest destruction; and 5) burning. I intend to provide a brief description for each cause. Population As we know from the Canadian press, some experts said that in developing countries offering contraceptives to women could slow down climate change through presenting population growth. In this report, it said that as a matter of fact over 200 million women want contraceptives but they do not keep them. However, it results in 76 million women conceive without consciousness every year (The Canadian Press, 2009). In other ways, the editors say that if those women had some ways to keep the free condoms or other birth-control ways, the rates of population growth would increase slowly. Then it is possible that the pressure on the environment would reduce. It is because we breathe out CO2 into air that the CO2 contributes to global warming. It is said that the population around the world will rise to 9 billion by 2050, in which over 90 per cent of that growth is from developing countries (The Canadian Press, 2009). The most important is that experts state that although the normal population growth is not a substantial increase in global warming, but overpopulation also could result increased demand for food and shelter, which could threaten the environment because it brings global warming with much CO2 (The Canadian Press, 2009). In recent years, one of the main factors that the rapid increase in population is leading to global warming. Meanwhile, this is a serious dangerous situation affecting a balance between the natural ecological environment. So many people, only its own emissions of carbon dioxide per year would be an amazing figures, the result will directly lead to the content system of atmospheric carbon increasing (CBC News, 2008). Eating meat The second cause I want to discuss is that â€Å"UN says eat less meat to curb global warming† (guardian.co.uk THE OBSERVER). The editor said that people should give up eating meat on one day per week if they want to help solving climate change. Dr Rajendra Pachauri (chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate change) also said that â€Å"people should then go on to reduce their meat consumption even further†. However, his comments are very controversial ideas and added on how personals can help solve global warming. On the other hand, Dr Pachauri also stressed other ways in lifestyle would help to curb global warming. He provides his advice to the food industry, and hoping food industries reduce meat consumption. Because if people stopped buying imported food, people would save a lot of carbon emissions. He said that â€Å"if the average UK household halved meat consumption that would cut emissions more that if car use was cut in half† (Dr Rajendra Pachauri from guardian.co.uk). Pet A third cause of global warming is about pet. According to New Zealand-based researchers Robert and Brenda Vale (CATHAL KELLY, feature writer The Toronto Stan) said that a great many household pets chew up more resources than a lot of cars. According to their figures, â€Å"feeding a medium-sized dog for a year has twice the environmental impact of driving a luxury SUV for 10,000 killometres†. It means that a dogs food in a year is equal to a persons food consumption. Vale said that â€Å"if a person want a big dog, maybe he or she should be a vegetarian and take the bus† (Brenda Vale from The Toronto Stan). This cause is related to the second cause eating meat. Some pets only eat meat, so it is impossible that let those pets be vegetarians. Therefore, Vale advices that people should limit themselves to eco-friendly, vegetarian pets, like hamsters or rabbits (Brenda Vale). So people can image that pets food consumption is an amazing. Forest Destruction Around the world, due to natural or man-made factors are causing forest area dropped significantly, which has also been a controversial topic. Because atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide is increasing and that it showed the trend of faster and faster. One of major cause is forest destruction. For fuel in living, using forests is one cause of deforestation. Because the use of forests for wood and charcoal, people have to use them from forests. However, deforestation let large amounts of carbon increasing, and then it will threaten global warming. The most important function of forests is there can absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. â€Å"Rainforests play the important role of locking of locking up atmospheric carbon in their vegetation via photosynthesis† (rainforests.mongabay.com) . It is reported that when forests are burned, degraded or cleared, will have the opposite effect: a lot of carbon in the atmosphere is being transformed into carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (Rainforests). Deforestation is one of the causes to global warming, and it also is the most important reason enhanced greenhouse effect. It is said that â€Å"tropical deforestation is responsible for approximately 20% of world greenhouse gas emissions†. In many tropics, forests can save our air from pollution because trees can remove carbon from the atmosphere during the process of photosynthesis and release oxygen back into the air during normal respiration (Wikipedia.). Burning The final cause I want to provide is burning. A second major cause of global warming has been burning gasoline for transportation. Since the industrial era in 1750, human activities have increased the degree of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In living, burning is using in many aspects such as transportation and industries. In nowadays, there are many cars that burning gasoline in many developing countries. On the other hand, there are also many industries that burning coal and oil, again there are thermal power stations that burning coal and oil. At present, human activity of carbon dioxide is more than 20 times of natural sources of carbon dioxide (Wikipedia). Burning of fossil fuels results in higher carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations for two main reasons: first, the rapid increase in population, second, the rapid increase in consumption of fossil fuels in industrialization in the development of human society. All aspects of that burnings are making atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations increased (Wikipedia). The effects of global warming The effects of global warming has been brought into human attention. Human health depends on good ecological environment. It is said that global warming will be the most factor that effecting human health. Extreme high temperature will be the next century plagued human health, which will also become more frequent, more widespread (Wikipedia). On the other hand, global warming effects water stressed. Global warming affects drinking water and agriculture in some coastal zones. Because global warming firstly effect climate change, then increased evaporation will decrease the effectiveness of reservoirs (Wikipedia). Conclusion As we can see from this paper, I discuss five causes that have severely affected the global warming. There are pollution, eating meat, pets, forest destruction, and burning. Every cause of global warming is connected with another one. From the industries starts to present, human activity continually create different effects to global warming. However, human beings are constantly research the causes of global warming, the researchers hope that in the near future they can find some way to slow down the speed of global warming. Because, after all, the reasons of global warming is result of human, so the solution also begins with human. From the impacts of global warming, the main factors are the emissions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Human not only increase the carbon dioxide emissions, but also increase deforestation reduction of carbon dioxide.

Individual Learning Styles Essay -- Teaching Education School Essays

Individual Learning Styles The purpose of this research paper is to examine learning styles theories to determine if teaching students to use their own particular learning style can help ail them in increased educational success. The learning style aspect consists of six key areas including brain processing, sensory modalities, physical needs, environmental preferences, social aspects, and attitudes. Besides the way a person operates, there are two other important factors that play a key role in effecting a person?s learning style. These important factors include each individuals learning patterns and a theory known as multiple intelligences. Individual learning patterns are focused on four main types ES, IN, EN and the IS. The theory of multiple intelligences is based on eight types of intelligences, these include visual/spatial, verbal/linguistic, Logical/mathematical, bodily/kinesthetic, Musical/rhythmic, interpersonal intelligence, and finally naturalist. It is very important to understand and explore each individuals learning style. Analyzing one?s own particular learning style can be very helpful and beneficial to the student by aiding them in becoming more focused and an attentive learner, which ultimately will increase educational success. (Fatt, Teng, 2000). Discovering this learning style will allow the student to determine his or her own personal strengths and weaknesses and learn from them. Aside from that, this process will improve one?s self esteem because now the student will feel more comfortable and prepared to take on the learning challenge, also gives student the confidence needed to achieve their goals (Creative Learning Company, 2001). Students will also benefit from the simple fact that now the... ... causes learning failure. Campbell, L., & Campbell, B. (1999). Teaching & learning through multiple intelligences. Boston, Mass: Allyn and Bacon. Explains how to make the best out of one?s own personal learning style not only through learning but through the teaching aspect as well. Silver, H.F., & Strong, R.W., & Perini, M.J. (2000). So each may learn: Integrating learning Styles and multiple intelligences. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Shows that when putting together one?s own particular learning style with the theory of multiple intelligences, the student will maximize their learning capability. Learning Styles and Your Child. (2001). Encarta. Microsoft Corporation Defines learning styles as a whole and explains how parents and teachers can best accommodate each child through their learning experience. Individual Learning Styles Essay -- Teaching Education School Essays Individual Learning Styles The purpose of this research paper is to examine learning styles theories to determine if teaching students to use their own particular learning style can help ail them in increased educational success. The learning style aspect consists of six key areas including brain processing, sensory modalities, physical needs, environmental preferences, social aspects, and attitudes. Besides the way a person operates, there are two other important factors that play a key role in effecting a person?s learning style. These important factors include each individuals learning patterns and a theory known as multiple intelligences. Individual learning patterns are focused on four main types ES, IN, EN and the IS. The theory of multiple intelligences is based on eight types of intelligences, these include visual/spatial, verbal/linguistic, Logical/mathematical, bodily/kinesthetic, Musical/rhythmic, interpersonal intelligence, and finally naturalist. It is very important to understand and explore each individuals learning style. Analyzing one?s own particular learning style can be very helpful and beneficial to the student by aiding them in becoming more focused and an attentive learner, which ultimately will increase educational success. (Fatt, Teng, 2000). Discovering this learning style will allow the student to determine his or her own personal strengths and weaknesses and learn from them. Aside from that, this process will improve one?s self esteem because now the student will feel more comfortable and prepared to take on the learning challenge, also gives student the confidence needed to achieve their goals (Creative Learning Company, 2001). Students will also benefit from the simple fact that now the... ... causes learning failure. Campbell, L., & Campbell, B. (1999). Teaching & learning through multiple intelligences. Boston, Mass: Allyn and Bacon. Explains how to make the best out of one?s own personal learning style not only through learning but through the teaching aspect as well. Silver, H.F., & Strong, R.W., & Perini, M.J. (2000). So each may learn: Integrating learning Styles and multiple intelligences. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Shows that when putting together one?s own particular learning style with the theory of multiple intelligences, the student will maximize their learning capability. Learning Styles and Your Child. (2001). Encarta. Microsoft Corporation Defines learning styles as a whole and explains how parents and teachers can best accommodate each child through their learning experience.

Business and Law Essay

1) The first thing to consider is whether there is a valid contract between Ada and Ben on purchasing Bens’ BNW car. A valid contract consists of offer, acceptance and consideration. â€Å"An offer is a definite promise or proposal made by the offeror with the serious intention of being bound by such promise or proposal, if it is accepted by the offeree.† In this case, Ada’s letter on requesting Ben to sell his BNW car for $80,000 should compose an offer. It is because the terms are in a definite form capable of being accepted in identical terms. â€Å"An agreement comes into existence after the offeree unconditionally accepts the offer†. On the second day, Ben accepted Ada’s offer and an agreement has been made as Ben replied Ada â€Å"Sure† by voicemail. As Ada did not clearly indicate the method of acceptance, the instantaneous voicemail message left by Ben is counted as a valid method. However, as the postal rule does not apply to situati ons where the acceptance of an offer is communicated by any instantaneous methods, the contract is complete only when the acceptance is received by the offeror in such methods. In Entores Ltd v miles Far East Corp, a contract was made between the parties only when the offeree’s acceptance was received by the offeror. Therefore, as Ben used voicemail, which is also a kind of instantaneous means, as an acceptance method, a valid contract will only be made when Ada received and listened to Ben’s voicemail. So no contract was made in this stage yet. However, Ben then changed his mind and sent a letter of revocation to Ada. The significant part then appeared. Although Ben sent a voicemail message to accept Ada’s offer first, and posted a revocation letter to Ada afterwards, the letter reached Ada earlier than the voicemail. According to the general rule, the revocation of an offer becomes binding when it comes to the knowledge of the offeree and an offer can be revoked at any time before its acceptance. And at the moment Ada received Ben’s revocation letter, she still have not received Ben’s voicemail acceptance. As I analyzed before, for instantaneous methods, the contract is only complete when the acceptance received it, not based on the moment of sending. Ben’s revocation has already become effective when it reached Ada and the contract was not completed. Hence, no valid contract was made between them.

How Harper Lee Develops the Symbol of the Mockingbird

Mockingbirds are a symbol of sheer innocence; their existence causes no harm to others and the sole purpose of its life is to make mellifluous music for all to enjoy. The mockingbird’s sweet chorus is destroyed and disregarded in to kill a mockingbird, as the harmless characters of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are exiled and imprisoned despite their altruism. The use of the mockingbird in the title provides distinction and coincides through characters and events during the novel.Harper Lee develops the symbol of the mockingbird in the novel through the town pariahs Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson is accused of a crime he did not commit and in reality was helping another person without a reward. In chapter 10 Jem and Scout are shown an opening to the malevolence in society and are taught a moral lesson and the only sin considered by Atticus, â€Å" Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit em’, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mocking. This quote foreshadows the up-coming events involving Tom Robinson and the injustices he will have to endure, even though the Mockingbird is not deserving of anguish, he is still put to death through the hands of others who would shoot any bird, regardless of what kind it may be. Scout and Jem at the beginning of the novel are oblivious to the harsh racial segregation and the moral teachings of Atticus only have literal meanings until they become immersed in the enmity of racism, where their innocence is later destroyed and the blurred barriers between their father and Maycomb become clear.Atticus is responsible for maintaining the stability of Maycomb and the co-existence of good and evil; he influences his children to have morally good actions and values unlike many other children of Maycomb. Atticus strives for the rights of the mockingbird and the defenceless Tom Robinson, despite the fact that he knows as soon as Mayella Ewell screamed he was a dead man. Atticus allowing Tom Robinson to a trial allowed the ignorance and hatred in Maycomb to some extent deteriorate, even Mr.Underwood a man who never spoke about the â€Å"miscarriages of justice†¦ likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of song birds by hunters and children. † Just as Atticus defends the innocent and vulnerable Tom Robinson, he also provides refuge and respect to Boo Radley, a prejudiced against outcast of Maycomb. From the beginning of the novel Atticus respects Boo Radley telling Scout and Jem not to play in his yard, as he deserves the sanctity of privacy. Town gossip and the children’s fantasy surrounding Boo Radley constrain him to his home, which is veiled in mystery, â€Å"Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom.People said he existed, but Jem and I had never seen him. People said he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in windows†. Later in the novel the children realise that there was an error in their judgement of Boo Radley and th eir fear of him was unjust and cruel as behind the concocted hysteria is a kind-hearted and an innocent mockingbird as Boo Radley inflicts no harm on others and is just an innocuous victim of a cruel narrow-minded society.

Uefa & Football Governance

Jaime Andreu-Romeo – Head of European Sport Unit, European Commission Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo – AC Milan and FIFA World Cup Champion ‘94 John Barton – T. E. A. M. Marketing Genevieve Berti – Communications Manager of G-14 Marco Brunelli – Lega Calcio and our tutor Richard Bunn – TV and Media consultant Michele Centenaro – Senior Product Manager, Club Competitions, UEFA Jerome Champagne – Deputy Secretary General, FIFA Jean-Paul de la Fuente – Founding Director, Deureka Peter Gillieron – General Secretary, Association Suisse de Football Michel Guenaire – Head of Sport-Law Division, Gide, Loyrette et Nouel, Paris Rodolfo Hecht – President, Media Partners Group Jonathan Hill – Communications and Public Affairs Liaison to the European Union, UEFA GianniInfantino – General Counsel Commercial Legal Services, UEFA Thomas Kurth – General Manager of G-14 Antonio Marchesi â€⠀œ Senior Partner, Deloitte and Touche Sports, Italy Lars-Christer Olsson – Director of Professional Football and Marketing, UEFA Denis Oswald – IOC member and President of FISA (International Rowing Federation) Alex Phillips- Senior Product Manager, Professional Football, UEFA Arnaud Rouger-Conseil Juridique, LFP (Professional Football League – France) Freddy Rumo- President of Executive Board of Neuchatel Xamax FC and former UEFA Vice President Jefferson Slack- Director, Inter Active, FC Internazionale Milano Stefan Szymanski – Professor of Economics, The Business School, Imperial College London Alain Rumpf – Coordinator of the Professional Cycling Council, International Cycling Union (UCI) Additionally we would like to thank UEFA -Division of Services, especially Barbara Rodel, Division of Professional Football and Marketing, especially Marion Haap, Lucia Castelli at Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, Ruth Beck-Perrenoud from the Olympic Museum for her help in research, our professors at DeMontfort University (Leicester, UK), SDA Bocconi (Milan, IT) Universite de Neuchatel, (Neuchatel, CH), the CIES and FIFA, sponsor of the International Master, especially Vincent Monnier. Finally we thank our families and friends for their patience, support and inspiration, especially during the last phase of this project. 5 PROLOGUEThe headlines of sport news sections have been filled with tension-riddled declarations from football club managers toward football’s organisers about too many matches, national team call-ups at key points in the season and concern over players victim of injuries during â€Å"useless international friendlies. † The response is sometimes swift, sometimes harsh, but always illustrative of the conflicts between the members of the so-called football family. We recognise that all families have conflicts, some tragic, others trivial, but we were struck by the intensity of this banter internally sewing a frown to football’s countenance while still outwardly presenting a naive smile. We began to analyse the relationships and gradually realised that there were some family members with serious concerns who were not addressing each other.We heard the uproar from major club figureheads when UEFA took the nth decision to change its prize event, the Champions League. We also felt the inescapable force of commercialised-globalisation when Brazilian international players flew half-way across the world to China for 90 minutes of football worth US$ 1 million. We shed a tear when Italian legend AC Fiorentina were dissolved and Angelo DiLivio, a FIFA World Cup finalist, voluntarily descended to the fourth and final professional division and set out to paint the second Florentine renaissance, this time named Florentia Viola. We love football and we have a great interest to see the beautiful game continue to flourish to the ends of the Earth.Thus when we saw these unresolved dissonances spreadin g through the game, we made the decision to throw ourselves into the melee and clarify who the actors were, what their interests were and how they were relating to each other. After surveying the field we chose to focus on the clubs and UEFA, and then more specifically on the group of clubs creating the most commotion, the G-14. Their name seemed to pop up everywhere from the headlines, to the European Commission but never from UEFA. We found the door, brushed aside the coats and stepped into the magic wardrobe of UEFA, G-14 and European Football. . . 6 INTRODUCTION I. Aim The final aim of this project is to propose some adjustments to the current governance model of European football in order to address the conflicts arising from the pressures of the modern sport.In order to do that we structured our research to answer the overriding question of â€Å"How do international sport governing bodies adapt and respond to the pressures of lobby groups? †, looking specifically to th e case of UEFA and G-14. With the overriding question in mind, we structured our project to answer the following questions: 1. What are the conflicting circumstances within the governance of European football that are bearing the rise of such lobby groups? 2. How efficiently are those conflicting circumstances being addressed by the pertinent actors? 3. What are the main risks to the sport that can arise from the process in which the conflicts are being managed, and how can those risks be mitigated? II. Paper Structure and Scope The tructure of this paper is sub-divided in five chapters: In the first chapter we present the field of play and provide some background information on the stage and scenario in which the main actions take place. We will demonstrate the current governance structure of European football, briefly touch on the peculiar dynamics of the football industry, present the major relevant stakeholders, their interests and inter-relationships and illustrate the complexi ty of the competition calendar of professional football in Europe. This information will be relevant for the complete understanding of the issues treated in the paper. The second chapter presents the major actors involved in the production of the spectacle of European football.Although we recognize that the media and the major sponsors are important enablers in the distribution and popularisation of European football and its influence over the shaping of the game has been growing along the years, we have chosen to focus the scope of our analysis on the clubs (and with them, the G-14), the national associations, the leagues and UEFA, as we believe those are still the most influential actors in the design of football as a product. After presenting the major actors, in the third chapter we analyse the convergences and divergences of interests among them, the main areas of conflict and the potential risks that such conflicts can impose to the future of European football. We then take a break at chapter four and look outside European football in the search for examples of conflict management at similar sporting contexts. Our objective with chapter four is to learn some lessons that could be applied in the process of defining our final recommendations for the present case.Finally, in chapter five we present a model with recommendations for adjustments to the current governance of European football, with the aim of minimizing the conflicts and tensions among the members of the Football Family. 7 Although UEFA has a broad range of activities touching on every discipline of association football in Europe, the scope of this paper is limited to elite professional men’s football, as this is currently the only form of the game that has achieved significant commercial potential. And it is not until significant flows of money begin to pour over a sport that the major conflicts among different stakeholders start to surface. III. Research Methods and constraints Our res earch was carried out during May and June 2003. It has been structured around a hypothesisdriven approach, a methodology commonly used by management consulting firms.The approach consists in five major steps as shown in Figure I: Figure I – The hypothesis-driven approach 1 2 3 4 5 Overriding question Issue tree Hypotheses Research Analyses & Conclusions 1. Overriding question The Overriding question is the ultimate question the project aims to answer. As mentioned before, we have defined it as: â€Å"How do international sports governing bodies adapt and respond to the pressures of lobby groups? † 2. Issue tree The second step consists in identifying the relevant issues that need to be addressed in order to answer the overriding question. The issue tree is a hierarchical structure of questions that will be answered during the project leading to the final answer to the overriding question.For this paper we have defined three main issues and a set of 24 sub-issues in two different levels as shown in Figure II. 3. Hypotheses Once the issue tree has been defined we have generated the hypotheses for the project. The hypotheses are tentative answers to the issues based on the authors’ intuition and background knowledge on the subject. They may be proved right or they may be discharged after the research and the analyses are conducted. The importance of generating a sound set of hypotheses is that it provides the group with a comprehensive overview of the project’s main messages at its very beginning. 4. Research In this step we have designed the analyses that needed to be conducted to prove or discharge our hypotheses.Based on that set of analyses, we defined the input data to be gathered and determined their potential sources. 8 Input data was collected through the following methods: †¢ Preliminary interviews with representatives of UEFA and G-14 to validate the soundness of the initial list of hypotheses. †¢ Interviews with re presentatives of sport governing bodies, football clubs, national associations, national leagues, governmental bodies, sports marketing companies, media companies, lawyers, economists, players and industry analysts to capture the different views on the subject and its potential developments. †¢ Review of official documents provided by G-14 and UEFA, besides books and papers from academics on matters concerning the scope of our project. Search and review of websites of official governing bodies, clubs, and specialized sport press for relevant news and archive materials. †¢ Final interviews with UEFA and G-14 to discuss and validate our preliminary findings. 5. Analyses and conclusions After finishing the process of data gathering we have conducted the analyses necessary to prove or discharge the hypotheses and have drawn our final conclusions. Research Constraints Although the hypothesis-driven approach adds focus and drive to the project, speeding up the problem solving pr ocess, this project was conducted along six weeks of full-time work and there is some limitation to what can be achieved in such a reduced time frame.Notwithstanding, we have been fortunate by the fact that some of the major exponents in the European football industry were extremely collaborative and candid about the subject, allowing us to conduct twenty three high-level interviews across four different countries covering representatives of and experts on all main stakeholders involved in the subject. Precisely because of time constraints, we have not been able to directly interview executives from TV companies or sponsors, nor have we been able to conduct quantitative analyses on the opinion of fans as far as the issues touched by this paper are concerned. Our conclusions with regards to those groups of stakeholders are based on interviews with industry analysts and any available research material published on the subject.With respect to research materials we have been able to obt ain the majority of information needed to prove or discharge our set of hypotheses, perhaps with the exception of conclusive empirical data about the determinants of demand for sport. This would be particularly useful in allowing the design of more precise scenarios for the future of the game, and further research in this area might prove valuable. 9 Figure II – The original project issue tree (as designed in the first group meeting) Overriding question How do international sport governing bodies adapt and respond to the pressures of lobby groups? The case of UEFA and G14 Issue A What are the conflicts within the internal structure of European Football and why are they arising? A1 What are the interests of UEFA? A2 What are the general interests of the clubs? A3How do those interests interplay? A4 What additional factors could be creating / amplifying conflicts? A1. 1 How does UEFA pursue those interests? A2. 1 How do top clubs pursue those interests? A3. 1 What are the areas of convergence? A1. 2 How do those interests represent the views of the member associations? A2. 2 How do other professional clubs pursue those interests? How do amateur clubs pursue those interests? A3. 2 What are the areas of divergence? A2. 3 Issue B How efficiently are those conflicts being managed? B1 How have past conflicts been managed? B2 What are other examples of conflict management in sports? B3 What lessons can we learn from those examples? Issue CWhat risks can arise for the sport from the management of such conflicts and how can those risks be mitigated? C1 What if UEFA rigidly fixes its position against the Lobbying group? C2 What if UEFA adopts a reactive role towards the conflict? C3 How can UEFA adopt a proactive model to solve conflicts? C1. 1 What are the threats for UEFA coming from G-14? C3. 1 What are the most sensitive areas to be considered by this model? What are the key success factors for the model? C1. 2 What are the threats for G-14? C3. 2 C1. 3 What w ould be the consequences of those threats if carried out? C3. 3 How should the model be designed? 10 CHAPTER ONE: BACKGROUND 1. 1. 1. 1. 1. STRUCTURE OF EUROPEAN FOOTBALL GOVERNANCE AND FOOTBALL – THE PYRAMID STRUCTUREThe governance of association football resembles a pyramid where each layer takes on different responsibilities in different geographical scope. The formation of this pyramid has historical roots in the early stages of organized football in Britain and it has not been a uniform process. As Britain changed from an agrarian to an industrial society in the late 18 century, the games played in the open fields of the countryside were adapted to suit the narrow streets and hard surfaces of the new urban communities. The leisure time determined by sun, seasons, and feudal obligation was replaced by the much more restricted leisure hours decreed by the artificial light of the factories and the needs of the owners.Improvements in roads and transportation allowed games to be played outside the local village, and as steam trains started to link the ever growing towns of Britain, it became possible to play on a national basis the games that the middle class favoured and promoted. This expanding scope involved agreement on rules and the formation of a national governing body. 1 th And that is where the pyramid begins to be formed. With the spread of the sport around the world, the pyramid started evolving from a local and national to an international scope and finally reached its current form as shown in Figure 1. 1: Figure 1. 1: The pyramidal structure of European football FIFA UEFA National Leagues National Associations REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS CLUBSThe clubs The clubs are the basic cell and the foundation of the pyramid. Originally founded as local associations their initial objective was to offer the local community the possibility of engaging in the sport, thereby promoting the idea of â€Å"sport for all†. With the introduction of a regular c ompetition, The FA Challenge 1 MURRAY Bill, The world’s game – a history of soccer, University of Illinois Press, 1998, p. 2 11 Cup in 1871, spectator crowds in England began to increase dramatically and in 1901 a crowd of 110,820 turned up to see Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United contest the final of the trophy . These crowds were increasingly giving birth to the popularisation of football as a spectator sport.Today, the main objective of top professional football clubs has shifted from the offer of opportunities to engage in the practice of the sport, to the offer of the spectacle of the game and all the attached psychological, emotional and social benefits for the fan. But the clubs still remain the basis and the primary link of contact with the communities. Regional associations Regional associations form the next level; although this form of association is not present in all countries. Clubs are usually affiliated to these organisations. Their scope of action is limited to a region within a country in which they are responsible for organising regional championships or coordinating the sport.National associations The first national association to come into scene was the English Football Association, or simply the FA as it is known today. It emerged from the London FA that became virtually the sole authority for the game in England after different regional associations in England came to a compromise agreement in 1877. By 1905 it had achieved the mark of 10. 000 local clubs affiliated to it. The success of the London FA in establishing its control over other regional associations came with the popularity of the Challenge Cup, instituted in 1871, a competition that is still played today. Also helping to secure the success of the dribbling game was the regular match with Scotland which began officially in 1872. 4 3 2Today, national associations besides organizing club competitions and being responsible for the coordination of a national tea m to represent the country in international competitions are also the supreme regulatory and disciplinary body of the sport within the national boundaries, although, as we will see later, they have limited autonomy and have to abide by the rules of UEFA and FIFA. By doing this they are granted a monopolistic position in the national organization of the game, as FIFA as the ultimate body in the pyramid will only recognize one association per country. National Leagues Some countries such as France, Italy or England know another form of organisation with the introduction in the structure of national leagues. The origin of leagues dates back to the England of the end of the 19 century.In 1885, after a series of complaints about athletes accepting money and the creation of committees to deal with them, followed by threats of serious punishments, the FA legalized professionalism. This meant that players had to be given a regular income. The Challenge Cup was still the main competition. Be ing a knock-out competition, even the best teams could be eliminated in an early round being left with nothing to do. The answer was the Football League. The league was 2 3 4 5 5 th : Ibid, p. 9 Ibid, p. 6 Ibid, p. 7 The elite club competitions are respectively organised in these countries by the ‘Ligue Nationale’, ‘Lega Calcio’ and the ‘Premier League’. 12 ade up of selected teams that agreed to play one another on set dates, on a home and away basis, and promised to field their strongest teams and to give league matches preference over all others. The individuals engaged in the discussions about the new league were essentially self-made men, small business owners and industrialists who came from a social category different from that of the men of the FA. With the FA watching anxiously, discussions were held by those in favour of the league. On 8 September 1888 the new football league kicked off competition with twelve teams. A constitution wo uld be drawn up determining issues such as points scoring system, how to share the gate money, and later, a system of promotion from and relegation to a second division.According to its founder and guiding spirit, the Scottish-born Birmingham businessman William McGregor, the aim of the league was to protect the interests of the clubs taking part in its competition. He openly declared that â€Å"the league should never aspire to be a legislating body†¦ by the very nature of things the League must be a selfish body. † The English Football League conceded the right of the FA to control football in all areas but the organisation of league competition. This meant that the FA was left to control the Challenge Cup, internationals, amateur football and certain matters concerning the rewards and disciplining of the professionals. 6Today, the relationship between national leagues and national associations throughout Europe is very similar to the one verified in England in the lat e 19 th century. While the national association is responsible for the control and development of all aspects and disciplines of football within the national boundaries, the league’s main interest is the commercial development of its major product, a league competition. Although there are tensions from time to time, the two bodies co-habit in relative peace given their share of common interests on the game. UEFA The next level of the pyramid is formed by the continental confederations, or more specifically in the case of Europe, UEFA – The Union of European Football Associations. As the name suggests, UEFA is formed by 52 national associations .It is the governing body of football on the continent of Europe and has as its core mission to safeguard the development of European football at every level of the game and to promote the principles of unity and solidarity, as we will detail later. Along the same lines of the national associations UEFA enjoys a monopolistic posi tion on the organisation of the game in Europe, guaranteed by the pyramid structure. It is relevant to notice that unlike the reality at the national level, where a league takes from the national association the responsibility of organizing and commercially developing an elite competition among clubs, the figure of the league does not exist at the continental level. The task of organizing and commercialising European club competition falls into UEFA’s direct jurisdiction.FIFA FIFA, is the supreme authority of football in the world. Its creation, in 1904, precedes that of the continental confederations, and thus, its membership structure is also formed by national associations. 7 6 7 MURRAY Bill, The world’s game – a history of soccer, University of Illinois Press, 1998, p. 11 See a complete list of UEFA’s member associations at appendix a. 13 Technically, the continental confederations, like UEFA, are not members of FIFA, but are recognized bodies and hav e the right to elect the vice presidents and members of FIFA’s Executive Committee. FIFA’s purpose is to promote and develop the game of football throughout the world, and to be the uardian of the regulations of the game. Unlike national associations, national leagues and continental confederations, FIFA currently does not organise club football competitions, although it regulates over matters that impact club football reality, such as transfer systems, and the coordinated international calendar. FIFA’s activities as far as competition organisation is concerned are currently limited to international competitions among national teams. FIFA is responsible for holding the whole pyramid together. The ownership of the FIFA World Cup, the most important single sporting event in the world, and a large and universal membership base are its main sources of power.By making use of regulations such as the need for a national association to be a member of a continental feder ation for two years before being granted membership to FIFA , and by obliging continental confederations to comply with and enforce compliance with the FIFA statutes, regulations and decisions, and to ensure that international leagues or any other such combination of clubs or leagues shall not be formed without its consent and approval of FIFA , or by prohibiting affiliated national associations and their clubs to play matches or entertain other sports contacts with associations which are not affiliated to FIFA or with clubs belonging to them without FIFA’s consent , it guarantees that the layers and the monopoly of the pyramid in the organisation of football are respected. 1. 1. 2. THE EUROPEAN FOOTBALL INDUSTRY 11 10 9 8Definition of the Football Industry Many people resent the use of the term ‘business’ to describe the activities performed by the main actors in the European football scenario. However, it is undeniable that European football has undergone an ac centuated process of commercialisation, especially in the last fifteen years, which has brought significant amounts of money into the game. Instead of engaging in an emotional and semantic discussion to determine if football is a game, if it is a business or if it is as much a business as it is a game, we will define as football business the group of commercial activities performed by the actors in the football industry, and we will define as football industry the group of legal entities whose commercial activities are rooted in the game of football.However, such a definition of the football industry is a very broad one and for the purpose of this paper it needs to be narrowed down as proposed in Figure 1. 2. 8 9 10 11 FIFA has currently 204 member associations (one per country), which represents a larger membership base than the UN. FIFA Statutes, art 4, par. 1 FIFA Statutes, art. 9, par. 3 FIFA Statutes, art. 57, par. 1 14 Figure 1. 2 – The structure of the football industr y12 Sports Industry Football Other Sports Sporting goods Facility dependent sports services Sport consultation services Spectacle sport Hybrid Sport Participant Sport Club Football National team Football Participant services Spectator services Sponsorship services Media servicesLicence services Scope of this paper Outside the scope of this paper The product-based typology proposed in Figure 1. 2 divides the sport industry into three main segments: Sporting goods, Facility dependent sports services and Sport consultation services. †¢ Sporting goods: companies producing apparel, shoes, equipment, team and/or league merchandise, ‘sport’ licensed products. Examples of companies in this segment include Nike, Adidas and Reebok. †¢ Sport consultation services: companies supplying advice in areas such as management, medical, design, building and maintenance, programming, among others. Examples include IMG, Octagon, and InFront. Facility dependent sports services: orga nisations offering sport as their end product be it as spectacle (matches, competitions) or as access to participation. This segment, like the others, can be further subdivided in three categories: spectacle, participant and hybrid sport. – Spectacle sport: the most prominent feature of organisations in this category is the ability to generate substantial revenues directly or indirectly from spectators. Here, athletes are usually professionals. Examples of organisations in this category are Manchester United, Juventus and the English Premier League. 12 Adapted from WESTERBEEK & SMITH, Sport Business in the Global Marketplace, Palgrave, 2003, p. 87 15 Participant sport: this is the category of entities providing opportunities for people to engage in sporting activities, usually on a non-professional basis, like gyms, community sports centres and amateur sport clubs. – Hybrid sport: in this category, sports organisations offer a mix of spectacle and participant sport. As Westerbeek and Smith 13 point out, governing bodies are likely to be hybrid sport organisations as they are charged with developing a mass participation base for the sport with the ambition of securing its longevity, while encouraging and promoting the few outstanding athletes that can perform in elite spectacle sport, providing the sport with the exposure so essential to its popularity, while developing the basis for spectacle sports’ revenue streams.Once the segmentation is understood, we can then define the European Football Industry in this paper as the group of legal entities acting in the facility dependent sports services, specifically within the boundaries of the spectacle and hybrid sport category in the territory covered by the fifty two member associations of UEFA. It is important to remark that this industry is built on two main pillars, club football and national team football, that ultimately have to â€Å"share† part of the same resources: top-level pla yers, spectatorship, calendar time, among others. Dimension and Growth of the European Football Industry There is no reliable data about the size of the European Football Industry as defined above.Deloitte & Touche estimates that, in the season 2000/2001, it should be close to national team football in Europe is in the range of 90-10% respectively. 15 10 billion. 14 A possible breakdown of this number is shown in Figure 1. 3. We reckon that the split between club football and Another important consideration is the fact that domestic football (in top and lower divisions) is by far the most important segment of the industry. As we can see from Figure 1. 3, the lion’s share of the industry is represented by top-division club football in the domestic leagues, amounting to 6. 6bn, thereof the so-called ‘big-five’ leagues (England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France) dominate 78%.Put in perspective, those numbers are not very impressive, as the entire European Football I ndustry would not even feature in the ranking Fortune Global 500 16 in 2002. What is impressive though, is the consistent fast pace with which this industry has been growing over the past 10 years. The top-division clubs at the ‘big-five’ leagues all grew at similar rates from the mid-1990s to 2001 – between 18% to 24% per annum, 17 while UEFA’s consolidated revenues grew at an impressive rate of 29% per annum 18 during the nine-year period comprised between the seasons 1992/1993 and 2001/2002 mainly 13 14 15 WESTERBEEK & SMITH, Sport Business in the Global Marketplace, Palgrave, 2003 Deloitte & Touche Annual Review of Football Finance – June 2002 – p. 16 A priori, by looking at Figure 1. , this proportion might sound counter-intuitive but we must not forget that a share of UEFA’s and the European federations’ revenues is based on club football. The Fortune Global 500 ranks the 500 largest companies in the world based on their g lobal revenues. In the 2002 ranking, Wal Mart appears as number 1 with global revenues around US$220 billion, while Takenaka, a Japanese company in the construction business ranks 500 with global revenues slightly above US$10bn. DELOITTE & TOUCHE Annual Review of Football Finance 2001/2000 – p. 4 UEFA’s consolidated revenues including amounts paid beforehand – UEFA CEO Annual Report 2002 p. 33 16 17 18 16 riven by the growth of the UEFA Champions League as we will show later. And although these growth rates are recently giving sign of slowing the pace, we believe it is more a matter of an internal adjustment of the industry than the apocalyptical actualisation of the burst of a bubble as many analysts like to put it. Most of the economic fundaments supporting the growth of the European Football Industry are solid, as notwithstanding the latest downsizing in the value of broadcast rights paid for some properties and the breakdown of companies like ISL and KirchMe dia, we do not see signs of an actual decrease in the demand for European Football.Much on the contrary, as we have seen that the TV audience for the 2002/03 UEFA Champions League grew by 9% in relation to the previous year, meaning that the competition produced an average live audience of 46 million viewers per match-week in the larger markets. 19 Figure 1. 3 – Estimated market size of the European Football Industry 2000/2001 billion 1. 3 1. 2 6. 6 ‘Big-5’ Leagues 10. 0 0. 7 0. 2 10 year average 24% 17% 14% 13% 10% 78% England Italy Spain Germany France growth > 20% p. a. Top division domestic club football1 Lower division domestic club football3 UEFA Club Competitions2 Annualized EURO Cup2 Sources: 1) Deloitte & Touche, 2) UEFA , 3) Authors’ estimatesRevenues of National Associations, Leagues, UEFA, others3 Total1 It is important to notice though, that if the industry has experienced significant growth in revenues in the last decade, profitability has not kept pace. This is mainly because of the rise in the spending on players in a phenomenon known as the ‘prune juice’ effect, which refers to the tendency for revenues generated by football clubs to simply pass through the clubs’ accounts on the way to players’ pockets. Just to illustrate that point, as already mentioned, the consolidated revenues of the top-division clubs in the ‘big-five’ leagues grew at an annual rate between 18% and 24% between the seasons 1995/96 and 2000/01.In the same period the ratio wages/revenues went from 47% to 60% in England, and from 57% to 75% in Italy, just to mention two of the major markets. profitability 21 20 The result is a plunge in the 23 of the industry in the major markets 22 with the most accentuated cases being Italy going from –1% to –19% in six seasons and Spain going from –7% to –28% in four seasons. 19 20 21 22 23 UEFA’s champion audience, Sportbusiness. com, June 3 2003 Analysis of the authors based on the Deloitte and Touche Review of Football Finances – 2002 Measured as Operating Profits / Revenues The exception is Germany that managed to keep its profitability between 8% and 10% during the period There are no available date for Spanish top-division clubs in the seasons 1999/00 and 2000/01 17Business Model of the Football Industry The current business model of the European Football Industry relies on four main revenue streams: 1. Match day revenues – Expenditure of fans on-site, mainly derived from gate receipts (including season tickets). 2. Media rights – Value paid by media companies to acquire the rights of broadcasting a specific sport property. 3. Sponsorship – Mainly derived from brand/name placing on team shirts and around stadia. 4. Other commercial revenues – Mainly revenues from licensed merchandise, but also includes conference and catering services. Figure 1. 4 gives an overview on the proportions of these revenue streams for a sample of domestic leagues. Figure 1. – Breakdown of top-division clubs revenue streams – 2000/01 16% 31% 18% 16% 42% 34% 40% 25% 54% 39% 51% 45% 51% 20% 18% 20% 12% 4% 41% 43% 13% 30% 17% 9% 15% 22% 14% 18% 15% 12% 13% England Italy Spain (97/98) Key: Germany France Portugal Netherlands Norway Matchday Broadcast Sponsorship (includes all commercial revenues for England) Other commercial Source: Deloitte & Touche As we can see from the graph above, TV is in general the single largest contributor to clubs’ revenues in the ‘big-five’ leagues. According to Deloitte & Touche in the season 2000/01, TV responded for 2. 4 billion, or 46% of the 5. 2 billion total revenues of the top-division clubs in the ‘big-five’ leagues.However, this proportion will vary significantly according to the size of the TV market in which the club is located. There is a clear difference between the relevance of TV monies for the top-division clubs in the ‘big-five’ leagues and the top-division clubs in other mid-size or small leagues like Portugal, Netherlands and Norway, as shown in the graph. The Fan: The Heart of the Football Industry Although the importance of television and sponsors is clear in the current business model of the European Football Industry, which might lead us to conclude that those are the most important actors in this industry, the dynamics of the industry rely ultimately on the interest of spectators. Figure 1. shows a simplified map of value relationships between actors in this industry. 18 Figure 1. 5 – Summarized Value Chain of the Football Industry Simplified Simplified 2 Leagues Sponsors ? Clubs B C 1 3 ? Television A Football Fans Population Note: For the sake of simplification this map does not consider some important stakeholders in the Football Industry such as governing bodies and federations, players, clubs’ shareholders, national teams, a mong others The cornerstone of value for the Football Industry is relationship – between fans and the clubs. In this relationship the clubs supply the fans with the game and all the emotional, social and psychological benefits attached to it.The fans, in turn, provide the club with financial resources in the form of gate receipts, season tickets or membership fees and purchase of licensed merchandise besides the emotional association, support, loyalty, exposure, among other non-tangible benefits. Relationship illustrates the fact that clubs need the league structure to create the on-field competition environment required by fans. And the quality of the competition, measured in the quality of teams taking part in that competition and in the level of competitive balance, is one of the most important drivers of demand for football. This relationship between clubs and leagues 24 is one of the ell-known peculiarities of the Football Industry. In any other industry the ideal object ive of the players would be to achieve a monopolistic position driving competitors out of business, whereas in the Football Industry this is not only impossible, but also not desirable, since clubs need to cooperate for the joint-production of the game. However, there are inherent conflicts between teams since the league structure also determines a team’s individual share of industry profits. Relationship reflects the fact that part of the football fans are not necessarily attached to one specific club but have overall interest in a particular competition.The marketing strategy of the UEFA Champions League has the benefit of strengthening this link eventually intending to increase the share of the population interested for European football regardless of a particular team allegiance. In the left side of the map we have television companies. Traditionally, revenues of free-to-air television companies are based on advertisement from sponsors. In order to attract sponsors, 24 Le agues or whatever entity responsible for organising a football competition 19 television companies must be able to attract audience, and this is done by offering content. That is represented by relationship A. Television companies offer content to the public in the quest for an audience.By getting an audience, television companies become attractive to sponsors. That is shown in relationship C. Sponsors will pay to use television as a channel to advertise their products and services to their target markets among the audience. Pay-TV companies have an incremental revenue stream. In addition to advertisement from sponsors they rely on subscription fees from consumers interested in having access to exclusive content. In both cases though, it is clear that audience is key. In markets where the interest for a particular sport captures a large share of the population, which is the case of football in the ‘big-five’ leagues, the link represented in relationships 25TV companies and sponsors realise the importance of and wish to exploit it. That is represented by and relationships ? and ?. In relationship ? , TV companies pay to acquire the right (if possible exclusive) to broadcast individual matches or competitions in the hope to attract an audience. In relationship ? sponsors pay to associate themselves with teams or leagues both as a way to get visibility to sports fans and as a way to associate their brand with the sporting brand they are sponsoring, thus exploring the goodwill present in the link between the fan and the sport. Their ultimate goal is to get the population to consume their products and services.In all cases it is simple to understand that the ultimate source of value for the Football Industry is the interest of the fan for the sport. The fan is the TV viewer, the pay-TV subscriber, the stadium spectator, and potentially the end consumer of the sponsors’ products and services. The larger the fan base and the larger its identificat ion with the sport, the higher the probability that this sport will attract the interest of TV and sponsors. Of course, the potential value of the Football Industry in a particular region will depend also on the size of the TV and the advertisement markets in that region, which in the end bear relation with the demographics of the region. Thus the focal point of he Football Industry is the football fan, 26 and that is the reason why it is crucial for clubs, leagues and governing bodies to understand what drives spectator interest for European football, in other words, what are the drivers of demand for football. Demand for Football Spectatorship Stefan Szymanski summarizes the most important factors driving fan interest for football in three classic elements: 27 Quality of the game Uncertainty of outcome (of the match and of the competition) Success of the fan’s own team 25 26 England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France There are several studies intending to qualify the footbal l fan according to different levels of commitment and interest.For the sake of this paper we qualify as football fan any person interested in the game regardless of the level of commitment. Interview with Stefan SZYMANSKI, Professor of Economics, Imperial College London 27 20 The quality of the game would touch on aspects such as the entertainment and spectacle, the aesthetic pleasure of watching the game, the quality of the visiting team. The uncertainty of outcome has two major aspects: uncertainty of outcome of the match and the uncertainty of outcome of a competition. About the uncertainty of match outcome, the review of the literature shows that generally, the closer the result of the match is expected to be, the more attractive the game will be to fans.Along the same lines fans would be less enthusiastic about a game in which the result is seen as a foregone conclusion. Furthermore this uncertainty must be preserved at all costs, as the integrity of the game is completely conn ected to the integrity of the result. 28 The uncertainty of outcome of the competition is measured in terms of competitive balance. There is general agreement that match attendance will be influenced by the closeness of the championship race. As more teams have a chance of reaching the finals or play-offs, fans will expect a close contest and anticipate high quality play. This anticipation will be reflected in a higher level of fan enjoyment and consumer utility and a boost to crowd size. 29Success of the fan’s own team implies that supporters achieve satisfaction from identifying with a winning team. Arguably, a team that consistently loses will have difficulty attracting large crowds. active supporter bases than their domestic peers. But if a winning season contributes to the increase of the commitment of the supporter base of a specific club and if the fan base, as argued before, is the principal source of goodwill for a club, it seems obvious to state that clubs, as indiv idual entities, will seek to maximize their winning ratios as a way to increase the supporter base. This practice, if successful, will eventually conflict with the element of uncertainty of outcome.The challenge for clubs and organisers of competitions is to understand the optimal combination between those three elements (quality of the game, uncertainty of outcome and success of own team) in the determination of demand for football as they frequently can conflict among themselves. Conclusion In summary, as much as we want to avoid the discussion of football being a business or a game, we must recognise that the dynamics of the football industry present some specific characteristics that make us conclude that football cannot be taken as just a regular business. These special characteristics fall mainly in three inter-related areas: 1. Football clubs are cultural and community assets with associated sporting and community objectives.There is a long and unfinished academic debate argu ing that football clubs are utility 30 That could help to explain why clubs like Manchester United or Real Madrid have larger and more 28 In that sense potential contractual clauses like the one suggested by the press in the Beckham transfer from Manchester United to Real Madrid, in which the acquiring club will pay a bonus to the ceding club based on the former’s future performances at championships at which both teams compete could allow for the public’s perception of match fixing between the two clubs in a specific scenario, which could eventually hurt long-term demand for the game. WESTERBEEK & SMITH, Sport Business in the Global Marketplace, Palgrave, 2003, p. 64 29 30Although formation of fan basis is a more complex phenomenon and depends on many other factors apart from a team’s winning record at a given time. 21 maximisers pursuing non-pecuniary objectives rather than maximisation of economic value as any other business. Sloan 31 argues that while in US professional team sports, many teams have an established track record of profitability, in the case of European football teams, profit making clubs have been very much the exception and not the rule. He goes further explaining that chairmen and directors with a controlling interest in football clubs are usually individuals who have achieved success in business in other fields.Their motives for investing may include a desire for power or prestige, or simple sporting enthusiasm: a wish to see the local club succeed on the field of play. In many cases profit of the club seems unlikely to be the major motivating factor. As one of our experts interviewed puts it: ‘Clubs are too much under the control of local business owners or major individuals in the community looking for personal gain. When these people take the reigns of a club usually they end up satisfying themselves. Many of them have come to my office and said: – For me, investing in a club is just like having a PR c ampaign. Rather than giving money to an advertising agency, I buy a club and since the press talks a lot about me, it has an equivalent effect. ’ . The relationship between the supporter and the club can be very different to a standard customercompany relationship. Lomax 32 explains that most supporters choose their clubs at a young age and then stick to this choice however irrational it may seem at face value. Football supporters are key stakeholders contributing to the club not just by being loyal customers but also by actively adding to the match day spectacle, and often committing financially to keep their club afloat as it was the case with the English supporters of Northampton FC that contributed with money in a fundraising campaign to alleviate the club’s financial distress. 3.As already mentioned, the Football Industry depends on both competition and co-operation among clubs. Football then redistributes income from leading to lagging clubs (and leagues) in orde r to promote competitive balance. This redistribution of income would not be allowed in most traditional industries. The combination of those three factors makes the dynamics of the football industry special in relation to most of the other regular forms of businesses. 1. 1. 3. STAKEHOLDERS’ M AP After analysing the governance structure and the dynamics of the European Football Industry, it makes sense to map its stakeholders in a more comprehensive way. Figure 1. 6 depicts those stakeholders: 31SLOANE Peter, The economics of professional football: The football club as a utility maximiser, Scottish Journal of Political Economy pp. 121-145, June 1971 32 LOMAX Brian, Democracy and Fandom: Developing a supporters’ trust at Northampton Town FC, in: GARLAND John, MALCOLM Dominic and ROWE Michael (Ed),The Future of Football – Challenges for the 21st century, Frank Cass, 2000 22 Figure 1. 6 – Stakeholders Map of the European Football Industry Non Non Exhaustive Exhaustive Fans / Spectators Club Patrons Clubs UEFA Stock Market G-14 European Union Players National Leagues National Associations FIFA European Football Industry Media Sponsors Press Once the stakeholders are identified we will make use of table 1. to map their interests, analyse their bargaining power, identify the main groups over which they exercise their power and qualify the types of pressures suffered by each group. Some of the points covered in this section are introductory and will be explained in more details later, but we think it is important to bear in mind the relationships described below, as they will be helpful to understand the nature of the conflicts treated in this paper. Table 1. 1 – General overview of stakeholders interests, power and pressures Stakeholder Main Interests †¢ Identification †¢ Entertainment Power Focal point of the industry but not sufficiently organised (H/M)* Vulnerability Not sufficiently organised †¢ Too emotionally a ttached to the game, will accept poor treatment †¢ Internal conflict between individual and cooperative objectives Pressure exerted Pressure received Fans / Spectators †¢ Spectacle †¢ Psychological satisfaction †¢ Social Integration Immediate pressure for sport performance over clubs Community Fans (H/M) Press (H) Players (H) Pressure on Governing Bodies and leagues over a number of issues related to the regulation of the game (Revenue sharing, competition format, supply of players to national teams, calendar) Patrons (H) UEFA (H) G-14 (H/M) Media (H/M) FIFA (H) Sponsors (H) Leagues (H) Stock Market (H) Nat. Assoc. (H) Increase demand for football Clubs †¢ On pitch performance limited by budget constraints Basic cell of the industry, controls the most valuable assets for the production of the game (H)* †¢ Short-term view †¢ Little control over main cost items †¢ Not a homogeneous and organized group †¢ Lacks direct representation at highe r decision making level *High (H), Medium (M), Low (L) 23 Table 1. 1 – General overview of stakeholders interests, power and pressures – continued Stakeholder Main Interests †¢ Develop the following of the game in Europe Power* Vulnerability Pressure exerted Pressure received* G-14 (H) Other clubs (M) FIFA (H) UEFA †¢ Keep tight control of the game in Europe †¢ Promote solidarity †¢ Promote port for all †¢ Develop other disciplines of the game †¢ Develop the following of the game universally Detains the natural monopoly in the organisation of the game in Europe, holds the key for eligibility of players and clubs at competitions (H) †¢ Relies too much on elite club competition to fund its activities Pressure on clubs and players to comply with the regulations and principles EU (H) Press (H) Fans (L) Media (M) Sponsors (L) Players (M) Leagues (L) FIFA †¢ Keep a strong control of the game †¢ Promote solidarity †¢ Develop o ther disciplines of the game †¢ Content – to get audience from the fans Is the supreme body of world football (H) †¢ Relies too much on one single national team event to fund its activitiesPressure on national associations, confederations, clubs to comply with the rules and regulations of the game EU (H) Media (M) Sponsors (L) Confederations (M) Media †¢ Has an interest in the game as long as it generates audience. Will switch to other content options as soon as it does not †¢ Content – to get readership from the fans Is the single major investor in the game. Without TV money Football collapses (H) †¢ Limited bargaining power over the price of top events †¢ Limited concern about the long term issues of the game †¢ Subject to competition law Pressure on leagues and UEFA for changes in the format in the quest for immediate rise in audienceFans (H) EU (H) Internal competition (H) Sponsors (H) Press Extremely influential over fans (H) Has the control over the national game, is represented with decision power at UEFA and FIFA, owns the national teams – a major source of passion (H/M) Usually controls the central marketing of domestic competitions (M) In the top level, due to the limited supply of talent and due to identification of fans (H). In the lower level due to the high replaceability (L) †¢ Credibility It is the ‘Big Brother’ watching the steps of Clubs, National Associations, Leagues and Players Fans (H) Other types of media (H) National Leagues (H) Players (H) National Associations Aligned with FIFA and UEFA at the domestic level Being confined to national borders may suffer from globalisation tendencies Pressure on the clubs, and on the leagues G-14 (H) Clubs (M) Fans (M) Media (H) Press (H) National leagues †¢ Organise club competition at the domestic level †¢ Commercial optimisation of domestic competition Being confined to national borders may suffer from globalisation tendencies Pressure on the clubs for cooperation over the quest for individual objectives, pressure on national associations Clubs (H) Media (H) Fans (L) †¢ Self realisation Players †¢ Financial security †¢ Status †¢ In general not too organised †¢ Incredibly risky and specific career – shortClubs (H/M) Pressure on the clubs for better labour conditions Fans (H) Press (H) Nat. Assoc. (H/M) Leagues (M) *High (H), Medium (M), Low (L) 24 Table 1. 1 – General overview of stakeholders interests, power and pressures – continued Stakeholder Main Interests †¢ Guarantee fair trade in the industry †¢ Help Federations to implement professional management †¢ Keep the balance among football and other industries †¢ Increase representation of top clubs in the decision making process of professional club football at international level †¢ Advise clubs on current financial challenges Power Vulnerability Pressure exerted Pressure received EU Can change the structure in which the professional level of the game is managed (H)Most of the time acts like an observer, not taking action until an actor complains †¢ Do not represent all top clubs †¢ Not officially recognised by UEFA †¢ Cannot impede UEFA or FIFA to directly deal with individual member clubs †¢ Threatening behaviour †¢ Relegation / Promotion system †¢ Eligibility for international competitions Pressure on the governing bodies on anti-competitive practices Industry sectors (H) Member states (H) G-14 (The Lobby Group) Represents the major top clubs in Europe (H) Pressure on UEFA, FIFA, national associations, other clubs and the EU Fans (L), UEFA (H), Member clubs (L) Stock Market †¢ Maximisation of shareholder valueImportant source of funds for some clubs, but not very representative in the industry as a whole (M/L) †¢ Too dependant on the highs and lows of sporting performance †¢ Subject to regulations made by people who may not be profit seekers †¢ Limited sensitivity to the long term peculiarities of the game †¢ Limited control over the sponsorship agreement Pressure on the listed clubs for diversification of revenues and for financial returns Regulatory bodies (H) Fans (L) †¢ Visibility to fans Sponsors †¢ Association with the goodwill of clubs and competitions One of the major sources of revenue in the Industry(H) †¢ Reduced bargaining power over the price of top events †¢ Internal competition in the sponsorship industryPressure on competition organisers, clubs and players Shareholders (H) Other sponsors (H) Club Patrons †¢ Prestige †¢ Value transfer to other businesses Owner and benefactor of the club (H) Too much emotionally involved with the club Over players for pitch performance Fans (M), Players (H), Community (H) *High (H), Medium (M), Low (L) 25 1. 1. 4. PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL COMPETITION CALENDAR The pyramid structure of football gove rnance, along with the international nature of the game impose additional challenges to the organisation of competition in Europe. All layers of the pyramid rely mainly on the organisation and participation at competitions to generate the funds for their activities.Be it FIFA with its quadrennial World Cup or biennial Confederations’ Cup , UEFA with the Euro or the UEFA Champions League, the National Associations with the participation in the international competitions for national teams organised by FIFA and UEFA or with the organisation of the domestic cups, the national leagues with the organisation of the domestic league, or the clubs participating in domestic and international competitions, all actors depend ultimately on competition to subsist. The complexity in the organisation of the competition calendar comes from the fact that the actors have to share the same restricted resources: players and time.National team competitions, to be able to exploit their full commerc ial potential, have to count on the presence of top players, often the same players that are fighting for top teams in club competitions. International club competitions, along the same lines, hope to count with the participation of the most popular clubs, the same ones participating in domestic competitions. All of this constrained by the fact that there are only 52 weeks in the year, and there is a physical limitation to the number of matches a player can play in a given period of time. Thus it is not an easy task to find the right combination of supply among the different types of competitions: the one that will maximise the utility for the football fan. Figure 1. shows the configuration of the football calendar for the season 2002/2003, displaying the major competitions currently being played at the elite level of football in Europe. Figure 1. 7 – European Competition Calendar – Elite Professional Football – Season 2002/2003 2002 June July August September O ctober November December 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 Week Domestic League1) Domestic Cup6) UEFA Champions League2) UEFA Cup2) UEFA Intertoto Cup Super Cup / Intercontinental FIFA World Cup7) Euro (qualification) International Friendlies3) 4) Na tio n Te al am Cl u b Week 4) Domestic League1) Domestic Cup6) UEFA Champions League2) UEFA Cup2) UEFA Intertoto Cup Super Cup / Intercontinental FIFA World Cup7) Euro (qualification) International Friendlies3) 003 Season 02/03 January February March April May J Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Matchdates 38 10 23 15 10 2 9 8 4 Na tio n Te al am Notes: Cl ub 1) Based on the English Premier League 2) Including qualifying rounds 3) According to FIFA Coordinated International Calendar 4) Week 22 starts on Monday May 26th and finishes on Sunday June 1st 5) Weekend matches include Monday and Friday for the Domestic League 6) Based on the FA Cup – Starting at the 3rd round when Premier League clubs join the cup 7) Maximum of 7 matches per national team Key: Weekend matches5) Mid-week matches Source: Analysis of the authors based on data from Rec. Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF), UEFA and FIFA 26 Figure 1. 7 shows that the majority of the annual football activity is based on domestic club football, including a domestic league and a domestic cup. Although the graph is based on the Premier League and the FA Cup, the activity in other countries follow a similar pattern. There is usually a domestic league being played from August to May mainly during the weekends with a number of match dates varying slightly depending on the number of participants at the top division of the league (usually between 18 and 20 in the major markets), and there is a domestic cup usually being played during the mid weeks over around 10 rounds. he UEFA Intertoto Cup. UEFA Champions League Eligibility for the UEFA Champions League depends on th e technical performance of clubs at their domestic leagues, and on the ranking of national associations prepared by UEFA. As an example, the champions and the runners-up at the English Premier League automatically secure a berth among the 32 participants at the UEFA Champions League, while the third and fourth places will play at a qualifying stage. The same is valid for Spain and Italy. But countries ranked lower by UEFA receive a reduced number of berths for the competitions with some countries receiving only a place at the qualifying phases.The competition is preceded by three qualifying phases played by 56 clubs entering in different stages. From the qualifying phases 16 clubs eventually gain access to the competition. Those clubs join the other 16 that secured an automatic berth, totalling 32 clubs. Currently, the 32 clubs play a first group stage (eight groups of four teams) with the two top teams in each group qualifying for a second group stage (four groups of four teams). T he group stages are followed by a knock out stage (quarter finals and semi finals) with home and away matches followed by a one leg final match at a predetermined venue. For the season 2003/04 UEFA has decided to eliminate the second group stage, meaning that the sixteen clubs ualifying from the first group stage (eight groups of four teams) will enter directly into the knock out stage (eighth finals, quarter finals, semi finals, and the final). This will reduce the maximum number of matches per club from 17 to 13. UEFA Cup Eligibility for the UEFA Cup is open to teams finishing in leading positions behind the champions in the domestic top divisions, besides the winners of the national cup competition, the winners of the league cup competition in certain countries, the three winners of the final matches at the UEFA Intertoto Cup and three clubs from UEFA’s annual fair play assessment. The UEFA Cup is a knock-out competition played home and away (except for the final match whi ch is played in a one leg match) and is preceded by a qualifying stage.At the third round, the eight teams falling in third place at the first group stage of the UEFA Champions League, also join the UEFA Cup. Figure 1. 8 Illustrates the format of the UEFA Cup, which is currently being revised by UEFA. 34 33 In the international scenario, there are three main club competitions currently being organised by UEFA, The UEFA Champions League, The UEFA Cup and 33 The domestic cup usually counts on the participation of clubs from many professional divisions, but the top clubs will join the cup at an advanced stage. Not considering the qualifying rounds 34 27 Figure 1. 8 – Format of the UEFA Cup # of Clubs 82 41 + 52 96 48 24 + 3 From Intertoto Qualifying Stage First Round Second Round + 8 From UCL 32 16 8 4 2 Champion Third Round Eighth Finals