Search & Seizure, Open Fields Doctrine

MEMORANDUM ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO SUPPRESS STATEMENT OF FACTS Owyhee County is located in the south west corner of Idaho. The Owyhee Mountains fill the west portion of Owyhee County. Mud Flat Field and Marmaduke Spring are located in the Owyhee Mountains, in the west central portion of Owyhee County, south of South Mountain and north of Juniper Mountain. The Mud Flat Field is approximately two miles long from North to South. The south end of the Mud Flat Field borders the Mud Flat road. Over this road one can travel to Jordan Valley, Oregon, from Grandview, Idaho.From the Mud Flat road, a person enters the Mud Flat through the locked gate or through another, unlocked, gate. The unlocked gate is approximately 25 yards east of the locked gate. In July 1995, a number of persons, including *** Bennett, had keys to the locked gate. Near the south end of the field is a set of corrals. Defendant *** Tobias’ cabin is approximately a quarter mile east of the corrals. The cabin is not visible from the corrals. In the summer of 1995 the defendants Tobias and *** Black, were running cattle in the Mud Flat field and adjoining fields.Marmaduke Spring is located about a quarter mile west of the northwest end of the Mud Flat Field, over a saddle from the field. On July 21, 1995, an Idaho Air National Guard helicopter pilot, *** Brummett, flew a mission over the Owyhee Mountains. While flying over Marmaduke Spring, Brummett saw a number of dead cows. Brummett initially observed the cows from the air; he then landed his helicopter and inspected the cows on foot. Brummett found *** Bennett’s truck parked near the north end of the Mud Flat Field. The truck was approximately a quarter mile east and over a ridge from the dead cows and the spring. Bennett was not at his truck.Brummett left a note on *** Bennett’s truck after he inspected the cows. The note identified the location of the massacred cows. When Bennett came back to his truck and read the not e he walked over the hill to examine the cows. Because Bennett ran cattle on the ranch adjacent to and west of the Mud Flat Field, and had cattle in the area, he was afraid that the cows might have been his own. He found a number of swollen dead cows. What he saw caused him to leave and contact the Owyhee County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO). At approximately 6:00 p. m. on July 21, 1995 Bennett returned to the Mud Flat Field and Marmaduke Spring.He brought the Owyhee County Sheriff, Tim Nettleton, Owyhee County Sheriff’s Deputy Jim Bish and an Idaho Deputy Brand Inspector, Chuck Hall, with him. They got onto the Mud Flat field through the locked gate using Bennett’s key. They inspected the dead cows. The cattle had been shot through the head and were lying on their left sides or were on their bellies. Each had at least one ear removed and each had an 11 inch by 11 inch (approximate) patch of hide missing from the right shoulder; The significance of the removal of the ear is that a numbered (â€Å"Bangs†) tag is attached to the ear.The owner of cattle can be determined by the tag even if the brand is destroyed Some of the cows had bled. The cows were tentatively identified as *** King’s. Gordon King’s brand is a â€Å"Heart-K† on the right shoulder; exactly where the hide had been cut from the cows. The cows appeared to have had calves nurse them after they had been killed. After inspecting the cows, Bennett, Nettleton and Hall went to the Mud Flat Corral and found Tobias. They told him what they were doing and asked him whether he had seen anyone in the area during the past few days.He denied that he had. The following day, July 22, 1995, law enforcement officers, lab technicians and citizens returned to the Marmaduke Spring area to try to figure out what happened. During that day *** King found a Charolais cross calf in the Mud Flat Field. This calf had an open wound on its right shoulder from where a â€Å"Heart-Kà ¢â‚¬  brand had been skinned. The calf had a new â€Å"T-cross† brand on its left hip. Officers and cowboys found 12 skinned and rebranded calves during the next few days. Two calves were found in Tobias’ and Black’s Mud Flat Field.The remainder of the calves were found in an allotment Tobias and Black shared with their neighbors, the Colletts. Each calf had a chunk of hide missing from its right shoulder, some had new ear marks, and each had a new â€Å"T-cross† brand. Skin, hair and blood samples were taken from the skinned calves and the dead cows. The samples were sent to the Stormont Laboratory for DNA testing. The tests established that at least eight of the calves came from eight of the dead cows. An Idaho brand officer, Chuck Hall, was near the corrals and saw saddles in the back of Tobias’ pickup.On one saddle’s horn wrap Hall saw what appeared to be a fairly fresh spot of blood pressed into the wrap. Hall is an experienced cowboy and his opinion was that blood may have come from one of the cows or calves. Hall cut a small piece of leather containing the spot of blood off the saddlehorn wrap. Later, *** Black claimed that saddle. When asked at the preliminary hearing why he took the piece of leather, Hall said, â€Å"I saw it as evidence, and if I hadn’t taken it at that time I may not have ever seen it again. † (PH, p. 572. ) The leather and blood were sent to the Stormont lab.The lab determined that the spot was blood and that it came from one of the stolen calves. On July 21, when Nettleton first saw the dead cows and told Tobias about them, he saw the blood on Tobias’ pants. The following day Tobias was wearing the same pants. Nettleton decided, based on his experience as a cowboy and a hunter, that the blood pattern on the pants was unusual. It was not the pattern of blood as it usually appears on the pants of a cowboy, or a hunter. Blood on the pants of a hunter or cowboy will be wi ped on from wiping off either hands or knives or as specks from the spray of cut small arteries.The blood in this instance was smeared and soaked onto the thigh area of the pants and had dripped down onto the cuff area. Nettleton believed that the blood may have come from the cows and calves. He believed that the blood pattern came from Tobias’ having laid the skinned patches of cow and/or calf hide on his pants. The patches of hide from the cows and calves were never recovered. Near the end of the day of July 22, Nettleton approached Tobias and told him that he had probable cause, but did not want, to arrest him. Nettleton asked Tobias for his pants.Tobias asked Sheriff Nettleton what would happen if he did not give Sheriff Nettleton the pants and Nettleton replied that he would have to arrest him. Tobias consented to give up the pants. The pants were sent to the Stormont lab and DNA tests were performed on them. The tests showed that blood on the pants matched that from one of the dead cows. DEFENSE ARGUMENTS The arguments are set out in Tobias’ â€Å"Memorandum in Support of Defendant’s Pretrial Motions. † I. THE THRESHOLD MATTER BECAUSE TOBIAS HAS MADE NO SHOWING THAT HIS UNITED STATES CONSTITUTIONAL FOURTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED, THIS COURT SHOULD NOT CONSIDER HIS ARGUMENTS.As a threshold matter, this court must determine whether Tobias has standing to assert a violation of the 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution. In order to show standing Tobias must show that the search or seizure violated his own privacy, liberty or possessor interests. Rakas v. Illinois 439 U. S. 128, nt. 1, (1978); Smith v. Maryland, 442 U. S. 736, 740, 99 S. Ct. 2577, 2580, 61 L. Ed. 2d 220 (1979). Tobias has an obligation to demonstrate, by affidavit or testimony, that any of his privacy, liberty or possessor interests have been violated. Tobias has not shown either a subjective or objective expectation of privacy.The facts demon strate that Tobias and Black had little, if any, expectation of privacy in the Marmaduke Spring kill site, in the Mud Flat field, in the Mud Flat field corrals, in the open back of Tobias’ pickup truck, in the federal allotment that Tobias and Black shared with the Colletts, in the dead cows found near Marmaduke Spring, in King’s calf found in the Mud Flat field, in the running irons found at the Mud Flat field corrals, in the running irons and blood spot found on the saddle which was located in the open back of Tobias’ pickup truck at the Mud Flat field corrals, in the bloody pants that Tobias was wearing, in the calves found on the federal allotment that Tobias and Black shared with the Colletts, the Marmaduke Spring, the Mud Flat corral, the Mud Flat Field, or his pickup. Tobias has shown no ownership interest Marmaduke Spring. He has shown no violated privacy interest in the Mud Flat Field, or the Collett/Tobias/Black allotment. Tobias has not claimed an own ership interest in the evidence seized from the deceased cows, the calves or the saddle leather.Therefore, the court should not consider his arguments nor grant his motion to suppress regarding this evidence. II. THE MUD FLAT CORRAL SEARCH ARGUMENT THE MUD FLAT CORRALS WERE OUTSIDE THE AREA OF FOURTH AMENDMENT PROTECTION BECAUSE TOBIAS HAD NO REASONABLE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY IN THEM. The state will first analyze Tobias’ reasonable expectation of privacy in the corral area. The analysis of his interest in the Mud Flat field, the federal allotment that Tobias shared with the Colletts, and the Marmaduke Spring kill site, will be substantially the same. If the court finds that Tobias had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the corral area, then it should find that he had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the other areas.In order to determine if the Fourth Amendment applies, the court has to determine if the person objecting to the search or seizure has a reasonable exp ectation of privacy in the place searched or the thing seized (because if there is no reasonable expectation of privacy violated there is no search or seizure), if there was a search or seizure, if the state was involved, and, finally, if an exception applies. Should this court consider Tobias’ search and seizure claims it should consider that the facts show diminished and missing subjective and objective expectations of privacy. The Fourth Amendment prohibits only those searches and seizures that are â€Å"unreasonable. While the appellate courts presume that warrantless searches are unreasonable, the state rebuts this presumption when it demonstrates, by a preponderance of the evidence based on the totality of the circumstances, that the search was reasonable. The state can also rebut the presumption when it shows that the search came under one of the exceptions to the warrant requirement. In other words Tobias must show that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy whic h was violated. A. Open Fields The Fourth Amendment â€Å"protects people, not places. What a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection. † Katz, 389 U. S. at 351.The person must have an actual, or subjective, expectation of privacy, and the expectation must be one that society will recognize as reasonable. Katz, 389 U. S. at 361. Federal courts have consistently held that there is no constitutionally protected privacy interest in the area outside of the curtilage a home. In Hester v. United States, 265 U. S. 57 (1924), federal agents entered onto Hester’s lands looking for, and finding, his illegal still. The court held that the Fourth Amendment did not protect open fields. The Court reiterated that holding in Oliver v. United States, 466 U. S. 170 (1984), and United States v. Dunn, 480 U. S. 294 (1987).In Oliver, the officers acted on anonymous tips, ignored â€Å"no trespassing† signs, a nd found secluded marijuana fields on private land. The Supreme Court again held that open fields do not provide the setting for those intimate activities that the Fourth Amendment is intended to shelter from government interference or surveillance. Therefore, there is no reasonable expectation of privacy, even though the police are trespassers in the unprotected areas. In Dunn narcotics officers trespassed onto Dunn’s farm. They climbed over fences and crossed open fields. They avoided the house but went to the barn and other outlying structures. They crossed over more fences and looked inside, but did not go inside, the barn.The Supreme Court said there was no Fourth Amendment protection in the area where the trespass occurred. The Court discussed curtilage concepts and factors such as distance from the residence, enclosures surrounding the residence, the uses to which the area was being put, and owner’s efforts at concealment. It then ruled that the open fields doct rine applied. Although the Idaho appellate courts have found the federal definition of curtilage unduly restrictive, they nevertheless analyze curtilage similarly. In State v. Kelly, 106 Idaho 268 (Ct. App. 1984) and State v. Young, 107 Idaho 671 (Ct. App. 1984), the appellants asked the court to examine Oliver‘s effect on Katz and Hester. The court of appeals declined to do so.The court did not agree with the appellants that the evidence should have been suppressed. The court also examined the federal cases in relation to Idaho’s constitutional law. It decided the cases by determining that the defendants had exhibited no reasonable expectation of privacy. In Kelly, the court commented that the officers seized the marijuana after going over the defendant’s insubstantial barbed wire fence. The court also noted there was no evidence of â€Å"no trespassing† signs. In Young, the court said that while the officers had initially encountered a gate, a fence and â€Å"no trespassing† signs, they had walked around them to an area where there were no signs, gates or fences.The officers then entered Young’s land and saw the marijuana. Tobias, in his brief, implies that under no â€Å"stretch of the imagination† can the search at the Mud Flat corrals be justified. He suggests that the Mud Flat corrals are within the curtilage of his cabin and are immediately adjacent to his cabin. (Deft’s Mem. , p. 7. ) To support the argument, he cites a number of other state courts as having held that corrals â€Å"are within the constitutionally protected ‘curtilage’ of a farmhouse. † (Deft’s Mem. , p. 8. ) To suggest that corrals are by definition within the curtilege of a house is to expand the definition of curtilage beyond Idaho law.Curtilage: encompasses the area, including domestic buildings, immediately adjacent to a home which a reasonable person may expect to remain private even though it is acc essible to the public. State v. Cada, supra; State v. Clark, 124 Idaho 308 (Ct. App. 1993); State v. Rigoulot, 123 Idaho 267 (Ct. App. 1992), emphasis added. It is clear from the photographs and from the preliminary hearing testimony that the corrals are not †immediately adjacent to a home. † Clearly, the corrals are not located within â€Å"a small piece of land† around the cabin. (See attached photograph. ) Tobias’ cabin is concealed from the corrals. There is a tree-covered ridge isolating the cabin from the corrals.Tobias’ cabin sits below the ridge. His cabin is approximately a quarter mile from the corrals. The corrals are not part of a barnyard immediately adjacent to a home. Their association with the cabin is that they are along the road leading to the cabin. The road ends and the path to the cabin begins, near the corrals. While the corrals are not clearly visible from the Mud Flat Road, they are easily seen from the road that goes through the Mud Flat field and on to Bennett’s ranch. There are no special fences that set the corrals and the cabin apart from the rest of the Mud Flat field. The corrals are within sight of, and on the edge of, the Mud Flat field.The corrals are presumably used for the livestock within the Mud Flat field. As can be seen in the attached photograph, many paths lead to the corrals. Both in use and location, the corrals are more closely associated with the Mud Flat field than with Tobias’ cabin. It is fair to characterize the corrals as outside the area that â€Å"a reasonable person may expect to remain private,† therefore outside the area included in the cabin’s curtilage, and therefore outside the area of Fourth Amendment protection. B. Plain View However, if the court includes the Mud Flat corrals within the curtilage of Tobias’ cabin, that does not mean that the corrals are protected by the Fourth Amendment.In Rigoulot the court concluded that observati ons made by persons â€Å"restricting their movements to places ordinary visitors could be expected to go were not protected by the Fourth Amendment. † Rigoulot at 272. The Mud Flat corrals are located near the south end of the Mud Flat Field. They are approximately one-half mile north of the Mud Flat Road, out of sight, to the west, and over a ridge (or around a draw) from Tobias’ cabin. A person driving along Mud Flat Road cannot see either the Mud Flat Corrals or Tobias’ cabin. A person who enters the main gate at the Mud Flat Field follows a dirt road north to where it splits. One fork continues in a north, north-west direction. This fork continues off Tobias’ property and onto Bennett’s property.The other fork continues north for a way then t curves east around a hill toward the corrals. This fork ends just beyond the corrals. In order to get to Tobias’ cabin, a person has to travel along the road to the corrals, then the remainder of t he way on foot. The state’s position is that if the corrals are included within the cabin’s curtilage , then they are in an area that visitors would normally go. These visitors include police officers coming onto the property to â€Å"conduct an investigation or for some other legitimate purpose. † Id. In summary, because the officers were not in a place protected by the Fourth Amendment, their search was not improper. III. THE MUD FLAT FIELD SEARCH ARGUMENTTOBIAS HAD NO REASONABLE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY IN THE MUD FLAT FIELD BECAUSE THE FIELD IS OUTSIDE THE AREA OF FOURTH AMENDMENT PROTECTION. The governing law is set out above under the argument regarding Tobias’ expectation of privacy in the Mud Flat Field corrals. On July 22, after the officers were finished or nearly finished gathering evidence from King’s dead cows, Gil King was heading away from the Marmaduke Spring area. He was going to load his motorcycle into a truck and leave. As he was leaving and while near Bennett’s truck near the Johnson Reservoir, he saw the Charolais calf that â€Å"had a big ol’ patch of hide missing off its side. † (PH, p. 389. The calf was herded to the Mud Flat Field corrals and examined. This calf had skin removed off its right shoulder, where a â€Å"Heart-K† brand had been, and a new â€Å"T-cross† brand on its left hip. Tobias claimed the calf. Based on the above law and arguments regarding Tobias’ expectation of privacy in the Mud Flat Field corrals, and the fact there should be a progressively decreasing reasonable expectation of privacy as one gets further away from the cabin, the state respectfully requests that this court deny the defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence gathered in the Mud Flat Field (the Charolais calf). IV. THE MARMADUKE SPRING KILL SITE SEARCH ARGUMENTTOBIAS HAD NO REASONABLE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY IN THE MARMADUKE SPRING BECAUSE IT IS OUTSIDE THE AREA OF FO URTH AMENDMENT PROTECTION. The governing law is set out above under the argument regarding Tobias’ expectation of privacy in the Mud Flat Field corrals. Considering the facts, and the above stated law and argument, the state respectfully requests that this court deny the defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence gathered at the Marmaduke Spring. V. THE COLLETT/TOBIAS & BLACK ALLOTMENT SEARCH ARGUMENT TOBIAS HAD NO REASONABLE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY IN THE COLLETT/TOBIAS ALLOTMENT BECAUSE THE ALLOTMENT IS OUTSIDE THE AREA OF FOURTH AMENDMENT PROTECTION.The law governing this area of search and seizure is set out above in the argument regarding the Mud Flat corrals search. On July 23rd, a number of cowboys and officers road through the Collett/Tobias allotment and found 11 calves. The calves were found in the area of the allotment furthest from Tobias’ cabin. The calves had new â€Å"T cross† brands, new ear marks and had a chunk of hide skinned off their right shoulders. Subsequent DNA tests showed that most of the calves came from the dead cows. The Collett/Tobias allotment is a section of land lying adjacent to and east of the Mud Flat field. The allotment is also adjacent to and east of Collett’s private land. It is adjacent to and south of land on which the Kings ran cattle.In July 1995 two ranchers (Tobias and the Collett family) leased the grazing rights from the Bureau of Land Management; on July 22nd both had cattle on the land. Each would ride the allotment to check their cattle. There were fences to keep the cattle in, there were no â€Å"no trespassing† signs. There is no indication that intimate family activities such as those protected by curtilage concepts occurred on the land. Because Tobias had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the Collett/Tobias allotment, the state respectfully requests that this court deny the defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence regarding the calves found in the allotment. VI.THE CONSENT TO SEARCH ARGUMENT TOBIAS HAD NO REASONABLE EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY IN THE MUD FLAT CORRAL, THE MUD FLAT FIELD, MARMADUKE SPRING OR THE FEDERAL ALLOTMENT BECAUSE THE OFFICERS HAD EITHER REAL OR APPARENT PERMISSION TO BE ON THE PROPERTIES. The officers had reason to believe that either Bennett or Tobias had consented to their presence at the Mud Flat corrals search and that either Bennett or Tobias had the authority to consent to their presence. Consent must be shown to be free and voluntary and not a result of duress or coercion, either direct or implied. State v. Aitken, 121 Idaho 783 (Ct. App. 1992), citing Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U. S. 18 (1973): As long as the police officer reasonably believes that the person giving consent to a warrantless search has the authority to consent, the search is valid and the defendant’s right against unreasonable searches and seizures pursuant to the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and art. 1,  § 17 of the Idaho Constitution is not violated, even though the consenter has no actual authority to consent. State v. McCaughey, 127 Idaho 669, 904 P. 2d 939, (1995). The state must show the voluntariness of consent by a preponderance of the evidence; and the voluntariness of consent is to be determined in light of all of the circumstances. State v. Aitken, supra; State v. Rusho, 110 Idaho 556 (Ct. App. 1986). A number of people had access to the Mud Flat field and the Mud Flat corrals. Tobias allowed local people access to his fields. Tobias provided an access key to Bennett.Bennett notified OCSO of the dead cows and brought officers to look at the cows. Bennett used his key to unlock the gate on July 21st when he brought officers to look at the cows. Bennett gave the officers his key so that they could return to the field the following day. Tobias talked to state officers at his corrals and made no objection to their presence on July 21st. He knew on July 21st that state of ficers were going to return July 22nd and made no objection. Tobias was present at the Marmaduke Spring when officers returned July 22nd and he watched the work that they were doing and he did not object to their presence. Tobias watched them while they gathered evidence from the cows.He was present when the Charolais calf was found in the Mud Flat field and knew that the calf was going to be driven to the Mud Flat field corrals. He was present at the corrals when the officers were looking at the Charolais calf and when they seized the piece of leather from the saddle in his pickup. Officers talked to Tobias at Marmaduke Spring and at the Mud Flat corrals. Tobias only questioned the officers about their authority to seize his pants. Officers only seized his pants after gathering evidence from the dead cows, after finding the Charolais calf with a patch of hide missing from its shoulder and with new ear marks and a new â€Å"T cross† brand, which Tobias claimed as his own.Tobi as & Black may not have been present when the calves were found in the Collett/Tobias & Black allotment. Tobias and Black had a diminished expectation of privacy as they shared the allotment with the Colletts and the Colletts allowed cowboys and state officers to search the allotment. At no time did Tobias, the alleged owner of the property, object to the officers’ presence and the only time he questioned their actions was when they seized his pants. Considering all of the circumstances, including custom in the area, it is fair to say that the officers thought they had Tobias’ permission to be at the corrals when he knew that they were going to be there, he accompanied them, and expressed absolutely no disapproval to their presence.The law of consent is clear that, â€Å"[w}here two persons have equal rights to the use or occupation of premises, either may give consent to a search, and the evidence thus disclosed can be used against either. † State v. Huskey, 10 6 Idaho 91 (Ct. App. 1984), citing United States v. Sferas, 210 F. 2d 69, 74 (7th Cir. ). The co-tenants, the Colletts, could give the officers permission to search the allotment for King’s calves. The officers searched the allotment with the permission of the co-tenants, the Colletts. The state respectfully requests that this court deny the defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence regarding the calves found in the allotment. VII.THE MUD FLAT CORRAL SEIZURES ARGUMENT IT WAS PERMISSIBLE FOR HALL TO SEIZE THE LEATHER CONTAINING THE BLOOD SPOT AND THE CINCH RINGS (RUNNING IRONS) THAT HE SAW ON BLACK’S SADDLE IN THE OPEN BACK OF TOBIAS’ PICKUP TRUCK Assuming, without conceding, that Tobias has standing to challenge the seizure from Tobias’ pickup truck, the state’s position is that Hall could seize the thumbnail sized piece of leather and the running irons under either the plain view doctrine or the moving target doctrine. Hall seized the cin ch rings and piece of leather because he was investigating the killing of the cows and rebranding of the calf and believed that both items were evidence.On Saturday, July 22, 1995, while the officers were at the Mud Flat corrals trying to figure out the situation with the Charolais calf, Hall observed a saddle in the uncovered back of Tobias’ pickup truck. The saddle belonged to *** Black. Black was not present at the corrals. On the saddle there were two blackened cinch rings and a spot of blood on a piece of leather. Anyone present could have looked into the back of the pickup and seen the saddle, the cinch rings and the blood spot. The overall circumstances indicated that large chunks of hide were cut from cows and at least one calf. The calves were alive when their hide was cut off their shoulders. It is reasonable to infer that the calf would have bled.Chuck Hall, from the state Brand Inspector’s office and an experienced cowboy, observed Black’s saddle and saw the blood spot on the saddle horn wrap. It was apparent to Hall that the blood spot was unusual both in the location and how it was pressed into the wrap. Hall cut the thumbnail sized piece of leather off the saddle horn wrap. Hall seized the rings. It was apparent to Hall that the cinch rings had illegally been used as running irons. A. The Plain View Doctrine. Hall’s seizure of evidence from the pickup truck was permissible under the plain view doctrine. The court in State v. Clark, 124, Idaho 308, 311 (Ct. App. 1993), (citing Horton v. California, 496 U. S. 28 (1990)), set out the standard: (1)The officer must lawfully make an initial intrusion or otherwise properly be in a position to observe a particular area, and (2) it must be immediately apparent that the items observed are evidence of a crime or otherwise subject to seizure. The â€Å"immediately apparent† requirement is â€Å"met when an officer has probable cause to believe that the item in question is associated with criminal activity. † State v. Claiborne, 120 Idaho 581 (1991), citing Texas v. Brown, 460 U. S. 730 (1983). An officer is allowed to â€Å"draw reasonable inferences based on his training and experience. † State v. Tamez, 116 Idaho 945 (Ct. App. 1989). Multiple officers at a scene may make reasonable inferences based on their collective knowledge. United States v.Newton, 788 F. 2d 1392 (8th Cir. 1986). Here, Hall was properly on the property either because of actual or implied consent, or because he was in an â€Å"open view† area at the corrals. When Hall saw the blood spot on the saddle horn he recognized it to be evidence. (PH, p. 572. ) He then seized a small section by cutting it off the saddle horn. Because the cinch rings and the blood spot were open to public view and because Hall had probable cause to believe that they were contraband and prima facie evidence of a crime, the state respectfully requests that this court deny the defendantà ¢â‚¬â„¢s motion to suppress these items. B. The Moving Target DoctrineFurther supporting Hall’s decision to seize the cinch rings and the leather piece is the fact that they were located in a motor vehicle: The guaranty of freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures by the Fourth Amendment [recognizes] a necessary difference between a search of a store, dwelling house or other structure†¦ and a search of a ship, motor boat, wagon or automobile†¦ [since] it is not practicable to secure a warrant because the vehicle can be quickly moved out of the locality or jurisdiction in which the warrant must be sought. Carroll v. United States, 267 U. S. 132, 152 (1925). The United States Supreme Court explained this doctrine in Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U. S. 2, 52 (1970): For constitutional purposes, we see no difference between, on the one hand, seizing and holding a car before presenting the probable cause issue to a magistrate and on the other hand carrying out the immed iate search without a warrant. Given probable cause to search, either course is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. When Hall seized the running irons, he believed they had been used as running irons to draw on brands. He knew that it was illegal to possess running irons and, as such, they were contraband. It appeared that someone had drawn the â€Å"T-cross† brand on the Charolais calf with a running iron. He also knew that someone had killed 11 cows and that someone had cut a patch of hide off their right shoulders.He knew that someone had cut a patch of hide off the Charolais calf’s right shoulder and that someone had changed its ear mark by cutting the ear. From his experiences as a cowboy he knew that the cows and calf would have bled. He knew from his experience as a cowboy that the blood on the saddle wrap was unusual in the location and in the manner that it was pressed into the wrap. He recognized the blood as evidence and was afraid that he would not see i t again if he did not seize it then. The seizure of the blood spot from the saddle horn wrap is similar to the seizure that occurred in Cardwell v. Lewis, 417 U. S. 583 (1974). In Cardwell, officers investigating a murder examined a tire and took paint scrapings from the defendant’s car. The car was located in a public parking lot.In the court’s opinion the officers did not infringe on any reasonable expectation of privacy. A similar case is New York v. Class, where an officer reached into a motor vehicle to move papers on the dashboard. The papers were covering a VIN. When the officer moved the papers he saw and seized a gun. The court upheld the search as the defendant did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the VIN, the officer had a right to see the VIN, therefore, he had a right to move the papers. In United States v. Ferri, 778 F. 2d 985 (3rd Cir. 1985), the court held that a person had no reasonable expectation of privacy in his shoes (and their sole s).The above cases are based on the Katz reasoning that the Fourth Amendment does not apply to the exteriors or interiors of items open to the public view. Because the cinch rings and the blood spot were located within a mobile vehicle and because Hall had probable cause to believe that they were contraband and evidence of a crime, the state respectfully requests that this court deny the defendant’s motion to suppress these items. CONCLUSION For the above stated reasons the state respectfully requests that this court deny Tobias’ motion to suppress. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. The access to *** Bennett’s ranch is by a road that goes through the Mud Flat Field.The Bennett family has used the road through the Mud Flat Field to get to their property to the north and west since at least 1948 when Mud Flat was owned by Elmer Johnston. Since then the property has been o wned by *** Steiner, *** Steiner and *** Tobias. (see Preliminary Hearing (PH) Tr. , p. 12. ) [ 2 ]. Near a water hole, *** King’s son, *** King, had fed potato chips to one of the cows on July 13, 1995. [ 3 ]. The â€Å"T-cross† brand was the registered brand of Tobias’ partner, *** Black. Tobias has two brands registered in Idaho, one is a â€Å"46,† the other is an â€Å"‘F’ hanging ‘J. ’† [ 4 ]. Other Tobias and Black cow/calf pairs were in the fields where the newly branded â€Å"T-cross† calves with the chunks of hide missing were found.The cows were branded with Tobias’ â€Å"46,† their calves were branded with Black’s â€Å"T-cross. † [ 5 ]. The cows’ ears were never found. [ 6 ]. The court in State v. Cada, 129 Idaho 224 (Ct. App. 1996), established that Idaho will not follow the Dunn analysis regarding enclosure and visibility to passersby. [ 7 ]. â€Å"Curtilage† refers to a small piece of land not necessarily enclosed, around a dwelling house, generally including buildings used for domestic purposes in the conduct of family affairs. Ferrel v. Allstate Insurance Co. , 106 Idaho 696 (Ct. App. 1984). [ 8 ]. Approximately one quarter mile. [ 9 ]. Approximately 2 miles from Tobias’ cabin. [ 10 ]. The brand was actually registered to his partner, *** Black. [ 11 ].This point does not even examine the question of whether one can have a reasonable expectation of privacy in someone else’s cows. [ 12 ]. The Collett/Tobias allotment is approximately five miles long and varies from approximately one mile wide to over two miles wide, so it cannot equate to a premises. [ 13 ]. Also known as the Carroll Doctrine. [ 14 ]. Idaho Code sec. 25-1903 states that, â€Å"any person who uses, or has, or keeps in his possession, any running branding iron, tool, or instrument used by him for running a brand on any livestock†¦ is guilty of grand l arceny†¦. [T]he possession of such iron or instrument is prima facie evidence of guilt. † [ 15 ]. The seizure of the pants is also similar, as both were items held out to public view.

Economics Oligopoly

Main economic features of an Oligopoly and key economic theories of price fixing. This part of the coursework aims to identify and explain the main economic features of an Oligopoly and also the key economic theories which influence the price of a product or service. This part deals with the theoretical aspects of Oligopoly and the later part emphasizes on the practical applications of the theories and oligopoly features.According to Pass et al (2000), â€Å"Oligopoly, a type of market structure is characterised by a few firms and many buyers, where the bulk of market supply is in the control of relatively few large firms who in turn sell to many small buyers†. To describe the degree of oligopoly, concentration ratio is often utilized. Concentration ratio is the measure of the market share of the largest four firms in the industry expressed as a percentage. A low concentration ratio suggests a high level of competition and vice versa for.As there are few players dominating the industry, each player or an oligopolist is said or likely to be aware of others course of actions. The decision taken by one player seems to affect the decision taken by others and strategic planning by the firms needs to take into account the likely response of other participants (Wikipedia, 2010). For example, a proper game of chess depends on how well you read your opponent’s moves, similarly in oligopoly; strategies are devised based on the moves of competing market firms.The reason for existence oligopoly as stated by Maunder et al (1991) is for the achievement of economies of scale. Firms tend to reduce their average cost of production by increasing their scale of operation and since the small firms have higher average costs, they tend to go out of business or be absorbed by the larger ones. The features of oligopoly are:- a. Number of Firms:-The very important feature of an oligopoly is the number of firms. Even though there are a large number of firms operating in a particular industry, only a handful of firms hold the major share between them. . Interdependence: – A very distinctive feature of an oligopoly is interdependence. When a very few large firms operate in a particular industry, their activities or strategy cannot be independent of each other. Unlike monopoly, where the monopolist need not worry about the reaction of its rivals as there are none, an oligopolist takes into consideration the possible reactions of all rival firms. For example, a company considering a price reduction of its products may wish to estimate the chances of price reduction by the rival company and hence starting a price war. . Profit Maximization Condition: – The firms in an oligopoly generally agree to co-operate and act as one monopolist as it generates high profits (Begg and Ward 2007). This kind of formal collusive agreement is called a cartel. An oligopoly maximises profits where the marginal revenue equals the marginal cost. This is also know n as profit maximization condition. Price ELASTIC UNIT ELASTIC P MC, AC PROFIT MAXIMIZING OUTPUT O MR Quantity (Source: Begg and Ward 2007) d.Perfect Knowledge: – Oligopolists are said to have a perfect knowledge about their cost and demand functions but a lesser information about other firms (Wikipedia, 2010). e. Entry Barrier: – One of the main important features of oligopoly also is the entry barrier. There are high entry barriers that restrain a new firm from entering a market. For example, the barriers can be the economies of scale, access to expensive and complex technology, lower costs for an established firm, brand loyalty, patented production process and strategic action by incumbent firms etc.The table below gives the market concentration in different industries. As discussed earlier, the large few firms form a cartel and set a price. Once the members of the cartel agree on the price, they compete against each other using non price competition in order to gai n the maximum revenue. There are other various ways in which the firms fix the price. One of them being tacit collusion, where the firms agree on a price set by an established leader. This is also known as dominant firm price leadership as the price setting firm is the dominant firm in the industry.The other way is the barometric firm price leadership, where the price leader is the one whose prices reflect the market conditions in the most stable form (Sloman et al, 2010). To fix prices, the producers must be able to control the market supply. The other forms of price fixing in tacit collusion is average cost pricing, where producers add a certain percentage of profit on top of average costs and price benchmarking, where firms raise the price only up to a benchmark already set.Price fixing is achieved by the competing firms coming together on a platform where they can agree on a common pricing and production strategy thus acting in a manner in which a monopoly operates. This kind of collusion is known as cartelisation. Cartels although banned in many countries, is difficult for the enforcement agencies to gather evidence and penalise the participants. The quantity for the cartel and the individual firm will not be the same as one firm individually will have the scope for further increase in productivity to achieve a situation where the marginal cost equals the marginal revenue.In such cases firms may decide to go ahead with excess supply which can lead to a price war and inconsistent revenues to the industry. Even without overt collusion firms in an oligopoly are able to reach a point of profit maximisation when they behave in a manner reflected in â€Å"Nash Equilibrium† (Begg and Ward 2007). 2B) Direct to Home (DTH) television industry in India acting as an oligopoly. India has a total television population of about 135 million of which about 108 million have an access to cable and satellite television (Plugged in, 2010).The total DTH sub base at the end of first quarter in the year 2010 was 23 million (Dish TV India Ltd, 2010) which was about just 1 million in the year 2006. Indian DTH industry has seen a flurry of activities in the recent years after a monopolistic reign by Dish TV for a couple of years. It is currently in a state of Oligopoly with the top four operators controlling nearly 80% of the total market. The major players in the market are Dish TV by Zee group, TataSky- a joint venture by Tata and Star TV, Big TV by Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, Digital TV by Bharati Telemedia and SUN Direct from Sun TV.Since there are only 3 major players in the DTH market, Indian DTH industry is an oligopoly. (Indiadth, 2010) The product offering by the rival firms are more or less similar in nature with little or no product differentiation. Amongst all the players, Sun Direct has essentially remained a regional operator who made a late debut in the national scene. The content or the channels are same with all the operators barring few omissions and additions. The DTH industry market share is as follows. BRAND| MARKET SHARE| Dish TV| 30%|TataSky| 22%| Sun Direct| 25%| Big Tv| 13%| Airtel| 8%| D2H| 2%| (Source: http://www. pluggd. in/dth-industry-in-india-analysis-297/) From the data above we can see that Dish TV, TataSky and Sun Direct together hold the maximum market share with over 75%. (Source: http://www. slideshare. net/) To confirm the oligopoly, we can use the Herfindahl-Hirschman index or the HHI. It measures the size of the firms in relation to the industry and also indicates the amount of competition between them. Mathematically, (Adapted from Pass et al, 2000)Here Si = market share of firm i in the market and N is the number of firms. Hence H = 302 + 222 + 252 + 132 + 82 + 22 H = 2246. With this value of H we can conclude that this industry is an oligopoly. Although there is no indication of an overt collusion in the industry, a closer look at their price plan (fig 1. 1) can lead us to a strategic o r tacit understanding between the players. The market is abuzz with marketing drives to garner market share and the customer is currently loaded with freebies like free installation, free channels and the like.Going by the level of investment and infrastructure the operators need to garner as much subscriber base as possible to be in a profitable proposition. They are however aware of the competition and are refraining from a price war. Such behaviour of the operators is characteristic of a non-price competition in Oligopoly. This is due to the interdependency of firms in the oligopoly and the strategic behaviour can also be referred to the â€Å"Nash Equilibrium† (Begg and Ward 2007). (Source: Slideshare. net/researchonIndia) Brand Name| PricePlan(inINR)/month| Dish TV| 135. 0| TataSky| 150. 00| Sun Direct| 115. 00| Videocon| 136. 00| Fig: 1. 1 (Source: Company websites, 2010) Now as in any oligopoly, it has to be supported by entry barriers, both endogenous and exogenous. T he natural barrier of entry in this particular industry is primarily associated with government licensing and also the intensity of capital investment required. Given that all the DTH operators are already established players in related sectors such as telecom, media it gives them a strategic advantage in terms of distribution and content.For any new entrant it could pose as a strategic entry barrier. Indian DTH market has constantly been attracting different players over the years given the increasing number of television subscribers. Although there have been entry barriers, companies like Videocon along with its cutting edge technology entered into the market in the presence of established players. The cutting edge technology proved to be a barrier breaker. Videocon managed to build television sets with set top boxes which helped it develop its own customer base.References Begg, D. , and Ward, D. (2007). Economics for Business, 2nd edition. Berkshire: McGraw Hill Publication. Chri stopher Pass, Bryan Lowes and Leslie Davies (2000). Economics, 3rd edition. HarperCollins Publishers. DTH, (2010). http://www. pluggd. in/dth-industry-in-india-analysis-297/ [Accessed 21/11/2010] Dish TV, (2010). http://www. dishtv. in/packages. aspx [Accessed 21/11/2010] Indiadth, (2010). http://www. indiadth. in/ [Accessed 22/11/2010] Maunder, P. , Myers, D. , Wall, N. , and Miller, R. L. 1991) Economics Explained, 2nd edition. Collins Educational. Sloman, J. , and Hinde, K. (2007). Economics for business, 4th edition. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Sun Direct, (2010). http://www. sundirect. com/packages. php [Accessed 22/11/2010] Tata Sky, (2010). http://www. tatasky. com/channel-packages. html [Accessed 22/11/2010] Videocon, (2010). http://www. videocond2h. com/wsc/packages. html [Accessed 22/11/2010] Wikipedia, (2010). Oligopoly. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Oligopoly [Accessed 21/11/2010)]

Attendance System Using Fingerprint

Attendance System Using Fingerprint The project entitled â€Å"ATTENDANCE SYSTEM USING FINGERPRINT† is to provide an authentified attendance system for Roots Industries Limited. This software provides various information, which is useful for user as well as administrator. This software can be used as a whole in organization, or can partly used as separate modules, whenever needed. The project deals with capturing the thumb impression of the employee through the thumb scanner and authenticates with the already registered impression. Attendance will be marked for the matched employee. With the in-time and out-time, the total hours worked by the employee in a day and days worked for the month is calculated. The salary is calculated from loss of pay, basic pay, allowances, and deductions. One of the main advantages of this software is its user friendliness and validation can be done for each and every employee entered. New entries can be registered very easily and if not needed then it can be deleted from the softw are. The environments being used are VB.NET as front end and SQL Server as back end. This project is developed in the Operating System, Microsoft Windows XP. CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION This chapter contains the problem definition, about the system environment and the organization profile which gives details about the company. PROBLEM DEFINITION OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE The main objective of this project is to do the following operations Thumb impression Comparisons Attendance Calculation Payroll Calculation The scope of the project is to capture and verify the thumb impression of the employee. And also provide effective means to calculate attendance and payroll for the employee by using thumb impression. This project would greatly help in simplifying the manual attendance calculation and payroll calculation. PROBLEM DESCRIPTION This project makes use of fingerprint to authenticate the employee. This project makes use of the physical hardware device, the thumb scanner to capture the t humb impression of the employee. The Administrator registers the details of new workers. He also registers the unique thumb code of the employee generated by the Thumb scanner. This thumb code is generally an alphanumeric code and it is stored in the database. The employee uses the thumb scanner when he enters and leaves the work place for attendance marking. The generated code is matched with the stored thumb code in the database. The attendance is marked for the corresponding employee where thumb code matches with the generated ones. If there is no match with the thumb code then the administrator will take in charge to check whether the person is a new employee or not. The time duration between intime and outtime is calculated and it is stored as hours worked by the employee. Each time when the outtime is marked the duration is calculated and hours worked (field) is updated. The employee may take leave. The leave taken by the employee is calculated as loss of pay for him. It will be used to calculate net pay for the employee in the payroll calculation. During salary calculation the monthly attendance of the employee, loss of pay, the allowance such as HRA, DA and deductions such as PF, LIC are considered.

The Hindu Religious Thoughts and The British Rule Essay

The Hindu Religious Thoughts and The British Rule - Essay Example This essay describes how politics and religion each influence the functioning of each other. Politics denotes the art of governing the affairs of a nation or a people. Different governments have risen in differing fashions. Religion on the other hand, underscores a collection of beliefs that determine or dictates a people’s moral and spiritual undertakings. Politics intersects with religion in the sense that they both influence the lives of the people that are under their control. Most of the European colonial powers used religion to colonize parts of the world. In this essay, the researcher discusses Hindu religious thoughts in light of the British rule. From the discussion, the researcher can conclude that religion and theology follow the same principles and that they serve to influence the lives of the followers. The discussion has revealed that religion and politics influence each other and that religion can help conquer and subdue imperialistic governments. The role of th e Hindu religious thought in the liberation of the people of India from the shackles of the British colonialists serve as an example of how a dedicated people can rise against oppression. The persistence of the Hindu religious thought also goes to show how a philosophy has withstood the various challenges and remained to command a massive following to this day. This discussion reveals what unity and determination can do. It also goes to show how difficult it is to convince a loyal follower of a philosophy to abandon his ways for a new one.

Human ressource management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Human ressource management - Essay Example oblem-solving skills, coaching, and counseling, rather than an adherence to structured programs or a menu-driven approach to training and development. The organization is the basic framework within which individuals and groups behavior occur. The quality and nature of the decisions made are influence by the nature of the structure. The external environment contains a range of influences that affect an organization. They include: socio-demographic, technological, economic and political factors. Political system means the way of authority and management style adopted by organizations. Organizations as a part of external environment should pay attention to social ans cultural issues which make a significant contribu ­tion to the business. This may become even more important when the organization’s strategy is taking it into new countries, or different forms of alliance and collaborative ventures. Organizations can contribute to the success of such plans by ensuring that social differences are considered when common policies are defined, that announcements are made in a way that is most effective for each culture, and that managers who have to operate across country borders understand the nature of the cultural differences involved, and adjust their own behavior to obtain the best result (Bartlett, Ghoshal, 1999). According to Storey (1989): The drive to adopt HRM is...based on the business case of a need to respond to an external threat from increasing competition. It is a philosophy that appeals to managements who are striving to increase competitive advantage and appreciate that to do this they must invest in human resources as well as new technology (Storey 1989, p. 34). With the commodification of products, increases in liquidity, and widespread availability of information, services and products have a great need for flexibility and creativity on the part of managers in order to secure high-quality revenue. With customer demands for products often requiring

One economics aspect of oil industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

One economics aspect of oil industry - Essay Example The oil industry focuses on demand as a central point of production. As such, a given energy demands rely on the existing economic activity.Supply is a general aspect of the oil industry affected by weather and other geopolitical elements. Oil demand is a vital feature that largely affects the oil industry. Unreliable economic activities directly affect the demand for energy. As such, the oil demand decreases within a given duration. A decrease in oil demand results in a low number of investors within the industry. As such, the industry experiences rising cases of companies practicing monopoly. The ideology revolves around limiting consumers to regulate the supply chain. As such, the independent companies overcharge the government for using the organization’s oil reserves. Independent companies raise revenues through the monopoly policy affecting a country’s revenue or source of income(Spilsbury, Richard &Louise, 202). Countries that produce oil contribute largely to the changes in oil prices. These countries regulate supplies based on individual interest or political gains. As such, the world oil prices fluctuate to accommodate the given interest. Other countries such as the superpowers also engage in practices that undermine oil prices. The various changes within the economy depend directly on the oil prices. Inflation rates shape the oil industry with key participants who tend to control the industry. Powerful countries tend to enlarge shares within the oil producing countries through the oil companies. Decreasing oil fields affect the oil production percentage and eventual supply to the world. Different countries struggle to obtain stable supplies of the oil to meet the rising demands. As such, the world thrives on an unstable environment that reflects on the economy of various countries (Spilsbury, Richard & Louise, 171). Additionally, various organization emerge to regulate the

Business Organisational Behaviour - Survey Report Essay

Business Organisational Behaviour - Survey Report - Essay Example The faster the company makes decisions, the more performance oriented it gets and vice versa. But Decision making process in the contemporary business scenario is more complex than it may seem. Each decision comes fraught with its own challenges, risks and traps. The process needs optimization.. Empowerment of employees to make decisions has its own benefits in perpetuation of company culture, homogenization of ideas, reinforcement of team spirit and ethical governance, and increased social and corporate responsibility. Decision making is emerging as a key element that influences corporate strategizing in modern organizational theory and practice. The implications of decision making in an organization when studied intricately reveals that making decisions is not just about choosing a course A or course B in a given situation but impacting the overall environment of a company. Decision-making is a complex, multi-dimensional issue. While people may be sure that they expect authority, they may be less clear about what to do with it. (Gispenc & Rodgers). In this light we can view the results of the Client, Leader and Team survey and see how the results of the survey that show a mediocre rating for decision making rating by clients also have deeper ramifications on the quality of products, transparency practiced in an organization, cost measurement and services of a company. The most important cause and effect of Decision making is information availability. Information is the key input for a decision. It is also a key output. An examination of Decision-making in the Oval reveals the following. Decision making is inside the Oval and is located in the upper right hand quadrant of the Performance-Importance graph. In the Gap Analysis, Decision making falls in the upper right hand quadrant well within the acceptable levels but show a need for its further promotion. It can be seen that other related behaviors like Accountability,

350 chapter 9 Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

350 chapter 9 - Case Study Example Further still, Bellum uses the point of the desires of the union to be honored. According to her, giving the union four seats would mean a lot to them since they have been crying for a single seat. This would honor their cry and make them feel heard and appreciated. Arguably, if the management listens to the workers in an organization, the workers are likely to agree to the decisions of the management without mass action (Appelbaum and Hunter, 2003). In addition, Bellum has a point that the workers would never vote for a strike because they will always feel that their views are being represented. Since they chose the leaders, it means that they trust them to a point that they will feel that they are fully represented because they hold meetings to pass their desires (Appelbaum and Hunter, 2003). Bellum also uses the point of imagination by telling the chairman that there is no other organization in the U.S to implement that move. She promises to win the race even under financial

Development of Chinese economic Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9500 words

Development of Chinese economic - Dissertation Example Phenomenal growth of Chinese economy over years significantly affects the world economy due to its sheer size and wider domestic market. The stability in domestic economy is very important for the Chinese companies to embark on programs to promote its products internationally. Any slowdown in domestic economy will severely affect the companies’ ability to carry forward its mission in development of international brands. The negative image created by counterfeiting consumer products by Chinese companies in the international markets is just one of the main obstacles in developing international brands. â€Å"Whenever you hear about counterfeit merchandise, you almost always think about China (Strusiewicz, 2012). The top international brands of EU, Japan and US have been assiduously developed over years and founded on quality and corporate social responsibility with concerns for all the stakeholders including consumers. â€Å"As a member of the World Trade Organization, China be nefits from access to foreign markets. But relations with trading partners have been strained over China's huge trade surplus and the piracy of goods† (BBC, 2013). ... Chinese Companies and Development of Global Brands Contents 1.0 Introduction 3 1.1 Background 3 1.2 Objectives of the study 4 1.3 Research questions 4 2.0 Literature Review 5 2.1 Chinese exports, development of global brands and economy 5 2.2 Motivations for internationalization strategies 12 2.3 Internationalization strategies adopted by Chinese firms 17 2.4 Lack of Chinese global brands 22 2.5 Chinese economy and factors influencing competition and global markets 26 2.6 How Chinese can develop global brands 31 3.0 Methodology 35 4.0 Analysis and findings 37 5.0 Conclusion 41 6.0 References 43 7.0 Appendices 48 Internationalization of Chinese Companies and Development of Global Brands 1. Introduction 1.1 Introduction In the past 30 years, Chinese economic growth has become the world's third largest economy. Now China holds more than two trillion U.S. dollars of foreign exchange reserves, and has become the largest trading country and foreign direct investment destination. This proje ct analyzes the economic situation in China, its relationship to the development of global brands by Chinese companies and its impact on world markets. China is the world's third largest economy, currently accounting for about 5% of the world's GDP. However, the country consumes one-third of the world's coal, steel and cotton, as well as nearly half of the cement. Chinese coal consumption is more than sum total of the United States, India and Russia. Ten years ago, China was an oil exporting country, but now has become the world's third largest oil importer and the second largest oil consuming country. The growth of Chinese economy is very important from the global perspective due to its impact on world economy. Therefore, the main objectives of the proposed research are to study the status

49 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth Essay Example for Free

49 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth Essay Some of them, with their complicated timers and instant start-up features, constantly consume small amounts of electricity. (Even the TV? my wife asks. Good thinking, I tell her.) 3. SEPARATE YOUR GARBAGE. At our house we have separate garbage cans for glass, paper, plastic, aluminum, wood, organic matter, natural fabrics, synthetic fabrics, and rubber. (We split the work—my wife does the separating, I drop everything off at the recycling center.) 4. USE LESS WATER. We have two bricks in our toilet tank. But theres a much simpler way to save water: Dont flush every time! (Dont take the sports section in there with you! is my wifes tip. A sense of humor isso important.) 5. DONT MOW THE LAWN. Let it grow. Naturally. Like a meadow. (Like a dump! jokes my wife.) See more:  Perseverance essay 6. DONT SHAVE AS OFTEN. I shave once a week. (If its good enough for Don Johnson, I quip. That was passà © years ago, my wife informs me.) 7. DRIVE SLOWER. I try to maintain a nice, steady 40 miles per hour, the legal minimum on most highways. Also, I roll up the windows. It reduces wind resistance and noise. (You cant hear those horns? my wife asks, incredulous.) 8. SHOP WITH A RE-USABLE SHOPPING BAG. And, if you can, walk to the store. (Itll do wonders for your figure, I mention casually to the missus.) 9. BOYCOTT! Boycott polluters, or anyone who sells any product that can cause pollution, or any product that might contain an ingredient that can cause pollution. (What does that leave? my wife asks. Just the good stuff, I reply.) 1 0. DO YOUR LAUNDRY BY HAND. It may be drudgery of the lowest order to have to hand-launder your clothes and hang them on a clothesline, but it saves water and energy. (Whistle while you work, I kid my wife. Hitler is a jerk, she continues. Id forgotten that verse!) 11. TURN DOWN THE HEAT. Especially the water heater. (They take cold showers in Sweden, I like to hint. Go to Sweden!—my wife.) 12. TAKE FEWER SHOWERS. But dont share them, even if its been touted, albeit humorously, in other x-number-of-simple-things-you-can-do-to-save-the-earth books. Why? It uses more water. Figure it out for yourself. Better would be to take a bath in recycled bath water. Best: An occasional sponge bath. (No, Im not kidding, I tell the wife.) 13. REPLACE METAL DOORKNOBS. During the winter, when its very dry, touch a metal doorknob and you get a little shock from the static electricity. Thats wasted electricity, I figure. Weve replaced all our metal doorknobs with ones made of non-conducting rubber, wood or glass. (Youve got a screw loose, my wife points out. And shes right!) 14. GO SOLAR. For a small investment of about ten thousand dollars you can convert your house to solar energy. Itll pay for itself in twenty years, I estimate. (What next? my wife wonders, as we all do.) 15. MOUNT A WINDMILL ON YOUR ROOF. Its cheap—about eight hundred dollars—and easy to install. (A little more to the right, I yell up to her.) 16. MAKE YOUR OWN HONEY. In addition to producing delicious honey, our beehive is a real conversation starter. (We have to talk, my wife says. See?) 17. WORK AT HOME. Recently, I quit my job of twenty years to become a full-time writer. I write at home, on a computer. Im not using up any gasoline or motor oil, Im not wearing out any clothing or shoes. To put it simply: Im not a drain on the environment. (You dont move, my wife observes, exaggerating slightly.) 18. BOARD UP THE WINDOWS. Windows are nice, but they either let in too much heat, or let out too much, or vice versa. (This is better than mini-blinds! I shout to the wife, who can barely hear me over her own hammering.) 1 9. GET RID OF THE TELEPHONE. Think you cant live without a telephone? Think again. Weve done fine. (Who would call us? my wife rationalizes.) 20. GET RID OF THE BED. Many leading chiropractors say that sleeping on the floor, with no mattress or cushion, is the best way to sleep. (We certainly havent needed a bed much lately, my wife confides to a mutual friend.) 21. GET OUT AND ORGANIZE. At my wifes suggestion, I got out of the house and into the community—to organize. Now I work with a diverse group of community activists and we meet four times a week—at our house. (Whoare these people? my wife asks. They are the people, I tell her proudly.) 22. BAN ALL CHLOROFLUOROCARBONS. Not just spray cans, but the refrigerator and the air conditioner. Get rid of them! We now have ice delivered to our house every day. (Youre crazy! my wife shouts from the kitchen. So was Van Gogh! I shout back.) 23. TREAT WOUNDS NATURALLY. If youre injured, cut on the head, above the eyebrow—from a sharp piece of ice, lets say—treat it naturally. Salt and lemon juice is the combination my wife favors. (I want a divorce, she says, pouring salt on my wound. Ouch! I say.) 24. KNOW THE LAW. And know a good lawyer. (My wife does.) 25. WHEN YOU MOVE, BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR. Having recently relocated to a smaller environment—an apartment—I can empathize with anyone who has had to go through a moving experience as I call it. Remember, along with a new habitat come new co-inhabitants. Get to know them. They are your neighbors and, as simplistic as this sounds, they are the keys to your survival. (When I explain this simplistic theory to one of my new neighbors, shes fascinated. Maybe the beard works!) 26. CARPOOL. At my new part-time job I carpool with a couple of the ladies from the office. Were saving gas, money, and were getting to know each other better. (He used to have a fear of intimacy, my wife tells the judge. On the advice of Barry, my lawyer, I can say nothing.) 27. MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR. I know, I know. But, if I could just use one earth-saving tip to draw your attention to the beautiful and cosmic experience of making love with a truly giving and understanding sexual partner. (Takethat, you lying, blood-sucking witch!) 28. SHARE YOUR SHOWERS. Ive done a complete one-eighty on this one. Use a kitchen timer. (Or Ravels Bolero!) 29. WOMEN! Or should I say, women judges! (This just in: She gets the car, the house—everything except the profits from this book, Dear Reader.) 30. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. When someone (especially someone much younger and less experienced than yourself that you only met two weeks ago) tells you that one person cant make a difference—that no matter how much shouting and yelling and whining and complaining one person does nothing will change, that youre too old to be acting that way, that you should settle down and focus on one thing and do that well—when someone lays that trip on you, its time to split. (I can make a difference! I tell her, gathering my things.) 31. BUNDLE AND RECYCLE NEWSPAPERS. Sorry, I lost sight of what were trying to do here, which is save the earth. Take all your old newspapers, bundle them together, and bring them to a recycling center. Theyll give you a few bucks, which is nothing to sneeze at. (What happened?) 32. BUY A RECYCLED CAR. There are some good deals in used cars—if you take the time to look. (I didnt, and boy am I sorry.) 33. DONT LITTER THE HIGHWAYS. Be considerate. There are laws, but theyre rarely enforced. (Except in my case, of course. I told the officer I wasnt living in my car—it had broken down, I was tired—but: A $100 fine for vagrancy, a night in jail, a towing charge of $75, and a ticket—Im getting rid of this damn car!) 34. KEEP FIGHTING. Thats right. No matter how tough it gets, the fight to save the earth will go on, with or without you. (Right now its without. Im back to my old habits again—smoking, drinking, and hanging out with a bunch of losers. One of them is a real nut, calls himself The Master.) 35. DONATE OLD CLOTHING. There are people out there who can get some good use out of your old moth-eaten sweater or sports jacket or worn-out pair of shoes. (Im a 41 short.) 36. FOLLOW THE MASTER. The Master has forged an alliance with the human spirit that allows him to speak directly and simultaneously to every living thing on this planet. (Follow The Master.) 37. THINK FOR YOURSELF. Take it from someone who, after having his self-esteem obliterated by a persuasive con man and his gang of sycophants, escaped on foot—with nothing to eat for nine days but wild berries and mushrooms—and lived to talk about it! (You might have seen the story in the papers—DAZED FOLLOWER OF DIZZY GURU FOUND ON FREEWAY) 38. HI, HOW ARE YOU? I knew it was her before I picked up the phone. (The cobwebs that covered the receiver were now sticking to my face. Fine, I said.) 39. DONT BE FOOLED. A wise consumer is a protected consumer. (I told my ex this when we got together for some Irish coffee at the mini-mall, near the old house. She ended up selling that barn for—get this—$650,000! Honey, it seems like old times! I whooped.) 40. RECYCLE! REVIVE! RERUN! Excuse my exuberance, but something is finally happening out there—something positive, something good. People are separating their garbage. Theyre using biodegradable, ecologically safe, recyclable and reusable materials. Everything old is new again! (When my ex-wife and I decided to re-marry, I suggested a Save the Earth clause be added to our pre-nuptial agreement. We have to talk, she said, showing great interest at the time.) 41. MOVE TO THE COUNTRY. Inherit the land again. Thats what we did. Bought forty-three acres in Upstate New York. Its a working farm, where my wife can go out to the barn and milk the cows, pick out the freshest eggs and knit our clothes from the wool she shears from our very own sheep. (And I can finish this book!)

Capacity Management And International Operations Management Commerce Essay

Capacity Management And International Operations Management Commerce Essay Capacity management lies at the core of every successful operational strategy whether service or manufacturing. It is part of a larger corporate strategy which is a long term plan to achieve a certain target (Jones and Kutsch, 2007). It is imperative for every organization to know how well its capacity is being utilized as its long term success is based on it (Krajewski and Ritzman, 2002). Capacity measurement helps determine the overall operational costs and forms the basis of important decisions like expansion (Yu Lee, 2002). This paper will endeavour to resolve the capacity management issues of a health facility called Fitness Plus in Greensboro, North Carolina. Fitness Plus began its operations in a large suburban park in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1991. Under health and sports it provides fitness, relaxation and recreational facilities operating 7 days a week (For details see Appendix 1). Customers use the facilities having subscribed to yearly memberships. Lately the area of Greensboro has expanded in population and businesses. Growth in population increased health awareness in residents and has increased demand for fitness facilities. Other health centres have also opened namely YMCA, Oasis and Golds Gym. YMCA offers full range of facilities, Golds Gym has only cardiovascular and weight training and Oasis is restricted to only adults over 16 years of age. Available data indicates that by May 2002 members visiting Fitness Plus every hour during peak time (4 7pm) had doubled to 80 from 1997. The average visits per hour increased from 15 to 25 in a typical day resultantly the facility got overcrowded and complaints arose about non-availability of equipment. Most number of complaints arise in the specific areas of aerobics, nautilus and cardiovascular. The capacity of Fitness Plus needs to be measured and planned properly in order to form an effective operational strategy both in the long and short terms. There are two options available i.e. first is to effectively manage the existing facility which will take few months and second is to build a new facility in the downtown area which might take upto a year to become operational. Due to financial and time constraints a short term solution is needed for now and a long term later. In the following report the capacity issues of Fitness Plus will be discussed in three sections A, B and C. In section A the capacity of Fitness Plus will be measured and analysed to see whether there is sufficient capacity to deal with the immediate issues of overcrowding and non-availability of equipment. Section B will ascertain which capacity strategy would be appropriate for Fitness Plus with the necessary justifications. In section C the adopted strategy would be described in detail and linked with other types of operating decisions i.e. finance, HR, marketing and supply chain. Lastly in the conclusion the crux of main issues and solutions would be summed up. Section A / Question 1: Capacity measurement with details There is no fit for all formula for capacity measurement as businesses vary in their nature and details. A theatre measures capacity in terms of seats and a job shop can measure capacity in number of machine hours (Krajewski, Ritzman and Malhotra, 2010). Jones and Kutsch (2007) are of the opinion that space and equipment hold primary position in capacity measurement thus the measurement would be centered around them. Main complaints are from two issues i.e. unavailability of equipment (Cardiovascular, Nautilus and aerobics) and workout activities being overcrowded. Thus the focus of capacity management in aerobics should be on space and equipment for the workout activities in peak hours. According to the study it is noted that peak times are between 4-7pm and total number of members visiting between that time is 240 (80 per hour). For analysis purpose the figures from the conducted survey (Appendix 1) have been used as following: Nautilus: It consists of 24 pieces of equipment and it is assumed that on an average each member takes 45 minutes to complete the whole course. In one hour the total number of members able to use the equipment would be (60 minutes / 45 minutes x 24 equipments = 31 members). The current usage during peak time is 25% of capacity equalling 20 members per hour. Cardiovascular: It has 29 pieces of equipment and it is assumed that each member takes 45 minutes to complete the exercise. Thus in one hour the total number of members able to use the equipment would be (60 minutes / 45 minutes x 29 equipments = 38 members). The current usage during peak hour is 40% of capacity equalling 32 members per hour. Aerobics: The facility can accomodate 35 members in one session and normally each session lasts for one hour. Thus the current usage during peak hour is 30% of capacity equalling 24 members per hour. Free weights: The case study doesnt hold any details about the space or type of available equipment. There are no complaints arising and 20% of the members use the facility during peak hours which equals 16 members so we assume that it is being utilized appropriately. Recreational activities: There is sufficient room available to accomodate the members during peak hours. Six tennis courts can accomodate between 12 to 24 members to play either 6 single or double games where as currently only 8 members play tennis during peak hours. Same is the case for 8 racquet ball courts which can accomodate between 16 to 32 members for 8 singles or doubles matches. During peak time only 12 members play racquet ball. The assumptions are based on the average calcuaton of each game to last for 1 hour. In case of longer game sessions still there are plenty of courts available to accomodate the demand. Detail of equipment and space are as following: Further analysis: Yu Lee (2002) is of the opinion that correct measurement of capacity is a pre-requisite for the effective management because correct decisions are always based on correct observations. It is a dilemma that one can not precisely measure the utilization capacity for service organizations as it needs constant surveys and observations (Jones and Kutsch, 2007). It has been observed that all the capacity measurements which can be taken are based on the primary data i.e. equipment condition, physical space, type of members, frequency of use, the type of equipment and support system (Yu Lee, 2002). For Fitness Plus another useful capacity measurement technique would be Utilization which is used for equipment, workforce or space. Utilization is the ratio between actual average output of the equipment and the maximum capacity (Krajewski et al., 2010). Utilization = (Average output rate / Maximum capacity) x 100% From the data available in (Figure 1) we can measure the utilization of diffferent equipments as following: Nautilus utilization = 20/31 x 100% = 64.5% (35.5% below capacity) Cardiovascular utilization = 32/38 x 100% = 84.21% (15.79% below capacity) Free weights utilization = 16/16 x 100% = 100% (Full capacity). Tennis courts utilization = 8/12 x 100% = 66.66% (33.33% below capacity) Racquet ball courts utilization = 12/16 x 100% = 75% (25% below capacity) Aerobics Utilization = 24/35 x 100% = 68.5% (31.5% below capacity) For aerobics the full capacity of the room is 35 members at one time which is way above the peak time average of 24 members. Scheduling of aerobics room can be the cause of the problem as the same room is twice a week dedicated for classes of yoga. Based on the above results it can fairly be said that Fitness Plus has enough capacity to effectively manage its existing facility and reduce complaints. There is also a need to determine the type of memebers using the facilities in peak hours i.e. family groups, under 16 students and working adults etc. It will be essential for both short and long term capacity strategies to cater for these groups separately in order to gain the competitive edge. A study should also be conducted to check the codition of the equipment as complaints might have arose partially due breakdown. It should also determine popular machines among the members specially for the cardiovascular and nautilus so the least popular be replaced with the more popular ones to increase the existing capacity. All capacity management plans not only determine the current usage of capacity but also take into account the future fluctuatins in demand. Existing or planned capacity should always leave sufficient cushion for adjustments (Krajewski et al., 2010). Capacity cushion is calculated as 100% minus the percentage of utilization. Upto 10% is considered sufficient to adjust demand fluctuations over time. Capacity cushion = 100% Utilization rate (%) In case of busy health facilities any number of customers can come at any time to use the equipment or space varying the demand significantly thus 20% capacity cushion would be more appropriate to maintain good customer service levels and to suatain any membership increases. Calculations are as following: Nautilus cushion = 100% 64.5% (utilization rate %) = 35.5% Cardiovascular cushion = 100% 84.21% (utilization rate %) = 15.79% Free weights cushion = 100% 100% (assumed utilization rate %) = 0% Tennis courts cushion = 100% 66.66% (utilization rate %) = 33.33% Racquet ball courts cushion = 100% 75% (utilization rate %) = 25% Aerobics cushion = 100% 68.5% (utilization rate %) = 31.5% Fitness Plus equipment and facilities have sufficient existing cushion. The only exceptions are cardiovascular equipment with 15.79% which is not too low and free weights equipment. There is no data available for free weights thus an assumed utilization of 100% is considered which can not be true in reality. On the basis of above calculations and analysis it can be fairly said that Fitness Plus has sufficient capacity to deal with current and future demand fluctuations. An efficient capacity management can result in a significant decrease in complaints and increase service levels and customer satisfaction. Section B / Question 2: Capacity strategy and justification One of the most difficult challenges service managers face is to cope well with uneven demand. The frequent flucuations in demand can lower service levels or result in under utilisation of resources. To avoid these consequences service firms can either adjust their capacity according to the changing demands, influence a change in demand patterns to suit their capacity or a combination of both (Krajewski et al., 2010) (see below figure 2): There are three main capacity strategies i.e. level capacity, chase demand and demand management. Each of these strategies should be adopted when its advantages out weight the disadvantages. Most often operation managers are required to keep low costs, decrease investments and at the same time provide excellent customer service levels making it all the more important for organizations to adopt a mixture of these approaches (Jones and Kutsch, 2007). Fitness Plus should adopt a mixed capacity plan for both its short and long term strategy as explained and justified in the following paragraphs: Level capacity: The capacity is maintined at a constant level all along the planning period and any fluctuations in demand are ignored. High under utilization of resources can make this capacity option very expensive but also very useful where the opportunity cost of single lost sale is very high like in jewellery retailing or real estate (Jones and Kutsch, 2007). At Fitness Plus there is always a possibility of a large number of members coming in any time and very low number of members in off-peak season resulting in either a waiting line or under utilization thus a pure level capacity plan would not be suitable. Chase demand: Chase demand is opposite to level capacity as it tries to match the capacity levels according to the changing demand patterns. It is very difficult plan to act upon as it needs flexible working hours, different number of staff and often different number of euipment in each period. It is suitable for companies which produce either perishable goods or cannot store their outputs such as customer processing. It has a clear advantage of having the appropriate level of staff all the time according to the demand of a particular season (Krajewski et al., 2010). This method requires adjustment of capacity through different means i.e. offering over time in peak and lesser hours in off-peak periods, varying number of employees according to the seasonal requirements, part time contracts and subcontracting (Jones and Kutsch, 2007). Fitness Plus would need to chase demand in the below aspects: As per available data members complain about waiting for the availabiliity of equipment. Application of a waiting line model will increase the service levels by effectively managing the existing capacity and chasing the current demand. A survey is proposed to check which machines are in demand, increasing their numbers and decreasing the least used ones to be in line with the existing demand. A waiting line model will not be suitable for aerobics because the class is preplanned and majority of the members arrive just before the start thus mixing schedules between aerobics and yoga can solve the problem. The number of employees would need to be rescheduled to increase the current service levels. It will reduce excess staff during slower times shifting them to peak times resulting in more personal attention, interaction and customer satisfaction. Developing a new facility will also chase the increase in demand which is expected due to new businesses down town. Demand management: The objective of this strategy is to shift the burden of peak period to off-peak period. Either the demand is changed through various methods or alternate products or services are offered to fill off-peak capacity. The most widely applied method in service industry is pricing to shift the peak demand to off-peak when people are not very interested in buying. Advertising also helps to smooth demand but is expensive and if is un-planned can result in financial loss. Organizations with different demand patterns develop new products and services covering the whole year i.e. univerities filling the lecture rooms during vacations (Jones and Kutsch, 2007). Fitness Plus will be managing demand in certain aspects of its startegy: It is proposed that Fitness Plus should either slightly rise prices during the peak times or provide services which cost lesser to manage demand. They should offer different types of memberships with different prices called price optimization. A non-pricing strategy of advertising off-peak services to waiting customers during peak times would also balance the peak and off-peak demands. Distributing off-peak service coupons during peak times, discounted tickets for relaxation services like massage, health supplements or energy drinks can be offered to balance the demand year round. Through a system of reservations Fitness Plus can fill its capacity and move the excess memberships to the off-peak period by booking a slot when capacity is available to manage it more effectively. Another option can be to partially restrict access of members during peak periods. During peak times mostly members would be working executives thus a restriction can be applied on under 16 members. To compensate them student membership rates can be offered in the off-peak period to encourage members to come more often in off-peak. Employee scheduling should reduce the excess staff during slower times by shifting more employee to peak times. It will result in more customer satisfaction and effective demand management. Often service companies have to opt a mixed capacity strategy as it is very hard to forecast demand and balance existing capacity (Jones and Kutsch, 2007). Operational capabilities do not always match one of the three strategies thus a mixture of chasing and managing demand would be most suitable for Fitness Plus. Section C / Question 3: Capacity strategy and other operational decisions Any capacity decision an organization makes should always be in line with the supply chains and processes within the organization. Taking into account the bigger operational picture is essential for a successful capacity strategy (Krajewski et al., 2010). Both short and long term strategies are discussed in this context below (See Figure 4): Short term strategy: Waiting line model: Peak demand most frequently results in waiting time increases for customers. Waiting line model is considered very useful for service organizations in resolving the problem (Krajewski et al., 2002). This model can be applied to the workout equipment as the waiting line is resulting in bottlenecks. Currently the system is catering for members individual service needs in multiple lines with a mixed arrangement of facilities on first come, first served basis. The arrival and service time distributions need to be calculated including line lengths, number of customers in the system, waiting time, total time in system and utilization of service facilities. After analyzing this data a new layout of the facility might be needed increasing the peak capacity and space for some equipment and reducing or eliminating some. Total 32 members visit the workout room during peak hours taking 45 minutes in completing their routines. On an average each member uses 2 machines during their stay with 20 minutes on each machine plus 5 minutes for the next one. Three customers get served with 20 minutes and an average the arrival rate comes to 2.5 times during an hour. If we take into account repeated visits we get a 80 per hour arrival rate (30 x 2.5) thus members wait approximately 8.6 minutes for a machine. To resolve it the most appropriate model would be a multiple channel, single phase as it will have a single line and more staff to deal with customers ( See Figure 3 below): Operationally this model will facilitate the marketing, HR, finance and supply chain aspects as during peak hours the waiting customers would be in a single line making it easier to display the marketing material on surrounding walls or screens. Financially it will save the expensive investment in media advertising and will make off-peak brochure distribution easier and to more interested existing customers. To serve on multiple service counter HR will need to schedule employees i.e. reducing the excess staff during slower times by shifting more employee to peak times resulting in better customer service. This model will also stream line the supply chain processes and increase service levels. During waiting line news telecasts and entertainment like BBC, Sky Sports etc with seated customer will create a calmer waiting environment and defuse any possible difficult situation. Price related strategy: Fitness Plus can reduce demand during peak hours by diverting surplus users either slightly rising prices or providing services which cost lesser. It can offer different types of memberships with different prices. The best price should be determined keeping in mind that no capacity constraint occurs which is called price optimization. Financially, increasing prices would generate extra revenues as per Shugan (2004) price optimization moves demand from peak to off peak times and increases revenues. But service firms are often hesitant due to its long term negative effects on the business. The presence of strong competitors often makes price increase decisions difficult as a customer can try competitor services and it might result in customer loss. Price increase startegy can also increase pressure on the over all supply chain as customers will start expecting higher service levels and seamless operations. By offering different type of memberships HR might need to recruit more staff to attend customer in both seasons. It can indirectly increase marketing costs as less expensive methods of selling to regular customers in peak season will become less effective due to lesser number of customers. Non-pricing strategies: Peak time is best to contact customers who might be interested in the off-peak offers and services (Kotler, 2001). It is highly likely to come across potential cusomers during Peak periods rather than less direct methods of advertising. In the earlier case customers have already shown their interest in the services and facilities. Thus it is far easier to sell them the off peak services or packages. While waiting for their turn customers can be shown different adverstisements to promote off-peak services which will save money for more expensive marketing campaigns. For regular members off-peak coupons can give further discounts or additional services with minimal incurring costs like massage, health supplements or energy drinks. Another strategy would be to develop a reservation system. It helps to shift the members to off-peak period who would otherwise be waiting during the peak period. When a customer calls to reserve a service or facility he should be given the slots with available capacity. The system works best if it is automated thus optimizing and balancing demand and capacity at the same time. These systems do improve the over all supply chain but also affect financial and HR related operational decisions as they are expensive and need trained staff to operate them. Fitness Plus can also partially restrict access of members during peak periods. A detailed study of the type of members visiting the facility would be needed. Once the data has been gathered on the usage pattern the decision of categorical restrictions can be applied. For example during peak times of 4-7 mostly members would be working executives thus in order to reduce access and optimise the capacity a restriction should be applied on under 16 members using the facility in the same period. To compensate them student membership rates can be offered during the off-peak period. This will encourage the excluded members to come more often during off peak periods. Fitness Plus should also have a survey to determine the popular equipment. The number of popular equipment should be increased and the least popular ones be decreased which will help fill the gap in member requirements. Operationally it can create a supply chain problem of disposing off the least popular equipment and can increase financial pressure of buying new machines. In case of aerobics section complaints there is a possibility of a mixed schedule between aerobics and yoga. A rescheduling of classes on the basis of members demand can ensure that the classes do not clash. It will affect the HR decisions as employee scheduling would be needed and over time might need to be paid. The employees of Fitness Plus also need to be scheduled in order to increase the service levels and reduce the excess staff during slower times. Shifting more employee to peak times will result in more customer satisfaction by having more personal attention and interaction. It will benefit the supply chain by improving process times and facilitating seamless operations. Long term strategies: There are three alternates in the long run which should be based on both qualitative and quantitative bench marking of competitors, capacity and cost estimates: Opening of a new facility downtown Minimal expansion within the current facility on available land Waiting and watching the demand conditions before making any expansion Because customers are already complaining and equipment is being used lesser than its maximum capacity there is some room for minor expansion of the existing facility but is limited due to lack of available land. As the population is increasing steadily and the only full range competitor is YMCA option 1 would be the best choice. It will create sufficient capacity ahead of customer demands. Once the new facility is announced it will be difficult for competitors to expand as it might over burden the market. Financially it is a big decision and would very much depend on the success of the short term strategies. Profits gained through short term measures will ease the financial pressure. Secondly going ahead with new facility downtown will need thorough supply chain planing as the distance between the facilities will make logistical decisions difficult and expensive. Lot of new job will be created and HR department will need to recruit and send and recieve staff between facilities for training and development purposes. It will be a big opportunity for marketing deparatment as lots of new campaigns, hoardings, billboards and advertisements would need to be developed. Conclusion: In this report the capacity issues of Fitness Plus were discussed in details in three sections. A measurement of existing capacity, justification of adopted strategy and links of proposed strategies with other operating decisions were sought. Both short and long term strategies are considered important but the immediate concern of Fitness plus should be to resolve the existing complaints of over crowding and non-availability of equipment. Firstly, in the short term price optimizing strategy of increasing peak prices and offering off-peak packages can work. If it is considered detrimental for the business non-pricing strategies can produce the desired results. Secondly, all the employees should be taken on board in the strategic decisions so that they can handle customer queries more professionally and maintain the desired service levels. Lastly, periodical reviews of the demand forecasting, complaints, equipment and service levels will ensure effective capacity utilzation. Accuracy of data should be maintained by comparing the existing demand with the forecasted demand so that a clear picture of the financial, operational and service needs is obtained. In the long run Fitness Plus needs to refer to its corporate objective and act accordingly either to effectively manage the current equipment and space or build a new branch over time. The earlier the long term strategy is initiated the better. Once the expansion plan is announced new memberships will prove to be a guage for its success and continuous monitoring of population growth, market trends and competitors will keep Fitness Plus ahead of its competitors.