Interpretation of accounts Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Interpretation of accounts - Assignment Example It is a growth company that has been continually expanding organically, except for a few strategic cases that involved buying out existing retailers in the certain foreign markets. (Tesco website) In July 2009, the company has been under fire since the consumer watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading, claimed to have gathered new evidence that pointed towards Tesco’s involvement in fixing the prices of milk, butter and cheese. This investigation has begun four and a half years ago and the issue had slipped the public’s notice until recently when this development came about. (Ridder 2009) Unlike Tesco, J Sainsbury plc already owned that it was indeed an accomplice in the dairy price-fixing scheme that caused the public shoppers to be overcharged by  £270 million (Ridder 2009). Setting this unbecoming matter aside, Sainsbury has not ceased to focus on establishing its brand based on the goodwill that emanates from their consistency in providing â€Å"healthy, safe, fresh and tasty food.† Like Tesco, Sainsbury has managed to have a profitable year in spite of the adverse impact of the significantly lowered consumer confidence and average spending capacity in UK. As the country’s third largest grocery retailer, Sainsbury is currently not keen on expansion plans. It is, instead, set on further improving its operational efficiency to be able to report increasing profits even if the economy fails to improve this year and the next. Having been operating for the last 140 years, Sainsbury can rightfully claim to have an extensive client base that has been loya l not only to the company’s food stores but also to its subsidiary bank that offers savings and loans packages. (Sainsbury website) Based on above tabulation, Sainsbury’s operations turn out to be more manpower-intensive than Tesco’s. Sainsbury has in its employ an average of 123 people for each store, while Tesco has 109. Needless to say, the latter has the

Santeria - African Spirits in America Research Paper - 1

Santeria - African Spirits in America - Research Paper Example When African slaves escaped their bondage from Brazil and reached Cuba, they were given the ability to marry, have property and to live in such a way to be trained and conduct free, contributing lives to society. The only stipulation was that they become baptized into the Roman Catholic religion (Murphy 28). The relationship that was formed between the religious beliefs of the West African form of spiritual life and the tenets of Catholicism formed the beginnings of the way in which it the beliefs are currently practiced, similar reformations creating the many influences that have combined to form the current forms of Santeria practice. Because of this mixture of religions from which the practices in the Americas were created, there is no individual who can be named for being the founder of the religion. The beliefs of Americanized Santeria still hold the worship of the orisha. The orisha is associated with the saints of the Catholic religion. Each of the saints is represented as an orisha with a principle, a color, a number, a food, a dance posture, and an emblem. The orisha is honored through sacrifice, often a ritualized taking of the life of an animal. The blood is used as an offering to the orisha to please the saints in order to bring good luck, purification and the forgiveness of sins. Other aspects of evoking spirits and creating possession by ancestors are accomplished through rhythmic dances that are freely expressed through fervent dances.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Santeria is a cultural religion that began in Africa among the Yoruba people who lived in the region now considered Nigeria. Among the many developments of the Yoruba people was the development of a complex understanding of their spiritual life that reached into a subtle envelopment of their way of life. God was called ‘Olodumare’ and was considered the â€Å"owner of all destinies†. He was also considered the ‘almighty’ and ‘the ground of life’ (7). The power that is the force of Olodumare has a name that identifies its association within the culture. Ashe is an incarnate life force that is the ‘blood of cosmic life’ which is the power through which Olodumare imbues life, strength, and righteousness.