Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Discuss the MBS market in the US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Discuss the MBS market in the US - Essay Example Fisher Centre for the Economics and Real Estate Journal (Van Order, 2000). The paper also shows a little history about the mortgaged based securities market in the US. It also displays the subtypes of the mortgage-backed security. For instance, it indicates mortgages that have collateral especially those that are secured using bond. It also shows stripped mortgages that are acquired using the relationships. The paper also that there is also the secondary mortgage market where a network of lenders does sell, and the investors buy the existing MBS. The issue of market size and liquidity is. The paper also shows how the Mortgage-backed security is where the weighted average coupon (WAC) and the weighted average maturity are in the valuation of a pass-through MBS (Van Order, 2000). The paper also talks about the issue of credit risk where the credit risk of the mortgage-backed securities will depend on the susceptibility of the borrowers in honouring their credit obligations at the required time. It also shows that the MBS’ credit rating is usually high (Van Order, 2000). The Mortgage backed securities (MBS) entails a debt responsibility that act as a representative of the claims to the cash flows from various loan mortgages brought together. It commonly witnessed in the real estate properties. Mortgage loans are from mortgage companies, banks, and other originators, and they are into pools by the private entity, governmental or quasi-governmental entity. The entity will then issue securities that represent claims on the principal and payments of interest made by investors on the loans in the pool. The process is as securitization (Levin and Davidson, 2008). Most Mortgaged Backed Securities originate from government-based institutions especially those that deals with mortgages. Some of such institutions are NMA and FAM. It also involves other corporation in the

Monday, October 28, 2019

Underage Drinking Essay Example for Free

Underage Drinking Essay The youth at this days is drinking much more than the youth in the past and this is a big problem because the world is having more criminality and deaths because of this. The number of women since 1977 to 1993 tripled and there are more men drinking than women. 5000 adolescents a year are death because of alcohol. A 60 percent of college women who had sexual transmitted diseases where on the influence of alcohol, 90 percent of the campus rapes were because or the victim or the aggressor were in the influence of alcohol. 5 percent of campus criminalities are because of the influence of alcohol. And also more than half of the students of 140 different colleges affirm that they get very drunk with alcohol and most of them don? t are twenty-one years old. 40 percent of students of 12th grade drink, more than 20 percent of 10th grade students drink, and almost 20 percent of 8th grade students drink; all this is only in the US and there are countries with more drunk students. The consequences of this are:Â  In the brain: adults can have problems with long term memory and long term thinking, adolescents have more problems, because they have this and almost always they show long-lasting harm from alcohol as they grow. In the liver: they have high liver enzymes what shows heavy liver damage, and sometimes obesity. In growth and endocrine effects: puberty is an age in which there are many changes and growth. With alcohol this growth is not complete and it may trouble the generation of hormones necessary for organs, muscles, and bones. In addition it may be problematic with the maturation or reproductive organs. In conclusion, there are more people that drink that in the past and this is very bad because they hurt them, also their victims, the family of their victims, and even their own family so we have to find a solution for this. Also the death of the young people is increasing and there are more people dying also because of car crashes and criminalities.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Physics and the Speed of Sound :: physics sound

The Speed of "Sound": is actually the speed of transmission of a small disturbance through a medium. The speed of sound (a) is equal to the square root of the ratio of specific heats (g) times the gas constant (R) times the absolute temperature (T). a = sqrt [g * R * T] Sonic Boom Sound generated by airflow has been around and reasearched for a long time. The increased use of fluid machines and engines has led to an increasing level of noise generation, and hence to an increasing interest in this area of research. A sonic boom is a loud noise caused by an aircraft travelling faster than the speed of sound which is mach one.. The sound propagates along the figure which is called the mach cone. The boom is due to a combination of volume and lift. While the boom due to volume can be virtually eliminated (Busemann, 1935), the boom due to lift can only be minimized. The minimum sonic boom generally does not correspond to the best aircraft. There is among others: sonic boom minimization at given drag; minimization at given volume, etc. (Seebass, 1998). Because the shock energy is nearly conserved as the shock radiates, its strength decays only slightly with the distance from the aircraft. Minimization is not straightforward, because it is constrained by structural, aerodynamic and design parameters, and not least by the variation of the thermo-dynamic properties of the atmosphere. The Speed of Sound, source: Air & Space/Smithsonian. The speed of sound varies with temperature. At sea level Mach 1 is around 742 mph. It decreases with altitude until it reaches about 661 mph at 36,000 feet, then remains at that speed in a band of steady temperature up to 60,000 feet. Because of the variation, it is possible for an airplane flying supersonic at high altitude to be slower than a subsonic flight at sea level.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Comparing Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher and Taylor’s Venus, Cupid, F

Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher and Peter Taylor’s Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time Various authors develop their stories using gothic themes and characterizations of this type to lay the foundation for their desired reader response. Although Edgar Allan Poe’s â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher† and Peter Taylor’s â€Å"Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time† are two completely different narratives, both of these stories share a commonality of gothic text representations. The stories take slightly different paths, with Poe’s signifying traditional gothic literature and Taylor approaching his story in a more contemporary manner. Gothic texts are typically characterized by a horrifying and haunting mood, in a world of isolation and despair. Most stories also include some type of supernatural events and/or superstitious aspects. Specifically, vampires, villains, heroes and heroines, and mysterious architecture are standard in a gothic text. Depending upon the author, a gothic text can also take on violent and grotesque attributes. As an overall outlook, â€Å"gothic literature is an outlet for the ancient fears of humanity in an age of reason† (Sacred-Texts). Following closely to this type of literature, Edgar Allan Poe uses a gloomy setting, isolation, and supernatural occurrences throughout â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher†. From the onset of the story, it is apparent that Poe is employing a gothic theme upon his work. The narrator’s portrayal of the home of his longtime friend, Roderick Usher was as follows, â€Å"I looked upon the scene before me – upon the bleak walls – upon the vacant eye-like windows – upon a few rank sedges – and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees† (Poe, 75). T... ... Poe’s â€Å"The Fall of the House of Usher†, they both can be classified collectively under gothic literature. In other words, although these stories exhibit two completely different plots, it has been found that they have matching frameworks. Works Cited Bronzino, Agnolo. Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time. 27 Mar. 2003 arthp/bio/b/bronzino/biograph.html>. Oates, Joyce Carol. â€Å"Realism of Distance, Realism of Immediacy [Review of The Collected Stories]. Critical Essays on Peter Taylor. Ed. Hubert H. McAlexander. New York: G. K. Hall & Company, 1993. Sacred-Texts: Gothic. 3 Apr 2003 . Taylor, Peter. â€Å"Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time†. The Literature of the American South: A Norton Anthology. Ed. William L. Andrews. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1998. PID 8308 1 Marlow Engl. 12 Sect. 24

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Regulatory Behavior Essay

The human body is regulated by the nervous system and its functions. Under normal circumstances everything runs smoothly with no issues; however, fear can have an impact on how the nervous system works. One aspect that can be examined in relation to the nervous system and the ways that fear affects it is through body temperature regulation. When fear is present it bring on the production of specific hormones that cause certain responses within the body leading to the flight or fight situation. As with any function of the body there are impairment that are always possible as well. Knowing in advance what types of things can impair one’s thermoregulation process gives people a step up against having issues later in life. The nervous system consists of two parts, the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS) (National Institute of Health [NIH], 2013). Each part plays a role in our bodily functions. The CNS is made up of the brain and the spinal cord, the PNS is made up of the all the branch-like fibers that come off the spinal cord and reach all over the body- arms, legs, face, neck, etc. Without the nervous system there would be no way to get information from the brain to the rest of the body; all the messages that our brain sends out must be sent though the nervous system through neuron communication. â€Å"Neurons communicate with each other using axons and dendrites. When a neuron receives a message from another neuron, it sends an electrical signal down the length of its axon. At the end of the axon, the electrical signal is converted into a chemical signal, and the axon releases chemical messages called neurotransmitters† (NIH,  ¶ 3). This process is how the b rain tells the body to walk or blink or even body temperature regulation; it is a very important process that regulates all bodily functions. Body temperature regulation is the process by which our body maintains a steady internal temperature. This process is known as thermoregulation and is mostly controlled by the hypothalamus section in the brain (Vella & Kravitz, n.d.). When properly regulating the human body’s â€Å"normal core temperature at rest varies between 97.7 to 99.5 Fahrenheit† (Vella & Kravitz,  ¶ 2); however, a factor like fear can cause fluctuations from the core body temperature. According to the Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation, children who have high levels of fear have a harder time than children with regular amounts of fear when it comes to falling and staying asleep. The disturbance in a regular sleep cycle has been shown to affect how the thermoregulation process functions; fear can cause the body to overheat and not allow the body to cool down when needed (Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation [JBRF], n.d.). As with any function in the body fear produces a hormonal response. When a person experiences fear the hormones glucocorticoids, produced in the adrenal cortex, and catecholamines, produced in the adrenal medulla and sympathetic nerves, are released into the body and cause the individual to  either take the flight or fight stance (Rodrigues, Ledoux, & Sapolsky, 2009). Both of the fear induced hormones impact the nervous system in many ways. For example, glucocorticoids play a large role in the functioning of the CNS. It can lead to anatomical brain changes that result in a higher likeliness of sleep disturbances, psychiatric diseases, mood alterations, and cognitive impairments (lacroix, 2014). The body’s ability to thermoregulate its temperature can become impaired. This type of impairment is sometimes caused when a person goes under anesthetics. According to Daniel I. Sessler, M.D., Professor and Chair, â€Å"Anethetic-induced impairment of normal thermoregulatory control, and the resulting core-to-peripheral redistribution of body heat, is the primary cause of hypothermia in most patients† (Sessler, 2009,  ¶ 2). In other words, if the body is unable to control it’s thermoregulation it can start going into a hypothermic state which would lead to other risk factors and issues. During surgery a patients temperature is normally watched closely to make sure this is not an issue. On the other end of the spectrum, if a person suffers from dysautonomia they can experience excessively high body temperatures and have difficulty bringing their temperature back down to a normal resting temperature. If this does happen the person may experience irritability, disorientation and confusion; this type of disorder leaves the symptoms being able to be treated but not the cause. Some suggestions for ways to help lower the internal body temperature are drinking lots of fluids and water, but avoiding caffeine and alcohol, placing cool compresses across the neck and if necessary seeking professional help from a doctor or hospital if needed. Although the human body is a very complex and impressive organism it is not invincible to ailments. The nervous system keeps our bodies running and communicating so that we are able to act on and do every bodily function possible. Looking at the thermoregulation abilities that the body posses is very impressive and intricate, but it does have ways that things like fear are able to intrude. This intrusion can change the way our body responds to thermoregulation by emitting hormones that tell the body it may need to prepare for a flight or fight situation. Thermoregulation also has the  ability to fall prey to impairment that can be very debilitating to the individual; impairments can range from unable to bring the body temperature down to a normal range or up to a normal range. In closing, thermoregulation may be an involuntary regulatory behavior, but it is still possible to impress changes upon it by either ailment or other outside factors. References Juvenile Bipolar Research Foundation (n.d.). _Sleep, activity patterns and temperature study_. Retrieved July 14, 2014, from http://www.jbrf.org/category/description-of-the-condition/ Lacroix, A. (2014). _Glucocorticoid effects on the nervous system and behavior_. Retrieved July 13, 2014, from http://www.uptodate.com/contents/glucocorticoid-effects-on-the-nervous-system-and-behavior National Institute of Health (2013). _What are the parts of the nervous system_?. Retrieved July 12, 2014, from http://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/neuro/conditioninfo/Pages/parts.aspx Rodrigues, S. M., Ledoux, J. E., & Sapolsky, R. M. (2009). _The influences of stress hormones on fear circuitry_ . Retrieved July 14, 2014, from http://my.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/37382/rodrigues-ledoux-sapolsky-arn-2009.pdf Sessler, D. I. (2009). _Temperature monitoring and perioperative thermoregulation_. Retrieved , from July 14, 2014 Synapse (n.d.). _Get the facts- temperature control and dysautonomia_. Retrieved July 13, 2014, from http://synapse.org.au/get-the-facts/temperature-control-and-dysautonomia-fact-sheet.aspx

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

DILF, DELF, and DALF French Proficiency Tests

DILF, DELF, and DALF French Proficiency Tests DILF, DELF, and DALF are a set of official French proficiency tests administered by the Centre international dà ©tude pà ©dagogiques. DILF is an acronym that stands for  Diplà ´me Initial de Langue Franà §aise, the DELF is the  Diplà ´me dÉtudes en Langue Franà §aise  and the DALF is the Diplà ´me Approfondi de Langue Franà §aise. In addition to allowing you to opt-out of a French universitys language entrance exam, having one of these French certifications looks good on your CV. If you are interested in obtaining an official document proclaiming your French language skills, keep reading. Test Difficulty Levels In regards to advancement, the DILF is the primer certification for the French language qualification and precedes the DELF and DALF. Although the DILF, DELF, and DALF are the French equivalent of the English proficiency test or the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), there is quite a difference between these two testing systems. The TOEFL certification, which is offered by Educational Testing Services, requires that candidates take a two to four-hour test, after which they receive a TOEFL score indicating their level of proficiency. In contrast, DILF/DELF/DALF certifications consist of multiple levels. Rather than give test takers a score, DILF/DELF/DALF candidates work to obtain one of seven diplà ´mes from the Ministà ¨re de lÉducation Nationale, de lEnseignement Supà ©rieur et de la Recherche: DILF A1.1DELF A1DELF A2DELF B1DELF B2DALF C1DALF C2 Each of these certificates tests the four language proficiencies (reading, writing, listening and speaking), based on the levels of the Cadre Europà ©en de Rà ©fà ©rence pour Les Langues. There is no score for the tests; the French speakers proficiency is identified by the highest certificate s/he has obtained. The diplomas are independent, meaning you do not need to take all seven. Proficient French speakers can start at whatever level they qualify for, however advanced the level might be. Younger French learners are offered similar, but separate, tests: DELF, Version Junior, and DELF Scolaire. Studying for the Tests The DILF is for non-francophone candidates who are 16-years-old or older. On their website, sample tests are available for listening, reading, spoken and written French comprehension. If youre considering taking this test, youll be able to get a sneak peak of the materials on which youll be tested by visiting the DILF website.   Access is also provided to DELF and DALF test takers to sample topics according to each test level. Current information regarding test dates, test fees, test centers, and schedules is also information on the site, as well as answers to frequently asked questions. The tests can be taken in about 150 different countries, providing convenience and accessibility to several French learners.   The Alliance Franà §aise and many other French schools offer DILF, DELF and DALF preparation classes as well as the exams themselves, and the Centre National dEnseignement Distance offers correspondence courses in DELF and DALF preparation.

Monday, October 21, 2019

A Second Slice of Pie essays

A Second Slice of Pie essays One of the most common complaints about capitalism is that it is inherently unfair. That the operation of an unrestrained, free market will inevitably lead to iniquity, and a great disparity in outcomes. Complaints usually proceed along the lines of - "the rich get richer, and the poor just keep getting poorer". Thus, government intervention is appealed to as protection against the vagaries and unfairness of free market forces. Arguments against unrestricted capitalism include charges of exploitation of workers, an obsession with efficiency, and the consignment of unproductive individuals to the economic scrap-heap. This essay is not intended to address each specific accusation, but will identify the erroneous, central premise behind these misgivings, and the implications of correcting it. The flawed premise held by almost all critics of capitalism, is the view that it is a zero-sum game. In other words, that any gain in a free market economy must have occured at someone else's expense. Ironically, this misconception plagues capitalism and not other economic systems, precisely because of capitalism's great success in wealth generation. It is not hard to see why this is the case. Before the advent of capitalism, the vast majority of people in Europe were indentured peasants. There was no political or economic freedom, and the masses were unable to own land, choose their employment, or respond to opportunities in the marketplace. In fact, there was no market, and most labour was unpaid, with the peasants actually remitting produce to the landed aristocracy. In feudalist Europe, it was not merit, talent, hard work or creativity which decided one's economic situation or social standing, but purely chance - namely into which family one was born. The economic freedoms which are the hallmarks of capitalism - being the right of everyone to own property, and the right to respond to the opportunities and conditions of the market rath...

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Examples of Regular and Irregular German Verbs

Examples of Regular and Irregular German Verbs Weak (regular) verbs follow a predictable pattern and do not vary in the way strong verbs do. 1. arbeiten (to work) - regular (weak) verb; -tet ending Present: Er arbeitet bei SAP. - He works at SAP. (is working)Past/Preterite: Er arbeitete bei SAP. - He worked at SAP. (was working)Pres. Perfect/Perfekt: Er hat bei SAP gearbeitet. - He worked at SAP. (has worked)Past Perfect/Plusquamperfekt: Er hatte bei SAP gearbeitet. - He had worked at SAP.Future/Futur: Er wird bei SAP arbeiten. - He will work at SAP. 2. spielen (to play) - regular (weak) verb Present: Sie spielt Karten. - Shes playing cards.Past/Preterite: Sie spielte Karten. - She played cards. (was playing)Pres. Perfect/Perfekt: Sie hat Karten gespielt. - She played cards. (has played)Past Perfect/Plusquamperfekt: Sie hatte Karten gespielt. - She had played cards.Future/Futur: Sie wird Karten spielen. - She will play cards. 3. mitspielen (to play along) - regular (weak) verb - separable prefix Present: Sie spielt mit. - Shes playing along.Past/Preterite: Sie spielte mit. - She played along. (was playing along)Pres. Perfect/Perfekt: Sie hat mitgespielt. - She played along. (has played along)Past Perfect/Plusquamperfekt: Sie hatte mitgespielt. - She had played along.Future/Futur: Sie wird mitspielen. - She will play along. Strong (Irregular) German Verbs: Various Tenses These verbs have irregular forms and must be memorized 1. fahren (to drive, travel) - strong, irregular verb; stem-changing Present: Er fhrt nach Berlin. - Hes driving/traveling to Berlin.Past/Preterite: Er fuhr nach Berlin. - He went/traveled to Berlin.Pres. Perfect/Perfekt: Er ist nach Berlin gefahren. - He went/traveled to Berlin. (has traveled)Past Perfect/Plusquamperfekt: Er war nach Berlin gefahren. - He had gone to Berlin.Future/Futur: Er wird nach Berlin fahren. - He will travel to Berlin. 2. sprechen (to speak) - strong, irregular verb Present: Er spricht Deutsch. - He speaks German. (is speaking)Past/Preterite: Er sprach Deutsch. - He spoke German. (was speaking)Pres. Perfect/Perfekt: Er hat Deutsch gesprochen. - He spoke German. (has spoken)Past Perfect/Plusquamperfekt: Er hatte Deutsch gesprochen. - He had spoken German.Future/Futur: Er wird Deutsch sprechen. - He will speak German. 3. abfahren (to depart) - strong verb - separable prefix Present: Wir fahren morgen ab. - We leave/depart tomorrow. (are departing)Past/Preterite: Wir fuhren gestern ab. - We left yesterday. (were leaving)Pres. Perfect/Perfekt: Wir sind gestern abgefahren. - We left yesterday. (have departed)Past Perfect/Plusquamperfekt: Wir waren gestern abgefahren. - We had left yesterday.Future/Futur: Wir werden morgen abfahren. - We will leave/depart tomorrow. 4. besprechen (to discuss) - strong verb - inseparable prefix Present: Wir besprechen dieses Thema. - We are discussing this topic.Past/Preterite: Wir besprachen das gestern. - We discussed that yesterday. (were discussing)Pres. Perfect/Perfekt: Wir haben das gestern besprochen. - We discussed that yesterday. (have discussed)Past Perfect/Plusquamperfekt: Wir hatten das vorgestern besprochen. - We had discussed that the day before yesterday.Future/Futur: Wir werden das morgen besprechen. - We will discuss that tomorrow. Special Verb Examples Past action continuing into the present (present tense): He has been living in Berlin for three years. (and he still is)Er wohnt schon seit drei Jahren in Berlin. Action ending in the past: He lived (used to live) in Berlin for three years. (but no longer does)Er hat drei Jahre lang in Berlin gewohnt.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

How do you make women use restroom inside in India Essay

How do you make women use restroom inside in India - Essay Example Women have to walk in groups and accompany their daughters when it calls for defecation periods. It is upon these shocking revelations that, the researcher intends to investigate possible solutions to this and draw a policy that if implemented, will culminate into women’s use of restrooms without further threats. This should capture every culture and local condition as despite the government spending 7000 scores yearly in toilets constructions; it has failed to answer women problems culminating into disuse. Toilet designs should factor in elements of geographical conditions, water and culture (India today international, 1997, p. 156). Besides constructing toilets, environmentally friendly toilets should stand erected as stated by Gramalaya who has been constructing rural toilets in India for two decades. Some design may scare women particularly on holding balance, hovering and butt positioning, that is approximated at six inches over the seat. But it is recommended that they hold the toilet paper dispenser, handle or enlargement of gap between the toilet and butt. This aims at making public restrooms to properly separate gents and ladies facilities so as to avoid case of males harassing and molesting females. This has been seen in places such as schools that have usable toilet rated at 63 percent in 2013. Fear of rape by women, makes it difficult for them to use restrooms, there should be increased and well trained security guards with higher levels of honesty to assist women who may opt for restrooms. This will instill courage within these women which will rebel against their deeply-rooted open defecation culture. It is surprising that despite increased number of toilets in India, less impact has been felt as culture drives open defecation making many toilets disused. There are urgent calls for more input to create awareness on significance of using toilets. Women face infection particularly, when pushed to defecate in dirty fields during

Friday, October 18, 2019

IBM Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IBM - Research Paper Example Thus, one does not have to worry about how things are being managed secretly in the cloud since the cloud is in charge for being extremely accessible as well as receptive to the requirements of the application (TechRepublic, 2008), (Hartig, 2009) and (TechTarget, 2007). This paper presents analysis of a real-life application of new technology at Amazon. This paper will analyze the application of new communication technology like wireless and "cloud computing" at Amazon. Cloud Computing at Amazon’s Business Amazon.com Inc., is one of the largest online sellers, has launched a new service that is focused on facilitating the management about making an easy management of their computing as well as web related functions. Though the use of new technology based arrangement at Amazon.com Inc., customers are able to utilize the new Elastic Beanstalk service to hit Amazon’s computing control even without having technological knowledge to execute applications (Galante, 2011). New Technology at Amazon This section discusses the new technology framework that Amazon.com has introduced.

Northern California film history assignment Essay

Northern California film history assignment - Essay Example ory that has caused the movie industry to evolve into its current form, the opinions and findings of Trimble will emerge as most relevant and realistic. There is an element of a forgotten past behind Hollywood’s emergence as the capital of motion picture industry. The events that can reveal the historic background of this transformation date as long back to the early 1900s when the production activities began shifting from San Francisco to Los Angels in 1907. This has heralded a major change for the Northern California movie scenario apart from the changes the film industry underwent as a whole. Before that most of the production activities in the US have been centered in San Francisco Bay Area. An inquiry down the lane of history reveals that the Bay Area was a fertile hub for the early experiments, inventions, and evolution of motion pictures. Pioneers like Edward Muybridge, Edison, and Edwin Porter were involved in the process of movie making in the Bay Area. Without their contributions the motion film industry in US would not have gained its momentum. Thus one cannot overlook as irrelevant Trimble’s observation that motion pictures were invented in San Francisco. Yet, much of the print history on motion pictures has ignored San Francisco’s contribution and directed their focus on Hollywood as the cognation point of film industry. Credit doesn’t seem to have been given where it actually belongs and the flawed assumptions need to be rectified in the light of the facts available. However, if one explores the oral history in the matter the contention seems to honor Southern California’s role in giving the boost to the movie industry that made it flourish to its current status. When one examines history and the recorded facts therein, it becomes evident that San Franciscans are key players in the making of the movies and their role has been pivotal right from the embryonic stage of motion pictures’ development as an industry. It was Eadward Muybridge,

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Negotiation between Fisher and Ury Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 14

Negotiation between Fisher and Ury - Essay Example To illustrate the method of principled negotiation, the following negotiation was witnessed between two neighbors. The above negotiation utilized the principled model of negotiation. The parties involved are using both the soft and hard approach. Bugsy is applying the soft approach; trying as much as he can to remain civil. In addition, he considers Ronald as a friend; hence, trying to make concessions to retain the civility. However, it fails, as he trusts that Ronald will reciprocate his kindness and come to an amicable agreement. Ronald, on the other hand, appears to be a hard negotiator. They both argue over positions; hence, producing unwise agreements. Bugsy, being a soft negotiator, tries to be nice to Ronald. Fisher and Ury explain that being nice is not the solution. Some level of positional bargaining is sufficient to express interests. Bugsy is willing to compromise his position, but this makes Ronald tougher as he gets to realize his ‘supremacy’ in the argument. An efficient method of principled negotiation ought to consider the people, interests, options, and criteria to resolve the conflict. The conversation indicates that the people were not separate from the problem. In this case, both Ronald and Bugsy approached each other as the problem. Bugsy, despite trying to maintain the neighborly relationship, is frustrated by Ronald's lack of reciprocation. Ronald perceives Bugsy as an adversary; hence, failing to focus on interests rather than positions. By using the principled approach, both Ronald and Bugsy should have taken into consideration the available options to mitigate the conflict and establish relevant criteria to ensure that everyone’s interests are considered. Both Bugsy and Ronald approached the negotiation on established positions (positional bargaining). Ronald is adamant and unwilling to compromise on his position.  

Happy Trails Management Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Happy Trails Management - Article Example The foremost reason for this is that Happy Trails is a 'for profit organization' which means that it is expected to be able to fund once in a month collective bargaining agreements or meetings. The need for such meetings would not arise so often as once in a month unless some urgent matters are at hand. Secondly, the implication that salary increases will suffer might be taken as an underlying threat to LPN's for unionizing. Moreover, a third implication can be, lets say the LPN's do not unionize due to this very reason, will happy Trails fulfill their implied promise of raising salaries for not unionizing or on half yearly or yearly basis' Considering this it seems it would be a temporary solution to keep the union at bay, but it would emerge any time. It is a better strategy to let them form an association and deal with them by collective bargaining. The threat element in this strategy makes it a bad move. This would be one of the best counter union strategies to discuss the benefits of being employees of Happy Trails as objectively as possible. However, the dialogue should remain strictly objective and should not seem as if the management is threatened by the LPN's decision to unionize and wants them to back out. It should be an objective statement of what is already being provided to them by the management and what they can further expect in future. Under the NRLA, the employer can not promise benefits to the employees to discourage them from forming unions. This strategy has to be practiced very tactfully and with care. 4. Threaten to close the facility due to the Union Campaign I would strictly advise Happy Trails' management against any such moves. The "threat" element in any outgoing communication from the management side is enough to provide opportunity for activists to raise charges against the organization. The employees are protected under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959(Landrum Griffin Act) Title VI and have the right to form unions and to raise issues like labor relations practices. Title VI provides the authority to investigate the disciplining, sanctions, penalties or threats on part of employers to the union members. 5. Assist in the circulation of anti union petitions. In the immediate future this would not be a prudent move since it would serve the purpose of bringing the LPN's together and would provide a cause to fight in future. However, in the longer run, the management could maybe patronize another union within the organization which would serve as a competitive force to the LPN's union. 6.Counter Union Exaggerated claims on flyers This would be perceived as an anti-union move and Happy Trails can face litigation under NRLA. Flyers would provide written proof against Happy Trails and their anti union moves. 7. Tell employees that they do not need to talk to union organizers, they can vote against the union, and the organization does not welcome the Union. Happy Trails can not follow any of these strategies since the unions are protected by NLRA. 8. Solicit employees to request the return of their authorization cards Under the NRLA, employers can not "Question employees about their union sympathies or activities in circumstances that tend to interfere with, restrain or coerce employees in the exercise of their rights under the

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Negotiation between Fisher and Ury Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 14

Negotiation between Fisher and Ury - Essay Example To illustrate the method of principled negotiation, the following negotiation was witnessed between two neighbors. The above negotiation utilized the principled model of negotiation. The parties involved are using both the soft and hard approach. Bugsy is applying the soft approach; trying as much as he can to remain civil. In addition, he considers Ronald as a friend; hence, trying to make concessions to retain the civility. However, it fails, as he trusts that Ronald will reciprocate his kindness and come to an amicable agreement. Ronald, on the other hand, appears to be a hard negotiator. They both argue over positions; hence, producing unwise agreements. Bugsy, being a soft negotiator, tries to be nice to Ronald. Fisher and Ury explain that being nice is not the solution. Some level of positional bargaining is sufficient to express interests. Bugsy is willing to compromise his position, but this makes Ronald tougher as he gets to realize his ‘supremacy’ in the argument. An efficient method of principled negotiation ought to consider the people, interests, options, and criteria to resolve the conflict. The conversation indicates that the people were not separate from the problem. In this case, both Ronald and Bugsy approached each other as the problem. Bugsy, despite trying to maintain the neighborly relationship, is frustrated by Ronald's lack of reciprocation. Ronald perceives Bugsy as an adversary; hence, failing to focus on interests rather than positions. By using the principled approach, both Ronald and Bugsy should have taken into consideration the available options to mitigate the conflict and establish relevant criteria to ensure that everyone’s interests are considered. Both Bugsy and Ronald approached the negotiation on established positions (positional bargaining). Ronald is adamant and unwilling to compromise on his position.  

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

What has been the thinking of scholars on beard's thesis 100 years Essay

What has been the thinking of scholars on beard's thesis 100 years later - Essay Example An economics and history argument, Beard’s thesis was vastly controversial during the early 1900s. Numerous academics have debated over the thesis, its meaning, and eventually questioned its legacy. In this thesis, Beard says that the process of forming the constitution succeeded over the interests of citizens. This is because the drafters of this constitution comprised mostly of federalists, large property owners, bankers, traders, capitalists, and creditors, whom Beard noted as substantial owners of â€Å"personality.1† In contrast, United States citizens largely constituted of farmers, debtors, small property owners, and people of moderate riches. This population demographic still holds almost entirely true a hundred years after the publication of Beard’s thesis. As a result, Beard’s proof for his thesis has not primarily overturned the claim despite criticisms that have collectively deteriorated it. Scholars like Harold Faulkner committed two sections to a discussion about the geneses of this war in his 1943 work â€Å"American Economic History.† Here, Faulkner says the impacts of the Civil War on America’s industrial, financial, and trading history were great2. According to scholars Sparrow and OBrien, Beard does not seem to overdo his hand in his argument about the founding fathers and the constitution of the United States. Rather, Beard underemphasizes his argument in the sense that he abandons the inferences that ensue from his inadequate focus on American citizens, who are largely average property holders3. Economics academic Roger Ransom says Beard exempted the wisdom and commitment of America’s founding fathers from his history. Ransom says the founding fathers overpowered their shallow self-interests to generate a masterful document for a whole nation. Using Robert Morris and Nathaniel Gorham as examples, Ransom says

Controversial issues of traditional arts Essay Example for Free

Controversial issues of traditional arts Essay Ulek Mayang could be haunted. it is a Malay traditional dance from the state of Terengganu in Malaysia accompanied by a unique song called Ulek Mayang the lyrics were changed (no one knows the real lyrics) the song remains popular and there are several contemporary interpretations of the song the original dance is to honor the spirit of the sea. The modern dance has no elements of worship, its more to music and dance. After the arrival of Islam, such practice has been stopped and the Ulek Mayang dance is only preserved to be part of the Malay culture. Even now, Ulek Mayang is nicknamed the ‘Most Haunted Culture in Malaysia’.- However, some fishermen still practice this ritual. Agree: Some people claim that the song is haunted because it gives goosebumps and creepy feelings especially when it is performed at sunset by the beach People tend to avoid practising it nearby any beaches around the world, as according to the ancients’ beliefs; those 7 Sea-Princesses shall always guard the 7 Seas. Whoever that breaks certain rules, no matter where they are, will pay the price. There has been cases of tourists jumping into the sea for no reason after they performed Ulek Mayang along the north-eastern beaches of Peninsular Malaysia. Some cases happen on land too. Going missing and receiving visits were the greatest fear whenever one performs Ulek Mayang. Disagree: According to ustaz, Ulek Mayang is not a ghost or jin. Its a popular song in Terengganu and is a type of lagu rakyat. The Ulek Mayang song used nowadays has been shortened as Malays count the full song as worshipping spirits which is syirik in Islam. The Malaysian rock diva, Ella once sung the song in a rock version Poco poco dance choreographed with sequence of steps. it is a type of aerobic dance believed to originated in Indonesia more than 20 years ago Mesyuarat Jawatankuasa Fatwa Negeri Perak banned poco- poco because they believe it is derived from Christianity. Agree: The dance originated from Jamaica and is actually a cult dance There are many Christian rituals to it as the moves reflect the making of a cross and so is unacceptable in Islam Disagree: The Malaysian Muslims are confused. There is no any literature or practical evidence showing that poco-poco is derived from Christianity either in Indonesia, Philippine or Jamaica. Poco poco movements with cross design can not be a sufficient justification because movement of left and right sides is a natural human movement. Even when human stretch his hands, it can be considered illegal if the method resembles the cross. Mahsuris curse: Myth or Legend? Summary: One day while Mahsuri’s husband was away fighting a war, Mahsuri offered shelter to a wandering minstrel. For that, Mahsuri was accused of committing adultery by the village chieftain’s wife. The village chieftain who was still smarting over Mahsuri’s rejection of his earlier marriage proposal, ordered Mahsuri to be condemned to death. It was said that at her execution Mahsuri bled white blood signifying her innocence. At her last breath, Mahsuri was said to utter a curse on Langkawi for which the island will remain barren for seven generations. Agree: Many locals of Langkawi believe the legend to be true due to failed crops after Mahsuris death. According to recorded history, the Siamese invaded Langkawi not long after Mahsuri’s death and razed the island to the ground with a scorched earth policy. And coincidentally, Langkawi did not become a major tourist hotspot until the birth of Wan Aishah bt Wan Nawawi, the seventh generation descendant of Mahsuri. Disagree: Some people think Mahsuris story most likely is real and the killing of Mahsuri most likely took place, but the curse of Langkawi and her white blood must be a part of myth because there is no prove or evidence. in this modern and science world, people think its logically untrue for a normal human being to have white blood

Monday, October 14, 2019

Stereotyping in Nursing Care | Reflection

Stereotyping in Nursing Care | Reflection PLACEMENT REFLECTION Introduction Reflection has been defined within healthcare as the active process of reviewing, analysing and evaluating experiences, drawing upon theoretical concepts or previous learning, in order to inform future actions (Reid, 1993). A reflective practitioner often reflects on experience and is capable of reflecting-in-action, continually learning from experience to the benefit of future actions (Schon, 1983). This essay is a reflective account based on the recurrence of an incident that took place during my placements in a forensic and an acute ward as part of my mental health nursing training. This reflection is based on Gibbs (1988) definition of reflection which is shown in his reflective cycle in the diagram below. The model will be used to describe the incident, my feelings following the incident and an evaluation of my experience. An analysis of what sense can be made of the situation and thoughts of what else could have been done under the circumstances. The final stage is an action pl an for what has to be done if the incident eventuates in future during practice (NHS, 2006). In accordance with the NMC code of conduct (2008) on confidentiality, the names used for the patients are pseudonyms. Reflection in nursing is important as it generates practice knowledge, enhances the ability to adapt to new situations, develops self-esteem, leads to satisfaction and improves professional practice (Baird and Winter, 2005, p.156). Similarly, Siviter (2004, p.165) explain that reflection is about gaining self-confidence, identifying when to improve, learning from own mistakes and behaviour, looking at other people’s perspectives, being self-aware and improving the future by learning from the past. Description of the incident During my first week of placement at a forensic ward, I was cautioned to be careful of some patients whom the nurses had labelled as ‘difficult’. This was a perception I carried with me till the end of my placement, unfortunately. At one instance I was with a nurse in the office when Yosef, one of the ‘so-called’ difficult patients came to request for the patients phone to make a call. The nurse appeared to be very busy and ignored the patient. As the patient kept knocking at the window, I asked the nurse if I could facilitate the request, but I was told the patient had to wait because he has a habit of always making requests. Yosef walked away after waiting for a few more minutes without help. He was fuming and very upset. I looked at the nurse in despair as I really could not understand what he had to wait for in the first place since in my view, the request could have easily been facilitated. I felt a sense of guilt because at that moment I felt we had le t down a service user as facilitators of service. I carried this guilt with me to my second placement which was a female acute admissions ward. I found that here too, the labelling of some patients as ‘difficult’ existed. Bridget, a 59 year old patient who presented as isolative, interacting minimally with peers and staff was also labelled as such. During a ‘plan of the day’ meeting which all patients and staff are expected to attend, Bridget was surprisingly very forthright. She spoke about staff negative attitudes towards patients during the ‘any other business session’. After lunch that day, I decided to have a conversation with her. I started by introducing myself and congratulated her for being outspoken at the meeting, empathising with her on some of the concerns she raised at the meeting. This was meant to make the prospect of engaging her more appealing to her. The conversation took off slowly, but I had to adopt emphatic listening whic h according to Wold (2004, p.73) is about the willingness to understand the other person and not just judging the person’s facts. During the conversation, I maintained eye contact in order to express a sense of interest in what she was saying (Caris-Verhallen et al, 1999). To my surprise, Bridget was participative, and very pleasant throughout the conversation, dispelling the earlier impression I had been given about her. At the meeting that morning, she had mentioned nurses’ insensitivity which I wanted her to elaborate on. In her response, she said ‘Nurses must know that mental illness is invisible unlike physical illness. The therapy is not all about medication, but it is also about relationships that show warmth towards us as patients. But some nurses feel so important and insensitive; their attitude sometimes makes me feel slighted and frustrated. This can easily lead me on to kick off and explode when I shouldn’t’. She was very thankful and said she felt ‘lifted’ after the conversation. My feelings I had mixed feelings after this conversation; a feeling of disappointment and regret. The disappointment was associated with the fact that there appeared to be a thread of a culture of neglect instead of support at the two wards towards patients. My regret was borne out of the fact that I had allowed some nurses to colour my perceptions of some of the patients. It was clear after this conversation that some nurses have failed to understand and respond to the needs of some patients because they failed to form sound therapeutic alliances with patients which is an essential component of all therapeutic interventions through effective communication Stevenson (2008, p.109). It is important in a mental health setting that nurses promote a therapeutic rapport with patients that is underpinned by a sense of trust, respect and mutual understanding. According to Harkreader and Hogan (2004, p. 245) these are ingredients that would raise the patient’s self-esteem and personal growth. Even more important, according to Arnold and Boggs (2007, p.200) is the need for effective therapeutic communication which can improve the patient’s ability to function. In order to establish therapeutic nurse-patient interaction, a nurse must demonstrate caring, empathy and trustworthiness (Kathol, 2003, p.33). These involve the implementation of interpersonal skills which Johnson (2008) defines as the total ability to communicate effectively with patients and all those involved in their care. Communication is the exchange of information, and effective communication must involve both verbal and non-verbal communication through the use of gestures, postures, facial e xpressions, tone and level of volume. I had a feeling that this intervention was a good starting point to develop my communication and interpersonal skills in future. Evaluation I realised that through communication, I got to know how some patients feel about nurses and the kind of interaction that they expect would contribute to their therapy. At least, my intervention had helped to alleviate her stress to some extent, calmed her frustration and anger through the use of effective communication skills which underpins the promotion of therapeutic relationships necessary to handle aggression more effectively (Duxbury 2002). Analysis Caring which consists among other things of the provision of comfort, concern and support, the development of trust and the alleviation of stress (Leninger, 1994) is a primary duty of nurses. But arguably, caring can only be demonstrated when people interact with each other and get to understand their needs. My interaction with Bridget was part of my duty to provide nursing care, and this was achieved by putting her at the centre of the conversation by way of making her: feel listened to; feel that her concerns are being validated and not trivialised; feel emotionally supported; feel understood. A conducive atmosphere for effective communication was created which enabled her to express her feelings. The Department of Health (DH) (2004) and the National Health Service (NHS) Modernisation Agency (2003) lay emphasis on the importance of patient-focused communication between health professionals and patients. This is seen as vital to achieving patient satisfaction, inclusive decision making in caregiving and an efficient health service. Nursing literature also promotes these concepts as indicative of best practice. For example, McCabe and Timmins (2006) and Charlton et al. (2008) found that, by using a person-centred approach in the interaction between nurses and patients, care outcomes were improved in: patient satisfaction; adherence to treatment options; patient health. Effective communication is also essential to practice and improving interpersonal relationships in the workplace between professional groups and peers (Grover, 2005) Conclusion The nurse is seen as the therapeutic agent in the nurse-patient relationship. This involves the application of effective communication and interpersonal skills which can lead to a sense of safety and protection, improved levels of patient satisfaction and greater adherence to treatment options and increased recovery rates. Furthermore, a successful communication through a patient-centred approach also serves to reassure relatives that their loved ones are receiving the necessary treatment. Action Plan My action plan for future clinical practice is to avoid stereotyping of some patients, but to try to understand them as individuals and treat them with the care that ensures recovery. This can only be done by forming therapeutic alliances with them through effective communication and interpersonal skills. REFERENCES Arnold, E. C. and Boggs, K. (2007) Interpersonal Relationship: Professional Communication Skills for Nurses, Copyright  © 2006, Elsevier, London. Baird, M. and Winter, J. (2005) Reflection, practice and clinical education in Philadelphia: ElsevierChurchill Livingstone. Caris-Verhallen, W. M. C. M., Kerkstra, A. and Bensing, J. M. (1999) Non-verbalbehaviour in nurse-elderly patient communication. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 29 (4), 808-818. Charlton, CR, Dearing, KS, Berry, JA and Johnson, MJ (2008) Nurse practitioners’ communication styles and their impact on patient outcomes: an integrated literature review. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, 20: 382–8. Duxbury J.A. (2002) An evaluation of staff and patients’ views of and strategies employed to manage patient aggression and violence on one mental health unit. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 9, 325–337. Gibbs, G (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. Oxford: Further Education Grover, S. M. (2005). Shaping Effective Communication Skills and Therapeutic Relationships at Work, The foundation of Collaboration. AAOHN Journal, 53(4), 177-182. Harkreader, H. and Hogan, M. A. (2004) Fundamental of Nursing: Caring andClinical Judgment. Johnson, D. (2008) Interpersonal skills [onlinehttp://www.mtsu.edu/~jsanborn/iskills/interpersonal.htm[Accessed on 21 March 2014] Kathol, D. D. (2003) Communication in Kockrow, E. O. and Christen, B. L. (eds) Foundation of Nursing, Missouri: Mosby. Leninger, M. (1994). Evaluation criteria and critique of qualitative evaluation studies. (Ed.), Critical issues in qualitative research methods (pp. 95-115). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. McCabe C, Timmins F. (2006) Communication Skills for Nursing Practice, Palgrave MacMillan NHS Modernisation Agency (2003) Available at: http://www.institute.nhs.uk/index.php?option=com_joomcartmain_page=document_product_infoproducts_id=230cPath=67 Accessed on April 2014 Nursing and Midwifery Council. (NMC). (2008). The Code Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics for Nurses and Midwives. London: NMC Reid, B. (1993) But we’re already doing it! Exploring a response to the concept of reflective practice in order to improve it’s facilitation. Nurse Education Today. 13 pp. 305-309. Schon, D.A. (1983) The reflective practitioner. New York: Basic Books. Siviter, B. (2004) The Student Nurse Handbook. USA: Baillere Tindall. Stevenson (2008, p.109). Unit, Oxford Polytechnic. Wold, G. H. (2004, p.73) Basic Geriatric Nursing 3rd ed. USA: Mosby https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/amending-the-national-health-service-act-2006

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Growth of American Government from the End of Reconstruction and th

In the past, the nation’s government took the â€Å"laissez-faire† approach to dealing with the economy and/or free market affairs. The government intervened as little as possible, asserting the belief felt that if left alone, economic problems would be resolved without government interference. However, this approach was not guaranteed, and at times, the government had to put aside the â€Å"laissez-faire† approach of the past. The government had no other choice but to intervene in these instances to return balance to the economy and protect its citizens it served. The government changed both its approach and its size through programs initiated by the Industrial Revolution, New Deal programs during and following the Great Depression, and World War II, forever changing the relationship between Americans and their Government. During the Industrial Revolution with the massive railroad production across the country, the railroad executives were clever, strong-minded, mostly dishonest men who bribed congressmen, and conducted crooked financial deals who became known as â€Å"robber barons†. 1 As railroads expanded transportation across the country, it opened up a vast market for competition and over production of farm products. The railroad executives took advantage of the fact that the railroad was the only transportation that some farmers had to ship their products. Since the railroads had formed monopolies, they were free to charge whatever rates they saw fit and took full advantage of this by price discrimination. They offered discounts and rebates to big corporations with large loads which the individual farmer did not have. Nor did farmers have the political influence to fight the railroads on these matters.2 Therefore, in 1877, t... ... 11. American A Narrative History 8th Edition, George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shir, W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., New York 2010 book pg 1086-87 12. HI 1073 United States History 1877-Present Discussion Manual Spring 2011 CH 5 – The Interwar Years, 58. Social Security Act (1935). 13. American A Narrative History 8th Edition, George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shir, W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., New York 2010 book Page 1197 14. HI 1073 United States History 1877-Present Discussion Manual Spring 2011 CH 6 – World War II, 70. The GI Bill of Rights (1944). 15. American A Narrative History 8th Edition, George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shir, W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., New York 2010 pg 1209 16. American A Narrative History 8th Edition, George Brown Tindall and David Emory Shir, W. W. Norton & Company Ltd., New York 2010 page 1218

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Pop-ups and Spam Email Ethical Judgement Essay -- Internet Ads Adverti

Pop-ups and Spam Email Ethical Judgement Introduction: Only two things are certain in this life, death and taxes. I beg to differ. Seems to me we can throw spam and pop-up advertisements in there as well. In recent years, spam and pop-ups have become a way of life. People spend hours of their day weeding through their emails to find which ones are spam and which are the ones they really want to see. And it seems like any webpage you go to nowadays, an animated/flashing pop-up window appears, trying to get you to buy something. Most everyone hates spam and pop-up advertisements. Doing some observational research, I noticed that when people visit websites with pop-ups, they tend to become frustrated and attempt to quickly close the pop-ups window. Personally, I don’t like pop-ups because they never have pertain to anything I’m interested in, and even if they did, I wouldn’t trust an advertisement that is blaring in my face when I’m attempting to do other work that is totally unrelated. I asked others how they feel about pop-ups, and I got some interesting responses. One person said, â€Å"I don’t even consciously think of them anymore. It’s almost like second-nature; when I visit a webpage, without thinking I find the little X in the corner of the pop-up window and close it as fast as possible.† I found the same mentality toward spam messages and emails. A fellow classmate told me that he receives on the order of 200 spam emails every single day. That’s mind-blowing! I thought my 25 per day was bad enough. It got to the point where he needed to create a new email address for important emails, and just empty the old one out everyday. The problem he faces is that if one or two of those 200 emails are ac... ...ps and spam emails forever. References: Apryl Duncan, Pop-Ups: Annoying But Good , 2003, About Advertising, January 2003, http://www.advertising.about.com/library/weekly/aa012803a.htm. Carl Sullivan, E-mail, Ad Blockers Pose Problems for Publishers, 2003, Editor & Publisher, 5 May 2003, http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1894258. Thomas Ordahl, STOP THE POP (UP): The Problem with Internet Advertising, 2004, The Direct Marketing Association, 7 April 2004, http://www.the-dma.org/cgi/dispnewsstand?article=2111+++++. Jeffrey Utech, The Ethics of Pop-Ups, 2 October 2003, http://jeffrey.theutechs.com/blog/archives/000743.html. Peter Landau, Earthlink Upgrades Spam, Pop-up Blockers, 2003, Editor & Publisher, 30 May 2003, http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1898583.

Friday, October 11, 2019

TCS FInancial Statement analysis

Major Sources of Revenue: a) Revenue from operations: accounts for 98% of the total revenue of the firm and consists of the revenues from the below categories Information technology and consultancy services: contributes 97% of the total revenue from operations Sale of equipment and software lilicenses contributes 3% of the total revenue from operations b) Other Income: accounts for approximately 2% of the total revenue of the firm and consists of the revenues from the below major categories Interest Income: Contributes to 81. 0% of the total revenue from other income 73% of the Interest income comes from Interest on Bank & Interest on long term Bonds & Debentures. 25% of the Interest income comes from Inter-Corporate deposits. Profit from Sale of mutual funds and other current Investments Contributes to 0. 57% of the total revenue from other income Major Expenses a) Employee benefit expenses: consumes 35. 78% of the total operations revenue and consists of the below categories Salari es and incentives: accounts for 87. 57% of the total employee benefits expense Contributions to Provident fund & pension [Superannuation/Gratuity etc.Staff welfare expenses. b)BOperations and other Expenses: consumes 32. 11% of the total operations revenue and consists of the below major categories Overseas business expenses: – accounts for 43. 4 % of the total Operations and other Expenses Services rendered y business associates and others: – accounts for 18. 42% of the total Operations and other Expenses hardware and material costs: Software, – accounts for 1 1 the total Operations and other Expenses (c) Tax expenses: consume 7. 27% of the total operations revenue (d) Dividend on equity shares and tax thereon for Fiscal 2014 accounts increased by 40% Year on Year (7058. 2 crscoresiscal 2014) Major Uses of funds: a) Cash And Bank Balances: accounts for 21. 51% of the total Non-Current Investments and Current assets. Company has increased the Cash and Bank balan ces significantly in fiscal 2014. Horizontal analysis on the Balance Sheet for Cash and Bank Balances shows a Year on Year growth of 113. 34% for fiscal 2014. b)BPurchase of Fixed Assets: The Company has been investing in infrastructure development across various locations in India to meet its growing business needs. Additions to the gross block in fiscal 2014 amounted to 2,284. 7 crscoresHorizontal analysis on the Balance Sheet for fixed assets shows a Year on Year growth of 28. 27% for fiscal 2014. c)CNon-Current Investments: Company has increased the Non-Current Investments significantly in fiscal 2014. Horizontal analysis on the Balance Sheet for Non-Current Investments shows Year on Year growth of 134. 97% for fiscal 2014. d)DLong Term Loans & Advances: accounts for 10. 85% of the total Non-Current Investments and Current assets. e)EShort-term loans and advances: accounts for 6. 2% of the total Non-Current Question 2: Perform a horizontal and vertical analysis on the Balance Sh eet and Profit and Loss Account and comment on any significant changes that you observe over the last 2 years. AnNASPlease refer the attached excel sheet for arriving at the below conclusions a) Profit & Loss statement: Significant observations on Horizontal analysis. Net Profit After tax for Fiscal 2014 shows a Year on Year growth of 37. 70%. Net Profit After tax nearly doubled when compared with Fiscal 2012. EPPEPSEarnings per Share) also show consistent growth in the last few Fiscal years.EPPEPShows a Year on Year increase by 37. 58% in Fiscal 2014 Finance Cost for Fiscal 2014 has decreased significantly by 20%. Tax for Fiscal 2014 has increased significantly by 51% Year on Year. Profit & Loss statement: Significant observations on Vertical analysis. Despite a significant increase in the Employee base we find that Employee Expenses s a % of revenue remained constant around 35% in the last few Fiscal years Total Expenses as a % of revenue remained constant around 70% in the last f ew Fiscal years Total Tax as percentage of revenue, increased from 6. 37% in fiscal 2013 to 7. 2% b) Balance Sheet: Significant observations on Horizontal analysis. Non- Current liabilities shows a Year on Year growth of ofof4. 64% in Fiscal 2014. Fixed assets shows a Year on Year growth of 28. 27% in Fiscal 2014 Current liabilities shows a Year on Year growth of 34. 33% in Fiscal 2014. Reserves and Surplus shows a Year on Year growth of 27. 76% in Fiscal 2014. Share Capital shows a Year on Year negative growth of 33. 76% in Fiscal 2014. Current assets shows a Year on Year growth of 36. 62% in Fiscal 2014. Long Term borrowings shows a Year on Year negative growth of 2. 4% in Fiscal 2014. Balance Sheet: Significant observations on Vertical analysis. Cash and bank balances as a % of the total Assets excluding fixed assets increased from 12. 97% Fiscal 2013 to 21. 51% Fiscal 2014. Non-Current Investments as a % of the total Assets excluding fixed assets has been increasing steadily in the last few Fiscals. Short-term loans and advances as a % of the total Assets excluding fixed assets eccreasedrom 10. 81% in Fiscal 2013 to 6. 42% in Fiscal 2014. Goodwill as a % of the total Assets excluding fixed assets decreased from 6. 86% in Fiscal 2013 to 3. 7% Fiscal 2014. Question 3: Scrutinize the Notes to Accounts and Statement on Significant Accounting Policies and check for any deviations in accounting policy over the last year with respect to major items. AnNASThere were no deviations with respect to significant accounting policies. However TCTTSdopted a new hedge accounting principle under the below category. a)AForeign currency forward, option and futures contracts: TCTTSnters into foreign currency forward, option and futures contracts to manage its exposure to exchange rate fluctuations, in accordance with its risk management policies.With effect from January 1, 2014, the Company has adopted hedge accounting principles in line with International Financial Reporting Standard 9 (referred to as IFFIRS), which align more closely with the Company's risk management policy. The change has resulted in a reduction of ‘ 4. 76 crscoresn profit before tax in fiscal 2014. Question 4: Examine the Statement of Cash Flows for the last 2 years and point out the following: ) Major sources and Uses of cash: Sources: -Operations: Cash generated from operations, post adjustments to profit before tax, has gone up from 16,436. 77 crscoresn fiscal 2013 to ‘ 21,795. 4 crscoresn fiscal 2014, registering a growth of 32. 60% over the previous fiscal. -Income from Interest InInterestn funds invested went up by 71. 22%, from 798. 80 crscoresn fiscal 2013 to 1367. 72 Uses: crscoresn fiscal 2014. During fiscal 2014, the significant uses of cash were Acquisition of French Company AlAlit. A. foFor52. 41 crscoresPayment of Dividend & dividend tax for 5,489. 54 CrScoresurchase of fixed assets Increase in inter-corporate deposits Investment in fixed deposit. Pay Taxes amounting to 7,043. 63 CrScoresover Working Capital expenditures (b) Were the cash flows from operations greater than or less than net income?Explain in detail the major reason for the differences in these 2 figures. For Fiscal 2014, by referring to the Consolidated financial statements we get the below fgfiguresNet Cash provided by from Operating activities = 14751. 41 CrScoreset Profit for the year = 19163. 87 crscoresnNASNet Cash provided by from operating activities is less the net income. Explanation: Working Capital fgfiguresnder the categories below are the major reasons for reducing the Net Cash value provided by from operating activities below the net income. ) Unbilled Revenue – (811. 60) CrScores) Trade Receivables – (4015. 80) CrScoresc) Was the firm able to generate enough cash from its operations to be able to pay for all its capital expenditures? For Fiscal 2014, by referring to the Consolidated financial statements we can arrive at the below table. Net Cash provided by/Used in Fiscal 2014 Fiscal 2013 Operating activities 14,751. 41 11,614. 96 Investing activities (9,667. 08) (6,085. 66) Financing activities 5,673. 24) (5,729. 48) Exchange difference on translation of foreign currency 21 5. 41 48. 5 Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents after translation (373. 50) (152. 13) Purchase of fixed assets accounted for (3126. 15) CrScoresf the Net Cash of (9,667. 08) crscoressed in investing activities. From the above table we can clearly infer that the company generated enough cash from Operating activities to fund the capital expenditures on its own. (d) Did the cash flow from operations cover both the capital expenditures and payment of dividend, if any? AnNASDividend paid accounted for (5480. 7) CrScoresf the Net Cash of (5673. 24) crscoressed in financing activities.From the above table we can clearly infer that the company generated enough cash from Operating activities to fund both capital expenditures & payment of dividends on its own. (e) How did your firm invest its excess cash (if any)? Cash flow statement from Investing Activities indicate that the excess cash that remains after investing and financing is mamajoraintained in Short-term bank deposits. From the Cash Flow Statements we can see that Short Term deposits increased from 4911. 46 crscoresn Fiscal 2013 to 12948. 9 CrScoresn Fiscal 2014. This accounts for a significant growth of 163%. g)GAre there any other unusual / extraordinary items of cash inflow / outflow? AnNASCash outflow due to Taxes: Cash Flow Statements indicate a significant increase in Taxes for Tax for Fiscal 2014. Taxes have increased significantly by 46% Year on Year. By referring to Management Discussion & Analysis & Notes forming consolidated statements we can infer that company has paid (1) Additional tax of 2,129. 82 crscoresaid by TCTTStd on its higher income for the year and (2) 92. 00 crscoresf higher tax on dividend received y TCTTStd from its overseas subsi diaries.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Martin Luther King Jr’s “A Time to Break Silence” Essay

Dr. Martin Luther King Jrs essay A Time to Break Silence was a small but significant piece of his life and career as a minister, Nobel Peace Prize winner, husband, father, civil rights activist, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and an important historical figure for future generations. In this essay, Dr. King discusses why the Vietnam War is important to him. He starts with his first reason, is that he felt like the military had given a promise of hope to the poor, when the government didnt really have the funds or intentions to fulfill their dreams. He felt that the war was almost like an attack on the poor, because it lured them to their death, in a sense. His second reason is recognizing the reality of the war and its impact on the families it affected. Again, he felt like it was an attack on the poor, and especially African Americans, because the government thought they were good enough to fight with white soldiers, leave their families, and die for the country, but not good enough to ride the same bus, go to the same, schools, or have the same equality. Thirdly, he writes about how people need a deeper understanding of war, and need to know that it wont solve all of their problems. He then delves into the fact that although he is a civil rights leader, he still cares about these issues because of the people that it affects. He this talks about the responsibility he carries by receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and how he feels that it is similar to a commission, and a commitment to work harder for the brotherhood of man. He then goes on to speak about his religious feelings towards the war, and says that it is a privilege and a burden to be human. In the last line of his Importance of Vietman segment, he says For no documents from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers. I feel that his quote has multiple meanings. Taken from his religious views, he follows the teachings of Christ, who is supposed to be the voice for the weak, the voiceless, the victims, ect. I feel this quote also refers to his moral views of treating people equally, and believing that no matter what race, all humans deserve  respect. He begins the next segment of his essay, Strange Liberators, he speaks of his compassion for the people affected by the war. He wonders what the Vietnamese people think of America , and talks about how the U.S government oppressed the Vietamese people because the U.S didnt feel like they were ready for the freedom of running their own government. The U.S and French government poured money into controlling Vietnam , and the U.S ended up paying most of the expenses. This segment basically analyzes the hypocrisy of the U.S, because they were destroying lives and communities, and not actually focusing on liberating Vietnam . The Vietnamese people were treated poorly, and faced the choice of a concentration camp or death. Dr. King compares the treatment of the Vietnamese people to that of the Jews by Germany under Hitlers rule. Dr. King then proclaims that the madness and suffering of the Vietnamese people must end for things to move forward. He speaks of how the war will make the world see America as a place of militarism and violence. He then brings up things that he thinks would help to end the conflicts, such as stopping bombing, removing foreign troops, and accepting the realities of the war. In his next segment, Protesting the War, Dr. King talks about churches, synagogues, and communities bonding together to protest the war, and how American government officials are making peace impossible because they arent willing to give up overseas investments. He feels that America is too materialistic, and that a true revolution of values would soon change the ideals of the people, because war is not the way to peace, justice, and love. He felt that if change was not made, America would approach a spiritual death. He felt that rather than bombing to end communism, America shouldve tried to make positive steps to defeating communism. In the last segment of his this essay, The People are Important, Dr. King says that we must support the revolutions, and make the final analysis of our loyalties. He says that love is the ultimate force of life, and is a  necessity for man. He says that we can no longer afford to hate. Henry Thoreaus essay Civil Disobedience is similar to Dr. Kings, becauseThoreau also feels like the government is run by the majorities, and not the conscious of the people. He feels that the majorities decide right and wrong in the government, and that it is unfair and unjust. Like Dr. King, Thoreau feels that the military is just a tool to the government, disposable lives, an army of machines. Thoreau disagrees with the government, and feels like it is too involved in peoples lives. In conclusion, both essays relate well and give evidence of the wrong doings and mistakes of the government at their time period, and that have and will carry into the future. Work Cited/ Bibliography: King, Martin Luther. A Time to Break Silence. Literature and Society. Ed. Annas, Pamela J. and Rosen, Robert C. Upper Saddle River , New Jersey : Pearson Education Inc, 2007. 1098-1103. Thoreau, Henry. Civil Disobediance. Literature and Society. Ed. Annas, Pamela J. and Rosen, Robert C. Upper Saddle River , New Jersey : Pearson Education Inc, 2007. 1423-.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Declaration of Independence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Declaration of Independence - Essay Example Although a number of rights were provided by the Constitution during the subsequent 150 years, the Equal Rights Amendment that was intended to provide equality for women was rejected by a referendum. It is in the context of these circumstances that the role of Susan B Anthony is considered important because she devoted her entire life for the cause of women’s suffrage movements. She was a prominent American civil rights leader who played a pivotal role in the 19th century women's rights movement to introduce women's suffrage into the United States. She was one of the important advocates in leading the way for women's rights to be acknowledged and instituted in the American government. Her achievements set the pace for passing the 19th Amendment in 1920, fourteen years after she died. This development eventually allowed women to have the right to vote. Susan B Anthony was a staunch supporter of human rights, which is evident from the fact that during her trial she is known to h ave told the judges to make correct and unbiased opinions about the prevailing law and that as far as possible they should make room for providing benefits in the context of women’s equal rights and liberty while considering that the actual â€Å"rule of interpretation under our national constitution, especially since its amendments, is that anything for human rights is constitutional, everything against human right unconstitutional† (Lutz, 2010, p.121). It on the basis of this line of action that she fought peacefully for rights pertaining to the ballot. Despite fighting a peaceful battle, Susan B Anthony was persistent in getting her way through until she achieved victory in getting equal status before the law for all American citizens. The... The researcher states that human rights cannot be considered to be the same as sets of behaviors, that can be punished or required to be necessarily implemented by law or that can be unfair to people or utilized for repressing marginal groups. During the end of the eighteenth century, John Locke had contended that it was a basic element of God’s innate laws that no individual should cause harm to another in terms of possessions, freedom or health. Such rights cannot be forfeited under any circumstances and the existence of this innate law even implied whatever possible can be done in protecting these rights. It therefore meant that no individual could be put under the rule of another person unless he or she gave consent. The government was responsible to safeguard natural rights. Such conditions limited the ability of the government to do several things legitimately and gave people the right to challenge a government overstepping its authorities. The American democratic govern ment is structured on the basis of the inherent rights of all citizens to make an opinion through voting. By indirectly referring to the provision of basic human rights, Susan B Anthony asserted that the government must provide citizens with security in order to enable them to enjoy their basic rights of voting. In keeping with this line of approach, she fought a peaceful battle for the voting rights for women but she was persistent in her efforts until she was victorious whereby all US citizens would be given equal status before the law.

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Computer Security and Biometrics Research Paper

Computer Security and Biometrics - Research Paper Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that due to recurrent technological developments, information and communication technology frequently diverts in new dimensions. The research and development in the context of information and communication technology is very effective. Moreover, the new and advanced form of technology has also facilitated vulnerabilities and threats to be more intelligent. Organizations require advanced protection and security from these threats and vulnerabilities. In order to protect information assets, organizations emphasize on implementing logical and physical controls to protect and secure organizational assets. Security issues can lead to many different aspects. For example, if the server containing customer data is breached, organization will lose its credibility and trust among the customer and that will result in business loss. Similarly, if a critical system is hacked by internal or external sources, organization’s financial data along with goals and objectives can be revealed to other competitors. For securing logical and physical threats, organizations implement firewalls to deploy packet filtering, eliminating viruses and malicious codes, intrusion detection system to continuously sense the behavior of the network, biometric systems for physical authentication of employees, incident response teams to recover the loss on immediate basis and IP cameras to monitor their critical information assets on the network. System Security As per (Dhillon 451), there are three types of controls that will address the three systems i.e. formal, informal and technical. Example of each one of these is illustrated as: Formal control: Modifying organization structure Informal control: Security awareness Technical control: Restricting unauthorized access Formal controls provide assistance to technical controls, as they govern and address issues of integrity in application and data that may lead to high risk and cost. Likewise, in order to govern formal controls, assignment of jobs and responsibilities is vital, as this allocation of duties and responsibilities will set alignment with business objectives. Formal controls are associated with management aspect that will deploy strategic security management practices. The security management will select employees from all departments of the organization where necessary. Moreover, the security management will address data protection legislations, security audits, regulatory compliance, legal and insurance issues, hiring criteria for employees, misconduct, risk assessment, incident management and response etc. Informal controls are associated with security awareness programs considered as the cost effective tool used to aware employees for ‘do’s and don’ts’ while accessing data or information resources. As risk environment is constantly changing, a comprehensive education and security awareness program is extremely important that will conduct periodic awareness sessions for new employees, or new technology or any relevant risk that needs to be addressed. Therefore, the security awareness program should be considered as a ‘common belief system’ (Dhillon 451). Lastly, the technical control that is not limited to authentication of a user along with assigning proper rights on an application or operating system. In order to apply confidentiality to data, encryption, hashing, encoding methods are adopted by organization. Likewise, smart card is the most popular one (Dhillon 451). Moreover,

Monday, October 7, 2019

The Proprietary versus the Entity Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Proprietary versus the Entity Theory - Essay Example The proprietary theory suggests that business or other organizations tend to belong to one or more persons thought of as proprietors or owners, and their views are reflected in the accounting process used by the business. So assets of the business are considered as assets of the proprietors and their liabilities are considered as their liabilities. The balance sheet equation would thus be "Assets—Liabilities = Proprietorship.'' (Riahi-B, 2004) The stockholders are seen as individuals joined in owning a business and a corporation is thus not seen as fundamentally different from a sole proprietorship. The corporation is seen as a "device of a representative nature by means of which the association's business affairs may be conveniently administered with certain legal privileges and within certain legal limitations."' (Riahi-B, 2004) Using a proprietary theory, in accounting practice, the emphasis is on the proprietor's equity and the proprietors' net income and changes in income or other aspects of the proprietorship. The retained earnings also belong to the proprietors. However stockholders are distinct from creditors and the distinction is based on proprietorship as creditors may not be proprietors but stockholders are usually proprietors so proprietors in a business organisation include all stockholders. Usually most accountants consider shareholders as owners and proprietorship is more easily determined in a small business enterprise although proprietorships could range from individual proprietorships for each, a partnership, or corporation. Some features that proprietors seek are high profit (including minimizing taxes), little risk, continued existence, ease of sale of interests, etc (Lewis-Pendrill, accessed 2011; Riahi-B, 2004). One criticism of proprietorship is that it is not possible to determine the profits of individual common stockholders of a corporation and corporate profit when equated with personal gain of proprietors defines the propriet ary concept yet there isn't much support to this. The stockholders' share of increase in proprietorship through residual equity shows the applicability of the proprietary concept and stockholder control. Yet stockholders have to be responsive to the wishes of equity interests as they are the owners and have greater control and bear greater risks and rights of residual equity (Riahi-B, 2004, Mourik, 2010). Usually large businesses have stock option plans for their executives along with incentive bonus plans. This has resulted in management interests to increase profits and identify interests with those of proprietors (Hendriksen and Breda, 1992). The entity concept suggests that a business or unit accounted for or considered within accounting practice must be considered as entirely separate from shareholders and owners of the business. Thus the business is seen as not an ownership but a separate entity. The entity is thus seen as having a separate and distinct existence from its owne rs and the owners are almost seen as long term creditors. The balance sheet equation suggests that " Assets=Equities." (Mourik, 2010) However despite the simplicity of the concept , the entity theory faces some confusion and uncertainty and the nature of equities is not completely clear. There are also difference of opinions and although creditors and owners are seen as distinct, accounting processes treat them similarly

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Insurance companies Finances Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Insurance companies Finances - Coursework Example The organization will also be able to save the cost of loans which they would have otherwise opted for. The demand of current assets in the organization can be efficiently met by investing the unassigned surplus in the right area. The properties maintained by the business organizations are insured to adhere to the safety standards. The insurance of the properties involve a premium and are known as property insurance premium. The systematic methods of calculating these types of insurance premium fall under different ‘classes’ and these classes have different eligibility criteria. Properties with risky factors or having disputed issues, and properties specially protected are not generally eligible for the class ratings. For these types of cases, insurance premiums are specially rated. The rates used are specifically for those assets which are determined by physical inspection. The method of class rating is based on the assumption that the future losses to be insured will be determined largely by some sort of factors. The major classification factors in homeowners insurance include construction material, age of the home and protective devices like smoke detectors and fire extinguishers. One of the major advantages of class ratings is that it is easy to apply. Premium quotations of the ratings can also be quickly obtained. It is also known as Manual Rating. These rating are mainly used in homeowners insurance, private passenger auto insurance, workers compensation, and life & health insurance. Compensation Insurance Fund considers the following items when establishing a merit rating for a policy. They are classification evaluation, management business practices, and management safety practices Classification Evaluation: This category evaluates any changes in the operations of the employer when compared to the other operations normally contemplated within the same classification. The process of

Saturday, October 5, 2019

Public Schools vs Private Schools Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public Schools vs Private Schools - Essay Example This has led to the question as to why there are disparities between private schools and public schools. This debate is not limited to academic performance but also includes such factors as school funding, classroom quality, libraries, variety of programs offered, security, among several other factors. It is for some of the above reasons that parents usually find themselves in a dilemma when it comes to choosing schools. Parents now have more than enough schools to choose from than before. The government has however written off the performance debate. The United States Department of Education has come up with a report that shows that there is no big difference between the performance in private and public schools as it is believed. Comparisons There are various research and literature that have been written to draw these comparisons. McEwan (103) notes that apart from the very few exceptions, there is no sufficient evidence to make conclusions that are strong and enough to draw concl usions on these comparisons and review of disparities. He blames this on the fact that the nature of schools, the samples that are available and the students, including their selection and sizes, the families, schools and their communities, present so many variables that have not been measured. There are about 46 million students who get enrolled in the public schools in the nation through the various grades up to seniors in high school. About a sixth of the same are enrolled in the private schools Another difference between these two categories is significantly noticeable in the classroom. Despite this, public schools get the financing for their programs from the local, state or federal governments and sometimes from all of them. The admission rules are defined and they therefore have no choice in admitting students. Private schools on the other hand are governed by an elected board of trustees. Additionally, most of them are funded primarily through tuition, contribution from dono rs or endowments. It is for this reason that private schools seem to have enough finances to finance their programs and achieve higher and better standards as compared to public schools. The quality that is witnessed in the classroom is not only limited to the teaching but the environment that is presented. One other major factor is that of classroom discipline. In private schools, the rules are clearly stipulated and laid down when the student opts to attend such a school. The consequences of infraction against the code of discipline are dire. Public schools on the other hand present a different scenario. The constitutional rights in public schools are highly held, and the duration of time under which infractions are dealt with is long, cumbersome and usually complicated. It is no wonder that the quality of classrooms and teaching in private schools is usually high relative to that of public schools. The significance of classroom discipline is noted on the fact that proper discipli ne has a correlation to the atmosphere of learning and when a teacher has control in their classroom, he or she will have a higher power to give quality instructions. There are also very interesting differences between private and public with regard to school libraries. With regard to

Friday, October 4, 2019

Why Culture is Everything for Remote Teams Essay Example for Free

Why Culture is Everything for Remote Teams Essay Earlier this year I participated in a group to plan the Long Service Awards for the NHS. I am going to look at the group dynamics through the Tuckman Guide to Group Dynamics. Each year our NHS trust gives out Long Service Awards to staff who have 20,30 or 40 years service with the NHS. The awards are given out at a celebration buffet by our Chairman and the Executive Directors are in attendance. In order to prepare for the event, the HR assistants come together as a group with the band 4 in charge of the project. This year as part of my development I was in charge of the project. I had to bring the groups together and got through all the tasks from receiving the staff lists, organizing the event to being there on the day to make sure everything runs smoothly. Forming The team met and I explained the process of the Long Service awards, the different stages, and time frames. As a lot of the HRAs where new to the role, a lot of support was needed The HRA’s where each gives the staff for the Divisional Business Unit and the first stage would be to check all the staff on the list for 20,30 40 years services and contact them. I explained that this needs to be completed by the end of January so that numbers could be calculated to order for us to book the Room, Food, Frames, and certificates. Storming The team went back to their relevant DBUs and started to check staff service history and then contact staff. I found that at this time the HRA’s where at different stages. Some of the DBU’s where larger than others and so some HRA’s had more work but when they asked for help from others with less staff, the others would not help which caused conflict and negativity. We met up again to discuss what was happening and to make sure team was working and to see what we could do about the team members who had more work and to talk about more collaboration within the team. Norming We started meeting more and the team members got more involved making suggestions. I delegated out parts of the project. To the team and they were more focused and knew what needed to be done. I delegated out parts of the projects (i.e. checking on the prices of frames, vouchers, rooms, and food to get the best value for money). Performing On the day of the event, we arrived early to set up and make sure that everything arrived on time ticking items of on the checklist as they arrived. The awards were a great success, 120 staff showed up, there were a few issues which we dealt with on the day, where staff at gotten the wrong amount of years but all the staff enjoyed themselves. Adjourning At the end of the event, the executive Director congratulated us saying how everyone had to enjoy themselves. We pack up and went back to the office to sort through the rest of the certificates and vouchers for the staff who had not been able to attend and to talk through what we did that worked and what needed improvement. The major thing that did come out was more communication and meetings at the beginning to make sure the team knew what was expected of them and so help us all work as a team. Whilst the team was working on the Long Service Awards we had a few conflicts with the team. The first was at the beginning when staff that had smaller staff lists would not help those that had the larger lists. I resolved this using the collaborating mode of the Thomas Kilman Instrument, bringing the group back together and talking through the issues. Asking staff who had the capacity to help others. The second was later when we were meeting more often, one of the team did not drive and so it was talking her 1 Â ½ hours each way for meetings. This was resolved by using the compromising mode of the Thomas Kilman instrument by moving the meetings around the footprint of the Trust in the separate DBUs not just at Trust HQ and checking to see if any staff could offer lifts when required.

Thursday, October 3, 2019

Cadbury: Porters Five Forces, and PESTEL Analysis

Cadbury: Porters Five Forces, and PESTEL Analysis In order to recommend what strategy is needed for a company to follow is essential to analyze the competitive environment where they operate. When analyzing the competitive environment of Cadbury, the factors that should be considered are both factors from the confectionery industry and factors from the macro environment, which would have an effect on the successful operation of the company. I have chosen Porters Five Forces, and PESTEL analysis. 1.1 Porters Five Forces Bargaining power of buyers: Porter (2008) stated that where the product is a small  fraction of buyers costs or expenditures, buyers are usually less price sensitive. Cadbury has to categories of buyers namely, consumers or retailer. Retail buyers are the group that has the most effect for Cadbury and other confectionery producers. They are mainly large retailers like i.e. Tesco, Asda in UK. There is competition for shelf space and threat of backward integration especially with brand only products. That is a very important group, which is directly correlated with the revenue. It could have high effect. Bargaining power of suppliers: Group that has big impact on the final product, in terms of quality and price. The main commodities used by Cadbury are cocoa, milk, and sugar. Any change in the price of those commodities will affect directly the price of the product and the profitability. Confectionery manufacturers are facing increasing cost pressures as Cocoa prices hit their highest levels for 23 years due to fall in Cocoa production (BBC, 2008). Cadbury is using commodity derivative contracts for cocoa and sugar. Cadbury Cocoa partnership is established to insure sustainable supply of Cocoa by supporting Cocoa farmers in Ghana, India, Indonesia and Caribbean (Cadbury, 2008). Another way perhaps to strengthen their position would be a backward integration, where they would acquire one or more of their suppliers to ensure that they have control over the commodity price (Johnson et al, 2008). Moderate effect. Rivalry among existing competitors: Confectionary is an industry with stiff competition amongst its players. There are five major players competing globally in confectionery industry: Nestle, Mars Wrigley, Cadbury, Ferrero Rocher and Hershey with about 42% share of global market (Cadbury, 2008). All of the major players in the industry have very sound brands worldwide. There is a high growth rate of 5% in the developed countries, and about 10% in the emerging markets, which makes the confectionery industry very attractive. Because of the high competition, there is possibility of competition of prices, which will cause the company to operate with lower margins. High effect. Threat of substitute products: World Health Organization (WHO) (2008) estimates that in 2005 at least 400 million adults worldwide were obese and forecasted that this figure in 2015 will be 700 million. USA, UK, and Germany are among the countries with largest number of people that are obese, overweight, and have cardiovascular health problems on the other hand those countries are the largest confectionery markets in the world. Consumers are becoming more and more aware of healthy eating, so the snacking habits are changing. There are numbers of substitutes emerging on the market, products like cereal bars and fruit bars are threat for the chocolate industry, as health conscious parents especially, would opt for the healthier option. Chocolatiers try to add value to their chocolate, with vitamins or antioxidants or by removing fat and sugar from the confection (Scully, C., 2006). Moreover consumers want firms to avoid e-numbers or synthetic colours and require instead organic substan ces In this regard many people think of the possible health benefits from the chocolate they eat. Consequently a further development will start. Special groups like diabetics or allergy sufferers will rise in importance. (Vreeland, C., 2007). The other main direction in the confection industry is the tendency to pure black and high quality chocolate. Thus, the sweet is turning into a way in which people express their selves. Candy Industry (2006) clarifies this with the headline of one of their reports Dark and Decadent vs. Milk and Mainstream. The statement is underpinned by several data. In 2006 the sales of dark chocolate increased by 40%, every third chocolate released was a dark chocolate and the premium market was foretold to grow over 20% in the next periods. The bitter chocolate has the benefit of a low sugar rate and a lot of antioxidants that makes it much more healthy then normal sweets. A dark chocolate is a bit of luxury at a reasonable price, perhaps thats a reason why this kind of sweet is so popular. The last point which supports the trend is that premium chocolate is for a multilateral use, for instance as a gift or decoration, optimally suitable (Rehan, 2007). The effect is high. Threat of a new entry: as the confectionery market is dominated by well established brands, as sated while analyzing the rivals, and they are Nestle, Mars Wrigley, Cadbury, Ferrero Rocher and Hershey, with 42% of the market (Cadbury, 2008) for a new company is very difficult to enter the market, unless they come up with new interesting product, something to go in line with the healthy lifestyle perhaps, as discussed above. However, it will be difficult to take a considerable market share, as they would be competing against very well established companies, with also established brand names, distribution channels and high capital investment. Other barriers for new entrants are economies of scale and experience of major operators in production and distribution (Johnson, et al 2008). On the other hand those barriers might not be effective for a company that is diversifying, like Nestle, they used their strong position of the confectionery market to enter the ice cream market (Reader, 2 006). The effect on Cadbury is low. 1.2 PESTEL Analysis Political: Only 10 countries in the world produce more than 90% of the worlds cocoa (Worlds Coco Foundation, 2007). The major problem in those countries is poverty. The main concern for the companies trading with those countries is political stability, as instability can have effect on the price, and the supply. Economic: Recent fall in the value of the pound, is one economic factor that affects all the companies that operate in UK, and have business connections with other countries. Cadbury operates in more than 60 countries in the world. Cadbury suppliers of their main commodity cocoa are not British, as outlined above. The depreciation of the pound makes the prices of cocoa more expensive; even though Cadbury had future contracts to hedge against situations like that it will still affect the operation in longer run, when new future contracts need to be made. On the other hand interest rates are very low in England at the moment. The base rate is only 0.5% (Bank of England, 2010). Companies can benefit with lower interest borrowing. Social: Fair trade with cocoa farmers is a social factor, as affects how the company is perceived by the consumers. Fair trade means that a company buys a tone of cocoa at the market price and pays a social premium for the commodity. This benefits the planter because of a steady income stream, which is more independent from the volatility of the market price. Furthermore a company with a fair trade label pays a percentage of the selling price to the centralized fair trade organization. Corporations try to redeem these disadvantages through a higher quality of cocoa beans (Westen, 2006). Furthermore an enterprise could gain a competitive advantage because of their social commitment. The customer can see a fair trade certification on the package and this is becoming more and more important. As outlined above Cadbury operates in more than 60 countries in the world. When a company operates in more than one country potential problems are conflicts between different cultural groups, language difficulties, stereotyping, and mutual misunderstanding (Greenhause, et al, 2010). Technological: Availability of high-tech machinery enables the company to produce high quality product at lower prices, which helps the company to gain competitive advantage. Another point is the widespread of the internet and satellite television, makes it easier to advertise to bigger audience of potential consumers. Environmental: The cocoa plant needs a stable climate. But the ideal conditions in  Africa and South America are in danger because of global warming. The weather will be  unpredictable and natural disasters are possible. Consequently the plants get hurt and the productivity decreases. Moreover disease destroys over 20% of the cacao beans that should be use for chocolate production every year (Ogodo, 2006).Therefore companies should search ways to secure a steady flow of cocoa in the required amount and quality. Cooperation with the World Cocoa Foundation could be a solution. Confectioners like Ferrero, Lindt, Thorntons and Nestle realise this potential and try to improve future expectations (World Cocoa Foundation, 2007) Legal: Affecting the industry are two new legislations that came into force in 2003 in UK. Regulations concerning contaminants in food and organic products force firms to obey and perhaps change their own practices (Baxter, 2006). The company had a very strong financial position with sales revenue growth of 14.6% compared with the previous year, which was due to increase in price, rather than increase in volume of sales, (Bonfield, 2009). Increasing price with no increase in the quality results in higher margins, however it is a very risky strategy to follow as the consumers might not agree with it, the company can lose market share (Johnson, et al 2008). The profit margins have increased from 5.41% in 2007 to 7.43% in 2008, and are higher than the average which stands at 6.42%. That is an indicator of successful cuts in cost. Main reason for that is cutting the number of employees, in 2007 the number of employees was 50,465, and in 2008 was nearly 4000 less down to 46,517. ROCE was nearly doubled in 2008 rising from 3.78% to 7.29%, and was much higher than the average ROCE for the industry, which was 5.53%. This increase in part can be from divestment of Americas Beverages in 2008 during 2008 that had lower R OCE than other companies in the group. According to Cadburys annual report (2008) In July 2008 Company issued new  £350m sterling bond with a coupon of 7.25%and underlying interest rate for Cadbury in 2008 was 6.5%. This means that Cadbury is not producing ROCE much more than its current cost of capital. On the other hand Nestles ROCE is an impressive 21.5% that indicates that the operating costs in UK are much higher, like wages, rent, administrative expenses etc. Current ratio which indicates the companys liquidity is 0.86% for 2008 for Cadbury, which is an improvement from previous year when it was 0.58%. That indicates that their liability has decreased during 2008. Compared to the competitors is obvious that they are not as liquid as Nestle, with current ratio of 1%, however their performance for 2008 compared with the industry average which is 0.72% indicates that they are doing better than the majority. Gering Ratio has decreased from 123.69% to 89.66% in 2008 mostly because of the demerger with the Americas Beverages which was financed by debt. At 2008 their gearing was lower than the average that was 106.6. That is an indicator that if the company needs to borrow, it will not be difficult to find a lender, as they are outperforming the average. Return on shareholders funds is 11.36% nearly doubled compared to year before when it was 6.10%. Nestles return is again much higher at 14.76%. However Cadburys Return on Shareholders funds is again better than the average for the industry which seats at 8.73%. (Weetman, 2006) (Nestle, 2008) (Fame, 2009)(Cadbury, 2009) CORPORATE STRATEGY CURRENTLY BEING PERSUED Vision into action is the name of the strategy pursued by Cadbury. The main outcome of the strategy is to achieve mid teen margins by 2011, alongside with 4-6% organic revenue growth, and improved return on capital employed. If all of that is achieved Cadbury PLC is going to be in an excellent position financially and marketwise, and would deliver outstanding return for their shareholders and become the largest confectionery company in the world. Cadburys priorities stated in the strategy were: growth, efficiency, and capability (Cadbury, 2009). In order to achieve the priorities cost reduction was very important, which resulted in increase in profit by 2.02% the de-merger of US Beverage happened in May 2008, as it was difficult for a British company to compete against American giants such as Coca Cola and Pepsi Co (Market Watch, 2008). And because it was an unrelated diversification from Cadburys main focus on chocolate, gum, and candy. Originally Cadbury wanted to sell the business, as Colley et al. (2002) suggests that a company may not have the time or resources to focus on particular division. Selling the units that lack long term prospects would bring in cash that can be used in what would be considered more advantageous ways. However a lack of interest from cash shy investors forced it to split the business instead. Instead of adding value to the Parent Company, if that given unit adds in management costs, adds to bureaucratic complexity and obscure financial performance, it is not feasible to continue with their oper ation (Johnson et al, 2008). The recent acquisition of Adam business is of immense benefit to Cadbury having gain number two position in gum business. They are focused in Integrating these recent acquisitions for sustainable growth. In order to implement strategy successfully there should be match between strategy and organisational structure. Roquebert et al. (1996) argue that in essence the structure of the organisation and its fit to environment determines the relative degree of profitability. Alfred Chandler (1962) concluded that structure follows strategy. New group structure of seven business units instead of four was introduced and de-layering organization for faster decision making and reduction in administrative cost. Strategic business unit is a part of an organization for which there is a distinct external market for goods or services that is different from another strategic business unit SBU (Johnson et al, 2008). The definition for SBU by CIMA, (2006) adds that SBU has a significant degree of autonomy, typically being responsible for developing and marketing their own product. In the case of Cadbury there is no evidence that shows these business units will have any autonomy in developing their own m arkets and products. Alongside what I have mentioned several other activities had been carried out in order to implement the strategy, such as the reconfiguration of production in Australia and New Zealand to reduce complexity of production, ant the closure of the nonperforming plants i.e. Barcelona and Turkey Gum plants and Somerdale Chocolate plant (Cadbury, 2009). Cadbury is a large company that only concentrates in one industry. In a study carried out by Schmalensee in 1985 was found that the industry effect is very significant and accounts for at least 75% of the variance of industry rates of return on assets, which is directly correlated with the profit of the firm. He also found that market share effects exist it share has positive relation with profitability but its effect is negligible and industry and market share affects are negatively correlated. Within the industry this is competitive advantage that accounts for profitability of company. Cadbury at the moment does not have competitive advantage over its rivals. Profit target set for 2013 that is operating margin of 16%-18% (11.9%for 2008) shows that understanding this fact managers are trying to gain competitive advantage over other global players by focusing on performance and increasing profit (Hill and Jones, 2007). RECOMMENDATION Based on the findings regarding the competitive environment where the company operates, and on Cadburys financial performance and current strategy, l can give recommendations for a strategy to be followed, supported by a Balanced Scored Card provided in Appendix 1. The main goal as it was outlined in the existing strategy is Increase in Shareholders Value. For the goal to be achieved every department in the Company should be involved. I will explain the implementation of the strategy starting from implementation in the process of learning and growth, than the implementation across the internal processes, followed by what would the strategy mean to the customers, finishing with how will the strategy affect the financial perspective. In order for a company to be successful the most important asset are the employees. Very important part of any strategy is how happy the employees are? Are they driving the business towards the goal set by the management? In order to achieve the points made is very important that the team fully understands the strategy and the underlying assumptions. The employees should work as a team with a successful communication between them, which contributes to faster decision making. For best results Cadbury should employ and retain high performers, for example high performing managers, or specialists in the field of RD. Once those employees are on board is very important to retain them, by appropriate pay, safe conditions, training and development to achieve their full potential. After the Kraft take over, and numerous job cuts, the team morale is low (BBC, March 2010), and it is very important that they get the support needed, and understand the big picture. Another crucial area of successes is investing in RD. As outlined by the analysis using the Porter Five Forces, there is a threat of substitutes, to develop products in line with the changing consumer habits (WHO, 2008) healthier variety of snacks should be introduced. Consumers are becoming more health concern, and are happy to pay higher price for a good quality, example of that is Innocent, focused on healthy food and drink, 100% smoothies, packed fruits and vegetables, which in the nine years they exist has grown from just a three employees to 268, and is one of the fastest growing companies with revenue of over 120 million pounds (Innocent, 2009). As explained by Ansoffs Matrix possible growth opportunities are found in this particular case by introducing new products in already existing markets (Richardson, et al, 2007). I think that Cadbury PLC should be one step ahead and introduce similar products as well. However, introducing new products is very costly and it will relate i n lower growth prospects. There are two factors that the power of substitutes depends on: Relative Price/Performance; and The extent of switching costs (CIMA, 2007). By using Porters Five Force was found that the competition in the confectionery industry is fierce; in order for Cadbury to maintain their market share, or better to enlarge it, constant improvements of the products should be maintained. Black and Green line should be developed further, as the demand for dark chocolate is growing (Rehan, 2007). As Porter (1980) says the goal of a competitive strategy for a company is to find a position in its industry where these competitive forces, will do it the most good or the least harm The Cadburys brand is large and global. Kraft had done a lot of acquisitions in the past where the brand has been kept intact like Jacobs Coffee in Germany. The company should continue that with the Cadbury Brand, as that is key to success. In the long run that will result in improved sales revenues , and better profit margins. In the Balanced Score Card I have outlined that Cadbury should be environmentally friendly. Ogogdo, (2006) had pointed that there is a threat to the cocoa trees in the long run, by the global warming. Cadbury should do their part and be involved in projects helping the environment, like using fair trade, or following their competitors examples. Nestle USA is helping to safeguard the environment through pollution prevention and control, energy conservation and recycling/solid waste management practices (Nestle Global, 2010). Entering new markets is a way of driving the business forward. By acquiring Cadbury, Kraft had positioned themselves on the Indian market where Cadbury has a very strong position, on the other hand Kraft can help Cadbury to penetrate the Chinese market, where they have a solid position, and use their distribution channels (Riches, 2010). Being global as refered to in the PESTEL analysis comes with its negative sides. To overcome that Cadbury should work towards minimizing conflicts and have procedures in place to supplement the strategy. Even though the current liabilities had decreased from the year before, there are still high. Restructuring the debt to a lower interest loan, would result in substantial savings. The interest debt on the existing debt is 6.5% (Cadbury, 2009). As outlined from the financial analysis, the performance had been stronger year after year, where almost all of the ratios had improved. If all the recommendations outlined above are followed the financial performance can only get stronger. When all standards are met for quality and the product meet and exceed customer expectations, there are possibilities for higher margins and increase in profit. On the other hand when the profits increase after interest and tax, the shareholders return would increase as well, which makes the final goal achieved increase in shareholder value. Market Watch Drinks; Apr2008, Vol. 7 Issue 4, p14-14, 1p Porter, M. E., (1980), Industry Structure and Competitive Strategy: Keys to Profitability, Financial Analysis Journal, Vol. 36, Issue 4, p30-41, 12p Strategy in Action Applying Ansoffs Matrix.Full Text Available By: Richardson, Mark; Evans, Carl. Manager: British Journal of Administrative Management, Summer2007, Issue 59, pi-iii, 3p