Developing Yourself as an Effective Human Resources or Learning and Development Practitioner Essay

Today’s human resources department are in each and every company, one of the important aspect for human resources is to develop an emphasis and educate their human capital, in order for more efficiency and effectiveness for the company. The Charted Institute Personal Development â€Å"CIPD† covers the implication of profession map which assists for better results in companies. The profession map captures the knowledge and behaviors that human resources need to improves and sustain the value for the organization to meet its requirements, the professional map is divided into three segment where each segment defines. First segment Profession areas: contains ten activities that human resources apply for the employee to gain knowledge. Performance and reward: Assist in create and sustain a high achieving organization culture environment by carrying programs that prize and recognize the productivity and capabilities of the employee. Through motivation, employee enhances their skills and performances and experience to receive a reward for an outstanding performance. For example; American Express Company, any agent who meet the quality of the call center and deliver the message in a professional way, by having high quality and quantity calls, the agent will be recognized and rewarded for this outstanding performance. Another example; in Ithamar Bank any employee who has a creative and innovative idea will get rewarded, this is an appreciation from the bank to encourage the behavior of brainstorming, which might lead the company to huge success. Learning and development: Learning and development is a subdivision of human resources department, which objects to develop and to educate group and individual performance by increasing and enhancing knowledge and skills. For example; Direct English institution provided me for a course in human resources course â€Å"CIPD† in order to have improved effect company by applying the benefited knowledge from the course. Developing the human capital to have a better outcome performance and experience and knowledge helps the company to have improved outcome. Learning and development is part of an organization’s management strategy which is designed to align with the organization’s general vision and goals. Organization design: confirms the company’s structure design is according to company’s goals for both the long run and for the short. Organization development: ensures that human resources applies its strength and improving its weakness to develop the organization by changing its activities through align strategies with the company’s objective. Resourcing and talent planning: ensure that the human resources the use its assets in useful and efficient and productive approach for achieving company’s objective. Employee engagement: ensures that to improve the communication skills in the work environment for greater productivity and greater contribution toward the company’s objective through leadership Employee relations: enhance the relationship between the employees and manage it through the company’s structure through policies and code of conduct and rules and by relevant law. Service delivery and information: Ensures the quality and informatio n of the customer through human resources by applying project management to enable effective and cost-efficient service delivery throughout the company. Learning and managing human resources function: Ensures that the leadership is to hence the maximizing the contribution by supporting and developing others, by acting as a role model in the organization. Strategy insight and solutions: develop a strategy that aligns with the company’s vision by improving the understanding of the organization. Second segment behaviors: The Profession Map Behaviors define the capabilities for human resources profession. Human resources need to carry and achieve related role to reach the level of professionalism, the role requires specific competencies to be proven at each band level throughout the human resources path. Courage to challenge: Shows courage and confidence to speak up skillfully and to challenge others, even when challenged with resistance or unfamiliar circumstances. For example; you have to prepare a presentation for an important meeting for the first time, the person needs to overcome this challenge and break their fear of a failure, by putting the trust in their self for this accomplishment. Role model: Regularly leads by example. Acts with honesty, A role model is a person other individuals look up to in order to help define appropriate behaviors. Role models can be either positive or negative. For example, positive role models offer a variety of supportive or valuable behaviors and actions. On the other hand, the negative role models offer examples of injurious or troublesome failure behaviors and actions. Curious: Future concentration, create an evolving and innovative ways to add value to the organization. Decisive thinker: Establishes the ability to investigate and understand data and information. Using knowledge and information in a structured way to recognize opportunities. Skilled influencer: Reveals the ability to inspire and to gain the necessary commitment and support from the organization. Personally credible: create professionalism through joining commercial and human resources expertise to add value to the organization. Collaborative: Works effectively and inclusively with a variety of employees, both within and outside of the organization. Driven to deliver: Establishes determination, creativity, and persistence to carry the finest outcome for the organization and its people.Third segment bands: The four bands of professional competencies define, the contribution that human resources professionals mark at every stage of their profession. It aids to give a clear path and em phasis to all human resource professionals progress planning and behaviors. At Band 1: the role would be a human resource consultant, whose role would be to focus on consumer support and direct and ongoing problems, spend time providing information, handling data and serve the consumer with facts and evidence and peace of mind. They must also be well-organized, flexible and give client satisfaction. Band 2: the role would a human resource advisor who counsels and manages human resource related matters and linking to the individual or a team. Human resource advisor has an understanding of the estimated process and solutions available. Assists the consumer with flexible selections and recommendations and allow frequent business. Band 3. Leads a professional range acting as an advisor or partner, reports the key human resource challenges at an organizational level for the average and long-term. Band 4. Leads and accomplishes professional areas in the organization. Responsible for devel oping and carrying organizational and human resource strategy.Activity 2 2.1 In order to priorities the conflicts within the company and to manage the customer’s priority, each matter needs to be adjusted to either imported or urgent. Upon this, a decision can be made whichever is important or urgent, and the matrix describes it into four categories, 1. Important and Urgent: There are two different types of urgent and important activities: ones that you could not have expected and others that you have left until the last minute. 2. Important but Not Urgent: These are the activities that support you to achieve your personal and professional goals for the long run and complete important work. 3. Not Important but Urgent: Urgent but not important tasks are things that prevent you from accomplishing your goals always try to reschedule or delegate them. 4. Not Important and Not Urgent: These activities are just a disruption, avoid them if possible. An external customer is someone who consumes your business’s products but is not part of your company. For example, an external customer is an individual who enters your store and buys merchandise or service. An internal customer is any member of your company who trusts on support from another to their job responsibilities, for example; sales representative who needs help from a customer service representative to complete an order. Another example for an internal customer; a customer calls on the call center to ask about his credit balance, the customer service agent calls the credit department to assist him to pass on the information to the end customer. And lastly, we have end users customer, business to business; which is a business that emphasis on marketing and selling products and services to other companies; for example in our direct English institution, we have other institutions that request to purchase our particular education course. Dealing with different customers the organization must priorities for each, which mainly depends on its importance and its urgency for each situation and condition. 2.2 Effective communication is important to the company and it can be improved in many ways. In truth, communication act as a role in product development and customer relations also employee management and almost every aspect of a business’ operations process. Employees are a key audience because they often serve as the conduit to other audiences. If employees are knowledgeable, communications with other communities are likely to be strong as well. Effective structural communication will create a strong communication and the teamwork for employees to achieve company goals. There are mainly three types of communication, Verbal Communication which can be through a telephone or internet Skype, which is only through a voice channel, and Nonverbal Communication like emails, fax, SMS, test and lastly we have, Visual Communication which is mainly faced to face or meetings. Each has its own advantages and disadvantage for example; Verbal Communication you can communicate with a large numb er of customers in short time, on the other hand, customer won’t be able to fully understand everything as the visual communication, and for Nonverbal Communication for example; customer has a reminder and a proof of the text which is reliable, on the other hand, some messages might be sent incorrectly and cause a large damage, Visual Communication is what customers prefer as so that they can express their emotions in better way, the disadvantage that this process takes lots of time to deal with each customer. 2.3 Effective service delivery, There are several overall points to think about when managing and planning the delivery of your services and products to be measured. There are also some particular aspects and methods that you may find helpful if you have limited time or resources. Within the framework of planning the business some aspects should be considered in order to improve the quality and the trust relationship with the community: Delivering service on time Time is limited. You cannot buy more time, but there are several things you can do to manage your time more efficiently. Plans rarely show up to be accomplished in the best way, and even the finest managers have to deal with unpredictable matters like suppliers not delivering on time, one of the employee members getting ill or trains are being delayed, equipment breaks, etc. Nevertheless, if you plan sufficiently you are more likely to deliver on time. When business starts deliver on time the business will start to be trusted and dependable, and this will attract lots of customers due to its timely delivery quality. Delivery service on a budget Planning a strategy based on a budget will enable you to identify the resources needed accurately before you start a project. Try to mark the things that may cost additional money. You should also make sure you are not forgetting anything that could end up costing you additional cost. Some practical preparation tools can be used to assist you to approximate how much resources will be needed at each stage of the process and how much will it cost and how long will it take. By then the business will start to reduce cost and be more efficient and effective in dealing the on a budget. Dealing with difficult customers First of all the one who deals with the customer needs to adjust his mindset once he/she is aware that the client is unhappy then the first priority is to have a customer service mindset. Secondly listen actively which is the most important phase of the whole dealing process is listening actively to what your client or customer is saying. Repeat the customer’s concerns to make sure that addressing the right issue, ask questions to make sure that you’ve identified the problem correctly. These matters should be considered when dealing with difficult customers, and it helps to solve future problems. Handling and resolving complaints Be Empathic and Apologize for example; â€Å"I understand why you’re upset. I would be too. I’m very sorry that we didn’t get the samples to you on time, especially since it’s caused these problems. And then to find or suggest the solution to his problem, if the suggested solution didn’t please the customer try to hear his perspective suggestion for the solution. Once you have both decided on a solution, you need to take action straight away. Explain every process to fix the problem to your customer Take Action and Follow-up to show your customer that you care. And lastly, use the Feedback from the complaints to decrease the risk of the condition happening again. References BIBLIOGRAPHY Eisenhower. (August 19, 1954). Eisenhower’s Urgent/Important Principle. Address at the Second Assembly of the World Council of Churches, Evanston, Illinois: The American Presidency Project. Steven Edwards, K. J. (n.d.). Turning a Challenge into an Opportunity. Retrieved from www.mindtools.com: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/unhappy-customers.htm

Scenario

Decision Form Period 5 Company____ 3 COPY I Price (per unit) Advertising Sales Corporate Identity Market research report Market 1 3090 EUR 6 mEUR MEUR Yes: ? x 2 Market 2 4420 FCU mEUR 3 Market 1 no. of ppl. Market 2 no. of ppl. Yes: ? Yes: ? Value Analysis 1 2 Sales Staff 120 90 Bid price for tender 2699 EUR/unit Relaunch (I – old) Introduction (I – new) Ecology 2. 6 4. 8 Technology COPY I – old COPY I – new COPY II – new 35 50 o. of ppl. no. of ppl. no. of ppl. COPY I R&D mEUR mEUR mEUR mEUR mEUR mEUR Purchasing Input Materials/Parts 30,000 units COPY I Production Volume Production Lines Investment Disinvestment Maintenance Rationalization 50,000 units Type B no. of new lines no. of line(s) mEUR /line mEUR /line 1 3 Type A no. of new lines no. of line(s) mEUR /line 1 mEUR /line 1. 6 Type C no. of new lines no. of line(s) mEUR /line mEUR /line ProductionProcess Optimization Investment in Environmental Technology Production Staff – hire (+) / dismiss (-) Training Non-salary costs Short Term Loans Long Term Loans Purchase of securities Dividends . 3 . 20 mEUR mEUR ppl. mEUR % mEUR mEUR mEUR % of net income Financing 5 30 COPY I Planned figures Sales Revenue* Return on equity Cash-Flow Market 1 100 mEUR % 15 10 mEUR Market 2 50 mEUR * Sales Revenue without Bulk Buyer and Request for Bids TOPSIMÂ ® – General Management | Version 13. 0 | Decision Form 8 Periods – Standard Scenario www. topsim. com

Touching The Void Argumentative essay

Yates made a wild decision to climb Saul Grandee a mountain in Peru. Simon and Joe were determined to be the first team ever to successfully climb the west face of Saul Grandee. When successfully reaching the peak of the mountain, they climbed down via the north ridge, and that's when trouble took take its place. Joe slipped and broke his leg, leaving Simon with no choice but to slowly reel Joe down the snowy mountain, worse came to worse and Joe was hanging over a cliff with only a rope holding him and Simon together.Simon had to make a rosaceous decision, cut the rope and save himself, or stay tied toes and both of them be pulled to their deaths. Some say Simon made the wrong decision by cutting the rope, but when In a life or death situation, makes cutting the rope the only option. Cutting the rope Is a huge rule In the climbing community and Simon was given a lot of grief when returning from Mount Usual Grandee for cutting the rope. Simon was In a life or death situation, and tho ught that on the end of that rope was a dead, lifeless body: he seriously believed that Joe was dead.Making that traumatic session to cut the rope, Simon was through a lot of emotions and was well aware of the consequences. He could either have them both fall to their death or have one get out alive. Simony's decision was the right one to make, not only because they both got out alive but because it was valid, he believed Joe was dead. One is better than none! When in a life or death situation, first instincts is the way to go. Simon expressed in the Touching the Void documentary that he believed Joe was dead and if he were to cut the rope there was still a chance of him surviving.Cutting the rope was clearly he best decision to make because if Simon didn't cut the rope he would have fallen to his death and there was no chance of Simon or Joe to survive. Simon believed that if he were to cut the rope he could climb back down the mountain and get help to possibly save Joe. This meant there was still a chance of them both surviving. Adrenaline is trustworthy, as well as life or death situation instincts, Simon had faith in his decisions and so should everyone else.Simon believed that Joe was dead, even if he weren't Simon knew that Joe had a broken leg, and if he left more time to let him limb up the rope, he would have had to help him down the mountain anyway. Selfish, yes, but there is no such thing as selfishness when you're in a life or death situation. Simon cutting the rope conquered his uncertainty of Joe being alive or not. Lucky for them both they both survived this traumatic disaster, which again expresses cutting the rope was the right choice to settle with.Cutting the rope was the right decision to make and I fully support Simony's courageous decision as though I were In the situation myself I'd have followed the same decisions, because your own fife Is the most beautiful thing you could ever have and If you had any chance of living another day of It , you most certainly would, wouldn't you? Touching The Void Argumentative essay By reanalyzes courageous decision, cut the rope and save himself, or stay tied to Joe and both of them be pulled to their deaths. Some say Simon made the wrong decision by cutting the rope, but when in a life or death situation, makes cutting the rope the only option.Cutting the rope is a huge rule in the climbing community and Simon was even a lot of grief when returning from Mount Saul Grandee for cutting the rope. Simon was in a life or death situation, and thought that on the end of that rope was a dead, lifeless body; he seriously believed that Joe was dead. Making that traumatic if he weren't Simon knew that Joe had a broken leg, and if he left more time to let him I were in the situation myself I'd have followed the same decisions, because your own life is the most beautiful thing you could ever have and if you had any chance of living another day of it, you most certainly would, wouldn't you?

Financial Services Regulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Financial Services Regulation - Essay Example In the context of the United Kingdom, the global financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2009 exposed significant failings in the corporate governance of banks. Narain et al. (2012) stated that as a result, the United Kingdom government introduced various reforms of which the latest was the enactment of the Financial Services Act on 19th December, 2012. This new act created new regulatory frameworks for the financial service industry and it subsequently abolished the Financial Services Authority. The two key regulatory frameworks that were created by this new act include the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority (Cunningham et al. 2012). This study seeks to discuss the features of the Prudential Regulatory Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority, Approved Person Regime. The discussion will further cover the extent to which the reforms associated with the Approved Person Regime will possibly solve some of the significant failings that were n oted in corporate governance of UK’s banks in the past global financial crisis. ... In the past financial crisis, Bakker et al. (2012) stated that the significant failings that were noted on the banks corporate governance were mainly attributed to poor risk management strategies as well as inappropriate ethics and culture of the banks’ board of governance. Cunningham et al. (2012) on their part added that the failure of corporate governance was attributed to the failure in the attitude, behavior, and in certain circumstances the competence of the members of the board of governance. Therefore, this means that in order to prevent future failure of banks that can equally result to the collapse of the financial sector, it is important for organisations to cultivate an appropriate culture that is focused on delivering long-term obligations that are of benefit to the society. In this regard, Abiad et al. (2008) noted that the right organisational cultures are mainly rooted underneath ethical frameworks that are strong and use principles in individual decision makin g rather than a rational criteria. Stringent re-enforcement is required to ensure that the members of the corporate governance act along the set principles, which will deter them from violating any ethical standard. The re-enforcements come in the form of regulatory authorities such as the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulatory Authority. Features of the Financial Conduct Authority Approved Person Regime According to Cunningham et al. (2012), the Financial Conduct Authority was established with the main mandate of regulating financial firms that are in the business of providing financial services to people residing within the UK. Consequently, this means that the regulatory body is tasked

Why societies collapse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why societies collapse - Essay Example They have happened thousands of years ago and will continue to happen as new empires and societies rise and fall. There are different and numerous reasons for the demise and the fall of societies and for most of these societies and civilizations, the causes are the same and similar. The usual aspects that cause the collapse and the decline of a certain civilization or empire are economic, environmental, political, social and cultural factors. Some causes take effect immediately and others are gradual. Some reasons and factors for the collapse of a society are certain and others, a mystery. Throughout world history, there are several notable and famous empires and kingdoms that have collapsed after several years of their rise and development politically, economically and socially. The Han Dynasty in China was one of the most influential and the most powerful empires in ancient China. Today, the majority of an ethnic group of people in China are called â€Å"the people of the Han.â₠¬  Even though they were greatly powerful and was an immense empire, they collapsed after four hundred years of reign and rule. There were several reasons why this great and grand empire and dynasty declined and eventually collapsed and fell. One of the main reasons for their ruin was the wars and the invasion and attacks by different groups that resulted in the weakening of the empire’s economy. ... ty, in an attempt to make reforms that would effectively reinstate and bring back the success, prosperity and the glory of the empire, made far-reaching modifications and alterations. However, natural disasters struck and resulted in a scarcity of food supply. Rebellions by peasants sprung up and Wang Mang died soon after. Although the Han dynasty was able to recover from the great downfall of the economy, it never regained back its great success and affluence and in 220 AD, formerly collapsed and came to an end. After hundreds of years on the other side of the world, the Roman Empire also experienced its rise and fall. Just like the Han Dynasty, it was one of the greatest empires in history and similarly, there were also a number of different grounds and causes of its fall. One of the said key reasons was the split of the Roman Empire between the West and the East (also known as the Byzantium Empire.) There were also several civil wars that occurred. Some emperors such as Commodus g ave in to immorality and practiced violence, which caused his assassination and this resulted in the beginning of the collapse of the empire. The Roman people ultimately lost their power as barbarian ns in the North frequently invaded and attacked. The Roman army started to become disloyal to the empire. The infrastructures such as bridges and pathways were not maintained, causing trade and communication to stop. Christians were heavily persecuted and people gathered in crowds and cheered on as people died violent deaths. The falling economy caused food supply to run out. With all these troubles and problems, the Roman Empire in time collapsed and fell. The causes and reasons for the fall of both the Han Dynasty in the East and the Roman Empire in Europe ere certain. However, it is not

Cause and effect vietnam war Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cause and effect vietnam war - Essay Example The Vietnam War was a clash between the communist North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam. Both of the sides were backed by external forces like the Korean War. As a result of this war, the communist part of Vietnam, Northern part became victorious (Moyar 112). The most describable feature of the Vietnam War is the usage of chemical warfare, which was backed by US. The chemicals that were employed by the agents were highly disadvantageous because they caused many defects such as birth defects, illnesses and poisoning of the food chain as a whole (Herring 68). There were many causes behind the initiation of Vietnam War. The Vietnamese War can be traced back to World War II in which, Vietnam, which was one of the Indochina colonies of France, was occupied by Japan (Summers 157). Later on, Vietnam gained independence from Japan and France again showed interest in invading Vietnam and got involved in an Indochina war, in which it was defeated (Moyar 123). Vietnam was divided into two parts, South and North. South part was non-communist while north was communist. The Americans were against communism as they regarded it against their values and theories. Communism was regarded against democracy and human rights (Herring 57). It supported military invasion and aggression. Due to these facts, US did not want any communist establishment in Asia. When communists started gaining control in Vietnam, US went against them and provided South Vietnam with extensive military and financial aid. US started aiding South Vietnam on the basis of its theories of containment and domino (Herring 72). According to them, communism can be spread widely if it exists in one state of a region. Therefore, US took a step to halt communism in Vietnam so that it cannot affect other states and regions of the world. There was employment of aircrafts, helicopters, boats, chemical poisoning and other tactics for harming the people of

The Graduate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Graduate - Essay Example The film closes with the celebrated shot of the two in the cover of a transport with devoid interpretations on their appearances. The story centers separately on the excursion of one character, Benjamin Braddock, it is organized in a manner that he is in just about every scene, and his activities drive the story through the three demonstrations. In place for the group of onlookers to think about this character the crowd must have the capacity to feel what the saint feels and be earnestly occupied with his choices. This is accomplished generally through the cautious shot choices and encircling of the Polaroid. One will see that the cinematography is rich with imagery and is frequently set in the perspective of the hero bringing about the group of onlookers to feel the way that the hero feels attaining a feeling of sympathy and backing for the hero. To demonstrate this point the course and cinematography will regularly be tended to (Caporrimo, 2011).  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Graduate starts with a nearby up on Benjamin Braddocks face. This instantly creates the principle character. The shot zooms out to uncover that he is on a plane encompassed by exhausted, resting, bland individuals. He mixes right in. The accompanying shot is Ben standing vacuous on a moving walkway. The levelheadedness in his face is very nearly automated; he takes after a thing descending a manufacturing plant line on a conveyer cinch. He is going to return home to a universe of shallow individuals and this shot appears to be speaking to that outwardly. The shot keeps going for a moment considering a watchful perception of our hero. Yet this pacing is deliberate and works adequately for this story. The gathering of people deciphers that our hero is in a trance. He appears lost or out of spot. He appears troubled and out of his component. This begins the group of onlookers considering who Benjamin Braddock is. Not just does this moderate

Health and Safety in the Construction Industry Essay

Health and Safety in the Construction Industry - Essay Example The requirements could be in the form of legal provisions of the state, environment protection measures or in the form of the stipulated needs of the customer. In order to safeguard the interests of the workers, the respective governments come out with measures safeguarding the interests of the employees. The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, also known as HASAW or HSW, is one such legislative measure adopted by the government of UK, which covers occupational health and safety in the United Kingdom1. A company requires able people to carry on with the business in the best possible manner. Therefore, the relationship between the two parties is of mutual benefit and for the relationship to work, both parties have to agree to certain terms of agreements. The construction industry is no exception. The construction industry is known as a labour intensive industry with people from different skill levels contributing their bit towards the project. There are the labours who might not be educated enough to know about what's happening around them. Quite often, while working against time to meet tight deadlines or to save on the costs, the workforce happens to be at a disadvantage. The agency carrying out the construction activity and the company having accepted the terms for the project are required to manage the project in such a manner that the project is completed and handed over to the customer within the stipulated time period, without any untoward incident/s. Project Management as such is the planning, organizing, directing and controlling of company resources for a relatively short-term objective that has been established to complete specific goals and objectives (Kerzner, 1995). Producing high levels of productivity and quality and low levels of uncertainty additionally are objectives of project management. The uncertainty arises mostly out of ill planning and unwarranted delays on account of a reasons like disputes or accidents. The successful construction project management will therefore be the management of all the factors that surround and enable the construction as well as the technical work to be accomplished. This form of management as such is a set of principles, practices, and techniques applied to lead project team and control project schedule, cost, and performance risks in order to delight the customers. The customer will feel delighted when the project management team displays its expertise in the planning and successful i mplementation of the project and hands over the finished product in a hassle free manner. In one of its report the National Audit Office (NAO) has enlisted some barriers which need to be overcome and bring about changes in attitudes within the construction industry towards improving the health and safety performance. The NAO report states that, "Under health and safety legislation those who create risk are legally responsible for controlling and managing that risk" (NAO, 2004). This specifies that the responsibility of coming out with measures for controlling and management of the risk lies with everyone involved in the supply chain. In fact in today's context when globalisation and competition happens to be a rule rather than exception, every company desires to retain the best working hands while making all efforts to remain out of controversies. The reach and impact of media

Nature Extracts Contribution towards Arab World Region Research Paper

Nature Extracts Contribution towards Arab World Region - Research Paper Example The idea is to introduce nutritional products which are completely based on herbal plants and shrubs. The whole process of manufacturing the raw materials, purchasing the raw materials, manufacturing the herbal based products and finally, the distribution of the products are done among the Arab World countries. These processes could have been outsourced from the far eastern countries like India, Japan, and China, but that would not lead to the generation of employment in the Arab region. This research project lays out the plan of how to carry out the above processes and what problems are to be encountered.     The name of the company that is taking the entrepreneurial initiative is Nature Extracts. The product lines chosen are general vitamins, products specific for sports and nutrition, protein supplements, and diet vitamins and medicines. The product lines are all herbal based (Acs 2003). The idea is to manufacture the herbs and shrubs and the medicinal plants in Egypt, Oman, a nd Libya, process or manufacture the semi-finished products in Egypt, pack them there and ship the products for distribution to regions like Qatar, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia. The problem is that not all regions fit for growing the herbal and medicinal plants. Apart from that, there is a problem of transporting the raw materials to the plants for furthering processing. The choice of the right distributing partner and channel is another problem. The initiative to open herbal and medicinal plants is already in the direct competition with the more contemporary medicines and nutritional products (Baumol 1988). The herbal based nutritional and medicinal products are considered to be traditional medicines. So in certain Arab regions where there is the considerable influx of aid provided by different international humanitarian groups like Red Cross and the WHO with modern nonherbal based medicines, it will take more than just a sincere effort to make the strong presence in the market. 5. Hypothesis The hypotheses are formed to negate the assumptions formed in the null hypothesis with appropriate reasoning and logic. The hypotheses are formed according to the importance of the factor.  

Reality TV in relation to television Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Reality TV in relation to television - Essay Example As mentioned earlier, the concept of surveillance society has influenced reality TV greatly due to the relationship that exists between the two (Lyon, 2001). For most of the time, TV shows come to the audience in a well scripted and practiced format. Because of this, it becomes very difficult to know what actually takes place in the lives of participants in a very normal life situation. Because such forms of TV programmes are the commonest, the audience finds it difficult to satisfy their surveillance society demands, which demands that they will know what goes on in the lives of people as realistic agents of society. In a study, Trottier (2011) noted that most audiences are constantly looking for the answer to the question of how other people will behave if the people found themselves in situations that audience found themselves in real life. To get a candid answer to such questions, social surveillance becomes the tool that can be used. This is because the concept of surveillance s ociety requires that people will be monitored in their most natural environments. Using reality TV shows â€Å"Big Brother UK†, audience come face to face with how other people behave in everyday natural situations. Basing on Foucault’s idea of a panopticon, however, reality TV may be subdivided into those that inmates are aware they are being surveyed and those that they are not. This is because, from the concept of a panopticon, those who are being monitored are not expected to be aware that there is any surveillance on them.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) Essay Example for Free

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) Essay The United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are both effective ways to report financially account for one’s business assets but they have several differences. in this paper I will attempt to outline a few of the more significant differences and allow you to make up your mind as to which of these two systems is the better one. The first difference that is widely accepted between the two methods is that U. S. GAAP is rules based and IFRS is principle based. This means that IFRS allows more for adaption of the circumstances and allows for professional judgment while U.S. GAAP is more stringent and less forgiving. The argument back and forth is that the rules for U.S. GAPP are too large and broad stroked which doesn’t allow for different odd situations, while it is argued that the IFRS is too biased which can allow for too much manipulation. A primary difference between the U.S. GAAP and the IFRS is the way the business financial statements report the value of the company’s property and holdings. The U.S. GAAP method utilizes the Historic Cost Principle (HCP) while the IFRS uses the Fair Market Value (FMV). Under the HCP the asset owned by the company if forever recorded at the price for which it was initially purchased while the FMV approach allows for a periodic re-assessment of the current value of the asset. This has both positive and negative effects based on the economy and the housing market. Over time you would expect that the value of property to rise, for example if a company had bought my parents 2 bedroom home for the listed price of $19,500 in 1980 knowing that the same house is now appraised at $105,000 then it would be beneficial to re appraise the house under the FMV as the asset is worth a lot more than the original $19,500. The down side for using the FMV would have been in 2009 when the housing market collapsed. At that point the house was appraised at $87,000. If the year prior the company recorded its asset at $105,000 then it would have taken a loss when the house was reappraised. So you can see that utilizing the FMV in this case is a gamble based on the fluctuation of the outside market and also raises the question of how often should the re-appraisals be done to be the most advantageous to the company. The next difference I want to highlight is the Last In, First Out (LIFO) method. This is a method commonly used in the United States under the U.S GAAP primarily because it helps with tax purposes. Utilizing LIFO the company applies the latest cost of providing the goods to the entire supply inventory regardless of what the company paid for the good already in stock. This shows a decrease in the gross profit margin therefore lowering the taxes at the end of the year. For example if a company manufactures 1,000 tubes of toothpaste a month at $1 a tube and sells them for $2 each then they would make a profit of $1,000 a month or $12,000 a year. If the price of manufacturing the toothpaste went up to $1.50, 6 months into the year then using the LIFO method the company would record that there profit is only .50 a tube or $6,000 a year and would only pay taxes on that $6,000 vice the $12,000 even though they made the full dollar profit on the toothpaste for the first 6 months. This is a p ractice that is used primarily in the U.S. because of our tax laws and not endorsed by other countries or under the IFRS. Another difference between the two programs falls under the category of Liabilities. A liability as defined in the text is â€Å"An economic obligation (a debt) payable to an individual or organization outside of the business†. This difference between the two programs is slight and goes back to my first paragraph dealing with rules versus principle based assessments. Both IFRS and U.S. GAPP accept the that the future event will probably take place but the IFRS defines the word probable as anything greater than 50% while the U.S. GAAP with its more stringent rules defines probable as 75-80%. This means that more liabilities would be recognized with IFRS then U.S. GAAP. The last difference that I will go over is that of brand names and patents. Under the stringent rules of U.S. GAAP, the only time a company can account for the capitalization or equity of a patent or brand is if the company purchased the patent from an outside source. If it was thought up or created by the company internally the company would have to record the expenses of the development on the income statement. Under IFRS the company would be allowed to count the potential equity based on the probable future benefits. Most of the world has already adopted the IFRS and the Financial Accounting Standards Board is working on a world wide solution in bridging the gap between these two programs. In closing the U.S. GAAP program is more stringent while the IFRS allows for more flexibility. Although this flexibility associated with the IFRS program seems like it would be more beneficial to more companies, the argument would still be is flexibility better or just a lack of integrity. References: Harrison, Horngren, Thomas 9th Edition St Joseph’s University (http://www.sju.edu/int/academics/hsb/accounting/IFRS.html) Bass, Solomon Dowell (http://www.bsd-cpa.com/index.php/comparing-and-contrasting-international-financial-reporting-standards-ifrs-and-generally-accepted-accounting-principles-gaap)

Dramatisation Of Macbeth - Explain And Evaluate Essay Example for Free

Dramatisation Of Macbeth Explain And Evaluate Essay Introduction Macbeth is a very dramatic play because it goes through many stages and throughout these stages there are mixed feelings between characters and these are portrayed as very dramatic. Macbeth as a play involves many themes as he changes from good to evil, love, temptation, ambition, equivocation, and corruption. These themes have to be portrayed in a way, which gives maximum effect and understanding of the characters dramatisation. There are two main ways in which Macbeth can be dramatised. Through the language and through physical methods. A physical method is a term I like to use to explain anything which is done physically and portrays the idea that needs to be carried across. E.g. clothes, lighting Portrayal Through Language There are many ways in which Macbeth can be dramatised through language. Throughout my research on Macbeth I found many. Shakespeare tends to use many techniques in order to portray his message through language, and in fact he uses language more than any other method. Soliloquies. A soliloquy is a monologue spoken by a particular character that is alone on stage or assumes that he or she is alone. It reveals their inner thoughts and will. So that you as a viewer will be able to know the truth when he as a character doesnt know that you do, this dramatises the issue that he talks about and puts depth in to it, making it more interesting. Shakespeare uses this method in many occasions. One main occasion in which he used a soliloquy is when Macbeth was near the great wall and he is choosing weather to kill or not to kill because he knows that if he does there will be consequences, he says this to himself But in these cases, We still have judgement here that we but teach Bloody instructions. Shakespeare dramatises the situation using this technique. Another technique that Shakespeare uses is called Prose. He usually does this on characters that are low status but he never feared to break that rule. There are only five prose sequences within the whole play. 1. Macbeths letter to his wife 2. The Porter 3. Macbeths conversation with the assassins 4. Part of lady Mac duffs conversation with her son 5. Lady Macbeths sleepwalking A prose is a word to explain someone explaining the subject she/he is talking about. Usually Shakespeare tends to use a verse before a prose. A verse is an important technique used by Shakespeare as well. Probably the most common technique used in Macbeth is his famous blank verse (unrhyming lines with a five beat rhythm: iambic pentameter). In a blank verse each line has five iambs (feet), each with a stressed (/) and unstressed (X) syllable: X / X / X / X / X / So fair / and foul / a day / I have / not seen Shakespeare uses blank verse very flexibly, making the rhythm of the characters speech very appropriate to the meaning, the mood, and the speakers meaning and mood, this is how Shakespeare dramatises using this technique. Shakespeare could not do this without creating new words to match the blank verse H. An average person would have a vocabulary of 6,000 words. An estimate of Shakespeares vocabulary would be around 30,000 words. He created new words in such a simple and understandable way. He does this by the use of Hyphen. Macbeth is full of Hyphenated words, many are so familiar that we do not recognise them as Shakespeares. These words help to dramatise Macbeth in the way that it adds more detail to anything Shakespeare was trying to explain about the situation or the character. Examples of some of his new words: * New-born * Firm-set * New-hatched * Live-long * Bare-faced * Earth-bound * Lily-livered * Cut-throat This shows that Shakespeare likes to dramatise and create meaning atmosphere with some significance within his plays. Especially Macbeth is a great example of his efforts to portray his dramatisation and significant meaning effect on the viewer making the viewer understand more than he usually should. Shakespeare is never afraid to repeat himself or regularly use a word. The following words were used the most; you will find them used very regularly: * Blood (e.g. Scene Act 1 Scene IIII, when Macbeth says It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood: Stones have been known to move and trees to speak; Augurs and understood relations have, by maggot-pies and choughs and rooks brought forth The secret man of blood. What is the night) * Fear (e.g. Scene Act 1 Scene IIII, when Macbeth says When mine is blanched with fear.) * Sleep (e.g. Scene Act 1 Scene III, when the 1st witch says I myself have all the other, and the very ports they blow, all the quarters that they know Ith shipmans card. I will drain him dry as hay: Sleep shall neither night or day) * Night (e.g. Scene Act 1 Scene III, same as Sleep) * Done (e.g. Scene Act 1 Scene III, when Ross says Ill see it done) * Man (e.g. Scene Act IV Scene III, when Malcolm says Dispute it like a man) * Time (e.g. Scene Act 1 Scene III, when Banquo says If you can look through the seeds of time) My final evaluation on the dramatisation of Macbeth using language is that Shakespeare is a great master of English because of his different ideas to portray many things. This is a good thing because it adds more effect to the play and dramatises it causing more interest and depth to it in the way that every idea has a particular significance within the play. Portrayal Through Physical Methods In Macbeth one of the most significant things that Shakespeare uses is Imagery. Macbeth is rich in imagery. Imagery conveys ideas with such emotion and drama and that it is one of the special things about Macbeth. There are many ways in which Macbeth was dramatised through imagery these are some of them: * Portrayal Through Darkness and Light It was used because its a simple to do method, which dramatises the play. The main ways it was used was to define good from evil. For example, in a Macbeth play that we watched we saw that when king Duncan was shown the lights were so bright that you could tell that it was the way it is to represent extreme good even holiness. When the witches showed up on the scene the stage would turn very dark that the only thing that you could see was their wicked eyes representing the extreme no good, the evil. The contrast between the witches and King Duncan shows that light and darkness imagery can be very dramatic. One interesting way of using light imagery was to gradually decrease the amount of light given to Macbeth himself. This is because as we know Macbeths character starts to fade away and so does the light just to remind us of this and make it more dramatic and effective. You can understand through light and darkness if something bad is going to happen or something good. If the stage turn all dark and nothing happens you know something is going to happen. If the stage turns all bright with light you know that something good is going to happen. This idea of having different contrast of light before each scene can tell you weather this scene contains the theme of good or evil is actually a very good idea because its like a prophecy about to be fulfilled and this creates a very dramatic effect. Also the words of light and darkness are used in Macbeth, dark night strangles the travelling lamp or even more dramatic is Come, thick night. * Portrayal Through Clothes Shakespeare had many ideas to do with dramatising using clothes. One of his most famous one is his reference to the throne of Scotland dresses him in borrowed robes. Basically illustrating the theme of deception in a silent but dramatic way. Shakespeare also likes to mix different subjects or irrelevant subjects in to the matter using imagery. * Acting and Theatre, (a poor player) * Eyes, (the eye of childhood) * Hunting and Sport, (bear-like I must fight the curse) * Hands, (with these hands neer be clean) This kind of imagery again adds more depth to the play making it more interesting and more dramatic by making the viewer think about what is Shakespeare trying to represent with his language and thoughts. Speaking of thoughts, Shakespeare liked to involve community in Macbeth. * Portrayal Through Feasting And Hospitality He involved the image of community in Macbeth using Hospitality and Feasting. Eating together is a sign of friendship and community. Macbeths disrupted banquet represents his moral illusion in to evil and darkness, which took him away to another level, just like how the banquet changed from a friendly level to an embarrassment. * Portrayal Through Animals Throughout Macbeth there are many references to animals. Especially when Shakespeare trys to explain something that is mystical and fearful. This creates the perfect atmosphere for the evil characters to act in to create a dramatic experience for the viewer just like the cauldron scene. Also Shakespeare likes to use birds like robins to represent happiness because of their singing. The owl is used also to create the idea of darkness, the owl only comes out in the dark and so does Macbeth. * Portrayal Through Babies And Children Throughout Macbeth there are many references to vulnerability and innocence. This way was very successfully done through babies and children. This is because children cannot take actions and cannot prevent them either this makes them innocent. The most dramatic example in Macbeth of this dramatisation technique was when Macduffs family were killed. His son was so young and innocent that Shakespeare showed us this by his lack of knowledge, the poor boy didnt even know what a traitor was. * SON: (was my father a traitor, mother?) * LADY MACDUFF: (Ay, that he was) * SON: (What is a traitor?) * LADY MACDUFF: (Why, one that swears and lies.) * SON: (And be all traitors, that do so?) * LADY MACDUFF: (Every one.) * SON: (Who must hang them?) * LADY MACDUFF: (Why, honest men.) We can see from the extract conversation between the mother and child that Shakespeare intends to break peoples hearts and make them give sympathy toward this poor boy, who doesnt even know what a traitor is. * Other Portrayals Shakespeare tended to use a lot of violence in his stories; violence of course refers to blood. He tended to use blood because it is so significant in the way that it is precious and there is lots of it. Blood can also be represented as a word to explain something with heart to it because it is so important to you and you are mentioning it. Sleep is a common technique used in Macbeth in order to dramatise the fact that Macbeth himself cannot get sleep anymore because of his filthy deeds, and Lady Macbeth sleepwalks while pretending to wash and scrub her hand as if she is washing her deeds away, but still she rubs as if its not going away, the blood stains. This kind of technique really does dramatise it in way that again causes interest towards the audience. Conclusion To conclude I think I will say that Shakespeare is a great writer who was very creative and significant in the way that he uses different techniques to dramatise anything. When I say dramatise I mean that he made something more exaggerated in the way that you understand it more and it appeals to you more. Macbeth is very rich in dramatisation because thats what makes a good story, if its full of ideas which appeal more by having more depth in to it than usual, then you get more people watching your play because its more than the usual. People will always want something more. And thats what Shakespeare gave them and he did it well.

Performance Measurement In The Public Sector Finance Essay

Performance Measurement In The Public Sector Finance Essay In recent years governments within Canada have been facing increased pressure from the public to be more financially accountable, transparent and responsible when it comes to managing tax dollars. In large part, this is due to several economic and social pressures, such as an aging population, budgetary deficits and various financial scandals, which make the need for effective and efficient financial management a pressing matter. Governments have been developing systems, approaches and processes to continually ensure value for money, including integrating private sector practices into the public sector (e.g. New Public Management and Public Sector Renewal). One such private sector practice is the extensive use of and reliance on performance measures, which are used to obtain information thought to be critical to ensuring effective and efficient financial management, such as tracking government debt, program success, and forecasting future programming needs. This paper will demonstrate and explore the theory of performance measurement, including its advantages and disadvantages. A case study will then be presented, which will outline, apply, and assess financial performance measures used by the Ontario government on its provincial budget covering the period from 2002 to 2007. The paper will then conclude with observations and recommendations for more effective use of performance measures and a better understanding of the benefits and, perhaps more importantly, the limitations of performance measurement. Performance measures, while a useful tool, are not sufficient to guarantee effective and efficient management of public resources. Context for the need for performance measure in the public sector Governments are increasingly grappling with complex social and economic pressures. For instance, the aging of the population is expected to have important impacts on governments revenues and expenditures. With soaring health care costs as the population ages, Roy Romanow (2002) in his report on the future of health care in Canada estimates that annual per capita expenditure on people aged 65 and over is three times as much as the average of all age group spending (p.57). Looking at Ontarios annual report and consolidated financial statements between 2002 and 2007, the province has seen a significant increase in its expenditure in health and long term care where the province increased its expenditure by approximately 9.9 billion dollars or a 36.8 percent spending increase over five years. Overall expenditures during the same time period have increased by 20.4 billion dollars or a 28.6% increase. This essentially means that approximately 49% of the increase in expenditure went to health care spending. Ontarios revenues on the other hand increased by 21.8 billion dollars or a 31.8% increase. However, net debt has increased by 8.5 billion dollars or a 6% increase (Please refer to appendix 1.1). As these statistics show, expenditures on health care represent a significant proportion of provincial spending, a situation that may be exacerbated by an aging population. Furthermore, Saks and Haccoun (2004) estimates that Canadian labour supply shortage will reach the one million plateau by year 2020, which can have significant adverse effects on the Canadian economy and its provincial and territorial counterparts in terms of ability to raise taxes and maintain current program expenditures and ensure a sustainable economy in the future. As a result of these pressures and complexities, governments have started to examine its role in society and the various ways through which programs are delivered and managed. For instance, governments are increasingly delivering programs and services through partnerships as a means of improving efficiency in the delivery of services to Canadians. With increasingly complex and varied configuration of delivery of public services, there exists a real need to identify separate roles and responsibilities of participating partners and to develop expectations, standards, and measures of performance to ensure transparency, accountability, and sustainability. What is Performance Measure: Definitions and Considerations One of the results of this movement for better public service delivery is the integration of private sector practices, including performance measurement to ensure transparency, accountability and sustainability even in the face of pressures and complexities facing the public sector. In recent years, several developed countries and some developing countries have made increasing use of performance concepts and results indicators, both in their managerial practices and in the formulation and execution of public programs (Performance Measurement in Public Administration, p. 649-650). Performance measurement is also considered by some experts as the first step toward improving the performance of a public-sector organization, and, if backed by an appropriate incentive system, it can help shift organizational focus from inputs to outputs and outcomes and thus improve efficiency and effectiveness (Performance Measurement in Public Administration, p.663). It is essentially the collection of a bout an organizations performance indexes that will equip a program manager to evaluate its changes in performance over time (Carroll and Dewar, 2002). Performance measures are believed to be first applied in the public sector in 1960, when calls for the improvements in processes in which the way the government manages its resources or inputs to maximize efficiency and effectiveness started becoming more pronounced. It is argued that by tracking performance, the government is better able to meet its budget goals and objectives. There are many factors to consider when developing or applying a performance measure in an organization. The main factor that must be considered is cost. Can the organization afford the costs associated with developing, maintaining and implementing a performance measure? Clear, concise and realistic performance goals are needed. The performance measure must be fully communicated to everyone in the organization, as the success of a performance measures implementation depends on everyone buying into the concept. Once a performance measure is approved, an appropriate rewards system should be included, as well as a system for modifying the performance measures if the organizations objectives are not being realized. The organization must also ensure that individuals who have to work with the performance measures within the organization are well informed about the process and the benefits of the system and how to implement it (Mayne, 2005). In other tools, realizing and achieving the full benefits of performance measurement may be compromised or limited if analysts/managers fail to appreciate and understand the nature, purpose, meaning, and limitations of the indicators. Benefits of Performance Measurement As the economy grow, the demand for government services increases as well. Ontarios gross domestic product (GDP) increased from 493.1 billion dollars in 2002 to 586.2 billion dollars in 2007 or an increase of approximately 18.9% (Please refer to appendix 1.6). This means that there could be an increased demand for government programs and services and, likely, for the Ontario governments workforce. As programs, service, and government workforce grow, there would be a need to track the various programs the government provides. Performance measures can be beneficial in a given organization in various ways if implemented properly. Some of these benefits include: workforce and program management, assessment of program effectiveness, and increased accountability. Performance measures assist in organizing information that will help track, assess and analyze how various programs are progressing over time. It is a control measure that will make sure that the public sector is delivering services to the public that will maximize the publics utility level and at the same time ensure that resources are utilized efficiently and effectively(Carroll and Dewar, 2002). The management of these processes will also ensure compliance within various departments where the process can be standardized across various departments to ensure compliance. The application of performance management hopes that managers would change from being inwardly focused to being outwardly focused on public conditions, needs and problems (Waldt, 2004, p.21). By helping managers think outside the box, performance measure will hopefully generate innovation that can be fed back into the policy process to incorporate these innovations. However, this will only work if senior management i s able to sell this idea to everyone in the organization that will help break down resistance. By overcoming these barriers, an organization can now look ahead and collect various information regarding its performance, how well it is doing in comparison to previous years?, and how it is performing against other organizations. Performance measures can also help in improving public accountability. Outcomes information will inform public debate and the political process, and thereby providing direction to Government(Waldt, 2004, p. 19). In recent years, various government sectors have faced heavy scrutiny from the tax payer, electorate, opposition parties and the media. This is due to mismanagement of government funds such as the sponsorship scandal. This is one of the reasons why various performance control measures are increasingly filtering through the public sector. Since performance measure requires information gathering, maintaining and analyzing, then its proper implementation improves government accountability, transparency and responsibility. Since the public sector is more open to scrutiny because of the advancement of the information technology and the availability of legislations such as the Freedom of Information Act, this will further assist in ensuring that public sector managers are more cons cientious. Although one must ask whether or not performance measures in the public sector exist because there is a real need to improve performance or a perceived need for one. If the cost of performance measure outweighs its benefits, then performance measures can be seen as a ploy by the government to provide peace of mind to the public. Then the cost of performance measure is essentially the cost of buying peace of mind which is a waste on its own. Finally, another benefit of proper application and implementation of performance measure is through benchmarking (Carroll and Dewar, 2000). Benchmarking allows government agencies to create and compile best practice information that can help other agencies achieve their goals. This information may be useful to other organizations to help make their operations effective. A word of caution with utilizing benchmarks is that each organization is different from one another. Therefore, these benchmarks must be modified to fit into the organizations culture, goals and objectives. Though this may be helpful, the flip side is a potential to promote laziness and block innovation (De Bruijn, 2007). Limitations to the Use/Application of Performance Measurement The main idea behind performance measures is to be able to reduce cost and at the same time provide services at the least possible cost without jeopardizing the quality of service. However, the application of performance measure alone does not mean that governments will start realizing the benefits associated with this practice. Some may question the underlying reason why performance measures are needed in the public sector. It can be argued that performance measures were implemented in another country or province and they have been successful at achieving goals through the use of performance measures as a tool (Carroll and Dewar, 2002). However, just because performance measurement works in one particular organization does not necessarily mean that it can be fully integrated in another organization and be expected to provide the same level of success (the idea of benchmarking). This brings into light various motives or the driving force for the use of performance measures. Do public sector analysts and managed really believe that performance measurement contributes to more effective financial management? Or are they simply forced to include performance measures to fulfill reporting and financial requirements from the Center of government (e.g. Treasury Board)? Or are they just following a trend or a passing fad? The implementation of performance measure in the public sector can have a few disadvantages. These limitations include the manipulation of the performance measure system, challenges and difficulties in quantifying qualitative objectives (Carroll and Dewar, 2002). One of the major problems of performance measure is the manipulation of the performance system to maximize rewards by a particular individual/organization. Performance measure objectives can be interpreted in a variety of ways that can potentially give way to manipulate the system to allow a given organization to meet its objectives on paper but not in reality. One example of how performance measure can be manipulated happened in Australia when an Aboriginal tribe was informed that its sanitation and other subsidies would depend on their performance in keeping sanitary facilities clean, they did so most effectively by thoroughly cleaning the toilets, and then closing them to the public. (p. 660, Performance Measurement in Pu blic Administration) Performance measure can be manipulated by defining the goal and manipulating other variables to meet its objectives. For instance, if a police forces objective is to decrease crime rate in a given community, it can essentially meet its goal without any real changes to the crime rate in the community in question by choosing not to report certain crimes. This practice is a waste of resources that could have been used to fund other programs that are more efficient in nature. As illustrated by the examples given, the application of performance measure can potentially generate good performance on paper but not in reality. Another disadvantage of performance measure is the challenges associated to applying it to the public sector (Graham, 2007). This is because private sector is mostly concerned with profit maximization which is a quantifiable objective. The public sector on the other hand is concerned with measuring qualitative objectives and quantifying its results. Qualitative measures can be quite challenging because it involves subjective interpretation of quality. For instance, if the governments goal is to measure the quality of secondary education provided in Ontario, and then it becomes hard to determine how well the ministry of education is performing. The reason for this is because there are a variety of ways to measure quality, where is the data coming from? What measures are used? Who measures performance? And whether or not there is a conflict of interest that will manipulate the system. Finally, quality of education may not be measured until a few years later when the students graduate h igh school. The application of performance measure also calls for rewarding good performance and punishing poor performance (Waldt, 2004). The implementation of this premise may be a challenge in the public sector because politicians can over ride budget allocation. If for instance, health care is the governments top priority, if for instance health care is the worst performing ministry within the public sector then this may be a challenge. However, this will not work in the public sector because politicians can opt to ignore the performance measure in place and increase funding for the ministry of health. It is also useful to note that the implementation of performance measurement in the public sector could potentially be more challenging than in the private sector, in part because of differing operations/service goals. While the private sectors bottom line is profit maximization, the public sector involves multiple competing stakeholders with multiple goals (Graham, 2002). For instance, there are certain stakeholders who believe in maintaining balanced books and reducing debt, while there are others who believe that the government should consistently provide for social programs, even if this implies financing services through deficit. Furthermore, a performance measures effectiveness may not be fully utilized because politicians can choose to ignore these measures or can over ride budget allocation based on performance measures. Case Study: Ontario Financial Performance Measure A budget is one of the most important pieces of legislation in any given government because it outlines how the government plans to manage its limited resources effectively. A well-conceived, -applied, or -implemented budget allows the organization to realize its goals and objectives with maximum efficiency and effectiveness (McKinney, 2004, p.264). For many years, the public sector has been experiencing increased pressure from the public to provide the best quality of service at the least possible cost. Furthermore, governments have been facing increased pressure from the public to reduce its debt, otherwise debt servicing costs will be transferred to future generations at a higher cost (principal plus interest charges). As the government becomes larger, the role of financial management plays an indispensable role in the achievement of an organizations objective. It is the fuel that gives life and substance to the engine of public administration (McKinney, 2004, p.1). Along with its growth, the number of competing stakeholders also increases and therefore, the process of allocation becomes more complicated. This is the very reason why governments are increasingly finding ways to improve its financial reporting such as the adoption of accrual based accounting and the implementation of the Public Sector Accounting standards. These are some measures used in the private sector that are now being applied in the public sector. In theory, the purpose of the application of these measures is to be able to make governments responsible, responsive and fully accountable. This section will explore and analyze the financial performance measures used by the government of Ontario to assess its effectiveness. The government of Ontarios financial analysis measures three areas which includes sustainability, flexibility and vulnerability. Sustainability measures the governments ability to meet its financial obligations. Sustainability measures Assets to Liabilities, Financial Assets to Liabilities, and Net Debt to Total Annual Revenue, Net Debt to GDP and Deficit to GDP. Flexibility measures the governments ability to move around its financial obligations across programs or across various years to be able to provide the best possible programming level. Flexibility measures Public Debt Charges to Revenue and Net Book Value to Cost of Capital Assets. Finally, vulnerability measures the extent to which the government is dependent on or can be influenced by external organizations such as the federal government, foreign institutions and foreign governments. Vulne rability measures Government Transfers to Total Revenue and net Foreign Currency Debt to Total Debt. Sustainability Assets to Liabilities measures the governments ability to meet its financial obligations through the liquidation of its assets. In the private sector depending on the company, an acceptable ratio is 2:1. However, looking at the Ontario governments assets to liability ratio, this figure hovers around 0.27:1 0.31:1 between 2002 and 2007. (Please refer to appendix 1.3). This figure may be way below the private sector expectations but the chances of a government experiencing bankruptcy (especially in developed countries) is quite low, since governments tend to have the ability to raise money by issuing debt to cover liabilities. Therefore, the use of this measure is limited to just merely observing upward or downward trends. Furthermore, with the implementation of full accrual based accounting in the public sector it becomes hard to determine the exact total value of the governments assets. These assets include heritage assets where a market value is non- existent or there are competin g estimates. It becomes a challenging task to assign a value on such an asset, or the asset may be of value to the government who owns the asset but not to anyone else. Given the challenges associated with determining an actual value for an asset, care should be taken when using this ratio as a financial performance indicator since its accuracy can be challenged. Financial Assets to Liabilities measures the governments ability to raise cash quickly or its liquidity to cover its liabilities. The Ontario governments ratio ranges from 0.18:1 to 0.23:1, where it reached its peak in year 2004/2005 and in 2006/2007 (measured at 0.21:1). (Please refer to appendix 1.3) Net Debt to Total Annual Revenue measures the governments net debt in relation to its ability to generate revenues. This ratio reached its peak over a five year span at 2.03:1 in 2003/2004 and 1.56:1 in 2006/2007. (Please refer to appendix 1.3) Since 2003/2004, the Ontario government has been able to reduce its net debt in relation to its annual revenue. Net Debt to GDP measures the governments fiscal capacity. They relate bond indebtedness to the sources of government revenue (McKinney, 2004, p.245). Ontarios net debt is hovering around a quarter of its GDP and between 2002 and 2007 where it has been slowly declining from 0.27 in 2002 to 0.24 in 2007. (Please refer to appendix 1.3) Since a consistent downward trend exists in this measure, this means that the government is improving in this ratio. Since both Net debt and GDP has increased from 2002 to 2007, this means that the GDP has increased at a faster rate than the increase in net debt. This means that governments ability to pay its debt obligations has improved over five years. Deficit to GDP measures the governments deficit in relation to its GDP. In this measure, the government has seen improvements from 2003/2004 to 2006/2007. This means that the Ontario government is continuously managing its expenditure and making sure it spending is within its capacity. Even though the Ontario government has seen deficits in the years 2003/2004 and 2004/2005, this ratio is looking favourable since deficits are declining in relation to GDP, which has seen a constant increase over five years. (Please refer to appendix 1.3) Flexibility Public Debt Charges to Revenue measures the governments ability to raise funds to pay its debt servicing charges. In this measure, the Ontario government has seen a constant improvement or a downward trend during the five year term from 14.9% in 2002/2003 to 9.7% in 2006/2007. The reason for this is because Ontarios revenues over the same five years have seen consistent growth and have increased by approximately 31.8% while interest on debt has seen a 13.7% decline over the same period. (Please refer to appendix 1.3) Net Book Value to Cost of Capital Assets measures the true value of the governments capital assets. This value is hovering around two thirds of the cost of capital assets and it has seen a slight downward trend from 69.5% in 2002/2003 down to 67.2% in 2006/2007. (Please refer to appendix 1.3) This figure is a good indication of the governments capital assets such as land, buildings, and transportation infrastructure such as highways, railroads and bridges. However, looking at the Ontario governments public accounts, it does not state whether or not the value of land is recorded at historical cost or fair market value. If the land is recorded as historical cost, then it does not really show the true value of the governments assets; instead it is under estimated if the value of the land increases in market value and vice versa if it decreases in market value. Furthermore, depreciation is measured based on estimates; it could be that the life span of an asset could be higher than expec ted and therefore, while the asset is recorded on financial statements as having no value, the asset could still be utilized. Furthermore, an asset can be estimated to have a lifespan of 10 years; at year 10, even though the asset can still be used, an organization can continue using the asset or request for new funding for the replacement of the asset. Since the asset can still be utilized, the organization can sell the asset and make money out of it (scrap value) and record it under its miscellaneous revenues. This becomes an issue of operational efficiency versus manipulation of assets to maximize revenues. Vulnerability Government Transfers to Total Revenue measures the proportion of the federal governments share of the province of Ontarios total revenue. Federal funding that flowed into the provincial government ranges between 13% (2002/2003), which is its lowest level between 2002 and 2007, and has increased steadily to approximately 15.8% (2005/2006) and dropped slightly to 15.5% in 2006/2007. (Please refer to appendix 1.3) This figure can be interpreted in various ways where the upward trend shows that the federal government is continually increasing its transfer payments to the province of Ontario in relation to its total revenue. Looking at nominal figures, the federal government has increased its transfer every year between 2002 and 2007 (from 8 billion dollars in 2002/2003 to 14 billion dollars in 2006/2007. (Please refer to appendix 1.2) Part of this increase is due to huge surpluses the federal government has been reporting in recent years. However, the increased in federal transfer can b e seen both negatively and positively. This can be viewed positively because the province is able to provide more services to the public. However, funding commitments can be revoked especially with a change in government and government priorities. Furthermore, budgetary models are built upon expectations, if the province expects to receive a certain amount of dollars from the federal government, and this is not realized, then it can potentially adversely affect the financial standing of the province. The provincial government should also use this figure as a sign of caution in terms of its forecasts not to rely heavily on federal transfers. The province should try to provide the same level of programs and services to its citizens without relying heavily on federal transfer payments because of fluctuations and uncertainty. However, others may argue that increasing federal transfers is a positive step towards addressing the so-called fiscal imbalance and providing Ontario a fair share of federal funding that is more proportional to the contributions that Ontarians make to the federal tax base. This demonstrates another useful limitation/caveat: performance ratios/indicators are not purely objective, in that their interpretation and ultimately the manner in which they are used/applied depend on the subjective point of view of the public sector analyst/manager. Net Foreign Currency Debt to Total Debt measures the provinces debt level to foreign countries and or organizations. This figure has seen an increase from 21.4% in 2002/2003 and 23% in 2004/2005 and from that point it declined to approximately 20% by 2006/2007. (Please refer to appendix 1.3) This measure is a good indicator on Ontarios reliance on foreign governments in terms of trade and its indebtedness. A declining net foreign currency debt to total debt means that the province can have a positive effect on the provinces credit rating that assesses the governments vulnerability and stability which can have an impact on interest rates on its debt. An improving credit rating will increase the chances of the Ontario government to refinance its maturing debt because of lower risk of default from its debt. An increase in this ratio might cause international panic where other countries can call the province on its debt that can have adverse effects on the economy in terms of attracting investors and other countries willing to do business with the province. As a useful summary of the provinces dependence on foreign debt, it is important to keep track of this budget measure of vulnerability. Discussion of the Ontario governments Financial Analysis as a Measure of Performance Based on the above discussion the ratios used by the government of Ontario is a useful tool as part of a comprehensive strategy or approach to analyzing, measuring the provinces economic and financial performance. However, these tools alone are clearly not sufficient to obtain a full and clear picture and forecast of the economy. Variables such as domestic and international political conditions, international and domestic commodity prices, supply and demand, price of oil, interest parity, price parity, and other non-financial indicators, such as demographic trends, should be considered when formulating, implementing, and assessing the effectiveness of policies and programs. Furthermore, these budgetary performance measures tend to be applied at a relatively high level (i.e. on rolled-up or summed-up figures or estimates) with a view to gauging whole of government performance. Since the Ontario government comprises of individual ministries and departments, improving whole of government performance must start with the individual ministries and their specific programs and projects. This reinforces the idea that full and effective performance measurement entails consideration of other and more specific factors/elements. The government of Ontarios financial measures provide very useful snapshots of the government position at a particular point in time. However, there are other measures, information and factors that one has to consider in gauging the performance of the government and formulating recommendations and strategies moving forward. Conclusion Increased pressures and complexities confronting the public sector has encouraged the proliferation of private sector practices, including the use of performance measurement to gauge program outcomes and ensure transparency, accountability, and sustainability of government operations. As this paper has demonstrated, there are benefits to performance measurement, such as providing opportunities to track, compile, and maintain data and requiring regular reporting, thereby helping in promoting transparency and benchmarking. However, these financial/material indicators are not sufficient to ensure effective and efficient management of public resources. As this paper has pointed out, there are several limitations and caveats to performance measurement that public sector managers/analysts must bear in mind, including the need to incorporate other information (e.g. non-financial and qualitative data) in developing, implementing, and assessing policies and programs. These points were reinfor ced in this paper through an examination and evaluation of financial ratios intended to measure the performance of Ontarios budget between the period of 2002 and 2007. While this paper presented a case study of performance measurement from a financial perspective, perhaps a more interesting and richer case study would be to explore quantifying qualitative program performance measures in which represents another area of future research. Indeed, performance measurement when used in a public organization by itself is a fools gold (Carroll and Dewar, 2002).

Terry Tempest Williams and Mormonism Essay -- Terry William Mormon Ess

Terry Tempest Williams and Mormonism In Mormon religion, formal blessings of healing are given by men through the Priesthood of God. Women have no outward authority. But within the secrecy of the sisterhood we have always bestowed benisons upon our families. Mother sits up. I lay my hands upon her head and in the privacy of women, we pray. (158) Terry Tempest Williams is fully aware that she is contradicting the church when she writes â€Å"women have no outward authority,† yet she still chooses to take part in a ritual of healing that can only be performed by the men. Williams, however, does so in privacy and in the â€Å"secrecy of the sisterhood.† The word secrecy hints at the idea of doing something which is not accepted and against certain beliefs of today’s church. She was born and raised in a home of devout Mormons who follow the traditional beliefs of their faith. She acknowledges that the Mormon Church places great importance on obedience. In college she began to question her faith and today would not consider herself an â€Å"orthodox Mormon,† although Mormonism still has an impact in her life and work. In her writing, Williams continually contradicts the values of the Mormons. In Refuge, she subtly defied the restrictions inflicted upon women by the Mormon Church. She briefly addressed the issue of having children and the role of women. Williams’ family, for the most part was very supportive of her book. It was met, however, with some criticism from Mormon academic journals, disapproving of her defiance towards the church. In an interview Williams said, â€Å"that obedience in the name of religion or patriotism ultimately takes our souls. So I think it's this larger issue of what is acceptable and what is not; where d... ...mately takes our lives.† She is consistently but subtly challenging the orthodoxy of Mormonism. (http://www.insideoutsidemag.com/archives/articles/2001/09/terry_tempest_williams.asp) Williams will continue to act in civil disobedience against some of the beliefs held in the Mormon Church; questioning everything she is taught. She attributes her work in part to her faith. This is perhaps because of her upbringing in Mormonism and her vision of a person in white that confirmed her faith. The love she had for her mother was perhaps another reason; Williams’ mother was a devout Mormon who took her religion seriously and closely followed its traditions. The independent spirit that she possesses, however, keeps her from accepting Mormonism in its entirety. She believes that it is right to challenge one’s beliefs, that it prevents one from blindly accepting everything.

They Call Me Anti-American :: essays research papers

Every time I have returned from Honduras I have gone into severe culture shock. It takes me many months to adjust to my native country. This may sound strange to many and others must surely think me insane for saying this thing. They probably wonder how one can experience culture shock in their homeland. To understand it one would have to open their eyes to some basic truths. Most do not want to admit to these truths. They exhibit all of the classic signs of those who have been indoctrinated into to the more controversial cults even down to the classic syndrome which CIA experts in the thought modification business term the â€Å"slide response.† In this response the person being confronted with the truth, or with the wrongness of their actions will attack desperately with illogical arguments. In severe cases they completely â€Å"shut down† mentally rather than face what their subconscious mind tells them to be true. One of the greatest ironies of today is the USA touting itself as the land of the free while individuals in many other nations – particularly some developing nations – enjoy more liberty than many Americans. The US is saturated with federal, state and local laws seeking to regulate and control individuals. That is not the case in many of the so-called third world nations I have visited. Politicians in this country would like for us to believe that the people would be like little lost children without their guidance and, more importantly, their protection. The latest tactics being used are trumped-up threats of terrorist bogeymen to frighten people into even greater submission.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Perhaps they are right and we have lost the ability to care for ourselves. Americans have been softened by consumerism. Generations of children have been dumbed down through entertainment and the educational system. The latest generation of children is being raised in an environment of tight security. Schools are heavily monitored with cameras, metal detectors, frequent locker searches, police presence and even the new RFID tags. When they become adults, this will all seem normal to them. They will not even remember a time when it was not this way. The essence of liberty is the lack of restraint on the individual. Freedom thrives when individual liberty is unbound. In America, the gospel of security is preached as the defense of freedom but it is a false gospel. In the context of the so-called War on Terror, this new security is actually the greatest threat against our freedom.

HOW DOES THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT PHYSICAL FACTORS ON AGRICULTURAL V :: essays research papers

The location of agriculture at all scales is the result of the interaction between physical, cultural and economic and behavioural factors. Farming in Great Britain has been characterized by technological changes in recent decades which has led to massive increases in yields and improved stock rearing. Much of this change is due to the application of scientific research in plant and stock breeding and improved mechanization. But even today agriculture relies heavily on the physical environment. All crops require a specific range of temperature, moisture, soil ands drainage conditions and these factors can be modified by the farmer but only to a limited degree. If we accept that a farmers choice of land usage is controlled by the physical environment, we must identify the optimum conditions and limits to production of any one crop . This will help to identify the spatial pattern of environmental controls. This was central to the ideas explored by McCarty and Lindberg in the Mid West of the USA and gave rise to the Optima Limits Model in 1966. Away from the optimum physical conditions become hostile and production/ yields decline. The optimum is the area where yields are highest and variability best, where soils are fertile, temperature and rainfall ideal and ground surface level for cultivation. Farmers will take account of physical conditions at a local scale when considering which crops to grow. For example, the Moray coast in NE Scotland between Elgin and Lossiemouth is a rich agricultural area where winters are relatively mild and summers averaging 17oC, rainfall occurs throughout the year and is typically 600mm. There are a variety of soils but mainly glacial sandy loams on the higher ground and alluvial soils where there were once areas of open marshy conditions. A variety of crops are grown, both cereal and root crops. However, there are limitations to agriculture in this area. The main problem is that of wind erosion, the sandy loams are light soils which dry out quickly with high infiltration rates. During early spring or late autumn strong winds can pick up the soil and cause localized wind erosion. Despite this being a well-known problem there are few conservation measures; the only evidence being improving the structure of the soil using manure. There have been no attempts to re-establish hedgerows. Wetness limitations occur such as at Plewlands Farm to the north of Gordonstoun and at Begrow Farm to the west towards Hopeman.

King Arthur Essay

While significant attention is given to the potential historical origins of King Arthur, the Arthur who lingers in pop consciousness is the product of the romantic imaginings of literature and poetry. It is frequently asserted that he is a product of a medieval zeitgeist, which needed a heroic figure to represent the values of its culture. Arthur is a rather complex hero in the wake of the Greek heroes that preceded him, a medieval modern who stands in stark contrast to his classically antiquated predecessors. The tales identify Arthur as the bastard child of the lady Igraine. Merlin used his skills to help Uther Pendragon come to her under the guise of Igraine’s husband the Duke of Cornwall, and Arthur was the fruit of that adulterous union. Merlin takes Arthur and raises him, and when he reached manhood he becomes King of Britain. Arthur’s ascension is detailed as having begun with an embrace with his destiny by obtaining the sword Excalibur. Depending on how the tale is told, he either obtains it by pulling it from a stone or anvil, or it is given to him by the Lady of the Lake. Either way, this dramatically proves his worth despite numerous challengers to the throne. As King, Arthur takes a wife and assembles a gallery of knights who convene around a round table and go on quests in search of the legendary Holy Grail, as well as unifying the various geographical and political factions of Britain as one kingdom, governed under the utopia capital of Camelot. However, despite his desire for peace and prosperity for Britain, the foibles and flaws of his peers continue to disappoint him. Eventually he faces his own mortality, when he is challenged by his own son Mordred for the right to rule, despite his desire for a peaceable settlement. Mordred is defeated but Arthur is fatally wounded and dies. Arthur exemplifies a hero who struggles with duality. Despite the mythic stature accorded to him, his ability to command respect, his strength of courage and his fair-minded sense of justice makes him an exemplar of pure Christianity: liberal in disposition and democratic in temperament, but he is also rather arrogant and inflexible. His crusades also place him in a position in which he frequently neglects his responsibilities as a leader, despite having fought for the right to rule among petty bickering would-be monarchs. The Queen he romanced is left neglected during his adventures, and she betrays him through adultery. His cunning and courage is remarkable, but is witness only abroad never to be put to good use within the kingdom. The Greek heroes are significantly darker, which sets them apart from the rather romantic and idealist tone of Arthur’s mythical self-journey. Consider for example, Achilles: Like Arthur, he was born of an arranged union. Zeus was afraid of a prophecy which told that a child of Thetis would overthrow him, and thus provided for her to conceive with a half-mortal child. Whereas Arthur’s parentage was largely a design of Merlin’s to obtain a new protà ©gà © to raise, while Achilles’ parentage was a political one, insofar as the machinations of gods can be political. Additionally, Achilles’ alienation from humanity is more pronounced, because he is literally ‘less than human’ in his partial divinity, though this divinity makes him cruel rather than virtuous, a far cry from Arthur. The superhuman Beowulf is also comparable to Arthur. While he is able to defeat monstrous opponents in single combat, he parallels Arthur as a monarch whose grim demeanor softens as he ages, and concludes his life with a confrontation with his own mortality. He emerges victorious but fatally wounded, ready to embrace death with the same kind of acceptance that Arthur does.

Robotization of Human Workforce

The Robotization of a Human Workforce Job satisfaction has been defined as â€Å"a pleasurable emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences. † It lists two different formulas for calculating job satisfaction: the Value Percept Theory, and the Job Characteristics Theory. This paper discusses the former and how it relates to Foxconn and its CEO, Terry Guo, whom writers Balfour and Culpan describe as a â€Å"ruthless taskmaster. † The Value Percept Theory is essentially the workers’ WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) paradigm, describing how certain job elements affect employee satisfaction, and the ramifications of that satisfaction. It focuses on eight specific categories of employee values: how the salary compares to other employees in the same line of work; the frequency with which qualified people are promoted; supervisors’ conduct and recognition of employee efforts; the enjoyability and qualifications of co-workers; The â€Å"psychological pay† derived from the work itself, described by the text on page 106 as including â€Å"utilization of ability, freedom and independence, intellectual stimulation, creative expression, (and) sense of achievement†; to what extent the work has a positive impact on society; the level of prestige associated with the job; and the safety and comfort afforded on the job. Most people base their job satisfaction on five of those eight criteria. The magazine article discusses Chairman Gou’s business philosophy and response to twelve employee suicides during the first few months of last year. According to the authors, Gou realized there was a problem after the ninth employee jumped to his death from one of the company’s ubiquitous, crowded dormitories. Gou responded by stringing netting around the exterior of the dormitories at second-floor level and set up a 24-hour employee hotline. He also gave employees a 30% pay raise and promised another salary bump during 2011 – principally due to pressure by one of his biggest customers, Apple. These measures were almost certain to reduce the number of employees who sought their own demise by jumping from their dormitory windows – provided they did not land on one of the steel support braces – but it failed to address the real problem of why so many people became despondent enough to end their own lives. The reasons seem clear, using the Value Percept Theory. Among the top five job â€Å"satisfaction facets,† the rate of pay is lowest on the list. Far more important to most workers, according to figure 4-2 in the text, are the work itself and the conduct of supervisors. With respect to those two facets, interviews with employees were telling. One employee stated that supervisors and managers â€Å"aren’t nice to people,† and a spokesman for China Labour Bulletin, which seeks to uphold the rights of Chinese workers (clb. org), characterizes Foxconn as â€Å"repressive. † Another employee explained the high levels of stress she suffers while performing repetitive tasks that require intense concentration. Though Gou places little value on a college education, he would do well to read our textbook.