Clean Edge Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Clean Edge - Case Study Example The company is also experiencing growth in sales of other products implying that customers have confidence in the company’s products. The weaknesses off the company include inability to reach a consensus in relation to branding and marketing. Managers are specifically interested in the success of their brand rather than for the good of the company. Threats include substitutes and new entrants. The major competitors in the industry are also producing non-disposable razor products and thus the company must brace itself for stiff competition. Also, entrant of new firms will increase the amount of substitutes in the market. The behavior of the customers in regard to this product is clear. The consumers are gradually changing from replacement razors to the non-disposable razor products. The customers are expecting newer and advanced technologies that will give them a smoother shave. In this regard, consumers are increasingly choosing the super-premium category. Launching Clean Edge as a Niche product means that the product will focus on a few highly groomed persons who want a different shaving capability. It is the most preferred strategy among the company managers. Launching Clean Edge as a mainstream brand means that the product offers the regular shaving experience. The managers think that the strategy would cannibalize the market of other company products such as Pro. To avoid cannibalization of other company products, I recommend Clean Edge to be launched as a niche product. Launching it as a niche product will also enhance the product’s position as a super-premium product. I would recommend the name Paramount Clean Edge. The name would enhance the company’s name and enhance in brand positioning. Launching the product under the name Paramount would reap from the reputation of the company’s products. The name will also boost the visibility of the

Various human Essay Example for Free

Various human Essay Given the widespread human rights violations in the world today, it becomes very important to set up a system that would cater to both the general need of the entire world as well as specific needs of a particular region. An ideal human rights system would be one that would take global ideas and try and implement them locally. It should be both idealistic as well as practical. Various human rights systems across the world have tried various permutations and combinations to achieve perfection in the field of redressing human rights violations. The Inter American system of human rights is one such system which has tried to incorporate as many good aspects of redressal as possible. However, the said system has its faults like all others. The strong point of the system that can be duplicated in any part of the world is the basic conventions on which the system is based, namely, the American Declaration of Rights and Duties of Man and the American Convention of Human Rights. Both these documents provide for all kinds of human rights envisaged in the world and also provide for procedure to redress in case of any infringement. These documents form the basis of the human rights grievance redressal forum that is to be established by the Government. While setting up a new system in a unknown country this is one aspect that can be duplicated. However, care should be taken to make the new law for that particular region inclusive of the rights that are special to that region. Only then will the instrument be as effective as these documents. Another good aspect of the Inter American System of Human Rights is the existence of the Inter American Human Rights Commission and the Inter American Human Rights Court. Both these mechanisms are independent and separate and have different powers and functions. While the Commission receives, analyses and investigates into violations and then gives its recommendations, the Court adjudicates on the various issues brought before it. Commission is recommendatory in nature while Court is adjudicatory. These two separate mechanisms are necessary so as to ensure that the dual aspect of promotion of awareness and protection of human rights can be achieved with minimal problems and maximum effectiveness. The third positive and duplicable aspect of the Inter American System of Human Rights is the fact that it does not consider the Human Rights Court to be an Appellate Authority over the Domestic Judicial System. This helps maintain integrity of both systems. The Human Rights Court has been established to investigate and adjudicate gross violations of human rights. In case a domestic court has refused to follow due process of law and has caused serious violation of human rights to an individual, then the Human Rights Court can intervene and adjudicate. The order so passed by the Court is binding on the parties who have subjected themselves to the jurisdiction of the Court. The fact that such a mechanism exists can help ensure that the domestic judicial systems do not cause gross violations of human rights. The Human Rights Court performs the role of a watchdog over the functioning of the domestic Courts and law enforcement systems. Like all good things, the Inter American System has its problem areas which, if avoided will create an ideal system. The first problem area in the Inter American Human Rights system is the need for a State to subject itself to the jurisdiction of the Human Rights Court. This means that if a State has ratified and signed a particular treaty or convention, and the State chooses to violate the rights enshrined in the said treaty or convention, then in such a case, the Human Rights Court has no right to adjudicate but can only advise the Commission and recommend appropriate action to the State in question. This defeats the entire purpose of protection against infringement of human rights. A State is thus given a protective mechanism but without any teeth, which is of no use. Thus in the new system that is to be created, care should be taken to ensure that ratification of a convention or treaty automatically means accepting the jurisdiction of the Court. This helps enforce the rights enshrined and also ensures adequate redressal in case of violation by the State. Also the Commission in the Inter American System has only investigative and recommendatory powers. This is sufficient in most cases but in some areas it is necessary to let the Commission decide for itself on the proper relief and make it enforceable. The Commission is the first step of the redressal system and after the Commission’s recommendations have been ignored, the Court steps in. In some countries, this would mean more expenditure and more delay in attaining justice. Hence where the Commission feels that the problem is of an urgent and grave nature, then powers should be given to the Commission to pass orders that are binding and enforceable. Secondly, the Inter American System does not allow for individuals to approach the Court directly in person but only through the State or the Commission. In the new system, we can try allowing individuals to approach the Court directly. A victim can appropriately and more effectively put forth his case and this would result in a more positive and direct approach on the part of the Court. Commission on the other hand is a third party which is not affected and hence cannot put forth the problem with the same intensity. The above discussion sums up some of the positive and negative aspects of the Inter American System of Human Rights. If the legislators were to keep these points in mind then the resulting system of human rights protection would be a good and effective one. References Abi-Mershed, E. (1994, November/December).Thirty-Five Years Defending Human Rights. Americas (English Edition). Retrieved March 2, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=5000289318 Buergenthal, T. (1982). The Inter-American Court of Human Rights. American Journal of International Law, 76(2), 231-245. Retrieved March 2, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=85595942 Pasqualucci, J. M. (2003). The Practice and Procedure of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved March 2, 2007, from Questia database: http://www. questia. com/PM. qst? a=od=107345000.

Good, Evil and Ethics in J.R.R. Tolkiens The Lord of the Rings Essay

Good, Evil and Ethics in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings Professor’s Comment: This student was very wise not to summarize Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. The student’s primary intention was to describe the ethical themes that can be found in the book. The first part of this essay describes Tolkien's view on the nature of good and evil, while the second part deals with his ethics of individuals. Excellent work! Introduction The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien, has been called by some one of the greatest books of all time and has recently earned the claim of "greatest book of the 20th century" in a poll by Britain's Channel 4 (O'hehir). Yet at the same time scholars have often dismissed The Lord of the Rings as a fanciful children's story. While the validity of either claim can be equally well disputed, the The Lord of the Rings and related works by Tolkien nevertheless embody a very clear and consistent set of ethical themes. These themes define good and evil in terms of nature and provide a framework on which the ethical decisions of individual characters in Tolkien's stories are based. Good and Evil Good and evil in Tolkien's work are, to put it simply, that which is natural and that which is unnatural, respectively. That is, what is left alone to follow the cycles of nature is good. Any time that the cycles of nature are disrupted (such as the felling of a forest or the enslavement of a free people), there is evil. There are constant references to this in Tolkien's stories, as when Bilbo Baggins' neighbors remark on his mysterious vigor and extreme old age, "It isn't natural, and trouble will come of it" (21). Or when Sam Gamgee says of the Gandalf the wizard, "Don't let him turn me into anything unnat... ...ase one's decisions, it is nevertheless interesting to see how they play out in Tolkien's novel. If there is anything that can be said of The Lord of the Rings in general, it is that it displays an amazing amount of consistency in every aspect of the tale. This consistency extends even to its ethics, a rare phenomenon in a book of "fantasy/sci-fi." One may not agree with Tolkien's view of technology or fellowship, but the ideas are well thought-out and well developed in the story. They make the book worth reading whether you consider it a fanciful children's tale as some do, or a masterpiece of its genre, as do I and many others. Works Cited O'Hehir, Andrew. "The Book of the Century." Salon.com 4 June 2001. 29 May 2002. . Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. 3 vols. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1994.

Post-Modern Theory in the 21st Century

Post Modern Theory in the Twenty-First Century As society continues to make the transition into the Information Age the general consensus on social theories is also experiencing change. The way that individuals interact has changed dramatically and is ever changing as evidenced by the phenomenon of the social networking revolution. Social scientists have long hypothesized social theories in an attempt to explain social phenomena and gain a better understanding of society as a whole. The general consensus for contemporary social theory has seen a shift toward post modernism.Post-modernism is the social theory that claims that society is now under the effect of the individual who creates a reality for him or herself. It is this shift towards post modernist-thought that has fueled the social networking revolution by allowing individuals to create an alternative realities for him or her self. Although post-modern social theory does not have any particular social scientist proposing it, i t has gained much popularity in recent years. Post-modern social theory holds that apparent realities are merely social constructs that are subject to change over time.It claims that realities are subject to individual perception and interpretation. Postmodernism also holds that there are no absolute truths and that individual worldviews are completely subjective. These aspects of postmodernism place much importance on the individual rather than groups like previous social theories. In a post-modern society individuals view the world subjectively, which allows them to create their own reality for themselves. Post-Modern social theory’s enablement of individuals to create their own reality can be seen throughout American society.Perhaps this is best evidenced by the use of social networking. Social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter give individuals the ability to create an optimum reality for themselves. No longer does a person have to be physically present to be s een and observed. Social networking allows people to have a â€Å"profile picture† which serves as a reference point for the appearance of an individual. The profile picture can be any image that the individual so chooses to be a representation of them. Having the option of choosing how you are viewed and represented has enabled individuals to create the optimum reality for them.Individuals are no longer subject to being represented by their actual physical appearance. Instead, individuals are free to edit, crop, and select images of them so that they can distort their reality in order to achieve an optimal self-representation. For instance individuals who perceive themselves as unattractive are now able to choose a profile picture that is more flattering to their physical appearance. Another example would be someone using a completely different person in his or her profile picture. The social networking revolution has brought much change in regard to the manner in which indi viduals interact with each other.No longer are interpersonal relationships contingent on physical interaction between individuals. Interactions are now able to take place electronically via the Internet. These changes in interpersonal relationships have been fueled by a shift towards post-modern social theory. It is the postmodern notion of the ability of the individual to make their own reality that has made these changes possible. Individuals are always seeking self-affirmation from their peers and being able to distort reality has become possible with the social networking revolution.

How Information Flows and is Used in an Organization Essay

Going through the three individual courses this week in regards to Data Storage, Security, Recovery and Disposal has given me a new set of eyes on how information flows and is used among an organization’s computer infrastructure. What I found amazing about these processes is just how far we have come in these last few years when it comes to the technology of Digital Data. I will go over the individual topics that show the benefits, but also the drawbacks of such technology the way it is used at my work place, which is one of the largest Financial Institutions in the United States. Data Storage When we look back years ago when computers did not exist, it always puzzles me how is it that banks stored our information. I can only imagine the vast amounts of bank records in immense rooms that if you needed to research a certain transaction you did a few years back, even though I’m sure paperwork was kept in a certain order, it would be a hassle to get to it. Once computers came into play in the recent years and no longer you had to go to your local branch to do all your business, no longer you needed to sign a Signature Card, things have simplified immensely. You can go into any bank location and if you needed a history of your recent transactions, statements from a few months or even years’ back, it is stored in the bank’s centralized mainframe where all data is stored. Data Security When we speak about Data Security today, we seem to forget how things were done back before computers came into play. One example I like to use is Frank William Abagnale Jr., who forged a vast amount of checks. (â€Å"Frank Abagnale – Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia†, n.d.). He was able to do all  that by finding the loopholes in our financial system and used it to his advantage. When you consider today’s digital financial system with credit cards, debit cards, it is of major convenience to everyone that uses it. I can now buy an item through the Internet and the company selling it to me is able to immediately put a hold on the funds at my banking institution, creating a positive experience for both buyer (transaction was processed) and seller (funds were deposited into their account). However, also creates the risk of identify theft if not used properly. Data Recovery I think of Data Recovery something that was non-existant back in the days before computers existed. If you had mailed a check or sensitive financial information over to someone, if it was lost or stolen, there was no way to recover it had the person in possession either burned or ripped the information to pieces. In today’s world, there are so many forms of legitimate back-ups that it doesn’t seem to be an issue anymore. If a certain hard disk where my information is kept ends up failing, there is a backup of it at another disk that will still tell me how much funds I have and my transaction history. And what’s amazing is that all that happens seamlessly without my knowledge. Data Disposal Data Disposal is something that hasn’t really changed with the computer age. However, we are now disposing of the physical item that holds our information, instead of the information itself. Back when I signed my Signature Card at the bank and they kept it at that location, once they moved it over to a digital system, they disposed of that card and transferred it to a digital file in a hard disk drive. Now if they wanted to dispose of the same â€Å"signature card† they can write bits of data over where my signature card was or physically destroy the hard disk where it was stored. It does create the problem where if it’s not properly disposed, another person could retrieve my information. Conclusion In conclusion, I can say that how information is used and flows through an organization today depends how well the people in charge of the system itself are aware of the risks of not properly handling the different terms involved: Storage, Security, Recovery and Disposal. With most organizations  today using computer information systems as opposed to paper how it was used years ago the terms have largely stayed the same, however, with a different focus on how the data is now handled. References Frank Abagnale – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Abagnale

Etiquettes of Writing a Wedding Announcement Card Essay Example

Etiquettes of Writing a Wedding Announcement Card Essay Example Etiquettes of Writing a Wedding Announcement Card Essay Etiquettes of Writing a Wedding Announcement Card Essay Wedding announcement cards are one of the many other types of occasional cards that are sent from or to the bride and groom for instance, invitation card, best wishes card, thank you card or a congratulations card. Although many people, in this case couples, want to announce their wedding to their peers or friends wholeheartedly however, most of them are not sure how to write a good wedding announcement card, print them and mail to the people they want. When it comes to creating and printing such cards many dozens of questions pops up in the mind of the couples. For instance, what they should write in the card or who they should send the card, etc. Following are some helpful etiquette or tips of writing and sending wedding announcement cards. Wedding Announcement or Invitation Majority of the people wrongly believe that both the invitation and the wedding announcement card are sent to the same people, which is however not true. Basically, announcement cards are meant to send to only those people who you have not invited to your wedding. Invitation cards, on the other hand, are meant to send to those who you want to invite. It is a common sense that why a person should be given a wedding announcement when he/she is already invited to the ceremony. Moreover, unlike invitation cards, an announcement card doesn’t have an RSVP section. Wedding Announcement Card Receiver Many people ignore their coworkers and don’t send them their wedding announcement card, which is not the proper etiquette. If you really respect them but can’t invite them to the wedding, in case if you have limited the occasion to only family or close friends, then you should at least send them the announcement card informing about your wedding. It is also proper etiquette to send the card to those distant relatives who are not able to attend the auspicious occasion of your life. Casual acquaintance may also be given wedding announcement cards. Time to Send the Wedding Announcement Card Given that the invitation card and the wedding announcement card both have different purposes therefore such cards should be sent to the people in different timings. This way the recipient will get the wedding announcement in the right time and will not confuse it with the invitation card. It is also proper etiquette to send the card to the recipient a day before the wedding ceremony. It is advisable to send the card in such timing that the recipient gets the card on the day of wedding. However, in some cases the announcement cards may be sent after the wedding ceremony day. Content of Wedding Announcement Card Given that you don’t want the announcement card look like a wedding invitation card and you don’t want to confuse the recipient therefore do not include specific details about the wedding into the announcement card. These details include the address where the ceremony is being held, the ceremony time, reception location, etc. Just include the date of the ceremony and the bride and groom name to the wedding announcement card.

J. Edgar Hoover Essays - English-language Films, Free Essays

J. Edgar Hoover Essays - English-language Films, Free Essays J. Edgar Hoover For nearly half a century J. Edgar Hoover was one of the most powerful officials in the Federal government of the United States. As head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1924 until his death in 1972, he was the nations chief law enforcement officer. His intimate knowledge of politicians and government operations made him a man to be feared by elected officials, and none of the eight presidents under whom he served dared fire him. J.Edgar Hoover was born on January 1, 1895, in Washington D.C. He attended George Washington University and earned a degree in 1917. In 1919 he became assistant to Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer in the Department of Justice. It was Palmer who instigated the post World War I red scare, an anti-Communist hysteria that led to the deportation of many aliens. Hoover was put in charge of the deportations. When Hoover became director of the Bureau in 1924, he quickly formed an elite force of powerful law enforcement officers. He enhanced the FBIs fame by capturing many gangsters, bank robbers, and other lawbreakers. After World War II he waged a relentless fight against internal subversion. The 1970s often criticized Hoover for his authoritarian methods. He died in Washington, D.C., on May 2, 1972. In the rest of the paper I will explain more in depth of how J. Edgar Hoover rose to power and why he is considered one of the most corrupt men to ever hold a government position. It is not very difficult to figure out the most outstanding characteristic of J. Edgar Hoover. Out of all of his characteristics, the one that truly stands out is that he was extremely powerful. J. Edgar Hoover is the most famous law enforcement officer that the United States has ever known. J. Edgar Hoover began his adult life at the bottom of the ladder with a very limited amount of power. As he grew older and became more experienced his prestige and power skyrocketed. At the height of his prestige and power he was the most famous director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the history of the United States. One factor that helped J. Edgar Hoover gain more power, was that he had many connections with many important people (Summers 29). Another factor that aided J. Edgar Hoover in his rise to power was the knowledge he had about people (Kessler 449-450). This meant that he could control people, or in other words, blackmail them (Summers 38-39). The third reason why J. Edgar Hoover became such a powerful individual is that he was very intelligent and shrewd (Summers 25). These three factors all contributed to forming one of the most powerful men the world has ever known. J. Edgar Hoover knew many important people that held many important positions. Hoover received his first government job thanks to a close family friend by the name of Bill Hitz (Summers 29). Hitz was a judge and considered the President and Supreme Court Justice Brandeis among his close friends (Summers 29). Another individual who helped Edgar along the way was his boss at the Department of Justice, George Michaelson (Summers 29). Bruce Bielaski, a senior official, recalled how - on the trolley to work one day in 1917 - he found himself talking shop with his neighbor, mail room chief George Michaelson (Summers 29). Michaelson dropped the name of a young lawyer he had sorting mail, one of the brightest boys around (Summers 29). You dont need anybody with brains doing that, said Bielaski (Summers 29). If you want him, Michaelson replied, you can have him (Summers 28-29). That conversation on the trolley was a fatal one for America (Summers 29). Bruce Bielaski was Director of the Bureau of Investigation, direct forerunner of what we know now as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Summers 29). Bielaski would now join the growing list of people that would help Hoover on his quest to power. Bielaski did not forget the young man that his neighbor had recommended - though he did not bring Edgar into the Bureau (Summers 29). Instead he told John Lord OBrian, head of the War Emergency Division, about Edgar (Summers 29). Many

Paper Editing Tips

Paper Editing Tips Paper Editing Tips You may argue that you do not need editing of your essay. You may think that everything is clear and paper editing is a waste of your time. So, let's clarify the true reasons for editing. Is paper editing really important? Is it really worth to waste your precious time for paper editing? The trouble with writing English essays is that you do not pay attention to many errors because you do not notice them. However, your teacher will definitely notice these errors. There is only one solution: devote enough time to paper editing. In practice, you will find that you fail to express your ideas clearly. You should not expect your teacher understand your point of view if your writing style is not understandable. Unless you let someone else read your essay to see if it makes sense, you are likely to hand it in when you are far too close to your own writing to judge its impact. Paper Editing Help The best way to check whether essay introduction and conclusion are efficient is to read only the first and last paragraphs of your paper. If these two passages mention all central questions and methodological steps as well as provide a summary of the major results, then they fulfill their functions. In other words, these two sections of your paper are a nutshell of the content, methodology, and results. If you are not confident in your editing skills, the editing skills of your friends or relatives, you may take advantage of the professional paper editing:http://.com/blog/paper-editing-help Essay Editing Tips Check the use of 'we', 'you' and 'I'. There is no such thing as an A4 paragraph length. provides students of all academic levels with professional paper editing services. Our educated editors are able to assist you with paper polishing. We will improve your paper in terms of style, grammar, and content. Professional paper editing is a solution to your academic problems. Moreover, paper editing is free if you are a returning client. In addition, we provide free outline, free table of contents, and free reference list. Do not hesitate to place an order for paper editing and you will not regret spending money on professional assistance! Read also: Informative and Surprising Essay Good Essay Topics Essay Writing Example Conclusion Writing College Essay

Marketing Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Marketing Analysis - Essay Example Depending on the levels of planning and intensity of auctioning process, the auction can last for a few days or even months. This paper analyses the process of spectrum auctioning and the relevant terms used in the marketing and transfer of the spectrum rights. The paper presents an exploration of the practicality involved in auctioning process to the economy of any nation that involves itself in the process. Spectrum auctions involve the sale of several interrelated spectrum licenses at a single moment in the market. There is no specified theory that guides the process of spectrum auctioning. The procedures of designing the auction involve utilization of scientific skills rather than merely economic theories and approaches. However, in the designing of the auction, there is a need that the developers attach more economic value to the amount of revenues collected against the expenses of running the auction (Maarten, 96). This strategy means that the efficiency of the spectrum auction depends on the amounts of revenues, which governments target at the end of the procedures. The levels of efficiency are specifically important because auctions are a relatively more stable source of revenues for the governments, similar to taxation. There are arguments that relate to the aspects, with some of them proposing that there is no need for the governments to attach much efficiency to the process of spectrum auctioning. However, as economists, there is a need that costs of factors of production be compensated in the amounts of revenues collected. This is the reason for making this topic an area of relevance to the economists. According to Mike (93), open bids give a chance for the bidders to get valuable information from the market as it concerns the valuations. The accessed information helps to enhance effective assignment of

The importance of scientific research (Quantitative Methods) Essay

The importance of scientific research (Quantitative Methods) - Essay Example Fabrication occurs whÐ µn sciÐ µntific rÐ µsÐ µarch is not Ð µmpirically groundÐ µd, and thÐ µ rÐ µsÐ µarch writÐ µr or sciÐ µntists tampÐ µr with Ð µvidÐ µncÐ µ, procÐ µdurÐ µs, or rÐ µsults in a way that Ð µithÐ µr provÐ µs or disprovÐ µs thÐ µir hypothÐ µsis artificially. FabricatÐ µd rÐ µsults, for Ð µxamplÐ µ, may Ð µxaggÐ µratÐ µ or changÐ µ cÐ µrtain variablÐ µs, just to support thÐ µ Ð µnd rÐ µsult as a form of rÐ µsÐ µarchÐ µr bias which is prÐ µdÐ µtÐ µrminÐ µd ahÐ µad of timÐ µ. Through history, pÐ µoplÐ µ havÐ µ triÐ µd to cut down on fabricatÐ µd rÐ µsÐ µarch. ThÐ µ sciÐ µntific mÐ µthod has bÐ µcomÐ µ morÐ µ and morÐ µ rigorous to cut out on Ð µxtranÐ µous rÐ µsÐ µarch. Original rÐ µsÐ µarch usÐ µs quantitativÐ µ or qualitativÐ µ mÐ µthods. OftÐ µn, thÐ µ population thÐ µ rÐ µsÐ µarch wants to draw conclusions about may bÐ µ a fairly standard population in tÐ µrms of incomÐ µ, Ð µtc., but bas ic dÐ µmographic information will bÐ µ rÐ µquirÐ µd. SincÐ µ sÐ µlf rÐ µport may bÐ µ bÐ µing usÐ µd, Ð µthical problÐ µms sÐ µÃ µm to bÐ µ limitÐ µd. HowÐ µvÐ µr, original rÐ µsÐ µarch oftÐ µn brings inhÐ µrÐ µnt limitations to a mÐ µthodology. ... sciÐ µntific mÐ µrit in quantitativÐ µ rÐ µsÐ µarch?   OvÐ µrall thÐ µrÐ µ arÐ µ many diffÐ µrÐ µnt facÐ µts of mÐ µthodology that can bÐ µ appliÐ µd to an Ð µxpÐ µrimÐ µntal dÐ µsign. This is a gÐ µnÐ µralization that can bÐ µ madÐ µ about thÐ µsÐ µ diffÐ µrÐ µnt typÐ µs of dÐ µsigns, which havÐ µ thÐ µir rÐ µspÐ µctivÐ µ advantagÐ µs and disadvantagÐ µs. SurvÐ µys and Ð µxpÐ µrimÐ µnts arÐ µ Ð µxamplÐ µs of fixÐ µd rÐ µsÐ µarch dÐ µsigns, which arÐ µ morÐ µ quantitativÐ µ than qualitativÐ µ and havÐ µ morÐ µ aspÐ µcts of this typÐ µ of thÐ µory. QuantitativÐ µ studiÐ µs such as thÐ µ onÐ µ outlinÐ µd in thÐ µ currÐ µnt rÐ µport’s mÐ µthodology tÐ µnd to rÐ µly on hard data and statistics that can providÐ µ gÐ µnÐ µralizablÐ µ rÐ µsults about a population, whÐ µrÐ µas qualitativÐ µ studiÐ µs could bÐ µ morÐ µ of a casÐ µ Ð µxamplÐ µ or subjÐ µctivÐ µ viÐ µwpoint. As thÐ µ Ð µxtant litÐ µr aturÐ µ statÐ µs about thÐ µ diffÐ µrÐ µncÐ µ bÐ µtwÐ µÃ µn fixÐ µd and flÐ µxiblÐ µ dÐ µsigns, â€Å"FlÐ µxiblÐ µ rÐ µsÐ µarch dÐ µsigns arÐ µ much morÐ µ difficult to pin down than fixÐ µd dÐ µsigns. This is in part bÐ µcausÐ µ it is only in rÐ µcÐ µnt yÐ µars that rÐ µsÐ µarchÐ µrs havÐ µ givÐ µn considÐ µration to thÐ µ dÐ µsign issuÐ µs which thÐ µy raisÐ µ. PrÐ µviously thÐ µrÐ µ had bÐ µÃ µn a tradition in thÐ µ disciplinÐ µs of social anthropology of an apprÐ µnticÐ µship modÐ µl† (Robson, 2003). If qualitativÐ µ dÐ µsign havÐ µ lÐ µss history bÐ µhind thÐ µm in thÐ µ litÐ µraturÐ µ on thÐ µ subjÐ µct it might bÐ µ an indication that thÐ µy arÐ µ not nÐ µcÐ µssarily as Ð µffÐ µctivÐ µ. ThÐ µn again, this could just bÐ µ thÐ µ rÐ µsult of a dÐ µarth of intÐ µrÐ µst in rÐ µsÐ µarchÐ µrs rÐ µgarding this subjÐ µct, or could bÐ µ a projÐ µction of thÐ µ individual authors. GÐ µnÐ µrally fl Ð µxiblÐ µ dÐ µsigns offÐ µr bÐ µnÐ µfits to rÐ µsÐ µarch that is willing to changÐ µ as nÐ µw variablÐ µs comÐ µ up throughout thÐ µ procÐ µss, whÐ µrÐ µas fixÐ µd or

Accounting decision making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Accounting decision making - Essay Example In addition, an explanation to support the variation in the contribution margin of the five services is provided and possible resource constraints faced by the firm is provided. Firms adopt different dividend policies which are in line with their goals. Dividend payment is preferred by shareholders since that is their source of reward for contributing equity capital. The article states that dividend payment is simply a transfer of value within the firm. That is, the movement of value already owned by the shareholders to shareholders. Therefore, there is no level of dividend payment that contributes to value creation. The statement is true for the reason that dividend payment does not increase the firm’s ability to increase the economic benefits. In other words, a firm cannot increase its cash flow generating ability by paying dividends. However, the payment of cash dividends has a positive impact on the value of a firm (market value). The market value of a firm (market capitalization) is determined by multiplying the outstanding shares of a firm with the current share price. It has been observed that the payment of cash dividends by firms increases the market value of companies. The increase is brought about as follows: when a firm pays cash dividends, more shareholders, who prefer certain payments, are attracted (Frankfurter, Wood & Wansley, 2003, pp. 91). The demand of shares of that company increases, thus increasing the share price. Consequently, the market value of the firm increases. There are two theories of dividend payment which supports the influence of cash dividend on the market value of the firm. That is, the bird-in-hand theory and information signalling dividend payment theory (Hunting & Paulsen 2013). The bird-in-hand, dividend payment theory states that stockholders prefer certainty due to their aversion towards risk. Dividend payments are more assured as compared

IMPERFECT COMPETITION Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IMPERFECT COMPETITION - Essay Example Generally, an imperfect competition market can be described as a market setting where the products sold are highly differentiated. In essence, in order to survive in an imperfect market, a firm has to develop unique survival techniques to avoid suffering losses and losing customers loyalty. Apparently, the fast food industry has become quite competitive in the modern times (Schlosser, 2012). In response to the increased competition, firms operating in fast foods industry have come up with distinguished survival strategies to enhance continuity in business. Some of the survival techniques that have been adopted by firms in the fast food industry include product differentiation, brand building and diversity in product promotion. In this regard, it can be observed that the tropical Smoothie Cafà © operates in an imperfect competition market. The price of products offered in an imperfect competition has insignificant influence on demand. Basically, customers in an imperfective competition market are more sensitive on product brand than price. Tropical Smoothie Cafà © has established unique marketing strategies that are rarely known by its competitors. Some of the major competitors of the firm include McDonalds, Starbucks and Burger King. Since the firm operates in an imperfect competition market, the most appropriate means of achieving market power is through establishment of a strong brand name (Manning, 2013). In essence, a strong brand name aids in winning customers loyalty and maintaining them for long. Actually, the firm should emphasis on brand imaging through advertisements and product promotion. In addition, the company should consider offering discounts to its customers to promote sales as well as customer loyalty. The government efforts to regulate business operation can either result in positive or negative outcome to a business concern. The issues of patent

Effective Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Effective Decision Making - Essay Example Alan Mulally is a man that has turned around the automaker's finances through his effective decision making. Mulally became the CEO of Ford Motor Company in Fall 2006. He is not an expert in building cars, yet he has been able to steer his company through the rough waters that has devastated other auto companies without any government bailouts. One interesting observation is that his leadership style is very positive in terms of effective decision-making. This paper identifies the role of Alan Mullally as a leader who has always supported effective decision making. It also discusses how Mullally has created a constructive decision environment. The paper further discusses the generation and evaluation of alternatives in effective decision making and implementation of decisions effectively. Discussion In 2006, Bill Ford Jr., the founder's great-grandson, put sideways the very factual probability of merger, even bankruptcy, and took a decision to place another CEO on his position as an attempt to save Ford Motor Company. He offered the post to a Detroit outsider, Alan Mullally, accredited with the post-9/11 resuscitation of Boeing and lured to Ford by the prospect of saving an "American and global icon. (Brown, 2009, 52)" After joining Ford as a CEO, Mullally has taken several decisions to change the company's prejudiced culture and insisted on teamwork. He developed a recovery plan and worked out on that plan uncompromisingly. He surveyed the entire business weekly to measure progress of other competitors and deeply monitored his own company’s performance. Mullally’s wise decisions win over the Ford family by safeguarding a critical finance just aforementioned to the credit calamity along with the reduction in the number of brands and streamlining of production as per customer demands (Naughton, 2011, 66). He invested and applied advanced technologies for improved fuel efficiency and better production. His one of the effective decisions was an agree ment UAW that yielded cheap labor costs that fended off the corporate invaders and convinced the public to buy Ford Cars. Another major decision Mullally has taken to get Ford the place where it is now was the well-publicized denial to accept the government bailout GM and Chrysler necessary to survive (Taylor, 2009, money.cnn.com). Mullally rests controlled in reducing costs and invest more in product development. Restructured models lift Ford Motor's U.S. market share to 17.5% from 16.1 %. That profited the company from the challenges of its competitors. Suppliers report that domestic-make customers turned progressively to Ford after General Motors and Chrysler went through bankruptcy and accepted government coffers to persist (Taylor, 2009, money.cnn.com). Mullally has created a constructive decision environment on the basis of his timely efforts and effective decisions. In late 2006, Ford borrowed $23 billion, hocking everything, including the company's Blue Oval logo. That gave Ford the cash cushion it needed to withstand losses and develop new models such as the Fiesta. The most important thing Ford has done is invest heavily in new product during this down cycle (Naughton, 2011, 66). The trade-off was a debt load that Mullally has said puts Ford at a competitive disadvantage with rivals GM and Chrysler, which slashed their debt in bankruptcy. Mullally's discipline showed when he made the historic decision to terminate the 71-year-old Mercury brand by year end. His

Building construction for the fire service Research Paper

Building construction for the fire service - Research Paper Example Some of the concerns raised by the people directly charged with the management of the fires included the charge that priorities of costs over safety and suitability increased the level of vulnerability of risk. Such approaches also lowered the level of efficiencies in interventions in cases of fire accidents. Building code language remains a key challenge that affects the development of the most appropriate strategies of combating fires and other kinds of strategies designed to counter the challenges of safety (Karter, 2001). This problem arises out of the challenge that many of the professionals involved in the strategies lack a common platform on which they can articulate their levels of expertise in reference to particular technical aspects of building code language. Recent developments in the industry have seen bold attempts across the various relevant departments to build the most appropriate strategies for harmonizing the operations within the system. The design and structure of buildings remains a significant contributing factor to the level of challenges encountered by fire fighters. For instance, construction analysts blame the weaknesses in the support beams in the Twin Towers as one of the factors that contributed to the extensive scale of damage that was witnessed after the terrorist attack. Besides the inclusion of special features for limiting the spread of fires, there have been suggestions to include special bridges between skyscrapers in order to provide increased room for evacuation in the event of the outbreak of fires. Suggestions continue to emerge including the suitable size of buildings with some analysts arguing the case for the reduction and the strengthening of beams in order to absorb the shock of accidents, impacts, or explosions. The course of development of the building code and standards has featured

Effective Decision Making Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Effective Decision Making - Essay Example Alan Mulally is a man that has turned around the automaker's finances through his effective decision making. Mulally became the CEO of Ford Motor Company in Fall 2006. He is not an expert in building cars, yet he has been able to steer his company through the rough waters that has devastated other auto companies without any government bailouts. One interesting observation is that his leadership style is very positive in terms of effective decision-making. This paper identifies the role of Alan Mullally as a leader who has always supported effective decision making. It also discusses how Mullally has created a constructive decision environment. The paper further discusses the generation and evaluation of alternatives in effective decision making and implementation of decisions effectively. Discussion In 2006, Bill Ford Jr., the founder's great-grandson, put sideways the very factual probability of merger, even bankruptcy, and took a decision to place another CEO on his position as an attempt to save Ford Motor Company. He offered the post to a Detroit outsider, Alan Mullally, accredited with the post-9/11 resuscitation of Boeing and lured to Ford by the prospect of saving an "American and global icon. (Brown, 2009, 52)" After joining Ford as a CEO, Mullally has taken several decisions to change the company's prejudiced culture and insisted on teamwork. He developed a recovery plan and worked out on that plan uncompromisingly. He surveyed the entire business weekly to measure progress of other competitors and deeply monitored his own company’s performance. Mullally’s wise decisions win over the Ford family by safeguarding a critical finance just aforementioned to the credit calamity along with the reduction in the number of brands and streamlining of production as per customer demands (Naughton, 2011, 66). He invested and applied advanced technologies for improved fuel efficiency and better production. His one of the effective decisions was an agree ment UAW that yielded cheap labor costs that fended off the corporate invaders and convinced the public to buy Ford Cars. Another major decision Mullally has taken to get Ford the place where it is now was the well-publicized denial to accept the government bailout GM and Chrysler necessary to survive (Taylor, 2009, money.cnn.com). Mullally rests controlled in reducing costs and invest more in product development. Restructured models lift Ford Motor's U.S. market share to 17.5% from 16.1 %. That profited the company from the challenges of its competitors. Suppliers report that domestic-make customers turned progressively to Ford after General Motors and Chrysler went through bankruptcy and accepted government coffers to persist (Taylor, 2009, money.cnn.com). Mullally has created a constructive decision environment on the basis of his timely efforts and effective decisions. In late 2006, Ford borrowed $23 billion, hocking everything, including the company's Blue Oval logo. That gave Ford the cash cushion it needed to withstand losses and develop new models such as the Fiesta. The most important thing Ford has done is invest heavily in new product during this down cycle (Naughton, 2011, 66). The trade-off was a debt load that Mullally has said puts Ford at a competitive disadvantage with rivals GM and Chrysler, which slashed their debt in bankruptcy. Mullally's discipline showed when he made the historic decision to terminate the 71-year-old Mercury brand by year end. His

Research paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 17

Research paper - Essay Example They also realized that they had a lot in common. Eventually, tribes and races intermarried hence socialism became the norm. However, in the modern world, there exist people who practice racism against other races. Different types of races have different types of music. Music from all over the world differs on harmony, melodies, rhythms and musical instruments. Different tribes and races, dance differently and sing differently. Why should it be different then when it comes to music? This paper seeks to explain this difference, its importance and beauty. Those who interact with other people from other races end up enjoying music from a different cultural background. A clear difference between races and ethnic communities can be seen from a comparison of their music. It is easy to tell the difference between African, Spanish, Indian and South American music. Therefore, it is important to experience a communities’ music before interacting with them since it help in understanding their practices and interest. Music is diverse, but it seeks to develop a tendency and pattern of growth1. However, some types of ethnic music carry a message that relates well with people of other races as well. The methods used to compare various types of ethnic music include: timbre, harmony, rhythm and universals such as: sound perception, scale structures, and melodic contour. Timbre refers to the distinct sound made by various voices and instruments. Harmony refers to the sound created when two or more pitches are combined. Moreover, rhythms also vary in various ethnic communities.2 The song ‘Love is color-blind’ by Sarah Connor clearly shows that there is really no distinction among various races. It also shows the way children of different races grow together without discrimination but grow to learn of their differences and deviate from their previous fellowship. This people grow out of love and

Psychology Prediction Essay Example for Free

Psychology Prediction Essay According to one of my favorite philosophers, Yogi Berra, Its hard to predict, especially the future†. He’s right but it doesn’t stop many people from trying. In fact predicting the future is essential to many aspects of our lives – in business, and beyond. Many professionals have the need to accurately predict outcomes of the future to be successful in their jobs. And many have occupations where predicting the future actually is their job, one way or another. As an analyst at Gartner, I am of course a good example of this. Some of this is common sense. Some is controversial. Some goes completely against what most think and against what people are taught even at organizations who train people to do predictive type jobs. But it works for me. Here are my ten guiding principles for accurate prediction: 1.Care about being right. This sounds obvious but circumstances and other requirements often get in the way. Professionals whose job involves making predictions face pressures to have an opinion, no matter what, and to generate visibility. This can lead to quickly formed opinions and overstating and over hyping things. While these things may in fact need to be part of a strategy, they do not have to be the primary goal. Tempering such behavior by placing the goal of being right at a higher priority is one of the real keys to accurate prediction. You can’t be afraid to be wrong, but you can’t place being right at lower priority and expect to be good at predicting. 2.Be an â€Å"innumerate†. Be extremely skeptical of any numbers. Many believe that numbers don’t lie. They don’t of course, but people do. And they state the numbers that they want to state to make their case. And they get things confused. Numbers are more useful in looking back at history than in predicting (looking back at history is helpful and numbers can help). Be especially wary of survey data. Often the questions are poorly formed and the respondents not necessarily knowledgeable. There is no substitute for talking directly to people to make sure that you understand context and that they understand the question. And follow-up is possible. 3.Ask yourself â€Å"Why are they telling me this?† Understand the motivations of sources of information. Everyone you meet has some type of agenda. Sometimes it is truly to educate you, usually not. It is critical to understand what the source of information wants you to think to put the information into context. 4.Ask yourself â€Å"What would I do†? Put yourself in the shoes of the CEO or key decision maker of the entity if possible. This is a key tool to predicting how companies and organizations will behave. If the prediction is about that company, this is the major key. If it is more general, putting yourself in the shoes of multiples and playing out scenarios is helpful. 5.Recognize that most of the time, you will know less than your sources. The world is full of specialists. Depending on circumstance, you may know as much as your sources but there is almost always someone who is more of an expert than you. So you need to develop strategies for assessing the credibility and honesty of a source. A useful tactic is to lead a discussion towards an area in which you do know a lot and test the source’s honesty and credibility. This can help determine what weight to give the source 6.Don’t jump to conclusions. Whenever possible take your time. When pushed for an opinion, it is best to say â€Å"if I had to have an opinion I would lean towards x†, but not highlight these types of things as â€Å"predictions†. 7.Find â€Å"bubbles†, conventional thinking and poke at assumptions. Try to understand why most people have a certain belief and figure out what assumptions they have. Look for misunderstandings, confusion, motivations and social trends. 8.Get information you’re not supposed to have. Basic networking is essential to knowing your subject and to getting information you’re not supposed to have (Obviously those subject to â€Å"insider trading† types of issues need to tread carefully here). Listen for slip ups. Put the pieces together. Fill in the holes. Speculate. 9.â€Å"You’re only paranoid if you’re wrong†. Explore conspiracy theories. While they usually won’t be the prediction, the exercise of examining possible conspiracy theories often is fruitful. Remember At the very least there is bound to be some aspect of the theory that has some truth to it and may point the way towards a good prediction. However, it is far more likely that stupidity or laziness, rather than conspiracy, is the cause. 10.Constantly test, validate and refine. Every chance you get to talk to a person whose opinion you respect, test new theories. Every chance you talk to a source of information, test your theories and gauge their reactions. Be open to tweaks.

Death Comes for the Archbishop: Not a Novel :: Death Comes for the Archbishop

Death Comes for the Archbishop: Not a Novel If someone felt compelled to classify Death Comes for the Archbishop as a type of novel, the most likely candidate would be a regional novel. Clearly, the setting and local color of this work make the region a critical component. However, before classifying the work as a type of novel, it must be determined whether it is a novel or, as Miss Cather has asserted, a narrative. Based on the structure and content of the book, it does not meet the classical definitions of novel and plot, so would lend itself more accurately to Miss Cather's classification. The simplified definition of novel given in A Handbook to Literature is "an extended fictional PROSE narrative" (335). By this definition, Cather's book would qualify as a novel. But there is a great deal more to a novel than this definition implies. The handbook expands by stating: "some organizing principle-PLOT, THEME, or idea-should be present in a . . . a novel" (335). Cather's book has an idea - to illustrate the historical, regional and cultural context in which two European priests perform missionary work in the desert of the American Southwest in the last half of the nineteenth century. This idea does not constitute a plot. Aristotle maintained that a plot should create a whole with "the structural union of the parts being such that, if any one of them is displaced or removed, the whole will be disjointed and disturbed" (Holman/Harmon 377). The structure of Death Comes for the Archbishop is made up of a series of episodes consisting of the experiences of two missionary priests, and legends of the region, such as Our Lady of Guadalupe. Would the whole become "disjointed or disturbed" if some of the stories or legends were removed or rearranged? No. The work would lose some of its richness, but the whole would not become incomprehensible. I believe Willa Cather perceived this work as a narrative rather than a novel because it lacked what is traditionally considered a plot. The work's narrative form is reminiscent of a journal, and had it been written in the first person instead of third, it probably would have been classified as a journal narrative rather than a novel.

Comparing the Impact of Colonization in A Small Place, A Passage to Ind

Impact of British Colonization Exposed in A Small Place, A Passage to India, and Robinson Crusoe British colonialism began in the early fifteen hundreds and even continues today with the British rule of the British Virgin Islands.   For centuries, literature has served as a type of historical documentation of colonization as many authors wrote about colonization from both a colonized and a colonizer's point of view. During colonization, and post-colonization, the physical environment of each colony was changed. Using references to A Small Place, A Passage to India, and Robinson Crusoe, I will provide examples of the physical changes to the colonized societies made by England and discuss the reactions of the colonized people. Jamaica Kincade is quoted as saying "The English loved England so much they built it everywhere they went."   Kincaid writes about the feelings of the colonized society in A Small Place. While she expresses the feeling of the colonized, contrarily, she explains the ideas of the English colonizer. In this excerpt, she is describing Antigua, the place she grew up, and how the British changed it. She begins by explaining the English love England so much, whenever they went they turned it into England. She supports this idea in several ways. First, she gives examples of the street names in Antigua. On a tropical island in the Caribbean Sea, the streets have names such as Rodney, Hood, Hawkins and Drake Street all names of "English maritime criminals". Secondly, Kincaid continues with her description of High Street. This was the street where all of the colonial government buildings were located. The English had built an entire portion of the city that did not exist before their arrival. High Street consiste... ...his journey. For as long as he has ink he will write and after that, he will be forced to leave off (Defoe 72). Defoe did not give Friday much of a voice. However, I can draw an inference that Friday must have liked Crusoe's "English" house or he would not have stayed. We can make comparisons to Crusoe being the Colonizer and Friday was the colonized. Therefore, we can conclude, that the colonized people did like some aspects of the British colonization. In conclusion, "The English loved England so much they built it everywhere." As shown in A Small Place, A Passage to India, and Robinson Crusoe, the effects that the British had on each of their colonies will certainly last a long time. Colonies will embrace schools, libraries, Governmental buildings, banks, airports and even churches that will remain there for generations after the expiration of British rule.

How Does Shakespeare Make Act One Scene Five of Romeo Juliet Dramatically Effective?

How does Shakespeare make act one scene five of Romeo Juliet dramatically effective? ‘When you’re in love, you can’t sleep because reality is better than your dreams’ – Dr Seuss In ‘Romeo and Juliet’ they have this dream of being together but it is conflicted with the reality of their families. Unfortunately they follow this dream which ultimately ends up in death; a testament to how powerful love really is. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is known as the greatest love story of all time. In the 16th century, people didn’t marry for love they married for wealth, a lot like when Juliet’s Dad arranges her to marry Paris. This is why Shakespeare had to incorporate violence and conflict to grab the audience’s attention. The themes are love, hate, disloyalty, fate and sin. Shakespeare would have to attract grab everyone’s attention throughout these plays, as many different people came to watch and I think he chose these sins because they can be used for every different characters personality. Shakespeare would do this by incorporating different religions and fancy language like the reference to the ‘Pentecost’ and using the word ‘pilgrim’ to describe Romeo. During the whole play the word â€Å"sin† is used a lot by Juliet, Tybalt and Romeo. I think this is to show the audience that all of them will have a lot to be sorry for in the near future, as a sin is something you do wrong or something you ask god for forgiveness over. It is a strong word although it’s so short, as it foreshadows the outcome of people’s actions. Their punishments, so to speak. The nurse suddenly interrupts the sonnet showing the audience that there love isn’t a smooth ride already. The break in Romeo and Juliet’s conversation foreshadows the breaking of life, Romeo’s banishment and Juliet’s wedding to Paris as these things are all the things that lead up to, the consequence of Romeo and Juliet’s death. The nurse then starts talking to Romeo and toying with his emotions by talking about marriage as a source of money (meaning Paris. ) The nurse isn’t being very loyal to Juliet at this point as she is saying â€Å"he that can lay hold of her shall have the chinks. † This is basically selling her, and talking about how all people will want is the money out of it not love. Shakespeare’s choice of language for Romeo after the nurse has told him that Juliet is a Capulet, is all about money. â€Å"Account†¦ Debt† This is implying that there will be a price to pay, because of his love for his â€Å"foe. † â€Å"Trifling foolish banquet† are Capulet’s words when he is dismissing people from his party. These words show the audience that he hasn’t noticed Romeo, Juliet and Tybalts threats so therefore the â€Å"fool† is Capulet. Ironically enough Juliet then says â€Å"My grave is like to be my wedding bed. This a coincidence because she dies on the morning of the marriage to Paris, Dies with her husband next to her, and she dies the day after she married Romeo. Within Juliet’s speech at the end, it contains a lot of strong language such as opposites like â€Å"love†¦ loathed† and â€Å"early†¦ late. † This links back to the light and dark opposites when Romeo talked about t he doves and crows, trying to show us again that its a doomed relationship and it is an internal battle between love and hate. Hate between the two families but love between Romeo and Juliet, but unfortunately the hate stops the love.

Examine How Market Equilibrium Is Determined and Explain

Market Equilibrium- Asifa Kwong Examine how market equilibrium is determined and explain why governments intervene in markets. Use diagrams to illustrate your answer. Equilibrium refers to the idea that there is no tendency to change, and market equilibrium is a situation where the price and the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded of a particular good are equal. The interaction between demand and supply can change the price mechanism which determines the prices and quantity of the goods and services that will be bought and sold in the market.When there’s no tendency to change in price or quantity, it means that there’s no surplus or shortage of goods and services in the market (diagram 1). If there’s any mismatch in supply and demand, it will be balanced by changes in price and quantity demanded or supplied. When there’s a surplus of goods and services, there will be a decrease in demand, where supply will be greater than demand, price will fall wh ere firms cut prices to sell surplus and there will be a contraction of supply and an extension of demand.When there’s a shortage of goods and services, consumers bid up prices competing for the available quantity supplied of goods and series, where there’s an extension of supply and a contraction of demand ad there will be a re-established equilibrium price at a higher rate. Increase in demand will lead to a shift in the demand curve to the right where it will raise both equilibrium price and quantity. When there’s a decrease in demand, the demand will shift to the left where price will drop and there will be an extension in demand and a contraction in supply.An increase in supply will shift supply to the right, it will lower the equilibrium price and raises the equilibrium quantity. There will be an extension in demand and a contraction in supply. A decrease in supply will shift supply to the right where there will be a raise in the equilibrium price and lower s the equilibrium quantity. When the market prices for goods and services in the product markets is considered to be too high or too low, market failure may occur where the price mechanism may take account of private benefits and costs of production but doesn’t take into account social cost and benefits.This is when the government intervenes in the market. When the government feels that the market determined price for some goods and services is too high or too low, the government may intervene in the marketplace in order to make changes to these goods and services. Governments impose price ceiling and floor prices in order to intervene the market prices. Price ceiling is the maximum price that can be charged for a good or service. For example, the petrol prices in the market maybe too high so the government would set a ceiling price that it can’t be higher than a particular amount.Floor price refers to the minimum price that can be charged for a particular good or serv ices, it is established below market equilibrium. For example, the government may think that the market price for wheat is too low, so it may impose a floor price which will lead to an increase in the price of wheat and the market will be in disequilibrium. There are often failure of private sector to provide goods and services. The government may intervene in order to encourage the provision of merit goods like public education that have positive externalities, through subsidies to consumers to lower prices and increases consumption.Provision of public good, e. g. public road and police services, are not provided by individual firms at all, so the government intervenes to supply these public goods and finances them with its tax revenue. Protection of the environmental goods like air, water is intervening by the government where government may set taxes like the carbon tax to control the pollution level. In a government influence market, we would have pure competition in the marketp lace where there’s no government intervention at all.This shows that no one in the market has the power to influence the market outcomes directly. The prices of the market will be determined by its supply and demand in the market system. With a regulated market where there’s government intervention, the price mechanism can be changed depending on the government influence. Therefore, a regulated market can be controlled so that it can be more secured and safe where the price of goods and services is at a rage that people in the economy can effort so that our standard of living can increase.

Satirical Elements in “Slaughterhouse-Five”

Kurt Vonnegut uses a variety of elements including satire which he was credited with being a master of, in â€Å"Slaughterhouse-Five† where he tells the story of Billy Pilgrim. The book is loosely based on Vonnegut’s experiences during the firebombing of Dresden in World War II. The literary element in â€Å"Slaughterhouse-Five† that I will focus on is this paper is his element of satire. Even the plot of this novel can be found to have satire in it. This main character Billy Pilgrim becomes unstuck in time after being abducted by aliens from the planet Tralfamadore where he is mated with a porn star. I even found satire in that Billy Pilgrim, was a bumbling and unlikely hero character. The fictional alter ego Billy Pilgrim was born in 1922, which if you happen to know about Vonnegut’s life, he too was born in 1922. I find satire in his Vonnegut’s fictional author, Kilgore Trout. It is rumored that this â€Å"Kilgore† could have been anyone from author Theodore Sturgeon, science fiction author Philip K. Dick or even Vonnegut’s own alter ego. Readers could find satire in the circumstances of the death of character Edgar Derby. Edgar was among the survivors of the war of Dresden and was engaged in the clean-up activities. The imprisoned soldiers were instructed to use flame-throwers to burn the bodies and the ruins of the war left in Dresden. Derby then gets shot by a guard for simply taking a teapot from the ruins after Derby had survived the fire-bombing of Dresden during World War II. In one part of â€Å"Slaughterhouse-Five,† we find an inebriated Billy Pilgrim entering his car while desperately trying to locate the missing steering wheel to the car and the readers are then clued in that he has entered the back seat area of the car. In another part of â€Å"Slaughterhouse-Five† Billy Pilgrim becomes unstuck in time while watching television. We read as Billy then watches a war film backwards and then he watches it forwards. During the wedding night to his wife Valencia, he first travels from the zoo on Tralfamadore. Billy wakes up only to find himself in a German prison camp. Upon returning from the bathroom, he finds himself back with his wife. Billy goes to sleep again only to wake up on a train to his father’s funeral. The story used satire and dark humor somewhat interchangeably at points. A kind of ironic satire perhaps could be found when Billy’s American compatriot Roland continues to hit Billy because he feels Billy is moving too slowly. The German soldiers or â€Å"the enemies† then arrive and rescue Billy from further mistreatment from his American compatriot. Billy’s fear of being displayed naked in the zoo could be satire or associated with Billy (or Vonnegut) not yet feeling comfortable in revealing his personal thought processes at this time. He could have been aware enough that he realized he didn’t want to be exposed for who he really was at that point in his life or that point in his mind. One could count it political satire when Vonnegut includes bits denegrading U. S. foreign policy and the U. S. Army in general. Vonnegut also satires egocentricity. I suppose some of the satire can be seen in how Billy Pilgrim criticizes those who are not assertive, those who are not in control of their lives. However, throughout the novel, even when Billy knew the plane was going to crash he said nothing and did nothing. He just let the flow of events happen. At this point he still felt as if the moment is structured and one cannot alter the moment. It wasn’t until the end when Billy has brain surgery he changes from being indifferent towards life to being proactive. It wasn’t until the brain surgery that Billy showed initiative and actively helped others. One could see satire in that in his normal state without surgery Billy was a passive member of society. It wasn’t until brain surgery, the positive changes or proactive changes begin to occur in Billy’s life.

Mastectomy for Ductal Carcinoma insitu, impact on patient Essay

Mastectomy for Ductal Carcinoma insitu, impact on patient - Essay Example In fact, DCIS accounts for approximately 20% of all new breast cancer and precancerous condition diagnoses (Clause Stowe & Carter 2001). With or without treatment, DCIS patients have a very high survival rate; and, for most women diagnosed with DCIS, it is not considered to be a life-threatening condition. Mastectomy is the preferred, and most effective, treatment option for DCIS patients (Katz et al. 2010). However, there is currently very little research regarding how patients are actually affected by choosing mastectomy to treat DCIS; and, since the number of new DCIS diagnoses is continuing to increase, much more research is needed. DCIS, also called intraductal carcinoma, is a condition whereby the cancer cells develop in the milk ducts of the breast and have not moved out of the duct into any of the surrounding tissue (National Institute of Health 2009). As mentioned above, there is disagreement as to whether or not DCIS should be called cancer; and, some experts often refer to it as "stage zero breast cancer" ( Harris & Morrow 2009). Even though DCIS itself is not considered to be harmful, it is a known risk factor for invasive breast cancer (Zuckerman 2009). While most DCIS patients do not develop invasive breast cancer, approximately two percent (2%) of DCIS cases show evidence of metastases and an even smaller percentage of cases do actually develop into invasive breast cancer (Cornfield et al. 2004). Certain biomarkers may help to identify whether DCIS patients are at high or low risk of developing invasive breast cancer; however, more research is necessary to make more accurate risk predictions (Welch et al. 2008). Currently, however, there is no way to determine or predict which DCIS cases will in fact develop into invasive breast cancer. This paper will try to determine the available information on the rationale for selecting this modality; explore literature regarding the physiological/biological basis of the treatment or how the treatment manage s the disease, critic the impact this treatment had on the individual and the nurses’ role in addressing this, and consider how the patients’ experience could have been improved. Discussion Overview: Even without treatment, most women diagnosed with DCIS do not go on to develop invasive breast cancer. DCIS patients that do opt for treatment have surgical options, the most common being lumpectomy (with or without radiation therapy) and mastectomy. Lumpectomy followed by radiation therapy and mastectomy have the same high survival rate of 96% and above; however, mastectomy does have a slightly lower recurrence rate than lumpectomy with radiation which has a lower recurrence rate than lumpectomy alone (Holmberg et al. 2008; Hughes et al. 2009). Other factors have been found to affect DCIS recurrence rates

How the World Crises Happened and What are the Causes Essay

How the World Crises Happened and What are the Causes - Essay Example The resultant was a steep fall in both personal and corporate credit. This multiplied with the fast recession that occurred in the housing and the construction markets. The financial institutions especially the investment banks have been lending to each other at lower rates. The reason is that the banks have been well aware of the solvency of other institution and don’t want to take the high risk rather they want to keep the cash reserve for themselves. As lending by the bank lowered due to the economic instability, the bank increased the borrowing cost to increase the operational revenue. This strategy was taken by the banks in order to maintain a sustainable business operation in the financial market. The company undertaken for discussion is Barclays PLC. The company is a multinational bank of Britain. It operates in the financial sector and is headquartered in London. The operations of the organization spread over 50 countries and territories. The company emerged as the fou rth largest in terms of total assets in the year 2010. The organization has got two business clusters namely retail and Business Banking as well as Corporate and Investment Banking. The company is listed in the London Stock Exchange. How the crises happened and what are the causes The collapse of the U.S. housing market regarded as the housing bubble is characterized as one of the prime reason for the situation to occur. The collapse resulted in a surge of default of mortgage loans (World Health Organization, 2009). The collapse of the real estate market and the subprime mortgage market of the U.S. can be held responsible to spread the severe effects of the crisis. Uncertainties accrued in the financial system. The creditors became inclined to pull out their funds and cashed out the securities issued by the financial institutions. The situation thus caused led to shutting down of many institutions while others just managed to survive. The loan and credit facilities available from th e banks dried up. The investors began to dump their holdings and the obvious situation was a downturn in the share market. In order to create securitization, the banks started to borrow more money. The dependency of the banks on the savers can only be felt when the banks are not able to pull out by selling loans on the basis of securities. Some of the banks launched to buy securities which increased the exposure of the banks towards risk. When the problem got realized, the process of lending got slowed. Some of the banks were on the verge of the riskiest loans which was beyond the intention of the investors. The lenders fell upon to take back their loans. The investment banks fell drastically as they had no or little deposits. The problem got intensified and even the banks with large capital reserves began to feel the pressure. They turned to the government for support. The banks began to feel nervous to loan out the injected money and the shrinking banks sucked money out of the eco nomy. In spite of the fact that the global financial crisis has shown its effects a year ago, yet the prime banks of UK were able to accrue a profit in the second quarter of the financial year 2009 in the area of non-recurring items. The retail business of Barclay got affected along with the top three banks of UK. In the middle periods of the year 2009, Barclays reported that profit has  decreased far more than what it was in mid-2008.  

Thinking like a economist the basic vocabulary of the field Case Study

Thinking like a economist the basic vocabulary of the field - Case Study Example The position on the supply side is that college education instills the knowledge and ability the individual requires in attaining the desired quality of human capital. Additionally the demand side of college education on human capital provides that college education establishes an environment for research and development, and as such, the practicality of the human capital develops. These research and development activities require human capital and, therefore, the human capital available in colleges employed to accomplish this (Frank, New York Times). However, in order to produce an economy requires a combination of other factors such as land and labor. Although this may be true, and given the limited resources a production possibility curve becomes essential in order to identify maximum productivity. A production possibility curve is the maximum output level attainable from the combination of existing resources. This implies the efficient and wholesome use of the available resources . A variation in the factors of production leads to the inward or outward shifts in the production possibility curve depending on the effect of the variation. An inward shift in the production possibility curve implies a reduction in the factors of production, therefore, limiting the output. ... Another instance where the curve can shift inwards is during times of war where the resources aimed at production become rechanneled to facilitate the war and, therefore, reducing factors used in production leading to reduction of production. Conversely, an outward shift in the production possibility curve depicts economic growth. According to Bouman (Principles of Macroeconomics) economic growth results in the attainment of greater economic levels as a result of an increase in resources employed in production. An increase in land, capital labor or raw materials supports economic growth. Similarly, improvement in the utilization of resources for production such as technological advancement or training can also result in economic growth. On the other hand, devoting more resources to investment than to consumption increases the capital factors of production, therefore, resulting in an economic growth and an outward shift in the production possibility curve. Granted that the production process efficiently utilizes the available capital in order to operate on the production possibility curve, it is imperative that economic growth requires an increase in capital. Devoting more resources to investment, therefore, produces this effect. Although preference to consumables increases utility and provides happiness, it does not result in significant shifts, in the production possibility curve as an investment would do. An outward shift in the production possibility curve is desirable in any economy as it increases the potential of the economy to increase its production. Although the shift does not necessarily imply actual production, it depicts a potential increase in production but due to inefficiencies and unemployment in the economy the growth

Education - Diversity and Inclusion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Education - Diversity and Inclusion - Essay Example It will also influence how different stakeholders – parents, teachers, students, administrators, and central office personnel – act and are held accountable. Culture describes the things people create to help them live effectively in their world: language, gestures, tools, rituals, ceremonies, and music are good examples. So are art, music, and fashion. By developing these things in unique ways, people and groups create cultures and cultural identity (Queensland Government, 2008). Multicultural education seeks to reconcile the good things about cultural identity (unity, history, protocol, mutuality of goals) with the sometimes bad things about cultural identity (fear of different groups, resultant hostility, violence, and other poor treatment). Banks and Banks (1995) explain that multicultural education wants to provide a level field of opportunity for all students, from all racial, ethnic, social, and cultural backgrounds. It recognizes and embraces a pluralistic society, and teaches students skills they need to operate effectively in such a society. It recognizes groups that have been marginalized in the past, and challenges established ideas, theories, and content from traditional disciplines. Multicultural education can help address cultural differences and biases in our schools. This is because of its far scope: Gomez (1991) calls multicultural education â€Å"a perspective rather than a curriculum.† He implores teachers to consider students’ cultural backgrounds and to explore and refine their own thinking about cultural groups. Gomez suggests helping school members learn to identify when someone from a cultural group is being victimized because of their membership there. Enhancing the self-concept of members of cultural groups is important. Members of these groups must believe that cultural differences do not make them less valuable as members of the school community (Gomez, 1991). Also, attempts must be

Qualifications of arbitrator 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Qualifications of arbitrator 1 - Essay Example But the case may be different in the laws of other countries. The English Arbitration Act 1996 (EAA 1996) is distinctive from most other national arbitration laws, say, in comparison with its predecessor, the former Act 1950. The law does not provide for any general qualifications for an arbitrator. In Saudi Arabia, there is a quite detailed set of qualifications for the arbitrator taking into consideration the elements of the Saudi Arbitration Law 2012 (SAL 2012) and also the Islamic Sharia (Sharia). Under Sharia, the scholars’ views may vary due to the absence of such provision either in Quran or Sunnah (the two main sources of Sharia). Whilst it is seen by some scholars that it is necessary for strict requirements to be stipulated for whom is selected as an arbitrator, all of these requirements are not mandatory according to the view of some contemporary scholars. The essential aim for this section is to analyse and discuss two aspects. First, the qualifications of arbitrat or stipulated by law. Second, the freedom of parties to determine additional qualifications. This will be carried out in the context of the EAA 1996, Sharia, and the SAL 2012. 1. Qualifications of Arbitrator as Stipulated by Law The English Arbitration Act 1996, like many Western arbitration laws, provides a high degree of freedom for arbitration parties3. This is the case as long as the impartiality of the arbitrator is established. Under this Act, the only restriction is if the chosen arbitrator is a judge of the Commercial Court or Technology and Construction Court of England and Wales. In this instance, an additional approval from the Lord Chief Justice is required.4 The prescribed qualifications, hence, are simple and straightforward, which is markedly different from Sharia or the SAL 2012. Sharia prescribes several qualifications that should be met in the chosen arbitrator. This provides for a system that are bound to have different interpretations. Scholars, for instance, hav e different opinions regarding the qualifications that should be met in an arbitrator based on whether the requirements of an arbitrator are those for the judge or not. Most scholars of the four schools (Maliki, Shafi', Hanafi and Hanbali) see that the qualifications for the arbitrator are those required for a judge.5 This view is dominant on account of the fact that the arbitrator carries out the same function as that of a judge, which includes hearing the litigants and issuing the Judgement. 6 78 In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, due to the dominance of Sharia on its laws as it is the constitution of the Kingdom,9 many writers believe that the Saudi courts require the arbitrator to meet the qualifications of a judge as it is the view of the majority doctrine in Sharia.10 This is in addition to the qualifications stated by the SAL 2012.11 On the other hand, some scholars as Ibn Taimiyah12 and Ibn Hazm Aldhaheri 13 maintain the position that the qualifications of a judge are not neces sarily required for an arbitrator. Therefore, they believe any Muslim can be an arbitrator. The differences, hence, becomes problematic especially in the event of a challenge to an arbitration decision or its implementation. The Sharia law in this paper will refer to the Saudi Law for purposes of clarification. As what has

Employee Rewards Essay Example for Free

Employee Rewards Essay Introduction The purpose of this essay is to critically examine the processes used by Scotia Learning and identify if their rewards are appropriate to those of the market. The report will begin by discussing the background of Scotia Learning and follow on to define reward management highlighting the objective and constraints within the reward strategy. We will then consider the legal framework and examine why there are variations in pay and how job evaluation can ensure equity and fairness is achieved. Finally we will discuss the concept of motivation and the implications of pay for performance within the reward strategy. The report ends with an analysis of the key issues of the topic. Scotia Learning is the case study for this essay and is one of a network of university-based study centres offering preparation for students wishing to study undergraduate and postgraduate degrees for progression into university degree courses. The company has joint venture partnerships with top universities throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and United States of America. â€Å"Reward management is concerned with the formulation and implementation of strategies and policies that aim to reward people fairly, equitably and consistently in accordance with their value to the organisation† (Armstrong Murlis, 2007, p3). Research by Redman Wilkinson (2009) indicates that reward is an enormously complex issue and has to take account of three fundamental principles in determining systems and structures: internal equity, external equity and business strategy. In addition Thorpe Homan (2000) state that the organisation should identify what objectives and behaviours the payment system should have for example, labour market competitiveness and management skills whilst Perkins White (2009) highlight the importance of legal regulations that can put constraints on organisations, for example minimum wage (legal), collective bargaining (trade unions), and the external labour markets. Scotia Learning does not recognise a trade union however it does recognise that collective bargaining has been influential in discussing and setting pay arrangement due to internal and external rates of pay not being equal. Within the employment legislation pay has always been an area of controversy especially when one considers employee’s collective concerns (Brown et al., 2003). The introduction of The Equal Pay Act 1970 outlawing unequal pay for men and women having since evolved into equal pay for equal work and the Equal Pay (Amendment) Regulations 1983 after the UK joined the EU in 1973 (Perkins White, 2009), now gives employees a certain degree of protection in their employment relationship. To strengthen current legislation The Equality Act 2010 was introduced highlighting human rights and discriminatory factors, such as equal pay, sex discrimination, race, disability and equality (religion, sexual orientation, and age) (Equality and Human Rights Commission, 2012). In response to this Scotia Learning are aware that they have a ‘duty of care’ to all employees and comply with the Equal Opportunities Policy by ensuring the relevant training is undertaken by managers and employees ensuring everyone understands the importance of and their responsibilities under this Policy. This is also promoted in all recruitment documents, ensuring that wording of job advertisements does not discriminate against any potential applicants. As part of this legislation, employers are legally required to ensure their pay structures are not discriminatory against men and women in terms of valuing work between them in their employment and in order to defend themselves against equal pay claims, organisations must be able to prove that the jobs within their grading system are valued according to the job rather than the gender of the person doing the job. Failure to adhere to these regulations can result in a tribunal claim and if proven the organisation will have to pay all money accrued which can be backdated six years in England and five years in Scotland. In the case of (Birmingham City Council v Abdulla and others [2012] UKSC 47), the Supreme Court ruled that equal pay claims brought in the High Court more than six months after the end of the claimants employment, which would have been out of time in an employment tribunal, should not be struck out under section 2(3) of the Equal Pay Act 1970. The reasons for a claimants failure to bring a timely claim in a tribunal are not relevant in any way to the notion of convenience under section 2(3). (PLC Employment Law Weekly email). Within Scotia Learning pay and benefits are provided on the basis of objective criteria, free from discrimination taking into account the principle of equal pay for equivalent work or work of equal value. In addition we ensure transparency within the reward system is clear to all employees in that they understand how their pay is worked out and what is required from them to achieve this. Job profiles and person specifications for each new vacancy are drawn up in keeping with other jobs of a similar size and responsibility which focus on the skills, experience and qualifications that are directly relevant to the job. Armstrong Murlis (2007, p115) state that â€Å"the payment system is important as it not only conveys a signal to the employees what the organisational priorities are but also acts as a catalyst for wider organisational change† a view reiterated by Armstrong (1996) in which he proposes that the foundations of reward management are to achieve the individual and organisational behaviour that a company needs if the business goals are to be met. Therefore the term ‘employees are the key to enhanced organisational performance’ becomes relevant with links to Kessler and Purcell (1994) where they emphasise that payment systems are related to recruitment, retention and motivation of staff and that the determination of pay is not only the interaction of market forces but also employers. It is also acknowledged that variations in pay can occur for a variety of reasons and from a legal perspective it is important to understand why (Redman Wilkinson, 2009). Firstly the power scenario, in that if labour is scarce, employees will have more power and hence may be able to demand higher pay, in contrast with an over-supply of labour employers have the power and hence may be able to hold pay at lower rates (Redman Wilkinson, 2009). Secondly, it has been acknowledged that ‘the rate for the job’ should be the same for employees doing the same job but considering organisational performance is reliant on the employ ee’s effort, skills and competencies, it is not logical to assume that effort should be rewarded and pay should vary accordingly. A view shared by Redman Wilkinson (2009, p161) who advocate that â€Å"variable pay schemes (VPS) are said to hold out the promise towards the creation of internal labour market that is fairer in rewarding people as it is only ‘fair’ that rewards should have a direct link with effort†. The argument with this theory is that ‘risk adverse’ workers will be less willing to ‘gamble’ on pay related performance than a set amount of pay. Thirdly, we should also take into consideration the external market rate of pay and uneven market pressures such as differing regional or occupational rates of pay as Kessler (2007, p167) states â€Å"external equity is an organisational imperative as failure to respond the labour market changes will leave organisations at a disadvantage competitively†. Scotia Learning responds to these challenges by regularly benchmarking and studying the market rate of pay within the educational sector. Data collected i s beneficial in determining pay to ensure pay scales are in line with and competitive with similar jobs. For example, when recruiting teaching staff, the use of organisations such as SATEFL and other educational websites are particularly useful, for administration staff we would use S1jobs.com and jobseeker.gov.uk website and with management we would use agencies. However, although the aforesaid strategy is very useful, Scotia Learning is a relatively large organisation with Centres worldwide and other factors have to be taken into consideration, such as location and cost of living. In determining the value of jobs within our organisation, although we consider the external market pay rates, decisions concerning pay are done through a coherent wage and career structure internal to our organisation which ensures consistency and fairness in our reward systems. It has been reported that issues with this reward system have arisen within the banking sector resulting in Government intervention to deal with inequalities of pay setting at senior management/director level and low pay via the nati onal minimum wage. This is not an area of concern for Scotia Learning as the annual salary increase is a % rate consistent throughout the organisation and our pay structure process involves a job evaluation â€Å"a systematic process for establishing the relative worth of jobs within an organisation† Redman Wilkinson (2009, p141). In addition Scotia Learning is accredited to the British Council and British Accreditation Council and all HR policies and personnel files are properly documented and filed. Our job evaluation comprises of an analytical (i.e., jobs are broken down into individual components) broad-band pay structure with a range of factors such as knowledge and skills, problem solving, decision making and then allocating points to them. It is interesting to note that research by IRS (2007) showed that an average of 86% of organisations use this form of job evaluation. Within this broad-band pay structure we have 6 wide overlapping salary bands made up of management, HR, teaching staff , finance, student services and cleaning staff with a salary range for each bank of at least 75%. Progression up the bands will be by skills and qualifications, performance and competence enhanced through individual career development thus supplying the motivation for continuous learning. To support this, the annual performance review takes place, however it is not linked to pay or rewards and is based on the objectives of skills and competence which are linked to organisational performance. In terms of equity and fairness the rate of pay for full-time and part-time teaching staff is calculated on the same hourly rate therefore ensuring consistency and fairness within the system. It is interesting to note that research by Redman Wilkinson (2009, p139) argues that by paying an hourly rate â€Å"employers control over pace and performance is reliant on either direct supervision or the willingness of employees to engage with the task† synonymous with the argument surrounding ‘risk adverse’ workers. This point of view may be viable in organisations such as ‘call centres’ where technology enables the monitoring and regulating of work by measuring output and input and within the customer service industry where we have the ‘secret shopper’, but within the education sector autonomy is part of the job as is their professional code of ethics which includes commitment, motivation and discretionary behaviour which is contradictory to the argument by Thorpe Homan (2000) who suggest that non-financial aspects are secondary and rarely given the same prominence in the design of payment systems. Managing rewards is largely about managing employee expectations linking to their psychological contract which is concerned with pay, performance and the development of skills (Armstrong Murlis, 2007). The argument then becomes, if reactions to rewards depend on the psychological makeup, values and needs of individual, one cannot wholly rely on performance related pay schemes to enhance all employees’ performance as not everyone is motivated by money. Motivation only takes place if rewards are worthwhile to the individual and if the process is seen to be fair, therefore, it would require to be customised for every individual in the organisation (Armstrong Murlis, 2007). For example, an employee nearing the end of their career may be more interested in job satisfaction (intrinsic reward), whereas a graduate beginning their career may be more interested in training and development (extrinsic reward). For that reason it can be argued that both intrinsic rewards such as respect, recognition, job satisfaction and responsibility are just as important as extrinsic rewards such as pay rises, bonuses, training and development opportunities and benefits such as annual holidays, company sick pay and company pension. This highlights the importance of implementing an equitable and fair reward strategy in that by incorporating financial and non-financial rewards is that they can be used as a tool to enhance employee motivation resulting in improved organisational performance. Finally the importance of management skills cannot be undermined as they are a fundamental element of human resource management. The management strategy within Scotia Learning is based on autonomy, communication and high levels of trust between management and employees. Evidence to support this is the turnover rate of staff with one employee resigning over the past two years and the annual absence levels within Scotia L earning for all staff inclusive stands at 0.1% of working hours, which is the lowest in the entire organisation. Conclusion This objective of the report was to establish the processes that ensure equity and fairness in the reward systems. We have covered the legal aspects, strategies, market awareness, motivation, job evaluation and performance appraisal and it has become evident that Scotia Learning complies with all legal legislation, and displays equity and fairness within the reward systems. However there was an air of negativity surrounding performance and reward as within Scotia Learning the annual appraisal is not yet connected to pay for performance. It is possible that issues could arise if this was implemented, namely, it could seriously affect the dynamics of the office environment between a very closely-nit team of employees, managers and directors in that, how does the manager justify their decision in the event of a low reward without affecting the equilibrium of the office environment and within a unionised organisation all trade unions argue against performance linked to pay. Schemes relating pay to performance, although generating a tremendous amount of interest have very little in the way of conclusive evidence concerning their effects on performance (Redman Wilkinson, (2009). This echoes Thompson (1992) findings in which he states, â€Å"research fails to provide convincing evidence of a link between individual performance-related pay schemes and improvements in productivity†. The evidence supports that other approaches should be considered in rewarding employees, for example a one-off bonus payment which would not affect the employees’ annual salary. References Armstrong, M. (1996) Employee Reward, London: Kogan Page/IPD Armstrong, M., and Murlis, H. (2007) Reward Management. 5thedn. London: Hay Group Brown, W., Marginson, P., and Walsh, J. (2003) The management of pay as the influence of collective bargaining diminishes. In: P.K. Edwards, Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice, Oxford: Blackwell IRS (2007) Job evaluation is thriving, survey finds: Employment Review, 667 Kessler, I. (2007) Reward Choices: strategy and equity. In: Storey, J. HRM: a critical text 3rd edition, London: Thomson Learning Kessler, I., and Purcell, J. (1994) Performance Related Pay: Objectives and application, Human Resource Management Journal, Vol.2, No.3 Perkins, S. J., and White, G. (2009) Employee Reward: Alternatives, consequences and contexts, 2nd edn. London: Chartered Institute Of Personnel and Development, Redman, T., and Wilkinson, A. (2009) Contemporary Human Resource Management: Text Cases, 3rd edn. London: Prentice Hall, Thompson, M. (1992) Pay for Performance: The employers experience, Brighton, Institute of Manpower Studies Thorpe, R., and Homan, G (2000) Strategic Reward Systems, Harlow: Financial Times Williams, S., and Adam-Smith, D. (2006) Contemporary Employment Relations: A critical introduction, Oxford: University Press Equality of Human Rights Commission, available from: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/human-rights/ date accessed 23/10/12 PLC Employment Law, available from: [emailprotected] – date accessed 26/10/12